Pictures

Scott smirks and waves Katie away. "I would finish up here if some redhead didn't insist on distracting me." He tries to hide his grin, but can't, and tosses Katie a wink. "Be back here in twenty minutes. I'll drive."


Wyatt's heart goes out to Jess as he sees her and hears her talk. She had obviously had a rough time for a while before this...perhaps this was just the straw that had broken the camel's back. Either way, she was scared to death, and it made Wyatt feel even worse. This is why he hated these cases. He always felt as though he wanted to go find the man and beat him to a pulp so he could get a taste of what it felt like.

Containing a sigh, he waits patiently, glad that he had brought Jamie with him. Catching Jess' look at Carson, Wyatt himself eyes Carson for just a moment, silently questioning him.

Carson catches his look and knows good and well that it was asking him if this was another one of his women. His first reaction is defensive, but logic reminds him that quite frankly it was a fair question. He'd made his own reputation and Wyatt wasn't stupid. Relenting, he shakes his head slightly. No, Jess was just a friend.

Wyatt receives his answer and is satisfied that it's an honest one.

Carson sees Jess look at him and gives her a reassuring nod and small smile. "It's alright, Jess. you can trust these guys. Believe me...I know." Jamie's comment about the past had hit him a little harder than he would have liked...he wondered if Jess knew what his own past was, if she'd even trust him.

He cocks his head a little. "You feel okay going with them by yourself?"


On his way to the bathroom, Kyle hears Misty's comment, and comes back, sticking his head back out of the hallway. He opens his mouth, but then decides better of it, and clamps it shut again, just shaking his head and rolling his eyes. Waving her off, he turns back around to trudge to the bathroom and a shower.

It takes longer than Kyle likes, maneuvering with the use of just one hand. It wasn't as easy as it might seem, and just getting dried off after his shower was a task in itself.


On the living room couch, lies an open photo album. One might believe that after Kyle’s accident, Phil had taken time to reflect. Or one might discover Jen had been there and she was the one prone to reflecting during the hard times.

The thick album starts with family photos of the Mitts family. Phil could have been no older than seven, and Kyle and Jen about five. There were pictures of birthday parties and vacations, the family full of smiles. Dad, Mom and the three kids. Older couples appeared as well, obviously grandparents.

In one frame, Kyle and Jen stare up at the camera, beaming as they’re decked out, ready for a Karate lesson. Another pictures shows Phil with another boy who looks about his age, and from the way they have their arms slung over their shoulders, one would guess they were best friends.

The ages grow older as slowly the years pass. Fewer birthday parties, but just as many smiles. Kyle and Jen appear together often, obviously as close as twins might be.

Photos of Jen show her gymnastic activities, while others show Phil and Kyle starting their interest in music with instruments, and what looked like a garage band. Phil’s best friend was often present in those photos.

As the years go by, graduation pictures show Phil out of high school with smiling parents and a teasing younger brother.

Then changes start to take place. The pictures are still many, but Phil appears less, and eventually one shows how much he had changed, his smile had faded, and he was thin, his eyes dim. Though having a silly brother by his side, the life was no longer contagious.

More graduation pictures, this time of Kyle and Jen both, the celebration a grand one. Now only one set of grandparents appeared, though others who looked to be family members showed up every once in a while.

Then the smile on Phil’s face returns as if something had been overcome and the life was back. Mike starts to appear in many photos, and some pictures show the three guys together with their instruments as JetStream is born. A woman is there too, often linking arms or hands with Mike, wedding bands appearing on their hands. Another young man is there as well, appearing with JetStream – one might figure out that he had been their lead singer.

Kyle can be no more than sixteen, when suddenly their father no longer appears in the photos. Family pictures are taken, but he is absent. And for a while, something in Kyle has now changed. The smiles are forced…the laughter caught on film no longer there. Gradually though, the spark returns, proving again, changes in life.

Happy photos show Mike together with his wife and baby along with the band. Jen doting on the baby girl, the guys just being guys.

Then suddenly Mike is alone. His little family is absent, never to return to the album, and his wedding ring disappears.

A new man appears, and wedding pictures are taken of the Mitts’ mother and her new husband. The smiles indicate that all love him and accept them as their step father.

Kyle is constantly involved in antics caught on camera, Phil often joined right in, while Jen is either trying to pry them apart, or laughing on the sidelines.

As the album comes to it’s end, Jen appears in her wheelchair, evidence of an accident. Now there are fewer family pictures and more of JetStream. Jason appears…Katie appears, and in a more recent picture, Scott is even present.

The last photo in the album is a black and white one of Kyle, Phil and Jen together at the beach, just the three of them, probably three years ago. And that picture in itself portrays the very closeness that the family still relies on.


Kyle trudges back down the hallway, trying to pull on his tennis shoes as he walks, and not having a very easy time of it. His hair is still wet, and his cologne is fresh.

Flopping down in a living room chair, he attempts to lean down and tie his shoes, but with one hand, it seems impossible. Quirking an eyebrow, he glances up to Misty, then back down at the shoe. Slipping it back off, he sets it on his lap and ties a knot with one hand and his teeth. Satisfied, he then shoves his foot into the already-tied shoe. Looking up with pride, he shines his knuckles on his shirt, the look in his eye, saying that he shall not be outwitted by a shoe.

Grinning, he does the same with the other shoe until he’s ready to go. Managing a whisper, he cocks his head at the door. “Alright, are we going to get out of here or what?”