Author's Notes - Fair warning on the language. Owen's in this chapter.
Captain Jack Harkness stared at the monthly report from Torchwood I without reading it. He had read it twice already, and reading it again would not change the contents. It contained Yvonne Hartman's usual blustering; all of Canary Wharf's research projects were highly successful, blah, blah, blah. Really, the woman should include some of the Institute's failures; it would make her successes seem all the more impressive. Jack was somewhat concerned about the weapon they were developing. It shouldn't exist on Earth at this time, but there was little he could do but stay alert and hope for a chance to sabotage it. However, it was the report's UNIT briefing that concerned him most.
Buried at the back of eleven pages was a small piece of intelligence from the U.S. division of UNIT. One week ago, a UNIT monitoring station at NORAD had picked up the radar signature of an alien ship in the vicinity of Pike's Peak. Upon further investigation, they discovered an abandoned landing craft on the Western side of the mountain. After a thorough investigation of the ship, it was determined that eighteen aliens of unknown origin were loose in the Western United States.
The report included several pictures of the alien ship in the hope that Torchwood's archives might be able to identify the aliens' species and provide a threat assessment. He knew that particular ship was not recorded in the archive. However, he recognized it immediately. It was a Parflican landing pod. While Jack's memory was hazy at best in regards to his encounter with the Parflicans in Colorado Springs, he knew with utter certainty that he and Melissa had killed twelve of the scavengers, not eighteen.
Melissa—he had thought of her often in the past few months, wondering what her reaction would be if he showed up on her doorstep. Although, he realized with a jolt, he was still on her doorstep at the moment. He had finally caught up to his past.
Swiftly abandoning that thought, he continued to wonder about Melissa. Would she know that the Doctor had left him? Would she want him back in her life now that he had lived for years in linear time without pursuit by the Time Agency? Would she recoil from him when she realized that he could die, but not stay dead?
Now, however, he had another worry. Were she and the children even still alive? And would they stay that way if he didn't interfere? If he had missed an entire gang of Parflicans, then their lives were still in jeopardy. Glancing at his calendar, he realized that the attack on the school had taken place sometime this month, but try as he might, he couldn't remember the exact date. A quick word with Tosh and a search of the internet convinced him that it had not yet happened, so there might still be time to track down the extra gang and neutralize it before they showed up at the high school. The tricky part would be to avoid meeting himself.
Grinning, he walked out of his office and call for his medic. "Owen, you and I are going to take a little trip to Las Vegas to bid on some alien tech up for auction. You can thank me for the vacation later." Pulling out a highly sophisticated life form scanner from his personal safe, he began to pack for the flight.
The flight to Denver was comfortable, especially since he had booked first class tickets. He was using his own money on this trip, since he had no intention of explaining the real reason for the jaunt to Yvonne Hartman. She would not be impressed by alien junk that could be bought on eBay. Owen hadn't complained until they arrived at the Avis rental desk.
"Are you going to tell me why we're driving to Las Vegas from Colorado?"
"I'm mixing a little bit of pleasure with business, Owen. A friend of mine lives in Colorado Springs." Jack replied with a smirk, knowing that Owen would immediately make assumptions about his motivations.
"I didn't know you had any friends, Captain," Owen retorted, surprised that his secretive boss was being so open with him. "Hope she's got a body worth the detour."
Jack almost laughed, but knew his medic well enough to avoid picking a fight with him so early in the day, especially with the jet lag. Twenty-first century humans and their narrow-minded assumptions about sex no longer bothered him as much as they did a century ago. If Owen stayed with Torchwood III long enough, he would learn the error of such assumptions, but since it was Melissa he was talking about, he merely agreed.
"She has an incredible body, and it's been a damn long time since I've seen her." He didn't mention that he had no intention of seeing her this time; whatever happened to Owen in the next day or two would be erased by the retcon he had brought with him from Cardiff.
"Is that why you suddenly look like a logger in jeans and a flannel shirt? They look bloody ridiculous." Owen slid into the passenger seat and began to search for local radio stations.
Jack ignored Owen's comment; he had worn the clothes in a fit of nostalgia, and it was too late to change now. Starting the car, he followed the scanner's signal towards Colorado Springs. He spent much of the drive remembering happier times when a certain red-head was all he needed to be happy.
