Brother Mine

by Blackstar1979

"Brother Mine" Mark is preparing to retire from wrestling so he can keep a promise he made to Nina his dead first wife in a drug-induced dream. The bonds that were forged and those that were almost broken play a part in book three. This is a partial summary see Chapter 1 for full.

4. Chapter 4 Train of Thought

Chapter 4 Train of Thought

Down on Joshua's floor, Angel gets a call from Mark asking for the code to come up and visit his cousin. Angel asks Joshua how he was feeling this morning, and if he wanted any visitors. Joshua says he was feeling a little better. He looks down at his hands as he tries to make a fist which was one of the exercises Luke had given him. His hands only partly closed and that scared him beyond words. Looking up at Angel he asks, "What if I can't play anymore? I mean I know that we have a bass player and lead when I'm singing but," Angel tells him that he was able to move his hands more today than yesterday. "True I'm just... It's just a lot right now." Angel asked did he mind Mark coming up to visit him. "That's fine." They talk for a time and she tells him to please at least wait until they took off wraps complete with monitors to track the spasms and blood flow around his wrists and ankles. "Fair enough, I guess. Thanks babe." Soon Mark arrives, and Angel says she is heading home so she can be back by this afternoon. She kisses him and this time he could feel her lips on his. That was an improvement that gave him a lot more hope than it probably should have he wouldn't be playing guitar with his lips.

Angel greets him along with Paula who would wait on Mark because he was leaving town today to start another storyline in Arizona, and Mark didn't want his truck parked at the airport. Paula hugs her, and Angel hugs her cousin back. Paula asked how Angel was holding up. "Much better than the first night. He's already asking me to take off the top gown or unbutton it. The fact that he is coherent enough to make such a simple request, fills me with hope that he will recover soon." Turning to Mark as he is about to walk into Joshua's room Angel says to him "Can't wait to see the new look on camera cuzo." Mark smirks, nods, and enters the room. Mark's hair had grown back darker with a darker red tint.

Angel heads up to see Joy but is denied access when she swipes her card. She calls Bobby "Hey, is Joy ok? I'm up here and my card won't work." Bobby sounded funny and not ha ha, as he explains about Joy and how he didn't want her going in and saying anything that would make Joy even more confused than she is right now because of his big mouth. "But you guys were dating around that time why would she be shocked that you love her?" He says because what she is remembering is close to three months before he ever told her how he felt. "Oh, okay well Bobby all I can say is she will remember you, love is some pretty powerful stuff and she loves you." He says he hope she is right. Angel just prayed that Joy remembered Bobby before her brother lost his mind. They close the call and Angel heads home. When she enters the den, for a moment she stands in the doorway and watches as Sally plays with JC. Sally looks up at her and her goofy smile leaves her face. "He's fine." Angel says to the unspoken question riding in her mother in law's gaze. Sally sighs and says she didn't think she could take any more bad news. "I know what you mean." Sally says she never did get a chance to officially apologize and how she hoped her words wasn't what made Angel leave the house that night. "I won't lie, I didn't want another run in with you. After getting those calls I felt I had to get out of here. I am glad you didn't escalate anything at the hospital the night we got Josh back." Sally says she was just glad Angel let her see her son the day after. "Mom, I just did what I thought would be right. If I thought you would continue. You would have been ticked off, but there was no way I was going to let anyone in my husband's room that would upset him. I'm glad you hopped back on the sanity train, I really am." Sally speaks of Jonathon's talk with her after Angel ran from the room that day. Sally then says she'd let Angel spend some time with JC while she went and fixed them all something to eat before Angel would be returning to the hospital. "Thanks, mom for watching him, and everything." Sally nods and thanks her for allowing her to.

Up in Joshua's room, he speaks to Mark and Mark tells him not to stress so much about what he can't do and be thankful that he was able to survive at all. Mark asks him how Andrew got the drop on him in the first place. Joshua tells him the stuff he could remember and said there had to be more, but all he could remember was being in the cooler and having Andrew slam the door in his face and him not being able to get out, then being on his floor of his office getting zapped. Mark asked did he remember whether Andrew asked him to come back there. Joshua tries to remember stuff that happened after his call with Angel but before the cooler and came up with zero. "I don't know."

Mark could see taking Joshua back to that night was maybe the wrong idea. "Well for what the paper said you were recorded by the backup camera being carried out unconscious by Andrew. A lot of it don't make dimes to donuts of sense. The important thing is that boy that claimed to be your old man at my party, won't be able to hire no one else to hurt you or anyone for that matter, because he's set to go in the ground soon. He was said to have died from six shots to the head. He was found face down under the pier, the day after you were rescued." Joshua speaks about Deon still being out there somewhere. "He was identified at the morgue by his mother the night you were rescued. Someone put some lead right between his eyes. My thoughts, it couldn't have happened to a better punk piss ant of person. Anybody that is that fucked in the head deserved what he got." Mark found that he was getting just as angry as he'd been reading about that shit Deon had done to his cousin. "I have to get on the road here soon, just wanted to come by before I left the area." Mark didn't miss the relived expression on his cousin's battered face. Joshua thanks him for coming. Mark nods as he leaves the room.

As Mark exited back into the hall, Paula stood up and asked was he alright. "Yeah darlin and I now know why he asked that Nikki and Jan wait a time before being able to visit." Paula walks to the little window and waved at Joshua. She then turns to Mark asking was Joshua in much pain. "No, he says Middlebrooks got him on a good mixture that don't tank his system and gives him relief. It's a good thing that boy was rescued, he's worried about stuff that wouldn't have even mattered if they had of kept him any longer." Paula says she would call him later because she didn't want to see him like this, but she did want him to know she was thinking of him and praying for him to make a full recovery. Thinking of when he himself first walked into the room and how Joshua thanked him for not staring at him made Mark speak up. "He knows." Paula asks was Mark ready to head to the airport. He nods, and they head down in the elevator.

Rapture wanted to go in and visit Joshua he'd waited on Cass to come out she came back out and walked to him hugging him telling him how seeing her brother like that just made her think of when Rap had been attacked at Mark's school. She goes on to say that Joshua was pissed at Bradley and how she felt tongue tied because she understood but still didn't want this to rip their family on to two sides of a battleground. "If he wants to talk about it, I'll talk with him but honey it's good you didn't push, right now there is bound to be a lot that Bradley didn't say to you." Cass nods and sits where he'd been sitting waiting on her. She says she had to get back up to LEGNA and would he come by her office before heading to his next town. "Yeah, I wouldn't just hit the road without at the very least coming to get a kiss." Rapture heads into Joshua's room.

Joshua looks up at Rapture coming in the door he hopes this visit goes a lot better than his sister coming in a staring at him until he asked her to stop. Though they got along a lot better than in the past they still had some of their old habits. When he'd spoken, she'd looked out the window the whole time. He greets Rapture to break the silence. "Hey." Rapture looks at him and asks was he in any pain. "Nah, right now the med works to relieve the pain unless I move around too much. Then the spasms start up again which are no joke." Rapture says though he'd like to forget, he remembered all to clearly that part of his own recovery. "At least I didn't get any facial breakage, but it wasn't like Deon didn't try. Mark told me that someone ended Deon and Alex's asses." Rapture says yeah, the story got some major ink. "I'm just relieved to know that Alex can't pull this shit again." Joshua leans the bed back a little, sitting straight up as he'd been doing was starting to wake up the muscles around his midsection. The pain med dosage was on a time release and he didn't want to relive that pain if he could help it. Rapture tells him about other stuff not related to him and more to do with what he was doing with WWE. The change in topic was welcomed. Until Rapture spoke about Bradley.

