This chapter is short, but that's because it's setting up for the climax of the story. Chapter 18 I want to get up over the weekend. How exciting!! :) Anyway, I'll let you get to the chapter then. ^_~

Legal: I do not own the rights to Three's Company or its characters, thanks.

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Chapter 17: The Disappearance

In the days that followed everyone forgot about Jack's Thanksgiving mishap. Really the only one it continued to bother was Jack. He moped around the apartment and was awfully quiet. Sometimes they heard him talking to himself. It was always something like, "Jack, stop chasing cats. Don't let Janet down again..."

But as December came upon them they began decorating the apartment for Christmas and Jack's thoughts were far from Thanksgiving. He had so many questions about the lights and other decorations...he probably laughed himself silly about the tree being inside instead of outside. He really enjoyed all the Christmas carols and it wasn't long before he was singing them everywhere. Everyone was significantly happier.

This, of course, included Janet. They had a couple of weeks until the charity ball and she promised Jack that he would learn how to control himself around cats. But first they needed some time to just relax and be with each other.

And both of them were just fine with that.

Jack really wanted to take Janet to ice skate. Ever since he had gone with Jenny he had gotten such a kick out of it that he wanted to do it again with Janet. "You really can skate on it, Janet! Isn't that weird?" He would say again and again.

So one day they left the apartment together, hand in hand, and went to an ice skating rink. Jack spread his arms wide as they approached it, a kooky grin on his face. Janet supressed a giggle. "It sure is something, Jack," she said.

They rented some skates and stepped out onto the ice. It took Janet a few minutes to get used to it and then she was skating pretty easily. Jack, she noticed, kept falling over. He would laugh, though, and get back up. In fact, he couldn't even go two paces without falling again. She had never seen a person fall so much and still have so much fun.

Finally she grabbed his hand. "Why don't you skate with me, Jack?"

After much patience (and yet more falling...) they were skating around the rink, hand in hand. Jack was having the time of his life and Janet was quite content to just smile at him and hold his hand. They encountered some difficulties, though, when Jack tried to tickle Janet. He himself lost his balance and fell, but he managed to grab Janet's wrist. She fell right on top of him. They looked into each other's eyes. Before Janet knew what was happening she was kissing Jack and he was kissing her back. People skated past and pointed, some laughing and some murmuring, "Isn't that sweet?"

When they got back up they went to the food area and had a nice, big dinner. Janet had a hotdog, a drink and a bag of chips. Jack had two hotdogs, a piece of pizza, nachos, a drink and two candybars. He commented that skating made him hungry and Janet laughed.

When they had finished they left the skating arena and began the walk home. They walked slowly though, admiring the cool night. Jack got the biggest kick out of the Christmas lights that decorated peoples' homes and when they passed a group of carolers he wouldn't continue on their walk until he had heard them sing at least one song.

As they walked Jack let go of Janet's hand and put his around around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "Is this okay, Janet? Am I in violation?" He queered.

Janet laughed and put her arm around his waist. "Jack, where did you learn such a big word?"

"My friend Larry taught it to me," he grinned.

Janet kept laughing. Finally she sighed and leaned against Jack. "No, Jack, you're not in violation." She giggled again.

"Good," he said in a voice just above a whisper.

Janet felt the hair on her neck stand on end.

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The days turned into weeks and very soon everyone was in a rushed state again. Jack was pronouncing words better than ever and he was as much of a gentleman as if he had been raised an aristocrat, but there was still the problem of the cats. They took Jack to pet stores and other places with cats, but he couldn't keep himself from running at them.

"What if..." Chrissy said once when they were back at the apartment after a long day of trying, "what if Mr. Hammond really *does* bring a cat to the ball?"

Terri laughed. "Chrissy, he wouldn't..."

"It would be uncivilized," added Mrs. Roper.

"Yeah," Larry said supportively.

That was good enough for Chrissy, but not for Janet. She went into the kitchen where Jerry was tossing a salad. He looked tired. His suit jacket was hanging on a chair and he had untucked his dress shirt and undone his tie. He looked over his shoulder when she entered and then looked back at his salad. "Hello, Janet. I hope you don't mind being a vegetarian this evening. Just salad tonight. I'm too tired to fix anything else," he sighed.

Janet patted his arm. "Thank you for working so hard for Jack. I really couldn't have done any of this without the rest of you."

Jerry just nodded. They were quiet. Then Janet heaved a huge sigh. "Oh, Jerry, why did this have to happen? Of all the people this had to happen to, why did it have to be Jack anyway?"

This time Jerry stopped tossing the salad and turned around so that he was leaning against the counter beside Janet. "Sometimes these things happen," he said.

Janet shook her head. "Why do things have to 'just happen'? Why can't there be some control in this crazy world?"

Jerry was quiet for a moment. He sighed. "Janet, have you ever heard the phrase: 'Unto each life a little rain must fall'?"

Janet nodded. Jerry continued. "It implies that whether there is control in this world we live in or not, one thing is certain: we need rain for things to grow. Am I correct? I don't mean to sound harsh, please don't take it that way. I'm just saying...what would spring be like if the cold hardships of winter didn't come? If there was no blinding rain and freezing snow?"

Janet could see where Jerry was taking this. She smiled. "There would be no flowers or green trees. Everything would be dead without the water to grow it."

"Exactly. Perhaps this incident with Jack did 'just happen'. Or perhaps someone out there is controling things on this earth and let this happen. Whatever it is, I personally think that it happened for a reason. I think you'll know the reason when it is time. A little rain must fall for things to grow and blossom, and that must be what this is."

Janet's smile never faded. She nodded and then gave him a hug. "Thanks, Jerry. I guess that kind of makes sense." She turned to leave. "Hurry up with that salad!" She called back jokingly.

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Jerry's advice did comfort Janet. She felt a small burden lift off of her back. She realized that she could see how she had grown going through the tough situation. She was sure the others had grown some, too. She still struggled everyday with the idea of turning Jack back to normal, for everyday he grew sweeter and she grew more in love with him. And Jerry couldn't help her or comfort her there--neither could anyone else really.

And then something occurred that caused Janet to change her mind about Jerry and any of his advice.

One day he received a phonecall and sped out of the apartment, promising them that he would be back in time for supper. That day came and went, along with the next one. The ball was less than forty-two hours away and Jerry was gone without a trace.

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There we go! :)