Chapter 10: Introduction to Algesia
Summary: Nerves are frayed as everyone takes care of Annie
A/N: We're back from our side adventure to Dildopolis...
Jeff considered that the past few days had been a blur. They had married Mark off, all had gone smoothly, and he and Annie had enjoyed a nice date night from the event, having secured his mother as a babysitter, but it was kind of a hectic way to begin a week. He wondered who even got married on a Sunday. The day before of course had been his daddy date as Annie had phrased it, and while that was nice, it was also kind of hectic due to attending to the baby, managing Trobed antics with the other kids, and dealing with the current emotional heft of the Andre situation. Of course, there had also been the Frankie thing.
Frankie had attempted to intrude and play an awkward round of Mario Brothers, but he had quickly rebuffed her and rescheduled to a date that week. Unfortunately, said date was now, and he had kind of forgotten about it, plus there had been another complication.
He balanced Sebastian, who was strapped to his chest, and continued to address the classroom as he avoided the piercing eyes of Frankie as she entered from the back and was tapping her clipboard while taking a back row seat.
"We have five points to consider when deposing a witness. All of these are important." He gestured toward the blackboard and then continued, "but these are mere formalities and easily memorizable. The most important aspect in witness deposition is to….?" He waited for a response.
Garrett immediately shot up his hand and screeched, "PUT THE WITNESS AT EASE!"
Jeff closed his eyes, as did the rest of the classroom, and then opened them once he had regained some balance.
"Very good. Yes, Garrett is correct."
Garrett opened his mouth in what was probably a smile and then wiped some perspiration from his brow. Unfortunately he was oblivious to the copious amounts flowing from his armpits.
Jeff added, "The most important thing is that the witness feel calm. There are ways to do this, but one is through your tone. Always prep the witness and talk in an even and soothing voice…"
It likely did not escape Frankie's notice that he was in fact speaking in such a soothing tone so as to keep Sebastian at ease. He had started to fuss immediately before Jeff had switched from brief writing to witness deposition. While he had normally not planned on doing that today, he needed a quick way to calm his son down before there were full on screams. If the class was confused by the shift, then that was not his problem.
God, he wondered when Annie would be back.
"Mister Winger?"
He smiled indulgently at Leonard and braced for it. "Yes?"
"I was just wondering if by keeping the witness at ease it could involve a variety of tactics, let's say physical." Leonard licked his lip and then held his mouth in a perfect O as he glanced around the room to await everyone's reaction.
The class groaned, and Jeff winced. Keeping his eyes off Frankie as he really did not want to be distracted, he bounced Sebsatian a couple more times while patting him and said sternly, "Absolutely not." He held back his urge to offer a retort along the lines of, We all know you're good at keeping women calm in bed, Leonard. I talked to your ex wife, but held his tongue.
"No fair."
"Cut it out, Leonard, or I'll tell the class what you wrote for answer number five on last week's quiz."
"I'm not ashamed of it."
Swiftly ignoring him, Jeff turned toward the pretty girl whom Garrett was always trying to talk to. She was seated in the front row, per usual, and Garrett was sniffing her hair from behind, but she either didn't seem to care or didn't notice.
"Stacy?"
"Mister Winger, I was wondering if it would help if we split into duos like we did last week and practiced questioning a witness? It was really helpful."
He wondered if she were helping him out, knowing that the baby had been fussy a moment ago. She had been making cooing faces at Sebastian along with some of the other female students, and he suddenly realized that perhaps he didn't need to put so much pressure on himself in this situation. Afterall, his mother had plopped Sebastian in his arms about fifteen minutes ago without explanation, and although he liked to assume there was a very good reason, part of him was pretty irritated and assumed that Annie had gotten roped into some Dean mess.
He patted Sebastian once again and looked down to see him staring up at him with wide eyes. Jeff's heart softened and he placed a kiss on his head and said, "What do you think, squirt? Shall we have everyone split into pairs? You can help me go around and listen."
"Goooo!"
"Okay, that's settled. Everyone, pair up."
