A Little Rain Must Fall
Rated PG
by Amon Marie
Author's Note: I decided to try my hand at a dramatic, romantic, comedic, Jack/Janet Three's Company fic. This is a really odd idea that came to me a couple of years ago, but I've never been able to put it into writing until now. I don't know why, but I just saw a way of putting it down with Jack and Janet so here it is. I hope you likey. ^.^
Legal: I do not own the rights to Three's Company or its characters, thanks.
Prologue
Janet paced the floor anxiously. It was late. He should have been back. His restaurant closed nearly three hours ago. He wasn't dating anyone. Larry hadn't heard from him. It was eerily quiet in the apartment. Terri was working a late shift at the hospital, but Jack...no, he should have been back long before now.
The phone rang and she nearly soiled herself at the sudden sound. It rang again and she rushed to it. *This must be Jack calling to explain why he's late,* she thought determinedly. She picked it up. "Hello?" she queered hopefully.
"Hello, is this the residence of Jack Tripper?" It was a male's voice, but certainly not Jack's.
"Y-yes, yes this is," Janet played worriedly with the phone cord.
"Are you his wife...daughter...sister?"
"I'm his roommate, Janet Wood." Janet felt her heartbeat quicken. Who was this man and why was he calling? There was a dreadful note in his voice that she did not like.
"Miss. Wood, I'm afraid Jack Tripper has been in an accident."
Janet felt as though she had just swallowed an icecube. Her stomach froze over and she lost the feeling in her fingers. Her head spinning she asked for more information. All the man could tell her was what hospital he was in. She thanked him and slammed the phone down on the receiver. She ran into hers and Terri's room wondering if Terri knew. Jack was at her hospital.
She dug her shoes out from under the bed and quickly slipped them on. She threw on her jacket and started to head to the door when the phone rang again. Heaving a frustrated sigh she answered it. "Hello?" This time her voice was very shaky.
"Janet!" It was Terri. "Oh, Janet, don't wig out, okay, but Jack's--"
"Been in an accident," Janet finished. "I know. A police officer called just before you did."
"So that's why I couldn't get ahold of you. Janet, why didn't you call and tell me Jack wasn't home yet? Or did he just run out to get something?"
"No, Terri, he never--" The words stuck in Janet's throat. *He never came home...*
"It's gonna be okay, Janet. They have him in an emergency room and they're operating right now. He'll be fine." But there was a doubtful quiver in Terri's voice.
"I'm coming down to the hospital."
"Oh, Janet, don't. You don't need that kind of trauma. Jack's really going to--"
Janet hung up and left the apartment.
Chapter 1: The Animal
Hospitals. Growing up Janet had hated them. Not the people in them and certainly not what they stood for--saving lives was definitely not something to hate. It was just the atmosphere and the way they smelled and how people in there were dying. They had just given her the heeby-jeebies. Her family was very reserved and they never did anything that could put them in the hospital. The only times Janet had been to the hospital were either to visit sick people in a charitable way, or for something regarding Terri's job. But this was different. Oh, this was so different.
This was Jack.
She sat in the waiting room. Terri hadn't come out to see her yet. She was probably busy saving their best friend's life. But that was okay. Janet didn't necessarily mind being alone, but she didn't trust herself being alone with her mind. Horrible thoughts kept crossing it and making her shiver with uncertainty. *What if he's in a coma? What if he becomes a vegetable? What if he loses his legs or arms? What if he...dies?* She pushed the last thought aside and pinched herself for being so pessimistic.
The outside door opened and a pretty brunette, probably around Janet's age, came in, her brow furrowed anxiously. She paced the floor for awhile and then sat down a few chairs away from Janet. Biting her nails nervously, she glanced over at Janet. "Your husband?"
Janet didn't feel like explaining to the woman the rooming situation between she, Jack and Terri so she merely nodded. The woman nodded herself. "My husband was in a car accident. I can't believe it. We haven't even been married for a year." Her voice broke.
Janet's heart went out to the woman. She sat down next to her and patted her hand awkwardly. "It will all be okay. I'm Janet."
The woman wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and mustered a small smile. "Laura."
Janet smiled herself. She felt a tiny bit better. Only seconds ago she would have thought it impossible to smile, but this woman needed a smile. And so did she.
Janet listened to the woman reminisce about her wedding day with her "Steve". She went on and on about how perfect they were for each other and how much Steve loved football. Then she asked Janet how she met her husband.
Janet's eyes widened as she remembered that she was "married" to Jack. She cleared her throat. "W-well, it's a really funny story." She gave a soft chuckle. "You see, my roommate and I found him sleeping in our bathtub."
Laura's eyebrows rose. "Your bathtub? That's a how-we-met story I've never heard before!" She laughed.
The laugh filled the waiting area and caused one of the receptionists to look up in surprise. Janet laughed herself and felt an odd sort of warmth fill her body. A story about meeting Jack in the bathtub caused the whole room to light up. Jack would have loved that! "Laughter. Jack must love it. He was always making me and Chrissy laugh...me and Cindy laugh...me and Terri laugh..." She felt tears sting her eyes. "I wish he could make me laugh just one more time."
This time it was Laura's turn to pat Janet's hand. "It will all be okay," she said softly, repeating what Janet had said to her earlier.
Just then a group of doctors came in from the nearby hallway. Both Janet and Laura stood hopefully. "Mrs. Randall?" A skinny doctor with thinning hair and a gaunt face spoke.
Laura took two great strides over to him. "Yes?"
"I'm Dr. White. Your husband's going to be okay. He's conscience now. We have to patch up some broken ribs and he'll need physical therapy, but he's really just fine."
Laura placed a hand over her heart. "Can I see him?"
The doctor extended his hand. "Right this way."
They walked toward the hallway. Laura looked back at Janet with a smile as big as the Grand Canyon. Janet waved, giving her a smile as small as a penny. *How good for Laura. But what about me?* She looked up toward heaven, hoping for an answer like what Laura got.
Another group of doctors walked out from the hallway, Terri with them. Janet leaped up and approached them. She glanced over at Terri. The pretty blonde was avoiding Janet's gaze. This couldn't be good.
"Miss. Wood?" Spoke a kindly-faced black man with graying hair.
Janet nodded. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm Dr. Huxtable. Miss. Wood, I'm afraid we don't know what's wrong with Mr. Tripper."
Janet looked around at the other doctors, hoping that one of them would pipe up, "Oh, I do!" But none did. She turned back to the black doctor. "But...but what do--"
"Please come with me."
The doctor motioned for the other doctors to stay there and took Janet's arm. He led her to a room where all Janet could hear was the sound of metal objects crashing around. There was a window on the door and the doctor pointed to it. Janet peeked through and her eyes grew wide in shock. Jack was in there. He wasn't unconscience and he didn't appear hurt, but something was definitely wrong. He was like some wild animal; running about the room and knocking over things, occasionally making strange snarling noises. He suddenly stopped and sniffed the air, then his head snapped toward the door. He ran over and banged on it with such a force that Janet jumped back, genuinly afraid. The doctor put an arm around her shoulder and brought her back out to the waiting room. He handed her to Terri and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do."
The doctors turned and went to the receptionist. Janet slumped into a chair, her legs too weak to support her. Terri sat beside her and heaved a tired sigh. Neither spoke for awhile. Then Janet shook her head and said with confusion, "But...but how did this happen?"
Terri shook her head as well. "I don't know. We don't have a clue. We know that Jack wasn't in a car accident. A man found him lying beside his car outside the Bistro. The man called the police and they suspected that Jack had been about to get in his car when he was mugged and murdered, but then they realized he was alive so they called for an ambulance. They used his license to find his number and that is when they called you. They brought him into the hospital and I asked to be the assistant nurse to the doctors who were going to work on him. They said it was okay and I went back there. They took his pulse and ran a few tests and they thought he seemed just fine, except that his pulse was strangely quick. But before they could figure out what was making it so fast he woke up... roared, I guess is the only word for it, grabbed one of the doctors and threw him across the room! They tried to strap him to the examination table, but...oh, Janet, it was like in those comic books when an odd chemical spills on the normal guy and makes him ten times stronger or something because he just kept throwing doctors and he broke the straps...when the doctors finally realized they couldn't get him strapped down we all hurried out and locked the door. I don't understand either, Janet. I've never seen Jack act so much like...like..."
Janet knew what she was trying to say and finished for her. "Like an animal."
Chapter 2: The Hearing
Janet and Terri stayed in the hospital for nearly an hour before they realized they were still there. They could hear a creepy sort of howling coming from somewhere in the hospital and knew it was Jack. Janet was just starting to tell herself that she was having some strange dream when a squad of policemen entered the building. One receptionist stood and said, "He's in room 6. The doctors said to use force if you must."
The cop in the lead gave one nod and motioned for the others to follow him as he went down the hallway. Janet stood. "Terri, room 6 is Jack's room."
Terri stood as well. "Oh. Of course it is. I don't know why I didn't remember that..."
They stood there and listened to the shouts and cries coming from room 6. Then they heard the sound of a tranquilizer gun going off. Terri grabbed Janet's arm. All was quiet. In a few minutes the policemen came back out. Two cops were carrying the unconscience Jack, who was heavily cuffed and chained. Janet ran over to the one in charge. "Excuse me, you can't just lock him away! Can't you see that he's sick? He needs help!"
"I'm sorry, lady. I'm just doing my job. This man is dangerous and he needs to be put somewhere where he can't harm anyone."
They started for the door. Janet tried to think of something. "But-but he never used to be like that. Isn't there something you can--"
"Lady," the cop held up his hand, "I can't do anything. I'm just following orders. If you have a problem you can take it up in court."
They left. Janet crossed her arms over her chest determinedly. "I intend to."
=-=
It was a couple of months later that Janet walked into the courthouse for the hearing she had scheduled. She wore a black dress suit with matching high heels. Her dark hair was nicely combed and she held herself with confidence, though she really had little. Terri wanted to come, but she had to work. Janet had taken the day off.
When the formalities were done with the judge called Janet to the bench. Janet cleared her throat. "Your honor," she started shakily, "just a couple of months ago Jack Tripper was a normal human being. He was a chef and the owner of a wonderful restaurant called Jack's Bistro. He was funny and caring and full of mischief. Not to mention a real klutz. And he's been my dear friend for seven years. But something happened to him and now everyone wants to lock him away. But you have to understand, your honor, that Jack is my friend and I can't let that happen. I would do anything to stop them from locking him up. He's a human being and he doesn't deserve to be locked up like some animal." Her voice grew more confident as she went on and when she had ended she was satisfied with her speech.
But someone in the room wasn't. The opposing lawyer stood. "Objection, your honor."
Janet turned around to get a good look at him. He was a wrinkled man with glasses and white hair. With his one brown eye and one bright green eye he looked to Janet like the perfect mad scientist. If only he had been wearing a labcoat instead of that ugly brown suit!
The judge motioned for the man to continue. "Your honor, Miss. Wood said Mr. Tripper does not deserve to be locked up like some animal when, in fact, an animal is exactly what he is and exactly how he acts. If there was a lunatic rampaging our streets would you let him run free and insane just because he *used* to be a cook or a nice guy?"
He sat back down. The judge nodded. "Point well taken, Dr. Elias. Do you have anything to say to that, Miss. Wood?"
Janet cleared her head and hoped she said the right thing. "Your honor, I fully understand what Dr. Elias is saying. I certainly would be upset if the governing officers of Santa Monica let a lunatic loose on the streets. But Jack is not a lunatic."
"Prove it," Elias said, standing and looking at Janet intensly.
"Sit down, Dr." Said the judge. He looked at Janet. "Could you prove it, Miss. Wood?"
Janet tried to appear very confident as she replied. "Yes, your honor, I could."
"How is that?" The judge inquired.
Janet felt sweat lining her brow. She really had no idea. Luckily her lawyer was very clever. She stood up suddenly. "Your honor, may I?"
The judge nodded. "Proceed, Miss. Dunham."
Dunham stood and continued. "I propose that with the proper security arranged by the city my client could train Mr. Tripper in the ways of human-kind. She should then proceed to bring him to the charity ball in December and if the mayor and city council, along with yourself, believe he is civilized he will be allowed to live as a free citizen. However, if you do not believe him to be civilized he will be locked away for good and we will not question your authority over the matter."
The judge seemed to be contemplating Dunham's proposition. Elias' hand shot into the air like he was an ecstatic first-grader. The judge nodded to him and he stood. "Your honor, I'm not sure that Miss. Wood would be safe with Mr. Tripper--even with the most accurate security measures that we could take. It seems to me that she should prove she can take care of herself when alone with him. Just in case." He sneered.
Janet scowled. She really was beginning to not like Dr. Elias.
He turned around and nodded to one of the security guards. He left the room and soon came back with another. They were pushing in a large, round, plastic cage. Jack was inside of it. Janet felt tears form in her eyes at the site of him. He was wearing the same outfit he had been wearing that day so long ago when he had said, "See ya later, Janet!" and left for work, only it was torn and tattered. His hair was greasy and matted and it was slightly longer than it had been before. He was covered in dirt and dry blood and his still perfectly blue eyes were open wide with fright.
The men stopped the cage before the judge's desk. Elias spoke. "Your honor, perhaps we should lock Miss. Wood in there and see how she handles Mr. Tripper's wild nature," he said with an evil glint in his eye.
Though fear filled Janet she piped up, "I'll do it, your honor."
The judge nodded slowly. "All right, but I want security guards ready to get her out of there if he attacks."
One of the guards opened the barely visible door and Janet stepped gingerly inside. The door was shut behind her and she heard the click that promised that she was locked inside with Jack. He bared his teeth and made a low growling noise, getting into a pouncing position. Janet could feel her heart pounding through her entire body. Her head swam and she tried to make herself think. *Okay, Janet, you need to show him that you're not a threat to him. How? How...by...by lowering yourself, yes!* She very slowly knelt down. Jack's gaze never left her. Hers never left him. *Good. That was easy now, wasn't it? Okay. Now speak softly to him.* "Jack? Do you remember me?" She pointed to herself. "Janet. Remember? We've been roommate for the last seven years. First it was me, you and Chrissy. Then it was me, you and Cindy. Now it's me, you and Terri. Do you remember? And Mr. Furley thinks you're gay and you have a sleazy friend named Larry, but we love him anyway. You cook at Jack's Bistro, your restaurant; your dream."
Jack's muscles relaxed slightly, but he kept his eyes focused on her. She reached out her hand and he tensed up again and started growling. She quickly drew her hand back. *You're losing him, Janet. Do something quick!* She breathed in deeply and began to sing whatever song came into her head. Jack just stared at her at first. Then he cocked his head. Before Janet knew it he had crept over to her so that he was right in front of her. He was transfixed by her singing! She turned her singing into humming and he still stayed. She reached out and brushed some hair out of his face. He tensed up, but only for a moment. Janet continued humming and he reached up and touched her face with curiousity. She smiled.
Just then the door opened and one of the guards pulled Janet out. He had just shut the door when Jack suddenly lunged himself at it and began biting and clawing furiously. The other guard just barely got the door locked. Elias bounced up off of his chair and pointed. "See, I told you he was dangerous!"
Dunham bounced up as well. "He was only upset because he was enjoying Janet's singing!" She exclaimed, her face matching her red hair.
Before Elias could make some smart reply the inhabitants of the room noticed the judge banging on the bench. "Order in the court!" He exclaimed once. When everyone was seated and quiet he continued. "I believe that Mr. Tripper is trainable, Dr. Elias. I will grant Miss. Wood the supplies and proper help to manage him and we shall proceed with Miss. Dunham's plan. Court is adjourned."
Janet couldn't help herself. She leaped in the air with a squeel and hugged her lawyer. "Oh, thank you, Miss. Dunham, thank you!"
Chapter 3: Day One
When Janet told Terri the plan, she didn't take the news exactly how Janet thought she would. "So you're going to bring him here...and teach him how to be human again?"
Janet nodded. Terri scratched her head. "But, Janet, we're not even sure why he's acting so un-human. Maybe we...well, maybe we can't make him human again."
Janet shook her head. "No, Terri. This is my best friend we're discussing. I'll make him human again," she said, her eyes sparkling with determination.
Terri smiled and hugged Janet. "Okay. If you're sure then I support you and I want to help out in any way possible!"
It was only a day later that Jack was brought back to the apartment. Terri was starting to fret over that. Larry had stopped by so many times during the past two months to ask where Jack was. And what about Mr. Furley? He might notice if one of his patrons was acting like a dog--literally! But Janet would only say that it was too late for them to try to find somewhere else to stay. October was almost over and then they had just under two months to train Jack. She didn't want to lose anymore time.
With Jack came an older gentleman with thinning gray hair, a squiggly mustache and a suit. He introduced himself as Jerry. "I am here to play butler, sort of. I'll take care of any errands you need run, I can make meals and clean as well." He spoke with a classy British accent.
"Oh, thank you," Janet said with relief. She had just begun to wonder how they would accomplish anything like that with Jack on their hands.
Jack was in a small cage and he was certainly ready to get out. Jerry armed himself with a tranquilizer gun. "Just in case," he said.
He opened the cage. Jack ran out. He ran all over the apartment, sniffing, pawing and attacking the things he didn't like. Terri giggled. "He's such an adorable little puppy!"
Janet put her hands on her hips. "Terri! Jack is not a puppy!"
Jerry cleared his throat. "If I may, girls, perhaps you should try to get him to settle down. After all, humans don't normally urinate on house plants."
Janet, blushing, approached Jack. "Jack?"
He whirled around and got into a crouching position, ready to strike. She knelt down. "Jack, it's me. Do you remember me? From the other day?"
Terri grabbed Jerry's arm. "Oh, he's going to hurt her!" She cried.
"Shhh. Just wait."
Janet hummed a few bars of "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Jack immediately relaxed and crept up to her. He circled her, sniffing as he went around. When he returned to the front of her he sat down and grinned. Janet stiffled a laugh at his goofy grin. That was more like the Jack she knew! She slowly stood, anticipating an attack, but he stayed. She reached out a shaky hand and patted him on the head and he didn't react.
"If he had a tail it would be wagging," Jerry said with a hint of humor.
Terri laughed and approached them. "Hi, Jacky! Hello, little doggie," she spoke in a baby voice.
Janet rolled her eyes. Jack got in a pouncing position and growled at Terri. She stepped back. "Oh. I guess he only likes you, Janet."
Janet reached down and patted him on the head again and he relaxed. "This is so strange. What do I do next?"
"Well," spoke Jerry, "now that you've tamed him perhaps it's time to bathe him?"
=-=
Janet sat on the couch, her eyes still wide open from that bath. She couldn't believe that in the seven years she lived with Jack she never once saw him...naked. And she had to laugh because now that she finally had he wasn't even going to gloat about it!
Terri came in and sat on the table across from Janet, patting her knee. "You okay? Are you scarred for life? Because I know I am!"
Janet laughed. "We'll get over it, Terri. Thanks for helping. I hope your arm is okay."
Terri looked down at the red marks on her forearm. "It's swelling so I should probably put some ice on it. Gosh, Janet, I've never been bitten by a man like *that* before!"
Janet laughed again as Terri went into the kitchen to get some ice. She sighed and leaned her head back against the back of the couch. Jerry was dressing Jack and she could hear them banging around in the bathroom. Jack was making odd barking sounds and every once in a while Jerry would cry out, "Ouch!" But other than that the apartment was pretty quiet.
Ding-dong!
Janet was off the couch. The doorbell! Should she get it? Terri burst out of the kitchen, her eyes wider than saucers. Janet ran to the bathroom door. "Jerry, keep him in there!"
"What?" Jerry exclaimed, a panicky note in his voice.
Janet ran over to the couch and tried to sit down casually while Terri opened the door. It was Mr. Furley. He walked right in. "What's goin' on in here? All I can hear is banging and yelling."
"Oh, that was the television," Terri offered.
Mr. Furley looked at the television. "But it's off."
"Yeah," Janet stood anxiously, "yeah, because I turned it off when you came in. So we're all done. Goodbye Mr.--"
Suddenly there was a loud crash in the bathroom. Janet brought her hands over her mouth. Mr. Furley strode right up to the bathroom door and was about to knock on it when Jerry exclaimed, "Down, Jack, down!"
Mr. Furley must have leapt back about five feet. He tripped over the couch and landed on his back. He then stood up, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to say something when they heard Jerry again.
"Keep the pants on, Jack. The pants stay on!"
Mr. Furley's jaw dropped. Terri ran to the kitchen to keep from laughing. Janet sighed. "All right, Mr. Furley, we'll tell the truth. Jack has a friend over. Would you like to meet him?" She walked to the bathroom door.
Mr. Furley tripped over the couch again in his hurry to get to the door. "No, no I'm all right, Janet. You tell Jack that he's a fruitcake!" He ran out without a second glance.
Janet shut the door behind him and then doubled over in laughter. She sat back down on the couch and heaved a sigh. The bathroom was quiet. Maybe Jerry had gotten Jack to settle down. Or maybe Jack had knocked Jerry unconscience. She heard the bathroom door open. She looked over. Jack ran out, Jerry following slowly behind him. He was wet and his hair was out of place. He pointed at Janet. "You can handle him from now on," he said tiredly.
Jack walked over to the couch on all fours. Janet had to resist laughing at him. It was so strange to see Jack Tripper act like an animal in some ways and in other ways it seemed just right.
He jumped up on the couch. He was wearing some light blue pajamas. His hair was pretty wild, but then Janet couldn't imagine trying to brush it with the way he was. He walked in a circle and then lay down, resting his head on Janet's leg. For a moment Janet's blood boiled. Her brow furrowed in thought. *What was that? I don't have feelings for Jack, do I? He did look really...wow earlier when I gave him a bath and--oh, Janet, that's enough out of you. You don't like Jack. You're just tired and stressed.*
Terri came out of the kitchen. Jack's eyes opened slightly. She walked over to the living area and smiled. "Do you have a friend, Janet?"
Janet shook her head, but a smile crept up on her as well. "Terri."
Terri smiled and sat on the chair. Jack turned his head to watch her for awhile, but when Janet started petting his hair he turned it back, closed his eyes and soon they deduced that he was asleep. Janet continued to pet him. "You know, Terri, he really is cute like this."
Terri raised an eyebrow. *Cute, Janet?* "Yeah. You know, maybe we should just make him a little more tame around other people and then keep him as a pet."
Janet shook her head vigorously. "No, Terri. I don't care how hard this is. We have to make Jack a human again!"
Chapter 4: A Mysterious Conversation
The next few days were hard for Janet. Terri still left for work, but Jerry stayed around to help out how he could, which was actually very little because Jack just didn't seem to like anyone but Janet. Larry stopped by once and Jack attacked him when he approached Janet, so that took some explaining. Larry really didn't buy Janet's true story, though, and went with the assumption that Jack had been drinking and there was something between he and Janet. Janet wasn't in the mood to argue so she just kicked him out of the apartment. And as far as training Jack went she felt that she hadn't really gotten much further. About the only thing she had been able to teach him was that he should pee in the toilet. Don't ask how she did it, but she did. The only problem was Jack still did it the dog way, so there was always a mess for Janet to clean every time he went to the bathroom. It was only the 30th of the month and she was already feeling exhaustion.
She plopped down on the couch and ran a hand through her dark hair. She finally got Jack occupied in his room listening to one of his Beetles albums. She wasn't sure how long that would keep him occupied, but at least she would get an opportunity to rest. Jerry was at the store getting some items. When he returned she thought they should discuss ways of training Jack.
Just then the phone rang. Janet groaned and walked over to it. "Hello? Oh, yes, no...I told you: I can't come back until after the charity ball. Y-yes, I understand. Thank you."
She set the phone back on the receiver and heaved a troubled sigh. She had just lost her job at the flower shop. She plopped down on her knees, buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
The door to Jack's room opened and he came out, singing one of the Beetle's songs. He stopped abruptly and scurried over to Janet. He made a whining noise and licked her ear. She sat upright suddenly and looked at him. "Jack, were you singing?"
He nodded, his tongue hanging out. She squeeled and swung her arms around him. He got excited and licked her face. She stood up and patted him on the head. "Good boy, Jack!"
She giddily went into the kitchen to get him a snack. No matter how many times a dog listened to the Beetles he would still never be able to sing one of their songs. What's more, when she asked him if he sang he understood her and nodded. This proved that Jack still had human qualities and he *was* trainable! Not only that, but he understood her! A new determination coursed through her body. She was going to make him a human yet!
=-=
The next day, however, Jack was very groggy. He didn't bounce around like he usually did. He didn't tackle Jerry when he came back from the gas station with a bottle of Coke. He just laid at Janet's feet and sighed every once in a while. Jerry sat down beside Janet and they were both surprised that Jack never leaped up and attacked Jerry. He turned to Janet. "This is very odd behavior. What do you suppose has triggered it?"
Janet sighed. "I was going to ask you the same question. Yesterday he was singing and today...I don't know."
Jack got up and they watched him as he walked over to the window. "If he had a tail it would be drooping," Jerry remarked.
He sat in front of the window and stared out of it intently. Janet gasped and stood. "Oh, Jerry, I know! He wants to go outside! I mean, think about it: he hasn't been outside of this apartment since we brought him here. Not only animals need the outdoors, people do, too and that's what he wants!"
Jerry nodded. "Well, I can certainly understand that. I might get depressed if I had to stay inside for too long, but how will you take him outside without causing a scene?"
Janet tapped her chin in contemplation. A wry grin crept up on her. "Jerry, I need you to find a dog costume that would fit a grown man."
Jerry raised an eyebrow. "Oh dear."
Janet wasn't sure why she hadn't seen it before. It was Halloween. She could take Jack out in a costume and it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he acted like a dog. A lot of people got into character on Halloween.
When Terri got home Janet was putting the outfit on Jack. Terri walked over with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "So you're giving up and you think this costume will fool people into thinking we have a pet dog?"
Janet shook her head. "No, Terri. Jack needs some fresh air so I'm going to take him for a walk. As long as he's still acting like a dog this is the best time to do it. Want to come along?"
Terri sighed. "Oh, Janet, you know I'd love to, but it was a really rough day at work so I think I'd rather take a long bath and relax on the couch."
Janet nodded. "That's okay. Jerry is taking the night off. He said he was going to check in at 'headquarters' and then he was going to grab a bite and catch a flick, so we'll be back before him."
"Okay."
Janet finished with Jack's costume and put a leash on him. "Well, Terri, what do you think?"
Terri grinned and giggled. "Oh, Janet. He's adorable."
