Apocalypse Wow, Pt. 18

"Hmmm," she murmured, "what was that for?"

"Just... thanks, I guess..." he said, his arms still holding her, "I think... I think maybe last night was the best night of my life."

For a moment, that worry raised its head again but she was able to dismiss it as she took in the warm, broad smile on Jake's face as he kissed her again quickly.

"Yeah," she said. "Me too."

Outside, they kissed briefly again before Jake headed off towards the school while Penny turned for the Meeting Place to meet with Anh and Rosa again but she recognised just how reluctant she was to let go of his hand and as she walked, although the warmth of her happiness never ebbed, she couldn't help but wonder when, if not now, she would be ready to finish that conversation Jake had tried to start.

Anh and Rosa were eager for details of her overnight at the Free House, a rare enough experience for any of them, and both recognised how strangely coy Penny's responses were, though they didn't push it.

It was a little after 11 and they were taking a brief break when Luke came in to the Meeting Place. He was dressed in his work overalls and covered in dust.

"Hey girls," he called, smiling broadly as she moved to join them.

"Hey Luke," Penny said, "working hard there? You're filthy!" Like theirs with the Scouts, Luke's own apprenticeship, as a carpenter and builder, was nearing its end.

"Tell me about it," he agreed with a shrug, "it's like this every year at this time. There's a pile of apprentices about to finish up who'll expect to move to their own houses so guess who's got to make sure they've got somewhere to live! We've got like four houses on the go right now."

"You'll get them done though right?" Anh asked in mock anxiety, "I mean, I love my house but... I still can't wait to move out when training is done!"

"Don't you worry Anh, wouldn't let you down," Luke confirmed happily. "So listen, I actually gotta get back, I just came down to let you know, I heard back from Dani..."

"Shit, really?!" Penny couldn't help the excitement in her voice and she didn't really want do, especially given the wide grin on Luke's face.

"Pack your bags," he said.

***

It was a little bit of a whirlwind for those couple of days before she left. Solo travel in the network was generally forbidden on safety grounds and the next convoy heading to Simonia left two days after Luke had given her the news, so Penny had little time to plan her trip.

Her first port of call, as soon as she'd released Luke from the bear hug and she and Anh and Rosa had calmed down a little, was the Scouting Center. She'd need special permission from Toni Beecher for the trip but, as expected, this wasn't an issue. If anything, Toni was almost as excited about it as she was. She called the Travel Center and booked Penny a spot on the next convoy there and then.

From there, her legs took her the short distance to the school. There was no thought involved, in fact she didn't even realise where she was until she walked in the door and noticed Maggie Peters, one of the teachers, happened to be passing by and was smiling a little oddly at her.

"Well hey there Penny," Maggie said warmly, "this is a nice surprise."

You don't know the half of it, Penny thought, feeling her face get warm.

"Hey Maggie," she said sheepishly, "sorry to... ah.... Is, um, is Jake free? I, ah, I just need him for a... for like a minute."

Before Maggie could answer, Jake rounded the corner and Penny felt her face break into as wide a smile as it was able.

"So I guess you're goin' to Simonia!" he said eagerly, not needing her to explain the obvious joy on her face and his own smile matched the intensity of hers as he held his arms wide and moved towards her.

She threw herself into him, literally jumping off the ground as both her arms and her legs wrapped tightly around him, only releasing her legs when she thought he might topple over.

"Thanks Jake," she said, without releasing him.

"Way to go Pen," he said, "I'm so happy for you. But I don't know what you're thanking me for!"

She leaned back finally, her smile never waning as she took his face in her hands and kissed him hard.

"I wouldn't even be doing this project if it hadn't been for you," she said, resting her forehead against his, thinking of how skeptical she'd been about the subject of the history of Scouting before talking with Jake about it.

"Got some good news I take it Pen?" Penny had forgotten Maggie was even there and she knew she was blushing as she turned around, although she kept her body pressed against Jake's. As if sensing her embarrassment, she heard him give Maggie the gist of the story so she didn't have to, about her project and about how she'd been able to arrange to interview the Network's most famous citizen. As he spoke, she felt his arm wrap around her, below her neck, resting along her collar bone, holding her against him and without thinking she moved her hands up to rest on it, holding it there.

