That'll do

Now face-down on the floor, Ryder breathes heavily, turning his head just enough that he can see Katie as she puts her foot on him.

Rolling his eyes, he moves around, accepting her hand. Shifting to sit up though, instead of standing, he pulls. Not letting go, he uses just enough strength to pull her down into his lap again. But this time, his arms are around her, preventing her head from banging back against the cupboards or onto the floor.

Holding her tightly, he gains the upper hand, but after a moment, his grip softens. Looking down into her eyes, a small smile quirks the corner of his mouth as he recalls the day before. "What would happen if the bad guys came around the corner again ay?"


"Psycho!"

"Barf brain!"

"Camel cowboy!"

"Spaghetti burner!"

Carson skids to a halt. "Oooh, low blow, mate."

Jason stands at the ready behind the couch, and whirls out of the way as Carson comes vaulting over it. Barely missed, he springs back towards the kitchen, just out of reach. Carson chases after him, unwilling to lose.

As the two men come trampling back into the kitchen, never has Ryder moved so quickly. On his feet in an instant, he almost dumps Katie onto the floor, but manages to pull her up too, giving her a quick shove in Jason's direction.

Jason skids to a halt just in time to get run into by Katie. His arms wrap around her and he swings her into a dip, oblivious to Ryder's red face. "My hero!" Leaning in, he plants as kiss on her lips.

"And it's my hero!" Carson stares into the freezer at the forgotten steaks.

Ryder faces the sink, suddenly very interested in cleaning out that morning's coffee mugs, pulling himself from the antics once more. "Help yourself. You said you wanted to cook."

"Only 'cause I know how to cook 'em to perfection."

"Only when he doesn't burn them."

"Hey!" Carson whirls around, shaking the frozen piece of meat at Jason. "Watch it, or I'll burn yours on purpose." He turns back to Ryder. "Got anything exciting to add to this.... onions? Mushrooms?"

"Uh..." Ryder hesitates. "I think I got an onion in there and... there might be a can of cream of mushroom soup in one of the cupboards."

"That'll do."


The room was dead quiet. All eyes were on Rocky. Max, Logan, Kyle, Joel and Taylor. They all sat is stunned silence. Joel swallows hard. "So... what... I mean... what does this mean?"

"Well it clears up a few questions, for starters," Rocky states flatly. After having told everyone about the discovery he'd made about Axel, it was time to sort through what would happen next. "His mask of avoiding women, his lack of desire for public attention... his silence about his past. Now we know why."

Max shakes his head. "So you really socked him, eh?"

Rocky sighs he leans forward in the couch, resting his elbows on his knees. "I shouldn't have. But... he was with Jess, and after figuring things out about Taylor, I was just afraid he was going to hurt somebody important to me."

Taylor lifts her eyebrows. "What do you..."

She was cut off by Joel. "So what are you proposing?"

"Well I can't see that we can keep him on Cryptic," Rocky states flatly. "Someone with a record like that? Now I know some might argue about forgiveness and the ability to change. But if someone brought to like Axel's past, the band would be in trouble."

"Do you think he's still a threat?" Joel couldn't believe it. "I just... wow... I never would have thought he was capable of that."

"Me neither. But quite frankly, I'm not willing to take the risk. Mine is not to judge or forgive something that has never been done against me. But I don't want him around the women anymore."

Kyle stands in the corner, leaning against the wall. This was all very hard to take in. Axel? Convicted of rape? No wonder he never spoke of his past. But that secrecy alone only caused more distrust. He had to admit that he might be leery about Axel hanging around Jen anymore too.

"What about tonight?" Max questions.

Rocky shrugs. "Figured we'd have to cancel."

"We can't do that," Logan interrupts. "We got Kyle lined up, and I can run sound."

"Yeah, but do we really want to go out there like this?" Rocky looks around at the group. He didn't need to remind them that they had just found out one of their very close friends wasn't at all who they thought he was - they were all feeling it.

"I'm still in, if the rest of you are," Kyle states boldly. He didn't want to think about this. He wasn't sure yet what he felt like doing, or how he should react, or where being a Christian came into play here. A concert, with or without Axel, would get everyone's minds off of everything else.

Rocky sighs deeply. He was still so on edge... still so upset. But they really would be putting the event in a lurch if they canceled tonight. It wasn't like the planners could just go out and get another band to come with only a few hours' notice. "Okay... if that's what you all want."

A few minutes later, Max and Logan have already left. Taylor singles out Rocky, taking him to the side. "Rocky... what did you mean about Jess and me?"

"I was at your apartment earlier," Rocky admits. "After I found out about Axel, I realized that something must have happened since you've been avoiding him lately. Then I heard the message he left on your machine."

"But I..."

"It's okay, you don't need to explain. If he was coming on to you, then from now on, you can..."

"No." Taylor tries to interrupt again, though her face has grown red. "It... it's not what you think."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... Axel didn't do anything. It was me. I came on to him, not the other way around."

Rocky lifts an eyebrow. "Oh. I didn't know that." He thinks for a moment, contemplating his reactions. "Well... whether I'd thought he did something or not, I still am going to be much more cautious." He thinks of Jess. Yes, he would be more cautious. The last thing she needed was someone like Axel, taking her dignity again.