Disclaimer: All characters and settings are property of Ken Corday and Days of our Lives.

NOTE: This takes place after Jack’s gay farce has been revealed. Greta has forgiven him after weeks of not speaking to him at all, and Jennifer’s intense anger at his deception finally caused Jack to back off and stop pursuing her.


Episode I

DEVERAUX HOME

Jack Deveraux looked into the dresser mirror as he tied his tie and straightened his jacket. Today was the day. He was going to get his newspaper business back, and there was nothing standing in his way this time. With Victor Kiriakis willing to negotiate its sale, and Greta’s agreement to be a temporary backer, it was practically a done deal. He glanced at his watch, and noted the time.

“7:33 AM. I better get going, Greta’s waiting for me to come pick her up,” Jack said to himself as he took one last glance in the mirror. At this moment, Princess Greta von Amburg was his savior. Bored with her job-less life, she had agreed to back the paper until Jack was able to buy it from her. In return, he would do a lot to help her orphans in Europe through the paper, whether it be editorials or a series on them.

Jack checked his wallet, and then bounded down the stairs, barely able to contain his excitement. He stopped short as he reached the door, noticing his ex-wife sitting on the couch.

“Jennifer… up so early on a Saturday? What’s wrong?” he asked. Jennifer looked up at him and sighed.

“I just wanted to see you off, I mean… you’re getting back the paper today,” she said wistfully. “Our Spectator. I just kind of wish I could be a part of all this.”

If it had been a month before, Jack would have been thrilled with the prospect of Jennifer having any interest in what he was doing. At that moment, he would have run over to her, sat down next to her, and practically begged for more attention. A month ago. But that was no longer the case, as he had completely given up on the idea that the two of them would ever be together again. She had told him over and over that they were done… but after the whole debacle with Greta, she had finally made it clear. He finally believed her. And now he was going to get his dignity back, and stop wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Jack cleared his throat. “Well… uh… I’ll be going now. See you this afternoon.”

“Bye,” Jennifer replied. “Um… Jack?” she started to say, but he was already out the door.

Jennifer stared at the closed front door, and listened as Jack started his car and pulled away.

“Good luck,” she said, leaning back against the couch.

~~~

ON THE ROAD

“So, years after Victor practically stole the Spectator from you, you’re getting it back. I’m really happy for you Jack,” Greta said as Jack drove, on the way to Titan.

“I don’t even deserve to have you supporting me, Princess,” Jack said. “After everything I put you through…” he trailed off.

“I’m over it, Jack. Please, just… let’s not mention it again, okay? We’re still friends, I’ve forgiven you. And I want to do this, I want to have a cause again, and this paper sounds worthwhile,” Greta said.

“It is, believe me. You won’t regret backing the paper, once you see it at its best. And it was at its best when I was publisher, Princess. To quote John Black, ‘That’s a fact’.”

Greta tensed at the mention of John Black, her mother’s former lover. She tried to change the subject.

“What does Jennifer have to say about all this?” Now it was Jack’s turn to tense up.

“Uh…well…she supports it, I suppose,” he said coolly.

“What’d she say?” Greta asked.

“She… she said it was great. She wishes she could be a part of it. I don’t know, I guess she’s happy about it…”

“Jack, maybe you could hire Jennifer to work as a reporter? That’s how you two met, right? Working at the Spectator together?” Greta asked.

“Correction: She was working for me, I was her boss. But yes, we met through the Spectator. What does that have to do with anything?” Jack asked.

“Jack, why not hire her? She’s experienced, she’s looking for a job, it’ll be great!”

“No, it WON’T,” Jack said. “It’s enough that we live together, she’d probably want to murder me if she had to see me at work too,” Jack said glumly. “And I just don’t think I could…” he trailed off.

“Could what?”

“There are too many memories there. If we were working there together again… Look , it’s a bad idea. Anyway…here we are…” Jack said as they pulled up to Titan.

“You ready?” Greta asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Jack replied, bracing himself.

