Determinant: a gene or other factor that determines the character and development of a cell or group of cells in an organism.
Chapter 29: Interstices - Part Three
Jamie and the others get settled in at her childhood home while Mitch is away in D.C.
They had to take both vehicles from the bay to accommodate all of them, and Jamie offered to drive the lead car both to guide the way and to make sure she was the first to get a glimpse of her family farm. It had been so long since she'd been home - well over a year and half - and though it was by no means the longest she'd been away, driving the familiar streets of Folsom felt more like a homecoming than ever before. She'd called her aunt just before they left the St. Tammany Regional Airport, and Fran had promised to have a big southern breakfast laid out by the time they arrived.
Jamie very nearly broke down into tears as they crossed the city limit sign, and again when she caught sight of the broken gate at the end of the road. She signaled to let Abe know in the Hummer behind her that they were turning off the main road, and she slowed just enough to take the turn safely.
It was beautiful. The two story farmhouse rose from behind a hill, the front awash in splashes of orange and yellow as the sun rose over the treetops. Several cars were parked along the side of the house, and though Jamie didn't recognize any of them she knew that Reese and Charlie were there. It would be a tight fit for all of them, especially with Jamie bringing five people with her, but Fran had said they would make it work.
She hadn't even stopped fully before the front door burst open and her family came spilling out. Jamie threw the car in park and jumped out, not even bothering to turn the engine off. She met them all halfway in a tangled heap of limbs and tears, the sobs of her aunt muffled by Jamie's delighted laughter and the shouts of her uncle and cousins.
It was a long while before they began to separate. Jamie saw her friends standing a respectful distance away, content to let her reunite with her family before intruding on the moment. Jamie loved them all the more for it and waved them over eagerly.
"Aunt Fran, Uncle Bo, this is Jackson, Abe, Dariela, Clem and Dianne," she introduced them one at a time. "Guys, this is my family."
Pleasantries and welcomes made the rounds before they all started back toward the house. Fran had an arm wrapped around Jamie's shoulder, and she guessed it would be a while before her aunt let her out of her sight.
"It's a shame Mitch couldn't stay," she said.
"He'll be back soon," Jamie promised. "Hopefully the briefing won't last too long and he'll be able to fly back out tomorrow." Jamie followed her aunt into her childhood home, and for a moment she was struck by another wave of emotion. She paused just inside the door to soak it in. The others waited patiently, but soon the aroma of a freshly cooked breakfast wafted through the house and Jamie's stomach urged her forward.
"We don't have any bacon or sausage," Fran was saying as they all filed into the kitchen, "but we've got biscuits and gravy, pancakes, crepes and eggs."
Jamie smiled at the familiar scene - her aunt was ready at a moment's notice to feed an army at three in the morning if that's when they arrived. Dariela and Jackson made a beeline for the table, dragging Abe and Clem along with them as Fran began bustling about. Dianne offered to help but was shooed away gently to join the others at the feast. Jamie felt a heavy arm settle over her shoulders, and she leaned into her uncle's hug with a grin.
"Welcome home, bug," he murmured warmly.
Jamie felt herself tearing up again, and as her friends began digging into the meal her aunt had provided she turned and buried her face against her uncle's shoulder. He rubbed her back soothingly as she soaked in the feeling of home. She moved from his arms to Reese, who was standing just behind his father. Charlie was next, her junior by a few years but still almost a head taller. Her cousins had always felt much more like brothers to her, and she was glad to see them as well.
Charlie tucked her under one arm and pulled her away from the chaotic kitchen and toward the much quieter living room. "You heard about Stephen?"
"Yeah," Jamie nodded. "How's Sam holding up?"
"Alright," Charlie shrugged. "With everything that was going on…"
Jamie joined him on the couch, tucking one leg under her as she turned to face him. "Is he coming home?"
"Mom called him," Charlie said. "He said he'd be here as soon as he could." He fidgeted slightly in his seat, a remnant of the seemingly endless supply of energy he'd possessed as a child. He had always been moving, climbing trees or running around or riding his bike. Even in school, the teachers had often remarked that he was a very smart child but had trouble sitting still or staying focused.
"Is it weird?" he blurted out suddenly. He shook his head a little, as if berating himself for the outburst, but his eyes held their curiosity.
"Being home?" she clarified. "Yes and no. I mean, as a kid I couldn't wait to get away, to get out on my own and start living my life. But now? All I've wanted to do for the past couple of months is this." She raised her hands to indicate their current situation.
