Boredom

Alec swivels back and forth on the stool as he sits at the counter in Mom and Pop's. It was quiet around here... too quiet. If there were more people, he could stir up some trouble or at least eavesdrop on some juicy gossip. As it was, there were only a couple people in the corner, then some old lady along the wall that was eating her late lunch slower than he'd ever seen anyone eat. Flirting with Aerith was out of the question - if Wyatt found out, he'd be dead, and if Ryan found out, he'd be deader. He couldn't pick on Thirteen - she wasn't here, but even if she was, she looked a bit frightened of him to begin with. Carson wasn't here to bug - it was Herb in the kitchen just for while so Carson could run errands. And thus... Alec sat.

He sighs and takes another sip of his half-empty glass of Coke. It really was his days off that he hated, as ironic as it was. He knew he couldn't go bug Ryan at work too often or she'd get into trouble - Gage was either sleeping or with Sapphire... not that he'd want to hang out with him anyway. The races were tonight, but... that was tonight. Misty was at work and he certainly didn't want to bug her there. Reese let him go work with Dalton sometimes, but he really didn't feel like sitting in Scott's shadow today. And... that was the extent of his options. Why he'd ended up here, he wasn't sure. Usually he tried to avoid Carson. Maybe there was an ornery part of him that just wanted to see how his brother would handle him being here, but just his luck, even that wasn't happening. He wasn't hungry, so he'd simply opted to get something to drink. He'd have to come earlier the next time to get in on a little more action.

The bell over the door caught his attention and he looks over his shoulder, surprised to see a lone little girl. The denim jacket she wore seemed to be several sizes too big, and her blonde ponytail had seen better days. Alec did think it strange she was here by herself, but who was he to judge? He turns back around and takes another sip of his pop, chewing on the straw for no apparent reason.

A few seconds later, an accidental bump to his elbow turns his head again and he sees the little girl pulling herself up on the stool next to him. Catching his gaze, she stares straight into his eyes.

Alec returns the stare, a little annoyed, but more intrigued and even amused. "Got a problem?" he asks dryly.

She shakes her head. "No."

He straightens and turns a little more to face her, cocking his head. "Then do I have antennas sticking out of my head or what?"

The little girl quirks an eyebrow. "No."

Alec was a little disappointed she didn't even crack a smile. There was something odd about her though. She almost seemed familiar. But that couldn't be - it wasn't as if he hung around kids that often. He tries to figure it out, now seeing the little dirt smudges on her cheek and noting how thin and pale she looked.

She continues to study him for a few more moments before speaking again. "You look a lot like my dad."

His eyebrows rise. "Oh, really? Well then... your dad must be a pretty good looking guy."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself."

Alec laughs outright. "Touché."

"What's that mean?"

"It means..." Alec furrows his brow. "Well... I guess it's just something grownups say when they've been bested."

The girl finally shows a faint smile. Turning her attention away, she cranes her neck to see into the kitchen but seems disappointed as she sits back again.

Alec searches her face but doesn't find much. He looks around the restaurant again, thinking by now someone would have shown up to claim her, but no one else had come in. "Hey... you a runaway?"

Her eyes snap angrily back to his. "No," she retorts sharply. "I'm just thirsty."

"Hey, okay." Alec holds up his hands in defense. "You got any money?"

Her anger turns into timidness as her gaze drops. "Um... no."

"Uh-huh." Alec sighs and looks around. Aerith was busy chatting with the old lady and Herb was still busy in the kitchen. Sliding off the stool, he springs up onto the counter, swinging his legs around and landing on the other side. Grabbing a small glass, he goes for the soda pop. "What'll you have?"

The girl eyes him suspiciously. "You're not gonna steal that, are you?"

"Of course not." Alec rolls his eyes and fishes some change from his pocket. "See?" He deposits it by the register. "Now what do you like?"

"Orange and Coke."

"You've got to be kidding me."

She shakes her head.

"Well okay then. Half and half?"

"Mostly Coke. Just a little orange."

Alec shakes his head this time. "Curiouser and curiouser."

