THURSDAY MORNING - AT SCHOOL - 17th

Jenny and Tommy were walking into the school, her mood much improved from the night before. They were debating giving the Rangers the weekend off and going to the other universe for a while. "We'll talk about this more later, Dr. Oliver" Jenny said.

It still amused him to no end that the minute they crossed the threshold to the school that he suddenly became 'Dr. Oliver' instead of 'Tommy'. She had explained that she wanted to keep their personal relationship separate from their professional relationship as much as possible. He didn't agree with the logic, especially now in light of what happened yesterday, never mind that the Rangers and their enemies knew that they were together, but he allowed her this - for now. A stray thought crossed his mind - could this tie into one of her fantasies that she hadn't told him about? He'd have to ask her about it later. Before he could respond with more than a nod, they heard another voice join the conversation.

"Mrs. Allen, I need to see you in my office. Now."

Tommy and Jenny both rolled their eyes before she pasted on a smile and turned. "Of course, Principal Randall." She turned and followed the woman as Tommy shook his head and continued to his classroom.

Jenny followed the principal to her office, where she found a number of people. Ms. Randall closed the door behind her and then moved around behind her desk and sat down. Besides the principal, the only people that Jenny recognized were the superintendent and Mr. Reed, Dean's father. The Ice Queen leveled a look at the man before allowing her gaze to skim the rest. She waited for someone to speak.

Mr. Reed spoke first. "I told you that you'd pay for assaulting me. Now you're going to get fired."

Superintendent Chambers spoke up. "Hold on, Harry. I said that we'd see." He turned his attention to Jenny. "I'd like to hear your side."

Jenny explained what had happened, with many interruptions from Mr. Reed. When she finished, she waited to see what they would say. Harry spoke up. "Do you see a mark on her? It's all a lie. And do you see how she's dressed? That skirt is way too short. Odds are she'll pop another button or two on her blouse once she reaches the classroom, too."

Jenny barely reined in her temper. "The fact that you don't see a mark on me, Mr. Reed, is irrelevant." Her voice was pure ice. "I used make up to cover the bruises you put on me. My skirt is actually two inches longer than required by regulations and I do not open buttons on my blouse."

The superintendent spoke again. "Still, these are very serious accusations, Mrs. Allen."

"I'm sure the police report will back up everything I've said about the incident last night."

The man looked uncomfortable. "Will you please step out for a minute while the board and I discuss this?"

"As you wish." Jenny left the room, realizing that she was the only one to leave. How much power did Harry Reed have? She suddenly had the feeling that she was about to be railroaded. As she waited, the bell went off signaling the end of first period and again at the start of second. She could hear the rise and fall of voices in the other room as she waited. Jenny wanted to pace, but she didn't. Finally, as the bell rang to signal the end of second period, the door opened. Ms. Randall stood there, a malevolent smile on her face and beckoned her to come in.

She entered the room, face impassive, and waited for the verdict. Superintendent Chambers spoke. "The decision of the board is suspension pending a full investigation of both accusations."

Jenny looked at him calmly. "As I've said, I have no doubt that the police report will clear me. I'd like to point out that he was arrested last night - I was not. I really don't know how you'll investigate the rest, but I'm innocent of that as well." She turned her attention to Mr. Reed. "And once I'm cleared of the rest, I'll be suing you personally for slander."

"Your suspension is effective immediately, Mrs. Allen. Please leave the school."

Jenny turned and left the office, carefully closing the door behind her. With measured steps, she headed for the door. She was almost there when she heard Kira hail her. "Mrs. Allen!"

She turned and addressed the girl. "You need to get to third period, Kira. You'll be late."

"Where are you going?"

"I'll explain later" she told the girl quietly. At regular volume she said, "Go to class."

Kira nodded and hurried away as Jenny went out the door. As she headed for her car, she texted Tommy, knowing he wouldn't get it until later. Suspended - see you at home.

As she drove, she made a call. "Crystal? I may need a lawyer out here and I want you to find me a good one."

THREE PERIODS LATER

Tommy frowned as he realized that he hadn't seen Jenny all day. Usually he saw her at least in passing, but not today. What had happened with Ms. Randall? Had Elsa done something to her? The four Rangers approached him. "Hey guys."

