If anyone is receiving this, my name is Xavier Collins.
I'm flying to Atlanta to find my wife, Dr. Teri Rogers-Collins,
who sent a radio transmission from somewhere near the city center.
Everyone said time would help.
It's not helping.
Time is actually making it worse,
because it's taking me further away from when he was here.
Annie, I really, really want you
- to come with me. - I can't.
- Annie, come on. - Link, come on, let her go.
You're the one who's been going on and on
about this bunker and the fate of the world.
This is not the time to be catching feelings.
I'm okay. I'm okay.
Oh.
Where are you taking me?
- I need to find her. - Who?
T-Teri.
I need to get to Atlanta, so if you could please just listen to me…
No, you listen to me.
You're not going to Atlanta.
You're taking us to Colorado.
Wait. Wait. Come…
- Alright, thanks. - Yeah, man.
Fuck. Fuck.
Cinderella, time to wake up.
Snow White.
She was the sleeping one.
Sleeping Beauty was the sleeping one, dipshits.
Bad news.
Word just came in. Train's still delayed.
Oh, fuck.
- How long? - Who knows?
Wanna wait?
No.
I'm done waiting.
Let's go find this fucking bunker.
Fuck yeah. Let's do it.
Hey!
We're moving out!
Alright people, you heard him.
Go, move out!
Pack it up!
Hurry up! Don't leave anything behind. We're not coming back.
You need to start moving a little.
Come on.
Come here.
Where am I?
It's not obvious?
Seriously?
How far along are you?
You know, it's rude to assume that a woman is pregnant.
Haven't you ever seen a sitcom?
Jesus, can you stop staring?
When was the last time you saw a pregnant lady?
- What? - We got the call.
It's happening.
Luisa Moreno.
The pregnant lady.
She's gonna be the first woman to give birth down here.
I know who she is.
I'm wondering why you think it's a reason to burst into my office unannounced.
That wasn't really a burst. It was more of an amble.
But look, this is a big moment.
We've been down here for five months. This is my first chance
to give people a reason to smile,
a chance for everybody to see that we have a future here.
This is hope.
Should I ask her to name the baby Hope?
- It's a bit heavy-handed. - It's a little on the nose, sir.
I have a meeting this afternoon about the reactors.
And you know, Mr. President, it wouldn't kill you
to learn what keeps this place running.
Right, the aquifer, and the 3-D printers,
and the modular nuclear reactors, yeah.
Sorry. Look, Sam.
I realize why this might be difficult for you.
I said I have work to do, sir.
Okay.
I just thought it was a good opportunity to bring the community together
and celebrate something positive.
They're gonna wipe the baby off a little, right, before I kiss it?
- I'm sure they will, sir. - It's a pre-wiped baby, sir.
The thing is, I have to get to…
Atlanta. Yes, I know.
I've heard about 10,000 times
in various states of consciousness.
Your wife is there. She sent a radio transmission,
thirty-three-point-seven blah, blah, latitude, blah, blah, longitude.
I know.
Thing is, you're not going anywhere anytime soon.
I had to put six stitches in your spleen.
- You a doctor or something? - Closest thing you got.
Why were you coming from Colorado if your wife is in Atlanta?
That's where she was when everything happened, Atlanta.
I was already on my way to Colorado.
To the bunker?
Oh, come on, the rumors were everywhere.
And you had to get that plane somehow.
Wow, so it's real.
- He was right. - Who was right?
No one.
Yeah, it's real.
What's it like?
It's like before, only creepier.
Gonna need at least two weeks for those to heal.
Even a stitch abscess could get infected,
and then you're looking at sepsis.
Listen, I know that you have been inside snug as a bug,
but out here, the little things will kill you.
A good rule of thumb is if it hurts when you touch it,
it means it's not healed.
Once you do heal, you're taking me to Colorado.
I'm going to Atlanta.
The toilet is there.
I will bring you water.
I hope you enjoy rat for breakfast.
You got two weeks to get stronger.
I'm Annie, by the way.
Xavier.
- Be gentle. - Oh, it's…
- Hm. - Looks good.
Yeah, it's not bad, is it?
There we go.
Shouldn't be on your feet all the time like that.
When my wife was pregnant, she had this terrible nausea…
Yeah, I get it. You knew a pregnant woman once.
Hey, now that you're getting stronger,
I could really use some help around here.
Yeah, sure. What do you need?
Tea.
Coming right up.
It's warm.
- Thank you. - Yeah.
I haven't seen a real sunset in years.
