AN: So the other week I binge-watched this show and fell in love with it, from the cheesy science to the lovely little found family that was created by the end of the season. I especially fell in love with Mitch and Jamie and their relationship, so I decided to fill in some of the gaps in canon; this is the result!
Fic title taken from 'Feel Again' by One Republic, which someone on tumblr mentioned as a potential otp/ vidding song for these too; I'm not good at making vids, but the lyrics stuck with me!
Her conversations with Ethan and Fremer leave a bitter taste in her mouth and it isn't until she's sat down in front of her laptop once more that Jamie decides that aiming right for the jugular of Reiden Global just isn't going to work, as much as the realization irritates her. Jamie pours herself another cup of coffee and halfheartedly dumps some sugar and milk into it, absentmindedly stirring the drink while considering her options. She reaches for the remote and switches the TV back on, muting it as soon as the picture comes up on the screen. The channel is still showing the same story, the same clips, from earlier and Jamie wonders how long it will take before the three lost lives are forgotten and something else grabs the nation's attention.
She picks her notepad, hastily abandoned when she practically stormed back into her apartment, up off the edge of the kitchen counter and flicks through it in a vain attempt to find something of note that hasn't jumped out at her in the previous four hours. A flash of motion catches Jamie's eye and she looks up to see the news channel broadcasting Fremer's interview again, the backdrop of the City of Angels Zoo looking quaint and jolly, no visible indication that a man had lost his life there mere hours before.
Jamie watches Fremer's face on the screen again, before her gaze switches to a couple of zoo employees standing slightly to the side of the shot, both of them looking uncomfortable. No doubt, Jamie considers, they've been placed there to show the zoo's support of whatever lines Fremer wants to spin about zoo safety.
Jamie considers the zoo itself, deciding to ignore the man speaking on the screen. There's no point confronting him again; he'd made it plainly clear he had no intention of speaking to her about the attacks. Still, she wonders idly, as she takes another sip of her coffee, surely someone at the zoo suspects something, anything, that might implicate Reiden. Jamie wanders back through from the kitchen and sits down at her desk, notepad to her right and laptop in front of her.
It takes a few seconds to pull up the City of Angels Zoo website, and Jamie glances over the main page, which is still trying to pacify the public's fears, a ticker line scrolling across the screen trying to convince the general population that the zoo is still a safe and entertaining place to visit.
Jamie scoffs at the sight, frustrated that the zoo hadn't even closed for the day while they investigated the cause of the lion attack; even more proof that profits were deemed more important than safety. She taps her pen against her open pad while she scans every available page and blurb, her frustration mounting with each dead end.
She trawls through the website's links, hoping to spot someone, anyone, who might be able to help her in her own inquires. The staff page gives her a bit of luck and Jamie hastily scans through the various names, titles and job descriptions. A few people jump out at her as her eyes scan the screen; Aspen Green: Senior Zookeeper, Kevin Wilkes: Head of Security, Dr. Mitch Morgan: Veterinary Pathologist.
It's the last name out of the three that gives her pause. Surely someone in the veterinary field would have picked up on the strange animal behavior the lions had displayed both before and during their fatal attacks?
There's no picture to go with the name, but Jamie doesn't think about it as she reaches for her cell and punches in the number for the main zoo switchboard. After a couple of minutes of listening to the same old hold music, she's finally put through to a human being.
"Hi," she starts, putting on her most bubbly voice; a tactic that's worked for her since her earlier college years. "My name's Jamie Campbell, I was wondering if I could possibly speak to Dr. Mitch Morgan please?"
The woman on the other end of the line seems dubious as to her intentions, but Jamie's been a journalist long enough to be able to spin a good story when she needs to, so she charms the woman into believing that she is considering studying to be a vet, she's heard good things about Dr. Morgan's expertise in the zoological field and could she please just have a brief chat with him about what the job entails?
Jamie holds her breath as the woman chuckles at her enthusiasm, and soon she's being patched through to the elusive Dr. Morgan. Her foot taps impatiently on the floor as she waits to be connected, although the dull rings in her ears are a welcome relief from the terrible muzak of before.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity, but is probably 30 seconds at most, the ringing stops and Jamie listens carefully as someone eventually picks up the call.
"Hello?"
The man who answers sounds slightly gruff and, despite it being almost three in the afternoon, Jamie wonders if Dr. Morgan has literally just crawled out of bed and into his office.
"Uh… hi Doctor Morgan. I'm Jamie Campbell, I'm calling from the L.A. Telegraph."
There's a pause. Jamie holds her breath and waits to hear the dial tone signalling that he's hung up on her; there's no guarantee that Barbara the helpful receptionist hasn't told him about her reason for calling.
"Right," he utters down the line. Jamie thinks he sounds like he's bored of the conversation already, and briefly considers that maybe he isn't the right person to be talking to about all this. However, it's barely a couple of seconds before the man on the other end of the phone surprises her.
"So, what can I do for you Jamie Campbell from the L.A. Telegraph? Something actually relevant to my line of work? Or are you conducting an experiment into how many receptionists you can bluff your way past on any given day?"
His bluntness is, quite frankly, refreshing. The fact that Dr. Morgan, who still sounds half asleep and entirely bored, hasn't hung up on her despite her lies is enough to put Jamie slightly on the back foot.
"Oh, uh, yeah, sorry; no personal intentions to work in the veterinary field, just an excuse to speak to you directly." Jamie swears she hears a soft chuckle, but the noise is masked by the clatter of something on his side of the line. "I'm actually writing a piece for the paper on the lion attacks at the zoo and I was wondering if you'd consent to a brief interview about what happened?"
Yet another lie slips easily off her tongue, but this stranger isn't to know that she lost her job earlier that day. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, Jamie decides.
Morgan huffs down the phone at her, and Jamie distinctly hears the sound of a coffee mug being placed rather indelicately on a table.
"Look, I've been told we're not supposed to be talking to the press about the incident."
"I see," Jamie sighs, annoyed that she's hit another dead end. "Well, I'm sorry for bother…"
"But," Morgan continues, ignoring her completely, and Jamie can almost hear him smirking, "an off the record chat should be fine; as long as I'm not cited as a source I'll go along with whatever questions you have." He pauses again. "Within reason."
"Oh wow, really?" Jamie exclaims, before remembering herself. "I mean, that's excellent news Dr. Morgan, thank you so much."
"I'll be at the zoo until six this evening if you can make it at some point before then?"
Jamie grins to herself, and just about resists doing a small celebratory dance at the first piece of good news she's had all day. She feigns a small cough and composes herself before she replies to his invitation.
"That's fine Dr. Morgan, I'll head straight over. Shall I call in at Reception or…"
"I'll be in the lion exhibit," Morgan interrupts again, "I'm collecting samples this afternoon as part of the zoo's internal investigation; you'll find me there when you arrive."
It's only then that he hangs up, and Jamie's grin widens. For the first time since she found out about the attacks she's got a solid lead, a potential whistle-blower within the zoo and the opportunity to discuss Reiden's culpability for the incident.
Jamie picks up her abandoned pen, quickly scribbles Doctor Mitch Morgan at the top of a fresh page, underlining it a couple of times, before she smiles to herself again. She has a feeling, deep in her gut, that her meeting with Dr. Morgan will be just the kick start she needs in her investigation. Jamie drains her coffee mug and dumps it in the sink before she shuts down her laptop and the TV.
Grabbing her car keys she heads out of her apartment, determined to get to the zoo, and her interview with Mitch Morgan, as soon as possible.
