Once and Again 1. You Did A Bad, Bad Thing

It's Not Too Late For A Second Chance

Chapter 1. You Did A Bad, Bad Thing

Author: j_rock873/twin who likes to travel

Rating: PG-13

Summary: This is a sequel to "Too Late For Apologies".

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reviews: I would like them. Constructive criticism is ok.

Author's notes: After recently reading "Too Late For Apologies" again, I decided to write a sequel. I made some slight changes to "Too Late For Apologies", so you might want to read that one again. I realized that I didn't give names to Katie's roommate or the girl she cheated with in that story, but I will in the second chapter of this one.

* * *

After Katie left the funeral home

Grace walked to the front entrance of the funeral home and made sure Katie was nowhere to be seen before walking over to Jessie's coffin.

"She's gone," Grace said before rolling her eyes.

"Are you sure?" a voice asked from inside the coffin.

"I promise," Grace answered.

"Good, I didn't know how much longer I could have done that," Jessie replied before opening her eyes and sitting up.

"Do you need any help, Jessie?" Rick questioned his daughter.

"No, I can handle it," Jessie announced before she stood up and jumped out of the borrowed coffin. She turned around and began to walk over to her family when she saw frowns coming from her parents, "What?"

"Don't you think what you just did was too cruel?" Karen inquired.

"Maybe, but you remember what I went through before I decided to do this?"

"Yes," Rick responded before hugging his daughter, who was now standing in front of her parents.

"So what are the plans again?" Zoe declared.

"Well, I was going to call Tad soon. I guess he's probably talking to Katie right now. He's supposed to find out what's going on with her. Like where she is and how she's feeling, then I can decide on how to surprise her."

Before anyone could say another word, one of the employees of the funeral home entered the room.

"Is everyone done in here?"

"Yes, and thanks for helping us out with this," Lily stated as they all prepared to leave.

"You're welcome," the man told them as he walked past them and rolled the coffin out of the room.

Meanwhile, outside the Singer home

"Hello?" Katie sighed.

"Hi, Katie, how did it go, how are you holding up, and where are you?"

"How do you think it went, Tad?" Kate yelped before wiping away a tear.

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked."

"I didn't even get to stay for the funeral. I only got to say goodbye to Billie. I mean Jessie. When I tried to apologize to the rest of them, they handed me a suicide note Jessie had supposedly written. Then they asked me to leave. I'm both angry at both of us and sad at the same time. By us, I mean me and Jessie. I'm outside of my house. I figured I'd look at it one last time."

"One last time?"

"I'm leaving and probably never coming back. I guess if you want to see me after today, you'll have to come up to New York."

"Ok, anything else?"

"I'm angry at myself for cheating on her, not trying to apologize earlier, and not working it out with her. I'm angry with her for killing herself over me. I wasn't worth dying over. Finally, I'm sad that I will probably never see her again."

"Yeah, but now you have to go on with your life and find a way to get by without the same thing happening to you," Tad advised as he felt bad for lying to his best friend in order to help another very close friend, "So what are you going to do now?"

"Well, if you want to, maybe we could hang out tonight. Then I'm getting onto a plane and heading back to New York."

"What for?"

"A few close friends at NYU got decent part time jobs, so they're going to rent an apartment kind of close to the school. I was going to get a job as well. Then the three of us were going to split the expenses of living there from the summer until the end of the next school year."

"Would any of them be the girl you cheated on Jessie with or future girlfriend possibilities?"

"No, she's already made plans and found another boyfriend. She's happier than she was before, but she still wants to be a friend," Katie admitted before starting to cry.

"Are you going to be ok?"

"I guess I'll have to be. Do you still want to hang out with me?" Katie muttered between sobs.

"Yes, be at the same movie theater we always go to at 7:00 PM. After the movie, we can go out to eat and maybe find some girls to hit on if you're up for that."

"I was with you up until the last part. I couldn't do that. I'm not sure when I can do that again without thinking about Jessie."

"Ok, see you then."

"Goodbye and thanks."

"For what?"

"For telling me about Jessie and always being there for me."

"Sure thing," Tad mumbled before hanging up and feeling worse than before the call.

About twenty minutes later

"Hi, Tad, well, how's she doing and where is she? Oh, do you mind if I put this on speakerphone before you answer that?"

"No, I don't mind," Tad assured her and waited for Jessie to set it to speakerphone.

"Ok, go," Jessie insisted.

"She started crying during our call. She's at home. I don't think she's going to be there much longer."

"What makes you say that?"

"She told me she's going back to New York after we hang out."

"Uh, ok. Tell us everything you two talked about."

Tad went through the whole conversation he had with Katie to Jessie and her family. They looked at each other and the phone as they heard the regret in his voice and felt the same.

"Why is she heading back so soon?" Jessie gasped without thinking about how he could respond.

"WHY? Why do you think? She thinks you're dead. How would you feel if the first person you truly loved in that way died, especially with how you died? I can't believe I went along with this hoax," Tad growled as the anger became clear.

"I'm s-sorry, Tad."

"You better be. Now FIX IT before you lose another friend."

"HOW?"

"You're going to take my place at the movies tonight. I don't think I could look her eyes without telling her the truth. Be at the usual theater a little before 7:00."

"Alright, th-thanks."

"Whatever," Tad scoffed before hanging up.

After ending the call, Jessie looked at each family member's face.

