Alpha comes back too late. The bomb goes off just as he's coming up the stairs. The sound of the explosion rings in his ears and a flash of brilliant yellow light rushes past him. His is not harmed though, and he waits only a moment before stepping into the room.

Adelle's office is on fire, and he takes a moment to think of the fittingness of the image—for the world to be reborn, the place that started it all has to burn. But that is not what he's here for and he turns his gaze from the shattered windows to search for the man who he had come to trade places with.

He finds Topher's crumpled form behind one of the scorched couches. He looks to have been flung there by the first wave of the blast and then, hopefully, protected from the rest. Alpha crouches down over him, feeling for his pulse. It's very faint, but it's there. He scoops the younger man up into his arms and begins to make his way out. He's as light as a feather, he thinks. The bird-boned boy who saved the world. Hopefully.

As far as Alpha can tell, Topher's badly burnt all over his body, and some of his limbs may be broken. He's out cold, but he groans at the jerky movements Alpha makes as he carries him as quick as possible down the stairs. There are two doctors rattling around in Alpha's head. One's a sleezy brain surgeon, intent on preying upon his young patients, so he's not much help all, but the other one is the best plastic surgeon in LA. It looks bad, but he's very good at what he does.

Alpha rushes into the infirmary, calling for Echo's help as he does. She comes in, a question on her lips, but shuts her mouth when she sees Topher. "Put him here," she says instead, moving towards one of the beds. She squeezes her eyes shut, and when she opens them she's Rebecca Mynor. Alpha does the same, shunting all his other personalities to the back of his mind and letting Doctor John Taylor take over.

Together, he and Echo begin to strip Topher. In a lot of places, his clothing has melted onto his skin, and he screams out in pain when they rip it off, until Echo stabs him with a needle full of morphine. "He gonna make it?" she asks.

Alpha doesn't answer—doesn't want to think. He just keeps working. "Gauze," he orders.

They work over Topher for hours. They treat his burns first, and then set his bones. Both his legs are broken, as well as his right arm and shoulder.

Later, when they've run out of things to do, the two of them sit side by side. "He'll be okay," Dr John says, before letting Alpha slip back to the forefront of his mind. "I think."

"He's strong," Echo replied. He's not, but that's okay.

Alpha sends Echo to bed some time later, claiming she needs to gather her strength. He, on the other hand, doesn't leave Topher's side. He changes his bandages every hour, wincing over the red, pus-filled burns that cover over two thirds of the young man's body.

Topher whimpers a bit, and Alpha holds his one hand that isn't burned as badly as the rest. It's some time later, when the House is dark and it's only the infirmary light that's left on, that he starts to speak.

"I was gonna trade places with you, you know," he tells Topher, who's nothing but a little boy, looking even smaller with all the bandages coving him. Topher's too far gone to hear him, but he keeps talking anyway. "I got outside to LA, was gonna keep going. But then, surrounded by all those monsters—the butchers—I stopped to think." He gives a little chuckle. "It's a problem of mine, I guess you could say. Anyway, I thought about how I was just like them—another monster, another butcher, walking free on the streets. And then I thought about you, and how you were not a monster or a butcher, and yet you weren't free—you were sacrificing yourself for the cause. And I thought it should be me doing that instead. It would have been a fitting, and noble end. After all, I'd always wanted to go out with a bang.

"Of course, it didn't work. I was too late. The one time I try to do something good, and I stuff it up. So typical."

He falls silent after that, aware of how none of what he's saying is getting through to Topher, and resolves to just stay with him, making sure he's okay and when Topher starts twisting and turning from the pain, he calms him down enough to keep him still.

Echo comes back the next morning. They change Topher's bandages together, and then she sends him to bed. He goes willingly. He doesn't want to admit it, but after hours of listening to Topher cry, he's glad to get away.

He supposes it's just a coincidence that Topher's pod is right next to the one he used to sleep in, back when he called the Dollhouse home. It's the same pod he curls up in now and Topher's on his mind when he finally falls asleep.

The road to recovery is a long and hard one. It's two months before Topher's even well enough to sit up in his bed. He spends those months just lying there, often knocked out by pain medications, or whimpering in pain when not on meds. Alpha reads to him as often as possible, but it's only so long before his voice grows hoarse and he's forced to stop.

It gets better when they allow Topher to be propped up in his bed. It's a good thing it was his right arm that was broken, not his left, because he spends his time writing or drawing and babbling away to himself. He draws using only a lead pencil, and his images are sketchy and basic.

The others try to entertain him, too. Sometimes Priya joins him, her experienced hand bringing life and beauty to his rudimentary pictures. T comes too, carrying his treasured coloured pencils and helping Topher to brighten his dark and dreary images.

Alpha sits with him, but he can't draw and he doesn't try. He's the only one who can understand Topher's scribbled writings, though even he doesn't understand all of it. He talks through them with the young man, who is eager to share his thoughts with someone who gets him.

