A/N: You all know the drill: I'm sorry for the long delay. I had a lot of schoolwork. And, yeah, I sort of lost my interest in this one.

Sadly, that is true. And, honestly, I don't know how many readers are left for this fic, I'm just hoping there are a few left.

Right, I'm ready for the rotten eggs and tomatoes. Just be sure not to throw too hard. xD

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Suze's POV

Life on the de Silva ranch had been scraping the boundaries of torturous since Josefina had disappeared.

Mr. de Silva, upon hearing the news from his tearful wife, had promptly disowned Jo. He had, then, proceeded to wreck all the furniture in the living room, tearing all the beautifully embroidered cushions covers that Marta and Mrs. de Silva had worked on so patiently.

Jesse had been no better. Going red with rage, he had instantly stormed out of the house when his mother had informed him of Jo's elopement and ridden off somewhere for a whole day. He had come back late at night, tired and morose.

In short, the whole de Silva household was in a kind of mourning period. Paul and I were the only ones who went on normally, as if nothing had happened.

It was the fourth day since Jo's disappearance. I walked out of the house and into the bright sunshine, lost in my thoughts. Thoughts directed towards Josefina's last words to me. She had told me that the whole de Silva family knew what had happened between Ghost Jesse and me. That part had left me quite embarrassed. Everything? What exactly did she mean by everything?

Still pondering over the question, I ambled into Mrs. de Silva's little garden, breathing the unpolluted air in deeply. Suddenly, I caught sight of someone sitting with their back at me. It was Jesse.

Swallowing, I nervously walked towards him. He had barely spoken to me since his sister's disappearance. I secretly wondered whether he held me responsible for the whole episode. I couldn't stand the thought.

Reaching him, I silently sat down beside him and looked down at the emerald green grass. I felt, more than saw, him turn his head to look at me and turn away again.

After a few minutes, I couldn't stand the silence anymore. "I'm sorry," I blurted out.

Finally daring to look up at his face, I saw him looking at me with a puzzled expression. "Sorry for what?" he asked, his voice slightly croaky due to not speaking for a long time.

"I—I don't know," I said lamely. I could feel the heat flooding into my face as his face turned into an expression which looked like he thought I was mental.

"I…well, I just thought you blamed it all on me for…I don't know…coming in and butting into your perfectly normal and perfectly happy life and—"

"Susannah," he interrupted me. "You had nothing to do with it, alright? Stop blaming yourself for it," he said sternly. He looked tired, frustrated…angry.

I opened my mouth and shut it again. I got the feeling he didn't want to deal with my babbling crap at the moment. Leaning down, my eyes followed an ant scrambling up a blade of grass.

A few moments later, I suddenly heard him laugh humourlessly. Looking up at Jesse, I widened my eyes. What was up with him? One minute he was scolding me, the next he was laughing?

"All this time…why didn't you tell me?" he asked, looking directly into my eyes for the first time that morning.

I blinked rapidly. What was he talking about? "I—what're you talking about?"

He lost his sarcastic face, looking down at me seriously. Let me tell you one thing, angry Jesse was just as scary as a happy Jesse was fun to be around. "You know what I'm talking about, Susannah. You've known me longer than you've admitted," he said.

I gulped. "Known you longer? Well, of course I've known you for longer. I told you, didn't I? I knew your ghost," I answered, my heart pounding. This was too close to the truth. I really didn't want Jesse to find out about what had happened between his ghost and me. I didn't want to be reminded once again of the consequences.

Jesse narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Yes, you said you knew him. But you never said you were in love."

My heart missed a beat. "Okay, fine, we were in love. Why does it matter to you, anyway?" I asked, throwing the question back to get the pressure of the situation off my back.

Frustrated, he ran a hand through his thick hair. "It's the fact that you've been hiding something from me all this time! That you've betrayed my trust," he almost shouted.

I winced.

"Susannah," he said, controlling his voice. "Tell me what you want from me…from us. You and Slater. Just tell me and I will get it for you and then you can go back home."

I was shocked. A throbbing sensation in my nose, a telltale sign of the tears that were to follow, started.

Gulping, I whispered, "So…you're tired of me already?" I kept my eyes on the ground.

I couldn't believe it. I'd never known that there could be players and heartbreakers of this kind during the 1800s. I mean, the concept might have been illogical, but it wasn't my fault altogether. Especially because the heartbreaker in question happened to be Jesse.

Jesse's eyes were as hard as stone when he looked at me. They reminded me of two glinting onyxes. His lips were pressed together tightly.

"If that is the reason it takes to make you leave, then believe it," he said stonily, his gaze not exactly meeting mine.

Suddenly, a wave of fury washed over me, strong and resilient. Tears of anger spilling over, I jumped up onto my feet and shouted at him, "You know what, Jesse? Your ghost once told me that he wasn't the good man I saw him to be all the time. That only living in limbo for so long had made him realize the value of life and everything that comes with it. I didn't believe him then. How could I? Jesse? Not a good guy? But now," I said, my lips trembling. "Now, I so believe him! I was stupid not to! Because you are a…a…"

I swallowed. I couldn't really find an appropriate adjective to describe him. And because I still couldn't believe that Jesse was telling me to literally get out of his life.

