Together Alone (1/?)

by Anne Olsen

Rating/Warnings: OK (Oz/Kiwi spelling/grammar etc) – PG13 – action, drama, angst, romance, slash, het. SPOILERS.

Author's notes: This fic is part of the Tears in Heaven series which can be found here –

It also contains SPOILERS, as I'm writing the series out of order, and 'Together Alone' is set about three years after the last posted story 'Murphy's Law'.

Adam and Lisa are now married and have a son, Will. Jade and Megabyte have been a couple since the events of 'Reality Bytes', and Kevin and Alex finally admitted their feelings towards each other in 'Fairest Joys Give Most Unrest'.

Pairings: Kevin/Alex, Megabyte/Jade, Adam/Lisa.

Summary: A day of teaching in a local school turns out to be not quite the experience Alex was expecting when he happens across an experiment being conducted by an old enemy of the Tomorrow People.

Disclaimer: The Tomorrow People belong to Roger Damon Price, Thames/Tetra and ITV television. Stargate SG1 are owned by Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Products. Highlander is the property of Panzer/Davis, Rysher/Gaumount Television.

I promise to return the characters in one piece, more or less, when I'm finished, but hold no liability for any physical injury or psychological trauma sustained by them in my fiction.

Alex MacDonald belongs to me and shouldn't be used without permission.

Thanks to: The beta reading team – Lady Shadowphyre (TiH's godmother), Meg, haraamis and Anon.

[ ] indicates telepathy

Please send comments to: anneo @ paradise.net.nz

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Chapter One

August 2003

Alex reached for one of the glass cups on the bench of the staff room and wondered which one of the unmarked pottery canisters contained the coffee. Why staff rooms never seemed to label anything was beyond him.

"Looking for tea or coffee?" asked Kristine, the blonde woman who taught the New Entrants class that he'd been assigned to. Surprisingly, fifteen five-year-olds had been easier to cope with than Alex had anticipated.

"Coffee."

After pointing to the middle canister, Kristine began to help herself to the milk. "So how are you enjoying it so far, Alex?" she asked.

Alex chose his words carefully as he piled the sugar on top of the coffee granules, and then added the hot water. He remembered how nervous he'd been before leaving home that morning, and Kevin's concern. "It's been interesting," Alex replied, smiling. "Actually, to tell the truth, it wasn't as daunting as I thought it would be."

"The first time is the scariest," Kristine told him. She smiled. "The more often you do it, the easier it gets."

The sound of voices heralded the arrival of the other teachers, and Alex retreated to one of the chairs along the side of the room to soak up both the warmth of his steaming coffee and the background heat from the old radiators. Some of these older schools had hardly changed since he'd attended them himself. He couldn't help but chuckle; it was hardly that long ago. After all, he'd only left college the year before.

At least, there hadn't been very many faces to remember with this being a small school. When Alex had been introduced earlier that morning, Rob had asked him where he had left his car. Alex had simply said that he had used public transport and allowed Rob to draw his own conclusions.

His musings were interrupted by the arrival of Roger Henderson, the school principal. The dark-skinned man who'd entered with him was talking enthusiastically, and Alex had the strange feeling that he had seen him somewhere before.

/I'm going to be pleased when this experiment is finished, and he can go on his way./ Roger's thoughts reflected his growing annoyance.

Experiment? Alex hadn't meant to eavesdrop but Roger had been broadcasting so loudly that he couldn't help but overhear.

Both men stopped talking and glanced around the room. They were looking for a spare seat, Alex realised, remembering that there were two empty seats next to him. This was all that he needed. He had no show of ignoring Roger's thoughts now. Someone needed to tell the man to turn the volume down.

"Good morning, young man," said the newcomer, helping himself to the seat on Alex's right. His British accent was difficult to miss. Alex shivered but wasn't sure why. Again a sense of familiarity swept over him but he knew that /he'd/ never met the man.

