A/N: I've hit a bit of a snag with some of my other stories, so the obvious thing to do was to completely re-write the Pilot episode of Eureka. I pretty much cut all of the scenes that didn't have Jack and Allison in them and re-wrote them with Jack and Nathan. Again, apologies for all mistakes. My two main beta readers have abandoned me and left me to check my own work.

Jack Carter was not having the best week. He had managed to track his delinquent daughter down within three days of her running away, gotten lost on a back road, crashed his car and found himself stranded in the oddest town he's ever been in. To top it off, a child was missing and the Sheriff was refusing his help. He was a U.S. Marshal, for goodness' sake! Knowing in his gut that the Sheriff was just wasting time, Carter ducked beneath the blue tarp. He took a moment to stare at the demolished RV before shaking his head. He really didn't want to know and decided instead to focus on the scene in front of him. In fact, he was so focused, he completely missed the arrival of another man.

"Looking for something?" the man asked. Carter turned and stared at the man. He was tall with green eyes and black hair. His beard was neatly trimmed and he looked like he'd just stepped out of a men's catalog in his pressed suit. "You know you're disturbing an active crime scene?"

"Well, actually, I'm investigating an active crime scene." He stated, reaching into his inside pocket. "Jack Carter, U.S. Marshal," he stated, showing his badge. The man grinned, pulling out his own badge.

"Nathan Stark, Department of Defense."

"Huh, and what would the Department of Defense want with a missing person?" Jack asked, not waiting for an answer as he moved further into the crime scene.

"Well, now that we're done with the introductions, Mr. Carter..."

"Well, actually it's Marshal Carter," he stated, immensely enjoying the annoyed look flickering across the other man's face. "But you can call me Jack," he finished, careful to hide his grin as he climbed onto the RV.

"Uh, hey, I don't like to repeat myself," Nathan stated irritably.

"Yet something tells me you're going to." Jack informed him as he knelt down to investigate. "Wow, you know, I've seen some strange stuff..." he trailed off, standing up as realization hit. "This is why the D.O.D. is out here in the middle of nowhere." He stated, turning to face Nathan.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Nathan told him, crossing his arms.

"Oh, come on, Mr. Stark, we're on the same team," Jack cajoled, not really paying much attention to the man as he continued looking around.

"That's Agent Stark, Marshal, and we're not even in the same league." Nathan shot back, grinning. "This is way out of your jurisdiction," he continued, turning serious.

"Actually, I'm a U.S. Marshal, so technically the United States is my jurisdiction," Jack stated with a small grin and he considered it a minor success when the taller man rolled his eyes with a tiny grin. "Careful, though, wouldn't want you disturbing an active crime scene," he stated as he turned away and moved further into the RV.

"Look..." Stark began, but cut off as they caught sight of a hand print on the cabinet. "Brian."

"The missing boy?" Carter asked after a moment's pause.

"Yeah. Hey!" He admonished as Carter stuck his thumb in the middle of the hand print.

"It's okay," Carter assured, sucking the pad of his thumb.

"What are you doing?" Stark demanded.

"Relax, it's not blood," the Marshal assured. Stark let out a deep sigh before turning back to Carter.

"Then what?" he demanded.

"Chocolate. Hershey's Big Block...with almonds." He finished with a pleased grin. His grin didn't falter at the annoyed look Stark was giving him.

"How could you possibly know that?" Carter turned away and picked up the wrapper. Nathan rolled his eyes to hide his grin.

"Believe it or not, I have done this before." He paused before continuing on. "But, there's one small detail I usually like to ascertain before launching a full-scale manhunt for a missing person."

"And that would be?" Nathan asked, moving closer to the Marshal.

"That there is, in fact, a person missing," Carter stated, not even blinking as Nathan pierced him with his gaze. Instead, he leaned forward and flipped open the seat cushion, revealing a cubby-hole with the Perkins' son. "Hi, Brian."

"Brian," Nathan growled.

~Cut Scene~

"Brian, were you hiding in the RV the entire time?" Sheriff Cobb asked.

