All Tucked In

*Angel smiles at Luke. Love passing through her eyes.* " Luke, you and Wendy are my joy. I want you apart of my life, no matter what. I will be more than happy to take care of you. All you need to do is ask. I wont think any less of you and I wont stop loving you." *Angel brings her hand to Luke's face. Looking him in the eyes she whispers.* "I love you Luke, and I wont ever turn away from you. Nor will you even be a burdin to me so dont think that. I love you the way you are." *Angel leans in and gives Luke a kiss.*



*Wes lets out a laugh. After everyone is out of the theater Wes puts his one hand under Cindy's legs and the other around her back to saport her. Lifting her right out of the chair.* "That just means I will have to carry you." *Wes smiles and carrys Cindy out of the theater. Once they are outside Wes puts Cindy down. Wes takes Cindy's hand as they walk back to the truck. After geting in Wes turns to Cindy.* "Do you need anything before we head back to the ranch?"

*As the movie draws to an end Rosetta looks down at BJ and Mick both fast asleep. She hated having to wake them. Gently Rosetta slips Mick off her shoulder and lays him down the other way. Next she lifts BJ in her arms as he puts his arms about her neck. Walking him into his bed room she grabs a fresh pare of PJ's from the dresser and puts them on him. Pulling back the blankets she slips him underneath and tucks him in. Giving him a gentil kiss on the forhead. Exiting the room Rosetta grabs one of the extra blanket closing the door behind her. Taking the blanket back over to Mick she swings his legs onto the coutch taking his books off and laying them by the table. Rosetta pulls the blanket over top of Mick. Bending down she gives him a kiss.* "GoodNight." *Walking over to her chair Rosetta pulls a blanket over top of herself and starts to read her book.*

~*~Back at Laura's~*~

*Katie goes into the kitchen and grabs a glass of water. Walks back out into the living room as Laura gets off the phone. Katie goes to say something but decieds not to. Truning to Laura she smiles.* "I'm off to bed. Wyatt said he would be by again in the morning. Sleep good Laura." *Katies maker her way upstairs and hopes into bed. Now stairing into the dark Katies mind races. She has a great walk with Wyatt. Katie had found it fun to talk to him and be around him. He was so easy to get along with. but now a feeling of sadness loomed over her. She over hurd Laura talking to Con about Jason and how he was depressed. That must of been the feeling she felt linked to him. Katie couldent help but feel so sorry for Jason. She had tryed to make contact with him and rebuild there friendship but she still got no reply. Katie hopes he would come around. How she missed her friend. Closing her eyes she can feel a tear roll down her cheek. Finally falling alseep.*

Content

Wyatt gives a short wave and turns to head back down the sidewalk, still trying to get Trooper to mind. He goes to the corner and turns, disappearing behind the houses on the next block over.

Laura is still in the living room, though is on the phone and doesn’t hear Katie return. Her one-sided conversation can just be heard above the movie’s volume. “No, I guess not…” She pulls her legs up on the couch as she talks. “So how’s he holding up anyway? ….really….I guess I wouldn’t have expected that. ….Mm-hmm…. A girlfriend? Really? Wow. Nu-uh. He hasn’t called in a while…I haven’t heard from him directly since right after he left. Didn’t expect to though.” She pauses, taking a sip of her iced tea. “Oh, really?” She frowns. “Well, enough has happened that I’d probably get down too… ….no, I’m sure you’ve done all you can. You can’t blame yourself.” She listens for several more moments, then grins, letting a laugh escape. “Okay…. Yeah, we’re fine. Alright…thanks, Con. Bye.”


Mick lifts an eyebrow, a chuckle slipping out as BJ settles into the small space between him and Rosetta. “Oh, does she now? Well I like it too.” He glances over to Rosetta as she rests her head on his shoulder, and leans his own head against hers for a moment. It was so peaceful now…why couldn’t it stay this way? If it weren’t for the Agency looming over them, it could be like this all the time.
The movie playing grows fuzzy and before Mick knows it, his weariness has taken over, drawing his tired eyes closed.

Luke lifts an eyebrow, sighing deeply. “I didn’t want you to have to worry about me….” He gives her hand a squeeze. “But apparently I can’t hide things from you very well.” He shrugs. “It’s just those nerves in my back that were severed after that fall I had… just makes walking hard every once in a while…I guess maybe it’s developed into more through the years now…I get more pain since I can’t exercise my legs properly.” He pauses, wondering about the future. “You can take a look if you want, and if it’ll make you feel better.” His grows quiet for several moments, his mind taking him down the road of time. “Angel…it’s not going to get any better…if anything, it’s just gonna get worse, and… are you sure you want to spend your time taking care of me if I need it?” A deep concern backed by love passes through his eyes. “I couldn’t bear the thought of you suffering because of me…it’s hard enough for me to admit now that I might need that kind of help…. I know you love me, but I don’t want to put you through that if…if it will take away your joy.”


