Dating An Urban Legend
(The Tale of Jonathon and Danielle)
By Thomas Mc

Chapter 14 : Life Changes

It was horrible." Jonathon told them, shame in his voice as he looked up at those around him. "Far worse than that time in Professor Daniels office. I felt the darkness inside me taking over. I knew what I was doing and I didn't care. I terrorized that man. I became the demon that he feared."

William could feel the shame and self loathing that was building within his son and knew that he must help his son get past it or it would continue eating at him until it took over.

William opened his mouth but before he could speak, Michael responded. "You were protecting Danielle. I would have done the same thing. Anyone of us would have done the same in your place."

William finally spoke. "I understand what you went through. We all have that dark side to our natures and it can rise up when we are protecting the ones we love. You have both the advantage and the disadvantage of knowing exactly what effect you are having on others." He placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "I went through something similar when I rescued your mother from a gang of thugs in Central Park. Your brother went through it in spades when he rescued Alexandra and killed those terrorists. It is frightening what we are capable of under such conditions."

As he listened to William, Michael figured it was about time he repaid at least a small part of the debt he owed this family and jumped in. "Of course you are horrified by what you are capable of doing . . . what you did do. But understand that in similar circumstances I could be just as vicious and deadly as you. I have been." Jonathon and William both looked at him in surprise. He glanced over at William momentarily and took a deep breath, then he continued. "Where you use claws, strength and physical appearance, I used guns, knives and clubs." He paused, his eyes boring into Jonathon's. "What I did as a teenager, I did merely to feed my hate. What you did, you did for love of another. In my book that puts you several notches above me on the side of good."

Danielle saw her mother gently take her father's hand and interlace her fingers in his.

Michael glanced over at his wife with a soft smile for her understanding and support, then he looked back at Jonathon. "If you are looking for condemnation for your actions, you won't find it here . . . only gratitude." He glanced over at Danielle. "To be honest I am amazed at the restraint you showed. None of those men were seriously injured. I can not begin to understand what it was like for you, but I do know that you did the right thing, what you had to do. I don't think I would have been that merciful. Just consider that you stopped those men from hurting Danielle and, I suspect, prevented something far more sinister from happening. You must put those bad feelings behind you. Part of growing up is learning to deal with our darker side and not letting it rule us." He gripped Jonathon's shoulder. "You used that dark side of yourself only as much as necessary, then put it away. That's part of being an adult."

Danielle glanced over at her father in admiration. She had seen the slow change in Jonathon's eyes as her father had begun to get through to him. She also was aware that, surprisingly, she was feeling just a hint of Jonathon's emotions. She started to let her love for Jonathon and pride in him flow through her and saw his reaction to it in his eyes and felt a faint echo of it in her mind.

After awhile Danielle's and Jonathon's parents went into another room and left them to be alone while they talked over what had happened. The one thing that had remained unsaid, though it was obvious to everyone, was that it was because of her association with Jonathon that they had attempted the abduction. When he brought that up, she told him quite bluntly that she didn't care about that. She loved him. So he was stuck with her and she was counting on him to be there to keep her safe.

Finally William, Patricia and Jonathon headed for home. Once they were gone, Danielle confronted her parents about the connection between her relationship and what had happened.

"Mom, Dad," She began. "I know what you're thinking. It's because of my connection with Jonathan that this happened. I know that my relationship with him puts me in some difficult situations . . . dangerous situations." She took a breath, defiance in her eyes and her posture. "I don't care about that and I'm not going to let it scare me off."

Both her parents looked back at her, surprised at the intensity of her attitude. Michael responded. "I will admit that your mother and I have both thought about this, even worried about it sometimes. We have even talked about it a few times." He looked over at his wife. "Being involved with Jonathon puts you squarely in the middle of a very precarious situation. On one side you have dangerous prejudice and superstition to deal with. On the other you have deadly terrorists. We both love you and we don't want you hurt . . ."

Danielle jumped in, her eyes flashing with determination. "It doesn't matter. I love Jonathon and I'm not going to abandon him. Nothing is going to change my mind."

