Jessy's pointed to the closet.

“and of course this will be another disbursement as people jockey position to sweep up everything that's left after this power outage.” Jessy says sourly. 'Though I shouldn't say anything, Amanda is doing the same thing with the bearer bonds.' She thinks. Almost as if he'd heard her Rupert nods.

“Are more businesses closing?”

“Yeah, either they're running out of stock or it's just not worth it to keep the generator running.” Xander says. The others nod.

“Jessy, were you able to get your pills for next month?”

“No, the drugstore is one of them closed since they can't get in new stock. The National Guard has a list of people who need medications, their doctors, and will be bringing them out as needed. And trying to make arrangements for people who need medical treatments like chemo and dialysis. If it wasn't for the National Guard already having the records, I'd just replicate them until the power came back on.” Rupert nods in satisfaction.

“Any word on the power plants and substations?”

“The list of destroyed ones grow every day, thankfully our power plant is good and other one going up wasn't hooked up yet. But the rest? Slag along with every damn substation they've examined so far. If it was attached to the grid. . .it fried.” Larry says. Scott nods. “Including our grid since it was being tested when the surge went through and it fried too.”

“Fuck.” Jessy moans.

“Yes, the safety precautions were supposed to keep that from happening but since those precautions along with the plant itself is fried. . .” Scott shrugs.

“I fucking hope that the boxes arrive before the babies do so the service in Marley can deliver diapers.”

“And I'll need to start getting in supplies of formula.” Jessy moans. “I can take a week and run out to New York and hit various stores.” Rupert and Joyce nod. “If the boxes don't arrive by November you can start doing that.”

“Because even if the boxes are here by then, it will take weeks longer to get shelves full again in the stores.” Phillip says.

“Yep. Which the morons will wail about, another year that Christmas shopping was ruined.” Xander snorts. The others nod. “Has anybody heard if they started hiring people to take down the ruined line and tote it off?”

“No, but they'd have to start soon, no use just leaving it up there to rot.” Andrew snorts. “No wait, that would make sense. Nevermind, we're talking about the government after all.” the others snigger.

“Did you get the box you were expecting?” Rupert asks as everybody starts heading to the cafeteria.

“Yeah, and it was as damn gaudy as I was expecting. I just handwaved it on so didn't have to work on it for days at a time.” Rupert snickers despite himself.

The next day finds the Doctor in the cafeteria.

“How are you doing?”

“Good, we're in a waiting game on the power. . . the government will start delivering the boxes sometime.” The Doctor chuckles but nods. “Meanwhile we've got a lot of stuff in and can get some more stuff from areas of the country that have power but shipping is more and it takes longer to get here. Since we've got five pregnant women here we're getting in some baby supplies but we'll need more when the quads arrive. I figure I'll probably be heading to New York early November with a list of what the house needs. Because even with the boxes finally arriving, it will take weeks for stores to get full shelves again.”

“Even those stores with generators are getting low on supplies. Trucks are slow getting through since so much of the country is without power. I know Jack has said this is a time of change. . .thank gods losing the power isn't sending us back to the stone age.”

The Doctor pats her on the shoulder. “You'll get through this, everything's just coming at once. Now, the kids?”

“The school in town is staying open to allow people in town without generators to get water, charge batteries, and charge their cell phone or other devices. Classes start in a few days. Our kids are already in classes, even if they don't know they're taking them yet.” The Doctor chuckles again. “We're a little better off than the other areas, we're not seeing the city budget hemorrhage because tourism dried up. The governor wants the power on now, now, now, now, now but we didn't vote for the damn fool.”

“Hopefully they're also offering hot showers and a hot meal.” '

“Yeah, because the MRE's get old after a while and if you don't have power you can't keep lunch meat and stuff for cold meals cold in a refrigerator or cooler.” One of the cooks nods. “Even dry ice would evaporate eventually.”

“Clothes.”

“They've got them trucks with portable washing machines like you've seen in the Tide commercials that make the rounds of small towns, this lets people come out and wash their laundry. Just something as simple as clean clothes. . .” everybody nods. That's one of the first things everybody does when the all-clear for whatever weather event that gets them in their homes for days at a time, open doors or windows to get air, take down the shutters when they can, do laundry, and take the containers to the main building.

“At least we don't have to fill buckets to flush the toilet. And then only once a day to save water.” Everybody shudders.

Jack looks at the Doctor when he returns to Torchwood.

“How are they doing?” He asks as the boxes start to be brought out, Ianto sorting everything out before they go to different areas in the hub.

“Good, they have the alternate power and are just waiting for the government to pull their heads out of their collective bottoms and admit that the power is out and isn't coming back on. Then they have to send out millions of boxes. And then factories can start producing again and slowly lives will be getting back to normal. With Jessyca expecting quadruplets. . .” Everybody in earshot stop what they're doing and stare at him. “In chambers people, not her herself. The drugs she takes for her RA would be harmful to a baby. . .” Owen nods in satisfaction. “She's been freezing eggs for years. She's at a good time in her life to have a baby. The first egg split when it was implanted, the second one didn't. Rupert used two eggs and two chambers this time and they both split.”

“How are they on supplies? I doubt every store around them is low on stock and closing soon if they're not already closed.” Ianto asks.

“They've been getting in two or three times their usual orders, Rupert has been feeling that if they can't get it now. . .”

“they might not be able to get it. Yes. This is similar to the aftermath to a natural disaster. And they're in hurricane country.”

“Yes, the only difference between a hurricane and the power outage is there's no damage to buildings or the land.”

Rupert taps a number of people on the shoulder at dinner and tells them to go to the home theater room for a meeting after they eat.

“Anybody know what's going on?” Xander asks as he walks away.

“I have an idea.” Jessy says slowly. The others look at her. “Guys, you're getting old. While I was never part of the sex side like you, except for special fantasies. . .”

“We're too old. We're all in our forties. The people who would have asked for us have moved to other areas of the House too.” Xander sighs.

“We've got jobs, families, it's time we moved aside and let the younger kids take over.” Andrew says. Rupert nods as he walks across the room. “Lord knows there's no lack of positions here, we're moving up the ranks to middle management.”

“Just like Wesley, Joyce, and Jenny.” Jessy points her fork at Cordelia. “This is one reason why Rupert made us get degrees. Like you said, so you're not one of those poor people who have to sell their bodies.” Cordelia nods. “It's finally hitting us how old we are. We don't feel it. . .most of the time.”

A couple of days later the school is opened, the National Guard having brought in tables of supplies including clothes for people to walk through and fill bags. This way the students had clothes and supplies for the new school year. Marley had regretfully realized they wouldn't be able to have the labor day sale with no power and that area was now being used by the National Guard. Another batch of supplies had been delivered to the House, including a bag with Jessy's pills for the next month.

The supplies are put away along with the bags everybody had picked up from in town and they wander to the cafeteria. Nobody's hungry but with the power out all around them nobody can get settled on anything unless they have a job that has to be done.

Jessy and the others come in from the seamstress shops.

“How is everything coming?”

“Good, we're making good tracks on Max's friend's order, we just finished a massive finishing week on the other order since they were stacking up in the other room. The 'okay, this is everything we have in the way of supplies for the bags, please god they last until the factories start producing again' delivery showed up and the bags we made rushed off to be pressed into service. I have a feeling various parts of the government are going to start tearing into the main group if the government doesn't get off its ass and finally admit, yes the power is off. . .the boxes will start to be delivered shortly.”

“Yes, because the National Guard having to bring in supplies for everybody will be several thousand times more expensive than pulling on their big boy pants and actually handing out the damn boxes as soon as people realized the fucking lines were fried.” Xander snorts. His woodworking business is shut down until all the boxes start to be delivered so he's been working with Wesley and Larry doing whatever is needed at the house, either sorting out mail or helping with maintenance.

“Are any expos and sales still being held?”

“No, with so much of the country out of power the ones in the areas not affected shut down unless the were small local events and nobody was traveling cross-country to attend. The airlines have taken a major hit with so many airports closed and the government sticking their fingers in their ears saying la la la I can't hear you. Train and bus schedules had to be changed or dropped.” The others nod. “Now, the supplier I buy from in Vegas is open and I can put in an order if I need it.”

“But why can't the power come back on in the rest of the country?” A man whines in DC.

“Because the damn lines are fried, they can't carry electricity anymore.”

“But couldn't the people saying that be lying?”

“Why the hell would they be lying? They live in the damn area and are without power except for solar panels and generators. They wouldn't make money replacing all the lines, they're losing money hand over fist. And it's not just the lines that fried, so did every damn substation in the area and most of the power plants.”

“But my constituents. . .”

“Are in the same boat as everybody else until the damn brass pull their thumbs out and announce what we already knew, everything fucking fried and the power won't be coming back on and that the power boxes need to be released.” Somebody else snorts. “Your people aren't the only ones losing money, Florida is hemorrhaging thanks to tourism falling apart. Disneyworld is so far in the red it will be years before it breaks even again. Airlines are all declaring bankruptcy thanks to the power outage shutting down airports left and right. Train and busses aren't much better because they had to drop schedules or change them to go around areas that didn't have power. Stores and businesses are shutting down right and left, either because they can't refill their shelves or they've found out it's cheaper to shut down rather than have to continue buying gas to keep the generator running. Yes, the larger ones run on propane or natural gas but the bills would be too high.” Everybody around him nods “If you don't have solar panels or a generator. . .you're shit out of luck.”

“But can't they just buy them at the stores?”

“Moron, no store has any generators left within a couple days of the outage. And you have to order solar panels, you can't just buy them at your local Wal-mart. And no, stores can't just order more. . .there ain't none because the factories are closed because they don't have power.”

“Ohhhh.”

“Yeah, Ohhhhh. Things are going to get a helluva lot worse before they start getting better. And it's going to be years before everything recovers.”

In late October, nearly two months after the power outage Jessy arrives in New York in her ship.

“Ms. Michaels.” Mona gets out of her chair and hugs her. “How is Florida?”

“Absolutely dead. The National Guard is bringing in essential supplies but that doesn't include fabric, books, DVDS, stuff to keep people from going absolutely fucking bonkers.” Everybody around her who'd heard the words Ms. Michaels and come running nods. “I gotta start getting in baby supplies, the National Guard is bringing in some and thankfully the diaper service in town has a generator so they can wash the diapers in case the power is out after we deliver but. . .”

“You're going to need to stock up on some stuff.”

“Exactly. We all know how long it took the government to pull their thumbs out and bring out the boxes so you guys can have power for winter, I don't doubt it will take just as long for us. . .longer since on the coast we get better weather. Of course the dumbass governor is demanding the power come on immediately because his damn budget is bleeding from the throat. Thanks to tourism taking a massive dump with the power being out. . .”

“As are a lot of other industries.”

“Yep, and more are shutting down everyday. Pretty soon they're going to start complaining about being inconvenienced themselves and go 'ohhh yeah, the power can't come on. Maybe we should have released the boxes by now.”

“Yeah, especially when they wail about their precious budgets and realize they spent a helluva lot more on the National Guard bringing out supplies to everybody affected than they would have pulling their big boy pants on and sending out the damn boxes in the first place.”

“That won't matter to them, who cares about the deficit when they can puff up like peacocks and claim they're doing it for the taxpayers.”

“Not to mention they can dun the taxpayers for that money.” Another teacher snorts. “Anybody else would have done something by now, but not the government. How's Marley?”

“Dead, more businesses are shutting down because of the cost of keeping the generators going. The only one that keeps their generator going is the school because it's also used by people who don't have generators to fill water containers, charge batteries, and charge their cell phones or other devices.” Jessy sniggers suddenly. “The kids can't use all their computer stuff if they don't have electricity at home, some of them are actually forced to use paper and pencils.” Laughter and mock hisses from the others.

“Ma'am, may I help you?” an employee asks the woman who'd grabbed two flatbeds and was busy grabbing cases of baby stuff.

“Yeah, I live outside Miami and I'm expecting quadruplets by surrogates in a few months. Unfortunately while the National Guard is bringing out some baby stuff. . .”

“It's not enough.”

“No, and five other women where I work are also pregnant, one having twins too.” Jessy sighs. “Can I put in an order for more supplies? The place I work has a branch here so they can come pick it up and send it off.” The woman waves over a manager and Jessy puts her on the phone with Peter while she and the employee fill her list as best they can.

“I don't want to take everything and leave you short, I can hit warehouse stores too. I gotta hit other places too . ..the National Guard doesn't bring out stuff like books, DVDS. . .” the clerk and manager nod as the call ends. Jessy pays for everything and it's loaded into the back of the truck. She visits other stores over the next few days, looking at the lists the others had given her and marking off what she can. Two weeks later she starts delivering the boxes and bags in the main building of the House, dropping the lists of everything on the boxes before heading to the bathroom.

Rupert finds her sorting through the container of mail. “Did I miss anything while I was in New York?”

“Not really, the government is still absolute idiots and no closer to start sending out the boxes than they were.”

“Isn't DC without power too?” Jessy snorts.

“Oh, that's beside the point. They deserve the boxes, we don't.” Rupert snorts. “The morons are about to be lynched at the news they have the boxes but nobody else does. Animal shelters are shut down to save resources. . .all the animals being fostered or flown out to other areas.” Jessy nods, their local area had gotten a number of animals from other areas and there's a number of rescue groups in the surrounding areas.

“But I didn't know the power hadn't been restored by now.” More than one person wails in the government as the news they have the boxes but nowhere else does and a good chunk of the area without power actually has winter is announced on the news. Here it is nearly the end of November and there's been snow on the ground that's stayed for nearly a week.

“Why hasn't the power been restored? What are the companies doing?” A man wails in an office as he's raked over the coals by his boss for his not having released the boxes by now. After having been ordered to start releasing the boxes two months ago.

“MORON! The fucking power companies can't do anything, all the damn lines, all the damn substations, and most of the power plants were fried. The power won't come back on until the boxes start to be released.”

“I. . .I. . .I didn't think it was that bad. . .can't they just replace the lines? They do it all the time when a pole is knocked down.”

