Don't leave?

It's okay.

Jason throws his grandfather one last glare. "We're not finished."

Turning around, he follows after Katie.

Don't worry about it. It's not like I was calm in there. I just...

His emotions start to churn, proving that there was more than anger there. There was a deep hurt that he didn't understand. One that he'd been keeping away from Katie. One that wanted to surface now. One that created a form of misery he hated. But he pushes it away again.

Let's go see if Scott's alright.


Rick stands in the doorway, letting Jason and Katie by. But he doesn't follow straight after. Instead, he just stands, looking at Austin with a sad questioning. "You interrogated Scott?"

Austin swallows hard and tries to regain his composure. "It was protocol. You should know that."

"But he was in no shape to handle that." Rick's astonishment comes through in his voice. "My word, Austin... what were you thinking?"

"Me? What about those two who just came in here unannounced and started tearing my office apart, let alone screwing with my head?"

"The office part was Jason," Rick responds casually. "And the screwing with your head was Katie. In case you didn't know. And in case there's more information you're missing, those two were pretty close to Scott. I don't blame them for being upset with you."

"Well they've not heard the last of this," Austin states flatly. "They'll both be suspended for this."

Rick cocks his head. "Isn't that Reese's call?"

"You think I'm gonna wait around for him? This goes straight to Carter. Jason and Katie's actions were completely uncalled for."

Rick shakes his head and sighs deeply. "You do what you feel you have to do, Austin. But don't forget the team you're dealing with." Not wanting to argue, he turns around and walks slowly out of the office, heading back to the infirmary.


Jason pushes open the door and spies Nate, glad that he's here and not whoever had been with Austin. "Hey, Nate," he greets quietly. "Nothing exciting going on, I hope."

Scott can hear the voices around him, and though put into a state of exhaustion by whatever Rick had given him, he manages to pry open one of his eyes. "Did...did you stop...them?"

Jason looks over to him with sympathy. "Yeah. Nobody's gonna bother you. You just rest."

"Katie?" Scott's eye falls shut again. "Don't... leave?"

Jason looks to Katie, then Scott, then back to Katie.

I doubt he even knows what he's saying. Once he drifts off, he'll be gone for the night. We can stick around for a while if it'll make him feel better. He trusts you the most. Not to mention, we better tell Nate and Rick what's going on.