DISCLAIMER: Please read the disclaimer at the beginning of chapter one. It takes a lot of data to repeat them. J

Comments? xenakat98@yahoo.com

Chapter 16: (Ooh, Love to Love You Baby……)

After much tossing and turning, Kate settled back to sleep. Oddly enough, she awoke crying in her sleep, Jessie holding her tightly, and whispering soft, shaky words into her ear. Apparently they had both had a bad dream, but it was of no consequence. They returned to sleep, uninterrupted until the phone began to ring.

Shaking her head, and sitting up, the last shreds of deep sleep clinging to her, Kate reached out and grabbed the phone after the third ring. "Hullo? This is Kate. Yes, she’s here. She’s sleeping Ted. Oh, I see. Okay, I’ll wake her, and get her down there as soon as possible. Sorry, thanks."

Giggling despite herself, Kate realized that she had just told Ted, the show’s director, that Jessica Ryan was sleeping at her house. It would be interesting to hear the buzz on the set, once this little tidbit got out. Turning back to her still sleeping companion, Kate reached out and softly traced a finger along the edge of Jessie’s face, from forehead to chin. Barely disturbing the fine hairs that covered her soft skin, she worked her way up the other side, her face as close as possible to observe the fuzz as it reached for her fingertip. It wasn’t until she reached eyebrow level, that she realized she was being watched by a singular azure blue eye.

Turning to kiss the fingertip, Jessie curled her arm towards herself, and effectively managed to pull Kate over on top of her. "Howdy there, sunshine. What’cha doing to my face?"

Now giggling out of control, Kate planted a sloppy kiss on Jessie’s chin, and hid her face in her lover’s neck. "I was going to wake you up, and I thought I would start with the little fuzzies on your face. They’re very cute you know. I guess they got too rambunctious, and woke the rest of you up. How are you feeling? Better I hope."

Jessie stopped the torrent of questions with a sloppy kiss of her own. This one however was directed at the correct target. Effectively capturing Kate’s lips with her own, she met no hesitation whatsoever in the response she received. Carefully turning Kate onto her back, Jessie blindly tasted every inch of her lips, her tongue probing its mate, testing then tasting, finally savoring the invitation. She slowly moved her ministrations to the soft skin below Kate’s ear. Teasing and tempting Kate’s little fuzzies with the tip of her tongue, she traced the outline of first her ear, and then along the curve of her neck. Kate softly moaned, willingly abandoning all responsibility to the burn of passion that coursed through her body.

Suddenly, in the midst of their pleasure the phone began to ring. Jessie’s eyes opened wide and then narrowed a hint of annoyance creeping in around the corners. The answering machine picked it up, and as the announcement rattled off in the distance, Jessie returned to her ministrations. Kate began to respond, her hands moving across Jessie’s back, her legs falling apart naturally. It wasn’t until Michael’s voice came ringing through the house, that they knew they were doomed.

"Hi there babies. Rise and shine! I’m out in front, and judging by the lack of any discernible light in there, I am assuming that you are not awake yet. Better wake up and get moving I’m giving you a count of 50, and then I’m on my way in to wake you myself. I’ve got coffee, food, and strict orders from the captain and crew to make sure you get to the site post haste. Don’t make me come in there after you, girlfriends, cause I most surely will embarrass you, should you not be sleeping, heh heh, if you know what I mean. See you in a minute and a half." The irritating message was followed by peals of laughter, and then the audible click.

With a groan, and a few expletives, Jessie stopped her subtle assault on Kate’s senses, and the two lay tight in each other’s arms for about 30 seconds of that minute and a half. Kissing Jessie gently, with a small frown of sorrow on her face, Kate squirmed out from under her, and then leaning back and kissing her shoulders she tickled her a bit, and then gave her a light poke to start her out of bed.

"Come on sweetie. We’ve got to get going. Don’t want Michael in here stirring up trouble now do you? Come on. The studio did call, and said they needed you right away. I promised Ted I would make sure I got you there as soon as possible." Kate was firm, but apologetic with her cajoling.

Pouting, Jessie folded her arms across her chest. "I don’t want to go. I want to stay here, and finish what we were doing. I don’t care if Michael catches us, and I don’t care what old creepy Ted wants me to do either. This is not fair. IT’S NOT, IT’S NOT, IT’S NOT!"

