Even Stressed

Locking up the shop for the night Chuck heads over to his motorcycle. Placing his helmet on his head he reaches into his pocket to take out his key. His hand bumps a CD case that was inside and makes him stop for a moment. In the little bit of his spair time he'd used some equipment at his church and recorded some songs onto the cd the soft 70 type of music the stuff he new Susanne liked. But she had been busy all week, or maybe she had been avoiding him. Either way she hadn't told him to leave her alone yet so maybe...just maybe she had been busy.

Pulling out his phone and dialing Susanne's number Chuck waits for her to answer. If she was still at work she should be getting off soon so he new there was a chance to see her. Hearing her voice on the other end Chuck can't help the grin that spreads across his face. Her voice though a little stressed was like a cool breeze to him.

"Why Hello, even when you voice is stressed it sounds like a soft rain that sings its lullaby. I was hoping we could get together. I'm in the area and I'll pick you up. We can grab something to eat."

Katie can't help but laugh at Jason's comment. Though she really didn't real all of his thoughts there was a great deal of things she new more than anyone else.

Like we would ever run out of things to talk about. That's just not possible, even if we know what each other is thinking.

Keeping up the conversation with Jason as they drove did prove to be easy. There was always something new to talk about and Katie never tired.

Finally pulling into the ranch Katie eyes everything as the smile grows a little on her face. They were home, she'd missed it here...and now they were back again. As Jason pulls up to the dinning hall Katie turns a little to smile and look at him for a long moment. She new this was going to be hard for him to tell his mom, but she new he'd was doing the right thing.

"Let me know how everything goes and tell you mom hi for me. Maybe before we leave if we have the time I'll come see her and you sister."

Leaning over Katie places a kiss on Jason lips letting it linger a long moment. She would more than likely not see him tomorrow so a parting gift was a must. Pulling away and giving a smile Katie gets out of the car.

Giving a wave Katie turns and heads inside. Looking around the dinning hall for a moment Katie's eyes land on her aunt. It had felt like it was so long.

Hearing the front door Rosetta looks up to see Katie. Getting a big smile on her face she stand from the table but before she can even say anything a little sequel can be heard from the other room and almost like thunder BJ comes running back everyone.

"Katieeeeeeee!!!"

Hearing BJ's voice and seeing him running twords her Katie bends down and scoops the small boy up in her arms placing a big kiss on his head.

"Hey there little man. Your getting big you know that?"

BJ just laughs at he wrapped his arms around Katie and buried his face into her shoulder.

"I"m guessing he missed you."

Rosetta smiles as she comes closer to her niece and gives her a kiss on the cheek. She was suprised to see Katie but it was a nice surprise non the less.

"It's good to see you again Katie."

Leaning back aganst Alec Ryan just soaks up his affection. There mean had been quiet but nice, and now they were just relaxing and enjoying each other company. Listing to him talk Ryan leans her head back on his chest. She could tell something had been bothing him and now with his comment she could only guess something had happened with his family.

"I still would of drove into the sun set with you."

Turning just a little to look up into Alec's eyes Ryan gives a smile. She never complained about where she lived or her job but deep inside a sunset would of been nice. Getting away from everything and just starting all over again. It would have been nice.

"What happened today that made you wish you had gone?"

Jason laughs aloud and shakes his head. "Man, did I do some stupid things." He really had, come to think of it. But at the time, everything had seemed to make perfect sense. Even his idea of stealing Pete's car to drive to Nevada. Surely there had been a better way to handle things. But no - he and Katie had to be the rebels and prove something or other. And maybe... there was still some of that left somewhere on the inside of both of them.

His emotions speak for themselves and he grins as he keeps his eyes on the road. Katie would know what he was thinking. There were times when he closed her off from more personal feelings, but he'd gotten used to simply knowing that when he didn't, she'd be aware of everything. There were rarely surprises, though she could surprise him much more easily than he could her. It didn't seem to matter anymore though. Some days it still felt like a curse, and other days, like today, Jason was quite content.

Quit reading my mind. I'll have nothing left to talk about.

He wriggles her hand teasingly. As if they could run out of things to talk about. It just didn't seem possible.


The hours seemed to go by rather quickly, and before they knew it, the ranch was coming into view.

"Well, here we are." Jason's nervousness rises several notches. Though he wanted to talk to his mother and knew it was right, he had no idea how he was going to tell her about Trey or how she would respond.

