Imprinted Back

by live2tivo

When tasked with creating Dr. Saunders, Topher takes it upon himself to make Whiskey like her old self--exactly like her old self. Spoilers for s. 1 and one blink-and-you'll-miss-it s. 2 reference. Complete. Written for Jossverse Big Bang on LiveJournal.

Title: Imprinted Back

Author: Musical_Junkie/Tally/Live2TiVo

Fandom: Dollhouse

Pairing/Characters: Topher/Claire, Adelle, Ivy

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: I began writing this fic the premiere of season two. Events from Epitaph One and season two are primarily ignored, although pre-series information from Epitaph One is taken into consideration. However, there is reference to Sierra's pre-Dollhouse life.

Summary: Whiskey's transition into Dr. Claire Saunders isn't exactly what Adelle ordered when Topher takes it upon himself to make her just like her old self—exactly like her old self. When a new doll arrives, Claire recognizes her from her pre-Dollhouse life. While trying to figure out how she knows the new Active, Claire and Topher find out exactly why Claire joined the dollhouse.

Word Count: 15,648

Notes: This idea has been floating around in my head for months, but I never had a reason to take on a fic of this magnitude, and I didn't want to waste the concept on a short fic. When Jossverse Big Bang came along, I couldn't resist the opportunity to finally write it.

Special Thanks: Muchos Gracias to my FABULOUS betas smercy and sullenduchess (3) Also, TONS OF LOVE to babydykecate for the absolutely fantastic fanmix. And, a special shout out to anyone on my flist or IRL who dealt with me talking out this fic to them for the past five months. I love you all. Thanks for listening.

---

Prologue

Whiskey was an active for less than a week before she became the most sought-after doll. She was chosen over the others time after time, and Topher couldn't understand why. Her popularity was something he had plenty of time to consider, as he spent hours creating imprints for her. She wasn't any more attractive than Juliet or Yankee, and she wasn't nearly as physically capable as Tango or Lima. Nevertheless, there was something endearing about her. When she was wiped, she seemed more innocent than the other actives—more pure.

That Whiskey was entrancing. That Whiskey was unspoiled, unscarred. That Whiskey was gone now.

The imprint took him nearly three days to complete, and there were a few moments when Topher thought it might not be possible. He tweaked and twisted until he was sure he had the perfect blend of the two brains he needed. She was sassy, smart, and scared of spiders. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine and oddly named cocktails such as Up Against A Wall and Moonlight Orgasms. She knew she was a doll, and she knew that knowledge was something she could never reveal.

This Whiskey had a new engagement and it was unlike any of the ones That Whiskey had ever experienced. This Whiskey had a new name and a new face. This Whiskey was Dr. Claire Saunders, but This Whiskey was also Emma Grace McKay. This Whiskey was ready for the challenge

---

In her pre-Gamma life, Emma Grace McKay was the girl other parents would see and remark on how "well behaved" she was—until her senior year. Realizing that her acceptance to UCLA was her ticket out of small town North Dakota, Emma Grace stopped caring about classes and the legal drinking age. She kept her grades high enough to graduate, and she kept her party girl status low enough to hide it from her parents, but her car was packed and ready to go the second she had her diploma.

Her elation at being away from home was short lived. A mere two weeks into her first semester, she was advised to leave UCLA after the unfortunate events of a Gamma Kappa Iota rush party. Emma Grace was not the goody two-shoes she had been as a child; she was Gamma now.

**

Gamma's first job after leaving UCLA had been working as a cashier at a small store that sold costumes and clothing for pets. Gamma absolutely despised her job, especially because she (as the youngest employee) was always on clean-up duty. The job lasted for about a year, until the store owner closed up shop to join a commune called The Lighters, who didn't believe in raincoats for cats. To make matters worse, the store owner went off the grid before Gamma could get a letter of recommendation. She was totally screwed.

**

It was two weeks after Creature Couture closed before Gamma started looking for work. Pity and luck had gotten her into her first job—a girl at the infamous sorority party that ended her academic career knew the owner. But a year had passed since then, and she didn't have any remaining connections in the Los Angeles workforce. Gamma quickly learned folding dog sweaters was not a very marketable skill, especially with a mere two weeks of a college education.

She had exhausted all other job possibilities before asking about the "Help Wanted" sign in the window of Kari's Kitchen. When she saw the notice, she was burnt out and wanted nothing more than to go back to her shit hole apartment and change out of her "interview shoes," but that meant having to face her roommate, who would undoubtedly be asking after her half of the rent. So, Gamma walked into Kari's Kitchen and said, "Hi, I noticed your Help Wanted sign, and I'm here to help."

**

The interview for Kari's Kitchen went much better than any of the others Gamma had been on that day. Kari Norris was Southern, perky, and seemed to sympathize with Gamma's situation.

"So, Gamma…I can't imagine your parents named you after part of the Greek alphabet," Kari said, after Gamma introduced herself.

"No, but it's better than what they gave me. My real name's Emma Grace, but I earned the name Gamma about a year or so ago, and it seems to have stuck."

Gamma decided that telling her possible employer exactly how she'd gotten her nickname probably wasn't the best idea.

"Earned it, huh? I'll have to hear that story sometime, but first, tell me why you think I should hire you."

It was the twelfth time Gamma had been asked that question in twenty-four hours, and it was the first time she answered it honestly. "You shouldn't hire me. I've never been a waitress before. Hell, I've never been anything before except a glorified pooper scooper. There are probably a thousand people in ten blocks who could do a better job than I could, but I need the money, and I'm pretty good with people, and I can start anytime you want me."

Kari smiled at her. "How about tomorrow?"

"What?"

"Tomorrow—to start. You'll have a couple days of training and a couple more of shadowing one of our experienced waitresses, and then you'll be a full-fledged employee."

"Really? Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, Gamma. I'll see you tomorrow at ten."

**

Gamma was amazed by how much one had to do to be a waitress. It wasn't difficult, but memorizing the shorthand for everything on the menu was a daunting task. However, after two days of following Melinda, a single mom who smelled of baby powder and menthol, Gamma was more than willing to handle customers on her own. She met Adelle DeWitt on her first day working apart from Melinda, and Gamma could instantly tell that Adelle wasn't the typical Kari's patron.

Adelle came in as the lunch rush was dying down, looking more put together than Gamma could ever hope to be. Gamma was tired and hungry but wearing a smile as fake as the fruit in a packet of KoolAid in the hope of tips.

"Welcome to Kari's Kitchen. My name is Gamma, and I'll be serving you today. Can I start you out with something to drink?"

"Some unsweetened ice tea please," said Adelle, smiling knowingly at Gamma, who didn't notice.

Gamma scribbled "IT-US" on her pad. "I'll be right back with your tea."

**

Throughout the months Gamma worked at Kari's Kitchen, Adelle came in for at least five meals a week, always during Gamma's hours and always in Gamma's section. She was a regular unlike all of Kari's Kitchen's other regulars—obese construction workers from the never-ending sidewalk repairs on the block who always ordered a burger and fries with a Coke.

Adelle was clean, well-dressed, and didn't have a "usual" order. Some days, she would order a light salad with dressing on the side, others "the world's greasiest, juiciest burger without any lettuce or tomatoes or pickles…just the fat" (which sounded unbelievably odd in her proper accent). Gamma quickly learned that Adelle's orders were a reflection of the day she was having—salad with light dressing: good day; sandwich to go: busy day; burger with extra fries: worst day ever.

Gamma learned other things about Adelle throughout the ten months or so she worked at Kari's Kitchen—she was unmarried (and not looking), a hard worker (who loved her job), and surprisingly interested in Gamma's life story. Whenever Adelle would come into Kari's, Gamma would inevitably spend a good hour talking to her in between refilling coffee cups and ignoring suggestive comments from Construction Worker Jimmy, whose main purposes in life were to use a jackhammer and be a jackass. Adelle learned about Gamma's parents, who cut her off after she left school; Gamma's roommate, who slept all day and brought a different boy to their apartment every night; and Gamma's job, which she didn't mind as long as she had enough hours to pay her rent and didn't have to sweep dog hair.

**

"Why do you come here so often? No offense, but Kari's isn't the type of place where someone like you would usually eat." Gamma asked Adelle one day as she handed her a to-go bag with a piece of chocolate pie (with a container of extra chocolate sauce).

"I've been going to Kari's Kitchen for a long time. It's close to work and no one else from Rossum eats there. It's a good place to get away from the office without leaving."

"I can understand that. Now I just need to find a place that can get me away from Kari's."

"Hey, it's not that bad. Plus, I've met some very special people coming here."

Adelle smiled at Gamma and it was the first time in a long time that Gamma felt special.

**

When it came to Gamma, Adelle struggled with the decision to offer her a contract as an active. It wasn't something she usually lost sleep over, but Gamma was somehow different. Gamma didn't need a contract, and she'd probably be better off without one. However, a girl like Gamma would be great for business.

The official reason for her hesitation was that she wanted to be absolutely sure Gamma would accept the offer. This was, of course, a lie. Adelle knew for sure that Gamma would take the job without so much as a pause if she presented the opportunity in the right way. And, Adelle always knew just how to pitch the dollhouse to prospective actives—even in delicate Light Contracts like Gamma.

Eventually Adelle decided in favor of a doll contract. She'd invested too much time in Gamma already, and the higher ups were itching for her to seal the deal. They, too, saw that Gamma was special.