British. Could that be the clue? Maybe the memories coming to the surface weren't his but Kevin's. Alex still didn't fully understand the psychic bond between them, but this wouldn't be the first time that this had happened. When he'd told his parents about his relationship with Kevin, the other boy's memories of /his/ parents had mingled with Alex's own.

Balancing a cup of tea in one hand and a chocolate biscuit in the other, Roger took a seat on the remaining chair. "Professor Galt," he said, "I see you've met our student teacher."

Alex grew cold. No wonder that he'd reacted when he had seen the man. Kevin had showed him what had happened when he and the other Tomorrow People had first met, and how Galt had been instrumental in Master's plan to capture them.

[Are you okay, Alex?] Alex felt a reassuringly familiar telepathic presence in his mind. Kevin must have felt his uneasiness.

[Professor Galt,] Alex 'pathed, [He's here. I'm sure it's him.] He took another swig of half-cold coffee, in an effort to stay calm. The last thing that he needed was to 'wig out', as Megabyte liked to call it, and let his weird power kick in. Professor Galt would be delighted to find out that he was sitting next to a Tomorrow Person, of that Alex was sure.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Roger echoed Kevin's concern.

"Yes, thanks. Sorry, I was miles away." Alex looked up to find both Roger and Galt staring at him.

Galt had his hand proffered and was waiting for a proper introduction. "Professor John Galt."

"Alex MacDonald. Pleased to meet you." Trotting out the introduction niceties almost automatically, Alex felt his temper flare. There was no way in hell that he would ever be pleased to meet someone who had once tried to /hurt/ Kevin and their friends.

[Alex, get out of there.] Alex could feel Kevin's increasing panic affecting him through their connection, and his fingers tightened around the coffee cup. Taking one last swig of coffee, he grimaced as the nearly cold bitter liquid went down. He was unsure why he persisted in drinking it; even with all the sugar that he'd added, he didn't really like the taste.

[Are you sure it's Galt?] Adam asked. Alex wasn't surprised to hear him. Kevin would have told the others the moment that he'd realised what was happening. Depending on what Galt's plans were, they could all be in danger.

[Yes, I'm sure,] Alex replied. Any doubts had vanished, once Galt had introduced himself. [Do you want me to try to find out what he's here for?] Galt had disappeared long before Alex had broken out and become a Tomorrow Person; it was very unlikely that Galt even knew of his existence.

"I'll be running some rather unusual tests on some of the children later this afternoon." Galt had started to explain the reason for his visit without any prompting.

"Tests?" asked Alex, certain that he wasn't going to like the answer.

Behind Galt, Roger rolled his eyes. "Professor Galt's organisation is running random psychic testing in some of the local schools. He has a theory that eventually mankind will use those parts of the brain that we don't now, and that maybe some children have that capacity already."

"Psychic powers?" asked Alex, trying to sound as though he didn't have a clue what the words meant. He didn't want to think about what Galt's plans might be if he /did/ find any future Tomorrow People.

"Telepathy. Teleportation. That sort of thing." Finding a potential audience for his ideas was only serving to fuel the scientist's enthusiasm. If only Galt knew the reason behind Alex's interest.

Roger interrupted. "Personally, I think he's on a wild goose chase. But we've been asked to cooperate by the Education Department, so we're going to help the Professor in anyway we can. " He paused. "Alex, maybe you could help him set things up after morning tea? After all, he's starting with the class you're in today."

[You can't, it's too dangerous. Alex, you need to get out. You need to get out now!] Kevin's telepathic protests cut across the spoken conversation that Alex was trying to follow.

[It's not worth the risk,] Adam agreed.

[The guy's a psycho. Make some excuse and leave,] Megabyte interjected. [I'm going to let Dad know that the Nutty Professor's surfaced again.]

"I've been developing this rather interesting device." Galt was still talking, unaware that his audience was pre-occupied.

Alex forced himself to ignore the telepathic conversation going on in his mind. "Device?"

