Wild Flowers

Setting the shake down on the dressed and the sub as well Bree gives a little chuckle sinking down next to Gunner. She new he was so confused and crying now was making him more frustrated but it was something he needed to do and Bree new it. Putting her arm around his shoulder she pulls him into a soft hug.

"Hey Hey its ok. If you can show a little emotion in front of a friend than what good is a friend huh?"

Giving another gentile squeeze Bree leans her head aganst Gunners for a long moment before tilting her head a little to look him in the eye.

"I wont take the shake or sub away, you can eat it when your ready too. It HAS to be better than the other food they are serving here huh?"

Following along side Mick Dan is quiet as he just listens to his employer talk. He didn't interrupt and was thankful for the apology.

"Well, thank you for reassuring me I have a job here. So far I like it so I would hate to leave now."

Leaning his back aganst the fence post Dan looks up at the sky as Mick continued to talk. Quirking an eyebrow at Mick on the comment of Jade Dan could hear the I wont be to happy tone one he had heard before. He couldnt help but roll his eyes to himself.

"Thank you for the advise, but letting me make my own mind up on that one..."

Just letting the comment linger for a long moment Dan continues not wanting to give Mick a heart attack.

"As of right this very moment though, I hardly know Jade, and want nothing more than a friendship from her at this moment in time. Later on down the road I dont know I cant see that far, I can only tell you about today."

Pushing off the fence Dan takes a few steps forward before stopping to look over his shoulder at Mick before turning and reaching into his back pocket to pull out the invoice from town.

"I know you said not to worry about it, but I was there already so here you go. Sorry if I was brass earlier myself. I guess I just get up tight myself sometimes. Anyways I'll see you in the little while again I am sure."

Turning once again Dan makes his way away from Mick and across the yard scanning the bunks. Seeing the little light in Jade's bunk on still Dan heads to his truck and pulls out a punch of yellow wild flowers that were nicly wrapped with a ribbon and a little tag that read "Yellow means friendship. I hope you can still consider me a friend."

Taking them to Jade's bunk Dan leaves them on the pourch where Jade could see them when she opened her door. It wasnt much but it was the least he could do for upsetting her before.

Uncontrollable

Gunner's head shoots up and he jumps, feeling someone's hand on his back. Realizing it's Bree though, he relaxes. Her nickname for him brings a wry grin to his face and he straightens up.

Seeing the food and shake, his eyebrows rise slightly. A strange feeling creeps up on him, that for the moment, he shoves aside.

Making sure Marge has moved on, he stands up, aiming for his room, still quiet. Trudging down the tiled hall, he makes it to his room. Since Bree was there, no one else should drag him back out to "socialize."

Inside, he sits down on the edge of the bed, his head hanging a little as he puts his hands in his lap. He looked like a little kid who'd been sent to the corner. It was a different kind of defeat than before... almost an exhaustion. It wasn't a hate for himself, but a quieter depression.

Looking back up to Bree and seeing the food again, tears spring into his eyes. Feeling stupid, he's on his feet again, this time to stare out the window with his back to Bree. After that morning, it didn't take much for the emotions to rise again. She was being so kind to him... they barely knew each other, but she was there... for him... watching out for him and just being there doing the little things that meant so much.

Sniffing, he swipes his eyes with the back of his hand, and manages a short laugh at himself as his face gains heat. "I'm sorry..."

Biting his lip, he turns around as another tear rolls down his cheek. "I was fine all day." Another laugh comes, trying to cover up the embarrassment. "Now that you're here, I'm a mess again."

He wipes his eyes once more, his walls tumbling before Bree as his lower lip quivers. But as try as he might, her kindness had unlocked the floodgates once again and he just couldn't help it. He was at the point of breaking, and emotionally very unstable.

Try as he might, he just couldn't control his emotions right now. Sinking down on the bed again, he hides his face in his hands. "I really did want the sub," he mumbles.


"Good. Come on." Mick gestures with his head to the back of the barn where the back door was open. Leading the way, he waits until they're outside until speaking. "I wanted to apologize for my rash accusations earlier today."

