Work Text:
He glanced across at Nathan as the Cherokee sped towards the bus station in the next town over, seeing the intensity and fear lining Nathan's face. Jack felt a little pity for the man because they had both seen how Allison had reacted to learning Callister was a robot rather than a 'real person'. Yet Jack had met Callister; he had seen him interacting with others in the town, including Jo, and although he had felt a few niggles at the back of his mind, Callister had seemed more human than most of the people he had come across in Eureka. Certainly he had better common sense and far less arrogance.
Allison was a doctor of medicine, with her whole world-view caught up in 'real' humans made of flesh, and bone, and red blood cells. Perhaps that was why she could not see beyond the outer casing to the mind inhabiting the artificial body. If Callister had been a clone like Dolly the Sheep, or a test tube baby, then perhaps she might have accepted Callister, but what Jack couldn't figure out, though, was why she couldn't see Nathan's pain and concern and at least offer him some comforting words. Instead she had belittled Nathan's feelings for Callister likening his reaction as similar to the way some people loved their cars.
From his few interactions Jack did not consider Callister to be a car or a robot or just a sophisticated machine. Callister had everything that made a person human
Nathan was hurting, and Jack knew that feeling all too well, recalling the tightness in his chest whenever he got a frantic call from Abby saying Zoe was missing, and the fear coursing through him now. Love, and fear, and the need to protect threatened to overwhelm him, so he understood Nathan more in this moment than at any other time. For once they were on the same emotional page, and he had to admit that he liked seeing this side of Nathan, proving the man was more than just a cold scientist.
In Jack's eyes, the method of creation had no relevance. Nathan was a father, just like him.
"Of course I understand. I'm a father."
Nathan swallowed hard and a little of the tension eased from him, softening the harsh atmosphere inside the Cherokee at the same time. Jack let Nathan talk while he focused on driving, the barriers between them melting away by their shared paternal feelings. He wondered if this was the first time Nathan had ever spoken of his feelings for Callister, and of the pain he had felt from having to send Callister away. Jack couldn't imagine having the strength to do that with Zoe even though he knew in his heart that one day she would be all grown up and seeking independence.
"I never should have made him leave but I was scared what the D.O.D. would do to him if they found out."
Jack nodded. He already knew about the fire in the laboratory that had supposedly destroyed all of Nathan's research into A.I., but he would do far worse to protect Zoe. He had a battered memorabilia baseball bat to prove she was more important to him than any prized possession. He had almost been fired from the Marshals the last time he took off after her, abandoning an official fugitive hunt so he could track her down.
They reached the depot and Jack practically abandoned his Cherokee by the curbside, racing out with Nathan close on his heels, adrenaline flowing. Upon learning the coach had left he started to turn away, his mind already calculated the distance travelled, but then he heard her voice.
"Zoe!"
Zoe was scared, dragging them to the darkened shadows between the coaches to where Callister had collapsed. Jack held Zoe back while Nathan rushed forward, dropping down beside Callister. He could hear their exchange, talking of someone name Turing who believed a machine could have a soul. After all, humans were just organic machines, according to his biology tutor back in High School, so was there really much of a difference?
Callister's eyes dimmed and closed, and Jack felt his heart break for Nathan.
"Can you help me get him to the Jeep?" Nathan asked, and Jack nodded.
Callister was no heavier than an average person and they carried him between them, settling him into the back seat with Nathan while Zoe climbed into the front passenger seat.
"Is he dead?"
Jack met Nathan's eyes in the rear-view mirror and saw the relieved shake of his head before Nathan verbalized his response.
"No. He's... sleeping."
Jack drove to the Bunker first, dropping off Zoe, and leaving only once he had extracted a promise from her to stay there. He returned to the Cherokee but wasn't truly surprised when Nathan navigated them to a different laboratory on the outskirts of the town rather than to the abandoned A.I. laboratory.
"I gather Allison doesn't know about this place."
