Day 2

Ten hours later, he woke up in a strange bed in strange surroundings. This wasn't his room, he realized, and noticed that he was still fully dressed and covered in a blanket. Then, the memories came flooding back.

"Oh my god" he said again.

That's when he realized that there was a warm hand still grasping his. His gaze followed it along a slim, yet muscular, arm toward a shoulder covered in a medium blue t-shirt, to a slender neck, and finally to a face that was partially obscured by long blond hair.

Slowly, careful not to wake her up, he got his hand free and moved to her face. Maybe he just mistook her for someone else. He did have a nightmare the day before about Lucy, perhaps he hallucinated her last night-- the stress of that day having taken an emotional toll on him.

He moved her hair away from her face to see who this mystery woman really was and froze again. He had to be dreaming, because instead of a beautiful blond woman he didn't recognize, he saw Lucy. Not someone who looked like Lucy, but Lucy. She was still asleep, and her face looked so peaceful and innocent.

He continued to watch her until her eyes slowly opened and focused on him. Their eyes met and for almost a minute, they simply stared at each other. She brought her hand up to touch his cheek. Out of confusion and anger, Carter started swinging wildly at her. Lucy quickly got up and straddled him; pinning his arms to his sides until he calmed down.

"Stop. Stop. Just calm down. Let me talk to you." She said.

"No." He said.

"Let me talk to you, ok?" She said.

"No!!!!" He said and broke out in tears again.

She released her grip on him and put her arms around him, holding him until he was calm enough to listen her. They laid back down on the bed and stayed that way. As soon as he was calm enough, they talked.

She revealed that she was not the Lucy Knight, but a clone. The organization that she worked for recruited agents by cloning people who died senseless deaths. But what was really incredible was that they had perfected technology that allowed them to read and store memories. After Dr. Romano had finished sewing Lucy's chest closed and left her alone, the archiving team came in and scanned her brain, reading the RNA sequences that formed the basis for memory engrams. This technology was created almost thirty years ago, and the cloning process almost forty years before the first sheep was successfully cloned in the late 1990s.

She had been working as an Agent for almost a year when their security was compromised and several people were captured and killed. Most of their people were safely in hiding and regrouping. A small group, including her, were still on the run. Their pursuers had their files: information on their host's pasts. Each one of them were given an ultimatum: Give up and cooperate, or someone their host knew would die.

Of course, to ensure that their plan would succeed, they would not reveal who they targeted. Also, to ensure that the kill was clean, the person chosen would die a death that would appear "natural." In Carter's case, it would appear to be a random hit-and-run in the parking garage, or a drug overdose given his recent morphine addiction.

So, her plan was to protect Carter and avoid capture. To do this, she had to protect Carter personally. To ensure no one else would be targeted, she sent e-mails and pre-recorded voice messages to the hospital, media, and law enforcement agencies. She didn't expect any of them to believe her, but, if someone else died within the week, the warnings would get the police to take a closer look at the death. Her enemies wouldn't take the risk of being detected; they liked things quiet and neat.

Once Carter was safe, they would hide long enough for her people to find her pursuers and stop them. She was keeping in touch with her superiors with a portable satellite connection and a sub-notebook computer.

Carter was still skeptical about her story. Cloning was possible today largely due to computers and refined methodology. But forty years ago? It would only be that someone made that advance and kept it quiet. Archiving memory from the human brain? That still isn't possible, even today.

He realized that he was already late for work and had to check in before Kerry called the police. Lucy gave him a secure line through her computer/satellite setup and he called the ER. Kerry Weaver answered, relieved that he was ok. He only said that he indeed was in danger, but he met the mystery person and was safe. Dr. Weaver was now very worried and asked what was going on. He said he would be fine and to have everyone check their e-mail and voice mail for an important message. After reassuring her again, he hung up.

Over lunch, Carter and Lucy began to talk. Lucy couldn't give any specific details about the cloning process. But she was able to generally describe it without compromising security. Carter was expecting something like out of "The Matrix" and said as much.

To his surprise, Lucy laughed.

"No. It's not like what you see in the movies. You don't wake up and find yourself in a tank, inside a dark room with wires coming out of you and breathing liquid. It does start out in a similar way though." She said.

She continued on to explain the process. Using a blood sample, the genetic code was extracted and used to grow a fetus. The fetus is placed into an incubation tank, where it is allowed to develop at a far more rapid rate than a fetus would develop in a womb; the process took less than a month. The Agent is developed to the point just before their host's death and taken out of the tank. Kept under sedation, the agent is cleaned up, and placed in a large bed inside a very comfortable room.

"It's important that when an Agent wakes up for the first time that they are as comfortable as possible." She explained.

The first week was a transition period. Most agents suffer shock and disbelief, along with the task of accepting new memories, which were added during the incubation period.

After a few days, the agent proceeded to physical therapy to develop their muscles. Developing at a high rate of speed didn't allow the muscles to fully develop. The physical therapy lasts about a month, and advanced to include a program to build and maintain muscle tone.

Then onto the training, which is mainly testing, since the knowledge and skills needed were programmed into the Agent's brain during their incubation period. Finally, the agent was given their new identity and went out into the world.

"How do you live? How do you handle not ever seeing your friends or family again?" Carter asked.

"One day at a time and new friends. That and lots of philosophical and religious information." She said, smiling.

"We are also given total privacy and access to any information about our families and friends. I kept an eye on my mother and sister for the first few months to see if they were ok." She said.

She hesitated for a moment.

"I also kept an eye on you." She said.

Lucy brought her hand up to his cheek.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I couldn't just show up and tell you that I didn't blame you for my death."

"Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault either." Carter said.

They joined hands, drawing strength from each other, before she continued.

"I knew you got addicted to your pain medication. I still couldn't help you. But I did give you some comfort." She said.

"How?" Carter asked.

"Remember the flowers after you got out of detox?"

Carter remembered that first day out of detox. He was in his room, the first thing he saw were those flowers and the get well card.

The inscription said:

To John,

I know you've felt guilt and pain. You lost the way, but you will find it again. You will find strength within yourself, and you shall prevail.

A Former Med Student

"That card made all the difference to me." He said, reminiscing about that moment.

"When I got back to Chicago, I tracked down every medical student I ever talked to. I never knew who sent them until now. Thank you." Carter said, tears starting to form in his eyes yet again.

"Hey. Just a little something to brighten your day." She said.

Their talking continued well into the evening. Carter placed another call, this time to Gamma, to let her know he was great, and was going to spend some time with a friend for the rest of the week. Gamma was also worried about him, but she could hear that he was happy; truly happy.

Lucy took the couch that night, with Carter in the bed. Carter insisted that he take the couch, but Lucy convinced him otherwise. Besides, she liked sleeping on the couch.