Good morning

Con hangs up the phone a little wearily. He wished there was more he could do to help... but this was something he couldn't at all.

Wandering through the living room, he checks on Laura one more time, then heads upstairs. Crawling into bed next to Jamie, he wraps his arm around her to hold her close. He was glad that they'd found each other and had not questioned their love. He felt so blessed that Jamie had been willing to spend her life with him. He hoped his sister could find the same kind of happiness that he had.

Giving Jamie's cheek a kiss, he whispers in her ear. "I love you."


The ocean below was one big black expanse, yet to be lit by the morning sun. Stars dotted the sky, waiting for the hazy dawn.

Jason leans his head against the airplane's window, looking out into the great nothingness. He'd been able to sleep a little bit on the first leg of their journey, but as they headed for Australia, nerves had kept him awake.

Hearing the stirring behind him, he turns to see Carson awake in the seat behind him.

Carson catches his eye for a moment. No words needed to be said. Everyone knew at what stage they were, and what was happening. He glances up to Katie just to check on her. They were the only three people in the back corner of the plane, able to converse as freely as they dared, but remain quiet enough and not gain much attention. A chatterbox for a stewardess was the only annoyance they'd had thus far, having to lie through their teeth about going on vacation to Australia.

Jason's mind wanders, trying to find somewhere to land. He wanted to find something to talk about, other than the case right now. Then he remembers what he had yet to ask Carson about.

"Hey, Carson..."


...Carson lets out a low whistle as the information about Axel hits his ears. He and Jason had been speaking quietly for several minutes now, undisturbed and unheard by anyone else but Katie. “No… no he never told me about that.”

Jason gives a little cringe. “I thought maybe he had. I didn’t want to go spread this around or anything I just…”

“You just don’t want anybody getting hurt.” Carson nods. He understood, but while he himself knew that one couldn’t be judged by a stained past, not everybody would look at this that way. “I know. But now what?”

“That’s the hard part.” Jason sighs. “I know Cryptic doesn’t know about it, because Rocky has said that they never have known about Axel’s past. I don’t want to stir up trouble, but I do think people ought to know, especially when he’s around people like Taylor all the time. If I were her, even if I trusted Axel completely, I’d want to know about this.”

“Yeah…” Carson takes a sip of coke that the stewardess had brought him, grimacing a little as the carbonation goes down with difficulty. “Axel and I are pretty good friends, but even I don’t know how I’d talk to him about this.”

“Well… I guess I could do something more if you think I should.”


“No.” Carson shakes his head. “Let me take it from here. I know Axel better than you do, and I see the others all the time, too. I’ll… think of something.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Jason starts to turn back around in his seat, but then stops and looks back to Carson again. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“What’s different about you?”

A grin spreads on Carson’s face. “I’ve been accepted and saved despite every despicable thing I’ve ever done. I’m loved despite my faults and despite my human nature. That’s enough to change a man, don’t you think?”

Jason furrows his brow a little, trying to figure out the angle.

Carson just looks him in the eye, holding his grin. “I may be a rebel and ruffian, but even I have a purpose, and even God can make something out of someone like me. Finding the purpose in my own passions and my own personality has impacted me more than anything else, Jason.”

“God, huh.” Jason is a bit skeptical, even though he’d been trying to figure it out himself for a while now. “And what’s the purpose in all that?”

“To be used not in spite of, but together with the personality I’ve been given. I’ve got a place somewhere. Maybe I haven’t quite found it yet, but I know now that I don’t have to change into something I’m not just to find it. I have a new heart. I have new intentions and a new perspective that keeps me from doing some stupid things I used to do. But I’m still me… and I can be me… somewhere.”

Jason gives a little laugh. “That’s not the Carson we brought down and held at TJY.”

Carson chuckles. “No, it’s not. My outlook has changed. And even that, God had to change for me… I couldn’t do it myself.”

Jason’s confusion persists, but he pushes it aside for now, unable to help a short quip. “Is that why we’re suddenly getting along?”

Carson’s laugh is genuine. “Takes two to get along, Jase.” He stretches out as far as the space between seats would allow, and stifles a yawn. “Guess maybe I’m not the only one rethinking things, eh?”

Jason is quiet, then finally ends the conversation by turning back around, his mind churning several directions. Interesting. Very… interesting.

A glow comes through the window, proving that the sun was rising, even this far from home. The ocean below became to shimmer, radiance sparkling off the water. It was a beautiful sight.

Reaching beside him, Jason curls his fingers around Katie's hand.

Good morning.


Laura slips into TJY and heads straight for her cubicle. She wasn't quite as put together this morning as usual. Having woken up at Con and Jamie's, it had been a rush to get home, then to work, and she was a few minutes late. Looked like she'd have to work a little more tonight to make up her time.

As she arrives at her desk, she keeps her eyes from wandering across the room over to where Nate's space was. The night hadn't solved anything, and the fear, confusion and hurt from the evening before still lingered. She wouldn't know what to say to Nate even if she were to speak with him.

Sitting down at her desk, Laura tries to start work for the day.