Talk?

Hearing Misty's voice, Alec feels a strange sensation of being able to relax. Though he still wanted to be left alone, he didn't have the energy to fight, and felt bad enough that he knew he needed help.

Hal nods and offers a hand, taking most of Alec's weight to get him to his feet. Alec hangs between them, his knees buckling. Normally he would have argued. Today his temperament was docile.

It's slow going back upstairs, down the hall and into the infirmary. But Alec put up no struggle. Sinking down on the bed, he curls up on his side. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt sick like this.

Groaning, he opens his eyes just enough to look at his hand that felt as if it were on fire. The redness had spread from his palm to his wrist and was starting down his arm. Looking up, he sees Misty, though her face is a little blurry. "Why don't you just put me out of my misery?" he manages to grumble under his breath.

"She's not likely to."

Hal spins around at the sound of Carson's voice. He'd arrived without yet being noticed.

Carson hooks his hands in his jeans pockets, ambling in a couple steps. He looks at Alec, not knowing all that was happening, then up to Misty, then back down to his brother. "She wouldn't let the worst of the worst die, so I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you."

Alec grits his teeth. "Shove off." Turning the other way, he avoided looking Carson.

Carson glances to Misty again, this time with question. Not so much worry as curiosity at this point. "What happened?"


Laura holds half a smile as she eats her breakfast, quiet for several moments. The meaning of Nate's words hadn't escaped her. "I do like it," she finally responds quietly. Was she just talking about the food? Or more?

Glancing up, she waits to catch Nate's eye. "You're too good to me, you know that, don't you." A quiet laugh escapes. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve your affection."

Her hand slowly slides across the table, her fingers finding the warmth of his palm. "Nate, I-"

A sudden ringing of Laura's cell phone shatters the moment, bringing her words to a halt. Quickly withdrawing, she reaches into her pocket to pull out her phone. "Yes? Reese? ....Yeah, okay. ....No, it's ok, I'm with him now, I'll tell him. We'll be right in. ...Okay, bye."

Shutting her phone, Laura gets up from the table, but steals another bite of food on her way, washing it down with the rest of her coffee. "Jase has a lead. Reese wants us in the office on call. There's a new guy with Jase too. Come on."

Setting her plate on the counter, she turns, heading for the living room where her shoes and purse were.


Jason keeps his eyes on the road and grits his teeth and Phinox talks. This wasn't a meeting - he felt no need for conversation.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're on a need-to-know basis, and right now, you don't need to know."

Tapping his thumb nervously on the steering wheel, Jason gives a frustrated sigh. If Reese found out that he kept Phinox on the outside, he'd have his hide. "We traced the license number of a van we think might have been the vehicle used in Katie's abduction. We're going to the address now to...." He pauses, choosing a better word. "...talk to the owner."