Not long after Abby left for patrol with John, Maria showed up at the trailer with Dina, Amanda, JJ, and four other adult volunteers. Ellie paired the four newcomers up, taught them how to do the injections, and then had them vaccinate each other, just as she had done for Dina and Amanda the day before. JJ had really wanted to learn, too, but everyone agreed it wasn't a good idea. Instead Ellie made him the supply master, assisted by Maria of course. The two of them would be responsible for making sure each volunteer had enough alcohol swabs, needles, cotton balls and medical tape. The actual vials of vaccine would only be handled by Ellie, as they would need to be retrieved from the safe beneath the bed in the RV and she was not willing to give out the combination. Used needles were to be disposed of in sharps containers that she and Abby had scavenged from various medical facilities across the country. Ellie had been surprised to learn from Doc that in the old world, blood-borne pathogens had been a major concern for medical professionals. It was sometimes hard for her to remember that people in the old world didn't have perfect lives. Sure, life was easier then, but it still had its occasional difficulties.

Once everyone was all set up and ready to go, Maria had some of her patrolmen round up the members of the first section they would be vaccinating. In the beginning the trickle was slow and the volunteers had no problems keeping up, but soon there was a line forming, and not long after that the patrolmen had to set up ropes to keep everything orderly. The volunteers worked as fast as they could while still being safe and following the instructions that Ellie had given them.

Ellie herself was working slower than everyone else, because she kept encountering people she knew and frequently got caught up in conversation. She had forgotten just how many friends she'd made here. A lot of people were happy to see her, but she noticed that very few people wanted to discuss her personal life. Those that made any sort of comment on it would make passive-aggressive or disparaging remarks about Abby. But Ellie would always turn the conversation away from the topic, because she couldn't sit there and listen to that without the risk of the conversation coming to blows. So she defended Abby as best as she could while still keeping the discussion amicable.

At one point, she looked up from vaccinating a young kid and standing there before her was Kat. Flabbergasted at the sight of her, Ellie said the first thing that popped into her head: "Shit. I guess this time I get to stick you with a needle, huh?"

Kat burst into laughter. "Won't that be a nice change of pace?" she said.

"Yeah, definitely. Have a seat."

When Kat sat down, she watched Ellie carefully as she prepared her injection. "Tattoo looks like it's holding up alright," she commented casually.

"Getting a little blurry," said Ellie, and she held her arm out for her to look at. She frowned when Kat ran her fingers over it carefully, tracing the scar tissue from her chemical burn. "Umm… I'm married now," she blurted stupidly.

Letting out a coquettish laugh, Kat said, "Me too, you fucking pervert. I was just checking out my handiwork." She ignored Ellie's blush and went back to examining the tattoo. "I can touch this up while you're here, if you want."

"Okay," said Ellie. "I'd appreciate that. And I can trade you for it - we've got some good shit in the RV."

"Are you fucking serious? Dude, you're vaccinating the whole town. You're paid up. Even if you did marry that bitch."

"She's not a bitch," said Ellie angrily.

"I mean, she kind of is."

"I don't understand why people think it's okay to talk shit about her to my face. You have no idea who I am now or what I've been through, but I would think that the fact that I married her would be enough to show you that if I have to pick a side, I'm obviously going to pick hers. So don't fucking make me pick, alright?"

Kat blinked at her in shock. "Jesus, Ellie. I guess… I didn't even…" She paused and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. It's none of my business."

This made Ellie feel a little ashamed of her outburst. "I'm sorry too. You're not the first person who's said stuff like that to me today, but I guess it just hurt more coming from you."

"That actually kinda feels like a compliment."

"Probably because it is one."

"So we're cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool," said Ellie sincerely. "Now let's do this vaccine thing, huh?"

"Ready when you are, Firefly." She held still as Ellie injected her, then looked carefully at her arm as though she was expecting it to visibly change somehow. "So I'm immune now?"

