Welcome to the next chapter! Apologies if I'm a bit slow updating. While I usually wait until I have the first draft of a story finished, I started this one as a oneshot and have been working on it since. That said, I have several chapters done and am working on getting additional ones finished. Please, feel free to leave reviews and comments. They keep me inspired! Thanks! -CT

Chapter 4: Changes

Jesse made sure she was up before her father. He'd been burning the candle at both ends. He would go work at Mercury labs for at least eight hours early in the day and then return and put in several hours at S.T.A.R. Labs. It had been going on for nearly a week and Jesse could tell that her father was exhausted. While he'd been busting his buns, Jesse herself had been sitting around learning about their new Earth and drooling over housing options. When she'd realized just how badly her father was running himself ragged, she decided to start helping him out. She had just finished packing him a lunch when Harry entered the little kitchen they had claimed for themselves. He was rubbing at his face and trying to tame his wild hair.

"Good morning," Jesse greeted him brightly. Harry grunted for an answer, blinking bleary eyes.

"What are you doing up?" Harry squinted tiredly at his daughter. "How the hell do you manage to be perky at this hour?"

"I wanted to make sure you took a proper lunch with you," Jesse said, holding out a brown paper bag. "Strange to see you wearing a suit again. Is that one you borrowed?" Her eyes took in the suit he was wearing. It fit him well enough, though it was obvious it was a bit big for him.

"Oh, yes," Harrison said, looking down at his dress clothes. "One of Detective West's donations. He's a bit larger in the waist and shoulders than I am." He looked back up at his daughter. A smile ghosted across his face as he reached out to take the lunch bag.

"I think you look great," Jesse assured him, relinquishing the bag. "I made sure to label it for you."

"I can see that." Amusement flashed across Harry's face as he looked at the decorative "Dad" scrawled across the paper bag in multiple ink colours. "You didn't have to do that, sweetie," Harry said. "Thank you."

"I did have to do it," Jesse countered. "You've been doing all the work and I've just been sitting around."

"I'm your father. It is my job to take care of you," Harry countered. The two shared matching looks before Harry relented and smiled. "I'll be back late," he informed her. "Thank you, for lunch." He held the bag up before pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead and heading out.

He arrived at Mercury Labs at the same time as former Gunnery Sergeant James Scot. "Gunny," Harry greeted the other man. Waving his badge over the entrance lock, James nodded a greeting to the man he'd been working with for the last week.

"Hey there Commander," James declared. "After you." He pushed the door open and watched as Harry walked through. Tina McGee was waiting at the security desk.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Tina greeted the two tersely. She had been watching John Chambers carefully and grown suspicious of a notebook he usually carried in his backpack. It seemed he worked in it whenever he was on break. "I was hoping to have a look at your notebook, Mr. Chambers."

"Doctor," Harry corrected her. Rolling his eyes, he unslung his backpack and dropped it at her feet. "Help yourself." With a disgusted sigh, he went and sat to watch Tina lean over and pick up his bag. "Not sure what you think you'll find in there." He crossed his arms and leaned back.

"I'm just curious to see what exactly you work on while you're here in my laboratories," Tina said. Carefully she opened the bag and started poking through the contents. Arching an eyebrow, she pulled out the lunch bag. "Your lunch?" She regarded it suspiciously.

"Jesse packed it for me this morning," Harry informed her. "The notebook you're looking for should be just beneath it."

"Mr. Scot, please look through this," Tina said, handing the lunch sack to the other man.

"Dr. McGee, you don't really think Johnny has something hidden in here, do you?" James asked as he took the bag and gazed in at the contents. "It looks like it's just food."

"Of course it's just food, Gunny," Harry shot back. Meanwhile, Tina had found the notebook and was carefully going through it. "That's my personal notebook. You'll find nothing in there relating to anything here. If there is, I assure you that it's coincidental." Letting out another sigh, Harry looked away.