He walks slowly to a nearby fence to lean on, looking out into one of the pastures. "I don't really approve of how flirty my daughter can get and this morning she was hiding something from me. I drew the wrong conclusion."

He looks at Dan, accepting the responsibility of his actions like a man should. "I also wanted to tell you that as long as you walk a straight line, I have no intention of getting rid of you. You do too good of work around here. You're honest and you're a hard worker - I like seeing that in our ranch hands. So when I asked you to tell the truth earlier, even if it hadn't been what I wanted to hear, at least it would have been the truth, and I wouldn't have fired you for it."

Mick shrugs a little then looks back out to the pasture. "I know I'm rough on you, and I know that you're smart enough to see that sometimes I don't trust you... maybe that's true. But don't quit what you're doing."

He nods decisively. He meant it. He had yet to figure out why he had odd feelings about Dan... maybe it really was that he saw himself somewhere and wanted to make sure that the same bad decisions weren't made.

"As far as Jade is concerned..." His tone shifts slightly. This was a different matter altogether. "She's unsettled right now and doesn't know what she wants. So my advice, as her father, is to not start anything with her." He didn't have a voice of warning really, but there was a hint of it there, telling the he wouldn't be too pleased if anything more than friendship happened between Jade and Dan.

Over with.

Entering the hospital once again about an hour before her shift Bree held a few items under her coat as she scanned the tables looking for the one person she new would be there.

Seeing Gunner sitting a few tables away with his head down Bree smiles and made her way over to him. Placing a hand on his back Bree gives a small chuckle.

"Hey there Vamp you look tired would you let a fellow vampire escort you to your room? I have something for you."

Opening her jacket a little a bag with a sub along with a milk shake is shown closing it again quick as Marge walks by giving her a wave to try and help Gunner up.

"Come on, lets get some food in peace."

Looking up as Mick enters the stall he was working in Dan's eyes meet his boss. He kind of hopped he wouldnt see Mick for the rest of the night but now he had and there was no really stoping it. The might as well talk now and get it over with.

"Ok, yeah let me put this stuff away."

Putting a few of his items away Dan takes his hand from the railing and places it on his head before giving one of the horses a gentile pat on the head.

"Alright, everything is set here."

Need to talk

Mick gives Bolt one last look before patting his neck and leaving him in the stall for the night. Wandering down the barn aisle, he hangs up the halter and stops a moment to talk with Eric, who had just gotten home from being gone all week.

Checking on stall doors as he walks, Mick finally happens on Dan. Stopping, he watches the young man for a moment, studying him... contemplating. Maybe what he didn't trust was that there was something in Dan that reminded him of himself. There was a past behind his eyes, a hurt unshared. There was a want to thrive and get more out of life. Maybe Mick was hard on him because he wanted Dan to be able to make it on his own two feet... perhaps Mick sensed a vulnerable spot that he himself had once been in. Or maybe Rosetta was right... maybe he just hadn't given Dan enough time to trust him yet.

Sighing, Mick finally approaches Dan, stopping his work. "Dan..." Their eyes lock. "I want to talk to you... there's not much left here, the other guys can finish up. Let's take a walk outside." His expression wasn't happy, but it wasn't angry either. He needed to apologize for losing his temper, and he needed to set a few things straight about jobs and about Jade as well.


Gunner sighs and pushes his plate away. He'd had a few bites of the roast beef and mashed potatoes... but the meat was tough and the potatoes were basically tasteless lumps. Resting his elbows on the table, he sets his chin on his hands and stares around the room. He'd chosen the corner again... alone, away from the others. At least he was thinking straight. Whatever Hope had said had done the trick, and he hadn't had another dose of medication all day. He hadn't really wanted to put up a fight anyway... he still felt pretty numb. After his breakdown that morning, everything felt a little fuzzy, like there were a bunch of feelings he wasn't used to having to deal with.

Letting his arms slowly collapse, he puts his head down on them and closes his eyes. If he acted tired enough, they'd let him go back to his room maybe.