Promise?

Con eases down to sit on the bed next to Katie, and brushes some hair from her face, his worry taking over. "Yeah, it's me, little sister. You just lie still and rest." Taking care of Laura last night, and now Katie this morning was draining Con's energy fast, but he stays. He studies Katie for a long moment...if ever he'd seen a broken heart, this was pretty close, and it pained him.

Rising from the bed again, he goes out into the hall and dials another number. "Hey, Phil, it's Con. Look, can you tell Leonard I can't make it in to work today? No, I'm fine, I'm over at Katie's...she's not doing well this morning. I happened to be here with Laura earlier, so I just stayed..." He frowns. "Yeah, I know he won't be happy...." He'd been warned not to take a day off without notice, and his job could be on the line for his one, especially since it wasn't him that was sick. "Just tell him and...he can call me if he wants. Alright...thanks, Phil."

Fifteen minutes later, Con's phone rings. As he answers, he pulls the phone away from his ear as the shouting comes. He was being ordered to come in to work, or he wouldn't have to bother again. Hanging up, Con stands in Katie's doorway, his frustration building. Katie would be okay...he could call someone else to come in and check on her...but he didn't want to...


As Scott works with Reese's computer, his mind wanders back to Katie. Whether the two of them had anything between them or not, he still cared about her as a friend. Did her sudden illness have anything to do with Jason? The distraught look in her eye from yesterday comes back to him. He wanted to help...but would he just make things worse?

Turning Reese's computer back on, everything comes up as normal and he hands it back off to his boss. Returning to the floor, he scans the cubicles, conjuring up an excuse. He sticks his head back in Susanne's office. "Hey, I gotta go out and pick up my dry cleaning...I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay."

Scott heads to his own cubicle, grabs his keys and aims for the door.


Laura's tears finally slow down, and she releases her hold around Nate's neck, to curl up with her head still under his chin. She hadn't been scared of his touch until last night, and now she quaked just a little bit. But she was going to stay...her determination had to win. "I'm sorry too," she manages quietly. "I didn't mean..." She swallows hard. "It just..." How could she say that she had enjoyed his kiss, when it had at the same time scared her half to death? "I told Con to leave you alone," she finally explains. "He didn't know that I...that I care about you."

Her hand reaches up to rub the wet spot she'd created on Nate's shirt, and she feels his warmth again. "I...I didn't want to...to run away." She blinks back another tear. "Half of me saw you and wanted to stay, and half of me saw Bryce and wanted to get away no matter what. And...and I felt so stupid...and scared and....and then when Con came I just gave up. I didn't want to hurt you anymore, and..." She leaves her hand just resting on Nate's chest. "...And I was just so confused."

Laura sniffs and tries to relax. "When you....when you held me like that and...and kissed me..." Heat rises to her face and she's glad it's turned down so Nate couldn't see it. "...I panicked. I didn't want to...it just...happened so fast..." A new tear runs down her cheek. Thinking of how close Nate had been...how he'd held her...how he'd kissed her.... her hand starts trembling again.

Without lifting her head, she raises her hand, blindly finding his face and running her quivering fingers along his cheek. "Please say you still promise not to give up on me."


Scott knocks on the door, looking around to make sure he's at the right house. He doesn't think he'd ever been to Laura's house before, and knew at least he hadn't since Katie had come.

Con just happens to be at the right place to hear the knock, and goes to the door. Surprised, he raises his eyebrows at the visitor. "Scott...what are you doing here?"

Scott shrugs. "Domino heard Katie wasn't feeling so hot, and she insisted on me bringing her over here."

Con is a bit amused, though slightly confused. He hadn't known that Scott and Katie were that close of friends. "Well, I don't know if you'll get much response, but she's in her room down the hall. She's got a bit of a fever and she might be sleeping."

Hoping that his presence doesn't make things worse, Scott enters the house, keeping Domino on her leash. He heads down the hall, glancing around until he finds the half-open door. Knocking before entering, he looks in on Katie, and gives a little sigh, sorry to see her like this.

He bends down and takes Domino's leash off, and whispers something to her. The little dog trots over to the bed and jumps up onto the blankets, crawling up next to Katie and giving her hand a little lick before just lying still.