~~~

DEVERAUX HOME

Jennifer was making coffee when Abby came in the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“Mommy, where’s Daddy?” she asked, as she sat down at the kitchen table.

“Oh, sweetie, he went to a business meeting, but he should be back in a couple of hours. It’s a good thing, really, he’s very excited about it,” Jennifer told Abby as she made her some cereal.

“Why is it a good thing?” Abby asked.

“Because… because he’s going to own a newspaper business by the time the meeting is through. He owned it once before, you know…”

“Yeah, Daddy told me all about that before! He said that’s where he met you!”

“That’s right. Eat your cereal,” Jennifer said, putting down the bowl in front of Abby.

“He told me that the newspaper’s where you fell in love with each other! Is that true too, Mommy?”

Jennifer nodded, obviously affected. “Yes… we… we fell in love while working together. Your Daddy was even more stubborn back then than he is now,” Jennifer smiled. “Mommy had to work very hard to get him to realize that he had fallen in love. He didn’t want to admit it.”

Abby, intrigued, had already forgotten about the cereal in front of her. “When did he realize he loved you, Mommy?”

Jennifer all of a sudden felt a wave of sadness wash over her, and couldn’t talk about it any longer. “Abby, your cereal’s getting soggy.” As Abby started to eat, Jennifer turned away and looked out the window. Her head kept telling her that it was over with Jack. He had disappointed her too many times. But her heart… her heart didn’t want to believe it at all.

 

Episode II

TITAN

“Nice doing business with you, Kiriakis,” Jack said, shaking Victor’s hand.

“I never thought I’d see the day you’d get this paper back from me,” Victor said, shaking his head.

“Well, I did,” Jack smiled, smug.

“My attorney will send in this contract, and it all should be ready by next week,” Victor said. “Your lawyer will be notified when it is.”

Jack practically skipped out of the Titan building, with Greta at his heels. “Happy?” she laughed.

“You don’t even know! I can’t wait to get back to the Spectator offices… soon, I’ll be at the top of the Salem journalism world, wheeling and dealing… I bet the publishers of the Chronicle have already heard and are crying like babies. For sure they haven’t forgotten the name Jack Deveraux…” Jack excitedly talked on as he drove Greta home, and she sat, hanging on to his every word.

He walked her to her apartment, and paused at the door. “Thank you, Princess. This means the world to me.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed, and hurriedly said, “No problem, Jack. I just wanted to help you, and I wanted to get involved in the community somehow,” she replied. “See you later?”

“Definitely. I’ll call you,” Jack said, smiling. Greta went in and closed the door, and she could hear Jack whistling from all the way down the hall.

~~~

A WEEK LATER…

THE DEVERAUX HOME

Jennifer folded clothes as she held the cordless phone between her ear and her shoulder, talking to Hope. Hope’s family was going through a lot of problems lately, and Jennifer had tried to be extra supportive and a sympathetic ear through it all.

After hanging up the phone, she sighed and picked up a newspaper, turning to the Classifieds.Her eyes scanned the listings, and widened every now and then at some of the job offers.

“Well, I don’t think Abby would be too pleased if I worked at ‘Big Jugs’,” she said to herself.

“Oh, I don’t know, Abigail might be inspired by her mother working there,” a male voice said from behind her.

“Jack, you scared me! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Jennifer noticed his huge grin. “What happened? You got it! The newspaper’s yours?!?!?” She jumped up as Jack nodded.He held up some contractual looking papers, and said, “It’s a done deal. I go back to work in two days.”

“Jack! Oh my God!!” Before she knew what was happening, she jumped up and threw her arms around him. “This is so great!” She couldn’t stop smiling, as Jack hesitantly put his arms around her, thrilled at her show of affection.

“Isn’t it?” he asked, his voice a little hoarse.

She pulled back but kept her hands on his arms. “We should throw a party! This weekend, at the office building! We can invite Bo and Hope and… well maybe not John, but we can invite Greta and Abe and Sami and Austin and Brandon…” Jack’s smile vanished at the mention of Brandon’s name. He removed Jennifer’s hands from his arms and sighed.

“Uh, I’ll think about the party idea. Right now, I need to make some calls, find out who’s running the whole thing, because I know Kiriakis never lifted a finger there.”

Jennifer smiled. “You go do that then.” All her grievances against Jack were forgotten for a moment, as she was so proud of him for getting the paper back. He had poured so much time and energy into that paper 10 years ago. It had been his heart and soul, it had become a part of Jennifer’s as well.

Jack let out a sigh of relief as he made it to his room and picked up the phone. The last place he wanted to be was at a party with Jennifer and Brandon Walker.

