I'll stay

Quinn hadn't wanted to kiss Anastasia, lest it make the whole parting harder, but as she nears, he doesn't have the strength to pull away. Returning the warm gesture of emotions, when she withdraws, his eyes meet hers as if for the first time all over again. Her whispered words create a crack in Quinn's heart, as do the tears he sees trickling down the side of her cheek. But he couldn't stay. He was a wanderer... and he didn't belong in this town.

His hand comes up to slowly wipe away her tears. He couldn't stand to see her cry. How they felt so strongly about each other in such a short amount of time would always be a mystery. "I have to," he returns in his own whisper.

If he stayed any longer, he'd never be able to get out of the car. Though it felt as if he were carrying lead weights on his shoulders, he withdraws and steps out of the car. Shutting the door he looks through the window at her one last time, his hand resting against the glass where he saw her face. Then turning, he walks away. Heading into the auto shop, his teeth are gritted together, his eyes ablaze with conflicting emotions. But he doesn't look back. And within moments, the only sight left is the closing door of the shop, and he is gone.


"...So I know you called in sick and all, but I'm in a major jam and I just saw the guy come back and Darrel will have my hide, and we can't give the guy a rental because he's just passing through and..."

Axel lies on his back on the couch, listening to Leo rant on the answering machine. Ryan must still be out at lunch - otherwise he wouldn't be needed. Was it really something Leo couldn't handle? Axel sighs. He didn't feel like going down and working - there was a reason he'd called in. But he didn't want to leave Leo in a lurch either.

Groaning, he pries himself from the couch and picks up the phone just as Leo is ready to hang up. "You owe me."

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, I owe you! Anything! Just come help me figure this out."

"Yeah, I'll be right down." Hanging up, Axel shakes his head and goes for his shoes, then grabs his work shirt to throw over his t-shirt, buttoning it up and tucking it in. Being in a bad mood wasn't something normal for him, but it was awfully hard to be chipper at the moment. He just needed to push everything aside for a little while to help out. He wasn't going to be mean and say "tough luck."

Outside and down the stairs, Axel heads right into the garage area, scanning the cars. Aiming for Leo, he stops halfway. That car was familiar. Where had he seen it? Earlier today? He bristles. Coming closer, he looks at the license plate and his stomach gives a little lurch. It was the same one he'd seen earlier. Surely it was someone else's. "Who's car, Leo?"

"Huh?" Leo pops up from under the hood. "I am so glad you're here. I've had this thing on the computer three times, I have been in and out and all around for the last couple hours and I can't find out what's going on."

"Who's car?" Axel repeats.

"Oh." Leo stops and thinks. "Oh, yeah. Some guy with the same last name as you. Funny huh?"

Axel doesn't laugh. "Quinn?"

"Hey, yeah." Leo grins, remembering the unusual name. "Relative?"

"Just show me what the problem is." Axel moves to the car, leaving the question unanswered. This was utterly amazing and ridiculous. What were the odds - one that Quinn would find him at all, two that his car would break down while in town, and three that the chosen shop would be J&J?

After twenty more minutes, Axel is just as baffled as Leo. The car simply wouldn't start. As of now, there was no logical explanation. Everything that could be checked had been checked and rechecked. They were going to have to start taking things apart, but that probably meant several days worth of work.

"I can't tell him." Leo looks at Axel pleadingly. "I told him we'd have it done right up and, and, and I can't do it!"

"Leo, get your hind end into the office and tell him like you would any other customer. For Pete's sake."

"But-"

"Go!" Axel points to the office where he knew Quinn was waiting. "See if he can stay in town a couple days. And if not, ask Darrel about giving him a rental for an extended amount of time until he can come back and pick this up again or we take it to him."

Leo gives Axel another look of desperation. He hated telling customers bad news, especially when he'd been so confident earlier. He blamed himself but there wasn't a whole lot that could be done, and no matter what happened now, he'd be in trouble with Darrel - for making promises, then for not being able to follow through.

Axel stares at him, then finally groans and throws up his arms. "Fine. I'll tell him myself." He could do this... Quinn was just another customer - that was all. Axel could ignore his personal feelings, just go in there, tell him the facts and that would be all.

Taking a deep breath, he pushes open the door while wiping his hands on a rag. Quinn was the only customer waiting so Axel doesn't bother with any kind of greeting. "We can't find the problem," he states flatly. "It's going to take several days to locate it."

Quinn stands up, having been prepared to see Axel, but hoping he wouldn't have to. Now seeing the stern look in his brother's eye and the businesslike tone, it was apparent that they were not brothers right now. "I don't have several days."

