Jekyll and Hyde

"...but I had plans to..."

Reese looks at his son with a raised eyebrow. "More important than work? Until we've heard from Sheriff Brown about the pardons, I'm going to function on the more severe cases as we were. I don't want to let this one by - that man over in Jackson is going to be assassinated if someone doesn't go an intervene, and you're it."

Wyatt sighs. He'd be out of town all day. "Alright. Give me directions. I'll go to the authorities first, and if they don't act, I will. I'll stick to protocol so no attention is attracted in our direction."


"He's out?!" Phil's eyes widen. "Well praise the Lord! How's he doing?"

Con shakes his head as he stacks another board onto the pile out back of the building. "Not great...it's been a shock to his system I think." The hurt still lingered from Jason's words to him the night before...and he wouldn't even speak to Con this morning. They'd fought before, but it never hurt less, and Con knew that Jason was hurting the most. He also knew that things weren't going to get better between Jason and Katie, but he didn't want to be a gossip, so he refrained from telling Phil.

"I bet." Phil nods, his excitement toning down. "The guys and I should come on down and see him."

"He'll be up to Mike's to pick up his bike here sometime, I'm assuming," Con muses. "You might just call him and have him come there or something...I'm sure he's been dying to get back to the band."

"And boy have we been dying to get him back!" Phil's mind starts to reel with ideas. "We should have a real get-together. I'll talk a few things over with Jen."


Jason makes his way down the hall of TJY. He’d gotten in late that morning after refusing a ride from Con and instead, walking across town. He had avoided eye contact with everyone, speaking to no one. He hadn’t seen Katie, though wasn't sure he wanted to right now. He’d barely slept last night, the turmoil locked inside beginning to eat away at him.

All he wanted this morning was to blow off some steam, and the shooting range was all he could think of. He felt so out of place it was driving him mad, and he had no where to turn, no one to talk to. Anyone he thought to call he hadn't had contact with since he'd been in prison, and it felt too awkward to approach any of them. And besides that, he wasn't so sure he wanted to tell anyone yet what had happened. So instead, he kept his barrier firmly in place, supported by his anger.

Entering the end of the room downstairs, Jason stops. This was ridiculous. He wanted to be alone…and not only did someone have to be down here already, but why did it have to be Scott? Was someone purposely trying to torture him?!

Scott’s eye catches movement to the side, and he lowers his now-empty handgun. He pulls off his protective earmuffs, wondering at the ticked-off look on Jason’s face. Warily, he decides to exit, leaving the downstairs room to Jason. He rarely came down here, but this morning after checking on Katie then doing a bit of work, he'd decided to get away from computer troubles for just a few minutes and have a little bit of target practice. He puts everything away and aims for the door, but Jason intentionally moves in front of it, his arms crossed, forming a challenging barrier.

Scott stops and looks up at him. “Excuse me…”

Jason grits his teeth. “Why don’t you stay and we talk?”

“About…?”

Jason knew where all this had originated, and wasn’t afraid to use it. He’d heard everything. “About how you buy cars to steal other people’s girlfriends.”

Scott bristles at the blatant accusation, though fear slowly seeps in. Somehow, Jason had already found out about him and Katie. “I’m sorry, but…I never have, nor will I ever purchase anything with the intent of stealing anyone’s girlfriend.”

“Sure.” Jason’s voice drips with disbelief. “So what was it…a token of good friendship? A bribe so someone would hang out with you? A last ditch effort to get some attention?”

Heat rises to Scott’s face. All he’d done was give a gift to someone he saw needed a pick-me-up. He hadn’t spent a dime…just cashed in on a favor. Katie had been in need of a vehicle, he’d seen the need and helped out. Period. What had happened after that had nothing to do with the car. But trying to explain that to Jason would be pointless. “Let it go, Jase,” Scott advises. “This isn’t worth arguing over.”

Jason’s eyes narrow. “Maybe not to you. But I’m the one who was told by Katie that she’d wait for me…stick around…she couldn’t stand being without me. I get back and not only has that apparently changed, but I find out she’s been dating the office geek – now how would you feel?”

Scott was used to the name-calling, though this time it stung just a little. “If someone like Katie chose someone else over me,” he returns boldly, “then I’d seriously consider how big of a jerk I’d been to push her away.”

Anger flashes in Jason’s eyes. “You’ve gotten pretty brave, you know that?”

In reality, Scott was shaking in his boots. His irritation and desire to stand up for what was between him and Katie was the only thing that was helping him hold his ground. “I’m just stating a fact. Now come on, and let me pass.”

