hmm, well, my life is slowly but surely spiraling out of control. some things are falling into place, while others are floating away. i'm going insane BUT on the upside, my break from writing is doing wonders for my ideas for the rest of the fourth season. another two weeks (yes, two weeks, i have mid-year finals coming up, so i have to take another week off) should do wonders for this story, as well as the sequel to Dead Like Newport Living (which i started over, for those of you who know what i'm talking about). that still doesn't mean the sequel's going up, though.

anywho. i'll be taking my two week holiday from this story, so read this as slowly as possible, to make it last longer, lol. or you could reread the whole thing, that works too. :P

Disclaimer: hm, nope, not mine.

ptite mac: lol, glad you loved it. :D

chismes: well, thank ya! and here's the next part, so...

WonderousPlaceForAnEcho: well, i have a HUGE THANK YOU to you, you crazy person! you stayed up, according to my e-mail time thingys, very early to finish this. YOU ARE CRAZY AND CLEARLY HAD WAYYY TOO MUCH CAFFEINE! Cause it wasn't just this story you read completely in one night. i have two things to say to you: OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS, EVEN THE CRAZY TONY THE TIGER ONE. and second: SOMEONE HAD TOO MUCH CAFFEINE! yeah, i already said that, but seriously. :P you are awesome.

Maxi-Luca: hmm, well, then, let us suffer together! misery loves company. my financial situation aint too good, either. i got "cut" from my job cause of the ailing economy. fun. anyway: sneaking is all teenagers seem to do anymore. i do it, my parent's have no idea that i even have this account, or about the stories i write here. well, my dad sort of knows, i used his e-mail for a while. but he just knows i go to fanfic, nothing else. :sigh:. um, so, yeah, Nicki's great. everyone needs an Aunt Nicki. i think that Katie was probably more concerned about Jessie's reaction than anything else, though.

hunterwm (): hehe, thanx. ;P

WonderousPlaceForAnEcho (again): glad you think the author's notes are amusing, lol. and i know what you mean about the non-stop joking from Katie, but i think that's her coping mechanism, you know? when she's not sure how to deal, she laughs. and other times she just laughs anyway. life's about learning to dance in the rain, something i think Katie's pretty much achieved, lol. maybe that's why she's the ideal girlfriend. :shrugs:

now to the episode:

-------------------------------------

Nicki smiled. Her entire family was displayed out in front of her, though none seemed very enthusiastic, except Sam. He whispered something to Judy, who laughed.

"Well, family," Nicki greeted, her eyes twinkling, "I hope you all forgive me for forcing you to stay with me for a few more hours, but if not…I probably won't be here long enough for you to tell me," she joked. Rick smiled, and everyone else simply stared at the older woman, waiting for more. She sat and glanced at them all looking at her. A smile broke out across her face.

"Well, you're not all eight, you don't need my permission to start helping yourselves," she tsked, and Sam quickly took her advice and snatched the turkey away from Grace as she reached for it. She scowled as plates and silverware clattered while the family awoke themselves from the possibly awkward silence they had been in. Karen paid little attention to the clanging dishes, instead watching Jessie intently, looking for a sign of some sort that her daughter was mad at her. She jumped when Henry nudged her with his elbow.

"Want any beans?" he asked her. When she didn't answer, he followed her gaze over to the younger Sammler. Henry sighed, "Why don't you just talk to her?"

Karen glanced at him. "She probably doesn't want to talk to me," she said, furrowing her brows as Katie whispered something in Jessie's ear, and the two started giggling.

"You won't know until you talk to her," he reminded the apprehensive woman. Karen shook her head.

"I'll talk to her later," she decided, taking the beans from Henry. He gave her a huffy look but settled for Karen's plan of action.

---

Lily knew she shouldn't be staring blatantly at Rick. But she found herself watching him anyway.

B+W testimonial: Lily sits comfortably, though she doesn't look very happy: "Curiosity is…a curious thing," she says, smiling at her pun, "It makes people very nosy. Judy, when she and I were young, was very curious," Lily smiles as she reminisces, "She especially loved the light sockets. Those three holes in the side of the wall…I wasn't like that. Forbidden things never seemed to interest me, except the forbidden boys," she shakes her head, "So while Judy was electrifying herself by finally finding out what was in those black holes, I was, curiously enough, more interested in how she felt after. She cried for almost ten minutes straight, and didn't calm down for anther hour, but she finally told me about the sensation. My young mind mistook her descriptions for not only electricity, but for curiosity. The phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat' took on a whole new meaning…" Lily pauses and frowns, "Hopefully, curiosity can't kill a relationship."

