Saturday June 9th, 2018

Angel Grove, CA

"Finish your drink, Jason," Christine said. "Then I can put your glass in the dishwasher and run it."

It was Saturday afternoon and Jason, Christine, and Will were just finishing lunch. Things had been tense between Jason and Christine since he confronted her about the cash withdrawals on Wednesday, but it was getting better. She hadn't been back to the bank and had gone back to using her card for everything, so Jason was trying to just let it go.

Downing the rest of his glass, he got up to rinse it out and put it in the dishwasher himself. He then grabbed the soap and started the machine since Christine had walked away instead of waiting.

"Let's watch a movie," Christine said, looking between Will and Jason. "We still have a few hours before Marc gets home. It will be a nice way to relax."

"Marc is spending the night at a friends' tonight, remember?" Jason said. "One of the kids from his karate class. They are going to pick him up after class today and take him there in the morning, then I just have to pick him up tomorrow."

"Oh right!" Christine exclaimed. "Then that's perfect. We won't have to rush."

"Alright," Jason said. "What do you want to watch?"

He followed her into the living room and sat down on the couch while she picked out a movie. Will got comfortable in one of the recliners. After she put in the movie, Christine came and curled up next to Jason on the couch.

Partway into the movie, Jason started to fidget. He was feeling a little anxious, but he couldn't really place why. Christine looked up at him, pausing the movie.

"Honey, is everything alright?" she asked sweetly. "You seem to be having a hard time relaxing."

"I'm just a little antsy," Jason said. "It's nothing. Go ahead and play the movie."

"If you're sure," she said, glancing over at Will.

"Yeah, it's nothing," Jason said.

"Ok then," Christine said, starting to play the movie again. "Oh! Before I forget."

Jason frowned, watching as she hopped up and hurried out of the room. Christine came back a moment later with a small stack of papers.

"We talked about this a couple of weeks ago," she said. "Just before you got that awful illness. It's some paperwork for your grandfather's old accounts that you requested. They finally got here today and if you just sign everything really quick I can get it back in the mail first thing Monday and everything will be all settled."

Jason frowned, trying to remember the conversation she was talking about.

"I don't remember that," he said slowly.

"It's just because you were sick," Christine said. "You had to have put in the request for the paperwork after all. I'm not on the accounts, remember? I just want to make sure it gets done for you."

Jason rubbed a hand over his face.

"What exactly is it?" he asked, starting to reach for the papers.

"Oh, nothing major," she said, still holding them just out of reach. "You just wanted to finish changing over the names on everything. Don't you remember? You filled out most of it online, now they just need your signature so they can have it on file."

Jason hesitated as she watched him expectantly.

"Not really, but alright," he finally conceded.

She handed him the papers and then a pen as he glanced at the first page. It seemed to match what she was saying, but she quickly flipped to the signature spots before he really had time to process the entire thing.

"All you need to do is sign and date a couple of pages and it's all done," she said.

Jason nodded, signing where she pointed. As soon as he was done signing, she practically snatched the papers out of his hand. He just stared for a moment, not sure what to do anymore.

"Thank you," Christine exclaimed. "I'll get them filed for you first thing Monday."

"Oh, ok," Jason said. "Thanks…"

Christine nearly bounced as she hurried out of the room, Will following her. Jason stayed where he was, not really noticing they'd left. That feeling of anxiety was growing, and he glanced around nervously. It just felt like something was wrong and he couldn't figure it out.

In the other room, Christine hugged Will in excitement.

"It worked!" she exclaimed quietly. "Now all we have to do is take these to the bank on Monday and there won't be anything Jason can do to stop me from living the way I deserve."

"Let's go celebrate," Will grinned. "We'll go out for dessert."

"And leave him?" Christine said, raising an eyebrow. "I think he'll notice. I don't want him to ask questions until after the money is ours."

Will snorted.

"He's going to be out cold in like the next fifteen minutes," he said. "And he never remembers anything after. And since he probably won't wake up til morning, we shouldn't have to rush."

"You are brilliant," Christine beamed. "Where shall we go?"

They slipped out the front door a few minutes later, leaving Jason still sitting on the couch. He didn't even notice them leave.

Adam sighed as his phone went off again for the third time in the last five minutes. It had been ringing on and off for the last half an hour. He didn't usually have it in class with him, but the twins had been running slight fevers that morning, so he told Tanya he'd keep it close by in case there was an emergency. But since none of the calls had been with her ringtone, he had been trying to ignore it.

"Cody, take over for a few minutes," Adam said to his assistant.

The young man nodded, taking Adam's spot in front of the class. Adam jogged over and grabbed his phone as it rang again—it was Rocky. He glanced quickly at his missed calls before he answered and was surprised to see three missed calls and a couple of messages from Jason.

"This had better be an emergency, Rocky," Adam said, answering before his phone went to voicemail again. "You know I'm in the middle of a class."

He walked out into the hallway as he spoke so as not to disturb anyone.

"I'm sorry, man," Rocky said quickly. "But has Jason called you?"

"Yes," Adam said slowly, frowning. "Several times in the last thirty minutes. Did he call you, too?"

"He did," Rocky said. "But I'm out on a call and couldn't answer. We're transporting right now and I'm driving so I listened to his messages. Adam, something is wrong."

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"I don't know," Rocky said. "But he is not ok and I don't know when I can get there and I don't have time to call anyone else—I'm almost to the hospital."

"I'll figure something out," Adam said. "Focus on work. Don't crash the ambulance."

Hanging up with Rocky, Adam quickly listened to the voicemails Jason had left him as he paced back and forth in the hallways. Rocky was right, something was wrong. In the messages, Jason was talking about someone being in the house and after him. He sounded terrified.

"That's not like Jason," Adam muttered. "If he had an intruder, he'd just take care of it and call the police…"

Thinking quickly, Adam dialed another number. He couldn't leave the dojo right now because he didn't have enough instructors to cover for him. But he knew someone else who could check on Jason.

"Who is it now?" Tommy muttered to himself as his ranger phone rang.

Setting down the tools he was using, he slid back out from under the machine as he started trying to fish the correct phone out of his pocket. His normal cellphone had been ringing on and off for the last thirty minutes. But since it wasn't his ranger phone, he'd been trying to ignore it until he was done detaching everything underneath the machine he was working on. Now the ranger one was ringing, however, and that one he wasn't going to ignore without good reason.

Tommy knew it was one of the second group of Mighty Morphin' rangers from the ringtone—since each team had their own tone—but that didn't tell him who or why. He glimpsed Adam's name on the caller ID as he started trying to sit up. He winced as he misjudged where he was, hitting his head on the control panel as he sat up.

"Adam, what's wrong?" he asked, rubbing the spot on his head.

Hayley and Billy, working on other projects glanced over in concern. They both recognized the ringtone. In the corner of Billy's lab, Izzy and Rae continued playing with the tools their parents had given them as a distraction.

"I don't know," Adam answered. "But something is wrong with Jason and both Rocky and I can't get there right away. He's been calling and left both of us weird messages."

Tommy frowned, fishing his other phone out of his pocket. He had missed calls and messages from Jason, too. He also had a missed call from Adam.

"Weird messages how?" Tommy asked, starting to get to his feet.

"It sounds like he thinks someone is after him," Adam said. "But the messages really didn't make any sense. He kept scrambling things up and rambling. Something is not right, and I don't want to involve emergency personnel that aren't Rocky if we don't need to and he's on a call…"

"Alright, I'm on my way there," Tommy said. "I'm just at Billy's dad's house, so it won't take me long to get there."

"Thanks, Tommy," Adam said, sounding relieved. "Call if you need backup. I'm already working on a way for me to get out of here if necessary—I just have to make sure all of the evening classes are covered."

Hanging up, Tommy quickly dusted himself off and grabbed his backpack.

"I've got to get to Jason's house," he said. "Something is wrong with Jason. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Hayley and Billy exchanged looks.

"I'll come with you," Hayley said. "Just in case you need someone to run interference while you handle Jason."

Tommy nodded, already heading up the stairs and out of the lab pulling something out of his bag as he went and putting it in his pocket. They both quickly climbed into Tommy's truck, and he raced off down the street as fast as he could.

Pulling up in front of Jason's house a few minutes later, Tommy parked the car and leapt out.

"Stay behind me," he told Hayley. "If someone really is in there that Jason couldn't handle, I don't want you to run into them first."

Hayley nodded, following Tommy up to the house. He glanced around quickly as they went, looking for any sign of an intruder—or multiple intruders. But the only thing he really saw was that Jason's car was the only one in the driveway.

"At least he's home alone if things get out of control," Tommy muttered as he tried the door.

To his surprise, the door was unlocked. He opened it slowly and walked in, ready to react to a threat. Hayley stayed behind him, just far enough back to be out of his way if he needed to fight. They paused in the hallway, listening for any movement. Neither of them heard anything.

"Jason?" Tommy called after a moment. "Jason, are you here?"

When there was no response, Tommy moved forward cautiously with Hayley continuing to follow him. Jason wasn't in the hallway or in the kitchen, and, so far, there were no signs of any kind of struggle.