The girl almost giggles. "Alice in Wonderland."

Alec grins as he fills the glass and returns it to her, then swings up and over the counter again. "Does that mean you think I look like a little girl in a blue dress?"

She shakes her head, taking a long sip of her pop, proving how thirsty she'd been. "No." She cocks her head. "Maybe the mad hatter."

"Ha!" Alec sits back down again and retrieves his own pop. "You have a quick wit, I'll give you that." Fiddling with his straw wrapper, he reaches over the counter again, grabbing a plastic spoon. Tearing off a bit of the wrapper and squishing it into a little ball, he places it on the very end of the spoon handle. Turning it to the open window area into the kitchen, he slaps the spoon's shovel and catapults the paper ball into the air. It arcs too high though and ends up hitting the wall above the window and falling to the floor.

The little girl squints at him. "I could do better."

"Oh, really?" Alec mimics a cocky air. "Well, Blondie, here." He hands her the spoon and tears off another piece of straw wrapper to make the ball for her.

"My name's not Blondie," she retorts, taking the spoon and ball.

"Well what is your name?"

"Mackenzie." She takes careful aim and lets the wrapper fly. She did get closer than Alec to the window, but as hers bounces off the corner, it goes straight for someone's glass of water behind the counter - perhaps Aerith's or Herb's. Mackenzie's eyes widen and she crouches down, looking around sheepishly to make sure no one had seen.

Alec snickers and takes back the catapult. "If you're gonna stir up trouble, you gotta do it the right way," he chides. This time, his aim was at the old lady's table. Aerith had disappeared for the moment, so he lets the paper ball fly. And as it lands in the old lady's hair, he turns back around quickly, trying not to laugh too loudly and give himself away.

Mackenzie slaps a hand over her mouth and hides behind him. "I think she thought it was a bug," she whispers in between giggles.

"Here. Now you pick a target."

Back and forth, Alec and Mackenzie tried to outdo each other, sometimes hitting their targets and sometimes not. Just as Mackenzie lets her last one fly though, it spins out of control and winds up going behind her towards the door. Twirling around, her eyes go wide as the little paper ball hits the man who had walked in the door only moments before. The plastic spoon drops from her hand and she slowly slides from the stool. "Dad."

"Dad?!" Alec's own eyes widen as he looks between Carson and Mackenzie. "Dad?"

Carson blinks and stares at them both for a moment before his eyes lock with his daughter's. "Mackenzie?"

"You... you still remember my name."

"Of course I do." Carson continues to look at her with shock. "What are you doing here? And what..." He points to Alec. "What are you doing with him?"

"We... we were just playing a game." She bites her lip. "I'm sorry."

Carson's mind spins and he glares at his brother. "You got an explanation here, Alec?"

"I-"

"You know him?" Mackenzie interrupts.

"Yes." Carson folds his arms across his chest. "And how did you two meet?"

"She just walked in here," Alec defends. "I bought her something to drink and we were having a great time until some ugly buttface came in and ruined the fun."

Mackenzie chokes on a giggle that wanted to come out so badly.

Carson's eyes narrow. "Who brought you here, Mac? Why are you here?"

As quickly as the humor had entered her eyes, it was gone, replaced by tears that lingered just on the verge of overflowing. "I guess you still don't wanna see me, huh?"

Carson sighs, closing his eyes for a moment to keep his cool and maintain his composure. One couldn't blame him for his shock. "That has nothing to do with it." He kneels down to be at her eye-level. "But remember the last time?" he asks a little more gently. Her screaming and crying as she was dragged from this very restaurant and him being slapped into handcuffs was still a very vivid memory for him.

Mackenzie's eyes drop. "But this time no one tricked me," she murmurs.

Carson glances back up to Alec. "You didn't have a thing to do with this?"

"I swear." Alec holds up his hands. He only knew a little bit about the history here, so he wasn't quite sure what was going on. But one thing was definite... a new kind of feeling had suddenly slipped into his heart and latched on with a death grip. He looks down at Mackenzie with new eyes as a little grin emerges. "So she's-"

"Yes." Carson stands back up again. "Now if you wouldn't mind leaving..."

