Silence

Austin tries to be as delicate as possible. "I don't know, Angel... He doesn't appear to have mal-intent, but they've got him in the mess hall right now questioning him." He searches Angel's face. "I...thought you should know before you just stumbled across him."


Trent's eyes stay focused on the table. "I...I don't know why...I mean...I've wanted to come for years but..." He finally looks up at the others. "But I knew the reception would be less than warm."

He swallows hard and tries to collect his thoughts. "I know I was with the Agency all those years ago, and...and the shame never leaves for what I did... At the time, somehow I was convinced that I was doing what was right... I know it sounds crazy, but they have a way of getting inside someone's head." Trent's gaze goes dim as he remembers. "When everything went down, I was ten years in prison...I took the heat for a lot of stuff that I wasn't even involved with... While I was there though, after a while I started to wake up to what was really going on. I decided I wasn't going to go back."

"Hey, Sparky, do you have..." Jim's voice trails off as he enters through the back door and lays eyes on the small group. His eyes narrowing slightly, he approaches with caution, studying the newcomer. Seeing him near Rosetta...seeing the way the others were acting...Jim wouldn't have recognized Trent on his own, but in this setting, he knew it was him. He's flooded with a strange mixture of happiness, sadness and anger. What was going on?

Before he can speak, the door opens again, this time by Clint's hand. "Dad, I forgot to tell you that you left that box out in the shop. I was going to..." He suddenly stops and looks around, feeling the strange tension in the air. "What?"

Trent's eyes widen as he sees Jim, widening even more as he hears this young man refer to him as Dad. It seemed impossible. He'd missed a lifetime. He looks at Jeff. "Is that...Andrew?"

Jeff gives him a slight grin. "He goes by Clint now."

As Jim approaches, Sparky explains what's going on, then requests Trent continue. Clint hangs back a little, needing to get to work, but now staying out of curiosity.

Trent tries to recollect this thoughts. "Um...well, when I got out, I decided to start new somewhere else...I didn't dare come back here..." His eyes lower again. "Then they found me...they took me back to the Agency and forced me to work for them. And by force, I mean, they threatened to come after you all again. So...I...I pretended to go along with them... Some jobs I did like they wanted, and other times I got by with lying. But all along...for the next few years...they never would let me find out anything about my family....or anybody back here. For all I knew, you all were split up, dead, moved away...I didn't know."

He pauses, trying to get the timeline right. "About five years ago the Agency had me out somewhere, there was gunfire, I got hit and my obituary wound up in the papers. I went into hiding...I didn't know what to do...I was running from them, and I didn't even know if this place existed, and I was too...too scared to find out." Trent finally finds Rosetta's eyes, pleading with her to believe him. "Then a couple days ago, I was contacted by someone who had befriended me at the Agency...a guy who was pretty much in the same boat as me, so we had stuck together until I 'died' then somehow he had found out I was alive.... Anyway... I guess he'd been researching everyone here for me, without telling me... so he could let me know where everyone was again."

Trent fidgets nervously with his fingernails. "I guess he knew how much I wanted to know without me having told him. ...At any rate, all I knew was that Rosetta was still here, that Mick was in the picture somehow, but that he'd been taken by the Agency. It was the first I'd heard about anyone here since before I went to prison and..."

The emotions pool behind his eyes again, threatening to spill over. "I don't know...I guess...I guess I'd had enough of running, and hearing your names again just made me realize that I wanted to come back... even if I didn't find anything good... even if I wasn't welcome... I just wanted to see you again. And...and I wanted to try and help to find Mick if...if I was allowed."

His eyes remain on the table. He knew nothing about these people before him anymore. He knew nothing of their story. He knew nothing of their fight with the Agency, of the computer chips, of their families, of their future plans. All he knew was that somehow, someway... he'd needed to come.


Rick grins and Misty. "Well done. You handle yourself pretty well, you know that?"

He begins to finish up, eventually moving Scott to the bed in the infirmary to keep an eye on him there for at least a day before moving him back to the room next door. After a while, Rick is called away to Reese's office, and tells Misty he'll be back.

Scott remains asleep for an hour before he starts to stir. Still foggy from the anesthetic and the high powered pain killers Rick had given him, he lets his eyes roam the ceiling for several minutes before actually realizing he's awake and figuring out where he is. His side burned and his mouth hurt... "Rick...?"


Jason just sits and stares at the phone after hanging up with Katie. A knot formed in his gut. The conversation had been brief...not intense. But Jason felt as if he were viewing the dark storm clouds on the horizon...and it was only a matter of time before they overtook him.

Rising, he grabs his keys and helmet. He doesn't try to speculate why Katie wanted to see him...he wouldn't have agreed to meet her, had her voice not been as soft...had he not sensed the importance. Something was happening...in his heart of hearts he knew what it was...yet he still didn't want to face it. He'd been spending his time pushing Katie away and trying to get her to let go of him...and yet feeling how near the end really was, was enough to make him sick to his stomach.

The ride to the beach seems to take longer than normal. Spotting Katie's car, he parks his bike next to it and cuts the motor, glancing down to the beach where he knew she would be. And she was.

Jason dismounts and locks his helmet to the bike before slowly walking across the grass and into the soft sand. With each step he grew more tense. It was paradox of knowing the unknown. Fearing what was to come...knowing that it would. Foreseen and aimed for...yet dreading it to happen.

He approaches Katie from behind and comes up beside her, his hands hooked in his pockets. He doesn't turn to her, but simply gazes out at the sunlit water, remaining silent.