Yay! Longer chapter. I really like this chapter. I hope that you guys will. I'm not sure if this was the best way to do it, but it was the idea that I had. Let me know what you think. Like I said, I like it. But I'm not sure how you'll feel about it. And thank you so much for all the reviews!

I could smell Andy's cooking as soon as I opened the front door, even though he was on the back deck, grilling up some surf and turf for lunch. He must have kept the sliding glass door open. As annoying as it was to have Mom and Andy around with the threat of Thomas showing up anytime, I really appreciated Andy's cooking. Jesse and I usually cooked our meals together – I still wasn't talented in the kitchen – but our meals seemed like fast food compared to Andy's.

"That smells amazing, Andy!" I yelled to him, as Jesse and I sat down on the sofa.

"It'll be ready in about fifteen minutes," he called back.

"Thanks!"

Mom came in from the guest bedroom – ironically, the room she and Andy used to share when the house belonged to them was now our main guest room. "How was the funeral?" she asked.

I sighed, wishing she hadn't said anything. Jesse looked pained. His guilt had only intensified at the service, but he'd insisted on going to pay his respects. I'd gone mostly because I wanted to be there in case Thomas showed up and tried anything. I did want to talk to him, too. But I had a feeling that talking wouldn't do much good. We'd already tried it several times, and had gotten nowhere. And after yesterday's visit, he seemed more furious than ever. I hadn't made anything better when I took the girls to see him. If anything, I'd probably made it worse. Just my luck.

"It was a funeral, Mom. It was sad."

We hadn't seen Thomas there, which had surprised me. I was sure he would show up to the funeral, at least. But he wasn't there at all. At least, as far as I could tell, he wasn't there. Jesse said he thought he'd felt him, but he didn't see him, either. "That's too bad about that poor little girl. How did you know her again?"

"She was one of my patients."

Mom patted his shoulder gently. "I'm so sorry, Jesse. Do either of you need anything?" I shook my head. "I'll go out and help Andy finish up lunch, then. Oh, by the way, Brad is bringing the girls over. They're eating with us. They should be here any minute."

I groaned. This was another reason I didn't particular like her being here. She just kind of...arranged things, without consulting me first. "Mom. You invited Brad to my house without asking me first?"

"Yes, I did. Debbie isn't coming, though. She's not feeling well again, poor girl. This pregnancy is really hard on her."

I sighed as she went out back. I wasn't really looking forward to having a house full of guests, but at least I didn't have to deal with Debbie on top of everything else. "Maybe something I said to Thomas yesterday made an impact on him," I said hopefully, keeping my voice low. I didn't need my mom or Andy hearing this conversation. I didn't really believe what I was saying, but I couldn't help but to hope. "Maybe he has moved on. The funeral might have given him the closure he needed. He might have realized that it would be better to move on and join his daughter rather than hang on to his anger and idea of revenge."

Jesse shook his head. "He was still angry. I don't think he's given up. He still wants to kill me."

"Well, maybe we shouldn't have a big family party out in the backyard. We're completely vulnerable out there."

"You said he didn't attack while you had the triplets with you. I doubt he'll do anything with them here. You don't need to worry. We'll be fine."

I didn't really believe him. It wasn't me that he hated so passionately. It was Jesse. I didn't really think that having the girls here would stop him from trying to kill Jesse. He hated him way too much. He might not have attacked me in front of the girls, but his anger wasn't directed at me. But before I could say anything, the front door opened.

"Aunt Suze! Uncle Jesse!" three voices chorused. And then my stepnieces were jumping onto the sofa with me and Jesse.

Jesse winced as he was jostled, probably aggravating his healing ribs. "Hello," he greeted politely. He was always polite to the girls, even when they were irritating him or causing him pain.

He was going to be a good dad. But I'd known that for a while. Jesse was good at everything he did.

"Food's ready!" Andy yelled.

The triplets took off again, racing each other to the back deck, pushing and yelling as they went. Brad, watching them, shook his head. "You gave them sugar, didn't you?" I asked him.

He shrugged, looking a little bashful. "A little."

"Debbie will kill you if she ever finds out," I warned. I was usually the one who let them have sugar, and I always caught hell for it. If I got caught. Which, to be honest, I hardly ever did. I knew how to get those girls to burn that sugar off. I was working on teaching them self-defense during some of our mediator lessons, so they went home exhausted some days.

"I don't plan on telling her. What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Yeah, until they get home and she notices that they're bouncing off the walls," I said.

Brad scowled at that. He knew I was right. If he didn't want them hyper when he went home, he was going to have to chase them around enough to wear them out. He would never admit that I was right, though. Instead, he followed his daughters out back. After another moment, Jesse and I tagged along and joined the rest of the family in dishing up our plates.

I had just barely gotten my plate when something heavy and solid rammed into me, knocking me to the edge of the deck. The plate, with my food, flew through the air and landed in a mess on the grass.

Thomas Clarke.

"Susannah," my mom exclaimed, which showed just how surprised she was – she never called me by my first name. It had to look pretty strange from her perspective. To her, it would seem like I just randomly pitched forward several feet and fallen onto my back.

I didn't respond, though, because…Well, what would I say? I couldn't explain this one. Thomas had me pinned down, and looked ready to kill me. Why me, you might ask? Why wasn't he trying to kill Jesse, who he blamed for his daughter's death? Why did he go after me first?

I had no answer for that.

