...But Not Forgotten

Disclaimer: Wish I owned them, but I don't.

Summary: Sequel to 'Forgiven'. Six years from where it left off(2007), Jessie comes home for Christmas. Guess who else will be there.

Rating: PG-13 at the most. Nothing obscene or perverted, I promise.

Pairing: Who do you think?

Spoilers: After season 2 on the show and after my last story.

A/N: This takes place December. Jessie(21) and Katie(23) haven't spoken since that day in Katie's room.

New York- Early Morning, Sunday December 22:

"It is impossible for me to be in the same room with you and not want to touch you. I don't want to have to deal with that for the rest of my life," Katie said.

"You're going to have to because I can never tell anyone! Nobody can ever know!" Jessie screams through her tears, not realizing what she just said.

"You know what? I don't have to put up with anything," Katie said, tears threatening to spill out. "Get out. Just go," she said in a low, dangerous growl.

Jessie stood there a moment, trying to control her sobs. "Okay," she choked out when she felt that she was able to trust her voice again. She quickly exited the room, hiding her tears.

A scream pierces the air as Jessie shoots up in bed. She is drenched in a cold sweat, gasping for air and trembling. It was the dream again. The same one that has haunted her for the last six years.

"Are you okay?" A soft, concerned voice mumbles from a place next to Jessie on the bed. There is no response. "Jess?" They ask.

She clears her throat. "Yeah. Just a nightmare," Jessie says groggily. She glances at the clock on the nightstand. "I have to go," she mumbles as she rolls out of bed.

"Call me?" The other person asks hopefully.

Jessie chooses to ignore the girl's tone. "Bye Rach," she says before making her exit. Rachel just sighs as she rolls over.

Jessie uncoordinatedly stumbles to her door, fumbling for her keys. She unlocks the door and slumps in, already slipping her shoes off before she's even inside. Slowly, she drags her increasingly tired ass to her bed and plops down without taking the time to change out of her jeans.

She sighs and closes her eyes tightly, holding back tears. A few tears escape as she's laying flaked out on her bed. Eventually, her eyes droop closed as she drifts into a dreamless sleep.

Her sleep is interrupted by the head splitting rings of her phone. Jessie grunts as her arm flies over to put an end to the wretched noise. She clumsily picks up the receiver and brings it to her ear. "Go away," she grumbles into the phone.

As Jessie moves to hang up, a voice stops her. "Jessie?" They ask, trying to hold back their shock. "It's me, Grace."

"Oh, god Grace. What do you want?" Jessie mumbles, exasperated and still not moving from her position.

"Well, Christmas is coming up," Grace began slowly. 'I was wondering if, this year, you were going to-"

"No, I'm not coming home," Jessie groans. "I'm staying here for break again. I have a lot of work to catch up on," she explains, hoping that it doesn't sound like a lie.

"Liar," Grace smirks and Jessie cringes. "I know that you have nothing better to do than wallow in a big puddle of self-hatred. You can just as easily do that here as you can there," Grace says seriously, and a little concerned.

"You really know how to turn on the charm Grace," Jessie grumbles, trying to cover up the fact that Grace happens to be right. "I mean it, you almost won me over," she grunts. Grace can feel Jessie rolling her eyes all the way in Chicago.

"Are you hung over?" Grace asks curiously.

"Is that all Grace?" Jessie sighs. "Did you just want to ask me to come home so that I can say no...again?"

"Please Jess," Grace pleads. "We really miss you. We're starting to forget what you look like," she says honestly.

"I'll send pictures," she grunts back.

As Jessie goes to hang up the phone, Grace stops her. "Jessie, please! I told your mother that I would get you to come home!" Grace blurts. Jessie stops and Grace sees this as a good sign. "By the way, happy birthday," she adds.

"Thank you so much for remembering my birthday that was a week ago," Jessie sighs sarcastically and rolling her eyes. "Okay. What's the deal? Why are you pushing it so hard this year?" She asks suspiciously.

"Your dad's company is throwing this huge party on Christmas Eve. Everyone will be there. Your mom, Eli, Zoe, everyone. We all want to see you and this is the perfect opportunity," she says in one breath.

"Fine," Jessie relents in a low mumble. "I'll go. Is that it?"

"You can bring someone if you want," Grace shrugs. "You can bring your girlfriend, Trish, if you like," she whispers into the receiver.

"We broke up a couple of days ago," Jessie replies nonchalantly, staring at her feet, even though Grace couldn't see her.

"I'm sorry," Grace says sadly. "Was it bad?" She asks.

"We were only going out a couple of months. It's not like it's the tragedy of the century or anything," she replies. "Are you bringing someone?" Jessie asks.

"I'm bringing a friend of mine," she says with a smirk. Before Jessie can comment, she continues. "So, the party is Tuesday night. I'll see you then," she says before hanging up.

