DISCLAIMER – I own none of the characters and all things Morganville are completely owned by the amazing Rachel Caine (:

NOTES – Thanks again for the reviews (: Just to tell ya – i'm not a very computer technically person, so uh .. please don't be all annoyed to me if i get things wrong or make something up, 'kay? xD R&R pleease

CHAPTER SEVEN ~

"Ah, Claire." Myrnin glanced up from his work as she entered the building, and then he raised his eyebrows at the man she had in tow. "You can leave your accessory by the door with your coat." He said carelessly, and Claire frowned. Shane opened his mouth angrily but Claire squeezed his hand gently and stepped forward slightly.

"He's staying." She said simply. "And don't you dare say anything." She locked onto his gaze, staying strong as she watched him stare at her for a few seconds, and then shrug and look away.

"Perhaps for the best." He said simply, and then turned to return to his work, studiously ignoring them both. Claire chewed her lip and extracted her hand from Shane's. He looked like he was going to argue and so she held up one hand, asking him to wait for her to say something first.

"I need both hands to work." She half smiled as he rolled his eyes and nudged her gently.

"I know that." They descended the stairs together, and then hesitated at the bottom. There was a comfortable armchair tucked into the corner of the lab, but Claire would be working across the room right next to Myrnin, and she knew Shane wasn't happy about the distance. But he said nothing. It seemed as if he was up for compromise – allowed to stay with her as long as he didn't become too over-protective. So he settled himself in the chair, eyes darting warily to Myrnin, and then back to Claire. She hesitated in front of him for a few seconds.

"You're going to get bored, you know..." She said with a slight smile. "Unless you want to help?" She teased. Shane pretended to contemplate it before shaking his head.

"Don't fancy it...but don't worry, i brought this." He grinned and slipped his hand held consol out of his pocket. Claire frowned and tilted her head slightly to one side.

"When did you-?" And then it dawned on her. He'd put it in his pocket as soon as he known she'd be coming here today. He hadn't really had the intention of letting her go alone. And instead of annoying her for being over-protective, it made her smile. It was nice to know he'd always be there to take care of her. She shook her head, smiled, and then turned to join Myrnin.

"Finally." Myrnin muttered, grumpy. "Nice of you to remember that you're my assistant, and that the reason you're here, is it assist me." Claire frowned at him, knowing he was being unreasonable.

"You're lucky i came back at all." She said simply, and saw him glance up, expression guilty as his dark eyes flickered to her bandaged neck. He nodded sharply and then turned his eyes back to his work. Claire sighed and shook off all the emotion. This was about the machine and she needed to focus.

"What are you working on?" She asked, wanting to catch up and be able to understand so she could help. Myrnin paused, hands having been reattaching a copper wire to some sort of plastic tube.

"I'm working on the security of the computer. The hacker's have attempted several more times to take over the system, and it was only my intelligent mind that managed to hold them off." Myrnin shot her a look as if he expected her to applaud him. She rolled her eyes, but otherwise concentrated on the work in front of her. It looked spectacular – a mass of tubes and wires and all sorts of instruments twisting and curling all over the place. Spectacular yes...confusing as hell? Double yes. She struggled to understand how this could help the security of the computer at all.

But over the hours, she began to. Sure, she had to focus incredibly hard and beg Myrnin to take her through every part of the mechanism to learn what part did what – just like she'd done before. But once she'd gotten to grips with most of it, it actually made sense. She contributed to it as best as possible, but something was still missing. Some part of it that left a loop open for someone; albeit that someone would have to be as intelligent as Claire or Myrnin to find it, and then it would take a long time to skip through the other parts of the security to get to the loop. But it was there. And that meant trouble.

They spent more hours contemplating ideas, placing pieces into the machine and then shaking their heads and taking them out. As the hours progressed into nightfall, they exhausted their ideas. Claire was hardly able to think straight, and was swaying on her feet when she suddenly felt an arm around her, steadying her. Shane. She yawned and ran a hand through her hair, rested her head against his strong chest and he wrapped both arms around her, glaring over her head at Myrnin.

"She's had enough. We're going now." His voice left no room for discussion, but Myrnin's eyes flashed dangerously. He disliked being ordered about, and here was this human telling him what was happening. But as his eyes flickered to Claire's exhausted form, and then her bandaged neck, he backed off, nodding.

