Jessy is at another table in the library, busy sketching something. Looking over her shoulder he nods at the outfit and Jessy gives him a look. "No, I'm going getting a fashion degree. . .I don't need the fucking headache of dealing with people who think they're all that and us 'lesser' people need to bow to their every whim."

"Are you stocked up on fabric for the next couple of months?"

"Yeah." The tv is on low across the room and Jessy grabs the remote, turning up the volume and listening to a news story. "Fucking fool. If you don't like a real life. . .you're sure the hell going to hate prison."

"Is that the fool woman that had a fit about not getting first class to herself?"

"Yes, according to rumors the fool woman couldn't handle having to have a job, pay her bills. . .you know actually be an adult! Her husband divorced her and under the pre-nup she didn't get anything. Fool must have thought that she'd get everything with him dead."

"Moron, he wouldn't have kept her in his will after he divorced her." Xander snorts.

"But she thinks she's special and of course he'd leave her everything." Jessy snorts. "She just got tired of waiting." Rubbing her fingers she gets up and pulls a bottle of soda from the refrigerator, opening it and taking a long sip. Covering her mouth with her arm she belches and wrinkles her nose as Rupert sighs and Xander sniggers.

"I saw in the paper there's another repo auction."

"Yes, thankfully we don't need any more vehicles."

"why so many cars?" Andrew asks as he comes into the library.

"Easy, parents buying their kids cars they can't afford. The kids swear they'll pay but you can't pay off a 40,000 car on part-time wages. And god fucking forbid the kids save the money and buy a cheap used car."

"Nope, because it's not really for the kids .. .it's so they can crow how rich they are that they can afford this for their kids." Rupert says scathingly.

"Or they buy the cars for themselves they want but they can't afford."

"Not that damn difficult, some fucking cars cost just as much as a house. And that's not the Mercedes or BMWs." Xander snorts. Saving his work, he stands up and stretches. "That's enough work for now, I haven't actually started the da. . .ng degree yet." he says at Rupert's looks. Andrew and Jessy snigger. "And I don't want to have to go back in and rewrite it if I messed it up."

"Both of you are actually doing the work, that's why you're going for the degrees you are instead of a degrees a kid just out of high school would be taking."

"Lady, get back on your broomstick and toddle off. There's no way in hell Sam Winchester is going to be fired because your 'Pwecious' baby boy went to prison for killing his family." The man at the security gatehouse says scathingly to the blubbering fool demanding Sam be fired for having her baby punished. "Go away, you're on private property and we'll have you arrested for trespassing. You're already facing harrassment charges for all the nasty letters you're sending."

She screams and tries to get out of the car, gulping as a weapon is put in her face. "Leave.Him.ALONE!" Wailing she starts the car and drives off. She tries to file a complaint in town but is told to grow the fuck up, she'd been told to leave and they had every right to pull a weapon on her. Wailing again she runs off. Why won't anybody take her side?

"No Lady, you can't sue him for your legal bills." A lawyer snorts a couple days later. "He's your lawyer, you have to pay him."

"But he didn't get my baby off." She wails. "I shouldn't have to pay him."

"He was guilty you little fool. Now grow the fuck up, pay his bills, and leave Sam Winchester alone!"

She runs off wailing again. How can everybody take his side? Don't they know who she is?

"The effing bitch who can't believe they actually arrested, let alone convicted her pwecious baby boy for murdering two people." the secretary snorts.

The next couple of days are quiet, Rupert walking over a construction site. The buildings are already going up and people are already taking notice. After touring the land he checks out a home that Eric's father's crew is working on and gives them the final payment. The realtor is already touring the house and updating the information on file for the new ad.

"Do you intend to flip more houses?" Eric's father asks.

"If we can sell this one at a profit."

"You should, it's a good-sized home . ..not one of those huge megamansions people build to show how important they think they are. The ones who build mansions with nine kitchens and a bowling alley for four people."

"Then go whining when the reality show documentary shows them to be fools. What everybody who knows them already knew." Rupert says dryly. Eric's father snickers.

Jessy makes one last trip to the mall, wincing at the screaming kids and frazzled parents.

"No more until the middle of January." She says. The others shudder and nod.

"Even the comic book store was crowded." Andrew grumbles as they walk to the cafeteria.

"Too many parents buying gift cards because they don't know what their kids buy. Same thing with game stores." Xander says behind them. The others nod. Only Paige, Sam, and Jay had loving parents who were interested in their children's life growing up. And from all the letters and phone calls that hasn't changed with them grown up and out of the house.

"How far are you in your second degree from the textiles school?" Jenny asks.

"A little under three years. It's all bookwork since it's a history degree so even with trips I'm going at it like gangbusters."

