O-Day + 577
After the Eschaton
In the late summer afternoon, the light lying golden over rolling fields, it was possible to pretend nothing had ever happened. Eliot sat on the porch steps, beer in hand, and pretended.
A gruff voice behind him actually managed to startle him, but he covered well, taking another sip.
"I've been tryin' to figure what's in your head that's got you so miserable-lookin'." Bobby eased down beside him. "But I gotta admit, I've been drawin' a string of blanks. Your ladies upstairs are recovering well, that Cora back at your prison is on the radio five times a day just to tell us the baby girl is doing fine, you saved the life of the President of the United States – such as it is – and you all may have just managed to save the world with this inoculation." He studied Eliot for a while, but got no response. "So I take all this into account, and I ask myself, what is it that's got young Spencer's panties in such a twist?"
Bobby waited again, but all he got was a scowl creeping into Eliot's face.
"And then," Bobby resumed mercilessly, "Nate has barely left Sophie's side, and nobody's prying Hardison away from Parker without one hell of a big stick – but you? You hardly set foot upstairs since you all arrived." He leaned back, visibly unimpressed by Eliot's fierce silence. "Nothin' to say? Don't you worry, son, I'm an old man. I can talk all day if you can't. Let me see, here. I could take a shot in the dark and say somethin' like: It's all my fault, I screwed up, I almost got her killed, I couldn't protect her, what happens next time, I couldn't live with myself, how can I make sure that never happens, how can I sacrifice myself to keep my family safe, I'll tear my damn heart out if it means controlling the fate of those I love... I miss anything in that lot?"
Eliot flicked the beer bottle cap out into the long bushes and took a moment before answering. "Thought you said you were drawing a blank."
The wry composure with which he answered seemed to surprise Bobby, but it was a pleasant surprise and Bobby rallied well. "Yeah, well, that was my way of saying you're being an idjit, idjit."
Eliot's glance was amused, at least on the surface. "Sounds like you get this a lot."
"Like you wouldn't believe." It was Bobby's turn to exhibit a depressed look, and he sighed. "Which means I ain't got any pretty speeches to turn that particular frown upside down. I've worn every damn pep talk and lecture through and through. All I got left for you is some perspective." Bobby laid a heavy hand on Eliot's shoulder, and wouldn't let him look away. "You save the damn world – or even just what's left of it – and you only almost lose a leg? Kid, that is one freaking good day. Take it from an old man who knows."
Taken aback and a little awed by Bobby's vehemence, Eliot could only nod.
"Good." Bobby let go of him to smack him on the shoulder. "Now stop being a little bitch and get up there and see those girls of yours. Because they've been asking for you."