A/N: Who else was disappointed that, had they carried on JQTRA they were going to have them stationed in the Florida Keys again? Blah, the Maine compound was so beautiful while the Florida one from Classic JQ looks lame lol Although I can't deny that I was interested in seeing what Palm Key would look like for JQTRA Oh well. Anyway here's the next chapter, enjoy! My apologies about the lateness, time got away from me . . .

In answer to one reviewers comment: yes, logically speaking, it would make the most sense for Jessie to just ask Race about the picture but then we wouldn't have a story lol But I do try to give a decent reason as to why she doesn't just tell him at least. So I hope that helps :)

Disclaimer: "I do not own The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Hanna-Barbara does and if they were smart, they'd continue the series!"

" means spoken words

Italics means thoughts

A Jaded Secret

Chapter 4: In the Recesses of the Mind

Jonny stared at the picture Jessie handed him moments ago. He couldn't believe the image captured in that simple photograph. After staring at it for several minutes he finally looked back at Jessie, his face mirroring hers the day she found it.

"Jessie, this is-"

"I know."

"But then that means-"

"Jonny, I know."

Jonny ran a hand through his hair, trying to collect his thoughts.

"This is heavy."

"Tell me about it."

He glanced back at the picture, "No wonder you've been so distracted. I knew something was bothering you but I had no idea it was something of this magnitude."

He suddenly moved towards Jessie and parked himself on the bed next to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, Jonny, how was windsurfing? Oh, by the way, I found this picture in my dad's room, it looks like Jade might be my real mother, what are the odds?'" Jessie's voice was flat. "I didn't know what to say . . . This picture," she took it from Jonny's hand, "it compromises my entire existence. It means my entire life I've been living a lie. How do you tell your closest friend that they don't really know who you are because you yourself don't know?"

"Don't be such a drama queen, Jess. It's not the end of the world if Jade is your mom," Jonny teased.

Jessie shot him a look. "I'm serious, Jonny."

He put his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood."

She sighed as she glanced back at the picture.

Jonny watched her for a second before saying, "So what now?"

Puzzlement filtered over her face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what're you gonna do? Are you gonna talk to Race?"

"No!" Jessie replied immediately. "If it's true and he hasn't told me yet, I doubt he'll want to talk about it now. Plus, if it's not true, then I'll have brought all this up for nothing."

"Well, whatever you wanna do I'm behind you all the way," Jonny said earnestly.

Jessie couldn't help but smile at Jonny's words. They meant the world to her. She felt kind of relieved that someone else knew about the picture.

"Actually, I have thought of something, a way to prove who my real mother is without even involving my parents."

"Oh yeah?"

"Do you remember that device Hadji used a while back to find out more about his past?"

Jonny gave a quick nod. How could he forget? Hadji, curious about his mysterious past, had used the VR memory probe to see if he could learn anything from the memories that resided deep within his subconscious. He learned more than he could have ever imagined. Thanks to that device, he was not only reunited with his real mother, Neela, but he found out that he was the Sultan of Bangalore as well.

"Well . . . I was thinking I could use that."

"Dad still hasn't finished perfecting it you know. In fact, he hasn't touched it since before Hadji used it," he said matter-of-factly.

"I know," she admitted, her eyes downcast.

Jonny gave a snort. "I remember how you chewed me and Hadji out for using it before it was perfected."

"Well that was then, this is now. Things have changed."

Jonny sighed. "I know."

When Hadji had used it he wasn't planning on discovering that he descended from royalty. He was just extremely curious about his background since he had no prior knowledge of where he came from. Jessie, on the other hand, was using it to find out a specific detail of her past.

"With IRIS back online using it shouldn't be a problem. We just have to dig it out of whatever box it's sitting in."

"And when do you plan on taking this trip down memory lane?" Jonny asked.

"Tomorrow, it will be easier with our parents away."

Jonny grinned. "Well, at least we're not getting into too much trouble while they're gone."

Jessie didn't respond she was too busy gazing at the now infamous picture.

Jonny cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the silence. "So . . . what are you gonna do if it's true?"

Jessie responded without taking her eyes off the picture.

