Fork

Hearing the knock at the door Jess new it was Axel. She was running late for there date and hoped he didn't mind. Brushing her hair and watching to the door at the same time she opened it.

   "Hey, sorry I'm not...."

Seeing his arm done up in the sling she stepped aside so he could come in and stropped brushing her hair just looking at him. What on earth had happened to him? He hadn't mentioned anything happened but he looked horrible. 

   "Axel...what happened?"

Her face held a look of worry and she just looked at him. She couldn't help but hurt because he was hurting. How come things couldn't just get better for him. 

   "We don't have to go to the lake since you are hurt. We can sit here, cuddle and watch a movie. I dont mind."

Just sitting in the parking lot with Jason for a long moment Katie turns to look at him and smile. Though she was still feeling pretty messed up emotionally she did have a good lunch with Jason, and she felt a little better getting some stuff off her chest. 

   "No regrets. Thank you for making me smile despite everything. It was a really nice lunch."

Giving Jason's hand a gentile pat Katie gets out of the truck. She had a lot of work to do still, but at least if she didn't get it all done before leaving Reese new she had been taking Jason to lunch and she was his body guard after all. Leaning on the hood and just soaking up the sun She waited for Jason so they could head in.

   "I do have to say Laura, you must have done something different with this because its amazing."

Nate smiles at his wife before looking to Brian and wiping the little bit of spit that was coming out of his mouth. Looking to Maggie and than Garret he smiled. He was happy to see Garret at the table with them and eating. Even if it wasn't a lot at least it was something.

Looking to Garret Maggie smiles and than looks down at him holding his fork. Trying to maneuver her fork the same way she was having a it of trouble. Frowning a little bit she tried again only to have it fall. Glacing back up at Garret she studied him for a long second. 

   "How do you hold your fork like that? Can you show me?"

Manners

Having been awake, Garret was fully aware when Maggie came into the room. He looked at her dimly and didn't move when she touched his arm. He wasn't sure if staying in here all day had dampened his mood, or if his mood was what had kept him here. Either way, he didn't feel like joining the others for supper. 

"Maggie, I..." He stopped when he saw her eyes. There was so much hope in them. Why did she keep doing this to him? He sighed before rolling his eyes. "Okay..." He finally moved to slide out of bed, and ran a hand through his hair. He'd go...for her. Or maybe for his stomach. Maybe both.

Walking slowly behind her in his bare feet, he came into the dining room to find the table set and waiting. It was different than when he'd arrived late. It was different than being fed in his room. They were asking him into their intimate family time and... it felt... uncomfortable. 

He nodded politely to Laura though, and caught Nate's eye. Whose idea was it to keep him around anyway? 

Once seated, he waited quietly as a prayer was said. Interesting. Odd. But interesting. He wasn't really surprised though with all the Bible verses around the house. As he ate his food, he silently took note of everything in the room. Every sound. Smell. Movement. Word.

"This is very good," he complimented Laura on the casserole. "Thank you."

Laura raised her eyebrows, surprised, but grateful. "You're welcome, Garret. I'm glad you like it." She took a sip of water before catching Nate's eye. She was still amazed at his table manners - even how he handled his silverware - and she couldn't help but wonder where he'd really been all these years. 


Jason finally calmed down enough to smirk as he wiped his eyes. "Right. Yeah. Sorry. How inconsiderate of me." He cleared his throat, and laughed again. "Sorry. So where were we?"

He wound up eating a little more, but took about half with him in a take out box, making Katie promise not to tell Rick. 

Back at the Elite, Jason parked in the lot and shut off the engine before looking over at Katie. "Thanks...this was...nice. No matter what. No regrets."


"Mmm, I don't know." Axel was on his back underneath an old pickup, while at the same time, Leo was bent over the open hood. "This isn't gonna be a quick one."

"Agreed." Leo grimaced as he prodded around inside the engine. "We better let the customer know it's gonna be a couple days. I don't see any way around it."

Axel rolled out towards the front of the truck to look up at Leo. "What else we got on schedule?"

"Um...lemme go look." As Leo turned, his elbow accidentally brushed up against the toolbox that was sitting on the edge of the engine. It hadn't been secured well to begin with, and all it took was a bump. Realizing what he'd done, Leo was quick to yell a warning to Axel. "Look out!"

