Monday June 18th, 2018

Angel Grove, CA

Jason groaned, rolling over and pulling his pillow over his head. But the noises didn't stop. It sounded like someone was hitting something repeatedly and there were muffled voices. Giving up, he sat up and threw back the blanket, yawning as he looked at the time.

"It's 7am," he grumbled. "What is going on out there?"

Stifling another yawn, he stumbled out of his room in his pajamas to see what was going on. As he walked out into the suite's living area, Marc's door also opened.

"Dad, what is that noise?" he complained, clearly still half asleep with his hair sticking up everywhere.

"I don't know," Jason muttered. "I'm working on it."

Following the sounds, he walked over to the glass doors and pulled open the curtains. Outside, Tommy and JJ were working out together. The sounds Jason and Marc had been hearing was from JJ striking the pads Tommy was holding for him. Tommy was calling out directions and correcting JJ. Jason opened the door.

"You couldn't pick a different door?" Jason asked. "I was sleeping."

Tommy and JJ stopped when they heard the door open.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Tommy grinned. "It's about time you got up."

"It's 7am," Jason said drily as Marc wandered up behind him. "How long have you been awake?"

"I've been up since 5am," Tommy answered. "Why don't you both come join us? Get a workout in before breakfast and your appointment at the courthouse."

Jason glanced at Marc who was yawning.

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not sure I'm ready to keep up with you again yet. I'm still having trouble sleeping."

"So don't," Tommy said, shrugging. "And maybe you can't sleep because you have too much energy built up, Jase. You haven't been working out regularly for a couple weeks now."

"Maybe," Jason said. "But—"

"You can take JJ for a run," Tommy interrupted. "I'm sure he'd rather run with you than me. It'll be an easy way to get you back into a routine."

"Sure!" JJ exclaimed in excitement.

"I don't know about that," Jason said again. "I might not even make a mile after being sick and not doing much the last two weeks."

"Perfect!" JJ grinned, looking at Tommy. "That's even better than running with mom."

Tommy rolled his eyes. Behind Jason, Marc had wandered over to a recliner and dropped into it. He was still yawning.

"Lazy," Tommy said, shaking his head as he looked at his son.

"How far does Kat usually run?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Usually around three miles," Tommy answered.

"I like running with mom more than dad," JJ added.

Jason looked at him in surprise.

"Why?" Jason asked.

"Because dad runs like fifteen miles almost every day," JJ snorted. "I can't keep up with that."

"Fifteen?" Jason repeated, looking at Tommy with some surprise.

He shrugged.

"I break it up," he said. "Morning and night. And not that far every day. Now go get dressed. It'll be good for you."

Jason hesitated, but Tommy just watched him expectantly.

"Alright," Jason conceded. "I'll go get dressed. Come on, Marc. You, too."

Jason shifted in the chair as Marc fidgeted nervously next to him. They had spent the morning with Tommy and JJ getting some exercise and then food. Now they were at the courthouse to have a judge look over their case and officially issue the restraining order. Tommy had driven them there and was sitting on the other side of Jason while they waited for their turn in the judge's chambers.

"What am I supposed to say?" Marc asked, breaking the silence in the hallway.

The teen's anxiety from the previous afternoon had returned.

"The truth," Tommy said with a slight smile. "Just tell the judge what happened yesterday and what you want to do."

Jason reached over and squeezed Marc's shoulder gently. He glanced again at the bruise still very visible on Marc's arm and took a quick breath.

"You're old enough to decide who you want to stay with while your mom and I work things out," Jason reminded him. "So, this is all going to be up to you. Answer the judge's questions and it will be over quickly. Then we can spend the rest of the day relaxing. Alright?"

Marc nodded quickly as a door opened and he was summoned to talk to the judge. With a little encouragement from Jason and Tommy, he stood up and disappeared into the room. Jason sank back into his chair, rubbing a hand over his face. He'd been trying to stay calm in front of Marc, but this whole situation was stressing him out.

