Disclaimer: Saban owns Jason, Kat, and the rest of the P.R. set. I don't own them, and as a result, I don't get paid for this. The title is part of a line from Tennesee Williams.
This fic is dedicated to my parents, who just celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary.
"Sweetie, this is the bouquet I ordered - white roses and pink tea roses with some white orchids sprinkled in." Jason yanked himself back to the present from where he had been detailing instructions for teaching a new kata to his students in his head. His fiancée held out a small jumble of sample flowers to him. "Jason?"
"I'm sorry," Jason apologized, looking at the bouquet. "It looks lovely."
Katherine Hillard nodded. "I thought so. Now for the centerpieces I ordered…"
Jason groaned inwardly. He knew that Kat was excited, and wanted to share what would be at their wedding on that coming Saturday, but the flowers were boring him to tears. Besides, they had already been ordered, and as the wedding was only two days away, Jason doubted that if he disapproved of the floral arrangements (which he knew he wouldn't - Kat had such good taste) there was anything to be done about the fact. Kat glanced over at his face. A comic expression that revealed his predicament graced Jason's features, and Kat smiled gently. "All right. I'll call Tanya, I know she'll be more interested going over this for the thousandth time. I'm sorry, I'm just so excited. You're being very patient, and I appreciate it. But if you want to go, I understand."
Jason searched Kat's face. "Are you sure? Because I will look at the centerpieces you ordered if you want."
Kat shook her head. Actually, she was semi-surprised that Jason had been so agreeable to listening in the first place, and she was willing to give him credit for that. Tanya probably had better taste in flowers anyway and would be much more enthusiastic to see what Kat had purchased.
Relieved, Jason leaned down and kissed his fiancée. "All right then. I'll be at the dojo. Are you sure you're not upset with me leaving?"
Kat smiled. "No, go on. There will be plenty of years ahead of us for me to get even for this - a night at the ballet, perhaps? I'll spare you this time."
After making plans to meet Katherine later, Jason left Kat's apartment. Walking into the park, he began the hike across. The dojo was on the other side, and while Jason did have a car, he'd walked to Kat's apartment earlier in the day, since the weather had been so nice. Jason didn't mind. It gave him a chance to think as he meandered toward the dojo.
As they had planned in high school, Jason and Tommy had gone into business together, creating a modest dojo with a variety of classes, ranging from training serious contenders to those who just needed a confidence boost or learned martial arts for personal enjoyment. The formula had been successful when pitted against the highly competitive dojos that existed in Angel Grove. Jason and Tommy's students that had the time, patience, and ability necessary to reach the competitive circles invariably did well, giving the dojo a good reputation, but both senseis realized that not everyone had the talent or desire to compete. Parents appreciated the fact that Tommy and Jason did not push the children to merely be competitive. Jason and Tommy only pushed each child to the best of the child's individual ability.
Jason loved working with his advanced classes, and the incredible talent ensconced there, but he also loved his class of students where they would reach a black belt eventually from sheer hard work and determination, but did not have the athleticism to excel. Teaching them reminded him fondly of teaching Billy, who had attained his black belt after many, many training sessions, frustrations, and, grinned Jason, hands-on fighting experience. Jason felt that that type of student often taught him more than he taught them. They showed him what real tenacity was all about, and challenged him to come up with more innovative methods of teaching.
Jason sighed. He had to admit, despite the fact that he was truly ready to get married and loved Kat more than life itself, it was only a matter of days until he threw off the mantle of 'bachelor' which he had carried proudly for twenty-five years, and the thought scared him a little. Thinking of the chronology of his relationship with the woman he loved, he remembered with a smile when he had met Kat again after she'd come home from Europe four years ago.
"Ki-yah!" shouted Jason's white belt class in unison.
"Very good work today," Jason congratulated his class. "Keep practicing, and I'll see you next week." He bowed to the eight young people and walked out of the classroom and into the office, wiping sweat off his brow. Tommy was sitting on the desk.
"Hey, bro," Tommy said, grinning at his business partner. "I was wondering, did you have dinner plans for tonight?"
Jason shook his head. "Nope, what's up?"
"Well, Kat's back from England, and she, Kim, and I were going to go out. I don't want her to feel awkward with just the two of us and I figured it would be good if you were willing and able to come along."