Smiling in spite of herself, Jessie knew that her tantrum probably wouldn’t get her what she really wanted, but it made her feel a little better. Just to emphasize the point, she covered her mouth and coughed, trying to sound sick so she wouldn’t have to go. Too late, they realized that Michael was in the living room, fast approaching.

"Halloooo! Better cover up, cause here I come, and I’m not going to stop!" Michael sounded like he was playing hide and seek.

Quickly Jessie threw back the covers, and swooping a startled Kate over her shoulder into a fireman’s carry, made a mad dash for the bathroom. Kate squealed loudly, and the two of them began to laugh hysterically. Michael stopped short of the bedroom door, not sure now whether he really wanted to interrupt whatever was going on in the bedroom.

Listening at the door, he smiled broadly, realizing that he had in fact disturbed them, but more than likely he wasn’t going to suffer the wrath of his sister. Banging on the door, he made his voice real low, and shouted, "All right you two. We’ll have no more of this nonsense. You better be in that shower by the count of ten, or I’m coming in there after you."

After safely depositing Kate in the bathroom, Jessie dashed back to the door. Flinging it open in all of her naked glory, she almost made Michael fall headfirst through the opening.

"Think you’re man enough, big boy?" Jessie stood there challenging him to respond.

Blushing all the way to his toes, he turned around and heading back to the living room, called over his shoulder to his sister. "Not on your life, sister, you ain’t got nothing there that interests me for goodness sake. Jeez, put it away, you’re scaring me."

Chuckling, Jessie closed the door behind him, and then returned to the already running shower. Kate was humming to herself, when Jessie slid open the door, and stepped in behind her. Handing her the bar of soap, Kate indicated that she would like to have her back washed. Obliging her, Jessie coated her own front entirely with soap, and then pulling Kate back to her, did a sensuous little bump and grind, while she scrubbed her lover’s back with her own special brand of sponge.

Closing her eyes, Kate almost abandoned herself to the sensations that were threatening to overwhelm her again. "Whoa there, you’re going to make me, make you late if you don’t stop doing that."

"That’s the idea, silly." Jessie breathed in her ear, her soapy hands beginning to roam with a mind of their own.

Another loud barrage of knocking sounded at the door to the bathroom. Frustrated, Jessie shouted at her brother, threatening to kill him as soon as she could catch him.

"I’m sorry Jess. Alice just called, and Justin is on his way to the set to see you. He had heard that you weren’t feeling well, and he decided to come out and see personally how you were doing. She wanted to make sure that we were on our way. Justin’s got a case of the guilts I guess, and he feels bad." Michael was seriously apologetic.

Resigned to their fate, Jessie and Kate stopped their lovemaking again, and quickly finishing their shower, got out and began toweling off. Wrapping up in her towel, Jessie stepped out of the bedroom, to ask Michael if he had brought anymore clothes for her. She returned shortly with a large suitcase.

Kate had already begun to dress. She figured it would be cold, so she slipped into a long sleeve thermal shirt and jeans, with a long sleeve flannel over that. Warm hiking boots and socks, and her big winter coat completed the outfit. Jessie watched her as she slowly dressed herself. Layered in her usual black turtleneck, and black jeans, she was dismayed to find that Michael had not brought a jacket for her. She remembered that her one good outdoor jacket had been damaged once when Gregory had grabbed her and practically ripped the sleeve off. She mentally cursed herself for not remembering to replace it.

Kate sensed her problem, and digging into the back of her closet, came out with a beautiful North Face down jacket. It was azure blue, matching Jessie’s eyes. Jessica tentatively tried it on. It fit her perfectly.

"This is great. Is it yours?" Jessie didn’t want to pry…too much anyway.

"It was my father’s. My mother thought that I might want to keep it. I had given it to him for Father’s Day. He never wore it. It’s yours if you want it." A small sadness flashed in her eyes for a moment.

"Oh, honey, I don’t want to take your dad’s coat from you. I mean, sentimental value and all." Jessie wished she had thought more before opening her mouth.

