Sarah'd seen Chris rubbing his temples, and watched open mouthed as he collapsed. So, she wasn't at all surprised when she'd heard him ask her for asprin. "Sure...," she replied brightly. "And I'll get you a glass of water too, ok?"

He nodded, and then shook his head. She saw, aside from the agony in his eyes, an insistence. "I'll go with you..."

She felt herself begin to argue, but he somehow shifted his expression into one she'd never been able to say no to. So, she sighed and stood up slowly. "The bathroom's this way," she explained as she started to walk, heading past the kitchen and the dining room table where everybody still sat, chatting amongst themselves.

She didn't need to turn around to notice he'd followed her. She...felt his eyes on the back of her neck. And it didn't scare her. It also didn't surprise her when he glanced quickly into the bathroom with his left eye. "I need to talk to you."

She nodded and let him follow her into the bathroom, and shut the door behind him. She heard him clearing his throat as she opened the medicine cabinet with her right hand, pulling a paper cup from the dispenser on top of the sink with her left.

"I can sense things," came the soft, low tones of his voice as she put the bottle of asprin down on top of the sink. "I..."

She raised her eyebrows and turned towards him. "As in psychic?"

He blushed and shook his head. And she wasn't sure how to deal with this...to take it. "It's not like that...I can't sense events but emotions....I can tell how people are feeling..."

"Empath then?"

She wasn't sure who was more embarrassed...but she knew the whole situation was strange, if not uncomfortable. For the both of them. She could see it in the way he held himself. And how it took him forever to figure out how to answer her. "It's genetic. I can't feel what others are feeling , or even understand it," he finally made out. "I just...get this wave of them. Like...now...you..."

She swallowed, gasped and turned back to the sink as she filled the paper cup with water, and then poured out two asprins from the large plastic bottle.

"You're confused, and scared...and embarassed." He took a deep breath and she couldn't look him in the eyes. "But it's fine. I asked you to come in here so that I could explain...you needed to know."

She sniffed. "What did I need to know? And why the hell is everything that has to do with my life on a need to know basis." She shook her head vehemently and grabbed the paper cup and the asprin, passing them to him.

He grabbed the asprin with his left hand and swallowed them. "I didn't think it was fair that you didn't know I knew what was going on inside your head. You and Cass are the only ones who don't know...and I at least owed you my explanation."

She nodded as he took the cup from her hand. "Is that all?"

He took a gulp from the cup and stared at her with eyes that looked like glass on the verge of breaking. "You'll take it the wrong way."

She gasped. "Ok," she made out through clenched teeth. "Now I have to know what you think...."

"I'm asking," he began slowly. "Because you're worried sick and you're feeling guilty. And you shouldn't be. Guilty that is."

"I'm stupid. I didn't think." She blinked and swallowed, grabbing a tissue from the top of the sink. "Cass told me about Mike and I lost it. Completely...and I made things worse by calling Mitch and...."

He sighed and she felt him take her hand in his. "Mike...your best friend, is in serious trouble, and you called Mitch...your boyfriend, to come and help him out of it?"

She raised her eyebrows and stepped back in shock. "Yeah...that's about the gist of it." She swallowed. "But you don't know Mitch..." she burst out, blinking her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying. "He's crazy..."

"And he's protective of you and your friends," Chris interjected, his voice calm. "If he's out here, with you, where you can see him, odds are he's not going to run off without telling you, or if he does..."

She smiled. "I'll be able to stop him, or at least follow him." She grabbed another tissue and dabbed at her eyes. "Thanks."

He nodded, and she saw somewhat of a satisfied expression in his eyes. "No problem." He winked. "And I hopefully won't need any more of these..."

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "I can't believe you," she began as she opened the door.

He shrugged his shoulders as she followed him out of the bathroom, noting that everybody else had moved to the couches in the living room and were busily watching a movie. They grabbed seats next to Cass and somehow settled down.
**

Once the movie had ended, a knock at the door broke the silence that filled the room. "

"Who is it?" Sloan asked in a tone that Sarah would ordinarily have described as desperate .

