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The Real Adventures of Jessica Bannon

TONYA (3/3)
by Laura Fort

(All of the following applies to all parts of TONYA)
Disclaimer: Don't own any of the Quest Team or anything in relation. If 
I did, there would be more JQ episodes on the way. Don't own Time 
Magazine, or ABC, or any of the songs or singers. I especially don't own 
any of the Mlers. Ya'll know the rules and the routines.
Archivers: Have at thee!!!!!!!!!
Categories: HR, A, ML, F
Summary: Jessica must learn to overcome and face her fears. No matter 
what the cost.  

TONYA
Part 3

	Finally, Jonathan spoke the question Jessica dreaded hearing and 
answering. "Jessica, I know you gave me until Saturday to figure this 
out on my own. But I really don't want to snoop into your private life. 
Can't you tell me?"
	Jessica's mind raged with questions. Should I tell him? Would he 
understand? her mind screamed. Why not? He'll eventually find out 
anyway.
	Jessica sighed and took a deep breath. "You remember the weekend you, 
Dad, Dr. Quest, and Hadji went camping?"
	Jonathan nodded. He did remember. He had caught a fifteen pound fish. 
His first.
	Jessica walked to the fireplace and stared into space, lost. "After you 
guys left, I returned from school and working on my science project."
	Jessica went on to tell about feeling like she was being watched. She 
told him about the rape. About feeling so helpless, dirty, used, scared, 
worthless.
	"Remember the bruise on my cheek? Well, that's where he slapped me 
hard" she confided. "All my other bruises had healed by the time you 
guys got home."
	"Hadji didn't believe me. But no matter how hard he pressed, I wouldn't 
tell him the truth."
	Jonathan nodded slowly. "Hadji told me he was concerned. He told Dad 
and Race that you were holding something back. He just didn't know 
what."
	Jessica told him about discovering that she was pregnant, telling her 
mom, and being afraid to come back and face Race. She walked to the 
mantle and picked up three picture frames. "This is Tonya Angel Bannon 
when she was born- born two months premature."
	"She's beautiful, Jessica."
	She showed him the other two pictures. One was of Tonya when she was a 
year old.
	Jessica told him of the contaminated blood transfusion and the AIDS.
	"This picture...this picture is Tonya on her third birthday. Right 
before she died." Tears began to slip down Jessica's face.
	Jonathan hugged her and held her tight.
	"But look at what you've accomplished, Jessica." He looked into her 
eyes, his voice soft and comforting. "Because of you and Tonya, one 
child died in order to save millions of people, not to mention 
children."
	"But Tonya died. My baby." Jessica sobbed.
	Jonathan held her tighter.  "It's okay, Jessica."
	She pulled away from him. "No, it's not okay. Do you have any idea how 
hard it is to get up every morning? To know that you disowned your 
family, to know that your baby died, all because of you?"
	"Every morning, I pray to God for the strength to go on. So I can help 
children all across the world fight disease, hunger, and AIDS."
	"Every three weeks, I go to a shrink." she said bitterly. "Mom found 
out that I was suicidal a few years back, so she made me go to Dr. 
Cranston."
	"Jonathan, my life has been a living hell ever since that Friday 
night." She took a deep breath, calming herself down. "The only thing 
that keeps me going is knowing that there are children out there who 
need help. My help."
	Jessica turned around to face him. "I'm sorry to have dumped my 
problems on you."
	"No problem." Jonathan said. He quickly cleared his throat. "So, can I 
have a detailed tour of your mansion?"
	Jessica laughed. "Sure."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	"Awesome room. Jessica!" Jonathan exclaimed as he ran his hand over the 
planet Earth. "This is incredible. And it's so detailed."
	Jessica smiled. "This is my favorite room."
	"I can see why. Electronics, computer equipment,...hey, QuestWorld."
	"Well, I borrowed some of your Dad's technology and reprogrammed a 
version of QuestWorld into my private QuestWorld. I named in 
QBVReality."
	Jonathan grinned. "Let me guess. Quest-Bannon-Virtual-Reality."
	"You got it."
	Jonathan examined the room. Abruptly, he yawned. "Excuse me." He 
glanced at his watch. "Whoa, it's after midnight!"
	Jessica yawned, also. "Well, I guess we'd better turn in for the night. 
I sure hope this storm doesn't do any major damage to anything."
	Jonathan headed upstairs. "You said it. Goodnight, Jess.."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	The next morning, Jessica woke up with the strange feeling that 
something wasn't quite right. Then she remembered, Jonathan.
	She got up and quickly showered. She dried off and stepped into a green 
halter top and white shorts. Grabbing socks and her tennis shoes, she 
bounded downstairs.
	Jonathan wasn't up yet so she wrote him a quick note.
	"Jonathan-" she read out loud as she wrote. "Had to run a few errands 
for the trip. Help yourself to whatever. See you in a few."
	Jessica quickly signed her name. She stepped into her socks and laced 
up her shoes. She grabbed her wallet and keys and headed toward her car.

