Hi guys,

Okay, okay it probably was a bit mean ending the last chapter where I did so I've decided to be kind to you all and upload this chapter a couple days early.

I've also uploaded a couple new Jisa fan videos on my YT channel. One is What Are Words, the other is I Get To Love You (personally my all time favourite video I've done) and I hope you guys will enjoy them. I really think that I Get To Love You captures the essence of Jack and Lisa's love perfectly. Such a gorgeous song for my favourite couple.

Alright, I know your dying to read what happens next so I'll stop talking and let you get to it. Enjoy!

Chapter 3.0

Lisa ran forward out into the cold not waiting for anyone to come help. She looked at Jessie's pale, bruised and rain drenched face as she helped her down off the horse, the other girl jumping around her like a spring foal trying to help the best she could. The girl was cold, soaked to the bone and for a moment she began to panic as the girl half lay on the horse and lifeless in her arms. 'Jessie, Jessica honey, can you hear me?'

Jessie heard Lisa's voice, fighting through the darkness to respond to her. Pain rushed over her in a wave as she became conscious again, almost threatening to make her faint again. She forced her eyes open as she nodded, feeling her holding onto her tightly as she and Cindy pulled her off Warrior. 'L-isa.'

'It's okay honey, I've got you. I've got you.' She heard footsteps behind her as she held the girl in her arms, but didn't bother glance back to see who it was. The only thing that mattered to her was Jessie. 'Get some blankets, we've got to get them dry and warmed up.'

'What about Warrior?' Cindy asked as she grabbed the saddlebags off the saddle. She wasn't about to leave them behind, not with the phone that she had to give to them. 'Where can I put him?'

'Scott can you take care of him?' She carried the girl into the house as Lou and Amy hurried to find blankets, Jack came over to help get the girl inside and Scott and Ty went out to take the horse to the barn. She looked over at Mallory as they got the girl into the living room. 'Mallory, go find some clothes they can change into.'

Cindy placed the wet saddlebags on the floor, then hurried over to Jessie and the woman. 'Jessie, are you okay?'

'I'm still alive.' She sat up, wincing as she held her hand over her side. She tried to brush Lisa's hand away from looking at her side, but she didn't have the strength left to protest. She bit her lip, fighting back tears from the pain as the woman quickly tore her shirt to look at her wound. 'It's not that bad.'

'Not that bad?' Lisa scoffed as she looked at the deep bloody gash. 'What on earth happened to you child?'

'It's a long story.' She coughed, her chest heaving in pain as she struggled to breathe. More blood was on her hand as she pulled it away, wiping it on her wet clothes. 'I think it's going to need stitches.'

'I'd say it needs more than just stitches.' Lisa took the blanket Amy handed her and wrapped it around the girl, then looked over at Jack as he came back into the room with more blankets. 'I think we need to take Jessie to the hospital.'

'Its not that bad.' She protested as Jack came over to her, kneeling down beside Lisa and Cindy to look at her injury. 'It doesn't hurt too much.' She lied. It was hurting like hell but there was no way she was going to the hospital. 'Please, I don't want to go to the hospital.'

'Your in no condition to be arguing with us sweetheart. You're going to the hospital and that's final.' He looked down at the other girl, then back at her as he got up to grab the keys to the truck. 'Jessie, who's this?'

'Cindy. Can Amy and Lou look after her?' Jessie asked, looking at them. 'I'll explain later, just keep her safe.'

Cindy's eyes widened. 'No, I want to come with you!' She begged. 'Please, I don't want to stay with them. I want to stay with you!'

Jessie mustered her strength to place her hand on the girl's shoulder. 'Cindy, you have to trust me. They won't hurt you. You're safe here.' She didn't see the glances exchanged between the other people standing around them. 'I'll be alright, but I need to know that you are safe. You need to stay here. Alright? Amy and Lou will take good care of you, you don't need to be scared of them. They won't hit you.'

'Jessie-'

'Cindy, I'm sorry but you must trust me. They aren't like the foster parents, they aren't going to abuse you.' She kissed the girl's head as Cindy threw her arms around her. 'You'll be fine. They're good people. I trust them.'

'The storm has lessened for the moment, we should go now.' Jack interrupted, having got his keys off the wall. Putting on his jacket, he knelt down beside the two girls, then turned to Cindy. Whatever had happened for them to have come here and with what Jessie had said to her, he was already starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. 'Cindy, we're going to get her some help, okay? Jessie is hurt really bad, she needs to go to the hospital.' The girl nodded, not looking at him. 'You'll be alright here, you're safe.' He looked at Jessie, the girl's bruised pale face and pain filled eyes saying more than words. 'Come on honey, let's get you out to the truck.'

