Exodus Cleared
Word Count: 1944
Warnings:Mentions of violence, mentions of drug (pot) use
A/N: This was requested by @tomexraider, although there wasn’t a specific pairing, I chose Sarah Harper and Jerome Jeffries, and I hope you enjoy it!
Summary: Deputy Sarah Harper and Pastor Jerome Jeffries catch wind of peggie activity and go to investigate. Sparks fly.
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Deputy Sarah Harper grabbed her bag and headed out of the Spread Eagle. She tossed her bag into the closest truck and started heading for John Seed's ranch. She had taken out the cult members there and claimed it for the resistance. But they were having a some trouble holding onto it. John wanted it back bad. She hadn't even gotten out of the parking lot before Pastor Jerome had her door opened, and he was giving her a rather disapproving look.
"Where do you think you're going, deputy," Jerome asked, and Sarah sighed, putting the truck back into park.
"Does it matter?" Jerome reached in and took the keys out of the ignition, turning off the truck. Sarah rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Fine. I heard over the radio that the group over at the ranch need some help. So I'm going to go do my job." Jerome kept the keys in his hand as he walked around the tuck, hopping in on the passenger side. He smiled as he handed the keys back to Sarah.
"You aren't going alone. Not until I'm sure you're back to one hundred from the last time. " Sarah looked at him with exasperation, but took the keys back. She rolled her eyes as she started the truck again. Together, they headed out to the ranch, driving up the winding the driveway. When they pulled up to the ranch, they were greeted by a woman with blonde hair and a truckers cap.
"It's nice to see you again, deputy," the woman said, "pastor." She nodded at each of them in turn and turned back to Sarah.
"What's the problem," Sarah asked, tucking her thumbs behind her belt buckle. The woman sighed and scratched the back of her neck.
"I forgot how chatty you were," she joked, getting a laugh from Jerome and a cocked eyebrow from Sarah. The woman cleared her throat and waved the two over to the radio and a map. "Well, we've had several peggie sightings along the river. We haven't engaged because we don't know what they're up to. But we were kind of hoping that you could figure it out." Sarah smirked and folded her arms over her chest.
"So I'm just here to solve all your problems huh," she asked, and the woman turned to her and blushed. She stammered to find anything to say in her defense. Sarah laughed softly and waved the thought away. "I'm just kidding. I'm here to help." The woman laughed nervously and shrugged.
"I can send some men with you, if you'd like." Sarah waved the idea off and nudged Jerome with her elbow.
"We'll go alone. We need everyone we can get guarding this place. The Seed's want it back, and we cant let the have it." The woman looked wary, but she didn't protest. Sarah looked over the map and marked the sightings on her own map. She thanked the woman and set off on foot, heading straight for the river. Jerome and Sarah walked carefully, watching the the gaps between the trees for any sign of peggies.
Just as the river came into view between the trees, they heard voices. Sarah dragged Jerome almost to the ground, and they crept along the ground, hiding in a bush until the peggies were close enough that they could hear the voices clearly. Sarah listened to the two men talk about a church where they were doing baptisms. Sarah and Jerome shared a look, and nodded, silently creeping down along the river. The church wasn't anything spectacular, but if it weren't for all the crazy cult shit going on, it would have been beautiful anyway.
"What are we thinking," Jerome asked, and Sarah chewed her lip, assessing the situation.
"Well, we can take those two out pretty quietly," she said, pointing to a pair by a shed. "And then after that, we can make some kind of diversion. Draw them right into the kill zone there." Jerome looked at her and she shrugged. "Well, otherwise, we have to do something dangerous like, go into their kill zone." Jerome sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Fine, your thing is fine." Sarah and Jerome snuck up on the closest peggies and silently took them down, taking cover behind the shed. Sarah lead the charge, clearing the rest of the area. Together, Jerome and Sarah cleared the area, saving three hostages. A half hour later, the pair were standing shoulder to shoulder, staring up at the steeple of the makeshift church.
"Wanna do the honors," Sarah asked, offering the Molotov cocktail to Jerome. He laughed as he pulled out a light, lighting it and catching the wick on fire.
"This was your operation," he said, tucking the lighter back into his pocket, "you get to burn it down." Sarah chuckled and took a step back, cocking her arm back, ready to throw the glass bottle and burn down the shrine. She let out a pained gasp as she threw the bottle, quickly recoiling as the bottled sailed through the air.
"What's wrong," Jerome asked, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder. "Where you shot?" She let out a breathless chuckle, and she shook her head.
"Nope," she managed to say through gritted teeth. She pulled herself away from him, but Jerome refused to let her go, not wanting to see her fall.
"Why are you lying to me," he asked, leading her to a box by the shed, and he forced her to sit down. Sarah let out a weak laugh and leaned back against the shed.