	Meanwhile, Jonathan's eyes were just opening.
	Smiling to himself, Jonathan propped his head up on his pillow.
	For once, life seemed almost perfect. "The woman I love is temporarily 
back in my life. But not if I have anything to do with it." he thought 
out loud.
	He got up and turned on his laptop, which had been on top of the 
dresser.
	As soon as he accessed his e-mail account, the new-message icon popped 
up.
	He had two messages. One from his father and one from Hadji.
	He quickly read his father's message and replied. Jonathan told Benton 
that he had found Jessica and briefly described their plans for the 
Paris trip.
	After sending it, he read Hadji's e-mail. "Hadj must have a lot of time 
on his hands." Jonathan commented after quickly reading Hadji's long 
e-mail.
	Jonathan wrote back, inquiring about Keisha and the baby that was on 
the way. He also explained why he was in Chicago. He told Hadji about 
their plans for flying to Bangalore.
	Jonathan sent his e-mail and shut off the laptop's power.
	After grabbing a shower, he started downstairs. Before he reached the 
staircase, however, he peeked into Jessica's bedroom to see if she was 
up.
	The room was empty, but something caught his eye. Sitting on her 
dresser was an object made out of crystal. It was in the shape of an 
angel and had a halo made out of gold. The halo sat atop curly crystal 
hair and a pretty face.
	Jonathan carefully picked it up and slowly turned it over in his hands. 
On the back was an inscription.

			For my daughter, in the death of her
			wonderful daughter, Tonya Angel
			Bannon. We will always love her,
			just as we will always love you.
					Love, Mom

