All by herself

Kip doesn't move, but his eyes do look up to see Karla, and he lets her kiss him on the cheek. "Hi," he greets quietly.

Taking another small spoonful of soup, he eats carefully, trying not to move his mouth around too much - it felt even more sore than the day before. But he'd found the pain killers that Erik had brought, so he was hoping those would help.

"Um... tomato soup," he replies, still quiet. "I put some cheese on it too. If... you want some, it's still on the stove."

Keeping his eyes lowered, he rests an elbow on the table, hunched over as he ate, as if trying to disappear from anyone's view. Gone was the energy. Gone was the spark.

He dips a cracker in his soup to soften it up and nibbles slowly. He hadn't really wanted to eat, but his stomach was grateful anyway. And maybe he'd be left alone for a while about eating.


"Wow..." Justin could hardly believe Danitza had gone looking for Beth. "I know I trained them well, but that was certainly a God thing." He grins. "I guess maybe I owe her an extra doggy treat next time we play."

Shaking his head, he marvels at the whole thing. Yes, God had been watching over him, ensuring he had a friend when he needed it the most.

He glances over to the clock on the wall, noting that it was still fairly early morning. He knew Beth probably had much to do, including going to see her sister, but he was confident he would be fine on his own today until she came back for supper.

"If you... wanna go now, I don't mind. I think I'll be okay for a while, and if not, I know your number." He gives her a wry grin. "Then hopefully by the time you get back, I'll have been able to take a shower. Though I'll probably wind up sleeping most of the day."


"You know my instincts have never steered me wrong..."
Eric's eyes narrow as his walk becomes heavier on his way to his rig. Rosetta might as well have said he was wrong and she was right. That's what she meant. If her instincts told her Dana was no good, then automatically she assumed she was right. Did she not remember times she had been wrong? She might have a keen sense of people's intentions, but no one was perfect - not even her. She might be good at reading people, but that didn't give her the right to wave it in his face as a reason he should listen to her. No... this time he didn't care what she thought. He knew Dana better than anyone else here and if they didn't want to accept the fact that they were in love, then that was their choice. He was going to do what he wanted - what his heart wanted.


Feeling his phone vibrating in his pocket, Mick sets aside his pitchfork and checks the number before answering. "Yeah, Hon. What's up?"

Hearing about Eric, he lets out a little groan. "Oh, we just... had a little disagreement." He gingerly touches his swollen lip that had finally stopped bleeding. "I'll tell you more later. Lunch sounds great - wouldn't wanna turn down a date with my wife." He smiles, even though Rosetta couldn't see him. "How about we go to town? I need to pick up a few things anyway. Was gonna send Dan but... might as well do it myself if you wanna go somewhere."


"Ha!" Jeff slaps down his last UNO card onto the coffee table to win the round. Sitting crosslegged on the floor, he does a little happy dance with his arms.

Ryder rolls his eyes, but can't help but laugh as he throws down the rest of his hand, which contained so many cards he never could have won. He glances to Thirteen with a silly grin. "I think your uncle is cheating."

"I am not!" Jeff points to Katie. "But she is. She's got her boyfriend right behind you guys telling her what cards y'all have."

From his seat in the corner of the couch, Jason's jaw drops. "What?! Never!" He was the only one not joining in the game of UNO, not quite feeling up to much activity. He'd slept through the night and by this morning was feeling better, but not well enough to go to work, so he'd been hanging around Katie's all day with the others, enjoying their company as a nice distraction from the troubles he was trying to ignore. "Katie cheats all by herself," he concludes with a nod.


"Good afternoon, Trey." Pete smiles from where he sat perched on the corner of the interrogation room table. He'd summoned Trey from the lower level and now made sure the door remained open to keep the room feeling less threatening.

"Have a seat." He gestures to one of the chairs, but remains casually seated on the table. Fingering a file in his hand, he thinks for a moment. "I wanted to talk to you."

Glancing in the file, he shuts it again, then tosses it aside. Sliding off the table, he wanders to the other side and pulls out a chair to sit across from Trey. Folding his hands, he studies the younger man for several moments. "I've got a story to tell... so just stay open minded, okay?" He grins a little, doing his best to keep the atmosphere light. It was obvious though, that this was more than a bedtime tale.

"A while back, there was a young woman in high school. She fell in love, made a few wrong choices and wound up pregnant." Pete keeps talking, wanting to make sure he reached his conclusion before Trey got too bored. "Her boyfriend broke up with her before he had a chance to know she was pregnant and she was too scared to tell him. Her parents found out though, and they kicked her out of the house. She had to drop out of high school and get a job to support herself, but getting rid of the baby wasn't an option. She had no insurance and couldn't even see a doctor. She was scared to death, and when she was finally in labor, she made it to a hospital on her own. Things didn't go well, and she had to have a c-section. When she woke up, the nurse presented her with a brand new baby boy."

He pauses, quirking an eyebrow. "Sweet story, right? But get this... No one told her she'd been carrying twins. A mob with an adoption, money-making racket were paying off doctors to snatch babies - this one was easy because the mother didn't even have to know that a second son ever existed. And she didn't. Ever. To her knowledge, she only had one son. And the other one..."

Another pause, and Pete searches Trey's eyes. He knew the young man was smart enough to figure out where this was going. For all he knew, Trey wouldn't care about any of this. But he could care, and could care very deeply. The last thing Pete wanted to do was upset him. "...The other one was adopted by a family in Mexico. He grew up around a drug racket and got pretty good at not getting caught being involved in anything - until recently. When his adoptive parents became fearful for his life, they sent him to Nevada."

Letting the story sink in, he takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "We know who your birth mother is, Trey... and your full-blooded brother. We knew it was only right to tell you the truth. However... what happens now is up to you. If you don't want to know anything about your real family, then we will respect that and you don't have to know any more than what I've just told you. Or..." He cocks his head. "If you do want to know more... we can tell you. There is still a lot we ourselves don't know and are trying to figure out, due to the nature of the situation. But... you can be in on it if you want. It's completely up to you, and you don't even have to decide today if you don't want."