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"Alright, Mr Macalister," the clerk said as she read over the small box in her hand, "-one in the morning, and one in the evening before bed, alright? The blue one contains an antihistamine that should help you sleep."

Jesse nodded silently, glazed blue eyes watching as she stuffed his medication into a paper bag. He'd been forgetting to take it, both the ones for his ADD and his pain killers. Rightfully he should have been having them both in the mornings when he woke up, but as he'd forgotten to do so lately he didn't realise he was out until he'd remembered that morning and gone to get his pills. Three weeks he'd been without them and it was four since he should have had the scripts filled. It was no wonder he'd been more forgetful then usual.

"That'll be seventy two, fifty." The woman behind the counter told him cheerfully, her hand outstretched, perfectly manicured nails gleaming in the harsh lighting. He stared for a moment, mindlessly reaching for his wallet. He was waiting for his change, fidgeting nervously and picking at the paper bag in his hand when he felt a tap on the shoulder and he flinched almost violently, dropping his meds in the process. He was on the defensive immediately and glared behind him at whoever had the nerve to put their hands on him.

Big golden eyes blinked at him dolefully, a pretty face shrouded with black dreads. He stared at the woman for a moment then recognition hit him. It was the girl he'd met the week before… Max or Matt or something like that. He cleared his throat, looking anywhere but at her as she bent to retrieve the bag he'd dropped.

"Tense, much?" she asked dryly, offering him the bag. Their fingers brushed as he took it from her and he forced himself not to snatch it this time. He'd been more than a little rude the last time when she was only trying to help him and he'd felt rotten about it for the rest of the night.

Jesse frowned, brows furrowing as he took in her appearance. Something was different. It was cool and dreary outside that day but not overly so – just overcast with a slight breeze so her lack of a coat didn't really bother him. A purple lacy slip was worn over a pair of straight leg grey slacks, white bra strap hanging off her left shoulder. She pushed it up absently, her wrists littered with little rubber bracelets and a leather cuff. It was like a smaller version of the one Vince had worn while he was alive.

Her lips quirked, eyes shifting about nervously. "What?"

Jesse scrutinised her appearance a moment longer and that's when he realised what it was. There was a tiny jewelled stone nestled just below her bottom lip – that hadn't been there before. He didn't comment on it for a moment, merely turned back to the counter to retrieve his change and receipt then started for the pharmacy door.

"Hey, Jesse Macalister – wait there a minute! I want to talk to you."

He stopped this time knowing she'd just follow him if he ignored her and stood by the discount bin. He poked through the discontinued stock while he waited for her. Most of it was junk – make up brushes, out of date cough drops, sanitary products.. He almost grinned when he came across a bottle of midnight blue nail varnish. He couldn't remember the last time he'd painted his nails like he used to do. He'd managed to talk Vince into it once while they were drunk and the big man had gone around for days with red and black nails before he made him take it off for him.

An arm slipped around his waist and he felt her head drop against his arm. He knew right away that it was Max… or Matt.. whatever her name was, as nobody else would approach him in such a way – plus he could see the purple and black of her hair out of the corner of his eye.

"That's a pretty colour." She commented, removing her arm to take the bottle from him. "Do you wear nail polish?"

Jesse didn't even look at her as he nodded, just went back to poking through the discount bin where he found a bottle of black varnish that was missing the label and an opaque white. It looked almost like paint or liquid paper in the bottle. He looked at them for a moment debating whether to splurge and found himself once again startled as she snatched them from his hands and strolled to the counter with them. He lifted a brow at her blatant rudeness and scowled. If she'd wanted them all she'd only had to say so, but instead she'd been a rude bitch and stolen them from his very hands.

When she returned a moment later and pushed the bag into his hand with a smile he suddenly felt guilty for internally berating her.

"Present." She offered blithely, hooking her arm around his and dragging him from the store.

They had been walking for a minute or so when she let go of him and took a step aside to give him some space.

"So how are you, Jesse Macalister?"

He shrugged slightly. To be honest she was the first person who had asked him that in a very long time and he wasn't exactly sure how to answer that question. He wasn't alright, he wasn't happy and he wasn't getting any better. He just was – but she didn't need to know that.

"Alright, I guess."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and hummed softly, slowly strolling alongside him. Without even realising he was doing it Jesse had automatically shortened his stride so she could keep up – her legs weren't as long as his and if she wanted to talk to him he couldn't walk at his normal pace.

