Sweet Crusader

by TeeJay

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Summary:
Just when you thought things couldn't get worse between Joan and Adam, they do. Adam and M.J. take a trip to Washington and God asks Joan to help an old lady with her chores. This fanfic relates to Tote's wonderful story "Cathy and Heathcliffe".

Author's note:
This is a tribute to Tote's "Cathy and Heathcliffe" story and it takes place in what I called the "Toteverse" ( the universe of Tote's stories—this one in particular). I just loved it and I also liked the character of M.J., so I just had to take the bait and write a continuation of her story—unasked. I couldn't help it, I read "Cathy and Heathcliffe", agonized over it for the better part of the morning, and while doing so, this plot popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone, nagging and nagging, until I wrote it down. This is the result.

Of course I checked back with Tote before posting this, and she said that, by all means, I should post it—as a sort of AU within an AU, if that makes any sense. Hope it does Tote's story justice. If not, I'm sorry, it was the best I could do. Throw eggs or something if you feel I deserve it. ;o)

If you haven't read "Cathy and Heathcliffe" yet, I urgently suggest you do so here at fanfiction. net (story ID 2467646) and also Tote's follow up stories on it (Isabella Wore a Toque - ID 2469017, The Curtain's Edge - ID 2473501 & Avoidance Is a Crime - ID 2479931). Also, for those of you who don't want to read the whole story, I wrote a short recap of events, which you can find at www.wormhole.de/fanfic/CathyHeathcliffeRecap.htm.

The title was inspired by an Alanis Morissette song, called "Mary Jane", it is part of the lyrics. Go look it up in Google if you're interested. Also, something Joan muses about in the restroom was inspired by Nickelback's "Someday", which I think fits the Adam/Joan situation really well at this point. Lyrics also to be found via Google.

A quick word on the timeframe: This is supposed to play in what we would have hoped to be season 3 (I'm still mad at CBS!), meaning it's Joan's, Grace's and Adam's final year in High School. Everything that happened on the show, including the ending of season 2, happened prior to this story as well. But please don't expect any clues as to what happened over the summer with Ryan Hunter. There's not gonna be anything about what happened after Something Wicked This Way Comes ended, but there might be something current about Ryan in later chapters. I haven't made up my mind yet.

You see, the thing is... I had planned for this story to be fairly short and mostly be about Joan and Adam (and M.J.), but it developped a mind of its own as I was writing it, and now I have this extensive plot planned and I'm already on page 34—and not remotely done. Not that I think any of you will be hugely disappointed about that, right?

Acknowledgements:
I think it's time to add acknowledgments here because such a great many people inspired and helped me with this, knowingly or unknowingly.
- First of all, I need to thank Tote for letting me borrow her universe and her character of M.J. I hope I'm not taking her places she shouldn't be going. Also, thanks for keeping to enrich my JoA-crazed mind with all those lovely Adam/Joan stories of yours. Please keep the wonderful work up.
- Thank you, GermanJoan, for your support, your wonderful comments and for being my fellow CM "obsessee" and partner-in-crime. Thank you for all your great ideas that helped propel this story forward.
- A huuuuge thanks goes out to everyone who ever read my story/stories and especially to those who wrote to me with comments or left a review. It makes writing so much more worthwhile. Please keep doing it!
- Oh, and I need to thank Amber Tamblyn and Christopher Marquette (and the rest of the great JoA cast) for bringing these characters to life in the first place. Without them, I wouldn't have wanted to take these characters and let them live on my stories.
- I suppose I should also thank my favorite bands and musical artists for all the inspiration that was given to me through their songs and lyrics. It would be too much to mention all of them here. I could name tons of songs I associate with JoA. Some of them I have used or mentioned in my stories already.

Disclaimer:
These characters and settings are not mine. Nor am I claiming they are. They are property of CBS, Barbara Hall Productions, Sony or whoever else they might belong to. I'm not making any money out of this, although I wish I was.
The character of Mary Jane (or M.J.) belongs to Tote, I'm just borrowing her. I promise to return her unharmed. Physically, at least.
"By Myself" and "Runaway" lyrics and song belong to LinkinPark and Warner Music and whoever else holds the copyrights.

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UP TO 30 OFF it flaunted in big, red letters on a sign in the vintage clothes shop window that Joan passed. She had just received her monthly paycheck from Sammy at the bookstore. What better to do with an account full of money (Okay, overstatement) than to spend it on clothes? And what better place for that than the mall?

