This chapter does contain some mild adult content. Thanks to everyone who have sent me feedback either onlist or off, it's greatly appreciated and keeps the muses going.

Chapter 3

When Ed returned to the lab he immediately grabbed the vial containing the saliva sample Darien took from Lewis. Ed chuckled softly to himself as he prepared the sample, "Darien, you truly are one of a kind…"

Ed sat down behind his desk as he waited for the DNA sample. He looked at earlier results and used the FBI data base that they have on mtDNA samples. He was going to compare his findings with that of the FBI to try and find a human match. His ultimate goal was to prove that there is no connection to Central Mexico genetically. The other human DNA samples he was using was his own as well as Claire, Sloan and Walter's DNA. This was a form of forensic anthropology, but without a body to study.

Ed leaned back in his chair and propped a foot up on the edge of his desk. He rested his elbow on the arm rest and put his hand to his mouth. He stared off at the floor and let out a sigh. Sloan's words came back to him and he pondered them.

It had been nearly three weeks since he was rescued and the last time he had even advanced sexually on Claire was the day after he was released from the hospital. The President had reserved a room for him when Claire informed him that Ed would be able to leave just 24 hours after he had been admitted. All Ed really needed was just to receive fluids from an IV to treat the mild dehydration and get some solids in him. Claire had decided to stay one more night just so that Ed could get a good night sleep in a regular bed.

The memory of that night flashed quickly in Ed's mind.

Claire walked into the room first with Ed behind. He closed the door and quickly turned around. He reached out for Claire. They wrapped their arms around each other tightly. "I still can't believe this is real," Claire finally said.

"Me neither," Ed kissed her repeatedly. They pressed their bodies up against each other and Claire moaned. Ed reached down to her thigh and started to move his hand up. A horrid vision crept into his mind and his heart started racing. It was no longer Claire in his arms but Walter's boss. Images of what he did and the desire of what he wanted to do flashed through his mind like a bulb in a camera. He pushed Claire away from him, "No, I can't do this."

Claire watched him confused, "Ed…what's wrong?" She saw a small trickle of quicksilver run down his face. He kept backing away from her with a terrified expression on his face.

"Get away from me!" He snarled as he disappeared.

"Ed! Tell me what's wrong?" Claire said into thin air. She could hear him breathing heavily. "Ed…sweetheart…it's me…you can talk to me," she moved towards the sounds of the fearful panting. "Remember what Darien taught you, calm your heart and then we can talk. I want to help you but you have got to tell me what scared you."

He didn't listen; her words fell on his death ears. All he knew was that he was going to hurt Claire. He rushed from the room and down the hall. As he opened the door to go down the stairs he heard Claire call out his name, "Ed!" He took off down the stairs.

Darien had found him in the bar a few minutes later and they had moved to a table for some privacy. They talked until the bar closed down but that couldn't keep them from drinking. Darien bought a few bottles of beer and the two found a place to be alone. They continued to talk until the sun came up.

That was the last time that Ed had approached Claire, since then he had been too afraid, afraid that he would see Andrea Welsh's face again. He closed his eyes. Darien's words from that night flooded his mind, *It really wasn't you. Don't let it beat you by pushing Claire away. She knows what the madness made you do. Just talk to her.* His hand ran through his hair. He opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. A soft gentle voice spoke in his ear, *Go to her.* Ed looked around, "Darien?"

There was no answer. Ed quicksilvered his eyes and looked around. There was no one there. The quicksilver flaked off of Ed's eyes and he smiled. He had heard his own internal voice. He took a quick glance at his watch; he had some time before his next sample would be ready. He stood to his feet, squared his shoulders and walked out of the lab.

Ed came to the heavy door, took a deep breath, wiggled his shoulders and stretched his neck to loosen up. He felt like a teenager going to ask a girl out to the prom. His heart pounded and he could feel a small trickle of quicksilver flowing down his face, "Oh hell!" He took off running for the bathroom.

He ran in, but then stopped to make sure he was alone. He searched the bathroom and found that other than him it was empty. Ed paced back and forth in front of the row of mirrors. "C'mon Tate, get a hold of yourself." He put one hand on his forehead and the other on his hip as he continued to pace around the bathroom.

