Not 100% happy with this chapter but I dont have the energy to fix it. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 36.1

Lisa yawned softly as she rolled over, glancing at the clock while Jessie still slept soundly beside her. She sighed, seeing that it was already eight in the morning, more than high time to get up and yet she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. When she had managed to get some sleep Jessie had disturbed her, wimpingering and crying in her sleep. She smiled sadly, watching the gentle rays of sunlight shining off the girls hair. Jessie needed her sleep, the poor girl.

Carefully she slipped out of bed, covering Jessie up with the blankets again and grabbed her clothes to go get dressed in the bathroom so she didn't disturb her. The house was almost quiet as she snuck out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. The tv was on in the living room, Mallory sitting on the couch watching it as she walked to the bathroom.

She yawned again, looking at her reflection in the mirror and made half an effort to brush her hair and put makeup on to hide the bags under her eyes. Not only was she jetlagged from her rushed trip bag, but with the emotional day she had yesterday and not getting much sleep either she was utterly exhausted.

Mallory was still sitting on the couch when she came back out, fixed up for the day and she walked over to her, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. 'Do you want some breakfast?'

She shook her head. 'I'm not hungry.'

'When's the last time you've eaten?'

'I don't remember.'

'Well, come on then. Jack doesn't expect you to starve yourself on his account. I'll go fix us up some breakfast, alright?'

'Alright.' She gave in with a sigh, turning the tv off and she followed her into the kitchen. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Let's see what we've got in here first.' Lisa opened the fridge, looking at what food they had. 'Not much. Okay, looks like we need to do some shopping.' She grabbed out a bag of muffins from Maggie's, wondering how old they were. 'We've got these.'

Mallory looked at her in amazement. 'How on earth can you act like everything is hunky dory? Jack's in hospital and all you can say is 'Looks like we need to do some shopping.' Don't you even care about him?'

She placed the muffins down on the bench, taking a deep breath so she didn't go off at Mallory. Placing a couple in the microwave to warm up she turned back to her and took a seat at the table. 'Of course I care about Jack. Heck, I'll admit that I'm worried sick about him but worrying isn't going to help him. This place still needs to be run, regardless of what is going on and since no one else is around I need to look after you and Jessie. Yes, I am worried about Jack. I care a lot for him.' Love is more like it. But she left that little sentence unsaid. Mallory didn't need anymore ammunition to tease her with later. 'I know you're upset about what has happened to honey but we can't change anything. All we can do is make sure things are in order from when he gets back.'

She sighed, knowing she was right. 'Sorry for what I said Lisa.'

'It's okay. I know you're worried about him honey.'

'And I'm not only worried about him. What about Jessie? She's barely said two words to me for the last couple days.'

The microwave beeped and she got up to get the muffins out, grabbing a couple of plates to put them on. 'She's going through a lot Mallory, just be patient with her.'

'I know but what has she got to deal with other then Jack being in hospital. It wasn't her who used a heater in the barn when we were told not to. I'm dealing with a lot here too.'

'It's not that simple Mallory.' Lisa replied, handing her her plate. 'Have you noticed that Jessie's been wearing gloves a lot? Even inside?'

'I asked her about it the other day.' She shrugged, not realizing what Lisa was getting at. 'She just said she was cold.'

'It's not from cold honey, Jessie burnt her hands and she was trying to hide it from everyone.'

'Burnt her hands?'

'She was the one who got the horses out Mallory, Jack was kicked unconscious by Warrior when he was trying to get him out. Jessie was the one who got him out of the barn.' She replied gently. 'So she's been going through a lot more then she's let on and then you realize.'

Mallory looked at her in stunned silence. 'I didn't know.'

'Well now you do so do you think you can go a little easier on her?'

'I will. I had no idea.' She looked up at the clock, seeing what the time was. 'Do you think we'll hear something from them about Jack soon?'

'I hope so.' Lisa finished her muffin and got up to rinse her plate. 'But till we do we need to keep busy. I was going to take Jessie in to see Jack again later, do you want to come too?'

She shook her head. 'I can't.'

'That's alright, I just thought I would ask.'

'I thought I heard you guys talking.' Jessie remarked sleepingly as she walked in, still dressed in her pj's with her arm resting in its sling. 'Have you heard anything about Jack?'

'Not yet honey, sorry.'

She sighed, sitting down at the table. 'I didn't think so.' She looked at Mallory. 'Did Scott come take a look at Pegasus yesterday?'

'No, he rang Ty and said that he would come around this morning. He had an emergency at the clinic or something and had to operate on a dog.'

'Sounds like fun.'

'You want something to eat sweetheart?'

'No, I'm not hungry.'

Lisa looked at her, raising her eyebrows. 'I'm going to say the same thing to you that I said to Mallory. Jack wouldn't want you starving yourself.'

'I'm not-' Her voice trailed off as she glanced at the window. 'I just can't eat. I feel sick.'