"How's your kitty?" she asked after a moment, trying to engage him in conversation. He could tell the silence was making her uncomfortable and he gave her props for trying so hard. Not many people would.

"Delilah," he told her quietly, "-her name is Delilah." He wrung his fingers around the folded over section of the paper bag in his hands, alternating between watching his feet and looking ahead of him.

"Delilah, then." She sounded as if she were smiling, "How is little Delilah?"

Jesse nodded. "She's good, thankyou." He glanced across at her and tapped his chin. He needn't even ask her about it – she grinned instantly and skipped slightly beside him.

"You noticed!" she sounded so excited. "I only got it done yesterday. Do you like it, Jess? Is it ok if I call you Jess?" She didn't even give him the chance to reply. "Anyway – I went home last night and the boy toy wasn't entirely rapt by it, said it looked stupid, so I've been asking all my friends what they think so I can prove him wrong." She paused. "Hopefully." She added as an afterthought.

Jesse found himself battling a smile, something he hadn't really done in a while at her excited rambling. He didn't realise how much he missed the companionship of the team – his family – until he actually had someone to talk to.

He'd spent the last six months of his life in virtual solitude. When he'd been released from the hospital he hadn't been sure what to do with himself. There was no way he could go back to the Toretto home and he didn't want to go back to living in the van behind DT either, so he'd gotten in touch with his father in prison and the old man had gotten his lawyer to set him up somewhere. He owed it all to his father, everything he had now – material possessions at least.

He'd come up for parole the month before – his father – but he'd been denied. It was the third time they'd refused to release him. Jesse had the feeling that he'd never be released as he'd never regret what he'd done, nor would he pretend he did. He was in for armed robbery, attempted murder and a volley of other things. When he did something he didn't do it half assed.

He wasn't aware he'd stopped walking until he felt Max – Matt – whoever's hand on his arm.

"Are you alright, Jess?" she asked in a soft voice, her dulcet tones soothing and welcomed. He almost felt like curling into her and just being held but he barely knew her and he wasn't about to do that to a complete stranger.

He stared at her hand on his arm, her nails still that glossy shade of peacock blue that they'd been the week before. He refused to even look up at her, nodding mechanically as he looked down toward the pavement.

"Alright then, sweetie," she didn't sound convinced but let it go anyway. "Look," she started, "-I used to have this cat, she got hit by a car though," she smiled at his sympathetic look, " – but I still have all the things I bought for her. Collars, toys, bowls.. stuff like that. Would you like it for Delilah?"

Jesse blinked dumbly at the offer. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but that was far from whatever he had been.

"Uh, well," he stammered, "H-how much?" He'd been meaning to get her all those kinds of things but he just hadn't gotten around to it. He'd forgotten to do it so many times now that it was bordering neglect.

An elegant hand waved him off, her eyes rolling. "Your money is worthless to me, Jess. If you want it you can have it." She blinked rapidly, "If you need it that is."

He nodded slightly, blinking rapidly as he struggled to find the words. His mind was racing a thousand miles an hour and he couldn't quite manage to get out what he wanted to say. He could feel her hand on his arm, slow soothing strokes against his wrist calming him slightly.

"Just take a deep breath and try again." She offered with good humour. He could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't annoyed or offended by his lack of communication skills. She waited patiently for him to do so.

Slowly, Jesse breathed in through his nose, then exhaled and tried once more.

"That's really very kind of you," he twitched his fingers slightly, picking at the bag once more, "-are you sure I can't offer you anything for it?"

"Nah – I have no use for it so I may as well give it to someone who can use it." She shrugged. "Plus, Derrick's been at me for months to get rid of it." Her expressive eyes rolled slightly. "Mac, get this shit out of here! We don't have a fucking cat so we don't need it!" she mocked. "Boyfriends – useless, I tell you."

Jesse smirked. At least now she'd just saved him the humiliation of having to ask her what her name was again. Mac. He jumped when she clapped her hands together and looked around as it started to drizzle.

"Well I better get going, but I shall drop that stuff over to you later. Will you be home?" He'd barely even nodded before she was backing up. "Great! I'll see you later, Jess!" And with that she was jogging across the street with her hands above her head, trying to shield herself from the rain.

He watched her for a moment then slowly turned and continued on his way home, not even trying to avoid the rain. He was past that. Needless to say by the time he got home he was soaked to the bone but he could care less. He popped a few of his pills, made himself a coffee and went and sat on the balcony to watch the rest of the day pass by.

It's all he had, if not anything else.