Disclaimer: The Mediator belongs to Meg Cabot.

Rating: T – Watch the language.

Summary: One-shot addition to Moments In Time. Brad's POV. Three days after Suze got beaten around her house by the sadistic spirit wanting his life restored, Brad is back and wanting answers. And for the promise to be fulfilled on finding out Suze's big bad secret . . . Can be read as a standalone.

A/N: So I fully intended on posting this along with the third part to the incident in the main story, but I got sidetracked again. So here it is. I didn't want to leave this until I decide to pick up MIT again for certain reasons. So I hope you enjoy. I had fun writing Brad, he's a blast! Reviews are very appreciated. :) Huggles!

Deserving Of The Truth

Wait until she's better, Jesse had said.

Yeah, right. Like I'm about to let that happen! I like Jesse; he's a cool guy and has Suze under control. Not that I haven't gone up against him enough over the years. But when he tries to 'assert his authority' the way he does, I don't take kindly to it. I get it, he wants me to wait until Suze's concussion has passed and her ribs have healed and she feels safe enough with their little gremlin. I get it. But when I think about what I saw that night and the way Suze begged me to get Nicky out of the house. How battered she was; then no, I won't stand back and wait for my dear sister to recover from the invisible phantom haunting her. Or whatever freaking thing it was there that night.

Three days. Three damn days they've made me wait!

I knew what they were doing. They're were trying to stall it. Hope I'd give up and not ask. Not want to know the big bad secret Suze has been keeping hidden since she arrived in Carmel. Oh yeah, I know she has a secret. And I know Jesse's something to do with it. I'm not as dumb as people think! And I also know Jake and David did something a couple of days after Suze started the Mission Academy. Something with them rushing off in the middle of the night and sneaking back home covered in dirt and dust. Suze looked the worst. And I knew then, it wasn't anything to do with a gang like Jake kept saying. That it was something else. And it just got weirder from there.

I used to hear her talking to herself in the kitchen or when she was in her room. Anytime she thought she was alone actually. And it always sounded like she was having a two-way conversation. Who else was she arguing with? And then there was that night with that dick Meducci. I mean, what the hell was she doing with him in the first place?! The guy was a weed! I didn't get on with Suze, but I always thought she'd have higher standards than that. Plus that whole crock that it was him that beat her up . . . Yeah, o-kay! I've been on the end of one of Suze's fists and I've walked in on her doing her kick-boxing videos. She means business and Meducci wouldn't have stood a chance against Suze!

It's one of the few things I'm proud of when I say she's my sister. I got rid of the step a long time ago. Not that I'll tell her that.

And then there was Slater. Now there was a guy with a screw loose. Chasing after Suze like she was a piece of meat. And back then, yeah, I didn't like her much at the time, but the way he kept causing trouble with her at school and wouldn't take no for an answer – It was tempting to put him in his place and step up to the plate of being a brother. He was popular; he had girls drooling over him. He drove a freaking convertible! But he couldn't have Suze and he hated it. Which brings me round to the night of the hot-tub party where he totally trashed the place? And the way he was sent flying through the door and was holding his head under the water like he was trying to drown himself.

Only, he was flailing like he was being held down. And don't think I didn't catch Suze shout, Jesse! – in a high-pitched voice too.

But Jesse wasn't around. A guy like him draws attention. Has girls' jaw dropping. I would have noticed him, I'm sure of it. And when I first got introduced to my future brother-in-law, his name ringing a bell as the guy I heard Suze talking to in her room, and the 'Jesse' from the party - Oh yeah, I started putting the puzzle pieces together. And no amount of digging on Dave was making him spill the beans. My brother can be fiercely loyal; especially towards Suze. So I just sat back and watched over the years as she squirmed out of impossible-to-explain explanation after another. Waiting, biding my time until she would slip up and I could confront her with it. What it was I was going to be confronting her with was still eluding me though.

I mean, I had my suspicions. Who the heck wouldn't after cataloguing all the weird shit Suze does? But I don't believe in that stuff! And I'd feel one hundred percent secure about that if there was possibly something else to stick in its place. So far, I'm coming up with zilch!

