Plea

Con is just ready to leave Laura’s when movement catches his eye. He sees a weary Katie come into the kitchen, not even noticing him. Her actions were peculiar and she didn’t look well at all. Con furrows his brow with concern and sees her leave again.

Worried, Con opts not to leave yet, and follows her down the hall. Not embarrassed in the least to check in on her, he realizes that she’s gotten sick in the bathroom.

Ignoring any form of being proper, he goes to her, crouching down next to her. “Kat…” He lays a gentle hand to her forehead, noting how hot she was. Without even waiting for her response, he scoops her up in his arms and carries her to her bedroom where he sets her down in her bed again. Pulling the covers up over her, he reaches for his cell phone to call Reese.


Scott raises his eyebrows at Jamie. “No…I haven’t heard from her…not since last night.”

“Reese, you’ve got a call,” Susanne hollers to him. “It’s Con. He says Katie’s sick.”

Scott looks back to Jamie. “Well, there’s your answer.” He frowns, just a little worried. Katie hadn’t looked all that great yesterday…emotional stress could take anyone down pretty fast.


Laura can feel someone walk past her cubicle and she recognizes the sound of those footsteps. But they don’t stop. Sighing, she can’t concentrate on her work. It was the first time in a long time Nate hadn’t stopped to say good morning…he must be upset and it was all her fault. How long would she be able to stand this tension?

This morning she’d made up her mind…Con had helped her, and had promised to be there for her no matter what…and she needed to do this. She couldn’t let Nate be upset and she couldn’t let things keep going they way they had been. This wasn’t going to be easy…but she knew if she was going to find any peace at all, she had to do this.

Getting up from her desk, she walks across the floor, aiming for Nate’s desk. Her pace is a bit slow, and she can feel her hands start to tremble. Reaching his cubicle, she taps on the wall to get his attention, and when he turns to her, it takes all her strength not to look at the floor. He looked so tired…she was so mad that she kept hurting him.

Swallowing hard, Laura takes a couple steps forward, studying Nate, hoping that she hadn’t lost him for good. Throwing caution to the wind and acting completely on impulse, Laura doesn’t say a word, but moves closer and eases herself down sideways on Nate’s lap. She wraps her arms around his neck and buries her face in his chest as the tears start to flow again. “Hold me…”