“IDIOT! We're talking millions of miles of line, in one case the new grid fried along with the old one. Even if they had all the line they need. . .which they don't since the plants that made the damn line are in the power outage area, the damn substations and most of the plants are fried too. The new lines are useless without those.”

“I. . . I didn't know it was so bad, the other outages weren't this bad .. .were they?” he says plaintively at the look of 'you fucking fool' on his boss's face. He's icily told that yes the other outages were just as bad and to get off his useless ass and authorize the release of the boxes so people can start getting electricity before they start finding people dying of exposure in their own homes.

“So that's it, nearly the end of November and the boxes are just getting released. I don't know if the government has boxes for everybody, for all that they're supposed to have them on hand I don't doubt Florida will be low man on the totem pole of the states and our area will be low man on the state's totem pole because we're not a tourism area.” Jessy says on the phone to the school after the announcement that the boxes were going to be released. “I'm sure the wailing about low black friday sales will start soon.”

“And the wailing of lackluster Christmas sales. . .the morons never stop to think that people are trying to stay warm, feed their children, everything but dropping everything to go shopping for stuff they can't fucking use right now. Now, changing the subject, how are your orders coming?”

“We finished the uniforms for Max's friend, he was stunned at the quality of work and promises he'll come to us when he needs more for his restaurant. The remaining supplies the government had on hand for the bags has been exhausted and we sent on everything we had. Some fool complained we weren't working on them, he was going to put in a complaint about us. I blistered his ass over the phone then he blubbered he didn't know there weren't any more supplies, shouldn't there be . . .ohhh yeah, with the power being out for nearly three months the factories weren't making the parts we needed so we couldn't pass them along to other places.”

In New York all the teachers are rolling their eyes or sighing. “That's idiots in the government for you. Trying to cause trouble for somebody else and ending up with egg on their face. Did you get the rest of the stuff that the National Guard wasn't delivering?”

“Yes, we've got enough baby supplies for six months before we need to get in more and the diaper service in Marley swears they can take care of us.” Jessy sighs. “Pray to god we can get to stores here in Florida by then. I'm fully expecting the boxes to start being delivered to Marley by Christmas at the earliest.”

In New York the others nod. They'd gotten the boxes right off thanks to the New York House but people around them had been without power another six weeks until they could get their own boxes. And they were near enough New York to be in that delivery area. New Jersey, New York's unloved stepbrother had had some people go into midwinter until they got their boxes.

“How are your Thanksgiving preparations coming?”

“Good., everybody's been cutting vegetables and making pies for the last couple days. Slicing bread for stuffing, the people who burn water doing dishes or taking the scraps out to the compost pile. After lunch all the veggie and other scraps that can be used in stocks will, they'll have the turkey bones for that stock.” Since they're all in the cafeteria they look at the cooks who nod. “After everybody's eaten themselves sick they'll start heading off the various rooms in the main building, I found a store in Miami that only sells puzzles and we've got a room set up for those. There's the home theater, the video game room, or people will just find a place to settle down and fall into a coma as they digest everything.” More snickering.

“The cooks have already started out putting out containers of Christmas cookies. Arthur will be heading off to his former foster mother's home to have Christmas with his sister, she's in her last year of pre-law and is tentatively pre-approved for law school.” The others smile. “With the power back on Xander's woodworking business should start getting orders again. Willow and Amanda will go out to Vegas after the first of December, they'll take Amtrak since the airport is closed. Hopefully it will be open in time for her uncle, grandmother, and great-aunt to come out after she delivers.”

“Betty is the only other one who has family to visit over Christmas, her friend is finishing her degree but still working at the factory. Her mother is still wailing in prison that she's got to send her money, it's

Betty's fault the accident happened, wwweeeeellllllll yes, Betty did have the right of way but she had the better car. Betty should have got out of her way. She doesn't deserve all that money she's getting from her, why won't they make her send it back, she can put that money on her books for the commissary. She's got to work for everything she wants now.”

“Idiot.”

“Oh yes, thankfully her father was able to prove he didn't have anything to do with keeping Betty behind bars for two weeks, that was all her and her 'friends' in the police department. He was able to get out of prison for violating his probation, her friend grew up sheltered and wasn't ready to have to live on her own. She's growing up since then, working full-time and getting a degree two or three classes a semester. . .” all the teachers nod.

“What the HELL do you mean there's not enough boxes for everybody?” a man bellows in DC a few days after Thanksgiving.

“The power outage is so much bigger than we'd been expecting.” The man who'd delayed having the boxes sent out in the first place blubbers. “I'd been expecting the power companies to be able to fix the lines on their own Are you su. . .” his voice trails off as everybody in earshot tells him they're sure he's both a damn idiot and the power companies won't be able to have power back on any time within the next several years.

“Why the hell have factories not been making the boxes?” Somebody who thinks he's all that asks angrily.

“We haven't been able to duplicate the workings that allow it to access the power facility.” One of the engineers says calmly. “I have repeatedly told people that we could not possibly replicate the boxes.”

Many voices raising in complaint but they're shouted down by people who say they've read the reports.

“Why would they make the boxes so people can't duplicate them?” A man wails.

“So somebody can't just build one and use it to get electricity without paying for it. Moron. That's why we can't turn a power box on after it's been shut off for nonpayment.”

“What are we supposed to do now?”

“Put our hats in our hands and contact the people with the facility and ask if they have extra boxes.” The president sighs. “Before we start seeing deaths from the cold.”

“Would people actually die without power?” Dumbass who'd decided they didn't need the boxes released wails.

“Yes moron, unless you had a generator to begin with you don't have any water. And furnaces can't come on without electricity.”

“Okay, how are we going to handle this? Do the boxes have serial numbers?” Jessy asks after they get the call.

“No, account numbers would be selected when the boxes either left the sorting area if they're purchased by individual consumers or by the National Guard when they're delivered. There's nothing on the box itself to say this is the second time they've been delivered. I'll deliver them to the staging areas later today and accept payment from the government.”

A few days later the trucks start heading off again full of boxes. As usual, there are some complaints that apartment buildings can't get more than one if there's only one meter to begin with. Wails of 'but I can't tell how much electricity my renters are using without individual boxes' is met with snorts of 'well, you couldn't before, could you?' and the morons skulk off with the one box they're alloted for that building. Multiple building apartment complexes get one main box and however many slaves they need.

It's nearly the end of December and the governor of Florida is having screaming fits since the boxes haven't been brought out to his state yet. He gets on the phone to the president and bellows about his precious budget being destroyed because of a lack of tourism and vents for a few hours. The president hangs up on the fool and sighs.

“Why hasn't the boxes started going out to Florida?”

“The expert decided that the other states should come first since they have actual winters. The others complained but were overruled.”

“I want that asshole in my office as soon as possible.”

He prances into the oval office an hour later expecting to be praised for all his hard work and is stunned when the president starts calling him a damn fool for not sending out the boxes to every state at the same time.

“But they don't need the power boxes right away, do they?”

“Yes moron they do, they've been without power just as long as everybody else.”

“But they don't get a real winter. All they gotta do is put a blanket on their beds and wear long sleeves.” He says in a see, I told you I know best tone of voice. Then wails as he's actually arrested for putting everybody in the state at harm for not sending the boxes out right away. “Dear god moron, it's Christmas in a couple days.

“But how could people have died without power, they don't get winter.” He yells..

“Car accidents caused by a lack of lights, people needing medical attention but there's no hospitals open anywhere, people dying from a lack of water because they don't have generators and can't get water anywhere else. People dying from food going bad because they can't keep it cold. . .” the ways people can die even in Florida without power keeps growing and he whines. The others had told him this but he'd told them they were damn fools, nothing could happen if the state doesn't get the boxes until he decides they should get the boxes.

“Thank god it's not the middle of summer or they'd be dying of heatstroke because without power there's no fans or air conditioning.” One of the guards snorts as he's dragged off and he wails.

“Christmas in two days and the power is still out.” Larry snorts. “Is there any news on the boxes?”

“Yes, I just got off the phone with the people overseeing the release, the fool in charge didn't want us to get the boxes until last, we don't get a real winter so we don't need power like everybody else, we can just put a blanket on our beds and pull on long sleeves.” Rupert sneers. Mayor Watson who'd been walking into the office moans.

“Oh dear god, tell me you're joking. . .please?”

“No, the fool governor went off on the president for hours demanding to know why we hadn't gotten the boxes yet. . .his precious budget was destroyed since it relied so much on tourism. The president called the people overseeing the release and was told the fool overruled the boxes all going out at the same time.”

“Nearly four months without power now, every damn business in the state closed, and he didn't think we needed the power boxes? Massive unemployment, soup kitchens on every corner to feed people and THE GODDAMN FOOL DIDN'T THINK WE NEEDED THE POWER BOXES LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE?” The last sentence is bellowed before he falls into a seat. Larry pours him a cup of coffee and adds a shot from the flask in Rupert's desk.

“Thank you.” He pulls out his cell phone and calls Town Hall, telling everybody there the news. The sound of screaming and cursing can be heard even through the cell phone. The news quickly makes the rounds of the main building and everybody starts swearing.

“Jessy?”

“Yes, I'll go out to New York again and stock up on stuff, there's no damn way stores will be open here until April or May now.” The others in earshot nod. Sighing, she dials a familiar number.

“Davison school of textiles design, please call. . .”

“Mona, it's Jessy Michaels. I know you're busy with Christmas preparations so a quick heads up. Some damn fool in the government didn't think Florida needed the boxes since we don't get a real winter.” A click and a loud moan means she's being put on speaker.

“Nobody in Florida has the boxes yet?” Mona moans again. The others come running.

“No,” Ms. Michaels says in disgust on the phone. “We don't get a real winter, all we have to do is put a blanket on the bed and pull on long sleeves, we don't need the boxes. Moron didn't realize people were dying from a lack of health care with all the hospitals closed, they were dying from bad food since they couldn't keep it cold, they were dying from a lack of water. . .”

“Car accidents thanks to lights being out, people can't direct traffic in the dark.”

“Exactly. This close to Christmas the boxes won't be going out, people want to be with their families and the trucks will needed to be loaded with the boxes anyway. That will take a few days even if people who don't celebrate Christmas or need the money work over the holiday.” Nods from everybody in earshot. “But this means stores won't be opening until April now. So short story long. . .” everybody sniggers. “I'm coming back out around the first of the year to get more supplies.”

“How are you on supplies for the seamstress shop?”

Jessy sighs, they can hear it over the phone. “I just put in an order with the supplier for the seamstress shops, the fabric warehouse did the same thing. They're one of the few businesses in the state with the box but shut down since with the power outage going on so long. . .”

“There's no customers. Yes, Janice said her school is shut down and with the power being out so long, I doubt any schools are reopening this year unless they've been on generator all this time. And even then that's going to be expensive as all hell.”

Jessy nods even though the others can't see it. “Yeah, the school in town is only open since the National Guard has turned it into a secondary command center allowing people to come in and charge their batteries, their phones or other devices, and getting water. This way they don't have to deliver so much water around town.” Overhearing her Mayor Watson nods. “And people can duck in and get a hot shower and a hot meal.”

The news is repeated at dinner that night and everybody curses the stupidity of that fucking fool.

“He'll be beaten to death even in federal prison if some of the cons have family members who were hurt by all this nonsense.” Phillip says. Rupert nods. “The cons will beat him to death when he starts pissing them off even if they didn't have family affected by the outage. Because they don't like assholes trying to push their weight around.”

The others nod.

Christmas is quiet at the House, Willow and Betty getting calls from the others telling them what was going on. Everybody with them had cursed fluently at the stupidity of that man and their own celebrations were quiet.

Idiot wails in the jail cell he'd been dumped into in a federal building. The sound of the cell door slamming seems to be echoing through the room, along with all the charges against him. . .including the list of deaths since the power went out that could be put directly on the doorstep of the power outage, including deaths in traffic accidents at night caused by no lights, deaths from illnesses due to no health care since all the hospitals were shut down thanks to the power outage, and deaths from lack of water and bad food.

He'd wailed in the courtroom that since Florida didn't have a real winter he'd thought nobody would be bothered by a lack of power, The board of judges had given him disgusted looks and even his own lawyer had called him a fucking fool.

Jessy leans in the doorway of the New York school's office.

“Ms. Michaels.” Mona grins.

“Hello, I know everybody's in the middle of getting ready for the new semester starting next week so I won't bother anybody. Like I said earlier, I'm back getting in stuff that the National Guard doesn't bring out.” The others who'd come running when they heard her voice nod. “Do you have a truck?”

“Yeah, need me to take stuff out to Janice?”

“Please.”

Two weeks later Jessy arrives back at the House, boxes and bags appearing in the middle of the room the supplies normally are put in until they're sorted out. Looking in her ship she moves the stuff for Janice to a truck and starts sorting through her mail.

“Are boxes arriving yet?”

“In the big cities, not rural areas yet. Miami is supposed to be getting their boxes this week. Prisons, hospitals, police stations, health care offices. . .” Jessy nods. This was how it was done in the other outages. Homes and businesses would be in the second wave.

“They're going to need several trucks, and several days to get all the boxes handed out.” Jessy says. Rupert nods.

Scott walks into the building and nods as he sees Jessy sorting mail. “Jessy, the supplies in the truck?”

“Stuff the New York school sent out for Janice, I'm going to call after breakfast to see where and when she wants me to deliver it. What's the latest on the National Guard bringing out supplies?”

“Due to come out tomorrow, people are complaining that if they can bring out supplies. . .”

“Why can't they bring out the boxes? I'd be complaining too.”

“Especially since they don't know if they're going to be able to get boxes to our area by February now.”

Rupert stares at him while Jessy curses.

“One of my friends from prison, he contacted me because he knows I live out this way. They can't explain why they can't get the boxes out in a timely manner. . .especially when they can send out trucks with supplies easily enough, but can't send out trucks filled with the boxes just as easily.”

“Oh dear god, the governor's going to be screaming again.” After breakfast Jessy makes the call and heads off with the truck, Janice and a security guard at the school meeting her. The school had sent a list of what they were sending to Janice and she marks it off as everything is unloaded. The news that the boxes being delayed makes him moan and Janice swear.

