The joy of love

by Spandau The Purple Sin

The joy of love takes place 19 years after the show and tells the story of Jessica Lovejoy. It tells the why of how we saw her in the season 5 episode "Bart's girlfriend", how it affected her and how she developed into her adulthood. Now 29 years old, events make her to go back to Springfield where she is forced to face her past under the most dark circumstances possible and causes

10. Chapter 10

Bye bye Jazz…..

The bright light of the sun falls through the small windows next to the front door and illuminates the by a thin layer of dust covered vale green flagstone floor in the hall.

For several months the place has been empty and silent after the father died and the daughter left.

The silence is broken by the sound of a key which is pushed into the lock; softly, hesitating and after a few seconds the sound the cracking of a lock which opens can be heard.

The front door opens and a soft gust of wind enters the hall which makes the dust on the floor blow up.

In the doorway, with the sun behind her, the silhouette of a woman leaning on an elbow crutch can be seen.

She slowly, somewhat hesitating enters the hall and smells the fragrance of the past; her own past.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Lisa asks as she sees Jessica slowly limping through the hall while her fingers slide along the wooden panels on the wall.

Jessica stops in front of the half open door of the living room and she somewhat gazes into the distance.

"So strange to be here again, so awkward and at the same time so trusted" .

"Jess, we can do this later….I mean, we still have got several weeks time".

Jessica turns her head towards Lisa and a faint but slightly sad smile appears on her face.

"No, it's time I do this….it's time this part of my life comes to an end; it's time I move on" she almost whispers.

Lisa nods and the both of them enter the living room and once more Jessica stops.

"Here is where he died, here is where I cried, here is where we told each other finally the truth….finally we told each other the things which we should have done so may years ago".

"You know, despite the deep pain and sorrow in those moments; I am so grateful it happened, so grateful that father and I finally spoke out and showed who we really were" she still continues with a soft voice.

"It wasn't too late Lisa….it wasn't too late….if only we would have had a little more time together…but still, the short time we had left; the short time we were allowed to be together…..so grateful…so grateful".

Silently Lisa follows Jessica who slowly limps into the kitchen.

On the kitchen sink is the glass ashtray which Jessica cleaned and left there just before she left her parental house to go back to Capitol City.

Softly her hand grabs it and puts it on the kitchen table.

Both women sit down at it and Lisa grabs a pen and notebook from her purse.

Jessica lights a cigarette as her eyes just dwell through the room.

"I spent quite some time with your mother at this table during father's last days….it was she who actually saw he left us….I was here in the kitchen, making tea or something like that when she said he had stopped breathing".

Softly Jessica exhales and the gray smoke coming from her mouth slowly cringles up to the ceiling.

For a short moment things are silent and the only thing Lisa can do is just watch Jessica who just gazes into the emptiness.

"I felt relieved at that moment, not glad….but relieved…or perhaps I felt glad about the fact his suffering had come to an end….that he finally was free; that the whole nightmare had come to an end".

"So strange as I knew it was over; that he had left me for good but still….I was so relieved".

"You…you feel guilty about it?"

Again for a moment Jessica remains silent.

"No….no, I think I don't….you know, despite all the horror, all the darkness, all the unimaginable things which happened…..I have no regrets about how I did it, despite I said some horrible things back then….just not to go crazy…I was there for father and ….and I cared for him when he was in need of it".

A small tear rolls down her check as she closes her eyes and softly whispers "father" while shaking her head.

Lisa gets up from her chair and puts her arm around Jessica.

"We don't need to do this Jess, we can come back another time…then it won't be the first time you return to your father's house" she tries to comfort.

"No…no Lisa….this has to be done, this has to come to an end….when we postpone it, it only will make things harder for me….I need to end this part of my life and move on….I have to move on….I want to move on".

Suppressing another tear, Jessica grabs the notebook and starts to write down: "washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator".

"If you see anything you want to have, just tell it and I will put it on the list".

Lisa somewhat awkwardly shakes her head "no, this is all yours, I just couldn't do it" she adds.

Jessica responds with a short silent nod and keeps writing down the things she wants to keep.

In the living room, where the cabinet is with the set of dishes which were a gift from her grandparents when her mother and father got married, Jessica freezes up for a moment.

"No fucking way!" she mumbles to herself and closes the door of the cabinet with a loud bang.

"What's wrong with this set of dishes?….They are really nice" Lisa asks with a rather surprised tone in her voice as she sees the grim expression on Jessica's face.

"This set, that's my mother….this set of dishes was her 'precious' which she showed off with when we had guests…..no way I'm gonna keep this and as far as I am concerned we'll dump it in the garbage can this very moment!"

"But Jess…I mean, despite all the things that happened…she is still your mother and do you really want to erase every trace of her in your life?"

"I have no mother!" Jessica replies with a growling and bitter voice and continues almost businesslike with her list.

Her father's personal belongings, some smaller objects, the antique writing desk, and some things from her childhood.

At the first floor things are done rather quickly and Lisa witnesses how Jessica basically wants to leave the most of material 'evidence' of her previous life behind her.

The sorrow and nervousness which initially marked the visit to her old parental house, has become a cold and businesslike project in which carefully every memory of Helen is left behind.

Things continue that way when both women are on the attic, just some small personal stuff like her father's old guitar and some things which used to be from her grandparents.

After a little more then an hour, the list is basically finished and the both of them are sitting at the kitchen table again.

"You really want to give all these other things away to charity?" Lisa asks still somewhat awkwardly.

"Yes, for me they have neither value nor meaning….if you see anything which you want to have; just say it and I'll write it down".

"Well, this is a rather nice kitchen table and the chairs are pretty nice as well…I mean, the stuff which is now in the kitchen at home isn't really what it used to be anymore".

"Done" Jessica replies with an almost emotionless voice as she writes it down.

"So uh…I guess we're finished now here?"

For a moment there is a short silence in the kitchen and Lisa sees how Jessica nervously smokes another cigarette.

"No…not yet…there is still one place we have to go to" the black haired woman replies now with a soft insecure voice.

"Another place?….You mean the shed in the garden?…I thought it was empty?"

But Jessica just shakes her head, puts out her half smoked cigarette in the ashtray and gets off her chair.

"Come with me".

Lisa follows her to the hall where the door to the basement is.

Slowly they descend the stairs which leads to an almost completely dark room.

The cold tubular lighting is switched on and Lisa sees the display cabinets with the locomotives on the wall.

"Your father's trains, of course…he had a layout here" Lisa remembers.

Slowly Jessica limps to the long wall of the basement and moves away the curtain which is in front of the twelve feet long scale model of the industrial district her father had built during the last few years of his life.

In front of the long line of covered hopper cars is still the green and black locomotive; the last locomotive her father bought.

"Uey green" Jessica whispers as she carefully picks up the locomotive and watches it.

She puts it back on the tracks in front of the hoppers and limps to the control panel where she presses a switch.

The layout comes to life as the lights of the signals display their colored messages and the little lampposts illuminate the streets.

Carefully she turns the speed knob of the controller to the right, but instead of 'Uey green' suddenly a switcher starts pushing a single brown boxcar from behind the miniature grain elevator and activates the red flashers of a grade crossing.

Surprised Lisa watches how the small diesel locomotive slowly passes the grade crossing and several switches before it comes to a standstill in front of a red signal.

"It…it`s beautiful…..but what are you going to do with it?"

Jessica doesn't reply and just silently watches the layout.

"Oh, there is even a little brothel on it….I guess that it won't make this a suited one to donate to the orphanage" Lisa chuckles.

Jessica still doesn't reply and just gazes into the distance as her eyes once more become wet.

Visions of the past appear before her inner eye, how her father turned the light off and let her drive a train, how she was there in the basement with him after 'Uey Green' was delivered.

Such warm moments, such a rare thing in her life and tears start to run down her face.

Lisa still watches the little blue collar workers who operate the flour mill and wonders out loud about what they can do with the layout.

"I want to keep it", it suddenly sounds softly from behind the control panel.

Jessica wipes the tears from her face and watches the whole layout with faint sad smile on her face.

"You want to keep it?"

"Yes…this is father…this is so closely connected to who and what father was…the warmth of him…and the moments we shared here….this is where father was father for me".

"All his 'Effies, Esdies, Uey's, Bibi's'…..all those are now mine…..and I want to keep them with me".

"But...but what do you know about trains and model railroads….and where will we put it?"

"I know enough about it….and what I don't know I will learn" Jessica replies with a still sad but also somewhat dreamy voice.

In front of her inner eye she sees how she joined her father on a warm summer evening on a trip to the old Springfield grain elevator.

It was the last year it was in service and her father always went there to see the action on the tracks.

Back then she was perhaps five or six years old and her father took her on his shoulders when they were standing along the tracks and saw these big yellow and gray machines running up and down with hopper cars.

At first she was afraid of these large howling and black smoke producing metal monsters; but her father started to tell her about them.

About the old 'Alco's' and "Geeps" who now were used for this job before they would be retired.

It was the first time Jessica started to call them "Geepies' and 'Alcies' and soon she started to give all the locomotives on her father's old layout such names.

Her father told her how the "Geepies" and "Alcies" were all little friends who helped each other when a train was too heavy to pull alone.

Gradually the mechanical monsters became friendlier and she and her father both enjoyed the whole spectacle of the switching process.

Each time when the yellow locomotive with its high nose passed she waved at it and the crew waved back at her.

Those were the men who told 'Geepy' what he had to do; they were his little helpers, her father told her.

Still sitting behind the control panel; Jessica closes her eyes, still with a sad smile on her face she sighs deeply.

"These trains Lisa, this whole layout…this is my father how he really was and actually this means more to me then all the other things in the whole house or this house itself".

Lisa looks rather puzzled to the whole collection and the twelve foot long layout.

"But where do you want to put it?….I mean, it's not like we have a 'ballroom' upstairs where we can put it and how do you want to get it from here to the house in once piece?"

"It's just twelve feet wide and a little over a foot deep; it could be in the spare bedroom above the bed, it's not that much bigger as a bookshelf".

"Yeah…yeah, that could be possible; but how do you want to get it to our place?"

"I think it is in two pieces; look, there in the middle is a straight line"

Lisa looks under the table and sees the bolts which hold the two sections together.

"Yeah you're right; two pieces of each six feet long….with one of these small trailers which can be rented; it shouldn't be a problem…or perhaps a small van".

"We need to rent one of those anyway to move the other things from the list" she continues.

"I will ask dad if he wants to help us; after all, you can't lift heavy things with your leg and I am not strong enough to do it all by myself".

Jessica doesn't respond and gazes at a model of a yellow and gray 'Geepie' in one of the display closets at the wall.

"Can I be your little helper now?…..Can I tell you what you have do instead of father?…If you can't do it by yourself I will ask 'Alcie' if he wants to help you….just like when father and I saw you working at the grain elevator..."

Once more Jessica start to sob as the images of the last moments she had with her father reappear in her mind.

"I will take care of them father…I will take care of them….as I promised"

Lisa puts her arm around Jessica who continues to cry.

"Hey, now it's really time we go; this has been more then enough for one day for you" she tries to comfort her with a soft voice .

Jessica just nods and both women start to ascend the stair which leads them to the hall.

The front door is locked and when they are both sitting in the car, Jessica calms down a bit.

"Perhaps we should pay your parents a visit and ask your father if he wants to help us" .

"Now?…Are you sure you want to do this instead of going home".

"Yeah, I want to get this over with…..just get this over with and leave it behind me forever".

---

"Lisa, Jessica; now what a pleasant surprise this is" Marge almost shouts when she opens the front door.

"What brings the both of you to Evergreen Terrace" she continues still enthusiastically.

But as soon as she sees Jessica's thick and red eyes, Marge's enthusiasm is replaced by a more worrying tone in her voice.

"What happened Jessica?….You look terrible".

"I…Me and Lisa were at my home….to see which things had to be moved" Jessica replies with a soft and still somewhat broken voice.

"Aw child, that must have been so difficult for you to be there again after all what happened".

Jessica closes her eyes and just silently nods.

"Come with me to the kitchen, I'll make you a nice cup of coffe".

In the kitchen, Homer is sitting at the table reading the newspaper in his own usual way.

"Financial paragraph…too difficult…international news….what happens in my backyard is far away enough…cultural supplement….pfff, for nerds and other losers…ah, here they are, the comics; the perfect literature for the average guy…now, lets see".

Just as he is about to start reading, the three women enter the kitchen.

"Now look what we have here, a kitchen full of beautiful women and by the look of it one of them had a big party last night" he greets them.

"Hi dad…not really, we just came from the house of Jessica's father".

Homer's face becomes slightly reddish as he realizes he just made a pretty awkward remark.

"It's alright Homer, I do look like I'm having a hangover at the moment".

"So you did have a party last night?"

"Homer!" Marge more or less hisses at her husband to make clear it's not the moment for stupid questions or funny remarks.

Jessica just smiles sadly back as she knows Homer means it ever so well.

"So uh…you girls went to the reverend's house….you wanted to just have a look at it?"

"Well, actually we went there to see which things have to be moved out, now mom is having these people who are interested in buying it and we wanted to ask if you could help us moving these things" Lisa explains.

Marge, who is making coffee, confirms the interest of the people she showed the house a few days ago seems to be very serious".

"Sure, of course I will help you to move these things…I will ask Lenny and Carl if they want to help as well…and Barney…or perhaps better not Barney" Homer thinks out loud as he realizes Barney might not be the ideal mover because of his balance problems, which usually starts within an hour after Moe opens his tavern.

