Never Forget (1/2) (Non-Adult Version)

Some language and adult innuendo. This is the non-adult version of this story. There is an adult explicit version, pm me your email with an age statement if you'd like a copy. You can also read it on my Livejournal if you have an LJ account. This is unrelated to any other stories of mine. This takes place 20 years after the bombs following Season Two. Spoilers for Season One and Season Two. Characters: Jake, Heather.

"Kids okay?" Heather asked as Jake finally arrived in their bedroom for the night. He knew she wasn't fully paying attention to him as she briefly glanced up from the desk where she worked on her computer. She had said she was going to work on bills, but he knew her well enough to know she was still working on video mails, talking on video chats and surfing the I-Net, following up on news stories and blogs that she would use on her radio show the next day. 'Research' she always called it. She had a staff that did that research for her, creating a list of news stories and links that were posted on her I-Net site each day and for her to read the following morning, but Heather found it hard to break free and leave the work to her staff alone.

As he often did, Jake had seen that their kids were taken care of, reading to Rebecca, checking on John and Robbie's homework and making sure they had finished their chores, then checking on the house before coming back upstairs to the large master bedroom he shared with Heather. Their house was remote, built on the ranch on the same ground where his grandparent's house used to stand. Jake had bought the ranch from his mother to help pay for her retirement. Jake and Heather had built this house a few years after they were married, moving in when John was barely two years old and the house had been most unfinished but it was theirs and theirs alone. They had had a lot of pride from working together with contractors to finish it, room by room, until it had become their home. They had kept the barn and pastures outside, keeping several horses they now used for riding, and a ever changing number of barn cats that the kids kept trying to bring indoors.

"Becky took a while to settle down, even after two readings of The Pink Princess. I swear I know that book by heart by now." Placing his own computer on the nightstand along with his keys, Jake slowly undressed, tossing his sheriff's shirt in the hamper in the closet along with its matching slacks. His gun and badge were locked downstairs though he kept his own handgun locked up here in his nightstand. Gone were the days when they really needed to have guns anymore, but old habits died hard.

"Uh huh." Heather replied, nodding, though he wasn't sure she was really listening. But she added. "She loves it when you read it to her."

He went to pull off his t shirt and briefs and stopped. "Do you have the video cam on?"

Heather was often in video chats talking to people or recording v-mails. He saw her reach and hit a button on the master control of her docking station likely turning off the video camera. She glanced at him in amusement, seeing him in his underwear. "Off now, sorry."

He wondered who had just seen him undressing behind Heather. He guessed he didn't care. That was the risk they took with modern technology. Jake pulled off his t shirt and briefs, looking to see if Heather was watching him disrobe. Sure enough, she was. He sucked in his gut, wondering if she could see the twenty five pounds he had gained over the past ten years. She was still typing, but kept glancing at him, her eyes running up and down his figure. She licked her lips at him. He gave her a wry smile and then she turned back to her computer monitor. He had a good feeling about tonight. If he could get her away from her computer and fans.

Slipping on his pajama bottoms, he climbed into bed and used his own computer to turn on the television, a flat screen television that was nearly as old as John now, but both he and Heather were careful with their money. He let his computer turn to his preferred channel listing and he selected a primetime crime drama that was about to start on the free channels, but not before a news promotion flashed across the screen.

"And tomorrow marks the twenty year anniversary of the day America Stood Still, the day of the nuclear bombs that destroyed over twenty three major cities," the new anchor spoke quickly, a young woman that looked far too young to be anchoring even the local news. "Update on the local and national commemorations at the news at 10. Tune in at KWB.tv now to see up-to-date news, sports and weather and watch our live broadcast."

He could watch shows from his own computer, a small device that fit in the palm of your hand and you could clip on your belt in a protective case. The new computers now functioned as a combination phone, music player, video player, camera, computer, and television all in one. They had also replaced credits cards and regular mail thanks to secured electronic signatures and video mail. Laptops and big desktop computers had mostly disappeared and most places had docking stations for those who wanted to use a larger monitor, a real keyboard and other features such as a better mouse, microphone, video camera and speakers. Everyone used them nowadays and those who couldn't afford them were given a government issued one that had the basic functions one needed. All the kids had one, including Rebecca. They even had a couple older model spares they could use if one of them broke. Jake used his for police work, for monitoring traffic and speed, for alarms from businesses and 911 calls, to look up electronic records from passing cars and driver's records, or complete his e-paperwork for everything from incident reports, background checks and his weekly expenses, and for corresponding with the State Highway Patrol and other government offices He just hated using it any more than necessary, including for vmail which was all the rage nowadays. They still had to pay for the services, which was quite pricey depending on what packages you used especially when you had three kids and a very active online wife who was a radio personality.

