Common

Cindy nods with gentle understanding. If she were in Trey's place, she was sure she wouldn't feel much differently. She was just happy for anything she could get - and today was more than she could have asked for. 

"Jason... has an awfully tough shell to crack," she admits. "He always has. Well, at least after he was abducted. I didn't realize it until he was older. He was always so good at hiding the way he really felt - he even fooled some of his counselors. Unfortunately he locked a lot of things away that didn't affect him until later in life and by that time, he'd already become quite an expert at building walls and wearing masks." She shakes her head, her eyes showing remorse for the past. "He and I have always been close... but after being held for a year... beaten... starved... locked up like an animal..." New tears glisten in her eyes. "It has shaped a part of who he is, even after all these years. He has little tolerance, and trust doesn't come easily." 

She cocks her head and offers a new small smile. "Maybe you two have something in common after all."

"Food!" Kaylee bangs on her plate, sending crumbs exploding in all directions, a bit of mushy french fry landing in her hair. Her eyes go wide in surprise before she bursts into giggles.

Cindy rolls her eyes. "Kaylee... How many times have I told you not to bang your plate? If you want more to eat, you need to ask nicely." 

Kaylee is completely ignoring her, looking instead at Trey with her nose scrunched up in a silly expression. She points at a piece of cheese that Cindy had given her earlier but had fallen just out of her reach. "Sees?" She tries to ask Trey to give it to her. 

"Kaylee," Cindy warns. "Nicely?" 

Kaylee pouts for a moment before regaining her grin and pointing again, still looking to Trey. "Pwease? Sees?" 

Luke always appreciated Angel's encouragement. She would never let him stay depressed for long. 

Grimacing at what had happened to Eric, he nods. "I got a good guess at which horse it was too. Ouch." 

Having Angel draw near, he grins and slips his arms around her waist. He loved her affection and soaked it up like a sponge. With their foreheads resting against each other, he moves just a little so he can give her a peck on the lips while considering her question. "Hmm... well, this is good. We could just stay like this all day." Grinning, he gives her a little squeeze. 

Straightening, he shakes his head. "How about I let you get back to your work and you save an hour for a walk?" He knew it would be a slow walk, but he really did want to move around as much as he could and fight back against his weakness. And he knew that Angel wouldn't mind a less-than-fast pace.

Zach grins and lifts his glass to toast Beth. "Then to a fun-filled tomorrow." Finishing his coke, he sighs, knowing he needed to get going so he could run some errands. He waits until Beth has another free moment before sliding off the barstool. 

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then. Same place for lunch we went before sounds good if it's okay with you..." 

...Going home, Zach felt happy. It was fun having a new friend, and he was looking forward to showing her around the animal shelter. If she did come to volunteer sometimes, he might even get to see her there when he worked too...

...Justin flops down on his couch and yawns. Between his session with Mackenzie, shopping for his mother and helping Mr. Jackson fix his rain gutters, he was exhausted. It hadn't been too bad of a day though, considering. Now that it was dark, his body was getting tired.

Picking up his phone, he dials  from memory and waits for Beth to answer. He figured she'd be home from work by now - he thought she had a day-shift today at any rate.

Hearing her answer, he grins a little. "Hi, Beth, it's me." He stifles another yawn. He was so used to seeing her all the time that it felt a little strange not to have spent any time with her today. "Hey, listen... I was thinking about dropping a fishing line in the pond tomorrow since I got some free time... wondered if you'd like to join me. Thought I might take a picnic lunch or something."