Michael reached out and grasped her shoulder. "We know that honey. We understand. As I was saying, we both love you and we don't want you hurt," He held up his other hand to forestall her when she opened her mouth. "But, We both however agreed that this was your decision and we support your determination to not let it affect things between you and Jonathon." He glanced over at his wife. "We believe in your judgment and we believe in Jonathon's love for you." He released Danielle and took Julie's hand as his gaze bored into Danielle. "It's people like you, with the strength of their convictions, that gives me hope for the rest of us."

~ ( BatB ) ~

The next evening Jonathon and Danielle met with Phillip at the police station where they gave their official statements.

Phillip filled them in on what had happened. "We substituted undercover police officers for those five men and Danielle. Then they met the ones that had paid for it and we got it all on video. They wanted to use Danielle as leverage against Jonathon to use him to get to Alexandra. She is apparently too well protected to get to directly. Then they were going to use Alexandra to get to Alexander. It was all part of an assassination plot that would also have discredited the Wells-Chandlers and lay the blame for it on you and Alexander. They seriously miscalculated when they didn't take the bond into account."

He glanced at a folder he was holding. "Those five men were all religious fanatics and not too bright." He shook his head. "They never realized that snatching a member of Alexander's family is like waving a beacon and saying here I am, come get me. Anyways, thanks to you the plot was foiled before it ever got off the ground and we have been able to trace their connections to a high ranking leader in the terrorism network." He smiled. "The news release coming out this evening on the case will not only expose the plot but will make it impossible for them to get any credibility if they try anything like that again." He shook both their hands. "We have damaged the terrorist's public image even further and scored a significant strategic win in the war on terrorism, thanks to you."

~ ( BatB ) ~

The next few days were taken up with mid-terms. Then it was time for Spring Break. Jonathon and Danielle both went down to Washington D.C. to visit her grandparents and his brother and sister-in-law. Alexandra had called the night before they left to inform everyone that she was pregnant. When they arrived Danielle informed Alexandra that Norman had been so happy he had very nearly danced a jig when told about the pregnancy last night.

Jonathon stayed with Alexander and Alexandra. Danielle stayed with her grandparents. Each day they would get together for a day of sight seeing and entertainment. The evenings were alternated between families. The last half of the week Alexander and Scott Myers had to go to California with the President.

~ ( BatB ) ~

Danielle was in the library working on her American History paper when she got a text message that Dan and Leo were on-line again. She checked but she didn't have her wireless module for her laptop so she headed over to the section of the library where the public computers were set up. As she entered the room she spotted Jonathon over at one of the computers in the farthest back corner. She immediately went over to him and saw that he was in the chat room. With a quick scan of the screen she saw that Dan and Leo were on the subject of the war against the terrorists and they seemed to be in complete agreement. Dan was currently expounding on the recent invasion of the last of the sanctuary countries.

Jonathon started typing and, to Danielle's surprise, his words appeared under Leo49. She sat down next to him. "I thought Leo was Doctor Logan's ID." She whispered to Jonathon in disbelief.

Jonathon hit his [Enter] button as he chuckled. "It is her's." He glanced at Danielle, smiling. "I got into a conversation with her the beginning of last October and told her about my problems with Professor Daniels. She suggested I try talking to him on-line. I told her I had tried but he always signed off as soon as I signed on. That's when she suggested that I use her chat room ID when I want to talk to him. Otherwise I use my own ID." He started typing again in response to Professor Daniels' response to a third party. When he finished he turned his attention back to Danielle. "At the beginning of this semester she told me that she had enjoyed the Dan and Leo debates and I was welcome to continue using her ID for those debates. . . at least while I'm still a student here."

"And she doesn't mind that your views sometimes disagree with hers?" Danielle asked.

"She said I was free to express my opinions as long as I didn't embarrass her or try to cause trouble. She told me that our debates had provided her with a lot of fodder for her classes." He replied. "By the way, remember that only Doctor Logan and I are supposed to know about this, so mum's the word." He was again typing.

