A few weeks later Janet was at Jake's house spending time with him when the phone rang. They were both settled into Jake's couch with glasses of wine. They glanced at the phone and Jake groaned.

"Do you know who that is?" Janet asked as Jake got up to answer it.

He shot Janet a look and answered the phone, "Hello. Hi Ma. Sorry, I've…," he glanced at Janet who sat up with interest, "…been a little preoccupied lately," he finished smiling and she blushed. "Frankie is fine. She's at the neighbour's house for a tea party today," he said turning his back on Janet as he continued to talk, "Yeah, she has grown taller. And she's doing well in school."

Janet glanced back at the TV and tried to divert her attention. She set her glass down on the coffee table and stretched out on his couch lazily.

"Me?" Jake turned around to find her stretched out on the couch, "Uh… yeah I'm… I'm fine," he said walking over to the couch and nudging her legs so he could sit with her. She flipped sides and rested her head in his lap. "Actually… Ma, I have been having fun. A great time actually. I met someone," Janet looked up and smiled and he rolled his eyes at the phone, "Of course a girl! In fact she's right here. Huh? You wanna say hi?" Janet bolted up from her spot and flailed her arms around indicating 'no'. Jake smiled, "Ohh… shoot she just went into the bathroom," Janet choked back a giggle. Jake frowned at the phone, "No I'm not making her up! Why would I make up having a girlfriend? I'm not in high school."

Janet looked back at him surprised. She'd never heard him call her his girlfriend. Her chest tightened. She picked up her glass of wine and chugged it down. Janet was soaring on the inside but terrified all at once. Janet and Jake had been dating for a little over five months now, and she was starting to get a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt wonderful but terrified her at the same time. Janet knew that falling in love had its stages; first, there was that moment where she thought she felt it, like the time she saw a spider in the kitchen and though Jake wasn't particularly fond of arachnids himself, he crushed it in tissue for her. Then there was the moment when she thought she knew it, like the time he cooked her favourite dinner and bought her a pink toothbrush with sparkles in it (because he thought that's what girls liked) to keep at his place. That would bring us to this moment she was experiencing right now; the moment she knew she felt it but couldn't get herself to say it for fear that he might not feel the same way. Then he turned and looked at her and the look in his eyes made her smile. Jake's eyes had a way of making her feel so special and treasured that a mere look was all it took to calm her racing heart.

"Yeah, I will tell her that," Jake began to hurry his mother off the phone, "Um… yeah. She's great," he said blushing slightly as he glanced at Janet and then away. "Okay. Give Dad my love. Love you. Bye." He hung up and exhaled deeply.

"Soo…" Janet began running her finger on the rim of her wine glass, "That was your mother."

"Yep," he nodded setting the phone down, "That was her."

"How's she doing?" Janet pressed.

"She's good. My dad hasn't been too well in the past year but she's in good health so that's a real blessing. One less thing to worry about," he said with a shrug. He knew what she was prying for but refused to bring it up until she did.

"Cool, cool," she said nodding, "And what was part about... uh… something about me being your girlfriend? What was that?"

"There it is," he said grinning.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"That freaked you out didn't it? Me calling you my girlfriend."

She smiled and shook her head, "No. It felt wonderful," she looked away, "Of course, I would have preferred hearing it first before you told your mother…"

"Well she left hooked me. I wasn't ready for the relationship interrogation. She's been on my case to find someone for the last three years. And now I finally have, and she thinks I made you up."

Janet nodded as he continued to speak and climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms around him, "Honey, I stopped listening after 'left hooked'." She kissed him deeply and his brows rose in surprise, but then he pulled her close and kissed her back. She pulled away and stood up and he stood up with her resuming kissing her. He directed the both of them towards his bedroom and she walked backwards.

Janet took one look at his bedroom and stilled, "Oh my," she laughed looking around at how tidy and organised he was, "I had no idea I was dating Mr Muscle."

"Maria!" he said in his best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice and flexed his muscles comically. She laughed some more.