"Yep," said Ellie as she put the cap back on the needle and shoved it in a sharps container.

"Crazy, man. I don't even know how to feel about that. How did you feel when you got it?"

Ellie shrugged. "I never got it. I was actually born immune, but I kept it secret until I joined up with the Fireflies."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yeah. The chemical burn that you tattooed over? I did it myself to cover up a bite mark I got when I was thirteen."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There were a lot of reasons," said Ellie. "Too many to get into. It was the right decision at the time. But now that there's a vaccine I feel okay talking about it. It doesn't really matter anymore." She looked over at the line that was still extending about two blocks down the street. "Listen, I should get back to work. Okay if I drop by sometime in the next couple of days though?"

"Of course," Kat replied. "Good luck with your vaccinations."

"Thanks." She watched Kat go, then waved on the next community member for their vaccine.

Everyone who was administering doses took turns having a break so that there would be a constant stream of people coming and going all day. When it came time to take her break, Ellie went down the line of volunteers to check that everyone had enough vaccine left in their vials to last them through the next hour. She saw that Dina was getting low, so she went into the trailer and grabbed a fresh vial from the safe.

"Thanks," Dina said when Ellie put the vial down on the table next to her. "Hey, could you do me a favor and see if you can find JJ? He's been doing this thing recently where he keeps wandering off without letting anyone know where he's going."

"Do you want to swap breaks so you can go look for him yourself?" Ellie offered.

"Nah, he'll just hide from me, the little worm. He knows I don't like it when he does this. But I bet he'll come out for you - he talked my ear off about you two all night."

Ellie laughed. "What can I say? It's cool recognizing cool."

Rolling her eyes, Dina said, "Just go find the damn goober."

"Don't worry. I'll get him."

She decided to start her search in the orchard, since that was where Abby had said she'd run into him the night before. Ellie had been happy to hear that Abby and JJ had had a few minutes to bond. Abby was so good with kids. It had always been Ellie's belief and secret hope that seeing Abby interact with JJ might help endear her in Dina's eyes. At the very least, it might help Dina believe that Abby was far more than just a murderer. Seeing Abby work with the kids in Avalon had been one of the very first things that had started to thaw out Ellie's hatred towards her. It had helped to view her in a different light.

On the other hand, Abby had definitely been experiencing some emotional turmoil over the encounter. Though she didn't say it out loud, it was obvious to Ellie that Abby was trying to determine whether or not she had a right to say or do anything where JJ was concerned because she had been the one who'd shot Jesse. So far Ellie didn't see any reason to pry into the issue with Abby, not yet. Maybe in a few days, if it didn't seem like Abby was going to be able to work it out for herself, she would try to get her to open up about it. But right now it was simply too soon to tell how it would end up.

The orchard was still and filled with all the usual springtime sounds of birds singing and bugs buzzing. It was a lovely day, and Ellie wished she could be out on horseback enjoying it with Abby instead of sticking people with needles all day. Unless Abby came back and said that patrolling with John had been terrible, Ellie was pretty sure she was getting the short end of the stick in this particular arrangement.

As she made her way down the hill towards the border fence, she kept her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of JJ. Sure enough, she soon found him sitting in the grass with a book open in his lap. He was surrounded by apple cores - clearly he had procured himself a mid-morning snack. "Hey, little spud," she said as she approached. "Did you save any apples for the rest of the town?"

"Yes," replied JJ, looking around at the orchard. "There's like five billion of them."

Ellie plopped herself down beside him in the grass. "Nuh uh," she said. "There's only four billion."

JJ stuck his tongue out at her. He closed his book and looked at her curiously. "How did you find me?"

"Abby told me you came here last night."

"I like her. She's fun. Why did Maria send her away?"

"It's just for when we're doing the vaccines. She's coming back tonight."

"But why?"

"It's complicated, Potato," said Ellie, and JJ huffed in frustration.

