This story is dedicated to the S.A.D.D. Organization, Anna Bonde(1981-2001) and all others who have ever been hurt (emotionally or physically) by a drunk
driver.
Note: For those of you who are a Hopeless Romantic, fear not, this is story you will enjoy!
Disclaimer: I am making no profit off of this story. It was written out the love and respect for the show and the characters as well as for the enjoyment of other Quest fans. All characters, with the exception of Tracy, belong exclusively to Hanna Barbara.
Categories: HR with a little angst and humor. No action-packed adventure, but not overly mushy, either.
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10:23 p.m.
Jonny ran into the I.C.U.'s small waiting room, heart frantically beating.
Jonny quickly spotted his father, sitting next to a distraught Race. The strong athletic man looked lost, his head in his hands and his back hunched. The proud military posture was gone; he was simply a distraught father.
Jonny felt his stomach tighten. "What happened? "
Dr. Quest rose from his seat soon as he heard his son. Race didn't move, remaining in his own little world.
Jonny found himself awkwardly embraced by his father. "Thank heavens you're safe! "
Feeling ever more nervous and out of place, Jonny forced himself to take a deep breath and steady his fears. "The nurses won't tell me anything, what's happened? "
Dr. Quest's eyes were grieved, but his voice was calm. " A drunk driver ran into the sidewalk, hitting Jessie. She's in surgery right now. "
Dr. Quest took a quick glance at his distressed bodyguard and lowered his voice to whisper. "She may not make it. "
Suddenly, Race got up, his hands clenched into fists. He looked Jonny squarely in the eyes. "Why wasn't she with you?!" he shouted accusingly.
" I-I, we-" Jonny could only stammer guiltily.
Dr. Quest stepped in between them, glaring up at his angry friend. " Race, this isn't Jonny's fault. I realize you're worried about your daughter, but so are we. Yelling and making unsound accusations will not change anything. "
Anger left Race's face to be replaced with remorse. He brought a hand to his forehead, as if to clear away a headache. "You're right, Benton. " He turned to face Jonny, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I shouldn't have snapped at you, Jonny. You're not the one I'm mad at. "
At that moment Jonny wanted to crawl under a rock and die. He couldn't believe what was happening. Jessie was in there -- dying -- because of him and Race and his dad were defending him.
"Race..." Jonny tried to find the courage to explain, but his voice cracked and his mouth went dry.
Before he could try again, they were interrupted. A middle-aged, female doctor approached them, clipboard in hand. Time seemed to stand still. Jonny felt torn between dread and anticipation of the doctor's news.
The physician turned to face Race. She gave a tentative smile. "You have quite a fighter there, Mr. Bannon. "
Race gave a tense nod. He expected nothing less from Jessie.
The doctor continued, her face unreadable as she rattled off the diagnosis. " We were able to stop the internal bleeding- which gave us the most concern. Besides losing a lot of blood, Jessica also fractured four of her ribs and sustained some injury to her left lung. "
The doctor paused, allowing the bad news to sink in. "But as I said before, Mr. Bannon, you're daughter is quite the fighter. If she continues to respond to treatment, she should make a complete recovery, given time. All in all, she was quite fortunate. "
Everyone in the room sighed a great breath of relief.
Race spoke next. " Can I see her?"
"Of course, Mr. Bannon. But only family members tonight. She's still out from the anesthetic. "
The doctor directed Race to Jessie's room, leaving Jonny and Dr. Quest alone in the waiting room.
Jonny sat down hard on the chair, emotionally exhausted.
Dr. Quest's relief vanished as he noticed the posture of his son. He knew he wasn't the most observant or attentive father, but even he knew something more than general concern for Jessie was plaguing his son. " Jonny, can you tell me what happened? I was under the impression that you and Jessie were to share a ride. "
Jonny didn't know how to begin. How could he explain to his father without disappointing him?
Reading his son far better than he ever had before, Dr. Quest sat next to Jonny and laid his hand on his son's shoulder. "I could never stop being proud of you, Jonny. No matter what mistakes you may have made or may make in the future. "
Jonny felt his hands shaking. "Pop, I never meant for this to happen. "
Dr. Quest's voice was soft. "Why don't you explain everything to me, from the beginning. "
Jonny looked into his dad's eyes and saw unwavering love and acceptance.