"I meant that you're really organised," she said and he had clearly heard enough because he ignored her and kissed her, "Do you also put your left socks in the left drawer of your dresser and the right ones in the right drawer?" she asked gently pulling back.

Jake frowned, "Tell me something; in your mind, did I just go from being Mr Muscle to Monica Geller?"

"Hey," she gestured around her, "If the neat-freak cap fits…"

"Oh yeah?" he challenged picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She laughed hysterically.

"Put me down!" she said and he released her. They held onto each other as they continued to laugh until their laughter died down. The laughter slowly left her eyes and she looked at him. He gazed down at her with those hazel eyes and she pulled away and looked around, "Ahem, we have to… uh, if we want to catch that movie we better get going." She pulled away from his arms and made her way outside his bedroom.

Jake smiled slightly and followed her out, "So which movie do you wanna catch? There are a few good ones playing, I hear."

"Oh yeah?" she asked pulling on her jacket, "Like what?"

Jake shrugged and began buttoning his jacket, "Dodgeball,The Great Escape,Out of Africa,Escape from Alcatraz,A Certain Circumvention…"

"Those are all really old…" she turned to catch his eye and knew he was hinting at her earlier evasion. She cleared her throat, "Out of Africa sounds great."

They were standing in line for tickets when Janet noticed a familiar tall figure up ahead in the line. Her eyes went wide when she realised it was Eddie and his date-doctor person…Adrianna. Janet had never seen a Victoria Secret model up close before but she was sure that if she had they would bear a very close resemblance to Adrianna. She was everything Janet wasn't; well-built, shapely, blonde, tall, and mile-long legs. And all Janet had was the ability to twirl two bottles of vodka at once.

"Uh… are we sure we want to watch a movie? I mean it's such a beautiful night we should go to the lake or something," she said turning to Jake.

"Okay now what's up with you?" he asked confused, "We came here because you wanted to watch a film and now that we're here you want to go somewhere else."

"If you didn't want to watch the movie, you should have said something," she said quietly.

"I would have rather stayed home and enjoy my time with you," he said sincerely holding a hand over his chest.

She smiled, "Okay, let's stay. I want to watch a movie. It's cool," she assured him and he put an arm around her. Janet's heart sank at the prospect of watching a movie in the same cinema as Eddie and Dr Feel-Good. But she wasn't about to rouse Jake's suspicions for any reason.

"Hey that's Eddie!" Jake said pointing, "Do you see him?"

"Um I guess. He's probably here with his doctor," She said sounding bored.

"You're kidding," Jake said wide-eyed, "The doctor he was talking to in the hospital when I met you?"

"Uh huh," Janet said folding her arms.

Jake whistled, "Good for Eddie."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Janet asked frowning.

"It means 'good for Eddie'," Jake replied confused by her tone.

"Are you saying she's beautiful?" Janet asked feeling jealousy creeping up within her. Jake looked back at her and didn't respond. "Well?"

"I figure my odds are better if I just shut up. I don't know what's going on, but you're acting really strangely tonight." Jake said, "Do you want to fill me in?"

"I'm irritated with him," she said shortly, "He just keeps showing up on our dates and ruining it. Remember the Celtics game from a few weeks ago?"

"Okay, I'll give you the showing up part but how is he affecting our date right now?" Jake was beyond confused.

"Look I just want to be in a place where he isn't," she said looking away.

Jake hesitated and then frowned, "Janet… I know it's a little late in the game to be asking this, but do you and Eddie…"

"Do I and Eddie what?" she asked annoyed and then she realised what he meant, "Jake no," she said touching his arm, "Eddie is just… Eddie. He's not anyone I'm interested in and I'm sure the feeling is mutual."

"Are you sure? I mean you two never seem to get along when I'm around but yet he's the one fixing your windows and taking you to baseball games. It just seems like he's the guy you'd love to hate but don't."

"Hey, I wanted Nick Garrett to fix the windows but he was working on the parking lot project that you're doing. I didn't ask for Eddie. And the baseball game was a one-time thing. We were just friends then and we're even less now. Do you believe me?"