'Can you walk?' Lisa asked as she gave the girl a hand to get up.

Jessie nodded, biting her lip as she forced her feet underneath herself and tried to stand. She stood for a moment, leaning against Lisa then her legs gave out under her. She didn't hit the floor though, for Jack and Lisa caught her before she fell. Jack took one look at her, then picked her up bridal style and she didn't argue. She felt so weak, so tired. She was fighting the darkness that was trying to take her back in its grasp. 'Thanks Jack.' She murmured, her head resting on his shoulder.

Jack nodded as he carried her towards the front door. 'Lisa, grab that other blanket and jacket. Tim, can you keep an eye on things here?'

'Sure Jack.' He handed Lisa her mobile off the table so that she didn't forget it as she put on her coat then looked down at the girl. 'We'll look after Cindy, don't you worry.'

'Thanks.' Jessie rested her head against Jack's shoulder again as Tim opened the door for them, gasping as the cold air hit her. The rain had slackened for a moment, but the wind was freezing cold. She nuzzled against Jack as he carried her to the truck, Lisa opening the door and hopping in for him to pass her to her. She coughed, her sides heaving in pain as Lisa held her against herself and wrapped her in another blanket. She looked up at her as she rested against her, Lisa looked terribly worried and it only made her more nervous. Her body language was scaring her. She obviously knew her injuries were worse then she'd thought. 'Guess you didn't expect to see me again.'

'Would have been nice if it was under better circumstances.' She helped the girl into a more comfortable position, the girl half lying on the seat and half on her lap with her head leaning against her chest. Jack closed the door, then hurried around to the driver's side and started the engine. For once, the heater decided to work. Jack backed up slowly, turning the vehicle around then headed out to the road towards the town. The rain started to bucket down again heavier as they pulled out onto the road, the squeal of the windscreen wipers like fingers on a chalkboard. 'What on earth happened sweetheart?'

'Let's say, I'm never going back there.' Jessie managed to get out as she forced herself to stay conscious but she was losing that battle. 'I'll explain everything later, I'm just so tired.'

'You can't sleep yet honey.' Lisa stroked her hair, the worry of not knowing how bad the girls injuries were silently freaking her out. There was a lot of blood on her, from what she could guess the girl had been bleeding for quite some time. The girl was feverish, she was probably in shock and if she had concussion the worst thing she could do was fall asleep. 'Talk to me Jessie, you have to stay awake.'

She nodded, about to say something but stopped by another coughing fit. This time she didn't have the strength to cover her mouth, or wipe the blood off her chin.

Lisa saw the blood she coughed up, wiping it off her face with the corner of the blanket. Coughing up blood wasn't a good sign and it only served to increased her worry. The girls breathing was raspy, fast and shallow as if each breath were a struggle from coughing. 'God Jessica, what did they do to you?'

'Got into a punch up with Howard last night.' She wheezed, again feeling like someone was pressing down on her chest with every breath she took getting harder and harder to take. 'He was beating Cindy and I tried to stop him. He turned on me because I was protecting her from him, then we escaped and didn't look back.'

Lisa looked at Jack and he caught her glance out of the corner of his eye as he concentrated on the road ahead. Anger welled up inside her. Goodness knew what else he had put the kids through if this was anything to go by. Jessica's pale face was black and blue, it was a wonder he hadn't broken her nose into the bargain. She looked at the girls eyes, still shining with that courage even though she was in pain. No wonder Cindy had been so frightened of her leaving her with the others. She didn't know who to trust. The girl's eyes fluttered for a moment, she could see she wanted to sleep but she had to keep her awake. She had to keep her talking. 'Your very fond of Cindy, aren't you?'

Jessica nodded, jumping slightly as thunder rumbled overhead. 'We looked out for each other. All the foster kids do. We had to.' She bit her lip as the truck hit a pothole, her side jarring from the motion. 'Why didn't you try and contact me Lisa? I would have told you how awful it was before it came to this.'

'I tried to Jessie, I rang them all the time. I knew that you wouldn't have mobile service out there, but you never rang me back using their phone.'

Jessie's eyes flashed angrily. 'They never told me you were trying to contact me. I thought you'd forgotten all about me since I'm just an unimportant foster kid.'

'No Jessie, I didn't forget you honey. Jack and I were even planning on going out there tomorrow to see if you were alright. I just wish we had come to see you sooner.'

'It wouldn't have done any good. They would have been watching us like a hawk, I'd never have been able to tell you what was going on.' She coughed again, gasping in pain as her ribs throbbed. 'They really drill the fear of God into those kids. They're too scared to put a toe out of line for fear of getting beaten.'

