Lingo

"...yeah, so I don't know if he's coming or not, but if he shows up, he's okay. There shouldn't be any more threat, now that Bryce is taken care of."

Dan nods, listening to his nephew on the other end of the phone. "Thanks, Con. You want me to go get Laura so you can tell her the news yourself?"

"No... don't bother her, if she's taking time alone. When you see her, let her know we caught Bryce and I'll let her know when she needs to come home."

"Alright, sounds good. Take care of yourself."

"Will do. Thanks for helping out... tell Paula hi."

"Sure thing. Bye now."


Axel is still sitting sideways on the couch when Jess comes nearer. As she reaches over to take his hand, he lets his legs slide down so he's sitting cross-legged instead, his knees no longer a barrier.

He looks down at Jess' question, but finally glances back up to her. "Yeah. I can't get the tingling to stop anymore. Last couple days it's been that way. Either it hurts like the dickens or I can't use it 'cause it goes numb."

He focuses on her own hands as she words, and his tone softens a little. "You're the only one that can make the pain go away. It still goes numb, but... thank you. Not even pain killers do what you do."

Leaning to the side, he rests his head on the back of the couch, just watching Jess. "I'm going to stay here a couple days yet... I know they won't mind if you do too... if you wanted to."


Ryder is heading down the hall and onto the main floor, not really paying much attention. He didn't know why he'd come today. Reese was too busy to talk, he had nothing to do, and he was just in the way.

Turning a corner around the cubicles, Ryder runs right into Wyatt. His pop can goes flying, hitting the floor with a bang and a hiss as it fizzes.

"Whoa." Wyatt staggers backward. "Sorry."

"Naw, my fault." Ryder grimaces as he leans down to pick up the wet and sticky can. "There goes that idea."

Wyatt grins a little. "You're Ryder aren't you."

"What gave that away? My aimless wandering? My strange looks, or the accent everybody thinks I have?"

Seeing the humor in Ryder's eyes, Wyatt laughs. "All of the above? You coming or going?"

"Well, all I wanted was a lolly water but wound up with a barney instead, so maybe going is better than coming, ay?"

Wyatt's eyes widen slightly. "You what?"

Ryder blinks. "What?"

"Um..." Wyatt grins. "I thought Australians spoke English."

Ryder gives a sheepish laugh. "Sorry. What'd I say?"

"I have no idea."

A laugh surfaces and Ryder shakes his head. "Apparently I better be more careful if I want all you to know what I'm saying."

Wyatt joins the laughter, remembering the night before. "Take away."

"And you thought I was just scrambling my English."

"Let me guess - I just didn't understand your Aussie. So now it's my fault."

"Well somebody's gotta be to blame."

Wyatt shakes his head, still grinning. "So what happened again?"

"I was after a soft drink. Ended up in a bit of an argument though."

"Ohh. Why didn't you say so?"

Ryder smirks. "I thought I did."

Wyatt just shakes his head. "So is there a problem? Who were you arguing with?"

"The only other Aussie around here."

"Ouch." Wyatt grimaces. He's about to say more, but suddenly stops. He'd read the report just this morning, and now the pieces in his mind fell into place. It would probably be better to avoid the subject for now, so he twists it back around. "Now I never had any trouble understanding what he was saying."

"Do all Americans sound the same?" Ryder counters. He shrugs. "Some people find it easy to blend in and pick up new speech habits, especially like Carson when he's been doing it for so long. He mighta been raised on another side of town too."

"What about you?"

"I dunno. Guess if I hang around you Yanks long enough I'll wind up sounding like everybody else. But don't hold your breath."

"I won't." Wyatt keeps grinning. "I'm Wyatt, by the way."


Ty hurries down the hospital hall, keeping the folded blanket in front of him. Only if someone looked closely would they see that the blanket was only half of the large bulge. The other half was being hidden underneath his jacket. He'd avoided being checked over so far, but wasn't about to waste any more time.

Scooting into Scott's room, he doesn't even knock, but shuts the door behind him.

Scott gives a start. He'd dozed off, and though Hope was still there, the last couple hours had been very quiet. He hadn't talked a whole lot, his body too tired to continue the battle for now. But seeing Ty, he forces himself to be more alert. "Ty?"

"Hey, Scott." Ty grins, then nods to Hope. He'd heard who she was, and wasn't surprised to see her there. He comes a little closer to the bed, letting the blanket drop. "I got something for you." He unsnaps a couple buttons of his jacket, and suddenly a little black and white furry head appears.

Scott's eyes widen in shock, his mouth dropping open. "But..."

Ty is still smiling. "She just got a good bump on the noggin. Vet says she's just fine as long as she doesn't get too rambunctious for a couple days."

Tears well up in Scott's eyes. All the sorrow and grief from losing his little friend were suddenly replaced by one of the biggest joys he could remember. Domino hadn't died.

Ty comes closer and lets the squirming dog go. Domino slides from his arms onto the foot of the bed, wiggling with excitement as she crawls up to Scott's face, giving him plenty of slobbery kisses.

A laugh comes out as Scott holds her closer, burying his head in her fur.

Ty just smiles in satisfaction, glancing down at Hope as if to make sure she approved.