Thanks to everyone who has reviewed – even just saying if you like/don't like it is great. Also thanks to my lovely beta Serenasnape for poking this chapter.

Chapter 7

Meteorologically speaking, it was quite a mild November. Weak rays of fading autumnal sunlight crept in through windows of glass and enchantment, but any warmth they contained went unnoticed. The atmosphere inside the Terrace was decidedly frosty. In confined space gossip spread fast, and it was no secret now that Richard and Kate were avoiding each other. Neither seemed about to elaborate on the nature of their falling-out, and uncertainty is rumour's dish of choice.

If the split in leadership wasn't bad enough, the perceived conflict had begun to spread out amongst the other residents. Jackie had found herself subconsciously recruiting her own small band of peacemakers in an attempt to calm the rising tensions between Admin and Field. She hadn't realised how many of each there were until she'd counted heads huddled together at opposing sides of the kitchen at mealtimes, shooting poorly-concealed glares at each other.

It was like being back at school. Unsettlingly like being back at school actually, when there had been only two sides that mattered and only two leaders anyone could follow.

As time passed, she found herself hanging around with Sam more and more. At first she'd just made sure that whoever the kid was assigned to wasn't involved in the dispute, but as the numbers with that attribute fell, she took on more time herself. Frankly, she wanted to keep Sam as far out of the argument as she could – and it was getting to the point where she was the only one Jackie could have an unbiased conversation with. Kipling wasn't bad – seeming more confused than aligned to either side – the Jennys were as professional as ever, and it was typically hard to determine Darek's thoughts, but the numbers of non-antagonists were dwindling rapidly.

Jackie moodily watched the thin plume of smoke drift up from her lips into the grey sphere hovering near the ceiling. She regarded her cigarette critically. She was getting through a lot of these recently – thank heavens for tooth-whitening charms. It was the stress. At least she had a way of dealing with it – unhealthy thought it may be – but some of the others weren't so lucky. The last few weeks had seen more relapses and sporking failures than they'd had in years, most of them serious. Not just in-house residents either – a significant minority were Field operatives.

Are we really this unstable? Jackie mused, that all it takes to start splitting us up is one argument? Okay, so that was an oversimplification. Richard and Kate had had their fair share of disagreements over the years – with egos like theirs it would be more surprising if they always agreed – but this one was serious, and Jackie couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something behind it, something hidden just out of sight.

Waiting.

She shivered and took a fresh drag. As much faith as she had in her friends' abilities to sort things out, she was worried. What they needed right now was solidarity, and they looked pretty far away from that. She sighed and rolled over, plumping the pillow she was leaning on, and reflected that things must be quite bad if she was seeking the refuge of her room. It wasn't as if she didn't like it – considerably more spacious than the space between the walls should allow, practically wallpapered with photos, colourful drapes and Giger prints. She was just used to feeling this comfortable throughout the entire building.

A thought struck and she stood up, heading for the laden bookshelf that took up almost an entire corner of the room. A large wooden photo-frame was wedged inbetween a stack of Muggle textbooks. Jackie picked it up and looked at the photo – one of the few magically animated ones in her collection – and three small figures waved up at her. Richard, several years ago when his hair was longer, his arms slung playfully around both her and Kate's shoulders, a now all-too-rare grin beaming out from his handsome features. Kate was laughing, occasionally smacking Richard lightly in the ribs for some comment, and Jackie's own visage was glowing with a smile.

Jackie looked at it silently for a while, then sighed as she replaced it on the shelf. Was four years really that long ago? When had things started to go downhill? They'd never had it easy, but it hadn't-

Her line of thought broke at a sharp rap on the door. She turned round.

"It's open."

The door swung open and Jackie blinked at the figure who stepped through.

"Kate?" She flashed a slightly surprised grin, "Hey, I haven't seen you out of Scanns for ages! Come in, I think I've got some Maltesers left-"

"Sorry Jackie, but this isn't a girl-talk visit," Kate sighed, a weary edge to her voice that showed on her features, "Much as I'd like it to be."

"Okay," Jackie said slowly. She sat down on the edge of the bed and gestured to the cushion-piled sofa squashed along one wall, "Don't stand on ceremony for me."