'Sounds like they put the fear of themselves into you children instead of God.' Grabbing the corner of the blanket she wiped the blood off the girls mouth again. 'That's all over now, you and Cindy are safe. We'll make sure that you don't end up back there.'

'It's not us I'm worried about, it's the other kids.' Jessie bit her lip hard from the pain. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, she felt like she was in water, trying to breath in water. 'They'll know we're gone by now and the others are going to be on the receiving end of their wrath. Can you do something? Tell the police? I gave Cindy the phone you gave me with evidence of how we were treated and our living situation. It should be enough for them to have the kids taken off them.'

'Don't worry, Jack and I will make sure that they're alright just as soon as you get taken care of.'

'Thanks Lisa.' Jessie coughed again, choking on the blood she coughed up. Lisa quickly sat her up and slapped her back to clear her airways so she could breathe. Jessie leaned against her, gasping and heaving for oxygen, whimpering in pain.

'Sssh, I've got you.' Lisa held her arms against her, wishing she could take the girls pain away. Her whimpers tore through her soul, how could anyone be so cruel to a child? 'Your going to be alright, you're going to be alright.'

'We're almost there.' Jack slowed down as they entered the town. 'Just hold on Jessie, you'll be okay.'

Jessie nodded, resting against Lisa. Each breath was a struggle for air. 'I just hope the others will be.'

'Don't worry, we'll see to it, they'll be fine. I promise.' He pulled the truck to a stop in a vacant spot near the entrance then hopped out and Lisa helped the girl move over so he could pick her up. She whimpered softly as he picked her up out of the truck, resting her head against his shoulder as Lisa closed the door. 'I've got you, I've got you.'

'Your going to be alright honey.' Lisa assured her as Jack carried her into the emergency department. 'You'll be okay.'

Cindy dug into the warm stew Lou handed her with gusto, sitting at the table in dry clothes and wrapped up in warm blankets. She looked at the woman as she sat down, the house quiet with the exception of the rain on the roof and the quiet snoring of the men sleeping on the floor. It was rather late, as far as she could tell everyone except Lou was in bed. 'Thank you.'

'Your most welcome Cindy.' Lou smiled at her. 'I hope you like it. It's not much, just what we had left at short notice. There's some salad and things left too if you want them. We weren't really prepared to have extra guests or we'd have something better to offer you.'

'Yeah, we really dumped ourselves on you, didn't we.' She hoed into the stew, but forced herself to eat slower so that she didn't make herself sick. 'We just didn't have anywhere else to go. I am sorry for just turning up on your doorstep but Jessie said you guys would look after us.'

'We're happy to, Jessie is almost like family so that means we will look after you too.' The girl smiled cautiously as she looked at her. 'Cindy, I know that Jessie's hurt, but why did you two run away? Were they mean to you?'

Cindy nodded as she all but licked the bowl clean then turned quiet and serious as she pushed it aside. 'He used to hit us, he hit all the kids. He and his three boys. It didn't matter if he was drunk or sober, he still hit us. His boys, they used to gang up on me and beat me up till Jessie arrived. She wouldn't let them near me. She was protecting me from him last night when he tried to beat me with a horse whip. Jessie tried to stop him and he beat her but she knocked him out and then we ran away.'

'So that's how Jessie got hurt?'

'Yes.' She nodded again. 'He flung her onto the cobblestones, she was knocked out cold for a few moments but I distracted him so that she could get up. Jessie gave it to him good.'

'It doesn't sound very nice there.' Lou persisted, prompting her to say more. The girl was obviously scared of them and if it was true that they'd been treated like that there was no way those people should have foster children. 'Where did you sleep? Were you in the house?'

'No, in a shed. All eight of us. There were mice, they'd crawl under the covers and wake us up. Jessie got good at catching them though, she'd catch them and kill them so we could sleep. It was really cold too, we used to all huddle up to each other to keep warm.' She paused for a moment, thinking, then snuck quietly over to the saddlebag and got out Jessie's phone. 'Jessie managed to hide it from them, she took pictures and things. She wants to give it to the police. She told me to give it to Jack or Lisa but since they're not here I'll give it to you.'

Lou nodded as she took the phone the girl handed to her without opening it. 'I'll put it aside for them.'

'Thanks Lou.' She glanced at the clock. 'Can you ring them? Find out if Jessie's alright?'

'Sure sweetie if it puts your mind at ease, but you'll need to go to bed after. It is quite late.'

'Alright.' She agreed. 'I'll finish off that salad first though.' Pulling the salad bowl over, she began to eat what was left as Lou headed into the kitchen to make the phone call. She was glad to finally be out of the rain, the storm still rumbling but with less ferocity than before. Silently, she chewed on the lettuce leaves as she listened to Lou on the phone then looked up as she walked back in. 'How is she?'