"People keep saying that. I hate it."

"I know. I'm sorry. But this is how it's gotta be for now. Maybe when you're older your mom will explain it to you."

JJ nodded, accepting this without comment. Instead he said: "Mom said you made me immune when I was a baby, a really long time ago."

"She told you that, huh?"

"She told me yesterday after we got out of your RV. Why did you do that?"

Ellie hesitated. The truth was that JJ would not have been vaccinated all those years ago if it wasn't for Abby. But no one knew about that, and she didn't think Abby would want them to know. So instead she lied and said, "Because I care about your mom and I care about you. Even though I don't live in Jackson anymore, you guys will always be important to me."

"Then maybe…" JJ trailed off.

"What?" Ellie prompted.

With a shy shrug, JJ said, "Maybe you could stay here."

A flash of pain went through Ellie. If she hadn't been so fucking stupid and walked out of his life to chase after Abby, this boy could have been calling her Mama. Instead she had missed out on every single important milestone in his life so far aside from his birth, and would continue to miss out on all his future ones. Any affection he felt for her was based on the fact that, to him, she was an exotic stranger - a fun addition to an already wonderful existence.

But at the same time, she couldn't help feeling profoundly grateful for the way things had worked out. If she'd stayed, she wouldn't have joined the Fireflies and there wouldn't be a vaccine. And, above all else, she wouldn't have Abby. She reached up and gripped her dog tags in her fist, letting the feel of the metal remind her of how perfect things were for her now. It helped ground her, and she said to JJ: "That's not possible, buddy. I know it's hard, but at least you'll know you'll always have a couple of friends outside Jackson who care about you very much. Okay?"

JJ sighed. "Okay," he said morosely.

Getting to her feet, Ellie said, "Now come on. Your mom sent me to bring you back. Apparently you're not supposed to go running off, remember?"

A sheepish grin came over JJ's lips. "I know. Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to your mothers for making them worry."

"I will," JJ promised.

After dropping JJ off at the RV, Ellie headed into town to stop by Edna's bakery. It was packed with patrons and it smelled heavenly inside. She was waiting patiently for her turn to be served when Edna spotted her and cried out with joy. "Ellie! Oh, I was so hoping you would stop by!" She came out from behind the counter and shuffled over to give her a hug. "My, you've gotten so strong! I, on the other hand, have shrunk another foot or so, like a wrinkled old prune."

"Oh, shut up, Edna," laughed Ellie. "You know you're as gorgeous as ever."

"Stop it, you're making me blush. Besides, it's not right to flirt when you're spoken for."

"Honestly, if I thought you were into me I could probably be convinced to leave my wife."

Edna laughed loudly, throwing her head back as she did so. The sound made Ellie grin involuntarily. She liked Edna a lot. She and Eugene had been two peas in a pod back in the day because they both shared the same light-hearted, easy-going personality. Plus they both played music - Eugene had been an ace on the banjo, and Edna played the fiddle. Ellie and Dina used to spend the occasional night on Eugene's back porch with him and Edna, dancing, singing, laughing and, of course, smoking weed.

"Well come on up, darling, and come get some food," Edna said, taking Ellie's hand and leading her to the front of the bakery.

"Thank you," Ellie said. "And thank you for the other stuff you sent too. My wife practically died when James brought us apple pie. It's her favorite."

"Then I'll give you a whole one to take back for her," said Edna, and she reached into the glass display case to pull one out. As she did so, Ellie noticed some of the people nearby were glaring at the two of them, obviously aware of who Ellie was married to and unhappy that hospitality was being shown. Ellie was prepared to ignore it, but Edna was not. "You got a problem, gentlemen?" she snapped at them.

"Do you know who you're about to serve that pie to? A fucking murderer," said one of the men.

