Four

More often than not, Jared found himself buried under a pile of papers, obsessively looking over every detail of every piece of paper he could find. All he wanted was to find something, a name, a face, just a detail he could use to find whatever they did with Melanie or her heart.

He wondered what kind of person had her heart now. Was it some old lady with far more wealth than she knew what to do with or fat businessman on his third heart? Maybe it went to a little girl who didn't have long, maybe Mel had saved a life.

Jared wanted to know, wanted to be sure of what happened. He owed it to Melanie to be able to tell her story, to know exactly what happened in to her body.

"You're going to turn into nothing if you keep sittin' there," Jeb commented on one day, Jared wasn't sure how long it had been exactly. "Eat something."

"I'm busy," Jared replied. He didn't feel hungry, or anything like it. He just wanted to find information on Melanie. If he distracted himself, he'd forget. Jared didn't want to forget anything. He had to keep looking. That was what he was supposed to do. The answers were in sight, they had to be.

"No, son, you're going to work yourself to death and there where would we be? You'd be no use to anyone in your condition. Come on, I've got some casserole. Besides, there's someone I want you to meet."

"Who?"

"Someone you might find useful," Jeb replied enigmatically. "You two can talk over lunch."

"Fine," Jared relented. He was curious about this, maybe this person knew more about Mel.

"Knew you'd see it my way," Jeb said cheerfully. "So come on now, before the food gets cold."

o0o

Ian sighed as he finally made his way out of the hospital, the claustrophobic feeling wearing off with every step away from the building. He hated the smell in there, the antiseptic spays and faux flower smell that permeated everything. It was so artificial and cloying he wondered how anyone managed to cope with it all day every day. It was suffocating enough being here for this amount of time.

The patients themselves were always nice, although it was hard to truly feel for their stories of 'miracle' donors when he knew the truth. Thanks to these 'miracles' almost everyone had a new organ or two these days—a set of lungs here, a heart there. They thought it was just a clever influx of donors thanks to the Host Program, although the truth behind it all was so much worse.

Ian hated it all, but he couldn't hate these people. They were innocents in this mess. They had no idea of the truth of it all, why there were so many miracles to be had these days. The worst to face, however, were the ones who should have been dead—those who had hearts with a countdown, lungs that didn't work like lungs should or a liver that refused to be fine. Ian hated being around them, that reminder of the good that had happened to these people who had no idea of the cost. They thought it was luck, pure and simple. He couldn't blame them for it, but that didn't mean it was easy to be around them.

The girl in room 205, Wanda Reyes, the one who by all rights would've been dead before the end of winter, was one of the hardest to face. He'd read her chart in his visits there, as well as heard the doctors talk about her heart. How even they weren't sure she was going to survive what she had. By all right, she was something of a miracle. Ian did his best not to think about why she had survived, about how that heart got to her. She was a sweet girl and sometimes Ian even caught himself forgetting about why she was still alive. It wasn't something he was comfortable with, that forgetting, but he didn't stop visiting her.

Suddenly, his phone rang, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Hello?" he answered on the first ring.

"Ian," Jeb's familiar voice said. "There's someone I think would benefit from meeting you. Very interested in the kind of thing you do. I assume you have time?"

"Sure, where should we meet?"

"The usual," Jeb replied. "It's nice over there."

Ian nodded along with the statement, catching the double meaning in Jeb's words. "I'll be there soon."

"Good, I've got casserole," Jeb replied and hung up with a quick goodbye.

o0o

Jared wasn't sure what kind of person Jeb expected him to meet, but he sure as hell wasn't expecting a nurse. But Jeb met the guy with a warm smile and shook his hand firmly, like he was greeting an old friend.

"Ian, this is Jared Howe," Jeb said by way of introduction. "Jared, Ian O'Shea, one of my finest."

Jared wondered for a moment how Ian got to be like that. What skill did he possess that made him so valuable? He didn't look like much, but maybe that was the point. Maybe he was some kind of computer genius or master thief.

"Good to meet you," Ian said pleasantly, holding out a hand for Jared to shake, who shook it after a long moment. The three sat down at the carefully set table, three bowls of casserole laid out on the table. It struck Jared as almost too normal.

"So what do you do?" Jared asked, cutting right to the point. He didn't see the point in small talk. They'd said hello already and he just wanted to get whatever info this guy had.

"I'm a nurse."

"You look pretty damn young for a nurse," Jared replied. "So what do you really do?"

"I take care of sick people. And keep an eye on things for Jeb, a few files and all that."

"Do you know much about transplants?"

"Probably even more than you do," Ian replied.

"Have you heard of Heart #04343BE3493M?" Jared replied, running the ID number off from memory. He knew it could be a long shot, but maybe it was enough. Maybe Ian actually knew something.

Ian swallowed his food and thought for a moment. "I think so. It seems familiar."

"Did you know who it got transplanted to?" Jared asked. He'd looked over every single document Jeb had, along with that one precious document about Melanie's heart. It hadn't given away who it was given to, only that it was ready for its transplant.

"No, but I'm sure I can find out," Ian replied. "There haven't been many heart transplants recently, so it might be easy to find. I'm looking after a few hearts."

