AN: Okay guys, I know this was a REALLY long wait. I hope you forgive me: I blame school. Also, while I'm at it… did any of you see the movie 'Ice Princess' (story written by Meg)… I did! It was completely fabulous!
Again, sorry. This chappie is a sorta shorty because It's only proper plot is at the end… The next one, which will be much easier for me to write, will be up soon.
-Elmer's Girl
Key:
xxx Authors Note
(posing as a chapter)
Chapter Eleven
'Jesse!' I ran into the arms of my safe haven. He had barely came up the steps to my room before I attacked him with a large hug and showered his face with kisses. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my Mom beaming at the sight of us. Jesse grinned, twirled me around in his arms for a moment and dropped me down gently.
'Hola, Susannah.' The Spanish caressed voice of Jesse greeted me after one of our private staring contests. Jesse, of course, always being the winner of them. He took my hand in his as we drifted up the stairs toward my room.
Once we approached the rooms themselves, I realized that mine was a pigsty. Panicking, I shut my eyes for an fleeting second and wished for the pendant, which was sitting in my room, to light up and, if it could, clean my room. A stupid request, I knew, but it could work.
I thought this all the more when we rounded to my bedroom and the door slammed right in my face. Jesse looked at me with both eyebrows raised, 'Are you hiding something in your room, Susannah?' I knew he was joking, but that didn't explain the slammed door. I, however, was pretty sure I knew why it closed.
The deadbolt had been slid into place and I could hear rusting from inside the room. It could be the pendant… or maybe even the ghost of a child. I remembered that once, in New York, I had been locked outside of our apartment because of the ghost of an eight-year-old decided that it didn't like me. As mused on the memory, Jesse was standing still beside me.
I heard a final rustle and the door swung open. This knocked me out of my reverie and back into reality. My room was spotless! Everything was in perfect order, even the mesh of clothes I had left sewn all over my floor from last night.
Jesse looked into the uncontaminated room with surprise at how clean it was. Usually, my room would either be, as it was before, a pigsty or I would have some small things out of place – like… erm… my underwear draw – but this time, my room was perfectly clean. Hell, I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said it sparkled.
But then Jesse's gaze was averted, and his eyes widened further. I followed his gaze and froze myself. Because in the middle of the room, levitating and producing a beautiful white light, was the Celtic Moonstone Pendant.
I seriously did not know why I hadn't told Jesse of the pendant, but now I guess I couldn't help it. The line had already been crossed – the deed, done. Jesse saw the Pendant and now he turned to me, enigmatic brown eyes now filled with shock. I don't know why it shocked Jesse so much, but then again… I had only just gotten used to the Pendant's illuminations myself.
As if an expert, I raised one of my hands and in my mind, whispered to the Pendant. Come, I thought, Come to me… It flared brightly for a moment and then zipped into my hands. I smiled at it and leaned against my door. 'A luz do moonstone, é banida de que de olhos indígnos.' I whispered professionally, and the light of the moonstone perished. The flickers of colours still crossed the beautiful cabochon then mixed back with the original pearly white colour of the moonstone.
'Like it, huh?' I said to Jesse whilst playing with the Pendant in my hands. He had stepped into the room a moment ago and was now facing me again. A smile spread across his face when he saw my play with it eagerly.
'Can I?' I knew what he was going to ask, I took his hand, whispered to the Pendant to awaken, and then placed it lightly above his palm. The Pendant started to wobble with unseen energy and his grin got wider. Was it going to flare with colour like it had to me, or would it remain dormant? Both of us seemed to wonder this as I lowered the Pendant so it was actually touching Jesse's skin.
Instead of erupting in a white light like it had before, by the touch of Jesse's skin, a pulsing golden light occurred. I looked at it in awe, stared up at Jesse who was also looking at it, and then back down to the Pendant. With my free hand, I shut the door, who knew what my mom would do if she saw this beautiful light display.
