Then

She had a faint sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose. He’d never noticed it before—most likely because she was always so polished, not a hair out of place, her makeup flawless. But lying here now—her hair tumbling over her shoulders and her face half turned into the pillow—it was like he truly saw her for the first time. And he could watch her all day—this new rumpled Allie. And that’s exactly what he would have done if his phone hadn’t started vibrating like crazy in his pocket.

“Son of a—“Carter jerked upright in surprise and blinked hard against the lingering haze of sleep. The momentum of his movement tilted him sideways and sent him tumbling from the bed with flailing arms and legs. He hit the rug covered hardwood with a loud thump of his elbow and hip, which sent shockwaves of pain throughout his back.

“Shit,” Carter snapped. He pulled the phone from his pocket, where he’d apparently left it after he’d fallen asleep in Allison’s bed, erasing all hope of ending his one year, one-hundred and sixteen days long streak of celibacy (not that he was marking out the days on his calendar or anything). “Jo” blinked at him in large black letters and Carter rolled his eyes and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

He pulled himself off the floor, his apology for waking her ready on his lips. Allison let out a soft snore and shifted onto her stomach, her heavy breathing signaling a deep and sound sleep. “Interesting,” Carter said quietly. “Glad we weren’t under attack.” Allison snorted and he flinched in surprise and then covered his mouth to stifle the laugh that threatened to erupt from his throat. He leaned down and picked up his shoes from where he’d discarded them the night before and grabbed the shirt of his uniform on his way out of the bedroom. Carter walked into the hall and shut the door slowly, letting out a slow breath at the sound of the soft click of the latch falling into place.

He turned around and was met by the dark brown and unnervingly aware eyes of Kevin Blake, Allison’s autistic son. He was clad in a pair of cloud covered pajamas and held a small computer in one hand and his toothbrush in the other. Carter smiled nervously as the heat of embarrassment crept into his face.

“Uh—hi Kevin.”

Kevin didn’t respond and Carter hadn’t really expected him to. Allison’s was brilliant—just like everyone else in Eureka—maybe even more so. On Carter’s first day in the town he’d come across the boy etching complex math equations into the sidewalk with chalk. But when it came to the simple task of communicating the thoughts in his head—his condition kept him mostly silent and uncommunicative.

“I was just—“Carter gestured towards the bedroom door behind him and cleared his throat. “Your Mom asked me to spend the night—“His eyes widened at his own words. “No! I mean—I slept over—we slept—but we didn’t sleep together—just--“Carter sighed and tilted his head at the wide brown eyes blinking up at him. “I know somewhere in that big brain of yours you’re laughing you ass off right now aren’t you?”

There it was—the faintest of smiles. Carter grabbed hold of the small gesture-- relieved that Allison’s son wasn’t traumatized by the strange, babbling and barefoot sheriff sneaking out of his mother’s room.

“Hey—I got a few minutes—“( lie. He was supposed to be at the station half an hour ago) “You want some eggs? I can’t cook much but I scramble a mean egg.”

Kevin didn’t respond, but rocked back and forth with his handheld computer clutched to his chest. Carter took his lack of repulsion as a “yes” and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Come on—I’ll show you how to make Eggs A’la Carter. The key is to use everything in your spice rack.” Carter paused and fixed Kevin with a serious stare. “Except the turmeric. I don’t know what the hell that’s for but keep it far away from scrambled eggs—just trust me on this one.”

Kevin stared up at him silent and then did something Carter couldn’t remember ever seeing him do before.

He laughed.

Now

“Carter! Carter get off him—“

Faint—in the back of his mind—he could hear Allison’s protest. But his rage spurred him on as he sent his fists crashing into Nathan Stark’s face. The man pushed at his chest and sent his knee crashing into Carter’s kidney, but Carter held him fast, grabbing Stark’s collar and pulling his upper body up from the floor. “You sick, lying son of a bitch—“

“You’re the damn liar,” Nathan gasped. He spit out a mouthful of blood and glared up at Carter through swollen eyes. “Not me.”

“Let him up Carter.” Allison grabbed Carter’s arm and yanked hard, forcing him to release one hand while the other held Stark tight. Carter moved as though to resume his attack and Allison grabbed the other shoulder, her voice louder and demanding. “I said let him up now—or I’ll call security.”

Carter glared down at Stark and rose slowly to his feet. Stark wiped at his face and sat up on the floor, lifting an eyebrow in Carter’s direction.

“So---finally snapped under the pressure huh Carter? What pushed you over the edge—your self actuated toilet start talking back to you—“

Carter lunged forward and Allison stepped in front of him, her hand outstretched. “Don’t,” she said. “He’s just baiting you—‘

“Baiting me,’ Carter repeated. He pointed at Stark, who made a show of lifting himself from the floor. “That son of a bitch just told you I was crazy—that I made everything up—“

“You are and you did,” Stark interrupted. He pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and began to dab at the blood on his nose. “Why the hell do you think I didn’t fight back?”