"Don’t worry. No sentiment there. And besides, I’m glad I kept it. I couldn’t think of a better person to wear it. It was being wasted hanging there all of these years. It looks great on you." Kate smiled more convincingly this time.

"I really appreciate it. It gets really cold on the set, and the studio jackets just don’t cut it. Anyone touches this, and they’re dead." Jessica mock growled.

Stepping closer, Kate allowed them one more minute to just hold each other tightly. Then she grabbed a pill or two, making Jessie take one of them, and then checking her fanny pack for her stun gun led her friend out into the living room, to the slightly smirking Michael.

"Jeez, about time. Hey, nice jacket. Is that a gift?" Michael was sounding a little smarmy.

Nodding her head, Jessica chose to ignore the implication. She was hoping that her little brother would keep his mouth shut, but she soon realized that there was no hope for that.

"Oooh, does this mean you’re going steady? Huh, does it? What are you going to get for Katie? Tell me, I want to know." Michael moved from smarmy to wheedling.

"She isn’t going to get me anything Michael. And don’t push your luck. If she doesn’t kill you, I just might." Kate shot him a look of semi-evil.

"Drop it Michael. Just go to the car, and we’ll be there in a minute." Jessica had that "no more nonsense" tone that she hadn’t used since Michael was very young.

Sensing that he had way over-stepped his bounds; Michael nodded quietly and headed out to the car. Kate had busied herself gathering anything else that they didn’t really need, and then set it all down again. She was clearly embarrassed by Michael’s question, and she wasn’t even sure why. Jessica stopped her short, before she decided to implode.

"Hey, slow down. Michael can be a jerk, and I’m really sorry about that. And I’m sorry about this evening. It seems like we never get any time to just be us. I’ll make it up to you I promise. He just gets out of control sometimes, and well the nature of my job, causes problems with my life. I do feel much better this evening, than I did this afternoon though. I wanted to thank you for taking care of me." Jessica slid up next to Kate, idly playing with a curl of her damp hair.

Leaning into her, Kate soaked in the contact one more time, smiling at the sound of her jacket brushing against the nylon of Jessica’s jacket. "It’s okay. I am so happy you feel better, and I’m not even certain what made me mad a second ago. I guess I’m feeling a little off myself, and what with the necessity of being responsible, I’m frustrated with myself, for allowing us to get carried away, instead of doing my job like I’m supposed to. It’s not right to look after my own happiness, when there is a job that I am supposed to be doing."

Jessica let out a sigh. "Listen, other performers have lives, families, and love. There is no reason that we can’t either. We just have to learn how to juggle these things around the studio."

Kate kissed Jessie’s chin again. "You’re right, and there is no sense in beating ourselves up over it. I guess I just…."

Kate’s thought drifted off. She was puzzling in her mind Michael’s comments about them going steady, and what Jessica might get her. She didn’t want anything from Jessica. Just her heart. And she didn’t like the thought that someone else might think her motives were anything less than honorable. Getting mildly angry again, she didn’t notice that Jessica was quietly observing the emotions playing across her features.

"If I offered a penny for your thoughts, I think I would be seriously under paying you. Let me guess Michael’s big mouth again? Tell you what, give me five minutes, and I’ll give him my extra special "Kendra Knight" treatment. Trust me, he’ll never bother us again." Jessica was tensing with her own building anger.

Kate couldn’t help but smile. "You know something, you really are scary when you go all "Space Warrior". I. . .was just thinking, and the more I thought the madder I got. Can I ask you something? Something important?"

Jessica’s own smile met her lover’s. "Of course you can. Ask away."

"Do you think that I’m using you, that I’m goldigging or something like that? Do you think Michael or the others think that?" Kate’s eyes turned down to watch her fingers nervously fiddle with the zipper on her jacket.

Jessica burst into laughter. "Honey, I wouldn’t suspect you of anything of the sort. The thought never even crossed my mind. And as for Michael, and any "others", I don’t give a rat’s ass what anyone thinks. They can all stuff it, for all I care. It’s you and only you that I want. I think I’ve made that clear, and I was kinda hoping that you felt the same way. I don’t feel that there is any price that you can put on those kinds of feelings. I. . .I. . .well, I just don’t."

