You wouldn't dare.

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 hedidn't know if she would stay or not.


Liking the feeling of Dan's arm around her, Jade gives a contented sigh. 'Thank you." She was glad he was just there for company, and she was glad for his comfort.

Sinking her head a little further into him, she just sits for the longest time, watching clouds drift by the moon. Only when she starts to get a chill does she realize she should head inside. Yawning, she straightens and gives Dan a groggy smile. "Goodnight, Dan. See you in the morning."

Giving his leg a pat, she stands up and wanders to the house, beating her father by only a few minutes.


"Mmm." Jason nods. He knew he'd neglected to eat, but had hoped he could last until they ate supper. It was a little later than planned though. His headache felt kind of different, but he convinces himself that he just needed to eat.

Pacing the room, he contemplates the case, keeping his mind busy until the food arrives. It was a quiet evening, and they end up calling it a night early in case they got any unexpected calls.


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."


Mick rubs his eyes wearily as he goes through a few computer files. Chores and breakfast were now over and he was waiting to hear from the Elite team. He'd been told he would have to wait for about an hour. He couldn't believe that this whole thing had all been because Dylan had simply run off. He was glad it didn't appear to be the Agency, but he was almost madder that he'd been so worried about his son. Still, something didn't set right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Dad?"

Mick jumps and turns to see Jade. He really didn't feel now was a good time to talk, but he knew she'd been trying to say something to him. "Yes?"

Jade lowers into another chair and folds her hands in her lap. "I... wanted to talk to you about me staying here. I've made up my mind."

"Oh?"

"Yes. I've decided to try and find an apartment in town."

Mick blinks. "What?"

Jade's stomach churns as she tries not to become agitated. "I don't want to give up my friendship with Dan," she states flatly. "If I'm not under your roof, I can at least come and see him or meet him for lunch, whereas if I stay here, I'm under your thumb. It's the most logical answer."

"It most certainly is not." Mick starts to frown. "I don't want you to just go off and find your own place because you have a crush on one of the ranch hands!"

Jade grits her teeth. "I have no such thing."

"Then why are you not willing to just let him be an acquaintance?"

"He's my friend! Friends spend time together, don't you get it? I know you don't like him, but I do. So if I have to ignore him in order to stay here, then I don't want to."

Mick could feel his heart starting to crack. This had not been his intention. "Look, I will not allow you to live on your own. You can't even afford it."

"I have some money saved up from Grandma."

"For a future! Not to be thrown away on some silly venture because you didn't get your way! No. I won't allow it."

"You can't stop me." Jade's tone had grown cold.

"Don't you play that card with me, young lady. My decision is final. It's here or back with your mother. But my rule about Dan stands."

Jade gets to her feet, her fists balled up at her sides. "Watch me," she hisses. "By tomorrow night, I'll be living in town." She spins on her heel, stalking towards the door.

Mick was desperate, in no way wanting his seventeen-year-old to be out on her own. The nearest town wasn't even that great, and she had no friends that she would be relying on. "You do," he calls after her, "and your grandmother will be the first person I call."

Jade stops in her tracks. Her grandmother could make her life a living nightmare. "You wouldn't dare."

Mick's voice is even and stern. "Don't test me. You know the rule if you stay here. Or you can go back to your mother. But there is no other option, Jade. Not this time. You've got to learn that you can't always have your way."

Jade could feel the hot tears stinging her eyes. This hadn't gone at all like she'd planned. She'd expected him to either change his mind or not care if she went on her own. But to not only stick to his stupid rule, but forbid her to have a third option too... it broke her heart.

Giving one last glare to her father, Jade stalks out of the building, letting the door slam behind her.

Mick gets to his feet at the loud bang. Growling with frustration, he runs his hand through his hair. What was happening to his family? Did his word mean nothing anymore? He turns to close up the work he'd been doing before following Jade. This conversation was not over... not like this.

"Argh!" Jade slams a fist into a stack of straw bales in the corner of the barn. "He doesn't even care!" A tear runs down her face as she turns to give Dan a look of desperation. "He won't even let me go get my own place so I can still do things with you! It's his way or the highway and I just don't understand!"

She turns around to throw another fist into the straw. At this point, she wasn't even trying to mask her frustration. Another tear joins the first. "He doesn't want me here! He doesn't care, and he doesn't even want me to be happy! He just wants to control me. He's no different than Mom. I don't belong anywhere."

Jade chokes on a sob, letting her anger carry her through the pain. She stares at the straw, unable to look at Dan as she knew he'd be hurt too. "I don't understand!" Both fists hit the straw this time. "I can't stay here like this! I just don't understand! Why does he hate us together?! Why can't I even be your friend?! It's not fair!"