"Alright then," Jessie says to herself, sulkily. She hangs up the phone and rests her head on the pillow. "I'll never get back to sleep now," she pouts.

Chicago:

Grace smiles. "Now all I have to do is tell Katie," she whispers to herself as she starts downstairs. She sees her mom in the kitchen. "Hey Mom," she says with a grin.

"What did you do?" Lily asks with a grin. "Why are you so chipper all of a sudden?" She continues.

"Jessie said that she was coming home for Rick's party," she beams. "I just finished talking to her and she said that she would show up."

Lily gets a big grin on her face. "That's great. We haven't seen her for," she stops to think, "four years," she says. "Is she still going out with that boy, Todd?" She asks.

"It's great that she's coming back. She and...Todd broke up a couple of days ago," Grace says and Lily frowns. "Where did Katie go?" She asks with a smile.

"You're going to tell Katie?" Lily asks with her brows furrowing. Grace nods, her smile fading. "Is that a good idea? I mean, they haven't spoken in a little over six years," she says confused.

"I know, but they were really close and Katie was really good for Jessie I think," Grace points out and Lily nods. "I think it would be good for the both of them," she concludes.

"I suppose you're right. Katie's in the living room," Lily says, pointing to the room.

"Thanks," Grace says as she turns and goes to the living room, wondering how to tell her friend. "Hey, what's up?" She asks.

"Nothing," Katie grumbles, flipping through the channels. "Why?" She asks, turning off the television.

"I, um, need to tell you something," Grace says, avoiding eye contact. "Will you promise not to get mad?" She asks. Katie cautiously nods her head. "Well, you remember Jessie, right?" She asks stupidly.

"Yeah," Katie draws out. "Why? What did you do?" She asks suspiciously.

"I sort of got her to...um...come home for Christmas," she replies shyly, averting her eyes.

"You did what?" Katie growls, her eyes widening and her voice escalating. "Are you brain dead or did you just forget about what happened between us?" she snaps.

Grace is taken aback. "I'm sorry Katie," she says, regaining her voice. "She hasn't been home since she left for college. We, her family, miss her. You don't have to talk to her if you don't want," Grace explains carefully. "I just wanted to let you know, that's all."

Katie looks down at her hands. "It's not that I don't want to talk to her. I'm afraid of what she would say to me," she admits softly.

"You want to see her?" Grace asks, making sure that she heard correctly. Katie nods. "Well, it couldn't hurt to try," she says.

"I don't know about that. From what I hear, Jessie has a pretty hard right hook," Katie smirks and Grace rolls her eyes.

Chicago-That Night:

Jessie nervously steps out of her car in front of Karen's house. She takes in a deep breath and starts to make her way up to the door. Her mind is racing, not knowing how Karen will react. After all, Karen always had to be the one to call her. As she continues to contemplate this, she stops dead in her tracks, thinking that she can't do this. She turns to go back to her car.

"Jessie?" Karen calls out expectantly. Jessie turns around to see her mother standing at the door. "Hey honey," she beams, urging Jessie to come to her.

"Hey Mom," Jessie says weakly, offering a sad smile. "How are you?" She asks.

Karen smiles slightly. "I'm great. How about you?" She asks.

"Fine," Jessie says with a smile for good measure.

Karen smiles back, thoroughly not convinced. "That's good. Do you want to come in?" She asks, stepping aside so that Jessie can enter. She just smiles and walks in. Karen sighs, knowing that Jessie is downright miserable...still. "Are you going to the party that's Rick's company is throwing?" She asks, hoping that she is.

"I am actually," Jessie says, only mildly self-conscious, avoiding eye contact.

"That's great," Karen says cautiously with a smile. There is an awkward silence. "It's good to see you Jess," she says. "Feels like I haven't seen you in forever."
"Yeah. It's been a while," she replies as she looks up. Karen studies Jessie's face. Her eyes have dulled and are now full of pain and anguish. Karen is overwhelmed with sympathy and can't help but pull Jessie into a tight hug. "Mom?" Jessie grunts as her mother does this.

"Oh, Jess," Karen sighs as she holds onto her daughter. Jessie soon relaxes and wraps her arms around her mother. "What happened to you?" Karen asks sadly. Pulling away, Jessie gives her a questioning look. "Why are you so sad?" She clarifies.

Jessie is taken aback. "I...um...I'm fine," she stammers. Karen quirks a brow. "I'm just tired. It was a long drive," she covers.

Karen doesn't buy it, but she doesn't push it...yet. "Okay. Let's get you settled," she says instead, heading upstairs with Jessie following.

Jessie sets her stuff down on her bed and sighs as she sits down, her back facing the door. Karen watches her as Jessie's shoulders slump and she rests her head in her hands. She sighs too as she goes back downstairs. This is going to be a long week. Jessie shakes her head and stands up so that she can start unpacking.