Two of a Kind

by Mindy35

Jack/Liz, Jack/Avery, Liz/Carol. A double date gets awkward.

Title: Two of a Kind

Author: Mindy35

Rating: K+, nothing naughty.

Disclaimer: Tina's, NBC's etc

Spoilers: basic season five stuff.

Pairing: Jack/Liz, Liz/Carol, Jack/Avery

Summary: A double date. A series of duets, set a little in the future.

-x-x-x-

"How lucky are we?"

Jack directed his gaze to where Avery and Liz were collecting a second round of drinks from the bar. "We are both very lucky men," he agreed, turning his attention back to Carol.

"Avery's great," he said. "She's just…great."

"Thankyou," Jack murmured, lifting his drink in a mini-salute. "I think so."

"And Liz…" His gaze drifted back to his girlfriend. "She's my perfect woman, Jack."

"Perfect." Jack nodded a few times, gave a low chuckle. "O-kay."

"She's perfect for me," he insisted with a lovesick sigh. "We're two of a kind. She was right when she made that speech at the wedding. And I'm so glad I came back. Because I might have missed out on the best thing to ever happen to me."

Jack glanced over his shoulder at Liz. "She is something alright."

"I'm so into her, just crazy about her, I really am. I mean, look at her stuffing those pretzels in her mouth."

"I am, I'm afraid."

"Look at her in that shirt."

"You like that shirt?"

"Dude, what's not to like? She's gorgeous. She's so fucking sexy."

Jack's brow furrowed. "Really? Lemon?"

"You don't think so?"

He gave a shrug, turning back to his drinking companion. "I prefer dresses on women. I tried to get her to wear one tonight. I even gave her money to go buy one on her lunch break. She refused. And in an act of poorly concealed spite, spent the cash on candy for her crew."

Carol chuckled affectionately. "That's my Lizzie. But honestly…" he lent forward, resting his elbows on the small table, "I kinda love that she doesn't go in for all that artificial crap. You know? I love that she's so upfront, she's completely herself. She does what she wants, says what she thinks, she is who she is. The woman can't help it."

"No, she cannot."

"And I don't know about you, but I am so over playing guessing games with women. God, it's a relief not to be caught up in all that crap, to be with a nice, normal woman."

"Yes, well…" Jack lifted his glass to lips, held it there a moment, "if there's one thing you can say about Lemon it's that she's herself. She will never leave you guessing. Especially when it comes to any weird moles that appear on her body."

Carol cast him a glance. "So she showed you that new one, huh? On her hip?"

"Unfortunately," Jack mused. "I don't think it's dangerous. But I'd keep an eye on it. If I were you."

Carol nodded before picking up on his previous thought, a confidential note in his voice. "I just can't believe how lucky I got. You know? You must feel the same way. To wait until you're forty- or," he waved a hand at him, "fifty in your case - to find the love of your life, it's pretty amazing. Don't you think?"

"I suppose so." Jack's eyes twinkled as he downed the last of his drink. "Although I must admit to having a few rather memorable experiences in the meantime."

"Yeah, but you appreciate it so much more when you've waited for it. I mean, I would love to have met Liz when she was younger. When she had that awful short haircut and wore her big baggy cardigans. That would have been adorable."

Jack frowned at him. "It would?"

"Oh yeah." Carol's expression got ever doppier as he waxed wistful. "We would have made such an awesome couple back then. I was a major dork back in the day. Before I had my eye surgery and got my wings. I was a total crater-face until I was like, twenty-five."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Proactive changed my life, man. I was one of the original test subjects."

"No kidding."

"But, after my acne cleared up, I finally got a girlfriend and got laid for the first time in my life-"

"At twenty-five?"

He gave a goofy laugh. "I know! Crazy, right?"

"Yes. Crazy."

"Things never quite fell into place for me though. Not until I met her. But now…" He dropped back in his chair, gaze finding Liz again, still attacking the bar snacks with gusto. "Now, I can see my whole future. I can see it all laid out in front of me. I can see it with her."

Jack fingered his empty glass, gaze lowered. "Mm. I know exactly what you mean."

"And to think she was out there, the whole time. My soulmate. My Lizzie. I mean, if we had met earlier, we could have been married by now. We could have a few kids of our own, maybe an adopted one from China or something. We could have it all. But…I guess you can't wonder about stuff like that. What might have been."

"Not a good idea, I think."