"Yes!" The boy stated, grinning as his mother wrapped him in a hug and Sheriff Cobb shook his head. It was evident he was disappointed in himself.

"Everybody missed it," Stark stated.

"Not everybody," Cobb stated, watching as Carter continued looking around the RV, inadvertently stepping into a mud puddle.

"Uh, I guess he's smarter than he looks," Stark stated dubiously.

"I'm gonna let Jo handle it," Cobb stated, giving Stark a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"No, no," Stark shot the idea down quickly. "I'll handle it."

"No, Jo, she's perfect," Cobb argued.

"I need you to stay focused on finding what caused this."

"No, Jo! Jo!" Cobb called.

"Sheriff," Stark's tone took on a warning edge and his grin became sharp. "Sheriff, please." Cobb sighed, but turned and walked away. "Looks like you really stepped in it, Marshal."

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"I suppose I should thank you," Stark stated, his tone indicating that he really didn't want to.

"How about you telling me what's going on here instead?" At Stark's infuriating smile Carter sighed. "Yeah, yeah, you're not at liberty to say." When Stark saw Henry let down the Marshal's car he had to hide a grin as the tire deflated. Looked like this interesting new person would be stuck in town for awhile. What a shame.

"Come on, I've got a place you can stay."

"You've really got a hotel around this place? I wouldn't have thought you get all that many people driving through this town." Carter stated as he trailed after the other man.

"Oh, you'd be surprised, Marshal."

Nathan knew that the Marshal was going to be a gigantic pain in the ass. Not only did he invite himself onto a missing person case, he intruded on another crime scene and somehow managed to escape from Taggart's jeep. And now he was demanding to know what was going on.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that," Stark stated as he entered the Sheriff's Office with Taggart.

"Really?" Carter asked, unimpressed. "And just how do you plan on stopping me." The cracking of Jo's neck was the only warning any of them got before Jo had him down on the ground. Stark would have been happy to leave the Marshal in the jail cell but with Sheriff Cobb in the infirmary missing part of his leg, they needed someone to investigate. And Jo was a little too gun happy for Stark's taste.

"He's got experience. So what?" Jo asked, flipping through Carter's files.

"The way I see it, we have two options. We can get rid of him, or use him." And Stark really didn't need to be thinking about the ways he could use Jack Carter. Jo thunked her gun down on the desk.

"I know my preference."

"He wrecked my cage," Taggart whined as he peered out the window.

"He found the kid," Stark argued.

"We would have found him eventually," Jo argued.

"Smashed it to pieces," Taggart continued.

"Without Cobb, we are gonna..." Stark began.

"He'll pull through. He has to." Jo interrupted.

"Built that cage with my own two hands." Taggart stated.

"You'll build a new one." Stark stated, tired of hearing about Taggart's cage.

"Yeah...but not as good." Taggart answered, shaking his head sadly.

"Look, it's my call. He's good at what he does and right now we need every resource possible. Marshal, come on. Let's go for a ride."

"So, back there..." Jack stated as Nathan drove out of town. "When you said, 'get rid of him'...did you mean like, buy him a bus ticket -"

"First things first," Stark stated, pulling out the packet of forms that Carter needed to sign and plopping them into his lap. "Standard non-disclosure agreement. To dumb it down for you, it says that you'll be charged with treason if you ever tell anyone what you see here. A lot of people would like to get there hands on what I'm about to show you. Sign it." Stark ordered, handing over a pen. He slowed the car as Carter took the pen and signed where indicated.

"Where are you taking me, Area 51?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"Please," Nathan smirked. "They wish they had our security." With that, he stomped on the gas, watching in amusement as Carter began panicking.

"Slow down." Carter warned as the car approached the broken bridge. "What are you doing?" he demanded, groping for his seat-belt. As the car passed through the field, Nathan laughed. "You've got a cruel streak, haven't you?" Carter asked, glaring. Nathan let his smirk speak for him as he handed his pass over to the guard, conveniently forgetting to warn the Marshal about the retinal scan. "Oh, I think I'm blind."