"I know, ok. You don't have to say it," Jessie revealed before tears started to show on her cheeks.

"Jessie, sweetie..," Karen began to say as she moved closer to hug her daughter.

"Save it, I don't deserve it after what I did," Jessie said before breaking down even more, running upstairs, and slamming the door to her room.

"I guess I'll go now. Call me later, ok?" Karen requested as she headed for the front door.

"We will," Rick assured her.

Around 6:40 PM

Jessie slowly made her way downstairs; only to be confronted by everyone in the house.

"Where are you going, Jessie?" Lily challenged with concern.

"I need to get to the theater before 7:00, like Tad told me."

"Do you need a ride?" Grace offered as she sat at the kitchen table.

"Thanks, but I need to go by myself. If Katie sees any of your cars, who knows how she'll react?"

"Ok, be careful," Rick warned.

"I will," Jessie asserted before giving a small smile and walking out the front door.

7:00 PM, outside the local theater.

Katie had arrived there about five minutes ago and spent the time either looking around for Tad or at the time on her watch.

"Come on, Tad, Where are you?" Katie griped softly while looking to see what was playing.

This caused enough of a distraction, so that Jessie could sneak up behind her.

"He couldn't make it," a strange voice informed as Katie felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

Katie turned to see if she could recognize the person who had walked up and tapped her on the shoulder. When it was clear she didn't, she spoke up.

"Who are you, how do you know him, and what makes you can just touch me like that?"

"Because he's a friend, and I used to touch you whenever I could," Jessie confessed softly as she took off the borrowed baseball cap and sunglasses.

"Jessie!" Katie hissed in surprise before she felt her hand rise to smack the blonde standing in front of her. At the look of slight fear on Jessie's face, she grabbed Jessie by the wrist as tightly and discreetly as possible before commanding, "Don't SAY a word."

Jessie nodded in silence as Katie led her to a nearby alley, so they couldn't be seen by anybody.

"WHAT THE HELL, JESSIE?" Katie yelled as she pushed the blonde up against a wall a little harder than normal, "I thought you were dead. Tad TOLD me you killed yourself. I guess that whole scene earlier was just a sick way to get revenge. What did it take for Tad to take part in this twisted scheme of yours? Did you promise to have sex with him?" When Jessie only looked on in shock at her, Katie immediately took that as confirmation, "Oh my god! My best friend lied just to have some sex with a girl he never had a chance with before."

"K-Katie, I-I never had s-sex with Tad," Jessie claimed as she watched the other girl lean up against another wall and start to cry, "After our break up, I was a total mess. He said if I ever needed ANYTHING, to just ask. "

Jessie sat down beside Katie after watching her slide to the ground and cry harder. Jessie felt herself to get choked up at the sight of Katie hiding her tears behind her hands. She tried to pull the crying girl into a hug but was having a hard time getting Katie to just let go and fall into her arms. A few minutes later, Katie gave in and clung to the blonde as if her life depended on it.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Katie. I should have listened to my good side instead of my bad side before I did what I did."

"Y-Yeah, you sh-should have. I didn't think I could have hurt you enough for you to do something like that. J-Jessie?" Katie grilled before pausing to look up at Jessie and wipe a few tears away.

"Yeah?" Jessie interrupted her before brushing away some of the hair on Katie's face and the few tears as well.

Katie smiled for a few seconds before continuing, "Did…Did you ever actually think about killing yourself. I mean how bad did it g-get?"

"Yeah. It was only once though and just for a few minutes. There were some days after school where I would cry as I played the Billie Holiday CD. I would just cry until the CD was done. What about you?""

"I couldn't listen to her because I knew I would just break down. I saved the break down times for when I was alone."

Jessie watched as Katie cried for another minute. When she was sure that Katie was done, Jessie softly kissed her on the forehead. Then Katie stood up and helped Jessie stand as well.

"So do you still want to see a movie?" Jessie wondered.

"Not really."

"What would you like to do?"

"Maybe we could go back to one of your houses."

"Ok, when does your plane leave?"

"My what?"

"You know, the big, metal bird people get on so they won't have to drive or take a train," Jessie commented with the slightest trace of sarcasm before smiling at Katie.

"Who told you about that?"

"Tad told me. So?"

"I got an open ended ticket, so I can stay a little while. But then I need to get back to New York. I need to get a part time job until I'm done with school."

"Ok," Jessie sighed as she slowly and carefully reached for Katie's hand.

Both girls could see that Jessie was nervous about what Katie would do. Would she let her or would she stop her?

"Let's go then," Katie ordered slightly as she felt Jessie's soft skin touch hers.

As they arrived back at the Sammler/Manning home, Jessie tried to give Katie a soft kiss on the lips but stopped when Katie took a step back.

"Katie…," Jessie tried to say but was interrupted.

"Wait until we get upstairs," Katie insisted as she gently opened the door and walked inside, missing the worried look on Jessie's face.

"Ok," Jessie relented before following the older girl silently.

"So how did it go, Jess..?" Lily began to ask as they all looked to the door and assumed it was Jessie, "Uh…Hi, K-Katie."

"Hi, everybody. Do you mind if Jessie and I go upstairs and talk?" Katie asked them softly.

"Uh.., sure," Rick said as he tried to think of more to say, "Katie."

"Yes, Rick?" Katie replied calmly, easing the tension a little.