But you have to understand, no matter how much I waited, watching and anticipating getting to weasel out her big bad secret; I never wanted Suze to get so badly hurt. Or for Nicky to get caught in whatever crossfire she was in; Never. I wouldn't wish that on Suze, no matter how much she annoys me sometimes. The sheer terror I saw on her face when she called out to me – It scared the shit out of me, man! She wasn't scared for herself, she was scared for the gremlin. And I think right then, I stopped seeing her as my sister I bitch and banter with, but the woman who's been through a lot of crap in her life and finally as the Mother she is.

That's some heavy stuff, but it's the truth.

This is why I found myself standing on their porch, three days after that night, lifting my hand to knock on the door. I stood straight and confident. Jesse wasn't going to scare me off with his silent glare this time. I wanted answers. I deserved answers. And I kept my head up when Jesse swung open the door and looked at me with surprise. Before he clued in to why I was standing on his doorstep and crossed his arms over his chest, pretty threateningly actually. Common sense – if I actually had any – would have told me to forget about it and walk away. But this is me. And stubborn to boot. So I didn't say anything and just barged past him into the foyer of the house; turning to look at him when he closed the door and stepped in front of me.

"She's not ready," Jesse simply said, not having to say who and why. I got that part all by my genius self. "I told you to wait until she's better."

"Yeah well, waiting around never was my strong-suit," I quipped, deducting from my fantastic skills as a child detective with my brothers, I got that Suze wasn't down stairs. So I turned and walked over to the stairs. "No need to escort me, I know the way," I said climbing the steps two at a time, Jesse close behind me with his silent and threatening presence. He didn't say anything when we got to the top of the landing and I guessed that was because Nicky was asleep. So I just gave him a triumphant grin he scowled at and walked down to their open bedroom door. Not feeling awkward about walking into their love room at all!

Yeah – right!

He clapped a hand down on my shoulder, hard before I could step through the doorway. "Brad." He growled; his anger and what was probably a bit of fear seeping into his voice as he said it. I wouldn't blame him, seeing my girl all battered like that and the thought of my son being in danger from whatever it was would make me protective of her too. And of the secret she was keeping under deadlock and key. It's bad enough it was my sister. I couldn't imagine if it was the mother of my kid. So I shook off his hand and levelled him with an understanding look I could see he was shocked by.

Hey! I can do understanding too, you know! Not that I exercise it very much.

"It's okay, Jesse," Suze said from the bed, propped up against the head-board with pillows behind her. She looked better but worse than when I found her, if that's even possible. The bruising was ugly and in your face. Sticking out like the eye-sore it was. And she winced just from shifting a little more. The sick bastard, phantom, thing, really did a number on her. And I felt my own brotherly protection come through and want to hunt the monster down and give it a dose of its own medicine. Suze waved me further into the room with a scratched up hand and I swallowed down the memory of the plate I saw smash over her head. "I have get this out of the way eventually. There's no point beating around the bush I guess."

I winced. Poor choice of words, Suze.

Jesse shot a glance to her and back to me. His look said tread carefully, and I knew he wouldn't be far. He sent Suze a glance I couldn't begin to work out and left the room, leaving the door wide open. I let out the breath I was holding, internally high-fiving myself for sticking it out and facing up to Jesse. Hey, the guy can be one scary person when he gets riled up. I've been on the end of it a few times. Suze waved me over again and I went to sit on the bed, pulling a leg up to rest on the mattress, giving her my full attention. And I looked at her again. She looked tense, tired and wrung-out. But it was like there was some kind of . . . neutrality hanging around her too. Big word for me, I know.

But I just shook my head of the random thought and cocked a grin.

"So, Suze . . . You're looking good," I commented, making her look at me in sheer disbelief before her expression changed and she burst out laughing. Ice well and truly broken, I relaxed and finally felt comfortable. Or as comfortable as someone can be when it feels like you're about to be given a government secret or something. Plus being in their room and sitting on their bed where they - Yeah, stopping right there! Gross thought!

When Suze recovered she sent me a mock glare, appreciative of my twisted humor. "No really, you look bitchin'," I carried on, making her smile and wince again. "Okay, I'm over with the wise-cracks. And ready to hear the big bad secret. Non-edited version please; I want to know it all."