Rapture sees that changing the subject relaxed his friend. He takes a seat that was near the bed and continues. "Yeah, man I had no idea that doing house shows could pay this well. Locally my name or my stage name puts a lot more butts in seats than I thought it would. When Cass bought our home it always made me think that I'd never be able to repay her. She saved my bacon in a time that it seemed like everything I worked for was about to fall quicker than a building downhill. With my next appearance if I sell as much merch as I have at the last three shows, I am calling Bradley to see if I can get that day room Cass wanted added on to our house. She wants one like the one that sets off your kitchen I figured though Logan's company didn't do the one added to your place, I've seen what him and Brad can do with a hammer and a plan." Joshua says he really didn't want to talk about Bradley or Logan right now. "All you guys are the closest I got to kinfolk. I mean you all have supported me I just wanted to give some back, speaking of which, thanks for the intro music man. It really set me apart from everyone else. WWE sent out the checks, so I imagine that you'll hear from Jonathon in a time. I know Cass said you were sore at Bradley for some reason but why would Logan be on that list, if you don't mind me asking?" Joshua tells him about how Logan got it in Bradley's head that Andrew and Angel may be a thing and how Bradley spewed that shit at his wife while telling her that he was missing and possibly hurt. Rapture was glad Cass didn't chime in on this. Rapture gets an alarm on his phone and shuts it off. "Well I'd stay longer but duty calls I got more reminders working for this company than I ever had to set for myself running the club, but I'm sure as hell not complaining get well soon man."

Days later down in his office, Luke drinks his third cup of coffee. He was hyper and beside a few nights ago when he passed out from exhaustion some time during a family meeting and woke up in his bed his sleep had been broken. Here it was Sunday again, an entire week had passed since his brother and father were taken and rescued. The chief was put on suspension for his actions while Internal Affairs and other agencies worked to investigate the information that he'd repeated too many times to forget the first and hopefully only time he'd been detained. The day after he'd told Chase and his new security partner Joseph about what happened to him, he'd sat for an interview with a man from Bobby's agency and a man he found out was friends with Chase, the Police Commissioner. Inside the interview they'd taken his picture of where the chief had made him kiss the divider and whatever he bruised his forehead on in the water under the pier. They had asked him to tell the story again he'd had to stop speaking during the interview, because though he was sitting in a government building that wasn't attached to Granville South Police Department even sitting in an office at City Hall made him anxious to the point, he felt sick by the time he left. A knock is heard at his office door. "Come." His father surprised him when he entered. "Hi dad is everything ok?" His dad says he was coming to ask the same question. Luke rubs a hand over his nape "Sure, I was just surprised you are out this late." His father looks at his watch, walks over, and hit the switch to open the blinds. It was already Monday morning. As the sun peaked from behind the buildings of downtown Grandville South Proper. Sophie was at a conference in Baltimore she'd promised that she would stay with Adina and Gregory. He hadn't really wanted her to go at all, but at the very least she was staying with trusted friends, he would have looked like a hypocrite if he told her that he wanted her to stay here when he fought so hard to act like everything around him wasn't beginning to freak him out. He stayed here in his in main office longer and longer doing paperwork ever since Sophie boarded Chase's private jet on Thursday. He'd did all the tasks that had been sitting in his work cue for months or that he would generally delegate to his office managers. Tonight, or this morning, he'd finally finished all the work in this office. He didn't see patients on Sundays unless it was an emergency. Looking at his own watch as if the sun was playing a trick on him coming through the window. He thinks aloud "So that's why Sophie said goodnight she'd thought I was heading home."

Lucas loved how his daughter-in-law loved his son and tried even from afar to keep him well. He holds up his phone and says, "No, she knew you were here via the tracker. She says she'd called the house and Chase told her that you had not arrived, so she asked would I come by and ask you to go home, I told her I would." Luke says he just got caught up with all the work he'd been behind on. "Congratulations, now per your wife's orders go home and get some rest." Changing the topic Luke asks how everything at his parents' home was, now that they had both returned. "It has been below par, but though your mother is against it I had a plan. As you know, though she is retired she as I, still work as a consultant. I want to move to the island full time. You were looking for a second home that doesn't carry the memory of your ex, I could arrange for you to take over our home here. Also, if you want, I'll quick sell you the Bentley that is here." His son accuses him of running. "Don't take that tone with me." Luke apologizes as he grabs his jacket says he was heading home now. "Good, I'll ride with if that's ok?" Luke asks did he drive here. "No, I caught Ivey Transit here." His son looks at him for a beat and then asks what happened that night because Joy had theories but nothing concrete. Lucas had not got a chance to really speak to his son, they get in the back of his son's Hummer driven by one of his long-distance drivers that didn't live too far from the hospital. Lucas watched the camera almost as carefully as his son did. They soon enter Ivey Mansion hearing their surname read through the system upon them opening the door and heading into the den. Luke closes the door and says he figured that his father wouldn't be up for speaking about it in front of his driver, but he did want to know what happened. As the memory that wasn't ever far from his mind replayed Lucas spoke. "Those fucking criminals somehow disabled my car along with Ivey Traveler. My mobile went black preventing me from calling for roadside assistance. A car pulled up and two men got out and asked could they help. I thought about the conversation we had about karma, and how I had helped many people stranded on the side of the road. I said sure. They asked me to pop the hood. As I reached in, I heard a click and looked up into the business end of a firearm in my face." Luke tells him about going to the scene and what Sophie said he looked and sounded like. Lucas sighs and says, "I'm glad she did not let you hang up. I have had a complete fugue shut down, it's very alarming to what lengths the mind will go to protect itself." Luke asked was that when he was still a doctor or had that happened recently. "It's one of the reasons I retired." Lucas carries on with his story and spoke of the agent that gave him an outlet that proved to be a useful way to keep his mind focused on something more than fear for Joshua's and his circumstances. He spoke of seeing Joshua as a patient at times to remain detached enough to work on him and speak to him as if it was just another session or a visit. Instead of thinking too hard about what was really happening. He mentions Alex's threat. Luke tells him that Andrew had stated that Alex was either dying or dead. "Those are two very different states of life, given by the man that started this powder keg. Or have you forgotten?" Luke mentions how Andrew claimed to have been set up. He also pulls his phone and pulls up the news article that confirmed that Alex was dead. "Well I think your mother and I are going to head to the island, because I swear, I have seen the taller one about town." Luke accused him of wanting to stay. "That would be the plan." Lucas ticked off reasons on his fingers. "No major aircraft can land there. You know I've been thinking about doing this for a time. As I have said before you can even have the Bentley." Luke gets pissed and says he didn't want the car he wanted his parents here when his child came into the world. Then storms out of the room and back up the stairs. Lucas sighs and orders his ride home.

Bobby had been extra careful when speaking to Joy. When he'd found her photo albums at their home after his father suggested he do so, he just sat and remembered the memories connected with those snap shots of time. He was relieved when she'd called him back in. She claimed to be bored and lonely. He didn't mind the reason just that she wanted his company. The first few minutes she just asked questions because she wanted to know why he said what he said. He showed her pictures of them and spoke of his hope that she remembered him how they were before her accident. She'd started looking through the book that she'd first put together after their first year of dating. She'd stop on a picture and ask him where they were when it happened, and he'd tell her. When she pointed at one and asked was, he really going to jump. "No, that was a prop on the set of the movie we had a studio package to tour. You rather enjoyed seeing them hook up all the cables to my vest as I swung across the set."

Joy closed the book. "I'm glad you came back. It's super clear that you care." She couldn't believe that supposedly she was this organized to start a photo album. His story really did have merit because she couldn't see herself looking him up so thoroughly if he was just a contractual work acquaintance. Most federal officers were the enemy when it came to local law enforcement. Once she could see him clearly and having him leave when she asked and then return when she asked made her think that there was possibly a lot of merit to his words. She'd woke this morning with a terrible headache. The room seemed to be closing in on her. Knowing her family was so far away. She asked him could she please use his phone to at the very least call her parents. He pulled a flip phone and handed it to her. She dialed her parents and was soon clearly upset by their reaction. "Mother, I am ok. Sore but ok. Agent Robert said he informed you." She can hear her older sister in the background. "I must go, I know how you worry. Goodbye, mother." Handing the phone back Joy closes her eyes. Would the bickering ever end? Her sister had yelled that they thought she had perished. That other voice that she'd heard gave her another emotion to try not to think about showing. Elation's boyfriend was a very untrustworthy person, but he was who her sister loved. She'd heard many of their fights that frightened her. Robert touched her cheek she opens her eyes and noticed that he had captured a tear on the pad of his thumb.

