Rest day, and there's no rest to be had, really. Thanks for reviewing, OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla, lordgemini and AnonBrowser.

I was tossing and turning all night, now that I knew this confrontation was coming. I mean, I must have gotten some sleep, because I was up early enough to go running with Jo. I wished I could have confided in her, but I knew she wouldn't be interested or have any advice, so I said nothing. However, when I got back, I managed to tell Dakota about it, but she didn't have much to say either.

"I still feel sick from the toxic exposure in the mine." she complained. "I'm not really equipped to give you more love advice."

I gave her a proper look. She was a little paler than usual, but apart from that, she looked just the same. Tall, thin, not shaky at all. Still, I felt guilty about asking her after I'd put her through that ordeal. I hadn't even had to go into the mine myself.

"Go rest." I ordered her. "Take a soda with you if you want. You can sit out interning for the next challenge, but unless you're still really sick, I hope you'll be back on form for the challenge after that, because we've got the merge coming."

Dakota managed a wan smile. "Thanks. I'll tell you if I feel better tomorrow."

Then, finally, once breakfast was over, I heard a knock on my trailer door. I answered to Mike immediately. "Hey. Come on in."

I tried for a smile, but Mike looked totally serious. That wasn't at all usual for him. We both sat down and I shut the trailer door. "So," I said, "Let's get it over with."

Mike gave a sigh. "Toni – there's not going to be an easy way for me to say it. But I know what you've wanted to tell me for the last week. I was going to wait until you brought it up, but I asked Cameron and he said I should tell you straight away."

My smile became incredulous. "Sounds like I've been underestimating the bubble boy," I commented. "The kid's smart."
"Yeah." Mike nodded. "And as an aside, he knows about my alters. He asked me last night about them and said he'd try and help me control them."

This time I felt genuinely pleased for him. "I'll have to go find him and thank him for that," I commented. "He probably can help you more than I ever could, even knowing what to look for. And since you're on the same team and all."

"Anyway," Mike went on, looking serious again, "What I needed to say. I mean, don't take this the wrong way, I like hanging out with you, and I enjoy being around you. And I'm glad you were host instead of Chris. And it's not that you're not pretty, either – you are."

"But?" I said gently, wanting to get it over with.

Mike's gaze fell to the floor. "But I don't want to get into anything right now." he mumbled. "I'm sorry. It's just…I don't want to make any decisions right now."

Well, that was more than I expected. But I just had to ask the question. "Does this have anything to do with Zoey?"

Mike met my eyes again, with a look of shock. "What? How did you know that?"

I shrugged. "You two hang out a lot. I'd have to be blind not to notice the way she looks at you, or the way you look at her."

Mike gave a sigh. "I haven't said anything to her yet. I wanted to get this out with you because you're not being subtle, but I can't tell with her. I don't want to make things awkward if that's not what she means."

I paused, starting to realize why he wasn't being open with Zoey. "Um," I ventured, "Have you told Zoey about your alters? I'm guessing you can't talk to her about these things until you tell her that."

"I need more time before I decide whether to tell her that," was Mike's immediate response. "The only one who knows besides you is Cameron, and I'd like to keep it that way."

I shrugged. "I'm not going to say a word. It's best that Zoey hears it from you," and I paused before adding, "But you have to tell her sometime."

Mike gave a nod, but he didn't look that sure. "And," he added, "No hard feelings about waiting?"

I smiled at him. "You haven't rejected me. So all you really did was take off the pressure on me to flirt." I gave him a quick hug to let him know that I really meant it, and I could be just as friendly-affectionate as romantic-affectionate, and it didn't feel weird when he returned it. Just light.

In fact, it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day.

And that evening, I called Cameron into my trailer. "So," I said, "Mike tells me you figured out about his other identities. I just wanted to let you know that I knew, and I think Mike's really grateful that you want to help him."

Cameron's ear tips were a little paler than the rest of him, so when they went red, I guessed he was blushing all over. He certainly looked a bit pleased and overwhelmed. "He's the first friend I've ever had," he said haltingly. "You know, after spending sixteen years in a bubble. I've known for a while. I was going to wait for him to tell me, but he never did, so I thought it was time I let him know I knew. If you review the footage, you'll probably notice that I figured out Svetlana's triggers early, because I used them a few times. I'm still figuring out some of the others, but Mike knows I'm observing him now. It was only fair I told him I was studying how the disorder affected him."

"Oh." I grinned. Cameron had the nerdiness that Harold possessed, but he also had this modesty that made me feel more inclined to like him. Harold had always been just a little bit too aware of his intelligence. "Well, if there's anything I don't know that would be useful for me, can you please let me know?"

Cameron smiled back. "Of course. My biggest focus at the moment is to find out if there are any triggers that will bring Mike back at any given time. I'm sure that's something you'll need to know." He then added shyly "Do you think it's a good idea, Mike keeping it a secret? I don't get why he's doing it."

I gave a sigh. "Being brutally honest? I don't know. I think Mike wanted to prove his disorder wasn't disabling. That's why he came here. I guessed he's had people treating him like an alien or bullying him for being different."
Cameron nodded slowly. "I guess I can understand from that perspective. That is one of the reasons bullying starts – sticking out." He gave a sigh. "That, and being smaller and weaker than others." I knew without asking that he was referring to Jo pushing him around.

I looked at him sympathetically. "Cheer up," I advised. "You've got more brainpower than anyone else on this island has. Including me! You can use that to prove it. And since I'm sure you know I know who you're talking about, just do it all. Jo respects people who can defeat or match her. If you're both still here after the merge, you'll have a good chance to do that."

So overall, a pretty mixed bag of a rest day. But at least Toni knows now. But is that going to make her and Zoey any friendlier? Hmmm…