Chapter 26: Intermediate Developmental Psychology

Summary: The Greendale Gang finishes up their semester and the Edison-Wingers celebrate Hanukkah

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Trigger warning: mention of suicide attempt

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After what Abed referred to as the group's Final Caper, the remaining weeks of the semester clipped by. The second social worker visit went smoothly and appeared to be more of a formality than anything else. As promised, the Dean dismissed Cornwallis and refused to give him a positive recommendation for any further teaching jobs he may pursue. Against his protestations, Ian was installed as the new History professor and made it clear that instructing the class was his lowest of priorities.

As Ian kicked back familiarly in his chair with hands behind his head, he remarked, "History. So, what is it?"

Abed raised his hand.

"Yes, Abed?"

Standing and turning to face the classroom, Abed yawned and said, "Is anyone here as bored as I am? Haven't we done this before? I hate it when a show gets stale during its fourth year." Cocking his head to the side, he continued, "I had hoped we would be renewed, but alas, now it's not looking likely."

A paper ball, thrown from the front of the room, promptly hit him in the head.

"Boo-yah!" Ian thumped his fist in the air while still reclining in his non-recliner. "Take that, you weirdo. And please, sit down."

Abed obeyed, and Ian began to totter in his wooden desk chair, laughing nervously as he attempted to feign confidence that it wouldn't topple him to the ground.

Jeff leaned to the side and whispered to Abed, "Hey, everything's okay, buddy. He's just being a jerk. He's sober this time."

"I was hoping to be renewed."

With a sigh as he noticed Abed's defeated posture, he said, "I have full faith we will be renewed."

Abed shook his head. "I don't know, Jeff. I feel like we're getting near the end. What are we supposed to do now, rehash Christmas? I feel we've done so many versions of that at this point, and while I like your mom, come on." He rolled his eyes and continued, "And frankly, I can't see us stretching things out until your graduation in the spring. I mean, and don't take offense at this Jeff, but the audience probably doesn't care that much about watching your graduation ceremony."

Jeff nodded politely.

Abed continued, "I think they would be more interested in seeing your life post-Greendale, hopefully including some of the misfit characters from our current incarnation, and perhaps some development on the Annie front."

Jeff raised his brows. "Annie front? We're married. I'd call that development."

"Yeah, but Annie's not on birth control anymore."

Frantically looking around to make sure no one was listening, Jeff hissed, "That's none of your business."

"Isn't it Jeff?"

"Absolutely not."

"Oh."

Troy, who had been sitting on the other side of Abed and humming to himself, leaned over and whispered to Jeff, "Yeah man, are you guys taking any precautions? Cause I got some condoms I'm not using."

Abed shifted uncomfortably in his chair as Jeff pounded his fist on the table and snapped, "Troy!"

Conscious that everyone was now staring at them, and oblivious to the fact that Pierce had been sitting smack in back of him the whole time, Jeff smiled tightly and glanced around the room. He turned slowly to his right to see Annie squinting at him. He whispered through clenched teeth, "How much did you hear?"

"I heard you yell at Troy for some reason." She regarded him with suspicion.

"Anything else?"

"I was talking to Shirley. What did I miss?"

He shrugged and, relieved that no one had seemed to be eavesdropping, rolled his eyes as he said, "Oh, nothing. You know how Troy and Abed are."

Abed slowly leaned forward and made eye contact with Annie. "You know how we are."

She nodded in confusion and then turned away to resume her conversation with Shirley and Britta, who by now had scooted away from Starburns and joined them. Everyone seemed to be taking full advantage of Professor Duncan's lackadaisical approach to class. Annie cast a quick glance over at him, noticing he was now petting Ruffles in his lap while sipping some tea.

Attempting to ignore the fact that he seemed to use their dog as his mascot for any class he was teaching and that Ruffles seemed to prefer to be with Ian during classroom time, Annie continued her conversation where she had left off before Jeff's yelling:

"So, you really want to throw me a bachelorette party?"

Shirley grinned as she said, "Yes, of course! Brit-ta and I have already discussed some of the options. I was thinking we could go to a nice restaurant and then have mocktails."

Britta scowled and said, "She's lame. We're totally having real cocktails."

Smiling nervously, Annie said, "But Shirley doesn't drink. I think it would be fun to do mocktails."