"It's going to be alright, Rex," Tommy said. "Marc knows what he wants, and the judge has no reason to ignore that. You're a good dad."

"I still should have been there yesterday," Jason muttered. "But I never thought she would try using him against me like that—and just for ignoring her phone calls! I should have been down there to protect him."

Tommy shook his head.

"You can't watch him all the time, Jase," he said quietly. "You'd smother him. And what's to say she wouldn't have tried it while you were there? Even if you are present, it doesn't always mean you can protect him from everything… believe me…"

Tommy trailed off as Jason shot him a look. But Tommy just shook his head and took a deep breath.

"The point is—Marc doesn't blame you," he said. "Christine made her own decisions and now she gets to deal with the consequences. Maybe this will give you some more breathing room while you decide what you actually want going forward."

Jason nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. The two men sat in silence until the door opened again and Marc came back out. He was visibly less anxious than he had been when he went in. Which also made Jason feel better as he went in to speak with the judge himself. They didn't speak long, as the judge mostly just wanted some extra details from Jason as well as having him fill out paperwork. As they were wrapping up, the subject turned to just in case measures.

"Now," the judge said. "In this situation, given that you will be considered a single parent since the second parent is the subject of the restraining order. I need to have a responsible party on file who would be able to care for your son in the event something happened to you. Since this will leave your wife unable to be in charge of your son until it's resolved. Did you have anyone in mind…?"

"Uh…well…" Jason said hesitantly. "I honestly hadn't thought about that."

"I do need to have someone," the judge said kindly. "Otherwise, should something happen to you—though obviously the hope is that it doesn't—Marc could become a ward of the state."

"Oh, no!" Jason said quickly. "I don't want that to happen. Uh…my parents would do it."

The judge nodded.

"That would be an appropriate choice," she said. "But they would need to be here to sign and file. Are they here?"

"No…" Jason sighed. "I can call—"

He paused, thinking.

"Hold on."

Hurrying over to the door, he popped his head out. Tommy and Marc both looked up.

"Tommy, quick question," Jason said.

Hopping up, Tommy walked over.

"What is it, Jase?" he asked quietly.

Jason quickly explained what the judge had told him as Tommy listened.

"So…I was wondering," Jason said hesitantly. "Just so I don't have to call and try and get my parents here…would you be willing to take over custody if something happens to me? I mean, it's just a precaution and I don't think anything is going to happen. But Marc likes you and I wouldn't have to worry about him going to the state or—"

"Of course, Rex," Tommy interrupted.

Jason blinked at him in surprise. He wasn't expecting such a quick agreement. Tommy chuckled at the look on his face.

"Seriously, Jase," he said. "It's fine. And it's not like we really need to be concerned. But I'm happy to help."

Nodding gratefully, Jason stepped back inside to tell the judge and Tommy followed after ensuring Marc would be fine in the hall for a moment. In the chamber, Jason explained who Tommy was and why he was there. The judge asked him some questions, trying to get an idea of who he was.

"If it helps," Tommy offered after a few minutes. "I am a listed emergency foster parent. I live in Reefside, but all of the necessary paperwork and approvals are in order. You should be able to look it up. So, I'm very aware of the implications and responsibilities in these kinds of situations."

"Oh! Wonderful," the judge exclaimed. "Give me just a moment then."

The judge took a few minutes to verify what Tommy had said and his identity. Pleased with what she found, the judge quickly wrapped everything up with Tommy.

"I'll just need a little more time with Mr. Scott," she said. "But thank you, Dr. Oliver. If you could wait outside."

Tommy nodded.

"Sorry about this…" Jason said quietly as Tommy turned to go.

"No worries, Jase," Tommy smiled. "It's just in case and it really shouldn't be necessary. But even if we thought it would be necessary, I'd still agree. So, finish up and we can go feed your kid."