"We're sorry about earlier."

The rest of the family nodded along instantly.

"I understand," Katie assured them before grabbing Jessie's hand and leading the blonde up to Jessie's bedroom.

When Katie wasn't watching her, Jessie's worried look came back and wasn't missed by her family.


	2. Working It Out

It's Not Too Late For A Second Chance

Chapter 2. Working It Out

Author: j_rock873/twin who likes to travel

Rating: PG-13

Summary: The girls try to fix their shattered relationship.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reviews: I would like them. Constructive criticism is ok.

* * *

A few minutes later, Jessie's bedroom

"So…I guess we still need to talk, huh?"

"I guess so," Katie agreed as she began to lie down on Jessie's bed and patted the spot beside her.

Jessie nervously bit her lower lip as she slowly walked over and lie down beside the girl she still loved.

"Should I go first?" Jessie asked.

"I want to know a few things first."

"Like what?"

"Before what happened today, did you even think about doing something other than faking your death?"

"Yes," the blonde answered as she looked down at her bed.

"And what was that?"

"Well…I thought about maybe posing for an intimate picture with Tad."

"How intimate?" Katie wondered as she took Jessie's chin in her hand and made the younger girl look into her eyes.

"One where we were sharing a hug and a kiss. Or…"

"Or what?" Katie questioned as she arched an eyebrow at her.

"Maybe make a video where I was giving Tad a lap dance," Jessie said before temporarily pausing at the shocked look on her girlfriend's face, "You know…The kind you see on those videos that can only be bought over the phone or the internet and…are only advertised past midnight," Jessie replied as she blushed a bright red as she continued to talk.

"Why didn't you do that instead?" Katie inquired between smirks.

"B-Because…Hey, stop that while I'm trying to explain it to you. I didn't because Tad wouldn't do that to you, and I didn't think you would forgive me for something like that," the blonde explained as the older girl tried not to laugh.

"How did you get that idea?"

"Because seeing that might hurt even worse. And even if we did make up, the memory of me doing that might never be forgotten."

"Ok," Katie sighed softly as she caressed Jessie's cheek, making Jessie smile at the gentle touch.

"My turn now," Jessie said as she reluctantly moved slightly away from Katie; breaking the connection, "I guess the first question is, 'Are you still mad at me?'"

"Yes, a little bit."

"Can you forgive me? Because I forgive you for cheating on me," Jessie admitted, but when she got silence yet again, she added, "Oh, ok."

"I know I hurt you, Jessie, but you were so quick to disbelieve me. Part of me forgives you, the other part needs more time."

"But she knew about that birthmark on your butt. What was I supposed to think?"

"You were supposed to trust me and think that she must have spied on me when I wasn't watching, which is EXACTLY what she did."

"How did you find out that Audrey was spying on you?"

"Well, I was taking a shower in the co-ed bathrooms when it happened. I was about half way through when I heard someone say, 'Hey, quit spying on whoever is in there, Audrey.' I quickly turned off the water, wrapped my towel around me, and stepped out to see Audrey smirking at me while Danielle looked back and forth between me and Audrey. I almost gave Audrey a black eye."

"Who's Danielle, another friend?"

"Uh, yeah and…"

"And?" Jessie continued after Katie began avoiding what else she wanted to say.

"And she's the one I slept with when I cheated on you."

"Really?"

"Uh huh."

"So then she's seen it too?"

"Yeah, she thought it was kind of cute," Katie revealed with a blush before seeing a frown on Jessie's face, "Sorry."

"Can you tell me more about her?"

"About Danielle?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you want to know? Wouldn't it just make it worse if you knew?"

"Just tell me," Jessie pleaded.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you," Katie warned her after rolling her eyes.

Jessie just shrugged, "So what does she look like?"

"She's around 5'7, has light brown hair just past her shoulders, and brown eyes. She's smart, funny, easy going, and has a very positive attitude."

"What about the rest of her?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do think I mean?"

"What does it matter?"

"It would be nice to now what my competition looks like."

"What competition? She's not into girls. It was just a one night stand between her and me."

"I still want to know. I mean she had to have a decent body for you to want to have sex with her. Was she bigger in certain areas?" Jessie babbled as she tried not to see Katie's reaction but eventually looked at her. Katie had to hide the laugh she wanted to let out at Jessie's reluctance to talk about another girl's body like that, "It's not funny."

"When you suddenly can't say words like butt, ass, chest, breasts, and any other descriptive words for those 'certain' areas of another girl, it is."

"Fine, was her chest and butt bigger or smaller than mine?" Jessie responded before glaring at Katie's attempt not to laugh.

"Her chest was a little bigger. However, her butt was the same size as yours. And I would say average weight for her size."

"Average?"

"Yeah, not too skinny, but not fat."

"Ok."

"Any other questions or comments?"

"Just a few. Why didn't you want to kiss me outside the front door? And you can call me Billie again."

"Because I felt we should talk first. I will start calling you Billie again when I'm completely over the whole faking your death thing."

"Katie," Jessie felt torn on what to say, so she just relented, "Ok, I think I can wait. I just hope it's not too long."

"Thanks, now kiss me."

"Ok," Jessie complied as Katie pulled Jessie closer and kissed her softly on the lips.

