AN: This is a repost of something I put on AO3 for a Big Bang. I had a lot of fun with it, and thought half of the crossover could use some love anyway, so here it is.
"You shouldn't be calling."
"You know why I—"
"This is not a good time."
"When will it be a good time?"
"Soon! It's just... This isn't a good time right now! Soon, I swear."
"All right. Fine. But we need to talk."
End call.
"Aunt Jessica!"
Jessica Fletcher beamed as she stepped off the bus, directly towards a familiar face. "Debra!" Laughing, the two women embraced warmly. "It's so good to see you again!"
"I'll say! How long has it been — three years?"
"Too long, no matter how much time it's been. You didn't have to meet me here; I could've taken a cab—"
"No way. My mom would've had a fit if she'd found out I let one of her oldest and dearest friends take a taxi." Debra Karofsky picked up Jessica's suitcase and led the way out of the bus station. "I know you must be exhausted from your book tour..."
"Oh, it's not so bad. Besides, your mother would've also had a fit if she'd found out that I'd been in Ohio and failed to visit her daughter." A cool wind swept over them both in the parking lot. "So how are Paul and the boys?"
"Doing well," Debra said lightly. "Jack says hello, and that he's sorry he can't be here."
"I didn't expect him to come home all the way from California just for me."
"But you're his favorite aunt! He likes you more than his actual blood aunts," Debra said wryly as she popped her trunk and slung Jessica's suitcase inside. "David's also looking forward to seeing you."
"And I'm looking forward to seeing him," Jessica said as she eased into the car and strapped herself in. "How old was he when he and Jack spent that summer in Cabot Cove? Nine?"
"Ten." Debra carefully pulled out of the parking lot. "I keep telling Mom that she has to send you pictures more often, but you know how she is."
Jessica laughed. "Finding time in her busy schedule has never been her strong suit, not even in college."
"Well, there's not a lot to see and do here in Lima, and with me and Paul having work and David still in school..."
"Oh, I'll be fine, I promise! Besides, a few days of doing nothing will do wonders for me when I go on to Cleveland."
They stopped at a red light; Debra took the opportunity to look over at her aunt-in-name-only. "It's really good to see you," she repeated, touching Jessica's shoulder.
"Same here," she replied with a smile.
Soon enough, they pulled into the Karofsky driveway. "If Paul doesn't come out here to help me with your suitcase, you can have our bed while he has the couch," Debra joked. Fortunately for him, Paul Karofsky came trotting out of the house as soon as his wife turned off the engine.
"Jessica!"
"Hello, Paul!" The two embraced. "You're looking well!"
"Thanks. I am a lot greyer, though," he said with a sigh, rubbing his beard.
"Who isn't?" Jessica chuckled as he took her suitcase from the open trunk. "Thank you so much for opening your home for me!"
"It's our pleasure," Paul said jovially.
"Like Jack, he thinks you're the best in-law he has, even though you aren't related to my family. Or maybe because you're not related to my family!"
"Hey!" Paul protested unseriously as the three entered the house. "Your family is made up of saints. I've always thought so, and I've always said so."
"You're lucky you're so sweet when you lie." Debra and Paul pecked each other on the lips; Jessica smiled at the familiar sight. "David!" Debra called out in the direction of the stairs behind Jessica. "Where are you? Your aunt's here!"
"Coming!" a deep voice roared from somewhere above, followed by lumbering footsteps.
Jessica gasped when the burly young man tromping down the stairs came into view. "This can't be David!"
"Hey, Aunt Jessica," was the warm but somewhat sheepish reply.
"Oh, my goodness!" she laughed as the two hugged. "You're practically a grown man now!"
"Yeah, it's been a while."
"Too long of a while! How are you, David?"
"I'm doing okay," he said with a shrug.
Debra snorted. "Sorry, Aunt Jessica, you're dealing with a full fledged teenager now. Get used to it."
"That's right, you're a sophomore in high school now, aren't you?" David nodded. "Well, you must tell me all about it. Obviously, your Grandma Kathy hasn't been telling me a thing!"
"We have plenty of time for that," Debra said. "Is dinner ready, Paul?"
