A/N: Based off Roni's bar and my own desires.

He knows things aren't right. He just feels it deep in his gut.

His therapist says that's perfectly normal considering the circumstances. After all, who wouldn't feel out of sorts after waking up from a six-month coma with no memories whatsoever.

Some days he still can't believe it. An entire lifetime gone. He can't remember anything no matter how hard he tries. All he knows is what they've told him.

His name is Jason Clark. He's 40 years old. His birthday is June 7th. He used to be a web designer. He lives in Spokane, Washington. In a nice apartment with an English bulldog named Charlie. He lives alone. Doesn't have much of a family from what he can tell. Not a lot of pictures on the walls. Not a single friend that he's met, just acquaintances here and there.

A look in the mirror tells him that he has dark brown hair, nearly black, and green eyes. His closet tells him that he favors expensive suits over jeans and hoodies. And judging by his kitchen cabinets he's apparently a big fan of pasta but none of it sparks a fraction of a memory or emotion. Just more mystery.

His therapist says things will get better. That as time goes by he'll start to settle and possibly remember more.

But he knows that's not true.

He's lived this life for three months and it still doesn't feel like his.

His apartment doesn't feel like his home. His face doesn't feel familiar. Hell, even the dog is acting like it barely knows him.

Things don't feel right. And he can't shake the feeling that the life he's living isn't his own.

Still, he tries. He takes Charlie on walks, he explores his neighborhood, he tries to find something that will spark his memory all to no avail… until that fateful Friday afternoon.

He'd taken Charlie out to the park, for a stroll near his favorite pond. He can't remember going there often but Charlie always seems happy there. It's on their second lap that they run into her.

It's a complete accident. Charlie had tugged on his leash a bit to harshly and she clearly hadn't been watching where she was going, so they bumped into each other. He apologizes, only wanting to make sure that she's okay, when her hand latches onto to his elbow and she stares up at him with wide blue eyes.

"It's you!" she breathlessly whispers. She says it with so much conviction, her grip on his arm growing tighter as she takes him in. "I've been looking for so long…"

He stares down at her, heart pounding in his chest as he searches her face for a sliver of recognition. He's walked through this park, this neighborhood, at least a dozen times and not once has someone recognized him. She's the first and he wants to remember her desperately… but he doesn't.

He takes in her curly blonde hair and innocent blue eyes, searching his brain but coming up empty. He doesn't know who she is.

"Do you know who I am?" he tentatively asks.

Her smile falters as she scrunches her eyebrows at him. "Do you?"

Her gaze grows harsher as she lets her hand fall from his arm and he shifts uncomfortably under her scrutiny.

"Of course," he lies. "I'm Jason Clarke."

A soft, disbelieving breath comes from her as she shakes her head. "No… you're not."

Confusion bubbles up inside of him. He doesn't like it.

"Look," he says, "I've had a bit of an accident recently. And it might've messed with my head a bit but I do still know my own name. Now tell me… do I know you?"

She shakes her head, sadly. "No… but I know you. The real you."

All he can do is stare at her. She's not making sense.

"Who are you?"

A small smile tugs on her lips. "Your fairy godmother," she sarcastically answers, with a small shrug of her shoulders.

Jason rolls his eyes. This woman is clearly insane. He doesn't know why he even bothered to get his hopes up. She's clearly a dead end.

Charlie tugs on his leash and barks, clearly ready to move on. And frankly, Jason is right behind him.

He turns away from her. "Look I don't know if you're messing with me or just annoyingly cryptic but either way I get the feeling that this talk is a waste of my time so…"

He starts to walk away, even manages to make a few strides before he hears her call out to him.

"You're lost aren't you… Jason?" She practically sneers his name and it stops him in his track.

"You wake up and you don't feel right? You look around and know that you're out of place?" She pauses. "It's eating you alive, isn't it?"

He grits his teeth before turning around to look at her. She's still staring at him a knowing, concerned look in her eyes as she continues to speak.

"You think it's just your home, or your clothes, maybe even that dog that's making you not feel right but it isn't," she said, stepping closer. "It's you. Deep down inside… you're not where you're meant to be… and you know it."

He takes a deep breath, clenches his jaw and growls at her, "Who… are… you?"

She nods at him. "I'm the woman who's gonna show you the way home."

She reaches inside her jean jacket, pulls out a small business card and hands it over to him. "Tomorrow night at seven. You need to be at this place. Trust me."

It's all she says before rushing away from him, disappearing as mysteriously as she'd appeared. He watches her go before turning over the card in his hand.

RONI'S BAR
815 N. Mifflin Ave, Seattle, Washington.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's fucking ridiculous. There's no way he's doing it.

There's no way he's taking a four hour drive all the way to fucking Seattle just because a crazy woman told him to. There's just no way.

Sitting on his couch in his apartment he tries to convince himself of this. He tries to convince himself that he's too smart to believe anything that she said. He looks around his home and tries to convince himself that it's where he belongs.

Charlie wanders over with his leash in his mouth. He paws at his leg and tilts his head, judgmentally.

Jason sighs. "Goddamn it."

xxxxxxxx

It's a nice enough place. At least from the outside.

