Affection

Hal didn't move away as Sam kissed his cheek, although he did blink in surprise. "Yeah..." He grinned. "You're welcome." He felt like he should say more, but he didn't know what, so he just let it go. 

Watching her leave, he saw her disappear around the corner by the stairway before he closed his door. Leaning back against it, his hand rose to his cheek where she'd kissed him. What... exactly had happened tonight? Were they still just friends? Was it more? Did she really want more? His instincts said no doubt, judging by how she'd acted tonight. But... what did he want?

A ringing noise startled him from his thoughts, and he wandered to his bedroom where his laptop sat open on his desk. Sitting down, he accepted the Skype call and smiled. "Hey, Hon."

"Hey, Dad! I tried earlier. Did I get you at a bad time?"

"Oh, sorry, no. I had company."

Alison raised an eyebrow. "Ohhhh really?"

Hal smirked. "Someone from work."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. You know, you really ought to try having a woman over once in a while. You might surprise yourself and actually have fun."

Hal just smiled. "I'll take that into consideration."

"Good. So. Remember that science project I was supposed to do..."

Hal chatted with his daughter for the next half hour before calling it a night. As he lay in bed later though, his mind was going far too fast for sleep...

The next morning, Hal found himself at work earlier than normal. It wasn't​the security room he went to though, but the downstairs rec room. He was dressed in shorts and a hoodie today, with a change of clothes in his duffel bag. After cranking up the music, he took off his socks and shoes, donned some fingerless gloves and set to work on the punching bag. Though starting out slowly, he worked up to a stronger pace, taking out his frustrations as sweat poured down the sides of his face. 


Scott sighed deeply and nodded his agreement. "Just remind me how much I enjoy it, when I get stubborn and don't want to do anything."

He let his gaze roamed her face for several long moments before he sat up just enough so he could place his hand behind her head, gently pulling her into a kiss. Instead of ending it too quickly this time though, he let it linger, then slowly pushed Hope onto her back to lay beside her, continuing his affection and letting it deepen. They were alone in the beach, and he knew it had been far too long since he'd shown her how much he still cared for her. 


Cindy gained control of her emotions, and gave Katie a smile. "Well, you've come to the right place for a vacation." Her eyes moved back to Jason. "Your room is how you left it last time."

Jason bit his lip. "We um... I mean... I need to stick pretty close to Katie."

Cindy didn't even miss a beat. "Good. Then the guest room right across the hall should work just fine." 

Jason glanced at Katie with question. "You want to sleep here instead of the bunkhouses?" He really did want to stay here, but if she wanted to be closer to her dad, he'd forfeit this comfort for a bunk near hers.