Chris

Jack nods. "Okay. Just trying to see if there's something we can talk about that doesn't involve you and me, or an interest we might have in common. What were you just zoning out about?"

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"Uh, nothing," she says with an crooked grin and a slight shrug. "I was just remembering an argument my brother and I had about... my dad's favorite book. Weird as that is. He said it was Hobbes' Leviathan and went into this whole spiel about it."

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"And there was something in that spiel you disagreed with? Your family must have some pretty weird fights," Jack says with a teasing smile.

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"Ryan and I also once fought over whether Peru was in the same time zone as California or not." Long trip and they'd been both bored and tired. "But most fights are weird when you think of it. Or just dumb."

Pointing to a cabin ahead with large windows and a balcony to the side, Chris adds, "There it (http://users.livejournal.com/_chappy_/31879.html#cutid1) is."

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Jack turns his head to look out the windshield, easily spotting the cabin. A large, wood-panelled A-frame, it looked warm and cozy, tucked in amongst the trees. "Wow, nice place," he says, smiling though his stomach is starting to churn with nerves. God, it's been a long time since he had to do something like this.

He flashes her a wobbly smile. "Ready?"

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"Wait till you see the inside," she says, turning the car onto the driveway. "My dad bought it when we were kids."

Chris turns off the engine and looks at him with a wobbly smile of her own. Leaning in to kiss Jack, she murmurs, "As ready as you are."

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He kisses her back for a moment before pulling back to unlatch his seatbelt. "Well, let's go, then." Opening his door, he hits the trunk release button before climbing out and heading back to the trunk to grab the bags.

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Playing by the window, it was Tori who spotted Chris (and Jack) first. With a call to her mom, she went over to the door, waiting for it to open. "Who's that?"

Jeannie came from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a rag. "Who's who?"

Before she got an answer, there was a knock at the door. Moving to answer it, Tori trailed beside her, hiding behind her mom's legs when she opened the door.

"Hi!"

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Jack places the bags down on the deck as the door opens, taking a deep breath to steady himself. As Chris and Jeannie greet each other, Tori peeks out from behind her mother's legs at him and he waves. She giggles, ducking behind her mom again, just as Chris introduces him.

Stepping forward, he holds his hand out to Jeannie. "Nice to meet you," he says, hoping his smile doesn't look nervous.

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"I see you," Chris coos to her niece, tilting her head. Then snapping back to the adults, she gestures towards Jack, "Jeannie, this is Jack. Jack, my sister-in-law Jeannie and... I think my niece Tori was around here but I don't see her around."

Behind Jeannie, more giggles can be heard.

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Ryan hears his daughter's giggle and saves the document he's been working on. Earlier, he went swimming with Tori and wanted to see if he could get any further on the brief that his friend basically threw at him before Memorial Day Weekend. He'd have said no, but, part-time teaching didn't pay as much as working at the firm and Jeannie kept hinting that the cabin needed satellite Internet so that she could interface with the lab.

Voices are coming from the kitchen and even though their relationship isn't quite what it used to be, he still smiles when he walks toward the noise and spots Chrissy and her male companion (Jeannie told him about them, until he got the chance to ask some questions he wasn't ready to think of her dating someone he'd never met.)

"So you're finally here," he says.

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Jack looks over to see Ryan coming to the door, and damn can he ever see the family resemblance in person. It's kind of eerie, actually. Like meeting Ryan Sr. when he was younger and had more hair.

Time to try and make the best first impression possible; not easy when he'd never really been the best at meeting people. Then again, he's had a lot of practice in the bar. Holding out his hand for Ryan to shake, he says, "Hi, you must be Ryan. Jack Bauer. It's nice to meet you."

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Ryan's a little surprised and disappointed that Chris didn't greet him, but she's talking to Jeannie and Tori has latched onto her leg, trying to excitedly tell her about how she needs to see her new doll. Ryan turns his attention back to the man in front of him.

Up close, Jack looks older and Jeannie was sparse on details, saying vaguely that Chris had met him through work and that he had a military background. Ryan shakes his hand, noting that he's well groomed, and his dad used to say that you could tell a lot about a man by looking at the way he dresses and takes care of himself. It was probably one of the reasons why Ryan kept his hair short and Jeannie teased him about how they could get matching manicures. But it didn't change the fact that he knew almost nothing about the man and he seemed to be at least in his early 40s.

"Yeah, I am," he glances at Chris. "Nice to meet you too, Jack. Thanks for making the trip out here."

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Chris is trying to talk to Tori as well as watch the conversation between her brother and Jack. There's a some relief (and a little guilt) when Jeannie tells her daughter to be patient.

"Hey Ryan," she says finally, moving over to hug him hello. "It looks like you two have already done the introductions."

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"Hey big sis," Ryan hugs her back, realizing that he couldn't remember the last time he saw her in person and their conversations had been awkward and stilted for months, one calling the other more out of obligation than any need to talk. Jeannie pretends that she's not watching the interaction and Ryan keeps his arm around Chris for a few moments longer than mere politeness. "I was beginning to think that you'd taken a wrong turn and wound up in Canada."

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"It was close there," she says with a laugh. Still nervous and unsure of what to say but it's good to see her family again. "It's been a while since I've been here."

Two years but it felt like a lifetime and that last visit (http://geeky-agent.livejournal.com/16716.html) hadn't been so pleasant.

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"You guys must be starving after your drive," Jeannie says, holding Tori's hand. "C'mon inside, I'll show you where you can put your things and get you some food."

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"Thanks," Jack says, picking up the bags and following everyone inside, "Where should I put the bags?"

Or, in other words, will he and Chris be sleeping in the same room?

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With a brief glance to her husband, Jeannie says, "You two can take the first bedroom on the left. Just go up the stairs and it will be the first door you see."

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