a/n: Friends, I have NO idea what happened here, but I was reading through the fic tonight and went from chapter 20 to 21 and thought "wow, that's abrupt. I could've sworn I wrote something between that..." And sure enough! Somehow I left out an entire chapter! Literally just sitting there! It's because I misnumbered them in the document. Sigh. Anyway! Here it is, long-lost chapter 21. For real.

Hey, the band's all together now! Don't forget, I've gender-swapped Glen. Picture her like Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie, except like 20 years younger. (because Frankie is 80-something, and Glen's only supposed to be 57, but we'll bump the age a few years because why not) (also, 94 miniseries Glen was only supposed to be 57?! No wonder I thought Greg Kinnear was too young...)

come gather 'round people
wherever you roam
and admit that the waters
around you have grown
and accept it that soon
you'll be drenched to the bone
if your time to you is worth savin'
then you better start swimmin'
or you'll sink like a stone
for the times they are a-changin'
Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-Changin'"

July 30-Aug 1, Hemingford Home, NE - Boulder, CO
They spent the next full day at Mother Abagail's preparing for the journey west. Rae had the idea of getting CB radios so they could communicate between vehicles, and she, Nick, and Tom went looking for some. While they were gone another small group pulled into the yard, honking and waving and thrilled to have arrived at last. They were from Texas, they said, and like everyone else they'd dreamt of Mother Abagail and…the other guy.

None of them reported dreams quite like Kai's, but also no one wanted to talk about the nightmares in much detail. Even from the safety of Mother Abagail's dooryard.

Studying the map showed that in the old days it would've only been about an eight hour drive to Boulder, but that was using major interstates. It would take longer on backroads, they were bound to hit traffic snarls along the way, and they probably wouldn't make great time with the need for frequent stops. Nick had the most experience traveling this part of the country, but even he wasn't as familiar with all the backroads and small towns the map didn't show. They all missed Google.

Nick made a sign for the yard like he'd done back at Doc Soames' cabin. He listed all their names, their (tentative) route to Boulder, and the CB channel they'd be on. The morning of their departure he helped Mother Abagail into their SUV (Rae had replaced the glass in the driver's side window), and she paused half in and half out to take a long look around.

"I was born here," she said to him. "I grew up on this land. My people are all buried here, including my husband, Lord rest him. Colorado's so far. So far." The lines on her face seemed more deeply drawn than when they'd first met, and her eyes were clouded with memories.

His brow creased with compassion and he gave her thin arm a gentle squeeze. She cast him a distracted smile and patted his cheek. "You're a good boy, Nick. Thank you."

He wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve that, but he nodded and helped her the rest of the way into the car. He got her seatbelt fastened and made sure she was comfortable, then climbed in the passenger seat. Kai would drive the first bit, then they'd switch off.

Their little caravan—Rae's truck with Bonnie and Tom in the cab, Mother Abagail's rocker proudly in the back like a scene from The Beverly Hillbillies; Brad-the-vet's SUV; the third group's pickup; and Nick and Kai bringing up the rear—pulled away from the comfort and safety of the farm and headed west.

Their progress ended up being slower than they were expecting, partly due to a complete and total roadblock in the mountains. Cars were piled up for a mile, and when Brad and Keisha (one of the women from the other group) got back from scouting it, they reported the tunnel through the mountain was impassable. Their only choice was to backtrack and find another way.

That was on July 31st. They stopped in a town at the foot of the mountains to study their maps, and by late afternoon they were on the road again.

They stopped for the day just before dark. No one wanted to be on these roads once night fell. They could hear the howl of wolves and yip of coyotes in the distance, and it was safer to be encamped with a circle of tents and a fire going by the time the stars came out.

That night Brad and Rae took down a deer (they were everywhere these days) and returned to camp with venison steaks ready to go on the fire. They told Tom and Bonnie they found them in a house that had solar panels, so their fridge still worked, because otherwise they'd get too upset to eat. They all swapped stories around the campfire and roasted marshmallows they'd found on a recent supply run and Mother Abagail played a little on the guitar until she got too tired.

Rae and Nick made her bed in the back of Rae's truck, with a tarp raised over it, and she did well enough despite the rough conditions.

"She's a tough old bird," Nick remarked when he got back to their tent that night.

