:Chapter 20:

My mind swirled with images of babies and they all seemed to be smiling at me. One specifically caught my attention, a gorgeous baby with dark hair and stunning green eyes. I tried to reach out to it but I felt myself being pulled further away. And then I was looking into those same emerald eyes. "Jesse, are you okay?" Susannah asked, giving me a weak smile.

"Querida, I saw…I saw…" I babbled, trying to piece together the right words.

"What happened? I mean one second I'm talking to Mrs. de Silva, and the next thing I know you're passed out on the floor" she exclaimed, and then gently ran her fingers over my cheek.

"Susannah, I…I saw a baby. Our baby" I finally managed to say.

Susannah's eyes got wide and she looked completely puzzled. "What baby?"

"While I was passed out, I saw our baby. It was so beautiful querida, just like you. It had your eyes, but it had dark hair like mine" I explained excitedly.

"Jesse, we don't have a baby. Did you hit your head, when you fell, maybe?" she questioned with an odd expression on her face.

"No, Susannah I know about the baby" I squealed and placed my palm over her stomach.

"Jesse, honey, we don't have a baby" she repeated, sending me a worried glance, and pushing away my hand.

"But I heard you and Mrs. de Silva" I said taken aback.

"Jesse," she said with a smirk "Mrs. de Silva is pregnant, not me."

"How…then how did I see it? How did I see our baby?" I asked incredulously.

"I don't know, but it's nice to know you're planning for our future" Susannah sighed contentedly, lying back on her hospital bed. That was when I noticed, that I too was laying on Susannah's hospital bed.

"How did you get me on your bed?" I questioned.

"Well, I was going to lift you up onto it, but Mrs. de Silva decided it would be bettered if she floated you onto it" she answered.

"How long was I out?" I asked glancing at my watch.

"A little less than two hours" Susannah said very matter of factly.

"Didn't a nurse come check on you?" I asked, wide eyed.

"Yeah, but I pretended to be asleep, and wrapped my arms around you. The nurse kind of smiled to herself and then left. I fell asleep for a little while, but I woke up when I felt you move, and then you woke up" she recounted.

"Why did you move?" I asked playfully, wrapping my arms around mi querida.

"I don't know, just wanted to be the first thing you saw when you woke up I guess" Susannah said, wrapping her arms around me.

I smiled to myself and kissed her hair before relaxing and drifting off to sleep for the first time since Susannah was admitted.

&&&

I woke up a few hours later to the sound of someone loudly clearing his or her throat. When I opened my eyes I saw three boys. Two of them I recognized as Brad and David, Susannah's stepbrothers. The other boy looked a little older than Brad, and really familiar. But if their lethal glares were any indication, they apparently didn't like the position Susannah and I were in.

"Querida, you need to wake up now" I chimed, trying to lift Susannah off my chest and unwrap myself from her embrace.

"Hmm, five more minutes…please Jesse" Susannah whined, tugging at my arm, "I promise I'll make it up to you later."

"Susannah" I squeaked as her hand traveled down my abdomen and towards my lower region. "Susannah, your brothers are here to see you," I said, grabbing her hand midway down my stomach.

"You're kidding me right?" she breathed, peeking open her eyes.

I shook my head and finally managed to get up from Susannah's hospital bed.

"Hey Jesse" David smiled, "Suze, how are you?"

"I've been better, but a hug could help" Susannah replied, holding out her arms. David gleefully ran to Susannah and gave her a big hug. "Hmm, I've missed you Doc."

"I missed you too" he sighed happily.

Susannah scooted over on her bed, and patted the space beside her for David sit.

"Jesse" Brad mumbled, nodding his head in my direction.

"Dude" Jake huffed, but then turned and whispered something in Brad's ear. Brad in turn mumbled something back to Jake and he seemed pleased with what he heard.

"So, Jesse, what are you doing here?" Brad asked, trying to look dangerous, but it just made him look constipated.

"I heard about what happened and I rushed over" I lied.

"Yeah, he called me when Suze got admitted" David added.

"How is it that you heard about Suze getting hurt, when her other friends didn't know until like just right now?" Brad questioned.

"I called him" Susannah blurted, "I… Jesse was the only person I knew would be here, and I remembered his number from the other day."

I smiled to myself and sent Susannah a mischievous glance. She sent me an equally mischievous glance, along with a sly smile.

"Dude weren't you over at the house the other day?" Jake asked, with a weird look on his face.

"He's trying to think" Susannah giggled.

