Determinant: a gene or other factor that determines the character and development of a cell or group of cells in an organism.

Chapter 1: First Blood - First Date

After their initial meeting at the zoo, Mitch calls Jamie with a surprising request.

Jamie wove her way through the crowd of families that had flocked to the zoo that morning. She wondered how many of them had come out just because of the lion attacks. If she'd learned one thing in her time as a journalist, it was that tragedy drew more attention than triumph. The young twenty-something at the ticket kiosk waved enthusiastically as she left, but Jamie didn't feel up to returning her bright smile. She'd come to the Los Angeles Zoo looking for answers, but she'd left with more questions.

Jamie had arrived at the zoo upon opening, so she was parked fairly close to the entrance. Her phone rang as she was sliding into the driver's seat, and she answered without checking the caller ID.

"Jamie Campbell."

"Ms. Campbell, it's Mitch...uh, Doctor Morgan. From the zoo?" She could practically hear his cringe on the other line as he stuttered through his greeting. She felt the corner of her mouth kick up in a half smile.

"Yeah," she answered, "I remember you."

"Right, well…" he stammered for a bit longer, then she heard him blow out a long breath. "You said to call if something occurred to me."

"Yeah," she prompted.

"Well something occurred to me."

He was quickly wearing her patience thin, but she'd learned in just the short time they'd spent together that it was a quirk of his personality rather than a conscious effort to annoy her. She decided to humor him since he was possibly her best resource right now. Scratch that, she thought as she remembered she was somewhat less than employed right now. He was her only resource. "What is it?"

"I haven't eaten lunch yet," he rushed on, clearly relieved that she hadn't snapped at him. "And I'll wager you haven't either given your rather early arrival at the zoo."

"I thought you didn't like people?" Her heart was hammering in her chest despite her calm tone. She'd just ended her relationship with Ethan, and her position with the newspaper was all but terminated. The last thing she needed was to add another element to her suddenly complicated life.

"I'm willing to make an exception," he answered her teasing tone with one of his own. "My treat."

"Pizza and beer?" The words were out before she could stop them, and he huffed in amusement.

"If you want," he agreed. "I was thinking of a little burger place that's still somewhat unknown in these parts." When she didn't speak, his tone changed to a nervous stutter. "I mean...if this isn't a good time...I guess you might have to get back to work. I just thought…"

"No, it's fine," she interrupted his attempted backpedal with a shake of her head. "I can meet you there. What's the address?"

He was already there when she pulled up, and he lifted his hand in greeting as she stepped through the glass door into the tiny space. There were maybe ten tables scattered in a seemingly random pattern around the front area, and a long bar at the back that separated the dining area from the kitchen. The woods were paneled in dark vertical slats about halfway up the wall, and the plaster above it was covered nearly wall to wall with assorted pictures, knick knacks, and local sports paraphernalia. The bored woman slumped behind the register at the end of the bar perked up when Jamie entered.

"Hey," Mitch rose halfway from his chair as she sat down in an echo of chivalrous manners. He looked as uncomfortable with this whole thing as she was, and she offered him her best professional smile.

"Hi." She wondered what she had been thinking accepting his offer. She couldn't afford any distractions now, not when she had finally made some progress into exposing Reiden Global once and for all. Before she could make some excuse to leave or even turn this into some sort of follow-up interview, he leaned back in his chair and tapped the table with two fingers.

"I don't normally do this sort of thing."

"Eat lunch?" She was being purposefully vague, but she told herself it was retribution for his own equivocations.

He chuckled and tipped his head to acknowledge her score. "No," he said, "I mean ask someone I just met out to lunch. I don't even ask people I've known for years out to lunch."

"Then why did you?" Her general curiosity had been a mainstay of her childhood, always asking questions and trying to figure things out. Her uncle had said she'd either be a cop or a reporter. Her aversion to anything resembling blood or gore had solidified her place among the fourth estate.

"I don't know," he answered. "Call it a feeling, I guess." He paused as the woman from the counter came over and took their drink orders. Jamie asked for a water with lemon in contrast to his beer, and she quirked an eyebrow at him knowingly. "Not pizza," was his only reply. Then, in an annoyingly teasing tone, he fired back. "Why'd you say yes?"

"A feeling," she shrugged it off, but she wasn't fooling either of them. Deciding she was losing control fast, she redirected his attention to the business side of their earlier conversation. "So if it wasn't the food that made the lions go crazy, and since we both know things like this don't just happen, what do you think it was?"

