Patient

Eric was cutting open some hay bales and trying to lift with on arm, busy enough that he didn't notice when Ashlee approached. Hearing her voice, he turned quickly, his eyebrows rising. He was taken just a little off guard - maybe he'd expected more excitement, and hadn't thought she'd take this angle. He couldn't blame her though. Not with her own past experience.

Stopping what he was doing, he put a foot up on one of the hay bales and bent to rest his arms on his leg to be eye-level with her. He'd much rather let his own excitement and happiness show, but he kept himself in check for the moment, remaining serious. "I'm gonna make mistakes," he warned. "No family is perfect, and there are gonna be days that are hard. So I can't promise I'm not gonna accidentally hurt your feelings at some point. But I promise to love your mom - and you - as long as I'm alive. I promise to be there for you both always... and I promise I will never abandon either of you no matter how hard the road is." He looked her square in the eye. "Are you willing to help me be a dad? 'Cause I don't have much practice and you might just have to be patient with me sometimes."


As Dalton joined him at the table, Jamison remained relatively quiet. Receiving the apology, he didn't say anything but just nodded a little, still listening. He wished whatever this was hadn't interfered with their friendship at all, but if the apology was sincere, he'd be able to get over it. 

Simply listening to the whole story, it was longer than Jamison expected, and quite different. He'd figured the Agency had something to do with all this, but never would have guessed the truth. A million and one questions raced through his mind, but he held back for now, trying to process the whole thing. It wasn't easy. It wasn't even easy to believe, let alone try to understand. A special connection between Jason and Katie? Special abilities? What was this, a super hero movie? 

Silence fell over the table and he looked down into his half-gone iced tea before taking his straw and swirling it around the almost-melted ice cubes. "So the way Kirk was asking about them today, I'm assuming the general thought is that Jason and Katie disappeared on purpose." He looked back up at Dalton, his mind still working overtime. "Now they're in danger from the Agency, and from Kirk telling the FBI." If Barnes ever got wind of this, Jason and Katie's lives would never be their own again. Even Jamison knew that. 

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Thank you for telling me. I understand now why it was such a big secret, but it's safe with me... really." There was no way he'd ever breathe one one of this outside the Elite circle. "I... think it's safe with Kirk too... he just takes longer to compare facts in light of protocol but he'd never purposely destroy someone's life. I really don't think he's going to tell the FBI." He knew it didn't seem like it at the moment. Kirk was pretty bold, stubborn, and he did things by the book. But he also had a good heart. "But I know Jason and Katie can't bet their lives on that either," he admitted. 

Leaning back in his seat, he shook his head. "Never would have guessed any of this in a million years. They really are the only two like this?"