A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.

Chapter 8: Tony's Surprise

Jo had proposed to Tony on the night of the twelfth of March, which was a Saturday and the first day of the girls' spring break. From the twelfth to the twentieth of March, Blair, Natalie, and Tootie would be out of school. Prince John had promised Jo early on that he would allow her to return to New York during spring break to spend some time with her adoptive parents, and with Mrs. Garrett and the girls. And even though Jo did feel bad about leaving her new fiancé so soon after they got engaged, she knew this would be the only chance she'd get to spend any real, one-on-one time with her loved ones before her life changed forever in May. It was an opportunity she simply couldn't pass up, and thankfully, Tony understood. Jo left Momi (along with Grace and her security team) Sunday afternoon, and when they arrived in Manhattan nine hours later, they were met by Mr. and Mrs. Polniaczek. Soon after their arrival, they all went back to Rose's apartment and passed out from jet lag.

Tootie, who lived in Washington, D.C., managed to convince her parents to let her stay with Natalie in New York City through Wednesday of that week so that she could spend a little time with Jo. Blair, of course, went to stay in her mother's mansion in the city for the first half of her spring break (although her mother was in the Bahamas and her father was in Japan and neither one of them had any intention of spending a moment with her.) That Monday morning, the four girls, Mrs. Polniaczek, and Grace all got together and spent time with one another in Manhattan (with Jo's security team discreetly following them unnoticed by everyone.) On Monday, they went to a couple of movies, and they went out to lunch and supper together. Tuesday, at Blair's insistence, they spent much of the day shopping at Bloomingdale's, although they did have a very nice time when they followed Tootie's suggestion later in the day and went to the park and had hot dogs together. Wednesday was Jo's day, and most of it was spent at a demolition derby. However, although she'd never come right out and admit it, even Blair had quite a lot of fun.

Then Thursday, things began to turn a little more serious when Blair left to spend the rest of her spring break in France, Tootie returned to Washington, D.C. to see her family, and Natalie and her parents left on a road trip to visit her grandmother, who was now living in Ft. Lauderdale. Jo was happy to see her adoptive mom and spend time with her, but it did make her sad when her friends left to spend the rest of their spring break with their families. She felt as though she'd hardly gotten to see them at all before their time together was over.

Jo remained with Mrs. Polniaczek in the Bronx Thursday and Friday, and then early Saturday morning, she took a train to Peekskill (again, with her security team discreetly following behind her.) Mrs. Garrett, who'd spent the week in Massachusetts with her son Raymond and his wife Doris, had returned Friday night to the Eastland campus. Jo had only the weekend to spend some quality time alone with Mrs. Garrett, who in many ways was much more of a mother to her than even Rose was, and she made sure to take full advantage of it. The girls would be returning to the Eastland campus that Sunday night, and Jo, her security team, and Grace would all be taking an early morning flight back to Momi on Monday, so her time with Mrs. Garrett was short.

When Jo arrived at Eastland that Saturday morning, Mrs. Garrett let out a joyful scream and threw her arms around her. Then she treated her to a big, delicious breakfast, and after they were done eating and cleaning up, things turned serious. Throughout the week, Jo had transitioned from living in the role of Princess Anne, with perfect hair and makeup and designer clothes, back to the Jo Polniaczek she'd always been. In her time with the girls, she'd worn her hair in a ponytail and sweatshirts and jeans and camouflage clothes and sneakers, and today was no different. Today, sitting across one of the small round tables in the Eastland cafeteria from Mrs. Garrett, her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing an oversized gray sweatshirt and her typical blue jeans and tennis shoes. But even though she looked like the exact same Jo Polniaczek from the Bronx that she'd been before she left months before, Mrs. Garrett could tell that in a number of ways, she really was different. Her posture had improved. Her English in everyday conversations had improved drastically. Her table manners were significantly more refined. But far more importantly, she could sense it that Jo, who'd always been wise beyond her years, had matured even more so since she'd left Peekskill last November. And she could easily tell that the young woman sitting in front of her had a lot of great burdens on her mind. After a little gentle prodding from Mrs. Garrett, Jo opened up to her and told her about everything that had happened to her in Momi. She told her about the terrible threat her uncle posed to the tiny nation, and she also explained about Momi's sexist laws forbidding an unmarried princess to ascend the throne. She then explained to Edna the obvious need for her to agree to an arranged marriage and formally announce her engagement almost immediately after she publicly accepted her royal title at her announcement ceremony, so that her uncle would not have an opportunity to challenge her right to rule in the future. She told her about that harrowing night on the road when her uncle's henchmen made an attempt on her life. Then, finally, she told her all about Tony.