The primetime crime drama began to play with its usual haunting music He usually liked to watch the show, enjoying how the detectives investigated and solved unique crimes, but he found his attention wandering, watching Heather while she worked and thinking about the last twenty years. Had it been twenty years already? It was hard to believe. It was 2026 and so much had changed.

"Mom send us a vmail." Heather looked at him from her desk. "Did you watch it?"

"No." He vaguely remembered a message from mother in his inbox. She frequently sent them all messages and he had learned long ago that he could usually watch them later or Heather would watch them for him. Gail Green was smart enough to send the messages to Heather as well. He loved his mother dearly, but she could still be a bit overwhelming at times.

"Why not?"

"Was it marked urgent?" If his mother really needed him, she would call or occasionally leave him a vmail marked urgent that would beep at him to remind him to watch it.

"No." Heather replied.

"Then that's why not," Jake stated, trying to listen to what was happening in the show. "What did she want?"

"She just wanted to make sure we were coming tomorrow night."

"Of course we are." Gail Green was nearing eighty and was still in fairly good health, but tended to worry and had been very involved with her family since his father had died. She liked having her family close and tomorrow would be an important day for all of them.

He had almost forgotten that tomorrow was the anniversary How could he have? True, he kept trying to put it out of his mind. Then again, it had been pretty busy at the sheriff's office with Bill being out on family leave with another baby and having to train two new deputies that required more of his attention and time than Bill and Jimmy ever did. He felt his age and like a parent having to break in the rookies that had been taught too many rules and regulations and procedures at the academy that would take him some time to bring them back to reality that things didn't always work by the book in a small town. Most rules had gone by the wayside in the days following the bombs, Jake recalled, as his father and Eric had tried to maintain the peace and keep people together as they had tried to find out more about what had happened in the world that they no longer had working phones and couldn't get any television or radio broadcasts. His sheriff predecessor had been murdered that day by escaped convicts while Jake had been trying to leave Jericho only to see that mushroom cloud over Denver, wrecking his car and finding Heather and a bunch of school kids on a bus. That had only been the beginning of the very dark time to come. They had been in the dark and having to deal with their own small town travesties, fallout, murders, crime and then the loss of power and use of most electronics from the EMP.

Then what had followed... the hard winter, Heather and others going to New Bern to make wind turbines, his talk with Hawkins discovering that someone inside the government was likely responsible for the bombs and Hawkins had one of them hidden in his backyard, his father coming to New Bern to rescue him and Eric, believing that Heather had been killed, then the war with New Bern where his father had died and the military had come to put an end to the fighting. Major Beck, Jennings and Rall, and Ravenwood coming to Jericho and nearly destroying their hard-fought for peace. So many had died during that time, from the bombs and the crime and struggles afterward. Then the Civil War...

Civil War had broken out between the East and the Cheyenne governments started by Jake flying the remaining nuclear bomb from the attacks to Texas along with Hawkins. He had been gone for over a year then, working with Texas and the East to help tell the story of what had really happened with the bombs and gain international support for the East trying to stop the Cheyenne government and put the country back together again.

That was when Heather had gotten the start in her radio career, working with Major Beck and his military and other towns as they broke away from the Cheyenne government creating a resistance that helped the East win the Civil War. With Beck's help, Heather had created the Resistance radio network, using ham radios then a local radio station and then satellite to broadcast a twenty-four hour program of news and stories about what was really going on in the West under the rule of the Tomarchio's government. Heather became known as the Voice of the Resistance and people in remote towns grew to know her voice as she reported on troop movements, rescue efforts, safe spots, food distribution and medical care sites, weather and others news that made a difference in the lives of those trying to survive in the hard months of the Civil War.

Jake had ended up working for the East government, flying planes and doing recon work with Robert Hawkins. In the end, both he and Robert Hawkins had been celebrated as heroes, as the ones who had saved their country by bringing in Texas and bringing the proof to light that the Cheyenne government, Thomas Valente, and Jennings and Rall were behind the bombs.

In the end, they had offered him a job working in the newly rebuilt United States government, but he had declined, wanting to return home to Jericho and his friends and family. Coming home at last, he had seen how much had changed, a town that had been fought over in the Civil War for its farmland and resources and central location as the last major staging point before the big surge that went up to Cheyenne for the final takeover. He had been worried about his family and friends but had talked to Eric, Emily and his mother and others, including Heather, over the Internet phone they had set up for their underground conversations. He had talked to Heather, often late at night when she was up working late and he couldn't sleep. They had talked about anything and everything back then, growing closer through late night talks and then only Internet chats when Heather had to get off the phone due to security reasons.