As the coffee maker starts to do its work, Marge sits down at the table as well.

"It's going to be quite a job; the whole house has to be emptied" she remarks.

"Well, actually it's not that much; look we made a list of what needs to be moved out".

Marge puts on her reading goggles and takes a look at the list.

"That's all?….What are you going to do with all the furniture…and all the other stuff?"

"I…I want to give it to charity".

"But Jessica you can use all these things when you move to a place of your own; when you have to buy everything new it will cost you a fortune".

"Besides, almost everything in that house is in almost perfect condition….and what on earth do you want to do with your father's trains?"

"I mean, I assume you will move to a place of your own within several months; those small apartments in the Springfield heights perhaps, one of those would be ideal for you…not too expensive, a rather decent neighborhood and pretty close to the town's center" Marge continues.

Jessica nervously starts to bite her lower lip and turns her face to Lisa.

For a short moment there is a silence in the kitchen and Lisa grabs Jessica's hand.

"Mom, dad….there is something we need to tell you".

"What do you need to tell us Lisa?" her mother asks.

"We…Jessica will stay with me".

"Stay with you?….How do you mean?"

"Mom….since I took Jessica with me…..something happened between us in the last few months….and we….we developed feelings for each other….special feelings".

"You mean the both of you are….?"

"Yes mom, Jessica and I are in love and we want to share our lives together".

An awkward silence fills the kitchen.

"So, I will loose a daughter and gain a daughter?…Now that sounds like a fair deal to me….but why would you first loose a daughter and then gain one….Hmmmm, I already have one and I will get another one back…somewhere this logic has a flaw " Homer wonders out loud.

Marge at the other hand still remains silent.

"I see" she finally responds with a bit of a disappointment in her voice.

"'I see?'….Now what kind of a reaction is this?" Lisa aggravated asks her mother.

"Lisa, I am happy for you but…but I just need a bit of time to get used to the fact you and Jessica are lovers…you know how these things are for me".

"Right, you need to get used to this idea…you are taking an awful lot of time to get used to it mom!….You know I am a lesbian since how many years now, huh?….Twelve?"

"Or is it because I fell in love with Jessica?….The notorious Jessica Lovejoy?"

"No, absolutely not!" Marge defends herself.

"Dammit mom!…You were even more enthusiastic when Bart knocked up Nikki and got married because of that!"

"That was something different".

"Yeah it was….as Bart is straight and I am not!"

"Lisa…perhaps we better go home now" Jessica nervously stammers.

"The hell we won't as I am fed up with the fact this keeps slumbering between me and my mother!"

"Lisa, now you are not fair to me" Marge again defends herself.

"I don't see the whole problem, I prefer women over men as well" Homer 'contributes' to the discussion.

"Homer, when will you ever start to use your brains!"

"But Marge, you know me and my brains haven't got such a good relation".

"I'm so fed up with this mom….so fucking fed up with this!"

"Lisa, no swearing in my house!"

"Yeah, just keep things nice and quiet" Lisa bites back.

Again an awkward silence fills the kitchen till suddenly the sound of children running through the garden can be heard.

"Grampa! Granma!" two bright children's voices shout as they approach the back door.

The door swings open and a little brown haired boy accompanied by his older red haired sister run into the kitchen.

"Grampa!" The little boy shouts as he jumps Homer.

"Hehehehe, there's my little boy!" Homer chuckles as he catches his grandson.

"Hi auntie Lis" the girl greets her aunt while hugging her grandmother.

"Peter, Sue…what brings you here?" Marge asks as she kisses her on her cheek.

"Daddy had to do some things here in town" Sue tells her grandmother.

"Hey Peter, be a bit careful with the old man, his bones are getting kinda brittle at his age" it sounds from the garden in a slightly teasing way.

With a big grin on his face Bart enters the kitchen through the back door.

"Hi mom, hi Hom….what the hell?"

"Hello Bart" Jessica greets back with a soft and nervous voice.

Bart freezes up while standing in the doorway and for a moment he remains silent and scratches his beard.

"Good morning Jessica" he eventually greets back with a rather cold voice.

"Bart, take a seat…I was just making coffee" Marge tries to break the sudden awkward atmosphere and gets up from her chair.

Bart sits down and watches Lisa and Jessica for a moment.

"What brings you to Springfield" his mother asks him in another attempt to keep things normal and calm.

"I brought the till from Nikki's store to a repair shop to get it fixed; it was having problems again".

"It still is causing problems?….How is Nikky by the way".

"She is fine, the same thing as usual…..but what is she doing here?" Bart continues with still a rather cold and mistrusting tone in his voice while pointing his thumb at Jessica.

"Well, that's quite an interesting story as it causes me to have a problem which I can't solve" Homer responds.

"Homer, not now!" Marge hisses softly through her teeth.

"No, no Marge; this is way to important as I really don't get why I loose and gain a daughter while I already have one….I don't get the logic of it".

"Gain and loose a daughter?….How do you mean?"

"Well you know what they say when one of your kids gets married: you loose a daughter but you will win a son…or the other way around".

"Hang on, I don't get this; has Maggie got in some kind of trouble again?"

"No, it's about Lisa and Jessica…so I will loose a daughter an gain one as well, but I don't get what the use of it is as I already have a daughter…well, actually I have two but this is not about Maggie".

"Homer!" Marge now shouts as she knows all too well how her son thinks about Jessica.

Jessica in the mean time is almost dieing on her chair as she sees how Bart's eyes once more focus on her.

"Bart, don't you start about this, this is something about my life" Lisa warns her brother.

"You mean you and her are…..?"

"Riiight, and that's exactly why I have this problem with loosing and gaining a daughter…I don't know how this works when two girls are together" Homer acknowledges satisfied as he managed to get things about his 'problem' clear.

"Anyone coffee?….I baked fresh peanut butter cookies this morning…. " Marge now almost desperately tries to divert the attention to another subject.

"You got any idea who she is?"

"Yeah, I do….and I doubt if you actually know who she really is" Lisa growls back.

"Lis, you haven't seen her back in the days….well, was a bit difficult to see her as most of the time she was in dark rooms, corners or bushes; or better said: 'held practice'".

"Bart, this is not your business!"

"Well actually it is as I won't allow the 'town's bike' will use my sister for her own little pleasures and good!…..Very well played Jessica, but it won't work this time!"

"The 'town's bike'!?….Says the town's 'pile drive"r himself!….Like you were such a decent guy!"

"Uh kids…I think we better leave your father and aunt alone now for a moment" Homer tells his grandchildren as the discussion heads into a rather nasty direction.

They leave to the living room while Homer tries to explain as tactically as possible to little Peter what is meant with a 'town's bike'.

The fight between brother and sister in the kitchen continues and despite they keep their voices down for the children, the intensity of it is still there.

"Aww get lost Bart, like your marriage with that lunatic is that great" Lisa hisses to her brother.

"Hey, at least I took my responsibility which is everything except of what you can say from that there!"

"You know shit about her!"

"Well sis, I wonder if you know actually 'shit' about her…I do as I have seen it!"

"She fucked every one and everything to get what she wanted and dumped them when she got it!" Bart continues.

"Lisa, Bart; enough!" Marge tries to make her children stop fighting, but with very little result as Lisa growls to her mother: "stay out of this".

The harsh words, the fighting, it becomes too much for Jessica and she explodes into tears.

She pushes herself from the kitchen table and limps quickly without her crutch into the living room where she stumbles on the threshold and falls against side of the couch.

Homer, who was sitting on the couch with his grandchildren, quickly gets up and helps the crying black haired women back on her feet.

"Kids, why don't you play on the swing in the garden for a while; grandpa needs to have a little talk with Jessica now".

Peter and Sue feel it will be better they leave their grandfather alone with the woman over which her father and aunt still have a brawl in the kitchen.

"Jess are you OK?" Lisa asks with a worried voice as she enters the living room as well.

"I will deal with this; you have some other business to attend to in the kitchen at the moment" her father tells her.

"Will be fine Lisa, you have some other important things to discuss with your mother and brother" her father once more reassures her.

For a moment Lisa hesitates, but a gentle reassuring nod from her father makes clear to her that it is better to go back.

On the couch Homer sits next to Jessica and puts his arm around her.

"Rough day for you huh?" He asks her with a friendly and comforting voice.

"It's all so true what Bart is saying about me, that I was the 'town's bike', that I had no conscience and used people….but that is not who I am anymore" Jessica sobs.

Homer sighs deeply and shakes his head.

"People judge sometimes way too easy; judging other people without knowing what is really going on".

"Now take what they think about me, sure I like to have a beer or two but I don't have an alcohol problem….at least, I never had any problems with it until I couldn't have it for a whole month".

With wet questioning eyes Jessica looks at Homer.

"Do you think I have no clue about what this is all about?….That I have no idea about what has been done to you or what Lisa's sorrow is?"

"I may look and most of the time behave like an idiot, but that doesn't mean I am one….well, most of the time".

"For Marge the fact Lisa is lesbian always have been difficult and now you and her are at the beginning of something beautiful….I don't want it to be like when she had this affair with Greta".

"The fact that Bart suddenly appeared at the doorstep was an unlucky coincidence but again: it's better these things come out instead of being once more avoided" he continues.

"Homer, I always have been so afraid for this moment…the confrontation with Bart after what happened nineteen years ago".

Homer nods softly to acknowledge but in his mind his inner voice shouts "what happened nineteen years ago?….'d oh!….Stupid alcohol!…Now think Homer, think…Bart, ten years old…. why that little!…No, wrong track…Jessica involved….the padre…Jebus….had to get out of bed each Sunday for it…..all these Sundays to go to?….Moe!….No, church!….Jessica and church and Bart nineteen years ago….the thing they thought Bart stole that money from the collection….that's it!…atta Homer, you deserve an extra beer this evening!"

"Child, that is even for Bart water under the bridge….but he worries about his sister as he also knows what happened to her".

"Now I can't deny your reputation isn't helping you in this, but what was then was then and what is now is now…..and I see that Lisa loves you tremendously; as well I see you love her tremendously too".

"I already saw it the first time when I saw you and her together; when I cut your hair, remember?"

Jessica wipes the tears of her face and looks Homer in the eyes.

"Make my daughter happy and become happy yourself with her…that is what counts for me".

"But…but I'm a whore…I'm a slut…all these things Bart said are…"

"Uh uh uh, that is who you were….and you probably had good reasons for it" Homer corrects Jessica while raising his finger.

"Homer, please believe me when I tell you that I am not the girl you used to know".

"I know, I know…..but I also know there is a certain girl who I asked to go playing with her brother in the garden instead of listening behind the door".

"How did you know I was behind the door?" Sue replies and betrays her exact location.

"Grampa's do know such things sweetie, that's what makes grampa's special".

"Now it is not nice to listen to conversations which aren't meant for little girls' ears" Homer continues as his granddaughter somewhat hesitatingly walks towards him.

"I didn't mean it bad, I just was worried about auntie Lis' friend because she was crying".

Sue sits down on the couch and takes a good look at Jessica who smiles at her.

"I'm Sue…who are you?"

"I am Jessica", Jessica replies still with a somewhat broken voice.

"It's OK to cry, I do it sometimes as well…even Peter does it, despite he's a boy, well I think Peter is a bit of a sissy".

"You are living in the same house as auntie Lis?"

"Uh…yes, I live with your auntie Lis".

"That's cool, I also like more to play with girls as with boys; boys are stupid…especially Darren from the greengrocers" the little girl continues.

"And why is Darren stupid?" Jessica asks the little red head blabbermouth.

"Because he calls me 'carrot'; but not every boy does this".

"Sue, I think you need to check on your little brother on the swing now" Homer tries more or less to get his granddaughter away from Jessica.

"It's OK Homer, I don't mind".

"Peter will be alright on the swing, I don't think he will fall off like he did last time" Sue confirms as she is way more interested in Jessica as in her own brother.

"Auntie Lis' promised me I can stay with her during the summer holiday for a week or perhaps two" the little girl continues.

"I like to be with auntie Lis'; she does things with me mom or dad never do and I love Patty and Selma".

In the mean time. things have calmed down a bit in the kitchen.

The fact Jessica ran away in tears, as well the fact his mother made perfectly clear to him that he was way out of line left Bart more or less flabbergasted.

"Listen, I don't trust her…I mean, Lisa: you were a brilliant medical student and you probably will have huge career ahead, earning probably some serious money as well…..but also so vulnerable when it comes about finding love, you are the perfect victim for someone without scruples like her!"

"Bart, would the Jessica you knew as a teenager react the way she just did?" Lisa sighs tiredly.

"No, probably not….but she is capable of everything and a pretty good actress".

"She tried to take her life Bart, I saw her on my table at the hospital and if that plush locomotive of her wouldn't have between the steering wheel and her chest, she wouldn't have survived".

"She ravaged her upper left leg and parts of her hip in that crash; that's the reason why she is limping….it is not some kind of act" Lisa continues.

"I was with her when her father was dieing as well I was there at the hospital, trust me when I tell you that Jessica Lovejoy is more then what you think she is" Marge adds.

"I don't know…I just don't know….I mean, this is so much not Jessica what you all tell me".

"I think the way you know her is actually more 'not Jessica' as how I know her".

"She went through a lot of things in her life; even already when you had a crush on her" Lisa continues.

