John

It was one of those rare early fall days that it wasn't blistering hot, a tease of the true fall to come. John had opened the windows of his office at The Mill while he waited for Williams to appear. They had made plans to grab a drink and check-in. He was grateful to have his old friend back regularly now.

A voice from outside caught his attention. "What are you doing here? Go on! You think you're welcome around here after all you've done?" It was Williams, and he sounded angry.

John stuck his head out the window to see what was going on. He caught Nick's eye just before he slunk down the driveway. He must have been hanging out by the stairs before Williams ran him off. John hoped he hadn't been up to any sort of mischief, though he didn't think Nick would stoop that low.

"What was that all about?" He asked Williams once he came inside.

The other man shook his head. "He was just sitting on the stairs, probably waiting for you to come out, I guess. It was that Higgins fellow, the one that used to work here."

John thought it was strange that he was just sitting there instead of coming inside or at least knocking. "Did he say what he wanted?"

"Does it matter? Can't have been anything worthwhile." Williams shrugged. "Come on, I need a drink."

Sighing, John stood up, closing the account book he had been staring at for hours. He could use a drink, too, considering he had been working on the budget all day and it still wasn't coming out right. He had a meeting with his banker the next day, one he was dreading. John tried to put that all out of his mind as he followed his friend down the hall, locking The Mill behind them.

Williams insisted on going to a club, though John wasn't exactly in the mood. "Are you ever in the mood?" Williams asked him jokingly in response. So, they went, the dark club pulsing with a life of its own. John set himself up in a corner at the far end of the bar, watching the people dance as if they hadn't a care in the world. He wished his life were so carefree. Instead, he sipped his scotch and waited until Williams told him it was time to go.

Maggie

The Hale's house was already almost tucked in for the night when there was a knock on the door. Dixie was closest to the door, so she stood up to answer it. "The Higgins boy is here to see you," she said, leading Nick into the music room where Maggie and her father were reading quietly.

"Oh, Nick! Come on in," Maggie jumped up, pulling a chair closer in so he could make himself at home.

As they settled in with some brownies Maggie had baked earlier, Nick got to the point of his visit. "I've been trying to find a job," he said sadly, "but no one around will hire me. I'm trying to lie low, not make waves, behave, all that. I wouldn't worry about it so much if it weren't for Butch's children." Maggie and her father looked surprised at that. "Oh, me and Mary have taken them in for the time being, at least until they can find a long-term foster family," he explained.

Maggie was surprised but pleased at this new development. She was worried about what would happen to the kids after their parents died. She made a mental note to check in with them soon and help in any way she could. "I have an idea in my head," Nick continued. "But I think I need your help." He was looking at Mr. Hale.

"Me? Of course, I'm glad to help, but I'm not sure what I can do." Mr. Hale was puzzled as to what this young man could possibly be thinking.

Taking a deep breath, Nick started to explain. "Well, Maggie is always talking about how great it is up north. I was thinking, if I can make it up there where there are jobs to be had and no one knows me, then I could find something."

Maggie was already shaking her head before her father started to answer. "What kind of work are you looking for?" Mr. Hale asked.

"I'm pretty good with my hands, so I can build things if there's a need for that," Nick said.

The thought of Nick living up north, doing construction work, was absolutely ridiculous to Maggie. "You can't leave Atlanta and move up north!" She burst out, not waiting to hear her father's next words. "You would die of boredom, it would eat you alive." She hated his disappointed look as he considered her opinion. "Have you gone to The Mill and asked for your old job back?"

Nick snorted. "Yeah, I've been to see Thornton. His pal Williams kicked me out, told me I didn't belong around there." He looked more hurt by that than his nonchalant tone implied.

"Would you try one more time?" She asked earnestly. "I really think if you were just able to talk to John… he would help you, if you give him the chance."

Both men seemed as if they weren't so sure. "I think I'd rather starve," Nick joked, giving Maggie a sad smile. "Well, if y'all think of anything, let me know." He left them with heavier hearts and a lot to think about.

They sat in silence for a moment before Mr. Hale finally spoke. "He is a proud man, that's for sure. Though, I admire the tenacity of these southern men. Maybe it's not so bad down here, after all, is it Magpie?"

Unable to shake her displeasure at the way the visit had ended, Maggie sighed. "If only he would talk to John, man to man. If he could forget about the boycott and speak from his heart, I know John would listen."

Mr. Hale gave a small laugh. "Lord, Maggie, first you admit that the north isn't perfect and now that John isn't all bad. What's happened to make you change your mind?" He didn't catch the sadness in his daughter's answering smile.

John

After spending all night tossing and turning, the last thing John wanted was to meet with Mr. Latimer to discuss finances. He cursed to himself as he stopped by The Mill to grab his account books. What had he been thinking, making this dreaded meeting first thing in the morning? It was usually better to get things over with, true, but he felt haggard and worn out. There was no doubt that he looked as bad as he felt.

"Thornton," he heard someone calling as he rushed out of his office. "I need to talk to you." It was Nick, waiting outside the gate as if he'd been watching him.

