Job

The rustling in the underbrush comes to a sudden halt at Stacy's command. 

Dylan freezes in his tracks, having not even realized someone else was out here. Taken by surprise, his pulse races as he feels a surge of adrenaline. Just his luck, it was Stacy, and he could get in a lot of trouble for being out here by himself at this hour with no one watching him. Not to mention, he knew she had a gun, so he was pretty close to getting shot if he made a wrong move here. 

"Fire, and you'll be shooting the same guy that you're here to protect," he responds dryly, covering up the fact that he'd just been startled out of his wits. Hoping he was in the clear, he dares to complete his route, emerging onto the path, his hands out to his side... just in case. 

Seeing Dylan, Eric lets out the breath he'd been holding. "Dylan, why... what in the blazes are you doing out here at this hour?" 

Dylan slowly lowers his hands and rolls his eyes. "Going for a stroll." 

"Come on now - you know it ain't safe out here." 

"I know, I know!" Dylan had already gotten the same speech from Sparky. "I was at Sparky and Faith's and we got to playing a game and lost track of time. I was just taking a shortcut back from their place is all." 

Eric smirks, setting his hands on his hips. He gives Stacy a sidelong glance. "Does this mean he gets away with a warning, or do you still shoot him for being stupid?" 

Dylan's eyes narrow, more embarrassed than upset.

Rick holds his smile and gives Misty's shoulder a squeeze. "You're welcome. I'm honored to be the first to know, and I won't tell a soul 'til you're ready." He could tell by the look in her eye that she was pleased and excited, which made him so happy for her. But he also knew that Carson didn't want kids - he'd talked about it enough that it was common knowledge. With his background, and both of their connections to the Agency and the danger of the Elite, Carson had no trouble telling people that he didn't want to risk having a family. Because of that, Rick knew now that no matter how thrilled Misty was, it had to be hard for her thinking about telling Carson. 

"You need anything, just let me know."

Jason returns to his office from taking out the trash, and sinks down in his chair with a sigh. His buzzing cell phone on his desk makes him jump and he realizes he'd missed a call and there was a voice mail waiting for him. Seeing the number, he hesitates. But it had been several days and... he needed to listen to it. 

Jase, it's Sandy. I know you've gotten my texts. 

He had. She'd apologized and asked to talk to him and he'd put off responding. He probably should have at least acknowledged her texts, but he hadn't yet known what to even say to her.

I just really want you to know that I'm so sorry for kissing you at the concert. I don't know what I was thinking. I... I do like you but I know you don't feel that way about me, and it was just pure impulse and I'm just... I'm sorry. I never wanted to cause trouble with your girlfriend and I really didn't want to ruin our friendship. I've really enjoyed your company lately and... I guess I just hope I didn't mess up too bad. Call me? Or text me? Please? Can we talk? 

Jason leans back in his chair, replaying her words in his mind. He was sure her feelings for him didn't run very deeply, and he was pretty sure that if he were to talk to her, she'd tell him she would never kiss him again and still want to be just friends. Which is what he wanted - he didn't have any feelings for her at all - not like that anyway. He was flattered that she'd kissed him, but that was as far as it went. And now... he knew that it was only right that he at least talk to her. She might have done something stupid, but that didn't give him the right to give her a cold shoulder. The pain from Katie was slowly turning numb... numb enough that he could probably talk to Sandy about it now. He wouldn't blame her for the breakup - she might have pushed everything over the edge, but it was Katie who walked away without giving him a chance. He wouldn't let Sandy feel guilty about that. 

Looking back down at his phone, he sighs again. Opting to text instead of call, he sends her a message.

Got your voicemail. Sorry Ive ignored u. Long story.

Yeah lets talk. 

He pauses, thinking for a moment, and realizing that he no longer had a reason not to see Sandy alone. He had no one to be jealous or upset with him for seeing her anymore. 

How about lunch tomorrow? 

Sandwich Basket?

That would have to do. He was pretty confident he'd work things out with Sandy and he'd still be able to hang out with her and the guys. That much was good, and he was glad. But that didn't mean he still didn't have a gaping hole in his heart right now.

"...I've been living on my own again for this past week and so far it's been okay." Scott sits in Reese's office, fidgeting a little as he speaks. "Still have some troubles but... but overall it's going well and Justin's still keeping track of me." He nods, feeling the hope that he truly was overcoming obstacles. "That said, I um... well I was wondering if... I mean I'm not sure you need a second tech guy anymore but..."

Reese smiles and leans back in his chair, shaking his head. "Scott..."

Scott glances up expectantly. "Yes?"

"You may not realize it, but you never really lost your place here."

"I... I didn't?"

"No. And even if I would have tried, Dalton would have killed me." Reese chuckles. "But I never did try because I didn't want to. I always hoped you would be back."

"Wow... really?"

"Well sure." Reese's smile remains. "You have no idea how much we like having you around here, let alone need you. Dalton's a great guy, but even he only has two hands. He's got work coming out his ears."

Scott grins a little. "Why didn't you ever hire anybody else?"

"Because... the chair in that office only belongs to one person."

Scott glances down, feeling very good and very humble. "I... I'm not sure what to say."

"Say whatever you like. Do you want your job back?"

"Maybe..." Scott swallows hard. "I have to be honest... I don't know yet how much I can handle. Maybe I could just come in a couple days a week? I hope I can do well and handle it, but I can't make any promises."

Reese nods. "I understand and that's perfectly acceptable. How about you think about it a little more and decide exactly what you want and how you'd like to try this out. Let me know and we'll go from there."

...A few minutes later, Scott finds himself knocking on Dalton's door and sticking his head in the office. "Hey, Hulk..." He manages a smile. "Can I interrupt?"