I think I may have forgotten to post this important chapter when I wrote it! Wow, BAAAAAAD ROBOT... As always, they're not mine, they're JJ's, and Warner Bros., and Fox's. I just wish they were mine. And again, to the beta of all beta's, DixieGirl... Slainte!

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Walter squinted in the dimly lit room. "Hello? Cameron, where are you? It's Walter Bishop. I can barely see in here." He groped along the wall, until he found the light switch. When he turned the lights on, his heart sank at the sight before him.

Cameron lay on a bare gurney, his wrists and ankles shackled to the sides. His eyes were open, but glassy and staring blankly into nothingness. His skin was even paler than before, and covered with a thin sheen of sweat; a fine trickle of saliva had escaped his lips. "Oh, no," Walter sighed as he stood next to the gurney. He placed a gentle hand on Cameron's cheek, wiping the sweat away with his thumb. "Cameron? It's Walter. Walter Bishop." He leaned closer and took the young man's face in his hands. "Come on, now, son, focus."

He watched as Cameron's eyes rolled a bit, but finally came to rest on Walter's face. "Wallllllrrr… ' he mumbled, blinking and struggling to focus.

"Yes!" Walter said brightly. "Hello there! It's all right now, son. I've got you." Walter set about freeing Cameron from his restraints, frowning at the red welts he saw on his wrists. "Good for you, boy, you keep on fighting them," he said approvingly as he wrapped his arms around Cameron to sit him up. The young man's head fell back like a rag doll's. "Whoops! No, no, sorry about that," Walter declared, moving his hand behind Cameron's neck to support him like a baby. "Come on, now, speak to me, Cameron. Keep talking. What did they give you? Do you know?"

"Walllllrrr… " Cameron repeated. The young man then placed his hands shakily on Walter's chest, and looked directly into his eyes. "Help me," he said. "Please… all this stuff… in my head… it hurts… I see… "

"Perhaps you're starting to remember. Let's see if I can help you with that." He saw Cameron's eyes starting to close. "No!" he shouted, patting his cheek "Stay with me, son."

Dad… Walter heard his own voice in his head. You just called me Dad

Yeah, I guess I did… a voice replied. Cameron's voice. "What?" Walter whispered, slapping Cameron's face harder when he got no response. "Cameron! Answer me. What's your father's name?"

"Dunno."

"Where do you come from?"

"I… don't… KNOW!" Cameron shrieked, tearing away from Walter and lurching off the gurney, only to stagger two steps and fall to the floor, clutching his head. Scuttling back to huddle in the corner of the room, he pounded his fists against his head and muttered, "Whaddya want from me? Leave me alone, haven't I done enough? Leave me alone."

Walter rushed over to him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said agitatedly. "It's just… no, never mind. It's all right, I'm sorry, Cameron. It's all right." He reached out and took one of Cameron's hands, trying to unclench his fist. "Come on, now, it's okay. Just breathe. I won't hurt you. I promise. I want to help you. Would you like me to help you remember?"

Cameron's breathing settled, and he focused on Walter's face again. Nodding hesitantly, he said, "Bits and pieces. Just bits and pieces. Like… two places at once. Trapped. 'Neither here nor there.'"

"Did you say trapped?" Walter's mind was racing. "Cameron, you said you were found near Reiden Lake. Is that right?"

"In Reiden Lake. Was on fire. It burned. I burned. Then it wasn't."

It couldn't be. Cameron said he was trapped; he was found near Reiden Lake. Could he be the person whose voice Olivia heard begging to be found? It was impossible; whoever was trapped had to be operating the Machine, and this poor young man was a total stranger. Walter had never seen him before in his life – he would remember someone else on his own team, wouldn't he?

Shaking off the insane notion, Walter plowed ahead with Cameron. "Yes, the lake suddenly emptied. That's right. What else did you see? Close your eyes, and breathe. In and out. In and out." He watched Cameron's eyes slip shut and his breathing deepen. "Very good. That's excellent, son. Now think back. The lake was burning. What else did you see?"

"She's okay now. They're okay now," Cameron whispered. "But I didn't get to say goodbye. I'm just… gone."