Britta frowned. "Seriously? But you and I got hammered at Shirley's bachelorette party."

Annie turned on a bright smile and squeaked, "I know, but maybe that wasn't so nice of us, right Shirley? You felt excluded?" She turned toward Shirley and hoped she would back her up.

Shirley seemed to consider this for a moment before replying, "While I'm certainly not one to judge," Britta rolled her eyes behind her as she continued, "I guess it did feel a little lonely to have the two of you drink while I kept my wits about me. Not that I want to stop the two of you from indulging. The Lord only grants us what we can bear."

Annie bit her lip and then said, "Let's do mocktails."

Britta scowled as she continued to regard Annie while crunching on her celery stalk.

X

X

Britta pushed open the stall door as she heard Annie enter the bathroom. "Aha!"

Annie's eyes went wide as Britta pounced in front of her.

"What are you doing?!" She leaned back and clutched the straps of her backpack.

"I knew it was you!"

Calming down, Annie sighed and said with a hint of irritation, "You just came in here, but ran ahead of me. Of course you knew it was me."

Nodding vigorously, Britta made a show of looking under all the stall doors. Seeing no one's feet, she marched over and promptly locked the bathroom door before turning back to face Annie.

"We have to talk."

Annie furrowed her brow and placed her backpack on the sink. She turned to Britta and asked, "What is it?"

"Is there something you want to tell me? As your friend?"

Puzzled, Annie shook her head.

"Really? Nothing you're going to have to tell me sooner or later? I thought we were close, Annie. God, it's not like I'll blab it all over campus like Shirley."

"I really don't know what you mean."

Britta pursed her lips and then lunged for the backpack. As Annie scoffed, Britta began unzipping compartments and dumping items out on the counter, including Annie's notebook, a criminology textbook, baby wipes, and a purple pen.

Annie shrieked, "Stop it! What are you doing?!"

"Aha!" Britta turned toward her and held up a pill bottle and gave it a jingle. "I thought I saw these when you were putting away your stuff in class earlier."

Annie's face went white at the sight of her prenatal vitamins. She motioned for them, and Britta smugly handed them over. Annie took them and placed them demurely back in her bag.

She mumbled, "That's private."

There were a few beats of silence as Annie continued to replace items in her bag, avoiding eye contact as she did so. Britta finally sighed.

"So you're preggers?"

Annie's head snapped up and she said, "No. I mean, probably not. I mean, I don't exactly know at the moment."

Britta stared at her in disbelief. "Why are you taking those?"

Annie continued to zip various compartments in her backpack as she explained, "My doctor said it was better to start sooner rather than later to make sure I don't have any vitamin deficiencies. I trust her advice, cause with Sophie I didn't start them until after I found out I was pregnant, obviously." She looked up and smiled sheepishly at Britta as she continued, "I was always so worried she wouldn't develop properly, for a lot of reasons…" she trailed off for a moment and then cleared her throat, her expression changing to indignation as she said more adamantly, "But that's my business. I can't believe you went through my backpack!"

Britta groaned and threw her hands upward. "God, I'm sorry, okay? But when I saw them and you were talking about wanting mocktails, I kind of freaked. I was hurt. I thought you'd would tell me if you were pregnant."

"I would."

Britta sighed again and then leaned against the tile wall, folding her arms across her chest. She asked in a softer tone, "So …. you guys?"

She answered simply, "Yes, Britta, we're trying for a baby."

Britta nodded slowly and seemed to take this in. She finally mumbled, "So on purpose?"

Annie let out an exasperated sigh and stared at her in disbelief. "Yes."

"Why?"

Annie placed her bag back down on the counter and stepped closer. "Because we want to expand our family. We want to give Sophie a baby brother or sister."

"Now?"

Glancing downward, Annie replied, "Yes. And I'm sorry if you don't understand it, but that's what we're doing."

"Look, I…"

She lifted her head and interjected, her eyes now brimming with tears, "I know you originally didn't think Jeff and I should get married, and you said awhile ago that you didn't think we should have a baby together, but this is our life and I'm hoping as our friend you will support us, even if you don't get it."

