How much longer

Hearing Katie's frantic voice, Rick is immediately on alert. He tries to slow her down, asking her where she is, and is surprised that they are out in the parking lot.

Dropping everything else, Rick sprints down the hall, almost running Hal over as he goes. Across the main floor, he ignores a few strange glances, and he takes the stairs instead of the elevator to get up and out.

Once in the parking lot, he spots Katie and Jason and is by them within seconds. "Jason... Jason, can you hear me?"

Jason is still on the ground, but he manages a nod as the pain starts to subside again. "I'm not deaf," he grumbles.

Rick rolls his eyes and looks to Katie. "Help me get him up and inside."

Struggling a bit, Jason finally is able to get to his feet, though his knees want to buckle. His feet dragging, he leans on both Rick and Katie, making it into TJY and out of the rain. On the main floor, others are quick to realize something is wrong and start for them, but Rick waves them off, not wanting to deal with anything else, and he knows that it would just make Jason mad to have more people involved. Though Rick hadn't been told any details, he knows that this has something to do with Jason and Katie's connection.

The infirmary is quiet. Misty is there but Jeff has gone for a walk in the building. Rick moves Jason to the table so he can sit, and Jason does so without argument. His head felt like it was going to explode and he cringes, putting it in his hands.

Rick forces him to look up as he shines a light in his eyes. "Tell me what happened."

"It just... hurts." Jason couldn't really describe it much better than that.

"Emotions?"

"I think so."

"You haven't been on your dose?"

"No. Neither of us." Jason finally straightens a little as the intensity begins to wear off.

Rick stands back, a little bewildered. "Just happened out of the blue?"

"Pretty much."

"Not doing anything strange? Or trying things, or anything odd with your emotions?"

"No!" Jason growls. "I've told you everything!"

As his temper flares, Rick glances to Katie, not seeing much of a reaction. "Where's your anger, going, Jase?"

"What?"

"Where is it going?"

Jason looks to Katie, then back to Rick, then Katie, then Rick again.

Rick folds his arms, starting to frown. "You're keeping them from her again, aren't you?"

Jason swallows hard. "So what if I am? Is it so wrong for me not to want to see her in pain because of my own emotions?"

Rick shakes his head. "It's not wrong, but we've been through this how many times?!"

"I don't care!"

"You're killing yourself!" Rick's own voice raises. "Slowly but surely, you're killing yourself, Jason. No matter you reason, you're hanging onto your anger, your frustration, irritation, whatever, and it's eating you alive!"

"Why can't I just decide for myself what I do or don't do?!" Jason slides off the table to stand, his emotional storm still kept out of Katie's reach.

"It's not just about you, you know that! How many times must we go through this?! Let your negative out with your positive! Katie needs it all, whether it hurts or not, you know this!"

Jason looks helplessly at Katie before he looks at Rick again. "If I can't keep it in, then we have to find another way for me to let it out without hurting Katie."

"You know that's not possible."

"It has to be!" Jason's hand comes down hard on the table.

Rick isn't going to take Jason's temper lying down, and he matches the tone. "Why?! Why can't you move on from this and accept this for what it is?!"

"Because I want to be normal!" Jason throws his arms in the air. "Is that such a crime? Is it so bad that I just want to be a normal human being again? To not have to worry about breaking something if I shout too loud? To not have to worry about making Katie sick if I have a nightmare?"

Rick looks to Katie, apology in his eyes. He knew none of this was his fault, but he knew that this had to be horribly hard for her. He finally looks back to Jason. "You need to let your anger out now, before you kill yourself," he states calmly. "I suggest you go outside, or to the rec room, but whatever you choose, let it out. Katie would rather endure a little pain than see you dead."

Jason's fists are balled at his sides and his eyes drift from Rick to Katie. He didn't blame her. He didn't. This was nobody's fault. It was just the way they were. But he was so tired of all this. He was so tired of new things popping up all the time. The last time he'd withheld things, he'd gotten a little sick. This time it was so severe that Katie couldn't even give him any emotions back to communicate because it was too much for his body to take. How much longer would he have to endure this??