Bobby had not seen when the tears even started all he knew was something or someone had upset her. She'd sounded like she usually did when speaking to her family. He'd once thought she only did that in front of him, but maybe she was as guarded as she sounded. Before now she'd spoke to his father and sisters with more of a closeness. "If you don't mind, may I ask what upsets you so?" She speaks of her sister and how she'd yelled that they had read online that she had perished and that she thought he'd contacted them himself. "I did. I called them soon after you were moved." She goes on to tell him some things about her family that he never would have guessed. Elation who was her oldest sister was in a relationship with a male that scared her. "Why does Jack scare you?" She tells him of when she still lived at home in Washington before going off to school and entering the academy. Elation's now husband that her family compared him too sounded like a loud verbally abusive male and Joy had heard him threaten her sister one night while she was home. "Did you brother hear it?" She says she told him but got accused of trying to break them up. She then says that is one of the reasons she chose to move all the way to Texas to go to college. She speaks of other things that he had never asked, and she'd never shared with him. Her family had always doubted that she would succeed away from the reservation. She'd more than succeeded and when she remembered the locked away pieces of her memory, she would be able to believe his words.

Monday morning, Chase gets ready for his work day. Amy walks in to the sunroom and hands him coffee and a bagel. He kisses her and enjoys his breakfast and asks her what her plans are for today. Amy speaks about his son's birthday coming up. "Oh, I regret to admit that it had slipped my mind. From what I heard of last year from Sophie I don't see Joshua wanting any fuss especially with all that has gone on here lately."

Amy says "Chase I think at the very least we could make him a small cake and go up to the hospital and try to cheer him up because celebrating your birthday in the hospital can't be…"

Chase cuts her off. "Amy stop please. Dear, the woman that called Angel to tell her where Joshua was being kept inside the house is the same one that threatened their relationship on his birthday last year, so please no cake, no surprise, just leave him alone." Amy says ok and changes the subject.

Over at Logan's work site, he watched his friend spiral and really didn't know what to do about it. Bradley was being productive, but his attitude with the crew was a lot more aggressive than need be. After watching him go off on one of the new female electricians to the point she ran off crying, he had to put a stop to this. "Davenport my office now." Bradley looked over at him from the ladder climbed down and in minutes they were in the mobile office. Logan closed the door to the trailer "Look, unless you want her to send a few thousand volts of act right through your system leave her alone." Bradley says he was just checking on her. "She's fine we no longer are getting that weird surge every time we turn on the power. I'm sure this block appreciates not getting their lights turned off every time we start working over here." Bradley mumbles this area is a piece of shit anyway. "Bradley, I'm telling you this now cool it with the bad mouthing the entire area this is a work site. We are here to rebuild it, if you want to be transferred later fine, but right now I need your head in the game on this. I don't need you attacking my crew. Your firm but fair work demeanor I respect, this new you, I'm starting to doubt that you can take on a job where I'm not around anymore. I have worked way too hard for you to come in and tank my company one area at a time. Do you realize how much money we stand to lose if you chase off the unionized electricians in the start of summer? Let's put it this way, a lot."

Bradley gets to his feet. "Man, I'm sorry you're right I'll go apologize to Suzanna she didn't need me micro managing her like that hell I don't know nothing about rewiring a building. It's just in a few days it will be Joshua's birthday and I know he don't want me up there and it's driving me nuts." Logan says that he isn't sure Joshua would want anyone up there gawking at him right now. "Yeah I guess you have a point. Lo, you can still count on me like I said, I'll make this right. You would think I would be used to him being sore at me." Logan looked at him and asked what Josh was mad about now. Bradley was irritated with himself and the situation but hadn't told Logan about his epic fuck up. "He's mad because I was the one that told Angel about him missing. Kind of a don't shoot the messenger type thing." The lie tasted foul in his mouth but it was out there now. He stops before he leaves and tells the rest of it blaming Logan for a second before Logan shut him down and told him that all he did was repeat some hearsay from his wife from over a year ago. Logan says so that is why when he asked Angel could he visit Josh she said he isn't really having people up there. Bradley says. "It could be, he's not talking to me right now, so I don't know." Logan tells Bradley to take the rest of the day off and that he would handle speaking to Suzanna and wrap up the site today because as good as Bradley is he didn't need any more melt downs." Lo, I'm sorry ok" Logan asked him to leave. Seeing that he was batting a thousand with his friend and boss right now Bradley says "Ok" and leaves.

Logan shakes his head as he watches Bradley get in his car and speed off the site. Sighing he says to no one "Now for damage control." He calls Suzanna into the trailer and apologizes, they soon wrapped up. With Mia and the kids at his house he figured he'd invite Bradley out for a beer. His own home was just starting to settle. After calling Mia and telling her he'd be out a bit longer than usual he calls Brad and invited him out for a beer. Bradley sounded like he'd already started. It was only 4 in the afternoon. "Where are you?" Bradley tells him he's at the Last Ride. "I'm on my way man."

That night, Bobby is startled awake he hadn't even realized he drifted off sitting in the chair next to Joy's bed. After much retelling of their past she went to sleep, he'd told her he'd watch over her. He briefly wondered what woke him, then it happened again. Joy was crying in her sleep. Is it time for more topical pain med to be applied, he wondered? Her bruises from the surgery and from being stabbed were healing at a good rate. He hated to see this. He starts trying to talk her down until she said something that shut him up. She mumbles "our little secret." She then speaks about how he and she was in danger from the mob boss. How she couldn't protect them. "Joy, wake up" Bobby says with more urgency in his tone when she stopped moving after putting her hand on the spot she'd been stabbed. She was crying in her sleep and it was tearing him apart.

Joy is brought into wakefulness with a roaring headache. All the memories that had been locked away, merged with the last few days and she could not stop the tears that flooded her eyes. Looking at her husband to be she says "Robert, I was in over my head. I don't even know why they sent us back to the scene after the extraction." She thinks of Niles, though she was sure that was not his name he was an agent of high rank. "Federal already had agents there that out ranked me by leaps and bounds. The reason that I was even selected comes back into question. I should have not gone back. Deon and his wife are going to be coming for me. The female don destroyed a man's life and then turned him against the government or at least they thought they had. She had a pregnant woman killed in her own driveway. Deon already tried with the fake hostage that stabbed me, she was just a pawn in his game." More fear struck at that thought "Oh God our child?" Bobby puts his hand over hers that she'd put to her abdomen and says that their child is fine. Relief seeped into her system easing some of the dread. She speaks again trying to make Bobby see "Deon isn't the same man as before." Bobby tells her that Deon was killed at the scene. "Listen to me, his wife though is behind bars isn't dead and she has power and influence. The man she tricked might not have been as undercover as he claimed." She was shivering with dread. Bobby sits on the edge of the bed and speaks to her. "I do have one more question. If not from the female don, who am I being guarded against? Please don't hold back I see it in your eyes. Just tell me why I'm in a no-com room like the one you and your father were in after the shooting?"