"Are you sure you can handle it, Brad?" She asked me seriously, really looking at me. "Because there are only a few people that know my secret and they had mixed reactions too. If you want the whole truth you have to be prepared to accept and believe it. Otherwise you can walk out now so I don't have to waste my breath I haven't been able to catch for the past few days. Jesse's right, I'm not ready to tell you this. But then, I never will be. So seriously, think long and hard about it; because there's no going back after this. You want the truth and I'll give it to you. But if you laugh, then I'll make sure you pay for it."

I sat back and looked at her. "I can handle it. And I have thought about it. It's all I've been thinking about since I saw you get attacked by the invisible phantom. So spill, Sis."

She raised an eyebrow at the Sis, but didn't say anything. She looked relieved and a bit gutted though. Pretty much the same look Jesse gave me when he came to pick Nicky up that night. One filled with pity and relief. I didn't care about that, she obviously had her reasons for it and I was about to understand why. So I sat there, my eyes watching her the whole time and listened to the tale of Suze Simon, start to finish.

"I'm a mediator," She started simply.

For a few seconds I just sat there and looked at her before impatience and curiosity won out. "Okay I bite. A what?!" I asked beyond confused.

"I just wanted to see what your reaction would be to that word," She smirked; sitting back more comfortable and holding up her hand. "But all questions wait until the end, 'Kay? If I'm going to tell this, then I need to do it without interruption, got it?" I nodded giving in pretty easily. She said it lightly, but the strain around her mouth and the hard look of her eyes told me I'd be in deep shit if I even tried to utter a word. So I zipped my lips closed and waited for her story. It didn't take long for her to start. And it sure as hell didn't take long for me to stop breathing at some point while she was telling it.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl called, Suze. And she was given the worst curse by the Fates that would forever change her life. At just the tender age of three, she learned of this great and powerful burden; she could see ghosts. She went on to ignore it until her Father died and he came back to tell her what her 'gift' was really meant about. When she was of age, she embraced this 'gift' hoping for some sort of normalcy instead of getting harassed every minute of every day from ignoring it. Then one day, her Mother met a Lord and decided to get married, moving her only child across the Kingdom and into the chance of a new life where she's not the 'freak' anymore. The only downside being her three new step-brothers – Sleepy, Dopey and Doc!"

I know I should have gone, HEY! – and snapped out of my slack-jawed daze at this point, pissed about my nickname she's let slip enough times. But honestly, I was still back at the beginning of the tale and the whole seeing a ghost bit. Ghosts . . . Suze can see ghosts . . . And the more I pushed away the voice going, I knew it! I knew it! – The louder it got. Stupid damn inner-smug-voice!

"Sitting on the plane waiting to touch down in the bright rays of an new life," Suze gushed dramatically. "She saw palm trees and sun! And for once in her life, she could picture herself having a normal teenage life. No pestering ghosts needing unfinished business being dealt with. Just peace and quiet. But alas, that wasn't to be. Because two seconds after walking in her new frilly room, she encountered a very real, very dead ghost sitting on her bay window where he'd been for some time. And right then, her dreams were shot and she was right back to where she started; flicking her finger to the world and nearly getting killed on a daily basis."

I blinked past the obvious resentment and bitterness in her tone. Swallowing the last line like it was glass, slicing my throat and stopping the air from getting past. Dropping into my stomach like acid bombs.

"Anyway, over time with the help of her new roommate and an old priest mentor, Suze started to grow up and try and be more . . . friendly, towards the dead. And everything was going peachy until she fell in love with her roommate who'd been dead for a hundred and fifty years and Sir Paul Slater entered her life, throwing it into chaos and bestowing secrets of power and knowledge of her curse. Needless to say, after a few battles of will and power, Sir Paul finally decided the only way he was going to have Suze was if he prevented her dead love's death. So using the nifty and handy power of being able to time-travel, he went out onto his mission. With Suze close on his heels and fully intending on stopping Sir Paul. Until she came across her living love interest and had a change of heart. But it was too late, her loves would-be-murderer had already appeared and another fight broke out. With her hero the winner and Suze about to die in the past."

She took a deep breath, her voice dipping like she was telling herself the story and forgot I was there. Wrapped up in the tale of - Well, her I guess. Shit, what a mind-fuck!

