Bad judgment call

Receiving the kiss to the lips then her nose, Jade giggles and tightens her grip around Dan's waist. "Mmm... I'm doing quite well, thank you." She grins and closes her eyes to nuzzles her face into his neck. She loved how he smelled of horses, leather and hard work.

Sighing with content, she finally lifts her head and moves around to stand in front of him instead, reaching up to tip his hat back just a little. "Wife to be... I don't think I'll ever get tired of that. Well, until after we're married that is. Then I suppose the "to be" would be outdated." She giggles again and stands on her tip toes to give him another kiss. "Sparky and Faith are engaged," she whispers. "Shhh."

Still grinning, her eyes dance. "They are so adorable and I've never seen Sparky so happy."


Justin grins at Beth's comment, making the dry pasta wriggle between his teeth. "Ma always got after me for chewing on the pasta she was trying to cook - I guess now it's a habit since I'm out of reach of her swatting."

Sighing, his demeanor changes and he shifts slightly though remains with arms folded at the counter after removing the piece of pasta from his mouth. "Yeah..." A lot had happened in one day - it felt like a week had gone by. Scott's first rejection had been like a kick in the gut, then later when taking him back, Scott had told him not to come back. When it really came down to it, Justin felt like a failure.

"I guess I made a bad judgment call and... Scott asked me not to come back." He shrugs lamely, unable to keep his face from showing how much it bothered him. "Unless something drastic happens, I doubt I'll be asked to return. Dr. Hawks might want me to but... I won't unless Scott agrees." He had several different ideas running through his mind, but hadn't sorted any of them out yet, and didn't know if any would even work anyway. He'd made a blunder out of this one alright.

Looking to Beth, he forces a smile. "Guess you'll have to keep that bench warm so it doesn't get lonely."


Alec stands for another awkward moment before finally turning and leaving Sapphire alone with Gage again. He didn't know what else to say and he didn't want to intrude anymore either. Ambling down the halls and finally back outside, he sits on his motorcycle for a few minutes, lost in thought. Eventually, he starts the engine and dons his helmet before pulling away.

It doesn't take him long to arrive at TJY, but upon entering, he's almost sorry he came. It was more chaotic than he'd ever seen. It seemed hardly anyone was on the main floor, but those who were, were running around like chickens with their heads cut off while Reese was spewing orders from the other end.

Meandering a little further into the chaos, Alec spies Susanne. "Hey, what's all the commotion?"

Strands of Susanne's hair were falling down in her face and she tries to blow them out of the way, her arms full of paperwork. "Seriously? Alec, what are you doing here?"

"Well, hi to you too."

She smirks. "Reese won't be happy to see you hanging around. Jason's on watchdog duty, Nate's still out with Laura, Con and Jamie took a few days off for that whole thing, we're losing Hope, Rick and Ty are out of town, Gunner's playing hookie who knows where, Pete's out on a stakeout and Sapphire's gone to look after Gage, of whom Reese has had no time to even check about because he's been here trying to hold down the fort while making me fill in all the gaps!" Huffing, Susanne blinks at Alec. "Any more questions?"

Alec's eyes are wide and he takes a step back. "Um. No. Don't think so, thanks. But somebody should prolly go see Gage sometime. Sapphire was kinda sore about that."

Susanne quirks an eyebrow. "You saw her?"

"Yeah. Just came from the hospital."

Susanne softens just a little. "How's Gage?"

"Not good if he's suppose to be awake. Apparently I'm the only one that's showed up. Guess the guy still hasn't made any friends anywhere."

Susanne's eyes narrow. "Well I'm sure it's not from lack of trying. Not everybody just manipulates their way into people's lives."

"Now what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Sorry. Just... thank you, Alec. I'll tell Reese you saw Gage."

Alec stands lamely as Susanne walks away before he shrugs then aims down the hall away from the mess. Moseying to Dalton's office, he sees the door partway open, so enters after a quick knock with his knuckles. "Hey, Hulk, I..." His voice trails off as he realizes that his big friend isn't alone.

Dani had been sitting in the empty chair next to Dalton, having stopped by for just a few moments on her way from work. Her eyes had now snapped to Alec and were slightly wide. "I thought you weren't here anymore."

Alec smirks. "I'm not. Apparently this was a bad time to show up at all."

Dani can feel her face growing hot. "Apparently." It wasn't so much that her conversation with Dalton had been interrupted, but seeing her half-brother again was not something she'd expected or wanted. Ever since he'd manipulated her into setting him free that one time, she couldn't care less what happened to him and did not want to socialize.

Alec rolls his eyes, seeing the ire in Dani's gaze. "You women hold grudges for a long time, don't you?"

"What do you care?"

"I guess I don't." It was a lie, but Alec wasn't about to admit that there were days he wanted to get to know his sister. He stares at Dani until she lowers her eyes first, then he focuses on Dalton. "I had a free afternoon... thought you might need some help with something. But... if you're busy, I'll just leave."


The sun was setting. And for yet another evening, Quinn found himself in the same small city. The Coffee Bean was quiet and the coffee was good as he tried to drink enough to stay awake for his next attempt at leaving. After having helped the old man on the road, he'd wound up giving him a ride back to the car to pick up some personal items, then taking him to the store, then home where he "had" to stay for a meal as payment, then take the man to the auto shop to pick up the now-fixed car. After all that, it had already been dark and Quinn had found himself back at the little coffee shop where he'd been with Anastasia. Tonight though, the booth opposite him was empty... too empty. He should have just left town without stopping but... for some reason, he hadn't.

Downing the rest of his coffee, he sighs and checks his watch. If he left now, he could make it to a hotel by the time he got too tired and he'd rest for a night then head out again early. With any luck, he'd actually get to his destination before going mad.

As he steps outside under the stars though, Quinn finds himself staring up at them. And for a moment, it felt as though his feet were magnets attracted to the sidewalk. Still staring upward, he sighs. "Now what, hmm? I met a girl... said hi to my brother... what else am I supposed to do? Haven't I done everything You wanted me to do?"

The answer in the stillness was not what Quinn expected. "Naw, that's just a passing thought, right? You didn't actually mean for me to..." He scoffs and shakes his head before throwing up his arms. "Just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder. Okay, fine. But pretty soon, I'm liable to go mad - You realize this, right?"

Just over half an hour later, he was staring up at the same stars. But this time while seated on a large rock protruding out from the pier. The gentle sloshing of water was lulling and he couldn't help but hum. He was alone out here - no one else was here this late, and the sounds of traffic were far away. And for a rare moment or two, without trying, the positive aspects about this area began to add up in his mind...

...Morning. The night hadn't been spent as planned. Instead of waking up in a hotel bed, Quinn was hosting aches from sleeping curled in his car all night. After yet another visit to the Coffee Bean though, he was waking up and feeling quite insane for still being here. It really was ridiculous and he was just as confused as ever as to why he really was. But every time he thought about trying to leave again, the silent answer came back: "Not yet."

Wandering through the door of the shop, Quinn's steps are slow and quiet as he ambles around the shelves, taking in the scent he'd enjoyed when been here a couple days ago. Spotting movement over by the counter, he goes the other way, heading to the section where he'd found the Ricky Nelson album.

Flipping through some old records, he starts to hum an old but familiar tune and one that now was a reminder of something special. Continuing to hum to the inaudible music, his voice finally comes through as he knows the words will carry just far enough to gain the attention of one person in particular. "Little things I should have said and done, I just never took the time. You were always on my mind... You were always on my mind."