Tough chick

Scott sighs, but doesn’t try talking to Misty anymore. It’s obvious that she’s hurting, and though he wanted to help, it was also obvious that nothing he could say would do justice. Things like this just wouldn’t go away with a simple kind word or pat to the shoulder. They went deeper than that.

“Well, look who’s up!” Rick enters the infirmary, not meaning to make Scott jump. “Sorry.” He grins down at his patient. “How’s that appetite of yours?”

Scott gives a little grimace. “I’m not very hungry.”

“Hmm…well…” Rick hangs up his jacket and starts settling in for the day’s work. “Let’s at least get a little bit in your stomach, okay?”


Bret grins as he hangs up the phone. Jamie was a neat woman, and he respected her. Not to mention, he and Charlotte always had a blast with Con and Jamie both. The prospect of going to the caves with them was appealing, even if the weather was a bit chilly.

Turning around, he looks at the mess he made and groans. If he didn’t get it cleaned up though, he’d have to pay once Charlotte came home for lunch. And he had… He looks up to the clock… Exactly an hour and a half.


Carson looks out from the kitchen onto the main floor, his eyes widening in surprise as he sees Jess. “She…” He looks back to Herb, confused and just a little annoyed. Jess was working it off for him… She shouldn’t feel like she had to, and he wanted to go out there and tell her so. But… He looks back out to where she was working. He knew her well enough to realize that she was doing it because she wanted to, not because she felt she had to.

He sighs and shakes his head. “Tell you about that brawl in a minute. Be right back.”

Slipping out of the kitchen, Carson waits by the hall before Jess passes, then takes her by the arm out of sight of the public. Turning her around, he studies her for a moment, searching her eyes for the motives. They sparkled as always with the life that had returned to her.

Carson hangs his arms over her shoulders and bends down to rest his forehead against hers. “You are one tough chick, you know that?”

Giving another little sigh, he pulls her into a hug, kissing the top of her head lightly. “Thank you,” he says quietly.

Withdrawing, he lets her go, nodding back to the kitchen. "I gotta get to work...I guess I'll be seeing you then." A grin curls the edge of his mouth while his eyes linger on her face. Few might notice his subdued actions this morning. His own gaze held a strange stare this morning as his mind battles with itself deep down, preventing him from both backing off or giving himself away. And in his heart of hearts, he didn't know which side would win.

Tossing Jess a haphazard wink, Carson finally turns back around to slip into the kitchen again, met with the strong smells of the food Herb was preparing.

"It was my fault." He starts to answer Herb's question, while repeating what he'd said in his note. "I'm in a bit of a sticky spot with a guy who was abusing a dog and... I probably did the wrong thing, but at the time it seemed right, and now I'm paying for it."

He glances up at a new order, then heads to the refrigerator, talking over his shoulder. "Thought it would be a good idea to talk to that lawyer over at TJY about it, but..."

His statement trails off and he pauses by the fridge, the image of Misty flashing through his mind. Her eyes... her stare... those tears... the way her face had felt under his hand...

Carson swallows hard and tries to stay on track. "But I hit a bump, so I came back here instead. So..." He approaches Herb, a look in his eye almost like a scared little boy. "I guess I'm sorry and... I'm trying to make it right."


Kyle steps down from his pickup and spies Misty just exiting her car as well. The smells from the Chinese restaurant wafted through the air, making anyone's mouth water.

A smile spreads on Kyle's face and he holds up his arms. "Miss T! Long time no see!" In truth, he'd seen her the day before, but that never hindered his enthusiasm.

Coming close enough he can throw an arm around her shoulder, he leads them to the front door, opening it for her first. "I don't know about you, but I am totally starved. Phil ate the rest of the cereal, finished off the milk, we ran out of oatmeal, there was no pancake mix and the fruit was gone."

He throws Misty a smirk. "Needless to say, I went without breakfast this morning. Just don't tell my mother." His teasing tone precedes his laugh as the enter the restaurant and are seated.

It doesn't take long for them to order and start their food, but the table is just a little quieter than normal.

Fooling with chopsticks, but failing at getting too much of a laugh out of Misty, Kyle finally quits trying, and looks at her with his head cocked. "I'm getting a vibe that you're not quite into this today... what's up?"