Britta stood in silence for some moments, regarding Annie's pained expression. If she had to admit it to herself, she hadn't really thought through the intervention. Was she honestly thinking she had the right to interfere? Were they supposed to stop trying to procreate (eww) because she said a few wise words? Sure, she thought Annie was too young to be having another child, but then again she realized in that moment that she couldn't really relate to Annie. They had both had messy lives, but they were different kind of messes.

Annie loved Jeff Winger, and Jeff loved Annie Edison. They were good parents to sweet little Sophie, a child she probably would not have had if she had been in a similar circumstance at Annie's age. God, if she accidentally got pregnant now she'd also seriously consider not having it. But she wasn't Annie.

Her own eyes now tearing up, she said, "I'm sorry I was a jerk. I think it's great you and Jeff got married, if not for Sophie's sake." She paused and gulped down a sob before she added, "As for the baby thing, I know it's not my place. I said all of that before because I thought Jeff was panicking and being a goober about it; I always thought the solution was that he feel more secure with Sophie."

"I see." Annie regarded her with skepticism and folded her arms across her chest.

Unfolding her own arms, Britta leaned forward and placed her hands on Annie's shoulders. Making eye contact with her, she said, "But I think he is secure with her now. He seems to have really grown into Daddy-hood. It's thrown me, but I've witnessed it."

"So…"

Pushing down her own opinions for once, Britta said, "If you guys want to have a baby, I think that's great."

"Really?" Annie arched a brow, her lip trembling somewhat as she continued to regard Britta with hesitation.

Stepping back and letting her hands fall, Britta shrugged. "Sure. Just please promise me you'll tell me before Shirley, okay? She'll get all high and mighty about knowing first."

Her expression softening, Annie let out a quick laugh. "Deal."

At that moment there was a loud thumping against the restroom door. Shirley's voice boomed, "Girls!"

Annie smiled. "I think we should let her in."

X

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X

Given this was the first year they had celebrated Hanukkah after Annie had reconciled with her mother, Annie and Jeff headed over to Rachel's for the last night. Annie had pushed back on the high holidays during the fall and refused Rachel's offers for them to accompany her to Kol Nidre services at Temple. At the time Annie had grumbled to Jeff that the last thing she wanted to do was spend time with her mother on the Day of Atonement. But Hanukkah seemed different for Annie, so Jeff readily agreed to go with her to her mother's home.

It was the first time Jeff had seen Rachel since Paul's visit, and to Jeff's surprise, she seemed to be in an extra cheery mood and pulled out all of the stops to host them. She even affected a delighted if strained smile at the appearance of Ruffles in her Hanukkah sweater, asking Sophie various questions about her doggie and then maneuvering her off to see all the goodies.

Jeff turned back to Annie and laughed. She shot him a questioning look, and he clarified, "She hates the dog."

"Of course she does."

Jeff bent down and unclipped Ruffles, who promptly tore off down the hallway after Sophie and Rachel. As he watched her go, he stood and said, "That'll be fun."

Annie smirked at him as they removed their coats and hung them in the front hallway. She then took his hand and they went into the living room. Jeff allowed a moment to appreciate Rachel's decorations and the large and elaborate Menorah on the table.

Annie said, "She does everything perfectly."

"You throw a pretty good Hanukkah too."

She chuckled as she said, "Not in comparison. You'll see."

He shrugged as he walked around the room and regarded all the pictures of Sophie. "So, is our kid getting spoiled tonight?"

Annie nodded as she followed his gaze toward Sophie's newborn picture. "Most definitely. It's the second reason I decided we should come over."

He turned toward her and arched a brow.

She explained simply, "Anthony."

"Right. Where is the sourfaced one?"

"While you were helping Sophie take off her boots, Mom told me he's upstairs." She yanked on his hand and motioned toward the foyer.

"But surely…"

-"I'll show you my old room. Or what was my old room. She probably turned it into a craft space by now."

His curiosity piqued, he followed her up the stairs. He had been up there one other time, and that was to almost forcibly remove Anthony from his teen cave a few months ago on a particular occasion when he and Rachel were in another heated fight. At the time, he had shuddered at the piles of clothes, assorted strips of what looked to be metal, and two by fours all over the place. He didn't want to know what the kid was doing. Probably just trying to annoy his mom.

