Wait! Stop! If you just jumped to this chapter, you're missing the one before it. This is the second chapter I put up today.

Tear You Down

You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart – Princess of China ~ Coldplay

The days slowly blend together. Each one bleeds into the next. North, York, Maine, DC, South and even Carolina come to visit every day. Usually though, Cali sits at Wash's side and thinks. She ponders on the meaning and reason for Connie's message. She wonders what she is meant to do with the information. But mostly, Cali worries over the impending waking of the sleeping silver Freelancer beside her. What will it be like? How will Epsilon act? What was the meltdown in the operating room about?

Cali refuses to leave Wash's bed for anything but a shower.

Finally, on the fifth day, the doctors declare his brain activity has returned to normal. They stop sedating him. Cali holds Wash's hand tightly until the effect wears off. Still worrying.

It begins innocently enough. Wash's eyelids flutter open. He groans and pushes himself up into a sitting position. Recognition flares and he smiles. Cali smoothes his wild blond hair. She struggles to return the smile. It hardly tugs up the corners of her lips. It never had a shot at reaching her eyes.

"How are you feeling, Agent Washington?" the Director asks. He stands a few paces behind Cali.

Wash glances at the stern-faced man. He is impassive behind his square, black-rimmed glasses. "Tired," he croaks.

"What do you remember about the operation?" probes the Director cruelly.

Cali has learned Wash's AI is the memory fragment.

"Remember…? Huh." Wash licks his lips and furrows his brow in concentration. "I remember you waking me up."

"Good. Please continue."

Cali clenches her teeth as a distressed look darkens the Freelancer's face.

"Well… Y-you brought me here. You gave me an injection and then I – I fell asleep. Then – " he breaks off. A twitch forms at the side of his mouth.

"Go on," encourages the Counselor. His light pen is poised over his datapad.

Suddenly Wash's eyes turn a deep royal blue. "No, Allison! You can't go!"

Cali's teeth find her lip as he turns on her, throwing off her hand. "Listen to me, you have to stay here!"

"Put him back under," says the Director lazily.

A medic leaps forward and does as asked. Wash slumps backwards against his pillow, a crazed light fading from his once-again green eyes.

The Director turns to the door. Flatly, he adds, "They will have to go. Starting with him."

And with that, he storms from the ward, bringing Cali's hopes with him.

She catches at Wash's hand tightly again. "Please hang in there, Wash."

XOX

She wakes to somebody shaking her shoulder.

"What?" she murmurs.

"Come on Cali. Let's get you something to eat." It is Nev standing over her. She helps her stand. Together, they make their way to the mess hall.

Cali rubs the clinging tendrils of sleepiness from her eyes. With a jolt, she reaches out with her mind for Tau. He meets her and a wave of relief rolls through her. She begins to shiver, there is no way she can just give up her AI. He is too much a part of her now. Cali understands what that means. She knows why Connie left her the file now.

York moves over to make room for the groggy gold Freelancer. She stares blankly at the tray of supper Nevada constructed for her.

"And because of him, I don't even get one!" South says, just loud enough for Cali to hear.

"Give it up, South," York says tiredly. "At least you won't have to go through them taking a part of you away after."

"Oh, shut your face, York," she flashes back haughtily.

"Yeah, thanks for welcoming me back everyone," mumbles Cali around a mouthful of what tastes like ash.

"About time you quit moping about in the Infirmary with your boyfriend like he died," the younger Dakota sneers.

"Yeah, I feel so bad for you, South," spits Cali bitterly. She's itching for a screaming match. "Go fuck yourself."

"Has anyone seen Texas lately?" asks North loudly, cutting off his sister's rebuttal.

No one answers.

"Why?" asks Cali.

"I haven't been able to find her all day. I wanted to ask her something," he explains. She sees something interesting in the Freelancer's eyes. The same look in York's whenever Carolina is around.

"I heard she left to keep Omega away from the Director," someone from another table replies.

"Yeah," another Freelancer jumps in. "She's next after that Washington freak."

Cali tries to stand and deliver a cutting remark. York grabs her shoulder and pushes her roughly back into her chair. "Don't," he says warningly.

She'll thank him later for that. When she has her head on straight again. Cali bites back her sharp words. "So they really are removing all of our AI?"

North agrees grimly.

The rest of the meal passes in ear-splitting silence. It crawls deep into the Freelancers' ears and chokes off any thoughts of pleasant dinner-time chit-chat. Cali goes back to the Infirmary. Wash is half-awake and muttering something to himself.

"Wash?" Cali asks cautiously.

That isn't Wash, Tau says despondently. Look at his eyes. They're blue again.

"Epsilon?" Cali tries again.

The AI trails off at the sound of his name. "Allison?" he queries in a louder voice.

"No. I – I'm Cali."

"I remember you, Cali," says Epsilon. "Wash doesn't want you to worry about him."

Cali slowly crosses to the only occupied bed. She sits in the chair beside the Freelancer. "How are you feeling?"

"I used to have a girl once." Epsilon gives no sign of hearing Cali. He stumbles on with Wash's voice. "Do you know happened? You know where she is now?"

Allison…? He is remembering from Alpha.

