Elizabeth nervously walked into the NTAC offices in Seattle. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous about this meeting. She had never minded going to them before this. It was always harmless and she usually walked out feeling pretty good about herself. She smiled when one of the agents led her into a room. She nodded a hello and a goodbye to him as she took a seat at the table.

Elizabeth nervously tapped the table, humming a song as she waited. It had been quite a while since she could last remember singing. It seemed she hadn't been happy enough to sing anything in awhile. Memories of days in the park with Mike and Paulie filled her mind and she had to brush them off before her eyes started to tear up. She knew the memories would sting for a long time but Elizabeth was also certain that eventually the memories would be just that ... memories.

She looked up as the door slowly opened. Diana Skouris and Tom Baldwin entered the room. Diana smiled at Elizabeth. Tom seemed more serious. Elizabeth thought word must have gotten to them that she was living at the 4400 Center. Tom Baldwin had never looked at Elizabeth like he was looking at her now.

"You're angry," Elizabeth said to Tom. A sad smile was on her lips. She turned to Diana. "And you're disappointed."

"No. No, Elizabeth, I'm not disappointed in you," Diana quickly interjected, shaking her head rather adamently.

Elizabeth smiled a bit brighter now. "You can't lie to me, you know," she told Diana in a rather pointed tone. "I'm something of a human lie detector. I figured that out on my own." She indifferently shrugged. "You both know that I'm living at the Center now."

"Why would you go there?" Tom asked, biting back his anger. "You swore that Jordan Collier was the type of man you could never trust. Now you're a member of his Center. Another trophy from him to show off when necessary."

Elizabeth shook her head. "You'll never be able to understand, Tom," she began. "I'm not there because I believe anything that Jordan has to say. I could never trust him. I know I'm just another trophy for his trophy case but what would I end up being here?" She laughed when she saw the look of shock on Tom's face. "That's right. I know what you're thinking, remember? You thought I'd be able to help NTAC but what would I end up being if I were to end up here instead?"

"Elizabeth," Diana gently said, "no one here wants to see you used for your abilities. I promise you ..."

"You promise me?" Elizabeth snapped. "I've been promised a lot of things before, Diana, but no one is ever able to live up to their promises. I was promised by my best friend that she'd always be there for me. Then Shawn comes around and ..."

"Wait a minute," Tom interrupted. "Shawn came to talk to you? Shawn Farrell?"

"Yes, Tom, your nephew came to talk to me," Elizabeth replied bitterly. "He's the reason I'm at the Center. He's the one who talked me into moving there. Of course, having my best friend kick me out of our apartment and out of her life certainly helped me make that decision."

"Graceila kicked you out?" Diana asked. She knew Elizabeth's story almost as well as she knew Maia's history. "Why did she do that?"

Elizabeth shrugged and sighed softly. "Shawn started coming around about two weeks ago," she explained. "I got along with him so well. I knew he was sincere about the things he said to me. I trusted him. I still do. Gracie didn't like that I was spending so much time with Shawn. She went to talk to Jordan and when she got back, she said she wanted to come with me to the Center. I told her she'd be throwing away her life, that she'd be miserable there. Gracie didn't care. She wanted to come with me. I kept insisting that it would be a mistake but then the argument deteriorated. She told me that I thought I was better than her because I was one of the 4400 but that in truth I was something worse than her. Gracie stormed out. I didn't know what else to do so I called Shawn to talk. I ended up meeting him at the Center. We talked about what happened, about Gracie going to see Jordan. I know he was wondering the same thing I was. I can't prove Jordan pushed Gracie away from me but he was the last person she had talked to – before coming home to talk with me."

Elizabeth used the sleeve of her black hooded sweatshirt to wipe her eyes. She could see Diana tearing up as well and quickly did all she could to rein in her emotions. She offered a weak smile to the NTAC agents. "When I got back home again," she continued, "Gracie didn't even want to look at me. She started blaming Shawn for everything. She said he was changing me and that she didn't like it. I – I admitted that I had been talking with Shawn about what happened between her and I. I told her I wanted to make amends. She blew up then. She said that I was the one who had hurt her, that I only wanted to fix things so I wouldn't feel so bad when I moved out on her and that she wanted me out of her life. I was on auto-pilot then, I think. I don't remember anything until the next morning when I started packing. I've only been at the Center for a couple of days now."

Diana sat down across from Elizabeth and took one of Elizabeth's hands in her own. She squeezed it gently and nodded sadly. She could see the sadness in Elizabeth's eyes, could feel it as if it were her own emotions. "It's all right," she softly said.

"I'm never going to see Graceila again," Elizabeth said bitterly. "I know that already. I've known that for a long time now, I think."

Tom sighed and leaned against the wall, watching Elizabeth. He couldn't begin to understand what she was feeling. She was right when she said things like that to him. He wasn't one of the 4400 but he had hoped he could help them. "You're okay with that?" he asked. "Not seeing your best friend again?"

Elizabeth shrugged, pulling her hand back from Diana. She leaned against the chair and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. She knew there were questions behind Tom's questions. She knew he wanted to know if she was okay with living in a place that preached things she didn't really believe in herself. He wanted to know if she were okay – period. Always a father, she thought with a small smile.

Elizabeth straightened herself up, looking Tom in the eye as she spoke. "I'm okay with it all," she told him softly. "At least I think I'll be okay with it all. Some of it will take more getting used to than other parts of it, but in the end, I know this is for the best."

Diana nodded, knowing that Elizabeth was answering more than just the questions her partner had asked her aloud. "You know this is supposed to be your last meeting at NTAC," she said. "We have an agreement with the 4400 Center that returnees that choose to live there don't have to come in for monthly check-ups. We can call you in if we think it's necessary but that's about it."

Elizabeth smiled, turning to look at Diana. "Has anyone ever told you that sometimes you seem to be able to sense what others are thinking?" she asked.

Diana smiled, although she was surprised to hear that. "I don't think so."

Elizabeth nodded. "You do. At least with me. I was hoping we could work out an unofficial meeting schedule. Something off the record that even if Jordan finds out about, it won't cause too many waves."

"I think we can do that," Tom replied. "If that's what you want."

"It's what I want, Tom. I don't think I'll ever be totally comfortable in that place – except, of course, with Shawn – and I want to know that I have someone I can talk to if things get too strange," Elizabeth explained.

Tom smiled. "We'll work something out."