"I'll cross that bridge if I come to it."

xXxXxXx

Jonny pushed aside another box full of electronic equipment. That was the seventh box he had checked for the VR memory probe and once again he came up empty handed. He glanced at Jessie; she was digging through another box on the other side of the lab. He didn't know what number she was on, he'd lost track. She'd been tearing through box after box for the last half hour with a fierce determination he'd only seen her possess on certain occasions during their time together. This was clearly very important to her. Jonny dragged another box over and ripped open the top. Nestled at the bottom he found what he was looking for. He grinned as he glanced over at Jessie.

"Hey, Jess, I found it."

She looked up from her current box immediately. "Really?"

He held it up as proof. She dropped the item in her hands back in its box and headed over to him. He handed it to her and she looked it over curiously.

"So, how do I use it?"

Jonny raised an eyebrow. "What are you asking me for? You know more about my dad's inventions than I do."

"Yeah but you were with Hadji when he used it so you're bound to know more than me. Spill it."

"Okay, okay. To be honest, I don't know that much about it myself," Jonny started. "What I did collect from Hadji's usage is that the VR memory probe can only show you things your mind remembers. It's physically and mentally impossible to remember every single thing that happens to us in our lives and if your brain doesn't remember it then the device can't show you it. What it can do is pull up memories that you might not know you have deep in your subconscious. It doesn't matter how old the memory is, it could be ten years it could be ten weeks. As long as the memory is there you can view it. By using IRIS, you can narrow down the time frame of the memories you view. That's about it," he finished.

"Sounds simple enough," Jessie commented as she headed for one of the chairs used to sit in while logged into QuestWorld.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?"

Positive," she replied, slipping the helmet on.

Jonny ran an uncertain hand through his rumpled hair and walked over to Jessie. He plugged a cord from the chair into the visor before heading over to the computer console that housed IRIS's mainframe. He began typing away.

"Welcome to QuestWorld, what feature would you like to utilize today?" IRIS's feminine voice sounded overhead.

Jonny typed in his request and a system warning was his response.

"Warning, the VR memory probe is still under development and should not be used until more follow up tests have been run."

Jonny typed in the access code to override the safety set on the device. Dr. Quest never got around to changing it after he and Hadji had cracked it the first time.

"Please proceed with caution," IRIS ordered as the program was unlocked, allowing Jonny access to the files necessary to run the VR memory probe.

Jessie was gladder than ever that Jonny not only knew about this issue but was willing to help her with it. She had no doubt she could have figured out how to work the VR memory probe on her own, but it sure was easier with the help of another. Plus, going into QuestWorld alone was risky, especially when Jeremiah Surd seemed capable of show up in the network uninvited and without warning when ever he wanted.

"Alright, Jess, the program is up and running, I just have to log you into QuestWorld. Are you ready?"

Jessie took a deep breath. "As I'll ever be."

Jonny typed the last bit of information in as he said it aloud. "QuestWorld log on. Subject Jessie Bannon. Going hot!"

With one more click of a button, Jessie was thrust into her own mind via QuestWorld.

"Whadaya see, Jess?" Jonny asked from his position at the keyboard.

"I see . . . my dad. It looks like he's teaching me how to walk. This memory's too late. I need to see earlier memories, anytime before I was six months old."

"IRIS," Jonny called out, "search out the earliest memories Jessie has."

Immediately the scene in the visor went black.

"Now I'm not getting anything," she complained, frustrated.

Suddenly Jessie heard the wail of a baby. "No wait, I think I'm just in a dark room. I can hear a baby crying . . . It must be me."

"You cry? I didn't think you knew how," Jonny joked. After all he'd never really seen her cry before no matter how dyer their situation was.

"Very funny smart ass."

"Well, if you're sitting in a dark room crying then this memory is useless. I'll see if IRIS can-"

"Wait!" Jessie cut him off. "Someone just turned on the lights. I think they're coming closer."

After many seconds of silence, Jonny finally asked, "Well? Who is it?"

"It's . . . it's . . ." Jessie watched as the figure in the room peaked over the railing of her crib. "It's my dad," she said in a deflated tone. "Damn, don't I have any memories of other people?"

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't cry, Daddy's here," her father said lovingly inside the VR helmet. He turned to face the doorway. "Babe, you'd better come in here, I think she's hungry."

Jessie held her breath as another figure entered the room.

"Again? My, our little angel has quite the appetite," a female voice said with a chuckle. "She must get that from you."

Race held his hands up in defense. "We Bannons can't help that we have hearty appetites."

The woman became visible over the crib railing and Jessie inhaled sharply.