**

The day Adelle offered Gamma the job was also Gamma's worst day as a Kari's Kitchen employee. It was the culmination of a long week and a shit storm of negativity from her customers and co-workers. Kari had yelled at her for being two minutes late to her shift, Construction Worker Jimmy had told her she "ain't worth a whistle today," and the cook had messed up three customers' orders (who had, in turn, blamed Gamma). She was about thirty seconds from throwing down her apron when Adelle entered.

"Welcome to Kari's Kitchen…" Gamma began.

"Save it. I am well aware of who you are and where I am. I'm not in the mood for idle chit chat," Adelle said, cutting Gamma off in the middle of her greeting.

"Fine by me," Gamma grumbled. Adelle seemed to be in full out bitch mode today. Fantastic.

"Bring me a cheeseburger with none of the fixings. And smile. It's going to be the last order you ever have to take," said Adelle, her tone brightening.

It took a few moments for Adelle's words to register with Gamma.

"What?"

"I'm here to offer you a job… and get that cheeseburger, if you don't mind."

Gamma nodded. "I'll go put in the order," she said slowly and softly, as she walked over to the kitchen, her mind whirling with the prospect of leaving Kari's Kitchen.

She handed the cook the order pad and walked back over to Adelle, ignoring the cry of "Waitress!" from someone brandishing an empty glass.

"Okay, so what's this about a job? And I really hope you aren't messing with me, because this is not the right day for jokes."

"I assure you, I never joke. I have a job that I think might interest you."

"How soon can I start?" Gamma asked. Anything would be better than working at Kari's for another day.

"Why don't you take the afternoon off and come with me after I finish my lunch? I'm sure Kari will understand."

Gamma highly doubted that, but, if all went well, she wouldn't be working for Kari anymore, and it wouldn't matter.

After Adelle finished her cheeseburger, she led Gamma to the Rossum building, and everything changed.

**

Everyone knew that the Rossum Corporation was powerful and wealthy, but Gamma didn't know just how true it was until she saw the figure on her contract. If they could afford to give her—Emma Grace McKay, Queen of the Nobodys—this much for her service, Gamma could only imagine how much Adelle made in a year.

Gamma wasn't stupid— she knew that this kind of money didn't go to file clerks or mailroom employees. "What's the catch?"

Adelle gave her the standard sales pitch—"You will be completely safe, no harm will come to you, but…"

Gamma was in awe of what Adelle was telling her. The whole thing was just too weird, but the idea of disappearing for five years was rather enticing. She'd heard rumors, of course, but those were from drunken rich girls who came into Kari's to sober up when Gamma was working the night shift. It was tales of the dollhouse sandwiched between stories that always began with "this one time on my yacht." Gamma had never really paid them any mind.

"What about my parents?"

Despite the lack of help they had given her after she was advised (nicely) to leave UCLA, Gamma still called her parents on a semi-regular basis.

"We have ways. To the outside world, you will be the low-level assistant to a high-level Rossum employee working in South America to research on Rossum's next miracle drug. You will only have occasional access to e-mail but no phone reception. It's a small price to pay for such a one of a kind experience."

Gamma was both impressed and slightly disturbed by this. "Well, you seem to have that all figured out. Do you seriously have someone whose sole job is to compose fake e-mails to the relatives of your employees?"

"Not as a main job, but we do have a handful of people devoted to maintaining appearances, which reminds me, there are some forms we would like you to fill out with personal information that will make the process easier. We wouldn't want to arouse suspicion by asking after a dog you don't have."

There was a snide tint to the last part, which made Gamma suspect it wasn't just an example Adelle was pulling out of her ass. Not that Adelle seemed like the type to pull anything out of her ass, anyway.

Banishing that image from her mind, Gamma still had some more questions.

"Where will I live?" asked Gamma.

"Would you like to see it?"

**

"Ho. Ly. Shit."

"I take it you're impressed?"

"No kidding. There's a pool—and massage tables—and I've always thought yoga was a good way to relax. Where do I sign?" Compared to her apartment, this place was paradise. (Hell, anywhere compared to her apartment was paradise, but this place was pretty damn amazing.)

Adelle showed Gamma around the house, omitting things like the sleeping pods and the imprint room. It was the standard tour for potential actives. There would be plenty of time for Gamma to get acquainted with the house after she had entered into her contract.

When she was sure that Gamma was ready to sign on the dotted line, they went back upstairs to Adelle's office to go over the fine print. Gamma would arrive the following afternoon, allowing her twenty-four hours to get her affairs in order. Future actives typically had a week or so to make the necessary arrangements, but, as Gamma wasn't a trauma case, there was a shortened adjustment period. Rossum execs didn't want "light contracts" sitting longer than thirty-six hours…heaven forbid someone were to reconsider.

**

On the way to her (soon to be former) apartment, Gamma stopped into Kari's Kitchen to quit her job. Gamma also paid up her half of the rent for the next two months (giving her roommate plenty of time to find someone new to share the lease) and called her parents to tell them all about her exciting new job at Rossum. Her parents were understandably surprised, but they were more than pleased that she was finally doing something with her life.

Gamma was amazed by how fast all of this was happening, but she was ready to begin. Everything was coming together, and Gamma even noticed that Kari had already hired a replacement, when she dropped off her extra apron on the way to Rossum. It was a five year paid vacation that Gamma couldn't wait to take.

**

Adelle welcomed Gamma into the dollhouse, apologizing that their head programmer couldn't be there.

"He recently restructured the entire imprinting process, and he was called away suddenly this morning to institute it in one of our other houses. Rest assured, however, that you are in very capable hands with our other technicians," Adelle explained.

Gamma kind of wanted to know exactly how the imprinting process had been "restructured"—did that mean those who had been there before her were exposed to a dangerous "imprinting"? Had the new process been thoroughly tested? Suddenly, signing onto this seemed like less of a great idea. It was probably best not to think about those kinds of questions.

Adelle could sense that Gamma was starting to get nervous. "It's alright. It's perfectly safe, and it will make five years pass like a heartbeat."

Gamma took a deep breath and settled down into the chair.

"If you say so" were the last words Gamma would speak for nearly two years.

**

Gamma did nothing for two years. Her body went on numerous engagements and got into better shape than Gamma had ever been in her life. But Gamma wasn't Gamma, she was Whiskey, and Whiskey caught the eyes of many people—including Topher Brink.

**

"We have a new active," said Adelle abruptly, setting Whiskey's file down on Topher's desk.

Topher turned around in his chair to face Adelle, standing up after he realized how much she seemed to tower over him when he was sitting.

"I'm away for one week and you create a new active without me? What part of 'head programmer' does that Neanderthal assistant of yours not understand?" He paused. "He didn't touch any of my equipment did he? Because my equipment is very sensitive…my computer equipment. That…yeah." Topher's hands flailed wildly as he spoke.

"Mr. Dominic had nothing to do with my decision, Mr. Brink. As you'll see in her file, she was a light contract, and her wipe needed to occur as quickly as possible. And, I assure you, no unauthorized personnel touched your equipment."

That was all the explanation Adelle seemed to find necessary, so she left Topher alone with Whiskey's file.

Name: Emma Grace (Gamma) McKay

Gamma? Now there was a name with a story behind it. Topher hoped it had something to do with radiation (because, seriously, how cool would that be?), but he had no way of knowing.

Special Notes: Light contract; no brain alterations

This was the part that really stuck with Topher. Light contracts were uncommon at the Dollhouse. Out of the 86 current actives in the Los Angeles house, only five of them were under "light contracts." And, out of the remaining 81 actives, only seven didn't have something they had requested to change before becoming themselves again.

The particulars of her "employment" were not in her main file, and Topher knew better than to ask Adelle for the extended edition. This "Emma Grace (Gamma) McKay" was definitely something special, and Topher was desperate to know why. Topher didn't get that opportunity until Alpha.

**

The "Alpha Incident" turned the Dollhouse staff into janitors—everyone had a part in cleaning up the mess. Adelle was in meetings for three days straight with the heads of the other houses explaining what she knew; Dominic was heading up an (eventually unsuccessful) effort to locate (and terminate) Alpha; and Topher was charged with transforming a broken doll into a working doctor.

On paper, Topher's task was by far the easiest. He'd constructed numerous personalities (doctors included) in his tenure at the dollhouse, but he was taking more care with his most recent imprint. The extra hours he spent on the "brain" of Dr. Claire Saunders, MD could be explained by "being super duper careful not to create another Alpha," which is the excuse he would have used, had he been asked. But, he wasn't. And it would have been a lie.

Topher was creating Dr. Claire Saunders, but he was throwing a special something into the mix—Whiskey.

**

Still bandaged and recovering from Alpha's handiwork, Whiskey was led into Topher's lab by her former handler, where she and Topher were left alone.

Topher had insisted upon complete privacy for the imprinting of Dr. Claire Saunders. Adelle, still trying to recover from the longest two weeks of her life, didn't have the energy to object. (And, if he happened to press the wrong button that disabled the audio feed from the imprint room right before Whiskey entered...)

"I'm ready for my treatment," said Whiskey in her airy doll tone.

Topher sincerely hoped she was. "Okay, why don't you just have a seat and we'll be done in a flash."

And then, in a flash, it was done.

"Seriously, I can't believe you think you're going to get away with this. I only lasted two weeks in acting school."

"Emma Grace?" asked Topher, bewildered. Had he actually done it? Hot damn, he was a genius.

