Mingle

Erik leans his elbows on the table, and cocks his head at Jackie, seeming to let the others just fade into the background. "Yeah... yeah, it is." He takes a sip of his pop and grins a little. "As you can see, the quiet can be hard to come by with this bunch."

He searches Jackie's eyes for a moment before sitting back again and scanning the room. "Any good quiet spots in the area?"


Pete gets Trey out and into his car, giving him a sidelong glance as he starts the engine. "Up at the lake. About half an hour from here. Good spot."

Peeling out of the parking lot, once on the road, he cranks the radio's rock station, which provides the noise for the ride out of town and to the lake. It was good and dark by now, and when they reach the lake, Pete bypasses the parking lot to hit a lane that led to a less-used lot where a bonfire was burning brightly. There was a small crowd milling. Someone had a boombox with music going and people were laughing and chatting. A couple tables were set up with food and drinks and someone was grilling. A quick headcount would bring an estimate of about fifty people.

Parking nearby, Pete cuts the motor and looks to Trey with a grin. "Here we are. Come on."

Getting out and making sure Trey was with him, Pete wanders over to the group, tucking his keys in his pocket.

"Yo, Pete!" A couple guys approach him with enthusiasm, greeting him with handshakes. "What's up, man? Who's with you?"

Pete smiles. "Hey, guys. This is my friend, Trey. Trey, this is Wade and Dirk."

"Hey, hey." Dirk grins and extends his hand to Trey. "Any friend of Pete's is a friend of hours. Make yourself at home."

Pete gestures with his head to Trey. "Come on." Leading the way into the little crowd, more people greet Pete with just as much enthusiasm, proving he was respected here. He takes his time before getting to the food and grabbing himself a hamburger, motioning Trey to do the same if he wanted. "Oh, and...." He takes a bite, still talking. "Over here, we have the lovely Ariel."

A young, slender woman with her dark hair pulled back into a braid looks up from the other side of the table where she was just grabbing a can of pop. She smiles. "Hi, Pete. What's up?"

"Just wanted you to say hi to my friend Trey here. He's a newbie so if you see him wandering aimlessly, you might wanna grab him and keep him company or something."

Ariel smirks at Pete, but humor dances in her eyes as they reflect the bonfire. She gives Trey a once over and nods. "I can do that. Don't call me a mermaid and I won't call you a lunchroom utensil."

Pete chuckles and gives Trey's shoulder a pat. "Have fun. I'm gonna mingle."


Holding Libby closely, Ty just enjoys the moment. He didn't get to see her quite as much now that she was living with Dani, so any time they were able to spend just the two of them seemed even more special.

Pulling back a little, Ty runs his hand down her cheek and smiles. "Sleep well. You can leave the door partway open if you want, in case you need anything in the night."

He squeezes her hand one last time, then reluctantly retreats to the adjoining room, going to his bed and flopping down.

Rick sets aside the book he was reading and rolls over to look at Ty, a little smile on his face. "Nervous?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Don't be. It'll be fine tomorrow."

"Yeah." Ty hoped so. He just wanted to find a solution... but his unvoiced fear was that there was nothing to be done and he would feel stupid for the rest of his life.

"Get some sleep," Rick advises as he goes to wash up in the small bathroom. "We got a long day ahead of us."


Jason's eyes flutter open and for a moment he feels dazed until he realizes he'd fallen asleep while watching television. He'd felt lethargic for two days, but tonight seemed to be better. He'd felt utterly useless for two days too, needing Katie around just to help keep an eye on Destiny since he was in no shape to do it himself. He hated feeling useless, but he'd done his best at letting Destiny know he was fine and nothing was really wrong.

Yawning, he stretches and looks around the living room. Destiny had probably gone to bed already - or at least to her room for the night. And Katie... He nudges her with his foot and rolls onto his back, letting both bare feet rest on her lap. He gives her a sleepy smile.

Sorry I fell asleep again. I've been a lively one, haven't I?

He yawns again.

Tomorrow... tomorrow I'll be back to normal.


Scott sits on the hospital bed, his knees to his chest as he rocks. The nightmares were worse than sessions with Justin... they skewed reality and brought memories he never wanted to face again.

"Shh... you're okay." Jenny sits next to him and gently rubs his back, having been summoned after Scott's scream had alerted the whole floor of the medical wing.

"No, I'm not," he mutters as a tear rolls down his cheek. "I'll never be okay."

"Aw, now that's not true. Look at you... you've gained two pounds and tomorrow you get to go back to your own room again. Justin says you're doing well and even Doctor Hawks says you're improving." Jenny tries to get him to see her smile. "There's always hope, Scott... no matter what."

Scott sniffs and swipes his eyes, his rocking ceasing for now. Hope. Jenny was talking about actual hope, though his mind thought of the woman he loved anyway. Was she still sick? How was she doing? Was she really waiting for him just like Dalton said? "What kind of future is this?" he mutters helplessly.

Jenny furrows her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I... I mean... how would you like it if... if... well, if you had some guy who always had these nightmares? What kind of a future would that be for the both of you?" His face grows warm. "I mean... like, together... and..."

Jenny's smile returns, more gently this time and she puts her arm around his shoulders. She understood now. "If I had a man I loved enough to marry... then whatever he went through - even if he woke me up every night with a terrible nightmare... it would still be worth it. Love looks beyond those things, Scott. I'd have an awful lot he'd have to put up with too, and I'd be so grateful that he chose me, that I'd do anything for him - even stay up every night."

Another tear trickles down Scott's face and he leans his head in Jenny's shoulder. She was one of the few friends he'd made here. "But I'm so weak."

"No you're not. Look at me." Jenny moves him so he will look her in the eye. "You're weak here." She motions gently to his blind eye. "And you're weak here." She touches his arm. "And you're week here." She touches his stomach, then looks into his eyes with compassion. "But it's what's in here that counts." She lays a hand on his chest. "Your heart is so strong, and that's what matters the most. Any woman who truly loves you won't care if your body gives out on you. It's your heart she wants."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." Jenny's smile remains. "And it's true for all your friends, too. That big friend of yours... Dalton? You think he comes because you can out-muscle him?" She shakes her head. "He comes because you're his friend and because of your heart. And your sister? You think she cares just because of what you've accomplished in the past or because of what you might have to offer? No... she comes because she loves you and because she knows what's inside of you. Do you understand?"

"I think so."

"Good." Jenny slides off the bed and gently lays Scott back down again, pulling his blanket up over him. "Don't worry so much," she prompts softly. "If you've got a girl who's waiting for you... you can believe that nothing after this will seem too bad at all."

Sighing, Scott turns onto his side as Jenny leaves, to look at the little blue and green lava lamp in the corner. Jenny had brought it to him so he'd have a light at night and it helped. Was she right about the way others felt about him? And was it true for Hope as well? Would she really put up with all that was wrong with him now? Could he really be the man she wanted? Could he really be strong enough for her, even with so many things that were weak about him? He wanted to be able to take care of her, not the other way around. But if he did need help the rest of his life, was she really willing to do it? And if she was, could he swallows his pride enough to allow it?

Closing his eyes, he tries to fall back to sleep. In a few hours it would be time to rise, then Justin would be here again.