InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "it's time to lose your mind"

Sam Ford (treated) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2009-08-31 20:25:00

Entry tags:

nathan ford, sam ford, sophie devereaux

Who: Nate and Sam Ford and Sophie Devereaux
What: A SRS Talk
Warnings: Grownup Talk and Stuff

Sam was pacing across the living room. He'd been trying to prepare himself for this. He wished he could get Sophie's advice on how to approach the main subject, but he didn't feel right telling Sophie before he told his dad. Of course, he'd told a girl from school and three strangers before he told his dad. Logic might not be his strong point.

He needed an outline. He should've made index cards.

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treated
2009-09-01 02:57 am UTC (link)

Crap. Now he had to start talking. "Okay. So." There were a lot of things Sam wanted to say, and he didn't know where he was going to start. He couldn't quite start with himself, though. "This whole.. thing.." he gestured at the two of them. "It's getting really. Insane." He was clearly flustered. And this really had been bothering him. He wasn't just stalling.

"I know you aren't the same Nate and Sophie I grew up with, and I know you have different memories.. I just. I wish you guys could see how perfect you are together." It was worse than when his mom had left, really. He'd been younger then, and it had been quick. This was just so frustrating to watch. "And don't tell me it's complicated," he mainly directed that one line at Sophie. It sounded like a Sophie thing to say. "I know it's complicated and I'm not asking you to start making out right now or anything." He was pacing again, looking back and forth between the two of them. "You're both damaged and crazy and I get that, but this whole 'I'm waiting for him to make the first move,'" he said, high-pitched and Britishy, "'I'm waiting for her to make the first move'" Lower-pitched and surprisingly Nate-like, "is ridiculous and juvenile and you both need to just. Get over yourselves."

He took a deep breath. That was more speechy than he'd intended it. "I mean that in the nicest way possible."

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	sassdoesnthelp 2009-09-03 11:11 pm UTC (link)
	"Sam, I..." Nate started, but really, what was he going to say? He closed his mouth, and looked at Sophie. The kid had a point, as much as Nate hated to admit it. He sighed, and shook his head. "It's not that simple." A cop out, perhaps, but it was true. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

worstactressevr
2009-09-04 12:44 am UTC (link)

Sophie just listened, her back straightening as she did, posture going from relaxed and open to poised and closed as he went on. Nate would recognize it more than Sam, but this was the Sophie that so many othersa saw, the outer shell that was - like most things in her life - a con, in one way or another.

"So what is it you're looking for, Sam? Because you say you understand that our history is different than the one you remember, and that you don't expect us to be instantly together, but it sounds like that's what you're implying. You don't want to hear it's complicated, but it is. If your father and I ever decide to take our relation to the next level - and note I said if, not when - that's something that needs to be decided by us, and because it's what we've agreed we want and are ready for, not because it's something that will help you reach the point where you're comfortable again. I know that there's a lot of changes here, and I'm happy to do most things I can to make you feel at ease, Sam, but there's a slight difference to hanging out on a Sunday morning and getting into a relationship I'm not even sure will work. You say you know it's complicated, but I doubt if you've any idea how complicated and convoluted it really is."

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treated
2009-09-04 03:07 am UTC (link)

He watched their body language carefully as he listened. He hadn't intended to be so belligerent. Well, he couldn't plan everything. "This isn't about me being at ease. I'm trying to show you that you could be happier together. I see how miserable you are now. I'm not trying to push you into anything.. But I do think that you should talk about it and stop pretending not to notice what's in front of your faces."

Sam raked a hand through his hair, more annoyed than he wanted to be. He turned to the bookshelf and grabbed two folders. "I don't care. You guys talk about it later. We have more things to get through." He couldn't let them dwell on this and spend the whole night talking about it. He had to keep control of the conversation and keep it moving. He was probably going to make them dizzy, but maybe that was a good thing. Keep them off their guard so they couldn't react to the main reveal.

He put the folders down on the coffee table in front of them, flipping one of them open. "Brian Matthews. He's a department head at St. Mary's and he's being brought up on charges of embezzling." It had been in the news. St. Mary's was a charity hospital that did a lot of work with the community, and worked with orphans and all sorts of heart-wrenching stuff. As a guy who stole from orphans, Matthews was pretty much tied with Bin Laden on the public opinion polls. "Funny thing, though, he's also about to lose his home. And his lovely assistant, Miss Robin," he turned the page, "booked one-way tickets to the Cayman Islands." He stood back, letting them peruse the folders. "Check out the investigator, too. Matthews is pretty much the only guy in this story that doesn't smell fishy."