Danielle was startled by the sound of a chuckle coming from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see the very same Doctor Logan standing behind her and smiling. "Actually the Smithsonian archivist also knows that you and Daniels are the true authors and that is how it is recorded in their records. What's the subject this time, Jonathon?" She asked.

"The war on Terror." He replied.

Doctor Jeannie Logan moved to Jonathon's other side and sat down. "Hello, Danielle." She said quietly.

"Hello, Doctor Logan." Danielle shrugged her shoulders and settled back to watch and enjoy the debate which had now taken on a whole new dimension for her. Soon she and Doctor Logan were both having to stifle their laughter at some of the more pointed comments by both Dan and Leo.

~ ( BatB ) ~

Danielle's mother was getting just a tiny bit frayed around the edges. Wayne and Kay's wedding was just two weeks away and she was beginning to feel the tension. After a few minutes of watching her fidgeting in the kitchen, Danielle commented to her. "If Wayne's wedding is this hard on you, how are you ever going to manage to handle it when I get married?"

Julie looked at her daughter a moment then shook her head with a quick half snort of a laugh. "I have no idea."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll elope." She responded.

"Don't you dare rob me of my one legitimate excuse to go totally bonkers." She laughed, easing some of the tension. Danielle's little brother, Mathew, entered the house with a girl in tow. She was a new girlfriend that he had met in one of his classes. He wanted her to meet the family and show her off. She was a very sweet person and Danielle liked her immediately. After a short time getting to know her, Mathew and his girl left on their movie date.

"When it rains, it pours." Julie remarked as she gazed at the closed front door. "But it was bound to happen eventually."

"At least she's nice." Remarked Danielle. "Remember the first girl Wayne brought home?"

Julie shivered. "Ooooo, that one is burned into my memory. I thought your father was going to blow his top or have a heart attack. I have never seen him turn that red before or since."

"I thought there was going to be an all out war between Daddy and Wayne." Danielle laughed. "At least Wayne came to his senses fairly quickly and dumped her."

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. It was Jonathon, there to pick up Danielle for their date. Before they left, Jonathon informed them that just this morning they had got the news that Alexandra was carrying twins. He told them the news had certainly caused a bit of excitement at both the Chandler-Wells and the Holt households. After they left Danielle's mother smiled and mumbled to herself. "Neither of your brothers can hold a candle to you when it comes to bringing home the most unusual date."

~ ( BatB ) ~

Danielle stood beside Jonathon as they threw rice at the new bride and groom. The wedding had gone off smoothly in large part because Jonathon and Danielle had made it their mission to see to it. As the limo carrying her brother and new sister-in-law pulled away, Jonathon interlaced his fingers through hers and kissed her hand.

Then she heard her other brother's voice behind her.

They turned around and were faced with her younger brother Mathew and his new girlfriend. She was just a little bit afraid of Jonathon and tried to keep Mathew between them.

Jonathon displayed the half smile that didn't show his fangs. "Mathew, I don't think I've met your friend."

Mathew put his arm around her and drew her to his side. "This is my friend, Lou Gallagher."

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Miss Gallagher." Jonathon nodded to her.

Between Jonathon's voice and Mathew's protective arm around her, Lou slowly began to lose some of her fear. "Thank-you." She responded meekly.

"Danielle and I are going to an ice-cream place over by Central Park. Would you and Mathew like to come with us?" He asked them. He glanced at Danielle. "We would both enjoy your company."

"I've heard about that place. DeeDee said that it's a great place." Mathew looked over at his girl. "How about it Lou?"

She glanced back and forth nervously between Jonathon and Mathew. "Uh . . . well . . . OK?"

"Great." Jonathon responded and they headed out.

~ o ~

As they sat in the decades old Kalyane's Ice Cream Parlor and talked, Danielle could see Lou gradually lose her nervousness and warm up to Jonathon. The discovery that she had a passion for Shakespeare went a long way to easing tensions.

You just didn't grow up in the tunnels, like Jonathon had, without learning all about, and developing an appreciation for, Shakespeare. Jonathon was particularly fond of Shakespeare's comedies and was delighted to find a fellow fan of the bard.