"Okay, if I'm going to go along with this and not walk straight into Adelle's office, you aren't allowed to call me Emma Grace. My name is Gamma."

"Yeah…I'm probably…definitely not going to call you that."

Topher should have known this would be a problem—the indicators for "stubborn" in her brain were off the charts.

"Why not? It's my name."

"It makes you sound like a doll."

"I am a doll—Whiskey, as I recall."

"Yes, but in case you forgot already, you're not supposed to know that."

"But I do, and if you want me to keep that little tidbit to myself, you won't call me Emma Grace again."

"You should be glad you even remember your name."

"Come on, Topher. This is obviously some kind of twisted way for you to pretend that working here hasn't totally rid you of your humanity. Stop pretending that you did some sort of brilliant deed."

"Yeah, take a good look at yourself and tell me that I did something wrong by putting you back in your body instead of leaving your brain to gather dust after what happened."

"Alpha?"

Topher nodded. "Alpha."

Gamma knew all about Alpha—a summary of the incident had been added to her memories—but Topher told her the whole story. He thought maybe it would help her understand what they were doing just enough so that she wouldn't sprint upstairs and earn both of them a permanent place in the attic. And, after a while, he was fairly sure he might actually get away with this. Awesome.

**

Adelle gave Dr. Saunders a week off to recover from her "traumatic encounter with Alpha." She wasn't needed, as all engagements were still on hold, and Gamma used the time to get a crash course in all things Dollhouse from Topher. She'd been imprinted with everything she needed to know, but having Topher giver her a recap was easier than scanning through all of her new memories.

She also took the time to adapt to living in the Rossum building. The fifteenth floor was comprised of four apartments, a laundry room, and a small (rarely used) gym. Unit 15-A was furnished, but vacant—left open for anyone who wanted to use it for a night: usually handlers who needed a quick rest between engagements. Unit 15-B was rumored to be reserved for visiting Rossum big-wigs but was usually employed by Adelle when she got an urge to cook. (She was a stress baker, and the whole floor smelled like cookies for two weeks after Alpha.) Units 15-C and 15-D were the only ones with full-time residents.

Topher and Claire's apartments were for the sake of convenience—late-night check-ups and engagements were a pain if the people needed to conduct them were 10 miles away. (This was less common ever since Topher made the imprinting process more efficient, but it was still necessary.)

15-C had been Topher's since his first day at Rossum. He'd been offered the apartment with the job, and he'd taken it over the loft he was currently sharing with three of his friends in a heartbeat. Since then, it had gone from an apartment worthy Better Homes and Gardens to ever frat boy's wet dream. The fridge was stocked with beer, cold pizza, and Red Bull; the TV was connected to a killer sound system and every gaming console on the market (not to mention some that weren't); and the bookshelf was filled with action movies, comic books, and twenty years worth of Playboy.

15-D belonged to both Dr. Saunders. When the first Dr. Saunders lived there, it was clean and non-descript—the TV was covered in a layer of dust and well-read copies of medical textbooks were stacked high on the shelves. When Gamma moved in, Adelle had already seen to getting it redecorated—more contemporary and girly—and Gamma wanted to change it again as quickly as possible.

Of course, the most important feature of all four units was the security system. All of the apartments were equipped with numerous cameras. Units 15-A, 15-B, and 15-D all had audio feeds, as well, but Topher had disabled his the night he moved in, and Adelle "hadn't gotten around" to asking Mr. Dominic to fix it. (She rationalized that no one really needed to hear what Topher did on his own time, and his phone was tapped.)

The lack of audio surveillance made Topher's apartment the perfect place for his late nights with Emma Grace. They could talk freely as he prepared her to start her life as Dr. Saunders.

**

Gamma's first full day as Dr. Saunders passed without a hitch. Engagements didn't resume until the next day, so the only thing she had to do was put a band-aid on an active who hurt his elbow. A few of the handlers stopped by to ask her how she was feeling, and she told them all she was "much better and ready to resume working" in her newly selected "Claire Voice."

She spent her spare time getting accustomed to her office, reading through as many Actives' files as she could. She was struck by how none of the files even mentioned their real names—it was just Hotel, Charlie, India and so on. She supposed there were files with more information elsewhere, but she knew better than to go asking after them.

At noon, Gamma decided to walk upstairs to visit Topher. (And his well-stocked drawer of inappropriate starches). He was checking all of the equipment he reconfigured after Alpha to ensure it was ready for engagements again.

"Hello, Topher," said Gamma, in her regular voice, which was less airy but otherwise the same as her Claire voice.

"Dr. Saunders," replied Topher, "Just give me a minute to get this diagnostic started, and I'll be right there."

"I'm just here to grab a bag of Fritos."

"You're not supposed to eat those."

"Why?"

"Uh, because they're mine. Do you know how many clown jokes I had to make at Larry's expense to get that stash of chips?" Topher lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned closer to Gamma, "And you're supposed to bea health nut."

Gamma shook her head and whispered, "Just tell them you put in the wrong taste buds or something. I'm not going to give up my Fritos for you."

"You need to learn to share," she added, louder.

"Fine. They're in the middle drawer…"

"I know where they are," said Gamma, smirking, "And they're in the bottom drawer. The middle one is where you keep all the store brand crap. I want the real deal."

Topher sighed; he'd created a monster.

**

That night, Topher and Gamma sat in Topher's living room, discussing the day's events over re-heated Chinese food.

"So, how did it feel to be all doctor-y today?"

"All I did was put a band-aid on Golf's elbow; I felt more like a kindergarten teacher than a doctor. What is up with these names, by the way?"

"NATO phonetic alphabet. When we run out, we use the old letters…Able, Baker, and so on and whatever."

"I got that, but some of them are ridiculous. I found it really hard to keep a straight face when someone introduced himself as Monkey's handler."

"They're not nearly as bad as the ones in New York, though. Someone thought it would be clever to name them after famous plays and musicals. I was upgrading their tech, and I got to meet Sweeney, Phantom, and Menagerie."

"Yeah, but it doesn't make Beer's name any less ridiculous."

"Just wait until you hear the awful puns that Nuts' handler likes to make."

"I already did. 'I like to keep a steady eye on my Nuts.' Ugh. Any chance you could put me in that chair of yours and erase that particular encounter?"

"Not a chance. You aren't going back into that chair again until your contract expires or else really bad, terrible…bad things will happen."

"But what if I wanted to learn Spanish?"

"Then you'll have to dip into some of that massive paycheck you get to buy Rosetta Stone."

"Wait. I'm getting paid?"

"Yeah, it's all part of the whole 'you're not supposed to know you're a doll' thing. Those credit cards in your wallet aren't there to look pretty."

**

Gamma used her newly discovered credit cards to do a little "extreme makeover: apartment edition." She didn't care enough to find an alternative to the light pink comforter, but the matching throw pillows landed in the back of her closet one day, never to return to their place at the head of the bed. She ordered a few posters online to replace the stock images of Paris that came with the apartment. Plus, Dr. Claire Saunders was twenty-six (according to her new driver's license) and that meant Gamma had no problem stocking up her new Stenstorp serving cart from Ikea with expensive vodka. (Gamma hated cheap booze ever since the infamous rush party.)

It wasn't long before 15-D was the epitome of organized chaos—papers, magazines, and legal pads covered every available surface. She spent her nights watching movies until she fell asleep, and she rarely saw the endings of any of them. The TV was surrounded by stacks of movies (accumulated from Amazon shopping sprees), none of which were in the correct box, although Gamma knew where each disc was. (Airplane was in the box for There's Something About Mary, which was in the box originally intended for Annie Hall and so on.) The system drove Topher crazy, because the only thing he kept organized was his media collection—movies, CDs, video games.

**

Her work day gradually grew more interesting over the next few weeks. To ease back into regular practices, lower risk engagements were prioritized, so, apart from standard post-engagement examinations, nothing all too exciting happened. As more actives were sent out on medium and high risk engagements, Gamma was able to apply her newly acquired medical knowledge to setting bones and stitching up deep cuts. She was amazed at how easily everything came to her. She didn't have to stop and think about anything; she didn't even hesitate when she had to administer shots. (Topher had the foresight to remove her fear of needles.)

No one seemed to suspect anything, but Gamma was petrified that someone would come up and ask her a medical question she couldn't answer. But, when Bravo's handler asked her to look at a rash on his ankle, she had no problem identifying his reaction to poison oak. (Bravo's last engagement had been a charity assignment leading a Boy Scout troop.)

**

Topher had a bad habit of waiting to ask difficult questions until they were in the middle of a movie or deep into an Alias marathon. It was the kind of habit that someone might find endearing, but Gamma found it annoying as hell.

The first time he did it was two weeks after she had been imprinted, (or, as he liked to call it 'formed from the primordial oozes of his genius'), and he hadn't stopped since. It was always the same.

"So, why'd you decide to join the dollhouse?" He asked, pausing right in the middle of The Godfather. (Seriously, the guy paused The Godfather.)

"Why not?" She replied, grabbing the remote to restart the movie.

The topic came up at least once a week, and Gamma always gave him the same answer.

"Why did you join the dollhouse?"

"Why not?"

"Seriously. What was it? Did you see Dominic naked and want five years without the memory?"

Gamma let him run through his Theory of the Week without comment.

"But, wait, then it would be in your file that you wanted the memory erased. Oh, wait. Did you want to wait until Lost had finished airing so you could watch it all at once?"

