No-no's, bungles and introductions

Ryder isn’t sure what Thirteen is giggling at, but he doesn’t ask. At least she appeared to be a little more at ease than when she’d arrived.

At her question, he quirks one eyebrow and thinks. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, letting his gaze go to the dog again. He should say no. He was going against just about every rule in the book the way it was.

He was aware that since Jason had found Trooper, the dog had been trained for numerous tasks, picking up on almost everything naturally. Whether it was sniffing for drugs, searching for victims, protecting an agent, or keeping an eye on someone, the dog had hardly needed any prompting at all, seeming to understand what Jason wanted, right off the bat. So accustomed to work, Trooper had often showed signs of taking matters on his own, but usually it was when Jason was around. Today he’d done things even without his master present. Ryder wondered what the dog’s motives had been. Had he sensed the girl’s fear? Had he just been bored and wanted attention? Had he sensed that someone needed to watch over Thirteen to make sure she didn’t go anywhere? No matter the case, it was obvious that Trooper held no aggression, and perhaps even offered Thirteen some comfort.

Ryder shakes his head, almost rolling his eyes. “Alright. But let me take him out first so he doesn’t start whining in the night.”

Hearing “out,” Trooper stands up, his tail wagging.

“Yeah, yeah, come on.” Ryder lets the dog out before him, then shuts the door, not bothering to lock it. Less than five minutes later, he’s returned, Trooper pushing his way back into the room.

“Now behave yourself, ya galah.” Ryder points his finger at the dog. “She’s not supposed to leave.”

Trooper picks up on the new tone in Ryder’s voice, and knows that his job is to stay and make sure this newcomer stayed too. He wanders over near the bed to flop down on the floor again with a wide yawn, showing all his teeth.

Ryder nods. “He can stay,” he tells Thirteen. “His master’s gone right now anyway and might not be back for a while.” He looks at her grimly. “The girl you were supposed to look like is his girlfriend. Unfortunately, she’s in a coma.”

Moving to the door, he pauses, looking at the lock, then back to the girl. “I’m going to leave this unlocked so you can go to the bathroom or if you need help. I’m trusting you to stick around.” He nods to Trooper. “He may be a new friend, but make no mistake – he’ll keep you in the building if he has to, so just know that.”

Ryder takes on last look around the room, feeling as though he needed to do something more, but unsure what it would be. More would have to be decided about Thirteen tomorrow. “Goodnight.”

The door closes with a quiet click. Trooper sighs and lays his head down on the floor, though his eyes stay open, his ears ever-alert.


Ryder finds a place to bunk down in the infirmary on the spare cot. Rick went home late, so eventually it was dark and quiet. Ryder kept the door open though, ready to wake at any sound.

Sleep finally came, finally relieving exhaustion. More tired than he’d realized, it was fortunate he had the reassurance that Trooper was on guard because he fell into such a sound sleep that it would have taken more than light noise to wake him…


It was early morning. Some people were just starting to get to work. Ryder was already up, wandering to the break room to make some coffee. He could hear Susanne’s humming as she came in for the day, and he saw Rick pass by on his way to the infirmary once more. Yawning, Ryder wandered out to the main floor. He would check on Thirteen in a little bit. Not seeing Trooper, he was confident that nothing needed his dire attention. The girl had seemed scared and tired yesterday… he would let her rest a little longer.

He’s just ready to go check on Henry, when he spies someone else arriving. A smile spreads as he sees it’s Laura, and he waits for her to come over to her cubicle. “Well good morning. Didn’t expect to see you this early.”

“Mm, I couldn’t stand it there any longer.” Laura was walking a little gingerly, but overall she looked good. “I begged the doctor to let me go this morning and he finally gave in. Thought I’d come and surprise Nate.”

“Good. And the others?”

“Um… still no change with Katie. I checked in on her and Jason was sound asleep so I didn’t bother him. And Scott… I think Gunner’s arriving back in town today and he’s going to take Scott home for a while. I saw Reese at the hospital this morning and he said they’re going to have Scott under house arrest until they can figure out exactly how his mind has been tampered with.”

“Might not be a bad idea.” Ryder sighs. “Feel sorry for him though.”

“Yeah, me to.” Hearing the door, Laura turns around to see Nate arriving. She smiles and waves at him, planning to go see him when he got to his desk. For now, she turned her attention back to her conversation. “I guess they’re afraid that since he went through the assimilation that he might have some automatic responses that could harm the Elite.”

