"What?! What's her issue with me?" Jamie was dumbfounded.

"Apparently you're a psychotic killer, completely unhinged," Mitch informed her, only a little facetiously. "Definitely a threat to society and young children." He couldn't put Jamie off any longer. She wanted to know what the telephone call had been about, and frankly, she had a right to know.

"You've gotta be kidding."

"A little. But, uh, not as much as you'd hope. Seriously, she was freaked out about the Shaffer thing. In a nutshell, they saw us on the news. I was wanted as an accomplice to a murder. She didn't really appreciate having to explain that to a ten year old. Clearly something's horribly wrong with my judgement if I'd let myself get sucked into something like that, and well, you can see where this is all headed."

Jamie slammed the coffee mug onto the table. "Seriously? Why now? That was months ago. Those charges have been dropped."

"In her mind, charges or no charges you still killed a federal agent. The lack of charges doesn't mean it was justified, it just means it was part of the deal we cut. When she thought you had died in the plane crash, she was willing to let it go," he explained. "she just figured that you were an acquaintance, and I didn't know how you were until I was already in over my head. Then she saw us on the news again yesterday and now knows that A: you are alive, B: we are involved as more than just colleagues and C: I knew damn well what I was getting into."

"Oh, she must have loved the 'married' part."

"Yeah, that went over like the Hindenburg," he sipped his coffee. "Now she knows that at some point, you're going to be in Clem's orbit."

"And she does not like that."

"She does not," Mitch confirmed. "But here's the thing: she doesn't have a choice. I don't want to fight her, but I will if she forces my hand. I just finally reconnected with my daughter. I'm not gonna disappear again now matter how much Audra wants me to."

"Ok, so I just won't be around when you visit."

"Not good enough. Remember, my judgement is so crappy that I'm not to be trusted now, either."

"Oh my God, Mitch, I'm so sorry," Jamie felt ten thousand pounds descend upon her. "I don't want to be the reason you don't get to see your daughter."

"You won't be," he told her. "I'm not blaming you, you haven't done anything wrong . I'm just letting you know what's going on. She's freaked out right now. She's a good mom. And you're a good person, not a threat to anybody. The whole thing is just ludicrous. With a little time, she'll see she's wrong."

"I hope you're right."

Me too, he thought better of saying aloud. He needed to work this out with Audra. Hoping perhaps she had softened after seeing the press conference, he decided to call her back as Jamie worked on her laptop in the other room.

"Did you watch the press conference?" He asked her.

"Yes, I did. And I read the article."

"And?"

"You guys have done something amazing here, and I'm really grateful. But it doesn't really change anything," she replied. "I mean, I know that agent was dirty and all, but…I don't know, Mitch."

Mitch heard something in her voice that led him to believe her actual issue was something other than Jamie. "Jamie's not the problem, is she? She's a convenient excuse."

"Maybe. I don't know. She seemed rational enough."

"I'm not going away again, Audra."

"You're going back to California, right?"

"Yes, California. Not the moon," he half-shouted in his frustration, a lapse he instantly regretted.

"It's better for everyone if you just back off," she told him coldly.

"Why are you so upset by this?"

"I'm not upset."

"Yes, you are. And I'm really trying to understand. But this interpersonal stuff isn't my strong suit, so I could really use some context here."

"What do you want from me, Mitch? You want me to stand back and let you and your girlfriend play house with my daughter after you've been absent for almost a decade? What do I tell her when the going gets tough and you bail out again?"

Ah, there it was, he realized. The heart of the matter.

"Look, I get what you're saying, and you're not wrong—my track record is pretty sketchy. But how long should I pay for those mistakes? I'm not the same person I was then, Audra, and if you can't see that, well…I don't what more to say to reassure you."

Hearing nothing but dead air, he continued "we're not asking for custody here. We don't want to do anything to disrupt Clem's life. She's an awesome kid and you and Justin deserve all the credit there. Whatever you're doing is perfect. I don't want to screw that up. I just want some time now and again. I want to know my daughter, and I want her to know me. Maybe an occasional weekend, or some time when school's out."

"Maybe," she conceded. "I'll think about it."

