Clear

Zan appreciated Destiny's reassurance, and gave her hand a squeeze. He didn't say anything though. No matter what she said, he still felt partially responsible. Once they'd arrived at the hospital, it took him a few moments to get out of the car and join her. "I hate hospitals," he muttered. Ever since Isabella, he could hardly stand them. He had to go in there now though.

Making sure Destiny was close, he entered and asked a few questions, not getting very close to any answers. Thankfully, Tony showed up.

"Tony, hey." Zan spotted his friend and approached quickly. "Is he okay? Where is he?"

"He's in the ER." Tony put his hands up. "Don't panic. He's fine. Well, he's hurt, but nothing serious."

"What on earth happened?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh, he was drinking and carrying on - you know how that crowd gets after the rest of the gang leaves the scene. Kade was there and made a crack at him. Called him Shrimpy or something - nothing out of the ordinary, but Jett had a shorter fuse than normal for some reason. One thing led to another, and when Jett learned Kade had his pickup with him, he challenged him."

"To race?!" Zan's eyes went wide. "In their pickups?! Oh for Pete's..." He stopped himself. "Go on."

"Well, you can imagine the rest. They went flying out into the desert. Kade was mostly sober. Jett was mostly drunk. They actually made it around the curve, but on the way back, Kade nicked him. Far as I can tell, Jett swerved, overcompensated, spun out and rolled. Didn't have his seat belt on either."

Zan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Idiot."

"Pretty much." Tony nodded. "He's 'bout sober now though so I'm guessing he's starting to think the same thing."

"Great." Zan motioned for Destiny to follow him as he found a nurse and asked about Jett. Allowed to see him, they followed her directions to a large room divided by curtains and found their way to where they saw people.

Jett sat on the bed, his legs hanging over the edge as a nurse wrapped his left hand and wrist. A bandage was on the side of his forehead, and on the same side of his face were several cuts that had been cleaned, and already there were bruises obviously forming. Catching movement, he glanced up, then shrunk back a little when he saw who it was.

Zan sighed and slowed as he approached. He might never admit how fast his pulse was going right now. "Well you sure know how to scare a person."

Jett didn't even come close to cracking a smile, and his eyes dropped.

Zan purse his lips, not even sure what to say. After their confrontation earlier, this was awkward to say the least. "You alright?"

Jett swallowed hard but nodded. "Yeah," he finally spoke. "They'll let me go soon as she's done with me here."

The nurse glanced over at them - she was none too happy with the situation, made obvious by her facial expression. "He's lucky this arm isn't broken, but he's gonna have to keep it fairly immobile for the next few days, not to mention he's got two cracked ribs. He's also got a concussion, so someone needs to keep an eye on him. Are you his roommate?"

"I am tonight."

Jett's eyebrows rose a little. Zan would let him stay over... after what had happened? He eyed his friend, then moved his gaze over to Destiny before looking back down at the floor. The embarrassment from earlier returned. "I... you don't have to do that."

"No, but I want to." 

Jett kept his eyes down. "You can just... give me a ride and then I'll-"

Zan rolled his eyes and looked to Destiny. "Can I be any more clear that I want him to come back to my place with me?" 


Dylan caught Scarlet's eye again and gave her a slight nod. He wouldn't say anything more about Jett and Zan either. And in all honesty, it really wasn't that important what the argument had been about. He leaned back against the wall where he sat, thinking about himself. He could relate to Jett in a way. He didn't know Jett's story, but he knew what it was like to be on the wrong side. And no matter how good or cool it felt... it always led to an empty and lonely feeling.

"Yo, Dylan..."

Dylan's head snapped up at Hunter. "Huh?"

Hunter grinned. "I just asked if you were ready to split."

"Oh." Dylan stifled a yawn. "Whatever you wanna do. I'm just along for the ride, remember?"

"Yeah, well you gotta be up early too. I should at least be halfway responsible while you're here, right? That way you can give your dad a good report."

Dylan smirked. "You can do no wrong in his eyes."

Hunter recalled his conversations with Mick about his alcohol struggles, and he gave his young friend a wry grin. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. Actually, I just need an excuse because I didn't want to admit I'm getting tired."

"Well in that case..." Dylan got to his feet and yawned again. "Hunter, will you please take me home?"

Hunter laughed and gave Ryan a squeeze. "Looks like I need to go." Only after he'd give  her a kiss did he stand up. "If I hear anything about Jett, I'll let you know."

"Ditto," Eli agreed.


Hal let Sam nuzzle into him and simply kept quiet as the movie played. In spite of the emotional stress of the day, he was relaxed and warm enough to doze off a time or two.

Eventually though, the movie credits rolled, and he rubbed Sam's arm gently. "I should get going," he mentioned quietly. He sighed and moved his hand to run though her hair. "You be okay?"