A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I notice from the comments that there are lots of questions and a little confusion - well, believe it or not, that's the whole idea! :-D Enjoy...

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The voices came to him in the darkness like cries on the wind. At first they'd been a cacophony of sound, one blending into the next but slowly they'd grown more discernible with the exception of those in hushed tones uttering words he couldn't seem to grasp. However, there were six distinct ones, three male and three female but they all had the same worried edge to them. They came and went, sometimes alone, sometimes in groups of two or three, talking amongst themselves or directly at him. He'd heard his name mentioned occasionally but he was too weary to respond, content to remain in his own world, something telling him that he wasn't ready to visit theirs – not now, not yet...

And anyway, there was only one voice he found he really needed to hear... She came to him after hours when everything was quiet and still, reading the stories he'd loved as a teenager. Stories he could lose himself in. She was here now, the words washing over him. He could feel her hand resting loosely in his and he longed to tighten his grip but that would break the spell and give him away, so instead he imagined himself as a character in the book, travelling through the water in a submarine under the Arctic Sea and being soothed by the rolling waves and the rhythmic thrumming of the engines...

She was gone and he could feel the panic rising inside him. She was his lifeline... a way to keep his tenuous hold on reality without actually having to participate. More voices reached him, urgency in their tone, only none of them was hers. He tried to concentrate on what was being said but they were all talking at the same time and he couldn't make any sense out of it.

He was aware of movements in the shadowed places, intruders in his peaceful sanctuary. He tried desperately to shout out, tell them all to go away, that he only needed her but he couldn't. There was something caught in his throat making it impossible to speak or even breathe. He felt sick, his body convulsing as he wretched violently over and over.

A man's voice practically ordered him to calm down but how could he? Didn't anyone understand he was choking? Didn't they care? And then the obstruction was gone and he was heaving in air, the darkness turning lighter and... Pain... intense, searing pain which seemed to begin at the top of his skull and end at the tips of his toes... Someone was crying out, pleading for help, the sound reverberating in his head until he realised it was his own voice he was hearing... Something cold and wet against his forehead... Hands holding him down... More pain... A pricking sensation in his right arm and the darkness was back…

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He'd almost reached full consciousness several times but had fought determinedly against it. The last place he wanted to revisit was the one in which he'd found himself before but someone was calling his name and he didn't seem to be able to resist.

"Come on Sparks, I know you can hear me. It's time to wake up."

He knew that voice, the distinctive accent giving it a name and face. "Bobby?" He thought he heard a sniffle but it quickly changed into a throat being cleared.

"Yeah, I'm here mate. Open your eyes for me."

Comforted by the fact that he didn't seem to be in anywhere near as much pain as the last time, he complied and then hastily closed them again, the light dazzling him even though it wasn't particularly bright.

"Are you in pain? Can I get you something?"

"Water"

"Sure, here you go." He picked up a beaker from the side table and angled the straw so he could drink from it.

"Thanks." He whispered hoarsely, his throat still sore from whatever had been stuck in it

"Do you know where you are?"

"Why, don't you? What happened?"

"Humour me, would you mate... Do you know where you are?" He asked again.

Jack screwed up his eyes as he tried to figure it out. It wasn't helping that he seemed to have two separate brains... There was the mushy one that wouldn't co-operate and the aching one that was furiously trying to play catch up while wondering why it was he couldn't seem to move.

"Jack..?"

Okay, it had to be a trick question since he wouldn't have asked if he was at home and in his own bed. Without stirring, he looked around but all he could see were white walls and a white ceiling and there was the faint smell of antiseptic in the air. "Hospital..?" He guessed hopefully, feeling like a contestant in a quiz programme.

"Got it in one..."

"Great, what do I win?"

Bobby grinned down at him but his eyes remained serious and a little sad.

"What happened?" He tried to change the position of his aching right leg and yelped when the pain shot through his body.

"You shouldn't try to move."

"Now you tell me." Things were starting to grow hazy again and he had to fight to stay focussed.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Sorry, no clue..."

"We were searching a warehouse and there was an explosion." The Aussie scanned his friend's face but there was no sign of recognition, just confusion and a flicker of pain. "Don't worry about it. The medicos will tell you more when they come by."

"Okay. Were you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine..."His voice held an edge that Jack's befuddled brain couldn't quite fathom "…You get some rest. I have to go and face another inquisition from them upstairs."

"Perhaps there are some advantages in not being able to remember what happened." He tried to smile but it turned into a grimace as something else started to hurt. "How's Eldridge taking it?"

"Who..?"

Jack looked at him as though he was some kind of idiot. "I thought I was the one with the fuzzy memory. Eldridge... Our Supervisor..."

Bobby stared in disbelief but before he could take it further, Jack asked another question that threw him.

"Where's Allie?"

"Is she here?" He watched his friend's face light up and turned to see her standing at the foot of the bed. "Well, there you go. I'll be back in a minute." Hurrying from the room, he went in search of one of the Medical Team.

o-xxx-o

Bobby walked into the bullpen almost two hours later, the expression on his face setting off alarm bells with the rest of the Team.

"How did the meeting upstairs go?" Myles inquired curiously.

"It went." He sat down heavily in his chair.

"Did you visit Jack?" Tara asked and his expression turned even bleaker.

"Is he okay?" Not receiving a reply Lucy looked to D for help.

"Bobby, is something wrong? He hasn't... He isn't...?"

"He was conscious and talking while I was there."

"Thank the Lord."

"But..."

"But what..." Lucy demanded.

"Partial traumatic memory loss, I believe they called it." The Aussie reported flatly. "The last five years of his life are a complete blank. He thinks Eldridge is still our Supervisor."

"Damn..." Dimitrius cursed under his breath.

"Is there any hope of it ever coming back?"

"They have no idea Myles but chances are he'll never be able to remember everything, there'll always be gaps he can't fill. If I ever catch up with Hassan I'm gonna kill him with my bare hands."

"Bobby… don't start beating yourself up again just be thankful Jack's still alive." The Supervisor cautioned.

"You can be thankful if you want, I'm still stuck on angry."

"He can't remember anything?" Tara spoke her thoughts aloud. "Not the explosion or Garrett..."

"Or Sue..." Lucy added.

"Well maybe that's not such a bad thing. You know what he's been like since... By the way, when did Allie get here?" Bobby asked, remembering the question he'd meant to ask when he'd first got back.

"She's here?" Lucy looked surprised.

"Maybe his parents sent her like last time?" Tara suggested.

"No idea, but it sounds as though she's been at the hospital a while."

"Can we still visit?" D queried. "Or will it be a problem?"

"I checked that. It's okay to go and see him but you're not to talk about anything he won't remember."

"Then how will..?" Lucy began but Bobby interrupted her.

"He has to do it on his own otherwise it could cause more harm than good, apparently. They don't want him stressed or upset in any way."

"In that case ladies and gentlemen we'll need to be careful." D warned. "Keep the topics neutral and whenever possible let Jack take the lead. Understood?"

They all nodded their assent and went back to their work.

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