#alexbrookes

[cassbrookes]

Where: Beckett Farms, heading to the former Babbling Brookes Ranch When: Just before Andy shows up in town Who: @alexbrookes @isaacapatow

Bright and early, Cass and Alex had Cici, Zodiac, and Domino tacked up and ready to go, with two of the bigger draft cross horses on lead lines in their makeshift pack harnesses that she and Alex had cobbled together. They wouldn't be gone long, but she'd still said her goodbyes the night before. She had no idea yet if Alex had made any friends close enough to worry about while he was gone, but at least things between the two of them felt much better than they had since he'd gotten to town. Cass knew that home wouldn't look the same as it had when she'd left - Alex and Isaac had both warned her in different ways - but she was hoping to find some sort of closure in the trip as well as coming back to town with much needed supplies. It would be a good way to honor Nate's memory in the process.

Cass was double checking the harnesses on the larger horses when Alex led Cici and the boys out of the barn, just around the same moment that Isaac wandered into view, his trusty bat in hand.

While she and Ike had more or less patched things up between the two of them, she knew Alex still didn't hold much of a high opinion of the other man. Not that she blamed him for that. Either way, this would prove to be an interesting trip. At least there was the possibility of a proverbial pot of gold at the end of this shit-stained rainbow.

"Mornin'," she greeted the older man, nodding toward Alex as he came closer. "Got everyone ready to go. You'll be on Domino. Anything you need to do before we head out?"

[cassbrookes]

Where: Beckett farm When: The day after their return home Who: @alexbrookes

There was still a long way to go, but the previous night with Sol felt like it had advanced Cass's healing a long distance. He had shown her that she wasn't broken, that she was strong. He'd shown her that she could still be in control. Sol had spent the whole night proving that he meant it when he said he loved her, and that her ordeal hadn't changed that.

Having Alex here, and now Andy, helped more than they probably knew, too. Andy might not yet know what his siblings had been through, but Cass knew that she had their support no matter what.

She hadn't seen Alex earlier in the morning when she and Sol had rolled out of bed, and he still hadn't turned up by the time Sol went out to take care of some chores that needed doing. Needless to say, Cass was a little surprised when she walked outside and saw her brother sitting on the fence, watching the few horses that were out, including their two.

It seemed considerate to clear her throat before she startled her brother, even if he might have heard the scuff of her boots against the dirt. "Hey," she started out, climbing onto the fence to sit next to him. "How's your chest doin'?"