Though he wanted to insulate her. It was as if she'd just awaken and he really didn't want to tell her, but he would not lie to her. Getting up, he walked to the door and then turned around. Running his hands through his hair reminded him all to quickly why he'd not been able to back her up physically as his wound that was healing made itself known with a small amount of pain from lifting his arms over his head. Lowering his arms slower than he raised them and breathing out trying not to wince he says "Joy, I first got suspicious when your boss the chief said no to treating you. Luckily the system called and asked me. Luke's dad said that if you weren't listed as critical, I would not have gotten a call and it would have been like a DNR was set in place. When I went home to look for the photos Chase brought me up to speed. There is an investigation underway but it's not for him saying no. It's because of the lengths he went to find out if you lived or died. He without articulatable reason detained and attacked my brother Luke and threatened him to the point he lied to both protect you and save his own life. That is why you were moved to this floor and not allowed communications. We feared that with your memory like it was, that you would invite him up here or give some indication of where you really are within these walls to someone that could bring harm to you here. Chief Patterson, called multiple times after telling the system not to continue care. Since your attacker was killed it helped us keep you away from local level. There would be no reason to guard you from a dead woman. As of now my family and your immediate family that lives in Washington are the only people outside of your medical team that knows for certain that you survived."

Watching her mate, Joy noticed that Bobby had lost more weight and looked very tired. His words both scared and angered her. Prior to this case, she kept trying to defend Chief Patterson saying he was rough on her and had a lot of the old ways of thinking. But this new information was not what she was expecting at all. It was one thing for her boss to believe that women were inferior in a classically male dominated profession, it was another to have someone that was supposed to be like family try to kill you. "So, this case was supposed to be my swansong? I knew he wanted more men in the department and looked down on females but that doesn't make much sense to try even indirectly by refusing treatment when I desperately need it, to kill me." Confusion mixed as she continued "I did my job. I got Joshua rescued, that was bound to be something that the chief could celebrate. How is Joshua?" Bobby tells her of Joshua's progress. "That is at least good news. I am sure Angel is much calmer now." Joy's thoughts circled back to Patterson "I don't understand why Patterson would want me dead. Through giving the case to me, his other more skilled teams were not touched if I had failed. Me along with mostly my team who had not been out of their offices in years banded together and completed this case, we didn't fail. Oh god this is so much confusion." Bobby tells her his view that he'd been working out in his head both from some of the stuff she'd said in passing and when she spoke of him days ago when in her mind, she wasn't a Captain yet. "I don't understand he treated me differently because of what I am not who I am. He became my superior that should have squashed any professional jealousy." Bobby asked could they change the subject for a time. His question and tone provided her with more than his words did. She could see the exhaustion under his all to serious expression. "To what?" He says he needed to let their family know they could visit her if it was ok with her now that her memories had been restored. "Yes, it's more than ok. Before you do though, Robert, I must ask when the last time was you ate?" He shrugged looked down at his phone and said he had been busy. He then must have recognized the tone of the question. He says he was going to do better and for her not to start worrying about it. Within minutes of him hitting send Angel was at her door.

It is finally Rapture's off day he'd been mid-carded two times last week. He could still hardly believe he is a professional wrestler now. Storylines were getting heavier and made him draw more on the acting aspect of the craft. After taking his woman out to eat, he dropped her off at home with a new puppy that she'd wanted. The thing was so small he didn't want to pick it up for fearing that he might crush it like he'd almost done to a rabbit by mistake. With Cass at home loving on the hound he went for a beer with the guys. Not really wanting to hang at The Davenport with all the crap that just happened, he stopped at the Last Ride. As he entered, he sees Mark chatting with Paula at the bar, nods at them, and keeps on to a table to wait for Bradley and Logan. Bradley comes out of the pool room grumbling about a hotshot. Logan soon joins the table. Bradley was in a mood it was more than him losing a game of pool. He starts drinking or continues from the way Logan asked did he think he really needed more. Rapture starts talking about his two TV spots as a mid-carder. Bradley slams a few more drinks and starts talking about Joshua and Angel, and how they just took shit wrong. He painted himself as what he told Cass that he was just the messenger. Logan told him to cool it. Someone from another table starts agreeing with him. The guy was rocking a Scorned Angelic Impression jacket. Great, just what Rap needed, some idiot to fuel the stupid. The guy even goes so far as to come over and start really going in on Angel which Rap figured was the guy's agenda when he sat down at the table next to them since Bradley wasn't quiet. Bradley seemed to come back to reality and starts arguing with the guy. When he gets up and stands over the hater, the guy stands up and ask what Bradley's issue is. Rapture gets up and blocks Bradley's line of view to the former Angel fan. "Bradley, we need to talk. NO, not later now." Bradley walks back towards the pool room. "I got a better plan, let me drive you home." Bradley looks over at Logan and says he was going to head out. Logan looks relieved and says he'd get his car Bradley asks how he would drive two cars. Logan says he had Mia drop him off here just in case he had to pour Brad out of here at closing time. Rapture watches Bradley hand Logan his keys. "I didn't even think about you possibly driving away from here. Good looking out Logan. Let's go Brad." Hater had continued talking until Mark walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. The guy whirled around prepared to look down from his 6'0 and looked up at a very angry looking Mark. Hater nearly took himself out trying to back away from Mark who was wearing his patented The Undertaker death glare.

Outside in the truck, Bradley gets in and says the guy looked like he was about to piss himself. Rapture says "Hell, I can't blame the little idiot, I'm taller than Mark, but that don't mean I ever want to ever get on my former teacher's bad side. So, all that crap you were spewing, if I told you that Josh and Angel were going to hear it what you would think, since you were not very quiet about how you feel? You know everyone loves to record a spectacle on their phone and put it on the inter-webs, and for better or worse Personal Touch is big in this area."

Bradley looks over sharply. "You don't really think anyone was that interested in what I had to say do you? I mean I was just blowing off some steam. That guy just took it there, and I shut him down even before Mark came over." Bradley really tried to think of all he'd said and was having a time of it. He'd been between that pool room and the bar for most of the afternoon. Ever since Logan had put him off the work site. He hadn't noticed anyone with their camera on him while he was talking shit. The thought that Joshua or even Angel would get a preview of his ranting from tonight and take it as how he seriously thought of them made him feel sick. Or it could have been all the mixing of booze. Something wells up inside of him and he felt like he was going puke. "Stop the truck." Rapture pulled over, Bradley hardly makes it out of Rapture's ride before he explosively gives all that booze back to the earth. Now came the other stuff that wasn't so easy to get rid of. A deep wave of depression and guilt washed over his already tortured mind. As he looked down at what he sprayed all over the flowers and wiped his mouth, his heart felt heavy.

Rapture gets out and hands his friend a wad of fast food napkins, so he could clean himself up. Bradley takes them and wipes himself off where his aim hadn't been that great. "You once told me you were getting too old for the frat boy act you put on back there, what happened to that guy? I know you were pissed, but Bradley there is no cure for stupid. Face it, you did something stupid and unthinking in a moment of fear and misunderstanding. You were afraid for your brother we all get that, but what I want to know is why it was so easy for you to assume Angel had a hand in it? Now you knew her before I met her, how did this spiral so quickly?" Bradley starts in with Logan's part. "Joshua isn't all that happy with Logan either, but Logan wasn't the one that pulled the verbal trigger on all you and your family have worked to overcome. Logan may have even been the bullet, but when it comes down to it, you know, and I know, if you just hit someone with a bullet without a gun, it won't work the same. Your little ranting session in the bar didn't sound so good when it was repeated by someone else did it?" Bradley looks over and said he hoped no one recorded him. He'd fucked up and really didn't know how to go about fixing what he broke. "Look, it is good to be truthful with yourself, but here is something you haven't thought about. I have a question, you were back there talking like they had banished you for life. Without giving me a lot of bull tell me what exactly happened?" Rapture follows Bradley as he walks over and sits on a bench that was facing the park they had parked at. The fresh air was doing his friend some good. Brad tells him what Josh said and what Angel said. "Now I don't know about you, but neither of those was a don't ever talk to me again. You know what it sounded like to me?" Bradley shook his head, then covered his mouth saying that was a bad movement. "I'm sure the grass won't care if you have to give it some more booze, but seriously I think it had more to do with them just needing some time, that boy almost died. Take it from someone that has had the shit beat out of them to the point your fighting for your life. When I woke up in the hospital, the last thing I wanted to think about was anything that would upset me or my woman. Now you don't have to do anything I tell you, but I'd say just cool it for a while. Not the just not around them cool, where you go off on unsuspecting crowds, because what you are going to end up doing is getting that negative attention and someone is going to record the sheer stupid flying from your face, think about how fast that video of Candy getting hit by Deon to music spread, it will make its way back to Josh and or Angel and then you will run the risk of getting them to cut you off for good. You know Joshua better than I do, you just helped Candy and Joshua and Angel mend their relationship. Do not become another toxic part of their life. They don't need it and nor do you." They soon get back in the truck and Rapture takes Bradley home. As Brad is getting out of the truck, he looks at his front door and then back at Rapture and thanks him for talking some sense into him. "I just hope it sticks, see ya around buddy."