“What the goddamn fucking hell do you mean you can't get the boxes out to rural areas in a timely manner?” The president BELLOWS a few days later.

“But we can get them supplies. . .and there's medical help now that hospitals have the boxes. . .isn't it enough?” A man blubbers.

“No fool, it's not enough.” The president sneers. “They deserve the boxes just as much as every other person who already got the boxes. You can get the boxes out to the big cities but you can't get them out to rural areas?”

“But we'd have to do a lot of driving to get the boxes to everybody in rural areas.” he whines.

“And you don't already to all that driving to get the supplies to people? You can deliver supplies but you can't bring out a box and set up an account for them?” He snorts.

The man moans, when it's put that way. . .

At the end of January the trucks of boxes arrive in Miami and people gratefully line up at the tables and sign up for the boxes, creating accounts and heading home. More than one person crosses their fingers after flipping the switch on the box but flip on a light switch and sigh in relief when the light comes on. The homes that have been running generators for months shut them down and sigh.

A truck pulls up in front of the Town Hall in mid February, laying on the horn. Sammy Jo comes out and the National Guardsman grins at her. “I've got the first batch of your boxes.”

“Oh thank god.” Sammy Jo rushes into the building and people come rushing out, heading to nearby streets and letting people know the boxes have arrived.

“Do we have enough boxes?”

“We have fifteen hundred boxes in this truck, we are expecting a second truck in an hour. There's 2,500 addresses on file that we deliver supplies to and the second truck will be delivering to the outlying areas. It will be a few days but everybody in the area will soon have their power back.”

A tent goes up, tables being laid out and people start lining up. Like they'd said, it takes a few days but everybody has their power back on and they sigh in relief. A guardsman has been marking off the businesses and homes in the area as they get the boxes and he nods that everybody has boxes.

“How much longer will we be getting supplies?”

“Another two months, it will take that long for stores to get their shelves filled. Factories are opening back up again and producing product. A good seventy percent of the state has the boxes now, it will be a few more weeks to get every building a box.”

A woman hustles from the nearby church with a bundle that goes in the back of the car, she pops the trunk and heads back inside. “The babies are starting to arrive out at Dr. Giles.” She says at Mayor Watson's look. Filling the back of her car with packages of diapers she fills the floor with pails and heads off. No use making multiple trips out, if one is delivering the others should shortly.

He laughs. “At least they waited until we got the boxes.”

“And Gregory House won't have to deliver them.” Another man chuckles.

“Oh dear god, that would be horrible.” Mayor Watson moans. “A doctor who is a very sarcastic, very biting wit man. He is an excellent doctor, you get better quickly just to get the hell away from him.” He tells the National Guardsman.

“That other doctor out there is just as bad.” The other man snorts.

Meanwhile at the House Larry puts down the phone as Xander grabs the rug cleaner to get the spot where Harmony's water had broken in the hallway. It's not a commercial cleaner but maintenance will come out later tonight and clean the whole hallway.

“Funny it's Harmony going first.”

“Not really, she's expecting twins and multiple births deliver early. Usually a couple weeks before a single birth, that's why the babies are smaller.”

“And Jessy's quads are different in that they'll stay in the chambers as long as necessary.” Methos says as he comes into the building. “Is Harmony's nursery ready?”

“Yes, and we have two nursery elves waiting for her to deliver. Jessy will have four more, one for each baby, the others will have another one since the other elves still have the other children to take care of.” Rupert says from the door of his office. Almost as if she'd heard him call her name Jessy walks into the building with the others from the seamstress shop with the supplies of diapers in their arms and the diaper pails hanging off their arms.

“Whose water broke?” Jubilee asks.

“Harmony.”

Four sets of diapers and two pails head off to her apartment, the others going into a closet until they're needed. Jessy moans as she's pointed to the closet and pulls out the huge armful of mail.

“I'd wondered when they'd start 'distributions' again.” She says sourly. “I know the insurance companies are wailing and waving their hands about having to lay out any money from damages after the power's been out so long.” Rupert and Methos snort but nod.

“I'm glad the government announced they'd be cracking down on lawsuits dealing with the power outage, I'm sure there's some crooks out there who'd be demanding concessions from companies for breaking contracts otherwise.” Jessy snorts. “Like that stupid fucker who was going to put in a complaint about us not sending out any bags until the idiot realized there was no more parts to make the bags since the power had already been out for a couple months. He was looking for somebody to get into trouble, the only person who got in trouble was him.”

“There's always going to be miserable assholes.” Methos snorts. “Any word on the bags?”

“The factories have inspected their machinery and will start work next week. I'm going off tomorrow to see how the stores we normally purchase from in Miami are doing. Most of them have insurance that will pay them for any losses from long-term power outages.”

“Whatever happened to that fool who had ordered the special outfits?” Faith asks, walking past from where she'd been lounging in the pool.

“Ohhh, that fool had a fit that the power outage was caused by his enemies to steal his designs. His family about took his head off and he ended up in a psychiatric hospital for a few weeks getting his head shrunk back down to normal. Poor darling was so upset when he had to admit he wasn't all that, nobody wanted his fantastic designs, there weren't people spying on him from the bushes, the power outage wasn't a personal attack against him. . .” Snorts of disgust from everybody around her. “He's got to work a normal job, his doctors won't let him waste all that money on fantastic outfits unless he's going to make them himself.”

“So basically like that fool woman who brought all that fabric.”

“Yeah. Fred called me during the outage to tell me what was happening.”

“How are you doing on the outfits?”

“Good, I expect prom and graduation business to be light. . .” the others nod. “But that will allow us more time to work on the outfits before the bag supplies start showing up. I figure we'll be done early this year.”

“Jessy, take a truck tomorrow.” Rupert says.

“Yeah.”

Xander goes with her the next day and they pick up stuff from every store they walk into, the comic stores had been still ordering in stock even though the store wasn't open, knowing fans would be coming in when the power was restored. The puzzle store is visited and the clerk smiles as the shelves take a hit. The other store owners had told her she wouldn't have to worry when the power came back on and they hadn't been joking.

Jessy starts sorting bags out when Xander opens the back of the truck at the House.

“It's two girls, Brittany and Barbara Sue McNally.” Robert calls.

“Awww. Is Jesse up off the floor yet?” Xander laughs. He shouldn't, he'll be getting up off the floor too when Cordy delivers, but that will be from a left hook.

“Harmony's giving him disgusted looks from her bed. The babies are good weight, the doctors say they can come home in a couple days.”

“How did they handle births in the outage area?”

“They'll have to go to the courthouse and request a home birth certificate.” One of the house's lawyers sighs. “There's going to be miserable old fools blathering out there about how it's not proper until they get the stupidity slapped out of them.”

“Did they ever find out what caused the massive power outages beyond old age and poor maintenance?” Andrew asks as they walk into the building. “Are the stores open?”

“Yep. And all the comic book stores has months of back stock they're putting on the shelves.”

“I'll go out tomorrow then for myself and Jesse then.” he says.

“As for the outages. . . that's it exactly, the power grid is old, it was never meant to last this long or have this much use on it.” Scott says. “Poor maintenance created a surge and wham everything was fried.” Jessy grabs her mail and start sorting it out.

“And I'm sure the plant that was 'testing' the new grid is whimpering with relief that everything fried so nobody can say they did something wrong, which they probably did.” Nods from everybody.

“Anybody seen more businesses opening?”

“Miami's slowly coming back, it's going to be months. The governor is raging again, the snowbirds who would normally have come to the state stayed home. The kids who would normally be arriving for spring break haven't made their reservations. He's wailing about the damn budget and there's nobody he can grab by the shoulders and blame this whole situation on.” Everybody snorts. “the Miami city council is whining about their budget, having to pay everybody overtime for all the shifts they worked.”

“And they wouldn't be doing the same thing during a hurricane?” Joyce snorts.

“This lasted so much longer than a hurricane. But every other town or city that was hit by the outage is in the same boat. Florida is just screwed since so much of the budget comes from tourism.”

Nods from the others. “Thank god we're out of the major tourism area. Except for the fourth of july and labor day sale at the flea market.”'

“Repossession auctions?”

“I expect them to start in a few months since there's always going to be nasty sumbitches out there who ignore stuff like hurricanes, tornadoes, and what not and rush in to snatch up everything they want. Then whine when the bad publicity makes them look like vultures.”

A couple days later Harmony slowly walks into her apartment, the babies being put in their cribs.

“We's got water for you to soak.” One of the house elves says. Jenny helps Harmony undress and settle in the water, she moans as the heat relaxes muscles she didn't even know she had.

A rapping on the door has Jenny hurrying that way. She's grinning when she returns to the bathroom. “Jessy's quads were released from the chambers. Andrew is babbling in Klingon.”

“Names?”

“Brenda Joyce, Bethany Anne, Charles Alexander, and Carson Edward Travers. Jessy is sending out the announcements to everybody now. Now we just need to get the others delivered.”

“Won't be long, Kendra just said her water broke. Cordy's cussing up a blue streak.” Jesse's voice says from the other room.

“That just leaves Willow and Faith.” Jenny grins. Her phone beeps. “Awww, first pictures of the babies now that they've been cleaned up, examined, and got diapers and clothes on.” Harmony looks at the pictures and sighs. “They're adorable but I think my girls are cuter.”

“That's a mother's right.” Jessy's laughing voice says over the phone a few minutes later. “And you actually carried them for nine months.”

In New York Mona grins at the e-mail she gets and triggers the intercom.

“Attention everybody Brenda Joyce, Bethany Anne, Charles Alexander, and Carson Edward Travers have just made their entrance.”

“Awww.”

The following weekend Jessy chuckles as everybody starts arriving at her house and handing over bags and boxes before peeking in on the babies. More bags are dropped off to be given to the others. Cordy had delivered a little girl named Susanne Amanda Chase while Kendra had given birth to a girl named Sarah Emily Osborne. A rushing of people and Faith's loud cursing tells everybody that at least Faith's water has broken. Willow yelling has her being put in a golf cart too.

“Oh dear, god, that outfit Jessy.” One of the teachers complains as she looks through the pictures in her workroom.

“The one with the crystals? That's the last one the fool wanted before the power went out, he went on a rant that the power outage was a personal attack against him and he spent at a few weeks in a psychiatric hospital where he was very bluntly told nobody's laying in wait in the bushes to steal his designs.”

“Nobody would want the damn thing.” One of them shudders.

“Yeah, he's been told if he wants to create an outfit now he has to sew it himself.”

“Never going to happen.”

“Nope.”

“How has everything else been otherwise?”

“Good, we had the outfits for Max's friends so we still had work. The bags components are being made now and the woman we work with says we should get this first batch of supplies in June.”

“Are you figuring on a lot of prom outfits?”

“No, or graduation outfits. We were lucky in being able to keep working, most families weren't. Savings and unemployment would have run out even with extensions. But this gives us time to work on the other outfits.”

“Are you sure?” They ask when Jessy walks out the door with them.

“Oh yes, the others will keep an eye on the babies and I need to get out of the house for a while.” Larry, Andrew, and Kiara had walked in. “Kiara, shouldn't you be working on something for Stark that will make you oodles and gobs of money?”

“I need a break.” The others blink at the uppercrust English accent. “Before I go back to England and beat my grandmother to death with a cricket bat.”

“Ahhhh, she's still causing problems?”

“Oh dear gods yes, how could the authorities have found her guilty? Welll yesssss, she did try to sneak that marriage license in between me and an 80 year old man, but she deserves to live a life of luxury. No, she did not falsify the marriage license between her son and my mother. . .somebody wrote the date wrong. My mother wasn't dead for three days when the marriage happened thanks to one of my father's STDs she couldn't get treated for because she was pregnant with me. She's a member of the Royal Family, treating her like this is treason. She spent the best years of her life raising me, I was an ungrateful little bitch. Who cares if the man killed every wife he had and all his children, she wants to live a life of luxury.” Kiara pretends to stomp her feet and pout. “Unlike that old fool I can hold down a job, pay my own bills, and invest my money so I have something for the future.”

“And your father?” One of the teachers asks.

“Wrapped his car around a tree driving drunk. It was either that or die of one of his damn diseases.”

“You're a member of the Royal family?”

“Kiara's sixty-eighth in line to the throne.” The others snicker despite themselves.

“Yes, as I've told the others the whole continent would be lost before the Throne came to me. Since my mother was American I held dual citizenship. I got told about Rupert through the Embassy as somebody who would pay for my schooling. I came over and have been here ever since except for periodic trips back across the pond when somebody gets a wild hair up their arse and demands the entire family appear in front of the Queen.”

“Or be ousted from the family?”

“Oh nothing so crass as that. We'd get the cold shoulder and stiff upper lip for the rest of our lives unless we had a real good excuse, death or in serious ill health, giving birth . . .nothing so common as having to work. We're all supposed to give our formal support to the monarchy and all that crap. It looks good and keeps us from thinking we might have normal lives.”

“Talk to Wade lately?”

“Yeah, he and Vanessa are talking about having children.”

The teachers look around the main building as Jessy stuffs her mail in her shoulder bag and she takes them on a tour of the public areas of the House, ending in the cafeteria. They snigger as Jessy is pointed firmly at a seat and a tray filled and put in front of her.

“I didn't actually give birth you know.” She says dryly. The others snicker at the 'details' hand wave.

“Marley was so dead.” One of the teachers say when they return to the school.

“Yeah, it's going to be a long time before everything is reopened. Even Miami has a number of closed stores yet.”

“And no doubt ones that won't reopen.” The others nod. There's stores all over the country that didn't reopen because of the outage. And it wasn't all small stores either.

The news that Faith had a girl named Amanda Marie and Willow had a boy named Michael James Rosenberg is passed along to various people and after a couple weeks the babies start making appearances in the cafeteria.

“God damn old fool.” Jessy can be heard muttering not so under her breath as she and Andrew come in from a doctor's appointment. The others look at her. “That damn miserable old fool doctor who didn't like me giving the boys formula years ago, a nurse overheard him mumbling about calling protective services to have the kids taken away from me because I use formula and stopped him when he reached for a phone. The fucker's been told repeatedly to stop trying to shove his opinions down parents throats.”

