Jessy waits at the airport in New York for the teachers from the school.

"How was your trip?" One of the teachers asks when they find her in one of the restaurants. Jessy just looks at her and she snickers. "At least we won't have to deal with morons wanting us to gamble in Santa Fe."

Jessy laughs and tells everybody about the gambling cruise ship trips and they sigh, moan, or shake their heads.

"How's the mall going?" One of the teachers asks as they get on the plane.

"Pretty good, once the first store came on board after the megaplex and warehouse store opened they started getting more interest from stores. Stark building in the area just brought more stores looking. They plan on opening for the 4th so they'll have back to school shopping." The teachers snicker. "Are you sorry to be missing it?"

"Fuuucckkkk no. You couldn't force me to go somewhere the first day it opens, it will be asshole to elbow people. . .almost as bad as the malls in the middle of December. I won't go any later. . .gods people would it kill you to buy the damn presents throughout the year."

"Bu. . .but if you do that you'll miss the next big thing they bring out." One of the teachers mock-blubbers then snorts. "Yeah, we do the same thing. We put up a tree. . ."

"In the main building after Thanksgiving. We've already pulled names for gifts though most of us will buy more."

"Same here, like us you've become family with your coworkers." the pilot tells them they're next to take off and they check their seat belts.

A week later Jessy walks into the cafeteria at the New York House. "Thank you whoever dropped off the car for me."

"How was Santa fe?"

"Nice, I did a lot of sightseeing after the expo. The city is magnificent, they really take care to keep the ambiance of the old buildings and still be a growing city."

"As opposed to other cities that tear down their old buildings and put up cookie-cutter buildings that look awful and don't fit into the area at all." El snorts.

"Yep. Miami is a prime example. Horatio's lab building was all glitz and glamour to bring people to the area and was destroyed in the hurricane, when they rebuilt it they went for function and not style."

"Nobody goes to a precinct to look at the architecture." Peter says dryly. "That's why they make government buildings plain."

"Yep."

Jessy settles in an armchair in her home in New York, closing her eyes and relaxing for a couple minutes. Her books for the classes she'll be taking this summer, the projects for the classes she'll be taking this summer, her pay stubs. .. and she's stunned to find out she's a full-time employee, not seasonal, and information on the school's benefits including the 401K. She scowls up at the ceiling when she sees university catalogs, degrees that can go with her current degrees already marked. Opening the boxes she starts sorting everything out before looking at the time and heading to bed.

"Okay, what's our charity projects this year?" One of the teachers asks a couple weeks later.

"Hats and socks. Woolease since the homeless shelters won't have a way to handwash wool and lay it out to dry." They nod and start making notes. "The order is going out next week, that way we have the yarn by mid-August and can start knitting. With the machines we can quickly get them out." The others nod.

"How is Ms. Michaels coming on projects?"

"Good, she got a year's worth of projects in while we were putting up new buildings and she's well on her way to getting a year of projects in again.

Joyce sends her video footage of the opening of the mall, she sends it to Peter and a couple of the teachers at the school.

"I'm surprised there were that many stores for such an . .."

"The news that Stark is opening a branch there made more stores interested in that location. Add in the hoopla over the 4th of July..." Jessy shrugs. "I'll probably check it out once I get back but. . .meh." the others snigger as Jessy opens a file on the computer and starts taking a test.

Jessy rolls her eyes as she gets on a plane for an expo to Atlantic City. "Yes Rupert, I'm heartbroken at missing the fancy party at the house here in New York because of this expo." The others snigger. "Yes, I do know there's casinos in Atlantic City. No, I doubt I'll try to bankrupt a casino while I'm out there, unless the moron is working at one and then all bets are off."

She listens a second. "Yes Rupert, it's not their fault if they hired that moron. I'll stay away from the gaming tables and concentrate on the slot machines if I go to a casino. But if he is there and tries something, I'll throw such a fit." She ends the call and puts the phone away before the plane is shut up and the pilot gets in the cockpit.

"He called just to tease you about visiting a casino?"

Jessy smiles sadly. "It's my birthday. He always wishes me a happy birthday since my father died."

"My dear. . .you need to think about your future. Do you have a retirement fund set up?" The school's finance man says when they return to the school after the expo.

"Yes, Rupert made sure all of us do. I have ... " Jessy pretends to think a minute. "Roughly a hundred thousand in a 401K, another seventy-five thousand. . .give or take in a Roth IRA."

"That's low for a 401K. Do you have any CDs?"

"Yes, I put the insurance money and settlements from California and the owners of the truck from the accidents in one. It's currently a five year CD, I didn't need the money right away. It's already rolled over once and it will probably roll over a couple more times before I even think of touching it."

"I'd suggest enrolling in the 401K here, it's extra money when you retire." Jessy fills out the paperwork.

