Ryback sat on the new sofa and watched as John and the new woman talked outside. She held a clipboard and jotted down things from time to time as John pointed and spoke. He didn't know what John was up to and he wished he would turn on the speakers so he could listen in.

It was the woman who intrigued him the most. She didn't look like she was a scientist or even a nurse. She didn't stare coldly at him like the military broads did. She wore her long red hair loose and her frame wasn't petite, but she wasn't an amazon either. He thought her beautiful and thought about how she was his type and how he might have asked her out if his situation was different.

He picked up the tablet in front of him, a high tech remote that worked everything in the home, and he turned on the radio. He laid back on the sofa and closed his eyes. There were some things he could enjoy that no one could spy on. He still had his imagination and his dreams. Those were all his.

"I know you're not sleeping." He looked up and found John standing over him. He glanced toward the glass where the woman stood on the outside.

"Why don't you invite your friend in?"

"No." John stated boldly. "You know better than that."

"New girlfriend?"

"When have I ever brought my girlfriends in this place? Get up and come meet her." Ryback stood and followed John to the glass. He smiled but it didn't take away the fear he saw in her eyes. He hated the way people looked at him.

"Ryback, This is Jaymie."

"Call me Ryan, sweetie." Ryback attempted to flirt. "So, John hired you to be his slave girl?" In the old days he could make a girl laugh easily, but it wouldn't work with Jaymie, not after she had seen him in full beast mode.

"She's going to be a great asset." John agreed then he began to explain to Ryback what he wanted to do.

"you're going to live in here with me all the time?" Ryback was skeptical. "John I don't think that's a good idea. You know I can't control..."

"I'm taking care of that." he assured him. "we are going to figure this out."

"I'm not sure about this." John was his only friend and he knew it would kill him if he hurt him during one of his outbursts.

"I have this." he held out a syringe.

"What is that?"

"A new formula." John turned it over in his hands.

"What will it do to me?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping it will clear the infection out of your brain."

"You're a mad man, John." But he held out his arm anyway. "I don't see how you can keep it out of one part of my body and not the rest."

"It's science, not witchcraft. Turn around. I need to inject this into the base of your skull." John stuck the needle where he wanted it and pressed the plunger to deliver the medicine. "Now, we just wait and see."

"You better get out of here … just in case." John went to stand beside Jaymie and they both watched for reactions.

Jaymie watched as Ryback dropped to the floor. John began to scream out orders to the people behind the glass and he ran to the room to read the computer screens. Jaymie followed him and was in awe of all the things they were able to see without hooking up a wire to Ryback.

It showed the serum moving through out his brain, but it only worried John more when it began to move to other parts of his body.

"It's eating the cells." A man told him pointing to another screen. "It's destroying them."

"What?" John took over the man's chair and watched. "I'm not sure what kind of cells it's destroying. I need blood samples. Jaymie," he wrote a small list on a sticky note and then handed it to her. "I need these things from my lab. If you don't know what to look for my aid will help you. Not a word about anything."

"Of course." she hurried off to collect what he needed while he went to his friend side and began to draw blood. ON the way back she scanned her own prints to get inside and it made her feel important that she was one of only ten who could gain access.

John had already cleared a spot for his microscope by the time she returned and he quickly put slides in it so he could watch the cells.

"It's destroying the animal DNA." he laughed. "I didn't expect this." he watched it for hours and seemed extremely happy. It seemed he had accidentally created a cure. He sent her out again to retrieve cots for both of them and they spent the night in the corridor outside Ryback's enclosure. John barely slept. He was honestly worried about his friend and she couldn't fall asleep easily because of the strange surroundings. Finally she was able to catch a short nap.

When she awoke, she found John asleep, but Ryback was awake. He was standing at the glass watching them sleep and he had a strange look in his eyes. His appearance still appeared human, but his eyes were no longer blue. They were yellow. He sneered, curling his lip to expose fangs that seemed slightly more prominent than before. She tried to remember, but wasn't sure. But she could have sworn that they had receded when he wasn't in beast mode.

He tapped on the glass and pointed to a button, but she didn't want to touch it without John's permission. She wasn't sure what the controls worked. She mouthed I'm sorry and tried to close her eyes, but a loud boom made her sit straight up. John was on his feet, shocked. The glass was shattered, an alarm began to blare and Ryback stepped out and slowly approached. His eyes were set on her. She rose to her feet, but she couldn't move any further. She was frozen, her eyes locked with his.

"Ryan! Stop!" John yelled at him, but he didn't respond. John took his arm and was tossed away with only a shrug. Ryback backed her against the wall.

"Shoot him!" she heard a shrill voice and looked over to see Heyman screaming out commands. "Shoot! Shoot!" the room was kayos. John was begging them not to shoot, people were screaming, but Ryback didn't seem to want to hurt anyone. He turned toward the MP's with their guns and she saw him begin to change. She reached out before she could stop herself. She took his hand and he looked at her. There was something more docile in his eyes despite his animal appearance.

"Shoot him!" As the shots rang out, he pounced taking her to the ground.

"Hold your fire!"John screamed getting between the guns and his friend.

"Get out of the way, John."

"You're willing to kill an innocent woman to destroy him?" Heyman's mouth dropped and he stared at her as if he had only just noticed she was there. "Look, he's not hurting her."

Ryback sat up and touched her cheek. He scanned Jaymie to see if she had been hit. The small circle of blood seeping through her sleeve answered his question. He roared and leapt into the air. He tore the guns from their hands, broke them in half and growled to warn them. Then he turned to Heyman and snarled.

"Ryback." John touched his shoulder. He breathed heavily. He wanted to kill the man who had been the cause, then he remembered he was the one who had broken out. He was the one who had started it. He was to blame. He went back to the woman who had captured him from the moment he had seen her and he knew something was different. Not just with his abilities, but in his heart.