“Damn Mommy gangs and those fools who nurse their kids until they're walking, talking, and about to start school.” Faith shudders.

“Yes, the little bastard is having a dozen and a half fits, he's going to put in a complaint against the nurse who stopped him, how dare she stop him?. Parents who don't breastfeed when he's told them to should have their children taken from them. I fully expect to get a call from child protective services because the little bastard will go around the office and call it in on his own time. I'll sue the fucking asshole if he does. Miserable old fool should have been put out to pasture years ago.”

“God damn you, you stupid sack of shit. We fucking told you not to call protective services because the parents won't kiss your worthless ass. You were stopped once, that didn't mean call in a complaint to the main office and call protective services on your own time. Thank God your butt buddy crony lost the right to investigate claims and the people who took over actually listened to the facts and know you're a miserable old fool.” His boss hisses as he's yanked into an office.

“But they need to be breast fed, everybody knows its better for the babies.” He howls.

“Bullcrap, generations of children were raised on formula, get the hell over yourself you old fool. Even when you were a new doctor not everybody breastfed.”

“Yes they did.” he yelps. How dare they tell him he doesn't know what he's talking about.

“Really, orphanages were able to breastfeed?” His boss drawls. “Nannies were able to breast feed?”

“Nooo, I guess not.” He sulks. “Hospitals didn't breastfeed babies when they were sick unless the mothers pumped.”

Damn it, how can they not be bowing, scraping, and doing everything he wants? Instead of getting the kids away from the parents and that uppity bitch NURSE not getting into trouble for stopping him he's got a formal reprimand in his file for both trying to call protective services and for calling in a complaint against her. His boss calls him a fucking fool for a long time after that and told him if he can't get over his demands every child be breastfed, he can find himself another job. He can't do that. . .how can he push his weight around anywhere else?

“Old fool should have been put out to pasture years ago.” A nurse snorts as the man slumps off, a far cry from how he'd strutted into the building earlier.

“Rumor is it he has to work, he's got a number of big complaints against him for his stupidity in demanding the world be run to suit him. Malpractice insurance won't cover him. Not for something like this. His own family hates him, his attitude sent them away years ago.”

Snorts from everybody in earshot. Figures. Nobody really likes the old fool at the office. He's always trying to get his own way over everything. From demanding everybody do his work to trying to get the best seats in the lunchroom, going as far as moving another employee's food if they had put their food down and got called away. He'd tried throwing it out once and got cussed out by the boss when he walked back in. He'd blubbered he hadn't known it was his food and got cussed at again for thinking he could throw out anybody's food and had got his first of many reprimands in his file.

Jessy walks into the main building after the girls would normally have ordered their prom dresses. She leans in Rupert's doorway. “Light, just like I figured. A hundred outfits. Everybody is in the same boat, with the power out so long nobody has extra money for prom dresses, some schools are canceling them entirely since they just don't have the money this year.” Rupert and Larry nod. “Graduation might be a little more outfits but thankfully we're not counting on them to stay in business.” They nod again. “This gives us more time to work on the other outfits, we'll have them done early this year.”

“Have you heard about the bags?”

“The first shipment should be coming out just as we would have been finishing the graduation outfits.” She grabs her mail and starts sorting through it as she drops into a chair in Rupert's office. “Has the National Guard announced yet when the last of the supplies would be coming out?”

“Next week.”

“Thought so, trucks were at the stores in town so they're getting stocked up on supplies again. The drugstore is open again.”

“Things are getting back to normal and some fool in the government will start whining about having to spend all this money to get supplies to the citizens.” Phillip snorts from the doorway. Everybody nods. “Expos?”

“Not until next year.” the others nod. “I'm going out over the fourth for the sale again, I'm sure Marley is glad to be having some money coming in from the flea market again.”

“Is the soapmakers ready for the fourth?”

“Yes, they've been making soap and I moved stuff in the PODS so they can put the extra in there when they run out of room. We're not expecting the massive sales they have been getting. . .” nods from the others. “Too many people getting back to work, trying to figure out how the hell they're going to pay off their mortgage or car payments, figure out day care for their kids since so many schools in the area didn't open.”

“Yeah, so many students are going to have their schooling extended another year.” Wesley sighs. “The homeschooling students will have an advantage. As will the students whose schools opened.”

“Why didn't they all open?” Arthur asks.

“More than one school, the school district didn't have the money to keep the generator running constantly. . .the only reason the school opened in Marley was because it was an established shelter and the National Guard was using it as a secondary command center. Generators aren't meant to be running for months at a time, the bills for fuel were enormous. Hell, just the smaller generators that run on gas, four months of gas would have been several hundred dollars if the National Guard hadn't been bringing it in because the gas stations either ran out or couldn't open.” The others nod. “Districts carefully budget their money, having to run the generator for so long . .it wasn't an easy decision. That's why you hear so many stories on the news about districts doing away with bussing or privatizing it to save money.”

“It was only the National Guard bringing in supplies before school started and bringing more out over the last few months to keep everything supplied that the teachers and students had everything they needed this school year.” Larry says from the front room.

“Instead of having a 'fill the bus' event to get in supplies.” Phillip nods.

“Is anybody hearing rumors of lawsuits?” Faith asks.

“Suing who? nobody can point a finger at one event that caused this or the other blackouts.” Jessy snorts. “If there was the government would be all over the news demanding repayment of everything they paid out. . .just like in the news when you see somebody being charged damages for a california fire.” More nods. “Not that I'm sure that old fool in the governor's office wouldn't be first in line to file the paperwork if it meant his precious budget recovering.” Sniggering.

“Yes, because unlike the government we don't focus on one area for the majority of our money.”

“Yep.”

“I just got my first 'are you open for orders' e-mail.” Xander says, poking his head in the door.

“Things are getting back to normal.” Larry says. Everybody nods and look at the time, heading to the classrooms and nursery in the main building to get the kids then heading to the cafeteria for dinner. Various conversations are going on at the tables. Jessy gets a call and steps outside, Rupert following her with his eyes as she leans against the wall and talks quietly, nodding at what's being said on the other end.

She whistles shrilly when she re-enters the cafeteria, the others looking at her.

“That was Max, he thought with the power being out so long that there wouldn't be that many graduation and prom outfits, he's coming out next week with friends to put in new orders.” The others nod. “Think twice as big as the other orders. . .each. Xander?”

“Yeah?”

“He wants to talk to you about orders too.” He nods. Jessy looks over at people from the other stores. “Yes, you guys as well. Max says our stuff is going to be in some of them bags you see talked about at award shows. With so much of the country without power for so long they're looking for other places that can supply stuff for the bags. A small box of candy can easily slip into a bag.”

“and will bring us more orders.”

The pottery people look at her. “Yes, you too. You make plenty of small stuff that can be put in a bag. Or even gift certificates towards something bigger. So can the leatherworkers.” Nods from the others. “The cheesemakers might be the only ones not showing any immediate orders but since all the websites have links to the others.”

Jessy kisses all her children as they lay in bed, snickering softly as the boys make faces in their sleep. Letting the house elves look after them she walks into the cargo container Josette had delivered. Rupert moans behind her. “Were you just waiting until I opened this?”

“I was wondering what it was.” He looks at the neat rows of rolls and bolts of fabric and boxes of other supplies. “Jessyca Maree McDonald Travers?” He asks in a calm. . .to him anyway voice. Since she's sniggering, he knows it's not very calm.

“Where would I have ordered this, everything is closed. No, this is some more of what Josette passed along.” She tells him the stories and he moans at just how much stuff Josette would have picked up.
Because he has a good idea how big the ships are and how much they can hold. There's a small envelope taped to one box that says open me first and she grins. “Awww, Josette put everything on the replicator and since our replicators are hers are similar, I can add it to my replicator in case I ever run low.”

“You won't run low for several centuries, let alone decades.” Rupert says firmly. Jessy sniggers and nods. She slides the thumb drive into her computer and adds it to the replicator's database once they're back in the house.

“Are you fucking stupid? No, we're not taking your lawsuit against the woman whose children you tried to have taken away from her for not kissing your ass when you demanded she give the children breast milk instead of formula. Get the hell over it and yourself you miserable old fool.”

“But I got a complaint in my permanent record because of her.”

“Because you're a miserable old fool who tried calling a butt buddy in child protective services to get her children taken from her because you don't like her giving her children formula. Get the hell out of this office and don't bother her again.”

“But I got a complaint in my record now.”

“You deserve a helluva lot more than that. You keep pissing people off and they're going to kick your stupid head right off your shoulders.” The man skulks out of the office.

“What was his problem, from the way he was leaving I doubt you took his case.” Another lawyer asks/

“Old fool wanted me to sue the woman whose children he tried taking because she wouldn't go to a breast milk bank he suggested. Oh no, she actually feeds them formula. He tried calling one of his butt buddies in child protective services after he left the exam room and a nurse stopped him. The miserable bastard called at home but his cohort had lost the power to take kids and he's now got a permanent complaint in his record for both trying to get the kids taken from her and trying to file a complaint against the nurse who stopped him in the office.”

“Oh dear god, and I'm sure the kid is perfectly safe?”

“Oh yes, all four of them are doing very well on formula.”

“Four of them? Quads? They'd have to have gone on formula anyway, there's no way one woman can breast feed four babies at once.” He splutters. “For all that I heard one woman do it with six.”

“Yes, she has RA and used a surrogate with her eggs she had frozen and friends sperm. She had a pair of twin boys the first time, he tried going after her then but she ignored him. She had a little girl with the second surrogacy. This time she used two surrogates and both eggs split.”

“Moronic old fool, there's been generations of babies raised on formula and they turned out just fine. I hope that woman has a lot of family and friends to help her.”

“Are you fucking STUPID? Leave her the hell alone, there's no damn reason for you to be trying to sue her because you're a miserable excuse for a human being.” His boss at the doctor's office rages and he whines as he gets another complaint in his file.

“And leave her the hell alone you goddamn fool. You're no longer her pediatrician, she's already been transferred to another doctor here.”

“But aren't you going to make her find another office?” He's stunned they're keeping her as a patient instead of doing everything he wants.

“Fuck no and fuck you, she's more than welcome at this office. You however, are on such shaky ground I'd think very hard about retiring permanently.” He runs off wailing. “Goddamn idiot.”

“What did the old fool do this time?' One of the other heads of the office asks.

“Not only complained to the board over all the offices about getting a complaint in his file for the shit he pulled, he tried going to every lawyer he could to sue Ms. Travers for getting him in trouble for trying to get her kids taken from her.”

“Goddamn idiot, it's time we cut him loose.”

“I'm afraid so, the old fool was so damn stunned that we would continue to keep Ms Travers children as patients, we should have kissed his ass by telling her to find another office rather than making sure she got another pediatrician and that he couldn't bother her anymore.”

“Oh of course not, everybody should bow down and kiss his ass for existing.” The second man drawls. Then sighs. “I'll contact the board before the miserable fool goes whining to them again about getting another reprimand in his file.”

When the fool appears at the office again the next day a folder is slapped against his chest, filled with the paperwork terminating his employment. He wails long and loud as he's escorted from the office and told not to return.

“Why the hell did he go after that young woman?” One of the board members asks.

“She didn't bow and kiss his ass years ago with her first children, she didn't bow, scrape, and kiss his ass with the second child, and she went off on him when he demanded she use breast milk this time. All her children are healthy and happy and he's a miserable old bastard.” Another says. “He's pulled this shit multiple time before, that's why the old fool was still working and has worked a number of offices. I'm sure some small office somewhere will hire the fool and be stunned when he keeps pulling the same shit that got him terminated from every other practice.”

Max taps on the door of the seamstress building, grinning at Jessy who nods at the notebooks on the counter. She's busy talking on the phone and ends the call a few minutes later.

“Oh dear god, people are whining. How can we still be open when other seamstress buildings aren't? Wellllll yyyyeeeessssss, you do have ongoing orders. . .but other stores in the area aren't open yet, are they? It's not fair to them, is it? There aren't any other seamstress operations in your area, the closest would be Stanley or Miami? I thought there was one closer. . .wasn't she trying to sue you for profits? Oh, she was trying to make you hand over all your work so she could make profits off it. I didn't know that. I guess it's okay if you stayed open after all.”

“Idiots. They want to find a way to drag you down to be as miserable as they are.” One of the people with Max snorts.

“How's Faith?”

“Bored to tears with her maternity leave but. . .” Jessy shrugs. “She does say changing a girl is a lot easier than changing a boy, boys aim.” Everybody in earshot laughs.

“First child?” One of the newcomers asks.

“Second.” Max says.

“Third actually, Faith had a little girl as a teenager, she was pregnant when she arrived at the House after living on the streets after running away from her foster home when her foster father tried raping her. Rupert arranged an open adoption, she got letters monthly from the parents with pictures while she was growing up.”

“Oh dear god, what happened to him?”

“Wellllll, the social worker that put Faith in the home and called her a liar when she tracked her down on the streets got in a fucking lot of trouble when another girl he attacked cut him with a knife and he bled to death. She finally admitted she knew what kind of man he was but she kept funneling little girls to him. She lost her job, personally I think she should have gone to prison and got the hell beat out of her by women who were molested.” The others nod.

“Thank you for bringing us out to those businesses Max, they're just what we need.” One of the newcomers says. “All the businesses have something to add to the first tier bags, even the second or third.”

“They were the first people I thought of when you started talking about needing more businesses for the bags.”

Jessy drops three receipts on Larry's desk. “First batch of fabric, containers, and hangers. I put in an order for more order forms. Mark said that since things are still somewhat dead in Miami he'll put a rush on them and I can pick them up next week. Let me know if I'm picking up for more than the library while I'm there. I already talked to Scott about needing both trucks tomorrow.” Larry nods and starts a file folder, whistling at the fabric order.

“Oh yes, like I said last week, these are massive orders, double the size of the usual orders. And the other stores are looking at massive orders of their own. Oh Faith, Max didn't realize you had a baby before Brandon, expect a hug when you're back at the seamstress shop and he comes out.”

“Ahhh jeez, he hugs like a damn octopus, I always feel like I've been mauled when he releases me.” Faith snorts. Larry snickers behind them.

