Through the night

Cindy returns Wes’ hug just a little awkwardly, but forces herself not to resist. Fear will not ruin this evening…not this time. “Thanks, Wes…I had a good time too…” Her eyes linger on his for just a moment before she turns to go in her bunk. “Good night.”


Mick is quiet for a long while, trying to shake off the bad dream, but it sticks with him as if clutching his mind with sharp talons. He’s finally calmed down though, his exhaustion starting to take back over. Without saying anything, he leans over to position himself on his side, and pulls Rosetta down next to him, wrapping an arm around her, just wanting to know she’s safe, her presence reminding him that it had only been a dream. Before he knows it, he’s asleep again, not waking until the morning.


Jason’s alarm goes off and his eyes fly open. He quickly shuts it off, then rubs his face wearily, yawning and stretching. Rolling out of bed, he sees it’s still dark out. Probably no one else is up yet.
He dresses and grabs his crutches, throwing on a jacket and making his way to the mess hall. He enters quietly and goes to the kitchen, not bothering to turn on any lights, but retrieves and downs a glass of orange juice. Satisfied for now, he heads back outside. He was done moping… it was time to kick into high gear.
He goes back to his bunk where he promptly begins an exercise routine, first for his knee, then the rest of his body. Wincing, he grits his teeth against the pain that shoots down his leg. It had to go ignored – he would not let it get the best of him. Sweat trickles down the side of his face as his muscles strain against the pushups. He wanted to run, but if forced not to because of his knee, he would work all the harder on other things.
As the sun begins to peek over the horizon, Jason ceases his workout, and showers. Dressed once again, he takes a long look at himself in the mirror. Moving on was never easy. But moving ahead was a necessity.
Grabbing his crutches again, he heads back to the mess hall, several computer printouts in hand.


Laura comes into the kitchen and raises her eyebrows. “Wow, two mornings in a row,” she teases. “I hope you know it’s not a requirement of you staying here.” She grabs some juice from the fridge, still running a hand through her hair to get it to dry from her shower. “Did Wyatt say what time he’d be here?”
A honk outside answers her.
“Oh, drat, he’s earlier than I thought!” She throws Katie a look of apology. “Sorry. Guess we’re in a bit of a rush.”