agirllost | Lunch with Dad

"I kind of learned that the first time around," he says, though without much force behind his words. He pushes the nub of his hotdog and the last of his fries away; he doesn't have much of an appetite for the rest of it.

She glances away, focusing on the beach and the smelll of the sea.

"I wish you wouldn't give her the chance to hurt you."

"Yeah, well I'm not sure I can avoid it. Might as well just get it all over with once."

Arguing would be pointless and only get them both upset. In this situation her dad will never listen to reason. He doesn't believe in avoiding confrontation.

But if Nina pushes him back into that dark place they all tried to pull him out of, she'll wrap her in flows of air and squeeze until she breaks.

"I understand," she says after a few moments. "Sometimes things have to be done."

"Like it or not, we're probably going to have to get used to the fact that she's there," he says, rubbing his forehead. God, he wishes this would just end already.

She's not telling him who else has been near the bar lately.

"Yeah," she sights and looks up at him. "But she's not here now."

"No, she's not." He kind of made sure of that years ago, when he put four bullets into her.

Hearing about the woman who killed your mom coming into the bar again kind of kills conversation.

"And she'll never get to be here again. She's lost."

"No, she'll just be able to hang around the bar for God knows how long." He sighs. "Sorry, sweetheart, I know you were probably looking forward to just being able to talk today."

"She can't be worse than Ramon," she points out. Although that's like saying one type of cancer can't be as bad as another.

And she gives him a weak smile as she rests her elbow on the table. "Yeah, but my news wasn't exactly great, either."

"Yeah, but this didn't exactly help. How're you and Chase doing? What does he think about you going back to CTU?" he asks, swirling his drink for something to do with his hands.

Her smile's a little more natural, "We're good," she says, and it's almost the truth. Chase is coming to terms with the whole 'Behrooz is bonded to me and probably knows when we're having sex' news.

"We've been talking about it and he wants to go back too."

"Chase is going back to CTU? Is he going into field work?" Jack asks, surprised. A few years ago, Kim hadn't been thrilled about the thought of helping Chase raise Angie while he was doing field work.

She shakes her head, "I think he wants a desk job, one that keeps him out of the line of fire." Of course, in their world, that's no guarantee.

"He's kind of miserable at the job now. I think he was almost relieved when I brought up CTU."

"He did mention that, years ago." Before that little thing of...Jack chopping off his hand with an axe. "And I know that he hasn't been happy working in the private sector."

Of course he's still not comfortable with the thought of someone else he cares about going back to CTU, but it's not like he has much of a choice, here.

"He told me that too, which is why he went to the private sector in the first place but..."

And she saw him broken and barely breathing and that had nothing to do with CTU.

"If we're all in danger anyway, why stop yourself from trying to make a difference?"

"Yeah," he says, softly, looking out at the ocean. Of course there's being in as much danger as anyone else in L.A. and going looking for it. Not that he has much room to talk there.

It seems kind of weird to see half the people he knows going back to CTU, when for a while it seemed like he was the only one who wasn't trying to get away from it. Before he got fired, at least.

Kim watches him for a few moments, knowing that his worries aren't entirely unfounded. At least she hasn't made him feel worse about his own job restrictions.

"We're all going to be okay, Dad." She places her hand over his, trying to remind him that he's not alone.

"I know. At least if anything's going to happen in L.A., you'll be in the one place that'll know about it beforehand," he says, looking back at her. He's not sure who he's trying to convince more--her or himself.

"Right and if something is going to happen...at least I can make sure the people I love are safe," she says softly.

"Yeah. And I promise, if I get a phone call from you that something bad's about to happen, I'll listen. I can't promise I'll leave the city, or anything like that..."

"Oh, I have ways to make you leave," she smiles slightly.

"Well it would have to involve you drugging me to the gills or otherwise getting me unconscious," he says with a ghost of a smile.

She glances away, not wanting to think about him being drugged or unconscious.

"No, it would involve lifting you and carrying you with flows of air."

"You do realize I'd be kicking and screaming the entire way, right?"

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