"I prefer to stand."

"In those shoes?" Jackie eyed the slim heeled sandals peeking out from under her friend's dress hem. Kate didn't look down, but twitched her outer robe so it covered the footwear.

"I'll stand."

"I was just -"

"Don't."

Several minutes of awkward silence followed. Finally, Jackie decided she'd seen all she wanted to of her carpet and looked back up.

"So, what do y-" She stopped and blinked again. Kate's robe re-adjustment had left a gap, but the second layer of material wasn't the only thing missing.

"Where's your spork?"

"Hmm?" Kate glanced down at her waist and shrugged, "Must have left it in the cellar."

Jackie frowned.

"That's-"

"Jackie, please!" Kate held up a hand, a strained expression on her face, "I'm…concerned."

"Well yeah," Jackie rolled her eyes slightly, "Everyone's one step away from each other's throats, and-"

"No," the blonde glanced back over her shoulder at the door, shaking her head, "Not that. I'm worried about Richard."

Jackie blinked.

"Pardon?"

"You must have noticed," Kate caught her gaze, her eyes glinting strangely, "He's been acting… erratically, ever since that girl arrived. He's obsessed with the Sueage levels, trying to convince everyone he talks to that there's some kind of Sue apocalypse coming. And this business with Serenity! A month is nothing like long enough before exposure to her!"

"Er…Kate, you asked him to-"

"I expected him to use some sane judgement!"

The snap was so sharp that Jackie recoiled, shock jolting through her. She'd not seen Kate this upset for a long time. She regarded her friend closely.

"Kate…This is Richard we're talking about. I mean, sure he's been a bit, I dunno, edgier than normal, but after what happened to Luce… and you know how he takes everything that happens in Field personally… "

"I'm not an entirely heartless bitch, thank you," Kate said icily, "I understand his concern over Lucy. What I do not need is my second-in-command swooping around like midnight incarnated and spreading paranoid rumours of looming disaster!"

Second-in-command? Jackie shifted position uncomfortably. She was suddenly very aware of the other woman's proximity. This was stupid; it was Kate standing in front of her, the woman she'd worked and fought alongside for nine years. She shouldn't be feeling…scared of her.

She picked her words carefully.

"He's just worried. I don't think it's anything more sinister than overwork."

"I wish I could be that sure," Kate muttered and turned away, expression unreadable. She hesitated for a moment, then turned back and leaned forward so she was looking directly into Jackie's eyes, hands dropping onto her shoulders. Her silvery gaze glinted intensely.

"Nine years. Nine years without sporking, without any kind of suppression other than sheer willpower. You know how extensive his Ocular Cycle is. He uses wandless to turn on lights! Do you have any idea how dangerous he could be?"

"Kate-" Jackie asked, slowly, "What are you asking me to do?"

Kate stood back, shaking her head.

"Just be careful. You've had the most exposure to the girl after him-"

"Sam?" Jackie's eyes widened in disbelief; "You aren't serious, right? She's harmless!"

"An unusually easy pickup, just before all Sue activity ceases? A month in, and she can handle an encounter with Serenity?" Kate's eyes narrowed, "You haven't found this in the least suspicious?"

"Well… No. No I haven't," Jackie met the stare again, determined this time, "She's a good kid."

Kate stared at her for a moment, then straightened up abruptly, her expression icing over.

"Indeed. Aren't you due for your annual re-spork soon?"

"December ninth."

"Make it tomorrow." With that, the blonde span elegantly on her heel and strode out, leaving a mildly shell-shocked Jackie staring after her.

What on earth had that all been about? Well, Richard, obviously, and Sam, but… She'd admit, Richard was on a short fuse at the moment, and the massive plunge in Sueage levels was nearly unbelievable, but even the suggestion he might be losing any of his legendary control was ridiculous…

… wasn't it?

-x-x-

The rest of the afternoon was… unpleasant. Jackie had given up trying to keep going with her normal duties – there was little need for a personnel officer when those in question were four steps away from hexing each other into next week – and had resorted to prowling the corridors, spork in hand. She'd had to confiscate a small beauticians' worth of nail varnish, eyeshadow and lipgloss, all in eye-waveringly bright colours, disperse several looming disputes and mark three girls for re-sporking for having signs of developing highlights. This was ridiculous! What the hell were Kate and Richard playing at? The situation was getting worse with every passing hour.

