Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.


When a person comes accustomed to a certain life style, they find it difficult to change. They don't wish to alter anything they do that could put their daily life at risk. It becomes something they live off of, the one sense of predictability in the life that is so unpredictable. The slightest modification in that routine can throw the person's life off course. Once it does become something completely different, they must adapt to the new lifestyle. It's funny how no one even thinks of it that way. Everyone just goes about their days with their own business not giving any second thoughts. What no one realizes is that the life can be changed in a second. One conversation; one word; one action; one second off; any one little thing can make all the difference. People risk with those things because they're curious; if a person says something intriguing they're going to want to know more. People risk with those things because they're late; if they realize what time it is and they're going to be tardy for work, therefore rushing into the car and speeding through the highways then they could get into a car crash and never return. People risk with those things because they don't realize what even one word can do; the one last word they say to someone could be the last time they ever speak with someone.

Chad's life is one that has always been predictable. He would play basketball every day. He would make jokes at school. He would never take anything seriously. He would go living his life without a care in the world. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew what he wanted his life to be. However, the unpredictability of his life arrived with rethinking his goals, what he really wanted to do with his life. Then came the drafting; no matter what path he had chosen, the draft would have found a way to him somehow and he would have never seen it coming. It threw his entire life off balance. He had to get used to living with less hair. To getting up at the crack of dawn. To doing every little thing on command. To follow every order of his superiors. Then with the capture, he had to become adjusted to that routine. Of when they would decide to feed him and the other soldiers. How long he could hold in a trip to the bathroom. How long he could risk going to sleep for so he could still wake up. And now he was right back where he started: at home with a job and his family. It was something Chad had always known. It was a much simpler thing for him. He would get up, get ready for work, do his job, return home, and everything in between. He liked knowing that he would always have his family to come home to. Chad enjoyed going to a job that wouldn't kill him, and had hated it when he'd have to go out and think of not coming back. But even the slightest turn of events could cause him to go back to just that.

A few days later, Chad had finished consuming breakfast and was gathering everything together for work. "Wallet…keys…phone…pants…. Yeah, I think I got everything." He said to himself.

"You really think you would leave without your pants?" Taylor couldn't help but inquire as she finished getting dressed for work herself.

"Hey if I can have a nightmare about going back to school in nothing but my underwear, I can walk out of the house without my pants." Chad stated.

"After all these years, I still don't understand how your mind works." She sighed.

"And that's why you love me." Chad chuckled.

"Conceited much?" Taylor laughed.

"Yeah…only around you." Chad chuckled going over to her and placing his hands on her shoulders.

Taylor smiled and looked at him from the corner of her eye as she buttoned her shirt. "You are so trying to butter me up."

"Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?" Chad teased playfully.

"Well if we weren't getting ready for work I could think of a couple of things." She smirked.

"Go on, we got plenty of time." Chad replied leaning in to kiss her.

"I'm ready for school now!" CJ called from downstairs.

Taylor arched her head back, causing Chad to miss her lips, as she had known the time bomb that was their son would go off any second. That had been the second. "Wait by the couch. I'll be down in five minutes." She called back.

"So much for that." Chad sighed as Taylor went about brushing her hair.

"Consider that on hold." Taylor suggested. "We can easily continue it tonight."

"Well I do like the sound of that." Chad grinned. "How about CJ eating dinner at Troy and Gabriella's while we do our thing?"

"I'm already having Gabriella pick CJ up from school, actually." Taylor told him. "I've got a doctor's appointment after work."

Chad cringed at the word. Doctor's appointments meant doctors. And doctors meant needles. Despite his tough exterior, even Chad grew stiff all over at the mere mention of the word. The smallest thing that lasted for a few seconds and only stung for a short time afterwards, the thing that wasn't even that big of a deal, and the thing that only little kids would be rewarded with a lollipop was one of the few things that brought Chad to his knees in pure meaningless fear – a needle. "D-d-d-doctor?" he stammered.

Taylor couldn't help but laugh at his response. Even though she had her irrational fears as well, she just never seemed to understand why out of all the things Chad could be scared of, his biggest fear was a doctor poking his arm with a needle. However, she decided to put him out of his misery and get the message through. "The appointment's for me, not you."

"For you?" he repeated a bit unsure.

"It's called a checkup." She replied. "You know, for checking heartbeat, blood pressure, reflexes…."

"And for all those late night trips to the bathroom?" he added.

Taylor sighed, "The office was boiling yesterday. I drank a lot of water. That's generally how it works."

"So just to be clear…I don't have to go to the doctor?" Chad made sure.

"No you don't." Taylor answered. Then she giggled, "But I will have to make an appointment for you while I'm there."

