"Happy Family"

by: the archduke

Disclaimer: I own nothing and this is a totally not-for-profit endeavor. "Jem" the show and all its parts belong to someone else. And this has nothing to do with Chinese food other than I like it.

Chapter 1:

Jerrica Benton considered herself to be a fairly tolerant person. She put up with twice as much crap as other people (the fact that she was two people had a lot to do with this) in her day-to-day life and made the best out of the situations she was dealt. When her father died she had been barely an adult, and she didn't think anyone would have really blamed her for rejecting all the responsibilities thrust upon her if she had chosen to do so.

Being co-owner of a major music company was stressful enough for those who knew what they were doing, let alone a newcomer such as herself. And if she screwed up the Starlight Foundation then little orphan girls would be homeless. Little orphan girls would be homeless. She'd burn in hell for sure if that happened on her watch. Add in the potential of disappointing millions of fans as Jem, and Jerrica figured that, all in all, she handled herself as well as she could under the circumstances. Sure, her love life was a bit…unconventional…but some things just couldn't be helped.

There was one person, however, that had used up all of Jerrica's goodwill. Just hearing the name Eric Raymond made her hands clench into fists and caused her to grind her teeth together. If Eric weren't such a major sleazy yuppie jerk she would have been more than happy to hand over the reigns of Starlight music to him and relegate herself to a silent partner. But he was such a despicable, underhanded, disgusting excuse for a human being she had created an alter ego rock star to make sure he didn't ruin the company her parents had loved.

If Eric knew he was the reason Jem existed, Jerrica was sure he'd drop dead from shock. Some days that was reason enough to let her secret out of the bag.

This felt like one of those days. She was currently in the elevator at Misfits Music, or whatever his company called itself this week, heading up to his office to give him a stern talking to. Or maybe a stern punch in his mouth.

When the elevator doors opened on the correct floor, Jerrica strode purposefully towards his office, not even bothering with the secretary that sat reading a magazine. If the woman noticed Jerrica's arrival she gave no indication of it. Jerrica went through the door, slammed it shut behind her, and gave her best glare to a surprised Eric.

By the narrowing of his eyes and the scowl forming on his face, Jerrica could surmise that Eric was as happy to see her as she was to see him.

"What in the hell are you doing in my office?"

"What in the hell are you trying to pull this time?"

Both question were asked simultaneously, and they each waited for the other to answer first. Jerrica said nothing, but walked up to Eric's desk and threw down a file full of papers.

"Stay away from Starlight Music. I see what you're trying to do," she said as she stabbed the file with a finger, "and it won't work. I won't let you get away with it." She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Eric to respond.

Eric stared at her for a few seconds, then opened up the folder she had thrown on his desk. After flipping through some pages he set the file back down and looked up at her.

"It's not me," he said and he leaned back in his chair with his hands steepled in front of his face.

Jerrica gave a snort. "Sure. Who else would be sniffing around my business loans? If you think that you can get Starlight by buying my loans from the bank then you've got another thing coming, because-"

Eric stood up and cut her off. "I said it wasn't me. In fact, someone's been asking about my loans relating to Starlight as well. I at first assumed it was you, but you're probably in as much debt as I am. Playing mother to street rats can't be cheap."

Jerrica opened her mouth in indignation about what he said about her girls, but he kept on talking. "So after I didn't jump to conclusions," here he gave her a pointed look, "I did a bit of asking around. It's the Japanese. Those bastards really do want to control the world." He had by now moved from behind his desk and now stood about two feet from Jerrica.

She kept her gaze on him and thought. A hostile takeover? He didn't seem to be lying, but she knew just how good of a liar he could be. He had charmed her father into giving him half of Starlight music; she could not underestimate him.

"The Japanese? So an entire nation wants Starlight now?" She needed more information before she could believe him.

"Only one. Hayao Tanaka. Made a fortune in hotels. He apparently now wants to move into the music business." Eric stood there looking at her, unmoving. She stared right back, not giving him the satisfaction of looking away first. Their impromptu staring contest ended when his secretary called him over the intercom.

"Mr. Raymond, your flight to Hawaii has been confirmed. Do you-," before she could finish, Eric lunged over his desk to respond, startling Jerrica into taking a few steps away.

"That's fine. Thank you." He turned from the intercom to face a suspicious Jerrica.

"That's just a little, um, vacation I'm planning," he said. He nodded as if confirming all that he's said. "Been in the works for ages. Should be quite restful and relax-" He was cut off by his secretary again.

"I've also confirmed your meeting with Mr. Tanaka for Tuesday, 1:30, at-" Again he lunged over the desk, but this time he ripped the intercom from the wall. He really needed to get a new secretary.

Even without turning around he knew that he'd been found out.

This was confirmed when Jerrica's voice, just a whisper, met his ears. "If you think I'm letting you meet with this Tanaka guy without me, you are sorely mistaken. When are we leaving for Hawaii?"

A/N: Alright, I figured since I haven't seen an episode of this show in over 15 years it would be a perfect time to write a fanfic.

Since the show takes place in the mid-80's, when the Japanese were scaring the Americans to death in the business world, this concept would make some historical sense. And Hawaii is one of my favorite places in the world.

And while Jerrica/Eric would probably never happen in canon, that's what fanfic is for.