Lantern for the Lost: Chapter 1
Dec. 2nd, 2008 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serene_quillTitle: Lantern for the Lost: Chapter 1
Pairing: Jack/Nathan (small side bits with Jo/Zane and Vince/Paul)
Rating: This Segment PG, Overall NC-17
Word Count: ~5000
Disclaimer: If they were mine, it wouldn’t have happened! But since they aren’t, I’m just borrowing them to play with and reorder the universe to my own happy liking.
Warnings: Spoilers for 304: I Do Over, AU off 304, cannon character death-ish, angst, non-corporeal sex like stuff, some graphic imagery.
Summary: He’s displaced in time and it just figures that the only person he can even slightly reach doesn’t have anything resembling the knowledge to help him.
Previous parts can be found here.
Nathan woke up a second time, and though he was conscious of low sounds around him, he kept his eyes squeezed shut for a few moments, half scared of what sort of invisible, intangible, or ill-formed monster he would be this time. After a long moment, he sighed, and opened his eyes, recognizing that having some semblance of hearing meant he had to be closer to fully formed now. His reflection, just as he remembered it from the day of the accident, met his eyes. Before he could check the impulse, he was patting down his body to check that all his parts had reformed. Two legs, two arms, ten fingers, wiggle his toes, quick check at the belt... he smiled reflexively; it was all in place again, even if his hard thuds had only felt like whispers of touch, barely present even to himself.
Over his shoulder, Nathan grinned as he spotted a familiar blue gaze. Carter was lounging against the wall, staring past Nathan at the empty hull of the photon accelerator and dead electron clock. The dark smudges under the other man’s eyes, as though he hadn’t slept in weeks, instantly wiped the grin off his face. Nathan turned and crossed to Carter, waving his hand in front of the sheriff’s face. Unsurprisingly, the man simply blinked, no indication that the gesture had been noticed.
“You know, if you didn’t look so bad, I might have fun with this,” Nathan remarked, settling along the wall next to Carter. The other man shifted a little, and Nathan poked at him, letting his hand vanish into Carter’s bicep with the motion. His amusement only lasted a few moments, and he settled back almost falling through the wall before remembering to hold himself steady, trying to puzzle out his situation. He refused to accept the possibility that he was some sort of ghost or angel. He doubted he was even dead. Dead was nothingness, cessation. And he was still... something.
Nathan’s musing was interrupted by Henry’s arrival. The older man looked worried, his gaze soft as he dropped a hand on Carter’s shoulder reassuringly. “Jack, you have to let this go,” Henry said quietly.
“Look, I...” Carter hesitated, giving Henry a look that Nathan could almost describe as pleading. “I really was thinking I’d let it go this morning but... I need you to walk me through the science once, Henry.”
Henry started to object, and Carter plowed on. “I know, Thorne closed the inquest. Just... walk me through it? So I understand it?”
“Okay,” Henry agreed, folding his arms and leaning against the wall on the other side of Carter. “When Nathan accelerated the particle, it restarted time working normally, but only outside the particle accelerator. Nathan looped back. And that universe was unstable. It was... well, deleted, for lack of a better term. And Nathan was deleted with it.”
“That’s what I saw then,” Carter put in, a little desperate. “Nathan dissolving was him being deleted.”
“No,” Nathan burst out, vehement suddenly, desperate for someone to be looking for him. Henry was talking Carter into letting go, and from the sound of it, Carter was the only one still looking.
“Jack, no one saw what you think you saw,” Henry replied, a little frustration in his voice. “Fargo, the security cameras, they all saw a quick flash and then Nathan was gone.”
“I know,” Carter rubbed the back of his head, just as frustrated. “But Henry, I know what I saw.”
Henry regarded Jack for a long moment. “All right,” he said at last. “I can do a little more digging, look deeper into what you’re describing, Jack.”
“It’s just... if it’s possible he was accelerated with the particle, if he’s... like Zane said- out of sin...” Carter fumbled with the words.
“Ah, let's just shorten it to out of sync with our time flow,” Henry finished helpfully, nodding. “Then we have to be sure. And we both know Thorne won’t expend any extra time and money on something a camera didn’t see.”
“Yeah,” Carter agreed glumly. “Thanks, Henry.”
“Thanks, Henry,” Nathan echoed, reaching through Jack to mime touching Henry’s arm. Carter started quickly at the same moment, moving to the door, and then paused, looking back at Henry.
“Get some sleep, Jack,” Henry said sympathetically. Nathan lingered with Henry, who watched Carter go, a worried frown on his face.
“What’s going on here, Henry?” he asked, but Henry was already looking back over the equation on the dry erase board.
He watched, Henry unmoving, simply looking at the equation, which he knew meant Henry was completely stuck for ideas. “I’m here,” he told Henry, sighing. He shoved at the dry erase pen, determined to try and move it, but once again nothing happened.
“I don’t know what to do, Kim.”
Nathan’s head jerked up, astonished. Henry had the chain around his neck pressed to his lips, his eyes closed. “I can’t decide if this is Jack’s way of mourning, being in denial and creating a mystery to solve, or if he really saw something.” Henry paused, his eyes opening and focused skyward. “Either way, I’m no closer to coming up with a way to figure it out.”
Nathan started to settle in, but then Henry whispered, “I miss you, Kim. And I miss him, too.”
He crept out of the lab, not wanting to hear the quiet confession of his mentor and friend. He couldn’t do anything to help Henry, so he walked through the halls to Allison’s office. The office was dimly lit, and Allison was surrounded by stacks of paperwork that she busied herself with, the logic diamond around her neck gleaming in the low light. Nathan sat in the chair opposite her, surprised by the quick efficiency and neutral way Allison was working.
“Allison?” Nathan fought an instinctive tensing of non-existent muscles at the sound of Thorne’s voice. “I thought I told you that you didn’t have to come back to work so soon.”
“It’s been two weeks, Eva,” Allison replied easily, gesturing toward the chair. Nathan got up quickly, not wanting Thorne to sit on him, even if she would pass right through his ghostly body. “Honestly, I was ready a week and a half ago to be back. I need the work, and the distraction.”
“That I can understand,” Thorne said sympathetically, and Nathan frowned, not liking her too solicitous attitude. “I have several projects I could use a savvy right hand on. I’ll be sure to shift some of that onto your plate.”
“Thank you,” Allison said, and Nathan was surprised by the genuine gratefulness on her face. “You’ve been a good friend these past two weeks, Eva.”