After breaking the kiss to catch their breath, Jessie went downstairs to ask Rick and Lily if Katie could spend the night. Rick was hesitant at first. When Jessie promised that they wouldn't do anything they weren't supposed to be doing and agreed to call Karen to let her know what happened between the two girls, he agreed. Jessie let him and Lily listen to the conversation. After she ended the call, Jessie shared a smile with Rick and Lily and then headed back upstairs. The girls spent the rest of the night watching TV and listening to music. As they prepared for bed, Jessie lent Katie a pair of pajamas to sleep in. They turned around to give each other some privacy while they changed clothes. After climbing under the covers, Jessie decided to start up another make out session. Jessie leaned in to kiss Katie and was rewarded with a soft kiss. When Jessie tried to intensify the kiss and slowly put her hand on Katie's stomach under the pajama top, she was gently pushed away.

"You don't want to?" Jessie mumbled as she was a little surprised at being rejected.

"No," Katie confessed before lying back down and getting comfortable.

"O-Ok," Jessie stuttered before turning away, lying on her side, and starting to cry about a minute later.

"Don't cry," Katie whispered into Jessie's ear.

"I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't m-mean to," Jessie assured her between the soft cries, "It's just that I didn't expect you to say no like that."

"Don't be in such a rush, it'll take a little more time before we can be like the way we were before…"

"I know. It's just that I missed moments like that despite of everything that has happened since then."

"Me too."

"Really?"

"Yes," Katie informed as she moved closer to the blonde and wrapped her arms around her from behind.

Jessie pulled away and turned back around to see Katie looking her with a slightly raised eyebrow and a small look of concern. Jessie slowly moved as close to Katie as she could, laid her head on Katie's chest, and wrapped her arms around the older girl. Katie smiled as she welcomed the embrace.

"I missed this too," Jessie confided before she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Yeah," Katie asserted as she hugged the girl beside her.

The girls were lulled to sleep by the warmth between the two of them.

The next morning, around 8:00 AM

The girls woke up at the same time and kissed briefly before changing clothes and heading downstairs for breakfast.

"What would you two like for breakfast?" Lily asked too cheerfully in both girls' opinions. This was shared with Grace, who rolled her eyes as soon as Lily turned away from them.

"Scrambled eggs will be fine," Jessie announced happily as Katie patted her on the leg under the table.

"Ditto," Katie stated as Jessie did the same thing to her.

"Ahem," Grace grumbled a little too loudly as the couple leaned in to sneak a kiss behind Lily's back.

"Is there something wrong, Grace?" Lily implied as she turned back around to face them again.

"Just clearing my throat."

"Alright," Lily told her before turning back to the stove.

After getting cleaned up, the girls returned to the family room and informed them they were going to see a movie since they changed their minds about seeing one last night. Rick and Lily told them to have a good time and to call if they needed anything. When the girls returned, they saw Rick as he watched a baseball game. Lily sat beside him and was reading a book. The girls held in a chuckle when Rick sighed as the Cubs were losing another game. Lily gave him an occasional look of understanding his frustration while inside she wanted to laugh just as much as the girls did.

"Did you two want something?" Rick declared when he noticed both girls had been staring at him for a few minutes.

The girls shared a look as Jessie gave her a slight nudge with her right arm.

"Uh…yeah, I do. Can I ask you for a kind of huge favor?" Katie mumbled as she began to get nervous at what he could or would say.

"I guess so. How huge?" Rick responded as Katie now had the attention of both Rick and Lily,

"I would say probably the hugest one I've ever asked for from either you and Lily or Karen," Katie mentioned before starting to lose the courage she had at the moment.

"Just get to the point," Jessie encouraged as she gently grabbed Katie's hand in support.

"Well…," Katie started as she couldn't miss the smile on Lily's face at the cuteness of Katie's slight fear, "I need to go back to New York, and I was kind of hoping that you'd let Jessie come with me."

Lily smiled even more as Rick joined in at the sight of Katie blushing.

"And why would we allow that?" Rick stated as he tried to act stern but a smirk was fighting to show on his face.

"B-Because you trust both of us, and Jessie's almost an adult. After all, she's starting college in the fall."

"She's got a point, Rick."

"Yes, but in my mind. Jessie will always be 'my little girl'."

"Please, Dad," Jessie playfully whined while following up with a look he could never turn down.

"You just had to do that, didn't you?" Rick groaned as Jessie just gave him the same look, "How soon, how long, and where will you be staying?"

"T-Tonight if we can find an open flight," Katie exclaimed before temporarily biting her lower lip, "And hopefully until the beginning of August. We'll be at an apartment I will be sharing with two other students at NYU."

When it appeared that Rick really wanted to say no to something as big as this, Jessie spoke up.

"Please, Daddy," Jessie begged in the sweetest tone she could use.

"That's just cruel. You know that, don't you?" When Jessie just nodded, he concluded with, "If it's ok with your mom, it's ok with us."

"Thanks," Jessie said before kissing Rick softly on the cheek and running into the kitchen.

"It's not funny, Lily," Rick complained, "Just wait until Grace or Zoe ask for something just as big or bigger."

Rick turned back to the game and rolled his eyes as he heard the crack of a bat and had to watch the opposing team send a ball into the left field bleachers. Lily could only giggle and pat him on the shoulder before walking into the kitchen and grabbing something to drink. It only got worse as he learned Jessie had gotten her mom to let her go away with Katie as well. Katie and Lily both laughed as Jessie explained that Karen said as long as they didn't run off to Massachusetts and get married instead, it was fine.

