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Prom
T minus 2 weeks.
“Honey, is that you?” Teri called when she
heard the front door.
“Yeah, baby.” Jack called back.
“Could you come here for a moment?”
“Where are you?”
“Kitchen.”
She heard his footsteps behind her but
didn’t turn.
“Hey, beautiful.” Jack whispered against
her neck, his arms wrapping around her and his lips tickling her skin.
“Hey, gorgeous. How was your day?”
“Hmmm … okay I guess. I didn’t have to kill
anybody.”
“That’s good.”
He continued to nibble on her neck, his
arms tightly wrapped around her.
“Look, I need to talk to you.”
“I’m all ears, baby.” Jack whispered
against her neck.
“Jack, I’m serious.” Teri replied, chilling
the mood.
“What is it?” Jack asked worriedly.
“Have a seat.”
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“Just have a seat Jack, please.”
“Okay.” Jack sighed, letting go of her.
He took a seat at the kitchen table and she
took hers opposite him.
‘Uh
ohhhhh’ his mind screamed, ‘what have
you done this time’
It was never good when Teri sat on the
other side of the table.
“Look, it’s about Kim.”
“What?” Jack exclaimed, “What happened?”
“Nothing happened, Jack, will you stay calm
for a minute.”
“Sorry. You just scared me.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of, Kim’s
fine.”
“Okay.”
“Look, she asked me to talk to you because
… well … because she’s afraid you’re going to do something silly again.”
“Me?” Jack exclaimed, “Do something silly?
Silly like what?”
“Like what you did last time Xander was
here.”
His expression turned to disbelief.
“Xander-”
“Is Kim’s boyfriend, Jack,” Teri cut in,
“we have to respect her feelings.”
“But he’s-”
“Kim’s boyfriend.” Teri interrupted him
again.
“Look, it’s almost prom night and Kim
really wants to go but if you act like that every time Xander stops by to see
her, he’s not going to stay around much longer and she won’t have a date for
the prom.”
“If she doesn’t have a date, we won’t have
to worry about her.” Jack drew his very simple conclusion.
“Jack, please.”
“Well, what? How many girls get knocked up
on prom night?”
“Our daughter is a little smarter than that,
Jack.”
“Yeah but I don’t think this Xander-kid
is.”
“He doesn’t have to be, honey, Kim is.”
“Okay, so why are you telling me this?”
“Because Xander is joining us for dinner
tonight.”
“Honeeeeeey.”
Jack moaned.
“Hey, no complaining. He called Kim earlier
today and she invited him, I told her it was okay. I don’t want my daughter to
sit at home crying her eyes out on prom night, Jack, do you understand me.”
He dropped his shoulders and sighed.
“It’s very simple. Either you promise me you’ll
behave or you can go back to work and sleep in the office tonight.”
“But I-”
“No buts, Jack. Yes, ma’am.”
This time, he hung his head.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. What’s it gonna be?”
“I’ll be good.”
“Perfect. Go take a shower and change,
Xander will be here in twenty minutes and dinner will be ready in forty.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She got up and walked around the table,
cupped his face in her hands and raised his head so she could look at him.
“I love you, Jack.”
“I love you, too.”
“Now, upstairs and go take that shower.”
“Will you join me?”
“No, I’m fixing dinner.”
He pouted and dropped his shoulders again.
It made her smile, as always, and she
leaned in to kiss him softly.
“Maybe after Xander is gone.”
It put a smile on his face again.
“Now go.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He stole another kiss as he pushed up and
headed upstairs, already unbuttoning his shirt.
If ‘behaving’ with Xander was a condition
to spending a hot night with Teri, then behave he would.
The mere thought of the hot night already
turned him on but he kept from touching himself.
He wanted to keep all of that for Teri.
He took a quick but hot shower and changed
into an old pair of jeans and a tee.
The jeans were stained and patched up on
the knee, but he loved them, they reminded him of a crazy summer with Teri
years ago and he wore them whenever he could.
He went downstairs just as Kim opened the
door to let Xander in.
