Take your time

Jason's head shoots up, his eyes widening. He stares at Katie's motionless form. Was his mind playing tricks on him? No... he could feel it... emotions had been returned. The emotions that flowed from him had been returned in a gentle package that only he could understand.

His heart quickened and he moved to sit on the edge of the bed, taking Katie's hand in his. He bends to kiss it, a tear falling onto her skin. She was not yet awake... not yet.

It won't be okay until you come back to us... I love you too.

Reaching down, he moves a strand of hair from her face, the back of his hand softly brushing her cheek.


Silence rules the room for several long moments. Ryder hadn't really expected any more than the answer Thirteen had given him, but maybe he had hoped. He felt badly... but it was more than that. He pitied the young woman before him... but it was more than that.

"Dreams don't have to find us," he mentions softly. "We have to find them."

Propping himself up on one elbow, he cocks his head, seeing Thirteen's face from a back angle. What would it take? What was the key? It was there... right in front of his nose... but what was it? He was running out of time.

It's another several quiet minutes before he suddenly swings his legs off the bed and crosses them to lower himself down in front of Thirteen. Taking her hands in his, he forces her to uncurl, searching for her face. "Close your eyes," he directs. "Go on." To help, he closes his own eyes. "Now I want you to forget about everything that's happened. I don't want you to think about home, I don't want you to think about the Agency, I don't want you to think about here. Nothing exists but you... just you."

He waits for a moment, letting the quiet settle. "Now, you're in a new room. And in this room are shelves full of books. But they're not ordinary books. They're books that when you open them, they come to life and take you anywhere you want to go or make you anything you want to be. There's books that go to Africa. There's books that can make you a teacher or an astronaut or a cook, or a stay at home mom... anything you could ever want to be. There's books that go to Canada... or the mountains... or the city... or a field where there's nothing but grass and birds singing."

Another pause. Ryder keeps Thirteen's hands in his, letting the imagery take place, if only in the mind. "Now... which book would you choose? Maybe you want to try a couple, and that's okay. Because you can leave any book you want to at any time. Nothing is forever. But what would you choose? Which book are you drawn to?"


Kyle laughs and scrunches his nose. "I guess that means I have to get up, huh?" He heaves a sigh. "Oh, alright... since my booboo is all better, I think I have the strength to stand up again."

Shifting his weight, he manges to sit up and roll until he's standing, then offers Alice a hand up as well. "Melady... I shall escort you to the grill."

"Hey knight in not-so-shining-armor," Chloe quips, "Why don't you go get Hunter from the bus? I don't think he heard that the food was ready."

Kyle looks to Alice forlornly. "If only this moment could have lasted. But alas... duty calls." Kissing her hand, he bounds off towards the bus, leaving the others as they start to get their hamburgers.


Laura pulls into herself a little as the towel is placed around her shoulders. She was colder than she thought, being wet, then coming into an air-conditioned home. For a moment, her arms long for Nate's hand to stay, but they're disappointed as he draws back, simply handing her the phone.

She stares at it, not turning around. Hearing him walk away, she bites her quivering lip. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She knew what her heart wanted. Having this many weeks to sit and think, she'd changed a lot of things and she knew now what she wanted. But how was she supposed to tell Nate? He wasn't coming back to her this time... he wasn't running after her and begging her return like he had in the past. Not that she deserved that... she knew that she didn't, and she wouldn't want to expect it at all. But even so, he was breaking pattern, and she didn't know how to respond.

Finally she just dials Con's number, feeling rather numb. As the line rings, she can hear Nate and Maggie in the kitchen. She missed his voice... he laughed... she missed that laughter too. She heard Maggie laugh. She missed that innocent smile and the little friend she'd made. She missed doing things with the both of them. She missed it all.

"Hello?"

Laura snaps back to attention. It was the second time Con had said "hello" and by now he was probably worried he wasn't hearing the other end. "Yes... sorry... it's me."

"Laura? What's up?"

"Um, well... my car broke down and... I could use a lift."

"That's not good. You want me to come look at it, or have you called a tow truck?"

"No, I haven't called the shop yet... Thought maybe you could look at it, if you had time. Last time it did this, you figured out the problem and I didn't have to take it in."

"Yeah. I got time now. Where are you."

"I'm... well my car is down the street from Nate's... I had to come use his phone because I forgot to charge the battery in mine and..." Laura pauses, hearing the voices in the kitchen again. Her heart ached. "Con?"

"Yes?"

"Take your time, okay?"

There's a slight pause. "I just remembered Jamie wanted me to run down to the pet store to pick up something for Ed. So... it might take me a while to get there. Say an hour or so?"

Laura can't help a small smile. She had the best brother in the world. "That'll do. And Con?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Hitting the end button, Laura sighs deeply. Now she had no choice but to wait it out here. She'd pushed herself in the corner this time, and all she could do was battle her way out again. And the only way to do that was to take a deep breath, buck up and face what she was afraid of.

She sets the phone down and dries herself off enough that at least she won't be dripping all over the place. Removing her wet shoes, she walks quietly on the carpet to hang the towel back up in the bathroom, then aims for the kitchen.

