"Rose?" I tried to get her attention without startling her. The gaze she turned to me was slightly unfocused and full of pain. I thought I knew what was happening, but I wasn't completely sure. "I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"

She nodded slightly before closing her eyes. I got up and moved to her side of the table, grabbing her bag from the back of her chair and slipping it over my shoulder. I was about to help Rose up when her head jerked up and her eyes opened. It took a second for me to realize that her gaze was little more than a terror-blinded stare and I glanced in the same direction.

The door of City North was just swinging shut behind three newcomers. They were all dressed the same. Corporate types, from the looks of them, but there was definitely something odd about them. Two of them were acting more like Secret Service or private security of some kind. The third... well, he reminded me of a puppy on the scent trail of something. The multitude of people in City North seemed to be making things difficult for him. I had a very bad feeling about those three, and with Rose's reaction to their arrival, I didn't think it was just paranoia.

Slipping an arm around Rose's waist, I helped her to her feet. We edged around the argumentative table just as one of the students stood up fast enough that his chair went flying. Looked like the disagreement was about to turn physical and I wasn't above using that as a distraction. Hopefully it would cover our departure.

As we wove our way between tables, I felt Rose trembling. She had turned her head into my shoulder and I could tell that staying on her feet was about all she was capable of right then. I was keeping half an eye on the corporate types, more than happy to see them move further away from the door. That gave us an opening and we slipped outside. I moved to one side of the door and paused to think.

Rose seemed to lean on me a little less once we were outside, but her eyes were still closed and she didn't really seem to be tracking. I wanted to let her rest while I went for the car, but something told me those three corporate types were trouble. I murmured some quiet words of encouragement, making sure I had a good hold on her, and set off across the parking lot.

By the time we reached the car, Rose was stumbling. I got her settled in the passenger seat and scanned the parking lot as I made my way around the car. I debated taking her home. I knew what was happening to her now. I'd seen empathic overload before. The problem was I didn't know if she knew what was happening. That made the decision for me. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I headed for the Four Seasons.

I kept an eye on the rear view mirror for awhile, just to make sure we weren't being followed. I had relaxed somewhat before Rose figured out I wasn't taking her home. That alone told me just how overloaded her ability was. Eventually, she lifted her head and looked at me with somewhat glassy eyes. Her voice was flat and devoid of any feeling, but I'd expected that after working with Emma. "Where are we going?"

If there was a measure of suspicion in the question, I was willing to let it slide. "You're an empath, Rose, and your ability is overloading. We're going to my hotel for now, until I can make sure you're okay."

I held my breath waiting for a protest, but either Rose really did trust me, or she was hurting even more than I thought. Her only reaction to my statement was to close her eyes and lean her head against the window. I kept an eye on her as I drove, relieved when she dropped into a doze as we got further away from City North.

I gave her shoulder a careful shake as I pulled into the Four Seasons drive, hoping to pull her out of the doze without startling her. It wasn't until I was tossing the keys to the valet that I realized I didn't have any story for Rose's presence or condition. Apparently she had considered it, because though she stumbled as I helped her out of the car, she did a credible imitation of a young socialite who'd overindulged. She almost fell into my arms with a sultry pout.

"I don't know why Uncle Pete sent you after me, Jess. I was just having a little fun!" The whine in her voice was the perfect touch. I caught the eye of one of the valets and rolled my eyes, running with the story she had started. He just grinned.

"Yeah, you were having a little too much fun, cuz. Uncle Pete didn't want to have to bail you out again." I had a little trouble sounding annoyed, since I was far more worried than anything else, but the few witnesses to our little performance seemed to buy it.

Rose made it to the elevator with only a little help from me, complaining the whole time about our fictional Uncle Pete and not being allowed to have any fun. Once the elevator doors closed, she sagged against me and I realized the only thing keeping her on her feet was my arm around her waist. She didn't react when I swung her up into my arms and I wasn't sure if she was even coherent anymore. The concentration she'd had to muster to pull off that little act was above and beyond what she should have been capable of.

I got to the door of my suite before I realized the key was still in my pocket. A quick glance showed me that Rose was barely conscious, so I took a risk and phased through the door, hoping she wouldn't realize what I'd done. I laid her on the bed and headed for the wet bar. I didn't even look, just grabbed the first bottle and poured three fingers worth into a glass. A moment later, I was sitting on the bed next to Rose, one hand on her shoulder, hoping I could wake her up a little.

"Jess?" Her voice was barely audible, her eyes mere slits, but at least she wasn't out cold.

"It's okay, Rose. Can you sit up for a minute?" I slipped a hand beneath her shoulder and helped her. Handing her the glass, I kept one hand on hers, just to make sure she didn't spill it. "Here, drink this. It's probably not what you'd chose, but it'll take the edge off."

The amber liquid sloshed in the glass as she raised it to her lips. From the way she slugged it down in one swallow, I guessed this wasn't the first time this had happened... or at least I hoped that was the case. After a moment, I took the glass and set it on the nightstand. "A little better?"

