Motorcycle

Summary: How Jo got her motorcycle. ONESHOT!

-1965-

Joanna Marie Polniaczek was born to Charlie and Rose Polniaczek. The two parents were over the moon when they first met their little bundle of joy. It did take a lot of cutbacks for the family to be able to take care of their new child. Numerous sacrifices had to be mad, which resulted in a lot of arguments.

"Charlie, I really think it would be better if you sold it," Rose sighed. She held baby Jo in her arms and bounced her up and down. Jo was crying and had been crying for the last couple of hours. Rose was exhausted and blew some of her hair out of her face.

"No way, Rosie," Charlie said, "this is a classic." He was kneeling next to a motorcycle, polishing the handle bars with an old rag. His hands and cheeks were smudged with oil and grease. Screws and bolts littered the ground of the garage.

"It doesn't even work," she reminded him.

Charlie tossed the rag to the ground. He straddled the seat of the motorcycle and turned the key. It didn't make a sound. He slapped the "I'll get it to work. You need to have a little faith."

Jo lifted her head from her mother's shoulder and stared at the motorcycle. She instantly stopped crying as she gazed at the motorcycle her father was seated on. She made a soft cooing sound before reaching both of her arms out.

"Hi Joey, do you want to sit with your dad?" Charlie asked. Rose leaned over and slipped Jo into her husband's arms. He held Jo under her arms and sat her down on the seat in front of her. Jo instantly stopped crying. She pawed at the leather seat beneath her. "Look, she likes it. She takes after her father."

"Well, when is her father going to help with the bills and stuff around here?" Rose demanded. She rubbed her eyes. "I have to go back to work soon and waitressing only puts a very small dent into everything

"Don't worry." Charlie got up from the motorcycle and held Jo tightly in his arms. "I have a few buddies at work who have heard of a great deal down in Florida."

"How long will you be gone?" she asked.

"For a couple of weeks at a time." Charlie shifted baby Jo to nestle in one arm and pulled his wife close with the other. "Things will work out, I promise."

Jo cooed softly before falling asleep in between her two parents.

-1970-

"Dad," five-year-old Jo called out as she stepped into the garage. She shuffled over to him and ran her hand along the metal frame motorcycle. Charlie had the motorcycle up on a rack off of the floor. He was trying to place the front wheel in position before screwing it in.

"Hi honey, do you want to watch your daddy work?" Charlie asked. He picked Jo up and gave her a kiss on the cheek before placing her onto the seat of the motorcycle. Jo happily looked around the room at the new view.

"Vroom," Jo said as she grabbed onto the handle bars. She started to lean from the left and from the right, moving the front tire, pretending she was out on the open road. "Vroom."

"Having fun?" Charlie grunted as he slipped the wheel into place. Jo slipped down from the motorcycle seat and crouched low on the rack to see what her father was doing. He picked up a screw and screwdriver and started to tighten the wheel down when it slipped a little out of place.

"Can I help?" she asked.

Charlie looked at her. She smiled. Her bright green eyes were wide with fascination. "Sure, this can be our bonding project."

"Yay!" Jo clapped happily.

"Will you hold this for me?" Charlie asked. He had a screwdriver resting on a screw in his right hand and the front motorcycle tire in his left. Jo wrapped her small hands around the screw driver and leaned forward to get a closer look as her father snapped the while back into place. "There we go. Now we twist the screw in," he explained. Charlie placed his hand on top of his daughter's and showed her how to use the tool.

Jo leaned forward in fascination. A few loose strands of her hair slipped over her shoulder and got caught in the screw as Charlie tightened it. "Ow!" she wailed as she felt the painful tug.

"Maybe you should pull it back." Charlie suggested. "Like this." He pulled out the ponytail at the crown of her hair to cause the rest of her hair to fall from the half up half down hairstyle. He then gathered up all of her hair before slipping the hair tie back on. Charlie brushed the bangs out of his daughter's face before kissing her on the nose.

Jo reached behind her and started to play with her new ponytail.

-1980-

Ten-year-old Jo hummed to herself as she tightened a bolt on the motorcycle. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her cheeks were marked with oil and grease was caked underneath her fingernails. Sweat dripped down her nose.

After tightening one more bolt, she wiped her forehead on her arm. She tossed the tools she was using in a tool box before standing up. While whipping her hands on the seat of her pants, she straddled the motorcycle seat. Jo reached over to the wall and plucked a set of keys from a hook. She crossed her fingers on her left hand before sticking the key into the ignition.

"Please, work," she whispered. Jo squeezed her eyes tightly shut before twisting the key to the right. She felt the bike shudder for a brief moment before a loud roar erupted and engulfed the room. "Yes!" she cried.

She quickly hopped off the motorcycle and gazed at it happily. A little bit of exhaust erupted from the tail pipe. The motorcycle hummed. Jo dropped down to her knees and wrapped her arms around the bike; the vibrations washed over her body.

"Dad," Jo cried excitedly. She got to her feet and quickly ran to the door which lead into the house. She quickly wiped her shoes off on the mat before running into the house. "Hey, pop."