"Travers?"

"My real last name, Michaels is my grandmother's maiden name."

"Did you legally change your name?"

"No, all my paperwork shows both names. Entertainers do it all the time. So do authors." He nods and starts processing the paperwork. "Is this your local address?"

"Yes. And the address in Hurricane Springs."

They go over the new 401K and how much more money weekly will be coming out of her check before she is dragged off to the cafeteria for a meal before heading to the House.

The yarn for the school's charity project starts arriving and the machines start running, the teachers shaking their heads when Jessy insists on doing her part.

The remaining weeks fly by and soon Jesse is tapping a yawning Jessy on the shoulder. She just looks at him. "I was in town buying stuff and volunteered to pick you up."

The cart is just lifted into the back of the truck and Jessy gets in the passenger side. They finally get out of the airport and she looks at the new construction when they arrive in Marley.

"How is the mall doing?"

"Good, the moron who wanted the mall tried backing off on the fund when they found out about Stark moving into the area but his boss told him he wasn't getting off that damn easy."

"Figures the little bastard would try something like that." Jessy snorts. "As long as it looks like it's going good, forget everything but reaping the rewards."

"Yes, he got his ass handed to him for that bout of stupidity."

They arrive back at the house, Scott and MacGyver chuckling as they lift down the cart and take it to Jessy's house while she walks into the main house. Larry brings out her mail and she shakes her head at the containers. "Crap, crap, crap, more crap, still more crap, and even more crap?"

Larry sniggers. "Probably." It heads off to her house as she opens the medical box and brings out a package of alka-seltzer, opening a bottle of water and dropping them in a glass. Covering her mouth with her arm she belches after draining the glass. "Ahhh, that feels better. I've had a sour stomach all day." Joyce sniggers as she walks over, hugging Jessy and then holding her at arm length. "I like the new hairstyle."

"Yeah, the ladies at the spa in New York just made tut-tut sounds and went to work. I'm not sure I like it though. Maybe for special occasions. I'm not a fussing person, it's put it up out of my eyes and I'm good."

Jessy and Joyce walk into the cafeteria.

"How are you on your classes in New York?"

"I'm working on three degrees." Xander laughs. "I'm working on projects for two more duing the summers."

Back at her house she puts up her paperwork from her new 401K with the other financial stuff and drops melodramatically onto her bed. From the door of her bedroom Rupert chuckles. "I understand you opened a new 401K?"

"Yes, their financial manager thinks only having a hundred thousand in this one was a little low. I need to think about my future." They both snigger. "Everything's in my drawer for our accountants to go over when it's taxtime."

"How do you get your pay?"

"I opened an account at the bank nearest the school and they direct deposit it into that, they send the paystubs here monthly."

The next couple days are spent going through the mail, most of it junk as Jessy had said. Andrew and Jessy go into Miami, the clerks and managers of the stores grinning at Jessy as she picks up everything that Andrew had had them holding for her. The mall is next and they eat a late dinner before going to the motel. The next day they go to the fabric warehouse, filling the rest of the room in the truck before they head back to the House, sighing once they're past the traffic by the mall.

The truck is eventually emptied and they walk into the main building. Xander wrapping an arm around Jessy's shoulders.

"Feel weird not having to sign up for classes or get books and other supplies?"

"No." She says firmly. He snickers again. "And I did get stuff at the office supply store for the library. Is Cordy taking classes at the school now?"

"Most of them, she's going in three days and taking the rest here on the computer." Larry says absently. "Jessy, closet." She opens it and looks at the packages, sighing.

"The New York school?"

"Yep."

"Didn't you bring back a shitload of stuff with you?"

"Yep." Speed snickers as he takes it to her house. Meanwhile Jessy is busy sorting through her mail, dropping most of it into the recycling bin unopened.

"Jessy, did you get your medication?"

"Yeah, and stopped to the store in town to get money orders." Sitting at a table she makes them out to various charities and drops them in the outgoing mail box.

"Fabric Warehouse?"

"Next week."

Halloween costumes and decorations start coming out in stores after a few weeks and Jessy comes into the house from a trip to Miami with Andrew and Jesse to find Madison with drawings.

"Fuck, that means a trip to the spa and getting sugared everywhere." She says at his look. The boys snigger.

"Can I talk you into dyeing your hair? Only temporary. . .it will come out after a few washes."

A few days later Jessy looks at herself in the mirror. . .she looks strange as a brunette she thinks as she takes off her robe and lays on the table to be painted.

Halloween comes and she dresses in her costume. . looking like one of those goth kids you see at the malls. Fake piercings and tattoos complete the look and after eating breakfast at her house she gets in her car and drives into Miami.

The new mall is her last stop that day and she walks up to Joyce. The woman gives her a look then blinks. "Jessy." She says, tapping a foot and just looking at her. Wesley is near her, blinks, and takes a picture with his phone.

