Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or The Dresden Files.
Secrets uncovered
"Talking"
"Thinking"
Jack was bored. Not surprising since she was just wondering around Chicago and had been for the past couple of days.
Ever since the Normandy returned from that suicide mission, the whole team had scattered. Shepard had been taken into custody by the Alliance and everyone else went back to their lives. With her past resolved (as much as it could be) and no one trying to get her, Jack found herself free and able to do anything she wanted to put her mind to.
So she had no idea why she was still hanging around Chicago.
She wasn't listless (and how she hated the cheerleader for showing her better words), she just had nothing to do. "Maybe I can find some crime that needs doing," she muttered as she walked down the street. "Or an asshole that needs a beating." There was a flicker in the corner of her eye. She glanced to the side and was met with ghostly disapproval. "Oh, lay off, Mike. I was just thinking out loud."
Most people would've been freaked out by the fact they were haunted by a ghost. Jack had gotten used to it. And she wasn't being haunted. That wasn't the right word. As far as she knew, Mike (or rather Michael) had always been there. He had been her one constant companion through the shitshow that had been her life. He never spoke but she could always tell what he was thinking just by looking at his eyes. It might've sounded sappy but it was the truth.
Didn't mean Jack always liked having him around, though. When she was on a real tear, the only emotion he'd show her was sadness. She'd get pissed and kept going, but when she was done, he would still be there with a compassionate gaze and no absolute judgement. In a way, Mike was the parent she never had.
Not that it helped her now. She was still wandering around Chicago with nothing to do. Even the feeling of being tracked or watched was gone. Cerberus wasn't after her anymore. No one was. It was a strange feeling, being a nobody just walking down the street. Jack wasn't too sure if she liked it.
At some point, she ended up in the suburbs. She wasn't sure how that happened. One moment she had been surrounded by tall buildings and loud traffic, the next it was two-storied houses and the quiet hum of a car going by. The trees lining the road were tall and blocked the sun with their leaves.
It was a picture that someone could've painted.
Which meant Jack had nothing to do with it. She was a badass biotic, able to throw down with the nastiest of them and come out on top. Being in a Red Sand den felt much more at home than here. Just looking at this street she knew she would never fit in. It was best to turn around and walk out.
Mike was there, disappointed again. "I don't belong here, Mike," Jack told him. "Might as well head out."
"Or, perhaps you should turn around and see what might happen."
Jack whipped around, hand reaching for a pistol only to touch flesh. Right, she had left her weapons behind. Good thing she still had her biotics. The woman standing beside her was beautiful, just like the cheerleader. Her hair was so blonde it could've been mistaken for white. Her clothes were pristine as they were causal, showing off the great figure underneath.
Already Jack didn't like her. She reminded her too much of the cheerleader. But the more she thought about it, there was something else about her. Something different, other. And considering Jack had gone up against the Collectors, Cerberus, and an infant Reaper, that was saying something. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't quite human.
The woman glanced her way and stopped. She stared, not at Jack but past her shoulder, where Mike was standing. "Harry wasn't kidding about that ghost," she remarked. "How long have he's been with you?"
"What's it to ya?" Jack demanded. "And who the fuck are you?"
"Language. You're in a nice neighborhood. But me?" Her lips quirked into a mysterious little smile. "I'm one of Zaeed's bosses."
The biotic went still at those words. After the last meeting in Chicago, everyone started paying more attention to the weird and funky (or the supernatural, as Miranda and Mordin insisted upon). It didn't take long for Jacob and Zaeed to admit that they had a second job. They were the Knights of the Summer & Winter Court, respectively. Which Jack figured that meant they were basically hatchet men who worked for people that couldn't in the galaxy.
She also did a little bit of reading (having snagged a book or two from Shepard) and learned that with the fancy title, the Knights only answered to three faeries each. The rulers of their Court. And one of them was standing right in front of her. "Which one are you?" she asked.
"The Lady. You can call me Molly." She looked back at the neighborhood, taking in the view. "So, what are you doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Jack asked back. "It's the middle of fucking summer."
"I know. But I'm not here in an official capacity, only for a daytime trip. What's your reasoning?"
