Late Apology

Scott eyes Katie wearily, but nods. He’d been remembering more and more as the day went on, and now had a pretty good picture of what had happened last night.

Pulling himself up with just a bit of trouble, he sits, propped up with pillows. “Alright…” he sighs deeply. “I don’t know what time it was….I was ‘bout dead on the couch. Someone knocked at the door so I got up and went to answer it.” He cringes a little as the talking irritates his sore jaw and mouth.

“Anyway…so soon as I opened the door I saw two rough looking guys and they cold cocked me before I could do anything.” Scott thinks back, not really enjoying this exercise, but knowing it was a must. “Knocked me out cold…I guess I was still there and I came to. Started getting up and saw the guys in the living room. I figured I should get out of there, so I crawled to the door, but they spotted me. I couldn’t move too fast, and they dragged me into the living room…” He pauses, wishing sometimes he were more like Nate or Jason who knew how to fight. “…Where they beat the crap out of me ‘til one of ‘em hit me over the head with something and it was lights out.”

Scott closes his eyes for a moment, trying to remember more. “I kinda remember you coming on the scene, but otherwise I don’t know anything else. When I saw the guys in the living room, they were nosing around my desk in the corner…that’s where I had some TJY files.”

Rick has been listening from the other side of the room, and now turns. “What were the files on?”

“The folks back in Texas. When that whole thing with Jason came up, Reese had me gathering information on the Texas group so we’d have all our bases covered. I never brought the files back – guess I still thought I might sift through them.”

“Do you think they took them?”

“I don’t know. I need to go find out.”

Rick frowns at him. “You’re not going anywhere. Wyatt or Nate can handle that.”

“But they don’t know where anything is.”

Rick points a finger at him. “You’re not going anywhere, and that’s final. You can tell them where to look.”

Scot looks back to Katie. “The files were in the corner….stacked up behind the C magazines.”

Rick quirks an eyebrow. “C?”

“Yeah, as in ABC…”

Rick’s eyes widen. “You alphabetize your magazines?”

“Why not?”

“You are strange.”

“I prefer to be called organized.”

“Last time I was at your place, it looked like random piles.”

“They look random to you,” Scott retorts, “But I know where everything is in my house.” Sighing, he goes back to what he was saying to Katie. “The papers were in a couple of blue filing folders. They had names and some background info in them.”

Rick can’t help but interrupt with a little teasing. “Do you organize your movies and music by the alphabet too?”

Scott gives him a withering look. “Actually, I do those by date.”

Rick starts to chuckle. “I knew there was something odd about your brain.”

“Anyway,” Scott resumes his explanation. “If they got a hold on those files, it’s not a tremendous deal that I know of, but they might start to draw more lines we don’t want….the Agency, that is. I’m sure that’s who it was. I wish I would have gotten a better look at the guys, but I didn’t.”

He swallows hard and leans back in the pillows. “Rick, since you seem to have time on your hands, can I at least have a glass of water?”


Reese sighs deeply as he listens to the other end of the call. “Well, I guess it’s been long enough. If it won’t work anymore, it just won’t work. Send him back. …No…but I know he’ll be better off, and it might be good to get him back here. Replace him with the other one you got up there, and we’ll put him to work once he’s back. Yeah…thanks, Tom. Bye.”


Carson swaggers into TJY, not too far behind Misty. As he heads for his cubicle, he spots Jamie at her desk. Stopping a moment, he watches her. He'd been thinking a lot lately...seeing the people here function...the things that had come up recently...and maybe there was something left he hadn't yet done.

Taking a deep breath, he approaches Jamie's cubicle, giving it a light knock. "Hey, Jamie." He offers a little smile. "Listen, um...I know it's been quite a while now...and I know everybody here has gotten pretty used to having me around and all, but.... I got to thinking the other day and..." His eyes drift down, then back up to hers again. "Well I guess I never apologized for what happened. So, um...for what it's worth this late in the game...I'm sorry."


