Hello! Here is my first ever Mediator Fanfiction. I just finished the series two days ago. This story takes place about a year after "Twilight." Please review!

Pain. That was the only thing that I was feeling. Well maybe not. Besides pain, anger was pretty high on my list. I know, I know. There I was, once again, getting the crap beat out of me. You would think that I would learn, try my hardest not to get myself into these situations. Father Dominic is always telling me I should try finding a new method to deal with these little "problems." But what can I say? Old habits die hard.

At that particular moment in time I was lying face down on a road, and let me tell you it was not one of those nice paved roads. Instead it was a gravel one, the little chunks of rocks scraping me through my silk shirt, and I am pretty sure the wetness that I could feel on my chest was not the morning dew. It was blood. My blood. Trying to get up proved to be futile on account that every time I tried a booted foot would slam into my back and press down harder than it had before as if saying, "Now Suze, didn't we just have this conversation? You stay down!" And at the "down," I was pressed harder into the ground, my face scratched by the rocks, my lungs getting crushed like they were nothing.

I did not attempt to get up again. Come on, I'm not that stupid. Instead I managed to turn my head, not without cutting my face, and turned in the direction that I had last seen Jesse. I know that Jesse is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I know that he would he wouldn't want me worrying about him, to worry about myself. But can you really blame me? I loved him for crying out loud. I mean this was his first fight in over 150 years where could actually feel the punches that were being delivered to him. The first fight in over 150 years where he could actually be hurt.

I didn't have to worry about how Upset Jesse was going to be with me about worrying about him because he was nowhere in sight. I tilted my face up a little so that I could get a better look of my surroundings, which wasn't much on account that have my face was being squished into the ground and it was pretty dark since it was two o'clock in the morning. We were in the middle of freaking nowhere, on a road that only God knew where it lead. I really didn't know what these guys problem were. Well, besides being dead and all. I mean what did I ever do to them?

The night had started out actually kind of normal, not just by my standards, but by any ones. I was as my boyfriend's apartment, cuddled up the couch next to him, and enjoying a quality drama on Turner Classic Movies. It might have been an old western but who cared? Half the fun was hearing Jesse comment on the inaccuracies of the historical information in the film, I mean he should know considering he grew up in that time. After the movie ended at midnight Jesse took me home. If I had the choice I would have stayed there later, but like everything else in my life, I didn't have a choice. I may be eighteen years old, but I am still in high school for another few months and am living under my parents roof.

Not long after saying goodnight to Jesse I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow. I was enjoying a fabulous dream where I was finally accepting that Academy Award when I was suddenly startled awake. I shot up in bed covered in cold sweat. I quickly scanned my room to see if there was anything in there that could have contributed to waking me up at one o'clock in the morning. It wouldn't have been the first time when I was rudely awoken by some ghost with a problem for me. I soon discovered that there was no one in the room. Sighing, I laid back down and closed my eyes, hoping to continue where I left off in my dream. As soon as I closed my eyes I with hit with something. Looking back I still don't know what to call it. It was like I was sensing someone. I could feel their pain and desperation and I knew where that person was.

Quicker than you could say, "I've lost my marbles," I was throwing on a pair of pants, a shirt, and my leather jacket and crawling out my window. Without thinking twice I pulled out the present that I had received from my mom for my eighteenth birthday, a cell phone, and called the person who was first in my directory.

"Hello?" Came a groggy voice over the telephone.

"Jesse its me. I…"

"Susannah? Is everything alright? Are you alright?" After realizing it was me, Jesse seemed to wake up a little bit.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I think. Can you come and pick me up?" I know it was rude of me. Unlike me Jesse actually had to work on Saturday. What with paying for school and everything he took all the hours that he could get.

"Of course. Are you sure that you are alright?"

I gave Jesse the rundown of what was going on. Before hanging up he promised that he would be there as quick as he could. I walked to the end of the driveway and sat down on the curb. I was thankful that I had chosen to wear the heavy jacket. It might have been April in California, but the temperature still dropped in the nights. I didn't have to deal with the coldness long on account that I soon saw Jesse's car approaching.

One of the things that loved about Jessie was, and believe me there are a lot, is the fact that he believes in me. I told him that I had felt someone in pain and I knew where they were and he believed me. If I were to have told Father D. something like this he would have been all like, "Are you sure you weren't just imagining this, Susannah." But not Jesse. As soon as I hopped in the car Jesse had asked me where to go.