"What's wrong, Jess? Jessie?" Jonny asked on the outside, troubled by her startled noise.

"Come to mommy, honey," the woman cooed as she reached in to lift baby Jessie out of her crib.

"Jessie, what's happening?!" Jonny asked again with a sense of urgency in his voice.

"It's Jade, she's taking me out of my crib," she revealed, her voice devoid of emotion.

Not wanting to see more of the scene being played out, Jessie ripped the helmet off her head.

"Memory simulation terminated," IRIS announced.

Jonny approached Jessie, unsure of what to say.

"She said 'our little angel' to my dad. Our little angel . . . the picture's true. Jade's my mother . . ." she trailed off in a whisper, as if she were saying something completely vulgar.

Jonny was speechless. He couldn't believe it and yet at the same time he could. The picture withstanding, he always thought Jessie and Jade harbored a lot of similarities. He always assumed it was just a coincidence but apparently he had been wrong. He looked at Jessie. She was staring at the floor, locked in her own world of shock.

"Jessie?" he ventured. "Are you okay?"

She blinked twice and focused her eyes on him.

"I don't know. It's like I had a feeling that picture was true but now that I know it is-"

She suddenly leaned over the side of the chair and wretched violently, vomiting all over the glaringly white tiled floor. Jonny, alarmed at her sudden turn, rushed to her side.

"Jessie!" he cried as he grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling off the chair.

He'd never seen her so shaken up, and seeing all the life threatening situations they'd been in, that was saying something. The only time he'd seen her in a state similar to this was the time they were trapped in the degenerating underwater research center with flesh eating amphibians. She was bad then, she was worse now.

"They lied to me! My entire life everyone lied to me!" she screamed as soon as she caught her breath from puking. Her body was shaking with a mixture of shock, disbelief, and rage. "I can't believe I'm related to that cheap, treasure tracking hussy! She's practically one step away from a hooker!"

Jonny wrapped his arms around Jessie's slender form in an attempt to sooth her frayed nerves.

"Jessie, I know you're upset, you have every right to be, but please calm down! Take a deep breath," he urged his best friend.

Jessie gripped Jonny tightly and did as he instructed. After a minute, Jonny released her.

"I thought you were gonna have a total meltdown. Don't scare me like that, Ace."

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I just felt so sick to my stomach suddenly."

Jonny glanced over the edge of the chair. "Well that shouldn't be a problem anymore because I'm pretty sure your entire stomach is laying there on the floor."

Jessie looked over at the mess. "Gross," she groaned.

Jonny held out his hand to help her out of the chair.

"Come on, let's go get some rags. I'll help you clean it up."

"It's my mess. You don't have to help clean it."

"I know, but I want to. I always want to help you when ever I can, no matter the size or type of mess you're in," he said honestly, a warm smile on his lips.

Jessie smiled back and took his out stretched hand. He hoisted her up effortlessly and they left the lab in search of some disinfectant.

xXxXxXx

Later that night, Jonny and Jessie were at a local pizza parlor sharing a pizza for dinner. Jonny had suggested eating out rather than dirtying dishes and worse yet, having to wash them afterwards. They ate in silence for a while, still mulling over what they had learned of Jessie's family lineage. They hadn't talked much since Jessie used the VR memory probe. Each was in their own disbelieving world of shock at the information they found deep in the recesses of Jessie's mind. Finally Jonny spoke.

"Jess, now that you know for sure that . . . that Jade's your mother, well, what are you gonna do? I mean you can't change that."

Jessie looked down at the table forlornly. "I know. I don't know what I'm going to do. A part of me wants to confront my parents about lying to me all these years. But another part of me doesn't even want to let them know that I've discovered it. I don't really know how to explain it, it's complicated."

"That's for sure."

Jessie wasn't fully being honest with Jonny. True she didn't know what she was going to do yet, but she did know that she was going to do something. She wanted to know what happened between her dad and Jade and why Jade chose to cut all ties and custody rights to her only daughter. Jessie had a feeling the only person she could get those answers from was Jade herself . . .

xXxXxXx

On Sunday evening the Dragonfly touched down on the island's personal runway. Jonny and Jessie had been swimming when they saw their fathers arrive and so they headed over to the hangar to greet them.

"Hello kids," Benton said as he climbed out of the jet with a duffle bag.

"How was the conference?" Jonny asked.

