TITLE: Angels Having Lost Their Wings
AUTHOR: Brittany "Thespis" Frederick
E-MAIL: baltimorelt@yahoo.com
RATING: PG for language
CATEGORY: Angst, Vignette
SPOILERS: 7:00-8:00 PM
SUMMARY: Even Mason can mourn. And he needs someone to see him through.
ORIGINAL CHARACTER BIO: Liz Rycoff is CTU's Chief of Technology. She is close friends with Jack and with George Mason, and has a political alliance with Mason, who wants her to go to work for him at District, but Liz's loyalty to Jack holds her back.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "Everytime You Go" by The Devlins
Liz had heard the news of the ordered assault not long ago, but she kept her feelings inside. She always had, as she was a professional who handled her trade like any reasonable justice administrator would. She simply kept busy, updating the latest information from wire reports coming off the phones. Tony was lending her a hand. Or he had been, until he'd stopped entirely.
"Tony…" Liz prompted, looking at him. But he wasn't looking at her. He was looking up, then quickly back at her. "Liz," he said quietly, gesturing with his chin in the direction he had glanced. Liz followed his gesture. Piles of wire copy dropped from her hands onto the table as her eyes widened and her heart stopped but for a moment. "I'll be right back," she said brusquely to Tony, silently thanking him for what she had not seen.
Mason was standing on the flight of stairs to Jack's office.
He had obviously turned around from the previous minutes, looking ruinous and beaten. Appearances-wise, he didn't look too well at all, rather worn down and weary, but that was to be expected from someone having been up since midnight. But his eyes were the key. They spoke of limitless pain, frosted over with mist he was trying to hide, and she didn't know where he was. He spoke to her in a soft whisper, a broken tone.
"Liz, can I see you for a minute?"
But Liz was already crossing over, and as the whole of CTU watched them and wondered about what was playing out in front of their eyes, she climbed the few steps to join him, looking him in the eyes. It was more painful up close. "George," she whispered his name softly. Mason looked back at her, almost gone. He took her hand between the two of them, held it with a shaky one of his own. "Can we go inside?" he pleaded with her, and she nodded. Then they were gone, leaving everyone else to be struck by the magnitude of such small moments.
Mason crossed to the couch in Jack's office and sat down hard, burying his head in his hands, forcing himself to take several deep breaths. Liz watched him as she entered, struck, saddened as she locked the office door behind her. She stood there undecided, then walked to his side, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder, listening to the disconsolate heartbeat.
"Talk to me, George," she asked him quietly. "Tell me what happened."
He looked at her with his intense, now turbulent eyes, seeming on the verge of tears. Still his voice was deathly quiet, with a quaver she could decipher. "You know what happened," he said as she reached to cover his hands with one of her own. "I've sent people to die today."
"The assault." Liz nodded, the wound still new in her own heart. "You feel responsible for what might – what will happen to the team, to Jack."
"I *am* responsible," he said, blinking away tears that threatened to leak out. She'd never seen him cry before, and she had thought he was past that, past his own emotions. But he was right here telling her she was wrong.
"It wasn't your decision. It was Chappelle's and he's the one responsible for this," she said quietly, fighting down a surge of personal hatred toward Mason's boss. "He made you give the order, George. What more can you do?"
"I could have stood up to the son of a bitch. I could have told him to shove his directives and I could have hung up the phone and maybe we would have half a chance of seeing Jack Bauer alive again." Mason breathed deeply. "I've done a lot of pathetic things as an administrator, Liz, a lot of things I regret. I used to be a better person once. What have I done now?"
"Damn it, George." She bit down hard on her lip. "You're a good person. You're not an angel but none of us are. We've all done things we regret. What makes you different is that you're trying to stop yourself, you're trying to turn around. You were like Jack once, George. I know it, and I know you've come far from that but you can't leave the good person you were that far behind. It shows through the wall, you know."
"And what good did that do Jack tonight?"
"It's going to keep someone who can help him in control. You want Chappelle to send Alberta back down here or someone else, someone who doesn't give a damn, doesn't know what the hell is going on here?" Liz paused. "It won't matter what I say, will it, George?"
"I wouldn't have asked if it didn't."
"I can't forgive you, George. You don't need to be forgiven. I think Nina, Tony, I think we can see that. What matters is that we seize on what we have left." She stared at him for a moment. "You told Teri to stay strong, didn't you?"
"Yeah. I suppose I lied."
"Now you just have to learn to do it yourself," she said quietly. "That's all that matters."
She embraced him then, the way she would always hug Jack when something went wrong with his missions, when he turned to her. She listened to the unsteadiness of his heart, his breath. Even this strongest of pillars was threatening to fall, she realized as they sat there. But she would not let it fall.
"You're not falling on me, George," she whispered into his shoulder. "Not today. Not any day."
