Through the night

Rick watches as Misty begins to relax, and nods. "Stay with her, Carson. She needs you right now."

Carson's face is tight with tension, his thumb running along Misty's hand. How had this happened...how had everything turned around so quickly? It wasn't fair.

Weariness takes over him, and he leans forward in his chair to rest his elbows on the bed beside Misty, eventually his arms becoming a pillow as sleep overtakes him.

Rick keeps a watchful eye on Misty's condition through the night, only dozing once in a while in his own chair before getting up again to check on her. Carson's presence, though he was sleeping, seemed to have calmed her, and that was good enough for him.


Mick ends up going home with Reese for the night, though his mind is restless enough to keep him awake for hours still. There was so much going on...how could one more thing have been piled on top? He'd been sworn to secrecy...but he knew who Ty was. It had to be. It would just be too big of a coincidence otherwise. Yet if he was already involved here, what was the danger of exposing the truth? But it wasn't Mick's call...it was his brother's.


"Mmm." Scott smiles as Katie comes into the room. "The movie sounds great, the cheesecake even better."

Once the movie is in, Scott scoots over on the bed to make room for Katie. Enjoying the desert, he nods with approval. "This is one of the best cheesecakes I've ever had."

As the movie plays, eventually Scott's arm makes its way around Katie as they settle in, engrossed in the movie. He'd seen it a million times, but never lost interest in it, especially with his present company.

He lets out a sigh as the credits finally roll, and turns his head to look at Katie. "Well...I guess that's your cue to go home." He searches her eyes, a smile playing with the corner of his mouth. "Thanks for sticking around for a while." Leaning over, he gives her lips a tender kiss before drawing away. "If you need anything, just give me a call."


Jason flops down on the mattress in his room. He was so tired, yet his mind was too busy to even think about sleeping. Kyle had called him earlier and left a message. Jason had missed practice tonight. He wouldn't have been able to go because of the case, but he'd forgotten all about it and hadn't let anyone know. Now it was too late to call anybody. The band was crazy for thinking he'd be ready to play with them this weekend, but he'd argued with them enough about it.

Closing his eyes, he tosses and turns. His knee was killing him, and his mind wouldn't let him rest. Too much was going on...too much around him...too much inside of him. He'd been on an emotional rollercoaster all day from just being at TJY, to being around Katie, to killing a man, to talking to Aerith. And the right had stuck on a corkscrew and he was hanging upside down. If he let go, he could plummet to his death. But if he didn't do something, he'd eventually wear out and fall anyway.

Frustrated, Jason finally gets up and sifts through his things until he finds the bottle he was looking for. Dumping several pills into his hand he downs them without water and flops back down. Sleep would come one way or the other.


Morning can never be withheld. No matter man's desire to prolong the night, the sun will still rise and cast its rays upon the land to wake the sleeping.


Carson becomes aware of things around him, but his eyes still feel too heavy to open. He can hear Rick moving around, and senses the lights. His instincts tell him that morning has come, but his body's exhaustion keep him in the same position he'd been in all night.


Jason's alarm goes off before receiving a harsh slam of his fist to turn off. He rolls over and buries his head further into his pillow, not caring if it was morning or not. He didn't feel like getting up. TJY could wait.


Wyatt makes his way to work, swinging by Mom and Pop's on the way. This morning was a coffee morning or he wasn't going to make it until noon. Parking, he gets out of his jeep and goes into the little restaurant, aiming for the counter. It was quiet this morning - he was early. He tosses Mabel a smile. "Morning! Got any coffee made yet?"


Mick follows Reese into TJY, crossing the main floor. Things looked a little different this morning, his mind more alert than the night before. There weren't too many people in yet so it was quiet still. Reese wanted to talk to Mick about the upcoming hearing and what would happen, and whether or not he should return to Texas or stay.


Laura finds her way to Nate's cubicle before her own, a smile on her face. Their late dinner last night had been a lot of fun after a day full of stress. Finding that Nate wasn't there yet, Laura quickly takes a sticky note, simply jotting "Good morning!" on it, and sticking it to his computer before heading to her own desk.