Eureka Big Bang partial 1/2
Dec. 29th, 2009 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sam_gamgeeDisclaimer: As usual, they're not mine.
There was a flash of light and then he was standing in the GD lobby. A moment later, the disorientation kicked in and he took a step back to steady himself and blinked a few times.
“Nathan! What the –? What are you doing?” Allison asked in confusion as she stalked up behind him.
“Hello to you too, Allison,” Nathan replied warmly, turning around. “Shouldn’t you be having dinner with Jo?”
“Why would I be having dinner with Jo at 10:30 in the morning? And what are you doing here?”
“Well, there was an issue with setting up the new clock, but I’m not sure how I got out here. I’d better go check on Carter and Fargo.”
The jaw drop would’ve been amusing, if it weren’t immediately followed by a glare. “My office. Now.”
Inside her office, Allison said, “If this is some kind of sick joke, Nathan, I swear –”
Nathan held up his hands placatingly and interrupted, “I swear, it’s not a joke, Allison. What makes you think it would be a joke?”
“We installed the clock a month ago and you died while using it to fix a problem Weinbrenner caused.”
Nathan nodded. “That’s what we were just doing. But something must have happened when the clock was supposed to synchronize and sent me here. Did you just say 10:30 am? What day is it?”
“September eighteenth.” Allison’s eyes narrowed. “What day do you think it is?”
“August nineteenth – at six pm.”
The door opened and Jack entered, saying, “Allison, if you want me to finish this job, I need to you sign off on this temporary clearance pass.” Seeing Nathan, he started. “Whoa! How did you get him out of the clock?”
“We didn’t,” Allison replied. “And I don’t think this is our Nathan.”
“What? Then – how –?” Jack looked back and forth between the two of them and opened and closed his mouth a few times.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Allison said, taking the paper out of Jack’s hand and signing it. Handing it back, she said, “And make sure Fargo and Larry both know what’s in store if they try anything even remotely like this again.”
Nathan snorted in amusement and Jack said, “Will do. And let me know if you need help with this whole thing.”
Allison nodded and Nathan said, “I’m glad you and Fargo are okay, Jack.”
“Yeah, you too, Stark,” Jack replied uneasily. “Even if it’s not the real you. Or whatever. You know what I mean.”
After Jack left, Allison sat down in her chair with a sigh and Nathan sat down across from her. “So,” Nathan calmly started. “Full biometric testing, restricted or no access here at GD, possibly living down in containment for a while – what else? And is it just me or does your Jack not like me?”
Allison let out a harsh laugh. “Here, you and Carter have something of an antagonistic relationship. Listen to me – ‘here’, as if you were from anywhere else.”
“I know it sounds weird, Allison, but I’m not from here. Think about it. You said your Nathan died, but I’m very much alive. You hooked up your clock a month ago, I’m just now doing mine. It’s 10:30 am September eighteenth for you, for me it’s six pm August nineteenth – that much of a discrepancy isn’t accidentally mixing a day or two.”
“And how do you plan on getting home? It’s not exactly like you can take a flight back.”
“Stargate Command has a quantum mirror in Area 51,” he replied easily.
“Yeah, like they’re going to let us borrow it,” Allison responded sarcastically. “If it hasn’t been somehow destroyed.”
“Don’t you have a scientist down in Section Four that worked on it then and are still working on their data?”
“Yeah, but all of his work is still theoretical.”
Nathan shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Maybe if we get lucky, we’ll be able to use a regular mirror.” His stomach growled. “Do you mind if I at least get something to eat?”
“Sure.” Allison stood. “Let’s stop by the infirmary first so they can do your tests, then we’ll go to Café Diem.”
An hour and a half later, they seated themselves at the counter in Café Diem.
“Welcome, welcome,” Vincent greeted them warmly as they did so. What can I get for you today? Your usual, Dr. Blake?” She nodded. “And what about you, Dr. Stark?” Vincent did a double-take. “Is it really you?”
Nathan gave him a small smile. “I’m not currently at liberty to say, Vincent. Can I get a burger with cheddar cheese, raw onions, tomato, and pickles, and a banana milkshake.”
“You’ve got it,” Vincent replied with a grin as he moved away to make their food.
“We need a cover story,” he said to Allison.
“I know,” she replied with a soft sigh.
******
“Hey,” Jack said as he met up with Allison in the GD lobby later that afternoon. “How are things going with you know.” His eyes flicked up to Allison’s office where Stark, or whoever he was, was sitting with his back to the window.
“Hard to say,” she replied with a tired sigh. “According to the tests we ran, he *is* Nathan Stark. There are a few tiny things that are different that lead me to believe he’s telling the truth about being from an alternate reality, but, essentially, he’s the same person.”
“Could the clock have anything to do with that?”
Allison shook her head. “They’re mostly environmental factors. And he believes everything he’s saying – that it’s a different day; that things are different.” She took a ragged breath.
“Are you all right?” Jack asked, stopping her before they entered her office.
She took a deep breath and quickly nodded, not looking at him. “Yeah, I’m, uh, I’m fine. I thought I had a better handle on things, but I’ll be fine.”
“How’s Kevin taking it?”
“Pretty well, actually. Though, sometimes it’s hard to tell.” Taking another deep breath, she composed herself and entered her office with a smile.
“So, what’s the verdict?” Nathan asked, looking up from a tablet he’d been writing on.
“You’ll be staying at the bed and breakfast, where you’ll be monitored,” Allison told him. “And everyone aside from the doctors who did your tests seem willing to go with the story that you’re Nathan’s cousin, Dr. Robert Stark, and that the two of you are very close and have always been mistaken for each other, due to voice, looks, and various other things.”
Nathan laughed in amusement. “That’s great. And good use of my middle name. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get some sleep. It’s been a *long* day.”
Allison nodded. “Carter will take you over and help you get set up. Thorne wasn’t happy about it, but you’re authorized to get whatever you need out of our Nathan’s apartment.”
Nathan laughed bitterly. “Does Thorne have as big a stick up her ass here as she does in my reality?”
“Probably bigger,” Jack replied with a surprised laugh and Nathan chuckled warmly.
“Let’s get this show on the road, Sherriff.” Nathan yawned. “Or you’ll have to drag me out to your Jeep, and I doubt you’ll want that.”
Once at Stark’s apartment, Jack followed Nathan inside. The apartment was what Jack had expected of Stark – expensive yet comfortable furniture and decorations, rich, dark colors, and outfitted with the latest technology. Nathan looked around sadly for a moment before sighing and heading into the master bedroom.
Jack made himself comfortable on the couch and said, “So I guess your marriage to Allison didn’t happen either.”
“My marriage to Allison?” Nathan replied with a laugh. “Nope, but then it was never on in the first place. That’s obviously one of the instances where things differ.”
“So you and Allison…” Jack prompted in confusion.
“Nope, never,” Nathan replied as he reentered the living room carrying a duffel bag.
“Huh,” Jack said. “It always seemed like the two of you were inevitable.”
“Here, maybe,” Nathan responded as he looked around for a few more items. “But not in my reality. We’re very good friends, but we could never be anything else.” He studied a CD for a minute before putting it in the bag. “It’s amazing what a huge difference small changes can make.”
“Like what?” Jack asked, intrigued.
