AN: Thank you to the reviewers, you guys are awesome as always.
And thank you to Greg, for beta-ing.
I anticipate a lot of people hating this chapter. Can't say I'm too fond of it myself...
LXV.
Those few days of travel it took to reach the new location were pleasant, all things considered. Much of the route, Diego and Jeanne knew fairly well, which made things easier. Tom was given the rank of second once more. He was reluctant to take it, himself and many others still wary of his time with the aliens, but Weaver insisted, felt the harnessing facility proved Tom could be trusted. It provided a relief for Ben and his brothers, the responsibilities that came with Tom's returned role kept him mostly occupied, and out of their hair.
Unfortunately for Ben, to an extent, Tom's first order of business was to lessen Ben's own workload, taking Ben off the extra patrol shifts and giving other authorities in camp a laundry list of tasks Ben wasn't allowed assignment on. It would've bothered Ben more, if he didn't have Jimmy to help keep him busy in his suddenly abundant amount of spare time.
Jimmy seemed less put to task with helping out around camp, and though Ben suspected Jeanne's presence had something to do with it – Jimmy avoided Captain Weaver like the plague – Ben decided it was probably safer not to bring it up. Jimmy went on patrols, but otherwise, steered clear of offering himself up for additional services. Often times, if Ben couldn't find Jimmy, it usually turned out he was off having a cigarette or drink. He'd very much taken to heart Tom's warning not to drink around Ben.
In constant movement, there weren't many places the boys could go to be alone together. First Night, packed to bulging with all the 2nd Mass's stuff, had foot traffic at all hours of the day and well into the night. Beyond that, they'd moved out of the city and out along the barren highway, which left them in open woodland. Patrolling pairs were everywhere, and because they didn't stay anywhere long, people were cautioned against wandering too far from camp. Not to mention, with the First Night on lock down, it was hard to find a private clearing in the woods that wasn't already taken by another hormonally overwhelmed pair.
One of the few havens they had was the medic van. Dr. Glass would pretend not to notice, reading her medical texts, as the boys sat together on one of the cots, holding hands, kissing, talking in low voices about nothing in general. Sometimes she would give them the van to themselves, excuse herself to grab food, and they'd have enough time for a heavy make-out session before she got back. It was still the medic van, though, and patients would interrupt every now and then.
Most of their time was spent simply talking, laughing, and goofing around. For Jimmy, it almost started to feel like those first tentative months they'd been together all over again, shy and uncertain, curious but too afraid to show how much, revealing themselves in small doses. If those moments, chaste and sweet as they were, could be forever, he thought, he'd never want anything or anyone else. Just he and Ben, lost in the wilderness.
Understandably, Tom wanted to bring the family closer together. They were each, to each other, all they had left in the world, or so he said. He insisted the brothers eat breakfast and dinner with him every day. Invoked their mother, "it's what she'd want", in order to guilt the boys into agreement. Which meant Ben was unavailable to Jimmy for an hour and a half in the morning, and again in the night.
It was during one of those times, the second day after the harnessing facility, when Jimmy sought out Roman on the fringe of camp. His heart pounded and stomach twisted with disgust in himself, as soon as he saw Roman, leaning against a tree, talking to Doug. He knew it made him the worst kind of person, and he wasn't sure how he'd look Ben in the eye later, but he couldn't help it, his feet carried him without his head's permission.
Roman spotted Jimmy long before he was within hearing range, whispered something to Doug. Doug glanced at Jimmy, rolled his eyes, and strode away without another word.
"Brat," Roman greeted.
"Hey," Jimmy returned, paused several feet back, afraid to get any closer.
Roman gave Jimmy a once over, eyes trailing slow and appraising, and Jimmy shuddered, felt almost molested by the gaze.
"And just what can I do for you this fine morning?"
"Nothing," Jimmy hastily said, fought back the fluster.
"Oh. You're just here for nothing," Roman teased, "You should really want nothing more often. I can give you nothing all day. All day and all night, anytime, anywhere. But what you should really want from me is something, because my something's are something else."