"I knew you'd recognize me even in this getup." she chuckles.

"Your hair's getting a little faded." She puts a lock of hair in place.

"Yeah, one more shampoo and I should be back to my normal hair color."

Back home Jessy struts into the cafeteria, the others moaning or laughing.

"Hit the mall in Miami?" Andrew snickers.

"Yes, and got security after me three times until somebody realized it's Halloween and like a bunch of other poeple there. . .I was in costume." she drawls. "Sneaked up on Speed at the bookstore and tormented him until he just gave me a level three Horatio look and I laughed. The others were at the mall and he sicced me on them." Everybody laughs. "The stores were having parties and I popped in on them. . parents who were there with their kids started pulling them away from me until the managers laughed and took pictures. The kids knew I was in a costume and just gave their parents 'quit embarrassing me' looks." More snickering.

Jessy stands under the hot water of her shower, the colors of the body paint and fake tattooes she'd put on running down her body along with the shampoo and body wash. Turning off the water she looks in the mirror and nods in satisfaction, drying off and dressing in a nightgown, running a comb through her hair after she rouhly towel dries it. She'd brought in everything she brought before she went into the main house and starts opening bags.

A couple weeks later Andrew, Jesse, and Jessy make their regular trip into Miami, the managers of the store chuckling at her usual look. "Yeah, I don't normally celebrate halloween but they were having a special thing at the mall nearby so I thought. . the hell with it. . .do it. I already had that stuff in my hair for a photo shoot. . ."

"Yeah, everybody was doing double-takes even though we knew it was Jessy." Andrew snickers.

Thanksgiving comes sooner than she would have thought and she sends off a box of hats and socks she'd made to the school in New York, getting thank yous but you didn't have to messages from the others.

Christmas is quiet, everybody hugging Jay, Sam, and Paige since this is the first Christmas since they lost their family. Sam Winchester gets his share of attention since while this isn't the first Christmas without his father and brother it is the first one since their murderer had been put in prison.

A couple days later Rupert calls Paige into his office, going over the plans for her new home that will be built that year.

"Thank you Rupert. I know it will get easier but . .."

"You never quite get over the loss of a parent, especially as close as you were. You not only lost both your parents far too young, you lost your younger siblings. I won't even pretend to know why your mother sent all this . . ."

"Mama knew when things were going to happen. She says it was something in our bloodline but she was very happy none of us seemed to have it. She knew when she and the others were going to die, she wrote it all in the family bible she sent off in the last batch of stuff before the fire." Sam says quietly, wrapping an arm around Paige, who turns and shudders against his shoulder. "Things had been looking up at home too. The money from the settlement was coming in, our youngest brother was attending school all day, and Mama had a part-time job sewing in the next town. Thank you for paying for the funerals. . there was no way the town could have raised enough money for six coffins and everything else."

Jessy walks into the fashion building on the college campus a couple days before the new semester, walking through it with one of the teachers there.

"Yes, it's not quite like the main school but for the students we get it works." One of the teachers chuckles. They walk into a room and find piles of uniforms. Jessy looks at her, this room had been locked and the window shades were drawn.

"I'm sure you heard about how departments put worn out uniforms in a room. . .?"

"And somebody decided to make bears out of them for kids? Yes, that's what you're doing here?"

"Yes, it's slow work but once we get everything torn apart we'll be quickly putting them together."

Jessy sighs and brings out a bag. "Load me up, I'll either bring back the torn apart uniforms or the bears in a couple weeks." The other women chuckle and fill a bag with uniforms and a pattern for her. Polyfill is handed over next and Jessy puts everything in the seat of the truck next to her before making her other stops.

“Jessy?" Rupert asks a couple nights later when he finds her at the sewing machine after the shop is closed for the night. She looks up from what she's doing and tells him what's going on. He nods in satisfaction and lets her work. Tapping on an office door a few nights later she smiles and hands over the bears.

"Thank you Ms. Michaels." The bears are put in a large bag and Jessy picks up more supplies. A few days later one of the teachers drops off the first batch of bears at the precincts.

Jessy looks over the shops the day before girls start coming in for prom dresses, it's neat and clean, there's plenty of supplies, and piles of flat containers ready to be filled with supplies for dresses.

A week or so later Jessy drives to the fabric warehouse, Paige and Hannah filling flatbed carts.

"Is that everything?" Rupert asks as maintenance empties the truck.

"Most of it, I'll order the rest later tonight."

A few weeks later Jessy is very quiet and Rupert hugs her when she comes into the main building.

"This is the anniversary of her father's murder. . .isn't it?" Phillip asks quietly as she walks off.

"Yes, fifteen years ago today. While he might have been a miserable bastard. . ."

"He was still her father."