Jason chuckled and Tommy slipped back out of the room.

It was another hour or so before they finally left the courthouse, but Marc and Jason were both in better moods on the way back to the resort.

"They are going to serve Christine as soon as possible—hopefully today," Jason said to Tommy in the car. "And not only is she not allowed to come anywhere near Marc—she isn't supposed to contact him in any way without him initiating it."

"Did they set a date for the custody hearing?" Tommy asked, glancing in the rearview at Marc.

"We have a few weeks," Jason said.

"Good," Tommy said. "That gives you some time to decide what you want. Now—what do you want for lunch, Marc?"

Later that afternoon, Jason was stretched out in a chair by the pool with his eyes closed. He'd spent the morning exercising with Tommy, JJ, and Mark followed by a stressful couple of hours at the courthouse. It had felt good to be moving again—and he was glad they had the restraining order figured out—but now he was a little tired. Tommy was sitting in the chair next to him reading a book while the two boys were splashing in the pool. They had convinced Jake to join them again. Not that it had taken much convincing. Kat and Kim were stretched out on their towels in the grass enjoying the sunshine as they chatted.

Jason was drifting off a little when his phone went off, waking him back up. He picked it up from the table, sighing when he realized it was Christine—again. He'd left his phone in the room all morning and it had been nice not to hear it go off. Irritated, he decided he'd finally answer. He figured she had just gotten the papers from the court.

"What do you want?" he snapped into the phone. "I'm not ready to talk to you yet. I thought me ignoring your calls and texts would have made that clear. And if this is about the—"

Tommy had straightened up in his chair, setting his book down in his lap as he watched Jason. The girls, hearing Jason snapping, had turned to look as well and the playing in the pool had come to a halt. Marc fidgeted uncomfortably with the beachball he was holding—he knew who Jason was snapping at without asking.

"No, I'm not going to come meet you," he said shortly, sitting up now. "You have been calling non-stop for a week straight now. That's not giving me space, Christine. And honestly, after what you pulled yesterday, I'm not sure when I'll be ready to see you again."

He paused, listening to her irritably.

"What? No," he snapped. "What are you even doing here anyways? I thought they told you yesterday that you weren't to set foot on property again."

Tommy shot a look at Jason, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Stop bothering them," Jason exclaimed. "They aren't supposed to tell you where I am—it's their job. So please just go home—I'll call you when I'm ready."

Tommy's eyes narrowed at the mention of her bothering the lobby staff and he pulled out his own phone.

"Christine!" Jason said in exasperation. "Just—"

Tommy tapped Jason's shoulder.

"Just hang up, Rex," he said, pulling out his phone. "I've got this."

Jason frowned, pulling the phone away from his ear for a moment when he saw the phone in Tommy's hand.

"Tommy, that's not—"

"It's affecting my staff," Tommy interrupted, waving him off. "So now it's my problem. She was warned. And I'm pretty sure just being in the lobby violates the restraining order. Even if she hasn't actually seen it yet."

Jason hesitated for a moment, then hung up on Christine as Tommy made his own phone call.

"I heard what is going on," Tommy said when someone picked up. "She called Jason. Have you already called?"

He paused, listening to the answer.

"Good," he said. "Update me after."

Hanging up, he set his phone back on the table. Jason sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

"I'm sorry, Tommy," he apologized. "I don't understand why she is being like this. She wasn't like this in New York. I mean, she was always out so I guess maybe—I don't know. She just seems like she's a different person here and I don't understand what changed…"

Jason trailed off and Tommy shook his head. Over in the pool, Jake was coaxing the boys back into another game. Kat and Kim had settled back down, but they did both keep shooting glances toward Jason.

"It is not your fault, Jason," Tommy reassured him. "She was warned, and the consequences are all on her now. You didn't ask her to come here and cause a scene."

