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Love is Strong	By : harry102 Category: +M through R > New Adventures of Jonny Quest, The Views: 8124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Jessie didn’t dare move a muscle until she felt his breathing steady. He was obviously exhausted, judging by how quickly he fell into a deep sleep, but Jessie was now wide awake. She wanted to know why he came to her. To say that she was surprised to be awakened by him with such a request was an understatement. She was floored, happy, nervous, and concerned all at the same time. However, she has an unshakable feeling that she’s not gonna find out the truth behind his actions for a while.

He’s definitely hiding something. At first, she thought, and rather hoped, that it had to do with the idea of Jordan, but now she thinks that something much bigger is going on. They need to have a long talk and soon. She wants to know what’s going on with him, and she wants to know what’s going on with them. She knows that she didn’t imagine the conversation they had when he gave her the locket, or the way he’d been looking at her. And she definitely didn’t imagine what they were feeling when they were together on the couch or in his room.

Lying in his arms felt amazing, and she couldn’t help but think of how great it’d be if she could do this on a more regular basis. Nothing would make her happier than to work everything out with him, so that they were committed to each other emotionally and physically. She couldn’t help but squirm a little at the thought of the physical part. The truth is, she’s never imagined being with anyone else.

“I love you,” she whispered softly into his chest, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. Then she allowed herself to fall asleep, knowing that she wouldn’t get to be with him like this for very much longer.

Like he did every other morning at 6:00, Race was making his way to the kitchen to meet Jonny for a run. Unlike every other morning, however, he was met in the kitchen by his ex-wife instead of Jonny.

“Morning,” she replied curtly.

Race cleared his throat before answering. “Stel,” he said, without looking her in the eye, but then he turned towards her. “We need to talk. Can we go for a walk?” he asked.

“I’m drinking my coffee,” she said.

“Most people are capable of doing both at the same time,” he told her.

“We told Jessie that we wouldn’t fight,” she said slamming down her cup.

“I don’t wanna fight with you, I wanna talk to you,” he said tightly. “About our daughter.”

“What about her?” she asked evasively.

“You are unbelievably stubborn and selfish,” he yelled. “How would you feel if someone dictated to you who you should be with?” he posed. “Would you put up with the shit your pulling?”

“I wish to God that someone had talked some sense into me back then,” she told him, getting into his face.

“Do you really,” he laughed. “Because I believe your mother did try…”

“And I was the idiot who didn’t listen,” she interrupted loudly.

“And we had an amazing daughter,” he countered. “Do you regret that too, you…”

But he didn’t get to finish because her hand came in contact with his face. “Never say that to me again, you son of a bitch,” she said forcefully.

“Then stop acting like a self-centered witch and start acting like a mother. Start considering and respecting your child’s feelings,” he told her.

“She’s thinks she’s in love with Jonny,” she told him incredulously.

“She told me,” he said.

“What?” Estella asked surprised. “She told…,”

“Yeah, she told me,” he repeated. “She was afraid you’d tell me first, and I guess she was right,” he said bitterly.

“So you would approve of this?” she asked, almost disgusted.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “I want my daughter to be happy, and Jonny is a good kid. I would know. You wouldn’t,” he finished.

“Jesus, I was hoping you’d have my back on this. You had a front row seat to the train wreck we called a marriage. Do you really want our daughter to go through that?” she asked. “That’s what I’m trying to prevent.”

“Stel, first of all, Jessie is not you and Jonny is not me. They are their own people. Second of all, you don’t get to tell her who to love. She won’t let you, so stop trying. You’re just gonna ruin your relationship with her. Why don’t you just step back and get some perspective before you regret it?” he suggested.

“The only thing I’ll regret is if I can’t get her to see my way of thinking,” she said fiercely, and then left the room.

“Jessie,” he whispered softly, as he kissed his way down her body. She loved the way her name sounded on his lips, and she loved the way his lips felt on her throat.

“Morning,” he breathed in her ear.

“Mmm,” was all she could manage, as he continued to kiss her neck.

“Jessie,” she heard again.

“Mmm… Jonny”

“Jessie,” he whispered in her ear. “Wake up,” he told her, rubbing her back. “Jessie,” he called again.

“Hmm,” she said groggily, emerging from her half awake-half asleep state. She was disoriented for a second until she remembered the night before, and realized that she must have just been dreaming about Jonny. She only hopes that she didn’t say anything in her sleep.

“Hey,” she mumbled into his chest, before rolling over onto her stomach. “You gonna tell me what’s going on?” she asked with a scratchy voice, immediately wanting to know what was wrong with him.

