Socially Inept

Jason's eyes widened as Katie got a head start on him. "Oh no you don't." Sprinting after her, he laughed as they made it outdoors.

Cindy was just coming in from the laundry room  basket in hand, as she saw the front door fall shut. "What on earth was that?"

"Jay," Kaylee mumbled with her mouth full.

Rick smirked at her and reached over to wipe some jelly off her fingers. "Jason and Katie are feeling good today so they went for a walk."

"Well shouldn't they eat? Why didn't they at least stay? How are they really?"

Rick looked up at Cindy and sighed. "They ate. And they didn't stay because they're tired of everyone hovering over them."

"But-"

Rick shook his head and spoke quietly. "Cindy... you need to let them go."

Tears sprang into her eyes and she set the basket down before going to the counter to make herself some lunch too. "How can I do that?" she whispered. "He's my son."

Rick got up from the table and went to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I don't know. But you must. He and Katie... have a unique path to walk, and they have to walk it alone, whether we like it or not. All we can do... is be their assurance that they're loved and cared for." He gave her a little squeeze. "And worrying does nothing but make you sick."


Outside after chasing each other around, Jason held Katie's hand, leading the way to the trail by a roundabout way to avoid anyone else for now. Walking through the tall grass, Jason sighed deeply. The air here was sweet... the sunshine was warm... it was a piece of heaven here.

We need to come back here more often. Relax. Maybe some regular vacations would help us recharge when we need to.

He looked down at her and stopped, cocking his head thoughtfully. "Maybe we need to pay more attention to our triggers... what drains or energizes us. I mean... We always just took it as it came but... what if we were more proactive this time?" He shrugged. "We need to figure out how to control the whole glowing eyes thing anyway. Maybe... we need to... I dunno... embrace it."


I hear you’ve had a few outings.” Justin sat in Aaron’s room, arms folded across his chest as he studied the man’s body language.

Aaron was sitting up in bed with his legs stretched out – his bad knee propped up with a pillow. He eyed Justin with little interest. “So?”

“How’d it feel?”

“Oh, it felt awesome. Liberating. I mean, for a few minutes, I was a part of a new team and making new friends.”

Justin cocked his head. “Really?”

Aaron’s gaze turned into half a glare. “Of course not. I’m a prisoner remember? How is it supposed to feel?”

“I dunno. Just thought maybe you would have realized the people here aren’t all that bad. That maybe they really are trying to give you a new life, not imprison you.”

“So I could just walk out of here right now, huh? Just waltz right on out the front door? Oh wait… no, I’d be brought back in with a gun pointed at my head.” Aaron rolled his eyes. “We’ve been over this how many times? I wish you’d quit trying to convince me the people here really care.”

Justin remained calm. “What about Sam?” He caught a new flash in Aaron’s eyes. Interesting. “You trust her, don’t you?”

Aaron fiddled with a lego piece that belonged to the set he’d been working on. “Trust is a strong word.” He looked down at the lego, recalling the things Sam had done for him. The food once in a while. The outing. The trip to the rooftop. The legos. The company. “But she’s been the most civil to me,” he concluded.

Justin nodded slowly. “If you could go free… where would you go?”

Aaron shrugged. “I dunno. Prolly somewhere I could make contact with the Agency.”

“Even knowing they don’t care about you?” Justin’s brow furrowed. “Use logic, Aaron. If you were a prisoner of the Agency, would you have a room like this? Good food? Even going out to play darts? You figured out tactical strategies for Agency missions. Figure this one out. What’s your best move?”

Aaron’s eyes remained down. He couldn’t think logically with this one. “Nothing makes sense anymore,” he growled. “I can’t figure anything out when nobody plays by the rules.”

“What rules?”

“The rules that say how people are supposed to act. Everybody is predictable. Everybody. But…”

“But what?”

“Here, you’re all just…” Aaron shook his head. “You’re just all a bunch of idiots, running on emotions instead of logic, and nothing you do makes a lick of sense.”

Justin grinned a little. “You mean… we care.”

“Nobody cares.” Aaron gritted his teeth. “Never have, never will.”

“So… you’d still return to the Agency?”

Aaron paused. “I could just go my own way. Disappear.”

“Then what? Get a new name? Find a wife? Some job at a super market somewhere?” Justin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re a soldier… and you’re a good one. You try to integrate yourself into a normal life, and you’re gonna be miserable – not to mention, you know the Agency will find you. You stay here and let us help you find your way, and you’ll survive… and you’ll have a team behind you when you need it.”

Aaron continued to refuse looking up at him. “Why? Why should I even believe anything you say? If my own mother didn’t even care about me, why in the world would I even begin to think that a lot like you actually cared about my wellbeing?”

Justin’s heart twisted just a little. Did everyone in the Agency have parent issues? Maybe that’s who the Agency preyed on the most, because they had no loving families. “Because we’re not your mother,” he answered calmly. “Not everybody is the same. You should know that.”

“I do. And so far, there hasn’t been one person who hasn’t betrayed me.”

“Sam?”

Aaron’s eyes finally shot upward. “N-no… Not yet anyway. One of these days though, I’ll find out why she’s being so nice. It’s all a ploy. I know it.”

“Well… I guess you’re in for a big surprise, because she’s not playing you. Nobody here is.”

Justin spent just a little while longer with him before leaving, keeping the door open when he left. He wandered down to the control room where he found Sam. Ambling inside, he eased down in an extra chair. “He is… a tough one.” He sighed and swiveled back and forth. “He is so sure that nobody on earth would ever do anything to help him without it being some form of manipulation. Although that also proves he’s convinced the Agency screwed him over, and that’s not a bad thing. He says he’d run back to them but… he has enough doubt now that I’m pretty sure he won’t do that. He’d try to disappear before that.” Pausing, he looked to Sam as he thought. “He trusts you though. He won’t admit it, but… I think he’d be pretty upset if something happened to you.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He needs something to do though. Some kind of purpose. Otherwise I’m afraid his depression is going to worsen and he’ll lose all motivation for anything. Unfortunately… I’m not sure what to have him do, since getting him involved here is just going to look like a ploy to him.”


Hal was headed back to the security room, when he passed by Hope's open office door. He paused. Kept walking. Stopped. Turned. Paused. Turned again, then finally went back.

Stepping inside, he sighed and just looked at Hope for a second. His stomach turned. He felt funny being here. Silly, actually. But...

"Have you ever had one person you just can't ever seem to talk to right? I mean... Like sometimes it's great, then other times, you're just all tongue-tied and make a fool out of yourself?" He rolled his eyes. "Probably not but... but why do I do that?"

His frustration was obvious... even if he wasn't going to tell her who he was talking about. "I mean, I'm fine and then just... Am I just that socially inept?"


Hunter leaned back against the hood of his car and looked out at the desert. The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful afternoon. He glanced over to Ryan and her car. He’d been at the junkyard with Zan all morning until Ryan had gotten off work, and had met her here in the hopes of taking a drive. A fast one. 

“Well… whad’ya say?” Hunter meandered over and nudged her with an elbow. “Wanna go for a spin? I’ll even let you lead.”