Approaching the Springs, Jack frowned as the scanner led him towards the foothills. The Parflicans were bunched tightly together; it was apparent that all eighteen were in the same general vicinity. Plus, the tracker was now leading him straight to the high school. While it had been a very long time since Jack had last been here, he definitely recognized Melissa's neighborhood and the surrounding streets. He had a very bad feeling about this.
Parking the black sedan at the front of the school just as a bell began to ring, he could see students roaming the hallways. Suddenly, there were screams, and several hundred people were running outside. Shit, he was definitely going to come much closer to his past than was prudent.
"What the fuck is going on?" Owen demanded as he watched the chaos.
"Alien incursion," Jack snapped as he opened the trunk and began to dig through his suitcase. Throwing a small EMP cannon to Owen, he put one in his own holster. "Get your med kit; there may be survivors you can help." Nodding, Owen went through his own bags and got out a standard Torchwood emergency kit.
"Okay, stay with me and watch my back," Jack ordered as he led Owen to a side entrance of the school.
The medic stopped him before he could open the door. "Bloody hell, Jack! You're going to tell me what we're up against before I go charging in there. You know more than you're telling me!"
Angry at the delay, he held up the scanner. "I've been tracking these aliens since we landed. I thought we'd be able to neutralize them before it came to this, but it looks like I'm a few hours too late. I saw their ship in a report from UNIT and knew what they were."
"So you thought you'd be the fucking hero and kill them yourself? Couldn't you have left it for UNIT?"
"They're way too dangerous for UNIT! Shooting bullets at them would only lead to more casualties. So, yes, Owen, I plan on killing them myself. All you have to do is watch my back!" Jack opened the side door, effectively ending the argument, although the medic had time for one last comment.
"One day your arrogance is going to get you killed, Captain! I hope you know what the hell you're doing today!" Owen adjusted the satchel that held the medical kit so that it wouldn't get in his way if he had to fire; then, he followed his boss into the dark building.
His eyes adjusting to the dim light, Jack realized that they were in the theater. According to the scanner, there were three scavengers within. Holding up three fingers to Owen, who had come up behind him, he began to methodically check every aisle for signs of the blue creatures. Halfway down the aisles, Jack detected a faint glow coming from behind the right stage curtain.
Swiftly leaving Owen behind, he boosted himself up onto the stage and aimed his weapon. Belatedly, the Parflicans caught a whiff of him, but had no time to raise their hands before he fired two rapid bursts and hit both in the midsection. The force of the electromagnetic pulse killed them instantly.
"Behind you, Captain!" he heard Owen shout and spun around in time to see another alien in full retreat. Cursing under his breath, he leapt off the stage to give chase. Following the alien to the cafeteria, he again checked his scanner. According to the display, there were four Parflicans inside. Great, he thought acerbically, this day just keeps getting better. The cafeteria, he remembered, was a large open space with little except tables and chairs for cover. Allowing Owen to catch up, he explained the situation and layout.
"Christ, Jack! Are you trying to get yourself killed? I'm supposed to be your back-up. Were you planning to take four of these fuckers on by yourself?" Owen didn't like their odds. He hadn't seen the creatures fire any weapons, but the electricity radiating from their bodies was bad enough. Touch them, and the shock would probably be enough to kill you.
"I waited for you, didn't I? Although, if I knew you were going to be this slow, I would have taken Suzie." His fear was causing him to lash out at whatever was convenient, and Owen was taking the brunt of it.
"Fuck you, Captain. You want to kill yourself, go ahead, but I need to know exactly what we're up against! What aren't you telling me?"
"Shut up, Owen! I'm not going to let them die because you're asking too many questions. Now, I'm going in on three. You can follow or not; at this point I don't care! Got it?" His patience at the breaking point, Jack counted to three and burst into the room.
For once, Owen kept his mouth shut. He was still royally pissed off that his boss had led him into this deadly situation without explaining why, but he knew every second they wasted arguing could get another civilian killed. Following closely, he entered the cafeteria.
Jack killed the alien that had been nearest to the door as soon as he entered the room, but that still left three moving targets to find and destroy. Moving to the middle of the dining area, Owen spotted another one crouching near the emergency exit, and fired. His shot was dead center, but the Parflican managed to send a ball of energy hurtling towards Jack before the EMP hit. The Captain turned trying to dodge out of the way, but the attack hit him on the right side, flinging him back five feet.
