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Disclaimer: jake 2.0 and all related elements, characters and indicia © Roundtable Entertainment and Viacom Productions, Inc., 2003. All Rights Reserved. All characters and situations-save those created by the authors for use solely on this website-are copyright Roundtable Entertainment and Viacom Productions, Inc.

Author's Note: Anyway, this is my first and probably only foray into this fandom. I just needed to get this out of my system after "Upgrade." It was surprisingly cathartic. All the best shows get cancelled... Lyrics from "Don't Dream It's Over" by Sixpence None the Richer (Pretty sure it's a cover though!) Author's Note: Totally inspired by Suz's attempt to cheer me up after the last ever episode of Jake 2.0. Basically I hated how the series ended on such a down note, so I concocted this little piece in my head as to what happened afterwards. This is my ending to the series. Not particularly good, but if anyone enjoys it (or even reads it) I'm happy.

Don't Dream It's Over
by Konstantine

Finally free from the statements, the debriefs, the impressed looks of his colleagues, he hurried as quickly as possible to the sanctuary of the lab. Diane's lab. His lab.

Once fully shielded from their piercing gazes—their knowing looks—he gave in.

His sobs were thick and heavy. His whole body seemed to reel from them. He couldn't stop. He'd opened some gateway inside himself that just would not close.

That's when she found him.

"Jake, I just heard..."

His appearance stopped her dead, any urgency she'd felt replaced with something else. Something he couldn't begin to quantify. Didn't want to.

Without another word, she broke the space between them, her small frame enveloping him in an all-consuming embrace.

Grateful, he lowered his head to her shoulder, breathing deeply against her neck as he tried to regain his composure and simultaneously ignore the intoxicating scent of...Diane.

Sensing the momentary abatement of his grief, she pulled back ever so slightly, the space between their faces almost negligible. One hand was looped around his neck, her fingers gently tousling the hair at the nape of his neck. The other she loosened from their embrace to place gently against his check.

"Jake? What's this really about?"

He sighed deeply, willing his eyes not to meet hers. Not to lose himself in her inviting gaze.

"It's just..." he faltered. "I thought this is what I wanted. What I'd always dreamed of. But now..."

She turned his face slightly to meet her eyes.

"Jake. Listen to me. Dreams come true, not perfect."

He nodded in concession. Why did she always have to be so smart?

"I know. It just seems that lately there are more and more reasons against this, and more and more reasons to..."

She looked at him bewildered.

"I mean if I wasn't...If we weren't...we could..."

Wow. That was coherent, he silently admonished.

She looked at him seemingly speechless.

"Jake, I..."

"No, I'm sorry..." he interrupted. "That was unfair..."

She didn't respond. She merely reached up and lowered his forehead down so that she could plant a soft, chaste kiss upon his brow.

The action was fleeting—momentary—but it seemed to make everything around him slow down. As she slowly pulled away she pressed her lips together tightly.

"I'm always her for you, Jake," she finally announced. "Even if we're not..." she searched for the word, "together. I'm still here for you. I'm still your friend. And I have to tell you, you're an amazing agent. You save lives. You saved mine."

She finally broke their close embrace, her free hands now swaying at her side. She quickly grabbed a free clipboard from the bench, clutching it to her chest, as though reinforcing this newly designated space between them.

"What you can do. Who you can help. It's worth the sacrifice. Worth putting this off..." she gestured. "I can't promise you won't have to kill again, Jake. All I can promise is to help you so that it will always only be your last resort. But some people won't give you that choice. It will be you or them."

Once again bridging the gap between them she looked up at him.

"And I need you to promise me. Promise me," she reinforced. "That if you're ever in that situation that you won't hesitate. You've died in front of me before, and once is enough. I don't think I could handle..."

And now, it was his turn to be the support. The comforting presence.

He cradled her delicate face in his palms.

"Diane. I promise you won't have to see that again. I promise."

Her shining eyes peered into his for moment, testing his sincerity. Seemingly pleased with the result, she smiled back at him and then turned away, her attention now intently focused on something on her computer's display.

"Now. Get back to work," she ordered.

He reeled back, as little startled until she saw the sly grin on her face. It restored his own.

He gingerly made his way out of the room and back into the control room, pausing briefly to place a tentative palm on her shoulder.

"Thank you."

And then he was gone. Back to the real world. Back to his job.

To his dream.