Good reason

Ryder grabs his wallet to put in his back pocket and heads for the door, a little surprised but fine with Thirteen coming along to the police station.

Stopping at the door, he turns to look at her for a moment, cocking his head. "Don't worry... we'll find a place for you. I won't leave you hanging." He nods to the open door for Thirteen to exit before he locks up the house.

Driving down to the station, Ryder is pretty quiet. With a lot on his mind, he did his best not to act differently around Thirteen, but he knew that she could sense it. She wasn't stupid.

Once they're at the station, Ryder takes Thirteen's hand and walks inside, keeping her close as it was apparently a busy day. Approaching the counter, he addresses a woman office. "Is Chief Brown in today?"

"He just got back," she informs. "He's got a meeting in fifteen minutes, but you might be able to catch him in his office."

"Great. Thanks." Heading in the right direction, Ryder keeps Thirteen's hand in his grip until they've been invited into the warm office.

"Ah, Ryder, right?" Brown extends his hand.

"That's right. G'day."

"And who is this?" Brown looks to Thirteen, seeming to catch the shyness behind her bright eyes. His smile is gentle.

"This is Thirteen," Ryder introduces.

"Ah yes. The ward from TJY."

"Yes. That's... actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Brown invites both to sit down and he himself sits on the other side of his desk. "I know the paperwork has been hung up for a while... this is an odd case. Reese and I were just discussing it the other day, but the judges have been busy with other priorities so no decisions have been made yet."

"As it's been with Scott," Ryder comments, a bit pointedly. "Look... we just need something else to happen here. Thirteen can't keep staying at TJY. She's been locked in a room for crying out loud. I took her to stay in a house for one night and I got raked over the coals for it. She's learning and growing and if we're going to have a success at reintroducing her to society, then we have to do just that... reintroduce her, not keep her locked up like an animal." He didn't particularly care for talking about Thirteen when she was right there, but he didn't have much of a choice.

Brown sits back, his eyes narrowing a little as he thinks. Pursing his lips, he looks to Thirteen. "I see your friend here is trying hard to do what's best for you. What do you have to say about all of this?"


Another little chuckle bubbles to the surface as Dani looks across at Dalton. Her cheeks were warm, her eyes glistening. "I guess first dates are always kind of awkward. But... I'm having a good time too. I, um...." She looks down, giving a bit of a laugh at herself. "I guess I kind of hoped you would ask me one of the days."

Glancing back up, she takes a sip of her water. "Walking sounds nice too... Though we could try the running sometime. I wouldn't mind trying to keep up. At least if I couldn't, there would be a good reason."


Susanne looks over her shoulder to make sure Reese's office is closed. "Hi, Hope. Um... yes.... I could give you Gunner's number." A smile is on her lips, her voice kept quiet. "Just don't tell anyone I gave it to you."

After giving Hope the number, Susanne hangs up, her smile still present. She knew she wasn't supposed to give that out, but after all, Hope had been Scott's councilor... surely she had special priviledges... and no one had specified not to give HER the number.

Gunner is lazing on the couch in front of the television when his phone goes off. Checking the number, he furrows his brow, tempted not to answer. But for some reason he did. "Yeah, hello?"