GRANDPA
posted in 24_fanfic
Title: Grandpa
Author: marinw
Rating: PG for angst
Characters: Teri 2.0/Kim/Stephen/Chloe
Summery: Set a few years post Day 8. Teri remembers her Grandfather.
Disclaimer: 24 is the property of Fox. So long, and thanks for all the crack.
A/N: Bauer family fic is so not my thing, but this bunny just hopped into my fragile little mind. This fic was partly inspired by Season Three of Mad Men. If you’ve seen it you’ll know why. Thanks to my super fast beta cybertoothtiger.
“Where did Grandpa Jack go?”
“He had to go on a trip.”
“When will he come back?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
Every time Teri asked the question the answer was the same. After awhile Mom sounded so sad when she answered that Teri stopped asking.
Eventually Mom had even dropped the accompanying platitude: “But even though he can’t be here Grandpa Jack loves you very much, Teri.”
Teri. That was her ‘private’ name. The name only Mom and Dad used. Her ‘outside’ name was ‘Annie.’ Mom and Dad had outside names as well: Mom was ‘Mary Lynn’ and Dad was ‘Donald.’ Those were the names they used when they went outside their house. They wore those names like clothes that didn’t fit quite right.
Except for Dad, Teri was convinced that Grandpa Jack was the handsomest man in the entire world. But there were no pictures of him anywhere in the house.
Teri had once seen a tiny moving image of him on Mom’s phone. Teri had quietly crept up when Mom had been watching the little movie. Grandpa Jack had said something that made Mom cry. Teri slipped away before Mom saw her.
Teri liked to remember Grandpa Jack from the day they went to the zoo to look at the bears. Teri told Grandpa Jack that she wanted to take the polar bear home with her, so instead Grandpa Jack had bought her a stuffed polar bear, sealing the deal with an ice cream cone. He hadn’t minded when half of it melted on his brown leather jacket.
Teri still had the bear. She named him Rufus. Mom had been careful to keep it white, so now Rufus had lost some of his fur. But he still stood guard at the head of her bed.
Teri knew she was growing too big for stuffed animals. But she needed to keep Rufus. She clung to the bear at night when she lay in bed and listened to Mom and Dad fighting.
She could hear Mom shouting and crying. She said that she would take Teri and leave if she could. But it was too dangerous. It was too dangerous because some bad men were mad at Grandpa Jack.
Teri remembered that the day after the zoo some men wearing suits had come to the house. They told Mom and Dad that they needed to pack a few things and leave their home quickly. They couldn't stay because it was too dangerous.
Now they lived in a single-story house in a town in Illinois instead of their big house in Los Angeles. Now Dad worked at a community health clinic instead of a fancy hospital. This made him angry. He never came right out and said it in front of his daughter, but Teri still knew that Dad blamed Grandpa Jack.
There was a woman named Chloe. She called sometimes. Every time she called Mom and Dad needed to change something. After the last call Mom had dyed her hair brown even though the pale blonde was so much prettier.
Teri hated Chloe.
Mom had enrolled Teri in Karate the moment she was old enough. Teri loved Karate. She fantasized about the day she could show Grandpa Jack how well she did her Katas. She imagined that he was sitting in the stands, wearing his brown jacket and smiling the smile that made the space around his eyes go all crinkly.
Instead of Grandpa Jack in the stands there was Mom, looking worried.
The only time Mom ever let Teri out of her sight was when she drove Teri the short distance to school, even though Teri begged to be allowed to walk to school like some of the other kids. Teri wasn’t allowed to go to her friend’s house by herself or to ride her bicycle when Mom or Dad weren’t watching. Teri knew about the GPS tracker hidden in her Barbie knapsack.
The other parents called Mom a ‘helicopter parent.’ Mom said she didn’t care what the other moms and dads said. Keeping Teri safe was more important.
Safe from what?
Teri already knew the answer: The Bad Men who were mad at Grandpa Jack.
Teri knew far more than Mom and Dad realized. Teri was smart. She was beginning to piece everything together.
She knew her life wasn’t normal. Something was wrong.
She knew Grandpa Jack was never coming back. That he had to go away because he had done something very bad.
Teri didn’t know what this very bad thing was.