“Well, they make robots out of people like him, so it’s definitely something to consider.”

Laura nods, grimacing as she puts a hand to her neck. “I think I must have slept wrong. My neck hurts more than where I got shot.”

“Oh, here.” Ryder steps forward, turning her around and gathering her hair to one side. Holding her shoulders, he lets his thumbs massage up and down her neck, finding the knot that was causing the trouble.”

“Ooh, ouch.” Laura laughs. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

Ryder grins. “I’m just a natural.”

“Sure you are.” Laura winces, but it felt good. She giggles as he keeps working on her neck. “I’ll have to keep this secret safe. If anybody else knew you were good at neck rubs, I’d never get you back.”

Ryder laughs and gives her shoulders a pat. “There you go. Better?”

“Mm, much. Thank you.” Laura turns around, ready to look through a few things at her desk before going to see Nate. She smiles at Ryder. “See you later I guess.”

“I hope so.” Ryder cocks his head, looking at her for a long moment. “Be careful ay? Kinda scares a bloke when more than one of his friends comes close to bitin’ the dust.”

“Aw.” Laura softens a little. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Too late.” Ryder gives her a little grin as he leans closer. “This is for being as tough as nails.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek before pulling away and brushing her nose teasingly with a finger. “Don’t work too hard today.”

Laura laughs and shakes her head. “I won’t. This tough as nails lady is too sore for much today. I think rest is on the schedule for me.” Watching Ryder walk away, she shakes her head again before setting down her purse and leaning down to check on Henry. She really was sore, and looked forward to going home as soon as Ryder got the windows covered.

Ryder ambles through the line of cubicles, looking ahead to Reese's office. He hadn't seen his boss yet this morning, but he needed to go check on Thirteen anyway. He didn't want to leave her alone too long before checking on her. Passing by Nate’s desk, he gives a little nod. “Morning.”



Dani yawns again as she exits the bathroom, running a hand through her still-damp hair. She was up early today, but it was just as well. After already showering and dressing, she had plenty of time to eat a slow breakfast before heading to work.

Heading for the kitchen, she walks through the living room and pauses, seeing Carson's form on the couch. Odd. It was rare that he sacked out on the couch for the night, and after yesterday, she figured he would have chosen his own bed. She'd hardly seen him at all last night - just long enough to find out about everything that had happened with Katie. She shrugs. It was none of her nevermind where her brother slept.

Turning the light on in the kitchen though, something makes her pause. She sniffs the air. Her nose was sensitive, and the scent she thought she'd picked up shouldn't be there.

Dani backs into the living room again, turning on that light too. The sight made her heart sink. But the disappointment was quickly overtaken by anger. "Carson!" No response. She stalks to the coffee table to pick up the half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey. She had half a mind to break it over his head. "Carson!"

He groans but doesn't move.

"You idiot!" Dani puts the bottle back down again. "What were you thinking?!"

"Mhmm."

"You have to be in court in an hour!"

Carson manages to get one eye open as his sister's words partially register. "Aw..."

Dani's eyes narrow at the curse he mutters next. "Watch your language!"

Carson cringes. "Keep it down," he mumbles. "Don't shout so loud."

"I'll shout if I want to!" Dani points to the bathroom. "Get up, and get yourself cleaned up! Come on!"

Carson rolls over and manage to sit up before finally getting to his feet. He staggers a little though, steadying himself on the armrest of the couch.

Dani's eyes widen. "You're drunk. You're still drunk! I cannot believe this!" Walking around to him, she grabs his arm to drag him down the hall to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, she shoves her brother towards it.

"No!" Carson tries to resist, but he's too tipsy to fight off anybody.

Dani places her hands on his chest and gives a hefty shove. He stumbles backward, his feet catching on the toilet. Down he goes. Falling back, his tailbone bounces off the rim of the tub before his head takes a hard hit to the wall. The cold water sprays down on top of him, clothes and all. Groaning, he tries to get out, but he's like a turtle stuck on his back.

Dani rolls her eyes. She wasn't going to help him. Instead, she spins around and heads back to the kitchen where she puts on a pot of strong coffee. So much for her relaxing breakfast. But she wasn't going to let Carson get away that easy.