Janet grabbed her jacket and put it on. She took her end of the leash. "Are you ready, Jack?"
He barked.
She opened the door and he rushed out, dragging her along behind him. It was a very nice night and no one seemed to care that a man dressed as a dog was being walked by a female friend. They waved and all the little kids wanted to pet Jack. At first Janet wasn't sure about anyone coming up to him, but he was very nice to the kids and played with them. They went to a park and she played fetch with him when she found a stick. She couldn't believe that he actually held it in his mouth and she tried to teach him how to hold it with his hands, which was hard because of the furry paws he was wearing. He tried, though, which was what counted, she thought. After awhile she grew tired of fetch and sat on a bench. He chased a flock of birds that kept flying in the air and landing in a different patch of grass. Janet chuckled at him. Then she got a creepy feeling that she was being watched. She looked over her shoulder. A black car was parked beside the park. As soon as she looked at it the window rolled up and it drove away, but she knew who she had seen inside watching them.
Dr. Elias.
She stood and put the leash back on Jack. "Come on, Jack. It's time to go home."
She took him back to the apartment. Terri was curled up on the couch, watching a chick flick, and paused it when they came in. Janet took the costume off of Jack, read him a bedtime story and put him to bed. When she came back out Terri must have sensed there was something wrong because she said, "What's up?"
Janet sat down on the chair. "Guess who I saw at the park."
Terri rubbed her chin in thought. "How many tries do I get?"
"Elias," Janet stated.
Terri's eyes widened. "That creepy lawyer you told me about?"
Janet nodded.
Terri rubbed her chin again and narrowed her eyes. "But why would he be playing at the park?"
Janet sighed. "Terri, he wasn't playing. He was watching Jack and me. When I looked at him he rolled up his window and drove away."
"Oh. Well, I don't really know, Janet, but he sounds like bad news. Maybe you should talk to Jerry."
Janet nodded. "I most certainly will."
An hour or so later Terri's flick had just ended when Jerry walked in. "Hello, girls. Good night? How did he do, Janet?"
"He was great. We played fetch and he chased birds and played nicely with children, but that's not important. I saw Elias watching us from his car when we were at the park."
This time it was Jerry's turn to rub his chin. "That's certainly very interesting. I'll look into it and let you know any information on him as soon as I get it. And in the mean time be on your toes, girls, and don't let Jack out of your sight."
But Janet wondered if there was something about Jerry she should know when she overheard a conversation he was having that night. She was on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of milk when she heard him talking in there. She stopped and listened.
"This is very important. Dr. Elias may have more to do with this than we first thought."
"But Jerry, I don't understand," came a female's voice. "If Dr. Elias is against Mr. Tripper being a free citizen, doesn't it make sense that he would spy on them and stuff?"
"Sam," said a softer female voice, "I looked up Elias Firm, his law firm, you know? Well, there is no such thing. He made it up."
"Good work, Alex!" Jerry said excitedly.
"So," Sam spoke again, "if he doesn't really have a firm that means he's not really a lawyer. But why would he pretend to be one in this particular case?"
"I think the answer is, like so obvious," spoke another girl who sounded very much like a teenager. "He must have some part in all of this, right?"
"Exactly, Clover," said Jerry seriously, "he must. Keep on him, girls."
"Right, Jer," the three said together.
Suddenly all was quiet. Janet opened the door and walked in. To her surprise the only person in the kitchen was Jerry. His laptop was open on the table and he was pouring himself a glass of milk. He looked over when Janet entered. "Milk?"
She shook her head. "No. I just heard some voices and I thought maybe you and Terri were discussing Jack."
"No, Terri's quite sound asleep and I was just doing some work on my laptop. Is everything all right?"
Janet nodded. "Everything's fine."
But as she left the kitchen she wondered if everything really was fine. Where did those three girls go? Who were they? Why did the one called Sam sound so familiar to her? Who did Jerry work for, anyway? And what about the information she just heard concerning Elias? She got a sneaky feeling that Jack was in danger. She opened his door and peeked in. He was curled up in a little ball on the bed and a long string of drool escaped his mouth. She smiled faintly and shut the door. Maybe he was in danger. She knew one thing for sure: something about the whole situation just was not right.
Chapter 5: A Foul Plot Afoot
The next morning Jerry had news for them as they sat around the table in the kitchen. "Girls, I have just learned that Dr. Elias is not really a lawyer. He was only posing as one for this particular case."
Janet stared at him somberly. She knew this. Terri, on the other hand gasped. "Why would he get involved in this then? He must be really against Jack being trained like a human, I guess. I wonder why."
Jerry's eyes narrowed. "As do I, Terri. I hope you girls would excuse me. I'm going to run to the grocery store really quick."
"Of course, Jer," Terri said absent-mindedly as she looked at the back of a cereal box.
But Janet noticed him take his laptop with him. She scratched her head. Why did Jerry need his laptop to go grocery shopping? There was definitely something interesting going on.
=-=
"Can you say Janet? Jan-et."
Janet was sitting crosslegged on the couch, facing Jack. She had heard him sing so she knew she could get him to talk if she tried.
He stared at her and kept opening and closing his mouth. She tried again, pointing to herself. "Janet."
He opened his mouth again and pointed to her. "J--"
"Yes..."
"Ja--"
"Yes!"
"J-Jan--"
Ding dong!
Jack fell off of the couch in surprise. Janet groaned and got off of the couch. "This had better be important," she muttered.
She opened the door and raised an eyebrow. In front of her stood four teenagers and a large, brown great dane. The teen in the front was buff and had blonde hair. He smiled. "Hi. I'm Fred Jones and we're the Scooby Doo Detective Agency. Word has reached us that you have a mystery going on here and we're here to solve it!" He exclaimed with fervor, shooting his fist into the air.
"We're a free service," added a pretty girl with long, red hair.
"Rould rou rike a Rooby Rack?" Said the dog.
Janet shut the door and locked it. She shook her head. *Janet, you're really starting to lose it.*
"Janet."
"Yes, Jack? JACK! You said my name!" She squeeled in excitement and ran over to him. "You said my name, Jack! Say it again!"
"Janet," Jack repeated.
Janet began to dance around. Jack joined her, shouting out "Janet" in a sing-song voice.
=-=
When Jerry walked in that day Janet immediately asked Jack what her name was.
"Janet," he said proudly.
Jerry nodded. "Very good, Jack, I'm glad you--you spoke. He spoke!"
Janet giggled. "Isn't it great? He's learning so fast." She slipped a Scooby Snack in his mouth.
"Yes. Janet, I don't want you to let Jack out of your sight," Jerry got straight to the point.
"Why?" Janet asked quickly.
"I have strong reason to believe there is a foul plot afoot and it all centers around Jack."
"What do you mean?"
Jerry studied her silently, deciding whether or not to say what he meant. Finally he spoke again. "Let me just put it this way: I don't believe Jack's sudden behavior occured as the result of an accident."
Janet's eyes grew round. "You mean...you think somebody did this to him? But how? I don't understand--"
"Neither do I. Don't worry, though, Janet. Very educated people are working on it as we speak. You just worry about training Jack to be a human."
Janet nodded and looked over at Jack. He was kneeling in front of the window, watching a bird with great interest. Jerry's words echoed in her mind. *There is a foul plot afoot and it all centers around Jack.* She sighed. When she met Jack seven years ago she never thought something this crazy would happen. She was still sure she was going to wake up any minute and find herself in bed. She would get up and go into Jack's room, wake him up and ask him his name. He would look at her like she was crazy and want to know if she was okay. She'd be overcome with joy. She'd swing her arms around him, look into his big, blue eyes and then--
"Janet!" Jack shouted.
Janet ran over to him. "What, Jack? What is it?"
He pointed out the window. She looked where he was pointing. A man was looking up at them and immediately tried to cover his face and run away when he saw Janet look down at him, but Janet knew who he was. "Jerry, Elias was watching Jack from the street."
Jerry nodded and went into the kitchen. Janet patted Jack on the head and crept to the kitchen door.
"What's the scoop, Jerry?" Said the girl named Sam.
They were back! But how?
"Elias is right beside Tripper's apartment building. Get down here and track him down straightaway!"
"Got it!"
Janet waited, supposing she would hear them leave, but she didn't. Before she knew it Jerry was swinging open the door. She jumped backwards and tripped over the couch. He smiled down at her. "Trying to teach Jack to trip on the couch, are we?"
Janet nodded, getting up. "Yes, well, he was always very good at it, you know."
Jerry chuckled and sat down on the chair to watch some television. Janet walked over to Jack and stroked his hair, staring out the window with him. *What is Jerry hiding from me?*
=-=
When Terri got home that day Janet took her aside to their room and told her all about both of Jerry's mysterious conversations. Terri gasped. "Oh, Janet, do you think Jerry is a secret agent for the CIA?" She said excitedly.
Janet put a finger over her mouth, signaling for Terri to be quieter. "I'm not so sure he's on our side, Terri," she whispered.
Terri made a pouty face. "That's too bad. I really like him."
Chapter 6: Larry's Offer
The next morning Janet sat Jack upright at the table and began to teach him how to eat like a proper adult. When he finally understood how to hold the spoon she set a bowl of cereal down in front of him. That was when it all went south. He buried his face in the food and began eating hungrily. Janet tried to get his attention so she could show him how to eat properly, but he was too absorbed in his meal. When she tried to take the bowl from him he got angry and threw the spoon at her. She lost her temper and poured a glass of water on his head. He yelped and ran away, knocking over his chair as he scrambled out of it. He ran out the kitchen door, whining as he left. Janet sighed and got a towel to clean the mess. "Way to go, Janet. You're making real progress by scaring him away," she said with frustration.
When she was finished cleaning she went into the living room. Jack wasn't in there, but the front door was open. Her heart nearly stopped. The bathroom door opened and Jerry came out. "Hello, Janet. Did you--?"
"Jerry!" Janet exclaimed, panic lining her voice. "Jack's gone! He left the apartment!"
Jerry took one look at the open door and nodded. "Right. You go look for him. I'll stay here in case he comes back."
Janet bolted out the door. She ran down the street, her eyes scanning for Jack. "Jack! Jack! Here boy! Jack! Jack, I'm sorry!" She called as she went along. "Jack, please come back! JACK TRIPPER!"
A car pulled up next to her. The window was rolled down and Larry's head popped out. "What's goin' on, Janet? Where's Jack gone?"
Janet sighed. "If I knew I wouldn't be looking for him, would I, Larry?"
Larry nodded. "Hop in. I'll help you find him."
Janet scurried over to the passenger's side and got in as Larry took off again. "So what happened? Was it a fight? Does Jack dig Terri and not you? 'Cause I've been seein' something there for a while--"
"Larry, for the last time, there is no love triangle between Terri, Jack and me! I told you what's wrong with Jack. He's acting like an animal and just like an animal he ran away when I got mad at him."
Larry nodded, eyeing Janet with interest. After awhile he said, "Are you coming down with something, Janet? You're going with the same dumb story so I'm a little worried that--"
"I'm telling the truth!" Janet nearly exploded.
Larry raised a hand. "Okay, all right. I get that you're stressed. I'll shut up now."
"Well, it's about time," Janet said hotly.
They drove around Santa Monica for a good long hour before Larry decided to take Janet back to the apartment. He sighed. "Sorry, Janet. We tried." He opened the door to the apartment and stepped aside so Janet could enter.
As soon as Janet was inside something tackled her with great force. That something was excitedly licking her face. She gasped. "Jack!"
"Whoa, Jack." Larry stared wide-eyed at the scene.
Jerry stood up from the couch and approached them. "He never left, Janet. He went to his room and crawled under the bed. When I told him where you went he appeared very worried. I think he's improving."
"Yeah," Janet agreed as she tried to push Jack off of her, "except that he won't stop licking my face and he has horrible breath."
Jack finally backed off and sat down, looking up at Janet expectantly. She knelt down and hugged him. "Oh, Jack. I promise I won't blow up like that again. I'm so sorry."
Larry knelt as well and stared at Jack. "Jack?"
Jack stood on all fours and growled at Larry. Janet quickly shook her head. "No, no, Jack. This is Larry. Larry is our friend."
Jack looked at her, bewildered and then sat back down, eyeing Larry suspiciously. Larry's eyes grew wider (if that was even possible by then). "I don't believe it. You weren't kidding! He *is* an animal!"
"Told you so," Janet said, standing.
Larry stood as well, scratching his head. Jack tried to stand on his two legs, but fell over backward with a small squeak. Larry gave a low whistle.
Janet nodded. "Pretty unbelieveable, isn't it?"
"I'll say! But I'll bet he's a major babe magnet! Could I take him down the the Regal Beagle for a drink?"
Janet whacked him in the arm. "Larry!"
Just then the door opened and Terri came in, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, Janet! Guess who showed up at the hospital today with a sprained thumb?"
Janet raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Furley?"
Terri narrowed her eyes. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Janet."
"What? Terri, who else would go to the hospital with a sprained thumb?"
Terri looked thoughtful. "True. But it wasn't RF. It was Judge Hammond! The same judge who was at Jack's hearing!"
Janet's eyes widened. "What did you tell him about Jack?"
"I said, 'Training is coming along well, your honor.'"
"Good." Janet sighed with relief.
"And," Terri continued, "I invited him and his family over for Thanksgiving to check up on Jack!" She spread her arms as though expecting applause.
Janet gasped. "Terri! No! How could you?"
Terri dropped her arms and her brow wrinkled in confusion. "That was bad? I thought Jack was doing well."
Janet shook her head and sank into the couch. "Oh, Terri. He is doing well, but there's no way he'll be proper enough by Thanksgiving! There's still so much to do..."
Everyone was quiet. Terri looked crestfallen. Jerry appeared deep in thought. Jack curled up next to Janet on the couch and played with her hair, deep in concentration. After a few minutes Larry spoke, startling Jack. "Janet, Terri, I could help out. I don't really know how much I can do, other than reintroduce Jack to women, but I can try, at least, to help with other things."
Janet smiled at Larry. "That would be very helpful, Larry. Thank you."
"We accept your offer," Terri added, "just know that we've sunk very low."
"Oh, I know," Larry said with a crooked grin. "I know."
Chapter 7: Larry Saves The Day
Janet was up early the next day. She went into the kitchen and tried her hand at some scrambled eggs and toast. She set the table for four and poured four glasses of orange juice to go with the meal. In a short period of time Terri came out of the bedroom yawning. They heard Jerry yelling at Jack in the bathroom. "You missed! How could you bloody miss? My *mother* could aim better than you!"
Terri laughed. "Let me just say that I am *so* glad we don't have to teach Jack how to pee in a toilet."
Janet giggled. "I'm with you there, Terri."
The bathroom door opened and Jack scampered out, glancing nervously over his shoulder at Jerry, who was wiping himself off with a towel. "Problems, Jerry?" Janet asked.
He glared at her. "No, if *I'm* the toilet," he said bitterly.
Terri covered her mouth to stifle another laugh. Janet smiled. "Oh, Jerry. Anyone could--"
"I was behind him," Jerry interrupted.
Terri burst into laughter. Janet couldn't resist and she began laughing, too. Then Jack joined in and Jerry marched to Jack's room to get dressed. "Don't be too long, Jerry! I want everyone to eat together this morning," Janet called.
The three roomates waited patiently for Jerry to come back out (well, Jack got a little impatient and began walking in circles around the couch) and then Janet led them all into the kitchen. "It's the third of November so I think it's about time we got serious about training Jack," she said solemnly.
"You're right," Terri said with fervor.
"So, everyone sit down! We have to show him how it's done," Janet said as she took her seat.
Terri sat across from Janet and Jerry sat on one side of the little table between them. Jack took the hint and sat on the other side of Jerry in between Terri and Janet. He scooted his chair closer to Janet and fell off of it in the process. When he was situated back on the chair, Janet proceeded to dish everyone out some food. Soon everyone had food on their plate. Jack seemed to sense that there was something going on because he didn't dig in as soon as she put the food on his plate. He looked around at everyone anxiously. Janet nodded. Jerry picked up his toast. Janet forked up some scrambled eggs. And Terri picked up the butter knife to butter her toast. Unfortunately Jack saw her hold up the knife and suddenly leaped on her, knocking her from her chair. Terri screamed and dropped the knife. Jerry was up in a flash. Janet ran over to Jack. "No, Jack! Down! Get off of Terri! Get OFF!" She yelled.
She grabbed his hair and pulled. He leaped off of Terri, yelping. Jerry helped Terri up, who was quite shaken up. Jack hid under the table. Janet sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Are you all right, Terri?"
Terri nodded. "Yes. It was just a surprise, that's all. I'm going to go get ready for work."
Jerry picked up his toast and left the kitchen as well. Janet bent down to look at Jack. He scooted back a little bit. She sat down on the floor and leaned back against the refrigerator. "Jack, I need to train you before Thanksgiving and nothing is working. I wish you could see what I'm trying to tell you, Jack. I need you to cooperate! I need you to try not to attack Terri and to learn how to act like a gentleman."
Jack crept out from under the table and slowly approached her, pawing at her face. She continued talking. "And don't expect to butter up to me, Jack Tripper. When you do something bad I need to punish you. How else will you learn not to do it again?"
"Janet," Jack said quietly.
Janet looked up at him. He was looking at her with a face lined with concern. His eyes were soft. He reached out and touched her face gently. "Janet," he said again.
Janet felt warm all of a sudden. She looked down. "Oh, you and your puppy-dog eyes, Jack. I'll let you off today, but if you do something like that again it's the doghouse for you, mister."
Jack jumped up and licked her face before jumping on his chair and happily eating his breakfast. Janet stood and looked at him as he tried to lick up some orange juice and then spit it out because he didn't like the taste. She shook her head. "And my plans for training him this morning have just gone down the drain."
That afternoon Janet and Jerry tried to get Jack to eat a meal like a civilized person again. Just when they all sat down to eat the doorbell rang. Janet made a growling noise. "Ooh, if that's Larry I'm going to kill him." As she left she hollered back, "Try to get him to pick up his sandwich with his hands, Jerry."
She opened the door. It was Mr. Furley. He marched in. "Janet, I need last month's rent and I won't--"
"Yes, Mr. Furley! I'll get that to you, uh...tomorrow, okay!" She said loudly.
He looked at her suspiciously. "You know what, Janet? I think you're hiding something," he said resolutely, crossing his arms over his chest.
Janet shook her head a little too vigorously. "Oh, no, Mr. Furley! No, of course not! Everything's fine here! Terri's at work, Jack's in the kitchen making lunch and--"
Suddenly they heard a loud crash in the kitchen. Janet laughed nervously. "Oh, that Jack. He probably knocked over the, uh...the stove again. I'll have to go help him clean it up."
She ran into the kitchen. Jerry was on the counter, backed up against the wall and holding a sandwich above his head. Jack was barking loudly and trying to jump up to get it. Janet brought her hands to her face. "Jack!"
Mr. Furley went to the door and listened in. "He's trying to get me!" Jerry exclaimed. "He wanted this, but I said he couldn't have it unless he could do it right!"
Mr. Furley's eyes grew as wide as saucers.
Of course Jerry was talking about the sandwich. Janet sighed and took it from him. "I'll give it to him, then."
Mr. Furley brought a hand to his face.
"Now Jack," Janet said, "I want you to use your hands. Can you use your hands?"
"What was he using before?" Mr. Furley whispered to himself in shock.
Jack nodded. Janet handed him the sandwich. He held it to his mouth and took a big bite out of it. Janet squealed with joy. "Oh, Jack! You did it! Oh, I'm so proud of you!" She patted him on the head. "Keep going, you can finish it!"
Mr. Furley fainted.
Jack finished. Janet grabbed Jerry and they began dancing around. "He did it, he did it!" They sang, surprising Jack (it was way out of character for Jerry). But Jack soon joined in, himself shouting, "He did it, he did it!"
Mr. Furley stood up and shook his head. "This place is a madhouse!"
Suddenly the kitchen door swung open and Janet came out. "Well, everything is nice and tidy in there." She smiled.
"Sure it is!" Mr. Furley exclaimed. "I know what's going on in there, Janet, and if you don't shape up NOW then you're outta the apartment!" He pointed an accusing finger at her.
Janet gasped. "No, Mr. Furley! You don't understand! It might take a little while for me to fix Jack, but I promise I *will* fix him!"
If Mr. Furley's eyes could have gotten any wider then they did. "What are you thinking? Maybe he's a little loopy the way he is, but if you fix him you'll be out of this apartment for sure!"
Tears filled Janet's eyes. "I don't understand why you're doing this! Why are you being so cruel? You can't kick us out, you just can't!"
"I can and I will if I don't see some improvement around here and that's final." He crossed his arms over his chest.
Suddenly they heard Jerry shout, "Jack, no!"
The kitchen door swung open and Jack pounced on Mr. Furley, barking angrily. Mr. Furley screamed. "Help! He's finally done it! He's going to molest me!" He exclaimed.
Janet grabbed Jack around the waist and heaved him off of Mr. Furley. She shoved him into the kitchen and picked Mr. Furley up. She pushed him, dumbfounded out the door. "I'll have that rent for you tomorrow, Mr. Furley."
She slammed the door and hurried into the kitchen. "WHAT was that?!" She exclaimed.
Jerry shook his head. He was patting his forehead with a damp cloth. "I tried to stop him, Janet. He heard that man raising his voice to you in a threatening way and he began to growl and walk toward the door. I knew there would be trouble so I grabbed him and tried to stop him from leaving. Unfortuntely my efforts didn't last long. He broke free and you know the rest."
Janet looked around. "Where is Jack?"
Jerry pointed to the table. Janet knelt down. Sure enough Jack was cowering under the table again. She stood up. "Come out from under there right now, Jack."
He slinked out and sat down at her feet, his head bowed. She shook her head. "I can't believe you attacked Mr. Furley, Jack. You may have eaten your sandwich the right way, but you turned around and did something bad afterwards. She knelt down and lifted his chin so that she could see into his eyes. "Look at me, Jack. You never, ever, *ever* attack someone, do you understand me?"
He nodded. She sighed in frustration. "I am very disappointed in you, Jack."
Suddenly a great big tear rolled down Jack's cheek. Janet's mouth opened in surprise. "Oh, Jack. I didn't mean to make you cry," she said, tears filling her own eyes.
He sniffed and looked down. She threw her arms around him. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, Janet," Jack said quietly.
"Well, he sure is picking up on speech quickly," said Jerry.
Janet stood up suddenly and gave Jerry a brief hug. "Oh, Jerry, thank you! That means we are getting somewhere! I'm not a complete failure!"
"Knock knock!" They heard Larry's voice from the living room.
"Does he always just walk right in like that?" Jerry asked.
They left the kitchen and were surprised to find Larry setting up a slide projector and a bedsheet. Janet put a hand on her hip. "Larry, what are you doing?"
Without looking up he replied. "Why, I'm getting ready to teach Jack, of course."
"With a slide projector and a bedsheet?" Jerry said doubtfully.
"That's right, J. Can I call you J?"
Jerry narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything.
In a moment Larry was done. He turned off all the lights and shut all the curtains. Then he put some slides in the projector and pressed a little button on a remote that was attatched to the projector. Suddenly on the bedsheet appeared the picture of an apple. Jack stared at it with wide, curious eyes. Larry took a small metal thing out of his pocket. He pulled on one end it and grew longer. It was a pointer. He pointed it at the apple. "That is an apple," he said as he pulled one out of his pocket and tossed it to Jack. "Whoa, hey, what's that you have there?"
Jack looked down at the apple in his hand. He looked back up at Larry. "Apple."
Jerry's eyes grew wide. Janet gave a squeal and impulsively gave Larry a hug. "Larry, you're a genius!"
Larry grinned. Jerry rolled his eyes. "There's four words you'll never hear again," he said disdainfully.
Larry ignored him and flipped to the next slide. It was a flower. "Flower," he said simply, pointing to it.
He left the apartment for a moment and came back with a small, purple flower. He handed it to Jack. "What is that?"
Jack stared at it stupidly for a moment and then suddenly exclaimed, "Flower!"
The other three cheered. Larry stepped up next to Jack. "And a little tip for later: a flower is a great thing to give to that special girl." He winked.
Jack nodded and set the flower on the couch. Larry went to the next slide. It was a picture of a girl. Larry chuckled. "Ho ho! Speaking of girls...Jack, that's a girl."
"Girl," Jack echoed.
"He's a fast learner," Jerry remarked.
Jack picked up the flower and gave it to Janet. "Special girl," he repeated Jerry's words.
Janet blushed and took it.
"A *very* fast learner," Larry said with obvious interest. "Now you're getting smart, Jack-O!"
Larry continued running through slides. Janet watched Jack pick up more and more words and by the end of the day form the sentance, "The girl ate an apple." All the while she held the little flower close.
Chapter 8: Janet's Twenty Minutes Off
Janet awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon. She smiled and stretched. She was feeling much happier than usual. She wanted to think it was because she had maybe dreamed up the last couple of months. Maybe Jack was the one in there cooking breakfast. Just maybe. But no, it couldn't be. She'd finally decided that this was a dream she wasn't going to wake from. She got up and put on her bathrobe. She went into the kitchen and was joyfully shocked to see Jack standing in front of the stove, flipping eggs. She gasped and ran over to him, flinging her arms around him. "Oh, Jack!"
He turned around with a raised eyebrow. Then he flung his arms around her. "Oh, Janet!" He imitated her.
She just laughed and hugged him some more. He pulled away. "Okay, tell me. What did I do?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just so glad you're here as you."
He scratched his head and then smiled. "Wow. Well, thanks, Janet."
He pulled her into another hug and held her close. She sighed contentedly. She couldn't think of how anything could get any better. But then Jack started nibbling at her ear. She started giggling. "Oh, Jack. Jack, stop." But she knew she didn't really mean it.
Then Jack was licking her face. She shut her eyes tight. "Jack, stop it! Jack!"
He moved away. She opened her eyes and was shocked to find herself lying in bed. Jack was sitting on the bed, holding a shirt in his hand. "Janet, shirt," he said, holding it up so she could see it better.
She sighed. Of course it was a dream. It was too good to be real. "Yes, Jack. That's a shirt," she said irritably.
He shook his head. "No. Shirt."
Janet just got out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe. "Jack, I understand that it's a shirt."
As she put her bathrobe on she heard him whining behind her. She turned around and found him trying to put the shirt on, but failing. She gasped and hurried over to him. "Oh, you mean you can't put the shirt on!"
He nodded and she helped him pull the shirt over his bare chest. "There you go. Next time say, 'Janet, I can't put the shirt on.' Okay?"