Mackenzie is confused by her father's new, colder tone and she looks back and forth between the two men for a moment. "But... but he didn't do anything. And you said you know him."

"I do, but-"

"I'm the black sheep of the family, Kid," Alec responds.

"Family?" Mackenzie's eyes connect with his once again. "You're... family?"

"In a manner of speaking. I'm your dad's half-brother."

Mackenzie's eyes widen. "You're my uncle!"

Whether he meant to let it show or not, Alec's mouth curls into a smile. "I guess I am."

Carson sees the look on Mackenzie's face, and he sees the smile on Alec's. And something inside of him twisted just a little bit more. "Alec, please leave."

"But, Dad, I want to-"

"He's not good company," Carson cuts her off tersely.

Mackenzie crosses her arms. "That's what they said about you."

Alec would have laughed, had his brother's words not stung. But they did, and he knew it was best to leave. "I'm going," he relents quietly. Making sure he still had his wallet and keys, he aims for the door, throwing Mackenzie a little wave. "Nice to meet ya, Kid."

"Goodbye, Alec." Her eyes follow him out until he's gone and then she looks back up at Carson again. "I'm sorry." Her lower lip trembles. "I just thought... I wanted to..." So tired, worn out and afraid, the tears finally come. Just letting them run down her face, her eyes fall to the floor and she sniffs, sobbing softly but trying to stand so bravely.

A chunk of Carson's heart seems to chip off completely and after a moment of hesitation, he lowers himself to one knee again and takes her small hands in his. "It's okay, don't cry," he tries to comfort. He wipes away some of her tears, but it doesn't seem to do any good. Glancing around, he sees Aerith, and knew that she was probably the only one that would recognize Mackenzie. His look of helplessness is passed on to her before he focuses back on the little girl in front of him.

Not wanting to make any more of a scene than it already was, he stands up again and leads Mackenzie by the hand back to the little room down the hall. Sitting her on the bed and kneeling in front of her, he just lets her cry, feeling terribly confused. "I'm sorry." His tone was much gentler now. "I didn't mean to upset you. You just... you just surprised me."

Mackenzie sniffs and wipes her eyes with her jacket sleeve. "If... if you don't want me here, I'll leave."

"No... no, I'm not gonna throw you out." Carson roll his eyes. He certainly hadn't expected this - he'd already figured he'd never see her again, so shock wasn't even the half of it. But that didn't mean he'd just send her back out on the street. Reaching over to the little nightstand, he grabs a tissue and dabs her eyes. "Now... you gonna tell me what's going on?" His worst fear was a repeat of being accused of kidnapping.

Mackenzie sniffs again, remaining silent while her eyes roam the floor.

It's only now that Carson takes note of her pale face and dark circles under her eyes. Fatherly instincts kick in and his thumb wipes off a smudge of dirt on her face before he tucks a couple unruly strands of hair behind her ear. "You gotta tell me, Mac," he prompts quietly. "Please."

Finally her eyes lock with his - blue steel meeting blue steel. "Can I have a hug?" she whispers.

Carson's heart lurches. He felt no less awkward than he had the last time they'd met. Showing affection to anyone but his sister and wife, let alone a child, was not something he was accustomed to, nor was he even sure how. But the tiny spot in his heart that had softened the first time he'd seen his daughter had, perhaps, had time to grow as the months had passed. Perhaps there was a little less fear and a little more love, even if he didn't yet realize it.

Giving in to the paternal urge, he rises to sit next to her and pulls her into a warm, strong hug. She folds into him, sobbing into his chest. Carson rocks her gently and runs his hand over her head. "Shh... it's okay... you're okay."

It was probably fifteen minutes that passed before Mackenzie's sobs grew quiet and her breathing slowed. After several moments of silence, Carson realizes that he little girl had cried herself into an exhausted sleep. Not knowing what else to do, he carefully lays her down on the bed and covers her up with a blanket. It's only then that he notices a scar on her neck. He didn't think he'd seen that before - it didn't look all that old.