"It all started when... "
9:47 p.m.
It was enough to make Jessie sick. Jonny was really going overboard with this girl. Kissing her, caressing her -- it was more than Jessie could bear sitting next to them during the concert, which as far as they were concerned didn't even exist.
What irked Jessie even more was that she wasn't sure why she was so upset. She knew Jonny had been dating other girls (although none too seriously), and she never let it bother her before. Yet seeing Jonny behave like that right in front of her made her feel... uneasy. Could it actually be she was falling for Jonny Quest?
On the spur of the moment they had decided to attend the town's Music Under the Stars outdoor summer concert. Jessie was thrilled to go, that is until Tracy showed up. Jonny took one look at the shapely girl in her skimpy halter-top and short-shorts and instantly invited her to join them on their blanket. It wasn't long until the kiss-fest started.
When the concert ended, Jessie was only too glad to bring the lovers back into the real world.
" Jonny, it's over. Let's go home. "
" Uh, sure Jess, but I promised Tracy I'd giver her a ride." Tracy smiled and Jessie felt as if she could have punched the girl's teeth out right then and there.
Instead, she violently pulled Jonny aside.
"What do you mean you're giving her a ride!?" Jessie hissed, trying to keep her voice down, but her anger evident. " We both came on the Questcycle. It can only take two passengers! How am I supposed to get home? Walk! "
Jonny sheepishly scratched the back of his head. " It's not that far to walk to the Compound... "
Jessie fumed. " What! No way. I can't believe you'd even suggest such a thing! Especially since you're the one who crashed the other cycle. "
Jonny frowned, knowing he was losing this battle fast. "You two walk and I drive home. " Jessie told him firmly.
" C'mon, Jessie!" Jonny pleaded, nearly losing hope. " Tracy lives on the other side of town and she's never been on a motorcycle before." Jessie could see how desperate Jonny was, but that didn't help her temper.
He tried flashing that charming smile of his, but he could see it wasn't going to work this time. He sighed, " I'll do anything. Name your price. "
Jessie's eyes widened. Boy, he must really like this girl, she thought. The last (and first) time Jonny had said that Jessie had made him act as her personal servant for two months. Needless to say, Jonny never made a blank promise to Jessie Bannon again. Yet here he was, offering again.
Jessie sighed, frustrated. " All right. I'll see if Dad can pick me up and if not, I'll walk. "
"You're the coolest, Jess! " Jonny started to run off to meet Tracy when he was yanked roughly back by Jessie." Your payment will take me all night to
devise, " she whispered to him sinisterly before she walked away.
Jonny gulped, starting to desperately wonder if spending the rest of the evening with Tracy was worth it.
" I can't believe you still hangout with your ex-girlfriend," said Tracy disapprovingly.
" What?!" said Jonny, having trouble digesting what Tracy said.
"Ex-girlfriend?! No, what ever made you think we were ever together? "
" Really?" Tracy sounded puzzled and twirled a strand of her bleached blonde hair between her fingers nervously. " I could have sworn she liked you. Anyway, it seemed pretty obvious that she was jealous. "
" Jealous? " repeated Jonny, shocked yet strangely pleased.
Could it be?, he thought to himself. For the past 6 months Jonny had felt himself seriously falling for Jessie, but was afraid of jeopardizing their friendship by coming forward. He never got any indication from Jess that she thought of him as anything other than a friend. Plus there was the added fear of Race being Jessie's father. The last thing he wanted was for Race to start acting hostile towards him. Yet if Jessie really did care about him, he felt it was worth the risk.
When he first started dating it was mainly to see if Jessie would get jealous. When it didn't seem to bother her he continued, figuring there was no use in giving up his social life on impossible hopes. But Jessie seemed so perfect to him; she was smart, beautiful, athletic, funny and with a streak of competitiveness he appreciated. How could he find out her true feelings without making a fool of himself?
It wasn't long until the fun of riding with Tracy was sucked out. All he could think about was Jessie. Originally he had thought he could make himself happy with another girl, but as he road with Tracy he realized he could never be as happy as when he was with Jessie. He dropped the girl off at her house with little more than a polite good-bye' and declined the invitation to come inside.