"I'm just happy no one snapped her up before I did. I mean, how does an incredible woman like that stay single all this time? How is that possible?"

Jack gave a small smile. "Hard to say. But she managed."

"Well, I guess it's lucky for me that she did. Lucky for me that no one else saw what I see."

"Very lucky indeed."

"Yeah. I'll say…" Carol shook his head in pity. "Dumb, blind bastards." He held a hand up in mid-air. "Am I right?"

"You are…right!" Jack slapped his hand, letting out a sharp laugh, which died as quickly as it came. "You're one lucky bastard, Carol."

"No." Liz's boyfriend leant forward, a broad grin on his face, his glass lifted high. "We are lucky bastards, Jack."

"Yes." Jack nodded, lifting his empty glass. "Cheers."

-x-

Avery cornered him as their foursome exited the cab. "Hey! Will you calm the hell down?"

Jack shrunk back against the yellow car as Liz and Carol continued on, oblivious. "What are you talking about? I'm calm. I'm having a good time. We're all having a good time."

"No, we're not," she hissed, eyes like daggers. "You're making everyone nervous. Especially Lemon. She wants you to get on with Carol, she wants you two to like each other. Isn't that what this evening was all about? Us aaaall getting to know each other?"

"Yes, it is. And I do like Carol," he insisted, trying not to cower in the face of her wrath - too much. "I liked Carol when I first met him, before I even knew he was Liz's man."

Avery arched a brow. "And now that he is Liz's man?"

"I think he's very good for her. Of course he is. Of course I do."

"Huh."

"What's that mean?"

She planted her hands on her hips. "All I said was 'huh'."

"I was talking about your tone."

"Did my tone infer something?"

Jack rolled his eyes, shuffling on his feet. "You know very well that your tone inferred something. I'm simply asking what it was specifically inferring."

"Look, Jack…" She took a step back, releasing a breath. "I know how you feel about me, I do. I also know how you feel about Liz. You don't have to pretend-"

"I'm not pretending anything," he interrupted, face set in a deep frown. "I haven't a clue what you're talking about. I am out with my girlfriend and my friend-" he waved a hand at Liz and Carol, waiting by the door to the restaurant, "and her boyfriend. We are having a fabulous time-"

"No! We are having an awkward time," Avery said, stabbing a finger at him. "Because you can't admit you had a thing for your friend."

"What-?" Jack baulked. "I don't have a thing. I've never had a thing. For the love of God, Avery, there is no thing."

"Jeez, Jack!" Her voice rose, her foot actually stamping on the pavement underfoot. "Why can't you just admit it? It's not a big deal! Why do you keep pretending like there's not something there when everyone knows it's there? Anyone can see it if they just look. Including me, by the way. I mean, how dumb do you think I am?"

"See what?" Jack shook his head vehemently. "For the millionth time, there's nothing to admit. There was never anything more than friendship between Lemon and I. That's the truth."

Avery took a deep breath, attempting to reign in her broiling feelings. "I know that, Jack. Believe me, I know that. But we are all adults here. We can be grown-up about this. It's not like none of us don't have a past. So you and Liz got close for a while. So what? You're both with different people now. People you are much better suited to. People who make far more sense. That doesn't mean there wasn't a thing at some point. Maybe there still is, I don't know. But I can deal with it. Because it doesn't mean anything. Because nothing happened." She stalled, eyes narrowing. "Nothing happened, right?"

"No," he answered quickly. "Nothing."

"Right," she breathed. "And now…nothing will." She put a hand over her heart, eyelashes batting prettily. "I get that, Jack. Everyone here gets that. So it's all cool. We are cool. And sure, I guess it's natural that you feel a bit…whatever, I don't know what it is you feel for her. But right now, you need to cool it. Okay? That's all I'm saying."

"Listen, Avery." Jack stepped into her, took her by the shoulders. "You are the most infuriating woman alive. But you are the mother of my child. And I adore you."

"Yeah, I know that too."

"And I'm not pretending. I am completely calm, if a little intoxicated. And Liz is merely a friend. All I want is for her to be happy."

"Well…" Avery's gaze shifted over his shoulder. "She looks pretty happy if you ask me."

Jack followed her gaze, catching the end of a kiss between Liz and her boyfriend. "Yes. She does."

"Then I guess you got what you wanted."

"Yes. I did." He turned back to his fiancee. And smiled. "Because I got you."

