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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
- 8
- 9
- 10
A/N: Well, it’s a good thing I like writing this story so much because I don’t think many people are reading it, or JQ fanfic in general, but I’m trying to stay determined to finish anyway. I forge on! I recognize that this isn’t my best work. I promise the next chapter will be better.

Still approximately two years prior, so there’s no confusion

Jonny remembers it was no easy feat convincing Race that nothing was wrong when he cut the Diehard marathon short at ten o’clock to go to bed. He felt like he did an amazing job of pretending like he was ok all throughout dinner and the first movie, but he really needed to get some time alone to think. He also needed to make sure that he had enough time to sneak past IRIS, Race, and to get to the edge of the Compound before Jade.

It turned out, however, that giving himself time to think wasn’t such a great idea. His mind had no idea where to begin. How could she be alive? He saw her die? He was only five, but he remembers the moment as if it were yesterday. He dreams about it all the time.

They were in Rome on a family vacation. They were walking around the city together after diner, and Jonny was in the middle holding both of their hands when it all began. He saw that monster grab her and taunt his father. He heard his father beg and his mother cry, while she was taken away by gunpoint and thrown into a black SUV. Jonny remembers trying to run after her, but his father’s grip was too strong. He didn’t realize it in that instant, but looking back, he can literally remember the moment when his mother was ripped away from him, and he’s haunted by it.

It was ten days before he saw her again. His father was so scared during the time she was missing. He remembers that agents were all over their hotel room, and that no ransom call ever came. Jonny’s Grandpa Doug arrived on that tenth day, and wouldn’t let up on his father for a second about how everything was his fault. His father was like a zombie. He didn’t eat or sleep, and only talked to the agents. By the time Doug arrived, he was so worn down that even Jonny remembers being worried about him.

It was that worry and fear which led him to ask his father to take a walk to the park a few blocks from the hotel. Jonny just wanted to spend some time alone with his dad to ask a few questions that had been on his mind. In particular, if his mother was ever coming back.

A few minutes later, they were on their way to the park with four agents trailing behind. Jonny remembers trying to ask his question a couple times, but was never able to get the words out. The two of them just walked in silence until they reached the park and heard it.

“BENTON,” his mother’s voice shattered through his cluttered mind. “BENTON, GET JONNY OUT OF HERE,” she screamed, before the man holding her roughly covered her mouth with his hand and put a gun to her head.

Jonny whipped his entire body around as fast as lightening until his mother came into view. She was struggling against a man almost three times her size, and was surrounded by about ten more with guns.

Everything that happened after that is almost all a blur. Jonny remembers that the agents pulled their weapons rather quickly, flanking him and his dad. He remembers a man mocking his father’s pleas to let his mother go, but it wasn’t the same man that was holding her. This guy was off to the side a bit and dressed very nicely. He looked like some sort of professor or doctor. He remembers hearing something about payback, and trying like hell to run and help his mother. He remembers that it was an agent gripping him tightly this time to keep him from helping her, and he remembers fighting like hell as he witnessed some of his mother’s final moments.

“Well, Benton,” the man had started, in an English accent. “This has been a long time coming for the both of us and, for the first time, you’re gonna lose. I thought I was gonna have to wait forever for you to come out of that hotel,” he laughed evilly. “But I knew it would be worth the wait. I wanted to be able to see your face when I took away what you love most, just like you did to me you bastard.”

“NO,” his father screamed and tried to run towards the man, but the agents restrained him.

“LET ME GO,” he screamed at them. “SHOOT THEM. SHOOT THEM,” he yelled, but they wouldn’t. Jonny couldn’t understand why the agents weren’t trying to help his mother. “LET GO OF ME AND KILL THEM,” his father screamed again.

“Sir,” one of the agents began, “we can’t help her. There are too many of them. Let’s get out of here now.”

“NO, you son of a…..get off me,” his father demanded. “THAT’S MY WIFE,” he finished hotly.