	Jonathan gently sat the angel back down where it came from.
	"Poor Jess." he said as he glanced at various pictures of Tonya that 
also sat on the dresser.
	Suddenly, from downstairs, he heard a door slam. He stepped out of the 
room and went downstairs. Jonathan walked into the family room where 
Jessica was surrounded by sacks.
	She glanced up and smiled as he entered the room. "Hi." she called 
softly.
	Jonathan sat down on the couch and watched her. "What's all this?"
	She pointed to sacks and named their contents. "CDs, snacks, food, 
supplies, and other junk."
	"You've been busy." Jonathan commented.
	"Just packing for the trip." she shot back.
	"Have you finished packing your clothes and stuff?" 
	"Not yet. Why?" she asked.
	"I'll help you here, so you can finish packing upstairs." Jonathan 
suggested.
	Jessica stood up and stretched. "Sounds good. Let's try and get all 
this packed before lunch. I would like to leave this afternoon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	"That's the last of the luggage." Jessica said as she closed the 
compartment door. She glanced at her watch. 2:04.
	Jonathan walked around to Jessica. "She's all set. Everything's checked 
out and ready for flight.
	Jonathan smiled down at her eager grin. "Ready?"
	Jessica grinned. "You bet."
	She climbed aboard the Dragonfly and into the copilot's seat. "Wow, 
it's been a long time." She ran her hands over the copilot's controls.
	Jonathan gave her a look. "It's been too long."
	He quickly checked to make sure everything was secured in its place. He 
sat down in the pilot's seat and glanced at Jessica. "You want to start 
out flying first or me?"
	"Uh, maybe you better. Like I said, it's been a while."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Hours later, Jessica sank down on the couch of their hotel suite in 
Paris. "I can't believe how horrible that storm was. It must have 
followed us all the way from Chicago."
	Jonathan said nothing. He was staring at the television, his face pale. 
Jessica walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm. "Jon, what's 
wrong?"
	"Remember Tropical Storm Sarah? The one that was supposed to have died 
down?"
	Jessica's eyes grew wide. "Supposed to?"
	"Yeah, well, they upgraded her to Hurricane Sarah. She's sending out 
tons of major storms and tornadoes to the northeast coast of the US."
	"Oh, no." Jessica gasped.
	"I'm going to call Dad. Make sure everything's okay." Jonathan picked 
up the phone and dialed his father's cell phone number just in case the 
lines were dead in Rockport, or his father wasn't at home.
	"Hey, Dad...Yeah, I'm in Paris...Jessica is too...You're cutting 
out...We heard...Is Race there?...I see...Sure...Call me back after it 
lifts...Bye." Jonathan hung up with a relived sigh and turned to 
Jessica.
	"Everything's fine. Race was checking ground security. Storm knocked 
out a few power lines in Rockport."
	"Thank goodness their okay." Jessica replied.
	"Yeah, well, I'm going to unpack." Jonathan stood up and carried his 
bags to his bedroom. "By the way, you did a great job flying the 
Dragonfly."
	"Thanks." Jessica watched his walk away, then reluctantly picked up her 
bags as well.
	She set her bags on the navy bedspread. She pulled out her mini boombox 
and set it on the dresser.
	Jessica quickly unpacked. After changing into her nightgown and robe, 
she said good night to Jonathan and went to bed, exhausted from the 
flight and jet-lag.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Thursday morning, Jonathan and Jessica were heading to the Riviera 
Dining Hall to help the directors set up for the banquet the next day.
	After they finished setting up the sound system, Jonathan and Jessica 
left to do some sightseeing and eat lunch.
	"That was the best salad I have ever eaten." Jonathan commented 
sleepily.
	Jessica yawned. "I agree." She yawned again. "Maybe we should go back 
to the hotel before I fall asleep."
	Jonathan laughed and put some money on the table. He stood up and 
stretched, relishing the warmth of the sun streaming down between the 
cafe's umbrellas.
	Jessica linked arms with Jonathan as they walked down the street to 
their hotel, which was nearby.
	Jessica changed into shorts and a sweatshirt and laid down on her bed, 
typing on her laptop. Jonathan had walked to the living room and flipped 
on the TV.
