Chapter 13: Chaos
Summary: Troy and Abed throw a housewarming party
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A/N: Warning: drug use, angst
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Annie turned to Nancy with a sheepish look as the two of them walked into Sophie's room.
Nancy sighed and carefully closed the door behind them.
"They're occupied, so we're alone for a few minutes."
She looked at Annie expectantly.
Annie's eyes widened and she abruptly turned away. She proceeded to scurry over to the crib and fluff the bedding.
Nancy rolled her eyes and followed her. She whispered loudly, "Annie. You seriously didn't?"
At Annie's lack of response, she gulped before continuing, "Or…."
There was a squeak.
Annie blushed furiously and swatted a pillow. She kept her eyes on the bedding as she stammered, "No! Um, I mean, I don't know. I haven't."
Nancy gave an exasperated sigh as she attempted to make eye contact with Annie.
"Oh come on. Just do it. Trust me, you'll feel better."
Annie shook her head almost violently as she slammed her hand against a pillow. She continued to avoid Nancy's gaze as she said, "I can't handle this right now. I can't handle it if…" she trailed off and stood motionless, staring into the crib.
Nancy nodded as she placed her arm around Annie's shoulder and pulled her into her side. "There's nothing to worry about. You're just stressed."
"Right."
"Do it."
Annie uttered barely audibly, "I can't right now. We have to be at the party in thirty minutes."
"I'm sure they'll understand if you're late."
Annie let out a quick laugh. She wiped her eye and turned to Nancy, who pulled her into a hug. She mumbled, "I'll do it later."
"Okay. But remember, you're being silly."
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Jeff and Annie made their way up the stairs to apartment 303. Jeff trudged behind a slowly moving Annie. He glanced down at the housewarming plant Annie insisted they gift to Abed and Troy. While he didn't see the point in it, since he doubted the dynamic duo would be capable of taking care of a living thing, he humored Annie and didn't put up much of an argument about it.
Annie groaned. "Another flight?"
Jeff chuckled as he playfully pushed against her lower back with his free hand. "Come on, short-legs. They're on the third floor."
Anne turned to face him and stuck out her tongue before resuming slogging up the steps. "This is awful. I wish they had a working elevator."
Jeff grinned as he continued to follow her. "I think that elevator is technically working. But I wouldn't trust it."
"Ugh."
He frowned. "You normally don't have a problem with taking steps. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, Jeff, I'm fine."
They entered the third floor and Annie quickly shuffled ahead down the hallway.
Jeff squinted as he followed her, taking his normal wide strides and thus quickly catching up to her as she reached the door. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
She turned to look at him and opened her mouth but then shut it. She shrugged.
"Nothing. I'm just not in the mood to deal with crappy buildings. I had enough of that with Dildopolis."
He continued to watch her with skepticism. "I thought you were going to be chipper this evening. You always seem to be when it's Troy and Abed involved."
Annie turned to him and rolled her eyes. "Well sometimes I don't feel like being all perky. Excuse me if…"
In a slight panic at her irritability coupled with his tendency to want to fix things for her, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
She instinctively put her hands around him, caressing his shoulders as they both entered the kiss, the plant between them.
He felt her melt into him, a sigh escaping…
"Ahem."
They both startled and turned to see Britta and Pierce standing there. Britta was looking at them with feigned disgust and a hint of amusement. Pierce gave a low whistle.
Jeff blushed and shoved his hands in his pockets, stepping back. He suppressed a guilty grin.
Annie shook her head and lightly smacked his elbow, smiling slyly.
Britta rolled her eyes. "God. You two are too sickeningly cute. I bet you didn't even knock on the door." She reached past them and gave it a loud rap.
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Annie continued to converse with Pierce and settled into a seat between him and Troy.
Jeff frowned and was about to say something when Troy turned to him with a serious expression. Troy leaned over and motioned him to come closer. Jeff reluctantly ducked his head down as Troy whispered.
