Special friend

Once Rick is gone and the lights are out, Chance finds himself dozing off into a light sleep. Quiet sounds wake him though, and he's unsure if someone had walked by, or if it was just the whirring of distant computer equipment he'd heard. He wasn't worried much - this place was tighter than a drum at night, a contrast to the way it was during the day.

Finding himself thirsty though, he ends up rising from the cot and stretching with a yawn. In his bare feet, jeans and his collared shirt untucked with several buttons open, he wanders out into the hall, trying to remember which way the break room was. His missed his own refrigerator, and the irritation at Toby returns.

Padding down the hall, he finds his way, seeing the light had been left on. Turning the corner, he's not expecting anybody else, so seeing a form a the table almost makes him jump out of his skin. "What in the na....." His words trail off as he realizes who it is, and he puts a hand over his heart. "And I though you were the one that needed a bodyguard, not me!"

A sheepish smile emerges and he gives a soft laugh, feeling pretty ridiculous, but being willing to joke about it. "I thought you'd be long gone to dreamland by now."

Grabbing a small bottle of water from the fridge, he wanders to the table and sits down across from Destiny, studying her fine features. He could have had a worse assignment, that was for sure. At least he had something pretty to look at.

Sitting in awkward silence wasn't something Chance enjoyed though, and the bottle of water spins on the table between his nervous fingers. "I, um... read about you on the way up here. Reese faxed my boss in Arizona so I'd have a handle on things by the time I got here." He cocks his head a little, his dark eyes giving off a shine under the florescent lights. "I'm sorry... about your parents, I mean. That's a tough blow for anybody."


Just bring yourself... that's all I need.... and the cookies, too.

Jason manages a little bit of humor as he pushes off the back of his truck. Sighing deeply, he slides in behind the steering wheel, taking a moment to have a private conversation with God before starting the engine. He had very little time to get his head back on straight.

Getting home, he gives Trooper a bit of attention before throwing a few things in the living room back where they belonged. He kept a fairly neat house for it being just him, though he'd been so busy lately that things had gotten just a little messy. Not to mention when Trooper got bored, things in the living room tended to get... moved around.

It doesn't seem like long at all before Jason is almost falling asleep on the couch, Katie wrapped in his arms. The movie droned on but he was hardly paying attention. He felt exhausted... from the day and from sharing his emotional strain with Katie not long after she'd arrived. Now all that was left was a feeling something like emptiness, though there was still the comfort he'd been given.

As he drifted in and out of light sleep, his mind wandered, too tired to make the words form in his mouth.

I feel like I've abandoned the band... we play tomorrow night and I didn't even make practice tonight. Phil's trying to so hard to keep us together but sometimes I feel I'm the one holding us back... like someone else might be better for JetStream than me.

His grip around Katie tightens a little as he lets his head sink further into the couch throw pillow. Maybe he was just tired.


"Kyle!" Gram threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a huge hug, not caring that there was a group of people behind him that overflowed the porch onto the sidewalk.

"Whoa, whoa, Gram, you're choking me to death." Kyle laughs and hugs her back. "I figured you and Gramps would be in bed?"

A male voice shouts from in the house. "Why? Because we're old or what?"

Kyle grins and withdraws from his grandmother. "You never get old. Got room for this rowdy bunch?"

"Why else would I have said yes to you all coming?" Gram gives his arm a swat. "Of course." Her eyes glance around the other young people, the enthusiasm shining through. "Come in, come in, come in. We have warm food if you want it and plenty of something cold to drink too."

Kyle gestures to the others, ushering them all into the house. There wasn't a whole lot of room in the living room and kitchen, but they'd all be staying in the finished basement come time for bed, so no one seemed to mind. Kyle introduces everyone to Gram and Gramps and they are all received just as part of the family. One guest is saved for last though, and Kyle saves the introduction for when he catches Gram alone in the kitchen, his hand in Alice's. "Gram?"

She turns from the sink, her cheeks aglow from bustling around making sure everyone was taken care of. Her smile widens. "And who is this?"

Kyle grins. "This is Alice... a very... special friend in my life."

Gram steps forward and offers a hug - something she hadn't given the others. "Hi, Alice. I'm so glad to finally meet you."