"I just was thinking, was all, that, well, Ben was telling me the other day, about what happened, how it happened, the harnessing and, um, the thing is, I realized that you, and the others, that you all went through it too," Jimmy stammered.
"You thought that up all by yourself, huh?"
"I only came over here because, I don't know, I thought if you wanted someone to talk to about it," Jimmy trailed off, shook his head, "Never mind. Forget I said anything."
"Something tells me this offer wasn't pre-approved by your razorback," Roman noted.
"He told me what you said, out at the facility," Jimmy replied.
"And what? The truth of my words moved you to my side of the camp?"
"I finally saw who you really were, and I guess I felt bad for you," Jimmy expounded, and Roman dropped his eyes momentarily, looked up at Jimmy with a searing glare.
"And who exactly do you think I am?"
"You blame Ben for everything you don't have because it's everything he does. Even though it's not his fault, you can't help it, you hate him. Everyone sees him, and nobody ever looks at you. Everyone cares, good or bad, about what he does, and nobody cares about you. So you hate him, you hate everything about him, and everything he feels. Including what he feels for me," Jimmy flickered his eyes aside, studied the quiet woodland off to their right, far from the road. So close to civilization, and yet, so entirely disconnected from humanity, "I've been trying to sort it out, why you would possibly 'want' me, and it's the only thing that makes sense. You want me because you hate his feelings for me, and the only thing that you can do about it, the only way you see that you can right things in your life, is to destroy those feelings."
Roman lowered his head, expression veiled. Jimmy twirled the bullet in his fingers, and then thoughtfully lifted it to touch his bottom lip, its bitter, metallic taste a strange comfort like Ben's kiss, sweet on his mouth.
"I wanted to hate him for the same reasons, you know," Jimmy confessed, "When they brought him back to camp, took that harness off, every part of me wanted to hate him. Here I was with nothing, and here's this guy, everyone says he's lost things and poor him, he needs our pity, but really, he's got everything. All the things that I never even knew I wanted. But in the end he gave me something. It was small, and you couldn't really see it, and it's not worth much to anyone, except me and him, but, I couldn't hate him after that. I kind of thought that, maybe, if I gave you something, something small and meaningless, you would, maybe, not hate him anymore."
Roman rolled his eyes up, met Jimmy's imploring stare.
"You want to give me something? So what is it that you're offering? Your friendship?"
"I guess," Jimmy mumbled, shrugged, "I don't know. Just someone for you to talk to that you know isn't only listening because they have no one else."
"I see. Fine. Just one thing."
Jimmy quirked a brow.
"Tell me something, something about you that he doesn't know and promise me he never will."
"No, that's not how I meant for this to work," Jimmy murmured, a bit dumbstruck by the demand. What was Roman playing at now?
"Let's get things straight, you want to give me something so that I'll leave your razorback alone, right? You're making some sort of peace offering on his behalf?"
Jimmy scowled, "I suppose."
"So in truth, you're the one that wants something from me, so why are you the one setting up all the terms? My complacency doesn't come cheap. Now tell me something, and not some stupid little story, but something of value, something that defines you, and if it's good enough, I'll consider your offer."
"I can't do that, Rome, and you know it."
"If I said you're right, that I only want you because he has you, would that change things?"
Jimmy flinched, and turned slightly away. The world around him cold and cast in a sickly gray, he knew he never should've come over there; trying to reason with Roman was a fool's errand.
"I never could stand you, you know. You were almost worse than Ben. Running around camp, nipping at Weaver's heels," Roman said, sneered, "You'd lick his hand if he held it out to you. Then you'd strut about, acting all proud that they let you carry a rifle, pretty little lap dog in a knit wool sweater. Sniveling brat pretending to be a big man."
Jimmy clenched his jaw, balled his hand around the bullet, a crushing fist. He shifted uncomfortably when Roman shortened the distance between them.
"Your union with Ben only made you that much more repulsive to me. Fuck, if I ever saw you it made me sick to my stomach. You were hideous, disgusting, I wanted you to be dead the day you went out on that mission, to blow up that building, and never came back."