"Congratulations Penny," Maggie said eventually, "that's quite the honour. I know Jim doesn't give interviews very often."

"Thanks Maggie," Penny replied, "I almost can't believe it!"

"Well, good luck with it," Maggie said and Penny was sure she saw something funny in her face as she grinned at them. "Jake, you can take a few minutes if you want, we'll survive without you."

"Thanks Mags," Jake said as his boss smiled that funny smile at them again and headed back towards the sound of children.

Penny felt her body swivel in Jake's embrace, her arms wrapping around him again.

"I'm glad you came to tell me," he said.

"I... I didn't even..." Penny said, leaning back to look at his face, "my legs just took me here."

Now, her mind said. Come on. What more do you fucking need? She felt her breathing get a little heavier, her muscles tensing and felt that heat in her face again and she started trying to think of what it was exactly that she really wanted to say to him.

"So when do you leave?" he said and Penny blinked hard, almost missing his question.

"Oh, ahm... day after tomorrow," she said, grinning nervously, "Toni got me a slot on the next convoy."

"Well you better get those beautiful legs to take you home then," Jakes observed, grinning at her, "you don't have much time to get ready!"

The immediate urge had passed and Penny couldn't help get the feeling that Jake had seen it, had actually helped it on its way past, as if, somehow, he could sense that the suddenness of it was too much. Still, all she could see on his face was that warm smile and as his hands rubbed gently along her back she felt the tension that had sprung itself on her ease away and she leaned forward and kissed him softly, quickly.

"Yeah," she said, "right. Thanks again Jake. See you at home?"

"Sure."

She gave him one last squeeze and made for the door. When she reached it, she stopped and turned to see him standing where she'd left him, grinning after her and she chuckled aloud, waving her way out the door.

She tried to spend some time with him over the next thirty-six hours for more practical purposes, with Luke and Toni too, fine-tuning the list of questions she had for her interview with Jim but, as the convoy pulled up at the gates of Simonia late in the afternoon after two days on the road, Penny still felt her notes were pretty much a jumble.

She bid her farewells to her travelling companions and registered at the gate. The smirk from the guard when she told him the reason for her visit was unmistakable.

She was still thinking about that smirk when she heard her name being called from just inside the gate and she turned quickly.

She'd met Dani on a visit she'd made to Haven once and she recognised her immediately. The warm, welcoming smile on her face eased Penny's nerves a little, as did the equally welcoming hug.

"Hey Dani," she said, returning the warm smile. "I didn't expect you to meet me, were you waiting long?"

"Are you kidding?" Dani said a little excitedly, pointing the way towards Simonia's main thoroughfare. "I promised Luke I'd take good care of you. Besides... I have a whole thing planned. We'll stow your stuff over at my place and then you get the grand tour. You've never been to Simonia before, have you?"

"No, never," Penny acknowledged, "and thank you so much for arranging this Dani, I... I can't really believe I'm actually here," she went on, trying to take in all the sights and sounds of a new place. Although it obviously looked different, Luke had told her that his experience of Simonia was that it was the community that was the most like Haven, and she could see the similarities in the bustle going on all along the street and the warm greetings she and Dani received as they walked.

"Don't mention it, really. And you'll love it here. And then later, I mean, if you want, you can have dinner with us... I mean... of course, if you want to just do your own thing..."

"No, no, that all sounds great Dani, thank you so much, really," Penny said, with genuine gratitude, happy to have Dani guide her through the experience.

"OK, well... good. And then, in the morning, I'll take you out to the house and you can get started with Jim."

"Sounds good," Penny said, trying to keep her excitement from seeming too much.

"Yeah..." Dani said, "and it'll be good to like... well, I've... I've done something like what you have planned with Jim, for the oral history project, I thought it might be a good idea for you and I to, you know, talk tactics a little bit before you get started. He's a really kind and honest man Penny but... sometimes... he can be a little bit... difficult..."

"OK," Penny said, unable to hide the quizzical note in her voice.

"I probably shouldn't have... Look, don't worry about it OK? It'll be great, I promise."

With evening approaching, Penny found Dani's house another reminder of home when they arrived to drop off her stuff. It was a veritable hive of activity, with people of all ages preparing food or sharing a meal, studying or playing. There was even a small a cappella vocal group in the middle of a rehearsal.

