Disclaimer: Nope, everything still belongs to Sandy Frank.
REUNION Part 2
I awoke the next morning to find a pair of gold eyes looking at me. Startled, I sat up to see a big yellow and white cat sitting on top of the quilt. "Hello. Who are you?" The cat just sat and looked at me. He got up and hopped onto the floor, squeezing through the partly open door.
"Reggie, what were you doing in there?" I heard Sam ask. "I'm sure Princess didn't appreciate your company." I heard her continue to talk to the cat as she walked downstairs. I looked at the bedside clock. Five minutes before 6:00. Time to get up I suppose. I grabbed my robe and walked downstairs to the kitchen.
Sam was busy making coffee, still talking to the cat as he sat on a bar stool in the corner. "Good morning," she said. "I hope Reggie didn't wake you."
"No, I usually wake up about this time. The coffee smells good."
"It's about ready. I don't drink it, but Jason can't live without it. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Don't go to any trouble on my account. I can fend for myself."
"I'm in the mood for French toast. Want some?"
"Sounds good. Do I have time for a quick shower first?"
"Sure. Don't worry about how much noise you make. Jason could sleep even if a freight train ran through the bedroom."
I laughed and went back upstairs. After showering and getting dressed, I repacked my overnight bag and took it out to the car. My plane didn't leave until 10 A.M. and I should be back at ISO by 3 P.M.
Sam had breakfast ready. We sat in the dining room and talked. I hadn't been able to talk Jason into considering coming back for a visit last night. Hopefully, I'd be able to convince Sam.
"Sam, I have something I want to ask you. Do you think that you could talk Jason into coming back home for a visit? I know he didn't leave on the best of terms, but the Chief and the others would like to see him."
She considered my request for a minute. "I won't make any promises, Princess, but I'll try. It might do him some good."
"How did you get Jason to tell you about the G-Force project?" I asked.
"I asked about the scar just above his hairline one day. He . he didn't want to say anything at first. I didn't push him, but he finally told me about what had happened to his parents when he was a kid and how Chief Anderson had taken all five of you in for various reasons. He told me about the cerebonic implant."
The implant. The day Jason for forced off the team, I remember Chief Anderson talking to the ISO doctors. They had wanted to remove Jason's implant, but after running a few tests, they found that it would kill him if the implant were removed. We had the implants since we were kids. Too much scar tissue had grown around them, making them nearly impossible to remove without killing us. I also remember the yelling that took place just before Jason walked out. Since the implant couldn't be removed, the Chief insisted Jason stay in ISO custody. Jason flat out refused. The Chief countered by saying he could force Jason to stay, which made Jason even angrier. He did quite a bit of damage to the security guards that tried to stop him. We never saw him again after that. Keyop had started watching the sports channels for auto races, hoping to see Jason. We always knew where he was and his standing in the ranks, but it wasn't the same.
"This may be a personal question," I said, "but how did Jason propose to you?"
"I wouldn't say he actually proposed," Sam replied. "It was more like 'marry me now'. I had the honor of being his co-driver for an endurance race from the southern Baja peninsula to Las Vegas. We had gone out a few times. I had even gotten him arrested a couple of times, which is a story in itself. We spent most of our time together in a garage with a car surrounded by mechanics. Not what you would call a romantic courtship. I was flabbergasted when he said 'let's get married' after we had won the race. It surprised him too. It surprised him more when I said yes. That was the first time we slept together. I'm not sure who was more nervous, him or me. Not how I pictured getting married and spending my honeymoon. It was three weeks before we told anybody what we had done. Mike and Mr. Pitney, our boss, reamed us both out good. Then they both threatened Jason's life if he ever did anything to hurt me. We were definitely off to a good start."
I laughed. Jason had an unfounded reputation of being quite a Casanova. I never did figure out how that started. I think Mark and Tiny knew, but they would never say anything. I suspect they may have been the ones to start the rumor. From the way they tell it, Jason's bedroom had a revolving door, but I never felt that way. He must have known Sam and I had been talking about him because he appeared in the doorway trying to stifle a yawn.
"My, my. Aren't we up early?" Sam said. "The way you were sleeping when I got up, I didn't think I'd see you before noon."
Jason just glared at her. "There had better be some coffee left."
