A/N: I breezed through Contingency plan and the first half of Pangea for a few reasons, ultimately it comes down to the story being about Mitch, Clem and Jamie. I don't have any idea where I'm going with this story once I get past the finale, which I've already written. So if anyone has something they'd like in particular, feel free to speak up.

Chapter Three

The next several hours went in a blur, an ape attack at the embassy, Allison walking away-presumably back to her ex-husband. Finding out Logan was alive and far too well, blowing up the DNA and being brought back to Pangea. As they rode in the small plane, Mitch beside Jamie, he wondered how they'd gotten caught up in all of this to begin with. Was it all for the better? On one hand he'd gained Jamie, and now had a chance to get close to Clem. But Audra and Justin wouldn't see their sweet girl grow. It was all woefully overwhelming.

He couldn't get past the looks Logan kept shooting Jamie, looks of hope that he could rekindle whatever they had or hadn't…had. The pain in his ankle hadn't gotten much better over the last 36 hours either, rather it felt worse and the ache had turned into a burning agony. He didn't have the forethought to tell anyone about it.

"Why Dr. Morgan made the protocol so complicated is beyond me. I know a simpler way to prep the DNA from the saber-tooth," Robert Oz reasoned as he stuck the vial into the centrifuge.

"Please don't do that, took me hours of trial and error to get that protocol right," Mitch groaned, he wasn't looking forward to working with the self-important Dr. Oz. His daughter and Jamie trailed behind him, with Henry at Clem's side.

Jackson glanced up and beamed, "It's about time you guys showed up, come here," he whispered as he grew close to Jamie and grabbed her in a fierce hug, one the young woman was all too happy to return to the man she considered like a brother. Jackson glanced at Mitch, and was pleasantly surprised when Mitch was quick to pull him into a hug as well.

Jackson's arms and hands wrapped around Mitch's inflamed back, and he had to bite back a hiss of pain, and a wave of dizziness. All the same he was immensely happy to see the younger Oz. He felt Jackson straighten, and realized he'd spotted Logan. As the two drew apart, Jackson's eyes narrowed, "Logan?"

"Mansdale, you brought one of Davies' men here?" Dr. Oz questioned.

"Considering I destroyed the Noah objective's supply of clean DNA, I'm pretty sure I'm off Davies' Christmas card list," Logan replied.

Jackson's face held only surprise, "What?"

Logan nodded, "I blew it up."

Mitch agreed for the man for once, "No clean DNA, no Noah objective."

Robert Oz was thrilled that everything was going as planned, he looked back to Logan, "He's a liability."

All eyes but Mansdale, Robert Oz and Clem's, went to Jamie, who scoffed, "Don't look at me, I don't even know your real name," she stated glaring at the mercenary. "And quite frankly, I don't care. Shaking her head she headed towards the stairs, calling back "Do what you want with him."

Mitch couldn't help but feel a slight spark of pride and excitement over her reaction, perhaps he had finally won. After brief introductions and Jamie left with Clem and Henry to get them some food, Mitch went to work, wondering if his daughter would ever really forgive him. He was sore, he was tired, he was hungry and he had a hangover to trump all hangovers and he was in serious need of some caffeine. "Why isn't this working!" he growled slamming his hands down on the table.

"I followed your protocol to the letter," Dr. Oz replied equally as irritated.

"Then why isn't it working!" He hissed, truth was he didn't trust Oz as far as he could throw the bastard.

"Maybe there are problems – with the protocol," of course he'd suggest it's an issue with Mitch and not his own issues.

"The Protocol is fine!" snapped Mitch, the pain in his back was mounting, and he could barely focus.

Thankfully, Jackson interrupted before Mitch could throw punches, "What the hell is going on here?"

"Ask dear ol' dad," Mitch replied walking away. Jackson's eyes could see something, see the way Mitch carried himself, the specks of something dark on the back of the man's shirt. He'd wait til he was alone to address the obvious issue. Instead he calmly waited until Mitch calmed and replied, "Your DNA is not interacting the way we need it to."

"I'm telling you," Robert stated, "Something has changed. And if it wasn't for the protocol or the genomic fo-" he stopped.

"What? What is that!?"

Robert shook his head, "It's nothing," he replied, would it interact, had that been a bad choice.

"Yeah it is," Jackson stated in return, "My dad has me on a medication to control the symptoms."

"What medication?" Mitch hated the idea that his patient-human or other- was being treated by someone else.

"Badger acid, it must be interfering with the serum."

Mitch sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "How long will it take to clear his system?"

"36 hours," Robert replied.

Mitch bulked, "What! We don't have that kind of time," snapped Mitch.

Jackson's brows furrowed, "You said the Noah Objective planes are grounded, we aren't fighting against a clock."

"Yeah, but the animals don't know that. The mutation could change like that," he replied snapping his fingers, "easily in 36 hours. So our window is now, while we still have a shot." Mitch shook his head, "No more medication until we figure this out."

