Disclaimer: The usual disclaimers apply here: I don't own Jericho, or any of its main characters. I do own this story, however, and all original characters.

Major Character: Jake Green

Rating: PG, just to be sure.

Summary: 3 little words can & will wreck havoc on anyone's life…


Never Say Never by peacejaw

My father, good ole Mayor Johnston Green, never stopped working long enough to ask what I was thinking, what I wanted, or what I needed. Nor had he ever bothered to stop working long enough to find out what I was feeling.

He'd never noticed the sad expression I'd worn for several weeks after our first and only dog died just before my eighth birthday.

He never noticed my disgruntled expression after he'd managed to make yet another insensitive comment during my long teenage years.

But then, it always seemed like he found ways to ignore me, even after I'd lash out at him, not once did I get any kind of attention from him, even when I'd make a decent attempt to reach out to him.

He never seemed to care that I was becoming more and more angry, or that I was becoming more and more defiant, as I got older.

He never seemed to notice how I was almost always living in a limbo that no one deserves, much less wanted to live through.

He never seemed to listen when I told him that I needed him, that I'd woken up sweat-laden, scared, and alone after having yet another nightmare.

Or when I told him that when he finally ready to mend whatever was left of our relationship, it would be too late to do anything about it, and that there would only be heart-ache or regret left.

Or when I poured out my broken heart to my parents after walking away from Emily once and for all, and got nothing in return from him except maybe a disgruntled scowl.

He never once realized that he'd somehow made an impact on my life, even after being away from Jericho for so long.

Or offer me everything that he'd offered to Eric, but refused to give to me.

Or offer me things that he had not gotten from his own father.

But after being away from Jericho for five years, I've decided that if I hadn't made as many big mistakes as what I have, maybe he wouldn't seem so distant to me now, despite the fact that we're only a few feet apart from each other.

Maybe he would've been able to look at me with love and understanding instead of disgust, even regret, if I'd been able to do something more meaningful with my life.

I suppose that I'll never find out; he's pushing me away and out of his life yet again. I can see it in his eyes.

Of course, I was fairly certain that he would push me away again even before I left San Diego, but my circumstances forced me to at least try.

And I have, so now I can go home to what's left of my life in San Diego, all the while knowing that my father would never, could never, change.

Looking my mother in the eyes, I can read what she wants to tell me, but can't: never say never, Jake; just when you think that something wouldn't happen, or couldn't happen, it did.

I nod once to let her know that I understood, and then looked away. The sooner I get away from here, the better.

And she knows it, though she wouldn't admit it. Not to me, not to Eric, and definitely not to my father. I doubt that she can even admit it even to herself.

It's because of her belief in me, however, that forces me to keep an open mind in regards to my father. I respect her too much to not keep an open mind.

Maybe one day he'll accept me for who I am. Until then, I'll try to remember to never say never ever again.


-The End