“That's called being a parent and being a friend. Oh Jessy, you'll find an open letter in your mail. That fool physician who had an absolute fit about you not feeding the children breast milk did try to call protective services.” Jessy growls. “But since his butt buddy has been removed from his position and cannot take children away anymore the complaint went to another caseworker who realized it wasn't a valid referral.” Snorts of disgust. “He got a reprimand in his record for calling on his own time and trying to put in a complaint about the nurse who stopped him from calling while you were in the office.”

“Fucking asshole.”

“Yes, he tried getting lawyers to take his case suing you for him getting a reprimand and no lawyer would take his case. He also complained to the board overseeing that group of offices about the nurse not getting reprimanded. . .”

“Don't you know everybody should be kissing his ass. Moron.” Jessy snorts.

“The last straw was the office transferring the children to another doctor at the office, he was stunned that the office wouldn't show you the door and force you to find another office.”

“Of course, don't you know he's god's gift to humanity.” Jessy snorts. “Miserable old fool.”

“Yes, he has been terminated.”

“I'm sure the fucker ran wailing off over that.”

“Oh yes.” Jessy finds the letter and reads it then sorts through the rest of the mail. Most of it ends up stuffed in the recycling bin.

Jessy slides into the passenger seat of the truck Robert's driving the next morning after breakfast, nodding in satisfaction as she sees businesses opening back up in Marley.

“It's been a long hard ride.” Robert sighs.

“Yep, and it would have been a lot shorter if dumbass in the government hadn't screwed around and held up the boxes for two months because he was sure the damn power companies would have the power back on soon. He was told the fucking lines were fried but thought they could just fix the damn lines and everything would be hunky goddamn dory.”

“Him and that moron who kept blubbering that Florida didn't need the boxes because we don't have a real winter should have to apologize to the friends and families of everybody who died because of the power being out so long.” Mayor Watson says from the window next to Jessy. She grins at him. A police car comes rolling up to see why they're stopped at the light and drives off when they recognize both the trucks and the mayor. “Thank god Marley was a little better off than the rest of the state and country.”

“Yes, the moron in the governor's mansion might think tourism is the be all and end all but we were able to stay open out at the House and Marley's budget isn't affected as others because most of theirs comes from tourism.”

“Yes, even some of the other mayors in the area are wailing about their budgets.”

They return to the House late that night, Jessy checking in on the babies who are asleep under the calm gazes of their house elf nannies before walking to the main house, first checking her mail then walking to the cafeteria.

“Did you get everything you needed?” Xander asks.

“Most of it, I'll put in one last order tomorrow, the trucks are parked behind the shops and need to be unloaded tomorrow.” The others nod they'll be there after breakfast and Jessy knows the 'the trucks need emptying after breakfast' message will be making the rounds.

Jessy sighs as she finishes double checking she has everything on the list and sends the order, printing the receipts for the records as she hears people filling the shelves in the back rooms.

“Got everything unloaded, Jessy.” Faith sticks her head in the door of the office. “Are you going in soon for the library?”

“Next week when I go in to pick up the order forms.”

Jessy drops the receipt on Larry's desk and he grins as he puts it in the file. “The IRS is going to be howling about not getting the taxes they usually do with so many out of work for so long.”

“Yep.” The accountants had come out and they'd all had their taxes done. Jessy had pretended to drop a tote in front of some of them and the head had just gave her a look. A 'I know they're idiots, but really' look. He'd sighed at everything she brought out of the tote and sighed but nodded at the 'it's gonna be worse next year' comment.

“Jessy, Amanda is in need of more bonds.” Rupert says after waving her into his office and shutting the door. She nods. “I'll bring them out after dinner.”

“And the cooks need help with the hydroponics over the next couple of days. Don't grumble, the others are busy planting gardens or taking care of the babies.”

“Yes slave driver.” Jessy mock-grumbles. “Larry, I need a couple books of stamps. The requests for money are picking up now that the power is back on all over.”

“Has anybody heard anything about a fund. . .” Joyce asks at dinner.

“for car and house payments? Yes, it was something the government came up with to both spend more taxpayer money and to save houses and vehicles while the power was out.” Rupert says. “They paid off mortgages, No years of interest much to the dismay of banks but what they actually owed.”

“Of course the banks were upset, the damn years of interest on car and house notes is more than three times the amount they loaned you in some cases.” Jessy snorts. “I remember watching a show where the damn mortgage was 25,000 dollars a month. Over a damn thirty year loan that would be nine million dollars.”

The others shudder.

“What the goddamn hell do you think you're doing?” Jessy bellows as she walks out to her car and finds a woman writing her a ticket.

“There's there no parking here. . .dear.” the woman sneers. “Take it away.” She bellows to the tow truck driver.

“Bullshit, there's no signs saying no parking.

The woman looks around for the signs that have to be there to prove this uppity little bitch wrong and can't find any. Jessy is busy calling the police and they hurry up. “Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're doing?” An officer says icily. “Take that car off the tow truck. . .NOW!” He tells the driver.

“She needs to pay my bill.” He blusters.

“The hell she does, this is an illegal tow. There's never been any statutes saying people can't park here.”

“But she said there's no parking here.” He bleats.

“And she's not an officer in our town. Take the car off the tow truck NOW.” The chief of police bellows as he drives up. “Were there any other vehicles removed.”

“Ummm.”

“Ummm is not an answer. And start taking her car down now or you're going to be arrested for attempted theft.”

“But you can't. . .” the stupid woman tries throwing herself at the officers and is quickly taken down and placed in cuffs.

“Jesus.” everybody murmurs as Jessy recounts the story back at the House. “Of course it turned out she wasn't a real officer, the dumbass driver is bleating he didn't know it wasn't a valid tow but since there wasn't a police car on the street he can't possibly be that damn stupid.”

“Probably in on it, the way he was demanding you pay the fee before he took the car off the truck.” One of the house lawyer's snorts.

“Oh fuck. . .I know who that fool woman is now.” Jessy grabs her phone, and she knows Rupert is giving her the hairy eyeball for using it at the table, and makes a call. “Chief, sorry to bother you at home. It's Jessy Michaels. I recognize that fool woman who was pretending to be an officer now, she considers herself the parking authority of the damn universe. She got in trouble for trying to tell people where they could park at a mall in Miami years ago, she finally got arrested instead of just being told to leave the mall for putting false citations on vehicles there and getting them towed away.” Rupert moans. “No, I don't know her name but. . .Andrew, call the mall and see. . .”

“If they know her name, the head of security there will remember the fool very well.” He snorts. “Give me his number so I can pass it along?” Jessy rattles it off and he heads out into the hallway. “Yes, she was arrested for it, I don't know why her prints aren't coming up in the system.”

“It was a civil matter, it wouldn't be in the database.” The same house lawyer says. In her ear the chief of police is saying the same thing. Andrew calls out a name from the hallway and Jessy repeats it. “The head of security there is. . .” Jessy rattles off a name. “Andrew says he's going to contact the fool's next of kin, either her husband. . .though I heard he divorced her for her stupidity, or one of her kids.”

“Girls, your mother is a goddamn stupid fool.” their father says as he gets them on a conference call a couple days later.

“What did that stupid bitch do this time? Dad, don't get on my case about my language. . .she tried calling the school a couple months ago demanding I be removed from all my classes. At first she tried claiming she didn't write the check out for my tuition and I was going to be arrested for fraud, when the school called her a damn liar and told her I had a partial scholarship for my tuition and that grants, work-study programs, and my education fund was paying the rest she had a weeping wailing howling fit about how could I decide to attend a school so far from home? The school agrees that she's the reason I left the state to attend school.” His younger daughter says. Since this is her last semester of school he moans. Dear God, trying to get your daughter removed from her school when she's so close to graduating? Just how big a miserable fool was his ex-wife?

“Yes, and she tried calling in a complaint about me at my work. Since I wasn't even there that day the investigation against me was quickly dropped and my bosses realize she's a goddamn fool. She bleated like a billy goat that she had to do it, my job was embarrassing her. I needed a better job.” His other daughter says in disgust. “What did the goddamn moron do this time?”

“Dressed up in a policewoman costume from a shop and started putting out her fake citations in a town an hour away from Miami, one of her cronies who had towed the cars at the mall were towing the cars away from where they were parked. She was stopped when a woman came up to them with her car on the tow truck and demanded to know what the hell was going on. She was arrested when the fool tried throwing herself at the real officers who were demanding the car be taken off the truck and asked if there had been any more removed.”

“Oh dear god.” His younger daughter moans. A voice can be faintly heard and she apologizes for interrupting the class. A question and she repeats what her father said, getting a moan from the teacher.

“There was reports of twenty missing cars that day, it looks like the fool just went up and down streets and started slapping fake citations on the cars and sending them off. Of course with no real citations nobody would have found out what happened to the cars unless businesses in the area had surveillance video. I'm sure the tow company would have found the cars and charged the owners oodles and gobs of money to get them back. The tow lot is very loudly backing away from their now former employee, the fucking fool barely kept his job the last time. He knew she wasn't a police officer this time.”

“What is she looking at?” the girl in class asks.

“Grand theft auto.” Her father and the teacher says in near unison. He's a former officer who turned to teaching when he lost a leg on duty. “Attempted assault since you say she threw herself at the officers. Impersonating a police officer. . .She's looking at a long time in prison.”

“Good, serves the fool right.” She says after ending the call with her father and sister. “Miserable woman.”

“Was she in counseling?”

“Yes, after the first time she was arrested. Moron considers herself the parking authority of the world and kept bothering people at a local mall back home about handicapped parking spaces.”

“They were parking there instead of in regular spots?” A classmate asks.

“Hell no, nothing so damn normal. She was complaining because people with handicapped placards or plates weren't parking just there. . .mostly because the damn spots were already filled. Oh dear god no, they were parking wherever they wanted. .. not where she wanted them. Because handicapped people should only park in handicapped spots.”

Sounds of disgust.

“Oh yes, this isn't the first time she tried putting down fake citations and getting vehicles towed. She did that at the mall and got arrested for it. The man who was towing the cars then was with her this time, he knows she isn't a real officer and barely kept his job back then.”

“He was only in it for the money the tow yard would make.” Another student says.

“Yes, Dad figures the tow yard would find the cars several weeks after the were reported stolen and the owners would have to pay outrageous amounts of storage to get them back.”

“And how would he be able to explain how they'd been there for so long?” Another student asks. “If he faked reports for the system, they'd immediately see they'd been reported stolen.”

“I think he was hoping that since the tow yard is outside Miami and the town she'd targeted were an hour away, they wouldn't talk to each other until much later when the notices of 'pay or have your car be sold' were sent out.”

“And the office had to notice him bringing in car after car after car without any paperwork being brought to the office or calls going out.”

Another student snorts. “Probably figuring they wouldn't complain since he was making them money hand over fist. Or they'd fake paperwork to back him up. But with so many cars reported stolen showing up there, they'd be shut down while the police investigated. Yes, I know what I'm talking about, my family owns a tow yard and a creep brought in stolen cars to get us shut down. Unfortunately for him we had video of him and his cronies bringing in the cars and leaving them and he's facing decades in prison as well as losing everything he owned in the civil case. We wouldn't sell to him and he wouldn't have that. He thought his friends in the gangs would back him up and they turned on him. Fucking fool.”

“There's always going to be fools out there who think they're so much better than everybody else and end up making absolute fools of themselves.” The teacher drawls. “Fucking idiot.” More than one person snorts at the weeping and wailing of the fool woman as she's arraigned on multiple charges. Her blubbering that she was just trying to help people, they were parking everywhere and not where she wanted them to park has people giving her disgusted looks or yelling at her. But they were parking wherever they wanted she wails in the courtroom.

“And how would stealing their cars help them?” the judge says icily.

They wouldn't park where she didn't want them to park again she says in a duh tone of voice that has her tossed back in her jail cell until her court case starts. . .in a few months. But they were parked on the street and not in a lot she yells in the courtroom as she's dragged off.

Fucking fool, what the hell did she think she was doing is asked in various offices.

She wasn't thinking is the general consensus. Goddamn stupid fool is the official diagnosis of the psychiatrists that have talked to her since her first arrest and now this one.

Jessy shakes her head as she listens to the wailing of the fool woman who is so goddamn sure she can't control the world's parking. “Fucking fool, the state is slowly recovering from the electricity being off so long and she's got to move cars because she doesn't like where the owner parked them.”

The truck with the boxes of supplies for the bags arrives after the last of the graduation outfits have been walked out the door. Jessy and Illyana start bringing in the boxes and they start putting together layers.

“Things feel like they're getting back to normal.” Illyana says as she looks around the room.

“Yes, the prom and graduation outfits will be normal next year with everybody back to work for nearly a year, the bags are picking up again, they really want to start picking up the bags and dropping off the supplies every two months now, the power being off for so many people showed how much they're really needed.” The others nod. “They finally come up with the total for all the supplies they sent out . . .not including the fund for the loans to pay off cars and houses since that should be repaid.” The others nod. “and they're wailing when they compared it to what they'd have paid out if the boxes had started going out just as soon as people started announcing the lines were fried. . .it wasn't all that fool who was stunned the power companies hadn't got the power back on yet, it was also the fucking morons who wouldn't fucking listen to people and waited for their own damn expert to call them fucking liars.”

“It's also the fools who didn't bother to follow up on the orders to start sending out the boxes to make sure they were actually going out.” Rupert says from the door of the shop. He nods in satisfaction at the boxes against one wall and Illyana and Jessy putting together layers. Jubilee comes back from the other room where she'd been working on outfits and takes the pile when it gets big enough, taking it over to her station and starts to work. Shrugging Jessy and Illyana keep working, soon having the table full of piles of layers to be quilted. Paige is busy laying out pieces for the straps and starting to stitch them together.

“Since they plan on picking up and delivering every two months, are the orders increasing?”

“Yeah, half again what they are now and they plan on adding more bags, the patterns will be revealed the end of the year.” Jessy says. “the supply of bags really took a hit, they were used for everything while the power was out.” Everybody nods, they'd seen the bags in use everywhere. Both during the power outage and afterwards.

“Are you ready to start two shifts again?”