"Hearts?"

"People who had heart transplants."

"Well this heart belonged to a girl, she was nineteen, and it can't have been that long ago."

"I do know someone young enough to have a heart like that."

Jared looked over at Jeb hopefully. Maybe this was the answer he'd been looking for.

"It could be Mel's," Jeb said evenly.

"Did I miss something here?" Ian asked, looking at Jeb seriously.

"My niece was a runaway," Jeb explained. "Vanished into thin air a while back and Jared here found her."

Jared was silent for a moment. He knew Jeb had some idea Melanie was a runaway, but how much did this old man know? Could he have stopped all this from happening?

No, no one could have stopped it. They were looking for her, Jared told himself. What happened to Melanie was awful and he couldn't try to blame Jeb for what happened. He wasn't the one to be fighting.

Ian looked a little green. "You think this was her heart?"

"I think it's likely," Jeb replied, ever cautious. Jared wanted to hope that maybe it was Melanie's. Maybe he'd get answers then.

"But even if it's not, we could use someone like her on our side," Jared pressed. "I mean as soon as she's fine enough, we should get her out."

"I'm not about kidnapping, Jared," Jeb warned.

"I don't think that's possible," Ian replied. "Security there is tight, besides it's not your Melanie there, just a girl. She's not worth anything to you."

"Well then just keep an eye on her anyway," Jared replied. "I just want to know what sort of person got her heart."

"I guess I can do that," Ian said to Jared and then turned to Jeb. "I'll look for any files you want me too on her. I think I can get you answers about what happened with the rest of Melanie."

Jeb nodded. "Do what you can."

o0o

The hospital routine was what made Ian's job so easy. People were always so reliably everywhere they needed to be he practically had the place to himself. Besides, he was young enough that people rarely cared about what he was doing, just assumed he was sent on some run by another doctor. In this way, he didn't mind being one of the youngest people there.

If it meant he could get the job done, he didn't care that people assumed he was some poor intern still hoping for his medical degree. More often than not, he wanted to snap at those people and show them exactly how intelligent he was, but he knew he had an image to uphold. Better to let them underestimate him than look too closely.

Normally he didn't feel too many qualms about his job. He could get everything done without a hitch, although his promise to find the information on Wanda weighed on him. Ian didn't quite understand it, but he felt like looking at her records would be a betrayal. But he tried to push it aside. His personal feelings didn't matter here, besides, Jeb and Jared deserved to know what happened to Melanie.

Ian didn't know what they'd do with this information, although he trusted Jeb to use it wisely. Jared, he wasn't so sure about. From what he could gather from their lunchtime conversation, Jared had really cared for Melanie, loved her even. And in Ian's experience, love made people do stupid things.

As Ian scanned through Wanda's files, he saw the ID number Jared had mentioned before. His heart caught in his throat for a moment. It was almost too unreal. Out of all the people that had to receive Melanie's heart, it was this girl. He wanted to laugh at the strangeness of it all.

Carefully copying the files, Ian walked out of the room, trying not to think too much about Wanda herself and the life that'd been given up so she could live.

o0o

The night air was unexpectedly cold when she left the house. Shivering, Melanie pulled her brother closer, trying to protect him some. She regretted not bringing better clothes, but it was all she had with her. And there was no way in hell she was going back there.

"Mel, where are we going?" Jamie asked. She hadn't told him much about her plan, mostly because there wasn't much of one. She'd gotten some cash together and a few names of homeless shelters far, far away from here if it came to that, but not much beyond that, except for the vain hope that maybe, just maybe her uncle Jeb was still out there somewhere.

"Away from here, to uncle Jeb," she told Jamie. Maybe her plan was awful, but it was something and that was sure as hell better than nothing. She didn't mind doing what she had to if it came down to it. If it meant she had to steal, then so be it. There was no way she was going back there.

"Will it take long?" Jamie asked with his trusting eyes fixed on her. Melanie wanted to cry looking at him. He was so trusting and still so innocent despite everything. She had to protect him.

"Maybe, but we'll get there, I promise," she told him firmly.

"Hey!" someone called out in the dark, making Mel freeze with fear.

"Run," she whispered to Jamie and they took off, sprinting as fast as they could. Melanie held Jamie's hand the whole way, determined not to let go.

"Keep going," she whispered, mostly to herself. She hadn't even gotten out of the grounds yet and there was no way she was going to let herself be taken. Not now, not when she was so close to freedom.

Wanda woke up with her heart racing. There was a scream lodged somewhere in her throat and for a second she was convinced they'd caught her. They've found me they've found me they'vefoundmetheyvefoundmetheyfoundme, she thought, her mind racing.

No, she told herself resolutely. "I'm Wanda," she said out loud, forcing herself back from the dream. Her heart was still racing, the fear making her buzz with adrenaline.

"Are you okay? The monitor was going crazy," a voice said from beside her. Wanda looked to her side, seeing Ian O'Shea standing right there, looking worried.

"I—I'm fine. It was just a bad dream," she said, brushing it off. Wanda wasn't entirely sure what to say about this,

"Are you sure? I think we might need to run some tests, just to make sure everything is okay."