Carter laughed--a biting sound that made Allison flinch. “Because you’re a manipulative ass and wanted to make me look bad?”

Stark cocked his head thoughtfully, squinted at Carter and nodded. “That--plus you’re obviously insane and I’m pretty sure that gun is loaded.”

“Stop it,” Allison snapped. “Both of you—this isn’t getting us anywhere.”

“You don’t believe him do you?” Carter looked at Allison who opened her mouth and then closed it suddenly. He felt his heart skip a beat in his chest as she shifted her eyes from his. “No,” he said. “No, this guy—“Carter pointed at Stark who looked down at his finger with disdain. “This guy has done nothing but lie and manipulate you and everyone else in this place since he came here. You can’t stand there and tell me—“

“What am I supposed to think Carter?” Allison’s expression was pained and she crossed her arms over her chest like a shield. “What you’re asking me to believe is—impossible.”

Carter laughed harshly. “Impossible? You mean like nanoids designed to repair living tissue escaping from Global Dynamics and creating entire bodies that tried to take over the town? That kind of impossible?”

“So you got stalked by a few itty bitty robot cells,” Stark droned. “Crazy is still crazy—and you my friend—“Stark tilted his head with a mocking smirk. “Are rabid.”

“Fuck you,” Carter snapped.

“Look—“Allison held up her hand and took a deep breath. “There’s a way we can settle this.”

“I could hit him some more,” Carter suggested. “Bleed the truth out of him.”

“I was going to suggest we call a third—unbiased party. The two of you in the same room is giving me a damn migraine and if Carter’s right I don’t know if my flimsy brain can take the pressure.”

“Fine,” Stark said as he pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Fargo—“

“You mean your lackey,” Carter laughed. “Please—I’ll call Jo.” He grabbed his phone from his belt.

“Oh,” Stark drawled. “The woman you can fire if things don’t go your way? Yeah—that’s fair.”

“Actually,” Allison said. “I had someone else in mind.”

 Then


“So I reached up with my glove—the ball’s coming right for me now—and all these guys are just elbowing and shoving—trying to get it. But I didn’t move because I knew if I did some other guy was going to step in an catch my fly ball---“

“Carter?”

Allison stood in the doorway to the kitchen, startled at the sight of Carter and Kevin sitting on opposite sides of her table with large plates of eggs and toast in front of them. Carter leaned back and smiled and she tugged at her robe self-consciously. She had been sure he’d be gone to work by now—so sure that she hadn’t bothered to wash her face or brush her teeth before she’d made her way down the hall. She kept a safe distance from Carter and moved to place a hand on her son’s head. She stared down at his plate in confusion.

“You made him eggs?”

Carter gave her a wary nod. “Yeah—it’s all I can make.” He closed his eyes and swore under his breath. “He’s not allergic is he? I forgot to ask—“

“No! No, that’s not—it’s just that he never eats eggs. He refuses.”

Carter’s mouth formed an O of surprise and he glanced down at Kevin’s nearly empty plate. “Well—I guess he was just hungry.”

Allison looked at him with skeptical eyes. “What did you put in those eggs?”

Carter looked away and cleared his throat. “Oh you know—the usual—salt—pepper—Cornuts—“

“Cornuts!” Allison gasped in shock.

Carter nodded and gestured towards the open bag of Cornuts on the countertop. “They’re really good warm and they’ve got the salty corniness that just goes with egg—and you’re not buying any of this are you?”

“You fed my son Cornuts for breakfast?”

“And eggs—which he ate by the way—which—is—good?”

Allison covered her smile with her hand and struggled to maintain her serious glare. “No—I mean yes but—dammit Carter—“

“Ah—you’re not really mad are you,” Carter said. He rose from his chair and Allison stepped back.

“Yes. I am.”

“Nooo. I can see that twinkle in your eye. Kev sees it too—right Kevin?’

Her son looked up at Carter with such a wide eyed devoted expression that Allison’s throat tightened with both elation and fear.

“See,” Carter said.

“What—“Allison stumbled over her words as Carter slipped his arms around her waist. “What are you doing?”

“Kissing you good morning.”

“But—I’ve got morning breath.”

“That’s my punishment for the Cornuts.”

Allison glanced down at Kevin and Carter followed her gaze. “You don’t mind if I kiss your Mom do you Kevin,” he asked. Kevin covered his mouth with his hand and looked away, his eyes bright and sparkling. Allison looked at Carter with disbelief.

“How do you do that? He’s never like that with strangers—“

“Well,” Carter lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently. He leaned back slightly to look into her eyes. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m not a stranger,right?”

“Right,” Allison whispered.

“Right,” Carter repeated, slowly finding her lips once more. “That—and I’m pretty sure knows how much I love you.”

 Now

“Okay, I know I shouldn’t have taken the video camera to school—but it wasn’t supposed to rain yesterday and how was I supposed to know the thing wasn’t water proof? Isn’t everything in this town supposed to be new and improved anyway?”