She would find out.
THE END.
Title: Grandpa
Author: marinw
Rating: PG for angst
Characters: Teri 2.0/Kim/Stephen/Chloe
Summery: Set a few years post Day 8. Teri remembers her Grandfather.
Disclaimer: 24 is the property of Fox. So long, and thanks for all the crack.
A/N: Bauer family fic is so not my thing, but this bunny just hopped into my fragile little mind. This fic was partly inspired by Season Three of Mad Men. If you’ve seen it you’ll know why. Thanks to my super fast beta cybertoothtiger.
“Where did Grandpa Jack go?”
“He had to go on a trip.”
“When will he come back?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart.”
Every time Teri asked the question the answer was the same. After awhile Mom sounded so sad when she answered that Teri stopped asking.
Eventually Mom had even dropped the accompanying platitude: “But even though he can’t be here Grandpa Jack loves you very much, Teri.”
Teri. That was her ‘private’ name. The name only Mom and Dad used. Her ‘outside’ name was ‘Annie.’ Mom and Dad had outside names as well: Mom was ‘Mary Lynn’ and Dad was ‘Donald.’ Those were the names they used when they went outside their house. They wore those names like clothes that didn’t fit quite right.
Except for Dad, Teri was convinced that Grandpa Jack was the handsomest man in the entire world. But there were no pictures of him anywhere in the house.
Teri had once seen a tiny moving image of him on Mom’s phone. Teri had quietly crept up when Mom had been watching the little movie. Grandpa Jack had said something that made Mom cry. Teri slipped away before Mom saw her.
Teri liked to remember Grandpa Jack from the day they went to the zoo to look at the bears. Teri told Grandpa Jack that she wanted to take the polar bear home with her, so instead Grandpa Jack had bought her a stuffed polar bear, sealing the deal with an ice cream cone. He hadn’t minded when half of it melted on his brown leather jacket.
Teri still had the bear. She named him Rufus. Mom had been careful to keep it white, so now Rufus had lost some of his fur. But he still stood guard at the head of her bed.
Teri knew she was growing too big for stuffed animals. But she needed to keep Rufus. She clung to the bear at night when she lay in bed and listened to Mom and Dad fighting.
She could hear Mom shouting and crying. She said that she would take Teri and leave if she could. But it was too dangerous. It was too dangerous because some bad men were mad at Grandpa Jack.
Teri remembered that the day after the zoo some men wearing suits had come to the house. They told Mom and Dad that they needed to pack a few things and leave their home quickly. They couldn't stay because it was too dangerous.
Now they lived in a single-story house in a town in Illinois instead of their big house in Los Angeles. Now Dad worked at a community health clinic instead of a fancy hospital. This made him angry. He never came right out and said it in front of his daughter, but Teri still knew that Dad blamed Grandpa Jack.
There was a woman named Chloe. She called sometimes. Every time she called Mom and Dad needed to change something. After the last call Mom had dyed her hair brown even though the pale blonde was so much prettier.
Teri hated Chloe.
Mom had enrolled Teri in Karate the moment she was old enough. Teri loved Karate. She fantasized about the day she could show Grandpa Jack how well she did her Katas. She imagined that he was sitting in the stands, wearing his brown jacket and smiling the smile that made the space around his eyes go all crinkly.
Instead of Grandpa Jack in the stands there was Mom, looking worried.
The only time Mom ever let Teri out of her sight was when she drove Teri the short distance to school, even though Teri begged to be allowed to walk to school like some of the other kids. Teri wasn’t allowed to go to her friend’s house by herself or to ride her bicycle when Mom or Dad weren’t watching. Teri knew about the GPS tracker hidden in her Barbie knapsack.
The other parents called Mom a ‘helicopter parent.’ Mom said she didn’t care what the other moms and dads said. Keeping Teri safe was more important.
Safe from what?
Teri already knew the answer: The Bad Men who were mad at Grandpa Jack.
Teri knew far more than Mom and Dad realized. Teri was smart. She was beginning to piece everything together.
She knew her life wasn’t normal. Something was wrong.
She knew Grandpa Jack was never coming back. That he had to go away because he had done something very bad.
Teri didn’t know what this very bad thing was.
She would find out.
THE END.