Author's Note: Hello all and welcome to the story. The title is more of a nod to the song from the late 50's Smoke gets in your eyes and referencing the Stardust Crusaders arc in which the fic takes place rather than using the meaning of the phrase stardust in your eyes which means to be unrealistically optimistic. With this being the introduction, I have published this and the next chapter simultaneously.
I was never really interested in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventures anime but began watching it on a whim when I was hopelessly bored. I actually liked it a great. It's dramatic and humorous and the characters are actually quite captivating and sometimes endearing. I did not start out thinking I would ever write a fic for this fandom but here it is. It's not action and adventure, but more of a family type drama with bits of comedy and romance mixed in. Which isn't that the basis of the JJBA anyway? The Joestar family drama carried through the centuries?
Anyway...I hope you enjoy these first two chapters. I'll try to make sure it's not long before more follows.
Joseph Joestar placed the stack of pants in his suitcase as his wife neatly folded his shirts. He was packing for his emergency trip to Japan. His daughter called him last night to tell him his grandson very nearly killed four men then turned himself into the police. Although his mother bailed him out, the boy refused to leave the cell claiming to be possessed by an evil spirit and it was safer for everyone if he stayed locked up.
"Crazy kid," Joseph muttered irritably, walking over to his dresser.
"Don't forget to pack extra underwear, dear," his wife told him as she put the shirts in his suitcase.
"Yes, darling," he returned, grabbing four extra pairs as his wife had instructed.
"That boy...," she murmured worriedly. "I just can't imagine what got into him."
"Maybe he just needs some sense knocked into him. His mother has always been too soft on that kid," he said, passing his wife who went to his dresser to retrieve his undershirts.
The doorbell rang signaling his car must be here to take him to the private airport belonging to the Speedwagon Foundation. He had called in a favor, although he had been out of them long ago, requesting a flight to Japan due to a family emergency. As always, the Foundation started by his grandfather Jonathan's best friend was quick to help.
"I'll get it," Suzi Q sang out as she left the room.
Joseph paused his packing to watch her go. He sighed sadly. She was moving slower these days. She was forgetting more too. He worried about her. A call to the doc would be in order to send over their nurse to check on her while he is gone. Although he found it completely unnecessary, the Joestars had been appointed their own private nurse by the Foundation to perform regular health exams and make infrequent home visits just to check up on them.
Glancing in the mirror, he took in his own reflection. The gray hair on his head and face swiftly reminded him of his own advanced years. The deep lines of time had etched themselves into his face, particularly around his eyes. But a lot of those wrinkles were laugh lines from the many years of happiness his loving wife had given him.
He didn't have to look this way - old. He could have used the power of ripple to maintain his youthful appearance and slow down the march of time like his mother did. However, he could not bear the thought of leaving his Suzi Q alone to suffer the natural ravages of time alone. The decision to grow old with her had been an easy one.
"Jojo, come down please," Suzi called to him through the intercom system from the foyer.
"Almost done! Be down in a minute!" he shouted out of the second floor bedroom door, his booming voice echoing off of the walls all the way down to the vacuous foyer below.
A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the open door.
"I said - " Joseph began, whirling around from his suitcase. The rest of the words halted on his tongue when he turned to see their nurse standing there.
"Hi, Grandpa Joe," she greeted him affectionately using the familial term for him she had adopted a few months ago. Since she was always around, he thought of the girl as his own granddaughter more so than the nurse who always took care that's why insisted she call him Grandpa.
"Hi there," he returned, tossing his socks into the suitcase. "What are you doing here, Layla?"
"Doc asked me come by and give you a quick check up before you go," she explained, holding up the black bag that reminded him of the ones old country doctors in movies carry around when making house calls. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fit as a fiddle," he proudly declared, puffing out his big barrel chest and thumping it with his fists like a gorilla. "I don't need a check up. I just had one last month."
"Yes, well, Doc insisted to make sure you're in perfect health to make that jaunt half way across the world. Next time take a commercial flight rather than asking for an emergency charter from the Speedwagon Foundation," she said, placing her bag on the bed.
Suzi entered the room to stand beside her husband. "There's nothing wrong with a little caution, darling. But that's something you've never understood is it?"
"Hmph," he snorted indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest like a defiant child as the nurse pulled her stethoscope out of the bag. "I told you, I don't need - "
"Unbutton your shirt please," Layla requested, placing the earpieces in her ears and holding the bell as she waited for him to comply.