"Like what then?…Tell me what, so I can understand things better".

"That is something which only Jessica herself can tell you; what she shared with me and mom is something we shouldn't tell as it is simply too private and too painful".

Marge nods acknowledging: "you really should give her the benefit of the doubt Bart".

"I don't know; it just doesn't add up….I have to see it before I believe it".

"Has it also still something to do with what happened when you first met her?" Lisa asks her brother.

"No, although it doesn't help things when it comes about how I see her….and speaking of 'help'; we have to go as I promised Nikki I would help her in the shop this afternoon".

"Yeah, we have to go as well" Lisa adds and walks to the living room.

"Oh, auntie Lis', it's almost summer holiday, can I stay with you as you promised last year?" the little red headed girl shouts as Lisa enters the living room.

"What?…Well of course you can? Lisa replies as she sits down on her knees in front of Sue.

"Yaaaay…daddy, daddy, auntie Lis' says that it's OK I stay for one or two weeks with her when I have my holiday!" Sue shouts as she runs into the hall.

"Well, daddy has to think a bit about that one; we'll talk about it later when we are at home" Bart replies as he lifts up his daughter and puts her on his arm.

"Jess, are you OK?" Lisa asks Jessica who still sits quietly on the couch next to Homer.

"I want to go home Lisa; I just want to go home"

"Give me a few minutes; I need to get something from my old room".

As Lisa goes upstairs, Jessica sees through the window how Bart and his kids leave.

"He has changed, became a husband and a father" she softly remarks.

"Yeah, when he married her I lost a son and gained a daughter…..say, can you explain to me if this also works with two women?"

"Homer, leave it be" Marge replies as she enters the living room.

Again Jessica gets nervous as the relation which she had with Marge has become slightly different after Lisa told her about them.

"Marge, I…please don't hate me for this".

Marge stares out of the window and sighs deeply.

"No….no, I don't hate you…but I need time" she replies with a somewhat absent voice.

Again the silence returns into the living room until Lisa enters it with her old pearl necklace in her hand.

Without saying anything she goes to Jessica and puts her hair into a ponytail.

"What…what are you doing?"

Lisa doesn't reply and twists her old necklace around the beginning of Jessica's ponytail.

"This is the necklace I always wore as a child; mom gave it to me when I was a little girl and is part of who I am…. and I want you to wear it….as you and me are one…no matter what the rest of the world may think of it".

---

A few weeks have passed since the rather violent incident at Evergreen Terrace.

The impact of the whole event has left its traces in Jessica and she has been more silent as usually is.

Long conversations with Lisa during the night and many tears have been shed; tears about her feelings of guilt, of who she had been in life and how she had treated so many otherones.

The confrontation with Bart once more brought them back to the surface and resulted in violent eruptions of sorrow.

Martin had explained to her they were part of the whole process she was going through and that such things would take a lot of time.

He also learnt her some techniques which could help her to deal with her emotions and negative thoughts about herself, but the effect of those was rather limited as when they were there; it was like an avalanche and nothing in the world could stop Jessica from falling into the deep dark well of her pain and guilt.

For one reason or another, Sue had become the symbol of the consequences of Jessica's behavior during her teenage years.

Sue, a little innocent girl who wanted to spend some time with her aunt Lisa; which probably wouldn't happen as her aunt was now living with a woman who was considered by the girl's father as a selfish slut and a whore.

A girl which had nothing to do with what happened in the past but still would have to bare the consequences of it.

On a hot Sunday afternoon, Jessica is sitting in the garden while silently gazing at the chestnut trees who softly wave in the summer breeze.

It's the first day of Lisa's holiday which will last for three weeks.

They basically intend to stay at home and enjoy a more silent time together or perhaps visit some places, but Jessica doesn't feel really up to it as her mood is covered by the gray veil of sorrow and guilt.

Still gazing in the distance she can hear the telephone ringing and Lisa picking it up.

She hears the conversation on the phone but the meaning of the words hardly reach her brain.

Just silently she continues to gaze while being afloat on a gray and silent sea under an endless gray sky.

The silence is broken as Lisa steps outside and sits down in the garden chair next to her.

"That was Bart on the phone".

"Bart?….What did he want?"

"Jess, do you think you can handle a seven year old girl for a week?"

"Sue?….You mean Sue will spend a week with us?"

Lisa nods with a smile on her face.

"But..but….how…I mean, Bart…how can he allow to let his daughter stay at a place where I live?….I mean, you know what he thinks of me" Jessica stammers.

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me if mom and dad did some work behind the screens".

"Bart will bring her to us?"

"Yeah, he will…..it's not a good idea Nikki will do it regarding my relation with her".

Nervously Jessica lights a cigarette and mumbles " Bart will be here".

"Hey, don't be afraid; I'm with you…nothing will happen".

"At what time he will be here?"

"Probably around seven 'o clock this evening….trust me, it will be fine" Lisa reassures.

"But do you think you can handle Sue for a week?….She is quite a character".

"Y…Yes….I love the idea of her being with us …but…but her father…."

"Just think of Sue being around here; Bart will probably just drop her off, carry her stuff inside and leave again".

Jessica doesn't respond and nervously inhales the smoke of her cigarette as she once more gazes into the distance.

At one hand she wishes she would be there; away from the upcoming confrontation with Bart, but at the other hand she knows she cannot keep running away from it.

Sooner or later she will have to face him again and try to put things straight.

The day continues and for Jessica each hour seems to last an eternity.

She smokes a lot and tries to find some distraction by surfing on the internet using Lisa's laptop while sitting in the garden, but the upcoming second confrontation with Bart consumes her mind completely.

It's around a quarter past seven when she spots from one of the windows at the front side of the living room a dark blue pick-up truck driving up to the cottage.

Her heart starts to pound in her throat and she lights another cigarette, hoping it will make her calm down a bit.

She sees how Bart and Sue get out of the car and while Bart reaches into the back of it to get his daughter's bags, Sue already runs to the back door.

"Auntie Lis!" The bright voice of the little girl can be heard shouting through the kitchen as she opens the door.

"Sue, there you are!" Lisa greets her little niece and kneels down to get face to face with her.

"Hey Lisa, still mopping the floor on your knees?…They have mops on a stick nowadays you know" Bart grins as he enters the kitchen as well.

"Idiot" His sister jokes back and gets back on her feet.

"That's all her stuff?"

"Yeah, Nikki packed clothes for a week and in this one are some of her toys….and I put in a few extra trousers and shirts as you know what 'little miss havoc' is capable of".

"I'm not 'little miss havoc!'" Sue corrects her father.

"You aren't?….And how many trousers did you get dirty last week?"

"Not many…four" the little girl reluctantly admits.

"And two dresses as well, not to mention you ravaged one of those when you crouched under that fence" her father adds to the list.

"Stupid barbed wire and I hate to wear dresses….especially that one" Sue mumbles back.

"Yeah Bart, don't have a cow" Lisa backs up Sue.

"Touché sis….touché" Bart grins back, but the grin on his face disappears when Jessica slowly limps into the kitchen.

"Hi Bart, hi Sue" She greets them nervously with a soft timid voice.

"Hello Jessica" Bart greets back with a cold voice and an awkward silence fills the kitchen.

Nervously Jessica inhales the smoke of her cigarette and sees how Bart takes a look at her and sighs deeply".

"Before I go back home, I think you and I need to have a private talk" he finally remarks.

"Bart, I don't think this is such a good idea regarding what happened a few weeks ago" Lisa tries to protect Jessica whose eyes have become large out of fear.

She realizes this is the moment of the final showdown with the man she knew as a boy and who probably now wanted to take care of unfinished business.

"Out of the question Bart, she is way to vulnerable for such a confrontation".

"I don't know Lis, lets see what Jessica has to say about it herself" Bart continues as if he almost wants to challenge her.

"No way Bart…forget it" Lisa states.

"N…no….no Lisa, this has to be done some time…s…so better do it now" Jessica stammers.

"I won't leave the both of you alone with each other" Lisa again tries to protect the black haired woman.

"Look Lisa, before I leave Sue here, I want to know a few things from her and I want to hear it from herself".

"It…It's OK Lisa, I will manage"

"Are you Sure?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm sure" Jessica replies and nods acknowledging.

"OK, but Bart; be careful with her" Lisa warns her brother and leaves with Sue the kitchen to take a look at the animals.

Bart and Jessica sit down at the kitchen table and for a short moment there once more is a silence.

Jessica barely dares to watch Bart in his eyes and lights another cigarette.

"Good idea" Bart remarks and grabs his own package of tobacco out of his pocket and start to roll a cigarette.

Again an awkward silence fills the kitchen which is broken by the sound of a lighter.

For a while Bart watches Jessica who nervously smokes her cigarette; occasionally her eyes look at Bart's face but they quickly go back to the table.

"Well, here we are then" Bart finally breaks the silence as he blows out the smoke through his nose.

"Did…did Marge tell anything about me and how I ended up here?"

"She told me I would have to give you the benefit of the doubt and that things are more complicated as they appear at first sight; but she didn't tell me how and what as she believed you were the onlyone who should tell this" Bart replies businesslike.

"You know, you probably went through some nasty shit, but you and Lisa being a couple….no, that's something which doesn't make sense."

"I know my sister and I know you; doesn't add up at all and knowing you have no scruples when it comes about using someone for your own pleasure or good….no, not this time Jessica and definitely not at the expense of Lisa!".

Jessica closes her eyes and sighs deeply while slowly shaking her head.

"Do you really know me Bart?" she replies with a soft and weary voice".

"I have seen enough of you back in the days to know what you are".

Again there is a silence and Jessica's initial nervousness is replaced by a feeling of deep fatigue.

"Yeah….you have seen me; seen me as the vicious girl when I was ten; seen me as the slutty arrogant teenager who did it with everyone and everything to get what she wanted".

"And you know Bart; you are right when it comes about that…..as that was how I was back in those days….it has no use to deny it as it is the truth…..but do you really know me?"

"I know enough about you" Bart once more replies cold and businesslike.

"No Bart; you know nothing…even I didn't knew it till several months ago".

"Now we're gonna get it….well, surprise me" Bart sneers, expecting to get a story in which Jessica will reveal to him she found out she actually favored women over men.

But Jessica starts to tell about her childhood, about how her mother denied her to be herself, about the coldness and loneliness.

How her father most of the time ignored her and how she craved for some warmth, but instead of that was sent to boarding school.

With a weary and soft voice she continues to tell about the bullying, how she cracked up and how it lead to the whole incident when they were ten years old.

Bitter and occasionally whipping a single tear of her face, she tells how she started to use her body as a tool to get affection as well how she grew cold, selfish and focused on her own pleasure and interests; but deep inside just wanted to have some warmth, love and affection.

Her life in Capitol City, how she became a stripper and an expensive whore, her hedonistic life there with vast amounts of money and how it enabled her to compensate for what she lacked as a child and teenager.

But it was all fake and when her father was diagnosed with cancer, she once more dared to feel and acknowledge the deep pain and emptiness inside of her….too late, as she just was allowed to have a few weeks with her father; the onlyone who loved her unconditionally.

The harsh words, the tears and the fact they finally dared to express the feelings they had been hiding for so long for each other; how she cared for him during his last and difficult weeks in his life, how her heart broke when he eventually died.

But also about the warmth and support Marge gave her, despite her reputation and how strange it was to experience this.

How she had to go back to The Purple Sin; how she didn't want to but had no other choice. How Jeb forced her to dance and have sex with a whole group of men…and how she freaked out on stage with all the consequences.

Bart breathlessly listens to her story and his initial feelings of distrust and sarcasm slowly start to make way for a more awkward feeling about how he judged her and how he behaved.

Jessica takes a short break and for a moment she just gazes silently to the wall as the images of what happened in the office appear once again in front of her inner eye.

She gets up from her chair, hesitates for a moment and then opens the zipper at the backside of her summer dress.

"Did you ever had to beg for your own life Bart?" she whispers as she shows him the scars on her back.

"Jesus Christ…what …what did they do to you?"

"They tied me over a chair…and whipped me with a belt….buckle at the top and when they were finished; the threw me naked between the dumpsters in the alley behind The Sin".

"I would have frozen to death if not one of the waitresses would have helped me" she continues, still with a whispering voice.

"Bless that young woman…..I owe her my life….just like I owe my life to Lisa".

Jessica zips up her dress and continues to tell about what happened next that night, how she lost everything and wanted to take her own life.

How Lisa stitched her up and how she became a cripple because of her suicide attempt.

She tells how she hit rock bottom and how Lisa took her to the cottage when she basically was selling her body again to get some money to get to the shelter; or the railroad tracks to meet her final destiny as there was nothing left for her to continue on this planet.

"You mean you…you wanted to kill yourself again?" Bart stammers as he lights another cigarette.

"There was nothing left for me Bart; no home, no father…just pain and coldness….just emptiness and sorrow".

"Lisa took me under her wings despite she knew who I was…..she….she gave me shelter at my most desperate moment".

"She could have left me there on that parking lot in the rain; just go home and live her life….but she didn't….she took me with her, washed me, gave me clothes, a warm bed and even made sure I got a therapist…for free".

"Lisa gave, and still gives me, so much warmth….so much love….something I never had in my entire life".

"We fell in love…gradually and it took a while before we dared to admit it because we were afraid of how the otherone would react".

