Feeling

*Jamie smiles at Con and innerlocks her arm with Con's making sure she is on his right side.*

"Ya thats Ty. The one Katie and Wyatt got out of jail. He's a pritty nice kid. Have to introduce to him sometime. Clint huh..."

*Jamie giggles and nuges Con with her head playfuly.*

"Maybe they are....dun dun dun...related."

*Jamie and Con make there way to her car. Minutes pass and Jamie pulls into Con driveway. Shuting off the engin she sighs.*

"Well here we are...again."

*Jamie giggles a strange feeling over coming her. Looking at Con she sighs and is a bit confused. The feeling she has its like this might very well be the last time she see Con. What a silly feeling though. Con wasent going anywhere. Leaning over Jamie puts her arms around Con, and gives him a long kiss, Moving back into a hug and not wanting to let go. This feeling it was so strong it felt horrable. Finally knowing she HAD to let go Jamie pulls back and smiles at Con.*

"I'll see you tomarrow Hun, and if you need anything please call ok? Should I stop by later or anything?"

*As Katie feels Jason's hand in her she gives it a small squeeze reasuring him its ok. What great new friends they had. Jason was lucky to had found them. They tryed to understand all they could and wanted to help. Jason needed more friends like that. Katie smiles as Phil and Mike get up and leave. Giving a nod to Kyle.*

"I'm ready whenever. I wasent doing anything today anyways till later. Time spent with my friends is always well enjoyed."

*Katie's eyes meet Kyles for a moment giving alittle nod.*

"Thank you."

*Turning back to Jason.*

"Do you think you can stand J? SO we can get some of that juice into ya?"

Courage

Con tries to stop his mind from turning in circles. There wasn’t much point in thinking about it now. He was tired, he was still recuperating, and he knew he wasn’t thinking completely straight. He was running on adrenaline and emotion, providing a deadly combination for decision making.

Finally he nods and straightens up. “I guess take me with you. I probably won’t be much good around here today anyway, and I’m not really feeling up to talking to a lot of people.”

He glances down at Jamie, forcing a small smile to show he’s really trying not to get down. It wasn’t like him to let something get to him like this, and he knew it…he shouldn’t start now, no matter how bad he was feeling. What Jamie was saying made sense…he just needed to take the information from his brain and somehow get his heart to accept it. For now, maybe the best thing was to stop dwelling on it.

“Besides that, after hardly eating anything yesterday and skipping breakfast this morning, I think I could eat a horse.”


“…Yeah, okay, Wyatt said he’d bring me in the morning.”

Con suddenly turns to his right, towards the door that was opening. What on earth?

Hal nods as he and Ty walk to his truck, passing Jamie and Con without seeing them. “Sounds alright. We can finish up that corner we didn’t get to and then move that equipment downstairs.”

Con’s eyes follow them, his puzzlement obvious on his face. “That the new kid helping with janitorial work?” he asks Jamie. “The one living with Wyatt?” He shakes his head. “I could have sworn that was Clint’s voice…he’s a kid over in Texas.” Letting it slide, he sighs. “So…I’m ready to go whenever you are, I guess.”


Jason keeps his eyes closed for several minutes, trying to get a handle on what was going on around him. Nothing could calm him like Katie could, and right now, he wasn’t going to fight it.

Finally gaining back some of his strength, he raises himself up to lean back against the wall, still sitting on the floor by Katie. “It just hit me so hard…and I couldn’t shake it. There were so many things…even more memories coming up to the surface…” He rubs his hands over his face. “I saw that bathroom door there and I…I was just in that house all over again.”

Hearing Jason’s voice, the three other guys slowly approach. Instead of remaining on their feet or being intrusive, they simply join Katie and Jason on the floor. Kyle looks across the small hallway with concern. “You okay?”

Jason sighs and nods. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Mike scoffs. “I don’t think you’ve got anything to apologize for, Jason. We were just pretty worried there.”

Jason lowers his eyes, knowing he should explain. “I saw a guy in town today…he, um… reminded me of Alex… the guy that took me when I was nine. I guess…I thought I could just get past it, but by the time I got this far, the memories were coming too strong to stop.”

