Disclaimer: JQ not mine. Non-JQ characters and storyline mine. No money made. All for fun and stress relief...

10 November 2008
Into the Valley of Darkness
Chapter 3 Act 1: Resurgence
by Ina-chan

He was nine years old.

And at that time, like most nine-year-old boys, John had a penchant for getting into trouble whenever an opportunity to quench his thirst for adventure presents itself. It was also around that time when a certain redhead started living with in a full time basis in the US Military Base where their fathers were stationed. Both their fathers belonged to a very important group of men who worked closely together. So it wasn't really a surprise that despite the presence of all the other army brats their age living in the compound, they ended up latching to each other.

But it wasn't until one moment when he was nine years old after they both miraculously survived unscathed when he crashed an army jeep he took for an impulsive joyride that his eyes opened to a revelation. As she towered over him, her tearful eyes betraying her relief despite the outward anger she was displaying, through that angry bruise starting to form around her left eye after she bumped the dashboard, John knew for the first time.

That there was nothing in this world that he wouldn't do for her.

He never doubted that resolve for a single second in his life.

"You want to WHAT!?!?"

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that he would automatically agree to all of her ventures.

"Shut up!" Jessie hissed in annoyance as she saw a couple of heads in the library turned to their direction from the corner of her eye. With out another word, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the nearest private study cubicle, literally forcing him to sit on a chair before grabbing a random book from the pile and sitting across from him. With that, she glared at him expectantly from over her book.

John followed her suit and glared back. "Are you crazy? Look, I know you were tight with Abby and all… but smuggling her nephew out of the country? ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"He doesn't have anybody else. If he stays here, who knows what will happen to him?" Jessie replied blandly.

The boy gaped at her incredulously. "Jessie, that is not your problem. I'm sure the Harcourt Estate will take over his guardianship, if not, his government will."

"Dr. Ross already said that Abby's family situation is complicated, and the government? There's no guarantee that Blu will be protected if he's taken away from this school. Besides, Abby wants me to take him back with me. She even had his documents and left money and everything."

John closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose, as if to ward off an impending headache. "Why the hell are you doing this?"

"Because nobody else will do it," Jessie replied insistently.

"Wrong answer!" John stated again, in a slower tone, emphasizing each word as if talking to a little child. "Why. Are. You. Doing. This."

"It doesn't matter why I'm doing this," Jessie barked in annoyance.

"It matters to me!" John snapped with equal vehemence. "If you're going to involve me in this… felony that you're about to commit, you better give a good reason why I shouldn't march off to the Frog right now and tell him exactly what you intend to do."

"Do that and I'll never speak to you again," Jessie growled under her breath.

John simply gave her a defiant look and got on his feet. But as he turned around to leave, Jessie grabbed on to his arm, forcing him to look back at her. The sardonic words that were ready to spill out of his lips instantly dissolved as soon as he saw her face… and once again saw the expression on her face that he only saw once, years ago. Unshed tears hidden behind a mask of anger.

"John…"

Her voice was pained, and was uncharacteristically small. His heart skipped at beat upon hearing her call his name like that… but at the same time, he felt an ache in his chest upon the realization that her unspoken plea for his help was probably one of the most painful things she has ever done. But he had to know…

"Alright. But first, tell me why. Why you risking so much this for a complete stranger?" John replied quietly. Almost pleading. He had to know… he needed to know.

"I… I don't know," Jessie bowed her head, loosening her grip on his arm. "I just know that I can't leave him behind."

John's heart sank upon hearing her words… and hearing the tone of her voice. He took the seat in front of her once again and placed his hands upfront, palms down, and he realized for the first time that his hands were trembling. But there was one more question that he needed an answer to. Yet, for some reason he couldn't bring himself to have the courage to ask. So he opted for a similar question instead. "Are you in love with him?"

"WHAT?!?!? NO!!!! AND THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!!!"

Her reply was so indignant that forced him to look up and meet her gaze. He almost jumped back in surprise as he saw the renewed angry expression on her face… and more… like a look of betrayal…

"Look, if you're not going to help, just forget about it," Jessie snapped, as if trying to hide something in her voice. "Forget that we even had this conversation."