Jason doesn’t move. “You went too far, Scott,” he warns. “I’m not going to take this lying down.”

“What do you want to do?” Scott holds out his arms to the sides, starting to get fed up. “Slug me? Go ahead, if it’ll make you feel better. I have done nothing other than have a heart, which apparently you are incapable of.”

Jason has spent too long being taught to react in the moment…too long being taught that to fight is the only way to win…too long being taught to take a challenge with force…too long learning to enjoy the adrenaline rush of a fight and letting his tempter take over. Ignoring all sense of right and wrong, and blinding himself to what he was about to do, he takes Scott’s offer and swings.

Scott doesn’t even have time to react before Jason’s hard knuckles meet his mouth with the force of a sledgehammer. His head whips to the side, knocking him off balance. He falls to the floor, barely catching himself with his hands. His left wrist buckles, pain shooting through his hand and up his arm. The taste of blood enters his mouth and he spits, realizing he’s just lost a side tooth. A sharp throbbing spreads through his jaw.

Before he can even right himself, Jason is on top of him. He’s rolled over onto his back as Jason delivers more blows to his face, then his ribs. Scott holds up his arms, trying to block the punches, wincing as his wrist is hit, and as most of his blocks do no good. The Jason he had known might have slugged him, though that probably would have been it. But this new Jason was unpredictable and Scott feared he wouldn’t stop.

Somehow, he’s finally able to wriggle free of Jason’s weight, and tries to crawl away despite his weakened wrist, but Jason pulls him back by an ankle. Scott twists around to look up at him, pleading with him. “Don’t do this…” Blood runs from several cuts on his cheek and from his mouth and nose. He was no match for Jason's strength and skill, and he couldn’t take much more.

But Jason no longer sees a friend, but an enemy created by an anger that blinds him to what he is doing. He doesn’t want to listen, and drags him closer, aiming a kick to Scott’s gut. Scott doubles over as the boot lands hard on his stomach. Jason was angry and there was no stopping him.


Carson skips down the stairs, aiming for the shooting range. On break, it was a good time to do some practice. He hadn’t fired a shot in quite a while, and didn’t want to grow rusty at this point.

Reaching the door he swings it open, but stops dead in his tracks at the scene before him. Jason is on top of Scott, relentlessly beating on him. Carson didn’t know all that had happened, but his instincts told him that Scott needed his help – he wasn’t the type of person who would have started this fight.

Stepping in quickly, Carson grabs Jason from behind. “Whoa, whoa, stop, Jason.”

Jason whirls around and takes a swing at Carson.

Carson ducks and jabs at Jason’s shoulder to spin him back around, then reaches up to put him in a choke hold, having just a bit of difficulty with Jason’s height. Jason had to bend backward not to be choked by his shorter adversary, and grabs at Carson’s arm. “Let me go,” he hisses.

“Calm down,” Carson orders sternly, grabbing one of Jason’s arms to twist it behind his back.

Jason fights him, but in this position there’s not much he can do, and as far as brute strength was concerned, Carson was probably an equal opponent. “Get off of me!” he growls.

“Not until you cool it!” Carson struggles to hold Jason back, and glances down to the floor. “Scott….Scott, are you alright?”

Scott winces and rolls over on his side to curl up, just trying to breathe without it hurting.

Carson grits his teeth and pulls Jason over to the side of the room, slamming an elbow into the intercom button. “Rick, get down to the lower level on the double.”

“What is it?”

“Just come on,” Carson replies with exasperation. He moves back closer to Scott, still keeping Jason under control. “Scott, can you get up? Rick’s on his way down.”

Scott is pretty sure that he’s receiving help but the dazed fog blurs everything. He manages to get to his knees, still holding his stomach and ribs, the blood still flowing from his nose and mouth while he cradles his wrist. He swallows hard and winces, lifting his head to see where his help had come from. “Carson…”

“You’re alright,” Carson nods. “Just sit tight a minute.”

“Good land, what is going on?!” Rick quickly crosses the distance to Scott, crouching down next to him.

Jason glares at Rick. “Don’t ask. Just get him out of my sight.”

Carson tightens his grip around Jason’s throat and puts more pressure on his twisted arm. “Now, now, I said to cool it.”

Rick looks up with an angry concern. “Jason, you did this?”

Carson intervenes. “Just get Scott out of here, Doc.”

Rick frowns, but turns back to his task. “Come on, Scott…can you get up?”

Scott lamely reaches up for the support of Rick’s shoulders, finally getting to his feet, though remaining hunched over.

