Soaked

Scott's heart gave a little lurch, and he swallowed hard, dropping his gaze. He knew that look in Hope's eye. And the words were on the tip of his tongue. But he just couldn't say them. "I'll...see you later," he ended lamely.

Wandering back to his own office, he rejoined Dalton, sitting in his chair and letting out a long sigh. "Anything exciting happen in the last fifteen minutes?" He'd almost zoned out completely, so his question was only half in jest. "I might need to call it a day."


Garret didn't even respond to Nate, and simply walked away without breaking stride until he was outside, free of the building's confines. Stopping in the parking lot, he took a deep breath of the outside air, trying to use it to clear his head, but it did little good. What was wrong with him? He usually had more control than this. Much more. He felt angry but there was nothing to be angry at, leaving him desperate for some kind of release. 

After slapping his cap on his head, he headed across the lot and to the street where he took a different route than he had before. His mind was clouded. Not good. He was distracted. And that was dangerous. 

His stride quickened, as did his pulse as he tried to suppress his emotions. A breeze hit his face colder than he'd expected, and he pulled the collar of his jacket up. Odd. It had been so warm earlier. He kept walking. Perhaps there was no release for his anger because it was really himself he was angry with. But for what? His subconscious sent a wall crashing down to keep him from even going there. He wouldn't visit that. He couldn't. The answer was unacceptable....

...Seven o'clock. It had been raining steadily for over an hour, and Garret was soaked to the bone and cold. The weather system had brought with it a chill in the air for which he hadn't been prepared. Staring through the pouring rain at the house, it felt like a repeat of the last time he'd been here. And just like last time, he couldn't decide whether to approach or not. Supper had been at six, Nate said. It would be well over by now, leaving him feeling even more like an intruder. 

His shivering intensified. Why was he this cold? He was used to the abuse of outside elements and could live in the wilderness for days without anything. Why did he feel so weak? He should just head back to the Elite. It would take him a while from here, but then he could dry off and warm himself up. He turned to leave, but stopped when he thought of the warm, peaceful atmosphere in this home. 

Stepping up on the porch, he rang the doorbell and tried to control his body's reaction to the cold, but it was difficult. He was calmer now. Much calmer. But his anger had turned into something else. Something darker and lonelier, and he wasn't sure which he preferred. 


Kirk sighed and nodded. "Thanks. I can't help but feel this one is a little out of my league, but I'm trying. If I can buy a few more days, maybe that'll give me enough time to come up with a recommendation I'm comfortable with." 

He glanced at the large clock on the wall and smirked before reaching in his pocket to pull out a nickel, which he tossed towards Adison on the table. "Payment for Doctor Adison listening to all my woes." He grinned and winked. "As crazy as I've felt lately, you may wind up being a rich woman." 

Downing the rest of his coffee, he stood and stretched. "Okay...I gotta swing by the office to grab some paperwork, then I'm going home to spread it out all over my living room floor and figure out an acceptable plan. With pizza. And loud music. Yes." 


"Mm...yeah, they're sleeping." Eric turned to kiss the top of Stacy's head, before moving to wrap her in a warm hug. He was tired, but the images of his nightmare were still so fresh in his mind that he was too on edge to try going to sleep for a while. "Melody got fussy but she settled back down." 

He sighed and nuzzled his head down to her shoulder where he could kiss her neck softly. "You're my world, you know that?" he mentioned quietly. "You and Ashlee, and the twins... I don't know what I'd do if anything bad happened to any of you."