Chapter Text
The world in the past had been a place governed by a few people and money. At least that was according to what uncle Tommy and grandpa Robin had said. The accounts of mama Ellie, mom Dina and auntie Abby had been a little bit different, but then again neither his moms nor auntie had ever lived in that world so what they told him had been according to what they had heard from others. They told either of the wonders of space navigation, the different creeds and foods, the advancement of science and literature, among other things. That world did not sound so terrible but that was not the world JJ, his wife Adya or even their little Madhuri knew. There were still areas full of infected that no one wanted to go to. There were some very violent areas still but they kept receiving reports that more and more areas like Jackson existed.
One day, many months after JJ released his work and started distributing it in exchange for materials and goods for him and the city, a woman arrived in Jackson. Adya came to tell him that this woman had come to see him. It was the day Lev and Roosa had come to visit so he asked them if receiving another guest was fine. Roosa and Lev said it was fine for them, they were such a calm and easy going couple, of course it was fine with them. When the woman entered JJ had no idea who she was but Lev ran to her and stopped just in front of her. She just observed him and tilted her head.
“Lev?” wondered the woman
“Grace?” Lev sounded incredulous
She smiled and hugged him. He was tense but then he hugged her too. JJ almost fell backwards, that was Grace? She looked… old… well, what was he expecting? Lev introduced Grace to Roosa, Adya, Madhuri and JJ.
“My moms used to talk about you” mentioned JJ as he shook hands with Grace
“I didn’t know about you but then again I didn’t know many things. I really did believe that Ellie and Abby were a couple. Didn’t know it was all pretense” confessed Grace, “Jesse Joel… to think they named you after your dad and that man that linked those two in such a weird way… I had no idea they had such a convoluted story”
“Well, if you read my book…” started JJ
“I have read it, that is why I am here” said Grace “can’t believe those girls survived and had that grandiose idea of saving the world and shit, and that they managed even to do that. Going back to the theme of your moms and their relationship, they did end up getting involved so Bob and I weren’t wrong”
“No, I guess in the end they did get involved, I wanted to honor them with this book so I think this is an important part that I did not want to hide” admitted JJ
“You sure did. I gotta tell you I regret not coming sooner but then again I guess it’s for the best” mentioned Grace
“Yeah” added Lev “it’s a pity you didn’t see them anymore”
“So, are you going to show me their graves or not?” asked Grace looking at Lev
“Sure, Roosa I will show them to Grace, is that fine with you?” mused Lev
“Go ahead, I will stay with my favorite girls here, you sure have a lot to catch up and we do too” admitted Roosa
“True” added Adya “hey JJ, why don’t you go too?”
“Are you ok with that?” asked JJ to Adya and Madhuri
“I’m fine, papa go, I’ll stay with auntie and mama” mentioned the little Madhuri
JJ doubted for some seconds, Roosa had the tendency to pamper Madhuri a lot but he had to learn to not be so overprotective, Adya was there after all. So he kissed Adya and then gave a kiss to Madhuri in the head.
“Be nice, ok?” asked JJ
Madhuri pointed at herself.
“Madhuri is nice” said the little girl while holding her dino teddy and pretending to be innocent.
She looked just like Dina did when she was planning mischief. JJ sighed and left them.
While they walked Grace told them about how she got there, Lev mentioned about how he met Roosa and other things and then reached the cemetery. Grace picked up a flower on the way there and put it in their graves. Grace sighed.