And all through it, Jake had listened to Heather's Resistance broadcasts, seeking comfort in her familiar voice that reminded him of home, remembering the way they had met on the bus and in the months that had followed as she had been helpful and resourceful when they had tried to struggle to survive, including going to New Bern to build wind turbines, and helping Beck when she came back. He had been so angry back then, wrapped up in his anguish at his father's death and at how Beck and their new government had been treating them. He had been struggling with who he was, dealing with his questionable past and repeated failures. But the bombs had changed all that. At first, he had sought comfort with Emily, their relationship old and familiar, but had thought Heather was out of his league. He had left thinking of Emily, but had come home to Heather. Fortunately, the end of the war had brought back hundreds of former residents of Jericho, including Roger for Emily. To his surprise, Heather had missed him too and when they had started dating, then he had finally popped the question, he had been amazed that she was his at last.

They had married in the church on Main Street, surrounded by a mass of reporters and television crews who wanted to capture the wedding of their national hero and heroine for their newscasts, magazines and tabloids. They had even made several movies about all that had happened. Over time, their popularity had died down and eventually, things had quieted down in Jericho. Jake had accepted the position of sheriff, but knew that Eric had convinced Gray Anderson to offer him the post to keep him from running for mayor in the next election. It was fine by him, as he relished the quiet life again and the job as sheriff in Jericho, now that the Civil War was over, was mostly quiet. Occasionally, they talked to him about running for political office, and while he didn't rule that out yet, he wanted to settle down with Heather and spend time with her and his family for a while yet. So while he hadn't gotten involved in politics, Heather had, transitioning from her radio role in the Resistance to a daily syndicated radio talk show where they discussed politics and current events and how to keep the country from making the same mistakes that had ended up with the bombs. They still had to make occasional public appearances, both for Heather's job and their past accomplishments during the war, but fortunately, most news broadcasts where they wanted Heather or him to talk could be done from home, from their living room, or the studio attached to the house where Heather had set up for her radio and I-Net broadcasts. It worked out well, allowing Heather to be home for the kids when they were sick and when they came home from school. She frequently had to work late into the night to work on material for her show, or her latest ebook or to talk to people overseas. But overall, it had been a good life and better than Jake had ever known. He knew contentment in life, happiness beyond measure, and the pride of a wonderful family, successful marriage and quiet career.

They had been blessed with three wonderful children. Johnston "John" Jacob Green III, their firstborn and the oldest at seventeen going on thirty. Next had come Robbie, Robert Eric Green, age thirteen and then Becky, Rebecca Gail Green, age seven and named after Heather's mother. His friends and family had also been blessed by children. Stanley and Mimi Richmond had their own flock of children now, two boys and two girls, one named Bonnie who looked a lot like her namesake. Eric and Mary had their own kids, twin boys and a little girl giving their mother enough grandchildren to keep her happy and active. Even Emily and Roger had two little girls of their own in their big house in the Pines, little blonde haired girls who looked exactly like their mother.

Jake had lost himself so deeply in memories that he had barely watched the crime drama and it was soon over. The evening local news from Wichita came on. The news talked about tomorrow, the big day, the memorial of all that had happened before. The five year anniversary had been major, followed by the ten year anniversary. He and Heather had gone to both national celebrations, kids in tow. They had declined to go this year. He watched the newscast, thinking about the past years, but his head started pounding. There would be enough time tomorrow to think and remember. He waited for the weather update and then the sports news where they talked about the baseball playoffs. His Kansas City Royals hadn't made it again, so he wasn't all that interested. In the end, he realized that so much in life had gone back to normal after the years of the bombs and Civil War. It was almost enough to take it for granted, but people like Heather on her radio show and others made sure that people remembered their history and that they learned from their mistakes. In many ways, their country had and families and people had grown closer together after the bombs and war. But there were always people complaining that it wasn't enough, or it was too much. If anything, people still liked to complain. It was one reason why Jake had grown to love their quiet life here in Jericho. He remembered quite well and he knew that many here in Jericho shared the sentiment.

Jake turned down the volume on the television and quiet fell in the room. The only light was from the lamp on his nightstand table, the occasional flickers from the television and the light from Heather's computer monitor. He could hear the tapping at the keyboard as Heather typed and the occasional soft sound effects, music and voices from her chats and messages as she worked.