"Honestly, I don't know." He sighed and ran his hand through his already disheveled hair. "That's the thing about science; something happens, we study it, then we find out why. It's methodical, orderly. That's why I like it."

The waitress deposited their drinks and took their orders - a cheeseburger for him, chicken salad for her - and dashed off to fill them. Jamie took a sip from her plastic cup before canting her head slightly. "There's a story there."

"Not one I'm willing to share," he retorted. "At least not yet. Trust me, nothing about my life is interesting enough for conversation over lunch. Maybe over drinks. Lots and lots of drinks."

It sounded a whole lot like an invitation, and Jamie gulped the last bit of water in mouth a little too fast. She coughed suddenly, patting her chest to clear her airway. His face flushed slightly as he seemed to realize how his words had been interpreted. Jamie offered him a wry smile and let him save face. "Maybe some other time, then."

Mitch seemed relieved by her olive branch and seized it with both hands. "What about you? Anything happening in your life that's interesting enough for a lunch chat?" The beer he'd gotten was an off brand she didn't recognize, and his fingers picked at the label between sips.

Truthfully, her past was a whole mess of interesting events that strung together to create the beautiful disaster that was her life. Deciding that topic was best saved for another time as well, she shook her head. "Not really," she told him. "Grew up in a very small town in Louisiana, graduated near the top of a class of thirty-three. Tried to get into Emerson and failed, so I ended up at Northwestern instead."

"It's not a bad school," he interjected.

"No," she shook her head, "and honestly I'm grateful for it. I would have been completely lost in New England. At least the Mid West was a little closer to home."

"Is your family still in Louisiana?"

"Yep," she nodded. She didn't elaborate; didn't tell him that her mother was dead or that her father had run out when he couldn't handle the stress of their life any more. That was too much to dump on him hours after they'd just met. She was saved from any further explanation by the arrival of their food. As they ate, their conversation turned to more mundane things. She found out more about his teaching position, and he asked her about life at the paper.

"Lots of tedium, mostly," she told him. "I spend most of my time filing requests for public records, calling people for interviews, planning future requests for public records, checking old requests, that sort of thing."

"Oh," he seemed genuinely surprised, and maybe a little disappointed. "I always pictured reporters as the in-your-face, chasing leads into dark alleys, never quit until you get that story sort."

She angled her glass at him in a mock salute before taking a drink. "I avoid dark alleys where at all possible, but other than that you've got me pinned pretty well."

"Given recent events, that's probably best." They silently toasted the dead by tapping the bottoms of their respective drinks together. "Speaking of stories, what's the deal with the missing cats in Brentwood?"

"It's probably nothing," she waved him off. "I went to Fremer's house to talk to him about the lion attacks and he told me that his daughter's cat was missing, along with a bunch of other cats in the neighborhood."

"You went to his house?" Mitch sounded impressed.

She shrugged one shoulder. "In-your-face, remember? Anything for the story."

He laughed then, a rich sound that filled the space around them. She wondered absently if it was supposed to be this way. Their conversations came easily, and she didn't feel as awkward as she had with Ethan during those first few dates.

Slow down, Campbell. Get it together.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket loud enough for him to hear it. She was going to ignore it, but he nodded toward her resignedly. "I'm guessing your lunch break is over?"

It seemed as good a stopping point as any, and it would save them the embarrassing departure that would inevitably follow. She pulled her phone out and tried to keep her face from showing anything as she read Ethan's text. Apparently she was unsuccessful.

"That bad?"

"It's nothing," she shook her head and stood up. "Thank you for lunch. Dr. Morgan."

"Mitch," he prompted.

"Right, Mitch. I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me." She gathered her bag and turned to leave when his hand reached out to grasp her forearm lightly.

"Listen, if anything else occurs to me…" he began. He seemed to take a breath to calm himself, and Jamie was reminded that she probably wasn't the only one feeling a bit weird about all of this. "Can I call?"

She knew very well what he was asking, and it had nothing to do with their earlier interview. She thought about Ethan, and about how he had shown his true colors today. They were done, that much she was sure about, but starting something new right now would be foolish. Still, she looked down at Mitch Morgan's scruffy hair and smudged glasses and his hopeful smile and she knew her answer.

"Sure."

This series began as a curious question in my head. What if Mitch and Jamie had actually hooked up during this episode? How would that affect the series? Then, I expanded it to every episode. Could I alter every episode to contain Mitch/Jamie, assuming each previous episode happened as written? I still haven't decided if I'm going to just keep going with this continuity and rewrite the entire series, or just alter each episode individually to get Mitch and Jamie together. If you have an opinion either way, please feel free to leave me a comment!