Chapter 2
I Just Wanted to Tell You
Will walked into the restaurant with complete confidence in completing his mission. He entered and headed straight for the bar. Although the bar was crowded, it wasn't hard to spot Jack. Just like the first time he found him here, Jack was sitting alone, drinking at the bar.
Upon seeing Jack, Will's first reaction was to leave quickly, before he was spotted. Your not taking the easy way out Tippin, he said to himself as he charged forward and took the seat next to Jack.
Jack had been staring into his drink, wondering where in the world Arvin Sloane was hiding. Somehow he had to find him. Until Arvin Slone is in custody, neither he nor Sydney would be safe.
As soon as Will sat down, Jack looked to up see who was invading his privacy.
"Hi, Jack. How's it going?" Will said to him.
Jack didn't answer him, he just looked at him wondering what Tippin was doing tracking him down this time. He was more surprised to see him this time, then he was the last time. At least the last time Will confronted him there was a reason for it.
"Why was he here now?" Jack wondered. Before he had a chance to ask, the bartender walked up. Will ordered a beer. Jack took a final drink from his glass and ordered a refill.
Jack waited for Will to tell him why he was there. By the time the bartender came back with their drinks Will still hadn't said a word. He did offer to pay for both drinks. Jack watched as Will fumbled first with his wallet and then with his drink.
Finally Jack said to him, in a voice that was clearly irritated and impatient. "What do you want, Will?"
"This really is a nice place." Will said looking around, trying to stall the conversation. "I like to think of this as our place." he added with a forced smile.
Jack's response was to look at him with an expression that said he was annoyed by Will's attempt at humor. "What do you want, Will?" he asked again.
"You know Jack, the last time I meet you here I was so scared. My mouth felt like it was full of fur balls and my hands were dripping with cold sweat."
Jack lifted his glass and before taking a drink he said, "Will, if you've been kidnapped again, I had nothing to do with it."
Will chuckled. "That's funny Jack. No I wasn't kidnapped. I just wanted to.. . I've been wanting to tell...."
"Will, what the hell is it?" Jack said raising his voice, not loud enough for anyone to hear, but loud enough to startle Will and cause him to jump back and almost fall of his barstool.
"God," Will thought to himself, "why does this man make me so nervous?" Then he said to Jack, "You like to intimidate people don't you, Jack?"
"I like people to not waste my time. If you have something to say, just say it and leave." Jack instructed.
"Yea," Will said to himself, "just say it and leave."
He took a drink of his beer and then turned to Jack,"Okay. Okay. It's like this. When we had our business before, I had no idea who you were or what kind of man you were. The only thing I knew about you was that you were my best friends father. I also knew that emotionally you were never there for her." As he said this last part Jack turned away and looked down at the barcounter.
Will continued, "One time there was a group of us sitting around telling stories about fights we had with our parents when we were teenagers. You know, the things that were a big deal at the time but now they're just something to laugh about. Everyone had two or three different stories to share. Syd just sat there and laughed along with everyone, until some asked her tell about her biggest fight with you. All she said was 'I never fought with my father. He never cared what I did.' She then got up and left the table."
Jack didn't want to hear anymore of this. He knew his short comings with Sydney's youth. Then he did what he does best and he cut Will off in a very low and only slightly controlled voice, "I'm not going to discuss with you, my relationship with my daughter."
"Yea, I know. You said that the last time we meet also." Will answered him.
Then Will said to himself, "I don't have much time left before this guy really blows up and walks out on me. Just say what you came to say and get the hell out of here."
Will took a long drink out of his beer and looking straight ahead he said, "You know this is harder for me than confronting the guy that threatened to kill me and my whole family."
"Will, please, your giving me a headache. Just focus on what you want to say and get it over with."
Will turned and looked at Jack, "The last time we talked here, I asked you to convince me that whatever the hell you were up to, that at least it was in Sydney's best interest. Of course you told me in that charming way that only Jack Bristow can, that your relationship with Sydney was none of my business."
"Will, I'm tired. I don't want to argue with you. What do you want?" Jack again asked, wanting to get to the core of what Will was up to.
"I just wanted to tell you ... Well actually there's two things I wanted to tell you." Will hesitated again and thought to himself, "Why is this so hard?"
Will never had problems complimenting people before. He has always been able to tell a person that he thought they did good work or that he valued their friendship. So why is it so difficult to tell this man how he admires him? How he realizes that men like Jack are the unsung hero's of history. That even though history books will never write about the things he's done, for this country, and that he himself would never fully know the real sacrifices Jack has made, all he wanted to tell him was that he had his respect and admiration.
"Ok." he told himself. He's just going to do what Jack told him to do, focus and spit it out.
"Jack, I just wanted to tell you..., I wanted to tell you that I now know the answer to my question. I know that what you do is in Sydney's best interest and that as long as you're around, I won't worry about what she does."
That wasn't what Jack expected. He didn't know how to respond. He turned away from Will and took a drink of his scotch.
While Jack was staring into the bronze liquid Will realized that he'd better say the rest now or he'll lose his nerve forever. "And, I wanted to thank you for saving my life."
Again, this was not what he was expecting. Jack wasn't use to people thanking him for anything he did. He didn't know how to reply, but in a contrite voice he said, "is that it?"
"Yea, that's it. Except..." Will hesitated, he did have one more thing that the wanted to say, but he didn't know how Jack would react.
"What the hell," he said to himself, he got this far, he might as well go all the way. In one long quick breath Will said the rest of what he came to say, "I also wanted to tell you that I think your an amazing guy, but I think you might hit me if I did, so even though I think you are, I wouldn't say it." With that Will stood up and started to walk away.
