InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "TRUFFLE SHUFFLE!"

Savannah Monroe (savannah_monroe) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2013-07-25 22:14:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2013 07, character: savannah monroe, character: thomas hammond

RP: Savannah, TJ, Others
Who: Savannah, TJ, Others
Where: Camp Site
When: July 25, 2013
Summary: Savannah is a little confused by TJ's behavior

Life was a lot more different here. One thing that had never been as important as here was silence. Living on higher ground meant that they had a good view of anything coming at them, but it also meant that sound carried and they needed to be careful. The shrieking sound of a three month old was not something they could afford, and that was why Savannah and Marty were forever keeping an eye on JR.

It was probably for that reason that she noticed immediately when TJ was walking not to far from the stroller and then made a sharp turn to reach the stroller and pick up JR. It wasn't something strange per se, except this was TJ who liked children as much as he liked early morning and current living environment.

Everyone was used to her leaving whatever work assignment to go feed JR before he started crying, so no one questioned her when she got up and approached the very unusual pair. "Hi there. Are you... are you all right?" she asked TJ, looking at him with a frown.

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hammond_tj
2013-07-26 03:23 am UTC (link)

TJ was slowly going insane. At first, it hadn't been such a big deal because he was still focused on Travis. But, as Travis' injury healed and they spent more time stuck at the base of a mountain in the most primitive conditions imaginable under a vow of silence, practically, -- or so it felt to TJ -- the stronger the old itch returned. He needed something to alleviate the interminable frustration of this life. Anything. God, he wasn't even able to enjoy sex if he thought Doug was nearby because he was trying desperately to prove to his brother he was changing, that he wasn't going to be the same fuck up.

It was while he was heading back to their car, -- they lived in a fucking car! -- considering the pros and cons of sneaking in there to take just a few minutes to use his power to feel good...just for a little bit, that he realized Jamie needed him. He wasn't sure how he knew. He just did. So, he turned and went back to the stroller he'd just passed in order to pick the baby up and hold him. Seemed he just wanted a cuddle for a bit. TJ could do that.

Looking up in surprised confusion at Savannah's approach, he frowned. "I'm fine." Had he been that obvious about sneaking off to make himself high? Shit. "Why do you ask?"

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savannah_monroe
2013-07-26 03:29 am UTC (link)

Savannah shook her head, almost casually, as if this was normal. "No reason specifically, but... you were going to do something. Instead, you stopped, went to the stroller and picked JR up." Totally normal for just about anyone in her family and even some in the extended family. She wouldn't have blinked if it had been Travis.

"You know when I joke about you being Uncle TJ, and you tell me how much you don't like children and you're not anyone's uncle?" She pointedly looked at her son, who was happily eating his own fist while being held. This was the part where things got tricky. Was JR displaying Marty's power or was TJ developing some kind of power himself? Maybe he was getting some sort of empathic power, like Doug. "Not that I mind, but I was wondering why you did it."

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hammond_tj
2013-07-26 03:40 am UTC (link)

"Well, yeah, he was..." TJ looked down at the baby, confused.

She was right. He truly didn't like kids and he refused to be anyone's uncle who wasn't Doug's kid. But, he'd just come over and picked Jamie up when he- Wait. Had he started to cry? TJ knew the baby had wanted to be picked up. But, how? TJ couldn't remember hearing him cry. "He wanted to be picked up and I was right there..."

Frown deepening, he looked up at her, then back at the baby. "Maybe you'd better..." Pulling the child close again, he shook his head. "Never mind. It's fine."

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savannah_monroe
2013-07-26 03:49 am UTC (link)

Savannah wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. It was simply too funny that her son had managed to do what no one else could. TJ was holding onto JR like his life depended on it. On the other hand, she was pretty sure now that it wasn't empathy. It made no sense, not this strong and not so quickly.

"I'll be right back," she said. She couldn't yell. Instead she walked to where Marty was. "I need you one moment." Oh this was not going to be so much fun to deal with. Poor G was going to go insane. Then again, probably would Marty. Neither really liked this power.

She didn't have much time to talk, with people around them. "I think our son is making TJ take care of him. Care to check my hunch?"

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deeks_marty
2013-07-26 04:37 am UTC (link)

"I am yours to command," Marty teased, dropping a kiss on her nose, which had the added advantage of putting his face close to hers so she didn't have to speak too loudly with her next words.

Marty didn't like her hunch. He really didn't like her hunch. The last three months had been spent mentally preparing himself for the inevitability, planning how to curb the behavior without doing irreparable damage to his son. As he looked up at Thomas and saw him holding Jamie, saw the slight look of panic, he groaned inwardly. Savannah's hunches were rarely wrong.

He wished he believed this one was.

But, Marty didn't need proximity and all it took was one careful brush against his son's mind to know it wasn't.

"Right. Let's go give him a hand."

Making his way over to where the unlikely pair stood, Marty reached out again as they walked. Keeping his touch light, he carefully nudged his son, wordlessly communicating that Daddy was going to take care of him and to let TJ go so Daddy could hold him. Jamie's hold wasn't really that strong. If Thomas really thought about it, he could pull away. But, no one had the training to think like that when they kept these sort of powers hidden from the group.

"Deeks, come and take your kid," Thomas said as they grew closer.