Jeff scowled and then said in a low voice, "Not now. We can go over all that later. Let's just have a good time."
Troy nodded and gave Jeff a wink before turning his attentions back to the group.
Britta, who was seated across from Troy, watched the interaction with narrowed eyes.
Jeff looked up and saw Pierce raise the bottle of Serbian rum with a wink before placing it on the table.
He remarked sardonically, "Why is everyone winking at me? Do I ask for conspiratorial winks? Is it because I'm tall? Do I inspire great faith and confidence?"
Annie turned from Pierce and looked at Jeff with a small smile. Jeff held her gaze for a moment, feeling like a schoolboy.
She then winked at him.
Shirley shook her head and affected a judgy face.
Troy yelled, "Yahtzee!"
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"Okay, starting on my left with one, your number comes up you go."
" Just so you know, Jeff you're now creating six different timelines."
"Of course I am, Abed."
He tossed the die in the air.
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Timeline 1 - Annie
Jeff watched Annie cheerfully leave to get the pizza. He may have felt a slight pit in his stomach at having set everything up so that even his own fabulous girlfriend was being taken advantage of.
Well, someone had to get the pizza.
What could he say? Old habits die hard.
And Annie, with the exception of the past twenty minutes, had been particularly irritable over the past week. It was almost as if he couldn't do anything right.
Which had put him in kind of an edgy mood himself. He had way too much on his mind with the whole plotting to take down the asshole, coaching Troy, and fending off Abed's detailed questions/concerns. Plus he had to keep secrets from Annie.
And now she had gone down to get the pizza.
Crap. He was a lousy boyfriend.
Pierce then made a tasteless Eartha Kitt comment, Shirley went to check her pies, and Britta attempted to sing her heart out.
"Roxanne!"
"No!" He snapped.
"Bathroom?" Britta turned to Abed. He nodded, and they departed down the hallway.
Jeff sighed and pulled out the Yahtzee rulebook. He wondered if he could make the pit of guilt go away if he used enough distraction.
Troy picked that moment to cast a suspicious look at Annie's purse, which was lying half unzippered on the table. He poked at the opening in the zipper with a pencil.
"Uh, guys. What does a pregnancy test look like?"
Jeff, still frowning at the rulebook, absentmindedly said, "It's like a thin piece of plastic with a thing on the end of it."
Troy used the pencil to coax out of Annie's purse a thin piece of plastic with a thing on the end of it.
"Okay, so this is definitely a pregnancy test."
Jeff dropped the book on the table, his eyes going wide. In almost slow motion, he turned his head to see what definitely looked like a pregnancy test next to the purse.
"Whoa. Yeah, put that away." He frantically swatted toward it.
Troy met Jeff's terrified eyes as he shoved the test back into the purse. His voice trembled as he said, "Sorry, man. I'm gathering you didn't know?"
Pierce chuckled from across the table. "Well done, Winger. Congratulations."
Jeff stared at the purse in silence.
Pierce cleared his throat and continued, "Speaking of celebrations, Troy, I have a housewarming present for you." He reached down near his feet and picked up a large wrapped box. He placed it on the table.
Troy ignored him and kept his eyes on Jeff. He gestured toward the purse. "Jeff, what are we going to do about this?"
Jeff, who was doing his best to keep his breath deep and steady, said tersely, "There is no we, Troy. I'll talk to her later. Just please, both of you, keep your mouths shut." He jabbed a finger in Pierce's direction.
Pierce shrugged. "Sure. Troy, now about this present." He continued to push the box toward him.
Troy nodded meekly at Jeff and began to sulk.
Jeff let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm going to get a drink." He stood and hit his head on the ceiling fan.
"Ow!"
Pierce laughed. Troy resumed looking at Annie's purse in thought.
And then Shirley picked that moment to cheerfully bring out her pies.
Jeff continued to rub his head, his eyes still on the purse. He had a million thoughts running through his head, the chief one being if Annie had actually taken the test. He was damned if he was going to go check with everyone's eyes on him.
