A Talk With Ned

//Maybe a month and a half or so since Jack and Eli started seeing each other more regularly; that frustrating stage where there's no easily seen sabotage and yet there's still a vague kind of distance you feel shouldn't be there. Ned, for his part, has given up protesting, and is letting himself be driven at least the first five hours of nine or so back to his ranch in Nevada...mostly because the last four hours are quietest and best known to him with less traffic, and because he can sense that the boy seems a mite distracted and so tends to be more recalcitrant than ever. And Ned isn't cruel enough to worry people more anyway, even though his erratic heartbeat has actually improved this hospital visit-
((HHHHNNNGGGG FB MESSENGER FORMATTING BLLAAARR))


Ned: -mind, he could be wrong about said boy, but he reckons he ain't. Still, might as well ask, and he leans back in his seat in the car, regardig Jack mildly, and the drawl is unmistakable regardless of accent- You going t' tell me why yeh so eager to come home? Thought you had a good bit of work going for you.

Jack: *If there was anyone that could see through his usual stoic exterior, it was Ned. He had hoped that he might be calm enough to avoid any suspicion, to make the long drive in peace with just their usual conversation. But Ned had always had the uncanny ability to practically read his mind. Perhaps it was a parent's instinct...or maybe it was just sheer psychic ability. Then again, the topic of 'How have you bee? What have you been up to?' inevitably comes up, and Jack was sure he sounded like he was avoiding a topic.

Even though he knew full well Ned wasn't about to completely believe him, he still wasn't quite willing to reveal that particular truth, just yet.* "Just missing the horses and the ranch."

Ned: -eyebrow quirk, and hoo boy does it not help that it looks like someone else for a moment- Right-o...so what's her name, then? Tell me it's not a client. -except unlike a detective, he's pretty much a fuck you to elusive questioning and offending the suspect-

Jack: sighs. So much for that peaceful drive. "No, not a client." his tone isn't entirely irritable, though it does have hints of it, and carried more of something akin to exhaustion

Ned: And? -dryly- Don't tell me her name is something daft and...ghetto. Whatever that word is.

Jack: Well...he supposed he didn't *have to tell the man everything just yet. He'd just have to make sure not to let Ned's questioning draw him in.* "Her name's Elizabeth. You should know I don't go for the 'ghetto' ones."

Ned: ...what a wonderfully elegant, old school name. You don't see that often anymore. I hope she's not a bloody Pom, though.

Jack: amused snort at the thought No, she's not.

Ned: Huh. So she's not a Pom, it's someone you'd like...and the name is ringing a bell more than it should. Elizabeth...Elizabeth...wasn't that... -yep, delighted lightbulb moment- Well. No wonder you haven't said anything. I've never known cops to be your thing, boy. -oh no, you're not dodging around this-

Jack: focuses back out the window, half tuning Ned out as the man's mind mulled over the name. He had expected his foster father to be thinking of some other woman, someone that he was reminded of from his past or...whatever. He was jerked back to the conversation, however, when Ned hit the nail on the head, his nerves jumping in that way that kids often get when they've been unexpectedly caught red handed and his face heated up with guilt. Saying nothing, he glares at the road ahead of them. Of COURSE the bastard would happen to know of the detectives in L.A.

Ned: -his Irish rogue humour refuses to stop there- Oh, I'm right, aren't I. God, what was her last name? Something South American. Blonde hair, Hispanic lass though, wasn't she? Stunning, that. -he's starting to laugh- Good to know my word counted for something. She looked ready to arrest anybody who said the wrong thing.

Jack: well, there was no helping it, now. Damn parents and their uncanny knowledge. He was a full-grown man and he still didn't understand it She nearly did. Grates was the one that put me on the case with her, not that she liked it much.

Ned: Well, women in a position like that in the Forces is still a bit of a novelty even these days, though I'm not sure I need to tell you of all people that. Then again, she didn't seem the kind to feel threatened in power...but then, mayhap or clearly you weren't the kind of threat to her we're thinking of. -eyes twinkle- ...and yet saying that, here we are. With you being the one all troubled.

