Promises (or lack thereof) - Pt. 13/25
Challenge: love_bingo
Rating: PG to PG-13
Words: 533
Prompt: LG3 - Keeping the Spark Alive
Warnings: Nothing too explicit but will warn for violence/implied torture in a couple of the later parts (I'll post a specific warning on those posts). Everything in the series and comics is fair game, so spoilers ahoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with, CBS or Jericho or...whoever else may actually own this show. I just like to take the characters out to play. I put them back, mostly unharmed...although not always...this is for fun, not profit and no copyright infringement is intended.
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Days passed at a crawl. Turned into weeks that seemed endless.
All communications abruptly ended. The TVs lost their signals; cell phones stopped working. The ASA soldiers still in the area abruptly departed, and Heather wondered if they, too, had left women and men like her behind: desperately in love and not knowing when or if their lovers would return.
Dale's crew continued to bring back rumors, each one more frightening and devastating than the last. Rumors of deadly bombardments, entire cities blown off the map, conventional warfare of an unprecedented level with rumors of a nuclear strike or two. No one knew for sure - only that there were no more supplies, no more power, no more information. It was eerily similar to the immediate aftermath of the September Attacks - only this time they were better prepared.
It was probably inevitable that everyone in Jericho, and the towns and cities who had allied with them, looked to Jake and Hawkins for answers. It was definitely inevitable that they would go and find them.
Heather wanted to know what had happened in the east and in Cheyenne, but more than anything else she hoped they'd be back with news about Beck - and that the news would be good. She refused to give up the spark of hope in her heart, not until she had no choice but accept that he was dead.
So she tried to keep her focus narrow now: day-to-day survival, Jericho's security, and the sense of comfort wearing Beck's t-shirt at night gave her. To think about the magnitude of what might have happened again made her mind quiver, like an over-stretched rubber band. It was why sending these men to search for answers was so important.
The truth would be devastating, but it would still be better than the uncertainty they were living with now.
Heather stood with the Greens, and the Hawkins, and Mimi as they watched Jake and Hawkins, Eric and Stanley load up a humvee to head east. No one was happy with their decision to head into the heart of the storm to get the answers Jericho and the entire area desperately needed. No one was surprised, either. Heather didn't ask for details, but she assumed no one had seriously tried to convince them that they shouldn't go. The need for information was stronger than than the need to keep them here.
Jericho had the Rangers now, and the troops Beck had left behind and Heather had helped to hide from the eyes of the ASA, as well as the many hidey-holes they'd built in case of attack. They also had a stockpile of supplies and ammunition, with many people actively looking for more. Dale's connections to the black market were strong and reached into almost all corners of the west, with secondary networks into the east.
Jericho would be safe - or as safe as could be expected - until this small expedition Jake was leading could return.
Heather stood apart as the families said good-bye, and she turned to hide her tears as Stanley gently kissed his baby boy good-bye before kissing Mimi.
And then they were gone.
Part 12 Part 14