But this was anything but ordinary as Sarah had practically leapt towards the door, words neither available nor necessary. She opened it and saw a vision, like what her wildest dreams would look like if they'd become real. Six foot tall, blonde hair and a mess of bangs that covered aquamarine eyes. It was practically magnetic, the pull of him that brought her right into his arms, her head on his shoulder. "My god…"

"You're ok, " her vision, the other half of her heart breathed as he pulled his hands through her hair. She could almost feel him grinning. "I'm fine," he began, answering her unasked question.

She took a deep breath, trying to find something to say to him that didn't come out in a jumbled mess. "God…I….you…" She looked up at him, stepping back, holding his hands in hers. "How did you get here so damm fast?"

He grinned, and she saw a flash in his eyes she knew she didn't want to have explained. "You really want to know the answer to that question?"

Sarah laughed. She should have known better. There were things, she decided, if not remembered, about Mitch Stewart, her boyfriend more years than she cared to think about, that she really didn't want to know. "Moment of weakness" she admitted, giggling. "I guess," she finally said as she placed her lips on his, kissing for the first time since their respective departures for graduate school. She reveled in it and then grinned impishly as she broke it. " I don't..."

She smiled as Mitch put a protective arm around her and lead her towards the group of couches that served as her living room, watching as he looked the apartment over. "Good Idea," he mused.

"Well," Sarah grimaced as she caught Cass's glance...and heard the tone of her voice. "If it isn't Mitch Stewart," Cass began, as she gave Mitch a look that reminded Sarah of a very happy cat. "And why am I not surprised to see you barging in here at under an hour's time...all the way from Boston to LA..."

Mitch laughed, his aquamarine eyes dancing, and Sarah shook her head. "But you, Captain Catherine Schultz of the USAF," he replied in a tone that had Sarah want to laugh hysterically. "Already know the answer to that."

Cass shook her head and shot Sarah a look she was glad she didn't understand. He stuck out his tongue in response which made Sarah burst out laughing as Mitch introduced himself to the people who'd spent the last few hours with her.

She watched them all take stock of each other, and soon after, they all were relaxing and chatting. This, to Sarah, was just pure heaven in the oddest of moments. She was scared as all heck for Mike, but Mitch was there with her. He'd help her through anything. He'd done it before, and if nothing else, that's what she was counting on....

In the silence of the relaxed chatting, they heard the door burst open again. "We have to go…"

Sarah groaned at her uncle Walter's voice. Even more so as Mitch stood up, as she thought he would, to greet him. "Mitch Stewart, " he ventured in a voice that meant more business than politeness. But she noticed he had his hand out nontheless.

And her Uncle Walter was neither stupid nor clueless. A CIA man would know Mitch's reputation for what it was. A brilliant scientist with an ego and physical prowess to boot. She relaxed somehow as her uncle shook her boyfriend's outstretched hand. "Good to finally meet the man behind the reputation." He paused and Sarah definitely didn't like the look she glanced on his face. " But we still have to leave…"

"I don't think so," said Mitch deliberately as his cell phone rang. He picked up the phone and Sarah wondered what was going on. He spoke rapidly and as she leaned towards him, he smiled devilishly. Something, she knew, was afoot.

She saw her uncle stamp his foot in impatience as Mitch put his cell phone away. "We have to go…"

"People are coming," Mitch began. Sarah didnt have to see the look in his eyes to know it was there...the hard, aquamarine gaze that meant business "For all of us…"

Cass laughed softly, shook her head and then stuck it out the window from her seated position and shook his head, laughing softly. Sarah figured she had a feeling she knew what was going on as Ed caught Cass's glance and stared out as well. "Holy crap," Ed shouted, pointing.

Sarah smiled, putting her arms around Mitch. "You gotta love Dave's timing."