Tiny People

Feeling his phone buzz, Dylan set some papers aside to retrieve it from his back pocket. He leaned against the filing cabinet in the back room and opened his messages, surprised to be hearing from Ashlee. Reading her second text, he sighed. He was glad he had time to answer her now though. 

Seriously? 
Its only been a few days.
What a turd.

He sent it then paused, thinking. He had expected Seven to get a bit ornery eventually, but not this fast. What had happened? He'd made so much progress with the horse. Starting to type out another text, he rolled his eyes. He had too many questions. What did "ornery" really mean? Who had tried to work with Seven so far? What was Ashlee planning to do? 
Instead of texting, he dialed her number and waited for her to answer. Hearing her voice, he smiled. "Hey, Ash. What's the brute actually doing? 'Cause I don't..." He paused. "I don't want you getting hurt." He knew Ashlee had grown a lot in her horsemanship under Eric's guidance, but Seven was not the typical horse. If he hurt her, Dylan would never forgive himself. "He's a handful even for me... What were you planning?"


Right.
Jason could feel the emotional flow was being disrupted, which meant Katie was under as much strain as he was. This whole thing just needed to end.

Reese cleared his throat and stood to join the others on his feet. "Jason, Katie... Kirk has a question he'd like to ask you."

Kirk's eyes narrowed slightly as he was given responsibility for steering the conversation. He folded his arms and looked at Jason and Katie. "I was just asking Reese what's wrong with you two. Because there is something, and everyone is hiding it. Now I just got my butt chewed out by my superior for not being able to answer enough questions about some of the business around here. Made me rethink what seems to actually be secrets, and I find it completely unacceptable that information is intentionally being withheld. Funny enough... your story is the only one nobody is willing to tell. So... I'm asking directly. What is it with you two?"

Jason swallowed hard as he desperately tried to keep a lid on his emotions. He knew it was just as painful for Katie - if not more so - but he couldn't risk exposing their eyes yet. His hand reached down to take hold of Katie's and give it a squeeze. He didn't like this, but he had to stay positive.

This is gonna be fine. Telling them is best and we won't have to hide anymore. It's what we both want. We have to trust them, and if we don't do this now, Kirk is going to make too big a deal out of it and make things even worse.

Kirk waited. He eyed Adison warily. He didn't like the silence. He was sorry he'd sprung this on her, but after being downtown, he felt he might go mad. He wouldn't survive without spending the evening with her so he could talk things out. His focus moved back to Jason and Katie. "Well?"

"Don't interrupt them."

Kirk's eyebrows rose at Reese. "What?"

"Interrupting people when they're talking to each other is rude," Reese clarified.

"Nobody's talking! That's the issue!"

Reese remained calm. "Just because you and I can't hear it doesn't mean a conversation isn't taking place."

Kirk's irritation was partially subdued by new confusion. "Conversation? But they..." He paused and looked at Adison again, then back to Reese, then at Jason and Katie. "Naw... no, no, you are not telling me this."

Silence.

He shook his head. "Telepathy is a farce. This is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. You can't expect me to believe-"

"We don't." Jason cut him off. "Expect you to believe us. But you're gonna have to hear us out."

For the next few minutes, he, Katie and Reese explained the entire situation, starting back with Jeff and Derek, going through how Jason and Katie met, how she could sense him, and how the element attacked his weak points - mainly the flashbacks from his childhood. The explanation continued through their strange, but very real, experiences, including almost dying, finding an antidote, then the recent resurrection of the element's symptoms, including the newest development of their glowing eyes.

As silence fell over the office again, Kirk lowered himself into one of the chairs. He had not been prepared for this. "I... have no idea what to say."

"Say you'll keep our team safe," Reese responded. "Say you'll accept this - as unbelievable as it is - and say you'll accept the fact that we have a phenomenally special team right here that needs all our support."

Kirk leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He'd just witnessed Jason virtually blowing up an alarm clock on Reese's desk, he'd felt Katie manipulating his own emotions, and he'd seen their glowing eyes. There really was no way to deny their story. As much as he didn't want to believe it... it was true. "There's no way Barnes is ever going to believe this. Or the board. Or anybody. How can I-"

"We're expecting you to keep this under wraps," Jason stated flatly. His grip on Kate's hand tightened. "No one knows except close family and the Elite force. The Agency believes the antidote worked so they're currently unaware as well. Should word get out... we would be targeted so they could study us. And... I'm sure others would be intrigued with us as well."

"They're not gonna be lab rats," Reese added firmly.

"Of course not." Kirk shook his head. "But you can't contain this. I mean... somebody besides the Elite has to know about this. You two..." He looked back up at Jason and Katie. "You can be an incredible asset to any department. You can't just stifle it here."

Jason swallowed hard. "We've done okay so far. It's our choice."

He's gonna tell the FBI. I can feel it. I can see it in his eyes. I don't know what else to do. 


Zan let Destiny go - reluctantly - smiling as she gathered the coffee cups and headed for the living room. What if he hadn't gone to The Griller that night? He didn't even want to think about it. 

Back on the couch, Jett looked up as Destiny came in. Though a part of him would prefer to just feel sorry for himself, a little smile did emerge. Just friends or not, Destiny had a way of making him feel wanted, and that... was something valuable to him. "I love coffee... and cream. Thank you." He took the ibuprofen he'd gotten and grinned a little. "Yeah... Zan!" he yelled. "Pick your poison!" 

Zan rolled his eyes as he returned as well. "Huh?"

"Movie, dude. Your turn."

"Oh. Right right." Zan wandered over to his collection and browsed it for a few moments before picking Lord of the Rings.

"That movie's like... five hours long."

Zan grinned as he plopped down on the floor and pulled Destiny down with him. "I know. That means I can doze off without anybody noticing."

"That's what the coffee is for, idiot."

Zan chuckled and took a sip of the warm liquid. "Mmhmm. But you know. Just in case. Besides... I like making fun of the tiny people in this movie."

"Hobbits! They're hobbits."

Zan wriggled his fingers around Destiny's ribs and threw her a wink. Getting Jett riled was fun...and oh so easy.


"Ah!!" Eric cried out as Angel gave him no warning before setting his shoulder. "Of all the..." He sucked in his breath to regain control and gave a growl instead of finishing his sentence. Leaning back against the wall, he closed his eyes for a moment and held his arm. 

It took no convincing to accept the pain killers, and he downed them easily. He shook his head at Angel's question. "Naw." He stopped and caught her eye. "Well..." His biggest fear was injuring that leg again. After the severe infection that almost took his leg completely, it never had been the same, and remained a weak spot that he had to watch carefully. 

He sighed and limped to the table to strip - he knew the routine as much as he hated it. He was pretty sure he'd just landed on it and he might have a good bruise, but he was worried enough that he wouldn't fight Angel about it.