Reaching the doorway, she catches Nate's attention, motioning him into the living room, if he would. She gives Maggie just a little wave, not wanting to pull her away from her fun at the oven.

Retreating into the kitchen, Laura paces a little before turning around to face Nate once again, Her hands go into her pockets, her shoulders slouched a little. "Con's gonna come pick me up," she informs quietly. "In... a while. I, um... thought..." Her eyes can't help but drift downward and she makes a little pattern in the carpet with her socked toe. She wanted things to go back to normal again... she wanted everything just to be the same again. But they couldn't be.

Before she can stop it, her emotions start to waver once more. "I thought I could try to... talk... or..." She shakes her head, trying to find the right words. "...tell you, rather, that I... I just... it's... I mean I've been thinking a lot is all and.... and it's just... um.. I mean... I've thought and... and I... well, I..."

A tear escapes and she swipes it away quickly, forcing herself to look back up at Nate and bite her lip before she cried any more. Her face grows more hot as she searches his gaze, knowing that she sounded like a complete fool. She just needed to say it. Taking a deep breath, she nodded, mustering up all of her courage. "Alright... you're right. It shouldn't have taken me a stupid car to get all the way over here. But I was scared." She swallows hard. "I was scared because I knew that I'd finally pushed you too far. I was stupid and I didn't realize that I was pushing you away. That whole ridiculous thing with Ryder was just that - ridiculous. I... I didn't mean anything by it, but I know that isn't an excuse. I should have been more careful, and I should have paid more attention to you... to us, rather than getting chummy with Ryder. I didn't realize he really was trying to win me over... I was just... stupid, I guess, enjoying the fact that I wasn't afraid of another man, after what happened with Bryce."

Heaving a sigh, Laura sees how silly she's been for not having said all of this sooner. The more she talked, the easier it got. "And then... well, I knew I'd done it, and I knew I'd pushed you too far. So... I was scared to try and come back. At first I was just mad at you for not understanding, and for blowing your top... then the more I thought about it, the more I realized how much you must have loved me for putting up with me at all up until that point."

She shrugs lamely. "By the time I realized all that, I was afraid you'd reject me if I tried coming back. I knew you loved me, but... even so, everything's been my fault all along... so I guess every time I wanted to turn down this street, I changed my mind... because I was too afraid of you telling me it was over for good."

Laura takes a deep breath, trying to collect her thoughts. She knew she was throwing a lot at Nate at once, and all quite unexpectedly. But now that she'd started, there wasn't much reason to stop. She might as well just keep right on going since she had enough guts at the moment.

Swinging her arms a little, she shifts her weight, proving that though she was determined to keep talking, it still wasn't easy. Her cheeks remain flushed.

"After... well, after all of that nonsense, and spending time away from you, I realized what I really wanted. I've... I've already talked to Reese, and I'm resigning from my position at TJY." Pursing her lips, she nods. "I'll still be working for the Elite, but the police station downtown would like to have a firearms instructor on board from our branch. Though I haven't gone to school for it, I already tested well enough and I'm it. So... three afternoons a week, I'll spend downtown instead of at TJY, and I'll be bringing home almost as much money. That, um... it frees up a lot of my time for... well..."

She pauses again. She hadn't given Nate room to say anything, but that was okay with her at this point. "I guess I'll have more time for the bike rides I've wanted to take, and maybe going back to school so I can help out with the art class at the grade school here in town. Or..."

It was then, that the tears rose again, even though she fought them. She sniffs and takes a step closer to Nate. "I know I haven't been all you've wanted me to be. And I know I've hurt you. And I know that... that there's so much that I keep messing up and I just can't seem to get it right. But... what I'd like to do instead of the bike rides and teaching...."

She swallows the lump in her throat and timidly reaches out to cradle Nate's face with her hand. Her thumb runs along his cheek, her palm trembling. "I... At this point, I don't know if you'll turn me away or not. But... but if you still want to... after all I've put you through... I... I'd really rather spend my spare time here... to... to help Maggie and make her smile... and to be your... be your wife."

Another tear rolls down her face. She meant it. Oh, with all her heart, she meant every word. "I've only got one life to live, Nate Driers..." Her voice quivers. "And I don't want to miss out on any more than I already have. You deserve a wife... and the family you've always wanted... and I love you so much that I just want to give it to you and make you happy if there's any way I can."

She sucks in her breath, almost choking. She was so scared, but so willing. "I'm terrified," she admits. "I don't know how I can be who you deserve and... and be a wife... and I don't know, a mother?" She almost laughs, hardly believing that she was saying such a thing. "But... but for you... for you, I'm ready to try."

She tries to smile, not having a clue if she was making sense at all. But she did feel ready... ready for whatever future was ahead of them. Everything she was saying had been running through her mind for weeks... and finally God had told her that it was time. But was it too late? "If you... if you've had enough though and... and don't want me any more then... then I'll walk away and... and I won't bring it up again."

Her hand still rests against his face, her whole body trembling now. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold, or all from her nerves. But she waits... she gazes into Nate's eyes and waits.