Yes, imaginativefig is actually writing her own story, instead of just commenting on yours! *gasp*

I was sick & not allowed to watch TV, so I just fed the plot bunny that hopped in. Nobody said I couldn't write about Eureka ;) Plus, I like Fargo, and there are not enough stories about him.

This is my first fanfic ever, so any ideas for improvement would be helpful, but please be kind. It's probably going to end up a lot longer than most fics; I'm not exactly a master of the art of brevity. :P Oh, and it's only rated T because I anticipate descriptions of medical pain in future chapters.

****I don't own Eureka or any character in this story except Carly. I'm not making any money off of this, so don't sue me. It wouldn't be worth your while. All you'd get would be a barnful of chickens & several wheelbarrows full of books.****

-Harmony & Resonance-

Something bad was going to happen. Allison Blake just knew it. Eureka had been quiet & uneventful for nearly three months. Far too long. She was getting jumpy.

So when Henry reported that he'd picked up a little exotic radiation on sensors, Allison actually breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe, once this emergency was over, there wouldn't be any more until after the wedding. She would rather deal with it now & have her wedding in peace.

She headed down to the lab, passing Nathan on the way to the elevator. He smiled at her in passing & said, "Hey, Alli." She smiled back, turning her head to keep eye contact with him as long as possible. He had an amazing smile. Nathan smiled a lot more these days; he had truly become a different man from the work-obsessed, power-hungry one she'd married before. Nearly losing his wife and son had made him realize what was really important in life. Now that he had conquered his selfishness & she had let herself trust him again, they had a much better chance at making their marriage work.

Allison was smiling over her thoughts about Nathan when Fargo stumbled into the elevator on the next level. He looked disheveled, his hair, short as it was, somehow looking out of place & his clothes rumpled. The dark circles under his eyes attested to a sleepless night of work, and he yawned behind his hand.

Douglas Fargo was used to working through the night, but he'd been up for two nights in a row, helping two different scientists catch up on their work so they could make their deadlines. There was a D.O.D. inspection soon & everyone wanted to put their best foot forward. He decided he'd go to cafeteria & get something to eat before he went home to sleep. He was a horrible cook & there was no way he could keep from passing out while waiting for a pizza delivery.

He leaned against the cold metal wall of the elevator, slowly wondering if there was tortellini or spaghetti today, closing his tired eyes. It was so nice to rest…. The elevator jolted to a halt and he woke with a start. Allison was looking at him with concern. "Fargo? Are you all right?"

"What? Uh, yeah, just tired. "

"You should probably take a break & get some rest. You look exhausted."

"I am. I mean, I will. I'll just get something to eat & then I'm headed home."

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I've got an autopilot prototype in my car."`

Allison patted his shoulder, saying, "Take care of yourself."

Fargo nodded & got out of the elevator.

When Allison reached the lab, Henry was staring fixedly at a colored line graph on a monitor.

"Ah, Allison, there you are."

"What's the problem, Henry?"

"Well, basically, I'm picking up a type of radiation that was thought to be only theoretical."

"Where did it come from?"

Henry stared at her.

"Never mind, that was a stupid question."

"Since the Artifact has been causing nearly all of Eureka's problems since it arrived, I have to agree."

Allison sighed, "All right, how is this going to make my life difficult?"

"Actually… I don't know."

"You don't know. Then I have to ask why you called me down here."

"This is an entirely unknown type of radiation! I have no idea what effect it could have on people or the building, or if it could spread to Eureka itself! We just need to be ready for anything."

"Okay, well, keep me updated. I'll see who's available & send you a team to start research right away."

Henry nodded his thanks and returned his attention to the monitor.

"And Henry?"

"Yes?"

"Let's keep this quiet, until we know that there's actually a problem. Everyone is under enough pressure as it is; I don't want to worry anyone else unless it's necessary."

Carly Lowe was walking on air! It was the end of her first month working in Taggart's zoology lab, and he'd been so pleased with her observation & animal skills that he'd written a commendation in her record. Maybe someday soon she'd be promoted from an intern to an actual member of Global Dynamics! Maybe people would start taking her seriously….