Jake looked at her and hesitated, "I… I guess, I mean why would you lie about something like that, right?"

"Right," she said snaking an arm around his torso. She looked up at him to gain a hint of assurance that he believed her. "So do you still want to watch the movie?"

"Nah, not really," Jake replied.

"Do you want to take a drive somewhere?"

"Yeah, okay. Come on let's go," he steered her away from the line and they walked back to his Ute.

Eddie happened to glance out at the parking lot and saw them leave, the smile he had on his face instantly evaporated.

"Hey isn't that you're friend Janet?" he heard Adrianna ask.

"Yep, that's her," he responded.

"Is that the guy she's going out with? He's fine," she added and Eddie turned to her and forced a smile.

"Yeah, he's great," he replied and put an arm around her as they came up to the ticket booth, "Two please. To ParanormalActivity."

"I thought we were gonna watch OutofAfrica," Adrianna protested.

"This one's better. Trust me," he said glancing out into the parking lot again, but Jake's vehicle was gone.

Janet sat in the passenger seat in silence, lost in thought as Jake drove them to the lake. She couldn't remember the lake being such a long ways away from the multiplex but she had other things on her mind. Why did seeing Eddie with Adrianna bother her so much, was top priority on her list. Her feelings for Jake that were beginning to stir was a close second. Janet hated to admit it, but she was as lost as Jake was when it came to her and Eddie. What was their relationship now? All they did when they saw each other was bicker and try to one-up the other. That was barely a friendship let alone anything else. It's time she let him go. He was a free agent and he could do what he wanted with his life. She was going to choose to not let it affect her in the least. Her feelings for Jake were very strong and if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that. She just didn't know what to do about it.

"You're quiet," he commented suddenly, ripping her out of her thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, I was just thinking, that's all," she replied looking at him.

"Wanna share?" he asked keeping his eyes on the road.

"I was just thinking about y…," she stopped short, "How beautiful it is out tonight."

Jake glanced and smiled at her. Reaching for her hand he squeezed it, "Like you," he said somewhat shyly, which was very un-Jake like.

"You're so sappy," she teased and he laughed.

"That's all you were thinking about?"

"Yeah," she said knitting her fingers with his. Jake pulled over and they got out. Janet looked around and found herself at the lake, but from a totally new viewpoint. It was from one of the drops that surrounded the lake and it was lined with banyan trees that had creepers dangling from the branches over the lake where the moon bounced off it like a mirror. She was awestruck, "This place is gorgeous!" she said softly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," he said hoisting himself on the hood of the Ute, "I came up here the first night we moved here. Frankie was asleep in the backseat and… well there are only so many things in life that give you that feeling you know?"

Janet, intrigued walked up to him and listened intently to what he was trying to say, "Like what?"

"The Celtics winning," he said holding up his pointer finger.

"Well of course, the Celtics winning," she said smiling fondly at him. "What else?" she leaned her elbows back and leaned her back to the headlights of the Ute.

"Your kid taking her first steps only to jump into your arms… and a sight like this. In fact, there's only one other time I felt that way after I moved here," he said, idly toying with a strand of her silky hair.

"Oh really?" she asked smiling, loving how open he was with her, "When was that?" she asked pushing herself up backwards and sitting right next to him. When Jake didn't respond she asked again, more quietly this time, "Jake?"

He looked at her and humour filled his eyes again, "Well at the risk of sounding 'sappy'… it was the day I came into Sully's and saw you. I didn't really want the burgers. But when you tried to sell me on Sully's, I was hooked," he grinned.

She looked at him in surprise, her eyes shimmering in the moonlight, "Oh Jake…," she said kissing his cheek, when she pulled away she swallowed the lump in her throat, "Jake, I… I…"

Jake didn't read much into her hesitation to respond, because he figured that he'd taken her off-guard, bearing his soul like that. "Come on, we can head back home now. I have to tuck Frankie in." he hopped off the car and then gave her a hand.

