From: Suzanne Date: 10 Oct 2002 03:21:07 -0700 Subject: [all-xf] NEW FIC: Synchronic (DRR casefile, Source: atxc TITLE: Synchronic AUTHOR: Bobbi SUMMARY: A journey into a parallel universe to find Lisa Ianelli leads Agents Doggett and Reyes to unexpected challenges and revelations - and also reveals the fates of Jason Nichols and Lisa Ianelli. RATING: PG-13 KEYWORDS: Synchrony, Doggett, Reyes, Doggett/Reyes UST/RST, DRR, case file, Doggett/Reyes case file ARCHIVE: XFMU, The Vision, Gossamer, Ephemeral - others e-mail me and ask for permission, please. DISCLAIMER: John Doggett, Monica Reyes, Lisa Ianelli, and Jason Nichols don't belong to me. Other characters whose names are familiar don't belong to me either, but to Chris Carter and 1013 Productions. FEEDBACK: Direct comments and criticisms to AmericanPadme@aol.com. SPOILERS: Synchrony, Season 9 AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fic serves as a sequel to season four's "Synchrony" - one of my favorite episodes of all time. I am eternally in debt to Cass for her patience and help, and always, lighthearted attitude and continued inspiration - you're the only reason I'm still active in the fandom! I'd also like to thank Evie (a.k.a. The Invisible Agent) for her continued encouragement. Lastly, but not least, great thanks to the folks at XFTSE - this fic wouldn't have been possible without your transcript of "Synchrony." ___________________________________________________________________ This was what Lisa Ianelli had been waiting for. Nearly five years after Jason had been `taken' from her, after her Jason Nichols had been killed by the Jason Nichols from the future, both of their bodies never found, Lisa was ready to change that. The compound that she had worked so hard to develop now existed. Lisa could go back. This could change everything. Lisa could bring her Jason back. Lisa stepped away from the computer, eying the syringe in her hand. Sure, she had her doubts about this. History, the past - is nothing to be taken lightly, it is nothing to be toyed with. But this is for Jason. She made a vow to herself, and she's not about to break it. Lisa took off her lab jacket and discarded it to the floor, and then pulled the sleeve of her t-shirt up. She then injected the syringe into her right arm. She'd completely disregarded all the risks, everything. "For you, Jason," Lisa whispered. "For better or worse." ___________________________________________________________________ "Lisa Ianelli," John Doggett stated as he walked into the office on one cool Fall morning, a folder in hand. Monica Reyes looked up from the crossword puzzle she'd been doing in the paper, and then looked back down, mentally calculating something. "Nuh-uh, doesn't fit." Doggett raised his eyebrows and approached her desk, picking up the newspaper. "Sorry to interrupt your game time, Ms. Reyes, but we've got work to do." Reyes looked up to meet her partner's glance, trying to manage a mock glare, which turned into hysterical laughter. Doggett raised his eyebrows. Had his best friend and partner finally lost it? "Monica, I have to say, I've suspected that you've been leanin' toward fallin' off the deep end for some time now, but not so soon..." She only laughed even harder. "Um, is there something that I'm missing here? Because if there is, would you fill me in before I get even more confused?" Doggett asked, his left eyebrow furrowing in confusion. "It's... just..." Monica took a deep breath and calmed down. "Work. After we haven't had a case in weeks. This just adds to my lucky day. You'll never guess what happened this morning." "What happened this morning?" "Well, you know, I wake up, okay? Suddenly, the realization hits me. I'm soaking wet -" "Musta been a pretty hot dream, Monica?" "Ha ha. Very funny, John Doggett." Monica rolled her eyes and proceeded to continue with her story. "So, okay. I wake up. I realize I'm soaking wet, and I don't understand why. I stand up, and there's water on my floor. The whole place is just soaked. The carpet's ruined. I'm thinking, you know, oh, there must be a leak in the roof. Must've rained last night, and the water must've come through the ceiling. So, I then turn around to look at my bed, and realize that somehow, it's sprung a leak. The brand new waterbed I bought not even two weeks ago! It sprung a leak, and it ruined my carpet! Now I not only have to finish my monthly payments on the waterbed, but I have to pay to fix the carpet!" "Isn't there a warranty on it or somethin'?" Monica shook her head. John smirked. "I think the motto of the story is, next time, read the fine print," he said, that smirk still on his face. "Wait, you interrupted me. I'm not finished." Doggett again raised his eyebrows. "So the newspaper guy shows up at the door. He was there on Friday, but I told him to come back, because I needed to bring my check book home. Well, he shows up this morning, and I have my check book, but I realize that I have no money in my account. Oh, and did I mention that I had to answer the door in nothing else except my pajamas because I couldn't even make my way across the room without getting even more soaked?" "I'm sure the paper boy didn't mind." "Of course he did! He wanted his check, and rightly so! So now, I don't have today's paper. I deposited money into my account and then called the paper, and all lines are busy. So I'm stuck with the crossword from Sunday's paper." "That wasn't how I meant what I said about the paper boy, but oh well...sounds like the morning from hell," John said. "No crossword puzzle. I mean, God, how did you live?!" "Thank you very much for your sarcasm..." Monica said dryly. "Anyway," she was suddenly eager to change the subject, "Who's this Lisa Ianelli?" "Apparently, someone hasn't done their homework." "I don't know what you mean." "If you look through the old case files, she's in there." Monica sighed and got up from her seat, starting to walk over to the file cabinet. "Wait," John followed her and held out a folder. "I'll spare you the trouble." "Thanks," Monica said, reaching for the folder. "Not so fast. You have to answer my question first. What's so funny about everything that happened this morning?" "Just the fact that we're assigned a case now, of all days, when we haven't been assigned one in weeks and I've had the Monday from hell. I mean, I have to have my place re-carpeted, and if we go somewhere, obviously that's obviously going to have to wait." "Ah," he nodded. "Don't despair. I've had worse days. Besides, would you really blow me off an' leave me here all alone just to get your place re-carpeted?" Monica ignored the question and reached forward and grabbed the file. "Ianelli, Lisa. Says here she works at one MIT Cryogenics. Let's see, cryogenics, cryogenics..." Monica mused aloud. "That's that experimental science where they freeze the dead, if I'm correct." Doggett nodded. "But that's not all Ms. Ianelli does," he said after a moment's silence. Monica's silence was his cue to continue. "When Mulder and Scully knew her, she and her boyfriend, Jason Nichols, were trying to work on some kind of compound dealing with time travel." "Time travel at a Cryogenics lab?" Monica inquired. "I know the proponents of Cryogenics like to tout it as the fountain of youth. That's not what it is - even if Cryogenics does even pan out, if they can unfreeze these people and bring them back to life, there's no restoring them to who they used to be. Most scientists have written off Cryogenics as impossible. I'm sure you know that. The technology to even experiment, to see if it will work, is still years in the future. I've never heard of Cryogenics being used for time travel." "It's got something to do with a rapid freezing compound that Jason was working on developing. Subatomic particles that can travel faster than the speed of light and go back in time - only with a temperature of absolute zero." "Jason Nichols was?" Monica paused. "Where is he now?" "Dead. At least, presumed dead. Jason Nichols set the lab he was working in on fire. He's presumed dead. They never found his body." "Why would he set the lab he was working on on fire? Why would he destroy a change that could change history? Why would he destroy everything he'd worked on for years?" "That's a hell of a good question, Monica, but unfortunately I can't tell you why. I can tell you that this report reads as ridiculous, if not more, as an episode of The Twilight Zone." "How do you mean?" "Jason Nichols set the lab on fire to destroy everything. But... he wasn't Jason Nichols." "I'm not following," Monica shook her head in confusion. "Neither am I. But what this report is sayin', is that an older Jason Nichols apparently came back from the future to stop his younger self from making the discovery of this compound, of time travel. The older Nichols set the lab on fire, killing both him and the younger Nichols." "Puts a whole new twist on killing yourself," Monica quipped. "Times two." "Tell me about it," Doggett shrugged in bewilderment. "Told ya it was strange. Neither of their bodies were ever found." "Okay, so we know Lisa was his girlfriend, but... how is she relevant in this?" "She's missing." "Missing?" "Missing," John confirmed. "She's been missing a week