Rick glanced up and caught Lily's eye. He quickly looked back at his food, but looked back up a few seconds later. Lily sent him a we-need-to-talk look, and he nodded slightly to show he understood. Without a word, Lily placed her napkin down and muttered an excuse to leave the table, Rick standing up at the same time. They both walked out of the dining room, followed by the eyes of several people still at the table.

---

Jessie watched her father and Lily rise simultaneously, looking curiously at their retreating forms. Katie said something to her, but she missed it and quickly glanced back at her girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, turning to face Katie. The older girl raised her eyebrows in mock hurt.

"Why, Billie! Were you not listening to me?" Katie asked, pretending to sound taken aback. Jessie sighed.

"Sorry Billie," she said, averting her gaze back to where her father and Lily had walked out of the dining room. Katie followed the girl's gaze, finally getting what was eating at Jessie.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Katie tried to assure the worried girl. Jessie shook her head and looked back a Katie, smiling wanly.

"If it was nothing, they would have stayed in here," she said doubtfully. Katie looked at the sorrow in her girlfriend's eyes, and she quickly (and subtly) grabbed Jessie's hand under the table.

"Hey, it'll be all right," Katie whispered to the younger girl reassuringly. Jessie couldn't help but smile at the caring look in Katie's eyes.

"I don't know," Jessie said, still unsure. Katie shifted to get a better look into her girl's eyes.

"I do," Katie said assertively. Jessie smiled a small smile.

"You're really cute when you're all authoritative," Jessie finally said, and Katie grinned, "And I don't even think that's a word," Jessie said, shaking her head and trying to rid herself of the uneasy feeling that still rested in the pit of her stomach.

"Well, it is now," Katie said, giving Jessie's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. Jessie glanced down at her now cold hand, and had an extremely overwhelming urge to grab Katie's hand again. She reached for it under the table.

"Jessie," Karen said suddenly. Jessie jumped and quickly retracted her hand, before scowling at her mother.

"What?" she hissed angrily. It seemed her mother just had perfect timing when it came to her and Katie.

"We need to talk," Karen said, with as much gusto as she could manage, "In private." Jessie narrowed her eyes.

"Right now?" she asked, still shaken from the interruption. Karen nodded urgently.

"Please, Jess," the older woman pleaded. Jessie looked curiously into her mother's worried eyes, and glanced at Katie. Her girlfriend shrugged, though it was barely noticeable, and Jessie sighed.

"Fine," the younger Sammler said, pushing away from the table. Karen followed suit, and they both exited through a different door than Rick and Lily had left through.

---

"What did you want to talk abo-" Rick started, once they were out of earshot of the rest of the family. Lily interrupted before he could finish.

"Australia," she said flatly, bluntly. Rick quickly averted his eyes, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay, what about Australia?" he asked, after a pause. Lily glared at him.

"Rick, are you staying here," she started, trying to fight the tears that were inevitably building behind her eyelids, "or are you going?" she finished, afraid that she probably already knew the answer, no matter how much she would wish it wasn't true.

"Lil, it's the chance of a lifetime," he whispered finally, and Lily looked away from him, feeling the burning of fresh tears in her eyes.

"Yeah? And what about us, Rick? What about the baby?" Lily snapped, "What about 'If they want me this year, they'll want me next year'? What happened to all of that? How can you turn your back on that?" she asked, turning her tears to anger. Rick swallowed, running a hand through his hair again, nervously.

"I don't know, Lily," he said honestly, "I just…I want to be here, so bad, for you and the baby…but it's the chance of a lifetime, one that I…that I can't pass up," he said, choking on a sob that he hadn't even realized was coming, "I'm so sorry, Lily," he whispered, "But, Collin and I worked out a schedule, and I'll be home for months before the baby's born, months, Lily," Lily's hardened gaze bored into his eyes, "I'll only be gone for a few weeks at a time, maximum, and Collin and the company are paying for everything," Rick tried desperately to get Lily to see how hard it had been for him to make the decision, "I got an advance, and a raise, Lily-"

"I don't care!" Lily shouted at him, before she could stop herself.

---

Karen limped into the study right after Jessie, shutting the door behind her. Jessie glanced around the room in which, not too long before, she'd been caught kissing Katie. Jessie shuddered at the thought, silently thanking a higher power that it hadn't been her mother to walk in on them.

Jessie faced her mother and waited for her to explain why apparently they desperately needed to talk.

Karen, for her part, could not figure out how to start off, and she instead glanced around the room, before finally sighing.

