It's all going to be okay

Seeing that Angelica had something more serious to talk about, Reese enters her office all the way and sits down to listen. As the story unfolds, he stiffens just a little, not liking the situation at all for more reasons than one.

Looking back at her, he leans back in the chair and thinks for a long moment. "Well... my gut says to have nothing to do with this. But my first reaction is to help because I don't want anything to happen to you or Charlotte."

Reese sighs deeply and shakes his head. "I don't know what to say, Angelica. You know as well as I that it would be nearly impossible for the Elite to offer protection to someone like that - we're under obligation to arrest, not keep them from harm, especially when you know Trey's involved in a drug ring. But..." He taps a finger on his leg, still thinking. "It's for the benefit of the innocent - you and Charlotte - to offer safety."

He searches Angelica's face, seeing the worry in her eyes. "Is there any way Trey could benefit the Elite? Does he want out? Would he help us in any way? Even if we have some small reason to keep him here for a while, that would be enough. Otherwise, we'd just be harboring a criminal and it would be better to offer protection to Charlotte and Bret than house Trey."


Chance is pleased when Destiny agrees to go swimming. Going with her inside, he makes quick work of slipping on a pair of trunks under his clothes. Seeing Destiny emerge, a smile creases his lips. "I don't know... you almost look too cute to take out."

Still grinning, he makes sure he has everything he needs before giving instructions. "Okay... the pool should be a safe place, one, because there are witnesses around, and two, there's a lifeguard that sees everything that's going on. Someone would have to be awfully stupid to try and pull a stunt there. So... I'm confident you'll be fine."

He holds out his arm. "Shall we?"


"Well what did you want from her?"

"I don't know. I guess... I don't know. I thought she'd started to trust me enough to open up. I guess I was wrong."

"Have you ever asked her about her situation?"

"No. She's been unapproachable. One look in her eye and I see this steel wall ten inches thick. Asking her point blank about her past would be suicide."

"And this wasn't?"

Justin smirks a little and looks across the porch at his uncle. "Dr. Hawks, you realize how weird it is to be having this conversation, right? If we sit here long enough, our brains might implode from trying to figure out what's not being said."

Ben laughs and takes another sip of his tea. It was rare he came by Justin's, but today he'd had the afternoon off and needed to run some errands in this area so he had stopped. Their conversation had reverted to Beth, to Ben's surprise, but it was obviously something that weighed heavily on his nephew's mind. "They might. But if they did, we might become normal."

Justin grins and shakes his head, leaning back against the railing, the rain having stopped since this morning. "So what did I do wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... about what I said to her. What part of it was wrong?"

"I don't think anything about it was wrong."

"Well then why did she walk away as though I'd just cut her heart?"

Ben runs a finger along the rim of his glass and pushes the swing slightly. "Maybe it was just the timing that was off."

"Timing? But... when else could I have said it?"

"When she was ready."

"But..." Justin groans in frustration.

Ben cocks his head. "Why does this vex you?"

"I don't know. I guess because last week she gave me the impression she didn't have time for anything but the 'hi and goodbye' relationship we've formed. I wanted to be more... be a friend. 'I don't have time for anything else,' she said, quite confident that she liked her life the way it is. She's lonely and won't admit it. But she won't do anything to change it. She wants someone to wait around for her, but she's not even willing to take the first steps. She wants the burden to lie on the other person so she can take her sweet time and it's the other person's fault if they try to push too soon. So they're forced to wait and hope that one day something happens. Beth is... she's stubborn and.. and..."

"You like her, don't you?"

Justin looks up quickly. "She's alright."

Ben tries not to smile too broadly. "You really think she's all that irritating and stubborn?"

"I've added up everything I know. We've talked together, sat together, laughed - she even took me to the hospital where we chatted and she brought me back. I would think by now I'd get more than hesitation when offering a handshake. I'm not that undeserving of trust am I?"

"Not to me. But maybe to her."

"But why? I don't get it. I mean... I see something in her eyes that... that breaks my heart, honestly. She's been through something. She's got a sister in Brookshire - that alone could do it. But... she likes being alone. She likes going through life alone and yet... her eyes don't say so." Justin sighs. "She can stare me in the eye and tell me those lies."

"Do you think she knows she's lying?"

Justin furrows his brow. "I thought about that - about her not realizing what she really wants, that is. But she's got a good head on her shoulders. All I can figure is that she's somebody with a past that's not so great and she's wallowed for years, throwing herself into taking care of her sister, believing it will somehow cure the emptiness she holds. Then when she's challenged, she backs up and defends herself so she won't be wrong."

Ben sits back and watches as the wheels turn in his nephew's mind. "Well... sounds like you've met one of the most typical people there are in this world. You've put the pieces together quite logically, in a believable pattern. So. What's out of place?"

"I don't know." Justin frowns.

"Hurt your feelings a bit, did she?"

Justin shrugs. "I guess... when she said she didn't have time for anybody, it made me realize that meant me too."

"But all you were doing was seeing her when you came for Scott. She had time for that."

"Yeah but..."

"You wanted more?"

"Maybe sometime. Coffee would have been nice. Lunch. Something. But she's unapproachable."

Ben takes another sip of his tea. "So why was her reaction today surprising?"

"I don't know. I guess maybe I figured she would see I cared. But instead, I think there's part of her that despises me for being judgmental or something."

"I don't think it had anything to do with you."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't take so much credit. You haven't shaped her past. You're not the one that has built distrust. Her reaction to you is just aftermath of whatever it is she's going through, you know this. But if it wasn't the response you expected then... did you miss something?"

