There

During the split second it took for everything to go down, Jason could feel Katie reacting to their attackers, the emotional pull being briefly diverted so she could pull on fear. He knew that his explosive anger probably stung her a bit as well, but both were learning to ignore the temporary discomfort.

Wyatt's man goes down. He'd received a bullet to the chest - it had been Wyatt's only open choice. Jason's first is hit in the shoulder, the second writhing from his exploding gun. He only had seconds left to live. The fourth man was hit in the knee and drops instantly, overcome with pain and a fear he'd never experienced.

Wyatt remains on the ground, breathing heavily, his gun still aimed ahead. Jason lowers his own weapon, making sure all four men were down before going forward.

Nice shot, hero. Looks like we've got at least two people to question.
"Wyatt, you alright?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm alright. Sorry I didn't get a captive. I didn't have a choice."

"It's fine. Self-defense, you know that."

Wyatt knew that, and it had been his only clear shot, but he never liked killing anyone. He'd only had to take a man down a time or two before, and it always made his stomach turn. "Yeah... you two alright?" He looks under the van to see Katie and Jason's feet.

"We're okay." Jason glances to Katie and nods. "Checking out our men now. Stay alert."
I don't know why it would be Agency, it just feels like it. Something just doesn't seem right. It was too well-planned for your average thugs.

Jason starts forward, his hands still holding his gun. Out of nowhere, the man who had been shot in the knee sits up, his gun aimed. Jason doesn't have time to react, when a shot rings out. Wyatt hasn't gotten up yet, and swings his pistol back around, firing without hesitation. The man goes down, his own gun flying as he shudders for the last time.

Wyatt was breathing heavily again. "Jase? Katie? You alright?"

Jason has stopped in his tracks, stunned. He blinks, then looks down to his left shoulder where a long dart had pierced him.
Katie...
His legs buckle, and he falls to his hands and knees, his gun clattering on the pavement.

"Jason!" Wyatt gets to his feet quickly, but still has to keep an eye on the one man left alive. He didn't need to though. Wounded in the shoulder, the man rolls over and one last shot is heard. He moves no more. Wyatt stares at him with disbelief. Whoever these men were, they must have had orders not to be caught and questioned. And they apparently took their job way too seriously. It was a disgusting display of loyalty to the wrong thing.

Jason is still shocked by getting hit as the world starts to spin. Reaching down, he pulls at the dart, withdrawing it from his shoulder and staring at it in his palm before he collapses.
Katie... something.... something's not right...
Without warning, his emotions start to churn. Good bad, it didn't matter. They all started to swirl and collide. Jason opens his mouth to speak, but his brain seems to go numb, and words just couldn't come.
I... I can't control....
He starts to shake, uncontrolled energy being emitted, blowing out a headlight of the van.


Sparky gives Rosetta a smile and a nod. "Yeah... yeah, I can do that, no problem. Don't worry about a thing."

Putting away some papers in a file, he wraps up what he was doing, then leaves Rosetta alone again, going to check on chores and make sure everything got done for the night.


It was quite a while later when Jade eventually finds herself wandering into the barn. Most of the chores were almost done. People were wandering in for supper, but she wasn't following tonight. She just wasn't hungry.

Running her hand along the wall as she slowly walks past the stalls, she looks around for the person she was planning to see. Eventually she finds him in the supply room putting away some of the tools.

Just standing in the doorway a moment, Jade watches him. Her eyes were read and swollen, proving that she had been crying - a lot. She'd been thinking about the earlier fight, then she'd gotten word about Dylan, then an angry call from her mother about how what Mick was doing was so wrong, then Sparky told her about Mick's other reason for being at the McClain's. Could anything else go wrong?

Unable to take it, Jade steps into the little room and falls against Dan, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest. She'd thought she didn't have any more tears left, but more surface just now, her voice cracking. "I can't take it anymore Dan.... I just can't take it."


Mick holds back the edge of the curtain slightly, looking out the window at Dylan being taken to one of the smaller houses. His heart broke, seeing his son like this. Watching until Dylan disappeared, he lets out a long sigh before letting go of the curtain. Turning back to the other room, he wanders in by the fireplace to sit on the edge of the couch, staring into the flames. It had been about a year since he'd been here. A year. Now he'd fallen off the wagon, and his own son was here. Just half an hour earlier, he'd gotten into a shouting match over the phone with Jill. She wanted Dylan closer to them, while Mick insisted on him being at the McClain's. Eventually, she'd given up, though had dished out plenty of threats. Mick was left exhausted, his own cravings setting in to just make things worse.

"Want to talk about it?"

Mick looks up at Adam, startled by his presence. He'd only given him the brief story of Dylan when he'd arrived, but that was it. "I don't know much." He leans his elbows on his knees to rest his chin in his hands. "Don't know how long Dylan's been like this or his reasons. I knew he was into a bit of trouble, but I didn't think he'd do something like this. I thought he was a good kid, ya know?"

Adam nods and sinks down into the couch next to him. "Even the best fail sometimes. It just happens with something like this, one failure leads to many more afterward." He pauses. "What about you?"

Mick continues to stare at the fire. He hadn't yet admitted anything about himself. He was planning to, he just hadn't yet had the nerve. "What about me?"

"Hold out your hand."

Mick looks quickly to Adam. "What?"

