Title: Dragonfly

Chapter Title: Iustitia

Author: A Navy Brat

E-mail: [email protected]

Part: 3 of 3

Rating: R for language and sexual content

Warnings: For those who have not watched Jon Quest: The Real Adventures, the story may be confusing. For those who are looking for a hopelessly romantic J&J piece, this is not one. This chapter also deals with the subject of attempted rape; it is intended for a mature audience.

Summary: Jon and Jessie finally get to spend some time together after several years apart; then a series of events take place that make both of them wonder if they really are "just best friends."

Disclaimer All characters in this piece are owned by and copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera and whoever took part in the creation of Jon Quest: The Real Adventures. This is an original piece that does not intend to infringe upon their copyright and is strictly a non-profit endeavour. All characters and lyrics are used without permission. Characters and stories are in no way affiliated with, approved of or endorsed by Hanna-Barbera. All other materials copyright by A Navy Brat, 2001. All rights reserved. If you wish to post this piece at some other website, please inform me first at the e-mail address given above. Constructive criticism and reviews are appreciated. Personal criticisms should be sent to the address above. Thank you.

Author's Notes: "Iustitia" means "Justice" in Latin.

My thanks to: Jason and Peter, without whom this fic would have died a slow and painful death because of lack of information.

Dragonfly

Chapter 3: Iustitia

By A Navy Brat, January 1, 2003

   Jessie bolted upright in bed, her hair damp from tears and sweat. She couldn't remember the dream, but then again, she didn't need to remember it to feel the unmistakable fear. Angrily, she pushed her sticky hair away from her face and tried to slow her breathing. Damn it, Bannon, since this entire thing started you've turned into a snivelling baby. Get a grip already. Her breathing slowed as did her rapidly beating heart. There was a soft knock at the door and after a long pause, Jon stuck his head in the doorway.

   Jon had awoken at the sounds of thrashing and soft cries coming from Jessie's room. He instantly realised what it was. Not for the first time, he wished he could rip out Davin's throat. Better let Jessie get dibs or else she'll be mad at me, he thought humourlessly. The sounds soon subsided, but Jon knew better than to hope that Jessie had fallen asleep again. Carefully, he got out of bed and padded to her room. A soft knock at her door had no response. Perhaps she really had fallen back asleep, Jon thought. Hesitating for a second, he quietly opened the door and peered into the room.

   It was illuminated only by the moonlight that streamed in through the windows. Jessie sat curled up in her bed. Had he been anyone else, he never would have noticed the slight tensing in her arms and legs. He decided to remain in the doorway. She relaxed. "Hey," he said, weighing each word carefully before speaking. "I was up and heard you moving around. Is everything okay?" He studied her face intently in the dark.

   "I had another nightmare." She spoke so quietly that he could barely hear her. Jon could instantly sense her discomfort at his presence.

   "Would you like me to get you a cup of warm milk?" He felt silly the instant the words came out. Jessie was no four-year old, nor an invalid. I'm going to get ripped a new one for this, he thought. To his surprise, she acquiesced.

   "That would be nice." Jon hurried out of the room to the kitchen.

   Jessie had relaxed again by the time he returned with a mug of steamed milk. She sipped at it appreciatively as Jon sat down at the opposite end of the bed. "Do you want to talk about it?" he gently asked.

   "I don't remember it."

   Jon briefly wondered if her reply was truthful, but let the subject drop. Comfortable silence pervaded as Jessie finished her mug. Jon collected the cup and watched Jessie lie down again before quietly padding out of the room. "Good night, Jess," he called from the doorway.

   "Good night, Jonny. And thanks."

   Jon smiled at her use of his childhood nickname. "That's what I'm here for."

   Once settled in his own bed, Jon leaned his head against the wall. She had had nightmares almost every night for the first two weeks after coming back from the hospital. He would know, he had gotten up for each one of them. They were gradually becoming less frequent, although he doubted they would ever really go away. He thought back to the way she had tensed when he walked into the room. That had hurt. Realising that she, on some instinctive level, felt like she couldn't trust him.

   She needs time, Jon thought to himself. She's my best friend and the very least I could give her would be time. Stop acting like a wounded puppy every time she hesitates to shake your hand. Jessie really had gotten much better after coming back from the hospital. Her shoulder had healed nicely and the scar itself was barely visible.

