Thank you. Thank you so much to all of you for receiving me back with welcoming arms. I hope y'all like this chapter - it's probably the longest one I've written for this fic.

Flying Utterly: you're amazing!

GimmeSomeSolace: check your PM ;)

Jane Penderwick: you might be in love with Collin but I'm in love with you.

burningmoonlight: THANK YOU SO MUCH. You made me tear up.

Penderwick lover: here you go!

Guest: I've explained why not in Chapter 3 :)

Disclaimer: All rights go to Jeanne Birdsall.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jeffrey Ingests A Hallmark Card

"Tremble before my very being!" Jane hollered as she brandished her wooden sword in the air. "For I am Jane the Mighty, Jane the Valiant who slaughtered ten thousand men in my draken bone armour –"

Pew pew pew.

"Jane the Fallen, who met her end at Jeffrey the Ruthless' hands –" Jeffrey waved his Nerf gun in triumph over Jane's prone form and skilfully blocked her indignant blows with his wooden shield.

"Only for Jeffrey the Ruthless to be defeated by the unstoppable Batty and Hound," Batty finished as she bumped the back of his knees. Hound joyfully leapt onto both Jane and Jeffrey, crushing their breaths out of their bodies with a whoosh as he landed.

Jane turned her head sideways to meet Jeffrey's equally pained gaze. "Ow."

"Ow," Jeffrey agreed. Hound slobbered his cheek affectionately.

"These props are fantastic," Jane sat up and ran her hands over her sword hilt, admiring its worn and carved grain. Its workmanship was top notch; she could envision herself thrusting it into her adversaries' flesh as a crown of thistles and precious stones glinted in her hair. "I'd include a sparring scene in my story, but gypsies fought with spirit back then."

"Spirit?" Batty asked.

"Hands and feet, basically," Jane clambered to stand. She arranged her limbs into a stance that vaguely resembled a Kung Fu position she remembered from watching a martial arts documentary.

She swung a punch at her imaginary opponent and ducked the (still imaginary) retaliating blow. "They clawed with their nails!" Jane swiped an outstretched hand at her invisible enemy. "They hit with their fists!" Jeffrey obligingly took the spot of her unseen nemesis. "They weren't afraid to fight dirty –" Jane kneed the air in front of Jeffrey's stomach. Jeffrey promptly clutched his abdomen and sank to the ground. "Anyone who endangered their loved ones was as good as dead."

Jeffrey obediently croaked out his last breath and went very still.

Hound nosed his arm worriedly.

"Oh, don't fret, Hound, he's just pretending," Jane scoffed.

Hound whined and thumped two paws onto Jeffrey's chest, before cocking his head at Jane accusingly.

Jane caught Batty's eye. "Let Operation Tickle commence," Jane whispered.

"YAAARRRRHHH!"

Jeffrey's eyes flew open immediately. "Stop," he gasped. "Please, stop – ah – ha – have mercy!"

Hound woofed joyously and forced his way into the wriggling mass of limbs, eliciting even more noise as he made it his personal mission to lick every inch of their faces.

"Great." Jane swiped a sleeve across her violated profile. "I'm just going to head inside to remove five layers of drool – I do believe my face used to exist somewhere behind it."

"Did it?" Jeffrey asked innocently. "I could hardly tell the difference – ouch!"

Scooping up his Nerf gun as retribution, Jane clomped her way into the cottage, pausing only to forage for something to eat from the kitchen. Being Jane the Valiant always left her hungry. It was probably because of the Vikings' way of life: eat, kill, be merry, and repeat.

She scanned the shelves of the larder, which were full to the brim thanks to the hungry youths who inhabited the house. Hmm. Was she in the mood for Pop Tarts?

"How's your thesis on Hubble's Law going?" Jane heard Skye say from the living room. "I just finished the chapter on the isotropy of space from the book you lent me, and it was fascinating as always, but I felt like they might have been too Darwinian on baryogenesis –"

Jane chuckled quietly to herself. Skye and Iantha were at it again. Now, how did she feel about sour cream chips? Or would she rather have spicy barbequed nachos?

