Moment of Truth

"Yes." Zan's answer was simple, and humor twinkled in his eyes. Jett often let his stomach do the thinking. He was pleased that Destiny was comfortable enough to come here tonight. He knew she wasn't like most of the women who hung out at the races, and as such, he hadn't known what to expect. But he was pretty sure she had adventure under her quiet exterior. 

Destiny's version of what had happened earlier made Jett's eyes widen slightly. He was so used to people making fun of him that he had half expected her to do the same - or at least made a snide comment about the fact that if Neils girlfriend hadn't happened along, he would have been toast, not to mention he never would have been able to defend Destiny. 

Seeing Jett's face, Zan couldn't help but wonder if that was all there really was to it. But Destiny was obviously done with the story. All he could over was a little smirk. "Figures." 

Opting to just forget the whole thing, Jett turned back to the counter and regained his smile. "The lady wants chili fries with all the fixings. Smart, smart lady. And that's what I want too." 

"Oh you two are gonna be up all night." Zan shook his head and looked to the waitress. "I want an order of chicken fingers." 

After they'd ordered, they found a table off to the side. At his time of night, it was far from crowded, but they did a good enough business to stay open this late. Easing down to sit next to Destiny, Zan took a swig of his Pepsi before glancing up at Jett, who had yet to sit down across from them. "Uh... you gonna join us?"

"Uh-huh." Jett nodded. "Just thought I'd stay on my feet a while longer." In all actuality, he'd been ignoring the pain in his tailbone ever since going to help Zan out of his wreck. Now that he had a choice, sitting down was not the most pleasant thought. 

Zan just gave Destiny a sidelong glance before rolling his eyes. "If you hadn't noticed, Jett here has... some odd behavioral patterns." 

"So that's what you're calling them now?" Jett took a swig of his orange pop and looked at Destiny. "I've apparently moved on from just plain 'weird.'"

"Oh you're still weird," Zan confirmed. "Just... with a cherry on top." 

Jett blinked, then just turned around as heat rose to his face. Thankfully, their order number was called, and he went to get their food. 

After he was out of earshot, Zan grinned. "I tease him, but you won't find anybody more loyal than he is. He's been hanging around me since I started racing. Can't race, can't fix an engine and he'll get eaten alive by the top dogs, but he's a stubborn, I'll give him that." 

It was only moments before Jett returned with the food and finally eased down in a chair across from them. He slid Destiny's chili fries over in front of her and just smiled, watching. "Moment of truth... tell me what you think."


Leaning into Rosetta, Jeff just rested his head against hers for a few quiet moments before he finally nodded. "Yeah... yeah, okay." He stood up and walked - slowly - with her towards the main house where others were gathering for the evening meal. "Rick says he thinks she'll wake up, but... but what if she doesn't?" 

He drew in a rather shaky breath, feeling again the consequences of him being so stressed. "And even if she does... then what? Is this just gonna happen again?" Maybe he was just borrowing trouble, but he couldn't help but consider the future. "Why do they have to be in the Elite, too? I mean, if this is it for them, why can't they find something less dangerous, settle down and have a quiet life where they won't have to worry about the FBI looking over their shoulders and someone spotting their glowing eyes?" 


Jason was leaning forward from his chair, resting his arms and head on the bed next to Katie, having fallen into a restless sleep out of sheer exhaustion.

"Jase?" Rick set a hand on his shoulder.

Jason slowly opened his aching eyes and lifted his head a little.

Rick gave him a small smile. "I've got some supper for you." He set a plate down that Cindy had made up of some chicken broth and a half a grilled cheese sandwich. "You need to eat to keep your strength up, okay?"

Jason nodded numbly. After Rick was gone though, he didn't touch the food. Instead, he got up from his chair, and slipped onto the bed next to Katie, lying beside her and wrapping an arm around her. Resting his head near her shoulder, the silent tears started again.
You have to wake up, Katie... I can't do this alone... I don't know how to survive without you...