That sent Chad fleeing. "You'll never take me alive!" he gasped, making a mad dash out of the bedroom.

Taylor laughed and rolled her eyes. "Love you, too!" she called.

Chad groaned loudly. "Alright, I'll try that again." He gave in. Heading back upstairs, he walked in the room and pecked her cheek. "I love you Tay…but you'll still never take me alive!" With that, he once again rushed out of the room and headed off to work.

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"Boy, the day sure is going by awfully slow." Apu noticed later that morning.

Chad wiped off the counter and glanced to his co-worker. Both had only been working for a couple of hours and the coffee shop was next to a deserted island. Few people sat at tables drinking or getting ready for work. Everything behind the counter was fully set up for the morning rush, and yet there had been no rush. Chad questioned why he was even cleaning the counter; all that there was to be wiped off were a few donut crumbs.

"We practically just started working." Chad told him.

"Yes well, you can being here for as long as you want, but I can't take the boredom." Apu sighed.

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "There's a TV, isn't there? You can turn that on."

"And watching reruns of shows like Maury, Dr. Oz, and Divorce Court?" he gasped.

"Hey, they gotta put something on the morning block." Chad said. "First you can start the morning off finding out which husbands are cheaters and which ones really are the fathers. After that you can choose from either health shows or the wonderful world of abuse. And you can finish the afternoon off with court shows run by all the big named judges from Mathis to Judy."

Apu sighed. "And who are you being now, some old school talk show host?"

"Actually right now I'm a guy who's really gotta hit the can." Chad answered.

"Very well, but don't being taking too long. We could get customers any second at."

"Got it, got it." Chad nodded before leaving the counter and heading towards the back where the restrooms were located.

Shortly after he had done that, the door opened to reveal a guy walking in. However, it wasn't the customer that Chad or Apu desired it to be. He was about as muscular as Chad, either indicating that he too had been in the army or that he had done numerous sport activities. However, to an extent he also appeared skinnier and his hair was shaggy, leaving combined tones of red and brown glistening under the coffee shop lights. His skin was lighter and his eyes glanced around the shop as though he were looking for someone. Spotting Apu at the counter, who was now giving in and flipping through the channels on the relatively small television across from him, the guy walked over. Leaning on the counter slightly, he cleared his throat to get the salesman's attention. Hearing a potential customer, Apu's eyes lit up and he immediately straightened his posture and turned to him.

"Welcome to the Kwik-E-Mart, help you I may?" he asked.

The guy raised an eyebrow. "Um…this isn't the Kwik-E-Mart…. Wait, are we in the Simpsons?"

Apu sighed. "Sadly, no. We are being in the real world."

"Aw that's too bad, I always wanted to be a cartoon character." He replied. "But maybe you can help me. I'm sorta looking for someone."

"Yes, yes, I know. Aren't we all?" Apu nodded.

"Is there a guy named Chad Danforth here?" he asked. "I heard he works here."

"Oh yes, indeed he does." Apu responded. "In the bathroom is where he is."

"Cool, cool." He nodded, pointing to one of the many empty tables. "I'll just wait over there for him."

Apu nodded in response as the guy went to take a seat. Turning his head and seeing Chad return, Apu blocked him from getting behind the counter. "Something tells me you off the clock for a while."

Chad raised an eyebrow from confusion. "How come?"

Apu pointed to the guy who entered. "The man over there said he was looking for you."

Chad followed Apu's gaze to the man. Chad could only see the back of the guy's head, but something about it seemed familiar. Chad just couldn't put his finger on it. "Did he say what he wanted to talk about?"

"Not at all." He shook his head. "But if it keeping being as slow as this, you should have all the time you need to talking about whatever."

"You sure?" Chad asked. While he was curious about what the guy wanted, he was also aware of the job he had to do. "What about work?"

Apu rolled his eyes. "Work? What work? We are having no work here right now to do."

Chad nodded, "Good point." He made his way over to the guy, still trying to figure out the familiarity of his hair style. Normally, Chad was never one to notice things like that. But he couldn't help but feel like he's seen it before. He was getting the odd sensation that whatever this guy needed to talk to him about was important, that Chad would need to hear it. He'd go so far as to say that he was curious. Clearing his throat, Chad opened his mouth to speak. "You said you were looking for me?"

The guy turned around to face Chad. He smiled and stood up to meet his eye level. "Hey Chad. Remember me?"

As soon as Chad saw his face, it clicked. He knew now why there was such a familiarity to him. "Jason? Dude is that you?"

"In the flesh." He laughed. As Chad suspected it was none other than Jason Cross. They had been on the same basketball team in high school, and Jason was also one of the many men that got drafted around the time Chad did. They were placed in the same unit at base for their army days, though Jason had been part of the lucky large group to avoid capture and actually go home when he desired. Chad hadn't seen Jason in a good three years, maybe more.

