Hi! :-) I know this is a quick update, but the chapter came to me, and I decided I'd better write it while it was in my mind. Thanks, as always, for your reviews!! Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 19

"I had a wonderful time tonight," Janet said to Jack, as they sat in her living room and lingered over a cup of coffee.

Taylor, who had not been so sure about Larry at first but had started to like him by the time they were ready to leave, had fallen asleep as soon as they arrived home. Nick had visited with them for a while and so had Larry. Nick called it a night after telling Jack he would recommend his restaurant to everybody he knew. Jack thanked him, and the two men shook hands. After Nick left, Jack told Larry he could stay with him that night in his hotel room. When he handed his friend the key but made no move to leave with him, Larry began to get the picture. Of course, he intended to grill his best friend in the morning, but for now, he politely took his leave, after telling Janet he would probably see her at Terri's house on Thanksgiving. She told him she looked forward to it.

"Isn't it great how everything is coming together?" Jack said. "Larry showing up was a major shocker, but look how well it turned out."

"I agree," Janet said, with a bit of apprehension in her voice. His words brought her pesky doubts back to the forefront after she'd tried so hard to ignore them. "You're right, Jack. Everything just seems to be falling into place."

Puzzled by the tone of her voice and the look of concern on her face, he frowned.

"Is that bad?"

He had to ask.

"I just...I guess I got a dose of reality tonight when I was talking to Larry."

"About what?"

"About how things can go from good to bad in no time at all. It doesn't take much. It happened to us, Jack."

"Yeah, because we were stupid."

"Hey, speak for yourself, Mister."

"Janet, you know what I mean," he said, trying to calm her fears. "We both know pretty much what we did wrong and how we let ourselves get to the point where we felt we had to be apart. I don't intend to let that happen again."

"But how, Jack? How can you stop it from happening again? In a way, I think we have more obstacles now than we did back then."

Jack shook his head. "I don't agree. We're older, wiser, hopefully, more mature. Well, me anyway," he said and laughed. "You always were the mature one."

Janet had to chuckle, too.

"You're still crazy," she said, playfully punching his upper arm. "And I wouldn't change that about you ever. But I'm serious. I know there are no guarantees, but if things start happening that are out of our control, how are we going to handle it?"

"First of all," he said, reaching for her hands and gently massaging them with the pads of his thumbs, "we're not going to go looking for trouble, are we? If things are going well for us, I say we need to enjoy it. Take advantage of it. I'm not going to be looking over my shoulder or up at the sky to see if there's a dark cloud hanging over my head. Are you?"

"No, but..."

"But what, Janet? What do you think you need to protect yourself from? Me?"

"No. I like this. I like that we're together again. I want to enjoy it, Jack, really I do, but I...I just can't help thinking about the last two times I thought I had found true happiness."

"I told you," he said, cupping her chin with one hand and giving her a crooked smile, "this time is going to be the charm. How can you not believe me when we have everything going for us?"

Gazing into his handsome face she wondered how she could doubt anything he said. She didn't want to doubt. She wanted to trust. To believe. To know that what Jack was telling her was the truth. But still...

Whatever thought she had left her mind when Jack captured her mouth with his, sending her senses reeling. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer to him. Pressed against him, she ran her fingers through his hair as she responded to his kisses and his touches with a fervor that ignited from deep inside her. She wanted him. There was no question in her mind about that.

"Have I convinced you yet?" he asked, when they finally broke apart.

"Maybe a little," she teased, feeling some of her fear slip away as he enticed her with his dazzling smile. "But I could definitely use more convincing. Whenever you're ready."

"I'm ready, I'm ready," Jack said, wasting no time before pulling her into another embrace.

Jack knew just what to do; Janet enjoyed every moment of his tender caresses and kisses in her most sensitive places.

"This feels sooo right," Janet moaned, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"That's because it is," Jack assured her.

They rested against each other and just enjoyed the feeling of being close to one another.

"Okay, you've convinced me," Janet said, once her heartbeat had returned to normal. "If we could just stay this way forever..."

She glanced up at the clock above the fireplace and saw how late it was.

"But, unfortunately, we can't," Jack said. "I hate to, but I need to leave soon."

"I know," Janet said, sitting up on the sofa to look at him.

"Do you think I'll see you before you leave for L.A.?"

"I don't know."

"What if I drive you and Taylor to the airport provided I can get away from the restaurant?"

"That would be great," Janet said. "Nick offered to take us, but I'm sure he won't mind."

"Do you think he suspects there's something going on between us?"

Janet grinned. "Yeah, I do."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Is it okay if I do? I think he'll be happy for us."

"It's fine with me."

"What about Larry?" Janet asked.

"You know he's going to bombard me with questions."

Janet giggled. "Yeah. Poor you."

"Not really," he said, drawing her close once more. "I've got you. There's no way I could ever be poor."

"Aww, shucks, Jack Tripper," Janet said, taking on a Southern accent with her eyelashes fluttering as she grinned at him. "You say the sweetest things."

"Come here, you," Jack said, playfully pushing Janet down onto the couch. "You know what speaking with a Southern accent does to me."

Janet squealed with delight as Jack tickled her and kissed her until her laughter turned to moans of pure pleasure.

How would she be able to stand not seeing him for almost four days? And on Thanksgiving, too?

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When Taylor had gotten up to use the bathroom, she'd heard most of the conversation taking place in the living room. She couldn't see them, but she could hear them. Her mother liked Jack, not Uncle Nick. That saddened Taylor until she heard her mother say that Uncle Nick would be happy for them. If that was true, then Taylor guessed she was okay with it, too. Her mother did seem happy and so did Jack. She liked him, but it was still going to be weird. Would he be her father?

Now lying in her bed, she wanted to tell her mother that she knew about her and Jack, but what she really wanted was to not feel so tired and achy when they went to L.A. for Thanksgiving. Because that would just ruin everything.