"Oh, it's perfectly safe," Galt reached into his briefcase, and pulled out a small black box. "See this," he pointed to the gauge on the side of the box. "It measures telepathic activity and a person's psychic aura. We all have them, you know, but they're a lot stronger in some people than in others." Galt beamed. "The device also emits a high pitched sound that can only be heard by a true telepath. Of course the problem is that I've never really had a chance to test it."

Forcing himself to his feet, Alex fought the urge to teleport. "I suppose that's because you've never met one," he said slowly, trying to stay calm.

"Well, actually I have," said Galt excitedly, ignoring the look of disbelief that Roger was giving him. Glancing around, Alex realised that there was no one else in the room; he had been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed that the other teachers had finished their break and returned to their classes.

[Get out of there, Alex. Make some excuse and get out now!] Kevin sounded frantic.

"Oh?" said Alex, unsure of what to say. The door suddenly seemed to be a lot further away than it had been mere moments before.

"It was quite a few years ago now, though," Galt explained. "Of course the trouble is that I didn't have /this/ then, and I have no idea how they would have reacted to this simple flick of a switch." He casually reached over and flicked one of the switches on top of the box.

Alex tensed, waiting for something to happen.

When nothing did, he relaxed again.

"Silly me," said Galt. "I forgot to turn the power on." He ran his hand over the device and pushed the single red button in the centre.

Almost instantaneously, a loud whining noise filled the room. Alex swayed and saw, rather than heard, the empty cup in his hand fall to the floor and shatter into tiny pieces. It was like watching a slow motion film.

[Alex?] Suddenly there wasn't just Kevin's voice in his mind, but a million others, screaming at him. The noise was unbearable.

Sinking to his knees, Alex was dimly aware of Roger behind him. "Turn. It. Off," he heard himself scream. He covered his ears with his hands, knowing that it couldn't stop the noise, but desperately hoping that it would. The room began to lurch sickeningly and he waited for the coming blackness to claim him.

Instead, there was a barely audible click, and the torment was gone as suddenly as it had arrived.

"Alex?" Roger helped him to his feet.

His stomach heaving, Alex grabbed the side of the coffee table for support. He was shaking. Straightening his glasses, he looked over at Galt. The scientist's initial expression of scientific curiosity was quickly replaced by one of cold satisfaction.

"Don't even think of teleporting, Mr. MacDonald," Galt said, his finger poised over the device in his hands. "I doubt you'd have much success with the state that you're in anyway."

Roger looked at Alex, towards Galt, and then back at Alex again. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Unless of course, you'd like a second dose?" Galt ignored Roger's question and moved his hand over the device again. He adjusted a small dial to the left of the red button.

There was no point in trying to deny the obvious. "No, I won't teleport," Alex told him. Reaching out telepathically, he tried to ignore the feeling that a part of him was missing. He needed to regain some sense of Kevin's presence; losing that for the first time since they'd bonded was scaring him.

A sharp pain seared through his head, and he grabbed at the table to steady himself.

"I've left the device on level one," Galt sneered. "Any attempt to use your powers will only cause you pain." His lips curled into a smug grin. "Thank you for your assistance in proving my theories. I've waited a long time for this moment."

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Roger snapped, walking towards the door. "I'm going to call a doctor for this young man."

"That won't be necessary," Galt said, stepping in front of him. He drew a gun from his coat pocket and laughed. "As to what's going on, I think that's rather obvious." The look in his eyes reminded Alex of one of his biology teachers at college – just before the man had lectured the class on the correct way to dissect a lab rat. "I've managed to catch myself a Tomorrow Person."

"What's a Tomorrow Person?" asked Roger

As though in answer, there was a loud popping noise, and a familiar figure solidified in front of him.

"Kevin," Alex whispered, as his lover staggered from the effects of Galt's machine.

"And then there were two," said Galt, smirking. "That, Mr. Henderson, is a Tomorrow Person."

********

"Kevin? Did you hear what I just said?"

"What?" Kevin replied automatically. He'd almost forgotten that he was at the SGC; the diagram that he and Sam had been discussing was the least of his concerns.