Phil purses his lips, feeling a wave of sympathy. Jason’s whole story was untold, but it was obvious that it was none too easy. “How come you didn’t say anything?”

Jason’s face reddens slightly. “It’s not exactly something I talk about too much.”

“Well starting now, that changes.” Kyle looks at him with emphasis. “We don’t scare easily, so next time you start to head down that hill, you just tell us, and we’ll do whatever you need us to do.” He searches Jason’s face. “You can’t help it when this happens, and we can’t help it that we care. We’re a team now, and teammates stick together.”

Mike nods his agreement. “We understand rough times, Jase…and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Feeling the freedom of the moment, he asks. “He hurt you bad, didn’t he.”

Jason swallows hard, his hand dropping down as he pulls a knee up to his chest. “Yeah. For over a year.”

“I’m guessing just about anything can trigger those memories.”

“Pretty much.” Jason’s hand finds Katie’s as he searches for courage to get through this. “Today it was seeing a look-alike.” He bites his lip. “Look, guys…I’ve tried to predict what will trigger these flashbacks…and I’ve tried to get a grip before they take over…but most of the time it just happens…are you sure you want me in the band?”

All three guys roll their eyes at the same time. “I don’t want you ever asking that again,” Mike warns. “Now look…for the last time, we’re in this together. Next time you start having trouble, no matter how small, you say something, alright? Then we’ll either help talk you down or we’ll know to call Katie…okay?”

Jason finally looks up at the others, finding it hard to understand their willingness to work with him…their friendship ran deep, no doubt. He can’t help but nod. “Okay…”

“Good.” Phil picks himself up to stand. “At this point in time, are you going to be all right? You need anything?”

“I don’t know.” Jason could feel the memories close to the door of his mind, still waiting to attack whenever he let his guard down. “It’s going to be a rough night, but…I’ll be okay if I can just get this to pass.” He can feel a lightheadedness start to seep in, and grimaces. “At the moment though, I need some sugar.”

“You a diabetic?”

Jason shakes his head. “No, but my blood sugar had a tendency to get low, especially when I’m stressed.”

Mike rises, joining Phil. “I got some fruit juice in the fridge.”

“That’ll work.”

With the other two gone, Kyle looks back and forth between Katie and Jason, studying them together. “We’re not gonna force any more practice today, Jase. You need your rest, and we can practice any time. I’ll give you two a ride back to the hospital though, and Phil can follow on the bike if you want.”

Land of the Living

*Jamie walks over to Con and stands next to him. How lost confused and hurt he was. In an instint his life had been turn around and changed forever.*

"Its ok to be scaired. I probley would be to. You know the work we do in the office helps alot of people to. So its not like your not helping. We cant look into the future though Con and say I wonder, or look into the past and say what if. We need to take one day at a time, and know we have people standing with us they wont let us down. In the things will work out Con."

*Jamie lets the silence ling for a moment than pushes herself away from the wall looking at her watch.*

"I'm going to be leave work early today, have some stuff to do. Your free to come along if you like and grab some lunch with me or I cant stop back later to pick you up."

*Katie smiles down at Jason. Her eyes happy to see he is back now and going to be ok. Katie gives alittle giggle.*

"Welcome back to the land of the living. How about you stay around this time."

*Katie gives Jason a soft hug.*

" I'm glad your ok now J, you had me worryed. I hadent felt something wrong with you that strong in a while. I am glad you had the strength to call for me. Cuz I have no idea how I was going to get to you."

*Katie keeps her soft smile as she holds Jason for as long as he needed. Hey eyes twinkle as she takes in his commenrt, Katie was not exspecting it but knew that right now Jason wasent thinking to clear she pushes is back in her memorie to take out later if needed.*

"We can take all the time you need J. No one is in a rush. Your gonna be ok."

Not 'Need' ...but 'Want'

Con leans back against the building's brick wall, mulling over Jamie's words, and knowing their truth. It was just hard to admit.

"I know it," he finally replies quietly, lowering his gaze to the ground. "I just...never thought something like this would happen. I figured I'd either die on the job or retire out of it." He shakes his head. "I know God's in here somewhere...just not seeing Him in it confuses me, and..." Con pauses, wondering if he could even admit it aloud. "...and I guess I'm scared. I don't want to end up driving truck or sitting behind a desk... and I don't want to see people hurt who I could have saved..."

