So did ya'll like the cliffhanger hey? At least for once it's not Jessie getting herself hurt, she always seems to have a knack for getting into trouble.

Anyway, I came up with this idea after watching the episode where Scott returns to the reservation. I know there's not much mentioned about his upbringing except that his mother left (that's right, isnt it? Its so long ago that I watched that episode and wrote this chapter) and he was really close to his grandfather. I got to wondering what happened to his mother and this storyline was born.

I just thought I'd mention about myself too in this update. Im starting to feel better and thanks to my service dog she's given me the confidence to start going back out in public once more. However, now that winter is upon us here in the land downunder they've started with the cleaners and disinfectant once more in the shopping centers so I can't go there anymore (I react badly to chemicals) and that's rather annoying since I've been enjoying getting back out.

I've also been riding my horse! Yes, for the first time since I've had her I've actually been well enough to really start working with my mare and gelding. I've been riding my mare bareback in just a halter since I'm wanting to ride her tackless eventually and I've started liberty training with both of them. I haven't ridden my gelding yet, he's still not 100% sound in his shoulder but I'm slowly seeing an improvement with him with the treatments we're using.

I've been writing and editing my stories too, this one has 91 chapters written so far (I'm not even at half way of uploading yet) and I hope to start writing it again soon. I've been wishing to finish writing and upload other stories I've had sitting on the back burner so once they're up I can give full attention to this once more.

Anyway, that's just what's happening with me right now. Enjoy the update. Adios.

Chapter 43.1

It was Jessie's turn to look stunned. We're- siblings? How- How on earth is that even possible? She looked at Lisa, the woman looked just as shocked as she felt. She turned back to Scott, her mind racing 'How-?' She stuttered, absolutely bewildered. 'How?'

'I guess it would be easier if I tell you about my growing up and maybe we can figure it out and piece it together?'

'I-I guess.'

Scott took a deep breath, wondering where to start and how to explain what he knew. 'There's not that much to say about me really. I grew up on an Indian reservation, I lived with my mother, Judith and my father and grandfather. My mother walked out on my father and I when I was ten, I never saw her again. My father and grandfather raised me and I never heard what happened to her.'

She nodded, digesting what he'd said and trying to figure out where she fit in the puzzle. 'Did your father ever go looking for her?'

'He tried but she disappeared and he couldn't find her. I don't remember much, it wasn't the happiest home growing up but what I do remember was them fighting a lot. She hated the reservation, she never wanted to stay there and so I guess she found an opportunity to leave and never looked back.'

Lisa looked at Jessie, wondering what was going through the girls mind on listening to the fact that Scott was related to her. 'Jessie, are you okay?"

'Yeah, I'm fine.' She nodded, trying to assure her she was alright. She looked back at Scott, trying to find her voice again. 'Mom-' She started, trying desperately to gather her thoughts together into some understandable sentence. There was no way of sugarcoating what kind of person she knew their mother to be, obviously he had no idea of what kind of life she'd lived after she'd abandoned him. It didn't even seem appropriate anymore to call her mom when she referred to her. 'Judith-' She could feel Lisa's hand on her knee again as she struggled to keep herself together.

'Just take your time honey, take a deep breath.'

Jessie nodded again, looking back at Scott. She waited for a moment, trying to explain what she knew as best she could. 'She was in the wrong kind of crowd when I was growing up, drugs, alcohol, gangs. It was horrible, what I remember of it. She'd always be moving me all the time, we didn't have a house, we moved from motel to motel, sometimes she'd move in with a different guy for a time then when things went sour we'd be moving again.' She closed her eyes, trying to fight herself off from having a flashback and breaking down. She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and focus on reality, not the past.

Scott could admit to himself that he wasn't surprised their mother had fallen into that kind of crowd, he could remember what kind of woman she was. He looked at Jessie, knowing that if it was hard for him finding out that he had a sister it was a whole lot harder for her. He'd heard a few bits and pieces of her story here and there from other people, he'd seen the kind of physical scars she had that night the barn had burnt down and she'd been wearing a singlet. He wouldn't mention that to her though, he could guess she kept them hidden for a reason. It'd been the only time she hadn't been wearing a long-sleeved shirt. 'Jessie, if you can't handle it right now we can leave it for later, if you want.'

She shook her head, biting her lip. Did he really want to hear though that she'd watched their mother be murdered by her father? 'I'm fine-' She struggled to keep her voice even. 'Just give me a moment.'

He nodded sympathetically, catching the look on Lisa's face. He certainly hadn't been prepared to receive this kind of shock, he'd often wondered what had happened to his mother when he'd been growing up. Obviously it wasn't anything good. He knew she'd died from the little things he'd heard about the girl's past, he wondered how old the girl had been when she'd passed.

'Take your time Jessie.'

'Would you like a drink sweetheart?' Lisa asked gently, placing her arm around the girl's shoulder.

