Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
Rated PG
by Becky

Part I: Janet's Day

Janet certainly hadn't been expecting this sudden turn of events. First the shocking news that Cindy - Cindy! - was pregnant. She hadn't even finished processing that bit of information when Jack then decides HE should marry Cindy!

And that's when it happened. That sinking feeling in her stomach, the pounding of her heart against her chest, the prickly feeling in her eyes that told her she was about to cry. All of that had rushed over her so quickly that for a long moment she had just stared at Jack, until he waved his hand in front of her face and said, "Earth to Janet."

Then she'd mumbled some lame excuse about needing to go to the bathroom and had locked herself in the tiny room.

And so here she was.

"Janet, what are you thinking?" she asked herself in the mirror. "No, you're not thinking at all!" she pointed accusingly at her image. "Oh, great, now I've really gone insane - I'm taking to myself!"

Why had she reacted like that when Jack had mentioned marrying Cindy? Cindy was her friend, and she was in trouble. She should be glad that a great guy like Jack wanted to help Cindy with the baby. But she wasn't, not really. Why?

Oh, who was she kidding? She knew why.

She looked around the small bathroom, as if she suspected someone could listen to her inner thoughts. She'd never said it, not even to herself. She wasn't sure exactly when she'd realized it, but it was true. Boy, was it true! Today had proven that.

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It didn't do much to calm her down.

She loved Jack. There. She'd said it. Well, sort of. What good did it do now, anyway? She could never say anything to him. She couldn't do that to Cindy. Cindy needed Jack more than she did and --

"Janet!!" Cindy's panicked voice made Janet realize she was still in the bathroom.

She quickly unlocked the door. "What's wrong, Cindy?" She peeked out into the living room, and didn't see Jack anywhere. "Where's Jack?"

"That's what I need to talk to you about!" Cindy said urgently. She pushed Janet into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Okay, calm down," Janet said. "Tell me what's going on."

"Calm down?! I can't calm down, Janet! Jack just asked me to marry him!!"

For a moment, Janet couldn't feel her legs. She held on to the wall, and swallowed, "H-he did?"

"YES!" Cindy confirmed, loudly. "I can't marry Jack! Janet, what am I going to do??"

Pushing aside her own feelings, Janet tried to remain rational. "But Cindy, you said yourself that a baby should have a father."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Cindy," Janet said carefully. "I know."

"Know what?" Cindy's forehead was furrowed in complete confusion.

"That you're pregnant!"

Cindy's eyes grew wide as saucers as Janet's words sunk in. "I'm not pregnant!"

"You're not?!"

The door of the bathroom swung open and Jack stumbled inside. "You're not?!"

Janet reeled from the news. She regained her focus after a minute and realized she was the only one standing in the bathroom. Jack and Cindy were now in the living room.

Cindy kept turning her head from her to Jack. "I can't believe either of you thought that I was pregnant! I know how to take care of myself! And to ask me to marry you, Jack! You know what I think?"

"No, what?" Janet and Jack asked together.

Cindy broke out into a big grin. "That's just the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!"

"Well, you know me, I'm a nice guy," Jack joked.

Janet just half-sighed, half-laughed in relief.

Cindy hugged them both for a moment, then let go, still grinning. "Well, I have to get to class! Bye!" She bounced out the door, and was gone.

Without a word, Janet and Jack both walked over and plopped onto the couch.

"That girl's got energy!" Janet said.

"You can say that again," Jack agreed.

Janet looked over at him, suddenly nervous. Was this her chance? Should she tell him how she felt? There was nothing stopping her now.

All this thinking was making her head hurt. Taking a deep breath, she decided it was time to DO something. It was now or never. "Jack?"

Jack turned his head her way. "Yeah?"

Before she lost her nerve, Janet leaned over and planted a passionate kiss on Jack's mouth. After a few intense seconds, she broke the kiss and waited for him to say something.

Jack's mouth was hanging open. "Janet. you kissed me."

Janet almost laughed, but she could barely even think with the loud pounding in her ears. "Yeah. I'm in love with you, Jack."

Silence.

Janet was getting the feeling that she had made a really big mistake.

"You're wha-?"

