Jonothon gazed at Paige, who had slumped back down onto the pool table, weeping drunkenly. It's terrible the way smart people make dumber mistakes than the less intelligent ones. Tryin' to drink away a problem is not the way to solve it. Jono was about to call Sean Cassidy down so he could punish Paige for downing the beer, but one look into Paige's sapphire blue eyes and something in him just wouldn't let him. Jonothon decided to take care of the problem himself. *C'mon, Paige,* he said in his clipped telepathic speech, pulling Paige up off the tabletop.

"C'mon wh-hic! -where?" Paige asked, swaying unsteadily on her feet.
*To yer dorm,* Jono replied, taking Paige by her wrist and leading her up the stairs.

Paige indignantly pulled her wrist away. "Ah'm not a kid, Jono. Ah can walk by m'self," she said stubbornly, and took a step forward. She promptly slipped on the stair and probably would have fallen down the rest of the way if Jonothon hadn't caught her and slung her over his shoulder.

Paige giggled as she flopped against his back. "Nice butt," she commented.

Jonothon was close to being flattered, then disgustedly reminded himself that the girl was intoxicated and therefore did not mean a thing she said. He carried Paige all the way to the girls' dorm and into the first bathroom he saw, dumping her on the floor in front of the shower-tub. "Ow!" she complained. "That wasn't very nice."

Jono opened the shower door. *This'll be even worse,* he said, and shoved Paige's head inside while turning on the cold water. Paige let loose a shrill screech and struggled to be free, spluttering incoherently. Jono was stronger than she was, however, and held her head under the water.

A few minutes later, Jono let Paige come up for air and he asked, *Still drunk?*

Paige hiccuped. "Yesh," she slurred.

Jonothon stuck her head under the tap again.

"Jono!" Paige squealed, twisting free. "Ah've had a shower already!"

*Too bad,* Jono responded.

"You little-" Whatever insult Paige would have said was cut off by Jonothon shoving Paige's head under the water again.

After a few repetitions of this, Paige got dizzy and vomited into the shower. Jonothon turned away, pulled a towel off the rack, slung it over his shoulder and leaned over Paige. *'Case you 'aven't noticed yerself, luv.... drinkin' away your problems is no way t'solve 'em,* he said, his mental "voice" taking on a very adult tone.

"Fine," Paige said sourly. "Can we save the lectures, Jono.... until after the room stops spinning?" she asked bleakly.

Jono snapped his wrist and the towel landed on Paige's wet head with a heavy THWAPP. *Fine,* he said. *Better from me, Paige, than from Sean or Emma,* he reminded her as she stood up.

A note of panic entered her breathy voice. "Not gonna tell 'em.... are ya?" she asked.

Jonothon shrugged. *Prob'ly not,* he said noncommittally. *Which one is yer room?* he inquired. Paige silently pointed down and across the hall. Jono took her wrist again and led her over. *After ya sleep it off, we'll talk about why yer so upset about the Legacy Virus,* he added, dropping his grip on Paige, opening the door and stepping inside while flipping on the light.

He jerked in surprise at what he saw. Socks, shoes, papers, books, clothing, and even a few kitchen utensils were strewn across the room. The bed was unmade, too. *Whu-?* Jono said blankly. *THIS is yer room?* he inquired, thinking perhaps they had stumbled into Jubilee's room.

"Yea. So?" Paige questioned, rubbing the towel over her hair.

*It's just....* Jono groped for words to describe what he was thinking. *You always seem so.... "focused"?* He strolled over to Paige's desk and picked up her copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet, leafing through it thoughtfully. *I'm surprised it's-*

"A mess?" Paige supplied sheepishly. I never have time to clean up, she thought.

*You would 'ave to straighten up to earn a mess,* Jonothon answered with a hollow snort. Though I suppose it's not as bad as my old room back in London, or the one here, he admitted to himself. *Maybe if you spent less time studying....?* he added, letting his voice trail off. *Huh?* he said suddenly as Paige pressed up against him from behind.

"Maybe, Jonothon, Ah just ain't found somethin' more interesting than studyin'. Yet," Paige said in a low, suggestive voice, brushing her hand over his.

Jono felt the shakes run up his spine before he collected himself and glared at Paige. *Paige, yer drunk,* he growled in what he hoped was a "back off" tone.

Paige met his green eyes with her glassy ones. "Am I, Jono?" she inquired quietly.

Jono found himself pausing before firmly saying, *Yes. C'mon, Paige, you'll feel better if you go to bed,* he said persuasively.

Paige sighed. "Yes, Daddy," she said sarcastically, marching over to her bed. She pulled back the cover, climbed in, pulled the blanket up to her chin and pretended to go to sleep.