"I'm scared to death, Mrs. G.," Jo told her honestly. "I don't think I've ever been this scared before in my entire life."

"I don't blame you. I'd certainly be scared if I were in your shoes. I can't believe you went through all of that. It terrifies me just thinking about it."

"Yeah, it was pretty petrifying, alright. But what happened to me that night was nothing in comparison to what's coming next. Imagine, me, being responsible for seventy-one thousand people."

"I can't even begin to imagine it, Jo."

"But no matter how scared I am, Mrs. Garrett, I've got to do it. With his heart being like it is, Dad can't stay on the throne forever. He's going to have to step down sometime to take care of his health. Dad told me himself that when he does eventually step down, my uncle will take the throne and as a result, thousands of people will suffer. And he told me that I am all that stands in his way. If I don't step up to the plate and take the throne when the time comes, thousands of people are going to get hurt or even worse. Tony says that he thinks God wants to use me to preserve the Momian people, just like He used Queen Esther to save the Jews in Persia. He says that like Queen Esther, I was born for such a time as this."

"He sounds like a very wise young man."

"He is," Jo said with a smile, and Edna smiled in return.

"You really like Tony, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. He's a beautiful person, Mrs. Garrett. He's smart and kind and patient and hardworking and funny. We haven't known each other long enough to really fall in love yet, but I know that I do like him and admire him, and that I'm glad to have him for a friend. I have a feeling that maybe we really can learn to love one another over time, like what happened with my biological parents."

"Maybe so," Mrs. Garrett said quietly.

"You sound doubtful, Mrs. Garrett. I remember how you reacted when Eddie and I almost eloped a couple of years ago. You don't think Tony and I can pull it off, do you? You don't think we can make our marriage work because we're so young."

"Oh Jo, believe me, I admire your courage and your great concern for your people. I think what you're doing is incredible, and you have my full support. Ordinarily, I'd never be on board with you getting married so young, but I do understand that these are special circumstances. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned, deeply concerned, because I am. I just don't want you to make these significant, life-changing decisions because you're being pressured into it all by others. If you're going to officially accept your royal title and marry Tony, don't do it for Prince John or anybody else. Do it for you. Do it because you truly want to spend your life protecting the Momian people as their princess."

Jo knowingly smiled and said, "This reminds me of what you said just before Eddie and I broke up. I changed so much when I started school here at Eastland. I learned so many new things. I grew. And because of that, Eddie and I just weren't on the same wavelength anymore. I just didn't have anything in common with Eddie anymore; I suddenly found I had so much more in common with some of the guys at Bates than I did with Eddie, and that really tore me up because I didn't want to break up with Eddie and hurt him. You told me that I was growing and my needs were changing, and that it was okay to be with the people who fulfilled my needs. And I complained about how selfish it all sounded, and then you said to me that I owed other people the very best of myself, and that if I didn't take care of myself, I wouldn't have anything left to give anyone else."

"That's right. You have to take care of yourself, Jo, precisely because you do owe other people the very best of yourself that you can give. If you're not in the best of health physically, psychologically, and spiritually, then there's no way you can really be there for anyone else, much less govern an entire country."

"I get what you're saying. And it's true that I have felt a lot of pressure from Grace and Andrew and particularly my dad to go through with this. But the truth is, I know that if I turned my back on the Momian people and allowed Prince Edward to ascend the throne one day, I'd never be able to forgive myself. I need to do this, Mrs. Garrett, and I need to do it for me just as much as I need to do it for the Momian people, because of who I am. Because of who God created me to be."