Rose had dropped her head to her hands but her affirmation was still audible. I could feel her trembling, but she seemed steady enough now. I left her sitting on the edge of the bed for a minute while I prepped the step. A pair of my drawstring sweatpants and a t-shirt were set on the bathroom counter and I started the water running in the bath before I returned to Rose. "Next part of the prescription is a hot shower, if you think you can manage it, Rose. And after that, some rest. Then I'll take you home."

My companion lifted her head and bleary eyes focused on me for a long moment before she nodded slowly. I slipped an arm around her waist and helped her to the bathroom. After making sure she was steady leaning against the counter, I checked the water temperature and pulled the shower knob. Before I left the bathroom, I studied Rose, hoping her evaluation of her current strength was accurate.

Closing the door behind me, I wandered around the room, just letting my mind process the afternoon. I was going to make sure Rose got at least a couple hours of sleep before I took her home and I was wondering if there was anything else I should do. About that time my stomach growled and I nodded to myself. I didn't know if she'd eaten today, but I did remember how little she'd eaten at lunch last week. Placing an order with room service only took a couple of minutes.

I let myself collapse into a chair before I triggered my comlink. "Adam?"

"Hey, Jess. It's Shal. Adam's locked in his office with orders not to be disturbed unless its important." The voice was my 'big sister' and I couldn't help but half-smile before replying.

"Patch me through to him, Shal. I'll risk his temper."

I could hear both curiosity and amusement in her voice, "It's your ears, bud. Patching you through now."

There was silence on the line for a long moment before an obviously annoyed Adam answered. "What is it Jesse? I thought you were supposed to be meeting with Rose. Didn't she show up?"

"She showed Adam." I paused, thinking about how to alleviate his annoyance and get his attention where I needed it. "And then things got... complicated."

I could picture my mentor, pacing his office and pinching the bridge of his nose as I said that last word. After a few seconds, I heard him sigh and when he spoke again, the annoyance was gone. "Okay, talk to me Jess."

Letting out my breath, I nodded to myself before answering. "She's definitely an empath, Adam."

"You got her to tell you that?" There was a measure of surprise in his voice and I felt the corner of my mouth quirk upward.

"No, there was a disagreement at the table next to us, and her ability overloaded."

"Just a disagreement? That shouldn't caused her any problem, Jess." I could hear the frown in his tone.

"It was a little more than that, Adam. You're right, it shouldn't have been an issue. But it was."

"Is she okay now? Where is she?" Good, Adam had turned his attention to the problem, not the annoyance of being disturbed.

"She's in the shower. I brought her back to the hotel because I didn't know if she knew how to handle what was happening to her." I knew I wasn't going to have time to get into everything that had happened. Rose didn't have the strength for a long shower. "Adam, her ability overloading was the straightforward part of the afternoon. I don't have time right now to get into it all. I'm going to make sure she eats something and gets some sleep before I take her home."

I heard Adam sigh. "Okay Jess. See if you can get her to tell you what happened, at least. Make sure she knows we're here to help her if she needs it."

"I will, Adam." I heard the shower shut off. "Gotta go, shower just shut off. I'll check in again once she's resting."

Shutting down the connection, I retrieved the glass from the nightstand and poured another three fingers of what turned out to be bourbon in it. A knock on the door resulted in the arrival of my room service order. I had just finished setting it on the table when the bathroom door opened. Turning around, I saw Rose leaning against the doorjamb, arms crossed over her chest, watching me. She was wearing the sweatpants and t-shirt I'd provided which told me she trusted me at least a little.

I motioned to the table. "Sit down. You need to eat something."

Her lips thinned a bit, but she crossed the room slowly and sat down. I set the glass of bourbon in front of her along with the light vegetable soup I'd ordered for her. Only then did I take a seat across the table from her. I didn't say anything, just dug into my cheeseburger while I kept an eye on her. Without the makeup, the circles under her eyes were almost bruises and she was more pale than I'd originally thought.

She was eating, if slowly, which I figured was a good thing. I was done long before she was, even though she only managed to eat about half the soup. I saw it in her face when her stomach decided it'd had enough. Somewhere along the line she'd finished off the bourbon and I could see the questions starting to form in the back of her mind.

I wasn't ready to answer any questions at the moment, and to be honest, Rose probably wasn't in any condition to remember anything I told her, so I stood up and pointed to the bed. "Lay down, Rose. We'll talk after you get some sleep."

She stumbled a bit as she got up, and I moved to help her over to the bed. I nearly stumbled myself as my hand touched hers and I felt a surge of loneliness and fear that wasn't mine. Before it fully registered, we'd reached the bed and Rose had almost collapsed onto it. She shifted just enough to get her head on a pillow and then seemed to fall asleep immediately.

I covered her with a a blanket before turning away to pour myself some of the bourbon. Its not my drink of choice, but I needed something to settle myself and it was already open. By the time I'd turned back around to look at Rose, she'd curled up in a tight little ball at the top corner of the bed. I took a swallow from the glass I'd poured and closed my eyes, trying to figure things out.

After a few minutes, I moved back to the table, taking a seat where I could keep an eye on my guest but where my voice wouldn't disturb her. Setting my glass on the table, I keyed my comlink open again. Adam must of told Shal to go ahead and route my frequency directly to him because before I said anything, his voice came through. "I take it Rose is resting, Jess?"

"Yeah, Adam, though I don't know for how long." I lifted the glass and took a drink. I didn't realize I was tapping the glass with my ring.

"Jess? What's that sound? Are you drinking?" I could hear the frown in his voice even as I took my hand from the glass.

"Yeah," I sighed, "just one. I'm a little rattled, Adam." I was really hoping he'd let it go because I really didn't want a lecture at the moment.

I don't know if it was my voice, or if Adam just knows me well enough, but after a short silence he moved on. "Talk to me Jess. You said Rose's ability overloading was the simple part of the afternoon. What else happened?"

I took a minute to organize my thoughts, even though I knew Adam was impatient to learn what was going on. "Remember those two corporate types outside of Cucina I told you about last week?"

"Yeah, but you said they didn't take any notice of you and Rose."

"Right, but three more showed up at City North today. I had just decided to get Rose out of there when her attention jerked toward the door and, Adam, there was nothing in her expression except terror." I paused long enough to take a drink. "I followed her attention and there they were. Three guys in suits. Two of them felt and moved like private security or secret service. The third guy though, he was different. He reminded me of a puppy dog following a scent, but the number of people in the place seemed to throw him for a loop."

"Rose recognized these guys?"

"No. That's just it Adam, the terror was there before she saw them. I think she felt it and then looked. She didn't recognize them. And they didn't recognize her. I don't think the two security types even knew who they were looking for."

There was silence on the other end of the connection for a bit and I could picture Adam rubbing his chin as he thought. "It doesn't make any sense, Jess, but it's certainly looking like Rose has reason to be scared of someone."

"Yeah, I just wish we knew what. Its not the GSA. Anyway, that was part of the weird stuff. The other part happened when we got to the hotel."

I caught myself tapping my ring against my glass again and swallowed about half of what was left in the glass before setting it down. "I wasn't thinking Adam. Rose managed to doze a little on the drive and I woke her up just before I pulled up to the valet."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed, disappointed in myself as I thought back. "It wasn't until I was out of the car that I realized I didn't have an explanation for Rose's presence. Turned out she did though."

"I thought you said she was pretty much out of it, Jess?" I could almost hear the wheels turning in Adam's head.

"I thought she was. But when I helped her out of the car, she did a near perfect imitation of a spoiled socialite who'd overindulged and wasn't happy about having to leave the party." I felt a frown wrinkle my brow as something nagged me. "It took pretty much all she had to pull it off. She collapsed, once we were in the elevator and out of sight."

Whatever was nagging me wasn't coming to mind so I let it go for the moment. I knew the harder I chased it, the less likely it was to surface anyway. I was sure we were missing something, something big, but I still couldn't figure out what. Of course, Adam couldn't either and that left me feeling just a little bit better. I finished off my drink and stood just as Adam's voice came over the comlink again.

"She's full of surprises, it seems, Jess." I could hear it in his voice, Adam was thinking hard and fast, but he didn't have any more answers than I did. "See what you can get her to tell you when she wakes up. Offer our help."

"I'll try, Adam, but she's skittish about trusting anyone. And I don't think she's ever had someone to watch her back."

"Do what you can, Jess." Adam's sigh was audible. "What I wouldn't do for a blood sample."

"Not even an option, Adam. It would destroy what little trust she has in me." A part of me couldn't believe he'd even thought about it, but the rest of me understood where my mentor was coming from.

"I know, Jess. I wasn't asking. Just wishing." I caught the sound of keys tapping before he spoke again. "Try to find out what happened to cause the overload. A simple argument shouldn't have been enough to do it. Anything you can get her to tell you might be the key we need to help her. I'd say bring her back to Sanctuary, but I think we'd lose any trust you've built up with her."

"I'll try. I just don't know if it'll do any good."

"Do your best. We can't force help on her, Jess. And be careful. Someone other than the GSA is after her, but if the attention keeps up, it won't take them long to notice her too."

"Right," I sighed, rubbing my chin as I looked over at the subject of our conversation. She wasn't sleeping as quietly as she had been and I had a feeling she'd be waking up soon. I really had hoped she'd manage to get a little more rest. "Look, Adam, I think she's going to wake up soon. I'll do what I can, but expect me to come home alone. I'll update you later if I learn anything."

"Good luck, Jess."

I stared at the wall for a minute trying to figure out how to play things out, but I didn't really have enough data to plan. It looked like I was going to have to wing it. Not my favorite course of action, but it was better than sitting back and doing nothing. I put my glass on the wet bar, retrieving Rose's glass and refilling it. She was starting to stir as I placed it on the nightstand and returned to my seat to wait until my guest woke up.