Hurt, confused and embarrassed

Pete doesn't think twice about returning Carol's hug. Truth be known, he enjoyed it. Perhaps there was a part of him that missed his own mom. Grinning as he pulls back, he shakes his head. "A little jealousy never hurt anybody," he teases.

Turning to Nikki, his grin widens and he wraps his arms around her in a hug. A kiss to the cheek would do, until they were alone, so that's all she gets for now - that and an extra squeeze that lets her know he'd be more affectionate later.

"Mmm... yeah." He sighs, knowing that he looked as weary as he felt. "Just one of those days. Sometimes I hate not being able to talk about it." Turning, he keeps his arm around her waist. "But I'm alright. Just hungry." He tosses Carol a wink. "I'll bring her back safe and sound in a little while. Don't do anything crazy while we're gone."

Once he and Nikki were outside in his convertible, he puts his sunglasses back on and starts up the engine. He doesn't pull away yet though - instead, he takes a moment to lean over and give Nikki the lingering kiss to the lips he'd wanted to give her earlier. "Hi again. Where would you like to go for lunch?"


Ryder's laughter returns, more from just watching Thirteen laugh than anything. Setting his hands on his hips, he shakes his head, waiting for her to compose herself, and holding back any more remarks he could come up with.

"Yes... yes, I can prepare the cheese for you, no problem."

Trent poke his head into the kitchen, a bewildered look on his face. "You two okay in here?"

Ryder snickers as he retrieves the cheese from the refrigerator. "Oh yeah, sure. We just about had a natural disaster, but thankfully some readjusted grammar came to the rescue."

Trent blinks, having no idea what was going on. "Right. I think I'll just... go back in here."

Once he disappeared, Ryder chokes on another laugh, trying not to get started all over again.


Alec tosses his keys onto the little table and wanders over to his bed by the window. Sitting back against the wall, he kicks off his boots and pulls his knees up, and letting his eyes roam the small apartment. Though several hours later, his mind continued to wander back to Mackenzie. It was as if a picture of her face had been burned into his mind, and he wasn't even sure why. Maybe it was because she was family. Maybe it was because of her childlike acceptance, when others simply dismissed him as a ruffian.

His fingers fiddled with the gold chain around his neck. Ryan had been the first - the first to show genuine care. Misty had followed. Today it had been a little girl. Each time, it did something strange to his heart - something he wasn't sure he could put into words. It wasn't something he disliked though. He just wanted to understand it better. He felt as if in turn, he was obligated to do something as well, but he didn't know what.

Yawning, Alec flops over onto his side and grabs the television remote. Ryan would be out of work soon, and he remembered she was coming over here to decide what they'd do for supper. She had a key, so if he fell asleep, she could let herself in. And it was a good thing, because in twenty minutes, he had fallen asleep, the television still droning.


Carson listens and takes Herb's words to heart. He didn't always agree with Herb right away, but too many times, he'd come to know the older man's wisdom, and too many times he hadn't taken advice when he should have.

"Yeah... you're probably right. I need to hear it from her first before I do anything else. I just didn't have the heart to wake her up. She looked exhausted." Sighing, he still leaves the dirty dishes and pulls his cell phone from his pocket. Slipping out into the hall, he dials Misty's cell phone. He wasn't sure that he liked getting her voice mail or not - he did want to talk to her, but at the same time, he didn't want to interrupt her work, so maybe it was better.

"Hey, Babe, it's me. Um... listen, Mackenzie showed up at the restaurant a bit ago. I still don't know why. She ended up breaking down in tears and falling asleep so I'm just waiting to talk to her now, hoping the cops don't come in the meantime. Nothing to do but wait at this point but I just wanted to let you know. If you see Angelica, you might mention it to her, but I'm not convinced I'll need her on this one yet. Not sure how the rest of the day is gonna go, so if you wanna call me later and find out what's going on, you can. I... guess that's it. Love ya."

Flipping his phone shut, another sigh seeps out along with a silent prayer. None of this was easy...


"...Dad?"

Carson shoots a glance over his shoulder as he juggles a hot pizza from the oven. He'd just been ready to go wake Mackenzie, but it looked like she'd finally woken up herself. "Hey. You alright?"

She nods and enters the kitchen hesitantly, sitting down in the empty chair at the little table. Her eyes study Herb for a moment before drifting back to Carson. "Did... did you call the police?"

"No." Carson prepares the pizza on a tray and takes it to the window, handing it to Aerith to give to the waiting table. Wiping his hands on his apron, he comes to the table, setting his hands on his hips. "I wanted to hear your side of the story first."

