Fight

Pete cocked his head as the wheels in his mind turned. Gunner had been to lunch with Hope. And he'd cut it short? There were obviously pieces Pete was missing, but something still didn't feel quite right. 

"I don't know if he's okay or not," he finally answered. "But his cell is either dead or turned off, which isn't normal, and he's got no active cases he's supposed to be out working on at the moment. And...he doesn't usually go out to lunch with you, let alone cut things short before he had time to eat." He paused to study Hope's eyes. "I saw the leftovers on his desk. If there's anything Reese needs to know, now would be a good time to tell him. I'd rather he not call Bree as soon as she gets off work and worry her too."

It felt a little strange, having Misty be so kind - after all she hardly knew Clay. It really had been a fun evening though, and he felt like maybe he could be friends with Jason and Alec, given a few more opportunities. They seemed like cool guys, and at least they'd let him in on their evening. 

It didn't take long for Clay to say goodbyes and thanks one more time before he left. By then it was late enough for Jason to head home as well, so soon it was just Alec left in the kitchen with Misty. It was about time for him to head back out to his shed, but instead, he took a moment to look at Misty inquisitively. 

"So...Clay seems like an alright kind of guy, but..." He shrugged, not even sure how to ask without sounding rude. "What made you invite him over without actually knowing him?"

"...then I thought we could use up those chicken breasts that have been in the freezer and-" Rosalyn's voice trailed off as her thoughts are diverted from talking with Jade, to outside where her eyes had wandered. "What on earth...?" 

Jade followed her gaze. They were at just the right spot in the dining room to see out towards the barn where it looked as though two people were in a fistfight. 

Rosalyn squinted out the window before her eyes widened. "Dad..." Rising quickly, she sprinted for the door and was outside within seconds. Running towards the barn, she didn't even notice Jade was hot on her heels. When she neared the barn though, it was Sparky who stopped her dead in her tracks. He stood in front of her with hands on her shoulders, blocking her view. "Go back inside," he directed sternly. 

"No! What's going on?" She shrugged off his hands and looked around him, now clearly seeing her father and Mick involved in a fight. And not only that, but Jeff, Eric and Luke were all standing there too, not doing a thing about it. Seeing Jim take a hard blow to the ribs, she tried again to get past Sparky. "Let me go! He's hurting him!"

"He's fine," Sparky returned. "Jade, take Rosalyn back to the house. Now." 

Jade's eyes were wide as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She had no idea what was going on, but seeing her dad and uncle attacking each other so violently was not something she liked. She numbly took Rosalyn's arm to pull her away from the scene, but Rosalyn refused. "No! Tell me what's going on!" 

Distracted by Rosalyn, Mick took a hit to the face before blocking Jim's next throw and countering with an uppercut to his brother's gut. Jim doubled over, only to have a knee slammed into his jaw hard enough to send him reeling backward. Though his world was spinning, he managed to stay on his feet, his defiant glare still in tact. 

"Stay down!" Mick barked. "It's over!" 

Jim responded only with another swinging fist. Mick reacted quickly, evading the punch, then sweeping his foot low, taking Jim's feet right out from under him. Jim hit the ground hard and winced as his head took the brunt of the fall. He already had a bloodied lip, bruised face and skinned knuckles, let alone his battered ribs, but he pulled himself to his feet anyway. 

Mick had a purple eye himself, along with a split lip, but he was in better shape so far. Enough so that he rolled his eyes. "Will you just give up?" 

As the fight continued, Rosalyn struggled against Sparky, tears now streaming down her face. "How can you let them do this to each other?!" 

"Come on." Clint had appeared out of nowhere, and took Rosalyn's arm, dragging her back towards the dining hall. 

"What's going on? What happened? Why are they fighting?" Rosalyn shook in fright over the whole thing, but had enough sense not to fight her brother. 

Clint shook his head. "They're just fighting to see who the alpha dog is." 

Rosalyn stopped short near the porch and looked back to where the fight was still going on. "No. It's more than that." Her teary eyes met her brother's, and all at once, she knew. It was in his eyes. He couldn't hide it from her. "It's about me, isn't it?" 

Clint swallowed hard. "Just let it go. They'll be fine." 

"But I-"

"Let. It. Go." 

Rosalyn swallowed a sob before turning and running not for the dining room, but for home. 

By now, Jim was on all fours, unable to stand, but still swinging at Mick's legs. He could barely see out of his swollen eyes now, and Mick was spitting out blood from having bit his tongue. The other men watching still let no one interfere. 

Seeing Jim gasping for air, Mick knelt next to him in an attempt to help him up. But it was the wrong move. Knuckles met his already-bloody lip, just making it all the more worse, and sending him backward onto the ground too. "Of all the..." Mick wiped some of the blood off with his sleeve. "You don't know when to quit, do you?" 

Jim's glare had retreated to the ground. "And neither do you," he hissed. 

The fight was over though. It was obvious Jim's energy was spent, and to allow anything more would not be right. It was only then that the other men finally stepped in to separate Jim and Mick, while someone went to go get Angel.