Joseph could feel the eyes of both his wife and nurse on him as they waited for him to unbutton his shirt so she could listen to his heart. Neither one of them said a word or repeated the request - they just stared and waited.
"Ugh, fine," he groaned, giving into the pressure of the two stubborn, silent women.
Joseph watched her face as she pressed the diaphragm of the device to the t-shirt covering his chest. Layla appeared to be in her early twenties with flawless porcelain skin and round softly blushed cheeks to add to her youthfulness. Her smooth forehead furrowed into wrinkles instantly aging her to about the mid thirties. He had yet to determine her age exactly. Though brash and often speaking without thinking, he knew better than to ask a woman her age.
The nurse reminded him a lot of Suzi the first time saw her. She always wore her honey blond hair wound up in a bun at the crown of her head like a ballerina. Her eyes were an unmistakable warm mahogany, deep and dark and always kind. Although brown, unlike his dear wife's, they contained that same sparkle and kindness he saw in the blue eyes of his beloved Suzi Q. Maybe that's why he had developed such an affection for her. He wondered if Holly had been blessed with a second child, a daughter, if she would be like Layla.
Joseph wished Jotaro could meet a woman like her. A strong, feisty woman who could handle the bullshit his grandson dished out. He did not know what kind of girl Jotaro would go for physically, but Layla was certainly easy on the eyes. Maybe his grandson could find as much happiness with someone like her as he had with his sweet Suzi Q.
Kind and smart with a quick wit, even tempered and strong willed too, the caring nurse was a lot like his wife and daughter. But with a dash of extra spice. Layla spoke her mind; with attitude when necessary. She detested arrogant, self-important men who looked down on others. More than once she had put the good doctor in his place lest he think too much of himself because of those two little letters behind his name.
"Layla?" Joseph called to her softly as she continued to move the stethoscope around on his chest while listening carefully.
She slid the stethoscope down and across his ribs, tickling him lightly. He wrenched his body away from her and inhaled through his teeth with a hiss. An impish grin formed on her face as if she had done that on purpose. However, she continued to move the stethoscope about on his abdomen listening to all of the internal workings of his gut before moving back up to his chest.
He did not like how much attention she was giving to his heart especially as her face continued to pinch in deep thought, her lips pursing in contemplation. She looked like a little fish. She always did that when thinking hard.
As a member of the Speedwagon Foundation, Layla knew the whole story about the Pillar Men who implanted the 'wedding rings' inside of him that would have killed him had he not defeated them. She used to tease him about it when listening to his heart, asking what it was like to be engaged to two god like men at once. He didn't care too much for her good natured joking on that subject so she dropped it pretty quickly.
Joseph grabbed the bell of the listening device out of her hand, pulling it up to his mouth.
"Hey, Layla," he spoke directly into it making her jump and scream.
"Dammit, Joseph Joestar," she shrieked, snatching the earpieces out of her ears with one hand while punching him in his brawny bicep with the other.
A dull ache formed, radiating through his upper arm. The power behind her hit surprised him. He massaged his arm to make the pulsing pain go away. He had definitely suffered much, much worse.
"Since you're so worried about me, would you like to go to Japan with me?" he asked as she looped the stethoscope back around her neck.
"As much as I would like to take a vacation, I can't," she returned, picking up his hand to examine the metal and somewhat robotic prosthetic.
"Well, it's not really a vacation, but more of a family emergency," he said, waving his hand. "I was thinking maybe you could examine Jotaro because we don't know what's ailing the boy. You should go for medical purposes. You could keep an eye on me too."
"Uh huh," she muttered, dropping his hand and meeting his gaze. "They have doctors and nurses there I'm sure. Looking after you in a foreign country sounds like more work than I'm up for right now. You're perfectly healthy, Grandpa." She tapped his chest over his heart. "Your heart is strong as ever. You don't need a babysitter."
"You would be babysitting Jotaro. Not me," he corrected her.
"Hmph," she exhaled through her nose, zipping up her bag. "As much fun as that sounds, I will have to pass. Although I've been charged with being your private nurse, I also have other patients to take care of as well."
The doorbell rang again.
"Coming!" sang out Suzi although no one could hear her but Joseph and Layla. She sashayed out the door.
"Hey, Layla, will you do me a favor?" Joseph asked her in a voice much lower than his normal volume.
"What is that, sir?" she inquired, halting at the bedroom door.
"Please come by and check on Suzi. Her memory hasn't been that great lately," he said, trying to hide his concern but he knew the nurse had picked up on it by the sweet and reassuring smile she gave him.
"I will certainly do that," she promised.