Ride home

Con laughs with Katie, letting her comment about him and TJY slide for now. There was no point in upsetting her at the moment. He could still remember the way she’d come into his office the day he’d decided to leave. He could still see the hurt and disappointment in her eyes, and right now, he just didn’t want to see that again.

“I’ll be your bouncer any time,” he teases.


The three guys and Jen chat with Katie for a while before Scott leaves, and Con follows soon after. Jason apologizes for his short visit, but explains again that Reese needs him, and before they know it, it’s just Katie and Jen once more.

The band comes back at lunchtime, full of energy as normal, bearing a hot pizza and soda pop to drink that Kyle convinced the nurse they could bring in. After a time of chatting, joking and teasing, the three bid farewell, leaving Jen for the afternoon.


The day seems to drag by slowly. Jason tries to concentrate on work, but it’s difficult. Trooper can sense his anxiety and paces nervously around his office, making the atmosphere even more tense than it already is.

Jason stares at his computer screen, his mind everywhere but the words he’s trying to read. He’d called Camryn…they were going to go out to eat tonight. He was looking forward to that distraction, but until then, he had several hours left of torture. That morning with Katie had just been…difficult. Not to mention, constantly blocking emotions was getting harder and harder. But he knew if he let everything go now, she was no longer used to it, and he certainly didn’t want to hurt her. He could only hope that it wouldn’t take her long to remember, so they wouldn’t have this odd tension between them anymore.


Scott leans back in his chair and sends another crumpled piece of paper across the office and into the waste basket. It was one out of ten that he’d actually landed in the garbage. The others lay scattered across the floor, going ignored.

Swiveling back around, Scott checks out his list of things he was supposed to be working on. Reese wanted his new system up and running, Susanne was having trouble with her printer…again… and Laura needed help with something too. He used to enjoy this…but all of a sudden he didn’t seem to enjoy anything. It almost felt as though he’d been catapulted back in time to where he’d started out at. Scott…just plain old Scott, the tech guy without a life.

Heaving a weary sigh, he finally gets up and heads out to the main floor to get some work done.


Six o’clock. Jen has already been picked up by Mike, and the hospital is fairly quiet. Word hadn’t gotten out yet that Katie was being released, but one person assumed she was, and took the initiative to help out before anyone else might struggle with any further requests.

Con sticks his head around the corner and seeing Katie, he gives her a big smile and comes into her room once again. He’s in his work clothes and a bit dirty, but he wasn’t going to take the time to go home and change first.

“Hey, Kat. You ready to blow this joint or what? We can even stop by Mom and Pop’s for supper if you want…my treat. Jamie’s meeting me there.”


Jason takes a sip of his pop and leans back in the booth, closing his eyes. Camryn cocks her head and looks across at him. "You alright?"

"I think so." Jason sighs and opens his eyes again. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good company tonight."

"It's okay." Camryn shrugs. "I understand....Well...not completely, but I'm trying to. I'm sorry you're having to go through all this anyway." She looks away for a moment, noticing Aerith across the floor and gives a little wave. Glancing back to Jason, she holds up her menu. "So...did you decide what you wanted or what?"

Grateful for the change in subjects, Jason sits up straighter and tries to get his mind occupied with supper. "Oh, I think so."