As a result of all the commotion, Jonny was able to get out of the agent’s grasp. He made a break straight for his mother, but wasn’t fast enough.

“BENTON,” the man yelled. “I never want you to forget that she’s dead because of you.” Without another word, the man pulled a gun from his jacket and shot his mother in the head.

Jonny was only about ten feet away when it happened, and he froze in his tracks.

“NOOOOOOO,” he heard his father cry. “NOOOOO.”

The man just laughed.

Jonny couldn’t move and he couldn’t breath. It didn’t register with him that he was surrounded by eleven men with guns. All he could see was his mother, slumped over at the waist in the big man’s arms and not moving. He doesn’t remember screaming or crying, although he’s sure that he did. Then his view of her was gone because the man that shot her was standing right in front of him with a gun leveled at his head.

“NO, GET AWAY FROM HIM,” he heard his father yell, but Jonny did nothing except stare at the man.

The next thing Jonny knew, the man laughed and winked at him. Then, the man holding his mother threw her to the ground, and they were all off running.

Jonny ran straight to his mother and turned her over. His father was there with the agents surrounding them about two seconds later. Both Jonny and his father were covered in her blood and screaming for her to wake up, but she never did.

The days that followed were the worst of his life. He was lonely and sad, and he didn’t know what he was supposed to be doing half the time. His father was there in body, but his mind and soul were M.I.A. Even his Grandpa Doug realized that there was no point in yelling at him anymore because he just wasn’t there.

When they had gotten back to the hotel that evening after everything, Jonny’s father absolutely exploded on the agents, and that was the last time Jonny had heard him talk or show any emotion for weeks.

“Can I call someone for you,” one of the agents had asked his father tentatively.

“You can call you boss agent,” is father started quietly. “And you can tell him that he’s gonna have four dead agents on his hands if he doesn’t get you out of my sight RIGHT NOW. I WANT A FUCKING EXPLANATION,” he screamed.

“Sir, our orders were to protect you,” the agent told him.

“Well, you didn’t do a very good job of that tonight, did you? What’s your boss gonna think?” he asked mockingly. Jonny had never heard his father act like that before, and he could tell the agent was getting a little annoyed.

“You’re alive sir,” the agent told him.

“You just let him shoot her,” he accused disbelievingly.

“There was nothing that we could’ve done, sir. We didn’t have enough resources to help her and safely complete our mission,” he said.

“YOUR MISSION WAS TO PROTECT US, AND YOU FAILED MISERABLY AGENT,” his father exploded.

“Our mission was to protect YOU, and you’re still alive,” the agent deadpanned.

“What?” his father asked quietly. “So you’re telling me that I-One thinks my family is expendable? IS THAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID TO ME?” his father screamed.

“No, of course not,” the agent told him, showing a little emotion for the first time. “I’m sorry, sir. I had my orders.”

“Well I hope that helps you sleep at night, agent,” were the last words that Jonny heard. He couldn’t take it anymore, so he ran to his room, locked the door, and hid his head under a pillow. The screaming continued for at least another hour before he fell asleep, and he woke up the next day to a world forever changed.

Tears still form in his eyes on the rare occasion that he let’s himself become vulnerable enough to relive those memories, and sitting on his bed waiting to go meet Jade had certainly left him in a vulnerable enough state.

At 11:15, Jonny breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Race’s door shut, which made things slightly less complicated. He proceeded to dress all in black and put on his running shoes. Then, he blinded IRIS to his movements on the property, which gets harder all the time as Race and his dad keep upgrading the system to prevent the kids from doing just that.

Once set, he quietly left his room and made his way to the back door. When he was safely out of the house, Jonny broke into a run to meet Jade. He wanted to get there before her so that she wouldn’t bolt when she saw him coming instead of Race. As he approached the edge of the Compound, he slowed down and crouched behind a sand dune to wait for her. It was 11:45.

At 12:05, he began to panic. His heart had been beating a mile a minute for the last twenty minutes, and he doesn’t know what he’ll do if she doesn’t show up. He needs to talk to her and get this straight in his head tonight.