It's a few minutes before she goes back to the bathroom and finds her brother still under the stream of water, now cold and sopping wet. He blinks back the water, staring up at her miserably. "You-"

"There's no use calling me names," Dani reprimands. "Now come on." She lays down a set of clean clothes on the counter before reaching in to turn the water off. She then offers Carson a hand. "Get up, get yourself dried off and put some clean clothes on."

Carson mutters a complaint under his breath, but he accepts her help up again. Standing straight, he winces and reaches for the counter to steady himself.

"Your head?" Dani asks.

Carson shakes his head and bites his lip. "I'm fine."

Dani quirks an eyebrow, but doesn't ask. She hands him a towel instead. "I'd like to know what got into you to pull a stunt like this, but we don't have time to stand around talking about it. You've now got less than an hour to make yourself presentable."

"Who cares?"

"I care! You need to get your hind end in gear and get on down to that courthouse so you can prove you didn't kidnap your daughter!" Dani stares at him, then forces him to look at her. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, okay?!" Carson pulls off his wet shirt and begins to dry off.

"Good." At least he was starting to be a little more alert, but he needed to be fully sober, and Dani only hoped she could help pull it off. This was ridiculous. She makes another trip to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. By the time she's returned, Carson is dry and tucking his buttoned shirt into his good blue jeans. "Here."

Carson accepts the coffee, gulping down several large swigs. The longer he was awake, the more aware he became of the fact that he really did need to sober up and get going. Angelica would kill him if she knew about this.

"And here..." Dani hands him his belt and his electric razor.

Carson obeys, slipping on the belt in between swallowing the rest of the hot coffee. It was incredibly bitter - he could only imagine how strong Dani had purposely made it. Just as he's giving himself a quick shave, his stomach retaliates. His face pales, and he doubles over at the toilet.

Dani rolls her eyes. "Don't get any on ya. That's your only good shirt."

Carson spits, trying to regain control. "Thanks for your sympathy."

"You don't deserve any."

Retching again, Carson can't argue. Maybe he didn't. Once he can straighten up again, he gingerly returns to the sink where Dani hands him the mouthwash before proceeding to hand him a black tie.

He cringes. "Not a tie."

"You're going to look at least halfway decent... maybe they'll be convinced you actually tried."

Carson sighs and takes the tie, but once he's got it around his neck, he fumbles with the knot, getting it more tangled than anything.

Dani groans and intervenes, taking over. "I don't even know why I'm helping you," she grumbles. "You deserve to be horsewhipped. What ever possessed you?"

Carson lamely lets his sister tie his tie for him. "I don't know."

"Yes you do." Dani purposely slides the knot tighter around his neck. "And whatever it was, you know good and well it wasn't worth getting shnockered over. Especially on a day like today. I thought you knew better."

"I... I just..."

Dani turns him around to give him a once-over. "Well... it's gonna have to do." His face was pale, and his eyes slightly glazed, but at least he was alert. At least after the cold shower and the coffee he'd have more of a hangover than tipsiness. "You look terrible. But it's gonna have to do. Come on."

Carson follows Dani numbly back to the living room where he hunts for his tennis shoes.

Dani goes for the phone. She had to get to work. Now instead of early, she was risking being late. She wanted to wallop Carson for getting drunk, and she wanted to know why he'd suddenly broken again, especially since he'd been doing so well. But she didn't have time to find out now. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to give him a ride either. Hearing an answer on the cell phone, Dani tries to make it brief. "Misty? It's Dani. Look, Carson has to be in court in about twenty minutes, but he's in no shape to drive and..."

"I am too!" Carson shouts in irritation. He goes for the phone, trying to shut it off, but Dani is quicker.

"No! You are not driving! Look at yourself!"

"I'm fine!"

"You are not!"

The phone gets taken on a tug-o-war ride. Carson glares at his sister. He hadn't wanted Misty to know about any of this. "I'm driving myself." He finally wins out and puts the phone to his ear. "Misty, forget it. I'm heading in myself. Dani didn't have all the facts."

"Carson Gabriel Banks!"

Carson ignores his sister, continuing to talk to Misty. "Thanks anyway. I'll call you after court to let you know how it went." Hitting the end button, he lets Dani have the phone again. "I said I'm fine," he states flatly.

"You're barely sober."

"But I am sober, so cut it out." Carson looks around for his wallet and keys. He finds his wallet on the coffee table but can't find his keys anywhere. "Dani..." He glares at her. "You better not have taken my keys."