Three weeks later, the animal threat was clearly, obviously retreating. Just as quickly as things had gone off the rails, the situation was improving. Life was beginning again; businesses and schools were reopening.

The team was heavily in demand, making a number of talk show appearances and interviews all up and down the eastern seaboard. West coast news outlets were stymied by the ongoing issues with air travel, however more carriers were resuming services each day. Investigations were underway by several nations to evaluate Reiden's continued wrongdoings. There was a high level of suspicion that Anik had either been paid or intimidated to keep Jamie and the leopard hidden away, though getting any information out of him had been a very slow, difficult process. If it were true, then Reiden could be held responsible for the deaths that occurred in the nearly four month delay of the cure. Jamie, Mitch and Chloe had all testified before congressional hearings and Abraham and Jackson were scheduled the following week.

The Morgans were preparing to return to California. So far, though, they had been asked to stay in Washington until the hearings and investigations were completed. This particular afternoon, Mitch had been called to a meeting on Capital Hill, so Jamie was home alone when the doorbell rang. She didn't recognize the man she saw through the peephole.

"Can I help you?" She asked as she cracked the door open. As her view widened she saw that the man had a young girl with him.

"Hi," the man began with a slightly tentative edge to his voice. "I'm Justin. You're Jamie, right?"

Trying to hide the fact that she was completely caught off guard, she quickly opened the door the rest of the way and ushered the pair inside. She shook the man's hand. "Yes. It's, uh, it's nice to meet you." She turned to the little girl, who also appeared very uncertain about the whole thing.

"You must be Clementine. I recognize you from your pictures."

"You were at my house, right?"

"Yeah," Jamie answered, surprised. "In Boston. Briefly. But I didn't see you. You and your mom were upstairs the whole time I was there."

"I saw you."

Jamie wasn't sure what to do with that. Was it good or bad? "I'm sorry," she told them, "Mitch isn't home right now."

"I'm sorry to drop by without warning," Justin said. " I tried to call him, but he didn't answer."

"He has the phone off. He's in a hearing at the Capitol."

"Oh. Um…can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Justin asked.

"Sure." Jamie found herself more apprehensive with each passing second. "We can go in the kitchen. Can I get you guys anything?"

"No, thanks, we're ok," he followed her. "Clem, watch tv for a minute. Looks like a cooking show."

Once they were out of earshot Jamie looked at Justin. "What's up?"

"I need a favor. You have no idea how much I hate to ask this, but, uh, Audra's really sick. We were heading down to Hilton Head for a family thing, and I had to take her to the hospital. They think it's some kind of food poisoning."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jamie said. Her mind was racing. Where was he going with this?

"She's really out of it right now. They think she's going to be all right, but right now it's pretty bad. I need to be at the hospital with her. They won't let minors stay the night in the ICU waiting area, and it's not a good place for a kid anyway, so I was wondering if Clem could stay here for tonight. I mean, Mitch said something to Audra about occasional weekends so I thought—"

Jamie interrupted him. "Of course. It's fine." This was Mitch's—and her—chance to prove that they could do this and she wasn't about to blow it for him.

"Are you sure? Mitch isn't even here to ask—"

"He'll be fine with it. It's fine," she repeated. "Give Audra our best. I hope she's feeling better really soon."

"How much kid experience do you have?" He asked dubiously.

"None. Is that enough?" Jamie's sheepish grin was contagious as Justin smiled, too. "Seriously, though, we'll figure it out. Don't worry."

"Ok, ok. Um, here's my cell," he said as he handed her a card. "If, well, anything, just call. Clem has it, too."

Jamie peeked around the corner at the girl, who still looked pretty uncomfortable. "Does she, uh, know what the plan is?"

"Yes. She does."

"And she's not too happy."

"No, she's not. I'll have a talk with her."

"No, it's ok. I get it. I know where she's coming from. We'll be all right."

"I can't thank you enough," Justin told her sincerely.

"Don't worry. Go take care of your wife. I got this."

Justin went to the car and retrieved Clementine's bag. They said their goodbyes. Then, Jamie was alone with the child.