Turning into the driveway and heading for the dining hall, he stops and looks to Katie. He'd let her off here then go on himself. "Don't have too much fun without me, okay?" He leans over to give her a soft kiss on the lips. "I'll be talking to ya. Depending on how things go, I may come up here tomorrow and see everyone."


Inside, supper for the ranch families was well under way. There was chatter and laughter just like always, and as always, it was warm and bright, smelling of cooking to die for.

There was only one person missing, and they hadn't heard from him in over a week. No one worried though - Eric and Dana's honeymoon was probably just now coming to a close. It still was strange though, not having heard from him, and no one knew when he would show up again, or how things might be different. But that was a subject rarely spoken of at the dinner table - this was family time for relaxing, not rehashing worries. So for everyone present, worries were pushed away, at least for now.

Back in the corner, Dylan sits by himself tonight. He sat with Dan and Jade sometimes, but not every night. He still felt just awkward enough that it was difficult. Today had been a long day with hard chores, a private riding lesson with Sparky and school. He did his best to do all his schoolwork on his own then turn it in to Rosetta every evening, but he did get stuck more often than he liked and he needed help, especially with math. So far though, just starting out, he hadn't gotten into anything too difficult yet. What subject it was determined who he went to - he'd already figured out who was good at math and who was good at science - the list went on. Going to his dad and Rosetta for help just wasn't something he could do yet. He had his first tests next week though, and he wasn't looking forward to them. If he did poorly, he might be forced to do his work with someone present.

Tonight he ate his spaghetti with one hand, while the other held open his history book. He hated to read, which made school ten times worse. But he never complained - he could be in public school, so this was far better. Today though, he hadn't gotten everything done yet so he was still reading through suppertime.


Susanne grumbles to herself as she hits the delete key multiple times then retypes the information in the correct fields. Turning to pick up her notepad, her elbow hits a stack of papers, sending them all over the floor.

Letting out something between a wail and a growl, she leans down to pick up the mess, stray strands of hair falling down in her face from where they'd slipped from her low ponytail.

Reese pops his head into her office. "Susanne? I'm leaving for the night, would you-"

"I can't do any more!" She sits up straight again, her face red. "I've only got two hands and I can't take anything else on. Find yourself another secretary!"

Reese blinks in shock before hesitantly finishing his question. "...leave the lights on for Ty when you leave?"

"Oh." She attempts a smile. "Yes. Sorry."

"Are you... okay?"

"I'm fine. Just... fine." She slaps down the mess of papers into a new pile. "Just... behind. I'll catch up. If it takes me all night, I'll catch up."

"Susanne... go home."

"No. I can't. I have to finish these reports."

Reese looks at her more sternly. "I know I give you a lot of work, but I don't want you killing yourself. Please. Just go home and relax. You'll be twice as productive tomorrow if you can forget about this for a while."

"No." Susanne shakes her head stubbornly. "I've got supper here, I want to get it done, so please let me." A mumble under her breath slips out. "I don't have a life anyway."

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

Reese sighs. "Okay. Suit yourself. See you tomorrow."

Susanne watches him walk away before letting her shoulders slouch. She was tired. She was frustrated. She really did want to go home. But she'd rather keep her mind occupied. Unfortunately, all the work in the world wasn't getting rid of the one face that kept appearing in her mind.

After another conversation with Darlene, enough doubts had risen in Susanne's mind that she'd brushed off Chuck all week. She'd been too busy. Or running errands. Or couldn't get off work. Or hadn't felt well. She didn't have the nerve to tell him to leave her alone, and she didn't have the nerve for another date. So here she was, stuck and miserable.

"Why can't I just forget about you?!" She was glad no one was near her office at this point or she'd have to explain her raised voice aimed at an invisible person. This whole thing was just ridiculous. But try as she might, all she could think about all day was Chuck. She couldn't concentrate, she couldn't think straight... nothing was going right. She'd picked up the phone twice to call him, and had then hung up again. Darlene was right - she knew nothing about Chuck and was cruising for a bruising if she didn't nip it in the bud now. But...

Susanne's eyes fall to the phone again. She wanted to.... No! No, she wouldn't. The next time Chuck called, she'd just tell him to back off and be done. Then she could have some peace. She couldn't tell him to his face - no, she'd melt as soon as she saw him, and she knew it. So she'd just wait until he called again and then stop this whole silly thing.


