Woo hoo! Two reviews this time! Thanks guys!

Sarah – Don't worry, they weren't really bowling balls, Claire was just being hyperbolic to get her point across. :-) As for how I manage to update so quickly, that's for me to know and for you to become increasingly disillusioned with if I ever fall behind:-) Thanks for your support!

Saynt Jimmy – You really would've pegged Shawn as a Sid Vicious fan? I mean, maybe I would've given him credit for liking Nuevo-pseudo-punk like Green Day, but the classics? Oh well, he'll learn.

Enjoy! - Ursula

Chapter 5

Claire's late night meeting with Jordan had piqued Shawn's interest, so when he spotted Jordan in the Center's main hall the following morning, he stopped his friend with a hand on his arm.

"Jordan, I've changed my mind."

"Sorry?" Jordan looked at him quizzically.

"About your experiments. About Claire. I want to know…how they're progressing. I'd like to know how you're getting along."

"Sadly, no real progress yet."

"So," Shawn leaned in toward Jordan conspiratorially, "how, er, how do they work exactly?"

"We really are showing some interest, aren't we?" Jordan seemed amused. "Shawn, consider your own abilities. Your healing came fairly naturally, but think of the other half of your power. Would you have ever known that you possessed the ability to…to…?"

"…to suck people's lives out of them?" Shawn filled in miserably.

"Exactly. Well, would you have ever discovered that ability had you not been confronted with a direct threat to your person?"

"So what, you're sicking school bullies on her in the hopes that she'll be able to keep them away?" He half-smiled, amused by the absurdity of the idea he proposed, but his smile faded instantly as he saw how carefully Jordan considered his comment.

"More or less."

"More or less? What does that mean, Jordan, 'more or less'?" Shawn swallowed uneasily as he remembered the purple bruise he had glimpsed on Claire's shoulder the previous morning. "Jordan, are you – are you hurting her? I mean, because I saw some bruises – "

Jordan looked at him sharply. "Someone's been spending quite a bit of free time with the young lady, huh? To have gleaned so much." He attempted to walk past Shawn and continue his brisk path across the hall, but Shawn stopped him again with a restraining hand on his arm, his eyes asking the question he couldn't put into words. "Really Shawn, I don't see how this concerns you, and besides, this is hardly the place to be having such a conversation."

"Hell yes it concerns me Jordan," Shawn's voice lowered to a violent hiss. "Because how can I believe you, how can I follow you, if I can't respect you?"

Jordan turned an angry gaze at his protégé and responded in a whispered hiss. "You want to respect something? Respect the fact that I am trying to keep this Center and this foundation running despite obstacles at every turn, despite public distrust and an abysmal lack of funding. Because it has a chance to better the lives, not just of the 4400, but of the population of the world at large. Perhaps you think I lack compassion in the design of my experiments with Claire? Well I can't afford compassion. If I am to accomplish my goal, our goal," at this, he placed both hands on Shawn's shoulders for emphasis, "then I need to give the people something extraordinary, something to show them what we can really do. And Claire? Claire has the potential to be that extraordinary thing that forces the world to take notice."

Shawn shook his head, torn between believing in his teacher and obeying his instinct. "There has to be another way."

"You don't think I've tried the other ways? I've given keys to celebrities; given tours to influential press…none of it works Shawn. The fact is, the 4400 need Claire."

"That doesn't mean that I can condone you hurting her. That doesn't give you the right –"

Jordan patted Shawn's arm in a conciliatory gesture. "You don't need to condone it Shawn. I can guarantee you that Claire will come to no real harm while undergoing experiments with me. You've no reason to worry." At that Jordan successfully stepped away from Shawn and continued quickly to his original destination, while Shawn was left in the hall, wondering what exactly Jordan had meant by "real harm."