"Yes! Exactly! And I do get that, but what if, when light atomic nuclei began to form, antimatter actually equalled matter? I know that's not the case, but I was at the observatory earlier –"

Sour cream chips. Spicy barbequed nachos. Sour cream chips. Spicy barbequed nachos.

"Yeah. Uh huh. Of course not… But with the – I see."

Ooh, Reese's Pieces. Jane's hand shot out immediately. She'd take those, thank you very much, and the Pop Tarts after all – maybe she would toss together a carrot salad so her snack wasn't that unhealthy –

"No, I didn't go with Jeffrey. It… I didn't technically go there. I was sort of taken there by Collin."

Jane's hand stopped and hovered.

"No! It wasn't – like that. It was really casual and impromptu. He literally showed up and threw rocks at my window. Come to think of it, I don't even want to know how he figured out which one was my window…"

Appetite forgotten, the bag of Reese's Pieces and Pop Tarts clattered to the counter as Jane rushed up the stairs and slammed her door shut.

Deep breath in. Then, cheeks sucked and mouth pursed, apply the mascara to the bottom lashes.

Rosalind's pinkie twitched as she tried to coat a single tiny eyelash that refused to be darkened – ah. Got it.

A door in the vicinity of the cottage closed with a violent bang, causing her to jump a little. Rosalind thanked her lucky stars it hadn't occurred while she was still applying mascara – she'd have the wand jammed in her eyeball by now.

"How does it look?" Anna's tinny voice sounded from the speaker.

Rosalind let loose all the air she had been holding in. "Not bad. Thanks for buying it for me." Anna had posted a package all the way from Australia containing – Rosalind quoted – the hottest volume mascara that is going to start revolutions. I swear, Rosy, this mascara is a pinnacle of cosmetic perfection. Upon Anna's instructions on the label, Rosalind had called her once she started getting ready. As long as they kept their call under five minutes, the phone bill wouldn't be too bad.

"Not bad? Please, Rosy. I already know you're looking especially sultry. With the dress you're going to wear and your hair you're going to curl, Tommy can move aside – I'm going to date you."

Rosalind laughed. "Are you sure I have to curl my hair? I mean, it's already curly. What's the point?"

Anne groaned. Rosalind grinned; she knew that Anne was throwing one hand to her forehead in her theatrics.

"The point is to enhance your natural waves. We've already discussed this and compromised, remember? Just curl the bottom sections and leave the rest free to blow in the wind. I think your gypsy friend's been influencing you on leaving everything au naturel."

"Okay, Anna." Rosalind plugged in her hair curler to let it heat up. "So how's Mr Reid? Only you would find orchestral lessons to crash when in Australia. I still can't believe you got in by pretending you were looking at potential schools."

"Mr Reid is old news, darling. Anyway, they only let me sit in on three trial lessons. I've been going to the beach and exchanging serious eye contact with this gorgeous lifeguard. Things are heating up, Rosy, I can feel it."

Rosalind snorted. "Just don't fall into the surf while ogling him."

"Hey, that's actually an ingenious idea! I could magically lose all swimming abilities so he'd have to dive in after me with his rippling muscles."

Rosalind's phone beeped. They had five seconds to the five-minute mark. "It's been five minutes, Anna. I'll text you. Love you!"

"Already? Huh. Wish me luck – I'm wearing my white swimsuit today. Love you too!"

Rosalind put her phone away and frowned, sniffing the air suspiciously. Was that smoke she smelled?

"Ah!" Rosalind hastily removed her steaming hair curler from her bed sheets. "Oh, fantastic." She stared at the scorch mark gloomily.

Things were heating up, indeed.

"Wallet."

"Check."

"Phone."

"Check."

"Emergency pack of Cheetos."

"Check."

"Your lucky underwear."

"Uh – wait – oh no – hey –"

Batty giggled. "I'm just kidding. You're wearing them. Okay, you're good to go."

