Ben and Julia talk

[palace-julia.livejournal.com]

This chat takes place the next morning after this
chat.

Ben and Julia discuss what happened with Andy. (Exact details of
happenings with Andy can be found in this
journal entry.


Ben hasn't actually slept as he's spent the night pacing and working
while Julia was sleeping. He's checked in with the people he had
looking for Andy (that son of a bitch) though they haven't found
anything yet. However, he's gotten a clearer picture of what has went
down--at least as far as Andy was involved. He still wants Julia's
side though. He's also checked in with Amy about the emails Sean and
Ioan received, and she's still hard at work tracking that down. He
still hasn't heard from Claudia and it's starting to make him antsy.
However, he hasn't told her about Julia yet either--knowing that her
temper can be worse than his and she'll be in Balize in record time.
He needs her in Dnara right now. Sighing, Ben works on about his tenth
cup of coffee, taking a break to investigate the room service menu.

The shower was great and after finding some clothes, she walks into
the room to find Ben sitting on the couch. Taking a seat next to him
she puts her head on his shoulder, and starts to read the menu with
him. "Did you sleep at all Ben?"

"Who needs sleep?" Ben quips, sliding an arm around Julia as she sits
next to him. "How'd you sleep though? Feeling any better?"

"I feel a bit better yes and I slept great, but Ben everyone needs
sleep even you. So don't tell me you don't need it." She pulls back a
bit and looks at her brother, concern in her eyes. "Promise me that
you will get some sleep later on."

"I'll sleep later on, I'm not that insane lil sis...sometimes sleep
gets sacrificed though. Now, you and me, we're going to order us up
some breakfast, then we're gonna talk. Okay?"

"Okay, can I have some pancakes, and omelets ooohh and I want
sausages too." She looked over the menu a bit. "Leave the sausages, I
want the fruitmis and some coffee with it."

"Glad to see you've still got the family appetite," Ben chuckles,
ruffling her damp hair. "And we'll order up all that." Reaching for
the phone, Ben calls down to room service and orders two of everything
Julia has asked for, but also adds sausages for his order. "Still a
growing boy and all," he winks at Julia, putting the menu aside.

Julia gives him a weak smile. Not sure if she wants to start about
Andy, she looks at her hands and is quiet for a moment. There is an
awkward silence, but she then decides to ask him the question that has
been going through her mind since she arrived here at the hotel. "Ben,
what are you going to do about Andy?"

It's a fair question, though one he's not sure that Julia actually
wants an answer to. "That depends," he finally says, slowly. "On just
what you have to tell me about what happened--and I expect the truth
Jules, no bullshit--and what else I find out. I've got people lookin'
for him. Right now, Andy might better pray the proper authorities find
him before I do."

Julia slowly nods her head. "I will tell you everything I know." She
then takes a deep breath. "But can it wait 'til after breakfast? I've
got the feeling I need some coffee, when I tell you the whole story.
Oh and Ben, are you going to tell daddy?"

"I'll take that compromise. After breakfast." Ben considers that for
a moment--will he tell their dad? "No, I don't think so, not if you
don't want me to. At least not yet. You know how Dad can be, and I
don't want him involved in this. He doesn't fully approve of the life
I chose outside of the AF anyway. So, for now we can keep this between
you and me. But...you are going to call him and tell him where you are
now and that you're okay. We've all been worried 'bout you. I've known
where you were of course, but I was willing to let you make some of
your own mistakes. Kidnapping you might not have done much. I'm
starting to wish I had though."

Hugging her brother, some tears appear in her eyes. "If you would
have kidnapped me, I would have been so angry with you. Maybe it's for
the best that this happened. I'm glad you won't tell daddy. I will
call him up, after we are done talking and I will tell him that I am
here to surprise you and that I'm staying here for the time being."
Julia is interrupted by knocking on the door. She looks at her
brother, her eyes begging him to open the door

"Tell him you've left Andy too--so he can quite worryin' about that,"
Ben tells his sister, then gets up when there is a knock on the door.
He peers through the eyehole to make sure it's room service (some
paranoia is a good thing, it's saved he and Claude's life more than
once). When he sees the guy with the trolley, he opens the door.
Standing back as the kid wheels everything in, Ben takes out his
wallet so he can give a hefty tip for their fairly large order. The
kid grins and thanks him before heading out. "Okay, eat up--you're too
thin anyway." There's another question he needs to ask Julia, but it
can wait until after breakfast too.