Janet's heart sank. The perfect opportunity and she didn't say a word. She yanked the door open and got into the truck, disgusted with herself. They drove back, Jake spoke about other things not realising that his girlfriend wasn't completely there. Her mind was still at the cliff-top by the lake.

When Jake pulled into her driveway, he turned off ignition, "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said. He didn't want to admit it to himself but he was rattling with fear on the inside. What was he thinking, saying all those things to her? Clearly, she wasn't in the same place he was. Moron, he scolded himself. Janet sat there, not saying a word and not budging to get out of the truck. She was probably still shocked by all he said and was trying to think up ways to run for the hills. "Janet?"

Janet looked at him and then nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow," she said pecking him on the cheek again before she got out. She made her way up the walk. Come on!You can't chicken out now. Not tonight, she pep-talked herself to do an about-turn back to his truck.

"What's the matter?" he asked as she climbed back into the truck and crawled towards him on the seat, "Did you forget something-" he was cut off by her lips crashing against his. She put her hand on the back of his neck had held him firmly against her lips. Jake was taken aback at first but then relief swept over him and he began kissing her back.

After a good long while, Janet pulled away and looked at him, "I'm an idiot," she stated.

"No you're not," he said, confused.

"No, no, I am," she held up a hand, "You see there's something that I've wanted to say all night, but every time I want to say it, I don't, and turn around and act crazy instead. Like walking out of the house to watch a movie and then going crazy about seeing Eddie there and then getting out of this truck just now without saying a proper goodnight. I'm cracked!"

Jake started to understand where this was going and hope rose within him, "Janet…"

"Let me finish," she pressed a finger to his lips and he piped down. "You're an amazing guy – to say the least. And you're a great father – I'm sure you've heard that before. But you know what? Those are only a couple of the reasons why I'm… falling in love with you," she exhaled, "You make me feel so special, I can't understand how you do it, but when I'm around you, I feel safe and happy and excited all at once. Like I'm exactly where I want to be. Being with you is never boring. And you could try, but chances are you couldn't be any more adorable when you're telling me how you feel about things like when you get passionate about work or something that Frankie said or did... I love it. Sometimes you can see right through me, and you call me on things that I don't even realise you notice. And by the way, I love it when you're sappy. So don't ever change that, alright?" she said sitting back in her seat and folding her arms.

"Are you done?" he asked not able to contain the happiness that swelled within his heart.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she said nodding. Her cheeks were burning up the second she decided to make that 180 degree turn back to his truck and right now her cheeks were on fire. It took every ounce of courage she had to tell him how she felt and somehow he knew that.

He leaned into her and kissed her tenderly, "I love you too," he said quietly.

"You do?" she asked wanting to pinch herself just to make sure it was real.

"Yes," he nodded, "Now I don't exactly have a list," he began and she swatted him in the arm, "I mean I haven't had time to crunch the numbers or anything…"

"Jake!" she scolded but was smiling.

"…but I think it's safe to say that I love you. More than I thought I could. And being with you is like…," a smiled formed on his lips as he continued thoughtfully, "well it's like my mother's meat pie."

"Well that's romantic," Janet said dryly. His mother was the last thing she wanted him to bring up right now.

"Let me finish," he retorted, "It's like the more you have of it the more you can't wait until you have it again."

"Oh," she smiled getting his meaning, however clumsy it may have been, "Well I'm not a piece of meat," she warned and he laughed.

"Okay so it's not the best analogy, but you should really try some of my mother's mince pie to know what I'm talking about." Janet touched his face and pulled him closer to hers.

"Jake, you really need to shut up about your mom right when we're about to make out," she said breathlessly.

"Sorry, it's just that…" Janet pulled him closer and kissed him deeply and then pulled away.

"You were saying?"

"I forget," he replied honestly.

Janet smiled with satisfaction, "Well you better get going. Frankie's not going to tuck herself in," she opened the door and got out, "I'll see you tomorrow," she waved with a smile.

"Yeah, tomorrow," he replied, "Good night!" he called after her and drove home with a smile so wide, one might think he slept with a hanger in his mouth.