Somehow, against all odds, Jamie was still alive.
Against all odds, they were all still alive.
The pure happiness that she had felt at hearing Mitch's voice on the phone was almost paralyzing. She hadn't known what to say or do. Tears kept choking at her every time she went to speak.
When the plane went down, there was a feeling of "this is it." The odds had been rising exponentially against them for weeks, and as the plane plummeted, Jamie had felt her world drop out from under her. In the blink of an eye everything, and everyone, was gone.
Waking up in that bed was like coming out of a nightmare, half of her mind still in the past and struggling to catch up. It wasn't until she'd seen the bears outside the gate that the truth had hit her full force. Past collided with present. She felt all at once everything that had been lost.
Then, somehow, the leopard was still alive. It was no longer the small cub she remembered cradling in that blanket. She had been with Mitch then, helping him make the cure.
So much had changed. The leopard had grown. Its size was in sharp contrast to the little one that had mewled and wriggled in her arms. Mitch was not there to see it.
The miracles didn't stop there though. They kept growing, filling the empty space that Jamie had become with the crash.
Suddenly she was on the phone and talking to Mitch who was supposed to be dead, and when he adamantly refused to believe it was her, she didn't even falter for a second. Her heart was telling her the same thing - that she had felt and accepted his death, but her head conflicted, knowing without a doubt that it was his voice she was hearing. His voice cracking and distraught in his familiar stubbornness.
When he started crying though, she knew he finally believed. Like her, he was listening to his head and his head said that she wasn't gone with the plane. She was still kicking, breathing, crying... alive.
Somehow they had all survived, and they were coming to get her and the leopard cub who was not quite a cub any longer.
It took them longer than expected to arrive. The plan was simple. They were supposed to drive to the boat in Delaware, and in turn the boat would finally bring them to her.
They were late.
As she waited, Jamie walked back and forth from the front of the house to the leopard's cage. Back and forth. Back and forth. It was her tether to reality, working against the thin thread of doubt that clawed at her wrists and threatened to swallow her whole.
She told herself over and over again that they would come. They had to. The animal was the only hope they had left. So they would come. They had to come.
When her legs were exhausted from walking, and her mind had grown as weary as the overcast grey skies, she finally let herself rest.
She just sat there, five feet from the cage, and watched the leopard pace the length of its confinement. Jamie empathised with the creature. After all, she was in a cage of her own, although slightly bigger. Back and forth. Back and forth. It did nothing but set her nerves on edge, and she imagined that it was not calming for the leopard either. Jamie wondered if it could sense what was happening - the shift in the animal kingdom. The scales had been balancing precariously for too long and they had finally tipped, destroying everything in their wake.
Jamie heard gunshots first, followed closely by the sound of an engine.
She was off the ground in a heartbeat, startling the leopard in the process. Jamie barely glanced back though as she dashed towards the front of the house.
As she approached, she squinted and saw the familiar face of Abe in the driver's seat. She almost collapsed in relief and immediately went to open the gates. Hands stopped her though, and that's when she looked back up and saw the bears in the distance. There were two dead on the ground, but more were approaching.
Jamie turned to the fisherman in a blind panic and tried to make him understand.
It took repeated words and hand gestures for the fisherman to allow the vehicle inside the gates. As soon as the vehicle was safely inside, Jackson jumped off the back of the vehicle and helped them close the gates, just as the bears closed in on them.
Breathing hard, Jamie sent an exhausted smile to Jackson. He looked terrible. Jamie could see a bloody bandage peek out from the hem of his shirt, and his entire face was marred with scrapes and bruises. But he was whole and he was there, which was all that mattered.
The others soon exited the vehicle, all in similar states of disarray, although, Jamie was relieved to see, none as bad as Jackson.
When her eyes caught the familiar face behind a pair of slightly crooked glasses, her smile, if possible, got even wider. Mitch's feet had barely touched the ground when Jamie flung her arms around him. A second later she felt his arms wrap around her in return and closed her eyes, tucking her face into the crook of his arm. She had been just operating on the surface since their phone call, trying not to get her hopes up but at the same time hoping all the same."I'm really happy you're here," she muttered into his shirt, trying not to cry, but feeling the tears threaten the backs of her eyes anyway.
There he was though. A physical and solid being hugging her back. "I'm really happy you're here," she muttered into his shirt, trying not to cry, but feeling the tears threaten the backs of her eyes anyway.
Mitch's arms tightened around her as he said, "Me too. Me too." Jamie didn't know if it was just her imagination, but the thickness of his voice made it sound like he was about to cry as well. She pulled back then, just in time to see him quickly wipe at his eyes and readjust his glasses.
To no one's surprise, Jackson immediately asked to see the leopard. The familiarity of it made Jamie laugh out loud, the sound breaking at the end just a little to betray her unpredictable emotions. She cleared her throat and motioned forward. "Around back." Jackson took off in the direction she had pointed, Chloe close behind after shooting a smirk Jamie's way.
Jackson took off in the direction she had pointed, Chloe close behind after shooting a smirk Jamie's way. Abe followed soon after, but not before placing a hand on Jamie's shoulder and giving a comforting pat. "I am glad you're alright. It's very good to see you."
Jamie turned then to speak to the fisherman, but was surprised to see that he was gone as well. That left just her and Mitch, who had ducked into the vehicle and was rooting around for his supplies. When he swung a bag over his shoulder and closed the door, Jamie wasn't exactly sure what to say.
Mitch seemed to be in a similar situation as he adjusted the bag awkwardly and glanced at their surroundings. His eyes were slightly red eyes confirming that this man - this scientist who was so cold and distant the first time they'd met, had been crying. The thought made something flutter in Jamie's chest.
"Shall we?" she asked, and Mitch nodded, walking alongside her in silence as they headed towards the one thing that could save them all. Mitch surprised her by slinging an arm around her shoulder, and she surprised herself by realizing how natural it felt.
Just weeks ago, Jamie would have said all of this was a ridiculous impossibility. She now knew though, that together they could anything. No matter the odds.
No beta. Not much editing. Just a plot bunny that played out into this semi-functional draft.
There definitely needs to be more fan fiction for this awesome tv show, so if anyone else has recommendations (or even requests), let me know!
I really hope that something like this will happen in Season 2. I also hope that it doesn't take them the entire season to get to Jamie, but I feel like it's very likely.
Let me know what you think!