"Shit," Owen muttered as he ran to the spot where his boss lay unmoving.
Groaning, Jack opened his eyes to see Owen bending over him. "Leave off, Owen. I'm fine," he reassured his medic as he sat up.
"You're not fine, Jack! You've got a blasted hole in your shirt. Now let me take a look."
Spying another Parflican out of the corner of his eye, Jack abruptly pulled the medic down and fired off a pulse. Simultaneously, a ball of electricity hit the nearby table, scorching it. However, his shot had been accurate enough, and the creature fell dead to the floor.
"You can patch me up later. There's still one more hiding in here somewhere." He gingerly touched his right side. The burn hurt like hell, but it wouldn't kill him (not that it mattered), so he chose to ignore it for the time being.
Forced by circumstances to agree, Owen picked himself up and continued searching the room. He watched in concern as his boss winced every so often, unsuccessful in his bid to hide his pain. The cafeteria proved to be empty of the remaining alien, but the door to the kitchen was partially open.
Knowing the target was most likely hiding inside, they entered the kitchen warily, their weapons raised. There were six bodies on the ground in the cluttered area. Most had gaping, charred holes on their head or neck. The smell of burnt flesh was overwhelming, and Owen struggled to keep the contents of his stomach under control. Incredibly, a singed middle-aged woman in an apron and hairnet was feebly attempting to crawl to the door. There was also a young man, most likely a student, who was hysterically pointing at the door of a huge metal pantry.
Creeping towards the pantry, they were momentarily stunned when the alien blasted open the door and jumped onto the countertop in a frantic bid to escape. Instinctively, Jack grabbed the kid and hauled him out of the Parflican's path. Owen fired, but missed as the creature ran out the kitchen.
They could hear the frenzied clacking of hooves as it raced out of the cafeteria and then another explosion as the door to the main building was blown open. Jack started to run in pursuit only to be stopped by Owen's shouts.
"Wait, Jack! I need to treat this woman first before we go tearing off! You're in no condition to go alone!"
Jack glanced at the woman; the back of her shirt was in tatters, exposing nasty burns on her body. Giving Owen a long, measuring look, he apologized. "I'm sorry; I can't' wait. You don't understand; I have to save them. Keep your comm. on; I'll call you if I need back-up." Not waiting for a reply, he darted out the door.
"Bollocks." Owen took out his medical kit and began to stabilize his patient.
Jack made a mad dash to the main reception area hoping to get a fix on the alien. His speed was rewarded as he stood still for a moment and heard the faint sound of cloven feet on the tile floor. Moving in the direction of the noise, he heard the unmistakable thud of a door slamming shut. Peering around the corner, Jack saw the door to the western hallway staircase. This is going to end badly, he thought as he slowly opened the door.
Worrying now about the potential paradox in the making, he climbed the stairs. He could still hear the Parflican as it awkwardly ascended the steps, and he knew it would be a race to kill it before it reached the second floor. Jack had no idea how far he was in his old timeline, but recognized that entering the hallways would be the height of stupidity. Above all, it was imperative that he not meet himself.
He was bringing his weapon up to fire when the alien opened the door and exited the stairwell. Frustrated, he went to the door and gazed out of the small, rectangular glass window. He could see that the scavenger he had been chasing was joined by another, and the two walked down the hall and out of his sight.
"Damn." He couldn't pursue, but perhaps Owen could. Still looking through the small window, he activated his comm. unit. "I could use some back-up, Owen. Where the hell are you?"
The medic immediately answered. "Still in the kitchen, although I've done what I can. Where are you?"
"I'm in a stairwell, western hallway, the one closest to you." Stiffening as he heard the ominous clacking noise directly behind him, he slowly started to turn around. "Shit," he managed to get out before his head exploded in pain and he tumbled unconscious down the steps to the landing below.
Owen heard Jack's expletive, a loud crash, and then experienced massive feedback in his earpiece. "Fuck!" he shouted as he ripped out the communications device. Gathering up the contents of his medical kit, he stuffed them inside his satchel, picked up his weapon and darted out of the kitchen.
Jack came back painfully to consciousness as the Parflican fed off the artron energy in his body. He frantically reached for his weapon and fired at point blank range. The impact of the pulse threw the alien off of him, and he rose unsteadily to his feet.
