Dentist

Jade is all too willing to let Dan hold her. Resting her head against him, her shoulders shake as she cries. What had happened? How had it gotten this far? Fifteen minutes ago, she would have been satisfied with just being friends with Dan forever. Now she'd realized she really did want more than that, and it had been shot down all in the same moment.

Sniffing, her arms wrap around Dan's waist and she tucks her head into his chest. She didn't even have time to process what had just happened between them. She'd wanted to soak up the moment and think about the feelings that had fluttered in her stomach. But instead, she was dealing with an irate father.

Sparky wipes his lip, but any pressure didn't seem to help the bleeding. His lip had just healed from the last time Mick had punched him, and now it had been split wide open all over again. He could feel one of his teeth wobbling too, and was afraid to see what damage there was.

He looks to Dan, wiping away more blood. "Well, you're not leaving. I'm the closest thing to a foreman around here without it being official, and I'm ordering you to stay. Mick has no right to throw you out. If he didn't want you, he should have been smart enough to find your file."

He pauses, finally going for his bandanna and pressing it to his lower lip. "Just hang loose and play it cool. If you want to take the night off, go ahead so Mick doesn't catch you in the barn. And Jade, just stay out of his hair for now - don't approach him when he's this hot."

Jade manages a nod and another sniff.

"I gotta go take care of this," Sparky mutters as he draws more blood. He looks at Dan and Jade, compassion and hurt in his eyes. "Don't give in... not like this."

Turning, he leaves Dan and Jade alone, making his way to Angel's office. Entering, he stops short, seeing that Rosetta and BJ were there, chatting with Angel. He dabs his lip again, rethinking his plan of action. "Hey... sorry to barge in on the party." He manages a smile for BJ's sake, and looks to Angel. "I can't get this stupid thing to stop bleeding and I think I may wind up needing a dentist."

His eyes drift in Rosetta's direction. He couldn't blame Mick outright in front of BJ. "Your husband thought I could do with one less tooth anyway." He keeps his tone casual, but his eyes tell her a very different story. "Might wanna have BJ go see Uncle Jeff before you head on over to the dining hall," he hints.


Everyone tries to make Karla feel welcome, even Erik. Though he keeps a close eye on her and Kip, he treats her as any friend, making sure she was as comfortable as possible.

Sitting with Karla on the floor, Kip leans back against a chair. He nods to her question. "We'll pray together."

Once everyone was settled, Theo was the volunteer to pray, thanking God for both the food and their guest. Soon, food was being eaten, and a comedy was being watched on the large screen. Laughter rippled through the room, and sometimes a teasing potato chip would fly. Once or twice, the banter and laughing was so much that Twila had to rewind parts of the movie that they'd missed. And when the credits roll, it felt too soon.

Kip swings his head around and looks at Karla. The others would be staying up late playing games. She was invited, but he didn't know if she would stay or not.


Beep, beep, beep, beep...

Wyatt groans and rolls over to slap his alarm. But as his hand gropes on the bedside table, he realizes that this is not his room, and it was not his alarm going off. He slides from the bed at the same time Jason does. "What in the... what time is it?"

Jason fumbles for a shirt, pulling it over his head. "Five-fifteen," he mumble. Stumbling to the door between rooms, he raps on it lightly.

Rise and shine. Incoming.

Wyatt takes a seat at the table situating the computer and speaker phone that was still beeping. "Yeah?"

"How long does it take for someone to answer a call?"

Wyatt grins at his father's voice. "As long as it takes to get out of bed. You said to be on alert, not on watch. What's up?"

Jason listens as he runs a hand through his hair and waits for Katie to join them.

"We got a location on Dylan."

Wyatt's eyes widen. "What?"

"Yeah. He was located this morning at an apartment building about thirty miles from you."

"Hostage?"

"No."

Wyatt exchanges a look of confusion with the others. "Alive?"

"Yes."

"Did the police take him?"

"No."

"Well, why not?"

"Dylan refused to go. Said he was of age to be on his own, and told them to leave. He was with three others - two men an a woman."

"Aw, nice," Jason grumbles. "We came all this way for nothing."

"No," Reese answers, "I want you to go get him."

"But he was obviously just being retarded and wanting to prove something, and if he doesn't want to leave, then we could be charged with kidnapping."

"Then I'll take the heat. I spoke to Mick, and he wants his son taken to the ranch, against the will of Dylan's mother, of course. He still thinks there's foul play - not sure if I agree, but I'm not willing to risk it like the local police are."

Jason sighs. "So you want us to take him by force."

"As if that will be hard for you."

"No, just a royal pain."

"Well, do it anyway. I don't want anyone hurt, but I trust you and Katie can handle about anything."

Wyatt rolls his eyes. "Thanks."

Reese chuckles. "They couldn't do it without a lookout, so don't have a pity party - no one will join you. Now you all have your orders. I don't want to hear from you until you have Dylan in custody. He's in Collinsville at the Maple Heights apartments, number thirty-five. I'll have Scott send you the map."

"Alright. Talk to you later." Wyatt ends the call and looks up to the other two. "Looks like we got our work cut our for us." Dealing with a stubborn teenager wasn't going to be fun. "We need a plan of approach though. Got any theories here?" He glances to Katie. "He's your cousin now - he the type to run off without word? File says he's left before, but not like this."


Gunner groans as his alarm goes off. He'd just gotten to sleep twenty minutes ago and already it was time to get up. He'd hit the snooze if he believed an extra five minutes would really do any good. But he didn't. It had been a long night... a very long night with many thoughts he wanted to ignore.

Showering and downing a cup of coffee managed to wake him up enough to drive to work, though the foggy atmosphere didn't help much. Once he's at TJY, he finds paperwork waiting on his desk. But after half an hour of trying to concentrate, he gives up.

He heads to the break room for a can of pop, hitting the button for Mountain Dew. not getting the can though, he growls at the machine. Taking hold of it, he slips around the side, feels the back panel then gives it a hearty whack. He was the only one who had ever been able to conquer the pop machine's quirks and sure enough, his Mountain Dew is deposited. But as he heads back to his cubicle, he stops. The caffeine might help his tiredness, but it wasn't going to let him forget the thoughts that had run through his mind all night.

Stopping in the hall, Gunner just stands for several moments before finally turning around. Getting to Hope's open door, he knocks lightly. Something close to a smile accents his tired eyes. "Hi, um... I... I just... um..." His shoulders drop and his gaze is lowered as his finger fiddles with the pop can tab. Click, click, click. He looks back up at Hope. He was too tired to fight today. "I had a bad night. I keep... I mean... I don't want to, but I keep thinking about ending it again... and I don't know how to make it stop."


Axel makes his way through TJY, waving to a few faces that had become familiar. Making it to the infirmary, Rick greets him and points him to Misty. Axel thanks him and wanders to Misty's desk, not wanting to interrupt her. He was a few minutes early.

He knocks on the corner of her desk, giving her a little grin. "Your patient has arrived."