Roman grabbed Jimmy by the chin, jerked him back round and forced him to look up, their faces mere inches from one another. Jimmy instinctively put a hand up to hold Roman back, but his limbs felt weak and heavy; too many days of not eating, not sleeping, moving without rest.
"If you even half believed the crap you're spewing, you wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't be offering me what you are because the only way you know I'd accept is if you had it all wrong," Roman hissed.
"But I'm right, I just have the motive wrong," Jimmy whispered, "You're not trying to destroy him, you're trying to destroy me?"
"Maybe I'm trying to destroy you both," Roman taunted, and then grabbed Jimmy's shirt collar, jolted him forward, crashing their mouths together.
Roman's kiss wasn't as Jimmy would've imagined, rough and callous, but instead, soft, attentive, sumptuous. However, he lacked Ben's gentleness, care, and modesty; he waited for no invitations, pried open Jimmy's mouth and flicked his tongue inside, wrestled briefly and pinned Jimmy's own.
Startled by the action, Jimmy couldn't react at first, and when he found his mind, he struggled but didn't have the requisite power to push Roman off. He pounded his fists against Roman's chest to no avail; Roman controlled the kiss entirely to its end. When Roman released Jimmy, Jimmy staggered back several steps, slapped a hand to his mouth and rubbed at it furiously, as if somehow he could erase the touch, the taste, the feel, the heat spreading through him, the very action itself.
"Tell me something; something personal that you've never told anyone," Roman baited, sounding breathless, "You want me to let him be, brat, forget all his past transgressions? You have to give me a part of yourself. That's what I want. A part that I know he can never have; a part of you that'll belong to me; mine, and mine alone."
Jimmy gaped at Roman, exasperated.
"All I have to do is tell you something and you'll get over this thing you've got against Ben?"
Roman ran his thumb across his bottom lip, smeared away the saliva glistening there, and smirked. His eyes danced with a smug, devilish delight.
"That's what you want, isn't it?" he returned, voice low and brusque, his own features warmed by the kiss, complexion a deeper copper tint.
Jimmy spat on the ground, wiped the back of his hand across his mouth one last time, glaring up at Roman. For a piece of his soul, he could remove Roman and the problems Roman caused from Ben's life. But to share something with Roman, something from that moment on, he could never share with Ben? It seemed simple enough, there were so many things he wasn't sure he wanted Ben to know about himself and his life. Yet, the idea of it felt so wrong. The very thought of it hurt him, laid bricks in his heart.
"Okay," Jimmy whispered, wrapping his arms around himself to halt the tremor, "But you have to promise me that you will let it go. You won't spread rumors about Ben, talk about him as a traitor, that you won't provoke him about it, about anything having to do with the aliens and the harness and his family and any of it, you'll call him by his name, you'll treat him like a fighter, with respect, work with him and not against him. You won't question his loyalties, and you won't try to turn me against him anymore. It won't work anyways."
"You really think I've done all that? I really must have nothing else to do with my time," Roman muttered.
"Promise me," Jimmy persisted, "If Weaver has his way, you and Ben will be going into battle together a lot more, you need to get along with him, and I need to know that you'll watch his back out there," Jimmy swallowed hard and continued, "If you really do care about me, you'll make this promise."
Roman glanced away, a sharp cut to his features.
"Fine," he grunted.
"Say it," Jimmy commanded.
Roman rolled his eyes, "I promise to be nicer to your raz…Ben. Now you're end."
Jimmy took a few composing breaths and tried to steady his mind; it was spinning at a dizzying rate. He realized he didn't know what to say. When Roman made the demand, Jimmy had felt there were so many aspects of his life, and now that he was being forced to draw on one, they all flew from his thoughts. Maybe there wasn't much to him at all, and the things that had happened in his life, every little memory he believed important remembering, and stored so neatly and securely away, were meaningless, worn and faded, garbage really.
"I don't know what you would want to know," Jimmy mumbled, frowned, "I mean, like what? A story from childhood or…"
"Nothing so cutesy," Roman said, "It has to be something that you won't easily give up. Like…like the worst thing you've ever done."
