(A/N: Just to clear up a quick point about the distilled water comment last chapter- I wasn't saying distilled water is rare in real life [though who's to say this world is anything like our world ;) ], I was just making a reference to how hard it is to find distilled water in Bioshock 1: the key ingredient for the best offensive weapon (Electric Gell) and the best defensive weapon (Electric Trap)

On with the story!)

Ignorant to Eleanor's dilemma, Jack stomped away from the garage, fuming. Jack didn't know why he even bothered trying to change the Eleanor. It was absolutely hopeless- power was all that girl knew. After all, she had been raised in Rapture her whole life. As a former Little Sister, the poor girl had experienced first-hand the horrors of Rapture, the abuse of power fostered by greed and insanity. And unlike his own daughters, young Eleanor never had a Tenebaum or Jack to rescue her.

Perhaps that was why he was so willing to help her, mused Jack. He was well aware he had something of a hero complex, always trying to help others. Listening to Eleanor tell her story, Jack couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to his own daughters if they had been left at the mercy of the next dictator of Rapture, this Sophia Lamb. Marie and Eleanor were almost the same age, after all, 16 and 17 respectively. Could his youngest daughter been chosen by this Lamb to become the "first utopian"?

Probably not. Although Eleanor hadn't said anything to the contrary, Jack was sure that she hadn't been chosen by chance. There must have been some kind of relationship between Eleanor and this Doctor Lamb...but then again it hardly mattered to Jack. The girl was a mess and Jack couldn't help but want to give her a hand, just as he helped Jocelyn and Marie and all of his other daughters.

"Dad...can I talk to you for a second?"

Jack looked up at the voice- leaning against the wall with a crossed look on her face, stood the very girl he was thinking about- his daughter Marie. Jack mentally sighed- he had a feeling he knew what this was about.

"Yes Marie?"

She flicked her hair in an angry manner. Without preamble she asked, "Why are we helping that monster Dad?"

Jack frowned. "Watch your mouth Marie," Jack scolded. "If circumstances had been different you could have been in that girl's shoes."

"I doubt that. I wouldn't have been heartless enough to harvest Little Sisters, no matter what the situation was."

"Curb your tongue girl! You have no idea what you're talking about. While Eleanor's actions are regrettable, you will not judge her while I am in earshot. You will call her by her name or I will be forced to discipline you." Jack's voice was dripping with barely constrained anger. He was already frustrated with one obstinate child, he did NOT want to deal with another. "Now, if that is all you wanted to say..."

Marie kept her expression neutral but her eyes flickered with worry- Jack seemed angrier than normal. She hurried on before Jack's patience could run out. "No, that's not what I wanted to talk about. I understand trying to get her-" (Marie spat the word out like it was something foul) "-to help in rescuing Tenebaum. It's been almost a decade since any of us have been to Rapture- our information is mostly like terribly outdated.

"What I don't understand is why we don't go to Rapture now, and help her after. If we need information, we should have just strapped that monster up and shocked it out of her. The longer we wait, the worst off Tenebaum will be!"

Jack shook his head, deciding to ignore Marie's comments about torture: he would be a hyprocite to reprimand her. "And if we die in Rapture before we even find Tenebaum, no one will be saved. No Marie, you underestimate how dangerous Rapture is. You were the one of the youngest girls to be made into a Little Sister, only 6 years old. You remember the least of Rapture- out of everyone, you had the fewest nightmares- and I'm not saying that's a bad thing," Jack quickly interjected before Marie could protest. "Just that out of all of us here, you are the least prepared to enter Rapture."

Jack turned his head to look down the hall he had just came from. "And you saw how powerful that girl was. Even as crazy as she was, she nearly managed to beat both of us at once. She would be a valuable ally in our return."

Marie didn't look so convinced. She knew Jack wasn't so objective-minded- if he was, he wouldn't have saved them all. Dad's heart was simply too kind- if someone needed a hand, father had to help them. It was part of the reason why he was such a good man, why Marie was proud to call him her father. But monsters like this Eleanor would exploit his kindness and use Jack for their purposes and discard him like a piece of trash without a second thought.