'In your stomach?' The girl nodded and she sighed, guessing that it was her body's reaction to the stress she had been under lately. 'Alright, I won't force you to eat but you need to at least drink something. Do you want me to make you up a milkshake? I noticed there were some strawberries in the fridge and I think there is icecream in the freezer.'

'Okay.' She finally relented after a moment. 'I'll try and have it if you make it.'

'Good girl.'

'Can I have one too?'

She chuckled. 'Sure Mallory. We'll all have one. I'll get it started now but we won't be able to have it till later. The strawberries and the sugar have to sit for a little bit.' She turned to Jessie. 'Why don't you go get dressed and ready for the day while I start this?'

'Alright.'

'Can I help?' Mallory asked as Jessie headed out. 'What do you want me to do?'

'You can start with getting the strawberries out and giving them a rinse.' She glanced towards the direction the girl had gone, a slight look of concern crossing her face. The poor girl was struggling, she could see that in her body language and the look in her eyes. Just when things had been going so well for her too- She sighed, turning back to the cupboard to find the rest of what she needed to make the milkshakes. She could only hope that this would all be over and soon, that child really deserved a break. They all did.

'Enjoy me bed?' Jessie asked Cougar unenthusiastically as she walked into her room, her cat sleeping sprawled out across her bed. The cat opened one eye at her voice then shut it again, the sound of her purring soon filling the room. She gave her a pat as she walked past then headed to her dresser to grab her clothes out for the day.

She tossed her pajamas aside after she had changed, glancing at the calendar on the wall. The date for the rodeo was getting closer, she sighed as she figured out how much time she had left. Was there even any chance trying to enter now with everything that had happened? Maybe she just wasn't supposed to compete.

The sound of a vehicle pulling up outside caught her attention and she walked over to the window, standing on her tippy-toes to look out. She watched as Maggie and Soyaya stepped out, walking over to Ty and vaguely wondered what they were doing here as she turned away. She gave Cougar another pat as she walked past, smiling sadly at the cat. She had certainly taken to this new life of being a house pet very well. All she ever seemed to do was sleep. She couldn't blame her though, the way she felt right now she could sleep for a month, that was, if she could actually sleep.

Jessie went back over to her dresser, putting her watch on that Jack and Lisa had given her with some difficulty. It still smelt slightly of smoke, in reality she was surprised that the fire hadn't ruined it. Guess it's made of tough stuff. She thought as she clipped it onto her wrist. She glanced over at the photo she had of her, Lisa and Jack, one that she had Amy take the day she'd been allowed to stay at Heartland. Just like Jack. He's going to be okay, you just need to have faith.

'Come on girl.' She patted her leg as she headed to the door, encouraging her to come for her breakfast. The cat yawned and stretched, climbing down off the bed in her own good time. 'Oh to be a cat. All you do is sleep all day.'

She could hear extra voices talking downstairs in the kitchen as she opened the door again, wondering if she should leave Cougar in her room but the cat had already bolted. She sighed, heading down the stairs after her. 'Wait up girl.'

She grabbed her leather collar as the cat stopped at the bottom of the stairs, holding her back from bounding into the kitchen. 'Hey, is it okay if my cat comes into the kitchen Lisa?'

'Yeah, I've got her breakfast already out.'

'Okay, go on.' She let her go, walking after her as the cat ran around to where she got fed. Suddenly the room went dead quiet and she chuckled as she walked in, seeing the look on Maggie and Soraya's faces. 'Hi guys.'

'Is that-'

'Yeah, that's a cougar whose name is Cougar and she's my pet. That about sums it up.'

Lisa chuckled. 'Don't worry, she's harmless.'

'When Amy mentioned that you had a big cat as a pet, she wasn't messing around.' Soyaya exclaimed. 'She's huge.'

'Yes, she is but she's really just a big baby with a huge appetite and likes to sleep all day.' She glanced at her pet and then back at them. 'What are you guys doing here?'

'Just getting here a little early before everyone else does.'

She raised her eyebrow. 'Pardon?'

'They're fixing the barn Jessie.' Mallory burst out. 'Maggie organized a bunch of people to come and fix the barn.'

Jessie turned to her. 'Really?'

'That's what community is for.' She nodded. 'People heard about what happened and they offered to help. We've already been able to round up enough supplies to fix what was damaged and people are still donating things.'

'Speaking of donating-' Soraya interrupted. 'There's something I have to give you. Come on.'

She looked at Lisa and she nodded, motioning for her to follow Soraya. 'Okay. Let me just put my jacket on.'

'I'll give you a hand.' Ty offered, joining her in the mud room.

'Thanks.' She winced, having to take her arm out of the sling to be able to put her coat on. 'I'll be glad when this heals up.'

'Well, it's no surprise it's been sore again the last couple of days.' He saw the look the girl gave him and he quickly explained. 'Lisa told me Jessie.'

'Oh.' She looked down, her cheeks burning as Ty did the buttons on her coat up for her. 'So everybody thinks of me as a hero now do they?'

