The clock on the mantle was chiming 3:00 a.m. as Jonny opened the door and entered the silent, dark apartment. He was absolutely exhausted and it took all of his remaining energy to stumble through the apartment back to the bedroom. It was the third night in a row that he had been in the office before 7:00 a.m. and had not gotten home before two in the morning. One more day, he thought numbly as he stripped off his clothes and dropped them where he stood. If I can just make it through that presentation tomorrow morning . . . He crawled into bed and immediately felt Jessie snuggle up and wrap her arms around him. He burrowed against her shamelessly, burying his face into the crook of her neck.
"I was starting to wonder if you were even going to bother to come home tonight," she said, caressing his hair gently.
"I've just got to have this ready for tomorrow, Jess. They've got all of the divisions worldwide scheduled to tune in to this demo. I can't screw this up."
"You won't," she said with conviction. "You'll be wonderful."
"How can you be so sure?" he questioned, suddenly feeling very insecure. "What if I botch this and they decide that someone as young as I am has no business being responsible for something this important? If I lose this job, we're screwed. We're barely keeping ahead of the bills now, and I'll never be able to find anything . . ."
"Shhhh," Jessie shushed him, drawing him more tightly against her. "None of that will happen. You're doing a wonderful job, you're almost four months ahead of schedule on this project, and they aren't about to fire you. You're just working too hard and not getting enough rest. Go to sleep, love. You'll see. Everything will be better in the morning."
He mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "Love you . . ." and then sank into exhausted slumber, still clinging to her tightly. She lay still, waiting for his grip to ease and thinking about his obsessive drive to succeed. When the two of them had made the decision to move out of the Quest Compound and begin a life on their own, she thought she knew Jonny Quest. That he could be dedicated and tenacious when he set his mind to it went without saying, but even she had been astonished at the way he had thrown himself into his job. At first she had thought it had to do with a desire to prove something to his father, but two recent conversations had caused her to rethink that idea.
The first had come at the party on Friday night. She'd been talking to Blake Fearday and he'd made some laughing crack about Jonny being dumb. It had made her angry and she'd responded sharply. Blake had been surprised at her violent response and told her the words weren't his . . . that they were Jonny's. He assured her very strongly that the comment had been meant as a joke, and that he knew better than to think any such thing about his new friend. Mollified, she had apologized for her harsh tone and told him to forget it.
The second incident had been a discussion with Kefira on Sunday. Still disturbed by what Blake had said to her, she had talked to Kefira about it. The Indian girl told her about Jonny's conversation with Hadji and his feelings about his job. Those two conversations had shaken her. From his behavior and the way he had interacted with everyone at the Quest Compound, she never would have believed that Jonny felt outclassed in anything. True, he didn't like pure research, she'd known that for a long time. But to think that he felt second best because he didn't enjoy it while she and Hadji did? It hurt her to think that there were times when she might have made him feel inadequate or that she had attracted his father's attention when he needed it. She cuddled him even closer as she remembered the image of Benton Quest berating his son for not following in his footsteps while they were trapped in Surd's Thoughtscape program. Jessie's more like me than you'll ever be. Don't you see? She's the one following in my footsteps . . . trying to be a real scientist. Not you! Benton's voice echoed in her mind, igniting an unreasonable anger at both men. Surd had found Jonny Quest's weakness where none of the rest of them even realized it existed, and had utilized the image of his own father to drive it home.
She ran her hands down his back gently, feeling the smooth skin and nicely toned muscle under her fingers. If he liked this job so much, then she would endure whatever it took and would support him in every way she could so he had the chance to be as outstanding as she knew he could be. She would never let anyone make him feel inadequate or dumb ever again. And she wouldn't allow anyone to get in his way . . . not even his own father. ."
It was shortly before 7:00 a.m. when the phone on Stan Knight's desk rang. His eyebrows rose in surprise as his secretary informed him who was waiting on hold to speak with him. Pressing a button quickly, he said,
"Hello, Ms. Bannon. How are you this morning?"
