Splash

Jason’s eyebrows raise. He knew good and well who Wes was referring to, and it hit him hard. He hadn’t even acknowledged Katie’s presence today. But she’d been with Scott…he didn’t want to make it awkward for her, not to mention, the look in Scott’s eyes warned him that he was still scared to death of him. Besides, what was Jason supposed to say? “Hi” just didn’t seem to cut it.

Turning, Jason walks quietly to the door, opting not to converse any more with Wes right now. Heading out of the shop, he stands lamely for a few moments, feeling lost without a destination.

Wes’ words return. “…you’d have that last moment to say what you really wanted to a lot of people…”

Jason gives a little sigh. There was more than one person he needed to talk to, even if he didn’t know what to say to Katie.

Aiming for the mess hall, his walk is slow. He enters quietly through the front. Seeing Clint and his family at the other end, he just gives him a small wave, knowing that there was a lot going on in that family right now, and he wasn’t going to interrupt.

Hearing Con’s voice from the living room, he heads in that direction, but now notices a stranger sitting at the near table.

Greg looks up as Jason enters the room, his eyes going wide. “You’ve got to be Austin’s grandson.”

Jason looks to him with a bit of surprise and pauses his route to approach the table. “I am. And you are…?”

“Greg Timble.” Greg stands up, offering his hand.

Jason accepts the gesture, repeating the name in his mind. “Do I know you?”

“Not that I know of.” Greg chuckles. “But I know the gang here from quite a ways back… I did a lot with Mick up in Montana. Becky and Rosalynn have been staying with me.”

“Oh, I see.” Jason nods, trying to piece it all together. “Well…nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Greg smiles, just studying Jason’s face. How he looked like Austin.

Jason picks his route back up to the living room. Reaching the doorway, he stops, a small grin toying at his mouth. Con was sitting cross legged on the floor, taking up the entire space between the coffee table and the couch. Jamie was on the other side and BJ was at the end, all engrossed in some kind of game.

He leans on the doorframe for a few moments just watching. That was peace. That was happiness.

Feeling someone watching him, Con instinctively looks up. Seeing Jason, he raises an eyebrow in question.

Jason clears his throat awkwardly. “Got a minute?”

Con cocks his head the other direction. “What’s that?”

“You got a minute?” Jason repeats a little louder.

Con looks to Jamie, not wanting to miss a chance to finally exchange words with his friend. “I’ll be right back.” Getting up, he roughs up BJ’s hair playfully. “Make sure she doesn’t cheat while I’m gone.” He heads over to Jason, trying to suppress his own surprise at being spoken to. “What’s up?”

Jason nods to the door. “Take a walk?”


Scott does his best to keep up with Katie, taking in the sights and sounds like a sponge. Seeing the deer, a smile creases his lips, and he continues the route, following Katie’s path. He was embarrassed by his rough start, but was beginning to forget about it, despite his muscles reminding him that the next day might be a bit unpleasant.

As they rode over rough terrain that grew steeper and rose higher, Scott had just a bit more trouble keeping up, but he didn’t give up, determined not to make Katie wait or need to look after him too much.


Clint squeezes Wendy’s hand, grateful for her support. “Actually…Wendy…would you mind coming with me?” He looks to his mom and sister, receiving looks that convey they don’t mind at all. Glancing back to Wendy, his eyes question her.


Cindy eases down on the porch swing, letting the breeze cool her down from the day’s heat. She hadn’t seen Wes or Jason in a while, and hoped that things were going well.


Wyatt’s arms find their way around Aerith as their exchange lingers, drawn into it until he loses track of time altogether. This feeling…this moment…he wanted them to never end.

Splash!

Wyatt’s thoughts are shattered as the loud noise in the river disrupts the quiet around them. His eyes fly open and he withdraws from Aerith quickly, looking back over his shoulder just in time to see his father come up from the water a ways down, spitting and sputtering.

Reese mutters under his breath, feeling stupid for having stepped out onto that log. But it was too late now. The water was not rough, but it’s just deep enough and flowing just fast enough to carry him down towards Wyatt and Aerith. Giving up on getting back to his starting place, Reese lets the water take him down, and swims toward the shoreline.

Wyatt’s eyes widen and he gets up, leaving Aerith to walk the several feet to the water’s edge, climbing out onto a rock. “You alright?” he calls.

Reese grimaces. “Just help me up out of here before I make any more a fool out of myself.”

Wyatt withholds his laughter, and leans down to give his father a hand before he passes the rock. Reese grabs hold and finally gets his feet under himself, able to stand up again. As Wyatt’s pulling him up onto the rock however, his foot slips.

One minute, Wyatt is standing firm on the rock, the next, he’s being pulled head first toward the cool water. “Dad!”

Too late. Wyatt plunges into the river.

“Wyatt!” Reese gets back to his feet, though a bit unsteady on some moss-covered, underwater rocks, and looks around frantically for a moment.

Wyatt comes up just a few feet away, managing to stand up on his own and spitting out water.

Reese splashes over to him. “You okay?”

“No, I’m not okay!” Wyatt pushes his sopping hair back out of his face. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Well I slipped, okay?!”

“You could have warned me!”

“I thought you had a better grip!”

“Well I didn’t!”

Reese throws his arms in the air. “What are you complaining about? You needed to cool off anyway!”

Wyatt opens his mouth to retort, but stops, rendered speechless as he realizes his father had witnessed him and Aerith. "I..."

Reese gives his son’s chest a humorous backhanded slap. “Get yourself out of this river. You look ridiculous.”