Guilt... Me...

Erik chuckles as he eases down in an overstuffed chair. "We try not to make a big deal of it... My family feels blessed... and we try to bless others with what we've been given. There's cons to living in a place like this but... I've gotten used to it."

"Gotten used to it." Twila scoffs. "I live in a trailer park with my grandma. This is heaven." She grins at Alice. "Which is why I spend half my time here!"

Theo puts his feet up in another chair, smiling. "As if you're the only one."

Erik just grins. "This house is the house of friends," he explains. "Here it's anything, any time, no matter the need or the hour."

Kip perks up to the sound of the doorbell. "Especially the pizza guy." Hurling himself over a piece of furniture, he almost knocks over a table on his way, bumping a vase that Erik dives for, just in time to save it from an awful fate. "Kip!"

All that's heard is laughter as Kip runs to meet William.

Russ shakes his head, remaining serious on the outside, though the humor was evident in his eyes. "Alice... Kyle... get used to this, um... refined... humor?"

"I wouldn't call it refined," Twila corrects. "It's... um... it's..."

Erik sees Kip return with two pizza boxes balanced on his head. "It's unique."

Kip gives a silly grin as he sets the boxes down on a coffee table. "Soup's on!"

"Mmm... dig in guys," Erik prompts. "Oh, and we got drinks... Coke, Mountain Dew, tea, wat-"

"Mountain Dew," Kyle interrupts. He grins. "For Alice and me both."

The next half hour is spent just having fun and eating. The group took to Kyle and Alice like old friends, and even treated them as such. It was as if they'd known each other all their lives. Whether they stayed together as a band or not, it was quickly evident that friendships would remain.

"So..." Erik leans back in his chair, sipping on the last half of his Coke. "How-"

"Are you gonna join us?" Kip interrupts.

"Kip!" Twila chides. "We weren't going to pressure him, remember?"

Kyle laughs and shakes his head. "It's okay. I was just thinking this morning that-"

"Kip!" Erik's mother calls from the other room. "Telephone!" Her tone wasn't upset, but it wasn't happy either.

Kip bristles.

Erik lays a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to take it."

"Yes I do." Kip stands from his seat on the floor, setting down his plate of pizza crusts. "Be right back."

The others stare after him as if they already know what the outcome of the call will be. Erik clears his throat. "Um, sorry... where were we?"

"Kip was asking if I'd join you guys." Kyle sinks back in the couch and turns his head to Alice. He didn't mind speaking in front of the others. "You know if we get this deal, we might be on the road again... Nevada may or may not be a stop on the list for a while still. I don't want to do this if you'd rather go home... I don't want to go without you." And he meant it. He had no doubt that his feelings for Alice had grown, as had hers towards him. But distance apart would be hard, and he didn't want to risk that loss. If she wanted to go home, he would sacrifice this deal.

The others wait quietly, not wanting to intrude, but all waiting to hear the outcome. They were all at a crossroads, and they simply wanted to know which direction they would be turning.


Jade reaches up to take Katie's phone, but flipping it open, she shakes her head. "That's what I thought. There's a dead zone for about three miles between town and the ranch... we're smack dab in the middle of it."

Jason grabs the spare tire as Clint goes for the jack with Dan's help. Jason chuckles at Dan's comment. "Yeah, the girls seem real scared," he jokes.

"We could always let them walk," Clint suggests. Then he stops. "On second thought... you two get to go to your own bunks tonight, while I have to go home with Wendy... I really don't want to deal with her wrath."

Jason grins as they work on the tire. "Yeah, she seems like the rough type."

Clint laughs. "She does know how to smack me upside the head pretty good. Thankfully she doesn't use that tactic very often though."

"With you? I half expected to find you all black and blue."

"Heeeey." Clint threatens him with part of the jack. "Watch it. I'm in better shape than the last time you saw me."

Jason chuckles. "So I see." He gives Dan a sidelong glance, noticing the other man's nerves. "We can blame this whole thing on me," he assures. "Nobody will die... tonight anyway."


"Heart."

"Beat."

"Stars."

"Light."

"Friendships."

"Foes."

"Memories."

