Chapter Four

Jessie and Jonny sat in Jonny's Dream in silence, lost in their own thoughts. They had been in the air for more than an hour, halfway to Maine. Jessie had nothing to say and her thoughts ran endlessly to Hadji and his girlfriend. Jonny's thoughts ran towards jealousy. He knew that she was thinking about Hadji and he had to admit that the heavy feeling in his chest was not due to the huge plate of nachos he had for lunch. He sighed loudly, shocking Jessie out of her reverie.

"Penny for your thoughts," she offered. It was the longest sentence she'd said to him since getting on the plane.

"I'm afraid they're worth way more than a penny," Jonny countered.

She pretended to consider it. "Well, how about a dime?"

"They're too precious. Sorry, Jess."

She shrugged. "I tried."

The plane droned on. Jonny still piloted it, having nothing else to do. Jessie had taken over his laptop. He glanced over at what she was doing and saw where she was about to go. Before he could stop her, Jessie had found the letter.

"Jonny," she began hesitantly. "What's this?"

"It's a letter," he said lightly, trying to throw her off the scent, but knowing that it wouldn't work.

"I know that," she scoffed. "But from who?"

"I don't know. I got it months ago. I guess I just forgot about it."

Jessie read the letter.

"Is this why you changed your e-mail address?" she asked, a frown creasing her forehead.

"Yes. The old address is still active, but I don't look at it much anymore. Once and a while I just erase all the letters I get on it without checking to see what they say."

"Have you told the police or anyone about this letter?" Jessie asked, knowing Jonny well enough to know the answer.

As she suspected, he shook his head. "I didn't see the point. Even if we caught the person, a letter like that wouldn't hold up in court. I don't think I would have been able to get a restraining order with that."

"Why didn't you tell me? Or our dads? Or Hadji?"

"I didn't find the need to. I can handle this myself."

She shook her head at him, her lips turned down at the ends. "I don't like this one bit, Jonny. Have you gotten more letters from this person?"

"I don't care to find out," he replied, his tone final.

"But, what if…"

"No nothing," he interrupted. I don't want to talk about it. I know in the past I would have been more than happy to chase this person, but I've got better things to do with my time. It's probably just some obsessed woman or something."

Jessie felt a small smile grow on her face. "Oh, get over yourself."

Jonny smiled. "That didn't sound as good as it did in my head."

With a touch of her finger, Jessie closed the letter. "I just hope nothing happens to you, Jonny."

"Nothing will, Jess. That letter is six months old. I'm still here aren't I? After everything we've been through, I am sitting here in front of you, full of life."

She only gave him a look. She turned back at the screen and gasped. Jonny turned it towards him and saw the gleaming icon. He had just received a letter. He and Jessie exchanged a look. She pointed the mouse arrow on it and clicked.

"It's from your dad," she informed him, half-relieved and half-disappointed. "He's asking us if we want to go to Japan."

"What for?"

"For a vacation. No investigations, no work, just for sightseeing and enrichment." Jessie smirked. "Of course, there's a ninety-nine point nine percent chance we'll find some other sort of trouble. What do you think?"

"I think we should go. If I know Pop, this is one of those bonding trips. If we find some trouble, so what? We can handle it. We always do and at the same time we can still have tons of fun."

"A lot of people would not consider that fun," she laughed.

"We do," Jonny said with a proud smile. "Maybe you'll meet someone and…"

Jessie visibly stiffened. "That was not what I was thinking."

"I know. I was just adding a little spice into your analysis. If Hadji met someone maybe Japan has something that we've been looking all these years."

"The latest technology?"

"No," Jonny said with a smile.

"Chicken teriyaki?"

"Nooo…"

"Cherry blossom…"

"Shut up, Jess."

Race shielded his eyes and watched the twin engine Cessna circle the compound. It began its decent. Benton, Hadji, and Eiko stood a little further away. Finally, Jonny's Dream touched the tarmac and slowed to a stop. Race rushed forward and hugged his daughter before she even set foot on solid land.

"Hi, Dad," she said simply, but with feeling. "Miss me?"

Race put his daughter down and smiled. "Of course I did, Ponchita."

Jessie beamed. "I missed you too."

Race kissed her on the forehead and let her greet the others. He extended a hand to Jonny. The younger man was fighting down the greeting of his bulldog, Bandit--who at the moment was acting more like a puppy than a full-grown dog.

"That's a nice plane you got there, Jonny," Race said above the din.