Nathan shrugged. “A gene getting flipped one way instead of another. An environmental factor interacting differently with our bodies. Different nurturing or other psychological factors.” He smiled at Jack. “All those differences in all those realities out there? Keeps things interesting. I’m ready.”
Jack nodded and stood. “Makes sense. So, is she with anyone?” he couldn’t help asking.
“She is,” Nathan replied as he locked up. “But it’s not you, if that’s what you’re angling for. She and Jo have been together for three or four years now.”
“Really?” Jack asked in surprise. “Allison Blake and Jo Lupo?”
“Yep,” Nathan affirmed with a smile. “Allison Blake and Jo Lupo. And if it makes you feel any better, you tried very hard before you found out.”
“So, am I with anyone?” Jack asked, unlocking the Jeep.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Nathan replied cryptically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nathan shrugged. “I don’t want to influence whatever you have happening here. Plus, it might not be something you want to hear.”
“Considering the things I’ve heard and seen since moving here, that might actually not be that bad.”
“Sorry, Jack, but I’m not going to tell you. I know I don’t know enough about you or this reality, but I already have a feeling that information would make things a lot harder for you and at least a few people around you.”
Jack sighed and let it go. After dropping Nathan off, Jack headed home.
******
Nathan yawned and stretched before automatically rolling towards Jack’s side and stretched out a hand. He sleepily wondered where Jack had gone that his side of the bed had gotten cold and pulled Jack’s pillow to himself. He burrowed his face in the pillow and breathed deeply but only smelled laundry detergent. He rolled onto his back and clutched the pillow to his side, the actuality of his current situation slowly setting in.
Mentally stuffing his heart away, Nathan was determined not to let this affect him until he knew for sure what had happened and what was going on. He didn’t have the luxury of wallowing when he had to get home – if there was still a home to go home to.
He got up and automatically went through his morning ablutions and dressed before heading to Café Diem for breakfast, glad it was one of the few places Allison had easily agreed to allow him to go.
“Good morning, Dr. Stark,” Vincent welcomed him cheerily. “What can I get for you this morning? Can I interest you in the breakfast special?”
“Thanks, but not this morning, Vincent,” Nathan replied with a smile. “Can I just get a bowl of cornflakes, orange juice for here, and large coffee to go?”
“You’ve got it,” Vincent replied. He hesitated a moment before asking, “Whole milk?”
“Always,” Nathan replied with a smile.
“Dr. Stark?” an uncertain voice asked from behind him. “Is that you?”
“Not quite, Fargo,” Nathan replied with a smile as Fargo sat down next to him. “I’m Nathan’s cousin, Robert.”
“Oh, well,” Fargo paused momentarily before sticking out his hand. “Please to meet you.”
Nathan shook Fargo’s hand. “And it’s nice to officially meet you as well, Fargo. Nathan’s told me a lot about you.”
“All good, I hope?” Fargo asked tremulously.
“For the most part, but I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else who’s more inquisitive.”
Vincent brought out Nathan’s cereal and juice and took Fargo’s order before getting Nathan’s coffee. Nathan ate quickly and was paying Vincent as soon as he’d set down Fargo’s meal.
He wanted to get back to GD as soon as possible to start working on getting himself home, if he even could. The fact that he somehow got sent to an alternate reality was both perplexing and worrisome. And he wanted to fix it as soon as possible. Actually – sooner.
“Good morning, Allison,” he said warmly as he greeted her on the lobby landing. “Thank you for agreeing to do this on your weekend.”
“You’re welcome, Na– Robert,” she replied, looking pinched and tired, and they started heading down to Section Four. “I want to get you home as quickly as you do.”
“I’m hoping it’s still possible,” he replied. “Given the possible outcome –”
“I know,” she cut him off. “And if that’s what actually happened for you, we’ll do what we can to help you out here. We’re not going to throw you into a black void.”
“Though, I’m sure there were times you wanted to,” he replied with a knowing smile.
“From time to time,” she acquiesced with a small smile of her own.
Once they were in the elevator, he said, “I’m sorry for whatever pain my presence here is causing you.”
“Thank you,” Allison responded. “And you’ll have to excuse me if I fall into old habits with you.”
“Not a problem. Just try to keep in mind that I’m not your Nathan and we’ll be fine.”
“I’ll do my best.” The door opened and they headed down to the correct lab. “Obviously, you’ll be allowed into this lab and will have limited access to Section One, but that’s it – for now at least. Once we know more about what’s going on with your reality, we’ll go from there.”
“And what’s the situation with Thorne?”
“She has been notified of the situation and isn’t happy about it. But she’s currently out of town dealing with the fall-out of a recent project and then meetings about her own work here. Hopefully, we’ll be able to resolve your problem before she gets back so we won’t have to deal with her interference.”
“She’ll probably want to dissect me or something in the interest of ‘science’,” he replied. “While I agree with the general idea of efficiency, but she takes it to a whole new level.” Looking at the door they had stopped in front of, he said, “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Allison nodded and led the way into the lab.
“Welcome, Dr. Blake, Dr. Stark,” the man said, looking up from his work. To Nathan, he said, “I’m Dr. Williams.”
******
Sunday morning, Jack woke with a groan to the phone ringing. Sleepily, he said, “SARAH – can you make the phone stop ringing?”
“It’s Dr. Blake, Sherriff,” SARAH replied. “This is the fourth time in a row she’s called this morning. I think you should answer it.”
Jack groaned again as he rolled over and clumsily grabbed for the phone on the nightstand before finally grasping it. Pressing the ‘talk’ button, he rolled over onto his stomach. “Yes, Allison?” he asked, sleep still evident in his voice, which was muffled slightly by his pillow. “It *is* Sunday morning, you know.”
“Yes, I do know, Jack,” she replied with a light laugh. “I was wondering if you could help me out. I need to spend time with Kevin today and I was hoping you could look after Nathan.”
“He’s not a child, Allison. He may be from an alternate reality, but he’s still Nathan. I’m sure he can fend for himself for the day.”
“There are a lot of other factors that we have to consider, Jack. We don’t want him getting into something he shouldn’t.”
“I doubt he’s an intergalactic spy,” Jack groaned. “Besides, the old Nathan had the highest GD security clearance known to man. I’m sure this one does too – or, at the very least, knows better than to go wandering off on his own.”
“Still,” Allison replied. “I’d prefer it if he was kept out of GD for the day. I’m sure there’s *something* you could do with him.”
“Doesn’t he have any other friends who could baby-sit him?” Jack pouted. “Or – I have an idea! What about Jo?”
“You’re the one on call this weekend, and Jo and Zane went camping. And while I could have someone else do it, you’re the one he’d actually listen to if you told him no, considering you’re the sheriff and not a GD employee.”
“All right,” Jack said with a resigned sigh. “What time do you want me to pick him up?”
“I’m going to pick him up now for breakfast with us. How about coming over in about an hour?”
“Okay, I’ll be there. Bye, Allison.” He clicked the phone off as he heard her say goodbye and let the phone drop to the bed. Well, there went his leisurely Sunday at work.
Jack showed up at Allison’s house as she and Nathan were finishing up breakfast. Allison had left the door opened and Jack entered and went back to the kitchen, passing Kevin watching TV in the living room. He called a hello to the kid, who returned it without looking away from the TV.
“Would you like some breakfast or coffee?” Allison asked after the three of them had exchanged pleasantries.
