Serene_Quill

LOLz

2009-11-14T03:20:46Z

Colin Ferguson is so adorkable!

Behind the Scenes with Colin Ferguson on the set of Lake Placid 3

I think I'm equal parts amused as a set person and because CF really is adorable and a total dork. =)

Eureka Fic: "Possessed", Jack/Nathan. NC-17

2009-10-31T20:59:56Z

Title: Possessed
Author: serene_quill
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, past Nathan/Allison
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~7200
Disclaimer: Not mine!
Warnings: Spoilers for season 3.5, AU- Ignores one half of the departures in 318. For the "Halloween Hollywood Horror Tropes" Challenge at starks_lab
Summary: Jack’s not himself lately...

It started the day Jack forgot to shave.

“Nice look, Dad,” Zoë smirked at him over her glass of orange juice. When Jack looked at her blankly, she rubbed her cheeks demonstratively. Jack reached up, frowning a little.

“Guess I forgot,” he muttered, stepping into the living room to check his reflection in a mirrored surface. “Maybe I’ll grow a beard.”

“Really?” Zoë asked skeptically. “Is this like a rebound thing from you and Tess finally calling the whole long distance thing off? Cuz I only budgeted for you to have like a six week period of weirdness. If I need to make room for more ice cream and football flicks…”

“Nah, I’m good,” Jack mused thumbing his chin thoughtfully. “I had a beard once, when you were three.”

“Oh god, a graduation thing then!” she groaned, flipping her hair carefully. “Staying here, GD internship, remember?”

“No, Zoë, it’s just an impulse,” Jack replied tiredly. He rubbed his eyes. “Ugh, doesn’t feel like I slept at all last night.”

“You probably didn’t,” Zoë retorted, rolling her eyes. “Sounded like you had some hard nightmares, even SARAH commented on it.”

“It’s true, Sheriff, I was concerned by your distress while sleeping,” SARAH reported, and Jack shrugged.

“Can’t help you, I don’t remember it,” he told them, nipping a quick bit of cereal straight and dry from the box, ignoring the weird look Zoë gave him when he didn’t reach for a bowl or the milk. “If I have another one, SARAH, see if Dr. Sueños will refill that prescription for a sleep aid, okay?” The dream doctor had given him a prescription after the time loop incident (as Jack referred to it mentally), and it helped alleviate nightmares.

“I will call him today, as this is the third consecutive night you’ve had nightmares,” SARAH replied, and Jack rolled his eyes at her too helpful tone.

“Fine, whatever,” Jack called to her, snagging his badge and grabbing his coat. “See you at dinner?” he asked Zoë.

“Got a project with Pilar,” she told him.

“See you tomorrow?” he hazarded a guess, and she gave him a thumbs up.

*-*

His beard had come in quickly and neatly, much to Zane’s chagrin; despite the scientist’s best efforts, he didn’t seem to be capable of getting past the stubble on the cheeks phase, and Jo was getting a little annoyed at him.

“Shave, or you’re on the couch,” Jack heard her threaten Zane one morning as he entered the station, and he made sure to straighten his beard a little as he passed Zane, enjoying the disgruntled noises the taunting produced.

Jo rolled her eyes as he came in, a little smug and demanded, “What is it with men and their beards?”

“Proof of manly, testosterone driven adulthood,” Jack replied with a cocky grin, and Jo paused, considering it.

“Yeah, that actually makes sense,” she decided, a little sarcastically. “Probably easier than whipping them out and finding a measuring tape.”

“Sorry to hear Zane’s having trouble in that department,” Jack returned the insult quickly, enjoying Jo’s quick shock. “Growing a beard, I mean.”

“Ha ha, Carter,” Jo slid back to her desk, picking up a pink phone message slip. “By the way, Henry called. He wants you to stop by the garage, ASAP.”

“Anything else pressing?” Jack asked, straightening his cuffs as he prepared to head out, and Jo looked at him oddly for a moment, before finally replying.

“No, go ahead,” she said distractedly. “The way you just did that reminded me of something, but I can’t place it.”

“Right,” the words didn’t register with Jack as he left, waving to her. “Back in a bit, Deputy Lupo.”

“Deputy Lupo?” she echoed, sitting back down in her desk, frowning. Carter only referred to her by rank and last name if she had pissed him off.
*-*

Henry was half under a car in his garage when Jack strolled in. He rolled himself out from under it when he heard Jack’s greeting. “Hey, Jack,” he replied, standing and shaking his head at the carefully groomed soupcatcher on his friend’s face. “Figured you would have shaved by now.”

“I’m enjoying it,” Jack replied, stroking his chin briefly. “So what’s the big emergency?”

Henry paused, folding his arms and taking in Jack for a long moment. “You look like you’ve started sleeping again,” he observed quietly. “Can you manage without Sueños’s little nightmare pills?”

“I’ve tried,” Jack burst out, a little exasperated. Henry had made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like Jack taking the pills. “I either go on no sleep or the non-natural REM-less kind. Easy call.”

Henry nodded, sighing. “I get that, Jack. I was just hoping you’d reconsidered letting me do an MRI, run a couple tests.”

“Henry, we both know my problems may be in my head, but they won’t show up on your scanners.” Jack shifted uncomfortably, a little look of guilt on his face. “But… I actually agreed to let Sueños run some sleep studies and hook my brain up to machines while I sleep if it doesn’t get better in a couple days,” he admitted sheepishly. “He’d probably let you help.”

Henry considered it, then nodded. “Sounds good,” he agreed, deciding a sideways attack, approaching Sueños in order to add an MRI to the battery of tests, would be a more efficient use of his time.

“Any reason other than worrying at me for why you called me out here?” Jack asked, picking up on of Henry’s tools and playing with it, the typical Jack movement making Henry smile as he shook his head in response. “If I had to guess, I’d say you’re planning a big explosion.” He pointed with the end of the tool at the whiteboard in the far corner of the garage, which was covered in Henry’s scrawl.

“It shouldn’t explode,” Henry protested, folding his arms. “Why would you think that?”

“First,” Jack remarked dryly, “because it always explodes with you. And second,” he added as he opened the door to step out, “Because your third equation is off.” With that, Jack was gone.

“Third equation is wrong,” Henry laughed after Jack, picking up his markers and absentmindedly switching his name badge from ‘mechanic’ to ‘engineer’. He frowned, suddenly spotting a variable in the third equation which, as Jack had joked, was off. “Huh,” Henry mused to himself as he erased the data and started again.

*-*

“Hey, Allie,” Jack greeted Allison as he sat down in the chair across her desk, and for one brief moment, Allison had to stare long and hard at her friend.

“Are you losing your voice?” she demanded, eyes widening.

“I don’t think so,” he replied, and the tension drained back out of her muscles. He sounded like Jack, the same as he always had.

“Sorry, you sounded odd when you said my name,” she informed him, trying to push away the annoying thought that was tugging at her brain cells. “You here for Henry and Dr. Sueños’s exam?”

“Yup. Just hoping they draw the line before I end up with needles through my eyeballs or something,” Jack grimaced, making Allison smile. “So, yet another hot date tonight with Doc Rocks,” he added casually, getting an amused rolling of her eyes from Allison at the nickname some of the GD staff had given the geologist.

“Dr. Cole,” Allison started. “And it’s only been four weeks, and—”

“Uh huh,” Jack grinned knowingly. “And you’re crazy head over heels for him.”

Allison rolled her eyes, grinning sheepishly. “Okay, maybe I am,” she admitted, shrugging slightly at Jack’s knowing grin. “It’s nice, having someone I click with. He makes me feel… happy.”

“Good for him,” Jack replied, smiling at her gently. “You deserve something good.”

Allison allowed herself a moment of sadness that Jack wasn’t the one who was able to step into that place, then forced her smile back onto her face. “You better get going,” she told him, tapping her watch. “Before Henry comes to find you.”

Jack groaned, but waved as he left, and Allison settled back into her paperwork, firmly tucking away her earlier thoughts. Jack sounding like her ex-husband was merely a by-product of her subconscious worry about her date that evening. Checking her watch, she realized she was running late, and it took a lot of time and effort to squeeze into the sexy little red dress she’d let Jo talk her into buying for the date.

*-*

Jack waited patiently as Paul Sueños pasted little electronic monitors to his forehead. As far as the GD geeks went, Sueños was easily one of his favorites—easy to talk to, enjoyed baseball, action movies, and they shared a similar military past. But at the moment, on a cot and being hooked up to machines, Jack could easily have done without the scientist. “You really think this will tell you why I’m having nightmares?” he asked, and Sueños smiled.

“Or it can hopefully give us some idea as to the substance of the nightmares, since you can’t seem to remember,” Sueños reassured him. “Get the issue out of your subconscious, and the nightmares should lessen. Hopefully.”

“Well, when you have to psychoanalyze why I’m having nightmares about baking cakes or carnival fun houses, be sure to leave me out,” Jack remarked dryly.

“Maybe you’ll just be dreaming that the Red Sox won’t make the playoffs,” Sueños smirked at him. “Oh wait, that’s reality.”

“Can’t believe I’m letting a Yankees fan poke into my brain,” Jack grumbled, and Sueños made a face.

“Don’t have anyone else you can watch games with or who gets why you complain about fake baseball every spring,” Sueños reminded him. “And the reverse is true for me, so be still and let me run my tests.”

“Yes, sir,” Jack replied dryly, laying back and trying to relax while the machine took images of his brain for Henry to analyze later. “How are things with Vince?” Jack asked quietly.

“Slow,” Sueños replied, shrugging. “He’s worried I’m not sincere, and I’m worried I’m completely out of my depth here.”

The relationship between Vince and Sueños was one of the most widely known and ill kept secrets in town. The courtship, almost primetime drama slow in developing, was what happened when you put a fish out of water divorcee scientist and an almost painfully skittish chef together and added a heaping dose of attraction, Jack suspected.

Sueños finished attaching monitors to Jack’s forehead and helped him settle back into the dream net machine. Next, he produced a slightly purple colored injection that had Jack raising an eyebrow. “Relax, it’s a mild sedative, with a hormone cocktail that helps improve REM sleep.”

“Oh, so heightened nightmares then?” Jack quipped sarcastically, grimacing as Sueños stuck him with the pressure syringe. He sighed, trying to relax, and surprisingly, aided by the drug, his body obeyed the thought, sleep spiraling in to his mind.

*-*

Sueños was flipping through the dream data as it streamed in when Henry entered the lab, a worried scowl creasing the dream scientist’s forehead. “Something’s wrong,” Henry observed flatly, tapping his data pad against his palm, knowing he hadn’t misread the MRI.

“I don’t know how, but I’ve got two distinct sets of delta waves,” Sueños informed him. He adjusted the controls, fingers moving a little too rapidly, then sighed. “I’ve checked all the equipment, all my sensors, I can’t find the glitch.”

“I’m not sure it is a glitch,” Henry replied, handing the data pad over. “Take a look at the alpha wave readings.” In his mind, he could see the images clearly. Jack’s thoughts, with the occasional, seconds long burst of a second set of brain waves alongside the first. Occasionally, Jack’s pattern seemed to recede, and the second became dominant, though such bursts lasted mere fractions of seconds.

“What is this, DID?” Sueños guessed, and Henry took the data pad back, pulling up information from the GD database.

“This is what happens with the brain waves of a patient with dissociative identity disorder,” Henry explained, handing over the archived images. “See how there’s no overlap, just a pattern shift from one to the next? They also tend to occur in much larger chunks of time, and the patterns look very similar. The differences are subtle, not so radically different as they are here.”

“If it’s not DID, then what are we looking at?” Sueños asked worriedly.

*-*

Jack whistled to himself, surprised that Henry and Sueños had sent him home, despite the worried looks both had worn. He changed out of his uniform, poured himself a snifter of brandy, and settled in with a book, a sci-fi mystery that had been sitting on his bed stand to read for ages.

He was surprisingly content for the first time in weeks, his mind entangled in the plot. Even the science parts didn’t seem so bad, and SARAH had to prompt him to go to bed when it grew late.

Remembering Sueños’s warning about drug interaction, he took the book up to his room with him, prepared to spend half the night with it after he woke up from his nightmares.

Jack Carter went to sleep shortly before midnight.

Shortly after midnight, Nathan Stark woke up.

*-*

Henry looked up from his data scans when the phone in his lab beeped noisily at him, and he was thankful for the moment he spared to look at caller ID rather than ignoring it. “SARAH?” he asked hesitantly, more than a little surprised.

“I apologize for the late hour, Dr. Deacon, however you and Dr. Sueños asked to be apprised of any odd movements on the part of Sheriff Carter.”

That had Henry sitting up straight. “What happened, SARAH?”

“Sheriff Carter went to bed about an hour ago,” she informed him primly. “Then, for no apparent reason, half an hour ago, he got up again. He dressed in his best suit and tie and left, not responding to my queries. My GPS location system has placed the location of the Jeep somewhere just off Turing Turnpike.”

“Turing?” Henry murmured, trying to remember what was out in that direction. Some old labs, mostly closed down, the better parts of several burned out. His musings were interrupted by an out of breath Paul Sueños bursting into his lab and shoving a set of brain scans into his hands.

Henry glanced at them then back at Sueños. “Our second pattern?” he asked, baffled.

Sueños shook his head. “Read the tag,” he panted, coughing slightly. “I’ve checked it against several records in the GD databanks, not just my own. Henry, how can it be…?”

He trailed off, seeming unwilling to voice the name Henry had just read of the bottom of the scan. “Nathan had a lab on Turing, his AI workshop,” Henry muttered, and awareness suddenly snapped in. “Paul, have you got a car?”

*-*

Nathan surveyed the ruined shells of the AI creations he’d made what felt like lifetimes ago and sighed. His hold on Jack Carter’s body was tenuous, barely allowing his control, but Sueños’s REM enhancers had given him a good foothold. Unfortunately, transferring himself to one of the AI shells in storage at the lab wouldn’t be feasible given the amount of smoke and fire damage they had sustained. He needed another plan, but he wasn’t sure he’d get another opportunity to take control this way. His usual outbursts were limited to a word or two here and there.

A strand of memory from the sleeping mind of Jack floated up into his consciousness, and Nathan realized that Jack had had brain scans conducted earlier that day. His time might be more limited than he though, he realized, knowing Henry and Sueños could probably put it all together, given enough time.

He sat on the edge of a table, examining his hold on Jack’s brain, wondering if he could latch on tight enough to keep his little fingernail holds in Jack’s consciousness after the other man woke up. It didn’t seem hard, but as Nathan had learned over the past months of being stored inside Carter, the man was ridiculously well controlled and stubborn. He’d started with only the tiniest kernel of brain cells, and it had taken the better part of his time in banishment to claw his way up to the surface.

Nights were the worst. He’d burrowed into Jack’s subconscious most easily of all Jack’s thoughts, but the man had seen horrific things as a US Marshal, and any time he’d thought about them or dreamed about them, Nathan had lived them. Small murdered children, serial killers, crime scenes… Nathan shuddered involuntarily.

“I need a new body,” he mused aloud, and the sound of his words in Jack’s voice startling him.

A door opened, but Nathan didn’t look up. “Nathan?” Henry asked softly, approaching cautiously, as though the man were a wild animal of some sort. “Is… is that really you?”

“Yes,” Nathan replied with a snort, rolling his eyes. “Trapped in a 111 brain, in fact,” he added spitefully, though he had to admit Carter’s unusual brilliance and intuitive powers had made a profound impression on him during his time expanding into the right brain and pre frontal cortex areas.

“Fascinating,” Sueños muttered, and Nathan became aware for the first time that the scientist had crept into the lab, a few steps behind Henry. “Humans only use 10% of their brain, and in the temporally accelerated phase, the brain waves, essentially the consciousness of Nathan Stark could have grabbed on to a corporeal, functioning electrical neural system. Jack Carter being the nearest person at the time, the brain waves most likely imprinted onto spare bits of his neurons, cells that weren’t being used.”

“Sure,” Nathan shrugged, sighing. “I don’t know how it happened. It was almost three months before I was present enough to be aware and figure out where I was.”

“So the weird things Jack’s been doing, fixing my equations, growing a beard… that was you,” Henry murmured, and Nathan rolled his eyes at the familiar look of ethical revulsion on Henry’s face.

“Look, I came to see if I could get my neural pattern transferred to an AI shell, but they’ve degraded too much. I haven’t gotten to making up plan B yet, but if you could help instead of standing there judging what happened,” Nathan snapped, but getting angry was a mistake. Carter’s control on the brain stirred, then shoved past him to take control, wake himself up.

To Nathan’s surprise, either because of Sueños’ drug or his own stubbornness, he managed to keep his hold on Jack’s brain and was hit the knowledge that if Carter let down his guard or fell asleep, he could probably push his way back into control.

*-*

Jack blinked, looking at Henry and Paul for a moment, baffled. “How did I get—” he broke off when he saw Henry’s sympathetic look, a moment before he felt a little push in his mind, total awareness of the consciousness hidden in his own brain suddenly rushing in. “Stark?” he demanded incredulously, and the answering tingle in his brain felt like an arrogant smirk. “Oh god, I can feel him in there,” Jack groaned, fingertips pressing to his temples automatically.

“Stop being such a baby,” he heard Stark snap, and a moment later, his eyes widened, realizing the words had tumbled from his own mouth.

“I’m sharing a body with a dead man,” he staggered, lucky Henry had an arm under his elbow and eased him into a chair quickly. “I’m possessed.”

“It’s not technically possession,” Henry remarked, apparently unable to resist sharing his own scientific deductions.

“It’d make sense, Stark really is the spawn of the devil. Next I’ll be spewing pea soup everywhere,” Jack continued, half hysterically, and the next wave from the other consciousness was a hard slap, a neural firing that made him jerk under its impact.

“Being trapped in here isn’t my idea of a good time,” his mouth snapped, but his ears were starting to hear Stark, not his own voice. “You’ve got a lot of bad shit locked in here, Carter.”

“No one asked you to go poking around in my dark memories,” Jack replied automatically, ignoring the looks of alarm on Henry and Sueños’ faces. “God, is it just him messing with my brain, or is he actually making me sound like him when he talks through me?”

“It’s just you. Your auditory neurons are trying to compensate for the mental memory of what Stark thinks he sound like,” Paul hazarded the guess reassuringly, shooting Henry a desperate look that Jack pretended not to notice. “To us you sound the same.”

“Great, I still need a plan B on getting my own brain space,” Jack’s voice snapped, and he recoiled. “Stop doing that, Stark, it’s my goddamn body!”

“Can you hear me otherwise?” This time, the question was limited to Jack’s ears and not piping out his mouth.

“I heard that,” he replied, and Henry raised his eyebrows, obviously not having heard the question. “Guess it’s better than him hijacking my body. But he’s right, we do need to get him out of my head.”

“Okay, so I take it creating a whole new AI mainframe is out?” Sueños hazarded. “And can we even perform the transfer?”

“We have the PX-24,” Henry replied, and Jack groaned, remembering having dug into Dr. Thatcher’s brain. “It can be modified to lock onto the signature that belongs just to Nathan and remove it, transfer it to a new body. AI could work, but it would take the better part of two years to develop a sufficient positronic brain.”

“He can’t stay here for two years,” Jack grumbled. “Can’t you just grow him his own brain or something?”

Henry lit up, nodding. “Actually, maybe we can. I need to talk with Walter Perkins.”

*-*

Henry had sent Jack home to rest, while he went to discuss the possibility of creating a clone with Walter Perkins. Nathan, meanwhile, turned the possibility of a clone form of himself over in his mind, calculating how to draw his brain waves into it, and a myriad of other possibilities, finally making Jack sigh, rolling over once more in bed.

“Can you stop?” he demanded. “It’s hard enough to sleep with just my thoughts rolling around in there, I don’t need yours too!”

“I can’t help it, I don’t need sleep,” Nathan complained, sending the mental equivalent of making a face at Jack’s brain. “Besides, your dreams are no walk in the park.”

“There’s plenty of good stuff in there, I don’t know why you’re poking around the serial killers and people I’ve had to track down,” Jack observed, huffing his breath out tiredly. “And by the way, why are you suddenly so loud, all the time, here in my head?”

“I think it was Sueños’s drug,” Nathan mused, trying to project a shrug. “By the way? You and Tess Fontana? Creepiest thing ever.”

“Excuse me?” Jack’s voice was frosty, and Nathan could feel jagged edges of offended thoughts aimed his way.

“Mostly that time where you wondered if she was a replacement for me and then thought about the idea the whole time,” Nathan continued mercilessly. It had shocked him, the intensity Jack had felt for him, the powerful turmoil and battering between despair and lust that had churned him about in Jack’s mind that night.

“Clearly didn’t know you were there,” Jack’s words were bitten off, and he rolled onto his side, tucking inward a little, as though he were turning away from Nathan, the scientist mused. The problem, of course, was that where Jack went, Nathan was bound to follow now.

“You have to admit, you had really awkward, boring sex,” Nathan remarked ever more fervently. “She was so awkward I started suspecting she had ulterior motives on Allison.”

Jack punched the pillow, closing his eyes determinedly, but Nathan was relentless. “Speaking of, why didn’t you go after her? She’d have welcomed you at one time. Now she’s fallen head over heels for Dr. Cole.”

“Is that’s what’s bothering you?” Jack groaned, wrapping his pillow around his ears for one moment before remembering it would do no good. “Alison moved on, fell for someone else. And now that you’re sort of back, you’re not going to be able to compete?”

Nathan was silent for a long time, but Jack could feel the confused swirl of emotions from the other presence in his mind. First he picked out a small twinge of jealousy, but it was only as significant as his own was when it came to Allison. Next bewildered curiosity—being in his mind apparently had stirred up a bit of attraction and interest that made little sense to Nathan. Finally, he felt a genuine contentment. Allie was taken care of, safe, and was falling in love. If she was happy, Nathan could be content with it. “Wow,” Jack mused, and flinched when Nathan slammed mental barriers against him. “Oh grow up, Stark, you’ve gotten to be a voyeur on my sex life for the past year and ransacked all my painful memories. Why shouldn’t I get a few in return?”

“Shut up and go to sleep,” Nathan replied coolly, closing himself off, not wanting to talk with Carter any longer. Jack thought about it for a little while, but ended up drifting to sleep.

*-*

Zoë was not a morning person, nor very tolerant of unexpected news first thing in the morning, so when she woke to an email from Henry explaining that her father was possessed (only in overly elevated scientific terms), she double checked the calendar, confirmed Halloween was right around the corner, hit delete and started sorting clothing in her closet to try and find a good costume for next week.

She gave up after eliminating a number of dresses her dad would object to on principle, then headed down to breakfast, slowing her gait as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Her dad was arguing with himself.

And what was weird was that either Henry and her dad had cooked up a very elaborate prank and her dad did a much more accurate impression of Stark than he’d ever managed while the scientist was alive or…

“Dad?” she asked, watching the interplay of expressions suddenly halt, coalescing into a worried look.

“Hey, Zo, pancakes for breakfast?” he asked in a tone that reminded Zoë of when he and her Mom had been trying to hide just how bad things were.

“Henry emailed me, I already know, Dad,” she replied. “You’ve got Stark’s brain pattern or soul or whatever stuck inside you.”

“Yeah,” he agreed quietly, gesturing her to a seat. “But Henry, Paul, and Walter Perkins are working on cloning a new Stark body, so we can transfer him out of my head. Hopefully soon,” he added in a grumble.

Zoë’s head reeled, unable to believe her dad was so easily accepting of this. “So that’s it?” she demanded, aghast. “He gets to be privy to our lives for the past year? Dig around your head, find out anything he wants?”

“Zoë,” Jack started, but she could see the ripple of change across his face as suddenly Stark started talking.

“I’ve done the best I can to respect your privacy, to stay away from your father’s memories of you,” he informed her quietly.

“Had any compulsions about doing that with Dad?” she accused, and seeing the flinch, knew she was right. “You’re the one dredging up his nightmares and putting him through hell, aren’t you?”

“It’s okay, Zo,” her dad started to say, and she cut him off quickly.

“No, it’s not!” she burst out. “Stay out of his head and mouth when I’m around, Stark, and stay the hell away from his memories, or I’ll find a priest to try an old fashioned exorcism.”

Tears threatening, she grabbed her backpack and hurried out, ordering SARAH to slam the door behind her. She didn’t wait to hear if the house complied.

*-*

Jack stayed silent, letting Nathan sort through the emotional waves that Zoë’s outburst had caused. “I don’t understand,” Nathan admitted finally.

“This town has given her some phobias about the privacy of her thoughts,” Jack explained softly. “Dream sharing, mind reading, possession, nothing is private or sacred in this town. Were you around about six months ago when Dr. Forstell used the OL-984 thought reader to win over dates, trick them into sleeping with him?”

“Oh,” Nathan’s thoughts were racing, and suddenly Jack was aware that Nathan was comparing his own actions to that of the scientist and finding himself no better than the other man.

“No,” Jack protested, sighing. “I wasn’t saying you were like that, I was saying it’s what she sees. It’s… well, it’s a phobia for her now. And she’s right, it is an invasion of my privacy, but given that the other option is you gone for good…I guess I’d choose this.”

“That’s… almost nice of you, Carter,” Nathan decided. “I’ll try to stay out of your way today, I promise.”

That proved to be easier said than done, Jack realized several hours later. It seemed everyone in town had heard that Nathan was living in Jack’s head and was eager to test it out. Jack finally quarantined himself to the station, and Jo, equally annoyed by some of the crass questioning, had volunteered to run for lunch.

Jack was sitting at his desk, reading through a case file when Allison strolled in, grinning at him. “Good morning,” she greeted him, and Jack checked his watch.

“Afternoon,” he replied, folding his arms. “Please tell me this isn’t the start of another pollen disaster and you’re just running late.”

“Took the morning off,” she replied, sitting in a chair with a grin. “I miss anything good?”

“She doesn’t know,” Nathan said, careful to confine his voice to inside Jack’s head. “No one told her.”

“Ah, you talked with Henry about my test results yet?” Jack hazarded, and she shook her head.

“Figured it couldn’t be anything serious, or he would have called me and forbidden you from being here today,” she observed logically. “Did he find something?”

“Ah, not something, no,” Jack hedged, shifting uncomfortably. “Someone?”

“Someone?” she repeated, lifting an eyebrow. “Carter, I don’t have time for riddles, what did Henry find?”

“He found… uh, I guess you could say I’m possessed?” he turned it into a question, and Allison smirked.

“Nice Halloween prank,” she chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Come on, what’d Henry find?”

“He found Nathan,” Jack said softly. “His brain pattern in my mind.”

Allison stared at him for a long moment, eyes darkening. “That isn’t funny.”

“I’m not trying to—”

“Is this because I’m moving in with Cole?” she demanded. “Finally making your play to wreck things?”

“Allie.” Jack fell back, allowing Stark to take control. “Remember the first time I proposed to you? Had Vincent hide the ring in a piece of sacre tort cake? Took you on a picnic, and the minute you saw that ring, you told me I was a moron, thinking you’d marry me after only six weeks.”

“Oh my god,” Allison whispered, eyes filling.

“Only took me another year and a half to convince you to marry me,” Nathan continued, and Jack projected a little surprise. Somehow he’d envisioned some grand romance the first go round between the pair, but what he was gleaning from Nathan’s memories was nothing like that. Nathan opened the memories to him, to explore, and continued talking with Allison while Jack cautiously sorted through the memories, surprised at the liberties Stark allowed.

*-*

Jack had a headache by the time they got home that night, unsurprised to find a message from Zoë claiming a study session at Pilar’s he knew to be non-existent. It was an excuse to stay away from the situation, and he couldn’t fault her for it.

Nathan had been quiet ever since Allie had left the station, after a long conversation that ended with him reassuring her he was happy she had moved on, but establishing he would take partial custody of Jenna as soon as he could. Jack sighed, pulling out a beer, but set it aside, bracing his hands on the counter. “Can’t believe I’m inviting this, but are you okay?” he asked, and Nathan stirred, sighing.

“I’m fine,” he replied, his voice sounding heavy with irony in Jack’s mind. “That’s the problem. A year of watching her move on was enough for me to move on?”

“Maybe being my head is influencing you?” Jack suggested. “I’m okay with it, so you are.”

“No, I know my own mind,” Nathan replied, and Jack was suddenly aware that they were both speaking aloud. “Sorry, I’ll try to get better at that before Zoë comes home tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Jack agreed, not wanting to relive the argument.

“Would you like to grab a shower before dinner, Sheriff and Dr. Stark?” SARAH asked suddenly. “I have half an hour left until the Pastetli is finished.”

“Yeah, thanks SARAH,” Jack replied for them, heading up the stairs.

He was finishing rinsing off his body when suddenly Nathan shoved mentally, taking control. “Trust me,” Nathan murmured when Jack pushed at him, pushed aside again in response to his attempt. Jack finally sighed, relinquishing control, only to nearly claw his way to the surface in shock when Nathan took hold of his cock, stroking firmly.

“Whoa,” Jack groaned, and Nathan pushed again, reassuringly this time.

“I want to do this for you, want to be with you,” Nathan murmured, fingers slowly toying with Jack’s balls, his cock hardening quickly in response to the sensation. “Do you want me to finish?”

Jack was tempted to say no, for reasons ranging from Nathan actually loathing him to Nathan rebounding, but each was quickly rebuked in a wave of feelings from Nathan, and Nathan now had his other hand stroking his nipples, creating ripples of sensation. Jack knew he was touching himself technically, but it didn’t feel the same, since Nathan was in control, his touch exploring and unfamiliar. “Yes, please,” he finally gasped, rewarded by Nathan starting to stroke again.

His touch was an odd mix of familiar and strange, and once Jack closed his eyes, he was immersed in the fantasy that it actually was Nathan, separate and whole, slowly exploring him. It didn’t help that Nathan was starting to project images at him, things he wanted to do once he was in a cloned body.

Images of Jack on his knees were quickly followed by Nathan on his, kinky suggestions about his handcuffs were followed by the image of a slow, lazy Sunday in bed. The images came faster and fragmented as both men lost control, and Jack came, slumping into the wall with a strangled cry.

The first words that slipped from Jack’s mouth were, “You’ve been thinking about this for a while.” He cringed, feeling Nathan’s instant awkwardness and the scientist reaching for his barriers, trying to scramble to find a bit of wit to protect himself with. Jack instantly leapt for his own defenses. “Whoa, not a criticism, just… sort of hoping you were really planning on following through with some of what you just showed me.”

“The past few months, floating around in your mind… that wasn’t where it started,” Nathan informed him, and Jack sighed. Sharing a brain meant there was no hiding the subtext, he decided, ducking his face under the stream of hot water.

“I was attracted to what you show everyone else, but it was attraction, not much more,” Nathan told him. “I knew it could be, but I never took the time to get to know you before I died.”

“You didn’t die,” Jack murmured quietly. “So, finding out there’s actually some depth to me, dark things that I don’t want in my life now, that’s what tipped the balance?”

“Yes,” Nathan replied honestly, and Jack could see he was scared, knowing how much that information could cost him. “My mind’s an open book to you, Jack,” the scientist offered. “You can do some digging through too.”

Jack hesitated, curious, but a corner of his mind not wanting to pry either. “Pick some to show me,” he decided finally, and he felt Nathan considering.

Almost instantly the memory of being hit, hard, across the face, surfaced. The man behind the hand looks oddly like Nathan, but the eyes are dark and cold. Jack can see just past him to the paper on the desk, a test marked with a B+.

“Uh, try something lighter,” Jack winced, the single memory painting a very clear image of what Nathan’s childhood had been like.

“Not all like that,” Nathan replied and showed him the image of a beautiful woman, curling auburn hair and bright green eyes, with a hint of Nathan’s mischievous smile. A very small, young Nathan was curled up next to her on a sofa, listening to her read “Treasure Island”.

It took hours, but Jack and Nathan explored his memories, comparing childhood scars and triumphs, and spending a lot of time laughing. When Jack finally slid off to sleep, he felt oddly content for the first time in over a year.

*-*

The cloning process, to Henry’s surprise, had taken a little over a week, and Jack hadn’t been by to complain to him once. He smiled a little as he kept one eye on the DNA chain replication process, resisting the urge to hum contentedly. He’d always suspected with time and an inability to escape each other, Jack and Nathan would be able to eke out some middle ground, even be friends. It was just too bad he’d never had a good space to lock them in before now.

Zoë had taken the situation hard, Henry knew, but she seemed to have adapted, or at least had relaxed enough not to flinch away every time Nathan spoke through her dad. Henry couldn’t blame her, as the idea of sharing a brain with anyone gave him a bit of a chill. He tried to imagine it with Kim, and that eased the chill, but Jack and Nathan had no such luxury, Henry mused to himself.

Jack’s brain scans showed little sign of any wear or tear on his own mental pattern, though Henry had noticed that the area of memory overlap was growing more and more each day. Since it hadn’t caused any problems for either man, he hadn’t discouraged their sharing. Anything to make the situation more bearable, he’d decided.

He realized he was humming and sighed, turning back to watch the DNA molecules line up ever so neatly.

*-*

When Jack showed up to the bioengineering labs, he stopped short, completely amazed by the sight before him. The tank in the middle of the room contained the body of Nathan Stark, all but naked, and exactly the way he remembered. At the mental smirk from Nathan, Jack flushed a little, projecting back his own imagination about what was under the small strap of fabric.

Henry was hooking up the pieces of the PX-24 machine, the cables running from the chair next to the tank down to the head of the clone. “Relax, nothing to worry about on your end, Jack,” he remarked, helping Jack to the chair. “You won’t even suffer the behavioral ticks like you did with Dr. Thatcher. Quite the opposite actually, and may I say it will be a relief when Nathan stops helping you correct my equations.”

Jack managed a weak laugh, which was more than Nathan, curled in anticipation and excitement inside him, could manage. “Throw the switch, Dr. Frankenstein,” Jack joked, and Henry smiled.

*-*

Jack woke up, Zoë at his side and Henry taking readings on the machines monitoring him. “What happened?” he asked, and Henry reached down, bracing his shoulder and stopping his attempt to sit up.

“Whoa, nice and easy,” Henry said, shaking his head. “To finish the transfer, your brain had to shut down for a few moments, almost like… a computer reboot, if you will. You’ve only been out for a few hours, but it was just time for your brain to get used to not sharing the space.”

“But I’m all right? Rebooted okay and all?” Jack asked, and Henry nodded, his smile not quite touching his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nathan hasn’t woken up, Jack,” Henry told him, this time letting Jack sit up enough to see that Nathan was on a gurney next to him. “His brain scans show all the activity is present, it just hasn’t sorted out where it belongs. It could take months, just like it did for him to learn your brain.”

Jack stared over at the sleeping clone, a heavy weight settling on his chest. Months.

*-*

It became part of Jack’s routine. Everyday he’d have lunch in the infirmary at GD. He’d tell Nathan stories, some of the latest disasters around town, or Paul’s latest failed attempt to woo Vince, but mostly stories about their shared memories. He didn’t tell anyone why he did it, but he hoped maybe being reminded of the memories would help Nathan’s brain sort them out faster.

It wasn’t until he was trapped in the infirmary for a week (Fargo’s synthetic adrenaline plus Taggart’s wolf-jackal-hyena hybrids meant a total lockdown, several levels being submitted to a thermal cleaning and Jack in the infirmary while Jo used the really big guns) that he had any confirmation that he was helping.

“What do you talk to him about?”

Jack looked up from his book, frowning at Henry. “Who do I talk to about what now?” he asked, and Henry smiled.

“What do you talk to Nathan about?” Henry clarified, and Jack shrugged, feeling a bit sheepish.

“Mostly… his memories, things I learned about him. Sort of trying to help him find his way back,” Jack finished quietly, giving Henry a cautious look. “Am I hurting him?”

“No,” Henry jumped forward, shaking his head vehemently. “Jack, you’ve been talking to him, reading to him, sharing those memories all week. And his rate of expansion into the brain tissue has been nearly triple what we normally see.”

Jack’s heart kicked up a notch. “How close…?”

“A week,” Henry admitted, his grin growing. “Maybe less. But definitely before Christmas.”

*-*

Nathan’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, but the room way too bright, so he paused, listening instead. Jack’s familiar tenor filled his mind. “…My curiosity, in a sense, was stronger than my fear, for I could not remain where I was, but crept back to the bank again, whence, sheltering my head behind a bush of broom, I might command the road before our door.”

“Treasure Island,” Nathan managed to say, his voice barely croaking with disuse.

“Hey,” Jack murmured, and a moment later his hand was cradling Nathan’s. “I’ve paged Henry and your nurse. You need anything?”

“Got it,” Nathan replied, squeezing Jack’s hand lightly. “You here every day?” It should have been a statement, because Nathan’s mind recognized it as fact, but he wanted it confirmed.

“Yeah, I was,” Jack replied. “It’s two weeks till Christmas, before you ask.” There was a long pause, and Jack’s thumb travelled over Nathan’s knuckles. “You sure I can’t get you something?”

“Keep reading?” Nathan requested, and Jack arranged the book against him, so he could continue, without letting go of his hold on Nathan’s hand.

“I was scarcely in position ere my enemies began to arrive, seven or eight of them, running hard, their feet beating out of time along the road and the man with the lantern some paces in front. Three men ran together, hand in hand; and I made out, even through the mist, that the middle man of this trio was the blind beggar…”

Nathan smiled, Jack’s voice washing over him softly, his hand clasped tightly. Home, he thought, finally able to open his eyes.

A Modest Proposal, Chapter 10: You Can’t Choose Your Family

2009-10-24T13:30:48Z

Title: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 10: You Can’t Choose Your Family
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 305: Show Me the Mummy
Summary: You can’t choose your family… or can you?

Previous Parts can be found here

Allison woke up surprisingly late, stretching in the early morning sunlight and deciding to head down for a cup of coffee before she started getting ready for the day. It was the first decent night’s sleep she’d gotten since Jack and Nathan had started fighting, and the whole experience had left her thoughtful.

Her own actions had surprised her. When the whole arrangement began, Allison had assumed if things broke down between Jack and Nathan, she’d walk away with Nathan.

She hadn’t.

It probably saved them, she mused ruefully, starting the coffee maker for an extra strong brew. No lingering jealousy or resentment over her choice—in fact she came out looking like quite the genius peacemaker in the whole thing. Unfortunately, Allison sighed, that had nothing to with reality.

She couldn’t choose.

Nathan had probably known it would come down to this, she decided as she sliced a bagel and dug through the fridge for the passion fruit jam she’d conned off Vince last week. She wasn’t attached to him anymore, she was attached to them. Which led to an inevitable question.

“Are you in love with Uncle Jack?”

Allison jumped, nearly dropping the jar of jam at hearing her thought voiced aloud by her 13 year old son. His autism had become more profound since the loss of the Akashic Field, but he had continued to talk more and held onto more people’s names, somewhere along the line deciding on Uncle Jack. Jack had just been touched that it wasn’t ‘Tuesday’ anymore. And Kevin still called her Mom, which melted her heart. “Hey baby,” she greeted him, kissing his forehead as he came over to look at her breakfast. “You want cereal or a bagel too?”

“Bagel,” he decided, then blinked up at her, obviously waiting.

“You want to know about Uncle Jack, huh?” Allison asked, slicing a second bagel. “I’m not sure, Kevin. Love’s kind of a tricky thing to pin down. But I’m thinking maybe I want to make him part of our family. Would you be okay with that?”

Kevin considered it, then asked, “Does that mean Nathan can’t be family anymore?”

“No, sweetie, your Uncle Jack and Nathan love each other very much, and Nathan thinks he wants us all to be a family someday,” she explained, waiting to hit the brick wall.

“So you get to marry them both?” Kevin asked, accepting the bagel halves with jam she handed him and licking at the passion fruit suspiciously before heading over to the table to eat.

“That’s the idea,” she told him, smiling. Trust him to make it so simple.

“When I grow up, can I marry two people?” he asked curiously, and Allison set back the small coffee mug and took out one of the bowl sized mugs instead.

“If you fall in love, and they’re both in love with you and each other, and everyone is very, very happy,” Allison said, trying to decide if that covered it. “But it’s very hard for three people to make each other happy. What your Uncle Jack and Nathan and I have is pretty rare.”

“So it’s special,” Kevin decided happily. “Rare means special. Unless it’s hamburgers. And then you don’t say it to 6-7-78, Wednesday,” he concluded, and Allison laughed, determining that Jack had been grumbling about Vince again.

“It also means if everything works out, Nathan will be around like he used to be, and so will Uncle Jack and his daughter, Zoë,” Allison hoped she wasn’t pushing too much on him, but Kevin lit up, grinning.

“And they’ll be here to play with me?” Kevin asked, and Allison relaxed. Yup, it was just that wonderfully simple for her son, and for a brief moment, she envied the easy way he saw the world.

“Sometimes,” Allison agreed. “They work a lot, just like me, I’m afraid.”

“That’s okay,” Kevin decided, now eating the jam only off his bagel, like icing off a cupcake. Allison sipped her coffee, knowing he’d eat the bagel next, but keeping an eye out just to make sure. “So what’s that make Zoë?”

It took Allison a moment to catch up, but then she smiled. “I think if we all get married someday, she’d like to be your big sister. Maybe if you see her this weekend, you can ask her.” Zoë had been around Kevin a few times since finding out about the trio, and Allison had been a little amazed by how good she was with Kevin.

“Okay!” Kevin agreed, all sunny smiles as he finally started eating his bagel, apparently sufficiently jam free.

*-*

Nathan woke up first, very carefully extracting himself from Jack’s hold and tucking the other man in so he’d stay warm, unsurprised when Jack’s sleeping adjustments pulled Nathan’s pillow into his chest. He chanced a very gentle kiss to Jack’s temple before showering and heading down to the kitchen to start breakfast.

“SARAH, please call Thorne and let her know I’m taking a sick day,” Nathan asked the AI as he rummaged for eggs in the fridge.

“Yes, Dr. Stark,” she replied, and Nathan knew when the house sounded surprised, it had probably been too long since his last day off. He was just about finished with Zoë’s omelet when the teenager appeared, blinking sleepily at his jeans and one of Jack’s oversized T-shirts.

“Uh, taking the day off?” she guessed, settling on a stool at the breakfast bar.

“Figured I’d help keep your dad in bed and resting for at least one day,” he replied, scooping the triple mushroom and cheese omelet onto a plate and handing it over to her. “I had SARAH soundproof the room, so hopefully he’ll sleep in.”

“And Dad’s shirt?” Zoë asked around a forkful of eggs, looking speculatively at him.

“Didn’t have any casual wear in my bag,” Nathan lied, knowing where the teenager was headed.

“Sure you’re not seeking out reassurance in tangible objects?” she asked, and Nathan rolled his eyes.

“I take it your psych class is going well,” Nathan remarked dryly, and Zoë grinned.

“Don’t know what you’re so worried about,” she informed him as he checked the edges of the next omelet. “Uh, spinach, feta, tomato, and peppers for Aunt Lexi,” she provided when Nathan gestured at the counter of ingredients. “Anyway, I was about to say Dad loves you. He’ll get mad, but there’s not much he can’t forgive. And trust me, I’ve done some terrible lying.”

“Yeah, Ajeet, wasn’t it?” Nathan asked, grinning when she shot him a look. “I think we’ll be okay, Zoë. I’ve earned more than a little groveling though.”

“Well that’s true,” Zoë replied, laughing when he glared, which was when Lexi entered the kitchen, looking surprised by Nathan’s presence.

“Thought you were allergic to the cats,” she greeted Nathan, who pulled his electrostatic asthma mask and sprayed it, demonstrating the quick flare of sparks.

“I also am filtering the guest room air through its own system and separating it from the main air in the bunker,” SARAH put in helpfully.

“All that just so you can babysit my brother?” Lexi asked suspiciously, accepting the plate with the omelet he handed her before starting his own. “How sick is he?”

“More like he’s very bad at remembering to take it easy,” Nathan replied. “And I could use the down time.”

“Huh,” Lexi shrugged, apparently accepting this, and before Nathan could decide what to say next, he heard the master bedroom door open.

Jack shuffled down the stairs, ignoring the twin worried glares from Nathan and Zoë and coming over to curiously sniff at what Nathan was cooking. “What do you want on your omelet?” Nathan asked, looping an arm around Jack’s waist in an unmistakably romantic gesture if Zoë’s slight cough was anything to go by.

“Ham, peppers, mozzarella,” Jack selected, then kissed Nathan’s cheek before he sat down.

“Cute,” Lexi remarked, rolling her eyes. “SARAH letting you guys watch ‘Punk’d’, thought you could see if you could freak me out?”

“Uh, no?” Jack said blankly, then caught up to what Lexi was asking. “Oh. See, here’s the thing, you know the whole mystery person I’m seeing? It’s actually people. Allison and Nathan.” Nathan smirked, figuring exhaustion was the only reason Jack had made it through that without choking.

“Right,” Lexi rolled her eyes, sighing. “Upping the lie is not selling it, big bro. I’ve got yoga class this morning.”

“That wasn’t on my list of expected reactions,” Zoë remarked, looking over at Nathan. “That one on your bingo card?” Nathan had been amused to find out that Jack and Zoë actually kept bingo cards for all sorts of things, from predicted disasters in town to who would hook up with whom. It was Jack’s solution to keep Zoë from gambling in Vince’s pools. He’d immediately joined in the game.

“No,” Nathan frowned as he fixed Jack’s omelet, giving Lexi one of his nicest, ‘are you an idiot’ looks. “Your brother has been dating Allison and me for over a month now.”

“Really? We passed one month?” Jack asked, giving Nathan a quizzical look as he visibly was double checking the dates in his mind. “Shouldn’t we have done something for Allie?”

“Jackie, no offence, you’re really not capable of stretching your worldview to actually having a homosexual relationship, let alone a threesome,” Lexi sighed, shaking her head. “It’s a funny prank, but you gotta let it go.”

Nathan slid the omelet onto a plate and headed back over to Jack, barely checking his own temper. “Hey,” he murmured to Jack, who was looking stricken. Jack looked up, and Nathan set the plate down so he could kiss Jack properly, taking his time. “You should have told me I wouldn’t like her because she’s a moron,” he added as he pulled away, enjoying the barely suppressed smirk on Jack’s face.

“Aunt Lexi, Dad’s dating Nathan and Allison,” Zoë put in earnestly, sighing. “Also, Nathan’s not the most patient person, especially when he thinks someone’s being… dense.” Zoë might have been going for a nicer word choice, but Nathan thought dense was pretty good.

“Zoë, your dad’s mean to talk you into playing along with this,” Lexi objected, looking over and seeing the look on Jack’s face, then turned to Nathan, who wasn’t bothering to check his scorn. “Oh my god, are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Jack barked shortly, and Nathan eased a hand over the back of his neck gently, trying to soothe the frayed nerves. Lexi looked stunned, but Nathan could see in her face that her thoughts occasionally flickered back toward thinking it might be a joke.

“There’s an incoming call from Dr. Blake,” SARAH piped up, and Nathan turned toward the vid screen as Allison appeared, looking amused.

“You’re taking a sick day?” she inquired, laughter in her voice, and Nathan rolled his eyes.

“It’s been known to happen,” he objected, and Jack snorted. “What?”

“How are you feeling, Jack?” Allison deftly ignored Nathan, who scowled.

“Tired, but better,” Jack replied. “I’ll be back at work tomorrow.”

