It was January 30th, 1961. Brigid Ryan was leaning over a table in the kitchen of her San Fransisco home, finishing up a letter she was writing to the dean of students at The University of California, when she felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around her waist. Jack Ryan, already dressed in his police uniform, leaned over her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.
Smiling, she turned around and gave him a kiss. "Hey there, handsome." she said as she took his hands and did a little dance around him, while Jack simply turned on his feet, following her. "I'm sure you know what today is." she said cheerfully. "How can I forget? Happy anniversery."
Just then, the quick step of a little girl started pounding down the stairs.
"MOMMY! DADDY!" one of their girls, Anita was shouting happily, running up to Jack and hugging his waist.
"Happy anniversery!"
"Aw, thanks, sweetheart!" Jack said, lifting her up.
"Daddy, do you have to work today?" Anita asked.
"Yes, my dear. I need to work."
"Awwww." she said, frowning. "But you're always working."
"Look at it this way, honey." Brigid said. "He's making sure that we are safe."
"Okay, Daddy." Anita said, looking sullen.
"Oh don't be sad. I'll be home later. Now wash up and get some breakfast."
Anita was the youngest and probably peppiest of their daughters. She was always up in the morning before her sisters, and even before her parents sometimes.
About 8 minutes later, the rest of their girls walked sleepily down the stairs. "Mornin', Daddy." Samantha said. "It's your anniversary, right?" she said dreamily.
"It sure is."
She smiled. "Happy anniversary then." She then slunked off to the kitchen to get some breakfast.
"Well," Jack said, clapping his hands together. "The criminals ain't gonna catch themselves."
"Okay then. Stay safe!" Brigid said, kissing him.
"You always say that, do I ever come home with anything more than a bruise?"
As he walked into his SFPD precinct, his watch commander Ray Witton came up to him.
"Hey there, Ryan. Do you think you can try your hand at motorcycle patrol today?"
Jack had been training for it, but had never tried it in the street.
"Oh, uhhhh yes sir!" he said.
"Great. Happy anniversary, by the way."
Jack rode down the street, feeling proud of himself. first time as a motorcycle cop and he was doing great. He turned to his left, trying to get the sun out of his eyes. He saw a gleaming yellow Ferrari round a turn at the intersection. He took a little to watch it. Man, those were nice cars.
He look straight ahead, just in time to see a silver Buick making a turn right in front of him...
It happened so fast, Jack struck near the front wheel, sending him flying off the bike. He hit the ground headfirst, feeling the helmet taking the impact. The impact also made him flip over, landing hard on his left shoulder. He heard an unorthodox Crunch, which was his shoulder dislocating. he flipped over once gain, this time face down. He instinctively put his hands out in front of him, but they proved no match for the road. He slid about 15 feet, his leather gloves offering little protection. At last he came to a stop and looked at his hands. The gloves were shreaded and blood was seeping out of the multiple cuts and scrapes. It stung like he had just dipped his hand in acid. Then, something amazing happened. The wounds were healing.
The cuts instantly patched up, and the blood even started to leech back into the cuts. He clenched his fists and then felt his shoulder. It felt absolutly fine. There was only one explanaion. The ADAM was still in him...
He got up and threw off his battered helmet. A middle aged blond with her hair in a bun came running up to him.
"Oh my god, officer!" she said frantically "I'm so sorry! I didn't notice you while I was turning-- I-- It was so fast! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, ma'am." Jack said, waving his hand dimissively "I... was going to fast. Didn't see you turning."
The women looked around franticly. "Your not gonna be arrested if that's what you're thinking." Jack said.
A wave of relief rushed over her face. "Oh. Ummm, alrighty then. He He." she laughed nervously. She went back to her Buick to examine the damage.
The car itself had suffred relatively minor damage. The area round the left front wheel well was crumpled ans smashed a bit. Jack's bike, on the other hand, was totaled. The front wheel had flown off and was laying about 8 feet away. Chucks of metal littered the street and sidewalk. An engine valve was laying by a trash can.
Later, Jack had returned to his precinct and was summing up the accident with Commander Witton.
"So, you were riding along and you started to cross the intersection at the same time the lady turned?"
"Yes, sir." he ansrewed.