"You comin' to bed?" He was on his side of their big king sized bed. Alone. They needed the sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day.

"Just one more minute." She glanced at him giving him a slight smile.

"Your adoring fans will wait until tomorrow." He was proud of her though he knew she worked too hard. She had people that helped run her I-Net site and kept her fan club and forums working, but Heather still personally liked to reply to vmail and chatted with several friends, including big name personalities and pundits as they discussed current events. It must have been a quiet news week, as Heather usually had their bedroom television tuned to the news programs and he didn't often get to watch his own choices. Or maybe she was just getting ready for tomorrow. It was a big day.

At last, Heather got up from the desk, stretching. Jake noticed that she left her computer hooked up and wondered if they would get noises from it all night from incoming messages. He hoped not. He watched her as she slowly undressed, pulling off slacks and a comfy top as she often wore each day. Though she worked from home, she might be called for interviews at any moment and liked to look somewhat professional, especially for her vmails and chats.

She gave him a seductive smile as she slipped her panties and bra off, eying him as he laid in the bed against the pillows. He knew what that meant, but his eyes were more interested in watching her bare body, a body that showed some minor effects from aging and from having children. Heather complained often about needing to shed just a few more pounds to get back to her preferred weight. He didn't mind, as he still found every inch of her body beautiful after all these years.

He watched her sexy rear disappear into their bathroom as he heard her going through her nightly ritual of watching her face and brushing her teeth. He feigned interest in the newscast that ended and the late night talk show comedian started his routine, but Jake didn't turn up the volume on the television. His attention was distracted by his own body that knew what that look from Heather meant and was already looking forward to what was about to come. As soon as they had figured out how amazing sex was between them, they used to have sex like crazy when they were first married, but now it was limited to when they could find the time and energy. With kids, they had had to limit their love making to night time and those rare moments alone.

The bathroom light turned off and Heather walked over to their closet, pulling her nightgown over her body, slowly, sensually, quite aware that she had an audience, smiling at him as she shrugged it on.

"Kids asleep?" she asked. Her voice was husky in a tone usually reserved for him and him alone.

He hadn't heard the usual pounding of John's stereo for a while now, which likely meant that their oldest son had finally gone to bed as well. They let him stay up later these days as long as he did his homework, kept his grades up, and didn't have trouble waking up in the morning.

He nodded and patted the bed beside him. He turned the television off.

Heather walked over to his side of the bed and climbed on top of him, kissing him deeply. Jake groaned.

"Better keep those noises down, mister." Heather teased him between kisses, her breath soft and warm against his skin. He laid soft kisses down her chin and throat to her neck. Her heard her voice in her throat. "Robbie is old enough to hear and know what it means now."

"So?" Jake replied. John's bedroom was further away, but only the children's bathroom stood between their bedroom and Robbie's. When they had picked out the design for this house, he had tried to place their master bedroom as far as possible away from the children's rooms. He was fifty two now and if he wanted to make out with his wife, he didn't care who heard.

Heather chuckled as she ran one hand down his shoulder and upper arm and kissed him again. Her tongue twined with his in a long familiar dance as he felt the passion between them become a roaring blaze. His wife, his lover, his Heather.

"Mommy?" a voice came from the door.

"Shit!" He cursed softly as he felt Heather grow still on top of him. He heard the bedroom door opening.

Heather and Jake turned to stare at the door.

"The monster was chasing me..." a quiet, small girl's voice cried softly. Rebecca clutched her old teddy bear, Boobear as she clung to the door frame, her brown hair tangled from sleep. Daddy was the one who chased off the monsters and told her bed time stories and spoiled her rotten otherwise, but it was Mommy that she came running to still.

"Did you have a nightmare again, sweetie?" Heather asked gently from on top of him. She sat up, using his chest for leverage.

Rebecca nodded from the doorway.

Rebecca was going through a stage of having nightmares and having trouble sleeping because of them. Robbie had gone through the stage as well, but Rebecca, at age seven, seemed to be going through it earlier. Jake blamed the movies that John and Robbie often watched, not considering the impact it would have on their baby sister.

"Want to sleep with Mommy and Daddy again tonight?" He heard Heather asking as he pinched her in warning, silently shaking his head up at her. He had been hoping to finally have a night to themselves.

Rebecca wordlessly nodded.

"No." He whispered at Heather. One of them, preferably Heather, could take Rebecca back to bed until she fell back to sleep.

Heather gave him a look as she climbed off him. She whispered at him. "Yes."

"No!" he repeated, but knew he was going to lose this battle. Heather had a soft spot when it came to the kids, especially Rebecca.

