Ten

A knock on the door told Wanda that it must be morning. Being in this dark room had made her lose all sense of time and it was unsettling to realise just how much time had passed. Sure, she'd slept, but it had been a fitful sleep punctuated with dreams of Melanie.

"Come in," she said absently, still mostly lost in thought. All she could really think of was the conversation she'd remembered. Seeing that disbelief on Jared's face and feeling the urgent sense of conviction in Melanie had made her reconsider her position. Maybe staying here, she could do something, but what? She didn't have any skills to offer. She was just someone caught up in this mess. All she had was memories of someone else's life.

Light poured in from the open door and Wanda squinted against it. Then, the person at the door hit a switch and the whole room lit up. For a moment, the light blinded her and she blinked against it, willing her eyes to adjust.

"Hello," a voice said and she froze. It couldn't be, she thought, confusion making her stomach churn.

"Ian," she said, unable to think of a better response. A moment later, her eyes have adjusted and she looks up at him, quite unable to believe he's here.

"Yes," he said. Wanda noticed he looked different from the last time she'd seen him. Less certain, as if he was worried about how she'd react to him being here. He wasn't in his nurse's uniform and it made him look a lot younger.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Wanda didn't want to tip-toe around the truth, not now. Even though she still felt a little unable to wrap her head around all she'd been told, Wanda still wanted honesty about this. She had to know how much of a part he'd had in her kidnapping.

He had to have been instrumental—he of course, knew something of her secret. Maybe he'd even known Melanie.

"I work for Jeb," Ian said simply. He was looking at her, but cautiously as he assessed her reactions to him.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"That's all," he said, then a pause as he realised what she was really asking. "I didn't have anything to do with Jared. Not directly. I didn't want to be involved."

"What did you do then?"

"He asked about you when we first met. It wasn't long after your operation. Well, he asked about your heart. I didn't tell him your name. He figured most of that out by himself."

"But how did he know about the rest?" she said, meaning the dreams; the memories.

Ian looked down. "That was my fault. I passed on a document not realising what it was."

Wanda turned away from him and leaned against the pillow on her bed. He wasn't innocent of anything, just as she'd suspected, but it wasn't as much as she'd assumed. All he could be really at fault for was accidental. But that didn't make her feel okay, not by a long shot. He still played a part.

"Please leave," she said flatly.

"I'm sorry," Ian said. "I didn't want this to happen. I thought I could keep you safe from that."

Wanda didn't open her eyes. If she did, even for a second, she'd probably forgive him, or even cry and those two things were the last thing she wanted. She wanted to feel angry, to have something to channel to make her feel less helpless in this place—something to remind her to be productive.

When she didn't say anything else, Ian simply left. He'd left the light on, but even that small kindness wasn't going to move her.

She waited until she was sure he was gone somewhere else before opening her eyes. Beside her bed was a bowl of cereal, some kind of muesli. No blueberries.

Strangely, the lack of berries makes her feel unbearably sad and before Wanda can stop herself, she's crying.

o0o

It's an immeasurable amount of time later when Jeb arrives. Thankfully, all her tears have long since passed and though there's still something of an ache in her chest that has nothing to do with her new heart, she feels so much better.

"Hello Wanda," Jeb said as he walked in.

"Hi," she said. "I've made my decision."

Jeb looked at her curiously. "And what that might be?"

Wanda took a deep breath. "I'll help."

"That's good to hear," Jeb said and she detected something like surprise in his voice. She wasn't sure why, but having seen Melanie's perspective had changed her outlook. Having seen the way Jared had acted in that memory, Jared who was now so convicted, made her think that maybe there was something here. Something she wanted to help with.

"I don't know what I can do," Wanda said. "I don't have any special skills. I've never even done anything illegal."

"You have a story—and Mel's memories. Both of those things are more important than you know."

Wanda felt a stab of bitterness at being defined, even in part, by her connection to Melanie. Part of her still wanted to deny it existed, but there was living proof in the face of Jared Howe and that was impossible to ignore. But despite that, there was some comfort in his words. Jeb understood she was important somehow.

"But how can I make sense of any of it? I don't even remember everything. I don't know if I ever will."

