Not good

Scott grins. “Alright, it’s a date then.”

At her offer to watch Domino, he raises an eyebrow. “Guess I just figured upsetting Henry wasn’t worth it. But you can ask Laura and then as Domino tonight how she feels.”

He gives her a wink. “I better get back to work. I got a few things left to box up, and I’ve got to hunt down something Susanne needs.”

Scott exits Katie’s cubicle, but turns one more time to throw her a smile before heading to his own desk. Singing down into his chair, his mind is reeling. This was so much…information. How could this be happening to Katie? And Jason? He simply had to let them work it out. Fearing it would not help anything.


As Jason tries to apologize to Katie, at first he senses almost a strange feeling of frustration, as if he’s trying to enter a house, but the door has been locked without him knowing it, and he’s standing, trying to get in. But after a moment, it’s relief he feels, the pressure dispersing, releasing the emotions. He wonders for a moment about it…and can only imagine.


Carson responds to Lockheart in a positive tone. “Ah, well, I’m hanging in there. I’m actually around your neighborhood at the moment, taking in the sights.” He pauses, not quite sure how to keep going. “Um, listen…I got a sister up here. In twenty-four hours, a storm will have passed, but in the meantime, she’s needing a neutral, safe place to hang out. I know this is quite an imposition, but…well you’re the only one I trust around here. You got room for her for one night? Or know of someone else?”


Reese wanders across the main floor, his purpose really just to stretch his legs and get his mind on something else for a few minutes. He says hi to a couple people, then winds up en route to the break room.

Just as he’s entering the hall though, he runs into Rick. “Oh hi, Rick. I was just thinking about coming and see you. How’s Jason?”

Rick sighs deeply and leans up against the wall, eying the main floor, then focusing back on Reese. He wasn't sure who all should know everything right now. He hadn't even talked to Jason much about it yet. Several people were within earshot, but he went ahead anyway. “Not good.”

“Oh? What happened?”

“Infection. His body didn’t like the metal in the pins I guess.” Rick shakes his head grimly. “I’m not sure what will happen now. Originally, when his knee was smashed, JT replaced most of the cap with an artificial one. That’s really how Jason was able to recover as well as he did before, since those bones didn’t have to be repaired and heal. Anyway, the other night, he must have hit his knee on something, then it got bashed around and yanked real hard. It tore the ligaments surrounding the knee and shifted things too much.” Rick demonstrates by using his own hands and arms as an example of leg bones. “See, it’s supposed set like this, but it got twisted, like this…. The artificial cap wasn’t enough, and then one of the parts that was still his own bone actually fractured. At any rate, the solution seemed to be to put a couple pins in to hold everything together, then once the muscles were able to reattach and heal, he’d have mobility. But…”

Reese frowns, not liking the sound of this. “So what exactly are you saying?”

“I put a different kind of pin in, and we’ll see if that works. I’m just afraid there’s been too much damage.”

“Too much…for what?”

“Walking…running… oh, he’ll get back on his feet, I’m sure, just because he’s stubborn. But will it always give him problems? Probably. Will he be able to walk straight? I have my doubts. Run? It’ll probably be too painful.”

Reese swallows hard. “In your opinion, would this affect his position and job here?”

Rick looks Reese in the eye for a long moment, not wanting to say what he believed the answer was. “Only time can tell that.”