now. And her brother's talking, cause he's scared to death. Apparently he's the only person she told anything." "Well, what did she tell him?" ___________________________________________________________________ "So they're both scientists," Doggett walked down the hall of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Monica Reyes. "In completely different areas. Ryan Ianelli is a cancer researcher." "I don't care what he is, as long as he talks." Monica and John reached the end of a hallway, and Doggett stepped forward when they reached a door that had a plaque on it reading `Dr. Ryan Ianelli.' "Doctor Ianelli, FBI. Open up," John called, still knocking. Only a second or two later, a man who was a couple inches shorter than John opened the door. He wore circle-rimmed glasses, a pinstripe suit and white shirt underneath, and his dark hair was tinged with gray. "So now the FBI's involved," Ryan Ianelli looked between Monica and John. "I don't care what it takes, as long as you find my sister. You have to find her." Monica stepped forward. "Doctor Ianelli, at this point, we have no idea how to do that. You're going to have to cooperate with us if we're ever going to find your sister." "Of course." Ryan Ianelli stuck out his hand to Reyes first, and then to Doggett. "Nice to meet you. I'm Doctor Ryan Ianelli, but I'm sure you already knew that." "Your sister opened up to you, Doctor Ianelli. At least that's what you claim. What'd she tell you? Does she have any enemies that you can think of off the top of ya head?" Doggett questioned. "Lisa doesn't have many enemies," Ryan sighed. "You're going to think I'm crazy when I tell you. That I've gone off the deep end. You've got to believe me, though." "We can't make any judgments until you tell us what you're talking about," Monica studied Ryan Ianelli carefully. "I always told her not to get involved with Jason Nichols. He was trouble. Trouble from the very beginning. He's always been trouble, he'll always be trouble, nothing can change that. Lisa was fine until she got involved with him. Everything was fine until she got involved with him." Ryan Ianelli's words came out in a rush. "Doctor Ianelli, could you slow down and please explain why you feel the way you do about Jason Nichols?" Monica suggested calmly. "Because he's only out for himself, never anyone else! His life was dedicated to finding this compound for time travel - something, in my opinion, that never should've even been messed with!" "Doctor Ianelli, Jason Nichols is dead," Doggett reminded him. "I know," Ryan remarked flatly. "But it doesn't matter. He causes just as much trouble dead as he did alive, because Lisa wouldn't let go. After he died, his goal became Lisa's quest. Lisa vowed to find that compound. She vowed to find that compound to go back and save Jason. To go back and save Jason, in such a way that the situation he died in would never have presented itself. I'm not sure exactly what she had in mind, but she said if she could go back, that she could change it. Fix it. I told her not to mess with it. That it was dangerous, that she'd regret it. She wouldn't listen, though. Jason, Jason, Jason. Ever since she met him, that's all she talked about. Ever since she died, this damn compound is all that's been on her mind. Finding a way back to him. To Jason." "What are you trying to say, Doctor Ianelli?" Reyes didn't want to anger the man, but she was confused by what he was trying to say. "She found the compound," Ryan responded darkly. "My sister discovered the compound that was Jason's quest. She discovered the compound, developed the compound, that makes time travel possible." Doggett and Reyes exchanged glances. "Sir," Reyes began, "Even if she had, we don't have the capabilities to... to make something like this safe. The human body cannot withstand what I believe that your sister was trying to develop. Theoretically, time travel may be possible. But the human body cannot withstand it." "But that's where you're wrong, young lady," Ryan held a finger up, gesturing for Doggett and Reyes not to interrupt him. "We call it time travel, but it's not time travel." "Then what the hell is it?" Doggett was growing impatient with this man's mind games. He wasn't one to beat around the bush. He wanted the meat of the matter. "In order for time travel to be possible, time has to pass. Time doesn't pass. We pass. Time simply is," Ryan explained. "Then explain what you call time travel," Reyes demanded. "Time splits every quarter of a second, Agent Reyes." "Which means?" this was taking way too long for Doggett's taste. Besides, it was BS. Time travel? Lord in Heaven knew where Lisa Ianelli had disappeared to, but Doggett wasn't about to buy this. "To go back in something, it has to pass. Time splits every quarter of a second, causing an infinite number of outcomes, scenarios, and even lives," Ryan looked between the agents. The silence unnerved him, so he continued: "For example, there's a universe where Hitler won the war, and one where he didn't. There's a universe where slavery was abolished, and one where it still lives on. There's a universe where Bush won the election, a universe where Gore won it - scary thought, I know. There's a universe where Jason was killed, and a universe where he wasn't." "Explain the older Jason Nichols, then," Reyes challenged. "There is no future, in the sense of the word. I don't prefer to use the term `passes,' because time doesn't. It is. But... I suppose you could say things happen at different rates. In one universe, Agent Reyes, you're seventy years old." "Doctor Ianelli, thank you very much for your time," Doggett finally said, offering his hand and shaking Ryan's again, "But Agent Reyes and I have to be going." "What about my sister -" "We'll be in contact," Doggett assured, before taking Monica's hand and practically pulling her out of the hallway, down the corridor, and to the elevator. ___________________________________________________________________ Lisa Ianelli stood in the middle of a crowded street as her vision began to come into focus. The street was familiar: it wasn't far from MIT, she knew. She walked it nearly every day. Now if she could just figure out exactly where she was, and where he was... Jason. That was her goal. That was why she was here. Jason. She had to find Jason. Astonishment settled over her as she realized where she was, and what existed. The compound had worked. Her compound had worked, and she wasn't dead. Her compound - she was thinking Nobel Prize, global recognition, but - `Concentrate, Lisa,' she chided herself. Now, to find Jason... "Excuse me," Lisa tapped a woman on the shoulder. The woman, identical to Monica Reyes, turned around to face Lisa with a smile. "Is there some way I can help you?" the woman asked. "Can you tell me where MIT Cryogenics is located?" Lisa was still in awe that the people here didn't come from where she came from. This was... a different universe. A parallel universe. One of the universes created by a result of time splitting every quarter of a second. "Let's see, we're on Main, so you just turn left on Fifth, walk down Broad, and MIT Cryogenics is right on the corner before you turn to Sixth." "Thanks," Lisa nodded. "Mommy," a little girl tugged on the arm of the woman identical to Monica Reyes. "Can we go see daddy now?" The woman nodded and smiled at her daughter, and Lisa watched as she took her hand and walked away. ___________________________________________________________________ "So," Monica climbed into the passenger seat of John's car, "What do you think?" "The guy," Doggett glanced at Monica as he turned his keys in the ignition, "Is a quack." "Ducks go quack. People don't go quack. People aren't quacks." "Excuse me, then. He's... he's not got his head on straight. Somethin's wrong there, Monica. I don't know what it is, but..." "John, just stop and think. Why is what he's saying so far out? It makes perfect sense. In the early nineteen-nineties, at Los Alamos, physicists measured the thickness of a human hair using laser light that was never actually shone on the hair, but only might have been." John's look turned even more confused. "Maybe I'll lock you in the loony bin with Doctor Ianelli," he kidded. "Funny. Not," Monica was not amused. "They're what I refer to as counterfactual results. It's like finding something without looking. The object of quantum teleportation is to be able to travel by simply reappearing at some distant location - the past or even future, if you will - these parallel universes that Ryan Ianelli talked about. It might even appear that one could scan the object and send the information so the object can be reconstructed at its destination." "Too much Star Trek," John remarked. "That's basically the teleportation theory from Star Trek." "No, it's not. In Star Trek, the sender is not necessary. The sender is the person who sends the information to reconstruct." "What are you trying to say, Monica?" "That Ryan Ianelli is not a quack." "Explain," John watched Monica's pensive face. "He's in on this more than he'd ever let us in on," Monica told John. "Why's he know so much? Simple. Because he's the sender. This would not be possible without him. Lisa's the receiver, wherever, whenever, she