Jenny paused on the bottom stair, apprehensive about facing her family at dinner. She had no doubts that they would support her 100%...eventually. It was the possibility of an emotional scene that left her rooted to the spot, too scared to walk the few remaining steps to the table. She chided herself for even harboring such childish fears and completed the journey post haste.

"Hi guys," she greeted her family as she took her place at the table.

"Oh honey are you feeling better?" her mom made her way over to Jenny and placed a hand on her forehead, intent on determining her daughter's well-being for herself.

Inwardly Jenny grinned from ear to ear but her expression remained calm. It would seem that for once one of her plans was progressing without a hitch.

"Yeah. I went to the nurse's office at lunch and she had me lie down for the rest of the day. Then when I got home I went straight to bed for another nap."

"Good. I want you in bed early tonight, too."

"Okay."

"So how was the rest of school today?" her dad asked, casting an amused glance at his wife as she sat back down in her chair.

It was just the opening she had been looking for.

"Well I got called to Mr. Twitche's office today."

"Oh? What for?" her mom questioned.

She proceeded to lay it all out for them, careful to keep her tone hovering between very interested and excited. When she was finished she settled back into her chair and enjoyed a few more bites of her dinner in silence, allowing her family the time they needed to process the information.

"Well," her mother broke the silence but said no more.

"What do you think?" Jenny asked, looking between her parents and over at her brother. "Does it sound like a waste of time?"

"No, not at all." Her father insisted.

He was following the parental code of behavior to a perfect "t." She knew her parents would try and convince her to go if they really thought it was a good idea and conversely they would discourage her in a heartbeat as well if they thought otherwise.

"It's just happening a little fast is all." Her mother added.

"Well Mr. Twitche said I could let the camp know by Friday. But if that isn't enough time I can ask for more."

"I think we can reach a decision by then." Her dad said. "Let's go over the pros and cons and see what sounds like the best decision."

In the end it was no contest, really. Camp had won out, just as Jenny had thought. As she prepared for bed she smiled at her good fortune. But that smile dimmed a moment later when she realized that she had yet to fill her friends in on any of this stuff. Just when one obstacle is hurdled the next one springs up to take its place, she thought with a sigh.

Then the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is Jenny there?"

"This is."

"Hey Jenny, it's Summer."

"Oh hey Summer, what's up?"

"Well when you missed your afternoon classes I got a little worried about you."

"Oh thanks! That's so sweet. But I'm okay. Just felt a bit flushed and had a bit of a temperature. I should be okay after some rest."

"Well I have the assignments you missed whenever you want them."

"Anything important?"

"Nah. Mostly just review for the finals. If you don't come tomorrow I'll call you and give them to you."

"Well thanks. I appreciate that."

"No problem. Hey listen, I'm going to let you get some sleep and I hope you feel better."

"Thanks for calling Summer. Talk to you tomorrow, one way or another."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

As she hung up Jenny realized that she had just let a prime opportunity to fish for details about the budding "Zach/Summer" relationship pass. Darn it! Oh well, she supposed she could do it at the slumber party…wait a minute! The slumber party! Shoot! She'd been so caught up in the whole plan to get to sleep more that she had somehow failed to take into account this one big drawback. So much for having a plan that went off without a hitch.

So now the question was whether or not to stay home tomorrow? If she stayed home tomorrow there was a real chance that her mom wouldn't let her go to the slumber party. On the other hand, did she really want to pass up the chance to be with Julian all day long? Aaggh! What to do?

Sleep, of course. Like there was any question, really. She would go to sleep and talk things over with Julian…if there was time left to talk.

Jenny started to giggle with that thought. What a thing for her to be thinking about! Not that it wasn't completely natural, of course, given the subject, but still, it was a bit unlike her.

Becoming serious for a moment she allowed herself to think more on the topic. Maybe it wasn't unlike her. Sure in the past she may have not been prone to thoughts like these but now, well she had changed since The Games, hadn't she? Maybe thoughts like these came part and parcel with the new attitude of a girl who found she was falling for a guy unlike any other.

That thought left Jenny feeling decidedly happy so when she fell asleep moments later she still bore the ghost of a smile on her lips.

When she opened her eyes it was to a scene unlike any other.  To her left was a huge fireplace which was sporting an enormous blaze. The firelight wasn't the only light in the room, however. In front of her Jenny noticed French doors that led out to a balcony. Through these doors silvery beams of moonlight were flooding the floor.

But it wasn't the moonlight that caused Jenny to gasp in delight. It was her favorite Shadow Man lounging on the balcony, staring right at her.

God he was beautiful! Tonight he looked even sexier than usual if such a thing was even possible. He was wearing a tuxedo but the cumber bund was missing as was the tie. Instead the top few buttons were left open, affording Jenny the view of some of Julian's finely sculpted chest.

