History

As Ryan touched his face, Hunter's eyes automatically drifted shut. Every fiber in his being wanted to return his hand to her face too. To pull her close. Hold her tight. Run his fingers through her soft hair. Kiss her. 

He swallowed hard and rolled over before opening his eyes again as he slid out of bed. "What? Jeff work you too hard last time?" he teased. He yawned again and stretched before wandering over to grab his clothes. A pillow had gotten knocked on the floor and he picked it up, tossing it so it landed on Ryan's head. 

He disappeared into the bathroom, but poked his head back out at her as he grinned. "Beat me to the barn and you can help me," he challenged. 


Jim stifled a yawn as he trudged into the barn. He wasn't usually one of the first ones out here, but for some reason he'd woken earlier than normal this morning. Catching sight of Xander, he grinned just a little. There were moments when it seemed no time had passed at all. Like they were all young again, working together without so many worries. When saving their own hides and staying out of trouble was the worst part of the day. 

He aimed for the feed room to check on grain. Yesterday it looked like they were getting low on sweet feed. Partway there, his vision suddenly blurred and went dark. It wasn't all that unusual anymore, so it didn't scare him at first. He stopped in his tracks and waited for it to pass. It didn't. He shook his head a little and waited to see the glimmer of light again. But as the seconds passed, his pulse quickened. He suddenly realized he wasn't sure where he'd stopped. Which aisle was he in? Which direction had he been going? He heard a horse move in a stall and turned quickly. Blackness. Nothing but blackness.  He held out his hands to the side and felt nothing. He wasn't close to any wall and was completely disoriented. He'd had a spell yesterday but it had only lasted about ten seconds, which was typical. This was longer. Fear gripped him. 

A horse banged his hoof against a stall wall and he jumped. What was going on? Was there anyone else here? Where was Xander? Had he left the barn? He wanted to call out, but for whom? For what? Instead, he stood frozen, still hoping the spell would pass.


Pete felt badly for Misty. He didn't like going around asking people about this. It sounded like they were accusing them, when they really weren't. He gave her a little nod with a crooked smile. "Well, no knives yet, so you're off the hook." He winked at her. "Don't worry. Just new protocol to keep the top dogs convinced we're doing our jobs right. If you see or hear anything suspicious let us know." 

Retreating from the infirmary, he sighed. He could see down the hall were Garret had just passed by, probably heading to Sapphire's cubicle to work on something again. As much as he knew they needed to talk to him, he really didn't want to. "Um... Garret." He stopped and glanced at Ron. "You two don't have a great history. Want me to handle him alone?"