	Jessica finished writing a letter to Jaci via e-mail. She lay down and 
closed her eyes, thinking about the past week.
	Her eyes snapped open, and she jumped up. Jessica threw open the closet 
doors and pulled out her dress. She laid the dress on her bed as an idea 
came to her.
	She dug around in her backpack for a small black bag. "Come on, where 
did you go?"
	Jessica dumped out the contents of her backpack onto the bed. She found 
what she was looking for and gently pulled out its contents. She 
carefully picked up the two silver rings. Race had given her a sliver 
ring with a small diamond embedded in it for her sixteen birthday. The 
other ring was given to her by Jonathan when they were younger. The ring 
was simple, but held many memories of her life at the Compound.
	Jessica put the rings with the rest of the accessories that went with 
her gown. She laid back down and fell asleep, dreaming of a certain 
young man.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Jonathan woke up the next morning with his arms and legs aching. "All I 
did was move some tables and chairs." he said aloud. "But, then again, 
there were twenty tables and two hundred chairs to be moved."
	He slowly got out of bed and showered. He let the hot water massage his 
sore back and wash off the soap before getting out.
	He got dressed and walked into the suite's small kitchen. "Mmm. Bacon 
and eggs sound good."
	He began cooking breakfast when Jessica walked in. "G'morning."
	She smiled in return and stiffly sat down at the bar.
	"You look as sore as I feel." he said, critically looking her over.
	"Yeah. Maybe some medicine will help."
	"How about that plus eggs, bacon, juice, and toast?"
	"You sound too good to be true."
	Jonathan broke into a sly grin. "Oh, really?"
	"Really."
	Jonathan chopped up some ham and mixed it into the scrambled eggs. "Are 
you ready for this evening?"
	"Aside from a few butterflies, I'm ready." she replied. "Any you?"
	"No problem. Nothing could possibly go wrong."
	Jessica laughed, despite herself. "Famous last words."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Jonathan's heart skipped a beat when he saw Jessica walk out of her 
room that evening. She twirled for him. "What do you think?"
	Jonathan's breath caught in his throat. "Uh, you look great." he choked 
out weakly.
	Jessica smiled. "Thank you. You look very handsome." She walked up to 
him and straightened his bowtie.
	She was standing so close to him, he could smell a light fragrance of 
perfume. Jonathan had a hard time trying to keep from staring at her. 
Wow, she's so gorgeous, he thought. The green of the gown brought out 
her eyes.
	Even during the drive to the Banquet, he had a hard time concentrating 
on the road.
	"Um, Jon?" Jess asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.
	"Hmm?" he replied absentmindedly.
	"Are you going to turn?" 
	Jonathan glanced up and muttered something a little profane. He quickly 
swerved the car into the parking lot. He glanced at Jessica. She was 
gaping at him with wide eyes.
	Jonathan felt himself blush.
	"You okay?" Jessica asked.
	"Yeah. Sorry, my mind was somewhere else." Yeah, he thought, like on 
Jessica.
	"Obviously."
	They got out of the car and walked to the entrance. Jessica paused.
	Jonathan held out his arm for Jessica to take. Jessica smiled 
gratefully and slipped her arm through his.
	They entered the room, which was almost totally full. As soon as they 
took a step inside, a young, auburn haired woman came up to them.
	"Hi! I'm Chrystena Benitt, the photographer." She smiled and held up a 
sophisticated looking camera. "Smile!"
	Jonathan put his arm around Jessica's shoulders. They smiled at the 
camera.
	Chrystena grinned. "You two make a great couple. Catch you later!" She 
waved and hurried off.
	Jessica glanced up at Jonathan and shrugged her shoulders.
	They make their was up to a young woman. She was standing off to the 
side in front of the stage, talking to two more women.
	"Jessica!" she called out. The couple weaved their way to the three 
women.
	"Renee! How are you?" Jessica and Renee exchanged hugs.
	"Totally excited! And you?" But before Jessica could answer, Renee 
said, "And you must be Jonathan Quest."
	Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I am. And you are?"
	Jessica answered. "Jon, meet me friend and the co-director, Renee 