And dear god, he was standing next to a bowl of strawberries…

She made her way over to him, unconsciously provocative in her movements. A slow heat began to burn within his eyes as he captured her gaze. It was incredible sexy and started an accompanying heat within Jenny's stomach, which pooled and began to spread through her limbs.

Arriving within arm's length she reached up and looped her arms around his neck, urging him down for a kiss. His lips met hers and she was sure she was branded from the heat they generated between them. After what felt like an eternity of pure bliss Jenny sighed into him.

"Hi," Her voice was soft and throaty.

"Hi yourself," His voice was deep and husky; "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"How was your day?" he inquired, and as she told him he reached down and picked up one of the strawberries. She asked for his input on the slumber party versus ditching school debate. He paused in the act of dipping the fruit into a bowl of hot fudge she hadn't noticed before.

"Well of course I want you here with me," he teased, sending her a smile. "But I suppose that it would be good to be with your friends, too. Especially if you're going away for the summer. They won't get to see you as much and they'd probably like to get in as much time together before that happens as they can."

She shrugged a shoulder, considering his words absently. Her eyes were trained on the lush ripe strawberry he held in his fingers. Noticing what her attention was on Julian grinned and brought the fruit up to his lips. He was almost unable to take a bite when he saw the hunger in her gaze but he managed.

"That looks like it tastes good," Jenny said, nodding her chin toward his hand. Julian indicated the bowl with a wave of his hand.

"It's very good. Would you like some?"

"Yes, I believe I would like a taste, thank you."

And before he knew what was happening she had crushed herself to him, her lips seeking his in a blatantly carnal kiss that stunned him with its intensity. Jenny tugged on his lower lip with his teeth and when he gasped she took the opportunity to snake her tongue inside his mouth. She allowed it to sweep over his, delighting in the flavor of the strawberries and chocolate.

She used her hands to divest him of his jacket and when it had dropped to the floor she eased his shirt open enough to run her palms underneath his collar and up to his shoulders.

As she did this shudder went through Julian. Underneath her fingers she felt the sleek muscles of his back flex and grow taut. She gloried in the knowledge that she could have such an obvious effect on him.

Julian was never one to remain passive for long. Once he regained control of his thought processes he decided Jenny had been reeking havoc with his senses and having fun for too long. With a growl low in his throat he placed his hands on Jenny's hips and backed her into the nearest wall. She smiled against his lips and went to work on the buttons of his shirt. Once she had pulled it out of the waistband of his pants and then off of him completely she broke free of his lips and went to work trailing kisses across his chest and down his stomach. He sucked in his breath and she laughed.

"What's the matter?" she asked between kisses.

"Absolutely nothing. Unless you count the fact that you have far too many clothes on."

She abruptly ceased her kisses and stood up to face him, one finger tapping against her lips and her brow creased as if she were in deep thought.

"You know I do believe you're right," she announced. "Whatever can we do to rectify the situation?"

He just smirked and reached for her, using one arm to hold her against his length by her waist while the other went to the zipper at the back of her dress. As he bent his head and captured her lips it occurred to her that she didn't even know what she was wearing. But as the material crumpled at her feet in a pile she decided it didn't matter. A cool breeze danced across her skin and she shivered, moving closer to Julian to keep warm.

He felt her shiver and picked her up, smiling when she nestled her head against his shoulder. He made his way back into the room beyond the balcony and as he did so the French doors closed behind him of their own accord. He went over to the fireplace and gently deposited Jenny on a thick rug that had appeared in front of the flames.

He pulled away and disappeared into the darkness for a moment. Jenny turned and studied the flames, idly wondering what it was about fire that so thoroughly entranced the attention of anyone who saw it. It was as if the answers to all of life's greatest mysteries could somehow be found within the depths of the flames, if only one would be patient enough to seek them.

She started briefly when Julian's arms encircled her with a warm blanket. He positioned himself behind her and she lay back against him, happy to snuggle for a moment. He held a strawberry in front of her in silent invitation and she leaned forward to take a bite. Mmm, it tasted good. But then again she expected nothing less. She hummed her appreciation.

"How is it?" he asked, although her unintelligible murmuring told him she liked it.

"Pretty good although it could use some whipped crème," she stated with a smile, tilting back to meet his gaze. He grinned at her.

************************************************************************

Disclaimer: I am a not with profit writer (at the moment, anyway). I can barely claim sanity, let alone that I own LJ Smith's character.

Author's Notes: First of all I would like to promote melissarxy1 and JLF's fics. Worth a look. Also if I didn't comment on your review *please please please* let me know! I go off of the ones that come through in my e-mail and I was just informed that my mail quota was exceeded for a while but I still got some messages, just not others…who knows how these things work? Anyway if you don't see an acknowledgement I am not snubbing you! Let me know so I can make amends!