“No thanks, SARAH made breakfast,” Jack replied. “But I’ll take some coffee. Anything you want to do today?” he asked Nathan as Allison got up to get him a mug.
Nathan shrugged. “It’s up to you – you’re the one who’s on duty. But I can entertain myself if you need to get paperwork or something done.” Glancing at Allison with a look of amusement, he said, “I’m not five.”
“Thank you!” Jack replied. “That’s what I told her earlier.”
“I don’t care,” Allison replied as she started to clear the table. “Nathan is going into work with you today.”
“And if I’m a good boy and draw you a pretty picture, will I get something special when I come home?” Nathan asked, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and affection.
“We’ll see,” Allison said from where she stood by the sink and Jack saw the pained expression on her face.
Jack drained the last of his coffee mug and said, "We'd better get going."
Nathan nodded and stood. "Thank you for breakfast, Allison."
"You're welcome," she said, giving them a small smile. "And I don't want to hear you were at GD before 9 am tomorrow morning, Nathan," she told him sternly.
"All right, all right," he conceded. "I promise I will not go in before 9 am tomorrow morning. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to work on the problem. We'll see you tomorrow." He picked up a thick folder from the counter and followed Jack out. "Are you okay with this?" he asked Jack as they got into the Jeep.
"I'll be fine," Jack told him. "It's just weird not continually butting heads with you. You're almost a nice guy."
"I'm still not telling you who you're going out with in my reality," Nathan replied levelly.
Jack smiled. "That's better. That sounds like the Nathan I knew."
"Was the head-butting due to the two of you wanting Allison?" Nathan asked.
Jack shook his head. "It had to do with personal styles of dealing with things that happened at GD."
Nathan nodded, but didn't respond and they were quiet the rest of the way to the sheriff's office.
******
“So, did you finish balancing your checkbook?” Jack teased late that afternoon, entering an almost empty Café Diem. “Hey, Zoe. Hey, Lexi,” he said with a wave and they waved back as they continued talking.
“Very funny, Carter,” Nathan replied as he followed him in and they sat at one of the tables. “But, yes, I do think I’m caught up on Dr. Williams’s work with his alternate reality drive.” Seeing Jack’s blank look, he changed course and said, “It’s a device that allows people or things to jump between realities.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Jack replied with a smile. “So, how close is he to getting it to work?”
“Surprisingly close,” Nathan admitted. “I made some adjustments to his equations, which I think will help a lot.”
Vincent came over and took their orders and Jack said, “That’s great. Any idea of how long it’ll take for you to get home?”
Nathan shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to see how things go with the changes I made. Then there’s a matter of finding the right reality. I’m sure using the time differences as parameters will help narrow things down a lot, but there’s still going to be a lot of realities to go through.”
Jack laughed. “Come on, how many different realities could there be?”
“In theory, an infinite number,” Nathan replied before taking a sip of his water. Jack gaped for a moment as he elaborated, “The basic idea behind the theory is that an alternate reality branches off whenever we make a decision.”
Jack’s eyebrows went up. “So, things could end up being totally different if I had ordered spaghetti tonight instead of a tuna sandwich?”
“It’s quite possible,” Nathan replied as Pilar came in and leaned against the counter while she talked to Zoe and Vincent brought out their food. “Take Zoe and Pilar, for instance. In my reality, they’re a couple. But this morning, I couldn’t help noticing your Zoe and Lucas are together, which is also interesting because in my reality, Lucas and Zane are all but together.”
“Huh,” Jack said. “Zoe and Pilar? They’re best friends here, though sometimes I think she’d be a better choice for Zoe than Lucas. And Zane and Lucas? Isn’t that –?”
“A little,” Nathan grimaced, not wanting to think about the amount of times he’d had to turn a blind eye to their questionable behavior. “But they’ve stayed above-board as far as everyone can tell and Lucas will be eighteen in a month, so…”
Jack nodded, as if understand Nathan’s position, before asking in amusement, “So is everyone gay where you’re from?”
“Everyone except Fargo,” Nathan laughed. “Sometimes I feel really bad for the guy. He doesn’t nearly get the breaks he deserves most of the time.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Jack replied. After swallowing a few times, he asked quietly, “So, when you said ‘everyone’s gay except Fargo’, you meant…”
“Yep,” Nathan nodded before turning serious. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“Why?” Jack asked in confusion. “Did I take it badly in your reality when the other me’s boyfriend first asked me out?”
Nathan waffled a moment, unsure of what to tell Jack about the other version of himself, and rocked his hand back and forth. “There was a lot of surprise on your part, I’ll say that.”
"Was it due to the specific person or the fact that it was a guy?" Jack asked.
"I think it was the person," Nathan replied before taking a bite of his burger.
"Well, that's – huh," Jack replied before taking a quick bite of his sandwich.
Nathan ate quietly as he watched the conflicting emotions warring on Jack's face and smiled to himself. Jack had never been very good at hiding his emotions. Part of him wanted to put him out of his misery and tell him the rest of the story, but he knew it would be better if it came out when Jack was ready – or thought he was ready – to hear it.
"It's not that I'm – you know," Jack started, "homophobic or anything. It just that it's a pretty big jump in a lot of things for me."
"I know," Nathan reassured. "Believe me – we've had a lot of conversations about it."
Jack shook his head and laughed. "I still can't believe that somewhere out there, you and I are on good terms," he told him. "So, how many other things about me are different?"
Nathan shrugged. "I don't know you well enough to be able to say. Might be a lot, might be a little. I could tell you all sorts of things about 'my'," he put air quotes around the word, "you, but we could be here all day for that."
"Just put me out of my misery and tell me, okay? I swear it won't change things here in my reality."
"It's me, Jack."
******
Nathan's admission had taken Jack by surprise and it took him a moment to pull himself together. He and *Nathan* were together? That sounded more like something that would cause the world to end. He mumbled some sort of response, thankful that Nathan was okay with whatever he said, and they finished eating, but not before Henry came over to talk to them.
Having Henry and Nathan engage in a conversation about alternate realities gave Jack more of a chance to pull himself together. He'd always known to some extent that he was bisexual and had even messed around some in college, but he had never given it much thought and once he'd met Abby, it had become a moot point because he'd thought she was the one.
After they finished at Cafe Diem, Jack took Nathan back to the bed and breakfast because he looked beat. "Are you sleeping okay?" he asked as he parked the Jeep.
Nathan shrugged. "Okay, I guess – all things considered. And my body's probably trying to convince me to start making up for all the sleep deprivation over the years. Thanks for dinner. And I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have dropped that on you."
Jack shrugged. "Don't worry about it. The who is more of a surprise than a what. And it's just because things are different here. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"I'm sure we'll cross paths at some point," Nathan replied with a nod.
Jack went home and collapsed onto the couch with a groan.
"I'm sensing a confusing mix of hormones," SARAH said. "Should I call a doctor?"
"I'm fine," Jack replied. "Just got a bit of a shock earlier. I'll be fine."
"Would you like me to make you something?"
Jack laughed. "I'm fine, SARAH. Just a bit confused."
