Cage

JT wasn’t really sure about sitting in on the next session with Gunner but…maybe Hope was right. Maybe Gunner would react differently if he were here and could help walk him through the evidence.

“Yeah…sure…okay. I have to work part of the night tonight but I have off tomorrow so that should be alright…”


…Gunner  was in no hurry to get to Hope’s office to keep his appointment, but he knew if he missed it, he’d just have people jumping down his throat for it. Yesterday had been a complete bust. He’d slept for most of it, and had gotten nowhere. He wasn’t even a hundred percent sure what he’d done in the evening, but he had a vague memory of watching a movie with Bree.

Avoiding anyone else at TJY, he finally got himself to Hope’s office ten minutes late. Upon entering though, he stopped short. What on earth was JT doing here?

“Hey, Gunner.” JT sat in an extra chair, and offered a smile.

“Um…hey.” Gunner set his sunglasses up on top of his head and gave Hope a wary look. “What’s…going on?”

JT took the lead, having already gone over things with Hope. “Just had a bit of information Hope thought I should share with you so I thought I’d sit in on things today.”

“Oh…kay…” Gunner eased down in his normal chair, but sat on the edge, not sure if he liked this or not. No…no, he was pretty sure he didn’t like it at all. But he’d stay, if only to make them happy. “So shoot. What’s so important you gotta watch my brain picked apart?”

JT smirked, but shook his head instead of retorting. “Well, I knew you’d been investigating the past so…I did a bit of nosing around on my own…” He proceeded to explain everything he’d already shared with Hope. About the people, circumstances, and what he’d learned about Gunner’s family. It made sense. The pieces fit. But as he finished, there was only awkward silence that filled the office.

Gunner was visibly rigid, his jaw hard at work grinding his teeth. He had said nothing throughout JT’s explanation, and even now was eerily quiet. He finally looked at Hope, giving her eyes a good long search before glancing back to JT. A forced smile creased his lips, though his knee had already started to bounce, proving his nerves were close to giving out. “So… let me guess… This is the part where one of you tries to tell me that all this time, I’ve been coming up with grand theories about how my parents died, because really, deep down I have a terrible guilt for driving my father away and maybe even a guilt for causing the accident itself. That all I’ve done is built a huge imaginative story just to cover up my own blame.”

JT blinked and glanced at Hope, unsure how to proceed. Gunner was partly right. And to any eye – even the untrained – it was very obvious that a cord had been struck. Something had hit Gunner, and had hit him hard. “Well… it’s –”

“And you two apparently are quite proud of yourselves for coming up with this little theory.” Gunner stood, not caring what else JT had to say. His smile was gone as he looked to Hope again. “I don’t know what it is that you think you’re trying to solve, or how you think you’re delving into my psyche by this whole charade, but let me tell you –”

“Take it easy,” JT interrupted, now standing as well. “We’re just trying to help.”

“Help? With this load of crap?” Gunner’s eyes blazed. “Don’t you think I went down that path myself? Don’t you think I checked out all those same people? Don’t you think I covered all those leads?”

“Did you?”

Silence.

JT cocked his head. “Well? Did you really?”

As suddenly as Gunner’s anger had erupted, it vanished almost-dangerously fast. Tears sprang into his eyes and he turned for the door, only to have it quickly blocked by JT. “Let me go,” he hissed.

“Stay,” JT pleaded. “Talk it out. Please. You need this.”

Gunner felt sick. His head hurt, his stomach churned, and he felt suffocated. His hands clenched into fists as he turned back around and stared at Hope. “Alright, Doc.” His voice was hoarse as he fought against emotions. “Your call.” A silent tear ran down his cheek. “You gonna let me out of this cage or keep me here 'til I can’t breathe anymore?”


A long pause followed Katie's invitation. Jason straightened up and just looked at her, not knowing if he was more surprised that she'd invited him, or more surprised that it felt way too easy to say yes. But...should he? What about Hunter? Wouldn't he be upset with Katie going somewhere with her ex, no matter how innocent? Yet...it was Katie's risk, not Jason's. Really, it was none of Jason's business. Katie was just trying to be a friend, so if Hunter had a problem, it was between the two of them...right? 

Jason chewed on the inside of his lower lip. There was a warning within him...something that told him not to walk this line. Something that told him he shouldn't say yes. And yet there was also the part that had brought him here tonight in the first place...the part that didn't want to be alone right now and just wanted a friend. 

"Okay." He quirked a little smile. "Not sure I want food, but coffee sounds good..."

...It didn't take long before he was sitting across from Katie in the little bagel shop a few blocks from TJY. It was one of the few quieter places open later in the evening, and they had good food and coffee, too. 

Jason wrapped his hands around his coffee cup, enjoying the warmth on his palms. It was strange...sitting here with Katie. Just the two of them. It wasn't like when they were on the job or together on a stakeout. Though he'd been quiet, a sorry sort of laugh was what broke the silence. "Ya know..." He shook his head and looked up at Katie, his eyes meeting hers. "I'm beginning to think there's something wrong with me." 

He shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. "Jade...you...Camryn...you again... and again...Misty..." A sigh surfaced. "There's only one common factor: me." His eye dropped. "Guess I didn't realize how many times I'd messed things up 'til now. I still think I made the right choice with Misty, but I prolly never should've gotten involved in the first place. Just not smart enough to stay out of the fire, I guess."


Alec was shocked by Misty's words, and for a moment he wasn't even sure how to respond. Jason had called things off? Because of Carson? It sort of made sense, and sort of didn't. Either way, Alec had been under the impression that things had been going well. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened, and now there seemed to be a lot of questions. Regardless, it was Jason's business to do whatever he wanted. But that didn't mean Alec felt any less badly for Misty.

His heart hurt as he looked at how sad she was. Even if she wasn't ultra emotional right now, it would still have been a blow. He didn't like seeing Misty upset and crying. It just...didn't feel good and he had no idea what to do. 

Moving a little closer on the couch, he slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry." He wished he could make her feel better. He wished he could just solve this entire mess. But he knew he couldn't. All he could do was give her an extra squeeze and a kiss on the top of her head. "Is there anything I can do?"


Ashlee's response was not at all what Eric had expected. He hadn't thought she'd be elated, but her lack of any enthusiasm at seeing him made his heart sink just a little bit. Maybe his impression that he'd be missed had just been his own need to feel wanted and wasn't really the actual truth. At least Stacy had seemed pleased to see him.

He blinked, his smile fading as he shrugged. "Oh. Well, okay."

Clint fingered his pop can as he looked between the girl and Eric. Something seemed off, all of a sudden. Did Ashlee's strange behavior have something to do with Eric's return? That in itself was odd, since he'd assumed she adored Eric. "I won't be too much longer here," he commented. "I think it's time to give this beast a rest for the night, so all I have left is cleaning up a few loose tools."

"Alright." Eric's finger tapped the door absentmindedly as he tried to catch Ashlee's eye, but she was looking down now. "Well, I'll be in, eating. See me sometime though, Ash, 'cause I brought back something for ya." He smiled again and nodded to Clint. "See ya later."

Only after he was gone did Clint set down his pop can before starting in on organizing some of the tools on the workbench. "This isn't gonna take me long," he mentioned over his shoulder. Ashlee's choice wasn't any of his business, but he didn't want to contribute to any tension either. "You can go hang with Eric if you want. I don't mind."