The tower radioed clearance for Jonny's Dream, and her owner/pilot prepped her for take-off. In the co-pilot's seat, Jessie checked the gauges and with a brisk nod told Jonny everything was ready. They began their run down the runway. Smoothly, the nose of the Cessna gradually pointed upwards, then levelled off. Jonny flew the small two-seater like a baby carriage, not wanting Jessie to have something to pick on

"Nice flying," she observed, speaking into the headset. She patted the control panel. "Nice plane too. When did you get it?"

"Yesterday," he replied. "And it is a her." He patted the dash. "It's her first cross-country trip."

Jessie popped open the can of soda she'd retrieved from the cooler. She tapped the can on the dash.

"Then, we shall consider her christened." She smiled at her friend. "You're really hitting it big, Jonny. First you graduate from college a year early with a major in archaeology and a minor in sociology, then you write a bestseller...about your life no less," she said and added, teasing, "Who would have thought it would be so interesting?"

Jonny made a face at her.

"And then," she continued, "you go off and move out of home to your brand new condo in Bangor." She smiled angelically. "Did I ever tell you that you're my best friend and role model? I want to be just like you when I grow up."

Jonny grinned at her. "Aim high, Jess." He flipped a switch and let go of the controls.

Jessie's eyebrows rose. "Last time I checked, this model didn't have automatic pilot."

"I added it on using--" he paused, not wanting to say Hadji's design and finished feebly, "specifications designed especially for it."

Jessie saw right through it, but decided to play along. "Does your dad know you got a new plane?"

"No. He thinks I chartered a plane I used a while back to pick you up," he replied.

Jessie's head cocked to one side, the way it did when something puzzled her.

"Where did you go anyway? I just heard from--" This time she paused, about to say Hadji and quickly switched gears. "I just heard you went on a trip."

Jonny, as Jessie did moment before, saw through the act and played along. "I met this girl, or woman I should say, and she invited me to see her art collection."

"Art collection, huh?" she repeated drily. "Right. So where was this art collection?"

"Boston," he replied.

"Traveled all that way just to see an art collection," she mumbled. "She must be one heck of a girl."

He shrugged.

"She wasn't bad," he said lightly. "But not as great as I first thought. Anyway," he tried to change the subject, "I stayed for a while to see the city and then went to Florida to take a peek at the new space shuttle."

He willed Jessie to pick up where he left off. She didn't, wanting him to fry for just a few more minutes.

"Aren't you gonna ask me where else I went and what else I did?" he asked desperately, hoping she'd just let it go.

Jessie shook her head. The edge of her mouth twitched slightly upward, her emerald green eyes twinkling. She waited. Jonny met her stare head on...and crumbled.

"Alright, alright," he conceeded. "Her collection was nothing but a pile of copied masterpieces--bad copies too. She just wanted to be able to say that she knew me, "the Great Jonny Quest" as she so kindly put it. She was a big fake." He smiled bitterly. "And that's my love life in twenty words or less."

Jessie sympathized with him like the good friend she was. "You'll find someone. Not all women have stars in their eyes and money on their minds. You'll find someone who deserves you."

He didn't look convinced.

"Really, I mean it," she assured him. "Who couldn't fall in love with you?"

Jonny met her eyes and Jessie thought she saw something in them she'd never seen before. Then, it disappeared and the familiar light that was his spirit flickered in their depths. But added to that was a small pain. She put a slender white hand on his shoulder.

"I always believed that everyone has a soulmate and since you're you, you'll chase her down with the same bullheadedness you do with your adventures."

"I wouldn't call it bullheadedness," he snorted, but Jessie could see she was getting through.

"Just turn on the famous Quest charm," she said, a slight teasing tone in her voice, then continued relentlessly, "So, what did she look like?"

"Tall, strawberry blonde, nice figure and the biggest green eyes that sparkled with what I thought was intelligence, but really was too much champagne, or was it beer? She was beautiful, but her personality had the texture of beat-up plastic," he said in one breath.

Jessie laughed outright at the description. "Sounds like a winner."

"Yeah, I know that real well." There was no laughter in his words.

She hurriedly scrambled for a safe topic. Her eyes fell on a switch she didn't notice before.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing."

Right then, Jonny reminded her of a starving man handed a seven course meal. "It's a tracking beacon connected to Quest World. No matter how hard the landing will be, it'll stay together." He grinned proudly. "I designed it to be that way."

"How do you know?"

"Tests, Jessie," he replied, slowly as if she was a two-year-old.

"Right." She didn't appreciate that tone. "So, what was the name of your strawberry blonde?"

Jonny saw his mistake and groaned. Jessie sat patiently, waiting for his answer. Then he brightened.

"Guess what, Jess."

She forgot about her question, curiousity getting the better of her. "What?"

"I got tickets to that musical you wanted to see."

"You mean 'Lovers and Losers'?" she ventured.

When Jonny nodded she squealed and clapped her hands like a child.

"Oh, Jonny, that's terrific!" she practically screamed in his ear.

