The Greens of Jericho

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the television show Jericho or any part of it. The characters are not mine in any way. I am just borrowing them for a bit. I am not affiliated with CBS, the television show Jericho or the writers of Jericho.

I would again like to give credit to my husband for helping me get in the mind of a man for parts of this chapter. He is a great sounding board for my story.


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The next morning dawned clear, sunny and definitely cooler.   Heather woke up disoriented for a minute.   "Where am I?" she thought.    Then the night before came rushing back.   She was asleep in April Green's room.   Jake had convinced her that staying there was a good idea since they would be leaving first thing for Stanley's to look for a heater or stove of some sort for her apartment.    She couldn't believe she had lied so cooly to Jake to trick him into talking about Sara.   It hadn't worked.   He wouldn't talk about her.    She was glad that her sister had left town years ago.   She thought that most people in Jericho wouldn't even remember Sara and the ones that did wouldn't know that she had moved to Paris, not California.   At least she had been living in Paris the last time they had talked.....4 years ago.   Jake had told her that it was ridiculous to go home in the rain only to sleep for a couple of hours and come back.   She had wanted to just sleep on the couch but Jake told her that was ridiculous since April would be on duty til noon.     After that they had spent a very pleasant time together in the swing.

Heather laid in bed.   It was nice and warm and she didn't want to move.    The house was coming to life around her.   She could smell coffee brewing.   It sounded like Johnston and Gail were down in the kitchen.    It was so nice to wake up without feeling alone in the world like she did every morning.   She smiled at the conversation she was hearing in the bedroom next door.

"Dad?"

"Hm," a very still sleep voice answered.

"Da-ad?", she could almost see Jacob shaking Jake's shoulder.    It had been very late/early when they had made it upstairs and she wasn't surprised Jake was still asleep.

"Dad!", Jacob's said, his voice sounding very exasperated.

"What?", Jake said, his voice now muffled like maybe it was coming from under a pillow.

"It's morning.   It's time to get up.  We're going to Stanley's today.   Don't you remember?   We're going to see the puppies.   Get up, Dad!", Jacob said.

"Get dressed, I'll get up in a few minutes," Jake said, still sounding muffled.

"I am dressed.   Uncover your head.   Let's go!," Jacob said.

Heather then heard the unmistakable whump of a pillow hitting a body--hard.

"Boy!" Jake yelled, "that's it, you're in for it now."

Jacob screamed and then started laughing uncontrollably.

"Daddy, stop, stop it.   No tickling.   I can't breath."

"Are you gonna leave me alone for a few minutes?  You know what you have to say.  Say it!", Jake said, laughing.

"Never," Jacob gasped.

"Say it, say uncle."

"Ok, Ok, Uncle, Uncle!", Jacob gasped.

"Alright then.   Let me sleep a few more minutes before I come downstairs.   Tell Granna that Heather stayed in April's room last night."

"OK.   Please sleep fast though, OK?"

Heather smiled as she heard Jacob run past her door and pound down the stairs.   She got up and got ready to go downstairs.

She stepped out into the hall and peeked into Jake's bedroom.   Jake was still in bed with covers and a pillow over his head.    The only thing visible was Jake's knee and lower leg where the blankets had pulled off.   "He has no right to have a tan in December," Heather thought looking at her very pale arm.

Heather tiptoed into Jake's bedroom.    She crept up to the bed and started to grab Jake's leg and scare him when his hand shot out from under the blanket and grabbed her wrist.

"I know you're there.   Don't even think about it," Jake said pulling her down on the bed and covering her with the blanket as he started to mercilessly tickle her.  

Heather let out a startled yelp.

Jake instantly jerked his hands back and threw the covers back.   A look of shock on his face.

"Heather!  I'm sorry.   I thought it was Jake coming back for another go at tickle monster."

Heather couldn't stop laughing.    The look on Jake's face was priceless.

"Nope, it was me and I claim this round," she said, continuing to laugh.  With that she got up, patted his stubbly cheek and went downstairs leaving Jake speechless.


************

Jake walked into the kitchen 15 minutes later.    He grabbed a cup, poured some coffee and sat down.

Gail smiled at him, "You still look tired, Sweetheart.   Did the storm keep you awake?"