Conner spoke first. "Have you talked to - um - Mrs. Allen recently?"

"No, why?"

Kira spoke rapidly. "I saw her leaving the school before third period, she wasn't in our class and word around the school is that she's been fired."

Tommy strode into his classroom, opened his briefcase and snatched up his phone. He found Jenny's text. He turned his attention to the teens. "Not fired - suspended. Don't say anything to anybody until we know what's going on. Hurry up and get to your next classes."

They nodded and hurried away. He stepped back out into the hallway just in time to hear Dean Reed bragging to some of his friends. "So Dad got her fired since she's failing me. That'll teach the bitch to screw with the Reed family."

One of the other boys said, "Wait a minute. You're not doing the work and you expect her to just pass you?"

He shrugged. "That's what the last one did."

Another boy spoke - reminding Tommy far too much of Jason many years ago. "That's stupid. If you're planning to go pro, you really need to have a good grasp of the language to make sure that you understand the contracts and stuff. Otherwise, some agent could take advantage of you."

Dean waved this off. "That's what my dad and lawyers are for."

The first boy spoke again. "I'd rather be able to understand it for myself, rather than count on someone else. Besides, your dad won't be around forever. That's why I work so hard in math class - I want to make sure that I understand what's happening with my money when I go pro."

The boys moved on to their next class as Dean fell silent. Tommy grinned. Maybe there was hope for some of these boys yet. The bell rang and he headed into his classroom to try and finish the day.

AFTER SCHOOL

The Rangers followed Tommy home, eager to hear what happened. They got out of their respective cars and stopped. They could hear an odd sound coming from the backyard. Thunk - thunk - thunk - thunk. The five exchanged looks and went in. Tommy headed straight out to the deck, followed by the others. The young Rangers stared at the sight before them.

Jenny was in the yard, dressed in her uniform from the other world, facing a large board. Her jacket was on the deck so they could see the quantity of knives that adorned the black fabric. She was standing very still, head bowed. She had a knife in each hand, which she spun briefly before sliding them into sheaths that were strapped to her thighs. Tommy glanced at Kira. "Want to see who's really been training you? Watch."

Suddenly, Jenny exploded into action, moving rapidly through a kata, interspersed with knives being thrown at the board. When she was done, all the knives were stuck in the board in an area less than a foot across. In spite of having seen her skill the night before and watching her in the Danger Room in the other world, even Tommy was stunned by her speed and accuracy. By his count, twenty two knives were in the board. He suddenly had the feeling that she'd been holding back in their sparring sessions. "Whoa" one of the boys said, hushed.

Jenny made her way over to the board and began pulling knives from the wood and returning them to their places. She had no idea what time it was, but she was guessing that Tommy would be home soon and the Rangers would not be far behind. She wondered if she had time to go through another kata before they arrived. She turned away from her target and then froze, listening. Jenny turned to face the tree line, still listening as she slowly backed away. She could hear something moving in the wooded area - too large to be an animal. She sent out a thought. 'Tommy?'

His voice came from somewhere behind her. "Right here." He had seen the change in her and had come down to the yard with the other Rangers. They were only about halfway to her, when a monster leapt out of the woods. "You again?" Tommy said.

"Oh no" snickered the monster. "That was my brother, Impulse-u-pine. I'm Pity-u-pine and I brought some friends to play with you."

Tyrannodrones launched out of the woods while Pity-u-pine attacked Jenny. He turned his attention away briefly while Jenny dealt with a Tyrannodrone or two. Her opponents were defeated but her attention was diverted when she heard Kira cry out. "Trent!"

She saw that Trent was down, hit by one of the monster's quills. She turned her attention back to the monster, to find that she was already in the line of fire. Quills were coming at her as if fired from a machine gun. She moved quickly, but not quickly enough. Jenny deflected what she could, but felt the sharp, stabbing pain as a few of the projectiles found their way through her defenses. Like his brother, Pity-u-pine laughed and took off. Jenny turned her attention to Trent, hurrying over to him. She could already start to feel the effects of the quills that had hit her. Either this monster was more powerful or the multiple hits were causing the reaction to accelerate.