"She told me about her past, how difficult and lonely her teenage years were….yes, I know about the whole affair with Greta and the fact your mother still has troubles accepting the fact she is a lesbian".

"Regarding that, I sometimes think that we are just two wandering lonely souls who found shelter and love with each other…..I did with her….and I hope I can give her the same as well".

"So Bart….this is who I am and what there is between Lisa and me…. whether you believe me or not: I love your sister and I don't care what the rest of the world thinks of it…not anymore, I am so tired of it….. for some people I will always be the selfish slut who caused her parents nothing but grief".

"Think what you want about me; I suppose you have plenty of reasons to hate or despise me" she ends her plead.

Bart doesn't reply and just sits at the kitchen table while he tries to process what Jessica just told him.

Jessica leaves the kitchen and silently sits down in one of the garden chairs.

She watches the sun which is slowly starting to sink behind the horizon while her limbs start to feel heavy.

Telling her story, the fear of the confrontation with Bart; it drained all her energy but also it makes her feel liberated.

In the kitchen, Bart is smoking another cigarette while he wonders about what Jessica has told him.

At one hand it all makes sense, but at the other hand it is just not Jessica; or at least, the Jessica he knew.

Too much information, so contradictive to what he has seen in the past; but still…her scars were real and the way she told it, it wasn't some kind of act and it actually was the first time he heard Jessica speak in such a way.

He puts out his cigarette in the ashtray on the kitchen table and gets up from his chair when he hears the voice of his daughter in the garden.

"Daddy, daddy, auntie Lis said we will go to the beach tomorrow!" Sue shouts enthusiastically.

"To the beach, well lucky you!" Bart responds in a slightly artificial way.

Jessica watches how Bart lifts up his daughter and tells her to be a good girl when she is staying with her aunt.

Sue nods and promises her father she will be good.

"You will take good care of her?" Bart asks Lisa who replies with an acknowledging nod.

"Well little girl, then it's time for me to go back home" he smiles and kisses his daughter goodbye.

"If there are any problems, you can reach me on my cell phone….better not call Nikki"

"I will contact you if needed" Lisa replies with a smile on her face as she sees how her brother cares for his little girl.

"You and Jess had a talk?" she continues.

"Yeah…yeah we had….I need some time to think about all the things she told me…..and she told me a lot".

"She told you what happened to her?"

"Yeah….she did….and…uh….it kinda knocked me off my feet to be honest".

"There is a lot more behind her then you would suspect" Lisa again confirms.

"Give her the benefit of the doubt Bart, she really has a warm heart".

"Yeah…let's see how this will work out" Bart replies still with a somewhat awkward tone in his voice and heads to his car.

Sue follows him and a few moments later she waves her father goodbye as he drives off.

In the backyard, Lisa sits down next to Jessica and asks her if she is alright.

"You told him everything, didn't you?"

"Yeah…I did" Jessica replies with a soft and weary voice.

"You know, the way Bart sees me and treats me; it's how almost everyone sees me…at least Bart dares to speak it out right in my face".

Lisa sighs deeply as she knows Jessica is right.

"I was afraid Lisa; afraid to face your brother again…but at least I now could tell him how things really are; what he will do with it…I don't know".

"What you did took a lot of courage and I think you managed to get through to him; when he left he told me he was pretty confused".

"Time will tell Lisa; only time will tell".

"Auntie Lis, can I play in the sandbox!?" the voice of Sue sounds through the garden.

Last year, Lisa bought a small plastic sandbox in the shape of a turtle so her little niece and nephew could play in it when they visited.

"Sure you can, you know where the little shovel and buckets are?"

"In the barn, next to the food for Patty and Selma" Sue replies and runs towards the barn to get them.

A few moments later the little girl is playing in the sand and Lisa and Jessica watch her from a distance.

"I envy her" Jessica softly remarks.

"So young and innocent….she just can play in the sand, no one tells her to be the daughter of the reverend….look how she sits there and just can make her hands and clothes dirty".

"Just seven years old; no boarding school, no loneliness or betrayal".

"Difficult for you to watch?"

"No, not really….it makes me a bit sad but also grateful; she can just play in freedom like a girl should do".

Jessica gets a smile on her face and gets up from her chair.

"What are you going to do?" Lisa asks her with a slightly worried voice.

"I am going to play in the sand Lisa…I am finally going to play in the sand again".

---

"God it's hot" Lisa complains and pushes the bed sheet off her body.

"Not really a surprise regarding the fact you still wear your nightgown" it sounds from the other side of the bed.

"I hate to sleep naked!"

"Is not naked, you're still be wearing your underpants".

"Really, I swear the moment I got enough money; I'll have air-conditioning installed in this room" Lisa mumbles as she is taking off her nightgown.

"Better now?"

"Meh, still hot".

"Try to lay still, turning around like a spin top doesn't make things cooler and I can't sleep as well because of it" Jessica mumbles back.

"We should have bought a second fan now Sue has ours".

"Well, it's a bit late for it now, every time there is a heat wave all fans are sold out and the spare room is even hotter then ours; so we better make the best out of it".

"Yeah, I guess so" Lisa sighs and turns herself on her side.

"I watched you playing in the sand with Sue this evening…..has been a long time since I have seen you that happy".

Jessica turns on her other side as well to face Lisa and a smile appears on her face.

"She reminds me of myself when I was a kid….bit of a tomboy, innocent and a little blabbermouth".

"I used to like to play in the sand as well, making all kinds of sand shapes or just play with a small plastic truck and a toy dragline".

"You played with cars as well?"

"Yeah, why not?….Besides, I never was really into these girlish things….well, not until the 'ice queen' started to determine what I could and couldn't do".

"You know what Sue asked me?….If she could call me 'auntie Jess'".

"Aww that is so sweet, she really likes you" Lisa smiles back.

"Yeah….I never thought some one would actually call me like that….'auntie Jess'".

"Perhaps we should buy a bigger sandbox so you can play in it when Sue is back home" Lisa teases.

"Fuck off….I'm not loosing my sanity: at least, not yet" Jessica teases back.

"But yeah, I have to admit it really felt good to play a bit in the sand again….so perfectly innocent….looking back on it I really have missed those things".

"What toys did you have when you were a kid Lisa?"

"I didn't have too many toys, we weren't really in a financial luxurious position back in the days".

"I had my Malibu Stacy doll with some asseccoiries; made a little dollhouse for her in a shoebox….I had books, a toy microscope, a bit of Lego and the usual things like color books and crayons".

"A toy microscope?….Now that is something which really doesn't surprise me" Jessica grins.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was a nerd and a bookworm…still am".

"And what's wrong with that?…Look how you ended up, a doctor with the perspective of a brilliant career while me as a 'popular girl' ended up as…well, you know".

"Did you ever wonder how your life would have been without all the things you went through Jess?"

"What's the use of that, we can't go back in time…and it only makes me sad and bitter".

"I…I think I would have become a dancer….a real one, ballet or something like that, or perhaps I would have become something in the travel business….or a train driver" she jokes in an attempt to avoid a more in depth conversation about the topic".

"You don't like to talk about it, do you?" Lisa asks her with a soft voice.

"No, not really….like I said: it has no use".

"But you still must have dreams, I mean…this is not the end of your life".

"Dreams….my dreams" Jessica sighs.

"You are just twenty nine, you have your whole life ahead of you…and you are a pretty smart woman".

"You can study again, get a degree in something you really are interested in" Lisa continues.

"A degree in something…..the only thing I am good at is working on my back".

"Fuck off Jess, you have a tremendous amount of life experience and you could use it to help other people….work with kids, teenagers or young adults to get their life back on the tracks".

"You mean something like a social worker?"

"Yeah, or perhaps something in the mental care….haven't you noticed you have a very caring side in you as well?"

"Me…a caring person?…Have you been smoking pot again?…If there is anything I haven't done in my life it's caring about other persons!"

"Have you Jess?….And how about your father?….Or the way you are taking care of Sue….or how about how you care of me?"

"That's something different" Jessica tries to wave off Lisa's suggestions.

"Don't think so…and you have got the brains for it".

"Who wants to have a limping former stripper who also was a whore?….. Can I see your resume Miss Lovejoy?…Sure, I fucked half Capitol City, here are their business cards so give them a call if you want to have some references; I had the reputation I could even make a dead guy cum!'…Something like that?" Jessica replies cynically.

"Bullshit, you know you're way more then that, as well you know that you had some very good reasons for it".

Jessica shrugs: "who wants a limping whore?".

"I want this 'limping whore!'….Who actually is the most beautiful person in my life".

"You're so sweet Lisa" Jessica smiles back.

Lisa closes her eyes and kisses Jessica on her lips.

"I love you Jess" she whispers while her hand moves under the bed sheet and touches Jessica's breast.

They look each other in the eyes and both know what is going to happen; the only one who is allowed to witness them is the moon, which shines its light over these two women who start to celebrate their love for each other.

---

The next day, around nine 'o clock in the morning, the three ladies are sitting at the kitchen table while having breakfast.

Lisa and Jessica, still pretty sleepy after their rather short night, while a well rested Sue already has started to rattle the ears of both women's head.

"What was wrong with auntie Lis last night?" the little redhead suddenly asks Jessica who is trying to wake up with a cup of black coffee and a cigarette.

"Wrong with auntie Lis?…How do you mean?"

"Well, it was so hot last night, I couldn't sleep and I heard auntie Lis moaning".

Lisa, immediately hides her face behind the newspaper she already was reading to prevent Sue seeing her blush.

"Moaning?…Uh…yeah…she had…had a sore tummy…uh…she sometimes has when…when the weather is that hot…like yesterday…and last night" Jessica tries to reply as plausible as possible to the rather awkward question.

"Oh…I see" Sue responds casually and continues to eat her toast.

"But when auntie Lis had a sore tummy; why did you and her giggle?"

Lisa buries herself even deeper in her newspaper while Jessica's eyes go from left to right as this second question is a bit harder to deal with.

"Uh…giggling?…are you sure you heard us giggling...because we didn't".

"Yeah, I could hear it very well….and you were talking too" Sue remarks again casually.

"Uh….uh….well…uh…you know…..I uh…I told auntie Lis a little joke so she would feel better….and that is why we giggled a bit…..and it worked because she felt a lot better after I did, didn't it Lisa?".

"What?…Uh..yes…yes it did….worked very well" Lisa stammers from behind her newspaper.

"So giggling can make you feel better as well?"

"Oh definitely, it can help a lot…..it's one of the first things you will learn when you want to become a doctor"

"And you are a doctor!" Sue acknowledges out loud the reliability of her source of information.

"Yes sweetie; auntie Lis is a doctor, but now she has her holiday so we better don't talk about her work".

"Yeah, I guess you're right; I hate to talk about school as well during the vacation" Sue admits.

"But can we still go to the beach today?"

"Sure we can, I'm feeling a lot better now….when you have finished your breakfast you can put on your bathing suit so you don't have to put it on anymore when we are at the beach".

"Yaaaay!" the little girl shouts and start to stuff her toast as quick as she can in her mouth.

A few minutes and a heavy coughing fit -because of Sue's hurry, a piece of bread went the wrong way- later, Sue is already upstairs putting her bathing suit on.

"Next time I'll gag you" Jessica smirks.

"How could I know she was still awake?…I never heard anything when I was a kid" Lisa, still with a blush on her face, defends herself.

"Well doctor, fact is that you now have to make her laugh when she has a sore tummy or otherwise we both will be screwed" Jessica continues to tease.

"Speaking of being screwed; do you intend to put your bikini on to the beach?"

"Right…haven't thought of that; when Sue sees me in that one she will probably freak out".

"Not to mention her parents…and especially her mother" Lisa adds.

"Better take a little detour through the city before we go to the beach then…to keep the family relations intact".

An hour later the three of them are ready to leave for a day at the beach.

Loaded with bags, beach chairs, cool box with refreshments and sandwiches they are about to leave when suddenly the telephone rings.

Lisa answers it while Jessica and Sue continue to put everything in the car.

A few minutes later Lisa comes outside with a disappointed expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Jessica asks slightly worried.

"It was the hospital at the phone; the trauma surgeon who was on duty went sick home and the otherone had to leave yesterday because of some troubles in his family….I have to go to work".

"Aww no, not in your holliday!"

"Yep, in my holiday…the faith of a surgeon" Lisa sighs.

"So…so we are not going to the beach now?" Sue asks hers aunt.

"I need the car to go to the hospital and to get back home this evening Sue" Lisa apologizes.

"Aww shit!…There goes the beach" the little girl moans out loud.

"Not necessarily" Jessica remarks.

"We could bring auntie Lis to her work and I will drive us to the beach; when we get back I park the car at the parking lot of the hospital and to get home we will take the bus".

"Hmm, the bus stop is quite a long walk from here and I don't see you do such a thing with that leg of yours…I think it's better I'll take the bus back home when I am finished working".

"Or you just give me your cell phone and call me when you are finished so I can pick you up; in your case you'll never know at what time you can go home and if there even still goes a bus" Jessica suggests.

"Yeah, that could work as well: in that way you and Sue can go to the beach while I probably can start digging in Ralph Wiggum's nostrils".

"Picking your nose is eww!" Sue giggles.

"It is, but try to explain this to Ralph" Lisa replies with a grin on her face as she heads inside to put on some clothes which are more suitable for a day's work.

Three quarters of an hour later Jessica and Sue are on the beach.