But he had never seen Annie's room. Based on her comments, she hadn't been up there either since she had moved out. Remembering it was the scene of where she had overdosed, Jeff stopped her before they entered. Placing his hand on her arm, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The last time you slept here….wasn't that when…"

She waived her hand in the air. "Yes. But that was a lifetime ago. I want to show you. God, I wonder what she's done to it…"

They were both stunned as Annie opened the door and they viewed Annie's former room, which appeared to be still functioning as a bedroom. There was a twin bed, made up with a flower-patterned duvet and matching pillowcase, and a small white desk with purple blotter and a small plastic purple container to the side. Jeff stepped closer and noticed it was full of purple pens. He turned his head to the side and spied a bulletin board with newspaper clippings of school events. He leaned in and read some of the headlines:

Anna Edison wins first place in Spelling Bee.

Anna Edison trounces debate opponent from Parkside High.

Anna Edison is National Merit Finalist, first student at Riverside High to take honor in five years.

There were a slew of other clippings, but Jeff stopped reading as he became aware of Annie's stillness. He turned back to her and observed she was standing in the center of the room and scanning the place with a look of bafflement.

"Are you okay?"

"This is exactly how I left it."

"Wow." He stepped over to her and placed his arms around her. She readily accepted the embrace and let him hold her for some moments before she turned around to face him.

"I can't believe she kept it like this."

He let out a sigh. "I can. I don't think your mother's the type to really face things."

"It's like she was waiting for me to come back."

"Maybe she was."

Suddenly, Annie's eyes went wide and she disentangled herself from him and walked over to the bedside table. She carefully opened the drawer and gasped.

"What is it?"

Pulling out a small bound pink notebook, she said with her voice in a tremble, "My diary."

He joined her and they sat down on the bed. She stared at the journal for a few moments before opening it up and flipping through the pages.

"She didn't read it."

"How do you know?"

"Because I talk about Adam in it. She seemed genuinely shocked that he was the one who got me pregnant."

He was startled to still find himself inwardly reacting to the mention of Adam. It seemed strange to think of Annie in her bedroom, journaling about the asshole and then becoming so upset she… he tried to stop thinking about it.

He merely said, "Well, I guess your mom is full of surprises."

Nodding, she hummed for a moment before stiffening and reopening the drawer. She fished out an envelope addressed to her mother and opened it. Her eyes skimmed over it, and tears began flowing over her cheeks.

Jeff suddenly realized what she was holding. He felt a pang in his chest as he asked, "That's the letter you wrote?"

She nodded and continued staring at it. She mumbled, "I haven't read this since that night. Oh my god, I was out of my mind."

"I don't need to read it in order to agree."

"The envelope's open."

"You sealed it?"

"Yes."

"Soo…."

-"She must have read it. And then she put it back."

X

Annie knocked on Anthony's door and said sweetly, "It's me and Jeff."

There was a creaking sound as the door slowly opened and Anthony peered through the crack. Upon seeming to confirm it was in fact them and not a trick, he opened the door fully and smiled.

The kid smiled.

And he was clean-shaven, his hair still cut in the shorter style he sported on Thanksgiving.

Jeff squinted in disbelief as Anthony waived toward his room and said, "Welcome."

As they stepped inside, Jeff took notice of Anthony's outfit, which was a decent buttoned up plaid shirt and non-ripped pair of dark jeans. He gave a low whistle, and Anthony shrugged before Annie pulled him into a somewhat obnoxious clingy hug.

"You look so great!"

"Thanks. It's Chanukah."

She nodded at his appropriate pronunciation, which their mother would insist on, and stepped back and continued to grin.

Jeff was in the middle of surveying the room while emitting a series of small gasps. The place was spotless, no hunks of materials around, bed made neatly, a keyboard with attached headphones on a desk near the corner. He looked down and spied fresh vacuum marks in the carpet.

"What the hell happened?"

Anthony rolled his eyes. "Nothing."

Turning to him, Jeff said, "Oh come on. This place was a certifiable hazard zone last time I saw it. Now it looks likes something Annie…" He stopped as Annie regarded him with a smirk.

She finished his sentence for him, "would do?"

"Well…yeah."

She turned toward her brother and asked, "What made you decide to clean it up? You've never let mom get her way with your room."

