Dark

Axel's eyes roamed Jess' face, and he gave her a faint smile. "Yeah... yeah, things went okay. Got a lot done. Well..." He smirked a little. "All I did was stand around and give my two or three cents worth." He flexed his hand where she could see it. "Couldn't even hold a wrench today." 

His attention drifted back to the movie, then returned to Jess. "Which... helped me make a decision." He swallowed hard, and let a finger on his good hand trail down the side of her face. "I... I've decided to give my notice to Darrel." His own emotions caught him off guard, as suddenly tears appeared in his eyes. He turned his face away, even though his focus wasn't on the television. It took him several long moments to regain control. He didn't like being emotional in front of Jess. Not like this. "So anyway... yeah. I'll be out of a job and... possibly this apartment." 

He was finally brave enough to look back at her again. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I wanted things to be more stable for you."


"Yeah..." Hal nodded. His mind had perhaps been changed about Aaron as he'd watched Sam work with him. He had little mercy - and he admitted it. But he'd witnessed Aaron slowly morph into a human being. The question was... would it last? And was it genuine? 

"He really does seem to think everything is a tactic. I guess... maybe that's what the Agency does. When you've been manipulated all your life... how can you trust anybody ever again?" He pursed his lips as he thought. "He's still depressed, isn't he? I see him seemingly having a good time but... I see him on camera and, I dunno..." He shrugged before throwing Sam a sheepish look. Maybe he was getting too soft. "His eyes look dark."


Ha! No kidding. The doctor has a heart. Fancy that.
Jason grinned and just shook his head. He knew Rick had a good heart - he'd always known that. But they did give him an awfully hard time, and he did a good job at covering up his feelings with a rough exterior. 

Kaylee shrieked and squirmed under Katie's tickling before she started giggling. "Ahhh! Stop t'kle!" She latched onto Rick's waist, using his arm as a shield.

Rick chuckled and gave her a squeeze. "Hey. Aren't you gonna make her sandwich?"

"Uh-uh." Kaylee shook her head. "Too h'ngry." She threw a grin at Katie before picking up the sandwich they'd just made and taking a bite. Another giggle surfaced and she held it out to Katie.

Rick smirked. "I think she wants her own, darlin'. Come on... sit at the table." He helped her down off the chair and coaxed her to the table with her own sandwich before he returned to the counter and started making another one, much more quickly this time. "Chips on top of the fridge," he mentioned to Katie. "Not the most nourishing meal, but I'm glad you're hungry." He eyed her and Jason for a moment. "You don't look as tired either."

"We're not." Jason poured some coffee into their mugs. "Things are... better. Much better."

Rick's eyebrows rose with hope. "Really?"

"Mmhmm. We're balanced again. At least for the moment." 

Rick breathed a sigh of relief and almost dropped the knife he was using. "Good... good. I'm glad." He finished up Katie's sandwich. "I'll want to take some blood samples from you guys later, but if you're feeling alright, I promise I won't follow you around the rest of the day."