And Lady Penelope was not used to any sort of doubt whatsoever.

Realizing that the others were casting glances her way now as well, she finally looked up into Parker's eyes just as Ned's voice wafted to her ears.

"That's right, and that's all for now. I'll let you know more later."

She whirled to where Ned stood in the hospital foyer. It was only through the luck of the auto-doors having swished open that she'd heard him at all. Stalking quickly toward him, he shrank back when he turned and saw the look on her face.

"To whom, may I ask, were you revealing information?"

"To nobody, Lady Creighton-Ward."

"My right foot you weren't." She glared at him. "I haven't ever trusted you, Ned Cook, and I'm not about to begin now."

"But Dad trusts him," Alan said as he and Tin-Tin approached.

Penny gritted her teeth. There were a hundred things she had to say right on the tip of her tongue but she held them back. "He was speaking with someone, and I would say the timing is rather obvious, with Jeff have landed in hospital."

"Ned?" Alan prompted.

"I was on the phone with Adi, letting her know of the delay."

"Did you tell her why?" Penny asked.

"Vaguely, yes."

"Only confirming my suspicions. We don't know Adi, nor how well she can keep secrets."

"Penny," came Tin-Tin's soft voice. "May I speak with you outside for a moment, please?"

"Whatever you have to say can be said right here," Ned challenged. "I will not have my integrity questioned. I know who to tell what and when to keep my mouth shut. I should think you'd have seen that much by now." He glared at Penelope. "I don't have to prove anything to you. I don't care who you are."

Tin-Tin had taken Penny's elbow and started leading her outside. "Perhaps you should," Penelope retorted before allowing herself to be extricated from the situation.

"What the hell is her problem?"

"She is understandably upset," Kyrano responded, startling Alan.

"I wish you wouldn't sneak up on me like that."

The ghost of a smile crossed Kyrano's face.

"Why, because of Jeff's heart?"

"Partially," Kyrano nodded. "But also because of what I did after Jeff lost consciousness."

"Well, I don't understand any of that crap." Then realizing he'd just insulted the Malaysian, Ned quickly added, "Sorry."

"No apology required. Not all comprehend this, and Lady Penelope is one who struggles with it, even with what she herself has witnessed." He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes. "She will learn to understand it."

Ned looked out the clear glass doors at where Penny and Tin-Tin sat on a bench beneath a tall palm tree. "What if she doesn't?"

Alan just looked at Kyrano. Nobody needed to answer that one.

"Hey, Scott?"

"Mm?"

"Where's Gordon?"

Scott blinked and looked away from the jet's control panel. "Where's Gordon?"

"I asked first."

Silence ensued as the wheels of Scott's mind turned. "He didn't go with Dad's group."

"Nope."

"And he didn't come with us."

"Not that I can see."

"I don't have a clue."

Virgil activated a secure frequency. "Tracy One to Tracy Island. Come in."

There was no answer.

"Odd," Virgil commented.

"Maybe the guys are busy on the 'birds."

Virgil shrugged. "Tracy One to Tracy Four."

This time Scott raised an eyebrow. "What gives?" He raised his watch to his face. "Scott calling Dad."

Nothing.

Virgil repeated his brother's motion. "Virgil to John."

"What the hell? Scott to Gordon."

"Gordon here."

"Gordo? Where are you?"

"Way the hell down in the underbelly of our island working on the final sensor array for Four. Why?"

"Where's John?"

Gordon's pictured jerked quickly, indicating he'd shrugged. "I've been down here since Al took off."

"Have you heard from Alan's group?" Virgil asked from the side.

"No, I haven't heard from anybody. Why are you asking?"

"We can't raise Dad, John, Tracy Four or Base. You're the first one I got."

Gordon's brow furrowed. "I'll see if I can find John or Brains."

"Thanks, Gordo. Scott out." He turned to find Virgil's goldenrod eyes staring at him. "Try one of the others."

"Virgil to Tin-Tin."

"Here, Virgil."

"Hey, what's going on? Tracy Four didn't respond and neither did Dad. And you don't look like you're in the air."

"Didn't John contact you?"

"About what?"

"Oh, dear. Virgil, I'm very sorry..."

Gordon kept trying to reach John and Brains on their wristcoms but neither answered. Making his way to the lounge, he turned on the island's single most powerful scanning tool and brought up the image on the large movie-like screen hidden in the wall behind his father's desk. Within 30 seconds the apparatus was running at full-strength and Gordon frowned when three other human forms were revealed.

"There should only be three total, not four," he mumbled.

Two were on the tennis court beyond the pool and the third was just coming from there, making its way toward the villa. Gordon's mind raced, mentally ticking off where everyone was and wondering who'd gotten left behind. No, John and Brains were to remain here with him to work on 'birds; Dad, Penny, K-Man, Tin-Tin, Al, Ned and Parker were off to Malaysia; and the hyphenated duo were on their way to Kansas.