~~~

Jennifer was humming as she flipped through a magazine, still excited about Jack’s news. It was almost like she was going back to work herself. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Just then, the phone rang, and Jennifer answered it.

“Hey Jenn, this is Greta. Is Jack around?”

“Oh, no he just went out, he didn’t tell me where he was going,” Jennifer replied.

“Oh.”

*awkward silence*

“So, uh, hey, you heard the news?” Greta asked.

“Yeah!! Jack told me, I’m so happy about it,” Jennifer replied.

“From what Jack’s told me, it’s a really special establishment,” Greta said. “He told me that, uh, you guys met there?”

Jennifer paused. “Yeah… I started for an internship in college, and Jack was my boss. Gosh, now that I’ve been thinking about it, I really miss that place. There was just something about it…”

“You sound kind of down,” Greta said. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know… I just kind of wish that I was going back there. I tried hinting at it to Jack, but… he either ignored my signals or they went over his head completely.”

Greta was silent for a moment.

“You know what, Jenn? I think, as the newest investor in the Salem Spectator, I have a right to decide some things myself. How would you like a job at the paper?”

Jennifer smiled. “You’re joking, right?”

“I’m absolutely serious.”

Jennifer’s face lit up. “You’re serious?!”

“I’m serious!”

“Seriously??”

“Seriously! What do you say!?” Greta asked.

“I say YES! Oh, Greta, thank you so much, I mean you don’t what this means, I mean, this is wonderful, I’ve been wanting so much to go back to journalism and I just can’t believe – “

Greta interrupted her. “You’re welcome, Jenn. But don’t tell Jack just yet, ok? I need to tell him.”

“Why?” Jennifer asked.

“Well… I had mentioned the idea of hiring you last week… and he wasn’t too keen on the idea.”

Jennifer frowned. “But why? He doesn’t want to work with me again?”

“He wouldn’t really tell me why, but if I just talk to him – “

“Greta, let me talk to him. I can handle him, really. I’ll talk to him when he gets in, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t get upset with you, ok?”

“All right, Jenn. Good luck. Jack is just so irrational sometimes …” Greta said.

Jennifer felt defensive for a second. “Well, of course I know that, I was married to him, after all.”

“Jennifer, I didn’t mean to imply that I know him better than you do, I just… I’ll let you talk to him. I’ll see you later, Jennifer.”

Jennifer hung up the phone, and wondered why she had gotten so defensive. Greta hadn’t done anything wrong. She just… well, maybe the whole idea of Greta was threatening on its own. In the back of Jennifer’s head, it all added up: Greta had feelings for Jack, Jack was fond of Greta, Abby thought Greta was so cool… Jennifer could just see herself being replaced, sometime down the line… She shook her head. That was ridiculous. Her imagination was just getting the best of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Jack walked through the front door, his face lit up.

“I just went to the Spectator office – guess who’s still there? Vern! Vernon Scofield, himself!”

Vern had worked with Jack and Jennifer when they were at the Spectator, and had been Jack’s right-hand man throughout his entire time there.

Jennifer grinned. “Vern’s still there? I thought he had moved away?”

“He was living in Las Vegas near his son for awhile, but he came back down here a few months ago. We had a long talk, and, well… I updated him on… us, among other things.”

“Oh… what did he say, when you told him that we…uh…aren’t together anymore?” Jennifer asked.