"That was worse than your theory that I wanted to wait until 'that whole MySpace fad dies a horrible death.' Just let it go."

**

Gamma liked the feeling of being a doctor. "I might go back to school for a medical degree when I get out of here," she told Topher one night, as they ate popcorn and watched a House re-run.

"Yeah, but you'll have to get your undergrad first."

"Not a problem. I already know everything. That will make the whole 'school' thing easier."

"Not exactly. You'll have to re-learn everything. I'm not allowed to change your original personality after your contract expires. You have a 'no alterations' specification on your file."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure I'm not even supposed to be here now. I think that's a little bit worse than letting me remember what a myocardial infarction is."

"DeWitt never said that I couldn't do what I did with you. She only asked me to create a new Dr. Saunders imprint for Whiskey. Which I did. And here you are."

"Adelle is going to attic you when she finds out. You do know that, right?" Gamma said, launching a piece of popcorn at Topher's face.

"Since when is 'attic' a verb?" Topher replied, throwing the piece back at her.

"Since you resigned yourself to it by creating me."

"You'd think you'd be a little more thankful after all I've done for you."

"You'd think that after three months, you'd be less proud of yourself."

"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm just that awesome."

She threw a handful of kernels at him, and they dropped the subject as a full out popcorn battle ensued.

**

Adelle enjoyed watching the security feed from Topher's apartment. Not in a creepy stalker way, or anything, she was just enthralled with how much Claire brought out the humanity in Topher. Topher suspected that Adelle had some idea that he had made certain adjustments to Claire's imprint (perhaps with some traits usually reserved for 'diagnostics') but that she never cared enough to investigate. Anything that kept Topher from reaching the level of inhumanity of her bosses wasn't anything worth stopping. Had she re-enabled the audio feed in Topher's apartment, she would have found the whole thing to be a much more pressing matter.

But, as far as Topher was concerned, Adelle probably just thought that he'd made Dr. Saunders into his new BFF and he was okay with that.

**

The conversations Adelle was never meant to hear weren't normally all that incriminating, but no conversation between Topher and Gamma was lacking in references to the fact that Gamma was not who she was supposed to be. There were brief exchanges about Topher always calling her Emma Grace and Gamma's refusal to explain why she joined the dollhouse, but even those became more infrequent as the months passed. They mostly argued. They argued about what to eat, they argued about what to watch, they argued about what to do. They argued about everything. They were both highly competitive, and their arguments were spurned from friendly trash talk during Super Smash Brothers or particularly heated games of Battleship. It wasn't anything too serious, just "old married couple" type fights.

Their bickering bled into their dollhouse interactions, because it was how they communicated. But, their arguments in the dollhouse were much more controlled. They had to be very careful about what they said, but they could hardly refrain from their constant back and forth.

**

It took six months before they slept together. It wasn't romantic and it wasn't the finally!-type culmination of their months of arguments. It just happened. One night, they wound up entangled in Topher's sheets. They weren't exactly sure how it happened, but they both enjoyed it. They agreed that it really was their best option for this sort of thing, and they were of the rare breed for whom "friends with benefits" actually worked. It made sense for them to sleep together, so they did.

It became part of their nightly routine and Adelle ordered that the camera feed from Topher's apartment be turned off at the first sight of impending intercourse. There were some things that people really didn't need to see. Ever.

**

Eight months into Gamma's tenure as Dr. Saunders, a new active came to the house. This wasn't unusual; they had a good amount of turn-around. Contracts seemed to be expiring left and right, and replacement Actives were always ready to fill the void. The old Quebec had been released the week before (Gamma had overseen her final examination), and Gamma was preparing the new Quebec (Nicole, as Adelle had introduced her) for her first treatment. Nicole was in a bad state. Her hair looked like someone had come at it with safety scissors and a blindfold, her clothes were wrinkled and stained, and there were bags under her eyes that went down past her nose. She wasn't unattractive, but she was in desperate need of a good shower and a clean shirt. She spoke in brief statements (never uttering a full sentence) in a voice so quiet, Gamma could hardly hear her.

The exam didn't take long—Gamma was mainly tasked with making sure she was physically capable of handling a wipe. Gamma noticed tell-tale cutting scars on Nicole's stomach and thighs, but she didn't say anything. Nicole wouldn't be there if she didn't have something to erase. (Which is exactly what Gamma would be doing to the scars after Nicole became Quebec. Heaven forbid an Active be visibly damaged.) All in all, there was nothing unusual about the exam except the nagging thought in the back of Gamma's mind that she had seen Nicole somewhere, but the minimal information in her file didn't give Gamma any clue as to where that might have been.

**

That night, over pizza and beer, Gamma and Topher discussed the newest addition to the dollhouse.

"How did Nicole handle her wipe today?" asked Gamma.

"Quebec? She did fine, but there's a lot of crap I have to remove from her original personality when she's released."

"She looked so sad when I was examining her. It was awful."

"Plus, she really needs a makeover. The salon is going to have their hands full with that rat's nest on her head."

"You are a horrible person, you know that?"

"Come on, you were totally thinking it."

"I am not even going to merit that with a response."

Gamma, of course, had totally been thinking it, but she was more concerned with why Nicole looked so familiar than why she looked so disheveled.

"You're no fun tonight."

"I just think that the poor girl has more problems than her lack of foundation."

"Well, she won't have any of those problems for a long time. Now, her only problem is whether to paint a flower or a sunset."

Topher's flippancy regarding actives was a sore spot in their friendship. "You're kind of a douche bag. Did you know that?"

"Yep. Topher Brink: proud member of the society of complete assholes since middle school."

Gamma rolled her eyes and took another bit of her pizza. Topher was hopeless.

"I hope you know that means your chances of getting any tonight are very slim."

**

Gamma spent a couple months going crazy trying to remember how she knew Quebec before she finally told Topher. Quebec had been made over into the pure beauty that only an Active could possess, and Gamma was now positive that she had seen her somewhere, at a point in time when she looked more like Quebec and less like the scruffy Nicole who had arrived such a short time ago.

Gamma's version of Quebec's file was strictly medical. And, knowing that her arm had been broken fifteen years earlier (leaving her with occasional wrist aches in colder climates) was not helpful in the least. Her only hope was Topher's version would give her a little more insight.

So, when she went for her usual verbal sparing match with Topher (which typically resulted in a quick grope on Topher's couch these days), she managed to covertly ask him for a favor.

It took a couple of minutes for her to deliver the whole request in between kisses, but she finally managed to get through: "Bring your hard copy files of any active leaving in three months to your apartment tonight but slip Quebec's in there, too."

Topher didn't have a chance to ask why. Delta was escorted in by her handler for a treatment, and Topher and Gamma's lunchtime encounter was cut short. Topher was able to give Gamma a quick nod of acknowledgement before imprinting Delta with all the skills necessary to train seeing-eye dogs.

**

"Is there any possibility you'll tell me why I'm taking my work home with me tonight?" Topher asked, as soon as they entered the safety of his apartment.

"Yeah, I wanted to see your version of Quebec's file, but I couldn't ask you in the house without raising suspicions."

"And the other files?"

"So you can pretend you were working on the release adjustments for the others imprints and that you accidentally grabbed Quebec's file with them."

"Sure, that makes sense. Kind of."

"Wait, that's not the whole plan. What you need to do now is to go put the files next to the computer in your room. Just put the whole pile down without looking at it, maybe add an exasperated look for the sake of the cameras. Later, we'll act like we're about to have sex, and I'll look for the information I need while the cameras are off. Then, we'll put the files back exactly how they were"

"Is that all?" Topher asked, marveling at how carefully planned it was.

"After all that, we'll have sex."

"I like that part."

"You would." Gamma rolled her eyes, "Now, go put the files in your room, and then grab the Chinese food menu off your fridge on your way back while I tell you the rest of the plan."

Topher did so—if this plan involved sex, he was more than willing to go along with it, despite how ridiculous it was.

"Okay, so what's the rest of the plan?" he asked, returning with the menu.

"After I leave, go through the files and pretend you're working on the adjustments. When you reach Quebec's folder in the pile, act like you did something stupid by bringing it to your apartment, but don't linger on it."

"This is a very complicated plan, and I'm still not sure what the point of it is. Any chance you want to fill me in a little bit here?"

Gamma gave him the basics about how she recognized Quebec, and Topher still thought she was insane. Then, they ordered Chinese food, and put the plan into action.

**

At the soft whir of the cameras disengaging, Gamma leapt off of Topher. Not bothering to re-button her shirt or put on her pants, she ran over to look at Quebec's file.

On the second page, after the standard information that Gamma had already memorized from her own copy, there was a scribbled note from Adelle.

Recreate all memories from the past three years. More specifics when her contract is closer to expiration.

Other than that, the only thing that caught Gamma's eye fell under the heading Special Notes:

Fragile mental state. (No kidding, thought Gamma). Depression recent. See attached for information about post-contract alterations. —K.

The attachment with the specifics for her adjustments was a CD-Rom, so Gamma couldn't see them. However, it was the last letter that really interested her. It was unclear as to what the K might mean, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. She had to put the file back and go have sex with Topher.

**

"Can't we just cuddle?" Topher begged, after a round of post-coital 20 questions from Gamma. "I already told you everything I know."

"Yeah, but you don't know anything."

"So why are you still asking me about it?"

"Why don't you care about this?"

"Because, I'm not the one that recognizes her. And, the more you know, the more likely it is that you are going to do something stupid and totally ruin my plan."