Anthony groaned. "She hasn't seen it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just thought I'd clean. I couldn't find stuff. It was kinda becoming a problem." He added with a smirk, "But don't tell mom that."

"I see." Annie smiled and added, "You know, I'd probably let Sophie come up here now if you wanted to show her your keyboard or a game."

"Yeah, that would be cool cool cool."

X

X

"Is your brother okay?"

Annie lifted her head and regarded her mother with tentativeness. "Why do you ask?"

Rachel smiled tightly as she began to re-arrange silverware on the dining table. Annie had been helping her set up for the meal, and Jeff had taken Sophie upstairs to visit with Anthony. Annie had let him know she wanted him to stay there for a little while so that she could talk to her mother with some privacy.

Rachel replied, "He's different. Ever since Thanksgiving, he's been more polite and he's been helping me with things around the house, tasks I'd normally have to push him into doing." She paused and then added, "Last week, he did the dishes every night, and today he insisted on putting together Sophie's meal."

Annie placed a napkin near the head of the table and mused, "He does seem a little different."

"He even brought Natalie over for dinner last week."

"I know. He told me you made him."

Annie observed her mother suddenly look down and begin to pick at what she assumed was some slight flaw or unwanted substance on the tablecloth. The mutterings which accompanied this behavior slightly unnerved her, for she couldn't fathom what her mother was upset about. Surely, she had always wanted her children to be obedient, to simply fall in line. If Anthony had become easier to manage, then her mother should be happy.

She remembered how before her rebellion, she had been an almost perfect child and adolescent, always agreeing with her mother and doing her best to please her. She had always helped with the dishes and would eagerly take on any other tasks, if only so she wouldn't hear her mother's heavy sighs.

At that moment, Rachel let out an audible sigh and then looked up, making eye contact with her. She smiled slightly and said, "Natalie's actually a very nice girl, and your brother, despite his initial protests, was very well-behaved and dare I say even respectful with me."

"He did mention you guys had a decent time." Annie simply shrugged, still unclear on what was bothering her mother.

They worked in silence for almost a minute before Rachel began murmuring something about the napkins not being ironed fully. Annie decided to followup. She said, "Anthony looks really nice today."

Immediately, her mother fired out, "That's exactly what I mean!"

"Why would that be a problem?"

Rachel stilled and then glanced up at Annie before resuming her perusal of the table. She said in a lower voice, "Maybe it is? You changed when you were seventeen."

Annie's eyes went wide as her mother added, this time looking up and meeting her gaze, "I didn't think you were in trouble. I just thought you were working hard. But I did notice you were different."

Annie took these comments in, and figuring it was now good as time as ever, she turned and marched over to her purse, opening it to retrieve the envelope. As she headed back over to her mother, she was conscious of hearing the sharp intake of air.

Rachel winced as she said, "Please. Where did you….?"

-"I was showing Jeff my room. I found this near my diary in the nightstand."

Annie motioned for her mother to sit, and they both did so, each on different sides of the dining table. After some uncomfortable silence, she placed the envelope in between them and said simply, "I re-read it."

Rachel merely nodded as she kept her eyes on the envelope.

"Did you ever read it?"

Rachel's head snapped up and her lip began to tremble. She replied in a tone barely above a whisper, "Of course I did."

At this reaction, Annie felt a pang of guilt. While she had been furious with her mother for a long time, she couldn't imagine what she had put her through that night. Tears now starting to flow down her cheeks, she said, "I'm so sorry, mom. I was crazy."

"Sweetie, it's okay."

"No. I couldn't imagine if Sophie were to write a letter like that."

"She won't."

At her mother's definitive tone, Annie abruptly stopped her sobs and said, "But she could. The future is unknowable."

Rachel shook her head. "We'll make sure she doesn't get hooked on drugs."

Annie felt some annoyance begin to mix in with her guilt, and she asked, "Why didn't you support me in recovery? Why did you want to simply pretend I wasn't an addict? You kept trying to treat it as only a medical issue, but you know I was crazy, mom. I needed psychological help."

She watched as her mother appeared to take a few long deep breaths and consider her words, her eyes darting to the letter and then back at her.

"I'm sorry. I know now I didn't do the right thing, and if I'm being completely honest, which Jeff tells me I need to do with you so I will…."