“Yeah, I already announced it would be back to two shifts just as soon as we finish these garments. And that won't be too long, we've only got a dozen containers yet to open.” Rupert nods in satisfaction. “Guys, listen up.” Everybody turns to look at her.

“We'll need more patterns.”

“Do we have everything we need?”

“Yep, I picked up more plastic and more envelopes. A couple solid Sundays of work and we'll have all the patterns we need.”

“X-cto blades?”

“I have three cases in the back. I also have three more cases of scissors too.” Rupert nods in satisfaction as Betty comes out of the other room and grabs a container, laying everything out and starting to cut. He leaves them to their work and heads off to talk to the other stores.

Jessy yawns as she looks out the window of her home the next evening, the wind is picking up and while this isn't a hurricane it's a good wind and would have power out in a lot of places if the lines weren't already fried. Making a mental note to see if any of the power companies have plans to start tearing down the wires or if they're going to leave them up there to rot until new line is installed.

“No, I haven't heard anything about the fried lines being taken down. . .that would make sense.” Larry drawls the next morning at breakfast when Jessy asks the question to the room. Pulling out her phone, and walking to the hallway at Rupert's look, she calls the New York House.

“Nope, the fried lines haven't been taken down there either.”

“Figures, they plan on replacing the old line with the new when they get it.”

“And they won't get it for years.”

“Oh, it would take too much money to go out, remove all the fried lines, then go back out again and rewire everything. It will be cheaper to take it down and rewire it at the same time.” Somebody says from another table. Everybody snorts but nods.

“Unless they blubber and whine and talk the state or local governments into paying for it. Because they're not making money hand over fist with so much of the country on the boxes.” Someone snorts from another table. Nods from everybody else.

“I'm sure they're already passing on some of the losses to their other customers. And I heard rumors from one of the engineers in town that they have to inspect all their machinery and lines now in a vain. . .and all too fucking late, attempt to make sure another surge doesn't take out the rest of the power grid.” Scott snorts. Everybody in the cafeteria nods again.

Three weeks later Max grins as he picks up the last of the completed order and sees boxes of completed bags going out to the POD.

“You're going like gangbusters.”

“The government wants every bag we can finish as soon as possible.” Faith says. She yelps when he hugs her. “Dammit, I told Jessy you're like an octopus when you hug somebody.” Max just laughs, he's heard that same complaint from his family many a time. He gives her a look and she shows off baby pictures. “She's adorable.”

“Yes, Andrew's silently freaking at the thought of three teenage girls in fourteen years.” everybody sniggers.

“Did Andrew get in contact with his friend?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark offered him a job right away. His former employers are sulking. . .they didn't realize that getting rid of that section would lose them so many patents and money.” The company that had brought out his former employer had gone on a massive cost-cutting spree and they'd been stunned to find the so-called dead wood was among the more profitable ventures in the company. . .it just hadn't got the massive notice that what they'd brought the company in the first place for had gotten. Everybody had gotten other jobs very quickly and they were left begging to be allowed to use the patents they'd figured they were buying the use of when they brought the company.

“Cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

“Yep. Like the rest of us he doesn't have to work and the knowledge that their company could have got the prestige of having his patents come from the time he worked there will be killing them. Plus the fact that no matter how much they tried putting the clause in the contracts, the patents still belong to the people who created it, not the company they worked for when it was created.”

“Bastards.”

“Oh yes, they're getting a lot of second or third looks from people they're trying to get to come to work for them, they're frantically backing away from the stance that they own the patents. . .oh no, it was somebody else who tried slipping that clause into the contracts when they brought the company, some unnamed person who had overstepped his authority and is no longer an employee of the company.”

“And everybody believes that sssuuuuurrrreeee. Because if it really was a former employee they'd be plastering the name all over the place. And opening themselves up to a major lawsuit.” Jessy drawls. Max grins and hands over the envelope he pulls from his pocket before getting in the truck and driving off.

“The kids head off for Kate's graduation from university?”

“Yep, and she's already got the letter saying she's accepted to law school this fall. Thankfully her school was one of those that didn't get shut down thanks to the power outage.” Faith says as they all walk to the main building after Jessy's locked the doors.

“Yeah, the students who had their schooling delayed thanks to that worthless school in Miami. . .” Jessy slaps her head and makes a call to her finance guy. “As I was saying, their schooling got delayed another year by the power outage since the school didn't open.”

“What were you thinking. . .we all know that look on your face.” Faith snorts.

“Seeing if the old campus was up for sale yet and if it was if we could pick it up rather cheaply.”

Rupert is looking at her, silently asking the why question on everybody's mind. “If the buildings are good, it could become the Davison school of textiles, Miami campus.” He makes a hmmm sound. “We could turn it into a lot of things, Josette Grover says an old state hospital near where she used to live in her original dimension was turned into condos and stores. Like the school, it was more than one building.”

She gets a call an hour later.

“Nope, not for sale yet, the former college is still tied up in a number of lawsuits.” She tells Rupert.

“Yes, they're trying to declare bankruptcy on their terms, keeping their assets from both the bankruptcy court and any of their former students if they get judgments in the civil cases.” One of the house's lawyers says as he walks past where the two are talking in the hallway. “I'm sure they're funneling money away into hidden accounts so if they do lose, they don't lose it all.”

“Just like a ponzi scheme when it's all going to hell.”

“Yep.”

Faith brings out the first container of patterns as Jessy settles behind the counter as the others gather either at the stacked containers or at the door to the stockroom. Grinning Jessy brings out the first notebook and reads off the outfit, Faith grinning as she grabs the pattern and the fabric, rolls of lace, ribbon, and other stuff is brought out.

It takes two weeks but they have a wall of containers full and settle back down to work. The schools in the state that were open are closed and everybody is busy getting in supplies for the next school year.

A couple days later she walks back into the library at Stark, nothing needs to be done but she should be there to earn that paycheck she gets she thinks. She'd talked to Mr. Stark last night about there not being any textbook expos until the next year but there should be some new books about the power outages soon. Whether they were worth the paper they were printed on she'd snorted and in New York Mr. Stark had nodded. He'd been the focus of a number of books that weren't worth the paper the papernational Guard they were written on. They'd quickly been pulled from the shelves when the magic words 'libel laws' were uttered by his lawyers.

Most publishers had tried to keep producing but with so many stores shut down they realized they'd be piling up stock. Now that everybody had power again thanks to the boxes print runs were starting up again and new stock was making it to stores. Same with DVDS, though movie premieres had come and gone as theaters that had still been open got the new movies while those who reopened after the power came back on looked at all the lost income and put in insurance claims.

Jessy slumps onto a couch in the hallway of the House a couple weeks later, taking off her shoes and rubbing her feet.

“How was your rheumatologist appointment?” Rupert asks.

“A lot better than people who needed treatments like dialysis and chemo.” Jessy snorts. “I was still able to get my pills thanks to the National Guard and while all the damn 'the power is still off' drama didn't help my stress levels there's no more damage on the x-rays than there was before the power outage. ”

“That's good. . .especially after that bad flareup a few years ago.” Jessy takes the slippers Jenny hands her and walks to the cafeteria with the others after she grabs her mail.

“I've been lucky, it's been years since I had such a bad flare-up and if I had to have RA, it was decent enough not to affect my hands so I can continue to work, I've heard of people having to go on disability since it affected their work. I can always sew and design outfits in a wheelchair.” The others nod.

Jessy looks at the two opened letters, then at Rupert.

“Some absolute fool who was trying to sue because you didn't bury your mother in couture like she wanted. She was actively involved in your mother's burial and you went behind her back and didn't buy the outfit she had picked out. She wanted the money that your mother had been setting aside for the outfit back. We talked to the lawyer and he was very apologetic that he had the wrong people, your mother was not named Lynette Michaels and she had died nearly 23 years ago, not six months.”

Jessy snorts. “If there was a woman who wasn' t buried in the outfit she picked out, why didn't they say something at the funeral? Even the old Bertha better than you biddies would have been making a fuss at the funeral. You wouldn't have been able to hear the preacher for all the hissing and whispering.”

“Yes, this is a young attorney just out of school and hasn't learned yet to investigate claims to make sure they're factual.”

“And this second letter?”

“That little fool who was having you make outfits for him, he's trying to claim he owns your designs. You'll notice the name on the letter is not the lawyer who was out here, I called him and he's probably still yelling at the fool. The little bastard's looking at prison time since he attacked his psychologist for daring to tell him he couldn't have everything he wanted.”

“Moron deserves to be in prison then, the other cons won't put up with his bullshit.” Jessy mutters. “And I'm sure Fred is telling the real movers and shakers in the industry what the little bastard tried to do, they will all be talking bad about the miserable little fool.”

“That above all will hurt him the most.” Rupert says dryly. Jessy snickers and nods. “Little fucker will bleat mental illness because he thinks it will get him out of trouble, otherwise he'd be huffing that there's nothing wrong with him.” the others nod.

“Has anybody heard rumors about some fool wanting to bring in parking meters everywhere in Marley?” Somebody asks at another table.

“Yeeesssssss.” Andrew says dryly. Rupert looks at him in disbelief. “I heard the wailing when I was at the post office to get a package weighed. Some fool was wailing about all the lots in town, if the city council turns them into pay by the day lots. . .yes, including Stark and stores and put parking meters on all the streets the money will come rolling in for the city. The mayor tossed the fool out on his ear saying their parking was just fine the way it was and he ran off wailing . ..how can Marley not want his precious parking plan?”

“Idiot.”

“Sounds like the same damn fool at the doctor's office who was wailing about the parking lot and how much money the city could be making. Who cares if this is a doctor's office. . .people not paying for their parking spots? That's fucking criminal.” Jessy mock-bleats.

“Oh dear god, isn't parking bad enough at the mall now.” Paige mutters. “Fucking paying for the day or having to deal with meters. . .”

“Amen. I'm sure the fucker works for a company that supplies parking meters, if he gets huge orders he'll quickly make his way up the ladder.”

“Sounds like it. God fucking forbid he actually work to get ahead.” Larry drawls. Then he gets up, walks out to the hallway to stretch and yawn.

“I suggest you go to bed early tonight, the office will survive without you.”

Jessy's head lifts up and she looks around. “Rupert.” She points at a window and Rupert and Adam stare that way, seeing a man there with a gas container in his arm. They quickly shield themselves and descend on him, tying him up tight and opening the windows and doors to get fresh air into the room. Jessy calls security and they come running into the room.

“Goddamn fool, what the fuck did he think would happen?” Jessy scowls. “There's a great big opening across the room. Gas would never knock us out, there's too much air coming into the room.”

“It's too big for a single tank anyway.”

“Needless to say, the house is on lockdown. If you don't have a session tonight, box up your food and go home. In groups.” Jessy calls. Rupert nods. “If you do have a session, bunk down upstairs.” On one of the upper levels is several dorm style rooms meant for emergencies.

“Maintenance is waiting outside to take everybody to their homes.” Scott says from the doorway. “We'll deliver you by apartment building or houses.”

“Bloody fool.” Rupert says later that night.

“Do we know who he was after?”

“No, he's either refusing to answer or he doesn't know.”

“Since the little fool only had one tank and could see the big opening in the other wall. . .I'd say the latter. Security is backtracking him trying to find out where he came from and where he scaled the wall. We're going to be putting up sensors to keep that from happening again.”

“Yes.”

“The fucking governor? He was hired by the damn governor?” Jessy asks a few days later.

“Oh yes, he was going to hold people hostage here until we turned the power box business over to him. . .with that money his budget would be restored and he could lord it over the others governors in the area.

“Goddamn moron.” Larry mutters.

“Yes, he was stunned to find himself arrested, blustering that we should have given it to him. . .he's the governor.” Rupert drawls the last word. “Needless to say, he's not getting any support from the state government, they're in the process or removing him from office. He's not getting any support from his cronies in big business, they know he could easily have targeted them.”

“How did he find out we owned the power facility?”

“He wasn't sure who owned it, he's heard hints that we had unlimited power and that meant we had the boxes first. If we didn't know who did it, there's enough millionaires and billionaires out here to make it worth his while while he still looked for the goose that laid the golden eggs.”

“For himself no doubt, screw the budget.”

“That was my thought as well. Both our . . .interloper and the soon to be former governor are both wailing in jail that nobody would be hurt.”

“Oh somebody would have been hurt. . .that asswipe.” Jessy snorts. “Because there's enough knives and heavy pans in the kitchen to put the hurt to ten people, let alone that fool.”

“Shut up you goddamn fucking moron.” The governor's lawyer snaps. He gives him a hurt look, why is he yelling at him. “Dear gods fool, what the hell were you thinking having somebody go on their grounds to hold people hostage so you could get the money from the power boxes? Gods, you don't even know they own the power facility.”

“But the budget. . .” he wails. “If they don't own the boxes they know who does.”

“And what goddamn concern of it is yours?”

“But my budget. . .”

“Shut the hell up about your goddamn budget. Dear gods moron, the budget has been falling apart for years because of the damn bad hurricanes, the power outage was the straw that broke the camel's back. The government has a damn fund that you could have applied to to help with the losses from the power outage.”

“But they wanted an accounting of everything and I'd have had to pay it back.”

“Fucking fool, toss his ass in prison and leave him there to rot.” His own lawyer says later that day at a hearing. “Moron won't stop wailing about his precious budget, he wouldn't apply to the fund that would have given him some of that money back, they wanted an accounting of how it would be spent and they actually would have made him pay the money back.”

“Oh the humanity.” One of the others mock-warbles. An older man looks at him. “Please, that's the kind of fool that he is. None of us voted for the fool.”

“Yes, he's wailing about his precious budget, money should be rolling in so he can skim money off the top. He can't do that with the fund, they wanted an accounting of every penny.”

“Harvey. . .just because you think he's a crook. . .” a man says sternly.

“Oh no, he admitted he took money from the budget. . .the state doesn't pay him enough.” He mock-blubbers. “He dipped into any number of funds over the years to pay for something he wanted. It's not illegal is it? It is?”

“Yes, he's being charged with that as well, he was wailing that with the budget so far in the red he won't be able to buy a new speedboat or take a vacation or. . .” he lists a half-dozen other things the moron would have taken money from the budget to buy.