Topher's able to read his books himself now, though he still enjoys Alpha reading them to him. Alpha thinks it reminds him of Adelle.

He wonders about Adelle sometimes, about how it's going up on the surface. He supposes the pulse must have worked, as she hasn't come down here again. He supposes it's working, the re-building of the world. He's glad he's not up there, though. He's glad he's down here, where he doesn't have to worry about it.

They get their first visitors about six months later. Topher's bones have all completely healed, and his burns are coming along nicely. He takes a walk around the House every day, to improve his strength, though he's not one hundred percent yet.

Dominic and Ivy come down the elevator shaft. They're dressed in khaki and heavy clothes and both carry their guns outstretched. They lower them when Echo comes to greet them. Dominic, at least, is not at all surprised to find people down here.

Everyone crowds eagerly around them—everyone, that is, barring Alpha, who knows when to clear out in order to avoid Dominic's wrath. Company is thin around here and it is not often they get visitors. The two are herded into the kitchen, where they are assaulted by a barrage of questions.

Echo notices the over-protective way Dominic looks over Ivy, and how close beside each other they sit, but she doesn't comment on it. Anthony produces a cache of wine, and drinks are passed around. It's a while later that Topher enters. He appears to have been drawn by the noise coming from the kitchen, and he stands there in the doorway awkwardly.

A hush falls over the room and Echo, Priya and Anthony look on nervously, while Topher takes in Dominic and Ivy sitting there. "Hello," he says eventually.

Ivy smiles at him. "Hi, Topher. It's good to see you." She is obviously shocked by his burns but she tries hard not to show it. Dominic nods at him but otherwise says nothing. While he doesn't know the extent of Topher's situation, he saw the way he was headed, and he had anticipated his descent into madness a little.

Topher moves to sit beside Ivy. He doesn't say anything else, and soon conversation starts up again. Echo asks about how things are going on the surface. Dominic shrugs. "I didn't really want to get involved. It seems to be working, though. People are getting back to themselves."

While the others are talking, Topher leans towards Ivy. "I thought I told you to get out of here," he tells her.

She laughs. "I guess I just couldn't resist your charm."

His face lights up. "Well, that's only natural. I suppose I can forgive you, then. And you may stay. So long as you find me some Twinkies."

"I'm sure something could be worked out."

"Good."

They go back to the main conversation. Topher doesn't say much more, but he stays by Ivy's side the rest of the night. With Ivy's reappearance comes a marked improvement in Topher. He appears more stable, more sane. Ivy is someone who he was close to before; who, unlike Alpha, he didn't have to learn to trust. And she's someone who understands him, and who is willing to be there for him.

Dominic and Ivy are still pretty inseparable. Dominic's always hanging around her, and when they're not side by side, he always keeps his eye on her.

"Hey, what's up with you and Ivy?" Echo asks him one day when the two of them are sitting together in the atrium. She's found that, though he hated her when she was still a doll and he was still a spy, they're time in the Attic has brought them closer, and they understand each other and can relate a lot more now. She hadn't seen him at all during the apocalypse, and she's glad to know that he, and Ivy, are still alive. "Are you like...together?"

But he shakes his head. "No, of course not. We're just close." He leans back into the couch and sighs. "I found her about a year or so ago in LA. I tried so hard not to get attached, as always do. It never works, of course. I did. And I've been looking out for her for so long, it's hard to shake that now, even though I know we're safe. I guess she's like a daughter and I'm the overprotective father." He laughs and Echo joins him.

"It's okay," she says, "I think it's cute, and I'm sure Ivy appreciates it."

It is strange how the apocalypse seems to bring together people who once hated each other. The most noteworthy example of this would probably be Dominic and Topher. Dominic, who had always hated the very thought of Topher Brink, now spent countless hours with him. It was Ivy's fault, really. She spent the majority of her time with Topher, which meant that Dominic, who spent the majority of his time with Ivy, spent it with Topher as well.

The two don't get on well at first. Dominic usually sat silently in the corner of the room, in order to keep from intruding on Topher and Ivy. Besides, he didn't understand half of what they said, so he couldn't make for very interesting conversation anyway.

But then one day, about a month or so after Dominic and Ivy's return, Topher starts to talk to him. Ivy is off getting something, and so they are alone in the room.

"Hey, Dom," Topher calls. "Come have a look at this." He's fiddling with something in his hands, but Dominic can't see what it is from where he's sitting. So he stands reluctantly and makes his way towards Topher's bed.

"What is it?" he asks.

He can see now that Topher's holding a Rubik cube. He holds it out proudly to Dominic.

"Ivy found it for me. Can you do it?"

Rubik cubes happen to be something Dominic can actually do really well. "Yeah, I can," he says.