That night, Chicago-Midway airport

Katie could barely hold in the excitement as they waited to be let on the plane.

"I still can't believe they said yes."

"I'm not. They could never turn this face down," Jessie laughed before doing the same thing to Katie that she had done to Lily and Rick.

"Hey, no fair, stop that."

"I will if you call me Billie again."

"No, I said not until I'm ready," Katie instructed before giving Jessie an identical look.

"Fine," Jessie conceded, "How about a kiss at least?"

"Sure thing," Katie concluded before kissing Jessie softly on the lips.

New York City, New York

For the first few weeks of her stay, Jessie was nervous around Katie's roommate, Amanda. Amanda would openly and playfully flirt with Jessie. After briefly patting Jessie's butt and a warning from Katie, Amanda never teased her like that again. Katie's other roommate, Megan, wasn't as crazy and hyper like Amanda and Katie. But she still knew how to have a good time and was really friendly to her. The remaining time there, they all got along relatively well. Whenever they got some free time during the day, Jessie and Katie would try to see the sights of the huge city. They had seen everything they wanted to see and even took in a few night games at Yankee Stadium. Megan was a pretty big baseball fan, and her family had season box seat tickets. She had no problem sharing them with her friends when her family didn't want them. Whenever Katie and Jessie were able to get some time alone for the two of them, they tried to make the most of it. Jessie hadn't gotten Katie to start calling her "Billie" yet, but they were getting closer to the way they used to be before the painful break up. Jessie chose not to reveal where she would be going to college in less than a month since she had yet to hear the nickname that she had grown to love.

The night before Jessie's flight back to Evanston, Illinois; Katie's bedroom

"I'm going to miss you so much, Billie. Can you please tell me now where you're going to college this year?" Katie almost pleaded as the couple lie on the bed while taking a short break from the heated make out session Jessie had gotten Katie into with ease.

"Since you called me Billie, I can tell you. I decided on Columbia."

Katie fought the urge to shout for joy, so she could make a joke first.

"I know you wanted to get away from your parents when it came time for college, but isn't South America a little extreme?" Katie commented with a straight face.

"You know I meant Columbia University here in New York," Jessie scoffed and added an eye roll.

"Of course I did. Just teasing you, Billie," Katie joked, "How about we make this night extra special since I won't see you for at least three weeks?"

"What's the plan?"

Katie smiled as she removed her sleepwear before helping Jessie with hers, which just happened to be an identical pair of slightly oversized "I Love NY" t-shirts. Katie then pulled both of them under the covers. Jessie let out a slight giggle as Katie repeated the same thing with their underwear.

"Good plan," Jessie determined as Katie leaned into to kiss her.

Around twenty minutes later

The girls became tired and agreed to call it a night.

"I love you, Billie. I always have and always will. And I promise to never hurt you again like I did before."

"I know, sweetie. And I'll never doubt your love for me from now on."

They shared a soft kiss and a few tears of happiness. A few minutes later, they fell asleep in each other's arms with smiles plastered on their faces.

The next morning, Katie's bedroom

Katie awoke to Jessie's head lying on her chest while the blonde snuggled up against her. She couldn't help but smile at the love she had for Jessie as the blonde smiled innocently in her sleep. She glanced at the alarm clock to her right and saw it was about to go off. She turned if off and decided to play a joke on her girlfriend.

"Billie, you need to wake up, If you don't get up, you'll miss your flight," Katie suggested in what she hoped sounded like a worried tone.

"Huh," Jessie grunted as she started to yawn, "Wh-What time is it?"

"It's 11:00 AM. That means you have about an hour to get cleaned up, dressed, packed, catch a cab, and be at the departure gate. And it will probably take about half the time at the airport alone. If you don't hurry, it will leave without you," Katie lied as she cleverly blocked the view of the alarm clock.

"How can it be that late?" Jessie complained as she quickly sat up and looked at Katie.

"I guess we overslept a little," Katie explained as she faked still being tired.

'YOU GUESS!" Jessie shouted as she jumped out of her side of the bed in a panic and tried to think of the quickest way to get everything ready. She started to panic as clothes were all over the floor and her suitcase was nowhere to be seen, "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ALARM CLOCK, and where is my suitcase?"

Katie tried to hold in a smile at how Jessie was running around like a chicken with its head cut off; which angered Jessie.

"What are you SMILING at? I'm running late, I need to get home, and you're just sitting there while doing nothing. HELP ME!"

"Take a second to look at yourself," Katie remarked and pointed to a mirror on one of the walls.

Jessie turned around to look at the mirror and saw her self standing there almost naked and gulped, "OH MY GOD! You knew I looked like this and let me run around without saying anything."

"Yeah," Katie chuckled as she watched Jessie quickly put on her bra before adding, "And one other thing."

"And what's th…" Jessie began to say as she was putting on her shirt but was interrupted by the opening of the bedroom door.


	3. Their Happy Ending

Chapter 3. Their Happy Ending

Author: j_rock873/twin who likes to travel

Rating: PG-13/T

Summary: This is the final chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reviews: I would like them. Constructive criticism is ok.

