Wow, I can't believe I am sending this out. I wanted to wait until I got it
all done, but, I think that if I don't start sending it out, then I probably
won't finish it. :-D
First of all, I would love to thank Spense for doing the hard work of betaing
this piece. Thank-you so much!
Now on to the story... Please enjoy! CC's are always welcomed!
Disclaimer: I own Kai, Meredith, Keith Wilson(Will) and anybody else that
wasn't in the show. JQ and friends belong to HB and AOL Time Warner.
Archivers: Sure, just tell me where!
The Promises We Make
By Kara Estes
"Hey Bannon, wait up!" Yelled the man as he ran haphazardly down the narrow
hall. His arms swung from side to side, and his black trench coat waved
behind him, giving the appearance of a cape. As he made the sharp right turn,
he almost crashed head on with the subject he was running to catch.
"Slow down, Will," the white-haired gentleman said. He stood tall, towering
over the 5’9" man who was chasing him. "You wanted me; here I am."
"I wanted to let you know that Jessica is going to spend the night at my
house." Keith Wilson said.
"Since when?" Race Bannon said, with a voice of anger.
To those who know Roger "Race" Bannon best, knew that his five year old
daughter was his pride and joy. When it came down to the end, he was the
deciding factor in his daughter’s life. Anyone who saw him and his daughter
together, Jessica, saw the perfect picture of a father and daughter
relationship. But Keith Wilson, or Will to his friends, knew the truth. The
same time Race and his wife, Estella, were pregnant, Will and his wife,
Meredith, were also pregnant. The joke around the agency was that Will and
Race, who where partners, not only shared an office, but their sex life.
While both were expecting around the same time, both were also hoping for
boys, someone to carry on the tradition. Meredith was the first to go into
labor, giving birth to a healthy baby boy named Kai Andrew Wilson. When
Estella went into labor, all Race could think about was all he could teach
his new son, but when the news came down that it was a girl, only Will knew
the hurt and disappointment Race felt. Though he would never let on about it,
you could see it in his eyes when someone mentioned his daughter’s name.
"Since your wife called and left a message saying that she’s going out of
town on a dig for the next week, and if I remember correct, you have a
meetings at Quantico for the next four days."
"Shit. Why does she do this? No offense, but does it hurt her to stay and
take care of Jess for four days? I cancel things every now and then for her
to go out."
"It’s okay. Mer and I are more than happy to take care of Jess for you. You
know that! Hell, I’d even do it if I wasn’t her Godfather." Will said with a
smile on his face. After Kai and Jessica were born, Race, and Estella decided
that they wanted Will and Meredith to be Jessica’s guardians, and in return,
they became Kai’s. With both households having a member in I-1, both knew at
any given point that they might not return, which is why they decided they
wanted the other to carry on for them. In the end, it mostly meant that one
could leave their kid with the other while they were away.
"I don’t know what I’d ever do without you. It seems that you watch Jess
more than we watch her, or even Kai. We owe you big time."
"Don’t worry," Will said as he brushed his raven hair away from his eyes, "you
’ll repay us someday."
12 years later
The sun was bright as it shown through the glass window. With dark clouds
looming in the west, the sun was shinning with full power, trying to use up
what strength it had left, before it would be snuffed out. In the near
distance, echoes of laughter could be heard as three teens, two boys, and a
girl, ran around the yard, using up what time they had left before the
evening hours kicked in.
As the sun slowly crept away from the east wall, the white haired, middle
aged man sighed. He stared at the figures playing outside his window. Time
had been cruel to this man, not allowing him to enjoy what the life he had
created.
It had been eight years to the day since Race Bannon had been assigned to
case 0-37. In the eight years that he had been the body guard, tutor, and
general nanny to Jonathan Quest, he had also become a lab assistant to Dr.
Benton Quest, head of security, and a member of the family. When he first
started working on case 0-37, it was only Jonny, Dr. Quest and himself. Since
then, the family had increased. Six months into his assignment, Hadji, an
orphan Indian boy, joined the family after a visit to India. Three years
later, Jessie, Race’s daughter, joined the family part time, which later
became full time.
He closed his eyes and propped his feet up on the edge of the window sill.
His face only showed thirty years of his near fortieth birthday. He then
opened his eyes and stared at the gold, thick ring that was placed on the
ring finger of his left hand . The sound of laughter twirled in his head as
his right index finger traced the contour of the gold band. Eighteen years,
coincidently, to the day, was when he got married, ironically, it was the
same day, eight years later, when he signed the papers end the marriage with
Estella Velasquez Bannon. Life for him, was one big coincidence, nothing good
happening, nothing out of the ordinary. Just like the ring, his life went in
a full circle, always coming back to this day.
He then took the ring off his finger, and squeezed it in his palm. With a
staggered head movement, he looked out the window. The bright golden rays had
been replaced with dark threads, and the once sweet sound of laughter was
quickly displaced by the loud crash of thunder. With the presence of a storm
brewing, and the hours of the day trickling down, he spun his chair around
and looked at the picture on his desk.
"Incoming call for Race Bannon, on line two."
"Thank-you IRIS." He said with a startled voice. He then picked up the phone
. "Bannon speaking."
"Race, it’s Bennett."
"Commander Bennett. What do I bestow the honor?"
"Wilson."
"Will? What’s that old boy been up to?"