“Oh, well, he…uh, he took it hard, but you know Vern. Head-in-the-clouds Vern, he just… I mean, it’s a fact of life. People break up. No big deal.” The expression on Jack’s face and his deflated tone made it obvious that to him, it WAS a big deal.

“Um… I have something to tell you, Jack… and I don’t know how you’re going to take it…” Jennifer started, bracing herself.

“You and Tarzan are going to tie the knot?” Jack asked sarcastically, picking up Jennifer’s magazine and flipping through it.

Jennifer bit her lip. “Uh, well, Greta offered me a job at the Spectator.”

Jack dropped the magazine on the floor. “She did what?”

“She offered me a job at the Spectator, and I accepted.”

Jack’s face paled. “Why in the world would you do that?”

“Why don’t you want me to work there?” Jennifer asked, hurt.

“Because! Because it’d just be too hard!”

“Why would it be too hard? What would be hard about it, Jack, we were a great team when we were there the first time!” Jennifer said.

“But we’re NOT a team now!” Jack exclaimed. “Back then, it was different! Back then, you could actually stand to be in my presence for more than 5 minutes, back then, you WANTED to be in my presence all the time, but now you hate me and there are too many memories and it would just be too painful!”

Jennifer stood, shocked. “Jack… how could you think that I hate you?”

“Actions speak,” Jack replied.

Jennifer winced. “Actions speak” was something Jack had written to her when he had hysterical laryngitis a few days before their wedding. Right after, he had kissed her.

“Jack… I never meant to make you think that I hated you. I DON’T hate you, Jack. Not at all!”

“Could have fooled me,” Jack replied grimly.

“I know that sometimes I can say some mean things to you, but I never mean it to come out as if… I just… I’ve just been under so much stress lately, and I…”

Jack just stood there, not really believing anything she was saying. “Well, look, I’m not going to do anything to stop you from having this job. Congratulations. I guess we both go back to work in two days.”

“I guess we do.”

Jack headed upstairs, and Jennifer watched him leave, confused by the wave of emotions that had just hit her. “I could never hate you, Jack,” she whispered.

Upstairs, Jack sat down on his bed and fought the urge to throw something. “How am I supposed to get over you now, Jennifer?” he asked, grimly.

It was the night before Jack and Jennifer were to return to the Spectator, and both were anxious and excited. Jack spent a few hours on the phone with Vern Scofield, who was giving him the updates on who was working and what they did, and what needed to be done, etc.

Jennifer sat across from Jack on the floor and tried to guess what Vern was saying by listening to Jack’s responses. Jack was being very opaque.

After he hung up, Jennifer scrambled over to the couch next to Jack and began the inquisition.

“What’d he say?” she asked.

“Uh…he said many things,” Jack replied, picking up a stack of paperwork. He began to sort through it, in an attempt to get Jennifer to go away, but she ignored him and kept on.

“What will we be doing tomorrow? Did he say?” Jennifer moved closer to Jack and grabbed the papers out of his hand in order to get him to pay attention.

Jack sighed heavily. “I will be handling some business, you will be assigned something to write. Vern will let you know everything tomorrow, okay?” He grabbed the papers back from her.

Jennifer frowned as Jack went on looking at the paperwork, pretending that she wasn’t even there.

“Don’t you want to discuss this some more?” she asked quietly.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Why do you care?” Jack looked at her.

“Because, Jack… You can’t pretend that this isn’t a big deal. For both of us.”

“I’m not pretending anything, I’m just trying to get prepared. Please let me do that.” Jack turned away from her, and Jennifer stood up and headed towards the stairs.

