Unwanted Visitor

"Hey, Jase, this is Ryder."

Jason turns his sights from his computer to concentrate on his cell phone. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Sorry to call you at work, I just... well, it probably isn't any of my business but I'd feel bad if something happened and I hadn't said anything."

Jason sits a little straighter. "What's up?"

"Well... did Katie spend the night at your place or anything?"

"What? No." Jason furrows his brow. She certainly hadn't. She hadn't even answered his texts, which bothered him to no end. There was no reason she wouldn't have gotten them, and she'd never not answered him before. He'd opted not to try calling her, and had been waiting for her to get to work so he could talk to her, but so far she hadn't shown up. "Why do you ask?"

"She didn't come home last night. I guess I was just a little worried. I know she wasn't on any cases or anything so I figured I'd check with you first, but if she wasn't at your place..."

Jason's alertness heightens. He and Katie were having problems, but that certainly didn't mean he didn't care. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"Not really. She usually lets me or Thirteen know just 'cause she's nice, so it's a little odd she wouldn't say anything. I mean, I don't know if we should be worried or not, it just seemed strange."

"Yeah." It was strange. Katie was usually consistent with letting her roommates know where she'd be, simply to avoid things like this. This wasn't like her. Jason stands from his desk. "Did you try calling her?"

"Yeah, that's the first thing I did. Got her voice mail like her phone was off. Left her a message but so far she hasn't called back."

"Alright. I think I'll snoop around. It might be nothing, but I'll check into it anyway."

"Okay. Let me know, will ya?"

"Sure." Hanging up, Jason sighs. He hadn't always liked Ryder, but he had to admit that the Aussie was a good guy. "Where are you, Katie?" he asks aloud. First she'd ditched the concert all upset, and now she was missing. Coincidence? Foul play? Though he was a little worried, Jason forces himself to not let this get blown out of proportion. There was surely a logical explanation and Katie was fine...

...Katie wasn't at TJY. She hadn't been seen since leaving work the day before. All the normal hangout places were dry.

It hadn't taken Jason long to put the pieces together. By the time he was across town, it was mid-morning and he'd talked to plenty of people and made several phone calls. His last tip had led him to Micky's where it was confirmed Katie had been there with Hunter and they'd been seen leaving together - with Katie tipsy no less. Katie? Drinking? Let alone too much? Jason couldn't believe it. But why would anyone lie?

Getting to Hunter's apartment building, Jason spots Katie's car and his heart sinks a little. What was going on? Finding out which apartment was Hunter's, he heads up the stairs and down the hall. Stopping in front of the door, he takes a deep breath before knocking. He didn't like Hunter, and hoped that there was nothing going on here. Surely Katie hadn't pulled some stupid stunt. Although she'd been drunk and that was stupid enough. What was she thinking? And why had she come here?

Hunter was glad to see Katie looking a little better. He was sure she still felt like crap, but at least her eyes were a bit brighter after cleaning up. 

He chuckles softly and shakes his head. "It's not my style to take advantage of a girl who just needs a friend."  He raises his coffee cup to her and nods. "But you're welcome."

He's about to ask her what she's planning for the day, when a knock at the door interrupts them. He quirks an eyebrow as he rises from the table. Who would have come here? Nobody ever came here. 

Getting to the door, he looks out the small hole before withdrawing slowly. He didn't like this. At all. The last thing he wanted was to get in the middle of a love spat, but he wasn't about to make Katie fend for herself either. Looking over his shoulder to the kitchen, he purses his lips. "It's Jason. Do you want to see him? I'll let him in if you do, but if not, I'll have him leave." He'd leave it up to her. 


The outside air felt even better than Jared had imagined it would. While he'd hated being cooped up, he'd also grown accustomed to the stuffy, sterile hospital air. The garden was like a little oasis, and he was grateful for Grace once again being so thoughtful.

Set beside the bench, he takes a deep breath of air. Some things were still a bit sore, and he was so used to laying in bed, that it hurt just a bit to fill his lungs so full, but he didn't care. Studying some purple flowers beside him, he doesn't raise his eyes even when Grace asks him how he is.

"I was glad you forgot," he mumbles. Reaching over, he touches a soft flower petal, enjoying the feeling under his fingertip. He really thought the garden was pretty. Had he always enjoyed flowers? That didn't make him weird, did it?

Finally looking to his other side at Grace, he sighs. "I'm alright. Just had a visit from Justin earlier and he finally told me why we didn't get along." He shrugs. "Now I kinda wish I hadn't pressed it."

His fingernail picks at the armrest of the wheelchair. "I guess I knew it was me all along I just... hoped it wasn't, ya know?" His eyes find Grace's, his stare dark and far away. "Hard to believe I was mean enough to blame him for our dad dying. Apparently I never got over it, even after all these years. I was a horrible brother... I'm surprised Justin's been visiting me at all."

Eric stifles a laugh, but for Ashlee's sake, he doesn't press the issue. While he'd spent time with her today, they hadn't talked about yesterday at all - although he did want to ask her sometime if she minded if he dated her mom. He just wanted to make sure first that he and Stacy really were going to before he said anything to Ashlee. However... it was pretty obvious that she had some ideas of her own, of which for now, would remain hidden. 

"Yeah... the food does smell good." Settling back, he hangs his hat on an empty chair and elbows Stacy. "Doesn't it?"

A grin spreads on Dylan's face and something almost close to a chuckle comes out too. "It's gotta be bad for the dogs not to eat something." 

"Well..." Sparky intervenes, humor dancing in his eyes. "They don't like hockey pucks any more than anybody else." 

Dylan snickers and takes another bite of roast beef, finding that he'd finished his helping. 

Sparky watches him for a moment before glancing to Faith and giving her a nod. It was a small gesture, but he knew that she would read his thoughts - he was glad Dylan had come, glad to see the boy relaxing, and happy that they could provide this quiet evening. Dylan had a long ways to go yet, but he'd also come far. 

"You going to that auction this weekend?" 

Sparky was a little surprised at the change in topic, but nods again. "Yeah. Mick wanted me to check out some stock."

Dylan crunches on an ice cube. "Doesn't he usually do that himself?" 

"Mm-hmm. But the farrier is coming that same day and he'd rather be here." 

"Oh." The wheels in Dylan's mind continue to turn. "Can I go with you?" 

Sparky's eyebrows rise. "Well sure... if you want to. I don't have a problem with that."

"Okay. Good." 

When the subject is dropped again, Sparky looks back to Faith and shrugs He had no idea why his nephew was interested in going, but he wouldn't complain. Scraping the last bit of food off his plate, he smacks his lips in satisfaction. "Ya know, the only thing that could make this meal any better would be a slice of apple pie... but I don't know where we'd find one of those..."