-Coinless Universe-

Dr. Waters and Mark slowly made their way down the trail back towards town. Each was deeply disturbed by what they witnessed with Jamie/Red and David. The physician was having serious second thoughts about allowing this façade to take place. But what choice did he have?

His eyes drifted over towards his traveling companion.

"Mark, right?" he ventured. "You own the general store in the main complex."

The shorter man looked up at the doctor.

"That's right," he replied. He was quiet a moment before he paused on the dirt path. "Doc?"

Dr. Waters turned and walked back to where Mark stood, his expression concerned.

"Do you think Jamie is safe? I mean I think on a good day, Red could take David without much difficulty. But that man's sneaky and dangerous," the store owner commented. "I believe him when he says he's never helpless."

The physician stared back down the path towards Jamie's home and sighed.

"Honestly, I'm afraid I'm going to up there one morning and find them both dead. Hopefully, this 'understanding' of sorts will keep them both in line," he whispered. "Jamie was so insistent on taking him back to his place. I believe him when he says David knows something about this threat. I take it you saw the rather large dog and the new Fox Ranger, correct?"

Mark nodded.

"Jamie told me everything about his past and this stone. I knew when I saw that Ranger, it was Jamie."

The doctor shifted his weight in thought.

"You know I can't divulge any information on my new patient, but I understand you two are friends. You found the pod he came to this planet in?"

Now, Mark was the one to sigh and he moved off the path to a shady spot under a tree. Dr. Waters followed, curious to learn what Mark knew of Jamie and his thoughts on the man.

"I was out with my family for a picnic lunch. We were down by the river where the bridge crosses over. After we'd eaten, the kids and I were having a scavenger hunt, finding flowers and cones and pebbles. My oldest is the one who found the end of the pod sticking up from a large hole in the ground."

His eyes gazed off into the distance as he remembered the day he first met Jamie.

"I climbed down next this small aircraft. It was cool to the touch so I'm not sure how long it had lain there. I was worried about whatever, or whoever, was on board. I didn't see any tracks where the pilot would have gotten out."

The doctor pulled out his slim chart again and carefully added this newest information to the large volume he'd already amassed this morning.

"It took awhile but I finally managed to pry open the hatch. When I got it pulled up, there was this man just laying there, staring at me. He was wearing a black and grey uniform that was covered with blood and he was shaking so badly."

Mark shrugged.

"For some reason, I wasn't scared of him. He seemed to be more afraid of me. I've never considered myself a formidable presence but the way he stared at me… I started asking him questions about who he was, if he was hurt. It seemed like he was very confused, and I thought he'd had a head injury."

Dr. Waters nodded his understanding.

"Interesting," he murmured, jotting quickly along with Mark's tale.

"I managed to talk him into getting down out of the craft and that's when I noticed his knee. It was really swollen up and he couldn't put much weight on it. He had a lot of trouble talking to me at first, like he was searching for words not just memories. The kids brought some of our leftover lunch and I offered it him. He was hesitant at first but I could tell he was starving."

The doctor sighed sadly.

"It must have been hard to trust with Drakkon's unpredictable temperament."

Mark agreed.

"It did seem like he was waiting for me to suddenly attack him or something. I didn't quite get it then, but it made sense once Jamie told me everything later. For a long time, he refused to go into town at all. It took awhile but I built up some trust with him. Eventually, he did come to the store and worked for me for a while. Even then I could tell he seemed to have a bad case of PTSD. I never could convince him to see a doctor."

"He said he had no family, no friends. I just knew him as Jamie. No birthday, no childhood stories, no hobbies, just a giant blank. I couldn't decide if he didn't know, didn't remember, or if he was just trying to hide. But once he warmed up, Jamie was so kind and thoughtful. I helped him get set up here and the rest is history."

The doctor clicked the chart closed, deciding he was going to need a much bigger one for this particular patient. He wiped his glasses on his shirt front and cleared his throat.

"I will be coming out in the mornings to check in. Perhaps you can stop by in the evenings," he asked. "Between the two of us we can keep a close eye on them. Hopefully, this can be resolved quickly and we can proceed from there."

Mark raised a brow.

"Like call the authorities and have that asshole carted off?" he asked earnestly.

"Unless David presses Red's buttons too many times and he kills him. Ethically I can't condone that and I also don't think that would be good for Jamie."

Mark snickered.

"It would be divine justice though. Letting Red tear him apart like he did Jason's mind," he grinned.

A thought occurred to him.

"Do you think that Jason, the Red Tyranno Ranger, is still in there? If he wasn't, why would Red be so protective about the subject?"

The doctor considered what he had learned from Red that morning.

"Possibly. I found it interesting that Red said he tried to wake Jason up but couldn't. I think if that personality were 'dead', he wouldn't guard him so fiercely. I feel like he would know why he wasn't 'waking up'."

He paused, thinking back over the alter's explanation.

"He also said that as the Fox Ranger he felt they were integrated. I got the impression he meant all three of them, not just himself and Jamie."

"So did I," Mark agreed.

The doctor pulled himself upright, glancing at his watch.

"I've got to get to the nursing facility to see those patients. But I'm going to stop by the office and lock this chart up."

"Yeah, I've got to get to the store. Everyone's probably worried about why I haven't opened up yet," Mark commented. "Hopefully, they haven't called the house and worried my wife."

The pair continued on their way back into town, each worried about leaving the two unstable men alone together.