She paused, and turned around. “If it means anything Jack… I think we’ll work together now just as well as we did then. It’ll be great.” She went upstairs, leaving Jack alone, pensive.

~~~

The next morning, Jack, Jennifer, and Abby ate breakfast together before leaving. Shortly after Abby got on the bus to go to school, Jack and Jennifer realized their latest dilemma.

“Um…Jack, are we going to drive to work together?” Jennifer asked.

“Uh… I don’t know. Do… uh… do you…want to?” Jack asked, cautiously.

“Well, I mean, if you want to, it’s fine with me… Do you want to?” Jennifer asked.

“Well… all right, why not. Let’s go, I’m driving.”

Jack and Jennifer got in his car, and pulled away, both nervous.

Jennifer gazed out the window, a small smile on her face. It felt so right, going to the Spectator, with Jack. She glanced side-long at Jack, and tried to analyze the emotionless expression on his face.

Ever since the whole…thing with Greta was exposed, he had become very closed off. Jennifer knew that her own reaction had been a bit…harsh. She had said some hurtful things to him, and she definitely regretted some of it. Yes, he needed to be set straight, but more so by Greta than her. Greta was the one he had deceived, for the most part, but Jennifer had taken it as another opportunity to point out to him why they could never get back together.

She had never expected that he would actually listen to her. Ever since then, he had stopped pursuing her completely. She had gone to have coffee with Brandon a couple of times, and Jack had never shown up, called, or given her a hard time about it, like he used to. In fact, while she was with Brandon those times, she kept anticipating Jack’s arrival. She barely listened to what Brandon would say, as she was too busy checking to make sure her cell phone was on, or looking over her shoulder… And at the end of each date, Jennifer was almost… feeling disappointed that Jack hadn’t tried anything.

Her biggest surprise came when Greta forgave Jack, and started spending even more time with him than before. Greta had confided in Jennifer that even though she had believed Jack to be gay, she had developed strong feelings for him, and couldn’t shake them even though he had lied to her. Knowing this made Jennifer uneasy that Jack was with Greta so much. What if he started to feel the same way about her? What then?

Jennifer shook her head. ‘Why do I care?’, she thought. ‘It’s over between us, so if he wants to start something up with her, what does it matter?’ Her thoughts were little comfort, as she couldn’t help feeling upset about the idea of Jack and Greta… together.

As they pulled into the parking garage, Jennifer instinctively placed her hand on Jack’s knee in excitement. “We’re here!”

Jack looked down at her hand on his knee, and she blushed and pulled it away.

“Uh.. sorry… sorry about that…” she looked down, and grabbed her purse. Jack parked, and continued to look at Jennifer with confusion.

“Let’s go in,” she said, ignoring his questioning stare. She opened the door and stepped out, straightening her black skirt.

“Let’s go,” Jack repeated, and walked next to Jennifer as they entered the building.

~~~

The work day was finally over, and Jennifer was in heaven. Vern – oh, how she had missed him – had given her the 411 on this latest story they were doing about scandals going on in hospitals, and she was really intrigued and excited about writing it. At lunch, she had kind of hoped to grab Jack and go somewhere with him to get something to eat, but he was holed up in his office on the phone with stacks of paperwork on his desk.

His office… he had gotten back the very same office that was his in the old days. So many special things had occurred between the two of them in that office… Many kisses, almost-kisses, Chinese food eating, late nights researching, declarations… She had gone in earlier to tell him something Vern had said, and when she stepped in, a wave of nostalgia had hit her, so strong... Jack looked up at her, and it seemed like he felt it too. They gazed at each other for a second, before Jennifer had finally been able to get out what Vern wanted her to tell him.

Jennifer knocked on Jack’s office door before opening it, and stuck her head in. “Ready to go?” she asked.

Jack looked up. His jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up some, his tie loosened, his hair a little messy. He was adorable.

“Um… yeah, yeah, just give me a sec, okay?” he started piling some papers, and looking for his briefcase.

Jennifer leaned back against the doorframe, and watched him.

Jack picked up his jacket and briefcase and walked over to where Jennifer was. “Let’s go,” he said, and she followed him out to the car.

She was surprised when he actually began a conversation with her on the way home.

“What does Vern have you working on?” Jack asked.

“Oh, it’s about scandals in hospitals… you know how Bo and Hope found out that their baby was switched at birth?” Jennifer asked. Jack nodded.

