*I don't own Jane and the Dragon or its characters

This was a random idea which I'm sure has some influence from The Fifth Element. I started with one line and then I spit out this story. I daresay it was fun, and hope to write more interesting stuff. It's a Futuristic/modern fic, which I hope you'll enjoy. Feel free to ask questions if there's any. And special shout out to SunRise19 who always comments. You rock!

As of March 8, 2021 I revised this for flow, spelling, and clarity.

Dear Penelope,

I know, I've been hard on you, telling you that dating a cyborg was wrong, but then I remembered something. You once asked where it all began, and when did I know your mother was the one, and I think now is a good time for you to know the whole truth. As the old story goes, a boy meets a girl. Well, not exactly. This is how my story goes.

I was nineteen, working as a scientist. To make a long story short, I hadn't realized the experiment would be successful.

Complete reconstruction of the human body was not recommended; normally body parts were cloned, but only for special purposes, or reserved for those who had a lot of money like government officials and A-class celebrities. However, in my case, I received word that the CEO of the now-defunct Breech Body Industries wanted to see progress in our research, which translated in his terms as more money in his pocket. With the extra funding, we went forward with the experiment and had to find a new way to reconstruct which was faster and cheaper.

With a bone, I used the DNA analyser, which takes all the information and then uploads it into the computer where like magic, it picks a card and takes a wild guess, and creates a replica design of the human body. It didn't always get it right, and sometimes they looked completely different than they used to or disfigured if the bones were infected with a rare fungus found in the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, once the computer picked a suitable body, it activated the DNA replicator and reconstructed a body. The process normally took a week, but I had found a way to shorten it to four days. And once it was over, I had the nurses check the vitals and then resuscitate the body once it's deemed sound.

As I said, I hadn't realized the experiment would be successful. According to the signature, we had cloned someone from the past, her name was a mystery, a Jane Doe. I had reason to believe she was born in a time without record, possibly medieval, but not much else. Now, her bone sample came from an odd place. I don't know why my grandfather kept a skeleton in his closet, but he smiled when I asked him, and you know what he said? "It was a dream that didn't happen." And I could never really put my finger on it.

It's said bone collecting became popular in the late 21st century after the loss of the classic singer Lady Googoo, who donated her body to science. My family, I had hoped, would not be so obtuse, but grandfather got caught up in it after his study on anthropology and the effects of current events on the human body. Anyway, something else I hadn't thought of was where she came from, but that wasn't important. What is important was that she tried to kill me. Talk about a first date right?

I thought it fascinating and most amusing that she threatened me with a scalpel, but the nurses sedated her and placed her in the safe room. The other scientists wanted to deem the project a failure, but I decided to take full responsibility for any damage she caused. I wasn't sure what it was, but she fascinated me. Through the next couple of weeks, she continued to show signs of PTSD, so we put her through rehabilitation; physical and psychological examination helped us determine that she had been a warrior of sorts and displayed the ability to adapt.

However, she failed history, and maths, but was well versed in a few extinct languages, and was physically fit. After a few weeks of good behaviour, we released her from the safe room, and transferred her to simple living quarters, aka my parent's house. My superiors thought it would look good in the press if she adapted to everyday life and I agreed. To be honest, she was apprehensive but changed her tune once she saw my parents who were retired artists and musicians, and enjoyed the traditional gypsy lifestyle. It was then that Jane began to flourish; every night she would dance when my mother had a jam session, and she helped my father cook on Tuesday nights.

Perhaps what changed everything was the day we all went on a picnic in the AR room. Though artificial, it looked as though we were picnicking in the forest. She ran around, she jumped and once she was tired out, she rested and watched as I sang while juggling. For the first time, she smiled genuinely. And it was at that point that I started to fall for her.

When the CEO stepped down after being arrested for insurance fraud, the project was scrapped. Be that as it may, Jane stayed with me and I decided to quit my job; it never quite fit me anyway. I took a teaching position at the local college and found Jane a job as a personal trainer. And after two years of a tempestuous, but lovely courtship, I asked her to be my wife, and she accepted, though only on one condition; it was outrageous, but I accepted.

Jane joined the police academy, and we couldn't marry until she was a detective; protecting others was her dream. As you can imagine, it took a while but here we are, after all these years and I truly still wonder what grandfather meant. Nevertheless, life has been good to me. Perhaps it was destiny that I picked up that bone and reconstructed the woman who you call mother, but I wouldn't have changed a thing.

I'm sorry that I waited so long to tell you, but I thought it would be better once you understood the true meaning of love. And in saying that, I hope you will forgive me, because I do want you to come over, and I can't wait to meet John. I hope he likes to dance too. Can't wait to see you again soon my darling Penny.

From your father,

Jester D'ark

PS: Did I ever tell you that I took your mother's last name? Well, it was better than my old one anyway.