"MISTER WINGER, SHOULD WE TALK TO THE SAME PERSON LIKE LAST TIME?!"
Suddenly remembering that he had created some A-B scheme to couple up the students last week on advice from Annie and that Garrett had ended up with Stacy, he quickly said, "Let's try different partners."
"Actually, Mister Winger, would it be okay if we kept the same partner? I was hoping I could try a different tactic but I don't know if it would work if it's someone new."
Jeff stared at Stacy, who was affecting an aura of nonchalance, but he saw right through it. Her eyes shifted somewhat as Garrett once again sniffed her hair, and Jeff held back an incredulous smile.
Did Garrett have game?
He shook himself and thought he'd see how this played out. Aloud, he said, "You know what, Stac, you made an excellent point. Everyone, pair up with the same partner as last week, and this time try a variation on your deposition strategy. Sebastian and I will make our rounds, so keep on task."
There were various murmurs and screeches of chairs plus Garrett before the students all got to work. Jeff pulled up the powerpoint slide from the deposition scenario from last week, silently thanking Annie again for having suggested that, and then made his way straight toward Frankie, wanting to get whatever was going on over with.
Her eyes shot up from her clipboard as he neared, and she indicated with her head so that he could sit beside her. Obeying, he whispered, "As you can see, this isn't a good time for our one-on-one time. I'm teaching a class, and yes, I have my infant son strapped to my chest. Clearly it's an emergency."
Frankie smiled slightly and then produced a teething ring from her briefcase and held it up to Sebastian. While robotically moving it back and forth a couple times before handing it over to a spitty hand, she tilted her head and gave a curt nod. Jeff watched the whole interaction with fascination. Sebastian grinned and began to make more gooing noises before shoving the ring into his mouth and chomping down on it with his gums. There was a flicker of surprise in Frankie's eyes before she turned her attention to him.
"I know, Jeff. Your mother filled me in. Although I don't like the optics of me as a woman doing this, I am here to relieve you. I will take your baby for the next forty five minutes so you can finish teaching your class. I just looked up how to hold one." She reached her hands stiffly outward and waited.
"Oh, no, I don't think so." Instinctively, he pulled Sebastian a little closer, even if he was already strapped to him. The baby then laid his head on his chest, and Jeff once again gave him a little peck before continuing, "As much as this was unexpected, clearly I can still teach my class. We can make it through the next forty five minutes."
"It isn't proper procedure. You know that."
Glancing around the room at the babbling students, Jeff remarked, "The students are fine with it. Half of them already offered to hold him, but see I don't think that's proper, so I declined. But they've quickly adjusted. Sebastian will just have to be my assistant today." He paused and then added, "But you know how you could really help me out? You could go extricate Annie from whatever mess she got mixed up in. Then we could reunite her with our son so I can get to the office, where I have another meeting with Borchert scheduled in ninety minutes."
He waited, wondering why she hadn't already come to that conclusion, and as she was about to open her mouth he had a sinking feeling he had missed something. Crap.
"I didn't want to distract you, but that won't be possible. Annie is indisposed."
Her tone didn't give him reassurance, and he felt a sinking in his gut.
"What do you mean?"
Frankie pat Sebastian awkwardly on the head and smiled slightly at him before resuming eye contact and stating, "She isn't feeling well. Your mother thinks it's a migraine. I will look up remedies as soon as I take your baby from you, but right now Dorie seems to be handling it. Annie's in Craig's office on the couch. Luckily Craig is out on a personal day today."
He instantly felt like an ass, and a flash of Annie laid out in the Dean's office a couple years ago went through his mind. That had been in the middle of some insanity with Adam or something, and Annie had been in high stress mode. He considered that she seemed so happy lately, and he kicked himself for having missed any signs she wasn't.
Quickly assessing the situation, he gulped and said, "Okay, here's the deal. I am going to leave this classroom now and help Annie. You will let me do this because clearly my class is doing fine on their own…"
Frankie interrupted him with a pointed look, and for some reason he stopped talking. It was a first.