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sassdoesnthelp
2009-09-06 11:44 pm UTC (link)

Nate calmly listened to the both of them. Without the crutch of a drink in his hand, he thought it best to keep his mouth shut. Sam meant well, Nate knew that, even if he was way off the mark, where Nate and Sophie were concerned. Nate couldn't even properly process or identify his feelings for Sophie, he didnt' need his teenaged son trying to force something that may or may not be there, on the two of them, but Nate would let it slide, and focus instead on the potential case Sam was presenting to them.

He perused the folders, looking at the information in the pages within. "Where did you get these, Sam?" he asked, after a moment's study. He held one of the folders in his hand, but looked up from the pages, to look at Sam.

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worstactressevr
2009-09-07 02:21 am UTC (link)

"Oh please, Sam. I'm hardly miserable. And really, I don't think we're pretending... we're simply ignoring."

She stood up to reach for the folder, taking a seat beside Nate as she read through it. This looked like potential work, and work was a good thing. She nodded as she listened, brow lifting slightly as she paged through the folders, seeing all the info available, her head lifting to look at Sam - she was quite curious as to his answer to Nate's question.

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treated
2009-09-07 02:28 am UTC (link)

"Because that's healthy," he intoned to Sophie. For all the times she had chided him for not being more upfront with his Dad, Sam thought she might take her own advice.

He gave them time to look at the information before turning to his dad. "Matthews' daughter goes to my school. Her reaction to all this is what got me looking. I pulled most of that together myself. There's still a lot I don't have." He was just a kid, after all. They were the experts. "That should be enough to get you started." He hoped.

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sassdoesnthelp
2009-09-11 01:31 am UTC (link)

Nate nodded. "Sophie and I will take it to the others, and we'll see what we can do." He would like to just move forward, and forget about everything Sam was trying to accomplish with Nate and Sophie. He wanted that subject closed, for now.

"I don't wan t you sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, Sam. Let the team handle it, from here." He wasn't above lecturing, but hoped that wouldn't be necessary.

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	worstactressevr 2009-09-11 02:54 am UTC (link)
	She simply arched her brow at Sam's retort, ignoring it for now as she listened to him discuss the materials they had and where they came from. "I'm sure Hardison will be able to flesh it all out quite nicely..." "Your father's got a point... sticking noses where they don't belong is what we do. Looks like it has potential, though." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

treated
2009-09-11 03:05 am UTC (link)

Sam nodded to his dad. "Absolutely. It's your gig." He was giving it to them to get the team back together. He had no intention of getting involved beyond that. If asked, he wouldn't mind helping out, but he wasn't giving this to them so he could play vigilante sidekick.

"There is.. One other thing I need to say." He was still standing in front of both of them. He didn't have a scoreboard in front of him, but he was pretty sure he was still in control of this conversation. Still, that didn't stop him from feeling panicked and nauseated all of a sudden. With any luck, none of that showed.

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	sassdoesnthelp 2009-09-14 12:39 am UTC (link)
	Nate set the file aside. He regretted it the moment it was out of his hands, because it left him empty handed, and he was fidgety. He needed something in his hands, something to occupy himself. "What is it, Sam?" he asked, and redirected his hands to his lap. His fingers twitched. Gods, but he wanted a drink, right then. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

worstactressevr
2009-09-14 01:27 am UTC (link)

She was so, so tempted to reach over and take Nate's hand... but after telling Sam to leave their relationship to them, it seemed a bad idea. That was her excuse, and she was sticking to it. Leaning back, she crossed one leg over the other, looking to Sam with an expectant lift of one brow... He's already told them how to fix their relationship, and how to do their job... she couldn't wait to hear what was next. If he told her he wanted a baby brother though, well... he'd be in trouble.

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treated
2009-09-14 01:40 am UTC (link)

Sam rubbed the back of his head, looking at a spot above them on the wall. Every second seemed to stretch out. All of the advice he'd been given seemed to have leaked out his ears. Well, it wasn't going to get any easier to say. "I... like guys." That was about as much as he could get out.