Still, Marie knew she was pushing the limits of her father's patience so she merely nodded and walked away in a sign of acceptance. As she walked away, her expression turned from submission to determination. Father may have been blinded by his own kind heart, but she would not be fooled. She would keep an eye on the monster and make sure she never hurt her family again.

Believe it.

The next day was seemingly no different than any other day. As usual, Eleanor was receiving her regular checkups from Jocelyn.

As Jocelyn went about her normal routine, however, she did not fail to notice something had changed with Eleanor. She gave no indication that anything was different though, as she continued performing her regular procedures.

It wasn't until the end, though that Jocelyn deviated from the norm. Instead of giving Eleanor another dose of new medicine, Jocelyn took off her gloves and began putting away her equipment.

Eleanor raised her eyebrows in surprise. "No new injections?" She asked the doctor.

"Not today," Replied Jocelyn. "My father wants to try something new."

Eleanor sighed- not again! She didn't understand why Jack kept wanting to speak to her. He never tried helping her condition- he just talked about foolish things like "precious people" and other thing she didn't understand. Hopefully, the Alpha wasn't about to spiel such nonsense again- if she wasn't at the mercy of the devil, she would have shut him up long ago.

Delta shifted in the back of her head. Do not fear. You are no longer defenseless.

Father was right of course- Jack was no longer the Alpha. Yes, she had her ace up her sleeve now- she wasn't as defenseless as the Ryans no doubt thought she was. She had nothing to fear of Jack.

Nothing at all, Eleanor repeated as her fingers trembled in nervousness. Nothing at all.

Jack was in the living room this time. Piles of wires, scrap metal, empty cans, and what appeared to be some kind of fertilizer lay in a circle around him as he diligently worked on what appeared to be a makeshift grenade. Eleanor could see from her wheelchair about a dozen completed home-made grenades behind Jack.

Minutes ticked by as Eleanor and Jocelyn stood there in silence while Jack continued to work. Jack seemed content to ignore them while Jocelyn appeared to have no problem waiting at all. After all a few more minutes, Eleanor broke the silence. "You wanted to see me?"

Jack did not respond. Instead, he used his telekinesis to hover an incomplete grenade above his hand, rotating it for all to see.

Then he fired it at Eleanor.

The violet-haired girl reacted on instinct. Without thinking, she rose her head and slapped the unfinished explosive away from her.

She froze- damn! The game was up now. Reaching within herself, she pulled at her ADAM- if Jack was going to kill her, she would be damned if she didn't go down fighting...

Only to stop as Jack let out a booming laugh. "Oh Eleanor," He said, in between his chuckles. "You didn't really think you could fix your limbs without us noticing, did you? We have a certified doctor giving you checkups everyday!"

Jocelyn was less jovial. "You foolish girl," She snapped, as she grabbed Eleanor's hand. Eleanor instantly hissed in pain as the action sent shockwaves of agony down her arm. "You set your limbs all wrong. I wouldn't be surprised if you were in constant pain right now."

Eleanor was in constant pain, but that was the least of her concerns. "You're not angry?" She asked, her voice full of disbelief. She immediately winced at how foolish she sounded, like a young child afraid that their parent was angry. Her limbs were fixed now! She had nothing to fear from Jack! He was not her superior!

Jack shook his head. "No, not really. I just wished you had asked Jocelyn to set your arms correctly. I'm guessing you used your telekinesis to continually break your arms and legs until you could move them?"

Eleanor nodded her head dumbly, a bit out of it- none of this was making any sense at all! "Why don't you care? Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Oh, don't think we're not keeping an eye on you," Said Jack in a serious tone. "But remember what I said last time, that you have nothing to fear from us?" At Eleanor's acknowledgment, he continued. "Consider this another act of trust. Perhaps, after this, you'll be more willing to trust in us as well. We need to work together after all."