"Oh, because this is the only thing that could go wrong with your plan."

"Well, it's been working so far."

That wasn't entirely true. The strain of walking on eggshells was starting to ware on both of them. It wasn't as if they had anyone else to talk to about the situation. "Claire" wasn't the type to get her nails done at the salon and gossip with the female handlers. (Plus, they were known for being big gossips, and there was no way they'd keep something this juicy to themselves.)

**

At a point, not having anyone to talk to about anything (besides Topher, but they were sleeping together, so it didn't count) was driving Gamma more insane than not being able to place Quebec. She missed having a roommate; she missed her parents; she even missed talking to Adelle at work.

So, she bit the bullet and decided to skip her noontime grope with Topher in exchange for a pedicure with the girls in the salon. Sure, talking to them was risky, but she was getting really good at lying.

"Dr. Saunders. What a pleasant surprise," said Zulu's handler, Moira, when Gamma entered the salon.

"Hello, Moira," Gamma turned to the other handlers, "Lucille, Sally, Yvonne."

"What brings you to our little corner of the house?" asked Yvonne.

"My toenails are desperate for a touch-up and I am desperate to talk to someone other than Topher and the occasional Active."

The handlers giggled at the mention of Topher. Gamma resisted the urge to punch them—gossip queens or not, these women knew how to fight.

"So, how are things with our resident techie?" asked Lucille.

"Good."

"Really?" Moira raised an eyebrow.

"No," Gamma admitted. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Topher's great. I like Topher. Topher and I have a good thing going, but one of these days, I might just have to shoot him."

"We're all impressed that you've held off shooting him this long," said Sally.

"It's been a challenge. He's got an ego that could fill Buckingham Palace just because he created…" Gamma covered her pause by gesturing at a passing Active, "that. He doesn't care about the Actives. All he cares about is proving his manhood by making his little computer programs."

"There's nothing wrong with a guy wanting to prove his manhood, Claire," said Lucille, "It's just more fun for us if it's a little less virtual and a little more physical."

Gamma wanted to scream. It was like a spa day with Carrie Bradshaw. She hadn't come here to talk about sex; she'd come to talk about…well, she wasn't sure. Still, Gamma knew exactly how to appease them. It was obvious that she wasn't going to get a real conversation out of the afternoon, so she might as well mess with their brains a bit.

"The worst part is that he does a good job with the 'little more physical' part…okay, he does a really good job with that part…but the rest of the time, he's always bragging about the computer stuff."

Her companions looked as if they might faint. "Are you saying that Topher is…"

"Oh yeah. That's the best part. If only I could just bind and gag him the rest of the time."

"But other than that?"

"Well, for example. Last night he…"

**

"Did you have fun with the Lipstick Mafia at lunch today?"

"I had fun messing with them. You should have seen them when I was making all those jokes about your abilities in bed."

"Hey. You can't just joke about something like that. I am a man. You can't make puns about…things…and stuff. It's an insult to my man…ness."

"Calm down, He-Man. I didn't say anything bad. I was just poisoning their minds with images of you and I doing each other."

"You are the perfect woman."

"How can I be sure I'm not just some twisted fantasy girl you created as your own little personal plaything?"

It was a question she asked as often as he asked about why she joined the Dollhouse, and Topher knew better than to make a joke in response.

"I've told you. You're you. I didn't change any parts of your personality; I just added medical knowledge and the memories Adelle wanted you to have of the Dollhouse."

It was the truth, and, deep down, she knew he wasn't lying, but she needed it reaffirmed every once in a while.

"How do I know you didn't take away my ability to kick your ass at MarioKart?" She deferred, as she always did, having been sufficiently reassured.

"Hey, you suck at video games all by yourself."

"I guess I need some practice."

"Well, I suppose an ego boost from beating you at Wii Bowling wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

"Or we could eat leftovers and go recreate some of the stories I told the Real Housewives of Rossum."

"See. There is no way I could have come up with someone as awesome as you."

"Aww. Thanks, Topher, but that's not going to get me to do that thing you read about in Penthouse."

"One day, I'll finally know how 'Lucky in Kentucky' felt."

"Not a snowball's chance in hell, you perv."

**

The idea of talking to Ivy didn't occur to her until after the epic fail that was her Tuesday with Moira.

Ivy came into Gamma's office with a note from Topher that simply said, "Thai tonight?" (It wasn't a code—Topher just wanted Thai food.)

"He said I should wait for a response."

"Tell him that Thai sounds good and he should stop wasting his assistant's time by passing notes like we're in grade school."

Ivy smiled, and Gamma felt bad for her. It was so clear that all she wanted to do was learn from Topher (who would be the first to tell you that he was at the top of his field), and Topher did nothing but send her on pointless errands.

"Okay."

"And, hey, do you want to grab some lunch with me tomorrow? I'll have Topher order extra Thai, and we can eat the leftovers at his place."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just tell Topher what you want, and he'll add it to the order."

"Thanks, Dr. Saunders."

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow."

**

Gamma and Ivy got along splendidly. They ate peanut noodles and bitched about Topher for over an hour. It was nice, being able to complain about Topher's flaws with someone who knew exactly what she meant.

Gamma was on alert, of course, she wasn't going to ruin everything just so she could vent about Topher as much as she wanted.

"I mean, he has this totally inflated ego, because he 'saved' me."

"Saved you?"

Shit. "He was the one who found me after Alpha. I almost bled out," Gamma lied.

"Oh. That."

"What did you think I meant?"

"I don't think I should say," said Ivy glancing up at a camera in the corner. (Camouflage wasn't a big deal, because Topher knew he was being watched.)

"Don't worry. There's no sound in here. Topher disabled it, and Adelle doesn't care. So what did you think I meant?"

"I thought you were talking about how you're not really Dr. Saunders."

The noodles slipped off of Gamma's chopsticks as her jaw unhinged. "What? How did you…"

"I got bored, and Topher wasn't being very helpful, so I went on his computer and browsed through some of his imprints. I knew you were a doll, and I wanted to see how Topher created muscle memory for the basic medical procedures. I never expected to find you."

"You didn't tell anyone, did you?" Gamma knew it was a stupid question, but she wasn't thinking very clearly.

"Of course not. I've just been waiting for a good time to ask one of you what the hell was going on. There has to be a good reason for Topher to do something that stupid, right?"

"Not really. He just didn't think it was fair for Adelle to keep me under contract after Alpha."

"Wow, that's…uncharacteristic."

"I know. I'm sure he had some good intentions, but I'm totally lost on what his real reason for it was."

"Doesn't it bother you that you don't know?"

"Not really. It did at first, but I see some of those engagements. I mean, Echo was hunted. I'm glad I'm where I am. The only thing that bothers me is the idea that Topher could have done something to my personality without me noticing." Gamma sighed. She trusted Topher, she did, but there was still that nagging thought that he could have done something to her, and she'd never know.

"He didn't. I've seen your imprint. It's brilliant, really. He built your imprint on a complete persona—you—and there are very few things added off the top of it. It's a just handful of extra memories and the contents of Gray's Anatomy."

Gamma tried to contain her relief. Tonight, Topher was going to get luckier than "Lucky in Kentucky."

**

Gamma practically attacked Topher as soon as they entered the apartment. Waiting until they were done for the day had nearly killed her. She had done a half-assed job checking over Oscar, but she'd give him a more thorough exam tomorrow. There was just something about knowing that he wanted her and nothing more in the imprint that made her want to jump his bones.

"What the…"

"I'm just so happy."

"Why? Are you pregnant? You can't be pregnant, because a baby is a bad, bad thing. And I can't be a dada right now. And that would ruin everything, because we'd have to tell DeWitt and then she'd know, and she'd send our baby to the attic. And I don't want Topher Jr. to be sent to the attic. That would be not good."

"First of all, I'm not pregnant, and, even if I were, there is no way in hell we'd name the baby Topher Jr."

"Thank God."

"The reason I'm so happy is that Ivy knows about me."

"Ivy doesn't know anything…I mean, she knows some things, because she's got super brains and whatnot…not as super as mine…oh my God. She stole my brain, didn't she? That brain scan is only in the computer for emergencies. Genius like mine needs to preserved."

"Holy self-importance, Batman. Chill out. She didn't read your brain scan—as far as I know."

"Then how did she know?"

Gamma explained the whole thing. "You know, it's probably for the best that you're such a horrible mentor. Now that Ivy knows, we can use her to help us find out about Quebec."

Topher didn't like where this was going. Gamma had gotten way too comfortable in her role, and he was afraid that she'd do something stupid.

"You're not going to start planning this now, are you?"

"No, we're going to go have sex," declared Gamma. "And then we're going start planning."

Topher groaned. Their 'no strings attached' sex had a surprisingly large collection of strings these days.

**

The plan was simple. (Well, as simple as Gamma's plans ever were.) Topher would give Ivy an assignment to construct an imprint as a "practice" to gage if she was ready to work on real imprints. The imprint he'd give her would be Quebec's exit imprint. The idea was that, if anyone asked, he had chosen Quebec, because she required multiple alterations but it wouldn't mean that Ivy had to start from scratch. (Plus, in true Topher form, Topher had added that "if she fucks it up, there will be plenty of time for me to make her a new one.")

Topher convinced Gamma to wait on executing the plan for a while, and she agreed it would probably be best to make sure they could trust Ivy. However, Topher agreed that Gamma having lunch with Ivy every once in a while (in his apartment, of course) wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

So, Ivy and Gamma had a standing lunch date every Monday and Thursday. Topher and Gamma staged an argument in the house to explain why the lunches were always in Topher's apartment.

