Thanks to Sydnew for her review! Reviews/critiques help me become a better writer.

I was watching more Eureka today, and I realized I wasn't making Fargo as bossy/outspoken as he is. So hopefully I've fixed it in this chapter. If anybody else is OOC, please let me know. I'll really try making the next chapter shorter! Emphasis on "try"…..

Chapter 2

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Carly's alarm screamed at her. She was so not ready to get up. But she swung her legs over the side of the bed & stood up anyway. A shooting pain left her gasping and doubled over. What the heck? Carly managed to straighten, slowly. She took careful steps to the kitchen, where the teapot was soon bubbling.

Tea was Carly's cure for all ills. When her parents had sent her to live in Eureka with her uncle, Christopher Dactylos, among her necessary belongings was a bright orange teapot and five boxes of tea. She drank vanilla tea that night, sitting awkwardly across from her quiet uncle.

When she'd been humiliated by scoring the lowest physics grade in the history of Tesla school, she'd dropped her tears into a mug of mint tea.

When Uncle Chris had been arrested following that "alchemist's curse" incident, leaving her alone in Eureka, she comforted herself with Earl Grey.

This morning, English Breakfast tea was in order. Still feeling that persistent pain, Carly filled her travel mug & headed off to work.

Taggart was cheerful & raring to go when she arrived. However, he assented when Carly offered to finish his paperwork instead of joining the Bigfoot hunt. Taggart hated paperwork.

Sitting still, the pain was easily ignored, so Carly got on quite well all morning. But when lunch and blackberry-flavored tea did nothing for her, she decided it was time to find a medical doctor. This was something more than a stomachache. She'd look for Bones after she finished her shift.

Fargo had been doing paperwork as well; that is, if you call writing a few words, nodding off, waking with a start, and beginning the routine again, "doing paperwork". He'd showed up late again, yawning, though he'd had a good 9 hours of sleep. Dr. Stark was rather less understanding today, especially when Fargo sleepily leaned against a delicate device, knocking it over & setting the project back a week. Then he dropped a beaker.

"Fargo, could you be any more incompetent?"

"Um, yes?"

"Just….just go away, Fargo. Go take your hideous little dog for walk or something."

"Hey! I'll have you know that Sparky is a very advanced piece of technology! And the winner of the Eureka dog show! He's the perfect pet! "

"Except his face looks like someone ran over it with a truck…."

"He's a Shih-Tzu!"

Nathan deadpanned, "That's what I said."

Fargo stormed off, though it rather spoiled the effect when he had to make an about-face because he'd turned the wrong way.

Fine, I'll go home. I am the glue that holds this place together! Let them try to get along without me. Sparky respects me anyway. He deserves a walk.

He yanked off his lab coat & threw it petulantly on the table. The purple spheres clattered out of the pocket. Fargo had forgotten them.

"Stupid marbles," he muttered, and threw them into the garbage. As he marched away, their light flickered & dimmed.

Sam "Bones" Herrin was just finishing up his work when Carly Lowe hobbled in. Among his many talents, Sam was the closest thing Eureka had to a regular medical doctor. His warm smile of greeting quickly changed to a look of concern.

"Carly, what's wrong? You look so pale! And why are you bent over like that?"

"I don't know, Bones. My insides feel like they're tied in knots. I thought it would go away, but it's gotten much worse."

"All right, lay on the table & I'll check it out."

She carefully stretched out on the cold metal, & Sam pressed a little button-like object against her throat.

"It's basically a tiny tricorder," he explained, "gives me your vital signs."

She gave him a weak grin. "Do you have to tie everything to Star Trek? It wasn't enough having people call you 'Bones'?"

"Not the point. Anyway, your vitals look ok. No fever… Show me where it hurts."

The doctor pressed the places she indicated. "Hmm. I'd like to put you in the imaging chamber, if I may."

Carly was alarmed. "Why?"

"It may be nothing, but your stomach seems unusually tense. Come on."

-15 Hours Later-

"Ms. Blake?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"I'm Dr. Herrin. Could you to come down to the infirmary, please?"

"I'll be there soon."

Henry stopped her in the hall.

"I was just coming to see you.'

"Walk with me, I've got to go to the infirmary."

He matched her quick pace and continued.

"You know that radiation I was investigating? I've figured out a way to track it."

"That's great, Henry!"

"I just thought you should know before I started searching."

By then, they had reached the infirmary. As they looked around for Dr. Herrin, faint moans met their ears, and Henry spotted a pair of nurses bustling about. Sam Herrin appeared from a partitioned corner, and beckoned them over.

"Bones? What's going on?" Henry looked worriedly past him to the bed.

"It's Taggart's new assistant, Lowe. She came in last night, complaining of abdominal pain. I thought something felt strange, so I did a quick scan. This is what I found." He pointed to a flat monitor on the wall.

It was a rotating 3-D representation of a human body, with skeleton, blood vessels and internal organs visible. But this was no normal body. There were strange, serpentine shapes twisting themselves around the lower organs.

"Somehow, Lowe's body has started constructing these….tentacles. Similar to a cancer, it's her own cells, but mutated and working against her. And they're growing rapidly. I've never seen anything like it."

A louder groan followed his statement, and they returned to the bedside. The girl tossed in bed, almost writhing with her internal torture.

Distressed by the sight, Allison asked, "Can't you give her anything for the pain?"

"The pain she's experiencing is the result of the tentacles slowly constricting her organs. Unfortunately, there aren't many drugs that target pain receptors on the outside of organs. I can give her the best ones, but it wouldn't fix the problem, it would only dull the pain. And none of the drugs can be safely used for long periods. I wanted to inform you before I did anything."

Allison said decidedly, "Give her the drugs. You can't learn much when she can't even hold still. Call in whoever you need to help. I want to know what caused this, and if it's going to spread."

Bones nodded & administered the medication.

Stark was seriously annoyed. Even worse, he had to ask Carter for help. Maybe he could make it sound like an order...

"Sheriff, I need you to go find Fargo. He's late. Again. Tell him his job is on the line." Stark snapped the phone closed, cutting off Carter's protestation. He felt better.

Jack sighed. Stark & his ego could really ruin a guy's day. He headed out to Fargo's house, grumbling all the way. When he got there, the Sheriff knocked loudly on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Nada. He pounded on the door & yelled for Fargo. When there was still no answer, he tested the doorknob; the door wasn't locked. A quick search of the house revealed no nerd. The bed hadn't been slept in.

Confused, Sheriff Carter went out the back door & called again. This time, he heard a yapping noise. Sparky. He hurried through the tall grass, finding Sparky near the wooden fence. Fargo was leaning on the fence, face buried in his arms.

"Fargo, what the heck are you doing out here? Stark's going to chew you… Fargo? Hey, are you ok?" Carter shook the young scientist. He was limp, and didn't respond to the shaking. "Are you asleep? Geeze Fargo, wake up!" But his eyes remained closed.

Oh, boy. It's going to be one of those days….