Jimmy flustered, "Ben already knows that."
"Of course he does," Roman scoffed, made a face, "Well, you get the gist. You say you saw me, the real me. I want to see you. The you that you're scared to show anyone. The dark, selfish, despicable you. You only want Ben to see the good sides of you, right? He only wants to see the good. I don't want that, I want to see the bad. I want to see the darkest parts of your heart."
Meekly, Jimmy nodded, tucked the bullet into his collar, and nibbled his inner cheek.
"Um…okay…uh…before, when I was in school," Jimmy began, closed his eyes and shuddered involuntarily, "There was a boy, um, Nick…can't remember his last name, he was a bit of a loser, I guess. No one really liked him; he got picked on a lot. Sometimes I think, he's sort of who I picture, when I think about Ben from before. Kind of how I suppose Ben was, when Ben talks about himself from before. I always felt bad for him, Nick, I mean, so I guess I was nicer to him than other people. I was on the baseball team at the time, and that meant something to some of the kids at school I guess, so, but um, it kind of made things easier on him when I was around, because no one would pick on him. I'd be nice, so, everyone else would too.
"The next year, Nick made the baseball team. He started hanging out with the other teammates, and I mean, douchebags who used to make fun of him were suddenly inviting him over to parties and on group outings. It was nice for him, a good change, he seemed happier. I kind of didn't really hang out with the guys on the team, I had my friends off the team, and I guess the people on the team sort of felt like I thought I was too good for them or something. I don't know, I just didn't connect with them; I didn't want to play baseball anymore by then, and we had nothing in common, right?
"Anyways, the boys on the team started pushing Nick to pick on me, sort of like an initiation, I guess. Stupid pranks and calling me names in the halls. I didn't care, you know, shrugged most of it off. Kind of pissed me off, I'd been nice to him all those years and suddenly…but you know, whatever. Then one day, they put him up to say this thing to me, and he said it, and I don't know, I snapped. Broke his nose, bruised his ribs, nothing major, he was balling on the ground crying, bloody mess, and I got a fucking two week suspension, dad took the belt to me, put three good welts on my back before my mom stopped in; I still got the marks."
Jimmy paused, shifted uncomfortably under Roman's intense stare.
"The worse part about it, the thing that I think about, is that, you know, picking on me, it wasn't about hurting me. He was just trying to make friends. That's all he wanted. I couldn't let him have that? It's not like it hurt me all that much. I still had my friends and they would back me no matter what. Maybe you could argue that it wasn't the right way, that it was fucked up, because I'd been nice to him, but was I really? Could I really say I was nice, because I didn't make fun of him like everyone else? Because I talked to him on occasion, I didn't call him names or fuck with his stuff? Thought it made me a better person, but didn't it make me worse? I wouldn't ever give him the one thing he really wanted. I wasn't ever going to be his friend. It was like picking on him in a different way, almost. I didn't think enough of him to call my friend and I didn't think him strong enough to handle me bullying him.
"After it happened, the guys stopped hanging out with him again, they thought he was a pussy getting his ass kicked by a scrawny punk like me, and he went back to being a loser, accept this time, I wasn't being nice to him and making things easier. He quit the team eventually and…um…"
Jimmy faltered, ran his hands over his face and dropped his eyes, before continuing.
"A week into that summer, he took his dad's gun and blew his brains out. On the last day of school, he'd put a note in my locker, but I didn't read it then. When I heard about what he did, I tore it up without opening it, tossed it; I still don't know what it said. I was scared of what it said, I guess. Maybe it was just an apology, or maybe it was an angry letter ripping me apart for the fight, I don't know, but what if it was something like a…like a warning about what he wanted to do? What if he wanted me to stop him, and it was in that note, and I didn't…"
Roman cleared his throat, and Jimmy sighed, shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at Roman.
"That good enough?"
Roman considered it, mulling over the story, he nodded after a minute and in a soft melancholic voice, conceded, "That'll do."
Jimmy nodded, sniffed, and wiped his face dry, turning to leave. He had nothing more to say to that boy, not then and he hoped not ever.