"Rex, where are you?" Tommy called again, moving toward the living room.

It was really starting to worry him that Jason wasn't answering. They moved into the living room glancing around for any sign of Jason.

"Stay away!"

Tommy spun, hearing Jason's voice.

Jason was crouched in the corner of the living room, watching them with panic on his face. Tommy glanced at Hayley and then slowly moved toward Jason. Hayley stayed where she was, watching.

"Rex, it's just me," he said, hands out in a calming gesture. "Are you alright?"

"Tommy?" Jason whispered.

As he got closer, Tommy could hear Jason breathing hard, like he had just been running or in a fight.

"They're everywhere," Jason answered, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "They're after me."

"Who is?" Tommy asked, glancing around and still seeing no one. "Who is after you, Jason?"

"The shadows…"

Tommy stopped, glancing back over his shoulder at Hayley. His concern was clearly reflected on her face. There was no one else in the house and no signs that anyone else had been in the house who didn't belong there. And now Jason was talking about shadows and acting like a terrified kid. Something was definitely wrong.

"I can't stop them," Jason continued, shaking his head. "There's too many. I can't fight them alone."

"You don't have to, Rex," Tommy said soothingly, stepping closer. "Let me help you."

Jason shook his head frantically.

"No!" he cried. "There's too many! They won't stop coming! You have to get out of here!"

"Tommy, let me help," Hayley said quietly behind him. "I have an idea."

Tommy nodded as she stepped up next to him.

"Just be careful," he said, keeping his voice low so Jason wouldn't hear. "He doesn't know you, and I don't want him to hurt you."

"That's what you're here for," Hayley said, raising an eyebrow.

"Who's that?" Jason exclaimed, his eyes widening in fear as he looked at Hayley. "Is she one of the shadows? Don't let her take me!"

"She's not a shadow," Tommy said quickly. "This is Hayley. She's—she's good. She's here to help."

Hayley shot Tommy a look for the hesitation about her being good, but then turned her focus back to Jason.

"How can she help?" Jason said, shaking his head. "They are everywhere."

"Because I know how to make them disappear," Hayley said.

"You can't make shadows disappear," Jason muttered. "They follow you no matter where you go."

"There is one place you can go where the shadows can't follow you," Hayley said, slowly holding out her hand. "Do you know where?"

Jason shook his head, watching her hand like it was going to bite him.

"Somewhere dark," she said, continuing to keep her voice calm and even. "Shadows can't find you in the dark."

For a moment Jason stared at her as he processed what she said.

"They can't?" he asked slowly.

"No, they can't," she said. "And Tommy and I can help you get there. You'll be safe."

"I don't know," Jason hesitated.

"We aren't far away," Hayley said. "You trust Tommy, don't you? He brought me here to help you."

Jason looked over at Tommy and then back at Hayley.

"You can trust her, Rex," Tommy said. "You have my word."

Nodding, Jason finally reached out and took Hayley's hand. She helped him to his feet. Once he was out of the corner, Tommy moved to stand on his other side so Jason was sandwiched between them.

"Bedroom," Tommy mouthed soundlessly to Hayley.

She nodded, coaxing Jason to follow her up the stairs. Once they got him in his room, Tommy convinced him to climb on the bed while Hayley started blocking off all light sources with anything she could get her hands on. Trembling, Jason latched on to Tommy's arm and wouldn't let go.

"It's alright, Rex," Tommy said calmly. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll sit right here with you until we are sure the shadows are gone."

He managed to get Jason to lie down and then sat down on the bed next to him. Hayley found the door in the dark and sat down on the floor with her back to it. That way she would hear anyone else coming in the house and be able to slip out and warn them.

They could still hear how hard he was breathing, so Tommy started trying to talk him through some breathing exercises. Jason wasn't following his directions, but Tommy talking to him seemed to have a calming effect, so he just kept going. Finally, after what seemed like hours—but was really more like twenty minutes—Jason passed out.

Tommy and Hayley both stayed quiet a while longer, wanting to make sure he was asleep before they moved.

"Will you be alright with him for a few minutes?" Hayley finally said, speaking quietly. "One of us needs to update Adam and Rocky before they call in the calvary, and I'm closer to the door."

"Yeah," Tommy answered. "I'm not going anywhere. He might be asleep, but he still hasn't let go of my arm. And if I try and pry his hands off right now, I might wake him back up. I don't know what was going on but…"

He shook his head and sighed, looking back at Jason. The concern was audible in his voice.

"I'll be back soon," Hayley said.

She opened the door just enough to slip out and shut it quietly behind her. When she came back, she crept quietly across the room to whisper with Tommy.

"Billy is going to come get me," she said. "I think it will be better if I'm not here when he wakes up. Rocky and Adam are going to keep their distance and warn off the rest of them until you give the all-clear. But Rocky did say if anything gets worse to send him an SOS and he will be here lights and sirens if he has to—he already told his captain he may have to respond to a personal emergency tonight."

"Thanks, Hayley," Tommy said. "Can you call Kat for me? I'll respond to texts, but I want to try and avoid waking him up—extended phone conversations are probably not a good idea. I already sent out a general message on the ranger network asking them to only call me in case of a life-or-death emergency."

"I'll call her," Hayley agreed.

After a few more trips in and out of the room to bring Tommy a few things, like water, Hayley made her exit. As she was walking out of the room the last time, the front door opened and closed. Hayley paused at the top of the stairs, watching Christine and Will come waltzing back in with smiles on their faces and laughing.

"Well, you two had a good time somewhere," Hayley said, crossing her arms.

They froze for a moment as she walked down the stairs toward them. But it didn't take long for them to recover.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Christine demanded. "Get out!"

"Oooo, I'm a burglar," Hayley said, rolling her eyes. "I just thought I'd wait around to announce my presence. Who do you think I am? I'm Hayley—one of Jason's friends. Don't be an idiot."

"Hey!" Will snapped, quickly jumping to Christine's defense. "Don't call her that."

Hayley smirked, moving the rest of the way down the stairs. She stopped at the bottom, crossing her arms again as she faced off with the siblings.

"Who says I was just talking to her?" Hayley asked, cocking her head.

"This is my house," Christine sputtered. "You can't just come in here and insult us. You shouldn't even be here."

"So, get out," Will snapped, moving to stand directly in front of her.

"Or what?" Hayley asked. "Because last time I checked, neither of your names is on the deed to this house. Only Jason's. So, if you call the police, they are going to want to talk to him—and I don't think he's in any shape to kick me out right now. Especially since he did call for help. They'll have a lot of uncomfortable questions."

"How about you get out or I remove you," Will scowled, moving even closer to Hayley.

"You touch me, I scream," Hayley smirked. "And then you'll have an angry eighth degree blackbelt to deal with."

Will scoffed.

"I can handle Jason," he said.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about Jason," Hayley laughed. "Don't get me wrong, Jason is good and he can take care of himself—but he isn't an eighth degree blackbelt. I was talking about Tommy. He'd love any excuse to hit you right now after what you did Thursday."

"Tommy?" Will repeated, frowning.

"Oh, right," Hayley said. "Tommy is spending the night. He's currently sitting with Jason in his room. So do try to keep your noses clean and stay out of trouble. Bye bye."

As the siblings glared at her, Hayley breezed past them and out the front door.

Sunday June 10th, 2018

Angel Grove, CA

Jason groaned as he slowly blinked open his eyes. It was still fairly dark and, while he thought he was in his bedroom, he wasn't quite sure since couldn't even see any light from his digital alarm clock.

"What time is it?" he muttered to himself.

"About 7a."

Jason jumped, tangling himself in the blankets covering him.

"Tommy?" he exclaimed, and then winced. "Oh, my head."

"Careful, you'll fall off the bed," Tommy chuckled.

Then the bedside lamp clicked on. Jason flinched at the sudden brightness, shielding his eyes for a moment. As his eyes adjusted, he stared at Tommy and tried to remember what happened. Tommy was sitting on the other side of the bed, his legs stretched out in front of him as he watched Jason.

"What happened?" Jason finally asked when he came up with nothing. "Why are you in my room? Actually, what are you even doing in Angel Grove?"

"Well, I was in Angel Grove helping move some equipment out of Billy's old lab into storage," Tommy said.

"Why?" Jason frowned.

"Because it needs to get cleaned out. And not just anyone can do it. And as for your other question…"

Tommy explained what he knew about the night before and how he and Hayley had finally managed to get him in bed by convincing him he could hide from the shadows in the dark.

"That doesn't make any sense," Jason muttered, shaking his head. "Hallucinations? Why? And why are you on my bed?"

Tommy snorted.

"That part wasn't exactly my choice," he said. "You latched on to my arm while you were out of it last night and wouldn't let go. And you didn't let go until a couple of hours ago. At that point I figured I was as comfortable as I was going to get and I just stayed here."

"Oh," Jason said.

They were both quiet for a moment and then Tommy sighed.

"Jase, I hate to ask this," he said, watching Jason closely. "But how much did you have to drink yesterday?'

Jason frowned.

"I only had one glass with my lunch," Jason said. "That's it."

