It was the night before Jack and Jennifer were to return to the Spectator,
and both were anxious and excited. Jack spent a few hours on the phone with
Vern Scofield, who was giving him the updates on who was working and what
they did, and what needed to be done, etc.
Jennifer sat across from Jack on the floor and tried to guess what Vern was saying by listening to Jack's responses. Jack was being very opaque.
After he hung up, Jennifer scrambled over to the couch next to Jack and began the inquisition.
"What'd he say?" she asked.
"Uh…he said many things," Jack replied, picking up a stack of paperwork. He began to sort through it, in an attempt to get Jennifer to go away, but she ignored him and kept on.
"What will we be doing tomorrow? Did he say?" Jennifer moved closer to Jack and grabbed the papers out of his hand in order to get him to pay attention.
Jack sighed heavily. "I will be handling some business, you will be assigned something to write. Vern will let you know everything tomorrow, okay?" He grabbed the papers back from her.
Jennifer frowned as Jack went on looking at the paperwork, pretending that she wasn't even there.
"Don't you want to discuss this some more?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Why do you care?" Jack looked at her.
"Because, Jack… You can't pretend that this isn't a big deal. For both of us."
"I'm not pretending anything, I'm just trying to get prepared. Please let me do that." Jack turned away from her, and Jennifer stood up and headed towards the stairs.
She paused, and turned around. "If it means anything Jack… I think we'll work together now just as well as we did then. It'll be great." She went upstairs, leaving Jack alone, pensive.
~~~
The next morning, Jack, Jennifer, and Abby ate breakfast together before leaving. Shortly after Abby got on the bus to go to school, Jack and Jennifer realized their latest dilemma.
"Um…Jack, are we going to drive to work together?" Jennifer asked.
"Uh… I don't know. Do… uh… do you…want to?" Jack asked, cautiously.
"Well, I mean, if you want to, it's fine with me… Do you want to?" Jennifer asked.
"Well… all right, why not. Let's go, I'm driving."
Jack and Jennifer got in his car, and pulled away, both nervous.
Jennifer gazed out the window, a small smile on her face. It felt so right, going to the Spectator, with Jack. She glanced side-long at Jack, and tried to analyze the emotionless expression on his face.
Ever since the whole…thing with Greta was exposed, he had become very closed off. Jennifer knew that her own reaction had been a bit…harsh. She had said some hurtful things to him, and she definitely regretted some of it. Yes, he needed to be set straight, but more so by Greta than her. Greta was the one he had deceived, for the most part, but Jennifer had taken it as another opportunity to point out to him why they could never get back together.
She had never expected that he would actually listen to her. Ever since then, he had stopped pursuing her completely. She had gone to have coffee with Brandon a couple of times, and Jack had never shown up, called, or given her a hard time about it, like he used to. In fact, while she was with Brandon those times, she kept anticipating Jack's arrival. She barely listened to what Brandon would say, as she was too busy checking to make sure her cell phone was on, or looking over her shoulder… And at the end of each date, Jennifer was almost… feeling disappointed that Jack hadn't tried anything.
Her biggest surprise came when Greta forgave Jack, and started spending even more time with him than before. Greta had confided in Jennifer that even though she had believed Jack to be gay, she had developed strong feelings for him, and couldn't shake them even though he had lied to her. Knowing this made Jennifer uneasy that Jack was with Greta so much. What if he started to feel the same way about her? What then?
Jennifer shook her head. 'Why do I care?', she thought. 'It's over between us, so if he wants to start something up with her, what does it matter?' Her thoughts were little comfort, as she couldn't help feeling upset about the idea of Jack and Greta… together.
As they pulled into the parking garage, Jennifer instinctively placed her hand on Jack's knee in excitement. "We're here!"
Jack looked down at her hand on his knee, and she blushed and pulled it away.
"Uh.. sorry… sorry about that…" she looked down, and grabbed her purse. Jack parked, and continued to look at Jennifer with confusion.
"Let's go in," she said, ignoring his questioning stare. She opened the door and stepped out, straightening her black skirt.
"Let's go," Jack repeated, and walked next to Jennifer as they entered the building.
~~~
The work day was finally over, and Jennifer was in heaven. Vern – oh, how she had missed him – had given her the 411 on this latest story they were doing about scandals going on in hospitals, and she was really intrigued and excited about writing it. At lunch, she had kind of hoped to grab Jack and go somewhere with him to get something to eat, but he was holed up in his office on the phone with stacks of paperwork on his desk.
His office… he had gotten back the very same office that was his in the old days. So many special things had occurred between the two of them in that office… Many kisses, almost-kisses, Chinese food eating, late nights researching, declarations… She had gone in earlier to tell him something Vern had said, and when she stepped in, a wave of nostalgia had hit her, so strong... Jack looked up at her, and it seemed like he felt it too. They gazed at each other for a second, before Jennifer had finally been able to get out what Vern wanted her to tell him.
