Why?

Nate's entrance roused Garret enough that he opened his eyes. Though he didn't move, his gaze roamed the dim room, trying to get his bearings all over again. It took a couple seconds for it to register what Nate had just said, but he remained on his stomach without lifting his head. Why was someone trying to take care of him anyway? He wasn't a baby. How ridiculous. 

He finally did reach out and take the cloth to let it rest along the back of his neck, though. The cold sent a chill down his spine, but it felt good. His eyes fell shut again. "I'm not hungry," he mumbled. In truth, his body wanted nourishment, but he was too miserable to care. Aside from coming down off drugs or recovering from battle wounds, he'd always taken care of himself, and had never felt this awful - at least not that he could remember. It shouldn't be something new to him, but it was. And if he was really honest, he'd admit he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. All he wanted to do was not move. Tough it out. He'd been through worse. Why were these people trying to help anyway?


Travis gave Ashlee a little smile and shrugged. "Yeah...yeah everything is okay." 

As she took his hand, he was a little surprised, but he didn't resist, and followed along until they'd reached their destination. Sliding back to sit on the big log, he took a deep breath of the country air. He'd always enjoyed the wide open spaces more than city life. His mom was the exact opposite, which didn't help their already-strained relationship.

"I like it," he mused. Watching the sky change colors was...peaceful. It really was the perfect spot and he was impressed with Ashlee's eye to find such a spot. He was quiet for a few minutes, just letting the breeze comb through his hair. But he really did feel he owed her more. 

"I, um... I lied... a few minutes ago. When I said everything was okay." His fingers chipped away at a piece of dried bark. "Everything's not okay. Not really." He sighed and lifted his eyes to the sky again, just letting his fingers fiddle with the bark. "I've got a lot of choices all of a sudden and I'm just not sure which route to take. It's kinda heavy, and... whatever I choose has some pretty big consequences." He shrugged. "Not your problem..." His gaze wandered her direction as a grin emerged. "...but if I space out or something, just know it's not you. It's me."


Hearing Adison, Kirk spun around, his hands lowering from his head to his face as his mind reeled. It was so normal for her to just walk right in that he didn't think a thing of it. "You have no idea," he groaned. Still pacing, he finally dropped his hand to gesture while he talked. "I'm nuts. I'm just nuts! I did all those personnel reports and you'd think that would be enough, but no, I have to do the overall assessment. Why couldn't Barnes have gotten somebody else? He could have gotten somebody hard-nosed who didn't care one way or the other and they would have been far less bias than me. Or why not Tod? He'd do anything to suck up to Barnes, so his report would be as clear as day - shut the Elite down! They run like a vigilante group with too much control!" He threw his arms in the air. "So what do I do? I sit here moaning about the damage I might cause if I say the wrong thing! What kind of an idiot am I?! Why can't I just write that doggone thing and be done with it? Close the door! Walk away and forget it! Why can't I do it, Adison?!" 

He shook his head and continued to pace. "Never in all my time here have I ever felt so stuck. It's always been so black and white until this. It shouldn't be this hard. Not for me. I always see things so clearly!" He kicked some papers that had fallen off the desk, sending them in all directions. "Why is this so hard?! I don't understand."