Topher hands it to him. "Okay, do it then."

"Why?"

Topher grins. "Ivy says you're really good at is, but I don't believe her."

"Gee, thanks," Dominic deadpans.

"So I want you to show me." He indicates to the cube. "Off you go."

Ivy returns then. She glances at the cube in Dominic's hands. "He brought this up again, did he?" she asks. "I tried to tell him, Dom, but he wouldn't listen. I guess he just can't accept that you're better than him at something."

"I'm stronger than him. I think he's accepted that."

"Yes," Ivy agrees. "But he doesn't see strength as a something worthwhile. Rubik cubes, however, are." Dominic rolls his eyes. "Twisted brain, I know, but would you please just do it and put me out of my misery. He won't stop bugging me if you don't."

Dominic wants to refuse, but Ivy's brought down Cheetos from Topher's drawer. Through he would never admit it, Dominic loves Cheetos and, not surprisingly, he hasn't had them in awhile.

So he stays. He can complete the Rubik cube about five seconds faster than Topher can—and yes, he is very, very proud of that. Topher says five seconds isn't anything and it's just because his fingers are sore. Dominic argues to the contrary. Once that affair has been cleared up, which takes longer than Dominic would care to admit, thanks to his slightly childish behaviour, Ivy opens the Cheetos. They're stale as hell, but wonderful nonetheless, and Dominic, to his surprise, finds himself joking and laughing with Topher.

The next month, Dr John thinks Topher is ready to move out of the infirmary and back into his pod. The whole thing causes quite a stir, with pretty much everyone coming to see Topher into his new home. There is some slight drama regarding who is allowed to carry what—no one can touch Topher's extra special book, and the photo of him and Adelle can only be carried ever-so-carefully by Dominic under Topher's watchful eye—but otherwise the move goes off without a hitch.

Topher settles easily back into his pod, feeling so much more at home here. Alpha is still sleeping in the pod next to his, and Ivy and Dominic reluctantly fill the other two.

Months pass. Topher seems to get better and better with each passing day. He still has his bad days, where he goes into fits, alternating between the fall of the world and Bennett. No one can calm them properly, not like Adelle could, although Alpha seems the best at it. The others all clear out, while Alpha sits with Topher, reading to him or sometimes just holding him while he cries.

Adelle comes back almost exactly a year later. Everyone crowds around her as she embraces them individually. "Look at you, T!" she croons, swinging him up into her arms. "You're so big!"

There is a moment that threatens to be awkward when she gets to Dominic and pauses, unsure of how to proceed. They stare at each other a moment, and then Dominic sweeps her into a hug.

"It's good to see you, Adelle," he says, and she responds with, "I'm so glad you're still alive."

They part with easy smiles on their faces, and Adelle turns to face everyone. "It's so good to see you all again. I trust you've all been well?"

It is then that Topher, the only one who hadn't come to greet the new arrival, calls out, "Who is it?" in a singsong voice.

"Hello!" Topher calls again.

Adelle's eyes go to the doorway where she can just see Topher's head peaking out. She seems frozen to the spot for one long, agonisingly slow moment, before she pushes past Dominic and runs as fast as she can towards Topher. She jumps into the pod, almost landing on top of him, and grabs him, pulling him to her and holding him as tight as possible.

Topher chokes out, "Cant. Breathe," but she doesn't let up. She buries her head on his shoulder. Tears streaming down her face.

"I thought you were dead," she sobs. "All this time, I thought..."

Topher pats her on the back. "There, there," he says, though it's clear he doesn't know what's going on.

Adelle cries and cries. She just holds on to Topher, refusing to let him go. Eventually, he relaxes into her embrace, clearly extremely happy to have her back. Adelle's fingers ghost over Topher's burns. "Your beautiful face..." she murmurs. Still, she is so glad he is here with her now, and he doesn't seem bothered by his ruined body.

Adelle refuses to leave Topher's side for three days. She sits with him in his pod, some part of her continuously touching him, whether it be her arm around his shoulders or her leg against his side, as if she's afraid he'll slip away otherwise. Topher is pleased with this; eager to show her all his new stuff and fill her in on everything she missed.

The others steer clear of the room when it becomes apparent that Adelle isn't willing to talk to them. She will forgive them soon, she knows, but right now her heartbreak reigns over her common sense, and she is just so angry.

After awhile, Adelle is willing to let go of Topher, though she doesn't like to be separated from him for long. She is walking down one of the corridors, just having left Topher with Ivy, when she sees Dominic coming towards her. They stop in front of each other. Dominic's been keeping out of her way, so Adelle hasn't seen him in awhile.

"Hey," he says.

"Hi."

They stand awkwardly for a minute. "Is Topher okay?" Dominic asks.

Adelle looks at him strangely. "Yes, he's fine. I remember, Mr Dominic, when you couldn't stand the very thought of him."

