1"Leeeesa," Jackson's voice said. "Wake up, Leese! You alright?"

Lisa moaned and sat up. She was lying on the kitchen floor. Her back ached where she'd fallen off her chair.

"W-what were you saying?" Lisa answered, trying to pretend it hadn't happened. Jackson helped her to her feet and laughed.

"I went to an interview...for your old job at the hotel. I got it, too. They just called."

Lisa felt herself getting dizzy again, but forced herself to remain upward.

"But...what-I mean, how? You tried to blow it up! That would show up on your record," she said, head spinning. This was way too weird.

"Well, I was on very good fiscal terms with the jail I was released from," he winked at her. "Wiped my slate clean."

Lisa nodded. "But...why would you want to do that for a living?"

"I realized, I really liked bossing people around," he laughed. Lisa smiled. That much was true.

"When...when do you start?" she asked, rubbing her temples.

"Tomorrow," Jackson answered. "I'll be making almost as much as my position at my old corporation. And a lot of my associates are sticking close and faithful to help me when needed. Just to prepare you for something...you need to be really careful, Leese. A lot of people are uber-pissed at me for quitting. They'll strike out in any way possible."

Lisa didn't like how that sounded, but she just nodded.

Lisa went back to work at the school, where her nameplates were changed and her students were overjoyed to see her.

Lisa and Jackson saw each other briefly in the morning, and in the evening. They disliked their lack of time together, so they created Saturday date nights. Jackson took her to a different place every week, but the night always ended, with, as Lisa called it, "honeymooning."

Lisa eventually discovered that she desperately wanted children. Though she was only thirty, she needed someone else to care for. She had been so close once, so near to producing this kind of companion, but Jed had taken it all away. She cursed him every day for it.

Finally, one year after her miscarriage, she ran screaming from the bathroom into the kitchen where Jackson sat doing taxes. He looked up at her excited eyes and saw it all.

"Yes!" he cried, joining her celebration.

Jackson was fanatically cautious for this pregnancy. He made sure she didn't fall or drink any alcohol, watched her every move. Every turn had a rock to stumble over, every day a new series of dangerous threats. It was cute, but in a way that mildly annoyed Lisa.

Finally, by her ninth month, Lisa had taken to be slow. She ate healthy foods, something she oddly craved, the smell of junkfood making her sick. She felt much bigger for this pregnancy, and had found out why by her fifth month.

"Twins!" the doctor had said happily.

The names had been greatly debated. They needed two boy and two girl names, so they could mix and match. Jackson chose Athena and Luke, and Lisa liked Hailey and Jake.

Lisa stayed home that day, not feeling the best. Jackson left, his cell turned on as it had been the past eight months. She woke late and lay in bed for a while, reading. Around noon, as she turned over to adjust her pillow, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her abdomen.

"Ah...oow," she winced in pain. "Stop kicking, baby."

She lay back down and tried to concentrate on her book. The pain went away, but about five minutes later she felt one similar to the last, but increased in its size.

"Shit," she muttered, biting her lip. She crawled out of bed.

The next pain sent Lisa toppling back on the bed. She picked up the phone and dialed Cynthia's number just as her water broke.

"C-Cynthia," Lisa gasped. "I need a ride, please. Hurry!"

Cynthia arrived within the next three minutes and quickly drove towards the hospital. Once Lisa was settled in a room with a nurse, the frantic redhead sped off in search of a payphone.

"This is Rippner," his cool voice said over the cell phone.

"Jackson!" Cynthia screamed. "Lisa's in labor!"

There was no reply as Jackson slammed down the phone and rushed to the hospital.

"Just breathe, Leese," his soothing voice said. "Come on, do the Lamaze breathing they taught you."

"I'm trying Jackson, but it's not all that easy!" she screamed at him, squeezing his hand tightly. "You men are so unaware of the sincerely splitting pain I'm going through right now!"

Jackson smirked at the doctor as if they shared a little secret together, and Lisa glowered at him.

Within the next few minutes, the babies were born. Lisa flopped her messy head down on the pillow and closed her eyes as the doctor announced, "Boy and girl!" Jackson beamed proudly and cut the cords.

"Leese," Jackson whispered. "They're beautiful. They look like you." Lisa opened her eyes as the babies were set down next to her. Jackson sat on the foot of the bed, tears at the brim of his eyes that he wouldn't let out.

Both the children had fair skin, curly auburn hair, and piercing blue eyes. Lisa looked up at Jackson, tears cascading down her face.

"What are you going to name them?" the doctor asked once he had cleaned them up. Jackson looked at his wife.

"Athena Marie," Jackson said, questioning. Lisa nodded. Beautiful.

"Jacob Matthew," Lisa said for the baby boy. Jackson agreed, and the doctor took the babies as Lisa fell asleep.

"They're beautiful," Joe whispered to Jackson as they entered the hospital room. "They look like her."

"I know," Jackson agreed.

"I...guess this means..." Joe began, his eyes shifting nervously. "Guess this means I have to start trusting you."

"Guess so," Jackson grinned cockily. Lisa heard their voices before she opened her eyes.

"Guess I'll start now," said Joe. Lisa recognized this as his way of saying 'Welcome to the Family'.

"Hey, guys," Lisa croaked. "Daddy."

"Hey, Leese," her father said, coming over and kissing her on the cheek. "You have beautiful children. I feel old, now, though."

Lisa laughed lightly.

Lisa stayed in the hospital for two days, at which time she was released. Jackson unwillingly went back to work, but Lisa spent the next few weeks with her babies. She loved them more than anything else on the planet. She studied the curves of their toes, the way their cheeks moved when they slept. Lisa loved when they smiled, and was heartbroken when they cried. Jackson was the same, and spent weeks baby proofing the house.