"Nothing," she said quick. Too quick. "I was just walking."
"Think you can walk a little further?"
She glanced at the faerie. "What do you mean?"
"If you want to keep going, you might find something that you never knew you missed." She started forward, down the street. "Or, you can stay there. Be the same person you've always been."
Jack's hackles rose. Those words were a challenge, the kind that demanded to be answered. But despite what people might've thought about her, Jack wasn't an idiot. She did her research, talked with Jacob (after pouring him a few drinks), so she knew that if a faerie was offering her something, they always something in return. "What's this gonna cost me?" she asked.
"Not a thing."
"Bullshit. If you're who you say you are, then you want something."
She paused, becoming all but a statue in the street. "Not today, Jack," she said. When she looked back, she suddenly less other and more human. "Today, I'm not the Lady, just Molly. And I want to show you something. If you can't trust me, trust your friend."
Michael nodded once when Jack looked at him. He hadn't led her wrong once and she was willing to put her faith in him again. "Alright, but you try to fuck with me…"
The other woman laughed. It was surprisingly warm. "I won't. You might even end up thanking me. Come on."
The house they walked to didn't stand out from all the others. It had two floors, painted a warm blue that somehow managed to contrast with the white fence surrounding it, and had a big tree providing shade in the backyard. But what separated it from the others was the noise coming from inside. It sounded rather loud, like a party. And Jack had a funny feeling that it wasn't her kind of party. "What's going on here?" she asked Molly.
"Ben's birthday party."
She threw the woman a dirty look. "If you want me to be the surprise gift—"
"Ben is turning eight."
And just like that, her fury died. "…Never mind."
They were greeted at the door by a man four inches taller than Jack. And for some reason, reminded her of Michael. There was just something about the shape of his jaw and the color of his hair. "Molly," he said with surprising warmth. "We didn't think you were coming."
She smiled back, matching the warmth. "I wouldn't miss it, Fred. It's my nephew's birthday, after all."
When his eyes turned onto Jack, the warmth faded just enough to be replaced by curiosity. "Who's your friend?" He looked at her and her tattoos. Strange as it was, Jack was glad she chose to wear a t-shirt.
"This is Jack. She works with John and is in town for a few days. Figured I'd bring her around so she could enjoy herself."
"To a kid's party."
She smiled again. "Nothing wrong with that." The smile faded and concern crossed her eyes. "Is he here?"
Jack was confused but Fred wasn't. "In the den."
The house was definitely lived-in. They just stepped inside and already Jack saw messes of shoes all around. There was definitely screaming coming from the backyard, the kind that came from kids. It took Jack a second to realize they were screaming in fun, not pain. Molly went first, talking to every adult in the living room and kitchen. She was welcomed with friendly hugs and smiles by them all.
Jack didn't have that kind of welcome, only polite nods. She felt out of her depth here and didn't know what to say or do. The closest people she could relate to in the house were the three teens who were helping in the kitchen but clearly wanted to be anywhere else but there. And she was older than them by a decade, at least.
She started getting a few odd looks from some of the parents, particularly one woman, and decided to walk around the house. The dining room had a table long enough to fit at least ten people and had plenty of presents already on top. Jack had never seen so many colorful boxes before. And it was all for this Ben kid? She was starting to feel a little jealous.
"Go ahead and put yours on the table."
She glanced over. It was one of the teens, the eldest at sixteen. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tail while glasses covered her eyes. "What?"
The girl rolled her eyes. "You got a present, right? Just put it on the table. Not exactly hard," she muttered to herself.
That sounded like something Jack would say, so she was going to let it pass. "I don't have a present," she told her. "I was just looking."
"What? At a bunch of kiddie presents? It's not much, trust me."
"You don't know how lucky you are, girlie." Jack had never gotten a present for her birthday, let alone so many. If anything, she would've gotten drugs or a beating. She forced herself away from those memories and looked at the kid. "What's your name?"
"What's your?" she asked back.
"Jack."
She didn't believe it. "Really?"
"Yeah. So, what's yours."
"Sarah, Sarah Carpenter."
"You live here?"
