Obscure Simplicity

Chapter 13: Limbo

You walked along the sunflower field, brushing your fingers along each flower petal. You stood in the middle of the field with your arms out and your head back, enjoying the serene that the field brought you. You walked further into the field and came across a pond with water as clear as the beaches in Capri, Italy. You stepped into the refreshing water with your bare feet and watched the fish swim around them. But something caused you to look up at that moment.

"Zero!" You cheered, as you bent over to pet him. "Oh my god, baby girl! Who's a pretty girl?"

You made a baby voice as you scratched your golden retriever. He licked you all over your face, which made you ecstatic. You didn't even question why you could see the childhood dog you got when you were five. But the jingling of his collar wasn't the only thing that was making noise in this once quiet field. You looked up across the pond and saw someone you wouldn't ever get to see again.

You shot up and ran toward her. "Haley!"

"Abby!" She shouted, embracing you.

Looking at her, you were in a state of awe. You tracked your fingers across her cheekbones and chin to make sure you were seeing this right. Pausing to think about why you were seeing her right now, you pushed the thought aside.

"It's been years," you whispered as you looked her up and down.

"I thought it would have been more, to be honest."

"Why are you here? Aren't you..." your voice tried off.

"Dead?" She giggled. "Three years strong. But it begs the question, why are you here?"

You stepped out of her grasp, puzzled. If she was dead, then what did that make you?

"Where am I, Haley?" You replied, closely inspecting the world around you. "Why am I here?"

"Limbo." She added.

You stepped farther away, stumbling with every step. But before you could move away any further, you were stopped by someone. You whipped around to see who it was and were left in more shock than ever.

"Emeline?" You asked, pulling her in for a hug. You couldn't help but start to tear up.

You had so many questions. You knew that the two of them would be the best of friends, there was no doubt. So the three of you stood there in silence. Emetine was the first one to strike up a conversation again.

"Abby, why are you here? You're not supposed to be." She said sassily.

"That doesn't matter right now," Haley implored. "What does matter is that you're not going to be here for much longer."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Emeline protested. "She's not ready for this life, we need to find a way to get her back."

"Okay, no arguing, my head still hurts." You replied.

"Getting drugged and sliced up will do that to you," Emeline remarked sarcastically.

Haley rolled her eyes and walked over to you again. "What I'm saying is that we need to tell you that it's okay to live life, even if we don't get to."

"I miss you guys. Aaron still loves you, Haley." You blurted.

Haley's eyes started to water as she placed her hand on your arm. "Abby, I know that. But I'm not there anymore, and he found someone else; you. It doesn't mean that he loves me any less than he did before, but he loves you now more than he ever loved me."

You look at the floor, then back up at her. "You're Jack's mother, I'm not you."

"Did you ever expect to be?" Emeline acknowledged.

"No- I..." you stumble with your words.

"Abigail, the two of you are perfect for each other, more perfect than I ever was. You know him, you understand his lifestyle. You're determined, strong, bright, attractive, kind-hearted, and you sacrificed yourself for your team time and time again."

Staring into the pond, you let a tear fall onto your cheek. "They're my family and there's nothing I wouldn't do for them. I would have done anything for you guys."

Emeline turned to you and smiled. "They need you."

"But I want to stay with you." You took a hold of Emeline's hand. "You were my sister, and one day you were just... gone."

"And it felt terrible, right? Your team will feel this loss for the rest of their lives, and some of them will never be able to recover. Do you think Emily's faked death was easy for any of them? it was easy for you, and everyone saw it. With you actually being gone, it'll destroy them. Spencer is on his last straw and his recovery is on the line. Emily just came back, and now she'll feel responsible that she couldn't be the one who went on that run. JJ is pregnant with her third, and if she loses her best friend, it'll be something of a tragedy. Derek was the first person at that safe house and would be destroyed if he could stop the Unsub from taking you. Dave, well he just lost Caroline and he lost their child years ago; he doesn't need to experience the loss of another one of his children. Penelope is slowly losing her sparkle and if she loses another person in her life, who knows what hole she'll dig herself into next." Emeline harshly testified.

"Stop it, Em." You demanded, sobbing.

"Aaron will never survive the loss of his soulmate. He's been hanging on for so long with Jack, and when he found you his life took a turn for the best. He is blaming himself for letting you get kidnapped, for being abused as you did, and now he's questioning whether he was at fault for not getting to you in time. And Jack... oh my sweet boy. He can't afford to lose another mother figure." Haley protested. "I loved Aaron, and Aaron loved me. But you're his soulmate, and I know he's yours too."

You stared up at the barely cloudy sky, sitting down on the grass. Zero curled up beside you, soaking up the missed attention she was getting from you. You sighed one last time and felt your world shift. You kissed your puppy on her head, gave her the biggest, most warm hug, and said, "I love you for all eternity, sweet girl."

"You have to go now," Emeline informed you.

"I know. I love you." You answered as you leaned on for a hug.

You turned around and gave Haley a hug goodbye as well. "See you again one day."

"Go, make them happy. Hug them for me." Haley reminded you, blowing you a kiss.

You turned back to them and walked away from the pond. When you looked back, you saw Haley and Emeline holding hands and waving at you with Zero sitting at their feet. You got emotional and realized that suddenly, as the clouds folded over, your tears weren't the only drops on your cheek now. The dark clouds overtook what once was a blue sky, at which point you began to run off toward the entrance of the sunflower field.

As this world began to dim into complete darkness, you could no longer see the peaceful field around you. Instead, you heard hospital monitors beeping and the smell of its food overwhelmed your senses. The light around you was bright and shining through your eyelids. Your eyes fluttered open as you recognized the breathing of the person sitting in the chair next to you.

You turned your head and looked at Aaron through squinted eyes. "Someone's tired.