"I know what happened to her, Epsilon." Cali nods. "I know what happened to Allison."

"It's all his fault! I – I tried as hard as I could but… but I let her die," Epsilon says, voice rising to a wail. "No matter how hard I tried, no matter how much I wanted to change it, I just had to let her die!"

"Epsilon, what happened wasn't your fault," Cali says soothingly. "You couldn't have done more."

"I could have saved her," the AI shouts stubbornly. "I don't deserve this."

Cali strokes his hair. "No, you don't. You deserve better."

"I don't believe you," Epsilon screams. "You're just lying to me too." He rips himself away from Cali as though she slapped him. "All you do is lie. I can't trust anyone."

He falls back and lays still for a moment. Cali hovers, unsure what to do now. She stifles a gasp as he starts twitching. All of Wash's body dissolves into shakes and shivers. A long, broken cry threads from his lips. It rises into a bloodcurdling screech and then…

Silence.

Cali runs, calling for a doctor, a medic, anyone. A medic comes rushing in. He checks on Wash, or Epsilon and calls the Director. She stands against the wall, trying so hard just to not break down.

When the Director arrives, he orders the doctors to prep Wash for removal.

"What happened to him?" Cali asks, choking on the thick mound of tears in her throat.

The Director stalks by her without a word.

She snatches a handful of his crisp shirt. "What's wrong with him?" she yells.

The Director calmly removes her hand and gazes levelly at her. "Epsilon committed suicide."

XOX

Cali knows that an AI self-destructing in someone's head is bad. Really bad. Like, enough-to-cause-massive-amounts-of-trauma bad. Her stomach drops through the floor.

"We are removing the Epsilon AI now," the Director continues, "to try to contain the amount of damage to Agent Washington's mind. There is no telling what state he will be in afterward."

Cali realizes he is speaking to her gently and has rested a hand on her shoulder. How dare he try to placate her! This is all his doing.

Tau takes control of her before something foolish occurs. He allows the Director to steer them outside. Tau releases Cali when the hateful man is ducking into the operating room. She presses the side of her face to the window and numbly watches the proceedings. She becomes aware of a presence next to her. Nevada.

The other woman takes her by the arm, her grip tight on Cali's bare skin. "Come on, it's almost midnight."

"So?" Cali protests, digging in and refusing to allow Nev to shepherd her somewhere far from Wash.

"So you're tired. You can't help Wash right now," replies the stockier woman. "Get some sleep. If you're rested now, you'll be able to sit with him longer later."

Cali looks longingly at Wash's prone form through the window. "I'm scared," she admits. "What if something goes wrong and I'm not there?"

Nev stops attempting to drag Cali. She gazes reassuringly at her. "I promise to get you if anything happens. I swear."

Cali nods once and reluctantly stumbles along behind the green and black Freelancer. They go into Recovery. Nev tucks Cali into a bed next to Wash's.

Tau softly hums, lulling his agent into an uneasy sleep. Cali dreams she is running. Running through snow up to her knees. And no matter how fast she seems to move, she never gets anywhere. There is somewhere she needs to be. Some person she needs to see. But she just can't get there.

XOX

"Cali? Cali, wake up. Tau, wake her up, I don't have much time!"

Cali sits up and glances around. A black-armoured form is settled on the bed next to her. She remembers all that transpired last night and evert last trace of grogginess evaporates immediately. "Wash?" she asks frantically.

"He's stable now," replies Tex. "Cali, I need you to listen to me. Before Connie left, she made a whole – "

"Yeah, she gave me one. I know."

If this surprised the black Freelancer, she gives no sign. "Good, at least I don't have to explain it to you." She looks around quickly. "Here's the deal. I need your help. I'm taking the Alpha AI away from the Director. This madness has got to stop. Now."

Cali dips her head. "So what's going to go down?"

"I'm breaking into the wing where the Director has it locked up. I have help for all that. I can get through on my own from there," explains Tex.

"Wait, I don't understand what this all has to do with me. Why do you need me?" Cali spreads her hands.

Tex nods to herself, as if approving what Cali said. "I need someone who knows nearly everything on the inside just in case another variable emerges."

"You mean, backup?" She raises an eyebrow.

Tex agrees softly. "You're in a good position here, Cali. You won't have any distractions, people wander in and out all day visiting so I can get messages to – and from – you. Best of all, the Director and Counselor will be coming in here every day from the Alpha wing. You'll be able to tell me where they are and when on the day we move."

Cali weighs her options. Either she accepts and jeopardizes her chances of staying with Wash. Or she declines and loses the one shot to prevent anything like this from ever happening again and the opportunity to keep Tau.

"When is this going to actually happen?" Cali asks after a moment of thought.

"That I'll send with my infiltrator," replies Tex.

"York? He's involved in this?"

"I told him all about my plan, yeah. He knew what AI removal meant for him and Delta." Tex gets up as she speaks.

When Tex reaches the doorway, Cali calls, "Good luck!"

Then Tex steps out into the dark hall.

Cali casts about for a clock. Four a.m. Still much too early. She glances over to Wash. He is sleeping peacefully. She lays down and goes back to sleep.