Thanks for all the kind reviews!

And BregoBeauty . . . I'd like you to become me BETA so I'll e-mail you the next chapter!

Enjoy . . .

"Did you hear that?" Lisa asked. She watched as Jackson stayed silent and concentrated on listening for any hints of a trespasser. Lisa turned back towards the door, and slowly made her way out into the hall.

Another loud crash made her jump back into the bathroom in surprise; her heart began beating hard within her chest.

When she looked back at Jackson he was nodding at her, and then asked, "Are you expecting company? Because if you aren't then I suggest that you close and lock the door."

Turning quickly Lisa took the advice and began shutting the door, readying herself for any surprises the may jump out at her. The door clicked, making little sound as it protested against being shut. After she had tested the door to insure that it really was locked, she leaned heavily on the oak.

"I don't think I left a trail to your home, maybe it's just a burglar," Jackson told her.

Lisa's eyes opened wide in mock anger, as she tried not to shout these words, "Just a burglar? What's wrong with you? Someone is in my house! How do you know that it's not the mob looking for you? Maybe you DID leave a trail to my house! You were bleeding everywhere!"

Jackson tried to shush her, hoping that she would not draw attention to the room they were currently occupying. He clenched his jaw as her voice got loud with every statement she made. "Shhh!" he mumbled, hoping desperately that she'd shut her flapping lips. "Listen, if you keep your voice up, you're going to draw unwanted attention to us."

Her lips stopped moving at this revelation. She pulled her robe tighter around her torso, hoping that the action would bring some amount of comfort. That's when she heard it.

"Is someone calling my name?" the question lingered in the air.

Jackson surprised her by asking her another question to go along with her own meaningless question. "Do you recognize the voice?"

Her head shook furiously, signifying that she didn't. "It's too far away to tell for sure, but I swear that I could hear someone calling my name." The voice came again, only it sounded closer. This time she could hear the mystery guest walking towards the stairs.

"Lisa?" the voice asked somewhere at the bottom of the stairs. The realization dawned on Lisa and the young woman let out a sigh of relief, she recognized the voice of her father.

Jackson watched from his uncomfortable position in the tub, seeing a whole fleet of emotions cross Lisa's face. First there was terror, then shock, finally relief. "Do you know who it is?" he asked, his voice betraying his annoyed attitude.

She nodded and solemnly told him, "It's my father."

His eyebrow shot up and he rolled his eyes. "Oh joy, now your father can come finish the job."

"I'm not going to tell him that you're here," she promised as she opened the door and shut it behind her.

"Dad?" she asked as she walked cautiously down the stairs. The new sound shattered the silence that pervaded the empty house.

"There you are," the man spoke from the bottom of the steps. "It was dark when I walked in; I thought that you had already gone to sleep . . . I'm afraid that your fichus has met it's untimely demise, I didn't see it when I walked in."

Lisa grinned as she walked into his waiting arms. The embrace was short but it left a standing impression of comfort that only her father could provide. "What are you doing here so late?" she questioned.

"I was worried; you didn't pick up the phone earlier so I thought I'd drop by to see if everything was alright." Joe stopped for a second then began again. "I nearly had a heart attack when I saw blood all over your porch, what happened?"

Lisa wracked her brain, trying to come up with a good excuse for the mess that she had forgotten to clean up. "The neighbors dog was hit by a car today, they though that I might be able to help so they brought him here."

Joe nodded at her explanation and then added, "Shouldn't you have had the animal control people clean it up?"

"The dog was still alive . . . they didn't have time, I'm sure they'll come back to clean it up tomorrow and even if they don't I'll do it in the morning."

"I'll help you clean it up." Lisa's father offered. But Lisa shook her head no, and insisted that she would do it herself.

It was then that the fact that she was extremely jumpy had dawned on him, causing Joe to be suspicious. The father remembered back to when Lisa was a sophomore in high school; she had tried to sneak a boy into the house. Being a father Joe had immediately known, of course the fact that Lisa was a horrible liar might have had something to do with it.

"Lisa, are you sure you're okay? You seem a little . . . jumpy," the man was now sure that something was amiss.

Lisa let out a breathy laugh, trying to evade suspicion. Her dad was one of the best at interrogating people; he could pick a lie out from mere facial expressions. "Dad I'm fine, I suppose the adrenaline from being woken up at three thirty in the morning is still floating through my veins."

It was Joe's turn to laugh then. "I'm sorry Lisa, but I'm a father and I worry about you. You've been through a lot lately."

A soft smile appeared on her face at his last statement. "How many times can I tell you that I'm fine? And how many times will I have to until you believe me?" She regretted her last statement when her father frowned deeply.

"Well, I'll come by see you tomorrow Lissy," Joe told her, calling her by her childhood nickname. He kissed her on the cheek and took her face in his hands, then proceeded to kiss her forehead.

After saying their goodbye's Lisa returned to the bathroom.

"He's gone, she spoke keeping her head down as she entered the bathroom with fresh clothes that belonged to her father. When no answer came she lifted her head to see why. She nearly screamed at what she saw.

Jackson's head was submerged in the water, and he wasn't moving.

TBC . . .