"You don't live to be a hundred-and-eight being weak," Kai said.

"No shit." He kicked off his boots, wiggled out of his trousers, and shrugged off his shirt before he crawled into the sleeping bag with her. "How's your leg?"

"A little sore, but not bad. I'll be happy when we get there."

"Tomorrow, looks like." He turned the lantern down to its lowest setting and stretched out on his back. "Can't wait for a shower."

She snuggled up next to him with her head on his shoulder. "Me neither. Have you ever been to Boulder?"

"Passed through, never stuck around. It's pretty."

"Cold winters."

He took off the eyepatch and slid it under his pillow. "True. But we won't have to worry about that for a while." He flashed her a half-smile. "Don't worry, Southern girl. I'll keep you plenty warm."

"Ha. I'm sure you will." She turned toward him and wrapped an arm around him. Squeezed. Tilted her head to plant a kiss on his shoulder before settling in again. He traced his fingertips up and down her arm and through her hair.

"Are you worried?" he said after a while.

"About Boulder?" She frowned and shifted on the hard ground. "A little. Just because—it's a decent size city. A lot of people. A lot of—cleanup." Her nose crinkled. "It's gonna be a mess, and we're so few."

He toyed with the ends of her hair. "For now," he said. "Rae's been getting calls on her CB ever since we left Nebraska. That group that's right behind us—Stu's group—they're big. Way bigger than ours. Then there's another right behind them that's even bigger."

She nodded. "And there's always a chance we'll pick up a few more tomorrow. Stu said they started dreaming about Boulder the same night we left Hemingford Home."

"Good to know the CB isn't the only radio that's working," he said with a wry tilt to his brows.

She hid a yawn behind her hand. "We should sleep. Rae said something about dawn tomorrow."

He made a face. "You early risers. Masochists, all of you."

She grinned and kissed his nose. "I love you too, pretty boy." She reached across him and turned the lantern off. He groped for her in the dark and kissed her until they reluctantly pulled apart. They both wanted more, but a tent allows for very little privacy.

He tapped two fingers against the center of her chest, over her heart, and kissed her forehead. She did the same to him, and they curled up to sleep in the cozy nest of their sleeping bag.

Aug. 1
They were up at first light, and Rae already had coffee going on the fire. Breakfast was quick, eggs and leftover venison and Pop Tarts. They broke camp and loaded up and were on the road within two hours.

Barring any major snafus like the tunnel yesterday, they would be in Boulder before dark. Stu's group was only a few hours behind them now (Rae warned them about the tunnel, and they made up a lot of time by following the new route directly), and he vowed to get them through if he could.

They pushed hard, stopping less, and the roads were mostly clear. They were all counting down over the radio every time they saw a sign with the miles to Boulder. At 5 a cheer went up. When they reached the Welcome to Boulder sign, everyone honked their horns and waved out the windows like it was a parade.

They'd already decided to settle near the university. There would be stores there, higher-end homes (which might mean solar panels), and the school itself would have tons of resources and common areas where they could gather once more people started to arrive. Trips had hit during summer break, so there wouldn't be nearly as many students as during the year, and hopefully the ones who were there for summer school had had a chance to get the hell out before things got too bad.

Their first priority was finding Mother Abagail a house. They didn't want her to have to sleep in the back of Rae's truck another night. The streets surrounding the school were shaded with mature trees, and every house boasted a beautiful green lawn. The power was out, of course, and the whole place smelled like…well, death. But not as badly as even some small towns they'd been through on their way across the country.

"Dry climate?" Nick said. "Preserving rather than…" He trailed off with a grimace.

"Possibly," Kai said.

"Got one up here with solar," Rae said through the radio. "Small, one story. Might be good."

"Let's take a look," Mother Abagail said from the backseat. "I'm ready to get settled in! My joints hate all this travelin'."

"Yes, ma'am," Kai said. She sped up a little, and in another few blocks caught sight of Rae's truck. Tom waved them down, and she stopped the car and cut the engine.

"Rae and Brad went inside," Tom said. "They gotta check it out. Mother Abagail, if you move here can we put a tire swing in the yard like at your old house?"

She gave a dry chuckle. "If there's a tree for it then we sure can, Tommy."

He grinned and let out a little whoop. "Bonnie, she said yes! M-O-O-N, that spells tire swing!"

