The next morning, the ringing of a phone startled them both from sleep. "Mmm, that's mine," said Jack, nuzzling Harley's neck as he reached over for it and glanced sleepily at the number.

"It's your parents," he said, suddenly sitting up, wide awake. "Hello?"

"Jack, have you seen Harley?" asked Mrs. Quinzel, in a slightly hysterical voice. "She left her party suddenly last night and hasn't been seen since, and her phone's turned off…"

"She's ok, Mrs. Quinzel," he interrupted, stroking Harley's hair. "She's here with me."

"With you?" repeated Mrs. Quinzel. "What's she doing with you?"

"Sleeping," replied Jack, grinning at her dozing form and planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "She said she wasn't feeling well last night, and since I was leaving early, she thought she'd tag along and come home with me. I gave her some aspirin and sent her to bed, and she's been out like a light ever since."

"Oh. Well, that's a relief!" sighed Mrs. Quinzel. "Tell her to call us when she wakes up, will you? And thank you, Jack. You always take such good care of her."

"I try, Mrs. Quinzel," he murmured, stroking Harley's hair back. "I do try."

He hung up the phone and kissed her gently on the lips. "Jack, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, opening her eyes and staring at him.

"Kissing you," he said, repeating the action.

"Well, stop it," she said, drawing away from him. "Why do you think that would be appropriate, for a guy like you to kiss a girl like me on the lips like that? Are you some kinda dirty old man?"

He stared at her. "Harley, I…"

But she suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. "I can't keep up the act!" she laughed. "I was gonna try to make you feel really guilty about what we did last night to see if you'd buy it, because it's funny to play on your insecurities about our age difference! But you just look so hurt, I can see I've gone too far already. Can't you take a joke, puddin'?" she asked, kissing him.

"There's a difference between a joke and just being cruel," retorted Jack. "You little minx. And what's with puddin'?"

"It's a name I'd call you when I thought about you sometimes," she said, shrugging. "I kept this picture of you under my pillow, and I'd talk to you when I was lonely at college, or when I missed you. Which was all the time," she added, kissing him again.

"Mmm, I'm gonna miss you when you go back to college," he replied, lying down to cuddle her in his arms again. "Not that I didn't already miss you like crazy before."

"Well…I could always move outta my dorm with Julia," she murmured. "And live here with you. So I'd come home to you every day. It's what I wanted to do from the beginning, but you said no."

"I said no because I knew I wouldn't be able to live with you platonically," he retorted. "Seeing you every day, and thinking about you sleeping all alone in the next room…I like to think of myself as a good man, but even a good man has some temptations he just can't resist."

"Mmm, don't think I wouldn't have tempted you too," she murmured, grinning at him. "If you had said yes, I would have tried all kinds of subtle tricks to seduce you, leaving the bathroom door open when I showered, forgetting a towel when I went back to my room, sleeping naked, with my bedroom door open invitingly…"

"You wanna tempt me now, don't you?" he chuckled, kissing her.

"Is it working?" she asked, grinning.

In response, he climbed on top of her, enveloping her mouth.

"You should call your parents," he said, lying in each other's arms after they were done.

"And tell them what?" she asked. "That I love you, and I'm moving in with you, and staying with you forever?"

He was silent. "Harley, I really don't think it's a good idea to tell them about us…as a couple," he murmured. "They won't like it. And I can't bear to break your father's heart after all he's done for me…"

"They have to know sometime," she said. "I wanna be with you, Jack. And I don't wanna have to hide our love from my parents. I want us all to be one big, happy family."

"That's the problem, Harley," he murmured. "They see me as family. And if they found out that two family members were doing this…well, that would be objectively wrong."

"But we're not family," she said. "Not blood-related anyway, and that's what matters. We love each other like family, but surely that's a good thing. Surely that's one of the deepest bonds of love that ever existed."

"Kiddo, it's not me you have to convince," he said. "It's your parents."

"And I can," she said. "I'm sure of it. But we should tell them together," she said, taking his hand. "Maybe at dinner tomorrow. Just present it to them as the most natural thing in the world, and I'm sure they'll see it that way. It certainly feels like the most natural thing in the world to me," she whispered, kissing him.

"Me too, kiddo," he said. "I just wish I had your confidence about your folks' reaction."

"Well, how do you think they'll react?" she asked.

He was silent. "I think your father will regret taking me in and giving me a chance in life. I think they'll both finally see me as everyone else does – a bad man. Who betrayed their trust, who was only ever interested in his own selfish gratification, who just wanted to get his hands on their pretty daughter…"

"But that's not true, Jack," she interrupted.

"No, it's not," he agreed. "But they'll see it that way. People have a habit of always seeing the worst in me, kid. Your father didn't, but…I'm just afraid this will change that. And I don't want to ruin my relationship with the only family I've ever known. I don't know what I'd do without them. I owe your father everything. My life, my job, even you," he said, kissing her. "I would do anything rather than hurt him."

"We have to tell them, Jack," she murmured. "And the sooner the better. I don't wanna have to sneak around the people I love. The only other option is to not see each other anymore, and that would kill me. Whatever happens, telling them is the lesser of two evils."

He nodded. "You're right, sweets," he said, kissing her. "I just hope they'll understand."