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#RedrockAgency – November 16, 2016
Vasquez has not emerged from the room for almost two hours, leaving Jason to eat breakfast alone. She's gotten dressed - gray fatigue pants and a white tanktop - and cleaned up. She's currently pacing back and forth across the room, mind still racing even now, obvious by the restlessness in her step. She's shown no real sign of stopping this over the last hour or so.
Jason though obviously upset over the whole ordeal, told Vasquez that he would give her some space and has done so. After showering and breakfast, he went to begin his daily routine and he's currently jogging silently on the treadmill in the gym, staring blankly across the room at a spot on the wall. So lost in his own head, he hasn't even turned the TV on in the room, so there's just the constant hum of the treadmill and running
Vasquez stops, staring at the window for a moment and then letting out a frustrated grunt before heading out the door. She walks at a quick pace to the rec room, grabbing a bottle of yoghurt and drinking it on her way to the gym. She stops in the doorway as she notices that Jason is already in there, but then enters, heading for one of the weight machines without saying anything. She settles into the seat and grabs the
Jason glances towards the door as Vasquez enters, snapping out of his daze and giving an awkward nod that tells the story of someone who doesn't know what to say but doesn't want to make things awkward so they smile awkwardly and nod awkwardly and make things incredibly awkward. Nailed it. He shifts his gaze back to the wall, silently cursing himself. Reaching out, he ups the speed and picks up his pace. A few good minutes pass
with just the sound of his running shoes clapping against the treadmill and Vasquez' weight machine clanking back and forth before he decides to break the silence. "You-... uhhh..... you alright?" he asks. It's a sincere question, though one backed by some obvious hesitation.
Vasquez doesn't respond right away, a few more reps passing in silence before "No." is heard, mixed in with the quiet grunts. Regaining her shape after the incident had been hard work, and closely linked to regaining her motor function. Even though she doesn't go out into the field anymore she keeps a strict workout schedule. Rehabilitation has made it more important than ever to her, and it's stuck even though she's more
or less fine physically at this point. A few beads of sweat are starting to form, and it seems as if she's trying to burn a hole through the gym wall with her stare.
Jason gives a few nods, his own stare fixed on a single point on the gym wall. "Yeah...." he says softly, "...I get that." He places one hand against the handrail in front of him, returning to jogging along in silence for the moment. "...So what are we gonna do about it?" he finally asks, visibly wincing as he decides to press his luck. He certainly has never been one to just spill his heart, but as tightlipped and deflective as
Vasquez 's eyebrows furrow at the question, and for a moment her gaze falls to the floor as she considers the question, still continuing her exercise. She pauses briefly, grabbing her water and taking a quick sip before saying "Nothing to be done." She reaches for the grips and resumes.
Jason bites back on a sigh. "Is that how you really feel?" he asks, giving a glance down to the readout on the equipment and poking at a few of the buttons to change some settings. "I jus-..." he groans, already tiring of dancing around the elephant in the room. It shouldn't be this way between them. Besides, the room is more than big enough for the both of them and an elephant. "We don't have to tiptoe around the obvious here,
Linda. She's Cerberus. And Cerberus are most definitely on my 'naughty' list this Christmas. There. That's out of the way, right?" he asks, finding surprisingly little difficulty in holding a conversation as he continues to jog, though it causes a slight uneveness in the cadence of his speech. "But she's also your mother. That has to-... I guess-..." he stammers, "You don't need to feel bad for-.... for, you know, wanting
Vasquez allows the weights to fall back into place with a grunt. She leans back against the seat as she looks over to Jason. "I don't. " she says, halfway snarling. "Why would I? After the things she's done?" She glares at him, as if he should know better than to ask, but after a couple of seconds her gaze turns back to the wall. She doesn't resume her workout.
Jason throws a hand up defensively, as if to remind her he's just making conversation. No judgements here. "I'm just saying!" he exclaims, the undertone one of an apology. His hand returns to the treadmill's interface and soon enough it begins to slow down, as does Jason along with it. Sucking in a deep breath, he turns to face Vasquez from his position as the treadmill comes to a stop and leans back against the handholds for the
treadmill. There's a split second where he seems to nearly lose his footing as the treadmill finishes winding down, but he plays it off as if he was just shifting his weight. "But-... I guess if you were looking for an answer...?" he asks tentatively, not bothering to give Vasquez a chance to respond before he continuies, "I don't think there's anything wrong with the simple fact that she's your mom, right?" He shrugs his
shoulders, placing both hands on the rails to help prop himself up, "I'm not telling you what to think or how to feel, Linda. I don't want it to come across like that. I just know if-..." he bites down, looking briefly uncomfortable as he glances off to the side. His gaze then moves down to the floor. The treadmill. Finally back to Vasquez. "I know-..." he begins, his voice a fraction lower than previously, "...if I had
the opportunity to see my mom again? To talk to her? Get answers to questions I never thought I'd get the chance to ask again? And I was in your exact position? After everything we've been through with Cerberus? I might very well react the exact same way you are." he admits, allowing that to linger for a moment before saying anything else. "And I'd probably regret it. I just want you to-... Not-... uhh.... Don't... You
know what I'm saying!" he says, getting frustrated at his inability to word, "I don't want you to kick yourself in the ass a few years from now. Or next month. Or-... yeah."
