Title: Reunion

Author: Sassy

Rating: PG

Pairing: J/A, L/G

Disclaimer: I don't own them.  Barbara Hall owns them.  I'd take Cute Guy God or Adam though, if offered.

Genre: Future Fic

Summary: Joan and company goes to the ten-year reunion at Arcadia High.

AN: Ana really helped me with this one!  It was kind of choppy and she made it so much smoother.  Beta's are wonderful.

Reunion

Chapter One

Hello, my name is-

            Twenty-eight-year-old Joan Girardi applied her lip gloss and ran a brush through her shoulder length brown hair.  Tonight was her ten-year reunion.   She was successful, so there were no worries there.  She'd written several books focusing on a girl named Jane who had a secret; she could talk to God.  Yeah, original for her, but God had told her to use real-life experiences in her writing.  So, she'd written about her years as a teenager talking to God and everybody, critics and readers alike, thought it was a wonderful piece of fiction.  She'd even made it into a series.  No one knew it was based on truth, not even her family.  Luke was home again, for a mini-family reunion as well.  But for the moment, none of that mattered.  All she hoped for at that moment was for Grace Polk and Adam Rove to be at the reunion.  She hadn't seen Adam since she went off to Maryland State.  He'd run off to New York to open an art gallery and had never visited home.  Maybe that was because his father had been killed in a car accident nine years ago.  Grace had gone to George Washington University, and last Joan had heard, she had become a psychologist.  That thought scared her--Grace Polk counseling impressionable children.  But she was still excited.  So she hurried down the stairs to her Mustang, yelling a goodbye to her family.

            Adam Rove was nervous.  He knew Jane would be going to the Arcadia High reunion.  He was excited about seeing Jane again, Grace, too.  They had been his best friends in high school, his only friends, yet he had lost contact with them when he moved to New York.  He knew Joan had written a book series about a girl named Jane.  Was it a dedication to him?  He doubted it.  He'd read the book, been fascinated by the concept she'd used. He kept it with him always as a reminder of times past.  It was a reminder of her. He'd heard Grace was a psycho-person now.  She worked with teenagers, but he wasn't sure exactly what she did.  He hoped she was happy.  Adam combed his hands through his hair, and rushed out to his car.

            Grace Polk tossed her lipstick in her purse.  Yes, she carried a purse now.  She hadn't changed a lot, but she had decided that some of the girly conveniences were just that--conveniences.   She wondered what Joan and Adam were up to.  The three had separated at college and just never gotten back together.  Even more than what Joan and Adam were up to, Grace wondered what Luke was up to.  She hated that she was so curious about Luke.  She had fallen in love with Luke in high school, though she'd moved on.  He was a geek, an annoyance and he'd made her tingle, something that Grace Polk in high school didn't do.  When she'd gone to George Washington, she'd just stopped talking to everyone from Arcadia.  Including Luke.  Unsurprisingly, Luke had gone to MIT after he'd graduated, and she wasn't sure what he'd done since.  She imagined she would find out if the geeks showed up tonight.

            The high school gym was decorated quite horrendously, not that Joan had expected anything less.  Something about high school required terrible decorations.  She smacked her lips and shifted her weight anxiously as she signed in at the large table.  She placed the cheesy HELLO, MY NAME IS JOAN sticker on her shirt and walked on into the gym.  She scanned the gym for any sign of Adam or Grace and saw that neither was there.  She realized, a little belatedly, that those two had been her only friends.  If they didn't come, she would have no one to see tonight.  She hardly even recognized any of the other attendants.  Luke and his geek squad had hung out with her, Grace and Adam as well, but they were all a year younger than she.  She sighed, wondering if the others were going to come.  If they didn't, she would definitely be in for a boring night.  She heard a throat clear behind her and she turned hopefully.  Her face fell the instant she recognized the face.

"Oh.  It's just You."

His warm familiar brown eyes had that glint in them.  He wore the usual tan jacket, though he did wear a button down shirt and a pair of khaki pants as well.  He'd dressed up for the occasion.

"Just Me?  Most people would be ecstatic to see Me.  People have composed songs about it."

"Most people don't have You popping up every other day with some mysterious suggestion to complicate their lives."

"How many times do I have to tell you?  I don't pop.  Besides, I always have suggestions for people.  They don't listen all the time."

"Can I not listen now?"  A small smile had appeared on her face, and he, of course, returned the smile with a knowing smirk.  Joan liked their conversations.  They'd grown on her.  And they both knew it.

"You look bored, Joan.  Unapproachable.  I know that's not what you want."

"Oh, it isn't?  You got me here, didn't You?  What more do You want?"

He grinned self-assuredly.

"I would like you to be happy.  I've requested you to do many things, Joan.  I've seen you do good for twelve years.  Now all that remains is for you to be happy. You're such a special child.  I came to you because of that fact.  You've caused a lot of happiness across Arcadia and Baltimore.  Now it's your turn to feel the joy."

"I felt the joy when the stories of the insane assignments You sent me a hit on the best-seller list."

"I wish for you to be joyful in something besides your work."

"You're making this sound like my last mission."

"You'll always be on a mission, Joan.  Human nature is always on a mission.  You're twenty-eight, Joan.  You're ready to settle down and start a family."
"I am?"

He plodded on through.  "I may not 'pop' around as much as I used to, but I'll always be here.  There's still a lot of work to do.  Remember, you're an instrument of Me."

"You know, You've been in my life for twelve years.  I think I might miss You."

"I'll always be with You, Joan.  I always have been.  But you need some time to find unity with others again."

"Thus the reunion?"

"You bought a dictionary."

"Snippy."

A light laugh sounded, and Joan found herself joining in with His laughter.  He winked while taking a few steps back.  He gave her a warm, reassuring smile before His eyes darted to the door.  Joan turned to see what He was looking at.  A more mature Adam Rove stood in the entrance of the gymnasium.  He was different, but still the same comforting space boy.  Joan turned to show God her appreciation, but He'd already disappeared.  She whispered a quiet thanks to Him before starting to the door.