"I'm sorry." Axel looks him in the eye with little emotion. Apparently Quinn had found out he worked here - otherwise there would have been at least some remote surprise but there was none. "We can arrange a rental car for you, then once this is fixed, we can have it driven to your location and traded with the rental. Otherwise, you'll have to stay or have it towed somewhere else. It's up to you," he offers as he would to any passing customer. "We want to make sure you get where you're going."

"I bet you do." Quinn smirks a little. He was already in a sour mood from having to say goodbye to Anastasia, so this was just the type of afternoon he could expect.

"Look... I just gave you the facts. There's nothing more we can do here. The decision of what to do now is up to you."

Quinn was almost amused at that phrase. "We're still talking cars, right?"

Axel searches Quinn's eyes, quiet for a moment. Despite anger from this morning, deep down there still was a longing to rebuild any small portion of what they'd once had. He doesn't answer the question, but instead, gestures towards his brother. "Your dogtags are showing," he mentions quietly.

Quinn glances down to see they'd slipped out from under his shirt. Fingering them for a moment, he hides them again before returning to Axel's gaze.

Though Axel's stomach turns, the question won't be withheld. "Why do you still wear them?"

Quinn swallows hard. "In memory of a fallen brother."

Axel finally drops his gaze. Maybe this really was impossible. "Maybe he didn't fall but was simply left behind."

"He was declared dead."

"Many prisoners of war are."

Quinn chews on the inside of his lip. What were the odds that he would have his car brought to this particular shop on this particular day and have Axel be one of the mechanics working on it? He didn't want to acknowledge that it was God, but it was hard to get around that one. "Most prisoners of war don't resurface."

Axel blinks once before looking back up again. "Who said I wasn't still held captive?"

"By guilt?"

"By accusations." Axel's tone was calm this time... he was too tired from earlier to become angry. Searching his brother's eyes, he speaks again, quietly. "What happened, Quinn? Why did you throw me to the wolves?"

Quinn's discomfort rises and he folds his arms. "I'll stay in town until you find the problem with my car," he states flatly, swinging the conversation back around. "The other mechanic has my phone number. Just let me grab some stuff from my car and I'll call a taxi to take me to a hotel."


Alec murmurs his pleasure received from Ryan's attention and he holds her closely, his arms rubbing her back or his hands running through her hair. How long ago was it that he would have scoffed at such a little romance? He couldn't remember... nor did he care. This was different... different than a one night fling... different than the shallow relationships he'd had with other women - if they could even be called relationships. This was more... even though he and Ryan didn't cross the line, there was still more and Alec couldn't get enough.

Drawing back to catch his breath, he grins up at Ryan, giving her an extra kiss on the nose. Shifting in the grass, he turns on his side, depositing Ryan onto her back beside him and he props himself up on an elbow, his other arm draped across her. A little yellow wildflower was just within reach, so he plucks it and tucks it in her hair above her ear. Still smiling, he gives her another kiss, a little more tender this time.

"Ya know... I think I figured something out. That freedom I've been chasing..." He searches her eyes, his own gaze holding so many thoughts and feelings that had yet to see the light of day. "It's you."

Feeling just a little silly after saying it, his face reddens and he laughs then dives to kiss up her neck until he's reached her lips again, though he's still grinning. "You better swat me," he warns. "I might misbehave."


Kip manages a little smile and lets their hands stay connected as they walk back to the building entrance again. Once there, he sets his hand on the handle to open the door, but pauses instead and turns to look down at Karla.

"I... sometimes have a hard time with... you know... other people encouraging me and stuff but, um..." He shrugs, his gaze falling to the sidewalk. "I guess... well, thanks. I might act like I ignore what you say but... but you do make me feel really good."

Glancing back up again, he nods. He'd sort of messed things up between them before they'd come to Nevada, so he was extra careful now, not sure if Karla wanted more than friendship or not, or if he would even not mess things up again. Either way, he liked having her around... she was a good friend and sometimes Kip would rather spend time with her than the others.

A little hesitantly, he lifts his hand to cradle her cheek with his palm. "I'm... I'm glad that you're here."


Wayne grins as Jackie takes a cookie and he nods. "Uh-huh. Now you're a partner in crime."

Looking back out through the big window, he watches in thought for several minutes. "Yeah... yeah, I think we'll make the deadline. If they can focus just a little more. I'm not knocking them, ya know? They're really good and I think they'll make a go of it. They're just still fresh so it'll take a while to get routines down and stuff."

He shrugs and finishes off his cookie, leaning back in his chair. "Erik seems to like hanging out in here..." He lets the statement linger, not daring to look over at Jackie.