Hobbes walked in and saw Ed pacing. "Hey, what's up, doc?" Hobbes chuckled. "That was pretty funny, huh? I almost sounded like Bugs Bunny."

Ed turned around quickly, "Oh, Hobbes, I'm sorry, I uh…was just leaving."

Hobbes stepped in front of Ed and looked up at him with suspicion. "What are you doing down here anyway? Don't you have bathrooms upstairs?"

Ed looked around nervously, "Uh…yeah…but…I was…"

"You're goin' to see Claire aren't ya? Don't lie, Bobby Hobbes knows when someone's lyin'." Hobbes searched the dark chocolate colored eyes of his taller friend.

Ed scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, but…I…can't."

"Still afraid to face her romantically, huh?"

"Does everyone know my problems?" Ed said somewhat irritated.

"No one needs to gossip, doc, it's obvious. The way you ignore her, stay here late at night, you're here early in the morning and you're well…grumpy." Hobbes looked at Ed, "Sleepin' in the same bed don't mean a thing if you all youse doin' is sleepin'. You know what I mean?" He nudged Ed on his shoulder with his hand. "Take some advice from a guy who's been around and made his share of mistakes," Hobbes said as he put his arm around Ed's shoulder, "Just go in there and sweep her off her feet, sing Sinatra," his arm came off of Ed and he held out both his arms in front of him. "You need to do the whole courtship thing, my friend…" Hobbes started to move his hips back and forth as if he was slow dancing. "Just remember, it ain't about anything but you and Claire. Don't let those mooks take her away from you, especially the Leopard Queen." Hobbes put his arm around Ed again and started to finger punch on his chest, "Cause let me tell you somethin', you've got somethin' special waitin' for you." His body language suggested that Ed should look towards the Keep, "Don't let that get away cause of some nightmare. She's the cure, my friend." Hobbes then pointed to Ed's heart, "She's the cure for what's ailin' you in here..." then he touched Ed's forehead, "…and in here." He patted Ed on the back of his shoulder, "Comprende?"

Ed smiled, "Okay, Valentino, I get the hint."

"Good, now let me have a look at you." Hobbes took a step back and looked at Ed. An expression of semi-disgust came across his face and then he shook his head. "I swear you and Fawkes must have avoided the good-taste-in-fashion line. You guys are in serious need of makeovers. I don't even think Queer Eye for the Straight Guy can help youse two out."

Ed rolled his eyes, "C'mon, there's nothing wrong with the way I dress."

"Yeah, if you're a lifeguard." Hobbes stepped towards Ed, "Okay, let's see what we can do here to fix you up a bit." He pulled out his comb and started to fix Ed's hair, "Doesn't this mane of yours get in the way when you're peeking in those scopes?"

"Ahh…no." Ed stood there like a child waiting for his mom to finish brushing his hair. Hobbes caught a knot in Ed's hair, "OUCH! Hey, watch that!" Ed's hands shot up to his hair.

"Don't be a wuss, stop movin' and put your hands down." Hobbes finished with Ed's hair. "Okay, let me see." He took a good look at Ed's hair, "That's better, you should think about gel or somethin'." Hobbes started to straighten Ed's lab coat and brushed off any lint.

"Hobbes?"

"Yeah," he answered as he continued to attend to the taller man's appearance.

"Thanks."

Hobbes smiled, "No problem." He stepped back, "Okay, doc, I think you're ready. Remember, she needs you as much as you need her."

Ed pursed his lips together and nodded. He patted Hobbes on his back and held up his hands, made a fist and gave him the thumbs up. Hobbes turned and watched Ed leave. "Good luck, kid."

Ed approached the door again. Took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Okay, I can do this." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the card. He swiped it through and the door slid open. He stepped in semi-apprehensive. "Hey, Claire, you here?"

