A/N: I'm SO sorry, you guys! I KNOW I promised you a new chapter Sunday (or so), but this took me a little while to write, and I was doing other things, too... Please forgive me!

A/N #2: Also, I KNOW I said this would be the Kyle/Jessi chapter, but I think that'll be the next one... I was thinking about just skipping the grand majority of this chapter and going straight to the next night, but I thought that might be a bit...unrealistic. Plus, I thought you might like to see how Jessi interacts with the family. (There is a bit of Kyle/Jessi in this chapter, though!)

A/N #3: If there's anything you think I should fix, please let me know! I really wanted to get this up before I went to bed because you've all been waiting so patiently...

She wasn't aware of how long she'd slept, but she knew instantly who owned the voice that spoke to her. It was Lori; what caught her attention, however, was that her tone didn't convey worried persistence, as it always did when rousing her from her nightmares. Instead, it was enlaced with wholehearted relief and care.

She opened her eyes very gradually, squinting against even the bit of sunlight that sneaked in through Lori's closed blinds. She took in Lori's face eventually, her vision blurred firsthand from sleeping so deeply after so long.

The redhead smiled lovingly down at her, Jessi's eyes following her arm and temporarily closing in contentment as the girl's hand threaded adoringly through her dark tresses.

She opened her eyes at Lori's liberation-filled voice, its tone deeper and more sincere than when she was with most others.

"You slept through the night, Jessi, and this morning. I'm just glad you finally got some sleep. I was really starting to worry."

Jessi's brow creased. That hadn't been what she'd wanted to hear, but the oldest Trager's eyes held a shine of sorts, one with which she found she couldn't argue. It also made her smile.

Lori grabbed her hand and carefully helped her to her feet after entangling her from her comforter, grinning at how well her modest pair of pajamas fit Jessi. She sighed and peered at the dark-haired teen comically.

"We'd better get downstairs before Josh eats everything in sight." Jessi smiled and laughed as they made their way out the door, down the stairs, and into the dining room-adjoined-kitchen.

Everyone in the family was already seated, and even though it was past noon, Nicole had her usual cup of coffee, Stephen was scanning the sports section of the newspaper, Josh was struggling to decide which cereal to eat (it was either between 'Predator Poppers' or 'Alien-Eye Clusters'), and Kyle instantly turned his head when they entered the room.

His eyes seemed to brighten as he caught sight of her, and he smiled enchantingly.

"Good afternoon!" She smiled shyly and nodded, her voice kept within her throat as she inexplicably felt the need to examine him as discreetly and quickly as possible. His eyes were cheerful and wonderful as always, and he looked the same as ever, but there was something about him today that didn't sit right…and it worried her.

She walked over and took a seat between he and Josh, Lori sitting between her brother and Father, and it was when Lori reached for the 'Predator Poppers' simultaneously with Josh, which resulted in an argument between the two, that Jessi finally realized what was amiss:

Kyle didn't have anything edible in front of him.

Her eyes narrowed and her face scrunched in amused confusion, a smile portraying exactly those emotions spread across her face as she gazed at him.

"Did you wait for me?" He simply smiled warmly at her, twisting his neck to look into her eyes.

"Of course." She could nothing but smile and watch as he turned back to his empty cereal bowl and spoon, picked them up, and handed them to her. She took them tentatively, confused as to his motives, but settled for continuing to observe him.

He stood from his chair and walked to the cupboard, from which he pulled a set matching the items he'd given her, and then resumed his place at the table.

She playfully shook her head and chuckled quietly, smiling all the while. Their late breakfast went smoothly, and it was only when Jessi was putting the cereal away that the real Saturday motions were set into play.

"So, you kids have anything planned for today?" Stephen asked as he folded up his newspaper, Nicole reading her book beside him, but paused and raised her eyes to hear her children's plans. Josh was the first to answer his Father's question.

"I am going to play G-Force all day, so I can finally kick Andy's butt." Jessi immediately grinned; this could prove to be fun.

"You know, I bet I could help. I've read about some of these games." Josh gave her a rather incredulous glance in reply.

"Dude, these games are not something you just 'read about'. This is hard-core, butt-kicking, video game fun! Are you seriously telling me you've never played G-Force?"

She was bewildered by his response, as she was sure her arched eyebrow and utterly perplexed expression showed, and could only nod dumbly. He sighed dramatically and gripped her wrist, dragging her away toward the living room and, according to him, the greatest thing ever created by mankind.

It wasn't more than 8.2 minutes later when he pulled Jessi along with him as he ran back into the kitchen; frankly, she was surprised he hadn't brought them both down to personally meet the floor yet.