Jackson looked at Mitch, filled with concern, "Without it, the symptoms will come back unabated."

"We can handle it," Mitch confirmed, Jackson walked away nervously. Robert said something about talking to Dr. Nielsen and wandered off. Leaving Mitch by himself, the man san into a nearby chair, head in his hands, as he tried to focus on breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth while wave after wave of pain hit him.

"Doc?" Dariela had been passing through to go upstairs when she saw him shaking, clearly struggling with something. "You okay?"

He didn't love Dariela, but she was growing on him, he wondered if he should let his guard down for another brief moment. He loved Jamie, but he didn't want her to see him like this, not after everything else. She didn't know he was weak. "I…uh do you know first aid?" he asked quietly. He could tell Maggie, but would she tell everyone.

She nodded, "Of course."

"Could…could you help me with something…um privately."

Her eyes went wide, "That doesn't sound good."

"I just don't…I don't need everyone thinking…" he closed his eyes, hating his father and Allison for making him feel so damn worthless. He was surprised when he felt a hand on his.

"I get it, grab what we need doc, we'll take it to the bathroom."

Nodding his thanks he grabbed the rubbing alcohol, swaps, and some bandages to stabilize the wounds again. They headed into the bathroom, sure no one saw them, he pulled up his pant leg, which was bunched around the thin cast, beneath the cast his skin looked red and angry, "Jesus Mitch, this is a bit above my knowledge. You want me to try and remove that?" Mitch knew he could rebuild the cast himself, so he nodded, and handed her the little saw.

Dariela looked at him like he was crazy, before helping him remove it, once it was off they both stared at it, The wounds caused by the trap were deep, there were four, the two middle ones had clearly dug in the deepest, they were all red and inflamed, weeping blood, they'd already started healing some, leaving crusted pus around the stitches. His entire ankle and foot were covered in one large dark black bruise. She knew what she was going to do wouldn't help him much. He needed antibiotics.

"Please, I'll have it looked at by a Maggie as soon as…as soon as we're done. Just…clean it and cover it," he didn't want to plead, but he was in pain, he hoped by at least doing this it'd be a good start.

She nodded, "All right, um…this is going to hurt…probably a lot," she whispered. A second later she doused some napkins with alcohol and pressed them to his wounds.

He wanted to scream, cry and squirm away, but instead he hissed in agony and slammed his hand onto the counter several times. Despite how fast she tried to go it took almost 20 minutes to clean the wounds, before she finally felt comfortable covering it and taping the gauze to his leg. By that time his shaking had mounted and his breathing was coming in pained gasps. "I'm sorry." She whispered as he began to recreate the cast.

He shook his head, "'s fine," he took the supplies and threw them away, "You and baby Abe doing okay?" he asked, his voice husky and filled with an edge of pain.

She smiled, touching her stomach, "We're fine."

"Let me know if you feel anything or need anything. I'm going to go…research the Shepards. Thanks again."

She smiled, watching him leave, leaning more heavily on the crutches now, his foot off the ground while the new cast dried. She wondered if she needed to tell Abe or Jackson. Mitch wouldn't be of help to anyone if he collapsed from an infection.

Unbeknownst to her father, she sat above his lab, watching him, the way he moved, how he carried himself, little eccentricity that she saw pieces of herself in. Her mom had always told her she had his smile and tendency to mutter to herself when deep in thought. Now, as Clem watched she noticed those same traits in him. It made her feel warm, as if maybe everything would eventually be okay.

Currently her father was sitting at his computer, directly below her. He was staring at something on his computer screen. She wasn't sure what it was, but every once in a while he'd mutter something and sift through paperwork or pull up something else on his screen. Finally, a woman and Dr. Oz came down the stairs.

"You wanted to see us?" Dr. Oz asked.

When her father spoke he seemed different, as if something had him truly upset, "I was evaluating the medication your lab sent over. One in particular caught my eye, SM-117," his voice sounded different. On edge.

"One of our most promising neuroprotectants," the woman gleamed.

"You think it could help Jackson?" Dr. Oz asked.

Mitch shook his head, standing, "This isn't about Jackson. The reason I'm interested in SM-117 is because I've seen it before in an experimental drug used by Reiden Global….to treat my daughter's Glazier's disease," he was vibrating with anger, "Do you care to explain to me how your neruoprotectant ended up in a phase three drug trial?" He demanded.

Before a couple days ago she'd never seen her father angry, but between his reaction towards Max and now this; she wondered if this was what he'd been like when she'd first been diagnosed. She'd never truly known him, or seen him as a strong man. But suddenly she was glad she wasn't facing the man in below her in the medical lab. She was seeing a passion in him she'd never seen before.

"You created Glazier's disease!" He growled.

"I know this is little consolation for the suffering your daughter endured-" the woman began.