"Very well, Mr. Knight, thank you."
He heard her hesitate and asked smoothly, "How can I help you? Are you looking for Jon? I'm not sure I've seen him come in yet, but he should be here any time. He hasn't missed a staff meeting yet."
"No, sir. Actually, I was looking for you. I know where Jon is, and that's why I'm calling." He felt her hesitate again and then she blurted out, "He's still in bed, sir, and I'm really hesitant to get him up. You see, he's been working nonstop on the presentation he's supposed to give tomorrow morning and he hasn't gotten more than two or three hours of sleep a night since last Sunday. He's just too tired to be able to think straight right now. I was hoping that you wouldn't object if I let him sleep late this morning so he's rested and clearheaded enough to get everything ready for tomorrow."
Stan sighed. "Jessica . . . may I call you Jessica?"
"Of course."
"Thank you. We're not trying to drive him to collapse. It's not a problem if that presentation isn't ready for tomorrow morning. All he had to do was say that he could use more time."
"I know, but it's so important to him that he make a good impression on everyone there . . ."
"May I ask you a question, Jessica?"
"Of course."
"Is it us he's trying to impress . . . or his father?"
Stan could almost feel her debating with herself as she contemplated the question. Finally, as if coming to a decision, she asked, "How much do you know . . . about us, I mean?"
"Very little. Jon simply doesn't talk about himself. Garrett Blackman and I know more than anyone else, I think, and then it's only the sketchy details Ben Sikes knows . . . that he's the son of Benton Quest, the world-famous scientist; that for some reason Jon was blacklisted at M.I.T., apparently due to action taken by his father; that Jon found out about it and the knowledge caused a falling out between father and son; and that finally, as a result, Jon chose to forego school and came to work for us."
"But you don't know what precipitated the break with his father?"
"No."
Jessie sighed. "I was the cause, Mr. Knight . . ."
"Stan," he said firmly.
"Stan," she acknowledged. "Jon and I had made a permanent commitment to each other . . . an emotional and physical one . . . and Jon's father objected to it. He thought we were too young." She paused for a second and when she continued, her voice had changed. "I had already accepted admission to M.I.T., and Dr. Quest told Jonny that he wouldn't allow us to attend the same school. He made it extremely clear that he wanted to put physical distance between the two of us for a couple of years."
Stan caught the shift in the way Jess referred to the young man immediately. The intimacy and the shaking drop in the tone of her voice made him shiver. These weren't facts, calmly recited. They were occurrences that were still excruciatingly real, the painful memories not yet muted by time . . . and still with the overwhelming power to sear.
"We made the decision that we weren't going to accept that," she continued, struggling to stay composed, "and began looking for other alternatives. We finished school while we searched for options and moved out as soon as we could support ourselves. For two and a half months, we both lived in his father's house under the most terrible emotional conditions you can imagine." By now, she was talking compulsively, unable to stop. "I would have gone to school somewhere else, Stan . . . it didn't have to be M.I.T. But Jonny knew how much I had wanted to attend there before all of this happened, and he wouldn't let me give up that dream."
"Why are you telling me this, Jessica?" Knight asked her gently, as she stopped for breath.
"Because you have to understand," she replied desperately. "Jonny's not dumb!" Her voice cracked on a sob and then she stumbled on frantically. "Ask Blake! Ask him what Jonny says about himself . . . how he was the dumb one of the three of us. So what if he doesn't like the kind of research his father does? He's smart and he's caring and he's capable of so much! You asked if he was trying to impress you or his father. I've known him since I was eight, Stan, and I've never seen him this happy doing anything. He's found a place for himself at Blackman Communications . . . one that he got on his own merits and where he's not living in his father's shadow. It's so important to him to do a good job for you . . . not to impress his father, but to validate himself." She stumbled to a halt, struggling to rein herself in as she realized just how much she was revealing to this man. Finally, in a subdued voice she asked, "Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
"Yes, I do," Stan replied gently. "I want you to know that we are pleased to have him here and are absolutely astounded at his capabilities. His father had nothing to do with our decision to hire him. It was his own skills and willingness to work that impressed us, and I promise you that we'll fight to keep him. But I'm also going to ask you for your help."
