Comfort

Cindy sniffs and leans into Wes, finding it hard to gather her courage. Finally she pulls away far enough to look up at him. “I’m…I’m sorry. It’s just…I don’t know…I want to fix this whole thing and I can’t.”

Mick guides Rosetta into the other room, slipping past Jade to sit down on the couch. He rocks Rosetta quietly for several minutes, just letting her cry. “Shh…it’s all right. We were all scared…we’re all upset and that didn’t help things any. Katie will cool off, and we’ll straighten things out in the morning. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Luke nods to Angel and rises as well. “Yeah, I should probably get out of here too. No point in eavesdropping on private conversations.” He leans over to give her a kiss and smiles. “See you in the morning.”

Clint quirks an eyebrow and sighs, turning back to the computer as well. Why did he feel funny about this whole exchange? He never really liked Jason, but seeing him and Katie get yelled at….he wasn’t sure what to think. “How late you planning on staying up?” he asks Wendy.


Jason is taken by surprise by Katie’s sudden embrace, but he takes it in stride, returning the hug with strong arms. He rubs her back as she cries, masking his awkwardness. She had so much strength…so much courage…yet she was vulnerable like any other human being, and now felt so small in his arms.
He listens to her talk, and finally draws her away so he can look at her, the moonlight streaming in through the window. He remembers the night before when the moon had caressed her face as it did now, but the smile had been replaced by tears. He reaches out to with his thumb to dry them, brushing her cheek gently, though his hand is rough. “I know…funny thing about words…no matter how they’re intended, they can hurt worse than anything else.” He searches Katie’s eyes, wondering what kind of comfort he could possibly offer. His heart aches like never before, as if he is absorbing her pain.
He holds her at arm’s length, offering a compassionate half-grin. “It’ll be okay. Just don’t leave…there are too many other regrets to deal with, without adding another one to the pile.”