Her one moment of respite was checking on Sam, whom she'd put in with Elsa today. The medi-witch was stressed – even though Luce had been discharged, she was having to deal with various outcomes of mini-fights – but aside from that was in the ever-decreasing minority of people still actually doing their job. Thankfully, the Terrace's most recent addition was still distanced from the rising chaos. She had certainly noticed the animosity, but hadn't been around for long enough to know that it was particularly out of the ordinary. Jackie had decided not to enlighten her unless she specifically asked.

By early evening, Jackie's frontal lobe seemed to be trying to drill its way out of her skull with the aid of something pneumatic and persistent. She opted for paracetamol rather than a more magical alternative – it may be marginally less effective, but at least the Muggle remedy had no bizarre side effects, as was the wont of many magic options. She wasn't in the mood to have anything unusual growing out of her ears today.

She'd retreated to the break room again. There was still a while before her early evening meeting with Sam, but it was quiet in here and didn't give any undue encouragement to the retreating ache. Leaning back, she rested her head on the wall and closed her eyes.

"Long day?"

Jackie sighed.

"Are you about to make it longer?" She looked up at the tall figure standing over her. The shades of dark circles were clearly visible under Richard's currently-grey eyes. He moved into the chair opposite and sat down a little more heavily than usual. Jackie raised an eyebrow at him.

"You look mildly dead."

"And you smell like an ashtray. Let's not get picky."

"Hah," Jackie let her eyelids slide closed again, "What d'you want Richard? In case you hadn't noticed, your little conflict of opinion is-"

"I had noticed," Richard snapped and let out a hissing sound halfway between growl and sigh, "It's all going to hell."

"Can't you try and call off your hounds?"

"I've tried!" The retort was very sharp. Jackie opened one eye to glare at him.

"Don't bite my head off, I was only-"

"I know," Richard sighed again and continued, more quietly now, "I wanted to talk to you. I'm… concerned."

Jackie froze.

Deja-vu…

She eased her other eye open and looked carefully over at Richard. He was staring forward; lips pressed tightly together, his eyes glinting.

"Yeah, well everyone has gone nuts-"

"No," Richard raised his head again and looked directly at her, shaking his head, "Not that. I'm worried about Kate."

Jackie felt the hairs on her neck prickle. She didn't like deja-vu. Or where this conversation seemed to be heading.

"Pardon?"

"She's been acting… oddly. I've only noticed it recently, but it's been ages since I was here for any extended period of time. The stuff with Luce, then the plunge in levels which she's refusing to even react to. She ordered me to take Sam to see Serenity, then tried to chew me out about it." There was a definite growl in his voice on the word 'ordered', and he followed it with a glare at the air molecules.

Jackie shifted.

"She's under a lot of pressure-"

"And I'm not, I suppose?" Richard retorted coolly, "She's never lorded it up like this before. Not with me. We've always been equal, even since… " He cut off and shook his head. There was silence for a moment, then he looked back up at her, his eyes were dark green.

"You haven't noticed anything? Damn. You're the only other one she's close to; she's barely spoken to me outside of Scanns since I've been back. I-" He stopped, and when he continued his voice was very quiet. "I don't know why. We normally… " He stopped again and this time stayed quiet. Jackie waited. She knew by experience that Richard had to reconcile any softer emotions with himself first, before – if – he'd vocalise them. He didn't seem to be about to say anything else, so she decided to find out how far this deja-vu was going to go.

"Is any of this discussion going to involve Sam?"

"Sam?" Richard straightened up slightly and looked at her, one eyebrow arcing upward, "I'm not intending it to." His eyes narrowed, "Why?"

"Well… " Jackie hesitated and suddenly found herself under the full force of Richard's gaze. She decided to risk it.

"Kate's worried about her, apparently. Thinks she got by Serenity too easily."

Richard's expression flickered.

"I know. But I was there, and that thing in the basement has always been more interested in me than anything else in the vicinity."