We had been following the deserted road for about a mile when I told Jesse to pull over the car. We were there. Don't ask me how I knew it, but I did. We waited in the car for about three minutes when Jesse turned to me.

"Susannah, I don't…

Jesse didn't finish what he was going to say because right then three ghost appeared. There were three guys who all looked like a bunch of frat guys about Jesse's age. Two of them were about six feet tall and looked like they worked out on a regular basis. Probably between keg parties I'm sure. The other one couldn't have been much taller than me and was just as skinny. The taller of the two jocks had pulled the little guy's arms behind his back while the other one repeatedly socked him in the stomach. This angered me to say the least. Being a stepsister to David who has had more than is share of bullies, I know how hard it is to be the runt.

The big sister in me took over and before Jessie could even think about stopping me, I was out of the car.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong. But isn't it kind of pointless punching him?" I asked the ghosts who managed to take time out from punching for a moment to look at me. The weird thing is that they didn't look surprised to see me. I guess it was one of them whose pain I had felt, but I'm guessing that it belonged to the little guy. "I mean, its not like those punches really affect him in the long rung."

Jesse, who had leaped out of the car right after me, was now standing next to me and said, "Susannah, I thought we agreed that we were going to take a more compassionate approach to these kind of people."

"I am being compassionate."

Now that I really looked at the ghosts I noticed that the two big guys were wearing Letterman's jackets and the big guy who was holding the little one back was named Jackson while the one who had been hitting him was Cramer.

Jackson looked at me and then to Jesse. "You better shut your bitch up amigo. Unless you fancy seeing her missing an eye."

Jesse grabbed my arm in a protective manner. "There is no need to talk about the lady that way. We are just trying to help."

"I think we were doing just fine before you came along, didn't we guys?" Jackson said in a way that can only be described as haughty.

Before I could manage to respond Jackson through the little guy to the ground, who then disappeared. With shorty out of the way they focused their full attention on me and Jesse. Jesse responded by gripping my arm tighter and saying quickly, "Susannah, get in the car, now."

I looked at him incredulously. "I am not leaving you here alone with these two goons, Jesse."

Cramer took another step toward us. "She's right, Jesse." He said his name like it was poison on his tongue. "I think you both are going to be sticking around for a while."

Without warning, well much warning, the two guys sprang on us. The smaller of the two took me, and the other one took Jessie. How incredibly perfect. Oh I got a few kicks and punches in when I could. But it was like the guy couldn't even feel them. I know technically he can't, buy my attempts usually emit some kind of response.

Jesse was doing a little better than I was at the moment. I mean after all he was bigger, stronger, and lets face it, smarter. You can't blame me though. He had over 150 years to watch and gain fighting techniques.

So here I am. Being crunched into the ground by a size fourteen with Jesse nowhere in sight. I almost considered calling his name, but I wasn't real enthusiastic about getting kicked in the mouth. As I was lying there, wondering how the hell I was going to get myself out of this one, all 200 pounds or so of Cramer crashed down on me. I somehow managed to roll over with Cramer's weight, even though it didn't really exist, on me. I looked up and saw Jesse's beautiful, if not a little bruised, body standing over me. I realized he was the reason for Cramer's sudden unconsciousness.

Even with all the pain I was experiencing I still managed spout off a little joke. "I know how this looks, but I swear nothing's going on between us…we're just friends."

Jesse didn't look too amused. He managed to shove Cramer off of me and grabbed my hand to pull me up. After looking me over to make sure I still had all my limbs, he grabbed my hand and started walking in the opposite direction. Before we got to far I stopped, making Jesse turn around and give me a perplexed look. "Susannah, we must hurry." He nodded his head towards where I saw Jackson on the ground beginning to stir. We haven't much time before they wake up…"

Time? Time for what. There was always a little time to kick some ghost butt. "What are you suggesting we do?"

"Leave."

"Leave? Since when do we just leave?"

Jesse gave a nervous glance toward the two buffoons who were starting to get up and then gave me a heart rendering one. "Since I became human and can't protect you the way I used to."

I then did the only thing I could think to do where I could stop seeing that face that made my heart clench. I followed him to the car.