Favorite Moments

Warning: This section contains spoilers for all six books in The Mediator series!

There are so many wonderful moments between Jesse and Suze, I simply can't list them all! Here are some highlights; bear in mind that much, much more happens in between these scenes. These are just my faves.

Book One

Their Meeting
Jesse and Suze meet when Suze sees her new room in Carmel for the first time. Her mom and new stepdad are trying to show her how nicely they fixed up the room, but all she can notice is the fact that there's a ghost sitting on her window seat, watching the whole thing and oblivious the the fact that she can see him. The best part is when her parents leave the room and she whirls on Jesse and demands, "Who the hell are you?" Jesse is so surprised that she's talking to him that he actually looks over his shoulder to see if she's talking to someone behind him that he was not aware of. This scene is both cute and funny, and really sets up the nature of their relationship over the next six books.

Cadaver Breath
After their initial meeting, Jesse manages to keep out of Suze's hair until he catches her sneaking out of her house in order to confront the restless spirit at her school. He tries to stop her and implores her to seek Father Dominic's assistance in confronting Heather, a powerful and violent spirit. This is also the first time Jesse refers to Suze as "querida." Suze rages at Jesse's knowledge of the priest, realizing that he has been secretly keeping tabs on her; and despite his warnings, she leaves the house, but not after calling him "cadaver breath."

Later, at the school, Heather proves to be much too strong for Suze to handle, almost crushing her under a massive statue. Jesse comes to the rescue and manages to hold Heather off long enough for Suze to escape; when he catches up with her, the first words out of his mouth are, "You called me cadaver breath!" Oh Jesse. So sensitive to being called a cadaver...or a cowboy...or a pirate.

Book Two

Don't Stop on My Account
While investigating the last wishes of a ghost that appeared to her one night, Suze happens to bump into a boy that she met at a party named Tad. Tad asks her out on a date, and at the end of the evening, they wind up in Suze's driveway, where Suze receives her first kiss. She enjoys this thoroughly until she happens to glance into the backseat and sees Jesse sitting there, watching the entire thing. She screams and pushes away from Tad; Jesse says, "Oh please, don't stop on my account"; and Suze embarrassedly makes a run for the house. Jesse promptly informs her that Tad is too forward and no good for Suze, but we all know the truth--Jesse was jealous! And he might even have admitted as much if Doc hadn't interrupted their argument right when things were heating up.

Book Three

For All Time
While visiting from New York, Suze's best friend Gina happens to remind Suze that during the tarot card reading in which she learned that she was a mediator, there had also been one more prediction: that Suze would only love one person in her life, but that this love would last for all of time. Suze begins to realize that this prophecy meant Jesse, but also that it has dire implications--she and Jesse could never be together, as he is dead and may someday move on, meaning that she is destined to be alone for the rest of her life.

In the Hospital
At the end of the book, Jesse and Suze get into a violent fight with the RLS Angels. Although Jesse is uninjured as he is already dead, Suze takes quite a beating and ends up in the hospital. During her recovery, Jesse pops in, hoping to find her asleep; when he realizes she is awake, he embarrassedly tries to de-materialize, but Suze catches him in the act and confronts him. During their battle, Jesse had tried to prevent Suze from provoking the Angels, as well as trying to get her away from them before they attacked. She had seen this as his way of assuming that she wasn't strong enough to handle the ghosts herself; but Jesse tells her, placing his hand on her cheek, that he had only been trying to protect her from getting hurt. It is at this point that Suze realizes that she can't fight her attraction to him anymore: she has fallen in love with Jesse.

Book Four

Basically this entire book...this is not only my favorite book of the series, but also the most important for Jesse and Suze's relationship. We learn so much about Jesse's personality and his past in this book; and we also learn about Suze's feelings for him. Sure, she thinks he's attractive and has a crush on him--but she also knows that he is her best friend, the person she has the most in common with in the world, and it is this that makes her realize how much she truly loves him, beyond just infatuation. My particular favorite scenes are in the Carmel Historical Society, when the historian suggests that Hector de Silva was not murdered, but instead abandoned his family to save face and left to seek his own fortune. Suze is angered to the point of tears, because she not only knows for a fact that Jesse was murdered, but also knows his character enough to know that he would never leave his beloved family behind. I just felt that this scene was so touching, endearing me even more to Suze, to Jesse, and to their relationship.

My next favorite scene, albeit in a morbid way, is when Suze gets home to find that her family has discovered Jesse's skeleton buried in the backyard. The emotions that she feels when she sees the scrap of his handkerchief flutter away in the wind are so poignant. At this point in the series, we all have grown to know and love Jesse so much that it is so easy to relate to how Suze is feeling. I also like this part because Doc, who has been aware of Jesse' existence since the end of the first book, is a great support for Suze--he's the only one who truly understands the weight the discovery of the body placed on his sister. Doc is one of my favorite characters, and I just thought his support for Suze in this part was really sweet.

Finally, I love the scene where Jesse and Suze are reunited on the other side. Suze has worked through the whole book, even risking her own life to undo Jesse's exorcism, so her emotions are very powerful when she meets him again. But it is also powerful to see Jesse's perspective: he thought that Suze had sent him away because she didn't want him around anymore, and his relief in learning that she didn't really send him away, and then realizing that, in a sense, Suze died to get him back...it's just so moving!! This entire book was just so amazing and made me love Jesse/Suze that much more! And then the kiss scene at the end? *swoon*

Book Five

The Fight Scene
Although this is my least favorite book of the series (primarily due to the fact that I loathe Paul Slater with every fiber of my being), there are numerous scenes between Jesse and Suze that are absolutely adorable. Even if the fact that they keep misunderstanding each other can get frustrating. My favorite scene in this book, though, is when Jesse beats the snot out of Paul. First of all, he totally deserved it. Secondly, I love seeing how much Paul's jabs about Suze get to Jesse--it just really betrays his feelings about Suze. Thirdly, this is what makes CeeCee figure out who Jesse is! And whether Suze approves or not, I love when her friends figure out her secret. Plus, the end of the book makes everything worth it--Suze finally realizes that Jesse loves her, and understands why he's been acting the way he has; and Jesse likewise realizes that Suze loves him back, too! I love (even though it drove me crazy the first time I read it) how insecure they are about each other; it's adorable!

Book Six

Date Night
I love the fact that in this book, Jesse and Suze are FINALLY, FINALLY dating!! They are so cute with each other! I particularly love when she shows up at the rectory at 3:00 AM to bring Spike's cat food, and when Jesse comes over to her house to watch movies. I love seeing them do normal couple things!

First Meeting Redux
When Suze shifts back in time and meets Jesse, we get to see a side of him that we were never able to see before: how Jesse behaved when he was still alive. His initial disbelief when Suze reveals her identity to him is understandable, but I particularly love the fact that he trusted her so quickly, and asked her questions about his future self. It's like, even though he'd never met her before, he still knew deep down that she was his soulmate. And he jumped through flames for her!

Happily Ever After
I just want to give Meg Cabot major props for making things work out so well for them! Jesse finally gets the life he deserves back, but it doesn't mean that he and Suze have to sacrifice their relationship with each other. They had many trials and tribulations, but their love overcame it. ♥