   The trial was starting in two months. She was going to testify about that night. Jon wondered what new demons would be tormenting Jessie.

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   "Could you describe the events of the night of September 14 for the court, Miss Bannon?" the prosecutor gently asked.

   "I had arranged earlier in the day for Paul…Mr. Davin…to pick me up at Rudy's Pizza Parlour in downtown Rockport. I was a little uncomfortable about going—I just had a gut feeling of some sort—but I went anyway, because I intended to tell Paul that night that I didn't want to see him anymore."

   The prosecutor interrupted. "Was there a reason you wanted to end your relationship with Mr. Davin?"

   "He was being…too forward. He would try to kiss me even after I told him not to. He would touch my leg and once tried to grab my chest."

   "How long had this been going on previously?"

   "It began the second time we had seen each other. September 14 would've been our third date."

   "Thank you. Please continue."

   "Jon, Jonathan Benton Quest, dropped me off at Rudy's at about 9.00. Mr. Davin was already there. I told Jon to pick me back up at 11.00. I had already told him that I was breaking off my relationship with Mr. Davin and before I got out of the car, Jon told me to be careful and to take care of myself. I told him I would and got out of the car. Mr. Davin greeted me, I got in his car and he started driving. I asked him where we were going and he told me that he wanted to surprise me.

   "We arrived at the edge of town in a wooded area around 9.30. He stopped the car and cut the engine. I started to tell him that I needed to talk to him when he cut me off and told me that it could wait. He reached into the back seat and pulled out the remains of a six-pack of beer. I noticed that three of the cans were missing and realized that he had been drinking. I wondered how come I didn't smell the alcohol earlier, but the windows and top had been rolled down the entire drive and he hadn't said anything. He offered me a can of beer and I declined. He opened a can for himself and started drinking. His pupils were dilated and his speech started slurring a little. When he got closer, I could smell the alcohol on his breath.

   "I was saying that I was going to drive him home when he interrupted me. He said, 'Do you know what would taste better than this beer right now? You.' Then he kissed me." Jessie's voice cracked imperceptibly but she cleared her throat and continued. "I have a warning signal installed into my watch. I activated it at this time. I tried to fight him off and finally managed to push him away. I said, 'Paul, you're drunk. I'm driving you home.' He became very combative at this point and grabbed and pinned my arms. He then forced me down on the seat and got on top of me."

   "So Mr. Davin had you pinned lying down on the car seat and was physically on top of you at this point?"

   "Yes."

   "Thank you. Please continue."

   "I tried to fight him off, to buy myself a little time. Each time I pushed him off he would pin me down again. It took me at least three or four minutes to finally get my right hand free and I punched him in the jaw. He finally fell back and I scrambled out of the car. He came after me so I hit him twice more, once on the back of the head and then kneed him in the face. I was backing away and was about to turn around and make a run for it. That's when he pulled the gun. I ducked and he fired and the bullet hit me in the shoulder. I dropped to my knees and he walked over and bent down. I had my face down and he lifted it up and said that he always got what he wanted and that he wanted me. Then he kissed me again and started to undo my jeans. I didn't dare resist because he had the gun and my left arm was useless."

   "What hand was the gun in?"

   "The right hand."

   "Can you please tell the court what happened next?"

   "He undressed me, then began undressing himself. His gun hand dropped a little while he was trying to unzip his jeans. I took the chance and kicked him in the wrist, then punched him across the temple and just ran."

   "Can you recall precisely what Mr. Davin said to you after he had shot you?"

   Jessie's voice wavered. "He said, 'What I want, I get, doll, and right now, I want you.'"

   "Did he say anything else?"

   "Yes."

   "Can you please tell the court what else he said?"

   Jessie's voice cracked almost imperceptibly. "He said, 'It'll be good to fuck you.'"

   "Thank you Miss Bannon. Your Honour, I have no further questions." The prosecutor strode back to his seat.

   Dr. Quest glanced over at his son. Jon's eyes were closed, his brow creased into a frown, hands clenched into fists. Dr. Quest sighed.

   The judge cleared his throat. "Seeing the lateness of the hour, this court shall be adjourned until nine a.m. Monday morning." He rapped the gavel and the crowd began to clear out.

