Got a stop

Mick lets Angel check him over, even though he’s a bit uncomfortable with it. Once she tells him what is wrong, he lets out an irritated sigh. “Aw, great…”

He tries to stifle more coughing. “No, I don’t wanna go to no dang hospital. You should know better than that.” He winces as he tries to move. “This is all I needed… I’ll be laid up for weeks now, thanks to that dumb animal.”

Another coughing fit makes him cringe and double over where he sits on the table, and finally he just lies down, closing his eyes. Two hours ago he had felt decent…right about now he felt downright crappy. His body wanted to sleep, but he didn’t want to. He might just be showing grouchiness towards his condition, but on the inside, he was worried and just a little scared. This wasn’t something to kid around about. If he didn’t get into surgery soon, this could kill him.

“Get Rosetta,” he mumbles. “See if Wendy will watch BJ. Then call whoever you need to. I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”


Carson nods absentmindedly. “I might check out that gas station. No use checking anything else out that I’d have to drive to. Without my own set of wheels, there’s really no point.”

The rest of the meal is finished with light small talk until Carson has to leave again. He stands up from the table and stretches, yawning just a little. The late nights and early mornings were starting to get to him. “I better scoot. I got a stop to make on the way back, and then… Dani and I will swing by here about eight so we can go to the movies.”


…Jason sits on the floor of his office, files spread all around him. A can of pop is on his desk, a half-eaten candy bar close by. It was a poor substitute for the evening meal he’d missed, but it would do for now. He was tired, but he had to keep working. He knew there had to be a connecting link somewhere…there had to be a lead… no matter how small. There was always a lead eventually.

Trooper whines and stretches out beside his master, yawning.

Jason rests a hand on the dog’s head. “Yeah, I know it’s getting late. Just give me one more hour…just one.”