Walter re-entered the lab slowly. He immediately felt Jesse's eyes on him, boring into him with questions. Walter had his own questions. The timing of this bust couldn't be coincidental, but he really wanted to believe there was another explanation. What had Jesse done with his stash? He suddenly felt deceived. What was Jesse doing behind his back?

As he walked down the stairs, he kept his temper at bay, fighting the urge to point fingers at Jesse. There were other possibilities. There had to be. Jesse was reckless, but not like this.

"What'd he want?" Jesse asked, eyes wide with concern.

Walter approached, eyeing his partner tentatively. Speak carefully, Walt. Remember the cameras. Surely the video would be watched to see if Walter gave any hint, said anything at all to Jesse.

You're in charge, Walt. Not Gus.

"Yo, Mr. White. What did he want?" Jesse insisted. The delay in Walter's response increased his uneasiness.

Walt cleared his throat and found the lies quickly. "He wanted to know whether we could increase supply a little this week. There's apparently some higher demand at the moment. I told him we could do it. Our levels have been pretty high, so I really don't think it will be a problem."

Jesse frowned. "He had to come in person for that? And why couldn't he just say it right here? In front of me?"

Jesse was more attentive to detail than Walter liked at the moment. "He also just wanted to ask me about my... You know. The status of my treatment." Walt wondered at how easy it was for him to speak completely in fiction. However, the white lie was appropriate; he knew Jesse quieted whenever he mentioned his cancer. He presumed it made him think of his aunt. Or the inevitable future.

"Oh." Jesse paused, a distant look on his face. "Okay."

"Anyway." Walt cleared his throat again. "Let's finish up, okay?" Walter walked over to pull on another pair of gloves. Gus's words repeated in his head, and he tried to push them away. Thinking about it made his blood pressure begin to rise.

"He makes me nervous," Jesse said.

You should be nervous, Walter thought without responding out loud. This conversation had to happen outside of the lab.

After what felt like ages, they finished for the day and left the lab. Jesse pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and began to turn towards his Toyota when suddenly Walt grabbed his arm.

The cigarettes dropped to the dirt. "Yo, what gives, asshole?" Jesse objected, glaring at him.

"Listen," Walt began firmly. As Jesse tried to pull his arm away, he tightened his grip and pulled him towards him. He kept his voice low. "We need to talk, but not here."

Jesse immediately became suspicious. "Is this about Gus? What'd he really say?" He shook his arm and winced. "You dick, ease up! You're hurting me."

"Keep your voice down." Walt let go of his arm. He glanced at the laundromat behind them. "Follow me and we'll go somewhere to talk." He forced his tone to be gentle, yet insistent.

Jesse eyed him undecidedly and felt his chest tighten. "Okay," he agreed.

"Good. Let's get dinner. How do burgers sound?" Without waiting for an answer, Walt turned away and walked to his car.

Jesse's stomach turned. Dinner with Mr. White was the last thing he wanted. He knew there was more to Gus's visit than Walt had let on, but he was afraid to know what it was. He picked up his cigarettes from the ground and reluctantly headed to his car.

Twenty minutes later, Jesse found himself sitting across from Walt in a booth at a loud, dark bar. Walt still hadn't given him any information, and without any facts his imagination ran fearfully wild. The menu in front of him might as well have been in a different language. Food was the last thing on his mind. What he really wanted was a hit. Something to calm his nerves. He would never say that out loud. Especially now.

Before he could ask Walt what was going on, a blonde waitress approached their table shortly after they sat down, sporting a cheesy smile.

"Hi there, folks," she greeted, speaking loudly over the music and noise of the bar. "My name is Joanna and I'll be your server for this evening. Do you guys know what you want or do you need a few minutes?"

Walt gave the waitress a forced smile and eyed the menu quickly. The quicker they ordered, the sooner they could talk. After a quick glance over the options for food, Walt decided to go the comfort route. "Bacon cheddar-burger for me, and..." He paused before deciding he needed it. "And Johnnie Walker black, on the rocks..." He put down the menu. "Jesse?"

"I'm not hungry," Jesse told him.

Walter eyed his partner carefully for a moment and then turned back to the waitress. "Let's make that two. Two burgers, two scotches."

"Sure," she confirmed, glancing at Jesse curiously before writing down the order on a notepad. "Thanks." She reached for their menus.

As she left, Jesse gave Walt a brooding look. "Sounds like you just ordered ten thousand calories for yourself."