He was thankful that SARAH backed off and didn't comment or question further. Obviously, the easiest thing to do would be to push all of this to the side and deny as much as possible for the time being. Chances were, they'd be able to get the reality jump drive or whatever it was working soon, pinpoint Nathan's home reality in no time, and he'd be home in a couple days, tops. By the end of the week at worse. And then after that, things could go back to normal. And if Nathan was stuck here, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Just because Nathan and this other version of himself had been together, didn't mean that would be the case once Jack got to know this version of Stark better. And it would probably be better if they didn't get together, if they didn't want things to go sour with Allison. Though, now a *very* small part of him was curious what this other him saw in Stark that he was willing to give it a shot.
Jack rubbed his face with his hands. He shouldn't have let Nathan tell him who the other him had been with. It was making his brain hurt too much.
The door opened and Zoe came in saying, "SARAH – door. Hi, Dad."
"Zoe," Jack replied as he sat up and she put her bag down on the counter. "How was your day?"
"Good," she replied with a smile. "What about you? Is Allison having you baby-sit Dr. Stark? And how weird is that? That he's Nathan Stark's cousin, and practically his twin, and he shows up here about a month after our Dr. Stark dies."
"It is pretty weird," Jack replied. "And I'm not technically baby-sitting him. Where's your aunt?"
Zoe shrugged. "She said something about getting together with some of the women to talk about babies and natural birth and stuff. I think she's starting to plan how she wants to deliver them."
"Deliver?" Jack asked in confusion. "She's hardly even pregnant."
Zoe shrugged as she took a bottle of juice out of the fridge and opened it. "It's not like you can just go to a hospital and tell them you want a natural birth. Apparently, there's a lot of other stuff involved too that you have to plan out ahead of time." She sat down next to him on the couch and took a drink. "So, what's the new Dr. Stark like?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Are you fishing for information?"
"Maybe," she replied. "Everyone wants to know what's going on."
Jack shrugged. "There's not much to tell. Like you said – he's a lot like our Nathan Stark used to be. But there are some differences. And I’m not telling you anything else." She pouted. "Still not going to work," he replied with a laugh. "Don't you have homework or something to do?"
“Fine,” she said as she stood up. “But if I’m caught snooping around, it’s not my fault.”
******
Nathan didn’t see Jack for the next three days. He was holed up for that time in Dr. Williams’s lab with him working on the alternate reality jump drive. They made significant headway on the prototype and added a screen so the user could see where they were jumping to (“In theory, anyway. You might be jumping into the same spot, you could still wind up somewhere you don’t want to be.”) and a memory function for the last six places.
During his off time, he split it between brooding over his own Jack, and hoping he was all right, going over the project again, and spending time with Allison. He did his best to be a friend for her, as he had been in his reality and he was sure this reality’s version of him had been for this Allison, but it was hard. He could tell she was unsure how to act around him and had to constantly remind herself that he wasn’t the man she had loved.
“You don’t have to keep me on such a short leash,” he told her as he helped her clean up after dinner on the third night. “I’m not going to go anywhere or do anything that would jeopardize my chances of getting home.”
“I know,” she replied. “But I just feel better right now knowing where you are and what you’re doing. I don’t need Thorne deciding that we did something wrong.”
Nathan nodded in understanding. They were silent for a while before he said, “I know this is unorthodox, but if it’ll help you feel better, you can say your goodbyes to me.”
“Nathan,” she sighed as she turned from putting the last dish away. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” he asked, leaning back against the counter. “Try to give you the goodbye you deserve with someone you love very much? At least think about it, okay?”
She swallowed hard a few times before nodding and turning away. A moment later, she asked him to leave while she furiously wiped down the counters.
Nathan went back to the bed and breakfast and thought about giving Jack a call before thinking better of it. While the rest of the meal had gone okay after Nathan’s admission, due in large part to Henry Deacon showing up, he could tell that Jack was doing his best to process the information without letting his brain melt out his ears. If this version of Jack was as completely straight as his version of Jack was completely gay, there could be a lot of complications and ramifications.
He sighed. He should’ve thought it through more before just laying that bit of information on Jack. The lady at the desk stopped Nathan on his way up to his room and handed him a note. Thanking her, Nathan took it and headed upstairs to read it in his room.
‘Nathan – I’m not avoiding you, just FYI. Been dealing with everyday Eureka stuff. Plus there’s the whole being a parent of a teenage girl. I hope you’re still eating and sleeping – I *do* *not* want your version of me coming here to kick my ass because he thought I wasn’t taking care of you. I hope you’re having fun playing with your alternate reality thingy and that you’re remembering to come up for air. If you need to get away from Allison for a while – and don’t pretend you haven’t been spending a lot of time with her, since I know you are and she’s probably driving you crazy with her current (and completely understandable) baggage – let me know. – Jack’
Nathan smiled at the rambling, babbling sort of apology from Jack. It made him miss his own Jack that much more and made his desire to get home stronger. Impulsively, he picked up the phone and called Jack.
“Carter,” Jack answered on the second ring.
“Hi, it’s Nathan,” Nathan replied. “And, yes, I am still eating and sleeping. And Allison hasn’t driven me completely insane yet.”
“Says the guy who works at GD,” Jack replied with a laugh.
“Hey!” Nathan retorted indignantly. “I *chose* to work here. You kind of fell in this town’s lap and decided to stay. If we’re going to use that as a measure of insanity, then I think you win – hands down.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” Jack conceded. “Maybe I am the more bizarre town acquisition. But this version of you just might be weirder. Is there anything in particular I can do for you?”
“Would you mind getting together?” Nathan asked impulsively. He didn’t know what made him ask it, but he suddenly wanted to spend time with Jack.
“Sure,” Jack replied. “Give me a few minutes to get ready.”
‘This is definitely a good sign,’ Nathan thought. “Okay, I’ll see you at Café Diem soon.”
******
Jack arrived at Café Diem a few minutes later and joined Nathan at a back corner table, where the latter was waiting with two milkshakes.
“Thanks for meeting me,” Nathan said. “I wanted to apologize in person for the other day. I should have handled it with more tact and sensitivity.”
“Thank you,” Jack said before taking a sip of his milkshake. “Banana?” he asked, looking up at Nathan with a mix of surprise and confusion. “How did you –?”
Nathan shrugged. “We’ve been together for two and a half years. Things come up. I, uh, I hope we can still be friends. Or at the very least friendly.”
“Trying to make sure you have allies if you can’t get home?” Jack replied warily.
“Maybe?” Nathan asked before truthfully replying, “But I’d rather not have any Jack Carter mad at me if I can help it. I love you too much for that.”
“Maybe in your world,” Jack replied, sitting back in his chair. “But, as I told you, here we weren’t so friendly.”
“And are you sure I wasn’t just pulling your pigtails?” Nathan asked.
Jack rolled his eyes. “We’re not in grade school. But at least now you’re sounding more like the Stark I knew.”
“Technically, we are the same person,” Nathan replied. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe more than a fair share of all the snarking, all the sarcasm, all the prickliness was because he was attracted to you and didn’t know how to deal with it? Or how you’d deal with him coming on to you?” At Jack’s gape, he pushed on. “Think about it – you come on the scene and you’re immediately and strongly attracted to Allison and start trying to make a move from the get-go. Hell, I’m not interested in her and *I* felt territorial and jealous when you did it in my reality. Maybe that was the only way he knew how to deal with it.”
“I highly doubt it,” Jack replied hotly.
“Think about it,” Nathan replied. “I can wait.”