Then it hit me. Not a realization – but the light. It hit Jesse as well. Both times in the same place, on our chest to the left. Where our heart is supposed to be located. I breathed, 'Woah.' As I looked down at the beam energizing into my body.
'Susannah… Is this normal?' I turned my head back up to Jesse who was staring at the same gold light that was playing around his chest. I shook my head, eyes wide. This had never happened before.
That was when the it all started. It happened slowly, gradually. Jesse and I were looking at each other for moments on end and then down at the pendant for a few seconds before reaching each other's gazes.
Our eyes interlocked. I wanted Jesse to know everything about this, the Pendant, Ophelia, the dreams, three shadows, Alegion. He didn't deserve to be kept in the dark. I closed my eyes, willing the power to take me into Jesse's mind and Jesse into mine…
…With a whirling rush, I did it. I was in Jesse's mind. It was a tunnel, similar to Shadowland, with doors on each side of me. A hallway full of knowledge that, unlike Shadowland, was buzzing with life not death.
Life… I felt tears fill my eyes. I always got emotional when I remembered the Jesse Pre-living-for-the-second-time days. And I realize that I'm so glad we're both alive and together. My feelings sometimes cloud my descriptions of things, I'm sorry if this is the case now.
Something felt weird. I looked down at my feet and that's when I noticed. I was in a silky black, yet quite elegant and not too revealing, skirt. It was from waist to floor length, and I realized I felt so weird because I was wearing a black lace, crimson corset under a few red petticoats – I'm not even kidding. A corset. Like 1850 style or something.
Upon the last thought, I just shook my head and grinned. Trying to ignore the fact that I could hardly breathe, I begun down the hall. The doors were labeled, there were quite a few at that.
One particular door caught my eye. I had never attempted to do this, so I was quite nervous. What if I got sucked in? No, that wasn't possible really. I don't think I was really there, just a ghost of my solid body – the same must be happening to Jesse in my noggin.
The word, 'Memories' was encrusted on a polished, fancy golden plaque hanging on the door. Just like those cheesy ones you see at really expensive hotels – or in movies.
My hand enclosed on the knob of the door with my name encrypted. As it did, a burst of power seared from it – a green burst – and hit me square in the chest like the Pendants light had did. Strangely, it didn't hurt. And then a door opened…
…but it wasn't the one I was after.
A great whirl of wind striked me as I fell in through the door. I stood after tripping over from the force of the wind and electrical current that had pulsed through me, and hugged myself protectively.
It was then that I noticed which room I was in. A million of moving images surrounded me like mist in the morning, they were all over the walls, ceiling and floor.
The pictures were of someone, a certain someone to be exact –
Me.
Yet this girl looked much more beautiful than I did, her chestnut hair was sort of like mine but when it curled, it gave her an innocent look. When I used to look in the mirror and see those natural curls it always made me look like a clown. On this girl, an alternate version of me, they, well, looked kind of…
Hot.
It struck me, This is me. How Jesse sees me… This was, after all, his mind. I glanced at a particular memory and my cheeks flamed in embarrassment. So I turned to another, it was the time a few days ago, when we were with Paul and Ashley.
When I saw myself in the mirror that night, I thought that I looked beautiful and I realized it then and there that that was what Jesse saw all along.
I'm not being vain. Seriously. I could hardly believe that that was me at all, I was not at all beautiful like this. Yet it seemed so right to think that I was… it didn't seem selfish, or vain. It was like I was seeing the truth in my actions.
I spent a little while in there, just gazing at the photos and reliving memories of my own. For example, the first time I met the ghost Jesse, when he saved me from that psycho ghost Heather, In Red Beaumonts office with Tad and Marcus when Jesse arrived, The RSL Angels: the time that I almost let them get away with murder, Then in Shadowland…
Those were the more nicer ones… There were others, I choked a sob when I saw them. Paul and I standing around at school, Paul trying to kiss me in the halls, Paul forcing me back into a locker when he wanted to talk to me, Paul and I getting ready for shifter lessons…
And then there were the times when: Jesse first opened his eyes in the hospital, after being reunited with his body, the ghost Jesse remembering the look on my face before we kissed for the seemingly final time – if only they knew – Jesse watching me as I walked away with my Father, Jesse seeing me after I had been with my Father and told him that he moved on…
That was all I could handle, I thrust myself through what I thought was the door… It wasn't. Then I banged on the wall with all my might, calling out for someone to help. And then I called out his name.