"But once more, her love saved her, again, and Suze shifted back to the future out of pure fright. Except, she was still in the arms of her hero and had brought him from the past and back to the present. After an exhausting night standing by her hero's empty dying body, her loving ghostly roommate appeared to come and say his last goodbyes. But just as he was about to, he touched his own body and his soul got sucked back into his body. A few minutes later he said the sweetest word in the world and woke up. Her once dead roommate she loved was no longer dead. But very much alive. Long story cut a little shorter; eight years later she still lives in Carmel with her lover and their Son, living happily ever after. Except for the sadistic bastard that decided he wanted another crack at a life and beat the crap out of her. The rest you already know." She finished in a rush.

She snapped her eyes back to me and smiled widely. "So what do you think of my story-telling? Think I'll make a good narrator for Nicky?"

I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my hands, beating my fists against my head trying to make it all go in a little quicker. It wasn't working, it wasn't just making my head hurt even more. What - ? Who - ? How - ? WHAT?! I mean, come on! What the hell was I supposed to say to that?! A Mediator? Someone who can see the dead and do their last wishes basically? Who the fuck thinks this shit up?! She sees the dead and went back in time? BACK IN FUCKING TIME?! To save her dead – Wait. WAIT! Oh. OH! Fuck no, Suze was definitely pulling my chain and taking me for a ride. When I raised my head and looked at her, she just grinned and nodded, seeming to read my mind. Which I'm pretty sure she wasn't because if she was, I reckon she would have slipped into a coma with all the crazy shit going through it right then.

And then I reacted. But not in the way she thought I would. Hell, it wasn't in the way I thought I would!

I just got up off the bed, walked over to the still wide open door and looked down the hall at the man Suze just told me was once in fact, dead. A ghost. Holy – a freaking ex-dead person! What the hell! I zapped my gaze from Suze to Jesse and back again so many times I made myself dizzy. Or was that the information overload that my sister fell in love with a ghost?! A fucking ghost! It's like Casper or something! Stuff you see on T.V, watch in movies and read in books! At least I would if I ever picked a book up. But, Suze a - a - what's that word? A Mediator! It was surreal, crazy, stupid and so fucking ridiculous I wanted to laugh so hard I would cry. But the really, really stupid thing about it was -

I already knew that! All the evidence was there piling up. Geez, even my mind was telling me what it was! I just didn't want to believe it.

But here Suze was, sitting up in bed looking rough as hell. Like she'd literallybeen dragged through hell and back and gone back around for another go just for kicks. And I don't just mean physically. She looked exhausted and scared. And, for the first time since I've known Suze . . . vulnerable. And her fiancé; her used-to-be dead, fiancé was just so casually leaning up against the doorjamb like it was an everyday thing. Coming back from the dead, fit as a fiddle and just there! And Suze, the Mediator who has seen and done battle with the dead - definitely something out of a movie - the whole of her life.

I mean,shit! What a fucked up deal!

I walked back to the bed and sat down on it heavily, making her hiss from the pain of her jarred ribs. I couldn't even muster up a flimsy sorry for it. "You trying to tell me my future brother-in-law used to be a ghost? For - how long was it? - a hundred and fifty years?" I asked shakily looking at Suze with sheer disbelief. She just grinned wider, obviously finally accepted with her freaky life. "Never do things the easy way, do ya, Suze?" I finally exclaimed, throwing my hands in the air, feeling a smile trying to tug at the corners of my mouth. Not because it's funny, because I couldn't see the humor in it yet. But just because, well, what the hell am I supposed to do with something like that?!

And much to my surprise, she laughed again. It almost sounded hysterical, like a dam had been breached and she couldn't stop. Jesse came into the room with a small relieved grin too and carefully climbed onto the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders naturally. And it hit me again just what he used to be. "Fuuuccckkk!" I exclaimed, finally releasing everything in that word drawing it out and shaking my head again. Shit I'm gonna be doing that for a while I just know it. Hell if I keep it up maybe everything will fall into place and I'll carry on being ignorant to the darker side of life and carry on complaining when my favourite wrestling team lose a match.

Suze broke me out of that denial though, her laughter finally drying up.

"I've just told you I communicate with the dead on a daily basis and that my fiancé used to be one, and all you have to say is I don't do things the easy way?" Suze finally managed to say, sighing and sinking back into the pillows and against Jesse. "And I thought Iwas strange. Seriously Brad, I expected more of a reaction than that! It kinda feels like an anti-climax or something." She grinned quickly, resting her head up against Jesse's shoulder before looking at me steadily. "So I'm guessing you've got some questions? People usually do. Just don't ask me what happens when you die or if there's a God because I don't know anything!"