Jonny laughed and crouched down to stop Bandit from launching himself in the air. Now that he was closer, Bandit covered his master's face with a hundred licks a second. The only consolation was he was now silent. Jonny patted his head, grinning.

"Thanks, Race," he said. "I did all you told me, checked her up and everything. She's perfect."

Race chucked him on the shoulder. "No problem, Kid."

Nearby, Dr. Quest hugged Jessie. "It's good to have you back."

"Thanks, Dr. Quest."

Jessie let go of him and turned to Hadji. His arm was around a young and delicately featured Japanese woman. Eiko, Jessie remembered. She put on a smile and extended a hand.

"Hello. I'm Jessie Bannon. You must be Eiko," she said, struggling to sound as friendly as possible.

"Hello, Jessie," Eiko said with a bright smile, thinking that she was a very friendly young woman. "I have heard a lot about you. It is nice to finally meet you."

Jessie had to admit that she was a nice woman and more than suitable for Hadji. But it didn't mean she had to like it. Jonny came just then and introduced himself to Eiko. Jessie could see that he approved of her.

They walked back to the compound, Jessie with her father, Jonny with his, and Hadji with his lady friend. Chatter filled the air even as they got ready for supper. Eiko stood back and watched them prepare the meal in the large kitchen. They moved in complete synchronization. Something, she knew, that only came with many years of practice. She felt like an outsider.

Hadji stopped gathering the utensils. He'd felt that rush of emotion from Eiko. That was how attuned they were to each other's feelings. He looked over his shoulder at her and sent a questioning glance. Eiko shook her head and smiled. He still wasn't convinced. He took a step towards her…

…and collided with Jonny.

Lettuce leaves, spoons, and forks littered the floor as well as Jonny and Hadji. Jessie, Race, and Benton guffawed. Eiko covered her mouth daintily to hide a smile.

Jonny picked up a lettuce leaf from his shirtfront. His mouth twitched as he and Hadji looked at each other. His friend had a crouton stuck in his turban. That settled it. Jonny doubled over with laughter. His eyes watered. Jessie picked up a lettuce leaf that had settled in Jonny's hair and laughed even harder. Jonny put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's good to be home."

She laughed into his eyes. "My thoughts exactly."

Jonny laid back in his old bed, in his childhood room. It was too late for him to drive to Bangor, so his father offered him the use of his room. Jonny took it without another thought. It was good to be back. Every inch of wall was covered with map, posters from the places he had been to, and even the periodic table to elements. Not much of a regular childhood, but then again, he had more adventures than most people did in their lifetimes.

Jonny clasped his hands behind his head and crossed his ankles. He started to drift off to sleep. At his feet, Bandit was snoring softly. His eyes flew open when the door opened a crack and a shaft of light reached his eyes. The bulldog's head raised and went back down when he recognized the scent.

Seeing that Bandit wasn't protested, Jonny knew that it was someone he trusted. He squinted against the light and could make out a blurry form.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"Did I wake you, Jonny?"

He sat up. "Come on in, Jess."

Jessie walked in. She was dressed in a pair of green pajamas that brought out her eyes. She sat in his desk chair and looked pensive. Bandit got up briefly to like Jessie's hand then returned to Jonny's side. Jonny patted his head absently as he regarded his friend.

"What's up?" he asked, concerned.

"What did you think of Eiko?"

She and Hadji had left more than two hours before. Jonny sensed that Jessie had grudgingly accepted her and she wasn't too happy about that.

"I like her," he admitted. "She seems like a sweet and gentle woman."

"Yeah. She's just right for Hadji. They're almost identical."

She looked like she'd been tortured. Jonny felt sympathetic towards her, but through it he felt a ray of hope. He reached out and took her hand.

"It's time to let go, Jessie."

"I know," she said softly. "I know."

Jonny gripped her hand tighter. "You're strong. You've faced terrorists, fanatics, and every kind of mad person in this world. You can handle this and it'll be Jessie Bannon: 1001 points; the rest of the world: 0."

Jessie smiled a watery smile. "Thanks, Jonny. You are definitely good for my ego."

She turned to go, but Jonny didn't miss her hand swipe across her eyes.

"Good night," she said.

"'Night, Jess."

He watched her leave. His hand clutched the blanket as he tried to decide whether to follow her or not. What would Hadji do?

No, he thought to himself. You are not Hadji. You want her to see you as yourself, not a replacement for him.

Resolutely, he got comfortable underneath his covers and after some tossing and turning, finally fell asleep. Down the hall, Jessie was curled up on her side. Her sleep was uneasy and her hand was flexing, wanting someone to hold on to, but there was nobody there.

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