AN: Hello folks, my apologies for the long delay in the posting of this new chapter - life has gotten a little out of control recently leaving little time for writing, couple that with the fact that I really wasn't sure if this was the right way to go about this chapter and things have taken a while to get finished. I hope that you can forgive me for that and that you enjoy this new instalment of the series.

As always a huge thank you to those of you who have read/reviewed/followed/favourite or simply read the story so far, particularly those who have reviewed as guests since I cannot thank you in person through PM. Another huge, special thank you goes out to my friends Blindmoose, KChandler0, ILoveXmas, KanucksPen and Ltlconf who have encouraged, supported and listened to my ideas (and in many cases helped me to refine them, that means a lot to me) without whom I'd have given up writing this series after chapter 1 of Redefining Shakespeare, thank you for believing in this series as much as I do and giving me the courage to write it.

Before I forget I was asked in a review for one of the chapters whether or not I am willing to write stories on request, I'm flattered that anyone likes my work enough to even think about asking! The short answer is that I am happy to write stories on request, provided that you're willing to be patient as I have a lot going on with my own stories and original work. If you drop me a PM then I'll have a look at your premise and see if I can do it, there are certain things however that I am not willing to write - PWP for one thing, I tend to avoid writing full on sex scenes in my stories, I'd rather leave things to your imagination. I also will not write anything for FOL if the pairing isn't Jo/Blair. Like I say though give me a shout and we'll see.

We're not quite at the debut ball yet, almost there though I promise. There's a bit of ground work to lay first and of course it wouldn't be Jo and Blair without a bit of conflict added into the mix! In this chapter a new character is introduced - Jo's uncle Braulio, who she refers to as uncle 'Lio while he refers to her as Leonessa throughout. In part of the chapter they speak to one another in Italian, I have to confess now that I do not speak or write Italian. I had to rely on using Google translate in order to put the dialogue in, if there are any mistakes regarding tense etc. then let me know and I will correct them (as long as you tell me what the correct terms are of course, since that would mean the translation didn't work for me). I know it might be a pain to read, I just thought it would add a little bit of authenticity to the story and it's not a huge conversation so I think it works well.

The basics of what they're saying to one another are:

'Piccola Leonessa! Mi sei mancata tesoro.' - 'Little Lioness! I missed you darling!'

'Leonessa, hai dimenticato come parlare italiano?' - 'Lioness, you forgot how to speak Italian?'

'No zio non l'ho dimenticato.' - 'No Uncle, I have not forgotten'

'Bene, sono sicuro che il tuo nuovo amore della signora lo apprezzeranno!' - 'Well, I'm sure your new lady love will appreciate it!'

...

Loving is not just looking at each other, it's looking in the same direction.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

…

Misdirection and Misunderstandings

…

Jo loved driving Blair's car. It wasn't something she did often but she relished every moment that she did. Having worked tirelessly over the last few weeks to finally get the interior back to its former pristine condition, blood was a pain in the ass to get out of cream upholstery, she was now giving the car a test drive in the guise of dropping her princess off in town to meet her father for lunch. Blair had been so excited when she'd gotten the call, David Warner had actually called himself for once and not his PA, that Jo had actually volunteered to take the Dictaphone and record their afternoon lectures. She even planned to make an extra copy of the notes for her girlfriend so she could spend the whole afternoon with him. She really was a sap when it came to Blair but the thought of how happy she'd been at her offer made her feel intensely warm inside. Jeez being in love was the best feeling in the whole damned world!