But why would she keep it if it weren't positive?
When was she going to tell me?
Was she going to tell me?
The pit in his stomach grew even heavier as he considered that last possibility.
No, she wouldn't. She'd tell me.
His attention suddenly shifted to the sounds of Annie coming back into the apartment, the pizzas in her arms. He quickly walked over and took them from her.
"Here, I got these. You don't need to carry them." He looked at her with wide eyes.
She tilted her head up at him with a smile. "You're sweet. Thank you."
He gave a nod while continuing his bug-eyed gaze.
Britta then came running from the direction of the bathroom, Abed on her heels. "Pizza, pizza, me so hungry!"
Jeff, oblivious to anything else, continued to stare at Annie.
Annie turned to the group and said, "The pizza guy was super creepy."
Jeff automatically quipped, "So you're saying he was a pizza guy."
"I wonder what happened in those other timelines?"
"Abed, there are no other timelines."
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Timeline 2 - Shirley
"Don't forget to check my pies!"
After Shirley left, Jeff turned to the group. "Remember, no one eats those pies. That woman has a baking problem."
"Roxanne!"
"No!"
In the next several minutes, Britta had Abed show her to the bathroom, Pierce gave Troy the Norwegian troll, and Troy became distraught.
Jeff laughed but then quickly stopped when Annie shot him a glare.
He patted Troy on the shoulder. "Don't let him get to you." He then added sardonically, "Pierce, you've outdone yourself."
Annie turned to Pierce and scowled. "Shame on you." She turned to look at Jeff. "Jeff, what are you going to do about this?"
He avoided her question as he said, "I'm going to get a drink. Want one?"
She shook her head.
He squinted at her. "Oh come on. Not even an Appletini? I'll make you one myself."
She smiled tightly and said, "No, thank you. Maybe I'll have something later."
"Ooookay."
He stood.
"Ow!"
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I barely felt it." He winced.
"Well, let me look at it in the bathroom."
Annie grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on Jeff's elbow and gently pushed him toward the hallway.
Abed and Britta suddenly appeared from the direction of the bathroom, Britta smiling with a vacant look in her eyes.
Shirley then came from back into the apartment with the pizzas. "Did someone remember to take out my pies?"
"Pizza pizza…."
Shirley sniffed the air.
Her eyes widened. "Oh no!"
She frantically handed the pizzas to the group and ran into the kitchen. Taking out her burnt pies from the oven, she turned and scowled at them.
Jeff held his own as he said evenly, "You're not allowed to have baking things as an identity."
Shirley continued to scowl as she said, "Well excuse me for being the only married woman in a group of horny toads who sit around all night and make googly eyes at each other without even having the decency to make their union right with the Lord."
She narrowed her eyes on Jeff and Annie.
Jeff and Annie exchanged annoyed looks.
Annie turned to Shirley and said sharply, "Shirley, you need to stop with this. Jeff and I don't need to be married. It wouldn't change anything for us, and people get divorced all the time. So please knock it off."
Jeff felt something shift in his stomach but chose to ignore it. He found himself quickly and perhaps unwisely saying, "Oh come on Shirley, you're just being all judgy with us because you and Andre are still not even technically married. You're divorced. I think you're the one who wants to be married. So maybe you should take this up with Andre. Or my guess is you've already hinted enough about it but he has no interest in making things official with you."
Shirley gasped, as did the rest of the group.
Jeff gulped and watched as she began to cry.
She then ran out of the apartment.
Everyone's eyes fell on Jeff.
Abed cocked his head to the side. "I wonder what happened in those other timelines?"
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Timeline 3 - Pierce
Pierce rose to get the pizza, making an inappropriate joke about Eartha Kitt on his way out.
Shirley left to check on her pies.
"Roxanne!"
"No!"
Abed escorted Britta to the bathroom.
