From: questgrl2@juno.com Author's note: Sorry for the big spaces between stuff. Onelist has a tendency to screw around with my fics once I've sent them out. I hope you all enjoy it. . . Disclaimer: I don't own Jonny Quest, or any of the characters associated with the show. I do this for fun. Thanks. Category: F, and - well, it's one of those warm, fuzzy ones .. does warm and fuzzy have a category? Maybe this would be condidered a family fic?? Archivers: Hey, take it. Someone PLEASE take it! Ocean (1/1) Life's easiest steps are often the hardest ones to take. By Dana Cain He nervously threw his football up in the air. This would have been fine if he was out in the yard, or even on the porch, but he was in his bedroom. Mrs. Evans would've given him a "piece of her mind" about it. Especially since he almost broke his favorite picture (well, the frame) the last time he tried to pull a "shenanigan" like this. Race Bannon put the football down on his bed. No sense in smearing Joe Montana's signature. He reached for the picture on his nightstand. Jessie had made the frame in the seventh grade, and Race had placed his favorite picture in it when she gave it to him for father's day. The picture was taken in Cambodia. A barely fifteen year-old redhead stood, a gentle smile on her face, embracing her father. Race sighed. He sat the picture back on his nightstand. Where was she? What was she doing? He shot up as heard the clanking of keys and the slamming of the door. He quickly rushed into the kitchen to find her. Gaping, he watched as she stumbled out of the kitchen and into the living room, collapsing on the couch. "Jessie!" he whispered. "Are you drunk?" "Noooo!" she murmured, her head stuck in a throw pillow. Race walked over to the couch and sat beside her. He slowly petted her hair. "How was your party?" She looked at him, the tears pouring down her face like a fountain. She sniffled. "It was fiiiiine!" she wailed, her sobs growing louder. "What's wrong, Ponchita?" Race asked, his barely blue eyes looking concerned. Jessie sat up and threw the pillow across the room. Dr. Quest's hat rack slammed on the ground. Race raised his eyebrows at his daughter. She only threw her fists up in frustration. "What if I'm not ready, dad? What if I'm going to be a failure?" One corner of Race's mouth upturned. He gently kissed his daughter on the forehead. The pig-tailed girl turned to him, her bright green eyes shining. She was getting ready for the fourth grade. "Daddy, what if it' s all wrong?" she asked, tears still streaming, her tiny voice wavering. "You just have to let time take its course, sweetheart," he mumbled. "What?" her voice asked, more open and mature. "Dad, are you all right?" Race shook his head. He watched as the nine year-old face suddenly turned twenty-four. "I'm sorry, Jessie --- I was just ---" She started to sob again. "What if I'm not ready? What if I'm not ready?!?" "Jessie, you're going to wake the others, darlin'. Let's go outside." He gently helped his daughter to her feet and reached over for a tissue. Race handed the tissue to his daughter, but he wondered if the flimsy paper could stop what seemed like a waterfall. Sighing, Race threw his jacket on and started to walk out the door. Jessie walked behind him, her short sleeves whipping in the breeze. He turned to her, his voice ringing with fatherly concern. "Jessie, put your coat on. It's chilly outside." "No, I'm fine!" she insisted, and walked out of the door, disobeying her father's commands. "After four years at Stanford you'd think that you would be smart enough to put on a jacket when it's cold!" Race joked. He put his arm around his daughter and led her down the steps to the beach. She kept crying. Jessie pulled away from her father and walked towards the crashing ocean, her mind a complete disaster. Race walked gently beside her, not wanting to pry into anything that wasn't his business. Her green eyes reflected the white, pearl-like moon. Her red hair fluttered around like licorice whips. Her body, which had been jerking with sobs, jerked from the chilly wind attacking her arms. She smiled when she felt her father's big coat grace her shoulders. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice filled with shakiness. She plopped down on the sand and began to wail, her sobs crying out across the shore. Race sat down beside his daughter, puzzled. He brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead. "Darlin', it sounds like you have some frosty feet. Am I right? Come on, you can tell your old man." "Cold feet?" she whispered. "Dad, these are serious doubts! What if I make the biggest mistake of my life?" Race gave a little laugh. "Then you learn from it, just like you learn from every mistake that you make. Jessie, you're being silly, sweetheart. This is a normal thing. Everyone has doubts. It's normal!" "Dad, this wouldn't be a little mistake! We're talking about a life-changing decision! And I think I'm having way too many doubts for it to be normal!" "Now what makes you say that, Jess? How would you know?" His questions were asked with sincerity, but he wondered if they came off too harsh. "What do you mean?" she asked, her jade eyes turning to him. "Don't you think I had doubts when I married your mother?" Race asked. "Yeah, I guess so. But, if I may say so, look how that turned out!" Jessie said, brushing away tears. "Oh, so this is what you're worried about," Race muttered, putting his arm around his daughter. "You don't want it to end up like it did with me and your mother. Right?" "Yeah. Kind of." "Jessie, your mother and I are doing just fine. We're *happy*. We're better not being together. While we were married, everything worked out - for a time. And some things just didn't, so we split up. Jessie, you can be in love and still get a divorce. Sometimes the one you marry isn't the right one. Some people just aren't compatible." Jessie started to sniffle. "And what if it's that way with me?" Race squeezed the arm around his daughter. "As much as I hate to say this, Ponchita - he's the one for you." "How do you know!?" Jessie asked, still very confused. "Father's