That's something, she isn't going to be told twice and she's
immediately putting some pancakes on her plate. The food tastes good,
the best in months. While she's eating she's glancing at Ben. She is
happy that she is with her brother again; she's just not really
looking forward to the talk later on. It's not that she doesn't want
to tell him. It's just that she wants to forget everything and try to
move on.

Ben tucks into his own food, having forgotten dinner last night after
getting the email from Julia. He eats every last bit of what he'd
ordered and anything Julia doesn't eat as well. The food helps put his
mind at ease a bit, especially as he watches his sister eat with a
healthy appetite. Andy is heavy into drugs--and Julia has the thin,
gaunt look that a lot of people he's met get when they've gotten too
far into the stuff. However, she's not really showing any signs of
withdrawal and is eating quite hungrily, so...maybe it's enough in the
past it isn't a problem. If it is, he knows where his next stop will
be.

Looking at the empty plates, she knows what is going to happen next.
It's time for the talk. Shifting to get a bit more comfortable, she
takes a deep breath, and starts to tell him the whole story, trying
not to forget one piece. While telling the story, she starts to chew
on her nails, and tears start to fall freely from her eyes. She hates
it, she hates the fact that it happened to her, and now she feels all
the pain again that she felt in those months when she was with Andy.
By the end of her story, she is crying. Not ashamed of the tears
anymore.

Ben wraps his arms around Julia as she cries, letting her fall silent
when she needs to get control of herself. He mainly lets her talk;
only asking questions here and there. By the end of it he's more ready
than ever to go hunt Andy down and kill him with his bare hands
though. Stroking Julia's hair, he just lets her cry as she's finished
her story, waiting before he asks anything else. "Do you know where he
might go? Anything that might help us find him?"

"Maybe the old house of his parents. You know that hill outside of
town, his parents had a house there and after they died, they left it
to him. I think he must have gone there, or he went to Ian, his best
mate. I really don't know, Ben." Julia sits up a bit and wipes the
tears from her eyes. She hates crying, she has done enough crying and
she wants to stop.

"Alright, I'm sure the others already know about it--but in case they
don't I'll send the information." Pausing, Ben tries to word his next
question. "Andy was heavily into drugs, what about you Julia? Do you
have any other problems I need to know about, need to help you with?"

Julia shakes her head. "I'm not heavily in to drugs. Yes I tried
some, but I didn't like it. I only smoked some joints now and then,
and I drank. Most of the time it was Jack Daniels, but sometimes it
was tequila and that sort of stuff." She sighs. "I'm not addicted to
drinking Ben. I can stop drinking or drink less if you want me to."

"Well, I'm not here to be your parent, I just needed to know if you
were an addict," Ben says gently. "I'm trusting that you're telling me
the truth, you've no reason to lie about it now. So...we'll leave it
at that, alright?"

Having the urge to have a hug, she hugs her brother tight. "Alright.
Thank you so much Ben. I bet those other two so called siblings would
just leave me there, if I tried calling them for help."

"Now, don't be so hard on them Julia--they've only ever wanted what
was best for you too, okay? We've just got different life experiences
from them...so they don't always understand. I've not told Claude
you're here yet, by the way. She's in Dnara and I need her there for a
little longer. She's headed here when she's done though."

Julia smiles when Ben mentions Claudia. "I missed her, I can't wait
to see her, and yes I can talk about them so harsh. I mean where were
they when mommy got sick?" She folds her arms and looks at the
opposite side of the room. She and her sister used to get along, until
Julia met Claudia. In Julia's eyes her sister was just jealous.

Ben sighs, shaking his head a bit and ruffling Julia's hair. "You
know, you guys are going to have to make up and forgive each other one
day. But, that's all I'm saying on it. We never did get on real well
ourselves. So...maybe I'm not the best for advice. Listen, I'm going
to introduce you to one of my friends that works at Palace, she's a
real sweet lady. Her name's Miranda and I'm gonna email her and see if
she's got time."

