Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Rekindled

Summary: Five years after graduating and going back to New York, Suze comes back to Carmel-by-the-Sea for her Five Year High School Reunion. While there, who should she bump into but Paul? Her feelings for him, aside, Paul's attraction to Suze have suddenly been rekindled. Can he make her feel the same way before she goes back to New York? Or will she walk out of his life forever?


Chapter 1 - Home

As I sat looking down from the plane at the beautiful ocean I fell in love with eight years ago, I tried to calm the butterflies that were fluttering angrily around my stomach.

Deep breath, Suze. Come on, nothing to be worried about. You are more mature now then when you left Carmel. Jesse probably won't even still be at your house.

But what if he is? I argued with myself. How am I supposed to keep myself from falling back in love with him now?

It doesn't matter; you are older and over Jesse.

"Please buckle your seatbelts, the plane will be landing soon," a voice of one of the stewardesses said. I did just that and waited for the plane to land. I felt the thump as the wheels hit the ground. The plane slowed to a complete stop and all around me, the hustle and bustle of people egger to get off the plane soon filled my ears. I just sat there. I took a deep breath and stood up, grabbed my bags from the overhead container, and shuffled out into the terminal.

"Welcome home, Susie!" My mother said engulfing me in a hug. "I missed you so much!"

"Mom," I said as she let me go, "I saw you at Christmas time."

"I know, but that was so long ago."

"Mom, six months ago is not a long time," I said turning to hug Andy. He swallowed me in the biggest bear hug, nearly crushing my bones. When he finally let go, I said, "So, when are Brad and Kelly getting here?"

"Oh," Andy said, "they've been here for nearly a week now."

"Is Kelly still aloud to fly?"

"They drove here from L.A. It must have been hellish for Kelly, sitting down so long in her third trimester. Can you believe it? I'm going to be a grandma soon! I can hardly wait!"

Yes, that's right, one of my brothers actually reproduced. Shocking, I know, but what can you do?

"So," I asked as we stepped out of the terminal and into the hot California sun, slipping on my sunglasses, "Are Brad and Kelly staying at the house?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, he is having somebody over from dinner tonight to go over some plans."

"Somebody drove all the way down from L.A. just to have a business dinner at our house? I guess that means business is going well."

"Well, actually," my mom said, "he had come down for the reunion. He went to school with you."

"Oh, really? Who is it?"

"We also," Andy said suddenly, "cleaned up your room so that you could stay there. We figured you would like that."

"Oh, my room? That's great." My room? No, that wasn't great. Jesse could be in my room. But maybe not. Maybe he is staying with Father Dominic at the rectory. Maybe he moved on. Maybe, I'm just overreacting and have nothing to worry about and should chill.

By the time we got home, I was praying for my old room. I just wanted to sleep. I hadn't been to sleep since three that morning. It was now nearing five.

As we walked in the house, immediately bombarded by, what seemed like, a huge, screaming bouncing bump. I soon realized that it was my very excited, very pregnant sister-in-law.

"Suze!" she screamed trying to hug me. But her unborn child was posing some kind of a problem.

"Kelly, it's so good to see you. You look so beautiful."

"Suze," she said dragging me into the kitchen, showing me a large black rock with a suspicious cake-like shape to it. "Look what I did. It is the first cake that I have ever baked."

"It looks delicious." Dear God, please save me from this string of lies I have entangled myself in.

"We are having it for dessert," she said as she slathered more frosting on the somewhat crumbling cake.

All I could do was smile. "Well, you know, I really need to shower and unpack. So if you'll excuse me…"

"Okay, but dinner is at six, so don't take all night."

I walked upstairs and into my room and shut the door. I saw that Andy had put my suitcases in the room already and bent over to get some clothes to wear tonight. As I stood up straight again, I looked around the room. It was still pink, slightly faded from the sun, but still the room I left five years ago. My room.

Except, it had never been my room. Not really. It was Jesse's room. I mean it had been for over one hundred and fifty years before I moved here. I couldn't just up and claim it as my own.

Jesse. I thought about Jesse. About that day in the graveyard. When he kissed me. His kisses were heavenly. I thought about all the times he saved my life. About how angry he'd made me. About how happy he'd made me.

And, in one sweeping wave of emotion, I started crying. Sobbing, even. I didn't feel like I would ever stop. How dare he be dead? How dare he let me fall in love with him! I tried not to. He was always around too much. He was such a…

I was being irrational, I decided. I was going to take my shower now.

I walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. I took off my clothes and tossed them into a pile behind the door. As I stood below the hot rush of water, I decided that I was done with Jesse. Stupid boys were for stupid girls. And I was not a stupid girl. It had been, after all, more than five years since I'd seen him. Why should I be in love with someone who doesn't even bother to show up and say 'Merry Christmas' once a flipping year? Fine I could be just as petty as Jesse. I'm glad that he didn't want to talk to me. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure that I would talk to him, even if he was here.

Refreshed and ready for what ever the world threw at me, I stepped out of the shower, dressed, blew dry my hair, and walked out into my bedroom to put on some makeup. As I stood in front of the mirror applying my beauty products, I noticed behind me a glimmer that looked oddly like a ghost. I very familiar ghost, too, I might add. Jesse to be specific. But I didn't care. I was going to continue applying my makeup and not care that Jesse was there at all. I saw him walk around the room inspecting the foreign suitcases. When he finally turned around, I couldn't help but notice him get noticeably paler. And I would be lying if I said that it didn't bring a smile to my face.

"Su-Susannah!" He asked it as if he wasn't sure it was me.

I turned around and smiled, "In the flesh." I don't know where I had found the courage to say something so snooty to Jesse de Silva. But I hope that the power stayed with me, because if not, I could totally start crying again. And that would be very bad.

He walked over to me and put one single hand on my face as if he wasn't sure that it was me. But it was. And he was him. "I missed you," he said softly.

I could feel myself melting into his touch. Focus, Suze, focus. He broke your heart. You have to get over him.

I grabbed his hand. I shook it like we were in a business meeting. "How have you been, Jesse?" I let his hand go and turned back around, all the while coaxing my self: Be strong Suze. Don't give in. He's not worth it.

"Susannah, I missed you. Don't be like that."

"Really? Because, you for somebody who can just pop up anywhere he feels like, you sure as hell made yourself seem scarce." Good, Suze. You don't need him.

Jesse took a step closer to me. We were now so close that every time he inhaled, I could feel his chest on my back and his breath on my neck. "I'm sorry. I really am," he said. "But it's not like I didn't want to see you. It's just; I didn't think that you'd want to see me."

"Not want to see you?" I said turning around, causing him to step back a little. "Jesse, I loved you. It tore me apart everyday when I woke up and my window was open. Or you just weren't there. I loved you and you didn't seem to care about me at all." I had to get away from Jesse before I started crying. I looked at the clock. 5:55. "And now if you will excuse me, I have a dinner to get to." I turned and walked out of the room.

I arrived downstairs just in time to see the dinner guest walk in the house. My house. Paul Slater just walked back into my house without so much as batting an eye lash. That stupid piece of shit.

"Oh, Susie," my mother said. My mother whom I had trusted with my life for nearly eighteen years of it, my life, that is. My mother who just let that piece of scum back into my life almost like she hadn't know that she was doing it. "Oh, Suze," she said, "you're just in time for dinner. You do know Paul Slater, right?" She walked off into the kitchen to help Kelly and Andy move dinner into the dinning room.

Paul looked up –I was still on the stairs- at me and smiled that same smile that he smiled so many times at me. His eyes were still that icy blue that could freeze the blood in my veins. But his features, his Adonis-like features, had matured. He looked so much more mature. So much cuter. I wanted to jump his bones and kill him at the same time. I didn't know feelings like that were possible. Oh, how I hated him.

"Suze," Paul said his voice could still charm the meanest snake. "It's so nice to see you. How long has it been now?"

"Oh, not long enough, I'm sure."

"Why, Suze, I'd be careful if I were you. Somebody might think that you don't like me."

"Well, that somebody would be right."

The smirk slipped slightly from his face. He almost looked hurt. Almost. "Come on, Suze," he said pleadingly, "It has been more than five years now. Grow up. I'm sorry I acted that way. I really am."

"Cut the shit Paul. You haven't changed."

"Yes, I have."

"Please. I don't like being lied to. So, do me a favor, and stop," I walked away into the dining room. I knew that I couldn't hide from him. Not when he had actually been invited into my house. But I could at least escape him for a short time.

"Suze," Brad said, this being the first time he'd seen me. "It's so great to see you. How've you been?"

"Good and you?"

"Really great. Have you seen Kelly? She is huge. But don't tell her that, I did and I slept on the couch for a week."

