Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

On a Dark Horse	By : TarnishedArmour Category: G through L > Jericho Views: 1536 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Jericho is wholly owned by CBS and those affiliated with & responsible for the production and creation of the show. I make no profit from the use of said fandom, except warm-fuzzies from reviews.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Timestamp: Bombs + 9
=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+
Jonah went up to the Green's door and knocked, hoping someone who wasn't a redhead opened the door. He was in luck. It was Eric.
"Jonah? Is something wrong?" Eric looked haggard.
"No. Just drove Johnston home from Doc Hallowell's. The antibiotics weren't working, so Doc gave him something a little stronger. Your dad's a little out of it now--" Behind Eric, a familiar blonde head appeared. The face attached to it was wearing an unpleasant expression. "Help me get him in and up to bed."
Eric nodded and walked out to the car. It took both of them to navigate the stairs, and once or twice Johnston's complete lack of balance nearly pitched them all down the stairs, but they managed. Finally, after stripping him out of his jeans and button-down shirt, they covered him with blankets and left him to sleep it off.
"What did Doc give him?" Eric was more than curious. Even after an evening at the lake, Eric had never seen his father that completely wasted.
"A G.I. cocktail. Before you ask, I have no idea what's in it, but I can safely say that he'll be fine within the next three days. Just tell Gail to let him sleep it off. I'll drop by with the second set of instructions tomorrow morning." Jonah turned and headed for the door, trying to forget that his daughter was there, and glaring at him.
"Thanks, Jonah. Come by Bailey's tonight. She's opened for regular hours. She has a limited menu back, but the generator's working just fine, so the jukebox is working again." He paused. "Bring the guys. More than one person in town is willing to buy them a round or two."
Jonah paused, surprised by this invitation. Eric was almost as stuffily puritannical as his grandmother had been, but it was hard to dislike him. Despite his golden-boy reputation, Jonah was sure that he had something wicked in him somewhere. Unlike Jake, though, he hadn't gone running to find out.
"Just might do that, Eric. And thanks." With that he left, not addressing his unhappy daughter. He was certain that Emily would have more than a little to say to Eric after the door closed behind him. Jonah drove back to the office, noting the time. Between the office and the Green's, he passed the medical center, to see Aylah and Heather with a group of volunteers working on the windmill.
He pulled over and stopped to watch them for a few minutes.
"Okay," Aylah shouted from the tie-in section. "Get ready to test the bladespeed."
"Ready when you are," Heather yelled back.
"On five--One. Two. Three. Four. Five!" The rhythmic count gave Aylah time to move her hand from the tie-in and step back. Jonah took that opportunity to step in.
"Thought you were at the train," he said.
"We were, this morning. Ran back to the office around nine, grabbed the parts for this turbine, and came out here. Between stripping gears out of the engine and checking the drive-train, we found exactly what we needed to finish the damned thing. By twilight, we'll have this baby off the generator and off the grid." Aylah turned and smiled at Jonah. She was definitely not the same hesitant girl he'd held last night. "The guys are still there, stripping the cars down. They'll get through most of the cars tonight and we'll start transporting them somehow. Actually, one of the guys had a question, so he went to the library to get the information. Might not have to do more than take the weight off the platforms. Said something about horses and old railroad configurations."
"Feeling better, I see." Jonah's comment was really a question. He'd nodded to indicate he knew the information about the guys was fine with him.
"Much." Her smile softened. "Thanks, Big J."
"Anytime kid. When you're done, go to Bailey's." She started to protest. "I know you don't drink, but we'll be in good company."
After a brief hesitation, Aylah nodded. She was about to say something when Heather yelled down for her to check the feed. The bladespeed was perfect--more than required. As Aylah looked over the results, Jonah slipped back into his car and drove away.
*****
At Bailey's that night, Jonah's men enjoyed a night without many sideways glances. He didn't know what was more surprising, that none of his guys got drunk or that Mitchell Cafferty actually broke up a fight between to guys over something as dumb as they were.
When Jake and Eric showed up at the bar, they dropped by where Jonah and Aylah were sitting with Noah, Heather, and Thomas Carmichael, one of the mine executives. Carmichael and Jonah had always gotten along since they'd had nothing to do with each other when Jonah worked at the mine. Now, Jonah ran transport for the mine, courtesy of Stevens. Anderson hated it, but he couldn't vote down the contract.
Jake sat down in the booth next to Heather, and Eric offered to get a round for everyone, which gave him an excuse to see Mary Bailey for a second. Carmichael and Noah accepted the drink from Eric, but decided to go down to the dancefloor section of the tavern. They took two empty barstools and relaxed as they compared the differences in aviation repair, transportation, and mining. Eric left to go home to April.
It was after a bad pun about panda bears and firearms that Emily walked in. She saw Jake and her father with two women, the faces were obscured by the crowd, laughing and drinking companionably. As she watched, completely disgusted, she saw several people drop by and say hello to them. And one of those people was the principal of the high school!
She sat down on the barstool and ordered something she knew would have her oblivious with two repeats. Wasn't it enough that Roger was gone? Did she really have to watch her father, the man who'd gotten her brother killed and left her mom years ago, become the town's darling? With Jake, her ex-fiancee, right beside him? And who gave Jake permission to get over her anyway? And who was that slut with Jonah?
Damn him. Damn them. Damn them both.
*****
Heather and Jake left shortly before most of the guys from Quaker Transport. Jake held Heather's hand as they walked to her place, to help her stay steady. That was what he told himself, anyway, and what he would've said if she'd asked. But she didn't ask and he didn't say, and he knew the real reason. It was only her hand, but he didn't know if he'd ever get to hold more of her.
Aylah stayed next to Jonah during their time at Bailey's, the crowd bothering her more than she wanted to admit. It wasn't the people, necessarily, it was the noise and the press of the bodies in the room. Jonah knew it would take her a long time to become comfortable in a place like this, so he'd stayed right beside her, his dominant right hand to the room and his body between her and everyone else.
Between the strangeness of the last several days and the meeting the day before, Jonah began to realize that the people around Jericho would have welcomed him back long ago, if he'd only been paying attention.
His self-imposed exile to the edge of town was entirely his own fault. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but he was a big boy. He could take it.
On the scale of things, it was better than being shot at.
=-+=-+=-+=-+=-+
- 11
- 12
- 13
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

On a Dark Horse