Twilight brought a strange feeling of calm on the evening of Jericho's liberation.
It began as a whisper, and spread from street to street, field to field. All of the town's inhabitants felt it, though most did not dare to breathe out loud what they were thinking. Feeling. Hoping.
The stillness in the air was fragile. Like a beach after a storm, the atmosphere was one of restless peace. They had survived the worst, it seemed, but their hold on each moment was so tenuous, it seemed much too early to celebrate. All the people who had lived through the ASA occupation, the threat from New Bern, and the new world they had faced after the bombs knew that all they could do now was breathe in the stillness.
The last rays of sun were stretching low across the sky as Stanley Richmond and Mimi Clark stood on the hilltop. The sky behind her was alight with a brilliant wash of crimson and violet, but Stanley could only stare into her face. The breeze blew dandelion wisps around them and her eyes were blurred with tears, but Mimi could only smile at him as she took his hand.
Gray Anderson leaned back in his chair, surveying his office with a satisfied sigh. After reclaiming the flag pole, he'd enlisted Jimmy, Bill, and Emily to help him tidy the mess Beck's men had left in town hall. He knew the rebuilding they had ahead of them would require their tireless efforts, but for now, he was pleased with the tiny bit of order they had restored in the world. He turned as he heard a knock at the door.
“Come in,” he said, surprised to see Gail Green hesitating in the doorway.
He hastily pulled his feet down from the desk. She didn't seem to notice at all. She came inside, a small smile on her face as she looked around the room.
“Looks almost like nothing ever happened from here, doesn't it?” she asked softly.
He considered her words for a moment before answering quietly, “Almost.”
Her hand brushed across a picture frame on the desk. Somehow, he hadn't had the heart to remove it. “He'd be proud,” she said.
He nodded silently.
In the darkness of his jail cell, Dale Turner sat with his head in his hands. He almost didn't hear the footsteps approaching – they were lighter than the guards' – but he knew it was her even before she came into focus amidst the hazy light streaming through the bars.
“Everything's going to be alright!” She slipped her hands between the bars, resting them lightly on top of his, as was their custom. Her fingers were warm against his, almost as though her excitement were radiating through them.
Her words didn't make sense. Nothing had been alright for some time, but she seemed so sure and jubilant, he could only sputter, “How?”
She leaned her head against the cool iron, whispering quickly of the events that had transpired that day as the townspeople had defied Beck for the last time. He caught her excitement as quickly as he'd recognized her footsteps. As she finished, he bent down to kiss her fingers through the bars which still separated them.
“You know, there's only one thing left to do,” she said, entwining what she could of his hands in her own. He raised his eyebrows. “We have to get you out of here.”
The yellow and green flag fluttered in the breeze, silhouetted against the sunset. On the street below, Eric Green and Mary Bailey stood, staring up at the snake and the strong, defiant words. 'Don't Tread On Me.'
Every breath he'd taken since he'd seen that flag flying above all the destruction had felt wonderful to Eric. Not since his father's death had he felt his presence so closely as he did today. Not since before the bombs had he felt such hopeful anticipation for the days to come. He felt her hand on his shoulder, and wrapped his arm around her, feeling the safety he always felt with her by his side. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he felt her sigh against him.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
She leaned in silence for a few moments before answering quietly, “I just feel bad.”
He pulled his head away to raise his eyebrows. “I just feel bad that she didn't get to see this,” Mary said.
He said nothing, but held her hand in his. He was thinking the same thing.
As Heather Lisinski stepped out the side entrance of Town Hall, she wasn't looking at the sky. She didn't even notice the restless feeling that had infected the rest of the town. Her mind was on other things and she felt a queasy, uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She almost didn't notice Emily Sullivan, until her friend stepped into her path, nearly bumping into her.
“Heather! Escaped from the Major's clutches, I see,” said Emily, surveying her fellow schoolteacher.
Heather froze momentarily and stared, her eyes wide, but she managed to let out a laugh as she absently tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, good thing I took that job, I guess. Earned some brownie points in case of arrest.”
If Emily's first words had surprised her, Emily's reaction at her own words really shocked her. Emily's whole face broke out in a grin, and she quickly seized Heather in a hug that left her gasping for air.
“I'm so glad! I wouldn't want anything to happen to my best friend!” Emily exclaimed.
Another day, Heather might have been moved by this display of affection. She'd felt like she'd been alone, coping with her experiences by herself, since she'd come back from New Bern. Today she had other matters occupying her mind. “I'm glad too,” she said. After a moment's hesitation, she asked with a pained expression, “Where's Jake?”