"You do have your own apartment, right? You didn't move in with me or anything, did you?"

"No, but it wouldn't make much of a difference if I did. There's a thin layer of dust covering all of the furniture in my apartment, and most of my clothes are in your closet."

"That doesn't mean you're living with me."

"Yes, but the fact that I haven't even been in my apartment in over a week does."

"Just as long as you don't let your lease expire."

"I don't have a lease, but, don't worry, I don't like you enough to give up the only place where I can get away from you."

"Yeah, but where am I going to get away from you?"

"That's your problem," Gamma quipped, before leaving Topher's office. She really had too much fun scripting these arguments.

**

It came to her in a chance encounter with Adelle on the fifteenth floor of the Rossum building. Adelle was carrying a paper take-out bag with a very familiar logo. From her months working at Kari's Kitchen, Gamma knew the bag contained an extra large piece of chocolate pie (with a container of extra chocolate sauce).

And that was when she remembered.

"Hello, Dr. Saunders."

"Hello, Adelle." Gamma replied, hoping to avoid a lengthy conversation, as she was pretty much freaking out.

Luckily, Adelle seemed eager to indulge in her pie, and she disappeared into 15-B before Gamma went completely insane.

Knowing that there was no way she'd be able to keep quiet, Gamma went into Topher's empty apartment. (He'd given her a key so she could 'warm up the Nintendo…not because this is a relationship type thing.') As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, Gamma couldn't stop herself from screaming. "Holy shit."

How could she have forgotten? She could picture it so clearly now.

**

She walked into Kari's Kitchen, her spare apron draped across her arm, a huge smile plastered on her face—the first real smile to grace her countenance in what felt like forever. On the way to Kari's office, she passed a new waitress. A new waitress whose nametag merely said "Hello, I'm New. Ask Me For My Name." A voice Gamma recognized as single-mom Melinda's saying "Nicole, table six needs more iced tea."

**

In all honesty, it was pretty obvious why Gamma hadn't been able to place Quebec's identity sooner. She hadn't left the Rossum building in over three years, much less been to Kari's. (Her fake social anxiety was something she'd created to remove the temptation of the outside world—oh, how she longed to call her parents.) Plus, she'd only seen Nicole for less than a minute on a day when she was extraordinarily distracted. But, still, how could she not have known?

She was still kicking herself when Topher came in with the pizza they'd ordered.

"Honey, I'm home. Meatloaf. Stat."

Skipping her typical response of 'Not unless you're planning on making some' or 'Do I look like June Cleaver to you?', Gamma exclaimed, "I figured it out!"

Before Topher had a chance to ask her what exactly "it" was, Gamma continued, "I know how I know Nicole—I mean, Quebec."

Topher shared her enthusiasm only because he thought it would mean the end of her crazy plans. "How?"

"Adelle." At the horrified look on Topher's face, Gamma quickly amended her comment, "I saw her holding a bag from Kari's Kitchen, where I used to work before I joined the dollhouse. Nicole was the waitress Kari hired to replace me."

"Well, that's settled. It's nice to have that all wrapped up. Let's go eat some pizza and never speak of this again."

"Why are you so worried about this?"

"Because, however you know Quebec, it's still something that you shouldn't know. Because you are Dr. Saunders. And, Dr. Saunders doesn't leave the house, and Dr. Saunders can't know where 'Nicole' used to work, because that's not where Dr. Saunders used to work."

"You honestly think that I'm stupid enough to let something like that slip?"

"Yes…no…maybe. I don't know. All I know is that you or I could totally eff up this whole thing, and, in an instant, you'd be wiped and I'd be in the attic. I don't want that. Do you want that? With the wiping and the attic and the not good?"

"Of course it's not what I want. Let's go eat some pizza and never speak of this again."

"You know, I think I heard a very wise man say that very same thing once."

"Shut up and eat your pizza, Topher."

**

Gamma was about as good at letting things go as Topher was at keeping his arms still while he talked, so it wasn't long before she was seriously considering recruiting Ivy to carry out Operation Look At Disc. (It wasn't the best name in the world, but that wasn't the point.) Gamma had been thinking about it a lot, and she couldn't help but wonder exactly how Nicole had gone from a fresh-faced waitress to someone so utterly depressed in a mere three years. And, furthermore, wasn't it odd that two people who worked at the same place ended up as dolls? Was Kari's Kitchen where Nicole met Adelle, too?

Gamma was hoping that all of this was a coincidence, but there was only one way to find out. She had to know the contents of that disc in Quebec's file.

**

Less than two weeks after discovering how she knew Nicole, Gamma insisted that Ivy have lunch with her so they could put the recently re-named Operation Disc Data Discovery into action. She didn't tell Topher. He seemed so relieved that the situation was behind them (he even did that thing she read about in Playgirl), and she didn't want to worry him.

Gamma brought it up at one of their Monday lunches.

"Doesn't Topher have to give me the assignment for the plan to work?"

"Just say you're taking the initiative. After all, if you didn't already do that, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"I guess."

Ivy was unsure about the whole situation. She didn't want to cause any sort of rift in between Gamma and Topher, and she certainly didn't want to get on Topher's bad side—she couldn't imagine more menial tasks than the ones she'd already been assigned, but she figured, as smart as he was, Topher could definitely find something worse for her to do.

"Look, I know you don't want to do this…"

"You're right. I don't. I'm already caught up in whatever this thing with Topher is, and I don't want to get entangled in another thing. Besides, you already know how you know Quebec. What's the point of all this?"

"I just need to know more. Both of us worked at Kari's Kitchen and both of us wound up here."

"She must have met Adelle there the same way you did."

"Yes, but I didn't come in severely depressed with half my hair chopped off," Gamma replied without pause—it was a thought she hadn't been able to shake since it popped into her head.

Ivy didn't respond to this. It just seemed like a good idea to let it slide. There was something else in Gamma's quest for Quebec's past, but Ivy already knew more than she ever needed, much less wanted, to know.

They ate the rest of their lunch in between bits of small talk—they had to keep up appearances for the cameras. Any sort of suspicion could lead to audio bugs being re-installed.

What neither Gamma, Topher, nor Ivy knew was that Adelle was already listening.

**

Adelle knew everything. She'd known since day one. The way Topher had pleaded to release Whiskey from her contract…well, Adelle wasn't thick enough to let his Dr. Saunders imprint go unchecked. When Topher showed signs of humanity, it was always followed by something stupid. It was the reason she no longer allowed anyone to show him pictures of puppies.

She took one look at the imprint, and it was perfectly clear exactly what Topher was going to do. She'd spent enough time around Gamma to recognize her personality, even in the codes and abbreviations Topher used in his programs. It was going to be a brilliant feat if he could pull it off, and, truth be told, Adelle wanted to see if he could.

Adelle didn't tell anyone. The Rossum Corporation valued Topher above even her, and it was unlikely that he would be the one who ended up in the attic if she reported him. She installed the microphones in Topher's apartment herself, and connected them to a private feed that only she could access. If anything went wrong, she would put a stop to the whole thing. So far, they hadn't given her a reason. Especially now that Gamma was on the verge of uncovering a secret Adelle was desperate to expose.

**

It was a nearly a month before Ivy was able to complete (the once more re-named) Operation Quebec. Topher was giving her more work to do, and she didn't have a whole lot of spare time. Ivy suspected he was afraid that she'd spill the beans if he didn't treat her better. She probably could have done it, anyway, but she was still hoping that Gamma would drop the whole thing.

As soon as she saw what was on the disc, she hated herself for waiting so long.

The file was a document that was nearly thirty pages of memories for Topher to erase at the end of Quebec's contract. Ivy made it halfway through the first page before she had to stop reading. She'd seen lots of awful things in her time at the Dollhouse. There was war, death, and rape. There was addiction, depression, and psychosis. There was Sierra, but her path to the dollhouse had been the result of drugging and a mad man with too much time, money, and evil.

But, Quebec was something else altogether. Her breakdown had been the result of a systematic demolition of her life and spirit, every step recorded in a document full of so much malice and cruelty it made Ivy physically ill. Whoever had done this to Quebec…to Nicole…could have merely requested to have the last three years of her life reconstructed, but they had chosen to include this sick evidence. They were bragging about what they had "accomplished."

Ivy dreaded telling Gamma. She didn't want to think about what she had read, much less repeat it. She could only hope that Gamma wouldn't want to know anything more.

**

Jodie was the last friend Nicole had. The others had stopped calling and stopped answering when she had a spare moment to call them. Even her roommate—who had been one of her closest friends for years—had moved out without explanation, forcing Nicole to work more hours to pay the rent. But now Jodie was doing what all the others had done. She was ignoring Nicole's calls and she hadn't asked Nicole if she wanted to have lunch or dinner or even brunch in weeks. She'd even stopped coming by to visit Nicole at work. A couple of times she swore that she saw Jodie come into the restaurant, but, by the time Nicole was done refilling someone's water glass or grabbing a new bottle of ketchup, Jodie would be gone.

Nicole couldn't remember the last time that she'd spoken to someone who wasn't a customer or a co-worker. Hell, she hardly even spoke to her co-workers. They all seemed to be their own little clique and there was no room for Nicole. Her old friends were gone and making new friends was impossible. She was completely and utterly alone.

