Jack had to forcibly stop himself from staring during the ride to the Callahan's. She was just so damn... fucking beautiful. With the little almost ski jump nose and the freckles and the hair and the eyes and the lips and shit he was staring again.
As it was he spent most of the ride in silence fiddling with the sleeves of his uniform. In his haste and preoccupation with both Valkyrie herself and Billie's sudden predicament, he hadn't changed. And so he'd only noticed he was still in his dress blues when he shrugged his jacket on at the door. Oh well, he practically lived in his uniform most days, this was nothing different. There was no difference between Jack as a man and Jack as a Marine. Billie made fun of him because of it...
Billie.
He hated this. He really did -- and when he'd blamed Colby earlier, it hadn't been because he'd thought Colby influenced her, far from it. It was Colby's asshattery that had broken up the family in the first place, Ryan off the prison and Billie slipping and sliding down a path they didn't even know about. Fuck if he'd ever say that out loud though, Lord knew the kid blamed himself enough.
Seeing Billie's tiny little body under the blankets physically hurt, like the first time she'd gotten really sick after their dad died. She was nine and he sat up with her for three days while she cried in his lap because it hurt so badly. It scared the shit out of him then and it scared the shit out of him now, still knowing there was nothing he could do but wait it out.
At Valkyrie's words he blinked, tearing his eyes away from the closed door and fumbling in his pockets for a moment, pulling out a stick of Chapstick and a plastic teddy bear of honey. "She likes the honey when her throat hurts," he explained. His voice sounded odd to his own ears, choked and rough and for the umpteenth time in his life, he wished his parents were alive, if only to have someone to tell him that she was going to be okay.
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Date: 2008-09-07 03:24 am (UTC)As it was he spent most of the ride in silence fiddling with the sleeves of his uniform. In his haste and preoccupation with both Valkyrie herself and Billie's sudden predicament, he hadn't changed. And so he'd only noticed he was still in his dress blues when he shrugged his jacket on at the door. Oh well, he practically lived in his uniform most days, this was nothing different. There was no difference between Jack as a man and Jack as a Marine. Billie made fun of him because of it...
Billie.
He hated this. He really did -- and when he'd blamed Colby earlier, it hadn't been because he'd thought Colby influenced her, far from it. It was Colby's asshattery that had broken up the family in the first place, Ryan off the prison and Billie slipping and sliding down a path they didn't even know about. Fuck if he'd ever say that out loud though, Lord knew the kid blamed himself enough.
Seeing Billie's tiny little body under the blankets physically hurt, like the first time she'd gotten really sick after their dad died. She was nine and he sat up with her for three days while she cried in his lap because it hurt so badly. It scared the shit out of him then and it scared the shit out of him now, still knowing there was nothing he could do but wait it out.
At Valkyrie's words he blinked, tearing his eyes away from the closed door and fumbling in his pockets for a moment, pulling out a stick of Chapstick and a plastic teddy bear of honey. "She likes the honey when her throat hurts," he explained. His voice sounded odd to his own ears, choked and rough and for the umpteenth time in his life, he wished his parents were alive, if only to have someone to tell him that she was going to be okay.
And, selfishly, that he didn't do anything wrong.