"I know. I saw her and the first thing I thought was 'Wow, a woman actually let one of my brothers touch her.'"

Brad just looked snidely at me. "Well," he said, "Has my sister let any man touch her?"

I was just about to tell him that, if fact, yes, I did have a very serious relationship with a man that I worked with –I was just going to fail to mention that we broke up about a month ago- when Paul walked in saying, "I sure hope not. I would surly be heartbroken if I found out that my Suze didn't wait for me." He tried to put his arm around my shoulders but as he did, I grabbed his hand and twisted it in mine until I thought that he had gotten the picture.

"Brad," I said, "why didn't you tell me that you were working with this piece of shit excuse for a man?"

"Come on now, Suze, cut me some slack," Paul said holding his hand close to his chest. "You don't know how much I've changed in five years."

"Yeah, really Suze," Brad said, "Paul's a great guy. Just give him a chance. I mean, after all, he is my partner in business, it's not like you ever going to get rid of him."

"Fine, I can see that I'm not going to win on this. I don't care. You believe what you want to believe, and I'll believe whatever I want to, too," I said, sitting down at the table as Kelly brought out the steaks. Paul sat next to me.

"But Suze," Paul said looking at me, "what you believe isn't right. Give me a chance to change your mind. Please?"

I ignored him by pretending to be fascinated with the butterfly outside the window.

"Give it up man," Brad said, "If Suze doesn't want to believe it, she's not gonna."

"I second that," my mom said sitting down next to Paul. I ignored them all. I just watched as Andy sat down at the head of the table next to my mom. I also watched Kelly as she waddled into the room and sat down next to Brad.

Andy took a steak from the serving plate and put it down on his own, plate, that is. He passed it to my mother, who took her own steak off the plate, and passed it to Paul. Paul took his own off the serving plate, laid it on his plate then took another steak of the plate and laid it on mine. I glared at him. He smiled and passed the plate to Brad.

Dinner was a mostly quiet affair. The only people really talking were Brad and Paul, who were discussing there business deals. So, except for the occasional, "Pass the salad," nobody else really talked.

Paul didn't try anything for most of dinner. At least not until Kelly got up and waddled into the kitchen; at which time he tried three or four times to put his arm around me. It was really getting on my nerves.

And it wasn't until Kelly waddled back out of the kitchen, with six small plates, a knife and the cake, that I remembered that we were supposed to eat the cake! Maybe I should fake sick and get out of eating it. But Kelly had looked so happy when she'd shown me the cake. I guess that I would just get over it and eat it. I'll just ask for a small piece.

Which is what I got. A small piece, that is. And it was absolutely disgusting. But I could bare it. Kelly was so happy.

After dinner, I offered to clear the table. Paul offered to help. Nobody said anything. Nobody tried to save me. My family doesn't love me at all. Not if they were willing to just leave me alone with some psychopath. But, like I ate the cake, I would clear the table, and if Paul tried anything, I would stab him with a steak knife.

We took all of the dishes into the kitchen and cleared them all off into the disposal. Then I started the hot water running, put the plug in the bottom of the sink, and put the soap in.

"I," Paul said walking up to the sink, "will wash the dishes." He started putting dishes in the hot water. He turned off the running water and plunged his hands into the water. He quickly pulled them back out. "Damn, Suze," he said. "What are you trying to do? Give me third degree burns?"

"That's how hot the water is supposed to be. Would you like me to do it?"

"No, I'll do it. I just wasn't expecting it to be that hot."

"Well, now you know. Can we get on with it please?"

Paul glared at me but started washing the dishes. We were quiet for a while, just washing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.

Paul quickly pulled his hand out of the water and started swearing.

"What is your problem?" I asked him.

"I hurt myself. I must have cut my finger on one of those steak knives."

"Well, come here. Let me see it." I looked at the hand that Paul had placed in mine. It hardly broke the skin. So much for men being strong and macho. "Well," I said, "it's not anything deadly. I mean, I'm sure that you'll live but…"

But I never finished telling Paul that he wasn't going to die. Because, right then, he leaned forward and kissed me.


AN: I'm finished with chapter one. I hope that you liked it. Chapter two will be along shortly. And speaking of short; Chapter 2 -which will be called Home will be short. I can't give you a preveiw because it would give away the entire chapter. But I will come quicker than you think. Reveiw! Tell me what you think! I don't mind flames.

xoxo,

Rubber