"You will stay here and teach. Annie is in capable hands, but I will grant you that she could be in better hands. So I will trust that your baby here won't be too much of a disruption to your classroom and I will study up on migraine management and get right to it."
Before he could even react, she had stood. With a puff of the chest and an almost imperceptible brush of her hair, she looked toward the door.
She mumbled, "Right. You can do this, Frankie."
And she was gone.
Jeff was left with a sense of deja vu.
X
X
Immediately after class, Jeff rushed back to Administration, only stopping into the mens room for a few minutes to change Sebastian on the newly installed changing table. He wouldn't have taken the time except the baby really didn't like having a wet diaper and he didn't want Annie to think he couldn't handle their son. He knew even if she were in immense pain, she'd be worried about him and would be relieved that he was all happy, safe, and dry. Jeff paused briefly to inhale his baby scent and recognize that he had in fact kept their son content during the odd classroom time, for the kid was smiling and cooing away as they zoomed around the corner and came to the front desk.
"Mom!"
She swiveled around in her chair and smiled wearily, her eyes then landing on Sebastian.
"I'm so sorry dear that I left you with him."
Although he suspected she was addressing his son rather than him on that one, he made the pragmatic decision not to get into that now and began to unwrap the baby.
"Do you mind taking him so I can go check on Annie?"
"Of course not, dear." She stood and let him in back of the counter, readily accepting Sebastian. She then added, "She's been doing a little better, but I think I was frankly doing more harm than good sitting with her. She told me to leave her alone, which having only had one migraine in my life, I guess I can only faintly empathize with, dear. I recall it being a miserable experience and only time made it better."
"Yeah, that's what she tells me, but I think she'll do better at home."
"I thought you had to work, dear?"
"I do. But I'll explain it to Borchert and I think he'll understand. Would you mind picking up Sophie in a couple hours? She's with Anthony and Rachel this afternoon."
There was only a flash of apprehension across her face, but he noticed it. She then smiled in that way she did when she was only being polite and replied, "Of course, dear."
"Thanks, Mom. I know you're not a fan of Rachel."
"I'll do whatever I can to help, dear. And you know how much I love to greet my granddaughter. I'll bring her something special. Like a cookie."
He leaned over and gave her an impulsive kiss to the temple, patting Sebastian on the head before standing back upright.
"I'll take the squirt with us, but I might need some help getting Annie and him into the car. Is Buzz around?"
There was a rapid click of heels and then Frankie appeared from the hallway and deftly lifted the counter to step in. She looked between them for a moment before announcing, "I've read up and I think I've got this."
"Thank you, Frankie, but Annie just needs to go home."
"I'll help you."
X
X
Jeff was carrying Annie, Frankie trailing with Sebastian. They were halfway across the parking lot when Jeff remembered he needed to call Borchert and reschedule. It was an odd meeting anyway since apparently Borchert was now refusing to live in the creaky old house that he and Mark had set him up in, and Jeff didn't know where they could convince him to stay. It hadn't been top of his mind until he had spotted Elroy's RV near the edge of the lot. Outside was Borchert, gesturing ambiguously as Elroy barked at him.
"You have to be patient! She's got some quirks is all!" Elroy took off his purple framed glasses and began polishing them with a handkerchief as he scowled.
Borchert shouted back, "I don't need to be calm! She's my soulmate!"
"Quirks don't mean she can't be saved!"
Jeff made a mental note to avoid that mess and have Mark or Penelope deal with it. He decided to text them both instead.
X
X
About thirty minutes later they arrived at the house, Jeff silently conflicted about Frankie's role in all of this. She had been tremendously helpful in getting the baby into the car so he could carry Annie and get her strapped in, and Annie seemed to be relieved that someone as capable as Frankie was with her. Although he couldn't imagine what Frankie had learned about migraines in only forty five minutes that would be of any earth shattering news, her mere presence seemed to calm Annie, as did her procurement of dark sunglasses which she had swiftly placed over Annie's eyes.
