Clad only in his navy blue pajama bottoms and ridiculous camouflage flip- flops that he referred to as house slippers, Jason Masters groggily crossed the living room and made his way down the hallway that led to the kitchen. Though he wasn't much of a coffee drinker, he could really use some on this particular morning.

He had hoped Philip's Halloween bash would be exactly what he needed to steal Mimi away from Jeremy. However, since Mimi had left with Horton and not even said goodbye, Jason felt that his plan probably wasn't much of a success. Then again, he understood that he really hadn't put forth too much effort to win Mimi's affection - until now.

Just as Jason was entering the kitchen, his mother was hurriedly leaving the room. Rubbing the last particles of sleep from his eyes, Jason grumpily questioned, "Where's the fire?"

"No fire, I'm just running a little late for work. I have to be there a little earlier than usual to prepare for a presentation." Taking in her son's attire - or lack there of - Catherine Masters questioned, "Why aren't you getting ready for school?"

Opening the refrigerator door and practically sticking his head all the way in, Jason replied, "There's some teachers' workday or workshop or something like that, remember?"

"Oh, sure," Catherine indifferently replied as she snatched her heated bagel from the microwave. Giving her son a quick kiss on the cheek, Catherine added, "Oh, could you water my flowers for me this morning? Thanks, Jason."

Jason shut the refrigerator door with a loud thud as his mother disappeared down the hallway toward the living room. In a low voice, he sarcastically said to himself, "Oh, gee, I'd love to water your flowers. After all, I was the one that planted your flowers."

Groaning unhappily, Jason opened the kitchen door and peevishly stepped into his backyard. Walking toward the end of the house nearest the fence, Jason continued to grumble to himself as he retrieved the green garden hose.

Just as he was preparing to turn on the water, he heard an annoyingly familiar voice say, "My, aren't we a bundle of sunshine in the morning?"

Dropping the hose to the ground, Jason turned to Jack and grouchily demanded, "Do you ever mind your own business?"

Jack ignored the harsh tone used by Jason and replied dispassionately, "Aren't you a bit cool out here? I would think someone as old as you would know better than to venture outside half-naked on the first day of November."

"That answers my question," grumbled Jason to himself as he picked the hose back up and turned on the water. When Jack remained hovering at the fence for a few more minutes, Jason finally demanded, "What do you want?"

"What makes you think that I want anything?"

Rolling his eyes, Jason responded, "Like my mom tells me, your lips are moving and sound is coming out."

"All right, fine, maybe there is one small something that I could use your help with, young man."

"Now, why doesn't that shock me?"

Jack tipped his face upwards just slightly as he responded, "Hmm, you're in an awfully sour mood this morning. I take it things did not go as you had hoped they would at that little shindig last night?"

"You know, I really don't want to talk about. Why don't you just tell me why you're bothering me while I'm trying to water these stupid fall flowers?"

Glancing at the fall bloomers that he would guess to be petunias or something that at least appeared similar, Jack muttered, "Shouldn't those things have withered up and died by now?"

Jason completely ignored Jack's comment and repeated, "What do you want?

"You don't have to get huffy. I was just curious if you were familiar with those PlayStation things?"

"You mean a Sony PlayStation? Heck, yeah, I'm familiar with those babies. There are some killer games for them."

"Then, you can show me how to use the contraption? I asked Jeremy but he's not really into video games and the sort."

Losing interest in his mother's flowers, Jason turned off the water and dropped the garden hose to the ground once more. He used his hands to quickly rub his upper arms in an attempt to fight the cold as he said, "That would be cool. Just let me know when you'll be home."

"Actually, I have plans to be at home all day today, so you can just drop by after you get home from school. And, once I've learned how to handle that blasted machine, I can teach Abigail."

"I don't even have school today."

Swinging open the fence door that separated the two lawns, Jack said, "Well, in that case, come over and join us for breakfast. I take it that you have yet to eat?"

"You want me to have breakfast with Jeremy and his family? You really must be as nuts as I thought."

"First of all, I do not have any mental conditions that would render me insane. Second, just come over right now before you catch your death outdoors."

Taking notice of the look of hesitance on Jason's youthful face, Jack added, "We're having pancakes with lots and lots of maple syrup."

Without another thought to the action, Jason was making his way toward the Deveraux home.

~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~

As was all too often the case, the breakfast table at the Wesley home was painfully silent, eerily similar to the calm before the storm. Craig divided his attention between his cup of black coffee and the business section of the newspaper while his wife glanced over the society page. Meanwhile, Zach heartily ate his meal as Chloe merely stabbed pointlessly at her own eggs.