"I've got him." Jamie fussed a bit as Marty took him from the younger man, snuffling and threatening to cry. But, Marty had a hold on him physically and was a presence mentally, to help calm him -- not with his power! Just, letting him know Daddy was there.

"What was that?" Thomas asked, clearly getting his wits about him now that Jamie's connection to his mind was broken.

"Savannah, can you help him figure out an answer to that? I need to talk to G for a moment and then I'll be back. I'll take Jamie with me." It was probably a good idea for Marty to keep Jamie with him until this passed. And then they could discuss the best way to handle things moving forward.

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savannah_monroe
2013-07-26 03:23 pm UTC (link)

Savannah rubbed her hand over Jamie's back. "It's too soon for a feeding, but I'll be there soon, just in case he's hungry." She doubted it through. Their children had pretty regular feeding and sleeping schedules. She suspected that Jamie was bored and seeking entertainment.

"We'll be in the cave." It was as much for Marty as it was for TJ, and there was no way she could think of him as Thomas now that even their son had decided that he was family.

Savannah hooked arms with TJ and walked to cave. She would have gone to the car, but it got hot and walls gave them a little more privacy. "Okay, so... my son likes you obviously and likes to play with you. He's got good taste," she said with a smile. "Marty's empathy is ... slightly different than Douglas from what we can see, or maybe he's been training longer. I don't know. The children seem to have an even stronger and instinctual knowledge than we have. The twins could naturally do things that took me months to learn, things that are still not natural after two and a half year. It looks that Jamie is following in their footsteps. He wanted to play with you and made sure you wanted to play with him. You shared his feelings." That was all true, even if it was missing a few details.

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hammond_tj
2013-07-28 08:03 pm UTC (link)

TJ was getting used to Savannah always touching, even if he still pushed her off half the time, mostly when he was irritable or thought he should be. Just then? He was definitely more confused than irritated. And the explanation didn't help.

"Basically, your kid is worse than you when it comes to adopting people?" He huffed softly. Doug's empathic ability hadn't ever been a problem for TJ. When he couldn't stop feeling what TJ was feeling, that had probably been worse for Doug than it was for TJ, who kind of liked the idea of that connection with his twin. Running a hand through his hair, which was in desperate need of trimming, he sighed. He was never making it a year clean in this place.

"So, how do you keep a kid who can't speak intelligible words from turning me into a toddler puppet? Because I might tolerate your family's kids, but I've got enough of a problem dealing with my own feelings most days." That was going to get annoying really quickly if the kid wanted to 'play' a lot.

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savannah_monroe
2013-07-28 08:23 pm UTC (link)

Savannah tried not to laugh for about two seconds and then started to giggle. "I never thought about it that way, but I guess you could say that. Or maybe my son knows who we like and trust and picks up on that, then he tends to use what he know, in a way that a child would. I'm sure if G had been close, he'd have done the same, so I doubt that you will suddenly be his personal toy. It does mean that he's likely to reach out to you if something happens, if he feels threatened or if you're the closest."

She looked at the entrance of the cave, and then back to TJ. "Marty is going to keep an eye on him. We suspected that he'd gotten Marty's power, but children aren't really capable of complex emotions like adults. Marty didn't want to mess with his emotional development until it was necessary. It's necessary now," she said with a sigh. "We'll keep an eye on him." And TJ, but she didn't think he'd appreciate that part.

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hammond_tj
2013-07-28 09:09 pm UTC (link)

"Callen likes kids, though," TJ pointed out, rolling his eyes. "But, I guess, since I helped bring him into this world, I'm okay with him reaching out, as you put it, if he feels threatened. Just do me a favor and teach him a lighter touch? If I'd had to put him down for his own safety, I don't think I could have."

Listening to her talk about how they'd tried to protect Jamie, TJ was struck again by how very different their brand of parenting was from his own parents. He couldn't imagine his parents waiting to do anything if they thought there'd be a problem. In this same situation, he could easily picture his parents fucking with his or his brother's emotional development if it would protect their interests later on. "I know you will." He was surprised by his own words, but it was too late to take that back. "I guess, better me than some others around here, scary as that thought is. And if you ever tell anyone I said that, I will make sure your sex life becomes non-existent. Just so we're clear," he finished with a smirk.

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savannah_monroe
2013-07-28 09:16 pm UTC (link)

"I don't think that Jamie can know that," she said with an amused smile. "But I'll talk to Marty and see what he can do. This is really out of my hands. I can teach him through touching and holding him, show him what a mom can do, but Marty needs to do the rest. I'm... I'm sort of jealous that he can get that close and I can't. I guess I'll just have to double up my efforts the old fashioned way."

Savannah didn't know what the look was for, but she didn't need to know, just like she didn't need empathy to hug him tight. "We won't let him do anything that makes you too uncomfortable," she said as she pulled back. "He's a baby and we have to be careful, but that doesn't mean that we won't teach him to respect others." She chuckled. "We live in a car with two toddlers, an infant and a dog. What sex life?" Not that she would share that with him anyway. "But I can't divulge your secret anyway, because it's not a secret. People already know that I think you're better than others. Come on, let's go back to work and I can check on my crazy family." She squeezed his hand and didn't point out that he was becoming as much a part of that family as the rest.

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