"Race..." the man on the other side paused.
"Spill it, Bennett. Your not one for dramatic pauses."
"He died this morning in a plane crash, along with his wife Meredith."
"Shit." He replied. Once again this cursed day had taken it’s toll. He then
placed the phone in it‘s cradle, and laid his hands over his forehead as the
golden ring dropped on the floor. He could not hear the voice of his one time
Commander trying to reach him, nor did he hear the ringing sound of the
golden sphere, as it hit the hardwood floor. All he could hear was mumbled
sounds of days forgotten. The circle of his life, was once again, at the
beginning.
"We are the Military men. We don’t cry, we don’t whine, we don’t die. We
are
the heroes kids dream about."
"Will, how many times do I have to tell you, stop watching GI-Joe?"
"Sure, Race! But only when you stop watching it in the office." Will said as
he gave his partner a playful punch. He was careful of where he gave it. He
knew well that the wrong place, while Race was driving, could end up leading
to a very painful death.
"Will, I mean this only in a good way, but go to the gym!"
"You know, I keep telling myself that, I think I’ll wait until Kai’s old
enough to drag me there." Keith Wilson said. He paused as he thought about
the question he was about to ask. "So, did you ever decide about letting
Jessica take gymnastics?"
Race’s face turned sour. It was the one topic he didn’t want to talk about.
Sure, he was going to sign the papers, and write the check, but it
disappointed him. He always wanted his Ponchita, as he called her, to be just
like him. He wanted her to be interested in martial arts, and know how to
flip a person over, and be able to defend herself. But instead, his five year
old little girl wanted to learn how to do flip herself over, and do
cartwheels.
"I guess she can do it. Nothing really stopping her. If I didn’t sign the
paper, Stella would’ve without questioning it. She thinks that it’s good for
Jessie to have a normal life, and claims it would be more normal if I was
around more. She’s one to talk."
With that, Will knew it was time to be quiet. From experience, he knew when
the topic of being home came up, that it was time to change the topic or Race
would just end up more angry than what he was when he started.
"Incoming fax from Washington."
"I accept IRIS." Race replied with a solemn voice, shutting down his
thoughts. He then walked over to his fax machine and pulled the paper out. He
took a glance at it, shoved it into his pocket, and left the room. He then
walked out of his office, and into a long, dark hall. The Quest Compound was
bigger inside than it looked. His office, which happened to be on the east
side of the building, was away from the rest of the house. He normally didn’t
spend much time in his office. It was only used for meetings, or doing paper
work. Very little of the security, which was his forte, was located in that
area. The main purpose of having his office away from the main part was for
the peace and quite it brought.
His long journey down the corridor finally ended at a small den. The den,
which housed a big screen TV, a couch, game systems, and almost anything else
a teenager would want. It was on the other side of the building, way away
from his office. With the a clash of thunder, Race looked around.
"Jonny, have you seen Jessie anywhere?" Race said to the figure that was
lying on the couch watching TV.
"Umm... I think she’s down in the lab helping Dad with something." Said the
young blonde, Jonny Quest, as he focused on the program he was watching.
"Thanks." Race said as he turned around and walked in the same direction he
had came from. The lab, which was downstairs, was the state of the art work
place for Dr. Benton Quest. It featured everything a scientist could want,
and then some. Most of the items that could be found in the lab, were
products that Dr. Quest had invented. Not only did the lab feature science
equipment, but it also had the camera collection that Dr. Quest had. Almost
every camera made in the past could be found there, along with some new
digital and 35mm cameras. When his journey ended at the bottom of the
stairs, he opened the lab door. Normally he would knock, but today was
different. He needed to find his daughter, he needed to make sure nothing
had happened to her, and that this cursed day hadn’t taken her soul along
with the soul of his once best friend.
"Dad! What’s wrong?" Jessie asked. She had noticed the door opening without a
knock, and knew something was wrong. She was working in the darkroom, getting
ready to develop the pictures she had just taken for Dr. Quest’s research.
She wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the lab but her. Dr. Quest had gone to
the light house to work on some files, Hadji was in his room studying, and
Jonny, well, Jonny never came down here as much as she did. He always
preferred to be with her father.
"We need to talk."
"Okay." She said with hesitation. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out
what she had done. Normally when he spoke those words in that tone of voice,
it meant she had been caught and was about to get in trouble.
"Do you remember Keith and Meredith Wilson?" Race asked, trying not to get
teary eyed.
Jessie searched her memory until it locked on to the face of a man in his mid
thirties, with black hair, and a round, soft face. Instantly, she remembered
a picture, one that had him, a brunette haired woman, who looked like she was
only in her late twenties, and a raven haired boy, who was the same age as
her. "Kai’s parents, right?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Well..." She said as she tilted her head, trying to get a good look at her
fathers face.
"They died today."
Her mouth dropped as she tried to find the words that her mind was trying to
say. She then took a deep breathe. "All three of them." She said with
disbelief.
"No, just Will and Meredith."
"How... where... what about Kai?"
"He’s fine. Start packing, we leave in the morning for Hawaii."
To Be Continued...
*~Kara~*
Snowbunny Princess
"I gotta tell you your Questworld Navigator is about as useful as snow in
hell. Next time we go driving in the jungle, we're getting ourselves a real
map."
Race Bannon from "Attack from Within"--an unproduced episode script