Unfortunately it wasn't all plain sailing. Jeff hadn't been the only 'gentleman caller' that Blair had received. Monica had a seemingly endless list of apparently eligible, desirable, gentlemen of the 'correct' social standing who were more than willing to try and sweep the Warner heiress off her feet. The last had been the son of a Warner family friend – weren't they all? Apparently he was an English aristocrat, at least that's what he'd claimed. Jo hadn't known what to make of him when he'd turned up at the door, in fact as soon as she'd seen him she had burst into a fit of laughter, having at first mistaken him for a trick or treater who was a little too old and about a month late – something she had informed him of almost as soon as she'd opened the door through her tears of laughter much to Blair's dismay and Tootie's curiosity. Having finally gotten rid of the poor guy, whose attempts at wooing Blair had been cringe worthy at best, Jo now found herself defending her reaction to him under her girlfriend's intense scrutiny as she pulled into a parking space outside the hottest new restaurant in Peekskill. Jo wished she could afford to take Blair there herself, she'd have to do some serious saving first though. It was a French restaurant under the management of a young chef named Sorin Beaulieu. Named for its head chef Beaulieu's was grand but not ostentatious. Black tie without the stuffiness. It was vibrant, classic and modern in an instant and the Peekskill hierarchy couldn't get enough of it. Not that Jo noticed, her focus now that the car was parked was the conversation at hand and, more importantly, the teasing smile gracing her beautiful girlfriend's lusciously kissable lips.

'Oh come on! How'd ya expect me ta react?'

'Joey, he was nervous enough without you making fun of him…'

'The guy was wearin eyeliner Blair… how could ya possibly take him seriously?'

'Of course he was wearing eyeliner Joey, he's a New Romantic…'

Jo turned and studied her girlfriend more closely, convinced that she'd made this term up. What the hell was a New Romantic when it was at home? And what did that have to do with a guy wearing eyeliner? She switched off the engine and turned in her seat to face Blair a little better.

'He's a what?'

'A New Romantic.' Blair was exasperated 'It's a London thing…'

'Yeah? Well he ain't in London now, if he wore that kinda gear in my neighbourhood he'd…'

'Get beaten up…' Blair only just managed to avoid rolling her eyes as she spoke, it was Jo's war cry.

'Exactly' at least Blair understood where she was coming from on this. 'Jeez does everyone in England dress that way?'

'Of course they don't Joey, but for goodness sake he knows Tony Hadley!'

'What's that gotta do with anythin? I know Mrs G but I don't go 'bout dressin like her do I?'

'Do you even know who Tony Hadley is?'

Jo sighed, it was hard not to know who he was – Blair had spent the whole of their senior year at Eastland with a signed picture of him beside her bed. She had a thing for Brits, Prince Charles, that guy from Duran Duran whichever one it was (Jo could never remember his name) and of course Tony Hadley. It was her way of showing her 'sophistication', the fact that her daddy had bought her tickets to see Spandau Ballet in London another reason that she could go on and on about cute guys. It had driven Jo crazy having to watch her fawning over that photograph upon her return from England. She'd even hidden it once in frustration but Blair had been so inconsolable over its disappearance that she had relented almost immediately, returning it with a profuse apology over her 'prank'. It all seemed so stupid in retrospect. Of course things were different now, she knew it had all been part of her debutante's carefully calculated cover. The truth was that while Blair had that framed picture beside her bed, she'd also had a magazine cutting of Joan Jett in her purse! That Jo could understand!

'Of course I know who he is, I hadda stare at his mug the whole of our senior year and you were obsessed with that song. I swear I was gonna throw that tape outta the window!'

Even though it drove her crazy Jo had included it in the playlist she had made for Blair, the blonde loved it so much that it just had to be there. Even if it had seemed to be on repeat in their room at Eastland once upon a time. The very fact that it had been played so often during that year, a time when they seemed to be getting closer all the time, had made it inevitable that it would make the cut on 'their' playlist.

'It's a romantic song Joey, it reminds me of you.'

'It does?' Jo couldn't hide her surprise, it seemed so unlikely.

But that explained it! Jo felt a little guilty now, she'd hated having to listen to that damned song on repeat. Now it turned out she was the reason behind it being played! Maybe it wasn't so bad after all… it was romantic…

'Of course it does. It felt so appropriate at the time, I wished so much that I could tell you how I felt but I couldn't…'

'I uh… I ain't listened ta the lyrics real close babe, I guess I oughtta huh?'

'It's a date sweetheart, I may just have to make you a tape of your own now…'

'Oh no… you don't gotta do that…'

Blair grinned mischievously before leaning in for a teasing kiss, just sweet enough to keep Jo on edge, and then promptly pulling back to reapply her lipstick before meeting her father. As much as she loved Jo, and particularly kissing Jo, God how she loved kissing Jo, she wasn't about to meet her father with imperfect lipstick. That just wouldn't do.

