James said to Jas as she was on the way out, "The issue with Gabrielle isn't herself or whether she's willing, the issue is what will the kid be like in a decade after being worshiped for 10 years?"

*Good going James. You're not 100% sure you want the kid but you're still fighting for what's 'yours'.*

Jasmine hesitated at that for a moment, and started to turn back as if to say something. Then she shook her head, and left silently, closing the door behind her.

It might still be better than here. Being raised my a mother whose emotions change in a heartbeat based on what people around her are feeling, and by a father who'll probably get himself killed one of these days doing something stupid because he didn't stop long enough to think. And in a household that's resented or feared by almost everyone around it.

She sighed and headed away from the club then, and back towards the camp shared by Priest and his followers, deep in thought. Once she got there, she scanned the crowds, searching with worried eyes for Priest's more familiar face amongst the others of the group.

(Edited Jasmine's thoughts.)

Priest was trying to entertain Pumpkin while simultaneously taking to Sarah so she wouldn't feel more put out. It was a hard task that put his sizable social talents through a work out. It was almost with some relief when Leo came around the trailer and said,

"Hey, Bond's girlfriend is hanging around. Must be looking for you because she hasn't said word one to us."

Preist nodded. He didn't like it, but in the crew everyone had to do tasks they didn't like.

"Sarah, keep Pumpkin occupied for a few minutes. Take this book and read to her for a bit. I've got to talk to someone."

Sarah glared and took the book forcefully. Priest nodded, acknowleging his daughter's discomfort but there was little he could do. He got up and headed around the trailer. He spotted Jasmine immediately.

"What's up Jasmine?"

Once he was closer,
"You don't look pleased. What went wrong?"

Jasmine looked relieved as Priest approached, she had just been about to start asking people where she could find him. But the concern was evident on her face, and at his question, she sighed a little.

"Well, I don't know that anything went wrong so much as it just didn't go very.. right, I guess. I mean, at least they're not being impulsive about it. They want to talk it over between the four of them. Basically, if one of the four of them nix the idea, then it's not happening. Violet is concerned, and rightfully so I suppose, that this is only going to cause her more problems reputation-wise. She's afraid that people around here are going to accuse her of raising her incorrectly, or blaming her for anything that happens."

She hesitated for a moment before voicing her next concern. After all, once it was out there, there was no taking it back. She wasn't sure if Priest had even thought of it or not, but they needed to consider what was best for Pumpkin, and she wasn't doing that on her own. She felt kind of bad, as if she were talking badly about the woman who was such a good friend to her. But she was just trying to be brutally honest with herself, for Pumpkin's sake. Concern about the gossip mill prompted her to pull him a little more off to the side and away from the others, though. Before she spoke any further, her voice dropped to a low murmur.

"I'm also a bit concerned.. I mean, Violet is a pretty emotional person, as we both know. That could work in Pumpkin's benefit, she forges close ties with people very quickly. But at the same time, I'm concerned about Pumpkin's emotional growth. I'm worried Violet would be tempted to suppress her unhappy emotions. If her feelings are suppressed or changed every time she has a serious problem to deal with because of fear of what she could do, then she's never going to learn to handle them, which could, in time, make her a dangerous or unstable person. Now, I'm not saying that couldn't be a useful ability if things did get out of hand, but I'm afraid that Violet might be tempted to overuse it because of fear, or concern, or even love. And when I brought it up.. she didn't deny it. She told me that if she were going to take Pumpkin in, it would have to be by her rules, and not those of the people around her, or here at the refuge. So.. I'm concerned. Between that and James's.. who seems devoted to his family, but isn't exactly a pillar of community support, I'm afraid she may end up with.. a feeling of entitlement, I suppose."

She covered her mouth with her hand for a moment, and then ran it across her chin and over her throat after a moment, as if wiping away both the stress and the sweat of the increasingly warm Oklahoma weather.