Emily was still smiling as she exclaimed brightly, “I have no idea!”
They stood in silence another moment before Emily added, “I guess maybe I should find out.” After grabbing Heather in another bone-crunching hug, she spun around and flounced away.
Heather rubbed her side as she watched the blond retreat. The feeling in the pit of her stomach was worse than ever.
On the hilltop, in the presence of their loved ones, Stanley and Mimi were locked in a tight embrace. Over three days, each had seen their world nearly come to an end. Now, they were ecstatic to be holding everything they had left in their arms. When they pulled apart, when their kiss ended, they stood facing each other, their hands interlocked in the space between them.
“I love you,” breathed Stanley.
“I love you,” echoed Mimi. “Whatever happens, whatever comes and whatever goes.”
Both turned to look down at the mound of earth in which they'd laid his sister to rest. Fresh tears stung Mimi's cheeks. “It isn't fair you're not here,” she said. “And I will always regret what happened.”
Stanley slipped an arm across her shoulders, speaking, though he had a lump in his throat. “I'll always miss you, and wish you were with us. Wish I'd seen you live your life the way you wanted to. But I'm so proud of you. You lived up to our family legacy, and showed me you were capable of so much more than I ever expected from you. I love you.”
“Thank you,” signed Mimi. Each signed their last goodbye, and with their arms linked, they began to walk down the hill.
Stanley could hear her sniffling beside him. It went against all her training, he knew, to lose control like this, but they had both abandoned their training a lot these past few months. “Hey, Mimi, I know it's hard,” he began. “I hate this too. But she died to protect something greater than herself. It's what she wanted, what we are all born to do.”
“I should have protected her, and I should have protected the secret. That was my job,” said Mimi.
“She loved you too, you know, and we are all in this together. For better or worse.” He grinned through his own tears.
“I guess...I guess we have to carry on with the mission, without her. Make sure she didn't die for nothing,” said Mimi.
He nodded, stopping. She stopped too. He put a hand to her cheek, and wiped a stray tear with his thumb. “She's left us a legacy now. It's up to us to carry on, keep doing what we do. Together.”
She smiled. “We will. Together.”
The solemnity of the moment was broken suddenly by Emily Sullivan's voice, calling across the field. “Stanley! Mimi! Isn't it a wonderful night?”
They both looked over at her, wondering how she had gotten this close with neither of them noticing. Mimi shook her head. Her reflexes had been off ever since the surgery. Stanley was slightly annoyed that his ruminations on his family secret and the woman who had agreed, once again, to stick by him, had been interrupted. He merely nodded at Emily. “Not bad, I guess.”
Emily had been grinning as she ambled through the grasses, but as she looked at the couple standing in a defensive pose, awe-inspiring despite her arm in a sling and his dirt-smudged shirt, her face fell.
“Have you seen Jake?” she asked in a barely civil tone, folding her arms across her chest.
“Can't say I have,” countered Stanley, wanting to get back to check on the barn, and to get back to staring at the woman he'd almost lost instead of the girl who'd once thrown a mud pie at him on the playground.
Mimi shook her head again, hoping the blond would take the hint and take off. Her mind was already racing through strategies and next steps she would take on her mission, and she couldn't wait to be alone with her love again.
Emily scowled. “No one has.” With that, she turned and stormed away.
The couple watched her go with matching looks of puzzlement, before turning and shrugging to each other.
“Now where were we?” asked Stanley.
“Going back to work. Together,” said Mimi. An intense look passed between them. He smiled and gave a nod of his head. She raised her eyebrows and stepped closer to him.
They linked arms, and walked together down the path and into the sunset.
Eric and Mary were silhouetted now as they stood, their arms entwined, in the waning light. They were silent, alternately looking up and turning, catching glimpses of each other. He was thinking how beautiful her hair looked as it caught the last shimmers of copper light. She was thinking of how close she'd come to losing him - again - and how glad she felt that she wasn't going home without him. These thoughts flew out of their heads as they heard a shout nearby.
“They're gone!”
They turned to see the speaker, an ASA soldier, sprawled in the doorway of Town Hall. He was covered in a strange, slimy green substance and his shoelaces seemed to be tied together. Since there was no one else around, he addressed the couple standing on the lawn.
“Those kids! I let the girl in, again, to visit her boyfriend in jail, and next thing I know, she's stolen my keys, let him out, and they're both running down the hall!”
Eric and Mary raised their eyebrows in surprise, and as Mary tried to hide a grin, Eric spoke quickly. “How'd she get the keys away?”