Over at Ivey Mansion, Janet dresses to get ready for school. This was going to be a long day. Today after her on site study with her accounts payable teacher she was going to meet Tony's adoptive parents. Mark was going to drive them since it was outside of city limits. More importantly, it was in Houston. Janet had spoken to her dad and her momma and they agreed that if by this afternoon she didn't want to go, then maybe they could reschedule and meet somewhere between Granville and Houston. Just when she was getting to be ok with meeting his adoptive parents, Tony told her his adoptive parent's address. She knew that street sounded familiar. It was a mere two streets from her dad's ranch which meant it was really close to the kids that used to go to school with her. She'd learned just how many of them weren't really her friends. Since her dad wouldn't drop the lawsuit against the parents of her attacker and his sister who was an adult, and the Fast Track School System for the negligent way they handled everything. Janet cringed at just the thought of running into any of them. Coming back to herself she shakes her head. She'd zoned out there just holding the brush to her hair. Seeing her momma in the refection of the mirror standing by her door Janet turns around. Had her momma been speaking? She was really in her thoughts there for a time. "Morning momma."

"Morning baby is everything ok?" Paula hated seeing her child's way too expressive eyes change. Janet tells her that she is still nervous but as of right now still wants to go meet Tony's adoptive parents. "I'm sure they'll love you. What's not to love?" Janet half smiles and grabs her laptop. Paula gets a call from the Nana Barnett Academy as they are heading towards the car. She is informed that school will not be on location today because of a bomb threat that circulated on social media from a former student's account. Looking at her big girl, Paula says numbly into the phone "Ok, we were heading out now thank you. I do hope you get that resolved quickly." Janet asks what was wrong claiming that Paula had lost the little color she had a moment ago. "Well you don't have session at school today there's been a bomb threat. Your principal says to do any online work that is due today and have it turned in by midnight. I'm going to call, your dad he gets these messages as well, and I don't need him thinking I took you go to school already, luckily, we were running late today. Or you would have seen me do the fastest U-turn ever done by a parent." Paula calls Mark he answered by asking had she received a call from the school. "Yes, and we are still at Angel and Josh's place." They talk for a time and Mark's tone relaxes as their conversation moves away from some idiot threatening to blow up the school. Mark asks her to tell Janet that he would be in town by 3 this afternoon if she still wanted him to drive her and Tony to Houston. "Will do, safe travels babe."

Janet texted Tony telling him that she wasn't going to school today and why. He replied that was insane and he was glad she was safe. He asked were they still on for going to meet his adoptive parents. Janet says sure. He called her and asked her was she ok. It made her feel like he cared though she hadn't meant anything bad by her one-word response, for him to see through it was touching. She waits for her momma to leave the room before continuing with their conversation. "No, I am mostly over fearing their reaction. I just had no clue you guys lived so close to Fast Track." Tony says for her not to fret over that considering her dad was driving them and it wasn't like they would be at the school at any time during the visit. "I guess you have a point there. I'm sorry I probably sound nuts for worrying about this stuff huh?" Tony tells her nah he worries about lots of stuff, but it is usually stuff that don't happen, but he knows in that moment it seems like the end of the world. They touch on lighter topics and soon end their call, so he could get back to his school work and she could finish turning in hers online.

Up at LEGNA, Jonathon meets with Gloria and Angel on a video conferencing link. "I've found and shut off all accounts that are no longer serving Personal Touch. I am absolutely convinced of this because I have had Robert try to infiltrate our server from the precise accounts that were there providing Deon with access." Gloria chimed in and asked why he hadn't told her of this. "There were accounts that were being rerouted through your portal. At first glance it looked as though you were sending the messages." Gloria asked did he really believe that she would do anything to make business bad on purpose. "We are leaving the point of this meeting behind. I will say Gloria, If I thought you were, I would have excluded you from this meeting about the findings." They continue their meeting and at the end Angel thanks her dad for continuing the investigation that she'd brought to his attention even though with everything that happened, she'd not been in the head space to handle business. When she visited Joy this afternoon, seeing her to be sister in law doing better helped Angel refocus. Now that Joy remembered most of the events that happened when Angel visited, Joy asked had the results came back from her program she'd sent through LEGNA's system, that is what made Angel ask her dad today. Gloria sent Angel a private message asking how Joy was doing. Angel replied that she would not comment on that on any public platform as of now. She then sent a copy of the transmission to her father. Her father may trust Gloria, but Angel was still on the fence. Gloria asked what shape her talent was in and would Personal Touch be able to make their upcoming tour. Jonathon spoke before the angry expression on his daughter's face became verbal output. "Most of the time I do place the responsibility on to the band lead, but in this case, I took the decision on and have another band filling in for Personal Touch on this upcoming tour. I sent it to Cassandra already." They close their monthly meeting and Jonathon calls Gloria into his office.

That afternoon, Candy wakes with a start. Feeling clothing on her head, she blindly feels around and opens the door. Looking around she sees that she is on the closet floor of the room Glenny stays in when he comes over. She'd freaked out and locked herself in here when Bradley came in late last night. He was drunker than shit and smelled of not only alcohol but also vomit. She'd been in the kitchen seeing him wasted like that made her nervous because she'd had the displeasure of dealing with drunk or high guys, in the middle of the night in her past and the shit was not fun. She'd got his earlier text that he was heading to the Last Ride with Logan later and sent back a smiling emoticon telling him ok and that she was just going to work from home. That was cool what wasn't cool was him coming in and singing BORNS's "Electric Love" and trying to push himself on her against the sink. Being both angry that he would get this shit faced and think she'd want a drunken screw on the sink, and afraid of possibly getting hurt considering he was being rough with her, she'd splashed him in the face with the cup of water she'd just ran for herself. When he started yelling and wiping at his already stained clothing, she'd ran up here locked the door. Hearing him break shit and call after her, triggered another response she hadn't got over since childhood, she'd hid in the closet and silently cried herself to sleep as she had in her past. The big difference was, where with her father and with Deon she kind of knew when they were flying high or tanked, Bradley up until last night had not given her any indicators that he was going to get completely trashed. He drank but he liked to be in control of himself. Last night, the Bradley she'd grown to trust and love wasn't in attendance, she could see it in his eyes as he lunged at her and it scared her. She couldn't do this again.