At the last minute, Jessie chickened out. She was about to tell Kate that she loved her, with all of her heart. Kate sensed that, and for a moment her disappointment almost showed on her face. Then she realized that she would be just as scared, if it were she in Jessie’s place. Did her fear translate into uncertainty? Certainly not, it meant that she was simply chicken. Just like when she was a kid, and her best friend told her to touch a snail. It made her heart pound, and her brow sweat, and definitely caused discomfort for the snail. But eventually she did it, and she was the better for it. And so was the snail, since by the time she was ready, she had learned how to do it, without causing the snail or herself any pain. So, there!

"I appreciate that. That’s not something that I would ever find myself being proud of, if I were that kind of person. The whole idea makes me ill. Well, enough of this, we better get going, before the neighbors call the cops, what with Michael honking the horn and all." Kate took Jessica by the hand, and leading her to the doorway, kissed her chin again, then walked out the door careful not to give the impression to her nosy neighbors, that a TV star was staying at her house.

Jessie smiled her heart about to burst. She was certain that Kate really did love her. She began to think about a special time, and a special place that she could finally say those three little words. Then she stepped out the door, and carefully closing it behind her, almost skipped down the walkway to the waiting car.

When she reached the car, the usual herd of neighbor kids were hovering around, seeing if the could catch a glimpse of her. She waved at them, and told the closest ones to "keep an eye on things" for Kate and Steven while they were gone. The kids were all readily agreeable, especially since she promised to buy them all ice scream the next time she saw them. They quickly scattered, dying for school on Monday, so they could brag to all of their friends that they knew Jessica Ryan, or Kendra Knight as most of them knew her as.

Chuckling at the look of exasperation that Kate gave her for fraternizing with the kids, she settled back into the seat, and then discreetly grasped Kate’s hand in her own. "What? They’re great, and you know that the slightest thing moves near your house, and they’ll be the first to tell you."

"I know, but if that keeps up, the next thing you know I’ll end up being a stop on the "Tour of the Stars" bus circuit for local vacationers. I can see it now, buses lined up for blocks, people stepping on my flowers, peeking in my windows. We could set up a card table during the summer block party, and you could sign autographs. It would be a blast." Kate rolled her eyes and sighed.

Jessica struggled with the giggles that were welling up inside. Playing dumb, she looked at Kate with an evil glint in her eyes and said, "There’s a block party? When is that? Can I wear my favorite shorts, and my Hawaiian shirt?"

Kate realized that Jessie was making fun of her. Counting to five in her head, she suddenly sprang from her seat, and began an earnest tickle attack on her jokester friend. Casually grasping her arms, and holding her still for a moment, Jessica mock-struggled with her, until Kate too was laughing so hard she almost couldn’t breathe. Folding her into her ample embrace, Jessica kissed her tenderly on the lips, almost again forgetting that they weren’t alone. Hmmm, we better do something about that soon, or I might just lose my mind, and any shred of inhibition I have left.

Making eye contact with her brother in the rearview mirror, she mentally willed him to return his attention to the road, and to quit spying on them. Kate realized too, that it wouldn’t be good to pull onto the shoot site, wrapped around each other in some uncompromising position. Funny maybe, but not very good professionally.

They settled back, while Kate went over the schedule for the next day. They never stopped touching each other, their thighs resting next to each other, their hands brushing each other with slight gestures now and then. For Jessica each contact sent a small electric shock to her central nervous system. Yes, they definitely needed to make some quality time for each other.

Kate began to notice an annoying little tickle at the back of her throat. Feeling slightly feverish, she made a mental note to take one of Jessie’s pills, and some aspirin just in case. Even though they had both slept for several hours, she felt somehow, fatigued. She finished reading the schedule to Jessie, and then settled back for the rest of the ride, her head laying on Jessica’s shoulder. Jessie lightly kissed the top of her head, noticing the heat beginning to emanate from her scalp.