Tommy patted his pockets down neurotically. "How did you even find out about – never mind. I still feel like I'm forgetting something –"

"Your brain?" Batty asked innocently.

"… I will forfeit all of your piggyback privileges."

"Sorry. Oh look, it's time. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Batty hauled him into the living room with surprising strength for an eight year old. "Now wait here." She positioned him to stand at the foot of the staircase before running up, as if he was about to run off. Pfft.

A bead of sweat trickled down the nape of his neck. Okay, so maybe Batty had been onto something. His bedroom door was only three feet away – if he made a dash right now he'd definitely make it –

"Ahem." Tommy spun around guiltily and felt his heart stop.

Geez, did Rosalind want him to keel over from cardiac arrest? His mind literally short-circuited into an abrupt fizz as he took in the godly sight before him – as he took in the divine form of his girlfriend, his girl, his Rosalind, who currently looked like she belonged on the front cover of every existing magazine in the world. Her hair fell down her shoulders in the shiniest ringlets, a black dress flared out from her tiny waist and she had done something to her eyes to make them ridiculously bewitching – he had never been one to go for dark and smoky eyes, but he sure did now.

"You are. The most beautiful thing. I've ever seen."

A rosy glow dusted her cheekbones. "I – thanks. You look – really, really handsome." Tommy felt his entire body undergo a slow burn as she bestowed an appreciative gaze upon him.

"Okay, okay," Jane interrupted. Skye, strangely enough, was looking at both him and Rosalind with a mixed expression of – happiness? Irritation? Tommy didn't know; he wasn't a therapist. Jeffrey seemed to notice as well, sending him a freaked out expression from behind her back. "Let's get going, shall we? You two have the entire night to stare at each other."

Tommy grinned. "Come on." He wrapped an arm around Rosalind's waist and breathed in her glorious scent, trying not to feel guilty as they left the cottage without Hound.

"I'll bring you back a bag of funnel cakes," Batty promised him. Hound whined reproachfully, but then licked her face, as it was Batty, whom he could never stay mad at.

The sun had already set as they trooped down the path into the village – the first glimmerings of stars were just beginning to flicker into view. Crickets warbled out melodies in creaking chirps; a lone owl hooted in the distance. Snippets of laughter and canned music grew louder and louder as they neared Avondale.

"Oh!" Batty squealed. "They have a Ferris wheel!"

Sure enough, a blinding white sphere loomed before them, rotating at a leisurely speed. Clanging music and voices wafted around them in a cheerful roar, booming and swelling in quivering bursts the way only carnival sounds can.

Rides of every kind beckoned at every twist and turn – each with flashing signs and enticing entrances. Carousels swivelled in their own meandering loops. A whole street was sectioned off into two rows of game stalls. Soft toys, balloons and glittering trinkets bobbed about in the wind. Screams and bellows pierced through the air – some from the rollercoasters, most from the haunted house. Tommy's mind spun with all the different possibilities – bumper cars, flying scooters, the helter skelter, teacups, the Loop-the-Loop, reverse bungees…

"Too many rides, too little time," Skye groaned.

And then the overwhelming smell of food hit him. Tommy identified sugared doughnuts. Caramel corn. Grilled bratwurst. Roasted nuts. Candied apples. Beef burgers. Onion rings. Cheesy nachos. And oh, fried chicken –

Tommy gave himself a good, solid shake. Tonight was his and Rosalind's three-year anniversary. He could come back and pig out to his heart's content another day. His focus now would have to be on Rosalind, and Rosalind only.

Summoning up every ounce of self-control he possessed, he gave her his best smile. "What do you want to do first?"

"There's Nova," Batty pointed. Jeffrey followed her finger and spotted the girl in question chatting with the man behind a cotton candy machine. Sneaking up on her, he lightly tapped her on her shoulder. Her mouth lifted upwards as she turned around, and, involuntarily, Jeffrey felt a smile adorning his face too. She had feathers twined in her hair tonight.

"Liking the carnival?"

"Loving it," Jeffrey corrected. "This is awesome – I've been to carnivals before, but this one is borderline professional theme park."