“Well, I’m going to go in depth with this, and also look at other hospitals where similar things have occurred to find out more about how it could have happened and what other kinds of mistakes are made at hospitals. It’s kind of like a consumer report…”

“Sounds good,” Jack said approvingly. “I hope I can be more in the loop once I get everything organized.”

“After that, maybe you could help me with this?” Jennifer asked.

“Uh… I’m sure you can do it on your own, Jennifer, you’re not a college intern anymore.”

“Your opinion’s important to me, Jack.”

Jack scoffed. “Since when?”

“Since always.”

Jack shook his head. “Well, that’s a switch.”

“What is?”

“You caring what I think. At least recently.”

Jennifer knew that she had given him no reason to think that she cared as of late, so she understood why he felt the way he did. She didn’t attempt to argue with him.

~~~

After dinner that night, Jack headed over to Greta’s house to tell her how things had gone.

“It sounds wonderful, Jack. You’re positively glowing,” Greta grinned at him.

“Will you be dropping by anytime soon, to help out some?” Jack asked.

“Definitely, I want to get involved. I, uh… I missed not seeing you around today. I’m so used to going out to lunch with you, I guess…” Greta trailed off. “I hate eating alone.”

“Well, why don’t you stop by tomorrow at lunch time? Bring something, and we can eat in my office. I need to go over some business details with you anyhow, but I’m too worn out to go over it now,” Jack said.

“Great! It’s a date,” Greta said.

“A date?” Jack raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I mean.. I didn’t mean a date. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah.”

“How was Jennifer’s day?”

“Jennifer? She, uh… she’s still a natural at the job, I mean… she’s getting right down to business…” pride shown in Jack’s eyes as he thought of her. “She’s already working on a series of articles about hospitals and the Brady baby-switch… it’s going to be incredible,” Jack said. He was smiling to himself, imagining Jennifer’s success, as Greta gazed at him sadly.

“I thought you said you were getting over her,” Greta remarked.

Jack narrowed his eyes. “What? I am…I mean, you should see me when I’m with her, I practically ignore her these days!”

Greta shook her head. “Whatever you say, Jack…”

“Good, because it’s the truth,” Jack replied.

“Are you serious about moving on, Jack?” Greta asked.

“What? How many times do I have to say it, YES. I am moving on, I am focusing on my work and my daughter and being a good father. That’s that.”

Greta nodded. “If you say so.”

~~~

Jennifer held the cordless phone to her ear as she examined some of her notes on the laptop in front of her.

“So, Hope, all anyone knows is that the Reibers thought that they had Issac tested when it was really JT, and they got the results after they gave back JT to you. They realized that JT was Glen’s son and that your baby and Lexie’s must have been switched.”

“That’s all anyone knows, and Lexie admits she’s known for awhile,” Hope said.

“Do you think Lexie had a part in switching the babies?” Jennifer asked.

“I don’t know,” Hope replied. “I mean, I don’t think she was behind it. I’m sure her father Stefano had it done without telling her, but she found out some time along the line. I just don’t know how she found out.”

“Maybe she got a secret DNA test done and found out?” Jennifer asked.

“That’s possible. Maybe you should ask Brandon about what it takes to do all that…” Hope suggested.

Jennifer hesitated. “Uh… I guess I could ask him, yeah….”

“What’s going on with you two, Jenn?” Hope asked. “Do you really like him or what?”

“Well, at first I did, I mean… He seemed so opposite of Jack that I thought, this change would be wonderful, I could finally find someone to connect with, but… the more I see of him, the more I just keep losing interest,” Jennifer was perplexed.

“I’d say it’s because he’s NOT like Jack that you’re losing interest, Jenn,” Hope said.

“And why would you say that?”

“You know why, cuz. You’re just going to have to admit it one of these days. Look, Bo’s about to get home so I’ll talk to you later, okay? I hope your story turns out well. Maybe it can even help move this thing along,” Hope said.

“I hope so,” Jennifer said. “Bye Hope.”

Jennifer hung up the phone and sighed.

“Whatever happens,” Jennifer said to herself, “I’m going to get to the bottom of this baby-switch for you, Hope.”