Go to part 2
There was a flash of light and then he was standing in the GD lobby. A moment later, the disorientation kicked in and he took a step back to steady himself and blinked a few times.
“Nathan! What the –? What are you doing?” Allison asked in confusion as she stalked up behind him.
“Hello to you too, Allison,” Nathan replied warmly, turning around. “Shouldn’t you be having dinner with Jo?”
“Why would I be having dinner with Jo at 10:30 in the morning? And what are you doing here?”
“Well, there was an issue with setting up the new clock, but I’m not sure how I got out here. I’d better go check on Carter and Fargo.”
The jaw drop would’ve been amusing, if it weren’t immediately followed by a glare. “My office. Now.”
Inside her office, Allison said, “If this is some kind of sick joke, Nathan, I swear –”
Nathan held up his hands placatingly and interrupted, “I swear, it’s not a joke, Allison. What makes you think it would be a joke?”
“We installed the clock a month ago and you died while using it to fix a problem Weinbrenner caused.”
Nathan nodded. “That’s what we were just doing. But something must have happened when the clock was supposed to synchronize and sent me here. Did you just say 10:30 am? What day is it?”
“September eighteenth.” Allison’s eyes narrowed. “What day do you think it is?”
“August nineteenth – at six pm.”
The door opened and Jack entered, saying, “Allison, if you want me to finish this job, I need to you sign off on this temporary clearance pass.” Seeing Nathan, he started. “Whoa! How did you get him out of the clock?”
“We didn’t,” Allison replied. “And I don’t think this is our Nathan.”
“What? Then – how –?” Jack looked back and forth between the two of them and opened and closed his mouth a few times.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Allison said, taking the paper out of Jack’s hand and signing it. Handing it back, she said, “And make sure Fargo and Larry both know what’s in store if they try anything even remotely like this again.”
Nathan snorted in amusement and Jack said, “Will do. And let me know if you need help with this whole thing.”
Allison nodded and Nathan said, “I’m glad you and Fargo are okay, Jack.”
“Yeah, you too, Stark,” Jack replied uneasily. “Even if it’s not the real you. Or whatever. You know what I mean.”
After Jack left, Allison sat down in her chair with a sigh and Nathan sat down across from her. “So,” Nathan calmly started. “Full biometric testing, restricted or no access here at GD, possibly living down in containment for a while – what else? And is it just me or does your Jack not like me?”
Allison let out a harsh laugh. “Here, you and Carter have something of an antagonistic relationship. Listen to me – ‘here’, as if you were from anywhere else.”
“I know it sounds weird, Allison, but I’m not from here. Think about it. You said your Nathan died, but I’m very much alive. You hooked up your clock a month ago, I’m just now doing mine. It’s 10:30 am September eighteenth for you, for me it’s six pm August nineteenth – that much of a discrepancy isn’t accidentally mixing a day or two.”
“And how do you plan on getting home? It’s not exactly like you can take a flight back.”
“Stargate Command has a quantum mirror in Area 51,” he replied easily.
“Yeah, like they’re going to let us borrow it,” Allison responded sarcastically. “If it hasn’t been somehow destroyed.”
“Don’t you have a scientist down in Section Four that worked on it then and are still working on their data?”
“Yeah, but all of his work is still theoretical.”
Nathan shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Maybe if we get lucky, we’ll be able to use a regular mirror.” His stomach growled. “Do you mind if I at least get something to eat?”
“Sure.” Allison stood. “Let’s stop by the infirmary first so they can do your tests, then we’ll go to Café Diem.”
An hour and a half later, they seated themselves at the counter in Café Diem.
“Welcome, welcome,” Vincent greeted them warmly as they did so. What can I get for you today? Your usual, Dr. Blake?” She nodded. “And what about you, Dr. Stark?” Vincent did a double-take. “Is it really you?”
Nathan gave him a small smile. “I’m not currently at liberty to say, Vincent. Can I get a burger with cheddar cheese, raw onions, tomato, and pickles, and a banana milkshake.”
“You’ve got it,” Vincent replied with a grin as he moved away to make their food.
“We need a cover story,” he said to Allison.
“I know,” she replied with a soft sigh.
******
“Hey,” Jack said as he met up with Allison in the GD lobby later that afternoon. “How are things going with you know.” His eyes flicked up to Allison’s office where Stark, or whoever he was, was sitting with his back to the window.
“Hard to say,” she replied with a tired sigh. “According to the tests we ran, he *is* Nathan Stark. There are a few tiny things that are different that lead me to believe he’s telling the truth about being from an alternate reality, but, essentially, he’s the same person.”
“Could the clock have anything to do with that?”
Allison shook her head. “They’re mostly environmental factors. And he believes everything he’s saying – that it’s a different day; that things are different.” She took a ragged breath.
“Are you all right?” Jack asked, stopping her before they entered her office.
She took a deep breath and quickly nodded, not looking at him. “Yeah, I’m, uh, I’m fine. I thought I had a better handle on things, but I’ll be fine.”
“How’s Kevin taking it?”
“Pretty well, actually. Though, sometimes it’s hard to tell.” Taking another deep breath, she composed herself and entered her office with a smile.
“So, what’s the verdict?” Nathan asked, looking up from a tablet he’d been writing on.
“You’ll be staying at the bed and breakfast, where you’ll be monitored,” Allison told him. “And everyone aside from the doctors who did your tests seem willing to go with the story that you’re Nathan’s cousin, Dr. Robert Stark, and that the two of you are very close and have always been mistaken for each other, due to voice, looks, and various other things.”
Nathan laughed in amusement. “That’s great. And good use of my middle name. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get some sleep. It’s been a *long* day.”
Allison nodded. “Carter will take you over and help you get set up. Thorne wasn’t happy about it, but you’re authorized to get whatever you need out of our Nathan’s apartment.”
Nathan laughed bitterly. “Does Thorne have as big a stick up her ass here as she does in my reality?”
“Probably bigger,” Jack replied with a surprised laugh and Nathan chuckled warmly.
“Let’s get this show on the road, Sherriff.” Nathan yawned. “Or you’ll have to drag me out to your Jeep, and I doubt you’ll want that.”
Once at Stark’s apartment, Jack followed Nathan inside. The apartment was what Jack had expected of Stark – expensive yet comfortable furniture and decorations, rich, dark colors, and outfitted with the latest technology. Nathan looked around sadly for a moment before sighing and heading into the master bedroom.
Jack made himself comfortable on the couch and said, “So I guess your marriage to Allison didn’t happen either.”
“My marriage to Allison?” Nathan replied with a laugh. “Nope, but then it was never on in the first place. That’s obviously one of the instances where things differ.”
“So you and Allison…” Jack prompted in confusion.
“Nope, never,” Nathan replied as he reentered the living room carrying a duffel bag.
“Huh,” Jack said. “It always seemed like the two of you were inevitable.”
“Here, maybe,” Nathan responded as he looked around for a few more items. “But not in my reality. We’re very good friends, but we could never be anything else.” He studied a CD for a minute before putting it in the bag. “It’s amazing what a huge difference small changes can make.”
“Like what?” Jack asked, intrigued.
Nathan shrugged. “A gene getting flipped one way instead of another. An environmental factor interacting differently with our bodies. Different nurturing or other psychological factors.” He smiled at Jack. “All those differences in all those realities out there? Keeps things interesting. I’m ready.”
