Scott was on the phone in the kitchen, teary-eyed. The person on the other end said, "I have some news about your partner, Mr. McAurthur." very formally. After a few moments of listening, Scott dropped the phone. It hit the floor noisily as he choked out, "Brick."

Pause. Rewind.

Two months earlier

Scott lay half-asleep in the bed that he and Brick now shared. All alone. Brick had been off serving in the military for almost four months now, and Scott had grown somewhat lonely for his "partner" as Scott's father liked to call him. He longed to see Brick again, letters just weren't enough. To sweeten the deal, Scott was seriously hating that he had to quit smoking.

Scott opened his eyes sleepily, but what he saw before him made his eyes snap back shut. No, Scott thought, she isn't here. When I open my eyes, she'll be gone. He assured himself. When Scott opened his eyes, as he half-expected, she was there.

"Boo." Jessie giggled, "Scared ya." she grinned.

Scott let out an ear-piercing screech as he fell out of bed, "Y-y-you're not real!" he stammered, scooting away, "I'm not crazy!" he curled up in the corner nearest the bed and squeezed his eyes shut. For a moment, everything was silent, and when Scott eased one eye open, he didn't see anything- or anyone. Scott heaved a long sigh. "Just a dream. Just a bad dream..."

"Sure it was." Jessie popped up out of the floorboards, making Scott shriek once more.

Scott stared for a moment, then started half-laughing-half-asphyxiating as he said, "It's finally happened! I've snapped my crank. Gone out of my gourd! It was only a matter of time..." his head suddenly filled to the brim with horrifying thoughts of being thrown into the loony bin with Chris, surrounded by flowers from old fans of total drama, or Rafi- never seeing Brick again.

"Chill!" Jessie interrupted Scott's thoughts. "Dude your crank is just fine."

"Why are you here?" Scott asked, shaking.

"Good to see you too." Jessie laughed, "And I really don't know. Figured I'd just wing it."

"Wing it?!" Scott shouted.

"Chill."

"Okay, okay..." Scott took a deep breath. "What, you don't know why you're here?"

"I have a theory."

"And that is?"

"Well it would require you to answer a few questions for me." Jessie grinned. Scott nodded hesitantly. "Okay, so like, are you and Brick a thing yet? Or did I die for nothing?"

Scott blushed, remembering that he and Brick had gotten together only after Jessie died."Well you didn't die for nothing..." Scott trailed off.

Jessie squealed like a rabid One Direction fangirl, "Oh my god! I knew it!"

Scott's blush deepened, "Okay, you can shut up now..."

Jessie giggled, "Okay, okay, okay. And you moved in with him?" she grinned.

Scott nodded.

"And you're in love?" Jessie giggled.

Scott turned even redder, "Yeah..."

Jessie giggled and caught her breath, "Okay, this isn't relevant to my theory, but are you pitching or catching?"

"What?!" Scott hid his face as Jessie started laughing very hard.

"Alright, sorry." Jessie said, still recovering from laughter. "So is Brick here? I wanna see that boy."

"He's serving." Scott said crossly as he got up off the floor.

"WHAT?!" Jessie nearly hit the ceiling, "You mean like, in the military?!"

"Yeah..."

Jessie smacked Scott upside the head.

"Ow!" Scott whined, "What was that for?!"

"You let your boyfriend go into the military?! What is wrong with you?! You know what, I take it all back. Your crank has definitely snapped. Your mind is gone. Bye bye, woohoo, seeya." Jessie kept on and on, Scott watching her with mounting confusion. "You do realize he could-"

"Don't say it!" Scott cut her off.

"Okay, but why did you let him do that?!"

"Well it isn't like I gave him permission!" Scott snapped. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "What's that theory you were going on about?"

"Oh yeah!" Jessie smiled and floated up in mid-air, turning upside down nonchalantly. She gave a thoughtful look, "Well the way I figure it, I have some big thing to accomplish before I cross over to death." Jessie smiled simply.

Scott gave Jessie a confused look, "And that 'thing' would be…?"

Jessie snorted, "I dunno." She shrugged.

"You don't know?!" Scott shouted.

Jessie groaned, "How many times must I say it? Chill." she flipped back right-side-up and continued, "Anyway, I'm sure I'll figure it out."

Scott sighed and started going through his closet. "Well, since you're gonna be here awhile, I guess i'm gonna have to take you to work with me, huh?"

Jessie nodded and hummed in agreement. She paused, carefully observing how Scott went through his shirts. Each one was looked over, then discarded. Scott sighed each time he rejected a shirt. Jessie gave a thoughtful look, "The green one, and the white undershirt. leave the top two buttons undone." She advised.

Scott looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What, you don't know how to get dressed by yourself?" Jessie asked.

Scott shot Jessie a glare, as he took his green button-up off of its hanger. His look softened, "I'm just not used to it, that's all." He mumbled. "Usually Brick helps me pick out what I wear, shows me what goes best with what." Scott stripped off his pajama shirt and put on a white undershirt, talking to Jessie as he went. "Pretty sure I look blind now, most of the time."

Jessie placed her hands over her still heart and breathed an empathetic sigh, "Aw! That must be so tough for you!" She smiled, "Well, I'd be happy to sub for Brick while he's away."

Scott shrugged, "It's alright, I think I'm okay for the time being." Scott shrugged on the long-sleeved green shirt and began buttoning it up. "I wouldn't mind a cooking lesson, though. I dunno if you noticed the Great Wall of Chinese Take-Out or the Leaning Tower of Pizza Boxes in the kitchen, but I'm getting kinda sick of it myself."

Jessie rolled her eyes, "If i could cook, d'you think I'd be this skinny?" she looked scott over, "Speaking of, you've dropped a few pounds. And were you always that pale?"

Scott glared at Jessie once more, "I was literally eaten by a shark when I was sixteen years old. I'm a bit prone to paleness."

"Smartass." Jessie snorted. "Hey you still on all that medication?"

"How did you know about that?" Scott gave Jessie a confused look.

"Sierra- you know, the crazy girl? She blogged about you and all your meds right after the shark attack." Jessie explained, "As well as pictures of you with your dad and a bunch of hicks in the hospital after you got out of the trauma chair. All those stitches, you looked like a rag doll. So many tubes coming out of you-"

"Stop." Scott put up his index finger and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Yes, I am still taking my meds. They prevent organ damage, bone fractures, and bleeding risks. And I have to use an asthma inhaler."

Jessie tsked, "What did I tell you about those cigarettes?"

"I quit." Scott rolled his eyes, tucking in his shirt. "Now come on, I'm gonna be late for work."

"Why? The factory doesn't open for another two hours or so." Jessie said, looking puzzled.

Scott looked at Jessie, "You have been gone a while, haven't you?" He breathed, "I'm not working at the factory anymore. I'm managing this little book store now." Scott explained, "Pays good enough, and at least there's no Rafi."

Jessie tilted her head, "Yeah, and what ever happened to that Joker? Last thing I remember, Chris was screaming at me to tell him a name. He held the knife to my throat and I just shouted out Rafiel Giovanni. Is he okay?" Jessie followed Scott as he walked out into the hallway.

"Well, I beat him up once. Then Chris beat him up. Then Chef beat him almost to death, but he's okay now." Scott waved it off.

Jessie cringed, "Ooh, was that my fault?"

"No." Scott said exaduratively, "No, not at all."

Jessie gave Scott a look.

"Okay, maybe a little bit… But he's fine now. On facebook he says his wounds have healed over nicely." Scott lead Jessie through the hall and into the living room.

Jessie noted the way the apartment had changed since she'd been there last. New pictures littered the walls and occasional end tables, some of Brick and Scott, some of family. A big fluffy-looking cream colored couch sat against the wall opposite the door, next to which sat an old leather trunk with candles burning over wine bottles on it. In the kitchen sat the aforementioned take-out landmarks next to the dark wood kitchen table. Jessie noticed how much more lived-in, how much more homey the place seemed.

"New furnisher?" Jessie asked, changing the subject.

"Hm?" Scott looked up from his Shoelace, "Oh yeah, a ton. Brick wanted to redecorate the place. Got some good deals. It's not much, but it's home."

Jessie smiled, eyeing the book shelves under the window, next to the candle trunk. "Lots of books." She remarked.

Scott nodded, tying his other shoe, "Oh, yeah. I get discounts on 'm, so I've accumulated quite a few. There's a lot more in the office." Scott nodded in the direction of the second bedroom. "Got the shelves for a steal, too." he called as Jessie flew back down the hall to the office room.

Jessie fazed through the door and into the room, on two of the walls were floor-to-ceiling book shelves. Next to the window, which gave view to nothing but a red brick wall, sat a small red love seat. On the wall next to the door was a desk with a MacBook and miscellaneous papers and pens on it. In the corners of the ceiling there were speakers that must've been for music. There were photos on the walls here, too. A fuzzy rug and two bean-bag chairs sat in the middle of the floor. Overall it looked like a cozy place to spend a day, or a week, or a year.

Scott opened the door and strode in. "It's a bit of a mess, but you know…"

"Comfy. Very, comfy-looking." Jessie observed, lightly touching the spine of a book entitled You Don't Know Me. "I could dig this place, you know? It's nice."

Scott shrugged a little, "I guess it's alright. All we can afford."

"Are you married yet?" Jessie asked, fiddling with one of the novelty book-ends.

Scott blushed lightly, "No…"

Jessie raised an eyebrow and returned her attention to her ginger companion, "Well why the hell not?"

Scott shrugged, "I haven't asked him yet. He hasn't asked me yet. Subsequently we're not married yet."

Jessie gave an exasperated groan, "Why haven't you asked him yet, dumbass?"

Scott rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna be late for work, you coming or not?" he asked.

Jessie gave him a look and crossed her arms, "Yeah, I guess. But this ain't over, we will discuss this!"

Author's note: Whew! Chapter one: DONE! woo! just… a lot more to go lol.