We meet Jesse in this chapter. Yay.

Thanks for all the reviews! Keep the Doc pride alive!

-Aina-

"David, are you alright? You haven't touched your food."

I looked up to see Dad looking at me with concern, and with also a little disappointment that I had barely eaten his Reuben sandwich. He valued his cooking very much, and he should. They are delicious.

But today, I couldn't feel anything at all. No flavor, no taste, no desire to eat. It seemed as if my taste buds had stopped functioning.

All because I just saw a ghost. Knowing that it won't be the last time doesn't exactly make it any easier to accept.

"I'm fine, dad. This is really good," I said, forcing a smile to my face. Taking a huge bite of the sandwich, I slowly chewed, keeping my eyes on my plate.

"If you don't want your food, give them to me." Glancing up, I saw Brad eyeing my sandwich hungrily even though he had already eaten two. I was about to give him my portion when Dad spoke.

"Brad, that's David's food. If you want more there's some in the kitchen." Brad shot out of his chair like an Apollo 13.

Slowly, I tore up my sandwich into tiny pieces so that it looked like I have been eating them. Then I realized that Suze's plate was almost empty, which was impossible because she hadn't touched her food either. She must have been secretly feeding her sandwich to Max. My eyes met hers, and she was staring at me. I knew she couldn't wait to talk to me after our little conversation was interrupted with Dad calling us to lunch.

There was a side of me that was extremely curious, and was running through lists of experiments and facts that I could obtain by just talking to the ghost. Jesse. I could finally find out what I've always wondered about – the afterlife. Suze has mentioned once that ghosts stay on Earth because they have an unfinished business, and I've always wondered what his business was. Maybe he hasn't figured it out yet. But instead of wondering and talking tentatively with Suze – she doesn't like to talk about her ability – now I could go straight to him and ask.

The scientist part of me would be very happy.

Then there was another side of me. The human side that was willing to accept that there are some things we don't know and that's the way it was meant to be. I was all right with being oblivious to certain things beyond my control and just let things be. Maybe I was scared. I had after all, encountered Jesse before this, when he woke me up in the middle of the night a few months ago to warn me about Suze being in danger at school. That meant that he was a good ghost, besides the fact that Suze was willing to let him share her room with her.

But it doesn't take away the fact that he's still a ghost. I think that was a good enough reason to be afraid. Not fear of ghosts in entirety. Just fear of the unknown.

"I'm done," Suze suddenly said, getting up. She started to pick up the plates even though Brad had just sat down to eat his third sandwich.

"I'm nhot dhone!" Brad whined, his mouth full. Dad rolled his eyes and said to Suze, "Let him eat. You go on if you're done."

"Last person left washes the dishes," said Suze before looking at me. "Are you done?"

Of course I was. Yet I wanted to say no because I didn't want to face the inevitable. But Suze's eyes were hinting at me to agree, and I figured the faster I get this over with, the faster I can go to my room and pretend the world was still the way it was this morning.

"Yeah." I handed my plate to her while Brad protested about washing dishes to Dad, who ignored Brad and handed Suze his own plate.

I stood at the living room while waiting for Suze to lead me to her room. She said we could talk in there, even though the ghost was there. Or maybe she wanted the ghost to know about what I had just found out. Of course, I could have just told Suze to ask the ghost to leave while we talk about my newfound ability. I'm sure she would have understood. But my curiosity won over, and as much as I was afraid of him, I wanted to meet him.

This was very confusing. I kept changing my mind every few seconds. It hasn't happened to me before. At least, not that I could remember.

Suze came striding over and made her way upstairs, while I followed. Her expression was neutral but I knew she must be as curious as I was. She was just good at hiding it.

At her room door, she paused and turned towards me. "Are you sure you don't want me to tell him to go? If you're…uncomfortable, I could tell him to leave while we talked."

I sensed that she almost asked if I was 'afraid' before changing her mind. It made me more determined to prove to her that I was not afraid. So I shook my head. "It's okay. I'd like to meet him anyway."

She opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and pushed open her bedroom door instead. I slowly walked in and saw that the ghost was still sitting on the window seat, reading a thick hardcover. He looked up when we walked in but didn't say anything when he noticed I was there. Apparently, he still didn't realize I could see him.

Suze shut her door before turning around to face us. Now she didn't look as calm anymore.

I turned towards the ghost again, and noticed that he had dark hair, dark eyes and tanned skin, common attributes for a Spanish man. I also noticed that he was glowing in a bluish hue. Before I could stop myself, I blurted, "He's glowing!"

Suze dropped her head in resignation, while the ghost stared at me with a shocked expression on his face. "You can see me?" His voice was deep and as clear as a living person's, and I lost my nerve. I just stared wide-eyed at him, not saying a word.

He turned to Suze. "Susannah?"

Suze sighed and sat down heavily on her bed. "I was hoping I could break this news a little slower, but it seemed someone is a little over-excited." She glanced at me then sighed again. "Yeah, he can see you Jesse. Somehow he had managed to become a mediator without him knowing how and when."

I sat down slowly at her chair, still staring at the ghost. I mean, Jesse. He had a name and by right it should be used. But in the history books it said his name was Hector and only his mom called him Jesse. Well, his mom and Suze, apparently.

"Nombre de Dios." He looked at me with surprise and wonder. His book lay forgotten on his lap. I wondered how he managed to hold the book without it going through him. Although from where I was sitting, he looked as solid as Suze and I. "David, how did this happen?"

He said my name, I realized. My heart beating fast, I stammered pathetically, "How…how do you know my name?"

Jesse seemed taken aback by my question, but he smiled. "I heard your family call you that."

"You mean you heard Suze call me? Everyone else doesn't usually come in here…"

He kept smiling in this unthreatening manner, and somehow I felt less afraid. "Well, I don't just stay in here all the time. I could go to other places, and sometimes when I go to the living room I hear your family call you by your name."

I thought ghosts could only haunt the place that they died in, and not able to go anywhere. This was fascinating. So many things that I thought were true could be disprove within a few seconds of talking to him.

Suze was gaping at us with an I-don't-believe-this expression on her face. "Um, Doc, I mean, David –"

But I interrupted her with "So you could go anywhere?"

He shrugged. "Possibly, but I have never tried going anywhere outside Carmel. Although I have been to your school and other places."

My school. Realization dawned upon me. "Did you come by my school this morning?"

"Yes I did, I went to return one of Father Dominic's books." Jesse said, a little surprised. "How did you know?"

"I saw a glow…I didn't know what it was except that it looked familiar. Now I realized why it looked familiar. It was your glow…I saw it on the night you woke me up to warn me about Suze. Now that I see it again I remembered." How could I forget? It has the same bluish tint.

He looked at me, his face expressionless. "David, I'm sorry if I scared you that night. But Susannah was in danger and I didn't know who I could ask for help –"

"Could you two please stop talking like I'm not here?" Suze said loudly, her irritation evident. "And quit this chit-chat because we need to sort out the problem we have here."

I wanted to tell Jesse that it was all right, but looking at Suze, I decided it was better to keep my mouth shut. But not before asking, "What problem?"

She whipped around and glared at me like I just asked about her ruined Betsey Johnson skirt. "You. A mediator. That's the problem. How did that happen? People are born as mediators, they don't just become one."

I frowned at her. "I don't know how. But are you sure that people cannot become a mediator? Maybe for some people they received the ability after a certain age. For all I know, I could have acquired it after my birthday last week."

Suze seemed hesitant, but shook her head. "No. That's not possible. Why would anyone suddenly get to see ghosts once they reached their thirteenth birthday or whenever? It wouldn't be fair for anyone to suddenly be thrust upon the responsibility of mediating ghosts. Hell, it's not even fair to those who were born with it, like me, but at least I have time to get used to it." She thought for a while. "When did you notice you could see…" She gestured towards Jesse.

"This morning. When I told you."

"But you could have been able to see him for a while and didn't notice it. Right?"

I nodded. "That's possible, since I rarely venture into your room. And unless there were any other ghosts around, I wouldn't have noticed."