Jonny just took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure what to say to her. He still doesn’t wanna tell her about his mom, but he doesn’t wanna lie to her either. “I was just feeling weird last night, and I didn’t wanna be alone,” he told her, which was an honest statement.

“What were you feeling weird about?” she asked, already knowing that she wasn’t gonna get a straight answer.

“It’s kinda hard to explain,” he said slowly.

“Try,” she insisted.

“Look, is it alright if we just talk…”

“…about this later,” she interrupted, finishing his sentence. “Whatever,” told him, and then hopped out of bed and made her way quickly to her bathroom. She ignored his calls after her. She was completely annoyed and fed up.

Jonny quickly jumped out of his bed and put on his shoes. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in Jessie’s room by Race, but he couldn’t leave her like this. “Jessie, come on,” he pleaded. “Open the door,” he requested, knocking softly.

“Just go away,” she yelled.

“No, I’m not leaving. Open the door and talk to me,” he told her.

“You don’t seem like you’re in a talking mood,” she retorted, and then opened the door quickly.

Jonny immediately took two steps back when he saw the look on her face. “Ya know,” she started slowly and looked him right in the eye. “Thinking that you don’t trust me doesn’t make me feel very good,” she fumed, echoing the words he used against her when they were fighting in his car her first night back.

Jonny’s jaw just dropped at her words. He’s known all along that he’s being a hypocrite, but he still can’t make himself talk.

“Jesus,” she breathed disbelievingly. “Just go,” she told him, and shut the door on him again.

“Fuck,” he whispered softly to himself and then made his way to his room to get changed. He knew from experience that Race would be coming to find him in about two minutes if he didn’t show up in the kitchen, so he put on a pair of sweats, took the steps two at a time, and arrived in the kitchen about thirty seconds later.

“Hey,” he greeted Race, who was sitting on a stool behind the island in the center of the room, looking like he was ready to kill someone. Jonny just hoped it wasn’t him.

“Let’s go,” Race replied gruffly and walked out the back door.

Jonny followed quickly, not wanting to anger him further.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as they began a light trot.

“Nothing I can solve at the moment,” he admitted with a sigh.

“Wanna talk about?” Jonny asked cautiously

“Wanna hit it is more like it,” Race replied.

“Estella,” Jonny guessed, understanding Race’s frustration

Race just grunted, but Jonny knew that he’d hit the nail on the head.

“You guys aren’t fighting are you?” Jonny asked.

“No…well, we did, but I won’t let it happen again,” Race told him. “The woman is just so damn infuriating.”

“Tell me about it,” Jonny mumbled.

Race just grinned and then they continued their run without discussing it any further.

About an hour later, Jonny found himself having the most uncomfortable meal in his life. Race was trying to avoid Estella, Estella was avoiding Race, and Jessie seemed to be ignoring him, her mother, and Jordan, while his father remained blissfully clueless.

“So is there anything special that anyone would like to do today before we head to Washington?” his father asked. “Jonny?”

“Uh…not really Pop,” he replied.

“Jessie?” Dr. Quest prompted.

“I think I just wanna rest up for tonight,” she responded. “I didn’t really sleep well last night,” she emphasized, Jonny knew, for his benefit. Then she got up from the table, and walked away without another word. Jonny couldn’t help but notice that she had taken off his mother’s locket, and he couldn’t help the way that made his heart constrict. He really just wanted to scream. He wanted his mom back and he wanted Jessie, but he feels like he’s on the brink of losing them both.

He can’t lose them. He won’t survive it. He needs to do something.

“Dad, can I talk to you?” Jonny suddenly asked, standing up and heading for his father’s study without waiting for an answer.

“What’s going on?” his father asked a few minutes later, closing the study door. “Are you alright son?”

“Dad,” he started slowly. “Would it be a huge deal if I skipped the Christmas party this year?” he finished hopefully.

“Why would you wanna do that?” Dr Quest asked, clearly disappointed. “I was looking forward to bragging about you,” he smiled proudly. “And you always have so much fun.”

‘Yeah…with Jessie,’ Jonny thought, and then exhaled loudly. “I’m really just not in the mood for it today, and you can brag all you want without me,” he said.

“Jonny, it’s a family tradition,” his father commented a little sadly, and Jonny felt really guilty for it.

“I know Pop, but it’s not like I’m asking to spend Christmas away from home. It’s just a party, and it’s just one night. You guys will all be back early tomorrow morning. Please,” he asked.

His father sighed, but agreed.