“I know what it’s like to loose a partner,” she said softly, and for one moment, Nathan saw the genuine woman underneath the façade. “Any extra work, anything you need,” she said, rising gracefully. “Also, I wanted to let you know, I’ll be closing down the time maintenance lab this week.”
“I think Henry and Zane were going to do some research in there into the ultra-indigo light,” Allison replied, not looking up from the form she was checking. “Something about the hydroponics investment team from Kyoto?”
“Oh?” Thorne smiled, and Nathan saw her flash of triumph at Allison’s apparent casual acceptance of the commercialization of GD. “Well, that’s nice to hear. I’ll postpone it for a couple weeks then.”
Nathan was glad to see Allison watch Thorne leave from under lowered lashes, but was surprised when she shook her head, muttering under her breath, “Fools chasing after shadows and dust,” she said bitterly. “He’s dead and gone.”
“No, Allie, I’m here,” Nathan said, coming around to kneel next to her. He remained crouched there for the better part of an hour, praying every time she even slightly twitched that she had seen or heard him somehow. He was tracing circles on her arm, his fingers falling under the sleeve of her shirt but never touching her, when Carter entered, giving Allison an expectant look.
“I’m fine,” Allison said, her tone clearly warning Carter away.
“And you promised me 5’o’clock,” he replied, tapping his watch. “It’s almost six.”
“I’m going to stay,” Allison replied, folding her arms. “I have a lot more to do than I expected.”
“Allison...” Carter started, concern plastered over his face, and Nathan winced, seeing the flare of anger in Allison’s eyes.
“I don’t need to be coddled, I don’t need a babysitter, and I’m staying,” she said.
“But--” Nathan was impressed. He never argued with Allison when she had that tone.
“No,” she repeated, her voice fierce. “I don’t care what sort of misguided promise you made to Nathan or how worried you are, I don’t want you here. Now, go away and let me work.”
“Ah, Allison, I...”
“I think Dr. Blake asked you to leave, Sheriff,” Thorne’s voice broke in, and she strode confidently into Allison’s office, stepping right through Nathan on her way to Allison’s side.
“Fine,” Carter said tersely, and Nathan reacted instantly reaching out to try and stop him. His hand passed through the other man, but the other man turned back at that moment, startling him. “Jo asked me to remind you that she still needs your help with a dress for the party next weekend.”
“I’ll give her a call,” Allison promised, nodding to Carter. He gritted his teeth, and left quickly, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Nathan reached out again, and for one brief moment, he thought he felt his fingers connect with something solid. Carter’s pace faltered, but then continued on, ignoring everything around him. Nathan felt his heart jump. Had he just—
“Are you all right?”
Nathan turned back, seeing that Thorne had settled her hands on Allison’s shoulders comfortingly. “It’s fine,” Allison sighed, relaxing a little into the touch. “He’s trying to help. He just doesn’t get that I don’t need it.”
“Come on,” Thorne said, turning Allison’s chair for her. “Let me take you to dinner, tell you about the rather outrageous work Zane is doing with the Consumer Products Lab, and then you can decide if you want to come back or call it a night.”
“Thanks,” Allison said, reaching up and squeezing the older woman’s hand. “That is what I need.”
Nathan lingered behind, disturbed by the events that had unfolded before his eyes. He had suspicions as to why Allison was pushing Carter away so hard, equal parts blaming him for what happened and hating herself for having feelings, even just slightly, for Carter. “Been there,” he sighed to himself at the thought, then switched to debating heading back down to the lab, but decided to walk around town.
He found himself wandering in the direction of the bunker, down a neighborhood street, surprised to see that several houses had old-fashioned lanterns lit in the window. He frowned, wondering what strange autumn tradition Vince had cooked up this time. He continued to the bunker, stopping when he saw the entire path up to the entrance lined on both sides by hanging lanterns.
Nathan slid through the outer bunker door, down the stairs and was surprised when the inner door opened for him. He walked in, baffled, unable to spot anyone near the door.
“SARAH, why’s the door open?” he heard Carter ask, and he walked around the corner, spotting the man half lying along the couch.
“I’m sorry, Jack, I suspect there is an error in one of my subroutines,” she replied.
“Interesting,” Nathan mused aloud, turning back to the now closed door. He walked back over toward it, and the door opened again. SARAH’s sensors were registering something about his presence, but the AI was completely unaware of it.
“I think you need to run a diagnostic scan,” Carter observed, sighing. He was sitting up, looking around warily. “And SARAH, can you run a scan, see if anything odd is going on external to your systems?”
“Of course,” she agreed easily. Nathan could have cheered when Carter asked for SARAH to run external scans, though that the sheriff had actually thought of it was a little odd. Carter was settling back on the couch, but his gaze was anything but relaxed, scanning the room, his eyes flicking over to Nathan a few times. Every time Carter turned to gaze at him, Nathan felt his heart flutter with hope, but Carter eventually gave up, turning his attention back to the muted football game on the screen.
Nathan sighed, sinking down onto the chair across from the sheriff, suddenly feeling exhausted. Carter jumped as Zoë entered, looking relieved. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?” she asked, a little bit of confusion wrinkling her forehead.
“I guess SARAH’s picked up a malfunction,” he explained, shrugging. “Door’s been opening and shutting on its own. If her diagnostics don’t pick it up, I’ll call Fargo to check it out.”
Nathan paused, suddenly conflicted. He wanted to make the door malfunction, find a way for Carter to link it to his presence, not a computer glitch. But if Fargo recalibrated the system, it might make the door sensor no longer register his presence. He decided to wait for the sheriff’s sister to arrive home or one of the other Carters to leave and slip out with them.
“You headed to Pilar’s?” Carter asked, and Zoë shook her head, sighing.
“Accelerated Physics quiz tomorrow,” Zoë told him. “I’m heading up to study and get some sleep. Aunt Lexi in bed still?”
“Yeah, she’s feeling awful,” Carter replied emphatically. “Go in and say hi, give her a hug before you settle in to study. She’s worried about how sick she is and the baby.”
Nathan started, surprised to hear Carter’s sister was pregnant. “Sure,” Zoë agreed, easily, hugging her dad impulsively. “You on call tonight?” she asked, and Nathan was surprised to see a little worry on the girl’s face. His death, which could have been her father’s if there had been more time, had obviously shaken her.
“Nah, Jo’s got it tonight,” Carter reassured her. “So you can sleep without worrying and maybe not have a nightmare tonight?”
“You first,” she countered, giving him a knowing grin.
“Goodnight, Zoë,” Carter replied, turning back to the game, but Nathan could tell his mind was otherwise occupied. They watched to the end of the game, Carter showing no signs of leaving, and neither woman appearing at all.