"Henry and I are dating," she blurted suddenly. Jessie opened her mouth, but Karen continued before Jessie could get a word in, "And I really like him, Jessie, and you encouraged me to go out with him anyway…but I hope that you're not mad at me because I didn't tell you…and…if you don't want me seeing him…" Karen tried to get the words out, but she couldn't bring herself to even imply that she would break up with Henry if Jessie wanted her to. Jessie shook her head at her mother.

"Mom, I know you're dating Henry," Jessie interrupted, and Karen nodded apprehensively, "I mean, it was a bit obvious the other day at the super market," Jessie reminded her mother, "And, I think you guys make a really cute couple. He's really good for you, mom," the younger Sammler gave her mother a reassuring smile, "And he gets along with Katie, so you know, then he's golden," she joked. Karen smiled with relief, and Jessie tilted her head in curiosity, realizing something.

"You thought I was avoiding you?" she guessed, suddenly worried. Had Karen picked up on her and Katie? Jessie swallowed nervously.

"Well, Jessie, you sort of have been," Karen said, rather firmly. Jessie held her mother's gaze before turning away.

"And you thought it was because of you and Henry?" she asked, trying to ease her suddenly jittery nerves.

"I couldn't think of another reason," Karen said finally, though that wasn't true. She could think of several other reasons, the most unpleasant that Jessie was growing up. Karen knew that that was, of course, part of the case. Everyone had to grow up eventually. But Jessie was her little girl. And she wanted Jessie to remain that way for as long as possible. The thought of losing her only daughter scared her more than anything else.

Jessie stared at a spot on the floor and absorbed her mom's words. She hugged herself after several seconds of silence, and then looked back into her mother's eyes.

"I've been avoiding you?" she asked again, meekly. Karen sighed.

"It certainly feels like it," the older Sammler said, nodding sadly. Jessie felt a wave of regret wash over her as she watched her mom, standing in front of her and leaning on her cane. Jessie, without thinking, quickly closed the gap between mother and daughter, and wrapped her arms around Karen's waist, hugging her mom closely.

"I'm sorry," Jessie said finally, "I didn't mean to," Jessie apologized. Karen stroked her daughter's hair and sighed.

"Jessie, I know you're growing up, and that hanging with your mother isn't…well, cool," Karen said, smiling down at her daughter, "But promise me, you'll make time for me? I really miss you," she said, and Jessie smiled back.

"I think I can pencil you in," she joked, and Karen rolled her eyes.

"You better use pen, missy," she shot back, and Jessie shook her head, grinning.

---

Katie glanced at Judy from across the table. The older woman had been watching her all night, and Katie couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. She was about to ask Judy what was going on with her, when Jessie walked back into the dining room and took her place next to her girlfriend.

"Hey," Katie greeted, and Jessie smiled.

"Hey," she greeted back.

"So, what was that about?" Katie inquired, nodding at Karen as she sat back down as well.

---

"I don't care!" Lily repeated loudly, "I…I just can't believe that this is happening," she said, shaking her head in disbelief, "I can't believe you'd just…change your mind like that."

"Lily," Rick started to plead as she began walking out of the room and back into the dining room, "Lily, come on, let's talk about this," he tried, as Lily stormed over to seat and snatched her purse from where it was perched on her chair.

"There's nothing to talk about!" Lily shouted, earning everyone's attention at the table, "You're going to Australia, congratulations!" Lily roared, stomping out of the room, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

"What?" Jessie asked, staring at her father in pure disbelief. Everyone else stared at him as Rick quickly turned away from them, quickly chasing after Lily. Even Nicki was speechless as his footsteps faded and there was nothing left but the heavy, shocked silence that filled the dining room.

"Anyone want more potatoes?" Sam asked, breaking the silence and holding up the bowl for all to see.

---END EPISODE

okay, so the "potatoes" thing is a bit cliche, but you know what? tell Sam that. it just seemed like something he would do, so he did it. i don't even know what the guy looks like, i'm running on nothing here, people. so, if you think it's very "hollywood", complain to him. if you think it's funny, you may report that to me. :P

personally, i thought it was a pretty good ending, but whatever. that's usually why seasons are written by more than one person. but it's me, myself, and i, so...

i'm allowed a few cliches here and there, right? RIGHT???

okay, done ranting, next episode should be up within two weeks or so, whenever i finally get two episodes ahead of you guys. which probably won't take long, this break is doing wonders, i'm not typing the whole rant again, so see the top of this page if you want to read it.

okay, so, reviews are crack and Oxycontin and meth combined and let's face it, if it hasn't killed me yet, i definitely need a lot more. :P

so...Review!

:scampers away with a cloud of smoke where i was like in the cartoons: