Jim's Folly

Thank you, Angel, for that wonderful revelation…*winks* I'll work it into my timeline, perhaps…

Chapter 12

Since that encounter between Rowan, Raven and Jim at the shack, Jim had turned a corner and had decided drugs weren't the best idea for him. He told Raven this one evening over dinner, plans they'd made soon after the encounter.

Raven stood outside the restaurant, not too fancy, yet not fast-food. They would sit down and eat together. It would be a nice meal.

Raven looked at herself time and time again. She'd dressed up too much. She knew Andrew had picked the wrong dress…but Andrew always picked the right clothes for her! She wasn't over dressed, nor was she underdressed. She looked nice.

It was raining outside as she waited for Jim. She stood under a covering, but occasionally, a small breeze would carry the rain under the covering, sprinkling cool water over her.

She had been waiting long by the time he showed up. She didn't notice as her heart skipped momentarily as he walked up to her. He also looked nice. He'd managed to shave, his hair was brushed and he was smiling. She hadn't seen him smile in a long time.

He was wearing a collared shirt with long sleeves and some casual black pants, nice enough to go to a restaurant in. He matched her, practically. Not too dressy, but nice enough.

He walked up to the restaurant and his smile turned into a frown as he noticed her standing there. Touching her elbow as he walked up, he bit his lip. "Am I late?"

Raven smiled in return. "Not by much. It's not a big deal."
He accepted her statement and looked her over. She noticed how close he was to her, and she also noticed he was trying to get out of the rain. Before moving, she smiled faintly at him and he took her by the arm, pulling her slightly closer without knowing it. She was so close to him she felt his breath as he looked her over. "You look nice," he notified her breathlessly.

Nodding in ecstasy, she agreed and allowed him to escort her into the tiny restaurant.

---

He took a sip of his drink before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I know…" The two were discussing the weather, of all things.

"It's a rainy day all the time without you, Jim," Raven said daringly. Her statement made him raise an eyebrow in question. "From whose perspective? Amy's?" he asked.

Raven felt a small twinge of jealousy in her heart, but she knew he was kidding.

"Oh, all of us!" Raven covered up quickly. Jim shrugged. "I miss the Academy, you know. There may be a few bad memories-"

"Involving Detention Hall?"

Jim laughed before continuing. "-but I…may come back."
Raven had been taking a bite of her food when he said that and she stopped chewing, swallowing her mouthful nearly whole.

"Wha-"

"You heard me, Cap." She met his eyes and realized he was totally serious.

"You…want to come back?"

"I want to, and I will…just not right away. I…was thinking maybe once I turn eighteen I'll start again. You know, finish those years I left behind." He took another sip of his drink.

Raven was still stomaching what he'd said. Jim looked at her through his glass, amused. "You okay, Cap?"

"Jim," she said, "how many times do I have to tell you my name?"

"I know your name, Cap, but I'm going back to school…you'll be my teacher again."
"Not unless you're planning on taking choir or dance," she added, recovering by taking a sip of her own drink.

Jim shrugged. "You'll still be a professor at the Academy and dance is necessary to spacer-life…"

"You still want to be a spacer?"

"I want to be away from Rowan," Jim stated quietly. He shifted his glance to the table before him, not wanting to see her face. This was a delicate subject.

Raven paused. "You're sick of him by now, I assume."

"I was sick of him before I met him, Captain."
Silence ensued for a few minutes. Jim poked at his food, uninterested. Some of it appeared to still be alive, anyway.

"He's…not worth throwing my life away for, y'know?"

Raven couldn't describe, nor could she hide, the relief she felt in her heart.

She reached across the table and took Jim's hands. "I'm so glad to hear that, Jim. You may not believe me, but…I really am."

Jim shrugged, looking at her and then her hands. When she'd touched him, he'd felt chills up his spine. Sure, she was pretty…yes, beautiful, but…she was his teacher, almost. It wasn't…legal.

He squeezed her hands and let go, almost reluctantly. He loved her touch. He loved her smiles, her reassuring words. He loved her.

"Rowan's not good for my health."
"He's worse than the drugs you take," Raven noted. Jim nodded. "True, true."
Raven nodded, taking her hands back into her own lap. She'd been too forward. Stupid, Raven. Stupid! she scolded herself.

She glanced down at his neck where Rowan had dug his nails into. The marks were fading. They'd leave interesting scars, she noted to herself.

She'd had to wash her uniform twice to get his blood stains out of it, but it had been worth it.

They shared a bond now, which was irreplaceable. She just couldn't figure out where it was leading. As she sat with Jim, she wondered how he'd take it if he knew she had a son. She decided against telling him for a little while, deciding it would be best to wait until he was ready to hear that sort of news.

