Once again, I don't own the Quest team, and no money will be exchanged 
over this.  Pies, however, might be another matter.


The Future (Real?) Adventures of Jonny Quest

"For The First Time"
a sequel to "Where Do You Start"
by Winnie Lim


The jukebox switched to a Beach Boys medley.

        Jessica blinked, and the spell was broken.  Reflexively she pulled 
back, both emotionally and physically.   And was immediately sorry.

        But it was too late.  Jon had let her go.

        "Jon, I..."

        He shook his head slightly.  "Later.  We'll talk about it later.  We 
have to finish packing."

        *You chose a fine time to start being responsible,* she almost 
yelled at him, but bit the retort back.  It wouldn't be fair.  "You're 
right," she conceded.  "Let's finish this packing, and then we'll talk."

        Both feeling a little unsettled and more than a little breathless, 
they retreated to their stations, she by the video bank, he by the 
bookshelves.  Safe in their opposite corners.

        Jessica tried to turn her mind to cataloguing the video collection, 
but her mind was still on that moment. Her hands trembled as she 
wrote down a label's contents. She suddenly realized that her heart 
was pounding.

        Across the room, she heard a soft thud and a quiet sound of 
exasperation.  Glancing over, she saw Jon bending to pick up a book he 
had dropped.  His eyes flicked up to meet hers, and she quickly looked 
away, embarrassed at getting caught.

        She smiled to herself.

        After the moment had passed, they had returned to packing with 
a passion. There had been fewer pauses or light moments;  even when 
they'd worked together to disconnect the jukebox and note its contents, 
they hadn't spoken much beyond what was absolutely necessary.

        The packing was finished, the trailer loaded to the brim.  The 
jukebox had been the last thing to go into the U-Haul, carefully secured 
in a well-padded corner.  In the morning, Jon was going to drive the 
trailer to Virginia, where he'd leased a warehouse.  Everything was to 
be put in storage until they could decide what to do with it.

        Jon and Jessica stood in the middle of the living-room. There was 
nothing left to do.  Except for the furniture, the room was now bare of 
all the personal possessions that had made it a home.  The only piece of 
furniture that they were taking was Rachel Quest's rocking-chair, which 
had stood in a corner of the living-room for the past 24 years.  Jon was 
going to put it in his Virginia apartment, where he figured that it was 
"going to sit in a corner of the living-room for the next 124 years."

        They looked at each other.

        "Talk?"  Jon asked.

        "Talk."  Jessica nodded.

        The waves lapped against the beach, breaking over their feet as 
they walked along the shoreline.

        Jon picked up a smooth pebble and lobbed it towards the sea.  It 
skipped once, and sank.

        Although the sky had been threatening rain all day, they had 
decided to talk on the beach.  There was no telling when they would be 
able to walk on the beach again, and by then the property might belong 
to someone else.  Feeling reckless, they had discarded their shoes and 
socks and rolled up their jeans to wade in the incoming tide.  The cool 
water and rough sand massaged their feet, soothing away the soreness 
accumulated during the day.

        The sun was settling into the ocean, turning the clouds and water 
all shades of red and gold, and setting the sky on fire.  The world was 
bathed in a warm orange glow.

        Feeling both comfortable and awkward in each other's presence, 
they walked in silence.  Close, but not touching.

        A breeze blew in from the sea, ruffling their hair.  Jessica 
shivered involuntarily as the cool air touched her skin.  Jon put an 
arm around her shoulders.  She looked up at him.  Their eyes met, and 
locked.

        "Wasn't this where we left off?" she smiled at last, slipping her 
arm around his waist.

        "I think so."  Jon returned her smile.

        "Okay."  Jessica said.  "So where were we?"

        Jon pretended to ponder, although the moment was engraved in 
his mind.  "Let's see... first I said 'Jessie,' and then you said 'Jonny,' 
... and then the Beach Boys started singing 'Surfing USA.'"

        Jessica laughed quietly.  "No distractions now," she said.

        "None," Jon agreed.  "So...Jessie..."  He looked at her.  "What color 
are your eyes?"

        "What?"  She was caught off-guard.

        "Your eyes," he repeated.  "They've been on my mind for years.  I 
could never figure out what color they are."

        She raised an eyebrow.  "Well...I always thought they were green," 
she said slowly, still trying to figure out where this was going.

        "No... not green exactly," he mused.  "Sometimes they're blue.  And 
sometimes, like now..." he gazed into her eyes,  "...they're blue and green 
at the same time.  Aquamarine, almost.  Like the ocean."

        Something occurred to Jessica then.  "Let me get this straight," 
she said.  "You've been wondering about the color of my eyes for -- 
*years?*"

        "Ever since we were kids," Jon replied.

        "Oh," she said.  And then, "OH." as realization finally dawned on her.

        He nodded.

        "Well, as it happens..." she glanced at her feet, and then back up 
at him,  "I've been wondering about your eyes for years too."

        "*My* eyes?" he smiled.  "They're just plain blue."

        "Not *just plain* blue," she informed him.  "A steady blue.  A 
dependable blue."  Her voice dipped a notch.  "A... *very* nice blue."

        "I'm glad you approve," he said huskily.  "*Do* you approve...?"

        "Oh, yes.  Very much," she assured him.  "I just never realized how 
... *blue* they were ...before."

        They looked at each other for a long moment.

        Then he bent and pressed his lips to hers, tentatively, almost 
shyly.  The awkwardness quickly faded as she slid her free arm around 
his neck.  His other arm wrapped about her, enclosing her in a warm 
circle.

        At last, breathless, they parted reluctantly.

        Although her heart was pounding madly, Jessica couldn't help but 
giggle at the look of astonishment on Jon's face.  She reached up and 
traced his jawline lightly.  "You look so surprised."

        "I *am* surprised," he replied.  "I didn't plan for any of this.  And 
I never thought that you..."

        "I do," she assured him.  "I just can't believe I never realized it 
till today."

        "I've been crazy about you since I can remember," he confessed.

        "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

        "You kidding?  Your dad would have killed me," Jon replied, grinning.  
Then he sobered.  "And I was afraid... that you wouldn't feel the same 
way.  And that you wouldn't want to be around me anymore.  Discretion 
seemed the better part of valor."

        She tightened her arms around his waist.  "All these years...?"

        "All these years."  Jon stroked her hair and dropped a kiss on top of 
her head, breathing in her scent.  She smelled of spring flowers.

        Jessica turned her face up to his, her eyes sparkling.  "It was 
worth the wait."

        He smiled fondly at her.  "So what do we do now?"


Probably to be continued...

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© 1997 Winnie Lim