"I know," Jason sighed. "But she wouldn't be if I wasn't here…"

"You're here because you needed space," Tommy said evenly. "Christine is the one having a problem with that. So, relax—my staff will handle her right now. You can deal with her when you are ready."

Jason leaned back in his chair again. Part of him knew Tommy was right, but that wasn't making him feel any better right now.

A little while later, the security guard from the day before came striding in and headed straight for Tommy. The boys were out of the pool for a little while, because Kat had insisted more sunscreen was necessary.

"Mom, I never burn," JJ was complaining. "We were in the middle of a game."

"And you can get back in after you put the sunscreen on," she said patiently. "So, the faster you let me do this, the faster you can get back in."

"Dad…" JJ whined.

"Listen to your mother," Tommy said, standing to go meet security. "Hey, Mark—everything under control now?"

"What?" Marc said.

Hearing his name, Marc had looked over in confusion—but quickly realized Tommy wasn't talking to him.

"Oh, right," Tommy said. "I guess we never did do formal introductions. Marc, meet Mark. He's my head of security."

"Oh, hi," Marc said. "Thanks for helping me yesterday."

Mark smiled, nodding.

"Anytime, kid," he said.

"Mark used to be a Navy Seal!" JJ told Marc excitedly. "You should see all the awesome stuff he has!"

"Yeah, he has all the cool stuff," Tommy muttered under his breath. "Not me."

Kat rolled her eyes as Tommy turned his attention back to his head of security. Jason joined them, apologizing again for Christine.

"No apologies necessary," Mark said, shaking his head. "It's part of my job to handle disturbances. She was loud, but definitely not the worst we've had."

"Did the police come pick her up or did she leave before they got here?" Tommy asked.

Jason frowned.

"Police?" he repeated.

"She was warned yesterday, Jase," Tommy said with a shrug. "She was trespassed and decided to break that—that means we call the police."

"Oh, they took her," Mark grinned. "And she was not happy about it. But she'll think twice before trying again—after she makes bail."

Jason grimaced.

"Don't worry about it, Jason," Tommy said, shaking his head. "With a trespassing charge they'll only hold her for about twenty-four hours and then let her out. You only need to worry about bail if you want her out tonight—or if she misses her court appearance and gets arrested again."

"They also served her while they were picking her up," Mark added. "I'm not sure if they'll let her read it while she's in custody, but she'll have it waiting when she gets out."

"Even better…" Jason muttered. "Well, at least I shouldn't have to talk to her until tomorrow. Because I know Will doesn't have the money to bail her out."

Tuesday June 19th, 2018

Angel Grove, CA

Sitting on the edge of the couch, Jason absentmindedly stared at the gold coin he was flipping around with his fingers. That morning he had done a short workout with Tommy and the boys again, but then he had escaped back to the room to try and get some work done. Unable to concentrate, however, he had given up for the moment. He'd been sitting on the couch now for nearly an hour, trying to decide what he wanted to do about Christine. There had been a lot of angry voicemails and messages from Will the night before about her being arrested—all of them blaming Jason. And that was without Will knowing about the restraining order.

The sliding door opening broke him out of his thoughts. Scrambling to hide the coin in his pocket, Jason nearly dropped it as Rocky and Adam walked into his suite.

"Jason—" Rocky started to say, stopping when he saw Jason on the couch. "Oh! What are you hiding? Let me see!"

Grinning, Rocky launched himself at Jason who had caught the coin and was now holding it in his closed fist. Rocky half-landed on him, trying to wrestle the unseen item away from him.

"Is it an embarrassing picture?" Rocky laughed, having had the advantage of surprise. "Oh!"

He managed to snag the coin from Jason and looked at it in surprise.

"Well, that's disappointing," he muttered, sitting back on the couch. "It's just your coin. I already have one."

Rocky held it back out to Jason who had sat back up to glare at him.

"Was that necessary?" Jason asked, taking his coin.

"Necessary?" Rocky asked. "Probably not. Fun? Yes. But why try and hide it from us?"