Jake shot a quick glance at Heather, "Yeah, something like that."

Johnston looked between Heather and Jake knowingly, sipped his coffee and said, "What are you two up to today?"

"We're going out to Stanley's and look around the old barn and old house for a wood stove for Heather's apartment.   We still haven't found anything."

"Dad, is it alright if I go see the horses with Grandpa?  He said there is a baby horse."

"Sure, if that's what you want to do."

********

Thirty minutes later Jake and Heather were on their way out of town.    

"Ya know, the last time we headed out of town we didn't come back for 2 days," Heather laughed.

Jake smiled his sideways grin, "I vaguely remember."

Jake looked over at Heather with a very serious expression on his face.   She didn't know what to think.   He had never looked at her like that before.  

"We need to talk about this morning."

"O-Ok...", Heather stammered.

"I have never lost a round of tickle monster.   Just so you know, you won't see it coming.   You will never know when or where but I will get you," Jake said, starting to laugh at the expression on her face.

Heather started to laugh too, glad he was joking.

"So, last night you told me you had an older sister.  Sara, I believe you said her name was.   Tell me about her.  Why haven't I ever seen her around?"

"OK," thought Heather, "how do I get out of this one?"  
"What do you want to know about her?", Heather asked.

"Does she live in town? Why haven't I seen her around with you?", Jake asked.

"Oh, no, she doesn't live in town anymore.   She uh, moved.   Years ago.   She couldn't wait to get out of Jericho.      We moved from Chicago when I was 11 and she was 13.  She never got over leaving the big city.   She left Jericho as soon as she was able to leave," Heather explained.     "We got into an ugly argument when Dad died.   I haven't seen or heard anything from her in years."  "Here goes nothing," she thought.
"She graduated from Harvard Law School and has been here and there all over the world working for the government.    Last I heard she was in California.....I don't know for sure.   I have a cell phone number but that's it."

"I know someone who graduated from Harvard.  That's a hard school.   Your sister must have been really smart," Jake said, his mind miles away.

They drove the rest of the way to the Richmond farm in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

  ********

Several hours later, Jake and Heather were on the road back to Jericho.    They hadn't found any sort of old stove in working condition.     Stanley had loaded the car with overflow from the farm.   There was fresh milk, butter and eggs.   This was welcome after a steady diet of Spam, Velveeta and powdered milk.    Jake was still at a loss about what to do for Heather for this winter.

"You know you are welcome to stay at the house, right?", Jake asked, taking her hand.   "I'm not gonna let you freeze to death, at least not til my record is intact as the monster king." Jake smiled.

"I'll figure something out, Jake," Heather said.   "I am going to start by putting some plastic and quilts over the windows.   We'll figure something out."

********

A week passed.  Old man winter finally made his inevitable if un-welcomed  arrival.   Wednesday morning brought 8 inches of snow with more on the way.  

********
Gail and Johnston walked up the stairs to Heather's apartment.    Stanley had sent more food.   Gail wanted to make sure Heather had eggs and milk.   Actually, she just wanted a reason to check on her and this seemed a good one.    

Gail knocked on the door.   It was oddly muffled.    Gail looked at Johnston confused.  "That was an odd sound."

It took a minute but Heather finally answered the door.   She was dressed in a thick fleece sweatsuit, coat, hat and gloves.

"Hi!  I didn't expect to see you.   Come in."

Gail and Johnston walked in.   It was cold.   All the doors leading out of the living room were covered with quilts.   The windows were similarly covered.    There was a bottle of water on the table with ice floating in it.

"OK, Heather," Johnston said, "pack up what you need.   You are coming home with us.   Pride is one thing but freezing to death is ridiculous."

"Mr. Green, I couldn't do that.   I couldn't impose," Heather said, shocked.

Gail hugged Heather and patted her cheek, "You aren't imposing.   We have room.   We would love to have you.   If you stay here you will freeze.   There is no use in arguing with me, Heather.   Just go ahead and give in, in the end you're going to come anyway," Gail said patting her on the arm.

"Heather, just pack what you need for a couple of days.   Jake and Stanley can come in a few days and get the rest," Johnston said.   "There is a room downstairs that used to be my office.   I don't use it anymore.   There is a sofa bed.   It isn't the most comfortable but it will do til we can get a bed down there.    I knew your father very well.   He was a good friend.   I am not going to let his daughter freeze to death."