"Did anything usual happen to you in the last few days?" Jesse spoke up after watching us having the conversation. I suddenly regretted saying the word 'ghosts' because it appeared to be an inconsiderate action towards him. But Jesse didn't look offended, just curious.

I sat back, thinking. "Nothing unusual save from today, where we had the full solar eclipse." I brightened. "Maybe it's the eclipse! It caused me to be able to see ghosts."

Suze looked doubtful. "But wouldn't that mean half of Carmel who woke up early to watch the eclipse be able to see ghosts too? Not to mention the people in other cities where the eclipse also occurred."

I nodded slowly. "That's true. But I couldn't think of any other reasons. The last week was routine for me, at school and at home. Nothing out-of-sorts happened."

We fell silent for a while, contemplating our thoughts. Then Suze said, "Whatever it is, we don't know how long this would last. It could be permanent, or temporary. That's why I'm going to trust you not to tell anyone else about it. If you did tell anyone, I must warn you that I will not be your witness before you get hauled off to the loony bin." Her green eyes were fixed on me.

I flushed. Honestly, I had considered telling Ryan about this. He was my best friend and I knew he could keep my secret. It would be great to have another person's opinion – scientific or not - on this matter. But I realized that this wasn't just my secret. This was also Suze's. And she had kept her ability a secret for so long, even from her own mother.

"I'm sure David knows better than to disclose his ability to others without proof." Jesse said pleasantly to Suze, who threw a sharp look at him before looking back at me.

I was grateful for Jesse's support and the decision was obvious. "I will not tell anyone, I promise," I said solemnly.

She stared at me for a while, then nodded, satisfied. "Okay. We'll just see if you still have this thing tomorrow. Now I have to do my homework." She took her bag from the floor and walked to her desk. Then she turned towards me, where I was still sitting on her chair, her brows knitted together. "Don't you have homework too?"

I knew it was her cue for me to leave, and in usual circumstances I would have peeled off to the door. But today was not a usual day, and the unanswered questions in my head nagged at me. I glanced at Jesse, who was picking up his book again, and wondered whether he minded if I asked him a few more questions. My early assumption about him was incorrect, as he seemed to be a nice guy, ghost or not.

Looking back at Suze, I said hesitantly, "Can I stay and talk to Jesse for a bit?"

She frowned. "About what?"

"About…ghost stuff."

Jesse looked up and said amiably, "Susannah, it is fine. I don't mind if he wants to speak with me."

Suze looked at both of us impatiently then sighed for what seemed like the tenth time today. "Whatever. It's not like my bedroom isn't the Grand Central Station already. Just keep it down."

I grinned, then walked over to the window seat. Just as I was about to sit down beside Jesse, something big and yellow dropped down from the window onto the window seat. I jumped back, startled.

It was a cat. Suze's cat, apparently. The one she kept in her room because Brad was allergic to cat hair and she couldn't let the cat go to the other parts of the house. The cat, with one ear apparently missing, ambled slowly to Jesse, who smiled and petted it. I looked on in amazement. Never have I seen a cat so friendly with a ghost.

Then again before today, I have never seen a ghost.

"You can pet him if you want," Jesse said, smiling at me. "He's a good cat."

"Yeah, to you." Suze said, swiveling around on her chair. "He's never good to me even though I'm the one who feeds him and cleans his smelly litter and Doc- David, don't pet him because he'll scratch your –"

But it was too late. I petted the cat, who purred in response. Jesse laughed. Suze looked stunned, before scowling.

"Fine. I'm the only one in the world he hates. After all I've done for him. Ungrateful creature."

Jesse looked like he wanted to say something in reply so I quickly asked, "What's his name?"

He looked down at the cat before answering somewhat reluctantly, "Spike."

I raised my eyebrows, "Spike? That's...uncommon."

"That's the name his last master gave, and that's the one he's stuck with. Not that it makes any difference, since he wouldn't come if I call him anyway. Not unless Jesse is here," Suze answered while dumping her books on her bed.

Something about the way she said the words 'last master' intrigued me. I was about to ask her what she meant by that when something shimmered near the door. As the reddish glow became brighter and clustered to form a shape, I realized what it was.

Another ghost.