Bradley woke in a heap on the floor of their bedroom, looking around he wondered where Candy went. Getting to his feet he sways and goes in search of her. His mouth felt like a football team used his tongue for practice. His head was pounding, and he smelled awful he was starting to turn his own stomach. When he walks pass a mirror in the hallway, he does an about-face and heads to the bathroom to clean up. There was clothing, and broken glass all over the floor. Grabbing his hair, he pulled trying to remember what the hell happened. Shattered pieces of memory assault him as he showers. A particularly frightening one of him chasing Candy through the foyer stuck, and nearly made him slip as he tried to get out the shower and go find her. Yesterday was a total train wreck that he fucking caused. He had to make sure she was ok. He called her cell phone, following his ringtone, he found her phone in the kitchen on the floor. A wave of nausea hit him, and he wasn't sure whether it was the hangover or the fear that he'd chased her out the fucking door for good. The big question in neon lights running through his head right now was, why the hell was he chasing her? He gets dressed and searches the house half in a panic. When he comes to the guest room Glenny stayed in when he visited Bradley tries to turn the knob and finds it locked. Resting his head on the door jamb, he closes his eyes trying again to figure out what happened. He'd been doing such a bang-up job here lately with the people he cared for that he didn't want to continue that trend. He'd scared and angered Angel, pissed off Josh, and pissed off and disappointed Logan, all in the span of a week. He didn't even want to think about if what he ranted at the bar got back to his family. How to sink yourself in one easy step, be and idiot named Bradley, he berates himself. He called Logan and hoped his friend could help him. Logan shed some light on how he could find out what went down when he got dropped off. He walks away from the door and heads back through the kitchen into the mudroom and watched the last few times motion occurred in the common places of the house. Seeing himself shove and pull on her while trying to sing was bad enough, that he cheered for her when she doused his ass with whatever was in her cup. Watching himself get pissed and start yelling at her while slapping at himself made him wince at the look on her face. He saw it before it happened when he started shouting and advancing towards her, Candy's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she ran. Bradley put his hand over his eyes, as if he could wipe away the look on Candy's face before he chased her into hiding in their own damn house. Looking around "I have got to make this right." He whispers to himself. He starts to clean up trying to think of how to approach this.

Hearing Bradley move around up here on the second floor Candy sits in the room. What was she going to do? She would have called Cassandra, but her phone was out there somewhere. Having no idea what to expect she goes to the door, peaks out and catches a glimpse of where Bradley had cleaned up the glass he'd threw at her seconds after she'd closed this door. Try as she might, to be rational, she had no idea what to do or what to say to him. She tried not to compare, knew it was a bad idea, but that behavior last night was way over the top his actions sent her triggers to the max. The "what if" parade plagued her mind with all kinds of scenarios each one worse than the first. What if she hadn't got the door closed fast enough. She would have probably got smacked with the glass he launched at her. Rational thought tried to help by saying It was an 8oz. juice glass, it would have hurt but at the very least unlike fighting with Roman, or Deon, she didn't think it would have rendered her unconscious. The most terrifying "what if" that made a home in her head, and chilled her blood was "what if" splashing him as a distraction to flee hadn't worked, what if he had caught her? Tears swam in her eyes. Soon he knocks on the door bringing her out of her thoughts with a start. The fact that she for a second thought of not saying anything. He would have known she hadn't left. "Yeah" He asked her could they talk. "I'm really not in the mood to talk to you right now. I hope you understand." He says that he understood and that her phone was on the hall table outside the door on charge. "Thanks." She says in a lower timbre of voice.

Inside the Sheldon Estate, Lucas Sr. sits at the breakfast nook staring out at the lake that set of the back of their home. Usually he sat outside, but here recently he stayed inside. After another long discussion about their future living arrangement, Ella walks out of the kitchen after just wordlessly watching Lucas close himself off. Ella calls Chase, her husband and her child weren't speaking, and she hoped that Chase could talk to Lucas. Ella had expressed her displeasure about the one-way decision to move to their island, but she was afraid it fell upon deaf ears. She couldn't speak to many people about it because most would not see a problem with moving to their island. Some would think of her issues as just an attention plea or ploy. It had only been one missed weekend dinner that her son had declined his open invitation though it felt like an eternity since she'd had her son over. She was happy that her daughter was retuning today and hoped that possibly Sophie could talk some sense into Luke. No, she didn't want to move to the island right now either, but both Sheldon men were just as stubborn as the other. "Thank you Chase I really do appreciate any light you can shine on the situation." Chase says she is welcome but for her not to think just because he spoke to her husband that Lucas would concede. "I'm aware that everything you touch doesn't turn to gold, but I thank you for at least listening to me and agreeing to speak with him." Chase calls her a charmer. They soon close their call, Ella waits in a sort of suspended motion listening to see if Chase will call or come by. She soon gets her answer as the house manager tells them that Chase Ivey had arrived. Chase starts light conversation with them both then ask for a moment of Lucas's time in private. When they head into Lucas's den Ella sighed releasing a breath, she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.

Chase sits in the den with Lucas, "I've missed you at golf. If you wanted to join Ivey Club House instead of remain at Granville Country Club that would be fine." Lucas grunts non-committedly and stands looking out the window. "Lucas we have known each other for a very long time I know you are rattled but.." Lucas whirls round, his eyes alight with anger as he says that Chase had no idea how far beyond simply being rattled, he was. "I'm going to stop you right there. Last year my world got turned on its ear. You were at least abducted and valued to which they didn't want to bring harm to you. Also, they were to you strangers, no connection to your wife or child. My wife at the very least played with my life, like a cat with a fucking ball of yarn, three times that I am aware of. There was a time I thought about running, just going to my mother's home in England and never looking back." Lucas says that Chase was always more mentally resilient and flexible. "I'm glad the outer shell held up to the hype. Lucas, I know what you are feeling right now and I'm not here to tell you your next move I'm here to inform you that both your wife and your son is worried about you. I would be lying, if I said that your sudden dive into being a recluse isn't alarming to me as well. If you go down this path and move to that island it will never be as safe as you picture, you will always be thinking of more security measures. You will have turned your nice island paradise into your own personal jail cell. That's not fair to you or Ella." Lucas says Chase wouldn't understand because Sophia and Angel's ex-boyfriend are both dead. Lucas goes on to say before Chase can say anything in his defense, that there is still one of the captors walking about town and he couldn't go through that again. Trying to rein in his own anger. Chase says "Lucas, if I thought for one second that I could have prevented anything else from happening by fleeing you bet your ass I would have been on the first jet to London. Sophia's death and that of my abductor Braden just because their bodies were laid to rest doesn't mean that for almost a year, I wasn't plagued by fucking night terrors while cleaning up the mess Sophia left behind. I got help when the shit started affecting my everyday life. What you are missing is that there is an investigation underway. Logically, there would be no reason for the man that aided Joshua's father to come after you. His moonlighting employer for that job Alex, is dead. His other conduit to money for doing anything to you or Joshua for money is dead. There is no longer value in taking you or my son anywhere because the person that was funding this criminal activity was killed. When Wolfe, Alex and the other man's regular um employer for lack of a better term, found out what had been happening, he handled it, and in that result the guiltier party behind all of this was dealt with internally. The latter part of that I didn't tell you, and you didn't hear." Lucas nods his understanding and then says this shook him beyond anything he'd ever been through. "I can't tell you a quick fix for trauma, but I can tell you what works for me and that is therapy." Lucas looks over at his friend's admission as he addresses that Chase used the present tense. "Yes, I did. For me it was either get into therapy or lose all those that I love. I chose to get help before I ran my children and my mate away for good."

Over in Dallas, Sophie and Luke ride in an Ivey Transit from the airport back towards home. Luke had arranged to be driven to pick up Sophie instead of driving himself because of two reasons the first was he had not got much sleep in the week his mate had been away, and Sophie had refused to ride with Doctor Sleep-Deprived as she called him. He still wasn't a fan of going so far away from their hometown in a driven car, but he would not just send a car for her as irrational as it even sounded to his mind the fear that a part of the dirty cop clan would target his wife. As usual his wife had a point, he'd been sleep deprived for a while and had just completed a 46-hour uneven split shift. At hour 47 Sandra sent him a message asking had he fell asleep, when he'd replied that he just came from a meeting it wasn't long before she caught up to him and asked him to sign out or she would sign him out. Sophie asked him what an uneven split shift is. "Dr. Middlebrooks contacted you I see." Sophie tells him not to be mad just because Sandra was concerned about him. "Fair enough, I signed out at about the 22-hour mark, had a meal with Joy and Bobby up in her room, and then signed back in. Basically, I signed out long enough for the system to let me continue working without sending me off line automatically."