"What are these calculations?" Tina asked, thrusting out the notebook. Rolling his gaze up to her, Harry pressed his lips firmly together and then seemed to give up.

"I'm trying to ensure that Jesse can return to her studies. Our lives were basically ruined so we're starting over," Harry explained. It was close enough to the truth.

"These are your calculations," Tina observed. She turned the page and frowned.

"Possible housing options," Harry explained. He continued to look irritated and annoyed, not turning away when Tina flipped the page once more and frowned. "A project I'm working on with Ramon," Harry supplied. Studying the equations and calculations, Tina McGee realized that Mr. Scot was right. Chambers was brilliant.

"What exactly are you trying to solve?" Tina looked over the myriad of calculations and equations.

"None of your business," Harry replied. He stood and stalked over, smoothing the too large suit shirt. "I have complied with all your demands. I let you examine my naked torso. You took my fingerprints and blood." He waggled his fingers in her face and then motioned at the crook of his elbow. "Hell, I've even spent the last week wearing a damn monkey suit and helping Gunny fix the security holes in this building. Now, what else do you want from me?" He glowered at her, unable to hide his irritation and annoyance. "Everywhere I go, your man follows."

"Sit down, Commander," James ordered. Glowering, Harry let out another irritated sigh, but sat. Taking Tina gently by the elbow, James pulled her out of earshot. "Dr. McGee, I understand your suspicion of the Commander, but I've worked with the man every day for a week now. I trust him and think you should as well."

"Why do you call him that?" Tina asked, looking over where the other man was sitting.

"Fellow service man," James declared. "Look, I'll tell you everything I've learned about him, later. Let us get to work so he can return to his paying job. The poor guy lost everything when Zoom attacked him. He and his daughter are having to start at the bottom of the barrel here. I mean, look at him. Even his suit is a loaner from a friend."

"Yes, I had noticed that," Tina agreed. "You said he has a paying job?"

"Yes. He's working over at S.T.A.R. labs as a research scientist. I don't know if you realize this, but he's been trying to put in a full work week there after he's been here," James supplied. "It's wearing the poor guy down."

"Is it?" Frowning, Tina looked over and studied the man more intently. James Scot was indeed right. The shoulders of the man in question were slumped and his eyes were closed as if he was about to fall asleep, dark bags coloured the skin under his eyes, and even at rest he seemed agitated and stressed. "I see your point. Very well. Report to me after Mr. Chambers has left today."

"Doctor," Scot corrected her with a grin.

"Doctor Chambers," Tina agreed. Taking a deep breath, she went back to the man's backpack, carefully repacked it and then carried it over to him. As she approached, Harry opened his eyes and slowly stood, a little surprised to see the apologetic look on Tina's face. "Dr. Chambers, please forgive me for my suspicions." She offered him his bag which he hesitantly took. "Can I join you both for lunch today?"

"Your labs," Harry informed her, slinging the pack over his shoulder. "Can we get to work now?" Nodding, Tina stepped out of his way. She watched as he moved past her and followed James Scot down the hall to the security room where they spent most of the day working.

Tina didn't join them at lunch. Harry didn't seem to mind as he was busy paging through housing listings. James not only joined him but tried to help. As much as Harry hated to admit it, he was starting to like James. The two men had a few things in common and a mutual respect for each other. It was also nice to have someone with an intimate knowledge of the city.

"Your daughter certainly wanted to make sure that you didn't go hungry," James observed as Harry picked through the contents of his lunch bag, which included a sandwich, yogurt, 2 hard boiled eggs, a bag of raw carrots and celery, an apple, a cheese stick, and three cookies. It made Harry chuckle and nod.

"Yes, she was a bit overzealous about packing my meal," Harry agreed.

"My baby girl is only four," James supplied. "I can't imagine her packing a lunch for me." Harry laughed.

"Jesse packed one for me when she was six. It mostly consisted of food with chocolate in it," Harry informed the other man. It pulled a deep chuckle from James and the two continued their lunch.