"Samuel, thank you for coming. I know it's not your day to work .. ."

"With my family gone I just rattle around the apartment. Thank you for giving me a place. . .I couldn't live at the garage after Dad and Dean were killed. Once it was cleaned up it sold for a good price. . .even if the bastard's parents did wail about me making money off their deaths until the judge knocked them upside the head and told them to sit down and shut up."

"I'm afraid there was an . . .incident in their home after the fool woman tried suing to make you pay her lawyer bills. She shouldn't have to pay them . ..the lawyer didn't get her precious son off. The police were called for a loud argument and found her dead and her husband dying. It appears they were arguing. .. over you. She grabbed a gun and was threatening to come back and . . .deal with you for daring to have her son arrested. .. he grabbed it and it went off while they were fighting. She died instantly but the blast. . .killed him too."

"Stupid bitch."

"Yes, she's no doubt wailing in whatever afterlife she ended up in that you should have let her precious baby boy do whatever he wanted. It's not fairhe's being punished. Don't we know what they do to cops in prison?"

"The little fucker's getting what he deserved. He's working two jobs to pay off his judgment. The prisoners are making his life hell. . .they don't have to lay a finger on him." Sam snorts.

"Yes, Jessy's mother was treated similarly by the other prisoners." Rupert smiles. "Mental torture lasts longer than physical beatings."

"Is there any other family?"

'

"According to Horatio two daughters. . .the boy was Mommy's favorite."

"Of course. I hope the girls get everything. If the fool got her way she'd have left everything to him so he'd have it when he got out of prison. . .they can't really mean to keep him in there forever. . .can they? Their appeal will get them a new judge and he'll have to agree with them." Sam snorts. "Because I should have let the bastard get away with killing my family. . .I didn't press the charges the DA did."

"Myeah .. .details as the children would no doubt say. You were her target since it was your family her useless son shot. Who is no doubt wailing because this means Mommy and Daddy won't be putting money on the commissary for him anymore."

"He's not bad, he's just misunderstood." Larry drawls from the front room. "Boys should be boys, he's just high-spirited. . .and all that other crap excuses they made." Sam nods.

Christmas comes, everybody taking Sam under their wings like they did Cordelia, Jessy, and Xander. Jessy leans against the window, looking past her reflection to the grey sky outside. Rupert comes up behind her and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "What are you thinking about?"

"Twelve years, how the time does fly. It seems like yesterday that the police were coming to my grandparents house to tell me that Dad was dead. . .and that Mom was claiming I killed him. Thankfully they quickly figured out I couldn't have done it."

"No, you were on a plane at the time."

"Funny, isn't it? A mother's love. My mother hated me and wanted me to go to prison for her crime. . .Sam's family's killer's mother didn't want him to go to prison for his crime."

"She didn't love him any more than your mother loved you. It was a fake love. . .what you can do for them rather than what they can do for you." Phillip says as he walks through. "That's why you see Munchausen by proxy cases." Rupert nods. "What happened after the police told you your father was dead?"

"They told me Mom was a 'person of interest' as they call it on the news. I called Rupert and he flew right out."

"By the time we'd got the estate settled Jessy's mother had been arrested. We flew back to California and after a hearing I was given custody of Jessy."

"It was mid-march and I was turning sixteen in four months, I'd have been aging out of the foster care system then anyway. Add in my RA.. . they were more than happy to let me be Rupert's problem." Jessy looks over her shoulder at him. "We shut up the house and moved me lock, stock, and barrel here. And I soon realized. . .this is my home. . .more than my parents house ever had been."

"Laura's attorney at the time wanted Jessy to stay in California. . .I believe as a material witness to supposed abuse or to try to cast doubt on her guilt but the judge told them there was no reason for her to have to stay."

"Stupid woman howled when the judge overturned the will and left everything to me."

"Yes, that was another reason I wanted you out of California until she was in prison. .. to keep her from trying to go after you. As it was I was fielding irate calls from special interest groups who were furious you had stolen money from her. . .until they learned the truth. Then they apologized and put out the word that she was lying and you had inherited the money because she couldn't benefit from her crime. They soon passed along the word to their fellow advocates and put her on a blacklist."

"She was convicted in a fast trial. . .the house's security system had caught the entire thing on video and Stein turned state's evidence trying to get a better deal. Not that he got it, he's still facing life in prison without the possibility of parole. Even in protective custody he's still a former cop."

"How is construction coming on the condos?"

"Good, they're off for Christmas but will be back to work after the first of the year. Realtors are already lining up to sell them. Housing is outrageous in Miami. I'm already looking at a second area for more apartments."

