No idea

Con wrapped his arms around Katie in a big bear hug. Maybe he'd missed their friendship more than he'd admit. He'd always see her as his little sister, and without being around the office lately...he'd been deprived of her sunshine. 

Smiling, he thought to himself how Hope had been right. He needed this. The confirmation from others that he wasn't a monster. Maybe...he did still have a purpose. A crumpled piece of paper hit his shoulder and he looked over to Jason, surprised. "What was that for?" 

"I just asked what you were doing here." 

"Well next time say it louder." He smirked down at Katie. "You gotta teach that boy to have better manners. He knows I can't hear worth crap." Turning back to Jason, he shrugged. "I just got back from Texas." 

"Wait...the ranch? We heard something was going on, then next thing we knew, Reese said he had it covered. That was you?" 

"Yeah."

Silence. Jason's eyebrows rose. "So... does that mean..."

"No." Con paused. "No. It just means...I helped out."

Jason glanced at Katie as a grin formed on his face. Con was going to come back...he knew it. 

"Hey," Con growled. "I said no."

"Uh-huh."

"It's true!"

Jason just grinned. 

Con finally smirked. "Well. It did feel good to be on a case again."

"I knew it!"

"But that doesn't mean anything!" Con looked to Katie again. "You'd think I'd need the interpreter, not him." 


Scott returned Sapphire's hug, just letting her cry more if she needed to. "I'll always be here," he assured. "I might get grouchy but...you know I always got your back." 

Pulling away a little, he smiled and reached for a tissue to hand her. "Try not to think about it any more, okay? You're right about him being a jerk, so nothing we say or do is gonna change anything. He'll be gone soon." He at least hoped that was true. Surely he was almost done here.


"Misty?" Kirk entered the infirmary and gave a nod to Rick before approaching Misty's desk. "I don't want to interrupt, but I'm trying to catch as many people as I can before my stay here is over. I'd like to talk to you about a few things, including how you came to be ere on the Elite, if you don't mind?" 


Angel's words meant the world to Lane, and he could only hope that one day he could somehow make up for all the lost time he'd caused. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone...but he had. Having his sister now encouraging him in spite of that fact was a bold reminder of how much he'd missed family. His real family. Here. 

"Thank you," he managed quietly. "Hopefully Amber won't surface again for a while. I don't know what Travis said to shut her off, but I'm glad he did. I'm...glad to know I have some options though." The last thing he wanted was for Amber to drag him to court over bogus accusations. But if Angel said she had a lawyer friend then...maybe he didn't need to be scared, just like she assured him.

"I, um...I appreciate all you're doing here for me and for Travis. I had forgotten how nice it was to be here. With family. I think of everyone here as family too, even if I wasn't around all these years." 

Thankfully, Amber really had left, so the rest of the evening was quiet. No more visitors. No hint of the Agency. Perhaps they really could start to relax just a little...


...Travis opened his eyes to find morning light faintly streaming in through the windows. It had not been a good night. He had tossed and turned, and twice Angel had given him something to ease the pain. He must have slept at some point, since at least for the moment he felt halfway rested.

Wincing as he sat up, he cradled his ribs with his good arm, while his other had been put in a brace to help speed the heeling of the sprain. A clean set of clothes was on the nightstand. A pair of jeans and a plain tshirt. He didn't know who had brought them, but he was grateful.

Managing to get changed, and slip on his old cowboy boots, he wandered slowly through the office. He assumed Angel was at breakfast. That was okay...he'd rather be on his own for now anyway. He was going stir crazy and needed some fresh air.

Getting outside, the morning air was a little chillier than he'd expected, but he didn't mind. Walking wasn't the easiest thing in the world, so his pace was slow until he reached a nearby corral fence to lean on. His eyes roamed the main ranch yard. It was a nice looking place. Clean. Well-kept. Lots of horses. A repair shop? Nice row of bunkhouses. It had a peaceful feeling to it, and though he was upset about this whole ordeal, he had to admit it was a nice place to be until he recovered. After that? Now, he didn't know. He'd had a job interview at bookstore that by now he'd missed by several days. His mother hadn't been happy about it anyway. She'd prefer he went to school, but he just didn't yet know what he wanted to do, even if she had her own ideas. After yesterday though...he'd be lucky to find any of his personal belongings still at the house when he returned home.

Still leaning on the fence for support, he turned to gaze across the corral to the pasture and beyond. How long would he really be here? A few more days? And what about his dad? That was a sore spot in itself after learning all the history he'd never been told. How could he just suck it up and move on? 

He sighed and picked at a splinter on the fence rail. Things had changed in the blink of an eye, and he had no idea where to go from here.