Frankie leaned forward from the backseat of the SUV, Jeff having left his Lexus in the campus parking lot. Her side profile briefly unnerved him, but he continued to pull into the driveway.
"Annie, we are at your house. I have your baby all settled here in the backseat with me. I will unbuckle him and take him inside. No need to tell me where he goes, for I will take a look around and find his crib. I have also texted Britta, and she will be calling me soon to talk me through some things." Frankie grabbed a headset from somewhere and placed it on her head and connected it to her phone.
"Awww, thank you, Frankie. I'm so glad you're here."
Jeff killed the engine and then turned to regard his wife as Frankie reversed into the backseat. Annie was still wearing the sunglasses, which seemed almost comically large for her head, but he could tell from the glimpse of her temple that she was wincing. Her hand was still gripping Sebastian's bear, something he had tossed at her in the scramble into the car, and he hoped she wouldn't rip its head off.
He whispered, "Annie, I'm going to come around the other side and get you. Then we'll get you into bed."
"Thank you."
He sighed and got out of the SUV. After giving Frankie instructions and trusting she knew how not to break their baby cause what choice did he have at that point, he helped Annie out and then swung her back into his arms.
"You don't have to carry me."
"We're going over the threshold, milady." He paused and kissed her on the temple, but only lightly as he didn't want to make anything worse. "I love you."
"Love you, too."
X
X
About fifteen minutes later, Jeff descended the steps and entered the living room to find Frankie, her head turned away from him, seated on the floor. Sebastian was on his blanket and on his tummy, seeming to be just about to start off on a scooting adventure. Frankie was speaking into her headset.
"This has been very helpful, Britta. I have learned some things."
There was a pause.
"I realize we haven't, as Abed says, had many scenes together, but I hope we can remedy that. I am told you are threatened by my use of your boyfriend, but rest assured you have nothing to fear. I don't believe in mixing business with personal, not that I would be interested in Ian personally."
Jeff crossed his arms, leaned against the wall, and tilted his head as he continued to eavesdrop in complete fascination.
There was a pause during which Britta was saying something and Frankie leaned over and redirected Sebastian to stay on the large blanket.
"I see. Well, I don't believe I will answer that. I don't make my sexuality part of my job."
Jeff just about choked.
There was another pause.
"Which one of you is asking?"
Frankie then winced as she removed her headset, as if startled by a large noise. Even from his distance away, Jeff could hear Ian's muffled words.
"I don't even care! I hate her! She makes me stay after hours!"
And then Britta's.
"You ass! You do want her! I can tell! Well I'm pretty sure she's not playing for your team! In fact, I bet she's more interested in me!"
"Bloody woman! Wait, do you think so?! We should all have a chat!"
"Woof!"
Frankie killed the connection and shook her head. Although a bit dizzy from all of that bizarre information but relieved that Ruffles was apparently still in Ian's care, Jeff refocused on the current situation and made his presence known with a tap on the wall as he completely entered the room.
"Hey, thanks for helping out. Annie's settled in."
"It's not a problem."
He smiled and finally allowed himself to appreciate Frankie's assistance. She seemed to be trying hard to win them all over, and he figured even if they hadn't gotten their official one on one time today they certainly had a couple scenes together and it seemed to be going just fyne.
"I'm just gonna make Annie some tea. Would you mind just keeping an eye on him for a few minutes? I'll call you a cab to take you back to campus."
Her eyes lit up in that way they did before she was about to make a slightly condescending speech, but then she seemed to consider something and paused before saying, "I would be glad to watch Sebastian for a few minutes. And yes, I suppose I should be heading back to Greendale soon." She paused and then remarked in an ambiguous tone, "I see you know about tea."
Frowning, for he wasn't sure where she was going with this, he said, "Annie likes tea."
"I didn't know that, but ginger does help. Although ice might be better for the migraine, perhaps a ginger tea would do the trick, even if it is hot. Unless Annie is one of the few who prefer heat to ice."