“I guess I’m stuck here with you tonight,” Nathan commented, sighing. He tried to make himself sound disgusted, but the exhaustion was catching up to him. “Maybe that’s not so bad.”
Carter sighed, turning off the television and looking up at the ceiling for a moment. “I’m tired,” Nathan observed, surprised. “I didn’t realize incorporeal entities had to sleep.”
“Just go to bed then,” Carter said suddenly, and the timing took Nathan aback so much that Carter was halfway to the stairs before Nathan realized the other man had been talking to himself. He followed Carter upstairs, watching as the sheriff moved his daughter’s books to the floor and turned out her light, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she slept. He then followed Carter to Lexi’s room, the woman pale but resting peacefully on a heap of pillows. Carter turned off the light and blew out the candles on her dresser, before heading to the master bedroom.
“Guess I’m bunking with you,” Nathan joked, sitting down on Carter’s bed and watching him go about getting ready for bed. Nathan decided to try taking off his tie, letting it drop from his fingers, his eyes growing wide as it vanished from his sight, dissolving into the air. “Right, no more removal of clothing,” he decided, shaking his head. “Though what harm would a naked ghost do anyway?” He yawned, feeling an odd dizziness creeping up on him. A few moments later, darkness enveloped him.
*-*
A whimper woke him. The room was dark, and Nathan had no clue where he was until he looked to his left and saw Carter. The other man was turning his head, thrashing almost as though he was in pain. “No,” he heard Carter gasp, and the conversation in the living room about nightmares rose in his mind. He leaned over, trying to rest his hand on Carter’s shoulder, but it passed uselessly through.
“Nathan,” Carter protested, and the nightmare suddenly came into frightening clarity for Nathan.
“Jack,” he called out, even though he knew it was useless. “Jack, I’m here, I’m all right,” he continued, his hands making soothing motions along the surface of Jack’s skin, skimming his chest and shoulder.
To his surprise, the other man settled in again, turning slightly toward Nathan, the nightmare passing. Nathan watched Carter for a moment, but the darkness and sleepiness was creeping back in, and before he could wonder too long about what Jack subconscious could or could not pick up on, he was asleep.
*-*
“Okay,” he noted to himself, striding down the halls of GD toward the time maintenance lab. “Subconscious could be a way to communicate, but for obvious reasons, it’s a highly unreliable method. After stopping in to check on Henry’s progress, stop in Paul Suenos’s lab, see if I can affect the dream spectrometer. Continue trying to send message with the bunker door. Maybe I can try to Morse code SOS in the door opening pattern?”
He continued to dictate to an imaginary tape recorder. “Maybe I should try to manipulate a small electrical communications device,” he mused, spotting a scientist disastrously trying to walk and text her way through the halls. “I’m probably some sort of electrical... no, I’m temporal energy, that has to be the most likely possibility. But a device with a timer? SARAH’s got a kitchen timer I can try. Maybe something of Zane’s over in the consumer products lab.”
He entered the lab, surprised to see that Zane was squaring off against Henry. “...need to know that!” Zane was insisting.
“I am trying to figure it out,” Henry replied, gesturing to the board. “But the type of particle physics Jack is trying to describe doesn’t even exist as a science.” He was silent for a moment, and Nathan stepped between them to examine the formulas on the boards. Henry had done some good work, but had started making some errors and the equations came apart in the last few sections. “The irony is that if anyone could solve this, it would be Nathan. If there is anything to solve.”
“Hey,” Zane’s voice was sharp, but his expression softened. “I’ve been by the garage, Henry. You’ve got a lantern out too. So don’t talk like that with me. I know you believe Carter. So go home, get some sleep, and then you can take over from me.”
“Okay,” Henry agreed, his head falling. He trudge to the door, then turned back, looking at Zane speculatively. “You have a lantern in your window?” he asked.
Nathan frowned, looking back and forth between the two men, baffled. Lantern? But Zane was grinning. “Jo and I lined our walkways, same as Lexi and Zoë.”
“Silly, isn’t it?” Henry remarked, shaking his head with a sad smile.
“Nah, it’s sort of become about drawing lines,” Zane drawled, erasing a couple of Henry’s errors. “About supporting Carter, believing him, and also not being on her side, you know?”
“Thorne,” Henry remarked, nodding knowingly. “Yeah, I get that.”
“Get some sleep,” Zane said again, turning back to the dry erase board. “You were onto something here, but I think the exhaustion got to you. So go home.”
“I’ve got a stop to make, try and talk some sense into Allison,” Henry replied, his face clear about what sort of reaction he expected this to provoke.
“If you can make it past the guard dog, good luck,” Zane muttered, already distracted by the equation. Nathan watched the young man for a moment alongside Henry, aware that Henry was seeing a younger version of Nathan in Zane at that moment.
Unable to help with the science and not keen on the idea of watching Henry argue with the new Allie, he headed for the dream labs. The lanterns seemed to have something to do with him, Carter and Thorne, Nathan mused to himself. He’d love to hear the whole story, and decided to add Café Diem to his to do list for the day, hoping Vince or some local gossip might fill him in.
The dream lab was quiet, just one subject plugged in and Paul Sueños at the spectrometer, making notations on the dream wave recordings. Nathan instantly crossed to the transmitting dreamer, pursing his lips as he thought about what to say. Best to start dramatic, see if he could influence the dreamer at all. He recognized the woman as a scientist from section 3, spotted the rapid eye movement, and grinned.
“No results, that’s it, your funding is cut, the sheriff will make sure you’re out of the building and redacted from this town by 6pm sharp!” he barked at the woman. He continued in this vein for a while, before switching to threats about her biomemetic dog. Finally her eyes stilled, and he walked back over to the observation station. Nothing looked promising about the readout, but he’d wait for Sueños to get the woman’s statement about the dream. The scientist was already waking her up, and she gave him a sleepy smile.
“Always seems like I wake up at the best part of the dream,” she laughed ruefully, and Sueños smiled knowingly.
“Looked like another Jack/Sawyer Lost double feature,” Sueños commented teasingly. “Shall I write this one up as another homoerotic fantasy?”
“Yeah,” she grinned, shrugging. “What can I say, Paul, I come up with my best fanfic with your induced erotic dream tests.”
“I’ll look forward to reading it,” he told her, helping her up off the table. “In the meantime, you’ve got deadlines for Thorne.”
“Don’t remind me,” she groaned, patting the man’s arm sympathetically. “Just make sure you tell her how successful this drug is becoming. I don’t want you getting redacted any time soon.”