“Hey, dad,” she said cheerfully as she
noticed him, “I didn’t know you were home yet.”
“I got in about half an hour ago, but I wanted
to take a shower before dinner.” Jack replied, keeping his eyes on Xander but
pulling Kim into his arms for a hearty hug.
The expression on his face was one that
said ‘aren’t you a jealous little sucker,
I’m getting the hug instead of you’.
“Mister Bauer.” Xander said quietly,
extending his hand.
Jack took it and gave it a good squeeze,
making the kid wince in pain.
“How nice to see you again, Zander,” Jack said, making a point of
pronouncing the name wrong, “come on in.”
He stepped out of the way, holding on to
Kim and waving Xander in.
“How was your day, sweetheart?” he asked,
turning back to look at Kim.
“Good, how was yours?” Kim replied, trying
to angle out of his arm.
He wouldn’t let go.
“Mine was fine, I didn’t even have to kill anybody today.”
“Dad, stop it.” Kim scolded, slapping him
on the chest.
“Well, what? Your mom asked the same
question and I gave her the same answer, she didn’t mind.”
“Hi, Xander, how are you?” Teri asked,
coming out of the kitchen.
“I’m fine, misses Bauer, thank you. How are
you?”
“I’m fine, here let me take your jacket.”
“Oh, Teri, he can hang his jacket for
himself,” Jack said a little coldly, “can’t you, Zander?”
“Uhh, yes sir, of course.”
“The coat rack is right there.” Jack said,
pointing to it.
“Thank you, sir.” Xander said, shrugging
his leather jacket off and hanging it on the first free hanger he found.
The tablet underneath held a number of
items, including Jack’s gun which he had taken off the moment he walked in.
Jack noticed how the boy’s eyes dropped to
it and he saw him swallow hard before turning back and forcing a shy smile onto
his face for Kim’s benefit.
She held out his hand and Jack finally let
go of her, so Xander took her hand and followed her into the living room.
“So tell me, Zander,” Jack said as he followed the young couple into the living
room.
“Dad,” Kim interrupted, “it’s Xander, not
Zander.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart, I’m not used to
such an exotic name.” Jack replied, flashing a grin at Xander, “You don’t mind,
do you, Zander?”
“Uhhh, no, sir … not at all.”
“Good, so tell me, Zander, what are you majoring in again? Car mechanics?”
“Jack!” Teri scolded.
“What? Wasn’t that what you told me last
time?” he asked, seemingly genuine.
“No, sir, I’m majoring in English
literature.”
“English literature, huh? Wow. Somehow, I
would never have expected that.” Jack replied slowly, giving Xander a long
head-to-toe.
“Dad, you should know the clothes don’t
make the man.” Kim said.
“These clothes certainly don’t.” Jack
replied quietly.
“Have a seat, Zander.” he continued,
raising his voice back to a normal volume.
Teri gave him a warning look but he smiled
at her and she turned back to the kitchen. Dinner was almost ready now and she
couldn’t risk leaving it alone for long. Besides, Kim was there, the chances of
Jack getting nasty on Xander were less than when they were left alone.
“Jack, honey?” Teri called out a few
minutes later.
“Yes, honey?” Jack called back.
“Could you come give me a hand with the
table?”
“Oh, I’ll help you, misses Bauer.” Xander
called back before Jack could reply.
He almost jumped off the couch and hurried
into the kitchen.
“Dad, this is not funny.” Kim whispered the
moment he was out of view, “Could you please
stop it?”
“Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” Jack
said, holding his hands up in surrender, “I just asked him what he was majoring
in.”
“You know
what he’s majoring in, I already told
you what he’s majoring in. Could you pretty
please not ruin it for me this time, I’d really
like for him to take me to the prom.”
“I just want you to be alright, sweetheart,
I don’t think-”
“Dad, please,” Kim interrupted, “you don’t
even know him.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll give him the benefit of
the doubt, but I am going to have a
little talk with him.”
“Fine, just don’t stick your gun in his
face.”