"We left most of the pot for you, Mr. Sunshine. Want some breakfast?" "I'll get it," he said as he disappeared into the kitchen.
"If you can get him to change his mind, here's my card. Call me, please," I said. Sam and I had talked for over two hours before Jason had gotten up. "I need to get to the airport. My plane leaves at 10." I got up and took my dishes out to the kitchen. Jason stood in the middle of the kitchen with the biggest coffee cup I had ever seen. "It's nice to know that some things never change," I said. I earned a glare for that remark, but I did notice a quick smile before he turned away.
After rinsing my dishes and putting them in the dish drainer, I walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He put his cup down on the counter and pulled me into a bear hug. "Try not to be a stranger. Sam has my card. Call me sometime," I said.
"I will. I won't promise, but I'll try. Sam will make me."
"I'd like to see her do that."
"She will. Honest. She's a lot meaner than she looks. Anderson should have recruited her to go after Zoltar. The war would have ended a lot sooner."
I pulled back to look at him. I think he was joking, but I couldn't be sure. "I have to go. Take care, Jason." I said good-bye to Sam and he walked me to my car and gave me directions to the airport. Sam walked out and waved as I backed out of the drive. I waved and drove off.
The flight home was long and boring. Keyop met me at the airport. I couldn't believe how much he had grown over the years. He was tall and had filled out, finally outgrowing his awkwardness.
"Did you talk to him? Is he going to come?" he said as he hugged me.
"Yes, I talked to him. I don't know if he's going to come or not. I gave his wife my card and she's going to try to talk him into it."
Keyop looked at me as if I were speaking Spectran. "Did you say his wife? Jason got married? He always said he was never going to get married! I can't believe he got married!"
"Believe it. Her name is Sam and you'd like her."
"How long have they been married? Any kids? Am I an uncle?"
"They've been married three years and they don't have any kids. I don't think they're planning on having any so you'll have to wait until Mark or Tiny or I have kids. If that ever happens." None of us had been of a mind to get married.
Keyop chattered all the way back to ISO headquarters. Mark and Tiny were waiting when we arrived. I hugged them both leaving Keyop to carry my bag.
"How was the trip?" Mark asked.
"It was fine."
"Is he going to come?" Tiny asked.
"I don't know. His wife is going to try to talk him into it."
"His wife?" Mark asked.
"Mm-hm," I replied.
"He got married?"
"That's the usual way you get a wife." I continued walking to Chief Anderson's office. He now oversaw the entire Center Neptune project. After Zoltar and Spectra had been defeated, Brett had returned to whatever he had been doing before he had been recruited for G-Force. The rest of us stayed on to work for the Chief and ISO.
"Was she drunk, desperate, or pregnant?"
"Mark! That's a terrible thing to say." I would have hit him, but there were too many witnesses.
I knocked on the Chief's door. "Come in," a muffled voice answered.
"Hi, Chief," I said, hoping to sound cheerful.
He looked up and smiled. "How was your trip?"
"It was fine. I found Jason."
"Did he talk to you or throw you out?"
"He talked to me. I got to meet his wife." I waited to see if the Chief would respond the way the others had, but all he did was raise an eyebrow.
"Is he going to come?"
"I don't know, sir. Sam, his wife, was going to try to talk him into coming, but she couldn't make any promises."
"I see."
I finished giving my report about my trip and then returned to my office to plow through the pile of work I knew would be waiting for me. I wasn't disappointed.
* * * * * * * *
Nearly six months went by before I heard anything from Sam. When she did call I was surprised that she been able to get Jason to finally say yes to coming for a visit.
"I'll get him there, but it will be up to you and the others to keep him there," she said over the phone.
"Thank you, Sam. When are you coming?"
She gave me a couple of different dates and let me pick a week that would work out well for our schedule. The week I picked worked well for them, there weren't any races. We went over travel plans and I told her that I would pick them up at the airport. Everything was in place. I just had to tell everyone else and a meeting was called for later that afternoon.
* * * * * * * *
Keyop and Tiny insisted on going with me to the airport to pick up Jason and Sam. With our ISO credentials, we were able to meet them at the gate. The three of us hung back to watch the other passengers disembark. Finally I saw Jason, but he hadn't seen me yet. He stopped just inside of the gate. Sam caught up with him and he took her hand. She looked different than the last time I had seen her, but I couldn't figure out why.