"Television."

The doctor quirks an eyebrow. "Love."

"Spaghetti."

"Hope?"

"Clam chowder.

The doctor tosses his notebook aside and sighs deeply. "Bren-"

"Gunner."

"Gunner... when are you going to stop playing these games?"

"What games?" Gunner picks at his fingernails. "You're the one with the cue cards, not me."

The doctor's eyes narrow. "How long ago did your medication ware off?"

Gunner's gaze shoots up. "What medication? You put me on medication?!" He jumps up from his chair, putting his hands to his head. "No wonder I can't sleep or eat or think straight! You've had me doped up! I should have known! All this time, I've been-"

"Brent, sit down."

Gunner drops his hands, and flops back down into the chair, his mock tantrum halting abruptly. "Chair."

The doctor sighs. "Memories."

"Forbidden."

"Love."

"None."

"Hope."

"Bree."

"Past."

"Nightmare."

"Guilt."

"Me." A lump rises in Gunner's throat, despite his attempts to combat these tactics. But when he let himself go for a split second, feelings rose within him that he wanted to snuff out.

"Life."

"Worthless." Gunner's on his feet again, pacing. "Are we done yet?"

"No. Sit down."

Gunner obeys grudgingly.

The doctor holds up a card. "What do you see?"

Gunner squints. "A... blotch of purple paint?" He shrugs. "Beats me."

"This one?"

He cocks his head at the second card. "Your mother?"

The doctor isn't amused. "What about this one?"

Gunner almost jumps as he sees a shadowy-like form. Except his imagination places evil eyes and fangs where he'd seen them once before. "A monster."

It seems like forever until the doctor stacks up his notebooks and sets his pens aside. "Dr. Garrison may be coming to see you today. In the meantime, if you wish to remain in your room, you may do so. Otherwise there are activities..." His voice trails off as Gunner disappears out the door. "...in the rec room."

...Gunner falls onto his bed face-first, burying his head under his pillow. He felt like such a child. Here he was, as grown man, forced to play these stupid games, and follow curfew rules like some rebellious teenager. He was an Elite agent for crying out loud! He wasn't crazy, and he wasn't retarded. Yet here he was in a loony bin, all because he'd wanted to take a long walk off a bridge.

Turning over, he curls up onto his side to stare at the wall. "Guilt... me..." He scrunches his eyes shut tight. No... he wouldn't let his emotions take control. He wouldn't!

Kansas anymore!

Anything for you.

Katie lets a warm emotion soak through as Jason gets out of the truck to work on the tire. Dan slipping out with Clint to give Jason a hand. Looking in the back seat with Wendy and Jade Katie toss her cell to Jade.

"Call your dad so he doesn't have our heads thinking we are keeping you out later than he said."

Getting out of the truck to help Jason Dan glances down at his watch. There was no way they could change the tire and get back by one. Mick was going to kill him and Dan couldnt help the sick feeling in his stomach. This was all he needed was to upset his boss after he should of been back at the ranch doing chores.

"Alright, lets see hoe quickly we can do this before the girls get to scaired being out here alone with us."

Dan tryed to joke to cover up how nervous he really was. Surely Mick would understand right? But still Dan couldnt help the sinking feeling in the bit of his stomach.

Entering the large house Alice couldnt help but gawk at everything. She couldn't help it, it was so big, so beautiful, so expensive. Wrapping her finger around Kyle Alice leans into him as they follow Kip.

"Toetoe, I dont think we are in Kansas anymore!"

Giving him as mile Alice continues to walk stoping a moment to look at some of the painting on the walls. She reconised some of the painters and the work was beyond compare. Maybe something Alice had seen in a book before but never in front of her own two eye.

Finally getting to the room with the others Alice sits down close to Kyle not being able to help her surprise but happy that Kyle was here. It was differnt, to be around this and she couldnt help but feel like she might break something.

Hearing Erik's comment Alice gives a small laugh shaking her head just a little.

"Not much, just a little?"

Alice nods around the room and looks back to Erik still smiling to show she wasnt trying to be rude at all.

"This is something I only ever dreamed about as a kid. And now here we are standing in the dream."