"Sure is. I hope you like spaghetti, Jessica."
"After three days of heavy food at fancy restaurants, some good old fashioned spaghetti would hit the spot right now!"
So it was that the three Karofskys and Jessica sat around the dining room table. They'd made a good dent in the bowl of pasta, and were now floating in minor food comas. But not once had the conversation ceased to anything less than a dull roar; Jessica found herself mildly surprised that she'd been able to eat as much as she had, with all the talking she wanted to do.
Through it all, David had been mostly in the background, talking willingly, but only to respond to Jessica's questions. He took odd glances at her now and then, and as Debra announced that the pie would be ready to eat in a few minutes, she found out why.
"Hey, Aunt Jessica... I was kinda wondering..."
"Yes?"
"I could use, um, a little help with my English grade, and my teacher is a big fan of yours. I think I could get a bunch of extra credit if you could, uh... Y'know... Come to my school and give a talk. Just a really short talk, but—"
"David!" Debra chided. "Your Aunt Jessica is here to relax, not do you favors that you wouldn't need if you just studied more!"
"Nonsense!" Jessica said, turning to her honorary nephew. "I'd love to help out."
David brightened. "Great! How about Friday? That enough time for you to relax?"
"Friday would be perfect."
"She's doing you a big favor, son," Paul said as he sipped his coffee. "You'd better be grateful."
"I am," David said, and Jessica could hear in his voice what he was remembering: that summer in Cabot Cove. David, as the younger boy, had been eager; Jack was older and more cynical about what a small Maine town could offer someone in those sensitive teen years. But by the end of it, after weeks of fishing and exploring and eating, Jessica almost thought she saw a bit of a tear in Jack's eye as he hugged her goodbye, although she knew better than to point it out.
Jessica had only occasionally regretted not having children of her own. Having her vast network of family and friends across the country — even across oceans — eased that yearning immensely, not to mention simply living the life she wanted to live, both with and without Frank. But even though she was never a mother, there were still times when she certainly felt like one — or at least bore the joys and responsibilities of one. Raising Grady was one obvious example. And that summer... that was another. Moreover, Katherine Anderson Hearthstone was about as close as a friend could be and still remain not bound by blood or marriage, so when her children and grandchildren called her "Aunt Jessica," she felt it as strongly as though she literally were their aunt.
So making that decision to help David was more than easy — it was almost automatic.
Later, David would wonder aloud whether everything that happened afterward was his fault. "Maybe if I'd been better at English, I wouldn't have asked you to come talk at school. Maybe if I'd just studied more, like Mom said..."
"That's the most fucked up reason to study I've ever heard," Noah Puckerman observed, and though she didn't care for the language, Jessica understood the sentiment.
Still, she couldn't deny that events were set in motion that evening, like falling dominoes. In a sense, it didn't matter who or what first knocked them down; maybe forces beyond anyone's understanding had set them up in the first place long ago.
Whatever the reason — if there was one — it still happened.
"Well! Hockey! It sounds like I'll have to scold your Grandma Kathy; she's been criminally negligent in keeping me up to date! I wish I could've seen one of your games."
David seemed to flush as he put her suitcase down inside the door of the guest bedroom. "My mom probably has some video if you want to see it."
"Of course I do! So how is school, apart from English?" she added, eyes twinkling.
David chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that, Aunt Jessica. I know it's your subject and everything. I guess with hockey and everything else..."
It was a casual statement, one anyone could've made at any time in any state of mind. But she knew this boy. She'd known him for sixteen years, never mind the ways in which he was subtly like his grandmother, her old friend. There was something to his voice, something about those last two words... Jessica raised her eyebrows. "Everything else...?" David started, as if just realizing what he'd said. "Is something the matter at school?"
"No, no, nothing," he said quickly.
"You know if there is, you can tell me."
"I know, but there's nothing wrong, I promise — except maybe my English grade." His chuckle was somewhat hollow and forced. "So, uh... Do you need anything else?"
She could sense the shift in tone, and decided to let the matter drop for now. After all, she still had almost two weeks ahead of her to probe if need be. "Oh, no, nothing, I'm fine. Go on to bed."
