Mediator Mom

By: ChocolateEclar

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with the Mediator Series by Meg Cabot/Jenny Carroll, including Jesse (please?), Suze, Paul, Father D, CeeCee, Adam, etc.

Claimer: I fully own Shaun, Charisma, Carmen "Carmenita" De Silva, Rosalinda "Rosie" De Silva and her pets, Tobias "Toby" De Silva, Jacob "Jaco" De Silva and his dog Hiei, and Dominique "Unique" De Silva. I also own the plot. I may not own the fact that Jesse has five sisters (ages 6-16 when he died), but I do own who the five girls are – i.e. their personalities and names. In short, I also own Juanita "Nita" De Silva, Estefana De Silva, Felicidad "Felly" De Silva, Dolores "Dolly" De Silva, and most of all Carmen De Silva.

To GATORCHICK007: Cliffhangers are an author's delight and a reader's curse. (laughs) Just warning you, this chapter ends in a cliffy too. Sorry! Thanks for the review!

To UnangelicHalo: More Jesse in this chapter. He seems to be hanging in the background right now, doesn't he? Hopefully that'll change. (laughs) You'll find out who the shifters are…eventually. Hehe. Thanks again!

To Enelya Tinuviel, Allimba, Sweetest Reject, Luna Gypsy: Thanks for reviewing! (big grin)

To Clavel: Paul and his wife are…complicated. Let's leave it at that. (laughs) Thanks again!

To Hauntedgurrl: All the kids will be alive…in the end. I love them too much to hurt them… more than I am about to! Thanks a lot for reviewing!

To Gen. Kenobi: Hey, fellow Emily. (laughs) Jaco is like you minus the morning person-ness? Me too! Hehe. Shaun is hot, but Suze has JESSE! (chuckles)

"Hi, my name's ChocolateEclar, and I am a procrastinator. Can I have some help? I think I've had this problem…all my life!"

(winks) Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer 2: No, I really don't think I own Jessica Simpson's song "With You." Hehe.

Chapter 6: Shadows' Lullaby

All right, it's really bad when your own shadow scares the heck out of you. I mean, I'm usually pretty calm. Ghosts pop out at me all the time, but I never freak out. But now that I had that dream, everything's different.

The five kids are back in school after their week suspension. I think they're actually relieved. We cooped them up in the house the entire time after all. Unique says Carmenita had a new boyfriend by the end of their first day back. I guess she's gotten over Shaun. Good thing too. I'd bad enough with one daughter enthralled with a Slater.

Shaun came over to the house that day too. I'd stayed home because I had felt sick, and it didn't help much that Rosie's boyfriend looked like a freaky younger blonde version of Paul.

I think I know what my real problem is though, and it's not the dream. The fact that I puked shortly after Shaun left didn't destroy my suspicions either.

Jaco told me that day – as he held back my hair as I coughed my lunch into the toilet bowl – that Toby hadn't been made fun of that day. I was pleased. It's nothing like a few broken bones and some blood to get people to like you again.

"You okay, Mom?" Jaco asked.

"Yeah," I managed to say before letting out a fresh wave of food.

Jaco didn't even scrunch up his face. For some reason, that stuff didn't really gross him or Unique out. Carmenita on the other hand…

"Argh. What's wrong with you, Mamá?" she said, wrinkling her nose.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the throwing up," I said dryly. I wasn't in the mood for Carmenita to pull her "disgusted girly-girl" routine. I am very good at that myself, but I'd rather think about more pressing matters right now.

"What did you do?" hissed Toby's voice from downstairs.

An alien mumble answered. Then, Rosie's voice. I could only understand Toby's shouts though.

"You made my sister cry, you – " Toby snarled. Let's just say, he didn't finish that sentence off very politely.

A door slammed then, and I could hear sobbing. I grabbed Jaco's hand to pull myself to my feet and stalked to the landing. Looking down, I could see Toby with his fists clenched, and Rosie weeping into her hands. I soon found out that Shaun had dumped Rosie and Toby had tried to "defend his sister's honor." Men. Sheesh.

Jesse sat and soothed Rosie's ruffled feathers, while I asked Toby exactly what had happened. Well, I was getting answers until a familiar feeling crept up my throat and I ran to the bathroom and let out partly dry heaves into the toilet again.

Talk about disgusting. Bleh.


Jesse says I'm starting to live in the bathroom. That's not true. I've managed to sleep half the night without puking!

Okay, so I wasn't feeling so hot, but atleast it was stopping me from thinking about the nightmare. Mostly.

Towards the end of the second lousy day, Jesse picked up the phone. He seemed a bit wary of using it more often than not – which was kind of understandable…being born in the 1800s and all – and said, "I'm calling your doctor, Susannah."

I just sort of let out a grunt and covered my mouth to stop anything unwanted coming out of it. I'm sure I looked really attractive to my husband. Not. I mean, I hadn't bothered to even comb my hair that day between sleeping, eating, and puking my guts out. Oh yeah. I was really beautiful. Argh.