"Thanks," Heather said, hugging Gail and Johnston.

********
At the same time Johnston and Gail were bullying Heather into moving, Jake was at the ranch seeing to the horses.    His mind was far away.     His and Heather's relationship was slowly moving along.   He had come close, several times, to telling her the truth about life in San Diego.   He had told her he didn't have a girlfriend before the bombs, that had almost been the truth.   Sara wasn't a "girlfriend", she was much much more.   She had lived with him and Jacob for the past 3 years.   She had been in Washington D.C. when the bombs hit.    He didn't know for sure, but felt almost positive, that Sara was dead.   He couldn't feel her inside him anymore.   How would he tell Heather about Sara?   Should he tell her was another thing he wondered.

********

The next day Jake, Stanley, Mimi and Heather were packing up Heather's things.   Heather and Mimi had gotten the winter clothes and extra blankets packed pretty quickly.   They had put Jake and Stanley to work packing books.   Heather couldn't bare to leave her books.   Mimi started taking what little food there was in the cabinets and packing it in boxes.   Heather saw no reason to leave it.   They were going to need all the extra food they could get.   Heather was in the walk-in pantry trying to find her stepladder so she could dig on the top shelf and get into the top cabinets when Jake found her.    He slid in behind her and put his arms around her from behind and nuzzled her neck.   He loved to hear her giggle when he did that.

Heather smacked his hands playfully, "Stop, Jake, what will Stanley and Mimi think if they see?"

"What do you think they're doing right now?", Jake laughed.   He turned her around and gave her a soft, slow kiss.  

"We have your favorite books packed.   Now what?", Jake asked.

"Would you stand on that crate and look on the top shelf and in those cabinets?   I'm not tall enough," Heather asked.

Jake pulled a plastic milk crate over and took the flashlight and started looking around.

"How often do you look up here?", Jake asked in a laughing way.

"Not often.   It's too high.  Why?", Heather asked suspiciously.

Jake handed her down 3 large boxes of tampons, "I just wondered how many of these you need?", he said laughing.

Heather blushed a very deep red.   "I am so embarrassed.   I can't believe I left those up there."

He continued to chuckle, "It's OK.   I've seen them before.   I've even bought them, which is never fun for a man I might add.   It's part of life.   I bet there are lots of women in Jericho that would give about anything for one of those boxes."

"Just give them here and I'll pack them," Heather said quickly, wanting to change the subject.   "What else is up there?"

"There's all kinds of stuff up here.   Seriously, how often do you check up here?   There are all kinds of snacks.   Crackers, 4 huge jars of peanut butter, cereal, candy, there are all kinds of things up here.   Why do you have all this stuff?   There is no way you could eat all this before it goes bad," Jake said, still poking around.

"It was supposed to be for school," Heather said.

"Oh, makes sense," Jake said, handing down things one by one.

"Just think, lots of snacks for home though," Heather said.

"I like to hear you call it home," Jake said.

They finished packing and pushed the boxes out into the kitchen.

Stanley came into the kitchen as they were pushing the boxes out of the pantry.  
"It's starting to snow again.   Lets break the bed down and get loaded up before it gets going good."

********

Several hours later, Heather surveyed her new room.   She couldn't believe she was living here.

When they had gotten home Gail had surprised them with a huge pot of chicken stew and fried bread.   No one had eaten anything so good in months.   Even Jacob, the original Mr. Picky, had gone back for seconds.   By mid-afternoon the snow was piling up.   This snow wasn't going to blow away like it had earlier in the week.   This was a serious storm.   Stanley and Mimi left for home.   The Green household settled in for the first winter storm of the year.

********

It had been so long since Heather had experienced family life she didn't quite know what to do.   She had helped Gail with the dishes but didn't know where the dishes went so she wasn't a lot of help.    She walked out into the living room and saw Jacob sitting in the window seat reading by flashlight.    Heather walked over to him and sat down on the seat beside him.

"Hey, whatcha reading?", she asked.

"A scary comic book I found in the attic," Jacob said quietly, looking out at the moonlit snow.