Jenny studied the boy's eyes as she fought against the quills. He was getting the same hazy, out of focus look that Kira and Tommy had when they had been hit. She took a breath. "Sorry, Trent."

The teen, back on his feet, turned sad, clouded eyes to her. "It doesn't matter. I deserve it. I was evil and I should suffer."

"I wasn't apologizing for that. I was apologizing for this." Swiftly, she drew back and punched him. He hit the ground, dazed.

Nobody spoke for a minute. Tommy's attention was drawn away from Trent when Kira spoke. "Jenny - he got you too." Tommy spun around and saw Jenny pull three quills and throw them down before she shook her head.

"I'm fine" she said. She knelt beside the White Ranger as he came around. "Come on, Trent. Wake up."

He blinked his eyes slowly, but Jenny could already see that they were clearing. She apologized again. "Sorry, but it worked for Dr. O and Kira."

She moved back as Conner and Ethan pulled the other boy to his feet. Tommy had been studying Jenny. As far as he could see, she wasn't suffering any ill effects from being hit, which puzzled him. He addressed her. "What about you?"

"I'm fine" she repeated. She addressed them all. "Let's go inside. You all probably want to know what happened today anyway."

She headed for the house, followed by the other Rangers. Once inside, she told them about what had happened in the conference and in the meeting in the principal's office without naming Dean or his father. "So, for the time being, I've been suspended."

"Are they crazy?" Conner said. "You don't do that."

Ethan agreed. "I would think that if you were going to show favoritism to anyone, it would be us - and you don't."

Kira shook her head. "But Ethan, I actually think that she expects more from us because of who we are - Rangers."

Jenny smiled at the girl. "Actually, Kira, you're both right. I do expect more from the four of you because you're Rangers. But since I also know what you guys go through as Rangers, it would be very easy to let you guys slide - I just don't."

Trent finally spoke. "So how is it that Pity-u-pine's quills aren't having any effect on you?" Tommy had been wondering the same thing.

Jenny gave a short, humorless laugh. "Probably because self pity and depression and I are all old friends, Trent. I learned to cope with all that some time ago."

"So it is affecting you and you're just - dealing with it?" Kira asked.

Jenny shook her head. "Not quite, Kira. I'm fighting it. I've just had a whole lot of practice." She looked at Tommy. "Remember when I let you in my files? 'If Only Things Were Different'?"

He recoiled slightly at the memory. "Is it that bad?"

"No. This is easy by comparison."

"What can we do? You can't keep fighting it."

Jenny looked offended. "Of course I can. I have to. None of you can do to me what I've had to do to you."

Conner was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I had to do to Kira and Dr. O what I had to do to Trent. Basically, their brains had to be reset. The problem now is that none of you fight at my level except Dr. O and, no offense to him, I don't know that he can do it. Even if he could, I wouldn't just let him - I've been too well trained and I'd fight back. Plus, I don't know if stunning me would fix the problem."

"Why not?" asked Ethan.

"Because I'm fighting it. I haven't given in to it like the others. Dr. O and Kira didn't know what to expect so they couldn't have fought it. I think that Pity-u-pine is stronger than his brother so Trent didn't have the chance - even if he did know what to expect." She frowned. "And now we have two of them to watch out for since we haven't seen Impulse-u-pine since he attacked us the first time."

Conner spoke up. "Wait. So we can't help you because you're fighting it? So quit fighting it so that we can."

Jenny recoiled. "No way."

Tommy caught the fear that flashed through her eyes. He spoke quietly. "Why not?"

She turned her attention to him. "Are you kidding me? You saw what it did to Trent and he was only hit with one quill. I was hit with three. With what you know about my past, what you read, do you really think I want to go back to that? Even for a minute?" She shook her head. "I can do this. I can fight it until we beat him."

Before he could respond, Kira spoke up. "You hypocrite."

Startled, Jenny turned to the girl. "What?"

Kira was mad. "I said - you hypocrite. You expect us to trust you all the time, but you don't trust us."