They dropped Lisa off at the hospital, went into town to buy a new swim suit for Jessica and now they have installed themselves on a nice spot not too far from the beach cafeteria.

Because of the fact Lisa couldn't join them and Jessica couldn't carry all the bags and the beach chairs, they have put some towels in the sand.

After being in the water for a while, Jessica lies on her towel enjoying the sun while reading a book.

She would have loved to spend some more time with Sue in the sea, but the fact she can't take her crutch with her limits the time which she can stand on and use her left leg.

From behind her book she keeps an eye on Sue who now is playing with her little bucket, shovel and sand molds near the waterline.

Around noon Jessica calls Sue so they can have lunch together.

Sitting on their towels, Jessica opens the cool box and takes out the sandwiches they prepared earlier that morning.

"Auntie Jess, can't you walk that well anymore because of that big scar on your leg?" Sue suddenly asks.

"Yes, that is exactly the reason" Jessica smiles back at the little girl.

"How did you get it, did you have an accident?"

"Yes I had, almost half a year ago I had a very bad accident with my car and I hurt my leg very bad ".

"That must have hurt pretty bad" Sue thinks out loud as she watches the large scar on Jessica's upper left leg.

"Ah yes it did, they had to perform surgery on me to make it better again; but my leg was so broken and damaged that the doctors couldn't make it completely better anymore".

"Did auntie Lis cut you open; she cuts people open and fixes them".

"I know sweetie, auntie Lis took care of me when I was brought to the hospital and a specialized doctor repaired my leg".

"He didn't do a good job then as you now need to walk with a crutch".

"Sometimes doctors cannot repair things completely Sue; when something is just too much broken".

Processing the information regarding the leg of her 'auntie Jess', Sue continues to eat her sandwich.

"Auntie Jess?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Are you and auntie Lis loving each other like mommy and daddy?"

"Ah yes we do Sue" Jessica once more smiles.

"I see…so, you and auntie Lis are actually dykes?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, some time ago mommy and daddy were talking about me staying with you during the summer holiday and I heard mommy calling you 'dykes'.

"Daddy didn't seem to like it she called you like that".

"And your daddy is right as calling people 'dykes' is not a nice thing to do".

"But how do you call them then?"

"Just women who love each other; officially you call them lesbians".

Again Sue needs some time to process the newly gained knowledge".

"But why don't you love boys like every girl does?"

"Some people love people who have the same gender, there are women loving women and men loving men" Jessica explains, still with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, those are fagots!…..I always call Darren a 'fagot' when he calls me 'carrot'".

Jessica no longer can hold her laughs as she hears these rather 'big' words coming out of the mouth of the little girl.

"You are now talking about things for which you are waaaay too young to talk about in such a way young lady".

"Are those dirty words like 'fuck'?….Mommy always gets angry when I say that one…or 'shit'…is also one she doesn't like me to say".

"And your mother is right about that, those are really dirty words".

"Yeah, but when mommy and daddy have a fight they say them all the time themselves".

"When adult people are angry they sometimes say such words; but that doesn't mean it's right to do so".

"I guess you're right…..but I still will keep calling Darren a 'fagot' when he calls me 'carrot'"

"Jessica just smiles and shakes her head as she knows all too well how such things work".

After lunch Sue heads back with her bucket and shovel to the waterline and starts to build a sandcastle.

Carefully she makes walls and a tower out of sand and decorates them with little shells.

As she is just about to dig a canal around her creation; suddenly a ball lands in the midst of it, destroying her work.

"Sorry for that 'match head' but your red hair blinded me" the voice of one of two older boys can be heard just behind her.

"Go away and I'm not a 'match head'!"

"Have you been too long in the water?...Your hair is all rusted" the other boy remarks maliciously.

"No I haven't!" Sue once more replies agitated.

"Hoooo, we better go now, she is getting red from anger" the first boy remarks and the both of them leave while laughing out loud at Sue.

"Fucking fagots" she mumbles to herself and starts to rebuild her sand castle.

From behind her book, Jessica has watched the whole incident and sees when Sue has more or less rebuilt her sand castle how the two boys run straight true it while shouting "better dead then read".

"Fuck off you fagots!" she can hear the little girl shout and once more the two other kids taunt her by calling her "carrot top, carrot top!".

"Little pieces of shit!" Jessica mumbles to herself and gets ready to deal with these two bullies herself as she sees how the both of them once more run towards Sue.

However, Sue has reached boiling point herself as well and as the oldest of the two approaches her, she grabs her shovel, warns the kid a last time to stay away -which is completely ignored-….. and subsequently 'treats' the bully with a direct hit on his nose by a well aimed swing of her shovel.

It takes a few moments before the boy realizes what happened to him, but as he feels his battered nose and sees the blood running from it; he violently starts to cry and runs for his mother.

The other boy already decided to leave the spot as he saw Jessica limping up to them.

"And stay away you fucking fagots!" Sue yells at the both of them.

"Uh Sue…perhaps the next time you better call me, instead of taking care of business with your shovel.

"Those fagots ruined my sand castle two times and called me names!" Sue angrily blurts out.

"I know sweetie, but you just can't start to hit other kids with a shovel".

"I only hit one and he was way older then I am!"

Again it takes Jessica a tremendous amount of trouble not to explode into laughter because of what the little read head girl firmly states.

At the same time she sees from the corner of her eye how a small and rather fat blonde woman is walking up to them while dragging her bloody nosed kid behind her.

"Hey, you there in the black bathing suit; is that red head girl yours!?" it sounds from a short distance".

"Stay with me Sue, this could get a bit nasty" Jessica tells the little girl who more or less hides herself behind her legs.

"Yes, she is….is there any problem?" Jessica replies with a rather cold voice.

"A problem?…She wrecked my little Boyd's nose with her shovel!" the blonde woman shouts with a raspy voice.

"Well, perhaps your 'little Boyd' got what he deserved; don't you think it's a bit strange a seven year old girl does such a thing to a boy whose older and taller then her?"

"How do you mean?….My boys never misbehave!"

"I'm afraid they do, as calling a single younger girl a 'carrot top' and destroying her sandcastle not only once, but twice is something I can hardly call a testimony of well behavior".

"So if the girl teaches them a lesson in such cases; I'd say it's not such a surprise although I don't encourage the use of shovels in such matters".

"She just hit me mom!….I didn't do a thing to her!" the boy moans in tears.

"Are you calling my son a liar?"

"Ah yes I do, and not only a liar: a bully and a coward as well!"

"Watch it you limping bitch, you better teach that kid of yours some manners or otherwise I will do it!

"My, my…I now see from who these two little pieces of shit got their manners, but let me tell you something lady: touch that little girl and I cram my crutch straight up your ass and my fist straight up that smelly hole you call a mouth!"

"You wanna have trouble huh?" The woman shouts.

"Bring it on cunt, dealing with garbage like you is one of my favorite hobbies!…Let's see if we can beat some lard of that fat ass of yours!" Jessica hisses back while her eyes start to spit fire.

"So you and your two pieces of shit you call your kids better fuck off now before I beat the shit out of the three of you!"

Jessica's anger reaches dangerous levels and her opponent more or less understands it's not the most sensible thing to start a fight with her.

"Heh..you think I'm gonna waste my energy on a slut like you" she sneers back in an attempt to save her face in front of her kids.

"For you I hope not but I definitely intend to waste my energy on that face of yours if you don't get the fuck out of here!"

The woman and her kid decide to do the most sensible thing and leave Sue and a by rage trembling Jessica.

"Aunt…auntie Jess….your eyes are all black".

"Giv…give me a few minutes….I need to calm down" Jessica stammers as the adrenalin level slowly starts to decrease in her blood.

Ten minutes later Jessica and Sue are sitting on their towels.

"I didn't know you could get that angry" Sue carefully remarks.

"Oh sweetie, I am definitely not angry at you; I'm angry at those kids and their stupid mother because they bullied you" Jessica sighs and hugs the little girl.

"Auntie Jess was bullied herself a lot when she was a little girl and when I see something happening like that to another child, and especially you, I get tremendously angry on those people".

"You were bullied?….But you are pretty and you don't have red hair".

"Some kids will always bully other kids Sue….and you have lovely red hair".

"No, it's stupid… when they pick on me they always call me names because of it".

"Do you get bullied a lot because of it"? Jessica asks her with a soft voice.

Sue remains silent for a while before she replies to the question.

"Sometimes a lot and sometimes not….when they call me like that I often call them names back and sometimes I hit them".

From a safe distance once more it suddenly sounds "carrot top, carrot top" again.

Jessica sighs and shakes her head: "bullies….they are all cowards".

"I can give them another 'whack' with my shovel" Sue suggests.

"No…that will make things only worse as it means I probably have to deal with their mother again".

"Will you beat her up?"

"I might do so….I already almost did…no...no…this ain't gonna work; grab your stuff Sue, we're going back home".

"We…we're going back home?…Aww no…I want to play in the water" Sue moans and almost starts to cry.

"It's better we go now Sue, as otherwise it will only lead up to more trouble" Jessica sighs again and starts to put the towels in the bags.

Fifteen minutes later they are in the car on their way back home.

In the rear view mirror Jessica sees Sue's sad face and feels terrible about it.

Perhaps they should have moved to another spot on the beach, away from these two kids and their mother but the confrontation with the bullying and the rage attack had hit Jessica just too hard.

A feeling of guilt starts to come up in her as once more the little girl is paying the price for the consequences of Jessica's own damage and past.

Slowly she continues to drive through the outskirts of Springfield as suddenly a sign catches her attention when she is waiting for a red traffic light.

"Outlet center?…..Collection of easy set pools?….Wonder what they will cost?"

The traffic light turns green and without paying attention to an old brown Honda Civic, Jessica changes lane and takes a left turn.

The driver of the Honda however follows her and as Jessica drives up the parking lot of the outlet center and parks the car, the brown car stops next to her.

"Hey missy, where did you get your driver's license!?" The raspy voice of a pretty much disgruntled Moe Szyslack sounds from the open window.

"Aww, I'm so sorry sir; I'll never do it again" Jessica replies with her most sultry voice as she sensually bytes her lower lip.

"I..I uh…I…aww, it's OK miss….I uh…uh…who can be angry at you…..I mean…uh" Moe starts to stammer as a women speaking to him in such a way is just too much for him.

"I really am so sorry" Jessica continues to play with the sweating and blushing bartender.

"Naah, uh…don't worry…I…I really should go now".

"Aww, you're too sweet"

"Uh…hehehehe…uh…yeah…bye!"

Jessica waves with her fingers while giving him an even more sultry look.

Too much for poor Moe who leaves the parking lot without even having a clue about the fact the traffic coming from the right has right of way.

A lot of honking, a guy shouting "moron!" and Moe's reply to it by shouting "save it for your wife asshole!"

On the backseat of the car, Sue has watched her auntie Jess dealing with the whole situation and is completely flabbergasted, as she never saw a woman behave in such a way in real life.

"That's how you deal with situations like these" Jessica grins back to her.

"But..but…how…how did you do it?" Sue stammers.

"Easy, all men are the same and none of them can resist a helpless woman…you will understand when you are a bit older….good, there is an ATM machine over there…come on, I've got something to check".

A few moments later Jessica is watching the screen of the machine and sees there is actually fifteen hundred dollars on her bank account.

"What's this?….I thought it was almost empty?" she wonders to herself.

For a moment she searches her memories to discover where this unexpected amount of money is coming from.

"Father….it's the money from Father's saving account…they must have transferred it to mine" she keeps mumbling to herself.

A big smile appears on Jessica's face as she knows how she can give the little girl a great holiday without the problem of bullies and overcrowded beaches.

"Come on Sue, you and I are going to get us something really nice".

---

Tired, sweaty, sore legs and a rather bad mood describes Lisa the best as she walks from the bus stop to her cottage.

Luckily she was able to go home earlier as expected, so she just took the bus home instead of calling Jessica who probably was still at the beach with Sue.

When she was at the hospital it was like her 'regular customers' felt she was there.

Ralph came in with an eraser crammed up his nose and Milhouse came in complaining about the usual problems with his bowels.

Getting the eraser out of Ralph's nose wasn't such a problem; Milhouse however was a bit more of a challenge as he kept moaning about the fact his abdominal pain started in his groin which forced her to take a look at his private parts.

Apparently it was some kind of a last and desperate attempt of Milhouse to impress Lisa and decided to use his manhood to show her what he could offer.

The whole idea behind it was to seduce her so she would dump her girlfriend and have it off with him instead; preferably at once on the table in the surgery.

Unfortunately his whole scheme backfired as when he lowered his underpants and showed Lisa his private parts, which were in 'active mode' because of the fact his fantasy already had taken him over.

Lisa's response however wasn't what he had expected or hoped for.

She told him she already saw what his problem was, asked him to turn himself on his belly, filled a huge cylinder with water and shuved a tube up his butt while explaining an enema would take care of his problems once and for all.

Despite the fact he tried to explain her his abdominal pain suddenly had disappeared, she insisted on him undergoing the whole procedure.

And as she had quite a few other patients to attend to, a nurse would look after him which resulted in Lisa asking Mick the head nurse, a giant but ever so friendly forty five year old man who originated from Australia and served in the US marine corps as a medic for several years, to take care of business.

Mick, who knew very well who Milhouse was and how he was after Lisa , rolled up his sleeves so his hairy tattooed arms became visible, got a big bad grin on his face and entered the surgery while greeting poor Milhouse with "g'day mate, now let's see if we can get those guts of yours back into shape".

A smirk appears on Lisa's face as she approaches her cottage and thinks about Milhouse's face when half the amount of water was already in his bowels while Mick told him everything went fine and already 'half the bucket' was empty.

Expecting things at the cottage being rather silent, she hears Sue and Jessica's voices combined with the sound of splattering water coming from the back yard.

"What's this? She almost shouts out loud in utter surprise as she sees Jessica and Sue sitting in a fifteen feet wide round dismountable swimming pool.

"Auntie Lis!…Look what Auntie Jess bought!" Sue greets her aunt.

"You're already back home; why didn't you call me?"

"I was already finished and I didn't want to cut your day at the beach short…but how did you end up with this?'

"Put on your bathing suit and hop in; I'll explain the whole thing to you".

Ten minutes later Lisa is sitting in the forty eight inch deep pool and Jessica starts to tell her what happened that day.

"So you bought this whole thing from the savings of your father?"

"Yeah, I completely forgot about that money and I felt so bad for Sue after what happened to her on the beach…and well, it wasn't too expensive".

"How much did it cost?"

"Not too much…just around four hundred bucks; pump included".

"You're nuts, but I like it".

Jessica shrugs with a smile on her face.

"Just see it as an investment in our little place, no more crowded beaches or dragging stuff from the car….just hop in it when you want and enjoy in all privacy".

"I know, when I was a kid we used to have one of those as well" Lisa smiles as she remembers the hot summer nineteen years ago.

Lisa swims to the other side of the pool and sits down next to Jessica.

"You really manage too surprise me time and time again" she smiles.

"I sometimes am surprised about myself as well…never thought I would end up in a private swimming pool with you and Sue".

"And is it that bad?"

"No…it's one of the best things which happened to me in my life"

Lisa kisses Jessica on her cheek and smiles.

"Ooooh, auntie Lis is kissing auntie Jess!" Sue shouts.

"And how about I will kiss you?" Lisa teases as she moves herself in Sue's direction.

"Noooo, no kissies!" Sue giggles and tries to avoid being caught by going under water.

"Oh yes I will" Lisa plays and goes under water as well and starts to tickle her little niece.

"Shouting of laughter Sue emerges and Lisa grabs her by her side".

"Having fun?"

"I never want to go back home!" Sue once more shouts enthusiastically.

Jessica watches the whole scene and just smiles…"I never want to go back home….and that is exactly how a little girl should feel during her holiday".

---

Another day passes and at the end of the afternoon of yet another hot and humid day, Jessica is standing in the kitchen preparing dinner.

As usual she has put a chair next to the kitchen sink so she can put her left knee on it which enables her to stand up in a more comfortable way.

Lisa is again at work and is not expected to be home early this day.

"What's for dinner?" Sue asks as she sees Jessica cutting onions and sweet peppers".

"Jambalaya" Jessica replies as she is chopping up another onion.

"Jamba-what?"

"Jambalaya, it's Cajun food…..originates from New Orleans" Jessica explains.

"I never had a Cajun for dinner….how does it taste?"

"No, Cajuns are people who live in Louisiana and have their own style of food…I think you'll like it".

"Is it hot?" Sue once more asks.

"No, don't worry; I won't put too much black and cayenne pepper in it".

"Auntie Jess?"

"Yes sweetie".

"Shouldn't Patty and Selma have dinner as well?"

"Patty and Selma?…Ow, damn….I almost forgot to feed them" Jessica realizes herself.

"I can give them dinner if it's OK with you".

"You?…Do you know how to do it?"

"Yep, I have done it plenty of times with auntie Lis…the food is in the barn next to her bicycle and I have to fill their feed-box till it's half full".

"Well…OK; will you also check if they have got enough fresh water?"

"Sure I will!" Sue shouts as she runs off towards the barn.

Jessica continues to cut the vegetables and meat she needs for her dish till she suddenly hears the voice of Sue shouting "Patty come back here!".

"Owww shit, this doesn't sound good"

And just as Jessica has washed her hands and grabbed her crutch, Sue comes running into the kitchen shouting "auntie Jess, auntie Jess; Patty has escaped!".

"How did that happen?"

"I opened up the door and suddenly she ran off!"

When the both of them arrive at the front side of the cottage, they see Patty already has head to the banks at the side of the road and starts to graze some grass.

"Catching a midget goat…..how the hell am I going to catch a midget goat on one and a half leg?" Jessica mumbles to herself as she wonders about the tactic she is going to use to catch the little black and white grazing animal.

"OK Sue, now you go to the left and I go to the right; you need to make her come to me so I can catch her".

Slowly they move into position, but Patty apparently sees what they are up to and takes a run.

A second attempt is made and a third one, a fourth one; but every time the apparently with a tactical insight gifted midget goat escapes.

"This isn't going to work….Sue get the bag of goat food or whatever your aunt is feeding them; perhaps that will do the trick!"

Sue runs back to the barn to get the food while Jessica tries to make Patty turn back into the direction of the cottage.

Another attempt is made, this time with the use of food which once again ends up in a total failure as the grass at the banks of the road is considered as more tasty compared to the dry stuff the little piece of cattle has to eat every day.

Slowly Jessica is loosing her temper as what ever she tries, Patty won't let herself be caught.

Another tactic is tried, this time with a rope and for a moment it seemed to work.

Unfortunately, neither Jessica nor Sue are very experienced with using a rope as a lasso and despite the fact one time the rope was partially over the head of the midget goat; she shook her head and the lasso was gone.

Limping at a high pace on a leg which starts to hurt more and more, Jessica now tries the direct approach once more: with very little success.

"I swear; the moment I'll get you, I'll call the Chinese restaurant and ask what they will charge to turn you into a dish!"

"Are we gonna eat Patty instead of Jambalaya?".

"Quite possible!"

"But...but...I don't want to eat Patty!" Sue moans.

"She'll taste great!" Jessica hisses while loosing her patience with the tactical master mind on four hoofs.

Twenty minutes later and over half a mile up the road, Jessica leans with one arm against a tree as she tries to get her breath back.

"Alright goat, you wanna play it rough!?….Then we're gonna play it rough!…..Com' ere goddammit!"

"Ohhhh, auntie Jess, that's a very bad word!"

"I know sweetie, but at the moment auntie Jess is that much pissed off , she doesn't care about it anymore!"

Jessica's words didn't made a lot of impression as Patty continues to graze in a relaxed way a little over a hundred yards away up the road.

"This means fucking war!" Jessica hisses between her teeth and once more limps in the direction of the midget goat.

Apparently the grass and weeds are very tasty at the location where she is grazing, as Jessica finally manages to approach her to a distance of just several yards.

But when Jessica comes too close, Patty turns around and wants to make a run for it.

"No fucking way!" Jessica hisses and with all the strength she has in her right leg, she jumps on the little animal.

The result of Jessica's dive can be more or less considered as successful as she lands right next to it, manages to grab one of the legs and then rolls into the ditch next to the road….Jessica first and Patty landing on top of her.

The sound of two bodies landing in mud and water, a loud high pitched bleat and a very profound "fuck!" mark the end of Patty's travel along the more rural roads around Springfield.

"The rope, gimme the fucking rope!" Jessica shouts while holding Patty down in the mud.

Sue quickly descends the steep slope at the side of the ditch; a bit too quick as she looses her balance and falls sideways into the water and mud in front of Jessica and the midget goat.

Patty, trying to take advantage of the whole thing, once more sees an opportunity to make a run for it; but hasn't taken the fact Jessica has gone more or less berserk into account as immediately her head is pushed down into the mud and water which results in an even more profound series of swear words and high pitched gargling bleating.

Half an hour later, after being thoroughly cleaned with the garden hose, a clean but soaking wet Patty once more is behind the fence.

"I think next time I better feed them" Jessica states businesslike.

"Are you angry at me now?" Sue asks nervously.

"No sweetie, I'm not angry at you but you did something rather clumsy.

"I…I didn't want her to escape…it was an accident" the little girl starts to sob.

"Aww Sue, there is no need to cry, we all sometimes do clumsy things" Jessica tries to comfort her.

"But…but you were so angry at Patty and you even wanted to eat her".

"No sweetie, I just lost my temper because we couldn't catch her and because my leg started to hurt so much".

"Is that because of that big scar you got on it?"

"Yes it is, now come on; we need to clean ourselves as well".

At the back door Jessica and Sue strip down to their underwear so the they won't spread the mud and other dirt all through the house.

Upstairs in the shower Jessica opens the water tap and feels if the water isn't too hot.

"Alright, now you take a shower first and when you are finished I will wash myself".

Sue hesitates for a moment and nervously watches the warm water coming from the sprinkler.

"Auntie Jess…I don't…don't know very well yet ho to do this".

"Your mother is still bathing you?"

"Uh..yes…I have washed myself only once or twice and mommy said I didn't do it very well…especially my hair".

A bit of an awkward feeling comes up in Jessica; despite her history, being completely nude with seven year old girl under a shower is something different and just doesn't feel completely right.

But one way or another, Sue needs to be cleaned up and as she isn't able to do it all by herself; there is very little choice left.

"Do you want to help me wash myself auntie Jess?" Sue asks feeling pretty much ashamed because she still can't do it herself.

"Hey, it's not a shame you can't do it yourself yet; you're just seven years old….take off your underwear, I'll wash you" Jessica responds with a comforting voice and smile on her face.

A few minutes later Jessica and Sue are under the shower washing the mud and dirt off their bodies.

"Do you know how to wash your body?"

"A bit" Sue replies still rather ashamed.

"Alright, now take a good look" and Jessica grabs a sponge, puts some shower gel on it and gently starts to wash Sue's arms.

"You'll start with your arms, and then you go to your chest and tummy" she explains.

"Then you go to your back and after that you'll work your way down to your legs.

After Jessica has washed Sue completely she hands the sponge over.

"First you put some showering gel on it and then you'll start with your?"

"Arms" Sue adds and puts a bit of shower gel on the sponge.

"You can put a bit more on it, don't you want to have a nice amount of foam?"

"Carefully the little girl puts some more gel on her sponge and starts to wash her arms".

"Now go to your back".

"I can't reach it, my arms are too short" Sue almost apologizes herself.

"Just use both your arms and go over your shoulders and under your arms" Jessica continues to explain with a comforting smile on her face.

"You see, there you go".

Sue starts to get a bit more confidence and works her way down her body with the sponge.

"Now it's my turn, just look again how I do it".

Slowly Jessica starts to wash her own body and explains step by step again how it's done.

"Auntie Jess?….What's that picture on your tummy?"

"That's a dragonfly Sue…..I got that picture when I was a teenager".

"But won't you wash it off then?"

"No, it's a tattoo, the ink is in my skin so it can't be washed off".

"I didn't know you could have pics all over your body; daddy has a few of those on his arms but they aren't as pretty as this one".

Once more Jessica just smiles as the memories connected to the tattooed dragonfly aren't all that positive and continues to wash her body.

A quarter of an hour later the both of them are finished and Jessica is drying off Sue.

"You see how easy it is?"

"Yeah, but washing my hair under the sprinkler is a bit scary".

"Don't worry sweetie, that's just a matter of getting used to…you really did a very good job".

Sue blushes a bit as she is overloaded with compliments.

"You explained it way better then mommy did….mommy gets angry very fast when I don't understand things".

"Well, perhaps your mommy just has very little time, but she sure loves you"

"Yeah….I think she does" Sue replies with a bit of a bland tone in her voice.

The way Sue replies to Jessica's remark about her mother makes her wonder about how things actually are between Sue and her mother, but decides not to ask any further questions about it.

Every time Nikki is mentioned, Sue becomes more quiet and almost a certain nervousness can be seen in her eyes.

When she is with her father however, she is just her normal self and the more Jessica thinks about it, the more she gets an uncomfortable but very well known feeling about it.

"How do you want to have your hair?" she changes the subject to avoid any further awkwardness.

"I want to have a ponytail, can you do that?"

"Then one ponytail coming up!"

---

Like it is with all good things, they all come to an end.

It has been a wonderful week for Sue: playing in the swimming pool, a trip to the summer evening market in Springfield with Jessica and several short bike trips with Lisa when she came home from work.

The evening before Sue will return home, Jessica is putting her in bed.

"Is the fan at the right place?" She asks the little girl to make sure the cool artificial breeze is blowing all over her body.

Sue nods silently.

"Auntie Jess?….Can I stay longer with you and auntie Lis?" she eventually asks with a sad voice.

Jessica smiles and sits down on the edge of the bed.

"Aww sweetie, I wish you could stay a little longer as well but your mommy and daddy want you back home".

"I don't wanna go back home" Sue once more replies softly.

"Why not?…You will see Peter and your mommy and daddy again, as well as your friends" Jessica tries to comfort the little girl.

"Auntie Jess, I don't want to go home…I want to stay with you" she starts to sob.

Jessica takes Sue in her arms and softly caresses her back.

"Hey, there will be more holidays to come and then you can stay here again" she continues to comfort.

"Shall I ask a very special little friend of mine if he wants you to keep company tonight?"

"You…you got a little friend?"

"Yes, he always comforted me when I had to cry when I was a little girl; shall I get him for you?"

Sue just nods, wondering who Jessica is talking about.

A few moments later Jessica sits again on the edge of Sue's bed and shows Effie to her.

"This is Effie, my special little friend; when auntie Jess was a little girl she cried a lot as well and Effie always comforted me".