is. Ryan's sending the information to reconstruct her." "Then why would he act like he's worried? Why would he act like he doesn't know what the hell's goin' on, and like he hates the whole idea of Lisa experimenting, if he's involved?" "That's a question I do not yet have the answer to. Maybe he's profiting off of this, and it's part of some sort agreement that he has to keep it on the down low. Or worse, maybe he messed up. Time will tell." ___________________________________________________________________ Ryan Ianelli watched the agents from his window. They were sitting there in the car - they hadn't moved yet. Could they be onto...? `No,' he thought, shrugging it off. `It's far too complicated for them to understand. The FBI isn't exactly the expert on quantum mechanics and teleportation, anyway.' It had been that dark-haired, female agent that had scared him. She knew the right questions to ask. She might piece it together. But even if she did, what could she prove? Nothing, really. There was nothing to prove. There was no material evidence against him. He hadn't committed a crime. He had helped his sister. He had helped her, reluctantly, as he knew how dangerous it was to try teleporting Lisa to an alternate universe to find Jason. He couldn't stand seeing her down and depressed, though. If she could just find Jason and bring him back, then everything would be made right again. Lisa had injected herself, but Ryan had gone through the long-drawn- out process of making sure that she was sent. It consisted of making sure he entered all information about Lisa into a computer database - physical, blood type, etcetera, to make sure that she would be accurately reconstructed at the location at which she arrived. He'd waited for some kind of sign. Ryan hadn't known what to expect, but he'd expected Lisa to give him some kind of sign. He was worried beyond belief. The technology was purely experimental. No one had ever tried teleporting a human being to an alternate universe before. Lisa would be the first - if she made it. He almost wanted to tell the FBI, see what they could do. See if they thought it was some kind of hoax, or if they could contact her. But he couldn't. He'd promised Lisa. This was her discovery, her technology, not his. And then he remembered - the tiny camera Lisa had clipped to her shirt collar. Ryan walked over to his desk and booted up his laptop. "C'mon Lisa, come on..." A blurry image of Lisa Ianelli walking into what appeared to be MIT Cryogenics appeared on the screen. "Lisa," Ryan spoke into the microphone on his laptop. "Lisa, can you hear me?" No answer. Ryan sighed: half in agitation, half in relief. She couldn't hear him, but at least she was alive, wherever it was that she was. ___________________________________________________________________ "Ryan?" Lisa asked, shaking the earpiece. No answer. She'd heard his voice, and she'd tried to answer, and then everything had just burst into static. Frowning in disgust, she took the earpiece out of her ear and threw it down. It was then that she heard a sound from it. Not a beeping or breaking noise that Lisa would have expected to hear, but a voice. A voice that seemed vaguely familiar... or maybe not so vaguely. Lisa crouched down and picked up the earpiece. "Hello?" she whispered, remembering that she was still wearing the wireless microphone under her shirt. "Hello, Ryan, can you read me?" A bit of static, and then it cleared again. "Hello, Lisa. I see you've found your way here." Beep. Static. Lisa's eyes widened. The voice wasn't Ryan's. Who else knew she was here? Who else knew how to get here, besides Ryan and her? No one - that she could think of. "Hello?" Lisa asked urgently, holding the earpiece to her ear. "Whoever this is, can you read me?" No answer. She had to find out who it was. It didn't make any sense. "Hello, can you read me? If you can read me, say something. Say anything," Lisa pleaded, still crouching on the ground. "Can you hear me? Whoever you are, do you read me?" And then -- a shadow fell over Lisa. Instinctively, she dropped the earpiece. A blue Nike men's show crushed it. She swallowed and then looked up. Relief -- and confusion -- filled her face. "Jason?" ___________________________________________________________________ "The hell do we go from here, Monica?" John Doggett was sitting on his hotel room bed. A double room - two singles. Monica was lying down on her bed smoking a cigarette. "I thought you quit smokin' those things." "Hmm?" Monica sat up suddenly, as if waking up from a dream. "You were saying?" "Was Agent Reyes out in la-la land?" "You could say that," she smiled. "What were you thinkin' about?" "Stuff. Just stuff." "What kinda stuff?" She sighed. "How those cancer sticks are eating up minutes of your life as you sit there and think you get enjoyment out of them?" he countered. "John," she started, drawing out the `n,' "I thought we decided not to discuss this. It's my life and it's my problem. And that's what it should be -- my problem. Right?" "No, because your problem is my problem, too. I care about you enough that I don't wantcha smokin' those things, eatin' away at the life you have waiting ahead of you. You have years left, and you're throwing them away!" She shot him a warning glance. "I should've insisted on my own hotel room," she smirked, and continued smoking. "Bureau's tryin' to cut down on expenses, you know we couldn't do that. Besides, where would that leave me?" "Certainly not here to bitch about my bad habits." "Monica," John smirked, "I bitch because I love." She froze for a second, even though she realized that the comment was meant to be taken in jest. There was something about John Doggett saying `Monica' and `love' so close together. "Gimme that," John got up from his bed and practically lunged onto Monica's, leaning over her and grabbing the cigarette before stubbing it out in the ashtray. "What was that for?!" she defensively scolded as he sat at the foot of her bed. "You're throwing away my money!" "No, I'm just not lettin' you throw away your life. If you're not gonna do it, someone has to. Don't throw away your life. Life's too precious." He glanced back at her and her gaze met his as the two best friends and partners shared a silent somber moment. John Doggett knew just how precious life was, and just how short life could be. It was a harsh reality that had hit him around the time that he had lost his son, Luke. "Just try to stop? Try those Nicorette patches again? For me?" John pleaded. How could she say no? That was the point - she couldn't. She was a sucker for his eyes, for his voice, for everything about him -- simply put, for him, and he knew it, and was therefore using it to his advantage. "Okay," Monica sighed again, glancing toward the ashtray. "Thatta girl," John said brightly, a smile spreading across his face. " `Thatta' is an expression I like to think you use with your horse, not with your partner. You know, how you always hear ranchers saying `thatta boy' to encourage their horses..." "Since when are you a horse expert?" "Since now," Monica grinned. " `Kay, I won't ask," Doggett resolved, unclasping his hands on his lap and looking back to his partner. "So whaddaya think of this case?" "What do I think..." Monica paused momentarily. "I thought I told you that earlier. If you really want to hear it again, though..." "Could just watch Star Trek instead," John reached forward and grabbed the television remote off of the coffee table. "Explains it just as well." "Oh come on. This isn't science fiction. Years ago, quantum teleportation may have been looked at as belonging in the realm of sci-fi, but not now." "Parallel universes, Monica? It sounds more like The Twilight Zone than reality to me." "Calling Rod Serling..." Monica mocked, looking around the room. "You have now entered The Twilight Zone," John cleared his throat and waggled his eyebrows. "Here we observe the lovely Ms. Reyes, lying on her bed in her, um, skimpy nightgown, about to realize that something is amiss and she has been sucked into a land that is not hers but is... The Twilight Zone!" Monica burst out laughing. "See, I succeeded at somethin'," John grinned. "I made you forget about smokin', I bet." "Doesn't help it when you mention it!" "Oh, I'm so sorry..." John rolled his eyes. "I won't mention it." "So, seriously," Monica sat up on the bed. "What is your theory? You keep debunking mine, so I'm sure you must have a much better one, right?" "Well..." he thought for a moment. "Well..." Monica prompted. "Lisa Ianelli worked hard on finding this compound. Years. What if she found out that it was impossible? That the compound couldn't, didn't, exist, or that it was impossible? That this time travel, alternate universe travel, whatever you prefer to call it -- wouldn't work?" "What are you implying?" Monica questioned. "That when Lisa realized it -- her life's work, her cause, where all of her devotion went -- wouldn't work, well... she decided that she couldn't take it any longer. She killed herself." "Why go to all that trouble? To stage her disappearance, and then kill herself? Why not just kill herself at home? Most people who decide to kill themselves are desperate. They do it at home, because they're in such a state of desperation that they can't even think straight." "I dunno, Monica," John shrugged in frustration. "But it's all I've got." ___________________________________________________________________ "Jason..." Lisa's voice trailed off. "Jason, why are you looking at me like that?" Jason shook his head and shrugged it off. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, starting to walk away. He couldn't do it. He couldn't look in her eyes and realize what he had to do. "Jason," Lisa started walking after him, her voice filled with confusion. Did this Jason not know her? Did being in this alternate universe change things to the point that he didn't, wouldn't, recognize her? If that was the case, Lisa would change that. She had to make him remember her. She had to make him know her. Because she wasn't leaving without what she had come for. "Lisa," Jason turned around, his eyes firm - a force not to be reckoned with. That's when she realized it - the voice over the earpiece. Jason's voice. Her Jason's voice. This Jason's voice. But... how...? "Jason, you knew I would be here. You knew I was coming. You have another earpiece. How?" "Lisa," Jason's eyes were grave through his glasses as he placed her arm on his shoulder, "Don't. Don't question. Get out of here. You don't realize what you've entered into. You don't have any idea..." "No," Lisa resisted stubbornly. "I'm not going anywhere without you, Jason. Either you're coming back with me... or, if I have to, I'm staying here with you. However it works... it has to work. I'm not leaving without you. Get it?" "Lisa, don't. Go. Go, go and get out of here, while you still can!" "Damnit Jason, I said I'm not going!" Even though she hadn't meant to, Lisa raised her voice. "I'm not going! Get it through your thick lenses and head! I'm not leaving! I'm not going anywhere without you!" "You're going to regret this, Lisa. Don't do this. I don't think you realize..." "Realize what, Jason? What is it? Did you come here so you could get away from me? To leave me? Was I not enough?" "You know that's not it, Lisa..." Jason sighed. "It was never that. I left to protect you." "Why..." Lisa's voice trailed off, her eyes full of confusion. "I don't understand, Jason. I don't understand what you're saying - or trying to say - and I don't want to go in circles and play these stupid games. That's not why I came here..." "No, that's why you never should have come here." Jason turned on his heel and ran away. Lisa ran through the crowd after him. Not able to find him, she stopped, out of breath, near a bus stop and sat down, taking a deep breath. Jason. What was wrong with Jason? After a few minutes of silent thought, Lisa stood. She'd come here with a goal, and she wasn't leaving until she had that goal with her. Jason. She wasn't leaving without Jason. He'd never abandoned her, and she'd never abandon him. Something must be wrong with him. Somehow, he must be out of his mind. Something wasn't right, or he would come with her. Lisa remembered all the times he used to whisper sweet nothings in her ear and tell her of his plans of forever together as she wove through the crowd. He was here. He had to be here, because she'd just seen him. And she would find him, no matter how long it took her. She would find him and take him back with her. She walked, and walked, and walked. No sign of Jason. Where was he? He had to be somewhere. He was just there. Somewhere. He had to be somewhere. So she kept searching. She caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't running anymore. He was simply briskly walking. Lisa picked up her pace and wove through the crowd so she was still safely hidden by the many people, but so she could be assured as not to lose track of him. Jason stopped at a parked car at the corner of the street, and Lisa began to panic. How would she ever keep up with him? She didn't, after all, have a car... A taxi. Lisa flagged down a taxi and climbed in. "Where to?" the driver asked. The prospect that she didn't have any money failed to enter her mind at that moment. "Follow that car," Lisa gestured to the black Ford Explorer that Jason was climbing into. The driver nodded, and Lisa's breathing began to grow steady again as they followed Jason. Many twists and turns, until they arrived on back country roads. The taxi remained a safe distance behind Jason, and Lisa tried hard to keep her attention focused on her surroundings, and not the car ahead of them, as to avert suspicion if Jason looked back. If he didn't want her here and he looked back and saw her looking at the car... The taxi followed until Jason pulled up to gates that apparently belonged to a large estate. Lisa told the taxi driver to wait by the edge of the road while Jason entered, and then follow. Jason punched in a code in the electronic numerical pad, and the gate lifted, and he then drove through. "I'll be on my way," Lisa told the taxi driver. "I don't want to take the risk of him seeing this car. I don't want him to know he's being followed. I'll take it on foot from here." "That'll be extra," the cabbie said, "For that strenuous driving. We drove a long time." Lisa dug around in her pockets, only to realize she didn't have any money. "Sorry," she shrugged, opening the back door and taking off as fast as she could toward the house. "HEY!" the cabbie yelled after Lisa. "What do you think you're doing?!" He jumped out of the taxi and began to run after Lisa Ianelli. Lisa glanced behind her and saw the cabbie in pursuit, and just ran even faster. There was nothing he could really do to her anyway - he was a cabbie, for God's sake. She reached Jason's residence and carefully crept to the side of the house, hiding behind a bush. When she saw the time as fit, she would present herself. But for now, there was not only Jason to worry about, but also the cabbie. Lisa saw the cabbie run out, and she saw Jason step out of the house and look around. "What do you want?" Jason asked the cabbie, glowering at him. "A young woman..." the cabbie began, and Lisa visibly winced. Jason extended his right hand to reveal a gun. He shot the cabbie twice and then looked around. Lisa shuddered and swallowed the lump growing in her throat. Jason - this was Jason. The same Jason she used to know? "LISA!" Jason barked. She froze, not offering any response. "LISA!" he tried again. "If you're here, come out. I'm not going to hurt you." She sighed and hesitated - the Jason she knew would never hurt anyone. He sounded sincere, like he'd never hurt her - but the Jason she knew, he wouldn't hurt a fly. "Ja..." she started, and then stopped. He stepped around the side of the house and grabbed her by the wrist. "I thought I told you to leave it alone," he remarked darkly, gripping her wrist so tightly that it made her wince. "Let... go..." she pleaded. "Please... let... go..." "It's too late now," Jason roughly pulled Lisa up by the wrist, oblivious to the terror in her eyes as he pulled her toward the house. "Why did you kill him? Jason, why did you kill that man?" she asked. He looked at her with empty, emotionless eyes - not the eyes she was so used to seeing in her Jason, not the eyes of the man she loved. "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM, DAMNIT!" Lisa shrieked. Jason shook his head and continued to the house, opening the door and stepping in with Lisa and slamming the door behind them. ___________________________________________________________________ Ryan Ianelli blinked in disbelief at the scene unfolding on the screen in front of him. Jason Nichols - killing a man, and then turning his gaze to Lisa - roughly grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the house that clearly belonged him. Jason Nichols and murder - the two didn't even belong together in a sentence. But, Ryan had just seen what had happened on that screen, clear as day. Something was wrong - terribly wrong. And Ryan's gut feeling was telling him to realize that Lisa was in danger. A terrible danger, something she'd never faced before. That something was wrong - terribly, horribly wrong. And that he had to do something before it was too late. Jason had hurt someone -- killed someone. He wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Ryan watched in a terrified, yet morbidly fascinated way, as Jason shoved his sister against the wall. The image on the screen went black, and Ryan screamed. His sister - in mortal danger. He had never felt so helpless in his life. Help. He had to get help. He couldn't do this alone, he had to get someone's help. Although he'd sworn to Lisa he'd never tell and he had never intended on betraying her confidence, he had to. It had come to the point that he had no other choice. ___________________________________________________________________ "So then, the officer pulls us over, and Jay says... `Good evening officer, I'm slightly, not really inebriated..." "Oh no!" Doggett placed a hand over his mouth in mock horror. "It was bad. I knew I shouldn't have gone to prom with him..." "Hey, well, it's what it was supposed to be - a night to remember, right?" John grinned. "So now are you going to fill me in on the other wild escapades of the young Monica Reyes?" "In your dreams," Monica smirked and took