"Are you sure, Jason?" Tommy asked. "Because the way you were acting last night…"

"I swear," Jason snapped. "If you don't believe me, check the kitchen. You'll find just the one open bottle and it's not even close to empty."

"Alright, alright," Tommy said, climbing off the bed and stretching. "I believe you."

Jason finished untangling himself from the blanket and slowly got to his feet as well. He was a little lightheaded, but at least he didn't feel like throwing up at that moment.

"I'm going to go make you something to eat that won't make you feel worse," Tommy said. "But Jason, you've got to talk to your doctor again. If it wasn't the alcohol, then something else had to have triggered your episode last night. You've got to figure it out before it gets even worse—and last night was pretty bad."

"I know," Jason sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "And just to be safe, I'm done with any form of alcohol until I can figure this out. Because even if it isn't the cause, it probably isn't helping."

Tommy shook his head.

"No, probably not," he agreed. "And it could be something as simple as your body not processing the alcohol anymore. Which could mean any alcohol could make you sick. You can't ignore what's happening anymore... Now go shower and put on something you didn't sleep in, Rex. I'll see you downstairs."

"Thanks, Tommy," Jason said. "Oh, and while you are checking—because I know you are going to—please dump out that bottle. I don't even want to look at it anymore."

Tommy nodded.

"I'll take care of it," he said, starting to head for the door.

"Falcon?" Jason said before he made it out the door.

"Yeah, Jase?" Tommy said, stopping to look at him—a little surprised to hear the nickname.

"Please don't tell anyone else…" he said quietly. "I'd really like to just keep the alcohol part between us for the moment."

Tommy didn't answer immediately, considering his answer.

"I won't," Tommy finally said. "As long as they don't need to know. But if it gets worse, Jason, I'm not going to hide it when they could be helping. You know they won't judge you for it."

Jason nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Falcon," he said gratefully as Tommy left the room.

"Tommy, shouldn't you be heading home?" Jason asked, glancing at the clock. "You still have to drive back to Reefside this afternoon."

Jason was sitting at the kitchen table while Tommy was taking care of the dishes. He had taken them away when Jason tried to help, insisting he sit back down and relax. It was early afternoon now and they had now eaten lunch with no mention of Tommy leaving.

"I'm in no rush," Tommy shrugged.

"But you have school tomorrow," Jason pointed out.

"And?" Tommy asked.

"Tommy, you can't miss school again," Jason said. "You already missed last Monday because of me."

"It's not—sorry, hold that thought," Tommy said as a phone went off.

Tommy quickly dried his hands and grabbed one of his phones out of his pocket. Jason listened with some curiosity.

"What is it, Eric," he asked quickly.

"How is Jason?"

Tommy sighed, rubbing his forehead with his freehand.

"I already talked to Wes," he said. "Why couldn't you just ask him?"

"If I want accurate information I need to go to the source," Eric scoffed. "Not through Wes."

"This is not an information hotline," Tommy said irritably. "I've already had this conversation with TJ, too."

Jason stared at Tommy, recognizing the names he was using. He was starting to realize that one of the two phones Tommy carried connected him with some of the reds he had met years ago on the mission to the moon—and again a few years ago for the legendary battle he'd been called to. Though he was still trying to figure out why they were calling. Tommy just kept waving him off saying he'd explain later.

"Yeah, yeah," Eric said. "But you already answered, so you may as well answer my question. How is Jason?"

"Same as the last update I sent this morning," Tommy said shortly. "No change. And if there is anything you all need to know, I will tell you. Now will you please tell anyone else who might be thinking of calling for the same reason to not? This line is supposed to be for emergencies, not a gossip chain—at least the kids are just blowing up my personal phone. They know I don't have to answer that."

As he was talking to Eric, Will came waltzing into the kitchen. Seeing the food still out on the table, he immediately started helping himself. Tommy glared at him from where he was leaning on the counter, but Will just ignored him and sat down at the table.

"Tommy?" Eric said. "Are you still there?"

Tommy shook himself.

"Yeah, sorry," he said. "I've got to go. Remember what I said."

He hung up, crossing his arms as he watched Will.

"Where did you order this from, Jason?" Will asked.

"We didn't," Jason said slowly, glancing over at Tommy. "Tommy made it."

Will raised an eyebrow, looking at the food and then over at Tommy who was still glaring at him. Jason tensed, ready to react.

"Oh, really?" he said, putting a little more on his plate. "Great job putting those housewife skills to work."

Smirking at Tommy, Will hopped up from his seat and left with his plate. Tommy scowled as Jason grimaced.

"Tommy, I'm sorry about that," Jason sighed. "I know he's not the easiest person to get along with sometimes…"

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Jase," Tommy said. "Unless it's for letting him in the house."

"He's my brother-in-law," Jason said. "And he doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"You could have left him in New York," Tommy suggested, looking back at his phone.

Jason sighed as Tommy started typing out a message.

"I don't leave people behind, remember?" Jason said. "I didn't leave you behind after you tried to kill us."

"That is not the same thing," Tommy muttered. "He's making his own bad choices, I wasn't."

But he still dropped the subject, focusing on whatever he was typing. His other phone, the one Jason knew was his personal phone, was still dinging in his pocket every few minutes with what Jason assumed were new text messages.

"There," Tommy sighed a few minutes later. "Now maybe they will leave me alone for a little while."

The phone in Tommy's pocket went off again.

"Tommy, shouldn't you check your other phone?" Jason asked. "What if it is Kat or JJ?"

Tommy shook his head, moving to the table to start to clean up and put the food away.

"If they needed something important, they would call me," he said. "Or call you and ask for me. Kat already knows everyone is bothering me about you. I'll answer the pests later. Even the more persistent will eventually give up."

Jason shook his head.

"I really am fine," Jason said. "And what do you mean by everyone? Who all knows I was sick?"

Tommy gave him a look and Jason sighed.

"Ok, I'm fine right now," Jason corrected. "And I'm going back to the doctor in the morning. And, like I was saying earlier, you really should go home. You have school tomorrow and I'm sure your wife and kid would like to have you home."

"Are we back to that now?" Tommy asked, pausing. "Rex, I already told you it's not a problem. Kat understands and I still have sick time I can use for work. They don't need me staring at them while they take their exams."

"That's not the point," Jason snapped irritably. "You shouldn't be missing more school because of me!"

Tommy raised an eyebrow and Jason grimaced, realizing he'd snapped again. Jason took a deep breath as Tommy continued.

"Two days in two weeks does not even come close to some of my absences over the years," Tommy said, shaking his head. "Especially my first year of teaching."

Jason frowned, but Tommy just shrugged.

"Listen, Jason," he said firmly. "I only miss school when I have to. I have plenty of sick time saved up at this point. Besides, I'm close to the teachers, the principal, and the school board. If anyone was going to try and fire me, they would have done it my first year there when I was out for several months for a ran—an emergency. When no one really knew me. And Anton has already told me he can cover tomorrow if I need it."

"Anton?" Jason said.

"My regular sub," Tommy shrugged. "At least when he is in town."

"You have a regular sub?" Jason exclaimed. "I thought you didn't miss a lot of school."

"Regular as in he is really ever the only one who covers for me," Tommy chuckling. "Not that I miss school a lot."

Before Jason could continue to argue, Christine flounced into the room. She had her purse slung over her shoulder like she was getting ready to leave.

"Jason, I need cash," she said, looking at him expectantly. "I'm going shopping."

He frowned.

"For what?" he asked.

"I don't know yet," she said with a shrug. "But I'll find something."

Jason took a deep breath.

"Christine, we can't afford to just spend money like that," he said, trying not to sound irritated. "You know that."

She rolled her eyes.

"Look," she said. "I'm done being frugal. I don't like living like a pauper and I'm done pretending I'm content to just sit around the house. So, either you can give me the cash, or I can go get it myself. Alright?"

Jason paused, taking a deep breath before he answered her. He was trying to be mindful of his temper with how easily agitated he was today. But Tommy beat him to it, not willing to just watch Jason flounder while he was fighting whatever this illness was.

"So, you got a job then?" he asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the fridge.

He had just finished putting the food away.

"Oh," Christine said. "You're still here."

"Hi," Tommy retorted.

"No, I didn't get a job," Christine said, turning back to Jason. "And I'm not getting one."

"We have talked about this, Christine," Jason said shortly, starting to lose his patience.

"No, you have," she said. "And I'm done listening to it. I've put up with a lot since you dragged me out of New York, and I'm done with it. I want to enjoy myself—and shopping makes me happy. So, I'll be back later."

Without waiting for a response from Jason, Christine stalked out of the room.

"Christine!" Jason exclaimed, standing quickly like he was going to go after her.

But he had to grab the table to stop from losing his balance as the room spun. The front door slammed, telling them both that Christine was gone. Tommy left his place by the fridge and moved closer to Jason.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Jase," he said. "Take it easy."

"I know," Jason sighed, carefully sitting back down. "I'm just—I'm just frustrated."

"I can tell," Tommy said. "Anything I can help with?"