“Aww, you flatter me, Nina,” Sueños rolled his eyes, looking up to the doorway. Nathan followed his gaze, surprised to see Vince, a bag from Café Diem in hand.
“Nothing to do with you,” the scientist remarked, waving to Vince as she headed for the door. “I just couldn’t handle anyone else running Café Diem.”
“Funny,” Sueños called after her, crossing to Vince and giving him a quick kiss. Nathan blinked, wondering how he had missed that bit of gossip.
“You’re going to get us caught,” Vince remarked, shaking his head and stepping away. “And I told you, we don’t go public till your ex-wife knows.”
“Fine,” Sueños agreed, and Nathan smirked, amused by the pair. “Did you come up here just to bring me breakfast? I ate before I left your place this morning, remember?”
“It’s not breakfast,” Vince replied, shrugging. “I just figured after what you said last night, you might want one of these.”
Sueños gave Vince a swift look and opened the bag, pulling out a lamp. “Hey, thanks,” Sueños said, giving Vince a weak smile. “But even given what the sheriff saw, I don’t think he’s alive.”
“But you believe Carter,” Vince observed, shrugging. “It’s starting to be more about that than whether or not Stark is still around.”
“I am,” Nathan remarked dryly, sighing. “Lanterns... trying to guide me in like a wayward ship?” he guessed.
“I like the saying anyway,” Sueños remarked, running a finger over the base of the lamp. “I’ll light it tonight. Maybe it’ll bring me a chef leaving the kitchen early for once?” he suggested impishly, and Vince grinned back.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied, looking around quickly before leaning in and giving Sueños a kiss that made Nathan turn away with a blush, feeling like he was intruding. “See you tonight,” he heard Vince say, indicating it was safe to turn around. Nathan sighed, settling in to wait for Sueños to run another test, hopefully without the erotic dream-inducing drug.
Sueños set the lamp down on his desk, so Nathan walked over to examine it, finding a quatrain engraved on the base of the lantern. “Lost to the waves/yet I set a lantern for thee/Guided by its firelight/thou shalt return to me,” Nathan read, smiling a little sadly. “Huh. Wouldn’t have pegged Carter for wanting me back.”
The next test subject, fortunately not given the erotic dream drug, reported a dream about socks, a margarita, and a fuzzy blue Disney cartoon. Nathan gave up, grumbling to himself as he walked out of the dream lab, cursing himself for putting any store in influencing the subconscious mind based on a fluke with Carter.
No longer interested in going to Café Diem, Nathan decided to put himself to good use and try to spy on Thorne for a while. He got to her office, finding it empty. He looked over the papers out on the desk, but nothing incriminating stuck out. And older arrest warrant for a Mary Perkins caught his eye, but it meant nothing to him so he moved on. Interestingly, he noted the formula that caused the time loop neatly copied onto her notebook, with a question mark and the initials E.R.P. in the margin alongside it. She might be eager to leave him buried, Nathan thought grimly, but she didn’t really buy into his “death” either.
He gave up, annoyed at not being able to shuffle deeper into the papers in the office. He walked back down toward the time maintenance lab, stopping by Fargo’s lab to check on his assistant, wondering which mentor the young man had turned to, Carter or Allison, and which way Fargo had gone in the subtle town divide. He got his answer quickly enough; every board in Fargo’s lab was covered in formula permutations based on Weinbrenner’s particle deceleration, far outside Fargo’s areas of study but still competently handled. Fargo himself had fallen asleep at his desk, his glasses digging into his skin. Nathan reached out, stopping short as he remembered he couldn’t actually remove the younger man’s glasses.
A loud knock on the door had Fargo jolting upright, and reaching for a remote. He activated it, and several dry erase boards slid over the formula filled boards. A couple more jabs at the remote and the door clicked unlocked. Zane walked in, raising an eyebrow at Fargo’s disheveled state.
“God, you should have said it was you,” Fargo whined, glaring at Zane. “I locked down all the boards thinking it was Dr. Blake.”
“You here all night?” Zane asked, looking smug. “Come on, we’ve only got fifteen minutes till we’re meeting Carter down in the time lab.”
“Here’s my notes,” Fargo shoved a stack of papers at Zane. “I’m stuck in the meeting with Kyoto to cover your stupid ass.”
“Hey,” Zane said, giving Fargo a patient look. “Thanks.”
“Oh. No prob,” Fargo replied, poorly concealing his surprise. He straightened up, locking the door behind Zane and starting to work again. Nathan watched him for a few minutes, feeling inordinately proud, then decided to head down to the time maintenance lab and see how Zane had fared with the equations.
He passed two women discussing the sheriff’s ass as he walked toward the lab, and determined that Carter was already in the building. He rolled his eyes, lengthening his stride. “See, all sorts of women you could have picked instead of Allie,” he shot at Carter when he entered the lab, huffing at the equation on the board that Zane was working on. “Honestly, Zane, you’re worse off than Henry,” he complained in a loud voice at the younger man. “This last permutation is ridiculous.” It made him feel a little better to pretend he still possessed his power of intimidation.
“Ah, Zane, can you give me a sum up of what you’re doing, hurry this along?” Carter asked. Zane paused, looking over the equation and seeing the fallacy, erasing it with a swipe of the eraser.
“I’m making a mess, that’s what,” Zane sighed. Henry looked up from his station, frowning at the defeat in Zane’s voice. “You know, Henry, you’re right. We need Stark for this. I don’t think I can do this.”
“You’re doing fine,” Henry said reassuringly.
“I’m sorry, I’m not helping much either,” Carter observed wryly.
“It’s okay,” Zane told him, shoving his hands in his pockets and stepping away from the boards. “I just wish I had your faith about this.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Carter muttered, turning to Henry. “Henry, you remember that conversation we had the night Nathan died?”
“Yeah?” Henry asked, looking concerned.
“It’s gotten worse,” Carter told the scientist cryptically.
“Still?” Henry asked, the concern on his face alarming Nathan into approaching them.
“Uh, guys?” Zane asked, waving a hand at them. “Someone wanna clue me in?”
Carter and Henry seemed to be communicating silently, and Nathan waited, sick with anticipation. “I’d like to limit the number of people who think I’m crazy,” Carter said softly.
“Too late, but your sister has half the town backing you anyway,” Zane pointed out.
“I’m seeing him,” Carter admitted, and his eyes turned unerringly in Nathan’s direction. “And hearing him now too.”
Pairing: Jack/Nathan (small side bits with Jo/Zane and Vince/Paul)
Rating: This Segment PG, Overall NC-17
Word Count: ~5000
Disclaimer: If they were mine, it wouldn’t have happened! But since they aren’t, I’m just borrowing them to play with and reorder the universe to my own happy liking.