SPECTATOR

“Vern, bring me the Martin file,” Jack said into the phone. Vern came in the office and placed it on Jack’s desk. He turned to leave, and Jack stopped him.

‘Uh, Vern… how’s Jennifer’s story coming along?” Jack asked.

“Haven’t you talked to her about it?” Vern asked.

“No.”

“Then why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Never mind, Vern, just… you can go now.”

“Are the two of you not speaking now or something?” Vern asked.

“Yes, we are on speaking terms, but I’d rather not ask her about it,” Jack said.

“Well, it’s coming along fine. She was going to use her lunch time to go down to the hospital and talk to one of her doctor friends about the story. Brandon something-or-other,” Vern told him, starting to leave.

The look on Jack’s face said it all.

“You don’t like him or something?” Vern asked.

“Mr. Muscles? No, we’re not exactly best buds.”

Just then, Greta came into Jack’s office, crying.

Vern excused himself, and closed the door behind him.

“Greta… what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Jack asked, coming over to her.

“My mother lied to me” Greta cried. “About my father. She lied to me.”

“What do you mean, she lied to you?” Jack asked.

Greta sat down, sniffling. “OK. Before she died, my mother told me who my father was. Or, so I thought. She told me that Father John…John Black… was my biological father, and that I should tell him eventually. Well… I did a couple of weeks ago, I just never told you, because I didn’t know how it would go. Well, John wasn’t sure at all, so we got a paternity test done, and the results came in today. He’s not my father! She lied to me, and I don’t know why!”

“Okay, calm down,” Jack said softly. “Perhaps she just thought that it was John, but she was mistaken? Maybe there was a one-night-stand or something in there that she forgot about or that she just overlooked.”

“Great,” Greta said glumly. “If that’s the case, I’ll never find out who my father is. I just feel so stupid, because now John probably thinks I was wrongfully accusing him or something.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t think that, Greta, just… look, I’ll do whatever I can to help you find your father. How about that?” Jack asked.

Greta looked up, her eyes filled with tears. “How?”

“Uh…well.. I don’t really know how, but… I’ll do it. I owe you a lot, and I’m going to help you the way you’ve helped me. I promise.”

~~~

HOSPITAL



“I need you to tell me everything you know about this baby-switch,” Jennifer said to Brandon as they sat down in the cafeteria.

“Well, uh… Jennifer, you know, I don’t really know too much about it. I mean, I found out the same time as everyone else, remember?” he said, a little uneasily.

“I know, but since it occurred at this hospital, I thought maybe you would have found out something,” Jennifer said, taking out a notepad and pen.

“Are you writing an article about this or something?” Brandon asked, eyeing the notepad.

“Yeah, actually, I am. I’m doing a series on it for the Spectator. So, if you could just tell me everything you know, that would be a big help,” Jennifer said.

“When you said you were going to interview me, I figured it would be about childcare or something like that…” Brandon said.

“Oh,” Jennifer said. “Well, you can still help me, right?”

Brandon nodded. “Ok, I’ll do my best.”

“All right. How big is the possibility that a doctor helped with the switch somehow?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, I don’t think that’s the case with this,” Brandon said.

“Well, doctors do have free access when it comes to the nursery and all the lab rooms and stuff like that, right? Hope and I talked about it, and we know that Stefano is behind all this, but he usually always gets someone else to do his dirty work.”

“Yes, that’s true… Uh – “ Just then, Brandon’s pager went off. He looked at it, and then said, “Look, Jennifer, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later?” he asked.

“Oh, uh… okay.”

“Can I call you?” he asked.

“Um…. well, I’m going to be kind of busy the next couple of days,” Jennifer replied.

“Oh, okay. Well, see you later,” Brandon said.

As Jennifer left, he breathed a sigh of relief and then went over to the pay phone and dialed the number on his pager.

A female voice answered. “Brandon, we’re in trouble!”

“Lexie, what’s going on? By the way, you just saved me. Jennifer was asking me a lot of questions about the baby-switch and everything that I know, and I don’t know what I would have said,” Brandon said.

“We’ve got bigger problems than that,” Lexie said. “The walls are caving in, Brandon. You’re the only person who can help me make sure I keep my baby and Hope doesn’t get him.”