What did you use for lights down there?
Uh, fake sky, fake mechanical sun.
It looked so real at first.
But the longer we were down there, the more the…
I don't know, the more the seams began to show.
I'm strong enough to travel now.
I know.
I appreciate you saving my life.
And I do owe you for the care that you've given me.
But I cannot take you to Colorado until I find my wife.
It's a non-starter.
Okay.
The… the "he" that I…
…that I told you about in Colorado is the baby's daddy.
He was heading there and…
he asked me to go with him, and I said no.
I decided to lock myself in a theme park because I was scared.
Which I guess isn't exactly new for me.
It's normal to be scared.
- Mm-mm. - Hell, I was scared shitless
when I had a baby, and that was when the world was still intact.
I'm scared of every damn thing.
Fevers, strangers, rental cars, car seats.
And the older those babies get, the fears never really go away.
They just change.
But it's the highs that make it worth it.
You'll be more tired than you've ever been.
You'll still be scared shitless.
But you will not believe the joy.
You'll be playing with your kid, watching 'em splash around in the bath,
or play soccer for the first time.
And sometimes, Annie…
I swear it feels like your heart might fucking explode.
There's no soccer anymore.
- There will be. - Yeah, sure.
They'll be using animal heads as soccer balls.
You'll still feel the joy when they score.
I've been alone for a very, very long time.
I get that.
I didn't trust people before the world ended.
We go find your wife in Atlanta…
and then you'll take me to him in Colorado?
Yeah.
You good?
- Hi. - Mr. President. Hi.
Doctors, hello. How are you?
Oh, my gosh, he's coming this way.
- Hi, everyone. - Mr. President, it's an honor.
Lovely smiles today.
- We're happy to see you. - Hi.
CBC looks good. She'll be all set.
- Yes, Doctor. - Knock, knock.
Hey, the woman of the hour.
- How are you? Doctor. - Mr. President.
Oh, Cal, please.
How we feeling? We feeling good?
Excited?
Any… any nerves? Any regrets about the cost
of college education in 2043?
Sorry. Sometimes I just can't turn it off.
No, I think this baby's ready.
Listen, I know this has been an incredibly difficult time for you.
It's okay, Mr. President. We don't need to do all that right now.
Well, I want you to know I'm here for you.
Anything you need, okay?
Luisa…
your boy is gonna be the first child born down here.
Do you believe that shit? Think about it.
The rest of us, all of us, all our memories,
all our stories are from out there.
He will be the first person whose entire story will take place here.
He's the first, the first of this world.
How fuckin' wild is that?
I'm not naming him "Hope."
Ah, they told you.
Alright.
I'll be outside if you need anything.
Okay? Or if you change your mind.
Thank you, sir.
You know what I'm craving right now?
- Hm? - Waffles.
What I would give.
Is that, um…
Yep. That's him.
- What? - Nothing.
Who was he?
Uh…
Just someone passing through.
I've been having these dreams.
Or maybe not dreams, um…
Almost like memories of things?
But they're things that haven't happened.
You almost certainly had a concussion.
I imagine you're gonna have sleeping troubles for a while.
Here, you should take this. You're still recovering.
I'm good, Doc.
No arguments.
Alright, if Xavier's off the table,
what about Daniel for a boy?
Daniel? Where'd that come from?
This kid I met after the crash.
Xavier.
Should we go back, take another road?
And lose the time? No, ma'am.
Come on, let's keep moving.
Nothing wrong with having a little trust,
especially in times like these.
Don't make eye contact. Don't say anything.
Just keep going.
Xavier, they're not your friends. Don't say anything.
Howdy. How y'all doing?
Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm.
Xavier, when your kids were born, what'd you do to celebrate?
You don't strike me as a cigar guy.
I fed, I burped, I swaddled. I got right to work.
Mm, not even a quick trip to the strip club, huh?
That's the problem with hospitals, sir. There's no place to get singles.
This is fun. Babies are fun.
Alright, let's prep OR-2.
- What's going on? - Baby's heart rate dropped.
There's been a prolonged decel. Prepping Mrs. Moreno for the OR.
We need to do an emergency C-section.
Excuse us?
Watch behind you.
- On your left. - Coming through.
- Stay with me? - I'm right here.
- Where's the father? - He was a staffer
on the plane carrying Congress.
- Excuse us. - Behind you.
- I'm gonna go in there with her. - Doctors have got this.
- Let them do their jobs. - No.
Sir, I can't allow you to go in there unescorted.
