title: The 4th Season
disclaimer: i don't own anything at all that has to do with O&A. i'm just borrowing them atm.
rating: for now, K+
author: me, and despite what my pen name says, i am here.
feedback: please. this episode (or the rest of the season, for that matter) won't continue unless i get at least one review. pitifully begs
summary: kay, as the title states, this is the 4th season of Once and Again. it picks up pretty much a few days after Jake and Tiffany's wedding.

current ep: this ep. below is the first part of the first episode, it's from mostly Zoe's p.o.v. if you're not a huge Zoe fan, sorry to dissappoint you with the first
episode, but the rest aren't like that. the rest follow o&a format.

The 4th Season

Episode 4-1: The Zoë-isode

B+W testimonial: Zoë glares smugly at the camera. "I know a lot more than anyone gives me credit for. I watch Lily run around and try and spell things out to Rick, things she doesn't want me to hear or know. But, come on, HELLO! I CAN SPELL THINGS!!" Zoë rolls her eyes huffily, "You'd think I was still a baby or something…but I guess I kind of do lead them on. I mean, I do watch enough tv for the whole family. And I pretend I don't know anything when Lily asks me something." She pauses and contemplates something, "And I don't exactly want to let her know that I know. I think she wouldn't like that very much. I mean, for me to know what 'S-E-X' is…and for me to know exactly what S.O.B means, I think would be a bit too much for her to handle. I am her little girl, after all." Zoë says pointedly, "And I use that to every advantage, of course," she grins maliciously.

--(Credits)

Jessie stared at her ceiling, trying to keep her thoughts off a certain dirty blonde. And failing miserably. She fidgeted where she lay and tried, to no avail, to take a quick break from any thinking at all. But thoughts of Katie, and the kiss…not to mention what happened at Jake and Tiffany's wedding, flooded her mind, tearing down her feeble attempts at blocking them. A simple but loving smile slid across her face as she eased into the bed, finally able to relax. What was she thinking, trying to get Katie out of her head? She shook her head at the thought. It sounded so stupid to her now. She grinned goofily at the thought of her friend…well, girlfriend? Jessie frowned at the indecision. She knew she liked Katie. Way beyond friendship…but they never actually figured out where they stood. Somewhere between friends and lovers, caught in the middle.

Jessie squinted, as though the answer were somewhere hidden in the paint on her ceiling. No, they were definitely girlfriends, she decided, relaxing again. Holding hands at Jake and Tiffany's wedding had definitely sealed it, at least for Jessie. She grinned at the memory.

"Why are you smiling?" a suspicious Zoë interrupted Jessie's pleasant thoughts. Jessie jumped and sat up instantly, glaring at her younger stepsister.

"Jesus don't you ever knock?" she hissed, and Zoë, unperturbed by Jessie's sour mood, rolled her eyes.

"Why were you smiling?" she asked again, pointedly, to let Jessie know that she wasn't going anywhere until she got a suitable answer. Jessie's nostrils flared.

"What do you care?" she spat, knowing she was being bitchy but not really caring. She wanted to get back to thoughts of Katie in peace. Zoë made a sour face.

B+W testimonial: Zoë rolls her eyes at the camera. "Jessie hates me," she says casually, inspecting her nails, "she's always in a bad mood when I'm around, but I don't much care. It's kind of fun to annoy her. She always over reacts…" Zoë pauses and thinks, "But I mean, would it kill her to be nice? Since she's in love and everything, you'd think she'd be in a better mood or something." Zoë grins, "Yeah, I know she's in love. She doesn't know that I know that she's in love, but let's keep it that way…she's funny when she's mad," Zoë states triumphantly.

"I don't, why were you smiling?" Zoë repeated, crossing her arms. Jessie threw her hands up in angry surrender and fell back on her bed.

"How hot Tad is," Jessie snapped finally, and Zoë turned and left.

B+W testimonial: Zoë: "She must think I'm stupid or something. I know she's not thinking of Tad…if she was, she'd be on the phone with him. Or he'd be over, helping me get the cookies out of the top cabinets." She grins proudly, "Yep, I got him trained pretty well," she smiles fondly.

(Meanwhile, downstairs,)

Eli, with half a pizza slice hanging out of his mouth, ran to get to the door. It wasn't like he didn't know who it was. Obviously it was Katie, she'd only been over every single day. Eli reached the door and threw it open.

"Kaiffy!" he greeted, trying his best to say her name with his mouth full of pizza. Katie grinned at him.

"We-wy!" she mocked jokingly, letting herself through the doorway. Eli stepped aside and let her in, chuckling to himself. They'd been greeting each other like that ever since Jake and Tiffany's wedding, and he had to admit, that it was kind of funny. Zoë came bounding down the stairs. She stopped when she noticed Katie, and gave the older girl a skeptical, if a bit evil, look.

