Jonny's hospital room was done in tasteful pastels giving the room a cheery atmosphere. What ruined it were the machines and the patient himself. Jonny unconscious on the bed, his face as white as the sheets.

Race and Jessie went to stand by Benton's side as the doctor gave them her assessment. Jessie looked down at her friend and her heart broke when she heard the doctor's words.

"Your son has been poisoned, Dr. Quest," Dr. Quest said. "We know that it has been acetaminophen poisoning, and he's been treated for it."

"Then why does he still look like that?" Jessie asked, gesturing towards Jonny.

"There is something else in Jonny's bloodstream that I am not sure of," Dr. Takehito replied. "I can guess that it was ingested or injected a little bit more than forty-eight hours ago."

"Fur on a catfish!" Race exclaimed under his breath.

"Is it another poison?" Dr. Quest asked.

"I believe it is, but I am not sure. It if it, it's a very sophisticated type and whoever did this to Mr. Quest knew it could not be recognized. We'll keep working on it."

"Is he…is he…" Jessie couldn’t bring herself to ask the question they all wanted to know the answer to.

"I don’t know. I am unfamiliar with this and I am uncertain of the outcome. I suggest that we keep him here for the time being."

Dr. Quest nodded and covered his eyes with his hand. Dr. Takehito left to give them privacy. Jessie sat at the foot of Jonny's bed and rested a hand on his leg, the small touch comforting her somewhat. She needed to know that he was still with her.

"I think I know who did this," she said suddenly.

The two men glanced up, Race from his position against the wall, and Benton from Jonny's side.

"Who, Jessie?" Race demanded.

"Somebody has been writing Jonny threatening letters. He didn't tell anyone because he thought it was just some joker. I just found out when he picked me up at Berkeley. I stumbled on one of the letters and he had no choice but to tell me."

"So he still has them?" Dr. Quest asked.

"I think so."

Race had the car keys and he left without another word. Dr. Quest sighed and his shoulders slumped as if they carried a great weight.

"Sometimes I wondered if I was mad to take him along on my trips," he said.

Jessie put a hand on his shoulder. "You know he wouldn't have let you go without him."

"If it hadn't let him, he would have been safer. People wouldn't have known. He wouldn't have been famous."

"Dr. Quest, you can't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault. If it's anybody's fault it's…"

"What are you people talking about?"

Jessie and Dr. Quest jumped in unison. Jonny smiled weakly at them.

"How's it going?" he asked casually, his voice hoarse.

Jessie clutched his hand. "We should be asking you that question."

"In that case, I've felt way better than this when I had the flu," Jonny cracked.

"Son, why didn't you tell me about the letters?"

Jonny squinted at Jessie. "Why did you tell him?"

"You've been poisoned, Jonny," she told him. "What's worse is that we don't know what it is and who did it. My Dad's gone back to the house to get your computer so we can download the letters. We need to find out who did this."

Jonny seemed to sink into his pillow. "I'm dying?" he whispered.

Dr. Quest smoothed his son's hair. "Don't say that," he chided gently. "We'll find our way out of this one, just like we did a million times before."

Jonny smiled again. His hand tightened Jessie's then relaxed. "Then, I guess I better get some rest. Wake me if you have any questions." He closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

Dr. Quest kissed his forehead and sat back down in his armchair. Jessie gave Jonny a small peck on the cheek and waited for her father. Race came quickly, but swiftly into the room. In his hands was Jonny's laptop. Jessie plugged it into the phone jack and logged onto Jonny's mailbox. She found the letter she read on Jonny's Dream and let the other two read it.

Race whistled. "This guy's sly as a fox in a chicken coop."

"Jonny told me he didn't tell anyone because this wouldn't hold up in any court," Jessie explained.

Benton's eyes didn't leave the screen. "He's right. This is full of double-meanings." A muscle in his jaw worked as he studied the letter on the screen. "Where are the other letters?"

Jessie took the laptop and found Jonny's old mailbox. Her eyes widened.

"He wasn't kidding when he said he cleaned this up once and a while."

"Ninety-four unopened letters," Race said in disbelief.

"He didn't want to read them," Jessie said.

"I wouldn't have either," Race agreed.

She opened the first letter. It was just junk mail, but she refrained from deleting it. She switched from reading the first letters to the final ones.

"Good idea," Benton muttered.

"When was that letter sent, Jessie?" Dr. Quest demanded.

"Five days ago."

"We forgot one thing," Race spoke up. "How could this guy have poisoned Jonny unless he or she has been following us around all this time? Think. Do you remember seeing any one person every where we've been?"

Jessie and Benton shook their heads.

Race rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I just don't understand it. How could this guy pull it off so quietly? Someone should have noticed something."

"We're going back to Maine," Dr. Quest said, standing. "We'll set up a room for Jonny at the mansion and hire a nurse if we have to. We're going to continue this investigation on our own turf with everything we have available in Questworld."

""Benton, you sign the papers to get Jonny out of here, but tell Dr. Takehito to continue her tests," Race said. "Jessie and I will go back to the house and pack. I'll get our plane tickets ready. We should be out of here in three hours. When we get to Maine, I'm going to contact all the freelance agents I know and have them start investigating this."