"Effie is also a very brave little diesel locomotive, he once saved auntie Jess' live when she had a very bad accident".

Sue looks at the pink plush diesel locomotive and sees the dent at its side made by the steering wheel of Jessica's Corvette.

"Did Effie get wounded during that accident as well?"

"Yes, but Effie is strong and just like me, he now has a scar" Jessica smiles and puts Effie in Sue's arms.

"Is it because of that why you can't walk very well?'

Jessica nods "Yes, when I had that accident I hurt my leg very bad".

"Will…will your leg get better so you can walk again normally?"

"No sweetie, my leg was so badly damaged that I will always have to walk with a crutch" .

"Always?"

"Yes, always" Jessica continues with a soft voice and a smile on her face.

Sue once more starts to sob softly and clings herself on to Jessica.

"Aww, it's ok sweetie".

"I want to stay with you auntie Jess" the little girl once more cries.

"But when you stay with me your mommy and daddy will be so sad….and your little brother".

"Not my mommy"

"Not your mommy?….Why not her?….I'm sure she loves you very much".

"No she doesn't!"

"She always yells at me and Peter and sometimes she locks us up in the cupboard in the hall…then she shouts she never wanted us".

"What?…what did you say?"

"When daddy is at work she gets angry about everything…when daddy is at home she is different".

"Mommy doesn't love us…that is why I want to stay with you and auntie Lis….and perhaps Peter could stay with you as well" Sue now almost whispers.

Jessica doesn't know what to say and a mixed feeling of sorrow and anger starts to well up in her".

She presses Sue against her chest and kisses the little girl's red hair.

For almost half an hour Sue lies in her arms and eventually the little girl falls asleep.

Gently Jessica puts her down in the bed, puts the bed sheet over her and Effie next to the pillow.

Softly she leaves the room and heads downstairs.

"That took a while, have you been reading her a few bedtime stories?" Lisa asks.

But Jessica doesn't reply and just sighs deeply as she sits down in the garden chair and lights a cigarette.

"Sue asked me if she could stay with us".

"Now isn't that a tremendous compliment for what you all did for her….you know how little kids are when it comes to that" Lisa smiles.

Jessica sighs deeply again and shakes her head.

"No….it's not like that…I wish that was the case".

"How do you mean?"

Jessica just shakes her head as she blows out the smoke of her cigarette.

"Jess, what did Sue tell you?" Lisa asks with a more worried and persisting tone.

"She told me Nikki sometimes locks her and her brother up in a closet….that she yells a lot at them and that she never wanted them…..that she treats them like that only when Bart is not at home".

"She's afraid of her mother Lisa!…..She asked me if she and her little brother could stay with us".

"W…what?…are you sure?"

"There is something wrong with my leg, not with my ears".

A silence falls over the garden and both women just stare to the ground.

"You know….the sad thing is that it actually doesn't really surprise me that much" Lisa eventually remarks.

"Nikki has been suffering all her life from these violent mood swings….one moment she is normal and perfectly reasonable and the other moment she's a fury and an unguided projectile".

"Why can't children just be children….why can't they just be who they are" Jessica hisses.

"Why do their parents fuck them up, hurt them…abandon them…..don't let them play like they want to".

"Do they all want their kids end up like a whore…or worse!?"

Jessica's eyes turn black of rage and with one violent swing she wipes the ashtray off the table.

"What is so fucking difficult about loving your kids!?…..What is so difficult about caring for them!?…..Noooo, when they won't do what you like them to do you just put them in a fucking closet or dump them on a fucking boarding school!"

"Jess, easy….easy…this has no use" Lisa tries to calm her down.

"She just wants to play Lisa…just wants to play…like I wanted just to play…nothing more…and once more it's the cunt who gave birth to you who doesn't allow it" Jessica continues while tears start to emerge in her eyes.

"Hush now Jess…hush…you're safe…you're with me" Lisa comforts her while putting her arms around her.

"I can't help it Lis….I just can't help it….she clung on to me like she should do to her mother….but she can't….as that bitch just puts her in a closet while she should hold her" Jessica now sobs.

"You have any idea how cold and lonely such a thing is?…..When you just want to have a bit of warmth from the one who should love you the most?….Should love you no matter what?"

"So cold Lisa…it's so cold" Jessica whispers as she calms down.

"Why did Bart marry her?….He could have done so much better".

Lisa sighs deeply as she takes her arms off Jessica and picks a cigarette out of her package.

"You know how Bart was in his teenage years: wild and pretty popular with the girls…..sometimes he had another girlfriend every other month".

"Nikki was a 'disco queen' and pretty hard to get….Bart eventually managed, you know how he liked such challenges".

"At first glance they seemed a pretty nice couple and things became more serious between the both of them…..bit too serious if you ask me because suddenly she was pregnant".

"I've always wondered if she didn't trick him when it comes about that….but anyway, despite Bart being who he is, he took his responsibility as he felt he had to care for his child and asked Nikki to marry him".

"Sue was born a few months after the marriage and things seemed to be rather fine…and I think they were really rather fine, despite Nikki still had her mood swings".

"But things started to change when Sue was two years old, Nikki started to claim Bart more and more as well her mood swings became more violent and frequent…..it was their first marital crisis and you might say that Peter is the result of when they made things up together and gave it another try".

"Bart's marriage is everything except perfect….but he stays with her because of his kids".

"But why doesn't he leave her with them?….I mean, he must know what she is doing to them".

"I don't know Jess….I don't know if he actually knows; Bart and I grew apart since he married….we had our own lives and problems".

"And I suppose it isn't such a surprise that Nikki and I aren't exactly best friends….for her I am a nerdish dyke and for me she is a paranoid bitch who took advantage of my brother".

"Yeah…Sue mentioned something like that when she heard them fighting" Jessica adds.

"No idea how things exactly are over there….Bart never tells anything about it".

"But we can't let this continue Lisa…she is abusing her children!"

"I agree on that, but what do want to do?…..Child welfare will only come into action when there is actual proof of abuse….bruises and such things, I have seen myself how it works at the hospital" Lisa helplessly sighs.

"We could tell Bart" Jessica states.

"Bart….and who is going to do it?…..He'll never believe one of us and it will be our word against Nikki's".

"Besides, he immediately will accuse me of trying to blow up his marriage…and we both know how he thinks about you" Lisa continues.

"We should tell Marge and Homer….perhaps they can do something".

Lisa shakes her head "same story, Bart has more or less alienated from them as well…as well he knows that especially mom is not fond about her daughter in law; it would lead to the same result as when I would tell him".

"I can't let this happen Lisa…..I just can't allow these two children going down the same road I went".

"Neither can I, but the only thing we can do at the moment is to try to keep an eye on things and hope they won't get worse".

"I won't settle for this, I just won't!"

"But how Jessica?…What can we do?"

"Don't know how or what…but I will do something!".

"Jess, don't let this whole thing escalate….the kids will be the ones who will pay the price".

"Still, I think your parents should know".

"OK, I agree on that, but for now the only thing we can do is to try to keep an eye on things".

For a moment Jessica is silent and thinks about the consequences of her potential acts.

Frustrated she shakes her head and lights another cigarette while reluctantly admitting Lisa does have a point.

"I'll be good, I won't stir up any trouble when they will pick up Sue tomorrow" she eventually sighs.

Lisa just replies with a nod and for a few moments there once more is a silence.

"Remember I told you had a caring nature?" Lisa suddenly smiles at Jessica.

"Yeah…I guess you were right after all".

---

A week goes by and Jessica is sitting on the couch watching the rain falling into the swimming pool.

The hot weather of the last few weeks has been driven away by dark clouds, lots of rain and relative lowe temperatures for the time of the year.

Loud complaining about the weather conditions, Snowball quickly enters the kitchen through the cat flap and leaves a track muddy foot prints all through it and into the living room.

Bottom, who is asleep on Jessica's lap, opens his green eyes for a moment and then continues his daily afternoon nap.

Jessica softly caresses the head of the big black tomcat who slightly hesitatingly starts to purr.

A deep sigh, the sound of another cigarette lighted, followed by a cloud of blue gray smoke which drifts away in the direction of the ceiling.

Lisa is at work; still replacing her colleague whose illness took a little longer as initially expected.

It's silent in the cottage and Jessica's thoughts start to wander off once more to the little red head girl.

Despite the fact she knew Sue for just a short time, the little girl managed to touch her; touch her in a way she never could have imagined a year ago and for the first time in her life Jessica actually wonders how it would be to be a mother herself.

Again silently she stares to the ashtray on the coffee table as she knows she could have been the mother of a ten year old child herself.

The abortion she had when she was nineteen; she had no choice as she never could have taken care of a child back then; but still it makes her wonder how it would have been.

She told Lisa about what happened during the days when she was walking the streets and got all the support and understanding for the fact she terminated her own pregnancy.

But deep inside it still is a scar which just starts to hurt when certain feelings are triggered.

How would her life been when her mother just would have treated her the way a mother should treat her child?

"Mother" Jessica sighs bitterly while blowing out a large cloud of smoke and thinks about the evening before Sue had to go back home and was crying.

The next day she met Nikki and despite she was bas behaving perfectly normal: Jessica saw how silent Sue was when her stuff was loaded into the trunk of the car.

For one reason or another she saw something in Nikki's eyes, some kind of an unpredictable violent force which could make her change from a normal person and mother into an exploding volcano.

It was hard not to make remarks, or just bluntly ask why she treated her children the way Sue told her.

For the sake of Peter and Sue she kept her mouth shut and stayed friendly while praising Sue for being such a great girl.

Sue once more asked if she could stay again with her and Lisa the next time when she would have a holiday and if Peter could come with her as well.

Jessica enthusiastically replied positively to the question, but Nikki's respond was way more reserved and told her daughter that " they would see".

The invitation to come in for a cup of coffee also was turned down as they had ever so many things to do that day.

When Nikki and the kids had left, Jessica more or less exploded in rage and frustration as she couldn't do anything.

Again vague feelings of anger emerge in her as she sees the faces of these two kids and the almost cold and unpredictable eyes of their mother in front of her inner eye, but she also knows she can do very little about the whole situation.

"Hey, big guy….I need to get up to clean the mess your little girlfriend made on the floor".

Disturbed by the fact his 'bed' starts to move, Bottom slides off Jessica's lap and takes position in his usual corner on the couch.

A few minutes later Jessica is sitting on her knees mopping up the mud trace Snowball made earlier.

"Wonder when they will invent cat-slippers so they can put them on when they come in from outside…this is 'just' the fourth time today I am doing this…..yes madam, this is about you! " Jessica addresses Snowball who watches rather interested the cleaning activities from the dinner table.

Still following the trace all through the living room, the cleaning activities are interrupted by the sound of the door bell.

"Great…and who may this be?" Jessica grumbles as she is getting up from her knees.

When she opens the front door Bart is standing in front of her, holding in his hand a big bouquet of flowers.

"Uh…Hi Jessica…uh…can I come in?" He slightly awkwardly stammers.

"Bart?…Uh yeah…of course, come in…it's pouring outside".

In the living room the both of them sits down on the couch and Jessica nervously lights cigarette.

"Uh…I uh….I bought these for you" Bart still awkwardly stammers as he is holding up the bouquet of flowers.

"For me?"

"Uh…yeah….for you; I want to thank you for the great week you gave Sue…and uh….I think they are also a bit meant as uh…an apology".

Jessica doesn't know very well what to say as a bouquet of flowers given to her by Bart Simpson is almost the last thing she expected.

For a moment she watches the colorful flowers and reads the card attached to it which says 'thank you auntie Jess'.

A smile appears on her face as she recognizes the handwriting of the little girl.

"Actually there should have been two cards on it…..the other one saying 'sorry for behaving like a moron'" Bart adds.

Jessica looks Bart in the face and again nervously bytes her lower lip as she puts down the bouquet on the coffee table.

"It's…it's not really a surprise you reacted that way after what I have done to you in the past".

"You mean that whole history when you emptied the collection plate in your purse?"

Jessica watches to the ground and just nods.

Bart sighs deeply and shakes his head "woman, that was almost twenty years ago, we were just kids".

"Besides, I managed to get in quite a few situations which were way more awkward when I was a teenager" he continues with a slightly bad ass grin on his face.

"I still feel bad about it Bart; you were one of my first 'victims'….and actually you are the first 'victim' who I have to look straight in the face".

"Well, fact is that what you did wasn't really a testimony of good behavior and yes, you played a rather dirty trick on me…can't deny that, but does it mean that I have to hate you for the rest of my life?"

Jessica doesn't know how to respond and overcome with feelings of shame she just keeps looking at the floor.

"I've used so many people Bart…used them for my own good" she eventually replies.

"Uh…you mean the fact you used your looks to get what you wanted?"

"If that would have been the only thing….."

"Uh…yeah…you do have uh…a 'certain reputation' when it comes about that and I cannot deny it caused me to react the way I did".

"You were afraid I would use Lisa, weren't you?…..Or perhaps you still are".

Bart sighs deeply as Jessica is speaking the truth.

"Yes…I was and perhaps deep inside I partially still am, but my beliefs about who you actually are have been seriously challenged".

"I can understand that; I think I have a lot to prove in your eyes" Jessica acknowledges with a soft voice.

"You have been doing a pretty good job already" Bart replies with a gentle smile on his face while rolling a cigarette himself.