"Hold out your hand." Adam demonstrates by stretching out his hand, palm-down.

Mick closes his eyes a moment. He didn't want to. But Adam was too smart to fool for long. He slowly reaches out, revealing a hand that was too shaky to hold anything steady.

Adam purses his lips and lays his hand on Mick's shoulder. "How long?"

"Only about a week." Mick's hand drops. "I got upset when I heard about Dylan, I went to town to see the police and when I was done... I messed up. I thought just once wouldn't bother me, but the next day, the cravings were so bad I couldn't stand it. I gave away my keys and tried to hibernate, but that night, I ended up making a call, having someone go to town and they didn't even know they smuggled a bottle back to me. The next few days were the same. The guilt got to be so bad I just... started losing it. I didn't think it could happen so fast or get so bad within such a short amount of time. I figured it woulda taken me more than once to start back up again, and that even then it wouldn't be so bad so quickly."

Mick's eyes remain down, his shoulders lowering. "When I knew I wanted Dylan here, I... decided I needed to be here too."

Adam just nods, listening to the whole story. "With some people it does take more than once. Some people can go back to having a drink once in a while and not having it bother them. Others, it might take a steady few weeks for them to pick up the habit again. But you're not the only one who is that sensitive to it. I know others who are like you, Mick. Once is all it takes and it's not a gradual process - it's an immediate nosedive. The thing is... most people like that wait longer to get help. I'm glad you came."

He pauses, studying his longtime friend. "Would you have come if it weren't for Dylan?"

"I don't know. Eventually maybe, but probably not before someone else brought me."

A gentle smile creases Adam's lips. "Then maybe something good has already come from Dylan's situation."

Mick allows something close to a smile too. Maybe Adam was right. "I think I'm going to head to bed. I want to make one phone call then... then I'll turn in my cell phone."

"Alright. Just leave it on the kitchen counter. Brenda will put it in safe keeping for you."

A few minutes later, Mick sat on the edge of his bed. It was the same room he'd had before. He didn't need much care this time. He wasn't a danger to himself, and he wasn't going to try and leave. But he did just need to make one call before being cut off from the rest of the world. He knew Adam and Brenda wouldn't force him not to talk to anyone else, but it was strongly recommended, and he knew it was for the best, at least until he had a handle on this thing again.

"Rosetta, it's me..." Mick pauses, not even sure what to say. He hated answering machines, especially their own. "I just... I wanted to let you know I'm okay and... and I love you. I'm at the McClain's... Dylan is here too, though I haven't spoken to him yet. I um... I guess I want to say I'm sorry again, but no matter how many times I say it, it doesn't change anything. I just hope that... that when I come back..." He swallows hard, trying to remain composed. Though he knew the strain in his voice would be heard by his wife. "...I hope I can be the man you deserve. And I'll try... I'll try to make things right. I don't know how long I will be here, but... I'm hoping it won't be long. I'm hoping I can beat this thing quickly so I can come home. I miss you already."

He stops again, wondering if he was really talking to no one, or if Rosetta would just let the machine pick up because she didn't want to talk to him. He wouldn't blame her if she did. "I love you," he repeats. "If you need to get a hold of me, just call Adam or Brenda. I'm giving my phone a rest while I'm here."

Glancing around the little room, he tries to think of any more he can say. "See you soon... tell BJ I love him too."

Click.


Gunner's face felt as if it were on fire, but he musters up a little smile anyway, his hand giving Bree's a light squeeze. "I don't know what you're thanking me for. I'm just repaying a favor."

He could see the faint flicker of disappointment in her eye though, and he could kick himself. Suddenly he sits up straight, letting go of Bree. "Come here." Standing, he grabs her hand to pull her up too, dragging her through the living room and into the dining room that was rarely used. The sliding glass doors made for a perfect view of the night sky, away from street lights. Since he hadn't turned the lights on inside either, it made looking out even easier.

Bringing Bree right up to the cool glass, he points upward. "See that?" Waiting until she's looking up, his gaze drops to her eyes, just looking at them for the longest moment. A small smile tweaks the corner of his mouth. His voice drops to almost a whisper. "I just wanted to find out if I could see the stars in your eyes."

He reaches out gently to tip her chin towards him instead of the sky. "Funny thing is... you don't have to be looking at the stars for me to see them... they're always there. It's like... a mini solar system just waiting to be explored."

Swallowing hard, his hand remains touching her face. He was glad it was darker in here than in the living room. It was just as well, so Bree didn't have to see his burning face.

"I... want to... be able to explore it." Moving his hand so it cradles the side of her face, his thumb runs down her cheek, then slowly over her lips. They felt warm and soft under his touch, and a tingle runs down his spine. Stepping closer, he wraps his other arm around her, bringing her to him. Three times now, he'd chickened out, and three times, he'd seen the disappointment in her eye. Maybe he was foolish, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't keep on messing up. Not when his feeling for Bree were growing so much stronger with every passing moment.

Leaning his head down to meet hers, his eyes close and he pauses, feeling her breath on his skin. "I want you to know," he whispers, "that I have no idea what I'm doing." Not allowing time for a response, he finally presses his lips to hers. A feeling washes over him like nothing before, his thumb still tracing out her cheek, his other arm giving a strong hold around her.

Pulling back just a little, he opens his eyes to search hers, almost scared that she might be upset with him.