Jason poured himself another cup of coffee watching the secondhand tick methodically on the clock hanging on the wall. It had been a week since he had been released from the hospital and while Elizabeth had to twist his arm to not hit the ground running that very day, inwardly he was glad he had taken the week to rest, even though he would never admit that to her. He enjoyed the time they had spent together relishing each other's presence without the stench of Theresa Kennedy hanging over their heads any longer. However, this morning he was itching to get out to the garage hoping to finally figure out what had happened to his car to cause him to crash.

"Good morning," his mother's voice drew Jason from his thoughts.

"Morning," he returned offering her a mug from the rack in front of him. It had been years since he and his mother occupied the same space and the awkwardness between them was palpable. Neither of them knew what to say to the other, each fearing whatever they might say would set the other off, so they stuck to the simple things and kept their distance.

Jake hung back in the door watching the pair wishing he had some magic wand he could wave over their heads and make things the way they once had been. Jake remembered the once easy relationship between mother and son. He knew getting that back would be no means easy but if Alison could just get out of her own way long enough, Jake was sure Jason would come around.

"Morning," he said loudly entering the room. "You got one of those for me?" he asked pointing to the rack of mugs.

Jason quickly pulled one down and tossed it in Jake's direction. The older man fumbled for a moment before the ceramic mug came to rest squarely in his hand. "Losing your touch, I, see?" Jason joked.

"Never!" Jake scoffed.

Alison eyed the two men from the rim of her coffee cup. She marveled at their playfulness and ease with one another. She recalled having that same free spirit. She remembered being able to just stop and enjoy the moment, yet it had been years since she allowed herself such freedom. All the joy she had once felt was gone. Erik's death had stolen that emotion.

"How about some breakfast?" she finally asked.

"Sure," Jake said.

"I wanted to get started going over my car finally," Jason countered.

"It's not going anywhere," Jake scoffed. "And I promised Elizabeth that I wouldn't let you over do it. So, breakfast it is. Now sit-down boy!"

"Fine," Jason pouted as he slid into the chair next to Jake.

Jake chuckled under his breath staring at Jason looking like a disgruntled teenager. "What time's Tom coming? I figured he'd be here by now."

"Honestly, I don't know. I have left him a couple messages, but I haven't really seen him since the day we loaded the car at the Ryan compound."

Jake couldn't help but give Jason a strange look at his comment about Tom. The sudden knock at the kitchen door forced Jake to shift his thought, "It's open," he yelled.

"Morning," Leo said as he entered.

"What's up?" Jason said getting up and offering his friend a cup of coffee.

"Well Melanie said that Liz is back at work, so I figured that meant she gave you the go ahead to work on the car," Leo laughed punching Jason in the arm. Leo was sure that Jason Morgan was tightly wrapped around the brunettes' little finger. Who would have thought that such a petite thing like Elizabeth Ryan could weld such power over the world? "I thought I would come lend a hand." Leo too noticed the absence of Tom Boudean. It was like the man had dropped off the face of the earth.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Alison asked.

"Thank you but no coffee's fine. I already ate."

Alison went back to the stove to tend to the bacon that was frying in the cast iron skillet. She placed all of her attention on the task at hand in a vain attempt to distance herself from the conversation taking place behind her. The three men reminded her of a breakfast table from years past. The dialogue she heard could have just as easily been Erik, Jake and Jason talking instead of the three of them.

"Here you go," she announced placing the plates before them. "Enjoy," she said leaving the kitchen as her memories chased after her.

Jake watched as Alison disappeared. He truly did feel for her and even understood but that didn't change the facts as they were. Jason fully intended to race again, and she was either going to find a way to reconcile that fact in her brain or she would have to accept that any relationship she wanted with her son wasn't going to happen.

They finished their breakfast putting their plates in the sink and made their way from the kitchen towards the garage on the far end of Jake's property. Jason stepped over the threshold and instantly felt at home. It was like a rush of relief washed over him. Everything was back in sync for him. Jason knew he missed Jake but never realized just how much until right at that moment.

"So, where you do want to start?" Jason asked.

"Tell me the last thing you remember before the accident. What was happening with the car? What were you feeling?" Jake said.

Jason leaned against the workbench deep in thought. Admittedly his memories of the accident were a bit fuzzy. He knew his concussion was still playing tricks with his brain from time to time. He actually wished that Tom was there, maybe he would be able to shed some light on those last moments before Jason hit the wall. "Honestly, all if remember is that the car felt off. Like I had no control over it."

"Well let's start with the steering," Jake stated.

The threesome spent hours toiling over Jason's mangled car. Nothing they touched or inspected yielded any conclusions as to what caused the accident.

"Hey you, okay?" Leo asked Jason when he noticed the other man rubbing his temples. Leo neglected to inform Jason that he wasn't just there to help with his car, but also that Elizabeth had asked him to keep an eye on the still recovering driver. She was certain that Jason would push himself the brink and beyond.

"Just a headache," Jason answered.

"Maybe we should take a break?" Leo suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," Jake concurred. "We've been at this for hours without much success."

"I'm fine," Jason asserted.

"Maybe you are or maybe you aren't," Jake began, "But I for one don't intend to be the one to face Elizabeth if you have a setback."

"Me either," Leo laughed.

"And it's not like the car is going anywhere," Jake added.

"We can't start rebuilding it until we figure out what went wrong in the first place," Jason scoffed at the pair. "I need to get back on the track."

"Well, that isn't going to happen until Dr. Bennett clears you," Leo pronounced. "And seriously man, you don't look so good right now. A little break isn't going to hurt."