The two make their way slowly back up to the main level and to the infirmary where Rick makes Scott sit on the edges of the bed, tilting his head back to try and stop the nosebleed. “What happened?”

Scott doesn’t answer. He didn’t know what to think, and was hurting too much to care.

Rick purses his lips and looks over to Misty grimly, gesturing for her to come and help. “Alright, at least your nose isn’t broken. What’s wrong with your mouth?”

Scott gingerly opens his mouth to show the bloody pool where his tooth belonged.

“Ooh, nice.” Rick cringes. He prepares a solution to treat it, and makes Scott hold in his mouth a cotton swab to get the bleeding to stop. “Misty, clean up those cuts on his cheek, will you, please?”

He pulls up Scott’s shirt and makes him straighten, feeling of his ribs. “Hurt?”

“Mm.” Scott nods as he winces at Rick’s prodding.

“Well, you might have a couple cracks, but nothing too major. We’ll tape you up good to keep everything as still as possible, but that’ll just have to heal on its own.” Rick sighs and puts his hands on his hips, giving Scott another once-over. He notices the bent wrist and shakes his head. “What about that?”

Scott’s answer is slurred as he speaks without moving his mouth much. “I dn’t knw…I thnk I sprned it.”

Rick lifts up Scott's hand, his face showing his concern as his fingers feel it gently. “I think you’ve got a fracture here, bud. I’m going to have to x-ray it. Come on. Misty, help me out here, will ya?”

A while later, Scott is back sitting on the bed, a small bandage on his cheek, cotton still in his mouth, his ribs taped and his wrist in a splint. His black and blue eyes stay glued to the floor.

Rick stands back and folds his hands across his chest. To him, Scott looked like a little boy who had been beaten by a bully on the way home from school. But he still hadn’t said what happened. “Well, I don’t want you using that wrist of yours unless absolutely necessary for three weeks so that fracture heals. I also want you to see a dentist. There’s part of your tooth left in there and I’m not going to dig around and make it worse.” He sighs deeply. “Can you make it home alright?”

Scott nods numbly.

“Are you going to tell me what happened now?”

Scott lifts his head, his eyes pleading with Rick. “Don’t tell Katie,” he manages.

“What? Why?”

Scott’s eyes go back to the floor.

Rick shakes his head. “Fine. Don’t tell me. But what are you going to do? Leave town for three weeks so when you get back there’s no evidence left? I don’t know why you don’t want Katie to know, but that’s about as impossible a task as you’re going to get.”

Scott knows Rick is right…and somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembers his promise to Katie never to lie or hide. He just didn’t want her feeling any guilt for this… “You’re right,” he mumbles.

Sliding off the edge of the bed, he stands to slowly make his way to the door, holding his side as he goes, taking his time. Looking both ways down the hall before exiting, he makes sure Jason isn’t around, then heads out to the main floor. He needed to get his keys from his desk before he could leave.


Jason starts to weaken against Carson’s hold, though he still fights.

“Would you just stop?!” Carson doesn’t give up, and gives Jason a hefty jolt. “Cut it out before you hurt yourself!”

As Carson increases his pressure, something suddenly clicks, and like a light being turned on, Jason begins to realize just how out of control he was. It’s almost as if what had just happened hadn’t been him, but his sheer frustration and anger…something that all of a sudden had taken over just as it had so many times in the last months...something that allowed him to use force without feeling it.

Jason starts to see what he’d just done, and the images of Scott flash in his mind. The shame was back and in full force to join with his frustration and anger.

Carson can feel him starting to relax, and loosens his grip, gradually letting him go. “What’s going on, Jason?” he asks calmly but sternly. “Why did you do this?”

Jason stares numbly at the floor. Because something was being taken from him…because he had no control over anything anymore…because his livelihood was slipping from his grasp… because for an instant, he had hated Scott.

He doesn’t even answer Carson as he aims for the door, his head down as he trudges forward, almost in a daze. Once in the hall, his body finally begins to retaliate against the emotional stress he’s put himself through.

Barely making it into the bathroom, Jason sinks to the floor by the toilet to throw up, his muscles beginning to shake. What had he done…?


Carson heads back upstairs, stopping by the infirmary on his way to the main floor. The shooting range was forgotten. He enters and glances around. "Is Scott alright?"

Rick purses his lips grimly. "He will be - it wasn't pretty though. Where's Jason?"

"Downstairs puking his guts out."

"Do you know what's going on?"

"Nope." Carson glances to Misty, then back to Rick. "Many a similar fight has started over a girl though."