-To Be Continued-
AUTHOR: Brittany "Thespis" Frederick
E-MAIL: baltimorelt@yahoo.com
RATING: PG for language
CATEGORY: Angst, Vignette
SPOILERS: 7:00-8:00 PM
SUMMARY: Even Mason can mourn. And he needs someone to see him through.
ORIGINAL CHARACTER BIO: Liz Rycoff is CTU's Chief of Technology. She is close friends with Jack and with George Mason, and has a political alliance with Mason, who wants her to go to work for him at District, but Liz's loyalty to Jack holds her back.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "Everytime You Go" by The Devlins
Liz had heard the news of the ordered assault not long ago, but she kept her feelings inside. She always had, as she was a professional who handled her trade like any reasonable justice administrator would. She simply kept busy, updating the latest information from wire reports coming off the phones. Tony was lending her a hand. Or he had been, until he'd stopped entirely.
"Tony…" Liz prompted, looking at him. But he wasn't looking at her. He was looking up, then quickly back at her. "Liz," he said quietly, gesturing with his chin in the direction he had glanced. Liz followed his gesture. Piles of wire copy dropped from her hands onto the table as her eyes widened and her heart stopped but for a moment. "I'll be right back," she said brusquely to Tony, silently thanking him for what she had not seen.
Mason was standing on the flight of stairs to Jack's office.
He had obviously turned around from the previous minutes, looking ruinous and beaten. Appearances-wise, he didn't look too well at all, rather worn down and weary, but that was to be expected from someone having been up since midnight. But his eyes were the key. They spoke of limitless pain, frosted over with mist he was trying to hide, and she didn't know where he was. He spoke to her in a soft whisper, a broken tone.
"Liz, can I see you for a minute?"
But Liz was already crossing over, and as the whole of CTU watched them and wondered about what was playing out in front of their eyes, she climbed the few steps to join him, looking him in the eyes. It was more painful up close. "George," she whispered his name softly. Mason looked back at her, almost gone. He took her hand between the two of them, held it with a shaky one of his own. "Can we go inside?" he pleaded with her, and she nodded. Then they were gone, leaving everyone else to be struck by the magnitude of such small moments.
Mason crossed to the couch in Jack's office and sat down hard, burying his head in his hands, forcing himself to take several deep breaths. Liz watched him as she entered, struck, saddened as she locked the office door behind her. She stood there undecided, then walked to his side, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder, listening to the disconsolate heartbeat.
"Talk to me, George," she asked him quietly. "Tell me what happened."
He looked at her with his intense, now turbulent eyes, seeming on the verge of tears. Still his voice was deathly quiet, with a quaver she could decipher. "You know what happened," he said as she reached to cover his hands with one of her own. "I've sent people to die today."
"The assault." Liz nodded, the wound still new in her own heart. "You feel responsible for what might – what will happen to the team, to Jack."
"I *am* responsible," he said, blinking away tears that threatened to leak out. She'd never seen him cry before, and she had thought he was past that, past his own emotions. But he was right here telling her she was wrong.
"It wasn't your decision. It was Chappelle's and he's the one responsible for this," she said quietly, fighting down a surge of personal hatred toward Mason's boss. "He made you give the order, George. What more can you do?"
"I could have stood up to the son of a bitch. I could have told him to shove his directives and I could have hung up the phone and maybe we would have half a chance of seeing Jack Bauer alive again." Mason breathed deeply. "I've done a lot of pathetic things as an administrator, Liz, a lot of things I regret. I used to be a better person once. What have I done now?"
"Damn it, George." She bit down hard on her lip. "You're a good person. You're not an angel but none of us are. We've all done things we regret. What makes you different is that you're trying to stop yourself, you're trying to turn around. You were like Jack once, George. I know it, and I know you've come far from that but you can't leave the good person you were that far behind. It shows through the wall, you know."
"And what good did that do Jack tonight?"
"It's going to keep someone who can help him in control. You want Chappelle to send Alberta back down here or someone else, someone who doesn't give a damn, doesn't know what the hell is going on here?" Liz paused. "It won't matter what I say, will it, George?"
"I wouldn't have asked if it didn't."
"I can't forgive you, George. You don't need to be forgiven. I think Nina, Tony, I think we can see that. What matters is that we seize on what we have left." She stared at him for a moment. "You told Teri to stay strong, didn't you?"
"Yeah. I suppose I lied."
"Now you just have to learn to do it yourself," she said quietly. "That's all that matters."
She embraced him then, the way she would always hug Jack when something went wrong with his missions, when he turned to her. She listened to the unsteadiness of his heart, his breath. Even this strongest of pillars was threatening to fall, she realized as they sat there. But she would not let it fall.
"You're not falling on me, George," she whispered into his shoulder. "Not today. Not any day."
-To Be Continued-