The front door opened and Rae stepped out on to the porch, Brad close behind her. She wore a big smile and gestured for them to join her.

Kai got out stiffly while Nick ran around to help Mother Abagail. The three of them, followed by Tom and Bonnie, made their way up the path and up the low steps to the porch.

"I think this is it, Mother," Rae said. "It's empty, clean, and even has safety bars in the bathroom. I'm gonna head up to the roof the check the panels while y'all look around inside."

"Never had a house so grand," she said as Nick helped her through the door. It was about twelve hundred square feet, two bedrooms, one bathroom, but the finishes were all topnotch and looked almost brand new.

"They must've just remodeled," Kai said. "Oh but look! They left the original bathroom tile!" It was pink with green trim, perfect for the era the house had been built.

"That's fine, that's fine. Never had no indoor toilet before, but I'll get used to it. Take me to the kitchen, Nick. Gotta see the icebox and the stove."

He and Kai shared an amused glance over her head, mostly because Kai would've said the exact same thing. They made their way down the short hall and around the corner into the kitchen. It, too, was recently redone, with marble countertops, custom cabinets (or so they looked), and high-end appliances. Kai let out a low whistle.

"Well. You'll be in high cotton."

"Won't I jus'," Mother Abagail said. "I don't even know what half these things do! What is this thing!?"

"An espresso maker," Kai said. "Fancy coffee."

She snorted. "Don't that beat all." Her expression turned thoughtful. "I do like coffee, though. I'm sure one of you young people can teach me how to use it.

There was an ear-splitting beep from the hallway, and Mother Abagail jumped so hard she would've fallen without Nick there to catch her. "What happened?" he said to Kai.

"I think Rae got the power on. The smoke detector beeped. It must be hard-wired."

His brows lifted and he pointed toward the stove. The digital clock there blinked 12:00 over and over. A few moments later there was a whoosh and they felt a rush of cool air from the wall vents. Kai raised her head and closed her eyes to bask in it, while Mother Abagail just looked vexed.

"I don't need that! I can just open a window!"

Nick patted her hand and led her to the recliner in the living room. She sat with a long, satisfied sigh.

Brad stuck his head in the door. "You want your rocker in here or on the porch, Mother?"

"The porch, darlin'. That's where a good rockin' chair goes."

He nodded and disappeared again. A few minutes later Rae appeared to tell them the solar panels were intact and obviously working.

"What do you think?" Kai said. "Is this the one?"

Mother Abagail rested both hands on her cane and looked around, her eyes keen and bright. After several long moments she gave a decisive nod. "It'll do jus' fine. Now y'all go on, find your own places. I'll be right here when you get back."

Rae frowned. "We can't just leave you here, Mother."

She snorted. "I been livin' alone the past thirty years, li'l girl. Don't you worry about me."

She cast Kai and Nick a frustrated look, but they just shrugged. Nick, for one, hated when people assumed he was incapable just because he couldn't hear, and he imagined Mother Abagail felt the same way about being coddled for her age. She hadn't needed coddling on the road; why would she need it here, in a shiny new house with electricity?

"All right," she said, conceding defeat. "Tom can bring you some water and something to nibble on, and I'll leave one of the radios if you need anything."

She nodded and banged her cane against the floor. "Go on, then. Get! Stu and them'll be here soon, and that's when the real work starts."

It wasn't quite dark when Rae knocked on the front door. Kai called for her to come in, and she pushed open the door with her hip because her arms were loaded with Little Debbies. "Hi!" she said. "Normally I would bake something, but I'm not settled in yet, so I did the next best thing. Happy housewarming!"

"Aw, thanks. You didn't have to bring anything."

"I had to stop by anyway, and it felt rude to come empty-handed. Is Nick around?"

"He's out back with Tom. They're trying to decide if the girls will live here with us, or with him."

Kai and Nick's house, a dark blue Craftsman with a deep front porch and a huge backyard, was about a five minute walk from Mother Abagail. Tom had chosen a place between the two. Their place had an expansive outdoor kitchen with a fridge, sink, huge grill, and (to Nick's delight) a pizza oven. The indoor kitchen wasn't half bad either.