Avery shook her head but her mouth twitched up into a reluctant smile. "God, you're cute when you're hammered."

Jack leant in to kiss her. "But you knew that too."

"Yes, I did…" she nodded, leaning in as well.

"Hey!" Liz's voice interrupted their kiss. "Are we gonna eat, you guys, or what?"

-x-

Carol cast a glance to where Jack and Avery were hissing at each other by the cab. "So…what d'you think they're arguing about?"

"I dunno," Liz mumbled, looking the other way. "With those two it could be anything. Maybe Avery told the cabbie the wrong route. Maybe Jack booked the wrong restaurant. Maybe something happened at the Stock Market place today that needs urgent, in depth debate. Who the hell knows? Just pretend like you don't notice. Pretend like we're having an awesome time."

"I am, that's what I'm doing," Carol told her, tipping up his chin, showing her his expression. "This is my pretending face. Can't you tell?"

"It's not very convincing," she mused, eyes running over his face. "You'll have to do better than that tonight. Because this could just be round one. Jack says Avery is like a bomb about to go off. Only once she starts going off, she goes off every hour on the hour. She's a lady in need of constant disarming."

Carol glanced their way again, saw Avery stomping her foot like a petulant child. "Ho boy. It looks like your buddy has really got his hands full with that one."

"Hey-" Liz looked up at him sharply. "You don't get to judge Jack's relationship. That's not okay. You don't know him well enough for that."

"And anyway, that's your job."

"And anyway, that's my-" Liz broke off, eyes narrowing. "Hey…"

Carol ducked his head, chuckling.

"Okay, very funny," she huffed, crossing her arms. "But it is. I don't care what you say. He might moan about it but Jack relies on me to do that, and vice versa. It's our thing."

"Well, even if it is," he murmured, wrapping his hands round her waist. "I'm not worried. And d'you know why?"

"Because we're perfect together?" Liz guessed, resting her hands on his forearms. "You know what I'm gonna say next? I know what you're thinking? We're two of a kind?"

"Exactly," he hummed, leaning closer and then closer still. "We. Are. Perfect. Especially you."

"Oh, stop."

"Except for the fact that your shoelace is untied. Did you want me to get that?"

"Oh, no, it's-"

Carol had already pulled away though, lowering himself to one knee on the filthy pavement. He grinned up at her eagerly, indicating her foot then patting his knee.

"O-okay…" Liz let out a little laugh, glancing round to see if anyone was watching. Then she lifted her foot and placed it on his knee.

Carol took his time, slowly, lovingly, meticulously re-tying her lace. And when he was finished he gazed up at her, with one hand resting on her foot and an earnest expression on his face. "There. All done."

Liz nodded her head. "Thanks…"

Carol gazed up at her some more from his position on the pavement.

She lowered her foot to the ground, beckoned at him. "You can prob'ly get up now..."

Still on one knee, eyes fixed on her face, Carol told her softly, "I love you, Lizzie."

"Oh. Um…" Liz drew in a breath, eyes wide, cheeks turning pink. She leant down all of a sudden, putting her hands over his cheeks to kiss him while also drawing him back onto his feet. "Thanks, Carol. That's…amazing. And…me too. Really."

Back on his feet, Carol wrapped her up in his arms, continuing to pepper her mouth with kisses. "I had to say it," he told her, between kisses. "I couldn't help it. You had to know that. How much I-"

"I know. I do too."

"Yeah? You do?"

"Totally. But…let's not do this here. Okay?" Liz eased herself away from him, trying to gently extricate his arms from her body. "Someone might see."

Carol looked about, gave a shrug. "Who's gonna see?" he asked, pulling her closer despite her reluctance. "There's only Jack and Avery out here and I'm pretty sure they already know about us. Also, they seem kind of preoccupied."

"Yeah." Liz cut her eyes over to the other couple then away again, her gaze dropping briefly to the ground. "But, ah…I can't make-out on an empty stomach. You know that about me. And we'll lose our table if we don't go in. So…"

Carol released her, his arms dropping back to his sides. He backed up obediently, his head bowed, his pretending face back in place.

Liz took his hand in hers, squeezed it once, mouthing a 'sorry' to him. Then she turned abruptly, calling out to the other two: "Hey! Are we gonna eat, you guys, or what?"

-x-

"Oh my God…" Avery clutched the sink, one hand going to her belly.