Sam looked up and saw me. She tilted her head and whispered to Jason. They stopped and I walked toward them, Keyop trailing behind me. Tiny hung back, not sure what reaction he would get from our wayward brother. When I reached them, we didn't even get the chance to say hello before Keyop wrapped himself around Jason, who clearly didn't know what to think. Sam found it funny, but tried not to laugh. I mouthed, "Keyop," so Jason would know who the madman was that had grabbed him. Jason was finally able to extricate himself from Keyop's embrace and held him at arm's length.
"Hello, Keyop," he said, trying not to smile.
"How did you know it was me?"
"I had some help. Keyop, this is my wife, Sam."
"Hello, Keyop," Sam replied.
"And the big guy attempting to hide behind that pillar is Tiny."
"Hi, Jase," Tiny said.
I hugged them both and we started to leave. "Oh, we need to get your luggage."
"This is all we have."
"That's it? You aren't planning to stay long, are you?"
"Sam can pack more stuff in these two carry ons than most people can pack in a steamer trunk."
Speaking of Sam, I turned and said to her, "There's something different about you, but I can't place it."
"Really? I don't know what it would be," she replied. She and Jason shared a look that clearly said something was going on, but it could wait.
The trip to Center Neptune was hardly quiet. Keyop and Tiny had to tell Sam all about the things Jason did as a kid and had to catch Jason up on that last 16 years. They were still talking when we arrived at the reception area. I had visitor badges issued for Sam and Jason as well as guest quarters. I showed them to their room and after they had gotten settled, gave them a quick tour. We ended up at the Chief's office. He was in a meeting so we had to wait.
"Wow, this is like living in an aquarium," Sam said.
"Yeah, you should see all the different fish. Sometimes we even see sharks," Tiny replied.
Jason still hadn't sat down. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, just like when we were kids.
"OK, you two. What's up?" I asked. "I know you're hiding something, Sam."
"You might as well tell her. She find out as soon as you take off your coat," Jason said.
REUNION Part 2
I awoke the next morning to find a pair of gold eyes looking at me. Startled, I sat up to see a big yellow and white cat sitting on top of the quilt. "Hello. Who are you?" The cat just sat and looked at me. He got up and hopped onto the floor, squeezing through the partly open door.
"Reggie, what were you doing in there?" I heard Sam ask. "I'm sure Princess didn't appreciate your company." I heard her continue to talk to the cat as she walked downstairs. I looked at the bedside clock. Five minutes before 6:00. Time to get up I suppose. I grabbed my robe and walked downstairs to the kitchen.
Sam was busy making coffee, still talking to the cat as he sat on a bar stool in the corner. "Good morning," she said. "I hope Reggie didn't wake you."
"No, I usually wake up about this time. The coffee smells good."
"It's about ready. I don't drink it, but Jason can't live without it. What would you like for breakfast?"
"Don't go to any trouble on my account. I can fend for myself."
"I'm in the mood for French toast. Want some?"
"Sounds good. Do I have time for a quick shower first?"
"Sure. Don't worry about how much noise you make. Jason could sleep even if a freight train ran through the bedroom."
I laughed and went back upstairs. After showering and getting dressed, I repacked my overnight bag and took it out to the car. My plane didn't leave until 10 A.M. and I should be back at ISO by 3 P.M.
Sam had breakfast ready. We sat in the dining room and talked. I hadn't been able to talk Jason into considering coming back for a visit last night. Hopefully, I'd be able to convince Sam.
"Sam, I have something I want to ask you. Do you think that you could talk Jason into coming back home for a visit? I know he didn't leave on the best of terms, but the Chief and the others would like to see him."
She considered my request for a minute. "I won't make any promises, Princess, but I'll try. It might do him some good."
"How did you get Jason to tell you about the G-Force project?" I asked.
"I asked about the scar just above his hairline one day. He . he didn't want to say anything at first. I didn't push him, but he finally told me about what had happened to his parents when he was a kid and how Chief Anderson had taken all five of you in for various reasons. He told me about the cerebonic implant."