"Nah, it's my uncle's house. My family lives on the other side of the city." As the older woman walked around, she followed. "So, how do you know Molly?" she asked as they went into the den. Molly was sitting by an old man. They were in deep conversation, complete with smiles and little laughs.
"Ran into her outside."
Sarah eyed the older woman. Her hair might've been short but she could still see the tattoo ringing around the back of her head and the rest covering her arms. And she was willing to bet there was more underneath that shirt. "And she brought you here?" she had to ask.
Her temper started to run thin, so she fixed the girl with a hard look. Almost instantly Sarah quailed and stepped back. Jack recognized that fear. It was the same kind her enemies realized who she was and just how bad they had screwed up.
And she was getting it from a teenager. Who probably never even held a gun before. "Yeah, she did," she said, losing the glare. She looked at the old man. "Who's he?"
Sarah found the courage to speak again. "That's Grandpa Hank. Molly says she's related to him but I don't see it." She considered the two for another moment before dismissing them. "They sure do spend a lot of time together whenever she comes by." She found it kinda weird that a grown woman would like to spend time with an old man. If she was that age, she would be heading out and having a good time, not here at a kiddie party.
Jack wasn't thinking that. She looked at Molly and considered Sarah again. If Molly's hair was darker while Sarah took off her glasses and pulled her hair free, they could've passed for sisters. Sarah didn't see that? How could she miss it?
She felt eyes on her. It was that woman from the kitchen. Sarah noticed it too. "What you did do to piss off my mom?" she asked in a whisper.
"No idea." She hadn't even talked to the woman. She walked over to the wall and looked at the pictures, keeping her hands in plain sight. All the photos were about family. The main family was Fred, his wife, and their two sons. There were other families in the photos, centered around who Jack believed was Fred's brother and sister. The further down she went, the younger the adults became, right up to the point when they were kids with their parents. They were all happy, smiling.
It twisted at Jack's gut to see them.
There was one photo at the far end. It was different from the rest, older. She didn't recognize any of the people, at first. But the more she looked at the family of eight, the more details revealed themselves. And two stood out so much, they all but slapped Jack in the face. The eldest girl might have been younger, but that was definitely Molly. And the man whose hand rested on her shoulder, with a content smile, was Mike.
"What the fuck…?"
"Turn around."
Jack froze at the voice. It belonged to the woman. A quick glance around showed everyone was watching them. "Look, lady, I ain't trying to do anything," she started.
"Just, turn around," the woman told her. "Please."
That last word was different from the rest. Hope was laced through it, along with a small sort of fear. Why would she sound like that? And why did she want to look at Jack? Wanting the answer herself, she turned around.
And found her own eyes looking at her.
"They told me you were dead," whispered the woman. "They wouldn't even let me see you. Said the sight wouldn't be pretty. Those bastards!" Tears started to leak out of her eyes. "They told me you were dead!"
Jack didn't know what was going on. And she wasn't the only one. "Elizabeth, what are you talking about?" Hank asked with a surprisingly strong voice. Everyone had gathered around, trying to understand. The only one who didn't was Molly.
The now-named Elizabeth looked at the old man. "Gramps, it's Jennifer. My daughter."
Silence reigned supreme in the den as she hugged Jack. The biotic was too busy being frozen in place to react. When her mind finally started running again, it was only because one question dominated it. "What!?"
Jack's life had changed, and she still couldn't believe it. Instead of living in that motel, all her things had been taken to a nice house in a very good part of Chicago. Her mother's house. She had just been moved in without any discussion or protests on her part.
But she couldn't argue, not when the sensation was still new. Elizabeth Carpenter was her mother. The story she told fitted from what Jack had discovered in the Shadow Broker's ship. She had been a wild child and chose to run away from home with a boyfriend. She ended up on Eden Prime, two months pregnant and the boyfriend having left. All but broke and alone, she was still determined to live on her own and be a mother, getting a job that paid enough for her. But when she finally gave birth, she had been told the baby died.
That was the moment she broke and called home. She was welcomed back with open arms and became determined to turn her life around, becoming a successful lawyer as well as marrying a man who loved her and stood by her side. All the while, she didn't know her firstborn had been taken away to Cerberus for her biotics.
