Night

Austin rolls his eyes. “Katie and Jason both. If he thinks he can get away with a stunt like this, he’s sorely mistaken.” He turns around to head back out of the barn. “I gotta go tell Cindy. See you two tomorrow.”

As Austin leaves, Mick stands up and stretches. “Well…I guess that’s that. At least we know those kids are alright, no matter how stupid they were.” He shakes his head. “As for this old cowboy, it’s past my bedtime. I’ll see you in the morning.” He throws Rosetta a quick grin with a wink, and turns to exit the barn.



Clint takes a bow. “Yes, I’d say that chair won’t dare cross me again. Why? Because I’m brave! I’m strong! I’m…”

“…Crusin’ for a bruisn’ bubble brain,” Jeff quips. “Are you gonna sit down on that misbehaving chair or stand their talking to it all night?”

“Uh…” Clint spins around and picks up the chair, promptly sitting on it and scooting back up to the table. He clears his throat, not meeting anyone’s eyes for fear of bursting out laughing again, and his face reddens as he holds it in.

Eric rolls his eyes and finishes off the glass of iced tea he’d been nursing all evening. “I hate to break this up, y’all, but I’m beat.”

“Aww…” Clint complains.

“Sorry.” Eric chuckles and shakes his head and stands up. “You can sit here with your chair wars all night as far as I’m concerned, but I got a date with my pillow.”

The four are left alone, but the back door opens and Cindy steps inside. After Austin woke her to tell her about Jason, she couldn’t get back to sleep, and had decided to go to the mess hall and get something to drink. She raises her eyebrows as she sees Wendy, Clint, Jeff and Wes. “Are you guys still up?” she asks, amazed.


Jason stares up at his ceiling. Being back in his own room felt good, but strange. The house felt different. There was an emptiness there, without his mother, without the dog… yet he wasn’t alone.
He tries to drift to sleep, but the pain in his leg keeps him from the peace required. Awake, his mind drifts over the day, thinking back to the confrontation at TJY. Carter was right…he had changed. He could feel it in himself…there was no denying it. He had started out on this case, wearing a mask, fooling himself and those around him. After breaking down, his walls had crumbled, leaving him bare and vulnerable. But somehow….he had overcome. Now no longer was a mask needed…he was becoming his true self. Fear was no longer present…a new reserve was there instead, steered by a wise confidence rather than an air that turned people off. Would it last? Was he really on the right path? What did the future hold for him now?

He thinks of TJY. There was so much more there than this one case. Though having been started with the drive to take down the Agency, the vigilante corporation had grown quickly into much more, with a variety of cases that kept the full staff constantly busy. They had evolved into more than a small unofficial basement gang that it had started out as. Did Jason really have a future there? It was his current life…it was his talent… it was what he was born to do. Would he continue on the same route, or would he be given a different job? Did he want to stay on the field all the time, or would he rather be in the office in a more secure atmosphere? He was respected at TJY…he knew how to manipulate things well enough to get himself in whatever position he wanted to if he tried hard enough…

Jason turns his head to see the papers lying on his nightstand. He hadn’t revealed to anyone the second sheet that was underneath his suspension release. It was a suggestion…perhaps more of a request…he could easily accept it or turn it down with no questions asked. His accepting it would certainly set him down a path that would keep him on that route indefinitely. Of course, it also depended on the other party, but he was pretty certain of that outcome…
His eyes start to drift shut, his mind beginning to shut down.

A wave of pain causes him to flinch, harshly waking him back up again. He tries to get comfortable, but his knee feels as if it’s on fire, despite the pain killers he had downed with supper. Tossing and turning, sleep just won’t come, and the night feels as if it will never end.