"I bet this is a lot different than living on the beach, huh?", Heather asked.

"Yeah, the only time I saw snow was when we went skiing.    I miss the beach.   I miss my room and my stuff."

"Why don't you tell me about your room.   Maybe it will help you not miss it as much," Heather said.

Jacob smiled, "It was white with a blue ceiling and clouds.  I had bunk beds and slept on top.    There were airplanes hanging from the ceiling."

"What about your toys?", Heather asked.

"They were all the way downstairs.   Mine and Nana's rooms was upstairs.    The playroom was all the way downstairs.   The TV and my computer and Playstation was down there too ."

"What about your dad?   Didn't he have a bedroom?"

"Of course, Silly!", Jacob laughed, "His and Sara's room was in the middle beside the living room where it was quiet.   That's where the deck was too"

The front door opened and Jake came in carrying an armload of snow covered firewood.    

"It is cold out there," Jake said, noticing Heather and Jacob sitting on the window seat.   "What are you two in top secret meetings about?"

"Nothing," said Heather, "Jacob was telling me about his bedroom and playroom in San Diego."

Jake raised an eyebrow, "He was.   Did he tell you how messy they always were.   How poor Nana finally just gave up and said if it wasn't falling out in the hall she would live with it?", Jake said smiling.  

Heather winked at Jacob, "No, we didn't talk about that."

Jake smiled at them.   He tapped Jacob on the top of the head, "It's almost 10.   You need to go to bed.  Go wash up and brush your teeth."

"Do I have to?   I'm not tired.  Why do I have to go to bed?"

"Because," said Jake.

"Because why?"

"Because I'm the dad and I said it's time for bed," Jake said, very matter of factly.

"Oh, alright.   Can I take my comic book?"

"Yes.   You have 30 minutes til lights out."

Jacob quickly ran upstairs.    Jake smiled, "In 10 minutes he'll be out."

Jake and Heather sat down on the couch.    

Jake looked over at Heather, "So, are you unpacked and settled in?"

"I just need to make up the bed and I am all set," Heather said, stifling a yawn, "I'm pathetic," she laughed, "I think you need to put me to bed."

"Um....maybe later," Jake said, with a sly grin.

Heather smacked him on the leg, "You are so bad."

Jake smiled, "That's what they've been saying about me for years.   It must be true."

Heather got up and stretched, "I think I am going to go to bed.   I'll see you in the morning."

Jake smiled and nodded.   After Heather left he sat looking at the fire, lost in memories.    He made a decision.

********

An hour later Heather was sitting in the chair beside the fireplace in her new bedroom.   She was tired and thought she would have no trouble going to sleep but for some reason she just couldn't.   The more she tried to go to sleep the wider awake she became.    She looked down at the book in her lap and tried to read but realized she had been trying to read the same paragraph for 15 minutes.   It was no use.   She put the book down and looked out the window.    It was still snowing heavily.

There was a quiet knock on her door.  

"Come in," Heather said quietly.

It was Jake.  

"I saw the light from the candles.   Were you getting ready to go to sleep?"

"I can't go to sleep.  I am just sitting here relaxing.   Come in," Heather said.

Jake came in carrying a bag.  "We haven't officially celebrated your moving in.   I think a celebration is in order," he said walking across the room.

He sat down in front of the fireplace and started taking things out of the bag---aluminum foil, graham crackers, peanut butter and chocolate.    

"I raided some of the snacks from your apartment.   You haven't had a treat until you try chocolate peanut butter smores.    They only turn out right if made secretly, late at night, over a fire," Jake said, smiling.    He took the fireplace shovel and wrapped it in aluminum foil.   Then he layered graham cracker, peanut butter and chocolate and held it over the fire.  

He held the shovel out to Heather, "Here hold this while I get the next one ready."

Minutes later Heather was having her first chocolate peanut butter smore, and it was good.    After they'd each had their fill they sat in front of the fire.   Heather was sitting between Jake's legs leaned back against his chest.     She had started to doze.     Jake put his arms around her and kissed her check.   He lightly shook her.

"Heather, there are some things I need to tell you.     Some things that I think you need to know about my life before I came back to Jericho.    Things no one else know about...................."  

To be continued...............

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