Reflexes sent Axel scooting back underneath the truck to protect his head, but having used his hands for leverage left them exposed. Though the odds were great, all it took was that split second for the edge of the toolbox to rake Axel's fingers on its way down, then land squarely on his right hand. The pain was so great it took his breath away, and for a moment, he just sat still, almost dazed.

Leo was on the floor in an instant to move the toolbox, ignoring the wrenches that were now scattered all about. Quickly but carefully he shifted the box to set it aside and helped Axel out from under the pickup. Axel just sat and leaned his head back against the bumper, letting his hand rest in his lap. Keeping his eyes closed, he tried to breathe through the pain.

"Axel? You okay? I am so sorry. Is it bad? What do you need?"

He pried open his eyes to look at Leo's scared face. It hadn't been his fault - it was an accident, and Axel couldn't blame him. "Ice," he managed.

Leo sprinted for the break room fridge.

In the meantime, Miles had seen what had happened, and now knelt next to Axel. "You need to go to the ER?"

For the first time, Axel dared a glance at his hand. The top was already bruising and starting to swell, his knuckles skinned and bleeding but not too badly. His palm had also landed on a piece of gravel, which, under the pressure of the falling toolbox, just compounded the pain. "I don't know," he finally answered through gritted teeth. "I...I can't tell if it's broken or not."

Mile grimaced. He knew that was Axel's bad hand to begin with. "This isn't gonna be good, is it?"

"Uh-uh." Axel took another deep breath and swallowed hard. His hand started to tremble, making the pain even worse. As Leo arrived with the ice, he gingerly wrapped it up between the cold bags and stood with the other guys' help.

"Come on," Miles directed. "I'll drive you to the hospital."

...It was several hours later. Axel's hand was wrapped in a sling, and his stomach churning from the pain meds he was taking. No bones were broken - that was the good news. But there was some pretty deep bruising, and the impact alone had caused trauma to his already-damaged nerves. Nothing was for certain until this new injury healed, and Axel knew that. But deep down, he had a growing suspicion that all the repair work Misty had done would now be severely diminished. It was the way his fingers tingled. It was the feel of numbness. It was the kind of pain. It was all too familiar. He'd been doing so well - functioning so well. And now this. It was frustrating at the very least, depressing at most. But...he pasted on a smile anyway. He'd promised to take Jess to the lake tonight, so to the lake they would go. He'd brushed her off too many times before when he'd had a rough day - and he knew it was a bad habit that he needed to work on.

Sighing, he made his way to Jess' door before knocking. He hadn't told her about the accident since he hadn't wanted her to worry, but now he was questioning that choice.

Yes!

Katie can't help the out burst laughter at Jason's antics. She had missed them and was happy to be sitting here now laughing. She wasn't feeling amazing yet but he was helping her smile and that alone helped a little.

   "I don't mean to laugh before I ask if you are ok...but if you could see your face you would too."

Continuing to laugh Katie does her best to compose herself. Taking a sip of her water and grabbing an ice cube she munches on it before looking at Jason again and shaking her head. Some thing never change and she was happy about that.

   "...are you ok J? Don't die on me now after I just poured my heart out to you."

   "Yes!"

Maggie hopped up from where she was coloring and smiled at Laura. She was always happy to help with anything Laura needed. She enjoyed helping her even if other people might consider it  dirty work. Maggie just liked being around her, and helping as much as possible to make things easier for her.

Heading down the hall and stopping at Garret's door she gives a knock before opening it a little and poking her head in. Seeing him awake and sitting on his bed she goes all the way and and comes over to him. Laying a soft hand on his arm where he could see it was her.

   "Garret, its time for dinner. You are going to eat with us. Laura made chicken casserole and afterwards there is ice cream. Come on...Laura said you have to come or she will chase you with her rolling pin."

Smiling at Garret with her big brown eyes Maggie waited for him. She was happy he was staying a little longer and was going to be eating dinner with them tonight. It would be nice to have him at the table too.

Seeing how somber Travis got at the mention of dinner Ashlee couldn't help but feel a little let down. Not with Travis just that she wouldn't have someone her own age to talk too. Wasn't his fault though and she wasn't upset with him. She wasn't sure what happened when he went to get his stuff today but she would guess it probable wasn't easy and his mom might have put up a big fuss. She felt sad, it was hard seeing Travis hurting.

   "Well if you don't want to eat now that's ok. There will be left overs in the fridge, there always are and you can have them any time you get hungry. That area is never off limits."