'Oh I think I do, it's time you had a proper musical education, and for the record I'd like to point out that Kiss wear an awful lot more than eyeliner and you've never criticised them…'

'That's different! Kiss are legends! Besides none of 'em have ever shown up here tryin' ta ask ya out…'

…

Jo hated application forms. They were never simple, there was never enough space to write everything that you wanted to, they made her handwriting look messy, and they took forever to fill out properly. Application forms were almost as bad as exams. Almost. This application was arguably the most important she would ever write – if she screwed it up the Police Academy wouldn't accept her and she didn't have a plan B. There was nothing else she wanted to do. Nothing meaningful career wise anyway. She was using Natalie's 'lucky' pen. She'd have worn her 'exam' hat too if she'd been able to find it, even if it would look ridiculous! All she wanted was to be a cop. She'd wanted it for a long time now, she couldn't exactly remember when she'd first decided that was what she wanted, sometime after she'd arrived at Eastland. At the time she'd felt a need to atone for the crimes she'd committed. She'd wanted to prevent another meaningless death, if she could prevent just one more girl like Gloria from dying needlessly... If she couldn't do that she wasn't sure what she'd do. The very thought was stressing her out – she had no choice here, she had to get into the Academy. No matter what it took.

Her stress over the whole thing wasn't helped by the fact that this particular application form was one she was trying to write while out of sight of her roommates and particularly Blair. It wasn't that she was hiding it necessarily. At least not forever. No she had every intention of telling her Peekskill family all about it, once she knew she had been accepted. There was no point in telling them until she knew for sure. They would only worry or worse - try and talk her out of it. She hadn't even told her Ma about it for those very reasons. The only ones who knew were Buzz, because he was applying too, and Mrs G, because she was helping her fill out the application. Neither of them was happy about the fact she was hiding her intentions from the others even if they sort of understood. She had made it clear though that it wasn't up for discussion, not yet anyway.

The problem was she felt guilty keeping quiet. Her deliberate silence meant it felt like she was lying to Blair. Her decision would affect her girlfriend as much, if not more than, it affected her. She knew that but she also knew that Blair would freak out once she knew. No it was better this way, Blair would have a hard time coming to terms with the prospect of being a cop's girl – it was a conversation that was for another day. A day when Jo knew for sure that she was going to get the chance to pursue her dream. She still had a couple of years to finish at Langley anyway and Blair would only worry. Deep down she realised that keeping such a huge thing from her girlfriend was asking for trouble. It was stupid, arrogant and a whole bunch of other adjectives combined into idiocy. Buzz had warned her about it and so had Mrs G, who had in fact been pressing the issue more strongly in recent days. Jo had planned on telling her debutante the night after the scholarship try outs, she knew she should have… but then Monica had appeared… timing just wasn't her forte.

'Jo! You have company!' Mrs Garrett's voice from downstairs made the brunette jump.

'I'll be down in a sec Mrs G!' she quickly took the application and hid it under her pillow leaving the pen on her bed. She'd get it later, the others weren't likely to be home for a few hours anyway.

Company could be anyone but she really hoped it wasn't one of her teammates, she really needed to get her application finished and the last thing she needed was to be dragged on an impromptu training session by her overzealous team captain! Not that she minded impromptu training sessions, the more the better as far as she was concerned. She needed to be at her physical prime if she was going to make it as a cop, besides she wanted to be in good condition for the game against the Tigers. As she neared the top of the stairs however she was left in no doubt who 'company' was and taking them two at a time she rushed to greet her guest whose silvery voice she'd recognise anywhere.

'Uncle 'Lio!'

'Piccola Leonessa! Mi sei mancata tesoro.'

'I missed ya too Uncle 'Lio…'

It was hard to believe that her uncle was standing there in the middle of the living room. She hadn't seen him since she'd been home at the start of the summer and she'd missed him a great deal. More so since her father had abandoned her. Braulio Durante was tall, his arms were strong though he was more wiry than muscular, as he pulled Jo into a tight embrace his face was lit with the widest smile, pride radiating from him in waves. He wore a pinstripe suit, expertly tailored by his own hand which made him look more dapper than any of the rich guys on campus, his tie was black, the knot simple perfection, and his short, silvering, brown hair was effortlessly styled in a timelessly romantic fashion that would make the movie stars of the '50s jealous. He had deep green eyes, always wore a pocket watch attached to his waistcoat and was never without a tape measure. Releasing his niece from their embrace he raised a questioning eyebrow.

