A/N: Thanks so much for the comments SarahSoph! I've still ideas a plenty and need only the time to get it all down in a coherent manner. Chapter 9 up soon.

Disclaimer (casual): I totally don't own Jericho or any characters from the show. This is just my toybox & the only things I own are my own original characters.

Disclaimer (formal): Jericho, all characters & canon fictional locations therein and associated trademarks are the sole intellectual property of CBS Paramount Television, CBS Studios, Inc., Junction Entertainment & Fixed Mark Prod. This work is not intended to infringe on the copyrights or trademarks held, but is solely a work of fan fiction and for diversion and amusement, not for profit.


Title: Afterburn (Chapter 8/?)

Chapter 8: Fallen By The Wayside

Heather lay in the medical unit at Camp Liberty in isolation and still unconscious. After she'd arrived the medical team had been very thorough with her care.

"How is she?" the young physician's assistant asked the attending physician entering the room.

Dr. Kelleher read over some papers she had while crossing the room to her patient's bedside, "All things considered, Jane Doe 040207-21 is absolutely fantastic. Her CT is clear. No major damage and only a mid-grade concussion."

"Awesome. She had a couple gashes and some imbedded glass in her scalp but I got those out no problem and cleaned up the wounds. All superficial."

"Her temperature though... that's still high and not going down." she checked the IV and the chart. " Intake and output are good, so at least that's something."

"Do you think it's Hudson River?" he asked a bit anxious.

Camp Liberty was his second assignment since signing up and he'd heard about the virus and what it did to people who'd contracted it. It killed quick and dirty. He'd seen photos of patients plagued with it and had thought it couldn't have killed quickly enough for the damage it'd done. He'd seen enough of the aftermath of the bombings in the last few months that he'd been inclined to sign up for Jennings & Rall's civilian medical attachés to work alongside the military but he didn't really want to see any more dying if he could help it.

This Jane Doe had brought much hope with her. She arrived at the same time a truck with the recently deceased was being loaded to ship out. The young man thought he'd not forget that image for a long time to come and would do all he could to make sure that neither she nor anyone else he was responsible for wound up on an outbound truck in a bag.

"Let's hope not. But until we know, let's keep her in ISO. Do some blood draws and we'll see what we see."

Camp Liberty hadn't any outbreaks of Hudson River Virus but just about every other military base had. Everyone at Liberty had been vaccinated and as a precaution they'd set up a system of quarantine for people who were brought there. That Heather had arrived with a fever, unconscious and unable to tell them anything about where she'd been and who she'd come into contact with, necessitated they immediately place her in isolation.

"What do you make of these?" he asked indicating the scars and marks on Heather's wrists.

"I'm not so sure I want to think about it. Let's just be glad she wasn't dead like the rest, Jennings" she replied, handing him the chart and walked out.

He nodded and took one more look at his patient. He grabbed the tubes, did her blood draws quickly & marked them to get them to the lab as soon as possible. If all her tests came back negative she could be vaccinated like everyone else and that made him feel a little better.

He marveled at how chance had played out for so many people, even himself. Had he not been in Cheyenne on the day of the bombings he would have been in Seattle and would have perished. He and his father had gone on a fishing trip earlier in the week and had only arrived home a few hours before the attacks began. He'd worried for his mother who lived in New York and his sister who was in college in Boston but visiting friends in Columbus during the attacks and had been somewhat relieved when word came that neither of those cities had been attacked. After all that had happened in the last few months, he'd still heard nothing about either of them but he held hope that they were okay and trying to get home. That they'd wound up in what had effectively become another country was troublesome and that even his father had been unsuccessful in finding them was most alarming. With no word on them and the knowledge that all his friends were gone, Marc Jennings was even more glad he'd come back when he had. It had been a proud moment for him when he signed up with the medical contracting group of his father's company. He couldn't think of anything more important than being a part of the assistance that J&R was offering or happier to carry the name.

"Hang in there, Jane. You're in good hands. There are lots of good people working to make sure everything works out and we're all okay" he reassured the unconscious woman and turned to leave.

Town Hall, Jericho...

"Is she dead Jake?" Emily asked urgently.

She searched his face and tried to look into his eyes but couldn't connect.

