Resident psychologist

Jason grins and comes around into Katie's cubicle, offering her his hands so she can stand up. "Good. It's all settled then. I even brought my bike this morning so we can have a fun ride while we're at it."

Movement catches his eye as he sees Alec walk by on the far side of the room again.

I wonder what he's up to. He's been getting out at night without permission, but Reese seems to be letting it slide. I don't feel right about that whole thing... I think we should be more careful with him.


Dead to the world, Gage never hears the phone ring, or Sapphire's voice on the answering machine. It wouldn't be until the afternoon when he would finally wake up to realize he'd totally missed lunch, irritated with himself for having slept right through it.


Chance knocks on the door where he'd found Destiny and smiles in at her. "Hey, you." They'd been there for a while now, and the morning was growing late. "How about some lunch? I finished up what I needed to do."


"...so what do you think I should do?"

Justin looks up from the couch to see Nichole's face and he stares at her blankly. "What?"

Nichole sighs. "What do you think I should do? I mean about Clark."

Justin burrows back a little further into the corner of the couch. He was the only one there not sitting straight. Everyone else looked halfway human, while he was in his bare feet, one leg tucked up under the other one that was bent with his knee up. It wasn't a crowd, but seven people in Jake's living room could seem a bit crowded anyway. "Dump him."

Nichole gets a shocked look on her face. "I can't do that!"

Justin shrugs. "He's playing you and you know it. If you can't leave him, then anything that comes is your own fault."

"You certainly are cold tonight."

"He always is," Lane quips, raising his beer bottle. "A cynic through and through."

Justin smirks and takes a sip of his pepsi. He was the only one not having a beer. "I'm just logical."

Nichole shakes her head. "Sometimes feelings override logic."

"Well then? What are you asking me about Clark for? You've already made up your mind to stick with a guy who's two-timing you. What am I supposed to say? Congratulations?"

Give the girl a break, Dirk chides from the other side of the room. "Clark isn't all that bad. He'll come around."

Justin quirks an eyebrow and grins wryly. "Okay."

Paula comes back into the room after having gotten some snack food. "Justin... I was gonna ask you about that situation with my two girl friends. Did you think any more about that?"

Justin looks around the room at the six pairs of eyes staring back at him. "What am I? Your resident psychologist?"

Jake laughs. "Isn't that what you wanted to be?"

"I think I'm on my last case."

Paula's eyes widen. "You're kidding. You're going to give up your career?"

"What career? Straight out of college, I've been pushed around, given the cases no one else wants, then when I actually do my job, I'm fired and no one else wants me. I've dealt with stupid teens, drunks, wife beaters, beaten wives and nut cases. And what did I get? A paycheck hardly enough to pay my bills." Justin shakes his head. "Not worth it any more."

Nichole furrows her brow. "But I thought you loved helping people?"

Justin sighs and leans his head back into the couch. "I can only help as much as someone lets me. Problem is, most people don't even want the help. So I sit... talk... baby them... and get paid for it? No... no, that's not what I want. The whole system of social services made me sick, working for that other other organization was a disaster... no... that's not the kind of help I wanted to give people."

"What about starting your own place?"

"You got the money?" When there's no answer, Justin shakes his head again. "Nah... I'd just wind up ticking people off anyway and then nobody would come to me. I don't think I'm cut out for the counseling job." He sips on his pepsi again and looks at the clock. "I gotta get going."

"What?" Jake looks at him with disappointment. "You're not even working tomorrow."

"No, but I promised my mother I'd be over for supper."

Lane snickers, Paula elbows him and Justin throws him a warning glance. Going to his mother's really was just an excuse. These were his friends... but they weren't close. He came and hung out once in a while but... he could take it or leave it. He had a headache again, and sticking around here until Jake got drunk was not what he liked to do for fun.