Meds

Carson is taken completely off guard by Herb’s words. Looking at the older man, his eyes reflect his confusion. The words about his own actions were surprising…the words about God were confusing.

He didn’t want to come back to work here…he didn’t want to try again…he didn’t want to be the idiot all over again. But… despite the lousy job he’d done, Herb was still offering him the job. He was still finding something good and offering him work. If Carson didn’t accept it, he would be stupid.

Seeing Herb’s outstretched hand, Carson finally takes it in a firm grip. “Alright. Eleven tomorrow.” It was crazy, but he'd try one more time.


Jason doesn’t want to have to think about all that Misty is bringing up. He just wanted to be able to make his own decision without thinking of all the consequences that could follow. Couldn’t anything be simple?

Rick can see the inner battle and lets Jason think, while answering Misty. “No…Katie’s different than Jason. It’s…different. I’m not convinced we know everything about her yet though.”

Jason crosses his arms, gritting his teeth. This whole thing was just ridiculous. He interrupts, back to the subject at hand. “Look, if the meds will suppress reactions to emotions, then they’re not really suppressing the emotions themselves. Meds won’t block the emotions completely, they’ll just keep them under control, so Katie should still get what she needs.” His tone pleads for relief from this torture.

Rick gives a deep sigh and looks at Misty, then at Jason. Part of him was afraid that if he didn’t do something, Jason would look elsewhere for help, or try things on his own that could end up disastrous. “Okay…I’ll give you something, but it will be a low dosage, alright?”

Jason nods. Anything was better than nothing…anything.


Scott flops down in his chair in his office, staring at the pile of work that needed to get done. He didn’t have much motivation. What he really wanted to do was take a nap. He just plain hadn’t gotten enough sleep last night. But…after taking Katie home, swinging back to take a shower, then getting back over to TJY, he couldn’t quit now. Sighing, he starts to dig into his work.


Half an hour. Jason runs a hand over Trooper’s head, feeling rather lethargic. Rick had given him one pill to take as a test. One pill to help monitor his own emotions. He felt like he belonged in a mental hospital instead, but if this helped… if it worked… then he’d have it made.

Thinking for a moment, Jason realizes that he really doesn’t feel much at all right now. He’s not sad, he’s not happy, he’s just…kind of numb. Nothing was blocked. It was just…neutral. It was odd. He couldn’t remember a time he’d felt like this. He’d gotten so used to the bombardment of emotions constantly, that not feeling that barrage felt strange. But…it was working.

A bit of hope surfaces. Jason knew there were risks. He respected Misty’s point of view, and he’d never want to hurt Katie. But if this could work…if this could help solve his problem…even if he had to get used to feeling lethargic, he would do it, if only to stop disrupting lives.

A sudden lurch to Jason’s stomach brings his thoughts to a screeching halt. He holds his breath for a moment, and cringes at another one. Oh no… Just when he thought…

Jason barely makes it to the restroom down the hall. Sliding to the floor by the toilet, everything comes back up. A surge of emotions follows quickly as if being released from a dam, making him shake. Continuing to throw up until his stomach is empty, exhaustion sets in once again and Jason simply leans back against the wall. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He’d been so close…and his body had rejected the one thing that could have helped.