Title: Blue-eyed Angel, 9/?

Author: Goddess Evie
Date: March 29, 2013
Category: JJHR, Angst
Summary: Estella arrives at the compound. Jessie tries to do what Dr. Goodwyn asked of her.

Disclaimer: I do not own JQ. I make no money off this story. I am only using the characters for my own unique story. I also do not own "Inside Out", Eve 6 does. I merely use the lyrics to enhance my humble writing and pay a little homage to such talented musicians.

Author's Note: Hello everyone. I'm back with a long overdue update. With some of the recent fics that have been uploaded to the JQ section of , I got inspired/felt guilty for not updating and came up with this. Hope you like it.

Before I go any further, I do have to say THANK YOU to all who have reviewed, followed and favorited. I know I get more than I deserve for how long it takes me to update. You are too kind and I promise each and every one is noted and appreciated. I wish I had time to respond to each review personally, but life is busy. I hope this will make up for the lack of personal responses.

Again, please enjoy.

Chapter 9: The tick tock of the clock is painful, all sane and logical. I want to tear it off the wall. I hear words in clips and phrases, I think sick like ginger ale. My stomach turns and I exhale.

Race sighed in relief when he finally spotted Estella appear in the entrance to the small private Quest jet that had just pulled into the private Quest hangar. It was a small relief. Not even enough to relax the muscles between his shoulder blades that had been tight since he'd found Jonny and Jessie sitting on that front porch together. But a relief nonetheless.

He stepped forward and waved to get her attention. She spotted him immediately. The exhausted look on her face lessened when she did and she hurried her step to meet him.

Then Race did something that surprised even himself.

When they met, he drew her into his arms and held her close for a long time. She didn't fight him. In fact, she embraced him in return like they were still married and this was naturally what they should be doing.

Estella buried her face into his shoulder and he rested his cheek against her hair.
The charged silence between them lasted for many moments before either broke it.

"I'm so glad you're here," his whisper came out slightly hoarse.

She squeezed him and then pulled back to look at his face. She spoke her thoughts on what she saw there. "I've never once, not in all the time that we were married or after all the missions you returned from, seen you look so tired."

Race closed his eyes and let his hands skim down her arms to rest in her hands. Mentally he agreed that he'd never felt so tired.

"Come on," he released her hand—just one of them—and led her toward his waiting car, "You can wait in the car while they unload your luggage. How was your flight?"

"Long." The tone of her voice said plenty in that one word.

Race didn't miss the way she stayed close to him in the short distance between the plane and the car. He was honestly glad for it. He opened the passenger door and helped her in before turning to help the pilot stow her luggage in the trunk. They were on the road in no time.

"And how are Jessie and Jonny…and everyone?" Estella asked once they were on the highway.

"Not much change. Their first meeting with Dr. Goodwyn went…well."

Estella didn't miss his hesitation. "What do you mean? Were you expecting something to go wrong?"

Race shrugged his shoulders, trying to loosen the muscles as he thought about what to say to Estella. In vain. They were no less tight than before. He wished he had the courage to hold her hand again, but his stayed firmly on the shifter between them.

He blew out a loud breath. "I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Jessie is so damned paranoid—and I know I only have myself to blame for that—and I wasn't sure if she'd even give Dr. Goodwyn a chance. I wouldn't have been surprised by some theatrics from her, but she came out fairly calm. Not better, but calm. Jonny wouldn't say a word to her, though she seemed pleased with getting any kind of a reaction out of him."

"How'd she do that?"

"The same way any of us do. By bringing up Jessie…or what happened to her attacker. Bit of advice. Don't do it. It's not a good reaction."

"I'll remember that." She paused before asking, "You really don't think he-"

"I don't know."

Race's statement was grim and final. He didn't want to speak about it. They said nothing more for the duration of the car ride.


The house was quiet. Usually this was one of the things Jessie loved about the compound. Five people and one dog living together in three stories and thousands of square footage meant it was never impossible to find a quiet place should you want one. Even if Jonny often got quite rowdy.

You could be blamed of the same thing…

But now the quietness of the house unnerved Jessie. She spent most of her time wandering, unable to stay in one place for long. Trying to convince herself she was safe and didn't need to constantly look over her shoulder. She mostly avoided her dad, but every so often she needed the comforting security of his presence. The moment she laid eyes on him, she'd turn and wander off again reassured and not able to stand being near him.

And then Jonny came home. And she wanted nothing more than to tell him, somehow, that everything would be okay and they'd get through this like they always did.

