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: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"Chris felt inspired," Ryan kisses Jeannie's cheek and the top of Tori's head. He walks around and stands next to Chris, looking toward her. "I need your opinion on something before breakfast." He can't think of a good excuse to talk to her alone again and he has the feeling that she'll refuse his request. Some of what Jack said was too close to the truth and losing her seems a very real possibility.

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

She was expecting this but thought they'd at least get through breakfast. Maybe it was better this way, since another tense meal wasn't something she really wanted to go through again.

Taking a drink of her orange juice, she nods. "All right."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[action-antihero.livejournal.com]

Jack briefly places his hand on her back reassuringly as he walks around the table to take the seaet next to her. "I'll keep some warm for you. So who wants pancakes?" he asks, addressing Jeannie and Tori.

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Thanks." With a small smile to Jack, she follows her brother out to the deck.

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"We'll be back soon," he promises his wife and slips on a pair of convienently placed flip flops. Ryan steps outside the house, leans against the railing, and looks out at the lake. "All these years and this place hasn't changed."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"No, it hasn't." She always expected it to look different, always imagined it would. Aside from a few new pieces of furniture, it still looks like the same cabin in those pictures.

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"We've had a lot of good days here," he says, not looking at her, but focusing his attention on the view. "You, Caiti, Jeannie and Tori mean the world to me, and even if you don't feel the same," he takes a breath. "If you ever need me, I won't hang up on you."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

At first she doesn't say anything, doesn't even look at him - eyes still fixed on the lake. She's still angry but also regretful and more than anything there's that feeling of guilt she can't ever seem to shake.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

He doesn't do well with showing his emotions and feels something loosen inside of him when she speaks.

"I'm sorry too," he admits. "I wouldn't care about the details of your life if the effects weren't so obvious."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Obvious how?" There's no defensiveness in her tone, more curiosity and worry.

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"We always used to fight, but never like that, and you used to be the only person in the family that wasn't obsessed with keeping everything a secret." He pauses and turns to look at her. "Chrissy, yesterday you talked about Dad as if he was still alive. And maybe we were all so concerned with Caiti that I missed seeing how much his death hurt you too."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

Chris folds her arms, whether it's out of defensiveness or to fight off the cold that came over her when he said that, she's not sure.

"I didn't realize... I had said that." It wasn't the whole truth. Her therapist had mentioned something similar in one of their first sessions.

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"And it's not the first time," he hesitates and folds his arms, noticing the chill coming off the lake. "You've changed and if you tell me that your job and Jack had nothing to do with it, I'll believe you."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"I can handle my job. And Jack isn't the reason I've been acting this way," she lies easily, her voice steady and expression neutral. "But you're right. I didn't deal with dad's death very well," with a shrug and a mutter she adds, "My therapist says it's a delayed reaction brought on by Tony's death."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

He's a little relieved to hear that she's talking to someone and he wants to believe that she's telling the truth about Jack. "I can understand how that could happen. Were you close to...Tony?"

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I was," she says quietly, wondering how to describe Tony so that her brother could understand. He suffered from depression, loved the Cubs (which probably had something to do with his problems) and jazz, was probably the reason I didn't lose my mind when Jack had been kidnapped and left behind a wife and a child he'll never meet.

Instead, all she says is, "He was Jack's best friend and married to a good friend of mine."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

When Jack mentioned the death he didn't talk about his own connection.

"Jesus," Ryan says in the same quiet tone. "I'm sorry, Chrissy." He touches her shoulder briefly. "None of us dealt with Dad's death too well, but you left everything to take care of Caiti," he looks away. "You can come here whenever you need to."

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

"I know," she says with a small smile. "Are we ok?"

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[theredshirts.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, we're okay." He smiles slightly, "Want to go for that run after breakfast?"

Re: Chris-Ryan Conversation

[geeky-agent.livejournal.com]

The guilt and regret she feels about not being able to tell him everything still linger and would probably always be there. But when Ryan says that, she feels a small weight lift from her shoulders. "Yeah, I would."