"Brat."
Jimmy stopped, but couldn't bring himself to turn back.
"If that's not the worst thing you've ever done in your life, than what is?"
No response.
"I'm impressed. You're really not a good person, are you? You sure Ben can handle all that badness you've got built up inside?"
A chill raced Jimmy's spine, he shivered and silently continued on his way.
…
Ben never liked eating breakfast in the mess tent before, but now that his dad insisted on the family gatherings, he hated it all the more. Breakfast before the war had been bad enough, going round robin, mom and dad interrogating their boys about the coming day. What'll you do, who will you do it with? Is your homework done? Are you ready for the test in English? It was the same thing now, just different questions.
"What are your plans today, Ben?" Tom asked, scooping up a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. He hadn't trimmed his beard in a while. Ben hated the look, mostly because he knew his mother never liked it. In a way, it felt like Tom was disrespecting her memory, growing it out that way.
"Since I patrolled last night and you banned me from working double shifts, probably nothing," Ben answered smartly.
"You could help Dr. Glass watch the younger children," Tom suggested, "Or carry supplies during the moves. There're plenty of things to do around camp that don't involve rifles."
"Translation, you got Matt watch all day," Hal grinned.
"Hey, I don't need to be watched," Matt complained.
"Great, I'll take him shooting," Ben suggested, perking a challenging brow at his father. Tom paused, looked up at Ben a moment, took a deep breath and then lowered his eyes again, resumed eating.
"Just don't stray too far from camp," he muttered.
"Awesome," Matt exclaimed, "Can we get Jimmy to show me one of the long range guns?"
"Sure, we just got to clear it with Dai," Ben chirped.
"Uh…I don't think so," Tom interrupted.
"What? Why not?" Matt pouted.
"Because those guns are twice your size, Matthew. They're too big!"
"But Jimmy fires them all the time, and I'm almost as tall as him now," Matt pointed out.
Ben smirked and Hal snorted softly, "Don't tell Jimmy that."
"They're also too loud," Tom returned, "We can't be making that kind of noise for no reason, drawing the enemy to ourselves unnecessarily. Small handguns or low caliber rifles, Ben, nothing bigger, got it?"
"Right. Whatever," Ben grumbled, absently ruffling Matt's hair.
"So you'll be hanging out with Jimmy today, then?" Tom prompted, curiously eyeing Ben.
"Yup."
"Who else would he hang out with?" Matt wondered, and Hal tossed a fleck of granola at him from across the table. Ben shook his head, slumped back in his seat.
"You two seem to spend a lot of time together," Tom noticed.
"Technically they spend all their time together," Hal spoke up, "It's a small camp, dad, and there are only so many people in it."
"Most of which don't like me," Ben muttered.
"Personally, I prefer him hanging out with Jimmy. Better him than me," Hal continued, flicking Ben's ear, "I can't even begin to imagine how he puts up with this annoying little twerp."
"Hal," Ben growled warning.
"Hal, be nice to your brother," Tom said in an automated tone.
They all fell silent at approaching footfalls. Valerie stopped at the end of their table, nervously twirled her hair around a finger. Tom straightened, inquiry written in his features. Ben glanced at her, refocused on his breakfast, and finishing the oatmeal in his bowl.
"Hi, Ben…hi everyone," Valerie began, and the other's at table gave varying replies of greeting.
"What's up, Val?" Ben asked, vaguely interested.
