Shattered

“Mm... naps.” Mick sighed deeply as Rosetta cuddled into him and he closed his eyes. “Now that’s an old person habit I think I could learn to enjoy.” He turned to kiss her head before settling back into his pillow to try to sleep, and sleep he did… right through his alarm the next morning.

“Ohhh… not good.” Realizing it was forty-five minutes since he should have been in the barn, he tried to keep his eyes open as he rolled out of bed, throwing his half of the blanket up over Rosetta’s head. “You’re just too dang warm and comfortable,” he mumbled. Grabbing his jeans, he stumbled around, trying to get them on, then grabbed a not-so-clean shirt. He’d shower later. “Okay… I’m up… and going… chores… in the barn.” By the time he got to the front door to slip on his boots and hat, he was gaining alertness, but it was pretty obvious by his sleepy eyes that he’d just woken up as he trudged into the barn.

“Hey look!” Eric poked Trent’s arm. “He really is alive!”

“Oh hush.” Mick stifled a yawn. “It’s not my fault morning comes too soon.”

Trent gave him a wry grin. “Or that you were up too late last night?”

“It wasn’t too late. I refuse to be too old to enjoy bonfires.” Mick stopped in the barn aisle and looked around. “So what did I miss?”

“Um…” Eric came by and patted his shoulder. “Pretty much everything. It’s time for coffee now.”

“Right.” Mick set his hands on his hips and nodded. “I knew that. Good work, everyone. Thank you.”

Eric snickered and shook his head. “Since now you owe us one… if you take care of my part of evening chores, that would mean I could have a date night with Stacy.”

“I am in no position to argue,” Mick admitted ruefully. “Go and have a good time.”


Jeff slowly got dressed, feeling much more tired than he ought. He was bound and determined to get up and out of bed and to the main house for breakfast thought. Katie would only be here a couple more hours, and he could crash later. But he wasn’t going to miss out on spending the rest of the time he had with her just because of tiredness.

Finally ready for the day, he made it outside and to the main dining room, grabbing a cup of coffee and finding a spot a one of the corner tables. If Katie slept late, he wouldn’t wake her, but if she did come in for breakfast, he would be here.


Hey. You up?

Jason ran a comb through his hair after his shower and wandered back to his bedroom to get some shoes on. He’d convinced his family to come eat at the main house so he could say goodbye to the others, too. In spite of being up late, he felt refreshed and ready for the day. He didn’t want to go back to Nevada yet but… that was something they couldn’t avoid.


Unable to do anything but watch, Carson ran a hand over his face and tried to keep his own emotions in check. Seeing his brother suffering like this was… hard.

Alec groped for reality, trying to pull himself out of the nightmare that had taken over his mind as he’d slept. It finally registered that he was hearing Misty’s voice and not one of the men in the Agency lab. It was her. She was with him. He was in her house.

His eyes slowly lost their glazed look as he was able to focus on her face. Still struggling to breathe, he now spotted Carson too, and reality returned. He blinked and realized he was holding himself in a tight ball on the floor, still shaking uncontrollably in a sweaty mess. “S-sorry,” he managed to whisper, as his eyes fell closed again. His forehead was throbbing. Had he hit it on something? He sucked in a shallow breath. “I can’t… can’t stop sh-shaking.” 


Jett looked up quickly at the sound of Destiny’s voice. He was slouched in the chair - the picture of defeat. His eyes were red, proving he hadn’t been able to maintain his emotions, which left him feeling even more miserable.

At her offer for ice cream, he just nodded numbly. It wasn’t so much that the Elite had done any harm to him… it was that he’d been stupid enough to bring all of this on himself. He slowly rose and followed her out, his head hanging as they went. He didn’t make any eye contact as they made their way outside, and he was silent as he got into the jeep. All he could think about was her story of her family… Garret yelling at him… Dylan’s story… It all just shattered what he’d put so much hope into.

He leaned his head against the window and sighed deeply. “Are some people just born to never get it right?” he wondered aloud.