Neutral

Jason manages a smile of his own and helps Katie stand up, making sure she’s steady before walking back with her.

Scott looks up in relief at seeing her and starts to stand, but remains seated as she lowers herself down next to him. Feeling her need for comfort, he freely lets her put his arm around her, then pulls her in, pressing her head close to his chest and planting a soft kiss on her head.

“It’s okay,” he croons. “I’m right here.” Glancing up, he catches Jason’s eye.

Jason has stopped and is looking at them for a brief moment, long enough to give Scott a nod to let him know that Katie was alright and just needed some loving. “Let me take her car back,” he says quietly. “I’ll have Laura give me a ride home.”

Scott nods, displaying his appreciation for Jason’s willingness to help, and his understanding. He watches Jason walk away, a new feeling coming upon him. Jason was a good man. He had his faults…he had a temper…he’d driven fear into Scott at one time, and he was generally not all that stable right now. But…he had a good heart and a compassion that not many people had the privilege of seeing. And for the first time, Scott had a genuine hope that the old Jason would come back to them soon – he deserved that peace.

After Jason has left, Scott stays with Katie a long while, just letting her rest. He wants nothing else…he needs nothing else. He doesn’t know exactly what happened, but he’s not so sure he needs to know right now. Whatever it was was over, and if Katie wanted him to know, she would tell him.

As the sun begins to sink lower towards the horizon, Scott strokes Katie’s arm. “Hey…it’s going to get chilly out here,” he warns gently. “Can I take you home?”


Jason eases down on his couch, not having the gumption to actually go to his bed. Trooper comes up and nudges his arm, and he relents, scratching the dog’s head absentmindedly.

Seeing his answering machine blinking, he reaches over to slap the play button.

“Hey, Hotshot,” Camryn’s voice greets. “I’ve been waiting about forty-five minutes over here at the Mexican restaurant…I guess something must have come up. I’m assuming it’s work – hope everything is okay. I’ll be on my way home. Give me a call.”

Jason lets out a small groan. He’d forgotten all about meeting Camryn for supper. It had been a spur of the moment plan the day before after a bet on who could stand the spiciest food.

Trying to keep a neutral emotional state, Jason picks up the phone. “Hi, Cam, it’s me.”

“Well hi there, stranger. Don’t tell me you skunked me on purpose.”

Jason forces a short laugh. “I’m so sorry. Something came up and I couldn’t get away. Can I get a rain check.”

Camryn laughs. “For you? Yes. I have off tomorrow if you want to do lunch instead. The waiter there is all hyped up with his finest sauces ready for a competition.”

Jason can’t help a grin. “You’re on. I’ll call you tomorrow about what time.”

“Great. See you then.”

“Yeah. Bye.” Jason hangs up and closes his eyes again, forcing himself to relax. As much as he wanted to think about Camryn right now, he tried to keep a blank mind for Katie’s sake. Until they got this thing figured out, not only did he not want to put her through any unnecessary strain, but he wasn’t fond of her knowing what he was feeling about Camryn either. Best friend or not, they were private feelings that he held within himself, not even sharing with Camryn. At this point, he didn’t want his desire to creep out…he would just get hurt again. It was better to just stay the way he was.


Carson makes it back to his apartment and trudges up the stairs. Getting to his door, he notices the note and raises his eyebrows in surprise. Reading it, he gives a little sigh and takes it down. Great…now he had to come up with a line about where he’d been all evening. Oh well…that shouldn’t be too hard. It was going to be harder to hide his black eye…but maybe that wouldn’t be so bad either if he made it in to work before Misty in the morning.

Getting inside, Carson takes a long hot shower before finally falling into bed, too tired and too sore to care much about anything else.