"Dude, you look great." Chad said. "Did you always have red hair?"

Jason laughed. "Nah man, I dyed it when I got back. Thought some change would be good."

"It suits you, man." Chad grinned. "What brings you here?"

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "Oh you know, catch up and everything. You got a chance to talk?"

"Yeah, I got a little bit of time." Chad nodded, hitting a high five with him before they sat down across from each other. "When did you get back?"

"I've been back a while." Jason answered. "All I do for the army now is recruit people. You know, the ones who actually want to fight."

"How's that going for you?" he wondered.

"Nothing but paper cuts from exchanging papers and writing stuff down." Jason sighed.

Chad laughed. He always knew Jason could be clumsy sometimes. Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed either, but Jason was a great and loyal friend. If he didn't have to, he wouldn't even hurt a fly. "Ok, you haven't changed a bit."

"You look like you have." Jason responded. "Working here instead of with basketballs? No more army life?"

"You kidding, no way." Chad replied. "I'm done with the army, man. And I can play basketball any time I want with my son. But I needed work, and this was the first place I could get. Good hours, close to home, free drinks, cheap food…heck, it's practically all the donuts I can eat."

"Don't get me hungry for donuts; I had so much for breakfast." Jason sighed, holding his stomach. "So many jelly donuts…."

Chad laughed. "Jelly? Alright, I'm more of a chocolate donut kinda guy, but whatever works for you."

"So, you have a son huh?" Jason inquired.

"Yup, CJ." Chad nodded. "He's in kindergarten now. Actually, he should be turning five soon. He does basketball, school…He's really great at schoolwork, actually. Straight A's just like Taylor."

As Chad continued to talk about his family, just finding a way to go from one thing to another, Jason couldn't help but lose a bit of focus. He couldn't forget what he was supposed to do; he was asked to find Chad to take care of something very important. As much as he didn't want to do this, there really wasn't a choice. It was part of his job and they needed people. Even as much as he hated to admit it, not getting Chad could even mean sending Jason instead. And Jason refused to go anywhere again; he'd take paper cuts over weapons any day. Although he was never one to turn a back on a friend, Jason was at a crossroad between friendship and duty. Choosing duty over Chad meant throwing away a friend he's had for years, and the only friend he really had during the army. Jason heard the rumors about Chad being alive; he knew that knowing that now, after what Chad had gone through, asking him to do what he was supposed to was nowhere near fair. But what choice did he have? Jason promised he would at least try. If Chad said no then it was final. However, he remembered what his boss said clearly: do whatever it takes. Jason didn't want it to go that far. But Chad could handle himself better than Jason could. The memories of what they had seen still shook Jason; times had arisen when he still woke up sweating. He didn't mind staying at a base and doing simple paperwork, but he refused to go back. Chad seemed far less fazed, but he also seemed much happier now. To exchange one of his friend's happiness for his own…. Jason knew it was wrong. Now it was just a matter if he would really go through with it or not.

"Chad…" he reluctantly interrupted his friend, "I'm not just here to catch up. I got business to talk about too."

Chad stared at him in disbelief. That was not the Jason he knew. The Jason he knew would laugh and smile with him, not talk about business and be so down. "You're joking, right?"

He shook his head. "Afraid not. See…well it's like this…." He paused for a minute as to formulate the right words. "…The Captain sent me to talk to you."

The Captain. Two words that Chad learned to hate so quickly. Two nights ago, it was the Captain who called and disrupted his evening. That was the one who tried to get him to come back to army life. And now he was going so far as to get one of Chad's closest friends to get him into the mix. As mad as Chad was for Jason tricking him like this, he knew it wasn't entirely Jason's fault. The guy was just doing his job, after all. It was the Captain that made Chad feel so much hatred. This was all his doing.

"I already spoke to him over the phone. I'm not interested in going back to the army." Chad stated simply.

"It's not just about the army." Jason said.

"The army is all about fighting. I've seen enough of it and I've been through enough." Chad responded. "The fighting that we're stuck with in some other country is what kept me away from my friends and family. I missed so much stuff because of it. And then the Captain of all people had the balls to call Taylor and tell her I was dead. Not MIA. Dead."

"I know. I was there when he called. And it was a mistake." Jason said. "It was something that should have never been said. Anyone else at base would have known better, almost anyone. But you know how the Captain is. He's all military, that's what he grew up with. It's hard to discard roots like that. He's done the army and military deal all his life, Chad. Someone missing in action might as well be dead, because we never know who we'll find or how we'll find them and when."

"Don't go defending that guy." Chad argued. "When did you become Mr. Smart Nose anyway?"