He was about to leave and go ask Race for help when he heard her footsteps. She was pacing and muttering softly under her breath. Jonny froze. He was afraid of what she would say, and was also afraid of what she wouldn’t say. A sudden thought occurred to him in that moment. What if she only said it to get Race to come? Jonny certainly wouldn’t put that past her.

“Selfish son of bitch,” he heard her mumble, and then heard her begin to walk away.

He knew that he had to take action immediately, or risk losing his chance, so he silently made his way out from behind his hiding place.

“Jade,” he almost whispered, and knew that he sounded like he was in physical pain.

She stopped in her tracks at the sound of his voice, but didn’t turn around to face him.

“Jade,” he called out again with more force, and then she turned around to meet his stare.

He couldn’t read her eyes to save his life. Damn she was good. “Hey baby,” she smiled. “It’s good to see you again. What are you doing down here so late?” she questioned. She wasn’t giving him an inch, and it was pissing him the hell off. This was his mother she was messing around with. That’s when he lost it.

“CUT THE SHIT,” he screamed at her, clearly catching her off guard. “What’s going on, Jade?” he demanded.

“Alright, you caught me,” she started coyly, not missing a beat. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d surprise…”

“Is my…,” he cut her off and his voice wavered, but then he swallowed and finished determinedly. “Is my mother alive?” he questioned, and saw her face fall. “Or are you just fucking with Race?” he added.

“Jonny,” she started, but no more words came.

“TELL ME,” he screamed, upset with himself for being on the verge of tears. “Tell me either way Jade, but you fucking tell me RIGHT NOW. TELL ME.”

“She’s alive,” she said quietly.

“What?” he asked totally heartbroken, as he fell to his knees. “That’s not possible Jade. Tell me how that’s possible. I saw her die. I saw her go into…I saw her go into the ground,” he finished softly.

“Jonny,” she started again, and sank to her knees in front of him. “I don’t know the how part, I just know that she is?”

“How do you know that?” he asked, still unable to stand.

“Maybe we should go get Race before we get into this,” she suggested worriedly.

“No,” he told her quickly. “You can’t tell him Jade.”

“I’m gonna need his help to get her outta there,” she responded flatly, going right back into business mode.

“Outta where?” he asked.

“Jonny,” she sighed.

“Where is she?” he asked, losing his patience.

“Paris”

“How…tell me everything right now,” he insisted.

“Fine,” she relented. “But we get Race first. How the fuck did you find out about this anyway?” she asked, furious with herself for screwing up.

“Next time, wait for someone to say ‘hello’ when they pick up the phone before you start talking.” He told her harshly. “And we’re not telling Race,” he added quickly.

“Then I’m outta here,” she threatened and stood up to leave.

“Fine, then I will go and tell him everything. How do you think he’ll feel knowing that you’re putting me through this shit again Jade. Do you think he’ll forgive you? Because I don’t think he will,” Jonny threatened right back.

That stopped her dead, and she turned around to glare at him. This time, Jonny could read her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare?” she asked, a little fear reflected in her voice.

“Yes I would,” he told her. “Especially now that I know you care so much,” he finished in a voice that he didn’t even recognize.

He realized pretty quickly, however, that acting like a madman wasn’t going to help this situation, so he decided to be honest with her.

“Jade listen. I’m sorry, ok. I’ve just had all of this thrown at me out of nowhere, and I’m not exactly handling it all that great. Please…Please just tell me what you know.”

“Ok, but I don’t like this,” she conceded. “This is what happens when people let emotions drive them,” she chided herself. “FUCK!” she screamed, totally frustrated.

“Stop stalling,” Jonny accused.

“Fine,” and then she started to tell him everything, while still fuming. “I was in London a few months ago working on a deal, and I came across a pretty lucrative opportunity to say the least. I obviously can’t go into the details, but it involved getting into bed with Anton Grobin,” and she stopped, looking at him expectantly.

“Am I supposed to know who that is Jade?” he questioned, annoyed that she had stopped.

She looked a little surprised, but continued. “Anton is an international art dealer, who’s involved very heavily in the black market. He’s somewhat of a godfather, if you will, in my line of work. So when I heard that he was interested in my services, I was on the first plane possible to take a meeting with him. When I arrived at his home in Paris, I noticed a couple of meatheads being rough with a blonde woman that looked vaguely familiar, but I dismissed it pretty quickly because I was told that Anton was ready to see me.”

“Did she look hurt,” he asked quietly, worried for the first time that this all may be true, and that his mother may have been suffering for years without anyone knowing.

“No…I don’t know,” Jade told him. “Like I said, I didn’t give it much notice at first, and I probably would’ve forgotten about it totally if I didn’t agree to Anton’s proposal. When I decide to go into business with someone, I do a very thorough background check, regardless of their reputation. I have amazing sources, so I’m able to find out all types of things that people try to hide, and good old Anton had a lot buried. It all worked in his favor as far as I was concerned, but my gut told me to dig a little deeper. When I did, I found out that Anton Grobin doesn’t really exist,” and she stopped to take a deep breath before continuing. “His real name is Richard Hill,” she said, and he caught her watching him expectantly again.

“Ok, am I supposed to know who that is then?” he asked, getting very annoyed now.

“When I did a little digging on Richard Hill,” she continued in an upset tone. “It all fell into place. Jonny, he’s the man that supposedly killed your mother,” and then Jade stopped talking to let that sink in.

Jonny took a few steadying breaths before speaking. “How did you find that out? I’ve tried to look it up…”

“Good sources, like I said,” she interrupted. “I thought you would have known though, I’m sorry.”

Jonny just shook his head ‘no,’ unable to find his voice, but Jade continued.

“Anyways, as soon as I found that out, I remembered the woman that I saw and realized why she looked so familiar,” she said. “I didn’t want Anton to get suspicious, so I followed through with my end of the bargain, and have been shadowing him and a few key players in his organization ever since. I’ve only been able to catch one more glimpse of her when she was being put into an SUV outside Hill’s home,” Jade said. “She looked ok,” she added quickly, noting the look on Jonny’s face. “I…uh…,” she stumbled.

“What?” Jonny asked, finally finding is voice.

“It’s not very good,” she started cautiously. “But I have a picture.”

Jonny’s head shot up at those words, and Jade couldn’t take the picture out of her pocket faster for him. He ripped it from her fingers, and stared for a full minute. It was a little blurry and from quite a distance, but Jonny certainly recognized that this woman resembled his mother. It couldn’t be her though.

“But I saw her die, Jade. How do you explain that?” he asked through gritted teeth, trying to harness his emotions.

“I don’t know,” she breathed.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know. How can you drag this up if you don’t KNOW,” he yelled. “I saw the bullet go into her head, I saw her get thrown to the ground, I put my head…I put my,” but he had to close his eyes and take a few seconds before continuing, and he kept his eyes closed when he did, picturing everything. “I put my head against her heart, Jade. It wasn’t beating. I…I saw her go in the ground. I visit her fucking grave. SHE’S DEAD,” he screamed.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” she asked a little harshly.

“What?” he asked, unsure of how to respond to her accusation.

“Listen, Jonny. All I know is what I saw and what I found out. This Hill guy went to school with your father. They were friends and business partners after they graduated from Harvard. I don’t know all of the details, but things went south at some point, obviously, and Hill went after him with a vengeance.”

“Yeah, he killed his wife,” Jonny finished bitterly, still not wanting to believe any of this and upset that he didn’t already know all of that information.

“Jonny you’re right, ok. I can’t say that I’m 100 sure she’s alive, which is why I wanted to talk to RACE about this and not YOU. I only saw the woman for a few seconds in total, but it all makes sense to me. I mean there were days between the time your mother was taken and when she was supposedly killed, right? And Hill clearly put a lot of thought into ruining your father’s life. How do you know the person you saw get shot wasn’t just someone that looked like your mother?” Jade questioned.