So who the hell else was there?

"Maybe someone from the other dimension?" Gordon wondered aloud. The person headed toward the villa only moments ago veered away down along the beach in a direction that would most immediately lead to the runway. Gordon decided his best bet was to follow the one that was moving. He tried calling John and Brains both one more time to no avail. Heat crept up into his face, needles pricking his neck.

Turning his watch to silent mode, Gordon removed his shoes and bulky overalls. Left in nothing but navy blue boxers and a white tank, he ran to a small weapons locker hidden in the wall out in the hall between the lounge and kitchen and grabbed a laser rifle.

Years of living with the Kyranos, being an International Rescue operative and relying on himself in WASP had taught him to listen to his instincts.

"Mr. Tracy?"

Alan stepped away from the small circle he and his companions had formed. Tin-Tin had just come back with Penny and was telling them all that Scott and Virgil now knew about their father, and that John had never contacted them. They'd been contemplating trying to get hold of Gordon themselves when interrupted.

"I'm Alan Tracy."

The stereotypically clad doctor shook his hand. "Dr. McCabe, Mr. Tracy, I've been attending your father."

"What is his condition?" Penny asked from slightly behind them.

"Mr. Tracy, I must speak with you." McCabe eyed the rest of the group. "Alone."

Alan nodded, exchanged a brief glance with Tin-Tin, and followed McCabe back through the first set of double doors that led to the Emergency Room proper. "What's this about?"

The doctor led Alan back through a maze of beds, nurses, bustling orderlies and a few crying and screaming patients, then beyond some restrooms and more private-looking rooms into a suite. A quick look around told Alan this was a group of doctors' offices probably shared by whomever was rotating ER duty that month.

They stepped into the first office on their right, McCabe closing the door behind them. He sat in his chair and rubbed his temples before gesturing for Alan to take one of the two seats across from him.

"Doctor, there's only so much anticipation-"

"Yes, I know, I apologize, it's just that he…I don't quite know how to put this…"

Alan's heart leapt to his throat. "Is he-?"

"No, he's alive and as far as I can tell, he's stable."

The adrenaline rush was still on. "As far as you can tell? What does that mean?"

McCabe sighed as he leaned back in his chair. Steepling his fingers in front of his face, he peered at Alan beyond their thickness. Bugs crawling on his skin. That's what the look made him feel. Bugs.

"Your father appears to have something medically impossible going on."

"Which is?"

"He has two heartbeats."

Well, at least he didn't feel the bugs anymore. "Excuse me?"

"Two distinct heartbeats." The doctor turned his computer flatscreen so Alan could see it, then typed in a password. Within moments, an EEG readout appeared, complete with sound. "You know how to read one of these?"

Alan nodded, already engrossed in what the squiggly lines and odd beeping sounds were telling him. "How is this possible?"

"I told you, it's medically impossible. I have no way of explaining it. I've cracked open all the texts, done all the live searches I can and consulted two cardiologists already. That's why it's taken so long for me to let you know what's going on. Because I don't know."

"But you say he's stable?"

"Seems to be. It wasn't a heart attack he had at all, at least, not from what we can tell."

"X-rays? CT?"

"Everything shows normal. One heart beating perfectly fine, yet every listening device and monitoring device we have showing two distinct heartbeats. This is live. This is his heart right now."

"What's the course of action?"

McCabe cocked his head. "You sound like a medic."

Alan shrugged. "I've had a bit of training."

"Well, Mr. Tracy, I can only suggest that the two cardiologists I spoke to and probably several more will want to examine your father. Right now, he's a medical mystery. In today's day and age, those aren't always easy to come by."

"You mean you want to turn him into a lab rat?"

"No! I want to find out what's wrong with him!"

Alan just shook his head and waved his hand apologetically. "When can I see him?"

"One at a time, immediate family members only."

"Well, if you mean blood, that's me. But everyone out there is my father's immediate family."

"I'm sorry, blood only. Especially since this is something very unusual."

"That's an understatement," Alan replied. "Where is he?"

"The last room just before this office suite. Thirty minutes and then I need to make sure he rests."

Alan nodded and shook McCabe's hand. "Thanks."

"I'll let you know as soon as we can figure out what the next steps will be. And we are having a private room prepared upstairs."

"Okay, I'll check back with you in thirty minutes."

Alan walked out of the office suite straight as an arrow. It was only when he reached the hall that he seemed to lose his balance for a moment.

Two heartbeats?

Two?

Virgil's and Scott's feet hit the tarmac at the same time. Neither was pleased with the lack of communication from the island, nor their inability to reach Gordon, John or Brains. There was little worry in the backs of their minds for their father. Neither of them thought him to be in any real danger given Tin-Tin's account of what had happened.