Vasquez allows Jason to say his piece uninterrupted, staring at the wall in silence. The mention of his mother causes her to glance his way for a moment, before leaning forward and resting her arms on her legs as she looks down at the floor. When he's done she closes her eyes, letting out a loud sigh. "You think I'm just going to look past everything that's happened? The woman's insane. Fucking evil." Her eyes open and she
looks at him again, her expression softening. "I-... Jason, I appreciate your concern... I know you mean well. But I don't ever want to see her again. She's obviously not the person I thought she was." She looks past Jason, gritting her teeth. "...would've been better if she was dead."
Jason winces at Vasquez' final statement, his gaze moving back to the floor. He gives a slow, short nod, unable to decide whether or not he agrees with that sentiment, but it wasn't his decision to make anyway. He steps off the treadmill as he looks to Vasquez once again, swiping his towel off the handhold and swinging it over his shoulder before approaching her. "People are hardly ever exactly who you think they are, right?" he
says with a sigh, bringing one end of the towel up to wipe at the small amount of sweat on his forehead as his mind drifts back to his old friend briefly. "People have all sorts of secrets and crap stored away. Then you-... you dig through it and it can just change your entire opinion of a person, you know?" He adjusts the towel to keep it in place over his shoulder, "I'm not saying you're wrong for-..." he gives a little
kick against the ground, "...kicking her to the side. Like I said, you feel how you feel." He awkwardly lifts his leg over the bench Vasquez is on, attempting to squeeze in behind her. Given that the bench is most certainly not made for two, it's quite uncomfortable and unelegant. "I'm just saying-..." he begins with a grunt as he settles in behind Vasquez, snaking a synthetic arm around her waist and leaning forward to
press his chest against her back and a quick kiss against her shoulder, "...It doesn't undo all the good shit. The good memories you have of her. Sometimes good people just do bad shit and it's as simple as that, right?"
Vasquez ' frown deepens as her irritation grows, remaining silent as Jason speaks, but when he tries to join her she actually shifts to accomodate him, moving forward a bit. When he finishes she leans back against him, a quiet sigh escaping her as she closes her eyes again. He's awfully annoying sometimes. Especially when he knows he has a point. "Jason... don't. You didn't-... don't know her. I'm not even sure anymore
if I did. She made a choice to join those people. You heard her. She actually believes their bullshit!" She runs her hand along Jason's arm, until she reaches his hand, placing her own over it and squeezing. "She was part of this. Hell, for all I know she ordered it." Vasquez turns, shifting one leg over the bench and looking to Jason, studying him for a moment. "I don't care what her reasons are. I don't
care she's my mother. The things Cerberus have done are unforgivable. I don't know what part of her deranged mind made her think she could just... reach out and patch things up." Her frown returns as she glances off to the side briefly. "Maybe she's trying to lure me back in? Stick another chip in my brain?" she says, looking back to Jason, her growing frustration undercut by her voice breaking. "Did that occur to
Jason furrows his brow as Vasquez speaks, his gaze growing distant as she mentions his prosthetics. His expression is a full-on frown by the time she finishes. "Of course it did!" he says, sounding almost angry that Vasquez would assume he would be willing to put her in danger, "It was all I could think about. And I didn't need her to show up for that to be the case, Linda. It's always on my mind! Okay!?" He searches her face
for a moment before his expression softens and he breaks eye contact, a brief look of guilt crossing his features for letting his frustration get the better of him for a moment. "But I would die before I let anything like that happen to you ever again... Alright?"