Jenny was surprised. "Of course I do, Kira."

The teen shook her head. "No, you don't. Either that or you're playing the 'do as I say and not as I do' card. Either way you're holding yourself to a different standard than the rest of us and, pardon my language, but it's bullshit."

"What?"

Everyone was looking at her now. Kira continued. "This is the very first lesson you taught me when you started training me. It's okay to ask for help when you need it and sometimes you don't need help even when you think you do and sometimes you do need help even when you think you don't. But you don't trust us enough to help you so you won't ask. It's not weakness to ask for help. And you don't think you need our help, but you do and you won't let us."

"No, Kira. It's not that at all. You don't understand." Jenny turned to Tommy. "Tommy-"

He shook his head. "I know what you're saying, but Kira's right too. You do hold yourself to a different standard than the rest of us. You probably can handle it, but why should you if you don't have to? We're all here and we'll help you."

"And what happens if I do stop fighting it and you guys try and reset me and it doesn't work? Then what? I'm stuck in a hole too deep and dark to climb out of."

Tommy stared in disbelief. "Do you really think we'd just leave you like that? That I'd leave you like that? That I wouldn't help you? I didn't realize that you thought so little of me, Jennifer." He realized that she sounded off somehow - and had since Kira confronted her - so he pushed her a little by calling her by her full name, something he hadn't done since her first week here.

"No, that's not it." Tommy was watching her closely. He could see her eyes starting to take on the same hazy and out of focus look that Trent's had had. "And please don't call me that. My family calls me that and you know what I think of them."

This remark gave him an idea. Maybe she wouldn't go willingly, but maybe she could be guided. "Well, if you're going to act like a stubborn child, maybe that's what you should go by - your childhood name."

He almost flinched at the wounded betrayal in her face. He could feel the other Rangers looking back and forth between them, but he didn't look away from her eyes. For once he was grateful for Conner's lack of tact when the boy spoke. "And there's your dead kid."

Tommy could see Conner out of the corner of his eye. The Red Ranger was ready to move. He knew the other teens had caught on to his plan as well when Ethan spoke next. "And you did tell us that you've been divorced - twice."

Then Kira. "And you got captured in the other world - I bet it wouldn't have happened to Wolverine. Maybe you aren't the great teacher I thought you were." Despair was in every line of Jenny's body and her eyes had a look that everyone but Trent recognized. The girl stood up. "You said that all I had to do to get out of training was to beat you. I think I can now."

Jenny saw Kira take a deep breath and turned her full attention on the girl as she braced herself for the scream that she was sure was coming. It never came. Instead, there was a rush of air, a sharp pain and everything went black.

After Conner struck her using his super speed, he spun back and caught her before she hit the floor. Everyone rushed over as he lowered her carefully. Tommy spoke quietly. "Thanks, guys."

Kira shook her head. "She's too stubborn to just give in to it. She had to be pushed."

Tommy knew that there was more to it than just that, but now wasn't the time to discuss it. They all waited impatiently for Jenny to start to come around. Finally, she stirred. "Come on, Jenny. Come back to us."

Jenny groaned and opened her eyes. She looked at the concerned faces surrounding her. Kira spoke up, anxiety in her voice. "Are you okay?"

Jenny blinked as she considered the question. "I think so."

A collective sigh of relief filled the room as she started to sit up. Many hands helped her to her feet. She looked at the Rangers, but didn't know what to say. Tommy answered the question she couldn't ask. "No, we don't actually think badly of you."

Kira added, "You didn't really give us much of a choice, you know."

"I know." She looked uncomfortable. "I just-"

"You just were doing what you thought you had to do" Ethan finished. "Yeah, we got that."

Conner said, "We aren't quite as blind as you'd like to believe."

"Especially not me" Tommy informed her. "Between what I've seen here and what I was told about you when we were in the other world, I know more than you realize."

"I- what?" She was confused.

"We'll talk about it later." He addressed the Rangers. "You guys can go ahead and go home, but keep your eyes open and let us know right away if the monsters come back - especially if you get hit. And Kira - no practice tomorrow morning."

They nodded and headed for the front door as Tommy turned back to Jenny. "Why don't you get a shower and relax a while? You probably have a headache."