"What?" Jason frowned. "No. And don't think I've forgotten what we were talking about. You need to go home."

"And your appointment tomorrow?" Tommy countered.

"My what?" Jason said. "Oh. Yes. I will go back to the doctor first thing tomorrow."

"Great," Tommy said. "So, make the appointment."

He looked at Jason expectantly. Jason sighed.

"Alright, I'll do it," he said, grabbing his phone.

"Good," said Tommy. "And I'll text Rocky to make sure he can take you."

Jason frowned, pausing to look up at Tommy.

"I can take myself," he said shortly.

"And I can stay another night," Tommy retorted.

The two men stared at each other for a moment in a silent contest of wills.

"Fine," Jason finally muttered. "Text Rocky. I'm going to call the office."

"Great," Tommy said with a smirk. "But—real quick—does Marc have any food allergies?"

Jason blinked at the sudden subject change but shook his head.

"Umm… no," he said. "But Christine doesn't really do carbs if she can avoid it. And Will is lactose intolerant."

"Perfect," Tommy grinned.

"Why?" Jason asked suspiciously.

He was still holding his phone, ready to call the doctor's office.

"I just want to make sure you have some food to eat until you get back on your feet," Tommy said. "I'm thinking cheesy lasagna. I'll make a big pan and throw some extra veggies in to make it a little healthier—Marc won't even notice. You can have it for dinner tonight and then leftovers for a couple of days."

"Really, Falcon," Jason said drily.

"Appointment, Rex," Tommy grinned.

Rolling his eyes, Jason called the doctor's office to set up the appointment while Tommy started raiding his cupboards and fridge again, texting on his personal phone as he did.

About 45 minutes later, Tommy was starting to pull out what he needed to make the lasagna when Will came striding back into the kitchen.

"Oh, good," he said, grinning when he saw Tommy. "Here. Take care of this."

Tommy turned to look just in time for Will to shove his dirty plate into his chest. Catching it out of instinct, Tommy fixed a murderous glare on Will.

"Oh, I'll take care of it," Tommy growled, setting the plate down on the counter.

Jason quickly got to his feet, ignoring his spinning head in favor of getting in between Tommy and Will.

"Tommy, no," Jason said, putting a hand up to stop him. "Will, that was unnecessary."

Will scoffed.

"He doesn't scare me," he said, still smirking at Tommy. "I could take him anytime."

"Oh really," Tommy snapped, taking a step closer. "Is that what you want?"

"Bring it on," Will said. "Show me what you've got, tough guy."

"Jason, move," Tommy said.

"Tommy, no," Jason said, not moving. "Will, stop antagonizing him. Get out of here."

The front door opening and then closing didn't break the faceoff between Will and Tommy. Marc came running into the kitchen followed by Adam, who walked in a few steps behind him.

"Dad, I'm home—" he called, sliding to a stop in surprise as he entered the kitchen. "Um… is everything alright?"

He stopped looking back and forth between Tommy and Will.

"It's fine," Jason said firmly.

"I was just about to do a demonstration with your Uncle Will, Marc," Tommy said, his gaze never leaving Will.

"Dad?" Marc said, eyes wide.

He had seen Tommy fight at the dojo—and he knew Will didn't have any kind of training.

"Tommy, what's going on?" Adam asked slowly, starting to set down the bags he was holding.

"Oh, nothing much," Tommy said shortly, not looking at Adam. "Will wants me to show him what I've got. He asked."

Adam winced and started to move forward to insert himself. He knew Jason wasn't in any sort of shape to actually stop Tommy if Will went too far. And he knew Tommy was looking for any excuse to hit Will after what happened three days ago.

"No!" Jason said again. "Nobody is showing anyone anything. Will—out! Now!"

"Whatever," Will scoffed. "Lucky your friends don't want you to get hurt, housewife."

Tommy growled, taking another step forward and running into Jason's hand as Will spun and stalked out of the room, muttering to himself. With Will out of the room, Jason and Adam both relaxed a little. Though Jason stayed blocking Tommy's path out of the room.

"Tommy, I'm sorry," Jason said. "I know he's an idiot, but you can't kill him."

"Oh, I could," Tommy said irritably. "If only for what he did to Kat."

Jason grimaced.

"That's not what I meant," he said. "I know you could—but you shouldn't. Don't escalate it."

"It's not escalating if he instigates it," Tommy retorted, but he stepped back. "Especially if he expressly asks for it."

Tommy took a few deep breaths, his fists still clenched at his sides. Jason leaned against the counter. No one spoke for a few moments.

"Umm… I'm gonna go to my room," Marc said, breaking the silence. "And put my stuff away."

"Thank you, Marc," Jason said as Marc bolted out of the room. "Adam, thanks for bringing him home."

"Of course," Adam said. "Tommy, I brought the stuff you asked for."

"Right," Tommy said, taking another deep breath and shaking himself a little. "Thanks."

He walked over and took the bags from Adam as Jason frowned.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Oh, just some groceries Tommy asked me to bring," Adam said. "So he can make you food for the next couple of days."

"Adam, you didn't have to," Jason sighed.

"It's fine," Adam shrugged. "I was bringing Marc anyways."

"I could've texted Kim," Tommy said, shooting a grin at Jason as he unpacked the bags on the counter. "She would have brought way more food than necessary—and never would have left."

"Please don't," Jason said, closing his eyes. "She's the number one reason I didn't want everyone to know…"

"Go sit down, Jase," Tommy said. "I'm not going to go hunt him down right now."

Jason eyed him suspiciously but sat down anyways. He was still feeling lightheaded and jumping up like he had hadn't helped. Tommy glanced over to make sure Jason had sat and then went back to assembling the lasagna.

"I'm also acting as a witness," Adam told Jason. "Now I can tell the girls that Tommy isn't lying to make them feel better. It will keep them away for a few more days."

"Thanks," Jason muttered, his eyes closed again.

"But expect to see at least Tanya or Aisha by Tuesday," Adam warned him. "They are planning out meals for you for the next two weeks. Apparently, they are going to bring them over in waves."

"Of course they are," Jason sighed. "You guys do realize I am an adult and I can take care of myself, right?"

"Yes, we know," Tommy said.

"But you're not going to let me, are you?" Jason grumbled.

"Nope," Tommy said. "Just because you can doesn't mean you should—remember? We just talked about that concept a few minutes ago. Unless you changed your mind?"

"That would be a no," Jason scowled. "You still can't kill Will."

"Are you staying again?" Adam asked Tommy, changing the subject.

"No," Jason answered for him.

"We compromised," Tommy said, turning to look at Jason as he answered Adam. "I'm going home tonight. Rocky is taking Jason to his appointment tomorrow. And if Jason skips his appointment or takes himself, I'm coming back and I'm not leaving until we know what's going on."

Adam chuckled as Jason glowered at Tommy. Despite Jason's glaring at Tommy, it was clear that some of the awkwardness between the two men had dissipated. They were a lot more relaxed around each other than they had been a few weeks ago. So, even though Adam was worried about Jason being sick, he was also kind of glad the previous night had forced the two men together.

"Alright," Adam said. "Well, I'll let myself out. Let me know if you need anything else, Jason."

As Adam started walking out of the kitchen, Tommy's phone rang. Recognizing one of the ringtones of the ranger phone, Adam slowed down and glanced back. Tommy set down what he was doing and pulled it out, glancing at the caller ID before he answered.

"Chip, what's going on?" he asked.

He stopped, frowning.

"What do you mean you can't find V?"

Adam froze in the doorway, earning a surprised look from Jason. But Adam wasn't looking at him, he was watching Tommy.

"So that isn't Vida I can hear in the background?" Tommy said slowly, his tone immediately changing from concern to irritation. "Talking to her girlfriend?"

Adam sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I can hear them," Tommy said shortly. "And I already told everyone emergencies only. There has been no change and if there are any more calls like this I'm going to start dishing out punishments."

He paused.

"I haven't decided yet," he said. "But we can start with some extra training at my house. And no—extra help—will be allowed."

He paused again.

"That's what I thought," he said.

Hanging up, he shook his head as he put the phone away.

"What was that about?" Adam asked.

"Chip was trying to convince me they lost Vida," Tommy muttered. "And she was definitely in the room—so not even a real panic moment."

Adam rolled his eyes.

"An excuse to call about Jason?"

"Exactly," Tommy said, rubbing a hand over his face. "They're curious. And I can't just turn it off or ignore their calls…"

"Don't worry," Adam said reassuringly. "I'll make some phone calls to some of the reds for you—it shouldn't take too much effort to get them to exert some control. Actually…"

Adam paused, grinning.

"I'll just tell Conner they're stressing you out," Adam smirked. "He'll yell at them for you."

Tommy rolled his eyes as Adam grinned. Pulling out his own phone, Adam disappeared out of the kitchen and moment later they heard the door shut behind him. Jason watched him go and then turned back to Tommy.

"Would you like to explain that conversation to me?" Jason asked.

"That's a conversation for another place with fewer ears to hear," Tommy said as he went back to prepping food. "But soon. I have a lot to catch you up on, after all. You can join Kim and Jake—and possibly Zach. Then I only have to explain once."