"Hurts like hell," he uttered ruefully as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. A loud explosion on the floor above spurred him to action. His past would be on top of him if he didn't get out of the building. He couldn't wait for his medic. Staggering, he made his way to the eastern stairwell and out the front.
Moments later, Owen paused in the stairwell to study the dead alien. The Captain was nowhere to be seen, but there were streaks of red blood on some of the stairs leading to the second floor. Reaching the door, Owen eased it open, his weapon ready.
The hallway was dimly lit; the lights had seemingly exploded, and small shards of glass littered the floor. Treading carefully, Dr. Harper spied two dead aliens; one was missing the left side of its body, and the other's head was split in two. He then noticed a small group of people huddled together farther down the hallway. The shape of one looked very familiar. Walking slowly towards the group, Owen listened unnoticed for a few moments.
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Melissa dully watched Susan sob against Matthew and wondered how long it would be before one of the remaining aliens found them. She was tempted to close her eyes and simply go to sleep, hoping that all of this was some sort of bad dream.
"Shit." The loud sound of an unexpected expletive several feet behind her triggered Melissa's fight response, and she immediately jumped up, empty blaster in hand, to face the new threat.
"Put that down. I'm one of the good guys," Owen exclaimed testily as he slowly approached the group.
Melissa stood there, not answering. As soon as she had jumped to her feet, her body had started to feel oddly chilled, and her outstretched arms began to tingle with pins and needles. She shook her head slightly as her vision began to narrow, replaced by pinpricks of sparkling blackness.
"Fuck." Owen swore as he realized what was happening. He reached her just in time to ease her to the ground before she blacked out completely. Now he had two patients to deal with.
"Oi! You two! Get over here and help me. Your mother's gone into shock!" He had listened to Jack long enough before making his presence known to get a limited, if a trifle inaccurate, understanding of the situation.
"You," he started, pointing at Susan, "grab some of the jackets above the lockers and cover up your mum." Then motioning to Matthew he added, "Put some of the jackets underneath her feet and turn her on her side. Let me know if she starts to have trouble breathing. I'm going to take a look at your father's injuries, okay?"
Matthew nodded mutely, too traumatized to correct the stranger's assumptions. Then he began to help Susan with the coats.
"Jesus, Jack," Owen muttered as he pulled the handheld medical scanner out of his satchel. "You could have told me you were worried about your family. I'm not a complete bastard, you know."
Frowning, he studied the readings. His boss had two broken ribs that threatened to puncture his right lung. That explained the shallowness of breath. The burn on his side was less severe than it appeared, although it would need careful cleaning. The gash on the back of his head could use a few stitches, but the hairline skull fracture was much more worrying. The scanner also showed a brain injury, not surprising given the skull fracture, although it was impossible to determine the degree, even with the advanced medical equipment.
Pursing his lips, Owen decided to first clean and bandage the wound on Jack's side, so he could then bind the ribs. Once he had washed the wound, he had to pick out the bits of cloth that were embedded in the skin. Unconscious again, Jack didn't so much as twitch as Owen worked. Normally, the doctor would not have wrapped the ribs, but he knew how stubborn his boss could be, and assumed that he would insist on walking out of here as soon as he was able.
Taking out a pen light, he opened Jack's left eyelid, and shined the light in his eye. The pupil was sluggish to respond, but the light managed to rouse the Captain, who batted Owen's hand away.
"That hurts," he mumbled petulantly as he forced his eyes to open. He saw the blurry figure of a thin-lipped man staring intently at him.
"Stop being such a baby, Jack. I've seen you hurt worse weevil hunting," the man replied as he tested the reaction of Jack's right pupil.
"Am I supposed to know you?" the Captain asked warily as he finally grasped that the man had used his name.
"Is this another one of your stupid ideas of a joke, Harkness?"
The stranger's raised voice attracted the attention of Matthew, who left his mother's side. He quietly observed the man with his odd medical equipment and weapon. Neither looked like any technology he had read about on this Earth. Suddenly nervous, he decided to watch the stranger more closely.
Jack flinched several times as Owen poked and prodded his head, but he made an effort to stay silent. His thoughts were still sluggish, but he knew enough to be worried that the Time Agency, or worse yet, a bounty hunter, had finally caught him. He didn't want Melissa or the kids punished for his past.
Taking Jack's silence for criticism, Owen spoke up. "Look, Mate, I'm sorry I didn't get here fast enough to back you up on the stairs. You must have taken a bad fall when you killed that alien."