"What about that house you renovated?"

"The realtor already has a person interested, they're just working on the financing. I've got a list of additional houses to flip. And I've got a listing of houses going up for auction in a couple months."

Jessy yawns a couple weeks later when she signs into her last semester of classes for the library science degree. Looking out the window she shakes her head at the grey overcast sky. "if you're going to rain, rain already." She mutters. Then laughs, it could be worse. Denver and New York are dealing with snow. If they had rain it would be freezing rain and bring down lines.

As if fate was reading her mind the power flickers and goes out, the alternate power coming on seconds later.

"Rupert?" Xander asks as he comes into the outer office.

"In town dealing with the paperwork for the houses he's flipping." Xander grins and drops the receipts on the desk. Larry looks everything over and drops them in the inbox. "Ready to start your masters this fall?" Xander just gives him a look and he laughs. "We all went through it Xander. Rupert just wants the best for us. Cordelia's bitching about having to get a business degree too."

Xander snickers as he heads off, wrapping an arm around her as he passes her in the hall. She tries elbowing him and he chuckles as he walks off. "Annoying wretch." Speed chuckles across from her as Horatio hides a smile.

Andrew gets behind the wheel of the truck for their trip into Miami a week later, Jessy yawning as she looks at the rain sleeting the windshield.

"How many days of rain does this make?" Andrew asks.

"Five." Jessy sighs. "I keep reminding myself it could be snow."

"Myself is shooting back she still doesn't like this wet crap anyway." Andrew snickers.

"Exactly. But like I heard somebody say one day, you don't have to shovel rain."

"Unless it's after a hurricane."

"True."

A woman is screaming and gesturing at a man who is icily tearing strips off her hide as they walk to the mall entrance, people are giving her disgusted looks.

"What's going on?" Jessy recognizes her as the woman who's always complaining about her parking somewhere else but putting up her handicapped placard. She looks at one of the mall security guards who knows her.

"Oh herself had a fit on the wrong person. . .the chief of police was not happy his wife was getting yelled at for having a handicapped plate yet not parking in a handicapped spot. . . mostly because they're all full. He's letting her have it with both barrels. Stupid bitch has been told to leave people alone, she's not the parking authority."

"No, she just wants to control the world." Jessy snorts. "Fool woman."

The bookstore manager smiles as the pair come into the store.

"Oh good, I was hoping you'd be here. We've got a guest author coming in an hour for a book signing." He passes over information. They start wandering the shelves, a couple people coming in and getting set up as they start checking out.

Jessy arrives back at the store after the signing has started, getting a couple books signed. After a late dinner they head to the motel, having planned on being in Miami a couple nights.

The next morning they walk into the comic book store, chuckling as they see the signs of a booksigning getting set up. The manager chuckles as Andrew grabs a flyer and looks over it with Jessy.

The following afternoon the truck arrives back at the House, boxes and bags being moved to various buildings. Jessy yawns as she slides out of the truck, MacGyver chuckling as he leads her into the main building.

"I understand there was some problems at the mall." Rupert just looks at her.

"Not it, that fool woman who keeps having a fit about me parking anywhere but the handicapped parking spaces. . .which were usually filled by people without handicapped stickers had a fit about a vehicle parking elsewhere. The chief of police was not happy the stupid woman was yelling at his wife."

"Oh god. . ." Jenny moans. "What an idiot. . .what business is it of hers where people park? Whether they have handicapped stickers or not."

"Oh, the bitch thinks she runs the world. She'd been told to leave people alone. . .but people like her never bother to listen to anybody but themselves." Everybody around them sighs but nods. "Maybe this time the stupid woman will stay away, she usually huffs off for a while after the mall management tells her to knock it off."

Jessy puts the signed books in her home after dinner, stretching and yawning as she takes off her clothes, dropping them in the hamper before settling in a steaming hot tub of water.

The next morning she looks over everything in her stockrooms, moving a few items and double checking all the containers and bills that will be used for the prom and graduation dresses. Boxes of ink pens are behind the counter and Jessy nods in satisfaction.

After lunch she checks over the supplies in the library, opening a pallet of paper in the basement and bringing ten boxes up to the main floor.

Her midterms come faster than it seems humanly possible and she sighs as she leans against the window after the last one. Cordelia comes into the library, scanning the books in her arms back into the system at the machine and put them in the cart.

"Hear from the school?"

"Yes, I got accepted." Cordelia sighs. Jessy hides a snigger against the window. "Damn it, models aren't supposed to be smart."

"How do you think Janice Dickensen and Tyra Banks run their empires?"

"I hate you." Cordelia sighs. This time Jessy doesn't bother to hide her snigger.