NCIS (TV Series)

Handle with Care (2018)

Maria Bello: Jack Sloane

Quotes 

• John Ross : You know, I had a, uh, great-great-grandfather, I-I don't know how many "greats", but he was named after George Washington at the request of George Washington himself.

  Jack Sloane : That is impressive.

  John Ross : My family's been fighting for this country since it was founded. Where'd you serve?

  Jack Sloane : Who said I served?

  John Ross : You called your coffee "battery acid", so...

  Jack Sloane : Ah. Dead giveaway, huh? Afghanistan.

  John Ross : Oh. That's a... that's a tough part of the world for a woman.

  Jack Sloane : Tough part for anybody.

• Jack Sloane : I see a lot of anger hiding behind that happy face of yours. Bottling up what happened to you is dangerous. You get that?

  John Ross : And how would you know?

  Jack Sloane : 'Cause it happened to me, too, okay? Nine months. They wanted Army intel. I never said a word. Screamed a bit.

  John Ross : I'm... I'm so sorry.

  Jack Sloane : I don't know if you had this, but it was like... they kept moving me around. So I-I didn't know how long I'd been there or where I was.

• John Ross : My problem isn't what happened to me over there. I've... come to terms with that. It's the life they took away from me over here.

  Jack Sloane : What... what do you mean by that?

  John Ross : I had a girlfriend when I got sent to Iran. She was more than a girlfriend. She was... she was really special.

  Jack Sloane : What was her name?

  John Ross : Clara. A few weeks into the mission, before we left base, I got a letter from her saying she was pregnant with our child. And, uh... I was thrilled. My life was all lined up. And I was gonna ask her to marry me the second I set foot back on American soil. But then... everything changed.

• John Ross : You know, they held me for five years. And after two rescue attempts went south and my captors cut off all communications... uh, everybody thought I was dead.

  Jack Sloane : So she moved on.

  John Ross : When I got back, she had a new husband, and my daughter had a father that she believed to be her own. I made her mother promise to never tell her. I mean, I-I just... I was in no shape to be a dad. They... they had to move on. I was a... I was a broken man for quite a while. You know, in a lot of ways, I still am. I th... thought I was better at hiding it.

• Leon Vance : What do you mean Ross seemed off?

  Jack Sloane : Oh. It was sad. He seemed really scared.

  Leon Vance : You think he sent that package?

  Jack Sloane : Not sure.

  Leon Vance : Sounds like there's a "but" in there.

  Jack Sloane : Well, I did some digging. Ross has a checkered past.

  Leon Vance : How so?

  Jack Sloane : He had some violent outbursts after his rescue in Iran; a bar fight in '85, road rage in '87. Fired from several jobs.

  Leon Vance : Sounds familiar.

  Jack Sloane : Well, when he came back, they didn't have the same sort of psychiatric support system they do now. They barely knew what PTSD was back then.

  Leon Vance : So you think he may be unstable?

  Jack Sloane : Uh, I-I don't know. Uh, I-I'd like to meet with him somewhere where he feels safe. Could get a better read.

  Leon Vance : All right, but do it quickly. There's a hold on all care packages to the military 'till this gets sorted out.

• John Ross : How do you take your coffee?

  Jack Sloane : Oh, I like my battery acid black. I'll handle my own sugar, though.

• John Ross : So, uh... why'd you ask about Whit Dexter? He killed that sailor, didn't he?

  Jack Sloane : I never said that.

  John Ross : Well, you wouldn't have mentioned it if it wasn't a possibility.

  Jack Sloane : You think he'd do it?

  John Ross : He definitely hates our military. Came after me personally, too.

  Jack Sloane : Listen, there is nothing that man could say to you that would be worse than living in a cage for five years.

• Donald Mallard : How may I be of assistance?

  Jack Sloane : I was hoping that you could help me with a bit of profiling.

  Donald Mallard : Well, I'm always up to a challenge.