"You'll eat it. You could use the calories," Walter responded wryly.

"I already told you. I'm not hungry. I also don't drink scotch."

"It's an acquired appreciation. All men start one day."

Jesse made a face. He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "So what exactly is going on, Mr. White?"

Walt paused, meeting Jesse's concerned eyes. This is your partner, he reminded himself. For better or for worse. You fix this together because it affects both of you. In the ride here, he had considered various ways to approach the subject. His gut reaction was anger and assuming this too had to be because of Jesse. He didn't feel like he was dealing with a business partner. Right now he felt like he was working with an insubordinate child. But in the second half of his drive, he had already talked himself out of getting angry. It wouldn't solve anything.

"Gus didn't come by to tell us to increase our product, Jesse," he said slowly. He listened to the noise of the bar around them. He had chosen a loud location purposefully. "He didn't even ask about my health."

"No shit," Jesse answered. "That's why we're here. What the hell did he want?"

"Before I get into that, I just have one important question for you."

Jesse frowned, struggling to see where the conversation was going.

Walt was about to speak when the waitress returned, placing their drinks and two glasses of water on the table in front of them. "Here you go," she chirped before leaving.

Walt was relieved to take a small sip of the scotch before he continued. "You said you got rid of the rest of the … product. That you had at home."

"This again, Mr. White? Yes. I flushed it." Jesse objected. He took a small sip of his scotch as well and grimaced. "Jesus Christ. This tastes like lighter fluid."

Walter watched him. "You flushed it, Jesse?"

"For the hundredth fucking time, yes." Jesse sighed. He pushed the scotch away and picked up the glass of water. "What the hell does any this have to do with Gus?"

Walt took another sip of his drink and leaned in closer. "Listen, Jesse, we're partners. We need to be completely honest with each other. If you still have it... That's fine." He saw Jesse roll his eyes and continued. "Jesse, really, it's fine. Do you still have it?" He suddenly wished that Jesse still had it. Ironically that would answer everything.

"NO."

"You swear."

Jesse met Walt's eyes briefly. "Yes. I swear. Stop looking at me like that."

"Did you sell it?"

Jesse's eyes flashed with surprise. "What? Fuck no. Of course not. Why the hell would I sell it? I flushed it, asshole. How many times do I gotta tell you this?"

Walt exhaled in exasperation. He felt his patience start to grow thin. "Jesse... Gus came by today," he said stiffly, "because he knows someone else has been selling our product on the street under his nose. And he thinks that someone is you."

"What?" Jesse exclaimed. His eyes widened. "Are you fucking serious?"

"Yo," Walt echoed testily. "I'm dead serious. And I know you didn't flush it, Jesse. Enough with the constant bullshit. Where is it?"

Jesse started to shake his head and spoke apprehensively. "Look, I..." He began to feel the coldness of fear flow through his veins. Did Gus really suspect him of selling on the side? "He really thinks I'm selling?"

"What did you do with it? No more lies." He took in Jesse's uneasy expression. "I won't be angry, Jesse. I just need to know."

"Fine." Jesse let out a deep breath. His eyes glanced at the rest of the bar. "I don't have it. But I didn't flush it. I... gave it to Badger."

Walt felt heart drop to his stomach. He began to feel his blood pressure rise. It was Jesse. If Gus could tie this back to him, if he knew it came the lab... "To Badger? Why?"

Jesse rubbed at his face. "I don't know, Mr. White. I couldn't, like, throw it away. I-"

It was too much. Walter slammed his fist down on the table. Jesse flinched as their glasses shook. "You couldn't throw it away? Why the hell NOT, Jesse?" He struggled to keep his voice low and leaned in further. "This is one of the stupidest things you've ever done. Congratulations."

Jesse was silent. He began to think about Gus apprehensively. He eyed Walt's darkened look and started to feel unsettled.

"You never think, Jesse," Walt hissed, leaning across the table and pointing a finger in his partner's face. "You just act. And you act selfishly, do you know that? You don't think about any of the consequences. Now you have Gus suspecting you, and rightfully may I add, for distributing HIS product outside of his network."

"It's our product," Jesse said tentatively, eyes dropping to his hands. 'I won't be mad', Walter had said. Jesse reminded himself to stop falling for that one.

Walt continued to shake his head. "How can I keep convincing them that you're not a risk when you keep acting like this?" he demanded. He balled his hands into fists and cursed to himself. "Jesse, this is a business. There are rules that everyone must follow. How many times do I have to explain that to you before your brain registers it?"