“Monday,” Nathan corrected, and Jack pouted. Actually stuck out his lower lip, making Nathan sigh, barely able to keep hold of his resolve. “I can make it Tuesday,” he decided, almost laughing when Jack’s eyes widened in horror.

“I was thinking we could all have a picnic dinner tonight anyway,” Allison continued. “Jack takes it easy, the kids get out to play, and you have a second babysitter to help with Jack.”

“Hey!” Jack protested, but Nathan cut him off smoothly.

“You don’t want a chance to be outside?” he inquired innocently, and Jack scowled, instantly subdued. “Lexi, will you be joining us?” Nathan added, raising an eyebrow at the still very confused woman.

“Uh, Dr. Blake, are you dating my brother?” Lexi blurted out, and Allison looked surprised.

“And Nathan, yes,” she admitted, looking over at the other two when Lexi seemed to be continuing her mental debate. “I take it you told her,” Allison observed, and Nathan smirked. “And it didn’t go well.”

“She’s still trying to decide if it’s a prank,” Nathan replied darkly, aware that his hands were rather possessively draped over Jack’s shoulders. Allison frowned, taking in the tension easily.

“Ms. Carter, it’s not a prank,” she said bluntly, before deliberately turning back to Nathan and Jack, her expression lightening. “Actually Kevin and I had a chat about our arrangement this morning.”

“How’d that go?” Jack asked, sounding as concerned as Nathan suddenly felt.

“He wants to know if he can marry two people when he grows up and what this makes Zoë to him.”

Zoë, who had been quiet up until now, looked up, eyes wide and a little shiny. “Oh,” she said softly, sounding amazed. “I’m like a big sister now. I mean, I could be. Right?”

“If you want to be,” Allison agreed cautiously, and Jack reached over and squeezed her hand gently.

“If you want to wait, see how thing go with the three of us, Zo, we unders—” Jack started to say, but Zoë shook her head fiercely.

“No, that’s good!” she insisted, then folded her arms. “As long as all three of you get that I don’t care what happens with you, I get Kevin. Parents break up, not kids.”

Jack smiled softly, obviously understanding. “Well, that settles that then,” he observed dryly. “Zoë picks and chooses her family, and I’ll work on a wakeup call for the one I didn’t pick.”

“Dad,” Zoë scolded him, but Nathan wasn’t sure she had her heart in it.

“Come on, that one wasn’t even on my bingo card, and I call the weird reactions,” Jack complained, and Lexi flinched a little under the criticism.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Allison signed off, seeing that there was an ongoing argument.

“SARAH,” Jack called out, starting to eat his omelet. “Can you get flowers delivered to Allison at GD today?”

“Certainly, what kind would you like?” she inquired.

“Orchids,” Nathan supplied when Jack looked to him. “Mixed bunch of white and purple.”

“And the card?” This stumped Nathan, looking blankly over at Jack, who smiled.

“To you, from us,” Jack supplied simply. He ate another forkful of breakfast as he looked over at Lexi, and Nathan wisely busied himself with his own omelet. “Ready to talk like adults?”

“You’re in a polyamorous relationship?” Lexi remarked skeptically. “Jackie, I don’t get it. You’ve never been into guys.”

Jack snorted, and Nathan joined him at the bar, letting Jack steal a bite of his spinach and feta omelet. “Remember my friend from college, Tom?” Jack asked, giving Lexi a pointed look. “There was a reason he ignored your bad teenage attempts at flirting.”

The image of a young Lexi flirting with Jack’s boyfriend amused Nathan, and he smiled before he could help it, drawing a glare from Lexi. “I find it more likely that you’re being played,” Lexi bit out, tossing her hair back. “Everything I hear about your friend here is that he hates you and uses people to achieve his own ends. Oh yeah, and that he’s marrying Allison, so where’s that going to leave you?”

She slid her plate away before she stomped upstairs, leaving a rather stunned group behind her. “You know none of that’s true, right?” Nathan managed faintly, tugging Jack to him, heart racing a little as Jack burrowed into the embrace. “Jack?”

“Of course I know it, idiot,” Jack replied quietly. “Hell, you took a day off for me, it must be true love. I just… I can’t believe…”

“I know,” Nathan reassured him, kissing Jack’s forehead softly. “I should take you back to bed soon, if you’re going to be going to Allison’s picnic dinner.”

Jack nodded, looking over at Zoë, who looked like she’d been through the ringer. “You know your aunt is wrong about Nathan, right?” Nathan hated that Jack had to ask, but he’d hardly done a stellar job proving his loyalty the past week.

To his surprise though, Zoë simply rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Yeah, I kinda figured that from the lying to protect you, the day off, the constant PDA I really don’t need to witness, and all the rest,” she said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

“Hmm, you’d better avert your eyes then,” Nathan informed her, standing so he could straddle Jack’s lap. He lowered his mouth to Jack’s, taking his time to softly explore. When they broke apart, Zoë’s head was buried in her arms, mumbled protests not quite escaping the crook of her elbow.

“You know, normal adults don’t let their kids see that. I might get ideas,” Zoë finally managed when she peeked out to see if it was safe.

“Yeah, I think Hair Boy’s too scared to try it,” Jack remarked dryly. “And if he’s not scared enough yet, we can let him know who I’m dating.”

Zoë paled at the thought. Lucas would stammer around Jack, but he went silent most times around Nathan, even more scared of the scientist. Nathan chuckled, nudging Jack toward his breakfast as Zoë gathered her books and left for school. “Finish up, then we’ll see what movies SARAH has stored up to keep you on the couch for the day,” Nathan told Jack, still a little worried by the depth of the dark circles under his eyes.

“Shower first?” Jack suggested, and Nathan nodded, continuing to silently nudge Jack back to his breakfast until he’d eaten most of the omelet. Jack was still too pale in Nathan’s opinion, and a little shakier than he suspected the sheriff realized. He swayed a little when he stood, and Nathan had a hand under his elbow instantly. “Whoa,” Jack murmured, sounding surprised.

“Come on, I’ll give you a hand in the shower,” Nathan teased Jack, trying to sound flirting to forestall any objections.

“I’m not going to fall,” Jack complained, stubbornly heading up the stairs and ignoring the proffered hand.

“Maybe I just want to shower with you,” Nathan replied, following Jack upstairs. Hopefully Lexi would use the opportunity to slip out, Nathan mused, unable to help glaring at the closed guest room door.

*-*

Jack was dozing lightly when the doorbell rang early in the afternoon, some B-rate creature feature still playing on his TV, and given the still slightly dizzy feeling in his head and the warm body under his, promptly decided to ignore it, pretending he was still asleep.

“SARAH, who is it?” Nathan’s voice was a comforting rumble under Jack’s cheek, pleasant and soothing.

“Deputy Lupo is at the door,” SARAH replied, sotto voice, which was still loud enough that Jack would have woken up. Stubbornly, he played possum.

“Let her know Jack’s resting, and he’ll call when he’s up and about,” Nathan instructed the house, fingers slowly stroking Jack’s hair.

“She says she is here on official business and wants to speak with you as well, Dr. Stark.”

Nathan sighed, a gentle rise and fall of his chest under Jack’s cheek and his hand came down to caress along Jack’s collarbone and shoulder. “Just let her in,” Jack mumbled. “I’m not moving for anything short of biblical disaster with chariots and little angels with horns.” He shifted a little, suddenly considering. “Or unless you don’t want me to…”

“No, I think it’s time we told all the members of your family,” Nathan murmured softly, hand moving back up to Jack’s hair. “All right, SARAH, let her know she can have a few minutes.”

The door swung open, but from his perch and slitted eyes, Jack could only see Jo’s legs as she walked inside. “Am I interrupting something?” Jo asked wryly, but Jack didn’t detect any malice or surprise in her voice.

“Naptime,” he replied dryly, letting Nathan help him shift into sitting upright, hands still too gentle, concern clear in every touch. “And as much as I wish I weren’t, Dr. Control Freak here has me off duty till Monday.”

“I know, but I wanted to let you know your sister wanted to lodge a complaint about Dr. Stark,” Jo informed them, her eyes narrowing as Nathan’s arms around Jack tightened marginally. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I told her if Stark and Allison were in love with you that you couldn’t do much better. Even if it’s not so conventional,” she added, when Jack started to open his mouth. “Chief, you’ve been dropping hints my way for weeks now, and I’ve got a boyfriend hoping he’s going to clean out the town in Vince’s betting pool. I was just hoping you’d be the one to tell me.”

“Didn’t go so well with Lexi, and I didn’t want…” Jack bit his lower lip, surprised when Jo’s face went soft.

“I’m only saying this once, Carter, and if you repeat it, I will shoot you,” she threatened mildly, and Nathan snorted softly, apparently as amused as Jack felt. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re family. As long as you’re safe, happy, and not being an idiot about things, I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks, little sis,” Jack replied softly, knowing his choice of title had been right when Jo’s face actually went a little pink, smiling. “If it makes you feel better, the only other person who knows anything is Henry.”

“The kids know?” Jo asked, settling back into the chair.

“Kevin decided he may want to marry two people when he’s older, and Zoë reminds me she’s watching every once in a while,” Nathan replied, making Jo laugh.

“Good for her,” Jo remarked cheerfully. “I suppose it goes without saying that I can make sure you and/or Allison is never found if you screw this up.”

“Jo…” Jack tried to protest but Nathan cut him off smoothly.

“I’d probably let you,” he said firmly.

“Nathan,” Jack objected, swatting at the closest piece of the man he could comfortably reach and catching a bit of elbow and forearm. “Please don’t encourage her trigger finger.”

“I hate to steer us back on topic, but your sister is convinced you’re being conned,” Jo reminded them, and Jack sighed, shaking his head.

“We sort of shook her world view, I think,” he observed. “I’m the straight and narrow path guy, the by the book, follow the rules, big brother. She’s supposed to be the one to duck convention and counts on me to reign her back in when she gets too far.”

“So her reaction is to try and do what Jack would,” Nathan theorized quietly. “Jack needs help, needs people to steer him back to where it’s safe.”

“From where I’m sitting, he’s there,” Jo remarked dryly. “A year ago he’d have been trying to work today.”

“Nah,” Jack replied, his head still light and limbs still dragging. “But tomorrow, definitely.”

“No can do, Boss, already got told it’d be Monday by your doctor,” Jo replied cheerfully. “I believe you call her your girlfriend.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack brushed it off, settling in. “Don’t worry about Lexi, Jo. Once she calms down, she’ll come back to talk to me. We’ll work it out.”

“And if she runs around telling people how mean old Dr. Stark is taking advantage of her defenseless big brother?”

“If she tells, she tells,” Jack replied, feeling his exhaustion more keenly now. “People who know us will ask us directly, people who don’t will probably ignore it.”

“It doesn’t strike me as likely,” Nathan reassured them both. “Lexi feels comfortable talking to you because she knows you’ll help protect Jack.”

Jack gave him a skeptical look, and Nathan shrugged. “Fine, be a pessimist,” he told Jack with a smirk. “I’ve told you before, it’s all just a boost to my ego to have people know.”

Jo choked on her laughter at that, tilting her head at Jack mischievously. “So… this whole threesome thing,” she remarked, and Jack saw her lips twitching as she formed her words. “That ever end up with, you know, all three, together, at the same time?” Her interlocking of the fingers to demonstrate her meaning was almost as disturbing as the words she scrambled for.

“Goodbye, Jo,” Jack said decisively.

She grinned unrepentantly as she stood. “Think I’ll find my way up to GD,” she replied. “Bet Allison will give me some girl talk.”

Jo left, humming happily, and Jack was quiet for a moment. “Think we should warn Allie that Hurricane Jo is headed her way?” Nathan asked, and Jack shrugged.

“I think she can handle Jo, even when she’s in full gossip mode,” Jack replied dryly. He snuggled in a little, turning his head so he could rest against Nathan’s chest again. “Jo’s on our side.”

“Mmhmm,” Nathan murmured, arms wrapping around Jack tighter. “That surprises you?”

“My blood sister didn’t take it well,” Jack scowled, suddenly irritated. “She never even asked if I was happy. Which is all Jo cared about.”

“Are you?” Nathan’s voice was deceptively light, and Jack sat up, turning so he could look at the other man properly.

“You have doubts?” Jack managed to inject a mocking disbelief into his tone, even though he was worried. Nathan’s expression was guarded, and Jack sighed. “Look, what happened with Lexi, it doesn’t change anything. I’m happier with you and Allison than I’ve ever been. Well, barring the day Zoë was born.”

Nathan chuckled, nodding thoughtfully. “Not a bad second place to be in, then,” he replied, and Jack rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just call them all greatest hits, okay?” he replied, shifting a little, and Nathan moved to accommodate him.

“Ow,” Nathan complained when Jack’s elbow hit a rib. “I know you don’t want to be restricted to bed, but there’s really more room to cuddle up there.”

“Nuh uh,” Jack replied stubbornly, knowing he’d end up asleep for the afternoon if he went up to the bedroom. Nathan’s teeth grazed his neck, then a soothing kiss eased the skin.

“I might be persuaded to be a little more… active, if we move upstairs,” Nathan breathed, his fingers suddenly sliding over Jack’s thighs with clear intent. Despite his tiredness, Jack was suddenly wide awake, cock also stirring at Nathan’s tone.

“SARAH, privacy mode,” Jack groaned, allowing Nathan to help him to his feet and up the stairs. Nathan maneuvered him expertly, and Jack found himself sitting on the edge of the bed before he was fully aware of deciding to do so. Nathan knelt, gently removing Jack’s socks, one after the other.

“Nathan…” Jack started to ask, but the scientist slid a finger up over Jack’s lips.

“I’m taking care of you today,” Nathan replied, a teasing light in his eyes as his fingers skimmed down his throat to unzip Jack’s pullover. Removing Jack’s clothes seemed to become an exercise in touching as much as possible. Nathan’s hands mapped his chest and glided down his arms as he slid the pullover free. The undershirt involved just as much exploring of the skin around his torso, then Nathan’s palms brushed along his arms, slowly raising them above his head as the T-shirt came off. Nathan kissed Jack, soft and slow, keep Jack’s wrists above him as he guided Jack to lay back, hands brushing the slats of the headboard.

“Hold on,” Nathan suggested impishly, and Jack, half drunk from the tender touches, laced his fingers around a slat obediently. The slide of his jeans and boxers down his legs was just as slow and sensual, Nathan now using his mouth to plant hot kisses in the dips of the muscles as he worked his way down Jack’s legs.

Once free of his clothes, Jack looked up, expecting Nathan to strip, but the other man simply began kissing his way back up Jack’s legs, teasing at Jack’s inner thighs with the scratch of his beard and then soothing the spot with a kiss until Jack’s legs were spread open for him. The reassurance on the tip of his tongue that Nathan didn’t need to do this vanished in a shout when Nathan’s tongue lapped up the length of Jack’s erection.

Nathan continued to tease him, tongue and lips working at his erection with too light a touch to make any real progress toward getting him off, and it wasn’t until Nathan was working a spit slick finger into him that Jack realized just how much Nathan planned to torment him. Nathan was a master of playing, the slide of his finger inside Jack just soft brushing against the right spot, the tongue just playing at the spots he knew drove Jack crazy.

Jack fought bucking into the touches, Nathan’s free hand curled lightly around his hip making him aware that he wouldn’t get far even if he did. “God, please, Nathan,” he muttered, but Nathan simply smirked, continuing to tease him with the too light touch.

What felt like hours later, Jack found himself babbling little pleas and threats mixed too tightly together to be distinguished from each other, and Nathan finally took pity on him, swallowing his leaking cock without warning, making Jack cry out in surprise and relief. The finger in his ass began stroking in earnest as Nathan sucked at him, and unable to stop or suspend the feeling for a single moment more, Jack came, shouting something unintelligible.

He was aware at the edges of his mind that Nathan was now tucking him into bed and realized he was far too sleepy to do anything about the fact that his lover had just tricked him into sleeping.

*-*

Fargo was having a brilliant, perfect day.

Too brilliant and too perfect, he decided, which is why he was swinging by his desk for his lucky key. As lucky charms went, he supposed having the key to a doomsday device for mutually assured destruction wasn’t exactly normal. But no foreign countries had been destroyed, World War III had been averted, and he’d gotten to see Jo in a sexy dress, made sexier by the gun garter. Great power in the key, he decided as he looped the chain he’d strung it on around his neck.

Already that day he’d gotten one up on Larry, had the exact solution Thorne needed when she asked for it in a meeting earlier, and the cute red haired veterinarian, Trisha Fletcher, had said yes to joining him for dinner at Café Diem that night. And best of all, Dr. Stark was out sick. Fargo spared a brief moment of pity for the virus that happened to Stark, but was also relieved, because he was fairly certain that his mentor would have sent him home, to rest and recover from the whole ‘mummy bug’ thing.

Fargo didn’t do rest and recovery well, especially if it meant being stuck at home with no work to do. He was exhausted, but between constant coffee consumption and the hydration injections he’d conned out of a nurse in the infirmary, he was sure he was doing much better than the sheriff.

Jo pushed past him, heading up the ramp toward Dr. Blake’s office, and as soon as he opened his mouth to object, she turned back, shaking her head. “Go find somewhere else to be for half an hour,” she ordered him, before vanishing into the office. Fargo sighed, grumbling as he stood up.

His phone rang a moment later, and Fargo nearly groaned when he saw Stark’s name on the caller ID. “Fargo,” he answered, half wincing already as he waited for the reply.

“You’re at GD, aren’t you?” Stark didn’t sound too angry, more tired and irritated.

“That would be against medical advice,” Fargo hedged, hoping it might work.

“I need you to track down someone and a phone number I can reach him at,” Stark barked at him. “And don’t bother telling me he’s unreachable, no one is.”

“Right,” Fargo agreed faintly, jotting down the information Stark gave him. “Um, I can probably have something for you in the next hour,” Fargo decided.

“And Fargo? When you’re done, I’ll be calling security to have someone escort you to the infirmary if they find you in the building. Go home and rest.” And without a further word, Stark hung up on him.

“Right,” Fargo muttered, tossing his phone aside and starting a government records search. He considered the key and his change in luck and promptly tossed it back in his desk drawer.

It took some work, but Fargo finally ended up hacking into the UN to get his information. “You know, Dr. Stark, there’s this show, NCIS,” he muttered to himself, letting his frustration seep away before having to call Stark back. “Not as good as Buffy, but there are days where I swear someone who met you wrote the character of Gibbs. Got the same phone manners as him. Guess that makes me Tony.”

“I’ve always thought of you as more of a McGee,” Jo startled him, winking as she passed his desk on her way out.

“Yeah, that make you Ziva?” Fargo shot back, before gulping, realizing that it wasn’t actually a bad analogy.

Jo smirked at him, stalking around the desk and leaning down and murmuring into his ear, “No, I’d let you know I was coming before I killed you, Fargo.”

Fargo watched her go, thinking there was a little more swish in her hips than usual, sighing as he now needed to calm down for a whole other set of reasons. He took a deep breath and dialed Stark.

“Got the number?” Stark greeted him curtly.

“011 + 233 + 42-34734” Fargo read off. “You’ll need to get the GD computer to hook you through as a satellite call. It’s Ghana. GD also has a jet nearby in Burkina Faso I can reroute to Accra if you’d like.”

“Do it, then go home,” Nathan instructed him, sounding satisfied. “Good work, Fargo.”

He didn’t give Fargo a chance to reply before hanging up, which was fortunate, because Fargo was floored by the compliment.

“That’s it, you’re scrap metal,” he told the apparently bad luck key as he called the airport.

*-*

Allison brushed off Larry’s attempt to pull her into a meeting, climbing into her car and heading for her house, pushing the speed limit a little as she drove. Jo’s visit earlier had been a pleasant shock, as had been the odd girl talk she’d succumbed to, indulging a little of Jo’s curiosity and actually having a few questions of her own about Jo and Callister answered. She’d seen the other woman in a lot of pain when the AI had died, and a lot of struggling with what exactly it meant that she’d fallen for a machine over any of the many men vying for her attention. Jo didn’t seem to agree that it was all that many, so Allison had obligingly listed them all for her. By the time Jo left, Allison was sure of two things. One, Jo was happily inflated in her status as a femme fetale and two, that Jack was damn lucky to have the woman at his back. She was less sure about the friendship being offered, but suddenly was aware that she had been craving a female friend.

Allison turned up into her driveway, deliberately leaving her work locked in the car when Kevin ran out to greet her cheerfully, the nanny, Caroline, a step behind. She was a no nonsense sort of young woman, working on her master’s in experimental psychiatry, focusing in autism, making her a perfect companion for Kevin. “Hi, baby,” she greeted him, accepting his hug, the embrace nearly crushing the orchids she’d brought home with her.

“Dr. Stark called, asked me to tell you not to worry about the picnic dinner,” Caroline told her as they walked back up to the house. “Apparently the sheriff slept all afternoon so he had nothing better to do than cook. He just asked that you and Kevin meet him at the picnic glade, he said you’d know where he meant, at 7.”

Allison nodded, unable to suppress her smile. “Sounds like all my work is done,” she replied, amused. “Did he give you the sheriff’s vital readings to pass along?”

“Wrote them down for you, left the sticky note on your laptop,” the nanny replied, tucking her short wispy bits of blonde hair behind her ears in a slightly nervous gesture. “Sheriff Carter is going to be okay, right?”

“Oh yeah, he’ll be back to driving us all crazy by Monday,” Allison reassured the girl, a little curious.

“My mom’s a little sweet on him, ever since he pulled her out of that explosion a year and a half ago,” she explained, shrugging. From the slight bit of pink in her cheeks, Allison suspected Caroline’s mom wasn’t the only one.

“Anything else?” Allison asked, surprised by the twinge of jealousy she felt at the thought of Jack with anyone else. You’re being beyond ridiculous, she scolded herself mentally. You can share him with Nathan but a girl with a crush on him bothers you?

“Um, just one thing, which could just be an active imagination, but Kevin was drawing this afternoon, pictures of a girl. When I asked, he said she was going to be his big sister someday.”

Allison smiled, as Kevin stamped back down the stairs eagerly, a fist full of drawings to show her. The wavy hair and big eyes were a pretty good representation of Zoe, she decided, hugging him. “Beautiful,” she told him, kissing his forehead. “How ‘bout you go find your grubby clothes? We’re having a picnic at the park for dinner.” He was off racing up the stairs again. “Don’t worry about it,” she told Caroline, shrugging. “Head on home, get some quality time in with the thesis this weekend,” she suggested, and Caroline lit up.

“Thanks, Dr. Blake. See you Monday, Kev,” she called up, answered only by the thump of a shoe from the bedroom upstairs.

Allison headed upstairs, changing into a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and ribbed tank top, throwing a light fleece zippered jacket over it in case the evening got cool. Socks and tennis shoes were a nice mercy on her feet, her newest pair of heels not quite broken in yet. She finished by pinning her hair back from her face with a pair of barrettes, then heading across the hall to find Kevin struggling with a knot in his favorite tennis shoes.

“Ready to go picnic?” she asked once she’d worked the strings apart, and he nodded happily.

“With Uncle Jack and Zoë too?” he asked hopefully, and Allison nodded. “Me an’ Zoë had lunch too, she calls her boyfriend Chia Pet,” he announced proudly, and Allison barely managed to refrain from laughing. “What’s a Chia Pet?”

The explanation of Chia Pets lasted till they reached the glade near the lake with the willow tree, Jack and Nathan already setting up their picnic. Well, she amended the thought, smirking, Nathan was setting up in between attempts at stopping Jack from helping. “Hello,” she greeted them, kissing Nathan quickly then settling in Jack’s lap to keep him in place. Kevin bounced off to join Zoë, who promptly showed him how to skip rocks. Her own stones were flying five and six bounces. Kevin’s first one landed with a plop that splashed both of them, resulting in delighted shrieks.

Jack glared at her, not the least bit mollified when she leaned in and kissed him softly. “Don’t try it, he’s already tricked me into sleeping today. I won’t be falling for your wiles too.”

“Hmm, how’d he do that?” Allison purred, making Jack flush at the blatant innuendo. She laughed, patting Jack’s arm gently. “By the way, I had a very interesting chat with Jo. I drew the line at size comparison, just so you know.”

Jack and Nathan both looked at her, wide eyed. “Leaned about AI sex too,” she continued, enjoying the way that started Nathan coughing on his surprise. “I think she and I will do girl time more often,” she continued, shifting gears as cupped Jack’s face gently. “And if your sister comes around, maybe we’ll invite her too.”

Nathan hummed a little as he started setting out food, and Jack exchanged a look with her. “He’s started doing that every time I mention Lexi,” he told her, frowning. “I’m starting to think he did something irrational, like had her deported to Antarctica.”

Nathan smirked at them, shrugging. “Imports are much more practical than exports,” was all he would say, enjoying his bit of mystery. Zoë and Kevin had degraded into tossing larger and larger rocks into the pond, thoroughly splashing themselves in the process. Allison shifted a little so she could sit back against Jack watching the kids play.

“This is nice,” Jack murmured, and Allison knew he was watching the kids too.

“He spent the day drawing pictures of his new big sister,” Allison told them, accepting the pomegranate green tea Nathan handed her, drinking gratefully.

Zoë and Kevin both collapsed, giggling happily, and Nathan tossed them small towels. “Thanks, Nathan,” they chorused, settling in to eat.

Later, having eaten all of Nathan’s stuffed mushrooms themselves, the kids were playing with Jack’s fishing poles on the dock. “All they’re likely to catch is one of the pollution cleaning machines,” Allison observed, stroking Jack’s hair softly. He’d settled his head in her lap, sleepy, and was drowsing there. “Big fish like AI’s that eat garbage and contaminants,” she explained when her statement earned her a baffled blink from Jack.

“I’m off duty, won’t report it if they don’t toss ‘em back,” Jack curled up slightly along her legs. Nathan finished packing away the food and joined them, stretching his long legs around them so his calf rested along Jack’s back even though he was spooning up to Allison.

For a brief moment, Allison registered how beautifully protective their little group would look to anyone seeing them. Nathan had a hand looped low around her waist, his fingers gently stroking Jack’s hair, mirroring her own touch. “Mmm, s’nice,” Jack murmured, his fingers tightening slightly on Allison’s thigh. She smiled, catching the soft look Zoë threw their way when she looked up from their fishing.

“My family,” she whispered softly, a little overwhelmed by the feeling.

A/N: I'm afraid this fic will be on hiatus for a while, as November is going to be a big NaNo project for me, and it looks like I may be doubling up on jobs through Christmas, so I doubt it'll see an update again this year. But I do have plans to carry on with it when I get through NaNo and the holiday season!

My NaNoWriMo 2009 Project

2009-10-22T05:31:24Z

Short version? Yup, participating (unofficially-ish, due to being a script writer).

Long story?

Check out the blog:

http://sarahenid.blogspot.com/

A Break from the Usual

2009-09-30T18:33:13Z

My sister is the manager for the artist below, and Vi definitely deserves this opportunity. Take a moment, click on the link and vote for her to win the contest. Then if you're so inclined, pass it along to friends and family as well! We'd really like to see Vi get this opportunity!

http://kickstartguy.com/dothedoggieboogie/2009/09/fairytale-by-viri-dimayuga/

Pimping a New Comm....

2009-09-14T03:40:15Z

Since I am helping moderate it.... =)

____________________
Not getting enough Nathan Stark since he stepped into a particle accelerator and bid Eureka farewell? Wishing you could find the master of snark in more than flashback episodes of Eureka? Have a Stark fic that doesn't quite fit into any of the pairing specific comms?

Check out starks_lab - Stark's Laboratory - a Nathan-centric community welcoming fiction, fanart, fanvids, icons & Ed Quinn news/images of all kinds. From the most popular Nathan/Jack to the rare and elusive Nathan/Jack/Allison, all kinds of het, slash, and gen pieces are welcome as long as they feature tall, dark and handsome himself.

Stop by and post some fanwork, leave some plot bunnies in the bunnies post, or just chat with other fans in the friending post! And please feel free to spread the word-- the more the merrier!

A Modest Proposal, Chapter 9: Mummy Can’t Buy Love

2009-09-09T03:58:18Z

Title: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 9: Mummy Can’t Buy Love
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 305: Show Me the Mummy
Summary: Ancient Egypt meets modern science, while Jack avoids meeting Nathan.
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long, real life has been insane lately!

Previous Parts can be found here

Nathan looked up as a soft chirp came from his desktop. “Good evening, Dr. Stark,” SARAH’s voice greeted him when he opened the window. “You asked me to report to you if Jack was headed up to GD.”

“Who called him up here?” Nathan asked, shutting down his work. Nathan had been patient, trying to give Jack his space, but he was at his wits end. If stalking Jack to force him to talk was the only way, Nathan certainly wasn’t above it. Not to mention if Jack hadn’t come up to GD soon, Nathan would have taken the argument to the bunker, Lexi be damned. Jack could throw an icy shoulder that had Nathan ready to hand over his crown and bow down before Jack.

“Ms. Thorne called, apparently Dr. Wilding has chained himself to a door to try to stop a very important project,” SARAH told him, and Nathan hid a smile.

“Thank you, SARAH,” Nathan told the AI before shutting down the video call. “Guess it’s time I showed an interest in Egyptology.”

It had been a week since Jack stormed out, and Jack hadn’t spoken to Nathan since then. Allison was trying hard to avoid being a go between, thoroughly depressed at the idea of the trio falling apart. She’d gone back to her house and turned both men away when they visited, telling them to find her when they’d resolved things. Every time she saw one of them, her comments were barbed and pointed, her impatience with the whole affair clear.

Zoë, to her credit, had come in spitting mad for all of ten minutes, demanding the full story behind her death when she’d arrived for her internship at GD the next morning. Once Nathan had explained it to her, she had told him, “You know that was a really stupid move, right? I get you wanting to protect Dad, and I’m really glad you didn’t let him see me like that, but you should have just told him afterwards.”

“How do you tell someone you love that you got his daughter killed?” Nathan had asked, and Zoë had surprised him by hugging him tightly.

“I can read between the lines. I know I talked you guys into letting me help, didn’t I?” Zoë had observed. “So it’s not your fault.”

“I’m surprised your dad let you come back up here to work with me,” Nathan had said after a moment, and Zoë had suddenly been very interested in her lab work.

Nathan took a moment to straighten his tie and ruffle his hair the way Jack liked it, then cursed himself for being a teenage girl before heading down to an empty hall he was fairly certain he could intercept Jack in.

He waited, ignoring a page from Fargo, which was probably about the project his worry about Jack was leading him to neglect, schooling himself against fidgeting. A moment later, his hunch paid off. Jack froze as he came around the corner, then started to push past him, looking surprised when Nathan grabbed hold of his wrist, refusing to let him through. “We have to talk,” Nathan said firmly.

“Nathan, you told me my daughter got hurt,” Jack reminded him acidly, “when it was a hell of a lot more serious.”

“Yeah, it’s why I risked the fucking universe, so maybe it warrants a conversation,” Nathan shot back before he could stop himself. “Jack, please.”

“I thought we agreed we were done with the lies and secrets,” Jack hissed, jerking his wrist away. “And I have work to do right now.”

This time Jack managed to elbow past Nathan, but Nathan called after him. “Are we done then?”

Jack halted, shoulders slumping. He turned back, eyes raking over Nathan, and Nathan knew what the sheriff was seeing. Dark circles Nathan couldn’t hide, his slouched posture, and his scraped knuckles from hitting the punching bag too much over the past week. “I don’t want to be,” Jack admitted, his eyes closing as Nathan stepped closer. “But if you can’t trust me with the truth about my own daughter, Nathan…”

“I trust you with anything,” Nathan insisted. “Ask me anything, I’ll tell you anything, if that’s what you need.” He could hear the desperation in his voice but didn’t care.

“Why’d you hide this from me?” Jack asked pointedly, and Nathan sighed.

“I… I wasn’t going to let you see her that way, not when I was going to let time loop, make sure we saved her,” Nathan said roughly. “And then… then telling you what I’d let happen to her seemed too horrible. I couldn’t tell you I’d gotten her killed.”

Jack pressed his hands to his face, groaning. “Zoë talked us into letting her stay, and I watched you keep an eye on her and Lucas, Nathan, you were careful. I know if you’d thought there was a threat, you’d have sent them home. I don’t blame you for that!”

“That makes one of us,” Nathan muttered, running a hand through his hair. “And I am sorry for lying to you, but every time I opened my mouth to tell you, to hurt you that way, I couldn’t do it! What would you have done if it was Kevin, and Allie didn’t know?”

Jack paused, obviously turning it over in his mind. “I need to go unchain a scientist,” Jack told Nathan, who nodded, a very real, physical pain in his chest at Jack’s apparent dismissal. Jack paused at the end of the hall, turning back to Nathan. “Let me think for a while, then… I’ll come find you, to talk,” Jack promised, and Nathan felt a little weight shift off his shoulders.

*-*

Jack left Thorne’s little mummy consumer video project and headed straight up to Allison’s office, the exhaustion of little to no sleep for a week suddenly catching up to him, every joint in his body suddenly aching. Allison waved him in, not breaking from her business call, and Jack sat down on her couch, fighting to keep his eyes open.

“You okay?” Allison asked, coming over to the couch and sitting next to him, holding her distance.

“Can you not for a minute?” Jack demanded, and Allison sighed, offering him her hand. After she had told him to talk to Nathan and sort out things, she decided she would be keeping her distance, an effective threat that had made Jack pick up the phone hundreds of times, but he never made it to actually dialing.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly.

“Talked to Nathan,” he admitted, letting his head drop. “I don’t know what to do, Allie. I’m so pissed I can’t think straight and then I see him and I can’t make sense of being angry anymore!”

“Why are you mad at him?” Allison asked, and Jack gave her a look. “Jack, I know he lied to you. And he did it to protect you from something horrible. No gain for himself or GD, nothing but pure concern for you and Zoë. So why are you mad?”

Jack stopped, searching his head. “If it had been Kevin, would you have wanted us to tell you?”

Allison drew back, considering. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t want to know, because it didn’t really happen. But I wouldn’t want the two of you living with keeping it a secret.”

“That’s not helpful,” Jack groaned, but since he’d buried his face in her shoulder, it sounded like mumbled whining.

“Jack,” Allison said firmly, tugging his chin up so she could look at him. “You’re miserable. You haven’t slept in days. Nathan’s no better. This is for your own good.”

“What is?” Jack started to ask, as he felt a small sting at the back of his neck. Allison stroked his hair for a moment, and Jack shook his head as she gently guided him to lie down on the couch. “Jo gonna kill’ou,” he slurred, and Allison kissed his forehead gently.

“Jo gave me permission after you snapped at her this morning,” he dimly heard Allison say as he drifted off.

*-*

Nathan looked up as she entered, and then buried his head in his arms on his desk again, his thumb rubbing one of Jack’s burnished uniform nameplates reassuringly. “I screwed up,” he told her, which surprised Allison. “Ambushed him. Made him talk. Probably was supposed to wait, wasn’t I?”

“You gave him enough time,” Allison reassured him, rubbing the back of his neck gently. “And he’s thinking more rationally since you talked. Or will be once he’s slept.”

“Hmm, you think he hasn’t slept?” Nathan mumbled, sounding worried. “He didn’t look like he had. I know you said you didn’t want to be with either of us while we figured this out, but you should go see him, try to get him to sleep.”

“What a good idea,” Allison couldn’t resist quipping. “Can I convince you to go lie down on your couch for a few minutes, let me rub your neck?” She knew she was shamelessly angling for his weak points, but Nathan was either too tired to notice or too tired to care. He got up and lay down on the couch, sighing as Allison rubbed at his shoulders. She carefully removed the sedative from her pocket, but Nathan barely reacted when she stuck him.

“You think I don’t know your tricks by now?” Nathan asked, turning so he could kiss her hand. “You took care of Jack?”

“Yeah,” she reassured him, running her fingers through his curls. “Sleep, Nathan, and once you’ve both gotten some rest, you can sort things out.”

Nathan murmured something that only years of practice allowed her to decode. “Love you too,” she said softly, sighing as she locked Nathan’s office behind her, heading down to level 3 to find Thorne.

“Where’s Dr. Stark?” Thorne asked when Allison entered, and Allison forced a smile.

“Sedated in his office for the day,” she replied dryly. “I’m not above forcing rest on him when he gets to be an idiot.”

“And the sheriff?” Thorne asked, her lips twitching.

“My office,” Allison managed, before she smiled. “I don’t think I could have handled another day of their sniping at everyone around them.”

“Well done,” Thorne told her, sighing. “Any idea what got into the two of them?”

“I know with Jack, it involved Zoë,” Allison replied, shrugging. “At that point, reason stops working for him. And Nathan gets this way once a year, usually with stress migraines he tries to hide, so anything rational is gone there, too. Both at the same time, and most of us are reaching for panic buttons and shot glasses.”

“No kidding,” Thorne murmured, attention already back on the monitor. “Thank you for handling it.”

*-*

Jack woke to the soft click of keys typing. “Hey,” Allison greeted him. “How you feeling?”

“Like you hit me with a 2 by 4,” he replied, adjusting his neck to work out the kinks. “Which is oddly a lot better.”

“Fargo needs you to sign some forms tonight, since we did the whole unsealing the tomb, filmed the mummy queen, etc.,” Allison told him. “Then maybe go find Nathan and talk?”

“Okay,” Jack agreed slowly. “I miss anything important while I was out, the mummy rise, people struck dead from her curse?”

“Your sister is peddling her CDs at Café Diem,” Allison told him, smiling. “I picked one up. It’s not bad.”

“Yeah, I got a preview this morning as a wakeup call,” Jack recalled, making a face. “There are definitely stronger words for it than ‘bad’.”

“Fargo should be in his office,” Allison laughed, shooing him out. “And, fair warning, Nathan may still be asleep when you get there. I drugged him too.”

“Gotcha,” Jack said, stamping down the nervous butterflies in his stomach. Fargo first, he reminded himself and headed down to the small recess in the wall outside Nathan’s office generously called Fargo’s office. The office appeared empty, but Fargo’s phone was on his desk. “Fargo?” he called out, and a small squeak came from under the desk. “What are you doing?”

“The mummy!” Fargo said, sticking his head up just enough to point a trembling finger toward the hall. “I saw the mummy.”

“Queen Neato rose from the dead, huh?” Jack joked dryly. When Fargo simply stared, too pale, Jack sighed. “All right, I’ll check it out. Get those papers I need to sign ready for me.”

He headed down the hall, frowning at the dim lighting and pulling out his small flashlight. “Can’t see a damn thing,” he muttered, passing through a hall under construction. The plastic was rustling around him, but Jack thought he could see something moving, heading toward it cautiously. “Hello?” he called out, and the rustling increased.

Reflexively, Jack transferred the penlight to his left hand and unfastened his holster, unable to see anything in the dim light. A moment later, a hand gripped his forearm, and Jack whirled, still clumsy from the sedative, losing his footing and hitting his head on a metal scaffold. It took him a minute to get his bearings again, and the hall was empty as he did. “Very funny, Larry,” he muttered, suspecting the prank had been engineered by Fargo’s rival.

He headed back up to Fargo’s office, nodding to Nathan, who had apparently just emerged from his office. “Fargo, I think it’s probably someone’s idea of a prank. Larry maybe?” he suggested, trying to ignore the fact that Nathan was looking at the rapidly purpling bruise on the side of his forehead.

“What happened there?” Nathan asked, frowning.

“Larry or whoever tried to pull their night of the living mummy trick on me, startled me into hitting my head when they grabbed me,” Jack explained, hissing and pulling back when Nathan poked at it. “Ouch! They’re just lucky I didn’t shoot them.”

“I’m telling you, it’s the curse of Queen Niota!” Fargo insisted, folding his arms stubbornly. “I’d have known if it was Larry who grabbed my arm!”

Jack rolled his eyes, but given the opportunity, he’d take putting off talking with Nathan. “All right, let’s go see,” he said simply. “If the queen is in her sarcophagus, it’s a prank.”

“Come on, Fargo,” Nathan instructed his assistant, nudging him forward. They headed into the elevator, and Jack tried not to fidget uncomfortably when Nathan shifted a little closer to him. Part of him was screaming to burrow into Nathan, wrap his arms around his lover and hold him till they figured something out, while the other part flashed on the image of Zoë, too still and glassy eyed, making him stop short.

He moved a little too quickly when the elevator opened, and he saw Nathan set his jaw, pain raw in his eyes. He flipped on a light in the lab. “See, the mummy… is gone,” Jack finished in astonishment, spotting Dr. Marx lying on the ground. “Not a prank,” he said to Nathan, as they turned Marx over, Nathan checking his pulse.

“It’s the curse!” Fargo insisted, gulping air rapidly.

Half an hour later, Jack was taking Marx’s statement, which consisted of blaming Dr. Wilding every other breath and insisting he’d simply passed out in the next. The doctor examining him confirmed dehydration, and beyond Jack being a little disturbed by just how well Thorne seemed to know the pompous scientist, he wasn’t really managing to learn anything from the process.

“All right,” Jack caved finally, shaking his head. “Security will sweep the building for the mummy tonight. I’ll call Wilding in first thing in the morning. In the meantime, I’m still half out from the sedative Allison gave me, so I need some sleep,” he insisted.

“It can wait till morning,” Nathan agreed, gravelly voice soothing Jack quickly. He scowled inwardly, wondering when his responses to the other man had become so automatic.

“Agreed,” Thorne conceded. “Sebastian, do you want me to take you back to the bed and breakfast?”

Jack decided he was getting a little too close to learning how close Thorne and Marx were and slipped out, nodding to Nathan. They slipped into a darkened corridor, and Jack leaned against the wall wearily. “I wanted to talk, but things sort of got out of control,” he observed neutrally, and Nathan smirked.

“The dead walking isn’t exactly a new excuse for us, Jack,” he observed. “You up to hashing this out tonight?”

Jack shook his head, knowing his temper had a tendency to get worse when he was this tired. “Me either,” Nathan conceded, but Jack could see the disappointment on his face.

“Tomorrow?” Jack asked, reaching out idly and playing with the end of Nathan’s tie.

Nathan responded automatically, sliding closer, nuzzling at Jack’s temple, and Jack found his hands automatically settling on Nathan’s waist. “I miss you,” Nathan admitted softly.

“Tomorrow,” Jack repeated, and Nathan nodded, kissing Jack’s forehead gently. Jack closed his eyes, fighting his instinct to lean in and make it a proper kiss. Nathan pulled away, hurrying out of the hall, obviously just as torn. Some corner of Jack’s mind observed coolly that it’d be easier to push Nathan away if he would try to pursue Jack. Instead the distance was making him crave Nathan.

“I need a drink,” Jack decided, heading home.

*-*

Nathan looked up eagerly when his office door opened, trying not to look too disappointed when Henry came in. “Not Jack, I know,” Henry replied, shrugging. “He questioned Wilding, eliminated him as a suspect, and he and Jo went to track down Marx, who is apparently AWOL,” Henry filled him in. “Oh, and Fargo has a theory about the lasers they used to open the tomb and regenerated fish tissue as how the mummy came back. He has a demonstration that’s… disturbing.”

“This is my life- mummies, Fargo’s fish cells, drugged by my girlfriend and a pissed off boyfriend,” Nathan observed sarcastically. “Anything else?”

“Uh, yeah, Thorne just approached me with a cryptex she wanted me to crack,” Henry told him. “I tried to get more information out of her, but she wouldn’t tell me. Best guess, I’d say it’s her way into that underground facility.”

“You turned her down, I’m guessing?” Nathan observed, thoughtful.

“Figured we’ve got nothing to gain by my continuing to help her,” Henry said. “I’ll keep an eye out, see if she taps anyone else, but if we can keep her out of that facility, we’re still a step ahead.”

“Thanks, Henry,” Nathan said, carefully filing away the information in his head. “Make sure you fill Jack in.”

“He’ll come around, Nathan,” Henry told him, shrugging. “Jack’s more forgiving than most of us.”

“I hope you’re right,” Nathan sighed, turning back to his work. Henry’s phone went off, and a moment later, Nathan’s sounded.

*-*

“The mummy?” Allison asked, wrinkling her nose at the tent that was quarantining the corpse.

“Just Marx, looking worse than Niota did,” Jack replied, drinking from a rather large water bottle.

“Well, my preliminary finding suggests dehydration,” Henry told the assembled group as he joined them, yanking off his protective mask.

“Uh, Henry, we found him in an overflowing bathtub,” Jo observed, shaking her head. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know, but I’m thinking it’s bacterial, given the rate of decomposition,” Henry replied, waving a hand at the tent. “Thus the quarantine.”

“Sebastian just got back from Egypt, maybe he picked up something there,” Thorne put in.

“Or maybe from the tomb, with the fancy danger signs on it,” Jack replied dryly, and Nathan snorted, poorly hiding a smile.

“Could also be fungal, or poison,” Henry continued, rolling his eyes at their antics.

“Poison? So this could have been deliberate,” Thorne said, turning to Jack. “Because Wilding—”

“No, I questioned him. It’s not in his nature,” Jack interjected quickly. “Look, if this thing is from the tomb or the missing mummy…”

“Well, it’s not airborne, or we’d have seen more cases,” Henry observed.

“Contact,” Nathan concluded. “We need to find the missing mummy before anyone else is infected. And didn’t Marx have an assistant?”

“The camerawoman, Eileen Michaels,” Thorne confirmed, nodding.

“All right, I’m on finding her,” Jack said, folding his arms. “Jo, you’ve got the mummy.”

*-*

It was Fargo chugging down a pitcher of water at Café Diem that put the idea into Nathan’s head, as he hurriedly escaped the boombox wails, dragging his assistant after him. “Carter, it’s Stark,” he said, sighing in relief as the door closed on Lexi’s music. “Where’d you lose Fargo’s mummy last night?”

“That hall that’s under construction, a waterfall installation I think?” Jack replied, sounding curious. “Why?”

“Meet me there,” Nathan replied shortly, shoving Fargo toward his car. He drove too quickly, nodding to Jack as they met mid-hallway. “Help me get this down,” Nathan said, yanking on some of the construction plastic. Jack frowned but tugged off a sheet, seeing the pools underneath and nodding.

“I see where you’re going, Scientist,” Jack muttered, clearing his throat. They tugged down another sheet, and a dried up corpse floated near just under the surface.

“The mummy!” Fargo shouted, backing up quickly.

“Eileen Michaels,” Jack corrected him, sighing and kneeling down, finishing his bottle of water as he knelt. “Fargo, can you refill that?” Jack handed it off absently, and Nathan looked up, eyes wide.

“When you came down into the hall, she touched you, didn’t she?” Nathan asked, looking over to where Fargo was lapping up water from the water fountain. “She touched both of you. Dammit!” He slammed a hand into the wall, pulling out his phone. “I need a medical team to level 2, corridor 14,” he barked, swallowing hard. Jack was looking quizzical, then looked over at Fargo, the dawning knowledge on his face almost sickening.

“She infected us,” Jack observed, paling. “God, we need to test Lexi and Zoë. And you,” he added, suddenly remembering. “I touched you.”

*-*

Allison didn’t get the call until Jack was already installed in the infirmary, due in large part to the fact that Thorne had stuck Nathan in quarantine as well, taking no chances when she heard that Jack had touched Nathan. Lexi and Zoë were a higher priority for the tests, though, so Nathan was pacing his glass cube impatiently when Allison arrived.