Jonothon wasn't fooled. Silently, expertly, he glided up behind his teammate, reached out and carefully compressed her carotid artery, cutting off the blood to her brain. With a gentle sigh, Paige fell unconscious and Jono lifted his hand from her neck before he killed the girl. Satisfied, he walked around the bed and to the door, ready to walk out.

But just as he was about to turn off the light and leave, something tugged at his conscience, refusing to let him go. Jonothon abruptly realized he was too worried to walk out. This is probably what Gateway had in mind when he put the guilt trip on me, he thought grumpily.

With a silent curse, Jono closed the door and turned off the light, then made his way to Paige's desk, sat in the chair, rested his arms on the desk and dropped his head on them. There he dozed off and on through the night, watching over Paige.

The only amusing thing about the situation was the thought about how Paige would react if she caught him sleeping. Since he didn't breathe and had no pulse, she would probably think him dead.

Jono roused to soft sunlight dancing over his eyelids at dawn. He groaned, stood up and stretched, then walked over to Paige's bed to check on her.

Paige stirred when his shadow fell over her face. She yawned, stretched and opened her still slightly glazed-over eyes. "Have you been here all night?" she asked, sitting up and pushing the covers off.

*Yup,* Jonothon answered shortly.

Paige was touched. And since she still hadn't recovered from her boozing, the emotion ran deep. "That's so sweet, Jono," she said, sitting up so that they were eye to eye. "I didn't know you cared so much. I could just kiss you." Then, on an impulse and before Jonothon could react, Paige pulled the bandages off what was left of his face and pressed her lovely lips where his used to be.

Phantom sensations shot through Jono, rattling him as he gasped in shock. It had been way, way too long since he had been kissed, since anyone had wanted to kiss him, and hunger rose from his heart to claw at him. Jonothon shuddered from the power of the hunger, and surrendered as need drowned him. He placed one arm around Paige's waist and grabbed the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her silky golden hair, corralling her as he feverishly returned the sensual pressure. Paige looped her arms around Jono's back and kissed him harder.

In a corner of his mind, Jonothon was completely baffled by their behavior. He wondered, Why am I doing this? Why is SHE doing this? Is she actually attracted to me? Is it possible? No, that's impossible. She couldn't be attracted to a freak. She's just drunk; she doesn't know what she's doing. Depression and passion warred for dominance in Jonothon's mind as he kept kissing Paige.

Time lost all meaning....

.....Jono had forgotten that strong emotion was fuel for the fire of the power that kept him alive. That fact became all too evident as his bio-kinetic core pounded hard and hot in his "chest", and waves of dizziness crashed over his mind. He cried out, pushing Paige away and clutching at his "chest," as pain battered his body and mind. Dammit.... I forgot.... he thought weakly. *Paige, go.... run....* he croaked.

"Jono, what is it? What's wrong?" Paige asked, instantly concerned.

*My power.... outta control.... Go, leave!* Jonothon gasped, wrapping his arms around his "chest" and falling to his knees as he shook violently, desperately trying to fight the destructive power back.

Paige jumped off the bed and laid her hands on his back, asking, "Is there anything I can-"

*NO! GET OUT NOW!* Jonothon shrieked, hammering Paige's will with his own. Seeing she had no choice, Paige turned and fled to the door, throwing it open and bolting out into the hall.

Faintly, Paige heard Jonothon's mental wail of *Too late....* and thought fast, grabbed her hair, concentrated on a steel form and shucked her skin as a massive explosion crushed her hearing and tremendous heat pulverized her back as the girls' dorm came down around her.

Through the destruction, Paige could not shut out Jonothon's screams.

Then she was buried under the rubble.

Hands pulled Paige from the mess and arms cradled her tenderly. "Paige.... lass? Speak tae me," Sean Cassidy's voice begged.

With a groan, Paige forced her eyes open and focused them on Sean's fatherly face. "What.... do you want me.... t' say?" she questioned weakly.

"Oh, lass," Sean sighed, hugging Paige tightly. "Ye dinnae know how much ye had me worried," he stated.

"Sorry," Paige whispered. Then a thought occurred to her. "Where's Jono?" she asked anxiously. "He tried to warn me...." she said, her throat closing up.

"Dinnae worry Paige; I'll find him," Sean said.

*No.... need.... Sean,* suddenly brushed against their minds. As Sean, Penance and Paige looked on, stunned, a small pile of bricks and piping heaved up and Jonothon tumbled out, wearily sprawling out on the rubble. *I'm fine.... 'case you were.... wonderin'. Just... tired,* he added quietly.

"Now that I know how ye two are," Sean said, standing up, "care tae explain why the girls' dorms is in ruins?"

Feeling like crying, Paige opened her mouth to tell Sean, but Jono butted in. *'S my fault, Sean,* he said. *I was.... talkin' with Paige.... an' my power went completely berk. I couldn't.... control it.*

Paige and Sean stared at the young man: Sean in shock -unaware that Jonothon was "lying through his teeth"- and Paige wondering why.