"Will, I thought we were done with this," Jason snapped.

Scoffing, Will crossed his arms. The two men were standing in the hallway and had been arguing for the last few minutes. Adam had left a couple hours before and now Tommy was finally getting ready to go. He was in the living room getting all of his things packed back in his duffle bag.

"Done with what?" Will said. "There's nothing to be done with. Your friend is all bark and no bite. I've seen guys like him before—covering themselves in tattoos and constantly working out. It's just an act."

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath.

"Will I want you to listen very carefully," Jason said slowly. "Actually listen."

Will rolled his eyes but didn't say anything.

"Tommy is an eighth degree blackbelt in karate," Jason said. "He has blackbelts in at least three other styles—that I know of—and I don't know how many lower belts in other martial arts styles. And that isn't counting any random moves he has picked up over the years and his very successful run on the amateur MMA circuit. I have seen him take down guys twice his size without breaking a sweat. Tommy is not someone to mess with. He can and will hurt you if you make him. Do you understand?"

"Whatever," Will scoffed. "You just want me to leave him alone."

"I don't want to have to drag you to the emergency room!" Jason exclaimed.

The front door opened, interrupting their argument. Christine sauntered in, dropping several bags on the floor in the hall. Jason scowled.

"Christine," he snapped, his patience gone now. "You know we can't afford that!"

"I told you I was done living like a pauper in this stupid town," she said. "I want to move to LA—or back to New York. Somewhere I wouldn't be ashamed to have my friends visit—unlike this horrible house."

"This was my grandfather's house," Jason scowled. "It's a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, and it's paid for. Marc can walk to school without me worrying about him making it there. And we have family here."

"You have family here," Christine scowled. "My family had to come with us so I wouldn't be trapped here by myself."

Jason took a deep breath, trying not to lose his temper.

"Am I interrupting?" Tommy asked, standing just down the hall.

He had his backpack on, and his duffle bag slung over one shoulder. Tommy watched Jason in concern, having overheard most of what was going on.

"No, it's fine," Jason said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Oh, well that's wonderful," Christine said smugly. "Is the knuckle-dragging neanderthal finally going to leave us alone?"

"Christine!" Jason hissed.

Tommy ignored her, though his jaw did tighten.

"Rex, do you need me to stay?" he asked, still looking at Jason. "I can still call. It really wouldn't be a problem."

"Oh, just leave already," Christine said, rolling her eyes. "Nobody wants you here."

Jason shot her another look, then turned back to Tommy.

"I'll be fine, Tommy," he said. "You need get home to your family. I'll call you tomorrow after my appointment—alright?"

"Alright," Tommy said reluctantly. "As long as you are sure…"

"I'm sure," Jason assured him.

Tommy started to head toward the front door. But as he passed Christine, he paused and turned back to Jason.

"Oh, Jason," he said.

"What, Tommy?"

"If you need a break from anything, just give me a call," Tommy said. "I can get you and Marc a room at the resort. The one on the south side of town? It's a great place to relax and there are all sorts of things to keep Marc busy."

Jason looked at Tommy in surprise—and a little confusion. Will and Christine straight out laughed.

"Sure you can," Will laughed. "Cause you are what—a maintenance man?"

Christine snickered. Tommy turned and looked at Will.

"No," he said evenly. "I own it."

"What?" Jason said in surprise.

Christine stopped snickering as both she and Will stared in shock. That was not what anyone had expected Tommy to say. And it was so out of nowhere that there was a chance it was true.

"Jason, is that true?" Christine demanded, turning to him.

"I don't know," Jason responded. "Tommy, are you serious?"

"Completely," Tommy said. "It's on the website. Go see for yourself if you don't believe me. But any time you and Marc would like to stay a night, just give your name and show your ID at the desk. They will set you up with a room. No membership required. And we have fantastic security—they're great at keeping out unwanted visitors."

Tommy smirked as he looked at Will and Christine.

"You should also know I'm the one who stopped your membership application," he said, making eye contact with Christine. "And blacklisted you from applying again."

Then he turned to look at Jason again as Christine sputtered.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Rex," he said. "Call me if there is an emergency—I put my other number in your phone. I always answer when it rings. Doesn't matter what time of day or night or where I am or what I'm doing. Oh. And dinner should be ready any time now. I threw some garlic bread in to go with it."

"Thanks, Falcon," Jason said gratefully.

Tommy nodded and walked out the door, shutting it firmly behind him. Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair as he turned back to Christine and Will.

Christine was staring at her phone, looking for something.

"He wasn't lying," she said after a moment, shock in her voice. "He really is the owner… Jason, why didn't you tell me?"

She snapped at him, clearly angry.

"Because I didn't know either, Christine," Jason snapped back. "I've only been back in Angel Grove for two months and I've only really been talking to Tommy since last weekend. There is still a lot I don't know about the past nearly twenty years of his life. We haven't exactly spoken much since—"

Their argument was interrupted again. This time by the sound of the oven timer beeping. Marc, hearing it in his room upstairs, came racing down.

"Dinner!" he exclaimed, oblivious to the tension in the hallways.

"Marc, oven mitts!" Jason yelled after him and starting to follow.

He paused, turning to look at Christine.

"We'll continue the discussion about your shopping trip later," Jason said. "I'm going to help Marc get the food out of the oven."

He stalked into the kitchen after Marc, leaving Christine and Will in the other room. Marc had already pulled the garlic bread out and was working on the lasagna pan. Jason grabbed another set of oven mitts and took it from him, setting it on the stove top. Between the two of them they quickly got the table set. In addition to putting out the lasagna and the garlic bread, Jason also got out salad fixings. He knew neither Christine nor Will was going to eat any of the lasagna—even if Tommy had used zucchini pasta.

As soon as everything was set, Jason filled Marc's plate and his own. He only took a small piece for himself, though, because he was still feeling nauseous. It was better than when he woke up, but he didn't want to risk eating too much and making it worse. Christine and Will still hadn't joined them.

"This is great!" Marc said, his mouth half-full. "Why is the pasta a weird color?"

He was studying the food on his plate, a curious look on his face.

"Because Tommy used zucchini," Jason said.

"Oh," Marc said. "And I don't even care!"

Then he shoved another bite in his mouth. Jason chuckled.

"I guess I'll have to ask Tommy for more ideas," he said. "Maybe I can get you to eat more vegetables."

Marc just shrugged with a grin. A few minutes later, Christine and Will finally wandered in to join them. Jason was slowly eating as Marc shoveled his food in his mouth.

"What is that?" Christine asked, staring at the pan of lasagna with disgust.

"Lasagna," Jason said. "Tommy made it. But I—"

"I don't do carbs, Jason," Christine snapped. "What am I supposed to eat? Or Will. You know he can't have cheese."

"I know," Jason said. "That's why I got out stuff to make sala—"

"I can't believe you are being so inconsiderate," Christine continued ranting.

"Christine, I—" Jason tried to interrupt.

"I guess we'll just have to go out," she snapped. "Since apparently we aren't welcome at this table."

Jason took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead. The headache he had been fighting all day was getting worse again. Marc was still eating, but he had shrunk down in his chair to try and keep the attention away from him.

"You already spent what I'm sure was way too much money shopping for things you don't need today, Christine," he said shortly. "There is no reason for you to go spend more money eating out."

Christine scoffed.

"Look, I know you don't like it here," he said, trying to keep the conversation from spiraling again. "But we can't live like we did in New York. You can't keep going around and maxing out credit cards everywhere like that debt is going to magically disappear. That's half the reason we are even in this situation. We have to clear that up before we can even think about moving somewhere else. The money your parents left you is gone—we can't rely on that anymore and right now I am the only one with a steady income."

"Just stop it," Christine snapped. "I'm done listening to your whining. You are just being selfish, Jason. You don't care about me."

"If I didn't care, we wouldn't be having this argument," Jason snapped back. "And this isn't just about you and what you want anymore. This is about our family—about Marc. He's fourteen already and we have nothing saved for him to go to college—"

"Oh, just shut up," Christine snarled. "Everything was so much better back in New York. Before you got ideas in your head about how things should be. When you actually cared about what I wanted instead of yourself. You are selfish and inconsiderate. You are lucky to have me and you can't even see it. The only reason I even married you was to have someone who would look good next to me—and you barely even check that box."

Jason tried to interrupt, but Christine just kept talking over him.

"You keep saying you think we should," Christine continued. "And it's wrong. So why don't you just stop thinking? You aren't that smart anyways. Save yourself the stress and just don't think. Let me do things my way and just stay out of the way and everything will be better. And if you don't, it's just going to get that much worse because I am done pretending to be ok with living like this."

Marc quickly glanced back and forth between his parents as Christine continued to rant. Squeaking out a quick 'excuse me', he bolted from the room, taking his plate of lasagna with him. Will leaned casually against the counter, smirking as he watched.

"You have no right to talk to me like that," Jason growled, on his feet now as he glared at her. "Especially in front of our son."

"I'm not saying anything he couldn't figure out on his own," she scoffed. "So, get over yourself."

