Emotional Mess

As Hope took Scott's hand, it felt like a little electrical shock went all the way up his arm then down his spine. Her words should have made him feel good, but instead, they broke his heart. Lifting her hand to his lips, he kissed it gently before just holding it to the side of his face as his eyes closed. "I'm so sorry I'm not who you need me to be," he whispered. He still loved her so much, but everything else just made it all so cloudy and complicated. Nothing was simple anymore, let alone his feelings. 

Letting her go, he stood up and turned to leave the office without another word. Going back to his own office, he stopped short inside the doorway, seeing Adison and...someone he didn't recognize. He recoiled just a little, trying to recover from the brief emotional mess he'd just experienced.


Jamison's eyes followed Dalton up...and up as the tall man got up from his chair. Somehow he looked even bigger today than when he'd seen him before. Accepting the handshake, he nodded. "Glad to be here. I, um.... I'm not real sure what I'll be doing but hopefully I won't get in your way too badly til things settle down around here." He looked to the side as Scott entered, and nodded his hello also. "Hi, Scott." He offered him a handshake. "I'm Jamison." 

Scott shook his hand cautiously and forced a partial smile. "Hi. What..." He looked at Adison, then Dalton, unsure what was going on. After a brief explanation, he just nodded slowly. He understood. Jamison was new. Another outsider coming in. Any other day, he might have felt more threatened. But today...maybe it was a good thing that someone else would be on their team. In case...anything happened. "I, um... I have some other work to do, if you'll excuse me." He glanced up at Dalton again, his gaze filled with a whole mix of strange emotions. Then it was gone. He left the office and headed to the main floor where he found Garret. 

Back in the office, Jamison chewed on the inside of his lip. This was...awkward. Did Kirk and Adison really think he belonged here? But what would he really be doing with two tech guys? That wasn't his area of expertise at all. Feeling more and more intimidated, he shrank down just a little as his eyes continued to take in all the equipment in this office. 

He finally looked back up at Dalton. "I...guess I start tomorrow but... if there's anything you think I should brush up on today, just point me in the right direction." 


Aaron rolled his eyes and let his magazine flop down over his chest to give him clear sight of Sam. "I'm just trying to figure out what you want, that's all. Talk, or no talk. Personally, I've always been better at action, but...." He glanced down to his bandaged knee. "That is apparently no longer an option for me." 

He cocked his head and continued to study her as he had been. She was...different. Very different. But he wasn't sure he could even pinpoint why. "You said you've got brothers. All of them in law enforcement like you?"