Backing away, he stands in the doorway for a few moments, just watching her sleep. And quite unexpectedly, his own tears well up in his eyes. He had resigned this part of his life... and now it had returned. For how long, he didn't know, but it felt even harder this time.

Swallowing hard, he swipes at his eyes, not wanting anyone else to see this emotional display. He wasn't even sure why the tears had come in the first place. Perhaps because he was staring at eleven fragile years that he had completely missed... eleven fragile years filled with grief for which he blamed himself... eleven fragile years that never should have been.

Carson knew he needed to find out what was going on, and find out fast. He needed to find out what Mackenzie's story was and find out how she got here. He needed to call the police and/or social services to ensure he wasn't blamed for kidnapping. But for the moment...he didn't have the heart to wake Mackenzie. Phone calls could wait for just a little while.

Finally turning away, he leaves the door open and heads for the kitchen to relieve Herb. Entering, he leans back against the wall and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly and trying to get his head back on straight. It wasn't easy though. "My daughter just showed back up again," he announces lamely. "She's asleep in the bedroom."

Running a hand through his hair, he grabs his baseball cap and slaps it on, retrieving his apron as well. Misty... he needed to call Misty too and let her know what was happening, but he'd rather wait until she was out of work to disturb her. "What's God doing to me, Herb? I don't understand what He wants." Turning, he leans back against the counter, letting the dirty dishes sit for now. Folding his arms, he sighs. "Logic is screaming at me to call the police, but my heart is warning me to wait. I don't know what to do."


Pete's shoulders start to drop as he hears Nikki start to decline. But when he hears her mother's voice in the background and she changes her mind, he grins. "Don't go anywhere."

He stands and slips on his leather jacket, keeping her on the phone. "I'm on my way as we speak. I'll get the pleasure of seeing your mom and on top of that, getting you alone in my car."

He stops, rethinking what he'd just said, and laughs sheepishly. "Or... something like that. Never mind. Just don't leave - I'm a lonely man, desperate for your company."

As he heads from his cubicle, still talking on his cell phone, he brushes past Gunner who bats his eyes and puckers his lips. Pete gives him a hearty whack to the arm and keeps walking, fishing for his keys at the same time.

It only takes him a few minutes to get to the house and park his convertible out front. Hopping out, he ambles up the walk then knocks and enters, having quickly learned to just go ahead and go in, lest he get another chiding from Carol about him being welcome there any time.

"Honey, I'm home!" he calls teasingly.


Ryder leans his head into Thirteen's hand and his eyes close for their short exchange of affection. To have these feelings returned to him of her own freewill brought the warmest sensation to his heart. She had come here almost as if she were a little girl trapped in a woman's body, stunted by the Agency. And now... now she was becoming that woman in her own right, standing on her own two feet, learning and evolving into someone capable and willing to love. She had longings, dreams and passions - all of which had been locked away for so long. But now they were being allowed to bloom, and every day she grew... and every day, Ryder's heart loved her just a little bit more.

Pulling away, he smiles and reaches up a finger to give her a teasing little tap on her nose. "I'm glad I make you feel good - that's what I'm aiming for, ya know."

Turning towards the refrigerator at Thirteen's request for cheese, he suddenly stops and can't help the laughter that slips out. Throwing quite a silly grin over his shoulder, he shakes his head, finally ceasing his laughing. "Trust me - unless you want me to clear the room, you do not want me to cut the cheese."


Jason could feel the slight discomfort at Katie's little tugs on his emotions and he quirks an eyebrow. He didn't know Eric as well as his family, for sure, but this new development did seem a little unlike the Pent brother.

Trent and Jeff exchange blank looks before looking back to Katie dumbly. Jeff finally shakes his head. "He was back at the ranch about... I don't know... three weeks ago?"

Trent nods. "Yeah."

"He... never said a word about a woman." Jeff's expression was one of bafflement. "That's... interesting."

Trent shrugs. "Stranger things have happened, I guess."

"Well, yeah but... you'd think we woulda heard something, or... something." All Jeff can do is shrug too. "I guess we'll find out more tomorrow."