"Querida, I want to be nice to your brothers, and you're not helping any by making fun of them" I replied.

"Fine, fine, but you don't have to be nice to them, only me" she smiled.

"Yes, I was working on homework with Susannah" I answered.

"Okay, you just looked really familiar" he sighed.

"Suze, when do you get to come home?" David asked, wrapping his arms around her affectionately.

"Umm…Jesse?" she started.

"The doctor is going to run some more tests, but Susannah should be out by tomorrow afternoon" I replied, smiling proudly at Susannah.

"Thank God, I'm going crazy in here!" Susannah huffed, "The TV only gets like 4 channels, and all they feed me is icky hospital food."

"Actually the food they serve you is known to cut a patient's healing time by at least a third" David chirped.

"Yeah, well I think I'd rather take my chances with the healing time. I swear that jello they brought me earlier was practically covered in lint and crap. It gave me a really bad stomach ache, and the coffee here sucks" she exclaimed.

We all chuckled, and I gently stroked the back of Susannah's hand lying at her side. She smiled up at me and David hopped off of Susannah's bed.

"Are you guys leaving already?" Susannah asked.

"Oh, no I just wanted to look at your file" David said, grabbing the metallic clipboard from the foot of Susannah's bed.

"Jesse, can we talk outside?" Brad asked, motioning for me to follow him and Jake into the hallway. I took a calming breath and reminded myself not to panic. 'They just want to talk de Silva, relax.'

"If they hurt you, I'll take care of it" Susannah said, sounding very serious.

"Querida, I'll be fine" I replied.

"So what exactly is going on with you and my sister?" Jake asked, crossing his arms over his chest, and giving me an evil glare.

"Well, we were friends… at first, but…I asked her to go out with me, because I think she is the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on, and she's funny, and caring, and kind of shy, and…I really lo-like her" I answered, correcting myself just in time.

"You asked her out?" Brad questioned, with a disgusted face.

"Yeah, just the other day" I said.

"Did she say yes?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, she did, and we had lunch at the café off main street" I replied.

"Well, listen up dude, if you hurt my sister, we'll hurt you. Got it?" Jake stated.

"You have nothing to worry about, I promise not to hurt her" I assured him.

"Dude watch out for Suze hurting you, that girl can throw a right hook like a real pro," he warned me, with a knowing look on his face.

I nodded and then followed Jake and Brad back into Susannah's room.

"David, just shush" Susannah squeaked, as we walked in.

"But, Suze" David whined, "if I don't you know what will happen."

"David, we'll discuss this later" Susannah snapped. I sent her a questioning glance and she responded with "I'll tell you after they leave."

"Querida, what's wrong, you look pale?" I asked, taking cautious but quick steps over to her side.

"After they leave. I don't need you to get all freaked out in front of them" she said, sending me a slightly worried, slightly reassuring smile.

"Alright well, we better take off. Dad and your mom have been calling like crazy trying to check up on us. Feel better Suze," said Jake coming to Susannah's other side and giving her a slight hug, then kissing her hair. "And try no to get hurt again, especially while you're still in the hospital" he teased.

Susannah stuck out her tongue at him and then motioned for David to come to her. She pulled him into a hug, and whispered something in his ear. David listen intently and then nodded as he pulled away from Susannah. She gave him a bright, cheerful smile, and he twitched the corners of his mouth up slightly, but sent me a menacing glare as he exited the room.

"What did I do to David?" I asked Susannah, sitting on her bed, next to her knees.

"It's not really what you did to David" Susannah said, giving me a reassuring look, "it's more about what you did to me. And hopefully will be doing to me a lot…in the future, not just now."

"Querida, I'm not quite sure I understand what you're saying," I admitted.

"Davidknowswehadsex" she squeaked.

"David WHAT?" I practically yelled.

"Shush! Now relax, and I'll tell you, because I'm not going to tell anything to you if you're mad" Susannah said. I took a couple deep breaths to show that I was making an effort to relax, but inside my heart was pounding, and not in the good way.

"Okay, I'm relaxed, now please explain what's going on" I calmly prompted.

"Well, umm, David read the doctor's notes in the clipboard thingy, and apparently the doctor that first examined me found trace amounts of semen on my inner thighs, and evidence of vaginal penetration. And if the doctor found this he must have told you, and I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Susannah explained, in an exasperated tone.

"David read about that?" I asked, wide eyed.

"Okay, you're totally avoiding the fact that I'm just a tad bit upset with you at the moment" she sighed heavily.