The thought made him even more uneasy. "I can't talk now," he said quickly, locking the doors and sidestepping Nick, hardly glancing in his direction. There wasn't time to even think about dealing with him.

He paced anxiously in Mr. Latimer's office as he waited for his banker to come in for their meeting. The older man took one look at him and motioned for John to follow him. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast. It's an ungodly hour to start working, anyway." John felt he had no choice but to follow the banker down the street to a diner.

"You've seen your latest statement, then?" Mr. Latimer said finally over a cup of steaming coffee.

John nodded, looking for answers in the bottom of his own mug. "I had hoped to pay down some of the loan by now," he said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Shrugging, Mr. Latimer took a big bite of bacon. "It's too bad that you've got so much money tied up in the new sound system," he said eventually.

"The new sound system was necessary," John interjected. "We had bookings almost every night. That wouldn't last without fixing the sound quality. Obviously, I wasn't planning on the roof needing repairs."

The banker shrugged again as if none of that was his problem. "Well, things have been back to normal for some time now," he said, raising his eyebrows as if to ask what the problem was.

The implication that this was somehow John's fault made him angry, though he tried to control his temper. "With the boycott and everything, things have just fallen behind. It doesn't seem like we'll catch back up until…" he trailed off, remembering the dire status of his budget. "Well. I don't know if we will catch up at all," he finished, ashamed. Maybe this was all his fault after all.

"The bank can extend your loan some," Mr. Latimer said with a grim smile. "It won't be much, though, and you'll have to be careful."

John looked up sharply. "I don't think anyone would ever accuse me of being careless," he said angrily before sighing. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else I could have done to prevent this, or where to go from here." How desperately he wished there was some guiding influence in his life to tell him what to do, someone like a father. Mr. Latimer was not that man.

As the waitress dropped off their check, Mr. Latimer considered the young businessman. "You know, there are other ways to earn some money, investment type deals. I could let you know when I hear of a promising one."

That was out of the question for John. "Play the stock market? I won't risk everything on some get rich quick scheme."

Mr. Latimer stood up with a sigh. "Well, if things keep on the way they're going, you might have nothing left to risk, anyway." His words cut to the very core of John's own thoughts.

Maggie

A knock on the door startled Maggie out of the haze she had fallen under while editing pictures on her laptop. She'd been staring at the same picture for half an hour, lost in her own thoughts and not getting any real work done. She jumped up to see who was there, surprised to see Mrs. Thornton on the doorstep. "Mrs. Thornton, how nice of you to come by. Dad is out running errands, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the thought as well." Maggie wasn't sure what the older woman was doing in her house, but her presence made her anxious. "And thank you for the card you sent, we are very grateful for everyone's kind words. Oh, my cousin sent me information on a new workout craze that I thought Faith might be interested in, here, let me find it," she babbled on, moving towards her laptop to search for Eden's email.

"Maggie," Mrs. Thornton interrupted, forcing Maggie to pause. "I'm afraid I didn't come here to discuss Faith's exercise routine. There is something I need to say." She stopped a moment before stiffening her already perfect posture. "I promised your mother that if I felt you needed advice or had made some mistake, that I would help you. So, when I heard about you sneaking around, getting involved with unscrupulous characters, well, I thought it would only be right to warn you against such things. You wouldn't be the first young woman to turn down a dark path after getting tied up with such things…"

Maggie could hardly believe what she was hearing. For this woman to come to her home and trash-talk her family, it was unthinkable. "Mrs. Thornton," she said firmly, "I'm sure my mother never meant for you to come here and insult me like this." She shot the older woman a haughty glare. "Whatever John might have told you…" She trailed off. Just saying his name out loud shot a bolt of pain through her heart.

The pained expression on Maggie's face didn't escape Mrs. Thornton's notice. "My son hasn't told me anything," she spat back. "You don't know anything about him, the kind of man he is, the one you so cruelly shot down. If he knows anything about all this, he's kept it to himself, as a man should."

"Of course," Maggie deflated, sinking back into the couch. "I shouldn't have doubted that. I can't give you any explanation, other than to say that the things I've done wrong are not the ones you imagine." She didn't owe this woman any explanation, either, but still hated the thought that everyone had it in their minds that she was dealing drugs or whatever else nonsense they could conjure up.

Mrs. Thornton continued watching her with eagle eyes. "I didn't approve of John's attraction towards you, and I certainly didn't see the appeal. He deserves so much better. But I was prepared, for his sake, to deal with it. Your actions during the riot made everyone think… then when he came to talk to you, you'd already had a change of heart!" She seemed truly disturbed by Maggie's treatment of her son. "Maybe this other man had something to do with it," she finished, leaving room for Maggie to explain herself.

She would have to keep waiting if she expected anything else from Maggie. "You must have a very low opinion of me," Maggie said, crossing her arms in irritation.

There was something almost cruel behind Mrs. Thornton's eyes when she spoke again. "I won't say I'm sad that things didn't work out between you and John. Especially now, when you're the talk of the town."