Annie sat silently as she watched Troy and Jeff exchange strange looks. She could have sworn Jeff then kicked Troy under the table.
"Um, guys, do you want to let me know what you two have been up to?"
She watched as both of their eyes widened and then they quickly attempted to cover themselves with various grunts and throat clearing.
Annie huffed. "You know, you both are being ridiculous. I'm not stupid. I know you've been out drinking together. Shall we have it out? Let's try honesty."
Her eyes fell to Troy.
Troy whimpered and pulled out his cigarette case. "Um, I need to go to the bathroom." He rose and almost ran out of the room.
Annie turned to glare at Jeff.
He watched her, his expression stone-faced.
"Jeff."
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Troy knocked on the bathroom door and then entered to find Britta frantically fanning a funny smell out the open window.
He sighed and leaned against the sink. He opened his cigarette case and Britta attempted to light his cigarette before she stopped in confusion when he began to eat it.
Crunching, Troy said, "Why is Jeff trying to get me to be a good liar? It's not who I am."
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Annie continued to regard Jeff sternly. "You've been scheming with Troy. It has to do with Adam, right?"
He avoided her question as he said, "I'm going to get a drink. Want one?"
She shook her head.
He squinted at her. "Oh come on. Not even an Appletini? I'll make you one myself."
She smiled tightly and said, "No, thank you. Maybe I'll have something later."
"Ooookay."
He stood.
"Ow!"
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I barely felt it." He winced.
"Well, let me look at it in the bathroom."
Annie grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on Jeff's elbow and gently pushed him toward the hallway.
Abed appeared in their path. "Britta's in the bathroom."
They shrugged and reoriented toward the kitchen.
Shirley looked up from her pies to see Jeff rubbing his head. "Oh no, what happened?"
"Minor head wound. If there's an abrasion we'll clean it with iodine and apply ice."
"You're good at taking care of me, Annie." He grinned nervously.
"Thanks. Maybe you could trust me then with other things."
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Britta appeared to contemplate Troy's question, nodding slowly. "Jeff's always been a jagwad. Sure, Annie's been a good influence on him and he's half decent nowadays, but he's spent years lying to people. He probably thinks he's doing you a favor by teaching you how to lie."
"Yeah, maybe."
"You don't have to be like that to be a man. We can use more honest guys in the world."
"You're pretty cool, Britta."
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Pierce returned with the pizzas. Shirley came from the kitchen. Jeff and Annie followed, holding hands.
Britta gleefully grabbed a slice and began to chow down. Troy, a broad grin on his face, joined her.
Abed regarded the two of them suspiciously.
"I wonder what happened in those other timelines?"
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Timeline 4 – Britta
Britta left to get the pizza. Shirley went to check on her pies.
There was an ensuing awkward silence around the table.
Troy broke it. "You guys are my best…"
Jeff, feeling little patience for Troy's carefree nature at the moment – didn't he know things were serious these days? - decided to remove himself. He turned to Annie.
"I'm going to get a drink. Want one?"
Annie shook her head.
He squinted at her. "Oh come on. Not even an Appletini? I'll make you one myself."
She smiled tightly and said, "No, thank you. Maybe I'll have something later."
"Ooookay."
He stood.
"Ow!"
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I barely felt it." He winced.
"Well, let me look at it in the bathroom."
Annie grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on Jeff's elbow and gently pushed him toward the hallway.
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Pierce watched with growing jealousy as Troy and Abed began to banter. He produced the wrapped present and encouraged Troy to open it.
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Jeff sat against the sink as Annie inspected his head wound.
"You're good at taking care of me, Annie."
"Thanks. Maybe you could trust me then with other things."
He smiled slightly. "Sometimes we need to keep things. For um, good reasons."
She sighed and regarded him with a wearied expression. "You need to tell me things. I can guess, so just admit it. This is about Adam."
He groaned and continued to deflect. "Come on. You've been weird too. Care to fess up?"