Carly had always had difficulty being taken seriously. Being a shy, petite, short girl, she'd never put herself forward, preferring to spend time studying animal behavior & physiology, to trying to impress others. She was fascinated by the intricate design inherent in all creatures, so it was natural for her to choose zoology as her life's work. Her friendship with Jim Taggart came naturally through their shared love for all animals; in a town so obsessed with technology, there were few people who cared about nature for its own sake. When an internship became available in the biology department, Taggart requested to be allowed an assistant, since his operations were growing too large for one crazy Australian to attend to. Allison figured it would be better to grant him one, than to have to deal with another of his experiments gone mad. Naturally, he chose Carly.

So here she was, practically floating with happiness. She was so happy, in fact, that she did a little twirl in the empty hallway. On turning a corner, she tripped on something, and fell right against Douglas Fargo! Their heads smacked together & the impact sent both to the floor. After a chorus of "Ow!"s and blushing apologies, they parted, Fargo toward the cafeteria, & Carly toward the elevator. Carly couldn't stop blushing. On the day of her greatest achievement, she'd knocked GD's top young scientist to the floor! That wasn't exactly the way to impress one's superiors. Oh well, it might have been worse, she mused, I might have run my clumsy self into Ms. Blake. Or, oh horrors, Dr. Stark! Note to self: NO twirling in hallways! With a shudder and a shake of her head (to dispel the mortifying scene of herself trying to apologize to haughty Dr. Stark), Carly continued her way home. This time without one twirl.

-The Next Day-

Fargo woke up slowly. As his eyes finally focused on his ceiling, he felt uneasy. Something looked wrong. Turning on his side, then reluctantly hauling himself up to a sitting position, he realized it was the light coming in his window. The light was too golden, too gentle. Afternoon light. "Oh, crap!" he said aloud, fumbling for his thick, square glasses so he could read the clock. 3:30 p.m.! Dr. Stark is going to kill me! He rushed to get dressed and get out of the house, pulling on the white lab coat he'd absent-mindedly worn home. Fargo jumped into his tiny car and drove wildly off. "Dr. Fargo, you are exceeding Eureka's speed limit by 15 miles per hour," the autopilot informed him. "Shut up!"

Luckily for him, both Allison and Nathan were in a good mood. The D.O.D. had announced that the inspection would be pushed back one week, and all the teams scheduled for demonstrations would be ready with time to spare. Nathan merely threw him a half-sarcastic comment and Allison assured him that they had gotten along fine without him for one day.

Henry's voice came over the intercom. "Allison, I have something down here I think you should see….it's related to what I showed you yesterday."

"I'm on my way." She made an excuse to Nathan for why he should not go with her & hurried off.

Allison arrived in Henry's lab quickly. "What's going on? Is the radiation increasing?"

With a puzzled expression, the older black man replied, "Not by much, but that's not what's strange about it. Yesterday, after I talked to you, it disappeared from the sensors completely. I thought maybe after all my instruments had played tricks on me & it had never been there at all. I had Sam Herrin check them; they were in perfect condition. However, this morning the radiation is back, but apparently it's moved to a different location in the building."

"Can you pinpoint it?"

"No, it's too erratic to track."

"Is it posing a danger to anyone at this point?"

"Not that I know of, " Henry answered with a shrug, "but like I said, I have no way of knowing for sure."

Carly had spent the day following Taggart through the woods, trying to locate one of his robotic geese that had returned unexpectedly. They'd eventually found it, nearly out of power & flapping wildly in a malfunction. He was working on disassembling it at the moment, while she sat on a stool & looked on. In his typical enthusiastic way, Taggart was explaining the intricate mechanical workings of the bird, but somehow, Carly just wasn't terribly interested. He noticed. "Carly, love, are you feelin' all right? You look a bit pale and you're awfully quiet."

"Actually, I'm not feeling so great. I guess it was all that hiking in the sun," the petite girl answered apologetically.

"You feelin' shaky or nauseous at all? You sure you sprayed your boots with that spray I gave ya? There're some nasty diseases you can get from ticks out there in the brush!"

Her eyes grew impossibly wide. "Ticks? Ew!" She started frantically checking her boots, legs, and arms for little brown specks. "Check my hair! Is there anything on my neck?" Carly pulled her curly, dark brown hair to one side.