Author's notes: Like I said in the summary, this is the FINAL chapter. I'm sorry it's been SO long since I posted the last update. Not too long after I started the third chapter, I got a serious case of writer's block for this story. While suffering through that, I got more into other fandoms, like BTVS and 8 Simple Rules. Since my last post for this one, I ended up turning the two one shots for BTVS I had written into a saga, and the one shot for 8 Simple Rules into a trilogy. This past holiday season, I finally decided to end it instead of leaving you all waiting for more. For the past few weeks, I've been reading almost all of the Jessie/Katie fan fiction on  .net and in the "jessiekatie" yahoo group I help moderate to help me get inspired. Nothing's helped, so I'm calling it quits for this story. Sorry if this extremely lame chapter disappoints anyone. Hopefully how it ends will make up for the rest of it at least a little bit.

* * *

"What's with all…," Megan asked sleepily from the doorway but froze at the sight of how Jessie was dressed at that moment.

"WHOA, looking pretty hot there, Jessie," Amanda said before chuckling as she stood by Megan.

"DON"T YOU KNOCK!" Jessie yelped as she turned to face the open door.

"Normally, don't you usually wear more than that?" Megan questioned as she began to smile

"Hey; if that's how she chooses to dress for bed, who are we to criticize? Besides, you're not wearing much more than her, Megan," Amanda commented as she couldn't take her eyes off of Jessie.

It was then that Jessie realized that the other two girls had seen her like Katie had. Jessie quickly picked up her NY shirt at the end of the bed and covered her chest.

"What do you two want?" Jessie said as she tried not to embarrass herself more than she already had.

"We wanted to know what's with all of the yelling," Megan stated while dressed in an old Yankees t-shirt that didn't completely cover her butt, exposing the skimpy underwear she had on under the shirt.

"It's after 11:00 AM. That means I have less than an hour to get dressed, get to the airport, and get on my plane before it takes off and leaves me behind. I can't find my suitcase either."

"It's not 11:00," Amanda chuckled as she adjusted the shorts and tank top that had ridden up on her as she slept.

"Then what time is it? And turn around so I can at least put on some more clothes."

"Fine," Amanda relented as she and Megan whipped around, giving Katie and Jessie a good look at their butts this time.

"Can we turn around now," Megan quizzed, not caring that her roommates were probably ogling her the same way they had with Jessie.

"Yes. Now answer the question," Jessie demanded as she stood there in the shirt and a pair of shorts that had been lying on the floor.

"It's only 8:00 AM; I was going to ask what you wanted for breakfast," Megan informed as she leaned on the door.

"ONLY 8:00 AM?" Jessie shouted before facing at Katie.

"Uh…Yeah, that's the other thing. It wasn't really that late," Katie declared guiltily before she grabbed her NY t-shirt at the end of her bed, put it on, and got out of bed.

"So you felt like playing a joke on me to see how I would react?"

"Uh huh," Katie told her before laughing.

"So are pancakes alright with you?" Megan wondered as she stood up straight and turned to leave.

"Yes," Katie and Jessie answered together before giggling.

"Cool. Stop that," Megan ordered when Amanda pinched her butt and chuckled.

"It's a shame," Amanda mentioned as she prepared to leave too.

"What is?" the other three muttered at the same time, making them smile while Amanda rolled her eyes at them.

"Being in an apartment with girls that have butts like that, but they are already taken."

"Yeah, it sucks to be so close to something that you can never have," Megan replied before smiling and walking toward the kitchen.

"I'll get over it," Amanda revealed as she patted Megan on the butt, like she had done with Jessie, "By the way, Jessie."

"Yeah," Jessie interrupted.

"Your suitcase is by the family room couch. I guess SOMEONE wanted to make sure it was ready to go in case you had actually overslept."

"You did that for me?" Jessie asked when she and Katie were alone again

"Yeah, I did."

"When and why?"

"When I woke up for a bit; and because I love you, Billie," Katie explained as she walked over and hugged the blonde in front of her, "Now go take a shower, and I'll make sure we save you some pancakes."

After Jessie kissed her on the cheek and headed to the bathroom, Katie put on some shorts and joined her roommates in the kitchen. They spent the rest of the time Jessie had left before the flight home together.

Around four years later

Jessie and Katie had managed to stay together for Katie's four years of college and Jessie's' first four years. There were some tough times due to the stress of trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives, getting used to the college life, and living in one of the largest populated cities in the world. Jessie chose to become a pediatrician while Katie chose to become a writer. Katie was employed as an editor at local publishing company while working on having her own stories published in her free time that wasn't spent with Jessie.

Jessie, Katie and most of the Sammler/Manning family were currently celebrating Jessie getting into medical school at a local karaoke place for teens and adults. What nobody, but Katie, knew was that Katie was preparing to propose to Jessie that night. She had been debating about the details for at least two weeks before deciding to ask her in front Jessie's family. As soon as they had arrived at the business, Katie suggested a few songs. They had listened to singing that ranged from good to downright awful before it was Jessie and Katie's turn.

When they were notified that it was their turn, Jessie nervously walked up to the microphone and stared out at the entire crowd. She briefly smiled before singing "God Bless The Child'. Almost immediately, the crowd became silent at the sound of the blonde's lovely voice. Their looks of awe gave Jessie more confidence, so she smiled even more. She could see the looks of love and happiness from her family and Katie.

"So do you want to hear more," Jessie challenged after receiving cheers and clapping.

"Yes," several of them called out.

"Ok; but this time, my beautiful girlfriend, Katie, will join me for a duet."