"He does?" Justin couldn't help the surprise in his voice after hearing that Scott wanted to see him. He sits on the edge of his couch, eyebrows raised as he talks on the phone. "He asked specifically?"

"He did," Dr. Hawks responds. "Not sure what brought it on - partly because of Hope, I think, and apparently he helped the Elite with something as well."

Justin is even more surprised. ""Helped them? Helped them how?"

"I'm really not sure."

"That's important - no one said how?"

"Um... something about him knowing some information."

Justin stands up, his excitement growing. He paces the living room in his bare feet, making patterns in the carpet he'd just vacuumed. "Data... he used the data. He had to have. That's fantastic."

Dr. Hawks chuckles. "Does that mean you'll be in to see him?"

Justin hesitates, despite his excitement. "I...I'm not sure. Why did he say he wanted to see me?"

"Well, he was pretty vague. But he doesn't like talking to me - he won't try anything with me. I'd say he trusts you the most."

"After the whole Hope thing?"

"Anger eventually subsides - you know that."

Justin sighs, still thinking. "I... will think about it."

"You're not trying to punish him for sending you away, are you?"

"Of course not. I'm just not sure I'm the one to help. I'll think about it though."

Dr. Hawks wasn't used to Justin hesitating on a job, but he respects him. "Okay. I'll tell him-"

"Just tell him you called and that I haven't decided if I'm coming back or not."

"I-"

"Just tell him that, okay?"

"Alright. I will. Thanks, Justin. You take care."

"Yeah." Justin ends the call and sighs. He didn't usually have to think about something like this. But Scott had shaken his confidence pretty good... thinking about going back... he wasn't so sure it was the best move. What if he just blew it again? Then where would Scott be? Surely there was someone better than he. At the same time though... Justin knew that he knew more about the situation and understood more than anyone else.

Putting the phone back in its cradle, Justin returns to the kitchen where he'd been making himself a salad for lunch. A "rabbit's lunch" as his mother would call it as he would try to explain he was eating healthy. He hadn't heard from her yet - not that he'd expected to. He didn't even know how she was, and it pained him to no end. But there wasn't much he could do. He wanted to just go to her house, but he didn't want to upset her and make things worse either. He knew how the system worked. Depending on how scared she was, he could get in a lot of trouble. Better to just stay away from her until something changed... but it wasn't easy.

At least he'd fully recovered from being sick. That much was good. He'd been well enough to start taking computer tech calls again and fixing someone's porch, so at least he had enough money to pay the most important bills. His refrigerator was far from full, but he was surviving. It helped, going over to Beth's for supper twice this week. He'd figured out she could cook, but man... she could really cook. Once getting over his embarrassment from the whole kiss thing, Justin had started to really enjoy her company. She was opening up more and more, and having someone to talk to... maybe it was nicer than he'd thought it would be. And maybe....

He stops as he cuts up a carrot and stares out the kitchen window. Maybe he needed a friend more than he'd thought he did.

Taking a slice of carrot, he chews it as he finishes making his salad. He'd have to run into town if they wanted ice cream for the movie here tonight.


"Yeah, Reese, this is Eli McKade." Eli leans back against the kitchen counter, not liking having to leave a voice mail, but he'd apparently just missed Reese at TJY. "I have that information you wanted on Alec. Give me a call back any time. You got my number."

Hanging up, he slips his cell phone back in his pocket and wanders to the refrigerator. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of Ryan so there was a good chance she wouldn't be back for supper. Maybe he'd scrounge. Or maybe he'd call Scarlet.

It doesn't take but a few seconds to decide that one.


Far far away. The idea had sounded good to Alec, though today it didn't feel like far was far enough. The lake was as far as permissible though, so the lake it was. And for the next few hours, he was quieter than normal. It wasn't like him to take in the moments with quietness or enjoy romantic settings. But today... walking along the lake beach hand-in-hand with Ryan was what he had to give.

Now sitting in the sand, shoes and socks off, with Ryan sitting in front of him between his legs, the quietness continued. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder as he stared out at the water.

"Sometimes I think I shoulda gone away when I had the chance." His voice was quiet... more thoughtful than normal. "You know, just... ignored everything and took off for that sunset I always wanted."