[ He's not sure how much he's really helping, but her reactions tell him that she at least finds his hold comforting, even if it can't do much to shield her from the nightmares in her past and the nightmares she's still presently dealing with. At the very least, she doesn't have to face the nightmares alone. Maybe that's reassuring enough.
And damaged or not, Alan finds that he doesn't care. Well, he cares about her. He cares about being with her and finding ways to help, even though it seems that he hasn't done much of anything that counts as "help". Whatever baggage she brings with her, he's already figuring out that he wants to help carry it if she lets him. He certainly has his own baggage too. ]
Gone. Where did they go? I mean, it doesn't matter, but- [ Frown lines form on his forehead as he mulls this over. Are they trapped somewhere? Trapped in wherever the Not-Mother came from? He's not used to thinking about things like this, but he wonders if there's a way to get them back. If Jesse even wants them back. It's not up to him to guess about how she feels, so he doesn't say anything. ]
All the adults in a town, gone just like that. That's- Wow. [ It's crazy. Insane. What's powerful enough to just take people away just like that?
He falls silent again as Jesse's explanation continues. Her story just seems to get worse with each word. Well, not worse, but difficult to swallow. Difficult to accept. He believes it, that's a given. It's just hard for him to wrap his mind around a whole crowd of people vanishing and never coming back. And Jesse and her brother were just kids.
But then it gets worse from there. His lip curls with mild annoyance at the mention of the government. It sounds to him like they did more than just come to help. Meddling. Interfering. Kidnapping, in the case of her brother. Alan feels his frame tense as he continues to listen. ]
They're assholes. Worse than assholes. And that's not just because I don't like shrinks, although that's part of it. Coverups are shit, and people who try to cover things up are just full of shit. [ He shakes his head. Maybe he shouldn't be talking like that, but sometimes he just can't hold things back. ]
Why the hell would you make something like that up? I know you didn't make it up. What you saw actually happened, and Polaris is real.
[ Alan's hold on her tightens slightly as his temper rises and his fingers curl against her. This kind of thing really pisses him off, but more than that, it pisses him off knowing that Jesse had no one in her corner to back her up. ]
no subject
And damaged or not, Alan finds that he doesn't care. Well, he cares about her. He cares about being with her and finding ways to help, even though it seems that he hasn't done much of anything that counts as "help". Whatever baggage she brings with her, he's already figuring out that he wants to help carry it if she lets him. He certainly has his own baggage too. ]
Gone. Where did they go? I mean, it doesn't matter, but- [ Frown lines form on his forehead as he mulls this over. Are they trapped somewhere? Trapped in wherever the Not-Mother came from? He's not used to thinking about things like this, but he wonders if there's a way to get them back. If Jesse even wants them back. It's not up to him to guess about how she feels, so he doesn't say anything. ]
All the adults in a town, gone just like that. That's- Wow. [ It's crazy. Insane. What's powerful enough to just take people away just like that?
He falls silent again as Jesse's explanation continues. Her story just seems to get worse with each word. Well, not worse, but difficult to swallow. Difficult to accept. He believes it, that's a given. It's just hard for him to wrap his mind around a whole crowd of people vanishing and never coming back. And Jesse and her brother were just kids.
But then it gets worse from there. His lip curls with mild annoyance at the mention of the government. It sounds to him like they did more than just come to help. Meddling. Interfering. Kidnapping, in the case of her brother. Alan feels his frame tense as he continues to listen. ]
They're assholes. Worse than assholes. And that's not just because I don't like shrinks, although that's part of it. Coverups are shit, and people who try to cover things up are just full of shit. [ He shakes his head. Maybe he shouldn't be talking like that, but sometimes he just can't hold things back. ]
Why the hell would you make something like that up? I know you didn't make it up. What you saw actually happened, and Polaris is real.
[ Alan's hold on her tightens slightly as his temper rises and his fingers curl against her. This kind of thing really pisses him off, but more than that, it pisses him off knowing that Jesse had no one in her corner to back her up. ]