Forisha. She's a French college professor at the University of Florida."
	Jonathan and Renee shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Jessica 
has told me so many wonderful things about you."
	Jonathan blushed. "Thanks, I-"
	But Renee interrupted him. "Oh, where are my manners? Jonathan, 
Jessica, I'd like you to meet Patricia Stiles and Amanda Olsen. Patricia 
is my co-director and a pediatrician, and Ms. Olsen is an author for 
TIME magazine."
	Amanda smiled. "Yes. TIME is doing a feature on the different needs of 
children across the world, and what people are doing to help them."
	Patricia glanced at her watch and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry to 
interrupt, but we need to get this show on the road."
	"Of course." Jonathan took Jessica's arm and steered her to a table 
close to the stage.
	When everyone noticed Renee Forisha standing on the stage, behind, they 
quickly took their seats.
	"Good evening. Welcome to this year's WorldWide Children's Charity 
Banquet. As most of you know, my name is Renee Forisha. My co-director 
Patricia Stiles and I thank each of you for coming tonight and for your 
support for our Charity. Tonight, we are celebrating our most successful 
year of contributions and accomplishments. We all have one thing, one 
goal, in mind. We are here to give each and every child across the world 
a better and more promising future. These children are the future of our 
world. And we must do everything in our power to give them a chance to 
live their lives to their full potential!"
	Renee paused in her speech to let the clapping die down. "Tonight, we 
have a great number of people here who have taken time, money, and 
effort away from their personal lives to help reach our goal. A few of 
them will stand up here later this evening, and share with you their 
thoughts and hopes for World Wide."
	"But for now, please enjoy dinner. And afterwards, we will have our 
speakers come up and talk. Then, feel free to chat with friends, dance, 
or just party."
	Everyone clapped as Renee graciously took a bow. She stepped down from 
the stage to her table.
	As they were eating, Jonathan and Jessica chatted with the other people 
at their table. Lauren Hodill, an oceanographer, sat on Jonathan's 
right. Next to Lauren was Juan Garcia. Juan was a dance choreographer 
for Broadway plays and music videos. On the other side of Juan sat 
Chelsea Collins. Chelsea was a Medical School Professor in California. 
Jeffery Werbin sat to the left of Jessica. Jeffrey was a Professor of 
Science at UNC. Next to Jeffrey was Jennifer Moss, a rising country 
singer. Her latest song "Walking Out" was CMT's number one song for the 
last two months.
	Jennifer sat next to Scott Dorsey, a police detective in Dallas, Texas. 
Alisin Desmond was on Scott's left. Alisin was currently starring in the 
popular television series "Wrong Instinct." Between Alisin and Chelsea 
was Carlos Rodriguez, a fiction novel writer. His most recent novel, 
"Terror's Race" was being produced into a movie.
	Scott turned to Jennifer. "Congratulations on your career!"
	Chelsea piped up. "I absolutely loved the video. The dancing was 
awesome!"
	Jennifer grinned and nodded toward Juan. "Juan choreographed all the 
dances for my videos. He's an excellent dancer."
	Juan waved his hand. "It was a lot of fun to work with everyone. 
Besides, it was really great getting to watch a star at work. You never 
really realize how much effort is put into a music video."
	Jessica glanced at Alisin. "I understand you're about to star in a new 
movie."
	Alisin nodded. "Yeah, but I am so nervous about it."
	"Why?" Lauren asked.
	"It'll be such a change from my TV series. You know, new actors, 
actresses, directors, a whole new crew. It's hard enough with my regular 
crew."
	"Can you give us any details about the movie?" Jonathan asked with a 
wink.
	Alisin glanced at Carlos. "Well, okay. Then movie is called 'Terror's 
Race.' Carlos wrote the original novel that it is based on."
	Jeffrey's eyes widened. "That was a captivating novel!"
	Carlos smiled politely. "Thank you. I wasn't sure if it would be 
accepted by my readers."
	Scott laughed. "As far as I'm concerned, you should never have that 
problem. I truly enjoyed it myself."
	Jessica agreed. "I'd say it was your best so far."
	"Really?"
	Jonathan nodded. "Really."