a sip of her soda. "I know I'd never hear the end of it if I did. So why don't you tell me about you?" John just looked at her. "Oh, I get it," Monica broke the silence. "It's because there's nothing to tell. I should have figured, John Doggett was a perfect little boy scout..." "Perfect little boy scout? You've got it all wrong..." "Well then, I guess you'll just have to set straight my misconceptions, won't you?" Monica challenged. "In your dreams," it was Doggett's turn to say. "I'd rather you keep that boy scout image of me rather than learn the truth about my glory days." "That's certainly not very fair, after you force me into telling you everything -" "If I recall correctly, Monica, you're the one that told me -" "You just don't want me to know because you're chicken," she teased and started to go on, but was cut off by the ringing of the phone. She reached over to grab her cell phone, throwing a glance at John before she picked it up. "Saved by the phone." "Monica Reyes," she muttered with a sigh into the receiver as she glanced at her watch. Wasn't it a bit late for business calls? "Agent Reyes... I need your help." "Who is this?" Monica frowned. "Agent Reyes, my sister is in trouble. We don't have much time to save her, and I'm the only person who knows how. I need the help of you and your partner if I'm ever going to get her out of there alive..." "Out of where?" Monica had now figured out that she was obviously speaking with Ryan Ianelli, but she had no clue what he was referring to. "Out of the parallel universe she's stuck in." Click. Monica stared at the phone for a moment. Ryan Ianelli had hung up on her. "Monica... who...?" John's face showed his confusion. "You didn't actually count on being able to sleep, did you? It's time to rock n' roll." ___________________________________________________________________ "Ryan Ianelli," Monica pushed open the door to Ryan's office and stood with her arms crossed. The circles under her eyes were visible evidence of the needed sleep that she was missing. "Agents Reyes, Doggett..." Ryan nodded respectively, but Monica could tell that he was extremely unnerved. "Thank you for coming so late. I'm sorry, I never intended on waking you at this time of the night, but it's urgent-" "What's so urgent that you couldn't even mention it to us earlier?" Doggett glared at Ianelli. "I fear for my sister's life," Ryan sighed deeply, his forehead creasing in worry. "There's much you don't know, much I'm not sure if you would understand or not. The only thing that's really important for you to know is that I helped Lisa find a way into one of those parallel universes I was talking to you about earlier. I helped her get there to find Jason and bring him back here." Doggett studied his hands in an attempt to stifle his disbelief as what he viewed as nonsense from the Ryan Ianelli. It seemed even more like nonsense at three am, when the only thing John wanted to be doing was sleeping. "If what you're saying is true, Doctor Ianelli..." Monica sighed audibly. "I'm not understanding. What is it you want us to do?" "I have to stay here. Lisa's camera was disabled by Jason. I saw the whole thing on tape. He killed a man and then turned violent on her." "But Jason Nichols is dead," Doggett interrupted. "Maybe here - and I'm telling you, he never died here. He knew... the old man Jason Nichols convinced him of the destruction his invention, the discovery that he was destined to discover, could have on mankind. How it could alter history, how if it fell into the wrong hands, that it could be worse than the worst weapon of mass destruction..." "John, let him talk for a second," Monica shot a glance at Doggett. "I'm just not clear on how we can help." "You have to go," Ryan sighed. "What?" Monica's eyes showed her confusion. "I'm not fully following." "Then you must be a natural blonde," Ryan retorted sarcastically. "Not funny," Monica commented dryly. "I need to get you and your partner there - to the universe where Lisa is. You two are the only people who can get her back." "Monica..." John's voice trailed off. Monica... what? Was he going to call this guy a nut while he was standing right there? That might not be the most intelligent thing to do. "Okay," Monica looked at John for only a split second before turning giving her undivided attention to Ryan Ianelli. "How might we do this?" ___________________________________________________________________ "Are you ready for this?" John glanced over at his partner as Ryan Ianelli finished placing an earpiece in her ear. "You can communicate with me through these," Ryan explained as he stepped back and looked at Doggett and Reyes. "I can hear you and you can hear me - it's two-way. Whatever you do, make sure you don't lose these. Make sure you're listening for me, and if you have any doubts whatsoever of the security of the earpiece, throw it away." "What exactly do you mean by `the security of the earpiece?'" Monica asked. "By the security of the earpiece, Ms. Reyes, I mean that if you have the slightest indication, sensation, whatever, that a party that is not supposed to be listening in is doing so, destroy your earpiece." "How would they..." "Agent Reyes, you have to understand that we know nothing about it -- their world. It's totally foreign to us. It could be very different, it could be incredibly similar. You won't know until you get there. This technology... may already have been developed there. Like I said, you never know." "If we hafta destroy the earpieces... how will you know if somethin's wrong?" Doggett asked. Ryan Ianelli handed a small camera to Monica. "Here. Put this someplace... safe. A place where no one can see it. This way, I can see you at all times." Monica glanced down at the heart locket that she was wearing and hooked the tiny camera to the chain of it. "Will that work?" she asked Ryan. "Yeah, as long as you keep it on. Don't lose that, either. If you have to get rid of the earpiece, then the camera would be the only way I could know if you were, well... basically, dead or alive." "Dead? Do you expect us to die on this expedition?" Monica blinked. Doctor Ianelli studied Monica and John for a moment. The truth was, he didn't know what to expect. Lisa hadn't returned safely - would Lisa ever return? "In truth, Agent Reyes, I don't expect anything." Doctor Ianelli turned away from Doggett and Reyes and prepared two syringes before turning back to Monica and John. "Shots?" Monica winced. "To make sure you are who you are when you arrive in the other universe," Ryan explained. "Whoa-whoa-whoa, waitta second..." John raised an eyebrow at Ryan Ianelli. "That we are who we are? The hell do you mean?" "During the process of quantum teleportation, which only takes a few hundredths of a second, you are split apart. It is my job to make sure the computer sends the correct data to reconstruct you." Monica eyed Ryan warily. "This is sounding less and less appealing by the moment..." she started uncertainly. "Remember what you're doing is for my sister. You're venturing into this territory to save Lisa." "Right," Monica sighed. Ryan stepped forward and handed John a small tile with a button on it. "You need to push this when you want to come back. It sends the signal... I need to be here to receive you, but you need to push this button here in the center to send the signal that you want to come back," Ryan explained. John couldn't help but look skeptical as he took the tile. "Guess it's back to the future, eh Monica? You ready for this?" "Absolutely." ___________________________________________________________________ "Am I the only one who feels dizzy?" John Doggett looked around and surveyed the land around him and Monica. They were standing on the corner of a street. "I can see you," John heard Ryan Ianelli in his ear piece. So did Monica. They gave each other a look. "You made it!" "Well that's reassuring," Monica's eyes scanned the horizon. It really didn't look any different from what she was used to. "Now what the hell are we supposed to do? Where the hell are we supposed to go?" John demanded, still not fully believing that he was standing in some `parallel universe.' "What you're supposed to do is find Lisa," Ryan reminded Reyes and Doggett, via the earpiece. "That's what you're there to do, remember?" "I know that, but where the hell are we supposed to look?" "Somewhere. Anywhere. She's got to be there, Agent Doggett." But John's attention was no longer focused on Ryan Ianelli's voice streaming from the earpiece - it was on a little blond boy holding a tall, dark-haired woman's hand. A little girl walked with them, and a man that strangely resembled him caught up to the dark-haired woman and took her hand, smiling at her and the two children. "L...Luke..." Doggett's voice caught in his throat. Turning away from Monica, he tore through the pedestrians, briskly making his way across the street. "John!" Monica called after him - to no avail. He had his mind on one thing, and only one thing. Monica froze when she saw what Doggett had seen moments earlier. Luke. Barbara wasn't with him, though - it was Monica herself, John, and another little girl. "JOHN!" Monica yelled again, catching up with him and grabbing him by the shoulder. "What do you