“Oh dear god.”

“Oh yes, if he had the money from the boxes, he'd be able to replace the state budget, thumb his nose at the federal government, and have everything he ever wanted. If the people he was targeting didn't own the business, they would no doubt know who did. There was also enough millionaires and billionaires out there to make it worth the effort of lowering himself to hire that fucking fool. Because they have children and would no doubt give him money to make sure the children weren't harmed.”

“That was a cafeteria, there were knives and other items there they would have used against him for threatening their children.”

“Oh please, that's why he had the gas cylinder. It's just that we was a goddamn fool and didn't see that huge archway across from the window that was keeping the gas from affecting them.”

“And one cylinder wouldn't have affected them unless he got the tank right in their faces and turned the nozzle.” Another man snorts. “There was at least fifty people in that room, he'd never have been able to get everybody.”

“No, but this sounds like one of the fool's grand gestures. Reality never factors into them.”

“Goddamn moron, I hope the hell the bastards that voted for him realize how big a mistake they made.”

“Oh please, idiots never learn. That's why so many people are bleating about that fool Bush.”

“Rupert, are we adding more cameras to the woods?”

“Motion activated cameras and lights, with a pre-recorded message saying they were trespassing. We'll make it human height so an animal won't activate them.” The others nod.

Jessy yawns as she wanders up the stairs to the second floor of the seamstress shop and looks in on the machines. Almost as if he'd heard her thinking about him Rupert comes up the stairs.

“Faith said that she thinks you need to increase your yarn order?”

“Yeah, I'm getting more requests for socks. Even here because god knows some places think that the damn air conditioning needs to be down to below freezing levels.”

Rupert snorts but nods. Jessy hands over the plans she'd been working on, followed by a list of the socks she can make with the more advanced machines. He nods and she sends off the order.

“What are your plans for this floor?” He asks as she crooks a finger for him to follow her as she heads up to the third floor. It had been originally meant for storage and is now used for overflow storage and other stuff.

“I was thinking of getting a loom. We don't need to make our own fabric. . .yet, but the school is dropping hints.” Rupert snickers. “Oh, did you talk to the pottery about tiles?”

“Yes, and they're buying extra for the flea market. It should sell well.” Jessy smirks and brings up a couple files from her ship, Rupert moaning as he looks them over.

“Yes, that's thousands of sock machines. Josette started out with one sock machine and a couple boxes of yarn. . .” Jessy tells the rest of the story and he shakes his head. “Becka says they're going to be putting up a building for knitting machines on the grounds of the business she runs, along with soapmaking buildings, candlemaking buildings, a building of 3D printers for them damn mini-me figurines. . .among other stuff I hope, a pottery and a building to make plastic clay. . .and she says the government is buying thousands of tiles.”

“Oh dear lord, I won't complain about the tiles the pottery is buying then.” He snorts.

“Becka says the government is full of morons spending money just to spend money.”

“Yes, that's human nature. Even with all the problems they've had in their dimension. . .I can't say anything, not after that fool former governor tried stealing the boxes so he got the money from them. He'd be able to thumb his nose at everybody else, buy anything he wanted, and oh so graciously pass along some of it to the budget.” Rupert sighs.

“Which he'd take right back as soon as he could with his damn 'skimming' money anywhere he wanted. Then he'd blubber because his precious budget kept going over. Not because of anything they were doing, but because the bastard was taking the money for his fleet of boats, his cars. . .”

“Oh yes, the judge was not happy when he finally had to admit how much money he'd taken from the state budget, it amounted to millions of dollars. And of course they'll never get it back. The money has been spent and everything was 'lost' when he was regretfully robbed.”

“Bullcrap.”

“Oh yes, but since they can't prove he moved his money and belongings before he was arrested any more than they can prove how much money he actually stole in the first place. I fully expect that he'll get out of a 'club fed' prison and when he got out he would disappear to wherever his ill-gotten gains are stashed and live out a life of luxury. His megamansion home isn't in his name so they can't seize it.”

Jessy sighs but nods. They walk down to the first floor and outdoors. This is a Sunday so nobody's at work but maintenance is busy upgrading the security systems to make sure another event doesn't happen. The other houses are looking at their security systems and upgrading them if necessary. They shouldn't have the same reason for updating their security, but better safe than sorry. Jessy knows the school is looking at their own security.

“Do you have a loom?”

“Yes, there's several in the stuff the school picked up at the sale. The school was looking for a reason to send me at least one of them.” Rupert snickers despite himself as Scott comes up with the golf cart and drives them to the main house.

Jessy leans against Rupert as she punches in the number for the school one-handed, getting the answering machine and leaving a message. She ends the call and looks up at the sky. “We're going to have one hell of a storm coming in.”

“Yes, the forecast was just updated when I came out. The storm changed direction and now they're saying it's going to go right up the coast. We're not expecting more than wind and rain but they figure it will be a couple days before it gets out of the state.”

“Well, if the lines are down it will be a damn incentive for the power companies to get off their asses and remove them.” Xander snorts as he gets on the running board of the golf cart and grabs one of the poles holding the cover on for the trip. The others snort but nod.

“Has the factories started making line again?”

“Yes, but it will be at least several years until they can start laying line again. And that's in areas that didn't have power plants and substations fry.” Scott says. “We're very lucky in that our power plant didn't fry and the new plant wasn't affected.”

“Going to be longer for those places, they gotta come up with the money for them. I'm sure the idiot owners are trying to get the taxpayers to pay for the new plants but city councils either won't put them on the ballot or the voters will say 'screw you, we don't need your plant now' in droves since they got a steady supply of power thanks to the boxes.”

“Did we get another order for the boxes for more natural disasters?” Methos asks later that night after dinner.

“No, but I expect to after the government takes stock of what supplies they still have on hand.”

“How much of the US is on the boxes?”

“About fifty-eight percent now, it was twenty-seven percent before the outage.”

“Are any other countries having the same trouble with their grids that we did?”

“I'm afraid so, smart countries are learning from the problems we had and are focusing on alternative renewable sources of power. I'd offer them to other countries but I can see people sneering about the 'uppity yanks' coming in trying to push their weight around.”

“Of course, because they didn't do it themselves.” Methos drawls. “Stupidity isn't just limited to the United States. If the power goes out, let them come begging to us.” Rupert nods. “How are the gardens coming along?”

“Good, we planted extra to can or dry to have on hand. Because all of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Are we still going to be getting in extra supplies once we can?”

“Yes. Because as you said, we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop. And unlike the rest of the world, we know that even with the power back on, it's not over.”

Larry comes running into the office and fumbles for the remote. Methos grabs it. “CNN?” He nods. There's a commercial on right now. “Massive power outage in England, early estimates is the whole country is without power.” He says at their looks.

“The other shoe just dropped. Their power grid is old and has been failing for years.” Methos sighs.

“Yes, and they don't have the alternate power options we do.” Rupert sighs.

“Is there any boxes out there?”

“Yes, I have land out there and the buildings have boxes, so does Adam.”

The next morning Scott looks at Jessy then the other parents in the room. “Okay, this is a stupid question but do we have godparents for the kids?”

“Officially no, but we've all got paperwork set up to give custody of them to the other parents and then the House.” The others nod. “Because we all know there's morons out there who would swoop in to try to take the kids to get our money, even before that asshole.” Nods again. “We don't want the kids to be afraid but we want them to know that some people might not like them and try to hurt them.” Nods again. “What any parent has to tell their children anymore.” Phillip sighs.

“Okay, has anybody been listening to the news?” Rupert asks, standing up. “I told Kiara this earlier in case she's personally affected but there was a massive power outage last night in England. Most of the country is without power.”

“Stupid bitch tries to escape I hope they shoot her.” Kiara mutters.

“Has your extended family tried contacting you yet?”

“Hopefully the bloody fools have better things to do, they didn't contact me when the power went out here.” Kiara snorts.

“Are we looking at selling more boxes?”

“Not right now, the government is no doubt frantically trying to find out what the problem is. The power grid there is worse off than ours. Like Hawaii they can't really build more plants.”

“And with the bad weather solar panels don't really provide all that much power.”

Rupert nods.

“Are you bloody stupid?” A man bellows in England, glaring at a subordinate who'd had the 'splendid' idea to call in the extended members of the Royal family for a photo op. “Some of those people live in other countries, they're not going to drop everything and fly in. The damn airports are closed anyway.”

“They. . .they are?” He whimpers.

“Yes moron, they're closed. There's no fucking power and all incoming flights in and out have been canceled. We're too damn busy trying to get people food, water, and other supplies to worry about the others, they have lives of their own.”

“But they're members of the Royal family, it's their duty to be here.” he bleats. Then gulps at the look of pure hatred on his boss's face. “Maybe we can spin it that they're busy with their own duties that need attention?”

“Maybe we can spin it that nobody gives a shit about people they don't know who the fuck they are because they're busy trying to get food and water you bloody little fool.” His boss bellows. “Now get that fucking idea out of your head right now and go do something useful, like clean up dog shit in the park.”

“Damn fool, was he expecting everybody to rally around them like the country did during the war?” A man snorts as he hurries off.

“Probably. Or more likely rally around him because he came up with the idea. Moron doesn't realize. . .yes, we were at war and there was rationing. But we had electricity, radio, and running water we could get out and work. Instead of sitting in cold flats eating cold canned food because that's all we can do. Okay, how bad off are we?”

“I've been going through the list of essential services. And we're way beyond bad. We're into catastrophic.”

“Are you fucking stupid? No, you can't sue the people who you tried stealing their children for false arrest.” The former governor's lawyer says in disgust. “Dear god, how fucking stupid are you?”

“But I didn't get the power boxes.” he whines.

“Too fucking bad. You tried to steal it and you lost your big bid to be somebody.”

“But I'm going to be in prison for at least twenty years.”

“Too bad, your own damn fault.”

“But they're the reason I'm in here.” he wails.

“Your damn greed is the reason you're in there.”

“But why won't you make them give me their money?” He wails as his lawyer walks away.

“Because it's their money, not yours. Moron.”

“But the state budget. . .” He wails.

“Wouldn't have been as bad off as it is if you hadn't been stealing from it.”

“But they didn't pay me enough money for everything I wanted.” he wails as the door opens behind him and he's dragged back off to the hellhole that's his jail cell.

“Idiot.”

In another jail cell a woman is wailing brokenheartedly as her ex-husband and daughters have flatly refused to have anything to do with her. If she was a better human being she'd have to admit that she was the reason that her family didn't want anything to do with her. But since she's not she's been railing about everybody treating her so horribly, her younger daughter didn't deserve to be going to that school across the country. . .she should have gone to a nearby school and liked it. Her older daughter should have had a better job, she's embarrassed to have to admit to anybody where her daughter works. Her ex-husband is not only not begging her forgiveness, he's got on with his life.

“Shut up you fucking miserable bitch.” A voice yells. “We're tired of hearing your damn wailing. You're a miserable excuse for a human being who should have been beaten to death years ago.” The chorus is brought up by other prisoners and she sobs because everybody is being mean to her.

“Fucking fool.” A guard snorts. “Thank god this is the last night we have to listen to her weeping and wailing.” She'd been found guilty and sentenced to fifty years to life in prison for all the charges and would be moved in the morning. Everybody is of the mind that she'd end up dying in prison.

“But they were parking all over. . .not where I wanted them to park.” she continues to wail as she's led off the prison bus and goes through the humiliating process of intake and walked to her new cell.

“Goddamn fucking fool.” Her younger daughter mutters as she prepares to register for her first grad school class.

“Your mother?” Her teacher asks. He knows she was convicted in a quick trial. She'd tried pleading not guilty but since the prosecution had video footage of her misdeeds. . .

“Fifty years to life for all the charges, everybody figures she'll die in prison. She's still wailing about how badly she's being treated. I ran away to another state to get away from her, The school was so mean, they didn't believe her blubbering story about how I faked her signature on the check for my tuition. . .if the story was real she'd have been in touch with them long ago. So would the police.” Her teacher nods. “Thank god the school saw that I was on a partial scholarship, that grants, work-study, and that my education fund was paying the rest. There was no big huge ginormous check for my tuition. The stupid woman tried to get my older sister fired from her job by calling in a complaint. Since my sister wasn't at work that day the case was quickly dropped.”

“Why the hell did she do that?” Another student asks.

“Ohhhh, your job is embarrassing me. How can I hold my head up when you work. . .there.” she drawls. “My sister works at a large bank. . .not out front but in one of the offices on the upper floor. She doesn't deal with the public.”

“Oh dear god.”

“Oh yes. Miserable fool. Of course this is the same fool who tried getting people removed from a cafe because they weren't dressed the way she wanted them dressed, the owners of the business tossed her out on her ass and told her not to bother returning. She tried suing them for not kissing her ass and no lawyer would even listen to her complete story, tossing her ass out of their offices. That was when she was trying to tell patrons at the mall where to park.”

“Did she have a stroke or. . .”

“Some sort of mental deficiency to explain her actions? No, I wish. Having a mother who couldn't control her actions was preferable to having an absolute bitch of a mother.” She's up next and registers for her classes, heading to the bookstore to get her supplies and heading back home to her apartment.

Kiara walks into the lab at Stark the next morning, the cooler with their lunch going in the corner of the room.

“Did that fool try getting you to return to England to be a damn puppet for the royal family during the power outage again?”

“Yes, and I told him bluntly to shove it up his useless ass, I had much better things to do than dance attendance to his wishes. . .like scrub the bathroom toilet.” Jesse sniggers. “He huffed that I had to do what he wanted, I told him the hell I did. He told me he'd call INS and they'd return me, I told him I was a United States citizen and you could hear his boss yelling at him in the background. He got on the phone and apologized to me, he'd told the fucking fool to leave the royal family alone. . .we had better things to do than pose for photo ops. . .that would go nowhere since there was no way to print newspapers, there was no damn television or radio . . .yes the Queen had her talks during WWII but while they had rationing they had electricity, radio, jobs. . .” both men nod as she turns on the computer. “Last time he told him to go pick up dog shit in the park, this time he told him to go clean up pigeon poop off statues with a toothbrush. Fucking fool thinks everybody's going to flock around him for getting us there, he said something about spinning it that we had duties where we were, his boss said how about spinning it nobody gives a crap about people they don't know, they're too busy trying to get food and water.”