Benton nodded and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Race."

"You'd have survived. Now, git!"

Jessie shut down the computer and followed her father out the door. She had to jog to keep up with him. Race's face took on the look he had when his mind was set on something. The one that warned everyone to get out of his way or be trampled.

"He's going to make it right, Dad?"

"Of course he is, Ponchita. That boy can jump into a lake and come out dry. Just watch, he'll come out of this without even a scratch."

Despite the gallant words, Race's expression did not convince Jessie. Her heart felt heavy in her chest.

Jonny sat up in his bed dressed in his pajamas and robe. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he went over a list of poisons that caused the symptoms he had. Jessie was sitting at his desk, her own laptop busy as she tracked down another lead she had.

"Great!" she cried. She had to fight her urge to slam to screen down.

"No luck?" he asked.

Jonny's voice had gotten hoarse from the morphine pills he was taking. As time went along, Jonny's health deteriorated and he was in extreme pain. Jessie fought the tears back as she heard the anger and anguish in his voice.

"No," she said in a low voice.

"We'll find 'em, Jess." He closed his eyes and rested against his pillow. "We have to. I’m not ready to give up yet. I have so many things to do."

Jessie smiled. "Find your own true love?"

He only smiled. She leaned over and hugged him. He felt so frail in her arms. He patted her back feebly as if she needed the comfort more than he did.

He was always stronger than I was, she reflected.

She pulled away and sat next to him on the bed and glanced at what he was working with.

"Any luck?"

"The list your dad gave me is pretty extensive. I've cut it down from one thousand, three hundred, and eighty, to nine hundred and ten."

"Not bad, Quest. Keep at it. I'll get us some lunch."

Jessie padded to the kitchen and found Hadji already there with his apron on. There were two plates there, each holding a hamburger and a generous helping of french fries. He smiled in greeting, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. She could see the exhaustion written all over his face. He had been up most of the night working with Dr. Quest. They had refrained from calling in the authorities because they were warned against it. Dr. Quest and Race relied on their contacts to help them and so far with no satisfying results.

"Is that for us, Hadj?" Jessie asked, gesturing towards the plates.

"Yes. I peeked in half an hour ago and saw you both hard at work. I thought you'd appreciate the nourishment."

Jessie picked up the plates. "Thanks. Where's Eiko?"

"She went to buy some groceries and refresh Jonny's medication."

"It was a good idea to hire her to take care of him," Jessie mused.

"Yes, it was. She feels useful here."

"That's good." Jessie's turned her gaze to the floor, her mouth turned down at the corners. "Have you found anything yet?"

"No," her friend replied. "We've been working non-stop. We're all getting very frustrated with our results."

"It's only normal. I just wish…" She shook her head and left.

Hadji went back to the library. Dr. Quest and Race were about to leave when he arrived.

"Are you going back to Questworld?" he asked.

"Yes. We'll be able to cover more ground that way," Race answered. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I just don't understand why we haven't caught this guy yet. I've called in all the favors I could, and we still have nothing. We're running out of time."

Dr. Quest brushed a hand across his eyes. "It's just like Rachel all over again, but this time I will be able to fight for this life." He turned determined eyes to Race. "We have five days left."

They rushed out of the room and Hadji was left to work with the main database. He was reading each of the sixty-one letters to Jonny and trying to find clues. They weren't sure what the sex of the person was, but Race was betting it was a man. He had said his gut told him.

Hadji crossed his legs in the lotus position and closed his eyes. He breathed in and out, concentrating on only that. Then, his mind exploded in a whirl of activity. Computers weren't the fastest machines in the world, after all.

Jonny laid back on his pillows and closed his eyes. He tried to ignore the pain that was rising on his side as he was reluctant to keep on taking the morphine. But soon beads of sweat began to make their way down the side of his face and his grimace began to feel as if it might become permanent. He opened his eyes to find Jessie sitting at his side, her eyes on his face.

"Just take the morphine, Jonny," she said, brushing the hair from his forehead.

He nodded and she handed one to him. He swallowed it without any water. In a few moments the pain numbed and he sat up. Without any warning, Jessie threw her arms around him.

"I don't want to lose you," she whispered hoarsely, trembling slightly.

Jonny felt his heart leap into his throat at the feel of her against him. He held her close, not wanting to let go, never wanting to leave her. But he knew that there was a good chance now that he would not be able to spend his future with her.

"You won't ever lose me, Jess. I'll always be with you, even if you don't see me."

Jessie closed her eyes and tried to memorize the way he felt at that moment.

"But I want to see you," she whispered. "I need you, Jonny. You're my best friend."

He patted her back, his heart sinking at her words. Even now, when his life hung in the balance, he still could not get his greatest wish. Pushing the thought out of his head, he forced himself to act like her friend.

"We have to face it. There's a good chance that I'll go on the great adventure," he said with a weak smile.

She pulled back and stared into his eyes. Unbelievable pain was what she found in them, but also strength. She wished she could draw on it. The past nine days had been hell and she didn't know what she would do with herself if they lost the battle for his life.

"You'll go on living," he said, reading her thoughts.

But I don't want to without you, she thought sadly.

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