“Good news is Lexi and Zoë tested negative, we’re waiting on your results next,” Allison told Nathan. “Henry’s doing an autopsy of Eileen Michaels, and we’re testing anyone Fargo came in contact with as well. Better news is Fargo isn’t prone to touching people the way Jack is so it’s a short list. Wilding and Zane are looking into the markings on the tomb. Both of them are now thinking the danger markings indicate a plague. They’re hoping they’ll find how the ancient Egyptians stopped it.” She could hear herself faintly, babbling practically, but Nathan was keeping up, allowing her to get it out of her system, so she finished, “We haven’t found the mummy yet, but I think—”

Her PDA beeped, and she looked down, able to breathe a little better when she saw the test results. She hit the quarantine release code, smiling at Nathan. “Your test results are negative,” she said, letting him hug her tightly, soaking in the warmth and comfort. “Now let’s go fix Carter,” she added firmly when he pulled away, jerking her head over to where Jack and Fargo were being monitored.

Allison was listening to Henry filling in Nathan with one ear, looking over Jack’s latest blood work. When Henry mentioned that Eileen Michaels’ remains had disintegrated, she saw Nathan light up, putting pieces together. “The mummy didn’t go anywhere,” he said, taking off. She and Henry exchanged a look before hurrying after him.

“Zane, the security cameras, what’d they show?” Nathan demanded as they entered, Thorne looking over her glasses at him warily.

“Nothing,” Zane replied. “The mummy just sort of vanished.”

“She’s still there,” Nathan said, pointing. Allison glanced at the empty sarcophagus, wondering briefly if the strain of the situation was getting to Nathan, but Henry lit up, nodding.

“The ashes!” he exclaimed, looking closer. “She disintegrated, like Eileen Michaels!”

“We’ll need to run some tests to confirm it, but that would be good news,” Thorne said with a small smile. “This should be contained.”

“To Fargo and Jack,” Allison burst out, surprised at her own vehemence. Thorne instantly looked apologetic, but Allison brushed it off. “Zane, keep working on the engravings, I need to go look at blood work,” she muttered, pushing past Henry to escape the room.

She wasn’t surprised when Nathan caught up with her a few moments later, giving her a worried look. “Where do you need to be?” he asked her, and she sighed shakily, running a hand through her hair.

“Blood work,” she repeated finally. “I need to be working on the research, as long as you can handle keeping Jack company.”

“It’s where I need to be,” Nathan agreed sadly, accepting Allison’s fierce hug. “Go on,” he urged her, once she had reassembled what remained of her control. She left him to collect his courage, hoping leaving the two men together was the right thing to do.

*-*

“Feel like having that chat now?” Jack joked as Nathan stepped in front of the monitor.

“You look horrible,” Nathan informed him, sighing as he leaned against the wall, trying to think of something to say.

“You’ve got a really shitty bedside manner,” Jack replied, sipping his water. “Seriously, Dr. House has nothing on you.”

“Well, give me a cane and maybe I can tone it down,” Nathan replied, teasingly. “You want me to get Zoë in here?”

“No,” Jack replied, shaking his head. “I talked to her earlier, before I was looking so horrible. I don’t want her to see me this way.” He paused, drinking some water, and Nathan sighed, resisting the urge to touch the image. “I guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite.”

“How so?” Nathan asked, not following his logic.

“I’m angry with you for not telling me that in some convoluted reality that didn’t happen my daughter died, but I won’t let her be here now,” Jack pointed out, sighing.

“You’re protecting her,” Nathan replied quietly. “It’s what you’re supposed to do when you care about someone.”

“Even if she doesn’t need it anymore?” Jack replied, and Nathan suspected Jack had caught on that they weren’t talking about Zoë anymore.

“Even if she hates you for it,” Nathan replied, nodding to Allison as she came in slowly. “They’ve got him on IV fluids, why isn’t he getting better?” Nathan asked, keeping the video line open deliberately, not wanting Jack to feel shut out.

“Here, this is the blood work,” Allison told him, handing the data pad over. “Our best guess is those microbes require the water for replicating, which is why Jack’s getting worse as we hydrate him.”

“Zane said they think those hieroglyphs warn about some sort of plague, and maybe we’re not talking about a bacterial kind,” Nathan muttered, looking over the image. “And Fargo showed us the fish tissue that could be regenerated by the cutting laser,” he added, watching Allison catch up to his theory.

“And an insect could survive in a microbial state like this indefinitely,” she said, eyes going round. “So the hydration is for metamorphosis, not replication! We have to warn Henry, those bodies could be a virtual cocoon!” She tugged out her phone, stepping away and Jack motioned to get Nathan’s attention.

“Marx might be, but the camera woman crumbled,” Jack said. “Maybe something in the fountain water?”

Nathan double checked the tablet for the tests he’d ordered when they found the body as Allison rejoined him. “Too late,” she told them grimly. “The swarm hatched, headed back into town,” she reported. “Henry’s on his way here, but we need to find a way to stop them before they start laying eggs.”

“The water in the fountain looks like normal water, no different than the bath water,” Nathan observed, scrolling through data. “No chemical treatment, no filtering.”

“What about Ph levels?” Allison suggested and Nathan double checked.

“No difference,” Nathan thumped the pad in disappointment, wishing there had been an easy answer.

“Cold,” Jack interrupted, coughing. “Bathwater was steaming.”

“And the waterfall is spring fed, icy cold,” Allison replied. “Maybe—”

Nathan jumped, his phone ringing, Zoë’s number on the screen. “Zoë, what’s up?”

“Um, there’s a swarm of bugs trying to get into Café Diem,” she shouted, and Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose, barely able to hear her over the music.

“Tell your aunt to turn that noise off,” he barked, sighing gratefully when he could suddenly hear Zoë.

“The swarm is huge,” Zoë told him, but she sounded surprisingly calm, telling Nathan they were still secure in the café. “And… wait, they’re leaving.”

Nathan frowned, suddenly curious. “Turn the music back on,” he said, waiting for her to relay the request to Lexi.

“They’re… they’re coming back,” Zoë told him, only a small stammer betraying her concern.

“Okay, hang tight, we may have a way to fix this,” Nathan told her. “Just stick with Jo and be careful, okay?”

“Promise,” she agreed easily. “How’s my dad doing?”

“We’re working on it,” he told her, closing his eyes briefly. “I’ll get back to you soon.”

He hung up, turning back to Allison as Henry sprinted in. “The swarm seems to be attracted to Café Diem,” Henry reported in a quick gasp. “Which is baffling, because we’ve got more people in the shelter out at Tesla.”

“It’s the music… Lexi’s CD,” Nathan told them. “The bugs are attracted to it.”

“Heh,” Jack joked weakly. “No taste.”

“No kidding,” Nathan agreed. “Or it’s the harmonics,” he conceded when Allison gave him a dark look. “The point is, we can attract them. We just need to test our theory about the cold killing them, and I have an idea on how. Cryogenically.”

“Test it on Fargo or Jack, see if it kills the microbes,” Allison said, lips pursed with concern as she considered the screen.

“You test it on me, not Fargo,” Jack ground out, the dark circles under his eyes making any implied threat useless. Allison shook her head, obviously unable to agree, and Jack turned his face, looking at Nathan.

“I’ll set it up,” Nathan reassured him, sliding a hand around Allison’s elbow. “He’s got to protect the town, protect Fargo,” he reminded her softly. “This isn’t one of the times you or I can protect him.” His eyes met Jack’s, and he forced himself to acknowledge the gratitude written there.

It took only ten minutes for the cryogenics team to set up a module, far too quick for Nathan to come up with a good reason to stop Jack from being the one Henry was injecting with an anesthetic. The module was sealed up, and Nathan was allowed to move in closer as Henry removed his protective gloves.

“Nathan,” Jack called out, pressing a hand to the lid of the cryo-chamber. Nathan checked that the lab techs had left, and then set his hand against the glass. “You’ll take care of Zoë.”

“Of course,” Nathan reassured him, trying not to let his worry lash out.

“No, I mean, I know you will, I get it,” Jack replied distractedly, the sedative taking hold. “You didn’t risk the universe for me… risked it for her.”

Nathan’s breath caught, and he forced a smile. “Go to sleep, Jack, we’ll talk about this later.”

“Love you,” Jack whispered as he went under. Nathan steeled himself before nodding to Henry, starting the cryo process.

“All right, we’re at our target temperature,” Henry reported a moment later, and Allison shook her head.

“Internal sensors are still detecting movement,” she told them, cursing under her breath. “It’s slowing, but Jack’s vitals are really low as well.”

“Come on, Jack,” Henry said, tweaking the temperature a little on his console.

“No more movement,” Allison confirmed a moment later, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Moment of truth, we have to bring him back out and make sure they aren’t hibernating,” Nathan reminded them, and Henry nodded, adjusting his controls. Allison left her console, coming down and lacing her fingers through Nathan’s.

“Pulse rate not responding,” Henry told them a moment later, and Nathan turned, checking the vitals for himself.

“Don’t you die on us,” Allison snapped at Jack, and a moment later, the slow beeping began to speed up.

“Approaching normal rate and rhythm,” Henry confirmed, grinning, and Allison moved back to the console, checking the MRI.

“No movement,” she told Nathan triumphantly.

“All right,” Nathan said, nodding to them. “Allison, can you handle treating Fargo? Henry and I have a swarm to take care of.”

*-*

Jack woke slowly, head aching fiercely, which somehow must have shown in his face, because the lights dimmed enough for him to open his eyes a moment later. “Better?” Allison asked, running a soothing hand over his head.

“You’re an angel,” Jack grumbled hoarsely. “If you have water, I’ll even upgrade you to goddess.”

“Sweet talk will get you nowhere, Carter,” Allison remarked, handing him a cup with a straw in it, though she was struggling not to smile. “Nathan should be back in a little bit, save it for him.”

“He take care of the bugs?” Jack asked, fighting a smirk. “Doing my job?”

“Attracted them with the music, then put them in the deep freeze in Vince’s freezer,” Allison told him, stroking Jack’s hair gently. “Vince made him stay to clean up.”

“I’d have come up with a better plan than that,” Jack scoffed, rolling his eyes. “What’d he do, run down the street with a boom box?”

“He and Henry drove, actually, but yeah, same idea,” Allison admitted, shaking her head. “Just between you and me, I wish you had been awake. I’m sure you’d have had a better idea.”

“I heard that.” Nathan’s voice rumbled from the doorway, where he was leaning against the doorframe, tie looped loosely around his neck, shirt half undone. “Sheriff can have his job back, it’s thankless. Vince just shoved a broom at me and said he wasn’t cleaning up bugsicles.”

“So you just called in GD cleanup,” Jack remarked dryly, and Allison smiled, standing and leaning down to brush a quick kiss over Jack’s forehead.

He pouted at her, and she raised an eyebrow. “You can have a real one when you and Nathan…”

“Allie,” Nathan stopped her, giving her a soft look.

She turned back, pulling Jack into a tight embrace. Jack looped his arms around her, holding her for a long moment. “Go get some rest,” Jack told her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, leaning in as he did, whispering, “And maybe we’ll come join you.”

Allison looked up quickly, tugging him into a quick kiss. “Thank you,” she whispered back. “But not till tomorrow. Tonight you two figure it out, physically too,” she finished, giving him a knowing smile.

Allison walked to the door, leaning up and kissing Nathan before she left. “Camera,” Jack suddenly realized with a groan.

“Everyone’s gone home, and I’ll snag the footage,” Nathan reassured him, slowly making his way over to sit on the bed, facing Jack. “Jack, I don’t expect you to forgive me for lying to you…”

“I do though,” Jack replied quietly. “You turned back time, so it never actually happened. And I started thinking, if I could have done it for Callister, if it had been Kevin…” he trailed off, taking a deep breath. “I would have done it too.”

“You wouldn’t have put them in that position in the first place,” Nathan started to object, and Jack snorted.

“Have you met my daughter? About 5’5”, blonde, gets her way far too often?” he teased Nathan, trying to cover how his stomach was fluttering nervously as he inched his fingers into Nathan’s. “Just tell me… do you trust me?” Jack asked softly, finally able to voice what worried him.

“With my life,” Nathan replied quietly. “Even when I didn’t like you, I knew I could trust you.”

“And this thing with us… you being…” Jack’s breath caught, unable to force the words out.

“I can’t live without you,” Nathan swore, squeezing Jack’s fingers tightly. “I know you think because I have Allie too I might just as easily give you up, but being away from either of you physically hurts, Jack. I need you. Badly need you.”

Nathan’s face was open, so easy to read that Jack couldn’t find it in himself to disbelieve it. “Yeah, me too,” he confessed, hands shaking a little when Nathan drew it up to his lips.

“Okay?” Nathan asked, obviously concerned.

“Need you,” Jack managed, not sure why he was shaking. Nathan pulled him into a hug, Jack burrowing his nose into the open v of Nathan’s shirt, finally feeling able to breathe deep enough once he was settled against the other man.

“Take me home?” Jack asked Nathan quietly, and Nathan pulled back, running the backs of his fingers along Jack’s cheekbone.

“You’re recovering—”

“So we’ll go very, very slow,” Jack informed him, voice a little husky.

“Your sister is home,” Nathan reminded him.

“She’ll be asleep,” Jack said, looking at his watch. “We’ll explain the birds, bees, and bees all in one nest in the morning.”

“Are you sure?” Nathan tried one last time, though he’d leaned in so his forehead was resting on Jack’s.

“I need you with me,” Jack told him, managing a crooked smile. “Half crazy wanting you to make love to me.”

“I’ll get the forms to release you to the bunker,” Nathan replied. “No work for a few days though.”

“All right,” Jack agreed, though he was already plotting his way around that edict.

*-*

Nathan helped Jack into the bunker, unsurprised to see Zoë still awake, jumping up the minute Jack came in. “Dad,” she cried out, hurrying over to hug him. “I thought they would keep you at GD for the night.” She looked suspiciously over at Nathan.

“His vitals are good, and there’s nothing more GD can actually do to help,” Nathan observed. “It’s a matter of rest and recovering, which you and I both know will be easier with SARAH around to help police him.”

“I’m happy to help,” the AI chirped in. “When will Sheriff Carter be permitted to return to work?”

“Three days, minimum,” Nathan spoke up quickly, before Jack could try to con his house. “And only with my say-so, SARAH.”

“Noted,” the house said, and Jack scowled at him.

“Hope the couch is comfortable, traitor,” he joked, leaning against Nathan wearily.

“Um, so, we telling Aunt Lexi he’s here because you need medical supervision?” Zoë guessed, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. Nathan picked up that she was also wondering what to read into Nathan’s presence.

“Nah, we’ll tell her everything tomorrow,” Jack told her, pulling her into another hug when she lit up happily. “Not too much longer on the homework, okay?”

“Just a few more equations,” she promised, and Nathan rolled his eyes.

“You know, this is why you have an AI,” he reminded Jack. “SARAH, please enforce Zoë’s bedtime.”

“Counting down, 42 minutes,” SARAH agreed pleasantly, and Zoë scowled up at him.

“I was going to say I was glad you two made up, but I’m not now,” she informed him, sniffing as she settled in to her work.

Getting Jack stripped and into bed proved easier than Nathan had foreseen, and a few minutes later, Nathan curled into the inviting embrace, accepting a languid kiss. “You’re too sleepy,” he warned Jack, who snuffled a negative sound, all legs and hands and enwrapping Nathan tightly as he nibbled at the scientist’s collarbone.

“Don’t think your body knows that,” Jack remarked quietly, hand slipping under Nathan’s boxers and wrapping around the hardening cock, playing slowly, the touch soft and exploring.

“Jack,” Nathan groaned, rolling closer to his lover, trying not to feel turned on. “I just brought you home from the infirmary.”

“I’m fine, except for needing you,” Jack replied, and Nathan leaned up and kissed him slowly, sliding a hand down to cup Jack, surprised to find the sheriff hard and arching into the touch automatically. Deciding that compromise was a good plan, Nathan slid Jack’s boxers down, freeing his cock, mirroring Jack’s soft strokes. Jack cupped Nathan’s chin gently, raising his face into a gentle kiss.

The movements were slow, soft, teasing and caressing, not pushing for anything more, so Nathan relaxed into the rhythm, kissing every bit of Jack’s face he could reach, feather light touches that coaxed a soft laugh from Jack. “I won’t break,” Jack reminded him, catching Nathan’s lower lip between his teeth.

“Missed you,” Nathan countered. “Love you.” He arched a little into Jack’s touch, coming silently, fighting to keep his eyes locked on Jack’s.

“Shit,” Jack cursed, eyes widening hungrily as he pulled Nathan into a kiss. “Just when I think you can’t get any hotter.” Nathan deliberately angled his fingers into Jack’s weak points, sliding and sending him over the edge with a soft cry. Jack buried his head in Nathan’s shoulder, the exhaustion suddenly to hard for him to hide. Nathan snagged a handful of tissues from the nightstand and cleaned them up, smiling at Jack’s sleepy incoherent murmurs.

“N’more lies,” Jack slurred at Nathan as he tucked them in, wrapping his arms around Jack.

“I promise,” Nathan said softly into Jack’s ear, thinking he might have actually learned that lesson at last. Where his mind had once broken down his actions as acceptable risk, he saw nothing but risk.

Eureka Fic: "Stress Relief", Stark/Fargo, NC17

2009-08-26T01:57:44Z

Title: Stress Relief
Author: serene_quill
Pairing: Nathan Stark/Douglas Fargo
Rating: FRAO/NC-17
Word Count: ~1650
Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing with them.
Warnings: rough sex, bastard!Nathan, spanking, D!s overtones, PWP
Summary: Prompt for Round 12 of rounds_of_kink “Fargo has the perfect solution to relax an over-worked Nathan.” Kink: face-fucking. Set nebulous Season 1-2, post divorce.

(Stress Relief)

Memeage

2009-08-15T05:38:48Z

I'm bored easily lately (could be the moved into new place but still no furniture thing), so I could use some amusement.

Tryin to play the game of stayin involved....
Taken from gin200168

Give me a fandom** and I'll name:

Favorite character:
Least favorite character:
Character with the best hair:
Character with the best eyes:
Character with the best smile:
Character I'd most want to kiss:
Character I'd most likely have sex with:
Character I'd make lunch for:
Character I'd go singing in the rain with:
Character I'd go shopping with:
Character I'd go dancing with:
Character I'd take over the world with:
Character I most want to see more of:
Favorite pairing:
Least Favorite pairing:

**Reserve the right to pass if a fanodm given is not one I follow or some such. But will try to fill in all requests!

"A Heart of Ice", Eureka, Jack/Nathan

2009-08-07T22:27:06Z

Title: A Heart of Ice
Author: serene_quill
Pairing: Jack/Nathan
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~4950
Disclaimer: I own neither Eureka nor Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale, “The Snow Queen” which this fic was based upon. An online translation of the fairy tale can be found at: http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables/snowqueen.html
Warnings: Total fairy tale AU, angsty at times, fluffy at times, and generally fairy tale cracked.
Summary: For rounds_of_kink Round 12, with the prompt, “Nathan Stark/Jack Carter, AU, Fairytales”. A (very) liberal retelling of a classic Danish fairy tale, The Snow Queen, with apologies to Mr. Anderson. Then again, given his own liberal ways, perhaps he’ll forgive me.

(Once Upon A Time...)

Thoughts and Commentary: Eureka 311: Insane in the P-Brane

2009-07-25T20:27:32Z

COMMENTARY

TEASER

-Ick baby stuff. But the idea of the invisi-apparel appealing for non-pregnancy reasons- could make us all look Lexi skinny? =P Love how Allie has to be like, meh, no, not interested (uh huh, right) because Salli really is pregnant!

-Clip that was early release of Tess-- stand by her reminding me of Abby.

-I love the guy taping his partner out of the lab- is like kids, tape line down the floor sort of strategy!

-Carter- I'll bite. And yet he has the look of I know I'll regret this...

-Duncan! (Please, take Lexi away!)

-Vince rocks- "Hey so's mine! He's scaring people, do something!"

-Poltergeist reference- Amy and I jinxed on it, then crazy doctor says!

ACT ONE

-Allie introduces Tess as old friend, Jack asking- girl's weekend/baby shower- see below!

-I like that Henry brings around the logical conclusion that someone playing with magnets, doing it to screw with people- cuz was my first assumption!

-Tess: 3 PhD's and he assumes... Allison introduced you as a friend not 3 phds, which pregnant and widowed again, is something she needs (probably more than someone to reopen section 5!) Of course he assumed you were there as support!

-Love Zoe eavesdropping, but Lexi logic giving me a headache.

-Like shrewd Duncan, and now Lexi's going to start lying....

-Jack scares them, FTW!

-Like the little touches in this scene- Fargo & Zoe giving each other a look, Allison trying not to laugh.

ACT TWO

-Addams family on the back burner. Cute.

-Carter thinks Murray onto something- part of my tag coming from this beat.

-The whole Jack should have known thing still bugging me- till you tell him Tess is in charge of section 5, why would he have any reason to know? (Personally would be glad he not creepy facebook stalking my friends to find out all their details, but hey, maybe Allison is a fan of the Twilight School of Romance.)

-Lexi logic, again. He can walk away, maybe just provide financially, you're not forcing him to stay by telling him he's going to have sons (there are lots of idiot men out there who do that) but he still has a right to know!

-Poor Fargo-- "what now?"

-And Fargo bonds with Duncan- I sort of think Duncan suspects Lexi's playing him.

-Love the mail boy. Car Wash...

ACT THREE

-Jack's bit about being dead and Tess's "reassurance" - meh, remember season one and cramming a pairing down our throats? I was really hoping they wouldn't go that way again. Wish they had more organic chemistry, clicked together, not situational manfactured.

-Tess- (babbling, bald spots) reminds me of Abby with impulse control issues. I tend to dislike people who lack head to mouth check on selves. =/

-You're smarter than you dress- seriously, I'm really tired of the "Jack is the sheriff therefore dumb" bit. It's so old it's just annoying at this point.

-Allison again not giving any benefit of doubt to anyone. Stuff isn't just flying around on it's own for no reason! So maybe it's not ghosts, but confiscate the equipment, launch an investigation.

ACT FOUR

-Tess is from SETI, more proof the aliems are coming. And I maintain my theory that said aliems are actually a ST:TMP rip off of V'ger.

-Kinda like the rude British scientist. Prefer the upfront mean to the thoughtless bitchy.

-Yay, Henry putting it together by checking the crazy guy notes- see Allison? =P

-Tess's toupe rant: or option three, because you have zero stop between your brain and your mouth?! And what comes out doesn't ever seem to be nice, just carelessly mean?!

-Jack is the perfect man- Notre Dame football, Red Sox baseball, oh yeah!

-Like that HJ's panic is linked to the fact that he knows Henry can shut down his work faster than anyone else. And maybe he jumped the gun, but I sort of think he was right- they had to get out, and stop their own destruction. Tess wouldn't have figured out the sideways bit without the insight that follows.

ACT FIVE

-Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Jack's been missing for hours and no one has noticed? Or that they're in section 5 and the head of the department isn't there? Plot hole.

-It's the Kim body again!

-Not sure about the whole Jack reaching Allison thing- a little weird, and almost against the established science.

-Like the fact that Jack and Tess aren't there, but how'd they end up on the road? And again, positional maneuvering to replace actual chemistry.

-Her comment about Nobel Prize- posthumously for HJ, of course, cuz it's all his development. Right? ((roll eyes))

-DUNCAN FTW, Fargo did have such a cute mancrush on him! LOL!

-But in typical guy fashion, Duncan has his moment to panic! Which, can you blame him, suddenly he's the dad to twins, not taking Lexi back to Africa with him.

-And we do this song and dance again- Carter always pieces it together, but you don't tell him, and it will inevitably be out of control by the time you bring him in to fix it. Seriously, how has he not slapped someone?

OVERALL THOUGHTS

-Felt fragmented and jumpy as an episode- Teaser had six/seven scenes and four new characters in six minutes- is a reason this feels a little scattered! Most broke down this jumpy- Lexi lines never tied in to main line, and for A and B plot to never intersect is rare- they don't even tie together with a common theme or moral or well, anything. Is weird for me to criticize the writing, because this is one of Thania St. John's eps, and usually I love her stuff- have noticed her writing as being stand out eps since Roswell. But this I didn't like. (ETA: Guess I ranted about continuity on her last one, I Do Over, but other than continuity, typical brilliant beautiful writing that I've always enjoyed from her. This wasn't even close to on par with her usual work for me.)

-How can Carter and Tess go missing for hours and no one notice, especially when a Section 5 catastrophe is creating town wide disaster? Logic fail!

-Tess- I dunno, I prefer women who how to play with words-- Tess just sort of spews things and inadvertently hurts people, though that doesn't phase her in the slightest. I'll take a character who knows what their digs do any day, a Beverly or Eva or Nathan who can subtly land an insult, snark and full well mean it over someone who simply has no regard for their words. She also has no subtlety, just hitting the nail on the head over and over- with the other three, they could sneak in digs that you didn't process until a beat later. She also doesn't seem to have a strong natural chemistry with Jack (Eva and Nathan both had) so it's all situational and manufactured. I think I'd have enjoyed it more if she'd come in flirting (Jack's hot, why not?) and tried to create tension to get him to notice her than going back to the season one formula of "if we make them fall into each other enough, it'll just happen".

-All the best bits went to side characters- my most liked moments went to Vince, Fargo, Duncan, and HJ. Not where they should be!

-I am so tired of everyone looking at Carter like he's a moron! Especially someone brand new to town whose seen him doing his job and saving her life! If you don't say, "Hi, I'm Dr. Fontana, visiting researcher," then why would you be insulted that he thinks you're there to offer support to a recently widowed and pregnant good friend of yours? At least it's a step above crazy woman who parked in the middle of the road to pee in the woods. Which, come on, is clearly what you looked like.

-They're lucky 310 already earned them next week, because 311 certainly didn't earn them any more episodes from me. But next week has the Muppet title and Charlie Craig's much touted blob, so I have high hopes.

Thoughts and Commentary: Eureka 310: Your Face or Mine?

2009-07-18T07:30:16Z

COMMENTARY

TEASER

-With Jack, screw the standardized testing!

-Viking!Carter. Just saying. Someone needs to AU it. LOL!

-Just a few lines in and I suspect I know what my tag will be! Win!

-Aww, poor assistant girl, has a girl crush on Jo and Fargo, neither notices her!

-Whoa, with Henry! 1984, Big Brother, and get the frak out of my DNA!

-Yeah, right it's not convenient timing. Think Allison pulled a fast one.

-Aww, poor Fargo, watching Jo/Zane. ((Hugs))

-Wow, Zane can your foot get any further in your mouth! And it just keeps sliding in!

-Heh, Jo calls Fargo Douglas! Totally playing Zane there, or sign something it wrong?

-Uh tech fail- ginormous scanner to imput DNA when CSI can do it with a cheek swab.... rotfl, and then tech fail as it fries Jo!

ACT ONE

-First thought at fried wires- damn, Taggart, no more smart mice! Damn, theft...

-Aww, Zoe trying to pull one over on Jo!

-YAY NO LEXI! ROCK ON THIS EPISODE!

-Push the button. Jack ranting, too funny!

-Not a hologram, then "push the button" after he falls! Funny!

-OMG Larry! Don't quit your day job!

-Um, anyone think Fargo working with law one because of SARAH's actions last week!?

-LOL Henry, do you really need a motive, it's nice to have Larry in jail!

-First bust? Suspect is not actually Jo... damn. Means Fargo not actually going to make out with Fargo.

ACT TWO

-Aww, poor bruised Jack! Definitely think I know where my tag will be as long as test progresses!

-What he should throw cards? Is he Gambit?.... oh. *facepalm* that works too...

-Zoe + 80's FTW!

-Of course Zoe snuck out... once a rebel, always a rebel. Just better about knowing when she can (well, almost) get away with it!

-Jo + Fargo duet... =D

-Uzo... her usual... this girl rocks!

-Wow, Erica Cerra has a great voice. Commentary going shallow from here, cuz, damn, also very hot! Nice kiss! Wow!

-Vince stops clapping when he sees Zane, lol!

-All right, Zane's beard thing has to go. Ick.

-And Fargo runs in panic from Zane!

-Zoe fake innocent, too, too funny! So interested in overhearing!

-Oh, ouch, poor Fargo! ((hugs)) (feel this may be common occurrence)

-Oh, you know those flowers will be put to work guilt tripping Lucas later....

-Poor Jack, and he's scared of heights! (Elevator in 212, had forgotten!) AND has to go back to beginning!? Poor Jack! ((hugs))

-Let's punk the deputy! LOL!

-Wow, Zane not so good at talking... or even trying to explain to Jo.

-Jo? Steal? Um, come on, not even a little doubt in the technology that FRIED a person a few hours ago, Allison? You know, her blind arrogance sometimes hits that wrong nerve with me, usually when she won't give Jack a chance or believe him, but that's first time with Jo. (Maybe she'll be better after the commercial...)

ACT THREE

-Honey, you kissed Fargo... Come on, he's cute, and nice, and smart!

-Straw poke...lol! Aww, Jo needs Carter. And straw fail! =) Sweet sandwiched in the funny! Well done scene!

-There ya go Allison!

-Two DNA signatures for Jo. (And um, DNA doesn't change based on mood, what does 'hasn't been herself' have to do with it!

-FARGO FTW, shoto khan! LOL!

-Poor Zane! All hurt, but still respects Fargo, gets him to consider possibility.

-Perfect- Julia! And she can get Fargo's attention that way!

-Dual scene- awesome job Ms. Cerra, love the dual role and how she played it!

-Remote time release sedatives?! Dude! That's wicked! Sensing a new fic trope, bet I'll see that around again... lol!

-Aww, sort of feel bad for Julia, but if this is leading into a "Fargo had real connection with her so it's all good..." blah. One shared moment and a kiss... well, okay, maybe that is enough for a guy! Am typical girl, all hung up on deception, go figure!

ACT FOUR

-Julia in an observation space... ut oh, not Julia! Body swap! Well, sort of. Eureka style.

-Poor Jack! Yeah, baseball skillz time! Yup, test move on, I have my tag!

-Major changes, no kidding!

-Aww, Fargo, turning away the kiss, even sweeter! ((glomps)) I adore Fargo, he's so sweet!

-Now let's see if Zane can recognize his girlfriend...

-First date was not ballet? I thought was how he won her over!? Thought brunch was date 2. No ballet means me like her dating him less!

-Is it just me or is Henry getting more Stark like? All gruff and short answers? (Was sort of filling 1/3 of Nathan's shoes last week)

ACT FIVE

-Very Jack like "eureka" moment from Jo! Go girl!

-Search for Fargo, aww!

-Clueless and completely socially awkward, aww Fargo!

-Yup, Fargo decided girl who's into Halo worth the deception.

ETA: Dad verdict-- duh, is a boy!

-Love that Julia gets redeeming moment, sends Jo through first! (Though could be seen as not wanting to be guinea pig... lol)

-Perfect... aww, good answer Zane!

-Brave would have been staying inside my own skin in the first place. Nicely done, like the little moral message!

-Henry + Shakespeare = TOTAL WIN

-Um, Allison, Henry didn't think was all about 'not ready' but invasion of privacy! Hmm.

-Yup, have my tag! Knew I'd go angsty sometime!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

-Erica Cerra, not just brilliant as a leading lady this week, but brilliant in the double role! So impressed by her! And Colin's directing didn't leave me with any moment's of "I wish that actor would have just..." (which last week I had a few!) Hope the show uses more of Jo because season 3.0 often wasted her talent and she rocked tonight! Would also like to see Colin get another swing at directing, he did great!

-My biggest complaint was that until the rewatch at 11pm, I couldn't tell if in the teaser if it was supposed to all be Jo, or if it's Julia? (And boy would I LOVE to read the script on this!) Tech guy implied there was something weird in the first scan- is that supposed to mean it's Julia? But Julia seems to imply first outing was where we see her in Act One after Jo goes to bed and Jo knows she got fried. Except no, because was "Jo version of Julia" when sabotaged/stole from DNA machine. So is Jo playing Fargo/Zane off each other in Teaser? Oye. This is why identity theft in sci-fi sucks sometimes. My verdict- not Julia till Act One. Tech guy statement just not make sense, was supposed to mean INTRUDER DNA was screwy, but matched Jo, so just assumed! But still, as observed above, DNA does not change with mood. DNA guy just makes it hard to completely follow that line, I think. Think could have used some clarification and more careful wording so I wasn't quite so baffled and had to watch closely for a second time.

-Not as funny as I expected it to be! Since it was Jaime Paglia's episode, I was sort of expecting "Noche de Suenos" levels of wicked crazy and funny. But was much sweeter than funny. Kept wanting to hug Jo/Julia/Jack/Fargo/Zane... okay, like 3/4 the characters!

-Still think Jack's "Gambit" moment (which had me laughing hysterically for a moment) was too funny! And probably wasn't supposed to be that funny....

-Expected this would end with Fargo getting the short end of the stick, and still feel a very little bit like he did- kind of an old trope, Cyrano done Eureka style- when it's someone else's face, you learn to love the words and intellect beneath (Which is why Henry's "All's well that ends well" line rocks beyond belief! Same idea!) But in TV, film, etc, it's always so short, such a small thing that makes the shift, not enough for me most times, including this one. She knows Asimov and plays Halo and that's all Fargo needs. Is why I like it in plays- Cyrano composes many, many poems and letters to the lady before she learns the truth. Just would have liked there to be a stronger connection (though am sure wasn't time).

-Love Jack's trials! We got the physical stuff, and I plan to have a bit of fun by dipping into the psych/emotional side!

-LOL, maybe Lexi should stay- Allison's occasional arrogance doesn't annoy me as often when Lexi's bugging the crap out of me... six of one, half a dozen of the other. Just wish Allison would LEARN to have a little faith in people. Static flaws bother me. Like it always being Fargo's fault or him not ever (this week is debatable, we'll see if Julia is more than another Callie who will vanish in a few weeks) come out ahead.

Thoughts and Commentary: Eureka 309, "Welcome Back Carter"

2009-07-11T07:04:35Z

COMMENTARY

PRE SHOW

8:57 pm: I have a 6'3" hyperactive gay man clinging to my arm jumping up and down saying "Almost there, almost there!" In case you wondered about the 'quality' of this commentary.

8:58 pm: The room consists of myself (Serena), Amy who is sensible, smart, and occasionally certifiable, Josh (see previous entry), Mike aka small compact version of Josh, Steve who is silent and broody in the school of Stark, and Kevin. who I don't really know, but he's dating Mike, so he must be nuts.

TEASER

-Recap, aww, poor fired Jack!

-Homeland Security? Love the anything exciting ever happen moment!

-Oh Vince! "Simple meal for a simple man" too funny!

-So not fair to Jo, getting passed up again! Amy calls sexism! Josh calls humanism! (I do not think that word means what he thinks it means...)

-I'm with Jack on the creepy! Slam the door closed!

-Fargo!Furby FTW! So Fargo was that kid who actually taught the Furby correctly, not cursing like me, huh?

-GO JO! Right there with her! Not being passed up for an AI.

-Oh god, Sheriff RedShirt just keeps getting creepier as it moves!

(Commercial note- Ad from the network formerly known as Sci-Fi stating "it's too late to go back, Sci-Fi is now SyFy" is probably code for "shut up and stop whining fans", huh? Too bad I'm bad with taking the subtle hints, Skiffy!)

ACT ONE

-Uh oh, way General talks about Carter, methinks he saw the chart of red dots.

-Weightless baby birth... I'm holding out for painless, thanks!

-Aww, Allison involved and Carter comes running!

-Costume!fail- Jack in flannel in teaser, comes home in light blue button down, then back to flannel at trees! (That or a scene got moved during editing, but I'm inclined to blame Wardrobe- even if baby aquarium scene originally after trees, should still be in flannel!)

-Okay, Sheriff Andy assessing baby rather creepy! And poor Jack, left out.

-Aww, so that's where Zoe gets the milkshake habit from! Love the play 'hit me' parallel to old season 1 ep. (Right as Raines, nice, a Callister parallel!)

-Hiding from Zoe! Aww, Jack, I'd be hiding too!

-Bite me Terminator! ZOE FTW!

-SARAH- saccharine sheriff and analyzing the sample for him! Love her!

-Amy loving Allison's "If I told you that..."

-Nice to see Jo and Carter out of uniform!

-Probably not supposed to cheer when satellite falls and yet... Josh: Eureka form- Satellites fall, everybody dies!

ACT TWO

-Mansfield going to get slapped!

-Henry lifting satellite, too funny! Love his little nod at Jack's "naturally curious"

-Names database hiccup. Almost works, but somehow... not so much.

-Use of word "fat" around pregnant woman... Do boys have a death wish?!

-Car crushing! Awesome!

-Anyone here also on twitter playing #whacksheriffredshirt? Looks like the writers decided to play as well! That Andy is hard to kill!

ACT THREE

-Gravity well! Love the demonstration!

-Jo "No offense" adore Lupo, awesome!

-So half of us had a prof named Fielding and the arrogance... oh yeah, familiar!

-We who? He's not working alone....

-Amy: Aww, did we need a new GD set? (Shutdown engages.) Nope, not this season! (10 buidings) Whoa... maybe.

-"Academic Chatroom" ...oh that's getting play all night!

-No, not Zoe- and think Jack is playing SARAH.... YAY, right!

-Heh, bad house... she's got some serious abandonment issues! And yet, we're totally cheering her on. Lock down, SARAH, and finish the job!

During Commerical Break--
Josh: Anyone notice how much Sheriff Andy plays with the belt? We all know what that means!
Steve: Robots don't have sex.
Amy: Point of order, cylons.
Steve: Did you just seriously call point of order?
Serena: Hey, I'm betting Jo and Callister got it on at least once.
Steve: No evidence, therefore overruled.
Mike: Okay, Judge Judy...

ACT FOUR

-Like a Black Hole? SARAH what did you do? Zoe, so cute!

-Mansfield being outwitted by a robot! "This is an order." "I'm really sorry."

-Clearly Jack has not heard the caveat about unreasonable personal danger...

-Mike: Yeah, I'd be heading to the gym after dropping that.
Kevin: Dude, it weighed like a jillion times what he did.
Mike: Thus, the gym.

Mike takes over the Commercial Break: In house entertainment! Serena on phone with the writer/producer she's editing for. Moron didn't do an outline, treatment or any pre-draft work before the script. Meaning materials she needs to do note not there. She's looking like she may asplode. Ooh, and now she hung up on him!

Serena: Point of clarification! Did not hang up on him, promised to call back later!

ACT FIVE

-Andy running odds based on Carter luck, awesome!

-Cool effect, and well acted!

-"Ouch, I don't like this job!" met with chorus of "Good, quit!"

-Aww, Jack, offering to let Zoe stay, and Zoe with the perfect answer.

-Mayor Deacon!FTW! But 174 volumes in that town and you're telling me no one put them into a searchable database? Plot hole.

-Android hitting self determination- wow, wish Mansfield were around so I could see him blow a gasket over it!

-DUDE! The aliens are coming! Sweet!

AND:
Preview for 310: Sorry for getting wasted and making out with Fargo.... =D Bouncing!

OVERALL THOUGHTS

-Okay, so I've made no bones about the fact that I thought the second half of Season 3.0 was dodgy. Losing Stark and making up no grounds in how that just HURT the dynamic and energy of the show, I was wary coming into this episode. I still think it's suffered for the loss, but at least it wasn't me banging my head into a wall.

-I loved Jo in this episode! She had some many great moments, so I can't wait to see her go nuts next week! Similarly, SARAH was very awesome! Found it interesting that the best expression of emotion and loss came from the AI, not the humans. That said, someone get that house some counseling! Abandonment issues is too tame!

-Still laughing that the fans on twitter were playing the same #whacksheriffredshirt game as the writers sort of did this week! Though no one guessed any of the ways the show whacked Andy!

-As much discussion of Callister and Right as Raines as we were having during the episode, was surprised that the show never went there. Also no mention of Nathan. Know huge constraints- time, structure, ensemble to be serviced, but really loathe when shows ignore their own canon. Someone should have made a Callister comment.

-Speaking of serving the ensemble, no Zane this week! Which, um, Jo quit, making moves that will lead to her leaving Eureka and we got no reaction from the boyfriend!

-On the "The Aliens are Coming! The Aliens are Coming!" thread, for some reason I see it (and so owning my own geekiness here) as something along the lines of Star Trek The Motion Picture and V'ger. Eureka somehow put it up there, and now it's coming back. And they may not be able to control what comes back.

-Final thought- Not bad. Not going to be a top ten episode or anything, but feels more on track with what I expect from an episode of Eureka. Earned episode 3 from me, but still on probation.

Fic: Thorns for Flowers, Eureka, Jack/Nathan (1 of 2)

2009-07-09T03:59:20Z

Title: Thorns for Flowers (1 of 2, broken for length)
Pairing: Jack/OMC (kind of), Jack/Nathan
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 14300
Disclaimer: If I owned them, season 3 would have been WAY different!
Warnings: Future fic, spoilers for all of season 3.0, AU off the end of season 3.0
A/N: Title is from a poem by Grantland Rice: “There's no dearth of kindness in this world of ours; Only in our blindness we gather thorns for flowers” which was also the prompt given to me by ducky_napper along with the requirement that it be a fic about blindness.
Summary: In the sixteen years since Jack left Eureka, he hadn’t missed the strange technology and odd fix-its being dreamt up by the town geniuses. Until he lost his sight, that is.

Jack shifted in his chair, trying not sigh impatiently at whoever thought they were being stealthy entering the living room but clearly wasn’t paying attention to the squeaks in the wood floor. Someone had come in with Virginia, a home nurse who visited for a few hours every day, helping with the cooking and other skills Jack had yet to master since the loss of his eyesight, but the newcomer had yet to address Jack and was instead hovering in the doorway. “I know you’re there,” he announced, swiveling his chair away from the warm sun pouring through his French doors. “Can I help you?”

“Should I call you Marshal like the nurse does, or will just Carter work?”

Jack frowned, gesturing toward the couch and cocking his head toward the voice. “You sound familiar. Did we meet at the hospital?”

“No, ‘fraid not,” the deep bass voice rumbled closer to him. “My name is Robert. I asked to be assigned to your case. I’m one of the best doctors in the field of neural regenerative therapy,” he explained, and Jack shook his head, sighing.

“Just placed it,” he muttered, sitting back. “Your last name isn’t Stark is it?” Jack snuffled a short laugh, not allowing the doctor to answer. “No, of course it’s not. Sorry, you remind me of someone who died a long time ago. Same arrogance, similar voice.”

“I’m sorry about your friend,” Robert said, and Jack heard him shift a little closer. “Do you mind if I look at your eyes while we talk?”

“Be my guest,” Jack replied dryly, bracing himself for the touch. To his surprise, the doctor was apparently better at knowing how to handle the blind than anyone he’d been around yet, because the first touch was soft, just establishing its presence on his shoulder.

“Okay, can you blink for me?” Robert asked as his hands slid gently up to Jack’s face, and he fought a shiver. He’d been so jumpy since the accident, since he’d lost his sight, that very few people got close enough to touch him. “Easy, just relax,” the doctor coaxed. “Tell me about your friend, the one I remind you of.”

“Wasn’t a friend, we couldn’t stand each other,” Jack scowled, flinching a little when Robert shifted his eyelid. “Fought all the time.”

“Well, hopefully you won’t let me reminding you of him get in the way, Marshal,” Robert observed quietly, and Jack heard the soft familiar click of a pen light turning off. “Listen, I’m fairly certain I can help you recover enough of your sight that you’ll be able to see normally with strong prescription glasses. But I’ll need to know exactly what happened to you.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I used to work for the smartest people on the planet,” Jack informed the doctor. “They were my first call. There’s nothing that they can do. So what do you think you can do?”

“If I tell you about the people you used to work for, will you trust that I am among the best in my field?” Robert’s voice rumbled in a pleasant manner, and Jack considered it for a moment.

“I’ll concede you’ve got good clearances,” Jack replied, and the man laughed. Oddly, the laugh was the first time the doctor didn’t remind him of Stark.

“All right, the town’s called Eureka, and the greatest minds in science work there,” Robert informed him. “I worked there briefly after your time. They still talk about you, you know.”

“Yeah,” Jack shrugged it off, knowing he’d been horrible at keeping in touch with his friends in the town. It’d been over three months since his last marathon phone call with Jo, and Fargo’s last email, nearly four months ago, was still unreplied to, all before his accident. Not that he’d been avoiding them. Or maybe he had.

“Anyway, my therapy is experimental, which is probably why Dr. Blake didn’t mention it,” Robert continued. “But when I heard about your case, I knew I had to at least come and offer.”

“Why?” Jack countered suspiciously. “Like you said, I was after your time. So I’m guessing you’re looking to further your research, right?”

“Partially,” Robert shifted closer, gently touching Jack’s arm. “Look, things you did… still do, even… well, they made a difference. And one of them saved my life.”

Jack sighed, thinking about it. If there was a chance this guy could restore his eyesight, it was worth it. “I assume if I call Dr. Blake, she’ll vouch for you?”

“I’ve got her direct line on speed dial, ready to call her so you can check me out,” Robert reassured him, pressing a cell phone into his hand, gently setting Jack’s thumb over the send button.

Jack had a short, awkward conversation with Allison which consisted of one part confirming she’d vouch for a Dr. Robert Evans and nine parts reassuring her that he was adapting just fine, and no, he did not want a robo-dog, nor did he want Fargo or anyone else assigned to assist him, no matter how eager they were to volunteer. He finally snapped the phone shut, sighing with relief. “Sounds like Dr. Blake is worried,” Robert observed, and Jack held out the phone, smiling slightly as Robert cupped both of his larger hands around Jack’s to take his phone back.

“You’re good at that, moving to help me,” Jack observed, curious.

“My mother was blind,” Robert said quietly. “So, you going to let me try to help you, Marshal?”

“Call me Jack,” he replied, not wanting the reminder that his career was pretty much over. He reached out, needing to know one thing more. Robert took his hand, hesitating for a moment, then guided Jack’s fingers to his face. Jack swept his fingers over high cheekbones, a slightly bent, probably broken once or twice, nose, an angular jaw, and smooth skin. He was younger than Jack, face only lightly lined. Strands of hair fell in straight, fine pieces along his forehead, the other man obviously in need of a haircut. Jack wasn’t sure why, but he continued his tracing over Robert’s lower lip, a soft curve upward telling him the other man didn’t mind. “Damn, smart and good looking, no wonder you’re arrogant,” Jack remarked with a chuckle. “But you’re not Stark.”

“I remind you that much of Nathan Stark?” the other man asked, sounding flattered.

“My mission in life was to knock him down a few pegs, so you might keep that in mind if you’re flattered or getting tempted to start bragging or mocking my intelligence,” Jack shot back, his lips curling slightly as he remembered sparring with Nathan. Lord, he’d give just about anything to have Nathan back now, he though ruefully. He had always been able to count on the scientist’s determination to fix the problem, if only to prove he could. “Fine, what do you need to know that’s not in my medical file already?”

“I don’t want to know what’s in the file,” Robert replied, and Jack could hear him relaxing back into the couch, legs still brushing Jack’s, which made Jack frown, estimating the other man to be taller than him. “Tell me about you.”

Jack hesitated, uncertain of what to say. “You left Eureka a long time ago,” Robert observed.