Charlie laughed. "I know what you mean. All the shit that's happened in two years...it puts things in perspective."
Jamie chuckled her agreement then changed the subject. "How's your family?"
Charlie's face split in a proud grin. "Great! Megan's pregnant again. I just hope it's not another set of twins," he laughed. "I'm not sure if we could handle four against two."
Jamie forced a smile on her face. They didn't know. They didn't know that the very thing they believed had saved them had instead doomed them. Mitch was on his way to D.C. right now to brief their leaders on the situation, but the general public still believed the gas had worked. No one knew about their cure, or Pangaea, or the birds. And, Jamie suspected sourly, they never would. Mitch's work would be swept under a rug, his brilliance silenced to further the agendas of mega-corporations and governments.
"Jamie?"
Charlie was looking at her worriedly, and she blinked twice in surprise. Her hands had clenched tightly in her lap, and she relaxed them deliberately as she took deep breaths. "You alright?"
"Yeah," she reassured him. "It's nothing. Come on," she stood up and reached down for his hand. "I'm starving, and if we don't hurry there won't be anything left to eat in there."
The rest of the morning was spent catching her family up on everything. Much as they had for Dianne, Jamie and her friends relayed the events of the past two years in a sort of round robin storytelling that had everyone stunned into silence by the end.
It was Bo who spoke first. "That's a hell of a tale," he said.
"So no one can have kids anymore?" Charlie asked quickly. "What about anyone already pregnant? Is there a danger?"
"No," Jamie shook her head firmly. "All the tests we've done show that there's no change for anyone who was pregnant before the gas drop. But those kids, they'll be the last ones born unless we can figure out how to reverse it all."
"How do you know?" Charlie pressed.
"I'm pregnant," Dariela answered. "And I've been monitored since almost the beginning. Everything's normal."
"How come the news isn't reporting it?" Fran asked.
"Because they don't know," Jamie told her. "That's why Mitch is in D.C. right now. He's briefing everyone so they can start figuring out where to start."
"It sounds like one of those science-fiction novels you used to read all the time," Reese added with a teasing smile at Jamie.
"Funny you should mention that," she finished the last of her orange juice and set the empty glass on the table. "I've started compiling notes and accounts to write one."
"A book?" Fran gasped. "Dear, that's wonderful!"
"Yeah, but can you do it?" Charlie asked. At his mother's stern glare, he clarified. "No, I mean because of the non-disclosure thing."
"I never signed one," Jamie said smugly. "I was dead at the time." Her joke didn't sit well with her family, but her point still stood. "Besides, it's not going to be a true telling. More of an 'inspired by events' kind of thing."
"You need to be careful," Fran warned. "Reiden has a lot of money and influence. You know that better than any of us. What if they try to silence you?"
"Let them try," Jackson said defiantly. "The NDA only applies to the things that happened before the plane crash. And since Jamie never signed one, she's not restricted like we are. I, for instance, can't go public with that story, but she can. And everything after that's fair game."
Abe nodded in agreement. "They won't be able to stifle her unless they want everyone in the world to know that's what they're trying to do."
"And I imagine their PR guy is already busy enough as it is," Dariela added with a smirk.
"The world deserves to know the truth," Jamie felt bolstered by her friends. She had been unsure about the book at first, but the longer she thought about it the more she wanted to do it. Hearing her friends' unwavering support only stoked the fire in her chest. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to grab her laptop and dive into the files and notes she had there, so she stood with an offer to help clean up.
"Oh no, honey," Fran waved her off predictably. "You go rest. I can take care of this."
Dianne insisted on helping, and Fran finally relented under her persistence. The two women began chatting as they gathered dishes, silverware and glasses from the table. Everyone else cleared out quickly before they could get in the way. Charlie left with a hug and a promise to return with the rest of his family on Sunday. Bo and Reese went out to check the fields and to get some work done, leaving Jamie and the others to entertain themselves.
They grabbed their bags out of the cars and set them in a corner out of the way until they could figure out where everyone was sleeping. Clem found the television remote and began flipping through channels as Jamie pulled her laptop out of her backpack.
Her phone rang about an hour later. "It's Mitch," she announced to the others before she answered. "Hello?"
"Hey." He sounded exhausted and annoyed, which probably meant he had already met with someone.
"How's D.C.?" she asked flippantly as Clem abandoned the television to sit on the couch next to her.
"I think it's actually more chaotic now than the last time we were here," he told her. "How are things there?"
"Great," Jamie couldn't help but smile. "Clem wants to talk to you." She had caught the eager expression on the girl's face the moment she'd come over. She passed the phone to Clem and went back to her computer for a moment as the girl took over the conversation.
"Hey Dad." A beat of silence, then, "Good. Jamie's aunt cooked breakfast for everyone."
Even Jamie could hear Mitch's groan, and she laughed. "Tell him I'm sure Aunt Fran will be happy to cook him something when he comes back," Jamie said.
Clem relayed the message, then asked, "When are you coming back?"
Jamie wanted to know the answer to that question as well, so she leaned in a bit to hear his reply. "Tomorrow, hopefully," she heard.
"Okay." Clem listened for a moment more. "I will. Love you, too." She handed the phone back to Jamie and went back to the television, apparently satisfied with their conversation.
Jamie pulled the phone to her ear and sighed. "Tomorrow, huh?"
"Allison wanted me to stay through the weekend. I told her to go to hell."
Jamie wanted to believe he'd been more diplomatic about it, but he probably hadn't. "How did she take that?"
"About as well as you'd expect," Mitch answered. "Break's almost over, so I have to get back in there. I'm briefing the President's Science Advisory Committee this afternoon. I swear, I'm just gonna have them video this whole thing so I can stop repeating myself."
"Might save some time," she agreed. "I love you. Be safe." It had become habit to use the same five words at the end of any conversation, and he echoed them before disconnecting. Jamie held the phone for a second longer, then slid it onto the end table. Jackson, Abe and Dariela were holding a rather stilted conversation at their end of the living room, but Jamie could tell they were curious about Mitch's call.
"He's briefing the Science Council," she told them. "He'll be back as soon as he can."
Abe nodded thoughtfully. "He will be quite the popular man for a while, I imagine. He is the only scientist who has been involved from the beginning. The whole world is going to want to hear what he has to say."
Jamie hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, she pictured Mitch calling her every few days with an apology and another destination. He'd told her a while ago about how he'd been too brash and too quick to publish his work, eager to make his mark. He'd been burned, his work discredited, and now mostly kept his head down in the scientific community. Why wouldn't he want enjoy his success now? The Architect of the Cure, Allison had called him. Every scientific journal and media outlet across the globe would be scrambling to get to Mitch Morgan.
"Jamie?" Dariela pulled her from her thoughts, and Jamie blinked a few times to clear her head. "Is there somewhere I can lay down? I need a nap."
"Uh, sure." Jamie slid her laptop to the cushion next to her and stood up. "You can sleep in my old room." She led the other woman up the stairs and down a short hall. There were three bedrooms upstairs, but only one on the left side the landing. The other two sat on either side of a bathroom on the right, all three rooms connected by a series of doors. Originally, Reese and Charlie had occupied those rooms, with the twins in the left room. When Jamie had moved in, Stephen and Sam had been thrown in with Charlie and Jamie was given her own space on the opposite side of the second level from the boys.
Her room was exactly the same as she'd left it twelve years ago. It wasn't a terribly large room, maybe fifteen feet by twenty, and painted in a soft grayish beige that Fran had argued against and lost. The far wall was navy, accented by the matching comforter and pillowcases on the bed against it. A dresser, a desk and a bookshelf were on the other three walls, leaving a small amount of open space to navigate between the furniture. Jamie's room didn't have its own bathroom, but the closet space more than made up for it. There weren't a lot of clothes in it anymore - just a few winter coats that hadn't been worn in a while - and almost half of it was piled floor to ceiling with boxes.
Dariela was already rearranging pillows, so Jamie shut the door behind her and turned to go back downstairs. It still felt odd to be back after everything that had happened. The house hadn't changed in years - decades, maybe - and she could still picture so clearly moments that had happened between these walls. Laughter floated up to her from the lower floor and Jamie recognized her aunt's voice as she told a story (probably something embarrassing from Jamie's childhood).
Jamie paused halfway down the stairs and sank down, content to listen to the warmth and love that seemed to be ever present in the house. Her family - both the one she'd been born into and the one she'd chosen - was under one roof, with one notable exception. Jamie closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, sending up a silent plea for Mitch to be done soon so he could come back - so he could come home.