A/N: As you can see this is now OFFICIALLY a sequel to S.S. Not a one shot. Enjoy!
Unfortunately being in love doesn't stop ghosts pestering you every second of the day. In fact things had gotten much worse over the past few months. Mediating wise I mean. For example: the guy who was bothering me last night –Charles Evengale- continued to show up at regular intervals throughout the night till Jesse finally informed me of his unfortunate dealings with gambling. Which enabled me to ditch him at long last and do what I'd been longing for all evening……….sleep.
And now that he'd been dealt with I was finally free for a while. Till the next one showed up that is. Which gave me some time to do whatever it is that young ladies in the 19th Century do. I didn't feel all that interested in dress shopping though. What with the whole mall-overload thing. I doubted that their shops were all that different from the ones in Carmel. And even if they were I couldn't be bothered to go. I was shattered.
"Susannah? Are you sure you are alright?" I turned and smiled as Jesse came up behind me. I stopped stroking the mane of his black horse, Diablo. He'd told me this morning that its name means 'Devil' in Spanish. I found that kind of amusing given his hatred of the name 'Spike'.
"Yeah, just thinking is all." I replied without looking up. He touched my chin softly bringing it up to face him.
"In a stable?" he asked amusement evident in his voice. I sighed.
"Yes in a stable. What can I say? I like to be at one with mother nature." I said as Diablo pawed the ground with his hooves. Jesse grinned revealing his perfectly white teeth. I felt the all too familiar fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"I never did get to take you riding did I?" he asked. I smiled softly in spite of myself remembering exactly why we'd never gotten that far in his little 'lesson'.
"Are you going to just stand there all day making cow eyes at each other or can I get through?" we spun around at the sound of Mercedes' voice. Jesse dropped his hand as if I'd burned him. She rolled her eyes at our obvious attempts to hide what we'd just been doing.
"Hello Mercedes', do you ever knock?" Jesse asked tightly. Seeing each other out of wed-lock in the 19th Century was a big deal. It could ruin your reputation and life. Which was stupid but whatever.
"It's a stable." She informed him like he was an idiot. I couldn't help but grin a little. I tried to hide it when Jesse shot me a look. But I just couldn't stop it from reappearing. Mercedes' wouldn't tell anyway. Jesse was just playing his role as the responsible older brother trying to set a good example.
"I am aware of that." He replied. He was now eyeing her suspiciously trying to figure out her ulterior motives.
"So are you two…..?" she began with a flicker of a smile on her pretty tanned face. Jesse let out a long sigh. It was actually kind of funny to watch. Jesse never let anyone push him around…..but he had a soft spot when it came to his family. It was extremely sweet to watch.
"Mercedes' what are you really doing in here?" he asked running a hand through his hair frustrated. Diablo pawed the ground again and I watched as the little wheels in Mercedes' head figured out a plan. You had to give the girl credit: she sure as hell was observant.
"I….um….came to check on the horses." She said quickly. She sounded like me when I'm trying to cover stuff up with a lie. I threw Jesse an amused glance as he continued to stare at her with disbelieve etched on his face.
"What do you want?" he sighed. She gave him a dazzling smile.
"Why nothing dear brother. Only the pleasure of your company." She replied innocently. Jesse narrowed his eyes at her.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Mama won't let me go into town with Philisia and-"
"No." Jesse said sharply before she could finish. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"You're so cynical. Fine. I'll pretend I never heard a word. But Papa will kill you if he does figure it out. Especially with her sleeping in such a near facility. It's practically like living together." She warned trying to sound mature. She said the 'living together' thing like it was a disease.
"I'll be careful." He smiled.
"Swear?" she whispered.
"Juro." He replied. Seemingly happy with Jesse's response she turned her attention to me and took my hand.
"You really are a very cute couple." She grinned before scampering away. I blinked as she disappeared from view. Jesse turned to face me with a satisfied smile playing on his lips. He pulled me towards him.
"You know, we've just past the worst test." He told me in a bare whisper. I smiled in return.
"Is that so?"
"My sister gave her consent. That is almost impossible and should be viewed very highly." He grinned. I laughed as he leant down and kissed me.
"I knew it!" came a triumphant screech from outside. Jesse pulled back with an amused expression twinkling in his dark eyes.
"Get back here right now!" he yelled back as he dashed to grab Mercedes'.
It was so funny that I actually forgot about mediating for a split second. Until a familiar shimmer appeared beside me.
Coming back to the real world sucks.