With a flash of irritation, Annie interrupted, "Jeff again? Why can't you just say things to me because it makes sense, Mom? Why do you always have to hear it from him first?"

"He makes some good points, sweetie. He has a way about him."

"Oh my god, please do not tell me you have a crush on him."

Rachel scoffed, "Oh please." She then patted down her hair as she cleared her throat. "Yes, I may have been initially attracted to him, but after he told me he was taken, I backed off. I'm not a homewrecker. Now he's truly and simply my son-in-law."

Annie stared, almost horrified, and let out a low gasp. She took a moment to collect herself before she asked, "You hit on Jeff?!"

With a tssking sound, Rachel replied, "Now, I didn't know he was with you, remember that. Let's not make this into anything more than a simple flirtation, which I am allowed to do."

"Mom, did you try to…"

-"He turned me down, and he did it in a very nice way, if I must stay so. But he was clear that he was not available." She then turned up her smile and added, "Why, sweetie, don't you see this is such a good thing for you? He's very loyal. Trust me, that's something you will appreciate as time goes on." She nodded solemnly and then interlaced her hands on the table.

Annie narrowed her eyes as the full realization hit her. She asked, "Because he didn't want to sleep with you, being you'd be almost impossible to turn down?"

"Now, sweetie."

Annie rolled her eyes. "You know what, nevermind. Can you please just tell me what you were going to tell me? You said Jeff told you to be honest with me. I would appreciate it if you would. Why did you not support my decision to go to rehab?"

Rachel glanced down at her hands and began fiddling with her interlaced fingers. Her eyes darted once again to the letter before she lifted her face. In a quieter tone, she said, "I thought I could just will things to be different, for you to be fine. I didn't want to think you'd end up like that. I was afraid of losing you, and I think part of me thought I'd already lost you. That you…." She stopped and placed one hand over her mouth and looked off to the far wall.

Annie finished for her, "Would end up like Aunt Nora."

Rachel stared at her in disbelief.

Annie smiled slightly and wiped away a tear as she said, "Dad told me when he was here. He told Anthony, too. And I don't think Anthony's into drugs or suicidal. I think he's finally taking responsibly for making his life better."

X

X

They proceeded with dinner, Jeff regarding the whole event with a curiosity he couldn't help but feel when in Rachel's presence. As Annie had predicted, she was the perfect hostess, and Jeff learned to appreciate more of the aspects of the holiday.

And he noticed that Annie seemed more relaxed around her mother, and if he dared guess Rachel seemed to be as well. He couldn't believe that such a demeanor would last, but it was a welcome change from the usual tenseness that accompanied their visits to the Edison household. There even seemed to be discussion flowing about Annie joining Rachel and her Aunt Sherri, who would be coming back into the country soon, for some girl time, Sophie of course invited to tag along. Jeff briefly tuned out as he watched a seemingly contented Anthony interact with Sophie but thought he heard something about a spa.

He wondered what was going on with Anthony. They had spent almost an hour up in his room, Anthony at first teaching Sophie about his keyboard and when she became restless engaging her in a videogame. Jeff needed to help her out with that of course, so it really ended up being him playing with Anthony with Sophie on his lap, thinking she controlled things. For the first time in their relationship, Jeff had the feeling that Anthony was regarding him more as a peer than a father figure. Jeff welcomed the change.

In the midst of his internal musings, Rachel spoke with all seriousness to Sophie, "Now sweetie, this might be the first Chanukah you will remember. I will now properly explain it to you."

Annie's eyes went wide. "Mom, she's too little to understand."

"Nonsense. I explained it to you, and you understood."

"I don't really remember."

Sophie smiled as she looked up from her booster seat and said to her grandmother, "I wanna know all the things, Bubbe."

Clearly pleased, Rachel nodded and said, "That's right, sweetie. Bubbe will tell you all the things."

Anthony snorted as he stabbed his latkes, "Bubbe will tell you all the things." Rachel arched a brow in his direction and he quickly added, "You're good at explaining things, Mom."

"Thank you." She turned back toward Sophie and with an almost manic intensity leaned down and said, "There was a time when our people, our family from long time ago, well, they weren't liked by some other people, the Greek-Syrians. The Greek-Syrians were mean, and they told us we had to worship Greek gods, which is silly really since Greek gods aren't real, so when we said we wouldn't do that, they got really mean and they…

"Mom, I…."