“Thanks Pop,” Jonny smiled. Jessie might be mad at him, but at least he’ll be able to go with Jade tonight, and he’ll get to avoid watching Jordan and Jessie together. ‘Two out of three ain’t bad with the week I’ve had,’ he thought. He hates to disappoint his father, but if all goes well, he’ll be making up for any disappointment with the most amazing Christmas present ever. He can’t pretend to have fun at a party. He needs to do something productive, and even though he’d like to focus his efforts on Jessie, he needs to be thinking about his mother right now.

As relieved as he felt when his father agreed to his request, his stomach tightened up again the moment he began walking back towards the dinning room. He couldn’t stay in this house all day. “I’m gonna go get some last minute Christmas shopping done,” he announced to everyone at the table, changing direction from his chair to the foyer where he had left his jacket and keys.

He left without another word, and didn’t really breathe again until he had driven outside of the Compound walls. After a few minutes, he pulled to the side of the road, turned the radio up as loud as possible, leaned his head back against the seat, and closed his eyes.

No matter how loud he cranked the music, however, he couldn’t shut his mind down for even a second. Thinking back over the last few days, the only waking moments he’s had where he didn’t feel like his head was gonna explode was when he was kissing Jessie. Just thinking about her didn’t help though, so he quickly threw his car back in gear and began to drive.

Three hours later, he felt no better and had wasted a ridiculous amount of gas for not really going anywhere, but he still didn’t wanna go home, so he pulled out his phone to call Jade.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to talk to you again so soon,” she greeted. “What’s up?”

“Can we meet?” he asked quickly.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“I just really need to talk to you,” he said.

“We’re talking right now,” she responded. “What’s going on?”

“I know,” he said anxiously. “I just need to talk to you and I can’t be in my house right now, so can we meet?” he asked again, clearly agitated.

“Sure. Where?” she resigned.

“There’s a small stretch of beach downtown behind the promenade,” he told her. “Can you meet me there?” he asked.

“I’ll be there,” she told him.

“Thanks,” he replied, hanging up the phone and making a u-turn to head downtown.

Twenty minutes later, he was walking towards the rocks that he hasn’t visited since Jessie’s last night before leaving a few months ago, but it wasn’t Jessie sitting on the rocks.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, climbing up to sit next to her.

“No problem,” she told him. “Now tell me what’s going on,” she insisted.

“Look Jade, I know that I promised to follow your lead, but I really need a timeframe,” he begged. “Even if it’s just a loose one. Please give me something. I’m going insane. I have way too many what-ifs going on in my head right now and I need a resolution somewhere,” he confessed.

“Well, I suggest you look elsewhere for a resolution because you’re not getting it here,” she told him with a serious expression.

“JADE,” he screamed, finally unable to control his emotions any longer. “YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND…”

“YOU’RE RIGHT I DON’T,” she interrupted, but then continued more calmly. “…but we had a deal, and you’re not breaking your promise, Jonny. You were fine when I left you a few hours ago. What changed?” she asked.

“Nothing’s changed. That’s the problem,” he breathed.

“What other what-ifs are plaguing you besides your mom?” she asked softly.

“Nothing that I can deal with until I know my mom is safe,” he sighed, running a hand over his face. “I’m sorry. I’m totally fine,” he apologized quickly, realizing that she was gonna go to Race if she thought he couldn’t handle this. “I just wanted to get out of my house. Jessie’s mom is here for the holiday, and the two of us don’t really get along. With everything else that’s going on, I’m afraid that’ll I’ll blow up on her if I don’t just steer clear. And I don’t wanna put Jess in a weird spot, so I’ve just been hanging out alone for the most part the past few days, which is not good for me right now because then I start thinking way too much,” he admitted. “I think about her scared and alone all this time, and it makes me feel so helpless that I can’t do anything about it. I hate feeling helpless. She’s my mom,” he finished softly.

“I’m sorry,” she started. “I know this is hard on you…”

“…but I’m fine,” he interrupted. “There’s still no need to get Race involved at all.”

She just sighed, but nodded.

“I just didn’t wanna be alone,” he told her. “I needed a friend.”

“Well, I’m here when you need me,” she said.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “Hey listen, I’m gonna come with you tonight. I was able to get out of the party.”

“Nice,” she grinned, jumping off the rocks. “I’ll pick you up at midnight, and I’ll start thinking about a timeframe,” she promised softly.

“Thanks,” he breathed.

“You coming?” she asked.

“No, I’m gonna hang here for a while. I’ll see you tonight,” he sighed, staring out into the ocean.
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Love is Strong