Sophie looked at her husband he looked exhausted. "Luke, from one workaholic to another, you have got to do better. In 6 months give or take, it won't just be us we have to stay alert and healthy for." He says he knows and just needs to get a few more things done when they get back. Sophie sided eyed him and said "No, we are going home." Luke breaks eye contact, and looks out the window, then starts checking the camera system. Sophie saw the uneasiness in her husband and really didn't know how to help him. She knew what worked for her after the limo crash, but Luke's ordeal was different because he'd been pursued, and attacked by a high ranking asshat with a badge. Sophie figured she would change the subject. "Bobby says that Joy has started remembering things." Luke launches into how he believed Joy's mind was trying to protect her. They soon arrive home, Luke grabs Sophie's bags leaving her to only carry her laptop case. They have a light dinner, and Luke asks her about how Adina and Gregory were doing. "In short, they are waiting. Gregory's mother will be in the states in about a week. Gregory is anxious about meeting her, I think he is afraid that he's being conned again. Conrad really did a number on his level of trust." Luke nods and says when he wakes up in the morning, he'll call Gregory and just be an ear or whatever he needed. "I think that may help hearing from you instead of just me and Adina."

Candy still felt anxious when she did leave the room to grab her phone. She heard the front door alarm beep and say that it was open, she watched as Bradley walked outside. She wondered briefly if he'd turned up the sound because it usually didn't sound so loud. Was that his way of letting her know where he was, she wondered? After calling Cassandra she felt better because Cass slowed the "what if" roar in her head down to a mild purr. Cass asked her what she wanted to do and said make sure that she thought about any avenue she took. Looking out the window again after getting off the phone she glimpsed Bradley sitting on the porch swing on his phone. With him still outside Candy decided that she would take this time to shower and changed in to real clothing. One thing she never wanted to do was start a possibly difficult conversation in her freaking night clothes again. Her thoughts briefly went back to how well that worked at her old house. She stopped that train of thought Bradley had scared her, but he was nowhere nearly as nuts as Deon had been and to compare them in that way would be wrong. After darting to the bathroom and noticing that Bradley had cleaned up all the glass and whatever else he'd broken last night made it easier for her to shower without having to look at the evidence of last night's storm. She wanted to go to him. She knew she had to do this. She looks outside and found that she didn't have to worry about him interrupting her shower, he was still outside sitting on the swing. She was cold, she didn't think that was all due to the outside temp, so she grabbed her hoodie Angel had ordered for her and went to the front door.

Bradley sat on the swing he built out in the front yard, on the phone with Cassandra. He'd called her since he really couldn't talk to who he wanted to talk to. When he saw the light go on in the bathroom he wanted to go up and join Candy but him not wanting to send any more fucked up signals stayed outside. He'd turned up the system, so she could hear when he went back in the house if he had of went back in before they talked. Cass really ripped him a new one verbally. All she gave him room for was yes and no answers. Did he want to tank his relationship, no. Did he understand how nuts it was for him to go after her like that, yes. If they couldn't work this out what was he going to do. He'd thought about it a lot and answered his sister as he'd told Joshua before. "Cass, if this falls apart, I think it will really just be time for me to get lost. Maybe Texas isn't where I am supposed to be."

Candy leaned away from the door when she heard what he said. She knew right then and there that she didn't want them to end. She didn't want him to leave or feel that him coming back around his family was a mistake. He sounded just as afraid as she felt. Taking a deep breath, she walks from behind the door outside and he must have seen her because he got off the phone and greeted her in his usual way with a hey. "Hey," looking into his whisky colored eyes was her calm. He looked like she felt. Sleeping in a 4 by 6 closet will do that to you. "Thanks for my phone and for cleaning up." He nods and puts his phone in his shirt pocket. Now that it was not in his hands, he restlessly put his hands in his front jean's pockets. His body language said so much without him having to say a word. Not wanting to just stand here in the front yard staring at each other Candy finally musters the courage to speak more than a greeting. "Bradley, I must ask, what happened yesterday? I got the text about you meeting up with the guys and thought that great he needs a break. You scared the holy shit out of me. It's going to sound weird, but that wasn't you last night. You never get that plastered, or at the very least you hadn't around me. Please don't do that again. As someone that has done a lot of shit she'd like to forget while super drunk, I know where my cut off is. I can't go through that again. You have come so far, almost two years clean from drug abuse. Don't trade vices, if this is what is happening get help. Hell, I'll go with you. I want to be with you, but I can't do that again. It brought up way too much of my past and sat it right in front of me last night."

Bradley wanted to hold her, he wanted to say and do so much, but Cassandra told him to let Candy lead. He was trying to do just that. He'd came out here to give Candy space. He'd suggested that he go for a run or a long drive to clear his head, but his sister said he'd appear to be running away. He didn't want to do anything to further screw up this relationship. He'd did a heck of a job of that last night. "Will you sit with me please?" She was standing ram rod straight. He hated that she was anxious, but he understood. Looking out at the property, he says as he takes his hands out of his pockets. "Last night, I lost my shit in a major way. I'm so sorry, I can't even express how sorry I am. I'm sorrier that I scared you. You asked what happened, from the time I sent the text until I showed up last night. As you know I screwed up bigtime with how I handled the Joshua and Angel thing. It's been weighing on me more than even I thought. Yesterday at work, I was extra to my crew to the point Logan put me off the site. I was out of control, in one weeks' time, I turned my own world upside down." Candy asked what that looked like to him. Bradley gives a humorless laugh and says "You are starting to sound like my therapist. I'm not saying anything negative about that just sounded familiar is all." Bradley then verbally walks Candy through the past week including, the things he felt, the actions took to ease the guilt, and how that ended up backfiring. Candy made a sound but said nothing when he spoke about him losing his shit at the bar. "I know, I possibly made it worse. If that shit gets back to them, I'm afraid I've done irreparable damage to a relationship with my brother that I never even would have thought possible two years ago. I can't even think of why I would think Angel would cheat on Joshua no matter who was talking. When the guy at the bar started agreeing with me and talking about hot sheet gossip about Angel and Josh, I defended them, because as Rapture said, no it didn't sound good when someone outside of me started trashing my family. I was throwing a loud pity party for myself and made myself look like a fucking idiot, because I was the one leading the charge about how horrible they were to me which is all bullshit and lies. The truth is, if it wasn't for Joshua and his relation to Chase, I wouldn't be alive right now. Hell, he went out of his way to make sure I was taken care of he went up against mom and though he never asked for any kind of repayment. I managed to repay him by letting Megan's off comment to Logan over a year ago about Angel, someone she didn't like to guide my fucking tongue in accusing my sister of cheating on my brother in a time when his fucking life was in danger." He was getting loud and saw her flinch when he raised his voice. Wiping a hand over his face and pausing to calm his tone he turns back to Candy and says in a more conversational tone. "I can't even be there for him, like he was for me, because I added to the toxic situation. Last night after Rapture saved me from the stupid flying out of my face, his words not mine. I get home to our place that we are building to be a safe, peaceful place and scared the fuck out of you. I'm so sorry Candy. I know I can't erase what I did, I wish I could, but life don't have a reset button. I put both of us in danger by drinking like that. When I watched what I did and your reaction I came to the door to make sure that you were ok, or as ok as you could be after I lost my shit. Your fear that it will happen again, please don't think of this as an empty promise, but that isn't going to happen again. Thank you for stopping me. I don't know what I'd do if I had of physically hurt you. I already feel like shit for scaring you. I've been feeling like I'm sinking even though I'm the one that shot holes in the boat. I love you and want us to continue to build our life together."

Candy teared up. In his words she heard his pain but unlike the others Bradley admitted his wrongs all of them, he wasn't hiding from them or blaming her, he tried to dull the demons of his bad decisions and it backfired. She was afraid and explained what was going through her mind last night when he came in trying to fuck her on the sink. She revealed the triggered parallels that drove her into the closet when she looked him in the eyes and all she saw was anger. "I want us to work, I heard you before I came out here, and I don't want you to leave. It's not even that I don't trust you. I'm more afraid to trust myself. I love you, but I'm scared Bradley." She gets up and sits closer to him putting her head on his shoulder looking out at their yard.