Some of the guys whistled and cheered as Katie joined Jessie and softly kissed her left cheek. Katie then grabbed a second microphone and stood to Jessie's left. They smiled as the music started up again. They began to sing _Don't Go Breaking My Heart._

(The girls glance over their shoulders at each other for the part below.)

Jessie – Don't go breaking my heart

Katie - _I couldn't if I tried_

Honey, if I get restless

_Baby, you're not that kind _

(The girls share a smile.)

Don't go breaking my heart

_You take the weight off of me_

When you knocked on my door

_I gave you my key_

(The girls look directly into each other's eyes for the next part and are standing close enough that they can almost feel each other's breath on their skin.)

Woo hoo

Nobody knows it

When I was down

_I was your clown _ (Katie gives Jessie a funny face for a second after singing this line.)

Nobody knows it (Jessie sings this line, and Katie repeats it instantly.)

Right from the start

_I gave you my heart_ (Katie places her hand over her heart while singing this line)

_Whoa oh I gave you my heart_

So don't go breaking my heart

_I won't go breaking you heart_

Don't go breaking my heart

And nobody told us

'_Cause nobody showed us_

And now it's up to us babe

_Whoa I think we can make it_

So don't misunderstand me

_You put the light in my life_

You put the sparks to the flame

_I got your heart in my sights_

(The girls are still facing each other but have backed up a few steps.)

Woo hoo

Nobody knows it

When I was down

_I was your clown_ (Katie does another funny face after that.)

Woo hoo

Nobody knows it (Jessie sings this line, and Katie repeats it instantly again.)

Right from the start

_I gave you my heart_ (Katie gently touches Jessie's left cheek with her right hand while holding the microphone in her left while sing this line.)

_Whoa oh_

_I gave you my heart_

So don't go breaking my heart

_I won't go breaking you heart_

Don't go breaking my heart

_(_While the background music plays, the girls start to sway to the music and take the time to look out at the crowd. They see smiles on everyone's faces, which distracts Jessie just enough for Katie to playfully bump Jessie's left hip with her right hip. Jessie stares over at her and sees a cute smile and a giggle. Jessie does the same thing back. This gets a few in the crowd to whistle and cheer.)

Woo hoo

Nobody knows it

When I was down

_I was your clown_ (Katie does yet another funny face.)

Woo hoo

Right from the start

_I gave you my heart_

_Whoa oh_

_I gave you my heart_

(The girls then sing the following lines together over and over until the music ends)

Don't go breaking my heart

I won't go breaking your heart

When the girls observed the crowd again, they find Jessie's family standing up and cheering. The rest join in on the cheering with a few standing up as well. They watch Jessie blushing bright red as she sets the microphone down. As Jessie blushes, Katie quickly puts her microphone down, takes the ring box out of a front pocket, picks up the microphone again, and gets down on one knee. The loud gasps get Jessie to turn to her left and see Katie kneeling in front of her.

"Jessica Elizabeth Sammler, will you marry me?" Katie requests as she opens the box to reveal a nice diamond ring.

Jessie gawks at Katie's smile and the beautiful ring before gazing out at every one. She can see smiles, tears, and several shaking their head in a positive way. This brings tears to her eyes as she turns back to her girlfriend.

"Yes, Katie Singer, I will marry you," Jessie announces after taking the microphone away from her to speak.

After the microphone is set back down, Katie carefully slides the ring on Jessie's finger then surprises her by wrapping her arms around her fiancée's waist. She lifts the blonde up and twirls around once while kissing her softly on the lips. This obviously gets loud cheers from most of the men and a few women. They continue to get them as Katie sets her back down on her feet, takes the blonde's left hand with her right, and leads her back to where Jessie's family is sitting. They each have another drink before leaving and heading back to the couple's apartment.

About a year and a half later, Jessie and Katie's wedding reception

Their wedding went off without any problems. Jessie had chosen Grace as her Maid of Honor and Katie had chosen one of her best friends from college as hers. Katie even decided to take Jessie's last name as her own. The wedding took place on the beach with the reception held in one of the ballrooms of the hotel the family was staying while they were there. They went with all of the traditions. The toasts during the meal were a combination of humor and sweet sentiments. Karen, Lily, and Judy shed tears along with Jessie and Katie during the toasts and at the cutting of the cake. The tears continued as the couple had their first dance and the father/daughter dance between Rick and Jessie. Katie tried to ignore the brief peeks from Jessie's family, Tad, and their friends. She knew they felt bad for her because her family hadn't come around.

She was able to keep a strong front up around them. But when she noticed Jessie and Rick gazing at her from time to time, she could feel it getting harder and harder. She slightly bit her lower lip as she listened to the lyrics of "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle. She tried her best to not shed any tears in fear that it could ruin Jessie's happy mood during the special time between her and her dad. She managed to smile at the sight of both Jessie and Rick shedding tears of joy. When the dance was over, they pulled apart; and Rick softly kissed his daughter on each cheek. Both father and daughter both wiped away a few tears moments later. As Jessie was walking back to Katie, Rick traveled over to the DJ and was handed a microphone. Jessie didn't notice until she was sitting down beside Katie. Everyone was looking around in confusion because only Rick knew what was going to happen next.