Gonna kill me

Kyle stares ahead at the house, brought back by Alice's kiss. He starts to smile, then shakes his head, then starts to laugh. "And I wanted to say no?"

Shaking his head again, he puts the jeep in gear. "If you're intimidated, what do you think I am? I got you along for security, remember?" He tosses Alice a wink, still grinning. Maybe... just maybe things really were going to start looking up...

The doors seemed huge. Really, they weren't all that large, but standing on the wide stone patio in the front, it felt like a castle. The house had three stories, and it was obvious that it spread much farther into the back that couldn't be seen from the driveway. Kyle looks at Alice a little uneasily before finally getting up enough nerve to ring the doorbell. They could hear it chime inside, and Kyle half expected a butler to appear. It's a relief when no butler or maid showed up.

"Hey, you made it!" Kip smiles from ear to ear. It was immediately apparent that though the house was extremely elegant, Kyle and Alice would not be out of place. Kip had jeans on with holes in the knees, an old t-shirt and was running around in his bare feet.

Kyle chuckles. "Yeah... got lost once... or twice, but yeah. I... wasn't expecting this."

"What?"

"Um..." Kyle grins. "Never mind."

Kip motions them in. "Come in, come in, come in. We're out in the back room." Shutting the door behind Kyle and Alice, he then waves to a middle-aged man, dressed in a suit. "Hey, William, bring the pizza back when it comes, would you?"

The man nods. "Sure thing."

Kyle's eyes widen a little. A butler. There was one here. This was unreal. He glances to Alice, feeling like a school kid in a museum for the first time. This was incredibly out of their world... yet it was everyday to the people here. It was interesting Kip was asking things of the butler though. Kyle did wonder about that.

Heading across the grand entrance, Kyle slips his hand into Alice's, giving it a squeeze. This was fun. The ceilings were high and bright, and a chandelier shone way up high, surrounded by a glass dome. And that was just the beginning. A winding staircase was off to the right, by a wide hallway that led who knew where. To the left there was just visible a huge dining room with an incredibly long table. Maybe those closed doors led to the kitchen. They walked down a couple steps then up again, heels clicking on the shiny, tiled floor.

Finally they reach a back sunroom, equipped with glass walls and roof. From here you could see more of the house that wrapped around back, along with a flower garden, just starting to go brown before winter. To the right was a closed glass door that led into a a room with an indoor swimming pool. It took a lot for Kyle to keep his jaw from dropping.

"Kyle! Alice!" Erik is on his feet, greeting them both warmly. "Have a seat. We're just listening to some music and hanging out before the pizza gets here."

"Which should be in..." Kip looks at his watch. "Five minutes."

Kyle feels just a bit awkward, and slowly sits down on the edge of one of the two plush couches, almost pulling Alice down with him. At the moment, she really was his security.

Erik seems to sense the apprehension, and tosses Alice a wink. "Don't worry, guys. We're not that much different than you."

Kyle's face reddens just a little as he looks down sheepishly. "Was it the deer in the headlight look that gave us away?"

Erik chuckles. "Maybe."


Gunner watches Bree go, lifting his eyebrows just a little. "Yeah..." Sighing, he turns to Marge, tempted to show his teeth, but he knew Bree was right... he might be depressed, but he'd learned the hard way what bucking the system meant in a place like this.

Lowering his head, he stuffs his hands in his sweatshirt pockets and shuffles down the hall behind Marge to the office where one of the doctors was waiting.


At first, Jade feels a little annoyed. It seemed Jason had it out for her tonight, even though he was kidding around with her. What was wrong? She shrugs it off for now, figuring it wasn't worth a discussion.

Throwing Dan a grin, she bats her eyes teasingly. "I am the queen of butt whupping."

"Put your money where your mouth is," Clint dares.

It doesn't take too long for the game to finally come to an end. Though all felt as if they could go all night, bodies were getting tired. And the time was getting late. By the time they all pile back into the truck, they would have just enough time to get back to the ranch before anybody started to worry.