“How did you decide the order?” asked Grace
“It was their sleeping arrangement” admitted JJ, he continued when Grace looked at him weirdly “Mama Ellie to the right, Abby in the middle and mom Dina on the left. I woke them up a couple of times and they were like this always”
“Interesting, well, I gotta say, they sure had interesting lives” mentioned Grace
“They sure did” agreed JJ
“Is it true they asked to be cremated?” asked Grace
“Yes” replied Lev
“Why?”asked Grace
“Well, mom Dina said in this way no one would come and dig mama Ellie out and experiment on her or something like that, if all three were cremated then no one could come here and do that” confessed Lev “that had always been the wish of the three of them, so we did that”
“Creepy thoughts but I guess possible” admitted Grace
“People have already come, wanting to dig up graves, someone even managed but left it open as they found it was truly only ash what remained” added Lev
“We had to bury them again, only our mother have to be buried twice, you see” mentioned JJ, smiling slightly
“And that over there… is that?” started Grace
“Grandpa Joel” confessed JJ going to that grave, “he rests here”
“I really found it so… incredible they managed to forgive each other after what Abby did, she put him here” confessed Grace, “but I had no doubts Abby and Ellie liked each other, the tension was incredible”
“It was strange for me to see that too” admitted Lev, “but in the end… they were not that different, Joel, Abby, Ellie…”
“That’s what mom Dina always said, that there were similarities, that had things been different maybe Abby would have even gotten along with him… they both would have done anything to keep mama Ellie safe, that is for sure” commented JJ, “Mom Dina and auntie Abby, they would stop at nothing to keep mama Ellie safe”
JJ looked elsewhere, suddenly lost in memories of his mothers.
“Well, I just wanted to pay my respects. Thanks to them I founded a town and when the vaccine reached us we couldn’t believe our luck” commented Grace
“You did?” smiled Lev
“Yeah, you really thought I was going to stay there all on my own, didn’t you? I thought so too... but people started to arrive already two days after you left. I almost kicked them out but it was just a mom and her little son, I couldn’t do it. Then more arrived and next thing I know I am a major or some shit like that. Never planned on doing that with my life, just wanted to live alone but I guess that didn’t happen” recounted Grace
“Luckily” mentioned Lev
“Yeah, maybe” admitted Grace
“You should stay, at least one night” suggested JJ
“I don’t know” said Grace
“Just today” insisted JJ
Grace agreed and they went back to JJ’s and the family welcomed her.
JJ had finally put his book out there, all handmade so there were few copies but maybe others would make copies of those or maybe he would release others in the future. He was excited that he had finally done it and people would finally know how brave his mama Ellie, his mom Dina and auntie Abby were. He would sure miss them but life continued and it seemed his adventures were only starting. Now that Grace was here he could interview her and maybe detail more about her life for his next book. He managed to convince her to stay for a week and after a few days he did convince her to tell her more about her story. He was happy to know there was another town who was full of decent people, it gave him hope and it made his mother’s work so much more meaningful.
After Grace had already left he went to Lev and told him maybe it was time again. Lev sighed but said that he imagined so. So they got ready, took a lot of seeds that they had been saving and a couple of books and got ready. Samantha, the new leader of Jackson knew that once a year they would go to their former farm and stay there for some days, as a way to commemorate their mothers. Only Lev and JJ would go and their families understood why so they let them go. They went and reached the farm and saw that no one had occupied it yet, neither of them wanted to take it. JJ had plans of turning into a museum, maybe in the future people would travel miles to get to know the place. They stayed there just some minutes and then continued their journey. But they kept checking that they were not followed. They kept erasing their tracks and trying to see that no one was behind them. This was something that always unnerved both a little but they had to be sure. Completely sure.
Finally they reached an old abandoned area, a place that must have been some sort of museum with a greenhouse years ago but was now mostly hidden with vegetation and one could literally not see from afar. They checked once again that no one had followed them and then went in.
They had walked for an hour when they felt as guns were pointed to them and sighted.
“It’s just us” said Lev, extremely bored of this
“Sure?”
“Sure” said JJ, actually smiling
“You never know”
“Seriously, this joke is not even fun anymore, mama” complained JJ
“Then why are you laughing?” said Ellie as she hugged him
“Because I am glad to see you, why else?” confessed JJ
“You love my jokes, you just like to pretend you don’t” quipped Ellie “now come, we have been waiting”
They went further in until they reached the area of the old greenhouse.
“Oh, they finally decided to come, I thought they have already forgotten about us” complained Abby
“We received an unusual visit” said JJ and hugged Abby
“Grace” added Lev as he went to hug Abby
Dina came out from the kitchen and went to hug JJ and Lev while Abby and Ellie stared at their visitors in surprise.
“What happened?” asked Dina
“They saw Grace” answered Ellie
“Really? You have to tell us this story but first sit to eat and drink” proposed Dina and went to hug her kids once more
JJ and Lev told them what had happened with Grace and the three women were surprised and relieved to know that she had survived and had not remained alone.