"Susannah!" Jesse started moving toward me, ready to rescue me because he was just that kind of guy. He was glaring at Thomas, but he wasn't moving too quickly. I was sure that he didn't want to startle the ghost into hurting me. "Release her, Thomas. Now."

Andy, Brad, and my mom looked totally confused. Great. I had no idea how I was going to explain this one. "Who the hell is Thomas?" Brad demanded.

Mopsy put her little hands on her hips, glaring. "Hey, mister," she said. "Let go of my Aunt Suze."

"Who are you talking to, Emily?" Brad wanted to know.

Thomas didn't let go of me. He looked down at me with hatred. "He killed the most important thing in my world. So I'm going to kill the most important thing in his world. He's going to suffer like I suffered." And then he wrapped his hands around my throat. "You."

Oh, lovely. He'd decided to change tactics.

"Don't hurt Aunt Suze!" the triplets yelled, as Thomas began squeezing. I was kicking him, trying to get him off, but it wasn't doing me any good. The girls began running toward the NCDP.

My eyes widened. "Jesse," I choked out, with the little breath I had left. "The girls."

Jesse looked torn. I knew he wanted more than anything to come and help me, but he couldn't risk Mopsy, Flopsy, and Cottontail getting hurt. They were more important. I knew it just about destroyed him to do it, but he reached out and grabbed the girls. He held them against his body, his face distorted in pain as they fought against him. Even with injured ribs and being outnumbered, he was strong enough to keep all three of them back from the fight.

I was still kicking against Thomas, but it didn't faze him. And damn, he had a good grip. My vision was starting to get blurry. I couldn't see my family to read their faces, but that might have been a good thing. I wasn't really sure that I wanted to. They probably thought I was having some kind of seizure or psychotic episode or something.

"Susannah, shift," Jesse told me tensely. "Take him to the shadowland." That told me just how worried about me he was, that he was actually suggesting that I shift. He hated when I went to the shadowland, because he knew just how dangerous it was.

I shook my head, struggling to breath. I couldn't do that. I knew it was the easiest solution, but it was also the most dangerous. And I wouldn't do it. Not this time.

Jesse cursed. Then he began rambling in Spanish. I only understood a few words, enough to know that he was very irritated with me. "Maldición. Si el desplazamiento salvará su vida, que lo haga! No me importa lo que sus padres piensan. Nos ocuparemos más adelante. Sólo cambiar!"

I tried to pull Thomas's fingers off my neck. When that didn't work, I jabbed one finger into each of his eye sockets. He stumbled backward, clutching his eyes. He hadn't been prepared for that. It was a dirty trick, but it worked almost every time. I heard the triplets cheer as I rolled to my hands and knees and gasped for breath. I wanted to throw up, but there wasn't time for that. I fought my nausea. Not now. Please, not now. "Go Aunt Suze!"

"Suze, what is going on?" my mom demanded.

I couldn't answer, not this time. And not just because my throat was still burning from the recent choking. But because Thomas had recovered and kicked me off the deck.

I rolled several feet in the grass.

"Susannah!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Keep the girls back!" I yelled hoarsely. My voice sounded terrible. "I don't want them getting hurt. And I certainly don't need you puncturing a lung. Stay back. I got this."

He snorted, but he kept a hold of the girls and stayed back, even as Thomas lunged at me. I rolled away, barely missing his fist as he tried to break my nose. Or more likely, my entire face. He was pissed. "You say that a lot, Susannah. And then you nearly die. Remember Heather?"

"I was sixteen! I was an amateur!"

"Heather? Heather who?" Brad exclaimed. "What the hell is going on? What does Heather have to do with anything? Who is Thomas? Suze, are you crazy? Like, actually crazy?"

"Thomas!" Jesse yelled, ignoring my stepbrother. "Stop this! It's not Susannah that you hate. Leave her alone."

"Who the hell is Thomas?!"

"You're going to suffer like I suffered, Dr. de Silva." And then Thomas tackled me.

I could see my mom out of the corner of my eye. She was staring at me. I couldn't worry about her, though. I was fighting to keep Thomas's hands from circling my throat again. We were practically wrestling in the grass, totally ruining my black slip dress. It was brand-new, too! Damn it. "Susannah Simon!" Mom hollered, calling me by my maiden name. "Stop this right now. What are you doing?"

"Susannah, shift."

"I can't!" I yelled back at Jesse. I ducked a punch from Thomas, then managed to kick him in the chest. He stumbled back several feet.

I could practically hear Jesse gritting his teeth. "Why not?" he demanded. "I would do it, if I had the ability. You're the only one who can shift, Susannah, so do it."

"What are you two talking about?" Andy wanted to know.

"I can't shift, because I'm pregnant!"

Jesse's jaw dropped. This wasn't how I'd wanted to tell him about the baby. Granted, I still hadn't decided how I did want to tell him, but this sure as hell wasn't it.

Thomas threw me to the ground, hard. The force of the landing dislocated my shoulder and took my breath away. I saw Thomas running toward me. I was lying on my back, so I just used his momentum against him. I placed my feet against his chest as soon as he was close enough and threw him over my head.

I got to my feet, brushing myself off. I gasped for breath, trying to get myself centered again. Then I heard Jesse yell, "Susannah!" just as something heavy hit my head with a lot of force. If I wasn't a mediator and so tough to kill, it probably would have killed me.

I passed out.

Translation (according to the translate section of ): Damn it. If shifting will save your life, do it! I do not care what your parents think. We will deal with them later. Just shift!