"I am; I just gave myself a fright."

"I can give you something for you sleep," Ian replied. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe."

"Okay, buzz if you need anything," Ian said with a kind smile before leaving the room.

Wanda nodded and then lay back on her bed, her cheeks bright red from blushing. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but Ian was growing on her. He was sweet enough and his daily visits were always something she looked forward too. But then there was Jared—Impossible, completely unreal Jared.

The guy in her dreams couldn't possibly be real, but there was some part of her that had fallen for him all the same. Wanda was captivated by Jared, someone who'd be so kind when he could've just turned her out on the street.

Not you, he likes Mel, she told herself. The girl in her dreams was nothing like he and Jared loved Melanie, not Wanda who was just another ordinary girl. Melanie was something like extraordinary, doing what she did for Jamie. But even so, she still felt attached to Jared. She didn't understand any of it, how could she even be falling for a guy she'd made up?

Just a dream, she told herself. It didn't matter it was freakishly reoccurring, but it was still unreal. She had better things to think about.

o0o

"So, Wanda, how are you feeling after last night?" Dr Greene asked her.

Wanda looked down, tracing the pattern on the couch. She still felt an echo of that fear and it had bothered her all night.

"I hear you had a panic attack," Dr Greene pressed on. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I—I had a bad dream, like I was someone else," she confessed. "It just felt a little too real."

The doctor was silent for a long moment and Wanda began to regret saying even that much. "Was it just the one dream?"

"That's the first time it's happened. I'm sure it was just a one-off," she lied. Wanda really didn't want to say anymore. She was supposed to leave in a few days and saying anything that might keep her here any longer than that would have been unbearable. There was no way they were going to make her stay. She couldn't stay trapped any longer.

"I hope it is. You gave us all quite a scare."

"I didn't mean to."

"You don't have to apologise, Wanda. So, what was the dream about?" The doctor looked at her expectantly, a tablet in hand, ready to record what she said.

"I—I think I was running from someone. It's all a little blurry," she lied. Truthfully, Wanda could remember every detail, right down to the feel of Jamie's hand in hers.

Dr Greene gave Wanda another of those long, pregnant pauses. She wondered what was going on in the doctor's head. Maybe she'd figured out Wanda's lie and was going to take her away and scan her brain. Panic started to build up in her chest and she did her best to stop it. There was no time for fear now. She had to convince them she was okay. Then she could get the hell out of here and everything would be fine.

"Did anything bad happen in the dream?"

"No—I mean it was just a feeling, I think," Wanda replied, remembering the way Melanie's fear had felt made her skin crawl. It was a feeling she hoped she'd never have to really experience. It was awful.

"Well, we can probably organise some tests later, just so we can be sure there's nothing wrong," Dr Greene said calmly.

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Wanda said. "I mean, I feel fine now."

"It could be something we missed, although I don't think that's likely. You've responded well so far."

Wanda nodded along; she desperately hoped the doctor would just talk herself out of doing anything. She had to get out of here on time; there was no way she could stand anymore of this waiting.

"Yeah, I mean it's all been fine. If anything else happens, then I guess we should have another test. "

"Okay, but I do want to add some sleeping pills to your medication. Don't worry; they'll be fine with your other medications. This one's even available at a pharmacy."

"I think I'll be fine without it." Wanda didn't trust the idea. If she took them would they take away her dreams? As much confusion as they'd caused, Wanda didn't want to let go of them.

"If you're sure," Dr Greene replied.

"I am," Wanda said firmly. "I should get going. I need to see Dr Hill about my physical therapy."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Wanda," the doctor replied as Wanda walked out of the room, her new heart beating rapidly in her chest.

o0o

Dr Greene didn't want to make the call. It was impossible, she'd told herself so many times before, but that didn't matter. Her bosses would want to know this.

"Hello?" the smooth, calm voice on the other end said.

"I think it's happening," Dr Greene said, getting right to the point. "The patient hasn't said much, but from what I've observed, it's been happening a lot."

"Don't worry; we'll sort it all out. The patient's name?"

"Wanda. Wanda Reyes," Dr Greene said, wondering if she was making a huge mistake.

"Your information is appreciated. We'll send in an observation team."

"Are you sure? She's due to leave the hospital soon."

"We'll take care of everything," the voice replied smoothly and Dr Greene began to wonder if she really was talking to another human being. Of all the things the Soul Institute had done, she wouldn't be surprised if artificial intelligence was among them.

"Will she be hurt?"

"The patient will be taken care of," the voice said, still in that same perfectly calm tone. "You don't need to worry."

"If you say so," Dr Greene said, although she wasn't entirely convinced. "I'll call if anything changes."

"Your information is appreciated," the voice replied and Dr Greene hung up, hoping she hadn't suddenly made a huge mistake.

a/n: whew that was a long chapter. Anyway, I have taken a few liberties with medical stuff in this fic, mostly for the sake of quickening the plot, also it's a slightly futuristic sci-fi fic. Also fun fact this was actually originally going to be a lot less dystopian and more of a fluffy, kinda tragic story but then I kind of started writing Jared's POV for the first chapter and then this idea was born...whoops.

-furyofthetimelords