Liz peered at her face, instantly on alert. "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah," she answered, rolling her eyes. "It's just kicking. Always happens when I eat a lot."

"Oh..." Liz watched her reflection in the bathroom mirror, watched the discomfort ease. "Can I…do you mind if I feel?"

Avery turned to her, offering up her protruding stomach. "Sure. Grope away, I'm used to it by now."

Liz rubbed her hands together, moving closer. She reached out, carefully touching Avery's bulge with her fingers then letting her hand lie flat against her circumference. It only took a moment or two for her to be rewarded with a distinct flutter from within. "Wow…!" She looked up at Jack's girlfriend, eyes wide. "Wow, that's…so weird."

"Right?" she replied, seemingly far less affected.

Liz slid her hand around a bit longer, searching for more signs of life. "I can't believe…that's a little person in there. That's…Jack's little kid swimming round in there."

"Yeah, well…" she gave a shrug.

Liz straightened, letting out a breath. "It's amazing."

"You want one?" Avery asked, her head cocked.

Liz nodded, a small smile on her face. "Yeah…Yeah, I do."

"With Carol?"

She opened her mouth, stalling momentarily. "Sure. I mean…maybe."

"Well, don't let anyone tell you that pregnancy is a beautiful thing, Liz. Because it's not." She turned to the mirror, rearranging her blonde locks around her irked face. "It's a disgusting thing. And from the moment it begins it only gets more disgusting. It's like being eaten alive from the inside."

Liz watched her, brows twitching downwards. "You don't mean that, you can't mean that. I mean, I know this baby was not planned, but…you must know how many people would give anything to have this happen to them, even accidentally."

Avery paused in her preening, one brow lifted. "Yourself included?"

"And Jack is so into the idea of this kid," she went on, skipping over the query. "Nothing is gonna stop him from completely devoting himself to you and her."

"I know," she mused, smoothing her hands over her hips. "His single-mindedness would be annoying if it wasn't completely centred on me. But I suppose of all the men I've been with, I am at least thankful this happened with him. I couldn't really ask for a better man to make this kind of mistake with. I mean, he's rich, for one. Successful, obviously. Really good-looking and terrific in bed."

Liz looked down, shuffling on the spot. "He…really wants this. He's really ready for it."

"Well, at least one of us is. Personally, I'm freaking out. Because I could've handled this whole mommy gig if it was a boy. You know? I would have been an awesome mom to a boy. We could've been raising the next President of the United States. Or the next oil baron billionaire with connections in Congress. Or the next mainstream media personality to bring back racism on a massive scale then get fired only to land a way, way better job." Avery turned to her suddenly. "D'you know what I mean?"

"I, I think so…" Liz stammered, backing up a little.

"That kid would have had it made! But a girl, Liz, a girl…"

"You're a girl though," she pointed out. "A very successful girl."

"Girls never liked me," Avery told her bluntly.

"Oh..." Liz shook her head, trying to look doubtful. "Really? No. No, that can't be true."

"No, it's true." Avery gave a shrug of her perfect shoulders. "From the second I entered the sandbox and commandeered all the buckets and spades, to the moment I graduated college, top of my class and I was the only girl present who made that godawful graduation cap look good - girls have never liked me. And I was cool with it. I got why." She flapped her hands between the two of them. "It's all about competition with girls. And I was fully capable and unafraid of wiping the floor with anyone who even looked like they might get in my way. Still am."

"Um. Good for you…?"

"So I never made friends with girls," she concluded carelessly. "I never learnt how to be around them, how to talk to them."

"Well, I'm a-"

"You don't count, Liz."

"Oh."

"See? That's the kind of thing I mean." Avery turned back to the mirror, taking a tube of lipstick out of her purse and reapplying it to her lips as she spoke. "I probably shouldn't have said that. It might be construed as mean. But I can't help myself. It just comes out of my mouth anyway. I've got no…"

"Tact?" Liz suggested. "Manners? Sensitivity?"

"All of those things, yeah. And I don't care. I'm just not your typical, touchy, overwrought woman and I don't regret that one bit. It's how I got where I am. I've got the body of a woman and the mouth of a man. And I'm not afraid to use either."

Liz made a face, mumbling, "I wouldn't let Jack hear you say that."

"What I mean is," Avery said, waving her lipstick wand in the air, "I don't have a diplomatic bone in my body. I don't see the need for it. I don't know how to do…kindness, sweetness, understanding. All that stuff that girls need. I don't have time for it. I don't have…whatever that gene is."