“So that’s the reason you took longer to come” said Abby “it’s a good reason, I give you that”
“I had to get her side of the story, so next edition of my book will include her account, maybe I write another book about her town” mentioned JJ excited
“You have to get her permission first” noted Dina
“She said it was fine, as long as I don’t really point exactly where it is” shrugged JJ
“Are you sure?” asked Ellie “she seemed like a very reserved person”
“She is different, she even hugged me” admitted Lev, still surprised
“I am glad” said Ellie
“Me too, but I will be happier when you show us pictures of Madhuri, she must have grown so much” commented Dina
JJ took the books, seeds and pictures and gave them to them. They talked a while about how Adya, Madhuri and Roosa were doing, and the three of them listened carefully and happily to what JJ and Lev had to say about their respective families and lives.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t see them ourselves” sighed Dina at some point in the conversation
“Yeah, I am sorry I made you do this” said Ellie, looking down
“I didn’t mean it like that. Don’t be sad, we all agreed” Dina reminded Ellie
“Yeah, I don’t regret this idea, pretending we died was the best shot we got after we received that report that the guys in Tampico were still after you and the Fireflies found out I was in Jackson” recounted Abby
Ellie looked at Abby and they could all see she was still sorry about the situation. A group of Fireflies had attacked Jackson years ago and they found notes in the bodies of the deceased Fireflies that indicated they were after Abby, that they knew Abby was probably in contact with Ellie. Ellie had initially planned to disappear, just her alone in the woods and Abby said she should also disappear or something but Dina had decided on this plan, pretending they all died, all three of them. They found the abandoned place some time later and decided to make it work, there was a water well and there was a place inside where to make hydroponic cultivation and an orchard for traditional cultivation. They cleaned it well and prepared it for them. They also set several traps in case people would come but only Lev and JJ knew about these. Lev decided to stay in Jackson, for some reason people were not as interested in him as they were in Abby, perhaps because she had been a Firefly for a longer time, they didn’t know but in any case if things became worse he would also join them here at some point.
After they had decided this plan and let JJ and Lev know both JJ and Lev had disagreed but in time came to see this might be the only way. So eventually they set a date and they pretended they were attacked. They grabbed the bodies of three infected that they had recently eliminated and burned till nothing but ash remained and started the whole charade with Lev and JJ. It had worked because JJ and Lev had played their parts very well and the people at Jackson believed them. So Lev and JJ took the ash and put them in the cemetery in Jackson and pretended to be in mourning for months. It wasn’t nice lying to their families but it was just to keep their mothers safe.
“I know, still” complained Ellie
“Hey, it is fine, I am glad we can all stay together, the three of us” insisted Dina
“Me too, I feel very happy despite the circumstances, as long as I have the two of you, I think I can make it” admitted Abby
“Oh, aren’t we all sappy here?” teased Ellie
“Aren’t we all immature here?” replied Abby
“You know very well I never grew up past the year of 20” joked Ellie
“Keep telling you that, soon you will be saying youth is inside or some shit” teased Abby
“I actually think that is true, I still feel quite young” noted Dina
“Well, you are not even 60 yet so, I guess you are” admitted Abby
“Yeah, I am only in my 40s, so I guess I am young” mentioned Dina and shrugged
“That was part of the reason your death story was strange and also very tragic for all” admitted Lev
“I thought that they would not believe us” said JJ “luckily they did”
“Oh, our youth and beauty almost condemned us” added Dina pretending to be tragic
Abby and Ellie laughed. Lev and JJ looked at each other and shrugged. This might not be the best place, although it was beautiful looking with the dedication that Abby and Dina had put to it in regards to make it function, while Ellie had dedicated the time to decorate it with pictures and make it a home with her music and paintings and - although no one would ever say this out loud - her jokes. Lev and JJ knew if there was one thing that was important for their mothers it was to have a say in whatever path they might want to take. Despite this, it was still hard to accept they could only see them this seldom and that they would never see Madhuri grow, at least not while the Fireflies and the others were searching for them. This might not have been what either Lev or JJ had planned for their mothers but they were aware that even in these conditions the three of them were happy and it had been their choice. This unusual thing they had rebuilt, in all of its quirkiness and strangeness, this was their home.