Jack nodded and stood. “Makes sense. So, is she with anyone?” he couldn’t help asking.
“She is,” Nathan replied as he locked up. “But it’s not you, if that’s what you’re angling for. She and Jo have been together for three or four years now.”
“Really?” Jack asked in surprise. “Allison Blake and Jo Lupo?”
“Yep,” Nathan affirmed with a smile. “Allison Blake and Jo Lupo. And if it makes you feel any better, you tried very hard before you found out.”
“So, am I with anyone?” Jack asked, unlocking the Jeep.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Nathan replied cryptically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nathan shrugged. “I don’t want to influence whatever you have happening here. Plus, it might not be something you want to hear.”
“Considering the things I’ve heard and seen since moving here, that might actually not be that bad.”
“Sorry, Jack, but I’m not going to tell you. I know I don’t know enough about you or this reality, but I already have a feeling that information would make things a lot harder for you and at least a few people around you.”
Jack sighed and let it go. After dropping Nathan off, Jack headed home.
******
Nathan yawned and stretched before automatically rolling towards Jack’s side and stretched out a hand. He sleepily wondered where Jack had gone that his side of the bed had gotten cold and pulled Jack’s pillow to himself. He burrowed his face in the pillow and breathed deeply but only smelled laundry detergent. He rolled onto his back and clutched the pillow to his side, the actuality of his current situation slowly setting in.
Mentally stuffing his heart away, Nathan was determined not to let this affect him until he knew for sure what had happened and what was going on. He didn’t have the luxury of wallowing when he had to get home – if there was still a home to go home to.
He got up and automatically went through his morning ablutions and dressed before heading to Café Diem for breakfast, glad it was one of the few places Allison had easily agreed to allow him to go.
“Good morning, Dr. Stark,” Vincent welcomed him cheerily. “What can I get for you this morning? Can I interest you in the breakfast special?”
“Thanks, but not this morning, Vincent,” Nathan replied with a smile. “Can I just get a bowl of cornflakes, orange juice for here, and large coffee to go?”
“You’ve got it,” Vincent replied. He hesitated a moment before asking, “Whole milk?”
“Always,” Nathan replied with a smile.
“Dr. Stark?” an uncertain voice asked from behind him. “Is that you?”
“Not quite, Fargo,” Nathan replied with a smile as Fargo sat down next to him. “I’m Nathan’s cousin, Robert.”
“Oh, well,” Fargo paused momentarily before sticking out his hand. “Please to meet you.”
Nathan shook Fargo’s hand. “And it’s nice to officially meet you as well, Fargo. Nathan’s told me a lot about you.”
“All good, I hope?” Fargo asked tremulously.
“For the most part, but I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone else who’s more inquisitive.”
Vincent brought out Nathan’s cereal and juice and took Fargo’s order before getting Nathan’s coffee. Nathan ate quickly and was paying Vincent as soon as he’d set down Fargo’s meal.
He wanted to get back to GD as soon as possible to start working on getting himself home, if he even could. The fact that he somehow got sent to an alternate reality was both perplexing and worrisome. And he wanted to fix it as soon as possible. Actually – sooner.
“Good morning, Allison,” he said warmly as he greeted her on the lobby landing. “Thank you for agreeing to do this on your weekend.”
“You’re welcome, Na– Robert,” she replied, looking pinched and tired, and they started heading down to Section Four. “I want to get you home as quickly as you do.”
“I’m hoping it’s still possible,” he replied. “Given the possible outcome –”
“I know,” she cut him off. “And if that’s what actually happened for you, we’ll do what we can to help you out here. We’re not going to throw you into a black void.”
“Though, I’m sure there were times you wanted to,” he replied with a knowing smile.
“From time to time,” she acquiesced with a small smile of her own.
Once they were in the elevator, he said, “I’m sorry for whatever pain my presence here is causing you.”
“Thank you,” Allison responded. “And you’ll have to excuse me if I fall into old habits with you.”
“Not a problem. Just try to keep in mind that I’m not your Nathan and we’ll be fine.”
“I’ll do my best.” The door opened and they headed down to the correct lab. “Obviously, you’ll be allowed into this lab and will have limited access to Section One, but that’s it – for now at least. Once we know more about what’s going on with your reality, we’ll go from there.”
“And what’s the situation with Thorne?”
“She has been notified of the situation and isn’t happy about it. But she’s currently out of town dealing with the fall-out of a recent project and then meetings about her own work here. Hopefully, we’ll be able to resolve your problem before she gets back so we won’t have to deal with her interference.”
“She’ll probably want to dissect me or something in the interest of ‘science’,” he replied. “While I agree with the general idea of efficiency, but she takes it to a whole new level.” Looking at the door they had stopped in front of, he said, “Let’s get this show on the road.”
Allison nodded and led the way into the lab.
“Welcome, Dr. Blake, Dr. Stark,” the man said, looking up from his work. To Nathan, he said, “I’m Dr. Williams.”
******
Sunday morning, Jack woke with a groan to the phone ringing. Sleepily, he said, “SARAH – can you make the phone stop ringing?”
“It’s Dr. Blake, Sherriff,” SARAH replied. “This is the fourth time in a row she’s called this morning. I think you should answer it.”
Jack groaned again as he rolled over and clumsily grabbed for the phone on the nightstand before finally grasping it. Pressing the ‘talk’ button, he rolled over onto his stomach. “Yes, Allison?” he asked, sleep still evident in his voice, which was muffled slightly by his pillow. “It *is* Sunday morning, you know.”
“Yes, I do know, Jack,” she replied with a light laugh. “I was wondering if you could help me out. I need to spend time with Kevin today and I was hoping you could look after Nathan.”
“He’s not a child, Allison. He may be from an alternate reality, but he’s still Nathan. I’m sure he can fend for himself for the day.”
“There are a lot of other factors that we have to consider, Jack. We don’t want him getting into something he shouldn’t.”
“I doubt he’s an intergalactic spy,” Jack groaned. “Besides, the old Nathan had the highest GD security clearance known to man. I’m sure this one does too – or, at the very least, knows better than to go wandering off on his own.”
“Still,” Allison replied. “I’d prefer it if he was kept out of GD for the day. I’m sure there’s *something* you could do with him.”
“Doesn’t he have any other friends who could baby-sit him?” Jack pouted. “Or – I have an idea! What about Jo?”
“You’re the one on call this weekend, and Jo and Zane went camping. And while I could have someone else do it, you’re the one he’d actually listen to if you told him no, considering you’re the sheriff and not a GD employee.”
“All right,” Jack said with a resigned sigh. “What time do you want me to pick him up?”
“I’m going to pick him up now for breakfast with us. How about coming over in about an hour?”
“Okay, I’ll be there. Bye, Allison.” He clicked the phone off as he heard her say goodbye and let the phone drop to the bed. Well, there went his leisurely Sunday at work.
Jack showed up at Allison’s house as she and Nathan were finishing up breakfast. Allison had left the door opened and Jack entered and went back to the kitchen, passing Kevin watching TV in the living room. He called a hello to the kid, who returned it without looking away from the TV.
“Would you like some breakfast or coffee?” Allison asked after the three of them had exchanged pleasantries.
“No thanks, SARAH made breakfast,” Jack replied. “But I’ll take some coffee. Anything you want to do today?” he asked Nathan as Allison got up to get him a mug.