	Finally, it was time for Jessica to give her speech. Jonathan gave her 
a smile of encouragement. Jessica walked up to the podium, feeling every 
eye on her.
	Once she began her speech, it became easier to talk, like a second 
nature. She was so engrossed in talking that she didn't even notice the 
camera flashes or the young man in the back taping for ABC. She 
explained about her Rehabilitation and Research Center. She talked about 
its accomplishments, goals, and research.
	After she finished, she received a standing ovation. A shrill whistle 
pierced through the applause. Scanning the crowd, she saw Jonathan 
giving her the thumbs up. She grinned at him and the cameras.
	She headed back to her table. She and Jonathan listened to the other 
speakers. Patricia Stiles ended with the invitation for the guest to 
enjoy dessert and the dance floor.
	After Patricia finished, Jonathan turned to Jessica. "You did a great 
job."
	She blushed. "Thanks. It wasn't too bad, actually."
	The disk jockey quickly put on some music and people made a beeline for 
the dance floor, including the others at their table. The song "Rock My 
World" by Brooks'N'Dunn filtered through the speakers.
	"Would you care to dance?" Jonathan held his hand out to Jessica.
	"Love to." 
	They made their way onto the crowded dance floor.
	"Hey," Jonathan said suddenly.
	"What?" Jessica asked, alarmed.
	"You still have it!" He pointed to her rings.
	"Of course." She said. "Why wouldn't I?"
	Jonathan shrugged. "I dunno. I gave that to you about fifteen years 
ago."
	Jessica smiled. "I remember. That was my best birthday ever."
	Jonathan laughed. "It should be. It was your sweet 16."
	She grinned evilly. "I remember your sweet 16. I also seem to recall 
that little package you received in the mail that day."
	He grinned sheepishly. "Okay, okay. So maybe I thought it would be cool 
to send myself flowers. I was young and immature."
	"I know."
	He frowned. "Well, you didn't have to agree with me."
	She smiled softly. "But it was funny. And sometimes-"
	"Sometimes what?"
	She looked away. "Sometimes, your immaturity was, um, in a way, kind of 
attractive."
	Jonathan eyed her. "Really?"
	She glanced down. "Yeah," she quickly regained her composure. "But it 
was mostly annoying."
	Jonathan shook his head. "Uh-huh."
	She frowned. "Well, it was."
	Three songs later, Jonathan walked back to his table alone. He sat down 
slowly, watching Jessica dance with another man, whom Jonathan 
recognized as a news broadcaster for ABC.
	"Are these seats taken?" Jonathan glanced up at the couple standing 
beside him.
	Jonathan grinned and stood up. "Hey Brennan!" He and Brennan Pratt 
shook hands.
	Brennan turned to the young woman on his arm. "Jon, meet Kristy, my 
wife. Kristy, this is Jonathan Quest, my college roommate and fellow 
prankster."
	"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Quest." Kristy said in a soft, 
delicate voice.
	Jonathan smiled. "The pleasure's all mine. And please, call me Jonathan 
or Jon." He turned to Brennan. "So, Brat, you finally tied the knot." 
Jonathan said, thumping him on the back.
	Brennan groaned. "You're never going to forget that, are you?"
	"Why do you call him Brat?" Kristy asked.
	Before Brennan could answer, Jonathan began to explain. "During our 
junior year in college, we were in the same math class. We had this 
teacher, Mr. Young, who had the nastiest looking toupee."
	Brennan took up the story. "He probably bought it at a garage sale. 
Well, once, we found it laying on his desk before school started. So we 
borrowed some hairspray from a friend, and messed with the toupee."
	Jonathan laughed. "When we finished, it looked like it had gotten 
caught in a whirlpool."
	"So Mr. Young walks into class later that day with the most interesting 
hairdo." Brennan laughed. "He had tried to comb out the tangles or 
something. His toupee was a greasy mess sticking out in all different 
directions."
	"Todd, another guy, walked into class with his usual cigarette. Next 
thing we knew, Mr. Young was screaming and stomping on his toupee. It 
had caught on fire, and he was trying to put it out." Jonathan said.
	"Todd just stood there, laughing his head off."
	Kristy grinned. "And the name Brat?"
	Jonathan smiled. "After than little episode, Mr. Young started to call 
Brennan 'Brat.' But he told us that is was a slip." 
	"Interesting." Kristy commented with raised eyebrows. "Well, if you'll 
excuse me, I am going to go talk some more people."
	Brennan watched as Kristy walked away. Jonathan's gaze moved to the 
dance floor where Jessica was dancing with yet another man.
	Brennan looked at Jonathan. "So, I assume you're out, Quest."
	"Huh?"
	"You're out. You know, out of circulation." Brennan replied.
	"Out of circulation?" Jonathan repeated stupidly.
	"C'mon, Quest. Where's your mind? On Ms. Bannon, I assume. You're 
taken. You like someone, and she likes you." Brennan explained.
	"Whatever." Jonathan tore his eyes away from to look at Brennan.
	"Quest, I've noticed the looks she's shot your way. And obviously, you 