"I'm pretty sure there are at least six rollercoasters here," Skye agreed.

"Eight," Nova's eyes gleamed. "Technically, nine, but the ninth is the Enterprise, which is a cross between a rollercoaster and a vertical pendulum –"

"What happened to your arm?" Batty asked. A bandage spanned the length of her wrist to elbow. Jeffrey frowned.

Nova laughed. "My ancient stove decided it didn't like sunflower oil. All I wanted was to be healthier, but no. Since that's obviously not working out, is anyone up for cotton candy?"

Less than five minutes later, each of them had swirling clouds of crystallised sugar clutched in their fists. Nova's friend had refused to accept any money, and had sportingly wound whatever colours they chose around wooden sticks. The Avondale carnival didn't stop at pink, white and blue cotton candy – oh, no, they stretched onto orange, yellow, green and purple.

"Wow," Jane gasped. She had chosen to fuse hers in a blend of white, blue and purple. "They're actually flavoured – I'm tasting grape, blueberry, vanilla –"

"Apple and strawberry," Batty bit off a chunk from hers, which was pink and green. "Skye, yours is just blueberry, then, how about yours, Jeffrey?"

Jeffrey gulped down the tangy zest he tasted. "Orange and lemon – I never knew cotton candy could be so delicious."

"Anyway, I have a date, so I'll see you guys later." Jeffrey swallowed. Suddenly citrus fruits had never tasted so sour. He looked at Nova sullenly, who was extending her hand towards –

Batty, who happily took it without ceasing in wolfing down her cotton candy. "We're going to visit her friend Ruby, and then pick up funnel cakes for Hound," Batty said casually. "Bye."

Jeffrey blamed his red face on the heat. Sure, the night air was dipping down to a chilly fifteen degrees Celsius, but all the warmth radiating from the mobile trailers and frying stoves was totally turning his cheeks scarlet.

Doubtlessly. Without a doubt. No doubts about that. Whatsoever.

Skye and Jane snickered. Jeffrey glared at them. "I bet I can beat you both at the bumper cars."

Both sisters' eyes immediately hardened into gazes of steel. "Challenge accepted." "You're going down, Tifton."

Uh oh.

"That was amazing," Rosalind gasped, stumbling off the Gravitron for the third time. Hands linked, she and Tommy giddily ran down the aluminium steps. "My favourite part was definitely the third loop after the second drop – you think it's over, but it's not, and your heart just leaps into your mouth –"

Rosalind broke off; Tommy was grinning at her. "What?"

Tommy pulled her close. "You have no idea how attractive it is to have a girlfriend who's a closet adrenaline junkie."

She turned pink and swatted his arm. "Ahem. I'd just like to remind you about how I cream you at basketball every. Single. Time."

Tommy looked mournfully at the gigantic stuffed panda they were lugging around between them. "I was so going to get it on my third try! I just let you step in because you activated your puppy dog eyes –"

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that. Just don't tell Ben that when we give this to him – I won this stuffed panda, Tommy Geiger, and Ben is going to grow up knowing that, not the false lie you were planning on feeding him on account of preserving your manhood – hey! No tickling!"

Tommy let his arm settle around her waist, and oh, Rosalind would never ever tire of how well they fit together like puzzle pieces, all spaces filled in. She snuggled into his shoulder, only to jerk her head up as she realised where he was leading her. "The Tunnel of Love?"

"Yep," Tommy said cheerfully. "C'mon, there's no queue! Up you go." He gently helped her into the swaying boat.

Rosalind shrugged and gracefully rearranged her legs. She had no qualms about this ride, even though she knew Skye would have plenty to say about it. This particular one was definitely the most luxurious one she had ever been on, though – the seats were cushioned with velvet and there were silk pillows on the loveseat.

Ding! Off they went, the heart-shaped canoe undulating left and right across the water. Rosalind tucked her head beside Tommy's neck once again.