He stopped from his half step toward the kitchen, realizing that Annie did seem to prefer ice packs when this happened, but it had been so long that it had slipped his mind. Now that he thought about it, he didn't recall her wanting tea last time.
Aloud he mused, "Right. Ice is better for her."
Almost comically springing to her feat, Sebastian now in her arms, Frankie chirped, "I'll make her an iced ginger tea. Tell me where you keep the lavender or peppermint oils." With her free hand, she patted him on the arm, and he wasn't sure if it was patronizing or if she was trying to be reassuring. He stared at her for a moment and then cocked his head.
"I don't know if we have oils."
Frankie nodded, her eyes drifting to the side as she seemed to work through something. She then handed him Sebastian, who had been oddly comfortable in her arms but was also pretty excited to see Jeff.
"Hey there, squirt."
"Gooooo!"
"I'll look around the kitchen."
"Thanks, Frankie."
Within a split second, she was gone and he sighed as he maneuvered a now squirming Sebastian and walked back over to the space they had designated as a crawling area. He was aware of some clacking of cupboards and then a whistling teapot, and finally a crushing of ice. He turned his head from watching Sebastian scoot and saw a flash of Frankie as she went upstairs. A few minutes later she returned and popped back in the kitchen. Although he was worried about Annie, he judged that she was in capable hands, and although Frankie had done well with Sebastian, he still wasn't convinced she had mastered baby care and decided his main role in the present moment was to continue to keep their son alive. It was a smart choice, one that Annie would understand. Plus taking the baby upstairs with him to check on Annie just seemed a bit inconsiderate.
He briefly reflected that he, as Abed would say, had demonstrated significant emotional growth over the past few years.
There was a knock on the door, and he frowned wondering why the person hadn't rang the bell while also being relieved that they hadn't so as not to disturb Annie. He grabbed Sebastian and the bear and stood, making his way to the door and opening it to reveal Rachel and Sophie.
"Daddy! I'm home!"
"Hey munchkin." He was grinning like an idiot, but he didn't care. Sophie was holding Rachel's hand and standing firming in front of the door, her Dora the Explorer backpack slung over one shoulder and her bear wedged under her free arm. She peered up at him through her candy-striped framed glasses and matched his expression.
"Hi, Jeff."
It took a minute for him to register that Rachel brought Sophie home versus his mother, as he was still managing Sebastian and in the process of letting the munchkin through the door. Rachel then stepped inside and closed the door, turning to take in the sight of the living room. Sebastian's toys were strewn about, as were Ruffles'. Sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference. There was a flash of judgment and then she smiled politely and addressed him.
"I hope you don't mind, but I thought it would be more efficient for me to bring Sophie home rather than your mother. She explained to me the situation, and I thought since I'm Anna's mother and have seen her through many migraines, I could fix it."
He really didn't know how to react to that one. He supposed it made sense that she would be concerned about Annie, and she probably had seen Annie battle a number of migraines in her life. He suddenly felt a little bad, having sent his mother over to convey the news and considered perhaps he should have just called Rachel himself. At the same time, he knew that Annie's mother was at times the source of Annie's stress and he hadn't ever known for sure how things went down when Annie had a migraine in front of her. But looking at Rachel now and seeing what appeared to be genuine concern on her face got to him.
"I'm really sorry I didn't call you. I think I was a bit overwhelmed in getting Annie back here."
"Oh you must have been. And you have the baby too." She tapped Sebastian's drooly chin and almost imperceptibly cringed and then took out a tissue from her purse to wipe her finger.
"I drew a bunch of stuff with Bubbe and Uncle Anthony. I can show you Sebastian, but I need to show Mister Flufferstein first."
"We also worked on her reading. She's doing very well."
Jeff reached forward and placed his hand on Sophie's shoulder and said, "Hey there. Let's stay down here for a little bit. Mommy's upstairs and she's sick."
Sophie looked crestfallen. "Mommy's sick?"
"Yeah, but she'll be okay. She just needs to get some sleep so we need to stay quiet and down here."
"I wanna go see her. I'll show her my drawings and she'll feel better."