“I heard her voice,” he told her immediately. “She called out to my father.”

“What if that was just recorded,” she suggested. “Maybe Hill orchestrated this entire thing from the beginning so that he could come back years later and ruin your father again,” she finished.

“That’s pretty far fetched Jade. This is real life, not a soap opera,” Jonny criticized.

“Well maybe Hill was so jealous that he wanted your father’s life. Taking his wife would be a pretty good start,” she theorized. “It’s not that hard to create a double of person Jonny. Especially, if you’re properly motivated and financed. You just find someone who looks similar, and throw a lot of money and a great plastic surgeon into the mix. You were only five when it happened, and I’m sure there was blood everywhere. You were at a distance during most of the incident. By the time you got up close, you were upset and half of her face was gone, wasn’t it?” she asked, trying to get him to see where she was coming from.

“How,” he started, obviously very angry. “How do you know all of that?” he asked. He never told anyone those details, and he’s sure that his father hasn’t either.

“Race told me,” she said quickly.

“I never..,” Jonny started.

“One of the agents that was there briefed him,” she cut off.

“My dad would have known if it wasn’t her,” Jonny rationalized, needing to know that his mother was at peace now and not stuck with some madman.

“Are you sure?” Jade questioned.

Jonny wasn’t sure of anything at that point. His father was so upset before and after it happened. Maybe he did make a mistake.

“Don’t you think she would have found a way to let us know she was alive in eleven years?” Jonny questioned, still fighting to reach a conclusion in his mind

“He could have kept her away from phones and computers if he really wanted too. Look, I know this all sounds insane, but nothing is impossible when you’re properly motivated. You’re right though, I don’t have any concrete answers,” she sighed, looking tired.

“Alright,” he conceded a little. “Let’s say that I buy the whole doubles theory. How do we know that this one isn’t the double, uh? That would screw my dad up pretty bad too,” Jonny finished.

“I really don’t believe that’s the case. I know how this guy works, and I’ve looked him right in the eye. He’s a psychopath Jonny, and he’s a psychopath with a lot of money and resources. I think I’m right about this,” she finished determinedly.

“Well as long as you’ve got a good feeling,” Jonny replied, mockingly

“God, I’ve fucked this up royally. Race is gonna kill me,” she groaned.

“No he’s not because he’s not gonna find out Jade. Promise me right now that you won’t tell him…please,” he begged.

“I can’t do that Jonny,” she told him.

“Why?” he asked. “Are you gonna suddenly grow a conscience on me?” he asked angrily.

“Hey,” she yelled. “That was uncalled for. I don’t lie to Race,” she told him. Jonny wasn’t buying it.

“But you don’t tell him everything do you?” he countered. “An omission is not a lie, and it’s not like this is a topic of conversation that will come up between the two of you naturally,” he finished.

“I need his help, Jonny.”

“I’ll help you, Jade” he insisted. “Listen to me. If you tell Race, do you think he’ll tell my dad?” Jonny questioned.

“Probably,” she answered after a while.

“Change that ‘probably’ to a ‘definitely’ and you’ve got a right answer,” he supplied. “He will tell my dad Jade, and it’ll absolutely wreck him. Please don’t do that to my family, especially when you’re not 100 sure. My dad wouldn’t be able to handle this a second time. You didn’t see what it did to him. She was his whole world, she still is,” and then Jonny’s breath hitched in his throat for a moment. “We can’t tell him anything until we know for sure. We’ll look into it, and if you’re wrong then he never has to know. Please, I’m begging you,” he finished.

“Ok,” she relented, clearly unsure of her decision.

“Thank you,” he professed, only slightly relieved.

“Are you sure you can handle this?” she questioned.

“I don’t have a choice,” he told her. “This is my family we’re talking about. And you don’t have to worry about me. I can handle myself. So Paris?” he questioned, trying to focus.

