Rack off

Con grabs Bryce's limp body and drags him to the car, not really caring about anybody watching. Throwing him into the backseat, Con joins Nate up front for a quick but quiet ride to the station.

By the time they arrive, Bryce has regained consciousness, but is in too much pain to talk or give them any trouble. Dragged inside, he doesn't look anyone in the eye, only glaring at the floor.

It takes only a brief explanation to the officers to have Bryce taken away, and before they know it, Con and Nate are alone once more in the car. It seems so quiet. It seems so... empty. All the rage was gone. Bryce had been caught. Now all that was left was sorrow... sorrow for a loved one who had paid a steep price at no fault of her own.

Back to TJY, Con doesn't get out right away. He needed to get in his own car and go home for the rest of the day, but first...

Con finds a piece of paper and a pen, leaning forward to use the dashboard's flat surface to scribble something out. Turning, he hands Nate the paper where an address is written. "Dan and Paula Gibbs. It's a little farm... you'll find Laura there... if you leave now, you'll make it by supper time... so go before I change my mind."

Getting out of the car, he shuts the door and doesn't look back, ambling to his own car. He would leave Jamie to her work... he'd see her in a while when she got home anyway.


Carson leans into Misty, enjoying the moment with her, almost feeling deprived since he'd been gone. Finally withdrawing, he grins, giving her a wink. "I better let you keep on saving lives. But tomorrow I'm having dinner with you, no ifs ands or buts."

Straightening, he runs his fingers through Misty's soft hair for a moment before finally backing away. "Talk to ya later, Sassy."

Carson wanders out of the infirmary, tired, and wanting a shower and his bed. But he was thirsty first, so his route takes him by the break room on the way, as he fishes for change in his pocket.


Ryder has found his way to the break room after wandering the halls, deciding to grab something to drink. Hearing someone behind him, he turns around.

His stare turns to ice, and he looks away. Carson picks up on it immediately, but at this point he really didn't understand. Last he knew, he and Ryder weren't exactly pals, but they had been far from enemies. "Decided to stick it out around here?" he asks cautiously.

Ryder finishes getting his can of pop, then turns around, his glare still present. "Rack off, Carson."

Carson's eyes widen. It had been a while since he'd been told that. "Easy on! What did I do to deserve that?"

"Figure it out yourself."

Carson sets his hands on his hips. He was tired, he was worn out, and he hadn't expected this. "Is this about your brother?"

Ryder grits his teeth, his hand tightening on his can of pop. "Well now, that's a smart guess."

Since getting back, Carson hadn't taken time to really sit and think about what had happened in Australia. Now he suddenly realized that he might have made an enemy without knowing it. "I had no choice," he defends.

"Cods wallup." Ryder glares at him. "You could have just nicked him."

"And we all might have died." Carson throws up his hands. "You want to blame me and walk around with that chip on your shoulder, go right ahead. But I won't feel guilty. I save the team. I did my job. If you hadn't been so danged intent on getting the traitor out of there in the first place, you might not have even gotten shot, and we might not have even had to put the whole show in jeopardy!"

Ryder's temper flares, but he manages to keep it in. Deep down, he knew. He knew that Carson had been saving the lives of his team. He knew that had he been Carson, he would have had to make the same choice. But on the surface, all it did was hurt.

Emotions flood his eyes, and before he says something he'll regret, he stalks out of the break room.

Carson heaves a sigh and shakes his head. A pang of guilt hits him. It was a fact that he had killed again. At the time, he had just acted on instincts. But now... now that he thought about it... did that mean that he'd turned his back on the change he had allowed himself to make? He suddenly wondered. Maybe it wasn't as cut and dry as he'd thought it was. Forgetting about the drink he'd come here for, he slips back out into the hall. He would go home. He would sleep. Tomorrow, things would go back to normal.


Liz continues to giggle, shaking her head as Axel gives her a warning glance. "Okay, okay, you win. But when you have time, I really do need your help. I can't reach that lightbulb in the basement. You know, the one over the keyboard that keeps going out."

"And... you don't have a brother? Or very tall father for that matter?"

Liz sticks her tongue out at him. "I like picking on you better. Besides, I've asked them, and they keep putting it off."

"And you think I'm different?"

"Oh, you're different, alright," Liz teases.

Axel shakes his head and looks back to Jess. "Sometimes I wonder why it is I like it here so much."

"Mom's cooking?" Liz asks.

"Yeah, that's probably it." Axel rolls his eyes. Turning to Jess, he gestures with his head. "Come on... you can meet the rest of the family."

Nick is found somewhere in the back, greeting Jess nicely. Gina is in the kitchen, and meeting Jess, she offers a very warm welcome, never drawing any attention at all to Jess' appearance. It was obvious that once here, you were a part of the family.

Supper is eaten at the dining room table, full of laughing and talking. The whole family acts as though having Jess there is quite natural, never missing a beat, and being sure to include her in their conversations. Axel sits next to her, making sure she's comfortable in this atmosphere, though is relaxed enough himself, that he hopes she is too.

After the meal, Gina and Derek stay upstairs to clean the dishes, while the other four head downstairs. Liz and Nick fool around with some music for a while, but then wind up wanting to watch a moving upstairs.

Sitting sideways at one end of the couch in the basement, Axel's feet are almost tucked under one of the cushions, with his knees up close to his chest. Once the two siblings are gone, he rubs his hand a little bit, glad that Liz had not asked him to join in the musical venture of the evening. Had he needed to tell her no, then tell her why, she would have worried about him from then on out.

He looks to the other end of the couch at Jess, giving her a small smile. "Crazy enough for you around here?"