They stood there, staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither sure whether the other one was real or not. Jessie's mouth dropped open and her hand reached up to touch her astonished lips. "Jason," she whispered.

Diana was the one to ruin the moment. "Yes of course!" she cried, her voice sounding shrill and fake as she tried to conjure up a smile. "Don't just stand there staring at the boy. You'll make him nervous!" She laughed and turned apologetically towards the Grey family. "Sorry about my sister's manners. She doesn't get out much."

Jessie's eyes narrowed as she glared at the back of Diana's head, but Jason stepped forward quickly and held out his hand. "No worries," he said, and his rich, friendly voice sent a thrill through Jessie. "I'm Jason Grey."

Jessie stepped forward the necessary step and pressed her hand into Jason's, feeling the same shock shoot through her arm as usual. "I'm Jessie Hinmoor," she said softly.

Jason smiled up at her, almost bashfully. "I know." He spoke those two words so softly that Jessie had to strain to catch them, but her cheeks turned red when she understood what he had said.

It wasn't Diana this time that ruined the moment, it was her mother. "Right," she said cheerfully. "Shall we all go?"

Jessie was the first one to pull away from Jason's hold, nodding at her mother to signal that she was not only ready, but that she would behave. "Sure," she said.

"We can't all fit in one car, so perhaps Jessie could ride with us?" Jason suggested, his eyes never straying from her face.

"I…suppose," said Mrs. Davis hesitantly, glancing from her daughter to her foster daughter with uncertainty.

"Great," Jason said and took Jessie's hand again as he led her toward the door. "We should get going or our reservations might be canceled."

Mrs. Grey nodded, speaking for the first time since Jessie had descended from her second-floor prison. "You're right," she told her son and then smiled at the Davis family. "See you there?" she asked politely.

Mr. Davis was the only one to smile back. "Absolutely," he said cheerily, and in that moment, Jessie felt sorry for him. It must be difficult to be a rather decent person and have to live with the likes of Diana and her mother.

The two families headed out to their separate cars and Jason, still holding Jessie's hand, led her over to a small car that he opened and helped her into, holding onto her hand as long as possible before he shut the door. It seemed as though he wanted to be close to her at every opportunity, and Jessie understood that feeling. She felt the exact same way.

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm sitting next to you, alive and well," Jason said cheerily once he had slipped into the driver's seat and had started the engine.

Jessie nodded. "I know it sounds horrible," she told him, "but I do want to know why you're here. I mean, I watched you die." Her tone was so low and so full of grief that Jason turned to look at her, reaching across the seat and squeezing her hand once again.

"I know," he told her. "If it hadn't have been for you, I would be dead right now."

Jessie frowned and looked at him, not sure what he was talking about. "What?" she asked. "What did I do?"

Jason smiled and glanced her way as he stopped for a red light. "You gave me the will to live," he told her simply. "You taught me that there was something left in this world to care about. Someone left in this world to care about."

Jessie ducked her head, unaccustomed to this praise. "Thank you," was all she said.

"No," Jason told her softly. "Thank you. When I woke up, the whole hospital was in an uproar. They expected me to die, and I didn't, so I ruffled a few feathers." Jessie giggled at the thought of the doctors not knowing what to do with a living, breathing patient, and Jason joined in with her. "One nurse in particular was especially helpful," he told Jessie solemnly, though a smile twinkled in his eyes even as he said it. "I believe her name was Diana Davis. She was just so thrilled that I was awake again that she almost dropped her medical charts and food tray she was delivering."

"What?!" Jessie exclaimed, turning to him in shock. "Diana helped you and she never told me? She's known for a week that you were alive but she never told me? How dare she!"

Jason chuckled. "She wouldn't have been assigned to me if I hadn't asked for her to be. After I had been lucid a few hours, I remembered that my mystery girl had a sister, a 'Di that I wish would die' I do believe?"

Jessie blushed a deep shade of red and looked down at her hands. "You were asleep," she said lamely. "You shouldn't have heard that."

Jason laughed and shook his head, pulling into the restaurant parking lot. "But it led me to you didn't it? You should've seen the look of Diana's face when I asked about her sister. She was furious!" He grinned at Jessie. "It was really funny."

Jessie laughed along with him, imagining how angry her sister must have looked. "I'm sure it was," she said cheerily, feeling happy for the first time in a week. "She sure was angry when she came up and told me to get dressed." Jessie sighed. "I have a feeling that I'm going to be underdressed for this restaurant."

Jason quit the engine on the car and turned to examine her. Worn jeans, tennis shoes, and a simple top was her ensemble for the night, but Jason could hardly take his eyes off her. "You're probably right," he told her truthfully, "but I think you look beautiful just the way you are."

Jessie blushed again and looked down, muttering, "Thank you," as she did so.

Jason reached over and tipped her blushing face up so that he could look at her, and said, "I realize that we, technically, don't know each other very well, but would you consider going on a date with me tomorrow?"

Jessie closed her eyes, trying to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. Was this really happening to her? "I'd love to," she told him shyly.

Jason smiled as well and gave her hand another squeeze. "We'd better get inside," he told her. "My family can only cover for us for so long."

"Your family?" Jessie asked him, wondering why they would do such a thing.

Jason nodded and smiled again at her with a look that conveyed just how deeply she had touched his life. "They own a great debt to you," he told her. "They all give you full credit for bringing me back to the land of the living."

They were grateful to her! Jessie couldn't help but smile right back at Jason. "Then we'd best not keep them waiting," she told Jason. "I'm anxious to meet them."

Believe me," he told her with a wink. "They can't wait to meet you."

A/N: Sorry I've been away. :( I didn't have time to proof this, so if there are mistakes, I'm sorry. I promise to fix them later! I hope you all enjoyed this and please let me know what you think! :D