The least of these

Quinn's eyes never leave Anastasia's face as she speaks. Her words hit way too close to home, but he doesn't move his gaze, nor does he allow himself to become agitated. When she finishes, silence reigns, but his eyes remain on hers for several moments more until he finally glances down to sip his coffee.

"Wow." He clears his throat and grins a little, leaning his elbows on the table. "You, um... are quite..." He searches for the right word. "Intuitive."

He swirls around his coffee for several seconds, thinking about what she had said. "I... always believed my brother was guilty," he admits. "The evidence, the witnesses, everything... it all pointed to him, and the only lame excuse he could come up with was that maybe he was sleepwalking and didn't know what he'd been doing." Quinn scoffs and shakes his head. "Even if that baloney was true, it still shows his true character." He sighs. "Naw... Axel said over and over again he was innocent, but who wouldn't? DNA proved it was him, so..." He shrugs. "That's the kind of brother I wound up with."

Sipping his coffee again, he continues to think, looking back at Anastasia once more. "God, huh?" He cocks his head. "You speak pretty strongly about that." He searches her eyes to find if she really believed what she spoke, and it was apparent that she did. "Refreshing. Usually I get a load of crap about destiny and fate."

Continuing to work on his coffee, he nods slowly. "I... am staying in town only because I was too shocked to say anything else to the person I gave my number to. Had I thought it through... I woulda kept right on driving. But I'm a man of my word, so I'll stick around the few days I promised. Not that Axel's going to call me... I think he probably feels about me the same way I feel about him. It's probably best the whole thing has just been buried and left behind."

Quinn's eyes lower as he runs his finger around the rim of his cup. He glances up again with a new look in his eye: fear. "You're right though." It was hard admitting it aloud, even to a stranger. "Part of me does want to see my brother again. I guess that's what scares me the most - knowing deep down that God's got his hand in this - there's too many coincidences - ... and if he does, he'll see to it that I don't leave town without at least talking to Axel. I just can't believe God wanted me here just so I could have another Ricky Nelson record."

He tries to grin, but it comes out a tad crooked. "Or maybe... he just wanted us to meet so I could hear again about who's really in control." He nods to her. "Thank you... Anastasia. You've helped "the least of these" tonight and... I'm grateful." He meant it too. She'd provided him with a distraction and a good reminder as well.

Taking another swig of coffee, he sets it down to cup it between his hands, feeling the warmth. A soft laugh comes out and his eyes rise once more to hers. "I'm enjoying your company too much to want to leave yet, but my coffee is almost done. How about you tell me how you got to be so smart, and I'll drink slowly?"


Jason gives Destiny a kind smile. "I promise I won't leave. And I always keep my promises."

He nods. "We can go to your parents' house tomorrow and you can do whatever you need to - even take a hot bath." He smiles again. "Let's just take it one day at a time, okay? Things will change, and you will get your life back - I know you will. It's just going to have to be gradual."

Giving her an encouraging wink, he opens the door. "Come on. I hear the discount store in the mall calling our names."