Nathan shrugged. “It’s up to you – you’re the one who’s on duty. But I can entertain myself if you need to get paperwork or something done.” Glancing at Allison with a look of amusement, he said, “I’m not five.”
“Thank you!” Jack replied. “That’s what I told her earlier.”
“I don’t care,” Allison replied as she started to clear the table. “Nathan is going into work with you today.”
“And if I’m a good boy and draw you a pretty picture, will I get something special when I come home?” Nathan asked, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and affection.
“We’ll see,” Allison said from where she stood by the sink and Jack saw the pained expression on her face.
Jack drained the last of his coffee mug and said, "We'd better get going."
Nathan nodded and stood. "Thank you for breakfast, Allison."
"You're welcome," she said, giving them a small smile. "And I don't want to hear you were at GD before 9 am tomorrow morning, Nathan," she told him sternly.
"All right, all right," he conceded. "I promise I will not go in before 9 am tomorrow morning. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to work on the problem. We'll see you tomorrow." He picked up a thick folder from the counter and followed Jack out. "Are you okay with this?" he asked Jack as they got into the Jeep.
"I'll be fine," Jack told him. "It's just weird not continually butting heads with you. You're almost a nice guy."
"I'm still not telling you who you're going out with in my reality," Nathan replied levelly.
Jack smiled. "That's better. That sounds like the Nathan I knew."
"Was the head-butting due to the two of you wanting Allison?" Nathan asked.
Jack shook his head. "It had to do with personal styles of dealing with things that happened at GD."
Nathan nodded, but didn't respond and they were quiet the rest of the way to the sheriff's office.
******
“So, did you finish balancing your checkbook?” Jack teased late that afternoon, entering an almost empty Café Diem. “Hey, Zoe. Hey, Lexi,” he said with a wave and they waved back as they continued talking.
“Very funny, Carter,” Nathan replied as he followed him in and they sat at one of the tables. “But, yes, I do think I’m caught up on Dr. Williams’s work with his alternate reality drive.” Seeing Jack’s blank look, he changed course and said, “It’s a device that allows people or things to jump between realities.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Jack replied with a smile. “So, how close is he to getting it to work?”
“Surprisingly close,” Nathan admitted. “I made some adjustments to his equations, which I think will help a lot.”
Vincent came over and took their orders and Jack said, “That’s great. Any idea of how long it’ll take for you to get home?”
Nathan shrugged. “I’m not sure. We’ll have to see how things go with the changes I made. Then there’s a matter of finding the right reality. I’m sure using the time differences as parameters will help narrow things down a lot, but there’s still going to be a lot of realities to go through.”
Jack laughed. “Come on, how many different realities could there be?”
“In theory, an infinite number,” Nathan replied before taking a sip of his water. Jack gaped for a moment as he elaborated, “The basic idea behind the theory is that an alternate reality branches off whenever we make a decision.”
Jack’s eyebrows went up. “So, things could end up being totally different if I had ordered spaghetti tonight instead of a tuna sandwich?”
“It’s quite possible,” Nathan replied as Pilar came in and leaned against the counter while she talked to Zoe and Vincent brought out their food. “Take Zoe and Pilar, for instance. In my reality, they’re a couple. But this morning, I couldn’t help noticing your Zoe and Lucas are together, which is also interesting because in my reality, Lucas and Zane are all but together.”
“Huh,” Jack said. “Zoe and Pilar? They’re best friends here, though sometimes I think she’d be a better choice for Zoe than Lucas. And Zane and Lucas? Isn’t that –?”
“A little,” Nathan grimaced, not wanting to think about the amount of times he’d had to turn a blind eye to their questionable behavior. “But they’ve stayed above-board as far as everyone can tell and Lucas will be eighteen in a month, so…”
Jack nodded, as if understand Nathan’s position, before asking in amusement, “So is everyone gay where you’re from?”
“Everyone except Fargo,” Nathan laughed. “Sometimes I feel really bad for the guy. He doesn’t nearly get the breaks he deserves most of the time.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Jack replied. After swallowing a few times, he asked quietly, “So, when you said ‘everyone’s gay except Fargo’, you meant…”
“Yep,” Nathan nodded before turning serious. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“Why?” Jack asked in confusion. “Did I take it badly in your reality when the other me’s boyfriend first asked me out?”
Nathan waffled a moment, unsure of what to tell Jack about the other version of himself, and rocked his hand back and forth. “There was a lot of surprise on your part, I’ll say that.”
"Was it due to the specific person or the fact that it was a guy?" Jack asked.
"I think it was the person," Nathan replied before taking a bite of his burger.
"Well, that's – huh," Jack replied before taking a quick bite of his sandwich.
Nathan ate quietly as he watched the conflicting emotions warring on Jack's face and smiled to himself. Jack had never been very good at hiding his emotions. Part of him wanted to put him out of his misery and tell him the rest of the story, but he knew it would be better if it came out when Jack was ready – or thought he was ready – to hear it.
"It's not that I'm – you know," Jack started, "homophobic or anything. It just that it's a pretty big jump in a lot of things for me."
"I know," Nathan reassured. "Believe me – we've had a lot of conversations about it."
Jack shook his head and laughed. "I still can't believe that somewhere out there, you and I are on good terms," he told him. "So, how many other things about me are different?"
Nathan shrugged. "I don't know you well enough to be able to say. Might be a lot, might be a little. I could tell you all sorts of things about 'my'," he put air quotes around the word, "you, but we could be here all day for that."
"Just put me out of my misery and tell me, okay? I swear it won't change things here in my reality."
"It's me, Jack."
******
Nathan's admission had taken Jack by surprise and it took him a moment to pull himself together. He and *Nathan* were together? That sounded more like something that would cause the world to end. He mumbled some sort of response, thankful that Nathan was okay with whatever he said, and they finished eating, but not before Henry came over to talk to them.
Having Henry and Nathan engage in a conversation about alternate realities gave Jack more of a chance to pull himself together. He'd always known to some extent that he was bisexual and had even messed around some in college, but he had never given it much thought and once he'd met Abby, it had become a moot point because he'd thought she was the one.
After they finished at Cafe Diem, Jack took Nathan back to the bed and breakfast because he looked beat. "Are you sleeping okay?" he asked as he parked the Jeep.
Nathan shrugged. "Okay, I guess – all things considered. And my body's probably trying to convince me to start making up for all the sleep deprivation over the years. Thanks for dinner. And I'm sorry about what I said. I shouldn't have dropped that on you."
Jack shrugged. "Don't worry about it. The who is more of a surprise than a what. And it's just because things are different here. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"I'm sure we'll cross paths at some point," Nathan replied with a nod.
Jack went home and collapsed onto the couch with a groan.
"I'm sensing a confusing mix of hormones," SARAH said. "Should I call a doctor?"
"I'm fine," Jack replied. "Just got a bit of a shock earlier. I'll be fine."
"Would you like me to make you something?"
Jack laughed. "I'm fine, SARAH. Just a bit confused."