[Get out of there, Alex.] /Get out of the damn room and teleport. Just put one foot in front of the other and walk out the door. At least that way you'll be safe./ [Make some excuse and get out now.] Kevin slammed the textbook that he had been skimming through onto the table; the sound echoed through Sam's lab like a gunshot. [Make some excuse and get out now!]

Jumbled thoughts rushed across his mind. Device? What device?

What the hell was Alex still doing there if Galt had a device?

Tension, followed by relief.

That had to be a good sign. Didn't it?

Then why wasn't Alex answering?

[Alex!] Why wasn't he answering?

Instead of the reply that he had hoped for, Kevin felt a wave of excruciating pain, and he grabbed the table for support. Alex. It had to be Alex. Closing his eyes, Kevin focused his mind on Alex and reached for him telepathically. But instead of the awareness which he expected - the whisper touches against his consciousness - there was nothing. The psychic thread that had joined them for the past fourteen months had been cut. But by what?

"Kevin, are you okay?" Sam laid a hand on his arm, but Kevin shook it free. He didn't have time to explain, didn't want to put his fears into words. Once he did, they would be real.

He couldn't take that chance.

"Alex?" Kevin whispered the name aloud as he focused his thoughts. Drawing a mental picture of Alex in his mind, he remembered the feel of his lover's skin under his fingers before they'd said goodbye that morning.

Something must be interfering with Alex's powers. It wouldn't be the first time that Galt had built such a machine. The alternative was…

No! Kevin shook his head, and reached out telepathically, frantically looking for something, anything to reassure himself.

[Kevin?] Was that…? Could it be?

[Kevin. No!] Ignoring Adam's warning, Kevin followed the faint telepathic tendril. Grasping it with his mind, he allowed it to pull him into a possible darkness, and teleported.

Intent on finding Alex, Kevin quickly glanced around the room in which he found himself. The other boy was leaning against a small wooden table and attempting to pull himself to his feet. He was pale and shaking.

What the hell had Galt done to him? Kevin clenched his hand and then unclenched it again.

[Alex,] he 'pathed, trying to reassure his lover through their shared bond.

A sharp pain seared through Kevin's head, and he staggered. Reaching out to find something to steady himself against, he heard Alex's voice. "Kevin." It was little more than a whisper.

/I can't feel him. I'm in the same room, and I can't feel him./

"And then there were two." Galt hadn't changed much over the past ten years, apart from the white streaks in what had been previously black hair. Time had been kind to him; it was far more than he deserved. "That, Mr. Henderson," Galt told the other man in the room, "is a Tomorrow Person."

The scientist stared at Kevin, who looked away in disgust. He wasn't in the mood to play lab rat. "I've already warned your friend not to use his powers. I do hope you're not going to make it necessary for me to repeat myself." Galt frowned. "Have we met before?"

Kevin ignored him and walked over to Alex. "Are you okay?" he whispered, putting his arms around the other boy. A tiny portion of his mind screamed that he shouldn't; allowing Galt to know about their relationship would be dangerous, but Kevin didn't care. He needed to be able to feel Alex, to touch him, to replace the loss of their psychic connection by any means necessary.

Smooth fingers moved over his face, caressing, exploring as though for the first time. "Kevin, I can't feel you." Alex's eyes mirrored Kevin's own sense of loss.

Nodding, Kevin reached up to kiss him on the forehead. He could feel the beads of perspiration under his lips; Alex was scared. They both were. "I know, Alex, I know." He pulled Alex into an embrace and held him tightly.

"Quite the touching reunion," Galt sniggered. "I take it the two of you are…involved." It was impossible to miss the underlying contempt as he spat out the word.

Kevin grew cold. He might have found Alex, but now they were both in danger. Turning his attention back to Alex, he tried to stay calm and to ignore the growing fear in his lover's eyes. The same fear that he knew was in his own.

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End of Chapter One

TBC

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