Shoulder

Laura soaks up Katie's comfort, glad for her friend, glad for the words. It didn't take the pain away, but maybe it numbed it just a little.

Hearing the offer for the bath, she nods. It did sound good. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she sniffs again, then stands up a little shakily. Ryder stands out of the way, letting her wander to her bedroom first, then back to the bathroom.

The bathroom was getting just a bit steamy. Bath oils had been found, and the scent of lilac wafted in the air. It was warm... warm and oh so inviting... Laura slides down into the hot water, her body immediately relaxing. Closing her eyes she just sits for a while, not asleep, but not letting her mind think at the moment. Her aching muscles started to loosen up, and as her body relaxed, so did her emotions.

Ryder quietly wanders the living room, grabbing the blanket he'd been using and preparing the couch for his bed for the night. Hearing the microwave beep, he ambles back to the kitchen.

Laura dries herself off and wraps herself up in her soft robe. She towel dries her hair and gets ready for bed. Though much more relaxed now, she doesn't trust that she'll be able to get to sleep on her own, so she grabs a bottle from the medicine cabinet. Aiming for the kitchen, she enters and goes for a glass of water to accompany the pills.

As she's reaching for a glass though, the bottle is suddenly slipped from her grasp. Giving a little start, she turns quickly to Ryder and blinks in surprise. Then she sees the steaming mug in his hand.

He offers her the hot tea. "Drink this instead," he directs gently. "It'll put you right to sleep." Receiving an unbelieving look, he nods. "Trust me."

Too worn out to fight, Laura accepts. "Thank you," she manages a little hoarsely.

"Go on," he shrugs off the thanks. "Things will look different in the morning."

Laura just looks at him for a moment, still not quite sure where he'd come from or who he was, but grateful nonetheless. He was being so kind. Finally she turns to slowly make it to her room. Crawling onto her bed, she settles back against her pillows and takes a sip of the tea. It slid down her throat, so warm and soothing, and oh it tasted good. In the morning, she wouldn't even remember finishing it off before sliding under the covers and falling asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.


Axel just lets the exchange continue, in no hurry to let it end - not something this sweet, this blissful. Finally though, he withdraws just a bit, knowing that they both needed to go inside. A smile spreads - a full one... a genuine one. No words were needed... they both knew that tonight had suddenly marked the beginning of something new for the both of them... and both were willing to be a part of the adventure.

Pulling her in close again, Axel just gives Jess a tight hug, in thanks for everything. Then pulling away, he moves to open the door. "We better get inside before someone decides to turn the porch light on," he teases quietly.

The morning breaks all too soon. The sun is met with weary eyes that wish for just another hour of sleep. But dawn waits for no one...

Liz's shriek echoes through the house before she slaps a hand over her mouth. Too late, she knew she's alerted probably everyone else in the house.

Axel gives a start and sits bolt upright, hitting his head on something hard. His hand hurt like the dickens, and now so did his head too. Squinting, he tries to bring things into focus, for a moment, feeling an odd sense of panic.

"Oh, oh, it's just me," Liz tries to make up for the rude awakening. "You alright?"

Axel blinks and finally realizes that he's sitting up on the kitchen floor, staring up at Liz. "Um..." He furrows his brow. "I think... I don't know... yes?"

Liz tries not to laugh. "Do you have any idea how long you've been out here?"

Axel shakes his head. "Uh-uh..." He blinks again and tries to stand up, but has just a bit of trouble when his right hand offers no help.

Liz helps instead. "Sorry for screaming. It's been a while since I've just come across you in weird places ya know. Good to know somethings never change though."

Axel smirks at her, finally starting to wake up. "Yeah, it's great," he retorts with sarcasm, wincing as he stretches. Last he knew, he'd given Jess the spare room and had sacked out in the living room for the night. "You try starting out on the couch, and winding up on some hard tile floor, then you tell me how good it is."

A giggle finally escapes. "I'm sorry. Rough night, huh?"

"I have no idea."

"Well at least you didn't end up outside like you did that one time."

"This is true."

Liz looks up at him, a little sly glint in her eye. "Figured you woulda slept like a baby last night though."

"And why's that?"

Liz shrugs, tossing him a crooked grin. "Oh... no reason..." She goes to start the coffee as she'd intended to do, turning her back on him.

He's glad she does as he can suddenly feel heat in his face. Surely she hadn't... he's not even going to ask. "Bathroom empty?"

"Last I checked. Hurry though, Nick was just getting up."


Laura runs a brush through her hair and gives herself one last look in the mirror. That would have to do. She takes a deep breath, then heads out of her bedroom. She felt surprisingly refreshed this morning. Her mind was a little clearer, and she felt like being distracted for at least a while. Some might advise against going to work, but she wanted something to keep her busy.

Arriving to the kitchen, she finds that Katie and Ryder are already up, and she goes for some cold cereal for breakfast. "Morning," she greets. Reaching for a bowl in the cupboard, she pauses to roll her right shoulder, feeling the knot that had formed from sleeping in the same position all night. "What did you put in that tea?" she questions wryly. "That knocked me out cold."

Ryder grins and steps away from the window where he'd been looking out. "Secret recipe. Glad it worked. How you feeling?"

"Better." Laura gives a little nod. "Better..." It was true. She still didn't know what decisions she wanted to make or where she was going, or how to really make it through this, but the immediate breakdown was over, and at least for now, she just wanted to move forward. She would face the emotions again if they spilled over, but for now at least, she felt on an even keel.

"...other than my shoulder killing me," she concludes, pouring milk over her cereal at the counter.

"Mm, which one?"

"Right one. Guess I must have slept on it funny or something." Concentrating on her breakfast, suddenly feeling Ryder's hand on her shoulder makes her jump.

"Oy, steady," he directs with gentle firmness. He runs a thumb down her back around her shoulder blade. "Here?"

Laura scrunches up her nose. "Yeah."

Holding her still with one hand, Ryder moves his other, letting his palm move in a slow but deep movement to release the knot. "How's that?"

Laura rotates her arm, her eyebrows rising. "Much better... wow... thank you." She looks to Katie with a teasing grin. "How come you didn't bring this guy sooner? Can we hire him?"


"Jordan, where's my pack?"

"I threw it in this morning, babe. Got the phones?"

"Hey, did we get the fridge fixed?"

"Incoming!"

"Whoa, Hunter, cut it out!"

"Who's dirty sock is this?!"

"Kyle! You showed up!"

Kyle grins as he ambles toward the buss, duffel bag in hand. "Yo, Chloe, wassup?"

Chloe giggles. "Nothing, other than trying to keep up with this crazy bunch."

"Well then I think I came to the right place."

"Of course you did!" Hunter hollers to him out one of the windows. "Get your hind end in here and claim your bunk before all of Myla's crap ends up on it!"

"Hey!" Myla shrieks from inside. "I packed as light as I could! Mark my words, if I didn't have all this stuff, within an hour of being on the road, Jordan would be complaining that I'd forgotten something."

Hunter is leaning out the window, and he just grins at Kyle, ignoring Myla. "Married couples. I tell ya." He sighs and shakes his head teasingly. "We'll be ready in about an hour. Where's your shadow?"

Kyle turns and looks out from the gravel parking lot to the road, then back to Hunter. "She'll be here. Just look for a jeep."

"And your own gang?"

"I said goodbye earlier this morning..." Kyle pauses for just a minute, remembering the warm farewell, though he could tell that his sister especially didn't want him to go. "I'm all set."