He didn't answer. His voice left him and he couldn't look at her. Anguish played out on his face

"Jake? Is she dead?!" she asked again.

She needed to know. Ever since Chris, finality was one of those things she'd grown accustomed to. His death had been her trial by fire and proved to her that she could bear any other loss with a certain measure of expectancy.

The mortars that rained down on Jericho heralding the beginning of the New Bern attack effectively ended their discussion. It was just as well, Jake hadn't the will to answer Emily or the ability to process the possibility of Heather's demise. He still didn't want to believe what Eric had told him. He'd wanted to believe it was just another of Constantino's lies. But even he'd had his doubts given the lengths Constantino had been willing to employ in the torture of Eric. It was as if the man had lost all conscience and he couldn't believe he'd been a friend of his father's in the past. And through all they'd gone through to make it back to Jericho, Heather was never far from his thoughts. He'd missed her and had planned on saying many things to her when she came back. He didn't want to add her to the list in his head of fallen friends no matter how likely.

He'd worried about how Emily would take the news that her best friend was in trouble and possibly some tragic end had befallen her but Emily had asked the question that it hurt him to hear. The words fell out of her mouth and stabbed his heart. He'd cringed at the thought and slightly recoiled when he'd heard the question. Each time the subject came up his hope eroded a little more.

The thing that made it even harder was that Heather was caught trying to do something to save Jericho. It only served to remind him of the kind of heart she had. From the ice she'd made in aid of saving his father, to her coming up with the turbine idea & going all the way to Black Jack & back to New Bern, she'd displayed a level of courage that he was in awe of. He fell into situations and did seemingly heroic things but he didn't think of himself as a hero. But Heather, she charged into her quests to help others fully knowing what she was doing. She volunteered her help and now she may have paid the ultimate price for Jericho. He really wanted to believe that his actions had no bearing on her decision to leave but no matter her explanations when last they spoke, the thought remained in the back of his mind.

But he didn't have time for his thoughts. There were things to do and things to get done. So he did what he was expert at, he pushed it aside and got on. Whatever had become of Heather would be something he'd have to think on at another time. As the town exploded around them he tucked away his fears. When he looked over and noticed Emily on the floor next to him he panicked a little inside. He couldn't loose her too and the urgency in his voice asking if she was okay was as much about her well being as his sanity. After he was satisfied she was alright he headed outside to lend aid to anyone in need. The mortars falling made one thing clear, all hell was breaking loose and war with New Bern was knocking on Jericho's door.

Camp Liberty, NE...

A shortage of staff meant that lab results took a little longer than they normally would, so to keep from harassing and pissing off the pretty lab tech Cassie, that he'd been flirting back and forth with, Marc decided to go to the J&R communications tent and check his e-mail. All the employees were allowed two hours a day in computer time but he didn't go every day and never stayed the entire two hours time. It had been very important to him that everyone else saw that he wasn't just the boss's slacker kid and was just as hard working as the rest of them. That usually meant that he worked longer and harder than anyone else but he didn't mind.

He was just glad to be there and had taken it as something of an accomplishment that he'd managed to keep his father from interfering in his being assigned outside of Wyoming. He'd understood his father's reticence but he'd been just as adamant that he be treated just like anyone else who worked for J&R and that there were plenty of people who'd lost a lot more than he had who were sacrificing all kinds of things to do all they could to help others. He'd won in the end but had agreed to making sure to check in with his father via e-mail every couple of days.

Just as he sat down at a computer and logged in his pager vibrated. He had only a minute to send his father a message and log back off before running back to the medical tents. When he arrived Dr. Kelleher met him on her way out of the isolation tent.

"It's okay, Jennings. Your Jane Doe woke up briefly. She's settled down but her fever seems to have gotten the best of her for now" she told him.

"Did she say anything?" he asked genuinely happy she'd stirred at all.

"She said all kinds of random things but nothing telling us who she is before she went under again. Her fever's holding and not going down. Still, it's a good sign." she replied and lit a cigarette.

"Yeah."

"Looks like her test results are in" she said with a nod over his shoulder before taking another drag of her cigarette.

Marc turned to see Cassie heading his way with lab results in hand and a smile on her face.

"Hope it's good news" he said and went to meet her.