think you're doing? Where are you going?" "Monica, you can't deny me this. My son is here." "I know. I saw. But, John...to us...this isn't real. It's another universe." "But he's my *son,* Monica." "John, I know he's your son, but you know what Lisa Ianelli's gotten herself into by coming here to try to `change' things. Don't put yourself at that risk. Apparently, it just wasn't meant to be, and you're going to have to accept that..." "Monica," John violently tore away from her, glaring daggers at her. "Don't tell me what to do concerning matters you know nothin' about. Luke's my son and he always will be. If there's anything- anything-that I can do here or anywhere else...understand that I have to do it, and that you can't stop me from fulfilling that obligation." Monica blinked at John's harsh retort as she watched him turn away from her. He turned around, and the little boy, the little girl, and the woman and man were gone. John's eyes scanned the street as he searched for them-only to find nothing. He turned to Monica, his eyes showing something she'd never seen before. "I hate you," he said in a low voice. "I hate you. You kept me from my son." ___________________________________________________________________ Ryan Ianelli watched as the agents argued - watching with maybe too much interest. This was better than a soap opera. But he was quickly pulled back to the real world with Agent Doggett's words to Reyes - "I hate you." This wasn't their world - if they didn't stick together, they could get lost. If they didn't stick together, certainly, there would be trouble. And, moreover, if they did not stick together - they wouldn't find Lisa. They would not accomplish what they had been sent to do, if he couldn't get a handle on things. "Agent Reyes," Ryan said quietly, pushing a button to cut John's earpiece off from the conversation. "Can you hear me?" He saw her nod ever-so-slightly. "Do not argue with him, do not challenge him. It sounds as if it's hard for him to keep a clear mind on these matters. He does not mean it. Stick together - you have to, if you are going to find Lisa and get back here, where you belong. Calmly and graciously, forgivingly, pretend that the words he just said were never spoken. Turn the other cheek - for your own good and for his." She did not give any sign that she had heard him. "Agent Reyes?" Ryan whispered urgently. "Agent Reyes, my sister! If you and Agent Doggett do not concentrate on the matter at hand, if you don't get down to business..." He watched her on the screen, as she sighed dejectedly and nodded again. He said a silent prayer that whatever this personal feud of Doggett and Reyes' was, they'd get past it - because his sister's life depended on it. ___________________________________________________________________ "John," Monica spoke through clenched teeth, "Let's get to work and do what we were sent here to do - find Lisa Ianelli and get her out of here, because she doesn't belong here, and neither do we." "My son is here, Monica. I don't think you understand...if he's here, which he is, because you saw him, and I saw him...I have to find him." "John, listen to yourself. You're not being rational. This isn't our world. We don't know the people here. They're not the same. You--you saw Luke! He was with adults...parents. Parents who, it appears, are taking perfectly fine care of him! Now accept and be pleased with the fact that he's fine, and focus on what we're here to do." "You don't understand. You've never lost a child. I hope an' pray it's somethin' that you'll never have to do, because let me tell you, it kills you - slowly, and painfully. The fact that...that you couldn't save them...it picks at you, picking you apart. You always think, what'd I do wrong? How do it go bad? And you always blame yourself. An' you look back and realize, there's things I coulda done. There's gotta be things I coulda done - because there's nothing, Monica, there's nothing in life that you can't stop. It's a cause an' effect chain. There is nobody watching out for us. The day...the day we found Luke is the day I stopped believing. If there was any divine being, He would have sympathy for His people. He wouldn't want to see them in pain and agony. He wouldn't let there be evil in this world. I don't care what people say about free will, about everyone choosing between right and wrong...the only thing I know is, we are all alone in this world - every single one of us." "Alright, John," Monica sighed again. "Say what you're saying is true. How can we change things, anyway? You don't mess with what is. This is not our world. It is not our job to interfere." "The thing you don't seem to understand is that I...I'm...merely doin' what I have to do. If you can't understand that, I'm sorry. I thought you of all people would." "I do understand it. What I understand more, however, is that you don't have a clear mind on these matters. You concentrate on the matter at hand-that's what makes you the best goddamned inspector that I've ever known. John...please. Listen to me, hear me out. You're hearing me, but you're not listening, because you're blind to anything concerning this-" "Not this time, Monica. I can't ignore it, I can't let go of it...when he's right here. I can't. I'm going to find him, and there's nothing you can say or do to stop me." She watched him walk away. Standing, watching after him, she was confronted with many new questions. It was not her assignment, to go after him. It was her assignment to find Lisa Ianelli and bring her back to her brother. John, though...John was her best friend. John was all she had. He had watched out for her in the past. She owed it to him. Someone had to go after him, because he wasn't thinking clearly. And she was the only one who would be able to do that. "Monica?" she heard Ryan Ianelli's voice over her earpiece. "Not now," she sighed agitatedly. "Monica, don't forget what you're there for! You have to get Lisa!" "I will - and that's a promise. John first, though." ___________________________________________________________________ "I have been waiting for you, although I was hoping you wouldn't come," Jason Nichols looked at Lisa Ianelli, who was sitting on the floor, hands tied behind her back, a gag in her mouth. "Because, the old man was right. He was right. It's not meant to be. The compound...it's not meant to be. It's too dangerous. It changes everything, Lisa - and now in a good way. You just couldn't see that though, could you? I wanted you to see that. I wanted you to recognize that. I wanted you to forget your stubbornness, to forget me. I didn't want it to come to this." Lisa tried to say something, but couldn't. The rag in her mouth blocked her ability to speak. "You're too damned stubborn and ambitious for your own good. You cling onto things and don't let them go. I didn't want it to come to this! Don't you think I would've returned, if it was safe? Don't you think I would be there? I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to let you go. It came to the point where it wasn't my choice. I saw what was best. I wasn't blind to the fact that my creation, our compound, what we had worked so hard to create...could create a catastrophe. In essence, it could be the downfall of mankind. It could change all we've ever known, everything that's ever happened. If it fell into the wrong hands, Lisa...don't you realize?" She managed to somehow spit the gag out, and glared up at Jason. "I realize. What I don't think you realize is that I did this for you. I didn't know that...that this had created you some kind of monster that I don't even know anymore!" "The old man was right. You should have listened to him, Lisa! In the end, he made me realize...that it was for the best, that it wasn't meant to be, that it's better that we were never meant to be. So I escaped. Yes, I left you. No, I'm not ashamed to say that, because it was for the best. I'd hoped you would understand." "What are you going to do to me since I didn't?" she asked coldly. "Are you going to kill me like you killed the taxi driver?" "Honest to God, I haven't decided yet," Jason told her, crouching down beside her as he ran a hand through her hair, content with the knowledge that she couldn't swat it away if she wanted to. "Because, you know, as much as I think it would probably be for the best...it would be quite a shame to kill you. It would also be quite a challenge for me." "You're not the Jason I know and love," Lisa spat at him and attempted to kick him, but missed. "Things change. You should know that." ___________________________________________________________________ "You're not going in there," Monica finally caught up with John and placed a hand on his shoulder. He'd followed the woman, the man, the boy, and the little girl to a house. "Why not?" he turned around to face her, and she could see the desperation in his eyes. It was all too evident. It was that same desperation that she'd seen during the search for Luke. "Because, John! Because as I said earlier, there's quite a number of matters you're not thinking clearly on. Because here, he doesn't belong to you! Didn't you see? He had a family. He had you. You were there, John. Don't mess with things that aren't supposed to