Dominic shrugs. "He's grown on me. We've been down here so long, it's hard not to get attached. Besides, he's changed. He's not nearly as arrogant as he was before."

"Ah, yes," Adelle says. "I have missed out on a lot, haven't I?" She tries to keep her face blank, but Dominic has always been very good at reading her. She looks sad, immensely so.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I can't imagine how hard it must be for you."

She tries to smile. "Yes, well, it's all in the past now. No use dwelling on it." But her voice breaks at the end, indicating that yes, she had dwelt on it.

Dominic considers her for a moment, before deciding what the hell, and pulling her into his arms. "If I had known..." he says. "If I had known, that you didn't know, I would have come to find you straight away."

Adelle wraps her arms around his waist and rests her head on his shoulder. "Yes, I imagine you would have. Thank you."

They hold onto each other for awhile longer, before separating and going together back to Topher and Ivy.

Everyone comes up to her individually to apologise, and T draws her an adorable little picture. She can't stay mad at these people; they're all she has left. The family she so wanted. She forgives them quickly and things go back to normal.

The next week, everyone gathers in the dining room. Echo stands at the head, while the others sit in varying clumps around the table.

"It's time to go above ground," Echo begins. Priya looks worryingly at T, then back at Echo. "I know you've all been thinking about it. It's been a year since the blast, and I've been talking to Topher; we'll be fine. Isn't that right, Topher?"

Topher nods his head emphatically. "The year was just a precaution. You'll be fine."

"I don't like it," Priya says. She's holding T close, and she wraps her arms around him protectively.

Echo pulls up a chair close to her friend. "Topher just said it was fine, Pri."

"But what if he's wrong? It wouldn't be the first time. Isn't it better to be safe than sorry?"

"I think Topher's right," Adelle speaks up. The others turn to look at her. "Every so often a few butchers or dumbshows would appear. They'd obviously been underground. At first, they would switch back to their original personalities straight away. As time went on, it began taking longer and longer for them to switch back, until now it just doesn't happen it all."

"Wait, so there are still butchers out there?" Mag asks in surprise.

"Yes. We've been keeping them under wraps, but we're still not sure what to do with them."

"I can fix that," Topher says suddenly.

Adelle glances at him. "Not another blast," she says worriedly.

But Topher shakes his head. "No. Smaller, more direct. Like the remote wiping gun. But different."

"Okay," Echo says, commanding the attention once again. "How about this? We wait here until Topher designs his gun, and then we go outside." Priya still doesn't look happy, so Echo takes her hand. "Think about it, Priya. We can go back home, back to Safe Haven. Rebuild our lives. Get out of this place once and for all."

"It's probably not even there anymore," Priya says.

"No, it is," Adelle says. "I've been looking after it, for when you come back. It's exactly how we left it."

"See?" Echo squeezes her friend's hand. "It'll be good."

"Okay," Priya agrees. "We'll go."

It takes Topher a month to build his device. He has to scourge for bits and pieces of whatever's left. Echo had destroyed most of the tech as ordered, but not all of it.

On the last day in the Dollhouse, Topher and Alpha are sitting in Topher's pod, making some last minute adjustments to the device. Adelle and Dominic are sitting huddled together on the other side of the room, but Alpha can tell they're watching them. They still don't trust him. He supposes he can't really blame them.

"You haven't been around here as much anymore," Topher says to him. He stops his fiddling to glance up at him with big green eyes.

"No," Alpha agrees. "I guess I'm not."

"Why is that?" Topher asks.

Alpha thinks about it for a second. "Well, you have Adelle back now," he says, "and you have everyone else. You don't need me."

"But I still like you." Topher pats him on the shoulder. "You're my friend. So you should be around more."

Alpha finds himself smiling in spite of himself. He doesn't think he's ever been called a friend before.

"Okay, I'll be around more."

"Good." Topher grins.

They stand at the entrance to the Dollhouse. Just a few steps and they'll be outside for the first time in so long. Strangely, they all feel a bit remorseful at the thought of leaving this place forever; it had become almost like a home to them. But at the same time, it was so mixed in terrible memories that they were glad to get away.

Before leaving, they'd all gone to certain places in the House that meant something to them. Dominic had gone to the Attic; Adelle to the remnants of her old office and Topher and Ivy to theirs. Echo, Priya and Anthony had visited their old pods. Alpha had gone to the imprint room, but he'd left quickly. Too many bad memories. Caused by himself, of course.

"A new beginning," Alpha says now. He looks around to see everyone in their own little groups—Dominic, Adelle, Topher and Ivy; Priya, Tony and T; Mag and Kilo; Echo and Paul. He's not sure where he fits in with this, but he's pretty sure that he does, somehow. They're a family, all of them.

"Ready?" Echo asks.

They step out into the light. A new beginning.