"And the ease of her pickup?"

Richard snorted.

"A non-interacted Serena? The Ministry squad was more trouble than she was, and you know how incompetent those idiots are. If anything, she was the last normal one we've had in a long time. Now," he leaned forward, eyes darkening further, "Unless I am mistaken, I was voicing concerns to you. Why am I suddenly under inquisition?"

Jackie stared at him, torn. Kate's words echoed in her mind, louder and more insistent every time they repeated.

'Do you have any idea how dangerous he could be?'

'You haven't found this in the least suspicious?'

'Nine years. Nine years without sporking, without any kind of suppression other than sheer willpower.'

But that wasn't just Richard, was it…? The black emeralds opposite her narrowed again, and for a moment Jackie's mind super-imposed Kate's silvery eyes on his. How the hell did she deal with this situation?

She finally released the nervous breath.

"Because I spoke to Kate a few hours ago. And she said the same thing about you."

For a brief moment, Richard's face was a mask of shock, and then the usual scowl rose into place. Suddenly, he seemed a lot larger, looming over her as he stood up.

"You'd better not be lying to me, Jackie."

"Why would I?"

He gave a grunt for an answer, making it Jackie's turn to be annoyed. Her own eyes narrowed.

"And you'd better not be suggesting I am slipping."

"How do I know you're not?" he shot back, "This could all be-"

-SLAP-

The sound echoed. Slowly, Richard raised a gloved hand to his already reddening cheek. Jackie was on her feet now, face almost a match for hair, shaking with fury.

"If you came here looking for a fight then congratulations! Dammit Richard, if there was any lapse in my control it would be more obvious than a few words out of place! Have you noticed anyone with third-degree burns recently?"

Richard's eyes swirled. Then he turned away, backing down.

"Good point."

"Thank you," Jackie lowered her hand, letting some of the tension leak out of her body, "Now, you, Kate and your shared paranoia aside, what are we going to do about all this?"

Richard rubbed his forehead, suddenly looking tired again now the anger had left him.

"I've called a full Field meeting. Two options – cool it, or else."

"What's 'else'?"

"Me."

"Ah." Jackie glanced away, paused, then turned back and decided to abandon any finesse. She had to ask.

"Richard, you… are you, right?"

In the following moment of silence, Richard leaned forward until his face was little more than a hair's width away from hers. His stare rippled, until she was staring into twin pools of oily black.

"Who else would I be?" he asked quietly, his expression calm, controlled and utterly unreadable. He stood back abruptly and strode out without another word. Jackie watched him go and shook her head, an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she murmured. She sat back down again, but the seat suddenly seemed less than comfortable. Her two major discussions of the day played across her mind, for a large part overlaid. She was now seriously worried. Richard and Kate rowing, she could deal with that. Richard and Kate actually starting to lose trust in each other – that was very different. Other members of the Terrace were certainly getting shaky in their control, but those two… They were the first ones who'd ever had Self, for Merlin's sake! Frankly, both of them had been acting a bit off lately, but surely it hadn't been anything that bad.

She suddenly felt very helpless.

-x-x-

There was definitely something wrong here. Sam hurried towards the break room, trying not to be noticed. Jackie had seemed unusually tense earlier, Elsa had been rapidly alternating between serene calm and being extremely frazzled and… well…

The air felt weird. Or sounded weird, Sam hadn't quite decided which. There was a sense of something, like whispers just out of hearing. It was – for want of a better word – louder the more people who were around, particularly when they were in the arguing groups, which by now was almost everyone.

It made Sam's skin crawl.

She was also pretty sure Jackie hadn't been telling her everything. The whole Terrace had changed since she arrived, she could swear it. And everyone was acting strangely too. She got the impression she was being deliberately left in the dark. This time, she was going to try and get more information.

The break room was empty when she arrived, aside from Jackie asleep in a leather recliner. Sam carefully settled down opposite and waited, scanning the older woman's features. She looked tired out, but normal. That was a relief – she didn't think she could take staring into another set of eyes fringed with glittery makeup. After a while, she decided to risk waking her.

"Jackie? Shall I come back later?"