Claire popped her head up from behind one of her tanks towards the back of the Keep. A huge smile spread across her face when she saw Ed standing there. His visits to the Keep were very few since he came back to work. She came out from behind the tank to walk towards Ed. He came towards her as well. They met somewhere in the middle and Ed's mouth immediately covered hers as he gripped the sides of her face with his hands. The kiss deepened. Claire opened her mouth giving him an open invitation. Their lips pressed firmly against each other as they tasted each other. Ed's hand moved from her face to her back and slowly slid down towards her rear. Once there, he pushed her towards him. She moaned in his mouth as he pressed up against her. She could definitely feel his growing arousal. Her right leg lifted and wrapped around his leg. His hand went down to her left leg and he lifted her up. She wrapped both her legs around him as he carried her across the floor to the table. He set her down on the table and leaned forward but still supported her back. They finally broke off the kiss. They both panted heavily as they tried to catch their breath.

"I love you, Claire, I'm so sorry," Ed ran kisses down her neck.

Claire ran her hands through his hair, "I love you too…I've waited for you."

"I know you have," Ed reached with one hand to undo the buttons on her shirt. "I'll try my best, I promise," Ed pulled her shirt out of her skirt and opened it to reveal a lacy bra. He cupped her breast and kissed the area above her bra. Claire arched her back. Ed ran his hand over her face and she kissed his palm.

"I'm so lucky to have you," Ed said as he pulled up her skirt and ran his hand up her thigh. Claire's hands went to the front of his pants. She smiled at him seductively. "Ahh…hell," Ed exclaimed as his leg disappeared, he looked at his invisible leg and then back to Claire, "Ignore that."

Claire stroked him through his pants, "Ignore what?"

A part of Ed's chest disappeared, "Ahh, man."

Claire smiled, she pulled down his zipper and then quicksilver coated both of them. A devilish giggle erupted from Claire's mouth.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about hiding." Ed's disembodied voice said.

"We just need to be quiet."

"Fa…AHHHHT CHA…ah, yeeeaahhh…" Ed's voice trailed off into a male grunt of pleasure.

Darien bumped into Hobbes in the hallway, "Hey, where've you been?"

"I was in the bathroom with Tate."

Darien had an expression of perplexity on his face, "I don't even want to know."

"It was nothing like that, Fawkes, c'mon. We were just talking man to man." Hobbes started to walk down the hall. Darien chased after him. "So, is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Hobbes had a smile covering nearly his entire face. Darien got the hint and smiled big himself. He hit Hobbes on the shoulder. Hobbes playfully hit him back. They did this silent male macho bonding routine the entire length of the hall.

~*~

Tom walked into the lab. The machines were humming away and he heard the sound of the printer as it spit out its analysis. With a raised brow he studied the emptiness of the lab. Where were Sloan and Ed? He headed towards Ed's office and he saw papers spread across the desk. Then he started for Sloan's office when he sensed Sloan coming. He smiled and sat down on one of the stools. With his hands folded on his lap, he waited for her.

Sloan walked in and didn't expect to see anyone sitting there let alone Tom. Her body jerked in surprise. Her hand went up to her heart. "Oh…Tom…"

He stood up, "I'm sorry, Sloan, I didn't mean to scare you." They hugged and Tom followed Sloan to her office. He sat down on one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Do you know where Ed is?"

"No, I know he was here, but I don't know where he went. Do you need to talk to him?"

"No, actually, I'm glad we're alone. I want to talk to you about what Ed is doing."

"Tom, this isn't like with the serum. Ed is only trying to find the truth."

"Right, this is just as dangerous…for him." Tom's voice had trepidation in it.

"You're afraid that the dominants will try to stop Ed from finding the truth?" Sloan asked.

Tom shook his head in his usual foreboding kind of way, "Yes I am. Ed needs to be careful."

Sloan looked out towards the lab, the machines continued to separate the DNA samples. Sloan paused in her thoughts, 'Lewis mistook Darien for Ed and gave him the dominant serum…What does Lewis really want with Ed?' She looked at Tom.

Tom looked at her with a raised brow, "You're concerned about Ed now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking back to when I first discovered the dominants. My initial results came up with no link between the two species. Lynch's DNA didn't match up to any human ethnic group. But when Ed tested little Kevin, he had found a way to compare the mtDNA and the UEP's. That's how he figured out that Frank wasn't Kevin's father, and made the genetic match to his human mother." Sloan gave Tom a worried look, "What will happen if Ed finds the truth?"