Surprisingly those questions hadn't really hit me. I don't believe in God anyway. And I don't really care where I go when I die so long as I don't end up like Bill and Ted in their Bogus Journey. I don't wanna spend the rest of eternity running from my most pathetic nightmares, thanks. So I just shrugged and ran a hand through my hair restlessly. "Well, you already explained the whole thing with how lover-boy got his groove back. I guess you might as well fill me in on what happened the other night? That's why I'm here, right?" I chuckled shakily.

"Yeah, I was waiting for that one," Suze said, taking a deep breath. Seeing how difficult it seemed for her, I kept quiet in respect of that. Shit, after everything she's just told me, how can I not have respect for her? "Like I said, it was a ghost pissed off he wasn't going to get his life back. He's been hanging around the last few weeks, not mentioning anything about knowing about Jesse's past. Until he suddenly came out of no-where the other night demanding I risk my own life to go back and save his. And once it was clear I wasn't going to do it, he snapped. I've only gone back in time once and that was for Jesse. I won't do it again," She glared at a random spot over my shoulder.

"Anyway, after you got Nicky out for me – " She sent me a look filled with gratitude and trust that I almost felt my cheeks tinting at. Geez, I'm his uncle! Of course I'd help! " – I somehow managed to drag my ass off the floor and grabbed a knife. And when he came for me, I stabbed him. It was enough to shock him and make his leave. After that, it's kind of a blur."

"You stabbed a ghost with a knife?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow, snorting internally at that one. Sure, alrighty then. If you say so, Suze, I said to myself.

"Ghosts to Jesse and me aren't what they are to you and every other person. We can touch them. They're incorporeal to us. And ghosts feel pain. Even for a second but it's enough. You can kill them a hundred times over and they'll just snap back to normal and keep on coming," She simply said, shrugging. "I don't know why it works that way, but it's the reason I looked like Michael Meducci went ten rounds with me and the way I do now. Ghosts; that's the reason for the flimsy lies over the years and my 'clumsiness'. You really think I'd let a living person beat me around like this?"

"Point taken," I said, clearing my throat. "So all that crap over the years, Meducci, the shit when you first started the Academy, the hot-tub party . . .? All of that is from ghosts?" I asked, just to clarify. Suze nodded and Jesse shifted slightly, looking for the first time uncomfortable. And something clicked. "So it was you holding Slater under the juice at the party? And who sent him flying through the glass door?" Jesse nodded and my grin was gone. "Hey! You owe me for that door! I was grounded for ages because of that! And mom's china cabinet! Man, if I'd known before – "

"You did." Suze said, interrupting me. I raised an eyebrow, lost. Again. "Brad, you accused me of sneaking Jesse up to my room once, remember? You heard him talking. You've probably seen a lot more, you just don't realize it. You're more sensitive than you know. Even Maddie is to it. It's not something to be afraid of. When they start waking you up and pushing you down the stairs is when you want to be worried."

I looked at her, ready to turn around and say I was nothing like her, the Queen of the Night People! But as soon as she said it, more stuff started clicking into place and I dropped my head with a groan. Great, I'm nearly as much as a freak as Suze! That's all I needed to hear.

"That's the biggest mind trip I've been on in ages," I finally said after a lengthy pause; trying to take it all in. "I'd love to say I've heard of weirder things, but I haven't. This is about as strange as it get. Which suits the Queen of the Night People I guess," I blew out a long breath and looked at them both. "This is gonna take a while to get my head around, guys." They both nodded and Jesse turned to press his nose to Suze's hair, closing his eyes and tightening his arm around her. Obviously relieved she was okay. And the mood turned right back to being sombre with the weight of her confession finally falling on me and making me see just what she'd told me, really wasn't a dream. Or a joke at all. It was serious and dangerous.

And potentially deadly.

"I had no idea," I quietly said, making them both look at me. "Not just about why you got beat up, but everything. I just - Look I'll give it to you straight Suze, I don't know what to say or what to think. But I do believe you. You've done enough crazy shit for me not to. And I was there, I saw what happened. Part of it anyway. But," I took a deep breath, hoping the words wouldn't sound like they were costing me; because they weren't. I was just, uncomfortable about the whole thing. "I wouldn't be able to do it. If I was you; after all this time; I wouldn't be able to. Especially with – "

I didn't say the last part, because we all knew what I meant. Especially not with a kid.

"You trying to say you're proud of me, Brad?" Suze asked, killing the tension and putting a lighter feel to the too tense for my liking atmosphere. I hate uncomfortable silences. I run as quickly as I can when I walk into one. But I came here wanting answers. And fuck did I get them! "That I'm braver than you are and all that? Because I already knew that. But go ahead, say it anyway. It's good for my ego," She joked, giving me that, I won! – look she always gets when we start bitching at each other. "For what it's worth though, thanks. Not just for taking Nicky to safety, but for not laughing. And actually accepting my secret like a decent human being. What do you really think of it?"

"It's either very cool or very creepy." I answered honestly. Hell, I might have been surprised as shit and having a hard time getting my head around everything, but I know a golden opportunity when I see one. And Suze has got it! I can see benefits that come with the getting your assed kicked daily. Something like having ghosts in your pocket would have come in handy while I was at school.

"It'd be cool if I was being visited by the restless spirits of Kurt Cobain, James Dean or Marilyn Monroe," Suze brightened a little, pretty much following my train of thought. "But I'm not that lucky."

"Hey!" Jesse suddenly exclaimed, sitting up and glaring at her indignantly.

"Sorry, hon, excepting of you of course." She smiled, patting his knee. They looked just like a regular couple to me. Looking at them again, you wouldn't think one's been a freak all her life and the other one was around during the Wild West. He's either lucky or lived a nightmare the first time round.

"Hmph." Jesse grumbled, sitting back against the head-board again, not really all that angry.

"You know you'll always be my rockstar." Suze quietly said, forgetting I was still sitting there, more than awkward and grossed out with the strange reaction that comment had on Jesse.

"Okay, I see my time is up," I said clearing my throat and getting up off the bed, disturbing their moment. I'd come for what I wanted to hear, even though it felt like a part of me was still standing on the porch waiting to hear the secret. Or for the hidden cameras to suddenly jump out and give me the punch line way too late. But when I stood there silent for a couple of seconds, it was obvious that wasn't going to happen. "It'll hit me properly later. So don't think I don't have more question, 'cos I do. But it's only because you look like crap that I'm holding off on them for now,"

I bent down low to give Suze a loose hug. They're rare and few between us. But sometimes, like this time, they were needed. And Suze accepted it. "Jesse will kick my ass if I don't let you get some rest," I grinned, ignoring his scowl. I was just turning towards the door-way when I suddenly stopped, needing to know. For my own piece of mind now I know the secret. Shit, what a secret it is! "Before I go, what happened to the ghost? Is he still out there?"

Jesse looked to Suze his expression clouding over. And Suze looked back to me with a flat look. "Stuarts been dealt with, Brad. He won't be coming for me again." She answered finally, her tone telling me she wasn't going to say anymore about it. Whatever had happened it was serious and between them. There was no way I was getting involved then. No other explanation of how or when. Just done deal, forget it happened. I still caught the look she gave Jesse though. That not so subtly told me he was the one that sorted it out. And I didn't envy the man being on the receiving end of that.

"One last thing, then that's it," I quickly got in when a very vivid memory I'd been doing my best to block came rushing back at me. "Did you, or did you not send a ghost to torment me over a year ago. The one no-one believes me about?" I accused. Suze lifted a hand and tried to smother a laugh. But it was too late, I'd already seen it. I shook my head and gave her an awed and unbelievable glare. "I freaking knew it!" I exclaimed, turning to walk out the door and head down the hall before I said something that made Jesse throw me out the door. "Talk about cheating." I muttered when I reached the front door kinda speechless. I didn't turn around to look back down the hall to the kitchen. I just stepped across the threshold, sliding on my shades and out into the bright sun and surfing weather.

Clichéd as it sounds – and trust me, it's definitely costing me to say this – it was with a whole new perspective on the world and on the step-sister who had just floored me with her most guarded and best kept secret.

And the family she's got against the odds Fates thrown at her. What she and Jesse deserve. And that's the only other thing I'll openly admit to too!