Then she actually saw him and though she knew it was wrong, she ran away and hid.

If she wasn't wandering, she was hiding. Along with being quiet, the main house—mansion, really— of the Quest Compound held infinite possibilities for hiding. It came in handy for those times when she couldn't stop the rush of memories, feelings, sensations and she didn't want anybody to hear her sobbing.

Especially since Jonny came home. She knew hearing her pain would only worsen his condition. She didn't want to add to whatever he was going through. He didn't deserve it in the first place. Not after what he'd done to save her.

Jessie didn't miss the irony of fighting with him mere days ago about not needing to be protected only to have him rescue her like a knight in shining armor. She would never again complain about his uncontrollable need to protect her.

Right now she wished Jonny could do exactly that for her. She couldn't escape…him. Not for a moment. Always lurking in the back of her mind. Making appearances without any provocation. The most random things set him off. She stayed far away from any bedrooms. She'd break every mirror in this house if she could.

Her second attempt at a shower since her dad had brought her home had been brief. She'd kept her eyes closed so she didn't have to look at the marks he'd left on her. The skin on her wrists was still raw from being tied up and pulling against the restraints with such force. Those were the easiest to face.

She hadn't noticed in the moment how rough he had actually been with her. The welts from the knife. Bruising.

You were lucky not to have worse.

She didn't feel lucky.

If she kept dwelling on him he would make an appearance. Think about something else. Anything else to keep that from happening.

School was supposed to start in less than a week. She didn't see herself or Jonny being there on the first day.

Her mom was arriving today. Her dad had left a while ago to pick her up. Jessie didn't know how to feel about that. She supposed she should feel comforted. Or something. She figured she'd have to wait until her mother was here in this house before she decided how she felt about it.

And speaking of people that she didn't know how she felt about, she still hadn't come to any conclusions about Dr. Goodwyn. The woman—the whole experience—had been so confusing. Jessie wanted to trust Dr. Goodwyn. In their brief conversation Jessie had been so close to just telling her everything she was feeling and thinking since the attack, though Dr. Goodwyn would never know that.

But Jessie had always struggled with trusting strangers. And right now it was difficult to trust anyone no matter who they were, or what they said, or how many degrees they had hanging on the walls of their office.

But Jessie had wanted to believe her so badly when she'd said she would do everything she could to help Jonny.

Jonny.

Dr. Goodwyn's request echoed through her mind.

You know you could help out both him and I.

Jessie wanted to. So bad. So bad she physically hurt.

But there had to be another way.

You know she's right. Stop running away.

Jessie looked around herself. She'd not been paying attention as she wandered. She was on the first floor standing in a remote hallway. The entrance to Dr. Quest's personal study stood a few feet away. She could hear a low voice—Hadji—emanating from the slightly ajar double doors.

And if Hadji was in there, Jonny would be too. Hadji hadn't left Jonny's side since they'd come home.

You should be in there too. He needs you.

Jessie stared at the door. She balled her hands into fists. She ordered her feet to carry her to the door. The volume of Hadji's voice increased as she drew nearer. He was not saying anything important. Just talking.

Hoping he'll hit upon something Jonny will respond to.

Jessie forced herself to step into the opening. Jonny and Hadji sat on the leather loveseat against the right hand wall. Jonny sat staring at the floor on the farther side. Hadji sat nearer, angled toward his brother so Jessie was looking mostly at his back.

She felt like she didn't recognize them. Hadji was his usually calm self, turban in place, impeccably dressed, but the slight tremor in his voice somehow changed him entirely.

And Jonny.

He was just not himself. No sunny smile. No bright eyes. Any other time, he would have sensed her immediately and turned to greet her. Any other time, she would have announced her entrance by now.

The worst was just how quiet he was. Jonny wasn't quiet. Not ever. "Noisy" seemed to be part of his personality. If he'd just say one word, Jessie would take back every crack she'd made about wishing he had a mute button.

He turned his head toward her. For a moment she met his gaze, but a moment was all she could take. Just as Hadji noticed something had Jonny's attention and was looking over his shoulder to see what, Jessie twisted out of the entrance.

She pressed a hand over her mouth to stifle the sob that threatened to expose her. She turned and fled in case one of them came out looking for her.

She ran right into her parents just coming in the door. They looked startled at her sudden appearance, and then more so at the fresh tear tracks on her face.

"Jessie, are you okay?" her father asked.

