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A Jericho Fan Fiction Archive
oh, so sweet! I know they get home. thanks for sharing.
Sid
Thanks!
I'm still working on a possible follow-up to this piece, so hopefully you'll get to see them come home (or not) one day.
Thanks for reading and commenting! :)
I can't believe I missed this both on here and on JFF! That was really, really good. :) I love the addition of Jake and Heather's kids, not only because it means they are together and married, but because their kids give them something/someone to fight for. I like how Jake and Heather are remaining optimisitic (for the most part) that they will get back home to their kids, no matter what.
Do you plan on writing a continuation to this?
Thanks for the great compliment! You're right- the kids give them something to fight for, and they have to keep thinking this to keep themselves going on this trip gone horribly wrong.
I am working on a possible continuation to this (and it in iteslf is a continuation of my other piece Night Narrative). Thanks again for reading and reviewing!
I just loved how the first paragraph of the story set the scene for it. It really created an amazing image in my mind. I was happy to have this glimpse of what kept Jake and Heather from their children for so long. I really like how you used the banter between Heather and Jake to add some levity to the seriousness of the Heather’s story about how she escaped from New Bern. I like how Heather and Jake find comfort in with one another. I just love the letter that Heather ‘wrote’ to their children. I think the part that moved me the most was Heather’s hope one day that her children understand that their grandfather, parents, aunts, uncles and friends did the things they did to make their world better.
Author's Response:
Thanks!
I enjoyed writing a moment in time where Jake and Heather use their humour, the promise of everything waiting for them back home, and their comfort in each other to keep sane during a really difficult time. I think that these things are often essential to surviving the situations the Jericho characters regularly face. Thanks for your review!
What a lovely story, Penny! This was both uplifting and realistic. I'm certain that Heather and Jake will make it home and still worried they won't, all at the same time. You did a really good job of illustrating the precarious nature of the world and their lives some 5? 6? years post-bombs.
As I was reading, it occurred to me that Fiona might be the baby that Heather was carrying at the end of your Christmas Carol series (I still absolutely love that story!) and whom various people were trying to get set up in an arranged marriage with Mimi's and Stanley's son. I'm going with it until you tell me no. I like the loose but definite connections between all the stories you write. I can definitely see things playing out the way you have imagined them.
I was wondering what would take Heather and, to a lesser extent, Jake away from their kids and you have definitely answered that question. I am glad that Jake can acknowledge that he needs Heather, even and especially when they venture out into the world to try and make it a better place for their children. So, thank you for answering that burning question!
Lastly, I was thrown at first by the fact that Heather had never told Jake about her escape from New Bern, but as I re-read, it made perfect sense. Their world seems so precarious and I imagine that they are always dealing with the next crisis and that downtime, time to just be a family is precious. You wouldn't "steal" that time from yourself by rehashing one of the many nightmares you've been through. I can totally buy that this is the first time Jake has heard that story, now.
So.... any chance that we will find out one day how Jake and Heather got together? Even if it's just an offhand comment from Stanley, I'd be interested in seeing it. And, if not, I've got a good imagination... I'll come up with something. :-)
Thank you, Sandra, for the wonderful compliment. I really wanted to a achieve a balance of good humour in a dire situation in this story, so I'm glad that the juxtaposition worked for you. I really appreciate the review!
Thank you, as well, Marzee! You gave me a lot to think about as I was penning this companion to the first story, so I'm really glad you enjoyed this one. You are indeed correct- Fiona is the unnamed, unborn baby everyone wanted to set up with Stanley and Mimi's son in the Christmas Carol story. Though I guess she's a different universe Fiona, she's mostly the same as she would have been in that world. (Minus the influences of an idolized aunt-figure and a life-affirming reformed store-owner. I guess this is the more realistic version) I try to keep a kind of continuity between my different stories, so you can (hopefully) see the world I'm expanding, and though a lot of things don't come up in every story, I know they're there so it helps inform me when I'm writing. For instance, though she wasn't mentioned at all in the story of Stanley telling Bonnie about his children's birth, Fiona was the reason Heather had returned the baby clothes to the Richmonds. (or, I guess, the reason she borrowed them in the first place)
You're also right about why this particular story has never come up between Jake and Heather. She's told him before the details of the story she considers to be important- the factory, her and Eric planning to destroy it, and what happened when Constantino caught them. He knows the basic outline of what happened next, but she'd never considered it important to tell him all about the getaway car. It's a story that's both difficult for her to tell and him to hear, so while they haven't quite worked through it, they've managed to make their peace with it the best that they can. This is because, as you put it, they live between crises, and they're determined to enjoy life as well as they can during the down time. She's also been through seemingly worse things, but their recent encounter with a road gang is what has left Heather dwelling on that particular experience at this moment in time.
I'm not sure when, but I think we just may find out one day how they got together. You've got me thinking about things again. Thanks so much for your review!
Oh, Penny, I loved this! The juxtaposition of good natured bantering between Jake and Heather with the seriousness of the story Heather told Jake about her escape from New Bern was just excellent.
I really like your writing style. The way you introduced the story was excellent. I had such a clear picture in my head because of your words. There were also little clever lines like this...
She made a teasing face. “And you were the third wheel. Under the wheel.”
...that I really enjoyed.
Your stories always pull at my heart strings. The ending with Heather composing a letter for their children and taking the first shift of nightwatch...awww.
Thanks for sharing this story with us!
Thank you, Sandra, and sorry, the response I wrote to you is in Marzee's response. I'm still figuring out how the system works.