Jason shrugged, still holding the coin in his hand.

"I'm just used to having to hide it, I guess," he answered after a moment. "I don't want Marc asking what it is—or Christine. But I like having it with me. It—it helps me think. And reminds me that I did at least a little bit of good at one point in my life…"

He fell silent, staring at the coin again. Adam and Rocky exchanged looks.

"Jason, you've done a lot of good in your life," Adam said. "And even a little bit of good can go a long way—everything you do—"

"I know," Jason sighed. "Everything I do effects other people, and they affect others, and so on… but it would be nice to see the results once in a while…"

Rocky snorted.

"See the results?" he repeated. "Jason—we are the results."

Jason frowned, looking up at his friends.

"Think about it, Jason," Rocky said. "You saved Tommy, remember? On more than one occasion."

"Yeah?" Jason said slowly.

"Well, Tommy saved both of our butts on more than one occasion," Rocky continued. "I'd certainly have been in big trouble a few months back without him—we all would have."

Jason frowned. He knew something had happened recently, but still hadn't actually heard any details.

"So, if you hadn't saved Tommy, there may not have been anyone there to save us during the times we were in trouble," Adam finished before Jason could ask. "And then we might not be here today."

"But I didn't save Tommy alone," Jason said, shaking his head.

"So?" Rocky said, leaning back against the couch. "Rangers aren't supposed to work alone. Zordon chose six of you—not one. Working together makes us stronger. That's why we have the network."

"Network?" Jason repeated, looking between Adam and Rocky in confusion. "What network?"

"You really have missed a lot, haven't you?" Rocky laughed. "I forget how much you don't know. How else do you think we got everyone together so quickly for that last emergency you helped with? The battle with Megaforce? That was a lot of rangers to pull together in a very short time. You know you'd miss less if you would stop just popping in every few years only to disappear before we can talk to you."

Jason snorted.

"Explaining to my wife where I was going to be was a challenge enough without drawing out the absence," he said drily. "You both know she doesn't know about me—she's not good at keeping other people's secrets."

"You could have just said you were on a business trip," Adam said. "It's not like we would have kept you for weeks."

"I was an accountant," Jason snorted. "What kind of business trip would I have taken?"

"Oh," Adam said. "I guess that's a fair point."

"Wait—you're an accountant?" Rocky exclaimed.

"Was," Jason corrected. "And I hated every moment of it. There's a reason I looked for something else when I moved here."

"Will you do my taxes?" Rocky asked with a grin.

"Nope. Not a chance. I don't even want to do mine anymore."

"Man…" Rocky muttered. "Fine… but remind me later we need to find a better place for you to keep that thing."

He pointed at Jason's coin, which he had been fiddling with the whole time they were talking.

"A pocket isn't exactly the greatest hiding place," Adam agreed.

"I know," Jason said. "I usually keep it locked in a safe—but I don't have one here. And I didn't want Marc finding it just lying around somewhere so, I've kept it on me."

"Keeping it on you isn't a problem," Rocky said, shaking his head. "I have mine."

Rocky pushed on a spot on his belt buckle. It opened and he held up his own power coin.

"See?" he said with a grin. "This way it's not immediately noticeable if I were to run into an issue. You have to know the secret to open it—or get really lucky. And I almost always have to wear a belt because I'm carrying my radio. So, it's the perfect place to keep it in case of an emergency."

Jason looked at him in surprise.

"I never would have known," he said slowly, shaking his head.

"That's the point," Adam chuckled. "Most of us carry them with us—they are a part of us after all. I almost never take mine off. I just tuck it into my shirt."

Adam reached into his shirt, pulling out a leather cord. A gold coin dangled from the end of the cord, attached by wire wrapped carefully around it.

"Tommy always has his, too," Adam continued.

