Disclaimer: The Mediator belongs to Meg Cabot.

Rating: M - Mature themes and scenes.

Summary: AU. Multiple POV's. Suze Simon is back in Carmel with her best friend to reconnect with the family and find something she's lost; if only she knew just what it is. But she never counted on meeting guarded single father, Jesse De Silva and his beautiful little girl along the way.

A/N: Hi everyone! Well, this story is just something I've had floating around my mind for some time, so I figured I'd do it as a small break away from Moments In Time and between writing a sequel for another story. So I hope you enjoy it. Please review, any feedback and love is always appreciated. :)

Finding What Is Lost

"Oh come on, Gina! You know it wasn't going to work out. There was too much baggage there," I wheedled to my best friend in the whole world since I was a kid. Also the biggest pain in my ass when she got her panties in a knot about something. Just, 'looking out' for me as she likes to put it when we get onto a conversation about my latest squeeze that didn't turn out to be 'the one'. "Besides, it was time to come back. I was going too eventually, we have a plan we still got to follow through, remember?" I pressed, grinning slyly at her quietness on the other end of the phone line. "You going to chicken out on me?"

"No!" She cried indignantly. I got the image of her pulling the phone away and scowling daggers at it. "Don't try and pull that crap on me, Simon, I'm better at it," She replied, getting her edge back. I laughed and turned onto my road, heading up the long hill to my mom's house. "But if we're going to do this, you need to spend less time out in the clubs and looking for a place of our own. Comprende?"

"Oh chill down, Gina, I have to scope out the local competition don't I?" I laughed, rolling across the gravel of the driveway and pulling up next to one of those trucks men seem to adore. "I've got an appointment with the estate agent tomorrow, I'm already on it. So calm down and let me do what I came back here to do." I soothed as I shut off the car and climbed out. I leant up against the closed door, holding my phone in my hand and observing the car in front of me. "When are you due in anyway?" I asked, steering the conversation away.

"Nice try at changing the subject, and if I wasn't in a rush to get ready for a date then I would be bitching at you more right now," She said, the sounds of shuffling feet and muttered curses coming over the line. "Anyway, I should be in Thursday, you still okay to come pick me up? Sure you won't be distracted by old school friends and stuff?" She jibed, knowing it wasn't likely. I was staying away from that area. For now anyway.

"Of course I can come pick you up, no worries about that. Look I'll let you go, I want to go see who owns a truck and is taking up my parking space," I narrowed my eyes at the car like that would give some answers. "I'll call soon, have fun tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." I said with a grin. She snorted and I rang off. I pulled my hands free ear piece out of my ear and walked up to the porch steps, jogging up them with a burst of energy.

I was just pulling open my bag to put my phone and keys back in it when the door opened and the light was blocked by a tall, wide muscular figure taking up the entire doorway. I slowly raised my eyes from where they were stuck on his tan boots and up his long jean clad legs. Dusking over his strong looking chest and wide broad shoulders. I blinked, snapping my eyes up to his face, taking a step back with how dangerously handsome he was. From his inky black hair and dark, dark eyes staring down at me in curiosity. He raised a black eyebrow, his thin lips parting to say something.

And wow! I felt the breath go still in my chest, my jaw slackening. And no matter how much I was telling myself I was gaping at the tall, mysterious and sexy as hell man in front of me, I just couldn't rip my eyes away from him. His olive skin tones and the way the white t-shirt was setting off his tan strong forearms and - yep, there was definitely some powerful biceps underneath those straining sleeves. I know there are some good-looking guys in Carmel, my old school friend, Adam is one of them. But this guy. This one was in a league of his own. I had no idea they bred them like that here.

When I finally made the decision to leave New York behind again and come back to where my mom dragged me when I was sixteen, I wasn't planning on getting into anything that would just end up with me having the same conversation I was just having with Gina. No relationships. Not since Paul who was just a big fat mistake. I came back to open a business. A bar/club with Gina. Something away from the city. I wanted to reconnect with my mom and step-siblings. To get to know Andy better and find something I haven't found in New York. This would of course help if I actually knew what I was looking for. But I didn't slide into my agenda, meeting a tall, handsome stranger and going weak at the knees instantly.

Until this tall handsome stranger of course.

But the magic moment between us was broken instantly when the sounds of small feet came running up to the door through the house.

"Daddy, come on! We have to go! I'll be late for the party," A little girl with dark curly hair and natural streaks of honey gold weaving through it said; appearing around from behind the man standing in my way. She reached up and tugged hard at his large hand hanging at his side. "Daddy!"

Instantly his eyes switched down to the cute little girl bubbling with excitement as her curly hair bounced around her shoulders. She turned to look at me with startling blue grey eyes before looking back up at him. He smiled seeing her excitement and I had the oddest feeling it was a sight you only ever saw directed to the little ball of energy standing on tiptoes dressed in a pretty red dress that set off her equally tanned skin tones dramatically. She was as beautiful as her dad was dangerous. He flicked one of her curls, tweaked her nose and reached out for her to take his hand.

"Okay, princesa, let's go," He boomed, his voice deep, lilting and with a hint of an accent I couldn't place until he turned to my mother coming up behind him. "Thank you for having her Mrs. Ackerman. I really appreciate all the help you have given me. Say goodbye, Alisa. You'll see her tomorrow," He drawled, his Spanish deepening with affection when he spoke to his little girl. "See you later. Ma'am," He nodded to me as he stepped around me, listening to his daughter as she chatted away to him carefully going down the steps. I was still standing there watching while he strapped her into her booster seat in the car and climbed behind the wheel.

