Linus stared at his computer screen as he checked over the memory-mapping a final time before the stitch. Everything seemed to be in order, so he looked over to where Camille sat at Cameron's desk, reading something on her tablet.
"Hey, we're ready to go. Did you call Kirsten?" He called to her. Camille looked up at him and nodded.
"Yeah, she said she was on her-" She was interrupted by the elevator doors opening behind Linus, letting in the sound of raised voices. Linus spun in his chair and saw Kirsten walk into the lab with a sour look on her face. Cameron was keeping stride next to her, gesturing his hands wildly as he shouted.
"-You could have been killed, Kirsten!" Cameron came to an abrupt halt as Kirsten stopped in her tracks and spun to face him, her expression furious. When she spoke her voice contained such pure fury that Linus shivered.
"You mean like when you stopped your own heart and almost died?" Her voice shook almost imperceptibly on the last word and Cameron balked, falling silent. As he hesitated, Kirsten turned on her heel and strode away to the changing room, effectively ending the conversation.
"What was all that about?" Camille asked, vacating Cameron's chair and walking over as Linus gave a low whistle.
"It was...nothing. Just Kirsten being Kirsten." Cameron muttered in response, stepping over to his desk. He started fiddling with the controls, his face troubled.
Camille and Linus shared a look before turning their focus back to their respective screens, Camille taking her place behind Cameron just as Kirsten emerged wearing the catsuit.
She climbed into the Fish Tank without a word, stone-faced, responding to Cameron's comm check only with a sharp "Yes."
Cameron sighed in irritation before inducing the stitch-neurosync with a solid push to the controls.
The stitch went smoothly at first, and Kirsten was able to get both a name and an address for their John Doe. Cameron maneuvered her closer to the final memory, hoping that the victim had caught a glance of whoever had inflicted the multiple stab wounds that killed him.
"Okay Stretch, you should be close to the time of death now. Be careful, this must have been a traumatic one." He frowned as she ignored him. "Kirsten?"
"Yeah, I hear you!" she snapped irritably, "I'm almost there, just- just be quiet." Cameron huffed in indignation, but did as she asked. Suddenly, Kirsten's body convulsed in the tank, her back arching away from the seat.
"Kirsten?! Talk to me, what's happening in there?!" Cameron spoke into his headset, his voice rising in panic.
"He was-" Kirsten gasped in pain, "-stabbed in the back first. I can't see the attacker." Her body convulsed again and Ayo observed that her heart rate and blood pressure were rising rapidly.
Cameron stared at his console, cursing when he saw that they were already past the two minute mark.
"Kirsten, you need to bounce!" He called out, praying that for once she would listen to him. Her body jolted again in the tank, water sloshing over the sides and onto the lab floor.
"No, I've almost got it!" Her voice was strained, her feet slipping from the anchor points as her body twisted. Ayo's monitor began to beep loudly as Kirsten's heart rate continued to rise dangerously. Alex shouted over it to bring yet more bad news, as he called out that memory collapse was in less than sixty seconds.
"You have to make the bounce, Kirsten!" Cameron half screamed, watching in horror as Kirsten's body started to spasm. He was dimly aware of Ayo shouting that she was seizing and for a moment he was back the last time this happened, watching helplessly as Marta almost died.
Before he even realised what he was doing he released the mice, Camille lunging forward to grab them as he sprinted over to the tank, slipping in the spilled water.
He pushed roughly past Chelsea and reached over to cup Kirsten's cheek, speaking in a hushed tone as his heart beat painfully in his chest.
"Kirsten, listen to me - I'm sorry. I'm sorry about shouting at you earlier, and I'm sorry about what I did before. You have every right to be angry, but I need you to bounce."
"Fifteen seconds to memory collapse!"
"Cameron, I don't know how to bounce her by myself!" Camille's voice was shrill with panic, but Cameron kept his gaze locked onto Kirsten's face.
"Kirsten don't make me do this, please." His voice began to crack with emotion, eyes burning, his voice barely a whisper, the words meant only for her. "I love you, so please-"
He barely registered her fingers moving out of the corner of his eye before she gasped, eyes flying open as she bounced. Her arms splashed in the water as her body heaved, Ayo desperately trying to hold her still to check her vitals. Cameron gripped the side of the tank and swung his legs over, sending another wave of water over the edge as he waded in up to his waist. He grabbed Kirsten's flailing form and pulled her tight against his chest, his shirt soaking through completely. Her hand grasped onto the fabric near his collar, chest heaving as she fought for breath.
Cameron continued to cradle her like that while Ayo checked her over, and when she was finally given the all clear he tucked his arm under her knees and lifted her up, stepping out of the tank. She was shivering against him, more from shock than from the relatively warm water, and he gripped her tighter as he carried her to the medical bay.
Chelsea had the bed set and ready for her, so he leaned down and gently placed her on the sheets. He started to turn in search of a towel but stopped when he felt a tug on the hem of his shirt. Kirsten's hand was outstretched, fingers curled into the fabric, and her eyes were wide as she whispered.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was hoarse, and the words were barely audible. Cameron's face softened and he reached down to gently loosen her grip on his shirt, rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.
"It's okay, Stretch." He smiled down at her as her eyes began to close, the exhaustion from her ordeal catching up to her. "Everything's okay." Her face relaxed as she slipped out of consciousness, and he gently placed her hand down. He pulled the blanket, tucking it around her before settling in the chair next to the bed. It wasn't particularly comfortable, but it didn't matter, he wouldn't be leaving that spot until she woke up.