It took less than the usual five minutes for Jesse to pull into the driveway. He jumped out so quickly, I barely had time to hiss, "Jesse! Roof!" before he started to knock on the door. I leapt down gracefully, landing on the usual layer of pine needles.

He strode over to me, a worried look on his face. "Susannah? What's wrong?" I nearly tackled him as I gave him a bear hug. Unfortunately, the sight of Jesse had made those tears that I had tried so hard to contain overflow.

Oh, well. At least I was wearing waterproof mascara.

"Susannah, what is wrong?" he repeated, sounding even more worried than before. Well, could you really blame him? I mean, I'm Suze Simon, Mediator and All-Around Supernatural Butt-Kicker. Jesse had only seen me cry once, maybe twice, and I was trying to keep it that way. Not because he wasn't good at the comforting stuff (because let me assure you, he was absolutely great at it), but because I have a reputation to keep. I ask you, would I ever get respect from those, ahem, difficult cases, if I was spontaneously bursting into tears?

No, hypothetical person who was asked that rhetorical question, I would not.

But Jesse was completely fine with it. More than fine. Actually, it was sort of unnerving how comforting and okay with my breakdown he was. Do they teach these kinds of things in medical school? Or, since Jesse has not actually taken any college classes yet, in any of those huge tomes with scientific names that Jesse is always reading?

Or was it just a Jesse thing?

Yeah, it's probably the last one.

"Susannah," Jesse kept murmuring, stroking my hair. I had been too busy ranting in my head to realize that he had picked me up and was now carrying me to his car. Somehow, he managed to open the car door while holding me, and he set me down gently on the seat. Seeing that I was still blubbering (which was totally embarassing), he buckled me in before closing the door and getting in the driver's seat.

As he was backing up, I reminded him (while still sniffling) not to hit the mailbox. He relaxed a little after that.

We ended up at the Coffee Clutch, where Jesse ordered a black coffee (him) and a medium lowfat caramel double mocha hot chocolate with extra whipped cream (me) from the drive thru. I quietly sipped mine, hiccupping slightly, as Jesse made his way through the tourist traffic back to his apartment.

He parked and looked at me. I was calmer now than I had been, which was a side effect of being near Jesse de Silva. And being calmer let me think through everything I had done, everything I had said, and how I had reacted tonight. To be honest, I felt like an idiot. I had completely flipped out over nothing, and now I was sitting in Jesse's car, drinking hot chocolate and resting against his completely toned chest while he wrapped his arm around me, waiting for me to start talking.

Why did I care so much about my family's reaction to Jesse? I loved him. That was enough, right? We had been through so much together, so why did this bother me so much?

What I wanted the answer to be: I was PMSing and I just needed a chill pill.

What the answer really was: I wanted everyone to like Jesse because he deserved everyone's approval. He deserved to be a part of a family again.

CeeCee already loved him, Paul acknowledged that he was a good person, Adam...would come around, Father Dom counted on him to keep me in line, but if my family didn't like him...

They would like him. They would approve.

"Querida, what's wrong?" Jesse asked softly, bringing my internal debate to an screeching halt. I turned my head slightly and kissed him.

I'd like to say that we each gave in to our passionate desires right there and then. And that Jesse proposed and that in a couple years, we had little, bouncing, non-mediator, half-Spanish children running around the apartment and got a dog and life was perfect forever and ever.

But this isn't some chick-lit supernatural teen romance novel.

After a few minutes, Jesse pulled away and said, "Susannah, I do not think you called me to come over to your house ten minutes after I left just to kiss me."

Darn him and his logicalness!

"I just...I just needed you, Jesse. Everyone was judging us, it was horrible, they were telling me you were too old for me."

Jesse sighed and looked at me intensely. "Querida, does it bother you that I am older than you?"

"No," I replied automatically.

"Then it doesn't matter," he said simply, smiling at me.

"But I want my family to like you! You're so perfect! And they don't know you at all, but they're making assumptions about us and I hate it. I just want them to give you a chance."

"Don't worry, I'll love you no matter what, Susannah," He looked a little sad, though.

"Jesse, what's wrong?" I whispered.

