Enticing

Justin waves back to Beth, then settles back to wait for Jenny's call.

He was almost dozing when his cell phone buzzes and he's summoned inside. Scott seemed to be in fair spirits today and Justin was pleased to find out that he'd not only seen his sister but had eaten a little bit of breakfast too. Keeping that in mind, Justin doesn't want to push things too much today - not when it was starting out to be a good day. Unfortunately, he knew they couldn't stop their progress.

And so, almost an hour was spent simply playing frisbee and exchanging some small talk. Though Scott said little, Justin was able to gently advise as always while at the same time, helping Scott get some physical activity.

Once they're back at the same table beside the grassy lot, Scott is staring at the overturned cards. It was the memory game again, and again his stomach gave a little lurch. "I don't want to do this today," he mentions quietly, his eyes down.

Justin sighs and formulates an answer. "Why not?"

"This morning was so good and..." Scott picks at some chipped paint on the table. "...and I don't want to ruin the rest of the day with all this garbage."

Justin purses his lips. "This garbage is the only way to gain control."

"Well, maybe I don't want to," Scott defies. He really didn't want to do this today. He really did want to end on a good note and he didn't want to stretch himself to do this.

"So you're going to what? Just give up for no good reason? You were doing great yesterday and you just want to throw that away and pretend we weren't making progress?"

"No, I just... I'm tired."

"And you're going to be more tired. But what would you prefer? Being tired of this, or being stuck in a dark hole the rest of your life because the Agency data took over your mind?"

Scott swallows hard and keeps his eyes down. He didn't know why he felt defeated today. Maybe it was just being tired after seeing Sapphire. His time with her had been good, but it still wore him out emotionally, and after playing frisbee, he was physically tired as well. "I may never leave here anyway, so what does it matter?"

Justin shakes his head. Scott was just being stubborn, but it wasn't good. Justin had one tactic left. He'd saved it for what might be a more major time, but he might as well use it now. Reaching into his backpack, he withdraws the two nameplates from TJY and tosses them over to Scott.

Scott jumps a little and stares at them before looking back up to Justin. "What are these for? They're not mine anymore."

"Well who else's would they be? They're not TJY's anymore, remember? You walked away. If you're going to go bury yourself in misery now, just take those right along with you and bury everything."

Scott looks back down again. He knew he'd resigned from TJY before coming here. He knew he'd walked away without the intention of going back. Yet he also knew that a part of him deep down had always hung onto the hope that he might return. Having his nameplates thrown at him now though, sealed his fate of never going back. "They don't belong to me," he reiterates. "Take them back."

"What if they were given to me?"

Had Reese given them to Justin? Scott wonders. "Then throw them away."

"Why?"

"I don't want them!" Scott raises his voice.

"Why not? Because they remind you of what you're letting go?"

Scott falls silent again before shoving the nameplates back over to Justin. Still quiet, he flips over the first card...


...Justin ambles through TJY's hall, stopping a ways before the office door that was his destination. Thinking a moment, he takes his cell phone out of his pocket and dials, leaning against the wall out of anyone else's way. "Hi, Dalton, this is Justin Hawks. I wondered if you had just a quick moment to see me."


Reese pauses in Angelica's doorway, seeing her deep in thought. Her worry was evident on her face and Reese knew it must be about more than one thing.

He finally knocks softly. "Hey." He wanders in a few feet, not wanting to invade her space, but knowing also that he was welcome. "Thought maybe you'd like to drive around a bit before heading to the airport."


Chance chuckles and nods. "I'd like some tea whether it's one-handed or two-handed. Thanks."

Moving to the refrigerator, he looks inside, scanning the contents to figure out what would go well on sandwiches. Straightening again to glance back to Destiny and ask her what she thought sounded good, he stops midway to speaking. Watching her for a moment, he gives a little sigh then gives up on the sandwich idea for now.

Walking back over to her from behind, he gently wraps his arms around her. "You okay?" he asks quietly.


Having Ryan come up behind him, Alec laughs again. "Mmm... you know I live for danger. I think you just want to entice me."

Feeling her hands on his chest, he leans his head back a little, just enjoying the moment here with her as the water lapped around them. Reaching up, he takes her hands in his and just holds them, running his fingers up and down her arms.

Quite suddenly and without warning, he takes hold of her arms and stands up, throwing Ryan off his back. Skirting around the splash, he falls back into the water again to swim out far enough that he has to tread to stay afloat. His laughter echos off the surface as he shakes his head, spraying water in all directions. "Don't sit there too long," he hollers. "You might boil the water."