Eye of the Storm

Receiving Katie's call, Rick was out of bed in an instant. This was the reason he'd been sleeping in his clothes. Slipping his shoes on quickly, grabbing his jacket and his bag, he exited the bunkhouse quickly, and started at a sprint across the ranch yard. In the back of his mind he knew at any given moment Stacy could be perusing the grounds, but he was not going to take time to be cautious. Halfway down the little lane to the house, and he wished he had kept himself in better shape. 

Jason cringed, trying to maintain some sort of control, but it was nearly impossible. His mind was going a thousand different directions, as were his emotions. He struggled to feel Katie at all, which caused a form of panic to race through his veins on top of everything else. 

I can't... I can't take it... It's too much... 
If ever he'd feared this would kill him, in this moment, he did. He'd never felt quite like this before, and in spite of his desire to not fight it, letting go was even scarier.

Feeling his stomach continue to churn, he used Katie as leverage to get to his feet. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." He'd only taken one step though, when a new wave of dizziness hit, and his knees buckled. Crumbling to the floor, he lost all sense of what was happening as his body started to violently convulse. 

Rick rushed into the house and immediately turned on the light to see what was happening in the living room. His eyes widened as he saw Jason, and slid down next to him. "Jason? Jason, can you hear me?" 

Jason's eyes were rolled back in his head as his entire body shook, and he didn't respond. Objects in the living room started to rattle, and an empty glass on the end table burst, sending glass flying. Rick's arm came up to block his face, but despite his shock, he looked at Katie. He could see the glow in her eyes and knew she was feeling the strain. Acting quickly, he turned Jason onto his side, then grabbing Katie's hand, he pulled her down closer to Jason where he forced their palms together. "Don't let go," he ordered. Taking her other hand, he forced her to hold Jason's shoulder to keep him on his side. "He's having some sort of a seizure. Don't let him roll onto his back or he could choke to death." 

Though completely lost to what was happening, deep inside, Jason could feel the narrow conduit to Katie. He knew her hand was in his, strengthening their bond at least enough to keep his rampant emotions channeled towards her instead of any more outside objects. Though he had no control at all, there was a strange place inside where it was warm... peaceful... like the eye of a storm. He felt safe there. It's where he found Katie. It's where he didn't fight, but just let the storm rage around him.

Rick turned and opened up his bag, scanning the contents as his mind raced. This was no normal seizure. This was because of the foreign element. He couldn't treat it like anything normal, and that was the hard part. The seconds were ticking by, and Jason still convulsed. Rick knew he had to do something, but he had no idea what. He was a doctor, and he had no idea how to help this poor young man and woman. He grabbed a small case and opened it to reveal and assortment of syringes, all marked with different formulas. To treat the abnormal, he was going to have to use abnormal methods. Finally making up his mind, he chose one, turned, and gave Jason the shot. 

It was another full ten seconds before Jason's body finally started to relax and the convulsions finally slowed until they had stopped completely. Rick let out the breath he'd been holding and wiped sweat from his brow. He put a gentle hand on Katie's shoulder and nodded to her that she could let go now. Opening Jason's eyes, he saw a blazing orange glow that was gradually fading as he came down from the episode. "Jason, can you hear me?" 

Jason didn't want to leave the quiet place. He didn't want to let go of Katie. But the light was fading. As the storm subsided, his haven became gray and clouded, leaving his senses dull. Rick's voice tugged at his mind, and he struggled to respond. His silent communication was muddled and slow.
What's...what's going on? I can't... think... Katie?

Not seeing any response, Rick checked Jason's pulse and breathing, then glanced at Katie. "I know you're tired... but can you get through to him?"

Outside the living room, Cindy stood with Wes, gripping his arm tightly, her face pale. The noise had woken them both, and they'd come onto the scene just as Rick had gotten there. Cindy knew better than to interfere, but her heart raced anyway as tears pooled in her eyes. It didn't matter how much she knew about this, or how much she tried to understand. She was never prepared for these episodes.

She looked up at Wes with the worry of a mother, feeling lost and completely helpless. 


Though Hunter was still surprised to hear of Eli's reaction, he believed Ryan, and just hoped when he saw Eli again that he wouldn't get raked over the coals. Not that he didn't deserve it... he'd been royally stupid. 

Getting outside a short bit later, the fresh air felt good. Hunter's mind was still just a little foggy, so he was glad to simply sit in the passenger seat on the way to the nearby grocery store. He was equally as glad that Ryan was comfortable driving again. 

Once in the store, Hunter grabbed a cart and aimed for the bakery section first. Heading down one of the aisles, he stepped up on the bottom rail of the car and pushed off, riding it down and grabbing a bag of potato chips as he went. Swiveling around to a stop at the end, he gave Ryan a sheepish grin. "Hope you like sour cream and onion. I think we're gonna need some dip though." He aimed for the refrigerated section, taking a detour even though donuts were still his priority. After they'd picked out some dip, he continued their route, passing by the section of alcohol. 

He sighed deeply and forced his feet to keep walking. He wanted to pretend that it was easy, but he knew probably Ryan would notice his change of pace, and the tense look in his eye. "Donuts," he stated flatly. "What else do we want for lunch besides chips? I don't want anything healthy in this car when we check out." 


Justin gave Misty a little grin and nodded. "Not passing out would probably be best. Go on. I'll be here when you return." 

Left alone in the infirmary, he eventually wandered back over to Chance's bed where he sat in the chair again and continued to study him. "Hungry yet?" 

Chance shook his head a little and pulled himself into a tighter ball. 

Justin took in all his movements. "Why do you think dying is the answer, hmm?" 

Chance lowered his gaze. Because there was no way to fix what he'd done. No way to go back. And no point in going forward. 

Without a verbal response, Justin sighed. He wasn't sure he'd encountered quite this tough of a case before. Not that he could really analyze him after just five minutes, but it was obvious that this man was way past the point of where he should have had help. The question was... why? And for how long had he been suffering in silence? "This isn't the first time you've felt like giving up, is it?" 

New tears welled in Chance's eyes.

"When was the first time?"

No answer. 

"Was it with your job maybe? Or maybe your family?" Justin cocked his head, keeping a close eye on all of Chance's subtle body language. "How about Destiny? How long have you known her?" 

The tears trickled down Chance's face. "I never told her," he whispered. 

Justin let a moment go by. "Never told her what?" 

Chance rolled over onto his other side, turning his back on him. 

Justin didn't say anything else, but simply sat, thought, and tried to form some kind of plan in his mind around what he might have to tell Reese. He wanted to talk to Hope as well, but didn't yet want to leave the infirmary. He'd wait until Misty returned.