Close friend

Justin chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm just the hired clown...er... counselor. Either one." His smile holds both a silliness and a seriousness that showed it was real business he was here for, despite the way it looked like he was always playing.

As Beth walks away, Justin catches her last statement and cocks his head, studying her. His tone is a little quieter... thoughtful... a contrast to his appearance. Who was she? She didn't act like a doctor or nurse. Nor did she appear to be a patient. So who was she visiting, and why? What pain had been dealt to her? "No matter the amount of time spent... coming here is never a short visit, is it?"

Giving her a little nod, he respects the fact that she's ended the encounter, and he turns to go his own way as well. Whether she's looking or not though, he has suddenly developed a severe limp, causing him to drag his one leg in the most peculiar manner.

Getting back to his truck, he throws his stuff in the back on top of the baseballs he had yet to put back in his garage. Thankfully today, the pickup starts up on the first try, and he's on his way again. But it wasn't home today. No, he was headed in the same direction, but passes by his road as he heads into town. He had another destination in mind. One that would hopefully hold answers...

...Parking in the large lot, Justin scans the other cars. It was afternoon and the lot was quiet, but he'd been told it was quite busy underneath the factory. Shrugging, he gets out and ambles to the door. He was straightened up with his hair at least combed, but he was still stained with red, green and blue, clothes, hands, hair and all. Once inside, he finds his way down to TJY's lower level and stops, gazing across the few rows of cubicles and seeing a lot of strange faces.

Justin takes another look at the folder in his hand, scanning the list of names and connections to Scott that he'd gotten from Dr. Hawks. Ambling forward, he feels awkward on the inside, but tries not to let it show. Nodding to a few faces, it was apparent that they wondered who on earth he was... either that, or where on earth he'd been to come in such a messy state.

After meeting up with the chief and talking briefly, Justin is on his own again, per his request, to scout around and glean the information he wanted. Taking his time, he wanders down the hall, finally coming to the office with two names on the half-open door. Knocking and letting the door open farther, Justin looks in to see Dalton, then looks back at his file folder before glancing back to him again. "Hi. I'm Justin Hawks. You must be Dalton."

Entering slowly, Justin approaches the desk and the big man who sat behind it. He studies Dalton's face for a moment, as if trying to sum him up. "I've been working with Scott Johnson the last couple days up at Brookshire and I'm just trying to get a feel for what he did everyday here... what his environment was like. I was told that you're pretty close friends with him, so I wondered if you had a few moments that I could pick your brain?"


Eli flips up the visor on his helmet, hearing Scarlet's comment. His cheeks rise, proven that though hidden, he was smiling. His voice raises above the loud motorcycle engine. "If I was waiting for someone else, I forgot all about them as soon as I laid eyes on you."

Making sure she's got her helmet on and her arms around his waist, one gloved hand finds hers, giving it a little squeeze before taking the handlebars again.

The ride was nice and long again, Eli taking the long route once more. Today it was Mom and Pop's he comes to. He'd gotten to know Carson well enough they'd wave at each other, but it was mainly the pizza that brought Eli back here frequently. Parking in the lot, he cuts the engine and lets the bike lean onto its kickstand. Taking off his helmet, he turns a little so he can see over his shoulder, giving Scarlet a grin. "Hey, Beautiful."

Waiting until her own helmet was off, he leans back and gives her a soft kiss on the lips. "I better make this a good date," he mentions wryly. "It might be the last one since you're picking up your bike afterward."


Kyle brings a hand to Alice's face, smiling down at her. He couldn't imagine if she hadn't been along on this journey with him. He more than likely would have given up more than once had she not been there for him, supporting him and picking him back up when he fell. It wasn't just his journey anymore... it was theirs.

"I love you," he whispers.

Giving her hand a squeeze, he holds up the jeep keys in the air, giving a whoop. "All aboard!"

There are quick last-minute goodbyes, clamoring to make sure everything is ready, and everyone dives into their assigned vehicles. And this time, it was Kyle that led the way. They would take plenty of rests, and they would find a place to stay the night in Wyoming once they were halfway to Nevada. Tomorrow they would reach their destination. Kyle had already made arrangements with his grandparents to house the small group for just a couple nights until they could find a hotel or somewhere else. He'd made sure though, that no one mentioned a word of it to the rest of his family. He was well aware that there was a JetStream concert the day after tomorrow and he knew now how he would greet his family and friends.


Kip lets music fill up most of the quiet time in the car as they drive, not wanting to talk if Karla didn't want to. He was just as glad she was riding with him at all, so he didn't mind not having nonstop conversation. He did feel like he was ready to bounce off the walls though, but tried hard to contain his energy.

By mid-afternoon though, at one of the rest stops, he winds up in a friendly wrestling match with Russ, just to let off some steam. Everyone was getting tired, but they were all too wound up to find a night's stopover just yet. A couple more hours and they would.

Getting back to his car, Kip slides across the hood and slips in behind the wheel again, glancing over to Karla with a silly grin. "How ya holding up?" What he really wanted to ask was how she was doing now that most of the day had passed, and if she felt any better about him, but he refrained.