I just want...

Carson bit his lip to keep from wincing as Misty started working on his hand. Even so, it had been so long since she'd touched him at all, that he almost didn't mind the pain. 

He sighed at her comment about taking care of himself. "I know..." He removed his eyes from his hand. "I tried to make myself a grilled cheese sandwich the other night," he explained softly. "But it just didn't taste as good as yours." He paused to swallow hard. "And when I close my eyes at night, all I see is your face. So I don't want to go to sleep, for fear I'll miss out on seeing you more." 

Oh, how he missed her. He wished Rick would have been here today. He wished he could have just come, let Rick fix him up, then leave. But instead, he was caught in a sudden tidal wave of emotions. "I just want to come home," he almost whispered.

His eyes began to glisten and he quickly rubbed out any tears with his free hand. "Man, that hurts." It was foolish of him to believe Misty would think he was crying because of his hand - physical pain had always meant little to him. But he felt even more foolish for letting his emotions get the best of him while being with her. She didn't need to see a crying idiot. She hated his guts and would just think him all the more a fool. Even so...he had to work hard at keeping any more tears from surfacing.

Jared was so glad that Grace had been enjoying the evening. He'd really been afraid that his efforts were rather corny, but it all seemed to have come off well. It was worth his exhaustion and physical pain. 

"Good...I'm glad." He reached over to set a light finger under her chin and tilt her face up at his. "Is it worth a kiss to you?" he asked softly.

Gunner chuckles at Bree, thankful for her sense of humor. "Yeah - no root, root beer sounds good. I'll see you later then." 

It wasn't until later when Bree was at his apartment and they were eating pizza in the living room that Gunner finally told her what was going on. He knew she'd just question even more, as he had been picking at the same piece of pizza for a while now, when usually he devoured a whole lot more than that. 

"Reese put me on an indefinite leave of absence today..." He rested his elbows on his knees with his plate on the coffee table, and kept his eyes busy on his food as he managed another small bite.

"Seems he didn't like it that I started digging up the past again about the accident." Had Bree already figured it out? He wondered. "Guess he thinks I'm going all obsessive or something again - although I haven't held a knife to anybody's throat since your uncle." That much was true. He hadn't resorted to violence this time around. 

He shrugged lamely. "He wants me to start seeing Hope so she can try to fix me. Until he's satisfied though...I'm not supposed to work." He picked up his pizza to take another bite, but changed his mind and set it back down again. "Even took my badge and gun," he concluded lamely.