"So what?" shot back Edna. "She's here to deliver a goddamn miracle, and she's out there on patrol risking her hide for this town. That's a lot more than any of you lousy layabouts can say. And besides that, a fucking murderer baked the pie, so a fucking murderer may as well eat it, too. And if you don't like it, you can get your sorry asses out of my bakery."

Murmuring amongst themselves, the men did just that. They filed out of the bakery, shooting nasty glances back at Ellie and Edna as they did so. "Jesus, Edna, you didn't have to do that," Ellie said.

"Excuse me? I'm 70 years old, child. I believe I've earned the right to do whatever the fuck I want."

Holding her hands up in capitulation, Ellie said, "Fine, fine. Whatever you say. Just don't start cussing at me and throwing me out of the store."

"Keep your damn mouth shut and I won't." Edna resumed the business of packing another basket for Ellie, and by the time she was finished the thing was almost uncomfortably heavy. She put it up on the counter, then motioned for Ellie to come closer. "Got something else for you, too. Don't know if you know this, but Dina fixed up Eugene's old grow house." From behind the counter she produced a small baggie of weed and an ancient-looking metal pipe that Ellie recognized from those fun nights on Eugene's porch.

Ellie grinned at her again. "Uh huh. I heard."

"Just bring the pipe back before you leave town," Edna said with a wink, and she slipped both items into the basket. "And don't you dare let Maria catch you."

"Don't worry. We'll be very discreet."

"Good." She pushed the basket towards Ellie and said, "Now get back to work, child. Quit slacking off. And do come visit whenever you like. You can even bring that Abby of yours, I don't give a shit. I'd kinda like to meet the one that managed to pin a drifter like you down."

"Turns out the trick was to find one who could drift with me," Ellie said. "Thanks, Edna. I can't tell you how good it is to see you."

"Likewise, my dear."

Ellie picked up the hefty basket and headed back to the RV. She stored it inside so that Maria wouldn't get curious about it and poke around in there, then went back out to relieve the next volunteer for their break.

By the end of the day they were all exhausted. Even JJ, a veritable ball of energy under most circumstances, had to be carried home by Amanda because he could barely keep his eyes open. Everyone left one by one until Ellie was alone at the RV, and as soon as she was by herself she realized just how much she missed Abby. They so rarely spent any extended amount of time apart from one another, it felt odd for her to not be there. Rolling her eyes at her own patheticness, she set about preparing for Abby's return. She lit a fire on the grill and placed some of Edna's pie near it so that it would be warm for her. Then she got out a hammock they had scavenged from a camping supply store and went into the orchard. She found two trees that were a suitable distance apart and used a hammer to string up the hammock. They sometimes did this if they wanted to sit outside together and still be able to cuddle. All their other outdoor furniture was single-person only. When Abby had suggested they take the hammock from the store, Ellie had rolled her eyes and teased her about it. But as was so often the case, Abby had been completely right about it and they had spent many pleasant evenings curled up on the hammock, looking up at the stars and simply enjoying one another's presence.

Not long after she'd finished with the hammock, Abby returned. She was carrying a bucket filled with ice and a couple of glass bottles, but immediately upon seeing Ellie she placed it on the ground, dropped her backpack beside it, and pulled Ellie into her arms with a relieved sigh. "Fuck," she said into Ellie's hair. "I missed you."

Ellie grinned. "Missed you, too, you big sap." She inhaled deeply, breathing Abby in. "You smell like a horse."

"Rude."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. I like it."

"God, you're so fucking weird sometimes."

Stepping away from Abby's embrace, Ellie said, "You love it."

"Yeah, I do." Picking the bucket back up, she tilted it so Ellie could see its contents. It was several home-brewed beers. "Courtesy of John. Please tell me you've got food to go with this, because I'm starving."

"Have a seat, I'll get you something." As she set about preparing Abby's meal, she asked, "So how was it?"

But Abby had sat down near the fire and noticed the pie that Ellie was warming. "Is that for me?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course it's for you," laughed Ellie.

