Not everything went the way I wanted it to this chapter.

Friendly reminder, this is not directly following Stitchers, I take what I remember from the episode and put my own spin on it. I'm sorry if it confuses you as my readers, but I've explained in either the summary box or at the beginning of some of my chapters that this is not meant to follow the episode word for word and action for action. So, please, be patient with me.

Much love,

ReesesPieces2112


"You look exhausted." Liam pushed a piece of hair behind Kirsten's ear and let his hand settle against her cheek.

Kirsten leaned into his touch and gave him a tired smile. Two weeks; it had been two weeks since she ran from Cameron and his confession of love for her. When she had finally settled herself enough to return to the lab, she had avoided him. It took about four or five days of Camille convincing her to talk to him about it, that when she finally gave in, they agreed to move past it because they still had a job to do.

"Tough day at work." Kirsten joked. 12 passengers on a plane landing in Los Angeles had somehow all died simultaneously and stitching into 6 random passengers seemed almost impossible, but she was up for it. She already had one prime suspect in line and Fischer and Linus were taking their much needed down time between stitches to check it out.

"Tough day? Kirsten, you look like you've been hit by a truck." Liam frowned at her as the waitress approached them with their check.

Kirsten wondered if, for a moment, his concern was actually genuine, or if he was just that good of an actor. She watched him thank the waitress and hand the bill back to her. He had been right; she had a splitting headache, her body was using every bit of energy and strength she had but there wasn't much left, and she knew if they stitched one more time that she'd be pushing it.

"I think you should head home." He helped her to her feet and let her body relax into his as he walked her to exit of the restaurant they met at for lunch. "Seriously, Kirsten, you're about to pass out."

"I'll be okay." She insisted as she welcomed his assistance because she could have collapsed right then and there if not for his frame. "I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well."

Liam held onto her tightly as they walked down the street to an office building she had used as her cover, though he knew she was lying and she knew he was aware of it. He turned her body to his and held her steady by her shoulders. "I don't think I should leave you to work like this."

Kirsten stepped into him and wove her arms around his neck, pulling him close to kiss him. She felt his hands drop from her shoulders and to her waist, nearly tipping her back as he returned the kiss.

"Well, well, well." A familiar voice broke them apart and up came Camille with Linus and Cameron at her side. "Looks like you two have patched up nicely."

"Camille." Liam acknowledged with an awkward nod. "Nice to see you too."

Camille grinned at him and slid up next to Kirsten, linking their arms together; she was well aware of how Kirsten had been feeling and she wasn't about to let her fall flat on her face. "Likewise. If you'll excuse us, we have so much to get done today."

"Oh, well actually," Liam latched onto Kirsten's free arm, "I was just telling her how she didn't look too well so I thought I'd take her home."

"You're not?" Cameron immediately strode up to her and put his hand to her forehead. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I'm okay." Kirsten backed away from his touch and saw the hurt flash in his eyes. She began to apologize when Camille interrupted her.

"You know Kirsten, always a team player." Camille patted Cameron's shoulder and turned to Liam. "We'll get her home if she's feeling any worse later."

Liam hesitated but let it go; with the way she was looking, chances were that Kirsten would fight but eventually end up home and he could meet up with her there. Leaving a kiss on her forehead, he left the group of friends while dialing a number onto his cell phone.


"I don't like this." Cameron said into his mic, directing his statement to Kirsten, who was sitting in the tank and ready to go. "You're testing yourself, stretch, it's not a good idea."

"I know my limits." She grit her teeth and closed her eyes to block out anything other than his voice. Truth was, she had actually exceeded her limit after the third stitch and she didn't say anything because they were getting nowhere. Preparing for their fifth stitch had her on edge and she knew that Cameron felt it.

Cameron braced his hands against his desk and gripped the edge tight; she was being stubborn. She wasn't telling him anything and it frustrated him. He voiced his concern every twenty minutes because if he didn't, she'd convince everyone else to keep going when they shouldn't. "Kirsten, damn it, I'm serious. If you're not feeling well-."

"I can do this." She snapped at him, something she hadn't really done in a while. Before her feelings came back into play, all she'd ever done was pick at Cameron and now that Liam was back in her life, she was overwhelmed and falling back into her old patterns. "Can we just start?"

Cameron hung his head and sighed, deciding to let her have her way and began instructing the team. About forty seconds in, he asked, "Anything new, princess?"

Kirsten began listing off new facts as well as old, before Cameron and their team moved her into stasis while they prepared the next stitch. Her breathing was shaky; she was alone and couldn't move for what felt like forever when it had only been at least thirty seconds.

And then he was there; the boy who had appeared in her stitches after the ordeal with Cameron. He told her there was a bigger picture and she had been going about their plan all wrong. He showed her a memory from when she was just a child, wearing a daisy chain on her head and told her that was the key.

"Ready, Kirsten?" Cameron's voice rang in her ears and she answered yes, she was ready. "Two minutes, kid, give me something."

When the stitch started, she couldn't make out anything. Her vision blurred and everything had been spinning. "I don't think we'll need it. I can't get anything from this."

"Oh God." Linus spoke up, realizing his mistake, "I-I didn't map out the memories right."

"So, it's a wasted stitch." Maggie growled at him, while Camille jumped to his defense.

"Bounce, Kirsten, don't stay in there." Cameron shot a look to Linus and clenched his jaw.

Kirsten did as she was told, coming to and leaning against the side of the tank. She watched Cameron, Camille, Linus, and Maggie argue before saying, "There's another way."

"No, we're done for today." Cameron pulled the com from his ear and threw it on his desk. "You need to rest."

"We don't have much time, Cameron, and it was an honest mistake." She glared at him, knowing what Linus was dealing with.

"I don't care!" Cameron yelled, his voice echoing around the lab and stopping everyone in their tracks. "You're done, Kirsten, you're running on empty and I'm shutting it down."

"That's my decision." Kirsten replied, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side to get out of the tank.

Ayo rushed to her, but she held up her hand to signal that she was okay. As she stood, her knees buckled as she cautiously made her way down the steps.

"Your decision is going to get you killed." He said, crossing his arms and glaring at her while she accepted a towel from Ayo.

"Oh, you mean like yours did?" Kirsten shot back just as easily, clearly irritated and letting her migraine get the best of her. "I'm sorry, but aren't you the one who stopped his own heartbeat for the sake of our case?"

"Stop it." Cameron stepped towards her with grit teeth and clenched fists. "That's enough for today. I've already said so."

"Spare me." She sneered, tossing the towel onto a nearby chair and placing her hands on her hips. "I realize you're 'King of the Lab', but you're not the king of me, Cameron. We're going to keep stitching."

"Everyone out." He commanded in a tone that sent chills down Kirsten's spine and let the team know he was not messing around.

Fischer knew enough about arguing to guess where theirs was about to go, so he rounded up Camille, Linus, and Maggie and ushered them towards the elevator while everyone else scrambled to empty offices or the conference room.

"You think all this stitching only affects you?" Cameron began, advancing on her until her back met the tank and she was trapped. "We're a team, Kirsten, and regardless of whatever decision I made that day, it was to save all of us. You're doing this because you're being selfish. You're rushing this because you have to get back to Liam to find out about your father. Well, newsflash Kirsten, we're all tired and we're all working just as hard. The difference being that not all of us are using our brains to go into a dead person's memory. It's dangerous, stretch, and it's wearing you down, so I'm calling it for the day."

Kirsten knew he was right; she was exhausted and trying to get away to be with Liam to dig anything up on her father. Still, she didn't back down then and she wouldn't back down now. Jutting her chin out, she glared at him. "You're more than welcome to step back and let Camille take control if you're not comfortable anymore, Cameron, but we're getting this done. I'm fine. I feel fine. You're overreacting."

"Oh, please." He scoffed, "I'd have to be an idiot to believe you, and I'm not exactly Liam, so I don't."

She pushed at his chest, frustrated that he wouldn't just let her be when he of all people knew how important the case was. She gasped when he grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them to the tank next to her head. "Cameron, what the hell?!"

"Stretch," Cameron whispered, leaning in and dragging his hands up to lock their fingers together, "relax." He used his fingers to massage the backs of her hands and felt some tension leave her body. Moving his hands down, he kneaded her arms and torso until he reached her waist and she plopped her head against his chest.

"You're not playing fair." She sighed against him, bracing her hands on his shoulders and sighing with content as his hands moved up her back to her neck, working the knots out gently.

"I never do." He mumbled against her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I need you to at least take a nap or something before we start the next stitch."

"We'll lose too much time." She insisted.

"An hour, stretch," Cameron argued, "that's all you need. We have time."

"I'll wake up groggy and it won't do any good."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Camille's voice made them jump and the smirk on her face had Cameron rolling his eyes, "but Liam's on the phone for you."

"Thanks." Kirsten peeled herself away from Cameron and she walked up to her roommate, taking the cell phone from her hands and disappearing into another room.

"Don't say it." Cameron warned Camille as her mouth hung open, ready to tease him.