be." "If I don't mess with it...if I don't mess with it, Monica...then there's a problem with me. There's a problem if I don't do anything when my murdered son is standing right in front of me." John watched through the window as the family sat down for dinner. He saw the man who was himself as he sat down beside a woman who appeared to be Monica. "Monica..." John kept his glance focused on the window, his voice shaking slightly. "Do you-do you see this?" "Clear as day. And that's why we can't do anything about it. Come on." "But he's alive here, Monica! Back...in our `world'...he's dead! Why can't I take him back?" "Because things are different here," she tugged on his arm. "Come with me now, John. Before they see you, before you disrupt things...we're not supposed to be here. We don't want our presence to have a negative effect on the balance of things here." Sighing, Doggett glanced through the window for another few moments. "Luke...daddy loves you," he whispered, and then stepped away. " `Kay, Monica...get me outta here. Before you can't." Monica took his arm and forcefully pulled him away from the house, despite the fact that she did not have the slightest clue where they were going. ___________________________________________________________________ "Good job, Agent Reyes," Ryan Ianelli's voice sounded in her ear. "I knew if anyone could do it, you could pull him away. Now, concentrate on what you were sent there for. Find my sister." Sighing audibly, Monica pulled the earpiece out of her ear and crunched it on the ground. She also pulled out the camera and smashed it, as well. "What was that for?" Doggett stared at her. "That was for Ryan Ianelli annoying me and trying to control my every move. He doesn't understand it - us. He doesn't understand why you were acting the way you were. He wants us to answer his demands, to find his sister, which I want to do, but I have to make sure you're okay first, and I can't exactly do that with Ryan shouting `Find my sister!' into my ear every minute." "I'm fine," Doggett said simply. "Where do we find Lisa?" "You're not fine. I don't understand what you're going through, but I can imagine how it must hurt you. You can't approach him because...because it wouldn't be right. He'd know you, but he wouldn't. You're not the father he knows here." "Let's focus on why we're here, `kay, Monica? It's what you were so kindly remindin' me of a few minutes ago. Should I hafta remind you of that now?" "Probably not...but I'm concerned." "Well, you shouldn't be," he looked straight ahead, his eyes glancing off into the distance, and Monica knew he was agitated with her. "Fine, let's find Lisa," Monica said, getting unnerved with the prospect of going in circles and trying to decipher John's cryptic hidden meanings under his words. "You tell me where to start, and we'll find her." "I tell you where to start? `Scuse me, but you're the one who got us into this. You should be the one tellin' me where to start." "*I* got us into this?" it was all Monica could do to keep from yelling at him. "Excuse me, but you're the one who brought the case file. You're the one who wanted to investigate." "An' yet, you're the one who got us where we are." "Whatever, John," Monica didn't sigh. She looked away from him, and picked up her pace, walking much more briskly than she had moments earlier. If he wouldn't try, would should she, after all? "Monica, slow down!" he called after her. She didn't, and he knew that she had no intention of doing so. He sighed, wondering why he was always the one to fuck things up. Somehow, he always managed to. Whether it be a situation such as this, or a situation where he ended up kicking himself for something he did - well, usually did not - do, he always managed to fuck things up, as he saw it. He honestly wondered how long it would be before he got anything right. John started to walk faster, though he found it hard to keep up with Monica. She could walk fast when she wanted to, he was finding. "Where are you goin'?" he finally asked when he caught up with her, breathing hard. "Why does it matter?" she shot back. "You hate me, remember? So why does it matter to you where I'm going?" "Monica, I do not -" "That's what you said." "I apologize, then. If I said it, I didn't mean it." "How many times do you really pay attention to what you've said? Really, John. There's a point where one gets sick and tired of it. There's so many things you've said to me that I don't even think you have realized that you've said. You're insensitive. You don't understand me, and you don't try to." He listened to her without interruption. John didn't exactly like to admit that he was wrong, but he did have to admit to himself that she did have a point. "Monica, I -" "Don't, John. Just...don't. We're here to find Lisa Ianelli, and that's what we're going to do. If you don't have something to say about that, I don't want to hear it." `Boy John, you've really fucked things up this time, now haven't you?' a little voice in his head commented. And he knew the answer was yes. John Doggett, procrastinator extroadinare. He didn't want to deal with the problem now - he'd deal with it later. "Okay, let's find Lisa," he finally said, taking a deep breath. "I think that would be the best course of action considering that's why we're here." "Agent Doggett," Ryan spoke to him through his earpiece, "Find Lisa. I don't know where she is, but I know each minute that we wait is another minute she's in danger." "We'll find her," Doggett looked around, and then brought his gaze to Reyes. "We need a telephone book. That's what we need. We get Jason Nichols' address, go find `im, and hope to God that Lisa's with `im." "Thought you didn't believe in God." "When it's convenient," Doggett shrugged. ___________________________________________________________________ A little less than an hour later, Monica and John had gotten a rental car, using their FBI badges and credit cards that they had brought along. John parked the car by the long driveway that matched Jason Nichols' address before climbing out of the car. "You're armed, right, Monica?" he asked her as she got out of the passenger side of the car. She nodded. "This man is dangerous, according to what Doctor Ianelli told us. I don't wanna take any chances. I don't wanna get us hurt or stuck in this world where we don't belong." "You don't have to tell me that, John," Monica rolled her eyes, "I don't want to be stuck here either. I just want to get Lisa and get back. I'm starting to wonder why we ever consented to this." "Too late to wonder that. Now's the time to wonder how the hell we get ourselves outta here, not how the hell we got ourselves here." "Whatever you say, Einstein." Monica started to walk up the drive, toward the house, but John pulled her back again. "Careful, `kay? I mean it." "Careful," Monica repeated, rolling her eyes only after she had turned away from Doggett. "I've got your back, no matter what happens," Doggett informed her quietly. She pretended not to hear him, taking her gun out of its holster, in the event that she might need it. Slowly, they approached. Both were in a hurry to get this done and get back to where they belonged, but they also both knew that if you went too quickly, it increased the chance that something unfortunate might happen. "That's it," Ryan whispered over John's earpiece. "That's the house I saw over Lisa's transmission, before it was blacked out. That's where she is." "D'ya here that, Monica?" John gave her a sideways glance. "No, what?" she asked quietly, not bothering to throw a backward glance at him. "Lisa's here. This is where Ryan last saw her, before her transmission was destroyed." "In the event that Jason Nichols didn't take her somewhere else, of course," Monica reminded John. "I mean, the man's not stupid. He's a fricking genius, you have to remember. He's going to play his cards right." "Whatever. We can't bypass this place and give up the chance that she might be here." "I know that. I wasn't suggesting that we leave. I was simply saying that we have no guarantee that this is where she is." ___________________________________________________________________ "Jason Nichols," John Doggett yelled as he pounded on the door, "Open up." Receiving no reply, he added: "It's the FBI! Open up!" Three seconds later, a disheveled looking young man with dark hair and wire-rim glasses came to the door. Monica recognized him immediately from the photographs. "Jason Nichols," she began, stepping toward him and pulling her badge out - she had replaced her gun in its holster just moments earlier. "I'm Monica Reyes with the FBI, and this is my partner, Agent Doggett. We'd just like to ask you a few questions..." "Questions? Am I in some kind of trouble?" Jason raised his eyebrows at the FBI agents on his doorstep. "Maybe, maybe not," Doggett's blue eyes pierced Jason's stare. He pulled a picture out of Lisa Ianelli out of his pocket - standing next to Jason. "Does this woman look familiar?" Jason was silent for a moment. " `Cause you should," Doggett went on. "This is you and her in this picture, if I'm not mistaken. If it's not you, it's a man who certainly looks a hell of a lot like you, Jason Nichols..." "Jase?" a young woman stepped