Okay, well, then scrub the fuck up, Xavier.
Jesus. Stay here.
Why don't we take a break?
No, no, it's okay. We can keep going.
No, no, no. That's enough for today, come on.
Hey, said you wanted waffles.
Come on.
Still mad I said "hey" to those folks?
I was never mad.
I… I told you, I'm just not good at…
Trusting people, yeah, I heard.
But I think you're great with people, Annie.
You almost told that joke that one time.
Don't be lame.
Well, now you sound like my daughter.
And you roll your eyes like her, too.
Hey, has anybody ever talked to you about swaddling the baby?
- Swaddling? - Hell yeah, swaddling.
First time you swaddle a baby, you think you're gonna break 'em.
But you gotta pack that sucker in tight,
like a burrito.
The trick is,
you always make it tighter than you think you should.
Alright?
It's your turn, Doc.
Fold and tuck.
- I'm gonna break his little flour body. - No, just remember the rules.
Always tighter than you think.
- Yeah? - Bottom up.
There you go.
You said you were scared when your daughter was born.
If anybody tells you they're not scared, then they're straight-up lying.
When you leave the hospital, everybody thinks the same thing.
"I can't believe they let me walk out of here with a brand-new baby."
No test or nothing.
Feel like you just robbed a bank full of babies.
Okay. We're getting there.
My dad used to say, "If you're lucky,
you got a few moments when you got to experience life at full volume."
That's how he put it. "Life at full volume."
Those moments when you're completely present…
and everything slows down…
and all the textures, and colors,
and sounds, they all go…
like, high-def.
When they lay your baby on your chest for the first time…
and you know that they're safe, that they've made it to the world…
that'll always be one of those moments.
You know, like six months ago…
I woke up in the middle of the night because there was this sound.
So, I went up to the roof to see what it was, and then the lightning hit.
It was a tornado the size of a city.
I mean, I'd seen crazy weather, but this was so big
that the lightning was inside of it.
I saw that uncontrolled power.
The destruction.
That's the world my baby is coming into.
No life at full volume,
just pain, and loss, and death,
and all of the storms to come.
But the joy will come, too.
- It will come, I promise you. - Mm, yeah.
It just may be surrounded by the storms.
That's what I mean by believing in people, Annie.
That's not naive.
You can guard against the worst of people while still believing in the best.
Just remembering that we're all capable of great change…
great love, of great… of great promise.
It's a holy charge.
A holy charge?
- I kinda like that. - It's good, right?
It's okay.
We should get going.
Good morning.
Oof.
Fuck.
No.
Fuck.
Annie?
No, it's too early.
Come on.
Hey. Come on.
You're okay, let's… let's just get you back inside, okay?
- No, it's not okay, it's not okay. - What?
I have… My blood pressure's too high, I…
I have swollen ankles and… and, uh, blurred vision,
- and it's called preeclampsia. - Alright.
It's, uh, very threatening to me and the baby and…
Yeah.
It's gonna be okay. Come on.
I'm sorry, I thought if I told you, you wouldn't take me and…
- It's just the little things, you know? - Yeah, yeah.
It's the little things out here that will kill you.
Alright, look at me. Let's just go back inside
and we'll figure it out, okay? Come on.
Come on, one step at a time. Here we go, come on.
Come on.
There you go.
What are we gonna need, Doc?
To deliver this baby here now, what do we need?
Uh…
Um, clean towels.
- Okay. - And, um,
uh, we need to suction the baby's mouth,
so maybe like a liquid dropper or something.
Liquid dropper…
We need something to tie off the umbilical cord.
Oh, shit. Okay, let's see.
Fluids running at 150 milliliters.
- Hey, hey, hey. - Here you go, sir.
- Hi. - Thank you.
How are we doing here?
I'm here, okay?
I gotta…
Hey, Annie?
- Yeah? - I gotta go get help.
If not help, then at least a few supplies
- to help you deliver. - No. No.
You're not gonna have this baby anytime soon.
Alright, your contractions are still very far apart.
They only come rocketing out in the movies.
- I… I can't, I… - Yes, you can, look at me.
- I ca… - I will not allow you
to have this baby alone. Just, I'll be so quick, Doc.
- No, Xavier… - The people that we saw
are just over the hill, alright?
They'll have what we need, or they'll know where to get it.
No, we do not know those people. We don't know what they're capable of.
They're just people, Annie.
And we're not gonna be scared of 'em, right?
So, you just keep walking. Keep breathing through your contractions.