Assigned seating was forgotten, and while Jason ended up back behind the wheel, it was Katie and Wendy next to him this time, with Jade between Dan and Clint in the backseat. While Clint was busy elbowing Jade to pick on her, laughter was still going around. Getting onto the back roads, there's suddenly a loud pop and the truck gives as violent jolt. Jason has to grip the steering wheel hard to keep it under control, putting on the breaks slowly and pulling off to the side. Stopping, everyone had gone quiet. Jason lets out a groan. He knew what it was. Opening his door, sure enough, the left rear tire had blown. "Alright, guys... I got a spare in the back. Gonna need your help."

More groans make their rounds.

Be right back. Keep the seat warm.
Jason pulls the collar up on his jacket as he steps out of the truck, motioning for Dan and Clint to follow.

Jade looks out the back window as the spare tire is retrieved. "Ohh... this isn't good. We're gonna be late and Dad is gonna kill me."

Maybe

Alice did all she could to keep Kyle calm knowing his nerves were running high. She could help but feel the same way herself. This was something new and exciting that was happing to Kyle but it was happing to her as well, and would change both there lifes.

"No no, this is the right street I was paying attachen this time and I am sue they will understand if we are late. Its not like we travil these roads every day."

She throws a sidelong glance at Kyle Alice gives a big smile just trying to lighten the mood in the car and calm the nerves.

Looking out the window at all the houses that pass by Alice cant help but start to wonder herself if many they were lost. Looking to Kyle again one of the houses catchs her attachen the bushs turned into different animals.

"OMG, Look at the topiary on that house."

Erik has said he was well off, not rich and to live in a house likes this, you had to have alot of money. Alice had never seen houses or yards so big before and kept in such good condition. It almost seemed so breath taking.

Leaning over Kyle a little to look out the window at the house they stoped at that was Erik's Alice is very quiet for a long moment her mouth seeming to hang open.

"This...is unbelievable."

Turning her head to look at Kyle Alice gives him a big kiss on the lips her excitement bubbling again.

"Maybe we are in the wrong place..."

But seeing the car she new they were in the right spot. It just seemed so hard to believe that this was really happening.

"Well...I guess we better get to the door before we really are late? But I have to addmit I am not even part of the band and I feel a little intimated. Excited but a little intimated none the less."

Standing Bree looks to the nurse and gives her a small nod. They all new she worked here, and if they new why she didn't know but she highly doubted it. Giving a gentil pat to Gunner's shoulder Bree smiles down at him offering to help him up.

"I work here now, well at least for a little while. We all need friends in high places sometimes, and I'll be darned if they make you worse than you are."

Looking over to Marge Bree gives a small nod.

"He's doing good today Marge, eat his breakfast, and is calm. Don't aggravate him and I am sure he will keep his vampire side at bay."

Looking back to Gunner Bree's eyes smiles as her lips did not the twinkle in them hoping to bring hope. She would be here for about another hour but Gunner would still be in his session so she wouldnt see him again till that night.

"Remember what I said ok and I will see you tonight."

Feeling the change in Jason's emotions Kate cant help but question them for a moment before regaining her own self. Jade really didnt know Dan and she was flirting with him pretty bad. If anything happen it would be all there head's Mick would have and thats the last thing she wanted.

Seeing Jason, and hearing his words Dan can pick up on the tone of his voice and knows he better back off. Taking a few steps back he holds out his hand to Jade, though he wouldnt have kissed her he was thankful for Jason's interruption.

"I think Jason's timing was just right, or we would never get this game done with."

Glancing down at his watch and that back up at the gang she gives a smile.

"We have an hour left. Lets get this game over with so no one was wonder would would of won."

Katie looks around the room at all her friends before giving Wendy a high five after she strike as a job well done. That had put them into the lead now.

Looking over to Jade and giving a smile Katie nods.

"Your up Jade..."

Dan gives a smile and a thumbs up to Jade.

"You can shoot better than I can, come on and kick there butts."

Surprise

Gunner shakes his head, a very faint grin forming. "I'd hardly say it's difficult to deal with you, Bree."