"Janet, I can't put the shirt on," he repeated robotically.
Janet patted his head. "Good Jack."
She left hers and Terri's room and realized that she could still smell the bacon. "So who's cooking?"
She went in the kitchen. Terri and Jerry were sitting at the table. Jerry was reading the newspaper and Terri was drinking orange juice. A woman with blonde hair up in a net and wearing an apron was making scrambled eggs. "Who is this?" Janet asked impolitely.
The woman turned around and Janet saw that she was pretty and looked quite young. Jerry looked at her. "Who is who?"
The woman grinned. "I am Helga," she said as she bowed her head slightly. "I am from Sweden."
Janet nodded. She spoke with a Swedish accent, but there was something about her voice that sounded familiar...
"Yes, I've hired Helga for the day to help out around the house," Jerry took over.
"Yeah, because Jerry does *everything* so he needs a break," Terri said sarcastically.
Janet nodded again and sat at the table, motioning for Jack to sit down, too. "So what's on the schedule for today?" Jerry asked, folding up the paper.
Janet shrugged. "I don't know. I was hoping you would tell me."
Jerry placed a hand on Janet's shoulder. "Janet--"
Jack made a low growling noise. Jerry removed his hand. "Janet, I think you've been working very hard trying to train Jack. Maybe you need a bit of a break yourself. Maybe you should go out today and spend some time rejuvinating. If we need you we'll just call."
Janet raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think you and Helga can handle Jack?"
"Hey!" Terri piped, putting her hands on her hips and elbowing Helga, who was coming around the table to put the food down. "I'll be here, too! Jerry talked about this with me a few days ago and I told my boss I'd be taking today off."
Janet stifled a laugh. "Well, Terri...Jack hasn't really warmed up to you yet."
"No, but he could," Terri appeared offended.
Janet sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I think you're right, Jerry. I'm starting to feel the stress in my bones."
So under an hour later, when Janet had showered, dressed and put on her coat, she bid goodbye to Jack. She knelt down to his level. "Jack, I'm going to go out for the day, but I'll be back in time for supper, I promise. I need you to be good for Jerry, Terri and Helga. Okay? Can you do that?"
Jack nodded hesitantly. Janet kissed his cheek and stood. "Well, everyone...good luck!"
She went out the door. Jack turned so that he was facing the door and just stared at it. Jerry looked at Helga and nodded. She suddenly grinned. "Well, I will be cleaning the rooms now. Arvouir!" She bowed her head and left for the bedrooms.
Jerry rubbed his forehead. *Arvouir* wasn't Swedish, but luckily Terri didn't seem to notice. She was staring at Jack intently. Jerry stepped up beside her. "Is something troubling you?"
She nodded slowly. "It's just...Jerry, I want Jack to like me, too. I feel like I'm not helping at all because Jack doesn't like me. I mean, I do understand why he warmed up to Janet so quickly. He's only known her for how long? And I get Larry, too. Jack and Larry have always been really good friends from what I understand. But...Jack warmed up to you after a week or so for the most part. Why doesn't he like me? He's known me much longer than he's known you."
Jerry sighed. "Terri, right now Jack has the mind and the instincts of an animal for the most part. People have always wondered why animals do one thing and not another, etcetera. When I was a little boy we had a dog and he only liked the men he met. He would attack the women. Maybe that's part of it. Larry and I are men and Janet was just an exception because she was so nurturing and Jack can remember her from when he wasn't a dog. Do you understand?"
Terri suddenly flung her arms around Jerry. "Yes, I do! Thank you, Jerry!"
Jerry mustered a smile and then turned away. "Well, I'm going to see how Helga's doing. I'll be leaving you alone with Jack. Be careful, okay?"
Terri nodded while Jerry went back into one of the bedrooms. Jack stayed in his spot, staring intensly at the door. After awhile Terri spoke. "Staring at it long enough won't make Janet come back in." She chuckled.
Jack turned his head and looked at her with angry, narrowed eyes. He growled and then turned his head back so that he was looking at the door.
Terri sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. *What is wrong with me? Okay. Just think, Terri. What did Larry and Janet do that you're not doing? Janet...Janet sings to him and gives him dog treats....and Larry is teaching him how to talk. What Janet isn't doing is elbowing him or making wise-cracking jokes. What Larry isn't doing is ruining Jack's life, or handing off his dates to him. They're not treating him how they did before! That's my problem. I'm still treating him like the old Jack.* She put her hands in her pockets and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Jack. Janet will come back soon. She just needs an alone day. Do you understand?"
Jack suddenly bowed his head and then got up and walked grudgingly over to the window. Terri rubbed her chin. *Okay. What would Janet do?*
She suddenly grinned and marched over to him. "Sheeeeeeeee'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes! She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes! Yeeha! She'll be comin' 'round the mountain, she'll be comin' 'round the mountain, she'll be comin' round the--"
Her singing was cut off when Jack suddenly howled. Terri jumped back, putting her hands over her ears. It was loud and sounded awful! "Jack! Jack, stop it! Okay, I get it! I won't sing again!"
But Jack continued howling. Terri heard a cat meow outside. A car horn beeped. Dogs from elsewhere began howling and barking back. She thrust her hand over Jack's mouth to shut him up, but that was a very bad idea. He whirled on her. "Terri, me alone!" He barked so fiercly that she fell over backwards.
Jack turned his head back to the window and continued howling. Jerry finally ran out of the bedroom. "What on earth is going on in here?"
Terri stood up, rubbing her posterior. She shook her head. *I'm sure Jack meant to say 'Leave me alone'. He hates me.*
Suddenly they heard a loud banging on the door. Jack ran to the door, excitedly. But they heard Mr. Furley's voice on the other side of it. "Kids, open up! Open this door right now!"
Terri looked at Jerry and mouthed the words, "Mr. Furley," panic on her face. Jack looked both surprised and disappointed to hear Mr. Furley's voice instead of Janet's. Jerry grabbed him and dragged him over to the couch. "Jack, sit on the couch. Don't move and don't talk."
"Look natural!" He said to Terri as he sat on a chair and picked up a nearby book.
Terri leaned against the wall and twirled her hair. "Open this door!" Mr. Furley was still hollering.
Jerry sighed. "One of us has to open the door, Terrence."
"Oh, right." Terri scrambled to the door and flung it open, a wide, fake smile on her face. "Mr. Furley! *What* a surprise!" She laughed nervously. "Why don't you--"
He marched past her and into the apartment.
"--come right in," she finished, shutting the door.
"What was all that racket I heard coming from in here?" Mr. Furley said, putting his hands on his hips. "The tenants were complaining, the neighbors were complaining...even the deli two blocks down was complaining! What was it? Well?" He started tapping his foot.
Terri and Jerry looked at each other, both uncertain of what to say. Mr. Furley stopped tapping his foot. "Wait now, I know who is responsible." He nodded surely.
He walked over to Jack and sat down on the couch. Jerry and Terri exchanged panicked glances. "Jack!" Mr. Furley exclaimed. "What were those noises I heard?"
Jack just stared at him, his body rigid.
"Come on! Out with it!"
Jack continued to stare. Terri had her fingers crossed.
"Tell me right now, Jack Tripper!" Mr. Furley was getting impatient.
Jack stared back.
"Speak!" Mr. Furley yelled.
Jack barked, shocking Mr. Furley enough that he tumbled backwards off of the couch. Terri stifled a giggle. Mr. Furley bounced up, dusting himself off. He appeared thoughtful. Then he nodded slowly. "Something isn't right here," he said.
Jerry and Terri looked at each other and then back at Mr. Furley. Mr. Furley was nodding faster now. "That's right. Where's Janet?"
A wave of relief spread of Terri.
"Out," Jack said.
Jerry looked at him with alarm. He brought his finger across his throat to tell him to cut it out, but Jack didn't get it. "Alone," Jack added.
Mr. Furley nodded some more. "Ohhhh. Out alone, huh? Needed to get away from you wackos?" He pointed to Jerry and Jack, laughing at his own lame joke.
Jack narrowed his eyes and started growling. Mr. Furley squinted to get a better look at him. "Wait a minute! Now I know what's not right here! It's you!" He pointed an accusing finger at Jack. "What's really going on here?"
Terri couldn't think of a reply and it appeared neither could Jerry. Jack certainly didn't know what to say and was too preoccupied with growling at Jerry to care anyway. It was very lucky that just then Helga came out. She walked toward him and he backed up toward the door. "Now YOU listen here, you! You may own this building, but you have absolutely NO right sticking your nose into their personal lives! If Mr. Tripper is gay SO WHAT! Leave him alone! And stop making Ms. Alden and Ms. Wood miserable by always peeking into their lives like that! And you don't even KNOW Jerry so leave him alone, too!" She opened the door. "And one more thing! That outfit is *so* last year!" She pushed him out the door. "Goodbye, sir!" She slammed the door.
For a moment all was quiet. Then Terri ran over and hugged Helga. "Oh, thank you, Helga! No one has ever told Mr. Furley off that well!"
Jerry looked panicked however. "Yes, thank you, Helga," he said hurriedly. "You're dismissed. I think your work is done here."
Helga looked embarrassed. She grinned cheesily and bowed her head to Terri. "I wish you luck with Mr. Tripper. Bonjour!" She left the apartment.
Terri scratched her head. "Isn't 'bonjour' French for hello?"
Jerry nodded quickly. "Yes, yes it is. But it's also Swedish for goodbye."
Terri shrugged. "That's interesting."
Just then the door opened and Janet walked in. "Where is Helga going?" She asked.
"She's done," Jerry said cooly, regaining his composure.
"Oh."
Jack leaped over the couch and ran at Janet. "Down, Jack!" She exclaimed. "No tackling people, remember?"
He stopped abruptly in front of her and sat down, looking up at her expectantly. She smiled and bent down. "Hi, Jack."
He licked her face. Suddenly the door behind her flung open, knocking her into Jack and Jack backwards so that he was on his back and she was on top of him, their faces only inches apart. For a moment Janet couldn't breathe. When she had left the apartment she had come to grips with the fact that she did have a crush on Jack at least. Why else would she have liked it so much when he nibbled her ear in that dream she had? No, she couldn't deny it anymore. But she still got butterflies in that moment, being so close to him in such an intimate way.
But then she felt someone grab her around the waist and pick her up. It was Larry. He set her on her feet. "Sorry about that, Janet. You and Jack shouldn't have been making out right next to the door," he sniggered.
Janet turned bright red. "What are you doing here, Larry?"
"What are *you* doing here?" Terri said to Janet. "I thought you were going out for the day. You were only gone for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes."
Janet nodded. "Well, I was going to go down to the Regal Beagle for a drink or something when I realized I had forgotten my purse. So I came back to get it."
"Oh." Terri gave a nod.
Janet turned back to Larry. "Now what are *you* doing here?"
"I was going to take Jack to the Regal Beagle myself. But since you want to go maybe we could all just go." He grinned.
Terri grabbed her coat. "That's a great idea, Larry."
Janet shook her head. She took Terri's coat from her and put it back on the coat rack. "No, no it's not! Larry, Jack isn't fit for going out in public yet. Not until he can act better around people, talk more like a grown man, and walk upright. Okay? When he has all of that down we'll take him to the Regal Beagle. I promise."
Larry sighed and shrugged. "Alright then. But I'm gonna hold you to that promise."
"I'm sure you will," Janet said flatly.
Larry looked down at Jack, who was tugging on his shirt. "Yeah, buddy?"
"Pictures," Jack said, his eyes shining. "Pictures!"
Larry looked at Janet. "Pictures?"
"I think he means the slideshow, Larry."
Larry nodded. "Oh, right." He bent down so that he was eye-level with Jack. "Hey, Jack-O, I didn't bring that with me this time. But I did bring this." He pulled a small book out of his jacket pocket. He flipped through it really fast and they saw that it was full of colorful pictures. Jack "ooohed".
Soon Larry was sitting on the couch, Jack next to him, and teaching him how to form proper sentances. Jerry disappeared into the kitchen. Terri sat on the chair and flipped through a magazine. And Janet sat on the other side of Jack, pondering her strange feelings for him and smiling everytime he would turn to her and excitedly say a new word.
Chapter 9: The Broadcast
That night before they went to bed, Janet asked Terri what had happened while she was gone. Terri started by telling her how she had tried to get Jack to like her and how she had failed miserably. "Oh, Janet. He hates me. He must hate me."
Janet got off of her bed and sat next to Terri, putting an arm around her. "Oh, Terri. Jack doesn't hate you. When you first moved in, then he hated you a little bit. But he doesn't anymore." Janet smiled.
Terri smiled as well as she recalled when she had first moved into the little apartment. She sighed. "Janet, you and Jack have become so much like a brother and sister to me. I don't where I would be if I had never met you."
Janet blinked back some humble tears and hugged Terri. "And you're like a sister to me, too, Terri. So what happened after that?"
Terri continued with the story. But Janet interrupted her at one point. "What do you mean, Mr. Furley *started* to figure out something was wrong? He knows about Jack! At least, that's what he told me the other day when Jerry and I were trying to get Jack to eat a sandwich with his hands."
Terri shook her head. "I don't know, Janet. He just looked completely clueless to me."
"When doesn't he?"
The girls shared a giggle and then Janet grew serious again. "Seriously, though, Terri. What is he trying to pull?"
They were quiet for awhile until Terri gasped. "Oh, Janet! Maybe *Mr. Furley* is the bad guy!"
Janet snorted. "Terri, Mr. Furley can't even tell an orange from an apple sometimes. Do you really think he could have done all of this?"
Terri shook her head. "No. You're right. He only could have done it if it was by accident."
"Or if he were framed."
"Yeah," they said together.
"Well," Janet spoke after another moment of silence, "what happened then? How did you get rid of RF?"
Terri's eyes widened and she grinned. "Oh, it was great, Janet! Helga told him off! Oh, she told him off good! She said...uh...well, I don't remember exactly, but she basically told him to mind his own business! Then she pushed him out the door. The only thing interesting, I thought, was that her accent went away while she was yelling. But when she spoke after that it was back again." Her brow furrowed in confusion.
Janet's eyes grew wide. She grabbed Terri's shoulders. "Terri!"
"What?"
"She wasn't Swedish!"
Terri rubbed her chin. "Then why would she pretend to be Swedish? What's the point in that?"
"Maybe she was trying to cover up for something," Janet said, thoughtfully. "Did anything else interesting happen with Helga?"
Terri thought for a minute. "Well...oh, when she went to clean to bedrooms Jerry went to 'see how she was doing'. Maybe there's a love interest there." She put her two index fingers together and winked.
Janet laughed and then grew quiet. "So Jerry's having an affair with Helga, who really isn't Swedish, but was pretending to be so we wouldn't suspect that she really isn't a maid at all, but just has something going on with Jerry," she whispered.
Terri nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
Janet rubbed her chin. "Jerry's getting more intriguing by the minute."
=-=
The next morning Janet was sitting on the couch with Jack, reading while he watched cartoons. Jerry announced that morning that Jack had urinated *in* the toilet and he'd done it all by himself so Janet told him to go out and get some donuts to celebrate a small victory. Terri was at work.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. Jack turned to look at the door. Janet set down her book and hurried to the door. She pulled it open and nearly fell over backwards when Mr. Angelino pushed his way inside! "Mr. Angelino!" She gasped in shock.
Angelino paid no attention to her. He marched right over to the couch. "Tripper, where's my rent?" He said in his comandeering voice.
Jack fell over backwards off the couch. Janet hurried over. "Mr. Angel--"
"Joe may be taking charge for the next few days, but I still expect the rent from you. Where is it, hm?"
Jack looked frightened. Janet grabbed Mr. Angelino's arm and turned him around. "Mr. Angelino, let me explain. Jack mailed the rent to you. So you should get it by mail in a couple of--"
Angelino whirled around again. "Tripper!" He barked. Jack had just climbed back on the couch and fell off again at Angelino's loud voice. "You should know better than to trust so much money to the postal service--especially when it's *my* money! For that I--"
"Mr. Angelino!" Janet grabbed his arm and turned him around again. "You don't understand. I'm the one who sent the rent. Jack gave it to me to give to you and I--"
Angelino turned back around. "Entrusting my money to some young fling? Tripper, you're--"
"Sick!" Janet screeched, turning Angelino back around. "He's sick, Mr. Angelino. That's the only reason he gave it to me. And, actually, he didn't give it willingly. He was about to drag himself all the way down to your restaurant with the money! But I took it from him to give to you because he would just exhaust himself if he--"
"Very well," Angelino snapped. "But if I don't get it in the mail in two days I'll be very, very angry. That's a warning."
Janet nodded vigorously. "Oh, of course, sir. Of course." She grabbed his arm and brought him to the door. "Have a--"
Angelino spun around again, pointing a finger at Jack. "And, Tripper, wipe that idiotic expression off your face. You look like a dumb mutt."
He turned around and stalked out of the building. "Have a nice day!" Janet hollered, slamming the door shut behind him and slumping down against it. She breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close!"
Jack padded timorously over to her and sat in front of her. "What was that?" He said, unsure of his word usage.
Janet smiled and ruffled his hair. "That was Mr. Angelino. He wanted the rent from your restaurant."
"Rent?" Jack queered.
"The money," Janet explained.
Jack nodded. "Will he hurt Janet?"
Janet shook her head. "No, of course not."
Jack grinned. "Good."
Janet smiled and gently carressed his cheek. "Thank you, Jack. You're really very sweet."
He grinned from ear to ear. Just then they heard the doorknob moving and they quickly moved so Jerry could come in with the donuts.
=-=
That afternoon when Jerry went into Jack's room to take a nap Janet sat Jack down on the couch to teach him how to walk upright. He leaned over the back of the couch to watch her as she walked back and forth casually behind it. "See, Jack? It's really easy. Now you try."
He climbed over the back of the couch and she sat down on it to watch him. He tried to stand up, but he fell back down. Janet got off the couch and helped him stand. "Okay. Now walk."
She moved away. His legs wobbled and he fell down. "I can't," he moaned.
Janet sighed and let Jack climb back onto the couch. The doorbell rang and she walked to the door. "You'd think Jerry could get it every once in a while. He *is* supposed to be like a temporary butler," she grumbled.
She opened the door and was greeted with the flash of a camera. A news crew stumbled inside, followed by a reporter with a camera and a small tape recorder. "What is this?" She asked.
A brunette with big hair and a microphone said, "I'm Tuesday Jones from Around Our World At Night. I'm here to get an interview with you. I called the other day and you said you were free this afternoon."
Janet's mouth was open. "No, no you didn't call me." Then it dawned on her. "Oh, you must have gotten Terri, my roommate." She shook her head and put a hand on her hip. "And she said it was okay for you to interview me. Well, why didn't she--"
The phone rang. Janet excused herself and hurried over to it. "Hello?"
"Hi, Janet!" It was Terri. She sounded a bit nervous.
"Terri! Why didn't--"
"Listen, Janet, a reporter or something called a couple of days ago asking if she could have an interview with Janet Wood about some Save Jack Project. I thought it would be great and I told them you were free this afternoon. The only problem: I forgot to tell you." She laughed nervously again. "So they should be over--"
"Right now. Terri, I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Janet hissed through the receiver.
"I'm sorry, Janet. I have to go now, but I'll be watching it on the news tonight! Bye!"
"Terri, wait--"
The click of Terri hanging up interrupted her. She sighed and set the phone back down. She turned to face the news crews.
"Is everything all right?" Said Tuesday.
Janet nodded. "Yes. But before we go on the air--we aren't on the air are we?" Her heart nearly stopped.
Tuesday laughed. "Oh, no."
Janet sighed with relief. "Okay, good, because before we go on the air you need to know that Jack still isn't trained to act around people. We're currently working on that."
Tuesday nodded. "That's just fine. The rest of the crew will stay far enough away. So, this is how we want to do it..."
=-=
That night at six Janet, Jack, Terri, Larry and Jerry all crowded on the couch and chair in apartment 201 to watch the special on Jack. "This is great, Jack-O! All the chicks will want your number if they know you've been on T.V." Larry said.
Jack nodded and turned to Janet. "What is my number?" He whispered.
"I'll tell you later, Jack."
Silence.
"Janet, what are chicks?"
"Shh! It's on!" Terri shouted.
The theme music for Around Our World At Night came on and they saw a man sitting in front of a screen. On the screen was a picture of Jack looking off to the side and smiling. Underneath him were the words: The Save Jack Project. The music ended and the man spoke. "Hello," he said in a dry, mechanical voice. "I'm Rocky Johnson and welcome to Around Our World At Night. Tonight's top story is one of fairytale proportions. It's the story of a boy, a girl and a tragedy, but a tragedy that's in the process of being righted. Earlier today Tuesday Jones went into the home of Jack Tripper, Janet Wood and Terri Alden where she took a look into the lives of three people whose lives have radically changed."
He disappeared and they saw Tuesday standing outside of their apartment. "Behind this simple door lies a story. It's the story of three roommates: Jack Tripper, Janet Wood and Terri Alden. These three people lived together happily for some time before it happened. Late August of this year Jack was rushed to the hospital. The police told Janet he had been in an accident. Only Terri, who is a nurse at the hospital, knew the truth--that Jack was found lying beside his car, unconscience and in need of a doctor. And less than one hour later Jack would become...a monster."
The scene disolved and they saw the hospital. Tuesday's voice spoke. "But before I stepped into the lair of the beast, I took a stroll over to this hospital to find out exactly what the doctors know about Jack and his condition."
They saw her standing next to Dr. Huxtable. "I'm here with Dr. Heathcliffe Huxtable, who was the head doctor when Jack was brought in that fateful night. Dr. Huxtable, what was the first odd thing you noticed about Jack's condition?"
"Well, when the young man threw one of my fellow doctors across the room I suspected that this was no ordinary case," Dr. Huxtable said casually.
"So it's safe to say that when you saw Jack you thought he was...well, a monster?"
"No, actually. I thought he was a human being." Dr. Huxtable's eyes twinkled.
Tuesday was obviously getting frustrated. "So there was nothing scary about him at all?"
"No, no, I didn't say that. The man did have some awful breath."
Tuesday sighed.
"And that, that scared me," Dr. Huxtable continued.
That scene went away and showed Tuesday next to Terri. "I'm here with Nurse Terri Alden. Not only is she one of Jack's roommates, but she was there when he came to life, a different Jack than the one she had known. Ms. Alden, did Jack's behavior scare you?"
Terri nodded. "Of course it did, Tuesday. He was throwing my co-workers across the room, he was breaking the straps that should have held him down, he was roaring like some wild animal...he was scary. He was very scary."
"And his case is unexplainable?"
"Oh yes. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him. He's as healthy as a horse...or maybe a dog..."
"Ms. Alden, when you first saw Jack in that hospital room in August, did you ever think he could be trained to act like a harmless human being again?"
Terri looked upward in thought. She finally shook her head slowly. "No. I had no hope at all for Jack."
It went back to Tuesday standing in front of the apartment door. "After interviewing the medical professionals I decided the only way this case could come out in the open was if I took a leap of faith and came to this small, crummy apartment complex in Santa Monica."
The screen showed Rocky Johnson again. "Man or monster? We'll let you decide when we return shortly with more of our top story."
Terri put her face in her hands. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed! I didn't have any hope at all for Jack and I told everyone on national television! Not only that, but Dr. Huxtable had hope and I didn't and Dr. Huxtable never even *met* Jack before!" She cried.
Larry was sitting next to her and he put his arm around her. "Cheer up, Ter. You only said what you thought."
"That's right," Janet piped from her spot on the other side of Jack. "I didn't have any hope either when I saw him in that hospital room."
"No one ever has hope in a hospital room," Larry said.
But Terri just shook her head. They were quiet until the program came back on.
Rocky Johnson re-introduced everyone to the main story and then it went to Tuesday, standing on the inside of the apartment door. "Welcome everyone to the quaint home of Jack Tripper, Janet Wood and Terri Alden. Right now Terri is at work, but that's all right. We're here to see Janet, who has been taking on the big responsibility of training Jack; and Jack, the poor soul whose life was tragically changed by what was probably the most horrific accident a human being could have."
She walked over to the chair and sat down. Jack and Janet were on the couch, Janet closer to the chair. "Ladies and gentlemen, Janet Wood."
The camera panned over to Janet, who smiled ever-so slightly.
"And Jack Tripper."
The camera went to Jack, who just stared stupidly at it.
The camera went back to Tuesday. "Janet, what exactly were you thinking when you decided that you could take on this responsibility? Training the animal Jack to act and think like a human again...how big of a responsibility is that, really?"
It showed Janet, who nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. "W-well, it's an enormous responsibility. I--well, I could never do this alone. We--me, Jerry, Larry and Terri--have been working together to teach him how to dress himself, go to the bathroom, act around people, eat right, talk right, walk upright...basically everything. It's like he's a little baby."
"And what were you thinking when you decided that you would and could train little Jack to become big Jack?"
Janet looked over at Jack. The camera moved a little bit so that you could see him, too. "Well, I guess I was thinking that Jack is my friend and there is no way I'm going to just sit by and let him get locked up in an insane asylum, or let him lose the rest of his life to something that I could maybe fix."
"So how has training been coming along for Jack?"
Janet smiled and looked back at Jack. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask Jack."
The camera panned over to Jack, who peered at it through narrowed eyes. "Jack," Tuesday's voice said, and Jack's head snapped in her direction. "How are you today?"
"Fine."
"Do you like being trained?"
Jack nodded.
"What is your favorite thing that you have learned?"
Jack grinned. "Roses are red and violets are blue. Flowers are pretty and Janet is, too. My friend Larry taught me that." He said proudly.
The Janet onscreen was blushing and so was the Janet in the living room.
Tuesday chuckled. "That's very sweet. One more question, Jack. What do you think of Janet?"
Jack's face lit up. "Janet is my friend. She is funny and she loves me even if I do something bad."
He leaned over and licked Janet's face. Janet nervously patted him on the head. "He's really sweet," she said bashfully.
Tuesday smiled and turned to Janet. "So, Janet, would you say it's been hard to train Jack? Has he been a 'bad dog' quite a bit?"
Janet smiled herself and looked down. "Just enough to get me frustrated sometimes." She looked back up. "But he's really very good and we've been making outstanding progress. I really am surprised."