'No, I'm fine.' She lifted her head, her jaw setting slightly as her face and eyes became devoid of emotion. It was better to hide her emotions then have the threat of her not being able to contain them. When she finally spoke again even her tone sounded emotionless and animated. 'I was around five years old when she died. I remember that we moved a lot more, she seemed to be trying to run away from this man. His name was Matt, he was probably the only guy I seem to remember being always around. Judith had a lot of boyfriends but he was the one I remember being with us the most. He was very cruel, he'd beat both her and me. It didn't matter to him which one of us he beat, especially when he was drunk. He had the worst temper, anything at all would send him into a rage. She left him, I remember him not being around for quite some time but then he found her.' She paused again, her eyes clouded as she stared right past Scott at the window in the mud room. 'He murdered her. I was there, I saw him kill her. Then I ran, and I never looked back.' She fell silent, the room was earaily devoid of sound as she came out of her almost trance, looking at Scott. 'That probably wasn't what you expected to hear.'

'No, I didn't.' He admitted after a long moment of silence. Regardless of the circumstances it was hard hearing that she'd been murdered after all these years yet he knew it was even harder for her. Hearing that, it made him look at the girl in a different light. When he'd first heard of Jack and Lisa taking her in he'd just assumed it was a case like what had happened with him but that couldn't be further from the truth. 'Jessie, I'm so sorry about what happened to you.'

'I don't need sympathy.' Jessie responded, a hint of tears coming to her eyes. 'I want answers to questions I don't think even you have the faintest clue about. I want to know why she was the person she was, why on earth she even had me. I want to know why she thought having a child in her situation was a good idea.' She could feel Lisa's hand rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. 'I want to know why she led the life that she did, why she couldn't have given me a proper childhood. The man, the man that killed her? He was my father. I killed him.' She got up from the table, almost tripping over her chair. 'I need a moment.'

Lisa turned to Scott as the girl fled to her room, her heart aching for the girl. 'I'm sorry. I had no idea this would turn out like this.'

'None of us had any idea.' He sighed, looking at the photograph on the table. 'My dad always thought that maybe there was another guy in the picture, that maybe that was another reason that she left. I guess he could have been right. I mean, if Jessie's sure that this is her mother-'

'She's been struggling for a couple weeks if she should ask you about that photo. Jessie doesn't have any pictures of her mother, maybe she could be wrong-'

Scott shook his head. 'No, she isn't wrong. Looking at her, I can see the resemblance to my mother. I should have known something earlier. The thought did come to me the first time I saw her but I just brushed it off as a mere coincidence. All those years and I didn't even know that she existed.'

'I should probably go check on her-' Lisa went to get up but Scott beat her.

'No, I'll do it. Would that be okay?'

'Alright. Her room is in the attic, on the right.' She looked down at the cup of coffee sitting in front of her on the table, stone cold. It seemed almost unbelievable that Jessie was related to Scott yet she had a feeling that was the case. What were the odds though? They were years apart in age, they didn't even know the other existed and they'd both been dropped this bombshell that they were related in their laps. She grabbed her mobile from her pocket, ringing Jack. It rang out and she struggled to keep her voice even as she spoke to his answering machine. 'Jack, can you come back to the house as soon as you get this message? Jessie and Scott are half-siblings.'

We're related? Jessie sat on her bed, hugging her pillow as tears ran down her cheeks. Her emotions were all over the place, she couldn't even begin to make sense of the thoughts running through her mind. Cougar pressed her nose against her cheek, trying to comfort her but to no avail. She couldn't even put into thoughts how she was feeling, everything was so confusing.

'You okay Jessie?"

She heard Scott knock quietly on the door, her sobs abating to nothing but tears still ran down her cheeks. She heard him knock quietly again, part of her wishing for him to just leave her alone and the other part wishing for him to stay. 'Y-yeah.'

He opened the door upon hearing the girls reply, seeing her lying down on her bed crying into her pillow with her back towards him. 'You're not okay, are you?' The girl shook her head, strangling her sobs. 'Just let it out Jess, it'll make you feel better.' She shook her head again, and he grabbed a tissue from the box on her bedside table. 'Here.'

Jessie took the tissue, still not turning over as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She heard him grab a chair and place it behind her, taking a seat.

'It's a bit of a shock, isn't it?'

She nodded, wiping her eyes as she stared at the wall, struggling to get her emotions under control again. Finally she felt like she had herself together and she sat up, turning to face him. 'Yeah, I guess you could say that.'

'If it's any consolation, I'm just as shocked as you are.'

'Yeah, but you're not making an idiot of yourself about it.' Her eyes were wiped furiously again with the back of her bandaged hand. 'I just wasn't expecting-' She paused, trying to figure out what to say. 'That. I thought maybe you were her brother or something when I saw the photo but I never imagined we'd be half siblings.'

'Siblings.' He corrected her. 'I don't like things in halves.'

It brought a tiny smile to her face. She hated the half-sibling or step-mother, step-father kind of tags too. 'Okay, siblings then.' She agreed, then paused again for a moment. 'What happens now? I mean, how do we know if we are really related for certain? What happens if we are? Does that mean you'll be given guardianship of me if you're my only relative-'

'Woah, slow down Jessie.' Scott gently interrupted, seeing that the girl was already racing ahead a million miles an hour. 'Take a deep breath.' He waited till she had calmed down again, using that time to get his own thoughts in order. 'What would you want to do Jessie? Would you want to know if we are related?'