"Though where he keeps that thing is a mystery to most of us," Rocky snorted, shaking his head. "It's not like his isn't noticeable at this point. And, of course, Trini wears hers at all times—that was one of the things we made her promise when she took the ambassador position. It's an added layer of security that no one else knows about. She's got some fancy watch-thing. Apparently, it will electrocute you if you try and take it off wrong."

"What?" Jason said in surprise.

Rocky and Adam both shrugged.

"Security feature," Adam said. "She made herself a very public representative of us. We wanted to make sure she was safe and that no one was taking her coin away from her—even accidentally. Although no one knows she is actually a ranger."

"So don't touch Trini's watch tomorrow—got it," Jason said, shaking his head. "What about Kat? And Tanya and Aisha?"

He was curious now. It hadn't occurred to him that the rest of his friends would be just as attached to their coins as he was to his.

"Kat wears hers as a pendant like I do," Adam said. "Tanya just has the zeo ones, so she can hide them."

"Aisha wove her coin into a leather bracelet," Rocky added. "I'm not sure if Kim or Zach do though. I haven't seen Zach in ages to even make a guess—and Kim I'm still working on. Oh! But B—"

"Do I have to go get the rope?" Tommy interrupted, poking his head in through the door. "What is taking so long in there? You weren't supposed to take no for an answer."

Rocky and Adam looked at Tommy and then back at each other.

"Whoops," Rocky said sheepishly.

"Sorry, Tommy," Adam said. "We got a little distracted."

"I've been waiting outside with two excited and impatient boys for half an hour," Tommy said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Right," Rocky said. "Come on, Jason. Put your shoes on."

Tommy, seeing Jason's tennis shoes by the door, picked them up and threw them at Rocky. He caught one but missed the other.

"Where are we going?" Jason asked, frowning.

"We're kidnapping you," Tommy answered. "Shoes on now."

Rocky, having grabbed the shoe he missed, handed both to Jason and stood up.

"Tommy—did you know Jason was an accountant?" Rocky asked walking over to join Tommy by the door.

Adam followed and the three men waited for Jason to put on his shoes.

"Yes," Tommy said slowly. "And now he is a security supervisor—why?"

"He won't do my taxes," Rocky said grumpily.

"I'm not really surprised," Tommy said drily. "He hated it. I would have, too. That's why I have people to take care of my taxes."

"I need people," Rocky sighed.

"I think mine are probably more expensive than you want to pay," Tommy snorted. "I have a lot of taxes to handle."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rocky muttered.

"Come on, Rex," Tommy said, ignoring Rocky. "Dune buggies are waiting."

Jason looked at Tommy in surprise but followed him outside to where Marc and JJ were waiting.

"Dad, can I drive?" JJ asked excitedly, bouncing as they all followed Tommy.

"We'll see," Tommy answered. "Come on. Time to leave."

"What he said," Rocky agreed. "I'm covering the second half of a shift tonight and I have to be there at 7pm. So, let's go!"

When his phone went off, Jason glanced at it and then sighed. It was Christine. He hadn't heard anything from her all morning, but clearly his time of peace was up. She was out and she was probably not happy. Tommy, sitting in a chair next to him, glanced over as the phone continued to ring. Kat and Kim were lying on towels nearby, enjoying the afternoon sunshine while Marc and JJ were running around and playing in the pool. Jake was sitting on the other side of Tommy doing something on his computer.

"You don't have to talk to her, Jase," Tommy offered quietly.

"I know…" Jason sighed. "But I'll have to have this fight with her eventually. And spending the morning with you, Rocky, Adam, and the kids helped. So I may as well get it over with so we can move on."

Tommy didn't argue, though he did watch as Jason got up and answered the phone. Kim and Kat were also watching now, though they said nothing.

"Christine, what—" Jason started to ask as he headed for his room.

"A restraining order?" she practically screamed in his ear. "Are you serious? First you have me arrested and now a restraining order? Have you lost your mind?"

