Card

As Jason spots the tear in Katie's eye, he brings the exercise to a halt, his eyebrows rising.

Confused when Katie starts to leave the office, he stands. "Katie...wait..." Going to her, he rests a hand lightly on her shoulder, concerned by her reaction. His own pain surfaces with the thought that he had hurt her with his efforts. He hadn't meant to. "Are you okay? What happened?"


Bret takes his time with his shower, trying to knock the cobwebs out of his head, and by the time he's pulling on a clean shirt, he's feeling more like himself. Tucking in his button-down shirt, he gives a last glance in the mirror. Well, he looked presentable enough... His attire would just have to do for court.

Running a comb through his wet hair, he rolls his eyes. It was being unruly today, and no comb was going to do the trick. Today, gel was required.

Finally as ready as he could get, he heads back downstairs from his bedroom, coming back into the living room. Hearing the television, he spots Charlotte, then stops. His eyes roam the room. It looked...cleaner.

Quirking an eyebrow he looks a little closer, noting all the items that had been picked up or dusted. He sets his hands on his hips and walks around to where he can see Charlotte, and cocks his head. "I didn't know that housework and entertainment mixed."


Carson starts to say something in retaliation to Misty lying for him, but stops himself. It wasn't worth the argument. Sighing a little, he withdraws his arm from her and instead, wraps it around her shoulders. He doesn't like the feeling that was evolving between them...his actions and attitude was starting to drive a wedge between them, and it didn't feel good. But if he could just hang on until this was over. A few more weeks and he'd have everything he needed.


The lower level of TJY is quiet, other than the rustling of garbage bags as Ty makes his rounds. He hadn't gotten in last night - a blown-out tire on his bicycle had seen to that, and by the time he'd walked back home, made a call, walked to the store, gotten a new tire and fixed it, it was too late to try finishing work. Hal had been there to do his share, but now the rest of the building needed to be cleaned.

Working his way down the hall, Ty pauses, glancing around to be sure no one was near. Pulling a piece of mail out of his pocket, he sits down on a bench and stares at the envelope. It had come yesterday. He recognized the name...the envelope was blue and bigger than normal letter envelopes. He'd only seen it this morning with the mail Wyatt had brought in the day before, but hadn't dared to look at it until now.

He stares at the return address. It might as well have been Greek. He runs his finger over the handwritten letters. H...H...e...n or m? Giving up, he flips the envelope over and slits it open with a finger. Drawing out the contents, his eyes widen slightly. A card?

It was bright and cheery with two words arching over a picture. Ty didn't have to know how to read those two words. The picture of a birthday cake said it all. A smile starts to form. He'd never received a birthday card before... His adopted family had just never celebrated birthdays, least of all his. The vivid colors on this folded paper was so simple, but enough to give him a warm feeling inside. So this is what it felt like. Tomorrow was his birthday...he'd forgotten. But who had known? And who had even wanted to send a greeting?

Just sitting and savoring the card for a moment, he finally opens it up. More words...H..o...p...e? "Hop...Ho....hop....." Ty gives a little sigh. His eyes scan the handwritten message on the inside. Someone had pretty writing, and he admired it, even though he couldn't read it. Glancing to the bottom of the card, he sees four signed names. But...two of them weren't really names.

Tears well up in Ty's eyes. "M...o...m ....D...a...d." He pronounces the cherished words in his mind as his fingers outline the letters. He knew the other two names had to be Clint and Roaslynn's. The handwritten note surely was his own mother's.

Sitting alone in the hall, he just stays for a long while, a few silent tears running down his cheek. To be loved...this was something new.