"How should I know where they are?" Dani throws up her arms. "You're the one that was drunk, not me. If you can't find them, it's your own problem. I have to go to work now."

"But..."

"No buts!" Dani grabs her purse. "Good luck in court. For Mackenzie's sake, I hope the judge sides with you. As for your own sake... well I don't know what would be best at this point. You're a disappointment to everyone who thought you'd changed."

"Wait, Dani, I..." Carson's words trail off as he's met with a slamming door. Looking again for his keys, he still can't find them anywhere. Another curse slips out before he exits the apartment. He would now be late. But walking would get him there one way or the other. Going down the steps seemed to take forever, even though it was only one flight. Every step hurt, but he wasn't about to admit it to anyone. It was bad enough his head hurt from hitting the wall in the shower - he didn't need his throbbing tailbone to get any attention.

Dani slips into her car and starts the engine, pulling out of the drive. She glances down to see Carson's keys in her passenger seat. Sighing, she finds her cell phone. Maybe Carson would accept help from one other person.


Carson trudges down the sidewalk, the morning sunlight making his headache worse. Angelica was going to kill him... she was going to kill him, and he'd be going to jail for kidnapping. Great. Just great.

Dani's words nagged at him. "You're a disappointment to everyone who thought you'd changed."

He grits his teeth, wishing for a moment that he could just walk off a cliff somewhere. He was stupid and he was weak.

Glancing down, he realizes his wrist is empty. He'd forgotten his watch. He didn't even know what time it was. Maybe that was okay... he wouldn't know how late he was once he got to the courthouse.

Halfway to his destination, he hears a car slowing behind him. Spinning around, he sees it's Axel. He sighs. Axel would question him. He'd dig until he found out why Carson was in this mess, and then he'd give it to him for being so stupid. But at this point... Carson could use a lift.

Axel rolls down the passenger window. "Taking the slow route this morning, aren't you? Don't you have to be in court in a few minutes?"

"Yeah..." Carson leans on the door. "I had to hoof it this morning though."

"You should have called. Hop in."

Carson doesn't argue. He gets into Axel's car, only then realizing that there's someone in the backseat. Seeing a young woman, he's surprised.

Axel takes in Carson's state, and a look of questioning disappointment crosses his face. But he wouldn't ask about it now. Now wasn't the time. "Carson, this is my little sister Liz. Liz, this is Carson."

Carson quirks an eyebrow. "Sister?"

Liz laughs. "Not really. But it's close enough."

A lightbulb goes on in Carson's brain. "Derek's daughter."

"Yep."

"Then you're..." His voice trails off and he looks to Axel. He didn't know what kind of tangled web there was within that family, and whether or not Liz even knew she had a half brother.

Axel nods. "Jason's sister."

"Oh."

The rest of the short ride is quiet, and Axel lets Carson out a the courthouse. "Let me know how things turn out, alright?"

"Yeah... and thanks for the lift."

"Not a problem." Axel waits to see Carson makes it up the steps before pulling away from the curb.

Carson heads up the steps two at a time, trying to ignore the pain as he went. Getting inside the building, the cool air was refreshing. He knew he didn't look like he belonged here. No matter his physical condition, he was in jeans and tennis shoes. At least he had a nice shirt and tie on, thanks to Dani. It was the nicest he'd dressed in a long time, but even so, he looked like a hobo compared to all the men in business suits walking around.

He stops in the large foyer with the shiny floor. His eyes roam the people and he finally spots Angelica. He spies a big clock up on one wall. He'd barely made it. "Sorry," he apologizes quickly. "Had a little trouble this morning."


Liz watches Axel in the rearview mirror. "So what was that all about?"

"What?"

"You know... someone calls and says that guy needs a ride. You don't even tell him that - you just act like we happened to be driving by. He has to be in court, and looks like he was ready to pass out."

Axel takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I don't know... He's in court because someone accused him of kidnapping his daughter that he didn't even know he had. It's a mess and a long story. Bottom line is, he's innocent. And... this morning.... I don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say he was drinking last night, but he's been clean for so long now that I wouldn't have thought he'd do that. I'll have to find out later."

"You're friends then?"

"Yeah." Axel puts his concentration back on the road. Both are lost in their own thoughts for the next fifteen minutes through town.

Liz takes a deep breath as the hospital comes into view. “So… this is the place, huh?”

