No visit

Rick stares at the paper, lost in thought before finally paying attention to Hope's question. "No... but this might get us started in the right direction. If this is a formula to something they gave Jeff, we can work backward. But... why would that be in Jay's file? That still doesn't make complete sense."

He turns the paper, still studying it, making sure Misty can see it, too. "Wait... I bet this isn't specifically anything from Jay... I bet this is a diagram of dna that's been manipulated by their own formula... But how does that help us?"

Scott furrows his brow, still trying to think. Surely he hadn't discovered something just for it to mean nothing. "Why did I think of Jay's file?" he whispers. He couldn't remember how his mind had gotten there.

"Okay..." Rick holds up his hands. "Let's start over. The Agency thinks that Jay is the one who had their formula in him because they believe Katie is his daughter. Somehow, it wound up being Jeff instead though. So any documentation about that particular formula would be in Jay's file. Right?"

Scott almost cringes, trying to keep it all straight. Hope's hand on his shoulder was about the only thing keeping him afloat at the moment. "How does that help us?"

"I don't know." If it weren't so serious, the situation would almost seem comical. Rick paces, paper in hand. "Wait! I got it! ...No... no that wouldn't be it. I didn't think there was a connection between this thing with Jeff and the ability phenomenon." He continues to pace.

Scott's eyes widen. "You said this looks like dna. What about Jeff's? What does his look like?"

Rick goes to his own files and digs out a printout, laying both papers side by side on the counter. "Misty, take a look at this.... here's the Agency's... here's Jeff's... they almost match... but... Jeff's has been broken down... almost like it's deteriorated compared to this other diagram. But... why?"

"It's what they gave him," Scott concludes. "The Agency didn't know Jeff's own dna had been manipulated from their formula - they thought it was Jay. So whatever was leaking out of his capsule to begin with, started breaking this down... it was a direct attack on what had been fused into his own system."

"That's it!" Rick straightens quickly. "That's it! The Agency has a way to destroy their own monster! It's not a pill or a suppressant like they gave Katie... or like I made for her and Jason. They still didn't know that Jeff is Katie's father, so they tested their new and improved agent on him... he was just an easy target because he was the first person to carry the original formula in the first place - in the capsule with the chip. This time perhaps they were even trying to place a substance in his bloodstream that wouldn't harm him or be detected like a chip, but if they ever lost their data, they could just get a hold of some of his blood, break it down and find their formula again."

Scott's eyes widen. "And they didn't realize they were working on their own target."

"Exactly. The formula that's in Jeff now, the Agency knows can destroy the connection between Katie and Jason. Unfortunately, they didn't know that they were injecting someone who already had a piece of the puzzle in his dna, so what happens... it starts eating him alive. If it were Katie and Jason, it would remove the elements from them that give them abilities and they would be forever normal. But for Jeff - he contains only a few pieces, enough for the formula to recognize and attack, but without the rest of the agent in him, this formula would attack his own system, and in turn, make him sick."

"Until he dies."

Rick's excitement over the discovery is brought to a solemn halt. "Yes."

"What can we do though? If what's killing him is basically an anti-mutation, then how can you fight that?"

"We give him what Jason and Katie have and let the formula destroy it without feeding on his own healthy system."

The rest of the day, into the night and all through the next day, Rick doesn't leave the infirmary. With little sleep, he works alongside Misty, trying to recreate a formula to give Jeff to give the substance something else to feed off of. But time was running out, and Rick feared that they would not find the solution in time. And even if they did, it was no guarantee that Jeff would ever recover...


"Yo, Leo, where were you yesterday, man? Looked all over for ya!"

Leo doesn't look up from his engine, in order to answer Jed. "I was out."

"Out. You can be so cryptic sometimes, you know that?"

"Naw, that's Axel."

"Now that guy can creep me out," Miles chimes in. "Yesterday I turned around and there he was. 'Bout scared me out of my pants. I swear he's part Indian."

Jed smirks and clinks around in an engine. "Hey, Ryan, I was..." He looks up. "Ryan... Ryan?" Turning around, he finally sees her in the far corner, working quietly. It had been like that the last few days. Everyone in the shop knew about her and Leo, even though no one talked about it. Even so, it was strange to see Ryan off by herself. "You know when Darrel's supposed to get back from that convention?" he calls.

Leo is still working when the side door opens and a tall, attractive blonde sticks her head in. "Hello?"

He throws her a grin. "Hey, gorgeous. You ready to go to lunch?"

"Am I ever." She lets herself in, smiling at him, and tosses her hair over her shoulder. "Subs or pizza today?"

"Mmm..." Leo thinks as he wipes his hands on his rag, wandering closer and slipping an arm around her waist. He leans in so his face is about two inches from hers. "Subs. Then we can split one."

She giggles and shakes her head, pulling away walk back outside. "Alright. But no onions."

Leo gives a little flirtatious growl before tossing his rag aside and running after her. "Later guys, after lunch!"

"Yeah, yeah." Miles waves him out the door. "You better be back in an hour!"


“No, he left early this morning.” Cindy bounces Kaylee lightly on her knee, the child gurgling with pleasure.

“Oh, I see.” Mick takes a sip of water while listening at the lunch table. “He came when?”

“Mm, about three days ago.”

“Surprised he didn’t come out here to see some people.” Mick’s eyes move to the side, barely able to see Katie, who sat behind him a few feet in the corner, taking a break from watching over Jeff. He didn’t think she’d heard the conversation, and it was just as well. Cindy had commented that Jason had been visiting for a couple days, but the young man had not shown up at the ranch once. Apparently, he had already started back to Nevada.

Cindy frowns a little. “He was… distant. His leg was still bothering him from where he got shot. Said he mostly just wanted some quiet time to work on some music he’d been meaning to write. We had a good time though. He didn’t talk much about work, but that was just as well. He seemed like he needed the break.”

“I see.” Mick nods a little.

A smile spreads on Cindy’s face. She had missed her son, and had enjoyed the time, even if he’d seemed bothered by something he hadn’t wanted to discuss. “Kaylee was glad to see him, too. Saw him and she blurted out ‘Jah!”” Cindy chuckles. “Wes and I figured that meant ‘Jason.’”

Kaylee giggles and throws her arms around. “Jah!” Her eyes sparkle as she stares up at Mick, very proud of herself for reasons only she knows. Squealing, she bounces enough that she almost falls off of Cindy’s knee.

Mick laughs and shakes his head, reaching out to ruffle Kaylee’s soft hair. “I wish I had your energy.” Downing the rest of his drink, he stands up and stretches. Lunch was over and it was time to get back to work. “Dan? Dan! Where is that-” Looking a few seats down, he realizes Dan hasn’t been that far away. “Oh, that’s where you’ve been hiding,” he teases. “You ready to go pick up that hay?”