Claire entered the restricted room, flashing her special access badge at the security guard posted at the door. Once inside several associates immediately greeted her.

"Dr. Keeply! So glad you could make it," enthused an elderly man, whose badge identified him as Dr. Aaron Sharp. Claire vaguely remembered reading an article by him recently.

"Thank you."

"We're rather unstructured today, I fear. We didn't want to have any incriminating information escape, you know- seating charts, all that. So just find a seat where you can, I believe we'll be starting soon." The elderly gentleman took her by the elbow and ushered her to an empty seat on the aisle, and Claire graciously accepted his help.

Just as she sat down the lights dimmed two times in succession, and Dr. Sharp clapped his hands together excitedly.

"Ah! Here we go! Isn't this exciting?" he enthused, taking the chair across the aisle from her.

Claire smiled indulgently and nodded. "Very." All around her people were sitting down, name badges sporting "Dr." this and "Dr." that. Well, they'd promised a scientific lecture.

A young woman came out on the small stage, holding a microphone. "Hello, and welcome," she began. "My name is Michelle, and I'm Mr. Morgan's assistant. As you'll note, four of your associates-" she gestured at 4 empty seats in the front row- "have been asked to help in today's lecture. They have been accompanying Mr. Morgan since he arrived in the airport this morning to insure that he has had no access to any information regarding any of the attendees of today's program. Mr. Morgan will do a brief demonstration of his abilities and then will submit to several scientific tests, designed to measure his brain patterns and bodily functions while he performs. All data is being recorded for future use and will be distributed to everyone at the end of the program." The young woman's eyes unfocused for a moment, then she smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you- Mr. Jamie Morgan!"

Trailed by four dour-looking men, Jamie strode up the steps to the stage and hugged his assistant. They exchanged quiet words while the four doctors- Claire was assuming they were doctors, they had to be in order to gain access to this lecture- filed across the front of the stage to the four empty seats. Her gaze shifted back to the stage as the assistant stepped down, leaving Jamie alone on the platform.

She'd seen his program on television and knew what he looked like- handsome but not overwhelmingly so, curly dark blonde hair cut fashionably short on the sides and back but slightly floppy on top. He was shorter than she'd thought, his dark long sleeved shirt stretched across slightly bulging biceps as he folded his arms and waited for the general hum around the room to die down.

As it quieted, he brought the microphone to his lips, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth, blue eyes sparkling with something Claire identified as mischief. "Thank you," he said warmly. "I know you all have read the instructions in the program that was mailed to you. I have here-" he picked up a clear tupperware container set on the floor by his assistant, filled with scraps of paper- "the last names of all the attendees registered to attend today's lecture. I will pick one in plain sight to help me demonstrate what it is that I am able to do. So, in the interest of science, I'll begin." He pried the lid off the container and without looking selected one scrap. Setting the container on the floor between his feet he straightened and unfolded the paper.

Claire felt an atypical thrill run through her. Of course it wouldn't be her, she never got picked for anything, door prizes, Secret Santa, anything, but wouldn't it be thrilling if…

"Dr. Keeply."

Claire froze. Jamie was looking right at her, expression expectant. She blinked. "How…?"

"Your name tag," he replied. The gathered MDs twittered, and Claire felt a rush of heat creep up her neck and knew without a doubt she was blushing furiously. Nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear she rose and walked to the platform. His assistant helped her up the stairs and gestured for her to take a seat on the chair someone had set on the stage. Biting her lip, Claire did so, and Jamie stood back for a moment, smile widening.

"Keeply isn't your real name, but with your security clearance it wouldn't be," he stated plainly. Claire suddenly felt panic welling up inside her; perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Jamie began walking around her and the chair, something she'd seen him do many times on television, eyes narrowed and seeming to see right through a person into the secret dark things hidden inside your brain. She didn't want to think about what he might find in hers.

"Your work is challenging, involving a lot of research," he began, the words starting to tumble out in a rush. "You have some… challenging… co-workers, and a lot of stress."

"That's rather vague," someone in the audience quipped, and Claire found herself smiling despite herself. Jamie grinned and shook his head.

"Right you are," he admitted. "Shall we get a bit more- personal?" He stopped his roundabout pacing directly in front of Claire and faced her fully, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. When he opened them and looked at her, Claire sensed that he wasn't seeing her but what was INSIDE her. "Darien," he said softly, almost dreamily. "You work a great deal with Darien. He is… is he sick? I see syringes, injections- a great deal of them."

Claire nodded numbly, feeling sick herself. She REALLY shouldn't be up here.

"'Oh crap.' He says that a lot." Again, Claire nodded. Jamie looked troubled by something but went on. "And he works with… Bobby. 'My friend.' There's a great deal of affection between them, like brothers- they fight but work very well together. And… you like him. Bobby."

Another snicker went through the room and Claire felt her ears burning again. Jamie suddenly seemed distracted, as though he'd lost his train of thought, and a slight frown creased his forehead. He looked over at his assistant, who shrugged her shoulders helplessly. With a sigh, Jamie looked back at Claire and tried to continue, but after a moment he sighed and gave up. "I'm sorry, but something seems to be interfering. I'll try someone else…"

The lights went out and Claire gripped the sides of the chair tightly. It's just a blackout, she told herself. They happen all the time. They flickered back on, and Claire found Jamie standing next to her, his fingers gripping the chair back, face contorted and eyes staring blindly over the room.

"Something's wrong," he whispered. "Very, very wrong…" The lights went out- and the world tilted sideways.