He was thankful that SARAH backed off and didn't comment or question further. Obviously, the easiest thing to do would be to push all of this to the side and deny as much as possible for the time being. Chances were, they'd be able to get the reality jump drive or whatever it was working soon, pinpoint Nathan's home reality in no time, and he'd be home in a couple days, tops. By the end of the week at worse. And then after that, things could go back to normal. And if Nathan was stuck here, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it. Just because Nathan and this other version of himself had been together, didn't mean that would be the case once Jack got to know this version of Stark better. And it would probably be better if they didn't get together, if they didn't want things to go sour with Allison. Though, now a *very* small part of him was curious what this other him saw in Stark that he was willing to give it a shot.
Jack rubbed his face with his hands. He shouldn't have let Nathan tell him who the other him had been with. It was making his brain hurt too much.
The door opened and Zoe came in saying, "SARAH – door. Hi, Dad."
"Zoe," Jack replied as he sat up and she put her bag down on the counter. "How was your day?"
"Good," she replied with a smile. "What about you? Is Allison having you baby-sit Dr. Stark? And how weird is that? That he's Nathan Stark's cousin, and practically his twin, and he shows up here about a month after our Dr. Stark dies."
"It is pretty weird," Jack replied. "And I'm not technically baby-sitting him. Where's your aunt?"
Zoe shrugged. "She said something about getting together with some of the women to talk about babies and natural birth and stuff. I think she's starting to plan how she wants to deliver them."
"Deliver?" Jack asked in confusion. "She's hardly even pregnant."
Zoe shrugged as she took a bottle of juice out of the fridge and opened it. "It's not like you can just go to a hospital and tell them you want a natural birth. Apparently, there's a lot of other stuff involved too that you have to plan out ahead of time." She sat down next to him on the couch and took a drink. "So, what's the new Dr. Stark like?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Are you fishing for information?"
"Maybe," she replied. "Everyone wants to know what's going on."
Jack shrugged. "There's not much to tell. Like you said – he's a lot like our Nathan Stark used to be. But there are some differences. And I’m not telling you anything else." She pouted. "Still not going to work," he replied with a laugh. "Don't you have homework or something to do?"
“Fine,” she said as she stood up. “But if I’m caught snooping around, it’s not my fault.”
******
Nathan didn’t see Jack for the next three days. He was holed up for that time in Dr. Williams’s lab with him working on the alternate reality jump drive. They made significant headway on the prototype and added a screen so the user could see where they were jumping to (“In theory, anyway. You might be jumping into the same spot, you could still wind up somewhere you don’t want to be.”) and a memory function for the last six places.
During his off time, he split it between brooding over his own Jack, and hoping he was all right, going over the project again, and spending time with Allison. He did his best to be a friend for her, as he had been in his reality and he was sure this reality’s version of him had been for this Allison, but it was hard. He could tell she was unsure how to act around him and had to constantly remind herself that he wasn’t the man she had loved.
“You don’t have to keep me on such a short leash,” he told her as he helped her clean up after dinner on the third night. “I’m not going to go anywhere or do anything that would jeopardize my chances of getting home.”
“I know,” she replied. “But I just feel better right now knowing where you are and what you’re doing. I don’t need Thorne deciding that we did something wrong.”
Nathan nodded in understanding. They were silent for a while before he said, “I know this is unorthodox, but if it’ll help you feel better, you can say your goodbyes to me.”
“Nathan,” she sighed as she turned from putting the last dish away. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” he asked, leaning back against the counter. “Try to give you the goodbye you deserve with someone you love very much? At least think about it, okay?”
She swallowed hard a few times before nodding and turning away. A moment later, she asked him to leave while she furiously wiped down the counters.
Nathan went back to the bed and breakfast and thought about giving Jack a call before thinking better of it. While the rest of the meal had gone okay after Nathan’s admission, due in large part to Henry Deacon showing up, he could tell that Jack was doing his best to process the information without letting his brain melt out his ears. If this version of Jack was as completely straight as his version of Jack was completely gay, there could be a lot of complications and ramifications.
He sighed. He should’ve thought it through more before just laying that bit of information on Jack. The lady at the desk stopped Nathan on his way up to his room and handed him a note. Thanking her, Nathan took it and headed upstairs to read it in his room.
‘Nathan – I’m not avoiding you, just FYI. Been dealing with everyday Eureka stuff. Plus there’s the whole being a parent of a teenage girl. I hope you’re still eating and sleeping – I *do* *not* want your version of me coming here to kick my ass because he thought I wasn’t taking care of you. I hope you’re having fun playing with your alternate reality thingy and that you’re remembering to come up for air. If you need to get away from Allison for a while – and don’t pretend you haven’t been spending a lot of time with her, since I know you are and she’s probably driving you crazy with her current (and completely understandable) baggage – let me know. – Jack’
Nathan smiled at the rambling, babbling sort of apology from Jack. It made him miss his own Jack that much more and made his desire to get home stronger. Impulsively, he picked up the phone and called Jack.
“Carter,” Jack answered on the second ring.
“Hi, it’s Nathan,” Nathan replied. “And, yes, I am still eating and sleeping. And Allison hasn’t driven me completely insane yet.”
“Says the guy who works at GD,” Jack replied with a laugh.
“Hey!” Nathan retorted indignantly. “I *chose* to work here. You kind of fell in this town’s lap and decided to stay. If we’re going to use that as a measure of insanity, then I think you win – hands down.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” Jack conceded. “Maybe I am the more bizarre town acquisition. But this version of you just might be weirder. Is there anything in particular I can do for you?”
“Would you mind getting together?” Nathan asked impulsively. He didn’t know what made him ask it, but he suddenly wanted to spend time with Jack.
“Sure,” Jack replied. “Give me a few minutes to get ready.”
‘This is definitely a good sign,’ Nathan thought. “Okay, I’ll see you at Café Diem soon.”
******
Jack arrived at Café Diem a few minutes later and joined Nathan at a back corner table, where the latter was waiting with two milkshakes.
“Thanks for meeting me,” Nathan said. “I wanted to apologize in person for the other day. I should have handled it with more tact and sensitivity.”
“Thank you,” Jack said before taking a sip of his milkshake. “Banana?” he asked, looking up at Nathan with a mix of surprise and confusion. “How did you –?”
Nathan shrugged. “We’ve been together for two and a half years. Things come up. I, uh, I hope we can still be friends. Or at the very least friendly.”
“Trying to make sure you have allies if you can’t get home?” Jack replied warily.
“Maybe?” Nathan asked before truthfully replying, “But I’d rather not have any Jack Carter mad at me if I can help it. I love you too much for that.”
“Maybe in your world,” Jack replied, sitting back in his chair. “But, as I told you, here we weren’t so friendly.”
“And are you sure I wasn’t just pulling your pigtails?” Nathan asked.
Jack rolled his eyes. “We’re not in grade school. But at least now you’re sounding more like the Stark I knew.”
“Technically, we are the same person,” Nathan replied. “Have you ever stopped to think that maybe more than a fair share of all the snarking, all the sarcasm, all the prickliness was because he was attracted to you and didn’t know how to deal with it? Or how you’d deal with him coming on to you?” At Jack’s gape, he pushed on. “Think about it – you come on the scene and you’re immediately and strongly attracted to Allison and start trying to make a move from the get-go. Hell, I’m not interested in her and *I* felt territorial and jealous when you did it in my reality. Maybe that was the only way he knew how to deal with it.”
“I highly doubt it,” Jack replied hotly.
“Think about it,” Nathan replied. “I can wait.”
Go to part 2