"To do what?"
"To help us see to it that he lives up to his promise. All of us here, from Garrett Blackman straight on down, recognize Jon's value and potential, and it's not going to be very long before the hard work he's already put in will be rewarded. This is strictly between you and me, okay?"
"Y-yes . . . okay," she replied.
"I have a real concern, Jessica, and its one Garrett shares. We've seen young men like Jon before. Whatever their reasons, they tend to be obsessive in their need to prove themselves, and all too often they're like shooting stars . . . they shine brilliantly for a short period of time and then they burn out. It's important that all of us . . . you, me, Garrett, Ben Sikes, his co-workers . . . watch him carefully and ensure that doesn't happen to Jon. We have to help him learn how to harness that drive and direct it properly so that he can turn it to useful purposes rather than letting it eat him up."
"Yes!" she replied eagerly. "What do you want me to do?"
"Exactly what you've just done. Watch over him . . . pull the plug when he pushes too hard. Then tell us when he gets like this . . . because he won't. All you need to do is call Garrett or I, or let Ben know when you're at school, and he'll see that the word gets passed on and that we find a way to ease the pressure. We're also going to get the admission ban at M.I.T. lifted so he can start school part time. If necessary, we'll make it a requirement of his job, so he feels obligated to make time for it. Encourage him to do that and work with him so that he can balance it all without having it come crashing down on him. As for right now, let him sleep, Jessica. When he gets in, I'll tell him that something has come up and that we are going to have to postpone that presentation for at least a week . . . maybe even two. That should ease things for now."
"Thank you," she said humbly, her relief and gratitude coming through clearly. "I don't know how I can ever repay you."
"By caring for him and helping us make certain that he shines for a very long time."
Finally, Stan heard a smile in her voice for the first time, as she replied, "You give me the easy job."
That made him laugh. "Good. Now, I better get to my staff meeting. I'll talk to you later, all right?"
"You can count on it!"
As Stan dropped the receiver back into the desk unit, he looked up and saw Garrett Blackman lounging against the doorjamb. "Jon?"
"Jessica . . . looking out for Jon's best interests. She's really something, you know that?"
"I got that impression on Friday night. That's a formidable pair, particularly considering how young they are. I think that if we mentor both of them very carefully, the two of them are going to make a significant contribution to this world one day."
"I believe you're absolutely right." ."
The sound of the door closing behind Jessie penetrated Jonny's sleeping mind and caused him to reluctantly drag himself to consciousness. He lay there staring at the ceiling in confusion, bewildered by the bright morning sunlight coming through the east bedroom window.
"Jess?" he mumbled. Only silence greeted him. "Jess?" he repeated, struggling into a sitting position. Twisting around, he peered at the clock. It took a moment for the time to register . . . 7:15. Suddenly, the significance struck him . . . 7:15 and it was Thursday . . . he was late for the morning staff meeting!
"SHIT!!!!" He shot out of bed like a bullet and flung himself across the room toward the bathroom. Any other time, he'd blow off a shower and just get dressed and make a run for the office, but he knew if he didn't do something to try to wake up, he'd never make it. He turned the cold water on full force and immediately dived in. He shivered convulsively as he soaped himself down and then rinsed off. His head ached dully from lack of sleep and still felt groggy as he toweled off and stumbled back into the bedroom to find something to wear. The phone began to ring just as he pulled on his shirt. Certain that it was the office wanting to know where he was, he picked up the phone and said hesitantly, "Hello?"
"Jonny?" his father's voice questioned, sounding surprised.
"Dad?" Jonny froze, balanced precariously on one leg as he attempted to pull on a sock. "Is something wrong?"
"No . . . no, nothing's wrong. I'd just called yesterday and you never called back. I was getting worried . . ."
