Part 10 - Second Chances

Summary: This picks up right where part 9 ended.

"You… you drugged me?" She asked, her body feeling heavier and heavier with every passing minute.

"I did," Kurt replied, "I figured it was the only way to get you to hear me out without you running off."

"What makes you think I want to listen to anything that you have to say?" She replied, "what makes you think I won't use anything you tell me against you."

"I don't know that you won't," he said, "but i won't be able to live with myself if I don't try."

She watched him go to the kitchen and return with a glass of water and place it in front of her. She obviously couldn't reach for it and drink if she wanted to. They both knew it. And she knew if did need a drink, he'd have to be the one to do it. She hated how much control he suddenly had.

"You know what I think?" He said as he sat down, wasting not time to get straight to it, "I think you don't even want to get out of here. You know why?"

She rolled her eyes and purses her lips at him.

"Because you need us. Whatever you think you're planning on doing, you still need our resources to do it," he said calmly, "but that's not the only reason. I think you're curious."

"What on earth would I be curious about? I know everything there is to know about all of you," she replied, "I spent two years of my life studying you, watching you, learning about every single pathetic weakness you have."

"Not about me. Not about the team. You might think you know us. You probably do," he said and then smiled briefly, "but you no longer know yourself. You're missing three years of your life and there's so much to learn about. I think you're more curious about Jane than anything else. The person you've been for the past three years. Who she was and what she did. You're intrigued. You want to know. Need to know. To understand how things turned out the way they did."

She tried to look away, to hide the look in her eyes that was admitting her was right.

"And I'm the only one who could give you these answers," he added confidently, "and you know what I also think? I think you might be slightly jealous as well. Of Jane. Of the second chance she got and the life she had… the life she has."

"I'm not jealous," she but back.

"Maybe not yet," he said, "or maybe you're not ready to admit it."

They were silent for a long moment, Kurt studying the ring on his finger and Remi studying him.

"I'm trying to help you," he whispered gently.

"You're trying to get Jane back," Remi chided, "you're trying to turn me into Jane… or whatever this experiment is."

"There's no turning involved. I'm not trying to erase you, Remi," his words were careful, gentle even, and his use of her name made her uncomfortable, "I cannot imagine how terrible it is to have a part of your life missing. I know how much it pained Jane to have her memories gone. I am just trying to help you."

"You think if I remember those three years I'll go back to being her? Is that what you want?" she argued.

"I don't know," he admitted sadly, "I have no idea what will happen if you do remember– what or who you choose to be."

He took a deep breath and moved closer to her. "I just want you to realize that you can be so much more than Shepherd led you to believe you can be, than she morphed you into being," he told her, "she's not in control of you anymore. You are in control and you are stronger than her, the her voice in your head and the years of brainwashing she'd put you through."

Remi studied him for a moment, her gaze locked with his and it unnerved her that she knew he was telling the truth just then. He genuinely believed that.

"So you think I'm an inherently good person? What kind of stupid notion is that?" she said.

"I do."

"Why?" her anger bubbled through every word she said.

"Because I know your heart," he whispered softly.

If she still had control over her body then, she was sure she would have punched, or at least gotten up and left.

"The only difference between the two of you is that Jane got to experience something you were never allowed to," he said, "and I think you deserve to. You deserve a second chance just like she did and I think you'll make the right choices when the time comes."

"The right choice being I become Jane again?" Remi said.

Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted sadly, "but at least it would be your choice. I owe you that much. You owe yourself that much."

"And if I stay, you'll tell me everything?" she asked daringly.

He nodded, "I will."

"Fill all the gaps and answer all my questions?" she asked again– her tone this time less challenging and more genuinely inquisitive.

"Yes," he confirmed.

"No matter how bad it makes you look?" she asked and while he winced at the question, he nodded.

She studied him for a moment, her gaze switching between him and her hands that sat idly in her lap, the wedding ring on her finger the only thing shimmering with life.

She caught his gaze once again and realized that she knew he was telling the truth. She wasn't sure where that knowledge came from– whether it was the months of studying before infiltrating the FBI or from someplace currently lost in the fog of her brain. But she knew he was not lying– it felt like an intimate knowledge that there is a burdened vow sitting between them that he would never lie to her.

His sincerity was infuriating and her trust in him more so even. But she knew this was her best shot. He was her best shot at figuring out what the hell was happening.

And so this time, when she looked back up at him, she nodded.

Next up: we see a little bit of Avery before we finding out what else Kurt is up to in his attempt to get his Jane back and help Remi/Jane find a cure for the ZIP poisoning.