“I’ve never-”
“Oh, you sure have, dad,” Kim cut in again,
“more than once.”
“Okay, fine, I promise I won’t stick my gun
in his face tonight.” Jack said.
“No, dad, that’s not good enough.” Kim
said, “Not tonight, not tomorrow, not next week. Never.”
“I can’t promise you that, sweetheart. But
I promise for tonight.”
“Cross your heart.”
Jack did.
“And hope to die.” he finished it.
“Dinner’s ready.” Teri called.
“Perfect timing.” Jack grinned.
Jack took Kim’s hand and held it until they
got to the kitchen where Xander was just finishing setting the table for Teri.
Jack angled Kim to the chair on his right, pointing to the one on his left
while meeting Xander’s eyes. The youngster sat down quickly, briefly meeting
Kim’s eyes, but he felt Jack’s stare on him and dropped his gaze just as
quickly. Teri served dinner and they started on their food. Xander complimented
her on her cooking nearly at once and Kim smiled at him encouragingly. If he
was ever going to get her dad’s approval, he’d have to live up to his
expectations.
“Would you like another serving, Zander?”
Jack asked when he noticed the boy’s plate was nearly empty.
“No, thank you, sir,” Xander replied, “I’m
fine.”
“Are you sure?” Jack insisted, “You didn’t
eat much, I wouldn’t want to have to worry about Kim’s safety if you ever took
her out. I’d rather know you had at least some
energy.”
Teri gave him a warning look but he ignored
it.
“Here have some more.”
He served him more meat and vegetables
without encountering any further protest.
“I wouldn’t want you to pass out or
anything.”
Xander finished the second serving too, be
it with some difficulty.
“Kim, sweetie, will you help me clear the
table?” Teri asked when they were all done.
“That’s okay, honey,” Jack replied, “Zander
and I will take care of that, why don’t you girls go wait for us in the living
room.”
He paused and turned to look at the
youngster.
“Zander and I need to talk.” he added,
dropping his voice somewhat.
“Jack, you know what I told you.” Teri
warned.
“Oh, don’t worry, honey, I’ll be nice.”
Jack replied, never taking his eyes off Xander.
“Come on, Kim.” Teri said, taking her
daughter out of the kitchen.
“Why don’t you start by clearing the dishes,
Zander.” Jack said dryly, “While I get the water running.”
“Yes, sir.” Xander replied quietly, pushing
up and picking his and Jack’s plate off the table.
This was going to be interesting.
Jack got up too and went over to the sink,
shutting the dishwasher with his hip and running water to do the dishes
manually.
Xander cleaned the plates off and piled
them up next to the sink.
“Do you prefer to wash or dry, Zander?”
Jack asked.
“I don’t mind either, sir.”
“You can pick.” Jack insisted.
“Wash.”
“Good, then you’ll dry.” Jack replied,
tossing a towel to him.
He absolutely hated doing the dishes, but because
Xander said he preferred to wash, he’d do it, just to piss the little
cocksucker off. Under any different circumstances, everything would’ve
disappeared into the dishwasher, but just this once, he was going to do it by
hand.
“So tell me, Zander,” Jack started after a
moment, “do you like doing the dishes?”
“No, sir, I don’t. Do you?”
“No, I hate it, that’s why I got a
dishwasher, so I don’t have to do them anymore.”
“I see.” Xander replied quietly.
“Do you help your parents out, too? Or are
you doing this so I’ll let you take my daughter out?”
“My parents also have a dishwasher, sir.”
“Smart people. Probably coz they always
ended up having to do it by themselves anyway.”
“No, sir, because my mom has a disability
and it’s easier for my dad.”
“Well it could be easier on your dad if you
helped out, don’t you agree?”
“I suppose so, sir.”
“Why do you keep calling me sir, Xander?”
Jack shot at him suddenly, taking him by surprise by getting his name right.
“Be … because I think I should show you
respect.”
“Why?”
“Because … because you’re an adult.”
“Do you call every adult, sir?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So you’re not calling me sir because I’m an adult.”