**

Things between Topher and Gamma were going wonderfully ever since she'd figured out "that whole Quebec thing." Topher was more relaxed, so they fought less (they didn't stop fighting altogether, though, that would just have been wrong). Everything was just much easier.

Gamma thought it was odd, as, for all intents and purposes, nothing had changed. They were still keeping their secret, but screening their conversations had become second nature to them. Gamma felt bad for not telling Topher that she was still going forward with her plan to look at the disc, but that would ruin everything. She was sure Topher didn't tell her everything why shouldn't she return the favor?

Still, as they spooned one night (Topher was surprisingly enamored with being the big spoon, whereas Gamma had never quite understood the appeal of the whole thing), waiting for the cameras to turn back on, Gamma couldn't help but think that maybe she should tell Ivy to forget Operation Quebec.

**

Gamma hadn't convinced herself to call it off before it was too late, so she sat one Thursday at Topher's kitchen table, eating a salad with Ivy.

"Gamma, it's awful. You don't want to read it. The things that they did to her—it's the worst kind of torture. Whoever this was ruined her life and they were proud of it."

"Do you have a copy for me?"

"I copied it over onto a flash drive like you told me. The text of the document is broken up and hidden in the lyrics section of an MP3 album, so you can read it discretely on your iPod, but I wouldn't, if I were you."

Ignoring Ivy's warning, Gamma asked, "What album is it?"

"The Beatles' White Album."

"Why the White Album?"

"It was the longest CD I had."

Gamma was slightly thrown by this. There was so much in this document, so much that could tell her why Quebec was in the dollhouse—this could tell Gamma why she was in the dollhouse. Gamma didn't like to discuss her contract, because she honestly didn't have one clear reason for agreeing to Adelle's offer. She was sure there was a proper explanation, but all she could recall was the contract providing her with everything she thought she wanted—a job, money, purpose. Why she thought that losing five years of her life was worth it was not something she remembered. Maybe there was something in this horrifying document that could answer the question she didn't want to ask. She munched on a piece of dressing-soaked lettuce as she pondered the meaning of her life.

**

Over a year of sneaking around had taught Gamma exactly where to when she didn't want the cameras seeing certain things—notes passed to her by Topher, embarrassing itches—so she knew how to position her chair while she read the "lyrics" on her new music.

It started with "Back in the U.S.S.R.," and Gamma quickly wished Ivy had picked another band—she didn't think she would ever be able to listen to The Beatles again without thinking of what she read. (And, damn it if Topher hadn't just ordered The Beatles Rock Band.) She knew now why Ivy had warned her against reading it. The things that whoever this was had done to Quebec were brutal, and she was only on Glass Onion. Gamma skipped ahead to the last song on the album, hoping that it would end with something useful enough that she wouldn't have to read the rest of it. As the soft violins played a fairytale tune and Ringo Starr whispered, "Good night... Good night, everybody... Everybody, everywhere... Good night," everything made sense with one name. Kari Norris.

**

Kari saw Jodie approaching the diner and quickly asked Nicole to get Table 8 some more decaf. Eventually, Jodie had to give up—it had been weeks, but nothing seemed to be working. Kari intercepted Jodie as she entered, cutting off whatever Jodie started to say with, "Nicole is working right now. And I don't think she would appreciate being bothered by you."

It worked, and Jodie left before Nicole could see her. Jodie never came back to Kari's Kitchen, and Kari never heard any mention of her from Nicole. Everything was going according to plan. She couldn't wait to tell Adelle.

**

After that, Gamma couldn't breathe. It was Kari. Kari—perky, Southern, sympathetic Kari—who had done that to Nicole. She needed air. Fresh air. None of this filtered Dollhouse air. She needed real air. She needed to leave the house, and she needed Topher to come with her.

As calmly as she could, Gamma made her way to Topher's office.

"I need to get out of here. Now."

"Okay, I'll meet you in the apartment in a few minutes."

"No. I mean out. I'm walking right out those front doors and getting my first breath of fresh air in three years, and I want you to come with me."

Gamma made no attempt to lower her voice, and Topher spun around wildly, making sure no one was within earshot.

"You can't do that."

"Oh, I most certainly can."

"Claire…"

"Don't call me that."

"But, Claire, that's your name."

"My name is Emma Grace McKay, and I am getting the hell out of this building."

At that, Topher clasped a hand over Gamma's mouth and rushed her over to the elevator. Shit. They were totally going to get attic'd.

**

They made it outside in silence. Gamma ran out the front door in a sprint—the end of her lab coat flying out wildly behind her. She stopped at a bench and sat down, waiting for Topher to catch up with her. Gamma looked around, taking in the world outside of Rossum. It wasn't remarkable in the least to average person, but Gamma thought it was beautiful. The sky was so much bigger than it seemed through the windows of Topher's apartment. And the air—it was so unclean and unfiltered and wonderful. She took several deep breaths as Topher walked over to her.

"What happened?"

"It was Kari."

"What was Kari?"

"Everything. Me. Nicole. The dollhouse."

"You read the disc," Topher stated, as opposed to asking. He should have known that she wouldn't leave it alone.

"Yeah, I read it. Topher, it's ghastly. The things she did. They were so…" Gamma trailed off, because she couldn't think of a word strong enough to encompass the horror of what Kari had done.

"What can I do?" It was a moment of pure compassion, a rarity for Topher, and Gamma thought for a brief moment that she ought to slap anyone who had ever questioned Topher's humanity.

"Make her stop."

Adelle was waiting for them in the lobby of the Rossum Building when they made their way inside a little while later.

"I would like to see the both of you in my office. Immediately."

Topher grabbed Gamma's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. It was all over now.

**

"Before you send us to the attic, I can explain about the…her and the everything." Topher pleaded.

"There will be no need for that, Mr. Brink. I am certain that I already know everything." Adelle walked over to her computer, and, with a click of her mouse, a long-forgotten conversation filled the room.

"Yeah, but it doesn't make Beer's name any less ridiculous."

"Just wait until you hear the awful puns that Nuts' handler likes to make."

"I already did. 'I like to keep a steady eye on my Nuts.' Ugh. Any chance you could put me in that chair of yours and erase that particular encounter?"

"Not a chance. You aren't going back into that chair again until your contract expires or else really bad, terrible…bad things will happen."

"But what if I wanted to learn Spanish?"

"Then you'll have to dip into some of that massive paycheck you get to buy Rosetta Stone."

"Wait. I'm getting paid?"

"Yeah, it's all part of the whole 'you're not supposed to know you're a doll' thing. Those credit cards in your wallet aren't there to look pretty."

"How did you…" Gamma began.

"Do you honestly believe that I hadn't noticed? Gamma, I'm appalled that you think I didn't recognize your personality after speaking to you nearly everyday for a year. You're not that good of an actress, you know."

Gamma was struck by how odd it felt to be called her real name by someone other than Topher or Ivy.

Topher, however, had other things on his mind.

"Why aren't we in the attic?" he asked.

"You seem to have a certain preoccupation with the attic. If we are ever to finish this conversation, I suppose I should tell you that I have no plans to send you there anytime soon."

"For real?"

"Yes, 'for real.' Now, may I get to the point, or should we stand around all day making idle chit-chat?"

Gamma and Topher didn't say anything.

"Good. I would like to enlist you in helping me with a special project."

"What kind of special project?" asked Topher. Special Projects at Rossum usually ended in confidentiality agreements with scary consequences if broken.

"A kind of special project that requires very little of your help. You are only here because I knew Gamma would be telling you anyway."

"Me? What can I do? I'm not even supposed to exist."

"First, you are going to read through the e-mail correspondence the staff has been conducting with your parents."

"Why?" If this meant what Gamma thought it meant…well, she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Because I am tired of hearing you complain about wanting to talk to your parents."

Gamma didn't know how to react. "Did I really talk about it that much?" she asked, before adding, "Wait. Does this mean I get to talk to them?"

'Yes, but only for five minutes and you have to pretend that you're still in South America."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. I will go over all of the specifics with you after you've familiarized yourself with what you're supposed to have been doing for the past three years."

Gamma was giddy. She was going to talk to her parents. She was going to have to lie her ass off to do it, but she was going to talk to her parents!

"Not that I'm not excited for Gamma, but I can't imagine that this is the plan."

"It's not. It's an incentive. What I'm going to ask of you might be very difficult."

"How is being wiped back to Whiskey and losing all memory of the past year not an incentive?" Topher whispered to Gamma.

"I heard that," said Adelle. "And, I had assumed that it was implied."

"She has ears everywhere," said Topher, making no attempt to lower his voice.

"She would also like for your two ears to be listening to her mouth. I don't have all day."

Gamma clasped a hand over Topher's mouth. "What's the plan?"

**

The plan, as it turned out, was more complicated than any of Gamma's plans and it involved Gamma going to the one place she hoped to never enter again—Kari's Kitchen. She was going out to lunch with Adelle to meet Kari's latest "project." It was a repulsive term, but Gamma was reassured by the fact that Adelle found the whole thing as inhuman as she did.

Gamma was wearing an outfit from Tango's rack. It was a suit she'd worn as a "The Perfect Lawyer" and it made Gamma look exactly like the Rossum exec she was pretending to be. She was Janine Parker—medical research assistant and victim of an unfortunate incident with a misplaced tray of scalpels.

"Welcome to Kari's Kitchen. My name is Heather, and I'll be serving you today. Can I start you out with something to drink?" said their waitress. "Hello, Adelle."

