Scans

Dylan listened to Katie, his shoulders dropping just a little more. He knew working for the Elite - or any law enforcement - wasn't easy. And if he was really honest, he had no idea if he was cut out for that kind of work. All he knew was he had to get away from here, and at least the Elite's goal was a cause he could be passionate about. 

He nodded slowly. "I just want a chance to at least see if it's something I could do. If I find out I'm not a good fit, then I won't force it. I just... figure it's worth a try." He paused, swallowing hard. "And I'll talk to Dad. I think he'd be madder if he heard it from Reese." 

Jason had to agree. "Good choice." 

Dylan grabbed the buckets he'd been working on, and sighed. "Thanks... I really appreciate this." 

"Yeah... we'll talk more, okay?" Jason watched him walk away before turning to Katie. "I'm not convinced this is what he really wants. I think he just wants away from here." He shrugged. "But maybe Reese could set something up where he shadows someone at the Elite. Just watches and learns for a while before diving in? I'm just trying to thing of a good way to present the idea."


Zan chuckled and nodded. "Okay. I'll keep it a secret." He sat with her for just a few more minutes before finally getting to his feet. They found a trash can for their empty cups, then slowly made their way back to the car. 

The ride back to her house was quiet. It was peaceful though. The silence wasn't awkward... it was just... nice.  Once they'd arrived, Zan helped carry the almost-empty picnic basket, and stopped at the doorway. Even though he'd love to suggest staying for a late movie, he knew he should go home. 

"I had... a really good time tonight." He grinned. "Even sitting through part of the movie." Pausing, his eyes roamed her face like they had so many times, lingering for just a moment on her lips before looking back up to her own eyes. In spite of a particular desire to kiss her goodnight, he didn't want to press his luck. Instead, he reached up to simply brush her cheek with his hand. "See ya Sunday morning, I guess." 


"Oh yeah, sure." Wyatt nodded to Sam. "Just let me know when you head out. I'm not going anywhere today."


Hal sat at his kitchen table, staring into his cold cup of coffee. He'd had another argument on the phone with Michelle earlier, and another call had confirmed for sure that there was nothing he could do about her moving Alison to England. It was officially a done deal now... as he'd assumed it would be. But it had been worth trying. He just felt so out of it that he knew he wouldn't have been any good at work today. 

Finally rising, he dumped the coffee in the sink, then wandered out through the sliding glass doors to the rooftop patio. It was cloudy today. Gloomy. And that was okay with him. Easing down in a chair, he put his head back and just closed his eyes as the breeze blew. 


"Brent Franklin! You get up off the floor this instant!" Julie set her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. 

Gunner sat on the floor at the foot of his bed, barefoot and leaned back against the wall, his hands stuffed in his hoodie pocket. He looked up at the nurse with defiance. "I don't want lunch," he stated stubbornly. "I already told you that." 

Julie went down to one knee to look him in the eye. "You already refused breakfast. If you don't eat lunch, I'll have to report it, and you know what that means." 

"Yep." Gunner's eyes narrowed. "Another session with the shrink, and another change in my meds. What difference does it make?" 

"They were helping you," she tried to assure. "You were feeling better. I don't understand why you're being so stubborn."

Tears sprang to the surface. "I don't wanna live the rest of my life on pills," he hissed. "Can't you at least understand that? What good am I then? What good am I, dependent on a prescription just so I feel halfway sane?" He shook his head. "I need to do this on my own strength. My own willpower." 

Julie sighed and set a hand on his knee. "It's okay to need help. How can I convince you of that?" 

Gunner turned his face away from her. "I just want to go home. Just tell them to let me go home." 

With nothing else to say, Julie stood and finally left his room. She shook her head as she went to the nurse's station and pulled his clipboard to make a note. Next, she went straight to Dr. Hawks...

"...I don't know what else to do. I need help, but the Elite put restrictions on who he can have contact with. He's not listening to anything anymore. I don't know what happened."

Kash leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply. "First off, calm down, or you're gonna wind up being a patient."

Julie bit her lip and forced herself to take a couple deep breaths. "Okay. I'm calm. I just want to help him and I don't understand what's happening."

"Neither do I," he admitted. He looked over the chart she'd given him, running his finger down the list of medications they'd tried. "Have any of these helped him at all?"

"Um... that last one did, yes. I saw marked improvement. To be honest, last week, I thought by now he might even be released. Then all of a sudden he started refusing to take his meds, he got stubborn again, and then today he's back to not wanting to eat." 

Kash scribbled out a note and handed it to her. "Take this to the lab. I want some scans done. Something else is going on with him. I thought it was all psychological, but I'm wondering if I missed something."

Julie furrowed her brow, confused. "What do you mean?" 

"I want to make sure it's not physical. He's had that metal plate in his head for quite a few years now. If anything has shifted or changed as he's aged, that could be causing some of his issues. I think he has an obsessive personality, but something else is compounding it, and I want to find out what it is." 

"What if he doesn't want the tests done?" 

"Then we'll have to find out who can make decisions for him because he's obviously incompetent at this point." 

JT wandered into the living room after putting the dishes from supper in the dishwasher. He never tired of Bree's company, and was glad she'd decided to spend the evening. Especially now, after the call he'd just received from Justin. Gunner had been assigned a very small handful of people at Brookshire for security reasons per Garret's suggestion, and Justin had been set up as their main line of communication to keep information secure.

Sinking down on the couch next to his niece, JT patted her leg lovingly. "I just heard from Justin Hawks. Brookshire needs permission to run some tests... they're wondering now if there's something physically wrong with Gunner's brain." He looked at her with sympathy, knowing how hard all this was on her. "He's resisting everything, but we can override him if we think the tests should be done." He sighed deeply. He'd helped with Gunner's procedure so many years ago, and from a medical perspective, he agreed they should at least look into this.