Given the unfortunate happenings of the day, Harley and John were moved into Robby's house for protection. Along with Robby, Edvin decided he too needed to be there just in case any of Cooper's soldier buddies decided to pay a visit, or so he said. But John had his suspicions that Edvin was interested in more than just Harley's safety.
At the end of the night, when the pair were asked about their sleeping arrangements, John was adamant that he and Harley be in the same room.
He wasn't letting her out of his sight again. He would never admit it but there was a part of him that felt an instinctual need to mark his borders when it came down to Harley, despite knowing that he and Harley weren't romantic. They didn't even sleep under the same blanket. Yet still, John didn't like the idea of another man intruding upon their partnership.
○●○
John woke in the morning to an assault of wet puppy kisses and turned to find Harley's side of the bed empty. He experienced a brief moment of panic just before he saw that the bedroom window was wide open and his ears caught the hushed but audible sound of little feet padding above his head. Harley was on the roof.
John breathed a sigh of relief, climbed stiffly out of bed with Rebel in his arm and made his way out to the kitchen. He found both Robby and Edvin standing at the island, drinking what smelled to be coffee.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Robby smiled.
John was a little confused over Robby's surprised expression, and scratched his cheek, "Thanks?"
Edvin wasted no time pulling a mug out of the cupboard and pouring John a cup of coffee from a percolator that sat atop a propane cook top.
"You've been asleep since the day before yesterday," Edvin informed, having observed John's confusion.
John's eyes widened in disbelief, "Oh"
"You must've really needed it," Robby noted before taking a sip from his mug.
John accepted the cup of coffee offered by Edvin, "Guess so. Did Harley make an appearance?"
"No, she must've slept right through too," Robby answered.
"Where is the missus?" Edvin queried, glancing at John quickly then taking a gulp from his mug.
John narrowed his eyes at Edvin for a moment, wondering if his question was designed to decipher Harley's relationship status. He decided to ignore that part and simply pointed his finger upward to the ceiling.
Robby and Edvin curiously tilted their heads up at the same time.
Edvin raised an eyebrow, "She's on the roof?"
John nodded once as he sipped on his coffee.
"Why is she on the roof?" Robby prodded.
"Hm, safety bubble," was all John offered.
"How'd she even get up there?" Edvin questioned.
John shrugged, "My theory is she's part monkey"
"Cute little monkey," Edvin muttered, earning himself an icy glare from John.
"Anyway," Robby cut in, "We have kind of a farmers market once a week where the folks who make their own items get together and sell them. Today happens to be market day. Would you and Harley like to come?"
"I'll see what she thinks," John replied before gulping down the rest of his coffee and making his way to the front door.
Robby and Edvin followed him outside and walked to the edge of the lawn so they could see Harley. She sat perched on the peak of the roof with a small notepad and pen, seemingly writing or doodling something in it. She hadn't yet seen the guys because the beak of her hat hid the world in front of her as she focused on her task.
"Harley," John said loudly enough to draw her attention.
She looked up from her pad and saw the three guys standing below. Edvin waved.
"Feel like going to a market today?" Robby asked.
"A market?" Harley repeated, confused.
"Yeah, it'll be fun," Robby assured.
Harley dropped her gaze back down to her notepad, "Nah"
"Oh c'mon," Edvin urged, his hand blocking the sun from his eyes.
John wanted to go to the market, "Harley, I'm not leaving you alone here, yeah?"
Harley rolled her eyes and sighed, before standing upright and tucking her notepad and pen into the back pocket of her jean shorts. She walked comfortably down the roof to the edge, got down on her butt and slid herself off, holding tightly onto the drain pipe. Robby and Edvin flinched, as Harley's legs swung beneath her for a second. But her feet found the iron railing to the front steps easily, and she let go of the pipe, swiftly climbing down from the railing onto the steps. The whole process took only a moment, and both Edvin and Robby were impressed.
"How's your leg?" John asked as Harley approached.
"Fine," she replied as she reached out and gently took Rebel from John's arm, "How's the shoulder?"
"Better," he answered.
The four of them walked down a few blocks and over to the next street where the market was being held. It seemed everyone who lived in the town was there, aside from Cooper, of course, who was still locked up.
Robby explained that at the beginning, the town tried to function without currency, where everyone took and gave equally and shared, but many of the town's people complained and after a vote, it was decided that money would be reintroduced. It seemed, for most people, the idea of trading goods was difficult, because no one could agree on which items were less than, equal to or greater than the value of the item they wanted to trade or receive.