Each moment that passed, Gunner felt a little more lucid. The more lucid he felt, the more he realized he did not want to be here, or take the medications they were giving him. He didn't want to feel so out of it anymore. It was a horrid feeling. But staying calm would only work for so long. Eventually, they'd give him a dose just because. He sees the nurse again, then glances to teh clock on the wall.

"Almost time to see the shrink and discuss..." He blinks, his mind having gone totally blank. He hated that. "...um.... paint splotches. And word... relations."

He sighs. "And I thought Hope was bad. This is like right after the accident all over again... minus the freaky nurse."

Gunner crumples up the empty wrapper and finishes the rest of his orange juice. He still looked at Bree skeptically though. "You told me why you wanted to be here but-"

"Okay, Brent, time for your visit with the nice doctor." Marge smiles sweetly down at him. "You'll have to say goodbye to Bree for now."

Gunner gives a little smirk. He was just beginning to feel halfway normal, and it was starting all over again. Standing, he still looks to Bree, determined to figure this out before the other nurse dragged him away. "You didn't say why you were here.... like this." He gestures to her nursing garb. He still didn't know that she had taken a position here.


"Gah!" Clint throws up his hands as Wendy gets a strike. "That is so not fair!"

Jason laughs, his arms still around Katie, as he rocks her a little, now hugging her more than restraining her. "I hate to admit it guys, but the girls might just have us beat."

I guess there are worse things than being beat by you.
Laughter bubbles through the emotions.

Hearing Dan's suggestion, Jade continues to wail. "Not the garbage can! Yes, it's too cold outside. Put me down!"

Finally released to slide down to her feet once again, Jade tries to catch her breath, looking up into Dan's eyes. A smile is pasted on her lips. "Thank you, sir. Though I must admit I'm a little disappointed you didn't go for the consequences of not putting me down."

Something sparks in Jason's emotions as he overhears the flirtatious comment. Was it fear? No... almost a desire not to be irresponsible. He lets it slip, forgetting Katie would feel it.

Giving her a little squeeze, he steps away from her, strolling over to Dan and Jade casually. Leaning down to Jade's ear level, he whispers, but it'd loud enough for Dan to hear. "Do I have to get another ice cube?"

Jade shoots him a glare. "Your timing is always so perfect. I'm surprised TJY didn't hire you for a clock rather than a fieldman."

Jason grins and straightens back up. "Clint, your cousin just insulted me. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Who me?" Clint's eyes widen. "I think I'd like to just stand back and laugh, actually."

"You would." Jason smirks, turning back around. "Are we gonna finish this game or what? Don't forget papa bear is watching the clock."


Kyle sits behind the wheel of Alice's jeep, driving slowly down the unfamiliar streets. He had talked with Alice all day, still undecided, but leaning towards trying out with the band. If they weren't good enough, they'd be turned down and that would be that. If they were good enough... things would change rather quickly.

He had been reaching for his phone just an hour before to call Erik, when it had rung - and it had been Erik, inviting both Kyle and Alice over to his family's house to eat a pizza supper with the band. It hadn't taken much convincing and Kyle had jotted down the address.

Now he'd already gotten lost once, but figured he was back on track. These streets though, just didn't look right. He glances over to Alice. "This is gonna look real good - me showing up late like this..." He had ten minutes left though... surely he wasn't lost again.

He looks out the windows at the houses. "This can't be right." They had reached the far side of town where the houses were elegant with rolling lawns, iron fences and manicured bushes. Erik had said his family was well-off, but this had to be wrong.

"I'm gonna have to call him." Kyle rolls his eyes. "I was sure this was Westside Drive though."

Then he suddenly sees the house number he's looking for. "Oh, oh, there it is." He points excitedly, pulling just into the driveway then stopping. He blinks. "Ohh... this just can't be right." He looks at Alice uneasily, then back up the long.... long.... long driveway. The iron gates were open. The lawn trimmed perfectly, even for the late time of year. The trees were all turning for autumn, but there were no fallen leaves on the yard. It was too cold for the fountain to be on, but it stood proudly in the center of the circle drive. And the house was huge.

Kyle blinks again. "Um..." He then spots a familiar car closer to the house. It was one he'd seen the other day at the rec hall. He turns to look at Alice again. "No way."