Yeah so I'm working on a Law and Order:CI fic and that's what's been taking up my muse's time. Plus I am having some serious issues with connecting to FF.Net. It keeps saying "site overload." Is that just happening to me? Anyway on to the thank-you portion:

Pixxi—I hate that I am once again the cause of your eyes going all swirly and I do apologize. My life is running away from me. So if you get a Julian you'll play with him everyday? And feed him? And take him on walks? I'm sorry, but since you didn't add "bathe him" to the list I'm afraid you can't have him. What sort of cookies are you trying to bribe me with, anyway?

Pixxi—So you're feeling guilty about Easter? What sorts of difficulties are you running into with it? Is it just that you don't like what you have, are you in writer's block, what? I agree with you about the Jenny/Julian interactions in the books. It always irked me that she remembered Tom….the fact that she *forgot him* in the first place was pretty telling for me…thanks for kicking me in the pants to get this update out. *rubs sore spot and wonders if detergent will get rid of the footprints*

Kyia-Kenobi—Ah the freedom of being away from home. No sharing or anything of the like unless you want to! Thanks for checking in!

Amber—Just this once I'll only address you, because I feel guilty for Jenny kicking your ass. I have to wonder about Jenny, though. She wants my vacation address so Julian can come stalk me? So she obviously thinks I'm no match for her and that Julian's safe with me, huh? I don't know whether to admire her confidence or feel annoyed and take it out on her in the next chapter? lol Thanks for going that extra mile to ensure that your reviews are some of the most memorable I will ever receive.

CeredwenFlame—So this update doesn't even come closer to ASAP or sooner, unless ASAP suddenly stands for As Slowly As Possible. lol Thanks for saying that my story amazes you. That's really sweet!

melissarxy1—Boy you really know how to make a girl feel great! Your review was so thoughtful and it made me feel so good about this fic. So thank you, very very much.

Clare—Thank you for forgiving me…I don't get that a lot! Hee hee. Yes, you're right. Any girl would have to do some serious soul-searching to discover a worthy reason (if one even exists) as to why she did not find herself head-over-feet for Julian. And thanks for the compliments…you may have said it before but that doesn't diminish its impact at all. I still feel humbled and all around pretty darn happy!

Pixxi—My dear pixxistixx4me I cannot imagine you going crackers…but your use of that word made me laugh for at least a good solid minute. Yeah, I like to change things up a bit, have Julian act like the insecure one. But only for a little bit. Hey, don't worry about Easter…tests are important and need to be studied for, I get that. I hope you discovered that you didn't bomb any of them. But the end is in sight and summer is on its way so you've got to be feeling pretty good about that, right? If my muses went and got drunk that would go a long way towards explaining their absence until recently…that must have been the mother of all hangovers they were getting over! I just wish they would have invited me along for the ride. I do that with fics I really like, too. I always read more than once. As far as suggestions go for holidays, how about Flag Day? (*images of Julian in only a flag come to mind*….*drool*…*sigh*)

Venus Smurf—Are you sure that you're not part vampire? Because you've got me in your thrall and I have to wonder. It's so strong that I question whether it's supernatural in origin. Not only am I lucky enough to have *your* stories to read, and re-read, and look forward to, but then I find myself blessed to have *you* seek my work out and lavish such praise as I had never dreamed of reading.

Sorry about the delay in updating. I went to work on my HP fic and then this Law and Order one just will not let go but I'm not posting that one until I have it mapped out at least, if not completely written. "Let's just hope Julian stops being so unbelievably stupid. As if Jenny could ever love anyone but him! If he weren't so wonderful, I'd think he was a dork for even coming up with an idea like that."—Hee hee! You crack me up! I love the use of the word 'dork.' It makes me smile to say it or just hear it. I'm glad you like the mental flagellation thing, too—it made me giggle and that's a sure sign, well that I am far too easily amused I'm sure.

So you're not on drugs? You're just a groupie? Well that works out nicely for us that we are each other's groupies…I just need to find a cool name for my posse.

And no, I am not making fun of you 'gushing'...not at all! I want to assure you that I wouldn't spend my time reviewing and trying to be as elaborate and creative as I can with *your* stories' comments if I just wanted the same from you, either. So now we both know. You're the absolute best and I just feel so light and carefree whenever I get a message from you so thanks for that.

Shadow--*Still drooling from the Julian in Chocolate images* Well as you can tell I took some inspiration from your comments. Jenny/Julian is what I like too. I'm glad you liked that chapter. Thanks so much for taking the time to review and for the lovely imagery.