After thoroughly milking Jonny about how he managed that tickets and bubbling over with gushes of how fabulous the musical was going to be, she calmed.

"So, what was her name?" she asked as if nothing happened.

This is gonna be a long trip, Jonny thought.

Rain fell heavily outisde the Quest Compound. Settled comfortably in the library, Dr. Benton Quest and Race Bannon tried to pay attention to their work, but couldn't bring themselves to the concentrate completely. It wasn't because of the pitter-patter of the rain falling on the windows. Every so often, one or the other would check the mantle clock.

Benton Quest still looked like the tall, straight-backed man of his youth. The only difference was the head full of iron gray hair. He was the image his son had wanted to become. He'd become an important man of his time after solving countless mysteries, not to mention saving the world a few times and making a name for himself in the archaeological world. Many times the President of the United States himself admitted he was glad Dr. Quest was on their side.

Roger "Race" Bannon was no slouch, either. He was still Dr. Quest's right-hand man and helped the doctor in his many challenging cases. He had worked in a government agency in his younger days and it showed when he worked on anything. Jonny swore he could shoot a gun, pick a lock, tame a lion, spout a simile, and charm a woman all at the same time without breaking a sweat.

The mantle clock chimed seven o'clock. Dr. Quest shut down his computer and got up. He made his way to the mantle and rested his elbow on it.

"Is something the matter, Benton?" Race asked.

"I can't work under these conditions, race," the doctor answered in his placid voice.

Race looked chastised. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I was bothering you." He started to gather the parts of his latest gadget.

Benton chuckled. "No, not you, Race. I would think that I'd be used to you after so many years. It's because I can't wait for the kids to get here."

Race relaxed.

"I feel the same way. The place seems so quiet without them around."

Benton sighed again.

"I guess we'll have to get used to it. They're adults and ready to be out in the world."

"I hate to break it to you, Benton, but they broke out a long time ago."

Benton smiled. "I suppose so. Still, Jonny's so much older than the baby I held."

"What about my Jessie," Race interjected. "She's a woman. It was like watching a caterpillar become a butterfly. Sometimes I find myself waiting for her to walk through the door still six years old and covered in mud."

Benton laughed. "Well, at least one of them stayed the same."

"Hadji," they said in unison.

"The only thing that changed about him was his voice," Race joked. "I swear, that boy must have been spouting parables since the cradle."

"That is something very easy to imagine."

Race glanced at the mantle clock. "What time did Jonny say was their ETA?"

"Tomorrow. He got tickets to some Broadway show Jessie's been so excited about and they're going to stay in Manhattan overnight."

They exchanged a worried look.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Race said.

Benton ran a hand across his beard.

"Funny how we start worrying about them now when they're more than capable of taking care of themselves. They've been doing that for almost ten years."

"We need something to do."

"How about a movie?"

"Great. As long as it's not an Indiana Jones movie."

Dr. Quest could barely hide his disappointment.

"Then, no James Bond either."

The Boeing 2050 flew through the thick white clouds 900 miles up in the air. Sitting somewhere in the middle of its large belly, Hadji Singh finished eating his dinner of chicken and peas.

"My friend Jonny always whined about airplane food being as bad as the worst gruel, but I must say that in this he is sorely mistaken," he said to the beautiful asian woman seated on his right side.

Eiko Takagawa smiled at his words and rested her hand on his.

Hadji felt his insides warm. He had gone to Japan for a little R&R, and while he was there visiting, he met Eiko. They had literally bumped into each other and that led to Eiko telling him all about the models and paintings they were seeing. He was fascinated by her and was surprised at how much alike they were. She was a true believer of metaphysics, despite the fact that as a nurse she had to believe in hard facts. They'd spent more than three hours talking together about everything under the blue sky. After that they spent even more time together, going to Kabuki shows, restaurants, and everwhere else they could go within a 100 mile radius. During that time, Hadji slowly, but surely, fell in love with her.

Somehow, when the time for him to leave drew closer, he mustered up the courage to ask her to come back with him to Maine. They wouldn't be staying at the Compound, but Hadji knew of a good bed and breakfast nearby. It wasn't hard to persuade her to come. Eiko wanted to meet the famous Dr. Quest and Race Bannon. Not to mention their children.

"You will enjoy my friends. They are quite nice."

"From what you have told me, they sound pleasant," Eiko said in that quiet way of hers that Hadji found refreshing.

He was so used to Jonny and Jessie's loud hyperactive ways, not that he minded it...much. But sometimes he thought they bruised his aura when they got into their loud arguments about absolutely nothing.

He laced his fingers through hers. "We will be spending more time alone together than with them, so I doubt you will get to know them as well as you like."

Eiko brushed a kiss on his lips. "Placed in those terms I find that very easy to swallow."

Hadji smiled warmly and gripped her hand tighter, even more convinced that he'd found the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. Eiko saw the expression on his face, and rested her head on his shoulder. Meeting this young, handsome man was more than she could ever ask for. She was happier than she'd ever been before and judging from the look on Hadji's face, he felt the same way.