Swiss Cheese

Spotting Dan enter the diner, Dylan inwardly groans. Not even fleeing to town had been far enough. He'd thought he would at least have enough time to get out of here before being found out. He looks down at the table and hunches over a little, his body language clearly saying he wanted to be left alone. When he's not, though, he finally raises his eyes.

"Fancy meeting me here, my butt," he mutters. "You're too smart to even play dumb."

Sighing, he shrugs anyway. "Sit down. I don't care. I won't be here long anyway." He looks at his watch. "My bus leaves soon. And don't even think about turning me in for driving without a license or trying to keep me off that bus."


"Mmhmm..." JT agrees with Amanda. It really was nice to get away. Nicer than he'd thought.

After checking his fishing pole once more, he lies back in the grass, stretching out and putting his hands behind his head. Squinting up at the sky, he sighs with content. "Sometimes I wonder if I should change jobs. Head for something less demanding so I'd have more time for things like this."

He turns his head to just watch Amanda for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder if two people like us could even survive together outside of work when it takes us every waking moment."


Grinning, Gunner accepts Bree's hand up. "Let's get out of here before those two try to tell me I need to rest more."

Hand-in-hand, Gunner leads the way once more, this time heading for a different trail. His pace is slower this time as he forces himself to take it easy so he doesn't wind up needing the doctors again. He's rather quiet for a while too, letting the sounds of nature take over.

It isn't until a few minutes down the trail that he finally speaks. His eyes wander though, keeping watch on the trees and clouds above. "So where was I before when I was so rudely interrupted by that fiendish little buzzer?" He gives Bree's hand a squeeze. "Oh yes. I was telling you how great you were."

Grinning, he stops and turns towards her, putting his arms around her in a light embrace. Looking down into her eyes, his own sparkle, despite this morning's episode. "It's not hard, you know. Talking about how great you are. A vampire doesn't often find one as accepting as you."

Biting his lip, he's silent for a moment, just studying her. "This vampire really thought he was destined to be alone the rest of his life. Then you came along. I guess I was sorta wondering if-"

Movement catches his eye and he looks to the left just in time to see a large crow divebombing towards them. "Duck!" Pulling Bree down several inches along with him, they're just missed. Unfortunately, the bird comes back for seconds, and now it's not alone.

"What the...?" Gunner lets go of Bree to swat at one of the squawking crows but all it does is serve to rile up the birds even more. Soon there's four or five of them trying to claw and peck at the intruders. Wings and beaks were everywhere.

"We must be near their nests or something!" Gunner ducks another wild dive and grabs Bree's arm. "Let's get out of here before we're made into swiss cheese!"


Knowing Hope wouldn't give up on him even after everything they'd gone through... it gave Scott a nice warm feeling down deep. It was those kinds of feelings he treasured now more than he ever had before. No one could say he hadn't learned anything during this past year, even if much of it had been a nightmare.

When she brings up him taking Domino home, his eyes widen slightly. "I... well I'd like that sure but..." Be bites his lip then looks down at the dog then back up to Hope. "Are you sure? I mean I kinda dumped her on you and I'm sure you've gotten used to having her around. I... I'd feel badly... taking her away from you..."


Mick hadn't expected company, but he doesn't say anything when Rosetta joins him. Nor does he pull away. Rather, he's quiet for a moment then slips his arm around her shoulders, drawing her in even closer.

"Dylan's gone," he mentions quietly. He didn't know if word would have spread by now or not. "I have... all but failed miserably ever since my kids showed up here." He sighs. "I probably never should have let them get involved here at all."


"So where's he been?"

"All over the place."

"Ever out of town?"

"Nope. I think even he knows that would be pushing it." Hal leans back in his chair, twirling a pencil between his fingers.

Reese paces the small office, dissatisfied. "You said he's got a motorcycle?"

"Yep. Least ways that's what I can tell. He gets around fast and I've seen a bike parked near the apartments. No proof, but I'd say it's a good guess."

"Well how on earth would he get his hands on one? He makes barely enough money to eat, let alone purchase anything. He'd never be able to afford a motorcycle."

Hal shrugs. "Maybe I'm wrong. But he's got transportation somehow. He can't walk as fast as we're tracking him."

Reese growls in frustration. "He's been working hard labor for almost two months now. I thought he woulda calmed down by now or at least run out of some steam."

Hal bites his tongue to keep from laughing. "You're the one who suggested a longer leash, remember? Didn't you say something about getting results from more freedom rather than-"

"Yeah, yeah." Reese waves his hand. "I know. I'm just so scared one of these days he's going to be stupid."

"Well, he can't go anywhere without us knowing it. And like I said, he hasn't left town. Now I know Alec is a hothead and he likes to think he's in control of everything. But I also know he's not stupid and whether he'd admit it or not, I'd bet you anything he knows good and well we're the ones in control. He might test us to see how far we'll let him go, but he's not going to be stupid."

"You think?"

"I do."

Reese paces a little more. "You're probably right. I do think I'll drop by his place though and ask him a few questions. I was just about ready to decrease his work to four days a week instead of six, but I want to find out what he's been up to before I do that."

"Good idea. Still reporting to Brown right?"

"Yeah. He's convinced Alec is gonna screw up. I keep arguing with him, while all the while in the back of my mind I'm just hoping he's not right."

Hal purses his lips and nods. "You want me to go see Alec this time instead?"

"No... no, I better so I can report to Brown. Thanks though. Keep up the good work."


...A couple hours later, Reese was at Alec's apartment. "Where'd you get the bike?"

Alec lowers the juice carton and swallows before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Standing in the tiny kitchen, he lifts an eyebrow at Reese. "Friend of a friend."

Reese folds his arms. He'd only been here five minutes and already his hackles were up. "The truth, Alec. You don't have any money to be buying a motorcycle."

Alec smirks before returning the juice to the refrigerator. "Look... so I've got a bike. What do you care? Last I looked, you weren't arresting me from wandering away from my apartment. Or are you going to start now?"

Reese shakes his head and sighs. "I think the work you're doing is enough punishment, don't you?" Alec looked tired. Worn. Thin. It was obvious he'd been working hard days as he was sentenced. Whether Reese wanted to feel compassion or not, he did. "You know good and well we're watching your every move. We might not have come down on you for wandering around town, but you haven't made a nuisance of yourself either."

Alec gives him a wry grin. "No nuisance, no getting arrested, eh?"

"Something like that."

"So are you actually giving me permission to go wherever I please?"

"I'm telling you to watch your step," Reese warns. "You keep pushing the line and you're liable to find out just where it is, but by then it'll be too late. So I advise you to not go wandering too far."

A few minutes later, Alec was left alone once again. In the quiet. He goes to the window and watches Reese pull away. He knew he was acting all tough and cocky. But on the inside...

Gritting his teeth, he turns from the window. No. He wasn't about to go digging into his own feelings. It hurt too much. No, he was still working on a way to get out of here and get back to where he'd once been. The bike had been the first step. In reality, he'd simply worked through several people to get to someone who owed him a favor. It hadn't been that hard. The next step was finding a real job so he'd have some time off.