losthunter | Reconnecting with an Estraged Father ((Jim))

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Reconnecting with an Estraged Father ((Jim))

Hunter had concentrated on taking care of himself during the last two days, ever since he had gotten into that fight during his search for Austin. And after feeling healed, and in a better mental state, Hunter felt ready for the next step in his plans.

He needed to talk to his father. And get a message to the FBI agents that were assigned as Secret Service to Rob Kingson's Senate candidacy.

Hunter had sent his father an email to arrange a meeting, and had actually gotten a reply back. So he hoped that was a good sign. All that was left to send an text to Jim, since the Starfleet captain had offered to come with Hunter during this meeting.

Hey handsome. Time to meet my father. Feel ready?

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"What do you mean?" The statement makes Morgan's attention go to Jim. Hunter gives Jim a slight nod, a gesture of support behind anything Jim wants to say, or not say to these men.

With the nod from Hunter, Jim feels more confident about giving a few more details. "I spoke to him briefly at the protest. He wasn't a fan of your policies," he adds, looking past the agents at Rob, his expression somewhat chillier than it has been so far. "He said he was tired of protests not changing anything and wanted to make a difference himself."

"He was visiting another associate of my former friend, when Austin saw the news reports on some specific policies that you want to implement. That associate said that Austin basically got angry after hearing the news. And that associate barely survived an attack himself." Hunter adds sternly.

"My policies..." Rob started to say.

"Don't matter." Hunter stops him. "The point is it was why Austin made you his target. And why he might do it again, to someone else."

"He has to be stopped." Hunter adds again.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Hunter's interruption almost makes Jim smile a little, approving of him standing up to his dad without getting angry, or letting his dad derail the conversation. It's not an easy thing to do, when you're so emotionally close to a situation.

"He was confident enough in his own ability to get past the guards, and get to Mister Kingson. He didn't act like he was afraid of getting caught."

Morgan takes out his notebook to make some notes. Then he checks something, that he had written on the pad of paper. "Tell us about this magic ability, that you claim that Austin possesses."

Hunter takes a breath, knowing that there is disbelief from the FBI agent. "I know it sounds impossible. But Austin has special abilities, and it is why he was so confident. He felt unstoppable."

"Those abilities allowed Austin to have emotional and mental control of another person's mind." Hunter spoke cautiously. "Right now, those powers are suppressed by a watch that he can't take off his wrist. It was something that Jim was able to get on Austin's wrist to prevent him from attacking last time."

Though he'd known there was only a slim chance, Jim had hoped that Rob wouldn't have said anything about it. But now that it's out in the open, he jumps in with his own testimony. "He started to use his power on me before I got it on him," he says, raising his chin slightly in defiance. If he has to draw their metaphorical fire to help keep Hunter out of their sights, then so be it. And while he is absolutely not going to tell them any details of the aftereffects, two voices making an incredible claim is more credible than one, especially with no solid evidence to present. "Knocked me for a loop pretty badly, so I couldn't stop him from getting away. You can ask the guards who found me to identify me if you want."

Hunter gets this soft look in his eyes, of admiration, when Jim jumps in with his own testimony. In a way, Hunter knows that he is helping to keep the focus off him. And so far... it doesn't sound like Rob told these agents about the fact his own son has special abilities.

"We have the reports of our guards on file." Morgan confirms. "So your mental state was not due to any illegal substances?"

They thought he was on drugs? He supposes that without a tox screen, they wouldn't have had any real way to know, but still. "No," he answers firmly. "Absolutely not."

Hunter draws the attention back to him for a moment. "There should be no mistake, that when a person is affected by Austin's abilities... that it can be very disconcerting for the affected victim."

"Right now is the best time to go after him. He is on the run. He doesn't have access to his abilities. And he is running out of resources." Hunter explained.

"Got it." Morgan nods to the rest of the agents. "We will get right on that."

Hunter watches them leave, until he and Jim are left alone in the room with Rob again. He feels a little better, knowing that the agents are on the case now.

After a tense moment of silence, Hunter has to ask. "Why did you imply to them that I might have been dating Austin?"

"Who am I to know who you are dating?" Rob raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really care?" Hunter asked. He tilts his head slightly. "Do you really want to know about my life, now?"