Jennifer knocked on Jack's office door before opening it, and stuck her head in. "Ready to go?" she asked.
Jack looked up. His jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up some, his tie loosened, his hair a little messy. He was adorable.
"Um… yeah, yeah, just give me a sec, okay?" he started piling some papers, and looking for his briefcase.
Jennifer leaned back against the doorframe, and watched him.
Jack picked up his jacket and briefcase and walked over to where Jennifer was. "Let's go," he said, and she followed him out to the car.
She was surprised when he actually began a conversation with her on the way home.
"What does Vern have you working on?" Jack asked.
"Oh, it's about scandals in hospitals… you know how Bo and Hope found out that their baby was switched at birth?" Jennifer asked. Jack nodded.
"Well, I'm going to go in depth with this, and also look at other hospitals where similar things have occurred to find out more about how it could have happened and what other kinds of mistakes are made at hospitals. It's kind of like a consumer report…"
"Sounds good," Jack said approvingly. "I hope I can be more in the loop once I get everything organized."
"After that, maybe you could help me with this?" Jennifer asked.
"Uh… I'm sure you can do it on your own, Jennifer, you're not a college intern anymore."
"Your opinion's important to me, Jack."
Jack scoffed. "Since when?"
"Since always."
Jack shook his head. "Well, that's a switch."
"What is?"
"You caring what I think. At least recently."
Jennifer knew that she had given him no reason to think that she cared as of late, so she understood why he felt the way he did. She didn't attempt to argue with him.
~~~
After dinner that night, Jack headed over to Greta's house to tell her how things had gone.
"It sounds wonderful, Jack. You're positively glowing," Greta grinned at him.
"Will you be dropping by anytime soon, to help out some?" Jack asked.
"Definitely, I want to get involved. I, uh… I missed not seeing you around today. I'm so used to going out to lunch with you, I guess…" Greta trailed off. "I hate eating alone."
"Well, why don't you stop by tomorrow at lunch time? Bring something, and we can eat in my office. I need to go over some business details with you anyhow, but I'm too worn out to go over it now," Jack said.
"Great! It's a date," Greta said.
"A date?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I mean.. I didn't mean a date. You know what I mean."
"Yeah."
"How was Jennifer's day?"
"Jennifer? She, uh… she's still a natural at the job, I mean… she's getting right down to business…" pride shown in Jack's eyes as he thought of her. "She's already working on a series of articles about hospitals and the Brady baby-switch… it's going to be incredible," Jack said. He was smiling to himself, imagining Jennifer's success, as Greta gazed at him sadly.
"I thought you said you were getting over her," Greta remarked.
Jack narrowed his eyes. "What? I am…I mean, you should see me when I'm with her, I practically ignore her these days!"
Greta shook her head. "Whatever you say, Jack…"
"Good, because it's the truth," Jack replied.
"Are you serious about moving on, Jack?" Greta asked.
"What? How many times do I have to say it, YES. I am moving on, I am focusing on my work and my daughter and being a good father. That's that."
Greta nodded. "If you say so."
~~~
Jennifer held the cordless phone to her ear as she examined some of her notes on the laptop in front of her.
"So, Hope, all anyone knows is that the Reibers thought that they had Issac tested when it was really JT, and they got the results after they gave back JT to you. They realized that JT was Glen's son and that your baby and Lexie's must have been switched."
"That's all anyone knows, and Lexie admits she's known for awhile," Hope said.
"Do you think Lexie had a part in switching the babies?" Jennifer asked.
"I don't know," Hope replied. "I mean, I don't think she was behind it. I'm sure her father Stefano had it done without telling her, but she found out some time along the line. I just don't know how she found out."
"Maybe she got a secret DNA test done and found out?" Jennifer asked.
"That's possible. Maybe you should ask Brandon about what it takes to do all that…" Hope suggested.
Jennifer hesitated. "Uh… I guess I could ask him, yeah…."
"What's going on with you two, Jenn?" Hope asked. "Do you really like him or what?"
"Well, at first I did, I mean… He seemed so opposite of Jack that I thought, this change would be wonderful, I could finally find someone to connect with, but… the more I see of him, the more I just keep losing interest," Jennifer was perplexed.
"I'd say it's because he's NOT like Jack that you're losing interest, Jenn," Hope said.
"And why would you say that?"
"You know why, cuz. You're just going to have to admit it one of these days. Look, Bo's about to get home so I'll talk to you later, okay? I hope your story turns out well. Maybe it can even help move this thing along," Hope said.
"I hope so," Jennifer said. "Bye Hope."
Jennifer hung up the phone and sighed.