“No choice,” Jack replied. “I got fired, about 16 years ago now. I stayed long enough for my daughter to finish the semester, then got myself transferred to the US Marshal office here in San Francisco. Been there ever since.”

“You have a daughter?”

“Zoë,” Jack grinned, the usual pride welling up in his chest. “Double PhD and a research fellowship at MIT now. She’s been invited back to Eureka twice that I know of, but she hasn’t gone yet. Says she’s waiting for something, but I’ll be damned if I know what.”

“She married?”

“No, her mom and I divorced when she was in her teens,” Jack explained. “I think it jaded her. She’s been living with the same man for almost four years but says marriage would just end with a messy divorce because he’d make her choose him or the career. So far it hasn’t come down to it since she’s been in Boston almost 6 years now. I’m still pretending they’re just roommates.” This drew a laugh from the other man, and Jack relaxed a little more. “She kindly doesn’t disillusion me very often.”

“You never remarried?”

“Never found what I was looking for,” Jack shrugged, raising a hand to chew on the corner of a nail, a nervous habit.

“What happened the night of the accident?” Robert shifted subjects seamlessly, not giving Jack time to get his defenses in place.

“You know what’s ironic, I was put on the case because of my working in Eureka,” Jack told him. “Military scientist turned mercenary, Dr. Julian Jones, tracked him to Denver before we caught up. His weapon operated on ultra-indigo light technology, something I’ve never seen a damn bit of good come from, by the way.”

“Do you know how the weapon was supposed to work?” This came with a shift forward and a comforting touch to Jack’s forearm.

“It was designed to be applied to the back of the neck, destroy the nerves all the way up the spinal column and into the brain,” Jack explained. “I dunno how it does it, just know that if you amp up the ultra-indigo like Jones was doing, it turns nerves into mush. And yes, I know mush is not the scientific term. I caught a short burst right in front of my eyes, not even actually aimed at my eyes, just in my line of sight.”

“Is your vision total darkness or can you perceive any change in light?” Robert asked, hand on Jack’s arm sliding back up to his face, inspecting his eyes again.

“Darkness,” Jack replied automatically, then suddenly was able to see a sudden burst of reddish sparkles of light. “What the hell was that?”

“Infrared, bordering on microwave, light, specifically the exact wavelength inverse to the burst of ultra-indigo that hit you.” Jack gasped, a little alarmed, but Robert gently shifted his hand so it lingered comfortingly at the junction of his throat and shoulder, thumb stroking a calming arc just under his jaw. “It’s a very good sign that you could see it, Jack. It means I should be able to help.”

“Okay,” Jack replied, rubbing at his eyes briefly, suddenly exhausted.

“I’m going to make sure my lab is set up correctly at the hospital,” Robert said after a long pause. “I’d like to schedule you for an MRI and a few eye scans tomorrow, if you’re available.”

“Got nothing but time, Doc,” Jack replied, hating the bitter resignation that tinted his voice. “I’m a little tired now, can you leave the details with Virginia?”

“Sure,” Robert agreed easily, one last gentle squeeze of his hand before the man moved away, and Jack swiveled back to the warm sunlight, closing his eyes and pretending he could see it.

He felt Robert linger, watching him for a few minutes, but for some reason, instead of the clean faced, blonde, blue eyed, all American quarterback type Jack had previously imagined, his mind showed him Nathan Stark, the fierce look of concentration he’d always directed at his projects now aimed at him. Jack stood, needing away from the ghosts of the past, and carefully counted his steps to make his way out of the French doors and onto the patio, careful counting and navigating his usual footholds that guided him to his chair in the bright sunlight he could only feel, not see.

*-*

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come home? I don’t like the idea of some strangers taking care of you. UC Berkley is only a 45 minute commute, and they’re in need of…”

Jack smiled, the sound of Zoë’s voice soothing. “No, honey, I’m doing okay. And Allison vouched for this guy doing his tests on me, so maybe we’ll get one last miracle out of that place, okay?”

Zoë was silent, obviously not convinced. Jack knew Zoё had never been comfortable with Jack’s dismissal, feeling Allison in particular should have fought harder to keep him in Eureka, which meant a certain amount of distrust now. “I’ve got his credentials, made Allison send them, but Dad, I want a chance to talk to him. I want to know what he’s doing before he does it.”

“Today he’s getting MRI’s and some Doppler images of my eyes,” Jack told her. “Can your grilling of him wait until tomorrow? He’s going to stop by the house to talk with me about whatever results he sees today around two tomorrow afternoon.”

“All right, I’ll call the house around 2:30,” Zoë conceded. “Just be careful, okay, Dad? No invasive tests till they’re cleared by me, and no going out on the balcony in your room, okay?”

“I’m not going to fall off the balcony, that’s why there’s a guard rail,” Jack objected, and Zoë tutted at him disbelievingly.

“Jack?” Jack turned toward Robert’s voice, smiling automatically.

“Zoë, I gotta run. Tomorrow okay?” He took the muttering on the other end of the line for assent. “Love you, bye.” He pocketed the phone, standing and reaching for his walking stick. To his surprise, it was gently pressed into his hand, warm fingers wrapping around his and then tucking his free hand into Robert’s arm. Jack clicked off the vocal GPS monitor on his walking stick since Robert was willing to play guide.

“I’ve got everything all set up for you, so we should be able to get you through this as quickly and painlessly as possible,” Robert said, and Jack nodded.

“You touch me a lot,” Jack observed, curling his fingers to hold on when Robert started to draw away. “It’s not an objection, it’s just… no one else does.”

“You’re jumpy,” the doctor observed. “More so than most people when confronted with the loss of their sight because the Marshals trained you to be aware of everything around you, specifically to see everything around you. Even with small touches, you flinch. I know why you do, so I’m not going to stop unless you tell me to. You’ll get used to it, better able to sense when someone is reaching out to touch you.”

Jack felt something uncurl a little in his chest, and before he could check himself, he asked, “I will?”

“If you have to,” Robert replied, and Jack felt his arm move in a shrug. “Hopefully I’ll be able to make it so you don’t have to adapt.”

Jack couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him, and Robert murmured, “Dare I ask?”

“Was thinking, hallelujah, I wasn’t sentenced to rotten sex for the rest of my life,” Jack joked, and Robert laughed.

“You never played with blindfolds before?” he asked incredulously, teasing Jack gently, and Jack couldn’t help grinning.

“I carried handcuffs, not blindfolds, Doc,” he replied dryly, enjoying the soft huffs of laughter from the other man.

“Blind or not, you’re still an attractive man, Jack,” Robert reassured him as they turned out of the hall and into a lab. “You’ll find someone, if you want to.”

Jack nodded, more thoughtful than anything else, finding the reassurance almost… flirtatious. “All right, the table is directly in front of you, if you want to hop up,” Robert said, offering Jack a hand to brace against as he hopped up. “I have to fasten half a dozen pieces, but I’ll talk you through it all,” he continued, and Jack followed the guiding hand, lying back slowly.

“First, at your index finger, a monitor,” Robert told him, and Jack was pleased he didn’t jump when the soft foam was slipped over a fingertip. “Now a wireless heart rate monitor, I’m sliding this under your lovely hospital green top.”

Jack tried to relax, but the gentle touch sliding up his shirt and along his pec was oddly erotic. “Doc, I dunno, should I be letting you get to second base so fast?” he joked to cover his sudden discomfort.

“You always struck me as the easy type,” Robert replied, and Jack could hear a low mechanical beep, some machine active now. “All right, this is the not so comfortable part. The MRI has pieces that are close in to your face, which you’ll be able to feel, along with the closeness of the tube. You may not usually be claustrophobic, but this’ll make most people uncomfortable.”

“Go ahead,” Jack said, doing his best to ignore the movement around his head. When the doctor gently smoothed an errant piece of his hair back, Jack fought against moving into the touch, the gentle stroking almost too much to resist.

“Okay, here we go,” Robert gave his hand a quick squeeze, then the hand vanished as the table slid backwards, into a tube, Jack surmised. He could feel the difference in the air almost instantly, the smaller space compressing the world down around him. “Hold as still as you can,” he heard Robert’s instructions as though through and intercom, so Jack let out a slow breath, relaxing and remembering a spelunking trip Zoë had dragged him on once. The walls had been tight then too, but it hadn’t bothered him because there was so much beauty in the caves to distract him. Geode crystal structures, he recalled, drawing up a perfect mental image of the milky white spikes.

He allowed his mind to wander, eventually turning over in his mind the way he reacted to Robert’s gentle touches. It had been a while since he’d been attracted to anyone, let alone another man, but his body responded almost too well to Robert. There were a few other disturbing prickles along his mind, shuffling in the long faded memories of Nathan Stark, who had sounded so much like Robert. This naturally led into dozens of memories about the man, wondering if he’d been attracted to the snarky scientist, who even now, years later, it hurt a little to think about.

“How you doing?” Robert’s voice broke through his reverie, and Jack smiled. Thoughtful, gentle, nothing like Nathan Stark, he scolded himself.

“Imagining I’m climbing around in caves with my daughter,” Jack replied, trying to stay still.

“Just a few minutes more, you’re doing a lot better than most people do in MRI’s,” Robert reassured him.

“Can’t see it closing in on me or spinning or whatever else it does,” Jack dismissed it, patiently waiting for the sounds around him to die out. Finally, the table started sliding forward, and impatient, Jack tried to sit up before it came to a halt, bumping his head as he did. “Ow,” he yelped automatically, surprised when hands were instantly cradling his head as the table stopped, checking his bump.

“You should wait for the ride to come to a full and complete stop,” Robert advised him, rubbing gently at the bump. “Otherwise, you’ll end up brain damaged.”

“Sort of already there, Doc,” Jack sat up slower this time, grimacing. “You have no idea how many concussions I’ve had.”

“I’ve seen your file,” Robert remarked dryly. “It explains so much.” The tone and wit were suddenly so painfully reminiscent of Stark that Jack pulled away, surprised.

“What next?” he asked, overly cheerful. “Got big needles to stick in my eyes?”

“Actually,” Robert said, and Jack groaned.

*-*

The next day had dawned in a torrent of rain, thunder, and lightning, which left Jack feeling restless and churlish. He loved watching storms, the brilliance of lightning, the movement of trees, and suddenly it all seemed gone. He’d banished his home aide to the kitchen by the time mid afternoon rolled around. Even worse, the type of storm now was a rarity in this part of the country, the thunder and lightning a once or twice a year oddity.

He was helplessly listening to the crack of thunder when the doorbell rang, announcing Robert’s presence. He ignored it, keeping his forehead pressed to the glass of the French doors in his living room, not sure if he felt like crying or throwing something satisfyingly breakable into a wall. “Jack?” Robert asked, voice soft and curious, and Jack ignored it, knowing he’d get the same pity from the other man he got from everyone else. “Jack?” The voice was much closer, hesitant, and then a gentle hand settled on his shoulder.

“I can’t see it,” he bit out after it became apparent the scientist couldn’t take a hint. “When Zoë was a kid, before we moved to LA, we’d sit just inside the screen door to watch the lightning. Then when we were in Eureka, we started doing it again, even though things weren’t so great between us to start with. And now, I can’t see it.”

He waited for the pitying, pithy response, but the hand on his shoulder simply tightened a little, the door creaking open in front of him, and Robert pushing him forward, a steady presence at Jack’s back as he pushed Jack out into the rain. “Use your other senses,” Robert instructed him as Jack became aware of the slight sting of the downpour on his skin. The water was cool, but the late spring wind hissing over his skin was warm enough that it was pleasant.

“What do you smell?” Robert asked, and Jack remembered to take in the sensory detail. The damp, earthy smell of mud, he sorted out. The fresh unmistakable scent of the rain itself. And then, all too clear, a slightly spicy warm scent it took him several moments to place as Robert. He was starting to sink into the enticing scent, when something sharper, almost fiery entered his nose.

“Did it…?” he started to ask, smiling as Robert squeezed his shoulders.

“Lightning,” he confirmed, though the tail end of the word was cut off by a bone shaking thunderclap, vibrating through Jack in a much more intense way than he ever remembered thunder possessing.

“Whoa,” he murmured, pulling his arms in and hugging himself.

“You okay?” The voice in his ear was concerned, followed by hands that slid down his arms comfortingly. Jack leaned back into the embrace, turning his face up and reaching up enough to tangle a hand in soaked strands and bringing Robert’s mouth down to his own recklessly.

Robert allowed the brush and slide of lips for a moment, then pulled away, a finger resting on Jack’s lips. “While I appreciate the gesture,” the doctor said softly, “I don’t want you to do that out of gratitude or simply because I’m the first person who is getting close to you again.”

“Of course,” Jack shot back irritably, turning away from the man and squeezing his useless eyes shut, wishing they could shut out his own idiot brain. “No, why would you?”

He heard low growl from the scientist before he gripped Jack’s arm and tugged him into a fierce kiss, all too short, as though simply making a point, Jack decided. “Do you willfully try to be this ignorant?” Robert demanded. “I didn’t say I didn’t want you. I’m trying to tell you I want you when your motives are clear.”

Jack opened his mouth to retort that the kiss hadn’t been about gratitude, but another possibility was jabbing into his mind—the last few moments hadn’t brought Robert to his mind’s eye. It was Nathan, and the realization made him suddenly sag into Robert. “Let’s go inside, get into dry clothes,” Robert urged him, gently tugging his arm. “If you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, that is.”

“You really know how to kick a guy’s ass, huh?” Jack remarked, accepting the hand guiding him back inside, ignoring the disapproving noises of his aide as she handed them towels just inside the door. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Robert reassured him, guiding him to the stairs, and with the landmark established, Jack started counting, taking over his own walking.

It took a moment to realize Robert wasn’t following him, and he sighed. “Come on, Doc, you can borrow some sweats from me.”

“I’m a lot taller than you,” Robert remarked skeptically, but the stairs creaked behind Jack.

“You’ll just have to roll them up into shorts or make do,” Jack replied, smirking. “At least I have some extra large shirts.”

He navigated his room easily, stripping off his soaked, shirt, glad to have the heavy, clinging garment off. Next he crossed to the closet, four steps, hand in line with his shoulder, then by feel finding the soft cotton pajama bottoms Zoë had given him a couple Christmases prior. Zoë had overestimated his height by a few inches, so they were barely worn. He tossed them in Robert’s general direction, guessing from the quick step and soft curse that he’d missed his mark. A side step and a hand at waist level, and Jack pulled out an overly large MIT T-shirt, another gift from Zoë, which he tossed again, this time the soft connection of skin and cotton telling him Robert had caught the shirt.

He selected his own clothes, then peeled off his pants, adding a careless, “Bathroom is to your left,” when he felt eyes on him. Six steps, and he was at the bureau, pulling out new boxers. “Last chance to save my dignity,” he joked, surprised when the bathroom door clicked behind the hasty retreating footsteps. “Huh,” he mused, changing quickly. Two steps back to sit on the end of his bed, waiting for the doctor.

The bathroom door creaked open again, and Robert joined him, muttering, “Going to hug you,” a moment before his arms wrapped around Jack from behind, a quick comforting gesture. “You’re quite a tease, you know,” Robert remarked as he pulled back. “Had to move or risk jumping you.”

“Hmm, not the choice I’d have gone for,” Jack joked, and Robert laughed softly.

“No concern you’re just latching on to the first person to pursue you since the accident?” he asked, and Jack sighed.

“Actually I’m more scared by the fact that every time I think about you, I picture him,” Jack replied quietly, knowing it would probably bother the scientist.

“Stark?” Robert asked, sounding surprised. “I thought you hated him.”

“Oh, no, never hated,” Jack replied automatically. “Fought with constantly, fought over the same girl, competed and put each other down, and got furious whenever he kept secrets, but I respected him. Trusted him, as odd as that probably sounds. And sometimes the fighting was just fun.”

“Like flirting,” Robert suggested dryly.

“Maybe my memories are just rose colored from time,” Jack admitted, shrugging, a half smile tugging at his lips. “I remember one time he made fun of my theory, said I thought one of his scientists was Hannibal Lector.”

Robert chuckled, his fingers slowly linking with Jack’s. “That sounds like flirting to me,” he agreed, sounding a little sad. “So you’re worried you want me because I remind you of him. And maybe, in some corner of your mind, you wanted him.”

“Yeah, I think I did,” Jack conceded, shrugging. “A little too late on figuring that out though.” The silence from the man next to him was worrying, so Jack nudged him with his elbow. “You’re brooding.”

To his surprise, in the next moment Robert was turning Jack’s face up into a heated, hungry kiss. Jack melted, opening his mouth to encourage the kiss, winding his fingers around Robert’s bicep, pulling him closer. “Sorry,” Robert murmured as he pulled back, but still close enough that Jack could feel the flushed heat of his cheeks. He leaned in again, just a soft brush of a kiss, then drew back. “Sorry. Again.”

“Not sure how I managed to get you to do that, but I don’t mind,” Jack joked, wrapping his hands around the back of Robert’s neck.

“I shouldn’t have, you just had this look on your face, and… I’m sorry,” Robert finished lamely. “Maybe we should go downstairs, try to remove some of the temptation to do something I shouldn’t.”

“If you insist,” Jack agreed, untangling himself from Robert, the distance helping remind him of how confused he was. “By the way, my daughter Zoë will be calling soon, she wants to grill you on what you plan to do to me. I’m afraid I raised her to be suspicious.”

Counting the stairs and steps to his favorite chair was getting easier, almost to the point where he was walking at a normal pace, Jack noticed as they settled in the living room. “When Zoë calls, put it on speaker, and I’ll explain all my tests to both of you,” Robert told him, settling on the couch. “And that way I’ll only have to go through it all once.”

“Sounds sensible,” Jack agreed, sitting back in his chair. “In the meantime, should we maybe talk about the fact that you want me, but remind me of a dead man I apparently had a thing for?”

“I think the only solution is time,” Robert remarked, and there was an odd note in his voice Jack couldn’t place. “Getting to know me. And maybe when you can see me, I’ll seem… I don’t know. Different.”

Jack considered it, but was saved from having to answer by the familiar annoying ringtone of some heavy metal that sounded like mush and Zoë taking over the stereo system. “Hey, Zo,” he greeted her as he answered.

“Eh, shove it, Dad, you know why I’m calling,” Zoë shrugged him off teasingly, and Jack chuckled.

“Hang on, I’m putting you on speaker,” he informed her, before hitting a button and setting his phone on the table between him and Robert.

“Dr. Evans?” Zoë asked.

“Please, call me Robert,” the scientist invited, sitting forward a little. “Do you have specific questions for me first, or shall I start by telling you about my tests?”

“Go ahead, I’m curious about your tests,” Zoë told him. “I’ll interrupt when I need to.”

“All right,” Robert replied, sounding amused. “I’m sure you already know about the effect of ultra indigo on the nerves of your father’s eyes. Neural damage along with some physical damage to the corneas. The corneal damage is extensive enough that laser surgery won’t be an option. Jack will require corrective lenses, if we can regenerate the nerves.”

“What makes you think the nerves can be regenerated?” Zoë asked, and Jack suppressed a grin, knowing Zoe was testing the doctor.

“First, the MRI showed that the nerves are dead but still mylenated,” Robert replied. “If we regenerate the function aspects of the nerves, they should work properly. Second, your father can perceive the GF-12.697 spectral light, the inverse wavelength of the ultra indigo used by Jones.”

“Do you have a prototype generator for GF-12.697?” Jack could hear the clack of Zoë typing through the speaker.

“Whatcha building me?” Jack asked knowingly.

“A Plan B,” she replied. “Dr. Evans?”

“I can provide you with schematics, but I’m afraid at the moment my device is one of a kind,” he replied. “I built it myself, but it wasn’t difficult. I imagine you’ll probably perfect the design as it’s a little bulky at the moment.”

“Flattery gets you nowhere,” Zoë retorted, sighing. “Okay, so you probably already considered the fact that this could raise Dad’s chances for cataracts later in life?”

About the time Robert and Zoë started debating about potential regeneration of synaptic endings on rods and cones a little over half an hour later, Jack got bored. He stood, aware that Robert had trailed off, watching him as he shuffled over to the couch, laying down and tucking his head against Robert’s leg. Robert chuckled slightly, shifting Jack’s head into his lap a little more and beginning to stroke Jack’s hair gently as he resumed talking with Zoë.

“Uh, this is why you should be on the video phone, what’d I just miss?” Zoë interrupted Robert, sounding a little suspicious.

“Your dad decided he wanted some of my attention,” Robert said, his fingers continuing to sift through Jack’s hair in a way that made Jack want to purr.

“Dad?”

“You can go back to debating whosiwhatsits,” Jack mumbled. “I’m fine now.”

“You don’t sound fine,” Zoë paused, obviously thinking through the situation. “Dad, you making a move on your doctor?”

“Trying to, he’s all honorable and won’t take advantage of me,” Jack complained. “You sent him as revenge for years of hitting your dates with the hose, didn’t you?”

“If only,” Zoë sighed, sounding even more worried. “Dr. Evans, don’t you dare take advantage of my father.”

“I want him to,” Jack tried to object, but Robert snaked a finger down to his lips.

“I’ll try not to,” he agreed, and Jack, feeling mischievous, sucked the finger into his mouth. “I’ll try really hard not to,” he added, sounding a little strangled.

“I take it back about the vid-phone, I don’t wanna see this,” Zoë groaned. “Dad, behave.”

“I’ll try,” Jack agreed, settling back in and Robert resumed his soft caresses. “So, did you two settle if he can Dr. Moreau me or not?”

“Try not to insult the guy with the big needles, Dad. He’s got the green light from me, for now,” Zoë conceded. “But he’s faxing me all your lab work, all your test results, and I’ll be video conferenced in for the procedure.”

“Control freak,” Jack grumbled, but he was smiling. “Hey, Dr. Carter?”

“Yes, Marshal Carter?”

“Love you.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

Jack reached out awkwardly managing to grab the phone, ending the call. “I like her,” Robert commented absently, fingers combing Jack’s hair still.

“Good,” Jack replied, turning onto his back. “Kiss me?”

“No,” Robert said quietly, and Jack sighed, letting his head loll back. Robert shifted a little, and Jack smirked, suddenly aware of the effect he was having on the scientist. He aimed for innocent as he reached up, rubbing lightly at his throat. “Stop,” Robert groaned, shifting out from under Jack only to lie down next to him, mouth suddenly hot against Jack’s throat, tasting gently.

Jack groaned, rocking into Robert, knowing he’d just gotten a little dose of karma. He slid a hand down to cup Robert’s jaw, bringing him up into a kiss, his mind growing hazy as the scientist lazily slid his tongue into Jack’s mouth, taking his time to explore. “Nathan,” he murmured, before he began kissing the other man’s throat. Robert froze, then pulled away, sitting up to put some space between them.

Jack’s brain suddenly caught up to what he’d just said. “I can’t believe I just— I’m so sorry,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand over his face. “God, I’m an idiot.”

“No, I should have stopped,” Robert interrupted immediately. “And after I just promised your daughter I wouldn’t take advantage.”

“You didn’t,” Jack reassured him. “I knew what I was doing. I just… I can’t believe I said…”

“Don’t get worked up over it,” Robert said quickly, squeezing Jack’s hand. “I should go.”

“Okay,” Jack replied, standing as Robert did. “Are we okay?”

In answer, Robert brushed his cheek with a kiss, but the chaste gesture somehow felt like promises of things to come. “Jack, there are things… I need to tell you…” he broke off, and Jack waited patiently. “I’m a coward,” Robert muttered, and Jack frowned, not understanding.

“What are you talk—” Jack started, cut off by a soft kiss.

“I’ll call you to set up the tests I need,” Robert informed him quietly, before turning abruptly and heading out of the house, leaving Jack feeling like he’d missed something.

Continued...

Fic: Thorns for Flowers, Eureka, Jack/Nathan (2 of 2)

2009-07-09T03:58:23Z

Title: Thorns for Flowers (2 of 2, broken for length)
Pairing: Jack/OMC (kind of), Jack/Nathan
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 14300
Disclaimer: If I owned them, season 3 would have been WAY different!
Warnings: Future fic, spoilers for all of season 3.0, AU off the end of season 3.0
A/N: Title is from a poem by Grantland Rice: “There's no dearth of kindness in this world of ours; Only in our blindness we gather thorns for flowers” which was also the prompt given to me by ducky_napper along with the requirement that it be a fic about blindness.
Summary: In the sixteen years since Jack left Eureka, he hadn’t missed the strange technology and odd fix-its being dreamt up by the town geniuses. Until he lost his sight, that is.

*-*

Two days later, about an hour before Jack was scheduled for tests with Robert, his phone rang, Zoë’s familiar ringtone surprising him, then sending him straight to protective parent mode at the unscheduled call. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked automatically, and Zoë laughed.

“Wow, Dad, you’re getting predictable,” she teased him. “I was just calling to share the craziest piece of gossip I heard in the lab today. It’s about an old acquaintance from Eureka.”

Jack groaned knowingly. “Let me guess, Taggart finally retired from tranq-ing innocent bystanders instead of wild animals?” The zoologist’s eyesight was probably closer to Jack’s own than the 20/20 he insisted he still had.

“No, Dad, they’ll take his tranqs when he dies, if they’re lucky,” she observed dryly. “You remember the time loop accident? The one where Stark vanished?”

Jack froze, breathing suddenly gone oddly shallow. “Of course,” he choked out, suddenly concerned. The past two days Robert had been subdued but supportive, only allowing chaste kisses goodbye when he left, because Jack was stuck in that accident.

“They filed a 924-B for Nathan Stark,” she told him, her voice excited. “My research assistant was doing some research for the Stark Grant, and we’re totally going to steal it from Fargo this year, but anyway, he saw that Stark’s file was active again.”

Jack mentally shoved his pounding heart back, focusing on projecting calm. “Uh, Zoë, do you have access to Stark’s file?”

“Some of it,” she replied. “Some stuff’s just too high for my security clearance, but I can probably look at the 924-B if you want.”

“Yeah, can you?” Jack asked, his fingers clenching tightly around the shirt he’d been considering changing into. He heard the clicking of keys over the line and used the quick sounds to center himself, pulling a couple of deep breaths.

“Hmm, let’s see,” Zoë mused, and the clack of typing slowed. “Looks like the form was filed about a week after your accident, Dad. How weird is that?”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” he told her darkly. “Remember how I raided Jones’ lab, sent all his tech to GD, for evaluation?”

“Of course,” Zoë sounded thrilled. “Something you sent back must have allowed them to reverse the effects on Stark! Dad, that’s awesome! How come Allison didn’t tell you?”

“Oh, I have a couple guesses,” Jack muttered, rubbing at his temples, searching his memory for some clue. “Hey, Zoë, can you see Stark’s full name, mother’s maiden name, things like that?”

“Uh sure,” she replied, clicking the keys even though she sounded baffled. “Nathan Robert Stark, son of Madalyn Evans…” she trailed off, suddenly catching her dad’s train of thought. “Why would he lie to you?” she asked, sounding stunned. “You and I both would have trusted him as Stark right away.”

“I don’t know, Zoë,” Jack admitted tiredly. “It’s always secrets with him, isn’t it?”

“Oh my god, Dad, that means you made a move on Stark!” Zoë said suddenly, sounding amused.

Jack groaned, remembering the way Robert had kissed him when he admitted he had wanted Nathan, the way the scientist had brushed off Jack calling him Nathan. “Hey, Dad, it’s okay,” Zoë reminded him softly. “Allison’s been married for almost 14 years, their freaky prodigy son’s in college here, in my BioChem lab section even, so there’s no place for him in Eureka, is there? He could genuinely be trying to make a new start, maybe with you. And I trust his motives for helping more than Robert Evans. Hell, I get him being attracted to you more.”

“Yeah, I just don’t like being lied to,” Jack grimly observed, voice quiet. “Zo, I need some time to process this. Can I give you a call back?”

“Just… don’t do anything stupid, okay? Give him a chance to explain,” she urged, sighing. “I used to lie to you a lot, remember? And he’s always had better reasons than me.”

“Okay, I’ll hear him out,” Jack conceded, knowing Zoë had just talked him into a chance he probably wouldn’t have given Nathan. He brushed off another offer from Zoë to come help him out before hanging up.

“Marshal?” He turned his head toward the sound of his home aide’s voice. “Are you ready to go? Dr. Evans’ appointment?”

“Go on home for the day,” he told Virginia, suddenly feeling petulant. “I’m not feeling very well and just want to be alone for a while. I can order some take out, and just spend some time getting my head together.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, sounding worried. “You promise no drinking this time if I leave you alone when you’re feeling blue?”

“Learned that lesson,” he promised rubbing at the shoulder he’d cut up pretty bad from that mistake. “I just got some information that I need to think about before letting Dr. Evans try messing with my eyes. I don’t want to do something stupid.”

“All right, Marshal,” Virginia gave in, the explanation apparently making sense to her. “Do you want me to call Dr. Evans and cancel the appointment?”

“I’ll take care of it,” he reassured her. “Go spend the day with your grandbaby,” he told her, knowing it would convince her.

She was gathering up her belongings when Jack had a sudden thought, snapping his fingers. “Sorry, Virginia, can I get you to do me a favor?”

“Of course,” she replied.

“There’s a blue photo album on the bottom shelf,” he told her, listening as she pulled out the tome. Zoë had painstakingly assembled the album herself. “About half way through, there are photos from the science fair. Do you see Dr. Evans in one of them? He’d have had a beard then.”

“Yeah, there’s one here,” she told him, chuckling. “He’s even handsomer with the beard. Looks like he hit the same fountain of youth you did, because he barely looks any older than this photo.”

“Thanks,” Jack smiled grimly. “Just leave the album open on the coffee table so I can show it to Robert.”

“Of course,” she replied, and he could hear her straightening a few more things before she left for the day. Despite his earlier promise, Jack didn’t call Nathan. He wanted to play this game out on his terms.

He settled in at his piano, a skill he’d picked up since living in Eureka, and one he’d found actually didn’t involve his sight. He couldn’t read music, and played by ear and by feel, and soon realized he didn’t need to see the keys. Unsurprisingly, he’d spent a lot of time at the piano since the accident. His playing was still rough and amateur after 15 years, but he enjoyed picking out melodies. He started with a few bits of Mozart, then flipped to Bach, ignoring the ringtone that indicated Nathan was calling him several times. He worked through the Bach he knew and shifted to classic rock, Blue Oyster Cult not sounding quite right on piano and not just because his skills weren’t quite up to the level of the song.

The doorbell rang, and Jack took a moment to be impressed. Either Nathan’s last call had been from the car, or he’d made the 15 minute drive in less than ten. Then he remembered Nathan’s penchant for speeding. He switched to Clapton, the beat of ‘Layla’ suiting his mood, continuing to play. Nathan took the bait, trying the door and stepping inside. “Jack?” he asked, sounding worried. “You okay?”

“The first time you called me by my first name,” Jack observed, nailing a run of notes with a slight smile. “You were about to die. Apparently, you didn’t stay gone.”

Nathan was silent, which Jack recognized as the right move. If Nathan had tried to lie, make excuses, explain, anything, Jack would have been pissed. Instead, he shifted to “White Room”, keeping one ear on the music. “Where what I know breaks down is when I start asking myself why you lied to me.”

“How’d you find out?” Nathan asked softly, and Jack hit several notes harder than necessary.

“Zoë’s team is competing with Fargo for the Stark Grant, same as every year,” Jack replied. “Her research assistant found the 924-B.” He played several more measures in the following silence.

“I didn’t know if you’d accept my help,” Nathan admitted finally. “And after all our history together, I just… I wanted a fresh start with you.”

Jack tapped out the quick melody of “I Shot the Sheriff” before turning toward Nathan, straddling the piano bench. “Why?” he asked, knowing he sounded maddeningly calm.

“When I was,” Nathan drew a shaky breath, and Jack felt him crouch near the bench, a tentative hand coming to rest on his thigh. He let it lie there, wondering where this was going. “About to vanish. I looked at you and just… regretted never trying for something more with you. More than respect or even a friendship. Apparently unlike you, I knew there was something there. I almost acted on it a couple of times, just never had the courage.”

“So you wanted a chance at being with me,” Jack remarked a bit acerbically. “What did you think would happen if I got my sight back? A couple inches of hair and shaving wouldn’t fool me then.”

“I would have told you before then,” Nathan insisted, the hand on his thigh tightening its hold a little.

“You know when would have been a good time?” Jack suggested dryly. “When I said your name.”

Nathan laughed softly, a sad, tired sound. “Yeah, I panicked. Thought you’d somehow figured it out. You always did manage to get a step ahead of me. And then when I wasn’t caught, I couldn’t bring myself to own up and risk losing you.”

“Okay,” Jack whispered, surprised by how that soft laugh tugged at his sympathy. “To be fair, I probably wouldn’t have given you a chance as anything other than a scientist.”

“No cussing me, fighting me tooth and nail over how I screwed up?” Nathan asked, a little amusement coloring his voice.

“I’ve mellowed in my old age,” Jack replied, bringing a hand up to skim over the planes of Nathan’s face. “You haven’t aged at all though,” he murmured, a little amazed.

“No,” Nathan confirmed, his lips tickling against Jack’s wrist. “I woke up thinking it was still the same moment I left.”

His fingers trailed down to Nathan’s nose, tracing the bump. “Recent break, then,” he continued, and Nathan smiled.

“Dr. Vartan didn’t take too kindly to me waking up and kissing Allie,” Nathan admitted. “He’s a possessive son of a bitch, isn’t he?”

“Only met him once, at their wedding,” Jack admitted, letting his hand fall away. “Don’t go back much.”

“That’s what Fargo said,” Nathan observed quietly. “Jack, I still want to help you. If you hadn’t had those devices sent directly to Fargo, I might never have come back.”

“What was it you told me?” Jack asked, a little edge in his voice. “I don’t want you to do it out of gratitude.”

“What should my motives be then?” Nathan asked, and Jack could hear the barely suppressed hope in his voice. He cupped Nathan’s chin, pulling him in closer. Nathan followed the motion, rising enough to brush his lips over Jack’s gently. Jack grumbled as he wrapped his hands around Nathan’s shoulder’s trying to tug him closer. Nathan pulled away for a moment, before Jack was suddenly confronted by Nathan practically in his lap. His long legs were hooked over Jack’s so he could slide in closer, straddling both Jack and the piano bench.

Jack looped his arms around Nathan, supporting the slightly awkward position, and Nathan took the invitation, swooping in and kissing Jack fiercely. Jack could feel Nathan’s fingers sliding under his shirt, scrambling along bare skin, even as he took control of the kiss, forcing Nathan to open to him. “You going to take advantage of me now?” Jack asked, managing to work one of his hands under Nathan’s dress shirt. “Or am I going to have to convince you to?”

“How ‘bout we take this upstairs and see who ends up taking who,” Nathan replied dryly, though he hadn’t moved off of Jack yet and fell into another kiss.

“Okay,” Jack gasped, finally pulling away. “Bedroom. We’ve got all night, sent my nurse home.”

That finally convinced Nathan to slide off him, offering him a hand up. “I should probably be making you talk about this,” Nathan observed as he followed Jack up the stairs.

“You should probably take my invitation to fuck me now, or deal with me cranky till you do,” Jack shot back, peeling his shirt off as soon as he was sure he was through the door. Nathan wound his arms around Jack, tugging him back into an embrace.

“Slow down.” Nathan’s hands were running soothing strokes over his chest and stomach, wide-splayed possessive fingers curling in slightly as Jack let his head fall back against Nathan’s shoulder. “I want to feel every inch of you, and you’ll want it too, so we’ll take our time and do anything and everything you want,” he observed, Jack’s teeth closing lightly on his earlobe making him inhale sharply. “But what do you need, first time out, with me?”

“Not my first time with a guy,” Jack objected, though his voice lost any power when Nathan’s hands skimmed along the skin just above his jeans.

“Since the accident?” Nathan asked knowingly, making Jack shudder with the teasing brush of his fingertips. “More sensitive now, right?”

“Seems like,” Jack admitted, a soft moan escaping him as Nathan kissed his throat. “Could just be you.”

Nathan chuckled, a deep pleased sound that had Jack shifting deeper into his arms. “You’re doing wonders for my ego, Jack.” His fingertips now slid along Jack’s hip bone, changing course when they met his jeans, sliding inward toward the button fly. Jack held his breath, waiting for Nathan to make a move, and was rewarded when Nathan popped the first button on his jeans, easing his fingers into the opening, making tiny circles with his fingers.

“Mmm,” Jack groaned approvingly, wiggling against Nathan a little, getting a second button undone in response. Nathan’s hands were now teasing at the waistband of his boxers, and Jack fought against impatience. The third and final button, then Nathan was sliding the jeans out of his way, smoothing his hands along Jack’s thighs, bypassing his erection entirely. Jack whimpered, and Nathan kissed his throat pacifying him.

“Patience, love,” Nathan reassured him, nudging Jack to turn around, claiming his mouth and letting his hands slide around to cup Jack’s ass, squeezing just enough to make Jack thrust his hips forward. Nathan moved Jack slowly back toward the bed, sliding his jeans downward as they moved. Jack’s knees brushed the bed, and he sat, amused when Nathan tugged his jeans off before sliding back up, pressing Jack back to the mattress, kissing him hungrily.

Jack rolled them over, managing to straddle Nathan with only a little adjusting, smirking in satisfaction. He made quick work of Nathan’s shirt buttons, getting his hands on Nathan’s bare skin, exploring and trying to recall the few times he’d seen Nathan without his clothes and match the images to what he was feeling. He rubbed his fingers along an oddly smooth patch of skin on Nathan’s abdomen for a long moment, puzzled, then he recognized scar tissue. “What’s this from?” he asked, sliding down to taste the skin.

“Anti-grav explosion, the one right after that whole tunneling and volcano catastrophe,” Nathan told him. Jack continued kissing his way across Nathan’s stomach, finding his way to the hook on his slacks, which he undid, tugging off Nathan’s slacks and underwear quickly. “Patien—” Nathan started to say again, breaking off in a strangled sound when Jack’s fingers found his balls.

“Don’t you dare come,” Jack threatened, his fingers moving in sweeping, soft motions. He’d never seen Nathan completely naked, so this he was determined to memorize. Nathan was making soft noises as Jack continued to slide fingers around his erection, surprised to find Nathan felt thicker and longer than him. He found a sensitive spot just under the crown of Nathan’s penis that made the other man’s infamous control melt, his hips bucking and a torrent of curses pour out of Nathan’s mouth.

“Enough,” Nathan groaned. “It’s the first time I’m having sex since I came back, Jack. My control is not that good.”

“Hmm, so you’d probably lose it if I sucked you right now,” Jack put an extra little purr in his voice, grinning when Nathan’s hands curled around him, pulling him back up onto the bed and rolling him underneath Nathan, his mouth being devoured a moment later. Jack melted into the mattress, letting Nathan have control for a moment.

Nathan quickly stripped him of his boxers, bringing their erections together as he leaned back into to continue the kisses. “You never told me,” Nathan murmured in his ear as he worked tongue and teeth along Jack’s throat in a manner than left Jack feeling oddly feverish and desperate. “What do you want first? Before we go to the hospital to get my tests tomorrow, I will fuck you and suck you off, just letting you have a choice now.”

Jack’s brain was barely functioning as Nathan scraped his teeth along his jaw, pulling a response from him before he had a chance to process it. “S-suck me,” he stammered, surprising himself. “I don’t think I can last if you fuck me right now, all feels so… much,” he finished lamely, arching when Nathan’s mouth slid lower, sucking on a nipple. “Holy shit,” he gasped.

Nathan chuckled, continuing to work his way down Jack’s torso, peppering little kisses along the way. “Stay with me, Jack,” he teased, letting his fingers trail down Jack’s hipbones as he’d done before, this time coming together to slowly guide Jack’s cock into his mouth. Jack cried out as Nathan swallowed him down, his tongue swiping in a way that made Jack clench his fists in an attempt to keep control.

Despite the fact that Jack was practically yelling as Nathan worked his tongue around Jack’s cock, Nathan didn’t let up, the sensation proving to be too much for Jack. He shouted as he came, sinking bonelessly into the mattress, trying to slow his breathing.

Nathan slowly stroked his chest, snug along him, his free hand stroking his erection against Jack’s hip. He managed to wrap his hand around Nathan’s wrist, growling slightly. “Mine,” he informed Nathan, halting him. He tugged Nathan into a fierce kiss before stroking Nathan lightly, fingers a little clumsy with satiation.

Using his hand to help guide him, Jack slid down to lick the crown of Nathan’s cock, teasing him a little, trying to draw some of the whimpers he’d heard earlier from the scientist. Getting only little gasps, Jack suddenly swallowed as much of Nathan’s erection as he could manage, and Nathan cried out in surprise. “God,” he whimpered, hand coming down and lightly caressing Jack’s head, fingers sliding through his hair in a manner that made Jack hum around Nathan. Nathan’s fingers stilled as he whimpered, apparently liking the sensation, so Jack repeated it, this time twisting his tongue around the sensitive spot he’d found earlier. “Jack, I, ah…” Nathan tried, a light tug on Jack’s hair, clearly trying to warn him, but Jack simply sucked Nathan in deeper, swallowing quickly as Nathan fell apart.

Jack slid back up Nathan’s body, tucking himself into Nathan’s body, moving Nathan’s arms to burrow a little closer to the blissed out man. “Nathan?” he murmured, getting a halfhearted murmur of content and a slight nuzzle against his temple. “Yeah, guess I did okay for not being able to see what I was doing,” Jack grinned to himself as Nathan this time properly kissed his temple, grip tightening on Jack.

“Here plan,” Nathan mumbled, clumsily jerking blankets around them and snuggling in closer. “Sleep, sex, food, sex, sleep, sex, ‘kay?”

Jack chuckled nodding. “Like the way you think,” he agreed, yawning. He suddenly reached up, tracing Nathan’s face briefly. “You’re really back,” he mused, a sense of amazement suddenly making it to the top of his brain. “You came back.”

“Told you I would,” Nathan replied sleepily.

“Did not,” Jack countered petulantly.

“Said I’d see you around,” Nathan reminded him, softly kissing Jack. “Sleep a little, Jack. We can talk more in a little while.”

*-*

“Here, try this.” Jack licked at Nathan’s fingers teasingly as he accepted the bite of sushi.

“Salmon?” Jack guessed, earning a soft kiss, his reward for guessing right. “Mmm, okay, I revise my opinion of sushi, this is nice.”

“Told you so,” Nathan informed him smugly. Jack was snug between Nathan’s legs, resting back against his chest, the scientist only slightly more dressed than Jack’s hastily thrown on boxers because Jack informed him that no delivery boy got to see what Jack couldn’t. “Should we maybe talk about what we’re doing here?”

“Having sushi after fantastic sex,” Jack remarked dryly. “You still worried about the gratitude thing? ‘Cuz that sort of went out the window when I found out you’re actually my nemesis.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to have sex with your nemesis either,” Nathan joked, offering Jack another ball of rice. “We’ll have to be something else now.”

“Like what?” Jack asked, teasing Nathan by sucking his fingertips into his mouth.

“Fuck buddies?” Nathan suggested, and Jack shook his head. “Friends with benefits?” Jack shook his head again, fighting a smile. “Hmm, how about—”

“Boyfriends. Partners. Lovers,” Jack supplied, frowning a little. “As long as it means exclusive.”

“I don’t share,” Nathan growled in Jack’s ear, making him shudder a little. “But what if I tell you I want to go back to Eureka?”

“I was fired, I can’t go back without an invite from the DoD,” Jack replied, feeling his heart sink a little. “I guess I could visit.”

“I was thinking about a proper invitation for your daughter,” Nathan replied, which surprised Jack. “You’d be welcome as her family. Or mine,” he added almost blandly.

“Yours,” Jack repeated faintly.

“Look, we’ve got time still, but I want you, Jack,” Nathan told him, hugging him gently. “I want you in my life. If you can’t go back to Eureka, then I’ll find something here. I just want you to think about it.”

Jack sighed, slumping against Nathan. “I don’t know if I’d survive living there like this.”

“I’m going to fix this,” Nathan reassured him, lacing their fingers together. “I won’t take you back to that nuthouse until I do.”

Jack chuckled, sitting up a little more. “So we’re basically agreeing then?” he observed, tilting his head comically. “Is the world ending? You probably should call Fargo, see what they did now.”

Nathan followed the motion, kissing Jack softly. “Let’s finish the sushi then have some dessert.” The tone left no doubt what he meant, and Jack kissed Nathan again. “No, first finish the sushi,” Nathan corrected him teasingly, offering Jack another piece of sushi.

“Lobster,” Jack guessed, laughing when Nathan tickled his ribs; apparently lobster was the wrong answer.

*-*

The morning of the procedure was stormy, which Jack kept telling himself was a good sign. The last rainstorm had brought him an awful lot of luck, he decided, smiling a little when strong arms wrapped around him. “Need a trip out in the rain?” Nathan asked. “We’ve got plenty of time before we have to be at the hospital.”

“I’ve always wanted to have sex in the rain,” Jack replied, making Nathan laugh. “Get mud everywhere, mess you up properly. But it’d be better if you were in one of those suits you used to insist on wearing and I could see the mess I make.”

“I’ll add it to our ‘to do’ list,” Nathan informed him, pulling Jack into a slow, smoldering kiss. “Seriously, Jack, you’re wound tighter than Fargo when he knows he’s pushed the wrong button. You nervous?”

“Fargo rarely pushes wrong buttons anymore,” Jack objected, and Nathan nudged him. “Just scared it won’t work,” Jack admitted, feeling his stance relax a little as he admitted it, aided by Nathan’s comforting embrace.

“Then I take more readings, run more tests and try again,” Nathan reassured him. “Nothing… well, other than my massively large ego, demands that it work this time.”

Nathan’s joke tensed him back up, and Nathan kissed his throat, making a questioning noise. “What else is bothering you?” he asked when Jack didn’t respond.

“Your ego,” Jack shot back sardonically.

“Fits in your house just fine,” Nathan replied teasingly. “What about it?”

Jack was silent, and he could feel Nathan shifting behind him, keyed into the fact that something else was genuinely worrying him. He tried a fake smile, but Nathan tightened his grip in response. “Don’t do that, Jack,” Nathan murmured, turning Jack completely around to face him, stroking his cheek lightly. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re 15 years younger than me,” Jack replied, trying not to feel foolish as he said it. “Your ego okay with dating an old man?”

Nathan chuckled, kissing Jack’s forehead. “One, I may look 39, but I’m still a year older than you, was born a year before you. Two, you may be 54 but you look like you’re in your 40’s. I think I’m still going to be beating off the competition. Three, landing my rival’s a good enough ego stroking that I can live with you robbing the cradle.”

Jack was fighting a smile as Nathan continued relentlessly. “Four, blind and old and I’m still fighting to keep up with you most of the time. Five, you’re amazing in the sack and anyone who asks me what I’m doing with an old guy like you will be told that.”

Jack laughed, resting his head on Nathan’s shoulder. “Six,” Nathan continued, and Jack groaned.

“God, how long can you keep going?” Jack asked disbelievingly.

“I’m horribly and uncontrollably attracted to you and don’t see that changing anytime soon,” Nathan finished, suddenly reassuring. He leaned down, brushing Jack’s lips with a quick kiss. “How about we go upstairs and I prove it to you?” he suggested, nipping at Jack’s lower lip.

