A/N: My first Doctor Mechanic fic! This chapter is part one of probably three, and takes place following the events of 3.06, so spoilers through there. Hope you all enjoy and are interested to see what happens next!

Oh, and as we are a rather smallish ship, if you would care to stroke my fragile ego with a couple comments in the review section, I would be much obliged! Guest reviews ARE enabled.

"Raven," Abby called, jogging slightly to catch up with the young woman upon spotting her in the corridor. She had been meaning to check in and felt incredibly guilty about how long it took her to do so. It certainly wasn't that she forgot – quite the contrary in fact, as Raven's well being was rarely far from her thoughts.

It was simply that she was so immersed in her work that her sense of time became temporarily compromised. The mystery of these "keys" Jaha doled out like aspirin remained elusive to her, and Abby was livid. Partially at herself, for failing to unravel their secrets by now, but mostly at Jaha for supplying this supposed miracle-cure to Raven and the others so irresponsibly.

The unforeseen side effects that might present themselves were as vast as they were unknown. Abby was still almost entirely in the dark about what potential damage might be caused, and she agonized over what she would do were Raven to have hope ripped so violently from her hands once again, if this didn't prove to be a permanent solution.

There was also the rest of Arkadia to worry about, of course. Their entire community might be in jeopardy, and Abby would be damned if she let what remained of the one hundred they'd initially sent to the ground suffer another travesty at the hands of their own people. Still, her first thoughts more often than not drifted back to Raven and the overwhelming desire Abby felt to protect her. She figured any efforts to save Raven would ultimately save the camp as well, and decided her primary motives really didn't matter as long as she got the job done.

When Raven turned at the sound of her name Abby was pleased to see a soft, carefree smile on the girl's mouth, and allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Maybe the chip was working. Maybe Abby was searching for faults that didn't exist. Maybe...

But as the distance closed between them, Abby felt a rock settle in her gut at the odd sort of emptiness she saw in Raven's expression. She couldn't quite place what felt so wrong. The familiar eyes staring back at her weren't exactly void of emotion. There was no malice, anger, or even bitterness, yet they held an aloof air of indifference that was unusually cold. Abby had always felt warmth in Raven's gaze – or even the occasional burning, passionate rage – but now she suppressed a shiver at the sight of that impassive stare.

"What's up?" Raven inquired with a pleasant smile and a cadence that was so very reminiscent of the lively girl from back on the Ark. The jarring reversion still made Abby pause, questioning with no small sense of hope whether her own fears were causing her to see things that simply weren't there.

"I just wanted to see..." the woman began, wavering at the sight of Raven's eyes raking unapologetically down her torso. Abby frowned, now feeling dreadfully certain she was not projecting and that something absolutely wasn't right, but still managed to recover in time to complete her thought, "...how you were feeling."

Raven grinned and, though it still wasn't the sort of warmth the other woman was accustomed to, there was a sparkle in the girl's eyes now that –while Abby couldn't place it – did seem somehow vaguely familiar.

"I'm feeling great," the girl quipped, playfully flicking the end of the stethoscope that hung around Abby's neck, mischief coloring her smirk when she added, "Doc," in a way that made the title sound like something far more salacious than professional.

Abby truly wanted this reprieve for Raven. She wanted her to be happy, to be free from the pain of all her wounds – both physical and those that cut much deeper and marred her spirit. She would venture that the only person who wanted it more than her was Raven herself. But there's a reason people say if something is too good to be true, it probably is. Selfishly, Abby hated that she might have to be the one to take this away. But if the price of protecting Raven was her resentment, Abby would accept that.

"Sweetie, I know how much this means to you," Abby replied with complete professionalism, thankful for the years of practice she had at quickly slipping on that mask – because inside not only was she fretting but also rather inappropriately flustered. "I need you to be honest with me, though."

"Okay..." Raven drawled, her flirtatious demeanor fizzling out almost at once as she shifted away uncomfortably. Abby gently took one of the young woman's hands in her own, hoping to convey a sense of empathy and reignite the trust Raven had once placed in her, though it only wrought another tense glance of confusion.

"You don't seem like yourself," Abby said cautiously, fearing another poor choice of words might send Raven hightailing it down the hall away from her. She punctuated her statement with a reassuring squeeze of the fingers still loosely held between her own, and the other woman promptly snatched her hand away.

The rock in the pit of Abby's stomach rumbled with the harshness of the gesture, pressing against her abdomen like its rough edges might shred her insides. Raven cast her a distrusting sideways squint, and though the look alone was enough to make Abby's chest constrict painfully, it was nothing compared to the gut wrenching words that came next.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Abby felt like she had just been sucker punched. Memories of Jaha and his confusion at the mention of his son rushed back to her. She hoped so much that his lapse was unrelated to this City of Light, that Jaha perhaps suffered a concussion, contracted an illness, or just flat out lost his damn marbles wandering around in the desert. But now Raven didn't know who Abby was, and Abby felt like all the air had just been sucked from her lungs.

"Raven, it's me," she urged as calmly as she could, trying to hide her panic as she reached out to press the inside of her wrist against the girl's cheeks and forehead, yet finding no signs of fever. "It's Abby."

"Abby?" Raven repeated quizzically, though she no longer recoiled from the woman's touch, staring with a confounded expression like she was trying to place the face of a long lost relative she might have met once or twice.

Abby cradled Raven's cheeks between her palms, unable to halt the instinct to trace her thumbs over the soft skin beneath them. Her throat seized up, but it was just as well because there were no words left to release. Raven didn't remember her, and all Abby could do was hold the girl's confused stare and hope that whatever memory seemed to be scratching at the surface could be found somewhere in her own eyes.

"Oh god," Raven finally gasped with a choked sob, grasping the other woman's sleeves in fistfuls and holding on for dear life. "Abby... Abby. I'm sorry. I don't... I didn't mean to..."

All of Abby's breath left her in a sudden gust and it was as if every muscle in her body sighed with relief. She could still fix this. Without a second thought she pulled Raven to her, hugging her even more fiercely than that day on the Ark when they thought they might never see one another again. So much happened between then and now, and Abby could no longer bare the thought of saying goodbye. She wouldn't.

"This isn't what I signed up for," Raven sniffled quietly. "I don't want this. Abby, what the hell is going on?"

Hearing that trembling voice beg her for answers she didn't have broke Abby's heart. Raven was always so stoic, so persistent and fearless. Abby had never seen her like this.

"I don't know, honey," she said, hearing the way her own voice shook as she spoke and feeling Raven's grip on her tighten. "But it's going to be okay. Alright? I'm going to figure it out."