Awake

Jason takes the bandages from Katie with a nod of thanks.
Yeah, yeah... I've had worse. Hurts like heck and I think the bullet stopped on the bone, but I'll live if I get the bleeding to quit.

Receiving Misty's comment, Jason looks up quickly. At first he's annoyed, but then it turns to slight amusement. "Thank you, Doctor Miller." He would have teased more, had she not been busy with Scott.

With a bit of help from Katie, he gets the wound cleaned and bandaged well enough for the time being, then tries to settle back in the seat, though it's hard. His eyes continually drift to Scott and how he's doing in Misty's care.


Reese maneuvers the van back onto a paved road, skidding out into the turn and gunning it, one last bullet bouncing off the side before they speed out of range. "Everybody okay?"

"We're good," Jason calls up to him. "Just keep moving." Looking out the back window for a moment, he wonders about what they left behind.
I wonder if Riggs came up with an excuse or if he got killed.

Rick's voice comes over the mics, question hanging in his voice. "How's it looking, guys? What happened?"

Wyatt takes charge to answer him. "We're all okay, Rick. We got Scott."

"My word...so he really is alive."

"Right now he is. Keep praying. Misty's taking care of him."

"Good. Stick with him, Misty...I know you can help."


Scott starts to writhe under Misty's hands, coming to, though in a fog of confusion. The bumps in the road startle him, and he winces as cuts and bruises are tended to. He was cold...his stomach hurt...his head hurt... He shivers, the fever worsening.

Catching sight of Misty, he tries to make out her face, then sees Nate again too. "Where am...I? What.... what's hap...happening?"

Jason is right close, his eyes full of worry. "You're with your team, buddy. We're on our way home."

"H...home?"

"Yeah... home."

Reese grips the steering wheel tight, continually looking in the rearview mirror, but thankfully seeing no one. "Dalton, keep checking back there. Make sure no one's tailing us. And keep all frequencies in check to catch any communication that goes on. I want to know if anyone gets on to us."

Jason looks up to his boss. "How long you think it'll take us to get back?"

Reese sets his jaw in determination. "Not as long as it took us to come."


A black van speeds along the highways, avoiding traffic and as many intersections as possible. Pulled over once by a sheriff, they're quickly released when Reese reveals they are part of the Elite. All they gain is then an escort, allowing them more speed.


Sometimes we get second chances. Sometimes we're allowed that one special time in our life when we can say that we were blessed with that one-in-a-million chance to turn the tide...to see a different outcome than what we had thought. At the time we might not see it... at the time we might not realize that's what we are being given. We might even have a hard time dealing with that realization once it is recognized.


"Whoa, Hotshot, look out."

Jason swerves just in time to miss Reese who was rounding a corner with a cup of coffee. "Keep drinking that stuff and you're going to run into the wall."

Reese smirks. "You run on two hours worth of sleep in the last three days and go without coffee...then you say that to me."

Jason pauses his route to his office, growing serious. "How's discussions going with Carter?"

"Not good." Reese sighs and throws up his hand. "I can't get him to see it our way."

"And Austin?"

Reese purses his lips. "He's coming back. Carter wants him."

"For...?"

"Promotion, would be my guess."

"Wouldn't that have to run through Brown?"

Reese shrugs. "That line is a little foggy at the moment... how much is left up to our department in itself, and how much is run by partnering chiefs."

"So what exactly are you saying?"

Reese looks Jason in the eye. "Haven't you talked to Austin about this?"

Jason glances down, fingering the files in his hands. "I don't talk to him much, you know that... especially after recent events."

Reese is quiet for a moment. "Well...you might be getting a new boss."

"Carter wouldn't displace you for Austin."

"No?" Reese sighs deeply, trying not to let his concern and his bit of hurt show through. "After this...he might. You should like it...you might be next in line if they keep family at the top."

Jason speaks before he even thinks. "Then I'd just as soon change my name."

Reese blinks, a little taken aback. "I didn't think..."

"Well, I do feel that way," Jason states flatly. He stuffs his hurt down deep, keeping it hidden just as he had for the last several days. He'd even kept it hidden from Katie. That, along with something else he didn't want to surface. He shakes his head, slightly angry. "Don't put me in the same category as them, Reese. All I'd appreciate is updates if Austin is going to come back."

