One of God&#39;s children

At first, Kate thought she couldn't really form any questions from the mess inside her head, and she turned to give Jack a look to see what he thought.

But then the words were already falling out of her mouth.

"You seriously couldn't let us in on any of this a little sooner?"

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That was an excellent question; Jack was just surprised Kate was the one asking it first.

"That's all I want to know too," he said, glancing back at Kate. "And don't say you were protecting us."

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"The last few times I let you come 'round didn't exactly end so well," he said. "And I was busy for a long time, and everything at the end went... Fast."

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"We're not talking about 'letting us come 'round', though," Kate pointed out. "I think we're a little past just rushing blindly into things anymore."

Well, she would've liked to think they were. She may have been wrong.

"We're just --" She looked to Jack, in case he had a good way to say it.

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"If you had gotten killed," Jack said, slowly, hoping this was where Kate was going, "all we would have known is what George told us -- if he thought of it. If you and George had gone, we wouldn't have known anything at all."

He shrugged. "I might have wanted to do something. But knowing things were kept from me is harder than being told to stay back would have been."

Or so he thought. He wasn't exactly great at either.

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"Maybe," Mitchell said, eying the floor, "But you're both alive."

And that was that, as far as he was concerned. "It won't matter any longer anyway," he added, because he had nothing else to say to that. "We're selling the house. George and Nina are moving to Wales. I'm... staying here."

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"You're selling Annie's house?"

Kate didn't know why that didn't seem to sit well with her, so she didn't add anything to the question. Just fingered the new ring on her left middle finger, for something to do.

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Jack's question was almost right on top of Kate's. "You're staying here?"

He could almost understand selling Annie's house if she wouldn't be back to enjoy it -- but with the whole world to choose from, why Fandom? (Though he supposed it would be fair to ask him the same question, really.)

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"It's Annie's," Mitchell said. "It doesn't feel right living there without her. And Fandom..." He trailed off again, before picking up that train of thought. "I'll be back to see George often enough. I just... I need to be somewhere that isn't-- so jagged."

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Kate could understand that, she supposed. It was just that she felt like she was losing... something of a home, too. Not that Bristol had seemed like a safe place to run to for a while. Not that she didn't think it'd feel wrong to be there without Annie.

But still. No more pink corner house was like acknowledging there was to be no more Annie, either.

She shrugged and said nothing, looking down at her hands again.

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Jack bit his lip thoughtfully. He had other questions, curiosity about Lucy and whether anyone might track Mitchell down and what exactly had happened to Annie, but a glance at Mitchell told him it would be cruel to ask them.

He was tired and it seemed like none of it mattered much, anyhow.

"Fandom as the quiet shelter from the storm," he mused. "That's new."

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"Lots of shit happens here," Mitchell said, the corners of his mouth curving up for the tiniest of moments. "But people don't really die."

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"Yeah, they go elsewhere to do that," Kate muttered. "This is just where we hear about it."

She'd lost three people within the last year, and even if two had come back (one better than before, the other damaged in ways she could sadly understand better now) it was a lot for someone who'd never lost anyone before.

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"Wait until you move away," Jack said, mostly to Kate. "Then you get to hear everything secondhand."

But Mitchell was right. No one died on the island. It was a little eerie, if Jack overthought it, but he was hardly going to complain.

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Mitchell shrugged one shoulder. "I can use a bit of 'just hearing about it' for a while," he said.

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"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Kate muttered, clearly adamant to keep on being negative now. She sighed. "Are we done now?"

She supposed it was time to be all familial and in mourning together, but she just didn't seem to have it in her.

[Today's SP brought to you by me being in Helsinki in a script meeting, apologies!]

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The tone surprised Jack, and he kept silent while he shot a quick glance at Kate. He had nothing to add -- he didn't have anywhere particular to go, true, but he also didn't feel up to staying there and murmuring consoling things.

He shrugged in Mitchell's general direction, conveying he had no preference.

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Mitchell... felt guilty for no particular reason, and emotionally exhausted, and not really up for dealing with anyone murmuring consoling things at him. "Unless you have any other questions," he said, quietly, "Sure. Feel free to grab something from the fridge before you go."

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"I'm not hungry," Kate said, already moving to stand up. She wasn't really looking at either of them. She felt like crying, suddenly; that was never something she handled well. "I really don't think I can handle any more answers today."

Edited Date: 2011-07-03 07:15 pm (UTC)

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"For once, I'm feeling the same way," Jack said dryly, also rising to his feet. "There's nothing we can do either way, is there?"

He wasn't going to cry. He might go into the preserve and punch trees for lack of anything more rewarding to hit, but he wasn't going to cry.

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"I don't think there's anything left to do," Mitchell said, staring at his hands.

He might feel differently in a month or two. "I'll let you two out." He pushed up out of his seat.

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