Fountain of Youth

By InuGhost 2.0

Disclaimer: I own nothing that appears in this. If I did then Stark would still be alive.

An incident at GD results in Carter and Jo becoming guinea pigs in an experiment. Can Stark, Allison, and Fargo reverse the effects, or will they be stuck this way.

It was a normal day at Global Dynamics. The scientists were working hard on their experiments and people were hustling around trying to stay ahead of their deadlines. Despite all the people moving two people stuck out from the crowd. Their faces are grim and their eyes burn with determination fueled by anger. "Jo I'm sick and tired of being given the run around. If he tries running again I want you to shoot him." Carter mumbled under his breath as he reached for the gun holstered at his side.

A brief smile flickers across Jo's face as the thought of venting frustration violently against someone who has earned it peaks her interest. Without breaking her stride she removes her gun from its holster, quickly loads it, and replaces it. "Don't worry I won't miss. Do you think he knows we're coming?"

A worried look is seen briefly before it disappears. "No. Stark agreed to help us. Stark told him the charges were dropped and that he was free to come back here. Bout one of the few helpful things he's done around here lately." The last part was said so quietly Jo almost missed it. She would have if she hadn't known Carter this long and his current relationship with the current Co-Head of GD.

Finally the two reached their destination and took up positions on either side of the door. Exchanging a look Jo un-holstered her weapon and with her free hand rapped on the lab door. The sounds of glass breaking and muffled curses could be heard as the lab's occupant registered the disturbance. A shuffling noise is then heard coming closer before the door starts to swing inward. "Look I'm really busy so unless this is import…"the rest is cut off as he finds himself eye to barrel of Jo's gun before his eyes sweep to the sides noticing the two. "Jo…sheriff…so uh…nice to see you. What brings you here?" Fargo nervously said as sweat started beading on his brow.

Carter brushed past Fargo entering the room quietly whistling at the numerous solutions filling the room. Turning back to the nervous Fargo he reached into his pocket pulling out a small sheet of paper. "Well Fargo charges are pending against you. One of the most serious is your obvious cheating in the dog show, along with you running from an officer of the law. We also have the matter of the bill for my uniform being dry-cleaned after Sparky marked his territory on it. Oh and before you begin no the charges were not dropped. Stark owed me one for the whole Eureka volcano incident."

Fargo's eyes started darting around nervously trying to see if there is a way out. If possible his face went even paler when he noticed Jo over toying with some of the filled test tubes. "Jo do not mess with those! Dr. Stark specifically told me they were to be handled with utmost care." Rushing over to the deputy Fargo failed to notice the extension cord running across the floor of the lab. Tripping on it Fargo went down hard as both ends of the cord were pulled knocking numerous test tubes over and onto the two officers of the law.

"Oh come on this can't be happening. I'm supposed to go out with Zane tonight and now I get to spend the next week being poked, and prodded by GD's scientists!" The now purplish green deputy hollered out seeing how she was covered head to toe in innumerable different solutions.

Both Jo and Carter glared at Fargo, who was only now getting up off the floor, and the only one spared from the tidal wave of chemicals. Fate must have been smiling on Fargo that day as he was spared from further danger as Carter and Jo groan collectively before passing out.

Numerous voices were mumbling quietly in the darkness around him. That was the first thing Carter noticed as he slowly regained consciousness. He knew that he must have been out for awhile from the yucky taste that always filled his mouth whenever he slept. He felt…odd that was the only way to describe it. Opening his eyes he saw the worried faces of Dr.'s Blake and Stark hovering above him. Opening his mouth he managed to croak out "Wha…what happened?"

"You and the deputy got caught in an accident caused by Fargo's clumsiness. Surprisingly though it actually worked out well for Global." Stark's normally straight face broke out in a grin after saying that. A grin Carter knew all to well signified Stark being on the receiving end of rather good fortune.

'What worked out well for you and Global Stark? I'm still here and kicking." Shooting a glare at Stark Carter turned his attention to Allison waiting for the answer he knew she would give him.