"No…querida, I'm just worried about what David will say and how he will think of me now," I said, looking Susannah in the eye.

"Jesse, I told David that yes I'm not a virgin, but that it was a choice I had to make, and that I love the man that made love to me, and that I always will" she breathed, leaning back against her pillows.

"You really told him that?" I questioned, with a slight smirk.

"Well, I didn't say 'the man that made love to me', I believe my exact words were 'the spy that shagged me'" Susannah replied, a smile creeping onto her face.

"I love you Susannah Simon" I stated, leaning towards mi querida and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

&&&

"Querida, I brought you some coffee from the cafeteria downstairs" I whispered in Susannah's ear before giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. It was around 11 AM, and I knew Susannah was tired. She had been tossing and turning in her sleep, just about all night, and occasionally she would call out my name, but there was always fear in her voice.

"Susannah, it's a Starbucks caramel macchiato" I added waving it near her nose.

She quickly peeked open her eyes and then smiled. "You're the best boyfriend in the whole wide world" she chimed, sitting up and gratefully taking the hot coffee from my hand.

"Then you have to be the best girlfriend in the whole wide world" I replied, watching her sip the coffee greedily.

"Awh, that it sooo sweet" said a feminine voice form the doorway. "You're never that cute with me," CeeCee added giving Adam a quick smack in the chest.

"Why do you have to do? Jesse is just all sweet cause he's getting laid" Adam pointed out.

CeeCee's eyes widened and she looked at Susannah and me with an odd expression on her pale face. "Suze, what's he talking about?" she asked, staring at Susannah.

"Umm…querida, you and CeeCee should chat, me and Adam are going down to the cafeteria, maybe I'll sneak you some good food to go with your coffee" I sputtered, quickly darting from the room with Adam hot on my heels. Once we were alone in the elevator I punched the button marked 2 and huffed "I can't believe you just did that."

"Yeah, me neither. I'm gonna get hurt later, aren't I?" Adam asked.

I chuckled and looked over at him, "Yeah, probably, but the real question is which one of them is gonna get to you first."

"Well, if it is from both of them I at least hope they do it at the same time, cause even I wouldn't mind getting beat by two hot girls. You know as long as they're wearing bikinis and there's mud involved, or water…water would be nice too" he joked, with a dreamy smile on his face.

"Please never think of my girlfriend like that again" I said, in a friendly way, not angry, which surprised even me.

"Dude, you just called Suze your girlfriend" Adam pointed out, "have you guys even gone out on a date yet?"

"Yeah, we had lunch at that little café off of main street" I answered happily. The elevator doors opened and Adam and I walked down the hallway that led to the cafeteria.

"Okay, Jesse, really… lunch?" Adam questioned stopping in the middle of the hallway.

I nodded, not quite sure what he was getting at.

"Have I taught you nothing, young grasshopper?" Adam asked using his best Mr. Myagi imitation.

"Can we continue this in the cafeteria, I haven't eaten since yesterday morning, and I'm starving" I pleaded.

Adam started walking down the hallway again, but his chiding wouldn't stop. "Jesse, having lunch with a girl isn't a date" he huffed, "it's like a business meeting, or just 2 friends eating together. Suze totally put you in the friend zone."

"Adam, I highly doubt I'm in Susannah's friend zone. We made love for God's sake" I countered.

"Made love'?" Adam repeated with a disgusted look on his face. "Dude you had sex, why are you going all chick flick on me?"

"Adam, I'm in love" I stated plainly, and grabbed a tray from the large stack.

"Oh my God, you get laid once and suddenly you're in love? Jesse, Suze is a hot girl. Like Kelly hot, but with an ass that would make J. Lo jealous" Adam snapped.

"I hope you have a point here," I said, not liking his remarks about mi querida.

"Do you really think Suze is gonna stay with one guy? I mean really, Jesse. I just don't wanna see you get hurt over some girl that let you have your naughty way with her" he said sounding exasperated.

"Is that really what you think all this is?" I asked in shock, dropping the turkey sandwich I had been grabbing.

"Dude, you're trailing behind Suze like a little puppy, and you expect me to believe that she's not gonna take advantage of you?" he exclaimed.