“Mm, could use the distraction,” Jack agreed, leaning up to deepen the kiss, some part of his mind registering the sound of his front door opening.

“Hey, Dad,” Zoë’s voice drifted in, and then a muffled thud as she dropped something, making Nathan jump, pulling away from the kiss. “Okay, guess you two sorted that out.” She sounded amused, which relieved Jack as he counted his steps across the room, outstretched hand meeting hers before he pulled her into a fierce hug.

“What are you doing here?” Jack demanded, some of his worry washing away.

“Nathan sent a GD transport about an hour ago, said you were wigging out, needed the support,” she replied, holding onto his arm when he let go of the hug. “Besides, I think he knew I wanted to be here, to help.”

“Really?” Jack asked, aiming the question back over his shoulder, following Nathan’s footsteps as they closed in and actually anticipating the hand that squeezed his, leaning into the touching to welcome it.

“I’ll be a bastard later to make up for it,” Nathan promised. “Zoë, it’s good to see you again.”

“I’d say the same but you haven’t aged at all and that isn’t fair,” Zoë observed. “I also believe we had a conversation about you taking advantage of my dad.”

Jack groaned, looping an arm around Nathan supportively. “I told you, I’m practically begging him to ignore you.”

“Yes, we did,” Nathan ignored Jack, sounding solemn. “Unfortunately, I’m just too crazy about him to remember the specific details of that deal.”

“He wants to take me back to Eureka with him,” Jack observed quietly, hearing the sharp intake of breath from Zoë. “I know you don’t like the way things happened when we left, but I was hoping…”

“That I’d take one of the four job offers from GD I’ve had in the past six months?” Zoë asked, sounding amused. “Hell, Dad, I’ve just been waiting for someone to ask you back.”

“I’d actually like to extend you an offer to come work with me,” Nathan said quietly. “Not a bribe to let you date your dad or anything,” he added quickly and Jack could picture perfectly the suspicious look Zoë had shot at him. “Because unlike half the morons up there, you don’t seem to be cowering in awe of my return from the dead.”

“Fine, only because I want a shot at the Nobel before I’m 40,” Zoë replied dryly. “In the meantime, Dad, I brought you a present.”

“Um, my firearm is upstairs, so if it’s going to get loose in the house like last time…” Jack started to threaten, and Zoë snorted.

“Just be quiet and hold still,” she told him, and a moment later, a pair of glasses slid over his nose. His eyes took a moment to adjust, then he became aware of reddish blobs around him. The forms weren’t clear, but he could see a blob that was Nathan to his left and Zoë across from him.

“Whoa,” he tightened his grip on Nathan a little, the vertigo more intense than he expected. “I can sort of tell where things are, the red light gets brighter.”

“Can you see any details, shapes?” Zoë asked, and Jack shook his head, a wave of vertigo passing over him as he did. Nathan braced his arm as Jack swayed, and Zoë removed the glasses.

“You weren’t really defined shapes, just brighter blobs of red the closer you were,” Jack explained, knowing Zoe was tweaking the glasses as he spoke. “If I could get used to the way it moves, I could probably gain some navigation out of it.”

“I can do better,” Zoë replied. “Just have to figure out the prescription and neural parameters.”

“You feeling okay?” Nathan asked, concerned as he nudged Jack over to the couch. “You got a little unsteady there for a moment.”

“Just dizzy, the light moves through the open space pretty fast, and I can see it move through,” Jack described, and Zoë hummed thoughtfully, one of her mechanical toys making a slight whirring noise as she commandeered his coffee table, as she always seemed to do when she was home.

“If your procedure works, Dr. Stark, he’s going to need one hell of a prescription,” Zoë observed. “Dad, when was your last eye exam before the accident?” she asked suspiciously, and Jack sighed.

“It’s not like the doctor, I’m a marshal, my eyes are checked annually or I can’t keep my gun,” he reminded her. “And two months beforehand, with 20/20 perfection, if you want to know,” he added smugly.

“Try this,” Zoë put the glasses into his hand this time, and Jack slid them on, jaw dropping in surprise. The world had been reduced to slender lines and shading, still lacking detail, but he could easily recognize Zoë’s form.

“Better,” he said, surprised. “I can see your outline, the table, not details, but shapes and pieces.”

He turned his head, taking in the shape of Nathan, a blurry reddish light filling in the space Nathan occupied. “No detail,” he repeated, shrugging. “But I can see you’re there.”

“Hold up your hand, Dr. Stark,” Zoë instructed, and Jack felt a little vertigo as he adjusted to the light moving, but he could see Nathan’s arm separate from his body. “Now spread your fingers out.”

Jack reached out, touching the tip of each finger, smiling slightly as he did. “I can tell where Nathan’s fingers end,” he said triumphantly.

“About as good as it’ll ever get, I’m afraid,” Zoë replied. “But not a bad plan B, huh?”

Jack stood, quickly tugging her up into a tight hug, ignoring the tear that had escaped his eyes. “You’re amazing,” he told her, kissing the top of her head. “This is amazing. Thank you.”

“Stark put the generator together, I just took what he did and ran with it,” she brushed it off, and Jack could hear her hope that he’d let it go. “It’s no big deal.”

“It’s huge,” Nathan put in. “I didn’t even think about using the generator past testing the damage.”

“Huh, I am good,” Zoë joked, sounding a little self satisfied at Nathan’s praise. “It’s just a plan B, Dad, to tide you through till Stark pulls off his own plans.”

Jack aimed a wicked grin at the daughter shape, then said, “I’m going up to my balcony!”

“No, I did not make you super specs so you could go break your neck on the balcony!” Zoë yelled after him, but Jack headed up the stairs anyway, smirking to himself.

“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Nathan sounded resigned, Jack noticed, waiting just inside his door for the scientist to catch up. As soon as the scientist stepped into the room, Jack sprang, surprising Nathan and pinning him to the wall quickly, kissing him fiercely. Nathan wasn’t stunned for long, giving back as good as he was getting.

“Hi,” Jack mumbled when they broke apart to breathe, before diving back into the kiss, easing his hands down Nathan’s torso teasingly.

Nathan grabbed on, turning them so Jack was against the wall. “Your daughter is downstairs,” he observed, pressing one last kiss to Jack’s lips.

“I know, I just wanted to kiss you and doing so in front of my daughter probably wasn’t going to get that result,” Jack observed. “Thanks for bringing her here, Nathan. Come on, before she comes to see if I’ve actually fallen off the balcony this time.”

*-*

Knowing the procedure would involve needles in his eyes and Jack’s absolute disgust at the idea, he’d elected to let Nathan sedate him. “Still with me?” Nathan asked after the flurry of nurses had left, and Jack nodded, feeling sleepy but definitely still conscious. “Zoë will be in, in just a minute, but I wanted to check on you.”

“You worrying?” Jack murmured teasingly.

“About you? Second nature, Trouble Magnet,” Nathan said affectionately, smoothing Jack’s hair.

“Hmm, can live with that, suppose,” Jack murmured as he felt himself start to drift asleep. “Only cuz… love you.” He thought he heard Nathan dimly, but he was asleep before he could focus on it.

*-*

He woke slowly, aware of the faint sound of voices and movement beyond a wall, but his eyes registered only darkness. He struggled to sit up, breath catching in disappointment, and a gentle hand caught his arm, helping him sit up. “Here, I’ve got you, Dad, just hang on,” Zoë reassured him softly. “Give me a minute, and I’ll page Stark.”

“No need,” Jack sighed. “Can’t see anything.”

“Dad,” she choked back a laugh, taking his hand and raising it to his temple. Jack shifted his fingers, feeling the soft bandages that were wrapped over his eyes. “Can I page Stark now?”

“Depends,” Jack replied, sitting back, trying not to flush at his overreaction. “You gonna be okay with me and Nathan?”

“I know I gave him a hard time, but I’m okay with you guys, Dad,” Zoë reassured him. “I didn’t know he could be so gentle till I saw him with you today.”

“I think he’s changed a little since the time loop,” Jack observed. “Or maybe I’ve changed, it’s been 16 years after all.”

“Well, you light up at the sound of his voice,” she continued. “And apparently you’re going back to Eureka for him?”

“He’ll stay here if I can’t,” Jack reassured her. “And with my eyes, I sort of have to figure out exactly what I’m going to do next. I’ve been eligible to retire for a few years, but I don’t know what to do next.”

“House husband?” Zoë suggested dryly, making Jack laugh. “You should teach, Dad. Put your master’s degree to use. Criminal justice at Tesla?”

“Maybe,” Jack agreed, shrugging. “You should probably page Nathan.”

“Hang on, I think I see him in the hall,” Zoë remarked, her chair scraping on the tile floor and then the door sliding open to let her out. “Dr. Stark? Dad’s awake.”

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Nathan asked, at Jack’s side a moment later, hand cupping Jack’s chin gently for one too brief moment.

“Good,” Jack replied. “Little bit of a headache, but otherwise good.” He registered the snap of blinds closing. “Uh, Nathan, my daughter’s here,” Jack joked, chuckling when Zoë slapped his arm. “Sorry, just…”

“Nervous, I know,” Nathan filled in, his hand resting on his shoulder as Zoë slid hers into Jack’s. “Close your eyes, Jack. We need to ease your eyes into this very gently.”

“Okay,” Jack agreed, pressing his eyes closed under the bandages, monitoring the soft brush of cloth as Nathan began to unwind the bandages. The gauze fell away, and a thick pad was removed from one eye, then the other, the quality of darkness changing slightly, making Jack squeeze Zoë’s hand.

“Dad?” she asked, her other hand coming up to clasp his hand.

“Go ahead and open your eyes, slowly,” Nathan said, and Jack winced as he cracked his eyes open, light seeping in. “That’s it, easy,” Nathan coaxed him, and Jack blinked his eyes open, short bursts till he could manage a little longer, then holding them open, vision hazy and blurry, but light and color were clearly present.

He turned his eyes to Nathan, able to make out the tan skin color and dark hair. “It worked,” he whispered, smiling. “I can see you. Very badly, but you’re there.”

“Zoë, you have the eyeglasses?” Nathan asked, and Jack turned, taking the frames from Zoë. He slid the glasses on, blinking in surprise. Zoë smiled at him hopefully, her blonde hair much shorter than Jack recalled, new worry lines around her lips he suspected he’d caused.

“You cut your hair,” he observed, and Zoë buried herself in his arms, crying against her dad’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s good, I can see you,” he told her, and she sniffled.

“I know, and happy tears, I promise,” she reassured him. She wiped her eyes, kissing Jack on the cheek. “I’ll be back,” she promised, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door, giving Jack a moment with Nathan. He turned, cataloguing the subtle differences in the face he recalled. The beard growing back in at Jack’s insistence. The eyes too perfect a shade of peridot to be real.

“Hi,” Jack whispered, a little amazed by how good looking the other man was, somehow having forgotten how striking Nathan’s features were. “I know you don’t want me to say it, but thanks.”

“I told you, not in it for your gratitude,” Nathan replied, voice rough as he sat on Jack’s bed, giving him a long look. “You look surprised.”

“I thought I was misremembering or making up how good looking you are, but I undershot,” Jack replied dryly. “You really sure you’re okay with being with an old guy?”

Nathan rolled his eyes, leaning in and kissing Jack softly. “No, but I’ll be perfect if I’m with you.”

“Ahem,” Zoë cleared her throat, looking a little surprised when Nathan simply scooted closer to Jack. “You know, Dad, as far as physics is concerned, he’s still older than you.”

Jack grinned, nodding her over to his side, acknowledging what she was trying to tell him. “Yeah, no one’s gonna buy that,” he muttered, his worry evaporating a little as Nathan started examining his eyes, making careful notes on Jack’s chart. “So can I go home tonight, Doc?” he asked, and Nathan softened a little at the nickname.

“I want to get an MRI, make sure everything still looks good, then you can go home,” Nathan agreed.

“We can go home,” Jack stressed, giving Nathan a meaningful look.

“Yeah, that too,” Nathan conceded, kissing Jack briefly. “But your daughter’s staying with us, so whatever idea you’re thinking up will have to wait.”

Jack looked speculatively at Zoë’s disapproving look, then at Nathan, and sighed.

*-*

Jack was waiting for Nathan when he got in, stretched across the bed wearing nothing but his new glasses. He smirked when Nathan froze just inside the doorway, looking torn between lust and concern. His eyes flickered down the hall toward Zoë’s room, and Jack shook his head. “She went to catch up with some friends, won’t be back for hours,” he said, voice coming out rougher than he expected.

“You set this up?” Nathan asked gruffly, looking like he was clinging to his control as he shut the bedroom door behind him and toed off his shoes. His eyes remained on Jack, filled with want.

“Zoë volunteered to get lost for the night,” Jack answered, propping his head on his elbow and eyeing Nathan’s tailored shirt and slacks. “Strip. Slowly.”

Nathan lifted an eyebrow at the command, but began to unbutton his shirt, disappointingly revealing a long sleeved undershirt. He carefully set aside the shirt, smirking at the impatient growl Jack couldn’t contain, then inched his undershirt up his torso and over his head. Jack’s eyes raked over the long muscles, trying not to show how badly he wanted Nathan now and instead gestured for Nathan to continue.

Nathan’s grin was a little too knowing as he popped the button and oh so slowly slid down the zipper on his slacks. The pants pooled quickly at his ankles when he dropped the material, socks also slid off as Nathan stepped free of the material. He hooked his thumbs on his boxers, sliding them low on his hips then pausing, looking over at Jack. “Sure you don’t want to?” he teased temptingly, and Jack groaned.

“I’m watching, seeing you for the first time,” Jack replied in a rougher tone than he’d expected. “Finish stripping, Doc.”

“Love when you call me that,” Nathan observed, tugging his boxers free of his erection, standing still under the scrutiny, though a little color crept into his face.

“Com’ere,” Jack commanded, reaching out to grasp Nathan’s wrist, tugging him down so their bodies were flush, Jack’s eyes nearly crossing as he studied Nathan’s too close face. He deliberately kept his eyes open for several long moments as he brought his lips to Nathan’s so he could watch the other man give in to the pleasure. A soft touch of tongues and Jack lost his will to keep his eyes focused, melting into the sensations. Nathan’s hand, meanwhile, had drifted to his erection, wrapping a hand around Jack and starting to slowly stroke.

Jack broke the kiss, shaking his head as he stopped Nathan. “None of that,” he scolded the scientist, trying not to laugh at the scowl on Nathan’s face. “This is about me getting to see. So I’m going to watch you jerk off, watch you as I suck you, and watch you as I fuck you.”

“Jack,” Nathan groaned, pulling Jack into another kiss. Jack wiggled a little, turning them so Nathan was against the pillows, and Jack sat back.

“Watching,” Jack reminded him, tucking his hands into his elbows to avoid temptation. Nathan quirked an eyebrow, then slowly began to skim fingers over his cock, avoiding the hot spots Jack knew by touch from his blind exploration.

“You’re holding back,” he observed aloud, reaching out and tugging Nathan down so he could see Nathan’s face as he took the tip of Nathan’s erection in his mouth, running his tongue around the familiar ridge to the weak spot that made Nathan cry out. Watching Nathan melt, eyes closing, body arching, fists tightening, it was all much more intoxicating than Jack had expected.

He backed off slightly, watching Nathan slowly come back down from his high, the light green eyes cracking open a little puzzled, then widening at something he saw on Jack’s face. “You’re beautiful,” Jack murmured hoarsely, and Nathan went red, the flush of embarrassment creeping into his face. “Sorry, not a very manly word to use, I guess,” Jack backed off instantly, and Nathan cupped his face, tugging him up.

“You don’t get it,” Nathan replied, still flushed. “You’re seeing things again for the first time and you’re looking at me like I’m a sunset, Grand Canyon, the perfect rainbow, hell, Jack, it’s so much, like there’s no way I’m that good, but you see it, and it’s…”

“I actually found something that’s too much for your ego,” Jack teased gently, touching Nathan’s face, slowly exploring. “You’re more than those things,” he whispered, touching his lips lightly to Nathan’s, leaving them hovering there as he spoke. “You’re lightning.”

Nathan leaned into kiss him softly, lips trembling softly. “You said something earlier today, just before you fell asleep.”

Jack racked his brain, surprised when his muttered words fell into place. “Not exactly how I wanted to—”

“I love you too,” Nathan interrupted abruptly, hand rising to cup Jack’s face. Jack stared at him, mind trying to process what Nathan had just said.

“I love you,” Jack finally whispered before falling into a fierce kiss. Nathan slowly pressed Jack back to the pillows, his tongue parting Jack’s lips easily. Jack rolled his hips almost automatically, bringing their groins together, the sharp friction bringing his plans back to the front of his mind.

“Stretch yourself for me?” Jack suggested, and Nathan nodded, pupils blown wide. He clearly didn’t object to Jack watching, just the lack of touching, so Jack settled a little closer this time, finding a sensitive spot on the inside of Nathan’s thigh to tease while the other man grabbed the lube.

Nathan slicked a finger, sliding it into himself, and Jack bit down on his thigh, drawing a groan that added to the wanton picture of Nathan slicking himself for Jack. Nathan’s preparations sped up then, less teasing as Jack continued to lick at the mark he’d left.

“I’m good,” Nathan gasped, pulling Jack up. Jack started to lean away for a condom, but Nathan tugged him back, hand slicking Jack’s cock with sure strokes. “No, want you in me, just you,” he managed, and Jack positioned himself carefully, very slowly sliding into Nathan, watching impatience and pleasure chase their way across the other man’s face.

Finally sinking his whole length into Nathan, Jack leaned forward, wiggling a little to draw a low moan from Nathan before he brought his mouth down to swallow the sound. Nathan’s legs, looped around Jack’s waist, squeezed a little, the unspoken message for him to move clear. Jack pulled out a little, then sank in again at a snail’s pace. Nathan groaned, hips pressing up, clearly wanting more.

“Shh,” Jack murmured, repeating the same slow motion, and Nathan’s eyes rolled up in his head as this time Jack had hit the right angle. He repeated the same soft rolling motion a few more times, loving the needy little noises and curses that were slipping from Nathan’s lips.

Without warning, Jack started a hard rhythm, producing a surprised shout from Nathan. “Fuck, Jack, damn, harder, please,” Nathan gasped, and Jack reached down to pump Nathan’s erection in time with his thrusts, watching avidly as the other man came apart. He paused for a moment, allowing Nathan’s breathing to even out a little before he resumed fucking Nathan, hips snapping, his own orgasm not far behind. Nathan whimpered a little from the overstimulation, and the sound was enough to finish him. Jack managed to roll sideways as his muscles gave way to languid pleasure, and Nathan followed him, arms wrapping him up in a protective gesture.

Jack was content to lie still, counting the thud of Nathan’s heart under his right hand, but Nathan finally pulled away with a disappointed sigh. To his surprise, Nathan offered him a hand up, tugging him into the shower.

*-*

The small house was boxed up, furniture covered and windows curtained. After many discussions, Jack and Nathan had decided to keep the house as a retreat, a home away from Eureka they could use to get away from.

Jack had finished packing the last items making the move back to the hidden town in Oregon and was leaning against the French doors in the living room, looking around thoughtfully. “Hey,” Nathan greeted him as he reentered the room, stopping and looping an arm around Jack’s waist. “Going to miss it?”

“No,” Jack admitted, shrugging. “Most of my nostalgia is tied up in you and Zoë. Just still processing the whole ‘going back’ part.”

“I’ve had seven calls from people to ask if it’s true, that you’re coming back,” Nathan informed him. “I think there’s going to be a party.”

“Damn,” Jack breathed, shaking his head. “That’s the problem. I’m coming back as a teacher, a back up deputy for emergencies only, trying to settle into something quiet.”

“You can do that,” Nathan agreed pleasantly. “But you’re always going to be a bit of a hero, Jack. No getting around that, I’m afraid.”

Jack was silent, letting Nathan hold him for a while. “I guess as long as you’re with me,” Jack conceded, smiling when Nathan tightened his grip.

“Would this help?” Nathan asked quietly, and in a fluid motion, he had a heavy ID bracelet fastened around Jack’s wrist. Jack inspected it slowly, the metal heavy enough to tell him it was something durable and expensive.

“Even in blindness, you saw me,” Jack read the inscription beneath his and Nathan’s initials. “Nathan,” he said softly, touched. He turned enough to lean in and slowly kiss the scientist.

Zoë cleared her throat as she came back into the living room for the last of the boxes. “All right, enough of that,” she grumbled, pointing to the boxes. “Finish loading the van, we’ve got a three hour drive you two can flirt your way through.”

A Modest Proposal, Chapter 8: Memory Bugs (Part 2)

2009-06-25T02:42:14Z

Title: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 8: Memory Bugs (Part 2)
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 304: I Do Over, AU
Summary: It starts as vivid dreams, but clearly becomes more as memories spread, threatening the secrets each of them keeps...

Previous Parts can be found here

Henry stared at Nathan wide eyed, and Nathan fought the urge to squirm under his mentor’s glare. “What did you see?” he asked, sighing in resignation.

“You and Jack?” Henry hissed, and Nathan had a brief flash of Zoë when she found out. In the next moment, he was almost relieved Henry had seen something about Jack, not the time loop and Zoë. “In bed with Allison?” Henry tacked on pointedly.

Not quite the same then, Nathan thought, setting down his tablet. “You’re going to have to narrow it down more,” he said, instantly wanting to kick the part of his brain that put sarcastic words in his mouth before he could check them.

Interestingly, this drew Henry up short. “It wasn’t…” he trailed off, forehead wrinkling in confusion. “I think I need you to explain to me what I just saw, Nathan, because that doesn’t sound like some screwy little game you and Allison decided to play with Jack.”

“No game, not screwing with each other, any of the three of us,” Nathan replied, bracing his hands against the lab table to stop himself from fidgeting. “One intimate, functioning, polyamorous relationship,” he spelled out carefully. “Not just Allison and I, or Jack and Allison, but also Jack and I.”

Henry folded his arms, drawing back into thought, the angry posturing and edginess fading into familiar curiosity. “Whose idea?” he asked after a long moment of thought. “Allison’s?”

“Mine,” Nathan admitted, grinning self-deprecatingly when Henry’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh come on, you know how selfish I am. Finally get the girl, but can’t give up the guy either, so I present them with this idea. My idea.” He was even more surprised to see most of the tension leave Henry at that.

“So… you and Jack?” Henry asked, smirking.

“Since the house locked us in,” Nathan replied, and suddenly Henry was laughing.

“No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t, but,” Henry wheezed, then started laughing again. “God, of course you were. Or you’d have killed each other. So instead you… And he’s, Jack’s…”

“He worries about being the extra piece, I try to convince him I can’t live without him,” Nathan shrugged, giving Henry a crooked smile. “I love him, he loves me.”

Henry was silent for a long time, and Nathan could only watch as the other man considered all the information. “He’s clearly happy,” Henry said suddenly. “And you too. So I guess that’s what counts.”

“Really?” It escaped Nathan before he could stop it, and Henry clapped his shoulder, then changed his mind and pulled him into a hug.

“If it’s what you need,” Henry said softly. “Nathan, I’ve never made a secret of how much I admire you, thought of you like a son sometimes. I know your own father wouldn’t see it this way, but I just want you to be happy. I’ve never seen you completely whole and happy till recently. If this is what it takes, then I’ll find a way to shift my paradigm. It’ll take a little time for me to get used to it, but I’ll find a way.”

Nathan snorted at the mention of his own father, shaking his head. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the closest thing to a father I’ve ever had, Henry. So… thanks.”

“So… all three of you,” Henry mused a few minutes later, tilting his head oddly. “Yeah, paradigm needs some shifting,” he admitted, laughing. Nathan joined in, relieved.

*-*

Jack strode into GD, deciding to first hit Taggart’s lab. It had been a hard call between Taggart, Seth, and the neural networking scientist, Childress, but his favorite troublemaker won out. “Oye!” Taggart snorted as soon as Jack walked through the sliding doors. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not my project.”

“Well, let’s be fair,” Jack indicated expansively to the lab, where dozens of brains were laid out, in various states of dissection and exploration, some hooked up to IV’s of fluid, others wired to each other.

“Listen, mate, I know how it looks,” Taggart agreed, placatingly. “But I’ve shut down all the electrical current in the experiments, and I’ve gathered samples of every fluid composition and biopsies of all of my brains, none of which are infected. Stark can check them for himself.”

“I’m sure he will,” Jack agreed, accepting the large sample bag. “You’re being surprisingly helpful. What gives?”

“Come and see,” Taggart replied eagerly, waving him over to a brain that looked like was receiving fluids from another, smaller brain. “Shark,” Taggart explained, when he caught Jack eyeing the smaller brain. “Wrestled him in myself. Sharks don’t get Alzheimer’s. And this brain,” he indicated the human brain wired into the shark brain. “Had Alzheimer’s.”

“Had?” Jack asked, blinking rapidly. “Past tense?”

“Yeah,” Taggart agreed. “And since your father has…” Taggart trailed off, Jack’s glare warning him off. Jack didn’t think Lexi even knew about their father. “This is important work, Sheriff, and I don’t want it shut down. I figured I’d have your support.”

“These come back clean, and you’re free to work,” Jack replied. “But you may want to wait till you’re memory bug free. No one knows about my father, not even my daughter or sister.”

“Ah, point taken,” Taggart agreed, stepping back from his lab table. “Let me know when my samples come back clean, Sheriff.”

“Can do,” Jack agreed, taking the samples up to the virology lab. He grinned when he spotted Henry at work and headed in. “Hey, Henry, got presents from Taggart for you.”

Henry was looking at him oddly for a moment, then took the samples and set them aside, clapping Jack’s arm. “You’re happy, right?” he asked, and Jack tilted his head.

“I’d be happier if there wasn’t a memory bug running around my town,” Jack said, then was hit with a sudden epiphany. “Ah, caught a memory off Nathan?” he asked, and Henry nodded.

Jack started to answer, then Nathan came back in, nodding to Jack, and Henry chuckled. “God, how can anyone not see,” he observed, watching them. “The way you just lit up from him just walking in.”

“Really?” Nathan looked over at Jack, grinning as Jack flushed.

“Okay, I have to go harass Childress and Seth now,” Jack backpeddled, knowing he would be teased if he stayed. “Try to stop leaking our bedroom activities to my friends,” he advised Nathan, pleased to see he managed to get a bit of embarrassment out of the normally staid scientist.

Childress had an offsite lab, but the scientist was nowhere to be found. The machine in the room was definitely transmitting, so Jack made a quick call up to GD, asking Zane to come down and shut off the machine. Seth’s offsite lab was even less useful.

“You are not coming in, Sheriff! Every time I allow you near my research, I lose my projects!”

“Aw, come on Seth, I just need samples of your work for GD to analyze, make sure your work didn’t mutate the micro-virus!”

“Last time you were in my lab, there was water turning into blood!”

“It was algae, even I know that!” Jack shot back, pounding on the sealed door once more. “All right, fine, you forced my hand,” he shouted, before heading to the Jeep and pulling out his radio. “Jo, I need backup and the really big door destroying sonic ram out at Seth’s, over.”

“On my way!” Jo came back, sounding delighted to get a chance at using her insanely overpowered toy. “Over.”

Jack leaned back to wait, frowning at the barricaded door. A moment later, the building was rocked by an explosion, the barricaded door flying open and Seth running out, coughing and choking. “You!” he yelled at Jack, before succumbing to another coughing fit. “You—”

“Okay, calm down, breathe,” Jack replied, pulling Seth around the Jeep, sitting him down and pulling a portable oxygen tank out of the first aid kit. “Stay put,” he ordered the scientist, pulling out his cell phone as he evaluated the fire. “Henry, I need fire suppression out at Seth’s lab. His project just blew up. And do me a favor and tell the worrywart next to you I’m fine when he panics.”

*-*

Allison hopped out of Thorne’s SUV, hurrying ahead of the director to Jack. “You okay?” she demanded, eyes raking up and down him to be certain.

“Was well outside the blast,” Jack replied, and Seth groaned.

“You’re like my personal bad luck charm!” he shot at Jack, rolling his eyes. “You come near my lab and everything goes straight to Hell!”

“It’s not the sheriff’s fault, as fun as it would be to blame him for everything that goes wrong here,” Nathan interrupted, coming from the burned out rubble, removing his mask. “Looks like the same radiation that mutated the micro-virus happened here. In the case of the micro-viruses, it just altered them so they run around replicating RNA of memories and transferring them from person to person. Airborne for the past 24 hours, so we don’t even have the luxury of a quarantine. In this case, the chemicals Seth was working with were extremely delicate, and the radiation set off an explosion. The good news is we can eliminate this lab as the source of the radiation.”

“From what you’re telling me though, this problem is going to get worse,” Thorne remarked. “The virus has been limited so far to exposure range, but it’s going to spread exponentially.”

“It’s still limited to the town, the electrostatic barrier was up before the micro-virus was even confirmed mutating thanks to an unrelated project in Section 5,” Nathan replied, with a little smirk in Jack’s direction that made Allison roll her eyes. “While we’re probably going to all get a little embarrassed, at least everyone in town has relatively high clearance and can be signed over to secrecy if need be.”

“But you can’t sign me to silence about your apparent love of classic baseball,” Jack said, turning to Thorne, smirking in amusement. Allison blinked, not liking the way Thorne went too still at Jack’s words. “I will, however, try to recruit you for my baseball team.”

Thorne seemed to relax, but Allison carefully filed away her suspicion that Thorne had some bigger secrets to hide. “Well, Sheriff, if you have an opening at shortstop,” Thorne replied wryly. “In the meantime, do we have any idea how to stop this before we start seeing too much more we’d rather not?”

“Too late,” Henry replied dryly as he and Jo, finished combing the rubble, joined them, samples in hand. “I’ve already seen way more of Nathan than Allison would like,” he said, before handing the bag with a piece of metal inside to Jack. “This contains the trace radiation we need to track, and I don’t think this is supposed to be impacting viruses or brain tissue.”

“So basically, any of the projects emitting radiation or that could emit radiation,” Allison said dryly, then Henry’s words caught up to her. “Uh, just how much of my fiancé did you see?”

“Everything,” Nathan remarked cheerfully. “Let’s just say Henry got quite a shocking eyeful of my personal life.”

Allison paused, eyes flickering to Jack, who shrugged. “Better him than me, I suppose. Besides, I understand Henry’s quite impressed,” Jack joked, but Allison caught the hidden meaning.

“All right,” Thorne broke in, rolling her eyes at them. “Henry, can you and Sheriff Carter track the radiation?”

“Given the data here, yes, I think so,” Henry agreed.

“All right,” Thorne agreed, nodding to them. “I want a report as soon as you find the source, preferably before I learn when the sheriff lost his virginity first hand.”

Allison couldn’t hide a smile when Jack flinched, nodding. “Uh, yeah, let’s not go there,” he muttered, and Allison was suddenly overwhelmed by the image of broken glass, grinding metal, the taste of blood in her mouth…

She gasped, surprised to find herself half on the ground, Jack supporting her on one side, Nathan on the other. “What happened?” she asked, still tasting blood and realizing she had a nose bleed.

“You staggered, then went down,” Jack said softly, accepting the gauze Jo handed him from the first aid kit. “Here, your nose,” he told her, and Allison pressed it to her nose, sighing.

“I think we’re going to need to avoid strong memories,” she groaned, struggling to sit up. Nathan shifted so she could lean against him, and she continued, “Angela. And she was killed in a car crash. I saw the crash.”

Jack swallowed, pulling away from her. “This is getting worse,” he observed to Henry, teeth clenched.

“The human brain’s not made for just sticking in memories, especially when they’re added so haphazardly,” Henry replied quietly. “The more strain, the more memories, the sooner we’ll see the effects on the blood brain barrier, small blood vessels, anywhere the brain is weakest. Eventually we’ll be looking at aneurisms and brain damage.”

“Supplemental medication,” Allison put in, trying for her feet and flushing slightly as she fell back, dizzy, and Nathan scooped her up like she weighed nothing. “My migraine medicines. I’m more susceptible to the effects of the virus.”

“Okay, let’s get you into the infirmary, try to isolate you, filter in pure air,” Nathan suggested. “It’ll at least slow the virus down.”

“Find that radiation,” Thorne snapped at Jack and Henry. “Stark, take her up to GD, get her isolated. Find out who else is on migraine medicines, blood thinners, seizure meds, anything that could make them more susceptible to the symptoms, and get them into isolation.”

“Come on, I’ve got something we can rig up at the garage,” Henry was telling Jack, but Allison stopped Nathan with a quick touch to his shoulder.

“Carter,” she said, and Jack was at her side, worry clear on his face a moment later. “I’m sorry about your girlfriend.”

“Just take care of yourself, okay?” he instructed her, offering her a soft look. “We’ll find Stark what he needs, and you’ll be fine, I promise.”

Allison nodded, and closed her eyes as Nathan loaded her into the car, very gently buckling her in. Outside, she heard Jack ordering SARAH to replicate the procedures for her on Zoë and Lexi, isolating and purifying their air. She realized a moment later Jack was probably worried about Lexi’s baby, too. “I’m okay,” she reassured Nathan when he climbed in the driver’s seat, offering him her hand. He squeezed it gently, the worry not fading from his face.

“Your nose is bleeding again,” Nathan told her, and she sighed, bringing the cloth to her nose.

“Did you know Jack’s childhood sweetheart was killed in a car crash?” Allison asked him after a long silence, and Nathan nodded, a tight jerk of his head.

“Records were sealed, but that’s never stopped me,” Nathan replied. “Does it bother you?”

“That you hacked something?” Allison rolled her eyes. “I imagine there are things you’ve figured out about me that even I don’t know.”

“I meant about his… about Angela,” Nathan replied, jaw tight.

“I guess I feel bad for Jack,” Allison suggested, baffled. “Am I missing something?”

“It’s sort of a big deal. It’s why Jack couldn’t join the military, juvenile record, on top of losing her,” Nathan explained. “He pled down to a charge—”

“Charges?” Allison interrupted, frowning at Nathan. “What are you talking about? He wasn’t even driving.”

Something dawned on Nathan’s face. “That stupid, noble, son of a bitch,” Nathan cursed, chuckling. “He told everyone he was driving. Or let them think it. She’d just turned 16, didn’t have a license.”

“But she died, why would it matter?” Allison asked.

“It mattered to Jack,” Nathan said firmly. Allison sat back, considering.

“Yeah, I guess it would,” she agreed, looking sideways at Nathan. “Now something’s bothering you.”

“He’s a fucking saint compared to me,” Nathan admitted, gripping the wheel tighter. “How the hell is one person that… Mayberry,” he managed in frustration.

Allison began to shake trying not to laugh. “I’m sorry,” she managed, knowing she wasn’t helping. “But seriously, Nathan, the pair of you sometimes!”

“What?” Nathan asked, a little baffled.

“Jack looks at you and thinks he’ll never be smart enough. You look at Jack and think you’ll never be good enough. I’m thinking both of you are idiots,” Allison added dryly. “At least you both make the other one try harder.”

Nathan pulled into GD, stroking Allison’s hair. “Okay, Angel, now you’ll have to let the idiots save you.”

“I have faith in you,” Allison replied, letting him help her out of the car. “I’ll walk,” she added when he threatened to pick her up again. She was about to give him a hard time about his hovering when they brushed past a researcher from section 3, and after a barrage of images about a hostage situation, guns, panic, a blur of sounds and feeling, Allison came to in the infirmary, already scrubbed down and in isolation.

“Nathan?” she managed to croak, and a woman in a clean suit turned, handing her a cup of water.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Blake, he wanted to wait till you woke up, but Thorne ordered him back to work on figuring out this virus,” the nurse explained. “Once I’m sure you have everything you need, I’m supposed to call him.”

“Tell him I’m fine, to keep working,” Allison told her, fussing with the bandages at her nose. “Uh, and call the sheriff, tell him I said to check out the project at offsite lab 1242. They were having containment issues earlier this week.” Which would double as telling him she was okay, Allison mused mentally, as the nurse gently eased her back down.

“You need to lay still, keep this on your finger so it will alert me if you pass out again,” the nurse told her, and Allison sighed, resigning herself to an infirmary stay.

*-*

“You okay?” Henry asked Jack as they paused while Henry’s tracking device tried to sort out a clear trail of radiation. The night was cloudless, moon bright and full, which made their current trek through the woods easier than it could have been.

“Worried about Allie,” Jack admitted, ducking his head when Henry gave him an all too knowing look. “Go ahead, mock me,” Jack invited the older man, sighing.

“Like I told Nathan, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the whole thing,” Henry admitted.

“Heh, I still have days like that,” Jack replied, shrugging at Henry’s curious look. “They’re both really good at not letting me panic out of this, of reassuring me.”

“Jack, if they make you happy, I’m glad for you,” Henry replied. “And you’ve all certainly worked better together lately.”

Jack started to answer, but his phone ringing stopped him. “Hello?” he asked, listening to the nurse on the other end. “Lab 1242?” he asked Henry, who pointed. “Looks like we’re headed that way. Tell Dr. Blake thanks for the heads up.”

He closed his phone, and Henry started walking toward the lab, making it a few steps before Jack’s phone sounded again. “Hey, Nathan,” Jack greeted the other man, catching the knowing look Henry shot him. “How’s Allie doing?”

“She’s okay, the clean room is helping,” Nathan’s voice sounded worried and weary. “I’m hoping her hunch about Milner’s lab is right, because I really need to analyze the source of the radiation and we’re starting to need clean room space for people with no special susceptibility to the virus.”

“Time crunch, gotcha,” Jack replied. “Look, be careful.”

“You too,” Nathan replied. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Jack replied before hanging up the phone. Henry grinned, and they headed up to the offsite lab.

“Dr. Milner?” Jack called out, as Henry checked his monitor.

“This is definitely the source of our radiation,” Henry remarked, starting to tap his data tablet rapidly. “Looks like Milner was working on effects of exotic radiation on aquatic plant life.”

“All right, good enough for me,” Jack said, unbuckling his holster, just in case. “Dr. Milner, it’s Sheriff Carter! I’m coming in!” He tugged open the door, and a hand flopped into the open doorway. “Dr. Milner?” Jack asked Henry as the other many checked for a pulse.

“Yeah,” Henry confirmed, sighing. “He’s cool, been dead a little while.”

“I figured from the dried blood coming out of his ears,” Jack observed. “Let’s get the sample for Nathan and get back up to GD.”

He called a cleanup crew for the body and the radioactive materials, while Henry measured a sample carefully. “Thanks,” he told Zane, starting to walk back over to Henry, the image of Henry carefully adjusting wires on Walter Perkins’ time device filling his mind.

“Jack!”

Jack blinked, hand rising to the wetness on his face, drawing away fingers red with blood. In the next moment, he realized why he was looking up at Henry and Zane. “I think it’s time to get back up to GD,” Jack said faintly, struggling to his feet.

Nathan met them in the atrium, hand curling around Jack’s bicep, tugging him to a halt and checking Jack’s eyes and ears as soon as he spotted the dried blood. “Get him to the infirmary,” he snapped at Fargo, even though he hadn’t let go. “I’ll fix this,” he promised Jack quietly, the growled vehemence reassuring.

“Sheriff?” Fargo said faintly, prompting Jack to move. Jack wondered why the young scientist was looking so concerned, then he saw his reflection, noticing a small smudge of red on one ear. “We’re doubling up, so I’m going to have to put you in with Dr. Blake,” Fargo said, looking through his data. “She’s our last one to double up.”

“Fine,” Jack agreed, following Fargo and resisting the urge to duck away and hide from the barrage of doctors. “Hey,” he greeted Allison sheepishly as they approached her cube, waving her down. “Thought you could use company.”

“And you had to bleed to get into this exclusive club,” Allison remarked dryly. Jack removed his gun belt and uniform, turning his nose up at the scrubs sitting out and instead settling on the bed in his undershirt and slacks. Allison slid out of her bed, coming over to sit on Jack’s bed.

“Hold still, she instructed him, gently cleaning up the blood on his face. “You find the radiation?”

“Right where you said,” Jack said, sliding his fingers through hers, hidden between their bodies. “How are you feeling?”

“Passed out once, but nothing else,” she reassured him. “Did you know Vince is dating Paul Sueños?” Jack lifted an eyebrow, and Allison smiled. “No, it was PG rated, I promise.”

“Good,” Jack replied, looking around. “Think I would get away with kissing you right now?”

“Cameras, nurses, not a chance,” Allison replied dryly. “Are you okay?”

“Just a little blood,” Jack brushed it off easily. “Henry and I got close to the radiation source. Apparently that didn’t work so well for me.”

Jack’s vision filled with the memory of Allison propositioning him while under the influence of the purple haze. What felt like a moment later, he came to, Allison dabbing at his nose, hand gripping his too tightly while a nurse in hazmat checked his vitals. “Jack,” she said, and he shook his head.

“Well, as far as memories go, not a bad one to risk brain damage for,” he told Allison, and she smiled weakly.

“Dr. Blake, if you could let me finish,” the nurse prompted Allison, obviously trying to move Allison back to her own bed. Allison scowled, but stepped back, one worried eye staying on Jack the whole time.

“Try to meditate,” the nurse advised him, apparently satisfied with Jack’s vitals. “Having your mind blank seems to help.”

“Thanks,” Jack replied, waiting for the cube to seal behind her. “What happened to me?”

“You had a seizure,” Allison replied, voice small. “Scared me half to death.”

“You hear anything from Kevin?” Jack changed the subject quickly, knowing Allison couldn’t afford to break down right now.

“Clean room at my house with the nanny and a nurse,” she told him, sighing. “I’ve talked to him a couple times, told him I’m okay. How about Zoë?”

“No symptoms yet, same with Lexi,” Jack reassured her.

They were quiet for a long time, and the next thing Jack was aware of, Nathan was carefully injecting a serum into his arm. “You killing me in my sleep?’ he asked, getting a hand ruffling his hair gently in return.

“This should fix your brain,” Nathan teased gently. “Well, bring it back to normal anyway. Not sure modern science can fix the many, many things wrong with your brain.”

“Aww, scientist, knew you cared,” Jack replied, arching into Nathan’s touch automatically when the scientist touched his throat. “How long this stuff going to take to kill the virus?”

“About 6 hours,” Nathan replied. “You should be able to go home before then, especially since the bunker is about as good a place to recover as any in town.”

“Thanks,” Jack said, feeling a little tired. “Why am I so sleepy?”

“You’ve had three seizures,” Nathan replied, adjusting an IV tube that Jack realized was hooked into the back of his hand. “Jack, did you know you have a clotting disorder?”

“In English?” Jack asked, and Nathan’s doctor façade melted into something gentler.

“You have too much of one type of protein in your blood, and it’s a type that sometimes causes blood clots,” Nathan explained. “Coupled with the virus, it caused petit mal seizures, tiny clots in your brain. Allison had you sedated to slow the virus, and the anticonvulsants probably also made you sleepy.”

“So, clotting disorder,” Jack mused, filing it away to have SARAH talk him through another time. “You’re gonna make SARAH put green leafy stuff in my diet, aren’t you?”

“No, that’d actually make it worse. I’m just prescribing a very mild blood thinner,” Nathan replied. “It’s a Eureka advancement, so you won’t require weekly blood tests or special diets like other people with the disorder. Just a finger prick every two months.”

“Okay,” Jack replied, curling onto his side, hand landing on Nathan’s thigh, but the scientist didn’t bother moving it.

“Rest,” Nathan advised him, and Jack nodded as he drifted off.

*-*

Nathan sat with Allison and Jack as they slept off the anti-viral serum, stubbornly refusing to succumb to sleep, even though the anti-viral was making him drowsy. Jack stretched suddenly, looking over at Nathan. “Hey, shouldn’t you have gone home?” he asked, and Nathan shook his head.

“Not without you and Allison home safe too,” he replied. He did a quick check of Jack’s vitals and stuck his finger to check the blood, relieved to see the viral load had dropped significantly. “You think you’ll be okay to drive yourself home if I sign you out?”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed easily. “I feel a lot better, and with luck, maybe I catch Zoë’s grades from her head before the virus dies out.”

Nathan chuckled. “You want me to call you when Allison wakes up?”

“Call and let me know you both made it home?” Jack countered, and Nathan nodded. The room was darkened, and most of the staff had settled in elsewhere, so Nathan snuck a quick kiss as Jack started to leave.

The sheriff froze as his hand was loosening in Nathan’s grasp, staring back at Nathan. Nathan felt a sudden sinking sensation in his stomach when Jack’s grip on his fingers suddenly turned painful.

“Why is there an image of my daughter… of her…being dead in your memory?” Jack asked, voice low and deadly.

“I didn’t want you to know,” Nathan was on his feet, trying to hold onto Jack, who was now squirming to get away. “Jack, no one should have to see that, I didn’t want you—”

“Let. Me. Go.” Jack jerked his hand away, looking aghast. “Just… how could you?” Jack whispered, grabbing his uniform shirt and gun belt.

Nathan waited, unable to draw breath, waiting, but Jack’s next blow never fell. The sheriff shoved past him, storming out of the room, the silence worse than any words Jack could have hurled at him. Jack’s nameplate, having fallen free of his uniform shirt in his haste, glimmered up at Nathan. He scooped it up, running his thumb over the engraved letters, feeling more helpless than he could ever remember.

Chapter 9

A Modest Proposal, Chapter 7: Memory Bugs (Part 1)

2009-06-09T05:27:03Z

Title: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 7: Memory Bugs (Part 1)
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 304: I Do Over, AU
Summary: It starts as vivid dreams, but clearly becomes more as memories spread, threatening the secrets each of them keeps...

Previous Parts can be found here

Jack sighed tiredly as he headed down to the bunker, wishing he’d been able to bring Zoë home with him, but Zoë, Pilar and a few other teens who had been affected by the neural network and dream sharing had been ordered to stay another hour or two for observation, something to do with hormone imbalances that appeared to be a direct result of the neural network on teenagers. Zoë had insisted she would drive herself home, looking much more capable of doing so than Jack had felt, so he had given in, after thoroughly warning Hair Boy away. He didn’t want to know what out of whack hormones in teens would entail, but it meant Lucas stayed away from his daughter.

He had his uniform shirt off and gun belt in hand before he realized Nathan was sitting at the kitchen island, eyes following every movement Jack made intensely. “In what universe did you think being here right now is a good idea?” Jack asked coldly.

“Jack, I’m—”

“Just stop,” Jack broke in quickly. “You’re just going to babble some bull about classified and how I can’t know—”

“It’s not classified,” Nathan interrupted, and Jack could see him swallow hard. “I’m trying to protect my stepson, Jack. And I’m protecting you. Plausible deniability.”

“You’re doing something the DoD wouldn’t like,” Jack observed shortly. “Illegal?”

“No,” Nathan promised, and Jack sighed, the open honesty on the scientist’s face too clear not to believe. “Just protecting Kevin.”

“Fine,” Jack gave in, folding his arms. “I’m not even that pissed at you for keeping secrets, because you’ve never done anything else. I should know not to expect anything better from you.” He could see his words cut into Nathan, though the scientist hid it well. “But you convinced Allison to lie, putting the entire town at risk.”

“I am sor—” Nathan started again, and Jack held a hand up, halting him.

“I need you to let me be mad tonight,” Jack informed him, and Nathan’s eyes flickered to Jack’s belt and the handcuffs, but the sheriff shook his head. “I won’t play that game with you while I’m this angry,” he informed the scientist, deliberately setting down his gun belt and shirt. “You deserve it, and you’re right, better to work it out of our systems than let it lie, but not when I’m angry enough to actually hurt you. We both know better than that.”