Joan stopped in front of the window to take a peek if it would be worth checking out. She wrinkled her nose at the ransacked rummage tables that were overflowing with clothes in colors that no one wanted and sizes that no one fit in anyway. A flicker of movement reflecting in the shop window caught her attention. What exactly made her turn around and look at the opposite side of the mall aisle, she couldn't say.

Immediately her gaze was drawn by an all too familiar figure walking along the shop fronts opposite the one she was standing in front of. It was all it took for her not to cringe at the name involuntarily forming on her lips, creating a knot in her stomach at the sheer thought. "Adam," she whispered soundlessly.

The feeling of pleasant surprise lasted only a split second, but it wasn't replaced by the all too well-known dread and despair that crept up her insides whenever she met Adam these days. This time it was something approaching shock and then sudden rage. Mary Jane. She was there at his side, walking alongside him, leaning closer as she said something that made him laugh.

Joan had to lean back against the window for support because suddenly her knees had gone weak. She couldn't take her eyes off Adam and Mary Jane, strolling slowly away in the other direction, not having noticed her. This was what it must be like to die of a gunshot to the belly. First the sharp, shooting pain of the impact of the bullet and then the slow and creeping numbness as your life was seeping from your veins.

Her hands made a squeaking sound on the window's surface as she put her palms on it to keep her back from sliding down its surface. Wasn't it enough that he had slept with Bonnie? Hadn't he just told her he belonged to her a few days ago in the library? Hadn't he sat there in front of her, crying with complete remorse? Talk about rebound, she thought bitterly.

She finally regained her composure and pushed herself off the shop's window, all energy and zest at indulging in a shopping spree having vanished like a popped soap bubble. All she wanted to do was to run home and curl up on her bed, drowning out any thoughts with Avril Lavigne's insistent voice yelling in your ears at full volume.

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"Jane."

Hearing that name was enough to make Joan's stomach clench any day nowadays, but this morning it introduced another level of agony as she was standing at her locker, Adam approaching her from behind. That name had once held so much promise, so much meaning—a four-letter vow of fidelity. But now it spoke of long lost magic—magic Joan had given up hoping it would ever return.

Joan quickly glanced up, careful to avoid Adam's eyes, superficially saying, "Hi" back at him. She was satisfied with the result of it not sounding any more personal than if she had greeted a stranger in the street she had only just met. She tried not to stare at his slender fingers fumbling with the metal lock, remembering the jagged scab of the cut on his hand in too vivid detail.

Her efforts were interrupted by a too cheerful "Good morning!" She didn't have to turn around to know that it was M.J.'s voice. M.J. stood next to Adam, trying to open her own lock, adjusting the wheel on it to find the right combination of numbers. Unsuccessfully, she pulled at the lock in frustration, which didn't budge. With disgust, Joan watched as Adam turned to M.J. and said, "Here, let me help you."

His hands moved to fiddle with M.J.'s lock, as M.J. said, "Stupid. I must have forgotten the combination." As Joan stole a quick glance at M.J., she absently noticed the olive green toque covering her curly haired head, sporting the white, embroidered inscription 'Take a number'. No political message today.

Joan was suddenly overcome with revulsion as a sickening image crept into her mind. Adam's slim and slightly callused fingertips slid down Mary Jane's pale, arching back, caressing her skin in soft strokes while Mary Jane sighed in delight. Joan sucked in a sharp breath before she was even aware of it. She realized Adam's eyes were on her the second she had done so, his incredibly sad eyes filled with sudden concern, Mary Jane forgotten in a manner of nanoseconds. "Are you okay?" he inquired softly.

Am I okay? Am I okay! No, Adam, I'm not okay, not even close! She wanted to yell at him, hit his torso with her fists in rapid succession, trying to beat her own agony into him. But one look at those puppy dog mud puddle eyes made her change her mind before she had even raised her voice.

She became aware of M.J.'s curious face appearing from behind Adam. She was becoming a perpetually hovering extension of him; his spare wheel they had exchanged for the broken one—herself: Joan. She had thought seeing Adam with Iris last year had been hard, but this was worse.

Suddenly Joan couldn't stand any more of Adam's intensely worried look, especially with M.J. hovering so close by, so she just turned away from the two of them without a word. She heard Adam's voice calling her name again, but she didn't care, not this time. Go talk to your other Jane, she thought acridly as she kept walking.

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