"Mmm?" The redhead stirred, inching her brown eye open. She blinked at Sam, opened the grey eye of her mismatched pair, then focused.

"Wha-? Oh, damn, right, sorry," she pulled herself up again and yawned, "Long day."

"It's okay," Sam tried a small grin, "At least you're- I mean… "

"Not going sparkly?" Jackie sighed, "Yeah, the snoring kinda dispels the illusion, right?"

"Um… "

"I'm joking kid. Now, where were we?"

"Well," Sam hesitated, then decided to go straight in, "I thought… you-could-tell-me-what's-going-on!" The last part came out far too fast, as if the words wanted to get away from her as fast as possible, but Jackie seemed to understand. The older woman looked hard at her for a moment, then sighed.

"I don't want you drawn into this."

"I'm here, aren't I? That makes me in already." Sam was surprised at how sharp her own retort was. Jackie gave a thin smile.

"I guess. One thing-" she leaned closer, "-Richard or Kate?"

Sam blinked, then realised what she meant and felt her eyes widen.

"I just want to know what's happening! Not pick sides!"

"That's the problem," Jackie sat back glumly, "There never used to be sides. Admin and Field aren't supposed to be at each other's throats!"

"I… kinda thought Kate was the boss anyway… "

Jackie snorted.

"We're not an autocracy. Richard prefers being out in the Field; Kate has the most finesse with a spork. I have people skills that don't involve being intimidating or obeyed. We're a team. Or we should be… " She trailed off, expression twitching. Sam had never seen her look so uneasy.

"Why are people losing control?"

"Stress. The more pressure your Self is under, the less able you'll be to keep the Sue suppressed. There'll be an element of cabin fever too, the place has never been this full before."

Sam blinked. There was an edge of doubt in her companion's voice.

"So… you're sure it's nothing else?"

"Reasonably," the redhead raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking suspicious, "Why?"

Sam told her about the whispering. Jackie listened, but didn't seem convinced.

"Sounds a bit like Influence, but the sheer level someone would need to affect the whole Terrace… We'd never have missed that. The Suescope's too sensitive, if Kate can pick up un-interacted Sues, she'd-" She stopped, her eyes glazing over.

Silence.

Eventually, Sam coughed nervously. There was a very strange expression settled on Jackie's features. She must have said something wrong – again – so she decided to change the subject.

Hopefully without making it too obvious.

"So… uh… you talked about spork clearance-levels this morning?"

Jackie blinked and re-focused on reality. Her gaze immediately met Sam's, and she offered a tight smile.

"Sorry, just lost in thought. What about them?"

Relieved, Sam continued.

"I guess each level has a different type of spork then? Y'know, for different tasks?"

Jackie looked quizzically at her.

"Why d'you say that?"

"Well," Sam shifted uncomfortably, wondering what she'd done this time, "I mean, the one Richard had at the station wasn't really strong, right? He'd only got thin gloves on, but Kate had really thick ones when she sporked me, so I guessed it must be a stronger spork or something…" She trailed off. Okay, I definitely said something wrong there. Jackie had gone pale, and was staring ahead as if looking at something being played out in the air several inches above Sam's shoulder.

"You're… quite sure?" She sounded very far away.

"Um… yes… " Sam answered in a small voice, trying not to make any more mistakes, "I mean… nothing's really clear during… but that was before…"

"Gloves… no spork… Sam," Jackie was suddenly on her feet and her hand locked tightly round Sam's wrist, pulling her upright, "Come on!"

Sam suddenly found herself being dragged out of the room into and along the corridors at breakneck speed. Doors blurred past, strains of pop music darting across her ears, surprised expressions appearing on the faces of those they barged past. In front of her, Jackie was muttering to herself but Sam couldn't hear the exact words. What was going on? What could she have said that-?

Her line of thought cut out as Jackie darted round a corner and collided with something that yelled as they went crashing to the ground. There were a few very busy moments, consisting mainly of arms, legs and swearing, before the scene resolved, revealing Richard pinning a surprised Jackie to the ground, his spork's glittering tips mere millimetres away from her throat. The two stared at each other, then Richard growled and stood up, glaring at her.

"Dammit Jackie!" He snarled, shoving the spork back into his robes and roughly proffering a hand, "Are you trying to get hurt?"