'Leonessa, hai dimenticato come parlare italiano?'

'No zio non l'ho dimenticato.'

'Bene, sono sicuro che il tuo nuovo amore della signora lo apprezzeranno!'

'Jeez Uncle 'Lio, I ain't really spoken much Italian recently…'

'Nor Polish I imagine. Leonessa, you must not hide from your heritage, be proud of it.'

'I am proud of it…'

'And we are all so very proud of you! Now, your mother tells me you need a new suit…'

'Yeah… betcha never thought ya'd be makin one fer me huh?'

'Leonessa, I always knew one day I would.'

'Ya did?' Jo was astounded.

'Of course, I remember the way you used to admire the suits in my store as a child… and I remember the way you were before Calvin and Mitch died, you were so much more open then honey, so easy to read. Besides, I know that you used to sneak a certain friend of yours inta the store after closing every Saturday night…'

Jo's jaw dropped at her uncle's words. How had he known about that? They'd always been so careful…What else did the sly fox know?

'Now, to business! We have so little time and I have something special in mind for you!'

…

Knowing that Jo didn't want Blair to see her suit until the night of their debut Mrs Garrett had generously allowed them to use her bedroom for the delicate operation that was measuring and fitting. Jo had always been fascinated by the process of creating a suit, she'd even considered briefly going into tailoring – that was before she'd been allowed to work in her uncle Sal's gas station of course, she much preferred the smell of motor oil to measuring shirt sleeves but the fascination had remained even so. It wasn't the fashion side of things that interested her, that was Blair's department, it was the creation itself. The fact that with your own two hands and a bit of thought you could make something that was perfect for the individual. It was a craft that her uncle Braulio excelled at, a trade that ran in the Durante family going back to the 'old country' days of his great grandfather. Braulio had been tailoring since he was a child and it showed in the effortlessness with which he seemed to work. He'd decided on every detail before he'd even left the Bronx, knowing Jo as well as she knew herself, perhaps better.

'So Leonessa, tell me about Blair… She treats you well?'

'Yeah, she's the best! I mean hell we fight like crazy but I ain't met nobody like her before.'

'I'm looking forward to meeting her honey, she makes you happy?'

'Like ya wouldn't believe uncle 'Lio, I love her more than anythin and I know she loves me.'

Braulio smiled fondly listening to the love in the brunette's voice. Her eyes were indeed windows to her soul, her emotions tangible. He wondered how they could have missed such obvious affection. Then again Jo always played her cards close, especially when she was home. She'd been burned by carelessness once too often and it had left her wary. Still he wished he'd seen this coming, it might have been easier on his niece and her new love if he had. He knew very well how cruel the world could be. There were some things even his 'connections' couldn't protect you from.

'I'm glad to hear it. Now what's troubling you honey?'

'Nothin… I'm just worried 'bout this debut thing. I mean it's crazy…'

'There's nothing crazy about it sweetheart, you're going to a dance with the woman you love. Nothing more.'

'But folks are gonna be freakin out all over the place uncle 'Lio, they're gonna give us a hard time and it'll break Blair's heart…'

'Blair is an intelligent young woman, she's already considered this I think. Yet she's decided to go anyway, she's proud to show the world that you're together. That takes great courage and it reveals more about her feelings for you than a thousand well-chosen words.'

'I just don't wanna let her down…'

'You have no reason to think that you will. You're allowing others judgements to create fear in your heart Leonessa. That is not like you. When you go there on Friday night stand tall, be proud of who you are. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says, their words cannot hurt you nor can they change the love you have for one another. Now stand still a moment, I'm almost finished…'

…

Tootie and Natalie had only just gotten in the door when Mrs Garrett had started issuing commands. The two friends had sighed dramatically as they always did and then cheerfully rushed upstairs to their room, the first thing they had to do was strip the beds. Mrs Garrett had warned them to stay out of her room for now, apparently Jo was in there and couldn't be disturbed. It peaked their curiosity, particularly Tootie's but Blair had caught them within moments listening in at the door and chased them into their room. The three friends now found themselves chatting idly while stripping the beds, it seemed an odd thing to do on a Wednesday evening but Mrs Garrett had insisted it needed to be done.