The entire attic level had been transformed into a master suite with a huge closet and big bathroom with a soaker tub that Kai loved. Of course water wasn't running at the moment, but eventually she'd be able to enjoy it. In the meantime Nick had gotten the solar panels working and Kai was cleaning out the fridge.

So far every place the group had chosen was empty. It was…unnerving, to say the least. There was no way these places were student housing, or even professors. So why had everyone around the University of Colorado suddenly just head for the hills rather than dying at home like the other 95% of the country?

"Did you need him for something?" Kai said.

"Need all three of you, actually. Stu just radioed. They're right outside of town, on their way here now. I told them to stop at Mother Abagail's."

"Oh! So soon?"

"Yeah, he said they made good time. We cleared the road for them."

"I'll go grab the boys and we'll meet you down there. Don't wait; I'm still walking a little slow."

Rae grinned. "I don't mind it. Gives my short legs a chance to keep up."

"Kai, Kai, Kai!" Tom yelled as he ran in from the backyard. "Kai, guess what?! Brian just came on the walkie talkie and he said Stu's group's almost here! We gotta go say hey!"

Kai cast Rae a look, and her mouth quirked. "That's what I was just about to come outside and tell you. Did you bring Nick?"

He came strolling in, face creased in confusion, and pointed at Tom. "Stu's group's here," Kai said. "On the way to Mother Abagail's now."

His expression cleared as he nodded understanding. "Let's go! I want to see the dog."

Tom frowned. "You don't think he'll chase the gals, do you?"

"Nah," Rae said. "He sounds like a good dog. Besides, you and Nick are building them a house to keep them safe."

"That's true! We're gonna put it in Tom's yard, laws yes, because Tom doesn't want 'em wanderin' into the pizza oven!"

Kai glanced at Nick and he shrugged. "Big worry," he said. "Couldn't talk him out of it."

Tom chattered on about the ladies and their future chicken mansion as they wandered down the shady sidewalk toward Mother Abagail's. Rae offered to help, because she knew chicken coops, and Tom was more than happy to accept. He loved group projects.

When they were in sight of the house, he broke off and went running to find Bonnie. He had to tell her all about the gals, too. Nick caught Kai's hand in his and their pace slowed a little.

"Something wrong?" she said.

He shook his head. "Just—nervous, maybe. It was just us for so long, and now…all these people."

"I know," she said. "But we have our own place now. A real bed. A TV that gets static."

"Blue Rays and DVDs in the TV cabinet."

"There you go," she said with a grin. She nudged his shoulder with her own. "For when you get bored with the bed."

"Don't think that's gonna happen."

She started to reply, but the sound of motorcycle engines caught her attention. "Here they come," she said.

They sat on Mother Abagail's front steps to wait, and within a few minutes a long line of motorcycles, trucks, and SUVs filled the street. His group had grown since they'd last gotten a count from him over the CB.

A man and a woman dismounted from two bikes in the front. A dog barked and bounded from a sidecar, and Tom let out a whoop of glee. Kai held up a hand to stop him from running out into the street, and she and Nick rose to greet the newcomers.

Everyone was taking off helmets. As faces were revealed Kai paused. Touched Nick's arm and gave a tiny nod. Two of the people from her dream: the older woman, and the good-looking guy. That must be Stu.

Nick squeezed her hand and she squeezed back. Stu raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey there! Whooo it's good to see y'all!" He bounded up onto the sidewalk and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Stu Redman of Arnette, Texas."

"Hi, Stu," Kai said. Her voice didn't shake, and she was proud of that. She shook his hand. "I'm Kai d'Arnaud, Abilene, Louisiana. This is Nick Andros."

Nick handed Stu his sheet of paper, and he took a moment to read it before giving Nick a nod. "Good to see you, Nick. Rae mentioned both of y'all on the radio."

He waved to the small cluster of people waiting behind him. "This here's Fran Goldsmith from Ogunquit, Maine, and Harold Lauder. They knew each other before. And the fossil's Glen Bateman. And the dog is Kojak."

Hearing his name, the animal in question barked and ran to sniff their shoes. Kai offered him her hand. He sniffed it, then gave it a big lick that made her laugh.
"It's so nice to see a dog!" she said.

"First one you've seen since?" Glen said.

Kai and Nick both nodded. "Surely there are more out there. If Kojak survived, others did too."