"First of all, I would like to say to both Jessie and Katie how proud and happy we are for the two of you. It was a surprise to all of us when Jessie told us she was gay and in a relationship with Katie. Well, most of us anyway," Rick asserted before casting a short glimpse at Grace, who smirked at him, and speaking again, "I have to admit I was slightly disappointed, but only because I couldn't really give the whole 'Don't touch my daughter because I have a shotgun' speech to Katie. To be honest, it wouldn't have been as much fun as it could have been if it had been a guy instead of her."

Rick paused long enough for his family and a few of the couple's friends to laugh. When they all focused on Katie, they discovered she was fighting back a blush.

"But seriously though, I want to thank both of them for giving us time to get used to the idea even though we gave them all of our support from the moment they told us. And now, I want to say something directly to Katie. Since you shouldn't have to be left out of what just happened with me and Jessie because some people who should be here aren't, I would like to ask you something. If it's ok with both you and Jessie, would you do me the honor of dancing with me for a father in law/daughter in law dance? I tried to think of a fitting song for it but couldn't. So I thought we could just replay 'Butterfly Kisses'. If not that song, you could pick one. So how about it, Katie?"

All of the women were shedding tears now. Rick waited patiently with a smile on his face as Katie studied her wife. Jessie nodded positively and whispered, "Go on, it's ok." Katie nodded as she paced over to him. As soon as Katie was in Rick's arms, the music played again. Everyone one could see Katie trying to hold in tears as a few escaped down her cheeks.

"Katie," Rick whispered to his daughter in law.

"Yes, R-Rick?"

"I was thinking that since you've felt like another daughter to me for awhile and now that you are, you don't have to call me Rick anymore. If you want to, you can start calling me Dad."

"R-Really?" Katie stuttered as a few more tears ran down her cheek.

"Yes. Or if you want to keep calling me Rick, that's alright too."

He expected to hear a soft thank you mixed in with a few more tears, but he got much more than that. Seconds later, Katie broke down in his arms and cried hard enough that he could hear soft sobs. Rick softly patted her back with his right hand in an attempt to calm her down. It seemed to help. When the soft sobs stopped, Rick and Katie took a moment to check everyone's reaction. Katie wasn't sure what to think about the tears coming down Jessie's cheeks. The rest gaped in more confusion. It appeared to them that Rick was almost holding Katie up as they danced.

Katie decided to rest her head on the right side of Rick's chest for the rest of the dance. She could tell that everyone was still watching them as she held her eyes closed. Close to the end of the song, she opened them again. When it was over, they broke the hold on each other and slowly took a few steps back. Nobody said a word as the two stood there in silence for a few seconds. They shared a smile before Rick leaned in and kissed her on each cheek, like he had done with Jessie. They all waited for Katie's reply and became worried when she nearly ran out of the room and into the hall. Jessie quickly got up and chased after her. She had reached the hall soon enough to see the door to the nearby women's restroom close. As Jessie entered the restroom, Rick explained to his family what had happened between him and Katie. The women shared a few more tears and Lily gave him a big hug.

Meanwhile, the women's restroom

"Katie, sweetie, are you going to be ok?" Jessie questioned after carefully closing he door behind her.

"J-Just g-give me a f-few m-minutes, alright?" Katie pleaded from her place in front of one of the sinks. She was peering down into it while having a slight grip on the counter around it.

"What did my dad say to you?" Jessie added as she placed her hands cautiously on Katie's shoulders and became more worried at the brief flinch she got for a response.

"B-Billie, please…," Katie lightly begged before another sob came out.

"NO, Katie, tell me what's wrong," Jessie insisted as she spun her wife around and used her right hand to lift Katie's chin up to look into Katie's eyes.

When she saw the tears, she grabbed a nearby tissue and wiped them away.

"Well?"

"Your dad s-said I d-didn't h-have t-to c-call h-him Rick any-anymore."

"Really?"

"Y-Yes"

"So that's the only reason you're crying right now?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because I'm afraid…"

"Afraid of what?" Jessie interrupted and apologized, "Sorry about that."

"I'm afraid that…that the scene I caused out there ruined how special your dance with your dad was. Did it?"

"No, and you deserved a special moment too. We all know that."

"Why can't my family be like yours? Do you know how long I've wished I had family like yours; people that really care about each other?"

"A long time. You don't have to think about them anymore. In case you already forgot, you became a Sammler the moment I put that ring on your finger. WE'RE your family now."

"Oh, Billie, I love you so much," Katie confessed as she hugged Jessie.

"I love you, too, beautiful," Jessie claimed as she returned the hug.

"No, I'm not. I probably look like a mess right now," Katie assumed after breaking the hug and taking a step back and confirmed when she examined herself in the mirror. She could see the messed up eyeliner and slightly puffy eyes, "See, I am."

"You will always be beautiful to me," Jessie assured as she wiped away the messed up make up and tears with the tissue still in her hand.

When both were satisfied enough with how they looked, they left the rest room together and returned to the ballroom. They let their guest know everything was good now. After tossing the bouquets and the garter Jessie was wearing, which Katie had playfully removed and was caught by Tad, the entire group danced a few more hours. After the party winded down, the happily married said their good byes and headed up the honeymoon suite for the night. The rest of their guests either went home or to their own hotel rooms. The following morning, Katie and Jessie started their two week honeymoon by flying out early and headed to Europe with the first stop being London, England. The family relaxed a little bit at the hotel before heading home.

The End


End file.

Once and Again, Drama