Cindy gives a contented sigh as she watches the rest of the movie. As the credits roll, she gives a little laugh. “I don’t want to move…I think I’ve grown roots in this seat.”

Happyness

*Katie smiles as she stands infront of Laura's.* " My pleasure. I look forword to seeing you in the morning." *As Katie starts up the walks to the door she stops and turns around.* "Hey Wyatt...thank you." *Katie gives a smile and enters apt. After shuting the door for a long moment she stands in the hallway. After taking her jacket and shoes off she heads into the kitchen to grab something to drink.*

~*~At the Ranch~*~

*As Mick sits down next to Rosetta BJ jumps up and climbs between Rosetta and Mick snuggling in close.* "Mic, you watch too. Rosey likes when your with her and I like it too." *BJ once again turns his attacken to the tv.*

*Rosetta turns her head from BJ to Mick and smiles. Puting her arm around BJ she rests her head on Mick's shoulder. Contentment. Though everything God still gave contentment. And for BJ happyness.*

*Angel smiles at Luke.* "The swing sounds nice." *For a long while Angel sits hand in hand on the swing with Luke.* " So..I've notice you havent been walking much. I'd like to take a look at your legs if you would let me Hun. I want to make sure everything is ok. With the weather changing your hips might be filling with fluid and not draining right. If you dont want me to I wont. I just dont like seeing you in pain." *As Angel watches the sun set she leans her head on Lukes shoulder.*

*As Cindy puts Wes' arm back around her he smiles and moves closer to her as well wraping his arm around her more.*

Conviction

Wyatt keeps his smile as they walk, every once in a while getting jerked to the side by Trooper’s enthusiasm towards anything that caught his attention.
“Yeah…it’s not a bad place,” he muses. “I’ve seen a lot...been a lot of places…but this is still home.”
He chuckles at Katie’s questions. “The one nice thing around TJY is that we’re pretty open with each other…the staff is personally selected and screened to ensure that the best are hired, and as such, are trusted.” He shrugs. “I doubt any case isn’t interesting that we’re working on. There’s a few local cases…one in particular involving a gang that the law is ignoring. Then we got several guys who have their own private investigation offices, and we work with them on their cases… right now I’m helping Hal with a dogfight racket in Arizona. I’ve been back and forth with that, trying to take it down. And, of course we got the Agency case that everyone tries to get in on at one point or another when time allows, whether they’re on the roster or not.”
Wyatt pauses, throwing a glance in Katie’s direction. “I know the feeling of wanting to get out and do something, but trust me…it’s not always all that it’s cracked up to be. There are days that I’d give just about anything to be back behind a desk instead of sitting in a cold car on a stakeout reevaluating my life again because I don’t know if I’ll see morning.” He lets a smile break up his solemn tone. “But don’t worry…stick around and you’ll get your shot. Carter doesn’t hire anyone just because they’re good at filing papers. The best you can do is learn to not itch where you are…then once they let you out, it’ll be all the more sweeter.”
It seems like they just left Laura’s, but they find themselves one again at the end of her sidewalk. Wyatt sighs, trying to force Trooper to sit down, but failing and giving up. “Well…I guess this is where we part.” He studies Katie’s face for just a moment. “I’ll be around to pick you two up in the morning…. Thanks for walking with me.”



It’s a while later that the mess hall door finally opens again and Mick slips into the living room. He waits a moment, just watching Rosetta and BJ on the couch, enjoying seeing the peaceful scene. He sighs, trying not to let the tension show on his face – no one needed any more stress right now. But what he’d really like to do at the moment is hop in his truck and drive. Sparky had caught him off guard, and their conversation had not been a pleasant one. His brother had evoked thoughts and feelings that he didn’t want to deal with right now…. There was too much else going on to think about those kinds of things… besides that, he’d already made up his mind years before what path he’d taken in life…. “When this life is over, Mick, what’s left? No one lives forever. Then what?”
Mick grits his teeth. He’d argued that God couldn’t be loving to allow things to happen that He did. Sparky’s rebuttal had been simple. “The things in this life are consequences of actions, either ours or someone else’s. In this life we are tested to endure. We are tested to help us grow stronger. God loves everyone dearly…and sometimes we simply have to have faith in that fact to get us through. We don’t always know why the bad things happen, but we can’t let that spoil our faith.”
But Mick just wasn’t convinced. He didn’t want to be bogged down to a religion. He didn’t want to have all those obligations and be tied down to that narrow path.
“…it’s a path that leads to eternal life, Mick. Yes, it’s hard, and yes persecution comes. But why would you not want the end result? Why would you deprive yourself the joy of a secure future with God, no matter what happens?” Sparky had read to him some pretty pointed verses about salvation, heaven and hell. He’d stated his case well, and Mick could not deny the sincerity with which he had spoken. But how could Mick put his faith in a God he didn’t trust? Maybe at one point in his past he’d thought it wasn’t so bad, but now? After everything that had happened in his life? How could he return to a God he had perceived to have let him down?
“God doesn’t let anyone down.” Sparky had been firm on his opinion of that. “It’s us who walk away from him then trip and fall on our faces because we try to do things on our own.”
Mick sighs again, trying to get his mind to concentrate on something else. He stares at the tv, watching the animated movie, but it wasn’t helping much. In a last attempt to throw the strange convictions out the window, he goes and eases himself down next to Rosetta.