'JESSE!'
I felt myself being withdrawn of conciousness and my world spinning before fading into black, still within Jesse's mind.
-(§)-
'Susannah? Querida? Querida, wake up…' Jesse was gently shaking my shoulders as I swung back into reality. His face mixed with concern as it always had for me. I felt a rush of affection then and there, so when I opened my eyes, I responded with giving him a bear hug.
'Hey Jesse,' I heard my voice say, but it was foreign to me.
'Are you alright?' His face swam into my examination path. I just nodded, trying not to let the new tears that were captive in my eyes show and fall out of their prison.
'Fine. I'm Fine.' That was all I could reply with. Jesse looked at me doubtfully but said nothing further. I walked into my bathroom, picked a few tissues and blew my nose – it was stuffy.
I managed to put on a smile and walk back into my room. Jesse was, to my surprise, sitting on the window seat. Like old times. My fake smile faltered and a new, real one took it's place. He was playing with my pendant in one hand, its light was inert. I went and sat next to him.
When I sat, an arm coiled around me. I just broadened my smile and rested against Jesse's chest, smelling his aftershave with another pensive beam.
I must have drifted to sleep, because what seemed to be an hour later, Jesse awoke me again. 'Querida, if we don't go have lunch now, the next time you awaken will be at dinner.'
I laughed a little, my vision swimming from the fact that I had spend an hour – or two – sleeping.
When I was awake enough to function properly, I asked Jesse the question that had been bugging me, 'Do you know?' He seemed to catch on to what I was saying quite quickly.
'Si, Susannah, I do know.' He walked up to me – I was standing in the middle of my bedroom, staring at the floor and my hands shaking – and wrapped his arms around me. I sunk into him, sighing as I did, and returned his hug.
We stayed there for what seemed to be an eternity. Then Jesse draped his arms loosely around my waist and gave me a kiss on each cheek, then a small peck on the lips. 'Seeing as you do not need to explain anything to me anymore, I shall tell you what we shall do.' I nodded, it was good to finally have someone else in control.
'I think,' Jesse said slowly, not purposely as to tease me, but purposely so he could think straight and say the sentence properly. 'That we should go and pay the good Father a visit.'
Father Dominic… I had forgotten all about him! I felt so low, not thinking about my priestly friend… leaving him in the dark. But Jesse was a genius to suggest him now, I thought with an inward grin.
We exited my room after I had dressed and put on some make up – 'Unnecessary,' Jesse had told me with a grimace at my image, 'you have natural beauty Susannah, yet you are so intent on using these paints?' – and picked up Jesse's car keys to his black porsh – an extremely cherried up black porsh… recently, Jesse has been obsessed with cars; like any other male his age – then said goodbye to Andy and Mom and took off to the mission.
Father Dominic greeted us, once we had arrived at the mission, like any other person he would see on a daily basis. But when we were safe in his office from listening persons, he turned to us as we got comfortable, his face mattered with concern and the usual wrinkles.
'Susannah, are you alright?' Oh no, I thought with a sheepish grin, I forgot to tell Father Dominic of my news! Surely he would understand, wouldn't he? He either would or wouldn't. The latter meaning he would most probably fall out of his chair… But lets not think of the possibilities.
I just smiled at Jesse knowingly and took his hand. 'Fine, Father D, Perfect, Actually.' I was feeling good, but at the time, I didn't believe I was feeling perfect. Firstly, there was the usual dose of morning sickness that didn't follow it's routine and could strike at any time, then there was the dreams and both Jesse and my confusion on the subject. The only thing that stood solid was the fact that I loved Jesse, was pregnant and would never, ever leave him.