"Hello, Heather. I'd like you to meet Janine Parker. She's the one I've been telling you about."

"Oh, Janine. It's so great to meet you. Adelle talks about you all the time. She said that you're making your way up the Rossum ladder."

"It's so great to meet you, too. Adelle said that you applied for an internship in my department at Rossum. Well, not my department. I don't run it or anything," said Gamma, following the script of suggested dialogue Adelle had given her.

"She will someday. She'll probably end up running the whole corporation," said Adelle.

"Then I guess I should get to know you, so I can ride your coattails to the top. I'm not having a lot of luck getting jobs in the field."

"Why's that?"

"I don't want to bore you with the whole story. Besides, I think Kari is going to have my head if I don't get Table 14 some ketchup."

Heather hurried off to grab a full bottle of Heinz, and Adelle turned to Gamma.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm good. It's better knowing why we're here."

**

Adelle told Gamma everything about how she had gotten involved with Kari.

"As you know, I've been going to Kari's for years. Apart from the chocolate pie, it was also a great place to find potential actives. It was nice to meet some every once in a while that hadn't experienced great tragedies. I knew that when they left the dollhouse they would have a good life as themselves—not versions of themselves with alterations. It was a good system. I recruited three actives from Kari's Kitchen before she caught on. But, when she started to realize that all of her wait staff was leaving after getting to know me, she started asking questions. At first, I thought she was going to report me to the police for human trafficking or something, but she didn't. She wanted in on it.

"That should have been my sign, but the system was working. She would hire young, attractive people who were down on their luck. I would come in and get to know them and get a feel for whether or not they would be good actives. Kari was really good at choosing people. I recruited all five of the people she hired—including you.

"Then, she hired Nicole. After two weeks I knew that Nicole wasn't going to be a good candidate. She had strong family ties, an active social life, a boyfriend. I told Kari that Nicole wasn't a good choice, but Kari became obsessed with trying to make Nicole into the perfect active. She eavesdropped on phone calls, so that she could change Nicole's schedule to make it conflict with any sort of plans Nicole had with friends. She used her connections to get her roommate transferred to Boston, so that Nicole would have to work longer hours. She even managed to convince Nicole's boyfriend that she was cheating on him.

"I begged her to stop. I told her that I would offer Nicole a contract, but Kari kept insisting that she wasn't ready. By the time Kari declared that Nicole was "ready," she was…well, you saw what she was.

"I can't stop her. Rossum doesn't know that she's involved. All they know is that I was recruiting actives from the restaurant. That's why I need your help. We need to make her stop. We need her to 'discover' the dollhouse, so the dollhouse can discover her."

"What can I do?"

**

Heather returned to their table a minute later, "Sorry about that. Have you decided what you would like for lunch?"

"Actually, we'd like to take you to lunch," said Gamma.

"What?"

"You've been selected as one of the internship finalists. The Rossum Corporation would like to invite you to an interview luncheon this afternoon," announced Adelle. "Why don't I go tell Kari that you need the rest of the afternoon off, and I'll let Janine tell you about the interview."

Adelle left the table, and Heather sat in the now vacant chair. Gamma could tell that Heather was trying very hard to contain her excitement.

"It's okay to be excited you know. It's a wonderful internship, and you're pretty much a shoe-in."

"Really?"

"Rossum has had their eye on you for a while. Your thesis has been making its rounds through the department. They were actually hoping to discuss…"

**

As Heather gushed about her thesis to Gamma, who pretended to know what she was talking about, Adelle was in Kari's office telling Kari that it was time.

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely. We will take her to the luncheon where she will be told that she did not get the internship and offer her a job as an active instead. She will take it."

"I don't know, Adelle. I still think that there's more I could do to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Kari, you have already done more than enough. Heather is a wonderful girl and she is going to make an even more wonderful Active."

Kari looked skeptical, but she knew better than to doubt Adelle.

"Okay. Just let me know once she's signed, so I can start looking for a new waitress." Kari winked as she said "waitress" and Adelle had to hold back a shudder.

**

Heather was not so receptive to her part of the plan. It was obviously a risky move to involve her, and this was proving it tenfold. Gamma was getting nervous, but Adelle was as calm as ever.

"You want me to do what?" Heather screeched.

"I know it sounds insane, but…" Gamma tried to reason with her.

"But! You've been lying to me this whole time! There's no Janine Parker! Hell, there's probably not even an internship."

"I assure you that there is an internship. And, I can assure you further that you have been chosen for it. Welcome to Rossum, Miss Thompson."

"So what? I got the internship, but I have to jump through your rings of fire before it's official?"

"It is already official, but we would still like your help with this project. It will mean a large addition to your research grant, and you will be doing a favor for the company that will not soon be forgotten."

"So this is bribery?"

Gamma decided to take this one. "Yes. It is. You probably don't have any idea how important this actually is. We need you to do this. And, on a personal level, you would help bring an end to something that has been torturing me for over a year."

"Why should I help you? I don't even know your real name."

"My name is Gamma McKay, and I am you."

Before Heather could respond, Adelle cut her off, "What Gamma means is that you have a chance to stop something that could have very well affected you had we not intervened."

"How?"

So, Adelle and Gamma took turns telling Heather about everything—Kari, the dollhouse, Gamma's situation—and, luckily, Heather listened. Heather was amazed by what she was hearing. How was it possible for something like this to be happening without anyone knowing? By the time they finished, Heather was ready.

**

They were going to send Topher in with Heather, but he was too nervous. So, they enlisted Ivy, who declared that this was "the last time I am ever doing anything like this with you people." Ivy went to Kari's Kitchen at 11:45, 15 minutes before Heather's shift. She asked for a table near the back claiming that she was playing hooky and didn't want to run the risk of her boss walking by and catching her. She wasn't in earshot of Kari's office, but Heather was bound to be speaking loud enough that Ivy could hear her.

Heather came in, as planned, at 12:01. Late. Kari didn't tolerate lateness. Heather was going to be called back into her office for sure.

Heather went into the back to get her apron and was stopped by Kari.

"You're late," Kari said, pulling Heather into her office.

"I know. It's just I had that interview yesterday, and it really wore me out."

"You didn't get the job?"

"No, they offered me a job as…oh, what did they call it…an active. They want me to be some sort glorified hooker or something. It was so demeaning. Can you believe it?"

Kari was horrified. "What?"

"Yeah, apparently the whole internship was a cover. They were using it as an excuse to ask me if I wanted to give up five years of my life to get my brain sucked out. They tried to pay me off so I wouldn't tell anyone, but there was no way I wanted anything to do with them or their money." Heather was slowly raising her voice, as planned.

Kari tried to interject, but Heather kept talking. She eventually increased her volume to a near-scream, shouting about the dollhouse and Rossum. It was perfect.

Ivy couldn't hear what Kari said when Heather finally stopped, but whatever it was, it probably wasn't good. Heather emerged from Kari's office a minute later, hanging her apron back up where she had gotten it when she arrived. She gave Ivy a discrete nod and left the diner.

Ivy sent Gamma a text message ("done") and flagged down a waitress for another Diet Coke.

**

Everything else went perfectly. Kari called Adelle, screaming about "What were you thinking sending her back here after you had already offered her a contract?" and "Doesn't that billion dollar corporation of yours have any way to keep them quiet?"

Adelle responded, calmly, "I don't know what you're talking about, Kari. I escorted Heather to the internship interview, and I haven't seen her since. What are you talking about?"

Kari, even more furious than ever, responded, "What do you mean 'what am I talking about'? I'm talking about the dollhouse!" Kari continued on just long enough for Adelle to get everything she needed.

She sent the (slightly edited) audio to Boyd, who, in turn, authorized a team to bring Kari in for questioning. Gamma watched it all. She watched Kari beg that she wouldn't tell anyone. She watched Kari plead to be set free. And, she watched as Topher flipped the switch that would prepare Kari for a good, long stay in the attic. Adelle thanked her for her help and led her to a phone where she could call her parents.

It was over.

---

Epilogue: Eight Years Later

"Good morning, Nicole," said Gamma, taking off her jacket and putting on her lab coat.

"Good morning, Dr. McKay. Is Topher coming in today?"

"Yeah, he's just parking the car. Do you have any messages for me?"

"Tons. Next time you take a vacation, can you try to be gone for less than two weeks?"

Gamma laughed. "Don't worry, I don't plan on having anymore honeymoons in the near future."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Topher, as he entered the lab.

"Mr. Brink, how are you? Still bitter that Gamma wouldn't take your name?"

"I'm used to arguing with Gamma about her name, so I'm good. And yourself?"

"I'm just happy you and Gamma are back. I think Dr. Thompson was going to go insane if she had to spend another day doing the work of three people."

"You can say that again," joked Heather, emerging from the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee. "Welcome back."

"Thanks. I'm so ready to get back to our research," said Gamma.

"She's not kidding. She kept whining about 'I wonder how the samples are doing' and 'do you think that Heather remembered to rotate the specimen?' I swear, the things I had to do to get her to stop talking…"

"…you didn't exactly mind doing, as I recall."

Topher glared at her. "I thought you said you weren't going to talk about our sex life at work anymore."

"Sorry. I'll save it for when we go out to lunch this afternoon."

"See. That's what I'm…hey!"

Gamma gave Topher a quick kiss, "Now, let's go see about those specimen."

---

Please review if you have a chance. I've been working on this fic since September, and I'd love some feedback.