"Oh, Jack!" Janet turned and ran into her room, closing and locking the door behind her. She crawled completely under the covers of her bed, mentally kicking herself.

What had she done? This was why she never took chances. How could she face him again? She couldn't, she decided.

She had to move out.

*****

Part II: Jack's Day

Jack waited for Janet to tell him what she thought of his idea to marry Cindy. He couldn't believe he was even thinking about getting married -- Jack Tripper, married?! -- but what else could he do? Cindy was his friend. He had to help her, and this was the only way he knew how.

Janet was still staring at him. "Earth to Janet," he said, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Uh, I have to go to the bathroom," Janet said.

"But--" Jack had barely said a word before Janet was gone, the bathroom door closing behind her. "Great, now what am I going to do?"

As if to answer his question, the front door opened and Cindy walked in, grocery bags in her arms. "Hi, Jack!"

Jack jumped up and took the bags from her. "Cindy, you shouldn't be carrying these in your condition!"

"My what?" Cindy gave him a strange look, then shrugged. "Okay, Jack." She followed him into the kitchen to help him put the food away.

Jack placed the bags on the counter and turned around, bumping into Cindy. He could feel himself breaking out into a sweat, and not because Cindy was standing on his foot. After taking a deep breath, he kneeled down and looked up at Cindy. "Cindy, will you marry me?" His voice squeaked.

Cindy laughed. "Good one, Jack. Marry you. Yeah, right."

"I'm serious, Cindy."

"Uhh... one moment please." She turned around and headed straight out of the kitchen.

That wasn't exactly the reaction Jack had been expecting when he finally proposed to a woman. He got up, and stretched. Okay, this was it. He had to convince Cindy that he wanted to marry her. Taking another deep breath, Jack walked into the living room. He heard voices coming from the bathroom, and walked over and pressed his ear against the door. He couldn't make out some of what Janet was saying, but he could definitely hear everything Cindy was shouting.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard her say she wasn't pregnant. He turned the knob and nearly fell inside. "You're not?!" he asked.

Cindy looked from him to Janet, her hands on her hips. "No!" She turned her attention squarely on Jack. "Is THAT why you asked me to marry you, Jack?"

"Well." Jack scrunched his shoulders, and scooted out of the bathroom backwards.

Cindy followed him into the living room. She kept turning her head from Janet to Jack. "I can't believe either of you thought that I was pregnant! I know how to take care of myself! And to ask me to marry you, Jack! You know what I think?"

"No, what?" Janet and Jack asked together.

Cindy broke out into a big grin. "That's just the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me!"

"Well, you know me, I'm a nice guy," Jack joked.

Janet just half-sighed, half-laughed in relief.

Cindy hugged them both for a moment, then let go, still grinning. "Well, I have to get to class! Bye!" She bounced out the door, and was gone.

Without a word, Janet and Jack both walked over and plopped onto the couch.

"That girl's got energy!" Janet said.

"You can say that again," Jack agreed. He breathed out and shook his head. To think, he had almost gotten engaged! He was glad for a few moments of peace, he needed to recover. He heard Janet say his name, and turned his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

Before he knew it, Janet 's lips were on his. They'd kissed before, but this was different. Very different. Before he could react, Janet stopped the kiss.

Jack wasn't sure if he'd just had one heck of daydream or not. He finally regained his voice. "Janet. you kissed me."

"Yeah. I'm in love with you, Jack."

Jack lost his ability to speak again, and he stared at her. He then remembered it was his turn to say something and all he could think of was, "You're wha-?" He didn't get the chance to say anything more because in the next five seconds Janet had disappeared through her bedroom door.

Jack sat glued to the couch, unable to move with his head still spinning. This had been one crazy day. First Cindy was pregnant, then she wasn't. Then Janet tells him she's in love with him. Jack couldn hardly believe it.

*Janet was in love with him.*

Should he go talk to her? He stood up. But what would he say? He sat back down. He needed to think this through before he said something stupid. He suddenly got an idea. He would make her her favorite dinner! Yes, he would go to the grocery store, come back, and take it from there.

*****

Part III: Conclusion

Jack finally made it back to the apartment, out of breath, and carrying two very heavy bags of groceries. It had taken him longer than he'd thought to get everything he needed. He was about to put the bag of groceries down to unlock the door, when it swung open.