She admitted that she did and headed for the stairs. Tommy went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. Sighing, he rummaged through the fridge, trying to decide what to have for dinner when the doorbell rang. Frowning, he went to answer it.

He opened the door to find two unfamiliar men on the porch. "Can I help you?"

One said, "Are you Tommy Oliver?"

"Yes."

The other one spoke next. "Is Jennifer Allen here?"

Tommy's guard came up. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

The first man pulled out a gun and leveled it at Tommy. "That doesn't matter. Is she here or not?"

Tommy remained silent as he sent a thought to Jenny. 'There are a couple of men here looking for you.'

The second man spoke. "She's here, Don, or he'd have said that she was gone."

The first man, Don, nodded. "Well, since Tommy here has no manners, I guess we'll have to invite ourselves in." He waved the gun at Tommy, indicating that he should back up. Tommy backed up slowly. Don addressed the other man. "Ben, go get a chair from the kitchen for Tommy."

When Ben returned, Don pointed to where he wanted the chair and waved Tommy to it. Once he was seated, Don produced some rope from his jacket and handed it to Ben. "Tie him up. If she has any feelings for him, it'll make it easier to get her to cave." Don smirked. "Odds are, since she's living with him, she does."

Ben finished securing Tommy to the chair and Don finally pointed the gun toward the floor. Tommy's mind was racing. What could he do? He sent her another thought. 'It's Ben and Don. Is Don your ex?'

'Yes. Hang on. I have an idea.'

A few more minutes passed and Don started to get impatient. "Where is she?"

Tommy hesitated. "She went up to take a shower. She'll probably be down soon."

"Call her."

Tommy hesitated again and Don raised the gun. Tommy gritted his teeth. "Jenny? Are you almost done?"

"In a minute!" she answered back. The tension rose in the living room as they waited. Jenny came down the stairs and took in the scene before her. Tommy was tied to a chair in front of the television facing her. Ben stood in front of and to one side of Tommy and Don was nearest her, raising the gun. Calmly, she came the rest of the way down the stairs. "Don, Ben. To what do I owe this dubious honor?" She made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"To you being a greedy, selfish bitch" Don answered. "But we're going to fix that."

"I doubt it."

"Oh you will, especially if you want to keep your little friend here alive." He waved the gun in Tommy's direction.

She sighed heavily, as if exhausted. "But if you kill him, then I have no motivation to do what you want at all. As usual, you didn't think this all the way through."

Don's face turned ugly. "I'm not the stupid one. You are. Stupid, fat, ugly, lazy, useless and lousy in bed. Odds are, nothing's changed."

Jenny's eyes flashed. "Let me explain a few things to you. I used to be fat, but I'm not now. Not everyone thinks I'm ugly just because I'm not a supermodel. I may make bad choices, but I'm not stupid. And I'm not really comfortable discussing our former sex life in front of Ben or Tommy."

Don's eyes lit up. "Oh, you aren't sleeping with him yet? Don't you think he should know how useless you are in the sack?"

Jenny looked at Don in distaste. "I don't think it's necessary to be so crude. And even if I am all those things you say I am, at least I'm sensitive to the feelings of others, unlike you."

"No, no. Don't change the subject. Does he know or not? I'm betting he doesn't know that you just lay there and do nothing."

Jenny gritted her teeth and closed her eyes briefly as her face flamed. "You really want to do this? Fine." She looked at Tommy. "I'm sorry, Tommy, but he asked for it."

Tommy nodded. "I know." He was curious what she would say, since what Don was saying didn't match what he knew about her at all - in bed or out.

She turned her attention back to Don. "I'd like to point out that every time we had sex, you got yours. I almost never did. That's a flaw in you, not me. When you wanted it, you got it. I quit making the effort for you long after you quit making it for me."

Don was angry. "Liar!"

"Really? You think I have nothing better to do than make that up? You have issues, Don, if you think that my world revolves around you. You completely ceased to be any concern of mine after the last time you called me."

"Excuse me?"