"I want to make this right, I don't want you to leave or be afraid if you stay. I love you too. I get what you mean, I too am used to running or staying too long. I want, you to stay. Believe me, I get that fear. All I can really say is that my actions will speak louder than anything I could ever promise. The words I'm sorry no matter how heartfelt are so small, but I got to start somewhere. Babe, I am sorry. You mentioned the fear that I'm just trading addictions. I'm not going to trade one addiction for another with my personality and my past, I'm giving up hard liquor, especially when my emotional gird is this off balance." She wrapped her arms around his waist and that is where they sat just holding each other in an easier silence than when they started speaking. After watching the sun set, Bradley noticed she was shivering and looks at her face to make sure she wasn't silently crying or anything. "Are you cold?" She says yeah, a little and asked if they could go out for dinner. "Sure thing, babe."

Janet sat in the passenger seat across from her dad, they were on their way back to Grandville South. Tony's adoptive parents made him stay. That bummed Janet out, and pissed off her dad and Tracy. The entire visit was weird. Tony introduced her dad and her to his adoptive parents and they went from smiling to something like a forced smile. This was Tony's week to be with Tracy, but his adoptive parents called Tracy up and told her that they would drop Tony off instead of him just riding back with Janet and Mr. Callaway. Tony was just as surprised as everyone else in earshot of the phone conversation. Her dad had said that he wasn't taking her back over there. "I'm sorry dad. You already don't get to spend a lot of time with…."

Mark wasn't going to let his reaction to Tony's adoptive parents being rude and pissing him off ruin how his first born saw him. "Janet, I was never mad at you. I got hot under the collar when his father kept staring at you and when his mother kept asking you questions that was none of her damn business. I saw it making you unconformable. I don't think of anytime I get to spend with you as a waste. I'm glad I agreed to bring you, if your momma had of been in there, I think things would have went south a little quicker." Mark says with a smirk thinking of how Paula had been in his ear piece demanding to speak to the heifer. His current wife loved and protected his first born just as she did their twins and for that he would always be grateful that he took a chance and remarried after his first wife died. Not wanting this to be a total waste of a day with his daughter he pulls over to the side of the road. "You feel like driving us back?" Seeing her beam from ear to ear improved not only Janet's mood but his own as well. They traded places and he watched with mirth as Janet took their driver music choice rule as the gospel as she looked at him and changed the station from country and had the truck system sync with her phone minutes later as they pulled on to the road, Joshua's voice from the Davenport Lightening CD blared through the speakers. Mark couldn't even hear himself think Joshua hit a guitar solo and Mark says, "I don't mind your song choice but turn it down." Janet touches the button on the steering wheel and brings the music down to a manageable level so that she would be able to hear him easier than him shouting to the top of his lungs. The song cuts off and a ringtone chirps through. Mark looked over to see if his daughter was going to honestly answer the phone while driving, he was pleasantly surprised.

Did she want to answer her phone sure, but they were on the highway which for her was something that needed more of her attention to watch out for nuts that weren't paying as much attention. Without breaking eye contact with the road, she hits the volume button twice and a ding is heard. "Call you back smiley face driving." When she glanced at her dad he was smirking. Pushing the button to resume the music she grins as well. He asked what if she didn't have the controls on the wheel. "Then it would have been annoying, but it would have rung until I at the very least got to a spot that I could look at my phone namely not on the highway doing 75mph." Her dad chuckles and says good answer.

Over at Chase's home, Nikki comes in the back door and dashes up to her room. Tony had called her a bunch of times. That wasn't like him. He knew her school schedule better than she did sometimes. Calling him back while changing clothes. She gets an earful. She stops in the middle of pulling off her shoes. "Wait, you're talking too fast, what happened? I'm sure it can't be that bad. Oh, why would they act like that?" She could hear the confusion and repressed anger coming from her friend. When he says that his adoptive mom was thinking that maybe a reunification with his birth mother wasn't as great an idea based on seeing his girlfriend and recognizing that she looks like Megan. "They are related and heck not to sound mean, but that lady was way off her meds before she died. Bottom line Janet is not like Megan was at all. How did Janet take the weird relation questions and your pop going from his normal nice persona to "Mr. Stare-N-Glare at her" I'm sure Mark wasn't too happy with them making Janet uncomfortable."

Tony rubs a hand over his nape as he sits on the back porch of his adoptive parent's home. "Nikki, I messed up big time, I invited Jan here and for 20 minutes my mom either asked personal questions that Mark shot down or had Jan looking like she was going to start crying. She was already scared about meeting them and they just gave her a reason. Mark stood up at about the 15-minute mark and said they were leaving that's when my dad said that they could go anywhere they wanted, but I couldn't go with them. I came with them have traveled to local shows. Now I must wait until my mom gets here just to get her to drive me back to Grandville. For the first time since I got here, I don't want to be here." His adoptive mother calls him. "Hey, I have to go, not trying to tick anyone off more, but this blows huge chunks. Their basing all this on looks. Janet don't even look that much like Megan and my original situation should have already showed them you can't pick the people you are blood related to huge example my birth father. Here I come! Ok got to go, call Janet for me please." Nikki says he bet his ass she would be calling her girl. "Thanks Nikki, bye."

Paula is working in her office on site at the Last Ride when Tracy briefly knocks and enters talking a mile a minute. Paula knew this was coming the minute Mark called her with Tony's adoptive parents ranting and raving in the background. They were acting like Megan herself had walked into their home. The disrespect was a lot for Paula to hear and not be able to tell the bitch off. Hearing Mark shut down the conversation so thoroughly at one point made Paula smile. Mark let a lot of things slide or did his best to, but one thing he didn't budge on was when it came to his daughters, herself, and his kin, he could be even more a bear than he'd been today. Paula didn't doubt for a second if she hadn't of been on the phone and told him to just bring her baby home, that he would have either still been there telling them off, or behind bars for trying to knock some commonsense into them. Now a very upset Tracy paced in front of her desk asking would she please go with her because she wanted to go and get her son. Paula agreed for two reasons one she didn't need Tracy crashing with as upset as she was, and two she wanted to find out all that was said before Mark had called her. She was already deciding on whether her speaking to Tony's parents would help or not. She knew she had to have a cooler head and not just go Bezek like she wanted because that could just make things worse. First, she had to try to calm Tracy down. "Tracy, I need you to take a breath. Yes, I'll come with and you can tell me on the way there what happened and why you are so upset? I know why I am upset with them, but why are you?" Tracy tells her about how his parents. Paula cuts her off and says firmly "Adoptive we have spoken about this you are his mother but go on." Tracy explains about how Tony's adoptive parents were saying that she had him in a dangerous environment and maybe they should not be moving towards reunification if she was just going to put him back in harm's way. "That is a bag of horse mess. Tony is less afraid of his own shadow because of his connections or friendships here." Tracy agreed and added on to it by saying that Tony was less jumpy and more open to going out in public or talking to people and not just behind his computer screen. As they get in Paula's truck Paula says, "Though I don't agree with how they handled their first meeting with my daughter, I think we both need to have a sit down with them and get to the bottom of this in a civil manner. If we both go there pissed, it wouldn't solve anything and could make things worse for Tony." Paula sends Mark a message before pulling out into traffic telling him where Tracy and she were headed and why. He sends back be careful and that he'd be at Angel's place if she needed him. She types back that she is always careful. She then pulls out and heads toward the highway.

Tracy nods as she stares out the window as the scenery changes from Grandville South to North and onto the highway towards Houston. Turning toward her boss and friend she says "Paula, thanks for coming with me. When I heard how upset he was, I just froze and felt powerless which in turn pissed me off. At first, they said they were bringing him home, then switched it to I had to come get him."

Authors Note: Thanks for reading and as always please review I welcome comments, questions, or anything you'd like me to clarify. I also would like to say posting was delayed due to out family growing so now that our new additions have made it into the world safely, I will be posting more regularly: End Note