They were both just glad he hadn't been alone in the jet when the attack had occurred. No, Jeff Tracy was surrounded by many people who cared about him. No real reason to panic on that count.

They had to meet the foreman of the new building project in 30 minutes. Sliding behind the wheel of the shiny black Hummer, Scott chuckled when Virgil raised an eyebrow over his choice in vehicles.

"Isn't this a bit...big...for just us?"

"I felt like having something big."

Virgil's mouth opened then clamped shut and Scott almost choked on his laughter. When they had gotten going, however, Virgil tried three more times to reach the three current residents of Tracy Island.

Scott's mouth was no longer upturned in laughter. Virgil's was set in a grim line. If this new building were not their father's dream; if the issue being faced by the building crew were not so critical; if, if, if...they would be jetting back home as quick as they'd come.

But this needed to be handled. Gordon, John and Brains were all big boys. And if there had been some sort of explosion or other reason for them to be injured, the Island's or Five's sensors would have picked it up and sounded an alarm.

That wasn't the case. Whatever they were doing, Scott and Virg had to trust they were okay. That didn't help their mood as they pulled onto the site, got out of the Hummer and approached Shal Temponi, who handed them two orange hardhats.

"Nice to see you both. Thank you for coming, I'm glad you could make it so quickly."

"What seems to be the trouble?" Scott asked, only half his mind on the short and stocky foreman.

"It's the body."

Instantly Scott and Virgil were one hundred percent there.

"Body?" Virgil repeated, glancing sidelong at his brother.

"Body. The Feds are on their way."

"Native American? Burial site maybe?"

"We can't really tell, Scott. It's more bones than anything, but the fact is that the owners need to be here to meet with authorities who-" Several cars pulled into what was currently the half-finished parking lot for the new building. "Who are arriving as we speak."

"Well, if this is an old Indian burial site, we'll deal with it."

"It's not quite that simple."

The younger men squinted at him through the Kansas sun's bright rays. "In what way?" Scott asked.

"It isn't so much the body that's got their panties up their cracks," Shal responded as seven dark-suited men approached. "It's the size of it."

"The size?"

"And the fact that there are more."

Virgil's and Scott's eyebrows shot up simultaneously. "Shal, what the hell is going on here?" Scott asked with no small measure of annoyance.

"Kids," Shal replied as the suits came within hearing distance. "We accidentally dug them up."

Virgil swallowed hard. "How many?" he asked in near whisper.

"Mr. Tracy?"

"Yes?" Virg and Scott replied together, turning to face the man who seemed to be in charge of the group of dark-clad men.

After a couple handshakes and brief introduction so the guy knew which Tracy was which, the suit straightened his tie and removed his sunglasses. "I'm Special Agent Lars Jaansen."

"What is this about, Jaansen? Indian burial grounds wouldn't bring the United States government into it."

"You're right. Tamponi here sent along photos to the KC field office. It took ten minutes for us to make the connection."

"What connection?" Virgil asked, unable to get the image of dead kids' bodies out of his mind.

"You ever heard of the Toronto Park Killer?"

The men nodded. Who hadn't? He was the U.S.'s most prolific serial killer in decades and the authorities had never been able to touch him or figure out what he was doing with the children he was taking. In fact, they had always only assumed the majority of the children to be dead because only three had been found, all deceased.

All the children, between the ages of five and fourteen, both boys and girls, had disappeared while camping in or visiting the Toronto State Park with their families, the northern-most edge of which was not even 8 miles from where they now stood. Some thought the bodies might be in Toronto Lake, but it had been dragged five times with no results. Ten years later, kids were still disappearing, but for the families, no answers...no clues.

"We know of him," Scott replied quietly.

"One of the pictures gave us some clues that the body may be that of a child taken from the Park eight years ago. Her clothing tipped us off."

"It's gotten so bad," a second dark-suited man chimed in, "that parents don't bring their kids to the Park anymore, not even to visit."

"This is his burial ground?" Virgil asked, eyes begging Jaansen not to confirm the statement.

"It would appear so, Mr. Tracy," Jaansen replied. "I'm sorry, but your site is shut down until we find out what's going on and get those bodies out of here."

"How many?" Scott whispered.

Shal looked away. "We dug up eight."

"But," Jaansen added, "we believe there will be many more."

Virgil couldn't look at his brother.

Scott thought he was going to be sick.

The soft, warm breeze wafted across the thin cotton fabric separating the hard-muscled body from the tropical evening air. The island was quiet as Gordon made his way down the front steps. Digital binoculars showed the two individuals in the area of the tennis court were the only other two who were supposed to be on the island: John and Brains. They'd been tied to the green rubber-covered chain link fence that surrounded the regulation court, and from the looks of it, both were unconscious.