Lowering the newspaper, Nancy fussed, "Chloe, dear, you know that you need to eat. It just isn't good for you to skip meals in your condition."

"My condition?" Chloe questioned as she dropped her fork to the table.

From the seat beside her, Zach whispered, "You know, your so-called pregnancy."

Her face brightening up with only partially false cheer, Chloe looked at her mother and replied, "Oh, yes, my condition. Well, you don't have to worry, Nancy. I will be eating breakfast. Brady and I plan to stop by the Brady Pub before heading out to look at a few apartments that we've narrowed it down to."

"Oh," replied Nancy with clear disdain. "I should have realized that your darling Brady would be stealing you away today. I suppose it would be too much for me to ask my own daughter to spend her free day with me. Well, Chloe, I just hope that Brady Black doesn't trample all over your heart and leave you pregnant and alone."

The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the home. Rising from his chair, Zach quickly said, "That's probably Brady."

"Thank God," muttered Chloe as she returned her mother's unhappy glare.

Glancing between mother and daughter, Zach was more than happy to be the one to leave and answer the door. Anything was better than being caught in one of Nancy and Chloe's horrid arguments.

Reaching the door and opening it, Zach found Brady standing there just as he had expected. Offering Chloe's future husband a slight grin, Zach greeted, "Hey, Brady. You know, if I were you, I'd consider investing in some serious armor before coming over again."

Entering the house, Brady casually asked, "Are they fighting that much this morning?"

"No more than usual," replied Zach as he led Brady into the dining room where Chloe had already risen from the table and was awaiting him.

Brady found himself a little shocked when instead of the usual 'hello' Chloe instantly wrapped her arms around him and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Winking so only he could see, she said, "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Good morning to you, honey. You ready to go?"

"Oh, yeah." Without even glancing at her family, Chloe grabbed Brady by the arm and pulled him out of the room. As they disappeared into the living room, she said, "You have no idea how glad I am to see you for once."

"Gee, thanks," wryly commented Brady as he allowed himself to be dragged across the living room and into the foyer.

Chloe pointedly ignored Brady's remark as she opened the front door and pulled him out behind her. "I'm serious, Brady. If you wouldn't have shown up when you did, Nancy and I would have just gotten into yet another argument. It was such a relief to hear the doorbell and know that you had finally arrived to get me out of there."

"So, no more regrets about getting married?"

Dodging Brady's question, Chloe responded, "Oh that reminds me, I still need to pick out my wedding gown and have Belle come with me so she can choose a maid of honor's dress." Extending her hand, Chloe added, "You can just hand the plastic over now. After all, we couldn't have the groom coming with the bride to pick out the gown, could we?"

Reaching into his back pocket, Brady pulled out his leather wallet and retrieved his MasterCard. Handing it over to Chloe, he grumbled, "You've already gotten this wife thing down a little too well."

"I try - now, let's go grab some breakfast."

~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~

Pushing his chair away from the breakfast table, Jeremy politely said, "Excuse me, but I've got to leave if I want to get to class on time." Smiling at his aunt, he added, "And, don't worry, I'll remember to stop at the deli on the way home."

"Thanks, Jeremy," responded Jennifer as her nephew grabbed his backpack and slipped out of the room. Helping Abby pick up her breakfast dishes, Jennifer said, "Jason, it was nice having you over for breakfast. I hope you'll come back soon."

"Yeah, thanks, Mrs. Dev-, Miss . . ., M- . . ." Jason stopped stammering and looked back and forth from Jack to Jennifer for some answer as to what to call the blonde woman.

Smiling that gentle smile of hers, Jennifer said, "You can just call me Jennifer. Otherwise, I swear that I'll just feel as old as my mother - which is not good."

"No problem," replied Jason.

Just as she was about to leave the room, Jennifer turned and added, "Oh, Jack, don't forget you have an assignment due on my desk by the end of the day."

Jack gave a mock salute to his ex-wife as she departed. Though he loved both Jennifer and his new job as a reporter for the Spectator, Jack could not help but be slightly perturbed by the power Jennifer flaunted over him as his editor. And, the fact that she had returned to the world of dating only worsened Jack's view on his life's state.

Moving away from the breakfast table, Jack pasted a smile on his face and said, "Why don't we move into the living room and get started on setting that game thingy up?"

Jason gave an indifferent shrug and followed Jack into the adjoining room. Though he was the first to call Jack the world's most annoying neighbor, Jason secretly enjoyed having the guy around. Since he had never been close to his own father, Jason found it rather nice to have another male living so close. Having another guy to talk to about women was a nice change. Then again, having anyone to talk to was a nice change.