She gulped and began to busy herself with inspecting the abrasion. "I don't know what you mean."
He looked at the floor with the internal excuse of allowing her a better look at his wound. He said in a low voice, "If my plan doesn't work, I have another idea."
Annie's hand stilled on his head. "Jeff."
"You're important to me. I love you." He brought his head back up and looked at her intently.
She smiled. "I know."
He continued to regard her with a seriousness she hadn't seen from him before.
"Annie, look, this might sound crazy, but we could always…"
They were interrupted by Troy's screams.
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Troy continued to shriek as Pierce held the Norwegian troll aloft. Abed shirked in the corner.
Jeff, Annie, and Shirley watched in bewilderment.
Britta picked that moment to return with the pizza delivery guy. Both looked extremely relaxed and sleepy.
"Guys, this is Toby. We're getting married."
"I wonder what happened in those other timelines?"
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Timeline 5: The Darkest Timeline
Troy jumped up. "I'm gonna go as fast as I can so I don't miss anything."
He almost ran out of the apartment.
Shirley excused herself to check on her pies.
"Roxanne!"
"No!"
Abed escorted Britta to the bathroom.
Pierce, with little to occupy himself since he couldn't proceed with his Norwegian Troll revenge, folded his hands and placed them on the table.
"Jeffrey, tell us about your father."
Jeff avoided his question as he said to Annie, "I'm going to get a drink. Want one?"
She shook her head.
He squinted at her. "Oh come on. Not even an Appletini? I'll make you one myself."
She smiled tightly and said, "No, thank you. Maybe I'll have something later."
"Ooookay."
He stood.
"Ow!"
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I barely felt it." He winced.
"Well, let me look at it in the bathroom."
Annie grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on Jeff's elbow and gently pushed him toward the hallway. As she followed him, she tripped on the loose Raiders scale model boulder. She fell into the coffee table and her half-opened purse as well as the Serbian rum flew through the air.
Pierce instinctively sprang to his feet to help her.
The rum crashed in front of the diorama, shattering the bottle's contents onto the floor.
As the purse hit the ground, a thin piece of plastic with a thing on the end of it landed at Pierce's feet.
Jeff crouched down and attempted to make sure Annie was okay. She turned and muttered, "Ouch. I'm fine."
Jeff smiled with relief and placed a kiss to her temple.
Pierce stared down at the thin piece of plastic.
"Annie, dear, are you expecting again?" He looked over at her with a kindly expression.
From her position seated on the floor, Annie squeaked.
Jeff followed her horrified gaze toward the plastic object.
"Well crap."
He stared at it for several moments, noticing Annie's breathing becoming more frantic as he held her hand.
She turned to him, a panicked expression on her face. He met her gaze.
She said quickly, "I haven't taken it yet! I'm probably not, I mean, that would be crazy. Nancy thinks it's stress."
Jeff nodded, his eyes growing wide. "Right."
She continued in a nervously giddy tone, "I put it in my purse because I didn't want you to find it at home. I didn't want to worry you about it."
Jeff continued to nod absentmindedly. "Right." He then gulped and leaned over toward his jacket, which was draped over his chair. He rummaged in the inside pocket and pulled out a small black box.
As it dawned on her what he was about to do, Annie began to violently shake her head. "Jeff! No! No!"
He pivoted back to her, this time in a kneel. Holding the box out to her, he opened it to reveal a white gold ring with a small diamond in the center.
Annie stopped protesting and froze.
He wiped his brow and began to ramble. "Crap. I wasn't going to do this now. I just picked this up earlier today and was going to hide it up in the closet where your short legs can't reach. It was my Plan B. I don't even believe in the institution of marriage. But who are we thinking? Plan A's not going to work. Abed's right, Troy can't do it."
"Jeff, what plan?!" Her eyes widened even further.
His voice trembling, he said, "You're keeping it, right? I mean I know maybe it's crap timing, but look, we can do this."