Warnings: Spoilers for 304: I Do Over, AU off 304, cannon character death-ish, angst, non-corporeal sex like stuff, some graphic imagery.
Summary: He’s displaced in time and it just figures that the only person he can even slightly reach doesn’t have anything resembling the knowledge to help him.
Previous parts can be found here.
Nathan woke up a second time, and though he was conscious of low sounds around him, he kept his eyes squeezed shut for a few moments, half scared of what sort of invisible, intangible, or ill-formed monster he would be this time. After a long moment, he sighed, and opened his eyes, recognizing that having some semblance of hearing meant he had to be closer to fully formed now. His reflection, just as he remembered it from the day of the accident, met his eyes. Before he could check the impulse, he was patting down his body to check that all his parts had reformed. Two legs, two arms, ten fingers, wiggle his toes, quick check at the belt... he smiled reflexively; it was all in place again, even if his hard thuds had only felt like whispers of touch, barely present even to himself.
Over his shoulder, Nathan grinned as he spotted a familiar blue gaze. Carter was lounging against the wall, staring past Nathan at the empty hull of the photon accelerator and dead electron clock. The dark smudges under the other man’s eyes, as though he hadn’t slept in weeks, instantly wiped the grin off his face. Nathan turned and crossed to Carter, waving his hand in front of the sheriff’s face. Unsurprisingly, the man simply blinked, no indication that the gesture had been noticed.
“You know, if you didn’t look so bad, I might have fun with this,” Nathan remarked, settling along the wall next to Carter. The other man shifted a little, and Nathan poked at him, letting his hand vanish into Carter’s bicep with the motion. His amusement only lasted a few moments, and he settled back almost falling through the wall before remembering to hold himself steady, trying to puzzle out his situation. He refused to accept the possibility that he was some sort of ghost or angel. He doubted he was even dead. Dead was nothingness, cessation. And he was still... something.
Nathan’s musing was interrupted by Henry’s arrival. The older man looked worried, his gaze soft as he dropped a hand on Carter’s shoulder reassuringly. “Jack, you have to let this go,” Henry said quietly.
“Look, I...” Carter hesitated, giving Henry a look that Nathan could almost describe as pleading. “I really was thinking I’d let it go this morning but... I need you to walk me through the science once, Henry.”
Henry started to object, and Carter plowed on. “I know, Thorne closed the inquest. Just... walk me through it? So I understand it?”
“Okay,” Henry agreed, folding his arms and leaning against the wall on the other side of Carter. “When Nathan accelerated the particle, it restarted time working normally, but only outside the particle accelerator. Nathan looped back. And that universe was unstable. It was... well, deleted, for lack of a better term. And Nathan was deleted with it.”
“That’s what I saw then,” Carter put in, a little desperate. “Nathan dissolving was him being deleted.”
“No,” Nathan burst out, vehement suddenly, desperate for someone to be looking for him. Henry was talking Carter into letting go, and from the sound of it, Carter was the only one still looking.
“Jack, no one saw what you think you saw,” Henry replied, a little frustration in his voice. “Fargo, the security cameras, they all saw a quick flash and then Nathan was gone.”
“I know,” Carter rubbed the back of his head, just as frustrated. “But Henry, I know what I saw.”
Henry regarded Jack for a long moment. “All right,” he said at last. “I can do a little more digging, look deeper into what you’re describing, Jack.”
“It’s just... if it’s possible he was accelerated with the particle, if he’s... like Zane said- out of sin...” Carter fumbled with the words.
“Ah, let's just shorten it to out of sync with our time flow,” Henry finished helpfully, nodding. “Then we have to be sure. And we both know Thorne won’t expend any extra time and money on something a camera didn’t see.”
“Yeah,” Carter agreed glumly. “Thanks, Henry.”
“Thanks, Henry,” Nathan echoed, reaching through Jack to mime touching Henry’s arm. Carter started quickly at the same moment, moving to the door, and then paused, looking back at Henry.
“Get some sleep, Jack,” Henry said sympathetically. Nathan lingered with Henry, who watched Carter go, a worried frown on his face.
“What’s going on here, Henry?” he asked, but Henry was already looking back over the equation on the dry erase board.
He watched, Henry unmoving, simply looking at the equation, which he knew meant Henry was completely stuck for ideas. “I’m here,” he told Henry, sighing. He shoved at the dry erase pen, determined to try and move it, but once again nothing happened.
“I don’t know what to do, Kim.”
Nathan’s head jerked up, astonished. Henry had the chain around his neck pressed to his lips, his eyes closed. “I can’t decide if this is Jack’s way of mourning, being in denial and creating a mystery to solve, or if he really saw something.” Henry paused, his eyes opening and focused skyward. “Either way, I’m no closer to coming up with a way to figure it out.”
Nathan started to settle in, but then Henry whispered, “I miss you, Kim. And I miss him, too.”
He crept out of the lab, not wanting to hear the quiet confession of his mentor and friend. He couldn’t do anything to help Henry, so he walked through the halls to Allison’s office. The office was dimly lit, and Allison was surrounded by stacks of paperwork that she busied herself with, the logic diamond around her neck gleaming in the low light. Nathan sat in the chair opposite her, surprised by the quick efficiency and neutral way Allison was working.
“Allison?” Nathan fought an instinctive tensing of non-existent muscles at the sound of Thorne’s voice. “I thought I told you that you didn’t have to come back to work so soon.”
“It’s been two weeks, Eva,” Allison replied easily, gesturing toward the chair. Nathan got up quickly, not wanting Thorne to sit on him, even if she would pass right through his ghostly body. “Honestly, I was ready a week and a half ago to be back. I need the work, and the distraction.”
“That I can understand,” Thorne said sympathetically, and Nathan frowned, not liking her too solicitous attitude. “I have several projects I could use a savvy right hand on. I’ll be sure to shift some of that onto your plate.”
“Thank you,” Allison said, and Nathan was surprised by the genuine gratefulness on her face. “You’ve been a good friend these past two weeks, Eva.”
“I know what it’s like to loose a partner,” she said softly, and for one moment, Nathan saw the genuine woman underneath the façade. “Any extra work, anything you need,” she said, rising gracefully. “Also, I wanted to let you know, I’ll be closing down the time maintenance lab this week.”
“I think Henry and Zane were going to do some research in there into the ultra-indigo light,” Allison replied, not looking up from the form she was checking. “Something about the hydroponics investment team from Kyoto?”