Before long Jonathon and Lou were discussing the finer points of 'The Taming of the Shrew'. Danielle and Mathew just observed the exchange in silence. They were completely out of their depth on this particular subject. Jonathon mentioned that Shakespeare in the Park was doing 'Twelfth Night' next weekend and suggested that they all go together. Lou was all for it and Mathew and Danielle were obliged to go along.

~ ( BatB ) ~

It was the first day of testimony on the trial of the fanatics and terrorists that had tried to kidnap Danielle. She and Jonathon both spent a grueling day on the stand. The defense attorney had been particularly vicious but Danielle had stood her ground and he had been unable to shake her.

During the cross examination of Jonathon, the defense attorney tried to discredit him by playing up his alienness to turn the jury against him. Jonathon however used his differences to his advantage and soon had torn the lawyers arguments to shreds.

Every time the defense lawyer tried to trap or twist Jonathon around, he would sense the lawyer's emotional buildup and easily outmaneuver him. The lawyer finally realized that Jonathon was anticipating his every move and countering it so he quickly dismissed him from the stand.

As he left the stand Jonathon could feel as well as see the hate and fear in the eyes of the defense attorney who had never encountered someone that could so easily anticipate and out flank him like Jonathon had done.

~ ( BatB ) ~

The news media was full of the trial of the terrorists and the fanatics that had been involved in the kidnapping attempt on Danielle and the subsequent assassination plot. The reports of Jonathon and Danielle's testimonies had caused quite a stir of outrage over the attempted kidnapping in the media. As details of the plan to pin the blame on the Wells-Chandlers came out, it created a lot of sympathy for Jonathon and his family. President Carlton made a statement condemning such a cowardly plan.

Danielle turned off the video in disgust. "How could they think they would get away with it?"

"There are still some that are not really sure about them yet." Lou responded a bit sheepishly. "Like I was until I got to meet Jonathon in person." She shrugged. "I still feel a tiny bit nervous when I see those claws. I can't help it."

"But you don't let it rule your judgment." Mathew declared proudly.

"It's hard to dislike someone that loves Shakespeare." Lou remarked.

Mathew shrugged. "If you say so." He wasn't too sure about this Shakespeare stuff, but if Lou liked it he would go along.

"I barely knew Shakespeare existed until Jonathon dragged us to see 'Mid Summers Night Dream' last summer." Shania added with a laugh as she leaned into Danny.

"Used to be, unless it had something to do with the Creature of Central Park, you just weren't interested." Pamela teased.

Jonathon came down the great spiral stairway. "It's just about time to head out. You guys ready to go?"

They all responded yes.

Together they headed out the door and across the street to the park. It was a beautiful Spring day and they all enjoyed the walk through the park. Danielle had begun developing an interest in Shakespeare since last summer and Jonathon had given her some advanced coaching about today's play so she was looking forward to the performance.

~ o ~

The play had been delightful and even Mathew had enjoyed it. Danielle and Lou were discussing the similarities between Viola in 'Twelfth Night' and Rosalind in 'As You Like It'. First Mathew then Lou got very surprised looks on their faces. Then Danielle noticed that all of her friends were grinning as they gazed at something behind her, and turned around. Jonathon was holding a bouquet of a dozen roses, that he had not had a few seconds ago, and grinning wide enough to show all four fangs.

"It is exactly one year ago today that we met on that plane to D.C." He handed the roses to her. "You changed my life that day and made it so much better."

She took the roses and breathed in their aroma, then she became aware of something bumping against the back of her hand. She turned the bouquet around and saw that the ribbon around the stems had a ring attached to it. She looked up in surprise to see Jonathon on one knee before her. "Danielle, everything in my life is better, brighter, more alive, when I'm with you and I never want to be without you. Will you honor me with your hand in marriage?"

For nearly ten seconds Danielle stood there stunned. Then when the tension was becoming unbearable she shook off her paralysis. She looked into his golden eyes. "Yes." She replied simply. Then, to the cheers of her friends, she threw her arms around him and they kissed.

Continued in Part 15

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.