“Well that’s a good starting place anyway,” she informed him, slowly. “I haven’t been back to Anton’s home since I took that picture. I’m sure he has several others, but I’m a little wary of using my sources to get that info. I don’t want anything getting back to him to make him suspicious. We all pretty much run in the same circle. I was hoping Race could tape I-One’s sources,” she said.

“I’ll take care of that,” he told her.

“Oh really,” she said, disbelievingly.

“Yeah really,” he replied, totally serious.

“Ok,” she said quietly. “I’m not really sure where to go from here.”

“Well, I’m guessing Paris would be a good start,” he said. “When do you wanna leave?” he asked.

“I can’t take you to Paris,” she said incredulously.

“You can, and you will. You said yourself that you needed help,” he told her.

“You’re fifteen…”

“I’m almost sixteen, and I can take care of myself,” he breathed heavily. “This is my mother we’re talking about. I’m going.”

“How are we gonna explain your disappearance. Race will kill me if something happens to you,” she said worried.

“Again, I can take care of myself. Nothing will happen to me, and I’ll take care of Race. Just let me know the place and time,” he finished determinedly.

“Jonny, we can’t…” she started, but stopped, seeing that arguing was useless.

“I’ll need to work out the details,” she said, resigned.

“Fine, will you call me tomorrow?” he asked. “You have my cell, right?”

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said.

“Promise?” he pleaded.

“Yes,” she said.

“And promise that you won’t tell Race?” he asked.

“Yes, for now,” she answered a little more slowly.

Jonny knew that was the best he was gonna do for now, and he wanted to get back to the house to get to work.

“Thank you,” he said quickly, and then another question popped into his head when she began to walk away. “Why do you care?” he asked, suddenly curious.

“Huh?” she looked at him questioningly.

“Why do you even care what happens to my mother?” he asked more directly.

She paused for a moment and then looked him right in the eye while speaking. “Do you have any idea how much you mean to Race?” she asked quietly.

Jonny just looked down. He didn’t know how to answer that question.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” she said, and then left him sitting there on the beach.

And now here he is, more than two years later, sitting close to that same spot on the beach and rehashing it all.

Jade did call him the next day, and told him to meet her at the edge of the Compound that night at midnight again. His dad, Hadji, and Jessie, were still gonna be gone for another week at their conference, so Race was his only obstacle. He still feels really guilty about the way he went about it, but it was the only option he could think of.

It took a little persuading, but Jonny was able to convince Race to take him and a couple of his friends camping for a few days. There were camping grounds about an hour from the Compound, so it was perfect. Jonny spent most of the day packing and hacking into the I-One database for information on Anton Grobin. He was able to locate three homes that Anton keeps across Europe, but he couldn’t find out anything about the guy’s life before he became Anton. Jade’s sources were good, he just prayed that they were reliable too.

Jonny packed one bag for camping, and another for meeting Jade that he threw in the back of his closet. When Race called him to leave, Jonny made sure to again blind IRIS to his actions before making his way to car.

Once they were on their way, Jonny doubled his efforts to act normal. He didn’t want Race or his friends becoming suspicious at all. It didn’t take long for them to get there and get set up. By 8:00, they were all in front of the fire, and roasting marshmallows. By 10:15, he was nervous as hell. He remembers thinking that he hoped no one would notice that he kept staring at his watch.

At 10: 27, Jonny announced that he had to go take a piss and he’d be right back. No one except Jade saw him again for a week. As soon as he was a safe distance away from the campsite, he took off in a mad sprint in order to give himself the biggest head start that he could. He could vaguely hear his name being screamed in the distance a few minutes later, but he didn’t look back.

He hot wired a car, and it took him about an hour to get back to the Compound, hide the car, grab his stuff, and meet Jade.

“What the hell happened to you?” she asked upon seeing him.

He knows that he must’ve looked horrible, but he ignored her question. It was time to get serious. “Let’s go,” he ordered.