He could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage. He could actually feel the adrenaline begin flowing through his veins. And Gordon felt something that even dangling above a fully engulfed skyscraper he never felt: fear.

If John and Brains are over there, who's near the runway?

If John and Brains are tied up and unconscious, the other person is not friend, but foe.

If foe, who is it? What does he want?

Had to be a 'he.' A 'she' couldn't disable Brains and John like that.

Or could she?

Gordon reached the bottom of the long, curved staircase. He glanced once more toward the tennis court, then skirted around the edge of the large, leafy plants that hid the lower portion of one of Kyrano's many gardens. He registered the silky softness of the leaves sliding over his shins on some level, but his eyes were firmly trained ahead.

There. There he is. It's a he. Too big, too muscular to be a she.

He whipped the diginocs up to his eyes but the someone was gone. Pins prickling his neck again, he slung them over his left shoulder, grabbed the laser rifle and held it steady as he moved forward with the stealth of a cat.

Where had the intruder disappeared to?

If he was from another dimension, had he gone back? Gordon hadn't seen the telltale bright light or heard the strange whirring sound. Creeping forward, listening as hard as he could, watching as closely as he could. He reached the edge of the runway at last but in that long, open space there was nothing but the remainder of the day's heat shimmering up from the concrete. The cliff face was closed and intact. The elevator next to it also closed.

Had the intruder gone that way? How would he have known where it was? It was so well hidden, the back of Gordon's brain reminded him, that half the Tracys had had trouble finding it when they'd first moved there. Could a stranger have found it this easily?

Was the unknown man therefore now inside the heart and soul of Tracy Island?

Scanning his surroundings, finding a distinct lack of movement or anything off at all, Gordon concluded his thought must be correct. He quickly loped along the runway toward the elevator. The thought had many times occurred that he should call Scott, but what if the stranger could hear him? He'd give his position away; he could be wasting valuable time...

The elevator door opened. Gordon barely had time to gasp in surprise before arms came around him, squeezing his neck and his ribcage. "One false move and you're dead."

"What-?" he choked out through his constricted airway.

The slightly taller man grabbed Gordon's weapons and the diginocs and tossed them aside. "You are coming with me."

He felt the cold, hard steel of a weapon against his cheek and realized it was something like the small machetes they had used to clear extra undergrowth from the island when they'd first begun working on it.

But why? Why would this man who meant so much to his family...and especially to John...do this? Why had he rendered Brains and John unconscious and tied them up? And what were his plans now with Gordon?

"What do you want?" he hissed through clenched teeth as he was dragged into the elevator.

"To regenerate, and take what I should always have had."

Gordon managed to turn his head just enough to see that the eyes were different. "You-you're not Ben."

The responding laugh made him shudder. "Good disguise, don't you think?"

The small machete blade nicked his right cheek. He felt a few drops of blood leak out and slide to his jawbone. "Hood?"

"You are much smarter than the other two were."

Gordon froze in his captor's arms as the elevator rose. He had to do something. And he had to do it fast.

"Brains!" He worked and worked at the zip tie around his wrists, but it held him fast to the chain link fence surrounding the tennis court. "Dammit, Brains, wake up!" John whispered fiercely, elbowing his friend. "Come on!"

There was no response from the engineer, so John continued struggling against the plastic tie. He felt it begin to cut into his flesh, which only fueled his anger. This couldn't all be falling apart now. So very much had happened to them, and yet there was so much where doors had only been cracked open; things he desperately wanted to know more about, to explore further. John wasn't about to let the Hood beat his family, and most certainly not by using his other-dimensional twin's body.

He elbowed Brains again but he didn't move. His glasses were gone and John knew his own watch had been removed. Frustration set in until he finally gave up bloodying his wrists anymore and sagged against the fence. Think, John! he admonished himself. Think, dammit, there must be something!

The Hood, the bastard who simply won't die, has taken over Ben's body. Check. Ben's from the other dimension. Check. There is no Ben in our dimension. There, John hesitated, looking at the top of Brains' head. What if Brains is the Ben of this dimension? What if that's why he's still unconscious, because Ben's being here is weakening Brains? If that were true, that would mean Ben's body would also be weakening slowly. Gaat would have no idea that Ben and Brains were each other's counterparts. He would've chosen Ben for invading Tracy Island precisely because he believes there is no counterpart for Ben on this side.

But John didn't know for sure whether Brains was his Ben. Without being certain about that, there was no way he could be certain Ben's body would weaken at all. John closed his eyes and let his head fall so it rested atop Brains'. If only he could somehow know. It could literally be nothing more than both he and Brains had already talked about; it could be nothing more than both of them longing for the close brother, the connection they'd never had growing up due to this dimension's Ben dying at birth and Brains being an orphan. It was true, John knew, because finding out Ben existed somewhere else had thrown him for a major loop, and had awakened a desperate need for a counterpart. Scott had Virgil, Gordon had Alan. Hell, even their dad had someone now, though it'd taken him a long while to get around to it with Penelope.

