A/N: I did mean to have this and the last chapter joined, but I messed up. :P Since I realized my mistake today, it shall be a seperate chapter. Yay, update on a Friday!
"Temp, what's wrong?" Face paused, halfway out the door. He'd forgotten about Jess being asleep in the bedroom; He'd gotten so caught up in the nurse's information that everything else had ceased to be important. Jess suddenly appeared in the bedroom doorway, a worried look on her face. "Why were you shouting on the phone? Did you and Murdock get in a fight?"
Face shook his head, glancing out the door. "No, I was talking to one of the nurses. There's something wrong with Murdock- me and the guys are going to go find out what happened."
Jess was suddenly next to him, worry in her eyes as she looked up at him. "What kind of something? I thought he was safe at the hospital."
Face would have laughed if it wasn't so serious. "No, not that kind of something- I think he might have just had one of his flashbacks. But it hasn't been this bad for a while, so we need to make sure he's really alright."
Jess frowned. "Bad? Is he violent?" Face didn't answer. "Temp, I don't think you should be going down there. You might get hurt." She gently put a hand on his arm, urging him to come back into the house with her.
Face pulled away. "I have to go Jess, he needs me. I'm not going to just abandon him to the nightmares." He turned back to her, a hard look in his eyes. How could she not want him to go? "You can't stop me."
Jess stepped back, looking hurt. "I'm just trying to help, Temp. I don't want you to get hurt. I love you too much to have you end up in the hospital because of your best friend."
Face shook his head. The words were right- they spoke of concern and love and showed him he was just overreacting- but the tone was wrong. She was angry at him, probably for being a complete jerk. She wasn't trying to keep him from Murdock, she was trying to keep him safe… right? "I know, Jess, but I need to go. He's my brother; we help each other just by being there for each other. Right now he needs me." He paused, seeing the worry still in her gaze. "Besides, he's at the VA. That means they'll have him in restraints, and he'll probably be sedated the whole time. He's harmless."
Jess sighed, admitting defeat. To push Face now was to push him away. She knew that. "Alright, but be careful. Don't get to close to him if he looks violent, alright?"
Face nodded, not wanting to waste the time it would take to explain that Murdock didn't always look violent when he was, or that the only thing that would keep him away from his friend would be if Murdock didn't want him near. "Alright, will do. Goodbye Jess." With that he was pulling the door closed, heading to his car before Jess decided to argue with him anymore.
Why was she so worried? He'd been around Murdock back when his friend was at his worse. Sure, he was hopeless when it came to figuring out what to actually do for the crazy man when he was in the dark grip of his memories, but he would still be there for him. He would always be there for Murdock; It was just a fact of life. So why would Jess be so against him going to help?
Then again, Jess still hadn't learned just how dark Murdock's mind could be. Face knew he'd dropped the ball there by refusing to talk about his friend's mental state. But it was better to tell too little than to tell too much, right? He was just trying to keep from worrying her; apparently he hadn't done too good of a job. Jess wasn't trying to keep him from Murdock, she was just worried about him. And here he'd been awful towards her because of it. Face felt guilt rise up, clawing at his heart. He'd have to make it up to her later.
The corvette's engine revved as he sped up, eager to get to the hospital. After he had seen Murdock things would be better. He was sure of it.