Post by thelori24 on Nov 9, 2016 8:30:32 GMT
Jess had settled in comfortably by the first floor window of Mido's Chicago building, finishing up her latest article when she heard someone else letting themselves in. She leaned back and glanced around the doorway, expecting to see Mido had come back. Instead she found herself looking at his mother.
She knew that sooner or later they'd run into each other, and she had a lot of mixed feelings on the matter. The Captain was once someone she'd held a great deal of respect for, and felt like she'd gotten to know better from hearing all of his stories...but for her to just turn up again after all of these years of no contact? it didn't sit right with her, not after what she'd seen his mother's absence do to him. Even just a handful of months ago she'd have done just about anything for such an opportunity to meet and talk to someone like her...right now? It was just a lot of confused emotions.
"Are you one of Mido's friends? Is he here right now?" Ana asked.
Jess focused on her laptop for the moment. "I am. We're friends from New York...he's out but should be back in a bit." A pause. "He's told me a lot about you...he's really glad you're back." Another pause, shorter this time. "Can I just...can I ask what's going on here? I mean, he legit thought you were dead...and then you turn up like...a fucking decade later out of nowhere..."
Ana drew herself up a bit, her expression growing more serious as she looked back to Jess. "There were matters that needed my time and attention. It was complicated, I was not in a place where I could just easily return."
"Yeah, but so busy that for *ten years* you couldn't even send him a card or something? Let him know you were still alive?" Her words filled with hurt on his behalf as she shook her head. "You know...I used to really look up to you. To all of your team. You took care of people. No one left behind, no one forgotten. And he'd tell me all these stories...and I thought, wow...you all really were as cool as you'd been made to look...and I wished I'd gotten the chance to know you like he had. And then come to find out...you've been around all this time after all!"
Ana listened, not interrupting as she let the girl get out whatever she wanted to say.
"You know." Jess went on. "He won't ever say this, because he's too nice and he's already forgiven you for everything...but doing that to him? Unless you were fucking locked up somewhere out of the way...that was a real shit move to do to him...I always thought you sounded like this great woman and this great mother...but then you just abandoned him!"
Ana stood her full height by this point, arms over her chest, expression stern. This was already a sensitive topic for her, and she did not enjoy this bit of a girl who'd apparently decided to lecture her about something she understood nothing of. "I would choose your next words carefully." She said, dangerously quiet. "You cannot begin to understand the things that I have done for my team, my family, and my son."
Jess quieted a bit, sensing the warning in the other's tone. "Yeah. But I was the one who was there to pick up all the pieces."
She stood, starting to gather up her things, it was probably best she made herself scarse for a little bit, this conversation would only go downhill from here.
"Just...do him a favor, okay? If you don't really plan to stay around permanently...let him know that now. He's...building up all these ideas about how great everything is gonna be and how you're gonna be a family again and it's all gonna be great...and just..." She closed her laptop with a snap, and picked it up, shoving it into her messanger bag. "I can't watch him put himself through all that over you again....I never wanna have to talk him down off a roof over you again. I can't."
She held the other's gaze for a long moment before turning to go, the words stunning Ana into silence. Whether she was speaking literal truth or not...the implications still cut deeply and troubled her greatly. She knew she'd caused hurt by not being around...she was only now starting to see how deeply in some cases.
She knew that sooner or later they'd run into each other, and she had a lot of mixed feelings on the matter. The Captain was once someone she'd held a great deal of respect for, and felt like she'd gotten to know better from hearing all of his stories...but for her to just turn up again after all of these years of no contact? it didn't sit right with her, not after what she'd seen his mother's absence do to him. Even just a handful of months ago she'd have done just about anything for such an opportunity to meet and talk to someone like her...right now? It was just a lot of confused emotions.
"Are you one of Mido's friends? Is he here right now?" Ana asked.
Jess focused on her laptop for the moment. "I am. We're friends from New York...he's out but should be back in a bit." A pause. "He's told me a lot about you...he's really glad you're back." Another pause, shorter this time. "Can I just...can I ask what's going on here? I mean, he legit thought you were dead...and then you turn up like...a fucking decade later out of nowhere..."
Ana drew herself up a bit, her expression growing more serious as she looked back to Jess. "There were matters that needed my time and attention. It was complicated, I was not in a place where I could just easily return."
"Yeah, but so busy that for *ten years* you couldn't even send him a card or something? Let him know you were still alive?" Her words filled with hurt on his behalf as she shook her head. "You know...I used to really look up to you. To all of your team. You took care of people. No one left behind, no one forgotten. And he'd tell me all these stories...and I thought, wow...you all really were as cool as you'd been made to look...and I wished I'd gotten the chance to know you like he had. And then come to find out...you've been around all this time after all!"
Ana listened, not interrupting as she let the girl get out whatever she wanted to say.
"You know." Jess went on. "He won't ever say this, because he's too nice and he's already forgiven you for everything...but doing that to him? Unless you were fucking locked up somewhere out of the way...that was a real shit move to do to him...I always thought you sounded like this great woman and this great mother...but then you just abandoned him!"
Ana stood her full height by this point, arms over her chest, expression stern. This was already a sensitive topic for her, and she did not enjoy this bit of a girl who'd apparently decided to lecture her about something she understood nothing of. "I would choose your next words carefully." She said, dangerously quiet. "You cannot begin to understand the things that I have done for my team, my family, and my son."
Jess quieted a bit, sensing the warning in the other's tone. "Yeah. But I was the one who was there to pick up all the pieces."
She stood, starting to gather up her things, it was probably best she made herself scarse for a little bit, this conversation would only go downhill from here.
"Just...do him a favor, okay? If you don't really plan to stay around permanently...let him know that now. He's...building up all these ideas about how great everything is gonna be and how you're gonna be a family again and it's all gonna be great...and just..." She closed her laptop with a snap, and picked it up, shoving it into her messanger bag. "I can't watch him put himself through all that over you again....I never wanna have to talk him down off a roof over you again. I can't."
She held the other's gaze for a long moment before turning to go, the words stunning Ana into silence. Whether she was speaking literal truth or not...the implications still cut deeply and troubled her greatly. She knew she'd caused hurt by not being around...she was only now starting to see how deeply in some cases.