"I'm not the one having that problem," Jason snarled. "We would still be in New York if you could think about someone other than yourself for five minutes."

"Someone has to take care of me," Christine snapped.

"Since you won't," Will inserted.

"Stay out of this, Will," Jason snapped at him. "Or get out."

"No," Christine said. "You get out, Jason. You are the problem here, not Will."

"This is my house," Jason snarled.

"Our house," Christine retorted. "As you keep insisting—no matter how badly I want to be somewhere else. You should have just sold this dump and used the money to pay for our apartment in New York."

"It wouldn't have solved the problem!" Jason shouted in frustration.

"The only problem here is you, Jason," Christine said, crossing her arms. "So here is how it is going to be. You are going to sell this house and we are going to move back to New York. There are going to be no more complaints about my spending or what I do with my time. You are just going to keep your mouth shut and be a good trophy husband I can show off in front of my friends. And if you can't do that, then I'm going back by myself and taking everything with me."

"What everything?" Jason exclaimed. "There is nothing for you to take but this house!"

"It's better than living in it with you!" she snapped. "You stupid, selfish, inconsiderate, overbearing—"

"Enough!" Jason roared, interrupting her. "I am done with you right now. If I am so horrible to be around, then get out. Leave."

Christine rolled her eyes, sitting down on one of the chairs around the table.

"Are you going to make me?" she scoffed. "If you don't want to be around me, then you can leave. I'm sure one of your pathetic little friends has a couch you can sleep on."

For a moment Jason just glared at her, his fists clenched.

"Fine," he spat. "I'm out of here."

Without another word, Jason stalked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He stopped at Marc's room first, opening the door without bothering to knock.

"Pack your things," Jason said shortly. "All of your school stuff, clothes, and whatever else you might want. I don't know how long it will be before we come back here."

Marc, sitting on his bed with his plate in his lap, stared at Jason for a moment in surprise.

"We're leaving?" he asked.

"I'm leaving," Jason said. "And if you want to come with me, pack your stuff."

Marc nodded quickly and, setting down the lasagna, jumped off his bed and scrambled for his closet. Jason left him to pack and went to his room to pack his own things.

Thirty minutes later, Jason threw the last of Marc's things in the car and shut the door. Christine and Will hadn't said a word to him as he carried things out to the car, they had just continued discussing what they were ordering for dinner as though the fight had never happened. Marc was already buckled in the front seat, waiting for Jason.

Taking a deep breath, Jason climbed in the driver's seat and buckled before driving away without looking back. It was quiet for the first block. Then Jason glanced over at Marc.

"Marc, why did you bring that?" Jason asked.

The pan of lasagna had made it from the kitchen into the car and was sitting on Marc's lap on a towel.

"Well, we're pretty much homeless now," Marc said, shrugging. "So, I made sure we had dinner."

Jason sighed, rubbing his forehead. He wasn't feeling the greatest again after having gotten all worked up fighting with Christine.

"We aren't homeless," Jason said. "We are going to your grandparents' house."

"Oh," Marc said, looking down at the food in his lap. "Well, mom would have thrown it away anyways. Now at least someone will eat it."

Jason just shook his head.

Pulling into his parents' driveway, Jason could immediately tell no one was home. His dad's car was gone and the lights in the house were off. Just the porch light was left on.

"They aren't home," Marc said.

"It's fine," Jason said. "I have a key, remember? They probably went out for dinner. I'm sure they'll be home soon. Let's get our stuff inside."

Marc ran ahead with the lasagna in his hands and his backpack full of his schoolbooks on his back. He waited impatiently by the front door for Jason to follow with more of their luggage. Jason unlocked the door, letting Marc in and dropping the bags he had just inside the door.

"Take your stuff upstairs," Jason said, as he turned to go out to get the last of the bags. "Leave the lasagna down here, please."

Once he had everything inside, Jason collapsed into an armchair. He felt exhausted and his head was throbbing. Between his episode the night before and now this, it had been a long couple of days. Leaning back in the chair, he closed his eyes. Then his phone dinged.

"What now?" he muttered, pulling it out of his pocket.

Rocky had sent a text message.

just got back from some back-to-back calls

going to get some sleep while I can I'm supposed to be off at 7a

picking you up at 8a right?

Jason sighed but texted him back. He hadn't thought about the fact that Rocky was supposed to pick him up in the morning when he left the house.

Jason: My appointment is at 8a. So before then. But could you pick me up from my parents' house?

Rocky: I thought we all agree you weren't driving til you saw the doctor

so why would you drive to your parents just so I can drive you to the doctor? Are you planning on going for a really early walk?

Jason: No… I'm already there.

Rocky: You really shouldn't be driving Jason

Jason: I thought it was better than me and Marc walking with all our stuff.

Rocky: I think ive missed something

Jason: Christine and I had a fight. I needed some space

Rocky: I'm sorry jaon

Jason didn't answer right away. Marc had come back downstairs and disappeared into the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, his phone dinged again. Several times. It wasn't Rocky.

Kim: Jason are you ok?

Aisha told me that Rocky told her that you had a fight with Christine and went to your parents house.

Do you need anything?

I don't have a car here

I can have Jake call a car

Do I need to have Jake call a car?

Jason: I'm fine Kim

Please don't worry about it

Groaning, Jason texted Rocky back.

Jason: Why?

Rocky: Sorry man

I was talking to aisha while texting you and she kind of messaged kim and tanya before I could stop her

Jason: Now Kim wants to come over

Rocky: sorry

Kim texted him again and Jason sighed.

Kim: Are you sure?

I can bring dinner over

Jason: I already ate

I just need some space right now

I'm fine

When Kim didn't immediately respond, Jason thought maybe he had convinced her to drop it for the moment. But then his phone went off again. He looked at it and sighed before opening. Then he paused.

"Why did she start a new message thread?" he muttered.

Kim: You are not fine Jason Scott

You've been sick and now a huge fight with your wife

You need us

And how much did you actually eat?

Jason: Kim. I'm fine. I'm even sitting down

I ate enough

Tanya: You need to eat, Jason. Aisha and I are going to bring you and Marc more food.

Jason groaned when Tanya joined the conversation. Quickly checking, he realized Kim had started a new thread because she had included the entire group. All ten of them.

Aisha: Well, one of us is. Tanya, honey, the kids would be too much right now. Why don't you drop yours off here and you can pick up what I make and take it with you? That'll be less chaotic than me bringing my three to your house

Rocky: well this spiraled quickly

Jason: I blame you, Rocky

Kim: He was right to tell us, Jason. You need our support because clearly you aren't getting it from your wife like you should be.

Jason: Please don't come over

My mom is going to be bad enough when she gets home and hears what happened

Kim: They aren't home?

Aisha: You're alone?!

Tanya: You should have come here, Jason.

Jason: I'm not alone. Marc is with me

Tommy: you really shouldn't alone right now not after last night marc doesn't count christine and will barely counted

Adam: Theyre right, Jason. I can come get you and Marc if you want to crash here instead of your parents' house. I've got a spare room.

Tommy: And the offer for room at the resort still stand

Adam: I could also take you there.

Jason: I'm already here and I don't want to make Marc pack his stuff again already. I'm fine where I'm at

Trini: What happened? Jason, is everything alright? Do I need to make any calls?

Jason: It was just a fight, Trini. Like I've been saying. I'm fine. And what calls are you going to make that can help from the other side of the country?

Tommy: no calls necessary trini not that kind of issue

Trini: Oh. I can find a reason for it to be necessary. Just watch me. Jason is sick, she shouldn't be picking fights and kicking him out.

Jason: She didn't kick me out. I just didn't want to be in the same house as her anymore.

Kim: Same thing

You should have kicked her out

It's your house after all

Rocky: he probably would have had to actually throw her out and Jason is in no shape for that right now

not after last night

Jason: You aren't wrong. Will wasn't helping either

Tommy: want me to turn around I can help

Jason: No, Tommy. Aren't you already home?

Kat: Not yet he isn't. He only left your house maybe an hour and a half ago. It takes at least two hours to get back here.

Kim: Thomas Oliver! Are you texting and driving?

Tommy: no I'm not half hour away

voice to text kim I don't even have to touch my phone

Kim: Oh

Kat: Do you want me to wait for you before I lock the doors and head to bed, Tommy?

Tommy: don't lock doors I left my house keys in billys lab and only realized it like ten minutes ago

Kat: Maybe I will lock the doors. Then I can laugh as you try to get in.

Zach: What on earth is going on? I leave my phone to take a shower and it blows up. Are you alright, man?

When Zach's name popped up Jason was momentarily glad his friends had been stealing his phone to add numbers. It honestly would have taken him a moment to figure out who else was talking with them with how many other voices were involved.

Jason: Again I'm fine

Zach: Great. Then back to throwing people out of your house. If that's the plan, wait for me. I can be there in like an hour this time of the day.

Aisha: I'm on board with kicking them out. She needs her ego taken down a peg or two.

Tommy: I can still turn around

Kat: Come get me first, Tommy. You are close enough.

Rocky: that's not fair

I have to stay with my ambulance

Zach: Bring it with you. Sounds like the brotherinlaw might need it.