The family, which still resided in their previous positions, with the exception of Lori, who had come in front the back porch after hearing the commotion, directed their attention to them as Josh finally skid to halt and the newest addition to their household stopped expertly beside him.

They were inwardly laughing, as was easily expressed through their twinkling eyes, and Jessi rubbing her wrist to try to get its circulation flowing again after the boy had finally let it go wasn't shy of hysterical either.

"Have you seen this girl's mad G-Force skills? She killed me thirty-four times-" He cut himself off at the looks and quiet laugh sessions that soon interrupted him, and his eyes widened almost instantaneously. "I mean- I- I let her win all those times, and…okay! So, she kicked my butt, but I still got in some practice!"

With that, he quickly retreated back into his G-Force cave, and Jessi turned halfway around to watch him, giggling and smiling at his antics.

"Jessi?" She snapped her head in the opposite direction to face Lori, who had Kyle at her side, a hopeful look on her face. "Would you mind helping me with the music to my new song? I'm having a little trouble with it, and I know with both you and Kyle there, I'll have it down in no time."

There was no way she could resist Lori's face or request, especially when Kyle gazed at his sister as adoringly as he was now. The dark brunette obliged and beamed, following both of them as they trekked upstairs, all three sitting on Lori's bed as she grabbed her guitar and introduced the lyrics to them.

Several hours later, it was finally finished. They had had so much fun laughing while coming up with chords and titles that they hadn't realized how much time had gone by until Nicole called them down for dinner.

Andy had come over during their songwriting session and was staying for dinner. She had gotten the gist of what had happened with Jessi's Mother, though Josh hadn't let anything crucial slip through the cracks.

She hadn't been over all week because she'd wanted to give Jessi some time to get settled with the Tragers and soak in everything without outside interruptions, but the truth was, Jessi had missed her.

She was always so full of life and wisecracks, and Jessi loved it. In fact, it was what she needed more than ever right now, and Andy's comic relief combined with Josh's, along with a few sarcastic remarks from Lori made her load a bit lighter, if only for the moment.

Jessi calmly smiled and observed the goings-on around the dinner table, letting loose a closed-mouthed laugh every once in a while at one comment or another.

When she abruptly heard a light clink of metal on glass, she looked down, startled, to find her plate empty of all traces of food. She blushed immensely as the room around her fell silent, and she raised her eyes to the close-knit group around her, head still pointed towards her plate, to find they had all halted in their own business to gaze curiously at her.

She raised her head then and grinned sheepishly, causing Josh to succumb to a seemingly never-ending laughing fit, Andy soon following, as well as the rest of the family. She eventually joined in, figuring the situation was pretty hilarious. After all, how often does one eat everything on their plate without noticing?

After helping to clear the table once dinner was over, Jessi began to wash the dishes when the doorbell rang. She hurriedly dried her hands and announced she would answer the door, laughing as Josh replied with a jokingly snide remark from the living room with Andy, and soon after, his cry of disbelief as his girlfriend beat him in G-Force yet again.

Hilary stood on the Trager doorstep, beaming at Jessi as the sunshiny girl was known to do, and Jessi returned it happily.

"Hey, cupcake! Is Lori here?" The girl asked as she slid into the entryway and looked around, attention finally coming back to Jessi as the door closed behind her.

"Yeah. She's this way." She led Hillary upstairs and into Lori's bedroom, where the redhead was practicing the song they'd finished earlier on the bed, Kyle sitting across from her, listening to and watching each thing she did with sincere interest. However, both stopped what they were doing when the two girls entered.

"What's up, Hills? You come over to hear the new original by Lori Trager, with help from Kyle and Jessi?" She laughed and grinned at her best friend, Hillary giving a tender smile back before moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You forgot about our BFF sleepover tonight, didn't you?" She narrowed her eyes and then widened in playful revelation, her sly grin never fading as she watched Lori's face go from confusion to star-studded remembrance.

"I did, didn't I? Hillary, I'm so sorry! I feel horrible!"

"Don't worry about it, sweetie-pie. I figured you would, what with our little Jessi moving in and you looking so tired lately. I'm just happy to see you've rested a bit. Besides, we made those plans two weeks ago. I was even surprised I remembered."

Hillary laughed, and Lori did as well, while inconspicuously directing her eyes to Jessi's, fraught with concern. She was brought back to attention by Hillary's concerned hand on her arm.

"We can cancel, you know, if you're still not feeling well."