"You even warmed it up for me?"

"I'm a dutiful wife."

"I will seriously never understand how I could possibly be this lucky," said Abby, and she started in on the pie.

Ellie smirked, greatly amused. Abby was so easy to please. All she really wanted was to be full, warm, and in the presence of Ellie, and that was enough to keep her happy. Since Abby's mouth was full, she instead cracked open one of the beers and filled her in on her own day. When she told her about Kat, Abby shot her a skeptical look. "What?" she said

"You have not one, but two exes in this town?" Abby asked.

"I told you about Kat, didn't I? She did my tattoo." When Abby gave her a blank look, she said, "I'm sure I told you about her."

"Uh, no, you didn't. I would have remembered that."

"Well, either way, is it a problem for you?"

"No, but I would have liked to be kept in the damn loop," grumbled Abby.

"Aww," said Ellie teasingly. "You're so cute when you're jealous."

"Fuck you."

"Maybe later. Are you done?" Ellie gestured to the food.

"Yeah."

"Good. Come on." Getting to her feet, Ellie took Abby's hand and led her to the hammock. They climbed in and took a minute to get comfortable, and once her head was resting on Abby's shoulder, Ellie said: "Tell me about the patrol."

"I actually really enjoyed it. John is a good guy. You'd like him." Abby relayed some of the things they'd talked about, and she also shared the story of finding the remains of a camp and following the tracks. "We're going to keep looking tomorrow."

Absently tracing the muscles on Abby's stomach, Ellie said, "That's super fucking weird. I don't like the idea of you two going after these people alone."

"Neither does John. He said he's going to ask Maria for one more person to take with us tomorrow. Hopefully she doesn't send someone who wants me dead, if there even are any other people like that in this town."

"There are," Ellie assured her. "I mean, yeah, a lot of people hate your guts. But there were a few people who didn't seem to care about you one way or another. People who never knew Jesse or Joel." When Abby didn't answer, she raised herself up and kissed her. "Hey," she said. "Stop beating yourself up."

"I just…" Abby paused, then sighed. "I wish I hadn't killed them. It's hard not to think about it, even though I know I can't change it. John said he thinks everything is part of God's plan - that everything works out as it should. It would be so comforting to believe that, don't you think? It must be nice to believe there's some higher power looking out for us."

"Well, I don't know about the higher power part," Ellie said, "but I do think things worked out for the best."

Abby blinked in surprise and looked down at her.

"Everyone is happy, Abs. I was thinking about this when I saw JJ today. He has two parents who love him - who can give him all their love. If I'd stayed, I'd still be closed off and damaged. If you hadn't done everything you did, and if I hadn't done everything I did… No one would have ended up where they are today, and everyone's in a pretty good place, I think. Maybe it's not the most popular opinion, but it's what I believe."

"Even if that's true, and even if everyone is better off because of what I did, I still wish I hadn't done it."

"Of course. I feel the same way."

"So we have ourselves a paradox. We wish things could be different, but we're happy with the way things are."

Ellie laughed. "That about sums it up." She reached out and traced Abby's lips with her fingertips. "Look, the important thing is that we know we made mistakes, and we're committed to making it as right as we possibly can. That's really all we can do. Even if it doesn't work, we still have to try."

"I know," said Abby. "And I do have to admit, it's hard to feel any regret when I'm with you. But then I feel guilty about that, because I don't deserve something this perfect."

"Abby," said Ellie sternly.

"What?"

"Shut up."

"Make me," said Abby with a grin.

So Ellie did.

They were so wrapped up in one another that neither one of them noticed the figure that retreated back behind the RV. Amanda decided she would leave JJ's gift near the bottom of the door to the RV - he had insisted that Amanda bring over the drawing of the apple orchard he had made for them that night or else he wouldn't eat his dinner or go to bed. Having delivered the present she began walking home, turning the conversation she'd just overheard over and over in her mind.