Summary: Meeting Jamie was the hardest.

Characters: Melanie, Jamie, Jared

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

A/N: So, here's the next bit of the story. Also, I don't know how many of you are following the story, but I renamed it. So don't freak. The former title was Body and Soul. Thank you to the reviewers (you know who you are) and to those who've read or favorited or alerted this story without leaving reviews, thanks for the show of support. Though I really would like 'verbal' feedback. As many writers have said before me, reviews are bread and butter to us writers. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter, and I hope to hear from more of you.

~Song

The remainder of the day was a blur of faces and voices. Only a select few encounters stand out in my memory, clear and poignant as they day they happened. Looking back, I am not able to arrange these meetings in a chronological order-overwhelmed as I had been, it is no wonder that I only remember those meetings which meant the most to me.

Meeting Jamie was the hardest. He thought I was still Wanda. No one had told him about the tribunal that had been held earlier that day, and he was too innocent to have ever considered the possibility that Wanda might leave them. To him, she and I were one and the same. Inseparable. To him, Wanda had become a part of everyday life. Ian was the only other person who came close to rivaling Jamie's calm acceptance of our dual personalities, but even Ian had been narrow-minded. His overwhelming love for Wanda blinded him to my situation, a mirror image of the closed-mindedness and disregard for Wanderer that Jared's love for me had fostered.

I remember seeing his face again for the first time. He ran towards me, the everpresent smile on his face, his crown of black hair swinging into his eyes. His hand found its way into mine comfortably. Wanderer's epithet slipped from his mouth, and my heart soared and plunged simultaneously. Finally, finally, I could touch him of my own free will, pull his gangling body against mine in a crushing hug. His hand in mine was warm, and I could feel it. No longer did I crouch in the corner of her mind, imprisoned, grasping at every crumb of affection and love that fell from the table I could not reach.

For a moment I was silent. I did not relish the pain I was about to cause him. Seeing him in pain was heartbreaking, and if there had been any way to prevent it, I would not have told him about Wanda. Jamie looked up at me, and as my name followed on the heels of Wanderer's, I was spurred into speech.

"Jamie," I said, my voice cracking a little. I cleared my throat, squeezing his hand. He squeezed back, encouraging. I almost couldn't find my voice. "Jamie, This is Mel."

A moment of confusion clouded his bright face, like a wisp of cloud passing in front of the sun. His confusion dissipated as his eyes lit up, and he smiled widely.

"Mel!" He said, all but jumping into my arms. "Mel, you're here!" He hugged me fiercely, words spilling from his lips in a rapid torrent. I didn't try to understand what he was saying. His reaction was so incongruous with the news I had imparted that I knew he did not understand. I allowed him to continue, nodding vaguely at his inquiries.

Jamie's mind slowly caught up with his mouth. His words faltered, then stopped. After a brief pause, he looked up at me. His face was a mask of perplexion.

"Mel, Jared…" he faltered for a moment. "Jared said that Wanda didn't know how to let you out."

It was not a question, and so I, wanting to fend off his pain for as long as possible, nodded. "Jared's right." I glanced back at the man in question, and the anguish must have shown on my face, because he reached out and touched my face gently. He gave me a small smile of encouragement, though it was not untouched by regret. Jared didn't want to cause Jamie pain any more than I did.

"Did you guys figure it out?" I think Jamie had already realized the truth, but the innocent hope in his voice tore my heart into tiny pieces.

"No." I shook my head, my voice soft. "No, we didn't figure it out."

Jamie was very still for a moment. I could almost see the internal struggle within him. For a few short seconds, he held out. Abruptly, his face crumpled, and he hid his face from me, pressing into my shoulder. As if that would hide his tears. I could feel his body shaking with the sobs, hear them despite his attempt to muffle them in my shirt.

"Jamie," I crooned, pulling him onto my lap and pushing my fingers through his hair like Wanderer and I had used to. I no longer remember who used this method of comfort first. It could have been something Wanda picked up from me, or vice versa. There are a lot of those kinds of things now. "Jamie, Jamie, Jamie."

I rocked him on my lap slowly. It was not until Jared's thumb brushed across my cheekbone, wiping away the tears that wet my face, that I realized I was crying too. Sharing Jamie's grief, lamenting that he had loved Wanderer too, and that it was causing him pain now. I had few words of comfort to offer him: Even though Jared had prevented her intended suicide, there was no guarantee that she would ever return to us. Many in the caves were still hostile to her. They might prevent any attempt to return the self-sacrificing soul to our midst.

Eventually, his sobs eased, though his breathing remained shaky. We sat together for a while longer, none of us saying anything. I was reminded of the vigil of silence that Wanderer had kept when grieving her brethren that had been sliced up in an attempt to discover the secret that had ultimately led to this very moment.

Jamie's breathing calmed slowly, though silent tears still streaked down his face. Pure emotion, they dropped from his lashes onto my shirt. Two dark blotches in the fabric revealed where he had pressed his face against me.

When even the tears had ceased to slide down his cheeks, I brushed the dark hair out of his face and pressed my lips to his forehead gently. The sleeping boy did not react, and I sighed, pulling myself to my feet without relinquishing my hold on him. Jared would have carried him for me, but I wanted to do this myself.

Half dragging, half carrying him, I made my way back to the sleeping quarters. Jared followed, my incongruous shadow. I had a feeling that he would never let me out of arms reach again.

When I reached the right room, the one with the green screen pulled over the entrance, Jared swept it aside for me. I struggled forward, crossing the scant few steps to the edge of the bed and deposited my burden gently but gratefully. Oblivious to the world, Jamie's only response was to roll over onto his side. Sighing, I brushed the hair out of his face yet again, hoping his dreams would be happier than reality was at the moment.

Meeting Jamie was the hardest.

Please Read and Review!