"Stairs?" Jack blurted out, puzzled. He hadn't killed any Parflicans on the stairs, had he?
"I'm assuming that's where you fell since that's where I found all the blood." He quickly closed the gash on Jack's head with eighteen neat stitches.
"Are you with the police?" Jack thoughtfully asked as the man finished tending his wounds. So far, the stranger hadn't placed him in restraints or threatened the kids; maybe he should give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Oi, Mate! I told you that joke's not—" Owen trailed off as he took a closer look at Jack's face. The Captain face was pale and drawn, and gave no hint that he was being anything other than sincere.
"Christ, you really don't recognize me, do you?" He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth when his boss gave a small shake of his head. "Okay, let's see what you do remember. Suzie Costello? Toshiko Sato? Torchwood?"
"FUCK!" Owen exploded as the supposed leader of Torchwood III stared blankly at him.
Jack flinched involuntarily at the man's frustrated outburst. His head was throbbing painfully in beat with his pulse, and it was getting harder to concentrate. Was Torchwood a Time Agency operation during those missing two years? Did that make the man friend or foe?
"Please," Jack began as the dizziness returned. "I don't care what you do to me. Just please get them out of here. There are more Parflicans out there. Please, I'll do anything." Everything was hazy again. Where was Melissa? Hadn't she been holding his hand, or had he just imagined her?
Owen looked at his boss in concern. He obviously had severe brain trauma, or else the alien had wiped part of his memory during the attack. Worse yet, Jack was getting more agitated by the minute. Then, he noticed the Captain's increasing pallor and cursed himself for not treating him for shock on top of his other injuries.
"Kid! Get some of those jackets for your Dad!" he shouted as he laid Jack down and tried to keep him conscious.
Matthew grabbed more coats from the hall and handed them to the man. He was really petrified now as the stranger wrapped Jack in coats, cursing frantically the entire time. Matthew prayed, making bargains with God as the man ran the scanner once again over the Captain.
"Shit, that was close." Owen watched Jack's temperature slowly stabilize as he shook the scanner in disbelief. How had his temperature dropped three degrees in less than half an hour? He was surprised that Jack could string words together; much less plead for his family's safety when his body had been experiencing that much stress. No wonder there was only the one other survivor. As he watched the Captain's color improve, Owen tried to determine how many aliens were left.
"Kid, can you sit next to your Dad for me? He needs to be as calm as possible, okay?" Addressing Jack, who was conscious but dazed, Owen tried to get him to understand. "Jack, you need to believe me. I'm trying to help you. I'm a doctor, and I know you. No one is going to hurt your family, understand? You need to stay calm and rest. I promise I won't let anything hurt your family."
His boss was at least looking at him, which Owen interpreted as a positive sign. "I need you to tell me how many aliens are down. Can you remember, Captain? How many have you killed?"
Jack listened to the drone of words above him, his thoughts sluggish. He was feeling much warmer than he had been, but his body was still uncomfortably cold. He could feel a comforting presence next to him and finally comprehended that Matthew was sitting by his side.
Matthew wasn't making the talking noise, though. Someone else was with him. That funny looking man was still next to Jack, and he was the one making all the noise. He sounded like he was saying something important, so he tried to concentrate. Aliens. How many aliens had he killed? Jack tried to remember and carefully answered the man, "Eight. I killed eight."
Owen wanted to shout in relief when Jack spoke, but restrained himself. "Good, that's good, Jack," he encouraged as he tried not to think about ten aliens still on the loose. "Where did you shoot them?"
"Five on the first floor, three on the second," he responded, his voice shaky, but filled with conviction.
"Is that counting the theater and cafeteria?" Owen needed to get as much information as possible while the Captain was still conscious, but hated to add stress to the brain injury. Knowing how many aliens were left could save all their lives, however.
"I don't remember those," he reluctantly admitted.
"Don't worry about it," Owen soothed, trying to keep his patient calm. "Just tell me the locations you do remember."
Matthew squeezed his hand encouragingly as Jack struggled to recall where he had been. "I killed three in a lavatory, first floor." He paused, trying to recall the other locations, "Two in the music room, first floor, two in a classroom on the opposite hallway, and one in this hallway." Jack stared hopefully up at Matthew and the man who was taking care of him. "That's eight, right?"
"That's eight," Owen agreed as Matthew nervously smiled at Jack.