"I- "

"She'd love to! I'll just…kick Andy and Josh's butts in G-Force again. You two have fun." Lori's eyes widened considerably, seemingly saying, as they gave the slightest scrunch: Are you sure?

Jessi provided an acceptable smile, not daring to let her true emotions show at this point. She wanted Lori to relax and have fun without worrying about her, and besides, it wasn't her friend's fault she'd begun to have these nightmares. She didn't want to hold her back.

Thus, her eyes communicated back what was manufactured to be a strong message: Yes.

Lori nodded, eyes fixed on her before ducking back to Hillary, an inward sigh evidently being released from the accepting, yet slightly defiant creases in her expression.

"Okay. Let's go." The girls moved from the bed and just as Lori turned to gather some pajamas from her drawer, Jessi startled her by holding a pair out to her. Her favorite ones, to be precise. Lori stared at her in amused, adoring astonishment, as she sometimes did with Kyle.

"How did you-"

"I told you, I'm good at reading people. Besides, I know what you need for a sleepover. The rest of your stuff's folded inside your shirt." Lori grinned in gratefulness, her eyes magnifying it by ten.

To the brunette's face, she said, "Thank you."

Conversely, while hugging her strongly, she whispered, "Please tell him."

As she pulled away, the exuberance in her eyes dimmed faintly, for Jessi's eyes plainly said it all: I can't. As much as she hated and disagreed with her decision, she placed an encouraging, meaningful hand on her lower arm, gave a smile that held all the same, and walked from the room.

Jessi sighed, staring at the door through which her two friends had gone. She jumped suddenly when Kyle cautiously sneaked up behind her and softly laid a hand on her shoulder. She spun to face him and saw his shock; she had always known his presence before, without any sound or method of indication that he was ever there…

"Are you okay? You seem…distracted tonight." His eyes searched her face, her eyes, her soul, and she resisted the urge to look away or bow her head, for fear that he might interrogate her further if she showed weakness.

Instead, she put forth a strong front, smiling as best she could under the walls that threatened to crush her beyond repair, and took his hand.

"Kyle, I'm fine. It'll just feel lonely without Lori, that's all."

"We could move your bed into my room for the night, if you want. I wouldn't mind." He tenderly grasped her hand back, rubbing it forward and backward in a calming notion. Jessi inwardly froze for a split second; what if he had figured it out?

It wasn't impossible, after all. With all of the thrashing, crying, and surprisingly quiet screaming she exerted in the midst of her lurid nighttime experiences, it wouldn't have been hard for him to pick up and record something in his subconscious. Plus, she had said they were always connected no matter where they were, and that included by floorboards, stairs, and doorways…

That was all erased from her mind at once, however, when she felt Kyle's thumb caress her cheek in a calm, intense manner, his eyes focusing on hers.

"If something's wrong, Jessi, I want you to tell me. Will you do that?" When she looked hesitant, he pleaded, "For me?" His voice was urgent, so kind and undeniably indescribable…she couldn't resist anything of him.

"Yes." Kyle let loose a small smile and sighed in momentary contentment, knowing there was still something left unsaid, but not willing to pry until she was ready to come to him. He withdrew his hand from her cheek and proceeded to exit the room, leaving Jessi to stand there in the brightly lit room until following his lead.

She waltzed into the living room and bid goodnight to the continuously G-Force playing Josh and Andy, the cancer-free girl getting up to give her a hug and offer support for the road ahead, in response to which Jessi nodded appreciatively.

She made sure to knock before entering Nicole's office, in which she and Stephen were working on something they called 'classified'. They, too, embraced her goodnight, both of them having grown accustomed to kissing her on the cheek each night as well, as they sometimes did with their own children…when permitted.

Jessi, though, relished and almost craved the loving interactions that went on, not minding in the slightest whether kids at school were watching or Lori and Josh didn't partake: she needed and wanted to feel the love that surged through this heaven-sent family she'd found, and she was happy with everything she received.

She sneaked up to Kyle's door, heavy breathing produced by sleep coming from behind it, and quietly whispered,

"Goodnight, Kyle."

She was curled on her side in her bed now, eyes staring absentmindedly at Lori's bed. It was strangely cold in the room without her, and she'd had to borrow another blanket from the neat pile at her feet, which Nicole must have deposited there after the laundry had been folded that morning.

Wrapping the covers tighter around her, she realized she was shivering. It couldn't have been that cold, for everyone else's nervous systems were functioning normally…

Despite her trembles and continually speculating mind, Jessi unexpectedly found her eyelids drooping rapidly, and no sooner had she closed her eyes to drift into yet another heavy-until-further-notice sleep than she subconsciously realized:

She was afraid once more.