'Jack doesn't know yet, they haven't told him. He promised to let us know when there is any news so it's time for you to be off to bed. We've made you a bed in Mallory's room.'

'Alright.' She sighed as she got up. 'Just make sure you come wake me when there's news.'

Lisa paced the hallway of the waiting room as they waited to hear anything about the girl. She'd been there for nearly four hours already and no one had come out yet to tell them how she was. She was angry, no, furious actually at how the girl had been treated, of the shape she was in. The hospital had already called the police and they were to come around in the morning and they'd also rung Clint too but hadn't heard back from him yet. It was late, of course, as the clock ticked closer and closer to midnight.

'Lisa, come sit down. You're making me dizzy walking back and forth like that.' He patted the empty seat next to him. 'Pacing isn't going to make news come any sooner.'

'I know.' She sighed heavily as she sat down beside him. 'I just can't sit still. They should have come to see us by now.'

'Lisa, they will come soon, just relax.' He put his arm around her, and she leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. 'Try and get some sleep, it's very late.'

'I can't sleep.' She whispered back in the empty room, the lights dim since it was night time. They were the only people there. Waiting. 'I knew something was amiss when I met them. I should have gone to see her sooner. I knew something was wrong today and I just pushed it aside.'

'They tricked everyone as to what they were really like, not just us Lisa. They fooled Clint, the department, no one guessed they were treating their foster kids like that.'

'Yeah, well I hope they go to jail for a jolly good time. Treating children like that-'

Jack kissed her head as she started to get worked up about it. He knew how much she cared for Jessica, he did too but getting angry wasn't going to do anything. Getting angry wouldn't help Jessie. He felt his phone ring in his pocket and pulled it out as Lisa looked at him questioningly. 'It's Lou.' He whispered as he stood up to take the call, going over to the window to get better service. 'Hi Lou.. No, we're still here... We haven't heard anything yet… Yes, Jessie told us… We'll hand that to the police, the hospital already informed them since Jessica is a foster kid… I see… Tell Cindy we haven't heard yet, but we're sure that she's going to be alright… I'll let you know as we hear anything… Alright, you try and get some sleep… Bye..'

'Cindy's worried about her?'

Jack nodded as he took his seat beside her again. 'Yes, she wanted to know if we had heard anything yet. She's quite worried about her apparently, poor kid. She gave the phone you gave her to Lou, she's keeping it to give to the police.'

'I don't think I want to see what she's got on there to be honest.' Lisa sighed. 'To think they've fooled all those people for years, they're highly respected in their circles. They were revered as having high morals and respected for their work with foster children.'

'Well, it will certainly be a surprise for them all when word gets out.' He looked up as he heard the door open and nudged Lisa as the doctor walked into the room. He and Lisa both stood as she walked over to them. 'How is she?'

Barbara took the mask off her face as she walked over, having come straight from the operating theater out to them. 'Well, it certainly wasn't the first time that she was beaten, but it was definitely the worst. She's got four cracked ribs and the others badly bruised and lots of bruises over her body. That wasn't the worst though, she had slow internal bleeding which we have managed to curb and trauma to her lungs which was making her cough up that blood. We've stitched the wound in her side, it wasn't too deep as it looked like at first but it was quite nasty. I'd like to know how she got that, it is most unusual compared to the rest of her injuries. She's got a concussion too, I'd say that she hit her head on something when she was being beaten.'

'Is she going to be alright though?' Lisa asked, the concern evident in her voice. Jack squeezed her hand gently, his touching doing little to calm her like it normally did. Why? Why had she ended up like this? 'She'll be okay, won't she?'

'She lost a lot of blood, we need to give her a transfusion but we don't have her blood type here at the moment since it is rare. We've got to get it from Calgary, and it won't be here till morning. We did find a person who has the same blood type, if they'd be willing to donate.' Barbara looked from Jack to Lisa. 'Lisa, you're her match. Would you consent to donating?'

'Of course.' She replied without hesitation. It was the least she could do for Jessie, in fact it was the only thing she could do to help her at the moment. 'I'd be happy too.'

'Good.' She nodded. 'I'll go get things ready for it then. You can go see her while you wait. She's sleeping at the moment, we've got her sedated but she'll know you're there. She's in room nineteen. Excuse me.'

Jack looked at Lisa as the doctor headed down the hallway, surprised but not really that she'd agreed without hesitation. He knew how much she cared for the girl. 'You sure about that?'

'Well, I'm not about to say no when she needs it. It's about time someone did something for her, I don't mind. Come on, let's go see her.'