Lose My Head

Waking from a restless sleep, Clint blinked in the dim light. Rolling over, he realized Wendy wasn't with him... and it didn't look like she'd been here at all in the night. His stomach turned a little. That was the stunt he pulled when he was upset...not her. Was she that upset with him for yesterday? He sighed as his heart sank even more. He was making an even bigger mess. 

Forcing himself out of bed, he took a quick shower and got some clean clothes on before wandering out to the living room and finding Wendy asleep on the couch. His heart hurt, and he didn't know how to fix it. Hearing Chase start to stir down the hall, he turned to head that direction...

A while later, Chase was happy on the kitchen floor in his playpen, content with a clean diaper and a couple toys, and the prospect of breakfast for which he patiently waited. Clint stood at the stove, one arm full of Dara, also changed and dressed, fixing some scrambled eggs while the coffee was being made and the toast was in the toaster. His wrist was newly bandaged and it hurt this morning, but he made the best of it. He hadn't intentionally wakened Wendy, just letting her be until she wanted to get up. Usually by now he was already out in the garage but... since he wasn't going to step foot in there today, it was either this or disappearing again, and obviously Wendy hadn't appreciated the latter choice yesterday. 


"Oooh...." Hunter gave Ryan's ribs a quick tickle. "Keep talking like that and I'm liable to lose my head." Still grinning, he finally let her go and went to the phone to call for a pizza.

It wasn't long before it was delivered, and they were settled on his couch, eating and watching an old action flick. With shoes off and feet up on the coffee table, and tucked in close to each other, the atmosphere was casual and comfortable. Hunter took another bite of his pizza and sighed with content before nudging Ryan with his elbow. "Taste good?"


Rick gave Katie a small smile and a nod. He knew she wanted him here, and it did make him feel good. He just wasn't ready for the chaos to start all over again.

"Can I go home for the night?" Jason questioned. 

Rick thought for a minute before shrugging. "I suppose that would be fine as long as you're feeling alright. If anything happens, call me or come back in. We'll just have to play this thing by ear. But if you're gonna try to let this thing emerge again, there's really no point in keeping you here." 

Jason was grateful for Rick's support, even if the doctor didn't agree with their decision. He turned to Katie, offering a half smile. "I'm not really hungry, but I could go for a milkshake..." 

The rest of the evening was without incident, thankfully. Jason and Katie could communicate just a little, but not much else changed. By morning though, Jason was feeling more sick than he had the day before. The emotions had been building overnight, and it was getting worse. He came in to work anyway since Rick would be there, and after making sure Katie was at least able to do some of her normal work, he took himself to the infirmary. His low grade fever was back, along with a splitting headache. And as he let Rick check him over, a sudden surge sent his mind reeling...

"Take it easy... Breathe." Rick set a hand on Jason's shoulder. "You sure you don't want anything?"

Jason shook his head. "No... no, it's not worth it." Sweat trickled down the back of his neck and he shuddered as a wave of pain hit like an electrical shock. He cringed and withheld a cry. 

Rick grit his teeth, hating this. Hating not being able to help. "You've got to find a way to release your emotions," he warned. "What if Katie-"

"No," Jason interrupted stubbornly. "She's not strong enough to take it yet."

"So if you die while waiting, that's the answer?"

Jason cringed again as another wave hit. His hands held onto the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I'm not gonna die," he insisted, forcing a dry laugh. "I'm too hard headed."

Rick smirked. "Now that, I believe." 

As Jason's emotions boiled, be could feel them taking over, and there was little he could do to stop them at this point. A nearby lamp started to rattle. His pulse began to race and his muscles shook. The overhead lightbulb shattered, sending tiny bits of glass everywhere. 

Rick covered his head, his eyes going wide. 

Jason looked to him with warning. "Get back," he hissed. Crying out in pain as he could no longer hold it in, another lamp burst. The nearby telephone sparked and smoked. Several nearby vials shattered, spilling their contents all over the floor. A mirror above the table cracked then fell from its place, shattering into a thousand pieces.

Breathing heavily as the wave subsided to a manageable level, Jason looked to Rick. "I'm sorry," he managed hoarsely. "I-I couldn't hold it."

Rick looked at him with shock, daring to step closer as he stared at his eyes. "What the..."

Jason's blood ran cold. "What? What is it?"

"Your eyes... They..." 

Jason picked up a piece of broken mirror to look at himself. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "What?"

Rick shook his head. "It was just for a second. When everything was blowing up." He blinked. "There was a... a... well it..." He took Jason's hand and turned it over to see the spiral scar. "Just like this..." His gaze rose again. "A glowing spiral. It..." He gestured to Jason's eyes. "I saw it...there."

Jason smirked. "My eyes glowed? Seriously?"

"I'm not kidding!" Rick's own eyes went wide. Without warning, he left and went down to the security room. As he entered, he skidded to a halt.

Hal was already looking at the footage and had rewound it and zoomed in on Jason. He was staring at the paused video which showed clearly the glowing circular pattern in Jason's eyes. As he glanced up at Rick, they exchanged a silent conversation. Slowly, he turned back to the computer and typed in the command to erase the last ten minutes of footage. He pursed his lips and looked to Rick again. "We're lucky Sam wasn't here. One of these days, she's going to find out. She'll discover all the missing footage on Jason and Katie and she's going to ask me about it."

Rick swallowed hard. "I know. The question is... Can we trust her?"

"To not report back to the FBI? I... don't know." Hal's brow furrowed. "I know I can trust her as a friend... but she takes her job very seriously."

Hearing someone coming, Rick glanced out in the hall to see Sam coming. "Just... for now... keep quiet."

Hal sighed. "I always have. You know that."

Rick left, passing Sam in the hall and forcing a smile. 

Back in the infirmary, Jason tried to calm his racing heart. His emotions were still high, but the edge had been taken off. 

Hope that didn't hurt... too much. 
It was going to take some work to smooth out the communication again, but it was slowly returning.
Sorry...

Once Katie was strong enough, he'd rely on her more. He wouldn't keep things from her this time around. He just had to wait until the element had increased enough in her, too. He slid off the table and looked at the mess, sighing before glancing over at Misty. "Well that was new... Sorry... I'll help clean this mess up." He frowned. "Then go lock myself in a padded room somewhere."