-"Tore down all our statues."

Sophie scrunched up her face as she asked, "What a sta-tue?"

Taking this question in stride, Rachel promptly explained, "A statue is a piece of art." She paused and then, her eyes widening in realization, added, "Like when you make something out of PlayDoh. They smashed all our PlayDoh, sweetie."

"That's not nice." Sophie frowned and picked up her bear, who had been sitting in a plastic doll high chair to her left, in between her and Jeff. She clutched it as she continued to listen to her grandmother's story.

Rachel shook her head as she continued, "No, it's not nice at all. So we fought back and told them we didn't like them smashing our things. We told them to go away, and they finally did. And then we cleaned up all our things and rebuilt all of our statues."

"We take our Pay-Doh back."

"Yes, sweetie. And then we decided to have a celebration," She paused and then clarified, "A party." Motioning to the Menorah, Rachel continued, "We built a Menorah and lit up all the pretty candles. We thought we only had enough oil for five candles…one…two…three…four…five. But then we burned all eight of these. Ta da!"

"Ta da!"

With a gleam in her eye, Rachel clapped. "It was a miracle! It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did."

"Yay! I'm thwee und you eight. Und we hab pwetty candles und we got our PayDoh back." Sophie smiled and kissed her bear.

Annie bit her lip and shared a knowing glance with Jeff. They were both more than a little relieved Rachel had simplified things with the candles and the days part but they both doubted Sophie would really understand.

Jeff smirked as he casually reached over and patted the back of Sophie's head. It was then that he felt Annie's foot graze his ankle. Casting her a wry smile and noticing her blush, which confirmed it wasn't Ruffles who had rubbed against him, he scooted down slightly and pushed his leg out further which gave her some more area in which to flirt.

Her foot inched upward.

It was at this moment that Anthony tapped his fork against his glass and said, "Hey, I have something to share."

Rachel, who had been exchanging excited grins with Sophie, turned her attentions to him, a now slightly worried expression on her face. Jeff and Annie also awaited his words with some trepidation, both of them now sitting up fully.

Anthony looked around the table, and after winking at Sophie said, "Hey, it's good news." He took a moment and then continued, "I applied for an engineering internship this summer before my senior year, and I got it. I'm going to be working at a firm that designs solutions for old bridge networks."

Annie cast Jeff a surprised look but then turned to Anthony and beamed. "Oh, Anthony! That's amazing! Congratulations."

Relieved that this hadn't been some elaborate way to disrupt the nice family time, Jeff said genuinely, "Yeah, congrats." It occurred to him that he hadn't known Anthony was interested in engineering, a part of him feeling a little sad at that realization.

At Rachel's silence, Anthony let out a groan. "Mom."

She clasped her hands in her lap and sat up straighter. With her lips slightly pursed, she said, "You didn't tell me you applied for an internship."

"I didn't want you to get all obsessed about it." Anthony rolled his eyes as he reached for the challah.

"Now please. I would not."

"You would. But I got it, so that's why I'm telling you now."

She let out a soft sigh and said, "Well, I guess this is wonderful news. I'm glad you've made constructive plans for your summer."

"Yeah, I'm super excited. It's in California."

X

X

They returned home to their apartment, Annie waiting until Sophie was in bed before she shared her thoughts with Jeff about her brother's plans. Aware that Sophie understood more things, she didn't want to confuse her or think they were unduly upset.

"With a wistful sigh, she said, "I can't believe he's going to move away. We just found each other."

Jeff pulled her to his chest and held her there for a little while. He whispered, "He's growing up. This will be good for him."

She moved back and looked up at him with a slight smile. "I know."

"Things seemed a little better with you and your mom." He regarded her with a carefulness that she always appreciated.

She continued to stare up at him with her almost bemused expression. After some hesitation, she said, "I think I'm ready to try again with her. I don't have any grand expectations, but…" She trailed off and then shrugged as she added, "We'll see."

As he rubbed his hands at her sides, he said simply, "I love you."

At this, she raised herself onto the balls of her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands instinctively remained on her hips and he leaned down so that she could kiss him. They allowed themselves to take their time as they softly explored each other, hands eventually wandering as they stumbled toward the bedroom.

