ROBERT AND CARLY Carly packed a bag with two weeks' worth of clothes. Her father had walked into her bedroom, eyes on her. She seemed to be moving at a quick pace. "What are you doing?" He questioned, his posture nice and tall. "I want to be packed and ready to go with Kahlan when you leave." He stared at her, giving her a smile. "So, you're staying with Kahlan?" She stared at him, not understanding why that made him so happy. Maybe he just wanted to be sure that she was somewhere safe while he was gone. "Yes. That's what you said." He gave a nod. "Good." She went back to packing. He stood there watching. Something was off. "You're not still mad at me are you?" She shook her head. "No dad," she responded. "I just don't want to stay in this house alone for a long period of time." He stared. God, he felt so guilty. What would his wife say? What kind of father jumps up and leaves after his daughter had been attacked? He just wanted to take care of her now and in her f

RYAN Ryan sat in solitary, waiting for dinner to be served. He liked it better down in the basement, cut off from other inmates. He liked being in the dark, alone. It was easy for him to collect his thoughts and think of Kahlan Mercer. "God, she is beautiful," he said aloud, thinking of the first time he saw her. She was wearing jeans and a rather long black top. Her hair was blowing all over the place. The weather that day was windy and rain was set to come. She was a vision as she ran across the schoolyard towards the main entrance of the building. He had disregarded the fact that she was holding on to some other mans hand. At that time, he didn't care, because he knew they would be together. Everything made sense then. Now that he was in here and she was out there, everything felt messy. Things needed to be restored to their natural order. There was light pouring into the cell, interrupting Ryan's vision. "Are you talking to yourself again?" Ryan slowly turned his head towards

KAHLAN I sat in a lawn chair in the backyard with the phone to my ear. It was an attempt to relax after the day that I had, however, I had been stuck on the phone for twenty minutes, listening to Tina yell at me. "Your Principal called me. She said that you were the cause of an all out riot!" I scoffed. My principal was obviously a bit dramatic. "I wouldn't think riot is the right word." "I DON'T CARE WHAT IT IS!" she shouted. "We moved here for a reason. You're not supposed to be getting in trouble. You go suspended!" "It's not even a suspension." I said, "She just sent us home for the rest of the day. It's fine." "Is it?" Tina asked. She paused, only to catch her breath. "Are you okay? I heard that young man hit you." "He did, but I've taken on worse," I answered, thinking about Ryan Wingo. She was quiet, not sure what to say. "I can't believe they called you." "You're kidding me right?" She asked. "You're a special case. They call me if you get a paper cut." "I'm so

BROOKE "Brooke?" Ella spoke as she tapped on the bathroom door. Her daughter had rushed in there almost twenty minutes ago and had yet to come out, or make a sound. Ella just wanted to be sure that she was alright. "Brooke, is everything okay in there?" She waited and eventually her answer came. "I'm fine." Ella still stood at the door listening, hearing a clatter and the flush of the toilet. The dark haired girl opened the door, mother and daughter stared each other in the face. "Are you sure?" Brooke nodded. "I just don't feel well," the young girl replied, as she walked past her mother and went into her room, closing the door on Ella's face. They hadn't done much talking since Ella and Damon discovered what she had done with his work files. To top it all off, Ella had smacked her. She didn't believe in spankings or anything like that; but she was just so upset with the person that her daughter had become. Usually if she were acting up, she would pick up the phone and call D

THE GROUP "Party!" Christian yelled obnoxiously, with two packs of beers in his hand. Justin followed behind with a bag that contained a bottle of Vodka. They both stopped in their tracks when they saw an older man on the grill. Damon stared at the half naked boys, and they stared back. "Who are you?" "I'm Damon Meir....Kahlan's therapist." Chris looked. Why didn't fireball warn us, he thought. He lowered the beers down to the ground, then adjusted his green and orange swim trunks , as he thought of something to say. "Well, those aren't beers." Damon stared at them for a few moments, face serious, and then he let out a chuckle. "Hey, as long as I don't see it, I don't know it exists." Christian chuckled. He was just joking around. He remembered what it was like to be a teenager; and he wasn't here to bust the party. "You're a kick ass shrink!" Damon watched as two more guys came to the back, followed by Carly. "Did you meet the guys?" Carly asked, taking the role of hostess