Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or related characters.
A/N: Alright, before people get too confused, this story takes place when Race (who is still going by Roger since this is before he got his nickname) was 15. Yeah, I went back that far into the past. I have another story that goes back even farther but that concentrates on Benton and his parents. We never hear anything about Race's parents or Benton's (unless they were mentioned in the comics, which I can't find find the comics so I can't read them). All we know about them is Race's father's name is John and his mother's name is Sarah (as stated in Classic JQ: Double Danger).
Roger slipped into the house quietly. As long as he could get upstairs and into his room without running into his mom he'd be fine. She would eventually figure out he'd gotten into a fist fight with Billy - again - but she didn't need to know right now. It wasn't his fault Billy liked to bully those who were younger and weaker than him. Someone had to defend weak and innocent and since everyone else was afraid of Billy that left Roger.
On his way towards the stairs he glanced into the kitchen and caught sight of his mother sitting at the table, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. His mother was crying, she never cried. All thoughts of putting off getting into trouble vanished from his mind as he changed course and entered the kitchen, "Mom?"
His mother looked up at him with sorrowful ice blue eyes, "Come here, Roger." She said, fighting to keep her voice even.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Roger asked as he ventured closer to the table.
"It's your f-father." She answered as she stood.
He felt his blood run cold. His father was currently overseas fighting in a war. There were a number of things that could have... oh no.
"H-he's g-gone." His mom confirmed his fears.
Roger's eyes widened as it sank in. No. This wasn't real. No. Yes, his father was human b-but...
His mother pulled him into a hug, a hand coming up to run through his blond hair. He swallowed hard, trying not to cry. His father would have scolded him if he cried. "It's okay, son." His mom murmured quietly. "It's okay to cry."
And that did it. The tears he'd been fighting to hold back were released.
Mother and son stood there in the kitchen hugging each other tightly as they wept for the soldier who was not coming home.