Title: At Arms Length |
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“Well Tippin’s surgery is finally over. Did Director Kendall leave any information about who we are supposed to contact or does he have somebody else handling it?” The nurse shook her head. “No, Director Kendall sent someone over. He’s been in the private waiting room for the last two hours.” Nicholas nodded and sighed as he started untying the mask which was knotted behind his head. “Can you show him into my office?” The nurse’s face paled a little and she stood up. “Well actually ICU just called for a patient’s chart and I…um was just on my way up to deliver it…they said they needed it right away.” She picked up a file from her desk and started fiddling with it. “Plus, I really don’t want to be the one to disturb him, if that’s ok. He was already in here chewing me out because I had asked him to turn off his wireless internet connection and his cell phone. I think he may have commandeered the emergency phone that was in the hallway… ” Nicholas raised an eyebrow at her. “Who did Kendall send over?” The nurse looked down nervously. “Jack Bristow.” … Awareness came to Will slowly as he tried to open his eyes. His mind was blissfully blank but he realized that it was taking some effort to open his lids. Finally they opened a crack and the world swam before his eyes. He didn’t recognize the strange shadows that were moving around him but he found that he suddenly didn’t care much and changed his mind about opening his eyes the rest of the way. He was suddenly very tired again. … Faint voices seemed to float around him, whirling themselves into people and half dreams but eventually bringing Will back to the surface of consciousness. He opened his eyes. The room was still dark, but he could see Vaughn, his posture looking haggard and exhausted, talking to Jack who was sitting down in the corner. “Weiss said they just transferred all the evidence to the lab, but Kendall said he would fire me if he even saw me enter the JTF building. I don’t know what else I can do.” “Go home and get some sleep Vaughn. You’re useless to me now the way you are.” “You can’t possibly expect me to fall sleep after everything that’s happened tonight!” Vaughn cried out in frustration. Jack answered with his usual stoicism. “Fine. Then I will have the doctor to give you something to help you sleep. Either way, you’re spending some time in your bed.” Will watched as Vaughn turned away angrily. Finally his shoulders slumped in defeat and he turned back towards Jack. “Fine, I’ll go home. But you will call me the instant you hear something.” Jack nodded. “Of course.” Vaughn turned and caught Will’s glance. “Sorry Will. I didn’t mean to wake you. Don’t worry though. We’ll find her.” Will watched him leave and then turned his gaze back to Jack, but Jack didn’t elaborate. Will closed his eyes and let the drowsiness claim him once again. Francie, wasn’t Francie, he thought to himself fleetingly. But Vaughn said they were going to find her. They were going to find the real Francie so it was ok for him to close his eyes and surrender to the dreams again. They were going to find her… … Will opened his eyes again. This time the world wasn’t hidden in shadows and there was some sunlight coming from the window on his left. He could see it splashed along the wall in front of him and then on a figure just to the right of his gaze. Will turned his head towards his visitor. “Jack?” he croaked out. Jack Bristow looked up from his laptop and met Will’s eyes. Carefully, he closed the laptop, unplugged the modem from the phone cord connected to the wall and swiveled the bed tray away that he had been using as a desk. “You’re awake.” Will nodded groggily. “What happened?” “What do you remember?” Jack asked, moving his chair closer to the bed. Silence settled as Will tried to focus his thoughts. “Francie…the double was France. She attacked me in the apartment.” Suddenly Will tried to sit up, “Did you catch her—agh!” and immediately hunched over in pain. Jack stood and put his hand of Will’s arm. When the pain finally subsided, Jack helped him lie back down. “Don’t try and move. Allison Doren stabbed you. You had severe internal bleeding and you just got out of surgery eight hours ago. Frankly, you’re lucky to be alive.” After Will was lying back down again, Jack sat down on the chair. “Apparently after she stabbed you, she dragged you to the bathtub and left you for dead. Do you remember any of this?” Will shook his head. “Did Sydney get my message? Is that how you guys found me?” Jack ignored his question and leaned over to pick up his briefcase. “What’s going on Jack?” Jack put his briefcase on his lap and opened it. From it, he extracted a manila file folder. “Jack?” Will repeated, but a little bit louder this time. He tried to sit back up again but Jack put a hand on his chest to prevent him. Will fell back against the bed in defeat, but kept his eyes on Jack’s hand, which was still lying on his chest. “Intel from the cellular phone network indicates that Sydney did receive your message, shortly after Vaughn dropped her off at home.” Jack followed Will’s gaze to his hand. Almost guiltily, he took his hand back from Will’s chest. But he didn’t move away. Will turned his face towards him. “She went home by herself? What happened? Was Francie there?” Jack just watched him for a moment until he stopped talking. “The truth is I don’t know entirely what happened yet. The CIA was informed of an emergency call placed by her neighbor because of a fire at her house; one hour after Sydney arrived home.” “Oh my god…” Will turned his face away, suddenly feeling the full extent of his exhaustion. Somehow, he forced himself to look back towards Jack. “Is she ok? Is Sydney ok?” “I don’t know.” Jack said quietly. Though his voice was flat, Jack’s eyes were very hard. “By the time the fire was out and we got in there, the apartment was destroyed. There was debris everywhere from the fire. The only person we recovered from the house was you. Sydney and Allison weren’t there.” Will lay there in silence for a few