It's seven-ten Saturday night and he's standing across from the bar with Charlie at his side, watching as people come in and out. There's a bright neon sign above the door with green lit letters spelling out "RONI'S" along with two red arrows above the name. Classy, he thinks to himself.

He can't see inside. It's a brick building with the only windows situated well above eye level but he can hear the music coming from behind the door. A steady stream of classic rock and guitar ballads. Not his personal favorite. At least not according to his CD collection.

This is insane. He had no reason at all to go inside that place. Just the word of some madwoman he'd ran into at the park. What are the chances that anything in there was gonna give him answers? He was better off going home.

He'd barely spun on his heel before he heard her voice.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

He turned back with a grimace and saw her, the woman from the park. She was dressed in a flirty green romper and glaring at him crossed arms. Teddy barked, recognizing her and she smiled at him.

"You know they don't allow dogs inside," she quipped.

"Doesn't matter because I'm not going in," he shot back.

"You have to!" she insisted, raising her voice.

"No I don't!" he snapped at her. "I don't get it. Who are you?! What do you think is gonna happen? What in there is so important that you just can't let me leave?!"

She hesitated, shifting from foot to foot before softly answering, "A woman."

Jason rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Wow."

He turned to walk away from her but she ran to block his path. "Look I know how it sounds… but you have to trust me. Once you meet her… things will start feeling right again."

Jason clenched his jaw as he stared her down. "And what makes you think I need your help with that?"

She stared up at him, silent and searching before answering, "Because I'm just a crazy woman from a park who told you to be some place… and you still showed up."

Goddamn it.

He reluctantly hands her the leash. "If my dog isn't here when I get back I swear I will hunt you down."

She smiles at him. "Noted."

He goes to walk toward the bar before looking back at her. "What is your name anyway?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "My friends call me Tink."

xxxxxxx

It's more crowded than he expected but then again it was Saturday night. A small band was up on stage playing 80's rock and every table in the place was filled. In fact, the only seat left was on a stool right next to the bar. Looking around the bar he suddenly realizes that Tink has given no clue as to who this woman is or what she even looks like.

30 minutes, he told himself. I'll stay for 30 minutes and then I'll leave.

He sits at the bar, feeling more anxious by the minute. One quick pan of the room and he realized he was clearly overdressed. His black suit certainly stood out in the sea of jeans and leather. It makes him feel uncomfortable but not half as much as the stares he's gotten. This place must be a locals hangout because people have stared at him from the moment he'd walked through that door, as if they'd known it was his first time there.

This was a bad idea. Screw thirty minutes, he should just leave now.

"Well hello there handsome."

He turns to the bar and finds himself looking into the most beautiful pair of chocolate eyes he's seen in this life or any other. It's the bartender. A woman with dark eyes and wild brown hair. She smiles and he's dumbfounded. He doesn't know what it is but he feels… something. Which is more than he can say for the past three months.

She raises her eyebrows at him. "Pick your poison?"

"Why don't you pick it for me?"

The words slip out of him as if on instinct, smoother than he expected and certainly more relaxed than he feels.

She tilts her head at him, surprised. "Feeling a little adventurous?"

"Just having some trouble remembering what I like," he replies.

It's not as if he's lying. Drinking wasn't something he'd had the chance to do yet. So if he has a favorite drink it's a mystery to him.

She nods her head. "Alright then. A shot of whiskey coming up."

She knocks on the counter before turning back to the shelf and pulling down a bottle. He watches her from his seat, taking her in. He can't help but let his eyes wander over her body, examining every curve of her. She's dressed as casually as anyone else in the place, wearing nothing but a plain black tank and jeans. It suits her.

"You're not from around here, are you?" she asks, her back still turned.

"How could you tell?"

Her hoop earrings dangle as she spins back and sets a glass in front of him. "No one around here dresses as nice as you."

She winks at him, or at least tries to, and he smiles, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just passing through for the night."

"And what brings you to the lovely Hyperion Heights?"

He stares into her brown eyes and shakes his head. "I have no idea."

"Really?" she drawls, leaning against the counter, clearly interested. "You lost?"

"So I've been told," he replies.

She hums to herself as she stares into his eyes. "You know… I like you."

He snorts, amused. "Do you?"

"I do." She grins, nodding her head. "And you should know that's a very big deal. I don't like very many people."

"I bet," he chuckles.

She tilts her head at him, curious. "What is your name?"

"Jason," he answers. "Jason Clarke."

"Jason Clarke?" She wrinkles her nose, straightening up. "Not really a name that fits you."

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll be sure to return it," he shoots back with a grin.

"Sorry," she giggles. "I've been told I'm a little blunt."

"It's fine," he says, shaking his head. "You have no idea how refreshing it is."

After weeks of gentle-toned doctors and psychiatrists her honesty is like a breath of fresh air. Maybe that's why it feels like his soul is reaching out to her like a moth to a flame.

"What is your name?"

"Veronica," she answers, flashing him another bright smile. "But everyone just calls me Roni. Owner and proprietor of the very bar you stand in."

She holds out her hand and he reaches to shake it. A jolt goes through him. Like the spark that ignites a forest fire, he feels something shift inside of him. Something light and familiar. Something… right.

"Pleasure to meet you Roni."

"Likewise… Jason."

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