Just after Jennifer and Abby left the house, Jack began to unpack the Playstation. Tossing the instructions aside, Jack muttered to himself, "Only an imbecile needs someone else to tell him how to plug in a simple cord or two."

Jason was just about to suggest that maybe instructions weren't only for imbeciles when the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the home. As Jack kneeled before the television doing battle against the Playstation and its tangled cords, Jason sluggishly walked to the front door and slowly swung it open to reveal the visitor.

His dull expression of indifference quickly turned to repressed delight when he realized the person who had rung the doorbell was Mimi Lockhart.

Her eyes wide with surprise, Mimi took a giant step away back from the door and quickly glanced at the front of the house and double checked the house number. Throwing Jason a suspicious glare, Mimi stated, "You don't live here. You're house is next door."

Arching one eyebrow, Jason leaned his body against the doorframe and responded, "You figured out that this isn't my house? Gee, Meems, you sure are a quick one. I'm surprised the quiz bowl team hasn't snatched you up already."

Truly noticing for the first time that Jason was shirtless, Mimi couldn't stop her eyes from doing just a little drifting over his body. And, as she gazed at his lingering summer tan, Jason smiled triumphantly. Deep down, Mimi wanted him, and he knew it.

Snapping out of her trance and seeing Jason's arrogant grin, Mimi hurriedly demanded, "Where's Jeremy?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Mimi normally wouldn't have told Jason about any of her plans, but she really didn't want to stand outside the Deveraux house and argue with him for half an hour when it would be so much simpler to just tell him what she wanted. "I dropped by to see if Jeremy wanted to go with me to the Brady Pub to meet Shawn and Belle. So, where is he?"

"Sorry, sweetheart, but your lover boy left quite a while ago. Apparently, he had to get to class."

Groaning with frustration, Mimi said aloud, "I thought his morning class was tomorrow. I was so stupid. I should have called before having my mom just drop me off."

"Well, I guess that just means that I'll have to take you, huh? It's a good thing I was here to save the day."

Mimi rolled her eyes dramatically and said, "I don't think so. First, I'm not going to go anywhere with you while you're only half-dressed. And, second, I don't want to wait for you to go home to get dressed and find your keys."

"What makes you think I don't have my truck keys with me?" Jason challenged.

"Well, unless they're hidden in a place where only a cavity search could find them, you're probably not carrying your keys with you. It's not like you're wearing enough clothing to really conceal them."

Out of seemingly nowhere, Jack appeared. Tossing a lime green wool sweater with the words 'Bargain Hunter' at Jason, he mumbled, "Yes, thank you for letting me borrow this. You truly are a fine neighbor." Reaching into his pocket and pulling out his car keys, Jack continued, "And, it was so kind of you to offer to wash my car today. Here you go, here are the keys."

Smiling triumphantly, Jason gratefully took the keys from Jack and jingled them in front of Mimi's face. "Ha! Now, let's go."

~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~

Washing down the last of her pancake with a sip of orange juice, Belle looked across the booth and demanded, "Okay, you two, what's this big announcement?"

With his arm strategically draped over Chloe's shoulder, Brady casually said, "You said that Mimi and Jeremy were going to be here soon, right? So, we can just wait for them - that way we can just tell all of you at once."

"Well, what about Jason and Zach? Shouldn't they be let in on this big surprise? Or, do they already know?" Belle tactfully prodded.

"Jason doesn't know anything," responded Chloe. "Then again, that's no surprise."

"What about Zach?" Belle asked, choosing to ignore Chloe's restrained insult toward Jason. When neither her brother nor Chloe said a word, Belle gleefully deduced, "Zach knows, doesn't he? Well, then, I'll just give him a call. I'm sure he won't keep any secrets from me."

Shawn reached over and grabbed Belle's cell phone out of her hand before she could even punch the first number. "Don't call Zach. Please?"

Retrieving her phone from her boyfriend's hand, Belle replied, "Shawn- Douglas Brady! Don't tell me that you're still jealous of Zach. He's my friend."

"Belle, the guy's a total player."

"Yeah, hear that, Tink? The guy's a player. Beware."

Rewarding Brady's obvious sarcasm with a playful swat to the shoulder, Chloe said, "Belle, you were the one who invited Mimi - not me. So, it's not my fault we have to wait for her to get here."

"Well, I just thought that you two might become better friends if you would just hang out a little more."

"Mimi and I are as likely to become best pals as me and Jason Masters," responded Chloe as she popped a slice of banana into her mouth.

Doing his best to not smile, Shawn said, "Well, you and Jason sure have been acting like friends in first period."

