Angles

Carson is glad he gets Aerith's voicemail. He hadn't wanted to wake her up this time of the night...morning. "Aerith, it's Carson... change of plans. Keeping the restaurant closed tomorrow. Lots happening. Not at liberty to give details at the moment, but I'm sure Wyatt will be filling you in. Anyway, enjoy the day off. I'll let you know when we'll open up again. I hope it won't be more than a day or two."

Hanging up, Carson leans back on the counter and takes a swig of the beer that he'd opened half an hour ago. It had already grown somewhat flat, and it didn't taste very good.

"Carson?"

He quirks an eyebrow and turns to see Dani squinting in the light. She was in her pajamas, having woken from the noise in the kitchen. "You still up?"

"Just got in," he admits. "Been at TJY."

"Oh, I see. I heard about Katie."

"Yeah, that's why I was there."

"You going to help them?"

Carson forces a weak chuckle. "Yeah, sure, if Reese can stand me and they keep the right people out of my way."

Dani is confused. "What? Why? What are you talking about?"

Carson hadn't wanted to broach the subject yet. He still wanted to ask Dani why she'd visited Alec, but right now he wasn't in the right mood. "Nothing. Just in a sour mood I guess."

"Mm... I'm sorry." Dani reaches out to give his arm a squeeze.

Carson just shrugs and holds out his bottle. "Join me?"

Dani scrunches her nose. "You know I don't like beer."

Carson glances into the bottle, thinks, then turns to pour the rest of it in the sink. "Neither do I tonight."

Sighing, Dani looks at her brother with a bit of worry mixed in with her compassion. "Carson?"

"Yeah?"

"I... found something in one of your jackets... and..." She takes a deep breath through her nose. "Kinda confirms it..."

Carson knows exactly where she's going. She must have found the pack of cigarettes that he hadn't remembered where he'd put. Giving a groan, he pushes off the counter and heads to the hallway. "Not now, Dani. I'm going to bed."

"But..." Dani's words trail off as he brother disappears. She sighs. That hadn't gone very well. She wasn't mad at Carson, only confused, and wishing she could do something for him.


Reese looks up at Nate and shakes his head slowly. "No... nothing new. There's just nothing to go on right now. No one's heard a thing... I just wish they'd call back and give us some direction... for now though, the only thing we can do is hope to trace the vehicle. That's the only thing we have to go on."


Scott stares at the computer screen, his fingers flying on the keys, his eyes trying to catch all of the information they can. His eyes weary, he'd finally given in to take his contacts out and put his glasses on instead, though he still hated letting people see his blind eye.

Moving ahead with the information Jason had given him, he'd located the vehicle, but had run into more hurdles trying to find the owner. It would take a while, and probably a few phone calls too.


Rick shoulders his bag and gives Misty a nod. "Going home for just a bit. I'll be back so you can get some rest too. Need anything, call me, okay?"


Ryder steps through the door onto the TJY floor, letting the door slam shut behind him. Not only had no one bothered to tell him about Katie, but then he'd been left at the scene without word as well. So much for being part of the team.

Stalking by the cubicles, he glances around but doesn't see Laura. She must have gone somewhere else like Nate had said. The bundle under his arm squirms and complains a little, but he doesn't let go. Henry was tucked safely in his arm, having had no where else to go.

Turning down the hall, Trooper is just coming out of Jason's office, and spies the cat. His ears perk forward and he gives a low bark.

Ryder isn't even fazed. "Steady on, mate," he returns. "You want this cat for breakfast, you'll have to go through me."

Trooper relaxes and turns to go back into Jason's office. Jason lifts an eyebrow. Trooper never responded to someone else like that... ever. He looks up to Ryder, eying the cat.

Ryder gives Jason a glance of annoyance. "Thanks for letting me know what's going on. I'll be hanging around here for a bit, so really... put me to use sometime."

"Look, Ryder, I..." Too late, he was gone. Jason sighs. He didn't have time to worry about anyone getting in a snit over anything.

Ryder continues his route, not knowing where he was going or what he was looking for, but reaching the infirmary, he stops, entering slowly and giving the door a light knock with his knuckle. "Misty?" A wry grin surfaces. "I got someone here who could use a bit of a look on his paw. I think he mighta stepped in some glass earlier."


Alec rolls over on his side, trying to wake up. From the meds Misty had given him though, everything was foggy and he couldn't quite pull himself all the way out of his sleep.

His hand was throbbing. It had been a while, and the bandages now felt tight. He knew that his hand had swollen - sure sign of infection. But as dazed as he was, he wasn't in any shape to call out to anyone.


Laura settles down on the couch, staring up at the dark ceiling. Janet had let her in. Maggie had been to bed hours before, so now the house was quiet. Laura had opted to stay over here instead of in Rick and Janet's spare room, so in case Nate came back or needed anything, she'd be easy to find.

Turning onto her side, she nuzzles her face into the throw pillow and closes her eyes. Breathing in, she felt safe... it smelled like Nate.


Gage shakes his head and pulls a bandanna out of his back pocket. "You know they won't bend. And I know they won't bend. But why... I didn't think you'd ask that. You know the game isn't always about logic."

Reaching out, he roughly wipes some dried blood off the side of Katie's mouth from the cut in her lip. "You know, you can fight all you want... you can be as stubborn as ever... but it won't do a bit of good. Hide what you're feeling, go ahead. But in the end, it's still going to hurt just as bad."

He retreats, tucking the bandanna back into his pocket. "You better pray they DO do what we want... otherwise you won't be the only one hurting. Your aunt would be pretty miserable without you, I'd bet."