intuition. Kiddo, did you ever have a feeling about him? A feeling you would be with him forever?" "Yeah, but what's a feeling?" she asked, throwing a pebble into the sea foam. She watched as the water slowly took it away. "My mamma told me something very important one time, Jess. Always trust your gut. Jessie, I know that you love him - " "Of course I do, but what if he isn't the one for me?" "Then he isn't the one, and you move on. But what does your heart say? Have you listened to it? Have you really heard what it's trying to tell you? Instead of analyzing all of your situations and trying to make them complicated, you should take them for what they are worth." "And if my heart says yes, and if I'm wrong - " "Then you are wrong. Accept the fact that you can be." Jessie smiled and looked at her father with admiration. "How'd you get to be so smart?" "Not smart. Old. Real intelligence comes with experience, Ponchita." She laughed. "You sound like Hadji!" "Well, maybe I've picked up on a few things!" Jessie gave her father a big hug. "Dad, you are so right. I love him, but I'm afraid I'll be making a terrible mistake!" "Is it that," Race asked, "or is it something else?" "Like what?" she asked, pulling away from her father. "You're losing your childhood, sweetheart." Jessie laughed. "Uh dad, I lost that a long time ago! When I turned eighteen. Remember?" "At any rate, you're losing a special time in your life. You just can't jet off with the team like you used to. You're going to be a married gal. You're giving up a little freedom, and being the free spirit that I know you are, I think that's what you'll miss the most." A tear slid down Jessie's cheek. "Yeah," she whispered. "I'll miss it." "Don't be sad, Jess! You'll gain - and learn - so much from being married. I promise!" "I'll miss our talks," Jessie whispered. "I'll miss *you*, daddy." Race suddenly felt a great amount of pressure in his throat. He stared up at the sky. "I-I'll miss you too, Ponchita. But it's not like you're dying, sweetheart." "But it'll never be the same." Race sat in thought at his daughter's words. No, it would never be the same. Oh, how he wished she was a tiny infant in his arms again. What he would give to go through those twenty-four years all over again. How he loved her. She was his world - but he wasn't going to be *her* world much longer. Race sighed. He had to let her go - even if it meant risking his happiness. She deserved it. "No matter what happens, I'll always love you, Jessica Bannon. You've made me the proudest -and the happiest - father. No one can ever replace the love that you've given me, sweetheart. And love like that just doesn't go away." "No, it doesn't," she said, standing up. She walked over to the ocean and stared into it for several moments. She finally spoke. "The tide has to roll in sometime, I suppose." "The paper said it should tomorrow morning," Race said. She turned around to him and smiled. He didn't understand. "I suppose you're right. It will roll in tomorrow morning." "Yes, it will," he said. "My little girl will be a true adult. She won't just have the title that comes along with age, she'll be wise enough to make a decision and take responsibility for it. Tomorrow she will attain true adulthood. She'll understand that she might fail, and she'll understand that it might work out the way she wants it to, but she is still taking a risk while making a thought-out decision." He did understand! Jessie picked up a small shell and pocketed it. "I suppose I'd better get back to the main house. Tomorrow's gonna be busy." "You're not backing out?" Race asked his only child, a grin on his face. "No, I'm ready. Thanks to you." Jessie looked out at the ocean and just remembered. She thought about how much she loved her home, how much she would miss everyone, and how much harder life would be without her father carefully watching over her. But she was about to embark on an adventure of her own - one so important that it might take her a lifetime to realize the significance of it. Yes, she would miss her father. But she could always call him. Ready?" he asked, not wanting to rush her. She ran towards him, her arms wide open. "I love you, daddy!" He laughed and embraced her with all his might. Then he threw her up in the air and spun her around. He watched as she went from being a tiny little girl - to that teen-age wonder - to the older, wiser daughter that he adored. She had grown up so fast! Jessie watched as her father - the strong man with the blond hair - went to being the slightly older man with the white hair. Although his grip was still strong as iron, it saddened Jessie to sense that his grip had weakened. His face, which had always been so masculine and perfect - showed signs of aging. Where had the time gone?! Race set her down on the ground and kissed her on the cheek. They whispered "good nights" and she walked back up to the main house. Race stayed down at the beach for about an hour, thinking. Oh, how he would miss her. By the time he decided to walk back up to the Compound, she was already asleep. He looked in on her. She was his beautiful redheaded angel -- with a spirit of fire -- and a heart full of yearning. He smiled as she clutched her stuffed animal. She was still a little girl in so many ways! But she was ready for this. He knew she was ready. She became the woman he hoped she would be. ************** By the time he had reached for his comforter and was totally ready for bed, he almost missed the little note on his nightstand. It sat in front of his favorite picture. He opened it up. A small, beautiful seashell fell into his hand. He read the note. Dad - Never forget the gifts that come before the tide. I love you very much. - Jess He smiled and placed the seashell and note on his nightstand. He could probably find room for them in his tuxedo pocket tomorrow. But he could search far and wide, and he still wouldn't be able to find a pocket big enough to hold all of the love he had for his only child. And somehow, that seemed right. The End. ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. 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