Afternoon

"Yes." JT spoke with firm confidence, even though there was a portion of his heart that was worried. He wouldn't show it to Bree.

He looks her in the eye, forcing her to see his assurance. "It will be okay. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Bree. You are not sick, and you know this. You don't need help from anybody else, okay? I won't tell you what to do, but you do not have to call your mother back, and you don't have to feel guilty at all if you don't. You're a grown woman, Bree, and your life is yours."

JT gives her hand another squeeze while smiling again. "Ever since you came, we've been a team, right? I'm not gonna let anything happen to ya now."

Letting her go, he turns back to breakfast. "Now, try to eat a little bit so I don't worry about you all day. I gotta get to work, and we'll do spaghetti tonight. I'll see if Gunner wants to come for that." It doesn't take long to finish the morning meal, and soon, JT is on his way to the hospital for a few hours. He did worry though, about Bree. He didn't think anything could happen, but he would be praying about it nonetheless.


Gunner listens intently, still leaning back to see Nate. He doesn't crack a smile, and almost seems to concentrate too hard on what Nate was saying, almost like he was looking for a formula he had to remember.

By the time Nate concludes, Gunner was having a hard time not acting as silly as he felt. He manages a thoughtful nod. "Thank you."

Without so much as another word, he slides back into his cubicle, out of sight, bringing an abrupt end to the strange conversation. Leaning his arms on his desk, he could feel that his face was beet red, and he just hoped that no one came to see him before it decreased by several shades. He liked Bree... he thought about her a lot... he missed her when he didn't see her for a while... and lately he'd been getting all these strange feelings. They hadn't really gone out together, other than meeting for a quick float... they hadn't even known each other that long, once Gunner thought about it. And they certainly hadn't talked about dating or hugged or kissed. Well... they'd come close to kissing one or twice. Did that mean he should ask Bree if she wanted to be his girlfriend?

"Gunner, would you..." Susanne's voice trails off as Gunner jumps so badly that he knocks a stack of his papers all over the floor. "Uh..."

Gunner's face didn't have a chance at returning to its normal color any time soon, and he leans down to pick up the papers only to have his chair slide out from under him, sending him to his knees.

Con peeks around the corner from his cubicle a few feet away, his eyes wide. "Gunner! I didn't know you felt that way about Susanne!"

Gunner looks up at Susanne, still on his knees, and his mouth opens as he blinks.

Susanne starts to laugh. "I think this is the first time you've been at a loss for words. Were you planning to propose or clean the floor?"

"Uh..." Gunner scratches his head, then goes for the papers. "Floor... papers... yes... um... what did you need?"

Susanne, still grinning, shakes her head. "I'm sorry. Need some help?"

"No, no... I can make a fool out of myself all on my own, thank you."

"Well, I think you had some help." Susann shoots a smirk in Con's direction before looking back to Gunner. "I just wanted to drop off these files. Didn't mean to startle you."

"It's alright. Thanks." Gunner continues to pick up his mess, irritated with himself. He had too much on his mind that he didn't understand. He didn't understand what he was going through, and he didn't understand all the different levels on which he was experiencing the strange feelings. He felt silly or stupid or both, and making a fool out of himself just now didn't help much.

His buzzing phone on his desk alerts him that he had a voicemail. Apparently he hadn't heard the call come in. Abandoning his work for a moment, he gets back in his chair and listens to the message from Bree. "Hey Vamp, it's about that time and I was just wondering if you would like to join me for some non ice cream floats."

Gunner looks at his phone for a moment and sighs. Dialing Bree, he waits until she answers, but even when he hears her voice, he hesitates. "Um, hey, it's Gunner. Um... listen, I wound up with a bunch of work today..." He looks down at all the paperwork scattered around him. He didn't want to do any of it. He wasn't required to even get it done today. As a matter of fact, he wanted to get out of the office for a while. But... after this morning... he just felt... he didn't know. "I'm sorry," he apologizes to Bree. "I'm gonna have to skip on today's floats. I, um... yeah. Sorry."


Twila immediately senses Karla's shyness and grins. "Well, if you like scrambled eggs and bacon, you'll probably like breakfast casserole."

Kip notices that Karla isn't making any move, so he gestures to the swinging doors of the kitchen. "Come on. Follow me." It was nice having someone new to show around. Karla had been the much-needed distraction this morning, and she was nice to boot. He already hoped that this morning wouldn't be the last time he saw her.

As the two walk away, Erik throws Twila a look of question. She just shrugs lamely, just as bewildered. "She seems okay," she barely whispers so Kip and Karla couldn't hear.

Erik gives his eyes a bit of a roll. "As long as it isn't Whitney," he comments under his breath. He didn't trust Kip's choice of friends though, so he'd be curious to see what Karla was all about.

In the kitchen, Kip ignores the cook who was busying herself with cleaning and preparing food for later. He knows where everything is, and grabs two plates, setting them down next to the pan of still-warm casserole. "Looks like... eggs, bacon, some green peppers and.... lots of cheese." He grins. "Cheese is always good." Dishing out some for him and some for Karla, he then points to one of the smaller refrigerators. "For drinks we've got..." He opens one side, scanning the contents. "Milk... iced tea... coke, mountain dew, apple juice, cranberry juice... mixed fruit juice..." He looks over his shoulder at Karla. "And water of course. What'll it be?"


"Hey, you two." Eli grins as Ryan and Leo get back from the auto shop where they'd been for the morning. Ryan had felt up to it, and Leo had at least wanted to go in and say hi to the guys. "How'd it go?"

"Miles said I looked worse," Leo comments ruefully. "Wore me out, but it was good to get some fresh air. Not to mention, it was fun to see Ryan try to finish work on a car all in a few hours while Jed and Axel took bets on whether or not she could do it."

Eli chuckles as he dons his leather jacket. "Let me guess... another McKade takes the prize."

Leo grins. "Of course. Looks like you're just leaving."

"I am." Eli tosses Ryan a wink. "Gonna go out for a bit. Grab some lunch and check out a few of those bikes I was looking at yesterday. Met a guy who might wanna go out for drinks later, so I'll probably be back after dark." He pats his pocket where his cellphone was. "Call me if you need me though." Grabbing his cycle keys, he exits before any questions can be asked.

Leo quirks an eyebrow and folds his arms, staring at the closed door. "Didn't figure your brother to be quite the social butterfly." He wanders into the living room to ease down onto the couch a bit gingerly. Feeling up to going out this morning or not, he was still sore. "This morning after breakfast, Eli said you weren't racing tonight... you're gonna go back sometime though, right?"


"So how'd it go?" Wyatt munches on a sandwich, joining Ty in the kitchen.

Ty throws him a withering look. "Take a guess."

"Aw..."

"Just stop, alright?" Ty slams the refrigerator door shut and opens his bottle of pop. "This was the last time. I'm just not gonna be able to get my license. Period. I can't do it."

"Yes you-"

"No, I can't!" Ty glares at him. "Let it drop, Wyatt. I can't pass the driving test without reading, and I can't read so it's a closed case."

Wyatt sighs. "All you need is more time. You can learn how to read if you just-"

"I'm going to bed, I worked all night." Ty takes his pop and trudges from the kitchen and down the hall to his room.

Giving a growl, Wyatt finishes up his sandwich then goes to pack. He needed to get back to TJY by five o'clock to head out with Jason and Katie. The three of them were the chosen team to go in and investigate the case with Dylan. Dalton and Scott would be their main route of communication back here, while they would also be in touch with Mick.