"I should probably go.." he said, inching toward the door. "You should stay," he said, pointing to Sophie. His dad would need someone to talk to, or just sort of.. watch over him. Funny that he was worried about his dad freaking out when he was pretty much on the edge of hysteria himself.

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	sassdoesnthelp 2009-09-14 02:33 am UTC (link)
	"You should stay," Nate said, repeating the same tone, the same inflections on the words, as he looked up at Sam. "We should talk about this." His hands had fisted, in an effort to stop the trembling. It wasn't that Sam apparently liked boys, but that Sam though he had to run away, after announcing it, that made Nate twitchy. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

worstactressevr
2009-09-14 02:42 am UTC (link)

"Your father's right, Sam... You ought stay. Though I'm not sure this is a conversation for me to be a part of."

She just crooked her finger,motioning him back into the room, that brow lifting just a bit further. "I'm curious as to the reaction you were expecting." Because really, as far as she could tell the only thing that had just changed was she ought be asking if he met any cute boys at school as opposed to cute girls. She did, however, reach over and take one of Nate's hands in hers, just holding his fisted fingers in his palm. She wasn't sure what about it bothered him, but he was obviously affected by it in some way.

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treated
2009-09-14 02:56 am UTC (link)

Sam stopped, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. He should probably sit down somewhere. He walked back and sat down in a chair across from them. "Um. I don't really know what else to say." He seemed to remember other people telling him that less was more in these sorts of things, or something like that. Avoiding too much detail and stuff.

He glanced at Sophie and shrugged. He didn't really know what he'd been expecting, beyond 'bad'. He was pretty sure his dad wouldn't kick him out, even though people kept offering to let him live with them if it happened. But he didn't imagine anyone would be happy with him.

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sassdoesnthelp
2009-09-14 04:01 am UTC (link)

Nate sighed. He had no idea what to say. He'd never dealt with this before, he had nothing to fall back on. He turned his hand over, and linked his fingers with Sophie,m silently asking her for the support that he knew Sam needed, that he wasn't sure how to give.

"I don't know what to say, Sam." He decided honest was the best route to take. "But it doesn't change how I feel about you. You're my son, Sam. And I know I haven't been the best father, but I'm trying."

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	worstactressevr 2009-09-14 04:52 am UTC (link)
	Sophie squeezed Nate's hand lightly, her smile directed to Sam as she nodded a bit. "Sam... people who care about you care if you're happy and healthy... not whether you'd rather kiss a boy or a girl. Really, what sort of people do you take us for?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

treated
2009-09-14 11:27 am UTC (link)

Sam nodded a little to his dad. He was dismayed to find that there wasn't an immediate feeling of relief. His chest still felt tight, but at least he was breathing. "You're not a bad dad," he said quietly. Especially considering the reaction he'd prepared for. "I'm sorry that... I know you've been really stressed, and my timing probably sucks. But I didn't want to keep secrets. I'm sorry."

"Please don't be offended, or anything," he said, looking over at Sophie. He really couldn't deal with reassuring her or re-explaining himself. He was barely holding himself together, he didn't think he could make logic happen. "I just.. really don't know how to do this." He'd heard so much negative stuff about being gay that it was hard for him to imagine people really being okay with it.

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	sassdoesnthelp 2009-09-15 02:08 am UTC (link)
	Nate stood, forcing Sophie to release his hand. He had a choice right then. he could walk out, find the nearest bar, and order himself a drink. Or he could embrace his son, and everything that went along with raising a teenaged boy. He nodded slightly, as he moved toward Sam. "We'll figure it out together, okay?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	worstactressevr 2009-09-15 02:58 am UTC (link)
	She ust smiled at that, leaning back as she looked on, silently proud of both of them. They were a right mess, but they looked on their way to getting it right. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	treated 2009-09-15 03:27 am UTC (link)
	Sam smiled a bit, standing up to meet his dad. He nodded. "Okay." He was still pretty tense, but hugging his dad helped a little. "Yeah. Thanks." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sassdoesnthelp 2009-09-15 03:33 am UTC (link)
	Nate ruffled Sam's hair. "What do you say we order a pizza tonight?" (Reply to this) (Parent)

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