"She's only going to be seven for so long," Heather stated as she laid down on the bed beside him. He felt the loss of her warmth and familiar curves.

Sighing, he relented and pulled the covers up and over his lower torso.

Rebecca climbed into their bed, moving between them, innocent of knowing what she had just interrupted. Jake turned on his side as he usually did to hug her back against his chest. She liked that best. It took her a few seconds to get comfortable, curling up facing Heather, hugging her teddy bear, her small body seeming so tiny between them. Her little head rested on Jake's arm as it lay beneath her and partially underneath Heather's shoulder. His arm would likely fall asleep before long.

"All set?" Jake asked his daughter as he reached over and turned out the light with his free hand. The screensaver on Heather's computer was on and the room was dark and quiet.

"Hold me, Daddy," Rebecca said in her adorable little voice that made his heart melt.. She tugged at his other arm and he knew what she meant. He laid his arm over the small figure of his daughter. Heather reached out and laid her hand on his arm, stroking it softly in a silent apology. His eyes started adjusting to the dark but he couldn't see Heather's face yet but knew what she looked like as she fell asleep beside him. He had memorized how she looked as she slept long ago. And his daughter, who was terrified of the dark and insisted on a nightlight and having the hall light on with her bedroom door open, didn't seem to mind the darkness of her parents bedroom, as long as they were with her.

Long minutes later, Jake heard the soft and gentle breathing of his wife and daughter as they fell asleep in his arms. He felt like the richest man in the world at that moment. His children safe and sound in his house, his beautiful wife with him. He would have been happier if he had only got some that night, but he figured that too would wait. There were more important things in the world and tomorrow was going to be a strong reminder of that. He faded off to sleep, his heart, mind and arms filled with warmth and love.

"Don't wake Mommy." Jake whispered to Rebecca early the next morning. His computer alarm had gone off too early, but fortunately, Rebecca had slept through the rest of the night only waking when he did. He glanced over at Heather and saw her crack an eyelid at him so he knew she wasn't asleep, but he would give her the benefit of at least pretending to sleep in.

Jake and Rebecca both carefully climbed out of the big king sized bed where the three of them had slept cuddled up together on one half of the bed. Heather's side of the bed still showed signs of having not been slept in, the covers still mostly pulled up and untouched. He should have gotten a smaller bed. Maybe then Heather wouldn't have been so inclined to invite their children to sleep when them every time they had a nightmare or heard a bump in night.

"Go get ready for school. Make sure John and Robbie are up. Breakfast in thirty minutes." He told his daughter as he kissed the top of her head. The little girl was warm and smelled sweetly of little girl and sleep.

"Okay, Daddy!" She smiled brightly up at him and his heart did flip-flops.

She trotted out of the room still hugging her teddy bear, her long brown hair dancing across her shoulders.

Thankfully, Rebecca and the boys were used to getting up, dressing themselves and getting ready for school, a practice instilled by discipline and lessons on what he and Heather expected from them. All three children also had chores to do in the morning and evening, taking care of the horses and cats and cleaning up around the house. Their old dog, Shep, had died last year, and they kept pestering him for another dog. He knew and they knew that eventually he would cave in and they would add another dog to their home.

Thirty minutes later, Jake had quickly showered, shaved and dressed, pulling on a clean tan Jericho police uniform shirt and tucking it into his slacks. He cursed quietly as he tried to tighten his belt to the usual notch and having to finally let it go to the next hole out. It had been becoming tighter lately. He meant to talk to Heather about it. The belt must be getting smaller along with his slacks. He was sure that whatever Heather was doing with the wash was making his slacks shrink and he had also heard that leather could shrink overtime. Though he exercised regularly and was often working outside around the ranch, he wouldn't let himself get a belly like his father had, nor let his hair get too much grayer. That was one reason why he shaved. If he didn't shave over a long weekend, his beard was coming in gray, matching the peppering of gray in his hair. He wouldn't cave in and do what Heather did and some of the other men he heard the deputies talking about, coloring their hair or using other products to cover gray hair. He was going to grow old gracefully. And he was not getting fat. He liked his food and was not going to easily give it up either. He remembered the dark days of little food after the bombs. He was not going hungry, ever again.

Heather remained in bed and he was pretty sure she had fallen back to sleep so he let her sleep. He could take care of the kids, getting their lunches ready and them off to school. She would be up soon enough to work on show prep before her talk show that started at noon. She had a big day today anyway. He kissed her softly on the forehead before leaving their bedroom.

(To be continued)