Jean here. Ok, so this chapter was all me. No Duke reading over my shoulder or anything. Keep in mind, though, this all happened back when I was fifteen, and I'm off at uni now, so I might not perfectly remember the conversations with my dad word for word. He remembers it better than I do anyway. I got some comments from you guys, so I guess I'll try to clear all your questions up.
Doks: I have no idea if my dad still has a crush on Aunt Audrey. I've tried really hard not to notice, you know? It just seems creepy. Um, about the school thing, Duke had my records before I got to Haven. I didn't realize that me starting the next day was weird since I've never been to school before, so I didn't really clearify that. Sorry! I'm not sure how you can not like Scott after I only gave him about two lines last chapter- he didn't talk to me much that first week- but its whatever. And yeah, our names do go along with the whole X-men thing, huh? Well, every Jean needs her Scott… Anyway, Uncle Nathan's not in this chapter, sorry, but I hope you'll like it anyway!
KK161990: I haven't gotten to my first day, but unfortunately you're pretty close to how it went. But it's cool. I got a great family out of it!
STforRK: Yeah, my whole Haven family is pretty snarky and sarcastic, so we've got a whole lot of crazy banter going on up here. And yeah, I think Duke did a pretty good job as my dad, even if I was pretty unexpected…
Um, none of us up here in Haven own anything to do with that show on SyFy. We just own our own lives!
"That's the Cape Rouge." Duke declared, pride evident in his voice. "She's a real beauty, isn't she?"
Jean smiled awkwardly, unsure of boater language. Was she supposed to agree with that?
"Um… Aye…er… Captain…Duke?" She stated, hesitantly, and Duke laughed.
"Don't worry, kid, Living on a boat is just like living in a small flat. It's cramped and uncomfortable sometimes, but its home."
"I can deal with cramped and uncomfortable." Jean sighed in relief. "Back at the orphanage I shared a room with twelve other girls."
"Well, now it's just you and me. You even get your own bedroom!" Duke added, and Jean's eyes widened.
"I've never had my own bedroom before. Even before the orphanage, Matthew and I roomed together because Lily and Roger only had a two room ranch house."
"Ok, well, I'll probably explain boating to you as we go along- soon enough you'll be an ample seaman, but for now you just need to know this." Duke stopped, orienting himself, and then pointed directions. "Port. Starboard. Fore. Aft. Bow. Stern. Your bed is the rack, the kitchen is the galley. Not that I'll ever call it that. I'll have to teach you knot tying, but that can wait for another time. Um… if anyone yells batten down the hatches, that means there's a storm coming and we need to get everything secured. The people here at the marina are pretty good about looking out for each other like that. This is above deck, that's below deck. I'm sure you've figured that out. Anyhow, I'll take you to your quarters. I'll probably be above deck whenever you're ready to figure out this whole public school thing."
"Ok, great." Jean nodded, committing his instructions to memory.
"Come on." Duke called, leading her to the door heading below deck. She followed him down below deck to a narrow hallway. "It's the third door on the right."
Jean nodded, stepping forward to open the door, and Duke followed her inside. The room was fairly small, but large enough for her. A twin sized bed with navy blue sheets was pushed in the far corner, and it was bolted down to the floor. In fact, everything was bolted down. There was a wardrobe across from the bed, since there was no closet, and a nightstand next to the bed. A wooden trunk graced the foot of the bed, and a round port hole window was on the far wall.
"It's not much, but its home." Duke said, slightly embarrassed with the shoddy living quarters.
"It's perfect." Jean smiled, hugging Duke. She set down her only two bags on the bed.
"We're going to have to take you shopping, huh?" Duke asked, surveying her lack of belongings. Jean shook her head.
"Why? I don't need much." He shrugged, and sat down on the edge of Jean's bed, patting the spot beside him. She sat cross legged, waiting.
"Ok, Jean, I can tell you I'm a good guy, ok?" Duke began, and Jean nodded, not sure where this was going. "Well, some of the business I do- used to do- ok, still do, isn't quite as legitimate as the Gull."
"I know that, Duke. Audrey said about as much when we were on the way here. It's ok."
"I know you know that." Duke nodded, glancing around the room. "But the thing is, I don't want to get you all caught up in my problems, ok? I keep guns aboard the ship, and I'm gonna have to teach you to use them. We'll get into that later, but the thing you need to know is that all guns are always loaded. Ok? I don't care if you are 100% positive that you're handling an unloaded gun, you treat it like it's loaded. Got it?"