"So now, we had a reporter in the court hearing in October and when he told us about your story we announced it at the end of one of our shows. We got tons of emails and letters from people who wanted to know more about it. Then we got some letters from people who thought Jack should be locked away and wanted us to air the bad part of the story. But we got so many more good letters of support that we decided to run this. From what I have seen Jack is very civilized." She reached over to Janet and shook her hand. "Thank you, Janet." She then stretched out her hand to Jack. In the apartment Jerry, Terri and Larry all held their breaths. Jack, taking Janet's example shook Tuesday's hand, too. "Thank you, Jack." Tuesday smiled.
In the apartment Terri cheered, Jerry clapped and Larry gently slugged Jack in the shoulder. "Way to go, Jack-O!"
Janet ruffled Jack's hair. "I was so proud of him." She smiled.
On the television it went back to Rocky Johnson. "So folks, is Jack Tripper a man or a monster? Before even going to his apartment this afternoon we gathered different reporters from around the country to ask civilians that very question. We'll be right back with some of their responses."
In the apartment Janet's mouth popped open. "Gees," Larry spoke, "how many people know about this anyway?"
Janet shook her head. "I had thought it was just us, the doctors and everyone at the hearing."
"Well, thanks to that one reporter at the hearing everyone in the world seems to know!" Terri exclaimed.
They talked about it until Jack pointed out that the show was back on. They settled down to watch.
Once again it was Rocky Johnson. "Well, folks, let's hear what some normal folks like you had to say about and to Jack in regards to his position. Man...or monster?"
The screen flipped and it showed a young woman with a baby. "Hi," she said in a southern accent, "I'm Abby Henderson from Dallas, Texas. I think Jack is a man and, Janet Wood, I commend you for goin' against the odds and doin' this. You inspire single women everywhere who have big duties to tend to." She looked down at her baby.
The screen flipped again to show a young boy who was grinning widely, showing off some missing teeth. He was outside and they could see snow falling behind him. "I'm Jimmy Fields and I'm from Detroit, Michigan. Jack is not a monster and I know he can be a real life person again. Good luck, Jack!" He did a thumbs up.
Next it showed a mild-mannered family. A gentleman had his hand around his wife and two little boys stood in front of them. "I'm Dennis Michaels. This is my wife Rachel and our two boys, John and Thomas. We live in Pensacola, Florida and I just want to say that no human being should be treated like an animal. Jack is a man, not a monster, and with the proper training from Miss. Janet Wood he certainly can be just as normal as anyone else. So good luck to you both and we'll be praying for you."
The next person it showed was a little girl with curly red hair. She was wearing snow clothes and waved at them with a mittened hand. "I'm Tina Douglas from Grand Island Nebraska and I'm four years old. I believe in you, Jack. Get better soon!"
The next two people it showed shocked Janet and Larry into tears of laughter. It was Mr. and Mrs. Roper! "I'm Helen Roper from Santa Monica, California and this is my husband Stanley," said the kind Mrs. Roper. "We know from experience that Jack is a man--"
"Well, sort of," Stanley quipped.
Helen just ignored him and continued. "--that Jack is a man and not a monster. Janet, if anyone can help him we know it's you. Jack, honey, we'll support you all the way through this." She elbowed Stanley.
"Oh, yeah. We will," he added.
The screen flipped to show a gentleman in a brown beret. In the background they could see Big Ben in London! "Yes, I am William Pierce in London England," he spoke with a thick cockney accent, "an' I know Mr. Jack Tripper is a human bean so cu' 'im some slack! Blessings from England!" He waved.
Janet gasped and jumped off of the couch as the screen started to flip back to Rocky Johnson. "Guys! In the background! In London...oh my gosh!"
"What?" Terri asked, her hand over her heart at Janet's sudden reaction.
"It was him!" Janet was jumping up and down. "It was *him*!"
"It was who?!" Larry exploded.
"Elias!"
Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor
"Who?" Larry was still confused.
"Oh my gosh!" Terri jumped up herself and put her hands on her face. She regained her composure. "I know this is bad, but I can't put my finger on how."
"Of course it's bad, Terri! The guy keeps popping up everywhere...he *definitely* has something to do with Jack's situation!" Janet exclaimed.
"Who does?" Larry asked.
"Better yet," Jerry also jumped up, "now we know where he is! I'll be right back!"
He ran into the kitchen excitedly.
"Okay," said Terri. "I understand all of that, but how does he hurt Jack if he's over in London?"
"Who's trying to hurt Jack?" Larry queered.
"Well," Janet spoke, "he doesn't. He can't hurt him if he's in London. But who knows why he's there and who knows when he'll be back. He could--"
"WHO THE HELL IS ELIAS?!" Larry shouted, jumping to his feet.
Janet and Terri looked at him with wide eyes and Jack tried to hide under the couch. "Well, gee, Larry. You could have asked us before now. You didn't have to blow up." Janet sighed as she tried to get Jack to calm down.
Terri explained who Elias was so that Larry was no longer in the dark.
Then the doorbell rang. Terri clasped her hands together. "Oh, Janet, do you think that's a fan who saw the special on T.V. and wants to see you and Jack now?"
Janet stood and straightened her hair. "Jack, look presentable!" She whispered to Jack.
He sat back on the couch and tried to straighten his hair like she did hers. Larry posed with one hand on his hip and the other in his pocket. He wore a goofy smile. Terri puffed up her hair and then opened the door. Mr. Furley came barging in.
"Oh, Mr. Furley. It's just you," Janet sighed.
"We thought it was someone important," Larry added.
Mr. Furley didn't seem to notice the remark. He walked up to Janet. "Janet, I just want to apologize for being so nosy lately. Truth is, it's not my nature."
Behind Janet Terri raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip.
Janet smiled. "It's okay, Mr. Furley. We understand that--"
"No, no, I was a real--you do? Oh. Well that makes it a lot easier. By the way, I hope Jack gets back to norm--I hope you can train him. And Janet, if you train him to be a normal man I'll have to kick all of you out of the apartment, you know." Mr. Furley crossed his arms over his chest, as if to remind them that he was the law around there.
Janet nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll try to make Jack as much like the old Jack as I can."
"Okay. If you're sure." Mr. Furley sighed and left.
Terri shut the door behind him. "Well, at least Mr. Furley knows what's going on now and is supportive."
"Yeah. That relieves some of my stress." Janet ran a hand through her hair.
Jerry came out of the kitchen then. "Who's up for tea and scones?"
"And that adds to it," Larry said, pointing to Jerry. "I'm outta here."
Terri, Janet and Jack allowed Jerry to serve them tea and scones. It might have been nice, but Jack ate all of the scones and then took a drink of tea to wash them down. Either it was too hot or he just didn't like the taste because then he spit it all over Jerry. So tea and scones was canceled when a fuming Jerry marched off to take a shower, leaving Jack bewildered and Janet and Terri giggling.
=-=
The next day started like any other day. Terri left for work. Jerry locked himself in Jack's room, telling Janet to holler if she needed anything. Janet and Jack sat on the couch while Janet tried to decide what to teach Jack. She finally sighed. "You know what, Jack? I have no idea how people eat at a ball. Normally you would know this, being a chef, but you're the one I have to teach it to!" She sighed and leaned her head against her hand.
Jack could sense her distress. "I am sorry, Janet," he said.
She patted him on the head. "Oh, it's not your fault, Jack. It's whoever-did-this-to-you's fault. I just wish...wait, perhaps Jerry knows a thing or two about proper etiquette. He *is* British. Jerry!"
In a few seconds Jerry came out of the bedroom. "Yes, Janet?"
"Jerry, could you teach Jack proper etiquette?" Janet asked.
Jerry breathed a long sigh. "As fun as that sounds, I have a dirty great migraine. If I could get some rest, that would be quite nice."
Janet nodded vigorously. "Oh, of course, Jerry, of course. I hope you feel better soon."
"Thank you," Jerry said as he went into the bedroom.
Janet sighed as Jack crept closer to play with her hair. "Well, that's that."
Just then the doorbell rang. Janet answered it. Her eyes grew so wide they nearly popped out of her head. "Chrissy!" She gasped.
Chrissy came right in and spread her arms. They hugged. Chrissy then moved away and saw Jack sitting on the couch, watching her with interest. "Oh, Jack! Little Jackie dog!" She started to walk toward him.
"Uh, Chrissy, I would be careful. He doesn't talk politely to..." Janet trailed off and lapsed into a stunned silence.
Chrissy came right up to Jack and scratched him behind the ears. He shut his eyes and smiled, letting Chrissy ruffle his hair. "He's so sweet!" Chrissy smiled.
Janet nodded and then walked up to them. "Chrissy, what are you doing here?"
Chrissy grinned widely. "Well. I saw that thingie on Jack on the television last night. I packed up and headed over here early this morning to help."
"Oh, Chrissy. That's very kind of you, but how can you help?"
"I know lots of stuff, Janet!" Chrissy defended herself. "And if I know it you can't take it away from me because I already know it!"
Janet sighed and rubbed her forehead. *Great. That makes lots of sense.*
"What do you need help with?" Chrissy continued brightly.
"Well, how about the kind of etiquette and table manners people use at a ball? Do you know that, Chrissy?"
Chrissy smiled and nodded. "I sure do! I'm a minister's daughter, Janet. I had to know all the proper table manners and how-do-you-do's for when we had people over for dinner or when they invited us over for dinner. Ministers are invited over for dinner a lot, you know."
"I do now. Are you absolutely sure you know the proper etiquette, Chrissy?" Janet asked again, still doubtful.
Chrissy nodded. "Oh yes. Did you know, Janet, that if Jack is a boy he should never shake a girl's hand? He's supposed to kiss it. Boys are never supposed to shake a girl's hand." She shook her head. "And if I get stuck, I have this!" She pulled a small book out of her pocket. "It's my mother's. A Guide to Proper Etiquette, see? Every single rule is written in here. At least, I think so."
Janet flung her arms around Chrissy. "Oh, Chrissy! Thank you! You're the answer to our prayers!"
"You were praying?" Chrissy asked, slightly surprised.
Janet shook her head. "Well, no. It's a metaphor."
"A meta-what?" Chrissy asked.
Luckily, though, Janet didn't have to explain a metaphor. Just then Jerry walked out of the bedroom. "What *is* all the racket out here?"
"Jerry, this is mine and Jack's oldest roommate, Chrissy. Chrissy and I were friends and roommates before we even met Jack. Chrissy, this is Jerry. He's helping us manage stuff while Jack is in training," Janet explained.
Jerry took Chrissy's hand and kissed it. "How do you do, madam?"
Chrissy jumped up and down. "See, Janet? That's how it's done!" She looked over at Jack. "Did you see that Jack? That's what you do."
Janet sighed. "Oh, Chrissy, Jack isn't going to understand 'That's what you do.'"
Chrissy walked over to Jack and extended her hand. He took it and kissed it. "How do you do, madam?" He echoed Jerry.
Chrissy squealed and jumped up and down again. "Did you see that, Janet? Did you see it?"
Janet shook her head, gaping. "I don't believe it."
The rest of the day Chrissy taught Jack manners and for the most part he picked up a lot. "You know," Chrissy remarked once, "it would be a lot easier to teach him if he could walk on his back legs."
"He doesn't have front legs," Jerry said.
"But his legs are still back legs," Chrissy insisted.
Chrissy, with Jerry's help occasionally, continued to teach Jack until Terri came home. Then there were more introductions. "This place is starting to get crowded," Terri commented that evening.
Janet nodded. "It is. Jerry, maybe you should go stay with Larry."
"Me stay with *him*?" Jerry spewed.
"You don't like Larry?" Chrissy queered.
Jerry just pursed his lips. Janet put a hand on his shoulder. "It might be the best thing, Jerry. Unless you want one of us to go stay with him."
Jerry sighed. "I'll get my things."
"You can come over anytime," Terri added.
In a few minutes they had called Larry and let him in on everything. He said that he would be over in a flash to say hi to Chrissy, and then he wanted to take Jerry out for a drink at the Reagle Beagle ("It's better than tea and scones," he added). When Jerry was gone the girls were alone with Jack.
"Gee, I hope it's safe without Jerry," Terri said, nervously watching Jack.
Janet rolled her eyes. "Oh, Terri. Does that look like someone you need protection from?" She motioned to Jack, who was picking dirt out from under his toenails. "When did Jerry ever protect us from Jack, anyway?" She added.
Terri nodded. "I guess you're right."
"Besides," Chrissy piped, "we have Jack, so we don't need Jerry."
Terri started to ask something, a confused look on her face, but Janet shook her head. Terri nodded. "Well, what next?" She asked instead. "I really wish I could help out. I feel like I'm just in the way," she added.
Janet rubbed her arm soothingly.
Chrissy shrugged. "What do we do next, Janet?"
"If only we could get him to walk upright," Janet said wistfully.
Over the next hour she and Chrissy tried everything they could to get him to walk on his "back legs". Finally they both plopped down on the couch, utterly exhausted. "It's hopeless. We might as well give up now," Janet said with despair.
Chrissy sighed. "Janet, even if it is hopeless we should always have hope."
Terri suddenly leaped off of the chair, where she had sat the past hour watching them. "I know! I know how we can get Jack to walk right!"
Janet and Chrissy sat up. Terri continued. "We have special rooms in the hospital where we teach people who have had spinal cord damage how to walk. There's equipment designed specifically for people who either can't physically walk or who have forgotten how to. Perhaps we could take Jack there and teach him how to walk using the equipment!"
Janet stood and Chrissy followed her lead. "Terri, you may be onto something. Let's catch a bus to the hospital!"
They left a note on the door for Jerry and Larry so they wouldn't worry in case they stopped by, before rushing down to the bus stop and taking the bus to the hospital.
When Terri had gotten permission to use one of the training rooms they went into it. She flipped on all the lights. She was right. There was lots of equipment and it was all used for making people walk again. "And 95% of the time it's successful," Terri added hopefully.
They stood there for awhile until Janet finally said, "So what do we do?"
Terri shrugged. "Teach him how to walk."
Janet and Chrissy exchanged glances. "I can't teach him how to walk here! It looks like a torture chamber!" Chrissy shivered.
Janet shook her head. "I have no idea what any of these things do. How can I help him?"
Terri looked at them with wide eyes. "But-but I can't help him; he hates me!"
Janet looked at Jack, who was looking on with bewilderment. "I don't know any other way, Terri." She knelt down so that she was level with Jack. "Jack, I really, *really* need you to listen to Terri." She pointed to Terri. "Please, Jack."
She and Chrissy stepped aside and Terri approached Jack. The first thing she did was lower herself. She looked Jack straight in the eye and cleared her throat. "Jack, I just want to teach you how to walk. You understand that the reason we're all trying to teach you these things day in and day out is just because we love you and we don't want anything bad to happen to you, right? Janet loves you and Larry loves you and Chrissy loves you and Jerry...was hired by the government...and I love you, too, Jack. That's why I want to teach you how to walk. Is that okay?"
The three girls held their breaths. Jack stared at Terri for awhile. He looked over at Janet briefly, then looked back at Terri and nodded. Janet and Chrissy squealed and hugged. Terri stood up, sighing with relief. "Okay, Jack, come with me."
Terri set to work, training Jack to walk. Janet and Chrissy eagerly cheered her on. But when two hours had gone by and Jack still couldn't walk right they lost some of their enthusiasm. They were both lying on their stomachs on the floor, facing each other and playing Cat's Cradle with a string Chrissy had found on the floor. Terri had a headache and was trying really hard not to get frustrated with Jack. He was trying, but he was also tired.
Finally Janet stood. "You know what, everyone is tired. We'll just have to try again tomorrow."
Chrissy stood as well. They started to walk out, but were stopped when Terri suddenly screeched. "What?" Janet turned around and pushed Chrissy aside so she could see what was wrong.
But nothing was wrong. Terri had her hands on her cheeks. Her mouth was wide open and she was staring at Jack in shock. Very soon Janet had assumed the same expression. Jack was slowly walking toward them the right way! Chrissy had to fight a giggle because he did look funny. He was obviously trying to get a feel for how moving his legs to walk affected the rest of his body. He walked up to Janet and stopped, a grin creasing his face.
"Jack!" Janet exclaimed, excitedly.
She flung her arms around him and he started to waver, so she had to help him keep his balance.
"He still needs work," Terri said blatantly.
"But he's much, much better! Oh, thank you, Terri!" Janet cried.
She and Chrissy smothered Terri in hugs. To everyone's surprise, Jack joined in, too. "Thank you, Terri," he said.
She blinked tears away as he hugged her. "No problem, Jack."
"Let's celebrate!" Janet said.
"Yay, a party!" Chrissy clapped.
A party wasn't exactly what Janet had in mind as they went down to the Reagle Beagle to celebrate with a round of drinks. She wasn't so sure about bringing Jack in, but Chrissy begged her to and Terri said they would only be there long enough to down the beverages, so Janet consented. They were surprised to find Jerry and Larry still there when they got in. While Terri ordered the drinks they sat down at a booth and Jerry and Larry joined them. "Did Jack walk in here?" Jerry asked suddenly, when Terri had brought the drinks back.
The girls all nodded and Jack joined them. Larry laughed and raised his glass. "To my pal Jack!"
Janet shook her head. "No, to Terri. Jack would not be able to walk right now if it weren't for her."
They all raised their glasses. "To Terri!" They shouted.
When all the drinks were gone they walked out of the pub, chattering excitedly about the day's progression. "So why were you two still there?" Janet asked Jerry.
Jerry sighed. "That baboon wanted to stay until he found a date for Saturday night." He shook his head.
"Did he?" Terri quipped.
Jerry shook his head again. "No, he did not. We might have been there all night, had you girls not come along."
"Your welcome." Chrissy smiled.
"Hey, Janet, does this mean we can bring Jack to the Reagle Beagle? I mean, you did just bring him tonight." Larry grinned.
Janet nodded slightly. "Yes. Well, he'll need to brush up a little bit. Maybe Saturday night."
"You're on!" Larry shouted.
Chrissy giggled. "Oh, this is so exciting! I'm getting goosebumps!"
Chapter 11: Saturday Night at the Reagle Beagle
Friday night Chrissy made a "date" for Janet and Jack, to show off all that Jack had learned. Janet still didn't think he was ready, but Chrissy was sure he would change her mind.
"It's nothing big," Chrissy said to Janet as she was getting ready that evening. "It's just Jerry cooking and you and Jack eating. Me and Terri are going out for the evening and I told Larry not to stop in."
Janet nodded. She was wearing a blue dress like the one she had worn on her internet date with Jack. She knew it wasn't very revealing, but that was okay. She was nervous enough as it was. She didn't need to be wearing something that would make her feel more nervous.
She started to mess around with different ideas for her hair. Chrissy giggled. Janet looked at her. "What?"
Chrissy shook her head. "Nothing. It's just...you and Jack going out on a planned date. I think it's kind of cute." She smiled sweetly.
Janet felt a blush rise in her cheeks and she hoped Chrissy didn't see it.
Chrissy noticed, she just didn't say anything.
When Janet was ready Chrissy left to find Jack. Janet paced the floor nervously, wondering if she should keep her hair down or throw it up really quick before Jack got there. She stopped and breathed deeply. "Janet, this is Jack. Not only that, but it's animal Jack. There's no reason to wig out."
*Knock knock.*
She swallowed and walked toward the door, anxiously patting her hair. She opened the door. Jack stood in front of her, wearing a nice suit and navy blue tie. He smiled and extended his arm. "Shall we?"
Janet took his arm and they walked across the room to the table that was in front of the kitchen door. He pulled out her chair for her and when she had sat down pushed it back in. Then he took his seat and rang a little bell that was on the table. Jerry came out with an apron on and a towel hung over his arm. "Yes, sir?"
Jack thought for a minute about what to say and then grinned, remembering. "Champagne, please, garson."
Janet held back a giggle. They had even taught him to say *garson* right.
"Yes, of course, sir." Jerry nodded and left.
Jack leaned forward suddenly. "How am I doing?"
Janet shrugged. "You're doing great." She smiled.
Jerry returned with the champagne. When he had poured it and they had ordered he left again to make the food.
Jack picked up his glass. With a goofy grin he held it up and said, "To Janet."
Janet turned scarlet and clanged hers against his. They drank. Jack set his down and coughed. "Not that great," he said with a choked voice.
Janet laughed geniunly. Jack smiled again. "So, did you see that sky today? Talk about blue!" He said.
Janet laughed some more. "Oh, Jack. Did they teach you to talk about the weather?"
Jack nodded. Janet shook her head and leaned foward. "Jack, if you're on a date with a girl something that you should do is give her compliments. Do you know what a compliment is?"
Jack shook his head.
Janet nodded. "A compliment is when you say something good about someone. Like, Jack, I really like your tie."
He grinned and rubbed his tie. "Thank you. Janet, I like your eyes."
Janet blushed again and took a drink of her champagne. *I can't believe he's getting me with all of these goofy comments. He used to say stupid things like this to girls when he was regular Jack. Only this time...I think he really means them.*
"Should you say thank you, too?" Jack asked, confused.
Janet set down her drink. "Of course. Thank you, Jack."
He grinned, obviously proud of himself. "I think you are beautiful, Janet," he said.
Janet felt the color return to her cheeks once more. "Jack, don't compliment your date too much, okay?"
Jack's smile faded and he nodded. They were quiet for awhile and then Jack spoke again. "Janet, Larry told me how to 'get something on' with my dates. But I do not understand. What is 'getting something on'?"
Janet boiled with anger. *Oh, that Larry!* "Jack, Larry gives bad advice. You don't need to 'get something on' with your date. She'll be happy just to talk to you or hold your hand."
Jack nodded. They were quiet for awhile. Jack slowly put his hand on top of Janet's. She looked at him in surprise. "What are you doing, Jack?"
He brought his hand away and looked down. "I just want to hold your hand."
Janet smiled and reached for Jack's hand. He smiled back at her. Before she even knew what was happening they were leaning closer and closer and then--
The kitchen door burst open and Jerry came out. Jack fell out of his chair and pulled Janet down, too, since they were holding hands. Jerry looked down at them with raised eyebrows. "I see they've trained you well, Jack." He turned to Janet. "Mating under the table?"
Jack bounced up. "No, sir. I was just helping Janet up."
He picked her up and set her back on her chair, then took his chair and smiled up at Jerry. Jerry shook his head. "Right. Well, I just wanted to let you know that your dinner is almost done."
"Thanks, Jerry. Thanks a lot," Janet said with sarcasm.
"You're quite welcome," Jerry said as he went back into the kitchen.
They were quiet. Jack was twiddling his thumbs. Janet was looking at him expectantly. Finally he sighed and looked back at her. "Janet, Larry said I should know how to kiss and he said you could teach me," he said.
Janet's eyes grew wide. "Larry what?"
"Said I should know how to kiss and--"
"I heard you, Jack, I heard." Janet sighed. "Do you really need to know how to kiss?"
Jack looked thoughtful for a minute and then slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Larry said that if my date goes bad I can just kiss her and she will be good again."
Janet stifled a laugh at Jack's misunderstanding. She shook her head. *Larry said this, Larry said that...* "Okay, Jack, but just a little kiss." *After all, we've kissed before. This should not be a big deal, Janet.*
She leaned forward and he did, too, following her lead. She took both of his hands. "Okay. It's really simple, Jack. I'm going to kiss you, you just follow up."
She gently put her lips on his and shut her eyes, savoring the moment. He kissed her back a little roughly, but then he had forgotten how to do it. As they kissed he got better and Janet could feel more of the old Jack in the kiss. Unfortunately the kitchen door swung open again and Janet shot backwards. Once again Jack fell off of the chair. Jerry set down their plates and two glasses of water. As he walked back to the kitchen he said, "Don't worry. I saw everything."
Janet sighed and picked up her fork. "Now let me see how you eat, Jack."
He folded his napkin and set it on his lap. Then he picked up his fork and knife and cut nicely into his steak. He used the fork to stab the bite and put it in his mouth. He chewed with his mouth closed. Janet smiled brightly. "They weren't kidding. You've improved marvelously, Jack."
He grinned. "So I can go to the Reagle Beagle Saturday night? Larry said that on Saturday night it's 'the place to be'."
She bit her lip and sighed. "Well...I guess so."
Jack leaped off of his chair. "Yes!" He pulled Janet up and hugged her. "Thank you, Janet!"
=-=
The next night everyone prepared excitedly to go down to the Reagle Beagle. Larry was chattering away to Jack about how crowded the place was on Saturday nights. Chrissy was talking dreamily about the "good old days" when she, Jack and Janet used to go there all the time. Janet looked around and sighed. It should be fun. She was just a little worried that Jack would mess up. He'd been known to do that before.
Finally everyone was ready and they left, but only long enough for Chrissy to realize that she needed to use the restroom, so they came back so that she could go. Then Terri noticed a large gash in her pantyhose and they went back again so she could change. But when Jerry commented that he might like to bring a book with him Larry put his arm around his neck and said, "Come on, J, you don't need a book--you got us!"
"I'm ecstatic," Jerry said with little emotion.
Chrissy slipped her arm in the crook of Jerry's. "Come on, Jerry. It'll be fun!" She said sweetly.
Larry grabbed Jerry's other arm and extended his free arm to Terri. She then hooked arms with Janet, who hooked arms with Jack. They probably looked a sight for sore eyes, walking down the street together like something out of an old book--especially when Chrissy said that they should skip and for some reason they obeyed.
"We're off to see the wizard--the wonderful wizard of oz!" Chrissy sang.
"That's where I draw the line," Larry mumbled.
They entered the Reagle Beagle and found a big booth to seat them all. Larry stood up and shouted to Steve. "Hey, Steve! One big round of drinks for all of my pals here. I'm buyin'!"
He sat back down and looked around at everyone. "Isn't this great? Hey, Janet, can I take Jack around to meet some chicks?"
Janet opened her mouth to say no, but Jerry spoke first. "You know, Janet, it might be good for Jack to meet some other people. Nice practice for when the Hammonds come in a few weeks."
Chrissy nodded at Janet with wide eyes. Larry gently slugged her shoulder. "Hey, we didn't train him for nothing, you know."
Janet sighed and nodded. "You're right. Go on, Larry, take him around. But be good, both of you."
Larry grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him away. Janet shook her head. Chrissy sighed. "Look, Janet. Our little Jack all grown up and meeting girls!"
Janet just nodded and rested her chin on her hands. Jerry sensed something and turned to Terri. "Terri, why don't you and Chrissy go ask Steve what's keeping our drinks." He rolled his eyes toward Janet.
Terri looked at Janet and then back at Jerry and nodded. "Of course. Come on, Chrissy."
She grabbed Chrissy's wrist and left. Jerry faced Janet. "What's wrong?" He asked, but with a demanding voice.