“Oh?” Thorne smiled, and Nathan saw her flash of triumph at Allison’s apparent casual acceptance of the commercialization of GD. “Well, that’s nice to hear. I’ll postpone it for a couple weeks then.”
Nathan was glad to see Allison watch Thorne leave from under lowered lashes, but was surprised when she shook her head, muttering under her breath, “Fools chasing after shadows and dust,” she said bitterly. “He’s dead and gone.”
“No, Allie, I’m here,” Nathan said, coming around to kneel next to her. He remained crouched there for the better part of an hour, praying every time she even slightly twitched that she had seen or heard him somehow. He was tracing circles on her arm, his fingers falling under the sleeve of her shirt but never touching her, when Carter entered, giving Allison an expectant look.
“I’m fine,” Allison said, her tone clearly warning Carter away.
“And you promised me 5’o’clock,” he replied, tapping his watch. “It’s almost six.”
“I’m going to stay,” Allison replied, folding her arms. “I have a lot more to do than I expected.”
“Allison...” Carter started, concern plastered over his face, and Nathan winced, seeing the flare of anger in Allison’s eyes.
“I don’t need to be coddled, I don’t need a babysitter, and I’m staying,” she said.
“But--” Nathan was impressed. He never argued with Allison when she had that tone.
“No,” she repeated, her voice fierce. “I don’t care what sort of misguided promise you made to Nathan or how worried you are, I don’t want you here. Now, go away and let me work.”
“Ah, Allison, I...”
“I think Dr. Blake asked you to leave, Sheriff,” Thorne’s voice broke in, and she strode confidently into Allison’s office, stepping right through Nathan on her way to Allison’s side.
“Fine,” Carter said tersely, and Nathan reacted instantly reaching out to try and stop him. His hand passed through the other man, but the other man turned back at that moment, startling him. “Jo asked me to remind you that she still needs your help with a dress for the party next weekend.”
“I’ll give her a call,” Allison promised, nodding to Carter. He gritted his teeth, and left quickly, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Nathan reached out again, and for one brief moment, he thought he felt his fingers connect with something solid. Carter’s pace faltered, but then continued on, ignoring everything around him. Nathan felt his heart jump. Had he just—
“Are you all right?”
Nathan turned back, seeing that Thorne had settled her hands on Allison’s shoulders comfortingly. “It’s fine,” Allison sighed, relaxing a little into the touch. “He’s trying to help. He just doesn’t get that I don’t need it.”
“Come on,” Thorne said, turning Allison’s chair for her. “Let me take you to dinner, tell you about the rather outrageous work Zane is doing with the Consumer Products Lab, and then you can decide if you want to come back or call it a night.”
“Thanks,” Allison said, reaching up and squeezing the older woman’s hand. “That is what I need.”
Nathan lingered behind, disturbed by the events that had unfolded before his eyes. He had suspicions as to why Allison was pushing Carter away so hard, equal parts blaming him for what happened and hating herself for having feelings, even just slightly, for Carter. “Been there,” he sighed to himself at the thought, then switched to debating heading back down to the lab, but decided to walk around town.
He found himself wandering in the direction of the bunker, down a neighborhood street, surprised to see that several houses had old-fashioned lanterns lit in the window. He frowned, wondering what strange autumn tradition Vince had cooked up this time. He continued to the bunker, stopping when he saw the entire path up to the entrance lined on both sides by hanging lanterns.
Nathan slid through the outer bunker door, down the stairs and was surprised when the inner door opened for him. He walked in, baffled, unable to spot anyone near the door.
“SARAH, why’s the door open?” he heard Carter ask, and he walked around the corner, spotting the man half lying along the couch.
“I’m sorry, Jack, I suspect there is an error in one of my subroutines,” she replied.
“Interesting,” Nathan mused aloud, turning back to the now closed door. He walked back over toward it, and the door opened again. SARAH’s sensors were registering something about his presence, but the AI was completely unaware of it.
“I think you need to run a diagnostic scan,” Carter observed, sighing. He was sitting up, looking around warily. “And SARAH, can you run a scan, see if anything odd is going on external to your systems?”
“Of course,” she agreed easily. Nathan could have cheered when Carter asked for SARAH to run external scans, though that the sheriff had actually thought of it was a little odd. Carter was settling back on the couch, but his gaze was anything but relaxed, scanning the room, his eyes flicking over to Nathan a few times. Every time Carter turned to gaze at him, Nathan felt his heart flutter with hope, but Carter eventually gave up, turning his attention back to the muted football game on the screen.
Nathan sighed, sinking down onto the chair across from the sheriff, suddenly feeling exhausted. Carter jumped as Zoë entered, looking relieved. “Hey, Dad, what’s up?” she asked, a little bit of confusion wrinkling her forehead.
“I guess SARAH’s picked up a malfunction,” he explained, shrugging. “Door’s been opening and shutting on its own. If her diagnostics don’t pick it up, I’ll call Fargo to check it out.”
Nathan paused, suddenly conflicted. He wanted to make the door malfunction, find a way for Carter to link it to his presence, not a computer glitch. But if Fargo recalibrated the system, it might make the door sensor no longer register his presence. He decided to wait for the sheriff’s sister to arrive home or one of the other Carters to leave and slip out with them.
“You headed to Pilar’s?” Carter asked, and Zoë shook her head, sighing.
“Accelerated Physics quiz tomorrow,” Zoë told him. “I’m heading up to study and get some sleep. Aunt Lexi in bed still?”
“Yeah, she’s feeling awful,” Carter replied emphatically. “Go in and say hi, give her a hug before you settle in to study. She’s worried about how sick she is and the baby.”
Nathan started, surprised to hear Carter’s sister was pregnant. “Sure,” Zoë agreed, easily, hugging her dad impulsively. “You on call tonight?” she asked, and Nathan was surprised to see a little worry on the girl’s face. His death, which could have been her father’s if there had been more time, had obviously shaken her.
“Nah, Jo’s got it tonight,” Carter reassured her. “So you can sleep without worrying and maybe not have a nightmare tonight?”
“You first,” she countered, giving him a knowing grin.
“Goodnight, Zoë,” Carter replied, turning back to the game, but Nathan could tell his mind was otherwise occupied. They watched to the end of the game, Carter showing no signs of leaving, and neither woman appearing at all.
“I guess I’m stuck here with you tonight,” Nathan commented, sighing. He tried to make himself sound disgusted, but the exhaustion was catching up to him. “Maybe that’s not so bad.”
Carter sighed, turning off the television and looking up at the ceiling for a moment. “I’m tired,” Nathan observed, surprised. “I didn’t realize incorporeal entities had to sleep.”