“Well, your dad said he was at the hospital, right?”

“Yeah.” Liz nods to Axel, still a bit hesitant. She’d gotten a call from her mom early that morning, that said her dad was finished with the mission. She had then called his cell phone, admitting to him where she was. He hadn’t been happy, but since she was there, he wanted to see her, and told her that he was up at the hospital with some of the Elite members, including Jason.

“You okay?” Axel had been waiting to get out of the car, but Liz had not moved.

“I think so.” Liz looks at him sheepishly. “I guess maybe I was little over-enthusiastic about this whole thing. Now I’m a little nervous.”

“About getting a tongue-lashing from your dad for being here, or about seeing Jason?”

“I’m not worried about Dad. He gave me enough of a bad time over the phone. I guess… I don’t know.”

Axel gets out of the car and goes to her side, opening up the door. He throws her a wink. “Come on. Jason’s a good guy.”

They head inside together, Axel taking the lead. Finding Derek, he embraces his daughter more strongly than normal. She didn’t know anything about where he’d been, but he knew that he had been close to never seeing his family again. “If I wasn’t so glad to see you, I’d tell you you’re grounded.”

She laughs and returns his hug. “Am I ever gonna get to know what you were doing here?”

“Yeah… come here. Axel, you can sit with us too.”

It took a little while, but Derek shared the light version of what had happened, and why he and Jay had been wanted. Liz was a bit shocked – she hadn’t expected it to be something like that, and now she could just be thankful that her dad was safe and sound. She was sad to know that someone had died, and that her brother’s girlfriend was in a coma though.

“Wow… that’s all… a lot.”

Derek manages a small smile. “Yeah, I know. But it’s over now. And we’ll go home soon.”

“So… can I meet Jason?”

“I was planning on it.” Derek stands from the hospital dining room table. “Come on. I told him you’d be coming.”


Jason is awake and leaned back in his chair, having hardly left the room at all. No one knew how long it would be… but it didn’t matter.

Seeing someone enter the room, he turns. “Axel?”

“Hey, Jase.” Axel approaches and sets a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “I’d ask how you’re doing, but I think I can figure it out.”

“Heh… yeah.”

Axel goes to the bedside and looks down at Katie with a deep sigh. “Aw, Katie… don’t stay away too long.” He turns back around to study Jason’s tired eyes. “There’s someone here to see you.”

“Liz?”

“Yeah.”

“Derek told me she was here… it was, um… interesting to find out how close you were to the family.”

Axel gives a quiet laugh. “Upset with me for never saying anything?”

“No.” Jason sighs deeply. “No… There’s far worse things for me to be upset about. I can see why you wouldn’t want to tell me.”

“Derek told me that you’ve had quite a life change.”

Jason lifts his eyebrows a little and nods. “I guess I have. It feels…”

“Peaceful.”

“Yeah. Despite all this… I just… I don’t know… I’m not angry like I thought I’d be.”

“That’s good.” Axel nods his encouragement to the young Christian before him. He only wished that the even were surrounded by circumstances better than these. “I’ll um… leave you guys alone. I’ll probably see you again soon.”

“Alright. Thanks, Axel.” Jason stays seated for a few moments alone, feeling like he was in a fog. It felt so strange… he’d been thrown together with his father, he was now meeting his sister… and his best friend wasn’t here to help him through it and help him know what to do. He felt more on his own than he had in a long time.

“Jason?”

He jerks his head around, startled. His eyes fall on Derek, then down to the young woman beside him. A kind of warm feeling filled him, though it was awkward. Standing up, he approaches slowly… cautiously.

Liz’s eyes widen. “Wow…” Her younger brother looked more like her mom than anything… seeing Jason, she was very surprised at how much he looked like her dad.

Jason quirks an eyebrow. “Is that a good wow or a bad wow?”

Liz giggles, her cheeks reddening. “A good one. I’m sorry, I… I could have picked you out of a crowd any day.” Looking up at him, her eyes twinkle. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Jason gives a little nod. “Nice to meet you too.”

“I’m sorry… that this is such a hard time.”

“Me too.” Jason gives a quiet, sorry laugh and looks over his shoulder for a moment. “I wish I could introduce you to the other half of my life.”

Liz purses her lips, feeling sorry for this stranger that was her brother. “I hear you two are pretty important to each other.”

“Yeah… yeah we are…”