"Whatever happens," Jennifer said to herself, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this baby-switch for you, Hope."
Jennifer sat across from Jack on the floor and tried to guess what Vern was saying by listening to Jack's responses. Jack was being very opaque.
After he hung up, Jennifer scrambled over to the couch next to Jack and began the inquisition.
"What'd he say?" she asked.
"Uh…he said many things," Jack replied, picking up a stack of paperwork. He began to sort through it, in an attempt to get Jennifer to go away, but she ignored him and kept on.
"What will we be doing tomorrow? Did he say?" Jennifer moved closer to Jack and grabbed the papers out of his hand in order to get him to pay attention.
Jack sighed heavily. "I will be handling some business, you will be assigned something to write. Vern will let you know everything tomorrow, okay?" He grabbed the papers back from her.
Jennifer frowned as Jack went on looking at the paperwork, pretending that she wasn't even there.
"Don't you want to discuss this some more?" she asked quietly.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Why do you care?" Jack looked at her.
"Because, Jack… You can't pretend that this isn't a big deal. For both of us."
"I'm not pretending anything, I'm just trying to get prepared. Please let me do that." Jack turned away from her, and Jennifer stood up and headed towards the stairs.
She paused, and turned around. "If it means anything Jack… I think we'll work together now just as well as we did then. It'll be great." She went upstairs, leaving Jack alone, pensive.
~~~
The next morning, Jack, Jennifer, and Abby ate breakfast together before leaving. Shortly after Abby got on the bus to go to school, Jack and Jennifer realized their latest dilemma.
"Um…Jack, are we going to drive to work together?" Jennifer asked.
"Uh… I don't know. Do… uh… do you…want to?" Jack asked, cautiously.
"Well, I mean, if you want to, it's fine with me… Do you want to?" Jennifer asked.
"Well… all right, why not. Let's go, I'm driving."
Jack and Jennifer got in his car, and pulled away, both nervous.
Jennifer gazed out the window, a small smile on her face. It felt so right, going to the Spectator, with Jack. She glanced side-long at Jack, and tried to analyze the emotionless expression on his face.
Ever since the whole…thing with Greta was exposed, he had become very closed off. Jennifer knew that her own reaction had been a bit…harsh. She had said some hurtful things to him, and she definitely regretted some of it. Yes, he needed to be set straight, but more so by Greta than her. Greta was the one he had deceived, for the most part, but Jennifer had taken it as another opportunity to point out to him why they could never get back together.
She had never expected that he would actually listen to her. Ever since then, he had stopped pursuing her completely. She had gone to have coffee with Brandon a couple of times, and Jack had never shown up, called, or given her a hard time about it, like he used to. In fact, while she was with Brandon those times, she kept anticipating Jack's arrival. She barely listened to what Brandon would say, as she was too busy checking to make sure her cell phone was on, or looking over her shoulder… And at the end of each date, Jennifer was almost… feeling disappointed that Jack hadn't tried anything.
Her biggest surprise came when Greta forgave Jack, and started spending even more time with him than before. Greta had confided in Jennifer that even though she had believed Jack to be gay, she had developed strong feelings for him, and couldn't shake them even though he had lied to her. Knowing this made Jennifer uneasy that Jack was with Greta so much. What if he started to feel the same way about her? What then?
Jennifer shook her head. 'Why do I care?', she thought. 'It's over between us, so if he wants to start something up with her, what does it matter?' Her thoughts were little comfort, as she couldn't help feeling upset about the idea of Jack and Greta… together.
As they pulled into the parking garage, Jennifer instinctively placed her hand on Jack's knee in excitement. "We're here!"
Jack looked down at her hand on his knee, and she blushed and pulled it away.
"Uh.. sorry… sorry about that…" she looked down, and grabbed her purse. Jack parked, and continued to look at Jennifer with confusion.
"Let's go in," she said, ignoring his questioning stare. She opened the door and stepped out, straightening her black skirt.
"Let's go," Jack repeated, and walked next to Jennifer as they entered the building.
~~~
The work day was finally over, and Jennifer was in heaven. Vern – oh, how she had missed him – had given her the 411 on this latest story they were doing about scandals going on in hospitals, and she was really intrigued and excited about writing it. At lunch, she had kind of hoped to grab Jack and go somewhere with him to get something to eat, but he was holed up in his office on the phone with stacks of paperwork on his desk.
His office… he had gotten back the very same office that was his in the old days. So many special things had occurred between the two of them in that office… Many kisses, almost-kisses, Chinese food eating, late nights researching, declarations… She had gone in earlier to tell him something Vern had said, and when she stepped in, a wave of nostalgia had hit her, so strong... Jack looked up at her, and it seemed like he felt it too. They gazed at each other for a second, before Jennifer had finally been able to get out what Vern wanted her to tell him.