"They're really good," Dani commented proudly, "performed at the Harvest festival last year."

From there, as promised, Dani took Penny for a more thorough exploration of the town, stopping first at the Scouting Center where the Chief Scout had asked Dani to bring Penny to say hello.

Penny had met Louise Brown several times, when she'd been to Haven on inspection visits or other Scouting business and she found the Chief Scout smiling as Dani ushered her in.

"Good to see you again Penny," Lou said warmly, coming out from behind her desk to shake Penny's hand. "Trip OK?"

"Oh, yes ma'am, no problems. I'm, ah... I'm just excited to be here."

"I'll bet," Lou said. "You know other than his own daughter," she went on, nodding with a smirk in Dani's direction, "I don't think Jim's ever really talked to anyone about the old days. Hell, I'm practically his oldest friend and we never talk about it!"

"Oh... well, I guess... I guess I'm pretty lucky, huh?"

"That you are," Lou agreed. "So, has Dani given you any pointers for your interview?"

"Well, ah... we... we haven't really had the chance to talk much..."

"I'll give her the full low down later Lou," Dani said with a grin, "I was just telling her Jim can be... you know, a little..."

"Obstinate? Stubborn? Sharp? Is sharp what I mean? You know, testy," Lou observed and Penny tried to maintain her neutral expression, although she noted that both Lou and Dani were smiling and she had the distinct impression the two women were having a little fun with her.

"Difficult, I think is the word I used," Dani confirmed.

"That'll do I guess," Lou said, shifting her gaze to Penny, her face softening. "Seriously Penny, don't worry about it. Honestly, Jim is... well, Jim is the finest man I've ever known, before or after the First Day. I wouldn't be alive today if not for him, and I'm not the only one can say that, you know what I mean?"

"Yes ma'am," she said, feeling her face break into a weak smile.

"You know by now Penny that... that we've been keeping a very close eye on your training, that we appreciate just how much potential you have," Lou went on, standing from behind her desk and moving around to where Penny sat. "So I'm very glad you've chosen this topic for your final project, and that you have the chance to talk to Jim. You just be yourself, and I know you'll have him eating out of your hand."

"Yes ma'am... thank you... I'll... I'll do my best."

"It's gonna be great," Dani observed eagerly.

From the Scouting Center, they continued their tour of the community and, later that evening, Penny found herself feeling very much at home as she shared a meal with Dani and some other residents of her house. She was the center of attention. Aside from the fact that a visitor to the house from another community was something of a novelty, everyone had suggestions for her about things she could ask Jim.

"Dani?" Penny asked after dinner, when she and Dani were finally alone in the large dining area to the rear of the house as they finished off the wine from dinner, "should I... should I be worried?"

"No," Dani replied, sighing deeply, "I'm sorry about before. Honestly Penny, Lou and I weren't trying to make you nervous or anything, I think... I think, without discussing it, it was out instinct to... like... warn you or something... just in case..."

"In case what?"

"Lou was right, Penny," Dani said, and Penny saw her sit forward, her face growing serious, "Jim is the finest man I've ever known too, but he's also a stubborn bastard who drives me crazy," she said with a grin before her face settled and she took a deep breath before continuing.

"When... when my mom died... I mean, I was really young but... Jim took it... very hard. And even now, and it's been more than twenty years, sometimes he... he still finds it hard, you know? A lot of classic symptoms of depression. He'll isolate himself, he'll stop working, he'll be irritable. I've been with the oral history project from the beginning and they were always asking me about Jim. He's Jim fucking Sullivan right? They wanted his testimony more than anyone's. But I kept putting them off, kept finding excuses not to do it. I knew he wasn't in a good place. And when I finally decided to, honestly, it was kind of a last throw of the dice. I thought maybe... maybe if I could get him to open up, to talk about the very beginning, everything that happened, talk about my mom... maybe it'd be good for him, maybe he'd be able to... move on from it at last, live in the moment, you know?

