"Inventing the Future"

Author's Note: Voice actor fun fact; Cam Clarke, the man who voiced Dr. Jaming in Dark Cloud 2, is also a wonderful singer. I couldn't not take advantage of this. Jaming doesn't sing the words themselves (and FFN frowns upon us using song lyrics), but if anyone is curious he hums the melody for "Someone Else's Star". And yes, you can find Cam's version of the song on YouTube. Give it a listen, it's pretty~

"Chapter 7: Vigil and Conflict"

'Reading by candlelight is overrated,' Jaming decided, but that wasn't a good term for what he was doing. Staring blankly at the same page for an indefinite stretch of time was more accurate. He worried that leaving on the bright ceiling light, which was simply a naked light bulb with a pull string, would irritate Meredith's eyes when she finally opened them. So, he made do with the candle.

It didn't bother him so much that Pau had so embarrassingly pointed out that his feelings for Meredith were obvious (and in front of Dr. Dell, too!), though this had shocked him badly. What really nettled him was his own ignorance of those feelings before Pau called attention to them. He thought he knew himself very well, but this left him wondering how many others had noticed something that he himself had been completely oblivious to!

And yet, now that it had been brought to his attention, he could hardly deny it and it scared him to death. He wanted to get away from her, to process this on his own, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her bedside. Every time she shifted in her sleep, his head snapped in her direction to see if she was waking up.

'She can't find out. If Pau lets it slip, I'll simply deny it. I can't imagine my life without her in it...If friendship is all I can have, I won't risk losing it. And anyway, she's alive. That is what is important right now, not my own personal neuroses...'

Meredith tossed her head a little and lifted a hand as if to ward off some sort of threat. She seemed to be having a nightmare. Was she reliving her experiences from inside the caves?

Jaming dropped his book and took her hand before she could jerk the I.V. tube out of her arm. His heart twisted as she let out a whimper, and he laid a gentle hand on her forehead. "Hey...It's only a dream. You're safe."

She stopped moving, but she frowned in her sleep. Tears seeped out from beneath her eyelids, the tracks shining golden in the candlelight, and she mumbled, "Get 'em off me..."

"Meredith..." Jaming's voice grew hoarse; he felt like crying himself, but that wouldn't benefit her at all. How could he calm her if he couldn't get her to wake up? Then an idea came to him. He had two major assets; his talent for inventing was the one that he took the most pride in, and the other was his love of music, which he tended to keep to himself. He never sang in front of others. Never.

But could he really deny her this if it might help her?

'She won't remember it anyway.'

Jaming cleared his throat, drew a few deep breaths, and began to hum. It was quiet and uncertain at first, but it wasn't long before her face grew relaxed once more, and he continued to sing to her long after he was sure that the nightmare had receded.

Jaming awoke early that morning with a stiff neck from sitting in that chair all night, and he mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to fall asleep! He quickly looked over to see how Meredith was doing, and his dark eyes met her pale ones. She appeared tired and weak, but somewhat amused.

"You snore," she informed him.

"You talk in your sleep," he replied, giving such an expansive stretch that his spine popped. "How are you feeling?"

"I'd like to get my hands on the guy with the sledgehammer..." she muttered, moving to roll over onto her side, but stopping when she realized there was a tube attached to her arm. She thought better of it, and remained where she was.

He blinked, uncomprehending. "Huh? What guy with a sledgehammer?"

"The one inside my head..."

"Well," he snorted, "if you're well enough to joke, you'll be just fine."

It was then that Meredith noticed she wasn't wearing the same clothing as before, and her eyes grew as round as saucers. "Uh, Jaming? Did you, uh..." She couldn't seem to articulate it, and tugged lightly at her sleeve to indicate what she meant.

Jaming's eyes widened as well, and color flooded his cheeks as he hurriedly reassured her. "Oh! No, no, no, that was Julia and Dr. Dell. I was outside when that was done. It was necessary; your clothes were soaking wet."

"Dr. Dell...from Palm Brinks?"

"Yes. He is vacationing here for the week," He said, very glad to change the subject.

"Ah..."

The silence that followed was long and awkward, and Jaming couldn't look her in the eye for very long. He felt her gaze on him every time his eyes wandered away from hers to settle on some random object in the room, so looking away didn't help. 'She hasn't even tried to explain herself...'

After a while, she spoke again. "You're angry..."

She was partly correct; anger was one of the feelings he was experiencing, so he decided that it was better to admit it than deny it. "What you did was foolish. And you lied to me."

"I didn't..."

"It was a lie by omission. You deliberately avoided telling me where you were going, because you knew I'd try to stop you." He grew motionless when he felt her hand touch his arm, and he instinctively turned to look at her.

"All right..." she conceded, "I truly didn't think of it that way, but I guess you're right."

"What I don't understand is why. Where you go is your business, and I have no right to tell you what to do, but I thought you were smarter than that. There is nothing inside those caves that is worth risking your life to obtain. Nothing."

"Jaming..."