Jesse sat on the bed beside me as he spoke to the doctor on the phone. Running his fingertips over my arm, he gave me a small reassuring smile before clasping my hand. It made me feel like I was in that Jessica Simpson song, "With You."

"'Cause with you
I can let my hair down
I can say anything crazy
I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground
With nothing but a T-shirt on
I never felt so beautiful
Baby as I do now
Now that I'm with you
With you"

I felt calm for the first time since I'd starting having the nightmare. I curled up next to Jesse and rested my head on his thigh. I could see his lips flutter into another smile, and I grinned right back before falling asleep.


"Too late... Remember. Jaco and Carmenita aren't – "

My eyes snapped open to see Jesse staring down at me. I was in exactly the same place I'd been before I'd dozed off, but now Jesse had set the phone back down on its cradle on the nightstand. My breath was coming out in little gasps still as I went to move.

Jesse let out an expletive rather like he was frustrated. He shifted out from under my head and spread out beside me on his back. "Tell me, Susannah," he said a bit too casually, "when are we both going to be able to be completely honest with each other where dreams are concerned?"

Perplexed, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," said Jesse, propping his head up on his elbow so he could face me, "you lied about your nightmares of Paul back when you were sixteen, and now you've been lying about a dream about our own children."

"How do you – " I began before, pausing. How could he know…unless…?

"You've been having the dream too!" I shouted, jabbing my finger at his chest. When Jesse made no move to deny it, I added, "And you talk about lying!"

"Nombre de Dios, querida…" groaned Jesse. He was trying to use a pleading, yet sexy tone to get me to see his point of view, but fat chance of that! If memory served, he'd been having the dream just as long as I had and hadn't said anything either!

"Don't you sweet Spanish talk me, Jesse De Silva!" I grumbled and sat up to glare down at him.

Jesse looked guilty now. Good. He should be. But my resolve was shaken by the fact that tears – actual tears! – were forming in my eyes. For over a week, I had kept it in – all the pain and loss I felt every time I slept. I needed to just let go.

Which is why I pretty much tackled Jesse and sobbed into his shirt right there. I felt relieved to be doing it, but kind of embarrassed. But Jesse just held me and whispered gentle words in Spanish into my hair.

Amazingly, I went back to sleep then. I was so tired and worn, I didn't even dream.

Maybe things would be all right after all. Maybe the dream would stay a dream. Or maybe not.


All right, thirty-four isn't old, is it? I mean, sure I'm not as young as I used to be, but I am still in good health and wrinkle-free.

I think Jesse is in mute shock by the way he sat next to me as I drove us home from the doctor's office. He just kind of stared out the window – barely blinking. The doctor gave me some medicine to help my stomach, but from past experiences, I know the puking is pretty much over with anyway.

I think I knew all along. I know Jesse will be pleased once he gets over his astonishment, because, once again, I'm pregnant. It'll mean our family is as big as his immediate family was. Two parents and six children. Whoa. I'll have my own litter.

"How should I put this…?" I told the five kids at dinner that night.

Carmenita, who'd had this talk four times in the past, let out a long breath and asked, "Again, Mamá?"

Easy for her to complain! I'm the one who's going to have a bowling ball-size stomach again!

Unique is the only one who took the news calmly. That's not saying much though, considering she's as impassive as a brick wall. But atleast one of my children decided to sit with me after the talk and just lean against my shoulder – a silent wall of promise. She wouldn't let me feel unhappy or have any reservations about having the new baby.

Have I mentioned that I tend to be a very moody pregnant woman?


"Stay…from…shadows," whispered the dream Unique before I was abruptly awakened. A scream had brought me out of my nightmare. What the heck?

Jesse didn't even pause for breath. He was out of bed and to Unique's room – where the shriek had come from – before I could comprehend what was happening. Following Jesse, I hurried inside Unique's room – where already the others had gathered. Even Toby – the heavy sleeper – was awake, but weary-eyed. All of them were trying to force the flailing Unique from an enemy hidden in shadows.

Or so I thought until I noticed the enemy was the shadows.

"Stay…from…shadows."

The dark hands of the shadows were grasping Unique's arms and legs. She was garbed in a tan smock with several golden rings wrapped around her ankles and wrists. Where did she get those clothes and jewelry?

I flipped on the light switch out of pure instinct. The shadows – that I now could see where humanoid – hissed and vanished. Unique was gathered up in Jesse's arms – where she let out a little whimper and weeped.

As I made my way to stroke Unique's hair, I felt a tug at my ankles. Looking down, I could see that – mixed in with my own shadow – were two of the humanoid shadows. They were small enough to fit in with my shadow and had a hold of both of my ankles.

Before I could do much but swear, I was yanked through the floor and into total darkness. I got a good glimpse of Jesse's inky eyes going really wide before I did though.

One thought came to mind, "Stay…from…shadows." Thanks, but it's a little late for that!

Damn. Some people – and humanoid shadows – just have no respect for feisty pregnant women.


A/N: Haha! Only a few days since I last updated! Please review! Sorry about the cliffhanger!