[ Has Jack blinked once? It’s kind of hard to tell, and Martin is so used to the sense of being watched that it’s second nature to brush it aside. Plus, whatever Jack is doing, it hardly feels malicious. For better or worse, he is some kid ripped away from his family – and it’s okay that he wishes they were here. If Martin had arrived alone, Jack would be talking to a completely different person. He hopes that whoever calls Jack family gets to be with him again. ]

I’m great at distractions. [ IS THAT A THUMBS UP? This... God, he’s such a loser. ] Martin “Knows how to waste time” Blackwood. [ Hrms... No ] The perk of not having a middle name is making them up as you go.

I do. Yes. [ Jack, you are breaking his bleeding heart. ] I had trouble doing that for myself for a long time. I just ... hoped things would work out. [ And guess what... nothing good came of it. ] If there’s one suggestion I can make it’s to not do that. You should make your own choices. Life is too short to let someone else dictate it, you know?

[ Learn from his hard-earned lessons, Jack; you don’t want the burden of wondering if any of your decisions had truly been your own at the end. The concept of free will had weighed heavily on him toward the end. He’s stared at the ceiling of his shitty motel room next to John wondering if they ever had a choice at all – if what happened could have been avoided if they’d hypothetically made a left turn instead of right.

But maybe this bit of respite could eventually be nice, for both Jack and himself.

His assumption earns a lopsided grin out of Martin. ]

Uhhh. Only through a lot of mistakes?