Sighing heavily and biting her lower lip Allison silently handed Carter a small handheld mirror. Looking at the mirror questioningly Carter first thought there must be something wrong with it. There was no way…he couldn't be… reaching up and touching his face Carter found that the mirror was telling the truth. He looked no older than fifteen or sixteen years old. Groaning Carter's eyes rolled back up into his head as he passed out.

"I told you he wouldn't take it well Nathan." Shooting an angry look at her ex-husband Allison walked over to Jo's bed. She was worried the most about Jo since the deputy was the worst off. She looked to be about the same age as Carter, but unlike him she would have more to worry about in the wardrobe department.

Both sheriff and deputy had lost quite a bit of their original height. Finding stuff for the two of them to wear wouldn't be easy, and she had already sent Zoe off to Eureka's shopping district to procure suitable items for the two. Allison knew that Jo had worked hard for her reputation. She was one of the few women to have served in a position of power. Now that Jo had been turned back into a teen it was unlikely people would take her as serious anymore.

Upon opening her eyes Jo noticed Allison sitting quietly by her bed. She was met with pain when she attempted to sit upright, and was forced to collapse back onto the bed. Looking down at her body Jo immediately realized what was wrong. Turning to Allison Jo did her best to reign in her anger. "What happened to me?"

"There was an accident in Fargo's lab. Nathan had Fargo working on a project to reverse some of the aging process. Somehow during the accident you and Carter were hit by a number of chemicals which reverted you both back to being sixteen years old."

Managing to regain her calm composure Jo thought over what Allison had said. Accidents were not uncommon at Global Dynamics. Pushing the boundary of science daily necessitated certain risks. In fact this was not her first time being on the receiving end of a wayward experiment. "Can you reverse the process?"

"We haven't started yet. The accident only happened three hours ago, and data is still being gathered. Nathan is busy questioning Fargo to try and figure out what you both were hit with so he can recreate the process for a later time. Unfortunately the state of Fargo's lab makes it difficult at best to figure out what chemicals you were hit with. Fact is Fargo doesn't even know everything that was in there. "

"Great that's just fucking great. So I'm basically stuck like this for the near future. Let me guess Carter is having the time of his life with this." Jo knew she needed to reign in her temper, but this had to be the worst thing that could have happened to her.

"Actually Carter isn't handling this to well. He's regained consciousness twice now. The first time he passed out from seeing what had happened. Unfortunately the second time he woke up we had to physically restrain him from strangling Fargo. We finally sedated him to keep him from hurting himself." Allison smirked slightly from the memory. As much as she tried to hide it Fargo had a habit of wearing on her nerves. This was just another disaster he had caused and it was refreshing to see Carter attempting to do to Fargo what she herself had sometimes wanted to do.

Thinking about Carter served to distract Jo from her anger at Fargo. She realized that she and Carter wouldn't be the only ones affected by this. Worry began to grow inside of her at the thought of how his daughter would handle this new situation. She saw a lot of herself in the teenager, and with everything else Zoe had to deal with Jo wasn't sure if she could handle this sufficiently. Concern filled her voice as she gave rise to the question "How is Zoe handling this? Is she going to be alright with having a teenager for a father?"

Allison couldn't help but smile at the question. She and a few others had noticed the sisterly bond that had developed between the two. "Zoe's dealing very well with this. She's slightly hopeful that since Carter is now approximately the same age as her then he'll be more lenient. Perhaps letting her stay out later with her friends, or relaxing any of the other dozen rules he has for her. At the moment though I've sent her to try and find some clothing for the two of you to wear. That may not have been the best idea after all."

The two of them smiled wondering what the delinquent teen would try and get her father to wear. Innumerable outfits flew through their heads trying to decide if Zoe would attempt to update her father's fashion sense, or stick with something he would actually wear. Their thoughts were interrupted though as a loud yawn escaped Jo.

"You should probably try and get some more sleep. Your body has undergone a lot of stress within the last few hours and has expended quite a bit of energy. Don't worry though I'm meeting with Henry, Nathan, and Fargo to see if anything can be done for the both of you." Sincerity filling her voice Allison turned away from her friend. Heading for the office she shared with Stark.

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