Tom pursed his lips together as he folded his arms in front of him. He knew what would happen if Ed's theory is true, but he didn't want to tell her. "Just let me know if Ed is able to find anything. If he does, it goes no further than us and Walter," Tom said.

Sloan looked at him for a moment trying to figure out why Tom wanted it kept a secret. Then it dawned on her, "Tom, you don't think Tara is a double agent? She's dating Hobbes. I doubt that…"

Tom cut Sloan off with a grin, "No, she's not a double agent. I would know and certainly Darien would know. She's on our side. I just want to make sure that a lot of people don't know of Ed's findings, for his sake. We were taught that we evolved naturally from humans. If Ed's theory turns out being the truth, it could cause chaos for my people."

"Why is that? I mean technically you still evolved from humans, whether by the natural course of nature or man made as Ed likes to put it," Sloan said.

Tom let out a sigh, "My people believe that nature selected us because we were superior even before we evolved."

"I see, just like when humans thought centuries ago that the earth was stationary and the sun revolved around the earth. When Galileo spoke up, it certainly did cause chaos. I understand what you're saying."

Tom stood up, "Sloan, I just think Ed needs to be careful that's all." He checked his watch, "I need to meet Darien and Hobbes. We're on the trail of the dominant serial killer and we have some areas to scout."

Sloan walked up to him and hugged him, "You be careful." Tom smiled and kissed her forehead, "I will." Sloan watched as Tom left. She sat back down and started to catch up on her own work. With Ed working on the research, she had more work to do. Which she didn't mind, she was glad that she things to do. It also kept her in the lab where she could keep her eyes on Ed.

~*~

Ed and Claire sat on the floor curled up in each other's arms in the back of the lab. Ed's hand was lightly stroking her hair. He let out a sigh of contentment. Claire smiled, "That sounded better than most of your sighs."

Ed half smiled, "I'm trying, Claire. But…" Ed stopped.

Claire turned to look at him trying to search his thoughts. "But…what?"

Ed took a hard swallow, "What we just did…I…it was hard…"

Claire smirked, "Isn't that supposed to happen." Claire wiggled her brows.

Ed rolled his eyes, "I'm not talking about *that*. C'mon Claire, I'm trying to be serious here."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Claire stood up, "If we're going to talk we should get more comfortable." She offered her hand and Ed took it. They walked over to the counteragent chair and she pulled up another chair to sit down. Ed sat on the counteragent chair.

"Claire…it was…" Ed searched for a different word to use, "…difficult for me. I mean, with you it wasn't…but for me…I kept seeing her, you know…" Ed turned his glance towards the floor; he couldn't look Claire in the face.

Claire took Ed's hand into hers, "Ed, I promised that we would take one thing at a time and work on it. But you did it and you initiated it, so I'm proud of you. That was a big step."

Ed partly smiled. "I'm sorry, you know, for avoiding you and running away."

"Ed, I wasn't angry with you. I was more than willing to be patient and wait for when the time was right for you." Claire paused searching for the right words to say. She continued after a few moments, "I'm not going to push you into anything you're not ready to handle yet. If this is an issue you would like to work on than that's fine with me. And I don't mean it because of the sex but because this is what you might need to resolve next. It only means that you're ready, that's all."

"It doesn't bother you that I wanted to rape her?" Ed asked apprehensively.

"No, cause I know *you*. I know what kind of person you truly are and that demon does not lie within you. I want you to remember that quicksilver madness makes you do things that you normally would not do. Like with Darien, it was not you. If it bothered me that you wanted to rape her, I wouldn't be living with you or marrying you for that matter. I love you, Ed, and nothing the madness makes you do can take that away."

Ed smiled at her and leaned over to hug her, "Thanks, babe. I do feel better now."

"Well, you should," Claire smiled mischievously.

Ed chuckled, "Okay, smart ass."

"And I have a present for you," Claire got up and headed towards her desk.

Ed jumped off the counteragent chair and followed her, "What is it?"

Claire turned her monitor so Ed could see it. "I think I may have found something in those disks you gave me."

"Really!?!" Ed studied the notes on the screen.

"Remember how you told me about the toxin causing a chemical imbalance?"

"Yeah," Ed trailed off waiting for Claire to continue.

"Well, I think you were onto something. I might be able to come up with something for you to take to counteract the chemical imbalance."