"Leave. Rest. I shall see you tomorrow Claire. This is a matter that needs to be resolved fast." Shane gave her no time to reply, instead he tightened his arm around her and half helped her out of the lab. He moved fast, evidently in a hurry to get out.

It took Claire several seconds to realise they'd exited the lab, only discovering that they stood outside in the alleyway when Shane paused to shut the door behind them. She hadn't realised how tired she'd been until now – then again, she'd pretty much completed years worth of studying within half a day, and maxed out her brain trying to fix the loop in the security of the machine. But still, it wasn't often she became this tired.

"Well...what can you say..." Shane had stopped short, eyes staring at the mouth of the alleyway. Claire lent against him wearily and glanced up at him.

"What?" She followed the direction he was looking in and half laughed. "Someone stole the sled...? Seriously? You know Eve's going to be pissed." She teased.

"Oh man..." Shane pulled a face.

"I did warn you." Claire grinned when Shane nudged her and poked his tongue out at her.

"We can always buy a new one. Or just say it ran away? Eve can't get mad at us for that right?" He teased, and Claire nudged him in return.

"We can try."

When they returned to the house, it was obvious something was up from the moment they walked through the door. It was gone eleven, and usually Eve would at least have gone upstairs by now. But her and Michael both rushed out into the hall the moment they arrived.

"Claire we're so sorry." Eve rushed the words, face pleading and anxious, before Michael could say anything. Claire frowned and shook her head, trying to catch up on why she was sorry.

"Why...what happened?" She asked. Shane's arm around her tightened protectively, his eyes locked on Michael's as if he expected to be able to pull the answer straight from his mind.

"Someone broke in." Michael said, face calm, but it was obvious that behind the mask there was a darkening anger at the culprits. "Someone got into your room ..." He bit his lip, eyes searching her face with equal anxiety. He took Eve's hand and squeezed it gently.

"What did they take? Are you guys okay?" Claire's eyes roamed her friend's rapidly, tiredness forgotten as she tried to determine if they were okay. Neither of them seemed harmed in the slightest, only the anxiety in their faces, and the stiff way Michael held himself showed any signs that something was wrong.

"Nothing...well we don't think. They didn't touch the other rooms, only yours." Eve's lip trembled and she bit down on it. "Oh Claire i'm so sorry. We were downstairs the whole time. We were watching a movie, and then Michael said he heard something. Whoever it was didn't even use the front or back door, and by the time we got upstairs they were gone, and your room was a mess." Claire glanced back and forth between them. They looked so nervous, and she could only wonder if it was because they thought she'd be mad at them.

"Guys, it's okay." She said, though she knew it wasn't. Someone had been in her room? Who? And what did they want? "It isn't your fault..." She told them, because it wasn't. Claire chewed her lip, eyes darting to the staircase with a frown. She'd need to go and see it...but even though she knew there wasn't anyone up there, she couldn't help but feel a stab of fear – her heartbeat bursting into a sprint. Shane, who'd remained silent through all of this, finally spoke. Claire could hear the cold fury in his voice, thick with irritation at himself mostly. Twice in two days now. First, she'd been bitten, and now, someone had invaded her room? What if she'd been there? What if he hadn't? What if something had happened...?

"We'll find out who did this Claire, and until we do, i won't leave your side." Shane promised, eyes darting around the hall as if expecting the culprit to burst out from behind the coats hung up on the pegs on the wall, or from under the small table pressed into the corner.

"We already have an idea." Everyone jumped as a cool, authoritive voice spoke from the doorway behind Claire and Shane. Michael turned to face the front door, posture becoming defensive and eyes flashing dangerously. Until he saw who it was, and then he straightened abruptly and inclined his head, eyes still narrowed almost inperceptively. Shane and Claire spun around, and both took several steps back to group together with Eve and Michael as two figures stepped inside, uninvited, and shut the door behind them with a sharp snap.

"Now, shall we take a seat in the living room? Or is there a particular reason as to this hallway congregation?" Amelie asked, cold eyes flickering to each of their faces in turn, before resting on Claire; who shook her head, surprised and confused. "Good." And she swept into the living room before the other's could rearrange the looks upon their faces. Oliver followed with nothing but a sharp gaze, leaving the four friends to share looks of surprise, and worry. If the Founder and Oliver were here, trouble was about to go down. Again.

Great.