He folds his arms across his chest, and raises his eyes to squint in the sunlight. "I don't know if I can handle staying here without being able to do what I've been trained to do."


Seeing Katie getting up out of her chair and stumbling, Kyle makes a move towards her to help, but Phil reaches out to stop him. Brothers lock eyes for a moment, and Phil adequately conveys the message to leave Katie alone. More was happening here than they knew about. They both watch in surprise as Katie takes several steps. They want to allow their excitement to show, but it is held in check by the current situation.
The three men give Katie and Jason room, all having known facts, but seeing this situation now was a little unnerving. They retreat into the other room to sit, wait and pray, though remain close in case they're needed.

Jason continues to shake, his body revolting against the emotional trauma. But as Katie draws near, her voice...her touch.. they are like a door opening up to let light stream into the darkness, beckoning Jason out of the nightmare. He fights against his own mind to draw himself out. He can hear Katie's soft words...he can feel her soothing hand as she runs her fingers through his hair.

Slowly, slowly, like a fog gradually lifting, the horrific pictures begin to dissipate, and the reality around him starts to come into focus.

Blinking, Jason realizes he's being held, his head resting in Katie's arms. Emotions well up in the form of tears behind his eyes, but he wills them not to overflow. There were too many eyes here.

Completely exhausted, he doesn't make an effort to move yet, and works on trying to slow his breathing and racing heart. Katie had come...she'd dropped everything and run...for him...again. He could have waited out the episode...he could have let it run its course and recuperate on his own. But he'd wanted her...he'd wanted her close to chase away the nightmares like only she could.

Closing his eyes, he starts to relax. "Thanks, Hero," he whispers. A forced laugh comes out weakly. "I guess I just can't live without you."

Walking

*Jamie looks sternly but lovingly at Con.*

"Trust in God is what you need to keep doing. There IS a reson for this Con. Even if we cant see it. Dont give up on yourself of him. Your lucky to be alive, and lucky Reese cares enough to make a desition that was probley as hard for him as it was for you. He dosent want to see you dead. Non of us do Con. You'd just be puting yourself in danger."

*Jamie trys her best to show Con comfort but feels she is failing misribly.*

*Even Phil cant see her Katie nods.*

"Ya I know. I'll be waiting outside for Kyle."

*Katie grabs her bad and stuff her phone in it. As she waits she taps her foot impasently waiting for Kyle. Once at Mike's and down stairs Katie trys to hurry seeing Jason only yo get her wheel chair stuck on a crack in the floor.*

"Dang nab it this stupid thing."

*As Katie looks up she see Jason helpless on the floor the feeling inside her whelling she needed to get to him. Without even thinking and a bit wobbly Katie stands out of her chair. Her leg buckle under her once, than standing tall again taking a deep breath Katie takes 4 steps from her chair to Jason, falling to her knees and skuffing them under she jeans. As the small amoutn of blood soaks though Katie dosent pay attachen to it. Taking Jason softly in her arms.*

"J, Its Katie. I'm here now. Come back to us J. Everything is ok, and your safe. We arnt gonna let anythig happen to you."

*Katie studys Jason's face and she runs her hand through his hair.*

"Shhhh....its ok J. Its ok."

Getting Help

Con grits his teeth, trying to calm himself down. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this upset. He knew it was rare for anyone to see him like this. It was just, so….so unfair.

He finally turns around to look down at Jamie. “It was just like I thought. Reese has already taken me off the field. No cases here, no going back to Texas, no nothing. He doesn’t think I should be out there with half my hearing, so that’s that. He wouldn’t give me a definite answer on what he’d have me doing, but we all know that means I’ll be stuck behind a desk just like I predicted.”

Con doesn’t like feeling so out of control…he knows he shouldn’t be this upset…he was lucky to be alive at all, let alone up and walking. But everything had changed so quickly… “A couple days ago, I knew where I belonged, Jamie… and now…now I don’t know. Ever since I got kicked off the police force, I’ve been here…I’ve been working the streets…being a bodyguard…the action is what’s kept me going. If I can’t do that anymore…I just don’t know what to do anymore.”