“No, sir. I do because I think I should
show you respect because you are an adult.”
“Hmm … I guess you actually could be majoring in English lit instead
of car mechanics.” Jack replied, a little surprised to find the kid paying
enough attention to bypass the trap.
He was starting to score points.
Slowly.
One after another.
If he scored twenty, he’d let him come
back.
When the dishes were done and the kitchen
cleaned up, Jack told Xander to take a seat.
He went out into the hall and retrieved his
gun and his cleaning kit.
He felt Xander’s shock as he put the gun
down on the kitchen table.
“Don’t worry, Zander,” Jack said, going
back to mispronouncing the name, “I promised Kim I wouldn’t stick my gun in
your face, but I do need to clean
it, so I’ll take advantage and do it while you and I have that talk we need to
have.”
He pulled the gun out of the holster and
ejected the clip, then emptied the barrel.
“Do you always have one in the pipe?”
Jack looked up from his gun and eyed the
kid a long time before answering.
“Do you know what line of work I’m in,
Xander?”
It was back to the right pronunciation.
He wasn’t fucking around, he was serious.
Serious called for getting things right.
“Kim mentioned you work for the government.”
“That’s just about as detailed as you’ll
ever get it,” Jack replied, “having a bullet in the pipe can save your life. It
only takes a split second but it can be one split second too long.”
“I see.”
“How much do you know about guns, Xander?”
“My uncle is a cop, sir.” Xander replied,
“I’ve been to the shooting range with him a few times.”
“Do you know how to fire a weapon?”
“No, sir, he never let me.”
“Smart man.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it will keep you from getting
cocky when you get your hands on one. Getting cocky with guns is what gets
people killed, Xander. If you want to date my daughter, keep away from them.”
“I want to be a teacher, sir, not a
gangbanger.”
“Well you’ve got the intention to make
something of your life, that’s a start.”
Jack started dismantling the gun, laying
out the pieces in front of him after what he opened the small box and started
cleaning the weapon.
“About the prom.” he said out of the blue.
“Yes, sir?”
“You want to take Kim, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Are you serious about her?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How serious? Get married, have babies?”
“Well maybe not right now, sir. I think we
should get to know each other a little better first and maybe get our careers
started before thinking about raising a family.”
“How much better are you planning on
getting to know her, Xander?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“I mean prom night.” Jack replied coldly,
locking his cold gaze on the youngster, “I mean getting a little backseat
action maybe.”
“Oh, no-”
“What? Do you think I’m ignorant, Zander? Do you think I don’t know how
many girls get knocked up on prom night?”
“Sir, I …”
“You what?” Jack snapped, “Are you trying
to make me believe you’re not interested in getting a little action on prom
night?”
Xander was baffled.
Surprised at the hostile attitude that had
come out of nowhere.
He knew Jack didn’t like him very much, but
he never would’ve expected to get this much hostility.
Jack was very protective of Kim.
“I think you have a wrong image of me,
sir.” Xander said as calmly as he possibly could.
“I’m only seeing the image you’re putting
up of yourself, Xander. And what you’re putting up, isn’t very trustworthy.”
He put down the barrel of the gun and the
cloth he had been using and leaned towards Xander.
“With your leather jacket and macho
attitude.”
He leaned back in his chair.
“The image I have of you, Xander, is one of
a player. The hotshot in college trying to get as many girls as possible. I’m
not sure I want to give you a chance to add my daughter to that list.”
“Sir, I-”
“Shut up, I’m talking.” Jack snapped.
“If I let you take her to the prom, you’ll make
her feel special. If you end up getting your way with her that night, which is
what I think you’re planning on, and then drop her like a brick, you’ll break
her heart.”
“I really don’t want a little cocksucker
like you to break her heart.”
The look on Xander’s face changed from
surprise to anger.
Jack knew he was pushing his luck.
If Teri walked into the room now, he would
be sleeping in the office for a week.
He had to make it quick, but he had to make
sure the little shit understood what he meant.