B+W testimonial: Zoë: "I can't stand Katie," she huffs, folding her arms angrily, "You'd think she was my sister, she's here so much. Doesn't she have a home? Parents who miss her? Anywhere better to be?" Zoë makes a face, "but all that aside, she talks too much," Zoë scrunches up her nose, "I honestly don't think that she ever stops. And the joking," Zoë makes a pained expression, "How am I supposed to know when she's not joking?" she whines, "Cause she's always joking, heaven forbid that something's serious at the dinner table," she mutters to herself.

Jessie trudged down the stairs, grumbling under her breath about someone she oh so affectionately titled "The Midget". Katie grinned.

"Hey Billie!" she shouted, and Eli winced, still standing right next to her. He took that as his cue and, taking another huge bite of leftover pizza, he exited without another word. Jessie broke into a huge grin.

"Hey Katie!" she said, launching herself at the girl and grabbing her hand, tugging her in the direction of the stairs. Katie laughed at the plain urgency on Jessie's face, and Zoë rolled her eyes and walked out of the room, and into the living room.

Grace sat on the couch, eyes trained on the tv, smugly cursing under her breath at the thing. Zoë plopped down next to Grace.

"What's on?" Zoë inquired, grabbing the remote from Grace's loose grip. Grace scowled.

"Nothing's on, and it's rude to take things out of people's hands, Zoë," Grace chastised, reaching for the remote. Zoë kept it out of her reach.

"There has to be something on!" Zoë whined, flipping through the channels quickly.

"Quit it!" Grace snapped, and Zoë glared at her.

"Make me!" she snapped back, flipping faster, if that was possible.

"You're such a little brat," Grace insulted, and Zoë nodded.

"So what's your point?" she sneered, and Grace glared at Zoë. Finally, she got up and left the room, still fuming and leaving her little sister to the tv. Zoë slowed down her flipping as she realized that for once, Grace wasn't exaggerating. There really wasn't anything on.

B+W Testimonial: Zoë looks at the camera in disbelief. "How can that be?" she asks, looking bewildered, "There's nothing on tv! There's always something on tv! It's summer vacation and there's nothing on tv!"

Rick wrapped his arms delicately around Lily and kissed her neck lightly. Lily took no notice as she waited for the pregnancy test to reach a prognosis.

"It's going to be positive," he whispered. Lily didn't show any indication that she'd heard him, and he sighed, letting her go and opting for the bed. It sank underneath his weight and he couldn't help but think that the bed was more responsive than his wife.

"You know it's going to be positive," he said, and Lily started as though she'd just realized he was there.

"But what if it isn't?" she asked fretfully, her eyes never leaving the little pee-stick. Rick gave her a reassuring smile even though she wouldn't see it.

"Well, unless the last three were lying," he reminded Lily. Her frown deepened nonetheless.

"It's possible," she replied absently, and Rick chuckled.

"And the doctor definitely lied," he said.

"I just want to double-check," she assured herself, though she didn't look so sure anymore. Rick, realizing that Lily was cracking, quickly got up and pulled her into a hug. Lily shifted into his comforting arms while trying to keep the little stick in her sight.

"It'll be positive," Rick told her sternly, knowingly. Lily sighed and turned her attention to her husband.

"Do you really think so?" she whispered, looking deep into his eyes. Rick smiled in response.

"I'm positive," he told her, realizing the unintended pun only after, "I mean,"

Lily chuckled.

"I know," she whispered softly, tightening her grip around him. He smiled and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. He pulled away finally, and Lily watched him, smiling, the pregnancy test temporarily forgotten. It slipped from Lily's grip, falling down onto the floor with a gentle noise. Lily looked at Rick hesitantly, and he got the message. Rick leaned down to retrieve the pregnancy test, but Lily beat him to it. He gave her a questioning glance as she inspected the stick. Lily finally broke out into a smile.

"Positive," she said, turning the test around to proudly reveal the little blue plus sign. Rick grinned like it was the first time he'd received that news, instead of the fifth, and hugged his wife tightly.

--

B+W testimonial: Zoë glares at the camera. "Rick's okay," she says finally, "I mean, he's definitely not my first choice of a dad, but he'll do." She looks thoughtful, "It could be worse, I suppose. I guess I should just be happy that mom's happy. But I mean, another baby? How many more do we need? And how'd they even do it? They're OLD! And I'm not supposed to even know yet. And who says I don't pay attention?" she huffs.

--

and thus we have our first commercial break. love it, hate it? shall i continue?