"I don't know," she said, pressing her hand down on the wound she had neglected to notice before the molotov, "I guess it's just easier that needing you to sew me up again." Jerome gave her a disapproving look as he pulled out the first aid kit.
"Well let's see it," he said, pulling out a needle and thread. Sarah let out a long sigh and shrugged off her coat, lifting her shirt to expose a cut on her side. They both looked at her and she laughed.
"Ha, I guess I wasn't lying," she boasted, wincing when she laughed. Jerome shook his head.
"But did you know that when you said it?" Sarah smirked and shrugged.
"No," she confessed, and Jerome started sewing up her injury. There was no more talking between them until Jerome had finished sewing her up. He dug around the first aid kit and frowned up at Sarah after patting his own pockets.
"Do you have your knife on you?" Sarah shook her head regretfully.
"No, I misplaced it a few days ago, and just haven't had time to replace it." Jerome took a deep breath and shook his head.
"I've got to tie this off, so I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable." Before Sarah had the chance to question him, Jerome leaned down and took the thread between his teeth, biting the thread until the needle came off. He dropped the needle and quickly tied the thread off. When he sat up, he looked up at Sarah, but she was chewing her lip and looking anywhere but at Jerome.
"I'm sorry if that hurt," he said, and Sarah shook her head, and put her shirt back down.
"No, it was fine," she said, shrugging her coat back on.
"Is something wrong," Jerome asked, and she shook her head. She stood up and they both stopped moving when their eyes met. Sarah's cheeks turned red, and she quickly averted her eyes. Jerome smiled and chuckled. "Are you blushing?"
"No," Sarah snapped, turning away from Jerome. "Come on, we need to report that we took care of the problem." Jerome laughed and followed her back to the ranch, smiling to himself and making sure Sarah didn't fall or tear her new stitches. Once they got back to the ranch, they found the radio operator.
"Did everything go smoothly," she asked, and Sarah looked away from her, trying to hide the rising blush in her cheeks. The woman looked to Jerome and he shrugged.
"Sarah got cut, but she's been sewed up and is almost good as new."
"Oh look at that," Sarah said, gesturing to the barn, making up a reason to not be there. She walked over to the barn, and slipped around the corner, leaning against the wall. She let out a long sigh and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, is something wrong," Jerome asked, and Sarah quickly shook her head.
"Why do you keep asking me that?" Jerome smiled and gestured to her face.
"Your cheeks are flushed and you did get stabbed today."
"It was just a cut," Sarah corrected, not meeting his eyes.
"Sarah, look at me," he said, taking her face between his hands. He forced her to look him in the eyes, and she couldn't help but feel her face getting hotter at she stared into his warm, brown eyes.
"What are you doing," she asked, and Jerome looked from one eye to the other. "Jerome."
"I'm checking to see if you have bliss poisoning. You have been shot with bliss bullets, and all of these peggie camps are just full of the crap." Sarah grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands from her face.
"I don't have bliss poisoning," she said, and Jerome cocked his head to the side.
"Then what's going on?" Sarah took a deep breath, not letting go of his wrists. She bit her lip as she steeled herself for what she was about to do. She leaned forward and kissed him, her lips pressing lightly against his. Jerome pulled back and looked at her with surprise. "Sarah?"
"I'm sorry," she said, feeling stupid. She hated not being in control of her feelings, and she hated how much the look on Jerome's face hurt. "I just," she took a deep breath and shook her head trying to find the words, "fuck I'm so stupid." She turned to walk away, but Jerome held onto her hand.
"You aren't stupid, Sarah," he said, pulling her back. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, pinning her to the barn wall. He cupped her face and held her lips against his own. Sarah wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him back. They were both breathless and blushing when they parted. Jerome chuckled nervously, but his hands didn't leave Sarah's waist.
They stood together, sharing bashful smiles and awkward chuckles. Sarah opened her mouth to speak when a young man came around the corner. Sarah and Jerome separated themselves from one another, and Sarah could feel her face getting hot again.
"Is there any reason you're blushing like that," the kid asked, and Sarah tried to hide her face. She looked over the boy and noticed a pipe in his hand.
"I wasn't blushing," she said, adopting a tone she'd have used on her little brother. "Just like you weren't coming back here to smoke pot." The kids eyes almost popped out of his head, and he quickly shoved it into his pocket.
"I'm so sorry deputy," the kid said, turned around and leaving to find another spot to smoke. Sarah smiled and shrugged, and turned back to Jerome. Jerome laughed and grabbed Sarah's hand.
"Come on," he said, "let's get back to Falls End." Sarah smiled at how his hand fit in hers, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Mary should have something for us to do around town." They walked hand in hand back to the truck, and Jerome drove back to Fall's End, his arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders.