Mike hears Jason’s phone going off from the other room. “Phil, I’m not sure I understood everything Jason and Katie told us before, but that might be her. Go see and answer it.”

Phil hates to leave Jason, but does as Mike suggests. Flipping the phone open, he sees Katie’s name. That made things a little easier. …It dawns on him that this would have to be an awful coincidence if Katie didn’t know what was going on. Was it really possible for her to feel this? “Katie – this is Phil. I grabbed Jason’s phone for him. I hope you can get away from the hospital, ‘cause Kyle’s on his way over there now. I think Jason’s having a bout with flashbacks and it looks pretty bad. We can’t even get him up off the floor. The only thing he’s said so far is to get you. “


Kyle makes it to the hospital in record time, thankful there had been no cops out on the roads today. Sprinting across the parking lot, he makes it up to Katie’s room within minutes, not even bothering to look the nurse’s way. Skidding to a halt in her room, he knows she’s aware of what’s going on after Mike had phoned him. “Sorry, Katie, but Jason asked for ya.” For once, the mischief is gone from Kyle’s eyes, and he’s quick to help get Katie downstairs and out to the truck.

Back on the road again, Kyle takes the sidestreets to the country road where he once again pushes the speed limit. Once to Mike’s, Phil is there to greet them.

“He’s still not responding,” Phil informs Katie. “I’d call for help, but I knew you knew more about this than we do.”

He and Kyle get Katie downstairs to the basement and wheel her to were Jason is.

He still lies on the floor curled up, his hands clenched in tight fists, and his shirt soaked with sweat. His body shakes from the shock as the images continue to taunt his mind, though he tries to grasp reality.

Hero

*Jamie puts her hand on Con's arm as he finally stops.*

"Con...please....what happend?"

*Rosetta smiles at Mick as she leans into his arms.*

"Do you really think I would turn that down. Lets get out butts moving I could use a nice ride myself. And dont worry, Dylan will come around. Sometimes we need the wrong turns to make the right ones."

*Rosetta laughs and tickles Mick playfuly.*

*Wes holds the letters to the lite and turns them fliping them a grin forming on his face.*

"And what are these? Could they be wedding invatations. Corse I will send them for you my love."

*Giving Cindy a kiss Wes makes his way to his truck.*

"If you need me or anything while I am out give me a call."

*Wes disapears down the driveway.*

*As Katie heads back to her room a smile on her face an all to familure feeling comes over her. One she had felt so many times before. Puling herself faster to her phone she grabs it and starts to dial Jason's number*

Again

Con spins around, hearing Jamie’s voice, but not knowing what she said, just adding to his frustration. He doesn’t have to know what she said though – he can read her face. But he doesn’t want to talk about it here…not with so many other people around.
He takes to the stairs instead of the elevator, and finally hits the outdoors to stop, resting his hands on his hips and string up at the sky. “Why?!” he shouts. “Why me?!”


Mick chuckles as he reflects on the past as well. “Unfortunately, it took me this long to get my head on straight. I just hope it doesn’t take Dylan that long.” He sighs. “I wish there was something I could say or do to…I don’t know…help him get rid of that chip on his shoulder. He’s been here for weeks and I still don’t even know what the source of his problem is.”

He finally lets Rosetta go from his grasp, and slings an arm around her shoulder. “I need to clear my head. Wanna go for a ride?”


Cindy’s eyes widen and she laughs as Wes swings her around, then sets her back down again. “Well somebody is wound up today!” She reaches up to cradle his face, bringing him down to her level in order to plant a kiss on his lips. “Have fun at the lumberyard. Oh…” She reaches into her back pocket to withdraw several letters. “Would you drop these off at the post office for me too?”


“Alright, so we can line up this list of songs to do at the park, but in the meantime, we need to pick a few favorites for that fundraiser.” Phil looks around the table at the fast food restaurant to his brother, Mike and Jason. “Of course, that is, if the hospital will have us.”

“Right,” Mike agrees. “We also need to set up a new practice schedule that Jason can be included in.’

Jason sips his soda pop through his straw and shrugs. “Whatever. Evenings are usually okay. As long as I’m not out on a case, evenings are pretty normal.”