Luke takes Angel’s hand and stands up. He smiles, though declines the offer. “How about the porch swing instead…I think I’m more up to that tonight.”


Cindy settles into her seat at the theater, a smile on her face. It’s been so long since she’s done anything like this….it’s almost exciting in a way, making her feel like a young girl again.
As the movie plays on, her concentration shifts as she realizes Wes has put his arm behind her, and she feels him moving to take it back. Surprising even herself, she reaches up to stop him, putting his arm back where it was, and settling herself in just a little closer.

Iching

*Katie lets off a soft giggles at the comment. Katie walks in silence enjoying the company of Trooper and Wyatt. After a while she takes a deep breath of air and lets it out.* "Its really nice here. I mean it was nice back home too dont get me wrong, but here its just differnt. I like it." *Katie's mind goes back to the ranch and when she first met Jason. Being with Wyatt was differnt than being with Jason. Katie couldent put her finger on why, but it just was.* "So any intresting case you guys or working on? Or is that one of those if I told you I would have to kill you things? I am iching to do something but paperwork. But we all have to start some where and your dad knows best. I dont want to push. I am just happy he gave me a job here. So I guess the next best thing would be hearing about what goes on." *Katie smiles at Wyatt. Then sun was not starting to go down. Katie removes her sun glasses and places them on her head as she walks on with Wyatt and tropper.*

~*~Back at the Ranch~*~

*Rosetta nods to Mick as he leaves he mess hall with Sparky. Turning her attachen back to BJ. After everyone is finished and she makes sure BJ dosent want anymore she has him go brush his teeth. After he is done she takes BJ into the living room and sits down to watch Brave Little Toster with him unless Mick comes back.*

*As BJ snuggled into Rosetta's arms on the coutch a new feeling comes over him. He never sat and watched a movie with Sam before. Most night he was alone with Stan or someone alse when Sam went to "work." BJ felt a new closeness in his heart. Looks up at Rosetta his eyes so big he smiles than turns his attachen back to the TV.*

*Wes smiles at Cindy as she re enters the mess hall again. Geting up he walks over to her.* " You look nice." *In no time at all they are both at the movies and waiting for it to start. A good portion of the way into the movie without ever relizing it Wes streches and puts his arm aroud Cindy. After relizing what he did He starts to with draw not wanting to make Cindy uncomfortable.*

*After Angel is done helping clean up she makes her way over to Luke.* " Its pretty nice outside tonight. and the sun set is looking like a nice one? Care to take a walk with me?" *Angel smiles at Luke and holds out her hand.*

Or so they say

Luke watches Angel leave, and after the door is shut, he attempts rolling out of bed. Unsteady for several moments, he makes his way to the door, taking his time so his legs can stretch and gain back their balance. Sighing at himself, he takes a moment to psyche himself up and head to the mess hall where he joins the others for a light evening.

Mick helps out Rosetta, finding it nice to be with her in the kitchen. It was a new sensation…but he liked it. Once everything is ready, he takes up a seat next to her, watching BJ intently, over her shoulder.

Cindy just smiles and says no more until supper is coming to a close. She excuses herself and goes to her bunk to throw on her warm sweater, and comes back with just a little bit of makeup on, her cheeks a bit red from thinking about going out with Wes.


As the dishes are cleared away, Sparky takes a deep breath and rises from his seat, going to Mick. Laying a hand on his brother’s shoulder, he gets his attention. “Hey, Mick…you got a few minutes to talk?”

Assuming it has something to do with the case, Mick readily agrees and stands up. He looks down at Rosetta. “I’ll be back.” He follows Sparky out onto the porch, a little surprised at the privacy his brother wants.