Before he knew it, he was traveling over the Atlantic Ocean towards Paris, and once again had too much time to think. He filled Jade in on the other locations, but wouldn’t tell her how he got past Race. He couldn’t think of a feasible lie to save his life, so he just didn’t answer. He knew she was suspicious, and was really thankful when she let it drop.

“Let’s just try to get this situation cleared up quickly,” he said, completely devoid of emotion. He found that he needed to detach himself in order to get through this. He couldn’t let himself think about what he was putting his family through. He couldn’t think about what his mother had been through if she really has been alive all this time. He was a ball of emotions and he just kept exploding on Jade, accusing her and questioning her motives. He remembers that she was just about ready to hit him before he realized that he shouldn’t be taking this out on her and stopped.

They spent two days scouting outside of Hill’s home before catching a glimpse of her. When he saw her, it was like a fire suddenly lit inside of him. Looking back, he’s afraid that maybe it was just lack of sleep, but, at the time, he was convinced it was her. It took all of Jade’s strength to keep him from running right down to her.

Once Jonny was convinced, Jade brought up the notion of bringing Race in again, but Jonny was still adamant. No less than a 99.9 DNA match was gonna convince him to mention this to his father. He was starting to believe she was alive, but he still had to be sure.

When the car with his mother didn’t return that day and they witnessed Hill getting into a car with a suitcase later that evening, they assumed he was headed to another property. With a little effort, they learned that Hill had headed to London, so they made their way there, as well, about a day behind. All of this traveling gave them a lot of time to get to know each other, and Jonny and Jade grew pretty close during everything. They talked a lot, and told each other things that no one else knew. Jonny finally understood her.

He remembers that London was cooler than Paris, and that Hill’s London home was much larger. However, he can’t remember much else. Everything happened really quickly once they arrived because Jonny wasn’t willing to wait any longer. As soon as night fell, they made their way inside the house. It took them almost two hours to make it upstairs. Talk about a psychopath. This guy had more security than the president of the United States.

Jonny almost lost it when he saw her being led up the stairs by that man. Hill had his hand on the small of her back, and Jade had to physically restrain him again. Once they made it upstairs, it was just a matter of avoiding the cameras and figuring out what room she was in, which they figured out by process of elimination.

Like they planned, Jade created a distraction to draw Hill out of the room, and to have the security men running around like chickens with no heads. As soon as Hill was safely down the steps, Jonny made his way into the room. When he came face to face with her, he felt like he’d been hit by a Mac truck. It wasn’t her. She looked like her, but it wasn’t her. He probably would’ve fallen to his knees right then and there if she hadn’t screamed.

That woke him up, and he was off in a flash to go meet Jade at their rendezvous point. They planned to meet in room six of the Blue Lantern Hotel as soon as possible after they got separated. It took him about an hour to be sure that he’d lost all of Hill’s men, and he arrived at the hotel door about the same time as Jade.

“Jonny?” she immediately questioned out of breath, but he didn’t acknowledge her.

Neither of them spoke again until their plane landed in Maine. Jonny was like a zombie, and she couldn’t get through no matter how hard she tried.

“You didn’t have to come all the way back with me,” he suddenly voiced, as they stepped off the plane she had chartered under one of her many aliases. He could tell that she was surprised that he had said anything at all.

“I wanted to,” she told him, and then pulled him into a hug that he willingly reciprocated. “I’m sorry,” she breathed, and he knew she meant it.

“I know,” he told her. “I know that you meant well, it’s just hard,” he said slowly. He wasn’t looking forward to facing his family on top of everything else. “Still promise that you won’t tell Race?” he asked.

“Yeah I promise,” she told him. Then she kissed him on the cheek and got back on the plane.

Since that day, they haven’t really seen too much of each other, but he knows they share a special bond. He knows she would never hurt him on purpose.