“I didn’t know using your name and ‘normal’ in the same sentence was acceptable,” Kyle teases.

Jason elbows him. “Behave yourself.”

Once all four had gathered, Jason had realized that Kyle got half the day off he hadn’t expected, but since he’d already asked Katie to go to supper, he’d opted to meet with the band over lunch. Phil had already known he’d have the afternoon off, and the music store’s business was going slowly today, so Mike had no problem with taking off for a few hours, only needing to be back at closing time.

Kyle smirks at Jason. “I’ll try.”

“Alright so…” Phil tries to keep them on track. “How about we head on over to Mike’s right now to formulate some of this and have a little jam session?”

Jason nods. “I got time. Other than Con’s case, it was a little slow today, so Reese shouldn’t have a problem. I’ll make up a few hours this evening.”

“Great.” Phil stands up. “Let’s head out then.”

Jason is the last to filter from the restaurant, and just as he’s pushing the door open, he glances to the side and can’t help his double-take. His heart immediately begins to race, a wave of familiar but unwanted fear sweeping over him. He stands with his feet feeling as though they’re frozen to the ground. The man in that booth…logic told Jason that it was not Alex, but the resemblance was there… enough to have played a terrible trick on Jason’s mind.

“Yo, Jason!” Kyle calls from the sidewalk. “You coming?”

Jason blinks and forces himself to move, though reflexes don’t want him to turn his back on this stranger. “Yeah….yeah, I’m coming.” He tries to shove the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn’t think about the past…not now…not here…the man in there was just a stranger…everything was fine.

A memory seeps into Jason’s mind, and he shakes it off, reprimanding himself. He heads for his bike and starts up the engine, following the other guys out of town and towards Mike’s. Images from the past continue to bombard his mind, and he persistently shoves them to the side. The man he had seen was not Alex. There was no reason for him to be fighting this now. It was silly.

…Practice is under full swing, taking up a half an hour already, all the guys having a blast, tossing ideas back and forth, and working out a few kinks in their songs. Though Jason is genuinely having a good time, the memories linger at the back of his mind, just waiting to pounce after being triggered by the Alex-look-alike. Starting to feel the pressure, Jason finally excuses himself to use the restroom. Heading down the dim hall, the high basement window cast a dim light inside, the bathroom door standing ajar.

Without warning, Jason sees the door to that dreaded room…the lighting was the same…enough to see where one was going, but dim enough to create an eerie glow.

Jason backs up against the other wall, trying not to lose his grasp on reality, but it’s slowly slipping. He couldn’t let go now…not here…not now… not like this….

Kyle stops his keyboard and looks at Mike and Phil. “Hey…it’s been a while since Jason left. Think he got lost?”

Phil rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you go see?”

Kyle quirks a grin and heads down the hall. “Hey, Jason!” Rounding the corner, his heart skips a beat. Jason was lying on the floor, curled up in a tight ball and shaking. “Jason!” Kyle wastes no time in sliding down next to him. “What’s wrong? What is it?” Not receiving a response, Kyle yells back down the hall. “Phil! Mike! Get down here NOW.”

The darkness is everwhere…Jason is running…running so hard. The enemy is behind him…Alex is yelling at him…. He feels the cold fist hitting the side of his face…he feels his thin body being slammed into the wall, left to sink to the floor until suppertime, if there even was a suppertime that day.
Jason can hear new voices….the past and present begin to mix, forming a foggy idea of what’s really going on around him.

“Is he sick?”

“Is it a seizure? Should we call 911?”

Mike shakes his head, kneeling down to look at Jason more closely. “Remember what he said about flashbacks?” He reaches out to touch Jason’s shoulder. “Jase…”

The feeling of a hand on his arm causes Jason to flinch violently enough to lash out, smacking Mike’s own arm.

“Jason, come on,” Phil urges gently. “We’re here for you.”

Ever so slowly, Jason is able to pry his own eyes open, still lost in a world between reality and images from the past. Noise clutters his mind. He hears Alex’s voice. He feels the beatings and the pain. But there’s something….something he can hang onto….something that can pull him out… it has to….
Barely able to get the words out, he whispers hoarsely. “Katie….get Katie.”

Kyle is on his feet in an instant, sprinting upstairs and to the door.