"She's sleeping. You can show her later."
"But I wanna see Mister Flufferstein." Sophie cocked her head and added, "I hear her. She's crying. She needs her lettuce."
Although Sophie was usually pretty crafty about the guinea pig situation, he suddenly did hear a faint squeaking from upstairs. Crap.
"How about I go get Mister Flufferstein from your room and bring her downstairs, okay?"
"Yay! Bubbe can you help me get the lettuce? Pretty please?"
Rachel, who had been listening to the whole interplay with wide eyes, nodded absentmindedly and accepted Sophie's tug as she began heading to the kitchen. Jeff placed his hand on Sophie once again and said, "Hey munchkin, I'm gonna let Bubbe hold onto your baby brother for a minute so I can get Mister Flufferstein." He indicated with his head toward the baby, and Rachel let go of Sophie and accepted him. Sebastian began fussing and Rachel appeared flustered, but Jeff figured that was acceptable.
"I'll be right back."
"Okay, Daddy."
As he was about to turn to head upstairs, Frankie emerged from the kitchen holding a tray of cotton balls and vials. And a giant head of lettuce. She stopped at the sight of all of them and then turned briskly to the side and placed the tray on the dining table so she was free to extend a hand toward Rachel.
"Frankie, you're here! I missed you! Ooooh, you have lettuce!"
"Hello, Sophie. I have missed you as well. I've found the oils and the lettuce. I will go upstairs in a moment and attend to your mother and the guinea pig." She then addressed Rachel, "Hello, I'm Francesca Dart."
While Rachel took more than a few seconds to scan Frankie from head to toe, Jeff for some reason found his chest constricting. He recognized the physical sensations of anxiety, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was he was fearing. Both Rachel and Frankie were awkward in their own ways, and they both had shiny dark hair and were impeccably dressed. It suddenly hit him they both resembled Annie and at least Rachel would be aware of that. Frankie had been helping, and Rachel had come over to "fix" things.
They were both fixers. Damn, this was not good.
Aloud, he said, "Frankie, this is Rachel Edison, Annie's mother. Rachel, Frankie is a new administrator for the college and helped me get Annie and Sebastian home today."
Rachel suddenly smiled very eerily, and he instinctively stepped back. She didn't take her eyes off Frankie and merely accepted the handshake as she balanced Sebastian in her other arm, the baby now gumming her shoulder with full on drool.
"I'm sorry, is your name Francesca or Frankie?"
"It's Franscesca, but most people refer to me as Frankie. I find it's slightly more relatable. If you wish, you may call me that."
"I prefer Francesca."
"That will be fine. Good to meet you, Rachel. Annie has told me about you."
There were several beats of silence during which Sophie was attempting to grab the lettuce off the table but couldn't quite reach. Jeff froze to his spot. He knew Annie had been having some talks with Frankie lately and had informed him that Frankie had been oddly reassuring. He assumed she had completely filled in Frankie on the Rachel situation by now, but he wasn't sure about Frankie's take on it. He couldn't imagine Frankie would be rude in any way, at least intentionally. She was pretty political. At that realization, he began to relax, if only slightly. This would be fine.
Rachel finally said, "Her name is Anna."
"Is it? She told me Annie."
"That's a nickname her father gave her. I assume now that she's grown and almost ready to graduate from your silly little college and go to a proper graduate program she will go by her real name. It's more professional."
Completely sidestepping Rachel's dig at Greendale, Frankie placed her hand on top of Sophie's head to stop her from jumping and said, "You are correct. Anna does sound more professional."
"Of course it does."
"Annie, however, is relatable. It might help her in the field."
"Field? My daughter is going into forensics. She'll be in a laboratory."
"From my understanding, she's thinking of shifting focus to agent work. Her laboratory understanding of course will give her a leg up as they say in solving cases, but her strengths really are interpersonally. She's very persistent."
"She is, isn't she? It's one of her best qualities. She got that from me, not her father."
Frankie picked up the tray, and Jeff finally got his grip on the situation.
