Grace showed up at Karen's penthouse early Saturday afternoon. She

and Will had spent the better part of the morning talking with Jack

about the situation with Karen. He agreed to visit Karen and see if

they could work something out. He and Will were going to drop by

Karen's place later in the afternoon.

"So what are you going to say to Jack when he gets here?" Grace

asked Karen as she plopped down on the couch.

"Well honey he's the one that's going to have to do the talking; that

man has a lot of explaining to do."

"Yeah well he's pretty confused Karen; I hope you go easy on him."

"I have half a mind to close the door in his face when he shows up;

if he makes it through the front door he should consider himself

lucky!"

"Come on Karen you don't really mean that."

"Oh yes I do Grace, the more I think about it the more upset I get.

Do you have any idea how much I have done for him? Good lord Grace

how many performances of "Just Jack" did I sit through? A lot more

than anyone else I know, that's for sure."

"Ok Karen, you're right, but just give him a chance. He's done a lot

for you too."

"Like what? What has he done for me Grace?"

"Well, ugh Karen I don't know but I'm sure there's something he's

done for you."

"Grace I love Jack with all my heart, really I do, but he hasn't been

the greatest friend in the world."

Well I'm sorry to hear that Karen, you deserve better than that; you

really have done a lot for him."

"Karen since we're being honest here, what is it about Jack you like

so much? I always thought it was a bit peculiar the way you two hit

it off."

"Alright, but whatever I say is kept between the two of us."

"Ok Kare, I promise."

"There's something very sweet and vulnerable about him Grace, I just

adore everything about him. He's like a little boy and I love him

like a son."

"I had no idea you felt so strongly about him Karen. I knew you two

were friends, but I didn't know you actually loved him."

"So now you see why I'm so upset?"

"Yes I do Karen, and I'm sorry this has been so hard on you."

"Yeah well don't go around blabbing about how much I "Love" Jack.

This is between you and me."

"Why don't you want him to know Karen? Generally when people love

one another they tell each other, why should it be such a secret?"

"I don't know Grace. Do you tell Will you love him?"

"Well as a matter of fact I do, and he tells me he loves me; that's

kind of what friendship is about Karen."

"Well that's not me Grace; I don't go around telling people I love

them."

"Ok, but why? What's so wrong about expressing human emotions?"

"I don't know Grace, it's just not who I am. Besides, Jack should

know how I feel about him; I shouldn't have to spell it out for him."

"I don't know Karen, I know you pretty well and I didn't know how

much you cared about him."

"Grace, do you think I'm a terrible person? Do you think I'm not

capable of loving another person?"

"Karen, I don't think you're terrible, I think you do a good job of

hiding your feelings though. I wouldn't be surprised if Jack doesn't

have any idea how you feel about him. I know you two have a lot of

fun and kid around a lot, but I guess I didn't realize how much you

cared about him."

"You know something Grace? You're a pretty good friend. I know I

make fun of your clothes and I give you a hard time about you're

hair, and I make fun of your big feet, but you know, you've got a

heart of gold honey and you're very sweet. I mean I treat you like

crap and here you are trying to cheer me up. Why, I treat you as

badly as Jack has been treating me."

"Well look at you Karen, I think you've learned something today. Now

you finally know what it's like to be me."

"Well I feel just awful. All these years I've been treating you like

crap. Why didn't you say something Grace?"

"Well Karen it's not that big of a deal, I mean you've been insulting

me since day one, I guess I'm used to it. And I know deep down

inside you're a little fond of me."

"Oh honey, I'm more than just a little fond of you. You know I adore

you just as much as I adore Jack, maybe even a little more. Why

you're the sweetest, kindest, most sincere person I've ever known

Grace."

"Wow Karen, I didn't think you knew what the words kind and sincere

meant; I'm impressed."

"Honey this is fun! I love you!"

"Well Karen, I love you too."

Jack and Will entered the living room to find Grace and Karen

embracing one another.

"Hmm what's going on? Jack asked as he entered the living room."

"Hey poodle, I was just telling Grace how much I love her. And you

know what? I love you too honey, heck I think I even love you

Will!" Karen exclaimed.

"Well that's very sweet of you Karen, did you take another trip to

OZ?" Will questioned.

"No Wilma, I just finally realized how important it is to let the

people around you know how much you care about them. And I do care;

I care about each and every one of you."

"Yeah you took a trip to OZ alright. Jack said.

"No honey I'm serious. Please don't still be mad at me, I miss you

Jackie, can we be friends again?"

"Yeah Karen, we can be friends again, I'm really sorry."

"Jackie you know I love you. You're my sweet blue eyed boy and I

love ya with all my heart. You're the best girlfriend a girl could

ever have."

"Wow Karen, that's some kind of trip you're on." Will teased.

"Well I think we should leave you two alone, you've got a lot to talk

about." Grace said as she got up and grabbed Will's hand.

"Give me a call later ok Karen?"

"Will do honey."

"So Kare, how come you don't hate me?" Jack questioned after Will and

Grace left.

"Well I was pretty upset with you, but Grace helped me realize that I

was being a little hard on you. But Jackie I think you should tell

me what's going on."

"Karen, I would, but I don't understand it myself. I've been so

confused."

"Honey you know you're not really in love with me right? I mean

that's what's been bothering you isn't it?"

"Karen I don't know how I feel about you. You're fun and I love

hanging out with you; I have more fun with you than anyone."

"Well honey that doesn't mean you're in love with me. Think about it

for a minute. Do you want to kiss me passionately?"

"Well no, not really."

"Ok, good. Do you have a burning desire to make sweet love to me?"

"Ew Karen no, I have no desire to do anything like that with you."

"Well what the hell are you so confused about? Honey you're not in

love with me."

"But Karen I have very strong feelings for you. I want to spend the

rest of my life with you I just don't want to have to do the sex

stuff. And I want to be able to date men, and I want to be able to

have sex with them, ugh do you see why I'm so confused?"

"Jack I feel the same way about you. I love you with all my heart

honey, but as a friend."

"You really love me Karen?"

"Well of course I do honey, you know that."

"And you don't want anything in return? You just love me as a

friend?"

"Uh huh, I love you as a dear sweet friend."

"Well I don't know what to say Karen."

"Say you'll never ditch me again."

"I swear Karen, I'll never do that to you again and I'm sorry if I

hurt you.

THE END

I hope you all enjoyed this one. It was short and easy to write which was a nice break from my last one. Sorry to those who wanted to see Jack and Karen become more than just friends. I wasn't interested in exploring that idea in this story but am not against trying it with another fic. Let me know in you're reviews if you would like to see a Karen/Jack relationship fic. You can let me know if you're totally against it too; I'm open to all opinions. Thanks for reading!!