Adam: Maybe we should all take a step back

Rocky: I don't work the ambulance alone zach

Id hae to bring my partner

Tanya: That pair deserves to be kicked out. They never want to be there when Jason needs them, so why should they get the house now?

Adam: Guys?

Kim: Aisha, come pick me up before you go anywhere. Then I don't have to call a car.

Jason: This really isn't necessary. I'm fine at my parents house. As long as I don't have to see her right now I don't care where I am.

Zach: Your partner can wait in the ambulance

Trini: Jason, do you want them kicked out?

Tommy: kat I'll come get you and we can drive back my exams are all written I don't need to be there tomorrow anton can handle the reviews with my classes

Kat: I guess I'll unlock the door then. We'll have to bring JJ. Or leave him with Anton. Probably leave him.

Jason: Guys. This really isn't necessary.

Trini: ANYONE NOT JASON HOLD YOUR HORSES FOR THIRTY SECONDS!

For a moment, no one else responded.

Trini: Thank you.

Now. Jason, do you want anyone to come help you remove your wife and her brother from your house?

Jason: No. I don't. I just want to forget about them and get some sleep.

Trini: Ok. Then all of you need to stop planning to invade Angel Grove and stressing Jason out.

Adam: Thank you, Trini.

Jason: Thanks, Trini

Zach: Well there went my fun for the evening.

Kim: Fine. But I'm coming to see you tomorrow

Jason: I have an appointment tomorrow morning Kim

Kim: Oh. Right

Tommy: kat I'm almost home do I have to break in send do you have my keys

Kat: I'm still deciding. And no. You said you left them in Angel Grove.

Hayley: Yes, Tommy, I have your keys. But you could always just go in the back door if Kat locks you out. Your security clearance overrides hers still. If only because of your position.

Jason frowned at his phone in surprise. The name Hayley was familiar, but he wasn't sure why at that moment. He also really wasn't sure why his phone recognized her number. Someone had to have put it in there for him.

Zach: Umm… guys. Who is that and how did they get in here? I thought it was just the ten of us.

Hayley: Hi, Zach. I'm Hayley. 😊

Tommy: sorry

that was my fault

I was trying to text her and my voice controls added her to this instead

Zach: Who is Hayley? And how does she know me?

Kat: Hayley is Tommy's best friend

Tommy: no she isn't

Hayley: He's in denial. Tommy, I'll have your keys at the café tomorrow when you get out of school. The rest of you should let Jason go to bed.

Zach: But how does she know my number? And I thought Jason was Tommys best friend

Kat: Hayley knows everything.

Trini: She knows everything…

Tommy: she has all of your numbers just in case

Zach: In case of what?!

Is something going on that I don't know about again?

Hearing the front door open, Jason took a deep breath.

Jason: My parents are home. I appreciate the distraction. But I have to go talk to them now. I'll update you all after my appointment tomorrow.

Tommy: Get some sleep, Rex. I'm home now, but if you need anything just call that second number. I will be right there.

And it won't take two hours.

Rocky: I take it you have the quad gassed up?

Zach: How would a quad be faster than a car? And no one has answered my other questions!

Tommy: Goodnight Zach

Jason watched a chorus of goodbyes and goodnights, along with Zach still demanding an answer about Hayley, pop up on the screen with a little bit of a smile. He still really wasn't alright but talking to all of his friends for a little while had helped calm him down. Looking back, he really couldn't explain to himself why he had avoided talking to all of them for so many years.

"Jason, what are you doing here?" Mrs. Scott exclaimed, rushing into the living room and interrupting his thoughts. "Why didn't you call us? We would have come home sooner."

Jason stood up carefully to hug her. She clung to him for a moment, happy to see him.

"I knew you would be home eventually," he said.

Hesitating, he ran a hand through his hair.

"Mom, is it ok if Marc and I crash here for a little while?" he asked. "Christine and I had a fight and—"

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "Stay as long as you need. Do you have everything you need? I'll have your father take your things to your room."

"Mom, I'll get my things," Jason said, shaking his head. "I was just—"

"Nonsense," she said. "You sit and relax. Tommy didn't tell me what happened last night, but I know you were sick again. Now where is my grandson?"

She ushered Jason back into his chair while his dad grabbed his bags still sitting by the door and headed up the stairs with them. Jason sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue.

"Marc was in the kitchen a little while ago," Jason said. "Marc!"

Marc came trotting out of the kitchen, a plate of lasagna in his hands. Jason shook his head.

"Are you going to eat that whole thing tonight?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was hungry!" Marc protested.

"Save some for tomorrow," Jason said, shaking his head. "You can take it for lunch."

Mrs. Scott grabbed Marc in a hug, careful not to knock his plate out of his hand.

"Why do I smell garlic?" she asked, looking down at Marc as she let go.

"Oh, right!" Marc exclaimed, reaching his free hand into his sweatshirt pocket. "I grabbed some of the garlic bread."

Jason shook his head as he leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, listening to his mother fuss over Marc.

Monday June 11th, 2018

Angel Grove, CA

Jason stifled another yawn as he checked the time. Even though he had been exhausted, he hadn't slept well the night before. He had tossed and turned most of the night. So, around 6a he had finally given up and got up to get ready for his appointment.

"Where are you, Rocky?" Jason muttered to himself, looking at his watch again.

It was now almost 7:30a with no sign of Rocky. His mother had offered to drive him, but Jason really didn't want her going to the appointment with him. She had already insisted on making him breakfast when she heard him get up—and wasn't happy when he only ate a little bit. Jason didn't want to think about how she would be at the doctor's office.

Hearing a honk outside, Jason peered out the window and was relieved to see Rocky's car waiting.

"I'm leaving, mom," Jason said. "Marc needs to leave soon. Can you please make sure he gets out the door on time?"

"Don't you worry," she assured him, giving him a hug and kiss. "I'll take care of Marc. I will see you after your appointment."

Extracting himself from the hug, Jason thanked her and hurried outside. He climbed into the passenger seat, his head falling back against the headrest as Rocky started driving.

"How are you feeling?" Rocky asked, glancing over with some concern. "You look tired."

"I am tired," Jason muttered. "Between everything that's happened in the last 48 hours and not being able to sleep last night…"

"Well, hopefully you can find some better answers this time," Rocky said. "That might help you relax and sleep."

"I hope so…" Jason sighed.

At the doctor's office, Jason was one of the first patients of the day. He had barely finished checking in when his name was called.

"I'll wait out here," Rocky said, making himself comfortable in a chair. "No rush. Aisha isn't expecting me home for a while."

Two hours later, the doctor finally let Jason go. They were still no closer to figuring out what was going on, which frustrated him to no end. But they had drawn more blood to run some new tests and were going to decide next steps based on the results. They had set up another appointment for the following week as well.

Walking out into the waiting room, Jason found Rocky fast asleep in the same chair he had been in when Jason was called back. Shaking his head, Jason walked over.

"Rocky?" he said, reaching down to shake him. "Rocky, wake up."

Rocky almost immediately sat up.

"I'll drive!" he exclaimed, not fully awake.

He stopped, realizing he wasn't at the firehouse as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"Oh, Jason," he said, stifling a yawn. "Are you done?"

"Yes, I am," Jason said. "I realize now seems like a bad time to think about this—but should you be driving? You did just come off a 24-hour shift."

Rocky just shook his head as he stretched and stood up.

"Nah, I'm fine," he said. "I've pulled doubles or longer before in emergencies. With this job you learn to function without long periods of sleep. You just sleep in small bursts when and where you can get it. Sound familiar?"

Jason couldn't help but chuckle, immediately catching what Rocky was referencing.

"Ready to go?"

Jason nodded and the two men headed outside.

"So, what did they say?" Rocky asked as they climbed in the car. "Anything new?"

"No," Jason sighed, shaking his head. "He's just as stumped as I am. Though he did say I shouldn't drive right now just in case. We don't know what is triggering these episodes and he doesn't want me to be driving if another one happens."

He didn't mention talking to the doctor about alcohol being a trigger. Jason still didn't want anyone other than Tommy to know.

"Well, Adam, the girls, and I can help get you and Marc around," Rocky said. "Though I'm sure your mom will offer to do most of it."

Jason groaned, leaning his head back.

"I hadn't thought about that," he muttered.

"Well, where to?" Rocky asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Back to my parents'," Jason said. "I already told the mall I wouldn't be in today. But I'm quickly running out of sick time. I've barely been working there a month…"

"Well, if you feel up to going in tomorrow just give me a shout," Rocky said. "My next shift isn't until Thursday—unless there is a major emergency of course."

Rocky dropped Jason off a few minutes later, reminding him to just call or text if he needed anything. If he was sleeping Aisha would still hear his phone. Jason thanked him before heading up to the porch. He hesitated before going inside, remembering he was supposed to update Tommy.

"I'll just send him a text…" he decided, pulling out his phone. "That way I can't interrupt an exam."

He quickly typed out a text message while he stood on the porch.

Home from my appointment. Nothing new. They're still looking.

