Questions

Scott can't help something that resembled a short, weak laugh at Hope's question. His eyes look down and he shakes his head. For the longest time, he doesn't even answer her. Instead, he stares into the coffee that had been brought. This was a little more different than he'd thought... he was used to feeling like he needed to share everything with Hope, but tonight was more casual. They weren't sitting in her office with a goal.

Finally he takes a sip of the warm liquid, letting it slide down his throat. With enough cream and sugar to mellow it out, coffee didn't seem to bother his stomach too much.

"I'm okay." Looking up, he catches Hope's eyes. His own gaze was one that betrayed him. He was worried, he was worn out, he was struggling. Okay? It was as bad a word as fine.

Glancing down again, he curls his thin fingers around the coffee cup, letting his rigid palms absorb the heat. He watched th little swirls on the top of the drink as air flow moved it around. He didn't used to be able to sit still and gaze at nothingness for so long. But now he could fill hours with simply sitting and letting time be.

"It's been a long two days," he finally admits quietly. "I haven't been home... everybody is tense... no one dares sleep for more than a few minutes at a time. And Katie..." He swallows hard, trying to keep down the lump that wanted to rise in his throat. He couldn't talk much about the case anyway for security reasons. "...we have to find her."

Taking another sip of coffee, Scott tries to ignore a couple people that wander in for their own evening coffee fixes. If he didn't pay attention to them, he wouldn't grow nervous by their presence.

Someone dropping a glass in the kitchen though, makes Scott's head shoot up, his eyes widening. He catches sight of a man he didn't know, but the facial features were such to be a strong resemblance to another face he'd seen... somewhere... sometime...

The pictures started again. Faces. Names. Garbled data. For a moment, Scott's vision was taken over by the unwanted images. It wasn't a flashback. It was something... something different... something he didn't want to see.

Looking down again, Scott tries to shake the strange episode by concentrating on his coffee again, and he takes a quick swig. It was too quick though, and the roof of his mouth is burned. Cringing, his eyes water and he coughs, almost choking on the drink.

He just wanted this to be a normal setting... he didn't want to have another problem in front of Hope. He didn't want to need her as a counselor again. He'd gotten through that... he wanted to be stronger in front of her. But he didn't understand what was happening to him now... whatever it was had only started just today though.

"That'll teach me," he manages to comment wryly. "Next time I'll go for a frozen treat instead."


Carson is again alone at the desk. His eyes are still glued to the monitor. He cocks his head, seeing Gage's strange actions. Peculiar. Carson jots down a note. He wondered...


Alec stirs, not totally asleep, but not fully awake. Hearing quiet noises around him, he finally wakes up enough to open his eyes. The bed he was in was comfortable - much more so than the cot he'd been sleeping on. He almost didn't want to wake up. His mind was foggy, and for a moment, he forgot his angry and cocky air.

Turning his head, he sees Misty. Squinting in the light, he opens his mouth to find it feeling like cotton. "What happened?" he questions groggily.

Pulling himself up, the pain in his hand reminds him why he was in the infirmary rather than the holding cell. Managing to sit up partway, he tries to remember exactly what happened, but all he really knew is that he'd felt sick. And as such, he feared he'd missed what he might have done. "I bet I was a bear, wasn't I?" he asks sheepishly. "Last time I got sick, I told off my own mother."

Suddenly, his speech is cut off as he realizes how vulnerable he'd just left himself. He realizes that his tone was friendly and grateful for Misty's help - not harsh and defensive like he wanted it to be.

Swallowing hard, he looks down and feels of the bandage on his hand. His face grows red. "How long you gonna keep me up here?" His question was asked gruffly.


"Ryder?" Reese finds him in the break room. "You seen Phinox?"

"Yeah." Ryder looks up tiredly from the table where he'd been sitting, taking a rest. "Took off a while ago. Said he had to call somebody or something. Said he'd be back."

"Hmm." Reese frowns and heads back to the hall. "If you see him," he calls over his shoulder, "tell him to report in with me."