“Okay,” Nathan agreed on a shaky sigh. “Can I… may I kiss you?” Seeing Jack start to glare, he added quickly, “Please, Jack, I watched you nearly drown tonight.”

Surprised by the soft desperation in Nathan’s voice, Jack nodded, unable to deny the other man comfort. Maybe he wasn’t as angry as he thought he was. Maybe Nathan was just that far under his skin, now able to melt his anger with a soft glance. Maybe...

Jack’s mind blanked pleasantly as Nathan cupped his face gently, thumb stroking his cheek as he leaned in to gently kiss Jack, the touch light, holding back the desperation Jack could feel pulsing through Nathan. Knowing he was stupid but giving in anyway, Jack parted his lips, beckoning Nathan to deepen the kiss. With a groan, the scientist had Jack wrapped in a crushing embrace, mouth devouring Jack’s. The kiss slowly gentled, though Nathan’s hands still curled bruisingly tight on Jack’s hips, his worry seeping through.

“Okay,” Jack said, hand stroking Nathan’s curls even as he pulled away. “Okay. You need to go, before I change my mind. I’ll meet you at the cabin tomorrow night.”

Nathan didn’t say anything, simply cradling Jack’s face with both hands, staring for a long moment. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered, before heading out of the bunker.

Jack woke up, frowning thoughtfully as he curled around Allison, wondering why he’d woken up before the alarm. As though sensing Jack was awake, Allison snuggled in a little, murmuring as she tugged him closer, “I was dreaming about you.”

“Oh, really?” Jack asked, gently stroking her hair.

“Remember the magnetic fence?” Allison cracked an eyes open, a look of sleepy content on her face.

“Now you’ve got me curious,” Nathan rumbled, sighing and rolling over. Allison adjusted herself so Nathan could slide closer, and Jack had a brief mental image of a basket of puppies all wiggling around to pile on top of each other. Nathan brought his arm all the way across Allison, his fingers curling lazily around Jack’s bicep. After Lexi’s surprise arrival four days before, the trio had been hard pressed to find alone time, and Jack had been forced to plead an overnight on call case to escape the bunker last night. Zoë, fortunately, had understood how desperately Jack needed the time to unwind with his lovers and covered for him.

“Um, the computer virus that hit town two years ago,” Jack said carefully, the unspoken name of Nathan’s AI son lingering for a moment between them. When Nathan nodded, Jack continued, “It magnetized a fence out at a farm we were checking out. I got stuck, and then Allison got stuck on top of me. It was…” He flushed at Allison’s chuckle.

“Huh,” Nathan mused, smirking. “I bet it was.” His smirk widened, and he tugged on Jack’s earlobe playfully. “Actually, I dreamt about that first time I met you, when I returned to Eureka, the three of us in my office, surprising Allison that I was back.”

“Who would have thought we’d end up here?” Jack replied with a smirk.

“Zane,” Allison grinned, and Jack nodded.

“Touché,” he agreed, stretching a little, gently touching Nathan’s cheek as he did. “I dreamed about that night after I had to take a dip in the Eureka waste treatment plant, when you came to the bunker.”

“Seems like we have the past on the brain,” Nathan observed, sighing into the touch. “Did I miss the alarm going off?”

“We’ve got a little less than an hour,” Jack replied, glancing at the clock. He shrugged, uncertain as to why they would all be awake early.

“Hmm, what shall we do with the extra time?” Nathan joked, and Allison sat up, sliding away from them and sitting cross legged at the end of the bed. “Yes, love?” Nathan asked dryly, taking in Allison’s take charge face.

“We in trouble?” Jack asked blankly.

“I want to watch you top Nathan,” she told Jack, who tilted his head, curious.

“Just watch?” Jack asked, and Allison nodded slowly, eyes alight with eagerness. Allison had threatened to sit back and watch many times, but up until then hadn’t acted on it.

“I’ve warned you she has a thing for watching,” Nathan reminded Jack, rolling closer and peeling the bedding away to reveal long limbs and give them room. Jack hesitated, not sure what Allison was asking, and Nathan slid his boxers off, lying back with his head toward Allison, tilting his head a little, exposing his throat in a manner Jack recognized. He slid his boxers off before running a hand up Nathan’s thigh, over his stomach, settling on Nathan’s chest, fingers splayed wide.

Nathan started to rise, and Jack pushed him back down, free hand coming up to wrap fingers in Nathan’s hair, not tugging but holding still while he slid up Nathan’s body. Nathan tried to rise again, and Jack held down, nipping warningly at Nathan’s exposed neck. When Nathan went still again, Jack started exploring with a soft, sweeping touch, and Nathan’s cock filled as Jack slowly stroked his body, paying special attention to his hot spots. The next time Nathan tried to rise, Jack grabbed hold of his wrists, kissing him hungrily, forcing a soft groan from Nathan’s throat.

“You going to stay still or shall I send Allie for my cuffs?” Jack growled, and Nathan slowly slid his hands above his head, offering them to Allison. Allison took Nathan’s wrists from Jack, a crooked half smile on her face as she did. Now free to explore, Jack leaned up and kissed Allison, then dropped back to cover Nathan’s body with his, mouth latching on high on Nathan’s neck, high enough to leave a mark visible above Nathan’s shirt collar, which made Nathan buck a little, protesting wordlessly.

Jack leaned over, grabbing the lube off the bedside table, continuing to worry at the mark, turning Nathan’s protesting into a cry when his first finger slid inside Nathan, slowly stretching him. He brought his head up, swallowing any more protests with a hard kiss, as he continued to work his fingers slowly into Nathan. Too slowly if Nathan’s whimpers and attempts to force himself back onto the fingers were anything to go by. When he broke the kiss, Nathan babbled brokenly. “Please, more, please, Jack, god, fuck...”

Jack couldn’t help smirking, crooking his fingers very deliberately to make Nathan buck against him again, panting. “And you call me evil,” Nathan observed, calming a little when Jack withdrew his fingers in order to roll a condom on and slick himself.

“You make me this desperate all the time,” Jack replied, something serious leaking into his tone as he slowly, inch by inch, sheathed himself in Nathan. “Not just when you tease me, all the time.” Finally sunk fully into Nathan, Jack leaned down and kissed him fiercely, Allison apparently having let go of his hands because Nathan’s arms were suddenly around him, pulling him in closer.

“Me too,” Nathan admitted softly, teeth closing on Jack’s earlobe. “I just hide it better than you.”

Jack groaned as he began to move, trying to keep his movements slow to start, but Nathan was urging him on, tugging his hips and pulling him in faster. Jack felt his control snap, hips moving faster, slick hand pumping Nathan’s erection, Nathan shouting as he came. Jack very carefully slid free of Nathan, squeezing hard at the base of his erection, barely able to catch his breath before Allison had him flat on his back, stripping off the condom and rolling on a new one before she began to ride him. She grinned, pushing Jack back down when he tried to rise, pulling a throaty groan from his lips. He was close, and when Allison leaned down, marking his neck as he’d done to Nathan, sending him tumbling over the edge.

“Uh,” he managed a few moments later, fingers poking at the mark on his neck, surprised.

“Turn about is fair play, Jack,” Allison reminded him, smacking his thigh as she climbed up. “I’ve got first shower while you two recover.”

Jack managed to slide back up to Nathan, sighing as he settled in, teasingly poking Nathan’s chest. “Did I break you? Cuz I’m feeling sorta broken here myself.”

“Go’way,” Nathan mumbled, contradicting himself by burrowing into Jack’s shoulder sleepily. “Not broken, dead.”

Jack chuckled, letting himself drift for a few moments, thoughts feeling hazy. He was vaguely aware of Nathan’s skin, slick and smooth under his fingertips, his hand tracing meaningless designs on the scientist’s back. “Whatcha doin’?” Nathan mumbled, back arching into Jack’s touch.

“No idea,” Jack replied, his odd looped design now sliding lower on Nathan’s back.

“Feels like you’re drawing my mechanical specs for my black hole project on my back,” Nathan wriggled, kissing the mark on Jack’s neck suddenly. “Mmm, look what Allison did,” he teased, tongue teasing over the sensitive skin, and Jack let his fingers clench on Nathan’s skin. “People are going to assume she marked me,” Nathan complained, and Jack playfully swatted at Nathan’s ass.

“Yeah, any brilliant ideas on what I’m supposed to tell people?” Jack countered, though he oddly appreciated Nathan’s wistfulness, the scientist wanting people to know it was Jack.

Nathan rolled him onto his back, covering the sheriff’s body with his own, hungrily kissing Jack. “Tell them your girlfriend is a vampire and your boyfriend is insatiable,” Nathan replied, now peppering kisses down Jack’s throat. “Tell them you got to start your day with amazing sex and they can fuck off,” he continued to kiss and lick at Jack’s skin. Jack tried to say something but it came out as a contented murmur. “Have I mentioned that I think it would be hot to get edible body paint and draw out my next set of schematics all over your skin?” Nathan continued, now making Jack laugh softly.

“As long as you’re willing to clean it up,” Jack remarked teasingly, pulling Nathan back up into a slow, lingering kiss. He pulled back, looking into Nathan’s eyes for a long moment. Since the time loop, Nathan had seemed off. Jack hesitated to call his behavior clingy, but it did worry him. “We’re okay, right?” Jack asked softly, thumb brushing Nathan’s lower lip gently. “My sister hasn’t scared you off, my daughter isn’t threatening you?”

“I’m fine,” Nathan replied, lifting his eyebrows in surprise. “Why?”

“I don’t know, you just seem different lately,” Jack explained. “I don’t know if I can put a finger on it, so I just figured I’d ask.”

“Well, let’s see, your sister makes me four million times more crazy than you do, your daughter last threatened me on Tuesday, though it was more of a ‘if you don’t stop hovering like my dad does’ sort of a statement,” Nathan listed off, giving Jack a quick playful kiss. “And yup, despite all that, still madly in love with you and Allie. Did I miss anything?”

“Go get a shower,” Jack pushed Nathan away as Allison emerged from the bathroom, grinning as Allison dodged Nathan’s hug.

“You’re still all sweaty, get clean and I’ll hug you,” she told him, before casting a wary eye at Jack.

Jack held up his hands, letting his head fall back. “Hey, I’m staying put unless you start something.”

*-*

Zoë was waiting for him with a Vinspresso in one hand and an envelope in the other. “Oh god, what do you want?” he asked, sitting down and trading an all too knowing look with Jo as Zoë handed over the coffee.

“Okay, here’s the thing,” Zoë started, and Jack sighed, knowing this was going to be an interesting request. Zoë tilted her head though, suddenly looking curious. “Whoa, Dad, have a good time last night?”

Jack tugged at his collar, fighting a blush as Jo looked over in interest. “Wow, Carter, your mystery date likes a bite of Sheriff with her breakfast,” Jo joked, waggling her eyebrow.

“My girlfriend’s a vampire and my boyfriend’s insatiable,” Jack grumbled, amazed that it actually made Jo grin, though Zoë choked on her coffee.

“Good one, Carter,” Jo shot back, shaking her head.

“Anyway, Zoë, I promise my mind and ears are open,” Jack guided the conversation back on track, waiting for the bad news.

“I want to revisit me getting a tattoo,” Zoë began.

“No. That was easy,” Jack remarked, and Zoë tugged a single sheet of paper out of the envelope, an official looking form. Jack scanned the contents, which were officially making the marking on Zoë’s stomach a national security risk, and revoking Zoë’s travel outside of Eureka without some form of permanent cover. Of the options listed, Jack had to agree a tattoo was the least extreme.

Jack crumpled it up and tossed it over to Jo. “Get a load of that,” he scoffed, shaking his head. He pulled out his notepad, starting to work.

“Is she for real?” Jo asked, looking pissed after she’d flattened and read the missive. “Zoë, your stomach’s a national secret!” she teased the teen, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, you know, I’m sort of proud of this, I got to help avert global… no, universal catastrophe, even if my idea didn’t work,” she pointed out. “Seriously, Dad, I’m not letting her scoop off the skin and stitch it back up. Can you believe she suggested it?”

“Nope.” Jack set his pen down and tossed the notebook over to Jo. “What do you think?”

“Ooh, can I add a little?” Jo asked, grinning and clicking her pen with a vengeance.

“Go ahead,” Jack replied, folding his hands on his desk, growing serious for a moment. “Zo, you sure you don’t want it removed?”

“Not a chance,” Zoë replied, tugging her shirt up to reveal the tiny starburst. “Come on, Dad, it’s cute!” Jack hated to admit it, but it was very cute, and even worse, looked like a tattoo design.

“Heads up,” Jo tossed the notebook back, and Jack smiled at her addition.

“You’re really going to fight Thorne?” Zoë asked hopefully, and Jack handed her the notebook, smiling as he shook his head.

“Hey, if we have to camouflage national secrets,” Jack replied, knowing Abby would kill him when she found out he’d caved. The sketch had started with him adding a crescent moon, which Jo had looped around to more artistically connect to the starburst.

“Really?” Zoë looked back and forth, amazed. “Wow, you guys!”

“You get it done by Henry, up at GD, and maybe let Jo play with design a little more, make it look really nice,” Jack taking a drink of his coffee. “In exchange, you owe me two extra hours for helping clean up the exterior on SARAH this weekend.” Knowing they would have to talk someone into moving in if Nathan and Alison decided to stick with him, Jack had started subtle improvements so he hopefully would have someone ready to move in before they had to tell SARAH.

“Done,” Zoe agreed, grinning radiantly. “I’ll even volunteer Lucas and Pilar to the effort. Thanks, Dad.”

She hugged him quickly, handing the design to Jo and heading out to school. “Okay, why’d you cave?” Jo asked, looking suspicious.

“She’s got college visits, a school trip to Portland, and Stark’s got her time working at the light observatory down in Berkeley at the end of the month for her internship,” Jack said, opening a file and pulling out a form he needed to finish.

“Yeah, but you could have fought Thorne,” Jo said, looking baffled. “It’s a stupid decision. You’d have won easily.”

“Yeah, and she’d use it to distract us and try to push through redactions,” Jack pointed out, and Jo nodded, dawning understanding on her face.

“Stark gets nothing done without our full backing. She’s trying to split your focus,” Jo concluded, shaking her head in disgust.

“You’re getting it,” Jack replied, smiling. “Politics is a nasty business, and there’s nothing but politics with Thorne.”

“Your dad taught you all this?” Jo observed, and Jack blinked, surprised.

“Yeah, didn’t realize I’d ever told you about him,” Jack said, then narrowed his eyes. “Have you been snooping in my file again, Josephina?”

“No!” Jo objected hotly, folding her arms in a way that told Jack that yes, she had. “Well, not about that. I just had this picture in my head of your dad grilling you for every nuance of a conversation.”

“Yeah,” Jack frowned, shrugging. “He was military brass, a lot like Mansfield, and wanted me to be just like him.”

Jo smirked, heading to refill her empty coffee mug. “Well, I’m glad he failed, Carter.”

“Flattery gets you nothing,” Jack replied, trying not to smile. “What were you doing in my file?”

“Well, you’ve made a joke a couple times about this mystery date being a guy,” Jo admitted, looking awkward. “I didn’t want to tell you I’d kick the ass of anyone who objected till I was sure of if it was possible.”

“Aww, Josephina!” Jack teased her, enjoying the look of abject loathing it earned him.

“I will shoot you,” she informed him. “Anyway, whoever it is, this whole thing obviously makes you happy, so I’ve got your back, Chief.”

“Thanks, Jo,” Jack replied, grinning at her. Inwardly, he hoped that her sentiment would hold true if she found out it was more than one someone. The phone rang, and Jack looked over at Jo, who held out a fist. A three count later, his fingers were showing scissors, Jo was picking up the phone, and her paper had lost all her fingers save one. Jack chuckled, turning back to his paperwork.

*-*

“Can a gentleman treat the most beautiful woman in town to lunch?”

Allison looked up, unable to stop herself from smiling gently when she spotted Jack hovering in her doorway. “Gentleman, huh? I’d rather go to lunch with you,” she told him, closing down an accident report from level 2. “Where’s Nathan?”

“Some non-emergency emergency in the virology labs,” Jack replied, shrugging. “Apparently there are more bugs in a test tube than there should be.”

“Viruses aren’t bugs, that’s bacteria,” Allison corrected him absently, then tilted her head at Jack, a thought occurring to her. “Does it bother you when Nathan and I do that?”

“Do what?” Jack asked blankly. “Bail on lunch to play ‘count the micro-viruses’?”

“Correct you on stupid things like bacteria and viruses,” Allison replied, the computer finishing closing out her work. She stood, stretching a little and walking with Jack out of the office.

“Nah, everyone does it,” Jack replied, shrugging. “Besides, just makes it that much more fun when I get it right. Lava, remember?”

Allison chuckled, letting Jack help her into the Jeep as it gave them a plausible excuse to touch, Jack’s hands lingering a little. “Sometimes I think you do it on purpose,” Allison mused, watching Jack’s face closely for his reaction. He gave her a quizzical raised eyebrow. “Use terms you know are wrong, just to keep yourself slightly apart from everyone else.”

Jack’s face was too closed, too passive, so Allison linked her fingers through his. “It’s not a defensive thing, not emotional like you mean,” Jack replied, shrugging. “My job is easier when people underestimate me, get used to dumbing things down so I can get to the real problem faster.” He smirked slightly, eyes flicking conspiratorially to Allison. “Not to mention, it drives Nathan crazy. Thought he was actually going to do something rash to shut me up earlier when he kicked me out of his lab.”

Allison smiled, lifting the sheriff’s hand to her lips. “You’re good for him,” she observed, laughing at the face Jack made. “He’s changed a lot since coming back to Eureka, and I’m starting to see that I can blame you for part of it.”

“It’s you, too,” Jack said almost automatically, and Allison squeezed his hand gently.

“I’m glad you’ve changed him, glad you’re here,” she reminded him, knowing how carefully Jack tried to make sure he was never in between Allison and Nathan. It was part of why she’d sat back that morning, trying to ease him into accepting what he was being given. “Turn left,” she told him, and Jack did, giving her an odd look. “We’ll pick up some sandwiches at my house then head for the lake,” she told him, smiling. “It’s the perfect day for a picnic.”

“As you wish,” Jack replied, and Allison caught sight of the mark she’d left on his neck.

“So… what’d you tell your deputy when she asked about your hickey?” Allison asked mischievously.

“Exactly what Nathan told me to,” Jack replied wryly. “Vampire girlfriend, insatiable boyfriend, exhausting sex.”

Allison laughed, imagining Jo’s face. “Said it in front of Zoё too, who I’m letting get a tattoo.”

“Now you’re just teasing me,” Allison protested between giggles. She loved the way Jack eased her stress so easily, making her laugh, even when, like until a few minutes ago, she had no idea how badly she needed to relax.

“Nah, check the glove box, Jo and I may have wrinkled it a little, but Thorne’s on a tear. Zoё’s been classified,” Jack added a little too casually, so Allison quickly dug out the paper.

“She… classified Zoё,” Allison confirmed, refolding the paper after she finished reading it. “And you’re giving in because you still feel guilty she got hurt?” She tried not to sound guilty as she lied to Jack, reminding herself that Nathan had to be the one to tell Jack what really happened.

“And because Thorne clearly is angling for distracting me.” Jack didn’t deny it, Allison noted. “Something along the lines of, sure, I’ll declassify your daughter as soon as you stop supporting Stark’s blocking of my redactions.”

“Ah, good point,” Allison agreed. Jack pulled into her driveway and came around the jeep, opening her door for her and helping her out, holding on just a little too long again. Allison barely managed to close the door before she plastered herself against Jack and kissed him soundly.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” Jack groaned, even as he pulled her in tighter. He nipped at her lower lip, drawing her into another kiss. Allison debated stopping, but pulled herself up instead, wrapping her legs around his hips, laughing as Jack spun her around, holding her against the door, and covering her mouth again. “We… should… um,” Jack stammered, pulling away a little. “Lunch, or carry on?” he managed and Allison sighed, sliding her feet back under her.

“Can’t we do both?” she complained, even though she knew they couldn’t manage to escape that long. She sighed, straightening her suit, and smiling ruefully up at him. “Sorry, I got a little carried away.”

“Hmm, I noticed,” Jack remarked dryly. “Just put a bookmark on it for later.”

“I can do that,” Allison agreed, pretending she didn’t feel Jack’s eyes on her as she walked to the kitchen to make lunch for them and that she didn’t add a little swish to her hips for him to admire. They headed out to the lake, Allison guiding Jack to a shaded private bank, set far back from the road.

“So Jo’s come to the conclusion you’re dating a guy but is willing to kick ass to enforce it being okay?” Allison asked after Jack told her about the morning, him leaning against the tall willow, her leaning back against him, stretched between his legs, the long branches hiding them from the rest of the world. “You think she’ll be okay with it being the three of us?”

Jack shrugged, pulling a bit of his sandwich apart. “She said it was because I was happy, so maybe. I don’t want to get my hopes up, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Allison replied, sighing. “You and Nathan are my best friends, so I don’t have quite as much to worry about. I know Nathan’s really worried about telling Henry.”

Jack’s breath huffed, stirring her hair slightly. “God, I don’t even want to think about that. But you know what?”

Allison twisted around a little, wanting to see his face. “It’s worth it even if every last one of them freaks out,” he told her, drawing her into a soft kiss. Allison forced her heart to slow back down, suddenly feeling swamped by her feelings.

“Jack,” she whispered, sliding her fingers along his cheekbone. “Make love to me?”

“Time,” he asked faintly, and Allison kissed him gently.

“Jo will forgive you,” Allison replied.

“I don’t have anything,” Jack observed, even though he was starting to kiss her in earnest.

“Okay,” Allison replied, sliding down his body sensuously, unbuckling his belt and slowly pulling his cock out, stroking him to full hardness. Jack shifted down slightly, laying back on the blanket and bringing her forward to straddle him, his fingers tangling in her hair as he kissed her.

Allison moved enough to remove her underwear and hitch her skirt higher, then sank back down, guiding Jack’s erection inside her, not missing the way his eyes widened, surprised. “I’m on the pill, and I’m pretty sure I know your medical records better than you do,” she murmured reassuringly, shifting her hips in a manner that drew a little noise of contentment from him. “And I want you to do this,” she added, beginning to rock slowly, adjusting so that Jack was rubbing against exactly the right spot as she leaned down to kiss him, continuing her slow slide. She pulled back just enough to watch Jack’s face as she moved, reading the desire and affection in his features with surprising ease.

Allison tried to bite back a soft cry but Jack pulled her down into a kiss, his hips jerking a little harder, pushing her toward orgasm. “Let go,” Jack coaxed her, his fingers sliding between them, the added stimulation too much for her to resist. “Love watching you come apart,” Jack confided in her, slowly rolling them so he was on top, rocking deep into her. “Just like Nathan, hide everything so well, like it when I can see you,” he continued brokenly, and Allison forced her eyes open, watching Jack’s eyes. The intensity surprised her; she’d seen it directed at Nathan upon occasion, and for one moment, she wondered how Nathan could stand such passion, then gave in, letting it crash through her.

Jack continued to rock into Allison, and Allison found herself grabbing at his shoulders, knowing the sheriff was probably grateful to still be mostly clothed as her nails tried to dig in. Jack claimed her mouth again, a little less gentle than he usually was. “Let go,” Allison repeated back to him, enjoying the smile that lit up Jack’s face.

“Allie,” he gasped, thrusting into her several more times before he came, falling forward and burying his face in her shoulder. Allison smiled as she stroked his hair, relaxing as he held her. It took several minutes, but Jack slowly rolled away from her, reaching for a wet nap to clean himself up before he redressed, then handed her the cloth. “Com’ere,” he murmured, pulling her back to him when she had finished straightening up, his kiss still hungry and demanding, and Allison felt herself melt into his embrace.

Almost predictably, Jack’s phone rang, and Allison fought the urge to toss it in the lake when Jack pulled away to answer it. “Sorry, Jo, got caught up in a personal project,” Jack apologized. “I have to stop out at GD but then I’ll be back in to the station. Thanks.”

“I owe her one,” Allison said, stroking Jack’s hair gently back into place. “She likes the ballet, I’ll get her and Zane tickets.”

“How did you know she likes the ballet?” Jack asked as he helped Allison to her feet. “Did I tell you that?”

Allison frowned, searching her mind, only able to come up with an image of Jack gift wrapping ballet shoes. “I just have this picture in my mind of you giving her ballet slippers,” she told him, laughing slightly. “Which is weird, huh?”

Jack was watching her closely, a small frown on his face. “You’re the second person today who used that set of words, had a picture in your mind, of something about me that I never told you.”

“You gave Jo ballet slippers?” Allison tilted her head, remembering Thorne knowing something odd that morning. “I’ll see if anyone else is reporting anything similar,” she told him, frowning. Telepathy wasn’t unheard of in Eureka, though it was more like brief bouts of picking up people’s active thoughts followed by a brain aneurysm, she thought unhappily.

*-*

“Hey,” Jack greeted Nathan, not liking the worried frown on the scientist’s face. The virology lab was suspiciously empty, pinging Jack’s radar.

“That was quick,” Nathan observed, checking his watch. “I just called you a few minutes ago.”

“Was in the building, dropping Allie off from lunch,” Jack aimed for a casual tone, but figured he’d overshot when Nathan gave him a knowing look.

“Long lunch,” was all the scientist said finally, smirking a little.

“This non-emergency you blew off coming to play with us for actually turning into an emergency?” Jack asked, feeling a little flush in his cheeks. Nathan suddenly shifted, the back of his fingers trailing over Jack’s heated cheek. The look on Nathan’s face was so odd, Jack couldn’t help asking, “What?”

“You’re still afraid you’re the extra wheel,” Nathan observed, then shook his head, as though clearing it. “Sorry, I don’t know where that came from, I was just thinking that I hope you still blush that easily in a year or ten years, and then…”

“Let me guess, you had a picture in your mind of something about me?” Jack remarked, then caught what Nathan had said. “Ten years? You’re thinking in terms of decades?”

“Dreaming,” Nathan muttered, not meeting Jack’s gaze. “Idly. Not planning it or anything. Um, the micro-virus.”

“Hey,” Jack interrupted, doing a quick check of the lab before he tugged Nathan to him. “You have any doubts that I love you?” he asked roughly, and Nathan shook his head. “I love that you’re thinking in terms of years, maybe forever,” he told Nathan. “And I’ll catch up, eventually. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Nathan agreed, stealing a quick kiss. “So, the micro-virus?”

“Tell me about your bugs,” Jack replied impishly. “How many are you missing?”

“We don’t know,” Nathan ignored Jack’s attempt at provoking him with a slight roll of his eyes. “They must have started reproducing, because we have more than we started with.”

“Okay, any chance these things could cause um, telepathy? Or contagious memories?” Jack asked, bracing himself for Nathan to mock him.

“No, but that’s a pretty specific question given that Fargo knew something about me he had no way of knowing this morning,” Nathan replied, frowning. “Not just Fargo snooping?”

“Jo and Allison both had moments they described as “picturing” something about me, just knowing it,” Jack replied. “Things I’m almost certain I didn’t tell them. I’m pretty sure you just did the same thing, when you were worried about me. Add in Fargo this morning, and it’s too many to be a coincidence.”

“Okay,” Nathan agreed, nodding. “You’re going to hate this, but you’re first in line for me wanting blood.”

“Vampire,” Jack grumbled, and Nathan leaned in, nipping at the mark on his neck.

“If it makes you feel better, Henry will come draw your blood, since you’re a baby anytime anyone else tries,” Nathan informed Jack, earning himself a glare.

“I guess, just this once, I’ll trust you,” Jack muttered, even though Nathan was already pulling out vials and needles. “Hey, no call for big needles,” he remarked, thinking the needle Nathan had chosen looked awfully pointy.

“Scared, sheriff?” Nathan teased him, stepping in close. “I’ll distract you,” he offered, rubbing a slow circle in the crook of Jack’s elbow, eyes meeting, Jack suddenly caught up in Nathan, barely aware when he slid a needle into Jack’s arm until it was done. “See, not so bad,” Nathan breathed softly, and Jack suddenly had an image in his mind of Nathan watching him from around a corner when he’d woken up from Beverly’s VR therapy device, hiding from the prying eyes of others, but watching Jack, worry warring with a bitter taste of jealousy as he watched Jack accept Abby’s hug.

“You were there,” he murmured, and Nathan gave him a quizzical look as he bandaged Jack’s arm. “You were jealous of me hugging Abby when I woke up from Beverly’s therapy gizmo.”

Nathan gently sealed the tape down, lifting an eyebrow. “This could get really intrusive,” he observed, kissing Jack’s arm playfully. “You ready for the possibility someone could find out about us from whatever this is?”

Jack froze, not having considered the possibility. “Nice change of subject,” he scoffed a moment later, shrugging.

“Jack,” Nathan started, and Jack turned back. Nathan appeared to be debating something, the words stuck in his throat.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jack told him, kissing him quickly. “Anything you think you’ve done that’s so horrible, whatever big bad in your past you’re worrying about, I don’t care, I promise.”

Nathan didn’t look like he believed it, but he went back to jotting down notes. “I’ll send anyone with symptoms up to you, and call me if we do have a problem with the bugs, okay?” Jack needled, a little worried about Nathan’s reaction.

“Micro-viruses,” Nathan groaned, but Jack saw a hint of a smile tugging at the scientist’s lips and considered his job well done.

*-*

The infirmary was beginning to fill up early that evening, and Nathan had one ear pinning his cell phone to his shoulder so he could work and listen to Jack’s report. “That makes our fifth assault, apparently Dr. Finch had an affair with Dr. Greene, and Greene’s wife happened to overhear it from Finch’s head. Finch is getting stitches now, and I’ve got Mrs. Greene in a cell.”

Nathan frowned, suddenly catching something. “Wait, Dr. Matthew Finch?” he asked, and Jack chuckled darkly.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Jack replied. “Any good news for me?”

“The micro-virus, or a highly mutated form of it, is present in your blood,” Nathan told Jack. “The new form looks to be capable of causing the ‘contagious memories’ as you so charmingly put it. I have no idea what caused the mutation though, and until I do, I’m fumbling blindly at how to cure this.”

“All right, can you get me a list of GD’s experiments in mind control, telepathy, any sort of mental screwing around similar to this, maybe even Alzheimer’s research or something,” Jack speculated, and Nathan started generating the list on his tablet. “Uh, and maybe memory devices? You should call Henry in to help analyze the bugs, while I run down the list of people, see if any of their projects could have done this. And have Allison check the section 5 projects that you’re holding back from the email you’re about to send me.”

“You’re getting too good at this game,” Nathan observed playfully. “How will I piss you off if you’re going to be reasonable about classified materials?”

“If one of them turns out to be the source, I’ll be less reasonable,” Jack promised, and Nathan finished the list and quickly emailed it out.

“You should have the list,” Nathan said, looking up as Henry came into his lab, looking a little stunned by the volume of patients just outside in the infirmary.

“Got it,” Jack replied. “Let me know if you find anything, and be careful.”

“You first,” Nathan retorted, handing some data to Henry.

“Love you,” Jack said, and Nathan, hindered by Henry’s presence, stuck to a small sound of agreement, which had Jack chuckling knowingly before he hung up the phone.

“Whatcha got, Henry?” Nathan asked, looking up to find Henry staring at him, eyes wide with an odd sort of shock and a little bit of anger. He felt a sinking in his stomach, afraid of any number of secrets Henry had just picked out of his mind.

Chapter 8

Website Update

2009-05-29T09:50:30Z

Should have gone to bed hours ago, but insomnia has been a bit of a problem lately! At least I'm being productive...

So instead of sleeping, I updated my online portfolio/website (see link to right) with something I should have added ages ago.

Video.

Yup, they're older short film projects I had a hand in writing and producing, 2007-2008, but they are fun (though youtube crap quality)! Especially "Crimes of Passion" which proves with enough caffeine and irreverence, anyone can make soap-opera-sexual-politics-satire. Which we did. In 72 hours, script through editing. =) Good times.

Also, the short film "Masqued" has the most absolutely gorgeous piece of music on final scene, scored by my lil sis. Not that I'm biased, but I do love it!

But They Have Cookies....

2009-05-20T18:05:24Z

Okay, have gone over to the dark side...

You can find me on dreamwidth, same user name.

Or for easy linkage: http://serene-quill.dreamwidth.org/

Have absolutely no plans to stop updating here or anything, just playing with the new toy! =)

And also, for those having Ed Quinn withdrawl...

Ed Quinn in the new Ketel One commercials:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFj3FJlBT8Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65blXBAIQEs

A Modest Proposal, Chapter 6: Do Over I Do Over (Part 3)

2009-05-06T01:24:21Z

Title: A Modest Proposal, Chapter 6: Do Over I Do Over (Part 3)
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, Jack/Allison, Nathan/Allison, Jack/Nathan/Allison
Rating: FRAO
Disclaimer: Don’t own!
Warnings: slash, threesome, spoilers through 304: I Do Over, AU
Summary: Time moves on, until it doesn’t...

Previous Parts can be found here

It turned out that Zoë and Lucas were working on a project that required a vacuum capable of doing quite a lot more than just containment, so they had appealed to Lucas’s uncle, a high ranking scientist at NASA, who had sent them his own prototype vacuum seal chamber. Nathan made sure to insist Zoë and Lucas had points for the project before he ordered it transported to GD and set up around his clock.

“You think this will work?” Jack asked, looking skeptical as they set to work installing the new vacuum seal around the clock. “I mean, my daughter’s science project saving the universe?”

“Uh, it’s happened before,” Fargo observed, hand gestures indicating falling objects. Nathan smiled to himself, remembering Jack pulling the plug on that particular science project before realizing the debris would fall on him.

“Nah, that was just the town, maybe the world,” Jack replied, rolling his eyes. Zoë shot him a faux exasperated look.

“Look, I have something to say,” Weinbrenner burst out suddenly from where he was helping Lucas with the external connector cables. “If the seal fails, if it has to be done manually, I should be the one to do it. I started this mess, I’ll finish it.”

“Dr. Weinbrenner, no one expects—” Jack started to say, but Weinbrenner cut him off, surprisingly standing his ground.

“I expect it,” he insisted, looking over to Nathan. “It’s my mess. I should clean it up.”

Nathan stared at him for a long moment, and then nodded. “Okay,” he agreed, looking over at Jack to confirm the other man would agree.

“How about we worry about it if the seal fails?” Jack said quietly, looking over to where Zoë was helping install the seal casing. “And can’t I return the two of you to Tesla yet?” he objected, wincing as Zoë stripped a cable in front of him to rewire a connection. Nathan checked her work, nodding quickly to approve it.

“Nope,” she replied, grinning. “Our project, we see this through,” she said, sighing. “Besides, if it works, we have to do a full write up for Dr. Stratham in order to get our A. If it doesn’t, the project will be back at Tesla, no harm, no foul. But it would be nice if Dr. Stark—”

“Nathan,” the scientist corrected her from where he was adjusting the clock.

“Nathan,” Zoë repeated, rolling her eyes. “Would write this up for us so we can have extra credit even if it doesn’t work.”

“Good thinking,” Lucas commented, trading a grin with Zoë that had Jack clearing his throat. “Back to work, sir,” Lucas mumbled, and Nathan caught the smile Zoë hid at her dad’s overprotective nature.

“Consider it done, Zoë,” Nathan told her, and caught Jack rolling his eyes, similarity to his daughter scarily clear. “Problem, Sheriff?”

“You, trying to buy my daughter’s affection with extra credit,” Jack remarked dryly. “Just because you gave her an internship does not mean I’ll actually be letting you steal her to work up here regularly. And not ever again during a crisis, even if you do need her to bail you out.”

Nathan smirked, knowing what Jack was actually telling him was that he was doing good. “I’m with you on the crisis clause,” he informed Jack, as close as he could get to admitting if the pair weren’t already so familiar with the system, he wouldn’t have allowed their presence. Jack nodded, understanding his meaning.

“Okay,” Zoë said, sliding out from under the vacuum seal. “Try that, Fargo.”

Fargo hit some keys, and Nathan heard the hiss of pressurizing. “Looks good,” he said, nodding to her, checking the clock. Less than ten minutes, but enough time to run a test, Nathan noticed, finishing clicking the clock connections into the new vacuum casing.

“All right, we should probably test that interface, make sure it’s lined up properly from both sides,” Nathan said, looking over at Lucas and Weinbrenner. “You two all set?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Weinbrenner replied, and Lucas frowned, still inspecting the cables, but nodded.

“Hair boy, what’s wrong?” Jack asked, and Lucas looked up.

“Sorry, sir, but I was just worrying about the feedback that could build up because of the plutonium… you know what, I’m probably being overly cautious, I’m sure it’s fine.”

Nathan paused, coming around to check Lucas’s connectors, but they seemed solid. “It’s just, the wiring seems insufficient to support the potential charge build up should it start pulling energy from the plutonium,” Lucas told him, and Nathan nodded.

“The seal should give before then, but Fargo, add a shutdown subroutine in case we do cause an overload,” Nathan ordered, and his assistant nodded. Nathan walked over to Jack, letting a little of his concern show.

“You don’t think this will work,” Jack observed, voice low in Nathan’s ear.

“I’m worried about the connectors, and the seal still seems like it won’t hold, not for this,” Nathan admitted, sighing. “One of us may have to try the manual route.”

“I hate to say it, but Weinbrenner has a point, and it’s the same bullshit line I let you use on me often enough. His mess, his project, no one else fixes it,” Jack observed, seeing Fargo looking expectantly at them, a little disturbed by their whispered confidence.

“Start the trial,” Nathan directed his assistant, sliding a hand subtly behind his back in order to grip Jack’s quickly, seeking and offering reassurance. He let go a moment later, frowning and moving closer at the odd whine the machine made.

“Is that… is the seal holding?” Jack asked, stepping closer.

“Just barely,” Fargo shouted as the noise grew louder. “I think it’s going to fracture, hang on, I’ll bring it back down so we can shore up…”

The seal didn’t just fracture, it exploded outward in a shower of glass and electricity, the bulk of which caught Jack and Zoë. “No!” Nathan shouted, ignoring the fact that he had a large wedge of glass in his own arm as he flew over to where they had fallen.

Jack was gasping around a shard of glass buried in his abdomen, bleeding but breathing, so Nathan turned Zoë over, seeing that she had caught the electrical blast, her eyes glassy and empty. “Zoë,” Jack gasped, trying to turn toward her, and Nathan grabbed Jack’s hand automatically, keeping his body between them so Jack couldn’t see his daughter.

“Shut it down, Fargo,” Nathan ordered into the eerie silence of the room. “We’ll handle the time loop manually on the next loop.”

“Zoë?” Jack asked again, gasping in pain as he formed the words.

“Stop talking,” Nathan ordered him quietly. Lucas was in shock, silently shaking against the wall, beyond Jack’s sight, and Fargo looked numb. “She’s unconscious,” Nathan lied. “You’re loosing too much blood, Jack. We’ll let time loop, it’ll lessen the wound, and I’ll be able to treat you. Then we come back to deal with time loop.”

“Less?” Jack asked, and fortunately Weinbrenner answered.

“It, uh, it’ll… you go back to your previous self, so the lack of injury plus injury will knock it down to a smaller cut,” Weinbrenner rambled, surprisingly coherent for what he was staring at just past Nathan. “A few loops ago, before thing started bleeding through, you’d have been back to normal. But now you’ll need some laser stitches, but nothing big.”

“’Kay,” Jack managed, gripping Nathan’s hand, sighing. “Light headed,” Jack murmured, clenching at Nathan’s hand. “Check Zo for me.”

“It’s okay, Lucas has her,” Nathan replied, checking his watch. Just seconds now. “Okay, Jack, here we go, I’ll get Allison, and she’ll stitch you up, and…”

There was a flash, and as Weinbrenner predicted, the cut was shallower, glass missing, as they rematerialized in the shower, though oddly, they were still clothed. “Okay,” Nathan breathed, then shouted, “SARAH! Get Allison up here now!”

He grabbed Jack, ignoring the lance of pain in his arm, carrying him into the bedroom and laying the man out on the bed, ripping open his uniform shirt as he did. The undershirt followed seconds later, and he pressed a towel to the still bleeding wound. Jack, perhaps fortunately, had passed out.

“Oh my god,” Allison gasped, turning back to Zoë, who was just a step behind her. “Get the emergency medical kit from SARAH, downstairs in the living room,” she told the teenager, sending her flying out of the room. Nathan sat back, letting Allison take over, his head spinning. “What happened?”

“Weinbrenner accelerated a photon past the speed of light, caused the flow of time to bend back in on itself,” he explained. Zoë hurtled up the stairs, shoving the kit at Allison. “Jack and I’ve been looping in time for several days now. Living same day, over and over.” He sagged, and Zoë paled, looking at his arm.

“Oh my god, get your suit off,” she demanded, running for a washcloth. Nathan struggled to comply, peeling the blood soaked suit jacket off. The dress shirt was ruined as well, so he peeled it off, leaving the wound in his forearm exposed. Allison hissed, wincing at the injury but turning back to cleaning off the wound in Jack’s stomach. “Okay, how’d you two get hurt?” Allison asked, handing Zoë a second antiseptic cloth. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, I need you to look after Nathan. Can you handle it?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Zoë said, taking a deep breath and starting to clean the cut.

“We tried to use Zoë and Lucas’s vacuum to insulate the new plutonium clock,” Nathan told Allison, who was now checking a laser stitch tool. “It exploded, and fortunately we were close enough to looping that it saved Jack. That wound was a lot deeper.”

“Does that explain this?” Zoë asked, tugging up her shirt to show a small black starburst scorch mark on her abdomen. It was surface level, no depth, and judging by Zoë’s face, no pain, but Nathan’s head fell.

“You were hurt,” Nathan admitted, eyes closing. “I got you hurt. I’m sorry, Zoë.”

“Whatever, it’s like a tattoo,” she told him with forced cheerfulness, taking the liquid stitches from Allison. “It’ll give Dad something to freak out about.”

Once his arm was sealed, Nathan tugged Zoë into a hug, amazed by how relieved he felt. He could tell she was surprised by his action, but she returned the hug, face pale with worry. “Okay, the injury translating to Zoë, who isn’t looping, means things are getting worse, universe folding in on itself. Means this is probably the last loop, so we’ll have to let Weinbrenner do this manually.”

Zoë held onto Nathan tighter, watching Allison finish the stitches, sealing off the last edge of the wound. “Is he okay?” Zoë asked, and Allison nodded.

“He’ll be okay,” she replied, first injecting a depressor of pain killers, then a second of blood replenishing nanites, and a final one of antibiotics into Jack’s neck, pressing a shaky hand to her cheek. Nathan said a silent thank you to Fargo for updating the first aid kit with the latest GD tech. “Nathan, why didn’t you reset time manually during the last loop?” Allison asked. “Even if it were deeper, GD could have handled Jack’s injury. No major organs were hit, it…”

Nathan looked pointedly at Jack, waiting till Zoë was looking away, then let his eyes flicker to her. Allison’s eyes filled with understanding, nodding once and trailing off. “So we have one shot at it?” she asked, mechanically checking Jack’s pulse, nodding as she counted. “Good,” she murmured to herself, turning to Nathan expectantly.

“One shot,” Nathan agreed. “Weinbrenner volunteered to be the one to manually activate the particle acceleration.”

“Nathan volunteered first,” Jack groaned, hand instantly going to poke at the stitches as he woke up.

“Hands off,” Allison scolded him, tugging his hand into hers. She carefully started bandaging the wound, apparently satisfied her work would hold.

Zoë let go of Nathan, burrowing into her dad’s arms. “Dad!”

“Did you really just risk the fucking universe for me?” Jack asked wearily, holding Zoë tightly, wincing a little as Allison checked the stitches again.

“No,” Nathan scowled, gently brushing Jack’s hair back from his face. “We’re going to do it manually now, and then the four of us are going to have dinner and answer Zoë’s questions and figure everything out.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Jack agreed, sitting up slowly, leaning on Allison for support.

“You’re not going,” Allison insisted, and Jack rolled his eyes.

“You gonna trust him not to risk his neck?” Jack asked, jerking his head at Nathan, who scowled. “I’ve had much worse, Allison, and I’m not doing the heavy lifting on this one. But if something happens to Nathan and we do squeeze one more loop out of this, I need to know how to proceed.”

Allison was quiet, thinking about it. “Okay, we all go,” Allison agreed.

“Do you still want to try working with the vacuum seal Lucas and I are using?” Zoë offered, and Jack’s grip tightened on her.

“Not a chance,” he said firmly. “You got hurt. And you’re not coming this time.”

“Agreed,” Nathan’s voice was dark, and Zoë blanched.

“Was it my fault?” she asked in a small voice, and Nathan sighed, feeling even lower than before.

“It was mine,” Nathan admitted, reaching out and setting a hand on her head gently. “I let you and Lucas help, and I got so caught up in checking what you two were doing, I slipped up. I should have double checked Fargo’s programming, cleared the lab before starting the test… something.”

“I’d be willing to bet it was no one’s fault,” Allison remarked dryly. “Jack, we’re going to have our hands full with keeping these two from blaming themselves for everything.”

“The flip side is they take credit for everything too,” Jack grumbled, taking the hand Nathan offered to help him to his feet. “I guess I’m going in casual,” Jack decided, looking at the tattered remains of his uniform.

*-*

Allison kept a careful eye on Jack, stopping him anytime he tried to get up out of the chair she’d settled him into when they’d arrived. Nathan and Fargo were installing the clock, Nathan’s movements practiced where they had no reason to be, which convinced Allison of how much Nathan and Jack needed out of the time loop more than any injury or weary look they’d let slip when they thought no one was watching. “Stay put or I’ll sit in your lap,” she hissed at Jack when he started to move. “Do you want me to get you a wheelchair?” she added aloud, and Jack went from flushed to indignant in record time.

“Laugh it up now,” Jack muttered. “When this heals, you’re going to pay.”

“How many times have I explained the dynamics of three people in one bed to your daughter, by the way?” Allison asked in a whisper, and Jack grinned.

“Okay, call it even,” Jack conceded, touching his stomach gingerly. Allison crouched down, untucking his shirt and checking the bandage. “Hey, watch your hands, your fiancé might get jealous,” Jack joked, and Allison smiled, surprised by how amusing the idea had become.

“Not much to get jealous of, Carter,” Nathan smirked across the room at them, shaking his head. “I’m the one saving the day here.”

“And I’m the one with the girl trying to take off my clothes,” Jack replied cheerfully, grinning unrepentantly when Nathan flipped him off.

“We’re all set,” Nathan remarked, handing the tablet to Weinbrenner, showing him the control’s modifications. Allison turned back to Jack, checking his expression to be sure that the sheriff was aware of the most likely outcome.

“Two minutes,” Fargo reminded them, and Allison checked the clock, the possibility that it could have been Nathan, not Weinbrenner, in the accelerator flashing in front of her eyes. She and Jack weren’t strong enough to make it alone yet, especially given how devastated it would leave them.

She looked up, her eyes meeting Nathan’s for a moment, and her heart kicked up a notch, so similar to the feeling she’d had this morning as she patched Jack back together. “Help me up,” Jack said softly. She offered him a hand, watching as Nathan finished the last connector and stepped aside so Weinbrenner could finish his own checks.