Her eyes fluttered as she sighed contentedly. The soothing trickling of water ripples ringed around them, and the insides were thankfully not full of gaudy decorations of Cupid, Vegas lights and smooching couples. Instead, warm hues of red and yellow light danced on the tunnel walls, with the occasional heart ornament in between.

Creak. Thump. Their boat shuddered and came to an abrupt stop.

Rosalind sat up and looked around, mystified. "Why are we stopping? The power can't have gone out, the lights are still working…" She trailed off as she took in their surroundings once more. Rosalind gasped.

Candles on dishes bobbed into sight. Rose petals drifted serenely along the currents. A speaker above them crackled to life – the opening bars of Rosalind's favourite song from her favourite movie started to play, the singer's lilting voice curling into the air around them.

Rosalind turned to face the boy she was in love with.

Tommy had pulled a straw basket out from underneath the seat. "I thought we could have a candlelit dinner," he said shyly. "Also, these are for you." He produced a bouquet of lilies wound in white ribbon.

"I – wow," Rosalind laughed. The corners of her eyes were misty. "So, how'd you get all of this together?"

Tommy threw her a rakish smile. "I still had money saved up. And of course Nova helped with her connections and carnival friends."

Rosalind made a mental note to thank their gypsy friend later. "Well, you're not the only one who stashed away cash." Fumbling for her purse, Rosalind withdrew her anniversary gift to her boyfriend – the complete edition of near mint Captain America trading cards, all tucked into a protective plastic wallet.

Tommy made a gurgling sound from the back of his throat.

Rosalind threw her arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Tommy splayed his fingers across the small of her back. "Thank you. Now come on, I'm starving and I'd like to gaze at my beautiful girlfriend while I eat."

Rosalind rolled her eyes, reaching over to unpack the food. "Even now. Even on our three-year anniversary. I still have to compete with food for your attention."

"… I'm not denying anything."

"Ha!" Skye shouted, punctuating her cry with a vicious knock against Jeffrey's car. "I'm – crash – going – bang – to pulverise you!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Jeffrey roared back. "I can't – slam – hear you – crack – over the – boom – sound of failure!"

"Which – thwack – is emanating – clonk – from you!" Jane battered his vehicle with a savage strike.

Ten very brutal minutes later, the three of them pushed through the turnstiles back into the night air.

"Truce?"

"Truce."

"Yeah."

They smirked at each other, and then, chorusing in unison, "Round two?"

"I'm surprised you three haven't been kicked out."

Jeffrey spun around and clapped the newcomer on the back. "Collin! Care to join us? How about boys against girls?"

"Maybe tomorrow night," Collin beamed back. "Tonight's my night with Annie." Annie waved at them with an impish grin to rival her brother's – besides the differences in hair colour, their eyes and mouths were scarily identical.

"Annie, you remember Jane, the immensely talented author extraordinaire. This dashing young man here is Jeffrey. And finally – the gorgeous blonde's Skye, but don't let her foxy looks fool you – she can kill you with mere intellect."

Jeffrey bent down to kiss Annie's hand, laughing as she squealed. "Pleasure to meet you, Annie."

"Hi," Skye smiled at her genuinely, although there was a tinge of awkwardness to it.

Annie drummed her fingers against her chin and tilted her head. "You're the one who helped my idiot brother realise he's not always an idiot, right? Although he is usually. Most of the time."

"Yes to all three statements." Skye scoffed at Collin's mock-wounded look. "What, Collin, did you really think your sister could be deluded by you? Maybe as an infant, but from this point on she's only going to surpass you. In fact, she already has. Greatly."

"I like her already," Annie stage-whispered.

Collin sank to the ground, covering his face with his hands. "Dear Lord, I've created a monster, I have."

"There, there," Jeffrey patted his shoulder consolingly. "I'd argue for you, but… If there's one thing I've learned from the Penderwicks, the women are always right. Even when they're not, they are if you value your life and sanity."

Collin peeked out from his fingers. "Mate, I don't know if I should laugh or cry, honestly."

"You can do both on the Ferris wheel." Annie tugged at his sleeve. "Please? You promised! Plus we do it every year. It's tradition."

