A few days went by, and Tyler spent all of his time in the room sleeping, healing and coming to terms with everything that he had learned since waking up. His mother kept away, and Tyler was alone most of the time as everyone had more important things to do than babysit him. However, the time alone was good for him, it let everything sink in, and that, coupled with sleep and the medication Gregory Pile was providing was helping him to recover quickly. It wasn't until the sixth day that Father Jack came to see Tyler.
"Come in," Tyler called as he heard a soft knock at the door.
"Hello." Jack entered, walking over to the bed where Tyler was sitting up, reading news articles from the past month on a laptop borrowed from Gregory.
"Oh." Tyler closed the laptop instantly, biting his lip. For all he could remember, this was the first time that he had a chance to have a real conversation with father Jack. "Hi…" he wasn't sure what to say. He had destroyed Jack's parish, thrown him, metaphorically, to Anna to be destroyed, and Jack had repaid Tyler by saving his life.
"How are you feeling?" Jack asked, taking the chair that sat next to Tyler's bed.
"Um, you know…" Tyler bit his lip, not sure what to say. "Better."
"That's good." Jack nodded. "You took some pretty nasty hits during the fight."
"That's what mom said." Tyler looked down, away from Father Jack, unable to make eye contact with the former priest. "She uh…she also told me that you saved my life."
"I killed the tracker that was attacking you, yes." Jack nodded.
"That counts." Tyler bit his lip, looking up and making eye contact with Jack. "Jack, I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm sorry for what I did to your parish, for what I did to you. I'm sorry that I put you in the spotlight, I'm sorry that I got your collar revoked and that I destroyed your possessions and threw you to the wolves."
"Tyler, that's in the past now," Jack said softly, reaching out and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You've apologized for it already, whether you remember that or not, and you've more than shown me that we're on the same side now."
"Maybe, but I still feel…wrong." Tyler let out deep sigh, sinking back into the pillows on the bed. "What I did could have gotten you killed, could have gotten my mother killed, lots of people, really…" he trailed off, not wanting to know how many people had died because of him or because of things that he had done.
"What's done is done," Jack stated. "We cannot go back and change our actions, but we can regret them and feel remorse for them. It is those who do not look back and see what they did as bad that are in the wrong. You are different, Tyler. You understand that what you did was wrong and you genuinely feel sorry for it." Jack offered Tyler a small smile. "We're on the same team now."
"I should have been on this side from the beginning," Tyler stated. "I feel stupid, so fucking foolish for being seduced by Lisa, by Anna, by their world and what not, I just feel like…like I caused a lot of damage."
"Tyler, it wasn't your fault. The Vs were doing everything in their power to draw you towards them, to drive a wedge between you and your family so that you would run to them. Any human would have fallen for their tricks, Tyler. The Vs are seductive creatures and impeccable liars. They had access to your memories and emotions, and they prayed upon your vulnerability. Anyone in your position would have done the same."
"Even you?" Tyler challenged.
"Even me." Jack nodded. "We all make mistakes, Tyler, and as far as it goes, yours could have been a lot worse."
"I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have attacked you the way that I did, I shouldn't have fed you to Anna like that."
"No, you shouldn't have." Jack shook his head. "And I'm not going to say that it's fine, because it wasn't, but right now, you and I, we're on good terms. We're on the same side, and I can forgive you for what you did, I have forgiven you. The Fifth Column needs you, Tyler. You're a good fighter and a very loyal member, or at least you have been for the past month."
"I don't remember any of it," Tyler whispered, putting his hand to his forehead. "I thought that when someone explained things to me, it might start to come back, but nothing has."
"You took a very strong blow to the head," Jack stated. "I saw the pipe strike you, I was surprised you survived it without serious brain damage, to be honest." Jack smiled. "You're strong, Tyler, and you're an incredibly valuable asset to the resistance."
"Why am I so valuable?" Tyler asked.
"Because you are the human that has gotten the closest to the Vs on a personal level," Jack stated. "You have access to things that other people have never even thought of."
"But they were lying to me," Tyler reminded him. "Everything that they told me was false."
"Not everything." Jack shook his head. "And you have a strong knowledge of the ship, you know the way that Anna works and now that you know the truth, you might be able to recall some of the things that you have seen, things that might be able to help us. Every advantage that we can get, no matter how slight, matters."
"And I'm an advantage?" Tyler asked.
"Yes." Jack nodded. "Not only because you know things, though. You care, you're emotionally invested in this. You've lost a lot at the hands of the Vs and that makes you stronger and more intent than many of our other young members. Knowing that feeling of loss, that gives you something to fight for, something that not everyone has."
"What drives you?" Tyler asked. "If you haven't lost any family to the Vs, what drives you to do this?"
"I'm a priest, Tyler," he stated. "They may have taken away my parishioners and my collar, but at heart, I am still a priest, and I don't like the way Anna is trying to play god. She is attacking what I believe to be the highest power and putting herself in that position. People are worshipping her as a messiah, and above all else, I see that as wrong."
"I don't believe in god," Tyler whispered.
"And you don't have to." Jack shook his head. "I'm not going to try and make you believe in god, that's not my job. I'm not a missionary, I don't convert, I simply spread what I believe to be the necessary word to people who believe as I do."
"Sometimes I wish I did, though." Tyler sighed. "Might give me some hope…but I know I'm past that point now. If god existed, he wouldn't have let the Vs do this to us, he wouldn't have done such horrible things to everyone."
"Maybe, maybe not." Jack shrugged. "Everyone is allowed their own opinion."
"If you're a priest, though, aren't you supposed to be a pacifist?" Tyler asked.
"Many believe so, yes." He nodded. "But sometimes there are things that you need to fight for, things that transcend pacifism. If we don't fight, the human race will be eradicated, and then who will be there to believe in god?"
"So you're fighting for god," Tyler stated. "My mother is fighting for me, and I'm fighting for Lisa and my father." He bit his lip.
"On the smallest scale, yes." Jack nodded. "But the big picture is simple. We're all fighting for the survival of humanity."
A/N Sorry if this chapter seemed boring or repetitive, I just wanted to get Tyler and Father Jack talking at least on some level. The next chapter should be more interesting, as it will finally see Tyler out of his room!