"Oh, come on," Liz urged, attempting to be genial. "Where'd you get that from? You're…you're plenty sweet."

"No. I'm not." Avery put the cap back on her lipstick, threw it in her purse. "I'm not sweet and I never will be. And Jack keeps expecting it to kick in, you know, that soft and caring, mothering instinct thing. And it's never going to. It just won't."

"It could. It might," Liz insisted uncertainly. "And anyway, you're still her mom. She's got to love you. It's part of the deal, part of the unwritten agreement when you come out of someone's vajayjay."

"What're you kidding me?" Avery's eyes went wide, her face fixed in an expression of bemused shock. "She's not stretching out my ginie with her big head. No way. I've already scheduled a C-section with the best obstetrician in the city on what I hope will be a slow news day."

Liz tipped her head to one side. "Really? You don't want to experience the miracle of natural childbirth?"

"See?" Avery rounded on her, waving a finger at her face. "That's the face I have to look forward to. Decades and decades of exactly that kind of judgemental facial expression."

"Sorry, I–"

"Augh! This kid is gonna hate me!" she erupted, her voice echoing off the tiles and in the process, scaring away a few ladies who needed a pee. "Just like I loathed my overbearing, controlling, crazy bitch of a mom. Only this time, it'll be even worse, because that stuff escalates with every generation. From the moment she's out here, I'm gonna push her and criticize her and demolish her spirit bit by bit. Just like what was done to me. I won't be able to help myself. It's all I know how to do. Which means Jack will probably be her main parent, her favorite. She'll end up going to him for everything, for advice on fashion to help with her homework to boy troubles-" She pointed at Liz, eyes narrowed. "Because I will not have a lesbian daughter, Liz, mark my words, I won't allow that."

Liz opened her mouth to reply.

But Avery went on, her expression increasingly demented. "After a time, I won't get invited to dance recitals or spelling bees or whatever it is kids do these days. Because she'll accuse me of loving my work more than I love her. Like there's something wrong with that! Then in her teenage years, she'll withdraw from me completely, putting all her energy into her studies. All the ambition she inherited from me will be poured into getting her away from my high expectations and constant criticism, until in the end…"

"In the end, what?" Liz prompted, dreading the answer.

"She'll overtake me," Avery nodded, her eyes unblinking as she stared into the future. "She'll be better than me, smarter than me, more successful than me, even more beautiful than me. She'll outshine me, Liz. On top of which, she'll no doubt be Jack's favorite. Jackie's little girl, his ultimate pride and joy. He'll look at her that way he used to look at me, with that sloppy, adoring twinkle in his eye."

"And that's…a bad thing?"

"I'm not good at sharing," she muttered, twisting her hands together until her knuckles turned white. "I have a very low tolerance for it. I already have to share him wi-…I just don't like it is all."

"I see." Liz took a step back, choosing her words carefully. "Well…it doesn't have to be like that, Avery. None of that has happened yet. You can still be a good mom if you want to be. You and Jack could both be really good parents."

Avery looked her square in the eyes. "Right, Liz. Even you aren't naive enough to believe that." She looked helplessly down at her swollen body, arms spread at her sides. "Don't get me wrong. I adore that man, I do. He's a real catch, he's the real deal. But we are too alike. We're two of a kind. We're bound to make exactly the same mistakes with this kid. And the kicker is - we won't even realize it until after the fact. Why do you think I've already booked her in with the best child therapist in the city?"

"I don't-"

"I'll tell you why. Because what chance in hell does this kid have when Jack – ultra-repressed, alcoholic, workaholic, over-eating, womanizing, oblivious old Jack Donaghy – is meant be the good parent in this screwed up scenario? Think about it. He is this kid's best shot at turning out well. The entire burden is on him to be the normal parent here, the attentive parent, the supportive parent. For however long he is gonna be around."

"Well…" Liz drew in a breath, her gaze dropping away from Avery's fierce expression, "I dunno, you might be surprised at how good Jack can be at those things, given the chance. He can be real sweet and kind and…and I think he's gonna be a great dad, actually." She took a step towards her, risked giving her arm a quick pat. "And you can still be a great mom. Just…maybe some parenting classes…might help."