"Annie, you know I couldn't say no to you about anything. Even after you've crushed my pride and soul into splinters." Collin gave them a jerky little bow. "Lovely to bump into you all. We'd best be going –"

"With Skye!" Annie cried.

"…Wait, what?" Skye said.

Annie turned her innocent eyes onto her. "Collin said you're a brilliant astronomer in the making – when you get to the top of the Ferris wheel it stops for a whole five minutes and you can see the entire night sky and I've always wanted to know which constellation was which but Collin never knew, he just made them up as he went along. So. You should come with us so you can teach them to me. Further my education."

"Annie, how old are you?" Skye asked.

"Seven years and three months," Annie answered proudly.

"Remind me to never let you and Batty meet," Skye muttered. "Everyone. For the sake of our health. Do not, under any circumstance, let these two kids meet. Ever. Especially not –"

"So that's a yes!" Annie slipped her left hand into Skye's and her right hand into Collin's. "FERRIS WHEEL!"

Tommy lay with his head in Rosalind's lap, absentmindedly tracing patterns onto her knee. She let out a contented breath as he pressed a kiss to her thigh.

Suddenly he laughed.

"What?" Rosalind said, amused.

"I bet Cagney could never come up with this," Tommy preened smugly.

Silence. Tommy shifted, wondering if he had gone too far. Five seconds ticked by, each second weighing down on him like pounds of dirt into his grave, he'd ruined everything, oh no what was his life now, her entire family plus Hound were going to raze him to the ground –

"Cagney who?"

Tommy groaned. "God, I love you."

"Not God. Rosalind, although I know you can hardly tell the difference. I love you too."

Tommy lifted a hand up to pull Rosalind's head down, kissing her in a manner that put the infamous Spiderman lip lock to shame.

Ping. Thud. Ping. Thud. Ping. Thud.

"Jane," Jeffrey tried.

PING.

"Jane."

THUD.

"Jane –" The glass bottle shattered.

"Jane!"

"Hey, hey, don't take it out on my bottles if you can't aim," the stall tender complained. "Geez, girlie, let your boyfriend cool you down away from my stall –"

"He's not my boyfriend," Jane huffed. Jeffrey quickly stepped in.

"I'm sorry. She's sorry. Do we have to pay, or anything? She didn't mean to –"

"Just leave my game alone, how about that? Be thankful I'm not making her clean up the mess. Teenagers these days…"

"Thank you. Thanks so much. Sorry again. Jane, let's go." Jeffrey took her by the arm and frogmarched her to a nearby bench.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Jane replied sullenly.

"Uh huh. And I hate music. Are we done lying?"

Jane sighed. And then, to Jeffrey's utmost horror, her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Jane…"

He snaked an arm around her shoulders. "Who do I need to hunt down?"

She let out a watery laugh. "I don't know. Myself, I guess. It's all self-inflicted. Or, as Batty said, self induced pain."

"You're going to have to help me out here, Jane. I'm lost."

Her face crumpled. "The guy I have feelings for has feelings for my sister."

"… Oh. Ouch."

"Yeah. Ouch."

Jeffrey sighed and kissed her forehead. "Jane, you know it's not your fault –"

"Yes. I'm just not pretty enough. Or smart enough. Or witty enough. Or –"

"Hey!" Jeffrey shook her by the shoulders. "Jane Letitia Penderwick. You are utterly beautiful, inside out, and if you dare for one second think that you are unintelligent – please go knock your head against the eight novels, one very successful play, and goodness knows how many other short stories you have in that blue notebook of yours. And who says you're not witty – your one-liners and comedic timing are Oscar worthy. Jane –"

"What." She looked at him morosely.

"You have one of the most vivid souls I have come across," Jeffrey told her honestly. "And, quite frankly, Jane, if he can't see that, he's not right for you. It means someone else out there is still waiting for the day you light up their entire life."

Jane sniffed. "Since when did you swallow a Hallmark card?"

Jeffrey hugged her. "You're one of a kind, Jane. Never forget that."