Jackie accepted the help and clambered back onto her feet, brushing imaginary dust off her shirt.

"Actually, I was-"

"I don't have time for this!" Richard snapped, and Sam suddenly realised how angry he looked. The slight dishevelment from the collision didn't help.

"What about your meeting?"

He thrust an accusing finger back down the corridor, eyes burning.

"Didn't happen. I have just had to separate, spork and stun a six-member, l33t-screaming, glittery bitch fight!" Richard hissed, his eyes blazing with rage, "Entirely made up of my own damn Field operatives! I am not in the habit of taking out my own people! This is going to stop now!" He span round to continue forward, but Jackie lunged and caught his arm, dragging them together.

"Kate can't use a spork anymore!"

Richard stopped. Very slowly, he turned until he was staring directly into her eyes.

"What?"

"She wore dragonhide to spork Sam," Jackie gulped, shrinking back slightly under the power of Richard's glare, "And, I mean, she wasn't wearing one earlier… and…… Richard ……?"

Richard's face had frozen. The expression etched there was one Sam hoped she'd never have to see again. Wordlessly he pulled himself free of Jackie's grip and stalked away, moving with strangely smooth, determined strides. Jackie started after him, dragging Sam along behind again almost as an afterthought.

Their progress through the Terrace was less frantic now. It was, however, attracting a lot more attention. Doors opened as they passed, releasing more trails of testosterone-deficient boy-band wails and ear-drum destroying, screaming rock into the air. And people. Sam watched nervously as the doors a few metres behind from them disgorged the room's occupants, and more figures appeared from side corridors. Steadily, the crowd began to grow.

The Terrace was emptying itself. Sam was almost walking backwards now as she craned round, her gaze flicking from face to face in the crowd trailing along behind them. Some looked normal enough, but they were in the extreme minority. Black eyeshadow, scarlet lipstick, studs, collars, excessive cleavage, belt-kin skirts, all blurred together as the throng flowed along, moving more like a slow liquid with modelled swell than a group of people. Ocular cycles swirled, piercings caught the light with tiny metallic glints, but no one spoke.

The silence was broken only by the rhythmic thud of two pairs of boots and Sam's trainers. The crowd behind them didn't seem to make any sound as they moved, surging forward with silent inevitability. Sam got the impression that if she stopped moving, the heavily-accessorised wave would just envelop her. She turned again, her gaze locking with a glittering pair of violet eyes, and it took her a few moments to realise the ribbon-bedecked plaits surrounding the white-powered face were blue.

Then the whispering started. It rose over the crowd, bypassing Sam's ears and feeding directly into her mind, echoing round her consciousness. No one's lips were moving but the air boiled with the unheard muttering, intensity building steadily until it was a roar, the words unclear, indiscernible, but they weren't aimed at her, instead burrowing straight through her mind to the back as something else strained to answer. Sam could feel her eyes begin to swirl, reacting to the deafening silent clamour even as she stumbled…

… and was suddenly wrenched forward, physically dragged more than led, by the steel-strong grips clamped around her arms. For a moment the world went black, then Richard's robe moved out of her face and everything came crashing back. The whispering had muted, and it took her a few minutes to realise she was being marched along between Richard and Jackie – his hand on her shoulder, the redhead's arm in hers. Behind them, the silent mutterings seemed almost disappointed. Sam swallowed hard, feeling her heart hammering hard against her ribs.

"Wh-wh-what-?"

"Stay with us kid," Richard said quietly. Sam looked up at him and, for a second, beneath the rage imprinted on his features, there was something else. He was… afraid? No, that wasn't quite right, it was more like-

The ground beneath her feet suddenly became vertical and Sam barely had time to react before she was half-carried up the stairs. Halfway up, a faint creak was all that indicated the crowd had started the climb too. Sam forced herself not to look back, which took a lot of effort. Looking forward didn't turn out to be much better, as she focused on the door opposite and her eyes widened.

Scanns?

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Jackie asked softly. Richard released his hold on Sam and faced the suddenly ominous metal letters. His eyes darkened and he raised a flat palm towards the door.

"Let's find out."

-x-