OOM: Visiting Family

[geeky_agent]

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.

Comments

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

Ryan nods in return, but the mention of the DoD sets off warning bells. He wants to like Jack, for Chrissy's sake, but there's something about him that doesn't feel right, and he decides that when he gets back to a net connection he'll have to do a little Lexis Nexis research.

"So you're back at CTU:LA now," he lets a few moments of silence pass. "Were you there when she went AWOL a few months ago?"

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack manages to not shift his feet uncomfortably, though there's a moment where he can't help but glance away. "I wasn't in L.A. at the time. I was on a... kind of sabbatical. And I don't work at CTU anymore."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

Ryan might not be a trained interrogator, but he is a lawyer. "Good, Chris needs influences outside of that place," he relaxes a little. "She still won't tell us anything about where she went or what happened." He pauses. "Have you noticed anything different about her?"

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack's quiet for a moment, trying to decide what to say. "I have, yeah. She's been doing a lot better, recently, though. And I don't think it's that she won't tell you, it's that she can't," he says, softly.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"That's the government's favorite line," Ryan says after a moment. "The justice department tried to recruit me after seeing my Bar scores and I told them to go to hell. If you cared about her, you'd get her to leave."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack takes a deep breath, trying to think of how he can reply diplomatically. "I do care about her, and I do worry about her working at CTU. But I know she wasn't happy working in the private sector, and I know this is what she wants to do; that she knows the risks and wants to do something to try and make a difference."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"There are many ways to make a difference." Ryan wishes he was holding something in his hand, like a pen, so this would feel less awkward. "You have to understand, Jack, it just about killed my baby sister when our dad died, and Chris keeps putting her life in danger. If you knew her years ago, you wouldn't say that she was happy now. She's changed. If you could leave, why can't she?"

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack feels a twinge of guilt at the mention of Caiti, but pushes it aside, trying to focus on the issue at hand. "Because it's not what she wants to do. Because she feels that she needs to be there, and I respect that. I know what it's like," he says, purposely trying to keep his voice calm and even, not argumentative.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

Ryan doesn't raise his voice. "There's a difference between respecting someone and letting them self-destruct. What made you leave, if you feel you need to be there?"

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"I didn't have much of a choice. I was in field work, and I was looking at future medical problems if I kept doing it. Besides, my priorities had shifted," Jack says with a shrug, trying to make it sound simple, like it was no big deal.

"Doing field work didn't leave a lot of time for much else, and around the same time, a good friend of ours needed help running her security business."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

It's a good answer and Ryan gets a new understanding of him. "That's one of the reasons why I'm trying to leave law. Tori was sick one night and I was stuck in the office reading hundreds of pages of transcripts on a case that in the end meant nothing. Jeannie had to deal with it alone and she wound up taking Tori to the ER. I couldn't be there for either of them, and Jeannie understood but I wanted to be with them more than I wanted to win any case. Priorities do change." Ryan realizes he revealed something of himself instead of continuing to cross-examine.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack nods, glad that Ryan had gone with the 'changing priorities' explanation, and not asked about the medical reasons in more detail. He's not sure Ryan would really appreciate hearing that Chris' new, older boyfriend also had a heart condition.

"Chris said you're teaching now?" he says, posing it as a question as if looking for confirmation that he remembered correctly.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

Ryan notices the subject change but he goes along with it. "Yeah, business law, which I'm only doing because they needed someone and fundamental legal concepts, which I find a lot more interesting. Eventually I hope to get into teaching constitutional law. I know that certain people in government want to amend the constitution, but I'm not sure they understand it in the first place."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack nods, not sure he should really be the one to talk about following the constitution to the letter. Not that he didn't believe in it or that he wanted to see it changed, but there had been times where he'd even had to break some of those rules if it meant avoiding disaster. God knew even then, it hadn't been without misgivings and some discomfort. Then again, over the last few years there had been some rumblings during crises that scared even him.

"That would seem to help. Do you miss working at a law firm?" he asks.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"I'd have to leave to miss it," he smiles slightly. "At least I can work from home on a case or two, and eventually never have to deal with the partners ever again, but that probably won't be until I finish the teaching degree. I'm guessing field work isn't something you can do part-time."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"Not really," Jack says with a somewhat grim smile. "The department physical is one thing, and then once you're part of an investigation you can't really just work on it three days out of a week, or for five hours out of a day. Particularly not the priority cases."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"That makes sense. So your new job lets you see my sister a few times a week?" Ryan doesn't know how serious they really are.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"A bit more often than that, yeah," Jack says, trying to decide how much he should say. If Chris hadn't told Jeannie that they were living together there was probably a reason, but then she hadn't told Jeannie much at all by the sound of it

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"How much more often?"

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack's quiet for a moment before he turns his head to look at Ryan. "We moved in together not long ago."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

Ryan looks back at him, half of him laughing at his earlier worry about putting them in the same room and the other half wanting to question Jack until he told him everything. "Chris didn't let us know that," and then making a huge assumption, "Living with a woman takes some getting used to."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

"Living with anyone takes some getting used to. It's not... something I haven't experienced before." There's a long pause before Jack adds, "I was married once before."

This is going to be fun, in that incredibly, unbelievably not fun kind of way.

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

At least he knows that his sister didn't decide to try to reform a confirmed bachelor. "Just once?"

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack nods. "Yes, just once. She died eight years ago."

Re: Jack-Ryan Jr. Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"That's a long time to be alone," he considers Jack for a moment. "Did you work with her?"