More Capable

Destiny's reasoning as to why the others picked on him made Jett grin. Maybe she was right. Regardless, it made him feel kind of good that her first impression of him was a good one. Most people just took him for face value and either walked away or walked all over him. 

As she chose the Dr. Pepper, his grin returned. "Ahhh. Twenty-three flavors all in a can." He nodded. "As complex as you, I'd bet." Still grinning, he grabbed himself a bottle of beer and threw some cash in the coffee can before starting to walk again. He waved to a few others, and steered Destiny around some more questionable characters, until they'd reached the edge of the crowd. Getting to his small pickup, he flipped the tailgate down and hopped up to sit on it, letting his legs dangle, and patted the empty spot beside him so Destiny could join him. "This is one of the better views." He gestured to where the racers were lining up off to the side, then swept his hand out towards the open desert area. "They'll head out that way, then see those three little lights out there? Those are the markers they gotta pass, then loop around and come back to the finish line. If they turn too soon, they'll miss a big boulder out there - you can see it in the daylight - and they're automatically disqualified. That's... basically all the rules there are though."  

"Jett! Who's the chick?!" 

Jett looked down quickly as he was smacked on the leg by a guy passing by. "Neil." He was less than enthusiastic. "This ain't no chick. This is Destiny. She's-"

"Oooh, maybe she can be part of my destiny." Neil moved closer.

Jett could see Neil had already had a couple drinks, and knew better than to get him within reach of Destiny. He put his foot up on Neil's chest to keep him at a distance. "Or not. Just keep right on moving." 

Neil's eyes narrowed. Moving more quickly than anticipated, he grabbed Jett's ankle and pulled. 

With no way to stop the momentum, Jett was ripped forward off the end of the tailgate. By the time he hit the ground, his beer had gone everywhere, and he'd smacked the back of his head on the tailgate. Dazed, he just sat still for a moment, blinking. All he could do was grab Neil's pantleg in a weak attempt to stop him. 

"Neil, are you being an idiot again?" A tall woman sidled up to him to take his arm. "Leave them alone before one of the big guys gets a hold on you." She rolled her eyes and glanced at Destiny, then down at Jett. "You alright there, Shrimpy?"

Jett didn't answer her, but just waved her off. She shook her head and pulled Neil back. "You're gonna make Zan mad," she chided, "and he's got friends, ya know." 

Still sitting on the ground, Jett had his hand to the back of his head as he tried to pick up his broken pride more than anything. His head was throbbing, there was beer all over his shirt, he was pretty sure he'd pulled something in his hip, and his tailbone was going to be much more sore than he'd tell anybody. Zan definitely should have left Destiny in some more capable hands than his. 


Jeff sighed deeply and finally sat down next to his sister. As she took his hand, he gave hers a little squeeze. A tear ran silently down his face. "I lost... so many years with her," he mentioned softly. "I never should have let her go in the first place, I was just... so scared. I was young and.... and sick all the time, but... but they were just excuses."

He drew in a ragged breath and swiped the tear from his cheek. "All I've really had is just the time recently and... I'm just not ready to give her up yet. I can't even handle the thought of losing her, let alone it actually happening."

He fell silent for a few minutes, composing himself. "If you think we should trust Rick then... I won't fight it. You're right... Katie is strong... and if Rick is right that they're not gonna bounce back from this last episode then... I'm not sure they've got much of a choice." He shrugged. "Unless they want Rick to try and make it go dormant again, but apparently they don't."