geeky_agent | OOM: Visiting Family

Current Mood: worried

OOM: Visiting Family

She almost wishes Caiti would be there.

It would mean more questions and more problems, yes. They'd still have to explain Caiti having met Jack already in Morocco two years prior and she just knew that wouldn't go over well.

Still, she can't help but wonder if maybe it would be better to get everything out in the open now. (Not everything.) Caiti had always been good at dealing with problems between her sister and brother and it sounded like she and Jack had gotten along pretty well and she hadn't seen her in months...

This had probably been a bad idea but it was too late to back out now.

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Well she can't be that young if she's working at CTU.

"He was married before?" Jeannie asks, a little uneasily.

"Yeah. She died, several years ago. They married pretty young," Chris adds, as a way of explaining Kim's age.

This isn't entirely comforting--that's a lot of past baggage to bring to a relationship--but then if Chris seems to be all right with it, then there's not much she can say.

"So you, Jack, his daughter and his daughter's fiance all work at CTU? I didn't realize it was a family business," Jeannie says, her smile a little forced. She's had to hear Ryan's thoughts on Chris working at CTU again, and while she doesn't quite feel as strongly as him about it, it does worry her. Hearing that the man Chris...cared about also worked there as well as his family doesn't really help, either; she doesn't want to see Chris get hurt.

"Jack doesn't work at CTU anymore. He left a few months ago." For a second, Chris almost says that he left after his assignment was over but decides not to add any more details unless necessary. "He's working for a private security firm with a friend of ours."

"Why isn't he working at CTU?" she asks, curiously. It seems odd for him to leave when a number of people he knows work there.

They didn't go over this.

"He has a, uh, medical condition. Heart problem." It's the truth, which helps, but Chris wonders what if anything Jack told Ryan.

"Jack used to do field work. But after his last assignment, his doctor said he should find a less stressful line of work."

Jeannie looks up at her, concerned. "A heart condition? Is he all right? Is it serious?" she asks.

"Yeah," she says somewhat lamely, wondering if she should have been more vague. "He's fine but it's just required some lifestyle changes. Like his diet. And his job."

"Do you have the same kind of stress in your work at CTU?" Jeannie asks, wondering if maybe it was the pressure getting to her that had made Chris so withdrawn. Then again maybe it was the secret boyfriend as well; wihtout Chris saying anything, it was hard to tell.

"Not exactly." Even though saying yes would help explain a lot of her past behavior, Chris didn't want them to worry about her anymore than they already did. "He was in field work. That's more demanding. Especially the last assignment."

"What was he doing?" Jeannie asks, not paying full attention to what she's saying, not realizing that Chris might not be able to answer that, as she's listening for Tori. She's been in the bathroom for a while, and she can hear the sound of water splashing.

"Tori, come on out, and there better not be a mess in there," Jeannie calls, and a moment later she hears the tap turn off.

"I'm not, Momma!" Comes a voice from the bathroom. A few minutes later, Tori wanders out, damps spots on the front of her shirt and the cuffs of her sleeves were wet as well. "I'm done."

Chris looks over at Jeannie with a small smile.

Jeannie gives Chris a long-suffering but amused look and sighs as she pulls out a pair of light pyjamas. "Come on, my little mermaid, let's get you into your jammies."

Tori pouts, but obediently pulls off her t-shirt and jeans, and then dons the pyjamas as her mother folds the wet clothes over the back of a chair. Tori jumps into bed, bouncing on the mattress once before Jeannie's stern expression puts a stop to it. Jeannie wraps her daughter in a hug, kissing Tori's cheek. For all her preschooler rambunctiousness, Jeannie wouldn't trade Tori for the world.

"Night-night, sweetheart, I love you. Do you want me or your Auntie Chris to tuck you in?"

"Auntie Chris!" Tori squeals.

Jeannie looks over at Chris with a wry smile. "I guess I didn't even need to ask."

Chris looks down with a grin, ignoring the twinge of sadness and guilt that comes when she realizes how long it will be till she sees Tori after this trip.

"All right, Tori, c'mon," she says, pulling back the covers for her to lay down.

Tori obediently curls up, resting her head on the pillow and grinning sleepily up at her aunt. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, and we can play more?" she asks eagerly.

Jeannie tries to hide a grin. Looks like someone's going to be trying to hog Chris all weekend.

"Yes, I promise.," she says, pulling the covers up around Tori and tucking her in. "And in the morning we can go swimming just like I said we would."

Tori smiles at that, too tired to come up with more than, "Ok."

"Ok," Chris echoes, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you. Good night, Tori."

"Good night."

Jeannie turns out the light as they leave, closing the door behind her. Out in the hallway she can hear the murmur of voices from the living room, even if she can't make out what they're saying.

"I'm glad you and Jack came out to see us; Tori's missed you. We've all missed you," she says, softly. Then after a moment, she adds, "Why didn't you tell us about him before this?"

The question catches her off-guard and not wanting to look like she was thinking of a lie, Chris goes with the first thing that comes to mind. "It just ... didn't seem like the time."

She reminds herself that the hardest part of this weekend was almost over and hopes that Jack did better in his chat with Ryan.

And that they didn't contradict each other.

"I mean, work has been keeping me really busy and there's been a lot going on for both of us. I wasn't sure when he'd be able to come up here and I knew after I'd mentioned him that you guys would want to meet him. It just seemed easier."

Somehow, Jeannie doesn't quite buy it, but she's not sure how to ask without sounding accusing, and she doesn't want to argue with Chris this weekend. "Have you mentioned him to Caiti?"

"Not really. I mentioned there was someone I was dating but I didn't go into much detail." She wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to explain to Caiti that the guy she met in Morocco, calling himself Frank, was actually her new boyfriend Jack who had already known about Caiti before they even met.

Jeannie nods. "So... things are working out all right between you and Jack? You're happy?" she asks, hoping that Chris is, despite the concerns she and Ryan might have. Chris deserves someone who makes her happy and if Jack is that person...

And her smile now might be tone of the few genuine ones she's had all evening. "Yeah, I am."

There's a pause and then she continues on, realizing there's more she needs to say. "I know you've both been worried about me and I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry for springing this on you last minute. I know this is a lot to deal with but once things settled down back at home, I wanted you guys to meet him."

"It's okay," Jeannie says, smiling back. "And I'm glad you've found someone that makes you happy."

"So am I." Chris was about to say more when she notices something else that's impossible to ignore.

"Did it just get really quiet all of a sudden?" Which was fine when it came to Tori but a little more worrying when it came to the conversation downstairs.

"Yeah, it did," Jeannie agrees with a bemused look. "I think that's our cue to head downstairs."

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OOM: Visiting Family

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