At the end of the day, Harry was getting ready to head out when Dr. McGee called him to her office. Since he wasn't allowed anywhere in the lab without an escort, James followed Harry up to the woman's office. While the two men sat waiting, Harry pulled his phone out to check for any messages. He was amused to find a texted photograph of Jesse goofing off with Ramon. He did frown at the thought of how close his daughter was getting with the young engineer. While James sat casually, Harry ended up hopping up from his seat and pacing the room.

"Dr. Chambers, Dr. McGee will see you now," the secretary said, looking over at him. Nodding, Harry headed towards the door. "Ah, Dr. Chambers. Have a seat," Tina said, looking up at him. As he was about to enter, his phone rang. Pausing, Harry glanced at the screen and frowned.

"Jesse," he muttered. As he looked up at McGee, she nodded.

"Go ahead, family is important," Tina assured him. Turning away from her, Harry answered the phone.

"Jesse, what's up?" He couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. She wouldn't have called him if something wasn't wrong.

"Daddy, how could you?" Jesse demanded sounding angry and upset.

"What?"

"Cisco and I found a file. Jay had it set to autoshare if he didn't put in a code," Jesse began. Closing his eyes, Harry hugged his free arm tightly to the bicep of the arm holding the phone. "It's a recording from the pipeline."

"Turtle," Harry breathed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Jesse, please let me explain."

"I can't believe you! How can you explain that?" She was practically yelling.

"Please, Jesse, I was trying to save you. Let's talk, face-to-face. I can be there in fifteen minutes," Harry begged. He was prowling the floor, his pace increasing with each second his daughter was angry with him.

"Fine," Jesse relented. "Fifteen minutes. We're waiting." The line went dead and Harry lowered the phone, glancing at the screen to confirm she'd hung up.

"Tina, I have to run," Harry declared, moving quickly to grab up his pack. "Family emergency. I'll see you tomorrow." Without waiting for a response he jogged to the stairs and shoved his way through the door. He didn't have time to waste waiting for an elevator.

He made it to S.T.A.R. labs in ten minutes. In the parking lot, he paused next to Snow's car. The entire trip over he had been trying to figure out what to say. He wanted approval from no one but his daughter. Jesse was all that mattered. If he lost her because of his actions while trying to save her, he would never forgive himself. Taking a deep breath, he opted to put it all out there and let her decide. Decision made, he stepped forwards, heading to the entrance.

Pain blossomed in the side of his neck and he slapped his hand over it without thinking. "Ouch," he muttered to himself as he found something lodged under his skin and pulled at it. Holding the dart up so he could examine it, he frowned. "What the hell?" Even as he realized what it was and started to look around, the drug hit his system.

The world started to blur and Harry blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear the haziness that was clouding in on everything. His limbs began to feel heavy and his knees buckled. Taking a deep breath, he fell against the car, the dart still in one hand. He shoved his free hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone. It felt like the gravity was tugging him to the ground as his muscles started to give out and his lean became a slump. Breathing became harder, and blackness edged in on the hazy world he was seeing. He fell to his knees, the phone dropping out of his hand. With a low groan, he reached out only to topple forwards. It should have hurt, hitting the pavement the way he did, but there was no pain. Everything felt oddly numb and he had to concentrate just to get his fingers to move. Footsteps slithered out of the darkness eating away at the little Harry could see. He couldn't fight them, not successfully. Struggling, he reached out, managed to get the phone to dial, shoved it back behind one of the tires, and then jabbed the dart into the same wheel.

"Well, well, Harrison," a distorted voice floated down to him. "So wonderful to see you again." Everything blurred together as somebody grabbed him and dragged him to his feet. Another groan was forced from Harry as he gathered what little strength he had left and swung a fist. He must have connected, because a grunt reached his ears and everything blurred again. Blinking, he realized he was on the ground once more. "You'll regret that," the voice said before everything stopped.