She smiled softly at him. "Jeff."
"Marry me?"
She took a deep breath before she asked in a weary tone, "You don't believe in the institute of marriage?"
"Hell no, it's not a concept I can really pretend to get behind."
She narrowed her eyes, her voice rising in frustration. "Then why on earth would you ask me to marry you? Twice?"
Pierce continued to watch them, reaching over to grab some popcorn out of a bowl.
Jeff sputtered from his kneeling position, "It's a way that makes sense, legally. We get married. I adopt Sophie. We sever Adam's parental rights. Then he can't take her."
Annie wiped a tear from her eye and shifted her position on the floor, tucking her legs to her side. She said in a low voice, "You want to adopt Sophie?"
"Yes."
She nodded for a moment and then looked up at him. "And what makes you think Adam's going to sign away his parental rights?"
Jeff frowned. "We'll make the asshole sign them away."
"You don't get it, do you?" She began to cry softly.
"Annie…"
"That would be a huge thing. I don't think he's just going to do that, and I don't know if I could bear to tell Sophie her biological father signed away his rights to her. Oh my god."
Jeff looked at her in puzzlement. "But then he won't take her."
She continued, her voice becoming even softer, "Do you realize in all of this you haven't even said you want to marry me?"
"Annie…"
"No."
He cleared his throat and attempted a more even tone. "But look, if you're pregnant, than we should, um, probably do that anyway, right?"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm probably not. And why would you do this again? Please."
Jeff snapped the ring box closed. He pivoted back to his jacket and shoved it into the inside pocket.
"Fine."
He turned back to face her.
"What, I'm not good enough for you, is that it? You'd rather have that douche be her father? I'm good enough for the day to day stuff but not when it counts?"
She looked at him in shock. "Jeff, that's not what I meant. And the day to day stuff is the most important thing. It counts more than anything."
Ignoring her words, Jeff rambled on, "I took care of her half the time over the summer. I change her diapers. I feed her. I bathe her. I engage in seriously strange elaborate pretend play with her on a regular basis. I know all her toys' names. I comfort her when she's scared. But you won't even let me adopt her. Christ."
Her voice rising, Annie said, "That's not fair! Of course I appreciate you! You're amazing with her! I just don't want my baby to know the pain of having her other father sign her away!"
Matching her volume, Jeff said, "It would be best if he did! He's an asshole!"
At their cries, Shirley came running out of the kitchen. Britta and Abed stood in the hallway, watching the spectacle.
Pierce suddenly started to clutch at his chest.
Annie cried out, "And you don't even wantto marry me!"
"Well I don't think you want to have my baby! I'm not good enough for Sophie and now you're probably going to try to get rid of my biological child!"
Shirley clutched the cross around her neck and gasped.
Annie yelled, "Oh my god Jeff! You're being such an ass!"
Shirley watched as Pierce silently fell forward. "Pierce!" She ran over to him. "I think he's having a heart attack! Abed, call 911!"
Britta, slow on the uptake, sputtered out, "Annie's preggers?" As she spoke, a joint fell out of her mouth, lighting the rum on fire.
Jeff promptly pulled Annie away from the flames and grabbed a blanket. He began to beat at the fire in an attempt to smother it. Annie stood in shock, watching Pierce writhe on the floor in agony.
At that moment, Troy re-entered the apartment with the pizza.
He saw the Norwegian Troll doll sitting amongst the flames.
He screamed.
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Timeline 6: Abed
"I'm on it." Abed held out his hand to collect pizza money.
Jeff sighed and handed him a wad of cash. Abed accepted it with a nod and left the apartment.
"Roxanne!"
"No!"
Britta mumbled something and then announced she was heading to the bathroom.
Troy watched her go with a frown. He said to Jeff, "You don't allow people to have fun."
Jeff avoided addressing his remark as he said to Annie, "I'm going to get a drink. Want one?"
She shook her head.