~~~

“Jack, I didn’t get anywhere with Brandon today,” Jennifer said, coming into Jack’s office.

“What’s ‘anywhere’ mean?” Jack asked.

“He wouldn’t tell me any information about the baby-switch. It was sort of weird… He looked uncomfortable the whole time,” Jennifer said.

“Well, you should look to another source then,” Jack replied.

“I know. So, uh… what’s up with you?” Jennifer asked.

Jack was looking through an atlas.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” she replied.

Jack sighed. “If you must know, I am helping Greta with something.” Jennifer tried to get a peek at the map he was looking at.

“Europe, huh? Planning a trip?” She was only joking.

Jack looked up at her for a second, and then went back to looking at the map.

Jennifer gasped. “You are?! What’s this about Jack? Tell me right now!”

“Why do I have to tell you?” he asked.

“You’re not going to take off for several months are you?” Jennifer asked softly. It wasn’t in a mean tone, she actually sounded afraid that he would just leave.

Jack’s face paled. “No! Jennifer, I am never leaving our daughter and yo- I am never leaving Abigail for that long again. This is something I have to do to help Greta, but I’ll be back in a few days. And I’ll call to talk to Abigail every night that I’m away. How about that?”

“I don’t know, Jack. This isn’t dangerous, is it?” Jennifer asked.

“I’ll tell you about it later,” Jack said. “Just get back to work.”

He started typing on his laptop, and Jennifer sighed loudly to let Jack know she was frustrated.

“Whatever you say. You’re the boss,” Jennifer retorted sarcastically.

“I’m the boss,” Jack repeated, not looking up.

Jennifer stuck out her tongue at him and left.

~~~

It was late, and Jack had gotten Vern to take Jennifer home because he wanted to get some extra work done. As he searched the Internet for information on Princess Gina Von Amburg, his eyes began to get weary.

“I’ll just rest my eyes for a minute,” Jack mumbled as he put his head down on his desk.

After a few short minutes, he was sound asleep.

<b>Begin Jack’s dream</b><i>

Jack is sitting at his desk typing away, and hears someone open the door. He turns around to see Jennifer standing there, smiling as she locks his office door behind her.

“We need to talk, Jack,” she says seductively, walking over to sit on his desk.

“Uh… about…what?” he asks eyeing her legs in front of him.

“You know what, silly,” she laughs. “About you and me.” She begins to stroke his face. “I miss you, Jack, you know that,” she says breathily. “Do you miss me?” She leans in close to him. Jack cannot speak, but nods yes, and Jennifer puts her hand behind his neck and pulls him into a kiss.

“Good,” she says, pulling away. She hops off the desk and then sits on his lap.

“Oh!” she says, and then laughs. “Excited?” She laughs again and starts kissing his neck. “You know, I locked the door for a reason, Jack…” She loosens his tie and begins unbuttoning his shirt.

“Uh…” Jack looks down and tries weakly to protest. “What… what are you doing?”

“Shhh…” Jennifer puts her finger on his lips. “No talking.” She runs her hand down his bare chest and then kisses him again.

“I’ve missed you,” Jack whispers as he kisses her face… “I’ve missed you…”

</i>

“Hmm… missed you…missed you…”

“Jack?”

“Hmmm….?”

“Jack, wake up!”

“What?” Jack lifts his head off the desk and sees Jennifer standing in front of him.

“What… uh… what are you doing here?” he straightens his tie and tries to compose himself.

“I got Vern to bring me back here to make sure you were okay. It’s past 9, Jack, you need to come home. Abby’s waiting in the front office, and she wants something to eat from McDonald’s. So I figured you could come with us,” Jennifer said.

“Oh, uh… sure, just let me turn everything off,” he said. He watched as Jennifer walked out the office, and then shook his head. “Oy vey.”