From

From                       : Chihuahua

Date                        : 13 March 2001

Disclaimer              : I don't own any of the JQ characters. Any unrelated characters belong to me. I'm not  making any money out of this fic, so don't sue. I don't think I can afford Ally McBeal.

Category                : Family and some humour.

Rating                    : PG-13

Archiver's Permission: Granted, just let me know where it can be found.

APRIL FOOL- AND LOTSA PAIN

                "Jonny Quest!" an outraged cry erupted from behind a heavy oak door, shattering what was a quiet Sunday afternoon.

                A hoot of laughter was heard, before it was painfully stifled.

                "Wait till I get you, Quest!" The feminine voice let out a scandalised cry. A moment later, there was crash and a loud bump, and everything was quiet.

                A twelve-year old preteen poked his head out of the broom closet. His face was mask of mischief as he looked around, scouting for any dangers of the Bannon kind. A white hairball with black markings tumbled out after him, bringing with it several brooms and a bucket. The cleaning equipment clattered noisily.  

                "Bandit!" Jonny hissed. "Down, boy. We're hiding remember."

                The small dog whimpered once, and remained silent.

                A long moment passed, and still, there was no noise from Jessie's room. Maybe she hit her head and passed out, Jonny thought, his trademark lopsided grin still plastered on his cherubic face. Then, the thought hit him on a more serious level. What if she had?

                Jonny sneaked up the stairs, half afraid that he was walking into an ambush, but half worried for Jessie. "Jessie, are you okay?" he asked softly, padding his way up slowly. "Jess? Hadj?"

                There was no reply from either of them.

                "I swear, if that brother of mine is siding up with Cootie Girl again, I'll tickle him till he cries!" Jonny muttered menacingly.

                "Jess? Are ya all right?" Jonny asked, knocking softly on the door. There was no reply.

                Seconds ticked by. Jonny's pulse quickened. He knocked once more. "Jess, open up!"

                Deafening silence again. The air suddenly seemed still, and heavy.

                Jonny couldn't stand it anymore. He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. And, he gasped.

                The room was empty. Except for the mess which Jonny had created with his special effects kit. There was fake mouse on the floor, its head lying in a puddle of its own blood on the floorboards. Jonny shuddered. In this light, the mouse looked pretty darn realistic to him. The body lay next to a mousetrap. On Jessie's bed, half a dozen writhing serpents hissed at him. They were part of his kit of course, battery operated snakes.

                Jessie's mirror was shattered, and scrawled with what seemed to be bloody writing. The scrawls which Jonny had sprayed on with fake blood had dripped onto the dresser, giving it a corny horror movie feel. On close inspection, the mirror was actually intact. Jonny had stuck a sheet of cellophane over it, complete with cracks.

                Jonny knew he should have been proud of his masterpiece, but at the moment, pride took second fiddle to his concern.

                Then, he saw her.

                Actually, all he saw were her legs, sticking out from under an avalanche of books.

                "Oh, dear God!" Jonny muttered, running over to the fallen figure. He shoved aside the books. "Come on, Jess. Speak to me!" Jonny said, tapping Jessie gently on the shoulder. "Hey, come on!"

                Her still form was amazing light. She didn't seem to be breathing, or she was hiding it pretty well.

                "Come on, Jess. Snap out of it! I mean, heck, the toys were great, but they couldn't have been that real! Hey, wake up!"

                Jonny was panicking. April Fool was about tricks and fun. But he had gone too far this time. Hadji had dared him to do it, which had surprised him. But neither of them had expected this to happen.

                "Oh, God, where's Hadji when you need him? Hey, Jess, I told you reading wasn't good for you. Come on, Jess, speak to me. Whack me. Hit me, for goodness sake just hurt me!"

                "Whatever you say!" Jessie's eyes suddenly opened. She rolled away, leaving a stunned Jonny behind. "Now, Hadj!"

                A bolster caught Jonny in the jaw. He staggered back, still stunned. Then he started screaming in anger when Hadji landed heavily on him.

                "You set me up!" Jonny roared, slipping out from under Hadji and pouncing on him.

                Hadji was helpless with laughter. "Yes, Jonny. I set you up," he screamed as Jonny tickled his feet mercilessly.

                "Wrong, Hadj. We set him up good!" Jessie called over the din.

                "You! Cootie Girl!" Jonny taunted.

                Jessie's eyes narrowed. Then, she threw herself on top on the duo, and immediately, another screaming voice entered the raucous.

                "Don't ever call me that!" she cried, pounding Jonny on the head with a pillow.

                "Call you what?" Jonny challenged.

                "Cootie Girl," Hadji offered helpfully. Jessie pounded him hard for that.

                In their obsession with pounding each other, neither of them realised that they had ventured dangerously close to the edge of the stairs.

                "Get off me, you two! God, Hadj, you weigh a tonne!"

                "I'm heavy with wisdom, Jonny." Hadji smiled serenely before laughing like a hyena again when Jessie attacked his ribs, probing them with her bony fingers.

                Suddenly, a yapping white bundle of fluff landed on top of the fiasco, tipping them off balance. All three rolled down the stairs, landing in a giant heap on the narrow landing of the floor below.

**************************************************************************************

THREE DAYS LATER

                "Hey, Hadj."

                "Yes, Jonny?"

                "You finally have an excuse to wear a turban," Jonny said, his voice filled with mischief.

                "Haha! I would laugh my friend, if my condition permitted me to do so. Oh, that hurts!"

                "Hey, can one of you guys help me scratch this spot. I can't seem to get it." Jessie looked beseechingly at her two fellow patients. All three of them shared a ward.

                "I would Jess, if you didn't have any cooties."

                "Shut up, Quest!"

                "No, you shut up. If you want help, ask nicely."

                Jessie breathed slowly, calming herself. "Jonny, can you help me?"

                "I'm sorry, but I think I'm the one with the wrist fracture."

                "That's only your left hand! What about the other?"

                "Hadji sat on that one pretty hard. It's bruised pretty bad."

                "As I've said before, I'm heavy with wisdom," Hadji said calmly.

                Jonny lifted a pillow, wincing slightly, and prepared to launch it at his brother.

                "Put it down, kiddo!" a deep growl interrupted. Race emerged from the doorway, followed by Benton.

                "I see that you three have not learnt your lesson," Benton noted, in a grave voice that was betrayed by a twinkle in his dark brown eyes. "Shall I tell the nurse to skip your dessert today, as the sugar isn't doing your behaviour any good?" he teased.

                There were loud groans from the three beds.

                "Kidding."

                "You of course know that the three of you are grounded for two weeks when you return." Race crossed his arms and challenged anyone to state differently.

                "But it was an April Fool's prank!" Jonny protested.

                "Yes, and it was a lot of fun wasn't it?" Race said.

                "More like a lot of pain."

THE END

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