The implant. The day Jason for forced off the team, I remember Chief Anderson talking to the ISO doctors. They had wanted to remove Jason's implant, but after running a few tests, they found that it would kill him if the implant were removed. We had the implants since we were kids. Too much scar tissue had grown around them, making them nearly impossible to remove without killing us. I also remember the yelling that took place just before Jason walked out. Since the implant couldn't be removed, the Chief insisted Jason stay in ISO custody. Jason flat out refused. The Chief countered by saying he could force Jason to stay, which made Jason even angrier. He did quite a bit of damage to the security guards that tried to stop him. We never saw him again after that. Keyop had started watching the sports channels for auto races, hoping to see Jason. We always knew where he was and his standing in the ranks, but it wasn't the same.
"This may be a personal question," I said, "but how did Jason propose to you?"
"I wouldn't say he actually proposed," Sam replied. "It was more like 'marry me now'. I had the honor of being his co-driver for an endurance race from the southern Baja peninsula to Las Vegas. We had gone out a few times. I had even gotten him arrested a couple of times, which is a story in itself. We spent most of our time together in a garage with a car surrounded by mechanics. Not what you would call a romantic courtship. I was flabbergasted when he said 'let's get married' after we had won the race. It surprised him too. It surprised him more when I said yes. That was the first time we slept together. I'm not sure who was more nervous, him or me. Not how I pictured getting married and spending my honeymoon. It was three weeks before we told anybody what we had done. Mike and Mr. Pitney, our boss, reamed us both out good. Then they both threatened Jason's life if he ever did anything to hurt me. We were definitely off to a good start."
I laughed. Jason had an unfounded reputation of being quite a Casanova. I never did figure out how that started. I think Mark and Tiny knew, but they would never say anything. I suspect they may have been the ones to start the rumor. From the way they tell it, Jason's bedroom had a revolving door, but I never felt that way. He must have known Sam and I had been talking about him because he appeared in the doorway trying to stifle a yawn.
"My, my. Aren't we up early?" Sam said. "The way you were sleeping when I got up, I didn't think I'd see you before noon."
Jason just glared at her. "There had better be some coffee left."
"We left most of the pot for you, Mr. Sunshine. Want some breakfast?" "I'll get it," he said as he disappeared into the kitchen.
"If you can get him to change his mind, here's my card. Call me, please," I said. Sam and I had talked for over two hours before Jason had gotten up. "I need to get to the airport. My plane leaves at 10." I got up and took my dishes out to the kitchen. Jason stood in the middle of the kitchen with the biggest coffee cup I had ever seen. "It's nice to know that some things never change," I said. I earned a glare for that remark, but I did notice a quick smile before he turned away.
After rinsing my dishes and putting them in the dish drainer, I walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He put his cup down on the counter and pulled me into a bear hug. "Try not to be a stranger. Sam has my card. Call me sometime," I said.
"I will. I won't promise, but I'll try. Sam will make me."
"I'd like to see her do that."
"She will. Honest. She's a lot meaner than she looks. Anderson should have recruited her to go after Zoltar. The war would have ended a lot sooner."
I pulled back to look at him. I think he was joking, but I couldn't be sure. "I have to go. Take care, Jason." I said good-bye to Sam and he walked me to my car and gave me directions to the airport. Sam walked out and waved as I backed out of the drive. I waved and drove off.
The flight home was long and boring. Keyop met me at the airport. I couldn't believe how much he had grown over the years. He was tall and had filled out, finally outgrowing his awkwardness.
"Did you talk to him? Is he going to come?" he said as he hugged me.
"Yes, I talked to him. I don't know if he's going to come or not. I gave his wife my card and she's going to try to talk him into it."
Keyop looked at me as if I were speaking Spectran. "Did you say his wife? Jason got married? He always said he was never going to get married! I can't believe he got married!"
"Believe it. Her name is Sam and you'd like her."
"How long have they been married? Any kids? Am I an uncle?"
"They've been married three years and they don't have any kids. I don't think they're planning on having any so you'll have to wait until Mark or Tiny or I have kids. If that ever happens." None of us had been of a mind to get married.
Keyop chattered all the way back to ISO headquarters. Mark and Tiny were waiting when we arrived. I hugged them both leaving Keyop to carry my bag.