Harley, John, Edvin and Robby ambled by each table, stopping to look at what was being sold. On one side of the street there were tables that sold honey, wax candles and lip balm, another that had quilts, aprons, pillow cases and baby clothes, and yet another table that sold a variety of jams, jellies, salsa, canned vegetables and fruits. Along the other side of the street were tables with breads, cookies and sweets, soaps, lotions and deodorants, art, ornaments, jewelry, teas, fresh fruits and vegetables and there was even a table that sold alcohol. Everyone was eager to put their special skills to work and make a profit from it.
Harley kept her head down most of the day, doing her best to avoid being forced to meet people and pretend that she was delighted to be in their company. She left that to John, who did more than his fair share of 'nice to meet you' and hand shakes.
Edvin offered to buy Harley anything she might like, but received only a guarded glance and head shake in response.
As the foursome moved through the crowd, another family curious to meet the two new people emerged, seemingly from nowhere.
"Hey, I'm Shaun," the guy greeted, reaching his hand toward John to shake.
John accepted, "John. Good to meet you"
"This is my son, Evan and my wife, Kristen," The man named Shaun continued.
Kristen and Evan greeted John with polite smiles.
In unison, both husband and wife turned toward Harley, who held her head even lower and seemed to have suddenly stiffened up.
Kristen did a double take, "Alex?" She said incredulously.
John looked to Harley, surprised and confused but she very quickly turned heel and fled the scene, bumping into people's shoulders as she navigated through the crowd.
John turned back to Shaun and Kristen, "You know her?"
Shaun suddenly looked very pale and nervous as Kristen began to speak, "Sh- She was Shaun's parent's foster child. We haven't seen her since she was fifteen, I can't believe she's alive!"
John's eyes immediately jumped back to Shaun, who had suddenly become rather quiet.
"Excuse me," John muttered as he turned away from these new people and ran after Harley.
"What just happened?" Edvin asked as he and Robby followed behind John.
"It's- Just let me go to her alone, yeah? I'll catch up with you guys later," John insisted as he kept moving.
Robby and Edvin respected John's request and stopped following.
The walk back to Robby's house, as it turned out, was pointless because Harley wasn't there. She wasn't even on the roof. John wondered where she might have gone, and guessed that it was going to be somewhere quiet and closed in, but also familiar. The only places that were familiar to Harley were the first house they stayed in and the hospital, so John made his way to the house first, and then if need be, the hospital would be next.
The door to their old house was locked, but luckily when Cooper had broken in to set the Screamer after Harley, he used a crow bar and wrecked the bolt slot enough that John was able to get in without much trouble. The floors had already been cleaned and the Screamer put down, but as John entered the bedroom, he saw that the carpet was stained a brownish red near where the night stand stood. Harley appeared not to be in the bedroom, so John turned back down the hallway. He noticed then that the bathroom door was closed, and he tentatively turned the handle, learning quickly that it was locked from the inside.
"Harley?" John spoke gently, leaning his head against the door. He could hear her labored breath, "Can I come in?" He asked.
Harley's voice quavered, "Why?"
"Because I'd like to talk to you"
"About what?" Harley asked, sniffling afterward.
John sighed, "About what happened in the market"
Harley was quiet for a moment before she spoke again, "No thanks"
John turned around and slid down the wall beside the bathroom door until he was seated, "Please talk to me, Harley. I want to be here for you"
"Why bother? We'll be going separate ways after Sydney anyway. Don't trouble yourself," Harley spoke defensively.
John could tell that Harley was sitting on the floor with her back against the inside of the door by the proximity of her voice.
"We're going separate ways after Sydney?" He questioned, feeling a little hurt.
"That's what you said before we left Perth"
"Harley, what I meant was, if you wanted to go separate ways I wouldn't hold you against your will, and- that was before everything"
"Before what?"
John tilted his head up toward the ceiling, searching for his words, "Before I knew you, before we became friends, before . . Just before"
Harley took a moment to reply, "What are you going to do after Sydney?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead yet"
"You'll come back here. I can see the way you look at this place. You love it here. But I don't. I won't ever"
John dropped and shook his head, "Harley, I don't want to go seperate ways after Sydney," he said, suddenly surprised by his own admission.
There was a long, painful pause between them, making John feel a bit awkward.
Then Harley spoke, "I can't stay here"
"Because of that family at the market? I noticed they called you Alex," John crossed his arms.
Harley didn't answer for a long moment and when she did, she spoke quietly, "That's not my name anymore"
"Fair enough," John replied, not needing further explanation.
"Look," he continued, "We'll only be here a couple more days and I'll make sure you don't run into them again. You won't even know they exist"