"We'll figure something out," Jeb said and she looked at him sceptically. How could he do anything about this? It was unfamiliar territory for her and perhaps most doctors in the world. Most people didn't even really think it could be possible. But despite it all, Jeb seemed sure he knew how to figure it all out.

"Thank you," she said.

Jeb just nodded. "It's no problem, Wanda. This place here is supposed to help people. Now, I'm sorry that you arrived to us like this, but I don't know how we can fix that now."

"Can I contact my parents?" she asked.

"I wish you could, but I'm pretty sure the Soul Institute has got their eyes on them. And I can't risk that."

"Okay," she said, though she resolved to find a way despite that. She wanted to reassure her parents somehow, to let them know that she was okay. They'd spent so much of their lives taking care of her and she wasn't about to just abandon that. No, she'd find a way to reassure them somehow. They had to know she was fine.

Jeb stood up and Wanda was sure he was going to leave, but instead he looked at her expectantly. "Well, now let's get some fresh air. Meet a few people," he said.

Wanda was so surprised she nearly fell out of bed. "You're letting me out of here? Just like that?" she asked.

'You'll still have to stay here, but there's little need for this kind of secrecy now," Jeb said. "Follow me."

o0o

It felt surprisingly good to be outside. In her time before the operation, she'd barely been able to leave her room most days, let alone go outside—unless of course she was going to the hospital, but even then she'd be carefully escorted.

Now, she was pretty much free. Thanks to the weeks of physical therapy and the miracle of the heart and whatever drugs they'd given her, she could be outside and walk feely.

"It's a nice day," she commented and relished in the way the warmth of the sun felt on her cheeks.

Now that she was outside, Wanda saw that this place was a giant warehouse. There were people around, all looking like an ordinary crowd. Those people didn't seem too friendly towards her, though. Sure, they smiled when they saw Jeb, but that stopped once they saw her. It was as if they already knew who she was. What she was.

"How did you put all of this together?" she asked, looking around. It seemed an impossible feat, but yet here it all was: Jeb's resistance.

"Hard work, mostly; it wasn't easy to do," Jeb said.

"But where are we?" she asked and wondered if he'd tell her anything.

"Around," was the only answer Jeb gave her. "None of the where matters. Right now, what matters is that this is it. This is us fighting back against the people who've hurt the world. All these people have lost someone to the Host Program."

The way he spoke, it made her understand how people had gravitated towards him.

"Not everyone believes the damage that's been done and I don't blame them. Folks used to call me crazy, but I guess I showed them," Jeb said with a laugh. "Here, we're working towards finding a way to not only expose the truth, but stop it from happening."

"How do you do any of this?" Wanda asked.

"We watch and wait. Gather the information we need. Proof is important to us here. If we can expose them, to show the world with certainty what has been done, they won't be able to hide anymore. We owe the world the truth."

"But what could I do?" she asked. "I'm not like Melanie was."

"You know her," Jeb said. "Whatever secrets she had, they're with you now."

"No one can know that," Wanda said. "Maybe I only know a little bit."

Jeb just looked at her. "I wouldn't bet on it," he said. "I think there's more in there."

Wanda shook her head. "This is all so much," she said.

"That's just the way it is. I'm afraid I can't do anything about that."

As they moved along, Wanda spotted Ian out of the corner of her eye. She paused for a moment, his eyes locking with hers, but she looked away quickly. She still wasn't ready to forgive him for what happened. He was still part of the reason why she was here.

"But shouldn't Melanie have had a back-up?" Wanda questioned. "Surely she understood how dangerous her information could be."

"I'm sure she had something hidden away. However, it ain't gonna easy to find, Wanda. As much as I want to think so, I know Mel wouldn't just deliver it here. She's smarter than that."

"Then I guess I better figure this one out," Wanda said, meaning it. As much as she hated how she'd come here, she felt like she had to do something. Melanie had died so she could live and Wanda realised she couldn't let that go to waste. She had to help, somehow.

She owed the girl who'd given her new life that much.

A/N: Yes! My hiatus us all over and I'm back to writing this fic. Exams were hell, but that's all over now and I'm officially free from all responsibility on that front. I just have to wait it out now. And that equals prime fic-writing time (along with a whole bunch of other things I've got planned)

Anyway, thoughts and theories on this would be great. I love your feedback (and I know this isn't much, but chapter 11. I'm excited about that one).