A dance

A faint grin creases Axel's lips, but he doesn't turn around, still cleaning himself up at the sink. The pause is long, and some might think he didn't hear Jess, but after he's finished drying his hands, he ambles to the open garage door.

"Well, alright then." Grabbing a hoodie off a nail by the door, he pulls it on over his t-shirt to hide the grime. He motions with his head for Jess to follow, and exits into the parking lot.

Just as they get into the fresh air though, a voice behind them makes Axel stop. Leo had beat them to the outdoors, reading aloud a paper with handwritten words.

"A dance.
Elements of nature form.
So distinguished and so rare.
A dance.
Spheres of moisture, glistening true.
Gravity controlled, but willed by fire.
A dance.
Raindrops meet a burning sun.
But squelched they will not be.
A dance.
Bursting forth, the colors sparked.
The light severed to reveal.
A dance.
Between the raindrops and the light.
Arched to bridge the worlds,
Of two,
Who dance."

Leo as he stares at the page with raised eyebrows. "So now we know what our dear friend Axel does in his spare time around here. Lovely... just lovely."

Though Leo had been looking for an embarrassed reaction, Axel doesn't give it to him. Instead, he simply shakes his head. "Well, Leo... You can read. I'm proud of you." He turns his head to shout back inside. "Hey, Jed! Next time you have trouble with reading the label on a box, just ask Leo here. He's improving by leaps and bounds!"

"Oh, stop!" Leo smacks Axel on the head with the paper.

Axel lets a grin slip as he calmly retrieves his writing. "Keep it up, Leo. One day you might be able to actually speak as intelligently as the things you read."

"Why you..." Leo's mouth hangs open, but no comeback comes to mind quick enough.

Axel folds the paper and stuffs it in his back pocket before turning back around and aiming for the sidewalk once more. He throws Jess a humorous glance. "Coming or what?"

He's quiet as they walk down to the little restaurant. Not seeming to be too deep in thought, but quiet nonetheless.

Settling down at a small table near the window, once their inside and have their food ordered, Axel leans back in his chair, giving a little sigh of content. "Ya know, sometimes just getting away from the shop for a while is worth the walk."

He rubs his scarred hand absentmindedly as it starts to tingle again. "'Course, it helps to have someone to talk to other than Leo too." He chuckles softly, his eyes showing that even if he razzed Leo, they were friends.


"Thank you, Miss Garrison." Rick concludes his phone call. "Appreciate everything and... We, or at least Scott, will be seeing you soon. I'll do my best to get him to his appointment."

Hanging up, he rubs a tired hand over his face, stifling a yawn. A couple hours of sleep at home hadn't done a whole lot of good.


Scott blinks, staring at Dalton for several seconds, thinking he must have heard incorrectly. But no... he hadn't. Dalton really had gotten his job back for him. But... how... why...

He swallows hard, unsure how to even react. He'd been so sure that he'd never be back working here, at least as far as Austin was concerned. He'd been so sure that there was no place for him anymore. Did they really love him around here that much? Could Dalton really use his help that much?

A bit timidly, Scott steps forward, eying Dalton's hand, as if almost afraid of what the intentions were behind the gesture. But ever so slowly, he reaches out, finally taking Dalton's hand. Something close to a smile emerges, but too much confusion remains for any celebration.

Backing off a little, he studies Dalton for a moment. There were a lot of questions as to how he'd convinced Austin of this, but... at this point, Scott wasn't going to complain. He didn't think he was worth much here anymore, and he didn't really think he could contribute much, but at least his haven was back... at least he knew he wouln't be thrown out.

"Um... Thank you... I guess. I... don't really know what to say." Scott stumbles through his words, unsure if it was his brain that was jumbled, or just his immediate thoughts. "I'm not sure I deserve this..." His eyes fall to the floor, but he forces himself to look up again. "But if Austin agreed then... I guess I'll do what I can."


Luke offers a smile as Angel approaches, but can see the strain behind her eyes. As she settles in next to him, he puts his arm around her, drawing her even closer, and planting a gentle kiss on her head.

Listening to her, he knows she's hurting, and so is he. So is everyone, it seemed. Some more than others, but in reality, everyone was feeling stress, whether it was related to the episode with Clint and Wendy, or to what was happening in Nevada with their friend. Whatever the case, the tension had been rising whether people wanted to admit it or not.

"Wendy will be okay," he assures softly. "It wasn't in the plans but... she'll be okay. God's not going to leave her high and dry because she made a mistake. And... I have faith in Clint too. Maybe more than I should, but he's going to be the one taking care of Wendy here pretty soon."

Luke gives Angel another little squeeze. He knew his own protectiveness he felt towards Wendy, but couldn't imagine how Angel felt... having to let go of her daughter more quickly than anticipated.

A deep sigh is let out slowly, and after a moment, Luke shifts on the couch to pull Angel almost onto his lap so he can wrap both arms around her. "We're all wondering about Austin... I don't understand either. I even talked to Brent earlier, and he's just as confused as anyone. I guess all we can do right now is pray... Pray that whatever Austin is going through isn't as major as it seems, and... pray that too many bridges don't get burned."

Resting his head against hers, he knows it isn't that simple. There had to be more to the story than they knew. But what else could be done? Austin had been their friend... but what could they possibly do?