So what if this supposed connection John and Brains thought they had was borne of nothing more than their mutual desperation? That would mean Ben wouldn't get any weaker no matter how much time he spent in this dimension. But what if the reverse was true? What if Brains was indeed Ben?

John's head began to throb. There was no one he could ask, no one to supply him with a for-sure answer. The only person he could even fathom asking was Kyrano, and right now he couldn't talk to him. How do I know? he wondered. Then aloud, "How do I know for sure?"

"Kn-know what?"

John jumped, pulling his head off his companion's and looking into the large blue eyes that were blinking slowly awake. "Jesus H, Brains, you'll be the death of me."

"Hope not," was the mumbled reply.

John grinned in spite of their situation. "Brains, are you with me yet or still in La-La Land?"

"LaLa."

"No, I need you. I need you to help me think through this."

Brains forced himself to stop blinking, to keep his eyes open, and to look into John's only inches away. "I'm trying," he whispered. "He put the, uh…whammy on me."

"I know, I know. And you're probably susceptible because he's done it to you before."

"He? Ben? Done what?"

"It's not Ben."

"Shit."

"Precisely. Now listen to me, Brains. We need to figure something out and we need to do it fast. At this very moment, Gordon's the only thing standing between us and the Hood, and if what he did to us is any indication, our brother doesn't stand a chance."

Brains' eyes widened. *Our* brother? he thought. He filed that away for later. "O-okay, I'm with you. Shoot."

"Scott, what are going to do?"

"Nothing," Scott replied, the look on his face now as they stood inside the foreman's trailer the same as it had been outside when they'd first been told the news by FBI Agent Jaansen. "There's nothing we can do. Everything's at a standstill until they've…"

Virgil sighed as Scott's voice trailed off. "We need to get back to the island. We need to—" He was cut off by Scott's wristwatch signaling an incoming call.

"Scott here."

Virgil listened as Alan told Scott what was happening with their father in Los Angeles. The look of disbelief on his face, Virgil was sure, mirrored his own. He leaned back against the small trailer's lone desk as Scott asked questions Alan simply couldn't answer. But it was when Alan told them he hadn't been able to raise Gordon, John or Brains that the two eldest Tracy brothers snapped to attention.

"We're going back," Scott said. "Now."

"But what's happening there in Kansas?"

"It'll keep," Scott said. "You just get Dad well and keep everything together there. I'll let you know as soon as we do, what's going on."

"F.A.B.," Alan replied and the feed winked out.

"Scott?"

His face was set in a grim line. "Tell Shal we're outta here. Tell him to give the FBI whatever they want, however much time they want, and that all the workmen will be paid for however long it takes."

"What are you going to do?"

"We are going to take a little trip."

"To the island."

"Yes, only in a much more direct way."

Virgil frowned as Scott slammed open the trailer door and loped toward the Hummer. He raced out after him, spotted Shal a few dozen yards away, and ran to him to give him the instructions. He got to the Hummer in time to jump into the passenger seat just as Scott revved the engine and peeled away. They started heading in a direction Virgil knew wasn't taking them to the airport they'd arrived at. He frowned across at his brother. "What's the action?" That was when he saw it strapped to Scott's arm. "You have an IDT?" he asked incredulously.

"And we're going to use it. Something's wrong back on the island. We've got to get there faster than a jet will take us."

"I didn't even know you brought it with you."

"Risk mitigation," Scott answered grimly.

"Thank God." Virgil looked at their surroundings and recognized where precisely they were headed. The family farm in Valley Falls. What better place to come and go from without being seen? Within half an hour they'd be there…twenty minutes at the speeds Scott was hitting. Virgil quickly grabbed the seat belt and clicked it into place around his chest and lap. "What are we going to do when we get there?"

"That depends on what we find."

"Let's hope we find everything's fine," Virgil said, but both of them knew that wasn't the case. They could simply feel that something was terribly wrong.

The Hood in Ben's body maintained his chokehold on Gordon. They were now in the Lounge and Gordon did his best to keep stealing glances out toward the tennis court. But he could see no movement out there and truthfully didn't really know how John and Brains were anyway. There might be no chance of them waking up or they might already be awake. They may already have left the court, for all he knew, and be on their way to help him.

But he couldn't count on that. At the moment, 'Ben' was using his right hand to try and break into Jeff's microcomputer behind his desk. Gordon slowly moved his right hand millimeter by millimeter across his torso toward his left wrist. If he could just hit the emergency signal, everyone wearing one of their custom-made Rolexes would know something was very, very wrong. But with only John and Brains on the island with him, how quickly could any of the others actually get there? Would they arrive in time to be of any use? Or would they arrive only to find three dead bodies and the Hood in control of International Rescue's base?