Mitch snapped, holding his hand up, "Shut up!" he hissed. Suddenly he grimaced, and Clem moved to see her dad was trying not to cry. "Just…shut up." He took a deep breath, "This mistake was based on your work on the ghost gene?"

Robert Oz nodded, looking concerned, "Yes, it was."

"And the-the fact that my…my daughter. My Clementine was affected…that means she has the ghost gene?" Mitch looked ill and Clem found herself concerned for her own wellbeing and how upset her father was about this. Her mom had once described another woman as a mama bear, explaining that when it's cub, meaning their child, was in danger they lashed out. But watching her dad now, she wondered if a papa bear was the same way.

"Get out," he said forcibly. "Just, please get out," he whispered the last part and the two doctors began to head up the stairs, Robert Oz's eyes fell on Clem, and she saw something akin to regret in his eyes. Perhaps putting a face to the person he'd clearly screwed over. "Wait!" Her father snapped suddenly standing, gaining momentum, "The gene, you injected Jackson with, did you inject yourself too?"

Robert Oz glanced back to Clem's dad, "I did."

"Exact same synthetic version?"

"It was. Why?"

Then Mitch got close, and his voice deadly, "You want to make it up to me, to my little girl. To all those poor families of all the people you killed with that disease. Roll up your sleeve," there was no question that if Robert Oz didn't do as instructed, Mitch would force him to. Thankfully, Robert Oz didn't hesitate.

Watching her father at work from up above was what Clem imagined watching a wizard was like. She'd never seen him more focused, and intent on what he did. He was calm and cool despite how serious the situation was. She watched from above as Jackson began to release what was clearly the serum into a transfusion bag, she watched her father talk quietly to Jackson. At some point Jamie came up and joined her and Henry. "You doing okay?"

Clem looked over at her, "He's a genius isn't he?"

Jamie smiled, "Don't tell him I said so, but he's pretty impressive like this. I never realized when I met him he'd be the biggest asset we had."

"I think I have what Jackson has," Clem spoke, looking over at Jamie.

Jamie reached out and smoothed the hair out on the back of Clem's head, "You're dad is working on a cure now. I doubt he'll stop until he has one."

They heard shouting from below, watching as Mitch eyed Jackson, before jabbing a needle into Robert's neck. "I'm sorry Jackson," Mitch offered quietly, before he put the needle down and hobbled up the stairs.

He stopped when he spotted his daughter, before gulping and hobbling towards his room, in hindsight, he wasn't sure what Clem thought of his reaction just now as well as to Max. He was more than a little concerned she'd resent him.

"Go talk to him, he's feeling a bit out of sorts I think. I'm sure it'd help knowing you don't blame him for all of this."

"And if I do?" Clem asked.

Jamie sighed, "You don't, I promise. You're angry and hurting that you lost your folks and almost lost Henry. But he's your dad and whether you're ready to admit it yet, you two need each other."

Clem nodded, got up and walked towards Mitch's room. Maggie, standing at the other end of the observation room gave Jamie a smile. Jamie stood and moved over to the older woman, "You'll make a wonderful mother."

"I'll never be her mother," Jamie replied.

Maggie chuckled, "I didn't mean my Clem, reaching down Maggie tapped Jamie's stomach, "You'll see. Maybe you don't know yet. But…well there are signs."

o0o

He sat on his bed, foot up grimacing over the pain shooting up towards his hip, when a knock alerted him to not being alone. He glanced to see his daughter standing there. "Hey kiddo," he spoke nonchalantly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He shook his head, not understanding, "What on earth for?"

"I think I've been blaming you for mom and Justin's death."

Mitch suddenly got it, he reached the foot or so to the door and pulled her into his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around her, he hugged her for all she was worth. She enjoyed the feeling of security she felt in his arms. She realized perhaps he was a bit like a papa bear, determined to protect her, sure he wasn't a killer, he wasn't going to destroy people, but he'd be happy to try and take people on if it meant protecting her. "I'm sorry I couldn't fix the animals before they died. And I'm sorry I yelled at your grandfather in front of you."

"Will you tell me why?"

"No," he replied, "It's private, I have no doubt you'll figure it out eventually, but I'm not ready to talk about it. Just…promise me not to go near him okay."

The girl nodded, then paused, "Am I dying?" she asked, she'd already been dying and had been saved by him she didn't want to hope he could do it again.

He pulled her out of the hug, gripping her smaller hands in his, "No. We're going to save the animals, and then we're going to save you, okay?" He wanted to make sure Jackson was okay after a few hours, he didn't want to give his daughter anything that would put her in harm's way.

"Promise you'll save the animals first?"

He nodded, caressing her cheek, "I promise," he loved that she cared more for the animals than herself, it was something he would've done as well.

Jamie knocked on the door a few minutes later, giving a sad smile, "We have the cure," she whispered, "Dr. Oz is gone."

Mitch nodded, "Let's go save the animals," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the girl's forehead.