A very frantic Cindy was on the other side. "JACK!"

"Cindy!" Jack mimicked her as he walked past her and headed towards the kitchen. His arms were about to fall off.

Cindy was close behind his heels, nearly bumping into him every other step. "Jack, haven't you heard a word I've said?"

Jack's tongue hung out in exhaustion and he draped himself over a chair, and rested for a bit. He finally looked at Cindy, who had sat in the chair in front of him. "Uh, you said, 'Jack.'"

"Can't you read between the lines, Jack?"

Jack thumped his head on the table. "Listen, Cindy, I can't talk right now, I need to make a dinner for Janet and--"

"OH!" Cindy wailed.

"What's wrong?"

"Janet's gone!"

Jack stood up at her words, banging his knee on the kitchen table. "What?!"

"Yeah, she left a note saying she was going to her parents!"

"Oh," Jack relaxed, and sat down again. "Then it's just a visit. How long is she going to be there?"

"Forever! She took all her stuff!"

Jack couldn't move. Janet leaving forever? He couldn't imagine his life without Janet! Larry was his friend, but he'd sell him out if a good deal -- or a good-looking woman -- came along.. Janet was his best friend no matter what. They'd lived together for four years, he could tell her anything, he loved her.

Jack stood up at his realization. He loved her! He was in love with Janet! "Cindy, I'm going to find Janet. I've got to get her to come back!"

Cindy cheered, "Great! I'm going with you!"

"No, I need to do this by myself."

"Why?"

"Because I've got to tell Janet something."

"What?"

"Cindy, would you mind your own business?" But then Jack smiled, wanting to tell someone how he felt. "I'm in love with Janet."

"Oh, I knew that."

"What?"

"Chrissy told me."

"What?!" Jack decided to deal with that later. Right now, he had to find Janet!

~*~

Janet sat on Mr. Furley's couch, her bags at her feet. Mr. Furley had tried to tell some of his jokes, but nothing cheered her up. He was now sitting next to her, feeling as blue as she did, but not knowing why.

He tried again to get her to talk. "What's wrong, Janet?"

Janet sighed. "Mr. Furley." She was going to tell him to mind his own business -- in a nice way, of course -- but she changed her mind. Maybe it would be good if she talked to someone. "Have you ever loved someone that didn't love you back?"

"Well." Mr. Furley's eyes widened. "Oh, Janet. I didn't know you felt that way. Darn these good looks of mine. But you don't have to leave just because you're in love with me!"

Janet busted out laughing. "Mr. Furley, I'm not in love with you!"

"You're not? Then who are you in love with?"

"Jack."

Mr. Furley's eyes widened again. "Jack! But he's.. you know."

Janet slumped on the couch. "Never mind, Mr. Furley. Forget I said anything."

"Okay," Mr. Furley mumbled. "Kids these days."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm going to get the door."

"There's no one at the door."

But just then, there was a knock. Janet looked at Mr. Furley. "How'd you know?"

"I have IST." He stood up, and walked over to open the door. "Oh, hi, Cindy!"

"Cindy?"

"Janet?!" Cindy pushed past Mr. Furley. "I thought you went to your parents'."

"I missed the last bus. The next one doesn't leave until an hour from now. And I didn't want to be at the apartment when Jack got back."

"He's at the bus station looking for you!"

"What? Why?"

"Because.." Cindy looked from Mr. Furley and back at Janet. "Ehay oveslay ouyay."

"Hey, no fair speaking French!" Mr. Furley complained.

"He -- he told you that?"

"Yep! But I already knew. Chrissy told me."

"She--" Janet stopped. "When did Jack leave?"

"About ten minutes ago."

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Furley! I'll see you later!"

~*~

Jack sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs at the bus station, his ticket in hand. He had practiced different ways to tell Janet he loved her, but they all seemed lame.

"Going somewhere, Jack?"

Jack turned around at the sound of her voice, a big smile on his face. "Janet!"

"Cindy told me I'd find you here. She also told me."

"That I love you?"

"Yeah. So if I kiss you now you won't get that deer in the headlights look again?"

Jack grinned. "Why don't you kiss me and find out?"

And she did.

~The End~