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2/3 Chapters
I Just Wanted to Tell You
Will walked into the restaurant with complete confidence in completing his mission. He entered and headed straight for the bar. Although the bar was crowded, it wasn't hard to spot Jack. Just like the first time he found him here, Jack was sitting alone, drinking at the bar.
Upon seeing Jack, Will's first reaction was to leave quickly, before he was spotted. Your not taking the easy way out Tippin, he said to himself as he charged forward and took the seat next to Jack.
Jack had been staring into his drink, wondering where in the world Arvin Sloane was hiding. Somehow he had to find him. Until Arvin Slone is in custody, neither he nor Sydney would be safe.
As soon as Will sat down, Jack looked to up see who was invading his privacy.
"Hi, Jack. How's it going?" Will said to him.
Jack didn't answer him, he just looked at him wondering what Tippin was doing tracking him down this time. He was more surprised to see him this time, then he was the last time. At least the last time Will confronted him there was a reason for it.
"Why was he here now?" Jack wondered. Before he had a chance to ask, the bartender walked up. Will ordered a beer. Jack took a final drink from his glass and ordered a refill.
Jack waited for Will to tell him why he was there. By the time the bartender came back with their drinks Will still hadn't said a word. He did offer to pay for both drinks. Jack watched as Will fumbled first with his wallet and then with his drink.
Finally Jack said to him, in a voice that was clearly irritated and impatient. "What do you want, Will?"
"This really is a nice place." Will said looking around, trying to stall the conversation. "I like to think of this as our place." he added with a forced smile.
Jack's response was to look at him with an expression that said he was annoyed by Will's attempt at humor. "What do you want, Will?" he asked again.
"You know Jack, the last time I meet you here I was so scared. My mouth felt like it was full of fur balls and my hands were dripping with cold sweat."
Jack lifted his glass and before taking a drink he said, "Will, if you've been kidnapped again, I had nothing to do with it."
Will chuckled. "That's funny Jack. No I wasn't kidnapped. I just wanted to.. . I've been wanting to tell...."
"Will, what the hell is it?" Jack said raising his voice, not loud enough for anyone to hear, but loud enough to startle Will and cause him to jump back and almost fall of his barstool.
"God," Will thought to himself, "why does this man make me so nervous?" Then he said to Jack, "You like to intimidate people don't you, Jack?"
"I like people to not waste my time. If you have something to say, just say it and leave." Jack instructed.
"Yea," Will said to himself, "just say it and leave."
He took a drink of his beer and then turned to Jack,"Okay. Okay. It's like this. When we had our business before, I had no idea who you were or what kind of man you were. The only thing I knew about you was that you were my best friends father. I also knew that emotionally you were never there for her." As he said this last part Jack turned away and looked down at the barcounter.
Will continued, "One time there was a group of us sitting around telling stories about fights we had with our parents when we were teenagers. You know, the things that were a big deal at the time but now they're just something to laugh about. Everyone had two or three different stories to share. Syd just sat there and laughed along with everyone, until some asked her tell about her biggest fight with you. All she said was 'I never fought with my father. He never cared what I did.' She then got up and left the table."
Jack didn't want to hear anymore of this. He knew his short comings with Sydney's youth. Then he did what he does best and he cut Will off in a very low and only slightly controlled voice, "I'm not going to discuss with you, my relationship with my daughter."
"Yea, I know. You said that the last time we meet also." Will answered him.
Then Will said to himself, "I don't have much time left before this guy really blows up and walks out on me. Just say what you came to say and get the hell out of here."
Will took a long drink out of his beer and looking straight ahead he said, "You know this is harder for me than confronting the guy that threatened to kill me and my whole family."
"Will, please, your giving me a headache. Just focus on what you want to say and get it over with."
Will turned and looked at Jack, "The last time we talked here, I asked you to convince me that whatever the hell you were up to, that at least it was in Sydney's best interest. Of course you told me in that charming way that only Jack Bristow can, that your relationship with Sydney was none of my business."
"Will, I'm tired. I don't want to argue with you. What do you want?" Jack again asked, wanting to get to the core of what Will was up to.
"I just wanted to tell you ... Well actually there's two things I wanted to tell you." Will hesitated again and thought to himself, "Why is this so hard?"
Will never had problems complimenting people before. He has always been able to tell a person that he thought they did good work or that he valued their friendship. So why is it so difficult to tell this man how he admires him? How he realizes that men like Jack are the unsung hero's of history. That even though history books will never write about the things he's done, for this country, and that he himself would never fully know the real sacrifices Jack has made, all he wanted to tell him was that he had his respect and admiration.
"Ok." he told himself. He's just going to do what Jack told him to do, focus and spit it out.
"Jack, I just wanted to tell you..., I wanted to tell you that I now know the answer to my question. I know that what you do is in Sydney's best interest and that as long as you're around, I won't worry about what she does."
That wasn't what Jack expected. He didn't know how to respond. He turned away from Will and took a drink of his scotch.
While Jack was staring into the bronze liquid Will realized that he'd better say the rest now or he'll lose his nerve forever. "And, I wanted to thank you for saving my life."
Again, this was not what he was expecting. Jack wasn't use to people thanking him for anything he did. He didn't know how to reply, but in a contrite voice he said, "is that it?"
"Yea, that's it. Except..." Will hesitated, he did have one more thing that the wanted to say, but he didn't know how Jack would react.
"What the hell," he said to himself, he got this far, he might as well go all the way. In one long quick breath Will said the rest of what he came to say, "I also wanted to tell you that I think your an amazing guy, but I think you might hit me if I did, so even though I think you are, I wouldn't say it." With that Will stood up and started to walk away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2/3 Chapters