"Leo's right, let go grab a sandwich and figure out what we are missing," Jake said resting his hand on Jason's shoulder.

Jason relented knowing that this was a battle he wasn't going to win and admittedly the pounding in the back of head was pretty fierce at that moment.

Jake replaced the phone receiver in its cradle and just shook his head. "Who were you talking to?" Jason asked as he came around the corner.

"I thought you were resting," Jake said ignoring Jason's question.

"I'm good." He was anxious to get back to the task at hand. "Who were you just talking to?"

Jake took a deep breath and steeled himself for Jason's reaction when he told him who was on the other end of the phone. "Pat."

"What the hell does he want?"

"He just wanted to talk."

"Yeah, right," Jason scoffed. "Seriously, what does he want?"

"He was just checking on our progress?"

"Why should he care? I'm not racing for him anymore."

Again, Jake took a deep breath. "You might have to."

"WHAT?!" Jason's voice echoed off the walls.

"Here me out," Jake said looking for a way to calm the young man before him.

"I won't, I don't care what you say, I'm not racing for him."

Jake resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Jason's childish remark. "You will if I say you will," he snapped back.

That comment left Jason stymied. "Why would you want me to continue to race for him now that you're back?" Jason was truly befuddled.

"Your career."

"To hell with that," Jason cut him off in mid remark.

"To hell with your career? Are you serious? You are so close to having it all and you just want to throw that all away because you don't want to race for Ryan Racing anymore?"

"Racing under the Ryan umbrella has nothing to do with what I have accomplished."

"That very well may be true, but are you willing to give up the team points you have earned so far this season by being a part of Pat's team? Losing those points is quite a setback."

Part of him wanted to say it didn't matter. Part of him wanted to go back to the way things were where it was just him, Jake and Tom. It might take him a bit longer to climb the ladder of success on the NASCAR circuit but at least he would no longer be under Pat Ryan's thumb. But there was another side of him that so desperately wanted to take home the Winston Cup not just for himself but for his father's memory also.

"Finishing the season at Ryan Racing won't be that bad. Pat has agreed to let me be your crew chief."

"Agreed to let you?" Jason sneered. "You will always be my crew chief."

"I know," Jake groaned. Sometimes as much as he loved Jason, the boy could be trying. "no one said you'd race for Pat forever. Let's just get through the remainder of this season."

"Then let's get back to work on my car."

"How's your headache?"

"It's fine."

"Jason, you've only been out of the hospital a week. Concussions take a great deal of time to heal." Alison startled them both with her remark.

"I said I'm fine," he barked, "Are you coming or not?" he asked without waiting for Jake to offer an answer.

Jake shot Alison as sympathetic look before following after Jason. "What the hell was that?" Jake questioned when he finally caught up to the younger man.

"What was what?"

"You just flew off the handle for no reason."

"She just doesn't want me to fix the car so that way she gets what she's always wanted – me to not race again."

"Is that what you really think?"

"Of course."

"For God Sakes, she's your mother. She loves you and is worried about your recovery. She didn't say anything to you that Elizabeth wouldn't have said if she had been standing there and I can damn well guarantee that you wouldn't have spoken to her like you did." Jake did little to hide his anger with Jason at the moment. "Jase, she's trying. You have to give her that much. She could have packed up and headed back to Texas the moment she knew you were going to be okay, but she didn't. She's still here. Doesn't that say something?"

"Are we going to work on the car or not?" Jason asked totally avoiding any reference to Jake's last question. It was easier to continue to see his mother as she had always been. If Jason was completely honest with Jake and himself, he wasn't sure he could stand letting Alison back in only to have her disappear from his life as she had before. For Jason it was simpler to just see her as he'd always seen her.

Jake wanted to wring the neck of the young man standing before him. Like his mother, Jason could be his own worst enemy at times. Jake wasn't sure how he survived either on of them. He didn't answer but fell in step behind Jason as they headed towards the garage.

The pair worked in silence for a long time as neither one wanted to give in to the other. It wasn't until the man door to the garage swung open that Jake and Jason even looked at one another.

"Liz, send you to check up on me?" Jason asked a bite in his tone.

"No," Leo countered. "I called to see how your headache was and your mom told met that you and Jake were working on the car. I thought I'd help but man if you don't want me, I'll go." Leo sensed a strange tension in the air that he wanted no parts of.

"Hell yes, we want your help," Jake offered before burying his head deep in the engine compartment again. Leo eyed Jason wearily for a moment trying to figure out what was going on but stopped short when Jake's muffled voice posed a question. "Jason, do you recall issues with the breaks before the accident?"

Jason stepped back and thought hard about Jake's question. "Maybe," he said. "At times they were a little soft, spongy even. Why?"

"Look," Jake pointed to the master cylinder.

"There's barely any fluid in there," Leo said. "Where the hell'd it go?"

Jake grabbed the creeper from beside the workbench and disappeared under the wreckage. "Through here," Jake said emerging with a piece of frayed stainless steel brake line in his hands.

Jason and Leo inspected the break line and saw a multitude of areas on just that small section that were frayed and covered in yellow brownish brake fluid. "What the hell?" Jason asked to no one in particular.

"This doesn't make sense," Jake said scratching his head. "Didn't you and Tom check the braking system before the race? How'd you miss this?"

"We did," Jason assured him.

"I've taught you both how important it is to check that."

"I know. I've been doing it since I was a kid," Jason countered as confused as Jake.

"Well, something happened," Jake said.

'Or someone,' Leo thought to himself. Suddenly he had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Someone has tampered with Jason's car. And while he had no proof of that fact, he couldn't pretend that the feeling he had wasn't there.