First off, apologies abundant. I think Oldest Man has been [gasp] banned from FF. I cant use the doc manager and I get no emails or alerts through FF and so sorry but I think I've been banned. RottenAppleofEducation got me on a PM but nothing at all since Thursday so don't think I've APR'd y'all or anything drastic. I can't even get tech support- I get a 'email not properly installed'.

So, this is my latest offering of APR's finishing works. Hey, I've even hacked away at the clone thing and got them down to manageable size. I want to keep Jules but yech on the rest of them.

Oldest Man for APR

Chapter27

Korat, Thailand

Su-Fi stared at Chuck and then, for one of the few times that he could remember, she started to cry. She stepped away from where he sat in his hospital room and it was more than the distance between then that separated them.

"I – I will marry whom I please and when I please. You are not my father and I am of legal age. I had, we had, hoped for your blessing but I can see that it is not to be. I hope you fully recover, Jzhuck, and that good fortune finds you always."

He watched his daughter walk out of his life and felt his heart break. He only wanted what was best for her. He only wanted her to be happy and successful. He'd only asked that she wait a year before marrying Chai but she'd refused, hurling her last words in his face.

Chuck massaged his temples trying to ease the killer headache he'd suddenly developed. Why is it so hard to do the right thing?

Hannah intercepted Su-Fi the moment she stepped out into the hall and not so gently led her to an alcove for some privacy. They were about to have a terse and overdue mother-daughter chat.

Whatever she intended to say was lost when Su-Fi threw her arms around her mother and started to sob and gasp for breath. In all the years they'd been a family she could count on one finger the number of times her daughter had needed her mother, and this was that one time. It had always been her Jzhuck that she'd run to, never Hannah.

"Why won't he listen? Why is he being…being so mean?"

"He only wants what's best for you. We talked earlier and he was dead-set against any marriage for you, especially to someone you hardly know, Sophie, but he did 'mellow out' and agreed to ask you to delay things until you were both certain of your feelings. Sophie, you're young and impressionable and we both feel that you're diving into something as serious as marriage without really knowing each other."

"You and Jzhuck hardly knew each other either and you've been very happy together until you started going on Militia jobs and then he got so lonely. I don't want that life for me. I will not abandon my husband for my own purposes. I love you both and I have learned so much from you both but I will marry Chai with or without your blessing!"

"You will break your father's heart if you go ahead with this and don't at least wait a few months before – "

"He is not my father!"

The slap that followed stung her. In all the years they'd been together, neither her Jzhuck nor Hannah had ever laid a hand on any of the children. She was stunned and drew herself up to her full height and started to leave when Hannah grabbed her by her arm and pulled her back.

"He is so your father!" Hannah had never been so angry with any of her children as she was at that moment with Sophie. "He adopted you and loved you and sacrificed so much for you and this…this is how you repay him for his love? If you walk away from him, if your turn your back on him, don't ever come back, Sophia Windsor, don't ever come back."

Hannah pushed Su-Fi aside and strode angrily down the corridor to her husband's room, wiping tears from her eyes with the backs of her hands. She stopped just outside his room to compose herself and then walked in and closed the door. She felt horrible for what she said and needed to tell her husband about it.

Su-Fi sat in the alcove, trying unsuccessfully to stop crying. She was startled when Jeb handed her a handkerchief and sat down on the tile floor beside her.

"If it makes any difference, I had a similar conversation with my dad. My mom's okay with Yve and I getting married but my dad has all kinds of reservations and concerns. You're not the only one facing 'parental disapproval'. I know that doesn't mean much but you're not alone in this. You can always talk with Yve or me about things."

She looked up at him with teary eyes and said, "You heard?" He nodded. "It was hard not to. Yve is in with your folks now trying to settle your mom down. I'm sure Mrs. Windsor never meant things to spiral out of control like that."

"You don't know Hannah. She meant it. In all my years with them, since being brought out of the camps, neither of them ever touched me in anger or inappropriately. Never – until today. I don't know what to do, Jeb."

Strangely enough, on the other side of the world, a similar conversation was taking place in the Stuart household. Sarah was clearly on the side of the young couple whereas her husband was struggling with accepting the marriage. He was afraid of his wife's reaction to the bride's parents at the wedding – specifically, the bride's father, but he couldn't say anything.

"Mike, you're being totally unreasonable, totally! Jeb and Yve are going to get married whether you approve of it or not. Is it…is it a racial thing?" She threw out the Race Card hoping he would trump it with the real reason behind his stubbornness.

"You know I don't care about race. It's the 21st century, Sarah, not the 19th." His face was stony as he tried to think of a way to say, 'Charles Windsor is Charles Bartowski and I'm afraid you'll hate me and leave me for lying to you all these years.'

Instead, he said, "My son is in Thailand with his girlfriend visiting her father who was injured when someone tried to kill him. Don't you think that's reason enough to have reservations about this marriage? Suppose someone decides to kidnap his daughter for leverage and they end up killing Jeb to do it? Have you thought about what might happen to my son?"

She hadn't, really. Sarah knew that he was right to be concerned but not at the cost of losing Jeb from their lives.

"I was sitting right here when you two had your argument on the phone, Mike. Jeb's an adult and we can't live our son's life for him. As much as we'd like him to find a 'girl next door' who came from a normal family, it's still his decision. He loves her and he'll marry her with our without our approval."

"That's so damned easy for you to say, Sarah. He's not your son." Her eyes narrowed and if he'd known 'Sarah Walker, CIA Agent' in her prime, he'd know just how much he'd hurt her and how badly she wanted to hurt him.

"That's it! I'm going to Thailand." Fifteen minutes later she was out the door and on her way to the airport. She'd worry about what she left behind some other time…like in a year or two. How dare he throw that in my face!

Mike sat at the kitchen table for a few minutes and then made a call. He explained the situation and was told 'do nothing; it will be handled'.

Sarah made it through ticketing and TSA security but was stopped at the gate by two uniformed TSA personnel who were much too well-built and military-looking to be true and 'escorted' through a series of doors, down a long corridor and into a small windowless room furnished with a metal table and two chairs on opposite sides.

She was 'asked' to seat herself and then the door was closed and she heard the distinct sound of the metal locking mechanism engaging. There was no doorknob on her side.

She dug her ringing cell phone from her purse, expecting it to be Mike but it wasn't.

"Director Stuart, take a look around. Take away the table and chairs and substitute a bunk with a thin mattress and a stainless steel toilet and sink combination in the corner. That will be your future if you don't turn around and go home to your husband."

"Gen-General Beckman, you can't be serious! This is my family you're screwing with!"

"And it's my family you're going to destroy! Jeb and Yve are in good hands. They're going to marry and become one of the most powerful couples on Earth. Your husband has 'seen the light', Sarah. Go home. Listen to him. He had no idea how deeply involved he was in the Great Game. Where do you think those pictures of you came from? Me. He did it all to protect the woman he loved. Are you willing to throw that all away just like you did in Burbank?"

"I – I don't understand. I – "

"Of course you don't, Sarah. You're not supposed to."

The call died and she heard the 'click' of the locking mechanism and the door swung inwards. She grabbed her purse and walked out into the terminal and then to her car.

She didn't know which she dreaded more: not knowing or knowing.