Uh, oh! Probably got the virus. Well, it’s my turn to play nurse. Hopefully the trailer’s out there, and I can get her to go back to sleep. Jessica’s thoughts were interrupted as they arrived at the gate to the shoot site. Waving them through, the security guard made no notice of the occupants in the back seat. Apparently he was much more interested in Michael. Another wannabe actor, he had heard that Michael worked for his sister, and was always on the set. Determined to get the opportunity to use Michael for access, he spent an unusual time trying to flatter him. Michael had already accepted that Steven was his one and only, so without so much as a "by your leave", he closed the car’s window, and drove over to the parking area. Jessie noticed the by-play, and was impressed with her brother’s commitment to his new lover. By the Gods, he really is growing up!

Upon their arrival, a crowd of show crew, determined to escort them in at least ten directions at once set upon the car. Make-up, costume, lights, commissary, everyone was in attendance, all talking at once. Kate indicated to Jessie that she should go to make-up and costume first, and then deal with scripting and lights after. Promising to catch up to her soon, Kate went in search of Ted the director, to check in and gather any changes or special notes that might be awaiting their star. Kate was really feeling lousy, but she pushed that into the back of her mind, as the excitement of making a weekly TV show took over.

Looking back, Jessie noticed the number of times that Kate wiped the sweat from her brow. It was cold enough to see their breath in front of them, so Jessie realized that Kate must really be sick. She could have kicked herself for letting the staff whisk her away so fast. Returning her attention to the nagging drone of voices, she tried to concentrate on what they were saying. Finally she stopped and threw her hands in the air. Looking at all of the startled faces, she tried to smile and politely tell them to speak one at a time. Several nodded, and then they all started speaking at the same time again. Shaking her head in resignation, she concentrated on the one closest to her, and continued walking towards the make-up tent.

Ted had sent Kate off to find the Office trailer they had brought in from the studio. It had several makeshift desks, and computers, fax machines, several phones, and a small staff of Administrative people to run the whole thing while the shooting was taking place. They were answering calls from the main studio office, sending and receiving faxes, and tracking data on the computers. An occasional runner would appear, with the responsibility of carrying written messages to the staff that was outside producing the elements of the show. Even though most of the outside staff carried cell phones, there were areas where no cell activity was allowed. For the most part it was necessary to keep the noise down, but there were also several mechanical units, and computer driven devices that were affected by the high frequency of a cell phone signal.

Kate stepped into the trailer, and a young blond, with a too-wide smile greeted her, and then handed her a folder stuffed with messages and correspondence. Settling herself into one of the empty desks, she sorted through the folder, and then began the task of returning calls, and handling each of the items one by one. Since they had left early, Alice had taken the liberty of having the Admin group take care of organizing all of their data into low and high priority groups.

Kate handled the high priority information first, including leaving a message at the Awards ceremony office that yes, Jessica would attend, that she would present, and that she would be bringing a guest.

Several times during her visit to the office trailer, an Admin would approach, and hand her additional notes and information. Clearing her throat for the tenth time or so, she wiped the sweat off her brow, and adjusted her jacket against the chill in her bones. The new information being delivered, were things that only Kate, as Jessica’s PA, could be trusted with. The last item was a phone message that Justin would be on his way shortly to visit them on the set.

Sighing again, Kate zipped her jacket back up, and grasping the folder of remaining business and her day planner she headed out the door, and back in search of the crew in the shoot area. Spotting Jessica’s dark majestic profile above the smaller costume crew, she smiled slightly at the beauty of her lover and friend. Then she located Ted’s support staff, and delivered her "most important messages" to the right people.

Wandering over to where they were putting the final touches on Jessica’s costume and weapons array, Kate managed to interrupt long enough to ask Jessie if there was anything else she needed before the shoot. Jessica shook her head no, and then took a second to try to tell Kate that she should get some rest. Not comprehending what she meant, Kate nodded her head, and then went over to the food coach to get some cool water to drink. Sitting down for a moment, it was several minutes before she realized that she had drifted off where she sat.

Shaking her head, she rubbed her temples for a moment, bidding the building headache to go away. She finally remembered that she needed to take the two pills she had in her pocket. Fishing them out, she swallowed them down, noticing that her throat had gotten sorer since she first noticed it. Sighing yet again, she stood, a wave of dizziness threatening to knock her down, and after breathing deeply for a moment, headed back to the filming area, where she would be expected to stand and observe, and wait to see if Jessie needed anything in particular.