Carter leaned forward and squinted in confusion, his hands perched on his hips as he tried to decipher his daughter’s latest confession.

“Huh?”

Zoë paused. “You didn’t know about the camera did you?”

“You took my video camera with out asking?’

“Technically it’s Fargo’s.”

“Technicalities like that are what landed you in jail before we came to this town.”

“Really Dad, how am I supposed to grow and learn from my mistakes when you keep reminding me every time I turn around that I got arrested four times?”

“Easy, you—“Carter’s eyes opened wide. “Four times?”

“Okay, can we get on with proving Carter is a nutjob so we can all go home,” Stark groaned.

“What?” Zoë frowned in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“Zoë,” Allison hesitated. She had been about to just blurt out the words but embarrassment over their predicament stopped her. How do you ask someone whether you have sudden onset amnesia with a straight face? It was like something out of a bad soap opera—corny love triangle included. “We think there might be something wrong with—your father--or me.”

“Something wrong?” Zoë’s blue eyes flashed with fear “Oh my God, are you both sick?”

“No—,” Carter said. “Not like you think. Allison’s had some memory loss—“

“Possible, memory loss,” Allison clarified with a pointed glare at Carter.

“And this slippery son of a bitch,” Carter said, jabbing his thumb in Stark’s direction,” has her convinced that I’m making everything up—that I’m the one who needs help.”

“That’s crazy,” Zoë said shaking her head. She turned to Allison and spoke with a clear determined voice. “My Dad wouldn’t lie—especially not to you.”

“Thanks Zoë,” Carter said. Allison shifted her gaze from the hurt she saw in his expression, his daughter’s confident trust a sharp contrast to her own indecisive wavering. How could she not trust Carter after everything he’d done for the town—for her? He wouldn’t lie about something like this because he wasn’t that kind of man. Nathan however, was exactly that kind of man—someone who would use this type of situation to his advantage. As noble as her ex-husbands intentions could sometimes be, his ruthless streak was just that--ruthless. He could very well be lying to her out of some misguided attempt at revenge or out of jealousy over her relationship with Carter. But then again, if she gave in and accepted Carter’s version of the truth—she’d have to accept that something was seriously wrong with her head.

She had to be sure.

“Zoë,” Allison began. “Carter says that he and I—well that we have feelings for one another—“

“Oh well, duh,” Zoë said with a laugh. “You going to ask me if the sky is blue next, ‘cause I know that one too.”

“Zoë, stop being a wise ass,” Carter said.

“That’s rich coming from you,” Zoë responded.

“So Carter’s not lying then,” Allison said. “There is something between us.”

Zoë frowned. “Well yeah—I mean—the whole town knows that.”

“She’s lying,” Stark snapped. “She’s his daughter—what did you expect?”

Zoë’s mouth fell open in surprise and she placed her hand over her chest as thought Stark’s words had wounded her. “Me—lie for my Dad? What kind of teenager do you take me for?”

Carter’s phone began to vibrate loudly and he pulled it form his belt with a frustrated frown.

“Nice of you to answer that thing—it’s been ringing like crazy for the past fifteen minutes,” Stark said.

Carter looked up at him, confused. “No it hasn’t.”

“Yes it has Carter,” Allison said. “Answer it—it could be important.”

Carter looked down at the small display on his cell phone and frowned when he realized the call originated from his home. He pushed the answer button and quickly lifted it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Did you talk to Allison?”

His eyes grew wide and he gripped the phone tighter in his hand. “Faith?”

“Yeah it’s me—you have a lot of beer in your refrigerator. I hope you don’t drink all that alone. That’s kind of sad--”

“Where the hell were you? Deputy Lupo said—“

“She didn’t see me—I was hiding. Why do you keep your neckties balled up under your bed like that? Don’t they get wrinkles?”

Carter closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his jaw clenching and unclenching as his hand tightened on the phone. “Faith—listen to me carefully. Do not move—I’m coming to get you.”

“Ooo—can we get ice cream?”

Carter hung up his phone with a hard punch of a button. He looked up to find three pairs of eyes staring at him in confusion. “Uh—“Carter paused, the thought of Faith, alone in his house, roaming around his bed room and touching his beer colliding with his rapidly growing fear that the blank expression in Allison’s eyes when he told her that he loved her wasn’t just a bad dream. “I have to go—I’ll be back but---that’s a little girl in my house—“

“Interesting,” Stark said.

“It’s not like—“Carter glared at him, his hand hovering around his gun. “It is loaded by the way.”

“Dad,” Zoë said. “Can you please tell me what’s going on? Why did you drag me out of school—“

“Nothing,” Carter said. He walked over and held her by both shoulders. “It’s nothing—just—go back to class. I’ve got to go handle something and then I’ll straighten this out,’ Carter said. He gave Allison a pointed look. “And then everything will be like it was before.” He turned back to Zoë and smiled. “I promise.”

Jack always kept his promises.