Eleanor had no idea what to say to this profound statement- in fact, she felt rather uncomfortable. None of this was making any sense! Jack was suppose to be the devil! The evil puppet of Fontaine! Why would he be so...so...

Kind?

Eleanor decided to change the subject. "You said you had another method you wanted to try?"

In response Jack merely leaned forward and cupped Eleanor's cheek in his hand. To her surprise, Eleanor felt herself immediately relaxing- Jack's hand felt so warm...

"Now," Command Jack. "I want you to hold still."

His right hand began to glow and Eleanor felt a curious sensation. It was like she was back in the Appleton home and Mrs. Appleton was giving her a nice warm soap bath and a massage. Eleanor felt her eyes slowly close as all the voices in her head seemed to die away and everything became quieter and quieter until...

Peace.

Then Jack pulled his hand away and Eleanor's eyes snapped open. Instantly she could tell the difference. The loud murmurs and whispers that had plagued her had been reduced to a dull roar. She could now actually hear herself think! "What did you do?" She asked Jack.

"I used the same plasmid Tenebaum gave me to take the ADAM slugs out of the Little Sisters without killing them," Replied Jack, flexing his right hand. "Although you don't have an ADAM slug, your ADAM still reacts to its pull. I don't think it'll last forever, but for a short time, your ADAM should think that it's been extracted."

"I...Thank you." Said Eleanor softly, missing Jack's incorrect comments about her ADAM slug. She felt a bit surreal...she didn't realize how much her mind was clouded until after the volume had been turned down.

"How do you feel?" Asked Jocelyn, who was still standing behind her.

"Better than I've felt in...a long time," Responded Eleanor breathlessly. She did not take her eyes off Jack.

Jack smiled. It was a beautiful smile, realized Eleanor, one full of kindness, tempered with the power to protect his loved ones. In fact, his voice was just like Fathers'- strong and in control, making all those around him feel protected. "I'm glad to hear that Eleanor. Now if you would wait here, I need to speak with Jocelyn in the other room. Afterwards, she'll be able to check if there were any negative effects from the plasmid and reset your bones correctly."

Jocelyn leaned in and poked Eleanor in the chest, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't move anywhere," Jocelyn ordered, her voice cold. "Your bones are a complete mess right now. Any kind of forceful movement could further fracture your bones. Now, this shouldn't take long. If I come back here and find you've broken another bone, so help me God I will make sure you regret it!"

Eleanor nodded mutely- suddenly, Jack didn't seem so scary compared to his daughter. Satisfied, Jack and Jocelyn left the room to continue preparations for Rapture, leaving Eleanor alone standing agape. Once again, Jack had taken her by surprise. The more she spoke with him, the more Eleanor came to realize just how great Jack was. Many in Rapture had often held up Andrew Ryan and Atlas as examples of what great men were. It was only now that Eleanor realized how drastically wrong they all were.

Eleanor felt herself blush as she remembered the feeling of Jack's hand. She touched her own hand at the spot where Jack had removed the noise. It was so warm...

"I'm on to you monster."

Eleanor jumped at the voice- she had been so engrossed in her thoughts, she hadn't heard anyone coming in. She turned to see Jack's youngest daughter standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a large revolver hanging visbly at her waist. Her face was filled with loathing- as if merely looking at Eleanor was disgusting.

"I'm sorry?" Said Eleanor, remembering her manners.

Marie ignored her as she continued, "Don't think I don't know what you're doing you whore. I don't like the way you're looking at my Dad. You stay the hell away from him... or else!"

With those words, Marie spun around and stomped off, leaving a very confused Eleanor. What was that all about?

Delta was silent for a moment. Get some rest Eleanor. I have a feeling its going to be a long day.

(Thanks to The Ravaja of Dejeneration, Big Sister K, blue rumbler, shinigamichild, L1Ghtk1ll3r, Rickmer, Bydo, Zero3921, Shadow700, sleepgamer, crazymike 98 for your reviews! You guys are my incentives for writing =D !)