"Violet told me that if the sisters and James agreed to it, then they'd take her if nothing else works out. I left them to discuss it, and told her I'd get back to her. I'm almost thinking that perhaps we should consider taking that road trip in the next couple days, instead of waiting. I mean, I need some time to get settled, and I'm sure you need some time with your crew before we leave, since we just got here. Or were you planning on taking the crew with us? Either way, Violet has expressed an interest in going with us to visit Gabrielle. I'm not sure why exactly, but she has. James also pointed out - and I hate to admit it, but he has a point - that we may have other problems taking her to Gabrielle's. He seems to think that they'll end up worshipping the kid, and screw her up there too. It's.. a concern, I have to admit. I still think we should check it out.. but I'd like to see how they treat Gabrielle, and how she's dealing with it. If she's holding her own and keeping her head on straight, then I don't really care if she thinks she, and the rest of us like her, were sent by God to help humanity. Hell.. she could be right. It's like my Gramma used to say.. "Who the hell are you, to say you know the mind of God?". But if it's going to her head, if she's showing signs of letting the attention get to her, or building it up into some kind of cult or something.. then that might not be a good idea either. Of course, Gabrielle seems to have the ability to calm her down in an emergency, without necessarily the risk for emotional manipulation that being around Violet has, no matter how well-seeming. I think it's better than the options we've got here, though."

Her hand still resting against her throat, she took a deep breath and let it out. She'd just dumped a lot of information on him at once, and she hoped she hadn't overwhelmed him. She reached up after a moment, and ran her fingers through her hair again, pushing it back from her face.

"I'm sorry my news isn't better, but.. what do you think?"

"Well, I must admit Violet and James weren't even my second choice. I understand Violet's predelictions and James and I ... don't get along. I want to be able to see and interact with Pumpkin even if I'm not her caretaker."

"I don't know Jasmine. I think we need to give Gabrielle' compound a chance it's just ... its off the beaten path."

"I guess I'm getting attached to her. She's a refugee whose lost everything, just like the rest of my team. I feel for her. I really do."

"I take her with us to Gabrielle's compound if we have the chance. We could take your car or one of mines, or we can ask Dan if he can hook up the sled and fly us up there. That way we can be back before dark."

For some reason Priest seemed to really want to be back before dark, as if he was afraid of something.

Jasmine shook her head slightly at the mention of her car, and suppressed a little sigh.

"Do you think you and your crew could keep an eye on her for a couple days? I don't know for sure if my car's in working condition yet, and I don't even know how to drive the damned thing. I'm gonna take a look at it in the morning. And I know Pumpkin wouldn't mind a road trip, but she just got done with one. Let's give her a couple days to relax. I know it's a lot to ask, but then we can figure out the best way to go down there. I'd rather be able to spend a couple days down there and see how things go, and what it's like down there, before coming back."

Jasmine bit her lower lip, deep in thought for a moment. Finally, she glanced at Priest.

"Fox said he's not going to New Mexico for a week, maybe two. Perhaps we could leave in a couple days - I could take my car, if I can figure out how to drive it between now and then. It's only about a seven or eight hour drive anyway, we could stay there for a couple days, and then come back before the New Mexico run. What do you think? I know.. it's easy to get attached, Priest. But.. that's what we all are, right? Refugees.. who've lost everything? The best thing we can do is to do what's best for her.. whether that involves us being around or not. I mean.. if we can be.. that'd be great. But.. if Gabrielle's refuge is the best option.. then that's the option we should pick. Despite how we feel about it. Besides.. do you really plan on sticking around here forever?"

"Everything breaks down eventually. In time, there will be nothing left to scavange and then we'll become traders and tinkerers. We've already got the horses squirreled away for that time."

"In the meantime, we are helping Fox build a refinery here to produce ethenol. I hope it will be up and working by the end of summer, which is good because the fuel in the ground is already starting to go bad. Cars and trucks are rapidly becoming a luxury."

"Wesson has made some noise about building some hydro electric facility to help out with power needs here. Crops are being planted. The Refuge has two full time doctors. If any place should make it, this place should. That's the major point I have against Gabrielle's. Is her settlement going to make it?"

"We can take a ride up in three or four days. I don't want road trouble to keep us from the New Mexico raid. I mean to help you find your family and once the woman are freed, I figure we take one of my vehicles down to find them. We'll need to find some fuel for the trip back, but I've had to do that before."

"Anyway, we go to Kansas, go to New Mexico, find your folks and find Pumpkin a new home. We make the trip to Kansas with Pumpkin, which I'm okay with. I would like to take her, but I know the reasons for not. You come get me when you are ready, or if Violet comes calling."

"Great.. I'll let you know what happens. Let's plan on three days from now, early morning. I'll let Violet know too, so she can go if she wants to. In the meantime.. I'm gonna get out of here, and probably go relax for a bit. It was.. a really long trip. I'll see you later."

She turned and took a few steps before stopping and offering him a wave as she walked backwards, still talking.

"Tell Pumpkin I'll come by and visit her tomorrow, okay? I'll take her off your hands for a little while."

With that, she turned and hurried off at a slight jog, back in the direction of the other side of the compound, and Violet's club.