He squinted at her. "Oh come on. Not even an Appletini? I'll make you one myself."
She smiled tightly and said, "No, thank you. Maybe I'll have something later."
"Ooookay."
He stood.
"Ow!"
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I barely felt it." He winced.
"Well, let me look at it in the bathroom."
Annie grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. She placed her hand on Jeff's elbow and gently pushed him toward the hallway.
Troy said, "Britta's in the bathroom."
They shrugged and reoriented toward the kitchen.
Shirley looked up from her pies to see Jeff rubbing his head. "Oh no, what happened?"
"Minor head wound."
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Britta emerged from the bathroom feeling relaxed. She sniffed the air.
"What smells amazing?"
Shirley giddily ran over to her with her pies.
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"You're good at taking care of me, Annie."
"Thanks. Maybe you could trust me then with other things."
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Pierce pushed the wrapped present toward Troy.
"Thanks, Pierce. And I just wanted to say thanks for letting me live with you."
Pierce began to have second thoughts.
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"You're very important to me. I love you."
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"Crap, I'm not supposed to eat your stuff. I'm really high."
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"Okay, you're right. I've been keeping something from you too. But I didn't want you to freak out."
"Annie, you can tell me anything."
She closed her eyes and steadied herself.
Jeff watched her but was too overcome by the rustling in his stomach again.
He rambled, "But before you say anything, I've been feeling this really strange feeling in my gut. I think it's guilt. God, Annie, I'm sorry. I've been lying to you. But it was for a really good reason. But you know what, it doesn't even matter now. I had this stupid plan to get rid of Adam. But Abed's right, it's not going to work."
"Jeff…."
"Hear me out."
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Pierce and Troy yanked at the box.
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Shirley and Britta raised their voices, each accusing the other of their respective drug and baking habits.
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"But I saw my therapist the other day, and it all became clear to me. You know all my weirdness about wanting another kid? I don't even think I want that."
Annie squeaked.
Oblivious to her reaction, he continued, "I think I've been feeling insecure about my role with Sophie, like I felt I wasn't her real father. I know having a biological child together won't fix that. And really, let's be realistic here Annie, we can only handle one. We have a small apartment, and it'll take awhile for me to get back on track career-wise, and you need to start your career. It would be insane."
Annie paled. She said softly, "Right. Insane."
He took a deep breath. "And I've been having this idea lately. Maybe, um, what do you think, maybe I could adopt Sophie?"
He looked at her tentatively.
She tilted her head in surprise. "You want to adopt her?"
He nodded and then resumed, "Look, I know you said before I impulsively proposed, and I don't want to do that this time, but you see, I think we should probably get married. And then it would make sense for me as Sophie's legal stepfather to adopt her. And we can have Adam sign away his parental rights. We can make the case to him that it's in her best interests. And then he won't be on the hook financially."
Annie appeared to take a minute to mull over this information.
"That would be a huge thing." She looked up at him. "You'd be responsible for her. Like, financially. Until she's eighteen."
He nodded. "That's fine."
She arched a brow. "You're sure you don't want another baby? I thought you wanted her to have a sibling."
Jeff shrugged. "I was being stupid. And insecure."
She grimaced and shook her head. "Right. Stupid."
He squinted at her. "Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something? What's wrong?"
She sighed and threw her hands out to her sides. "I don't know, Jeff. You interrupted me when I was trying to tell you. I'm really not sure, but, um, I've been kinda freaking out."
"Hm?"
"I might be pregnant."
"Well crap."
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Troy muscled the box from Pierce. In the process, the lid flew off to reveal the Norwegian troll.
Troy gasped.
Abed re-entered the apartment. He placed the pizza box on the table and regarded his friends as they all gathered in the living room.
Shirley and Britta continued huffing at each other and Troy looked at Pierce with a scowl.
Annie crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from Jeff, who stared at the floor with wide eyes.
Abed chewed on a slice of pizza.
"I found a nickel."