He looked away for a moment. "Maybe they're right," he said, barely loud enough for me to hear. I reached up and touched his face, turning it toward me. His eyes were bright, just like I knew mine were.

"Jesse, you listen to me. I don't care what they think. I don't care what they say! I love you, and you know that!" I said sharply.

See, Dopey was wrong. I am intense sometimes.

Jesse wouldn't look me in the eye. He just stared down at our intertwined hands.

I might have violent tendencies, but he had some serious self-deprecation issues.

What was wrong with him? Did he not understand everything he had done for me, and how grateful I was? Did he not know that I couldn't live without him? I mean, not to sound like some emo girl in love with a sparkly vampire, but I would not be able to function without him. I mean, yeah, I loved him with my entire heart, but also, I would be killed by some angry ghost if Jesse wasn't there to talk me out of confronting him or her.

I needed Jesse.

"Jesse, are you trying to break up with me?" I gasped. Was that what he was getting at?

He looked straight ahead, saying, "I just want what's best for you, Susannah."

At that, I started feeling tears welling up in my eyes again.

I searched my mind for something, anything, that would prove to Jesse how much I needed him. Because I couldn't lose him.

"Do you remember when I went back in time? To stop Paul? And I brought you back?" I asked. Jesse nodded, looking a little confused. "Well, I never told you what really happened when I was in 1850. I went back in time to stop Paul, but I got thrown out of the house by Mrs. O'Neil and it rained and Paul ended up tying me up and leaving me in the barn loft- ow, Jesse, can you please let go?"

At the first mention of Paul's name, Jesse had looked pissed off. But when I got to the part about what Paul did to me, Jesse started clenching his fists. One of which still had my hand in it. He let go and apologized quickly.

"So, I was there, and then I heard...you," I continued. "At first, I thought you had found some way to go back, to find me. But then I realized that it was the past you."

Jesse stared at me with wide eyes. "Nombre de dios," he breathed. "How...what...it was me? What did I do? Did I know you?" he asked, looking anxious but a little fearful.

"I made some noise...you found me. You didn't recognize me at all. But you still cared about me. And you hated my clothes," I chuckled. "You wanted to throw Paul in jail and take me to see a doctor. And then you thought I was a thief because I had Maria's miniature of you."

Jesse looked horrified. It was actually pretty funny. Or, it would have been under other circumstances. "Querida..." he trailed off. Querida. That was a good sign, right?

"But I eventually convinced you that I was the real deal. And I told you what Diego was going to do to you, and that you had to leave. Because I couldn't stand by and watch you get killed. I love you too much. But do you know what you did? You wouldn't leave. You stayed there to protect me from Diego, and from Paul. And you told me I was brave. When you were the one who was risking your live to save me." About halfway through this, I stopped trying to hold the tears in. "And you fought Diego. You won. But he knocked me down, and the barn caught on fire. I was trapped in the middle of it all. Paul was yelling for me to shift, and you both were safe. But you saved me again. You ran through the fire to save me, a girl you barely even knew. But then I shifted and when I woke up, your body was there and you weren't moving and I thought I was going to lose you, after all you had done for me. I can't lose you, Jesse," I choked. I closed my eyes and tried to take a few deep breaths.

When I opened my eyes, Jesse was looking at me with a weird expression on his face. Like he was trying to understand something complicated or waking up from a shifting-induced sleep.

"Querida," he breathed. Again, nickname. Sweetheart. Dearest one. Not exactly a breakup term.

"Jesse, I love you so much. When are you going to get that you're stuck with me?" I asked.

He chuckled a little. "I have no idea, Susannah. I'm not a lucky person, so I don't know how this is happening to me." He leaned down and kissed me. "I'm sorry, Querida," he murmured.

"I forgive you," I whispered as he held me.

Eventually, we did make it inside. Unfortunately, the night didn't end with the start of little Suzes and Jesses. After calling my mom to tell her that I would be staying at Jesse's, we just laid down on Jesse's bed, curled up together, talking, laughing, and kissing. Eventually, we fell asleep there, not worrying about my mom and Andy, or the fact that the next day I had school and Jesse had work. That night, we were the only ones who mattered.

And it was perfect.