Disclaimer: Me own no thing.

Author's Note: Again this is during the second season. So no Hollow Earth, no being cut off from the government, none of that. Just plain a simple Sanctuary…but when has the Sanctuary ever been normal?

They were back on the way to Magnus's office, walking through the mazing halls of the residential area. They had left John Smith laying on his bed the infirmary with a small cart of books to keep him company while he recovered. They had also returned his bloody suit jacket which contained his reading glasses and 'other personal things.' He promised not to leave, but they locked the doors just in case.

And it was after that and through the carpeted and wallpapered corridors that they met up with Henry. He said wanted to update Magnus on the newest security changes, but it was obvious that he was more curious about John Smith than anything else. They had mentioned to him in passing about the stranger's dual cardiovascular system, and Henry clearly had become interested.

"So the dude said he wasn't an abnormal? How could he be sure? And what else could he possibly be?" questioned Henry.

Magnus's employee's words were only echoing questions that she had already voiced in her head. But those weren't the only ones that were crowding her thoughts. The man was a strange one, a mystery, and a difficult puzzle. Much of what he said made little sense or was unexpected. It was like the words were taken out of their original context and implanted into the conversation. Instead of answering questions like they should be doing, they were only created more. It was frustrating and exhilarating at the same time.

"Who knows? Maybe he's an alien…," joked Will with a smirk and sarcasm.

Magnus caught his eye and they both broke out in brief laughter. However, Henry remained by her side, silent.

"But what if he is an alien? I mean we've never seen anything like him, right? And we've practically got this planet covered, so he could possibly be from outside it," said the tech seriously.

"Henry, I appreciate your intuitive thinking, but that's extremely implausible. There may be other life giving planets in the universe but the likelihood that they would be able to make contact with us is tremendously slim. Anyway, there are plenty of abnormals that could be out there that we don't know about. In the end, I think Mr. Smith just doesn't want to face that he's an abnormal," replied Magnus.

But even as she said that last sentence, part of her didn't fully believe it. The stranger was different, but she just couldn't place it. He wasn't like any other abnormal she'd dealt with. Yet the majority of her ignored that kind of thinking and explained John Smith's oddness by rational means.

"I don't know about that Magnus…I mean I didn't see any signs of denial on him. He seemed pretty serious when he said he wasn't an abnormal…but that doesn't mean he's not one. He just completely believes that he's not," interjected Will.

"Okay, then, it's a sort of subconscious denial…," rationalized Magnus.

"Yeah, one that he unconsciously tries to prove. And that might be connected to a deeper psychological longing to be different, or to stand out from your average person, or in this case average abnormal. He yearns to rebel from the norms of society, which is most likely why he dresses and acts so oddly," added Will.

Yes, this was all sounding very plausible, thought Magnus. So plausible in fact that it might as well be the truth. Maybe all of the eccentricities of this man were explained by this psychological condition. Perhaps he was just another abnormal, albeit a new one, and nothing more. But that didn't stop her gut from protesting this hypothesis.

"Aw, come on. Don't go all rational on me. Aren't you at least a bit curious to know if he's actually telling the truth when he says he's not an abnormal, and he is in fact an alien?" interjected Henry.

"Please, Henry. Don't be silly. He's an abnormal in denial, and therefore I can assure you that Smith is completely terrestrial," and with that Magnus headed into her office.

))))

Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet tumbled out of Smith's hand to the floor. The man's eyes were closed. His body was resting, sleeping off the damage it sustained. It would be a few hours until he would be fit enough to leave the bed. Half the time a normal person's system would take to recover enough to stand.

Magnus was watching him on her computer screen through the room's security feed. After she had sent Will and Henry off to do something else that needed to be addressed, she had tried to chip away at the mountain of paperwork that was sitting in the corner of her desk, but she couldn't stop thinking about Smith.

She had come to a reasonable conclusions about this man, but she couldn't help herself from questioning them. There was something about him that not only peaked her curiosity more than anything else but also made her instincts rise up in rebellion. Yet those feelings refused to give her anything more than doubts about her assumptions. She was frustrated and intrigued about the whole situation. And she satisfied them both by watching Smith sleep and letting her mind ponder the questions that were filling her head.

But while she was allowing herself to drift away into her thoughts, something was happening on the screen. Smith had suddenly sat up in an unexpected convulsion as the lights started to flicker and dim behind him. His eyes were wide. His body was rigid. And his mouth was open in a silent scream. Then just as abruptly, he fell back down upon the bed, the lights returning to normal. Now on his side, Smith began to clutch his head as his body rippled with tension. A second later, he was back to staring up at the ceiling, limp and panting, sweat glistening on his forehead.

Yet Magnus didn't see this finale because by the time it was occurring, she was already half way down to the infirmary.

))))

"Mr. Smith! Mr. Smith, are you okay?" questioned Magnus, rushing to the man's bedside. She glanced up at his vitals. Everything seemed to be fine, albeit his heartbeats were slightly elevated, but it was not reaching dangerous levels. "What just happened?"

The man gasped and tried to form words but without any sound reaching his lips. He was breathing heavy as his body strived to recover from whatever had just transpired. After a few seconds he was able to make his vocal cords work.

"Psychic attack," he answered hoarsely. "And an extremely strong one at that…thankfully I was able to fend it off…Do you have any physic abnormals?"

"Yes, but none of them would do this. They're all peaceful creatures…," replied Magnus, just a bit confused.

"Right…see what I mean when I say that trouble follows me?" replied Smith with a cough as he sat up a bit. "Can I have some water?"

"Yes, of course."

As Magnus went off to the sink to fulfill the man's request, something shimmered in the comer of her eye. She whipped around to see whatever it was, but it had vanished. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

"Here you go," said Magnus, handing a cup full of water to Smith who took it eagerly.

She could see the shimmering again, lingering just out of her normal line of sight. Goosebumps ran down her arms as she turned to try and spot it. Nothing was there beside the medical equipment, empty beds, and white tiled walls.

"What?" questioned Smith, placing the now drained cup on the bedside table. "What is it?"

"Um…," began Magnus turning back to her patient and painting a reassuring smile on her face. "Nothing you need to worry about. Right now you need to lie back down and continue to recover. My team and I will find out what attacked you, I assure you. Now get some rest."

There a moment of silence where Smith just stared somewhat questioningly at Magnus, but that look was quickly replaced with another painted smile.

"Fine…But could you possibly send down a cup of tea and some bananas? Kind of have a craving," the man replied.

"Yes, of course. I'll have someone bring them down as soon as possible. Now please, rest."