Chapter Text
Connor caught her off guard. Partly because she had just left him in the hub with the others and was not yet used to the idea that she might run into another Connor somewhere else, but also partly because he was in tears. She’d seen Connor cry before, of course, she had lived with the man for a while and he was prone to being a little weepy at times, but this looked like more than that. This looked like the kind of meltdown that she was prone to at the end of a particularly bad day, which was worrying because it was only half nine in the morning. The Connor in the elevator stood there like a deer in the headlights, staring at her dumbly, so she made a snap decision.
“Come with me.” She ordered, grabbing his hand and tugging him down the hallway immediately to their left until they reached Becker’s office. Becker, she knew, was running training drills with the security team like he did every Tuesday morning, so this was a good place to get some privacy. Punching in the door code, she led Connor inside, pointing out one of the chairs to him, “Sit. And take deep breaths.”
He sat obediently, taking the tissue she offered him and staring at it glumly for a moment before wiping his eyes. He looked very young, she noticed, which was odd because she knew for a fact that he was about the same age as she was now. There was something in his face that made that hard to believe in the same way it was often hard to believe that the Connor she knew was thirty-two. He seemed to have calmed down a little, but his voice was still shaky and watery as he glanced up at her, trying to force a smile onto his face, “Thanks. It’s Jess, right?”
“Jess Parker.” She confirmed with a kind smile, pulling up the other chair so she could sit beside him, “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong? You don’t have to, but… I don’t mind listening.”
He seemed to mull that over and for a second she thought that he was maybe going to tell her, but instead he asked, “Jess, are we friends? You… you said Abby and I lived with you for a little while, so we must be friends, right?”
She blinked in surprise, “Oh. Well, we are now. When I offered to let you guys stay at my place, we’d only actually known each other for a couple of hours, but I knew Becker and he said awfully nice things about you so I didn’t see the harm. But yes, we are friends now.”
“Good.” He said with a little sniffle, “‘Cause you’re awful nice.”
“Thank you.” She smiled.
“I want to go home.” He admitted suddenly, bottom lip trembling, fresh tears welling up in his eyes, “It’s been great meeting all of you, but… but… but everything is strange and… and your Abby was wearing this ring and I want her to be happy, but… but I wanted her to be happy with me. And I can’t lose her, Jess… and… and it’s all my fault ‘cause I’m the one with the girlfriend…”
“Shhhh, Connor.” Jess put her hand on his arm to halt his tearful babbling, “Connor, I know this must be really hard, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through, but you’re jumping to conclusions and it’s not helping.”
“I know.” He whimpered, accepting another tissue as she offered it.
“Look, Connor, what you’re seeing here? It’s just a moment.” She told him kindly, “It’s out of context. And I really, really wish I could give you context. I would really love to tell you all the good things that are coming your way because I do believe that my Connor, out there, he’s the happiest he’s ever been. He has so many good things in his life. And there have been bad things, too, but… but I can tell you that Abby has been there for all of them. The good and the bad. And she’s going to keep being there as long as she can. You’re not going to lose her.”
He sniffled, “Yeah?”
“Honestly Connor, at this point, I don’t think you could get rid of her if you tried.” She joked, pleased to see the ghost of a smile cross his face as she did. She gave his arm a comforting pat, “Okay, now take a couple of deep breaths and dry your eyes before Lester comes barging in demanding to know why I’m not working.”
That image earned her a genuine laugh, but he also did as he was told, wiping his eyes and taking a few deep, ragged breaths until his breathing sounded a little more normal, “Thank you, Jess. I feel a bit better.”
“Good.” Getting to her feet, she offered him her hand, “Then let's go get you a coffee and a bagel before there are none left.”