"Okay, you killed two in the theater, and two in the cafeteria. I killed one, and you must have killed that one on the stairs. That's six more, plus that other one dead in this hallway." Owen quickly counted the total, "So that makes fifteen; I need to find three more."
"Mom killed three, including that one over there with its head split in two," Matthew piped up, surprising both men. "She killed them with a baseball bat," he added somewhat proudly.
Owen glanced at the woman who had pointed the gun at him in newfound admiration. She seemed to be sleeping while her daughter hovered protectively next to her. "Right, that still doesn't add up to eighteen; we're missing one."
As if on cue, they could all hear a door slam somewhere below them. "Speak of the devil," Owen noted dryly as he picked up his EMP cannon. "You're in no condition to go anywhere, Captain, so stay put." Dr. Harper sprinted down the hall to the staircase he had gone up earlier. Carefully, he opened the door and started back down.
Owen cautiously followed the noises until he came upon the last alien, who was cornered by two police officers at the main entrance to the school. Lining up the shot, he calmly neutralized the threat. Addressing the two officers, he stated, "My boss, Captain Harkness, is injured on the second floor. I need a medical team up their immediately. All hostiles are down. The building is clear, but there are a number of victims who need medical attention."
The officers looked at each other in puzzlement. The senior one of them addressed Owen. "Sir, Captain Harkness is sitting in his car. He is injured, but has refused our offers of medical treatment."
Confused, Owen apologized. "Sorry, he must have gotten out of the building while I was chasing down the last hostile. If you don't mind, I'm going to check and see how badly he's been hurt." The police officers readily agreed, thanking Owen for UNIT's assistance.
Reaching the car, the medic opened the passenger door to check on his patient. "Jesus, Owen! Don't startle me like that. My head feels like I went one too many rounds with a weevil." Jack barked at his medical officer, surprised at the look of concern on his face.
"You remember who I am, Jack? You remember Torchwood?" Owen asked somewhat tentatively.
"Of course I remember." Jack stopped speaking, his mind suddenly putting many pieces to a very old puzzle in place. "I mean, it's all sort of fuzzy still, but it's coming back."
Relieved, the medic took another look at Jack's head. "How did you manage to rip out the stitches?" Efficiently, he stitched Jack's head wound closed as he talked. "We need to get your wife to hospital. I'm not sure that she's simply suffering from shock. I hope to hell that your kids are with her; she really shouldn't be alone. And you definitely need to stay in the hospital overnight for observation. I have to admit I'm worried about that hairline skull fracture. You were pretty out of it back there. Christ, but you gave me a scare when you said you didn't remember Torchwood. I thought I was going to have to call Hartmann for sure."
"Wait just a minute and listen," the Captain ordered urgently, feeling slightly guilty that he would have to use retcon after Owen had shown so much compassion. "I am not going anywhere and neither is my family. I can't risk that bitch Yvonne finding out about Melissa, Susan and Matthew. I promised a long time ago to protect them, and that definitely means keeping them safe from Torchwood; do you understand me?" Jack truly hoped Owen did understand, but he was going to erase his memories with or without his consent.
Dr. Owen Harper considered the secret he had learned about his mysterious boss, and decided he did not want to bear the burden of keeping it. He thought about how much Jack gave to Torchwood on a daily basis, and he could certainly understand why the man would choose not to expose his loved ones to the danger of the rift, or the cold bureaucracy that was Torchwood I. Still, it shocked Owen to the core that Jack had loved ones in the first place, and on a certain level, he wished he could remember that one fact.
"You need to retcon me, Captain. Your family's too important not to. Just wait a few days so I can make sure that you're healing, okay?"
Touched by Owen's loyalty, Jack leaned back in the seat. "Sure, Owen. And I know that you won't remember it, but thank you, for everything. I'm sorry I was such a bastard earlier. Those things; they were targeting my family, and if it hadn't been for you, they would be dead."
Owen nodded, unsure of how to respond to his boss' honest apology. Sixty miles later, when Jack asked to stop at a rest area, Owen drank deeply from the water bottle he had been carrying in the car, the same bottle Jack had switched before Owen had ever exited the school. The water contained enough retcon to wipe out the entire day, and had an added sedative that would make the doctor sleep until they reached Las Vegas. Later, Owen would merely think that he had overindulged in all that the city had to offer.