Jessie headed into the factory area, her mind continually wandering back to Kate. She knew the fiery little PA would not do as she requested, and go find the trailer, and rest. Instead out of the corner of her eye she could see her listening to the directions that were being given, and paying attention to the monitor that was set just to the right of where Ted was sitting. He was calling out instructions, and shortly he would give the command for quiet on the set, and roll. Jessie just hoped that he wouldn’t take advantage of Kate’s presence, and start sending her on stupid little "Ted" errands, simply because he could. She might have to kill him.

Tonight they were going to be doing close-up shots, recording the planning session between Kendra Knight and her faithful sidekick. The story line went such that they had received a communication from headquarters, and that it was essential that they get the area secured, so that they could return to the main fortress, where the rest of their squad, and their superiors were based.

Kate watched the monitor with interest. Each time the camera moved closer to Jessie, her heart skipped a little. It was one thing to sit in her living room with Steven, or talk to Laura on-line while watching the show, and compare notes, and another thing all together to watch the episodes actually being created. She was still caught up in the thrill of it all. Periodically she would rub her temples, and at one point she removed her jacket. Her skin felt too warm to be wrapped up in her snug winter jacket.

Ted noticed the flush on her skin, and had one of his assistants get her some more water, and a chair to sit on. He had been hoping to make her run the paces tonight, but realized that after discovering his star sleeping at this little red-haired girl’s home, it was probably not a good idea to pick on her. Regardless of what anyone else says, he was definitely afraid of Jessica Ryan, and not just a little afraid of Justin. He knew that at any moment Justin could pop up, since he was due on the set tonight, and if Ted was giving Jessie or her friend any trouble, Justin would probably publicly humiliate him. He was not in the mood. All Ted wanted was to put out a great show, stay in the top ten, and get paid what he was worth for it. Anything else was too Hollywood for him. He was even proud of himself for not telling anyone else about finding Jessie sleeping at Kate’s. Well, just Marie, one of the make-up girls, but she wouldn’t tell. He had been trying to date her for a while, and he figured that if he shared this secret, she might go out with him. She never did give him an answer, but he was certain she would, if he asked her again.

Re-staging the shot two more times, Ted didn’t notice that there was a buzz of conversation around the area. Almost too late, he saw Justin approaching with a group of men he had never seen before. Stopping the shot, he bustled over to where they were standing, and greeted Justin personally.

"Um, hi, we were expecting you. Can we get you anything? We’re resetting this shot, for a better light angle, and then we’ll move on to the next 3 or 4 shots, and then finish up tomorrow. Barring any interference, we should be able to suspend the scheduled shoot on Sunday." Ted was visibly nervous, expecting Justin to change things around.

Surprisingly enough, Justin just grunted his affirmative, and then asked politely if Ted would mind if he disturbed Jessie for a moment. Ted said he didn’t mind, and called a runner to retrieve her from the location. He noticed that Justin seemed to be slightly edgy, and decided it would definitely be in his best interests to keep his mouth shut.

Kate’s ears pricked up as soon as she heard Justin say Jessie’s name. She was afraid that he might be here to pick on her again, about their new relationship. She was praying with all of her might, that he would invite her over to join them. Surprisingly enough, he noticed her standing near the monitor, and reached out his hand, gesturing for her to stand with him.

"So, little lady, how are you this evening? You look a little under the weather. I wanted to thank you for taking care of our Jessie gal, while she was not feeling well. I understand she stayed at your home, while she is currently looking for new digs? Well, that was right nice of you." Justin made no attempt to hide this information from his guests.

Kate tried to hide her surprise. She carefully scrutinized the group again, and realized that some of them were the sponsors she had seen him with earlier, and one or two were members of the law teams representing the studio. She knew by the fact that they came all the way out here to see Jessie that something big was in the works. She hoped that they hadn’t messed things up. Obviously someone had a big mouth, or Justin wouldn’t have known that Jessie stayed with her. Glancing at Ted, she caught his eye, and gave him an evil grin. He blushed, and shrugged his shoulders, pretending not to know what she was looking at him for, even though he had a good idea.

Their thoughts and discussions were interrupted with the arrival of Jessie. She obviously was feeling better, and she immediately began a polite, joking banter with Justin. Justin gestured to the group that they should move a little ways away from the rest of the general staff, because he had an announcement to make, and he wasn’t quite ready for all of them to know. He figured Jessie could tell them when they were done.