"Your dad is in the living room," Rose muttered from the kitchen sink. Jo nodded in understanding before turning to leave. "Jo, wait."

Jo paused and turned back towards her mother. She peered at her closely and noticed that she looked more tired than usual. It was then she noticed all of the boxes stacked around the room. Cabinet doors were open left open and showed the empty shelves. "What's going on mom?"

"There are going to be a lot of changes, baby," Rose said. She motioned for Jo to take a seat at the kitchen table. Jo plopped down and folded her arms across her chest. "We're going to be moving soon."

"To a bigger house?" she asked. She frowned when her mother shook her head slowly. A tear slipped out of the corner of her mother's eyes. Jo reached forward and brushed it away, leaving a small grey smudge behind.

"No, we're moving to an apartment,' Rose explained. "We can't afford the payments for the house." Jo watched as her mother wiped away more tears. She pulled a somewhat dirty rag out of her pocket before handing it over to her mother. Rose rubbed the back of Jo's hand. "Your father will be gone for a while."

"That's not new, mom. He's always comes and goes," Jo said with a shrug. "I got the motorcycle running. I have to go and show him." She quickly jumped out of her seat and rushed into the living room. Jo instantly stopped when she saw her father sitting on the couch. Two police officers stood above him, peering at pieces of paper in their hands.

"We will be right back," one of the men said.

"Don't go anywhere," the other added. As they turned to leave, one of the police offices gave Jo a small smile. She glared back.

"Dad, what's going on?" she asked quietly. She took a seat next to him on the couch and grabbed one of his hands. It was then that she noticed how taxing her father's job was. His hair had started to turn prematurely grey and many wrinkles lined his face. Bags were causing his lower eyelids to droop.

"I heard you calling my name before," Charlie said. He turned in his seat and focused his attention on his daughter. He smiled. "Did you fix it?"

"Yeah," Jo said excitedly. "I got the bike up and running. We finished our project."

"That's great." Charlie squeezed her hand. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small silver key on the key ring. "How would you like to have it?"

"Me?" Jo's eyes widened as she held her palm open. When the cool metal was placed into her hand she continued to stare at it.

"I won't need it. Besides, it's too small for me. You're the perfect size."

Jo continued to look at the key in her hands. She then gazed up at her father with a bright smile. "Thanks dad. I will take great care of it. I promise," she said happily.

"I won't be able to teach you how to ride it for a while," Charlie muttered.

Jo waved her hand in the air, dismissing his worry. "That's okay. Just show me when you get back from your next trip." She clasped the key in both of her hands and held it tightly to her chest.

"This is going to be a longer trip," Charlie said while brushing some of Jo's hair out of her face. Rose entered the room from the kitchen.

"How long?" she asked.

Charlie took a deep breath. Jo noticed the saddened look in his eyes as he turned away. "Years."

The front door opened and the police officers stepped back inside. Jo noticed a pair of handcuffs dangling out of one of their pockets. "Are you ready sir?"

"Why are they here, daddy?" Jo whispered.

"They're just escorting me." Charlie got to his feet. He rubbed the back of his neck before reaching out and tapping his daughter on her nose. "You know how dangerous my job can get at times."

"I'll walk out with you."

"Jo!" Rose reached out to grab her daughter by the arm as she passed.

"No," Charlie barked. Jo stopped and lowered her head. Charlie bent down and placed his hands on her shoulders before tilting her face up towards him with a finger under her chin. "You stay here with your mother. I'll be back soon."

"But, we're moving-"

"Don't worry." Charlie tried to smile. "I'll keep up with you to see how you're doing." A police officer behind the two of them cleared his throat loudly. "I have to go now," he said. Charlie wrapped Jo in a big hug and kissed the top of her head. He felt her small hands wrap around his neck and hold him tightly. "I love you Joanna Marie."

"I love you too, dad," she muttered.

Charlie gave her one more kiss on the forehead before standing back up. He turned to face his wife. She looked at him through tear filled eyes. He wrapped her in a tight embrace before turning and following the police officers towards the front of their home.

"Mom?" Jo asked her voice barely above a whisper. "He's not coming back this time is he?"

Rose sobbed. She cleared her throat before answering. "Not for a while."

Jo nodded. She watched as her father stepped out of the house through the front door in between the two police officers. Once the door closed she quickly ran over to the window and pushed the curtains aside. The flashing red and blue lights lit up her father's face as she was handcuffed and then placed into the back of the car.

She tightened her grip on the keys in her hand as a tear slid down her cheek. Jo turned away when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder.

"It looks like it is just you and me now," Rose whispered as she watched the police car rush away.

"Don't worry mom," Jo said while slipping her hand into her mothers. "I'll take care of us."

AN: I may have gotten time dates wrong for when Jo was born, five, and ten, but i based it around the age and year Jo was when she arrived at Eastland. This is a oneshot but I may expand it into a series of oneshots of her growing up working on the motorcycle or turn it into a small/short chapter story. I haven't decided yet. I wrote this because I don't think they explained how Jo got her motorcycle. If they did, I may have missed it. Please, let me know what you think. Let me know if Jo seemed a little OOC (out of character).