Chapter Forty-Two: Been There

"An open mind," Jack repeated. He knew that he had to trust his parents now-- his only other choices were finding a way out of this himself or trusting his grandmother and that overgrown worm Sark, neither which were very appealing. But he just didn't know. Only a couple of weeks ago he'd been a normal college student with restaurant owner parents. Now he was a hostage. The fact that his life could turn on a dime so quickly didn't make him feel too confident trusting anyone.

His parents exchanged a look. Though his father had been the one to ask him to keep an open mind, his mother was the one who began speaking, and Jack thought, for the millionth time, that the two of them must share the same mind. Even when they disagreed, as they just had, it was because each wanted the other to be their best. This, Jack knew, was love. In that moment, he knew that any high school romance he'd had with Delia or anyone else hadn't even come close.

"Jack," Sydney said, squeezing her husband's hand as if for strength. "What do you remember about your schooling at the Organization?"

Jack shrugged. He'd been so young. They'd moved to the island when he was eight years old, still in the third grade. "I didn't like it much," he said, but then, he'd never really liked school at the island, either. He'd always picked things up so quickly, so easily, his teachers' lessons had always seemed boring to him.

"I know you didn't, but that's not what I meant," Sydney said, the look on her face one of intense concentration. "Think hard, Jack. What do you remember about your lessons?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked, frustrated. "I was a little kid. I learned how to read, and count, and--"

The realization of why his parents were asking such a question nearly knocked the wind out of him.

"It was an Organization school," he whispered, his stomach tying itself in knots. "They were doing something to me there, weren't they? Brainwashing me."

"I don't know if--"

"And you let them." He sat down in the room's only chair with a thud. "I'm your own son, and you let them--"

"Stop it, Jack."

The sharpness in his mother's voice took him by surprise.

"From a very young age, you were taught the ways of the Organization," Sydney said. "Loyalty to the Organization. I'm telling you this because things like that just don't go away, and you need to make yourself fight it. Even if you find yourself drawn to your grandmother, if you find yourself wanting to do what she says--"

"Give me a break," Jack cut in, disgusted. "Like I'd ever--"

"You were taught other things, Jack."

This time it was his father who interrupted him, and pain shone in his green eyes as he did. "You know how to do things you probably don't remember learning."

A shiver ran down Jack's spine. "What things?"

"Let's just say that you know how to defend yourself, Jack," Sydney said. Jack hated the look in her eyes. Steely, compassionless…Maybe Jack's father was confident that she was working for the right side, but at that moment, Jack wasn't even sure who the hell she was. "The least bit of training will bring those skills to the surface."

"And let me guess," Jack said dryly. "If I try to kill Sark or Grandmother, I'll find myself physically unable to do it, I'm programmed only to harm the enemy."

"That's nonsense," Sydney scoffed, but the way her eyes flash made Jack think she wondered if it was true. "In any case," she nodded. "I think it's important that you know what you're capable of."

"You're unbelievable," Jack said, voice full of quiet certainty. "You kept this from me my whole life, and know you're telling me because--"

"Because it's important for you to know," Sydney cut him off. She sighed, dropping Michael's hand, then rose from the bed and began to pace. "Jack, I made a million mistakes with you, and I could apologize for those mistakes until I'm blue in the face. It wouldn't change anything. I was in a horrible situation when you were young, and because of that, you were put in a horrible situation, and I will always be sorry for that. But all we can do now is deal with the consequences of my actions. I don't need your judgment, or your blame. Neither of those things will do us a bit of good."

Jack looked at his father, who was looking up at Sydney in utter amazement. Jack wasn't sure he understood the look, and apparently, his mother wasn't either, because she asked, "What?"

"You're your father," Michael stated. "You were always worried you'd turn out just like your mother, but-- you're your father."

A half smile crept across Sydney's face. "Maybe I am."

"Only in the best ways."

Jack stared at both of them, sure they had both gone completely insane. "Get out."

Sydney and Michael both looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I need to deal with this, and you guys aren't helping," he said flatly. He was seeing the two of them in entirely new ways, and he wasn't sure he liked it. Matter of fact, he was sure he didn't. "Get out. Get out of here."

His father looked slightly hurt, but a look of understanding crossed his mother's face, as if she'd been in the exact same place before.

Maybe she had.