“All set,” Weinbrenner confirmed, forcing a smile as the computer announced, “20 seconds till initialization.”

“Sheriff, I’m sorry I got you and your daughter hurt,” Weinbrenner said to Jack. “I guess I just panicked when I was about to be redacted. I really didn’t mean any harm.”

“You fixed your mistake, which doesn’t always happen around here,” Jack told him, shrugging. Allison was amazed at his easy forgiveness, and a cool chill slid down her spine as she suddenly realized what must have happened the loop before.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Weinbrenner said, beginning to input codes. “See you around, Sheriff.”

He finished typing the code, and Allison watched as the numbers continued to roll forward, passing 6:00:00:00. The computer chirped cheerfully, indicating the photon had been successfully accelerated. “Yes! He did it!” Fargo crowed, turning back to the accelerator, noticing what everyone else in the room was staring at. Weinbrenner was frozen in the moment. “He did it,” Fargo said softly.

Allison watched as the scientist slowly dissolved, vanishing a molecule at a time in front of her. Jack looked wearily at her, and Allison tugged his arm gently. “I want you in the infirmary to get checked out,” she informed him, setting her jaw stubbornly when she saw him open his mouth to object. He paused, and she could see him decide to back down.

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed. “Just get me home for dinner with Zoë tonight.”

“Oh, I guarantee that,” Allison agreed, smiling. She followed Jack to the infirmary, keeping an eye on him through the large window overlooking the exam rooms as she waited for Nathan to catch up. He didn’t say anything when he joined her, simply joining her at the window as Jack’s bandage was changed, hooked to an IV of real blood, his blood count still low.

“Jack doesn’t know,” she observed quietly, folding her arms.

“No,” Nathan agreed, eyes fixed on the sheriff.

“Are you going to tell him?” she asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“No.”

“How bad was it?”

Nathan sighed, head dropping and eyes fixed on the floor. “We lost her. I made sure Jack didn’t see. Told him she was unconscious. Time looped, and she’s fine. He doesn’t need to know that, Allie. It’ll kill him to think she was in that much danger.”

Allison sighed, uncertainty settling heavily on her shoulders. “I’ll trust you for now, Nathan, but I think he should know. Protecting him from it doesn’t change that it happened.” She turned, setting a gentle hand on his good arm. “And you have to live with it. You can’t bury it, Nathan, I’ve already noticed how much more attached you are to Zoë.”

“Jack will chalk it up to her being injured,” Nathan replied simply. “It shook me, as it ought to.”

“Nathan,” Allison started, and stopped when she saw the resolute look on his face. “Fine, deal with it your way then,” she told him irritably, leaving him at the window and stepping into the infirmary, signing out an overly eager to leave Jack. “You can take me home with you, but sleeping’s all you’ll be doing on those stitches for about a week,” she informed Jack as they joined Nathan once more in the elevator to the garage.

“A week?” Jack asked, looking over to Nathan pleadingly. “She’s telling me no sex for a week.”

“Don’t want to rip your stitches,” Nathan replied with a grin. “Sorry, Jack.”

Allison smiled to herself as she listened to the other two bicker the entire drive home, mostly playful teasing. She entered the bunker ahead of them, seeing Zoë in the kitchen working on dinner, her smile lighting up the room when she saw them.

“Congratulations, you guys restored space and time!” she greeted them cheerfully. “Well, I guess, unless there’s some sort of weird phenomenon like in string theory where actually every loop continued on, and we’re just the continuation of the latest loop, but then I think Nathan and Dad wouldn’t be here…”

Allison laughed as Nathan and Jack helped Zoë continue her wild theories, softly touching Zoë’s shoulder as she helped her with the dinner, unable to help wondering if she was more attached to Zoë now as well, even if only loosing her in some hazy bit of time and space she knew nothing about.

*-*

Nathan sneezed twice, shaking his head at Zoë’s curious look. “I guess I’ve caught a cold,” he mused, automatically checking his sinuses.

“Great, probably gave it to me just for spite,” Jack grumbled, picking up a sock from the floor and handing it to Zoë.

“Nope, that’s the one Allison couldn’t find before she went to pick up Kevin this morning,” Zoë told her dad, handing it back. “I really don’t want to know why it’s in the living room.” She’d quietly accepted the relationship, though only implicitly approving. Nathan would catch her watching all three of them with an evaluative eye occasionally, still uncertain about the dynamics, and from her glances, he suspected she was waiting to see if her dad would be left out in any way. He’d be screwed if it ever happened, he knew.

“Oh, good, I’ll add it to her drawer,” Jack drawled, giving Nathan an odd look when he sneezed again, three times this time. “Are you allergic to me?”

“Oh, if God would only be so kind as to cure me of you that way,” Nathan snarked, rolling his eyes as he looped his arms around Jack’s hips, kissing his temple before moving back to hold him loosely as Jack worked on fixing his breakfast. “I’m only allergic to one thing—”

“There is an unexpected visitor at the door,” SARAH announced, pulling up the external cameras on her view screen to show a blonde woman.

“Auntie Lexi!” Zoë cried happily, and Nathan saw Jack’s shoulders slump slightly, Jack allowing himself to sag against Nathan for one brief moment before he pulled away completely.

“She’s three days early,” Jack observed.

“Shall I let her in?” SARAH inquired.

“Yes!” Zoë called out as Jack emphatically said, “No!”

The door swung open, and Nathan sneezed again, sinuses now pounding. He hung back by the breakfast bar while the woman rambled something about travel days and astrological signs and some surprisingly sharp words for Jack, who hid his hurt well. His eyes narrowed even further as he sneezed once more when Lexi pulled ‘Grandma Lil’ from her handbag. “Cats,” he finished his earlier sentence, and Jack looked over as Nathan sneezed again.

“Lexi, put the cat in the guest room,” Jack told his sister, rolling his eyes as she headed up, looking affronted by Nathan’s sneeze. “SARAH, do you have an antihistamine for Nathan?”

“No good, I’m too allergic. I need something stronger than she’ll have,” Nathan told Jack, sighing. “I’ll owe you breakfast at Café Diem tomorrow, okay? I need to get in to GD anyway.” He sneezed again, cursing under his breath as he took one of the tissues that popped up out of the wall, SARAH anticipating his need.

“You’re staying with me tonight if you want to get any,” Nathan added in an undertone to Jack, who grinned apologetically. “See you later today.”

With Lexi having vanished up the stairs, Jack didn’t hesitate to lean in and kiss him goodbye, the kiss lingering a little more than usual if Zoë’s soft cough was anything to go by. They were supposed to discuss telling Lexi that afternoon at lunch, but Nathan didn’t see that conversation being likely to happen with her having arrived early. “Be careful,” Jack told him sternly, and Nathan’s cocky grin was ruined by his sneezing.

He made it to the surface, breathing deeply, letting his head clear, and then took out his phone to dial Allison. “She’s three days early, with a cat, called Jack uptight, and was babbling about astrological signs,” he said dryly.

“Oh, are we still playing the guess why Jack thinks you’ll hate his sister game?” Allison asked, sounding a little distracted. “That sounds like a laundry list of how to push your buttons, Nathan, not a real guess. And I thought we agreed, she’s probably just like Jack, not scientifically inclined.”

“I wasn’t playing,” Nathan replied dryly, sneezing once more. “She’s here, has a cat, and babbled out something about travel days and her sign like it was a good reason to show up early, and Jack hides it well, but she knows how to jab at him too well.”

“Damn. Jack wasn’t exaggerating, was he?” Allison sighed, sounding resigned. “Look, it’s just a visit, right? You can behave yourself for a week or so.”

“What’s in it for me?” Nathan countered, grinning as he settled in his car, flipping on the air scrubbers, a Henry upgrade he now really owed the man for installing.

“Hmm, remember about two weeks ago, before the whole time loop fiasco, after you and Jack and I had that big fight about GD materials transport, and Jack and I were making nice to you?” Allison purred, and Nathan felt his cock twitch at the memory.

“Hard to forget,” he replied.

“Well, let’s just say we’d be willing to talk repeat performance, maybe even aim at topping it,” she told him, and Nathan could practically hear her grin. “As long as you behave.”

“And if I don’t?” Nathan couldn’t resist asking, and Allison laughed.

“You don’t, and I cuff you with Jack’s handcuffs and leave you to his mercy,” she remarked. “I’ll sit back and watch.”

“You’d do that anyway,” Nathan accused her, sighing. “Okay, we still meeting for lunch?”

“I’ll plan on it, even if it’s just the two of us,” Allison reassured him. “But knowing Jack, he’ll bring his sister to lunch, give her a cat free chance to make a good impression?”

“Hint taken,” Nathan reassured her. “I’ll reserve judgment for now.”

“You talk with Jack about what happened to Zoë?” Allison asked, but Nathan guessed from her tone that she already knew the answer.

“See you in an hour,” he dodged uncomfortably, and he heard Allison give in with a slight sigh.

“Love you,” Allison said.

“Love you too,” Nathan replied, before snapping his phone shut with a sigh. He put the car in gear, heading back to his own house for the first time in days.

*-*

“Hey,” Jack greeted Nathan and Allison, giving Nathan a wary look as he pulled up a seat at the table. “You freaking out on me yet?”

“Concerned you’re the normal one in your family, Carter,” Nathan remarked, giving Jack a smug look that instantly had Jack relaxing, glad to see the other man was rolling with the oddness.

“Lexi’s supposed to be meeting us here at 12, so we’ve got fifteen minutes,” Jack told them, tapping his fingers on the tabletop and ignoring Nathan’s check of his watch to confirm that it was already past the noon mark. “I’m rethinking the disclosure,” he said softly, looking at the table instead of at them. “I thought… you never realize how much you’ve changed till there’s someone who doesn’t want to see it, huh?”

Jack chanced a glance up, surprised to see a knowing look on Nathan’s face and compassion on Allison’s. “Consider disclosure tabled for now,” she said softly, smiling at him. “And Jack? We see it, and it’s all been good.”

Nathan discretely reached over, pressing his fingers to Jack’s ID bracelet, giving him a small smile as he pulled his fingers away. “Your choice when we tell her,” Nathan agreed, and Jack let out a shaky breath, overwhelmed by the subtle support.

“Hey, Jackie,” Lexi called out, sliding into the fourth seat, nodding to Nathan. “You didn’t introduce me to your friend this morning, rude.”

“Couldn’t stay,” Nathan interjected before Jack had a chance to open his mouth. “I’m severely allergic to your grandmother apparently.”

“Grandma?” Allison asked, looking blankly at them.

“A Tibetan monk told me my cat is the reincarnation of my grandma Lil,” Lexi chirped happily. “Hi, Lexi Carter.”

“Allison Blake,” Allison said, and Jack caught the note of amusement in her voice. “Nathan Stark, my fiancé, who usually fills your shoes for trying to annoy Jack.”

“Aww, Jackie always wanted a big brother,” Lexi replied, and Nathan coughed, choking on his coffee, making Jack loose his composure and choke back a laugh as well.

“I’d have to hang myself if Carter was my younger brother,” Nathan remarked with cheerful double meaning, and Jack was forced to bring a hand up to cover his mouth, laughter about to burst out.

“Hey, familia, can I get some orders?” Zoë asked, coming over to their table.

“Uh, menu?” Lexi asked, looking baffled.

“Never in this place,” Zoë replied, pretending to be scandalized. “Vince can make anything you want. Take a minute to think while these three do their usual lunch negotiation.”

“Thai,” Jack suggested, and Allison tilted her head.

“I’m game, start with hot and sour soup with shrimp?” she suggested and Nathan nodded.

“Red curry and duck, with fried noodles?” Nathan continued, the pass along game continuing. They’d found that once all three had agreed on a nationality, they would each pick one part of the meal, appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Vince, as usual, made each dish to feed a small army, and they would split it three ways.

“Cinnamon Khanom La,” Jack concluded, and Zoë grinned, nodding to Lexi.

“Easiest that’s ever been managed,” she told her aunt. “You want the same, or got something specific in mind?”

“I’m fine with that,” Lexi agreed, looking in amazement at Jack. “Wow, big bro, you actually like this food or just humor your lunch companions?” she teased.

“It’s a much more efficient system than the original proposal these two had,” Allison explained dryly. “I believe their idea of how to settle lunch orders involved borrowing Fargo’s battlebots?”

Jack looked away, pretending to be innocent, while Nathan simply grinned a rather scary grin. “And I’m humoring them, they both love Thai, while I just want the soup and dessert,” Allison continued, and Jack suddenly saw all too clearly why the DoD had wanted her for the political and diplomatic end of Eureka. “So, Lexi, I understand you’ve been travelling with the WHO?”

“She was with her very own Dr. WHO, a total cutie,” Zoë put in, setting coffee in front of everyone, looking surprised when her aunt handed the mug back.

“Just water for me,” she told Zoë, shrugging. “Kicked the coffee habit a while ago.”

“So how is Duncan?” Jack asked, ignoring the questioning look Zoë shot him. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring him with you, he’d have loved this nuthouse.”

“Yeah, we’ve sort of split,” Lexi admitted, biting her lip in a way that told Jack there was more to the story. “So, what’s new with your love life, Zoë tells me you’ve got a girlfriend, been seeing someone. Am I going to get to meet her?”

“Probably not,” Jack replied, glancing over at Allison and Nathan, lips tugging slightly at the ‘clearly aiming for polite’ stare of Nathan’s. “Out of town for the week,” he tried.

“Oh, I’ll be here longer than a week, silly,” Lexi put in, and Jack tried not to wince, then caught Allison hiding a smile at the too similar look on Nathan’s face. “We can talk about that later though. So, Allison, what do you do?”

Jack settled in, glad Allison was playing diplomat and soothed by the fact that Nathan had hooked his ankle around Jack’s under the table, giving him a small smirk as he did. When Allison and Nathan left to return to GD, Jack sat back, looking warily at Lexi. “So, longer than a week?” he repeated, and she shrugged.

“Look, the truth is I left Duncan in a little bit of a hurry,” Lexi told him, drinking her water. “Didn’t want him to find out I was pregnant.”

“Okay, I’ll bypass the pregnancy rant for a moment,” Jack muttered, trying to focus. “It’s not Duncan’s?”

“Oh, it is, but if I’d have told him he’d have done the whole honorable thing, tried to marry me, all that nonsense,” Lexi replied, brushing off the idea like it was ridiculous. “Ugh. He’s better off saving the world, and I’d rather he did it when he wanted to be with me.”

“Lexi, it’s his child too,” Jack remarked with a sigh. “Look, if you don’t want to marry him, then say no, but you can’t just not tell him. I’d be lost without Zoë, and I’d never have forgiven Abby for any time where I didn’t know my kid.”

“I can raise a kid on my own,” Lexi replied, huffing angrily.

“Oh, I have no doubt,” Jack agreed, folding his arms. “And if you tell him, and he leaves you to do it on your own, you’ll have my full support. But you can’t take away his choice in the matter. You can stay, Lexi, but if you haven’t told him in the next couple of weeks, I’ll have Nathan track him down and invite him here.”

“You wouldn’t!” Lexi sat up, looking offended.

“I wouldn’t tell him a thing, just clue him in on where to find you,” Jack continued, and Zoë came over, giving them a weird look. “And you’ll be welcome to stay here for prenatal care, but again, I will track Duncan down.”

Jack knew he was being hard on Lexi, but his discussion that morning with her had told him she was still as flighty as ever, looking for him to be as stern and decisive as ever. “Uh, Aunt Lexi, what Dad’s trying to tell you is that he loves you and is looking out for you,” Zoë remarked, giving her dad a pained look.

“And will make sure if nothing else the father of your child takes care of his financial obligations,” Jack added cheerfully, and Zoë sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

“And at the end of the day is still the pain in the ass sheriff, whether we like it or not,” Zoë tried, and Jack smiled.

“Hey, make sure you introduce your aunt to Lucas when he arrives,” Jack said, picking up his phone as it beeped at him. “He’ll love that almost as much as when you introduced him to Mom. Kid’s a little jumpy,” Jack told Lexi patting her shoulder. “Two weeks, then I track him down. Congratulations, by the way, I’m hoping for a nephew.”

He headed out, ignoring the death glares from the two blondes, sighing as he headed toward the station, seeing Jo join Lexi and Zoë in the cafe. Maybe Nathan would let him hide out at GD for the afternoon.

“Chief,” Jo greeted him when she came back from lunch an hour later, grinning and handing him a Vinspresso, which almost scared Jack more. “Have I told you today that you’re my hero?”

“Huh?” Jack managed eloquently, and Jo shrugged.

“One of my big brothers found out about a year ago that he had a 7 year old son,” Jo replied, nodding to him. “Nearly killed him to find out that way. I’ve got your back… though your daughter’s a little pissed at me.”

“I met Duncan once, and he’s a decent guy,” Jack said, shrugging. “Just figured he deserves to know.”

“Well, when you need a couch to camp on…” Jo trailed off, looking mischievous. “Oh, or do you want to tell me about your mystery girl now?”

“There’s no mystery girl,” Jack groaned, rolling his eyes.

“You know what I find interesting is that your daughter is actually managing to keep her lips zipped on this one,” Jo continued, stalking playfully toward Jack’s desk. “Come on, Carter, tell me!”

“Ha, and everyone in town would know within 2 hours,” Jack replied teasingly. “You tell Zane, Zane can’t resist telling Fargo, Fargo can’t say no to Vince, and boom. I want to have a private life for a little while, just till I’m sure it’s actually going somewhere.”

Jo pouted which quickly dissolved into a sly grin. “Hey, if there’s no mystery girl, is it a mystery guy?”

Nathan entered on the tail end of this and huffed disbelievingly as he sat in one of the visitor chairs, propping his feet on Jack’s desk. Jo looked a little freaked out, so Jack just sort of shrugged, equally bewildered. “Something I can help you with, Stark?”

“No,” Nathan replied simply, raising an eyebrow as Jo backed away cautiously, edging her way to her own desk.

“Okay,” Jack dragged the word out slowly, giving Nathan a blank look.

“Hiding,” Nathan admitted, shrugging. “Thorne had a list of redactions, I’ve decided against redactions, so we’re at an impasse. She has to get me to sign off on these, because after someone made a call to the DoD about security being spread so thin a critical project almost made it out of the building this morning, her blank check suddenly bounced.”

“Uh huh, what’d you have Fargo steal?” Jack asked knowingly.

“Nah, Zane pulled this caper,” Nathan replied, rolling his head back to look at Jo. “He did really well too.”

“I’m sorry, did you just tell me my boyfriend is going to be charged with stealing from GD?” Jo demanded, folding her arms in what Jack recognized as her ‘I must not pull my gun’ stance.

“No, we told the general it was an exercise in demonstrating how redactions had detrimentally affected productivity,” Nathan explained. “I may have also said cut staff meant section 5 was no longer going to be working on that big bad weapon he wanted, just defensive projects.”

“About time,” Jo snorted, rolling her eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you to act like Stark and take control of this situation for weeks.”

“Ditto,” Jack admitted, frowning as Jo started thumbing through a phone book. “Do I want to know?”

“Gotta treat my hero to something special tonight,” Jo told him, grinning. “I imagine Allison will have something similar up her sleeve for you, Dr. Stark,” she added before she picked up the phone and dialed.

“Not her thanks I’m looking for this time, or at least not till later tonight,” Nathan said in a low undertone, his eyes meeting Jack’s, brimming with desire. “8 pm. Take a long dinner break.”

He dropped his feet to the floor, nodding to Jo as he left. Jack frowned, a little curious about the intensity in Nathan’s gaze, but let it fade from his mind as he prepared to fight Jo for who had to take what shifts that evening.

*-*

“Nathan?” Jack called out as he entered the dark house, content that he and Jo had decided to forward all phones to the emergency line, which tended to discourage people from calling the on call officer unless it was actually important. It would, he hoped, buy him enough time with Nathan to enjoy whatever the scientist was cooking up.

He left his gun and his belt in the cabinet just inside the door, his usual habit, pausing for a moment and listening to the oddly quiet house. He headed up to the bedroom, surprised to find a folded note on the pillow. Unfolding it, he chuckled as he read, “Not interested in unwrapping my prize tonight.”

Jack stripped, his brain strategizing where exactly Nathan was and determining that in spite of the silence, he had to be close by. He lay down, waiting, and sure enough, Nathan slid into the room a moment later, lifting an eyebrow. “Wasn’t sure you’d go for this,” Nathan commented, removing his tie and teasingly trailing it up Jack’s torso. “Not how we usually play.”

“I’m all yours,” Jack replied easily, surprised by how relieved he was to have the burden of control slip away for a little while. Nathan’s large hands slid up his ribs, slowly stretching Jack’s arms up over his head and securing them with the tie. “Your prize,” he murmured, and Nathan crushed their mouths together, dominating Jack quickly. Jack was surprised to find himself tugging against the tie a little, used to taking control with Nathan or fighting him, usually giving Nathan the dynamic that freed him from being in his GD headspace. This was different, and for a moment, Jack tensed, uncertain of his ability to simply hand over control like Nathan wanted.

“Shh, let go,” Nathan urged him, mouth suddenly hot on Jack’s throat. Jack arched into the touch as Nathan’s hands ran lightly along Jack’s abs, suddenly aware that this wasn’t just about Nathan. The burdens he’d heaped on himself throughout the day were falling away, world slowly contracting down to Nathan’s mouth and fingers on his skin. He groaned as Nathan’s tongue dipped along the hollow of his throat. On a shuddery breath, Jack gave in to the sensations.

As though sensing Jack’s submission, Nathan wrapped his fingers around Jack’s hard cock, slowly stroking in a way that made Jack whimper, trying to buck into the touch and get real friction. Nathan held his hips tightly though, chuckling as he did. Then Nathan backed off completely, standing and stripping quickly. Jack watched the clothes peel away, eyes raking over the sharp lines that defined Nathan’s muscles. “See something you like?” Nathan smirked, clearly aware of his captive audience.

“Never gets old,” Jack admitted, tugging at his bonds a little. “Even if I do think you should hurry the fuck up and screw me through the mattress now,” he demanded, and Nathan slid back over to press his body into Jack’s. His hands started at Jack’s wrists, gliding slowly down his body, once, twice, three times completing the circuit. “What…?” Jack started to ask, and Nathan silenced him with soft nips along his lips.

“Love the way you feel,” Nathan mused softly. “Love your body against mine.” His hands slid down to cup Jack’s ass on the fourth pass, tugging slightly to position Jack. One hand came up under the pillow under Jack’s head, pulling out a tube of lube.

Jack tried to stay still as Nathan stretched him, but ended up squirming and pushing back onto Nathan’s fingers when they brushed over his prostate. Nathan used his height and weight advantage to push Jack back down, reminding Jack who was in charge. Jack nearly whimpered, but Nathan was pushing into him a moment later, slick cock sliding in slowly, but his hands were pinning Jack’s hips knowingly, preventing Jack from trying to force him to move faster.

“Dammit, Nathan,” Jack started to swear as Nathan continued to move with slow deliberate strokes, just enough to tease Jack. “I’ll—”

His threat evaporated in a groan when Nathan snapped his hips, moving faster now, forehead resting against Jack’s as he moved, movements fierce and hitting his prostate each time, all thought fleeing Jack’s mind. Jack was hovering close to the edge, trying to hold onto his control, and Nathan lowered his head to Jack’s throat, the soft touch of lips and tongue tracing his neck was too much to resist, and Jack let go, coming with a cry. Nathan continued to move, but Jack could see the fragile control the scientist was clinging to. “Your turn to let go,” he murmured, leaning up enough to catch Nathan’s mouth in a hungry kiss, gratified as he swallowed Nathan’s shout.

Nathan fumbled at the tie enough that Jack slid free, arms instantly snaking about Nathan’s ribs. “How’d you know?” Jack asked softly, shifting a little so Nathan could get comfortable.

“I love you,” Nathan reminded him gently. “Being able to tell when there’s too much weight on your shoulders comes with the territory. You do it for me all the time,” he added, kissing Jack’s throat gently.

“You’re too good for me sometimes,” Jack observed, feeling oddly humbled. “Prolly just a good thing I love you too much to give you up.”

“Mm hmm,” Nathan agreed, curling into Jack with a surprisingly tight grip. “Get a little rest, I plan on taking you again before you go home to that nut job.”

“You’re really not going to get along with Lexi, huh?” Jack asked, wondering how often he’d end up in the middle.

“It’s very simple,” Nathan yawned. “You’re mine. I protect mine. No one hurts mine. And whether you’ll own up to it or not, her narrow view of you hurts you. So I protect you. Simple.”

Jack blinked hard, burrowing into Nathan’s embrace, wondering if it really was that simple. “Just this once, listen to me. I promise the world won’t end,” Nathan commented knowingly, and Jack smiled, relaxing and deciding Nathan could be right, just this once.

Chapter 7

Comm Pimping!

2009-05-05T01:57:01Z

Thinks this is the coolest thing ever:

http://community.livejournal.com/whatwasthatbook/

...especially because I'm frequently the one going, what was that book...

Fic: "Snow Day", Eureka, Jack/Nathan

2009-04-29T03:05:37Z

Title: Snow Day
Pairing: Jack/Nathan
Rating: FRAO
Word Count: ~4700
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, much as I wish I did!
Warnings: Yeah, another of the “Allison said no and somewhere, in the following future time” AU. We should name it. I vote for “Bob”.
Summary: For gin200168 on her birthday—Happy Birthday!! When it’s 100 where I live, gin200168 gets spring-- Spring here, snow there. So for her birthday, south and north collide at Eureka’s midpoint!

“Yeah, well, you can go to hell!”

The most annoying part of GD was that the doors couldn’t be slammed when one stormed out, and if ever an exit had called for a slammed door, Zane mused, it was Carter storming out of Stark’s office, past where he was waiting at Fargo’s desk. Fargo flinched as Stark stalked out after Carter, surprisingly ignoring the pair.

He caught up to Carter and spun him around, pinning him against the wall. “Will you stop being a pigheaded idiot and listen to me for two seconds?” Stark demanded, and Carter shoved him futilely, getting shoved back into the wall for his efforts.

“Go on, tell me all about how your science means I can’t do my job, like always,” Carter shot back at him, scowling. Zane held very still, not wanting either man’s attention on him. He was surprised Fargo hadn’t bolted yet, but he seemed to be just as frozen, watching in half horrified fascination.

“You can’t arrest him, end of discussion,” Stark replied, stepping back and pulling up his cool façade. “I wish I could make this easier for you, Carter, but I can’t let you arrest a man for doing his job.”

“Maybe I’ll just start arresting you for failing to police your scientists’ experiments and establish sufficient safety protocols,” Carter said, his tone clearly challenging. To Zane’s surprise, Stark offered his wrists to the other man.

“Go ahead,” Stark replied. “You’ll never get it to stick.”

“No, but it’d make me feel better to slap cuffs on you,” Carter grumbled, and a sliver of a smile appeared on Stark’s face for a brief moment.

“Offer still stands, then,” Stark replied, his wrists still bared and held out, silently offering. Zane was mentally wagering even odds that the sheriff would slap cuffs on the director of GD just to call his bluff. His long shot was on the sheriff giving in to the tension, yanking Stark into a kiss, and then hopefully getting a room. The tension stretched for a long moment between them, making Zane almost afraid to breathe and break it, his long shot looking better. Unfortunately, Carter blinked first.

“Oh, go to hell,” Carter grumbled, striding away.

“Meet you there,” Stark called after him, stalking back into his office.

Once the door was shut, both Fargo and Zane exhaled, and Zane turned, wide eyed, to look at Fargo. “You put up with that often?” he asked.

“At least daily for the past few weeks, if not twice a day,” Fargo admitted, straightening his glasses. “That was actually pleasant for them lately.”

“No wonder you’re so jumpy,” Zane remarked, and Fargo glared at him.

“Hey, I’m not… okay, yes I am,” Fargo sighed when Zane gave him a pointed look. “You would be too if you had my job and put up with all… that.”

“That’s not just hate though, is it?” Zane asked, smirking. “Fargo, I think we’ve got a textbook case of the line between love and hate running too thin.”

“So, what, Stark throwing Carter up against a wall is sexual tension?” Fargo asked, blinking. “Actually, that makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Uh huh,” Zane clapped Fargo’s shoulder, smiling. “I think we just found our next project.”

*-*

“Carter,” Zane greeted him as he entered the station a week later, patting him on the shoulder. Jack looked up, revealing a dark bruise on one cheek, nodding to Zane, who winced reflexively.

“Jo’s on a call,” Jack informed him, and Zane nodded.

“I’m actually on my way to lunch,” Zane informed him, giving him a half smile. “You’re about to get called up to GD, by the way. Fargo and I had some fun. Building will have to be evacuated.”

“What?” Jack demanded, standing.

“Everyone’s so tense,” Zane remarked, smirking. “You know, Lize Mitner was six weeks ago and we haven’t had any fun since then. Call it a snow day.” Given that Eureka was perfectly temperature controlled, Jack decided Zane was being metaphorical.

He almost groaned as the phone went off, and seeing GD security on the caller ID, Jack grabbed it quickly, answering it as he swiftly swung a cuff around Zane’s wrist and attached the other end to Jo’s chair. “Carter,” he said, ignoring the scowl shot at him.

“Literally snow?” he asked, looking down at Zane who shrugged as he examined the cuffs.

“Phase one,” Zane informed him.

“All right, I’m on my way up, but let Thorne… she’s not?” Jack glanced down at Zane, suddenly suspicious. “Stark’s in charge today?” he repeated in disgust, and Zane’s grin grew. “Let him know that I have it on good authority that this is a prank gone wrong, with multiple phases, and he might want to go ahead and evacuate the building and spare us all the headache. And if you see Fargo, cuff him to something.”

Zane had just worked himself out of the handcuffs, so Jack dragged him up and pushed him none too gently into the open cell and locked it. “Wanna explain the scheme to me?”

Zane laughed to himself, lounging across the cot in the cell. “Have fun, Carter,” he replied.

“Uh huh,” Jack said, pulling his cell phone back out and dialing Jo. “Jo, your boyfriend is in lockup, apparently he and Fargo decided it should snow inside GD. I’ll leave his punishment up to you.”

Zane sat up, giving Jack a pained look. “Come on,” he complained, and Jack snapped the phone shut, giving Zane a knowing smirk.

“Have fun, Zane,” Jack mocked, grabbing his heaviest jacket off the hook by the door. He sighed, wondering exactly what was going on, but knowing he had a better shot of getting answers out of the other prankster.

He entered GD, relieved to see it nearly empty, though the accumulation was up to a solid inch or more from what Jack could see. One of the security officers near the door had a firm grip on Fargo. “All right, I can see phase one,” he snapped at Fargo. “What’s phase two?”

“Not my area,” Fargo replied, giving Jack a sheepish shrug. Jack evaluated Fargo for a moment and found it to be true. “I just helped engineer the dry snow.”

“Dry snow?” Jack asked, feeling a little relieved. “So none of the electronics will be damaged?”

“No, it’ll all dissipate without a trace in about 12 hours,” Fargo replied helpfully.

“All right,” Jack groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you would lock him up at the Sheriff’s office with Zane till then, and tell me where I can find Dr. Stark.” He wasn’t looking forward to another round of whatever this thing slowly choking him and Nathan to death was.

“He’s trying to turn off the program down in Dr. Donovan’s office,” the guard told him helpfully, and Jack set off in that direction. He quickly figured out that dry snow was actually very slippery, and he slid a little coming out of the elevator. He entered Zane’s lab, where the snow was almost three inches thick and falling fast. “Any luck?”

Nathan looked up, a little surprised, but shook his head. “None,” he replied, sighing. “It’d take me longer to hack into this than it actually would to just let it run its course.”

“So, what about the whole ‘phase two’ part?” Jack asked, and Nathan shrugged.

“Looks like a clean up procedure of some sort,” he replied. “Means Zane was just having fun with you, Sheriff.”

Jack rolled his eyes at the mocking. “At this point, a non emergency shut down of GD keeping your scientists out of trouble sounds good to me.”

Before Nathan could start bickering, the door to the lab slammed tight, and the familiar drone of a lockdown procedure sounded. “Phase two?” Jack guessed, head falling. He tried his walkie, the familiar dead clicks making him sigh.

“Yeah,” Nathan confirmed with a few key clicks. “Cell and radio signals dampened, electric barrier locks, biological contaminant procedures… shit! We’re stuck till Allison or Thorne gets back and inputs an override from upstairs or the program shuts off in twelve hours.”

“I called Jo, let her know what was happening,” Jack said, surprised that the room seemed to be getting colder. “She said she and Allison would be back in about an hour.”

“Let’s hope Allison comes back here. She was instructed to evacuate too,” Nathan replied. He rubbed his hands together and crossed over to a canister on the wall, tugging out the fire blanket.

“I get the snow, but did they have to make it cold too?” Jack asked, following Nathan to a lab table, where Nathan started a Bunsen burner, the small fire making Jack laugh. “Yeah, great, mini-fire,” he mused, rolling his eyes.

“There’s a fireproof bowl in the bottom drawer over there,” Nathan instructed him, setting the small burner aside. “Then I need you to stop bitching and help me turn over this table.”

Jack pulled out the bowl, and then helped Nathan turn the table over. “Will the smoke trip the alarms?” he asked hopefully.

“We’re already locked down,” Nathan reminded him as he draped the fire blanket to enclose the space, dumped a large box of charcoal into the bowl, started a fire and set at it the open end of the little tent. Jack continued to rummage through the lab, finding a panel of lightweight material. While it didn’t seem like it would do much good, he dragged it over anyway, handing it to Stark along with some heavy tape to seal the blanket a little tighter.

“All this just for a day off,” Nathan grumbled, settling under the tent, opening the panel of fabric and tossing it over his lap and Jack’s as they settled in pressed next to each other.

“Well, if we’d made it out, it’d look a whole lot better,” Jack replied. Nathan frowned, reaching over and removing a tiny silver sticker from Jack’s shirt collar.

“I don’t think we were supposed to,” Nathan observed, looking intently at the device. “This probably triggered phase two.”

“Why lock us in?” Jack asked, leaning in a little closer to look at the chip. “Ugh, god, I bet Allison engineered this. Last week she threatened to lock us in till we agreed to get along, remember?”

“She wouldn’t,” Nathan groaned, but his head fell. “Yes, actually she would.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, looking over at Nathan. “How’s your jaw?”

“Sore, from running into a fist,” Nathan sniped, rubbing the light bruise barely visible through his beard. He leaned his head back, sighing. “How’s yours?”

“Same,” Jack replied darkly. He tilted his head, considering Nathan for a moment, then decided to attack the problem directly. “Why’d we come to blows yesterday?”

“You accused me of trying to get someone killed,” Nathan reminded him, his voice quiet.

“We do that song and dance all the time,” Jack observed, curling inward a little more. “Why’d you hit me?”

“I’m tired of fighting,” Nathan said after a long pause. “I guess I figured that might give me a few days of you avoiding me.”

“Too bad your assistant had other ideas,” Jack remarked acidly. “I was planning to avoid you.”

Nathan was silent for a long moment, then he turned to look at Jack. “So why’d you hit me?”

“Uh, you hit me first?” Jack reminded him.

“You have better control than that,” Nathan replied, a little smug in his certainty. “You should have just thrown me in a cell for assaulting an officer or whatever else you were threatening me with.”

“Then I’d have had to put up with you all night,” Jack rolled his eyes. “I had on call.”

“We gonna be able to get through the next twelve hours without killing each other?” Nathan asked, sounding a little concerned.

“Maybe if we don’t talk,” Jack replied dryly. An idea occurred to him, and he pushed the material into Nathan’s lap. “Stay put, I think I know where I can find something to help.” He slid out from the makeshift tent, biting back a curse as he realized how much warmer the little sanctuary was. He crossed over to Zane’s corner desk, tugging down the concealed Murphy wall cot Zane had for naps, and found a well worn sleeping bag rolled up on the bed. He grabbed it and rolled up the thin excuse for a mattress, and as an afterthought, stole the pillow in case they were stuck until that night. He hadn’t slept well for weeks, though he wasn’t sure he’d do much better when confined to a small space with the source of his insomnia.

It took some maneuvering, but they managed to get the mattress into the small space, over the cold tile, and then spread the sleeping bag out over their legs, the pillow set to the side for the moment.

“Saw it once when I had to wake Zane up. He’s getting almost as bad at going home as you,” Jack explained, and Nathan looked thoughtful.

“Temperature drops too much more, our best bet will be stripping down and sharing body heat,” Nathan informed him, and Jack nodded, having already deduced as much himself. “You gonna have some ridiculous heterosexual freak out, or can we skip that?”

Jack stared at the other man, rolling his eyes at what in any other man he’d have called an idiotic question. Nathan was too brilliant for idiotic, so apparently he really was that ignorant. “You really just think you know everything, don’t you?” he snapped, tugging back his half of the material still in Nathan’s hands.

“Fine, you’re all kinds of tolerant, not threatened, whatever,” Nathan mocked him, huffing.

“What, you going to freak out, Stark?” Jack asked, feeling a little cruel as he jabbed at the other man. “Figured you were better than that.”

“I’d have to be a straight Kinsey zero for that to happen,” Nathan replied through gritted teeth.

“Yeah?” Jack couldn’t help asking, eyebrows lifted in curiosity, heart beat picking up a little as the bottom of his biggest problem with Nathan dropped out, leaving him in a free fall. “I fall at about a 2, actually,” he explained when Nathan gave him a dark look.

“Oh.” Nathan had the grace to look abashed. “I didn’t know.”

“I don’t date much, so how could you?” Jack reminded him, shrugging. “So, you?”

“Don’t really know,” Nathan admitted. “It’s sort of a theoretical thing. Been attracted to men, just never acted on it. I guess that places me at a 1.”

“Ah,” Jack nodded, understanding. Fine tremors were running through Nathan’s body now. He moved over, bringing his body closer to Nathan’s, which the scientist acknowledged with a tiny nod.

“So, what about you?” Nathan asked, and Jack looked at him blankly. “You acted on it?”

“Oh,” Jack shook his head, flustered. “Just some fooling around in college mostly. Nothing serious.”

“Guess I shouldn’t have assumed.” Nathan’s shaking was increasing, and Jack took stock quickly. Unlike Jack, Nathan only had a thin dress shirt covering him.

“No, but I think we’re going to need to table the conversation for now,” Jack observed, tugging a hand free of his jacket and setting it on Nathan’s forehead. “You’ve already got a little fever, Nathan,” he murmured, pulling the cloth away and helping Nathan up to a crouch. “Let’s get this bag laid out and you inside,” he said. Nathan helped him, but his fingers were icy when they brushed Jack’s. “Clothes off,” Jack ordered, stripping off his jacket and muttering a curse. “I will kill Zane and Fargo when I get my hands on them,” he complained, shirts and pants joining his jacket on top of the bag to help insulate them.

Nathan, he noticed, was fumbling with buttons on his shirt. “I’m too cold to worry about this offending you,” Jack informed him, reaching over making quick work of the buttons. Thinking quickly, he also unhooked Nathan’s belt with trembling fingers, glad it was too cold for certain portions of his anatomy to react. This was the stuff of fantasies he usually didn’t even let himself think about, squelching the attraction as hard as he could back into his subconscious. Down to his boxers, Nathan slid into the bag quickly, and Jack added Nathan’s clothes to the insulating layers then covered it all with the lighter material. It was slower going for Jack, easing his body along Nathan’s, hissing as icy fingers hit his chest.

“Dammit, you’re going to get sick from this,” he observed, grabbing Nathan’s hands and tucking them under his arms, trying to ignore the burst of chill along his ribs.

“Didn’t know you cared,” Nathan aimed for indifference, but was burrowing in closer to Jack eagerly.

“You strike me as getting whiney and needy when you get sick,” Jack rolled his eyes, relieved that the cold was preventing his body from getting ideas as Nathan wiggled into a comfortable position. “Just not wanting to nurse you myself.”

“There’s a thought,” Nathan huffed, and Jack was glad to notice the shaking had eased up. “God, we’re going to be stuck together like this for twelve hours,” he moaned, his too cold nose falling into Jack’s shoulder.

“Leaves us with two options,” Jack said, fighting to stay still and not pull Nathan tighter against him. “Sleep or neutral conversation topic.”

“You think we can find a neutral discussion topic?” Nathan asked, voice muffled by his lips rubbing against Jack’s shoulder.

“Tell me a story about you as a kid,” Jack suggested, genuinely curious now that their mutual secret had opened all sorts of possibilities in his mind.

“You first,” Nathan retorted, suspicious.

“Fine, but is there anything about me you don’t already know from my file?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, how did you score a 1520 on your SAT?” Nathan replied. “That’s a seriously high score, given…” he broke off, apparently trying to avoid an argument.

“Given my IQ?” Jack finished knowingly. “You know, you’re the third person to ask about that. I’m good at standardized tests, that’s all.”

“Then you should have done better than average on a written IQ test,” Nathan sounded intrigued, and Jack sighed, knowing he would be called on it if he lied.

“Look, the thing is, I didn’t really… try… at all,” Jack admitted, shrugging. “I only told Zoë my score to make her try harder. Which it turns out was totally the wrong tactic because 111 is average.”

“Didn’t try?” Nathan said skeptically.

“Filled in random designs on the last third,” Jack flushed, shrugging. “One of the test proctors was this really hot student teacher who my friends had but I didn’t, so I was a little… sidetracked.”

Nathan was shaking again, and Jack realized a moment later that he was fighting laughter. “Yeah, glad to amuse you,” Jack rolled his eyes, taking one of Nathan’s hands in his and checking the fingers carefully, glad to feel they were warm again.

“I check out okay?” Nathan asked sardonically, tucking his hand back against Jack’s side.

“Fingers are warmer,” Jack replied, closing his eyes to gather his own patience. He tucked his fingers back down into the sleeping bag, resting next to Nathan’s stomach, ignoring the itch to touch. “You’ll be fine.”

“Sleep?” Nathan offered, and Jack nodded, glad for the excuse to stop talking, his heart racing too fast from the attraction. “Turn over,” Nathan suggested, and Jack carefully complied. Nathan pulled Jack into his body, spooning them together. Jack shifted a little, tucking his head to one side. Nathan’s hands splayed once more over Jack’s chest, sliding until they landed, one just over his heart, the other low along his hip, apparently getting comfortable, Jack told himself, trying to quash the erotic feeling.

“Hey?” Jack asked softly, and Nathan’s grip tightened almost reflexively. “The other day, when I threatened to arrest you instead of your scientist. Would you really have let me?”

“Yeah,” Nathan replied simply.

“Why?” Jack pressed, and felt the exhalation that accompanied the sound of frustration, warm on the back of his neck.

“Because you were looking for someone to blame. Because you were being irrational and I needed you to calm down. Because I’m a kinky bastard who likes the idea of playing with your handcuffs,” Nathan joked, and Jack snorted.

“All right,” he laughed, nestling a little. He drifted off, a little voice nagging at him that this was way too comfortable.

Jack woke a while later feeling hot, almost feverish, turning instinctively into Nathan’s embrace, legs tangling, groins clashing, torsos pressed together, lips inches apart. Jack froze, realizing Nathan’s eyes, pupils blown wide, were fixed on his. He was aware first of how unbearably hard he was, about to stammer some excuse, when he realized Nathan was just as aroused. Nathan stared at him for a moment more, before he closed the distance between them, fiercely kissing Jack.

Jack opened under the pleading tongue, wrapping his arms around Nathan’s neck and sliding against him wantonly. Nathan slowly ran a hand down Jack’s back, sliding over skin slick with sweat as his hand snaked its way to Jack’s boxers and tugged them off. Jack wanted to return the favor, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of his grip or stop demandingly kissing Nathan. He wasn’t sure how Nathan had done it himself, but suddenly he gasped as his erection brushed against Nathan’s. Too fast, need to talk about this, can’t just— a little warning voice in his mind tried to object, but months of fighting and sniping suddenly transformed into foreplay in his mind, allowing him to silence his worry and focus on Nathan’s touch.

The rhythm was slow, agonizingly sliding together, clashing against the frantic, demanding kiss that fought over dominance. Jack ceded control as he cried out softly as he came, and Nathan rolled him onto his back, pressing him into the mattress as he followed Jack over the edge.

Jack clung to the scientist, waiting for his breathing to settle again. Before he was there, Nathan raised his head, bringing his lips down to Jack’s in a soft, searching kiss. Jack melted, letting the sensation roll through him. Nathan pulled away, a question clear in his eyes. Jack reached up, stroking Nathan’s face gently. “Is this what we’ve been fighting about lately?” he murmured, curious. “Jealousy and hurt and need?”

“And wants,” Nathan added, his grip on Jack tightening. “God, I’ve wanted you. Half crazy trying to drive you away because it’s going to kill me when you walk away.”

“What makes you think I’m going anywhere?” Jack demanded, insulted despite the fact that he’d been thinking Nathan would do it to him.

“You won,” Nathan observed angrily. “Allison told me no. She’s all yours.”

“Can I get a trade in for a bad tempered, sexy scientist currently making me crazy?” Jack asked, half incredulous. “Or do I need to break out my handcuffs and spend some time convincing you that we should make a really bad choice and try to make a go of this?”

“You want…” Nathan trailed off, rolling to the side, tugging Jack with him. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I want you in my bed when we get out of here,” Jack said firmly. “I want to take you to dinner, have a real date.”

“Why?” Nathan demanded, something akin to pleading passing through his eyes briefly.

“I’ve wanted you in my bed since I got a glimpse of you half naked in an infirmary bed two years ago,” Jack informed him bluntly. “I’m lucky the things I’ve dreamed about doing to you weren’t broadcasted to the whole town when you hooked up that damn spectrometer. You’re brilliant, sarcastic, get me running so fast I don’t know how to stop until I’m loosing my control and almost throw you up against a wall and kiss you senseless, especially if it’ll shut you up. You’re right, it started with Allison, but it was always you too. And that night when we went through GD, I realized if I could only have one of you, it’d be you.”

Nathan was staring at him, looking completely inscrutable for a long moment. The next thing Jack was aware of was Nathan pulling him into the most intense kiss he’d ever experienced. “Hey,” Jack complained, pushing Nathan back suddenly. “You don’t get off that easy. What do you want?”

“It’s really simple,” Nathan informed him, fingers tightly gripping Jack’s shoulders. “You, all mine, until we can’t stand each other anymore. I want you in my bed. I want everyone to know it, too.”

“Done,” Jack agreed easily, moving to resume the kisses, frowning when Nathan stopped him, a mischievous grin in place.

“And I want you to take a real IQ test,” Nathan informed him, and Jack’s head fell back.

“Why?” he demanded, closing down. “Hoping I’ll prove to be smart enough for you after all?”

“No,” Nathan denied fiercely, tugging on Jack’s arm. “Because it would do you a world of good to know how smart you really are. That you do stack up pretty well against everyone in this town.”

Jack sighed, shaking his head. “Not if there’s any chance Zoë finds out about it. She only scored a point higher than me, and I want her to stay on track.”

Nathan frowned at him, looking confused for a long moment, then suddenly Jack saw comprehension dawn on the other man’s face. “Oh, Jack,” he murmured, pulling the man into a fierce kiss. “I’ll hold off until you’re ready then.”

“Just on the test thing, right?” Jack asked, half sitting up in panic.