'I want to know the truth.' Jessie replied after a moment. 'Judith never said anything about me having any other family besides her, even if she did I would have been too little to remember. After she died, I thought I was alone. I didn't even know who my father was until a little before I killed him, when he admitted it to me. I'm just so confused, I don't know what to think-'

'Jessie, you're doing it again.' He knew it wasn't the time to ask about what on earth she was talking about, that was something he'd just ask Jack and Lisa, if they knew. 'Take a deep breath Jessie, you're working yourself up again.'

The girl nodded as she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down again. Cougar rubbed up against her, purring loudly and she felt herself relaxing again as she matched her breathing to her pets.

'That's better.' Scott gently encouraged.

'I manage to do this all the time.' She admitted after a couple minutes. 'Jack and Lisa have a nightmare trying to keep me calm when I get worked up.'

'I reckon so.' Especially if that was anything to go by. He could see half of the reason she was getting so upset was her wondering about her future. 'I don't have an idea of what will happen if we are siblings but what do you want to do?'

'I want to stay here.' Jessie replied softly, looking away from him. 'I like it here. Jack and Lisa take really good care of me, even if I am rather stubborn and headstrong about their fussing.'

'Well then I promise you can stay here, you don't need to worry about me trying to take you away from them. Okay?'

'You promise?'

'I promise. You don't have to worry about that. If it does turn out that we are siblings that won't matter, things won't change. You'll still stay here.'

The girl looked up at him, patting Cougar as the cat rubbed against her. 'Thank you.'

'That's alright.' He smiled reassuringly at her. 'Do you want to keep the photo?'

She shook her head. 'I don't want the reminders. I've got a new life now, I can't and won't live in my past. I don't even know what to think right now.'

'I understand.'

'You know-' Jessie started after a couple of moments, smiling a little 'I did wish for a long time that I had a brother. I guess it wouldn't be so bad having one after all.'

Jessie waited until Scott had left to emerge from her room, having used her quiet time to get her thoughts in order and her emotions under control. It was almost lunchtime as she headed back downstairs, Cougar beside her. Jack and Lisa were still in the kitchen, talking quietly as she walked in. 'I think I'm going to go on a ride with Cindy.'

'You okay honey?'

'I think so.' She replied with slightly more enthusiasm and confidence then she actually felt. 'I think it's going to take a little time to get used to the fact that I may have an older half brother. I guess we'll only know for certain if I do if we get a DNA test done.'

'Do you want to do that Jessie?' Jack asked, placing his cup of coffee down. 'Is that what you want to do?'

She nodded. 'I want to at least know if we are siblings or not, I think. It's just so much to think about, I never expected this to happen. I don't know what to think right now to be honest, my thoughts feel so muddled up. Like a highway in peak traffic hour with no road rules. It's just a crazy mess.'

'We spoke with Scott before he left, he assured us that regardless of what happens you will be staying here, if that's what you want.' Lisa added, patting the empty seat beside her. 'We wouldn't make you leave and he won't either, if that's what you're worried about.'

'I'm not now, Scott said the same thing to me.' She took a seat beside her, checking on her kittens still sleeping in their box. 'It did cross my mind for a moment, I don't want to leave here. I love it here, and you and Jack. You guys are the best. This is where I want to be. At least I have one thing figured out.'

'Just take it easy Jessie, it is quite a shock for you.'

'I know Jack, I'm the one that has to deal with it.' She tried a hint of mock sarcasm then quickly returned straight back to business. 'I think we'll just take it one thing at a time, that's about all I can deal with right now. The best thing to do I think is find out if we actually are siblings and go from there. I highly doubt that we aren't, especially as I know that that photo was of my mother but with everything else she hid from me am I actually hers? She never told me I had a brother, yes, I was five at the time but what's there to say she was the one that actually carried me? I could be adopted for all I know.' She sighed, fiddling with the table cloth. 'I think I need to go take a long, long ride and clear my head.'

Lisa placed her hand on the girl's shoulder, smiling gently at her. 'Go on, go take a ride. I'll look after your kittens for you. You need to get it out.'

'Alright.' She nodded. 'And you two get some quality time alone with each other, I'll be taking Cindy with me so there's nothing to interrupt you guys. And please-' She added as she stood up and started towards the door. 'Don't spend all your time talking about me. I'll be fine, it's just a lot to process.'

Jack raised his eyebrows with a slight chuckle, looking at Lisa. 'I think we've been told.'

'I think so.'

'I'll be back in a couple hours.' Jessie put her coat and gloves on. 'Cindy wants to do some cooking, we didn't get it done yesterday.'

'Alright.' Lisa shook her head slightly as the girl headed out, turning back to Jack. She'd been a mess not that long ago and now she seemed like she was on top of the world. She'd been so down to business like too, telling them of her plans given the bombshell she'd just received. She felt sorry for her too, hearing her questioning all she knew about her past. 'Sometimes her strength really does amaze me.'