Annie mumbled in between kisses, "I think I'm ovulating. I've been wanting to jump your bones all day." She began unbuttoning his dress shirt.

With a cocky grin, he said, "Admit it, you always want to jump my bones."

"That's kinda true. Why do you have to be so damn sexy?" She threw the shirt to the side and began grabbing at his t-shirt, her expression one of frustrated intensity.

With all seriousness, he pulled her to him even tighter and said with a growl, "Let's get to work on making more Jewish babies."

He promptly picked her up and swung her into the wedding threshold position, carrying her to the bed as she laughed.

As he laid her down, she fluttered her eyelashes and said, "That's right. All our babies will be Jewish. It's matrilineal."

"I hope they're as amazing as you."

He quickly removed his t-shirt and tossed it into the air.

X

X

X

By the end of Hanukah, they had their final exams. As expected, Annie earned her A, as did Shirley. Abed managed a B and Troy and Pierce pulled off Cs.

Annie was a little too pleased when Jeff found out he got a C minus.

His index finger still on the printout tacked to the hallway bulletin board, he turned his head and squinted at her.

"You suck."

She chuckled and then began to roll back and forth on her one-inch heels, clutching her folder to her chest. She remarked, "I'm so happy the semester is over and Ian graded everyone fairly! Everything's perfect."

Jeff stood fully and cast her a look of mock annoyance. Suddenly spying Britta pushing her way through the crowd, he stepped back to allow her access to the bulletin board. He placed his arm around Annie and smirked, "If you're looking for your grade, yours isn't here. The Dean must not have given it to Ian to post."

Britta scowled at the printout and muttered, "I better have gotten at least a C. I can't be as stupid as you."

"But you might be," He teased.

She huffed indignantly and turned toward them as she said, "I deserve a C! I actually think I did okay on the final."

Annie pouted almost condescendingly, "I know you did, Britta. You tried really hard. I'm sure you'll get your C." She stepped forward and nodded slowly.

Jeff noticed Annie's pitying expression and Britta's look of hopefulness. He remarked in his most Winger voice, "The final was a series of questions about the history of The Revolutionary War, which shall I remind both of you, was not a part of Eastern European history. And the questions were extremely judgmental and opinionated, demonstrating that our temporary professor clearly has an axe to grind with England. And apparently also America."

Ian suddenly appeared in between Jeff and Britta and chuckled. "Grades are out! No need to thank me, Winger." He handed Ruffles' leash to him.

Jeff looked down to regard what he was beginning to realize was the Greendale mascot. She was wearing a Greendale doggie sweater and looked up at him expectantly. He lifted his head and said to Ian, "You gave me a C minus."

Ian grinned as he slapped him on the back. "And you deserved it. I almost gave you an A for your little cartoon in the margins, but alas, I must uphold my oath as a professor to do no harm."

Annie laughed a little too high-pitched as she squeaked, "An A?! Why, that would be silly! Jeff getting an A!"

Jeff smiled tightly as he patted her shoulder. "Now, wifey."

Britta abruptly turned toward Ian and asked, "Hey, where's my grade?"

"I think you'll have to wait for the Dean. He insisted he post it himself so I wouldn't have the opportunity to change it. He tells me he's running a tight ship from now on." Ian cast a low whistle as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

At his words, Annie grinned and said with shining eyes, "I knew it! The Dean's finally running this school they way it should be run! I'm so proud of him. He's really demonstrated character growth!"

Jeff rolled his eyes as he stared up at the ceiling.

Suddenly the Dean emerged from the crowd, holding aloft a small piece of paper, which he made a great show of carrying over to the bulletin board while humming a wedding march song for some reason. He smiled slyly at all of them and then took out a stapler from his pocket and proceeded to attach the paper to the board underneath the other History grades.

As soon as he stepped back, Britta swatted him aside and jumped forward. Closing her eyes and counting to three before opening them, she leaned in and regarded the paper.

Annie said, "Now Britta, everything will be okay."

"An A minus?! Oh my god, I got an A minus?!" Britta gasped and jumped around to face the Dean, who smirked and shrugged.

Jeff promptly grabbed Annie's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze as she screamed.