Trooper wags his tail at Katie, his body shaking in excitement as he strains against his leash. Wyatt rolls his eyes, and tries to maintain control over him. “Yeah, you like the young ladies, don’t you.”
Trooper sneezes and turns around, letting out a bark to a dog across the street. His woof is deep and loud, enough to rattle someone’s insides, and Wyatt cringes, tugging him back to his heal. “Hush, ya big brute.”

Laura laughs with Katie, shaking her head. “You two go on then while I remain cozy on my couch.”

Wyatt grins as Katie joins him outside, naturally moving into step beside her with Trooper on his left. He gives her a sidelong glance at the implications in her voice as she asks her question. “Any guy who has his wits about him with two lovely damsels - in distress or otherwise – living here, would be very likely to be happening to pass through this area quite frequently.” He pauses for effect, keeping his eyes on the sidewalk ahead. “Or so they say.”

A Walk

*Angel smiles back at Luke giving him a returning kiss.* "Ok, see ya in a bit than." *Angel makes her way across the yard and back to the mess hall.*

*Rosetta smiles at Mick.* " Here mix this hun while I get the hotdogs." *Rosetta goes to the freezer and grabs a back of hotdogs.*

*Wendy cant help but smile.* "Ok I will see you soon than. I'll have a seat saved for ya." *Wendy leans over and gives Clint a quick kiss on the cheek and walks out of the shop.*

*Wes smiles at Cindy.* " Good, I think it will be nice. When we get to the movie theater we can see if anything good is playing cuz right now I have no idea." *Wes leans back in his chair streaching.*

*Before no time dinner is placed on the table and everyone digs in. Its not a big meal but its enough to fill everyone. Laughter rings through out the Mess hall. At time silence comes but than is broken by more laughing. Rosetta sits close to BJ to help him eat though seeing he dosent really need much help. His hand eye cordanation is very good for someone his age. Rosetta looks over to Mick.*

~*~At Laura's place~*~

*As Katie starts to watch the movie with Laura the door bell startlers her. Hearing Wyatt's voice Katie giggles to herself. Geting up she goes to the door. Seeing the dog she squats down.* "Hey there boy. Arnt you alittle cutie." *Katie stands again and gives alittle laugh. Slupping on her shoes she grabs a light jacket.* "How about we take a walk dont want Laura to die if the dog gets lose in her house." *Katie looks at laugh and busts out laughing.* " We will be back." *As Katie starts down the steps she looks at Wyatt her eyes thoughtful.* " You just happend to be in the naborhood huh?"

Visitors

Luke turns on his side, propped up with an elbow, to reach out and pull Angel down next to him, giving her a kiss followed by a grin. "Go on ahead to dinner. I'm right behind you."

Mick follows Rosetta's gaze to BJ. "I think that's the best route. You're right though...I feel sorry for him too. But maybe we can get this mess over with before he's old enough to really be bothered by it all." He moves closer to Rosetta, starting to help her finish up with supper in order to keep his hands busy and his mind occupied.

Clint reaches out to retrieve the wrench from Wendy and snickers at her comment. He clangs around for a few more minutes before something goes flying. "Aw, man." Though having stopped the oil, he scoots out from under the car, holding his hand that has a fresh gash across his knuckles. "Shoot." He manages to get to his feet, though is quite a sight, and grabs a rag. "I gotta go clean this up," he grumbles. "I suppose it's suppertime anyway."

Cindy looks up at Wes and smiles, though she starts to decline his offer. Forcing herself to stop, she takes just a moment and finally relents. "Okay...yes...that would be nice."


Scott and Laura both laugh, and leave TJY with Katie. Thankfully, the ride back to Laura's is uneventful as Scott's driving seems to be safer than his own walking.
Once there, Laura fixes a supper of stirfry and rice, settling in for a relaxing evening. After supper, she pops in a movie in the living room.
As the sun begins to set, her doorbell rings. She looks over at Katie with a raised eyebrow. "Who on earth...no one ever visits." She gets up reluctantly and goes the the door, out of sight of the living room. Her voice laughter carries though. "Out for a walk are we?"

Wyatt's voice answers her. "Just around the neighborhood, thought I'd stop by. Trooper led me this way."

"Right." Laura chuckles.

"Katie around?"

"Yeah, hang on." Laura sticks her head back into the living room. "Hey, we got company, but I'm not letting them in, so if you wanna say hi, you can come out here."

Wyatt grimaces. "Nicely put. You make me feel so welcome."

Laura stares at the massive gray Mastiff tugging at his leash. "You're quite welcome, but not that beast. By the time he'd get through with my place it would look like a tornado went through."