would rather be out there on the dance floor with her, instead of here 
talking with me."
	Jonathan sighed. "No offence, but you're right. So what do I do?"
	He shrugged. "That's your decision. Go with your gut. Just like we did 
in college."
	"College?" Jonathan and Brennan turned to see Jessica. They both stood 
up, and Jonathan introduced Jessica and Brennan.
	Brennan gestured to the chair. "You're chair, madam."
	Jessica shook her head. "I need to socialize a little." She looked at 
Jonathan. Care to join me?"
	Jonathan glanced at Brennan and winked. "Talk to you later."
	Brennan chuckled. "Sure."
	Jessica led him to a group of people, one who was Renee Forisha.
	Renee made the introductions. "Everyone, meet Jessica Bannon and 
Jonathan Quest. Jon, Jess, meet Matthew Sutherland, the Duke of Earl, 
Richard Light, Colleen Harmon, and Katie Amanek."
	Everyone nodded to each other and shook hands.
	Renee continued. "Matt specializes in firearms and weaponry. Duke is a 
private investigator in Phoenix. Richard is a movie producer. Colleen is 
a computer graphics specialist at Texas Instruments, and Katie is our 
professional violinist."
	Katie grinned. "Well, I hope to be a professional someday."
	Richard laid a hand on her arm. "I'm sure you will be one soon."
	Jessica looked at Duke. "What does your name mean?"
	He grinned. "It's a cool sounding name that sounds good for my company. 
Keepin' the faith, baby."
	Matt shook his head. "Uh-huh." He turned to Jessica. "That was a very 
moving speech you gave."
	She blushed. "Thank you. Everyone at the Center has been working very 
hard. Especially since we are getting closer to finding a cure for AIDS 
and HIV."
	Duke spoke up. "If there is anything you or your Center ever need, just 
give me a call." He fished around his pocket and pulled out a card.
	Jessica took the card and glanced at his information. "Thanks. I'll do 
that."
	Suddenly, Jonathan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, his 
eyes widening is surprise. "Audrey London?"
	She tossed her dark brown hair over her shoulder, her brown eyes 
sparkling. "The one and only. How have you been, Jon?" she purred.
	"Fine, and you?" Jonathan tried to move closer to Jessica. He didn't 
really want to have a conversation with his ex-girlfriend.
	She smoothed out the skirt of her slim, silky dress. "Wonderful. 
Archeology has made me a happy woman." She glanced up. "Actually, here 
comes the source of my happiness."
	A man came up to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Jon, meet 
my husband, Kevin Toclear. Honey, this is Jonathan Quest."
	Jonathan gave an inward sigh of relief. "Congratulations."
	Kevin smiled. "Thank you. If you'll excuse us, I want Audrey to meet 
someone."
	"Of course."
	"Bye, Jon!" Audrey and Kevin walked away.
	Jessica glanced at Jonathan. "Are you okay?"
	"Yeah. Do you want to dance some more?" He asked.
	"Sure."
	They stepped onto the less crowded dance floor.
	Jessica looked up into his blue eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" He 
didn't answer. "Jon?"
	"Hmm?"
	"What's wrong?"
	"Sorry. Justthinking."
	"She followed his gaze to Audrey. "About her?" He nodded slowly. "Do 
you want to talk about it?"
	"Nah. Not really. She's just an ex-girlfriend."
	Jessica's face fell. He probably still likes her, she thought, as she 
watched his eyes follow Audrey around the room.
	The tempo slowed down, and the lights dimmed slightly.
	Jonathan knew the song by Chicago, and without realizing it, he softly 
sang along.

I was thinking about her
Visiting the past
Reconstructing details 
With old photographs

I was studying the pages
With that objective point o view
Suddenly remembering
Doesn't haunt me

At the time you couldn't tell me
That one day I'd be glad
Something that I thought was love
Was misinterpreted

She had another lover
She emphatically denied
But they were doing me a favor
A blessing in disguise

If she would have been faithful
If she would have been true
Then I would have been cheated
I would never know real love
I would have missed out on you

I watch you sleeping
Your body touching me
There's no doubt about it
This is where I want to be

You know it's so ironic
I had to lose to win
I want to thank her
Thank her again

If she would have been faithful
If she would have been true
Then I would have been cheated
I would never know real love
I would have missed out on you

It's a paradox
Full of contradictions
How I got from there to here
It defies a logical explanation

If she would have been faithful
If she would have been true
Then I would have been cheated
I would never know real love
I would have missed out on you

	Jessica glanced up at Jonathan. She saw he was looking at her 
strangely. "It's true."
	"Really?"
	Jonathan smiled and tightened his arms around her. "Really."
	She leaned against him. "I love you."
	He bent down to her ear and whispered softly. "I love you, too."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, that's it. Send comments and jazz to me at   laf99@hotmail.com   
or   laugh1999@hotmail.com

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