The first thing Kirsten realized when she woke up was that she was still fully clothed in her dress. Her shoes were off, and she was in her bed. How did she get here?
Briefly she remembered last night. The way they had danced in her front yard, how Cameron was pointing out constellations that she already knew the names too, but she just liked to hear him talk. It made her smile.
The kiss. It had changed something in their relationship. She wasn't sure what exactly, but something was different. Part of her wished that she could do it again, and the other part of her wished it had never happened.
Standing up, she slipped out of her dress and left it on the floor. It was still damp from the dew on the grass last night. Instead, she changed into some jeans and a tank top, then brushed her teeth and washed her face.
Camille was already up. "Had a rough night?" she asked.
"Not particularly." Kirsten responded, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Tell me all about it!" Camille said, sounding more like a teenager than an adult.
Kirsten told her everything, including the kiss and the douche bags who had insulted her. She left out the part about dancing and stargazing, and the part where Kirsten called her a dog.
"Sounds like you and Cameron had quite a time together." Camille smiled knowingly.
"Did we make any progress in the case?" Kirsten asked, changing the subject.
"Only what you just told me." Camille said. "So Lee and Jane really didn't know about Jason and Lisa?"
"According to them, he was a loving son who they wished had the chance to meet someone."
"Something sounds wrong about that. You said Lisa was concerned that Lee would find out and be angry."
"She was concerned. I could feel it, and she said it. She was afraid, even."
Camille pondered the new information for a few moments. "Maybe Lee hired a hitman to get rid of Lisa?"
"Lisa was killed by a blow to the head. Some hitman." Kirsten scoffed.
"Maybe it was a body guard? Someone who could be paid off?"
Kirsten was about to answer when her phone went off. It was Cameron.
"Maggie needs u." Was the text.
"Let's go, Maggie needs us." She told Camille.
A little while later, Kirsten and Camille walked into the lab. People were busy running tests and working at their respective stations, and Cameron and Linus greeted them as they walked in.
"Maggie's looking for you." Cameron told Kirsten. "Both of us, actually."
Kirsten met his eyes, only for him to drop his gaze a second later. She followed him up to Maggie's office.
"Since we're all very busy people, I'll cut to the chase." Maggie said as soon as they had both sat down. "You two were given explicit orders to not have any contact with Lee Sampson."
Kirsten cut her eyes to Cameron, giving him a questioning glare. How did she know they had spoken to Lee? What exactly had he said about last night?
"In our defense, he kind of started talking to us first." Cameron tried.
"Right. And what exactly did you say to him?"
"Just normal small talk." Cameron said.
"Lee mentioned that he wished that Jason had found someone before he died." Kirsten interrupted.
"So Lee didn't know about his relationship with Lisa?" Maggie asked, turning to Kirsten.
"Neither did Jane Sampson."
"You spoke with her too?"
Kirsten merely nodded. "She sat down next to me."
Maggie sighed, exasperated. "You two have absolutely no respect for authority."
"None," Kirsten agreed. "Not when that authority is wrong and holding me back."
"I'm not sure I like your tone." Maggie said, meeting the challenge in Kirsten's eyes.
"I'm not sure I like your leadership." Kirsten mocked.
Cameron had been standing behind Kirsten, watching the scene unfold. "We shouldn't have talked to Lee or Jane." He said finally. "But the opportunity presented itself, so we took it."
Maggie turned her glare onto Cameron, who shrunk back at the intensity of her gaze. She looked between the two of them, and finally her gaze softened.
"You two shouldn't have said anything, but since they approached you first, I'll let it slide." She said finally.
Cameron breathed a sigh of relief, but Kirsten was still angry, and he could tell. He touched her shoulder gently, and thankfully she followed him out of the room.
Sometimes Maggie really drove Kirsten up the wall. Maybe it was just her striking issues with authority.
"We can Stitch into Jason, right?" She asked as they walked down the steps to the main area.
As an answer, Cameron looked to Linus, who was sitting at his desk. "How're we looking on the refractory period?"
"We're good to go whenever you two are ready." Linus replied.
"Then I'll see you two in a few minutes." Kirsten said, then headed off to get changed.
Cameron was finishing up the preparations when Kirsten reappeared in her cat suit. She climbed into the tank and prepared herself as Cameron went through his protocols.
"3…2…1…mark."
Suddenly she was thrown into the memories of Jason Sampson. This time she was standing in his office, and he was talking to someone she couldn't see.
"Jason, you have to do something about this!" the person was saying.
Jason had his back turned to the person talking. It was incredibly annoying to be limited by only one perspective.
"What's up buttercup?" Cameron asked.
"We're in his office. He's talking to someone but I can't see who."
"Everyone keeps telling me I need to do something!" Jason said, and Kirsten could tell he was furious.
Jason suddenly turned around and walked right through her, making her shudder. She hated it when they walked through her, even though technically she shouldn't be able to feel anything. Even so, when they did that she could feel it in the back of her mind, like someone gently tickling the back of her neck.
"Maybe I don't want to do something!" Jason was yelling, and she still couldn't see who he was talking too. "Maybe I just want to let things happen! I'm finally happy, why can't you people just leave me alone!"
Jason moved again, and this time she could clearly see the person's face. He looked important, even though she didn't know exactly who he was. He was young and clean cut. Obviously raised in the upper class.
"I'm not sure who this is, but I know what he looks like now. Young, clean cut. His parents look like they have some money." Kirsten said into the earpiece.
"Can you get a name?" Cameron asked.
Kirsten turned her attention back to Jason. "The firm won't lose any money over this." Jason said.
"That's not what I'm concerned about, and you know it." The person said.
"Luke. I'm fine. We're fine." Jason said.
"His name is Luke." Kirsten said into the earpiece. "No last name, but Jason is talking to him about money."
Suddenly the memory changed, and Jason was standing in his kitchen, cooking something. He was only in boxers.
"Kirsten? Where are you?" Cameron's voice sounded worried this time.
"I'm in his…house?"
"No, you can't be. You aren't on the memories we've mapped out at all."
Kirsten watched Jason cook, and she could practically smell eggs.
"Do you smell that?" She asked out loud.
"Smell what?" Came the reply. "Kirsten, where are you?"
Kirsten didn't reply, especially not when a tall blonde suddenly appeared and walked over to the man who was quite obviously not Jason. The girl hugged him from behind and kissed his neck, laughing softly when he turned around to kiss her lips.
She was so shocked at who the couple was that her heart rate spiked enough that Cameron was frantically yelling in her ear.
"Kirsten? Are you okay? What's going on?"
"I'm fine," she said, taking a deep breath. "Nothing's going on."
"You need to bounce soon." He said worriedly. "And you're still not on the map."
Kirsten watched as the couple completely forgot about breakfast, and instead focused on their impromptu make out session. It made no sense. She was in Jason Sampson's mind.
So why was the couple she was seeing her and Cameron?