'What's Jo doing Blair?'

'You tell me Tootie, you were snooping at the door…'

The younger girl had the good sense to look bashful, this new dynamic between Jo and Blair was difficult to comprehend at times. They had always been protective of one another before but now they were distinctly chivalrous. It was hard to get a handle on sometimes.

'I just got curious… Mrs Garrett wouldn't tell us anything…'

'That's because it's not her place to Tootie, Joey will tell us when she's ready…'

That was another thing that Tootie couldn't get used to – the affectionate pet names Blair now used when referring to Jo. By the look on Natalie's face her best friend was having trouble digesting it all too. Still it was kind of sweet, it would just take a while to get used to. Blair and Jo had always been tempestuous, this honeymoon period was weird.

'What are you going to wear to the ball Blair? Or is that top secret too?' Natalie couldn't resist teasing her friend just a little, she knew Blair wouldn't be able to resist spilling the beans on her new dress.

'Oh Natalie, you should see it. Daddy took me shopping this afternoon!'

'Umm didn't you have a class this afternoon?'

'It's fine, Jo took the Dictaphone with her, she's going to go over everything with me tonight…'

'I bet she is…' Natalie's comment caused Tootie to collapse into a fit of giggles.

Blair sighed before turning her attention back to replacing the sheets on her bed.

'There are some things that shouldn't be joked about Natalie…'

'I'm sorry Blair. I was just kidding.'

'I know you were. It's just, never mind…'

At that moment Natalie couldn't help but shake her head in bewilderment, Blair had always enjoyed telling them about her latest beau, yet whenever they asked her about Jo she was different. It wasn't that she necessarily talked less, it was just that the talk was different. It somehow seemed more real, despite the missing 'details' that they were accustomed to hearing, of course Natalie felt that was for the best. After all how exactly would they be able to look Jo in the eye again if Blair gave too much away? She looked over to Tootie who simply shrugged in response before picking up Jo's pillow, removing the pillow case in one swift movement before turning her attention to the sheet.

'Hey Natalie, I found your lucky pen!' Tootie held the pen aloft triumphantly.

'I didn't know I'd lost it…'

'Lucky I found it huh? Wonder how it got under Jo's pillow…'

'Oh Tootie for goodness sake, Jo must have borrowed it…' Blair sighed dramatically – her roommates were always looking for a mystery to solve!

Her witty retort however was an inaudible gasp as she noticed the application form where Jo's pillow had once been. There was no mistaking the origin of the form or its intention and she felt as if the room was spinning out of control. How could Jo be contemplating doing this? Her confusion was replaced by anger – how could she apply to the Police Academy without so much as a hint that she was planning to? They were a couple now and this was the kind of decision they needed to be making together. She wasn't sure what made her more furious, the fact that she'd been kept in the dark regarding this very application or the fact that it represented a completely different life to the one she had envisioned sharing with Jo. Blair loved Jo more than she could express, cared about her more than anyone she'd ever known, she wasn't sure she was strong enough to watch the woman she loved doing such a dangerous job. Jo would be in danger every moment of her working life… Only last week she'd read about a cop being killed in a drugs bust gone wrong… She folded the application carefully, replacing it into the envelope before placing it under her own pillow. She would find out exactly what Jo was thinking tonight. She would accept no excuses.

'Blair? Blair you ok?'

'I'm just feeling a little under the weather. I'll be fine in a few minutes Tootie…'

Neither of her roommates were convinced. The complex emotions in those chestnut and gold eyes had told them otherwise. They also knew however that there was no way Blair was going to confide in them, whatever this was it was between her and Jo. The youngest musketeers exchanged worried glances, whatever this was it had hurt their friend more than she was showing. Jo must have done something monumentally stupid… they wondered whether they should warn her… but then the door opened. It was too late.