"That's what I can't figure out." Justin squints a little at his uncle. "What about her sister? All I know is that she's at Brookshire and has been for quite a while."

"You know I can't tell you anything about that. But... do you think there's a connection?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've put a pretty shallow limitation on Beth's pain, haven't you?"

"She hasn't given me any reason to think otherwise."

"How many people have you met that are the same, Justin? How many people react the same way in a situation? How many people are predictable?"

Justin purses his lips. "So you're saying there is a connection... that there's more to Beth than some little tragedy that makes her so frightened and alone."

"Some little tragedy?"

"Oh, you know... the typical. Parents divorced... bad boyfriend... whatever. Things that people need to get over and move on from after a while. They need to heal... need to live again."

Ben lets a pause occur before going on. "If it was more than that, do you really think Beth would have told you?"

"Wouldn't I have seen the signs?"

"If she's locked up that tightly?"

Justin's shoulders slouch a little more. "So I was wrong."

"I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that at all. I think the words you said to her were true and maybe they needed to be said. But I think perhaps it was just too soon. If her pain is indeed deeper than you know, would you have done the same thing?"

"No... I would have waited. Been more patient. I wouldn't have let her wanting to be alone bother me so much I suppose. Wouldn't have taken it personally like I did." Justin searches Ben's eyes. "It is connected to her sister, isn't it? Is that the key?"

Ben leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What do you want, Justin? Do you want to be her friend, or are you trying to be her counselor?"

Justin thinks for a moment. "I get tired of being a counselor sometimes. All I want to be is a friend who can perhaps ease her pain. She deserves to have more joy in her life than she does. Can't a friend help with that? Or do I have to be a counselor?"

"You tell me."

"I think it's the place of a friend that can truly help someone. Some people need the counselor... but... not Beth. She just needs understanding. But without all the pieces, I simply can't understand."

Ben drinks the last of his tea and gets to his feet, wandering a little closer to look down at Justin. "I think you'll find her last name in connection with some old news articles very helpful. The internet is full of archives. At least... that's where I would go if I were in your shoes." He offers a smile to his nephew. "Quit blaming yourself for doing things wrong. You're one of the best I know, even if you don't do everything you've been told. But even the best don't always have all the pieces. So don't blame yourself. Just find the right pieces and put them together to make another picture."

"What if I get that one wrong too?"

"Then find more pieces and make another picture. Unless you're going to give up."

The conversation is brought to a sudden halt as Justin's phone rings inside the house. He really didn't want to answer it, but something told him he should. Standing up, he heads in through the screen door, jogging into the living room to grab the phone before the answering machine picks up. "Yeah? What? Yeah, okay. It's gonna take me a while, but I'm on my way."

Hanging up again, he grabs his shoes on his way back outside. "That was Jenny," he informs Ben. "Scott broke down and she thinks I should come."


Jenny goes back to Scott's side as he sits on the floor by the window of his room. She hadn't been able to get him to move ever since she'd found him here, curled up and sobbing. From what she could tell, he was still okay, but apparently very much emotionally overwhelmed.

Putting her arm around him again, she rocks him a little, her hand running up from his forehead and through his hair. "Shhh... it's okay," she soothes. "It's all going to be okay."


It takes Justin less than the normal hour and a half to arrive back at Brookshire after pushing the speed limit the whole way. Emerging from his pickup, this time he isn't alone. Danitza and Zora accompany him on their leashes, both obediently at his side as they walk at his heel with purpose.

Once inside, no one balks at Justin having the dogs there, even if he did get a few strange looks. Up the three flights of stairs and down the hall, Justin pays no heed to anything else going on. His mind was focused only on one thing.

Entering the room and seeing Scott, he's only glad that so far Scott was still conscious and crying - at least he had not lapsed into an unresponsive state. "Okay, Jenny... you can go now."

"But-"

"It's okay."

Jenny reluctantly stands and backs away from Scott, not wanting to leave, but doing as she's told. "Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah, thanks." Justin waits until the door is shut again before making any move. "Sit." Both dogs sit obediently and Justin goes alone to Scott, kneeling in front of him. "Hey, buddy... what's wrong, hmm? Can we talk?"

Tears stream from Scott's eyes and he shakes his head, drawing in ragged breaths.

Justin just wanted to calm him down at this point, talk or none. Giving a quite whistle, he's joined by the dogs. "Easy," he commands softly. "Keep him company."

Danitza takes Scott's left side and Zora his right, lying down beside him. Danitza puts her head in Scott's lap and both dogs just lie still, neither begging for attention or getting excited, but just being quiet.

Scott sits a little straighter, startled at first. He knew these must be Justin's dogs that he'd talked about, and they were not aggressive at all, so they formed no fear. One of his hands falls to Danitza's head, his palm resting against her soft coat. His breathing starts to relax. His other hand finds its way to Zora's warm back and his fingers stroke her a little. His tears begin to slow.

For the next few hours, that's all there is. Quiet crying, petting and silence. Justin squats in the far corner just watching and giving Scott space, saying nothing at all unless spoken to. By nightfall, Scott is exhausted and Justin manages to get him onto his bed. Curling up next to Zora's warm body, he falls asleep almost immediately, exhausted from the emotional overflow. Justin remains, stretching out on the floor with Danitza as a willing pillow. He would stay until either Scott talked or it was sure that he was okay. Justin wasn't positive what had just happened. It appeared to simply be a bad day for Scott and his emotions from this whole thing had gotten the best of him. Or maybe Justin's desperate prayer had been answered. Only the morning would tell.