  Jack Sloane : Okay. The subject is retired armed forces with past trauma they refuse to talk about, and their whole life is stil wrapped up in the military.

  Donald Mallard : Unable to move on?

  Jack Sloane : Unwilling, at least.

  Donald Mallard : History of aggression?

  Jack Sloane : Sporadic.

  Donald Mallard : Intelligence?

  Jack Sloane : High.

  Donald Mallard : Has the subject ever sought counseling before?

  Jack Sloane : No.

  Donald Mallard : What about the family?

  Jack Sloane : None.

  Donald Mallard : Huh. And... well, your concern is what?

  Jack Sloane : What happens if the subject continues to internalize what happened?

  Donald Mallard : Almost certainly, they'd be on the road to disaster.

  Jack Sloane : Yeah. That's what I thought.

  Donald Mallard : Well, you... you just have to use all your tricks to get him to open up.

• John Ross : I know I shouldn't have gone after that idiot.

  Jack Sloane : Hey, I don't... I don't blame you. I just want to talk about why. Why you did it.

  John Ross : 'Cause some nutbag's out there telling everybody that I killed a sailor.

  Jack Sloane : John, you have a history of aggression.

  John Ross : I am not interested in talking about my feelings.

• Jack Sloane : Where's Clara now?

  John Ross : She and her husband both passed on. She had a heart attack.

  Jack Sloane : I'm sorry. And your daughter?

  John Ross : Oh, she still doesn't know anything about me.

  Jack Sloane : Well, maybe she should.

  John Ross : No. Just too much time has passed.

  Jack Sloane : You have this mountain of family history to share. Don't you think she'd want that?

  John Ross : Family is who's there when you need 'em the most. And I was never there for her. She's got her own family history now. She'd reject me if I brought all this stuff to her and dumped in her lap. She'd probably hate me, even, so... it's too late.

• Jack Sloane : I told him what happened to me.

  Leon Vance : I know that's a very difficult thing for you to talk about.

  Jack Sloane : He has a daughter that doesn't even know he exists.

  Leon Vance : Does he know where she is?

  Jack Sloane : He wouldn't say. He's fighting the demons that came after his escape, not the experience itself, so...

  Leon Vance : What about that scares you?

  Jack Sloane : Seeing what burying his feelings has done to John. He's, uh... he's angry. He's lonely.

  Leon Vance : You're not like John Ross.

• Leon Vance : Takes a long time to get past what happened to you.

  Jack Sloane : This is not about getting hooked up to a car battery! These are not emotions I can just get over. This is not a problem that can be solved!

  [her voice breaking, she starts to cry] 

  Jack Sloane : I should have saved them.

  Leon Vance : You didn't kil them.

  Jack Sloane : But I let them die, right?

• Leroy Jethro Gibbs : You all right, Jack?

  Jack Sloane : Yeah. I'm, uh... perfect. So, um, John is still living a life where he can't even talk to his own daughter. He says he doesn't even know where to find her.

  Leroy Jethro Gibbs : You don't believe him.

  Jack Sloane : I think he knows exactly where she is.

  Timothy McGee : [overhearing]  How old do you think she'd be?

• John Ross : I am so nervous. This could change her whole life. What if I screw everything up?

  Jack Sloane : Hey, I think she'll be glad to know the truth.

  John Ross : I just want her to know how much I loved her mother. And I'm ready to tell her it's okay if she doesn't want anything to do with me.

  Jack Sloane : Stop it! You're a good man. She'll see that. It's gonna be a big step for both of you.

• John Ross : You know, Jack, you're the first person I could ever talk to about what happened to me.

  Jack Sloane : I don't, uh... I don't talk about my experience much, either, John.

  John Ross : It was hard, but... it definitely helped knowing that you understand.

  Jack Sloane : Good. I'm glad to hear it.

  John Ross : Maybe I was able to help you, too.