Sleep

As Wendy came to him, Clint melted under her touch... just like he always had. He looked at her dimly though, completely and utterly defeated. He just felt so dead inside and didn't know how to fix it. The only thing he knew was that talking did no good. Who would he talk to anyway? No one would understand. They'd all just tell him Wes was doing his duty and that would be that. 

Curling his fingers around Wendy's, he gave her hand a squeeze as tears filled his eyes. He hated seeing her this worn out and worried about him. She was worried about him, and he felt rotten for what he was putting her through. "I'll be okay," he promised quietly. "I'm sorry I've made things so hard on you.  I... I didn't mean to." He swiped at a tear from his cheek, not wanting to make her feel even worse by his display of emotions. 

He stood, and pulled Wendy up with him, bringing her in to wrap his arms around her tightly. "Just don't let go," he whispered. "I love you and I'd die if I lost you." He held her for several minutes before finally releasing her and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll eat lunch with you, okay?" 

Though he remained quiet, he helped her get a light lunch and ate a little, though not much. He didn't talk any more about looking for a job, even though it was weighing heavily on his mind. And after lunch was finished, he found himself on the couch, fallen asleep... 

...The rest of the day was quiet and Clint remained in the house. When Jade brought the kids back, he played with them a little, but even then it was subdued. By nightfall, he went to bed early where he gained a restless sleep...

...Mid morning the next day. Clint had stayed in bed hours later than normal. And even now as the sun was fully visible and chores were finished, he lay with no motivation to get up. Hearing movement in the house, he knew Wendy had been up for a while now already, and he needed to get himself out of bed and do something productive. He needed to go back into town. Or at least fill out the applications he'd gotten. Or at least help with the kids. Or anything. But his body felt so heavy. 

Squeezing his pillow tighter, he buried his face into it to block the light coming in through the window. 


Jason nodded his agreement. "Okay. Dinner at your place. Sounds good to me." It was hard moving on. Acting like things were normal, when they were so far from it. But tomorrow at least they'd be getting away from prying eyes and be able to focus on getting a handle on this thing...


Hal's apartment was on the top floor of a four-story building, close to downtown, but on a relatively quiet street for the area. It was a simple but nice apartment, small, but big enough for one or two people, with two bedrooms, a nice sized living room and a kitchen big enough to move around in easily. A panel of floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room also housed a sliding door that led out onto a rooftop patio, hedged in with a low brick wall and complete with a small table and a couple chairs. 

Inside, Hal was in the kitchen. Broccoli was cooking on the stove, along with some rice, and he was preparing batter for the fish fillets. After a shower when he'd gotten home from work, he had changed into his faded blue jeans and a clean grey t-shirt, and was now in his socks as he fixed supper, waiting for Sam to arrive.