So angry

Gage didn't know if he would ever understand where Sapphire's words and compassion came from. She had told him a lot about God - was that it? Or was it just her, the heart she had and simple care that kept her from sacrificing what she felt was right?

To think that she would take such a risk on him... it was humbling. But it was also a warm feeling that filled Gage like nothing else ever had. He loved spending time with Sapphire, he liked being her friend, he enjoyed having her over, he missed their time together on days they didn't see each other, he always looked forward to some cuddle time in front of the tv with a good movie... she was his only friend. He was on the brink of losing her because of her brother. She wasn't going to let it interfere. Was he?

Drawn into her embrace, his arms slide tighter around her, burying his face in her shoulder, half holding her and half being held. It proved what he felt on the inside - he needed the comfort, yet he also wanted to be strong enough to support her too.

After a few moments, he finally lifts his head, sighing a little. "Your brother won't be happy," he muses quietly. He hadn't intended on telling Sapphire who had started him down a different path, but she'd already figured it out on her own anyway. "He... loves you and doesn't want to see you get hurt. I guess if.... if I had a sister and she was going out with someone like me, I might..."

Drawing Sapphire back so he could see her eyes, he reaches up to comb down the side of her hair. "...I might be upset too."

Gage moves one hand to find hers again, never tiring of locking their fingers. "But... thank you... for believing in me anyway. I'll do my best not to let you down."

He pauses, question flickering in his eyes. "Even if... if Scott is upset, do you think that... I can still come with you to your parents?" He might not have said so, but even though nervous, he'd been looking forward to it - doing something different and meeting more people that Sapphire said he could trust.

Scott chews on the inside of his lip as Dalton talks. He knew in his head what his friend was saying was true. He knew that the people here now like Phinox and Carson... they weren't Agency anymore and they had made a true change. He knew Dalton was right about them. But this anger... this hate... it had started slow and had simmered until it had hit the boiling point. And now he didn't know how to douse the fire. 

"All the logic in the world doesn't take away my hate," he mutters. "You don't know what it's like. I know Carson isn't a bad guy anymore but it doesn't matter. When I see him, it all comes back... all the information... everything. All his case files, all the names of people he went after. Everything. Even Jamie. It was all on file before my assimilation." 

Lowering the ice pack, he stares at it, not caring that it was numbing his fingers. "Oh, I pretend that I'm fine around him... I call him a friend... and it's true. But it all comes back. I can't help it, Dalton. And as far as my sister is concerned... it's not Carson that's trying to date her. It's Gage - an Agency baby. And I don't trust him as far as I can throw him. I know she's got a mind of her own, but I don't much care." 

Scott's tone had become colder... harder. "Thirteen and Ryder is different. Thirteen's clueless about life. Gage is a killer. I'll be hanged if he weasels his way into my family... and I told him as much." 

Getting to his feet, he returns the ice pack to the small refrigerator. "It's just not that simple, Dalton." Reaching down, he starts to shut down his computer, even though his work wasn't done. "I'm going home."