out, drying off her hands with a small towel. "Lisa Ianelli?" Monica asked in disbelief, as she recognized the woman from the photograph. "We came here because we were told you were in distress." "Distress?" Lisa looked between them, blinking. "No...I'm afraid you must have the wrong Lisa. Yes, my name is Lisa Ianelli...but I'm not in any kind of distress. Who sent you?" "Your brother," John told her. "Well, I don't have a brother. Sounds as if the FBI may have some prankster on their hands," Lisa raised her eyebrows. "Prankster? This was no prankster, Ms. Ianelli. We saw the transmission of you...and we saw Jason murder a taxi driver." "Jason?" Lisa turned to him, her eyes wide. "Is what these agents say...is it true?" He didn't answer. Instead, he took off, running like hell toward the basement. "Stay with her!" John barked, tearing down the stairs after Jason. ___________________________________________________________________ "Jason Nichols," Doggett yelled as he tried the best he could to walk through the dark basement without tripping, "You are under arrest for murder and kidnapping! You have the right to remain silent..." "HELP!" a muffled yell, he heard - a woman. "Who's that?" Upstairs, a panicked Lisa Ianelli turned to Monica Reyes. "He's not really guilty of the things you say he is. You don't understand. Jason would never hurt a fly." "Apparently not the Jason you know," Monica said dryly, "Or the Jason you think you know - I'm not sure which one. Either way...Lisa, you don't know the whole story." "What is the whole story?" Lisa asked Monica. "I'm not sure I can tell you." Meanwhile, downstairs, John was making his way toward the source of the screams. It was very obvious that this was a woman - a woman that Jason Nichols had kidnapped? "Where are you?!" John shouted, frustrated in the darkness. Jason Nichols stood behind John, about to bring a crowbar down onto his head, but John turned around at the last minute. Two gunshots rang out, and Lisa screamed upstairs - and another woman screamed downstairs - the woman that he had heard before, the woman that he had been searching for. Lisa and Monica ran downstairs, and Monica switched the lights on, flooding the basement with light. Jason Nichols lie dead on the floor, and another woman who looked identical to Lisa Ianelli was tied up in the corner. Monica walked over to her, loosening her bounds, all the while, staring at her. "Lisa?" she asked quietly. "Are you ready to go home?" Lisa nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face. "Oh...God...I should've left it...I had no clue..." "Who's this?" the `other' Lisa, whom Monica had been talking to upstairs, inquired. "Ms. Ianelli...I'm not quite sure how to explain that," Doggett said, standing up as he looked between both Lisas. "An' I'm not sure you want me to." There was a loud noise upstairs, and everyone looked upward. "Let's go upstairs," the Lisa that Monica and John had questioned earlier suggested. Numbly, the other Lisa nodded. They walked upstairs after John had checked Jason's pulse again to make sure that he was dead. Both women were crying, near hysterics, and neither Monica nor John had the slightest idea how to comfort them. "I'm sorry...so sorry..." the Lisa who belonged to the other world managed between sobs. "I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have tried...things are different here." "Agent Doggett!" Ryan exclaimed into his earpiece. "You got my sister!" "Not now, Ryan..." sighing, John took the earpiece out of his ear and looked between the two Lisas. "There's so much I can't explain. There's so much I can't try to explain." "Maybe it's not meant to be explained," Monica spoke from the doorway. She had been all too eager to get out of this unfamiliar world. She held up the day's newspaper and walked it over to the Lisa Ianelli who was native to this world. John happened to glance down at the newspaper and caught the headline- "Local Child Murdered." ___________________________________________________________________ "So she wouldn't come back," Ryan sighed as he looked between Monica and John. "No...she was going to," Monica explained, "But at the last minute, she said she had to stay. She said she owed it to...herself. I know what she meant, and still, I can't explain it. I saw what happened there, and I can't ever hope to explain it. I do, however, think that your sister came to the conclusion that we must all reach, Doctor Ianelli: that some things aren't meant to be messed with. Some technologies are far too dangerous - there are things in this world that aren't meant to be messed with." Doggett nodded in agreement, and then rose from his chair. "Doctor Ianelli..." Doggett spoke quietly, "I'm sorry for your loss." "My loss?" Ryan looked up at the agents. "She's out there. She's somewhere out there, and I'm going to find her." "Doctor Ianelli...I would highly recommend against that. If Lisa's experience speaks for any others..." "You can't tell me what to do. Leave my office. You've failed. You may have found my sister, but you've failed. Both of you. Now go." Reluctantly, Monica and John left the office. ___________________________________________________________________ Monica and John walked toward the car, but Monica suddenly stopped, and John followed suit. "John, this man...he's dangerous. He's got the capability, the technology...and if he tries this again...who knows what he could hurt?" "I wash my hands of it, Monica. We've done everything we can." "I guess you're right...but still. If you could, John, would you change things?" He didn't hesitate a moment before replying. "No. I would love to...but I know that I can't. I've come to accept that. If there isn't something after.. if there's nothing we can do to save ourselves or anyone else...then why does life matter?" "I'd like to think that just increases the value of the short time we're all given together... I'd like to think that it means that we should make the most of each moment that we have, because, no matter what we do right or wrong...it can't be changed. You've seen the consequences of trying to change it." John turned his blank gaze from staring off into space to Monica. He stepped forward and hugged her tightly, kissing her on the lips. "You're right. I'm going to start...making the most." "I thought you hated me?" she inquired, trying to keep a serious face. "Ya know I could never really hate you." "No," she meant it to come out as a question rather than a statement, but it didn't. "From now on...I'm going to make every moment count," he leaned forward and brushed a hand against her face, "Because I know there's nothing I can do to change it. I can only hope I'm heading in the right direction, because as much as I may have fucked up in the past...there's no goin' back." "Prove it," every move Monica made as she leaned against him, he felt a reaction to - and she felt it to. She loved this effect she had on him. She'd dreamed of it many times, but had come to the point where she'd never expected to experience it. "Make your actions speak as loud as your words." He froze momentarily. This was one thing he hadn't expected. "Alright, Agent Reyes...that's something I'm gonna hafta do." "Now." "I'll take you home and then-" "Okay, I think I'd like that." "Me too." He drove through the streets, the familiar route back to Monica's apartment. He knew it like the back of his hand - and his mind wasn't where it should've been, wasn't on driving. Twice, he reached his hand over to hers as he was driving and almost missed the light. "What brought this change on?" Monica inquired as they walked into the apartment. John slipped her jacket off for her, placing it on the couch. "You puttin' up with me for so long - you waitin' around while I remained blind. More than anything, I guess it's about time - time I'm realizing we don't all have - and there's certain things that, if we really want them...we have to move on from the shit that life's given us and accomplish what we want in the time that's allotted to us." "As long as you're accomplishing what you want..." He nodded and took her hand as they walked up the steps. This was accomplishing what he wanted. No longer did he have to worry about turning back time, or the ghosts of his past. Luke would always be there - but he had realized the true value of living life for each moment. "Down, Monica," he found himself all too eager as they entered the bedroom. "A little...eager now, aren't we?" "Just makin' it count," he grinned as he gently pushed her down on the bed and sighed at her `exclamation,' running his hand across her smooth skin and quickly doing away with her shirt. "Can't say I mind that," Monica grinned, grabbing onto his arm and digging her fingers into it as she ran a hand through his hair and began to kiss and explore him. She'd waited for this so long, and it was finally hers. "I didn't expect you to make love to someone you hate..." "Hate's a stronger passion then love, didn't you know that?" he was breathing hard as he spoke. "God, Monica...I don't know what made me wait so long. I don't know why it took me so long to come to my senses." "At least now, we're making it count." END ___________________________________________________________________