The final chapter of this series. Hit some writer's block with this one on how to end, down to the final sentence. Thank you all for your kind comments throughout this process and I hope this chapter does the rest of the story justice. Enjoy!

Chapter 24- The Evolution of Adult Relationships

Six months later…

"Oh, bloody hell! You had that!" Duncan yelled from the living room. Britta and Annie exchanged a smirk and went back to their tasks. Jeff and (mostly) Annie had planned a dinner party for the "couples", so she was making sure everything was perfect. Britta had recently started using her bartending skills to branch out into mocktails for her and Ian. Much to everyone's surprise, she was actually getting pretty good at it and had expanded out from virgin mudslides and Shirley Temples. She wanted to be supportive of her new boyfriend's sobriety and help him realize there are other things to drink besides root beer and water.

"Jeff, you want one? They're really good." Britta brought over two drinks to the guys on the couch and Ian eagerly took his. Jeff gave him an unconvinced look and Duncan nodded back to give his approval. He rolled his eyes and sighed as he took the drink. With Britta watching closely, Jeff took a sip and closed his eyes, defeated.

"Damnit, that's good." She smiled wide and went back to the kitchen to "help" Annie with dinner, even though she wouldn't accept any.

"I told you they were good." Annie said without looking up from chopping.

"You have to admit, he can be a strong critic. It's nice to hear it from him." Annie took a break from her task and stood next to Britta who was leaned up against the counter watching Jeff and Ian.

"If you had told me a year ago this is what we'd be doing today, I would not have believed you." Britta laughed. "Yeah, seriously. Who would have thought, huh? A year ago, the school was falling apart as it always was, you and Jeff were still pretending like you didn't like each other and Ian was just our creepy, drunk professor."

"Hey Britta? Can I ask for your advice on something?" Britta looked over at her, intrigued. "I'm having a dilemma and I need help deciding what to do. I haven't told Jeff because I know what he'll say, which is not necessarily what he wants rather what he thinks I want-"

"Annie, just tell me what it is."

"There's an internship I want to apply for. It's at the FBI headquarters in D.C."

"Holy shit, Annie. That's amazing!" Britta hugged her with genuine happiness.

"Yeah. I might not even get it, so I don't know why I'm even overthinking this."

"Seriously? You will absolutely get it!" Britta suddenly realized this wasn't the problem Annie was having. "Oh, you're afraid you'll get it because of Jeff."

"We finally got here and what, I'm just supposed to throw that away? But this is my career. How am I supposed to pick just one?"

After a few seconds of intense thought, Britta spoke. "Who says you have to pick?" Annie rolled her eyes and scoffed at her.

"If it were that easy, I wouldn't be having a meltdown."

"But it is. Why do you have to pick? Bring Jeff with you. I'm sure he would do it to be with you. He doesn't want to lose you either, so why not just drag him along? He can get a job in D.C."

"You think so?"

"Of course! You just need to talk to him. He would do anything for you, Annie."

"Yes! Liverpool wins again!" Ian yelled as he got up from the couch and ran to the bathroom. Jeff looked back at Annie and gave her one of his shy smiles. As always, she melted. She figured now was as good a time as any to bring up what she had been dreading for days now. She walked over to Jeff and took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Well, hey beautiful." Jeff said as he gave her a kiss.

"Hey, you." Annie just stayed there, looking into his dreamy blue eyes. It was easy to get sidetracked looking into those things. "Jeff, I need to tell you something."

"Oh no, did you forget the toilet olives?" He said with a smirk.

"No, those are reserved for only the fanciest parties. But seriously, I need to tell you about something..."

"What is it?"

Annie took a moment to build up her confidence. "There's this internship that I was going to apply for."

"Okay. Why do you not sound enthused about this? What's the problem?"

"It's for the FBI…in D.C."

"The FBI? My Annie working for the FBI. That's so badass."

"You're not upset?"
"Why would I be upset?"

"I'd have to move to D.C. Do you know how far that is?"

"I take it I'm not invited?", Jeff said, trying to mask his bruised ego with sarcasm.

Annie's eyes lit up. "You want to come with me?"

"Of course I do! I'm not losing you now, after everything we've been through. I mean, if you want me to, that is."

Annie's eyes began to fill with tears. She was speechless. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his neck. As they hugged, Jeff whispered into her ear.

"I'd do anything for you, Annie. I love you."

Dinner was almost ready as Abed and Rachel arrived with dessert.

"Sorry we're so late. The new Kick Puncher trailer came out and we had to dissect it." Rachel said, apologetically.

"They're trying way too hard with this one. It's going to be awful. I can't wait." Abed said as he placed the box down on the counter.

"Well, dinner is just about ready, so take a seat. There's wine and water on the table or Britta's making mocktails, which is the current crowd pleaser." Abed and Rachel were intrigued by Britta's drinks and each took one before claiming their seats.

"Holy shit, Britta. This is really good!" Rachel exclaimed after taking a sip. Britta smiled as she went back to work making more.

"Yeah, keeping sober with her in the house has been so much easier. She's quite the bartender." Ian gushed as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm surprised she has time to come up with all of these things while she's finishing up school and doing an internship with Dr. Farish." Britta smirked as she brought two more drinks over to the table for her and Ian.

"Oh yes, I'm just a modern-day Wonder Woman."

"Internship with a therapist? Has that been done before?" Abed asked, searching his memory for show concepts.

"Don't think so. Therapists, yes. I don't think my internship would be all that interesting, though. I mostly drink coffee and listen to people whine about their suburban problems."

"Interesting. Very interesting. Maybe I should bring that to the producers in LA." Everyone froze and looked at Abed. "Oh, Rachel and I are moving to LA. We're going to intern at NBC."

"Holy shit, guys! That's amazing, congratulations!" Britta grabbed her glass and held it up. "To us. We fucking made it."

The rest of the group raised their glasses in celebration. As Annie took a sip of her mocktail, she looked around the table at her best friends who were all genuinely happy. As she looked over at Jeff, she saw him smiling at her. One of many stolen glances they had shared over the years, but somehow this one meant more.

She was finally sure that this wouldn't be the last one.