But Jaming had started something that wasn't so easily stopped, and as his ire rose his voice actually grew lower. "I didn't even see you at first. Do you know how I found you? I tripped over you. You were lying on the cave floor, covered in bites, and I thought you were dead! Do you know what that was like? Do you have any idea?"

Meredith pushed herself into a sitting position and put the pillow between her back and the wall, and Jaming expected that she would be defiant and respond with some sort of wisecrack. He even hoped she would, because it would validate his anger and allow him to keep lashing out. What she actually did was unexpected, and it took the wind out of his sails.

"I'm sorry, Jaming...If I knew that would happen, I never would have gone in there. The caves have been empty of monsters since they were cleared out a few months ago, and...well, I've never liked being told what to do. I thought it was safe, and I thought you were just overreacting. I was wrong...I should have listened to you."

He tried to hold on to his anger, because right now it was the easiest emotion to deal with, and he asked bitterly, "Well, was it worth it? Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did...but it wasn't worth it."

Her blue eyes were sad and remorseful, and he hated to see that. He hated that he had put that look in her eyes, and though he wasn't aware of it, she hated that she had put him through this.

"It wasn't worth it," she said again, reaching out and weakly gripping his hand. "I don't know what it was like for you, finding me that way...but I can see what it's done to you. And I'd give anything to take it all back."

He caught himself lightly passing his thumb over her knuckles, and he contemplated the softness of her skin for a nanosecond before he realized what he was doing and stopped. His anger was gone, but in its place was guilt for having told her off, relief that he was actually able to do so, and a desire to hold her and never let go. And this last feeling...How very distressing!

"I'm sorry, Jaming. Please, forgive me."

He laughed shortly, rubbing a hand down his face. "Forgive you? I behave like an ass, and you beg my forgiveness..."

Meredith smiled, but it was a sad smile. "Such language."

Jaming swallowed hard, finding it difficult to force saliva past the lump that had formed in his throat, and he looked at their hands, which were still linked. There had been some incidental contact here and there, but nothing that one friend wouldn't do with another. This was a first for him, and he didn't quite know how to react to it.

"What did you find?" he asked, somewhat curious in spite of himself.

Meredith heaved a deep sigh and leaned her head back against the wall, looking like she was ready to drift off to sleep once more. She hadn't removed her hand from his, but she was no longer actively holding on. "It should be in my pack, unless it fell out...You've heard of Luna Stones, haven't you?"

Luna Stones? He nodded. Of course he knew about them; his reason for focusing on the Shigura earlier was to keep them from bringing Luna Stones to the Veniccio shore. "They're rumored to increase one's intelligence when they're in close proximity, but why would you want that?"

"Well, I didn't want it for me."

He slowly shook his head, wishing she would just speak plainly, but he could see that she was growing fatigued. "If not you, then who else?"

After everything that had happened, Meredith was reluctant to tell him. She had already put him through a horrible night, and she knew that telling him everything would make him feel even worse. She also knew that he would not let the matter drop until he was satisfied, and she finally removed her hand from his and lightly picked at a loose thread sticking out of the blanket that covered her. "Well...You've been so discouraged with how your research is going. It almost seems like you're trying to make up for lost time. There are Luna Stone shards here and there in the ocean, but those have been smashed to bits by the surf. They're not good for much of anything. Pretty to look at, though..."

Jaming listened with dawning horror, and he felt a hollow sickness forming in the pit of his stomach. 'Not for me...No...'

"The ones that wash into the caves are few and far between, but they're mostly intact. I thought...maybe if you had one, it might help you. It wasn't that I didn't think you could do it without one...don't misunderstand me...but I thought a boost might give you your confidence back."

The feeling that nearly crushed Jaming could only be described as agony, and he put his head in his hands. "Ohhh, Meredith...how could you?"

"I thought..."

"I know what you thought. Don't ever risk your safety for me again, do you hear me? Do you think I could live with myself if you died because of me? I've got enough blood on my hands, and that was the blood of my enemies. I won't add my friend's blood to it." He lowered his hands, completely dry-eyed but obviously upset. "I know you wanted to help, but I'm not worth it."

"Well..." she murmured, wiping her eyes. This had been a lousy few days. "Now that we both feel like crap...c'mere."

Jaming's chair was very close to the bed, and there was less than a foot between them from where they sat, so her next action didn't take much effort at all. She reached out, careful not to dislodge her I.V., and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Jaming. I promise I won't do it again. Okay?"

His chin quivered a bit, but that simple gesture made his heart soar. Since she had initiated the embrace, Jaming did something he hadn't quite dared to do before. He held her close, his arms infinitely gentle, and lightly rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"Pff, that was yelling? You got laryngitis, or something?" she sniffled a bit, but there was amusement in her voice.

"Ah, always with the joking..."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Jaming remembered that he was supposed to do something. "I have to go inform Dr. Dell that you're awake."

No answer.

"Meredith?" Jaming leaned his head back a bit and angled it to look at her face, which was no easy task because her head was resting against his chest. "Meredith?" he tried again, and this time he got an answer of sorts. "Hmph...I'm not the only one who snores, woman."