Turning, he continues to head to his office, finished with the discussion. Getting to his desk, he flops down in his chair, only to be alerted by the intercom. It was Rick.

"Jase... quick meeting in the breakroom... I've already called the others."

"Others?"

"Katie... Nate... Sapphire... Wyatt... Dalton... Laura... Misty's here, and I'm gonna call Reese in too."

Jason can't help a chuckle. "How about just calling the rest of the office?"

Rick laughs. "Well, for now you're the core of it. You can help after this."

"Alright..." Jason shrugs. "Be right there." He stops work before it even started, giving a little sigh. He'd gotten in late that morning after a night of not getting much sleep. Some bad memories had started to crop up after seeing Scott being held captive, and so far he'd avoided any flashbacks or nightmares, but Jason was just a little scared that something small would happen to set them off again. For now though...for now, he was okay.

The last couple days had been stressful but quiet at the same time. Most of Jason's time had been spent at work. Spreading the word that Scott was alive had been a delicate task, but by now, much of the word had spread by itself, and of course, the happiness had been plentiful. There was a lot of surprise, and even more questions that couldn't necessarily be answered, but for now, at least family and friends knew the truth.


Getting into the breakroom, it's already full. Jason slides in the door right next to Katie, giving her a little nudge to the shoulder.
Hey, good morning... late morning, anyway. I haven't seen much of you last couple days...my fault, but I miss ya.

Rick clears his throat, the center of attention. "Before anyone found out and smothered him, I wanted you to know that Scott's finally awake."

Audible breaths of relief could be heard. Since the team had been halfway back from Washington, Scott had been unconscious. Almost three days had passed, and though Misty and Rick had kept him stable, and started to get nourishment back into him through iv's, they'd remained worried about his condition.

"Thank God." Reese gives a nod. "How is he?"

"Stable." Rick throws a wink in Misty's direction. "Thanks to some good hands."

Relief passes through Jason.
I thought for a while there, we were going to have to say goodbye to him again.

Rick thinks for a moment. "I, um... I think it'd be good if anyone who wants to see Scott take turns. It's been quite a shock to him... not only realizing that everyone thought he was dead, but being told that almost two months have passed. He had no idea it had been that long."

Wyatt lets out a slow whistle. "What did he think?"

Rick shakes his head. "I don't know, but by the look on his face I'd say he might have thought only a few weeks had gone by."

"Has he said anything about what happened?"

"No." Rick shakes his head again. "He, um... just tread lightly with that one." His suggestion is aimed at everyone in the room. "I could be wrong, but..." His tone grows serious. "I have a feeling that he's been through some things that he may simply not want to think about right now. So... you're free to see him... slowly... take it easy on him. But... he's awake. By tonight I'm going to try to get him to eat something, but for now he wasn't hungry yet."

Rick holds up his hands. "That's it. Thanks for listening."


Scott sits on the infirmary bed, his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs. He rests his chin on his knees, staring at the foot of the bed, even though there's nothing there. His mind reels with so much information, trying to sort it out, and half of it being blocked.

He felt better...being here... knowing he was safe. But the images of where he'd been...what he'd been through... they loomed over him like a dark shadow unwilling to leave.

His arms had bandages on them... his sides were sore... Rick had confirmed the loss of vision in his left eye. But he wanted to be happy he was even alive... shouldn't he be happier than this? Yet instead, he felt...numb... disoriented. Rick had explained a lot to him, and he understood now what had happened with the team, and who had come to get him. He understood now that people had thought he was dead...for almost two months.

Scott lifts his eyes to see a small mirror above the sink at the counter on the other side of the room. Though cleaned up, his short hair and black and blue face, let alone his gray eye made him look like someone else. What would people think? Would they ask him a lot of questions? Would he have to talk about what had happened to him? Would people look at him differently?

Emotions are held back behind the surface, and Scott buries his face in his knees. Never had he felt so relieved to be alive, and so dismal at the same time. He wanted to see people... he wanted to see Wyatt.... and Katie... and Nate.... and even Jason. But he was almost scared to. What would they think? What would they say? What was he supposed to say?

He wanted to feel as good as he was supposed to... maybe it was just the pain medication that was toying with him. Everything could go back to normal...right?

Two months... what had really happened in two months?