As Jonny stepped foot on the Compound again, he realized that he must look like he really has been missing for a week. He had cuts all over him, and a strained left ankle that was not easy to walk on. He was hoping to be able to come home and tell everyone the whole truth, but he was gonna have to go with plan B and keep up his lie instead.

He planned to tell everyone that he was chloroformed by someone in the woods, and woke up in a locked room. He wasn’t gonna offer much detail. He’d just say that he didn’t remember much, and he’d act traumatized. He remembers thinking when he considered this plan that he was gonna be in trouble trying to pretend around Jessie, but it turned out that he didn’t have to pretend at all. He felt like he had lost her all over again, and it was killing him.

As he walked along the beach to make is way home, he realized that IRIS must still be blind to his actions or else the family would have descended upon him by now.

He didn’t make it very far before he was stopped in his tracks. She was so beautiful. She was sitting in the sand with her head on her knees, and her shoulders were shaking. Was she crying? She was breaking his heart.

“Jessie,” he called out softly, and her head shot straight up. They just stared at each other for a moment, and then a fresh wave of tears began to pour down her face. She didn’t say a word. She just made a strangled noise, and then launched herself into his arms. She felt like heaven, and he held onto her like a lifeline. He did the best he could to try and clam her down, but she wouldn’t stop shaking. He hated that he was the cause of this.

That guilt coupled with everything else he’d been through that week caused him to break. Without warning, he dropped to his knees, taking her with him, and began sobbing like a child. He tried to stop, but he couldn’t. He just held her tighter, afraid that he lose gonna lose her too. He knows that he scared her because she stopped crying as soon as he started, and just kept trying to figure out what was wrong.

“J, what’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt?” she asked with fear in her voice. He couldn’t bring himself to answer

She was eventually able to pull back a little and hold his head in her hands for a second, but he refused to look her in the eye. He just kept crying, so she just resigned her self to holding him tight and rocking back and forth slightly. Jonny can’t remember how long he cried for. He just remembers never wanting to let her go. When he finally did, however, she hit him with another barrage of questions.

She must have realized that he couldn’t answer though, because she eventually just kissed his forehead and told him that the only thing that mattered was that he was safe. Jonny doesn’t think he’s ever been hugged so much in his life as he was that day. Even Race held onto him for a while. He didn’t cry again, but he was clearly exhausted, which helped him escape all the questions for one night.

He remembers that he fell asleep pretty easily that night and had no dreams, but that was the only solid night he got for months afterwards. The days following his return were pretty tense. His dad was clearly upset with Race, and everyone was getting really frustrated that Jonny wouldn’t talk or answer any questions.

Jonny just stuck to his story. After a few weeks, everything went back to normal and his family stopped hassling him for answers. There’s not a doubt in his mind, however, that Jessie knows there’s more to the story. He’s still so grateful that she let it go.

Present

And now that everything is finally supposed to be getting back to normal for him, Jade has returned to blow his life up again, and he can’t stop it. He’s just glad that no one will be around tonight so he won’t have to sneak around. Plus, Jade said that they were only sixty miles away, which means it could really be done without him having to lie about his whereabouts at all. It’ll just require a few sleepless nights of sneaking out, but there’s nothing new there.

As much as he doesn’t want to deal with all of this again, Jonny’s determined to handle it better. He’s not gonna let false hope take a hold of him this time, and he’s not gonna break down.

When he sees the sun coming down behind the water, Jonny figures that he should get back to the Compound to complete his cleaning efforts. However, going back to that empty house is really the last he wants to do right now. Just thinking about it causes an overwhelming feeling of dread and loneliness to well up inside of him.

As he walks through his front door, the smell of pot roast smacks him in the face. The smell makes him realize how hungry he really is, and he allows a small smile to come to his face. He wasn’t expecting Mrs. Evans to come and cook for him tonight, but he’s so glad she did.

He went straight to the kitchen to thank her, and there it was. His eternal comfort and sweetest complication all rolled up into one and dressed in an apron.

“Jessie,” he breathed out in shock.
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Love is Strong