"Got it." Jean nodded.
"If anyone tries to talk to you and you don't know them, even if they say they know me- especially if they say they know me- you don't talk to them. You turn and run the other way, got it?"
"Yup."
"And if you ever need help and I'm not there, just yell really loud. The people here at the marina are great, and they'll come find me. Don't let the police try to shove you around- you're not me, and they can't treat you that way just because you're my kid. Nathan and Audrey should look out for you- they're pretty good to me- but don't talk to anyone on the force except them."
"Ok."
"And if anyone ever asks you about a box, you tell them this: I don't know, Duke doesn't tell me anything. And if they say they're from Russia, then run. The Russians really don't like me right now…"
"Got it. Guns are loaded, don't talk to the police, stay away from the Russians, and that's port."
"Uh, that's port." Duke pointed, correcting her. "But pretty good otherwise. Just keep an eye out for trouble, ok? I'm going to leave you to get settled in. I've got a poker game set up above deck if you want to play."
"Sure. I'll be up in a jiffy."
"Nobody says jiffy, Jean. Nobody."
"I do." Jean shot back, sticking out her tongue.
"Whatever, kid." Duke laughed, leaving her room. The door slammed shut behind him, and Jean jumped. She was used to the doors always being open back in Nebraska, but she guessed being on a boat meant that the heavy doors slammed shut with the tides. She turned to her bag, pulling out her clothes and hanging them in the wardrobe. Maybe Duke was right- she could do with a few more belongings. Maybe more than a week's worth of clothes. She turned back to her bag, digging out the four books she owned- To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tale of Two Cities, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Grapes of Wrath- and set them on the nightstand. She turned back to her bags; pulling out the only things she had left- An old fashioned cloth stuffed rabbit that had seen far too many years, and a framed picture of her foster family. She kissed the rabbit on its head, setting it down gently on her bed before changing into her one pair of pyjama pants and a white tank top. Jean sighed and lay back on her new bed, closing her eyes and hugging the rabbit. Despite the drive taking a full day, it still felt like this was happening so fast. She just needed a minute to herself…
She opened her eyes an hour later, and sat up, clutching the stuffed rabbit to her chest and patting down the hall in her bare feet. Duke looked up as she opened the door, and set down a deck of cards.
"Thought you fell asleep in there. How are you?"
"Tired. Aren't you? You've been driving two days nonstop."
"Audrey spelled me." Duke shrugged. "What's with Mr. Whiskers?"
"Her name is Sadie." Jean corrected defensively. "Lily gave her to me when I was a baby."
"Was Lily a good mom?" Duke asked quietly, and Jean nodded.
"The best."
There was a pregnant pause, and then Duke picked up the deck of cards and began shuffling it. "Oh, yeah, that spot over there? Trapdoor. I got a handgun underneath it, so be careful. There're shotguns in the ship's hold, over there, I'll teach you to use them-"
"-I've used a shotgun before." Jean interrupted, and Duke tipped his head.
"You have?"
"Roger used to take me hunting." Jean shrugged. "Since I was 8."
"Right. Roger. Your foster father." Jean caught his eye, accepting the cards he handed her.
"I know it's awkward, another man raising your daughter." She declared quietly. "But for what it's worth, I'm here now."
"Yeah. You're here now." Duke nodded, looking at his cards. "You're going to fold aren't you?"
"Heck no!" Jean laughed, looking at her own. "If anyone's folding, it's you!"
"You've got on your poker face, don't you?" Duke asked, narrowing his eyes. Jean grinned innocently.
"You should fold" She sang, and Duke blinked, alarmed. "What?"
"Nothing. Just some… game I had here on my boat once, before you. Some guys were trying to take a box I was storing. One of them was, like, some kind of mind reader or something. Anyway, he said that just like you." Duke shrugged, looking back at his cards.
"I'm not gonna steal your box, Duke, chill." Jean laughed. "But seriously, you should fold."
"What are we playing for anyway?" Duke asked, and Jean raised an eyebrow.
"Any money we play for is yours. I've got nothing. So unless this is some funky way of giving me an allowance…"
"How about information?"
"What?"
"You lose; you tell me something about yourself. Same here." Duke explained, and Jean nodded.
"Throw in some gummy worms and you got yourself a deal." He tossed her the bag at his feet, and she set a handful out on the table. "The chips are down." She declared, and Duke rolled his eyes.
