You?

Surprised yet again by Katie, Con doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her in a big hug. Cocking his head to hear her, he sighs, giving her an extra squeeze. "You don't need me around for that... You do a pretty good job of looking out for yourself, you know." In truth, he was going to miss her terribly. Ever since Texas, she'd had a special little place in his heart, and that wasn't going to change.

Pulling away, he sees the tears in her eyes and it gets him all the way to his heart. Wiping her cheek gently with his thumb, he tries to give her a smile. "Hey... there's no need for any of that... It's not like I'm moving to Alaska. I'll still see you around."

Patting her shoulder, he nods. "Take care of yourself."

"Right..." Leo smirks as he lifts the rag to look at his knuckles before sucking on them to clean off some of the blood. "Yeah, I'm okay." He rolls his eyes and tosses the rag aside before wiping his hand on his jeans to just leave the scrape be. He'd had worse. 

Leaning on the car and looking down in the engine again, his eyes roam back to Ryan, catching her gaze. He'd answered her question, but... now he had one of his own. "Are you?"

Rosalyn knew she didn't need Chad's protection or his company - she knew this ranch like the back of her hand, and it would be very hard for anything here to be unsafe even at this late hour. But she would not deny him this. After all...she did want as much of his company as she could get right now.

Slipping her hand into his, she nods. "Okay."

It was a short walk to the dining hall, and Rosalyn enters, squinting in the dark. Everybody else had long since cleared out. The couch would be just fine for the night, and that way, she could at least avoid any chance of meeting up with her father tonight or even when she got up in the morning. 

Turning, she looks up at Chad in the dimness. "I guess this is where we part." Studying his face, she suddenly feels just a tinge of awkwardness return. She knew she was blushing again, and was just as glad that the lights weren't on. 

On impulse, she lifts herself on her tiptoes to give his lips a light, quick kiss. "Goodnight..."

Hurt Him

Letting out a sigh Katie really did feel bad for Con and she felt bad for snapping at him. It always had been hard for her to lose people and still now even with her emotion being different she hated it and it hurt on a whole new level.

   "Oh Con...I hate to see you go."

Coming around the cubicle wall Katie looks up at him and wraps her arms around his wast. Buring her head into his chest Katie could feel a few tears escape her eyes. She was more than likely getting Con's shirt wet and she new it but she couldn't help it either. He'd always been her big brother and looked out for her.

   "I'm going to miss you. Who is going to look for me here now? It's always been you Con."

Coming back inside after watching Alec drive away into the sunset, or what it seemed like anyways Ryan was just in time to see Leo get his knuckles. Cringing a little bit Ryan shakes her head before going over to him and leaning on the car he was working on.

   "Hurting yourself is not going to get this car done any faster you know. You ok?"

Ryan gives a smile to Leo before searching his face. There was something on it that she wasn't sure of but it looked like questions, misunderstand or reason. Maybe he's seen her leave for a few seconded with Alec and he wanted to know what was going on? She wasn't sure but for some reason it made her feel a little guilty. And another pang was added to her heart as she remembered a time when Leo and herself had been more than friends. No matter what she always seemed to come back to Alec and now...what about Tal. She really did care about him, and she loved him...now she would she hurt him too?

 Giving a smile to Rosalyn Chad moves himself off the bed before holding his hand out to Rosalyn to help her up as well. She might only be walking to the dinning hall but he felt the need to make sure she got there safly even if it was just across the yard.

   "Come on Hun, I'll walk you there. It would make me feel better knowing that you were safe."

Monster

Hearing his name, Alec stops and spins around to look back at Ryan. He knew he shouldn't have kissed her. He knew it had been foolish, he...

Her words catch him off guard, and for a moment, he doesn't even know how to respond. She...did want to see him again? She was actually looking forward to it? But... then what was Eli's threat all about? Why had he pounced, if Ryan wasn't bothered? Alec didn't have an answer. But what he did know was that his heart had just gained back a new sliver of hope.

A genuine smile creases his lips and he returns Ryan's wave. "Me too." Forcing himself to turn back around again, he returns to his bike to mount up and start the engine. As he pulls from the lot, he takes one last look before speeding up down the street.


Back inside the shop, Leo's eyes watch for Ryan to return, while he tries to concentrate on the engine he'd been working on. Inside, there was a strange churning though. Was he the only one that had seen Alec and Ryan kiss? He wasn't sure. But what he did remember was when Ryan had broken up with him because of Alec. And right about now, he wondered if the same thing was going to happen to Tal. What was it about Alec that made him so irresistible? Leo didn't know. But maybe only a woman would know. It didn't make sense though, that Ryan would get close to a man like that again - a man who had done such terrible things. Was she really that in love with him? Was it really that her heart had always belonged to him? It seemed the only explanation. Leo only hoped that no one would get hurt through this. He didn't know Tal well, but he'd been there before and knew it could really hurt. And Ryan was one of his closest friends, and he certainly didn't want to see her hurt by Alec again.

"Ack!" Leo cries out in pain as he scrapes his knuckles on part of the engine as he retrieved his hand. With his mind so far away, he'd been paying very little attention to what he was doing. Muttering under his breath, he grabs a relatively clean rag to press against his couple bleeding knuckles. 


Con recoils slightly, surprised by Katie's bluntness. He couldn't remember a time she'd talked to him like this and... it did sting. Looking down, he thinks for several moments before responding quietly. "Thanks for wanting me around, Kat. I appreciate that. But whether or not this is a first mess-up, it almost got Dalton killed. I can't live like that, never knowing if I'm gonna do that again. I can't go out on cases anymore - I can't trust myself. The only job left is here and... I thought I could do it. But I've gone stir crazy and Reese finally let me back out in the field, despite my hearing loss. And now look what happened." 

He shakes his head slowly, his eyes remaining dim. "I also shot a guy in the back and if I hadn't resigned, I might have lost my job anyway. That has yet to be decided by the board. But not only did I not hear what I was supposed to, I got angry and I acted on that anger. It's been a long time since that monster came out and I gotta stop it before I do something stupid."