Hey, it's an update! And Jack Kirchner makes his first appearance!

Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.

- o – o -

Chapter three: Counting Bodies like Sheep

Dana paced around her living room, occasionally shooting dark looks at the newest ARK nuisance to enter her life. Thomas Sawyer stared back at her, face impassive. Not even a joke about his name had gotten much of a reaction out of him, aside from making his neck turn red. (She couldn't exactly blame him, though. Being named after a literary character couldn't have been easy.)

The man had arrived earlier in the morning, bearing a letter from his employer. According to Fleming, he was there to make sure Trip didn't get hurt. Trip, on the other hand, had taken one look at Sawyer and run screaming from the room. That didn't bode well.

The public defender sighed and headed back to the kitchen, praying the coffee was done brewing. She didn't have work today, but that didn't mean she was getting out of the paperwork she had to do. At least Kia was coming over later to share horror stories about the office and slog through some of the larger files with her.

It was a sign of how long the last two days had been when the sight of her son drinking coffee didn't even phase Dana. Trip was hunched over the kitchen table, staring at the dregs of coffee in the bottom of his mug. Judging by the dark shadows under his eyes, he was barely awake.

"Hey sweetie," Dana said softly, sitting down next to her son. He looked over at her, before returning his attention to the mug. "Are you doing alright?" she asked, placing her hand on his shoulder. She frowned as he flinched, and withdrew her hand.

"Don't wanna sleep," Trip whispered. "They keep staring at me."

Dana felt a little sick at that statement. It was unfortunately obvious that he was referring to the bodies he'd seen. They had been missing their eyes. If she got her hands on the sick bastard who'd committed those murders, there wouldn't be much left for the ME to identify, much less anything for the courts to prosecute.

Not knowing what else to do, Dana pulled her son into her lap and held him, just like she had when he was younger. Trip was obviously too tired to argue, and didn't try to wriggle away like he usually did. A few minutes later, Trip was fast asleep for the first time in two days. Dana smiled a little and picked him up to carry him back to his room.

Sawyer said nothing and returned his attention to the book he'd brought with him. Dana was grateful for that small courtesy as she tucked Trip in.

An hour later, Dana was seated on the floor next to her coffee table, going over case files with Kia. There was a pot of coffee on the table between them, growing colder as time dragged on. The pile of finished files was a fraction larger than the unfinished pile, but little progress had been made on it in the intervening time. Office horror stories had given way to stories about moronic spouses—boyfriends, in Kia's case.

Kia looked much happier than she had when she'd arrived. Apparently, Philips had completely blown off their date night and, to add to his sins, he hadn't even bothered to call. He wasn't answering his phone, which had been turned off sometime around midnight—just to add insult to an already festering injury. Dana thought it was a little odd that Sawyer—an ARK man himself—wasn't leaping to Philips' defense.

That he had disappeared was a little worrisome in itself, given the current crisis. (And she'd been so close to forgetting that there was a serial killer on the loose.)

"So then," Kia continued, breaking in on Dana's morbid thoughts, "he calls me from the hospital, swearing that he was just attacked by a comic book character. What was I supposed to say to that?"

"The Cape, right?" Dana asked, a small grin on her face. In retrospect, the whole situation regarding the Cape was a lot funnier in hindsight. Philips' encounters with the vigilante were also funny to hear about. Although the one wherein the poor man had been dropped off a bridge wasn't quite so funny—she was going to have to ask the Cape about that. What if Philips had died?

It was one less ARK officer in the world, but murder wasn't something she could condone.

"Yeah. The Cape," Kia agreed, propping her chin up on her hand. She looked through another file, snorting as she read the charges. "Public drunkenness—arrested while he was trying to get into the cab he hailed. God save us from ARK."

"You've got to be kidding," Dana sighed. "Seriously? That's almost as bad as the public urination case." Dana and Kia shot dark looks at Sawyer, who had the grace to flush in embarrassment.

"This is just insane," Kia muttered as she threw the file onto the "burn it!" pile. "At least now I know why Jacob works so many shifts. He's got to have at least as much paperwork as we do."

"And he still has time to cook?" Dana asked incredulously, pouring more coffee into her mug. "Where can I get one like him?"

"He's all yours," Kia grumbled. "Bastard is going to pay for last night."

Before Dana could reply, there was a thin wail of distress from Trip's bedroom. Kia said nothing as Dana rushed from the room to comfort her son.

Trip was going to have one hell of a long road ahead of him.

- o – o -

If Dana hadn't spoken with the therapist one-on-one several times beforehand, she never would have let Trip enter the office alone. Doctor Samuels was a calming presence though, and he seemed to get along with Trip. For that, she'd forgive him for working directly for Fleming. (Although it did beg the question why Fleming had assigned his personal psychiatrist to work with Trip…) She was assured that her son was in good hands. All else aside, she wanted Trip to stop having nightmares every time he closed his eyes; the ones after Vince had died would be a welcome relief.

The public defender sighed and pulled into her spot in the parking garage. It wasn't hers officially, but she parked there so often it might as well have been. All she needed to do was put her name on the barrier and she was good to go. Mostly.

Dana sighed and gathered up her things, trying hard not to jump at every shadow she saw. If she didn't know better, she'd say her paranoia was acting up again—as if she hadn't gotten enough of that growing up.

