Dagnyâs infantry training, his upbringing at home, had prepared him for situations like this. Something bad happens, you shake it off. Youâve got a question that doesnât have an answer, get creative until you find what youâre looking for. Most of all, he keeps on keeping on. Even if keeping on means having to repress sometimes (a habit he means to break now that heâs around his kid a lot more). And he knows that Jules is trying their best. They always do, and Dagny had never expected anything less from his younger cousin, but everyone has a limit and edge. And right now, he can tell that Jules is standing much too close to where the cliff begins.
âYouâre not,â he asserts, both as a reply to her admission that she does not have a good grip of herself at the moment and the self-pitying remark that holds herself accountable for the little girlâs disappearance. âSome things are just⊠out of your control sometimes.â He walks around the dining table, his towering figure casting a shadow over Jules as he approaches them. Gently, he lifts a hand to strokes their hair, a pale yellow like his own, before letting that same hand feel for their temperature on their forehead.
And just then, a ding! and Dagny turns to retrieve the soup from the microwave. âWeâre gonna talk about it, but first, you gotta eat something.â With the plastic soup container already on the table, he rummages through Julesâ drawers for a clean spoon she could eat with. âHere.â He hands them a plastic spoon, probably a spare from some takeout a long time ago, and pulls up a chair to sit across from them.
Dagny reminding them that some things were just out of your control put them on edge. They didnât like that. It was the truth, but one that definitely made Jules uncomfortable. Perhaps an aspect of herself she chose not to acknowledge most often, but she liked having control. Being in control of a situation means picking the outcome, getting to maneuver around that which you donât like. Having no control meant winding up like this -- things not going the way youâd have liked. Small cases, sure, whatever. You get what you get. This? Had Jules unravelling.Â
âThey should be,â in her control, she says stagnantly. However, she falls into his comforting touch. Jules was a physical person, and everyone felt different. The familial feeling of Dagny, comforting, protecting, filled Julesâs chest. Even if it was just a small one, the care was there. She loved her family, even if -- especially because -- it was an odd cluster at this point.
Jules sighed, sitting down to eat the soup Dagny had brought her. She was grateful, even if she wasnât all that hungry. Realistically she knows she should eat. âDo we have to talk about it?â Their lips pulled up into a bashful grin, looking at their soup as they took a bite instead of Dagny.Â