He said, "I was going to bring the guinea pig downstairs. Why don't we give Sophie the lettuce and you and I head up there."
Rachel stepped forward. "Nonsense. I can take the oils up to Anna." She then glanced at the vials with vague disgust and added, "But really we should bring her a hot water bottle. Or did you already do that?"
"Annie prefers ice. I gave her a pack for her head."
"Heat is better."
Jeff stepped between them and grabbed the tray as Rachel deftly took the oils off it and placed them on the dining table.
"I'll head up and check with her."
X
X
Several minutes later, Jeff sat on his side of the bed and lightly pet Annie's hair.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't stop her."
"She says she's going to get me a hot water bottle. I don't want that."
He nodded his understanding and regarded Annie as she lay with her eyes closed and an ice pack over her forehead. The shades were drawn and the door closed. Rachel had been her usual assuming self but luckily she was so manicky that she hadn't been in the room long and was already headed downstairs. Jeff had managed to toss some lettuce into Mister Flufferstein's cage so as to stop the incessant squeaking but was now unsure if he should bring the critter downstairs or stay with Annie.
"I'll find a way to get rid of her."
"She's not going to leave."
"Crap, I know."
"Have her play with Sophie. Tell her...ugh, I can't even think straight."
"Don't worry, I'll figure something out. But I want to make sure you're okay."
"Please have Frankie stay. Is she still here? I told her where I keep the oils, but I'm not sure if they're there because of the move. I had them in a box near the kitchen."
"She found them, and yes she's still here. I'll fetch her."
"Thank you."
He sighed and quietly left. As he passed by Sophie's room, he heard Frankie's voice.
"Now, Mister Flufferstein, you will let me pick up your cage without squealing."
Squeak. Squeak Squeak.
"You have lettuce, but perhaps you need more. I don't know how much to give you since I didn't weigh you. I'll call a veterinarian."
Suppressing a smile, Jeff walked in and tapped her arm so she'd put her phone away. As she complied, he said, "Frankie, you're amazing. Thank you."
For some reason he pulled her into a hug.
X
X
In the early evening Jeff sat at the dining table and fed mashed banana to Sebastian as Sophie gobbled her mac and cheese. Rachel came whizzing from the kitchen and finally sat down opposite Sophie, her own plate being one of a fairly involved salad and chicken breast. She scooted a similar plate toward Jeff and flashed a smile.
"Thanks, Rachel. This looks delicious."
"It was just something I threw together."
"I didn't think we had chicken. I was going to go grocery shopping tonight, but of course with everything…"
"It was easy, Jeff. I had a friend pop over to the store and bring it to me."
He wiped Sebastian's mouth in a futile endeavor, as the baby promptly stuck his hand into the tray of mashed sweet potatoes, and reflected on her word choice. From what he understood, Rachel didn't really have friends. At least not the kind that would run an errand for her like that. He considered she may have roped one of their friends into it, but surely then she would have said so. He was surprised she hadn't sent Anthony and then wondered where he was. Probably at his girlfriend's house.
"Friend?"
There was the hint of a blush and she addressed Sophie.
"Now sweetie, sit up straight."
"Okay. This is good, Bubbe. I love mac and cheese."
"I know you do, sweetie. That's why Bubbe made it for you."
"Daddy, is Frankie going to eat with us?"
"I don't know. She's upstairs with Mommy."
"I love Frankie. As Olaf says, some people are worth melting for."
"That's great, munchkin."
"My cheese is all melty."
As Sophie went back to her food, he tried again, "Friend?"
Rachel's eyes shifted to him but she didn't fully make contact, and she shrugged as she began to tap at her chicken.
"My neighbor."
He suddenly remembered the crazy day when he had caught her in some sort of rendezvous with her neighbor, but that had been at least a couple years ago now. He had assumed it had ended in some sort of disaster. He recalled her saying the guy was young and she was worried about judgment, but the fact that he had run to the grocery store for her was telling.
"Gregory?"