"Let's hope," Fran said. "I'd love to find him a girlfriend and have some puppies." She signed as she spoke, and Nick gave her a surprised look. "My little brother was deaf," she said. "My ASL isn't great, but maybe you can help me when I stumble."

He gave an enthusiastic nod and grinned in a way Fran couldn't help but return. Kai smirked; good to know she wasn't the only one susceptible to that grin.

"Come on," she said. "I know Rae's dying to meet you, and of course y'all want to see Mother Abagail."

She gestured for them to precede her and when the boy, Harold, passed by her he offered a wide, friendly smile with a bright flash of teeth. Something about that smile chilled her. It didn't seem to quite reach his eyes, like it was a mask he put on and took off as it suited him.

She shivered. That was stupid. He was just a kid, maybe eighteen at most. He'd been through hell in the past few months, like they all had, and if his smile was a little weird and strained, who could blame him? What kind of basket case would she have been going through the apocalypse at his age?

Nick cast a questioning look over his shoulder, and she shook off the moment of strangeness. They had to get all these new people introduced to Mother Abagail and settled in. Then, as she'd said that afternoon, the real work would begin.

Aug. 2-13
After that groups started arriving fast. There was still a person missing from Kai's dream, the young Black guy, but he hadn't shown up yet. Kai kept her eyes open for him, and she'd described him in detail to Nick and Rae. She hadn't told Stu and the others about the dream yet; she figured Nick had been right when he said not to lead with it.

They spent their first week in Boulder setting up basic needs: cleaning out some houses; setting up a food, water, and other basic supplies pantry; and designing welcome sessions that met twice a day to familiarize newcomers with the community they were trying to build.

They'd agreed to keep settlement limited to the neighborhoods directly around the university. Brad had started a cleaning committee that was dealing with some of the bodies—but Boulder was surprisingly, hauntingly empty. Relatively speaking. There were still plenty of dead to take care of.

Susan Stern, one of Stu's group, was leading the team out at the power plant, trying to get the power back on. A lot of the houses had solar panels, but not all of them, and there were streetlights and businesses that needed electricity. So did the water treatment facility, and running water was at the top of everyone's "must have" list. No one (except maybe Mother Abagail) was pleased with the outhouse situation.

She and Nick were getting their house the way they wanted it, adding art and other do-dads to personalize the space. The couple who had lived there pre-flu had apparently been childless, but they had great taste. Kai was about the same size as the woman, and she'd gotten over the morbidity of raiding her closet early on.

Middle of the second week or so, Kai stopped in at Mother Abagail's and Rae handed her a small stack of paper. "Post these around town. We're having a meeting."

She glanced down it and frowned. Looked back up at Rae, eyes wide.

She shrugged. "Straight from Mother Abagail. I found an old mimeograph machine under City Hall. Hand-cranked! They don't shit like that any more." She paused. Gauged Kai's expression. "You should probably talk to Nick about it before he sees one on a telephone pole."

"Yeah," she said. "I think I'll do that. Tell her I said hi. Oh, and—could you invite everyone on the list over to our place for dinner? I think we need a meeting before…we're official. Let's say seven?"

"Good idea. I'll gather them like wayward sheep."

The two women shared a wave, and Kai hurried outside to her bike and headed home. Nick would flip when he saw this. She really hoped she got to him first. He'd been at the pantry today, but he'd said he'd probably be home early since they weren't expecting any new groups until tomorrow.

His bike was in the garage. Good. She went in through the kitchen; he stood at the counter peeling an orange, and he glanced over at her with a welcoming smile.

"Hey, this is a surprise," he said and leaned over to kiss her. "I thought you were going to Mom A's."

"Hey," she said as she returned his kiss. "Have you seen these? Rae found an old hand-cranked mimeograph machine down in the City Hall basement and got it working. Why the fuck did they still have a relic like that?"

He shrugged and took the paper from her. "I guess it's good for us they did. Hey, our names are on this," he said, his brows drawing together as he read it. "Boulder Free Zone Committee. Kai, what the fuck is this?"

She boosted herself up onto the kitchen counter next to where he leaned against it. "Apparently these are the names Mother Abagail selected to…run this place. At least for now."

"I don't understand. She wants us to be in charge? Who's Larry Underwood?"

"I don't think he's here yet. The name, though…you don't think he's the same Larry Underwood who sings that song?"