But now, she knew she was alive and here. And she was ecstatic to have her daughter back.
Jack was fairly certain she was the only one who was. Her husband, Brian, welcomed Jack into their house but kept an eye on her. If it had been the kind of eye perverts gave her, she would've ignored him. But no, he watched her to see if she would do anything to hurt the children. In other words, he watched her like a father.
And then there were the kids. There were three in total. Amanda was the youngest, a toddler at three. Tim was the only son at eleven. And Sarah was the eldest. Out of all of them, only Amanda didn't care about how they had a new sister. She did like Jack's tattoo, constantly touching them, but that was it. Tim didn't hide from Jack but he also didn't try to know her. He was still getting used to her, just like she was to them.
It was Sarah who had an opinion about Jack. She didn't hate the newly-discovered sister but she didn't want her around. It wasn't anything Sarah said, but just the way she acted. Closed off, giving short answers when asked something, and giving Jack the stink-eye whenever she got close.
Jack was reminded of when she first came aboard the Normandy. It wasn't so amusing when she was on the other end of it. Still, she tried not to lose her temper on the girl. This was all new to Jack, and it was nice. It filled something she didn't know she had been missing, not since she left the Normandy. But Sarah didn't make it easy. While Amanda liked touching Jack's tattoos and Tim was happy someone would listen to him chatter, their sister did her best to ignore her.
Elizabeth wasn't worried. She was certain that they would get over this and become sisters. Jack wondered where she got the hope but chose to believe her. She was willing to be a part of this family. The only thing she stood strong on was her name. It was Jack, not Jennifer.
When her mother (and fuck that was still strange!) asked Jack to go pick Sarah after school, she didn't argue. The address was saved in her omni-tool, along with directions, so it didn't take her long to find it. "Shit, this place looks fancy," she thought as she looked up at the school. Four-stories high, impossibly clean, a fence wrapped around the perimeter, and all the kids leaving in crisp-looking uniforms? This was not a school she would've gotten into, that much is certain.
Sarah was easily spotted. She was one of the taller girls leaving. But she was also leaving at a speed that was two steps short of running. And she was heading in a different direction. "What the hell?" Jack thought. Sarah must've seen her. Did she really not want to be seen with that much? Then she noticed a couple of students following Sarah, four in total. All girls and all wearing vicious smirks.
Jack knew those smirks. She had been on both ends of them, so she knew what was going to happen next. "Fuck no."
Getting around the students took a few moments but Jack was able to see Sarah rush into an alley and the girls followed. She got there just in time to see them hem her in, knocking her books to the ground. Papers spilled out across the ground. They were already talking, saying things to Sarah that made her cower.
"Hey!" Jack shouted as she walked up.
"Shit, an adult," one of the girls muttered, just before she put on an innocent smile.
There were plenty of those around. One of the girls, Jack guessed she was the leader, stepped forward. "Is there a problem, ma'am?" she asked. "We were just helping our friend—"
"Save it," Jack told her. "I saw what you were doing. You're not going to do it again."
The smiles stilled and then turned into smug smirks. "And who's going to make us?"
Jack smirked and flared her biotics. The alley was awash with blue as it coated her hand, shocking the girls. "I'm the woman who's gonna throw you against the wall again and again until you get the point," she said. "But more importantly? I'm Sarah's sister." She all but stomped up to them, making sure they could see the biotics. "Fortunately, we've got better things to do than worry about a couple of brats. So fuck off."
Sarah couldn't believe how fast they ran. They were gone, just like that. She had been picked on by those four since the start of the year and they were running as if God himself was after them. Boots scraping against stone brought her attention back to the other woman. "You okay?" Jack asked.
"Y-Yeah." She got back to her feet and started collecting her papers.
Her new sister picked up the book by her boot. " Poets of the Late Victorian Era," she read off the title. Sarah waited for the jokes to come. They always did. "You get to Tennyson yet?"
That wasn't what she was expecting. "Uh, not yet." She stood back up and took the book. "You've read him?"