“Of course,” Nathan replied, pulling Jack back down to him. He looked at his watch, smiling at Jack hungrily. “We’ve still got a few hours till Zane’s program runs its course, and I think we just came up with a really good third option to kill time.”

“I like the way you think,” Jack replied, pulling Nathan back down into a fierce kiss.

*-*

“Rise and shine, boys!” Jack slammed the bars of the jail cell, startling both Zane and Fargo awake. “You’ve got two options. One, you stay in here all night and Jo cuts you off for sex for the next three weeks.”

“I like that one,” Fargo remarked, dodging a swat from Zane.

“Jo, come on,” he groaned. The deputy folded her arms, looking expectant.

“Option two, you tell me what the hell you were thinking locking Stark and I in GD in hypothermia inducing conditions and if the answer is good enough, you’re out of here and only have to deal with whatever punishment Jo has worked up for you.”

“Oh, believe me, it’s good,” Jo purred at Zane, who groaned.

“You’re totally going to bail on me!” Fargo accused Zane, who sighed, looking between the two law enforcement officers and then back over to Fargo.

“Can I get a deal for him too?” Zane asked, giving Jack a pained look.

“Fargo goes when you do,” Jack conceded, rolling his eyes.

“We were tired of you and Dr. Stark fighting,” Fargo informed him promptly.

“So you lock us in a room, maybe,” Jack insisted. “Hypothermia?”

“We were sort of hoping,” Zane shifted uncomfortably. “Well, that is we sort of thought maybe you could… ah, resolve some of the unresolved sexual tension?”

“Oh, so the freezing us was to get us together?” Jack deduced, turning to Jo. “You buying this?”

“No,” she replied, and Jack grinned when Zane started sputtering. “They aren’t smart enough to have worked out that on their own.”

“We so did!” Fargo insisted. “Well, Zane mainly pointed it out and got me to help him plan it all out.”

“Not Allison? Thorne?” Jack remarked, and they both gave him blank looks. “Huh, guess I was wrong.”

“Sorry, Carter, I thought it was Allison-devious too,” Jo admitted, picking up the key to the cell. “Anything else?”

“Not from me,” Jack said, sitting on the edge of his desk and looking over to the open doorway. “Nathan?”

“Nope,” Nathan replied, stepping into the station and crossing to lean against the desk next to Jack. “Can’t believe they actually masterminded this,” he remarked.

“I can’t believe it worked,” Jack countered, enjoying the open mouthed shock when the three heads spun in their direction. “Shall I let them go?” he asked Nathan, who nodded, as he wrapped an arm around Jack’s waist, leaning in and kissing him quickly.

“All right,” Jack murmured when they broke apart, clearing his throat and composing himself, nodding to a smirking Jo. “Get them out of there, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” he said, and Zane watched, grinning, and the two men left, bickering playfully in hushed tones, hands linked together as they walked.

“We did good,” he crowed, smiling at Jo. “And neither of us cracked, although no one mentioned Fargo and I ending up in lockup when we brought you in on our plan!”

“Come on, I’ll make it up to you,” Jo replied as she unlocked the door. “Fargo, if you’ll call Allison and let her know we can call this mission accomplished?”

“On it,” Fargo agreed, grinning. “Can’t believe we pulled this off.”

Just outside the door, Nathan grinned triumphantly. “I told you Allison was in on it.”

“You’re a very smart man,” Jack rolled his eyes, tugging Nathan close. “Now shut up,” he added, kissing him fiercely.

Amazon Fail!

2009-04-13T00:25:48Z

A break from the usual lightness and fic to bring you AmazonFail!

If you haven't heard about Amazon.com's epic FAIL, here's a link:

http://birdbrainbb.net/2009/04/12/amazon-rank-amazonfail/

Guess Amazon doesn't need my crazy business! I'm with the people pushing for a boycott! Censorship, especially when it lumps all GLBT material as "adult" this way, pisses me off.

Fic: Siren's Tears, Jack/Nathan, Eureka

2009-04-10T02:37:47Z

Title: Siren’s Tears
Pairing: Jack/Nathan, mention of past Jack/Dr. Hood
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 8200
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, but the original bunny did come from staff writer Eric Wallace wanting to do but not getting to do an episode about fears manifesting themselves.
Warnings: Disturbing or potentially frightening images, slash, AU- belonging to the general “Allison said no and life went on” AU, tissue warning, character death of original/non-canon character.
A/N: Thanks to vakair_dar for the beta work! Wanted to do horror fic last Halloween, dug this up recently and it finally came together. Inspired by Eric Wallace wanting to do episode about fears being exposed but not getting to.
Summary: It was an utterly useless discovery, except for torture and terror, so she emptied the vials of the chemical in the fountain, went home, and poured herself a drink. The fire, burning the last of her useless notes, was cheerful, making it easy to miss the dark fog that curled sinuously under her door…

Most weeks, Dr. Jennifer Tuska loved her job in Eureka. She’d been brought to the small town by her father, a brilliant student before World War II had seen him and his tiny family shuffled away into a concentration camp. He’d met her mother there, and after the war, the two had gone on to study human behavior. Though they never said it, Jennifer knew they were searching for answers. When her mother died, her father’s studies had turned to dissecting the psyche to look for the soul, and Jennifer had followed in his footsteps, though her work had taken her into biochemical engineering.

Her latest research was a powdered chemical called “Siren’s Tears” which she was having reservations about continuing to develop. The cages for white rats around her were now empty, the shell shocked little animals all removed discreetly to Taggart’s lab that morning. He’d handed the results to her, and informed her that he would remain silent on what the chemical had caused if she chose to destroy it.

Most of GD had gone home for the night, and she bit her lip, eying the substance warily. An autopsy photo of a shredded heart, the fangs of the rat barred and snarling above the open chest cavity, stared at her accusingly. She carefully tucked the photo into the file, staring at the vial of her compound. There was only one way to be sure, she decided, setting her goggles on her nose and carefully measuring out a single grain of the compound and tucking it along her gums.

The hazy field stretched out to a barbed wire fence, which she reached for. Her hand was crushed suddenly under a heavy baton, her fingers mangling under the impact…

Tuska jerked out of the hallucination, her heart racing like she’d just sprinted several laps in her pool. The image was from a nightmare she’d had several times when she’d asked her mother about her deformed left hand, a souvenir of Buchenwald. It was one of her worst fears, and she rinsed her mouth, fearing any extra trace of the compound lingering in her mouth. Her heart was still racing too quickly, painfully so, and she grabbed a syringe of Ativan and injected herself. She gasped, breathing carefully. That had been barely a tenth of the dose she’d given the rats.

“All right, gotta get rid of it,” she said, pushing her hair back out of her face as she did. Sending it through the GD disposal system would leave a record as well as a chemical analysis on file. As her mind raced, she dimly recalled Dr. Fargo telling Dr. Stark that the fountain in Copernicus Park had to be closed because it had been severely over chemically treated. That much chlorine would definitely neutralize the compound she’d created. She gathered up the last of her notes, wiped her whiteboards clean, and gathered up the only six vials of “Siren’s Tears”.

She tensed when she passed the sheriff, looking annoyed as he strode in, a familiar proposal rejection form from Stark’s office clenched in his hand. “Dr. Tuska,” he greeted her, his smile not quite even. “Do you know where the arrogant ass you call a boss is?”

“Dr. Stark’s in his office,” she told him, breathing deeply, knowing she had every right to destroy her work if she chose. It was just that something about the sheriff always made her feel like she was doing something very wrong, even when she wasn’t.

“Thanks,” the sheriff muttered, barely sparing her a glance as he headed after the head of GD. A lesser woman might have been offended, but since she had nearly $200 on the pair in Vince’s pool and pinned the date of them realizing they actually wanted to find the nearest horizontal surface and have at it within the next week, she simply crossed her fingers and headed for Copernicus Park.

She walked to the fountain, staring at the chemical, suddenly uncertain. Was she acting rashly? She sighed, looking up and noticing Taggart standing just inside the tree line across the park, an unusually solemn look on his face. It stiffened her resolve. It was an utterly useless discovery, except for torture and terror, so she emptied the vials of the chemical in the fountain, went home, and poured herself a drink. The fire, burning the last of her now useless notes, was cheerful, making it easy to miss the dark fog that curled sinuously under her door…

*-*

“Stark,” Jack greeted the scientist as he strode into the office, not bothering to knock on the door.

The other man closed down the holographic image he was working on with a thought, turning his glare on the sheriff. “The answer is still no,” he growled at Jack, who nonchalantly plopped himself down on the couch.

“Then I’ll just stay right here until you change your mind,” Jack replied cheerfully. “Come on, would it really be so bad?”

“Yes,” Nathan ground out, glaring at Jack. “And even if it weren’t a bad idea, I don’t want to.”

“You sound like you’re two,” Jack retorted, settling in on Nathan’s couch. “You don’t have to come, Allison already said she’ll be in charge of the whole thing. Besides, I like Halloween. Just sign the damn forms and let the rest of us have fun.”

“Nationally recognized holidays only,” Nathan quoted regulation at him, making Jack groan.

“What? You have moral objections to pagan holidays? You hate candy?” Jack guessed, tossing one of the throw pillows in Nathan’s direction. “Clowns freak you out? Can’t find a date?”

“No, definitely not, did you see ‘It’, and I could land anyone in this town, thank you,” Nathan replied archly as he easily caught the pillow and set it aside. “Just don’t feel like breaking the rules for what has to be the most ridiculous holiday of the year. Well, second most. People in this town turn into simpering morons over Valentine’s Day.”

“Yeah,” Jack drawled, folding his arms. “Apparently I wasn’t too far off on the date lacking part.” He grinned when Nathan shot him a horribly dark look. “Come on, tell me who she is, and as long as we’re not talking about the impossible—”

“Allison,” both men chorused together.

“I’ll help you figure it out,” Jack concluded. In the past year since Allison had spectacularly shot them both down and made a mess of their egos, the two had worked something like a friendship into the quieter moments of their lives. It worked well for Jack, especially since it had meant that while their arguments were still as heated and volatile, they cooled down more quickly and ended up spending time together afterwards apologizing.

Zoë had started a Sunday night movie tradition- every Sunday night she invited Nathan over to watch a movie with them when they “just happened” to run into him at Café Diem as he was picking up enough food for a small army, and he accepted, all pretending as though they didn’t all know he had planned on joining them anyway and that the food was to be shared between them. It didn’t mean that either man had stopped taking every excuse to needle the other, as they both seemed to enjoy it so much. “I get you your date, you give me my Halloween party,” Jack bargained.

“It’s not Allie, but still impossible,” Nathan lounged against his desk, looking speculatively at Jack. “And who said it’s a she?”

“Really?” Jack asked, sitting up a little straighter in interest. His heart was thudding a little, but he kept his voice neutral. “Huh.”

“What?” Nathan asked suspiciously.

“Just thought you said you could land anyone in this town,” Jack replied. “Didn’t figure you’d let something as trivial as gender deter you.”

“Trivial?” Nathan asked, arching an eyebrow. “Really, Sheriff?”

“Weren’t you the one who made the comments about Dr. Hood and I a couple months back?” Jack asked, frowning despite his teasing tone. “Thought you had me all figured out.”

“You actually had a date with Hood?” Nathan asked, eyes widening. “I was just giving you a hard time, Jack.” He paused, puzzling it out. “Nah, I stand by what I said. You can do better.”

“That’ll teach me to assume you’re judging my dates, even if I am usually right,” Jack groaned, hope suddenly blossoming in his mind. “Come on, let me set you up and give me my Halloween party.”

“It’s still impossible,” Nathan remarked, but his explanation was cut off by an alarm sounding, gas masks dropping from the ceiling. He tossed one at Jack, who scrambled to his feet and tugged it on. He pulled up the GD system as he pulled his own on, frowning when he saw a dense fog creeping through the town. He sent the image up to the main screen in his office to assuage Jack’s curiosity.

“We’re shut down because of fog?” Jack remarked, rolling his eyes. “What’s the catch? ‘Cuz I saw ‘The Mist’, and if there’s giant bugs out there, so help me Nathan, I’ll…”

“Seems like it’s laced with some sort of chemical,” Nathan broke in, frowning. “And it appears to be some sort of hallucinogen.” He sighed, his head falling forward a little. “A fear toxin. Could be someone’s idea of a Halloween prank, which makes this one all yours.”

“Oh shit,” Jack cursed, seeing a woman near Café Diem screaming and flailing on screen. “People will be hallucinating fears?”

“Yeah,” Nathan confirmed. Suddenly his eyes lit up in horror. “Oh god, the holographic interface that Fargo has been testing is still online.”

“So?” Jack asked, not following the other man’s train of thought.

“So the test subjects who were exposed? Their hallucinations are going to start manifesting. They’re going to be on the same brain frequency as the active thoughts that they were trying to project into the system,” Nathan explained, his voice calm, though his fingers were flying over keys, pulling up Fargo’s files.

“That’s over 100 people, and it includes you and me,” Jack observed, groaning and digging his phone out. “Knew I shouldn’t have let Fargo mess with my brain,” he grumbled as he dialed Zoë’s phone, relieved when she answered.

“SARAH just locked Pilar, Lucas and I in the bunker,” Zoë informed him, sounding annoyed. “What’s going on?”

“Just stay there unless you want to live your worst nightmares,” Jack replied darkly. Zoë made a little eep, which reassured him she would stay put. Catching Nathan’s disapproving look, he rolled his eyes. “What? I was making sure she’d stay put. She’s got one of the holographic chips in her brain too, and I don’t want zombies in this nightmare, thanks,” he informed the scientist, who shook his head.

“Try Lupo,” Nathan suggested, and Jack did, the phone going straight to voice mail. He tried his radio a few times, but got no reply.

“No help there,” Jack said, looking at his silent phone. “Look, by now, anyone unaffected would have called me if they were able. We’re on our own.”

“I’m not…” Nathan swallowed, looking at the screen.

“You’ve got a mask,” Jack reminded him irritably. “Just what are you so scared of?”

“Forget it,” Nathan snapped, opening a drawer and grabbing several bottles of clear liquid and putting it into his shoulder bag. “Look, first we should probably shut down the holographic system. The control for it is in a lab out near Copernicus Park.”

“First, let’s pick up tranq guns from Taggart’s lab,” Jack replied. “We could be looking at a world of hurt and violence if you don’t have an antidote.” One look at Nathan told him what he suspected. “Don’t even know what caused it, do you?” Jack asked.

“No,” Nathan replied, frowning. “It’s unlikely it’s a GD project. But tranqs are a good idea, and any more Ativan we can find.” At Jack’s blank look, he explained, “Slows the heart down. We know it’s possible for people’s hearts to stop or rupture under the pressure of intense fear.”

“Great, just great,” Jack grumbled as he shouldered open the door to Taggart’s lab. He rifled through Taggart’s gun collection, handing a holster with two small hand gun tranqs, and a high powered rifle to Nathan. He withdrew his own sidearm and replaced it with a pep gun.

“Should you maybe hang onto an actual gun?” Nathan asked, frowning. “This could get ugly.”

Jack sighed. “I’ve still got one in my ankle holster and…” he paused to count, then continued, “Four knives on me. Any other questions?”

“And here I thought your deputy was the only one over-armed,” Nathan remarked, finishing cleaning out the clear bottles in one of Taggart’s drawers, and Jack checked the rifle before slinging it over his shoulder. “Ativan,” he answered Jack’s unspoken question. He pulled out a drawer, and a photo caught his eye. “And I think we need to find Taggart,” Nathan held the photo out to Jack, who sighed.

“It’s always him or Fargo, isn’t it?” Jack asked setting the photo of dead, traumatized rats aside.

Jack led the way back up to the atrium, where fog was starting to seep through the outer barriers. “Get a mask on,” he shouted at a scientist who had apparently ignored the quarantine alarm.

“Oh god,” the scientist was pointing at nothing for a moment, but as he flailed, flickers and energy formed, and the room filled with snakes, looking like something from an Indiana Jones movie Jack had seen once—once had been enough. The scientist was now on top of a chair, which did little good, as a holographic snake flickered to life, draping itself around the man’s neck.

Jack pulled the mini tranq gun and shot the man, who swayed. He hurried forward, catching the scientist as he fell, lowering him to the floor as the snakes vanished. Nathan checked his pulse, then pulled out a needle and carefully measured out a low dose of Ativan. He checked the pulse again, sighing. “He’ll be out for a while, but for all I know, he’ll just start hallucinating again when he wakes up.”

A few medical personnel had made their way up to the atrium and took the scientist up to the infirmary. “Doesn’t GD have some sort of filtration system?” Jack asked, frowning at the curls of fog.

“Should have kicked in with the alert,” Nathan confirmed. He tugged out his phone, dialing a few numbers before he finally found a scientist who had gotten a mask on in time and agreed to try and clean out GD, in order to turn it into a safe zone to send people back to.

“All right,” Jack said when Nathan finished barking orders and they headed for the parking lot. “Straight to the projection system, or stop along the way to treat with Ativan?”

“Those holograms could inspire some pretty horrific panic…” Nathan started to say, but they stopped, spotting a woman lying crumpled on the ground. Jack watched Nathan search for a pulse, but the scientist shook his head. “We stop along the way,” Nathan said simply, still staring at the woman.

Jack nodded, squeezing the other man’s shoulder, both to comfort and to get him moving again. Nathan’s hand came up to cover Jack’s, accepting the touch for one brief moment before standing. They made it to the Jeep, and Jack drove slowly, the fog growing thicker. Barely 200 yards down the road, Dr. Young flung herself in front of the Jeep, arms flailing wildly.

“Put it out,” she screamed, and Jack jumped out, grabbing a hold of her and wrapping his arms around her to keep her still. Nathan carefully injected her with Ativan, waiting as she calmed. “What was that?” Young asked weakly, sounding exhausted. “I thought I was on fire.”

“Hallucination,” Jack reassured her, turning to look at Nathan. “Did the Ativan stop the hallucination then?”

Nathan looked at the bottle, nodding. “Yes, but not just the Ativan,” he mused. “This has small quantities of noradrenalin in it, a calming agent. It counteracts adrenaline. I’m thinking the hallucinations must be fueled by the adrenal gland. The more scared you get, the stronger the hallucination.”

“Fight or flight response, right?” Jack queried, and Nathan grinned.

“You been reading Zoë’s homework again, Sheriff?” he joked, helping Dr. Young to her feet. “How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted,” she replied, swaying a little on her feet but putting on the mask Jack handed her.

“Can you make it back up to GD?” Jack asked, and she nodded. “Good, get to the infirmary and stay put,” he said, keeping an eye on her as she started walking again, a little unsteady but determined. “So I get that tapping down on the adrenal gland stopped her hallucination,” Jack told Nathan as they limbed into the Jeep. “But that’s not a cure, is it?”

“If it outlasts the dosing of the chemical in this fog, it’s as close as I can give you,” Nathan replied worriedly. “We really need Allison on this one. She did some research in fear hallucinations during her psychology PhD.”

“She still isn’t answering her phone?” Jack asked, sighing when Nathan nodded. “I’m sure she’s all right, Nathan.”

“She’s terrified of tornadoes and has a holo-chip,” Nathan observed.

“Great,” Jack muttered. “Just what we need, a tornado on Main Street.” They stopped twice more, once to send a woman back to GD away from an invisible giant spider, and the second halted them completely by adding a towering cliff mid road which had never been part of the Eureka landscape before. The dream scientist, Dr Sueños, was paralyzed on the edge, looking down, mask still over his face, and Jack slowly pulled the man back, and Nathan gave him a dose of the Ativan, making the hologram vanish.

“Hey, Dr. Sueños,” Jack said urgently, trading a worried look with Nathan. “When did you leave GD?”

“When the alarm sounded,” the scientist confirmed, pushing at his mask a little. “Got a 911 from Café Diem, Vince… He got a mask on, but said there was a raptor trying to get into the freezer where people are holed up- airtight, but also no cell signal, you know? He lost the cell signal after that, I think he went to help calm people in the freezer.”

“Okay, the raptor’s just a hologram, but we should probably send you to Café Diem to sedate any affected people if you think you can handle it,” Jack remarked, frowning. “Did your mask slip, or did you take it off?”

“Fell,” Sueños confirmed, nodding. “Mask slipped off. Just for a minute, but two steps later, the road turned into a cliff.”

“Okay, good,” Jack sighed, his relief palpable, and he could see it clearly reflected in Nathan’s eyes as Nathan handed off some Ativan and syringes to the dream scientist. “Can you handle trying to help out at Café Diem?”

“Yeah,” Sueños agreed, nodding to the footpath that cut down to the town, which had clearly had been his destination. “May take me ten minutes instead of five,” he observed, but like Dr. Young, he was steady enough on his feet.

“Okay, on the bright side, no tornadoes so far,” Jack remarked. Nathan, he noticed, was adjusting his mask carefully. He opened his mouth to ask and then hit the brakes when he spotted something in the park. “Gun out, I just spotted Taggart,” he observed.

“We should split up, we’re less than a half a mile from the hologram station,” Nathan replied, and Jack nodded, tossing Nathan the keys. Nathan stopped him, hands curling around Jack’s. Jack’s breath caught for a moment before he realized that Nathan had pressed a small syringe of Ativan into his hand. “Be careful,” Nathan said, and Jack nodded. Nathan started to lean in slightly, hands still tangled, but the tension between them broke suddenly when Taggart screamed.

“Any damage to the Jeep, I will make you pay,” Jack informed Nathan, teasing to hide how shaky he felt. If they weren’t in a crisis and in masks, he’d have thought Nathan… he shoved the thought away. “I’ll catch up at the hologram station.”

He took off after Taggart, who was screaming as he ran. He was headed in the direction of the hologram station, so Jack let him run a bit before he leveled the rifle. He aimed carefully, nailing the shot and sinking a dart into Taggart’s shoulder. Taggart fell, and Jack hurried over. He pressed his fingers to Taggart’s throat, sighing. He wasn’t sure if it was too fast or not, but he was erring on the side of normal at that moment. “Taggart,” he shook the man’s shoulder, and the biologist groaned.

“Ow, head,” Taggart looked around, eyes still too wide. “Did you stop them?”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but who?” Jack asked.

“The whangdoodles,” Taggart replied, head lolling a little. Jack didn’t bother asking, knowing he probably wouldn’t understand the answer anyway. “Damn. Tuska’s drug, aye?”

“Whoa, back up,” Jack urged Taggart, but the other man was fighting a losing battle with the tranq. “Dr. Tuska? She has something to do with this?”

“Her drug,” Taggart managed, pulling himself to his feet, allowing Jack to put a mask on him. “In the fountain.”

“Okay, that’s helpful,” Jack replied as he helped Taggart toward the holo-station, though it didn’t totally make sense to him. It took all his effort, but Jack managed to get Taggart to the Jeep parked outside the perimeter of the station. “Taggart, why would Tuska be throwing fear toxins in the fountain?”

“Destroy them,” Taggart murmured as he curled up on the back seat of the Jeep. “Chlorine.”

Jack sighed, shaking his head. “There’s no chlorine in the fountain, it’s an eco-friendly substitute…” he trailed off, realizing Taggart was out cold. “Need to tell Nathan this anyway,” he decided, slamming the Jeep door, hoping Taggart would sleep off the tranquilizer.

He headed up to the main door, but found the security system still active, the door locked. “Nathan?” he called out, a cold chill creeping under his skin. “Nathan?”

He stepped back into the dark fog, listening carefully. A moment later, he heard a faint sound, almost a whimper, and took off toward it. “Nathan?” he called, stopping as he stumbled on something. Nathan’s mask. “Shit,” he cursed, snagging it as his eyes scanned the area. He caught a quick flash of light color through the fog and hurried toward it.

What he found was not Nathan but his own body, stretched out on the ground and bloody, too pale and still. He recoiled for a moment, checking his mask, but then heard a soft sound to his left. He spotted Nathan, back flat against a tree, pupils blown wide. It took him a moment, but he realized the soft words tumbling out of Nathan’s mouth were, “Not real, not real,” over and over, obviously in shock.

“Nathan,” he gasped, running over to the scientist and cupping his face between his hands. “Hey, stop, I’m right here,” he murmured, running a thumb over Nathan’s cheek to catch the tear that had escaped.

Nathan’s breathing was too fast and a quick check of his pulse revealed it to be far too high. Jack fumbled with his grip, managing to pull out the Ativan and jabbed it into Nathan’s arm as he’d seen the other man do to the other victims. He tossed the syringe aside, bringing his hand back up to slowly stroke Nathan’s hair, waiting for the other man’s gaze to focus again. “Shh, I’m right here, right here,” Jack said softly. He concentrated on calming Nathan, not wanting to think about what the bloody image on the ground somewhere behind him meant.

It took a moment, but Nathan’s eyes finally focused on Jack’s, his muscles starting to relax. “Get me inside the building,” Nathan commanded, his voice hoarse. Jack helped him up, a little surprised by the cold order Nathan had barked at him. Nathan punched in a security code, and Jack recognized the sound of vacuum seals releasing as the door opened to admit them. The foyer subjected them to a burst of hard air, then another door opened, a similar pressure seal to the first which closed tightly behind them once they were through.

“Should have brought Taggart in here to sleep off the tranquilizer,” Jack mused, before he found himself tugged into a fierce embrace. “Hey,” he chuckled, his hands finding Nathan’s hair, stroking soothingly. “I’m okay, I promise…”

He broke off when Nathan tugged his mask off, pulling Jack up into a harsh kiss, tongue forcing itself past Jack’s lips, and Jack sighed into the kiss, relaxing and ceding control over to Nathan, feeling oddly light headed as Nathan plundered his mouth, desperation seeping into every touch.

“Mask?” Jack asked as they broke apart, gasping to breathe.

“Hermetically sealed room,” Nathan murmured, fingers locking behind Jack’s head. “I just kissed you and you ask about your mask?”

“Just making sure this isn’t about to get horribly ugly,” Jack replied, leaning in and kissing Nathan again. It was slower this time, reassuring, and Nathan moaned into the kiss. The kiss slowly dissolved, and Jack held Nathan, continuing his small soothing motions.

“You okay?” Jack asked when Nathan sagged a little against him. His fingers instantly went to test Nathan’s pulse, while his other hand lifted Nathan’s chin so Jack could check Nathan’s eyes.

“You worried about me?” Nathan remarked dryly.

“Arrogant, annoying ass,” Jack muttered, pushing Nathan over to a chair, then kissing him once more, softly. “Ativan’s kicking in, huh?”

“I’ll be fine, just give me a minute,” Nathan murmured.

“Okay, talk me through shutting this thing down,” Jack suggested, looking over the controls to the machine.

“Hit the control and system key,” Nathan instructed him, watching Jack. “No, the top button.” The screen pulled up a status report, showing the system was active. “There’s a time notation on the left,” Nathan told him, and Jack nodded.

“It says 35 minutes,” Jack replied.

“That’s how long a full shut down will take,” Nathan sighed. “There should be a place for you to input my security override code to initiate a shut down.”

“I see it,” Jack pulled up the screen, then started to step aside for Nathan, who still looked pale.

“101,” and it took Jack a moment to process that Nathan was willingly giving Jack his pass code. Nathan rolled his eyes and started over. “101311311820518,” he rattled off, and Jack rolled his eyes.

“Could you get any more complicated?” he asked, and Nathan smiled.

“Yes,” he replied, shrugging. “That one’s actually very easy to decode.”

“Uh huh, you can tell me all about your complicated math formula later. I’m sure it’ll win you some sort of prize,” Jack rolled his eyes, crossing back to stand over Nathan, checking him out. He was still pale, but looked better. “You good to keep going? I can leave you here with Taggart…”

“Not an option,” Nathan tugged Jack down fiercely, pulling the sheriff into his lap and clamping his arms around him tightly. The kiss was slow, Nathan seeming determined to memorize the shape and feel of Jack’s mouth. It was Jack who finally, reluctantly, broke the kiss.

“We need to find Dr. Tuska,” Jack told Nathan quietly. “Taggart said she was the one behind this.”

“Right,” Nathan agreed, and Jack slid off his lap. He offered his hands to Nathan and helped him to his feet, a muffled sound of surprise escaping when Nathan tugged him in close, teeth closing playfully on Jack’s lower lip. “Just need one more minute,” Nathan murmured, his hands sliding down to untuck Jack’s shirts, slipping underneath to find bare skin, making Jack hiss in surprise.

“Really can’t be starting something now,” Jack gasped, claiming Nathan’s lips briefly. “You don’t seem to understand how much I want you.”

“How long?” Nathan asked, nipping at Jack’s throat. “How many of the past 21 Sunday movie nights, if I had leaned over and kissed you—and god, Jack, I wanted to—how many would have ended with us together?”

“All of them,” Jack admitted, leaning in to kiss Nathan again. Nathan stopped Jack, hands on his shoulders, eyes roving over Jack’s face. “Since about seven months ago when Allison pointed out I was more interested in fighting with you than flirting with her,” Jack explained.

“Shit,” Nathan groaned, possessively kissing Jack for a moment. “Can’t believe I could have had you that long,” he murmured, holding onto Jack for one moment more. “I suppose we have to go save the town.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll confine you to the bunker and we’ll take a week off once it’s all over,” Jack teased Nathan, then slid his hands under Nathan’s shirt, enjoying the way Nathan shuddered under calloused fingertips.

“Okay, I apologize for starting something earlier,” Nathan breathed, his forehead bumping Jack’s. They pulled on their masks, and the simple barrier helped Jack focus his mind on the town and his job again. “You said Dr Tuska had something to do with this?” Nathan asked as they returned to the Jeep, and he helped Jack drag Taggart’s unconscious form into the holographic projection station.

“That’s what I got out of Taggart between snores,” Jack replied, digging a hand into Nathan’s pocket to retrieve his keys. Nathan glared half heartedly, and Jack grinned. “He implied it was something she cooked up. What was she working on at GD?”

“I’m not sure,” Nathan admitted, his lips pursing slightly as he thought. “The chemical was called “Siren’s Tears” and I remember it was supposed to target the adrenal gland.”

“Siren’s Tears?” Jack asked dryly, rolling his eyes as they climbed into the Jeep. “Do you just not have a classical education, or is Shakespeare beneath you?”

“I’ve read most of Shakespeare’s plays,” Nathan retorted with a scowl.

“It’s Sonnet 119,” Jack informed the man cheerfully. “What potions have I drunk of Siren tears, Distill'd from limbecks foul as hell within, Applying fears to hopes, and hopes to fears,” he recited, giving Nathan a cocky grin.

“I hate poetry,” Nathan grumbled, but there was a gleam in Nathan’s eyes as he looked at Jack. “Reciting poetry, though, that’s surprisingly deep, Sheriff.”

“Yeah…” Jack drawled rolling his eyes. “Don’t get any ideas, Stark. It’s one of half a dozen I know is all.”

“Your random bursts of intelligence are rather attractive,” Nathan said teasingly. “It makes me start thinking up the most interesting things to do to you.”

“Really?” Jack asked, unable to keep the interest from his tone. He let it linger, till curiosity unbuttoned his lips. “Like what?”

Nathan smirked, leaning a little closer to Jack. “After we get this under control, why don’t you call Zoë, tell her you’re staying with me tonight? I’m much better at showing than telling…”

Jack hit the brakes hard. “Sorry,” Nathan started to apologize, but Jack was already scrabbling at his seat belt.

“Not you,” Jack replied, pointing. Off to one side of the road, a crumpled form in a tan uniform had Nathan checking his mask even as he scrambled out of the Jeep after Jack. Jack quickly turned Jo over, checking her pulse, which was fluttering faintly into nothingness, noticing she wasn’t breathing. He spared only a second’s glance at Nathan, before tugging his mask off and thrusting it in Nathan’s direction, tilting Jo’s head back. Her airway was clear, but for some reason her lungs had shut down. Breathing deeply and forcing his mind to stay focused on breathing for Jo, he carefully forced her lungs to expand, fingers staying on her pulse as it picked up again.

Nathan’s hand rested on his wrist, and Jack was dimly aware of Nathan tracking his pulse as he counted carefully for rescue breathing. “Come on, Josephina,” he snapped, breathing once more, resulting in Jo coughing and sputtering as she sat up, her pulse shooting up erratically as she did. “Ativan for her,” Jack said, sliding a mask out of Nathan’s bag and over her mouth, and Nathan quickly checked her pulse, cut the dose in half, and gave Jo an injection. “Hey there, Jo,” Jack said softly, and Jo waved weakly. “Welcome back.”

She brushed a hand down her uniform, frowning. “I wasn’t really buried?” she asked hazily. Jack gazed back blankly. “Buried me alive,” Jo muttered, trying to stand but collapsing back into Jack. Nathan quickly scooped her up, handing Jack his mask before he took Jo over to the Jeep, tucking her into the backseat.

Jack started adjusting his mask, distracted by a familiar cold voice. “Hello, Marshall.” Jack looked up directly into the cold black eyes of John Montague, a serial killer in the San Diego area whose girlfriend Jack had been charged with protecting till his trial. His one interview with the man and the photos of what he did to his victims still haunted Jack’s dreams whenever he saw too much violence.

“Can’t wait to sink my teeth into this town,” Montague drawled, waving a lazy hand as corpses began to appear hung upside down by one foot off tree limbs, insides carved and spilling out, a Hanged Man tarot card pinned between their eyes. Jack gasped trying to block out familiar faces imposed upon gruesome remains.

“Just wait till I start on tall dark and handsome here,” Montague taunted Jack, who was suddenly dimly aware of Nathan having returned to his side, pulled into his nightmare. “I’ll keep his heart once I’m done playing with the rest of his insides.”

“Get out of here,” Jack scrambled at Nathan, surprised when Nathan grabbed his arms and wrestled him to the ground, pinning him long enough to administer an injection. As Jack’s thudding heart slowed, he remembered where he was, then realized the holograms were still active, his eyes widening when he realized Nathan had just seen everything he had.

“I’ve got you,” Nathan murmured, pulling Jack up into his arms. Jack clung to Nathan, not really caring about how he looked at that moment, the steady beating of Nathan’s heart beneath his hand all that mattered. “Shh, it’s okay.”

Jack realized he was shaking, only Nathan’s tight grip holding him still. “It’s… I…” he tried to fumble out an explanation, not sure he had the words, and Nathan simply stroked his back, shushing him.

“It’s okay,” Nathan said simply, pulling Jack impossibly closer. “I read about the case during the trial, I know who the Hangman Killer is. I’ll want you to tell me how the hell he ends up in your nightmares later, but just—” Nathan broke off, his grip tightening a little more, almost painful. “I’ve got you.”

Jack remained silent for a little while, curled in Nathan’s grasp until he’d manage to tuck his nightmare back away into the cage in his mind he usually kept it confined to. “Let’s find Tuska,” Jack said, resting his forehead against Nathan’s for a moment. “I’d kiss you, but the masks, and Jo’s in the car.”

“Don’t really care what Jo sees, and as soon as it’s safe, the masks are gone,” Nathan agreed, nodding. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay, Jack?”

“I’ll be better if I know I won’t ever have to see that again,” Jack groaned as he allowed Nathan to help him to his feet. Nathan paused, running a hand over Jack’s hair, a soft, comforting motion.

“You didn’t have to risk that,” Nathan informed him, a little annoyed. “A second exposure might not have hurt me.”

“Or it might have killed you,” Jack retorted, leaning against Nathan a little as they headed to the Jeep. “I guess I’m letting you drive.” Once he was seated in the passenger seat, Nathan snaked a hand into his pocket, searching a little more teasingly than necessary, Jack decided, barely biting back a moan as Nathan pretended to search. “Nathan,” he scolded warningly.

“You okay, Carter?” Jo asked, and Jack looked back at his deputy, who was looking pale and shaky still as she sat up.

“Worried about you,” Jack remarked, deflecting the question.

“You exposed yourself to toxins for me,” Jo observed, though Jack caught a little teasing in her voice. “My hero.”

“Yeah, well, you gave me a heart attack, Jo,” he informed her, sighing. “I thought you were dead.”

“Not yet,” Jo said, her head lolling a little. “You feel like that time we got hit by the inertia wave?”

“Yeah, only more tired,” Jack agreed. “Should we take Jo up to GD?”

“No one’s taking me anywhere,” Jo objected, scowling.

“You weren’t breathing,” Jack reminded her fiercely.

“I’m fine now,” Jo replied. “And you both have been through the ringer, you could use the backup.” Jack started to object, and Jo cut in slyly, “And someone should keep you two focused and not pawing at each other. You two got that sorted out finally?”

“Just about there,” Nathan said softly, taking Jack’s hand, linking their fingers. “Haven’t had time to talk, but I think we’re on the same page.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, voice coming out more gently than he’d expected.

“Oh god, do not get mushy on me now,” Jo groaned playfully. “Am I being exposed to the nightmare gas again?”

“Ha ha,” Jack replied, rolling his eyes. Nathan pulled the Jeep into Tuska’s driveway, giving Jack a wary look.

“You sure I can’t talk the two of you into staying put?” Nathan asked, but his concern was clearly directed at Jack, hand rising to gently stroke his hair.

“Get moving,” Jack scowled at the scientist. “One of those discussion topics is going to be overprotective urges.”

“Ditto,” Nathan replied, his eyes narrowing as Jo and Jack automatically secured the door, knocked, and received no reply. Jack opened the door, letting Jo clear the room, and Jo’s gasp told them what they needed to know.

Jack hurried in, checking for a pulse automatically, but Nathan shook his head, indicating the blood at her lips and nostrils. “Heart burst,” he murmured, standing and beginning to rifle through the papers on her desk. “Start looking for anything labeled Siren’s Tears, we have to find an antidote,” he ordered, starting to rifle through files on the laptop.

Jack nodded to Jo, and then crossed the room, touching Nathan’s arm gently. “Look, she was cold, dead for a while now,” Jack said softly, and Nathan’s shoulders sagged a little. “You couldn’t have done anything more. Let’s just find a cure, then take the time to grieve and talk each other out of blaming ourselves, okay?”

“Okay,” Nathan agreed, returning to the desk. Jack took a moment to pull a sheet from the linen closet, covering Tuska’s body.

“Any chance you saw Zane?” Jo asked suddenly, letting a bit of her worry show.

“I think he’s at Café Diem,” Jack replied. “There, uh, was a report of a raptor trying to get to the people in the freezer.” Jo smirked, nodding.

“Sounds like his type of phobia,” she agreed, getting a poker and looking at the charred pages in the fireplace. “I think she may have been burning files,” Jo reported.

“Did Taggart say anything else that might have been helpful?” Nathan asked, looking frustrated as he typed.

“Uh, he said Tuska was originally trying to dispose of the chemical, so she dumped it in the fountain. I guess she thought there was chlorine in the water, so it would destroy it somehow?” Jack replied, and Nathan looked up, a small smile touching his lips.

“Chlorine?” he asked, looking relieved. “Of course, the chemical reaction… Okay, I have an idea, we have to get out to the weather station, and we’re going to do some sabotage.”

“Dr. Stark, that much chlorinated water, we could be risking toxins, affecting the hydroponic labs,” Jo started to list, and Nathan shook his head.

“I’m not thinking chlorine, I’m thinking salt,” Nathan replied, shrugging. “There’ll still be side effects, but it won’t be so bad. And it’ll clear the Siren’s Tears out of the atmosphere. We just need to get up to Dr. Herrera’s lab at the weather station for some creative sabotage.”

“All right,” Jack agreed, sighing. “You sure we won’t be unleashing 40 other mutant projects?”

“Most of the greenhouses are protected, and people’s yards can be cleaned and restored later. The only other option is air scrubbers, and that’ll take time to clear the town,” Nathan explained. “We can’t risk more deaths.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” Jack agreed, following Nathan’s lead.

*-*

It took an hour of salt water rain to purge the Siren’s Tears from the atmosphere, and another four to account for everyone in town and make sure those who needed it had medical care. Allison, who had weathered the crisis in the freezer at Café Diem, sent Jo, Jack, and Nathan home once they had a final body count, surprisingly only adding up to 6. With the alarms sounded, most of the residents had headed for airtight rooms, electrostatic shielded panic rooms, or grabbed masks, something that apparently had become more common since the purple haze pollen, the sex spores, and Fargo’s last chemical spill, an aggression drug. Jack brushed off praise for town preparedness, honestly shocked that any of the scientists had listened to his suggestions for crisis management. More likely, Jack thought self deprecatingly, if hit over the head with the hammer enough times, even scientists finally started wearing hardhats.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Nathan observed, as Jack pulled into the bunker, a little surprised still that the scientist had pulled an overnight bag from his car then climbed into the Jeep wordlessly.

“Come on,” Jack said softly, linking his fingers through Nathan’s, heading down to the bunker.

“Dad!”

“Sheriff!”

“Whoa!”

Jack almost laughed as all three teenagers hit a dead stop, staring as his and Nathan’s joined hands. “Can we keep him?” Zoë finally managed to joke, and Jack chuckled, tugging her into a hug.

“That’s up to him,” Jack replied, kissing her forehead. “Lucas, Pilar, the atmosphere is clear and your parents are expecting you home. I think they want proof that you escaped this unscathed.”

“Thanks for keeping us locked in, Sheriff,” Pilar said, shuddering a little. “Clowns. And I have a chip. Good night, Zo.”

Lucas gave Zoë a quick kiss, looking pale at the twin warning looks from Nathan and Jack. “Uh, see you tomorrow, Zoë,” he said, nodding at her dad. “Sir. Uh, Sir,” he added to Nathan, hurrying out.

“What do you think, two months before we see him here again?” Jack asked Nathan, who wrapped an arm around his waist comfortingly.

“Three, at least,” Nathan replied, smiling when Zoë gave them a pained look.

“Very nice,” she told them, sitting down with her legs curled up to her chest. “Was it awful?”

“Pretty bad,” Jack replied, gesturing Nathan to the couch. “Want a beer, juice, soda?” he asked, and Nathan shook his head.

“No beer for you either, you were given Ativan,” Nathan reminded him. “He risked exposure and facing his nightmares to save Jo’s life.”

“Wow, Dad, way to go,” Zoë crowed, beaming with pride. “So, you gonna tell me who broke down and admitted to wanting to hook up?”

“Nathan had a run in with his worst nightmare,” Jack replied, sitting down next to Nathan, allowing the scientist to loop an arm around him, holding him close. “Let’s just say relief we were both alive kicked in after that.”

Jack met Nathan’s gaze, the moment dragging between them, and Zoë cleared her throat. “I guess that’s my cue to go to bed, if you’re staying here tonight,” she said, giving them a look of fond exasperation. “Too bad you couldn’t have figured it out last week, when I had money in Vince’s pool.”

“Hmm, so who did win?” Jack asked, deciding against lecturing Zoë on gambling on his love life. It had been a losing battle since his first week in Eureka.

“Um, researcher in section 4, Dr. Tuska. She did some lecturing in my psych classes at Tesla,” Zoë replied, and Jack felt his face fall, Nathan’s arm tightening around him. “Did something happen to her?” Zoë asked, too perceptive as usual, Jack mused to himself.

“The fear toxin was her development,” Jack replied slowly. “I’m sorry, Zoë, she didn’t make it.”

Zoë came back over, hugging Jack tightly, pulling Nathan into the hug as well. “I’m glad you guys are okay,” she whispered, pushing back her hair. “Is that selfish of me, being glad my family is okay?”

“No,” Jack replied quickly, kissing her forehead a second time. “No, I feel the same way, Zo.”

Zoë stayed up a little longer with them, but headed upstairs after one too many moments where Jack and Nathan ended up silently absorbed in each other. “Carry on,” she called back to them, hurrying up the stairs.

“You ready to talk about the Hangman?” Nathan asked, and Jack shook his head, eyes drifting down to Nathan’s lips, slowly closing the space between them. Nathan kept the kiss gentle, allowing Jack to explore, but never letting it become fierce or lead to anything more, though Jack tried to angle it into more. “Come on, I have an idea,” Nathan murmured to Jack, nodding toward the stairs.

Jack smiled, liking the way this was headed. Nathan led him up to the bedroom, nodding toward the rug near the fireplace. “Strip,” he told Jack, before starting a fire and turning the lights off. Jack slid his clothes off and pulled a soft blanket off his bed, spreading it out before he lay down. He watched silently as Nathan peeled off his layers of clothing, then laid down carefully, wrapping his arms around Jack and spooning close so they could watch the fire. “When you’re ready to talk about it,” Nathan whispered, kissing the nape of Jack’s neck gently before propping his head on his elbow, just holding Jack. Jack was baffled for a moment, pressed naked against Nathan, but the other man made no advances, simply gently traced muscle lines with rough fingertips, leaving goosebumps in his wake at first. As Jack relaxed, the sensation shifted into something calming, almost primal and instinctively comforting.

It was hard to fight the sleepy lull of the fire and Nathan’s soft embrace, and Jack found himself half floating in the relaxing sensation. “It was two years before I came to Eureka,” Jack said softly, sighing as Nathan’s fingers began to slowly stroke a more solid path along his sternum, reassuring and calming. “My partner and I were part of an around the clock protection detail for John Montague’s girlfriend. Our safe house was compromised, and Terrance, my partner, and I got off easier than the guys outside the house. They had their throats cut. The house detail was taken out with knock out gas.”

“When we came to, our witness was missing,” Jack told Nathan, even though he was sure he was wandering into territory Nathan knew from the press coverage. “We launched a search, and… and I agreed to interview Montague. His voice… the things he did,” he took a deep breath, allowing Nathan’s soothing movements to relax him again. “I still have nightmares. We got lucky, a sloppy bit of evidence left behind on the dead Marshals, along with a slip from Montague, and we found his partner. Not before he’d proven he could copy Montague’s work on our witness.”

“You saw her first hand,” Nathan said softly, a statement, not a question.

“Yeah,” Jack breathed, rolling onto his back, looking up into Nathan’s face. “But I see Zoë’s face, or yours, or Jo’s, on the victims in my nightmares,” he admitted, and Nathan cupped his face gently, thumb rubbing a gentle arc over Jack’s cheekbone.

“You saw my nightmare,” Nathan reminded him hoarsely, one hand fanning out over Jack’s chest. “The image burned in my brain from that stand off with Carlson. You dead, bloody… if not for the artifact I would have lost you. It’s what I dream about every time you go tearing off to fix another one of my scientist’s crazy experiments.”

“Dream about it a lot then, huh?” Jack replied, only half joking as he gathered Nathan in closer.

“Too much,” Nathan replied, eyes lit up with an intense worry, burrowing into the embrace, silence falling for a long time as they held each other. Nathan finally pulled away, just long enough to help Jack up to the bed, nestling them in to sleep. “SARAH, monitor fire but keep it burning,” the scientist instructed the house tiredly as he cuddled closer to Jack.

“A nightlight?” Jack asked, and Nathan smiled, softly stroking Jack’s face before leaning in to kiss him.

“Keeping the nightmares at bay,” Nathan replied confidently. “Between having you here with me and the warmth of a fire, nothing can touch us.”

“Thanks,” Jack whispered, feeling sleep tugging him under quickly. “Don’t think this was how the night was supposed to go. Supposed to be showing me all those things you want to do to me.”

“Got time,” Nathan yawned, tightening his hold on Jack. “Right now I just want to hold you, know you’re safe with me.”

“That I can do,” Jack agreed softly. Tucking his chin into Nathan’s shoulder, Jack let himself believe that Nathan would keep the nightmares away and drifted to sleep.