Fight

Luke throws his arms around Angel, drawing her close to give her a peck on the head. “Nothing.” He grins at her. “Just thinking…”


Cindy is grateful for Wes’ company, though when Jason arrives, her attention is quickly diverted.

Clint remains seated as the raised voices resonate through the mess hall. He glances at Wendy, an eyebrow raised, but keeps quiet.

Jade comes in from the living room, her eyes wide as she hears the shouting. She stops in the doorway, watching, and unsure how to react.


Jason grits his teeth as Katie gets yelled at, and he can feel his irritation rising.

When Rosetta stops, Austin opens his mouth to speak, but Jason cuts him off. He looks at Rosetta, trying to maintain an element of respect, but not taking kindly to what had been said. “Look, if you want to blame someone, blame me, alright? I’m the one who made the decision to take off, and I’m the one that dragged Katie along. I take full responsibility for any and all of this. DON’T give her a hard time.”

“You’re certainly right you’re to blame!” Austin exclaims, jumping in. “And Rosetta’s right! What if the Agency had spotted you? Both of you out there on your own! You would have been no match for them.”

“That’s not true.” Jason shifts his glare to his grandfather. “You know me better than to think I’d walk into something blind, and besides that, four eyes are better than two, and Katie is dang good at sensing danger.” His face reddens as his anger grows. “Don’t pretend that we’re little kids who ran off for the fun of it.”

Austin’s jaw tightens, and he crosses his arms on his chest. “So why, pray tell, DID you run off?”

Jason swallows hard, knowing that he had crossed a line by going to see Carter himself. “I went to have my suspension lifted.”

“You WHAT?”

Jason stands a little straighter. “I spoke to Carter.”

Austin’s eyes can’t get any wider. “You spoke to Carter…you went over MY head? You completely ignored all the charges against you and DARED to show your face in Carter’s office?!”

“Yes.” Jason stares him dead in the eye. “And I succeeded.”

Silence. Austin can’t believe it. “You’re suspension is lifted?”

“Yes.”

Anger flashes in Austin’s eyes. “I can’t believe your nerve! And I can’t believe Carter did that! After all those charges, after everything that happened, and the shape you’re in… WHAT is going on in that head of yours??!”

Despite Jason’s ire for the verbal exchange, a tongue-lashing from his grandfather still evokes an element of childlike shame. He drops his gaze to the floor as the blood rushes to his face. “I did what I needed to do,” he defends in a lower tone. “I knew that if I told you where I was going that you would have stopped me, and had I called you on the way, you would have called Carter and warned him I was coming. I didn’t want that.”

“Of course not! If you would have had a clear conscience, you wouldn’t have tried to sneak around. You knew you were wrong!”

“I didn’t think I was wrong, and I still don’t. If Carter didn’t want me to stay on the case, he would have said so. It was his decision, not mine.”

“But you instigated it!” Austin throws his hands up in the air. “You have so many more issues here than just one, Jason! Apart from the fact that you went over my head and were stupid, you stole Pete’s car! You had us worried to death! You went off gallivanting around, with a girl no less, overnight – how do you think THAT will look on your record?”

Jason’s eyes shoot back up, his anger taking over. He lifts a finger to Austin in warning, his tone the most intense it’s been. “I’ll warn you for the last time, Austin. We are NOT having this conversation again. You get your mind out of the gutter and back where it belongs, or so help me, I’ll knock your block off for any implications against Katie’s integrity.” He glares into Austin’s eyes, his caution gone. “This has absolutely nothing to do with that and you know it. You’re just mad that I did something you didn’t want me to do. Get over yourself and deal with it.”

Their staredown intensifies, the unspoken words hanging thickly in the air.