Avery snorted, grabbing her purse from the sink. "Right, cos I have so time in between puking my guts out and stopping my boobs from hitting the floor while also keeping my career afloat and my boyfriend interested despite the fact that I look like a whale." She brushed past Liz but stopped at the door, turning back with one hand on the door. "But- thanks, Liz. I can see why Jack likes talking to you. You're a really good listener."

"Oh…" Liz bobbed her head a few times, somewhat shell-shocked. "Sure…well, anytime."

"I'm glad we did this," Avery mused, standing a little taller. "You won't tell Jack what we talked about though, right? I mean, I was just…letting off steam."

Liz shook her head. "Sure. Course not. Between us girls."

Avery nodded, then pushed through the door, telling her as she exited, "By the way, you have a huge taramasalata stain on your shirt."

"Ugh-" Liz turned to the mirror, frowning as she noticed the large blob on her favorite shirt. She wet some paper towel and began to dab at it- without success. "Nerds..."

-x-

"Lizzie."

"What?"

"Lizzie."

"Shut up."

"Lizzie!"

"Hey!" Liz glared up at him, eyes flashing. "Cut it out. I like it, okay?"

Jack grinned wider. "Do you, Lizzie?"

"I'm going to punch you soon," she warned as they shuffled along to the music. "Right in the kisser. Don't think I won't."

"Fine." he nodded, stifling his grin. "I'm stopping now…Lizzie."

Liz sighed, adjusting her hand in his. "So tell me why we're dancing again?"

Jack drew in a breath. "We're giving Avery and Carol a chance to get to know each other better."

"Uh huh…You do realize they're just going to talk about us while we're not there."

"At least they will be talking. That was the point."

"I guess," she mumbled, squirming slightly. "But why'd you have to pick a slow song, Jack?"

"I'm too drunk to move my feet fast."

"Yeah, okay. Me too."

A few moments passed, an old-fashioned ballad filling out the gaps in their conversation. Then Jack cast her a sideways glance, murmuring in a low voice:

"He really likes you, you know."

Liz didn't pull back. "Who, Carol?"

"Who do you think? Of course, Carol."

"And why wouldn't he? I'm adorable. I've got it going on."

"S'that right?"

"Oh yeah. Haven't you noticed my new, sexy vibe? I'm sending out stuff all over the place and I don't even know it. I can't help it. I'm irresistible."

Jack pulled back to examine her, a small smile on his lips. "I can't say I've noticed that, no."

"Oh well…" Liz gave a mini-shrug, "Maybe you're immune because you know me so well. Or maybe you've just always found me adorable and irresistible and you can't tell the difference."

"That must be it."

"It's because I'm fulfilled," she told him, one hand lifting from his shoulder to gesture vaguely. "Apparently this is what happens. It's because of Carol, you see, and how happy he makes me. Handsome pilot equals me all happy. Hence, my newfound charm." She let her hand drop back to his shoulder. "Don't let it overwhelm you all at once."

"Hmm…" One corner of his mouth curved up. "And how many drinks have you had?"

She bobbed her head emphatically. "Oh many, many, many drinks. But I had to. You were being such a dork earlier." She frowned up at him, one eyebrow quirked. "What was with that, anyway?"

Jack frowned back. "I resent that, Lemon. I was in no way dork-like. I have never in my life been dork-like. I can't imagine how you could even use that word in relation to me."

"Whatever, dork."

"I simply wanted us to all have an enjoyable evening. It was important to me. And I believe I accomplished my aim."

"No," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "We accomplished it. Avery, Carol, alcohol and I did. Despite your extreme dorkishness."

Jack humphed. "I might punch you if you're not careful."

"You won't. You can't punch a girl. You never would."

"I used to punch my sisters all the time."

She tipped her head at him. "I am not your sister."

His eyes skated over her face. "…True."

"And your sisters are all big bullies."

"What do you call calling me a dork?"

"Telling it like it is."

"Alright, that's enough."

"Aw!" she chuckled teasingly. "Whas the matter? Did your sisters used to call you a dork, Jackie?"

"Lemon-"

She grinned gleefully, shoving her face in his. "You're not gonna cry are you? Don't go all soft on me now, buddy, I couldn't take it."

"You're very belligerent when you're drunk," Jack noted, peering down his nose at her.

"Yes, I believe it's part of my new charm."

"I'm still not seeing this supposed charm of yours."