minutes, absorbing everything that Jack had told him. They were searching for Sydney, not Francie. “And Francie? The real Francie?” Jack shook his head. “I don’t know what happened to her. Get some more rest. We can talk later.” … A few hours later Will woke up to find Jack working on his lap top again and talking on his cell phone. “Call the contact that I gave you. Echelon just turned up a call that Doren made yesterday morning. They can help you decrypt the co-ordinates of the person she was talking to.” Will’s attention was distracted by a nurse who came in. She smiled at him and then scowled at Jack when she saw him talking on the cell phone. Jack glared back but ended his call. The nurse checked his vitals, recorded them on the chart and then informed him that the doctor would be around to see him in a few hours. She didn’t say anything to Jack about his phone call but she did ask him to plug the land line back in when he was done with his computer. Jack nodded and finally she left. Will looked at Jack. He was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing before but he was looking decidedly more tired. “So what are you doing here?” he asked Jack finally. He was surprised at how hollow his voice sounded. Jack picked up the file folder that he had retrieved from his briefcase earlier and opened it. “First, I came here to find out if there was any intel you could give us to aid in our search.” “You waited here for me, just to ask me if I could remember anything? That seems pretty unlike you Jack. Especially after I told you that I didn’t remember anything when I woke up a few hours ago.” Jack glared at him. “Kendall, in his infinite wisdom, has forbidden me and Agent Vaughn from having anything to do with the search for Sydney. In fact, he ordered us home until we were called in. Naturally we objected. After I discussed my concerns with him, he agreed to a compromise of sorts. He gave me the task of debriefing you. By accepting this task, I still maintained my codes for logging into the CIA network so I can follow their progress remotely.” Will closed his eyes for a moment and fought the urge to snort. He could just imagine the kind of discussion that Jack Bristow had with Kendall when the Director told him he wasn’t allowed to participate in the search for his own daughter. At least some things seemed to be constant in his life. “And I thought you came here because you cared.” He opened his eyes to find Jack looking at him strangely. Will gave him a half smile. “Never mind.” “So you said ‘first’ before,” Will continued, trying to forget the look on Jack’s face. “Why else are you here?” Jack held out the papers and took a pen out of his pocked. “You need to sign these papers so that you can go into the Witness Protection Program.” Will turned his head and looked at him. “What are you talking about?” The exhaustion on Jack’s face suddenly increased. “Look, whoever Doren was working for will target you. She used her relationship with you to steal information from the CIA. Now she’s missing. There’s a good possibility that her employer is going to come after you; either to find out what you know about her disappearance, if her employer’s not the one responsible, or to make sure that you can’t give us any intel on them. Either way, your life is in danger.” “Again,” Will added for him. Jack smiled wryly. “Again.” Silence settled between them for a moment until finally Will spoke. “No.” “Excuse me?” Jack replied in surprise. “I said no.” Will replied firmly. “I’m not going. I’m not going to run away from my life. I want to help.” “You’ll help by going away.” “Bullshit Jack. This is my fight too. Sydney’s my friend. Francie was my friend too. I want to do something. I want to help find them. I can help you.” “There’s nothing you can do. You’ll be safer if you’re away from here.” This time Will did snort. “Safer? Right. Like I was safe in the safe house when Sark kidnapped me? Like I was safe in CIA custody, on the way to Camp Harris when people tried to kill me?” Will shook his head. “I’m part of this life now, Jack.” Jack’s mouth twisted in determination. “Fine. Then what about your family. Are you prepared to risk them as well? Are you prepared to get a note in the mail containing one of their fingers saying that if you don’t comply with them, then the rest of your family will follow in pieces?” “You son of a bitch.” Will whispered, turning his face away from him, again. “I’m not running away and I’m not letting my family believe that I’m dead in the mistaken notion that I’m acting out of their best interest. I come from a normal family Jack and that’s not how we express love for one another.” Jack pursed his lips together, closed the file folder and walked out of the room. … Will was staring out of the window when he heard footsteps coming into his room. He turned and saw Jack and another man he didn’t know. The unfamiliar man spoke. “Mr. Tippin, we were just reviewing your file and we have a basic life set up for you already, I just need to interview you so that I can start setting up specifics that will compliment your preferences, experiences and knowledge.” Will’s eyebrows knotted in confusion. “Excuse me?” The man turned to Jack with an expression of knowing and understanding. Jack nodded, as if to say, ‘I told you’. Instead Jack said, “Let me talk to him. He knows me. There is still a fair bit of grogginess left over from the surgery.” The man nodded and left the room. Will looked at Jack angrily. “Grogginess? Jack, I was stabbed in the stomach not in the head. What’s going on?” Jack moved closer to the bed. “That was Agent Markson from the Office of Securities. He’s here to set up everything. You’re going into witness protection.” The lines of anger grew on Will’s face. “What part of no didn’t you understand before, Jack?” Jack just stared at him with a stone-chiseled expression on his face that allowed no room for argument. “I’ve already spoke to your family. Your parents and sister understand that they will have to tell everyone else that you’re dead and they understand that they will have no way to contact you