Nathan looked back at him guiltily but Jack understood. Allison had already shown her lack of feelings towards a 'machine' so Nathan didn't want to take any chances now he had brought Callister back to Eureka.
"So he's not... dead?"
"No. I did a manual shutdown of his systems, to stop any further degradation of his memory core."
"When my computer had memory problems Henry used a cloud to fix it," Jack glanced upwards.
Nathan opened his mouth to say something but then frowned. "The Eureka cloud." He dived towards a computer and started tapping away at the keys, fingers almost a blur. "Before the cloud there was an older wireless network with a back-up.... If it's till operational... YES!" Nathan turned to Jack, his smile infectious even though Jack hadn't a clue why this old cloud was so important. "It's still active."
"That's great!" Jack stated, not exactly certain why but if it made Nathan happy then it had be a good thing, he hoped. "So you can fix him?"
"Callister would have connected to it the moment he returned to Eureka but unlike the newer network it would have written the uploaded data to a separate area." He smiled. "Yes, once I've eradicated the source of the memory corruption I'll be able to repair and restore his memories."
Jack smiled happily, relieved because he liked seeing this side of Nathan Stark, but also because it was obvious Zoe liked Callister. The very thought of seeing her unhappy had made him feel miserable.
"Can I let Zoe know?"
Nathan sobered but he was still smiling when he nodded his agreement. "But not Allison," Nathan stressed. "I need to put some precautions into place to protect Callister before I let her know what's happened."
"I'll make sure Zoe knows not to say anything to anyone."
"Thank you, Jack," Nathan replied solemnly, using Jack's given name for probably the first time ever.
***
A few months later Jack smiled when Nathan entered Café Diem with Callister by his side. A few people glanced across curiously but Callister and his formal adoption by Nathan was already 'old news' in a town that had daily breakthroughs in various scientific areas. Surprisingly, the townsfolk were more intrigued by the changes in the relationship between Jack, Allison, and Nathan.
He and Nathan had kept Callister's continued existence a secret from Allison for as long as possible, spending hours together with S.A.R.A.H. and Henry as they pursued any potential loopholes. It was Jack who had stumbled across an old law giving rights to any sentient being. All they had to do was prove Callister was sentient, and for once that went surprisingly smoothly. Allison and the D.O.D. were not so happy with the outcome.
Jack had seen the rift between Nathan and Allison grow into a chasm when Allison tried to have Callister 'confiscated' and handed over to the D.O.D. for analysis, refusing to even contemplate the possibility that Callister was more than a machine, that he was sentient, despite the ruling in Callister's favor. She wouldn't even call him by name, referring to him as 'the robot'.
She gave Nathan an ultimatum, wanting him to choose between Kevin and Callister. Nathan tried reasoning with her, stressing that acknowledging Callister didn't change how he felt about Kevin, but she refused to listen. Jack tried to talk her round because he could see how this was tearing Nathan apart, and eventually she started to come around, but it was this, plus Jack working with Nathan to get Callister special citizenship status, that brought him and Nathan together.
After the initial horror had passed, of having not only the town's sheriff as her father but the Director of Global Dynamics as her father's boyfriend, Zoe was happy for both of them.
Nathan and Callister grabbed a booth and Jack went to join them, smiling when Zoe dropped down into the seat beside Jack.
"I'm taking a break," she declared airily, instantly starting up a conversation with Callister much to both his and Nathan's amusement. A quick glance saw Vince shrugging that it was fine with him.
Believing both their kids were fully occupied, Nathan leaned across the table and whispered, "I've got some plans for you tonight, Sheriff."
"Bring it on, Scientist," Jack murmured back.
"Eww! No parental unit flirting in front of the kids," Zoe exclaimed, and Callister laughed as Zoe began to lecture Nathan on what was acceptable and unacceptable parental unit behavior. He could tell she was enjoying this immensely and, as her father, Zoe's happiness meant everything to Jack. As he looked at the three people sitting with him he realized that, for the first time in many years, he had everything he truly wanted in life.
END