Lowlife

Reese agrees to Lockheart trying to see Jason. He bids her farewell and heads back to TJY.

Wyatt looks to Katie with sorrow and helplessness. No, she couldn't see Jason...the one thing she wanted.

Sighing softly, he pulls out of the parking lot and heads to her place. Arriving, he parks at the curb and cuts the motor, just sitting for a moment. "Do you need anything, Katie...? Can I call somebody for you or...or do anything? I don't like leaving you alone like this."


Laura tenses just a little as Nate touches her face, but she doesn't pull back. It was the hand she trusted.

Turning, she sees Jamie too, and starts to smile, giving a little wave. She's about to say something, but realizes Jamie is heading a different direction. She raises her eyebrows as she sees Jamie heading for Carson. Laura can't help but think that Jamie has a lot more guts than she would. She exchanges a glance with Nate, then looks back at Jamie, watching.


As Jamie approaches, Carson removes his feet from his desk and stands up, not sure what's about to happen, his guard up, ready for anything. Seeing Jamie outstretch her hand, and hearing her introduction, Carson's stomach turns into knots. What was going on? What was this? How...?

Confusion flashes through his eyes, bewilderment veiling his face. This just wasn't possible. He knew there were good people here but...this was a woman who he had helped torture... The scar on her face proved a mark she would wear forever, a reflection of the scar she surely wore on her heart. And Carson had taken part in that. And here Jamie was...in essence, offering a truce. It was utterly mind-boggling.

He lowers his eyes to her hand, then back up to her face. Did he dare take that hand? Did he dare to step forward and accept this act of sheer courage? For that was all he could define her actions as - courageous. He simply didn't understand.

But he couldn't ignore it. Carson knew now that he had been wrong. He knew that he had taken part in some terrible things, and that even though he'd been sucked into the system and at the time had no remorse...now he saw things differently. Being around these people...seeing how they functioned. He was still so very far from them and they way they thought. But the wrongness of his past actions was becoming clearer. And if he wanted to move past any of it, he had to step out and meet that offer of forgiveness with courage of his own.

Finally...slowly, Carson accepts Jamie's hand, giving it a short firm shake before letting it go. He would respect her apparent wish not to look at the past, but start from this spot instead. He discovered it just a little hard to find his voice. "It's...nice to meet you too, Jamie."

He swallows hard, not knowing what to do next. He didn't know how these things worked. But if she'd introduced herself, he could do the same, signaling that he was ready to move on as well. "I'm Carson Banks...resident lowlife." He pauses, identifying guilt and shame within himself. "...Who promises that history won't repeat itself."


The three-hour ride is long and filled with too much time to think. Jason is taken to a different section of the prison compound, now here to stay. He's handled roughly, his instincts causing him to fight, only forcing the guards to use physical force with him.

He's stripped of all pride as he's given new prison garb, fashioning the number by which he would be known by for all records. Jeers from other inmates ring in his ears as he's escorted down the long walkway to the cell that would be his own from here on out. Words from the guards all muddle together, making no sense as Jason's world is turned completely upside down.

Before the sun sets, he is curled up on the narrow bed, ignoring the tray of food that was left for him. Tomorrow he would be eating with the other inmates. Tonight he had been left alone.

The physical force used against him begins to seep into his muscles as soreness sets in. His hair has been cut short, crewcut fashion, molding him into the prison's new inmate mold that forces him to relent to the fact that he is theirs. No longer his own.

Emotions build behind his eyes, but he refuses to let them spill over. He didn't even have Katie's picture any longer. He had been stripped of all. His identity itself was fading.