Slowly, slowly. He kept his body stiff against Ben's as the familiar and yet somehow unfamiliar voice cursed a blue streak in at least three languages that Gordon could identify. There! At last! Gordon hit the emergency button and felt his watch vibrate once. Then it vibrated again. And again and again. That would be Scott trying to call him, or maybe Alan. It could even be Tin-Tin, or maybe John or Brains. Trouble was, he couldn't raise the watch to see. So he tapped the face of it three times, waited a second, three times again, waited another second, and a final three times.

That would tell whoever was listening precisely what the score was. Now if he could just figure a way to help himself without having to wait for someone else. "You know, Hood, it'd be a lot easier for you to get access to my father's computer if you just asked me the password." The hand's grip around his throat tightened, causing him to stop breathing for a split second. He gasped a breath in. "And killing me means you'll never get in."

"So certain of that, are you?" Ben's voice seethed, jerking Gordon once.

"Yep," Gordon gasped. "It's triple encrypted, IR-style."

"Give me the password."

"Let go of me first."

He felt the blade of the small machete against his neck again. "Not on your life."

"Then you aren't getting shit out of me."

Quick as lightning the Hood made to whirl Gordon around so they were facing each other. But in that split second, Gordon struck, doing the only thing he could think to do. He brought his right knee up as hard as he could between Ben's legs. The momentary shock and shriek of pain as Ben doubled over allowed Gordon to twist himself away to freedom.

A blinding bright light stopped him dead in his tracks and he felt someone slam into him. Hitting the floor with a thud, Gordon struggled to breathe as the wind was knocked out of him. The light vanished, leaving black spots dancing in front of his eyes. His head fell back to the floor. Just as the last bits of consciousness seeped away, he could've sworn he heard Scott's voice.

Alan emerged from the double doors into the waiting room without a clue how he was going to tell everyone about his strange conversation with Dr. McCabe. How to tell Penelope, who had, quite recently, Alan thought, just really become a member of their family. How to tell Ned Cook, who'd witnessed some pretty odd things in his lifetime, but Alan doubted anything like this. How to tell Tin-Tin, the woman he'd vowed to follow to the ends of the earth, who was most likely going to end up ruling an entire country.

How to tell Kyrano who, Alan suspected, was going to be the one to tell him what was really going on here. He didn't know why he thought as much, as they all turned to look at him, but whenever it came to anything strange, supernatural or in any way mystical, the only one with the depth of knowledge required to explain it to all of them was his future father-in-law. It was upon this thought that he let his eyes come to rest on the man who had been dead, alive, dead and alive more times in the last week than Alan could keep track of.

When Kyrano's eyes widened, Alan realized he was picking up his thoughts. A glance at Tin-Tin told him she was doing the same.

"Two heartbeats?" she said incredulously. "What on Earth?"

Kyrano closed his eyes and shook his head, sinking back into the waiting room chair he'd just risen from.

"Say what?" Ned said as Penny rushed up to Alan.

"How is he, is he all right?" the Lady asked.

It took the youngest Tracy five whole minutes to recount his conversation with McCabe as well as what he himself had seen on the computer monitor and his subsequent visit with his father.

"I must see him, Alan," Penny said.

He shook his head. "The doctor will only allow blood relatives, Penny."

"Does he know who I am?" she asked.

"I don't think it matters," he replied. "Since they don't know what's wrong with Dad, they're not taking any chances." Alan turned his head to look at Kyrano. "Unless you can explain it," he finished.

Everyone looked at Kyrano, who slowly opened his eyes, then rose to his feet. "I must see Jeff immediately," he said quietly.

"You can't, Kyrano. Blood relatives only."

"Some things are thicker than blood," Kyrano responded quietly as Tin-Tin gave him a strange look. Alan's eyes widened, his mind picking up what Tin-Tin was hearing from her father's thoughts.

"Thicker than blood?" Penny repeated. "What's going on here? How could a man have two heartbeats, and what's your involvement?" she asked Kyrano.

"I must see him or he will die," was all Kyrano said, looking at no one but Alan. Penny turned to face him, and Alan tore his eyes from Tin-Tin's as Kyrano continued softly, "Alan, you must take me to him."

"Why?" Penelope asked, coming to stand directly in front of the Malay man. "Why do you need to see Jeff? What's wrong with him?"

Kyrano's mouth opened, then closed and he looked away. Not to be put off, Penelope's face flushed crimson as she moved to be within his line of sight again. "Kyrano, answer me! What have you done?"

"Penny, Kyrano hasn't done anything," Alan said.

She whirled on him. "Really. Well, if that's the case, then I'm going to see your father this instant!"

Alan moved to physically block her path. Incensed, she looked up at him with eyes blazing. "Get out of my way, Alan."