He continued looking out onto the ranch, poker-faced. I saw a muscle in his jaw twitch. Slowly he turned to me and said quietly, "Susannah. It is for our own good. We can never be together. So, its better that we say goodbye now before…before it gets too…serious." He looked back at the ranch and ran a hand through his thick black hair.

I took a deep breath. He thought he was smart, didn't he? Well, not for Suze Simon, he wasn't. "I will forget you, but you won't, Jesse. You will remember every single thing. You know that and don't try to fool me," I shot at him, my eyes narrowed.

He winced. Clearly, he hadn't expected me to find that flaw in his explanation. Sighing, he turned his weary eyes on me. I saw the dark circles under his eyes, interrupting the richness of his olive tone.

"Susannah, if you're alright, I'll be alright. Just…go home, querida," he said softly. He was using his silky voice which always had me melt into a pool of mush.

Jesse almost had me there. Almost. I put on my most no-nonsense face and opened my mouth and started pouring out all the arguments I could think of. I was determined: If Jesse was going to suffer, I would suffer along with him.

Paul's POV

I moved slowly, careful not to rustle too many leaves. I felt the weight of de Silva's sister's diary with the letter, stuffed into my waistband. I'd nicked them from Suze's room because they looked like things Suze would want to take back home.

I had brought the items with me because I knew what I was going to do once I found Suze. I was going to shift. There would be no more stalling. Chuck Anthea and her stupid concepts. Suze and I were going home and that was that.

Honestly, I was becoming anxious. Nobody had ever done this time travelling thing and been gone so long. Who knew, maybe we would get stuck in this time forever if we stayed too long. Or maybe a thousand years had passed back in our time. Who could tell? And I was not about to listen to that freaky chick Anthea anymore.

I watched Suze and Jesse talk from my hideout in the bushes. They both seemed upset about something. I couldn't hear their words clearly. Their expressions, though, I could see. Or Jesse's at least. Suze had her back at me as she jumped up, angered at something.

Watching the two of them together, I was reminded of that first night in 1850 in that barn. I'd only been pretending to sleep while we were waiting for Diego to come. Suze and Jesse's conversation then had really struck me as much as I'd tried not to let it.

Since then, doubts had begun to creep into my mind. Was I really the best one for Suze? Was she really meant for me? Had I been too rash in my decision to come here and terminate Jesse from her life forever?

Because, the truth was, however much Suze thought otherwise, I really did care for her. Sure, at first she'd just been another hot chick to knock up. But, then, as we got closer through our gift, a part of me had begun to really care. To really care for her safety and happiness.

Problem was, I still couldn't figure out whether the caring was purely brotherly or romantic. Until that night at the barn, I'd been sure it was romantic. But now, I wasn't so sure anymore.

Still, whatever it was, Suze and I were going home. We'd been here too long. And if she wasn't going to come willingly, I was going to force her to.

Walking out of the bushes, I went and stood beside Suze. The both of them turned to me. I was surprised to see the look of relief on Jesse's face, as if I'd just saved him from an enormous fight. I raised an eyebrow. Looked like there was trouble in paradise…

Looking back at Suze, whose expression was – no surprises there – pissed, I said casually, "Hey, Suze, you ready to go home?"

Her scowl got even more pronounced. "Eavesdrop much?" she growled.

I blinked, surprised. "Excuse me? I wasn't eavesdropping, okay?" I said. Well, I wasn't. Even if I'd been trying to.

She narrowed her eyes. "So, how'd you know what Jesse and I were talking about?"

I stifled a chuckle and raised an eyebrow amusedly. "So that's what all the shouting was about…Tell me, who was on which side?" I asked.

Before Suze could open her mouth, Jesse got up – fluidly, I must admit – and smoothly cut her off. "That's none your business, Slater. Do you need anything?" he asked, putting a cautioning hand on Suze's shoulder.

I was impressed, I must say. At how easily he had changed the subject and managed to quieten her from unnecessarily blabbing stuff to me. Yet another depressing thought. At how well they seemed suited to each other.

I took a deep breath and said, "I was serious about what I said. Suze, we really need to get home. We've been here too long. Who knows how much time has passed back home?" I looked at her seriously.

Jesse smiled faintly. "See, querida, even he agrees. You should get home. It's not safe to play around too much with these things," he murmured to her.

I pursed my lips, irritated. These Spanish dudes with their crazy accents - which, for some reason, girls found irresistible – just came and whispered a few words and the girl was theirs. What was up with her Spanish nickname, anyway? I'd never learnt that word in Spanish class.

Suze glared at him and rolled her eyes. "Oh, and since when did you rely on his opinion, huh, Jesse?" she hissed.

Okay, that hurt. The way she said the word 'his' was way undermining. I kept my poker face, anyway.

Jesse frowned. "Susannah, please just do it."

She opened her mouth once again, but I'd had enough. Because I knew that once Suze started, she wouldn't stop until she won the fight. Unless, of course, you forcefully made her lose.

I grabbed her wrist and closed my eyes, concentrating on Suze's backyard. It would be better, I thought, if I had her closer to her house. The less I would have to put up with her wrath.

Suze cried out. I opened my eyes a tiny bit, instinctively. Before I closed them again, I saw her reach her other hand and grab Jesse, trying to hold on to him.

Then we were flying in darkness.

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A/N: Ya'll know what happens next. :D Still, I'll try and get an epilogue up as soon as possible.

Please review!