How can it be?

A tennis ball flies through the air, bounces off the wall and smacks into Carson’s palm as it’s caught. With each throw it flies with a little more force, the thrower’s frustration coming through.

Carson straddles his chair, aiming the ball with accuracy, though getting no closer to feeling any better. He was angry…frustrated…irritated… this whole thing was just plain stupid. He was stupid. He’d been living in a world where choices didn’t matter…no one cared what he did or how he acted… whatever choices he’d made had been fine, no matter the outcome. But here…in this new world, it was different. Choice were like dominos, set up to affect everything in their path if one dared to tip the first one.

He’d hit several dominos, creating a chain of events that led to one big mess of tiles, of which resetting required time, effort…and forgiveness…something Carson knew very little about.

The tennis ball lands in his palm, this time not to be thrown again. A dull pain creeps through his gut, a reminder that he still hadn’t eaten.
“Carson, get up off your hind end, brush off the dust and for pity’s sake, move on. Wallowing in misery does nothing but create ulcers.”
Carson can’t help a slight twitch to the corner of his mouth, thinking of his father’s words after Carson had made a stupid move and been miserable.

Sighing, he gets up and tosses the tennis ball into his bag, heading for the door. He stops for a moment, turning back around and spying Misty’s locket on the table. Pursing his lips, he goes for it, putting it back in his pocket…just in case.

Heading for the breakroom, Carson glances down the hall, not really interested in conversing with anyone at the moment. Passing the infirmary though, he pauses. Without thinking, he glances inside…his eyes automatically searching for the one that had supplied him the momentum on this rocky road… Shaking his head, he moves on. Maybe this whole thing was pointless.

Reaching the breakroom, Carson comes to a halt, seeing Misty at the counter, making her own lunch. He almost turns around, but groans inwardly, stopping himself. It was bad enough he felt this miserable. If he walked away again, it would just get worse. Either this thing needed to be fixed or ended.

Hooking his thumbs in his pockets, he leans on the door frame. “No matter where I go, there you are.” His tone comes out, slightly annoyed. “Whether it’s walking down the hall, hiding in a corner or walking away from this twisted setting and running across fellow thugs, there you are.” He shakes his head. “Misty, you confuse the tar out of me…you give me a miserable knot in my gut, and a headache on top of a headache.”

Carson’s jaw tightens, his eyes like steel, baring down on her. “So why on earth can’t I just walk away?”


Jason lethargically accepts the orange slice that Lockheart offers, not quite sure just exactly what was going on, but having enough sense not to argue. Finally getting most of it down, it starts to revive him, slowly but surely.

It takes a while, but he eventually sits up straight, getting handle on what was happening, and alert enough to carry on a conversation. The dark storm clouds still loomed in the back of his mind, reminding him of what he’d gone through the day before…but for the moment, they were held off by the cool breeze of hope that today was one step towards freedom.

Finishing up with Lockheart, Jason sighs and shakes his head. “Everything’s pretty clear I guess…I just want to get this thing over with.”

...The courtroom is warm and stuffy. The eyes of people in the seats around him, bear into Jason’s …he can feel their question…their distrust…their lack of tolerance for one accused of murder.

He’s pushed forward down the narrow walkway, fashioning his prison garb and cuffed hands. His weary eyes scan the faces until they land on the only one that matters to him. Locking eyes with Katie for but the moment he has, he tries to let her know he’s okay. He knows she surely knows what happened to him yesterday, and feels badly that she had to go through that anxiety. He forces a smile, the best he can muster…her eyes the only thing that can give him enough strength to do so.

All too soon, he has to turn away as he’s directed to his own seat beside Lockheart.

The proceeding is confusing…talk is fast, legal terms are flung left and right. Jason has a hard time understanding everything, but only has to trust Lockheart that she knows exactly what’s going on. Words fly by him like nothing, but those of importance ring in his ears.

“Five days from now.”

A murmur breaks out across the courtroom as the timeframe given is unheard of. The defense and prosecution had less than one week to reconvene? It was utterly ridiculous…utterly amazing…utterly…against all forms of rules.

Jaws drop, eyes widen. The judges gavel signals the decision…the ruling. Jason had pleaded not guilty, and it was up to Lockheart to stick to the case she’d built and use it in five day’s time.

Noise erupts as people begin to file out of the courtroom. Jason is pulled up out of his chair by the bailiff, but he resists, wanting to know what’s going on from Lockheart…wanting to sort this out. He was confused, and fights being pulled to the door. He wanted to sort this out, he wanted to see Katie…there was too much happening at once, and his already-foggy mind begins to panic.

“Lockheart, I don’t understand.” He’s pulled backward away from his seat, and back down the walkway. “How…what..I don’t…” His eyes fly back to Katie, searching for her wildly among the moving crowd. Five days…would it really be over in five days?


Mick cradles his own coffee mug and smiles his greeting to Jamie, carrying on the light conversation. As she mentions Sam, he grows solemn, and sighs a little. “Yeah…I guess I wish things would have turned out a little differently there. But you do with the cards that are dealt ya, and there’s nothing that can change the past…”

He lifts an eyebrow at the inquiry of Damien, but complies. “I can give him a ring and get him down here. He hangs around every once in a while, so it shouldn’t take much to get him here.”