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   The dream was back. He was there again, bearing down on her and she couldn't fight back. She tried to scream but the sound fell deadly in the void. Suddenly the void was filled with dreadful ringing laughter and she screamed and she screamed and she screamed…

   "Jess. Jess. Jessie, it's okay. It's a dream. You're safe here. It's a dream." Jon soothed Jessie as she shook and cried. Cautiously, he wound his arms around her and rubbed her back. "I'm here, Jess. It's me. It's okay," he whispered into her hair.

   The dreams had returned, more horrid than ever, growing progressively worse as the trial dragged on. Every night now, Jon woke to sounds of crying coming from Jessie's room. Screw ripping out his throat, Jon thought. I'm going to cut off his balls and make him eat them, then rip out his throat. The bastard.

   Jon turned attention back to Jessie as her breathing returned to normal. Gently, he began to disengage himself. "Please," Jessie's soft, muffled voice stopped him. "Please, could you, could you h-hold me?"

   "Sure," he replied, easily winding his arms around her once more.

   They sat like that for a long time, the silence occasionally punctuated by a dry sob. Carefully, Jon pulled Jessie into his lap, then swung his legs up onto her bed. She rested her head against his chest and Jon lightly draped an arm around her waist.

   "Do you want to talk about it?" he quietly asked. The pause was so long that he thought she had fallen asleep again.

   "They're always different." Her sudden answer was so hushed that he could barely hear her. "Sometimes I can see him, sometimes I can't. Sometimes I fight back and sometimes I don't. But I can always feel the fear. It's so dark and heavy and it feels like it could swallow me whole. And he's always in the dark, laughing and laughing and laughing.

   "And I feel so dirty. He may – may not have raped me, but he touched me. He touched me in places that no one – no one but my hu-husband should touch me." She turned her tear-stained face up to Jon. Her eyes were welling with water again and Jon carefully wiped away a stray tear that had escaped.

   "And sometimes I feel like it's my fault. Like I should've done something differently. I've gone over what's happened a hundred times in my head and I can't find anything I should've done differently. Not a damn thing. But still, there's this little voice in the back of my head that always pops out and says, 'You should've.'

   "And worst of all, worst of all, is I wonder if you have that same little voice that says, 'She should've.' I wonder if part of you blames me for what happened." Her voice tapered off into nothing, broken only by her hitching breaths.

   "No!" Jon cried. "No," he repeated more softly at her start. "I don't blame you. None of us blame you. That bastard had no right to do what he was doing, none at all. And you did everything possible to stop what was happening. Nobody could have done more than you did. Never doubt that. It's not your fault. You can't think that, okay? And anyone who does think that deserves to have their asses kicked."

   Jessie smiled slightly at Jon's last statement. The quietude continued until they were both asleep.

   Race started when he walked past the open door of Jessie's room. His daughter was sleeping peacefully for the first time in weeks—in the arms of his employer's son. Jon sat on the bed, propped up against the wall. Jessie was seated in his lap, her head resting against his chest. One of his arms was wrapped protectively around her waist, the other just under her shoulder.

   Race quietly walked in, attempting to not disturb the sleeping duo. Jon's eyelids suddenly fluttered open. "Race," he said softly. He started to sit up straighter, but that caused Jessie to slightly stir. Race motioned for him to not bother.

   "I heard her crying from another nightmare and I came in here to talk to her," he explained in a rush. "I guess I must've fallen asleep," he ended rather sheepishly.

   Race carefully looked over the youth before saying, "You realise I'm a former CIA operative with weapons training, right?"

   Jon visibly gulped. "Yes, sir."

   "Just wanted to remind you of that." Race turned and strode out of the room, closing the door behind him. He met Dr. Quest in the hallway.

   "Where's Jon? He's not in his room and IRIS reported that he hasn't left the Compound," Dr. Quest asked, somewhat worriedly.

   "Don't worry, I found him." Race jerked a thumb towards Jessie's closed door.

   "Oh my…" Dr. Quest's voice dropped to a whisper. "They weren't…"

   "No. She woke up again last night and they were talking. He just fell asleep in there."

   Dr. Quest looked somewhat wonderingly at Race. "You seem to be taking this fairly well."

   "This I'm taking well. I had actually hoped it would happen. I just didn't expect that it would take what it did to make it happen. I'm gonna kill that bastard Davin."