Jason nodded. Kat and Tommy had broken up amicably when she'd left for the Royal Academy in London, and soon thereafter, had reunited with Kim. No one had been particularly surprised at the development, in fact, there had been a number of murmured whispers among their immediate friends of "Finally!" Tommy had lost little time in proposing, and would be getting married to Kim in a couple of months. Kat, however, had recently broken up with a fairly serious boyfriend at the Royal Academy. While there was no chance of Kat wanting Tommy back, Jason knew it could be hard to handle an evening with a couple so much in love when you had no one. I know how that goes, he thought ruefully. He loved Kim and Tommy, but after spending any considerable length of time with only the two of them together, the ache of loneliness in his heart usually just became more pronounced. "I'd love to come, I haven't seen Kat in a long time," he replied.
Indeed, he hadn't. Kat had grown her flaxen hair out so that it reached her waist, and while she'd been poised and graceful before her training, she was now even more so. Dinner had gone beautifully, and at the end of the evening, Jason had volunteered to walk Kat back to her house where she was staying with her parents. She kept a lively conversation going during the walk until Jason asked when she was going back to England.
A terse look flitted across Kat's face. "Actually, I'm not going back," she murmured.
"Why?" asked Jason, a little confused. Kat loved dancing! He had been under the impression that she would be offered a position with the Royal Company when she graduated the following year.
Kat sighed. "I got sick," she admitted. "They wanted me thin, then thinner until I finally just stopped eating. I lost the weight, but I was miserable. In short, it wasn't worth the price I would pay to keep dancing. I looked terrible, so after I dropped out, I stayed in England for a few months to gain back some of the weight so as not to upset my parents with my appearance. Once I looked better and had myself under control, I came home. I'm going to go to college and I want to become a physical therapist. I'll still dance, but on the side, for myself instead of for others."
Jason didn't know what to say. "Then you're staying here?" he finally managed to get out.
Kat nodded. "Definitely. I'm looking for an apartment right now."
"Well," said Jason as they reached the door, "Call me if you need any help moving or if you want to do something."
Kat smiled. "Thank you," she had said as she walked into her house. "Good night, Jason."
In the following months, they had met a couple of times for coffee or dinner. Nothing Jason would have considered dating, but after nearly a year of an ever-increasing number of visits, he had suddenly realized he had begun to have feelings that were distinctly more than friendship towards her. One night, dropping her back at her apartment, he had finally summoned the courage. At her door, he leaned down and kissed her lightly. Much to his surprise, she'd responded, her body pressing closer to his. The kiss had deepened, and when they'd finally pulled apart, both had known it was love.
Jason yanked his head out of the clouds as he approached the door to the darkened dojo. Once inside, he headed for the locker room. As he kicked off his shoes and changed into his gi to work out, he was glad for the solitude. He needed it. The last week or so had been occupied by talking to what seemed like hundreds of friends and family to get ready for the wedding, and while Jason loved people, he was thoroughly tired of being social for the day. Warming up with a slow kata, Jason began to relax. His mind went from the wedding to his form, and at last, he felt better.
Once Jason had finished working out, he didn't bother changing back to his street clothes, just stripped off the jacket of his gi down to his tank top, and pulled on his shoes. Grabbing his bag and his key ring, he began the process of shutting off the lights and locking up. The warm, humid California air struck him as he walked out of the dojo. Locking the front door, he yawned. Better get some sleep, he thought ruefully. Rehearsal dinner's tomorrow night, and then its D-Day. He groaned as the jitters from before hit him again. How did he know Kat was the right one? Stop it, he told himself, you've dated this girl for nearly four years. You know she's the right one. But what if she's not? Persisted the thought.
Jason's thinking was suddenly shattered by a shrill scream. Looking around him, he saw no one. Then the scream sounded again. It sounded like a woman. Jason hurried in the direction he had heard the sound coming from. Dashing down a darkened side street, he saw a blonde woman being held against the wall of the building by a larger man. "Hey!" shouted Jason, running toward the pair. To his horror, the woman resembled Katherine. Getting closer, he was relieved to see that it was not Kat, but the woman had an uncanny resemblance to his fiancée. "Leave her alone," Jason snarled, pulling the assailant away from the trembling woman. The thug, knowing when he was beaten, turned and fled. Jason considered going after him, but when his eyes rested upon the woman's face and took in the massive bruise near her temple, he reconsidered. Kneeling down beside her, he looked into her face. "Are you all right?" he asked gently.
Tears were flowing down her face. She nodded and then as the motion jarred her head, she sighed. "I…I don't know" she sobbed. Jason could tell she was badly shaken by the experience.
"Here," he said, carefully helping her up, "My dojo's right here, I can take a good look at your injuries, we have first aid supplies in there, and we can call the police."
The woman looked at Jason suspiciously. "I promise not to hurt you," he said, interpreting her expression. "I'm Jason, one of the teachers at the dojo."
