If Kennedy Lived: An Alternate History

If Kennedy Lived: An Alternate History Extra!!!

Jack and Jackie Kennedy stood on a balcony of the restored Police station, looking out over the village in the valley below. "It's amazing, isn't it?" Jackie asked, smiling. "Four months, and look at what we've done..."

"Everyone pulled together," the Cold Warrior replied. "That's what it was; none of us could have done this alone. Even DarkSky's old gang helped out."

"They just had a bad leader. Now that Jonathan's in charge they're not so bad." Jackie giggled. "Would you believe ScarWing asked me out the other day?"

"So what did you say?"

"I turned him down of course," Jackie gave John a quick kiss on the cheek. "Like I'd trade you for anyone."

"Excuse us."

The pair turned around to see Curry and Robert standing in the doorway.

"Hi Chief, Robert," John was blushing furiously. "Can we help you?"

"Actually," Robert began hesitantly, her eyes downcast. "I...I wanted to talk to Jackie...if you're not too busy that is?"

"That's fine," the First Lady answered. "What's up?"

"I-I kind of wanted t-to talk to you alone..." he stammered.

"That's fine," John made his way to the door, Curry waking alongside him.

"So," Jackie asked once the others were out of earshot. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," Robert began slowly, still not meeting Jackie's gaze. "I wanted to say...I'm..." the male warrior took a deep breath. "I'm sorry; I haven't been fair to you at all. I was upset about DarkSky, and I blamed you for her leaving. I know it's a lot to ask, but can you forgive me?"

Jackie placed her hand on Robert's shoulder, looking warmly into the young man's eyes. "Of course I forgive you. I understand what you went through: your whole world had just been shattered, you'd have to be crazy for that not to get to you."

"So it's okay?"

"It's okay. Believe it or not I went through something similar myself."

"Really?"

"After Jack rescued me from Darkness, it took me a long time to get used to how different my life was. It was also kind of hard to accept the idea that my 'Master' had tried to kill me for failing him. There were actually some times when I was angry at Jack for taking me away."

Robert was silent for a moment. "Why are you telling me this? Are you saying that you want to go back to the Dark Lord?"

"Never. I'm just saying that I know what you went through, and I understand how you feel."

"Thank you, Jackie," Robert said, smiling at last. "That's a weight off my shoulders. Mary was right when she said I should talk to you."

"Yeah, she's good at solving this kind of problem."

OO

"Mr. President, could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Of course Chief; what did you need?"

"I just wanted to say how proud I am of you. You've taken the roles of hero, leader, warrior, and friend...and performed them all admirably. I'm sure that if Conally were here now he would agree that you are everything he could hope for in a warrior and more. And I feel the same way."

"Thanks Chief, but you're being too kind; I don't deserve that kind of praise. I just do what needs to be done."

"That's all it takes to be a hero, Mr. President. And you do so much more than that, even if you don't realize it. You stand and fight where others would flee, and that kind of strength is inspiring. You're a beacon for the rest of us. Before you appeared, we had given up hope of defeating Darkness, or even surviving the war. You gave us the courage that we needed to go on. You may not think so, but we'd be lost without you." Curry smiled at his 'leader'. "Especially Jackie."