Tommy was briefly distracted when he felt someone touch his hands. Both of the other men had their attention on Jenny. He felt a tug on the ropes and barely heard AJ whisper behind him. "Hang on. I'll get you free while they're distracted."

He didn't dare respond so he returned his attention to the scene before him. Jenny was barely keeping her emotions in check. "You called me and told me that you and Rachel had been in an accident and you were at the hospital. You didn't think you should have said a little more than that? Some kind of warning that she was as bad as she was? Something so that I didn't walk in unprepared to see my baby broken and bloody? You made it sound like it was a minor accident and you two were just there to get checked over before she came home!"

Don responded, "I didn't know what to say!"

"You didn't even let me know that she was hurt at all! What kind of person lets a mother walk into that?"

"That doesn't matter now - she's dead and you need to get over it." He aimed the gun squarely at her. "Now, back to business. You are going to give us all the money you have and you're going to arrange for the rest of it to come to us as you get it."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "I get that you think that I'm that stupid, but do you really think that Crystal is? You think that she won't question this?"

Don's finger tightened on the trigger. "Make sure that she doesn't."

"Unfortunately, that'll take days. I could call her right now and tell her to do it, but she won't believe me. She knows me well enough to know that there is no way that I'd give in to you now after fighting you in court all those times."

Ben spoke up. "So you transfer the money to me."

"That won't work either. She knows about every demand you've made of me so she'll question that too."

Don's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Then you call her and change your will."

"And what? You'll kill us both? Yeah, because nobody will question that. What are you thinking?" Jenny could see the police cars through the front window. She kept her attention on Don. "There's no way for you to get away with this."

Tommy felt the ropes fall away from his wrists. He turned his attention to Ben. The man was paying him no attention. He looked at Jenny, gave a small nod and prepared to take him out. At that moment, the front door flew open. "Freeze! Police!"

Tommy dove at Ben, took him to the floor and pinned him. He looked up. Don had somehow gotten to Jenny. He stood behind her with one arm around her throat and the gun pointed at her temple. "Back off!" Don barked.

Don started pulling her backward toward the kitchen. "We're going to leave and nobody better stop us or she dies."

The officer addressed him. "If you give up now, it's only attempted kidnapping. If you kill her, it's murder."

Nobody moved for a minute. Don pulled her again. "Unless I get away. Then you got nothing."

Jenny spoke quietly. "And your sons never see their father again? Are you going to fail them like you did Rachel?"

He tightened his arm and pressed the gun tighter into her temple. "Shut up! Better that they never see me than see me in prison!"

Jenny took a deep breath and looked at Tommy. "I'm sorry you got caught up in this. I love you."

Before Tommy could respond, Don snarled, "As if you have any idea what love is."

"Probably better than you do. Once upon a time, you claimed to love me. Then you cheated on me and left me for another woman."

"First of all, I didn't cheat until you did. Second of all, I do love her. Third, I never loved you. You were just a convenient piece of ass until you got knocked up."

Jenny couldn't keep the triumph out of her voice. "So you did cheat. I-"

Don pulled back the hammer of the gun. "That's enough."

"I couldn't agree more" she said. Swiftly, she shoved the gun away from her head as she slammed her elbow into his gut and stomped on his foot. His arm loosened around her throat. She turned her head and ducked her chin, dropping out of his grip. She didn't let go of his gun hand as she turned and punched him in the face. Don fell, pulling her with him. As they hit the ground, the gun went off.

Police surged into the house and over the struggling pair. Tommy waited anxiously, not relaxing his grip on Ben until an officer came and took custody of him. Unexpectedly, a gun went off again. But whose? Was anyone hit?

Finally, things were under control. Don, cursing and spitting, was taken out in handcuffs. Tommy approached the scene. Jenny was sitting on the stairs, arms wrapped around herself. She looked up at Tommy's voice. "Sweetheart? Are you okay?"

"Are you?" she asked. He could hear how tightly she was controlling herself.

He drew her into his arms. "I'm fine. Are you hurt?" he asked insistently.

"No. Just a little shaken."

"Just hang on. We'll have to give statements and then-"

She nodded. "I know."

