From: "Rayne J" <rayne21582@hotmail.com>
To: jq@edc.ml.org
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 14:57:41 PST
Subject: JQ: A Fanfic
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Hi Everyone

Here is one of my fanfics.  I kinda wrote it in a frenzy so there are 
probably many errors in it.  Let me know what you think.  I have more at 
www.angelfire.com/ny/writerunblocked/index.html if you're curious to see 
the rest.

Rayne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Only Two
 

The news came on a bright, sunny Sunday. Not the type of day when this 
certain kind of news should be received in. The small envelope was 
completely unassuming and as Dr. Benton Quest opened it, he thought 
nothing of it. He assumed it was an invitation from his foster son for 
another one of his banquets, for the stamp was from Bangalore. 
Race Bannon watched as his boss and friend unsealed the envelope. He 
watched with baited breath to see what Hadji had in store for them now. 
To his surprise, rather than telling him what the note said, Benton 
turned a pale, ghostly white. His normally steady hands began to shake. 
His mild brown eyes watered and his mouth quivered. 
"Benton?" Race said, reaching out to put a hand on his friend's arm. 
Benton held out the short note, the paper shaking hard enough to make a 
rustling sound. Race frowned and took it. He read the sentences that 
were printed on it.

Dearest Benton,
I regret to inform you that two days ago, our dearest Hadji was attacked 
by a terrorist cell that we have apprehended and now being punished. We 
tried to save him and he was comatose for a day, but despite the best 
medical care, he did not pull through. Sultan Hadji Singh, our son, died 
this morning at 3 o'clock. Nothing can compare to the pain that I feel 
for the death of my only son and the pain that his wife and son are now 
in other than yours. His funeral is scheduled to be held in one week. 
 
Neela
 
"Oh God," Race breathed. "Hadji."
"We have to tell Jonny," Benton said, running a hand over his face. "He 
has to know."
 

The phone rang in Jonathan Quest's Bangor apartment just as he was 
entering from his morning jog. Still breathing hard, he picked up the 
phone. On his back, a small baby dozed. Little Rachel Quest was used to 
her father's morning jogs and was not bothered at all. 
"Hello?"
"Jon," Dr. Quest said.
"Dad?" Jonny said, frowning. "Is everything alright?"
"Jonny," his father began. "Could you come to the mansion? I have 
something important to tell you."
"What's happened, Pop?" Jonny said, starting to get worried.
"Come to the mansion."
Benton hung up the phone and Jonny heard it click. His mind whirled with 
the possibilities. Something terrible had happened and he felt a knot 
form in his stomach. 
He wiped his face and threw some clean clothes on. He rushed to his car 
with Rachel and drove to the Compound as fast as safety allowed.
 