"Excuse me?" Chloe replied with more indignation than she actually felt.

"You know what I'm talking about, Chloe. Every single time I turn around to talk to you in class, you're whispering with Jason or the two of you are laughing at someone, or you're just sending dirty glares toward Jan. If I didn't know better, I'd say the two of you just might be becoming friends."

Narrowing her pretty blue eyes, Chloe responded, "That has to be the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. Just because I've learned to put up with Jason, it doesn't mean that we're best friends or something."

"Sure, whatever you say," said Shawn with a shrug - and a smile.

Changing the conversation, Belle begged, "Chloe, please, just tell us the announcement. I can't wait for Mimi and Jeremy."

"Tink," answered Brady. "It's not exactly something that'll shock you. In fact, you were probably already expecting it. After all, it's inevitable."

After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, Belle joyfully squealed, "Chloe, you really are going to have a baby!"

Chloe's formerly narrowed eyes widened and nearly popped completely out of her head. As Brady sat with his mouth agape, Chloe declared, "No! No, a thousand times over! Honestly, Belle, it would be a little hard for me to get pregnant since Brady and I never . . ." Realizing that she was about to give away information that could possibly cause her friends to doubt the sincerity of her relationship with Brady, Chloe lied, "Since Brady and I never . . . well, you know, without using protection."

"Oh," chirped Belle as she lowered her embarrassed eyes.

As Belle stared at the pancake crumbs on her plate, Chloe darted her eyes around the pub for any distraction, and Brady withheld an amused laugh, Shawn muttered, "We've got to stop sharing so much information with each other."

Saving the four tense individuals from their own apprehension and silence, Jason and Mimi entered the pub while continuing one of their pointless arguments.

Looking past Brady and Chloe, Shawn questioned aloud, "I thought Jeremy was coming with Mimi, so what is Jason doing here with her?"

"I have a better question," remarked Belle. "What is he wearing?"

Brady and Chloe turned in the booth to see Jason and Mimi approaching the booth. Faint smiles appeared on their faces as they watched Jason defensively cross his arms over his chest to try and conceal the words on the ugly sweater.

"Hey, guys," greeted Shawn.

Resting her head on Shawn's shoulder, Belle asked, "So, um, where's Jeremy? I thought he was coming with you, Mimi."

"Horton had class, so I was nice enough to bring Mimi over," Jason answered.

"Jason the selfless boy scout? Now, why doesn't that sound right?" Brady asked with a slight grin.

"Because, he's anything but selfless," Mimi stated. "The only reason he even offered was to embarrass me or tease me or something."

"That's right, Meems, my whole life revolves around you," Jason huffed sarcastically. However, even as he said the words, he couldn't help but wonder how close to the truth they actually were.

Opting to once again change the subject, Belle smiled brightly at her brother and said, "Well, now that Mimi's here, you and Chloe can tell us your good news."

Pulling his future bride close to him, Brady happily announced, "Chloe and I are getting married on Friday night."

"Friday?" Belle echoed. "This Friday?"

"Yep," Brady responded. "So, that means you and Chloe need to go dress hunting later today."

"Well, that's if Belle is sure she wants to be my maid of honor," Chloe said with a grin.

"Duh! I would totally love to be your maid of honor!"

Acting as cool and calm as usual, Brady looked across the table and said, "What do you say, Shawn? You want to be my best man?"

"Oh, gee, let me think about that one," joked Shawn. "Of course, I'll be your best man."

Noticing that Jason and Mimi were simply standing by the table in silence, Belle looked directly at Chloe and said, "But, won't you need another groomsman and bridesmaid?"

Watching as Belle repeatedly swung her eyes in Jason and Mimi's direction; Chloe's smile became a little tenser. "Another groomsman and bridesmaid?"

As both Shawn and Brady did their best to conceal their amused smiles, Belle continued, "You know, to make the wedding even more spectacular? Chloe, isn't there anyone else you would like to be in the wedding party?"

Receiving a nod of approval from Brady, Chloe went against her better judgment and turned to Jason and Mimi and reluctantly asked, "Would the two of you like to be in our wedding?"

Mimi's face was instantly engulfed by a huge smile. Barely able to keep herself from jumping up and down, she replied, "Are you serious? Oh, my, gosh! That would be so awesome! Yes, I'd love to!"

Keeping the forced smile on her face, Chloe turned to Jason and asked, "Jason?"

The handsome athlete gave an indifferent shrug and responded, "Sure, why not?"

While Belle smiled uncontrollably, Chloe gave a weak, yet genuine, smile of her own. It would definitely be a wedding to remember.