"Are you stupid?" John replied in the same manner. "Did you honestly think that I would let you run off with this idiotic plan of yours on your own?"

A small twinge that probably might have been a cross between relief or gratitude quickly flashed across the young woman's features. However, it went by so fast, that John couldn't help but wonder if he just imagined it.

"But," John continued sternly, "ONLY if you agree with two conditions."

"And what exactly would that be?" Jessie asked cautiously. Though John couldn't help but notice that her usual suspicious demeanor appeared half-hearted than usual.

"You're going to let me take the lead on this…" John began.

"What? Now wait just a minute--- " Jessie protested.

John raised a firm palm as he gave her a stern look that automatically caused the young woman to bite her tongue. "You are going to let me take the lead on this and do everything I say."

"Forget it!" Jessie cried out indignantly, not caring if the whole library heard her voice.

"At this point, you don't have a choice. You'll either accept my terms, or I march to the Frog's office right now," The young man stated almost triumphantly, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

The redhead gaped at the blonde in disbelief, not expecting the tables be turned against her. She narrowed her eyes and mirrored his action, her lips thinning into a line of displeasure.

"Well, is it a deal?" John asked, relishing his rare victory.

Jessie simply glared at him, gaping at him in indignation with the expression similar to a fish out of water, before letting out a sigh of defeat as she sank deeper into her seat. She stared stoically at nothing in particular on the floor for a moment before speaking in a quiet and almost inaudible voice. "There's a… connection… with him and my Dad."

"Pardon?" John leaned forward, barely catching her soft whisper.

"Before Abby died, she told me to bring him to my Dad…" Jessie replied in a louder voice, her eyes still lowered, not wanting to meet his gaze.

The boy frowned at her revelation. "Why would she ask you that?"

"I don't know, okay?" She hissed as she looked up at him and gave him an angry glare. "All I know is that there's a reason why he's in this school. There's a reason why my Dad sent me to this school. There's a reason why Abby wanted me to bring him back with me to meet my Dad… and… and… and… whether they're all reasons or just weird coincidences, they don't give any real answers to the gazillion questions running through my head about my Dad and what he did and didn't do behind my Mom's back that's why they divorced… and I haven't had a decent night sleep since… I DON'T KNOW JOHN! All I know is that there's no way that I'm leaving him behind!"

John gaped at her in shock at the sudden revelation. Without another word, he stood up, grabbed her firmly by the arm to pull her up to her feet, then dragged her behind him as he made his way through the library, grabbing random books from shelves along the way, an ignoring the curious glances of the other students who have been watching them since her first outburst, before ushering her into a private study room. He closed the door behind him, forced her to sit by the table, and shoved an open book for her to hold in front of her, before taking the opposite seat. They both stared listlessly at their respective books in uncomfortable silence, glancing at the suspicious librarian, who followed them and was watching them through the room's glass windows, from the corners of their eyes. It was only after the librarian finally wandered off reluctantly that John dared to speak.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that in the first place?" John hissed under his breath as he continued to stare at the open book in front of him.

"How would you feel if you found out that your father is hiding a secret?" Jessie growled back.

John lifted his eyes from his book and gave her a silent scalding look.

"A secret like THIS!" Jessie retorted, emphasizing the last word.

"I'm sorry." The boy whispered as he sat back on his seat in shock, his expression softening as he realized the implication of what she just told him.

"Why?" Jessie glared at him in annoyance. "You had nothing to do with this."

"That's not what I meant." John frowned, himself, getting annoyed at her reaction. "I just… I just didn't realize that you were going through this alone. I was too busy thinking that… I'm sorry. I should have been there for you more…"

The girl lowered her gaze once again, not really knowing how to react.

"…and not just for this…" John continued quietly as he put down his book and leaned forward. "When we were little… I promised that I'd always take care of you… but I ended up running away and leaving you behind. I'm sorry."

"Stop," The girl whispered back. "There wasn't anything you could have done back then."

"But it's different now," John countered. "Let me take care of you now. I promise I'll take you back safely."

"As soon as Blu and I get on that plane…" Jessie started.

"As soon as WE all get on that plane," John corrected.

Jessie looked up at him with a start, speechless.

