Knucklehead

Maybe Dalton's response was what Alec had really wanted, but it still came as a bit of a surprise. The giant really didn't like many people - Alec had witness that himself. It seemed around here, Dalton had a soft spot for some of the women, and he was buds with Scott. But otherwise...

A small, sheepish grin forms on Alec's face. If someone was willing to believe in him, then he really shouldn't say no. "Yeah, okay."

Opening the little fridge, Alec spies a stash of Mountain Dew. He shrugs. "Nothing like sugar and caffeine to make it through the day I guess." Grabbing a can, he flips the top and takes a long swig, nodding with satisfaction, followed by a belch. "If I start bouncing off the wall, it's your fault."


Axel tinkers in the open engine, listening to Ryan as she explained just a little bit. He didn't know why she'd yelled at Alec or Leo, but he did know there had been tension between those two men and one logical theory was that she'd finally gotten fed up. That would explain the no call and no show at least. Axel wasn't going to ask for details though.

Hearing about her dad, he nods thoughtfully. "I'm sorry... that's rough."

Pausing his work, he looks over to her for a quiet moment. "I guess I don't know what it's like to have a parent die... but having no idea where mine are or if they're even alive... I suppose it's as close to death to me as it can get. Not fun."

Returning to the engine, his thoughts come out as quiet musings. "Somehow the sun always manages to rise the next day anyway. The clouds break eventually... and on really clear days, I can look back and see how far I've come and I can look ahead to something better... something more."

Changing the subject, he shakes his head. "Why don't you call that knucklehead boyfriend of yours? Maybe he's waiting for your call too."


Leo gives a short laugh. "Yeah, I know... I wasn't gonna leave you here. I just meant afterward." He grins. "As if I could forget about you." He shakes his head. "That's becoming more and more impossible."


"Man, he's riding us hard this week. I miss my eight-hour job."

Gage gives a little nod, but he was too tired to react to much else. His eleven-hour days had turned into twelve and he was not gaining back his energy. Each day he seemed just a little more sore and a little more tired. He'd hardly spent any time with Sapphire at all and he hated it. But it was a job... right?

Standing up from the break room table, Gage sighs and looks down at Lonny. They'd taken a short breather to clean up after work before heading home for the day. "Yeah... Not sure I could find something better than this though. I'm just so tired I don't know what to do. My girl says she doesn't mind but..." He shrugs. "I do."

Lonny nods and stands up as well. "Here." He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a little bottle. Taking Gage's hand, he deposits a couple little pills into his palm. "Take those. They'll get you going again."

Gage looks at them for a moment before looking back up at his coworker with suspicion. He'd had days where he'd wanted the drugs he'd been on at the Agency, but since that wasn't available, he'd been doing alright. "What are these?"

"Oh, they're just to get your energy going," Lonny explains. "I get a couple hours of sleep in the afternoon and I can go all day again."

Gage still hesitates. The bottle had been orange. "They're prescription, aren't they?"

Lonny shrugs. "So? They just do that so they get more money anyway. They're cool - just try 'em. Trust me."

Gage thinks for a moment, then shrugs too. Why not? If he could actually get a date in with Sapphire without falling asleep, it would be worth it. Popping the pills in his mouth, he takes a swig from the water fountain to wash them down.

"See you tonight, Gage."

"Yeah." Gage wanders out the back door and heads around the perimeter of the lumber mill to make his way back home. His feet felt like lead weights, but if he took a couple allies on his way, it didn't seem to take quite as long.