"I was just wondering, Ben, well you see, I have patrol later today, and the thing is that Mary was supposed to go with me but then Will Burrow, I don't know if you know who he is, but he's like this really cute guy, and he's like eighteen, really tall, and funny, and dark hair and he's got this tattoo on his arm, some tribal band thing, and, usually I don't like tattoos, because really, who wants to do that to themselves? But it looks really good on him and, well, anyway, he asked her if she wouldn't mind patrolling with him, and you know, I was a little upset, but I'm, like, how could I really blame her, because he's so totally cute. Oh, but not that he's my type at all, not even slightly," Valerie rattled off, and slowly the Mason men turned their heads to gape up at her, only Ben kept his attention fixated on eating, "Anyhow, so I asked my brother if he'd patrol with me, but he's doing this thirteen and independent thing, where he doesn't want to be seen with his big sister, and I was just wondering, since I have no one else to patrol with me, that maybe, possibly, you would? Oh my gosh, wait, that sounds really horrible. What I mean is, not that you were like a last resort or anything, because I totally would've wanted to ask you first. No, wait, that's not what I meant either, because, wow that makes it sound like…"
"Sorry, Val, I can't," Ben cut in sharply, and her face fell, "You see, my dad doesn't want me taking two patrols in one day, and I patrolled last night, so…"
"Oh, I don't know, Ben," Tom said, clearing his throat and smiling at his son, as if he thought he might know something, "It seems like we could make an exception for the young lady, so long as it's a short patrol and you take the next day off."
"No, dad, I can't," Ben hissed, darting an apologetic look to Valerie, and repeating, "I can't. I have other plans today. Important plans that I cannot cancel."
"Oh," Valerie murmured, then perked and rambled quickly, "No, that's fine. I just thought I'd ask because, well, I had no one else, but I'll find someone else. There are a lot of other people, really, right? But yeah, you totally deserve the breather because, like, all the amazing things you do for the camp and everything. Seriously, though, I mean I don't even know what I was thinking asking you, when you're always so busy and…"
"Okay, Val, that's okay," Ben interjected.
"Okay. Right. I'm going to go find someone else then, because I do still have patrol later today and I mean, I really need to go on that, because other people have been patrolling all day and need a break…"
"Right. Good luck with that," Ben said.
"Thank you, that's so sweet of you. You're always so sweet, and polite," Valerie continued, "I guess I'm going now, to look for someone else, not sure who I'm going to ask but I guess I really ought to figure that out. Good bye, Ben, bye everyone."
Valerie hurried away and Hal mouthed an incredulous 'wow' at the table.
"What plans do you have, Ben? I thought you were doing nothing today," Tom said.
"Um…I just made plans with Matt, remember?" Ben shrewdly returned.
"Ben," Tom complained, "Why wouldn't you want to go on patrol with her? She seemed like a nice girl."
"Really?" Ben baulked, "Uh…that was her trying to ask one little question. Now take that, and imagine what it's like when she wants to have a whole conversation."
"Oh."
"Yeah," Ben lifted his bowl and asked, "I'm done with breakfast. Can I go? I need to find something non-rifle related to occupy my day, don't I?"
Tom sighed, "I suppose."
"What? Wait a minute, that's not fair! Why does he get to go?" Hal demanded.
"Because I'm done with breakfast," Ben grumbled, pulling himself to his feet and hurrying away before his father found a reason to change his mind.
In his retreat, he heard his father ask, "And what are your plans for the day, Hal?"
Outside, Ben went looking for Jimmy. They'd patrolled together the night before, so he knew Jimmy would be somewhere around camp. He didn't have to search long though, as Jimmy found him first.
"Hey, babe, want to go shoot off our guns? And I mean that both ways," Ben greeted, startling when, without missing a beat, Jimmy marched right up to him and wrapped him up in an insistent, breathtaking kiss.
"I'm ready," Jimmy declared, when they broke apart.
"Ready for…what exactly?" Ben wondered.
"To tell your dad. Let's do it. When we get to the new location, let's tell him about us."
"Really?"
Jimmy nodded, and Ben bit back a grin, leaning in to continue that kiss.
.
.
.
AN: Let me know what you think, please.
