Two Weeks

JT nodded and gave Bree another squeeze. "Me too. And he'll get there... we just all have to be patient." 

It wouldn't be until the next day that he would take the two hour trip to Brookshire...

"You have to!"

"No, I don't!"

"You do if you want to get better!"

Gunner glared at JT as he paced in a small circle inside the confines of his little room. His bare feet scuffed the floor and he kept his hands safely tucked in his pocket. "I am better! But nobody will let me out of here!"

JT sighed and sank down to sit on the edge of the bed. He'd been coached by Justin on how to handle Gunner, but in the end, how he chose to speak to his friend was up to him. "You need these tests so we can figure out what's going on."

"I don't need them!"

"There is something wrong with you, Gunner!" JT's voice rose again. "Don't you want to be fixed?"

Gunner stopped his pacing and leaned back against the wall before sinking down to the floor. "What if... I can't be fixed?"

JT's expression changed to one of compassion. "We won't know anything until we start eliminating possibilities. And the first step is some simple tests that can tell us a lot."

Gunner sat in silence for some very long moments until he eventually nodded. "Okay," he whispered. 

JT breathed a sigh of relief. At least now he wouldn't have to force the issue or take charge of Gunner legally. "I'll talk with the other doctors and have things set up."

Left alone again, Gunner just remained on the floor, and wrapped his arms around his legs, bending to rest his chin on his knees. It didn't used to be that easy... he must have lost some weight. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine he was far away... maybe on a nice big, warm rock at the edge of the lake, soaking in the sunshine and hearing the gentle lapping of the water. 


"Knock knock." Wyatt wandered into the security room, chewing his mouthful of sandwich, half of which was still in his hand. 

He nodded to Sam. "I'm available if you still needed to leave for a while." He glanced at the monitors. "Anything I should know?"


Hal wasn't sure how long he stayed outside, but he finally wandered back in, only to wind up on his bed. His stomach growled, complaining that it hadn't been fed breakfast or lunch, but he ignored it. Lying on his side, he curled around a pillow and just wanted to sleep... sleep it all away. 


Axel had been working quietly all morning. That in itself wasn't unusual, but there was an odd sense of tension around him today, and the others knew well enough just to give him space. 

As he finished the car he'd been working on though, he wandered slowly over to where Ryan was working. They'd still been together to fix Zan's car, but there had been no more mention of him leaving this job. Unfortunately... today was the day. 

He leaned on the open engine until Ryan was at a stopping place, and he gave her a sad look. "I'm going to go in the office and talk to Darrel." He kept his voice down so the guys wouldn't hear. "I promised I'd let you know... I'm gonna give him two weeks notice."


Not having realized Katie was there, Jeff jumped, almost starting the young mare, too. He turned around and grinned, shaking his head. "Naw. Mick's the guru around here. I'm just the hired hand."

He coiled up the extra rope, the mare obediently approaching slowly, worn out from her exercise. Jeff came over to lean on the fence next to Katie and looked up at her out from under the brim of his hat. He studied her a moment, almost skeptically. "You look better today... Rick said you and Jason were on the mend... or at least on the road to recovering." He cocked his head. "How are you really doing?"