“If you take my daughter to the prom and
break her heart, I can promise you one thing, boy,” Jack snarled, leaning
across the table again, “I will come after you and I will make you regret the
day you were born.”
He leaned even closer.
“Do I make myself clear?”
Xander nodded slowly.
“Good. Then get up, go in there and thank
my wife for dinner, take your jacket and get the hell out of my house.”
Xander swallowed hard and held Jack’s cold
gaze a moment longer.
“Kim asked me to help her with her homework,
sir. I promised I would.”
His voice wavered and Jack could see the
fear creep up on him with every word he spoke, but he held his ground.
“Do you think you should be challenging me,
boy?” Jack asked dryly, leaning back in his chair again.
“I don’t think I’m challenging you, sir.
I’m merely stating the fact Kim asked me to help her with her homework and I
think it’s important enough to want to help her with this. If, of course, you
had rather see me leave, I’m sure you will be understanding when your daughter
flunks her exam next week.”
“English lit, huh?” Jack chuckled, “Well at
least you’re not afraid to stand up for yourself and you’re actually doing it
in an articulate way. You’ve just earned yourself the right to stay.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“It doesn’t mean you can take her to the
prom, though.” Jack warned, “I haven’t made up my mind about that yet.”
Xander nodded and Jack waved him away. He
returned his attention to his gun and continued cleaning it.
Teri walked in not two minutes later.
Jack braced for impact.
The hand on his left shoulder was light.
It traced from his shoulder to the back of
his neck and across the top of his back out to his right shoulder as Teri
walked around him and sat on the chair on his right side.
“You had to break out your gun, didn’t
you?” she asked.
“Well, I had to clean it, and since the kid
and I had to talk, I thought I’d do it meanwhile. I didn’t point it at him or
anything.”
“I certainly hope so.”
She squeezed his shoulder a little.
“So what did you talk to him about?”
“Oh, just a few things I think he should
know.”
“Like what?”
“Like I won’t stand for him using my
daughter and discarding her like a used object after the prom.”
“Jack!”
“Honey, I’m sorry but I won’t stand for my
daughter-”
“Our
daughter.” Teri cut in.
“Our
daughter,” Jack repeated, “to be used by mister hotshot. God knows how many
girls he’s already had. I don’t want Kim to be his next conquest, and most
certainly not on prom night. That night is supposed to be something special for her.”
“I sure hope you weren’t nasty to him.”
“I wasn’t. I told him to get out and he
said he promised Kim to help her with her homework, so I let him stay.”
“Jack, you’re impossible.”
He looked up from his gun.
“At least he stands up for himself. It’s
something.”
Teri sighed and her hand dropped away from
his shoulder.
“Honey, I don’t want Kim to end up feeling
miserable, I want her to find someone decent, someone who’ll take care of her.”
“Like you?” Teri interrupted him.
It stung.
“No,” Jack replied quietly, “that’s just it.”
“Give him a break, Jack. Kim cares for him
and he cares for her. Give them a chance to discover their feelings and let her
make her own mistakes. They can’t learn everything from ours.”
“I know.”
“Then finish cleaning your gun and join me
upstairs.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
“I’ll be timing.”
“You know you can.”
She got up and leaned in for a kiss, her
hand on his cheek, letting it drop to his neck and running it across his chest
and shoulder as she walked by, keeping in touch as long as she could.
Reminding him of his flaws was usually a
guarantee for an all-nighter and she really didn’t mind one of those right now.
She had been too lonely lately. She needed
a little attention.
Jack quickly oiled and reassembled his
weapon, holstered it and cleared his cleaning kit away, returning it to its
place but taking his gun with him.
“Don’t make it too late, sweetie,” he
called out to Kim, “it’s a school night.”
“I know, dad.” Kim called back from her
room.
“Night, sweetheart.”
“Night, dad.”
“Goodnight, mister Bauer.” Xander called.
Jack heard them giggle and it made him
smile.
The kid had balls, that much was certain.
He went into the bedroom and closed the
door behind him, locking it.
He had all night to make up for some of his
mistakes.
The End.
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