Ashlee smiled at him and shifted just a little so she was standing on her own again. Picking at a piece of the paint for a moment. Hearing Travis speak again this time about working there Ashlee cant help the little bit of excitement that was on her face. She wondered if they would get pared up more. She'd like that if they were.

   "I think I would like that very much. It will be nice to see a younger face around. Not that there is anything wrong with anyone else...just...someone around my age. You might even get to see that hay loft after all." 

Hungry

Travis smiled as Ashlee came over. He'd wondered when she might show up again. "It's alright..." He glanced over his shoulder at the bunk. "Hardest part is always getting used to a new bed, but at least I'm not sharing with my dad...he snores." A laugh surfaced and he shook his head, remembering nights on camping trips and his dad wondering why Travis was so tired in the mornings.

Ashlee's next question made Travis a little more sober. "Um... I think I might skip tonight. It's...been a pretty rough day." His eyes dropped. "Thanks, though. It's nice to be asked." It really was. To some it would be nothing, but being around people, even someone like Ashlee, who cared enough to want to be friends...it was the biggest perk of being here. He never had fit in very well anywhere, not even at school. He had plenty of "friends" but no one he really trusted enough to be close to. Not many people would guess that since he could be fairly outgoing, but on the inside...growing up had been a bit tough.

Realizing he'd just gotten lost in thought, he snapped his attention back to Ashlee and forced a new smile. "Looks like I'm gonna be finding some work to do around here to earn my keep, so I imagine our paths are gonna cross quite a bit in the barns."


Garret cocked his head a little at Nate as he watched the extra items go into the cart. At the mention of a sugar high, one of his eyebrows rose. Binging on anything, let alone sugar had been strictly prohibited in his world. A bit of ice cream on rare occasion had been the best of treats, and usually only after a party if he'd sneak into the kitchen, or if he'd been out on a "public relations" mission alone. "I guess I wouldn't know..." A little grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "But it sounds like it could be fun."

Finishing up the short shopping trip, then getting back to the house, Garret fell back into silence. And once inside, he went straight to the bedroom and closed the door. Though offered breakfast, he declined, along with lunch, simply remaining in bed, sometimes sleeping, sometimes not, and sometimes pretending, just to be left alone. He didn't like ignoring Maggie, but keeping his eyes closed was the best route to staying in his own little world for now. The morning...had worn him out, more mentally than physically.

By suppertime though, Laura had grown concerned. Garret had only had a little soup the day before and now had gone all day without anything but water. It wasn't good. She knew Nate was tired of pushing and prodding, as he should be. Garret was a grown man, after all, and there was only so much anyone could do. But despite her own reservations, she wasn't about to let him starve or sick again - not in her house.

Supper was in the oven. Chicken casserole. The aroma was enough to entice anyone to eat. Or so Laura hoped. Nate had told her Garret apparently had a thing for chocolate ice cream, so maybe that would help, too. Going to the dining room and finding Maggie, she smiled. "Hey...would you go see if Garret is awake? If he's not, just leave him be. But if he is, tell him he needs to come to supper...or I'm going to come in with my rolling pin." And she just might, depending.

Back in the bedroom, Garret was sitting up in bed, one knee tucked to his chest as he simply leaned back against the wall. He felt like he'd been in solitary confinement all day...of his own will. His body was begging him to eat, but he just didn't want to. His mind was a mess and he didn't know how to sort it out. He'd been left alone all day...maybe they'd finally given up on him. That's what he wanted, right? To just be left alone? But if that were the case, why hadn't he gone back to the Elite this morning? His mind wandered in so many different directions, it was exhausting. Or maybe it was the lack of food that was wearing him out.


Jason's jaw dropped and he let go of Katie's hand. "You wouldn't!" He eyes narrowed teasingly and he picked up his chopsticks again. "You would," he concluded.

He stuffed a piece of chicken in his mouth and cringed. "Spicy," he managed hoarsely and tried not to cough while also trying not to laugh at the same time. "Went down without me swallowing..." His eyes watered and he tried to chew quickly so if he did laugh, he wouldn't make a mess. He managed to keep it all in his mouth, but breathing was rather difficult until he could cough properly, then the laughter started. Maybe it was just a release if emotions after their rather tense conversation, but whatever the cause, he hid his face in his hand, trying not to make a scene as his shoulders shook and his face reddened.