She glanced again at him. While she was still a little nervous, the man had a calming presence that almost reminded her of her grandfather and father. "All right. My parents and fiancé are going to be pretty upset about this."
Unlocking the door to the dojo, Jason left her in a comfortable chair in the lobby to get a phone and first aid supplies. Coming back out with a towel full of ice, he handed it to her. "What happened?" he asked. In the light, the woman was younger than he'd realized, no more than her early twenties. She was still shaking, and Jason decided to try to calm her down just a little before he called the police. A son of a veteran police officer, he knew that they'd want to ask some pretty detailed questions about the attack, and that those could be hard to answer when calm, let alone still shaken and terrified.
"I'm getting married tomorrow evening." A smile crossed the girl's face at the thought. "But I got a little jittery, so I wanted to go for a walk. Angel Grove's pretty crime-free, and I thought I'd be safe, but apparently not."
"What's your name?" inquired Jason.
"Rachel. I'm named after my great-grandmother."
"Ah," said Jason with a smile. "My fiancée, Katherine, has the middle name of Rachel, from her some relative on her mom's side. What's your fiancé's name?" Jason continued with that line of questioning, noticing Rachel relaxing slightly as she talked about the man she obviously was very much in love with.
"He's named Jason," Rachel responded. Then looking at Jason, sitting beside her, she smiled, slightly amused. "Like you. And like my dad, actually. How's that for a coincidence?"
Jason nodded. "Interesting. So you were having pre-wedding jitters? I can understand, I'm getting married on Saturday."
Rachel had definitely begun to calm down. She was looking around the dojo with interest. "My dad used to own this building," she remarked.
"Really?" asked Jason, intrigued. He had not met the previous owner of the building, only the real estate agent selling it.
Rachel nodded. "Yep. He finally had to leave it because his business expanded too much for this smaller place. I think he'd be pleased to know that it stayed a dojo. He bought it with my uncle when he was younger, and he was pretty sad to leave it."
Jason stiffened slightly. He had not been under the impression that the building was a dojo, he remembered all the work that he and Tommy had gone to modifying it properly. However, a glance at Rachel's face showed no lie in her eyes or expression. Maybe she's just a little confused, Jason reasoned. After all, she had taken a pretty heavy blow to the head, and it was dark. Angel Grove had a number of buildings and streets that looked fairly alike. "Maybe we should go ahead and call the police," said Jason.
"That's a good idea," said Rachel.
Jason picked up the phone. He dialed swiftly and heard a voice on the other end. "Hi, I need to report an attack on a young woman. Yes, that's right, it's Jason." He listened with a smile. Brian, his father's friend at the station was the officer who had answered the phone.
"Well, Jason," Brian said, "There's been a bit of a to-do this evening - an attempted armed robbery over at the bank, and so most of the officers are out there. I'll make sure that someone gets over to you as soon as possible, but it's going to be about an hour.
"That's fine," answered Jason. "We're at the dojo, so it's comfortable and safe. But if you could, send someone soon. The young lady's getting married tomorrow, so let's try to have her home by midnight."
"It's ten now," confirmed Brian. "Yep, we'll make sure to do that. What a rotten night to get mugged - on the eve of your wedding." He snorted softly. "All right, Jason, take care. 'Bye."
"Well," said Jason, hanging up the phone and looking down at Rachel, "It's going to be a little longer. Sorry about that, I'm sure you're eager to go home."
"I am, but you're being very kind to stay with me and help."
Jason chuckled. "Getting married has put a lot of new things on my mind. If my wife, or - and here's a scary thought - a daughter of mine ever were in this situation, I'd hope that someone would be willing to help them."
Rachel nodded. "Thank you."
"No problem," Jason assured her. There was a silence. "I didn't know your father taught martial arts. What style?" Jason finally queried to break the quiet.
"Oh, he teaches a variety, but Shotokan Karate is his specialty. He's a fantastic teacher - he taught me a little bit of Karate, and used to talk with me about the history of the Shotokan style, but I'm pretty hopeless at martial arts."
Jason smiled, pleased to discover that she was familiar with his discipline. "So your dad went into business with his brother? That's pretty rare that you find two family members in a business like this together."
"Well," Rachel qualified her statement, "Uncle Thomas isn't exactly my dad's brother. He's actually my dad's good friend from high school. When we were born, calling him 'Mr. Oliver' seemed wrong, yet calling him just 'Thomas' felt odd too. So we just all started calling him Uncle Thomas, and it fits pretty well."
Jason nearly choked. What strange coincidence, he thought to himself.
To be continued…comments definitely appreciated.