Reviewers: SassySavanna190, hey, welcome back! It's good to hear from you again, I missed your reviews. You're right, Roman does have more of a reason for hating Ben. Roman is actually a more developed character than Franklin ever was, Franklin more or less represented all the members of the 2nd Mass that disliked the unharnessed children, whereas, Roman more specifically dislikes Ben. I think this chapter may have addressed some of your questions, though? You're also right that Roman does have Doug and Gia, but it's different, in that he's more like a third wheel with them. Doug and Gia have each other first and foremost, and while they care about Roman as a brother, they rely more on one another. Roman relied on Kelsey the most, and it was a huge betrayal for him how easily she left. Lol, yeah, Tom is kind of starting to relent a little with Ben. As for your Q's, I think your Tom question was answered this chapter. Weaver knows as much as he wants/needs to know about Ben and Jimmy's relationship. Franklin is still in camp, but participates to a lesser capacity. He might've left at some point, too, possibly shamed out of the unit. I got a Prius. Jimmy won't be saying those words for a very, very, very, very, very long time. Roman wanting Ben isn't an absurd question, though, unfortunately for Greg who desperately wants a threesome, no, Roman isn't attracted to Ben. There was a point where he felt a kindred spirit in Ben, and in a lot of ways, he's meant to be the same as Ben. Hal and Maggie will not be paired in this storyline at any point, sorry to any Hal/Maggie fans. LuckyDreamer91, awww, that's sweet of you. I wish I made the money Robert Rodat does. Though, I make a lot of (intentional) fanfic writer mistakes that a pro like him wouldn't, because I ain't making money for this shit so I'll write whatever the heck I want. Yeah, this is about the point where I diverge severely from the canon story. There are still a few canon events that I'll be using, but otherwise, it's about to become an all new Falling Skies. I'm glad I could give you something you'd be waiting for and not disappoint too terribly. I wanted that scene to be a bit more emotion packed, but I was writing in a rush. I like writing big brother Hal more too, but don't go dismissing Tom altogether yet, he might surprise you. Yeah, Jimmy and Weaver should sit down and have a deep heart-to-heart, but knowing those two characters, they probably won't. You know, I don't mind when people complain, but when they do it in a completely vulgar, inappropriate, and incredibly creepy way, then I have problems. Thanks for all your encouraging words, you're too awesome to me. :) Dee, awww, it was a lot calmer. I don't mind mad woman rant though. I had a hunch you would like the Weaver/Jimmy interaction, and the Jimmy/Ben interaction, and I have a really good hunch that you are absolutely going to abhor the Jimmy/Roman interaction in this chapter. Go ahead and go off like a mad woman, it's fine, I'm anticipating it. You know, it's interesting the things you said about Weaver wanting to impress upon Jeanne's return wouldn't change his relationship with Jimmy, because honestly, I don't think Weaver truly realizes yet that he needs to do that. I almost feel like, when I'm writing Weaver, he doesn't consciously note that he's somewhat adopted Jimmy, he almost has this paternal instinct towards Jimmy, and thinks about it as though Jimmy's always been a son to him. Maggie on the other hand I think made the conscious decision that Jimmy needed someone to watch out for him, and she needed someone to watch out for, so she would take over being his guardian in a way. Of course, everyone knows, Jimmy is oblivious to both of their intentions. Hehehe...I'm glad you caught Hal's guffaw in that conversation with Ben. He's really trying to be the good supportive brother, he just isn't sure what's he's supposed to be supporting. It probably is because Hal, at least on a subconscious level, doesn't think Jimmy and Ben are in it for the long haul. Yeah, I was really disappointed in the show not exploring Ben's feelings during the harnessing facility episode. I mean, he went through all that, he had to feel something about Matt being rescued and him not. You're slightly OT comment is awesome, I kind of wasn't going to, but I may explore that in my dark future fic now. If I do, credit totally goes to you. Jimmy listens well, when he talks on the other hand...eh...not so much. I think this chapter confirms yours (and Ben's) worst fears about whether Jimmy may, on some level, care about Roman. You're analysis of the Jimmy/Roman dynamic was really well put. Everyone will just have to read to see how it all turns out. I'm glad I could make you feel passionate about the character. As I already stated, you and the other regular reviewers didn't bother me hating on Roman, it's when someone comes out of nowhere, it's their first review, and all they write is a single paragraph of obscenity describing how they want to kill Roman and he's a bunch of unnecessarily profane words, that's when I take issue. There's a right and a wrong way to express discontent with part of a story. Anyhow, thank you for your amazing review as always. :)
Thanks for dropping in guys. I'll see you all next Sunday.