Mackenzie bites her lip. "Can I have some water?"

Carson nods his head towards the sink. "There's glasses there in the corner."

She gets up and retrieves her own water before returning to the table and quenching her thirst. Glancing up to her father again, she searches his eyes. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

"No." Carson was upset with the situation, but not mad at her. "Just a bit confused." He glances to Herb, just as glad for a witness. "Herb, this is Mackenzie. Mackenzie, this is my good friend Herb."

Mackenzie reaches across the table to shake his hand. "Hi."

Carson grabs the last chair and turns it around to sit backwards. He tips his hat back on his head, awaiting an explanation. "Alright. Let's hear it."

"I... I got lost and-"

Carson throws her a reprimanding look. "You better than to try to lie to me. You couldn't get away with it last time - you're not gonna get away with it now."

She squints at him. "You're different."

His eyebrow quirks. "Well... I guess that's the kind of thing Jesus does."

Mackenzie smiles a little and takes another sip of water. "I remember they all thought you were a bad person but when I saw you pray, I knew they were wrong."

As much as Carson wanted to continue a light conversation, he knew that very possibly, time was of the essence. "Mac... get back on track."

She sighs. "My family is in town on vacation."

"Your adopted family?"

"Yeah." Mackenzie's eyes fall to the table. "Ken, he had to come to a meeting or something, and so we all came. On the way to the hotel, I recognized some of the streets so..."

"You came here." Carson nods, his strong apprehensions returning. "Without telling them. And now they're frantically looking all over for you and have probably already called the police. Do you have any idea how much trouble you're going to be in?"

Her eyes remain on the table and her lower lip quivers.

Carson didn't remember her being this fragile before, and he still wondered about the weary look in her eye. What had happened to that strong-willed stubbornness and reckless abandon? She obviously still had some spunk left, for her to have come here, but even so, there was something else... something that warned Carson not to become too angry.

He reaches out and with a gentle finger, he lifts her chin so she'll look at him. "Is that what happened? You snuck away on your own without telling anyone?"

She nods. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I... I just... I wanted to see you again."

"Even if you thought I might not want to see you?"

"I just wanted to find out." A tear trickles down her cheek. "I guess you really didn't want to see me, huh?"

Carson can feel that same old tug on his heart and he glances to Herb, groping for strength before he looks back to his daughter. "How many times do I have to tell you that has nothing to do with it?"

"It does too." The flame was back in her eyes and she glares at him. "It has everything to do with it. If you wanted to see me, you'd find a way. You wouldn't be mad that I came to see you. You would have been happy to see me!" Her tone raises and she stands up, the frustration flashing in her eyes. "You would have given me a hug without me asking for it! But you really don't care, do you?" Her hand grips her empty water glass and aims it to throw at the wall.

Carson was quicker though and is on his feet in an instant, grabbing the glass before it can be hurled into oblivion. In one movement, he spins Mackenzie around so her back is pressed against him with his arm across her chest to hold her tightly as she fights. His other hand pries the glass from her hand before it breaks. A kick to his shin makes him wince, but he doesn't let go. Handing the glass off to Herb, he takes her in both his arms, struggling to keep a good grip on the skinny girl. "Settle down," he warns. "Come on. Sit down. This is no way to behave." When he receives an elbow to his ribs, he grabs her arm and twists it behind her back just enough to make it hurt. "Cut it out!" he barks. "Now I mean it. I'm bigger, stronger and a whole lot smarter than you when it comes to fighting. But I don't want to hurt you."

Worn out from fighting her father's strength, Mackenzie breathes heavily but begins to relax. "You already have," she hisses.

Carson ignores the sting for now. "You gonna sit down, or do I have to keep holding you like this?"

"Go ahead," she mutters.

Carson twists her arm a little bit more, making her rise to her tip toes.

"Ow!"

"You gonna sit?"

"Fine."

Carson slowly releases her but remains on guard in case she tried anything else. He'd been taken by surprise once. Not again.

Mackenzie flops back down in the chair, glaring at the floor.

Carson remains standing this time and just studies her, wondering where all this anger had come from. She thought he was different, and he could see she was different too. But why? Maybe he would never know. One thing he did know though, was that what she'd just said really did hurt. It shouldn't have, but somehow it had made its way through his thick outer shell. He'd never meant to hurt her. He'd never meant for her to be at all, let alone like this.

With his own emotions heating up, he paces behind her for a moment, trying to keep cool. His eyes drift to Herb. He was hurt, confused, and a bit embarrassed too.