His mind was on getting home and speaking to Jessie. When Jonny pulled up to the compound he could see something was amiss. It was only ten fifteen and all the indoor lights were off. When he parked in the garage he saw Race's sport car with the hood still up and his tools left out.
Now Jonny was sure something was wrong. Race treated that car better than he treated himself. He never would leave his car half finished like this. Jonny entered the house cautiously. He didn't think it was an intruder because the security systems would have gone off, but in Jonny's experience one could never be too careful.
The inside looked perfectly normal and the house was dead silent.
" Dad?... ", Jonny called out," Race?..." ; No answer. Jonny walked into the kitchen and switched the lights on. There on the refrigerator was a large post-it note in Dr. Quest's handwriting.
"If you're reading this Jonny, then I'm glad you are safe.
Please meet us at Mercy hospital on Main and 7th Street.
Jessie's been sent to the emergency room. Drive safely.
Your Father."
10:45 p.m.
"And that's what happened, son? " asked Dr. Quest.
" Yeah, Pop. " Jonny clenched his fists. "Race has ever right to hate me. "
Dr. Quest looked at his son with understanding. "Although your actions weren't the most considerate of Jessie's feelings, you are in no way responsible for what transpired. "
Jonny looked at his dad, skeptical.
" If you had remained with Jessie that drunken fool might have rammed into both of you on that bike, or just as likely have injured or killed someone else. No one can say with certainty if things may have gone better or worse, Jonny. The person to blame is that driver, not yourself. "
Jonny took a deep breath. The logical part of him knew what his father said was correct, but that didn't stop himself from feeling like slime.
The following morning, Jonny and Dr. Quest returned to the hospital to visit Jessie. Race had spent the night there and the stress and lack of sleep showed. Jessie still hadn't regained consciousness.
On the insistence of both Jonny and Dr. Quest, Race consented to leave Jessie with Jonny while he went with Dr. Quest to get some coffee. Jonny pulled up Race's chair next to the bed and held Jessie's hand.
He had never seen her look so pale and weak in his life, and the pangs of guilt from the night before returned. He couldn't believe the irony of the situation. He and Jessie had survived unharmed from encounters with super villains (Jeremiah Surd, Dr. Sinn, Ezekiel Rage), supernatural enemies (zombies, vampires, ghosts), and more, yet all it took was a drunk driver to send Jessie to the hospital.
Suddenly, Jonny felt Jessie's fingers twitch. " Jessie, can you hear me?" Jonny asked tentatively.
Jessie winced and with her free hand clutched her broken ribs. " God...I feel like I've been hit by a truck," she wheezed.
Jonny smiled and patted her hand. " A 4x4 to be exact. "
Jessie's eyes went wide, dismayed.
" Do you remember anything about the accident?" Jonny asked.
" I was going to call Dad when I heard tires squealing... and that's it. "
Jonny explained to Jessie about the car accident and her injuries.
After a while Jessie asked, "So how was your big date with Tracy?" This time even Jonny was able to pick up Jessie's disapproval.
" Jessie, I got to tell you the truth. Those girls I've been dating, I never really cared about them. They were just a pretty face and the only reason I dated them, well, was to see if you would get jealous. "
Jessie didn't say anything and Jonny continued.
" I...I really like you, Jessie. More than as a friend, and more even than I care about myself. I can't tell you how sorry I am for acting like such a jerk. I understand if you don't feel the same, but can you ever forgive me? "
Jessie didn't answer and her eyes were closed. " Jessie?" Jonny was afraid she had fallen back asleep.
Jessie opened her eyes and Jonny saw that her eyes were wavering. " Of course I forgive you!" She blinked and resumed her normal tough girl attitude.
" But you still owe me big time, Jonathan Quest. "
Jonny gave her a nervous smile. Jessie Bannon never changed.
" So as fair payment", she continued, "you have to ask me out on a date. "
Jonny just stared at her, mouth open and completely speechless. Jessie spoke up for him. " You're not getting off that easy, though. Dad's liable to skin you alive. "
" Oh, I'm sure Race won't mind", answered Jonny in an effort to ease his own fears.
" Mind what?" Race Bannon's voice said from the doorway.
THE END
A/N: For those of you who don't know, S.A.D.D. stands for Students Against Drunk Driving.
Rest in Peace, Anna.
So, did you like it? It's my first fic ever.