"Oh you mean like someone with a mental disorder, depression, bi-polar…like Hobbes."

Claire chuckled, "Yeah, like Bobby. I think I can give you a pill or a liquid to take daily that would counteract the chemical imbalance. In other words, instead of having a shot of counteragent weekly you might need it bi-weekly or even once a month. Of course that's without quicksilver usage. Then you would still need the strength of counteragent injection. This would just be something to help on a daily basis."

"Claire, that's great." Ed voice was filled with excitement. "Have you started testing it yet?"

"I'm about to, but my models are looking good that this will work. It's like oral counteragent but you won't risk a tolerance build up. It'll lesson the amount of toxin that the gland still puts into your system daily. So, instead of having a segment turn red daily it may only turn red every two days or maybe three." Claire looked at Ed with a smile. "Ed, I might be real close to finding a cure and if this works, I'll have a starting place," she put her hand up to his face, "Sweetheart, I know what you went through was very difficult, but the information they gathered, well…it's valuable."

Ed sighed deeply, "I know. Good comes out of bad things."

"This is information that we normally wouldn't have. I would never put you through anything like that to get it and for what it's worth, it's going to help you in the long run," Claire said looking at him sadly. She knows the trauma that it caused and she would love to be able to turn back the clock so it wouldn't happen. But, on the other hand, it's the information she needed to help find a cure and maybe, a way to remove the gland.

Ed straightened up to full height, "I know." The beeper on Ed's belt went off. He checked it, "Oh, that's my DNA sample…" he bent down and kissed her, "Thanks, for everything. I'm lucky to have you." He grabbed his lab coat and headed out of the Keep.

Ed rushed into the lab and quickly headed for the computer. Sloan got up to join him to see the results. He looked at her, "Well, let's see what we got." He started up the program to read the analysis of Lewis' DNA. Ed smiled, "It worked, Sloan, it broke down his UEP's…I should be able to study it further."

Sloan patted Ed on his back, "Good job, Ed. We could learn even more about them."

Ed nodded as he started up the comparison program, "That's the whole idea…I'm trying to see if there's a match on all the known samples that the FBI has." Ed waited and the monitor flashed that there's no known match. "Well, okay…" Ed typed in another command, "Now I'm going to check our own database. This has even our DNA information so I…ah…my God!" Ed paused, his face turned pale.

Sloan looked at Ed, "What is it?"

Ed scooted away from the computer and stood up on shaky legs. His hand ran through his hair, "I've…I've got to check this again." This time, Ed leaned over the keyboard and harshly typed the command, he hit enter. A few moments later he saw the same result. He slowly stood straight, "I can't believe this." He looked at Sloan ominously, "I've got a match."

"Really? Who?" Sloan looked at the result of the analysis. Her heart nearly stopped. She glanced at Ed. "This can't be correct," she said.

"Sloan, I've ran the test twice."

"But maybe the sample is wrong, maybe Darien wrote the wrong name on the vial."

"No, it's from Lewis alright. See…" Ed pointed to the screen where it listed the people from the data base related to Lewis, "…there's his match with Tara." All the blood rushed from Ed's face making his tanned features look white as the lab's walls.

"What are you going to do?" Sloan asked.

Ed looked at her with distant eyes, "I…I don't know. I mean, this is why genealogists warn people who want to trace their heritage…they might find something that they don't like and this certainly falls in that category."

Sloan hugged Ed, "You have to delete this, Ed."

"I can't, it's all there. I have to bring this to Walter, he needs to know," Ed grabbed the analysis and left the lab with Sloan trailing behind him.

Ed walked straight into Walter's office and without saying a word tossed the papers on his desk. Walter gave Ed a glance and picked up the papers, "What's this? Not your resignation letter I hope."

"Just read," Ed said sternly.

"Very well," Walter replied and started to read. Ed stood watching him with his hands on his hips. Sloan stood next to him with arms crossed in front of her. Walter glanced up at Ed quickly, "Are you sure about this?"

"Pretty sure, I ran the test twice. I know of a way to confirm it, but I'll have to get another sample."

"From Lewis?" Sloan asked.

"No…" Ed stared at Walter through grim eyes, "My father."

TBC…