Bomb

Garret couldn't help the surprise that crossed his face. Nate had a task for him outside of the Elite office? Away from here? At his own house? He'd expected, at most, to be given some trivial task around here, but to actually be let outside...that was a whole lot more than he'd dared to hope for. He just looked back at Nate for a moment or two, wondering what the catch was. No one trusted him enough to actually show him where they lived, did they? But Nate apparently did.

"Not sure I've ever actually worked with a sprinkler system," he replied cautiously. "But...as long as it's not the same as disarming a bomb, we should be okay."

Now what? Would he be cuffed to be taken outside? What kinds of restrictions would there be? He had no idea what was expected of him at this point, which put him on edge. Anything to get out of this building, though.

He strummed his fingers on the cubicle wall. "What...time do you want to go?" Not that he had any schedule, but if he needed to hibernate a while longer, he would.


Justin nodded slowly, just letting Ryan take her time. "Maybe going back to work would be a good thing. It might get your mind on to something else. Something normal."

He cocked his head, considering all she'd said. "Sometimes it's hard to figure out what we're feeling because it's more than one emotion, but they're wrapped up so tightly, it's hard to distinguish. I like going back to just the raw emotions to help figure things out. Anger. Love. Hate. Happiness. Those are all underneath all the other ones, so as we dig deeper, it's easier to see what's really going on under the surface. It takes work to sit and analyze how you feel, and it can be pretty uncomfortable at times. But each success at figuring out one piece of the puzzle leads to completing the bigger picture. And...once the picture is complete, it's not so hard to move on to the next puzzle."

He paused a moment to write a quick note, then looked back to Ryan, taking in everything about her. "So you mentioned not seeing Tal. He's your boyfriend, isn't he? Did something happen?"


Eric sat in Mick and Rosetta’s living room with just the two of them. It wasn’t something he normally did – separating himself from everyone else, but tonight, he didn’t want everyone else’s involvement. He needed this time with just his sister and brother-in-law to figure things out.

Troy had returned the day before, and Eric had signed all the necessary documents to take responsibility for the twins. There was still some legal processing that needed to happen, but for all intents and purposes, it was a done deal – barring any devious plans of Dana’s to come back later and cause trouble. But Eric had already decided he’d go extra lengths, legally, to ensure she couldn’t interfere now or at any later time. Now though, a whole world of questions had been presented, and Eric had no idea how to tackle them. He knew he had Stacy’s support, but tonight…this was more about logistics than emotions.

The clock on the wall ticked the seconds away as silence ruled the room. Mick sat on the couch with Rosetta, and glanced at her before looking over to Eric, who was sitting in the chair, his faraway look proving how busy his mind was. “So do you have any ideas?”

“Nope.” Eric’s answer came quickly, and he smirked, lowering his gaze back down to them as he sighed. “Obviously my bunk isn’t suitable for me and two kids. And they can’t keep staying at Angel’s. And if I’m going to take care of them, I can’t expect anyone else to make room, either.” He leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his face. “I can’t afford to build a house. The ranch can’t afford to build me a house – not that I’d let that happen anyway. So there goes that. I could always move into town, but then I’d still have to work and…what to do with the girls?” He groaned and leaned back again. His brain hurt.

Mick smiled a little. Not because it was funny, but because Eric’s stressing out was only making it harder on himself. “Okay, well, for starters, we’re all willing to pitch in until this is resolved – you know that.”

“Oh, I know. But the twins can’t play musical families until I’m settled.”

Mick chuckled at the analogy. “True. But you’re not going to figure this out overnight, either.”

Eric sighed again, and he looked to his sister. “Any bright ideas?” As much as he wanted to take this all lightly, he couldn’t. He’d become a father of two overnight, which was emotionally exhausting, on top of trying to face the reality of changes that now needed to happen. But he was at a total loss.