Prisoner

Rick gives a soft chuckle as Katie stumbles over he words, her embarrassment obvious. He just shakes his head and watches her leave, letting her go without stalling her. He wasn’t going to blame anyone for anything – he trusted both her and Scott. But she was in too much of a hurry for him to explain that.

Scott lets out a deep breath, the sound of voices pulling him from his deep sleep. He starts to roll over, but is stopped by the sudden pain, immediately coming fully awake.

Blinking, he looks over to Rick, then to the empty space beside him on the bed. He remembers last night quite well, despite the meds he’d been on. His eyes find Rick’s, questioning whether his friend was going to reprimand him.

Rick cocks his head, folding his arms across his chest. “You look like the cat that ate a canary.”

Scott quirks an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching. “And how would you look?”

“Like a cat that at a canary,” Rick states decidedly. He goes to check Scott over. “Enjoy your evening?”

“What do you think?”

Rick can’t help his grin. “I thought so. Just be careful, will you? I don’t want you back in here over this.”

Scotts swallows hard. “You wouldn’t…”

“Your secret is safe with me.” Rick shines a light in Scott’s eyes. “But let me tell you, it’s gonna spread like wildfire whether I say anything or not, so just be prepared.” He finishes up, and nods with satisfaction. “You’re looking good. Hungry?”

“A bit.”

“Well, in a while here, I’ll see about getting some breakfast in here for you.”


Jason trudges across the main floor, his head feeling as though he’d been hit with a two-by-four. He gives short waves to those who greet him, but for the most part, ignores the smiles. Heading directly to his office, he shuts the door a little hard before sinking into his chair and heaving a sigh. Leaning his head back, he tries to straighten out his thoughts, but they’re all jumbled up. The night had proven to feed his irritation, leaving him with an anger for the position he was in. His fault, Katie’s fault, no one’s fault…he was upset and didn’t know how to deal with it.

Giving in to the work day, he turns on his computer, and searches for some scratch paper. Sifting through what’s on his desk, he finally opens his side drawer. Suddenly, he stops. He hadn’t opened that drawer since he’d been back.

The photo stares back at him as if to taunt him. He might have enjoyed looking at it several days ago, but after yesterday…it just proved to mock him.

Picking it up, he looks at it for just a moment before slipping it under his desk and into the waste basket. The past was over. He and Katie were over. There was no point in hanging on to the memories.


Carson eases down at his desk, getting started with the day. He feels just a little smug for beating Misty here this morning, still grinning to himself, though still a bit out of breath.

Sifting through some files, he sighs deeply. He was on the case about Mick and no one had gotten anywhere. The Agency hadn’t showed their hand yet and he was getting tired of waiting. Picking up the phone, he dials and waits. As a male caller picks up, Carson speaks. “Tommy. I need answers, and I need them now…”


Cindy takes several deep breaths, starting to feel better. She nods to Wes, her voice a bit shaky. “Okay…I’ll come with you.” A little weak kneed from this episode, she accepts Wes’ support back to the bedroom where she throws on some comfy clothes and pulls her hair back at her neck.

It’s a while later that she’s in the ranch yard with Wes after he’s parked the truck. She gives his hand a squeeze. “I’m alright now. You get yourself to the shop and I’ll go see Angel.” In reality, she really did want to go by herself… The nagging thought in the back of her mind persisted, and she wasn’t sure if she should be worried about it or not.

Standing on her tiptoes, she gives her husband a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t work too hard.” Splitting up from him, she heads towards Angel’s office. Breakfast should be over by now, she it was her best bet to find Angel there.

A while later…

Cindy ambles down the path from the ranch, having opted to walk herself home. It was warm out, and she didn’t want to bother Wes to drive her. Her mind was reeling. Her visit with Angel had confirmed her suspicions and she just wasn’t quite sure how to react yet. Angel had promised not to say anything to anyone, and Cindy was grateful for that…she wasn’t sure how she was going to tell Wes. They had talked a little bit about this…but had made no plans. They’d decided to wait a while…neither wishing to actually try and start a family right away. But apparently God had other plans.

Taking a deep breath of the mid-morning air, Cindy continues her route. Was she really prepared for this? Her last experience hadn’t been a good one, but that had been over twenty-one years ago and she’d been alone. Now she had Wes…she had the most wonderful, loving husband in the world, and she knew that no matter what, he’d stay by her side. So why was she worried?

A glowing joy bubbled deep down inside of her. It’s warmth spread with each passing minute as the realization became a reality in her mind. But…how was she going to tell Wes?


“What do you want?” Mick’s eyes blazed with an angry fire. He stood against the concrete wall, his hands to the sides restricted by chains. The basement was dark and damp and a light in his eyes made it impossible to see his adversary.

“Patience, Michael, patience.” The man’s voice was soft and snake-like, ignoring the anger Mick was displaying.

“You’ve kept me long enough,” Mick spits out. “I deserve to know why you’ve taken me.”

The man tsks, shaking his head. “I bet you’re pretty anxious to get back, aren’t you? You just got a marriage license…I can only imagine the plans you and your special someone must have.”

Mick’s hands ball into fists as he puts more pressure on the chains, even though it will do no good. The voice continues to taunt him.

“You realize if you don’t cooperate, your fiancé may never get to see you again…or we might take the other route…you have two children, don’t you?”

“You leave them out of this!” Mick barks. “Touch a hair on their heads and you’ll pay!”

“Temper, temper…Come now…we both know that anger will solve nothing. You just cooperate and nothing bad will happen. It really is quite simple. Once we have what we want, you’ll be free to go.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re one of the most valuable your little gang has. Value for value…it’s how we work. They’ll do anything to get you back and that’s what we’re betting on.”