"Let me be honest with you; when I brought Sue I basically wanted to talk with you and I more or less expected you would tell me some kind of story in which you suddenly would have found out that you preferred women over men and paired up with Lisa because of that".

"My sister is a rather easy victim in such matters despite her intellect" he continues and tries to light his cigarette.

"Damn, I'm out of gas" he establishes as the lighter refuses to produce the much desired flame.

"Here, take mine"

Bart lights his cigarette and continues: " I have to admit I was more or less hoping to get into a brawl with you as it would prove that I was right and I could take Sue back home with me again".

"So…so you actually used Sue for some kind of test regarding me?"

"Uh…yeah…not really proud of it, but that was more or less the case".

"But…what but did you make decide Sue could stay with us?"

"Several things".

"It's more an accumulation of things which caused me to give things a little more elaborate thinking" Bart continues.

"Things like what?"

"The fact you didn't do what I more or less expected as well the fact not only Lisa, but also my mother and father supported you".

"When you ran away in tears when we were at my parents place wasn't quite what I expected to happen".

"I see….but what were you actually expecting I would do?"

"Well, more or less that you would behave a bit like a….uh….like a mundane diva…too clean, too affectionate, something like that…..a slut trying to impress…uh…a cheap woman trying to sell herself for too much money".

"Yeah…I kinda know what you mean" Jessica replies ashamed as Bart describes almost perfectly how she behaved when she was a teenager.

"But instead of that you broke out in tears and even ran off; something I would have never expected from you to do".

"No…no, not really…an arrogant smile…a vile remark…and then leaving the scene while sensually throwing my hips….something more like that?"

Bart nods as he puts off the ash of his cigarette into the ashtray.

"On the way back home, Sue also told me a few things you and dad have been talking about; well 'telling', was actually more blurting out what she had understood from the whole thing and later on I had a rather long phone conversation with mom as well".

"So that is why I eventually decided I at least could give it a try".

"When you told me about all the things which had happened to you in your life, as well how you and Lisa came together….it knocked me pretty much off my feet and was more or less the last drop which turned the balance of the benefit of the doubt in your favor".

"During the week Sue was with you and Lisa I visited my parents again and mom told me a few additional things as well….especially about how you nursed your father till the end".

"I could have made it all up; after all, I am considered to be a good actress" Jessica sneers to herself.

"Those are things you don't make up, not even a woman with your reputation".

"No…not really; although I wish it would have been the case as my life would have been a bit better compared to the heap of shit it has been till this far".

"Jessica can I ask you a question?….All the things you did for Sue, did you do them to make things up with me?"

"No….no, what I did for Sue has nothing to do with you….that was just for her".

"Sue touched me, there was this instant 'click' when I saw her the first time, despite I was sitting in tears next to your father on the couch".

"She's such a great kid: her spontaneity, her blabbing, the fact she is a bit of a tomboy….. I think it also has got something to do because she reminds me of the little girl I was myself; before I was sent to boarding school".

Bart smiles as Jessica describes his daughter pretty well.

"You made quite an impression on Sue too" he continues with a smile on his face.

"What did she tell about me?" Jessica asks slightly awkwardly as she knows she didn't behave always quite exemplary when Sue was with her.

"Everything!" Bart grins.

"Everything?….She told you about the beach?"

"Yep".

"And what I told that woman?"

"In detail".

"And also about the escaped goat?"

"Every word of it and also about Lisa had a sore tummy" Bart replies with still a very bad grin on his face.

"Wouldn't have mind seeing you with Patty in that ditch….who'd ever thought of that; you in the mud with a little girl while holding a midget goat down!" he now laughs out loud.

"Uh…yeah, not quite my most elegant moment" Jessica replies with a faint smile as she knows all to well on which contradiction the whole irony of the situation is based.

"You really gave her a great time and she is really fond of you" Bart acknowledges once more with a big smile.

"She already is asking if she can stay with the both of you during the next holiday….and not only her, she managed to convince her little brother of the fact that things are great at auntie Lis and auntie Jess' place.".

Jessica replies with a bit of a shy smile because of all the positive words from Bart.

"Your kids are everything for you, aren't they?"

"Yeah, they sure are; Sue is my little red headed pride and joy, well Peter too of course, but fathers and daughters are always something special".

Once more Jessica replies with a smile as she knows what Bart is talking about.

"Sue has the looks of her mother but her character reminds me a lot of how Maggie was at that age" he continues.

"Peter is different, he is more silent and thinks about things before taking action; a bit more like his Grandfather Brodie but not that uptight".

"He tends to be satisfied rather easily, when things are alright it's fine with him while his sister keeps on going".

"Those two are the best thing which ever happened to me".

"I guess the both of them can be quite a handful from time to time".

"Yeah…but that's OK, I can handle them".

"Well, you're not alone, your wife is there as well to look after them".

"Yeah…yeah she is, but Nikki is often very busy with her shop….anyway, she manages" Bart replies slightly blandish to Jessica's remark.

The conversation between the both of them more or less dies the moment Nikki is mentioned.

Jessica nervously lights a cigarette as she realizes this might be the moment to tell Bart about what Sue told her.

"She told you, didn't she?" Bart finally remarks still with a bland voice.

"Who told me what?"

"Lisa….about the fact my marriage is everything except perfect".

"Uh…yeah…she told me a few things about you and Nikki" Jessica awkwardly admits.

Again a silence fills the room and Bart sighs a few times while staring at the ceiling.

"My marriage still exists because of Sue and Peter; they need a mother and a father".

"Nikki and I had some good times together in the beginning, but it went all downhill when Peter was born….things didn't go that great anymore in her shop and the medication to keep her mood swings under control no longer did the job".

"I'm…I'm so sorry to hear this Bart".

"Yeah, me too" Bart almost cynically replies.

"Look, I don't want to discuss the state of my marriage with you, not because it's you but because I just don't want to talk about it".

"It's OK Bart, those are private things".

"Yeah….private things" Bart sighs and again the conversation comes to a halt.

"Anyway, I wanted you to thank for what you did for Sue; trust me when I say that it's really appreciated….I guess it's now time for me to go home".

Bart puts out his cigarette in the ashtray and gets up from the couch.

"Bart, wait….before you go; there is something I think you need to know".

"What do I need to know?"

"It's…it's something Sue told me the evening before she left…it's something about…about Nikki".

"About Nikki?….What did Sue tell you about her mother?"

"Bart, you are probably gonna hate me for what I am going to tell you now…but I just can't keep it to myself; you need to know this…for the sake of the children".

Bart sits down again and looks Jessica straight in the face.

"What's going on?….What do I need to know about Nikki and the kids?" he asks with a rather suspicious tone in his voice.

Jessica takes a deep breath, bites nervously her lover lip and starts to tell about how Sue wanted to stay with her and Lisa because of her mother.

"Initially I thought it was the normal thing of a kid who didn't want to go back home until she explained to me why".

"She told me Nikki is yelling a lot at her and Peter when you are not at home" Jessica continues.

"That's hardly a surprise she does such thing; Sue can be quite a handful and Nikki isn't exactly known for her patience and calm nature….not to mention how things can be combined with Peter but…."

"But what?"

Bart shakes his head: "I never expected that it would have such an effect on Sue….this is not good, not good at all".

"Did she tell her what Nikki yells at her?"

"That she never wanted to have them…that's what Sue told me when she was sobbing in my arms".

For a moment Bart doesn't know want to say and his eyes try to find something to fixate on.

"What…what kind of game are you trying to play now Jessica?" he replies with a cold voice full of rage.

"I…I'm not playing any game Bart….and the worst thing I even haven't told you" Jessica stammers as she sees how Bart's eyes are getting bigger and bigger.

"Bart…please….this is not about you and me…this is about Sue and Peter….. please believe me".

"I just have told you my marriage is one big mess and are you now trying to give it the final push so it collapses!?…..Just to have a bit of fun again!?" Bart fumes with rage.

"To have a bit of fun?…..Did you just say 'to have a bit of fun!?'" Jessica repeats as she feels the adrenaline level in her blood rising.

She gets up from the couch, limps towards Bart and slaps him with her bare hand straight in the face".

"Now listen you mister cowa-mother-fucking-bunga kid!….This is not about you or me!…This is about your kids!…Yes, about the fact that woman who you call your wife locks them into the closet in the hall when you are not around!….Now what kind of a father are you huh!?…..The kind who allows his nutcase wife to do such things to his kids, you piece of shit!"

"Your daughter was afraid to go back home because of that cunt and God only knows what she is doing to them right now!….Use your fucking brains you dick and think about them, instead of focusing your fantasies on what I might be up to!…..Which is nothing by the way, unless it's about that girl who was crying while she was lying in my arms!" Jessica now goes completely berserk.

"And I warn you mister, I may be a whore, I may be a slut….but if you don't take care of things: I fucking will!".

Completely flabbergasted, Bart stares straight in Jessica's eyes which have become large and black.

"She…she…she locks them up in….in the closet in the hall?" is the only thing he can stammer out at that moment.

"Is there something wrong with your fucking ears!?…Do I need to draw you a picture of it!?" Jessica once more roars.

"You…you're serious about it…aren't you?"

"Jesus Christ Bart!….You really don't get it, do you?"

"My…my children are locked in a closet….no…no, this can't be true" Bart keeps stammering in utter disbelief.

For a while he sits almost paralyzed at the couch; sometimes he watches Jessica with big eyes which are full of disbelief and sorrow.

Sometimes he tries to speak, but the overwhelming emotions block his voice.

Jessica, who has calmed down a bit as well, sits down next to him and grabs Bart's package of tobacco and rolls a cigarette for him.

"Here, I think you need this one pretty bad" she remarks as she puts the cigarette between his lips.

Almost automatically Bart lights the cigarette and just shakes his head while he inhales the smoke.

"Jess…I…this…this can't be true…she…she is their mother" he stammers as he fights his tears.

"Bart, I saw the fear and despair in Sue's eyes….she clung on to me that evening like she should do with her mother".

Bart again sighs and shakes his head while pressing his eyes shut.

"She's a borderline case Jess….her moods can swing in the blink of an eye….I always thought she would never take it out on Peter and Sue…..I never noticed anything".

"That evening…Sue told me these things only happen when you are not at home; it happens when you are at work" Jessica explains as she put her arm around the devastated father.

"And…and for how long are they locked inside…did she tell you this?

"No…she didn't ….she only told me it sometimes happens".

"Goddammit Jess, what can I do?….I'm stuck!…The moment I leave and go for a divorce I got my fucking father and mother in law on my neck who will gut me".

"These two are both lawyers and they will never allow me to have custody of my children" Bart continues desperately.

"How is your relation with your in-laws?"

"Not good, not bad….my father in law isn't such a bad guy; my mother in law….we get along, but that's it".

"But I can't imagine they would allow their daughter to do such things to their grand children?"

Bart replies by just shrugging.

"Look, perhaps you should try to take care of things within your marriage first….I mean, not immediately go for a divorce; just calm down and think things over a bit".

"It can't be Nikki always behaves in such way towards them...she must have good moments as well; she's their mother".

"I can't let this continue Jessica!"

"No, you can't, but when you don't play things clever Peter and Sue will pay the price and you will probably loose them".

"But couldn't Nikki go into therapy or something like that?….I mean, like I said: she is their mother".

"Not a chance, according to Nikki there is nothing wrong with her".

"Right…we're dealing with one of those cases".

"She…she isn't hitting them, isn't she?…Because if she does…I…I will…"

"No, she's not…Sue didn't mention anything about that and I couldn't see any bruises on her body when we were in the shower" Jessica cuts Bart's words off.

"What the fuck can I do to make this stop?…I….I can't do anything!"

"Well, for a start you could make sure the lock of that closet in your hall doesn't work anymore and if there are other closets she can lock them in….keys do disappear sometimes, you know".

"Yeah…yeah, that's something I could do….in that way she can't lock them anymore".

Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but you might give it some thoughts to go home at moments when she thinks you're at work….or perhaps ask your parents if they can pay Nikki occasionally an unexpected visit….or even your in-laws".

"When you, or one of them catches Nikki red handed; then things are clear and steps can be taken".

"But…but I can't allow this to continue Jess!….I have to do something!"

"Play it smart, use you brains and perhaps save your marriage as well".

"My marriage?…..There is no marriage anymore!….How can you expect me to stay with a woman who does such things?"

"Then do it for your children goddammit!…..You are not alone in this Bart, Lisa and I will be there for you as well as Marge and Homer".

"Mom will go berserk when she hears all this and dad….he's capable to drive straight to Ogdenville, drive his car through the wall of my house and take the kids with him…after he strangled me first for the fact I'm a lousy father…..and he's right about that".

"Uh uh mister, we're not going in that direction now!"

Bart once more just shrugs while staring at the floor.

"I better go now" he eventually remarks with a sad and dull voice as he gets up from the couch.

Jessica nods and grabs her crutch to let him out.

"Hey, don't do any stupid things" she urges when the both of them are standing in front of the front door.

"No…I won't".

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure….don't worry about it".

Bart opens the front door but instead of walking to his car he turns himself around and watches Jessica straight in her eyes.

"Before I go, I just want to ask you one more thing".

"Ok, just ask" Jessica replies calmly.

"Tell me Jessica, who are you?"

A faint smile appears on Jessica's face and for a moment she thinks about how to reply to his question.

"Who I am?….I am me, Jessica Lovejoy….a woman who almost discovered too late who she really is".