Fearful and the Fearless- A Jonathan Crane Fan Fiction

Chapter Ten

All of Shannon's family members were ecstatic about the upcoming nuptials in their adopted girl's near future. Well, all but Jim Gordon, who was as suspicious as ever about Jonathan. He wasn't even aware Shannon would be moving out until one night she didn't come home from work. He had panicked, being as she was always home by nine. Always. Jim had gotten back into his uniform, holstered his gun, and was about to call reinforcements, when Barbra had noticed the ruckus. She had grabbed the phone from Jim, and hung it up before explaining exactly where Shannon was.

Jim, of course, thought his wife had gone crazy. She was letting their daughter move out of the house with a man she wasn't married to, and he pointed that out straight away. Of course, Barbra had countered him quickly, saying Shannon and Jonathan had been dating for almost five years and Shannon was an adult who could do as she pleased and that the wedding ceremony was only three months away, as Jonathan wanted to be married to Shannon as soon as he possibly could. This last point only further infuriated Jim, but instead of arguing he just went to bed in hopes perhaps all of that night had been a bad dream. Of course, It hadn't been, but it had been a valiant effort on Jim's part.

Jonathan's grandparents seemed to be happy about the wedding, too, though it was hard to tell with their indifference to almost everything. Jonathan later said, however, they very much liked Shannon- not that she could tell. Shannon found the couple to be rather draw, but never showed such thoughts to Jonathan during their visit to the extravagant manor in which they lived as she did not want to offend him or his grandparents. The visit there was short lived, however, when the subject of Jonathan's elder brother was brought up.

Jonathan had yanked Shannon from her chair and picked her up as his grandmother started recounting a girl his elder brother had almost married. The woman did not stop talking as Shannon was carried from the room.

"Such a pity, she was a lively girl. He died only a week before the wedding-" BAM! The front door slammed shut behind Shannon and Jonathan. Shannon looked up at Jonathan to see him red in the face, looking rather angry.

"I'm sorry you had to hear the old bat say all that," he muttered, shaking his head and surprising Shannon very much by the nickname he gave his own grandmother.

"You never told me your brother had passed away," Shannon said softly, trying not to further anger her fiancé as he began his decent of the front steps towards the car. His steely eyes darkened at the mention of his undesirable brother. He said nothing as he opened the passenger door of the car and slid Shannon inside. He slammed it shut, and Shannon felt the vehicle vibrate slightly from the force. Jonathan rounded the car and got in himself, but he did not all at once start it.

"Shannon," he said very seriously, straightening his glasses on his face, "Can you do something for me?" He looked to her, and did not even wait for a nod before he made his request- or more over order, "Never speak of my brother." And that was that.

Jonathan started up the car and drove them back to the little house the two of them had shared for a little over a week.

"How  has the wedding plans been coming?" Jonathan asked at around the midpoint of the drive home. He saw Shannon's face brighten at the subject and half-listened to her babble on about her and Barbra's plans for the festivity. He smiled slightly, liking her happy and excited. He was very happy he had handed all creative control over to her, it made her relaxed somehow.

"I was thinking yellow flowers, maybe.. What do you think?" Shannon asked, and Jonathan, having picked up on an incoming question, nodded encouragingly.

"It sounds lovely, dearest," he told her, glancing in her direction, "And on the subject of flowers, I'm thinking of getting some roses for the garden. Would you like that?"