Janet sighed and turned to face him. "Nothing, Jerry."
He raised an eyebrow. She sat up. "Fine. I just feel...well, I feel like I haven't helped Jack at all. I mean, you taught him how to use the bathroom and bathe himself--"
"Which was no walk in the park, thanks," Jerry interrupted.
Janet nodded. "Yes, and Larry taught him how to talk for the most part. Chrissy taught him manners and Terri taught him how to walk right. What have I taught him?"
Jerry cocked his head slightly and studied Janet then he shrugged and said, "If you don't know then I'm not going to tell you."
It was Janet's turn to raise an eyebrow. "How much have you been hanging around Chrissy?"
He didn't smile, but Janet caught a twinkle in his eye. "Janet, you taught him something very important--more important than how to walk, talk or use a toilet. But I think you should figure out for yourself what you taught him."
"But, Jerry--"
"Besides, if I told you you probably wouldn't believe me anyway," he added.
Before Janet could question him more Terri and Chrissy returned, followed by a waitress with their drinks. They summoned Larry and Jack and each took a glass. "To the Save Jack Project: may it keep going really good!" Chrissy said brightly, holding up her glass.
"To the Save Jack Project!" Everyone echoed and they all clanged their glasses together.
They started talking and very soon the subject was brought around to finding Jack a date. Janet still didn't see the point, but Larry assured her it was a good idea. "Seriously, Janet. Maybe having a girl would remind him of the old Jack." He winked.
Janet shook her head. Terri shrugged. "Well, then lets find him one."
Chrissy looked around. "You don't have to look for one, Terri. There are lots of girls in here."
"Too true, too true," Larry said. "How about her." He pointed to a girl with lots of blonde hair and an oversized chest.
Janet waved him off. "No, no, Larry. That's *your* kind of girl."
"She's Jack's kind, too." Larry defended.
"How about--" Terri started.
Jerry interrupted. "What about her?"
He pointed casually to a girl sitting a table not too far away. She was by herself. She wore an outfit that subtly brought out her figure. Her skin was a light tan color, her eyes light brown and her hair was long and black. Janet had to admit that she was very lovely, but she didn't look fake like the girl Larry had pointed out.
"What a good choice, Jerry!" Terri exclaimed. "You really have an eye for the nice ones, don't you?"
Jerry blushed slightly
"Yeah, sure. Let's all go with Jerry's pick." Larry scoffed.
"All in favor of the girl Larry chose, raise your hands," Terri said, narrowing her eyes at Larry.
Larry's hand went up.
"All in favor of the girl Jerry chose," Chrissy spoke.
Everyone's hands went up, except for Larry's and Jack's. When Jack saw the majority of them had their hands raised he lifted his as well.
"It's decided then," Terri said.
Larry sighed. "Fine, fine. Jack-O, let's go introduce ourselves."
They left the table and approached the lone woman. "Hey, sugar. We couldn't help but noice--"
"I'm not a prostitute and I won't buy you a beer," she said.
Larry laughed. "Oh, you're a funny one. No, I was going to say that we--my pal and I--couldn't help but notice that--"
The woman stood and smiled at Jack. "Hello. I'm Jenifer Blake, but you can call me Jenny." She extended her hand.
Just like he was taught, Jack took her hand and kissed it. "How do you do, madam?"
Jenny brought a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. "I'm fine. What's your name?"
"Jack."
Larry leaned over and whispered, "Jack Tripper."
"Jack Tripper," Jack finished.
Jenny motioned to a chair. "Why don't you sit down, Jack?"
She sat down and Jack sat in the chair next to hers. Larry sat next to Jack. Jenny frowned. "Excuse me--"
"Larry. Larry Dallas." He shook her hand.
She withdrew hers. "Mr. Dallas, do you think I could talk to Jack...well, without you?"
"Well, I'm not so sure Jack can handle--"
Jack nodded. "I can, Larry."
Larry stood up and pushed his chair in. "Fine then. I'll just make a new friend."
He headed in the direction of the lady he had pointed out before.
Jenny smiled at Jack. She had a lovely smile, too. "So, Jack. Tell me about yourself."
Jack scratched his head. What was he to say? He knew that there was more to him than the animal that he was, but he couldn't remember any of that. Sometimes he really wished he could, but he just didn't. He shrugged. "There is--there's not much to tell."
Jenny smiled. "That's all right. There's not much I can tell you about mine either."
"Are you a secret agent?" Jack asked. He had just watched an old James Bond film that afternoon and loved it (Larry was sure he could learn more from watching movies and brought over a bunch of his favorites).
Jenny broke into hysterical laughter and Jack joined in.
Over at the booth Janet was watching enviously. "Oh, he made her laugh! It must be going well," Chrissy said, clasping her hands beneath her chin.
"Not necessarily." Terri pointed her index finger in the air. "Jack makes everyone laugh."
Chrissy nodded. "Oh yeah."
"I'm sure it's going just well, ladies," Jerry put in his two-sense.
"Sure it is!" Chrissy suddenly exclaimed. "Every girl likes a puppy and a puppy is what Jack is!"
"Oh, look," Terri said excitedly, "he brushed an eyelash off of her cheek or something! He's definitely a smoothie!"
"He's a smooth puppy!" Chrissy sang.
Janet stood abruptly. "I'm going to use the restroom. I'll be right back."
As she walked by Jenny's table Jack grabbed her arm and stood. "Janet," he whispered in her ear, "I think she likes me! She said I was sweet." He grinned.
Janet nodded. "That's--that's wonderful, Jack. You keep talking to her."
He nodded vigorously and sat back down. As Janet continued on her way she heard Jenny ask, "Who is that?"
"That's my friend, Janet," Jack answered proudly.
Janet went into one of the stalls and plopped down on the toilet, burying her face in her hands. *You hear that? You're his friend, Janet. His friend. Of course I'm his friend and nothing more. That's how it's always been and how it will always be. I'll never be funny enough or pretty enough or anything enough for Jack Tripper--man or dog.* She wiped away a stray tear that rolled down her cheek. *Jack and Jenny Tripper. They're perfect,* she thought with remorse, not even considering that Jack and Janet Tripper sounded even more perfect. *Although I did notice something interesting about Jenny's soft voice. I've heard it before.* She shook her head and breathed deeply. "Oh, Janet, that's ridiculous. Where could you have heard Jenny's voice before? You've certainly never seen her before. And now I'm talking to myself."
She stood up and left the women's room, frustrated with herself. She had just gotten into the regular restaurant area when she was confronted by Elias! She gasped. "Oh, Mr. Elias. You scared me."
"I do that to a lot of people and it's Dr. Elias. *Doctor!* I didn't go to a scientific research institute for seven years to be called 'Mister'," he said as he pushed her back to where the phone was.
"Uh, sorry, Dr. Elias. I won't mess up again. What did you need to see me about?" Janet said, nervously clutching at her purse.
"Oh nothing, but I think you'd better come with me." He breathed.
Janet wrinkled her nose. "Right. First can I get one of my friends to come with me?"
"No. You have to come *alone.*" He grabbed her wrist.
"Let go of me!" She twisted to get away, but he held on tight.
Suddenly, out of nowhere it seemed, Jack grabbed Elias from behind, his arm choking the doctor. "Help!" Elias screamed loudly. "Help! A madman has me!"
Immediately customers began screaming and some ducking down behind their tables. Steve looked shocked. "Jack? What are you doing?"
He ran over and tried to pry Jack off of Elias. Jack just turned and bit Steve on the hand. The customers gasped and Steve stepped away, rubbing his hand and still in shock at Jack's behavior. "Jack! Jack, not now!" Janet exclaimed, pulling at the back of Jack's shirt.
He let go of Elias. Elias looked at them. "This isn't over yet."
He turned on his heel and left. Jack looked at Janet. "Did he hurt you?" He asked.
Janet shook her head, still shocked and dazed by the whole thing. In a moment the others had joined her. Terri and Chrissy smothered her in hugs. Larry patted Jack on the back. "Way to go, Jack-O. Hopefully he'll never show his face here again. So what was it, Janet? Was he a mugger?"
Janet sighed. "No, Larry. That was Elias."
Immediately Terri, Chrissy and Larry were chattering about him. Terri was glad to finally know what he looked like. Larry remarked that he was sure he'd seen him asking Mr. Furley how much it cost to rent out an apartment. Chrissy just shivered and said he looked like a creep. Jerry approached Janet. "What did he want?"
Janet sighed and rubbed her forehead. "He-he wanted me to come with him. He was going to force me to come with him."
Jerry nodded. "And did he say anything else?"
Janet tried to recall the conversation. "Uh...yes, yes he did. He made some comment about going to a scientific research institute. I accidentally called him a mister instead of a doctor and he kind of flipped out."
"So he's a mad scientist!" Chrissy exclaimed suddenly, shooting her index finger into the air.
Larry made a snorting sound. "Yeah, right."
Jerry shook his head. "No, Christmas is right on the money, I believe."
"What money?" Chrissy asked.
"He means that you're right. Elias is a mad scientist," Terri explained.
"Oh." Chrissy grinned and turned to Jerry. "Thanks!"
"But what does Elias being a scientist have to do with anything?" Larry queered.
"A lot," Jerry said.
Before they could question him any more Janet toppled onto Jack. Chrissy screamed. "No! Oh my God, he killed Janet!" She sobbed, grabbing Janet's limp hand.
Terri pushed her away gently and felt for Janet's pulse. "She's fine, Chrissy. She just fainted. I think she's really stressed and that incident probably just pushed her over the edge." She shrugged.
"Don't just stand there holding her around the waist, Jack, pick her up," Jerry said.
Jack scooped her up, a worried look on his face. Larry sighed. "Well, it looks like our Saturday night is over."
They started to leave. As they did Jenny approached Jack. "Wow, Jack. You were terrific! The way you fought that creepy guy...it was awesome! Here's my phone number." She slipped piece of paper into his jacket pocket. "Call me sometime." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I hope your friend gets better."
They all watched her leave the Beagle, mystified. Terri shook her head. "I can't believe she's still interested in Jack after all of this."
"You sure can pick 'em, J!" Larry said in awe.
"We should get Janet to the apartment," Jerry said, putting them all back in focus.
They returned to the apartment and were surprised to find the front door slightly open. Terri pushed it open all the way and flipped on the lights. Immediately gasps went around. Someone had broken into the apartment!
Chapter 12: Suspicions Rise
"What happened?" Terri asked, bringing a hand to her face.
"We've been robbed! Oh, my parents told me about this kind of stuff." Chrissy sniffed.
"I'm gonna check my apartment and I'll call the police while I'm there," Larry said as he left.
Jerry walked around the apartment while the girls shakily sat down. Jack was still holding Janet. After a little while Jerry returned. "Far as I can tell nothing's been stolen."
"So someone was looking for something?" Chrissy queered.
"You're absolutely right, Christmas." He nodded.
"But what could they possibly have been looking for?" Terri crossed her arms over her chest.
Jerry thought for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't know."
In a few minutes a police car was parked outside of the apartment building. A few of the neighboring tenants decided to take a peek out of their windows at what was going on. Larry returned to the apartment to say that his apartment was fine. The police questioned everyone and were just turning to leave when Mr. Furley popped in. "What's all the--hey, you three should clean this place up. It's a pigsty!" He exclaimed, looking around.
"Who are you?" Asked one of the officers.
"Oh, I'm Ralph Furley. I run this apartment." Mr. Furley sniffed and straightened up importantly.
The man nodded. "Did you notice anything suspicious around here this evening?"
Mr. Furley scratched his head in thought. After a while his eyes grew wide. "Oh yeah! While the kids were gone a man came to me and asked me if I had a key to Jack Tripper's apartment, number 201. He said he was related to Jack. So I gave him a key."
The officer nodded. "That would explain why no windows or locks are broken. It was easy for the thief to enter with a key. Tell me: what did he look like?"
Mr. Furley's eyes narrowed as he concentrated on remembering the criminal. "Well, he wore glasses. He was skinny and I think he was old. The creepiest thing about him was that his eyes were two different colors. That's all I remember." He shrugged.
Terri, Chrissy, Larry and Jerry exchanged glances. Each one knew what the other one was thinking.
*Elias.*
=-=
The next morning Janet awoke feeling more refreshed than she had in days. She yawned and got out of bed. She left hers and Terri's room to find everyone gathered in the living room. She looked around in confusion. "What's going on?"
Before anyone could answer Jack ran over and hugged her. Chrissy joined in. "Oh, Janet. We're so glad you're okay."
Janet nodded and repeated her question. "What's going on? Why is everyone here?"
They explained about the break-in. Janet slumped into the chair, depression sinking into her bones once again. So Elias wanted something from her or Jack and he wasn't going to rest until he got it.
"We're assuming that he came here to find whatever he was looking for. When he didn't find it he figured that you had it. Somehow he knew we were at the Reagle Beagle, came there and confronted you, like we all saw," Jerry ran over what they knew.
"How did he know where we'd be?" Terri inquired.
"My money's on Furley," Larry suggested.
Terri nodded. "I bet you're right, Larry. When Elias didn't find what he was looking for he asked Furley where we were. We never told him, but the first place he would suggest would be the Reagle Beagle."
"That explains that, but it doesn't explain what Elias was looking for," Jerry reminded them.
They were quiet for awhile as they all contemplated the situation. Janet couldn't think of what Elias wanted from her. As far as she knew she wasn't carrying anything interesting or valuable with her last night. What was he after? At what lengths would he go to to get it?
Suddenly the phone rang, startling them. Jerry was standing beside it so he picked it up. "Hello? Oh, yes. He's here." He looked over at Jack. "It's Jennifer."
Jack swallowed and walked over to the phone. Jerry covered the part you speak into and gave Jack some quick rules about talking on the phone before handing it to him. Jack cleared his throat. "Jenny?" He moved the phone from his ear when she spoke and stared at it for a minute. He brought it back. "Hello? You can hear me? Wow!" He sang a few lines from a Beetles song. "Did you hear that?"
Terri came over and snatched the phone from him. "Yes, Jack, she heard that. And if you want her to keep listening to you then talk like a normal person!" She returned the phone to him.
"Sorry," he said.
They left him to talk to Jenny, but Janet was pondering something as he talked to her. *Jack didn't give Jenny his phone number. How does she know it? And why does her voice sound familiar? And why does she still want to date Jack even after how strange he's been acting? There's something about her...* "How does Jenny have Jack's phone number?"
"Oh, he gave it to her last night. What's for breakfast?" Jerry responded.
Everyone talked about possible ideas for breakfast, except for Janet. She didn't like Jerry's blunt response and change of the subject.
Once again she had that sneaky feeling that Jerry was hiding something very important from them.
=-=
Over the next few days Larry, Jerry and Jack took turns guarding the girls' apartment for safety reasons. Jack and Janet weren't allowed to go anywhere without someone else. Everyone was paranoid and everywhere they went their eyes were darting to and fro, expecting to see Elias at anytime. Terri continued going to work, but Larry took a few days off to help Jack get ready for his first real date. Jenny had invited him to dinner and a movie. With Larry's help Jack had persuaded her to double date with Larry and his date, Donna.
One day Janet and Chrissy sat on the couch with coffee and watched Larry tell Jack about making out. Janet shook her head. "Larry, does Jack really have to know this?"
"Sure he does. Hey, he can try it out on you, Janet." Larry grinned mischievously.
Janet turned three shades of red and took a sip of her coffee. "That's a great idea, Larry!" Chrissy exclaimed.
Janet shook her head. "No it isn't."
Chrissy shrugged. "Well, he can try it on me if he likes. He just needs to know that he can't make out with me anytime he wants to! This is just for his date with Jenny," she said resolutely.
Larry turned to Jack. "How about it, Jack? Wanna try my superior knowledge on Chrissy?"
Jack shrugged. "I guess."
As Jack and Chrissy started kissing Janet got up and went into the kitchen, furious with herself. "You're such an idiot, Janet!" She exclaimed when she'd shut the swinging door behind her. "You could be making out with Jack right now and you had to go and mess it up...now he's making out with Chrissy. You'll probably never get a chance to make out with him again." She sighed and plopped down in one of the chairs.
"That's good to know."
Janet leaped off of the chair and looked around. "Jerry? Where are you?"
The pantry door opened and Jerry stepped out, dusting himself off. Janet raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing in there?"
"Eavesdropping on you, of course. Janet, why is it such a big deal that Jack is making out with Chrissy and not with you?" Jerry questioned.
Janet wasn't sure about confiding in Jerry anymore. There's no way he was in there to eavesdrop on her. She was in the living room all day until just then. It just didn't make any sense. He was in there before she came in, doing something...but what?
"Janet? Is something pressing you?"
Janet shook her head and plastered on a smile. "No, no, Jerry. I'm just fine."
Jerry nodded. "Right." But there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
Janet sighed and sat back down. The apartment seemed to be getting crazier and crazier and she really wished things would just get back to normal and soon!
=-=
A couple of hours later Janet was back in the living room, telling Jack what girls *really* like. He had asked her for advice and she had definitely pondered giving him bad advice, but looking into his beautiful blue eyes she just couldn't.
The doorbell rang. Jack jumped off of the couch. "Can I get it?"
Janet nodded. *He's probably hoping it's Jenny,* she thought enviously.
Jack opened the door and was immediately enveloped in a hug by Mrs. Roper! Janet nearly tripped getting off of the couch quickly. She hurried over to the door. Jack looked confused. Mrs. Roper let go of him and patted his cheek lovingly. "There, there. Everything will turn out okay, Jack. Janet knows what she's doing. Oh, Janet." She approached Janet and gave her a hug as well.
"Helen! Get your bag, Helen!" Stanley Roper's voice came from outside.
Mrs. Roper let go of Janet and rolled her eyes. "I'll be right back."
She went outside and came back with a suitcase and Mr. Roper, who also had a suitcase.
"W-what are you doing here?" Janet asked, putting on as polite a demeanor as she could.
Mr. Roper looked disgruntled. "I don't know. Ask Ms. Poor-Jack-We-Should-Go-Help over here." He motioned to his wife.
Mrs. Roper put her hands on her hips. "Stanley, it's for a good cause. Jack is our friend. We can't just sit back and watch his life go to ruin."
"Why not?"
"Stanley!"
"Okay," Janet interrupted their argument, "so you're here to help Jack?"
Helen smiled. "That's right."
Janet rubbed her forehead. "Well, if everyone isn't here to help Jack. Larry and Chrissy are helping and we also have a hired butler..."
"Chrissy's here?" Helen's face lit up. "Oh, I haven't seen Chrissy in so long! Where is she?"
"I think she's in the shower. Listen, Mr. and Mrs. Roper, we don't have room for you in here. You see, Jack has his room, Terri and I have our room and Chrissy has the couch. Plus, Larry and Jerry have been over frequently to help keep watch over the apartment." She explained about the break-in.
"That's it. We're leaving, Helen. This place isn't safe." Mr. Roper turned to leave.
Mrs. Roper grabbed the back of his collar. "Oh no we aren't, Stanley. The girls need all the help they can get and you can help guard, too."
Mr. Roper looked crestfallen. "But Helen...you heard Janet, they have no room."
Mrs. Roper waved him off. "Of course they have room. Jack's bed is bigger than you girls', right?"
Janet nodded very slightly, wondering where she was taking this. "Well, then Stanley and Jack could sleep there and I could take the floor in your room," Mrs. Roper suggested.
Stanley looked panicked. "What? No, Helen and I could sleep in Jack's bed and he could take the floor in your room."
Janet shook her head. "Oh, I don't know, Mr. Roper--"
"Come on...what's he gonna do to you? It's me I'm worried about." Mr. Roper shuddered.
Janet didn't feel like arguing the case any further. "Oh, fine. You two get the bed. Chrissy can stay in mine and Terri's room and Jack can have the couch." She settled it.
So the Ropers came in.
=-=
That night when Terri was back the Ropers met her. She was glad to finally meet them, having heard so much about them. Jerry brought all the dining room chairs into the living room so there would be room for everyone to sit down and they all sat around talking. At one point Mrs. Roper asked Terri if anything interesting had happened at work (she liked the fact that Terri was a take-charge nurse). Terri shrugged. "Actually, it was a pretty normal day. Oh, but one of my doctor friends was talking to me about Jack and he thought it was very interesting that he couldn't remember what his life was like before the accident. He said there's a chemical that wipes peoples' memories like that if it gets put into their blood stream."
"Is there a cure?" Janet asked, hopeful.
Terri shook her head. "I don't think so."
Tears filled Janet's eyes and disappointment filled her heart.
But Jerry was still interested. "It makes the person forget everything?"
Terri nodded. "Mm-hm. It's a rare chemical. It's only produced when three certain gasses emerge...I don't know all the details. I'm not a science major." She chuckled.
"What's the name of it?" Jerry asked, holding his breath.
Terri's eyes clouded with thought. "Ah...olvidon? Something like that."
Jerry leaped off of the couch. "I'll be back!" He shouted as he ran out the door.
"Wow. For an older gentleman he can run," Mrs. Roper said with interest.
"Jerry told me he used to work for the government when he was younger," Chrissy nodded.
"What did he do?" Janet queered.
Chrissy thought for a moment. "Something like...law enforger."
"Law enforcer?" Janet asked.
Chrissy jumped up and down in her seat. "Yeah! Yeah, that's it!"
Larry suddenly burst into laughter. "Oh come on! Jerry? A cop? Chrissy, he was just putting you on. Probably trying to impress you or something."
Chrissy glared at him. "Larry, I can tell with people and I can tell Jerry was a law...person, okay? And guess what else? I can tell you're a used car salesman, so there!" She stuck out her tongue.
"But Chrissy," Mrs. Roper spoke, "didn't you already know that Larry is a used car salesman?"
Chrissy sighed irritably. "Of course I did. I said so didn't I?"
Everyone was quiet for a moment as they tried to figure out what she was talking about. Everyone except for Janet. She was pondering why the mention of that chemical made Jerry run out of the apartment. And was he really a law enforcer? For once she thought Larry was in the right. Perhaps he was just putting Chrissy on. Perhaps he was putting them all on.
Chapter 13: More Questions
The next few days flew by and soon it was Friday--the day Janet had been dreading. Jack was fully prepared to go on his date with Jenny, or so it seemed. He was very confident, too. He walked around the apartment humming and Janet felt like she could just explode with envy, but she didn't. Not in front of Jack at any rate.
That night Janet and Chrissy waited in the living room while Jack and Jerry figured out what Jack was going to wear. Terri was working the late shift. Mr. Roper was on the chair reading the newspaper. Mrs. Roper had gone down to the Regal Beagle for a drink. And Larry would be over any minute.
"I'm so happy for Jack." Chrissy grinned.
Janet just nodded. *She* wasn't happy for Jack--not in the least! But she wasn't going to let her jealousy stop Jack from having a good time. Not yet, anyway.
The door opened. The girls stood and Jack came out. He was wearing a nice suit and tie--just like he had on the date with Janet. But Jerry had added one touch--just enough cologne that if you got near him and smelled it you would go weak at the knees. "It's my cologne," Jerry added when he had told them he'd put it on him.
"Oh, Jerry, it smells wonderful!" Chrissy exclaimed. "Jack, you look really handsome," she said to Jack.
Janet nodded. "You do, Jack. Jenny's really going to enjoy you tonight." She tried on a small smile.
Jack suddenly flung his arms around Janet. "Thanks, Janet!"
Janet nodded, blinking back tears. Jack let go of her just as the doorbell rang. For once Jerry got it. It was Larry. "Hey, Jack-O. Ready go go?"
Jack nodded. Jerry grabbed a bouquet of flowers off of the table the phone sat on. "Here, Jack."
Jack took the flowers, bid goodbye to everyone, and left with Larry.
Chrissy smiled. "Gosh, Janet. I hope Jack's date goes well."
"Me too," Janet agreed, though she really didn't mean it.
Jerry went into the kitchen, saying something about being in there if they needed him. Mr. Roper got up and mumbled something about going to bed. The girls changed into their nightgowns, put robes over them and sat on the couch, talking.
"Do you remember when we first met Jack?" Chrissy asked.
Janet smiled and nodded. "How could I forget? It's not everyday you walk into your bathroom and find a man sleeping in your bathtub! I know you did the 'walking-in', but I was just as surprised as you." She laughed.
Chrissy giggled. "Janet, we laughed so much more after Jack moved in. Did you know that?"
"Of course we did, Chrissy. Jack's gift was making us laugh."
Chrissy started to giggle again. "Yeah, he was always doing stupid things."
Janet shook her head, smiling. "I was the odd duck. He was always doing stupid things and you were always saying stupid things. I was the only smart one." She chuckled.
Chrissy patted her hand. "And you were the best at being smart. But even though Jack always did dumb things he could be a real sweatheart, too. Couldn't he?"
Janet nodded. "He certainly could. I lost count long ago of all the times he was there for me when no one else was."
"Remember when that creep thought I was a hooker? And he showed up at the apartment and Jack punched him!"
Janet laughed. "That was a little impulsive, but he was looking out for you."
Chrissy nodded. "Yeah."
Janet smiled. "Gosh, so many times Jack was looking out for me. I can't even pick one to share."
"How about the time that guy from your highschool attacked you?" Chrissy queered.
"Yes. I didn't let Jack help much with him, but I saw the concern on his face. You know what I remember very well? I had this dance instructor recently and I thought I was a really good dancer because he told me I could make it as a dancer and all of these horrible lies. Jack warned me that he was just trying to get 'close to me', if you know what I mean."
"Oh Janet!" Chrissy gasped, her eyes wide.
Janet sighed. "Of course, I didn't believe Jack. Why would I believe Jack? He's only looked out for my best interests since I met him!"
"Well, you just answered your own question, silly." Chrissy smiled.
Janet continued. "Anyway, I marched out of the apartment just fuming at Jack. When I got to my dance lesson I found out the truth--that Michael really was a seductive jerk. I told him off and stood in the corner next to the stereo. Jack was there. He had come after me. He came up behind me and I started jabbering and saying things like, 'I know what you're going to say, Jack. You were right, I was wrong'--that kind of stuff. But he said, 'I didn't come down here to say any of those things. All I came down here to say was'--and then he turned on the music--'may I have this dance?' And, oh, Chrissy. I cried. And he just held me. After all of the cheap guys I've dated...why couldn't I see it? Why haven't I ever noticed that Jack is the only guy I've ever known who has always been there...who has truly cared about *me* and not about getting something from me?"
And then something happened that Janet did not intend. A tear rolled slowly down her cheek. Chrissy's eyes grew wide as her friend fought back tears. She scooted closer. "Janet? Janet, what's wrong?"