“Just go to bed then,” Carter said suddenly, and the timing took Nathan aback so much that Carter was halfway to the stairs before Nathan realized the other man had been talking to himself. He followed Carter upstairs, watching as the sheriff moved his daughter’s books to the floor and turned out her light, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she slept. He then followed Carter to Lexi’s room, the woman pale but resting peacefully on a heap of pillows. Carter turned off the light and blew out the candles on her dresser, before heading to the master bedroom.
“Guess I’m bunking with you,” Nathan joked, sitting down on Carter’s bed and watching him go about getting ready for bed. Nathan decided to try taking off his tie, letting it drop from his fingers, his eyes growing wide as it vanished from his sight, dissolving into the air. “Right, no more removal of clothing,” he decided, shaking his head. “Though what harm would a naked ghost do anyway?” He yawned, feeling an odd dizziness creeping up on him. A few moments later, darkness enveloped him.
*-*
A whimper woke him. The room was dark, and Nathan had no clue where he was until he looked to his left and saw Carter. The other man was turning his head, thrashing almost as though he was in pain. “No,” he heard Carter gasp, and the conversation in the living room about nightmares rose in his mind. He leaned over, trying to rest his hand on Carter’s shoulder, but it passed uselessly through.
“Nathan,” Carter protested, and the nightmare suddenly came into frightening clarity for Nathan.
“Jack,” he called out, even though he knew it was useless. “Jack, I’m here, I’m all right,” he continued, his hands making soothing motions along the surface of Jack’s skin, skimming his chest and shoulder.
To his surprise, the other man settled in again, turning slightly toward Nathan, the nightmare passing. Nathan watched Carter for a moment, but the darkness and sleepiness was creeping back in, and before he could wonder too long about what Jack subconscious could or could not pick up on, he was asleep.
*-*
“Okay,” he noted to himself, striding down the halls of GD toward the time maintenance lab. “Subconscious could be a way to communicate, but for obvious reasons, it’s a highly unreliable method. After stopping in to check on Henry’s progress, stop in Paul Suenos’s lab, see if I can affect the dream spectrometer. Continue trying to send message with the bunker door. Maybe I can try to Morse code SOS in the door opening pattern?”
He continued to dictate to an imaginary tape recorder. “Maybe I should try to manipulate a small electrical communications device,” he mused, spotting a scientist disastrously trying to walk and text her way through the halls. “I’m probably some sort of electrical... no, I’m temporal energy, that has to be the most likely possibility. But a device with a timer? SARAH’s got a kitchen timer I can try. Maybe something of Zane’s over in the consumer products lab.”
He entered the lab, surprised to see that Zane was squaring off against Henry. “...need to know that!” Zane was insisting.
“I am trying to figure it out,” Henry replied, gesturing to the board. “But the type of particle physics Jack is trying to describe doesn’t even exist as a science.” He was silent for a moment, and Nathan stepped between them to examine the formulas on the boards. Henry had done some good work, but had started making some errors and the equations came apart in the last few sections. “The irony is that if anyone could solve this, it would be Nathan. If there is anything to solve.”
“Hey,” Zane’s voice was sharp, but his expression softened. “I’ve been by the garage, Henry. You’ve got a lantern out too. So don’t talk like that with me. I know you believe Carter. So go home, get some sleep, and then you can take over from me.”
“Okay,” Henry agreed, his head falling. He trudge to the door, then turned back, looking at Zane speculatively. “You have a lantern in your window?” he asked.
Nathan frowned, looking back and forth between the two men, baffled. Lantern? But Zane was grinning. “Jo and I lined our walkways, same as Lexi and Zoë.”
“Silly, isn’t it?” Henry remarked, shaking his head with a sad smile.
“Nah, it’s sort of become about drawing lines,” Zane drawled, erasing a couple of Henry’s errors. “About supporting Carter, believing him, and also not being on her side, you know?”
“Thorne,” Henry remarked, nodding knowingly. “Yeah, I get that.”
“Get some sleep,” Zane said again, turning back to the dry erase board. “You were onto something here, but I think the exhaustion got to you. So go home.”
“I’ve got a stop to make, try and talk some sense into Allison,” Henry replied, his face clear about what sort of reaction he expected this to provoke.
“If you can make it past the guard dog, good luck,” Zane muttered, already distracted by the equation. Nathan watched the young man for a moment alongside Henry, aware that Henry was seeing a younger version of Nathan in Zane at that moment.
Unable to help with the science and not keen on the idea of watching Henry argue with the new Allie, he headed for the dream labs. The lanterns seemed to have something to do with him, Carter and Thorne, Nathan mused to himself. He’d love to hear the whole story, and decided to add Café Diem to his to do list for the day, hoping Vince or some local gossip might fill him in.
The dream lab was quiet, just one subject plugged in and Paul Sueños at the spectrometer, making notations on the dream wave recordings. Nathan instantly crossed to the transmitting dreamer, pursing his lips as he thought about what to say. Best to start dramatic, see if he could influence the dreamer at all. He recognized the woman as a scientist from section 3, spotted the rapid eye movement, and grinned.
“No results, that’s it, your funding is cut, the sheriff will make sure you’re out of the building and redacted from this town by 6pm sharp!” he barked at the woman. He continued in this vein for a while, before switching to threats about her biomemetic dog. Finally her eyes stilled, and he walked back over to the observation station. Nothing looked promising about the readout, but he’d wait for Sueños to get the woman’s statement about the dream. The scientist was already waking her up, and she gave him a sleepy smile.
“Always seems like I wake up at the best part of the dream,” she laughed ruefully, and Sueños smiled knowingly.
“Looked like another Jack/Sawyer Lost double feature,” Sueños commented teasingly. “Shall I write this one up as another homoerotic fantasy?”
“Yeah,” she grinned, shrugging. “What can I say, Paul, I come up with my best fanfic with your induced erotic dream tests.”
“I’ll look forward to reading it,” he told her, helping her up off the table. “In the meantime, you’ve got deadlines for Thorne.”
“Don’t remind me,” she groaned, patting the man’s arm sympathetically. “Just make sure you tell her how successful this drug is becoming. I don’t want you getting redacted any time soon.”
“Aww, you flatter me, Nina,” Sueños rolled his eyes, looking up to the doorway. Nathan followed his gaze, surprised to see Vince, a bag from Café Diem in hand.
“Nothing to do with you,” the scientist remarked, waving to Vince as she headed for the door. “I just couldn’t handle anyone else running Café Diem.”
