WALKING DISASTERS | Jack Thompson

41.

SERA AND HOWARD WERE on a caffeine high, which was not as great as one might think. They were working themselves as hard as they could to try and figure out an equation that would work to bring Dr Wilkes back, and after regaining his visible self, he attempted to help them with their experiment.

Both of the Stark siblings had relied on coffee when they were teenagers to get them through the nights of scribbling equations, and working with Howard in a lab again threw Sera back in time to when she was sixteen and Howard was twenty and they would spend their nights experimenting and creating and sometimes blowing things up. They were memories that Sera looked back on fondly, and as Peggy returned to the lab and found them working, the two of them disappeared to look for coffee, leaving Wilkes and Peggy alone.

Returning, Howard said, "Couldn't find any coffee," as he walked right through Wilkes like he wasn't even there.

Sera burst out laughing as she saw it happen, before she whimpered and placed her hand on her forehead. "Jesus, I've had too much coffee."

Meanwhile, back at the SSR office, Daniel was fishing through files for anything that would help their investigation. He had left the house shortly after their conversation that morning, and had so far not come up with much that would help them.

He thought he was alone, but when a voice said, "You're here late," he stopped and turned, spotting Jack walking towards him.

"Yeah, early bird's got nothing on the night owl," Daniel replied.

"Let's see what you have here," Jack said, taking the file from Daniel. "Agnes Cully, Broxton, Oklahoma. Sounds interesting. Almost sorry I pulled Carter and Stark away from all the fun."

"I'm sure you three have plenty of excitement waiting for you back in New York," Daniel replied.

"Yeah, if Sera's still talking to me," Jack replied.

"You know how it is, Jack," Daniel shrugged. "Work comes first for her. She's got a lot more to prove than we have. Peggy too."

"Yeah, they're quite the pair when they're together," Jack replied. "Sometimes I wish I had a partner I trusted as much as Stark trusts Carter. She is still a pistol. You two seem to have patched up whatever is was that sent you packing out west."

"The only thing that brought me out west was a promotion, Jack," Daniel replied.

"You sure it wasn't a broken heart?" Jack asked.

"I don't know where you get your ideas," Daniel replied. "But maybe you should ask Sera while you're at it. Make sure she doesn't secretly want to stay out here. The LA sun has done wonders for her complexion."

"She already had a nice complexion," Jack said. "But we'll figure things out."

"You two are so good for one another," Daniel said, pointing his file at Jack. "Don't mess this up, Thompson. She's a beautiful woman, and beautiful people will ruin your life if you let them."

"Yes, like Carter did for you?" Jack asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Again, I don't know where you're getting your ideas," Daniel said. "As a matter of fact, I'm getting engaged."

"You're kidding me. Really?" Jack asked.

"Yeah."

"Good for you."

"Thank you."

"Why don't you wrap this up, I'll buy you a drink?" Jack suggested. "You can tell me all about her."

"Uh, sorry, Jack," Daniel replied. "Chief's work is never done. You know how it is."

"Come on," Jack said. "Oklahoma can wait. You can show me that Frolic Room Bar I keep hearing about."

"Next time," Daniel promised.

"Yeah, uh... You're on," Jack said, smiling. "Next time it will be. Take care of yourself, Sousa."

"Safe flight."

"Nice shirt!"

-

After Peggy was almost murdered by an unknown assailant and Sera spent the night in the lab while Howard spent the early hours of the morning assessing his security measures, she woke up the next morning with her head resting on a piece of paper. As she startled herself and shot upright, she found the paper stuck to her cheek and scrambled to remove it.

"Jesus, what's going on?" she asked, looking around.

"I believe you fell asleep," Wilkes replied. "Your brother said to just leave you."

Sera rubbed her eyes. "Okay, cool, where did we get to?"

"Run me through it one more time," Howard instructed. "Oh, morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"Yeah, mornin'," Sera grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Why don't we take a break?" Wilkes asked.

"Peg, you're up," Howard greeted.

"Have either of you slept?" Peggy asked the Stark siblings.

"No. No sleep. Coffee," Howard replied.

"Perhaps a little nap?" Peggy recommended.

"I'll do that on the plane to Peru," Howard replied.

"Uh, you're what the where now?" Peggy asked.

"Peru. The country," Howard said. "Jason and I realised we need an expert in subatomic and gravitational physics, and there's no greater expert in the world than my old professor, Abner Brody. Unfortunately, he took his brain with him when he relocated to the Amazon last year."

"I've heard of Brody," Sera said. "There's no one better."

"You crunch the math," Howard instructed. "The lab is yours 'til I get back. Anything you need, Jarvis is your man. I'll be back as soon as I can," Howard patted his shirt. "Where's my passport?"

"Safe flight, Howard," Sera said. "I'll see you out."

As they headed up the stairs, Howard turned to Sera. "You might want to change."

"Yes, thank you, Howard," Sera replied. "Anyone would think I slept in the lab last night."

"I'm just saying, your shirt's crinkled," Howard said. "Hey, thanks for all your help, Fi. I couldn't have done what I did last night without you."

"Reminds you of old times, huh?" Sera asked.

Howard grinned. "Yeah, no kidding. I miss those days, Fi. After this is all over, me and you should go on vacation together. Take Peg with us and that Sousa fellow and just disappear for a week or two."

"Everything would go to pot without us here," Sera laughed. "But that sounds like a really good idea, Howard."

"You can even bring that boyfriend of yours," Howard said. "John or whatever his name is."

"Jack," Sera corrected, rolling her eyes. "And it depends on how things are between us."

"Are things not good?" Howard asked, as they headed out of the house towards the car.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Sera replied. "I'm a big girl, I can handle myself."

"But I'm the big brother," Howard said. "Remember, I'm four years older than you."

"Yes, I remember," Sera replied. "And I'll tell you all about my relationship problems when you get back from Peru. Make sure you get some sleep, Howard."

"Oh, I'm about five minutes away from passing out, don't worry," Howard replied, kissing Sera's forehead. "Don't miss me too much while I'm gone, little sis."

"I won't, big brother," she replied, waving him off as he got into the car. She sighed as she watched Howard pull out of the driveway. "Right, now to miss a flight and carry on working."