Janet shook her head. "It's nothing, Chrissy."
But she had barely gotten the words out when she burst into tears and lost her cool completely. Chrissy immediately engulfed her in a hug. She didn't know if she should say something or what she should say. She had seen Janet cry before, but she felt inside of her that this was different.
After a few minutes Jerry came out. He saw the girls hugging, heard the muffled sobs and immediately came over to them. He sat on the arm of the couch beside Janet and looked at Chrissy. "What's wrong?"
Chrissy shrugged. "I think it's Jack."
Jerry nodded. "You would think that he died."
Janet pulled away from Chrissy and turned to look at Jerry with bloodshot eyes. "He did die, Jerry. At least, the Jack I used to know died." She burst into tears again.
Chrissy put her arm around Janet lovingly. "Jerry. Can't you say nicer things to Janet?" She scolded.
Jerry sighed and also put an arm around Janet. "Janet, I do have some good news that you might like to hear. I was going to wait until everyone was together to share it, but I think if anyone deserves to hear it first it's you. Do you remember that chemical that Terri mentioned the other day?"
Janet nodded. "She said there was no cure..."
Jerry shook his head. "She was wrong. There are experts taking a look at the chemical right now and they think that with enough time and the proper materials they can create an antidote."
Janet grasped what Jerry was saying and her eyes grew wide. "So they can--"
"--Bring Jack back to life," Jerry said, a twinkle in his eye.
Chrissy immediately jumped off of the couch and squealed. "Yay! Jack's coming back! Jack's coming back!"
She pulled up Janet, who joined in. Jerry just smiled and went on his way to the bathroom.
"Quiet down out there!" Mr. Roper hollered, bringing their voices down to a whisper.
Just then the front door opened and Mrs. Roper came in, a secretive smile on her face. As soon as she saw Janet, though, her smile faded and she rushed over with outstretched arms. "Oh, Janet. Janet, are you alright?"
She hugged her. Janet nodded. "Yes, I'm fine now, Mrs. Roper. Thank you."
Mrs. Roper assumed her smile again. "I have some news for you, girls."
They all sat down on the couch and Chrissy grinned. "Oh, I just love news!"
Mrs. Roper smiled. "I was at the Regal Beagle, as you know. While I was there Jack and Larry came in with two pretty girls. I stayed a little while longer to watch them. And I have good news! It looked to me like the girl Jack was with really likes him. Isn't that great?"
Janet swallowed as she fought off tears. Chrissy looked at her for confirmation. Janet forced a smile. "It's wonderful!" She exclaimed.
Chrissy seemed surprised at her exclaimation, but grinned herself and said, "Yay, Jack!"
Suddenly Jack's bedroom door opened and Mr. Roper came out. "Helen! Can't you keep these two kids quiet? You're disturbing my sleep."
"But Stanley, it's not even eight o' clock yet," Helen said with a furrowed brow.
"So? Just quiet down!" He went back inside and shut the door.
Mrs. Roper rolled her eyes and waved him off. They continued talking for another hour and a half before Mrs. Roper decided to go to sleep as well. Janet and Chrissy stayed on the couch. Chrissy was flipping through channels and yawning sub-consciously. Janet was thinking about Jack and Jenny and hoping that they would be back soon. Sure, it wasn't really that late at nine, but she was still worried.
After a while Chrissy turned off the television. "I wonder what Jerry's doing in the kitchen." She pondered, tapping her chin.
Janet's brow furrowed and Jack was pushed out of her mind. "That's a good question, Chrissy. Let's find out."
They got up and crept to the door. They got as close to it as they could without pushing it in. Jerry was clearly talking to someone.
"This is a serious matter and you *will* do it. I want no excuses. Peoples' lives are at stake here. No, if you find Elias you will hold him. He's bad news. Agent Garcia did some background research and pulled up a criminal file that was well-hidden. Elias was put in jail several years ago for unauthorized genetic experiments. If he's following Janet and Jack around he's bad news. If you find him you are to detain him until I can get down there for questioning. Hold on, Samantha is trying to contact me."
Silence.
"Yes, girls?"
"Jerry, we lost Elias. And we can't find Clover," said the girl named Samantha.
"It's always Clover," Jerry replied, frustration lining his voice.
"Well, it would have been me if I wasn't out tonight," said another female voice that sounded very, *very* familiar.
"Yes, how is that going?" Jerry asked.
"It's going very well. He's a very interesting person and a little bit weird, but I really like him. I think he's kind of cute."
"She really likes her mission," Samantha said.
"That's good. Keep up the good work, girls. I'm on the phone with someone very important."
"Bye, Jerry," the two girls said in unison.
Just when Jerry started talking again Chrissy sneezed and he stopped abruptly. Janet grabbed Chrissy's wrist, ran over to the couch, and sat down. Jerry opened the kitchen door and peeked out. "Everything alright out here?"
They both nodded. "Yes!" Chrissy piped.
He nodded as well and went back inside. Janet sighed, her brow furrowed in thought. "I just *know* I've heard that second voice before," she said.
"Of course you have! That was Jenny," Chrissy explained.
Janet gasped and grabbed Chrissy's shoulders. "Oh my God, Chrissy! You're right! Those three girls that Jerry keeps contacting who obviously work for him--Jenny is one of them! But the question is: are they good guys or bad guys?"
Chrissy laughed. "Oh, Janet. They're good guys of course!"
"Chrissy. Just because Jerry was a law enforcer back in the day doesn't mean that he's a good guy now."
Chrissy shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "I can tell with people and I just *know* that Jerry is a good guy," she said adamently.
Janet shrugged. "Okay, fine. But I'm still not sure we can trust him."
Before Chrissy could disagree again the front door opened and Larry stepped inside with Donna. "Hey, girls. I'd like you to meet Donna." He said, grinning.
Janet jumped up. "Larry! Where is Jack?"
Larry shrugged. "Well, Jenny just lives a couple of blocks over so I told Jack to walk her home. For experience." He winked.
Janet gasped. "You left him alone with Jenny?"
"Sure. She is his date, right? Come on, Janet. He's not going to try anything. He's the polite Jack that I never knew. And if you're worried about Jenny"--he laughed--"don't be! She's the sweetest kid I ever met."
"Kid?" Janet queered.
Larry nodded. "Sure. She's only twenty. I remember when I was that young..."
"It wasn't that long ago," Janet reminded him.
Janet wasn't really in the mood to meet Donna so she pushed she and Larry out the door and waited impatiently for Jack. "If he isn't home soon..." she kept saying.
Jerry sat next to Chrissy on the couch. "What's wrong with Janet?"
Chrissy sighed. "She doesn't trust Jenny. I think she's just *jealous*."
Janet stopped pacing and approached Chrissy, a hand on her hip. "Jealous? Chrissy Snow, I am *not* jealous of Jenny."
Jerry nodded. "You're right. She's jealous."
"I am not!" Janet squeaked.
Just then the front door opened and Jack came in. Janet ran over to him. "Oh, good! You're okay! What happened?"
Jack smiled. "I kissed her," he said proudly.
"What?" Janet asked.
"Tell us all about it, Jack!" Chrissy said excitedly.
Jack hurried over and sat on the chair. "I walked her to her home and when we got there I remembered that Larry said to kiss her goodnight so I did. And she went inside and I came home."
"Wait," Jerry spoke up, "you found your way here by yourself?"
Jack nodded, a wide grin on his face. Jerry grinned at Janet. "He's making marvelous progress."
"Oh, sure. How did the date go, Jack?"
"Really good! I messed up sometimes but she still likes me. She wants to take me to skate on ice Sunday night. Skate on ice! Can you imagine?" He shook his head as though it was absolutely unbelievable.
"Well, are you going to go?" Janet pressed.
He shrugged. "Yes. Unless I shouldn't." He looked at her expectantly.
Janet sighed. "Of course you should, Jack. I'm-I'm glad you're happy."
Jack ran over and hugged her. Although his arms were around her Janet just didn't get butterflies in her stomach. All she felt in there was cold--as though she had just swallowed an ice cube.
Chapter 14: Jack's Announcement
Janet awoke the next morning and light flooded her vision. She shut her eyes and opened them once more, slower. Jack was sitting on the foot of her bed, watching her. He grinned when he saw that she was awake. "Morning, Janet!"
She smiled and sat up. "Good morning, Jack. What are you doing in here?"
"I need help, Janet," Jack's smile faded suddenly.
"Why?"
Jack sighed and got off of Janet's bed. "Jenny called this morning. She wants to go dancing after we skate on ice. Janet, I don't know how to dance!"
Janet suppressed a laugh. "Oh, Jack, is that all? Well, I'll teach you."
Jack gasped. "Really?"
Janet nodded. "Of course. Right after breakfast."
Jack leaped into the air. "Yipee!"
This time Janet didn't supress her laughter.
=-=
After breakfast the Ropers, Jerry and Chrissy went out grocery shopping. Terri and Larry were both at work, which left Janet and Jack at the apartment alone. Janet set up the record player in the main room and first they danced to a series of upbeat songs. Janet laughed at the wacky way Jack danced when she told him just to go with the music. They had a geniune good time, laughing and being goofy. And then Janet put in a slow song. Jack was ready to go with the music, but he looked confused. "How do I dance with this?"
Janet came over and grabbed his hands. She put them on her waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. "This is how you dance to this, Jack. If a song is slow you dance slowly."
"Ohhh," Jack said as he understood.
They slowly moved. Jack stood straight and tall, his hands never leaving Janet's waist. She looked up into his eyes and saw that he was looking down at her. He smiled and she blushed, leaning her head against his chest. He tightened his grip on her slightly.
Janet wished that the song could have gone on all day, but like all songs and like all great moments it stopped. The record started over again and Jack let go of Janet to stop it. He turned to Janet, slipping his hands in his pocket. "Is that it?"
Janet nodded reluctantly. She knew she might have lied to him and told him they had many more slow songs to go through, but she just couldn't lie to Jack.
Jack plopped down on the couch cross-legged. He looked over at Janet and then vigorously patted the spot next to him, a goofy grin on his face. Janet chuckled and sat down next to him. They were quiet for awhile and then Jack spoke. "Janet, can I ask you something very important?"
Janet turned to face him and leaned her elbow against the back of the couch so she could rest her cheek against her hand. "Sure, Jack."
He sighed and seemed to be thinking hard on how to word his question. After a few seconds he finally asked it. "Janet, what is love?"
Janet felt her heart skip a beat. He was asking her about love...after they had danced...could it be? Were her feelings toward him reciprocated? She lowered her arm and put her hand on Jack's. "Love is hard to explain, really."
"Why?"
"Well, because it's...it's beyond human understanding."
"How come?"
"Because it just is."
"But why is it?"
"I don't know, Jack! I honestly don't know. Love is...love is the only thing on this earth that hasn't lost its true value over the years."
Jack looked down. He looked back up, a slight blush in his cheeks. "Janet, what if, whenever I'm with someone I feel funny? Is that love?"
Janet smiled. "Oh, Jack. Love isn't a feeling--it's a fact. Feelings come and go, but love stays."
"But then how do I know if I love someone?" Jack's voice had a hint of urgency in it.
Jack had to look into her own heart for the answer. How did one know if they loved someone? She sighed. "Well, I guess it's someone that you can stand to be around for long periods of time. Someone that...even when they do get on your nerves you're quick to make up. Someone you aren't afraid to grow old with. Someone you take care of and are always there for. Someone you love in spite of their flaws. Someone you would...die for."
Jack nodded. "What if I want to make this person love me?"
"You can't make anyone love you, Jack. They have to love you on their own. Love isn't forceable because then it isn't love anymore. Do you understand?"
"Okay. When I see her how should I act?"
Janet started to answer, but the words got stuck in her throat. *When I see her...he's talking about Jenny. Of course. He's talking about tonight.* She fought back the tears as she answered. "Treat her like she's the most important thing in the world to you," she said, mentally cursing herself for giving him good advice.
He smiled brightly and hugged her. "Thank you, Janet. You're the bestest friend ever!"
Janet blinked back tears and nodded. *I should have told him to treat her like dirt. Oh, but he would be unhappy and I can't stand to see Jack upset. He's so different that way, so glum. Why do I even have to love him?*
And, of course, Janet couldn't answer her question.
=-=
Sunday night came too fast. Everyone was excitedly talking about how great it was that Jack was going out for a second date, this time without Larry. During the week he had shown Chrissy, Terri and a delighted Mrs. Roper how he could dance fast and slow. He was definitely excited about his second date.
That afternoon everyone helped him brush up on his people skills. Soon night fell and he came out of his room, once again dressed in a suit and smelling heavenly. When Jerry was sure Jack knew where to find Jenny he let him leave. Jack left, hollering one last goodbye to Janet. She didn't respond. He looked so good, he was so good to her, he felt so good holding her...he even smelled so good! But she couldn't have him and it just killed her. She fell into a restless sleep on the couch.
She awoke a few hours later from the doorbell ringing. She groaned and stumbled over to the door. She opened it and saw the smiling face of Jack. She quickly tried to fix her composure, but she had barely begun smoothing her hair down when he grabbed her around the waist and picked her up, swinging her around (and nearly falling because of that awkward step...). He was laughing gaily and Janet wondered if he'd had too many beers.
Jack's bedroom door opened and Mr. and Mrs. Roper emerged. "Can't anyone sleep around here?" Mr. Roper exclaimed angrily.
But Mrs. Roper saw Jack with his arms around Janet and sleep was the furthest from her mind. "What's going on here?" She asked specifically to Janet, a smile creeping up on her.
Janet knew about as much as Mrs. Roper did. But Jack knew more and he told them. "Mrs. Roper I was just going to tell Janet that I love her!" He exclaimed proudly.
Mrs. Roper gave a squeel, arousing the interests of Chrissy, Terri and Jerry, who were in the kitchen talking. Mr. Roper looked completely unfazed. And Janet wasn't quite sure she wasn't still asleep on the couch.
"What's going on?" Chrissy asked.
"I love Janet," Jack grinned.
Chrissy's eyes grew wide and she, like Mrs. Roper, gave a loud squeal. "Oh, Jack! Janet!" She ran over to them and tried to wrap her arms around both of them.
Terri sub-consciously threw her arms around Jerry and exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew it!"
The door to Apartment 201 opened and Larry and Mr. Furley came in. "What's all the noise about?" Mr. Furley said shrilly.
"That's what I'm still trying to figure out!" Mr. Roper said, still upset that he was awakened.
"Jack loves Janet, Larry!" Chrissy shouted as she bounced over to Larry and hugged him, too.
Larry parted Chrissy's blinding blonde hair so he could have a good look at Jack and Janet. Jack was grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes brighter than usual. Janet was looking particularly dumbfounded, still wrapped in his arms. "Wait, Jack-O, what happened to Jenny?"
Janet awoke from her stupor. Indeed! If Jack was suddenly proclaiming love for her Jenny had to be out of the equation, right?
"Well, we went skating and dancing and I asked her about love on the way home," Jack began his story.
He had asked Jenny about love, too?
"I said, 'Jenny, if you love someone, what should you do?' And she said, 'You should tell them, Jack! You should always tell them.' And I said, 'Good, because I love Janet and I want to tell her.' And she said, 'That's wonderful!' We went to her home and she kissed me on the cheek. She said, 'It was fun (whatever *it* was),' and I came here," he explained.
"Would you all please excuse me?" Jerry said as he slipped out the door.
But no one even seemed to notice. When Jack had finished his story everyone had burst into conversation. Jack took Janet's hand and led her outside. Jerry was nowhere to be found.
"Janet, can I ask you something very important?" He said as he placed his hands tenderly on her hips.
Janet nodded destractedly, still trying to grasp everything that had just happened.
"Janet, do you love me too?" Jack queered, looking at her solemnly.
She groped for the right words to say. And then realized it didn't matter. She loved him, too. "Oh, Jack, I've loved you from the beginning, even if I didn't know it!" She exclaimed, tears of joy finally escaping her eyes.
The smile that had erupted on Jack's face when she confessed faded and he quickly tried to wipe away her tears. "Why are you crying?"
She just shook her head and buried her face in his chest. He put his arms around her and held her.
When she'd had her good cry in she finally told Jack how she hadn't believed he loved her in return. Jack laughed and said, "Janet! You took care of me. I know my problem and no one would have loved me but you did. I have loved you since you brought me here." He grinned.
Janet laughed at herself. All this time she had been beating herself up, believing Jack didn't love her! Even worse, she thought he loved Jenny! Apparently she had been wrong the whole time. But for once, Janet was glad to be wrong.
She and Jack sat on the step outside and talked for hours until Jack started to nod off against Janet. She ran her fingers through his hair for awhile, thinking on how her circumstances had so greatly improved. Finally Jerry came out and told them they should get inside. Jack kissed Janet's cheek for a goodnight and she went into the girls' room. It was another hour before she got to sleep as they were all jabbering excitedly about Jack and Janet's new situation.
Finally Janet dropped off to sleep, hoping once more that she wasn't just dreaming.
Chapter 15: A Hard Decision
The next morning when Janet awoke she didn't open her eyes just yet. She was far too afraid that she had dreamed up the previous night. She had to have! It was just too good to be true.
After savoring the sweet memories of the dream she opened her eyes. Jack was sitting on her bed cross-legged, facing her. He smiled. "'Morning, Janet!"
She smiled as well and sat up, yawning. "Good morning, Jack."
She had just gotten the words out when he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. And then Janet stared at him, wondering if it hadn't been a dream. Suddenly she leaped off of the bed and ran into the main area where Mr. Roper was watching television, Mrs. Roper was painting her nails, and Chrissy was trying to sew something. "Mrs. Roper, what happened last night?" Janet burst as soon as she had entered.
Mrs. Roper looked up in slight shock. Stanley glanced over and then looked back at the T.V. Chrissy stood and grinned, dropping her project on the couch. "Oh, Janet, don't you remember? You and Jack..." she put her two index fingers together.
Mrs. Roper nodded in agreement. "Had you forgotten?"
But Janet still couldn't believe it. "Mr. Roper"--he looked up--"what woke you up last night?"
Mr. Roper suddenly didn't seem to care what was on the T.V. His brow furrowed. "That looney"--he pointed to Jack--"woke me up by coming in here and--"
"Picking me up?" Janet asked breathlessly.
"Yeah. And then he shouted--"
"That he loved me?"
"Yeah! I mean, what kind of nerve--"
But Mr. Roper was drowned out by Janet's excited screech, "It wasn't a dream!" She flung her arms around Jack's neck and looked up into his eyes. "You do love me," she said quietly.
Jack laughed. "Of course I do. You're so silly, Janet."
She laughed as well and rested her head against his chest. He put his arms around her.
Chrissy giggled, a small snort finding its way out, and then sat back down. Mrs. Roper looked at the two with longing. "Oh, Stanley. Why can't we have moments like that?"
Mr. Roper had turned his interest back to the television. "Not now, Helen, I'm watching--wait a minute." He turned his eyes to Jack and Janet. "I thought he was...well, you know. I thought he didn't like girls."
Janet whirled around suddenly, wondering how she would cover up for Jack's behavior. Sure, it didn't matter what Mr. Roper thought anymore, but what if he mentioned it to Mr. Furley?
Luckily Janet didn't have to worry about it. Mrs. Roper waved her husband off. "Stanley. Jack is sick, remember? He's not himself." She turned her head to wink at Janet.
That was all Mr. Roper needed to hear. He nodded. "Oh yeah. And when he's cured he'll be just as...weird as he used to be." He chuckled.
As everyone else went back to their own activities, Janet's thoughts raced. *Maybe he won't be gay when he's cured, but he won't love me.* She shook her thoughts off as Jack brought Janet into the kitchen for some breakfast.
=-=
The next few days were heavenly. Jack and Janet did everything together. Janet taught him how to ride a bike and they rode down to the beach. Then they played in the waves. The animal in Jack returned a little bit when he saw a jellyfish. He spent most of his time then trying to catch them. Janet just lay on the beach on watched, giggling every once in a while. Finally Jack got bored of the jellyfish and ran up the beach to Janet. When he got there he shook himself out, spraying her with salty water. She sat up. "Jack!"
He cackled like a madman and ran back down the beach. She ran after him. "You get back here!"
He suddenly turned around and picked her up. He carried her down to the water as fast as he could. She kicked and pounded his chest with her fists, but she was laughing the whole time. He waded out into the ocean. "Oh, Jack, don't you dare--" she hadn't even finished when he dropped her in the water, a small scream emitting her mouth.
He chuckled, but only for a moment. She grabbed his ankle and pulled him under. They emerged happily and went back up to the beach.
As the sun set and the crowds left they cuddled together under a blanket and watched the waves lap up on shore. Neither had anything to say. Janet didn't mind. She was enjoying just being with him...feeling his heart pound against her... She sighed contentedly and leaned her head against his chest. He laid his head on her head. And all was right with the world.
=-=
Jack and Janet couldn't date much, though. Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching and they had to do a lot yet. The house needed to be cleaned, they had to somehow figure out how they'd have room for everyone, Jack needed to be reviewed on his manners.
One day Mr. and Mrs. Roper were out looking at tables, Larry went downstairs to ask Furley for some more furniture polish, Jack was in his bedroom reciting the rules for proper table etiquette, the girls were vaccuming and dusting the living room, and Jerry was in the kitchen making a phonecall.
Janet was watering the plants while Terri and Chrissy moved the couch aside so they could clean anything out from underneath it. "Oh, gross." Terri wrinkled her nose.
"Ewwww," Chrissy added.
"What is it?" Janet came over.
Terri pointed. There was a half-eaten, moldy tuna sandwich. Janet's nose wrinkled as well. "I'll bet that was Jack's."
"Well, seeing as how you're the girlfriend I think you should take care of it," Terri teased.
Janet was too pleased to be "the girlfriend" to object. She carefully picked up the sandwich and crept into the kitchen. Jerry was pacing back and forth in front of the sink. His phone was a smashed heap on the table. Janet dropped the sandwich in the wastebasket. "Oh, hello, Janet," Jerry said as he moved out of the way so she could wash her hands.
Janet felt uneasy. Between Jerry's broken phone and the pissed-off tone of his voice she wasn't sure she was very safe in there. "W-what's wrong?" She queered.
He sighed. "Well, you know that cure we've been trying to come up with for Jack? Well, it should only be about a month or so before it will be ready. I figured that since we know he'll be back to normal with the antidote there's no need for him to go to the charity ball, right? So, I was just talking to the government about that and they say that he has to go to that ball as long as he hasn't been cured yet. Can you believe that?"
Janet smiled and patted his arm. "Is that all? Jerry, Jack behaves like a gentleman. He'll be fine. He'll go to the ball, impress many, and everything will be fine."
"After the ball he'll be cured," Jerry added.
Janet didn't nod. She just turned to leave. "Hold on just a minute," Jerry said.
Janet stopped and turned to face him. "Yes, Jerry?"
"Why is it that you don't get excited about Jack getting cured these days? I think I've mentioned the antidote about four times this week. Not once did you say anything about it. What's going on?"
Janet looked down. "It's nothing, Jerry."
"If it were nothing we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Janet nodded and looked up. "Well, when Jack is cured he'll forget all about learning all of this stuff...he'll forget all about Terri and I giving him a bath...he'll forget all about Jenny, but...he'll forget all about loving me, too. I just want things to stay the way they are. I don't want Jack to not love me."
Jerry sighed and scratched his head, unsure of how to answer. "Janet...if you don't want to cure Jack we don't have to."
"Really?" Janet asked in surprise.
Jerry nodded. "Yes, of course. He doesn't have a say in it, does he? Even if he did he would just go with whatever you say. No, Jack doesn't think for himself these days. But perhaps that's okay. Then you can get married and live happily ever after. Why, he'll even take the garbage out whenever you want him to. All he knows is following orders, believing whatever anyone tells him. But all of that is worth it as long as he loves you--as long as you get what you want."
Jerry spoke like everything was great and dandy, but guilt washed over Janet at his words and she knew that was what he meant to happen. She was angry that he would speak to her like that, but she couldn't say anything back. It *was* selfish for her to want to keep Jack an animal because she would be happy. Not only that, but it was wrong. Like everyone, Janet did a lot of wrong things in her life, but she couldn't do something that would wrong Jack. She sighed and fought back those darn tears that kept coming. "Jerry, when that antidote is ready I want it used on Jack as soon as possible, do you understand me? No 'buts'!" She said firmly, turned on her heel and left the kitchen.
Jerry sighed and shook his head. "Poor girl."
Janet tossed and turned in bed that night. The very next day was Thanksgiving. She was stressed over it. She trusted Jack and was sure he would be great, but there was still that little bit of doubt that crossed her mind contstantly; it was that tiny voice that started each sentance with, "What if..."
And then there was that selfish part of her that was furious because she was just going to let Jack go back to normal. Yes, she loved Jack the way he used to be: fun-loving; full of life, love and humor; easy going; playful; smart and sexy; a great cook...she loved him like that! But the problem was that...he didn't love her like that. How could she go on every day after he was returned back to normal? Everytime he said hi to her...whenever they passed each other...everytime he got flirty with her...she would always remember that he once loved her. But Jack? He wouldn't remember anything. For him their physical contact was just like a fun game. For Janet it would be like a small taste of what could have been.
But she had to be strong. She couldn't think of how things could be if he didn't take the antidote. She just had to be strong for Jack...for herself...for her broken heart.
Chapter 16: Thanksgiving
The night before Thanksgiving the gang went out to a movie. They needed to relax before Jack's first big test. Jack was probably the only one (other than Mr. Roper maybe...) who wasn't at all worried. He was chasing birds on the way there and asked Janet about a million times why they had Thanksgiving.
"Well, Jack..." By the hundredth time Janet was getting a bit exhasperated. "The pilgrims--"
"What's a pilgrim?"
"A person."
"Then why not just say person?"
"Because they were called the pilgrims."
"Well, why?"
"I don't know!" Janet sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
Finally Terri explained the whole thing to Jack and he understood for the most part.
On the way back to the apartment they could feel rain in the air. The clouds were building. "It's supposed to rain a little bit, the weatherman said," Mrs. Roper informed them.
They went to bed, some a little restlessly.
=-=
Thanksgiving Day didn't start very well. There had been more than a "little" rain the night before: there had been a thunderstorm and the skies would be cloudy and gloomy all Thanksgiving Day. The storm had knocked the power out. Luckily it was fixed before morning, but the alarm clocks had all reseted. It was nearly ten when Jack--who had been awake for a couple of hours--decided to wake up Janet and ask her when the food would be ready. She yawned. "Jack, how early is it?"