"Say goodbye to whom?" Walter watched, stunned, as Cameron raised his arms above his head as though he were suspended by them. "Cameron?" Suddenly, Cameron's head tipped back, his arms dropped, and his back arched. "Cameron!" Walter shouted as the young man began to seize. The lights in the room began to flicker on and off as Cameron's body shuddered in Walter's arms.

As Walter tried to keep Cameron from harming himself, the door flew open. "Oh, thank God, Doctor Newton! He's having a seizure!" Walter said to the man who had entered.

"So I see, Walter," Thomas Jerome Newton said in his clipped British accent. "You shouldn't be in here, you know. You've been very naughty." He stepped closer, with no intention of helping Walter or his desperately ill friend. "Now, whatever are we to do with you?" A large man in an orderly uniform appeared behind him while he grabbed Walter and hauled him to his feet.

"What… I don't understand. I didn't do anything wrong. I just want to help Cameron. Please, he's terribly ill, we have to help him." Walter looked down at Cameron, who had stopped seizing, but was now slumped bonelessly against the wall.

"Don't worry about him. You need to worry about yourself right now." He motioned to the orderlies. "Take him to his room. And make sure he stays there. Quietly." Newton shoved Walter roughly toward the orderly; Walter tripped and nearly fell, crying out as the burly man grabbed for him.

"Let him go!" Cameron suddenly roared, hurtling himself at Walter's captor. Walter fell to the floor as Cameron, like a whirlwind, attacked. Walter had never seen anyone fight like that; Cameron's reflexes were cat-like and precise, and he had the man on the floor in short order.

Walter gazed proudly at his hero, but his smile faded when he saw the orderly's face; a silvery stream ran from his nose and mouth. "Oh, dear God… " Walter breathed.

The orderly started to revive, when Cameron grabbed him by the head and snapped his neck in one quick motion. The orderly fell back to the floor, dead. Cameron faced Walter, who recoiled in fear.

"This is your champion, Walter. A cold-blooded murderer," Newton smirked. "Yes, you should be afraid. Look at him."

Walter looked at the wild-eyed young man, and stepped away from him. "What… what are you? Who are you? What are they?"

"Shapeshifters, Walter. You know what they are," Cameron pleaded. "Please, Walter, we gotta get outta here. They're not human. He's not human!" Cameron pointed at Newton.

Walter continued to shrink from Cameron. "Shapeshifters? I don't understand. How do you know about them? Doctor Newton is a good man. How can you say that about him?"

"I… I'm not sure… I just know. Now come on, Walter. Trust me." Cameron held his hand out to Walter. "Walter, please," he pleaded.

Walter looked from Cameron to Newton, as three more orderlies filed into the room. Fearfully, he stepped closer to Newton, and said, "I can't help you. I'm sorry, I can't help you."

"Walter?" Cameron whispered, heartbroken.

Newton nodded to the orderlies, who descended on Cameron and restrained him. "He's become violent," he said as Cameron struggled vainly in their grasp. Grabbing Cameron's face painfully, Newton smiled at him. "We need to calm you down, Cameron. I hesitate to use ECT unless it's a truly extenuating circumstance. I'm afraid this is one of them."

Cameron spat in his face. Newton moved his hand to Cameron's hair, yanking his head back angrily. "You wanted to see what's in the lab," he said silkily, "Well, now you're going to find out, Cameron." He released his grasp. "Take him to the ECT room."

Cameron looked again with terrified eyes to Walter as the orderlies started to drag him from the room. He lunged forward and grabbed Walter by the lapels of his sweater, but a hard kidney punch from one of Newton's men instantly loosened his grip. "Walter, please! Don't let them do this! Walter!"

As Cameron's cries faded down the hall, Newton patted Walter on the arm. "You're doing the right thing, Walter. Now let's get you back to your room."

"Please," Walter said, "Do you think I could go with him? I don't want him to be alone. He's frightened."

Newton considered for a moment. It might be fun to let the old man watch. "That's very kind of you Walter. This is a very positive step in your recovery. All right, but you must stay in the outer room and observe only. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes," Walter answered obediently. "He… it won't hurt him, will it?"

"No, of course not," Newton soothed. "I promise you, Walter. He won't feel a thing."