'Then, Children, why are you here when there is such pleasant weather outside?' Father Dom smiled at us, I smiled at him back. Jesse squeezed my hand, which, as usual, sent pleasant tingles up my spine and feelings to arouse in my stomach that were not of the sickness factor, but of love and affection for him.
'Father, we have a confession and a problem on our hands.' Jesse seemed to have read my mind about the pregnancy thing. So I sat back and waited for him to tell Father Dominic about it, as he proceeded to do.
'We have not been in touch for the last week or so, please forgive us on that. But Susannah has had a spot of sickness. Which, we have found out, turned out to be something more.' Cryptic much? Alive Jesse was as Cryptic as Ghost Jesse was… I rolled my eyes at them both as they talked.
Father Dominic's eyes narrowed in suspicion but then he comprehended the last part and they widened again. 'She hasn't gotten a disease has she?' My eyebrows raised at this and I averted my gaze from Father D to Jesse. Mainly because the blue eyed gaze of the elderly priest was fixed on my face in particular. That made me think that maybe I didn't look all to glamorous.
Way to make a girl feel special, Father D. This deserves another eyeroll, I thought, and carried out the command at once.
To my – and Jesse's – utter surprise, Father Dominic snapped at my lack of consideration, 'Don't roll your eyes at me, Susannah! Diseases are serious! They spread fast as well!' Remember what I said about Father D falling out of his chair at the news? Scratch that. I fell out of my chair at the tone of his voice.
Jesse's dark eyes plagued with concern at my falling out of my chair. He helped me up carefully. 'Susannah, are you alright?' I just groaned. You don't know how many times I have heard that being asked to me today, I thought without a hint of sarcasm, which was unusual for me. But I had been asked that question tons today, not only by Jesse, but by Paul, who called earlier, my Mom, Andy… hell even Doc inquired about my health that day.
'What is wrong with Susannah, Jesse?' But Jesse didn't get to reply, because someone else did before he had the chance to.
'Oh, Her? She's just pregnant.' I turned around and my eyebrows raised.
'Paul?'
-(§)-
'I heard about your problem on the ghostly grapevine. Sure, I'm not dead, but I still get all the goss.' Paul winked at me and sat down between Jesse and I as Father Dominic was staring at my in shock.
'Pregnant? Susannah, is what Paul says true?' Father Dom's eyebrows were raised as high as mine had been a few minutes ago when he asked if I had a disease.
My cheeks flamed in mortification, 'Yes. Father Dom, it is.' I lowered my gaze to the floor and kept it there, studying an interesting (ha, ha) crack in the wood planks beneath us.
Paul mocked shock, 'You don't believe me Father Dominic? I feel so unloved.' He gave me his icy blue, quite pathetic, puppy-dog eyes when I scoffed at him. 'You too Suze? What is wrong with you people!' I knew he was joking, so I just gave him my other hand – the one that wasn't holding Jesse's – and he slipped his fingers into mine.
'Stop being such a drama queen, Paul.' Jesse rolled his eyes. This got me and, suprisingly, Paul into fits of laughter. It took us a whole five minutes to calm down. It's funny how one little thing could set you off like that.
'About your predicament…' Father Dom began, smiling a little bit after the mass of laughter, coughing and shock we had all just endured.
He had pried, asked nicely. So we told him.
Oh how we told him.
AN: Argmh… More Cliffies… at least I got the chappie up, right? The next one will be a LOT longer… Hehehehe. I'm just glad I finished this one! It took ages because I didn't have the time with my work on the Brain for Science, Cicero for History and my 'Tommorow, When the War Began' essay for English… not that you needed to know that or anything.
I love you all! Now to prove to me that I myself am loved, will you please review… please? –Puppy eyes–
-Elmer's Girl
P.S. In the wise words of Jane Nelson: "Floop is a madman, help us, save us!"
P.S.S. Damn Jane… getting that stupid song in ma head…
Parting word (Sorry Val, Stole it off ya): Bing Lee. (I HATE BING LEE!)