response #3 to challenge "sex"
Set pre-series. Jack, Sydney.
"The Talk"
"I suppose we should talk," Jack began.
"Daaa-aad." Sydney hugged her pillow to her chest, curled into a ball on her bed. "I'm grounded, okay? Can we just leave it at that?"
"Yes, you're grounded." She'd had someone over without permission; that was cause enough. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't leave it there. "But we should, ah, discuss this."
Her cheeks glowed crimson, and she was so embarrassed - no, Jack thought, ashamed - that he nearly let the subject drop.
But he'd come home tonight to find his 16-year-old daughter half-undressed on the sofa with a boy whose shirt was on the floor. It was hard to say which of the three of them had been most horrified. Jack had shouted - he didn't even remember what, in itself testament to his shock -- and the boy had fled without even a word to Sydney. Humiliated, she had run to her room in tears, leaving Jack alone in the living room, breathing hard and denied any further outlet for his anger, staring at his daughter's belt on the floor. His daughter's sobs hadn't stopped for almost an hour, during which his anger faded and his remorse grew.
The incident was clearly another parenting function he'd gotten wrong. But they still had years of adolescence to go, so Jack thought he should try to salvage something, if he could.
He began, "You're getting older -"
"I know the facts of life. Mom told me when I was little."
Actually, Jack had been present when Sydney learned why the cat had kittens, but he'd let his wife do the talking. Apparently that was the same as not being there at all. "I realize you're not ignorant of biology. But - matters of this nature - are more complicated than that."
"Uh-huh." Sydney's tone of voice suggested that she knew all about it and Jack didn't. Given his marital history, it was possible that she was correct.
He plowed on. "I would ask you to remember that you're an exceptional young woman. Anybody who doesn't - recognize that and behave accordingly - I don't think that person would be worthwhile for you. I hope that you understand and behave accordingly."
Sydney's eyes flickered up to him, and though she still blushed, her misery was ebbing. Jack knew he didn't say kind words to her often enough; on some levels, he resented the reminder of his own negligence.
But he smiled at her, just a little, and she smiled back.
Then, when it seemed he had salvaged matters somewhat, Sydney said, "We don't have to talk about birth control, do we?"
It was funny, Jack thought, how you could feel the blood actually drain from your face.
"Because I already know all about that too," she finished cheerfully, so much so that he suspected she was deliberately taunting him, in a way to which he could scarcely respond.
"I'll trust your judgment." And he left Sydney like that, closing the door behind him, to go downstairs and have a deeply needed drink.
"The Talk"
"I suppose we should talk," Jack began.
"Daaa-aad." Sydney hugged her pillow to her chest, curled into a ball on her bed. "I'm grounded, okay? Can we just leave it at that?"
"Yes, you're grounded." She'd had someone over without permission; that was cause enough. Unfortunately, Jack couldn't leave it there. "But we should, ah, discuss this."
Her cheeks glowed crimson, and she was so embarrassed - no, Jack thought, ashamed - that he nearly let the subject drop.
But he'd come home tonight to find his 16-year-old daughter half-undressed on the sofa with a boy whose shirt was on the floor. It was hard to say which of the three of them had been most horrified. Jack had shouted - he didn't even remember what, in itself testament to his shock -- and the boy had fled without even a word to Sydney. Humiliated, she had run to her room in tears, leaving Jack alone in the living room, breathing hard and denied any further outlet for his anger, staring at his daughter's belt on the floor. His daughter's sobs hadn't stopped for almost an hour, during which his anger faded and his remorse grew.
The incident was clearly another parenting function he'd gotten wrong. But they still had years of adolescence to go, so Jack thought he should try to salvage something, if he could.
He began, "You're getting older -"
"I know the facts of life. Mom told me when I was little."
Actually, Jack had been present when Sydney learned why the cat had kittens, but he'd let his wife do the talking. Apparently that was the same as not being there at all. "I realize you're not ignorant of biology. But - matters of this nature - are more complicated than that."
"Uh-huh." Sydney's tone of voice suggested that she knew all about it and Jack didn't. Given his marital history, it was possible that she was correct.
He plowed on. "I would ask you to remember that you're an exceptional young woman. Anybody who doesn't - recognize that and behave accordingly - I don't think that person would be worthwhile for you. I hope that you understand and behave accordingly."
Sydney's eyes flickered up to him, and though she still blushed, her misery was ebbing. Jack knew he didn't say kind words to her often enough; on some levels, he resented the reminder of his own negligence.
But he smiled at her, just a little, and she smiled back.
Then, when it seemed he had salvaged matters somewhat, Sydney said, "We don't have to talk about birth control, do we?"
It was funny, Jack thought, how you could feel the blood actually drain from your face.
"Because I already know all about that too," she finished cheerfully, so much so that he suspected she was deliberately taunting him, in a way to which he could scarcely respond.
"I'll trust your judgment." And he left Sydney like that, closing the door behind him, to go downstairs and have a deeply needed drink.