The only two people

A little murmur escapes as Jade kisses Dan back. It didn't matter how often he kissed her - she never tired of his affection or how he made her feel. If anything, she loved it more every time. Wrapping her arm around him, she hugs him closer, just liking the feel of him that near to her. His warmth... his strength... his love.

Pulling away a little, Jade looks into Dan's eyes. They were so close still that her nose rubbed up against his and she grins. "I love you so much. I can't wait for the rest of my life... 'cause I get to spend it all with you."

Her fingers play with his hair and run up over his ear teasingly as she smiles again. Returning to kiss him once more, she didn't care if her father was still close or if they really needed to get up and start the day. At this point in her life, having Dan in her arms was the most important thing on earth to her.


Mick waits for the coffee, pouring himself a cup and taking a nice long drink. It was mornings like this that his body wanted more, but he knew to keep his mind occupied, lest he fall.

Wandering back through the dining room, he pauses at the window, watching as the sun just started peeking up over the horizon. Clouds were awaiting the light. Rain was on the way. He could feel it in his bones and all the injuries he'd accumulated over the years. The sunbeams were reddish gold, begging to be free to spread across the land in brilliant splendor. But the clouds would soon overtake them, hiding them from view. It kind of felt that way in Mick's heart too.

Sipping on his coffee some more, he ambles across the room, his eyes glancing into the living room again. If it would have been a few months back, he woulda tanned both their hides for making out on the living room couch. He hadn't trusted Dan's motives, or even his daughter's enthusiasm for attention, let alone how far they would go. But now... forcing himself to trust them wasn't as bad as it had seemed at one point. Dan was a good Christian man... and Jade was a good Christian woman. Both had good heads on their shoulders and Mick had to trust that they would be smart, lest he drive himself mad. At least his daughter was happy... how could he take that from her?

Walking past the door again as he wandered back to the kitchen, he hollers in at Dan. "Daylight's burnin', lover boy. You can kiss her when the chores are done."

Downing the rest of his coffee, he puts his mug in the sink and leaves the remaining coffee for anyone who would come after him. Yawning, he heads outside, taking a deep breath of the morning air that was quickly becoming damp. Trudging to Angel's office, he favors his bad knee a little bit, figuring later a hot shower would be in store.

Knocking quietly, he lets himself in, going to the back room to check on Rosetta and BJ. Finding both of them still asleep, he just watches them for several moments. He'd never understand how a person could love, and add on to that love, but he knew it was possible from the feelings in his own heart.

Mick walks quietly to the bedside chair and takes off his hat, kneeling down by Rosetta. Reaching up, he takes her hand in his and whispers. "Hey, Hon... just wanted to check on you before I started chores."


Scott hears the knock at the door, but as usual, he doesn't answer it, figuring it was Jenny or something. But then hearing Dalton's voice, his head snaps up. His eyes go wide in surprise as he spots both his big friend and Susanne.

"I..." He wasn't sure how to act now.

Susanne smiles, overcoming her discomfort and thankful that Dalton had made the entrance for them. "Hi, Scott. Dalton's right. We got some goodies for you." She sets the basket down on his dresser. "We were all thinking about you and so we just thought we'd stop by and say hi."

"Well, um..." Scott swallows hard and pulls himself to his feet, rubbing his aching eye. "Thanks... thank you."

Susanne moves over closer to Dalton, not really sure what to do now. Poor Scott. He was young enough to be her son and after enough years at TJY, she cared about him, just like she cared about everybody there. "It's awfully nice here," she comments kindly. "It looks like you have a nice view from your window too."

"Yeah... yeah, it's not bad." Scott runs a hand through his hair and tries to smile a little, more embarrassed for them seeing him here than anything. It would be better if he acted like he was doing alright. Less worry for them and less sympathizing for him to deal with. His gaze roams between Susanne and Dalton awkwardly.

"It's good to see you." Susanne nods. "We all miss you and folks have been asking about ya."

"And what have you told them?" When Scott sees Susanne doesn't know how to answer, he gives a little scoff and nod. "Yeah, I know. Guess I should like it I got some company, huh?"

Susanne musters up another smile and moves to give Scott a light hug. She knew that if she stayed any longer, the tension would just get worse. And she didn't mind - she hadn't really expected anything else. She just wished there was more she could do. "I'll leave you two boys. I better find the little girls room before we go anyway."

"Down the hall." Scott points.

"Thanks. Take care, Scott."

"Yeah." Scott watches Susanne leave, then turns back to Dalton. Studying him a moment, he walks over to the basket and grabs two of the cans of Mountain Dew. Handing one to Dalton, he sits down beside him on the bed and flips open his own can, taking a small sip. "You know I don't like people seeing me like this." His voice was quiet but irritation laced his tone. A part of him appreciated this but his embarrassment won out.


The courtroom was warm and stuffy. At least it felt that way to Gunner. He'd been brought in from the police station and met up with David and Angelica, brought down the aisle to sit in front of full view of the judge. More people were here than he thought. People from TJY, some he didn't know, and one in particular that he hadn't seen since her visit to the jail.

"You ready?" David asks, bringing Gunner's attention back around. "You know what we talked about, right?"

"Yeah... yeah, I went nuts and was totally stupid to break Bree outta there, I know." Gunner knew the plan. He'd grudgingly agreed to the plea of temporary insanity, figuring David and Angelica knew what they were doing. Even so, he wasn't so sure about the whole thing. Their goal for today was to get a ruling out of the judge without the case going to trial. If they could settle things today it would go a whole lot better for him. His job was to sit down, shut up and let the lawyers do the talking.

As Gunner's mind wanders, so do his eyes and he shifts in his seat to search the room and finally find Bree. His gaze locks with hers and for a moment, it feels as if all the noise in the courtroom is muted and they're the only two people there.