Not once looking back up at me on the porch, my jaw only just snapping shut.

It wasn't until he reversed out of the driveway and driven away, leaving me to watch the tail of his truck go down the road did I release my breath in one full whoosh. "Wow . . ." I finally sighed dreamily, blinking away the image I had of him. The vivid image my mind instantly brought up. His arms wrapped around me. His eyes darkened with something strictly for me. "Who, is that?" I asked, spinning on my heel to stare at my mother with wide-eyed disbelief. She was leaning against the doorjamb, grinning at my expression.

"That is one of our local doctors," She said, highly amused with my flushed gooey expression. He was enough to make any red-hot blooded women's head turn a few times. "But he's also a single father who is happy with his status quo, so leave him alone." She said succinctly, narrowing her eyes at me, putting a point, I'm not sure what, across to me. Before turning to walk into the house where I walked in after her.

"I didn't know they grow them like that around here," I said, shutting the door behind us and following her down into the kitchen. "But then again, I distinctly thought I heard some Spanish in his voice. Seriously, Mom, you could have warned me there's a man like that walking around Carmel! If his little girl hadn't have appeared, I think I might have proposed to him then and there! What's his name?" I pressed, jumping onto a bar stool in the kitchen. "A man like that has to have an equally hot name to go with his dangerously hot appearance." I carried on, winding her up. I knew she was holding back a laugh, which just encouraged me more.

"His name is Hector," She said, turning to place a cup of coffee in front of me, smirking as she leaned back against the kitchen side.

"Hector? You have to be kidding?" I cried slumping in my seat a little. My mom's laugh went right over my head and I just pouted some more. "That was an anti-climax. I was expecting something like a little more . . . I don't know, sexy. To go with his drop dead gorgeous looks and killer body." I trailed off, fantasying about him a little more. I wasn't being serious, but it was fun to play it out. Okay, so I was being serious about the killer body. That definitely had my blood pumping. But as soon as she said single father, my views changed of him a little. Not in a bad way of course.

"Jesse." My mom said, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?"

"His real name is Hector; the name he gives to people closest to him is Jesse." She smiled, sipping at her hot coffee and looking at me over the rim of the cup. While I was left to take that name in, a slow grin surfacing while I rolled it around in my mind, my mom got some biscuits down from the cupboard and placed them in front of me, taking a stood herself. "Not so much of an anti-climax then, huh?" She gave me that meaningful look and took a biscuit. "I can tell from your expression, honey."

"I'm an open book," I grinned, wrapping my hands around the hot cup. "It's a nice name though. And Hector means tenacious anyway, so it wasn't all bad," I swiped a biscuit too, making a plan to go for a run first thing in the morning. "So what kind of doctor is he?" I mumbled around a mouthful of crumbs, ignoring my mom's chastising look. I was only around her, I didn't care about manners. At least I wasn't as disgusting about eating as my step-brothers anyway. "I mean does he work down at the hospital or what. What's his story?" I wiped my mouth with the piece of kitchen towel my mom handed to me with a roll of the eyes.

"He's a G.P. It's better hours for him and allows him to spend more time with, Alisa. She's his world," She answered, sobering a bit and sitting forward in her seat. "So don't go and try making a move on him, Suze. I've seen too many women try and get to him through his daughter, not caring that they might hurt her in the process. It's not fair on either of them. He's been on his own with her since she was born and her mother run off. He's happy the way he is. Keep out of his way."

"Give me some credit mom, I wouldn't do that to them. Especially his little girl. I do have some respect and dignity thank you," I replied easily. I know she was only looking out for Jesse and more importantly, Alisa. And I wasn't planning on rocking the boat anyway. I can be his friend and help him relax those tense shoulders. But I wouldn't go through his daughter to get to him. And I felt a stirring of anger at any women who had tried. "I'm just admiring him from afar."

My mom looked at me closely for a few seconds before finally nodding her head, happy with what she found. "Well, so long as that's all you do," She smiled eventually. "Anyway, I thought you were still trying to get over what's-his-name in New York. That is partly why you're here, isn't it?"

I sighed internally and levelled an even stare on her. "His name is Paul, mom. And no, I'm not here to get over him. I did that the minute I found him shacking up with that bimbo. Surprisingly, I wasn't all that bothered. But I'm not hiding away if that's what you think. I told you I'm here to stay. To reconnect with the family. New York is great and I'll miss it. But, I need a touch of hometown comfort. And it's the perfect place for Gina and me to start our business. I won't be staying here for long. I'm already looking into renting an apartment. But I'm not planning on leaving Carmel anytime soon."

"That's good to know, honey," She said, her voice thick with emotion. She reached out to take my hand and gave it a squeeze. "And you know you can stay here for as long as you need. It'll be good to have another female around the house that isn't four years old." She laughed.

I got up off my stool and walked around to give her a hug. "It's good to be home, mom," I murmured, before stepping back and giving her a smile. "And Gina will be here by the end of the week. Between the three of us, we can put them in their place," I grinned, picking up my phone and bag and walking out of the kitchen with my mom's light laugh floating after me. I breathed in a huge breath when I got to the stairs, glancing back at the window overlooking the driveway. Before they turned to the door getting the faint image of Jesse standing there, filling it with his presence.

"Now I just have to find what I'm looking for." I muttered before climbing the stairs, humming a song.