Taggart laughed. "Aw, I was just kiddin'. All the harmful insects and plants were carefully removed with a laser burn when the town was built. There aren't any ticks 'round here."

She gave a sigh of relief, followed by a frown at her chuckling boss.

"Let me make up for it. Why don't ya go on home & put up your feet? I can finish up here, as easy as not."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I need you fresh and ready to go tomorrow. We're going underground with the Mole Man! He's been hearing some odd sounds." The wiry Australian leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "I think it might be a subterranean Bigfoot!"

Carly barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes. "Okay Boss, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See ya, Carly! Oh, and don't forget: don't wear any perfume tomorrow, and bring your sneakers. Giantopithicus has ears like a bat, and the nose of a truffle-hunting hog, as well as being a wily devil!" Taggart gave his trademark crazy stare, and she exited the lab as fast as she could. Sometimes, that man was just too strange.

Carly really wasn't feeling well, though. There was a dull, throbbing pain making itself felt near her left hip. It didn't feel like a bruise or a pulled muscle, though. Unconsciously, her hand rested on the spot. There was something round and hard in the lab coat pocket that covered it. Curious, Carly pulled the object out. It was a small round globe, like a marble, purple in color, with a shimmer in its center that seemed to swirl as she gazed at it. After staring at it for a minute, the girl dropped it back in her pocket. It must belong to whoever had lent her the lab coat. Two days before, her own coat had gotten covered in rank, psuedo skunk smell that Taggart was using in an experiment, and it had to be burned. She would ask around later.

Meanwhile, maybe a nice cup of tea would make her feel better. Carly entered the cafeteria, got herself a cup of tea. She looked for a place to sit down, and noticed none other than Dr. Fargo, slumped in a seat in the corner, his face half-buried in his pasta. She couldn't help giggling a bit. He didn't move. Apparently, the pasta must be quite comfortable. Carly walked hesitantly over; he didn't look so intimidating now.

"Um, Dr. Fargo? Are you okay?"

No answer.

"Dr. Fargo?" She gave his shoulder a little shake.

"Hm? What? No, I wasn't sleeping!" He tried to rub his eyes, and only succeeded in smearing tomato sauce on his hands.

"Oh, is this some groundbreaking new method of eating pasta, then?" She was still amused enough that she didn't feel shy.

"Uh. No. I….I was just…"

"Testing out spaghetti as a therapeutic pillow alternative?" Carly asked, helpfully handing him a napkin. This earned her a tired smile from Fargo, who couldn't get the red stain completely off his skin. He must have been dozing among the noodles for some time.

"Thanks."

"Sure. Sorry for…bumping into you yesterday."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm used to getting knocked down every day, one way or another." That hint of bitterness in his voice; maybe nobody took him all that seriously either….

A sharper twinge of pain interrupted her thoughts. She frowned at it; she needed to sit down somewhere.

"Um, I should…go. Before my tea gets cold. I'm just having a cup before I go home."

"Wait! Why-why don't you sit here? There's no one else in here to sit with." Suddenly he looked abashed. "Unless you'd rather be alone, that is…."

Carly flushed confusedly, but she really needed to get off her feet, so she accepted. Silence reigned for a minute. What on earth should she say? Her traitorous mind had gone blank.

Fargo was staring at his cold, congealing pasta, unable to think of anything to talk about either. He was notoriously awkward with women, unless there was some work or emergency involved. To his relief, his communication device beeped. He searched his pockets for it, and came across a purple marble. "Huh. Where did this come from?"

Carly looked up. "Hey, I found one of those in my lab coat today." She pulled it out & compared the two. "I don't know who it belongs to, or even what it is for that matter." Handing them to Fargo, who was looking at his communicator, she continued, "You can probably find their owner more quickly than I can, so I'll leave it with you."

He nodded & took them, standing to go. "I have to go. One of the scientists needs my help. I'll…see you around, I guess."

His temporary lunch partner smiled & nodded. "Bye."

He walked away, rubbing his eyes. Why am I still so tired?

Carly heaved a sigh, finished her tea alone, then slowly left the cafeteria. The pain was growing.