"I understand," said Mrs. Garrett, and then she reached out and took Jo's hand in her own and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Jo, you are an extraordinary young woman. And the people of Momi are very blessed to have you for their princess."

"Thank you, Mrs. G.," said Jo, clearly choked-up, and then they both got up from their seats and gave one another a long hug.


Later on that evening, Mrs. Garrett came into the girls' room and found Jo going through one of several suitcases she'd brought to Eastland.

"This is one thing about being a princess that really gets on my nerves, Mrs. G.," Jo complained while searching through a bunch of clothes in an open suitcase on her bed. "I told Grace I wanted to travel light. I also told her I was perfectly capable of packing my own suitcase for spring break. But Grace insisted on packing my things for me, and in her mind, she believes that because I'm a princess, that means that whenever I go somewhere, I need to haul more luggage with me than Blair does."

Mrs. Garrett laughed at that, and then she asked, "What are you looking for, Jo?"

"I asked Grace to pack a novel for me that I was in the middle of reading. I can't find which suitcase she put it in."

"Oh. I'll help you look."

"Thanks, Mrs. Garrett," said Jo, and then they both started digging through all the clothes in the suitcase.

A couple of moments later, Mrs. Garrett felt a box in the bottom of the suitcase, and she dug it out from underneath everything.

"Hey, what's this?" she asked while holding up a small box wrapped in silver wrapping paper with a white bow and a white envelope attached to it.

"I don't know," Jo replied truthfully, and then she took the box from Mrs. Garrett. In the next moment, they sat down on the side of Jo's bed together and Mrs. Garrett watched with great interest as Jo unwrapped the box and opened it. After she opened the box, she saw there was a smaller box inside – a black velvet box. She then opened that up, and when she did, she was too moved to speak for several moments.

"What is it, Jo?"

"It's a ring of some kind," Jo answered while showing it to Mrs. G. It was a simple but beautiful pearl ring on a rose gold band with two small round diamonds on either side.

"It's beautiful, Jo," said Mrs. Garrett.

"Yeah, it sure is," Jo agreed, and then she opened the envelope that had been attached to it and read the letter. When Jo was finished reading, tears filled her eyes.

When Mrs. Garrett saw that Jo was crying, she placed a loving hand on her arm and gently asked, "What is it, Jo?"

Jo then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and replied, "It's a special gift from Tony. It's an engagement ring, a Momian pearl engagement ring. It's been in Tony's family for generations. His father gave it to his mother when he proposed. Now Tony's giving it to me."

"Oh Jo, it's beautiful," said Mrs. G. as she took a good look at it. "It's absolutely beautiful."

"Yeah, it is," Jo said in an emotional whisper, and then she took it out of the box and slipped it on her left ring finger. "Tony said in his letter that he had it sized for me and everything. It fits perfectly."

"Looks like he thought of everything."

"He did," Jo said with a nod while she blushed, and it became quite clear to Mrs. Garrett in that moment that even though it was an arranged marriage, Jo really did have feelings for him, or at least the beginning of feelings for him. "He had Grace sneak it in my luggage just so I'd find it by surprise. I think it's the sweetest thing anybody's ever done for me."

Mrs. Garrett smiled and wrapped her arm around Jo's shoulders and said, "Tony sounds like a very caring and thoughtful young man, Jo, and I'm happy for you. You deserve the best. You really do."

Jo looked into Mrs. Garrett's eyes then, returned her smile, and told her simply, "Thanks, Mrs. G."

Mrs. Garrett then continued to help Jo look for the novel, and Jo finally found it a little bit later. Afterwards, Mrs. Garrett left the room. However, Jo had now lost all interest in the novel, and she found she couldn't stop staring at the engagement ring. Even though Jo always liked to act all tough on the outside, there really was a very sensitive girl on the inside, and it was that sweet, sensitive young girl that had to fight to keep from crying at the sight of Tony's precious gift.