"You did?" With the phone wedged between his shoulder and ear, he hopped awkwardly on one foot trying to keep his balance as he pulled on his second sock. "I'm sorry. I've got a big presentation coming up at work tomorrow and I stayed at the office until really late last night working on it. Jess was asleep long before I got home, and when I got here I just fell over into bed and didn't check the answering machine."
"Ah, that explains it. Well, since I've caught you at home, I want to talk to you about something."
"Yeah?" Jonny crossed to the closet for a clean pair of jeans and began tugging them on. He was only half-listening to his father as he tried to force his sleep-deprived brain to concentrate on everything he needed to accomplish that day, what he was going to say to Stan Knight about being late to work, and why Jessie would have let him oversleep.
"Jonny, I know that we haven't been getting along very well in the last several months and I was hoping that maybe we could try to find a solution that both of us could live with."
Jonny looked around again and spotted the pants he'd been wearing the day before draped across a nearby chair. He trotted over and pulled the belt off of them and began threading it through his belt loops. He scrambled desperately as his movements dislodged the phone, which was still wedged against his shoulder, and caught it just before it hit the floor. Putting it back to his ear, he said, "Dad, I'd really like to . . ."
"Let me tell you what I was thinking," Benton interrupted eagerly, thinking that Jonny was agreeing with him. "If you were to talk with your employer and get them to agree to let you work part time, I could talk to President Vest and see about getting you admitted to M.I.T. for spring term. You could probably work about 10 hours a week as long as you only carried about 14 hours. That seems fair, doesn't it?"
Jonny froze, his attention finally focusing on what his father was saying to him. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head desperately, unsure he'd heard his father correctly. Did he actually say that he thought he should only work . . .
"Ten hours a week?" he said uncertainly.
"Yes! I know the way you are, Jonny. I'm sure you could handle working that many hours and still have plenty of time to attend class and get your studies done."
"But Dad, I can't cut back like that! I barely manage to get everything done at work now. Furthermore, if I drop back from full time, we won't have the money to pay the rent, plus I lose all of my benefits, which means Jess and I don't have insurance or anything like that!"
"Jonny, if you'll do this, I'll pay your tuition and your rent. You won't need the money or the benefits, so it won't matter."
"Won't matter?" he responded incredulously. "Of course it will matter! What do you think I'm doing, playing an oversized game of House with Jess? These people pay me to do a job . . . a job that needs to be done. They rely on me . . ."
"Jonny, you're 18 years old." Jonny clearly heard Benton's hold on his temper starting to slip. "Do you honestly believe that they would turn that kind of responsibility over to someone so young without having some sort of a fallback plan? It's nice of them to give you a job, but . . ."
The condescension in his father's tone and the way Benton's words echoed his own inner fears destroyed the last of Jonny's self-control and he lashed out viciously, "You just can't stand it, can you? Can't stand the idea that I can manage on my own . . . that I don't need your help any more."
"Don't need my help?" Benton responded furiously, his voice rising sharply. "Do you honestly believe they would have even looked at you if it hadn't been for me? Whether you want to admit it or not, you have that job because you're my son, and . . ."
"This isn't about you!" Jonny screamed back at him. "It never has been. It's about ME . . . and what I'M capable of accomplishing. I may not be as smart as Jessie or Hadji, and I may not be able to do all that cutting edge research the way they can, but I've got my skills, too! But then, those don't matter to you, do they? If I can't follow in your footsteps, then all I'm good for is hanging around so you can look at me and remember Mom! Well, I'm sick of being a living portrait and of having to listen to you undermine me, and everything that I try to do." Jonny was so furious by this time he was barely even registering what he was saying any longer. Ruthlessly, he mimicked his father, 'You have to go to school, Jonny.' 'You're not old enough to know what you want, Jonny.' 'Things will look different in a few years, Jonny.' Well, let me tell you something, Father. I am old enough to know what I want! I am capable of getting it for myself! And I'll damn well starve before I take anything from you ever AGAIN!!!"
With that, he slammed the phone down, snatched up his wallet and keys, and stormed out of the apartment, never seeing the note that Jessie had left for him.