Two hours later, the house was empty except the two of them. They sat on the couch, holding each other tightly. They were quiet for a long time. Finally, Jenny spoke. "I should let Crystal know what happened."

Tommy, reluctant to let her go, responded, "It'll keep until tomorrow. It's been a rough day."

"Yeah, but at least we don't have to worry about my ex and my brother in law any more."

Suddenly, Tommy frowned. "I wonder why your sister didn't call and let us know that he was coming."

"She might not know yet. I'm sure she'll call in the next day or so."

They fell silent once more, each lost in their own thoughts and memories. Tommy started to connect things that she had said in the past with what was said today. He was startled out of his thoughts when she spoke softly. "He was wrong about one thing."

"From what I heard, he was wrong about a lot of things. What are you talking about?"

"I never cheated on him. He thought I did, but I didn't - I never would have."

"Why would he even think that? Especially after your first husband cheated on you, what made him think that?"

"Because he's an insecure jackass. We were hanging out with a group of his friends. One of them wanted something he'd forgotten at home. He didn't drive and nobody wanted to take him. I ended up driving him home and waited in the car while he ran in. He was gone a long time and returned empty handed. He couldn't find what he went for so we went back. That's when Don accused me - and his friend - of cheating."

"Apparently, he didn't trust his 'friend' either."

"That's what we said. It wasn't long after that little scene that the group broke up for the night."

"I'm not surprised." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You know, some things you said a long time ago finally makes sense."

Jenny looked up at him. "What? When?"

"One was before Halloween, I think. You made a comment about the right partner making all the difference."

"I don't remember saying that, but I do remember thinking it. What else?"

"Back after we came home and before you got sick, you remember that night?"

She smiled. "Oh, yes - quite well. Why?"

"After you - took care of me - and I wanted to do the same for you. You said that it didn't matter if I did and that I didn't have to."

"Actually, what I meant was it didn't matter if I did or not."

Tommy surprised Jenny when he reached over and pulled her onto his lap. He turned her face toward him and kissed her. He spoke again, punctuating his words with more kisses. "I find" kiss "it hard" kiss "to believe" kiss "that any man" kiss "could resist" kiss "the urge" kiss "to please" kiss "a sexy woman" kiss "like you." He kissed her firmly, holding her close. When he pulled back, they were both breathing heavily. "And I think it's a damn shame that you were neglected like that. It does matter."

"Tommy, believe me when I say that you have more than made up for any neglect I've suffered in the past."

His hands started to wander. "Oh, I think I can do better. Shall we find out?"

Suddenly, she stilled for a minute and then pulled back. "You have nothing to prove, honey - to either of us."

His voice deepened as he answered her. "I know. But, sweetheart, I want you so badly right now, it almost hurts. I need you." His hands continued to roam as he reduced his volume to almost a whisper, his voice almost becoming hypnotic. "I need you so much right now. I need to feel you under me and around me. I need to look into your eyes as I make love to you. I need to hear you say my name in that breathless way you do right before you tighten around me and I need to hear you cry out when you do." He swallowed hard. "Please, Jen."

She kissed him as her hands made short work of the fastenings on his slacks and she slid one hand inside. Some corner of her mind realized that things had been so crazy that he hadn't had a chance to change clothes since he'd been home. He groaned deep in his chest and his hands made short work of her jeans. He laid her down on the couch, his need so strong that he didn't even wait to rid either of them of the rest of their clothes before he eased himself into her.

Once he was fully inside her, she wrapped her legs around him. They both moaned as he began to move. She closed her eyes in pleasure. His voice was soft and deep and thick with need. "Baby, please. Look at me. I need you with me."

She opened her eyes and locked her gaze on him. The look in her eyes made his heart pound even harder. She pulled him down for another kiss which he immediately deepened. As his need for her grew even more, he became more forceful, the fire in his blood consuming him. She broke the kiss gasping for air as she breathed, "Tommy, please."

"Yes" he hissed, staring into her eyes once more. He moved harder and faster. "Say it again."

"Please, Tommy" she whimpered. Words were lost to her now - all but one. "Tommy!" At her cry, he thrust deep into her, holding her tightly against him as he let go as well. Need finally sated for the moment, he collapsed on her, panting harshly. She slid her hands under his shirt and stroked his back gently as she waited for him to recover.