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Timeline 7: Abed catches the die
"I don't think you should."
After Abed lectured them on the implications of die rolls, he summarized the various traits present in the group. Finally he turned to Jeff.
"Jeff will forever remain a conniving son of a bitch."
Jeff laughed half-smugly and half-nervously. Annie's mouth fell open.
In order to avoid her scorn, Jeff rose and promptly hit his head on the ceiling fan.
"Ow!"
Everyone laughed except Annie, who sprang to her feet and rushed over to him. She grabbed his arm with one hand and reached upward toward his head with a look of concern.
"Barely felt it." He rubbed his head and winced.
Annie gave him a questioning look.
He shrugged and then motioned for her to let go of him. With a sigh, he left the apartment to fetch the pizza.
"Roxanne!"
xxxxx
When Jeff returned, he was presented with the sight of the entire study group singing and dancing. Everyone looked happy and relaxed.
Abed turned to Britta, "You should move in."
Troy nodded enthusiastically.
Britta smiled. "Really? Do you guys accept cats?"
"Sure."
Pierce unobtrusively threw the present in the trash.
Jeff opened up the pizza box and grabbed a slice. He began to chew on it and continued to watch the dancing. His eyes fell to Annie, who was employing her cutest dance moves, bouncing up and down as she twirled to the music.
He realized in that moment that he didn't even care about the calories on his pizza. He had been a fitful of anxiety for the past few weeks, but in the present it didn't make a lot of sense.
He was aware he should probably take his therapist's advice to not over think things. He still had time to work on his plan, and if it didn't work, he'd deal with it then.
His eyes shifted to his jacket on the chair. He knew in his heart Annie would say no if he asked her now. She'd tell him he was panicking. She probably wouldn't even believe that he wanted to marry her.
But I do, don't I?
He continued to watch her dance, a bright smile on her face. The first smile he had seen in a couple weeks. And it wasn't one of her megawatt smiles, the one she affected to please other people. It was genuine.
Yes, I want to marry her.
But not now. It's too soon.
He knew there was no need to rush into anything out of fear. He could handle the Adam situation. He'd come up with something.
And when he and Annie were ready, he'd propose. And then he'd talk to her about adopting Sophie.
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Annie let the music and her friends carry her away from her worries. She felt herself relax into the moment, a warmth spreading through her chest as she allowed Troy to give her a twirl.
"May I cut in?"
She looked up to see Jeff with a lazy grin on his face. He held out his hand.
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As Jeff escorted Nancy out of their apartment, Annie locked herself in the bathroom. She pulled the thin plastic object out of her purse.
She took a deep breath and steadied herself.
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Jeff looked up from his phone as she entered the bedroom. He was splayed out on the bed, already in his pajama bottoms and a grey t-shirt.
"Munchkin's sleeping soundly."
"I know. I just checked on her."
"You okay? You were in there awhile."
She shrugged and walked slowly over to the dresser. She pulled out a drawer and found her tank top and pajama shorts. She brought the clothing over to the bed and tossed them on the comforter.
"Yeah. I'm good. Really good, actually."
He watched her curiously.
"You're grinning. What is it?"
"Nothing." She took a deep breath and began to take off her dress.
Jeff remarked with a sardonic tone, "It was a pretty good party. Even with the toilet olives."
She laughed as she began to put on her pajamas.
"It was. Thanks for not making fun of them for that."
"They were good olives. I had a few. Gave me something else to do in there."
"You did not!" She crawled on the bed and swatted his chest.
He smirked and grabbed her outstretched hand. "Seriously. You seem much more relaxed than you have been in awhile. I'm glad."
"I guess I needed a night of dancing and Yahtzee." She laid down on the bed and pulled him over her.
He leaned down and began to kiss her. She smiled against his lips.
xxxxx
A/N: One shot "Blacklight" was posted the other day. Exists in this universe at this point in the timeline. Britta focus. What really happened at Neil's party?