A/N: I don't even own the potential Roomie From Hell. Those who read Campos's webcomic know why he'd get the recommendation.
Thanks again to the reviewers! As to your question, Aly, I don't know about reruns, but you won't find any new episodes on TV.
"Doctor D?" The sandy-haired young man's head shot up as if to get a better look. "No way. They told me that Jaguara had all the best people, but I never thought I'd see Doctor Degre again." The intern rose from the microscope bench with hands outstretched.
Delicately, Cher caught the left one, insuring that her ring finger was completely visible. "It's Dr. Lebowski, now."
The young man offered her hand a good squeeze and a quick single pump, scratching the back of his head with his right. "Oh. Er, congrats, Doc. It seems like I was in your bio-chem lab just yesterday. When did you have the time to find yourself a husband?"
"Well, it's been a couple years since I was a Teaching Assistant," Cher said. It was hard not to smile at the young man's disarming expression.
"Not that long," the round-faced intern argued gently. "You were there my sophomore year, and that was only five years ago, now."
"And you've been out of school how long?" she asked mock-seriously.
"One year," he replied with a self-effacing shrug. "I had to take a victory lap to catch up on a couple requirements. I didn't quite get that A in Organic my folks wanted, but a pass is a pass."
Cher wracked her brain, but try as she might, she could not remember seeing this young man before, and as personable as he was, she felt she ought to remember him from class. "Obviously it was good enough to get you into Lady Jaguara's labs."
"Only as an intern, but I certainly won't mind working with you again, Doctor De - Lebowski." He corrected himself.
Cher let her smile blossom freely. She really should remember his name, but the young man seemed like he would be a good addition to her team in any case. Oh, well. Memory lapses were at least good in one way: getting to know someone new was half the fun, and she would be getting that enjoyment twice. "It's my pleasure," she replied. "So, have they showed you around the lab yet?"
"A little bit. This place is certainly bigger than the university labs, huh?" Beyond the bench, there were several examination tables, the door to a temperature-controlled greenhouse, another leading into a spacious, high-ceilinged, albeit currently rather dark and empty testing room, and all the latest health and science tools Lady Jaguara could get her hands on.
"You get used to it, eventually. Once we're able to start divvying up the tasks, everybody ought to have their own small area, too." Cher said, walking towards the greenhouse.
"It seems like a pretty ambitious setup," the intern replied, trailing after her and gazing in wonderment at the walls. "All this stuff, and the greatest folks in genetic engineering and microbiology and botany and biochemistry gathered up to be let loose on a single project. Do you know what it is that Jaguara's searching for?"
"Whatever it is, I'm sure she'll find it," Cher Lebowski said, touching one of the readout monitors. "I've just gotten an assignment to figure out the genetic code of Datura hanabito,and then the bioengineers take over from there."
"Aw, you can't fool me, Doc. They told me you're in charge of this zoo. Surely Jaguara's told you a little more than that," the younger scientist prodded her.
"She's told me not to encourage questions for some time yet. The lady is trying to keep this project under wraps before some other noble tries to steal us away." Cher wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. There was personal glory to consider, certainly, but most "mystery research" was kept quiet because the methods were more concerned with the advancement of the whole of mankind rather than individual rights. Cher wouldn't let that happen in her part of the lab, but even as the chief project director, she couldn't monitor all these people all at once. Well, if most of her underlings were like this intern, she shouldn't have to worry too much.
"Hey, a little bit of competition for the brilliant minds of Freeze City won't kill anybody," the young man said, puffing out his chest a little.
"Hopefully not, but Lady Jaguara isn't one to cross, so I wouldn't say that in front of her," Cher warned him. The noblewoman was dangerous, and angering her could cost them more than their jobs on this project. "So, what's your specialty for this project? I haven't gotten a master list of all our staff yet."
"For this project, I'm a Geomys, though I usually specialize in toxicology. That's what I studied, anyway," the intern said, his fingers digging awkwardly at the wavy hair curling behind his ear again. "I'm Hige, by the way," he said, finally offering her an out for her obvious memory lapse.
"Well, whether you work as a gofer or a canary in this coal mine, it'll be good to have you with us, Hige," Cher said, opening the door to the darkened, cavernous testing facility. "Project Moonflower could use all the brilliant minds it can get."
"And hopefully a few dogsbodies as well." Hige added, slowing at the doorway in order to allow his eyes to adjust to the gloom. As of now, only a few extra pots and a stack of fertilizer rested against the back wall, but there were already designs being laid for something bigger, something that could change this empty storeroom into a grand display of science's mastery.
What bothered Cher about the design were not so much the arguments over where the environmental sensors ought to go or whether the large Plexiglas display would be strong and transparent enough for artificially controlled light to get through. It was the positioning of three large, strong chains within the clear chamber and the slender cuffs at the end, just large enough to fit around a thin human's throat and wrists.
"Er, speaking of places for me, you wouldn't happen to know about any cheap apartments in this area, do you? The old Nissan is fairly reliable, but it's a pain having to get it halfway across the city every morning and I don't do subways." It sounded as if there was a story behind that refusal.
"Nothing that is worth living in. There's one fairly nice section west of here, but it's awfully expensive on an intern's salary." Cher paused for a moment, her husband's face flitting randomly across her mind as she saw disappointment lower the intern's features. "You know, my husband has a friend with a couple kids around your age, I think. The boy might be talked into splitting the rent. Let me see if I can't find you his address after work."
"Thanks, Doc," Hige said, perhaps a little too quickly. Cher realized only as she boarded the subway late that night that the number she had written down for the friendly young intern had been the Yaidens', not the Pepitones'. While Yaiden, too, had a son, the boy was a bit young to be looking for his own place. Well, she supposed, she could correct the error tomorrow.