Taking a deep breath, Jason opened the door to face his parents. As he walked inside, however, his phone started ringing. To his surprise, it was Tommy calling. Mrs. Scott was coming to meet him, but Jason answered the phone anyways.

"Tommy?" he said, letting his mother usher him into the living room. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Los Angeles, CA

"What do you mean these aren't acceptable?" Christine demanded. "They have all of the appropriate signatures. So do your job and file them so I can get my money."

It was just after noon and Christine and Will had made it to the bank in LA with the paperwork for accessing the accounts. After waiting impatiently for someone to help them, the siblings had run into yet another wall. They were sitting in the office of the manager discussing the issue.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the manager said. "But these documents haven't been notarized. Before I can even think about making changes to these accounts, I will need notarized copies."

"But it is his signature," Christine said haughtily. "I know you have that on file. He has already filled out some of the required paperwork. Just look at that and you can see it isn't forged."

The manager shook her head.

"I'm afraid that even if we can match the signature that I still cannot file these without notarization," she repeated. "It only takes a couple of minutes. Why don't we set up an appointment for you and your husband to come back later this week? We have a notary on staff."

"No," Christine snapped. "My husband works and doesn't have time to drive all the way here just so someone can watch him sign a paper he already signed. This shouldn't be this difficult."

"Oh, I understand," the manager said. "Well, we do have some other options."

"Finally," Christine said, rolling her eyes and glancing over at Will.

He smirked as he leaned back in his chair.

"We only offer this in certain situations," the manager continued. "But if your husband's work schedule doesn't allow him to come during bank hours, I can set up an after-hours appointment. What day would work best for both of you?"

Christine scowled.

"I already told you," she snapped. "Jason is far too busy to drive all the way out here right now and we need these papers filed immediately. I don't see why you can't accommodate me. I have his signature and have already driven out here. I shouldn't have to come back."

The manager shrugged apologetically.

"I am sorry that you drove all the way here," she said. "But I can't accept the papers as is. I would be breaking the law. However, I could make an exception of sorts. Instead of Mr. Scott trying to come here, I can have one of my notaries make a trip to Angel Grove. They could even meet the two of you at your husband's work to make it easier. Once you have both signed, they will bring the papers back to me and we can move on from there."

"That's not good enough!" Christine exclaimed.

She slammed her hands on the manager's desk and stood up, leaning forward.

"You will accept these papers," she said angrily. "I shouldn't have to wait because you are unwilling to check a simple signature yourself. Your incompetence is not my problem. So, file these now and let me access my accounts."

The manager, who until now had managed to keep a polite smile, was no longer smiling. She stood up as well, making eye contact with a security guard over Christine's shoulder.

"I don't think I can help you any further today, ma'am," she said firmly. "I have given you several options, including one that I would never usually offer, and you have rejected them all. And because of your behavior, I am going to rescind my last offer. Any changes will require your husband to come here in person so we can notarize the paperwork ourselves."

"I already told you that's not good enough!" Christine nearly shouted. "What is it going to take to get you to just do your job?"

Will had noticed where the manager was looking. Seeing a couple of security guards talking and looking their way, he put a hand on Christine's arm.

"Hey, sis?" he said. "Maybe we should—"

"No," she snapped. "I want this done now. I shouldn't have to wait any longer. This whole thing has been very inconvenient and I'm tired of it."

"Mrs. Scott," the manager said shortly. "I am going to make one thing very clear before you leave. At this point, nothing short of your husband's death certificate is going to convince me to make any changes to these accounts without him physically present to request them. Nothing you can say right now will change that."

Christine started to shout again, but Will cut her off. He had seen the security guards now heading in their direction. Firmly pulling on her arm, he started dragging her out of the office himself as she protested.

"Thank you for your time," he said quickly to the manager as he hurried them out the door.

"Will!" Christine protested.

"Come on," he hissed. "Or do you want to be dragged through here by security?"

Angrily, she allowed him to pull her out of the bank and back to the car. Once the car doors had shut, however, she turned her anger on him.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" she demanded. "You shouldn't have dragged me out of there!"

"They were going to throw you out anyways," Will said, shaking his head. "Or call the police. Now let me think. There has to be a way around this."

But Christine wasn't listening. She continued ranting, shouting loudly inside the small car.

"I have spent two weeks getting those signatures," she snarled. "Two weeks pretending—and for what? Nothing. I still have nothing. And now they want him in person? I can't bring him here in person, Will. He won't give me access. Then he'll know about the money and I'll never get what I want."

"Give me a minute," Will said irritably. "I'm trying to think."

"About what?" Christine snapped. "There is nothing to think about. This is all your fault. You said this would work. That I just had to convince him to sign them over. We drugged him! And now I have no chance of convincing him of anything because I chased him out of the house last night! He's probably going to divorce me now and we will both be left with nothing because they aren't going to give me any of his inheritance!"

"Just shut up!" Will finally snapped.

Christine stared at her brother in shock. He rarely disagreed with her, let alone yelled at her.

"The bank manager said a death certificate would work," he said slowly, still thinking.

"He isn't dead, Will," Christine said, rolling her eyes. "And I don't think trying to forge a death certificate is going to work."

"He isn't yet," Will said with a grin. "But he could be. And then all your problems would be solved."

Christine frowned.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"It's simple," Will said. "We still have some more of the drug. If you give him the rest of it in one go…"

"But you said I shouldn't give him that much at once because it—oh!"

Christine's eyes widened as she realized what Will was suggesting.

"He'd have an even worse reaction, wouldn't he?" she said slowly.

"Exactly," Will grinned. "And the symptoms will be like the ones he has already been experiencing. No one will suspect anything weird. And then he will be out of your way and you'll get the money."

Christine didn't hesitate.

"Only one problem," she said. "I can't give him another dose—he's hiding at his parents' house and probably doesn't want to talk to me. And I have to do it before his stupid friends convince him to divorce me."

"So?" Will shrugged, starting the car. "Call him and apologize. Beg for his forgiveness. Grovel. Whatever you have to say to get him to come home. You only need to get him alone once. Slip it in his food or drink, go to bed, and wake up free. Everyone will just think his mysterious illness finally killed him."

Christine smiled.

"I think I can handle that," she said. "Now, let's find somewhere to eat while we are here."

Angel Grove, CA

By early afternoon, Jason was wishing he had gone anywhere with Rocky. His mother hadn't let him do a thing since he got back except sit or lie down. The only time she let him get up was to either move to his bed or use the restroom. And every time he was almost asleep she would check on him, which would just wake him back up. She had already planned out the rest of the week, including telling Jason he needed to take the rest of the week off work.

Jason had spent most of the day trying really hard not to yell at her over every little thing. He did snap at her a couple of times before he could catch himself, which just led to him apologizing. Realizing it wasn't going to get any better anytime soon, Jason jumped at the only solution he could think of, thanking Tommy silently for reminding him about the resort again when they spoke that morning.

Jason: Rocky, any chance you could pick Marc and I up after dinner and take us to the resort? I don't think I can handle staying here long term right now. I love my mom but she is smothering me.

Rocky: sur. what time?

Relieved, Jason started planning his escape from his mother.

"So, how did she take it?" Rocky asked as Jason tossed his and Marc's bags in the back of Rocky's car.

Jason shook his head as he climbed into the front seat. Marc was already in the back ready to go, the bags sharing the backseat with him.

"Well, she wasn't thrilled," he said. "But she—very reluctantly—recognizes that I am an adult and can make my own choices. She did, however, spend the rest of the afternoon trying to guilt me into staying. I know she loves me and she means well, but…"

He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Grandma wanted dad to stay in bed for the rest of the week," Marc inserted. "That way he could be sure to get plenty of rest."

Rocky snorted.

"Well, that wasn't going to happen," he chuckled.

Fifteen minutes later Rocky was pulling into the long driveway of the resort. Jason looked around as they approached, impressed. The only other time he had been here was for lunch with Kat and Kim. But he hadn't really taken a chance to look around. And now that he knew Tommy owned the place, he was taking a closer look. Rocky pulled up right in front of the lobby, where lots of people were coming and going.

"Need me to park and help you take stuff in?" Rocky asked. "Or are you good from here?"

"We'll be fine," Jason said. "Thanks for the ride. I appreciate it."

Jason and Marc got out of the car, grabbing their bags.

"Take it easy, Jason," Rocky said. "And don't forget to call if you need anything."

Jason waved with his free hand as Rocky pulled away. He headed inside with Marc.

"Come on, Marc," he said. "Let's go check in."

Jason walked straight over to the desk and the clerk looked up.

"Welcome," she said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Uh, I need to check in," Jason said hesitantly. "Tommy—Dr. Thomas Oliver—said I just needed to give my name at the desk."

"Name?" she asked.

"Oh, Jason Scott," he answered. "Sorry."

"It's alright, Mr. Scott," she said, typing quickly. "Could I please see your ID?"

He nodded, taking a moment to get it out and handing it over.

"Perfect," she said brightly. "Give me just a moment to check a few things and make a phone call."

Finished on her computer, she picked up the phone and pressed a button on the speed dial.