"You left bruises on our son!" Jason snapped, closing the sliding door behind him. "What else was I supposed to do, Christine? You tried to take him by force and you hurt him!"

"He should have come with me like a good child," she hissed in response. "Or maybe you could just stop avoiding me? Or are you too good for me now that your little gang has pulled you back in?"

Jason took a deep breath.

"They aren't a gang," he said stiffly. "They're my friends and—"

"And they're the problem!" she interrupted. "Everything was fine until they came back in the picture. Especially that awful man. We were better without them around. They're all horrible people and an awful influence on—"

"They're my friends!" Jason snapped. "Stop talking about them like that."

"Sure, friends," Christine scoffed. "That's why you hadn't talked to any of them since before we got married. You didn't call them and they didn't call you. So, some friends. Clearly they didn't care that much. So how close can you really be?"

Jason flinched a little at the reminder of the years of silence. She wasn't wrong about that part. The only contact he'd really had over those years was for a few ranger related things that Christine knew nothing about. But being back with them was like nothing had changed. All of them—even Tommy—acted like no time had passed and accepted him into the group without question.

"How can you let them do this to us?" Christine demanded. "They're tearing our family apart and you're just letting it happen!"

"They haven't done anything, Christine!" he snapped back, starting to pace around the room. "Nothing except welcome me back and support me and take care of me when you were off galivanting around with your brother while I was sick at home. They're helping Marc adjust to a new area and not judging us for any of this. They care."

"Doubtful. Jason, they're just using you. And when they're done you'll be all alone because you threw me away. They haven't cared about you in years—if they ever did. I mean, they didn't even bother to come to our wedding. Or be there when Marc was born. Nothing. No birthday cards or visits or phone calls. Nothing."

Trying to ignore the tiny little seed of doubt she'd just planted, Jason shook his head.

"You're wrong," he countered. "They do care. I was the one who created the distance. I was the one who didn't insist on inviting them for any of those milestones. I was the one who didn't keep them up to date on things like phone numbers and addresses. That's on me. Not them."

"Please. Like they couldn't have just asked your mother. And I know that one of them used to text and call you every so often. So, clearly she got her information from somewhere. They had every opportunity to reach out and they didn't. They just forgot about you and moved on with their lives. I was the one there for you. Not them."

"But they tried!" Jason exclaimed. "Aisha and Tanya both said they sent wedding invitations. So did Kim! And if they hadn't gotten lost in the mail—"

"You what? Would have dropped everything to cross the country to go? As if. You wouldn't have gone even if you saw them, so who cares."

Jason froze.

"What do you mean, 'if I saw them'," he asked stiffly. "Christine, did you do something to the invitations?"

"I put them in the trash where they belonged," she snapped. "Because just like now, they only wanted you for what you can give them. They—"

"Enough!" Jason snarled. "I'm done with this conversation. I'm not going to continue to listen to you insult them when they've been nothing but kind to you. Call me when you're ready to have a real conversation and not throw pointless accusations around and blame everyone else for our problems."

Not waiting for a response, Jason hung up the phone and then turned it off. For a while, he continued to pace around his room as he tried to calm down. He didn't want to go back out into the courtyard until he did, afraid it would affect Marc. When the door slid open, he spun in surprise.

"Everything alright?" Tommy asked.

Jason didn't answer for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm…no…" he admitted. "Christine—never mind."

He shook his head and took a deep breath. Tommy didn't press, he just let it go.

"We're figuring out dinner," he said. "Thought we'd go over to Adam's. Aisha says she'll bring the kids since Rocky is on shift. He may swing by with Henry. Figured this would be better than ordering in again—or taking up mom's offer to eat with her. Especially since it's Tuesday and the book club tends to linger…."

Jason winced at the implication.

"Adam's sounds great," he said quickly.

Tommy laughed.

"Then come help me get the boys out of the pool," he said. "They need convincing."

"I think I can help with that," Jason grinned.