"Okay, cool. My mom wrote down our phone numbers on that pad by the lamp. Good night."
"Good night, David." The smile slipped from her face, replaced by a pensive stare, as the door snapped shut.
Friday came quickly, even with Jessica's relative lack of activity. After all, these days people could communicate with each other no matter where they were in the world. As such, her publisher kept up the never ending flow of e-mails, guaranteeing that she was not bored, but by the time Friday rolled around, she was eager for a change of scenery and pace.
"The school is freaking out," David said that morning. "You're the biggest thing to happen at McKinley in, like, ever."
"Me?" Jessica said in honest astonishment.
"This is Lima, Aunt Jessica. We're in the asscrack of America... Uh, sorry." He ducked his head briefly, looking around; fortunately, both his parents had already left for work. "But nothing ever happens in Lima, especially not at McKinley. You're the biggest celebrity who's ever come to visit."
"Uh oh," Jessica said in good humor. "That's a lot of pressure!"
"Ah, you'll be fine," David said with a chuckle. "Just be you, y'know?"
"Very good advice."
"Yeah, it is. Came from someone really smart."
The memory washed over her unbidden: her own living room, a trembling boy fighting back unmanly tears... "Well," she said cheerfully, sensing that David wouldn't want to rehash the past under the circumstances, "I'll do my best to earn you your extra credit."
"Heh... Thanks." He picked up his car keys. "You sure you don't want me to drive you to school?"
"Oh, go on, it's no trouble. I'll have much more to do here while I wait anyway. I'll see you there!"
"Okay. See you there, Aunt Jessica."
She passed the morning quickly, and before she knew it, she was calling for a ride to McKinley High. The cab pulled into a parking lot in front of an incredibly typical suburban American high school. These were halls Jessica had trod before, and it felt welcoming, like an old friend. David was already waiting out front, along with a few other people — more than would be normal, in her experience — milling about the front entrance. Their purpose became abundantly clear when all their eyes turned towards her as she emerged from the cab. One of them, a bespectacled boy with a full head of curly red hair, was particularly interested in capturing her on video as she passed. She could hear excited buzzes from the small crowd.
David smirked at whatever look she must've had on her face. "I told you, Aunt Jessica: you're a big deal."
Jessica laughed. "It's been years since I started writing, but I don't think I'll ever get used to it!"
Just inside the doors, apart from the milling students within, stood a tall, well built man with sandy blond hair, obviously waiting. He was striding towards the two even before the doors shut behind them.
"J.B. Fletcher!" the man said, his voice shaky with delight. "Dan Tomlin, English. It's an honor to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Tomlin," she said, shaking his proffered hand.
"Honestly, when David here told me that he knew you, I thought he was just trying to angle for a better grade." He nodded towards David with a grin, who returned it gamely. "It took a phone call from his mother to get me to believe him. Now you're here. In my school! If you have time, I would love to talk about how your writing has affected your pedagogy, and vice versa..."
"Well, I don't know how much I can tell you about that, but I'll try!"
"I'll be your tour guide," Tomlin continued. "Or at least until my next class. You can relax in the principal's office until the event at noon."
"Sounds good."
"I'll see you at the presentation, Aunt Jessica," David said.
"See you there." As she watched David melt into the crowd, Jessica noticed a few reactions from his fellow students. They were small, barely noticeable, but to a teacher of so many years, they screamed at her. She barely had time to register, let alone process, what she saw before Mr. Tomlin spoke again.
"If you'll come this way," he said, leading her through the rapidly thinning crowd. "This may not be the biggest school, or the richest, but it's home."
"I come from a small town, Mr. Tomlin," Jessica said with a smile. "I know exactly what you mean."
As Dave made his way towards his math class, he passed Finn Hudson in the hall. They made only the briefest of eye contact, but Hudson... flinched.
Holy shit. Finn Hudson flinched. At him.
Dave's shoulders squared, his strides growing stronger, his hands unconsciously balling into fists. He could get used to this.
Yeah, he could definitely get used to this...