"And like I said," she added, "I needed a bit of liquid courage to get through tonight. What with you being all weird and Avery being pregnant, which is just-" she broke off abruptly. "Also-" she pressed on, her voice more subdued, "I think Carol's going to ask me to marry him. Soon. Maybe even later tonight."

"Really?" Jack was silent a moment. "Are you sure?"

"I dunno." Liz was silent a moment longer. "He…keeps dropping hints about commitment and honeymoons and stuff. He keeps doing weird little romantic things. And I can just feel him working up to it. It makes me sweat every time he looks at me."

"Well…that's wonderful. Not about the sweating problem, but about the proposal."

"Uh huh, yeah. I guess it's wonderful."

Jack pulled her away from him, holding her where he could see her. "So why aren't you ecstatic?"

"It feels too soon," she muttered, eyes anxious and skittish. "I mean, it's not that soon. I should be ready, I should be past ready. I'm forty and Carol is perfect. And I want to be married and have babies. Time's running out on that. But…"

"But what?" he prompted, still holding her steady.

Liz lowered her head, shook it at the floor. "You know what? Nothing. Let's talk about something else. Or let's just not talk at all. Let's both shut up." She moved in close again, turning her head so that he could no longer read her face. "Let's just dance for a minute until my head stops spinning and I don't feel like I wanna puke."

"I'm not sure that's a normal reaction to an impending marriage proposal from the man of your dreams," Jack said, a teasing lilt in his tone.

"I was actually serious that time," she mumbled into his shoulder. "Just do me a favor and shut up, Jack. I…I need for you to not be talking right now. Okay?"

"Very well," Jack nodded, and they went back to simply dancing. His hand anchored itself more firmly about her waist in a show of silent support as his chin dropped to rest against the side of her head. Her cheek grazed his shoulder, one hand sliding further down his shoulder as the music pulsed onwards.

"Lemon?" Jack murmured awhile later, their clasped hands now hovering closer to his heart.

She swallowed. "Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

She nodded. "Mm-hm. Sure…"

He let the silence stretch another moment. His fingers flexed against her back, urging her a fraction closer. His feet shuffled to the lazy beat and hers followed, everything very suddenly seeming languid and tangled and warm and awful.

"Did you ever think," he asked eventually, his lips by her ear, "this is where we would end up?"

"No," she answered without thinking. "Yes. I don't know."

Jack smiled softly, his stubble catching on her hair. "Which is your actual answer?"

"I…No, probably." She sucked in some air, her breath brushing his neck when she went on to admit, "There maybe was a time when I thought we'd end up…different. But, you know…" They danced on. "Life."

"Right. Life."

"What about you?" she asked after another thick silence.

"I don't know," Jack sighed, his voice sounding heavy, sounding like for once he really did not know. "All I know is…I don't think…I'm not ready to let you go. Not quite yet, at least."

Liz pulled back to look at him, an odd look on her face, an unreadable look, a heart-stopping look. The music died briefly, making the moment linger an extra aching second before it kicked back in.

"Well. Luckily," she said quietly, "the song hasn't ended yet, so…we can just keep dancing for a little bit."

Jack smiled at her wanly.

Liz's gaze dropped away.

And they finished the rest of the dance in silence.

-x-

"So you know those two are like a matched set, right?"

Carol looked over at Avery, brows raised. "What?"

"Those two." She nodded towards the low-lit dance floor where their partners had partnered up. "They're like salt and pepper, mac and cheese-"

"Jack and Liz?"

"Yeah. They're like-" she shrugged as they watched the other two hold each other, their grip loose but implacable, "-bookends. They need each other. They make no sense without each other. You take one away from the other and…"

"All your books fall down?" Carol finished quizzically.

Avery nodded. "Exactly, Carol. You hit the proverbial nail." She patted his shoulder as she hauled herself from her seat, muttering under her breath about having to pee again.

"Ah…Avery?"

She turned back to face him. "Yeah?"

Liz's boyfriend looked confused. "Why would I want to take them away from each other?" he asked slowly.

She gave him a rueful, knowing smile. "Just don't say no one warned you." Then she waddled off toward the ladies room.

Carol turned back, his face creased with confusion and then, dawning comprehension. "Oh…" Because - watching Liz with Jack and Jack with Liz - he suddenly saw what until then he'd happily overlooked. And he knew exactly what it meant. For him and for them. He couldn't pretend he didn't see it now.

He nodded to himself. "…Oh."

END.