He turned his head to the right and saw the long-haired bouncer, Vin, sitting in a chair. "W..what are you d..doing here?," he asked and realized how dry his throat was.

Vin gotup and poured him some water in a styrofoam cup and said, "Here ya go."

JD slowly scooted his body up, so he was sitting a little, and took a small drink of the cool water. "Thanks," he croaked.

Vin just shrugged and said, "I thought I'd see how you were doin' and ended up stayin' a while."

"How's Casey and e..everyone else?," he asked.

Vin could tell that JD was a little fearful of the answer and gave him a reassuring smile. "Casey's fine. She's downstairs getting a quick bite to eat, hasn't left your side. Everyone else is fine. The bar needs a few repairs from all the shooting but it should be good to go in about a week."

JD nodded and sighed, "Good." He had really hoped that he had left his past behind when he had moved to Denver but now he knew that he hadn't. He had hoped that he would never have to tell the Travis's what his past had been like but he had brought it to their doorstep, he would have to be a man and be honest with them. And, with Casey. He closed his eyes as a lump formed in his throat at that thought.

"Pard, ya tired?" JD silently nodded. "Okay, I'm going to go on and go. Casey should be up here anytime. See ya later."

"Bye," JD said before Vin walked out the door. He sighed and thought about how he was going to tell Casey and the Travis's about the skeletons in his closet. What if the Travis's hated him? What if Caseyhated him? He knew he wouldn't be able to bear that. But if she did, if they did, he knew it would be his own fault. He should've been honest with them all from the beginning but he hadn't wanted them to know. Now there was no way out of it, he would have to tell them. Starting with Casey.

"JD?," said a soft voice. JD shook himself out of his thoughts and saw that Casey had entered the room. "You seemed like you were a million miles away. Are you in pain? Do you need me to get the doctor? I probably should anyway, since you're awake." Before Casey could fetch the doctor, JD stopped her.

"No, Casey. I'm okay, I was just thinking things over. Come and sit down, we need to talk."

Casey slowly sat down with a bewildered look on her face and asked, "What is it?"

JD took a deep breath and it was a moment before he started to speak. "I need to tell you about what happened last night."

"I know what happened. I was there, remember?"

JD shook his head. "I need to tell you why it happened. I know who shot me, I saw them as they were fighting with Josiah to be let inside."

"What?!," asked a shocked Casey. "You know who it was? You need to tell the police, now!"

"No, I want to explain this to you. And, then I'll have to explain it to the Travis's." JD sighed, "Just listen, okay?"

Casey nodded, "Okay. Go ahead."

"I know that I've been secretive about my past, some of it anyway. I'm going to tell you the whole story but let me get it all out, with no interuptions, alright?"

Casey furrowed her eyebrows and nodded. JD continued, "You know that I used to live in New York and that my mother left when I was six. Well, my father got pneumonia four years ago, when I was sixteen and we were hurtin', moneywise. I met a man who promised me that I could make a lot of cash, all I had to do was deliever and pick up packages and keep my mouth shut. I was wary but we needed the extra money and, for some reason, my dad's body wasn't fighting off the pneumonia. He couldn't work and the bills kept piling up, the landlord was promising to kick us out if we didn't come up with the rent money. The utilities were ready to be cut off." JD stopped and sighed before he continued. "I'm not trying to make excuses and, maybe, I could've found a better way to go about getting money. But, at the time, what I did seemed to be the best route. I took the job and immediatly started getting paid. For every package that I delivered I received one-hundred dollars and another hundred for every package that I picked up. I knew that somethng wasn't right but I delievered and picked up what I was told and collected the money. That was good money to my father and I." JD sadly shook his head, "I kept what I actually did hidden from dad. He thought I had a part-time job at a deli. He died thinking that and I'm kind of glad he never knew the truth. He would've been so dissapointed in me, it probably would've killed him sooner." Casey did as JD had asked and remained silent while JD took a moment to gather his thoughts and get his emotions under control. "One night when I was delivering a package, I was jumped and the package was stolen." He heard Cassie gasp before he said, "I ended up with a broken nose, concussion and a couple of cracked ribs. But what terrified me the most was that the package was gone and I knew there was going to be hell to pay. He visited me in the hospital and told me that I had twenty-four hours, and no more, to get him either his merchandise or it's worth. Ten-thousand dollars. He knew that both were impossible, I knew he planned to kill me as soon as I was out of the hospital. After he left, I sneaked out of the hospital and took the back roads home. I planned to tell my father the truth, take him and leave. I never got the chance, he had passed away in bed before I got home.

I called nine-one-one, grabbed a few peices of clothes, got thelittle bit of money we had and got out of there as fast as I could. I did a few jobs here and there, earning my way until I landed here in Denver. I heard, through the grapevine, that the man that never got his order went and visited Dirk. When he found out that Dirk didn't have his merchandise, the guy had him shot in the back. Paralyzed him and he has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair bu it serves as a warning to other people that the guy does buisness with. Don't loose his merchandise or you'll end up like Dirk. I knew he was going to be mad but I thought I'd managed to stay off his radar, I mean it's been four years." JD sighed and shook his head, "Guess I was wrong. You never can out run your past." He stopped talking and looked at Cassie, waiting for her to comment. Expecting to hear her say that she hated him and never wanted to see him again. He was surprised when he heard her first question.

"Did you ever find out what you delivered and picked up?"

"Um...no. I'm pretty sure it was drugs but I never saw inside the boxes, so I can't say for sure."

Cassie nodded and leaned over, giving him a quick kiss. When she saw his surprise, she slightly smiled. "Expecting me to leave? Never see you again?" When he nodded, she continued. "I could never do that. What you did is..was in your past and I know you regret it. I'm sorry that I had to find out this way, I wish you would've told me before. But I still love you. When you love someone, you take the bad with the good."

He shook his head, with a smile, amazed at how lucky he was to have Cassie beside him. His smile faded and he said, "Now, I just have to tell Mister and Misses Travis."

"Tell us what?" Orin asked from the room doorway, causing Cassie and JD to jerk their heads in that direction in surprise.

Chapter Four
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