Jackson blinked several times before the sleep disappeared from his vision. He leaned into the bed he was suddenly laying on, soaking it up. When did it get so soft? "Jackson?" Jackson's eyes snapped open at Melissa's voice. She was standing a few feet from his bed, peering down at him.

"Melissa?" Jackson asked. He sat up quickly, reality hitting him. "What are you doing here?" In my room, he added silently to himself.

"I decided to see how the real Jackson lives," Melissa murmured, taking a seat on his bed. She gazed around his room. "It looks nice."

"No it doesn't," Jackson said. He didn't need her trying to make him feel better. He knew that compared to the other houses she'd probably been to his room was small and bare. All he owned was a bed and a pile of clothes.

"It's modest," Melissa agreed.

"It's poor, Melissa," Jackson told her.

"You're not the only one that doesn't have any money, Jackson," Melissa murmured. "Just keep that in mind."

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"How's he doing?" Melissa asked, staring down at Jackson's unconscious form. Beaver and Jackson probably seemed the most apprehensive about getting on a ship with Rodney but they both consented because they'd lost the vote that Daley had insisted upon. Jackson had fallen asleep soon after boarding the ship, his body refusing to continue without sleep for the last two days, and sleep was the only way to escape the hunger. They'd also packed food but they had to ration it so they wouldn't run out somewhere along the line from here to there.

"He's been asleep for the past ten hours," Daley murmured. "He keeps moving though, like he's have nightmares or something."

Melissa stared down at Jackson hard. "I wonder what scares him enough to become a nightmare."

"Probably the last forty eight hours," Daley murmured.

"Yeah," Melissa agreed. "That was tough. You should go take a nap too though. When's the last time you slept."

Daley shook her head. "I don't think we should leave Jackson alone.'

Melissa nodded. "I know," she agreed. "But you need sleep too. I'll watch him for now."

Daley seemed hesitant. "Are you sure? It's not too much? I mean, you've been through a lot too."

Melissa nodded. "Yeah, but I'm fine, thanks to Jackson. I think I owe him this much."

"Alright," Daley said. "Come wake someone up if anything happens," she told Melissa.

"Alright," Melissa agreed and Daley left the room to find a vacant bed for herself. Melissa turned back to Jackson. His face was scrunched up, but she wasn't sure if it was from pain or anger. Melissa sank down to the ground, leaning back against his bed.

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"No, Melissa, you don't want to meet my family," Jackson told her again. "They're not like Nathan's or Daley's. They don't care."

"They can't be that bad if they're a foster family," Melissa said.

Jackson grinned for the first in a long time at Melissa's naiveté. "Yes they can," he said darkly. This current family wasn't that bad, but he knew more than anything else that there were several thousand foster families that weren't quite as wholesome as the façade they put on for the social workers. He'd experienced them too much already and the experiences made him want to remain with his current family just to avoid the possibility that the next family might not be quite so nice, even if it were just for another year or two.

"Did something happen to you in another foster family?" Melissa asked.

Jackson was quiet for a moment. Talking about the problems would make them real and he wasn't sure he was ready for it. He really didn't want to talk about the problems at all but he knew that if he didn't he could ruin his relationship with Melissa. "Melissa," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Jackson," Melissa said quietly too. "If you don't want to talk about it…I didn't mean to pry…"

"It's not prying," Jackson assured her. "Somebody's going to have to find out sometime, right?"

"Find out about what, Jackson?" Melissa asked.

"About why I'm like this," Jackson commented. "Something did happen. Something so horrible that I can't forget it. I can't stop it from replaying in my head every day." Jackson paused, licking his lips slowly.

"Jackson, you don't have to say anything more," Melissa told him gently.

"I know," Jackson agreed. "But I want to."

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Melissa laid her head back, turning it slightly so she could still stare at Jackson's unconscious face. He'd gone through so much already, what could be torturing him now. And why was Jackson so apprehensive about going home. Isn't that what they'd all been working toward for so long now? What if home wasn't any better for Jackson? What if it was worst? What had they forced Jackson into doing?

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"When I was ten I was taken away from my parents." Melissa nodded. She'd known he was already foster care, but she didn't know he was put in at such a young age. "The first foster family kind of set the bar for the rest. They weren't much better than my real parents and at times they were worst. Because my parents had to drink to really get pissed. But this family they had these god awful mood swings. After four trips to the hospital social services took me out of that house. I was thirteen. I was put in like eight different family over the span of two years. And some of them weren't the greatest. Some were worst because my parents had always had these limits. They could beat me bloody but they'd never…y'know…they never…touched me. They never…they had their limits. And some of these families didn't. The family I'm with right now is new. The ideas haven't come to them yet. I've been with them since the beginning of the school year and they're still using that fake façade that they understand me and that they really wanna help."

"Jackson," Melissa murmured. "Jackson," she murmured again. She wasn't sure if he needed contact but Melissa came over with the urge to hug him. She want to feel him in her arms again. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Jackson, after swallowing the fact that Melissa was disgusted with him, that their relationship was still intact, hugged her back with such force Melissa had to breathe shallow breaths.

"You're not…" Jackson swallowed hard. "You're not grossed out?"

"It wasn't your fault, Jackson," Melissa murmured into his shoulder. "I'd never be grossed out by you, Jackson. I love you."

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"I love you too, Melissa." Melissa's head jerked up at Jackson's mumbled words.