"And it worked. Honestly, it wasn't easy all the time and... we had some... pretty testy exchanges, but, in the end, it worked. He actually enjoyed it. And I was able to get him to come back to the school... seriously Penny, Jim is just the best with kids, they fucking love him... And since then, it's been really good, he has I mean, he says it himself. He's... he's in a really good place. So I think, actually, you're idea... I mean, interviewing him about early Scouting, honestly, there couldn't have been a better time for it, really. I just... I just wanted you to be... ready, you know, aware. Sometimes... talking about those days... it's hard for him. I know people see him as some, like, pioneer, you know, the great Jim Sullivan, thundering around the Network, making First Contacts and killing red-eyes and building bridges and... all that, and they expect that he's some kind of larger than life... you know... personality. And he has done all those things, I know, but... he's... he's also just... my dad, you know? He's kind and... and generous and he... he cares really deeply about people and he worries about letting them down, all the time... And all the things that happened to him, all the things he did, to him they're not... history, they're his life, you know? And it wasn't always an easy one..."

Penny knew it wouldn't have taken an expert to see the emotion on Dani's face and it started to become clear to her just why Luke had gotten so close to her.

"I'm sorry Penny..." she said, affecting a gentle smile, "I'm not sure I'm making any sense..."

"I understand Dani," Penny replied, returning Dani's smile and reaching for her hand. "I guess... well, I mean I'm not sure I'm exactly renowned for my tact but... I'll... I'll tread carefully, and I... I really appreciate you talking to me about this, and being so honest with me... I know it'll help."

"I know you're gonna do great at this Penny," Dani said, her smile widening. "Luke's... Luke's told me a lot about you, and Lou too actually and... she was right Penny. Just be yourself. Honestly, don't take this the wrong way or anything but... you're so exactly like him, so... enthusiastic and honest, he's gonna love you."

"Wow," Penny said, a little taken aback by the comparison with someone she'd admired her whole life. "Thanks Dani... jeez... that's..."

"Come on, let me show you your room."

They left for the house very early the next morning, not long after dawn. Jim was, Dani explained, always an early riser. He'd taken the day off school for their interview and told Dani not to feed Penny so that he could prepare breakfast for her. Before they left, Penny made sure the water in her shower was cold in an effort to regain some composure after a particularly affecting version of her recurring dream.

It was a pleasant journey by bike, just a few miles along a tree-lined road to the house. As they cycled up the long drive and it came into view, Penny felt herself almost giddy. She'd heard and read so much about this house, where the community now known as Simonia had begun, but she'd never imagined herself ever actually being there. For a moment, Jake jumped to the front of her mind and she realised that she regretted that he wasn't there with her. She knew how much he would love delving into the Network's past in such a hands on way.

Dani was explaining the layout of the house as they leaned their bikes against the porch when Jim called out to them.

"Mornin' sweetheart," he said, coming down the steps to meet them. Despite herself, Penny found that she couldn't help straitening the tank top she wore and flattening her hair, although her attention was distracted by the most beautiful border collie she'd ever seen making straight for her, tail wagging furiously.

"Hey dad," Dani said warmly and Penny tried to smile as father and daughter shared a brief hug before Jim leaned up to kiss Dani's forehead lightly, "hope we're not too early?"

"Not at all D, you know me," Jim said, shifting his attention, "and you must be Penny. It's great to meet you. Hope you don't mind dogs, Indy's a bit too friendly for his own good sometimes."

He was extending a hand towards her as the dog pressed eagerly against her legs for attention and, just for a moment, Penny realised she was star struck, in more ways than one. In the first place, the most famous man in the Network was smiling at her and knew her name! But more than that, she realised, he was also the man she'd been fucking in her dreams for weeks now, not least only a couple of hours earlier, and she couldn't avoid that thought as she took him in. The man in her dreams was a phantom Jim, one her mind had conjured based on famous stories and pictures, but this was the real deal, in the flesh.

He was taller than she expected, maybe a little over fix feet. She knew him to be over sixty and she'd expected his age to be immediately apparent to her, to be very different from the ageless specimen from her dreams but it wasn't. He looked, for want of a better word that eluded her, young. And it wasn't that he looked like an older man who took care of himself, he just looked young, notwithstanding a handful a grey streaks though the sides of his thick, dark hair. His skin had a deep tan consistent with someone who spent a lot of the daylight hours outdoors, but looked smooth and soft. Through the dark green shorts and t-shirt he wore, he seemed lean and fit. And his face was, she acknowledged, fairly obviously handsome, wide and strong with just a hint of stubble, with bright, warm, welcoming blue eyes and a broad, genuine smile.