once you go into the program. They support your decision to leave.” “My decision?!” Will sputtered. “Don’t you understand? I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving everyone I care about.” Jack shook his head sadly and then carried on speaking quietly. “If you care about them, then that’s exactly what you’ll do. We’ve already established that Sloane has no problem exploiting people that are dear to you. That’s his method of action. Look at his track record; he used Danny, Francie, and you, against Sydney. They used Dixon’s wife against him. If you value the lives of your family, then you’ll go.” Will looked away and sighed. A few minutes later, something finally clicked in his mind and his anger drained away. The hollowness that he had been feeling didn’t completely abate but it suddenly became more manageable. “Is that why you are the way you are?” “Pardon?” Jack asked confused. Will looked back at him. “Is that why you hold everyone at arm’s length, Jack?” Jack stepped back and walked towards the corner of the room, close to the window. Will followed him with his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” “I think that for the first time since last night, I know exactly what I’m talking about.” Jack turned back to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “I’m not going to pretend anymore Jack. You can if you want to, but I’m not. You feel responsible for me, and I understand that. Maybe you think you have to protect me and that the only way you can think of doing that is by sending me away, I don’t know. But that’s ok Jack. It’s ok to actually care about someone.” Jack almost laughed. “You have no idea about the people I care about.” Will smiled. “Oh, I know you love Sydney. She’s your daughter. But you have no choice but to love her. It’s like a biological necessity. But what about your friends? What about your social life? Do you have people you care about there? What about Sydney’s mom? Do you care about her, or was working with her these last few months when she was in custody, just a means to an end? When was the last time you admitted to yourself to have feeling for anyone that weren’t wrapped up in intrigue?” The smile disappeared completely from Jack’s face. “What are you trying to say Tippin?” “This isn’t about getting me to safety, this is about you. I was there, you know; in Taipei.” Will half expected Jack to adamantly deny everything or to storm out in anger but Jack only sighed and went back to his chair. “Look, I can’t deal with this now.” “You couldn’t deal with back then either, but then you used Irina Derevko as an excuse.” “I need to be able to focus everything that I have, into my job. That’s the way it is. If I don’t, then people die.” “And I distract you?” Will asked twisting his lips into a small, sad smile. Jack sighed. “Look, you’re grieving. And I have to do everything humanly in my power to find my daughter.” “You don’t have to push me away again. I’m not the same person I was a year ago. I know what’s going on this time. I can help.” Jack shook his head sadly. “You’re the same person you’ve always been Will, only now you have a security clearance. But you’re still very innocent and I’d like you to remain that way. I brought you into this life, and I will always regret the pain that it has caused you. This is the only thing I can do now. I can get you out of it. Go. I need you to go away and start a new life.” Will sighed and looked away. He would argue some more but he knew defeat was inevitable now. He was arguing against Jack Bristow. … Will stood on the tarmac in front of the stairs leading up to the Boeing 737. The wind tousled his hair and whipped the collar of his jacket up as he looked around. Jack followed him out of the car. Will grimaced. “So this is me, going with the flow again.” “Leaving is not a failure on your part, Tippin. You’re doing the right thing.” Jack replied, standing next to him with his hands in his jacket pockets. They stood there in silence for a few minutes. “You don’t believe she’s dead, do you?” Jack looked at him with a questioning look. Will had to lean in closer to be heard over the sounds of the engines around them. “I mean, if you did, if you really thought she was dead, then you wouldn’t still want me to leave, would you? If you didn’t think that you were going to need all of your focus to find out what really happened, then you would let me stay?” Will moved closer and stepped into Jack’s personal space. Jack flinched and put a hand on his chest again. “Will…” “I’m right aren’t I?” Will looked at him hopefully. Jack reached up to gently caress Will’s cheek with the back of his hand. Then Jack stepped back, extending his arm, until they were far enough away that his hand fell back to his side. Will shook his head sadly. “I know, I know. You can’t deal with this right now.” Jack gave him a small smile. “When there’s something worth coming home to, I’ll come and get you. I promise.” Will returned his half-smile. “Maybe one day you’ll learn that you don’t have to keep pushing people away to care about them.” Jack watched as Will turned from him and climbed up the steps of the airplane. When he reached the top, Will gave a quick glance back down at him, but Jack let him go without calling him back. It was only after the attendant came and locked the door that Jack allowed himself a small break in his composure. As he watched the airplane being towed out of the apron, Jack let some relief cross his face. Will had been right to a certain extent; nobody in his life was safe, if he dared to care about them. That was the nature of his world. But Will thought that he was only sending him away to protect him. That wasn’t entirely true. Jack understood his own motivations too well. He was quite adept at self-evaluation. Jack understood that there was another benefit to keeping something precious at arms length. Jack knew that when the time came that he could deal with him, he would know exactly where Will would be. Will would be safe in Wisconsin, and easily within arms reach.
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