"People change, man. Things change people. Places change people." Jason gasped. "I've seen nothing but crap the entire time at base since you were gone. After that plane blew up, everything got messy. I don't know how it happened. That was the old clueless me, the one who never understood anything. I tried to man up, ok? But the things I saw can't be unseen!"

"So you use that as an excuse to lure a friend back in." Chad folded his arms.

Jason sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to go down like this."

"Then how did you mean for it to go down?" Chad questioned. That was something that should have never been asked. If Chad really didn't want that life back, he would have gone behind the counter and resumed his current work. He would have told Jason to leave. He would have just left it as it was and dealt with the consequences. But he didn't. Chad opened up his big mouth and let things continue on. Now Jason, or anyone else that Chad could have possibly talked to, had the perfect opportunity to convince him otherwise.

Jason took a deep breath and met Chad's gaze. Although Jason was never serious, he was always a serious man when it came to his friends. And over the years, he had also learned to be serious about honesty. That honesty started when he had told Troy in high school what a great singer he was. That same honesty Jason showed then, he had to show Chad, but now with more confidence. "We weren't just drafted to fight, Chad. We were called in to help people. And that's what we need now." Jason explained. "There's bombings. There's fires. There's earthquakes. There's people trapped in between the battling. Those are the people we have to help. We don't just get involved with wars to fight other countries and make big commodities or whatever. We get involved to save people's lives. We can get them out of the war zones and to a safe place where they can live their lives. The captains and generals and everyone else always say we fight for our country. But they also tell us that we fight to protect people. Not just our people, anyone who needs help. How can you just sit here at a cozy job in a safe corner of the world and not go saving people?"

As much as Chad hated to admit it, Jason was right. He had hated the fighting aspect of the army so much; he'd forgotten what the latter job was. Chad almost never turned his back on someone who needed help, unless for some reason they didn't deserve it. In all honesty, Chad really didn't know how he could just work or be at home so safely and not think about all the lives that were in danger. If it was him and his family in trouble, Chad would pray every day for someone to come and help them before it would be too late. One person could be the difference between life and death for a ton of families. However, Chad was also taking another thing into account.

Looking at Jason in the eye, Chad held his composure as he replied, "I could ask you the same thing."

For that, Jason had no answer. He was the one trying to convince Chad to come back so he wouldn't have to. Jason tilted his head down in shame.

But Chad wasn't going to take nothing for an answer. He needed to know how Jason saw this. "What happened to you? I mean sure, you were naïve and kinda clueless…. But you used to be a guy who'd do anything to help out his buds and now you're the guy trying to get me back to a life I hate?"

Jason reluctantly turned to his friend. "I watched other soldiers die, Chad. They died from gunshots. They died from wounds. From blood loss. They died without seeing their families again. They didn't die happy. The naïve me saw that and saw the crappy side of the world. One more sight like that could mean insanity for me. I used to be so clueless and helpless, just miraculously making my way into college. I was oblivious to what everything was really like. Even Gabriella knew more about the dark side than I did, and she was the one that got her fairy tale ending. The stupid and naïve me died along with the soldiers. Now…. Now I just do what I gotta do."

Chad shook his head. He understood what Jason meant. Even Chad hadn't thought the world could be so cold as to kill innocent people trying to protect their country or the people they love. But that didn't mean it changed him. Nor did it stop him from living his life. All he did was consider that part of his life over. He wanted to go back as much as Jason did. If Jason had come and told him that straight out first, and why he wouldn't be the one to go back, then maybe Chad wouldn't have lost so much respect for his friend. But this certainly wasn't the same guy he grew up with. Jason was basically saying that he was willing to trade in a friend's life for his. But Chad wasn't like that. It was just a matter of whether or not it was worth it. Would he give up his happiness and his family for a second time just to help out a friend who practically backstabbed him?

Unfortunately, Jason wouldn't give him much time to think. "Chad…?"


Dun dun dun? Well on the bright side, I did say I'd have the next chapter up within a week, and I did. I was debating about whether or not to merge this with the next chapter or make them separate, but I decided to go with them being separate. Cause then if they weren't it'd be a lot for one chapter and well, maybe you guys really have nothing to worry about. But now you know what the deal was with the bad feeling and with something gonna happen... I was gonna put in a madeup character but for some reason my mind kept telling me to throw in Jason. It felt weird not writing him as the Jason from the movies, though. Definitely not as much fun. But heck you guys didn't see that coming either did you? So yes once again, a lot of questions, a lot to diguest, a lot of joking within the chapter. But let's see what you guys say about this. Same goes for the next chapter, I will try to get it up by next weekend. Until then I'll leave you guys in suspense as to what is going to happen next, and hopefully to laugh about how Chad gets scared so easily. Good times, scaring Chad, good times...