Jessie lifted her face from her father's shoulder and wiped the tears 
from her face. 
"How could this have happened?" she said softly, brokenly. "He was the 
sultan. He was supposed to have guards. Where were they?"
Race could only shake his head. There were so many questions to be asked 
that didn't have answers. At least not the answers that they wanted. The 
assassins had slipped past security and the guards and shot Hadji 
cleanly in the head. Not once, but three times. Fortunately, his wife, 
Keisha and his son, Haresh were not harmed. Haresh was two years old. He 
never even had the chance to get to know his father. 
"Where's Jonny and Rachel?" Jessie asked, looking around the mansion. 
She had just arrived twenty minutes earlier after being picked up from 
New York by the Quest Enterprises jet. 
"Jonny disappeared as soon as we told him," Race replied. "Rachel is 
with Benton."
Jessie turned to look out the window and towards the cliffs. Without 
another word, she threw on her coat and walked outside. The bright sunny 
day had turned into a gray one and rain fell hard on her. Her hair got 
soaked in less than a minute, but she hardly felt it. She was numb. And 
she wanted to see Jonny. 
They had not seen each other in six months for trial separations did not 
involve estranged husbands and wives to spend a lot of time together. 
Jessie couldn't imagine being any happier the day she was married to 
Jonny, until their daughter was born, but that happiness could not stop 
the fights the continued on brewing between them. Soon, fights became 
rampant in the Bannon-Quest household as two strong wills clashed. Years 
of living together had not taught them compromise. There were no 
referees to stop them now. Even with the advent of Rachel, the fights 
had not lessened. The only thing that had kept them together was the 
strength of their love, but that love could not stop them from leaving 
each other although it still burned brightly. One year old Rachel was 
shipped between her parents by either Race or Benton. Jonny and Jessie 
avoided each other at any cost ever since that last terrible fight…until 
now. 
Although she never looked up, she knew exactly where she was and which 
direction she was going. With sure steps, she climbed the cliff face and 
to the cave hidden near the top. Just as she thought, she saw Jonny 
seated, his arms wrapped around his legs, his face hidden from her view. 
"Jonny," she whispered. 
Jonny looked up. His normally bright blue eyes were haunted and 
red-rimmed. The second he saw his wife, he straightened, all emotion 
from his face wiped away. Jessie stood at the entrance to the cave, 
feeling foolish that she had come.
"What are you doing here?" he asked roughly.
"He was my friend too, Jonny," she replied curtly.
He stood and came towards her. "That was nice of you to come. Now that 
you can't do anything for him."
Jessie gasped at the sting of his words, feeling as if she had been 
slapped. "I wasn't there, Jonny. I couldn't stop anything from 
happening. I wish to God that I could, but I can't!" she threw back at 
him. "Don't blame me for this too," she finished weakly.
Watching her sobbing in the rain, her once slender, but now thin form 
quivering in the cold, he felt his heart melt. She had gotten a lot 
thinner since he'd last seen her. Since that last painful argument that 
caused her to pack her bags and leave him and their daughter. Her 
features stood out in her thinness, her beauty becoming delicate. This 
haunted woman was not the laughing bride he had married two years before 
and he ached to know that he that once was the source of her laughter 
was the source of what haunted her now. 
"I don't blame you, Jess," he sighed, running a hand through his blonde 
hair. "I'm..I'm just…"
"Hurting," she finished for him. "I am too, Jonny Quest. Stop being a 
selfish bastard and open your eyes."
Breathing hard, Jonny curled his fists, the muscles in his forearms 
corded and powerful. He looked into her eyes, saw the answering pain in 
them and rushed to her, crushing her in his arms. All arguments were 
forgotten, all past pains forgiven. All they knew was that they needed 
each other more than ever. For now there was only two. They sobbed 
together, holding each other. Jessie buried her face in his neck, her 
hot tears mingling with the raindrops that had fallen from his hair. 
"Oh baby," he breathed. "I can't believe he's gone."
"I know," she soothed. "I know."
He pulled away and looked into her face. Her emerald green eyes 
glistened with pain. With a shaking, but gentle hand, he brushed the red 
hair that had come loose from her bun from her face. With one finger, he 
gently traced the line of her jaw, his eyes loving every line. Jessie 
felt a quiver deep within her that she hadn't felt in a long time. She 
put a hand over his, stilling its path along her face. 
"You came to me," he whispered. "Why did you come to me?"
She blinked. "I knew you needed me. So I came."
"I'm so sorry, Jessie." He leaned his forehead against hers. "So sorry."
She rested a hand against his cheek, her thumb wiping away the tears 
that fell from his eyes. She couldn’t speak. She wanted to rest. The 
pain in her heart threatened to choke her. 
Jonny led her to the back of the cave where two blankets and a sleeping 
bag rested. It had been there for years, since the time when they were 
younger and Hadji was still alive. They had camped out in this cave, 
just the three of them, the closest and best friends in the world. But 
now there was only two. 
Gently, using the same touch he used with Rachel, Jonny peeled off 
Jessie's soaked jacket and clothes until she was revealed to his sight. 
He wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and held her to him. He could 
feel her hands picking at his damp jacket and soon his own clothes were 
discarded on top of hers. They huddled for warmth inside the sleeping 
bag with the two blankets wrapped around them. 
There was nothing sexual about the way they held each other. All either 
of them wanted was comfort, but they were only human. Hands began to 
drift and they discovered each other again. The love that was unspoken 
wove between them now, exploding with a glorious release. Then, they 
held each other. 
The sadness was lessened now that they had found each other again, but 
the death of their friend hung over them like a cloud. Here in the cave 
that they had shared as children would never be filled with the three of 
them again. For now there was only two.
"I miss him so much, Jess," Jonny whispered into her now dry hair. "He 
was the only thing, other than Rachel, that kept me from falling apart 
while you were gone. He called every night to make sure I hadn't lost my 
mind yet. He talked me through it. I was going to ask you to forgive me, 
you know. He made me see that I was not being the good husband I was 
supposed to be."
Jessie pressed a kiss on his shoulder. "I wish we had found out earlier. 
So we could have said good-bye."
"We're saying our own good-bye."
"I didn't think it would happen this way, you know," she said. "After 
everything we've been through together, it seems semi-climactic that he 
would be killed by a bullet while he was going to say goodnight to his 
son. His death was so meaningless, Jonny. So wrong."
Jonny felt his lips quiver. "I miss him."
She kissed him. "I do too."
He turned to look at her. "He did give us one last present. He always 
had his way, even after death."
"What was it?"
"Each other," Jonny whispered, pressing his lips against hers.


THE END

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