- I'll be back in 15 minutes, okay? - Xavier.
- Here, take this. - No.
- Just take it. Take… - Please, please don't.
- Xavier! - It's right here. I'll be right back.
- Okay? It's alright. - Xavier, Xavier, Xavier,
- please don't go! - I'll get help.
Xavier!
Nah, just…
We can do this. We can do this.
We'll be okay.
Please, please. Please.
Hello?
Hello, anyone?
I'm approaching unarmed. I got a situation.
My friend, she needs help!
Hey, I got a pregnant young woman that's having a baby,
and I need help! Please!
Anyone, hello?
Hey!
Hello?
Alright.
Okay. Okay.
Don't you fucking move.
I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry, it's for my friend.
She's in labor and she's pregnant. I just need supplies.
- Hey! - Please…
- Get the fuck away from my boy. - Just wait, just wait.
Who are all these people?
They're all specialists, okay? It's a good thing.
We couldn't be more covered.
You know, right after my son Jeremy was born,
the day my wife and I were driving home from the hospital,
we got rear-ended badly.
And Jeremy was in that car seat just shrieking.
So, we turned the car around, headed right back to the hospital.
Of course.
The doctor didn't blink an eye.
He took one look at Jeremy, and he said, "I want you to remember one thing.
Babies are built to survive."
They are resilient.
They've been found in the rubble of earthquakes
three days after the fact, alive and well.
I promise you, the first time that little boy smiles…
it's not just gonna change you, it's gonna change our entire world.
For good.
Okay.
Okay?
Please, please, I'm alone. I don't… I don't have anything.
I don't have any…
You okay?
You're alright.
It's okay.
Okay. That's right, Annie. Push, there we go. Good job.
Your body's just getting ready.
That's good, that's good, okay.
I'm gonna press.
You okay?
Hang in there. Hang in there.
She's getting close.
You'll be just fine, okay?
- Uh-huh. - Yeah?
- Mm-hmm. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Move the catheter over to her right side, please.
- Epidural's in, Doctor. - Thank you.
Let's get her measurement.
You're okay.
It's gonna be fine.
Scalpel.
Can I help?
- Yes, prop this table up under there. - Sure.
- Watch your fingers. - Yeah.
Good.
I saw a roll-out over there.
- Over the top? - Yeah. There we go.
I'm making my first incision, just above the pubic symphysis.
Bovie? I'm pushing through the subcutaneous tissue to the fascia.
- Clamp and suction. - Retractor?
Here you go, Doctor.
That's right, there you go.
That's good.
You're doing great. It'll be fine.
I've located the bladder.
Gently shifting now.
- Okay. - Almost there.
- Okay. - Okay. Okay.
There's the uterus.
I'm palpating the fetal vertex.
Scalpel.
Deep breaths, Annie. Deep breaths.
I can see the head. Okay.
Come on, Annie, you got this.
Come on.
I can't!
Amniotic sac has already ruptured.
Retract. Suction?
A lot of pressure.
- Oh, no! - One last push, Annie.
No!
- Come on, you got this. - Here we go.
One last push.
- Okay, I see the head. - Yes, yes.
There we go.
Suction.
Baby's out.
Okay.
There we go.
Time of birth.
You did it.
Cut.
Is he okay? Is he okay?
"She." It's a girl, Doc.
She?
She's beautiful.
She's perfect.
Hey.
Hi.
Hey, you see this?
They're leaving 'cause there's nothing else to do in here.
Baby's okay. Everything's okay.
Hi.
- Aw. - Hi.
Built to survive.
Hi.
- Hey, hey, hey. - Okay.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You're okay.
Easy.
Placenta? The blood…
W-What is it? What's happening?
The placenta won't come out and the bleeding won't stop.
So, what do we do?
What do we do? What can we do?
Nothing, there's… there's noth… nothing we can do.
There's nothing we can do.
No! Oh!
- Okay. - Stop, please.
Stop, please stop, please stop,
please stop, please stop.
- What do we do? - I said stop!
St…
I said stop.
Stop…
It's okay.
Hey. Hey, Doc.
No, I knew.
I… I knew, I knew.
I knew.
It's okay.
You alright?
It's f-for her.
You alright?
- Xavier. - Yeah?
Give this… to her.
- What? - When she's old enough.
- Annie, what are you doing? - Xavier.
- Hey, can you come back over here, please? - Xavier, listen to me.
- Can you keep going? We got… - Xavier.
Find the… you…
It has to be you.
Find her father. He was leading a group to…
to the bunker… to start the world.