Kate hung back, not expecting to be included, but Justin himself wrapped his big arm around her shoulder, and drew her along with the group. Glancing at Jessie, she received a broad smile, and a small shoulder shrug, as if to say "don’t question it, just be glad of it." The group wandered back into a lighted area near the command trailer.

When they were all assembled Justin removed his arm from around Kate, and then clearing his throat, prepared to make his announcement. "I’ll make this short and sweet. Our show, Kendra Knight, has been named the number one action series on television. Our Jessie here has been nominated as the top female actress in a drama series, and our special effects team has been nominated for several awards for their superior presentation, and backgrounds for our show. Oh, and lest I forget, Ted has been nominated for an award for the best director of an action/drama series as well. You should be proud of yourself Jessie. This is quite an honor, and I for one am extremely proud of you for working so hard to make this happen."

Jessie thanked him quietly, and then politely shook hands, with the assembled sponsors and the two attorneys. Kate could hardly contain the excitement that was bubbling up inside of her. She politely shook everyone’s hands as well, and then stood at a respectable distance away, while Jessie addressed them before heading back to the staff.

"I want to thank you all for coming out here, and I want you to know how proud I am to represent such a fine team. Justin, I really think that you should tell the rest of the group. I really believe that they would appreciate hearing it direct from the "Horse’s mouth" so to speak." Jessie implored him with her eyes.

"Oh, well, if you think so, then I guess so. I would really rather it be you, but whatever. Let’s get this over with, so I can get on with my business. Lead the way ladies, and we’ll follow. Uh, Jessie? These two stuffed suits are here for another reason. While I’m making the announcement, they’ll fill you in on what’s happening in the rest of our world." Justin followed the group, and then as he stepped in front of the staff, Jessie stepped back with the attorneys. Kate stood between, until Jessie motioned for her to come along.

The men waited until Justin was in full swing, and then told Jessie what was up. Apparently they wanted to notify her that they had managed to recover almost the entire amount of both the studio’s, and her assets. They were going to be able to get her released from her marriage, with little or no trouble, and her house would be on the market by sunrise. All in all, things were moving well for all concerned.

Impressed, Jessie had no idea that the attorneys were working at that pace behind the scenes. She knew she should have been paying more attention, but for some reason she seemed to have been preoccupied. Glancing sideways at Kate, she winked and then thanking the men, promised to be in contact by the following week.

Heading back to the raucously cheering crowd gathered around Justin, Jessie reached out and lightly squeezed Kate’s shoulder. "Thanks," she whispered. "for staying by me through all of this."

Kate smiled, wincing slightly with her pounding headache. "Hey, no problem, anything for you."

Noticing the rasp in her voice, Jessie stopped her for a moment, and laying the back of her hand on Kate’s forehead, made a dramatic show of getting her hand burned. "Why aren’t you in my trailer laying down. You look terrible. And you sound really bad too. Come on, I’m not going to have you catching pneumonia."

Stopping one of the assistants who had run over to congratulate her, she sent word to Ted that she would be back in a few moments, that she needed to go to her trailer. The messenger ran off, glad to help out their star. Taking a protesting Kate by the arm, she led her to where she remembered the trailer last being parked. She couldn’t think of the last time she had been in there. She did remember that it was very nice. Plain, since she hadn’t added anything to it, but nice just the same.

Spotting it next to several others, she stepped up to the door, and was surprised to find it unlocked. Reaching in to turn the light on, she noticed a sharp, stale odor from inside. Without knowing why, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Motioning for Kate to step back, she was going to enter the trailer on her own, when Kate grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. Reaching into her pocket, and taking out her stun gun she stepped ahead of Jessie, and entered the trailer.

The odor was overwhelming. Turning the lights on as she went, she soon discovered what it was that had caused that horrible smell. Laid across the bed in the back, were the corpses of three dead cats. All of them had signs around their necks, each one with a name on it. In Kate’s diminished condition, the smell caused and overwhelming attack of nausea. Turning, and running full speed out the door, she barely made it out the door, before the entire contents of her stomach hit the dirt.

