Disclaimer: The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest and all of its characters are copyrighted by Hanna Barbara. I do not own any of the characters from this show.
Background: This fic gives a brief glimpse of a few moments of the Quest family. Takes place 20 years after The Real Adventures 2nd Season and after the other fics I've written for TRAJQ.
Note: This is possibly the last fic I'll be writing for a while. Just gives a bit of a conclusion to my fics and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest as a whole. I may write more in my previous storyline, depending on how much time I have. For now, I will just be completing "The City of Darkness". Enjoy this fic.
Epilogue
A gloomy light emerged from the east, basking everything in its path with glorious rays of sunlight. The early morning sunshine illuminated the cemetery, banishing the creatures of the night to the depths of the Earth's crust, as the world was waking up to yet another beautiful day.
However, in spite of the brightness in the world that morning, the graveyard was still bathed in sorrow. Too many bitter memories of lives lost plagued the grounds for them to ever give a brief glimpse of happiness.
A small group was gathered in front of a large marble grave stone. They appeared to be paying their respects.
An attractive red headed woman knelt down by the gravestone, with a bouquet in her hands. Jessie Bannon closed her eyes, as she placed the flowers by the grave. She was kneeling in front of the stone, obscuring most of it from view, but the name "Quest" was still visible, having been clearly carved onto the stone's surface.
Behind her, Dr. Benton Quest stood silently. There was a hint of a smile on his face, as memories of the good old times flooded his head, as he stood, reminiscing. However, his eyes were damp. A solitary tear fell onto his cheek. "If only you could have lived longer" he thought, struggling to hold back a stream of tears that were building up. Hadji Singh stood beside Dr. Quest. He was now a full grown man and the ruler of Bangalore, but he still made time on this day to be back with his family.
Race Bannon stood wordlessly beside the other men. His wife, Estella, stood next to him. Her eyes were closed, as she uttered a short prayer, hoping that God would allow the one, whose life was so tragically cut short, to rest in peace.
The group stayed there for a moment, staring at the grave site.
"It feels like we were talking only yesterday" Dr. Quest said wistfully. His tears were now flowing freely. Hadji put his arm around his foster father's shoulder, to try to comfort him.
"I wish Jonny was here" the old man said.
Jessie felt a pang of guilt at these words. She felt that it was partially her fault that Dr. Quest's son was not here, to help ease his pain.
In the distance however, Race could hear what sounded like footsteps. Someone was sprinting on the path.
A man ran swiftly up the hill, next to which the group was assembled. He looked around the cemetery from his vantage point until he spotted them. He then made his way to the Quests. Race turned around and saw him approaching. His somber expression changed, to a wide grin. "Glad you could make it" he said, sounding happy, but with a hint of sarcasm to his voice.
"Sorry guys" the man replied, sheepishly. "We thought I should drop Rachel off at a friend's house before coming" the man said, running a hand through his blond hair.
Dr. Quest turned towards the man and faced him. He was still crying, however, his grizzled face broke out into a wide smile. "It's good to see you, son" he said.
Jonny smiled and walked up to his father, embracing the man in a tight hug. Jessie stood up as well and stepped towards Jonny, revealing the full name on the grave stone.
The name 'Rachel Quest' was engraved beautifully onto the stone, along with a short epitaph.
Jonny and Dr. Quest released each other.
"Good to see you, my friend" Hadji added brightly.
"Same here, Hadj" the man replied with a grin.
Jessie stood upright, facing Jonny. "Stuck in traffic, Hotshot?" she asked, smirking good naturedly at him.
"Good guess, Ace" he replied playfully. He put his arm around her and they shared a quick kiss.
"What do you think she'd think of me?" Jessie asked Jonny quietly, so that the others couldn't hear them. She had always pondered what the answer to this question may be, but had previously been scared of what the answer would be.
Jonny smirked. "I think she'd be pretty impressed by your ability of getting me out of trouble".
"She'd also be surprised I managed to find someone as capable of getting into trouble as myself" he added, with a smile.
The group stood silently for a few more seconds.
"Maybe we should get back to the Compound" Dr. Quest finally announced, deciding that this was enough reminiscence for now. The group finished paying their respects and started walking back to the gate.
"We need to bring that daughter of ours here sometime" Jonny said to Jessie. "It's about time she meets her namesake".
Jessie nodded wholeheartedly. "Next time, we'll drag her here if we have to" she replied.
The group erupted in laughter at the comment.
"Once a Bannon, always a Bannon" Race said, while laughing.
Jonny, meanwhile, was deep in thought. His life seemed to flash before his eyes, from his first memories, to the time when his mother was taken from him. He saw glimpses of how he got Bandit, when Race came to live with them and of the first times he met Hadji and Jessie. He saw images of all the times when they had nearly died in their escapades as kids and as adults.
Jonny's mind swiftly went through images of his time at university and how he proposed to Jessie just a short while after graduation. His mind showed him pictures of his first job working at Quest Enterprises with Jessie and his dad and the family holidays spent in Bangalore with Hadji and trips to other destinations, exploring more legends and myths around the world.
Jonny's mind took him back to his wedding with Jess 12 years ago, the birth of his daughter and Hadji's wedding, until he finally found his trail of thought back in the present.
He was walking hand in hand with Jessie, still as much in love with her as when he had proposed and on their wedding day. His father and brother were walking with them, both of whom, through their love and guidance, were instrumental in turning him into the man he had become.
He glanced back and saw Race and Estella, the parents of his wife and practically like a second mother and father to him as well, following them to the exit.
Jonny still remembered the pain he had felt when he lost Rachel Quest and how his father had reacted to her death. But subsequent events in his life had proven one thing. Whether it was his father, brother, wife, daughter or even his in-laws and friends, regardless of what happened in his life, they had all always been there for him, since he met them and he had always returned the favour.
Losing his mother was hard, but with a family like this, he was sure they'd all keep each other happy as long as they lived and perhaps in the afterlife.
With this thought, he walked out of the gate, with his wife and family beside him, looking forward to a bright future for all of them.
The End