Her eyes shot up and he flinched a little at her glare. She glanced at Sophie, who was now chomping away again, and replied, "Yes."
"Really?"
"He does all my grocery shopping for me. He's very handy."
Jeff stopped his feeding of Sebastian to stare at her fully, his smile now completely unavoidable. She noticed and widened her eyes, but he was almost giddy.
"Seriously? Oh right, Annie mentioned you've been banned."
"That was blown out of proportion. But yes, I do have to eat, and Gregory is most generous with his time."
"So that's still a thing between you two?" He wiggled his eyebrows and she instantly scowled.
"Jeff, I'd appreciate it if you remembered our understanding. I'd like you to be discreet about this."
"Of course."
"Thank you."
"But as I mentioned before, I don't think Annie would mind."
"It's not serious."
"Does he help you with your migraines?"
She blushed furiously and swatted her napkin in his direction. He shrugged, raising his hands up in defeat for a moment before attending back to Sebastian.
It was then that Frankie walked in from the stairway and said, "She's sleeping, for real this time. She'll most likely be fine within a few hours, but Jeff you have my number if you need me to come back."
Rachel chirped, "Oh there's no need, Francesca. You've been helpful in your way, but I'll stay overnight and make sure Annie's well."
Jeff cringed as Frankie merely nodded.
"Goodbye everyone. Goodbye Sophie."
"You're not staying for mac and cheese? It's melted and I want to melt you."
Frankie went over to Sophie and patted her on top of her curls, which elicited a giggle. "Alas, I have to get home to my sister. She's not so good at eating on her own. I'm going to make her dinner."
Suddenly remembering some mention of Frankie having a developmentally disabled sister, Jeff felt guilty.
"Crap, Frankie. I'm sorry you've been so tangled up here. Look, I'll drive you home." He stood and Frankie waved him off.
"No need. Britta's picking me up."
"I want to melt Auntie Britta too."
There was a knock at the front door, and Jeff figured it couldn't be Britta because it was too subtle, but he opened it to reveal his blonde friend and Ian. And Ruffles.
"Hey guys."
"How's Annie?"
"She's much better. Thanks for returning my dog and taking Frankie home."
Britta smiled and entered, Ian trailing her with Ruffles on her leash. Jeff bent down and nuzzled Ruffles for a moment before standing again and motioning them completely inside and closing the door. He turned to see Frankie and Rachel standing behind him, Frankie already stepping forward to take her leave. Her eyes briefly went to the dog but she then resumed heading for Britta.
Ian bent down and unclipped Ruffles who then ran toward the dining room.
"Ruffles! You're home! I missed you!"
"Woof!"
Suddenly Frankie's eyes widened and she swiveled around to stare at Ruffles' retreating form.
"Did she just say Ruffles?"
"Yeah, that's our dog's name."
"Ruffles Edelstein?"
Jeff squinted and then exchanged looks with Rachel, who was regarding everyone with a slightly bored countenance.
He said, "Edelstein is Rachel's maiden name. We don't use it for Ruffles."
Frankie turned toward Ian and regarded him intently for several odd beats. He returned the look but betrayed just the hind of uncomfortableness as he shifted on his feet.
"This...Ruffles. It was with you."
"Yes, I dog sit."
"But you must have just come from campus. You have a class that goes until five."
"I do, but err, Britta was with me, obviously when you called her earlier, so err, yes, err...she was watching Ruffles while I was teaching."
"You watch Ruffles on campus though?"
"Err, sometimes?"
"And Britta has a psychology class down the road at her professional school until four thirty."
"How do you know that?"
"She told me when we had lunch earlier today."
"You had lunch with her, love?"
Britta rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder as he half grinned. The whole interaction was typical but Jeff wasn't focused on that right now. Instead he made eye contact with Frankie, who was looking downright furious, even if in an understated way. He suddenly remembered all of Frankie's recent comments about nicknames and students. Something about tracking someone down she couldn't place.
He was strongly suspecting that perhaps the Dean had done something remarkably stupid, even for him.
"Crap."