"The worms are down."
"Whatever. Are you going to fold yet?"
"Not a chance. I'm calling it." Duke declared, setting out his cards. Jean laughed and threw hers down on the table.
"Full House!" She cried, swiping up a gummy worm.
"What? Remind me to never play poker for real with you!" Duke complained, taking up the cards.
"Pay up, Crocker." Jean crowed, eating the worm.
"How are we supposed to know who's winning if you eat the chips?" Duke asked, and Jean stopped, half a gummy worm left.
"I guess I'll have to get another one then." She shrugged, snatching a whole one from the centre of the table. Duke protested, but let her.
"Ok, well, let's see… something about me… I don't like hockey." He offered, and Jean raised an eyebrow, gesturing at him with the half eaten gummy worm.
"You don't like hockey? How can you not like hockey?"
"Hey, it's some people's thing; it's not mine." He shrugged, holding his hands up. "I thought you were from Nebraska, not Canada."
"Shut up." Jean rolled her eyes, taking the offered cards. "You gonna fold?"
"You wish."
"I think you wish. That you had folded."
"Cheeky little rascal, aren't you?"
"You know it. Are you gonna fold yet?"
"Uh, let me think about it…no." Duke smirked, throwing down his hand. "Three of a kind!"
"A pair of sixes." Jean pouted, setting hers down as well.
"In your face, Crocker!" Duke shouted back at her, grabbing a worm.
"Fine. Well, um, I'm allergic to celery, so don't feed me any, ok?"
"Wait, celery? Is that even possible?" Duke asked, and Jean rolled her eyes.
"Obviously." She gestured to herself. "My throat swells up and I asphyxiate. Not a pretty sight."
"Noted." Duke nodded, dealing her a new hand.
By the time they finished the game, Duke had learned that Jean could sew, couldn't cook to save her life, her favourite food was American buttermilk biscuits (with butter), she liked to read, and got good at playing football with the guys at the orphanage. He also learned that Nebraskans are very proud of their football.
Jean, on the other hand, learned that her father hated vegetables, plays the ukulele, doesn't like bananas, likes Lord of the Rings, and believes in Bigfoot. Or so he said.
They would have played longer, but Jean ate the gummy worms.
"So, uh, school tomorrow. You nervous?" Duke asked, and Jean nodded.
"Heck yeah!" She cried. "Teach me how to survive public schooling, O Great One!"
"Hmm… O Great One… I like the sound of that." Duke replied, stroking his chin mockingly. "Well, fine then. First rule is no one is cool in high school. Got it? No one. So don't try to fit in, because you're going to look back at yourself when you're 23 and say 'man, I was so not cool.' So you might as well have fun being not cool."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Jean rolled her eyes.
"No problem. You know all the basics, right? Like, when the bell rings you go to class?"
"I didn't live under a rock." Jean sighed.
"Sure you didn't. Anyway, I already registered you for your classes. Miss Felighs from the orphanage sent me your transcripts, and Audrey helped me pick everything out for you."
"She put me in remedial maths, didn't she?"
"No, actually you're right on track. She recommended honours English, though. You can transfer out if you don't like it. Scott could probably show you the ropes at school better than I could- I've been out of Haven High for a while- but if you need anything, come to me, ok? Oh, don't get in fights too much. They expel you for that kind of stuff. I think I have an extra backpack around here somewhere. I can get all your school stuff set up for you."
"Thanks Duke." Jean sighed, leaning back in her chair to look at the stars. "You said you like Lord of the Rings. What is that?"
"You've never heard of Lord of The Rings?" Duke asked, shocked. "What did you learn at school?"
"Er… Reading, writing, and arithmetic?" Jean raised an eyebrow. "So what is it?"
"Only the best movie series ever." Duke declared, leaning back. "I think there's a book seireis too, but I don't read, so I don't really know."
"You don't read?"
"I mean, I can, I just don't like to." Duke clearified, seeing the look on Jean's face. "But anyway, it's this great trilogy about a ring and a hobbit- well, lots of hobbits, really- and a Gollum… I actually faced a golem once, with Audrey. It tried to kill me. It wasn't really like the one from Lord of the Rings, though. It was more like a plastic female Terminator."
"Terminator?" Jean questioned, and Duke gasped.
"You've got a lot to learn, kid. You've got a lot to learn."
Jean smiled to herself, hugging Sadie to her chest.
"I've got time."