"I have to admit that I had wondered if Austin had tried to attack you first... before coming after me." Rob paused.

With the FBI agents out of the picture, they're treading back somewhat into 'not his business' territory, but Jim is hardly going to let Hunter deal with this alone either. "He didn't."

"And if you want me in your life again, you have to take me as I am, the full package. I am not going to hide my face. Or the tattoos."

"I am not going to date people you think I should date. Or take business classes you think I need."

"I run my own art studio now. I have a thriving business..." Hunter pointed out. "And most importantly, I have people who accept me, for who I am."

"Can you do that? Do you think you will ever be able to do that?"

Hunter felt his heart pound in his chest as he waited for an answer.

Rob slumped in his chair slightly. "I want to try..."

"If you want to try, then let's try to put the past behind us. Can we just start with that?" Hunter tilted his head again. He knew that it was difficult for his dad to get to this point.

"Yeah... we can." Rob nodded.

Jim can't tell whether Rob is being sincere, or whether he'll be able to get past their rocky history together, but at least he's taking the first step. It's certainly better than nothing. And who knows... maybe he'll come around, in time.

He smiles slightly at Hunter, proud of him for standing his ground and still reaching out a reconciliatory hand.

Hunter is not sure if Rob is being sincere either. So he is not going to 'officially introduce' Jim to his father right now.

He ends the meeting by shaking Rob's hand. And they promise each other to call.

Heading out of the office, Hunter feels a weight off his shoulders. He is just glad that the FBI knows about Austin.

"Hey... want to get a coffee, before we head back?" He smiles softly at Jim.

Jim's glad they're not doing introductions either. As unlikely as it is that this will be any kind of happily-ever-after ending, he'd hate to give Rob more ammunition to use against Hunter in the future.

"Sure," he agrees, smiling back. He doesn't mind spending a little more time away from his duties right now.

And now that he is away from the negative influence of his dad, Hunter feels comfortable to take Jim's hand in his, as they head towards a coffee place that is just a few blocks away.

"Thanks for being here today. You really helped me keep my anger in check."

"Hey, you're welcome. I know how it is when somebody knows what buttons to push because they don't like what you're saying."

"That is one of the problems... he knows all of my buttons." Hunter sighed.

They enter into the coffee place. It is one of those places where you order your coffee at a counter, then go to a seat. Hunter orders a hot chocolate and a large bear claw, noticing there are some pastries behind the counter.

After Jim places his order, Hunter will lead them to a booth along the wall.

"It is just so hard... I don't know if he meant what he said about reconnecting."

Jim orders a vanilla latte and an apple danish, before following Hunter to the booth. "Watching him talk was a lot like things used to go between me and my mom. I didn't know if I could trust her at first either."

"How did you get past that?"

"Honestly... I don't know if I have," Jim admits. "I still feel like I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. When she first came home, things were kinda tense for a while. Now we just kinda... co-exist."

"I don't know if I could ever get to the state of co-existing with my dad." Hunter stirs his hot chocolate in deep thought.

"While the situation is not a good one, I am glad you can relate to what I am going through."

Jim fidgets with his drink too, needing to do something with his hands. This isn't something he likes to talk about, not with anybody. But circumstances being what they are...

"There isn't a magic, easy fix for something like this. She can't say or do anything to erase what she did, how she treated me, and I can't either. We've both gotta live with knowing what happened and how we acted. Doesn't mean we have to constantly dredge up the past, not when we're both trying not to. I didn't really get the chance to know her, before. She didn't try to get to know me. But it's better late than never... it's like what I said before, about when to keep trying," he adds, raising his eyes to meet Hunter's, calling back to their conversation in the Nexus a few days ago. "I don't know how this is going to turn out, whether we're going to be able to bury the hatchet for good, but if I'd slammed that door shut, I don't know that it ever would've been open again for either of us."

"I didn't expect it to be easy." Hunter notes softly. "And it will be hard, because we both made mistakes."

"The fact he didn't mention anything about me having magic is a good sign. I just would like to see if this is opportunity to heal our past, if it is possible."

Jim nods, understanding completely. "You don't have to trust him unconditionally until he's earned it. It's still your choice if he gets that chance."

"That is good to know." Hunter takes another deep breath.

"I really hope they are able to find, and capture Austin."

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