"Excuse me!" Maggie jumped off the couch and stalked to the door, opening it wide and motioning outside. "I will not sit here and listen to you continuing to insult me. I'd like for you to go, now." Mrs. Thornton's mouth opened in shock as she stood up. Maggie slammed the door in her face without another word.

John

Lost in thought, John meandered back to The Mill, with little hope of getting any actual work done. He was so caught up in his own brooding that he almost tripped over Nick, who had set himself up under the stairs, waiting for John to come back. Nick might have dozed off a bit since he hadn't been sleeping well ever since the boycott ended. "Higgins! Why are you still here?" John's startled voice woke him up. He didn't sound angry, just confused.

"Oh, hey. I told you, I wanted to talk to you," Nick gave his old boss a half-smile before standing up.

John sighed, too tired to fight at the moment. "Alright, I guess you should come in then." Nick followed him inside and settled himself in a chair in John's office. "Well, what is it?"

Fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt, Nick took a breath, preparing himself. "I've come to ask for a job."

"A Job?" John leaned forward, making sure he had heard correctly. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here and asking for a job."

It was exactly the answer he'd been expecting, and Nick wasn't quite sure he had a good rebuttal. "You know I'm a good worker, and you could use the help." He said, knowing that it would not be enough.

John shook his head in disbelief. "That's probably the kindest thing I could say about you," he said. "I almost lost everything thanks to you and your boycott, and now you think I should give you another chance? Might as well set fire to The Mill and call it a day." The stress of his meeting with Mr. Latimer had already worn his patience paper-thin. Nick showing up and asking for help was more than his temper could bear.

Under normal circumstances, Nick would never let someone talk to him so harshly, not unless they wanted a fight on their hands. But these circumstances were far from normal, and he wasn't sure he could take Thornton in a fight, regardless. "I promise," he said, deciding to give it one more chance. "I wouldn't speak out against you or the other owners. If I had any issues, I'd come talk to you before doing anything else."

An ugly sneer crossed John's face as he listened to Nick's promises. "And how do I know you're not just cooking up another scheme, or trying to save up money just so you can boycott again?" He wasn't one to be fooled more than once, and they had been down this road before. What had changed?

"I need work," Nick said simply, choosing to ignore the insult in John's words and expression. "For the children of a man who was so desperate he took his own life. He lost all hope after his bar was blacklisted, couldn't get anyone to come drink or play after all that."

Of course, John knew who he was talking about. The unfortunate outcome pricked at his conscience already without having to consider Butch's children. "Your boycotters forced us to make those decisions!" He burst out, standing up and slamming his fists on his desk. Nick didn't even flinch. "Not that any of it did any good. Things have slowed back down again." He turned towards the bookshelves behind his desk, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. "If I believed your reasons for coming here," he turned back towards Nick, "Which I'm not sure I'm inclined to do. Why don't you go outside the city to find work?" He realized the man must be desperate if he was here begging for a job.

The sudden turn in John's demeanor caught him off guard. "Well, if I thought I could make it work, I'd move out to the country and never look back. But I couldn't take care of those kids on that kind of money, and I won't leave them here to fend for themselves. Right now, I'll take any job I can get." Nick wasn't sure why he was still there pleading his case when he knew it was of no use.

"Oh, so you'll do work others aren't willing to, then?" John asked haughtily. "You can't boycott a McDonald's, at least not successfully. Your comrades rioted at my house when I was just working to feed my own family, yet you're here begging for work for the sake of someone else's kids?" He sat back down, the weight of his words sitting heavily on his shoulders now that he'd let them out. John hadn't realized just how angry he was with Nick until just that moment. "I won't give you a job, you're wasting your time."

Nick smiled grimly, recognizing that John was well and done with the conversation. "And yours, I suppose. Someone told me to come and speak to you personally. She said you were more understanding than I gave you credit for, but obviously, she was mistaken." He shrugged, pushing himself out of his chair with a sigh. "I'm not the first person to be misled by a woman."

Looking up sharply, John scowled. "You can tell her to mind her own business, then, and stop wasting all of our time." Nick gave a small salute in response, turning to leave. He almost collided with Williams on his way out; the two men barely acknowledged each other.

"Good lord, I guess he finally was able to talk to you, huh?" Williams asked as he came in, noticing how worn out his old friend looked. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch, pouring two generous glasses.

There was a small smile on John's tired face as he accepted the glass. "Jesus, Andy, it's only two o'clock." But he sipped at it anyway, full of appreciation for the way it scorched down his throat. "How did you know he wanted to talk to me?"

Williams sprawled into a chair, barely managing to save his own glass from spilling. "Ah, I came by earlier to see if you were back yet, and he was waiting outside."

In an attempt to clear his head, John had taken a walk after his meeting with the banker. "He must have been waiting most of the day, then," he murmured, more to himself than to Williams. The other man stayed silent, knowing better than to interrupt his old friend while the wheels were turning in his head as they were now.