"Wonderful! I earned a standing ovation for my speech on artificial intelligence and how making use of it in our police forces and military branches could save lives," he responded proudly.

Jessie smiled warmly. "Nothing less expected of the great Dr. Quest."

Race suddenly appeared in the doorway and headed down the stairs. Once his feet touched the ground he quickly scanned the premises.

"Well the house looks intact and the two of you are in one piece so I guess that means you two managed to stay out of trouble while we were gone," he joked.

"Funny, Race," Jonny smirked.

He looked at his daughter and smiled, his arms open slightly for the welcome back hug he usually received from her.

"Hey, Panchita."

Jessie stared at him intently for a second, a reproachful look in her eyes.

"Hey," she said stiffly before she turned away and headed for the house.

Race dropped his open arms and scratched the back of his head in puzzlement.

"What's with her?"

"Oh, you know women, Race," Jonny spluttered, trying to come up with a spur of the moment excuse, "she's been moody all weekend, I think it's that time of the month."

Jonny's cheeks reddened at the look Race gave him for talking about Jessie's biological femininity. To avoid furthering the discussion Jonny started to walk swiftly towards the house.

"Well I'd better get out of my swim trunks and into some clothes for dinner," he said over his shoulder.

Once he was back in the house he made a beeline for Jessie's room. Not bothering to knock, he opened the door. She was lying on her bed on her stomach. Her forest green bikini still clung to her body.

"Hey, what was that all about?"

"Knock much?" she said giving him a scrutinizing look.

"Seriously, what was that all about?" he repeated, ignoring her previous statement even though he knew she was right. For all he knew she could have been in the middle of changing out of her bathing suit when he barged in. A picture, if he was perfectly honest with himself, he wouldn't mind seeing but knew he shouldn't.

Jessie rolled over to face Jonny. "I didn't mean to blow my dad off like that. It's just, when I looked at him, I don't know, it's like all I could think about was how he kept this huge secret from me. It makes me wonder how many other things he's knowingly lied to me about," she sighed heavily as she pushed a stray strand of fiery red hair from her face, "and suddenly I just got so mad. I didn't want to see him, much less hug him."

Jonny crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against her doorway. "Well, if you don't want the third degree you'd better check your attitude otherwise Race is gonna get suspicious."

"Was it that obvious that I'm upset about something?"

Jonny smirked. "Only a lot. But I covered for you, sort of."

Jessie raised an uncertain eyebrow. Jonny continued, too embarrassed to tell her what he told Race.

"Look, you have a right to be upset, I would be too. But if you don't want to confront your dad about it yet then be careful how you act around him okay?" he shoved off from her doorframe, "I'm gonna go change for dinner."

As soon as Jonny was gone, Jessie changed out of her swimwear. Before venturing down stairs for dinner, she had come to a decision and had already started formulating a plan to accompany it. Dinner was pretty ordinary. Dr. Quest talked about the convention he had just attended throughout most of the meal. Once silence descended upon the group Jessie decided to start a new topic.

"So spring break is coming up next week."

Her father looked at her over his plate of spaghetti. "So soon? I thought you'd have at least another two weeks."

Jessie simply shrugged. "Different school, different break. I guess Ocean View does spring break sooner than Rockport High."

When no one else took a turn to speak Jessie continued.

"So anyway . . . I was thinking that I'd like to go visit Mom for the week."

Jonny raised a suspicious eyebrow at his long time friend. Just what was she up to now?

"After all it's been a while since I've really spent any quality time with her. I mean the last time we were supposed to hang out Zin decided to drop by and kidnap us," she finished with a grimace.

Race scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I don't see why not, as long as it's okay with Estella of course."

"I'll call her later tonight and check with her."

Race gave a quick nod before delving back into his plate of spaghetti.

"And I thought I'd tag along," Jonny suddenly announced.

This time it was Jessie's turn to raise her eyebrows.

"You want to go visit Estella too, son?" Dr. Quest asked flabbergasted.

"Actually, I just don't want to be sitting around here by myself. Talk about a boring spring break," he said which was partially true. He knew he'd be bored to tears if he had to sit around the compound for a week without Jessie there to hang out with.

"There's bound to be something interesting to see at Estella's current dig site. Besides," he smirked, "last time Jessie went to visit her mom on her own she was in a load of trouble when we came to pick her up," he said referring to the Malenque mummy incident. "At least if I'm there she'll have someone to watch her back."

