~ X ~ Manhattan secured floor high security apartment building
John walked in at the tail end of a long, tiring day. His jacket had come off in the elevator and was slung over a shoulder; his tie loosened as he walked through the door. Spotting lights on in the family room, he headed there knowing that Jedikiah was once again waiting up for him.
Sure enough, he found him watching TV from his favorite recliner. Jed raised a welcoming hand as he quietly entered. John swore the man had eyes in the back of his head.
"C'mere. Look what's on."
John stood next to him, smiling when he saw it was his favorite vampire movie. It had come to TV when John was around eleven, and he had first watched it with his mentor and classmates.
John practically knew the story by heart and as he got sucked into it once more he moved around to a chair near Jedikiah. When a bowl of popcorn, a staple for movie night, was pushed his way, he grabbed a handful, cramming it in his mouth by feel.
Jedikiah pushed his recliner forward and got up. "I need a drink. Want something?"
John, intent on the movie and busy chewing, never even glanced Jedikiah's way. A quick shake of the head indicated no. He tensed as he always did at the scariest scene and then, he yelped.
Jedikiah had snuck back in and poked him.
John jumped up, a flailing arm bumping the popcorn bowl, spilling part of the contents. "Dammit! Why'd ya do that?"
Jedikiah, smirking, flopped back in his chair. "I can always get you!"
John, still on edge, complained, "How do you do that? I didn't sense you coming."
Jedikiah, oozing satisfaction, said, "I had to figure out how to live with Roger. It's just a matter of learning to control your thoughts." A shadow briefly crossed his face as it usually did when he mentioned his brother, but he quickly recovered.
"I hate it when you do that!" John was still semi-pissed.
"Why?" Jedikiah asked, as he jammed a handful of popcorn in his mouth.
"Do you know how much crap I got when you did that to me when I was a kid? I was the youngest and smallest and you made me a laughing stock. They used to try to catch me off guard and scare me. Killian would beat the crap out of me. Tell me he was only doing it for my own good so I wouldn't be a sissy." John shook his head at the memories.
"I knew."
"You knew?" John was stunned. "You knew and yet you let it happen?"
He grew serious. "I never coddled you, John."
"That's not what the other kids thought!" John interjected.
"I know. They thought I favored you. I wanted to make you strong. You had a tough life ahead of you. You were either gonna cave in under all that pressure or find it within yourself to overcome it. I know. I was bullied as a kid. I fought back. I wanted you to fight back. It was the only way for you to gain the respect of your peers. And you did, John. It may have been grudging, like Killian, but you did win it. On your own."
"You made my life miserable."
"Right, John. Every single moment of your life at Ultra was miserable." The irony in Jedikiah's voice made John relent.
"Nah, when we did things together, it was good."
Jedikiah nodded. "I tried to give you some balance. Make life worthwhile. Something to make up for all the bad things that were probably gonna happen to you. Hmmmp!" Jedikiah made a half snort sound, breathing out through his nose. "Who am I kidding? Roger and I knew really soon that you were the one, and we started laying plans early." Jedikiah pointed at a chair. "Sit, kid."
When John didn't sit right away, Jedikiah raised an eyebrow at him and John responded. Jed watched while John leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped, head looking down. "You remember I apologized for what I did to you."
He waited for John's nod of confirmation.
"We hated it. Roger every bit as much as me, but we had to do it. Knowing something might—" He gave a little chuff of laughter. "There I go again, knowing we would use you I tried to make you as strong as possible.
"Ever wonder how you can be in multiple places at the same time? Every meet anyone else who can do it?"
Jedikiah kept his gaze John, who didn't bother to look up. "You said I could do it. Pushed me to do it." He made a face. "I did it because I believed you when you told me I could do something." He shrugged. "I did it because you wanted me to, and I wanted to make you proud of me."
"I manipulated your DNA so you could do it. Same reason it took three shots to remove your powers. I made you as resistant as possible. I tried to protect you every way I could." Jedikiah was emphatic.
John accepted what he said without comment, instead focusing on a thought that just occurred to him. "Guess I lost all that now."
"I don't think so. Irene and I have been checking your DNA. It's why I send you to the lab so often. Your own is coming back. Coexisting with Roger's. I think you might be stronger than Stephen, maybe have different powers."
John shrugged, not particularly caring how he measured up against Jedikiah's nephew. "Whatever."
Jedikiah steepled his fingers and cleared his throat, deciding this was the time to broach a subject he had wanted to for a while. "I don't ever want to lose you again, kid. You're important to me." He stared over at the bowed blonde head.
John twisted his head sideways to look at his mentor. "You're showing emotion. Just what has gotten into you?"
Jedikiah pursed his lips. "I spent six long years without my brother and without you. Without family. It had to be done. I did it. But I don't ever want to go through it again." He sighed deeply. "Family is everything, John, and you're my family."
John's lips parted, but Jedikiah spoke first. "I raised you, boy, and don't you ever forget it. You're the son of my heart and my family's blood is in you."
"You going soft in the head on me?" John asked, but he was smiling.
Jed tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair. He steeled himself, before saying, "That woman I told you about. Morgan. She's pregnant. I'm the father."
John's eyes widened, but all he said was, "Wow!"
"I want to raise the kid. I want Morgan in my life as soon as its safe or as safe as it can ever be. But I need you to know that you're just as important to me, John, as this child. It doesn't replace you."
John looked back down, trying to grasp the implications. Somehow he knew this with that weird sense of déjà vu he had so often. It was both a revelation and at the same time not a surprise.
Jedikiah watched him closely, relieved when he lifted his head, a grin on his face, and said, "I don't do diapers."
"Me, either." Jedikiah laughed. He stood and gently punched John on the arm. "Get to bed."
As John stood, Jedikiah reminded him. "Gonna check on Charlotte? She's not sleeping so good."
John nodded and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair where he had flung it. "I know. She's got these weird nightmares."
The two men paused at the door to her bedroom. Jedikiah leaned on the frame while John walked in to sit on the edge of the bed, watching as the girl's head thrashed from side to side, and she moaned incoherently. He reached for her mentally, soothing her. It was always the same nightmare. She was in a cage, and there was gunfire, and she couldn't escape. There was a man there whose face she couldn't see, but he scared her. She pleaded with him, but he would not listen. The dream confused him. He felt like he might have had the same dream, been a part of it somehow. He shrugged it off, as he did so many other things lately.
He watched her for a few moments after she quieted down and then got up. As he walked by Jed, the man asked, "Same nightmare?"
"Yeah," John said.
"Coming here to you, to us. Finding you was her goal and she's done that. On the surface it's all good and she knows she got what she wants. But she's got some stuff in her past she has to come to terms with. Stuff that's eating at her," Jedikiah said. He turned and walked down the hall. "Sooner or later it will come to a head. It could change things, John."
John's face was troubled. He knew only too well from his days at Ultra what could happen to recruits that couldn't cope or were a danger.
Jed laid a hand across John's shoulder. "You're doing the best you can with her. You know, you'd make a great dad. We gotta find you a girlfriend."
That got a laugh out of John. "We?" I didn't think a girlfriend was a 'we' project."
"You've got really lousy taste in women m'boy. You need my help."
"Not everyone I was interested in was that bad." John protested.
"Yeah, what about Slyvie?" Jedikiah teased him.
"Okay, besides her." John suddenly stopped as a thought struck him. "Did I have a girlfriend, ya know, when I was gone?"
"Not really. You were banging some girl, but she was a two timer. One of these days, I'll fill you in on her. How she treated you. I'm telling you, ya got bad taste in women. "