“And thank god it's not winter yet.”

“Yeah. They're trying to get supplies sent out but there's only so much and with the entire damn country without power. . .”

“Nobody's making stuff to send out.”

“The economy is already faltering, there's no money to get in supplies from other countries. Even if they had power they couldn't print more money, that would lead to massive inflation. If they borrow the money to buy stuff they have to pay it back. . .”

“And it's going to be worse before it gets better. Is the government making any effort to get power back on?”

“Not that I've seen or heard, but somebody's going to have to start doing something before it gets winter or people start dying from bad food and water. And prisons will be going through their supplies rather quickly.”

Rupert puts down his phone and leans back in his chair. “Jessy, are you there?” He'd heard her swearing before the call.

“Yeah, just ignoring calls from that fool's lawyer about 'are you sure you won't turn the design over to my client? He said he did some of the work'. Fucking moron, he's new and trying to use this as a way to make a name for himself. Dumb fucker is quickly learning the fool has pulled this shit with others. That's how he thought he could get away with pulling this shit with me, unfortunately for him I'm a stubborn little shit and I don't take crap from anybody. . .watcha need?”

“The government in England finally. . .”

“Pulled their thumb out and admitted they aren't going to be able to fix the power problems? Jeez, it's only been six weeks since they finally admitted they can't get the power back on. They've already got to be getting pretty cold.”

“Indeed. They contacted the US government and we are working on getting the boxes out to them and setting up a new bank account where their payments will go. First from the government then individuals as people start getting back to work.. It will be a while, we'll need to bring out at least two dozen more warehouses of boxes, beyond what the US is looking into having on hand for more disasters.”

“Are you fucking stupid?” Kiara says in an icy tone that makes the man on the other end gulp. Especially because he can see his boss coming his way under a full head of steam. “No, there is no fucking way I am coming back to England to fucking hand out power boxes. You just want a fucking photo op and there's still no way for you to get the picture out to the people you want kissing your fucking arse.” She ends the call, wishing that it had been one of the house's phones so she had the satisfaction of slamming the phone down in his ear.

“But she's a member of the royal family. .she should be here.” he wails as his boss rails at him

Rupert looks at Kiara when she returns to the cafeteria. “That fucking fool who wants me back in England for a damn photo op since I'm a 'member of the royal family'.” she drawls. “Having members of the Royal family handing out power boxes to affected citizens will be a splendid photo.”

“One, you live in the US, there's no commercial flights going into the island since the damn airports are closed, and two. . .” Rupert sighs.

“Nobody fucking knows who the bloody hell I am. If he wants a fucking photo op he'd be better off getting celebrities to do it. And three. . .there's still no fucking way to get the damn photos out once the damn things are taken.” Kiara snorts. “Fucking fool wants everybody to flock to him and kiss his ass. . .he figures on using that to get a better job in the government.”

“Isn't that why most of them go into government in the first place?” Jessy snorts. “Or go into some other area where they can think they can get people to kiss their useless asses until somebody with brains kicks it.”

“That fool?” Rupert asks, looking at her.

“Wailing in a jail cell that it's not fair I was allowed to keep aaaalllllll my designs. He could have given me money. . .eventually. Bastard's stunned that not only would the judge not force me to give him my designs, he asked if I wanted his shit. And it is shit, the fool was grasping at straws to try to keep his head above water, he thinks he's all that but he's a damn poser.”

“Guys, listen up. We're expecting a new hurricane bearing down the coast in a couple weeks.”

“So get in leisure activities and get used to being inside for a while?” A voice sighs from a nearby table.

“That's why everybody should have a good supply of DVDS and other leisure activities.” Phillip says. “For times like these. We'll still have satellite tv, internet, and radio. This far away from the initial storm we shouldn't lose the signal.”

Jessy gets a phone call and nods even though whoever's on the other end can't see her. She makes another call and comes back into the cafeteria. “The courts ordered the school sold, much to the dismay of the former administration who were praying everybody would ignore the bad publicity and they'll be able to reopen it. I told my financial guy to put in an interest claim and called Janice to see if it would work as the new Davison campus. That's if the buildings don't need so much work it's not worth it.” The others nod.

“Amanda wants to talk to you after dinner.”

“Okay, I've been expecting it.” Amanda had dropped in a couple times to drop off deeds and pick up more bearer bonds during the power outage. She's trying not to feel like she's preying on people who lost everything to the power outages but she knows Amanda wouldn't do that. She'd told them about the fund she'd set up with some of the bonds to loan money to people who needed it at little to no interest. Not one of the loans has gone bad once the power was back on.

Jessy smirks and heads off in her ship a couple nights later with Methos and Amanda.

“That's mean.” Methos smirks as he sees where they are.

“Dumb fucker said everything had been stolen. . .he didn't know how right he was.” Jessy purrs.

“I taught you well.”

“I take don't take threats against my children or any of the others well.” Jessy says firmly.

Rupert shakes his head when he sees everything. “Fucker said everything was stolen, if he ever gets out he'll find out he was right. He doesn't deserve to wallow in what he stole from the citizens of Florida.”

“No, no he doesn't.”

“Okay, enough about me helping myself to that fool's ill-gotten gains.” She looks at Rupert, then Methos, and finally Amanda. “Has anybody been making plans in case we get a major disaster in the area? The earthquake and the power outage is living proof that anything can happen and while things were better here than it was elsewhere. . .”

“Yes, we need to make plans. Hurricanes are getting worse.” Rupert sighs. “When factories start producing again, we plan on getting in more orders and everything in on the replicators.”

“Yes, I've got copies of what is on the others replicators from trips out to Haven. Now. . .beyond the other dimension, do we have a place to go? I don't see us going to Mars or the moon. Let alone a place like Haven.”

Methos and Amanda look at her while Rupert sighs, takes off his glasses, and finally nods. The tell us now look is unmistakable and between the two of them the whole story is told. “If we have to live under a dome, I'd rather it be here on Earth where if something happens we don't die.” Methos nods.

“Yes, our Mars is like most, not able to sustain life. Terraforming Mars or the moon would take decades.”

“Yes, Haven and the other planets were terraformed and waiting for them when Josette and the others had to start moving off their Earth. When are you due to make your next trip out?”

“During lockdown for the next hurricane coming through, they already know I probably won't be coming out with the babies so young. But if we're going to be under lockdown I might go out to get the hell away from all the rain. If I do, I'll bring back information on terraforming planets.” They look at her and she tells them about the 9th planet Earth and then the Earth that had been transformed into a garbage dump. “Now both those planets started out with a planet that had an atmosphere.” They nod.

“Again if we gotta live under a dome. . .”

“Awww fuck.” Jessy moans. She waves a hand at them. “No, I just saw a planet covered by hundreds of domes linked to each other by tunnels.” The others shudder but nod as they see it themselves.

“Nope, if it ever gets that bad, we're off to the other dimension.” Rupert sighs.

“Dr. Giles.” Mayor Watson smiles a week later.

“I'm sorry to bother you, I know you're as busy as I am getting everything ready for the coming hurricane.”

“Yes.” He sighs. “Thank god we're never in a direct path for a hurricane.”

Rupert sighs. “Yes, though the earthquake warned us we're not out of total danger.”

“There is that. . .unfortunately. I've been working on plans for a mega disaster, the earthquake and being without power for so long is telling people who might have poo-pooed my plans before that they need to make their own.”

“Yes, I've been working on my own plans for such an occurrence. Plan for the worst and pray . . .”

“for the best. Oh yes.” Rupert excuses himself and heads back to the House, a truck pulling in behind him as Xander, Jesse, and Andrew get out of the truck. The gate opens again and Jessy's van pulls into the parking area.

“Getting in leisure activities?”

“Yeah, we stopped a number of places.” Jessy sighs as she gets out of the van with Betty. “This is our last trip out before the hurricane blows through. This far we shouldn't get more than wind and rain but there's always the chance of a tornado.” The others nod.

“Awwwww. . .fuck!” Kiara moans.

“That fool wanting you to return to England for a photo op?”

“No, that bloody fool finally got his leash yanked hard enough even he realizes he can't keep on pulling his stupid shit. No, rumor is it that there's been a number of deaths in the extended royal family thanks to the power outage. Nothing official yet. Which means I'll probably have to make a trip out next year after things get back to normal and some fool starts bleating that we need to swear fealty to the throne again after the time of troubles or some such rot.” Kiara waves a hand and everybody snickers. “We pledge our allegiance to the throne and not the person currently sitting on it since we've had some stinkers over the centuries.”

“Same thing here except we're stupid enough to elect ours.” Xander snorts.

“Jessy, closet.”

“Ahhh yes, more 'distributions'.” Jessy drawls. “I'll sort through everything while we're on lockdown.” Rupert nods.

“Any word on when the power boxes are going out to England?”

“The first shipment is due to be delivered in eight days, thankfully the bases they're flying out of aren't in the hurricane's path. We figure on it taking ten shipments to get enough boxes to England for every building. When we're not shipping boxes we're shipping gasoline since all the tanks are no doubt empty.”

“And the trucks delivering the boxes will need gas to deliver them.”

“And deliver other supplies.” Xander sighs.

The next week everybody is hunkering down in their homes with plenty of food and stuff to keep them occupied while the wind and rain from the hurricane start blowing through. Jessy spends a day going through the massive pile of envelopes and shakes her head.

The storm finally blows through and almost in unison windows and doors start being opened, Jessy starting to take down her shutters when the all clear sounds. She's not the only one taking care of her own building, letting maintenance handle the other buildings. A rapping on the door has her grinning and handing Arthur the empty containers, he puts them on the cart and takes them around the back of the cafeteria, filling the commercial dishwasher with the first of three loads of them. He's putting them away when the employees who live in town start to arrive and they nod in satisfaction before pulling out more of the food they'd made ahead and putting it in the ovens to warm.

“How is everybody here?”

“Stir crazy from being cooped in so long. Listening to the wind and rain and flipping channels on the tv to find something to do rather than sit there waiting for the all clears.”

Jessy stands up in the middle of the cafeteria and whistles shrilly. “Yo, parents.”

The others look at her. “Scouting?”

“I've got some qualms about boy scouts, their stand on homosexuality. . .” Larry says. The others nod.

“Yeah, me too. But I was talking to one of the women in town, they have a 'branch' that is open to boys and girls, you can get badges in both groups, you can advance through the ranks like you would in the other groups. I put the information on the server. It's under scouting.”

“Thank you Jessy.” Rupert says when she sits down.

“Jessy, did you manage to get through your disbursement envelopes?” Rupert asks later that night.

“Yes, and they're expanding things again. . .now I'm getting gift cards with receipts. A few thousand dollars to Amazon with hundred dollar gift cards. . .I was very careful to keep the receipts with the cards after I added them to my account, you keep hearing horror stories about them closing out accounts with large gift card amounts and keeping the money citing fraud.”

Rupert nods.

“I'd be surprised to find out if they're not involved in mortgages.”

“It would be a perfect way to launder money and the interest would be added to the accounts.” Rupert sighs.

Larry looks at the website for their toll pass, adding some money to the corporate account that pays for all the cards that go in the vehicles. Rupert gets the notice of the transaction on his computer and he nods. “I was going to say we were probably getting low.”

“Yeah, thankfully we were able to get a corporate account that linked all the stickers and cars instead of everybody having to have their own.”

“Much more convenient this way.”

Faith looks over at the tinkling of the bell over the door and blinks once, twice, and then a third time. It's a woman. . .the height while right for a crossdresser are definitely all female. No surgery could get them. And the hair. . .it flows up over her head and down her back to barely brush the floor. She's reminded of an old country singer her Ma used to like before she started drinking to excess.

“Is this Jessy Michael's place?”

“Yes, it is. Can I help you?”

“Is she here, I got a job for her. Tell her it's Greta, she knows me.”

Faith taps on the office door and Jessy looks out, grinning. “Greta, what's up?”

“I'm enrolled at a private university that has uniforms. Skirts or shorts. And. . .” she motions at her long legs.

“Any ready-made skirts, shorts, and even slacks don't take your long legs into consideration.”

“Nope, the one school I attended the long skirt barely covered my underwear, the short skirt didn't even do that. And rather than deal with the hassle of having everything altered or made over while I'm there. . .”

“You're getting everything done now.”

“Yeah, Josette was laughing her ass off because I've got three masters. . .and I'm going for a doctorate. . .and I'm going to be starting a bachelors. But Dad's making her attend school too.” Greta smirks.

Jessy sniggers. “Think she'll finally pass algebra?”

“Nope.” Greta smirks. “Only because she's already warned the school there was no way in Hell would she be able to pass the class. I think the teachers are going to take it as a challenge.”

“Okay. Fabrics?” Greta rattles them off and then holds up a hand when Jubilee heads to the back room. “I got the fabrics in the van.”

Xander, who isn't even pretending he wasn't eavesdropping, Sam Guthrie, and Sam Winchester bring it into the other building. Greta looks at the door, sighs, and walks outside, coming in a few minutes later dragging Josette behind her. “If I gotta go through this, you gotta go through this.” I just give her a look and Jessy and the others snigger.

“Shoes?” Jessy asks when Greta stands on the circle to be measured.

“Flat heels. Loafers or tennis shoes depending on whether we're in a classroom or the gym.” Greta says absently. Jessy is looking over the patterns and drawing out new ones as Greta and by extension Josette's measurements are called out. In addition to uniforms they'll need specialty workout gear and once Greta is measured she goes over to look at the books of dresses, Josette firmly shakes her head.

“Ain't no fucking way are you getting me dressing up to attend some fancy party.” I snort.

“Dad says you're going to some of them.”

“I'll fucking wear regular clothes and make it look like I'm dressed up.” I say fervently. “Ain't no way in Hell I'm going to be stuck both at some place I don't want to be and wearing that shit.” I look over at Jessy. “Not that I don't care if you make it.”

Jessy just waves a hand. “I don't wear that shit any more than I have to either.”