Silly

Garret wasn't convinced about Reese, but...somewhere deep down...maybe he hoped Nate was telling the truth. The option of helping with the Brookshire case from here was enough motivation to make him nod. Maybe he would at least do that. He wasn't ready to admit he was getting bored, but...it might be okay to do something other than sit in this room for a little while. "Okay." He wouldn't promise. But he'd think about it.

Alone again, he just leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. Feeling Mr. Snuggles beside him, he picked him up and and tucked him under his arm. Nobody else had to know that Maggie's silly stuffed animal actually helped.


Just getting Brian set down in his play pen so she could try and do some vacuuming, Laura groaned when the phone rang. Seriously? Huffing a sigh, she went to the living room phone to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi... Laura?"

"Yes... who's this?"

"Justin Hawks."

Laura sat down on the armrest of the couch as her eyebrows rose. "If you need to talk to Nate, he's not here."

"Oh. Well, I tried calling the Elite but got put on hold, then they lost the connection. I was just...wanting to check and see how Garret is doing."

Laura wasn't sure if she should be talking about this or not, but Justin did sound genuine. "Um, well, he's at least talking a little bit now, and eating a little bit too. Not enough, but...I think it's an improvement."

"Very much so." Justin was glad to hear it, and relieved. "Good. I'm...sorry that it's been hard. I'm sure Nate told you all about it."

"He did. I'm sorry, too. Is there anything else we should be doing?"

"Just stick with him. He'll resist attention, but in reality, it's what he needs. A lot of people grow up knowing they were abandoned or given up for adoption. But that always leaves the question of why, and there's always hope that they were given up for a good reason. In Garret's case, he doesn't have that hope. He knows exactly why he was abandoned - for money. So he has no way of coping with that, other than acknowledging that his parents valued money more than him. And that's a hard thing to face."

Laura glanced to the hallway as her heart felt that pain. "I can't even imagine."

"If he's starting to talk, that's a good sign he's going to pull out of this. You and Nate are doing a good job."

"Only with your help...and Maggie's."

"Nate's sister?"

"Yeah. She's quite the special girl. When she's around Garret, he's...different. Human. Kind, even."

"Most likely that's the Garret that's always been buried down deep. I'm glad to know that's showing through, even if just a little at a time."

There was a pause, and Laura bit her lip. She could hear the strain in Justin's voice. She knew Garret hated him, and Nate didn't trust him anymore, but there was just something there that made her heart hurt a little more for this entire thing. "Thank you, Justin. I know things didn't turn out the way you planned, but you're at least helping from a distance, so...know that you're still seeing this through. And we appreciate it."

Another pause. "Thanks. That means a lot." Ending the call, Justin remained sitting on his porch. He hadn't left home for two days. That wasn't his norm, and he knew it, he just...didn't feel like socializing, and he didn't have to meet with anyone til tomorrow when he had another appointment with Ryan, and one with Mackenzie. He hadn't even seen Beth in those two days, and he felt bad, but...

He sighed. He wished he'd never gotten involved with the Elite in the first place. He'd gotten someone killed, destroyed a man's spirit, and that was far too much right there.


"Mmm... How about I cook tonight?" Kirk smiled. "I think you deserve something special for waiting around for me this long." 

Looking both ways first, he leaned down to give her lips another soft kiss. "I think... I'm gonna like this," he teased. But he had to go, and this...would have to wait. 

"I'll talk to you later."He had to grab one more thing from his desk, then he'd take off... 


"Good morning, Nate." Reese greeted him as he arrived at his cubicle. "Just so you're aware, I want everyone back out there today. Something is bound to turn up, and I can keep Jason locked up in here forever." 

He shook his head. "Guess he had one of his episodes or flashbacks or whatever they are last night. Rick thinks it's stress, and I can't help but think this whole thing has a lot to do with it."

Movement caught his attention and he rolled his eyes as he saw Kirk enter the building. "Talk about stress." He shook his head. "I still haven't warned anybody here of any changes, and that's my fault, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it yet. No final word and it's got me concerned. I just... Want to at least finish this case with Jason before they shut us down."