When he caught his breath, he started to rise, but she held him. "Stay" she said softly.

He shifted slightly to take some of his weight off of her. He kissed her gently. "We could just move to the bedroom."

"In a minute." She returned to rubbing his back for a few more minutes as they continued to kiss sweetly. Finally she released him. He rose and then pulled her to her feet. "Before we go up, we should probably get something to eat. I have the feeling we might need the fuel." She winked at him suggestively.

Tommy kissed her hard. "Woman, you are insatiable."

"Your fault" she retorted. They redressed and headed for the kitchen. Her thoughts wandered as they made dinner. Suddenly, she remembered something as they sat down and started to eat.

"Um, honey?"

"Hmm?"

Jenny bit her lip. "This is going to seem like it's coming from out of nowhere, but I just remembered something."

He looked at her, an amused smile on his face. "As if today hasn't been eventful enough?"

"It'll keep if you want. It's waited this long."

He chuckled. "No, it's fine. What is it?"

"The day after Christmas, when the Rangers were here, do you remember me telling you that I still had one more present for you?"

He thought for a moment then grinned at her. "Yes, but I thought that you gave me my other present after we went to the bedroom."

She smirked at him. "And you call me insatiable."

He shrugged. "I can't help it if that's become my favorite kind of present from you. You started it with my late birthday present. So that wasn't it?"

"No, but do you want it anyway?"

"Considering the awesome gifts you're always giving me, of course I do. One day, I'll get you something more awesome than you get me."

She held up her left hand, brandishing her engagement ring. "You already have."

"Opinions vary."

She shot him a look of exasperation as she stood up. "I'll be right back." She returned a few minutes later and handed him a package. She sat down and watched nervously as he opened it.

It was a book, not much larger than a paperback, but bound in leather. There was no title on the spine. He opened it to the title page. It read: A Tale of Two Lovers By Jennifer Allen. Slowly, he turned to the dedication page. Here it read: For Tommy - my inspiration, my one true love and the holder of the only copy of this book. Yours Forever, Jenny.

He looked up at her, stunned. "You wrote me a book?" She nodded, unsure what to say. Did he like it? Hate it? "I can't believe that you did this for me."

She took a deep breath. "Novel, actually. Um, just one other thing. I wouldn't leave that where the Rangers might find it. Or Jason. Or Hayley. Or Kim. Well, anybody really."

He glanced up at her curiously to find her watching him anxiously. Tommy opened the book to a random page, started to read and stopped almost immediately, mouth falling open. Now he understood her warning. "You wrote me - an erotic novel?"

"Yes?" she answered softly, still unsure of his reaction.

He sagged in his chair, hung his head and looked sad. "How do you keep doing that?"

Jenny's stomach clenched. "What?"

"Getting me better gifts than I get you." He raised his head, a gleam in his eyes. "Best. Gift. Ever."

She exhaled in relief. "You really like it? You're not just saying that?"

"Are you kidding me? You wrote me a novel. There's no way I can ever top that. It's awesome." He paused. "Actually, it's the second best gift ever. You're still my favorite gift ever."

He set the book down and quickly finished eating, glancing at it from time to time. Jenny noticed. "Honey, if you're done eating and you want to, you could go and start reading while I clean up in here." He hesitated. "It's okay. Go ahead."

He rose, snatched up the book and headed for the living room. He stopped in the doorway, turned back to her and kissed her. "You're spoiling me."

She smiled and said, "You deserve to be spoiled once in a while."

Jenny turned her attention to cleaning up the kitchen, taking her time. Thirty minutes later, she was done. She jumped slightly as Tommy slid his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss to her neck. In a low voice, he said, "I may have to call off work tomorrow."

She hid her grin as she turned in his arms. "Well, I believe I still owe you a hooky day."

He kissed her firmly. "As if I don't have enough ideas of my own, you gave me a book loaded with more. You, my love, have a rich imagination and I love it." He drew her toward the stairs as he spoke. "We might even have to turn off all the phones to make sure we aren't interrupted."