"You're getting paranoid, Dana," she muttered under her breath, imitating Jack Kirchner. Thinking of her old law school professor made the public defender pause for a few seconds in front of the elevator. She wondered what he was up to these days, before shrugging the thought away. There was too much work to be done right now, but she could ponder the thought at a later date.

She jabbed the elevator call button viciously, shunting all thoughts that weren't work-related to the back of her mind. Work was more important than wondering about a law professor she hadn't spoken to in years.

- o – o -

Dana was at her desk, slogging through another mountain of paperwork, when someone knocked on the door. She looked up for a second, before rolling her eyes as she closed the file she was working on. Great. Another lost reporter.

"Can I help you?" she asked, tone a bit icy. The man looked at her, startled. He had stunningly blue eyes and was going slightly gray at the temples. Thinking about Jack had apparently made her sentimental, as she was drawing comparisons between the two men.

"I… Ah, I'm a bit lost," the man said, a sheepish grin on his face. "I was looking for another office, but…" He shrugged. "Got an idea for me?"

"Who are you looking for?" Dana asked, sighing.

"Travis Hall, actually," the man replied. "Just delivering some papers. God I hate being stuck on courier duty." Dana raised an eyebrow at that. "ARK's legal department. Fun stuff," he said, a smirk on his face. "God I hate my job."

Dana laughed at that. She could sympathize there. "Go back to the atrium, take the corridor on the far left. It'll be the first door on your…right." As the man thanked her and left, Dana wondered if she should call Travis to warn him… Yeah. Probably a good idea.

- o – o -

By the time Dana picked her son up from his therapy session, she was half-wishing she'd had more interruptions like the ARK flunky who'd come into her office around lunch time. It would have been nice, honestly. And, while she sympathized with Kia, there was only so much she could take before creating excuses to leave. She'd make it up later, Dana mentally promised herself.

Trip, who should have been half-asleep by all right, was wide-awake and bouncing slightly in his seat. Dana sighed and made a mental note to lock the coffee up. It was great that he had so much energy, but this was not a good thing.

The prescriptions in her purse weren't good news either: Anti-depressants, an anti-psychotic (emergencies only), a sleep-aid (last resort only), and a mood stabilizer. This was going to cost her a boatload of cash, even with ARK footing most of the bill. Dana half-suspected this was just to keep ARK's publicity ratings up, but couldn't find fault with that at the moment.

She pulled into a spot outside the pharmacy closest to the apartment. The public defender shot a look at her son, one that clearly said stay put or else. Trip got the point and at least tried to stay still while she went into the pharmacy.

The shop was, thankfully, almost empty. There was only one other customer, but he seemed to be contemplating the difference between two different brands of painkiller, rather than trying to fill a prescription. Dana ignored him and went to the counter, praying she could get the prescriptions filled as soon as possible.

"How can I help you?" the man minding the counter asked. He smiled a little at Dana, although there was a look of nervousness in his face and in his posture. Dana shot a look behind her and saw Sawyer. Well, that explained things…

"I just need to fill a few prescriptions," Dana replied. She handed the papers over, and waited at the counter as the man headed into the back room to look for what was listed. She swore that she heard him mutter "It's always the good-looking ones", which made her snicker.

A few minutes later, the man was back. "We'll have to fill out an order for the mood stabilizer, but everything else is here. I just need to see your driver's license or other form of identification, and your method of payment."

Dana obligingly produced her driver's license—the validity of which was assured before the man placed the drugs on the counter—and her checkbook. She also placed the letter of note she'd gotten from Fleming, just in case. Everything looked official, and had gone a long way towards smoothing things out between her and several of the psychiatrists she'd interviewed. (Prior to getting Doctor Samuels, of course. The man was a godsend.)

"Alright, Mrs. Faraday," the attendant smiled. "Everything's in order. You have a good day."

Dana was almost out the door when the other man who'd been in the store stopped her. If it hadn't been for Sawyer and the fact that she was in a public place, she would have pulled out the mace.

"Mrs. Faraday…?" the man said. He was going slightly gray at the temples, and had an unusual set of tan lines on his face. Probably wore glasses, Dana decided after a few seconds. "Dana Faraday?" he repeated.

"Who wants to know?" Dana asked, looking at Sawyer. The man had unbuttoned his suit jacket, and she could see the telltale bulge of a gun under his coat.

"You…don't remember me," he said slowly. "I suppose it's been quite a few years since criminal procedure and your husband being suspicious of me."

Recognition dawned on Dana's face almost instantly. "Jack Kirchner? What are you…?"

"Tylenol." Jack shrugged. "Listen, would you like to get together sometime? I know it's rather presumptuous of me, but…" He trailed off, shrugging. "For old time's sake."

Dana smiled. "I'd like that." She paused. "Maybe when my son's back at school," she added. "I—"

"Hectic schedules?" Jack replied. "Is Thursday good?"

"Thursday would be great," Dana smiled. She left the pharmacy, whistling. Trip shot her an odd look when she got into the driver's seat, but said nothing.

All in all, Dana thought, things were looking up. And, secretly, she was actually looking forward to meeting up with Jack. It couldn't be any more awkward than the aborted dinner with Travis and Kia, could it?

- o – o -

So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Looking forward to Dana's date with Jack? Drop a line and let me know.