The soldier was struggling to stand up, his feet still stuck together. “I don't know. She offered me a piece of homemade fudge, and we were talking, she set off a firecracker, and she was gone.”
It was Eric's turn to hide a grin and Mary spoke up. “And you didn't try to stop them?”
“I did try,” he said, a beleaguered expression on his face. “She'd tied my shoelaces together. And I tried to run anyway, but someone had covered the floor in this stuff.” He rubbed his hand across his knee, and held it up. The green liquid dripped off it. He gave it a sniff. “Laundry soap. Meadow fresh.”
At this, Mary and Eric burst into laughter. “Meadow fresh,” repeated Eric, laughing more at the soldier's look of dismay. “Look!” exclaimed Mary, grabbing his arm.
All three of them craned their necks to look up at the roof. Hanging down from above, flapping in the wind, was what seemed to be a golf shirt – the baby blue of the J&R uniform. Emblazoned across the makeshift flag, in bright green, were the letters “DD”.
“What's DD?” asked the soldier.
“You haven't heard of them?” asked Eric. “How long have you been here?”
Mary, still smiling, leaned against him. “It's nice to know some things still haven't changed,” she murmured.
He leaned his forehead against hers, grinning, but he became serious again.
“You're thinking about her?” Mary asked.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “It's just too bad she missed this.”
Mary sighed against him, but then leaned back to shake her head. “I know, but we should just be glad she's safe. And the baby.”
He took her hand in his. “True,” he agreed.
“What do you say we go check on them now?” she asked.
He nodded. “We have a lot to tell them.”
With one more glance up at the flag, they hastily walked across the street and vanished. The soldier continued to look at the golf shirt hanging from the roof. “DD?” he asked himself.
Gray stood to look out the window. “I can't believe this town is still standing. After all it's been through.”
Gail came to stand beside him, surveying the street below too. “We've got a lot to be thankful for.”
He nodded. “I wish I'd come home sooner. I had no idea.”
“Hey,” she patted his arm, letting her hand rest there for a moment longer than either of them expected. “What matters is that you came. When we needed you.”
He turned to look at her. She looked up at him, a smile in those familiar eyes of hers. He felt a strange sensation within him, as though, for the first time since coming back to this bizarre place that had been his town, something was right. He quickly looked out the window again. “I really love our town. I'd do anything I could to protect what we have here.”
“I know,” she said. “And so would I.”
He glanced at her again. “I know,” he whispered. He reached with a trembling hand and laid the heel of his palm against her cheek. Staring up at him, she reached her hand up and held it against his, steadying his whole arm with her touch.
“So what do you want to do now?” Jimmy asked, turning to his friend.
Bill sighed. Jimmy was always looking to him. The two deputies were walking up Main Street. They waved as Eric and Mary dashed by them, breathlessly returning the wave but not stopping to chat.
“On their way back to domestic bliss, I guess,” said Bill with a chuckle.
“Hey, think you're ever going to, you know...” Jimmy asked, nudging Bill.
“Me?” asked Bill incredulously.
“I'm just saying, things are finally calming down, there's food and light, and tv. Maybe you're going to start thinking about settling down soon.”
Bill laughed at his friend's earnest suggestions. “Nah, this lone wolf's not ready to settle yet. Not when I've got so many -”
He nearly bumped into Heather as she was exiting the pharmacy. “Oh, excuse me,” she sputtered, quickly shoving the paper bag in her hand behind her back as Jimmy beamed, “Hi Heather!”
“Checked out the pharmacy's grand re-opening, huh?” asked Bill with a suave smile. “Any good deals?”
“Yeah. I mean, it's good to see we have toothpaste again. For now,” she said with a giggle, her cheeks turning pink.
“Yeah,” said Bill, suddenly uncomfortable and not sure what to say next. He glanced at Jimmy, who was still smiling like a jack o' lantern. “Well, I guess we'll see you around, huh?”
“Yeah,” said Heather quietly.
Jimmy waved and Bill gave a nod before they continued walking up Main Street.
Finding herself finally alone, Heather let out a deep breath. She began walking, waiting until she had turned onto a side street before she looked down at the bag she'd gotten from the pharmacy. The thought of the pregnancy test inside it was only one of many thoughts swirling around in her head, making her dizzy. The one that seemed to be dominating, repeating over and over, was one sentence, one wish.
As she paused in the doorway of her house, she looked down her street. She wasn't thinking about the last swatches of orange and red she could see in the sky, through the houses, or the emptiness of the street now that the army had gone. Clutching the paper bag in one hand and the door frame in her other, she thought to herself, I wish I'd been more careful.