He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled back. She turned and threw Parker a look, but it was quite clear he was staying out of the whole thing. Looking back into Alan's eyes, she whispered, "How dare you?"

"Penny, listen to me, please…"

"Tin-Tin, I'm sorry, but you need to stay out of this. This is between me and the son of the man that I love."

Tin-Tin clamped her mouth shut and looked first to Alan, then her father for guidance. "Father, please," she said, moving to his side and grasping his hand. "Tell us what's happening here."

Kyrano patted his daughter's arm and pulled his hand from hers. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at each of his companions in turn, at last stopping when his eyes met those of the Lady of England. "I will try," he finally said, and they all turned to face him.

"On Tracy Island, if you'll recall, I used myself as a conduit to transfer my half-brother's spirit from the other dimension's sultan back into Belah's body. Your father," he said, nodding toward Alan, "and all the rest of you shared your life energy with me, and the transfer was a success."

"Yes, I remember," Penelope said thoughtfully. "I didn't understand what was happening at the time."

"I am sorry," Kyrano said. "Many of the things that happen I do not fully understand either."

Penny's face softened. "But what has this to do with the doctors saying Jeff has two heartbeats?"

"When Jeff got behind me and wrapped his arms around me, at some point he lost consciousness."

"Yes," Alan nodded. "We all did, all except Ben."

"That's right," Kyrano nodded. "I hadn't realized it until you explained your father's current condition, but what I believe has happened is that since Jeff was directly connected to me, and I myself was so weak at the time, he took on my life force."

You could have heard a pin drop. No one moved. All they could do was stare. Parker finally scratched his substantial nose and shuffled his feet and asked, "Kih-rahno, h'if you please, sir…come again?"

"I think this just went from the Sci-Fi channel to the Space channel," Ned remarked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I believe," Kyrano continued, "that my life force is now intertwined with Jeff's to the point where the medical sensors are actually picking up my heartbeat from him."

"What?" Penny asked incredulously. "How in the world could that be possible?"

"What would they do if they checked your heartbeat, though?" Alan asked.

"I believe they would find I do not have one."

"Father, do you mean that you're only alive because Mr. Tracy kept your life force going?"

Kyrano nodded. "That's what I think, my daughter. If Jeff were to die, I would die at the same moment. As long as Jeff lives, I live. And the second heartbeat is an echo of my own heart beating, heard within his body since he is my life."

"Your…life?" Penny repeated in a near-whisper. Her eyes had grown wide and she turned to look at Alan. "Do you actually believe this?"

Alan shook his head slightly, his eyes glued to Kyrano's. "I don't know." Then he looked down at Penny. "But what if that is what's happening?" Eyes moving back to Kyrano, he swallowed hard. "Can anything be done about it?"

Kyrano nodded. "The only solution is for me to…join with him again."

Penelope just stared at the older man.

"Joining is an ancient tradition that my father's mother and grandmother taught him," Tin-Tin offered, feeling the disbelief and something else she couldn't quite put name to rolling off Penny in waves. "It means…" she faltered, her eyes darting to Alan's before coming back to rest on Penny's. "It means a joining of the souls."

"Do it." They all turned to look at Ned Cook.

"Have you taken leave of your senses?" Penny asked.

"No," Ned said with a shake of his head. "But as far as I'm concerned, anything that can keep Jeff Tracy alive, even if it sounds like the most far-fetched rag story on the newsstands, should be tried."

"I agree," Alan nodded. "Kyrano, I—"

"Now wait just one minute!" Penny exclaimed, whirling on the only Tracy in the room.

"Father!" Tin-Tin cried.

When Alan looked, Kyrano's hand was clutching the front of his loose-fitting tunic directly over his heart. He stumbled back as Tin-Tin raced to ease him into a chair. Her eyes pleaded with Alan's as Kyrano's face turned ashen.

Kyrano's having a heart attack? Alan thought, and a split second later it hit him. "Oh, my God, Dad!" He pointed at Kyrano. "Get him to Dad's room now!"

Alan slammed through the double doors and was in his father's room in thirty seconds. Nurses and doctors surrounded the bed and he could see the defibrillator being charged. "No!" he yelled from the doorway. They all stopped and turned to look at him as the machine beeped it was fully charged. "Stop!"

Ned and Parker appeared behind him, the former holding Kyrano under his armpits and the latter in charge of his legs. Alan stepped aside to allow them entry. "Get away from the bed," he ordered the medical staff. "Now."

"Mr. Tracy, this is your father's life!" Dr. McCabe protested as Alan advanced.

"No," Alan shook his head and pointed at Kyrano, who was being carried to Jeff's bed. "This is his life."

"This hospital will not be held responsible—" another doctor began to say.