"How was the trip?" Mark asked.
"It was fine."
"Is he going to come?" Tiny asked.
"I don't know. His wife is going to try to talk him into it."
"His wife?" Mark asked.
"Mm-hm," I replied.
"He got married?"
"That's the usual way you get a wife." I continued walking to Chief Anderson's office. He now oversaw the entire Center Neptune project. After Zoltar and Spectra had been defeated, Brett had returned to whatever he had been doing before he had been recruited for G-Force. The rest of us stayed on to work for the Chief and ISO.
"Was she drunk, desperate, or pregnant?"
"Mark! That's a terrible thing to say." I would have hit him, but there were too many witnesses.
I knocked on the Chief's door. "Come in," a muffled voice answered.
"Hi, Chief," I said, hoping to sound cheerful.
He looked up and smiled. "How was your trip?"
"It was fine. I found Jason."
"Did he talk to you or throw you out?"
"He talked to me. I got to meet his wife." I waited to see if the Chief would respond the way the others had, but all he did was raise an eyebrow.
"Is he going to come?"
"I don't know, sir. Sam, his wife, was going to try to talk him into coming, but she couldn't make any promises."
"I see."
I finished giving my report about my trip and then returned to my office to plow through the pile of work I knew would be waiting for me. I wasn't disappointed.
* * * * * * * *
Nearly six months went by before I heard anything from Sam. When she did call I was surprised that she been able to get Jason to finally say yes to coming for a visit.
"I'll get him there, but it will be up to you and the others to keep him there," she said over the phone.
"Thank you, Sam. When are you coming?"
She gave me a couple of different dates and let me pick a week that would work out well for our schedule. The week I picked worked well for them, there weren't any races. We went over travel plans and I told her that I would pick them up at the airport. Everything was in place. I just had to tell everyone else and a meeting was called for later that afternoon.
* * * * * * * *
Keyop and Tiny insisted on going with me to the airport to pick up Jason and Sam. With our ISO credentials, we were able to meet them at the gate. The three of us hung back to watch the other passengers disembark. Finally I saw Jason, but he hadn't seen me yet. He stopped just inside of the gate. Sam caught up with him and he took her hand. She looked different than the last time I had seen her, but I couldn't figure out why.
Sam looked up and saw me. She tilted her head and whispered to Jason. They stopped and I walked toward them, Keyop trailing behind me. Tiny hung back, not sure what reaction he would get from our wayward brother. When I reached them, we didn't even get the chance to say hello before Keyop wrapped himself around Jason, who clearly didn't know what to think. Sam found it funny, but tried not to laugh. I mouthed, "Keyop," so Jason would know who the madman was that had grabbed him. Jason was finally able to extricate himself from Keyop's embrace and held him at arm's length.
"Hello, Keyop," he said, trying not to smile.
"How did you know it was me?"
"I had some help. Keyop, this is my wife, Sam."
"Hello, Keyop," Sam replied.
"And the big guy attempting to hide behind that pillar is Tiny."
"Hi, Jase," Tiny said.
I hugged them both and we started to leave. "Oh, we need to get your luggage."
"This is all we have."
"That's it? You aren't planning to stay long, are you?"
"Sam can pack more stuff in these two carry ons than most people can pack in a steamer trunk."
Speaking of Sam, I turned and said to her, "There's something different about you, but I can't place it."
"Really? I don't know what it would be," she replied. She and Jason shared a look that clearly said something was going on, but it could wait.
The trip to Center Neptune was hardly quiet. Keyop and Tiny had to tell Sam all about the things Jason did as a kid and had to catch Jason up on that last 16 years. They were still talking when we arrived at the reception area. I had visitor badges issued for Sam and Jason as well as guest quarters. I showed them to their room and after they had gotten settled, gave them a quick tour. We ended up at the Chief's office. He was in a meeting so we had to wait.
"Wow, this is like living in an aquarium," Sam said.
"Yeah, you should see all the different fish. Sometimes we even see sharks," Tiny replied.
Jason still hadn't sat down. He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, just like when we were kids.
"OK, you two. What's up?" I asked. "I know you're hiding something, Sam."
"You might as well tell her. She find out as soon as you take off your coat," Jason said.