Vasquez reaches for Jason's synthetic hand again, squeezing it tightly as she looks down at his arm, before looking up at him again. His final comment causes her to frown and immediately exclaim: "That's what I'm afraid of!" she wraps her arms around him, giving him a quick but awkward hug, her position all wrong. As she pulls away she shakes her head. "I'm not letting her hurt us. Not again. I don't care that she's-...
that she's... who she is. She's Cerberus. That's all that matters. If she really cared she wouldn't still be with those monsters after what they did to us. After... after what they made me do." Her gaze has fallen back down to Jason's arm, and she's tracing her fingers up along the metal and plastic compounds with a distant look. After a short pause she manages to break away, meeting his gaze once more. "I don't
Jason falls silent once again as Vasquez speaks. His gaze moves to her hand as her fingers move across his arms that are no longer his. He bites down hard, pushing back the discomfort he always feels when attention is brought to his arms. "...I understand, Linda." he says softly and it seems, for a moment, as if that might be the end of discussion. But a moment later he sucks in a deep breath through his nose and shakes his head.
"I just-... I can't help but-..." he trails off, looking to the side for a moment as he chooses his words. "....What if they did the same thing to her, Linda? What if-... What if she never wanted to leave you and your brother?" he asks, returning his gaze to Vasquez and searching her face for any sort of reaction. Surely the thought must have crossed her mind, too, at some point? "I mean, for all we know Cerberus could
have snatched her up, faked her death, stuck one of those-... those-..." he brings a hand up, tapping a synthetic fingertip against his temple, "...chip dealy thingos in her head...?" Maybe it was a longshot, but the feeling in his gut just won't allow him to move on without at least considering the possibility that it might be the case.
Vasquez frowns again, an annoyed and uncomfortable look crossing her face as she looks out across the room. "Of course I've considered that." she says, seemingly a little offended by the idea that she hasn't. Her gaze inevitably returns to him. "Jason, I know what it's like to be under the influence of one of those things. That's not what it was. Just-... please... stop this." she requests, her voice softer. As she
swallows there's a hint of glossiness in her eyes. She stands up, walking across the room. "I... understand you're trying to help, but you're not." She stops by one of the windows, looking out at the snow. "Would you please just stop? I'm not going to talk to her."
Jason's gaze lowers once again. There's no arguing that. She certainly has more of an idea of how all of that brain chippy stuff works, though that fact alone saddens him. She shouldn't know how it works. He remains seated on the bench as Vasquez gets up. "Yeah..." he agrees with a nod. "...Of course. It's your choice, Linda. I'm not trying to convince you one way or another. Really." he attempts to explain, looking back to her
as she steps away. "I just thought-... with your reaction, which was perfectly understandable given the batshit insane circumstances-..." he clarifies, "...maybe you needed to hear that it's alright to at least entertain the idea of talking to her, you know? That's all." He raises his right hand, as if to prove he's telling the truth. "I was wrong." he admits, forcing a lopsided smirk up as he relents, attempting to
Vasquez ' shoulders drop, and she lets out a drawn-out sigh before turning back towards him. "I know you're just... trying to help." she says, tired look on her face. "I'm not going to pretend I have a grip on all this." She heads towards him, stopping near the machine and giving a shrug as she looks out across the room. "I don't. It's... crazy." she says with an empty chuckle. "But I know I don't want her in my life. Our
life." She reaches down and places a hand on Jason's shoulder, frowning slightly as she realizes she's touching only cybernetics, and sliding it over to his neck instead. "This is what matters to me. Our family." she says, a faint smile spreading across her lips.
Jason listens as Vasquez speaks, giving a short nod in agreement with just how 'crazy' the situation is, though he doesn't say anything more on the subject. He said his piece, but it's her decision. At least it's obvious that she's been thinking on it, which is all Jason could hope for. No kneejerk reactions. He glances up at Vasquez as she returns to his side and brings his opposite hand up to put it over hers. "Our family." he
repeats with a nod, clearly liking the sound of that. His hand moves from Vasquez' hand to her belly, his gaze following behind it. "Speaking of which... When do we find out if we're having a Jason Jr. or a Linda Jr.?" he asks with a big grin as he swivels around on the bench to face Vasquez and plants a quick kiss on her stomach before looking back up to her. "Is it too early for all of that?"
Vasquez ' smile grows as she looks down at Jason. "Yes. It's way too early for that." she says with a snicker, closing her eyes for a moment as she moves one of her own hands to her belly as well, snaking her fingers in between Jason's. "I can't wait..." she says, her mood rapidly improving with the change of subject. "For all of it..." she looks up at where the wall meets the ceiling as her eyes open.
Jason gives a snicker of his own, looking up at Vasquez. "That makes two of us..." he says and, despite the bouts of terror and fear of what fatherhood is going to be like, his words are sincere. He gives her hand a light squeeze as he gazes up at her. "You're going to be a great mother, Linda." he says matter-of-factly, a silent promise between them that they won't make the same mistakes their parents did.