“Funny,” Sueños called after her, crossing to Vince and giving him a quick kiss. Nathan blinked, wondering how he had missed that bit of gossip.
“You’re going to get us caught,” Vince remarked, shaking his head and stepping away. “And I told you, we don’t go public till your ex-wife knows.”
“Fine,” Sueños agreed, and Nathan smirked, amused by the pair. “Did you come up here just to bring me breakfast? I ate before I left your place this morning, remember?”
“It’s not breakfast,” Vince replied, shrugging. “I just figured after what you said last night, you might want one of these.”
Sueños gave Vince a swift look and opened the bag, pulling out a lamp. “Hey, thanks,” Sueños said, giving Vince a weak smile. “But even given what the sheriff saw, I don’t think he’s alive.”
“But you believe Carter,” Vince observed, shrugging. “It’s starting to be more about that than whether or not Stark is still around.”
“I am,” Nathan remarked dryly, sighing. “Lanterns... trying to guide me in like a wayward ship?” he guessed.
“I like the saying anyway,” Sueños remarked, running a finger over the base of the lamp. “I’ll light it tonight. Maybe it’ll bring me a chef leaving the kitchen early for once?” he suggested impishly, and Vince grinned back.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied, looking around quickly before leaning in and giving Sueños a kiss that made Nathan turn away with a blush, feeling like he was intruding. “See you tonight,” he heard Vince say, indicating it was safe to turn around. Nathan sighed, settling in to wait for Sueños to run another test, hopefully without the erotic dream-inducing drug.
Sueños set the lamp down on his desk, so Nathan walked over to examine it, finding a quatrain engraved on the base of the lantern. “Lost to the waves/yet I set a lantern for thee/Guided by its firelight/thou shalt return to me,” Nathan read, smiling a little sadly. “Huh. Wouldn’t have pegged Carter for wanting me back.”
The next test subject, fortunately not given the erotic dream drug, reported a dream about socks, a margarita, and a fuzzy blue Disney cartoon. Nathan gave up, grumbling to himself as he walked out of the dream lab, cursing himself for putting any store in influencing the subconscious mind based on a fluke with Carter.
No longer interested in going to Café Diem, Nathan decided to put himself to good use and try to spy on Thorne for a while. He got to her office, finding it empty. He looked over the papers out on the desk, but nothing incriminating stuck out. And older arrest warrant for a Mary Perkins caught his eye, but it meant nothing to him so he moved on. Interestingly, he noted the formula that caused the time loop neatly copied onto her notebook, with a question mark and the initials E.R.P. in the margin alongside it. She might be eager to leave him buried, Nathan thought grimly, but she didn’t really buy into his “death” either.
He gave up, annoyed at not being able to shuffle deeper into the papers in the office. He walked back down toward the time maintenance lab, stopping by Fargo’s lab to check on his assistant, wondering which mentor the young man had turned to, Carter or Allison, and which way Fargo had gone in the subtle town divide. He got his answer quickly enough; every board in Fargo’s lab was covered in formula permutations based on Weinbrenner’s particle deceleration, far outside Fargo’s areas of study but still competently handled. Fargo himself had fallen asleep at his desk, his glasses digging into his skin. Nathan reached out, stopping short as he remembered he couldn’t actually remove the younger man’s glasses.
A loud knock on the door had Fargo jolting upright, and reaching for a remote. He activated it, and several dry erase boards slid over the formula filled boards. A couple more jabs at the remote and the door clicked unlocked. Zane walked in, raising an eyebrow at Fargo’s disheveled state.
“God, you should have said it was you,” Fargo whined, glaring at Zane. “I locked down all the boards thinking it was Dr. Blake.”
“You here all night?” Zane asked, looking smug. “Come on, we’ve only got fifteen minutes till we’re meeting Carter down in the time lab.”
“Here’s my notes,” Fargo shoved a stack of papers at Zane. “I’m stuck in the meeting with Kyoto to cover your stupid ass.”
“Hey,” Zane said, giving Fargo a patient look. “Thanks.”
“Oh. No prob,” Fargo replied, poorly concealing his surprise. He straightened up, locking the door behind Zane and starting to work again. Nathan watched him for a few minutes, feeling inordinately proud, then decided to head down to the time maintenance lab and see how Zane had fared with the equations.
He passed two women discussing the sheriff’s ass as he walked toward the lab, and determined that Carter was already in the building. He rolled his eyes, lengthening his stride. “See, all sorts of women you could have picked instead of Allie,” he shot at Carter when he entered the lab, huffing at the equation on the board that Zane was working on. “Honestly, Zane, you’re worse off than Henry,” he complained in a loud voice at the younger man. “This last permutation is ridiculous.” It made him feel a little better to pretend he still possessed his power of intimidation.
“Ah, Zane, can you give me a sum up of what you’re doing, hurry this along?” Carter asked. Zane paused, looking over the equation and seeing the fallacy, erasing it with a swipe of the eraser.
“I’m making a mess, that’s what,” Zane sighed. Henry looked up from his station, frowning at the defeat in Zane’s voice. “You know, Henry, you’re right. We need Stark for this. I don’t think I can do this.”
“You’re doing fine,” Henry said reassuringly.
“I’m sorry, I’m not helping much either,” Carter observed wryly.
“It’s okay,” Zane told him, shoving his hands in his pockets and stepping away from the boards. “I just wish I had your faith about this.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Carter muttered, turning to Henry. “Henry, you remember that conversation we had the night Nathan died?”
“Yeah?” Henry asked, looking concerned.
“It’s gotten worse,” Carter told the scientist cryptically.
“Still?” Henry asked, the concern on his face alarming Nathan into approaching them.
“Uh, guys?” Zane asked, waving a hand at them. “Someone wanna clue me in?”
Carter and Henry seemed to be communicating silently, and Nathan waited, sick with anticipation. “I’d like to limit the number of people who think I’m crazy,” Carter said softly.
“Too late, but your sister has half the town backing you anyway,” Zane pointed out.
“I’m seeing him,” Carter admitted, and his eyes turned unerringly in Nathan’s direction. “And hearing him now too.”
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-04 12:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-04 04:27 am (UTC)Says the girl who just posted yet another chapter without a happy ending! =P
Glad you liked it! I personally am fond of the cliffhangers (it's why I'm enjoying catching up on Lost!)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-04 02:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-05 04:53 am (UTC)Then the universe introduced me to two of the actors and five of the writers in less than a month. Hint taken.
Know what you mean, the withdrawl lately is killing me! Lots of people 'working on things' but no new stuff hitting the interwebs lately. =/