"No, it won't. I want one nurse in here and that's it," Alan said as Ned and Parker laid Kyrano full-length next to Jeff on the bed. Taking a look at the three female nurses in the room, Alan nodded to the one who had long brunette hair tied into a bun at the nape of her neck. "You," he continued. "You stay. The rest of you leave. I'll sign whatever release you want me to sign."

McCabe shook his head as all those dressed in white left the room save the brunette nurse. "You've just killed your father."

Alan squared his shoulders and raised his chin defiantly. "If I have, then it's a responsibility I alone take."

Tin-Tin placed her hand on her father's forehead. Then she placed her other hand on Jeff's. "We must help them," she said, looking across the room at Alan. "They need our strength for my father to be able to make the connection."

"Jeff…" Penny said from her spot near the door. "Alan, I insist you tell the doctors to come back this instant!"

"Stay out of this, Penny."

"Stay—why you—!"

"Milady," Parker said gently.

Alan approached the near side of the bed, and along with Tin-Tin, placed one hand on his father's forehead and one on Kyrano's. He closed his eyes and within seconds could hear Tin-Tin's thoughts, and instruction to him, as clearly as if she'd been speaking the words into his ear. He smiled as he focused on finding his father's mind. Smiled, because somehow he knew this would work.

Penelope stalked out of the room with Parker hot on her heels, fully intent on forcing the doctors to return to the room. Ned exited and shut the door behind him. Whatever was going to happen in there, he was more concerned with what Penny was up to, and followed her down the hall. It wasn't hard to turn corners until he found her, using her raised and angry voice to guide him.

"—demand you go back into that room immediately!"

"I'm sorry, Lady Penelope, but Alan speaks for his father, and if he doesn't want life-saving measures performed, then we have to respect his wishes."

"He does not speak for Jeff Tracy!" Penelope said.

"Then who does?" Ned asked, leaning against the wall behind her. She whirled on him. "You?"

"Considering I seem to be the only rational one here at the moment, then yes, Mr. Cook. Me."

Dr. McCabe left them to it and hurried out to the ER. He had notified the hospital Administrator what was happening in Jeff Tracy's room. As far as he was concerned, he'd done what he could; it was time to save the lives of people who wanted to be saved. He thought Alan Tracy was the biggest fool he'd ever met.

"I don't think you are the most rational person here, Lady," Ned countered, arms folded over his chest. "I think your judgment's in question."

"You insolent—"

Holding up his hands in mock self-defense, Ned chuckled. "Name calling is so beneath you. What's really eating at you about this?"

"Misteh Cook, H'I would suggest you choose you're next words very carefully h'indeed."

"Oh, come on, Parker, you helped me carry Kyrano in there. Now why'd you do that if you don't believe what he was saying?"

Parker shifted uncomfortably and took a step back.

"I think," Ned continued, "that you're beside yourself because Kyrano and Jeff have something you can't understand."

"I will not be spoken to in this manner!" she seethed, turning to walk away.

"Oh, yes, you will!" Ned growled, grabbing her shoulder and whirling her around.

"Hands off 'er, Cook!" Parker said, throwing his hat to the floor.

"I can quite take care of him without assistance," Penny said, coolly levelling her gaze at the reporter.

"Sure, you could flatten me," Ned said. "But you're never going to make it around here if you don't wise up."

"I beg your pardon?" Penelope said, aghast. Never before had anyone in her entire life spoken to her in such a manner. She barely knew what to think, let alone say.

"You love him, right?"

Penelope stiffened. "I shan't discuss my personal life with you, of all people," she snubbed.

"Well, here's the way I see it," Ned continued, knowing he'd have only one chance to say this and say it right. "You love Jeff Tracy so much you could hear his heartbeat on that airplane."

Penelope's eyes widened. She'd completely forgotten that's how all this had begun.

"And it was Kyrano who kept him alive on that plane."

"You don't know that!" she snapped.

Ned shrugged. "Not scientifically, no. But you saw what happened out there," he said, jerking a thumb in the vague direction of the waiting room. "And when Kyrano collapsed, how was Jeff doing? He was about to be zapped with the defibs!"

Penny glared at Ned, but he could tell by her eyes he was starting to get through to her.

"Just because we don't understand it doesn't mean it's not true," Ned said by way of a final thought. "After all," he said, a smile growing on his face as he nodded to his right, "the proof, as they say, is in the sauce."

Penny turned her head to follow his eyes. Her hand flew to her mouth and she gasped. There, walking toward her, was none other than Jeff Tracy. With Kyrano by his side.

Suddenly she was in his arms. The smell of him surrounding her, whispered words in her ear, his warm breath tickling her cheek. She hadn't believed it. Not any of it. But here he was. She turned her head just enough to meet Kyrano's eyes.

What is it they have? She thought as Jeff released her and the group made their way toward the exit. What is it Kyrano has of him that I haven't?

But she knew the bigger question was, could she deal with it.