'Jessie-'

'I don't want to be a hero. I just want Jack to be okay.'

'He will be.' He did up the last button and patted her shoulder gently, making sure he didn't touch her hurt one. 'There you go.'

'Thanks.' She headed out the door, joining Soraya who was waiting on the porch. Ty headed past them out to the barn, and she noticed that Kit had turned up. She turned to Soraya, wondering what she had to give her. 'Okay?'

'This way.' Soraya smiled, leading her to the back of the car. She opened the back of it, pulling out a western saddle. 'When mom told me your saddle had been ruined in the fire I got to thinking. This old saddle has been sitting around at home doing nothing since I got my new one and so I thought that maybe you could get more use out of it then I can. You have a rodeo to enter, don't forget.'

Tears came to her eyes, looking at the saddle. 'Your giving me a saddle?'

'Yep.'

'Thank you Soraya. You didn't need to do this.'

'Well, like my mom said, that's what community is for. Where do you want me to put it?'

'We'll just pop it onto the porch for now, there's nowhere else for it.'

'Alright.' She agreed, carrying it up to the porch and placing it down next to the seat. 'There you go.'

'Thank you so much.'

'No problem.' She smiled. 'Need a hand with anything else?'

'Well, the horses have to be looked after but I'll see what Lisa wants me to do first.'

'Alright, well I'll see you around then. I'll go see if Ty wants some help cleaning up before the rest of the folks start showing up.'

'Okay.' Jessie agreed, heading back inside the house as she started to the barn. Lisa was on the phone when she walked in and she looked down at Maggie since Mallory had disappeared. 'Is that Lou?'

Maggie nodded. 'She just rang.'

She sat down at the table, watching Lisa, trying to gather what Lou was saying by the look on her face. She couldn't make anything out though, hating having to be patient to hear what was happening with Jack. Finally, she had finished her phone call. 'What did she say?'

Lisa turned around, a smile on her face as she placed the phone back on the desk. 'Jack's awake. He's going to be fine.'

'Really?' The woman nodded and she jumped out of her seat, giving her a hug. 'When can I go see him?'

'They've got to run some more tests and things but she reckons that he'll be home today if the doctor is happy to let him go.'

'You know Jack, they won't be able to keep him in there for long.'

Jessie smiled as she looked back at Maggie. 'Yeah. I bet he's giving them curry.'

'I bet he is too.' Lisa agreed, giving the girl a kiss on the head. She could see the girl was so relieved, she was too. She had been so worried about him. 'See, I told you he would be okay.'

'Yes, you did.'

'Is Jack okay?' Mallory asked, walking back in after hearing the commotion.

'Yes honey, he's awake and Lou said he's going to be fine.'

'Thank God.'

'I agree.' Jessie remarked, looking up at Lisa. 'Man, is he going to be surprised to see you here.'

'Well, what'd he expect after pulling a stunt like that? That I'd stay in France?'

She chuckled. 'I think he'll be glad to see you.'

'I reckon so too.' Maggie agreed, winking at Lisa as she stood up. 'If you'll excuse me I think folks are starting to turn up. You guys come join us when you're ready.'

'Okay.'

'Is that milkshake ready yet? I think I might have a bit of an appetite now.'

'I'm glad to hear that honey.' She smiled, looking over at Mallory. 'Do you want to grab the mix out of the fridge and I'll grab the blender? It should be ready now.'

'Alright. I have first dibs on the first one.'

'No you don't, I do.' Jessie argued with a grin as she sat down at the table. 'I asked.'

'I helped make it.'

'Girls, girls!' Lisa held her hands up, laughing. 'There will be plenty to go round. No need to argue.'

'We're not arguing, are we Mallory?' She winked at her. 'We're just laying claim to our milkshakes.'

'That's all we're doing.' Mallory agreed, placing the blender onto the bench. 'Can I go ring Jake and let him know?'

'Yes, off you go.'

She looked at Jessie as she walked past, taking the phone with her. 'Eyes off my milkshake.'

'I might leave you half a cup.' She teased, turning back to Lisa after the girl had left. 'Oh my god, that's the best news ever.'

'I have to agree. Jack had all of us quite worried.' Lisa poured the strawberry and sugar mixture into the blender with the milk and icecream. She turned it on, waiting for a little bit till it was mixed up properly then she divided it up evenly amongst three mugs. 'Alright, there you go Jessie.'

'Thanks.' She took a sip, glancing out the window as more vehicles began to turn up. 'There's a lot of people out there.'

'There is.' She agreed. 'Maggie and this town have really pulled together.'

'Mmmhmm. This milkshake is really good Lisa.'

'Thanks Jessie, I used to make them all the time.' Her voice trailed off as she thought of the last time she'd made them, a very long time ago. Quickly she brushed it off though, finishing off her drink and placed the empty mug in the sink. 'Alright, let's go check on the horses.'