Author's Note: When this was originally posted over at Gatchfanfic, this section was split into two chapters. I'm trying to consolidate as I port them over. It is so tempting to rewrite sections!
Jason sat on an uncomfortable wooden chair across from the Chief's desk and stared at the fish swimming by.
It always looks like the same school of fish, he thought. I wonder if they all feel like we do. Trapped in here forever.
"Jason, are you listening to me?" The Chief was standing behind his desk, leaning across it with both arms. Jason noted the anger in his eyes and realized that lying was futile.
"Um, no, sorry." His voice was contrite, and the Chief quickly backed down.
"I was telling you that Galaxy Security agreed to postpone your fitness exam, but we can't postpone it indefinitely. Your recovery is going well. At my urging, the council has allotted another five weeks to give you time to train, but they weren't happy about it." The Chief paused, a worried expression crossing his face. "As your doctor, I am advising you to take it slowly with that ankle." The man frowned. "But as the Chief of Security, I am concerned that you won't be ready in time for your fitness test. Your teammates need you back in action."
The Chief eyed some papers on his desk, which Jason recognized as complaint forms. A stack of them, mostly in Keyop's uniquely slanted handwriting. "I don't know how much longer they can put up with Darien. You need to start training again as soon as possible. I suggest that you start with swimming and work up to more strenuous activities."
Jason nodded. No surprise here, he thought to himself. If I fail, so does the Chief. His reputation is on the line, same as mine.
Chief Anderson paced around his desk nervously. Jason wondered what was next.
"And Jason …" The older man sat down next to Jason on one of the hard-backed wooden office chairs and put a hand on his adopted son's shoulder.
"As your guardian, I'm worried about you." The Chief looked down at his hands. "I don't know what really happened out there on that beach and maybe I don't want to know."
Jason drew in a deep breath. Rumors were circulating. Too many people on the station lowered their eyes and whispered when he walked into the room. After badgering Princess, he'd finally heard several of the stories. Drunk driving accident. Drug overdose. A suicide attempt. The only reason that he hadn't bashed in some faces was that Princess had begged him not to. Repeatedly. When he furiously jumped on Mark instead, his commander had calmly informed him that the crazy stories were actually a good thing. It meant that less people knew about the potential vulnerabilities of their implants. Considering that Dr. Sanger, the shamed former Chief of Medical, had been a Spectran sympathizer, Jason had to admit that Mark had a point. He'd tolerate the rumors, but only to protect himself and his teammates. It wasn't easy.
And apparently, even the Chief was wondering about the suicide rumor, because Jason watched him swallow hard before continuing.
"I don't want to you to beat yourself up over this. Whether or not you pass the fitness exam has no bearing on how much … I love you." A look that passed for tenderness crossed the older man's face.
Jason turned away so the Chief couldn't see his eyes. The Chief also turned away and cleared his throat. Abruptly, the older man stood up and resumed speaking in his normal dry tone.
"That is all. You are dismissed." The Chief strode back to his desk and sat down, not pausing to look back as Jason hobbled out the door.
Mark called the meeting to order. "Okay, team. Here's our strategy. We've got about a month to get Jason in shape for his fitness exam. The Chief is meeting with him right now."
"Where do we come in, Mark?" Princess said.
"The Chief is concerned that Jason won't be prepared if he trains on his own. I want each of you to oversee part of Jason's training. The Chief wants us to make sure that Jason is exceptionally well prepared for this test." Mark looked around the table. "This doesn't leave this room, but rumor has it that there are some board members from Riga who want to ensure that their man stays on the team. They might go extra hard on Jason to make sure that we keep Dude." There were audible groans from Keyop and Tiny.
Mark gave them a stern look before continuing. "Jason needs to be prepared for anything Galaxy Security might hand him. I agree with the Chief. I think he's going to have a hard time training for this on his own. And he's sure not going to ask us for help."
"You can say that again," Tiny muttered.
Mark gave Tiny a sharp look. "To be fair, I don't think even Jason knows what his current physical capabilities are. The Chief has conducted another physical, but apart from his ankle, there's nothing obviously wrong with him. But we still don't know exactly what happened to cause that ankle injury."
Mark paused to give Keyop a stern look. The boy looked away.
"So he might have additional injuries that we aren't aware of or he could just have a confidence problem."
Mark looked at each of his teammates in turn as he spoke. "Your job is to make sure that Jason is as physically fit as possible in time for the exam. If Jason is having problems with something you're working on, even if it seems like something small, let me know. The more we understand the extent of his limitations, the more likely we are to solve them or route around them. Understood?"
Three heads nodded in unison.
"Good." Mark began to hand out assignments. "Princess, I want you in charge of tai chi. You can move into our standard kata when he's up for it. As soon as his ankle's up for it, add acrobatics and aerials."
Keyop looked at Mark. "Mark…like to…handle that."
Mark noted the serious expression on the boy's face. "All right, Keyop. Princess, why don't you cover swimming? The Chief said he could start immediately."
Princess smiled at both Mark and Keyop. "Done."
"Tiny, how about weight training?"
The large young man laughed. "No problem."
"And I will be coordinating all of your efforts and monitoring Jason's progress. Remember, the goal is to get Jason as functional as possible as soon as possible. We've been lucky so far that we've only had to fight one major battle without Jason. I'd rather not have to go out with Dude again." All four shuddered as they thought of their temporary G-2.
"Worse than Zoltar, " muttered Keyop. Tiny nodded his agreement.
Princess shook her head. "Honestly. He's not that bad."
She turned to look at her commander. "Does Jason know about this, Mark? I don't think he's going to like us interfering in his life."
"He doesn't have much choice, does he?" Mark's smile was grim. "That's a good point, Princess, and I wish I had a better plan." He looked at Tiny and Keyop. "Guys, any thoughts?"
Tiny shook his head. Keyop shrugged, then added, "Wish I knew."
"All right, team. Let's go find him."