Jack: If I'm troubled it's because you're prodding it was a lie, of course, or at least mostly. But he just still wasn't quite willing to give up trying to avoid the inevitable

Ned: -without missing a beat- Yeh troubled by my prodding because you've got sore points I might jus' be hittin', boy. I've gotten through worse sore points with you, and this isn't even close to some of 'em. So if yeh want to be trying evasive tactics, practice it on the state border.

Jack: grunts irritably...but then sighs and relaxes a bit, finally giving in. "She's been...guarded recently. More than usual...different than before. Not like she can get with a case. Haven't been any big changes...I don't think." then again, he *was a guy and did tend to miss those little subtle thins women do or were affected by*

Ned: -slowly- Okay...has anything happened lately that isn't case related? Actually, you said 'more than usual'...tell me about that; it might help. I only know what I heard when I met her briefly during the case you were involved in.

Jack: thinks a moment she's always been a little guarded, more so in the beginning of everything after she found out I was a PI and especially after I was put on the case. But it's been more of a...I guess you could call it a 'cop's wary' guarded. This one's more...I don't know, distant?

Ned: -he doesn't say anything in response, because even for a perceptive shit like him, that's not enough to go on without real context. Which indicates as much in the tilt of his head-

Jack: frustrated sigh at the look he's being given "I'm not sure how else to explain it than that. We've been doing well for a little while, now; barriers beginning to come down little at a time...even met her brother" even though it was pretty much by accident, though he doesn't mention that bit "but now she seems a little more distant, but not in the determined way she gets when on a difficult case."

Ned: ...and what about you? What are you doing in all this? Apart from being frustrated.

Jack: another long pause in discomfort. Why was it that he could very easily talk to Ned about anything...except for relationships? "At first I thought it might have been a case, so I let it be. But the longer it went and the more I thought about it it didn't seem right. Neither of us are.....talkers, so I haven't asked and she hasn't told...so I've been observing for now.

Ned: -he could face palm but doesn't- And what have you deduced, Batman?

Jack: light glare "I said I was observing, not that I'd discovered anything yet."

Ned: Maybe that should be Catwoman, with that temper. -holds hands up-

Jack: huffsnort and eyeroll as he loos back to the road, left elbow resting on the car door and resting his temple against his fist while the other one was busy steering. "You were asking why I was troubled. Now I've told you."

Ned: And now you sound like Maurlin, when asked to not be bossy. -chuckles- I would suggest talking more to her. Which sounds useless. But you do have to ask yourself how well you actually know her, if you're this stumped.

Jack: stiff posture softens a little, and hard expression drops ever so slightly to something lightly reminiscent of sadness "I don't claim to know her that well. She's still silent on a lot of things...which I understand" considering he's been the same way. light sigh. "But yeah...I'll think about it."

Ned: -curious, long look- How much do you like her, lad?

Jack: thinks a good long moment, considering. He'd never actually thought about it, before. It had started as a simple interest, a game almost, but then things just sort of fell into place and began to feel natural. He'd never really been good with keeping long-term relationships, usually his lack of talking was what resulted in its end. Not that the breaks were much of a worry to him...but this time. This time the thought of losing it brought knots to his stomach. "Much more than any I have in a long time"

Ned: ...poor sod. -pets shoulder sympathetically- Make sure you turn right here. I want dinner.

Jack: Eyerolls and turns where instructed.

Ned: What? You want me to give you a pitiful, Disney-esque speech? Wrong foster parent, kiddo.

Jack: "y'know, that is one of the things I'm glad about with you: you never pulled any of that." finds a parking spot and gets out, stretching from the already long ride and glad for the break. However, he makes a face when he recognizes the place "Really? Here?"

Ned: snort What on earth is wrong with here? You've gotten picky, you bloody city slicker.