He shrugged. "The big hand is on the ten and the little hand is on the nine." He motioned with his own hands.
It took Janet just a second to realize what that meant. Then her eyes got wide and she screeched. Jack was so startled that he fell off of her bed. Chrissy snorted in her sleep and Terri sat straight up and looked at Janet frightfully. "Oh, Janet! What is it?"
Janet was already fighting with her covers as she tried to get out of bed. "Ten! Terri, it's ten o' clock!" She exclaimed frantically.
Terri gasped and also jumped out of bed. Janet told Jack to wake up everyone else and soon the whole apartment was in chaos as they hurriedly tried to get ready, though they had gotten up nearly three hours late. Janet was nearly hysterical. "Larry, Chrissy, go ask Mr. Furley if he has a table cloth we can borrow! Terri, run to the store *quick!* We forgot to get champaigne! Mr. Roper *turn off that television!* Mrs. Roper, can you help Jack get into his suit? JERRY, we have to get the TURKEY in the OVEN! You know how long it takes those things to cook!"
When Mrs. Roper had dressed Jack she told him to sit down with Janet and calm her down while she helped Mr. Roper with the tables. They had moved the couch into Jack's room and planned that the two tables they had would stretch across the living room. But when they set down the old table the threesome had shared for years one of the legs broke clean off! Janet leaped off of the chair, which was situated in the corner. "Oh my GOD! The table! The table broke! What will we do now?"
Mrs. Roper rubbed Janet's arm soothingly. "We'll just go buy another one, dear, it's okay."
"Where are you going to get a table on Thanksgiving Day?" Janet asked, her eyes popping.
"Furley?" Jack queered.
Janet grabbed him and kissed him on the mouth. "Great idea, Jack!"
She ran to the door and flung it open, coming face-to-face with Larry, Chrissy and Mr. Furley. "Mr. Furley! We need your table!"
He smiled. "Go get it then! I won't need it." He chuckled.
Janet felt relief wash over her. "Oh thank you, Mr. Furley. I--wait, why don't you need it?" She asked cautiously. If it was broken, too, what good was it to them?
"I'm eating with you guys of course!" Mr. Furley exclaimed as though she should have known.
Janet's eyes got wide once again. "Mr. Furley, where did you--"
"Janet," Larry spoke up, "can I talk to you in the kitchen?"
Before Janet could object Larry had dragged her into the kitchen. "Listen," he began to explain, "when we asked Furley for a table cloth he wanted to know why we needed it and we explained that we're having company over today. He said, 'Oh. I never get asked over for anyone's Thanksgiving Day feast,'" He put on a mopy voice, "And you know Chrissy. 'Oh, Mr. Furley, why don't you come over for our Thanksgiving Day feast?'" He put on a girly voice. "Before I could say anything against it Furley was grabbing his toothpick and saying he couldn't wait to eat a real turkey this Thanksgiving."
Janet made a whimpering sound. "Oh...I hope Mr. Furley doesn't ruin it. We *really* don't need another person!"
"It's alright," Jerry spoke from his corner where he was tossing a salad, "we have plenty of food to go around."
So Thanksgiving started out very hectic. By the afternoon, though, everything was okay. Everyone was dressed nicely, the tables were set and Jerry had announced that the food would be done on time.
It seemed that no time at all had passed before the doorbell rang. Janet jumped this time instead of Jack. Jerry answered the door. Judge Hammond stood before them with a woman and a little girl, no older than seven. Jerry motioned for him to come in. Janet approached him. "Hello, Judge Hammond," she said nervously as she shook his hand. "You remember me, I'm--"
"Ms. Wood." He smiled. "Of course. This is my wife, Maureen, and our daughter, Jamie. My mother will be arriving later. She had to take her cat to her private vet for some reason or other." He shrugged.
Jamie waved and Maureen said, "Nice to meet you, dear."
Janet introduced everyone, leaving Jack for last. When she said his name the Judge had to do a double take. His eyes grew wide. "Jack Tripper?" He said.
Jack stepped forward and shook the Judge's hand with a wide grin. "Hello, your honor. Nice to formally meet you."
Janet smiled. Jack sure knew his lines.
Jack then turned to Maureen and kissed her hand. She, too, looked startled at his manners. He also kissed Jamie's hand and she giggled.
"I hope you had no trouble finding the place, Judge Hammond," Jack added.
The stunned look on the Judge's face finally faded as his mouth broke into a grin. "My dear boy, please call me Greg."
The Hammonds were really very nice people. They were overflowing with compliments. Greg leaned over to Janet constantly and commented on how well she had "brought Jack up". Maureen was obviously flattered at how Jack treated her like a lady. When they all sat down at the table and he pulled out her chair for her she looked at her husband in this sort of, "this-is-how-you-should-treat-me" way. And Jamie seemed quite taken with Jack as well, especially when he did a Mickey Mouse impression (which wasn't even that good, really).
Jerry brought out the food, cut the turkey and everyone prepared to dig in. Jack held up his hand though. "What is it, Jack?" Janet asked, slightly alarmed. What was he doing?
He cleared his throat. "When Terri told me the story of the very first Thanksgiving she said that the pilgrims--who were persons--" he added to Jamie, "thanked God for what he gave them. I think we should, too. It is *Thanks*giving." He said, in a sort of thoughtful way.
"I think that's a very good idea," Greg said, setting down his fork. "Would you like to do the honors, Jack?"
Jack reached a hand over to Janet and the other to Greg on his other side. Soon they were all holding hands around the table. He shut his eyes and cleared his throat once more. "Dear God, thank you for lots of good food and thank you for Jerry, who made it. Actually, I think you made it, but he made it with seasoning. Anyway, thanks for our great company, Greg, Maureen and Jamie, and Mr. Furley, too. Thank you for Terri, Chrissy, Larry, Mr. Roper and Mrs. Roper--they're really neat and I like them. And especially, thank you for Janet. She's so great and good and loving and I'm glad I know her. Thanks again. Amen."
When "amen" had echoed around the table everyone dug in. Janet dropped her napkin and pretended to be picking it up as wiped some tears from her eyes while she was down there. Jack had thanked God for her. She was sure that was a big deal.
"You know," Greg said, turning to Jack, "I'm glad to see she's taught you some respect for the Big Man. My grandpa is a preacher and I'm always glad to see respect from those who aren't church-goers."
Before Jack could say anything Chrissy piped that her dad was a preacher and engaged him in a conversation about churches. Instead Jack turned to Janet and grinned. She felt him grab her hand under the table and blushed, though she wasn't sure just why. Everything was going great.
Until desert.
Jerry brought out the variety of pies (Chrissy helped) and they began eating, everyone quickly commenting on how good it was to Jerry. When Chrissy said that she had poured the pudding into the chocolate pie they complimented her, too. But then, the doorbell rang again.
"That's probably Mother," Greg said as he stood and answered to door.
Unlike Greg and Maureen Mrs. Hammond didn't look very nice. She surveyed the room with a sour look on her face. She spotted Mr. Furley's ascot and scowled.
"Come on inside, Mother," Greg said warmly as he took her arm and led her inside.
"I can't believe I finally found the place. I should have guessed that it would be in such a horrible part of town. And the traffic...terrible! Why, I haven't been so close to filthy people since...well, never." She laughed very lightly, but no one else did.
And then something very bad happened. Jack started growling. Janet instinctively grabbed the back of his jacket. "Jack, no. She didn't mean it. Behave, Jack. Be good," she whispered, leaning closer to him.
Jack stopped growling, but he remained tense and looked at Mrs. Hammond with narrowed eyes. "Mother, this is Jack. He's the one I was telling you about," Greg said, motioning to Jack.
"Oh really?"
Mrs. Hammond walked toward Jack. That was a bad idea. He seemed to be sniffing her. Then, without warning, he leaped on her! Maureen leaped off of her chair and screamed, yanking Jamie over to her. Greg gave a cry and grabbed Jack's leg in an effort to pull him off of his mother. Mrs. Hammond was swearing loudly and profusely.
"Jack, no! Jack, off of her! Jack, come here! JACK!" Janet was screaming, tears starting to choke her voice. Why wasn't he listening to her?
Finally Jerry took action. He kicked Jack squarely in the ribs. Jack yelped and and fell off of Mrs. Hammond. Greg pulled her up. She was still swearing, but now her face was as red as a beat and a vein was bulging on her forehead. Greg handed her off to Maureen. "Maureen, get Mother and Jamie out to the car," he said firmly.
Maureen left, dragging Mrs. Hammond and Jamie, who was yelling, "I don't want to go!"
Greg then turned to Janet. His hair was messed up and the kindness had left his eyes. He pointed to Jack. "He had *better* behave better than that at the ball or he's going to be locked up in an insane asylum for the rest of his LIFE!" He shouted, spit flying. "Why, he should be locked away now for that!"
Janet didn't know how to defend Jack. She didn't know what had caused him to do that. Sure, Mrs. Hammond wasn't being very nice, but he knew better! She just nodded and stammered an apology.
"Jack would never purposely hurt someone!" Terri exclaimed, looking furious. "He just attacked your stupid mother because she was being a you-know-what!"
"Hint: it starts with a b and rhymes with 'witch!'" Larry added, looking equally angry.
But they hadn't made anything better. Greg just rounded on them. "My mother's a *what?*"
Larry opened his mouth to say something, but then Mrs. Roper stepped in between he and Greg. "Now, Judge, you saw how good Jack acted before. Terri's right--he would never hurt anyone on purpose. Jack still has some animal in him and the animal in him gets triggered when he sees or smells a cat. You said your mother had to take her cat to a private vet. She must have smelled like the cat, so Jack lost touch with his human side when he smelled her," she said rationally.
Janet didn't think that was a very good excuse for Jack's behavior, but Greg seemed thoughtful. After a minute he smoothed his hair back and regained his composure. "Even so, Helen, his actions were hardly refined." He turned back to Janet. "I won't lock Jack in an insane asylum if I don't have to," he said calmly, the kindness returning to his eyes, "but the government will. I want you to train him well enough that if I brought a cat to the charity ball he would drink tea with it. Understood?"
Janet could only nod. Greg gave a nod himself. He bid them a grim farewell and left.
Jack crawled over to Janet, rubbing his ribs. "Janet, I--"
"I know, Jack," Janet said, not daring to look down at him.
She felt him pawing at her ankles. She remained emotionless. When everyone else had gone into the kitchen to clean up (and probably discuss the night's events) Janet dropped down so that she was eye-level with Jack. "I'm sorry Jerry kicked you in the side, Jack, but he had to to get you off of Mrs. Hammond. You could have seriously hurt her. You'll feel better. You just need some ice and rest, that's all." She smoothed his hair back and gently caressed his cheek with the back of her hand.
He sighed. "I'm so sorry, Janet. I didn't mean to. I--"
"I know, Jack," Janet repeated.
He enveloped her in a hug and she grabbed the back of his jacket tightly. She leaned her head against his chest. "Happy Thanksgiving, Jack."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Janet." As he spoke his breath ruffled her hair.
She smiled and shut her eyes. Suddenly nothing that happened that day mattered. All that mattered was that she stay in Jack's arms for as long as possible.
Chapter 17: The Disappearance
In the days that followed everyone forgot about Jack's Thanksgiving mishap. Really the only one it continued to bother was Jack. He moped around the apartment and was awfully quiet. Sometimes they heard him talking to himself. It was always something like, "Jack, stop chasing cats. Don't let Janet down again..."
But as December came upon them they began decorating the apartment for Christmas and Jack's thoughts were far from Thanksgiving. He had so many questions about the lights and other decorations...he probably laughed himself silly about the tree being inside instead of outside. He really enjoyed all the Christmas carols and it wasn't long before he was singing them everywhere. Everyone was significantly happier.
This, of course, included Janet. They had a couple of weeks until the charity ball and she promised Jack that he would learn how to control himself around cats. But first they needed some time to just relax and be with each other.
And both of them were just fine with that.
Jack really wanted to take Janet to ice skate. Ever since he had gone with Jenny he had gotten such a kick out of it that he wanted to do it again with Janet. "You really can skate on it, Janet! Isn't that weird?" He would say again and again.
So one day they left the apartment together, hand in hand, and went to an ice skating rink. Jack spread his arms wide as they approached it, a kooky grin on his face. Janet supressed a giggle. "It sure is something, Jack," she said.
They rented some skates and stepped out onto the ice. It took Janet a few minutes to get used to it and then she was skating pretty easily. Jack, she noticed, kept falling over. He would laugh, though, and get back up. In fact, he couldn't even go two paces without falling again. She had never seen a person fall so much and still have so much fun.
Finally she grabbed his hand. "Why don't you skate with me, Jack?"
After much patience (and yet more falling...) they were skating around the rink, hand in hand. Jack was having the time of his life and Janet was quite content to just smile at him and hold his hand. They encountered some difficulties, though, when Jack tried to tickle Janet. He himself lost his balance and fell, but he managed to grab Janet's wrist. She fell right on top of him. They looked into each other's eyes. Before Janet knew what was happening she was kissing Jack and he was kissing her back. People skated past and pointed, some laughing and some murmuring, "Isn't that sweet?"
When they got back up they went to the food area and had a nice, big dinner. Janet had a hotdog, a drink and a bag of chips. Jack had two hotdogs, a piece of pizza, nachos, a drink and two candybars. He commented that skating made him hungry and Janet laughed.
When they had finished they left the skating arena and began the walk home. They walked slowly though, admiring the cool night. Jack got the biggest kick out of the Christmas lights that decorated peoples' homes and when they passed a group of carolers he wouldn't continue on their walk until he had heard them sing at least one song.
As they walked Jack let go of Janet's hand and put his around around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "Is this okay, Janet? Am I in violation?" He queered.
Janet laughed and put her arm around his waist. "Jack, where did you learn such a big word?"
"My friend Larry taught it to me," he grinned.
Janet kept laughing. Finally she sighed and leaned against Jack. "No, Jack, you're not in violation." She giggled again.
"Good," he said in a voice just above a whisper.
Janet felt the hair on her neck stand on end.
=-=
The days turned into weeks and very soon everyone was in a rushed state again. Jack was pronouncing words better than ever and he was as much of a gentleman as if he had been raised an aristocrat, but there was still the problem of the cats. They took Jack to pet stores and other places with cats, but he couldn't keep himself from running at them.
"What if..." Chrissy said once when they were back at the apartment after a long day of trying, "what if Mr. Hammond really *does* bring a cat to the ball?"
Terri laughed. "Chrissy, he wouldn't..."
"It would be uncivilized," added Mrs. Roper.
"Yeah," Larry said supportively.
That was good enough for Chrissy, but not for Janet. She went into the kitchen where Jerry was tossing a salad. He looked tired. His suit jacket was hanging on a chair and he had untucked his dress shirt and undone his tie. He looked over his shoulder when she entered and then looked back at his salad. "Hello, Janet. I hope you don't mind being a vegetarian this evening. Just salad tonight. I'm too tired to fix anything else," he sighed.
Janet patted his arm. "Thank you for working so hard for Jack. I really couldn't have done any of this without the rest of you."
Jerry just nodded. They were quiet. Then Janet heaved a huge sigh. "Oh, Jerry, why did this have to happen? Of all the people this had to happen to, why did it have to be Jack anyway?"
This time Jerry stopped tossing the salad and turned around so that he was leaning against the counter beside Janet. "Sometimes these things happen," he said.
Janet shook her head. "Why do things have to 'just happen'? Why can't there be some control in this crazy world?"
Jerry was quiet for a moment. He sighed. "Janet, have you ever heard the phrase: 'Unto each life a little rain must fall'?"
Janet nodded. Jerry continued. "It implies that whether there is control in this world we live in or not, one thing is certain: we need rain for things to grow. Am I correct? I don't mean to sound harsh, please don't take it that way. I'm just saying...what would spring be like if the cold hardships of winter didn't come? If there was no blinding rain and freezing snow?"
Janet could see where Jerry was taking this. She smiled. "There would be no flowers or green trees. Everything would be dead without the water to grow it."
"Exactly. Perhaps this incident with Jack did 'just happen'. Or perhaps someone out there is controling things on this earth and let this happen. Whatever it is, I personally think that it happened for a reason. I think you'll know the reason when it is time. A little rain must fall for things to grow and blossom, and that must be what this is."
Janet's smile never faded. She nodded and then gave him a hug. "Thanks, Jerry. I guess that kind of makes sense." She turned to leave. "Hurry up with that salad!" She called back jokingly.
=-=
Jerry's advice did comfort Janet. She felt a small burden lift off of her back. She realized that she could see how she had grown going through the tough situation. She was sure the others had grown some, too. She still struggled everyday with the idea of turning Jack back to normal, for everyday he grew sweeter and she grew more in love with him. And Jerry couldn't help her or comfort her there--neither could anyone else really.
And then something occurred that caused Janet to change her mind about Jerry and any of his advice.
One day he received a phonecall and sped out of the apartment, promising them that he would be back in time for supper. That day came and went, along with the next one. The ball was less than forty-two hours away and Jerry was gone without a trace.
Chapter 18: The Charity Ball
"Maybe he went to the mall. They're having a great sale a JCPenny's. I mean, I would have gotten sidetracked!" Terri suggested.
Mr. Roper: "He probably decided he was sick of being around all of you people and took off."
Larry: "I bet he's really some perverted guy who's always hanging out in bars and picking up chicks...wonder why I never got to know him better?"
Jack: "Can I have a biscuit?"
Chrissy: "Maybe he was kidnapped!"
The room got silent really quick. Everyone was looking, not at Chrissy, but at Janet. She was rubbing her forehead. Jack was still tugging on her sleeve, queering about having a biscuit, but Janet barely even noticed. "He *didn't* go to the mall and he's definitely not picking up chicks. He might have gotten tired of us...but I just can't see Jerry running out and not telling us anything."
"So he was kidnapped!" Chrissy gasped. "Oh, poor Jerry!"
Janet held up a her hand in a sort of "stop" signal. "Chrissy...I don't know. Who would kidnap Jerry? That doesn't make much sense either. I think..." she trailed off nervously.
Mrs. Roper rubbed her arm. "Now Janet, I think we might all be overreacting. Jerry is a sensible person. I'm sure he'll be back anytime now."
Janet shook her head. "I'm sure he won't," she said quietly.
"Well why not?" Terri wondered.
Janet sighed and explained about every conversation she had overheard Jerry have. She also told them her personal suspicions. When she was finished everyone's view had changed.
Terri: "I bet he's a terrorist!"
Mr. Roper: "You let a conman stay in this apartment!"
Larry: "I knew it! He *is* in the maffia!"
Mr. Furley: "I let a conman stay in this apartment!"
Chrissy: "He was kidnapped!"
They argued once more about the situation at hand. Then Jack finally shouted, "Jerry is smart! He can take himself for care! No...he can care for himself! Wait--"
"He can take care of himself?" Mrs. Roper supplied.
He nodded resolutely. "Yeah. And *I* want my biscuit!"
Janet laughed and took him into the kitchen, but their Jerry problem never left her mind. Not even when the first thing Jack did when they were alone was give her a sweet kiss on the lips.
Well, maybe *then* it left her mind.
=-=
The question of Jerry's whereabouts didn't disappear over the next two days as they were preparing Jack for the ball. No matter what they were doing, if at least two of them were in a room together they were discussing it. The only person who refused to talk about it was Chrissy--she was the only one who still thought Jerry was a good guy.
Well, their two days soon turned into one day...then a few hours...then a few minutes. Only Janet and Jack were permitted at the ball. Everyone was waiting in the living area for Jack, who was finishing up by himself in his bedroom.
Janet was pacing anxiously. She had really tried to look her best. Anyone would say she was beautiful, but she still had her doubts. She wore a silky blue evening dress with matching shoes. It was a very Janet-ish dress, but it still brought out her features nicely. She wore a single pearl necklace around her neck.
*Click.*
The bedroom door opened. Everyone's eyes turned in that direction. Jack came out in a fine tuxedo and top hat, complete with a cane. Janet stifled a giggle, but at the same time she felt her legs turn to jelly. He was so handsome! He approached her and slipped a corsage on her wrist. "How do I look?" He asked, looking upward at the hat perched on his head.
Janet smiled. "Absolutely wonderful."
He smiled and extended his arm. She took it and they left. As soon as they got outside he kissed her on the cheek. "You are so beautiful!" He exclaimed. "I just had to tell you."
Janet laughed. She didn't feel at all nervous anymore. Jack would do fine. As he had said about Jerry: he could take for himself care!
The ball took place in one of California's nicer buildings...though there are many of them in L.A. Cars were everywhere when they arrived and the parking was valet. Janet couldn't remember teaching Jack anything about valet parking, but apparently someone had for he knew just what to do. Janet was so relieved that she was leaning on Jack for support as her legs had nearly given out!
But that was okay with her.
They entered the building and spoke to the man at the entrance of the small, but beautiful ballroom. As they proceded into the ballroom he announced them.
"Jack Tripper and Janet Wood of Santa Monica."
It seemed every person in the room stopped talking and looked up at them. Janet was a little shocked at first, but then thought it seemed to make sense that everyone present at the ball should have heard of Jack's situation.
Even when they walked onto the floor they could still hear the whispers.
"Would you look at him? Such a gentleman!"
"Is that the woman who trained him?"
"Do you suppose he can talk?"
"He's such a cutie! Oh, I would date him in a heartbeat!"
Neither Jack nor Janet had ever been to a ball before, so they weren't really sure what to do next. They just stood there until a man in garb similar to Jack's approached them. He was much older and fatter than Jack, though, and wore spectacles. Oh his arm was an old woman who wore a white dress and diamond earrings. "Jack Tripper!" The man exclaimed, extending his hand. "Why, I can't believe this is you! After what the judge and doctor told me I was absolutely cringing about meeting you tonight, yet look at you! If I wasn't told so I would never have guessed you were the untamed dog-man everyone was talking about!" He chuckled.
Jack chuckled himself as he shook the man's hand. "Are you the mayor, good sir?"
"I am," said the lady. "Mayor White." She extended her gloved hand.
Jack took it and kissed it. He smiled at the lady. "Very pleased to meet you, Mayor."
She smiled as well. "What a charming lad. You may call me Mina. Come, let's dance."
Jack gave Janet a smile as he left with Mayor Mina White. The mayor's husband looked at Janet. "Shall we?"
Janet really didn't want to, but she couldn't be rude, so she took his hand and they went onto the floor.
Mr. White didn't dance with her very long. Soon he and Janet met up with the mayor and Jack and switched off. Mr. White was with his wife and Janet was with Jack. She shivered at his hand on her waist. "Well, how did it go?"
Jack shrugged. "Fine. She's very nice. She asked me how I feel about cats and--"
"What did you say?" Janet asked, unaware that her grip on him had tightened in anxiety.
He shrugged again. "I just told her they're cute and furry."
Janet sighed with relief. Jack continued. "And she asked about you, too."
"What did-what did she want to know?"
"She just asked me what you were like. I told her that you are the most loving, caring, beautiful person I have ever known. She said Mr. White said that to her before they got married."
Janet's stomach did a flip-flop. Married? Would Jack ask her to marry him? Her mouth felt as though someone had poured sand into it. She just stared at Jack. If he did ask her such a thing, what would she say? Yes? No, because when he was given the cure he would forget that he had asked her. No? Well...it would be the right thing, but... She sighed. He hadn't even asked her and she was already stressing! She mentally told herself to calm down and turned her attention back to Jack. "Let's show these old stiffs how to really dance," she said with a mischevious wink.
She and Jack spent most of the night dancing. Whenever they whirled past someone they could hear their comments. Everyone they passed said something good about them. Janet was feeling absolutely giddy about how well the night was going. She looked back a couple of months ago and shuddered at how things had been then...Jack always attacking Terri...how he couldn't speak or walk upright... She never thought then that he would be dancing with her in a tuxedo, acting just as civilized as anyone else!
But then someone turned up. This someone caused Janet to worry again.
It was Dr. Elias.
They hadn't seen nor heard of him since that night in the Reagle Beagle when he cornered Janet. But he still had the nerve to come straight up to she and Jack, a wry grin on his face. Janet noticed that he was wearing an ugly brown suit once again and beemed with pride that Jack was dressed better than him.
"Ms. Wood. How pleasant to see you again."
Janet nodded stiffly. "Hello, Dr. Elias."
Jack's eyes narrowed and his gaze was shooting daggers at the doctor. Janet knew he would have been growling and probably have pounced already. Fortunately he was able to keep his cool. But his grip around her waist had tightened.
Elias turned to Jack. "Well, Jack...you'll do, I suppose," he said with the air of one looking at halfbreed dogs and deciding finally that one of them would just "have to suffice".
Janet glared at him. It was lucky then that everyone was called to dinner or Elias may have been hurt by both Jack *and* Janet.
They took their assigned seats. Jack and Janet were at a table with Mr. and Mrs. White, Judge Hammond, Elias and a couple of other people they didn't know.
The meal was delicious and went wonderfully. Jack made small talk with the people at their table and charmed them with his sense of humor and dazzling smile. Janet was very proud of him. At one point Elias left claiming that he needed to "use the facilities". Janet got an uneasy feeling and grabbed Jack's knee. He blushed slightly and reached under the table to grab her hand. "What's wrong?" He whispered, leaning toward her.
"Elias," she murmured.
He nodded. "It's okay, Janet."
"How cute," said one of the other people at the table, "the creator and the creation. What a marvelous couple you two make!"
"Agreed," said the mayor with a smile at Janet.
It was Janet's turn to blush.
Something quite interesting happened then. There was a loud cry followed by, "Why, there's a *cat* in here!"
Janet's blood froze. Jack stood up and she grabbed his hand. "What are you doing?!" She asked, trying not to sound worried.
He released himself from her grip and left the table. Everyone watched as he approached the cat (a tiny kitten, no less) and picked it up. He petted it and scratched it behind the ears. It purred and cuddled up against his hand. He came back to the table. "I know it's not good manners to have animals at the table, but would anyone like to pet it?"
It turned out that the mayor was a sucker for cats and was very pleased he had brought the kitten over. Everyone petted it and then Jack slipped it in his jacket pocket, where it curled up and went to sleep.
"Jack, you're such a darling person," Mrs. White said with a smile.
"Yes, you are," Janet said, her eyes glued to him.
"Mrs. White? May I be excused to the restrooms?" Jack asked.
Mrs. White smiled. "Of course, Jack."