"That's true . . ." Race admitted.

"Ha!" Jessie cried, "Between the two of us you're the one that gets us into trouble the most with all the stunts you pull!"

"That's true too," Race said as he eyed Jonny.

"Whatever," Jonny scoffed, waving off Jessie and Race's statements. "The two of us are still better off together than separate."

"Actually, out of all the kids that have lived in this household, Hadji is by far the least troublesome. I wonder if he'd be able to go . . ." Race teased.

Jonny and Jessie both shot him a look.

"Well," Benton finally spoke, "As long as Estelle doesn't mind having Jonny along I'm fine with it. I think it will be a very productive and educational way to spend your spring break."

Jonny's face lit up. "Great! Jessie can ask her tonight when she calls. Right, Jess?"

Jessie sent him an icy glare and said "sure" before returning her attention to her food. She didn't know what he was playing at but she was going to find out as soon as dinner was over with.

xXxXxXx

Jonny had barely dropped down on his bed when Jessie came storming through the door, slightly slamming it behind her.

"Knock much?" he joked, throwing her earlier statement back at her.

"Alright, Quest, what'd you think you're doing?" she demanded immediately.

"What are you so ticked off about?" he asked casually from his relaxed position on the bed.

"Don't give me that! You know exactly what I'm talking about! What's the big idea saying you're coming with me over spring break?!"

"I got a better question for you," he sat up, a serious look upon his face, "Which mother, exactly, are you planning on visiting? Estelle or Jade?"

She didn't respond. Her silence was enough of an answer for Jonny.

"Yeah that's what I thought. You're gonna go track down Jade, aren't you?"

Jessie crossed her arms over her chest. "So what if I am?"

"Hey I don't have a problem with you searching out Jade. However, I do have a problem with you searching for her on your own."

"I can take care of myself!" Jessie argued.

"I know that, I never said that you couldn't. But I still don't want you going alone, especially if you're looking to intersect Jade. You know the crowd she runs with. Where ever she goes, danger is never far behind and I'll drive myself crazy sitting around the compound all week wondering what's going on with you," he finished sincerely.

Jessie sighed. "Jonny . . ."

"Come on, Jess, we always work best as a team. You know that and I know that. Besides," he added with a big grin, patting the spot on the bed next to him, "you know you don't want to spend a whole week away from me."

With a shake of her head Jessie rolled her eyes but took a seat on the bed next to him anyway.

"You're so full of yourself, Hotshot."

Jonny leaned back against the headboard, his face suddenly somber.

"All joking aside, exactly how do you plan on executing this plan of yours?"

Jessie moved up the bed a smidge and leaned against the headboard next to him.

"Well, I figured I could have my dad drop us off at an airport in Columbia. We can tell him that a ride has been arranged to take us to the dig site to meet up with my mom. Since she and Dad don't communicate much, she'll never even know we were in South America, much less that we were supposed to be staying with her. Once my dad is gone, we turn around and use a commercial airline to fly to Egypt where Jade's shop is located."

"Jade's a busy woman, "Jonny pointed out. "What if she's not at her shop when we get there?"

"I thought of that but going to her shop is our best bet. Even if she's out on one of her crazy treasure hunts we might be able to find out where she went if we start there."

"Well it sounds like you've thought this through then."

Jessie gave a quick nod. "I know tracking down Jade's going to be troublesome, but I just gotta know. I mean, she's my mother, Jonny, but I hadn't even met her until this year when we went to Djakarta. Well, I mean I'd met her before, she did give birth to me but you know what I mean. I have to know, for myself, why she didn't want me, why she basically cut all ties to me when her and my dad split up."

"I get it, Jess. If I were you I'd want an explanation too."

She looked over at Jonny.

"So, you're in then?"

Jonny smiled softly at the beautiful girl next to him. "I'm always in when it comes to you, you know that."

Jessie smiled in response and leaned against him, finally relaxed for the first time in days. Jonny put his arm around her shoulder and they sat there, content with their current position and the silence that surrounded them. Jessie hated to admit it, and never would out loud, but she did feel safer knowing that Jonny was going to be by her side. She almost felt as though there was nothing she couldn't do with him backing her. It was a feeling she cherished and never wanted to lose.

To be continued . . .

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Again, so sorry for the incredibly long wait and thank you so much for the continued reviews and support! Please keep the feedback coming, I love to hear from you all :)

SakuraJade