"You think she wants to be my friend? I bet I will scare her away,
when she hears what kind of life I had before I came here." Julia
stands up and walks to the window. "However, I'd like to meet someone
new. How is it to be in palace by the way?"

"Like I said, Miranda's a sweet lady, Julia--and doesn't tend to
judge people. You think you're the only one that's ever passed through
Palace's doors who has things in their history they'd rather forget?"
Ben shrugs when Julia asks how it is to be in Palace. "It's big and
full of about anything you could need. You'll have to ask someone who
lives there for a definite description. I actually need to get over
there for something other than straight up company business though
before I leave..." The man smiles a bit.

Julia turns to her brother with wide eyes. "Are you a client at
Palace? Ewww I so didn't need to know that about my own brother." She
then walks back to the couch and takes a seat again next to her
brother. She really has missed being and hanging out with him. "Maybe
I can ask Miranda how it is to live there. I was always curious about
that. Ben? What am I going to do now? I mean I can't stay here
forever, and in a while I will need some money again."

Ben laughs, shaking his head. "That was all the information I was
giving, Jules--but yes, I am. On occasion. And I'm sure Mirry will be
more than happy to tell you what it's like. She's just recently moved
from Admin to Pleasure service, though I haven't had a chance to speak
with her yet. Her replacement is a feisty little thing." His
expression grows thoughtful at her questions. "For now, just relax and
recover. I'll help you figure out something, get you set up in Balize
or elsewhere. You know I'd let you stay with me if I had an actual
residence, but I don't. I'll help you out though; you know I can
afford it. We'll find you a job, but I want to get everything sorted
with Andy and the authorities before you try that, okay?"

Julia nods her head. "I understand, and for now I will rest. Can I
borrow some money though? The only clothes that I have are in that
little bag, and those are not so great and ready for the dumpster."
Julia smiles at her brother again. "You know Ben, you are the best big
brother a little sister could wish for, although you sure gave me too
much information when you told me you are a client at Palace."

"Well, you know--a little bit of payback never hurt," Ben says with a
wink. Taking out his wallet he gives her a cred card. "Here, just take
this and get whatever you need. I trust you not to break the bank.
I'll go ahead and see if I can't find some good prospects for you as
far as apartments go too."

Julia nods while she stares at the credit card. She is planning to
buy some clothes, but also a nice present for Ben. "Take your time
Ben. Focus now on what you came to do here in Balize. Alright? Now I
think it's the best for me to call daddy now and see how he is."

"Yes, go call pops and you know how to get in touch with me right?"
Ben says, watching Julia. "I'll send Tom over later to go shopping
with you if you want...I'd feel better if you weren't out alone.
Though, I can see what Amy is up to, you might prefer her company for
shopping and she can handle herself very well, so I know you'd be in
good hands. And you remember the self defense training me and Claude
taught you yeah?"

"I remember every bit. You guys are the best trainers. Can Amy come?
No offense to Tom, but I think it's a bit strange to shop with a guy."
Biting on her nails again, she waits for an answer

"Of course," Ben says, grinning. "You've still got her com info
programmed into yours? Just give her a call...she's working on some
stuff for me and Claude, but I'm sure she'd love to get away for a
while to shop. Though, my credit may never be the same..."

"Yes it will, I think. I promise you I won't buy over expensive
things alright." She hugs her brother one more time. "Ben, if you ever
see me doing the same thing I did with Andy will you please kidnap me
and lock me up? I never want to go through this again."

"Yes, I promise--I'll go ahead and head that off with kidnapping."
Ben returns the hug, tugging gently on Julia's hair. "Now, you just
sit tight until you get in touch with Amy okay? And call me if you
need anything, anything at all."

"I will, I promise. Now go one and continue what you were doing. Oohh
and don't forget to get some sleep. I will call daddy and then Amy."
Kissing him on the cheek, she smiles. "I love you, big brother."

"Love you too lil sis..." Ben says fondly. Grabbing his things, he
waves to Julia before heading out of the room. The door closing on the
sound of his voice. "....keep this door locked!" And then he's gone.