Clint cocks his head and studies Wendy for a moment. “I’m not sure about the pretty part either…I’d say downright beautiful is more like it.” Grinning, he steps out of the doorway to go to the sink and wash his hands. “Thought maybe later we’d take a motorcycle ride into town,” he calls over his shoulder. “Maybe catch a movie if you’re interested…”

Finishing up, he dries his hands and joins Wendy to head out of the shop. “Okay, to the mess hall for lunch before I waste away to nothing.”


As Angel immediately drops down next to Luke to work on his legs, he reaches out slowly to run a finger through her hair. Without saying anything, he stops her from working more, and takes her arms from behind, steering her until she’s sitting between his legs on the floor with her back resting against his chest.

He lets his arms fall over her shoulders and around her in an embrace. He leans his head on hers, just quietly thinking. “I’m sorry…I know you were looking forward to getting out on that picnic.” Despite all the times Angel has reassured him, he still feels low that he continually needs help, and continually has to bail out on her.

“If you want to eat in here, we can do that…though it’s not much of a picnic.”


As Clint and Wendy make their way to the mess hall, Clint glances over to Luke and Jeff’s bunk where the door is open. Cocking his head, he takes a detour, but nearing, he realizes Angel is there. Turning to leave, he stops though, unable to help but hear part of the conversation going on inside. He knows what’s happening…he hadn’t seen Luke that morning and had guessed at why.

Looking at Wendy for a moment, he decides to forfeit satisfying his own stomach for now. “Hey, um…change of plans. Head inside and get started…I’ll be back in just a bit.”

Without waiting for a response, Clint swivels around and jogs for the barn. “Dad!”

Jim looks up from the water tank he’s cleaning out. “Yeah?”

Clint gestures with his head. “Come on. We got a job to do.”


Luke sighs deeply, knowing it was no use being depressed, but he didn’t exactly feel happy at the moment. Before he can say more, Clint and Jim suddenly appear in the doorway. Luke’s face reddens just as little as he’s sitting on the floor with Angel in his arms.

The other two don’t even miss a beat though. Clint reaches a hand down to Angel to help her up. “Don’t let this gloom and doom man of yours make you stay inside,” he smirks. “Pick up that basket and blanket and aim wherever your destination was in the first place.”

Luke looks up at them, bewildered. “What are you guys doing?”

“We’re your chaperones…” Jim gives him a wry grin. “At least until we get to your destination, then we promise to leave.”

Crouching down, Clint and Jim go on either side of Luke, slinging his arms over their shoulders. Getting him to his feet, they’re just a bit unsteady at first, but are enough balance and support to get Luke moving. They guide him out the door and carefully down the steps, then stop. “Alright you two…where were you headed?”

Luke turns his head first to look at Jim, then around to look at Clint, leaning his weight on both of them. “You’re crazy, you know that? Crazy.”


Jeff glances at his watch as he helps Sparky move hay in the barn loft to make room for more coming next week. “Hey, when was Mick coming back with that corn?”

Sparky shrugs. “I don’t know…he left right after breakfast.”

Jeff furrows his brow. “Well it doesn’t take that long…did he have other stuff to do?”

“I don’t have a clue.” Sparky tosses a bale up on top of some others. “Why?”

“Just figured if I helped unload the corn, then I could take out that time to go scouting out that pond and where we wanted to clean it out on that one end where all those trees and stuff have fallen in.”

“Oh, that… yeah, that project has been waiting forever.”

“Well…” Jeff surveys their work. “I’ll go see if Rosetta knows when he’ll be back. If it’ll be a while, then maybe I’ll ride on out there to at least take a look.” Climbing down the ladder, he heads to the mess hall first. Entering, he spots Rosetta and smiles teasingly. “Hey, Sis. Is that obnoxious fiancé of yours ever coming back, or are we gonna have to cover for all his work today?”


Cindy smiles big as she hears Wes’ truck outside, and waits for him to come in. She’d go greet him at the door, but she was still just a bit queezy and decided it best to remain seated.

Receiving Wes’ affectionate greeting, she returns it, still smiling. “Great timing – I just got done setting the table.”

She shakes her head at his question. “No…I’m not feeling so great…” She scrunches up her nose. “I already had a bad bout with a can of tuna, so I’m sorry you didn’t get your tuna sandwiches.” She rolls her eyes. “I think that flu bug is still hanging on.”