You will not let her be afraid of people.
Promise me, Xavier.
This is your holy charge.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Yeah.
Ooh.
I'm not scared anymore.
It's okay, Doc.
It's okay.
Okay, Doc.
Did you know anything else about her?
Last name, year she was born?
We didn't know each other that long.
Tried to give everyone we found out there some dignity.
Some grace.
Hey.
Okay. Come here.
Come here.
These are good.
Alright.
Come on, let's go.
Goddammit, I said let's go.
What did you do before all this?
Chemistry teacher, high school.
But, uh…
then the world went ass over teakettle,
and I realized that there was a real deficit of people
willing to get their hands dirty.
We could take the baby.
We don't have much, but we could find a way.
It's a promise I can't break.
Babies are built to survive. They're resilient.
They've been found in the rubble of earthquakes
three days after the fact, alive and well.
The night before Annie died,
she was telling me about this storm she saw.
And the last few nights, I can't stop thinking about it.
She said she was afraid of what storms will come.
That's how she put it.
- "What storms will come." - Mm.
I've been doing a lot of reading these past few years.
I read this one book where 72,000 years ago,
there was this volcano that went off in Sumatra.
Drove the human population of the entire planet
- down to just 1,000 people. - Hm.
So you, me, everyone we have ever met…
we are all descended from that same 1,000 people
who just happened to survive.
I think my wife and I had about a quarter of that number
at our wedding alone.
Wild to think about, huh?
At least that time, it wasn't our own fuckin' fault.
Yeah, I… I look at Tony sometimes and I think…
I cannot goddamn believe I'm his grandma.
It seems like just yesterday I was sneaking off
under the bleachers at the football games
trying to get laid with my first boyfriend.
Now…
here I am, an old woman…
looking after a snotty little boy…
with my same eyes…
wondering what he'll have to live through.
And it all happened just like…
We all forget how close we are in time.
How quickly our sins become our children's burdens.
You should give that thing a test drive.
It's okay. Come on, now.
Oh, how the hell am I gonna do this?
Come on.
Hey.
Hi.
- Hi. - My name…
I'm Samantha Redmond.
Of course. I mean, I know who you are.
- Uh, how can I help you? - I brought…
Oh, thank you.
I know it's just a choking hazard now,
but trust me, when he gets a little older, he's gonna love them.
Thank you. Everybody's been so kind.
Of course. Of course.
I just wanted to come by and say congratulations.
And if you ever need anything at all, please don't hesitate to reach out.
What did you end up naming him?
This is Calvin.
Hi, Calvin. Is he sleeping well?
My son Dylan was a terrible sleeper.
Oh, he sleeps like a dream.
I, however, have not slept since he was born.
Yeah.
You wouldn't by any chance mind…
- Does he need to be fed? - Yeah.
And burped and… and changed.
Yes, I would… I… Yes, why don't you lie down?
I'd be happy to take him for an hour or two.
- Yeah? - Yes.
- Hi. - Here we go.
- Hi, Calvin. - Hi, baby.
Oh, I bet. I bet.
Who is this?
Boy, you really are gorgeous.
Can I tell you a secret, gorgeous boy?
Something no one else knows down here?
Someday, you're gonna see the real sky.
You'll feel how warm the sun can be on your skin.
You'll know what the moon looks like in all its phases.
You'll see how the constellations travel across the sky at night.
I swear, Calvin.
I have a plan.
For you.
For all of us.
Someday, you'll see real stars.
Hello, darling.
If you're reading this, I'm sorry that we never got the chance to meet.
I don't know how old you'll be, or who you'll be with.
All I know is that you were born into a hard world.
And I hope you can feel the love that I have for you.
Especially in your darkest moments and the longest nights.
There are good people in this world.
There always have been and there always will be.
I trust that you've become one of them.
I trust that love travels across death, across time.
That it bridges impossible distances…
and binds people who've never known each other.
I will always imagine you grown, and brave, and beautiful.
I love you so much, my beautiful baby.
Love, your mama.
You must be Xavier.
- Oh hey. - Who are you?
I'm a friend of your wife's. I'm a friend of Teri's.
- Where is she? - Easy.
- Is she here? - Oh…
She sent a radio broadcast from here, so where the hell is she?
How the fuck do you know my wife?
How do I know your wife?
For the last three years, Teri has been my best friend, my partner…
closest thing I have to a sister.
She's my favorite person left
in this godforsaken world.
And she's been taken from me.
So, that's how I know your wife.