The boy gave her a mischievous lopsided grin, "If I'm going to take care of you for real, I'm going to have to stop running away, right?"

Despite herself, Jessie couldn't stop the tears that pooled at the corners of her eyes from falling. She ducked her head once again and abruptly got up on her feet to leave the room. But before she could manage to take a step, John grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a tight bear hug, leaving no room for struggle, forcing her to accept the warmth of his embrace. All at once, Jessie felt all her defenses crumble as she finally allowed herself to collapse in his arms and let the painful sobs she had been holding back to bubble out of her chest.

John closed his eyes and reached out to stroke her hair. "This time, I promise I'll protect you. I won't run away anymore."

Before the girl could reply, there was an angry, insistent tapping at the private room's glass windows. The two teenagers instantly pulled away from each other to face the librarian's disapproving scowl, glaring at them through the window. Jessie turned away, unwilling to let anyone see her crying while John instinctively stepped forward to block her from the librarian's line of vision as he opened the door.

"Miss Rightfield, thank you for your concern, but everything is under control," John announced, putting on his charming smile.

"Young man, don't try to pull a hood over my eyes. The library is not the place to do any funny business," The librarian barked angrily in a dangerously low tone.

"Oh there's nothing funny about this matter at all ma'am," John replied mournfully. "My friend here was just overwhelmed by a friend's death. She was there to witness it, after all."

The librarian's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but her eyes widened in surprise upon catching a glimpse of red hair from behind the boy's shoulder. "Oh my! Is that…?"

John nodded. "Miss Velasquez didn't want to make a scene, so I deemed it more appropriate here where it's more private. I apologize for the trouble. I'll take her to counselor as soon as she's recovered her composure."

"Oh no, no, no! Please take all the time you need… the poor dear. Feel free to call me if you need anything else," The librarian replied.

"Thank you Miss Rightfield," John answered gratefully as the librarian left to their privacy.

The boy turned around to face his friend, only to find her shoulders shaking silently. John frowned and reached out to take her in his arms again, "Geez…"

Instead of complying as she did earlier, Jessie simply pushed him aside and headed to the door.

John stared at her in confusion. "What is it this time."

"I keep forgetting how good you are at manipulating people," Jessie stated impassively.

"What?" John retorted in exasperation.

"Because I need your help, I'll let it pass," The girl continued emotionlessly, though the look of indignation in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. "Don't you ever use me as an excuse again!"

With that, she stormed out of the room, leaving the John staring at her back, mouth hanging open, completely bewildered at what just transpired. "Son of a… ARRRRRRGH!!!!!" The boy pulled at his hair in frustration as he sank down on a chair, desperately fighting the urge to break something. "Whatever I do… I can't win! DAMMIT!"

He swallowed back his anger as he shoved his hands in his blazer pocket, stretched out his legs to rock his chair on its hind legs, the back of his head gently thumping against the wall. He stopped in mid-action as he felt that letter still unopened and crumpled inside his jacket pocket. John relaxed as that crumpled unopened letter burned like a piece of ember against his skin. With an epiphany, he knew exactly what he needed to do.

He meant what he said. There was nothing in this world that he wouldn't do for her. It was time to stop running away.

End of Chapter 3 Act 1.
To be continued…


AUTHOR'S SQUAWK:

My… it has been a while since I updated any of my fics. This one was sitting in my usb data key for a while, so I decided to polish it up and let this baby out in the world. This re-write is going much slower than I expected… but then again, my free time allotted to fanfic writing time has been greatly eaten up by real-life stuff… which is actually quite exciting! ^_^.

Lessee… I finally finished the first draft for my first play. We're doing a reading with real live actors by the end of the month and it's a bit scary… Though probably not as scary when the play gets a live audience in Feb/Mar. I got a couple of audition rejections one after the other. Even though its something completely ordinary to actors, it still a big blow to your ego if its one rejection after another… you never really get used to it. But I do have a small consolation prize. A friend e-mailed me a link showing my first IMDb credit! Even though it was a tiny role in an indie short film… wow! And I'm crossing my fingers to voice-over audition… not holding my breath though since they did say they will call last week to let people know and they never did. Anywayz… life goes on.