"I got rid of it," Jesse objected. "And I didn't sell it."

"It doesn't matter! You were the means by which it was sold, Jesse!" Walt snapped. "What part don't you understand? Didn't you know he would sell it? Or did you think he'd give it away for free like you were stupid enough to do?"

Jesse raised his eyes and shot him an indignant look. "Stop calling me stupid." His voice wavered.

"Oh, would you call your actions smart, Jesse?"

"I'm not stupid!" Jesse raised his voice.

Walter was about to respond when he saw the waitress approaching with their food. That was fast, he thought. He glanced at Jesse's flushed face and noticed that his chest moving up and down with slow deep breaths. Walt took a deep breath himself. He reminded himself of his intention not to get angry.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Jesse's voice grew thin.

"Calm down." Walt softened his voice.

Jesse looked up at him with narrowed eyes, suspicious. He then noticed the approaching waitress as well and held his tongue.

The waitress and her smile reached them quickly. She placed their food in front of them and the smell of grease and bacon filled the air. "Here you go, guys," she sing-songed. "Ketchup's on the table. Anything else I can get for you two?"

Walt reached for his scotch and threw back the rest with a gulp. "Another one, please," he said stiffly.

"Sure." She glanced at Jesse briefly before leaving.

Jesse started to slide out of the booth.

"Hey," Walt objected. "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Jesse glowered at him. "I need a smoke."

"Not now." Walt's tone was stiff. "Sit."

Jesse eyed him, as if deciding whether to protest, but then sat back in his seat dejectedly.

"I won't waste my time telling you how stupid this was, Jesse, because that won't fix anything," Walt said stiffly. "But we need to decide how to deal with this." He paused. "Look at me." Jesse slowly met his eye with a sullen look, and Walt continued. "We fix this together."

Jesse remained silent.

"As a start, I'll contact Saul," Walt offered. "I need to see what he can dig up about the bust and what the DEA-"

"Bust?" Jesse began. "DEA? What do you mean?"

"I mean all of this information came out because someone was busted with our product."

"I need to call Badger." Jesse reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone.

"No," Walt snapped. "Enough with your pathetic, junkie friends, Jesse."

"But what if he-"

"What if he was?" Walt challenged.

Jesse's expression changed. "What if he gives them my name?"

"Would he do that?" Walt insisted. "Your pathetic, loser friend would sell you out?"

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Jesse shot back.

"Jesse."

Before Jesse could respond, the waitress returned with Walt's new drink. He waited until she left and then persisted. "Why don't you just tell Gus it was me? You probably want to."

"Don't be ridiculous." Walt shook his head. "That's the last thing I want. That's why we're having this conversation."

"It would make everything easier for you, right?" Jesse continued. "If you didn't have a stupid partner?"

"You're not stupid," Walt relented, suddenly regretting his outburst minutes before. "You know that."

"You call me stupid all the time," Jesse snapped back. "Do yourself a favor. Just stop trying to help me."

Walter watched Jesse's increasing agitation and sighed. "Listen... This was stupid. Yes. But you're not, Jesse. And this, like everything else, will blow over."

"Blow over?" Jesse echoed skeptically. "You said Gus thinks I'm selling." He lowered his voice. "You think that will blow over? He came in person today because of this."

"Thinks is the key here. He doesn't know anything. You have to be careful. He'll be watching everything now. You have to think things through, Jesse. It's like playing chess. Think of the potential consequences for the piece you choose to move."

Jesse rubbed at his face tiredly. "I don't know how to play chess."

The response made Walter smirk despite himself. He took another sip of his scotch and closed his eyes briefly. He could control this. He could be the one in charge of this situation. And like he told Jesse, this like everything else would pass. This was part of the job. And Jesse was... careless. At times, stupid. But he wasn't malicious. He wasn't evil like these other people. Handling that... That was just a part of the challenge.

"We're in control," Walt assured him.

Jesse looked up at him. He didn't look as convinced.

"Trust me. Let me start by meeting with Saul. You lay low, be careful, and that's it. Do not, and I repeat, do not, contact Badger. Or any of those losers. You have to stay out of this." Walt paused. "That's what we do. Now eat."

Jesse started to object. "I told you, I'm not-"

"God dammit, Jesse." Walter shook his head. "Make one thing easy at least. Just eat."

With an irritated look, Jesse reached for a french fry.

Walter picked up his scotch. You, he reminded himself, are the one in control.