Jennifer knocked on Jack's office door before opening it, and stuck her head in. "Ready to go?" she asked.
Jack looked up. His jacket was off, his sleeves rolled up some, his tie loosened, his hair a little messy. He was adorable.
"Um… yeah, yeah, just give me a sec, okay?" he started piling some papers, and looking for his briefcase.
Jennifer leaned back against the doorframe, and watched him.
Jack picked up his jacket and briefcase and walked over to where Jennifer was. "Let's go," he said, and she followed him out to the car.
She was surprised when he actually began a conversation with her on the way home.
"What does Vern have you working on?" Jack asked.
"Oh, it's about scandals in hospitals… you know how Bo and Hope found out that their baby was switched at birth?" Jennifer asked. Jack nodded.
"Well, I'm going to go in depth with this, and also look at other hospitals where similar things have occurred to find out more about how it could have happened and what other kinds of mistakes are made at hospitals. It's kind of like a consumer report…"
"Sounds good," Jack said approvingly. "I hope I can be more in the loop once I get everything organized."
"After that, maybe you could help me with this?" Jennifer asked.
"Uh… I'm sure you can do it on your own, Jennifer, you're not a college intern anymore."
"Your opinion's important to me, Jack."
Jack scoffed. "Since when?"
"Since always."
Jack shook his head. "Well, that's a switch."
"What is?"
"You caring what I think. At least recently."
Jennifer knew that she had given him no reason to think that she cared as of late, so she understood why he felt the way he did. She didn't attempt to argue with him.
~~~
After dinner that night, Jack headed over to Greta's house to tell her how things had gone.
"It sounds wonderful, Jack. You're positively glowing," Greta grinned at him.
"Will you be dropping by anytime soon, to help out some?" Jack asked.
"Definitely, I want to get involved. I, uh… I missed not seeing you around today. I'm so used to going out to lunch with you, I guess…" Greta trailed off. "I hate eating alone."
"Well, why don't you stop by tomorrow at lunch time? Bring something, and we can eat in my office. I need to go over some business details with you anyhow, but I'm too worn out to go over it now," Jack said.
"Great! It's a date," Greta said.
"A date?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, I mean.. I didn't mean a date. You know what I mean."
"Yeah."
"How was Jennifer's day?"
"Jennifer? She, uh… she's still a natural at the job, I mean… she's getting right down to business…" pride shown in Jack's eyes as he thought of her. "She's already working on a series of articles about hospitals and the Brady baby-switch… it's going to be incredible," Jack said. He was smiling to himself, imagining Jennifer's success, as Greta gazed at him sadly.
"I thought you said you were getting over her," Greta remarked.
Jack narrowed his eyes. "What? I am…I mean, you should see me when I'm with her, I practically ignore her these days!"
Greta shook her head. "Whatever you say, Jack…"
"Good, because it's the truth," Jack replied.
"Are you serious about moving on, Jack?" Greta asked.
"What? How many times do I have to say it, YES. I am moving on, I am focusing on my work and my daughter and being a good father. That's that."
Greta nodded. "If you say so."
~~~
Jennifer held the cordless phone to her ear as she examined some of her notes on the laptop in front of her.
"So, Hope, all anyone knows is that the Reibers thought that they had Issac tested when it was really JT, and they got the results after they gave back JT to you. They realized that JT was Glen's son and that your baby and Lexie's must have been switched."
"That's all anyone knows, and Lexie admits she's known for awhile," Hope said.
"Do you think Lexie had a part in switching the babies?" Jennifer asked.
"I don't know," Hope replied. "I mean, I don't think she was behind it. I'm sure her father Stefano had it done without telling her, but she found out some time along the line. I just don't know how she found out."
"Maybe she got a secret DNA test done and found out?" Jennifer asked.
"That's possible. Maybe you should ask Brandon about what it takes to do all that…" Hope suggested.
Jennifer hesitated. "Uh… I guess I could ask him, yeah…."
"What's going on with you two, Jenn?" Hope asked. "Do you really like him or what?"
"Well, at first I did, I mean… He seemed so opposite of Jack that I thought, this change would be wonderful, I could finally find someone to connect with, but… the more I see of him, the more I just keep losing interest," Jennifer was perplexed.
"I'd say it's because he's NOT like Jack that you're losing interest, Jenn," Hope said.
"And why would you say that?"
"You know why, cuz. You're just going to have to admit it one of these days. Look, Bo's about to get home so I'll talk to you later, okay? I hope your story turns out well. Maybe it can even help move this thing along," Hope said.
"I hope so," Jennifer said. "Bye Hope."
Jennifer hung up the phone and sighed.
"Whatever happens," Jennifer said to herself, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this baby-switch for you, Hope."
