Part Two

With Katie in her arms, Britta made her way over to the snack machine.

"Okay, sweetie," Britta said, gently putting Katie on the ground. "Show me which snack you want."

"Ummm, I want-…"

"Britta?" a familiar male voice interrupted Katie.

Turning to face the direction of the voice, Britta gasped, startled. "Jeff, what… what are you doing here?"

"Does the fact that it's our five year reunion qualify for me being here?" Jeff asked, sauntering forward.

"Sure, I just…" she hesitated. "I just wasn't expecting you to show up, that's all. We all know how spotty your track record was when we were in school."

By now, Jeff had moved closer, so that only inches were between him and Britta. He was wearing dark denim jeans and a black jacket along with a pair of black sunglasses. He pulled his sunglasses slightly down, so Britta could see his eyes.

"Well, maybe I've decided that now would be the perfect time to change that track record."

"Whoa there, cowboy. Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? We haven't seen each other in five years!"

"Am I?" Jeff feigned an incredulous smirk.

Britta just rolled her eyes in response. Feeling a slight tug on her jeans, she looked down to find Katie's wide, innocent eyes gazing up at her.

"Mommy, I know which snack I want."

Britta hesitated for a moment, glancing at Jeff quickly before addressing her daughter.

"Okay, sweetie. Go ahead and show me."

"Mommy?" Jeff quirked a curious eyebrow at her. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order. She looks just like you and she's beautiful."

"Thanks," Britta replied, taking the coins from Katie's small hand and a few other coins from her purse as she carefully deposited them into the machine. Once Katie was happily munching on some mini chocolate chip cookies, she turned her attention back to Jeff.

"And you know something? She's stubborn just like her father."

Jeff looked at Britta quizzically for a moment. He looked at Katie, then back at Britta, then back at Katie before finally settling on Britta once more. The realization was started to sink in…

"Oh, Jeffrey, so glad you could join us!" Shirley exclaimed, interrupting Jeff's train of thought. "I made brownies and-…"

Britta and Jeff both turned towards Shirley like two deer caught in the bright glare of headlights.

"Oh… oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt-…"

"It's okay, Shirley. You're not interrupting us. We were just-…"

"We were just catching up!" Britta chimed in. "After all, it has been five years!"

"Oh, that's nice," Shirley replied, sensing the awkward tension between the two. "Britta, I can watch Katie for you for a little while. That is, if you'd like."

"That would be great," Britta said, looking relieved.

Kneeling down in front of Katie, she said, "Sweetie, go with Shirley, okay? I'll come get you in a few minutes."

"I'll be a good girl, Mommy. I promise!"

Britta gently tucked some of Katie's blonde curls behind her ear and kissed her cheek affectionately before watching her run off in Shirley's direction. Shirley smiled at Britta before following Katie back into the study room, leaving the two of them alone.

"She's not… I mean, she can't be…" Jeff stammered. "I…"

"She is," Britta answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's your daughter."

"You could've at least had the decency to call me! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought you were too immature to handle the enormous responsibilities of fatherhood. Because I thought you had a lot of growing up to do before having to worry about taking care of someone else as well."

"Britta, that's not-…"

"Jeff, don't," Britta snapped, suddenly close to tears. "I did what I did because I had to, okay?"

"Are you serious?" Jeff asked in disbelief. "What infamous code of feminism did you break now?"

"It's not… I just didn't want an abortion. Please accept my hastily thought-out decision to keep our child."

"See, that's the thing," Jeff said, stepping forward and gently wiping a single fallen tear from Britta's cheek without question. "I don't think that was a hastily thought-out decision at all. As a matter of fact, I think it was a carefully planned well thought-out decision. I just wish I could've been part of that decision, too."

Britta pursed her lips together, listening to Jeff's words while maintaining solid eye contact with him. Yet, she said nothing.

"What, no clever retort? Shouldn't the feminist morals you've acquired be kicking my ass from here to China right now?"

She shook her head, still not saying anything.

"Well, that's a relief," Jeff told her.

A long, awkward pause followed and then…

"So her name is Katie, huh?"

Britta nodded.

Now, Jeff was curious. He wanted to know what he'd been missing out on for all these years. What if this opportunity never surfaced again? Putting his mixed feelings about the situation aside for a moment, he began asking questions in rapid succession. Awkwardness be damned.

"How old is she? What's her favorite color? What does she like?"

Britta managed a smile this time.

"She's almost five. Her favorite color is pink. She likes chocolate chip cookies, cherry flavored gummy bears and picture books about jungle animals."

Jeff smiled thoughtfully for a moment. The questions he really wanted to ask tumbling out of his mouth in an almost breathless heap before he could stop them.

"So… when? How…"

He let his voice trail off.

Britta's eyes suddenly lit up. "My God, do you really not remember? Graduation night. Slater's desk. You said you wanted to know what it felt like to seize the day once more time before you left Greendale."

Jeff's brow furrowed for a moment. "Yeah, I remember."

To be continued…

Author's Note: End of Part Two. Part Three will be a flashback sequence. It's now looking like this story will have three or four parts, but I'm still not sure yet. Also, I'm changing the categories of this story from Romance/Humor to Romance/Drama. Even though there will be some more funny moments, I'd like to think that the Britta/Jeff relationship can also be quite dramatic.

Special thanks to ALL who have reviewed so far! Your reviews make me smile and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. But more reviews are always welcome! Meanwhile, keep spreading the Jeff/Britta love!