Jessie looked at him, not sure what to say. She hadn't been okay since…

Don't think about it!

Race took a step toward her. "Your mother's here."

"Jessie," Estella spoke gently.

Although she hadn't shown it, Jessie had hoped having her mother here would somehow make a difference.

Jessie now realized she couldn't have been more wrong.

Shaking her head, she backed away from her parents.

As much as she loved her mother, having her here was just one more person to have to deal with. One more person she couldn't face.

Jessie turned to run again only to find Hadji standing at the entrance to the hall she'd just come from. And Jonny standing farther back mostly in shadow, though Jessie was painfully aware of his presence and his eyes on her.

Dr. Quest appeared at the top of the stairs. "Race? Estella? Is that you?"

Too many people. She couldn't stand all of them looking at her.

She couldn't stand Jonny looking at her.

I'm sorry.

Jessie ran away from her family, not caring where she went so long as she could be alone.


"And that's pretty much how things have been around here."

Benton, Race and Estella sat in Benton's study. Benton at his desk and Race and Estella on the loveseat.

After Jessie had fled, Race had let Estella go after her. He knew nothing he said would've kept Estella from her daughter in that moment. But Jessie had hidden herself well and Estella reappeared twenty minutes later with no clue where her daughter was.

Jessie didn't show up at all.

When night had fallen and Jessie still hadn't shown herself, Race took a moment to have IRIS confirm that Jessie was still on the compound grounds and safe. That was all he could ask for right now, even though Estella tried to demand IRIS tell her where Jessie was hiding.

Race cancelled the demand. As worried as he was for his daughter, he knew violating her need to be alone would only send Jessie running even further away. He calmly explained such to Estella, who hadn't looked happy about it, but had agreed to let their daughter be.

"I really hoped you being here would give her someone she'd be comfortable around," Race said now to his ex-wife.

Estella squeezed his hand. "Perhaps it was just too much at one time. We all seemed to converge on her at once."

Hadji had taken Jonny to rest for the night in the far recesses of the mansion and Race had set up both his and Jessie's temporary beds in the rec room for when she did turn up. Estella had volunteered to stay with her for the night, but Race objected on the grounds that she at least get one good night of sleep after her long trip. Estella tried only once more to convince him, but when he stayed adamant, she acquiesced.

"Tomorrow night, however, you are getting some sleep," she had told him and Race took his turn not arguing.

He had come to Benton's study with the intention of checking the news only to find Benton in here just finishing a call to Mr. Fitzmichael. When Race raised his eyebrows in question, Benton had just shook his head.

Just as Race had been settling into the love seat, Estella appeared and joined the men.

"You don't have to watch this. I just need to keep updated on what's being said about us out there."

"Stop trying to protect me, Race. You've got your hands full enough protecting Jessie and Jonny right now."

Race was too tired to argue. He ordered IRIS to bring up any news stories relating to the Quests. A painting large enough to cover almost the entire wall opposite the loveseat suddenly changed and revealed that it was in actuality a TV screen. A news story two days old began to play.

The local news stations were still running short blips, though they didn't have anything new to add. The national news stations had finally picked up the story and they told it in context with a more detailed background story of the Quests. The family had made the national news many times before, and many of those stories were now referenced by the anchors.

But it was the last news story that worried Race, and Benton too by the look on his face.

Race didn't recognize Mrs. Ellis at first. The last time he'd seen her she'd been wearing a robe and the stench of stale alcohol and cheap cigarettes. The woman pictured on the screen looked professional and merciless. The messy ponytail had been replaced with a neat coif, the tired, wrinkled face painstakingly made up to make the woman appear younger.

Her eyes weren't bloodshot, but Race thought, even just looking at the image on a TV screen, that he recognized the slightly glassy appearance in them that said she wasn't totally sober.

Even more startling than her appearance was the words she spoke to the crowd of reporters surrounding her.

"I will make sure the person responsible for the murder of my son is punished to the full extent of the law."

She sounded the same as she had the day Race met her, even if she looked like a completely different person. Cold. Businesslike.

"Shut it off, IRIS," Benton ordered.

The news story disappeared and the painting returned.

Race continued to stare at the screen.

Could the woman really not be aware of what her son had been doing before Jonny had…interrupted him? Or was she in denial?

Or perhaps she didn't care.

"I will not let her get away with this," Benton stated.

Race nodded. "Sounds like another call to Mr. Fitzmichael is in store."

Benton reached for the phone.