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   "Mr. Quest, can you describe what occurred the night of September 14?"

   Jon shifted uncomfortably in the witness box before answering. "Jessie had asked me to drop her off at Rudy's Pizza Parlour at about 9.00 that night. She had told me earlier that she was planning on telling Davin that she would no longer be seeing him."

   "Did she tell you why she no longer wanted to see him?"

   "Yes."

   "And what reason did she give?"

   "She said she felt he was paying her untoward attentions."

   "Thank you. Please continue."

   "I dropped her off at around 9.00. She told me she would probably be back around 11.00. I told her to be careful and watched her get into Davin's car. Then I drove back to the Compound."

   "What occurred then?"

   "At 9.35, IRIS notified us of a distress signal coming from Jessie's watch. The police radioed us to confirm the signal and my father, Race Bannon and I got onto the helicopter to fly to the location where the signal was coming from."

   "What did you see when you got there?"

   "We arrived 10 minutes after the initial call came in. We arrived just after the police had closed in on Davin. He had stripped Jessie from the waist down and was fondling her." Jon choked on the last phrase. After clearing his throat, he continued.

   "She had been shot through the shoulder in one arm and was bleeding fairly profusely."

   "Thank you, Mr. Quest. There are no further questions."

   They watched quietly as the prosecutor and the defence lawyer made their closing statements and the jury filed out to decide the verdict on the charges levelled against Paul Davin. The judge adjourned the court while the jury deliberated. Jon greeted Jessie with a hug. The four sat down outside the courtroom and waited.

   Several hours later, a deputy informed them that the jury had reached a decision. They filed back into the courtroom and sat down.

   "All rise for the Honourable Judge Derek Matthews," the bailiff intoned. The judge walked in and seated himself. "You may be seated." Next, the jury filed in. Judge Matthews rapped his gavel twice and the court came to order.

   "Has the jury reached a decision?" the judge asked.

   The foreman stepped forward. "We have, Your Honour." The bailiff took the envelope that the foreman handed him and gave it to the judge. The judge read the verdict impassively then returned it to the foreman.

   "Will the defendant please stand for the verdict. Mr. Foreman, will you please read the verdict." There was a shuffling of feet and scraping of chairs as Paul Davin and his lawyers stood.

   "We, the jury, find the defendant, Mr. Paul Edward Davin, guilty of all counts as charged."

   The judge rapped his gavel again. "Sentencing will take place in two weeks. Court is adjourned."

   Jessie shuddered and Jon enveloped her in an embrace. Their nightmare of five months was almost over.

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   Jon held Jessie tightly as she blinked back tears. "He's never going to hurt you again. He's never going to hurt you again," Jon whispered as he gently rocked her back and forth. Jessie just held him tighter as she blinked away unshed tears. Davin would no longer haunt her. He was going to a state penitentiary for 15 to life. She was safe. It was over. It was finally over.

   Jon buried his face in her hair. She never felt smaller and more vulnerable than when she was crying. He always felt so damn helpless when she cried. Never more than now. After coming so close to losing her, he never wanted her to hurt again. But for now, he had to be content to just hold her.

   Jon and Jessie strode arm in arm across the soft grains of Palm Key. The family had decided to stay in Palm Key the rest of the winter and had flown down on the Dragonfly as soon as the sentencing was over. Jessie slept most of the way, the first time she had slept properly in five months. Jon held her hand most of the trip down. Upon arriving they had done some unpacking and rearranging, which took time. This was the first time they had had a free moment together. Jessie looked up at Jon.

   "I want to thank you," she said gently.

   "What for?" Jon was surprised.

   "For being there. The entire time. Through my nightmares and the hearings and the trial."

   Jon gave her a lop-sided grin but avoided her eyes. "What else would a best friend do?"

   Jessie stopped. "Is that all I am?" she asked quietly.

   Jon stopped as well, but still wouldn't look at her. "Do you want the truth?"

   "Yes."

   "No. That's not all you are. There's more. But I don't know what it is."

   "Basically somewhere between best friend and girlfriend?"

   "Somewhere between confidante and serious girlfriend."

   "I can settle with that."

   "You feel the same way?"

   "Why do you think I asked?"

   Jon gave another lop-sided grin but this time met her gaze. "So what do you call it?"

   "Best friends with potential."

© Navy Brat, 2003