"Relax, that almost never happens." Nathan stated as he passed through the gate. He gave a brief description of everything he thought the Marshal might need to know and occasionally elaborated when the man didn't quite understand. He had to admit, he was rather surprised at how much the Marshal seemed to grasp.

"But, where do you fit in with all of this?" Jack asked as they trekked through GD.

"I'm one of GD's scientists as well as a government liaison. I make sure the research being done here is productive. Building a better future doesn't come cheap."

"Well, that explains Fort Knox," Carter stated, nodding to Section 5.

"Section 5 is restricted to military projects only. We don't enjoy it, but the Department of Defense is one of our biggest supplies of income. Life is full of compromises. We work with the military, we get the best of everything – schools, housing, health-care..."

"With an emphases on the latter, I hope, with everything I've seen," Carter quipped.

"Life is full of risks," Nathan quipped back.

"You've had problems before." Carter stated and Nathan was once again surprised by how quick Carter could be.

"Occasionally."

"Like?"

"Global warming." Nathan stated before walking ahead, a small smirk on his lips. It was rather fun throwing the Marshal off his game. However, the meeting with Warren left Nathan questioning his decision to bring the Marshal into the investigation. It seemed like the man was intent on proving himself to be the biggest idiot on the planet. Still, Carter seemed honest when he said that he was still just trying to wrap his brain around everything. Luckily, Nathan was saved from attempting to be reassuring by the Sheriff jumping out of his car and running into Cafe Diem. In all honesty, Nathan wasn't really expecting to see the man again – at least not that night, so he was shocked to find him on his doorstep with a rolled-up map in his hand. "Honey, who is it?" he called.

"Five, Thirteen, Sixty-Nine. Tuesday." Kevin stated.

"Okay sweetie, go back inside." Nathan stated softly. He shut the door as Kevin re-entered the house. "Marshal? What's going on?"

"He's a nice kid," Jack stated as he smiled and nodded towards the door. "We chatted in the park earlier today."

"Are you trying to be funny?" Nathan asked, anger and hurt burning inside of him.

"Uh, no." Jack stated, the smile falling from his face as he realized something was wrong. Nathan took a minute to control his initial anger before explaining.

"My son has autism. He barely speaks to the people that he knows."

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize..." Jack began and Nathan knew he was telling the truth.

"I'm sorry," he stated, shaking his head. "It's been a long day."

"Um, I think I have a lead," Jack stated, attempting to dispel the awkwardness. "But, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm going to have to run it by your professor friend."

Nathan could hardly believe it when Carter suggested using Warren's project to find the origin of the entire disaster. They were so close to discovering what had happened when Briggs decided to invade the town. Stark was certain they could figure out a way to reverse whatever Walter had done if they could just find someone to complete the partially erased formula. And then Carter had asked him to trust him.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked sarcastically before handing over his car keys. When the Marshal had come back with Zoe and Kevin, the scientist really began questioning the man's sanity. He lost track of how long they all stood there waiting for Kevin to finish the formula.

"Yeah. Yeah, this isn't working," Jack ceded, picking up the blackboard and setting it on the ground. "Try that." he stated, moving back. It was as if a switch had been flipped. Kevin moved forward, kneeling down and beginning to fill in the missing parts of the equation. Nathan could have kissed the Marshal in that moment – but that would have been entirely unprofessional.

"Well I'll be damned." Briggs stated as Nathan moved and wrapped his arms around his son. Somehow, Jack had done it. And he'd been right about Warren. Well, that would have to be taken care of just as soon as the town was safe again.

Crisis adverted, one General put in his place and one scientists threatened - all in all a good day for Nathan. Still, and he would never admit it, but he was sad to see the Marshal leave Eureka. The man obviously struggled to grasp with what they had thrown at him but despite lacking the scientific knowledge that Cobb had Carter somehow managed to keep the town from blowing up. It took a special type of person to do that. And if Kevin had voluntarily spoken to him at the park... So he wasn't all that upset to find Sheriff Cobb in his office, handing in his retirement paperwork with a request for one Marshal Jack Carter as his replacement. It seemed like things were going to be getting more interesting around here.

~Review~