When the night was through, Jim walked Raven home. At her door, they stopped, Raven not going in for a moment. The dim hall lights barely lit up Raven's face, but Jim couldn't help but notice how wonderful she looked. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew his boundaries. He also knew that he didn't want to kiss her with those same lips that he'd shared with other girls. She was worth more than that. Way more. So why was he wasting his time? He didn't know. Nor did he care. Smiling, he nodded to himself. "This was fun," he admitted. Sure, it had been. They'd laughed a lot. Tons had been accomplished.

Raven unlocked the door and opened it, preparing to go in. She was very prepared to send Jim home. She was also prepared to have Andrew sleeping by now.

Her preparation was not complete as Andrew dashed out of his room, arms spread wide. Before he could cry "Mama!", Raven added "Andrew! This man doesn't know you are my baby, ok?" in Romanian, sharply. Andrew stopped his dash, uncertain. "Da…" He was unsure what to call her, so he added "…prieten." Raven nodded. "Da, Andrew."

"Jim," she said, turning to him. "This is my nephew, Andrew. He lives with me."
Jim smiled, realizing who this boy was. He knelt to Andrew's level. "You're the boy in all of her pictures!" Andrew approached slowly, looking up at Raven, who nodded, urging him to reply.

"Da…I mean, yes…my name is Andrew."

Jim stuck out his hand. "I'm Jim, Andrew. Nice to meet you."

Andrew took it reluctantly, shaking slightly. "Imi pare bine…"

"Andrew, you know enough English to speak with him," Raven replied in Romanian.

Andrew sighed, smiling slightly. "Silly Andrew," he muttered in his dialect.

Turning back to Jim, he added "Nice to meet you too, Sir."
"Sir, eh?" Jim noted. "I like you, Andrew. You have great manners."
"Uh…thank you," he said quietly. He shrunk back. "I have to go to bed now."

"Okay, Andrew. Good to meet you. Sleep well!" Jim stood as Andrew rushed back into his own room. Jim smiled.

"Cute kid." Quiet for a moment. He then added, "He looked a lot like you. Your brother or sister a twin or something of yours?"

"No, good looks just run in the family," Raven added with a laugh. She loved her son dearly. He knew how to take a command. She wasn't prepared to tell Jim he was her son tonight. No, not tonight.

Jim looked around and Raven wished she'd had time to clean up first. Not that there was much to clean up…

Jim sighed faintly. "Well then…I guess I'll be off?"

Raven nodded. "I guess so…"

"It was good to see you, Cap."

"Raven," she said. Jim smirked. "Whatever, Cap. I'll come see you at school in a few days or so to talk about readmission, okay?"

Raven agreed and they said their goodbyes and Raven closed and locked the door.

As she poured herself a glass of milk from the fridge, Andrew came from his room again.

In Romanian, as they often spoke to each other, he asked, "Who was that, Mommy?"

Raven, also in Romanian, replied, "A friend of Mommy's. He's also one of her past students."
"He looked kind of sick. Is he okay?"

"He's not doing too well, so I've been checking on him to make sure he's okay."

Andrew sat down at the kitchen table and Raven sat next to him, looking over the day's paper she'd bought that afternoon.

"You went out to dinner with your student and dressed up all pretty for him."

"It was a formal restaurant," Raven said, excusing herself. Her son was too smart to buy that.

"Mommy likes him."
Raven sighed, meeting her son's eyes. "Alright, Andrew. You're right. Mommy likes him. Mommy likes him very much and that's why she hopes he'll get better so she doesn't have to worry about him anymore."
"He was very nice to me," Andrew stated.

"I told him you were my nephew," Raven replied, sipping her milk. When she'd put it down, Andrew crawled into her lap and looked at the paper too, at the pictures. "He didn't believe you," Andrew said quietly. Raven froze. "What?"

Andrew smiled faintly to himself, turning to his mother. "I saw the look on his face, Mommy. He doesn't believe you when you say who I am. He knows something is up. He may be sick, but he's not a stupid-head."

Andrew was right. He was completely right. Raven hadn't noticed it too much, but Andrew, a child, had noticed something, as all children do.

"I'll talk to him about it in awhile," Raven said, returning to the paper. Andrew nodded, shrugging. He was quiet for a moment before planting a wet kiss on her cheek. "Love you, Mama."

Raven held him tightly, ignoring her paper. "You're sucking up, aren't you?"

"Yes." He smiled, two of his teeth missing. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

"I knew that was coming," Raven admitted. Andrew threw up his hands. "Then why did I have to ask?"

Raven shook her head in amusement. "Honey, it's okay. Let's get some sleep, then."

Andrew, satisfied that he had what he'd wanted, said no more.

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Author's Note: Oooh, interesting. Jim meets Andrew…so that's what happened. Whoop de doo! Well, it'll get more interesting later. Trust me.

Next up: Jim's readmission to the Interstellar Academy! What happens to Rowan? What about what Andrew noticed about Jim? Will Jim confront Raven on their real relationship?