So Jack left. He returned shortly, however, and had Elias with him. They took their seats. Jack leaned over to Janet. "He sent the cat in," he whispered, a bit angrily.
Janet was angry as well. So he was trying to ruin the whole evening! Why did he care so much if Jack did well or not anyway? Sure, Janet thought the guy was a lying creep, but could he really be so cold-hearted? *Probably,* she thought grimly.
She was brought out of her thoughts as the waiters returned with ice cream for each guest. Jack grinned. "Oh, I love ice cream," he said.
Mrs. White returned his smile. "As do I. That's why I wanted them to serve it." She winked.
Jack chortled and started to take a bite. He stopped, however, with his spoon halfway to his mouth. Janet turned to see what he was looking at. Elias was picking up his butterknife. Janet was a little curious as to why he would pick up a knife when they were eating ice cream, but her curiosity turned quickly into horror as Jack jumped up, galavanted across the table on all fours and leaped on Elias, knocking his chair over backwards and him with it. The knife went flying, but Jack wasn't through with Elias. He was growling and barking like a madman and was biting ferociously at Elias' arm.
"Help! Murduring mut...get him off of me!" Elias screamed.
"Security!" Mr. White bellowed.
The security guards came in and pried Jack off of Elias. "He was going to hurt Janet!" Jack was yelling as he fought the guards. He didn't look much like a gentleman anymore. His hat had fallen off in the scuffle and his hair was ruffled. His clothes were messy and wrinkled, his jacket slipping off of one of his shoulders. His eyes were bright with fury.
"I was not!" Elias retorted as Mr. White helped him up. "I was merely going to give my knife to the waiter because I had no need for it! The man is paranoid," he added to Mr. White, who nodded grievously.
"I am not annoyed!" Jack spewed, mixing up *paranoid* with *annoyed*. "He told me! He told me he was going to hurt Janet!"
Janet gasped and her eyes shot to Elias. He flashed her a triumphant smirk before returning to the befuddled look he had been wearing. "He's telling the truth!" Janet exclaimed. "It was Dr. Elias!" She pointed at Elias accusingly.
Mrs. White stepped up to Jack, her head downcast. Janet wondered if she would believe them. She looked up at Jack, straight into his clear blue eyes. She sighed and reached into his jacket pocket, removing the kitten, who was now shaking. Then she backed away and looked at the judge. "Judge Hammond, it was agreed that if Mr. Tripper made any murderous attempts or acted like an animal that he would be locked up in an insane asylum."
"It was," the judge agreed bitterly. He looked at Jack. "Mr. Tripper, you must be sent to an insane asylum on charge of being insane. I'm sorry."
"Take him away," Mrs. White said quietly.
"No! No, you can't! It wasn't his fault!" Janet rushed at the security guards.
Jack fought them as well, calling for Janet the whole time. They had to call in more guards to carry Jack off and a single guard stayed, holding Janet around the waist as she kicked and screamed. But it was no use.
=-=
Janet returned home nearly an hour later. She had fought and fought with Mrs. White and Judge Hammond until her voice was hoarse. Finally Mr. White had placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's a battle you can't win my dear," and she had left, tears streaming down her face.
Apparently the story had gotten around the town already, for when Janet walked into the apartment she was showered with hugs and "Oh Janet!"s.
They were all trying to encourage her, saying that she could take it to court. Mrs. Roper was going to get her lawyer on the case, Larry was going to start a protest...they all sounded so hopeful, but Janet knew in her heart that Mr. White was right. It *was* a battle she couldn't win. She thanked them all for their kindness, secretly wishing Jerry was there to tell her something logical like he always did. She quickly said she wanted to go to bed and no one argued with her. When she got to her door however she turned around, a faint smile etched in her face. "By the way...which one of you taught Jack what to do when there's valet parking?"
"Oh, that was me," Mr. Furley said importantly, straightening up.
Janet smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. "Thank you--" her voice broke and she went into the girls' bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her.
Chapter 19: It Ain't Over Til It's Over
Janet took her case to the court, but she didn't win. She was against Dr. Elias once again and he made sure that she couldn't win. Even her lawyer couldn't find a way out this time. She came back to the apartment feeling defeated and hopeless.
Since everything seemed to be done the Ropers and Chrissy packed to leave. There was still no sign of Jerry, but Janet really didn't care anymore. She bid her friends a sad goodbye. Things began to get back to normal...except that there was no Jack. Terri went to work and Janet got her job back at the flower shop, but there was no Jack to cook for them or make them laugh. They hadn't yet discussed the living arangement and when they would get a new roommate. Terri must have assumed that Janet would not be comfortable with talking about it, for she hadn't brought it up.
Janet talked to the authorities about visiting Jack in the asylum on the hill, but they wouldn't permit her there. They said he had gone "even more insane since the ball". Janet thought she would go insane, too, if she was locked up in that place when she didn't deserve to be. She came home that day and cried. Even when carolers came to the door and caroled she still didn't move. In fact, they reminded her of Jack and she just cried more.
There was a knock on the bedroom door. It was Terri, but Janet didn't feel like talking to anyone so she didn't say anything. She heard the door open. "Janet?" It was Larry's voice.
Janet didn't know why, but she responded. "Yes?"
"Janet, I think you need to go talk to that mayor or something. How can you just sit around while Jack--an innocent man--is locked away? Don't accept defeat! That's not at all like the Janet I know. The Janet I know would say, 'It ain't over 'til it's over!'" He said.
Janet sat up and mustered a small smile, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "No I wouldn't, Larry. I would say, 'It's *not* over 'til it's over.'"
Larry grinned.
So Larry, Terri and Janet (with help from Mr. Furley) spent the next couple of days trying their hardest to get Jack freed. It would be Christmas in a week and nothing had changed. It appeared very much as though it *was* over. Finally Janet gave up. Terri and Larry tried to convince her that there was more they could do, but Janet knew in her heart that it was all over and she told them so.
"We tried. And I thank you both so much for being such great friends and helping me through this, but they are not going to let Jack out. I'll be okay. I just have to get over it, that's all," she tried to tell them.
But she knew that she would never get over it.
=-=
One night Janet found herself at the apartment alone. Terri was working the late shift. Janet was cleaning...she had to find ways to distract herself or she knew her thoughts would go to Jack. Unfortunately, even while cleaning all she *could* think about was him. Even when all the tears had left her eyes and she could not cry anymore, her heart still cried constantly for him.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. She turned off the vacuum cleaner and answered the door. Immediately her mouth popped open. Three young women stood in front of her in black catsuits. "Jenny? Helga? Ms. Dunham?" She gaped. Jack's once-girlfriend, their once-maid, and Janet's lawyer were standing in front of her.
"Can we come in?" Ms. Dunham asked politely.
Janet stepped aside so they could come in, still quite curious. The girls definitely were the ones she was thinking of. Ms. Dunham didn't have her glasses on, though. And Helga's hair came about to her mid-neck and it wasn't in a bun. And Jenny's hair was much shorter, too--just below her ears.
"Janet, I'm not really a lawyer," Ms. Dunham said right away. "And she isn't a maid. My name is Sam, she"--she motioned to Helga--"is Clover and this"--Jenny--"is Alex. We're spies for a secret organization."
"If we told you we'd have to kill you." Clover winked.
"But--" Janet started, but she was interrupted.
"Jerry is our boss," Alex informed. "He was working on this case undercover from the beginning and we just helped, I guess." She scratched her chin in thought.
"Listen, Janet," Sam took the floor again, "we have a situation on our hands. A week ago Jerry disappeared. We think he was kidnapped because he knew something. He had called us and told us that we needed to meet him somewhere private so he could tell us something very important, but he never showed up at our meeting place. We saw that he never came back to your apartment either.
"That's not all, though. Listen, I'm sure Jerry told you, but your friend Jack was not in an accident. Someone purposely did all of this to him. Our thoughts are that it was Dr. Elias."
"He used to be a scientist, but he got in trouble for doing illegal genetic experiments," Clover added.
Sam nodded. "Exactly. That would explain how he was able to do this to Jack."
"But--" Janet started again.
"Elias just went down to the asylum to see Jack," Sam continued.
"He was given permission?!" Janet gasped, upset.
Alex nodded and Sam kept going. "Janet, Jack might be in danger and we might need your help. If we're going to crack this case and get Jack out of there we need someone that he'll listen to. We thought he might listen to Alex, but we *know* he'll listen to you. Will you come with us?"
Janet blinked, bewildered. A few minutes ago she was cleaning, completely sure that she would never even see Jack again. Now there were three spies in her living room trying to get her to go with them so they could free Jack. She couldn't understand why she was hesitating.
"Let's go!" She exclaimed, grabbing her jacket.
=-=
Very soon Janet found herself trying to sneak into the asylum with the spies. "So you dated Jack because you were working undercover?" Janet asked Alex as they waited for Sam to scale the building and drop a rope for them.
Alex nodded. Janet chuckled. "Oh my...I was so worried that you liked him a lot and that he would fall in love with you and...you were working so I had no reason to worry."
Alex smiled. "Yep. I did like Jack. He was really sweet and he is kind of cute, but you know...he's your guy." Her smile got wider so that she was squinting.
Janet laughed again. She was feeling better than she had in days.
Suddenly a rope dropped out of the sky. "You go first," Clover said to Janet.
She grabbed the rope and was somehow able to climb up the building. When Clover and Alex were up Sam motioned for them to follow her and they did. Janet was still trying to get used to the situation as they went along the roof and found a way inside. So Chrissy was right all along! Jerry was a goodguy and he *was* kidnapped! And those girls Janet was with must have been who Jerry kept talking to in the kitchen... It was nice to know the facts and not assumptions.
Sam figured the easiest way to get to Jack unseen would be to use the ducts. Janet was pretty thrilled when they started crawling through them. After all, she always saw the heroes go through ducts in the movies. It struck her that if this worked she would be Jack's hero. She chuckled inwardly at the thought.
Traveling by duct turned out to be less glamorous than she first thought. They were incredibly dusty, full of spiders and after the first minute your back hurt from being so hunched over. Not to mention it was dark and the walls were close to you. It was near to impossible to turn around. Janet was more than ready to get out of the ducts, but they went on for, what seemed like hours.
Finally Sam stopped ahead of her and kicked open the vent. Janet squeezed up next to her and found herself looking into a big room--apparently the basement. There was an odd sort of cylindar in the center of the room that Elias was trying to force Jack into. There were, what were probably "henchmen" stationed around the room with guns. Jerry was tied up and gagged in the corner.
"What are we going to do?" Said Alex, who was peeking over their shoulders at the room.
Sam was biting her nails. Janet didn't think they could do anything. It looked as though it would be impossible to get Jack out of there.
"You'll get in there now!" Elias suddenly yelled, causing Janet's heart to stop briefly. "If you don't..."
One of the henchmen hit Jerry hard in the head with the barrell of his gun.
"Do you want to see Mr. Spy over here killed sooner than he needs to be?" Elias said.
Jack looked awful, Janet suddenly realized. He was wearing the jail garb, a gray jumpsuit, but it was torn up in several places, as though he had ripped it in anguish. His hair was messy and his eyes were wild. He was sitting like a dog once more and staring at Elias as though he could kill him with his gaze. In a moment, though, he stood and began walking toward the cylinder.
Elias grinned. "Very good. Now we can wipe every memory of the past couple of months from your mind. It'll be nice to bring you back to the animal you were in October, won't it?"
Janet gasped. Unfortunately sound carried well in the large room. A henchman pointed up to them. "Dr. Elias!" He exclaimed.
Elias looked in their direction and for a moment his eyes showed shocked fear. "Get them down here!" He spewed.
"Go!" Sam shouted behind her.
"I can't!" Clover squeaked.
"What do you mean? They're climbing up right now!" Janet exclaimed in a panicky voice.
"I can't turn around!" Clover said.
Within seconds the henchmen had gotten them down and were each holding one of the girls at gunpoint.
"Janet!" Jack cried, running from the cylinder toward Janet.
Elias himself grabbed a gun and came up to Janet, pointing it at her head. Jack stopped in his tracks, a look of fear on his face. "Come another step closer and I'll pull this trigger," Elias breathed. "Now *get in the machine!*"
"Jack, no!" Janet shouted, tears choking her voice.
But Jack turned around and walked resolutely toward the cylinder again. "Good doggie," Elias laughed.
Janet wanted to hurt him. She wanted to pull out all of his hair. She wanted to kick him hard in the shins or in the groin. Her insides burned with anger. "Why are you doing this to him?" She finally exclaimed, unable to contain herself.
Elias opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by a female voice.
"Because I'm paying him to."
A woman had just come in the door. Janet's eyes might have popped out then they got so wide. As the woman stepped into the light Janet saw distinctly who she was. "Lana!" She said in a choked voice.
Lana Shields...once a neighbor of the trio when Chrissy was still living with them. She had always had a big thing for Jack. Apparently it was bigger than any of them had realized.
"But why?" Janet asked in a whisper.
"Janet, you know that I only have eyes for Jack," Lana said, looking longingly at Jack, who was caged inside the cylinder. "But you know who he has eyes for. You...or Chrissy...or your new roommates...or one of those other young girls he's always going out with." Her eyes flashed angrily. "He never took any notice of a curvaceous, mature woman like me. But I'm going to change all of that." She looked at Elias. "Activate the machine."
He nodded and went over to the controls. "No!" Janet yelled through her tears.
=-=
Commercial break! How did y'all like that chapter? Just kidding. I wouldn't end the chapter right there. It's too exciting right now. Hope you're enjoying it. :)
=-=
Janet's thoughts raced. There had to be something she could do. Her eyes darted about. Perhaps there was something in the room she had missed...something that was helpful... Her eyes met with Jerry's. One of his was mostly shut, though, as it was black and bruised. He nodded to Jack. She didn't understand. He nodded to him more vigorously, but Janet still didn't understand. She looked at Jack, hoping to catch what Jerry wanted her to do, but she couldn't see it. Despair sank into her bones. She could hear the steady beeping sound the machine made as it warmed up and prepared to turn Jack into the animal he once was... Perhaps she could buy him some time. Perhaps if she kept talking.
"So that night in October you did this to Jack? Why did you let him go if this was what you wanted?" She asked Lana.
Lana's eyes darkened. "I didn't let him go. He broke free...escaped. He was still holding onto a part of himself and went immediately to his restaurant. I sent Elias after him, but he didn't get there fast enough." She shot a venomous glance at the scientist. "The police took him. So when you made your appeal I sent Elias in as the opposing lawyer, but he lost the case." She shot him another poisonous glance. "I sent him around after that to keep an eye on things and to try to bring Jack back to me. He failed at the latter, but he was able to tell me things about Jack's progress... This proved to me that I could make Jack an animal and then train him to be civilized again. I was especially glad to learn that he fell in love with you, because that meant that he could fall in love with his trainer again..." She looked at Jack for a moment and then snapped at Elias. "Hurry up!"
"It's almost done warming up, Ms. Shields," Elias said grudgingly.
Janet glared at him. "And what was it, Elias? What was the price that you put on Jack's life?"
A gleam came into his eyes. "Oh, it was quite the large sum, Ms. Wood, don't you worry. Your Jack's life is pretty expensive." He sniggered.
Janet didn't know what else to say. She looked back at Jerry. He had managed to get his gag off partially. "Jack," he muttered.
"What about him?" Janet asked quietly.
"Talk...tell him to escape," Jerry hissed.
"What?" Janet's eyebrow rose.
Jerry looked frustrated. "He did it once, he can do it again," he said in a hushed voice.
"It's ready, Ms. Shields," Elias said.
"Then use it, you idiot," Lana said, rolling her eyes.
Janet gasped. "Jack!" She exclaimed, turning to look at him. He, in return was looking at her. "Jack, you have to fight it. You have to break out of there! I know you can do it. I know that you're actually going to be the hero, Jack. Please try, Jack! I know I told you to always be on your best behavior and to never attack people, but Jack...Jack, I want you to attack Elias," she said shakily.
Rays of light were passing over Jack from the machine, but he barely seemed to notice. He nodded decidedly and began banging on the glass cylinder.
"He can't break out," Lana said surely.
But Lana forgot that Elias' machine made Jack a lot stronger than he was and with the machine on, trying to turn him into an animal again, it was giving him more strength. He lunged at the glass with a bit of a roar and broke clean through. He leaped on Elias, who began screaming for help. The henchmen all bolted, obviously afraid of Jack. The spies immediately got into action. In seconds they had each used karate moves to knock three henchmen to their feet and had taken their guns. They each aimed a gun at a fleeing Lana and said in unison, "Freeze!"
Janet was busy untying Jerry and Jack was keeping Elias busy. Lana did freeze and turned slowly to face them. Suddenly the doors opened and men in suits with sunglasses came flooding in. Some of them had apprehended henchmen that had tried to escape. One of them handcuffed Lana and one handcuffed Elias. They gathered up the knocked out henchmen as well, and one gave Jerry a blanket and an ice pack for his black eye.
"Well done, girls," Jerry said, coming up to the spies. "I had hoped you would come through."
"So that important thing you had to tell us that got you kidnapped...what was it?" Alex queered.
"Oh, that. I discovered that Elias was taking orders from a Lana Shields. I asked Chrissy if she knew someone by that name and she told me enough about Lana that I couldn't doubt that she would do something like this. While I was looking up files on her I was hit from behind and I woke up in this ruddy place," he looked around with disguist.
Each of the spies congratulated Jerry, Jack and Janet before saying that they had to study for college tests. Janet thanked them deeply and turned to Jerry. "Jerry...can you ever forgive me for thinking you were the badguy?" She said sheepishly, eyeing his bruises with shame.
He smiled. "Of course. I do look the type, don't I?"
But Janet had to disagree. She hugged him.
"Janet..." said a small voice nearby.
She turned to see Jack. He had apparently tried to smooth his hair and he was fiddling with a string that was hanging off of his sleeve. "Janet, I'm sorry I don't look presentable."
Janet just broke into hysterical laughter and flung her arms around him. "Oh, Jack," she said through her laughter and tears, "I don't care how you look! I'm just glad you're okay."
She felt his arms pull her close, as though he never wanted to let her go again. She sighed. She could stay like that forever.
"Janet?" Jerry's voice came out of nowhere and Jack let her go.
She looked at Jerry with frustration. "Yes, Jerry?"
He was holding a small vial that had a red substance in it. "The antidote," he said, handing it to her.
He left. There were still agents running around, gathering evidence, but they were oblivious to Janet. All she knew was she and Jack. He was looking at her curiously. She held the vial tightly. She loved Jack *so much*. She could just drop the antidote and keep him in love with her forever. But Janet had always had a pure, good heart. Swallowing the sobs that threatened to come from her she hugged Jack and kissed him *really good* once more. Then, hand shaking, she handed him the vial. "Jack...this is the cure," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
He took the vial and eyed it suspiciously. Then he asked, "Should I drink it then?"
*Say no! Say no!* A voice screamed inside Janet's head. She swallowed once more and looked away. "Yes, Jack. Drink it all."
He smiled. "Well then...I guess you'll see the real Jack pretty soon."
"I guess I will," Janet murmured.
Jack drank the antidote.
Chapter 20: After The Rain
Chrissy reached apartment 201 the next day. She almost rang the doorbell, but then she remembered that she used to live there and she shook her head. With a sparkling grin she opened the door and came inside. "Hello, everybody!" She shouted.
Everyone was there already! Mr. Furley, Mr. and Mrs. Roper, Jack, Janet, Terri, Larry, Jerry, Sam, Clover, Alex, Cindy, the Hammonds, and Mr. and Mrs. White.
"Chrissy!" Jack exclaimed as he ran over and scooped her into a hug. "Oh, wow! It's been awhile since I've seen you!"
Chrissy looked at him with a puzzled expression. "But, Jack, you saw me just a week ago."
Jack blinked and then nodded. "Oh, okay."
He stepped back and let her inside before shutting the door. He ran a hand through his hair and then grinned at everyone. "Well, since everyone's here I guess the party can start!"
Cindy turned on the music and Jack motioned to the table full of food that he had prepared. Everyone was soon having a great time. Janet was on the couch braiding Jamie's hair. Jack sat down next to her. She finished Jamie's hair and the girl bid them goodbye as she bounced over to her parents to show them her new hairdo. Janet turned to face Jack. She smiled. He smiled back. Then he sighed. "You know, Janet, it's still really strange to hear this whole story."
Janet nodded. She had told him the whole story, leaving out the part that he fell in love with her. She thought it would make things awkward at the apartment. After all, he wasn't in love with her anymore.
"I mean, I don't recall seeing Chrissy at all since she left for Fresno," he said, scratching his head. "And I *really* don't remember attacking anyone... Although there's something really familiar about Jerry and Alex." He narrowed his eyes in thought.
Janet smiled and patted his knee. "Don't fret over it, Jack. You weren't really that much trouble. Well, you were at first, but you got much better. You were quite the gentleman at the end."
He nodded again, his gaze downcast. Then he put an arm around Janet and propped one leg up on the coffee table. "You know, Janet, part of me really can't believe that you went through so much trouble for me because it seems unhuman for someone to do that. But at the same time...I can really believe it. You always were my closest friend." He grinned at her.
Janet looked into his steel blue eyes and felt her insides go warm. It was so strange to think that just a week ago she could look into them with the knowledge that he loved her as much as she loved him. Tears began to fill her own eyes so she looked down. "Yeah. I think that's why I was able to get through it. You were always my closest friend, too."
Jack squeezed her shoulder, kissed her cheek and got up. "Well, I'm going to get me some of that punch. I don't want to brag or anything, but it really did turn out just right." He grinned.
She smiled and watched him as he went to the table. She blinked back the tears. She loved him so much. She was so glad he was back to normal. But she would never be able to let go...
=-=
It only took a couple of days for things to get back to normal completely. The Ropers left, Chrissy returned to Fresno, and Cindy went back to UCLA. Terri and Janet bid goodbye to the spies and smothered an embarrassed Jerry with hugs and kisses. They returned to New York City. Terri, Janet and Jack were the only ones left at apartment 201 with Mr. Furley below them, *still* unable to fix things, and Larry coming up every day to ask for money. Jack was back at his Bistro apologizing hourly for having left Joe so much work. Terri was off to the hospital everyday and Janet was back at her flower shop. Everything was normal.
Christmas came and went and soon the trio was preparing to go to a New Year's Eve party. New Year's Eve came, and Janet woke up with a splitting headache, a sore throat and a slight fever. Terri looked her over, gave her some medicine and sighed. "Poor thing. She's just been worked way too hard. She's going to have to rest all day," she told Jack.
"What, so she can't go to the party tonight?" Jack queered, looking at Janet with obvious concern.
Terri shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Jack, if she went to the party she would be worse tomorrow. Is that what you want?"
"No," Jack said, turning red.
As evening drew closer Jack approached Terri. "Ah, Terri...I was thinking that...well, I think I should stay home from the party--to take care of Janet."
Terri just stared at him. "Would you really do that? Jack, there are going to be pretty girls at the party."
Jack nodded. "I know that, Terri. You know, I'm not always a sex maniac. I can take a break for a best friend."
Terri smiled and slugged him in the shoulder. "Good for you, Jack."
Soon Terri left for the party. Jack fixed himself a sandwich. He had just finished it when Janet came stumbling out of the bedroom, running a hand through her hair. She saw Jack and gasped, turning to get her bathrobe.
"Janet, wait!" Jack ran over and stopped her. "Where are you going?"
"I--what are you doing here?" Janet said in a scratchy voice.
Jack brought her over to the couch and sat her down on it. "I'm just taking care of you. It's the least I could do with all you did for me," he said, looking at her with awed respect.
He went into the kitchen and soon returned with some chicken noodle soup and a mug of hot chocolate. Janet had already put a blanket on. He set down the mug and sat beside her with the soup. She held out her hand for him to give it to her, but he shook his head. "Janet, you did so much for me while I was...well, you know. Anyway, I want to feed you."
Janet blushed. "Wha--?"
Jack thrust the spoon in her mouth while it was open and she swallowed the steamy contents. She allowed him to feed her the rest of it and then she leaned her head against the back of the couch with a sigh. She didn't notice Jack's eyes on her. Finally he spoke. "We went out."
Janet sat up quickly and looked at him. "What?"
Jack looked down. "Larry told me that...well, he said that we were in love." He rubbed the back of his neck.
Janet stared at him. *That idiot! Why did he tell him that?*
"Is it true?" Jack looked back up at her.
She couldn't lie to him. She slowly nodded. After a moment of silence she spoke. "It wasn't much, Jack."
Okay, that was a lie.
Jack nodded. "That's too bad."
Janet stared at him thunderstruck. He reached forward and grabbed both of her hands in his. She realized that her hands were hot and sweaty, partially from her fever and partially from her nerves, and she really wished he would let go.
"Janet," he said, scooting closer, "I'm not sure what it is...but there's something...well, I'm not sure how to say this." He sighed. "All right. Before Larry told me that we were in love I knew I was in love with you. I mean, I didn't know that we were in love while I was...well, you know...I just knew that I was in love with you. I can't explain it...but it probably has something to do with how wonderful and kind and beautiful you are. Oh, don't cry--"
For tears had started to escape Janet's eyes as she realized what he was saying to her. The past two months flashed before her eyes. At first all she had wanted was for Jack to be back to normal...then he fell in love with her and she changed her mind...but perhaps...just perhaps all this time he was already in love with her while he was normal, but neither of them had realized it. After all, she hadn't realized her love for him until the incident.
"Janet," Jack continued, after wiping her eyes with his thumbs, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that...well, I love you. I love you so much."
Apparently he didn't care if he got sick, for just then he captured her lips with his in a kiss that could only be spawned from love. When they were finished kissing. Janet realized that they were much closer. In fact, she was nearly sitting on him. Her face was cupped in his hands and she had her arms wrapped around his muscular body. Suddenly she began to chuckle. "Oh, Jack...Jerry was right."
"He was?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
Janet nodded, laughing some more. "Oh Jerry... You see, Jack, after Thanksgiving I asked him why that stuff had happened to you. He told me 'Unto each life a little rain must fall'. Now I understand what he meant. Those two hard months had to come for me to realize the love I've always had for you, and for you to realized the love you've always had for me."
Jack grinned. "I always did like that after-the-rain smell."
Janet laughed and pulled him close to her for another kiss. They spent the hours until New Year's wrapped in each others' arms, loving on each other. When midnight hit Jack whispered, "Happy New Year," in Janet's ear.
She looked out the window at the fireworks exploding in the sky and smiled, feeling his gentle kisses on her neck. *It will be a happy new year.*
The End