He gave her a look. "I don't really know songs, Kai."

"Sorry," she said, and flushed. "There was this song that was popular before everything went down. People were calling it the song of the summer and shit like that. I think the guy's name was Larry Underwood, but I might be wrong. That would be a sort of strange coincidence if it were."

His mouth quirked. "We couldn't've lucked out and gotten Bill Murray like in Zombieland, huh?"

"Not that kind of apocalypse, babe." She rested her chin on his shoulder as she scanned it again. "Not any big surprises, really, except Larry. But only since we haven't met him yet. Stu, Fran, Rae, Glen, Susan Stern—good choice; I like her, and she's working hard on the power—and us."

"No Harold," he said.

Her expression clouded. "Is that a problem?"

He hitched a shoulder. "No, I guess not. Just—he came in with Frannie, Stu, Susan, and Glen. Weird that the four of them are listed, but not him."

"He's probably not going to like that."

He cast her a look. "You don't like him very much, do you?"

She frowned. "I don't know. He seems—perfectly pleasant. And no denying he has good ideas. Just…" She pushed herself off the counter in a restless motion and propped against the island opposite him. "Something about him feels…wrong." Her nose scrunched. "Maybe that's too strong a word."

"Your instincts are usually good," he said. She'd noticed something off about Julie right away, when it had taken Nick time to reach the same conclusion. But then maybe he was just distracted by boobs.

"He's young," she said. "He feels like he has a lot to prove. Maybe that's all it is, and once things settle down around here, he'll find his place and settle in."

He waved the list. "This won't help with that."

"No, but maybe the only reason she left him off is because of his age. He's, what, seventeen? Sixteen?" She flicked her fingers. "I wouldn't have wanted to be in charge of anything when I was that age."

"I don't want to be in charge now," he said with a grimace. "Why us? And doesn't this seem like an unfair concentration of power? Seven of the eight people on this list came from two different groups."

She lifted a brow. "I'm sure you could decline, love. She won't force you into it."

"No, she won't." He let out a sigh and handed her back the sheet. "But it's what she wants, and we're here…because of her. Because we've agreed to follow her. I'm not sure it's right to pick and choose which parts we follow. Especially not something like this."

He waved a hand to stop her before she could reply. "I'm not saying blind obedience. Use our own sense and morality. But this doesn't seem like one of those times."

"I agree," she said.

"So you're going to do it too?"

Her lips curved. "We're in this together, bud. You jump, I jump."

"What if I'd said no?"

"We would've talked about it until we reached a decision we were both comfortable with. Maybe that meant no, maybe it meant yes, maybe it meant…we'll serve temporarily until a more permanent government solution is reached."

"Aren't you the diplomat," he said. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her to him for a kiss. "It's hot."

"You're hot," she said. "But before you get too excited, I should tell you—I invited everyone over for dinner tonight."

"Everyone?"

She nodded toward the paper. "Minus the mysterious Mr. Underwood. I thought we could fire up the pizza oven."

His good eye brightened. "I like that idea. What time will they be here?"

"Seven." She glanced at his watch. It was barely three. Her mouth curved in a teasing smirk. "We have some time."

"Good, because the more I think about you as President d'Arnaud, the hotter it gets."

She laughed. "No one's president, you goof."

His eye took on a faraway look. "In my head right now, you are definitely president. You're wearing…a suit…oh but wow underneath your skirt you have on stockings and a garter?!"

She shoved his shoulder a little, but he flashed an unrepentant grin. "And when you unbutton your blouse you're wearing…whew, that's quite a risqué bra, Madame President!"

"And why am I, the president of the Boulder Free Zone, unbuttoning my blouse?"

"Because you're about to fuck me in your office, obviously."

"Ohh." She tugged his beard until he dipped his head to kiss her. "Are you the First Gentleman of the Boulder Free Zone in this scenario?"

"No. Other ones, yeah, but not this one. In this one I'm the First Boy Toy."

She bit her lip and eyed him up and down. "I guess you're saying you want me to take you upstairs and play with you?"

"Doesn't have to be upstairs. But yes. Please."

"I think I can do that. Welcome to the new Oval Office, Mr. Andros."

Now we resume our regularly scheduled fic, and the next chapter should make a little more sense in context!