Wyatt grins. "Well get Jason back here and you'll have a gentleman again."

Trooper sees a cat down the street and lunges, pulling Wyatt off balance and spinning him around. "Not the cat!" Wyatt jerks the leash, bringing Trooper's attention back around. "Oy, you're a handful, you know that?!"

Trooper wags his tail and drools, giving a little whine, his nervousness showing.

Time

*Angel smiles and nods at Luke. He always made her feel good when she was down and he always was there for her no matter what. Luke truly was a gift from God and she was ever so happy to spend what time she could with him and in the fewture the rest of her life. Angel looks to Luke with loving eyes.* "When I last left they were all heading that way." *Angel looks down at her watch* "So I would guess they are probley seting up. We should probley go and make ourself known huh." *Angel stands up and streaches.*


*Rosetta nods at Mick as she add ingredents to the Mac and cheese.* "Ya I dont think I could eather. I would never be able to live with myself if something happend to him." *Rosetta lets out a long sigh.* "Lets find the other chip first like you said and see what can be done from there." *Rosetta watches BJ out in the other room playing with his toys happy and content.* " I feel sorry for him."

*Wendy goes over to the toolbox and looking. Grabing the wrench and goes over to Clint and hands it to him.* "Yes...yes it does look like your playing. Like a kid in the mud." *Wendy's eyes twinkle.*

*Wes walks over to where Cindy is and sits smiling.* "Hey you. How are ya holding up?" *For a long moment Wes studys Cindy's face seeing a look and a hint of sadness.* "Hey I was wondering maybe after dinner would you like to catch some ice cream or a movie. Get out of here for alittle but and just have a nice time? I havent been out in ages."

~*~At TJY~*~

*Katie looks to Scott and than to Laura.* " Uhhhh...no." *Lowering her voice she leans into Laura* "Unless geting home in one peace counts." *Katie giggles and graba her coat and places her glasses on her face.* "Lets blow this popicle stands!"

Evening Routine

Luke shrugs, forcing a grin. "I'm going alright." He listens to what Angel says about BJ, quietly thinking, and nodding now and then. "Well...I don't know Angel...could you live with yourself if something went wrong? Is it worth the risk?" He cocks his head. "You yourself just admitted that we would agree the right choice is not to do surgery on the kid." He offers an encouraging smile, taking her hand to plant a kiss on it. "We don't have to decide in the next five minutes either... we still have a chip out there somewhere before the puzzle would fall into place anyway."
He turns to see the clock. "Supper will be ready pretty quick. Everyone gathering already?"


Mick crosses his arms, pursing his lips in thought. "I don't know, Rosetta. Personally... I thin it would be best to see if we actually need what BJ has. If we do, then we have that choice to make, being his parents or not." He looks out at BJ, compassion filling him. "We've been tortured by this case all our lives...yet I don't think I could bring myself to risk that boy."


Clint bends his head so he can see out from under the car, throwing Wendy a smirk. His shirt is stained with oil, his arms covered too, and a few smudges are on his face. "Do I look like I'm playing around?" He threatens her teasingly with a wrench. "I might not get too close if I were you, unless you want to look like me." He feels another trickle of oil and groans, putting the wrench back up under the car. "Hand me that other three-quarter wrench over there from the bench, will ya?"

Cindy helps some with supper, then finds a place to sit, waiting for the meal to be ready, and for others to join them.



Jason sits on his bed, deep in thought, when Jade knocks on his door. He tells her to come on in, but doesn't react much to her presence.

Jade lifts an eyebrow at his somber expression. "I heard things went okay at the hospital..."

"Yep."

Jade waits for more, but Jason doesn't go on. "Austin said JT gave you a fair report, but said to be more careful."

"Uh-huh."

Jade frowns at his lack of conversation. "So...you coming to supper?"

"Nope."

"You want me to bring you something?"

Jason shakes his head. "Not tonight."

"You okay?"

He finally looks at her with seriousness. "I will be. I just need to be alone for a while."

"Okay." Jade nods, respecting his privacy. "I'll come say goodnight if I don't see you before then."



Sparky sighs and rises from his seat, heading out of his bunk with a prayer on his mind. Life was too precious to waste...time was too vulnerable to let it slip by...topics of utmost importance could no longer go ignored.


Laura finds Katie and approaches with a look of mock terror as Scott follows behind her. "Hey, Katie. I trust Wyatt told you Scott was giving us a ride tonight."

Scott grins and holds up his keys, jingling them.

Laura bites her lip from chuckling, still looking at Katie. "Anything you need before we get back home?"