Sulking

Gunner still refused to look up at Hope, even when she said she'd be talking to Reese. It was fine. She could talk to Reese. He didn't care. Nothing would change. Gunner hadn't done anything against the rulebook this time, which meant Reese couldn't have any complaints. 

It was only after several quiet moments that Gunner realized Hope had walked away. Maybe what she'd said was just an idle threat anyway. She, nor anybody else, could control him. 

Gathering up the papers on his desk, he shoved them into his filing drawer before attempting to focus on Elite work. Maybe over lunch he'd go home and take a nap. Until then, he'd accomplish enough to keep Reese happy...

Reese, however, was not happy when hearing what Hope had to say. Sighing deeply, he shook his head. "I was afraid of that." He leaned back in his chair before gesturing to his computer. "Just this morning, I had Dalton find out what Gunner's been doing on his computer lately, and...most wasn't connected to any current cases. Now I know why." 

Falling silent, he studied Hope's face for several moments, trying to read her. He knew she was right. He knew something needed to be done. Work aside, he cared about Gunner's well being, and knew that continuing down this path would only lead to worse things, whether it was crossing moral lines again, or heading for dangerous depression. Neither was good. 

He held up a finger for Hope to wait, then picked up his phone. "Gunner? Would you come to my office please? Thank you." After hanging up, he still said nothing, but waited, confident that Hope would also wait and back him up on his decision. 

It only took a minute for Gunner to show up. Stepping into the office, he glanced from Reese to Hope, then back again. He didn't like this. Not one bit. "Yeah, what's up? You wanna talk about that surveillance I'm supposed to do tomorrow with Pete?" 

"No." Reese straightened, his face remaining serious and his tone calm but firm. "Gunner, starting now, you are on an indefinite leave of absence."

Gunner blinked. "What? But-"

"And in light of the past, I'm going to ask you to temporarily turn in your badge." 

Gunner glanced at Hope again, pain flashing in his eyes. "You can't-"

"I can." Reese was unwilling to back down. If Hope came to him, then this was already serious and had to be treated as such. He held out his hand. 

Gunner scoffed as his eyes went to the floor. "This is the stupidest-"

"Now, please." Reese's voice had grown more stern. 

Gunner didn't move for a moment or two, but finally took his badge off his belt and tossed it onto Reese's desk. "Happy?"

"Nope. I need one more thing." 

It was all Gunner could do to not blow up. This was all so stupid. It was ridiculous, the way he was being treated. It was like he was some little kid that Reese and Hope just wanted to order around. It wasn't fair, and it would accomplish nothing. With gritted teeth, he took his sidearm from its holster and slapped it into Reese's open palm. "There. Now am I supposed to go home and sit on my sorry rear end for three weeks or what? Take away my freedom like some caged animal and-"

"You're on a mandatory schedule of sessions with Hope, starting today, with a frequency of her choice, and you will not return to work until she recommends it."  

"Are you out of your mind?!" 

"Do you want to keep your job?"

Reese's question brought a sudden silence to the air. By now, Gunner's uncaring expression had turned to one of anger. "So you're telling me that I gotta talk to some stupid shrink, or else I'm fired? Because of what? Because I care about my past? Because I have a thing about finding the truth? Seriously?" 

Reese remained calm. "Hope is far from a stupid shrink, and no, this has nothing to do about how much you care about the truth. It's about you taking things too far. Again. It's about you getting help."

"I don't need help!" Gunner's yelled statement hung in the silent air. He looked between Reese and Hope, desperate, yet unable to win this fight. Not unless he wanted to quit his job, and it was still too important to him at this point. Throwing up his arms, he spun around and stalked for the door, letting it slam shut behind him. 

Reese cringed before he looked over at Hope. "Well...he didn't quit. That's a good thing, right?" 

Gunner stomped across the floor, almost running into Susanne, but he didn't care. He ignored all the strange looks thrown his wait, and headed straight for Hope's office. Letting himself in, he flopped down in a chair to sulk until she showed up again.

Jared was already grinning, but it widened into a smile with Grace's kiss to his cheek. "Like I'm gonna complain about you sticking close," he teased. "Here, you can take these glasses of water." Having trouble enough the way it was, he let Grace help him before returning the pitcher to the refrigerator.

"I...do have a confession to make," he admitted as he wheeled to the stove and opened it to reveal the two plates of food covered in foil to keep warm. "Well...two, actually."

He reached in and gave Grace one plate, then took the other for himself. "My first confession is that Ma's at Bible study tonight, so...we get to dine alone. And, my second confession..." He set his plate on his lap so he could wheel towards the dining room. The table was set very nicely, and his candles burned bright with the overhead lighting dimmed just a little for a warm atmosphere.

He stopped at the table and glanced up at Grace with a sheepish expression. "I could just let you think I'm Superman, but I have a feeling you're too smart to believe that anyway." He gestured to the food. "You can thank me for the salad - I cut up the lettuce and tossed it all by myself. Oh, and I poured the water - you saw that. But as far as what smells so good for the main course...it should taste great because I had it brought in from a restaurant downtown."

He shrugged and quirked a silly little grin. "You said earlier you thought I was probably a good cook. Well...I did learn a thing or two from my mom, but with me in this confounded chair, I'd been doing good if I coulda whipped up some mac and cheese. And I wanted something a bit more special than that for you tonight. So I hope you like beef that'll melt in your mouth."  

 "Huh?" Carson had been lost in his own little world not having even noticed Thirteen's presence in the kitchen. "Oh, um... yeah, you can grab that pizza coming out." He gestured to the oven. "Thanks." 

Wiping his hands on a towel, he sunk down in a chair to rest. It had been a busy noon hour, and he was exhausted. Not that it was due to a busy lunch hour. He felt exhausted most days lately without any apparent reason...other than stress. 

Sinking down on the edge of his bed, Trent held his cell phone in his hands. A lump had risen in his throat, and he hadn't gone right back out to the barn as planned. He'd just come to grab his other pair of gloves and had happened to check his phone. But hearing Jasmine's message had caused him to forget what he'd been doing. 

She was so sweet, and it sounded like she was really growing and getting a handle on life. And Trent was missing it. All of it. 

He looked down at his phone and fiddled with the buttons. Dylan's words came back to him, as did the gnawing in his gut...the gnawing that had started long ago. He was so different from everyone else here. They were all close to their families...loving...caring...keeping in touch at the very least. And he and Jasmine, well...it was no fault of hers - she tried everything she could to have a relationship with him. He was the one that...

Trent sighed. Pocketing his phone, he stood and wandered to his desk to open up his laptop. And getting on the internet, he checked a list of flight schedules.