Jessie quickly ran to her side, and simultaneously holding Kate and her hair, tried to be as supportive as possible while her lover was ill. When Kate calmed down, Jessie walked her a safe distance away from the trailer, and then having her sit down on the ground, started to return to investigate herself. Kate tried to stop her, but she was stubborn, and continued until she made it to the horrible scene that had been left for them.

Surveying the mess, she was shocked to see her name, Kate’s and Michael’s on the signs around each of the poor animal’s necks. Obviously Gregory had left them this "note". Realizing that she was probably compromising a crime scene, she quickly retreated, being careful not to touch anything else on her way out.

Kate was curled on the ground, holding her throbbing head, and trying desperately to hold back her tears. Being a cat owner and an all around sensitive person anyway, the scene was almost more than she could take. Jessie quickly returned to her side, and pulling her into her arms, bid her to let the tears fall. No longer able to hold them back, they came in large, gaping sobs.

"Hey, it’s okay. Let them come." Jessie spoke softly, slowly rocking back and forth, her chin resting on Kate’s head.

"It’s . . .just . . .horri..ble! How. . .can. . .some . . .one do some. . .thing like . . .that?" Kate could hardly speak through the sobs.

"Gregory is very sick, honey. He has no respect whatsoever, for any other living being. He is extremely dangerous. Come on, we need to get back to the group. I’ll have someone call the police, and take care of this. We need to get you home." Jessica helped her up, and cradling her, headed back to the assembled staff while they waited patiently for their star.

Kate stopped her halfway. "No, I don’t want to be alone. I . . .I’ll stay here, until you’re done. Don’t worry about me, I. . .I’ll be okay. Please?"

Jessie was reluctant. Kate’s fever was pretty high, and she was obviously in distress. But in the big picture, Jessie didn’t want her to be alone either. She felt much better having Kate where she could see her, and keep an eye on her. Giving in to the lesser of two evils, she decided to keep her at the site, until she was done. Hopefully she could talk Ted into moving things along a little faster.

After quietly explaining to one of the assistants what had happened, Jessica stopped Justin, and let him know the details. He was about to leave with his guests, and promised Jessie that he would follow through with the police, and beef up security for the next day, until they were done shooting. Ted had indicated that they would probably only work for half a day, and then the film would go to editing. The next episode would be shot at the studio itself, so they could be assured of greater security.

Jessie thanked him, and then grabbing one of the runners, had them bring a blanket, and a hot cup of tea for Kate. They settled her into the cab of one of the gear trucks, and made sure she was comfortable before they resumed shooting. Most of the staff was unaware of the discovery at Jessie’s trailer. They assumed that Kate was sick, and that (hee, hee) Jessie was taking care of her. Those people that knew what happened had all agreed, that the quieter the better. The police weren’t even going to approach the site, until the regular crew had left.

About four hours later, Ted was satisfied that they had done all they could for the night, and had the crew wrap up until tomorrow. Jessica quickly headed to wardrobe, and changing into her regular clothes, dashed over to the truck where she had left Kate. Opening the door, she stood for a moment, and watched her love sleep. Kate was curled into a ball, the blanket tucked under her chin. Jessie could see small beads of sweat dripping from her scalp, and realized that she needed to get her home, and into a nice warm bed as soon as possible.

Michael always seemed to be in tune with her. Just as she was carefully sliding Kate out of the truck, Michael came slowly through in the town car. Parking a few feet away, he jumped out and taking Kate in his own arms, waited until Jessie was seated, before settling Kate in Jessie’s arms. Several of the crew members were milling around waiting for rides etc, and several of them noted how nice it must be to have someone care about you so much. It was turning out, that most of them were getting the idea about Jessie and Kate, and they couldn’t be happier for them. Even the ones that were secretly enamored of their star, decided that they match was okay by them.

Michael started the car, and carried the two women back into the Los Angeles night. Somewhere, a maniac, enjoying the demented nature of his surroundings, took another swallow of whiskey, and planned the next step of his sick journey of revenge. His heroin saturated companion cried out in her drug-induced sleep. Somehow, even the heroin couldn’t keep this demon at bay.

To Be Continued in chapter 17…….

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