February 14, 2017, 3:45 PM

"I can't believe your favorite Avenger is Ant-Man."

"Why are you surprised?" Jack laughed. "He's basically me if I was a superhero."

"Useless and annoying?" Beth asked with a curious and judgmental tilt of her head.

"I resent that description of Scott Lang," Jack returned with a pout. "Who's your favorite?"

"She-Hulk."

"Your favorite Avenger is a lawyer?"

Beth laughed. "I like how I said She-Hulk and your first thought was that she's a lawyer."

"Well I mean my actual first thought was 'I can't believe Beth Wilder is a comic book nerd' but I didn't want to distract us from the task at hand," Jack told her with a smirk. Before Beth could respond, Jack's phone buzzed. He picked it up off the table and turned the screen on.

Becky
We still on for dinner tonight?
Wed 3:47 PM

Jack stared at his phone. He had completely forgotten he had scheduled this dinner, mostly because in the previous timeline he had cancelled it.

"You okay?" Beth asked with a frown.

"Yeah it's fine," Jack said, quickly texting Becky back. "I just forgot I have a thing tonight."

"You have plans?" she asked with a playful smile.

"Yeah, just dinner with an old friend from school," he explained, putting his phone back in his pocket. "I'm glad she reminded me, since technically I scheduled this about two and a half years ago."

"Oh," she said in surprise.

"I'll be back home by ten, probably," Jack explained, getting up from the table. He was going to have to spend some time sorting out what to talk about, so he didn't accidentally mention something that hadn't actually happened yet. He took for granted how easy it was to talk to Beth. Nothing he could say would shock her, except apparently that he had a social life. He headed upstairs to get ready.


February 14, 2017, 8:30 PM

"It feels like it's been a lifetime since I've seen you," Becky mused as they walked along the river. "I'm glad you're finally back home."

"Well, it's safe to say I probably won't be traveling again for a while," Jack assured her.

"Back to living with your brother, huh?" she commented. "I thought you and Will didn't get along."

"A lot has changed," Jack shrugged, glancing up at the Port Donnelly Bridge. It was nice to see if back in one piece. Even after two years in the previous timeline, they hadn't repaired the damage from the ferry crash. "How's Rachel?"

"Busy, as usual," Becky replied. "She sends her love."

Jack smiled. "I guess the bright side is I didn't have to feel like a third wheel."

"Still the same old Jack, I see," Becky said with a laugh. "What I want to know is why are you spending Valentine's Day with me?"

Jack frowned. "You invited me."

Becky tightened her grip on Jack's arm. "Jack Joyce, you spent half our dinner conversation telling me about Beth."

"What?" Jack asked, feeling his cheeks flush.

"I've known you a long time, Jack," Becky reminded him, leaning into him as they walked. "I'm glad to see you, but it sounds to me like you should have been spending today with somebody else."

"It's not like that," Jack insisted. "She's my friend. My roommate."

"Do you remember when I set you up with Janet in our sophomore year?" Becky asked. "You swore up and down you were gonna marry that girl."

"Yeah, what's your point?"

"You didn't talk about Janet half as much as you talk about this Beth woman," Becky told him with a smirk. "I kind of want to meet her, now."

Jack rolled his eyes, happy that it was dark since he was sure he was full-on blushing at this point. "We just... went through some stuff together, that's all."

"You keep telling yourself that," Becky said with a chuckle. "Look, I'll be in town a few more days, so why don't you go home? We can have coffee or something before I leave town."

Jack sighed in defeat. "Fine, you win."

Becky squeezed his arm in victory. "I'll text you later and we'll set something up."


February 14, 2017, 9:23 PM

"I'm home," Jack announced as he stepped in the front door. He was greeted by silence. He hung up his coat and peeked his head into the empty living room. "Hello?"

A cursory search revealed that the first and second floors were empty. Jack opened the door to the basement and quietly padded down the wooden stairs. Will looked up from his desk, surprised to have company. "You're home early."

"Have you seen Beth?" Jack asked, a hint of concern in his voice. "She's not in the house."

"If she's not here, she's probably in the garage," Will told him. Of course, that made sense.

Jack thanked his brother and bounded back up the stairs, forgoing his coat as he quickly made his way from the back door to the garage. As he opened the side door to the garage, he could see Beth on the far side. She was bench pressing what looked to be about three times the amount Jack had ever attempted.

"Aren't you supposed to have a spotter for that?" Jack called from across the room. She briefly glanced at him before setting the bar back on the supports.

"What time is?" she asked, sitting up and taking off her gloves.

"About half past nine," Jack explained.

"Bad date?"

Jack laughed. "Calling it a date would be a stretch."

Beth quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't think Becky's wife would appreciate it," Jack clarified.

"Oh."

"Wait, did you really think I was on a date?" Jack asked with a laugh. "She's just an old friend I haven't seen since before I left the country."

Jack heard Beth sigh, and he worried that maybe he'd embarrassed her. Unless...? No. There was no way she was jealous.

"Come inside," Jack ordered with a beckoning wave of his hand. "I brought you cheesecake." She furrowed her brow at him. "You do like cheesecake, don't you?"

"Everybody likes cheesecake," she replied, standing up and moving to follow him back into the house.

As they entered the kitchen, Jack pointed to the bag on the counter as he opened the fridge, grabbing two bottles of beer and moving into the living room. He popped the caps off and handed one of the bottles to Beth as she sat next to him on the couch.

"Where did you get this?" Beth asked, mouth half-full of cheesecake. "This is amazing."

"A little place off the river," he explained, turning the TV on and propping his feet up on the coffee table. "It's been there since I was in junior high. I'll have to take you some time."

Beth grabbed the remote from him and changed the channel. "There is no way we're watching that."

Jack sighed dramatically. "Why don't I ever get to pick what we watch?"

"Because I'm stronger than you," Beth reminded him with a grin before stuffing another fork-full of cheesecake into her mouth.

"That's not fair," Jack complained. "Just because you can bench press me-"

"You know, I've actually never tried bench pressing another human being," she mused, picking up the beer bottle.

"We are not going to try it, because I am easily breakable," Jack told her, grabbing his own bottle and holding it up. "Cheers."

They clinked the bottles before each taking a sip. Beth's face immediately contorted with regret.

"Yeah, in hindsight cheesecake and beer were probably not a great combination," Jack commented with a chuckle.

"I trusted you, Jack Joyce," she complained, picking the remote back up. "Just for that, we're watching more Charmed."

"It's about time," Jack replied with a grin. "I'm extremely invested now, you know."

"Good, because we've got about five seasons left."

Jack pulled his phone out of his pocket as it buzzed.

Becky
Friday morning, 9am?
Wed 9:42 PM

Jack
ill be there
Wed 9:42 PM

Becky
Bring Beth!
Wed 9:43 PM

Jack
nice try
Wed 9:43 PM

Becky
Pleaaaase?
Wed 9:44 PM

Jack
not a chance
Wed 9:45 PM

Becky
Spoilsport.
Wed 9:46 PM