Disclaimer: All characters and settings are property of Ken Corday and Days of our Lives.

NOTE: This takes place after Jack's gay farce has been revealed. Greta has forgiven him after weeks of not speaking to him at all, and Jennifer's intense anger at his deception finally caused Jack to back off and stop pursuing her.



1 Episode I

DEVERAUX HOME

Jack Deveraux looked into the dresser mirror as he tied his tie and straightened his jacket. Today was the day. He was going to get his newspaper business back, and there was nothing standing in his way this time. With Victor Kiriakis willing to negotiate its sale, and Greta's agreement to be a temporary backer, it was practically a done deal. He glanced at his watch, and noted the time.

"7:33 AM. I better get going, Greta's waiting for me to come pick her up," Jack said to himself as he took one last glance in the mirror. At this moment, Princess Greta von Amburg was his savior. Bored with her job-less life, she had agreed to back the paper until Jack was able to buy it from her. In return, he would do a lot to help her orphans in Europe through the paper, whether it be editorials or a series on them.

Jack checked his wallet, and then bounded down the stairs, barely able to contain his excitement. He stopped short as he reached the door, noticing his ex-wife sitting on the couch.

"Jennifer… up so early on a Saturday? What's wrong?" he asked. Jennifer looked up at him and sighed.

"I just wanted to see you off, I mean… you're getting back the paper today," she said wistfully. "Our Spectator. I just kind of wish I could be a part of all this."

If it had been a month before, Jack would have been thrilled with the prospect of Jennifer having any interest in what he was doing. At that moment, he would have run over to her, sat down next to her, and practically begged for more attention. A month ago. But that was no longer the case, as he had completely given up on the idea that the two of them would ever be together again. She had told him over and over that they were done… but after the whole debacle with Greta, she had finally made it clear. He finally believed her. And now he was going to get his dignity back, and stop wearing his heart on his sleeve.

Jack cleared his throat. "Well… uh… I'll be going now. See you this afternoon."

"Bye," Jennifer replied. "Um… Jack?" she started to say, but he was already out the door.

Jennifer stared at the closed front door, and listened as Jack started his car and pulled away.

"Good luck," she said, leaning back against the couch.

~~~

ON THE ROAD

"So, years after Victor practically stole the Spectator from you, you're getting it back. I'm really happy for you Jack," Greta said as Jack drove, on the way to Titan.

"I don't even deserve to have you supporting me, Princess," Jack said. "After everything I put you through…" he trailed off.

"I'm over it, Jack. Please, just… let's not mention it again, okay? We're still friends, I've forgiven you. And I want to do this, I want to have a cause again, and this paper sounds worthwhile," Greta said.

"It is, believe me. You won't regret backing the paper, once you see it at its best. And it was at its best when I was publisher, Princess. To quote John Black, 'That's a fact'."

Greta tensed at the mention of John Black, her mother's former lover. She tried to change the subject.

"What does Jennifer have to say about all this?" Now it was Jack's turn to tense up.

"Uh…well…she supports it, I suppose," he said coolly.

"What'd she say?" Greta asked.

"She… she said it was great. She wishes she could be a part of it. I don't know, I guess she's happy about it…"

"Jack, maybe you could hire Jennifer to work as a reporter? That's how you two met, right? Working at the Spectator together?" Greta asked.

"Correction: She was working for me, I was her boss. But yes, we met through the Spectator. What does that have to do with anything?" Jack asked.

"Jack, why not hire her? She's experienced, she's looking for a job, it'll be great!"

"No, it WON'T," Jack said. "It's enough that we live together, she'd probably want to murder me if she had to see me at work too," Jack said glumly. "And I just don't think I could…" he trailed off.

"Could what?"

"There are too many memories there. If we were working there together again… Look , it's a bad idea. Anyway…here we are…" Jack said as they pulled up to Titan.

"You ready?" Greta asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Jack replied, bracing himself.

~~~

DEVERAUX HOME

Jennifer was making coffee when Abby came in the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Mommy, where's Daddy?" she asked, as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Oh, sweetie, he went to a business meeting, but he should be back in a couple of hours. It's a good thing, really, he's very excited about it," Jennifer told Abby as she made her some cereal.

"Why is it a good thing?" Abby asked.

"Because… because he's going to own a newspaper business by the time the meeting is through. He owned it once before, you know…"

"Yeah, Daddy told me all about that before! He said that's where he met you!"

"That's right. Eat your cereal," Jennifer said, putting down the bowl in front of Abby.

"He told me that the newspaper's where you fell in love with each other! Is that true too, Mommy?"

Jennifer nodded, obviously affected. "Yes… we… we fell in love while working together. Your Daddy was even more stubborn back then than he is now," Jennifer smiled. "Mommy had to work very hard to get him to realize that he had fallen in love. He didn't want to admit it."

Abby, intrigued, had already forgotten about the cereal in front of her. "When did he realize he loved you, Mommy?"

Jennifer all of a sudden felt a wave of sadness wash over her, and couldn't talk about it any longer. "Abby, your cereal's getting soggy." As Abby started to eat, Jennifer turned away and looked out the window. Her head kept telling her that it was over with Jack. He had disappointed her too many times. But her heart… her heart didn't want to believe it at all.