"Hmph. I see."
Just then, a fellow officer, Officer Luke, came in.
"Commander? Someone is here to see Ryan."
"Ok. Send them in"
Brigid walked through the door, wearing a very concerned face. She seemed to automaticly push Commander Witton into a wall as she walked to Jack.
"Jack, what did I tell you! Stay safe! You must not go crash your motorcycle now, should you? No! This isn't good, I can't have you getting hurt again!"
Jack had never seen her talk this fast or look this concerned.
"Whoa, Mrs. Ryan! Calm down!" Commander Witton said, dusting himself off. "He's not really that hurt anyway."
Brigid stopped talking and looked at him. She looked back at Jack again. "Wait-- what do you mean? It sounded pretty serious to me. How are you not hurt?"
Jack looked at Commander Witton and looked back at her. "Well, uh, got lucky?" he looked her straight in the eye and mouthed the best he could ADAM. She raised an eyebrow and nodded.
"Well, I'll just changed into my spare uniform. Be back in a bit..." Jack said to Commander Witton. "Fine then." he replied. When he arrived home, Anita opened the door. "DADDY! You're home early!" she, hugging his waist tightly. "Oh I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just need to change my clothes."
"Awwwwww." she said, frowning.
While he was changing, he talked to Brigid about what happened with the accident. "And then, it just patched right up!" he said as he buttoned up his shirt. Brigid sat on their bed, frowning and rubbing her chin.
"So, you skid on ground and wound heal up, yes?" she said.
"Well, yeah."
"Hmmmmm. This very bad. I was hoping that ADAM would leave the body after a year of non- use."
"Well, what makes you say that?"
"ADAM is a drug, yes? And not using a drug for a while will cause the effects to exit the body. But, I guess in this case, it is different."
"Why?"
"ADAM is actually less of a drug and more of a cancer. Cancer won't go away on it's own you, know."
Jack finished tying his shoes and said "Okay. I have to go now. we'll talk later." He kissed her and left.
He finally came home at 6:15 PM. Brigid's lips felt deliciously tender and warm after a day of bike crashes and wrestling drunks and assorted God, what a long day it was. But now, it was time for them to go celebrate a year together. Brigid thought it would be nice to go out for dinner. Jack wasn't so sure though. "Are you sure we should leave the girls home alone?" he asked.
"Jack, they lived through Rapture. I'm sure they take care of themselves for an hour or so."
Jack asked if they could handle being alone for a bit. "Don't worry, daddy!" Anita said. "We can fight bad guys!" she said happily.
"Well... fine. we'll be back before nine. Okay, girls?" he said.
"Yes, daddy!" they said giddily.
"Right. Eat your dinner, we'll be gettting ready."
Jack stood in the bathroom, shirt partially buttoned up, staring at his hands. Something was nagging at him, ever since that bike crash. He looked at his hands this way and that. He was hoping that every trace of ADAM could be removed from his body. He just wanted to put Rapture behind him and try to lead a normal life, something he had never had. He didn't want to end up like some kind of splicer or anything. He simply wanted to settle down with Brigid and his daughters. Maybe he and Brigid should start researching a way to get ADAM out of one's body...
"Jack?" he heard her say. He turned and faced her. She had gotten quite dolled up for this occasion. She was wearing a low cut black dress and a small dab of lipstick. The dress was a little on the tight side, but that was fine. It showed off her body quite nicely. Jack was proud of her and wasn't ashamed when she decided to dress a little sexy for outings.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"Oh. Yeah in a little." Jack said, buttoning up his shirt.
A little bit later they were ready. Anita came out to greet them. "Ohooooh mommy, you look so pretty!" she said. "Thank you, my dear." she said, kissing her on the forehead. "We need to go now, girls. You all behave now!" Jack said.
"Ok, daddy." they all said.
A short while later, they pulled up to the resturaunt they were to eat in. "Ach." Brigid said. "This reminds me of the Kashmir Resturaunt in Rapture." she completed. "Don't worry." Jack said. "I'm sure there aren't any splicers waiting for us inside."
"Well, let's hope not." she said.
Jack extended an arm. "Shall, we go, madame?" he said. Brigid smiled and took his arm.