"He's okay," Jack said with a shrug. "I like beat poetry more." She noticed the look from Sarah. "What, I can't like poetry?"
"No, you can," Sarah assured her. "I just…didn't think that would interest you."
"Lemme guess, you think I'd be more interested in fights or drinking?" Her sister didn't say anything. Her silence said it all. "Speaking of fights, why haven't you done anything about those brats?" Jack asked, pointing back down the alley.
"What can I do?"
"Fight."
That sounded great and all, but she saw a problem. "I don't know how. I…I never learned." She never thought that she would need it, until she started high school. She didn't want to tell her parents because she knew they would be disappointed. Mom especially would encourage her to turn the other cheek.
"…Guess you're gonna learn then." Jack ignored her surprised look while she checked her omni-tool's map. There was a park nearby. They could use that. "I'll let the parents know that we'll be home late. C'mon." She wouldn't have any arguments and strode off. Her sister had no choice but to follow.
When they came home two hours later, things were a little bit better between them. Jack had shown her a few tricks to fighting and then they talked about different poets and art. Sarah had been amazed that most of Jack's tattoos (including the ones she hadn't seen) were self-done. She had good skill at it.
Brian accepted their reasoning with good grace, even though he did have questions about why Sarah wouldn't tell them about the bullying. Elizabeth was happy her two eldest daughters were getting along. It was a good first step and she hoped Jack would take the next one after that.
They were told to go wash up for dinner. It was a phrase Jack had never understood. Was she supposed to take a shower or just wash her hands? She went with the latter. Safer bet. As she walked back down the hallway, Michael was there, waiting. Jack looked at him for a moment. "I know who you are," she said. It was hard not to after seeing that picture. "You're Michael Carpenter." He nodded in silence. "So, what? You decided to stick around because I got taken away?"
"I'm not a ghost, Jack. I never was."
It was the first time he had ever spoken to her. It left her stunned. She wanted to curse up a storm and rant. But explaining that she was yelling at someone only she could see was not something that was gonna work. "Alright, what are you then?"
He just smiled in that warm way of his. "What else would I be?"
She didn't want to say it, not at first. But there was only one other answer Jack could come up with. "A guardian angel?" Her great-great grandfather nodded, still smiling. Then another question came to mind. "Why me?"
"Why not you? You needed someone in your corner, Jack. Even if you didn't want them there."
She couldn't argue that bit. But she did have a question. "If you could talk all this time, why now? Why…?" She trailed off as her own question was answered. "You're leaving, aren't you?" Now that she was with family, living family, he must've felt that his job was done and he could go.
Michael smiled again and reached out, cupping her cheek. Even though there was nothing there, Jack would've sworn she felt his hand. "I'm always here, Jack. You just have to look."
She couldn't help the snort. "Yeah, that's not cryptic."
"I worked with a wizard. I picked up a few things." He pulled his hand back. "By the way, the next time you see Shepard's grandfather, tell him I said hello."
Brian called for dinner. Jack gave a quick shout to say she was coming. But when she looked back, Michael was gone. It was surprising, but there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, she could still feel his gaze as she went and joined her family.
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
When I wrote the first chapter, Jack having a ghost around her wasn't just a throwaway line. I had already considered her to be a descendant of Michael Carpenter. For me, having the psychotic biotic be related to a man who's the living definition of a White Knight was interesting.
If it seems that I tend to focus on Jack when it comes to Mass Effect stories, that's because she's interesting to me. There's just so much a writer can do with her, especially given how much of her past is left rather vague. I mean, I've got an idea for a story where Jack is the last living member of the Hellsing family and becomes the master of Alucard when the Reaper War begins. There's just so much fun to be have there. Also in the story, Jack has a crush on a female Shepard, who is Alexander Anderson's successor as a paladin but less fanatic and in a loving relationship with Liara. Can you imagine how baffled Alucard would be at the lack of hostility from a Catholic?
But back to this story, it basically puts Jack in a situation she has no clue how to deal with: a happy loving family. That's a scenario she's never thought about. But it would also give her a chance that not everything is out to get her and there's a possibility of walking away from all the bad stuff.
I'll see you all next chapter!