I set down my empty tray and looked Adam in the eye. "If you really don't want me to get hurt, you wouldn't say any of this to me. It's my understanding that friends are supposed to be happy for their friends when something like this happens to them, yet all you can seem to do is berate Susannah and what we have together. Well, you know what Adam, I'm sick of it! I'm sick of always being the one happy for you. Happy for you and CeeCee, happy for you to be able to flirt with tons of girls with no problem, and even manage to go out some of them. But I want you to know that every time CeeCee hears about you this girl or you and that girl, her hearts breaks. You won't know how good you have it until she's gone, Adam. And believe me, one day she will be" I said, and then turned and walked back out into the hallway. I caught an elevator and then rode up to the eighth floor in silence.

I tried to force all my anger deep down and wait to release it later, but it kept boiling up to the surface.

'What right does he think he has to try and lessen what I share with Susannah? It's him who should be worrying about his relationship. After all, I'm not the one with a girlfriend who's been seeing the editor of the school newspaper at NoCal.'

As I got off the elevator and reached Susannah's room I heard her and CeeCee giggling about something. "But it was so sweet Cee, I mean I've never been so happy in my whole life-"

"Except for the day you met me" CeeCee interrupted.

"Of course, but…I just feel like maybe I was wrong to rush right into our physical relationship. I mean it was so worth it, but I'm just kind of nervous that maybe he got the wrong idea about me" Susannah admitted.

"Suze that boy adores you, if you're really that upset about this than why don't you just ask Jesse?" CeeCee replied.

"I don't know, it just never seems like it's the right time, or I try to start but I end up talking myself out of it, and then I feel stupid for thinking these things, because I love Jesse with all my heart and he tells me he loves me all the time. Plus I felt it when we made love, it was like this comforting, warm wave came inside me, and I felt like the world made perfect sense. But now, I'm not so sure about it. I mean what if he just thought he was getting laid, and he's only sticking around now cause he feels sorry for me. That would just kill me, really it would. I would just curl up into a ball, cry my eyes out, and then die" Susannah explained.

"Jesse isn't the fuck and run type, trust me on this. I've known him since we were little, and in all that time not once have I ever seen him this happy or excited. Suze, Jesse is like the commitment god. My only advice is to keep him for as long as you can, because you won't ever find another guy like him."

"Cee," Susannah chimed, "what about you and Adam? What's going on there?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I love the boy to death, but I can't handle him cheating on me left and right. Dylan is so sweet, and…and he kissed me" CeeCee admitted, somewhat wearily at first, but then cheerful after the change of subject.

"Really? Oh, Cee, I'm so happy for you! So…what was it like? He didn't slobber on you did he?" Susannah asked excitedly.

"No he didn't slobber. It was kind of sweet and gentle at first, but then he kind of poured out his emotions with his lips" she giddily recounted.

"Aren't those kisses just the best?" Susannah sighed.

"They really are. And nothing like Adam's kisses. His were always kind of awkward, truth be told. I mean he means well, but he's just so uncoordinated when it comes to kissing. A couple times he actually missed my lips, and kissed my chin" CeeCee giggled.

It was then that I noticed Adam standing next to me, his face completely unreadable.

"Adam, how long have you been there?" I asked quietly, so the girls wouldn't hear us.

"Long enough to hear about my girlfriend kissing some other dude" he mumbled.

"Adam, I-"

"You knew, didn't you? That's what you were trying to get at before you left, huh?" Adam demanded.

"I didn't know the details, but I knew there was someone else" I answered, somberly.

"And you didn't tell me?" he hissed.

"It's not my place. Besides, I figured CeeCee would tell you herself when she was ready to. Not that she owes you much of an explanation, or an apology" I responded hotly.

"Adam I was going to tell you" CeeCee said, appearing in the doorway, "I never meant for you to hear about it this way."

"No, don't worry about it. You, umm…you don't need to say anymore" he replied before turning away and getting into an elevator.

"Should I go after him?" CeeCee asked, tears filling her eyes.

"Cee, let him cool off for a while. You guys can talk after he's had some time to think about what this means for your relationship" Susannah wisely advised CeeCee from the doorway.

"Querida, the doctor said to stay in bed" I reminded Susannah.

"And if I did everything the doctor told me I'd probably be getting molested right now" she countered with a smirk.

"Right, the pedophile" CeeCee said giving Susannah a sly smile.

"I'm not even going to ask," I said. Susannah and CeeCee glanced at each other and smiled.

"I thought you were gonna sneak me something edible" Susannah pouted.

"Oh, I had grabbed a turkey sandwich for you, but umm… me and Adam got into a fight, so I kind of stormed back up here" I mumbled.

"Do you think you guys will be able to work things out?" Susannah questioned.

"I don't know" both CeeCee and me replied.