Shorty knocked on the office door softly

Dr. Jones hastily packed away his teaching equipment. The sooner he got home, the sooner he could leave behind the overwhelming college feel. Girls giggling every time a guy within ten years of their own age walked past. Guys flexing their muscles, pretending not to pay any attention to the groups of girls surrounding them.

No. He needed to get home, put his feet up and grade papers like there was no tomorrow. Or rather, like there was, since tomorrow was the deadline.

"Dr. Jones?" Shorty had to jog to keep up as the teacher exited his classroom, locking the door behind him.

"Yeah?" Indy knew it couldn't possibly be anything about Willie. They were at school for heaven's sake. Surely his son would save it for the ride home?

"Adam, er, Mr. Birch, would like to speak with you when you have a moment."

"Really." The older Jones didn't slow his pace. He was itching to get out of his suit and into something more comfortable, no doubt.

"I think he wanted to talk today." Shorty prompted.

With an overly dramatic sigh, Indy turned and began walking back the way he'd come. Adam's office wasn't too far down the hall from their classroom. "All right." He muttered without looking back. "Wait in the car."

Shorty grimaced. He'd been hoping he could walk home. That way he could avoid being forced into talking about what Adam had wanted to discuss with his father. At least, he wouldn't have to right away. Forcing himself to obey, Shorty wandered slowly down the hall towards the exit. As he went through the doorway, he almost bumped into a girl coming inside.

"Shorty!" It was Sabrina. She looked mad enough to scare a mother grizzly bear away from its cub.

The boy grimaced, but quickly forced the look off his face, replacing it with a pained smile. "Hello, Sabrina."

"You didn't meet me after psych."

"I'm sorry." He muttered, only half involved in the conversation. "I had to meet with Mr. Birch."

"The counselor?" The girl's green eyes flashed from anger to worry, almost too fast to observe. "What's wrong, Shorty?" She pulled him over to a bench near the exit doors.

"I'd rather not talk about it.. not now, I just did, after all." Shorty tried to explain without sounding down right rude, or like he didn't care about Sabrina. "I wish I could have met you then, and I truly am sorry to have let you down."

"It's all right, Shorty. What's not ok is that you're having trouble, and you're not telling me about it." She scowled in frustration. "I hate being left in the dark."

"Ok, I can't talk long, but let me give you a summary: My dad wants to marry Willie, and I don't think it's a good idea, for more reasons then I care to name right now." Shorty stood, swinging his book bag back over his right shoulder.

"Can I call you later?" Sabrina seemed desperate to spend some time with him, whatever it took.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'll pretend I need help with my homework, so my parents shouldn't get too upset."

"Fine, if you insist. But not tonight, please."

Sabrina nodded, obviously not convinced that Shorty was all right. "Do you want me to walk home with you until we get to my block?"

For a moment, Shorty considered. There was nothing he'd like more then a walk with Sabrina without their parent's prying eyes following their every move. But in his heart he knew he couldn't disobey a direct order from Dr. Jones. Many men had made that mistake, and things hadn't turned out very nicely for them. "I can't, Dr. Jones told me to wait in the car. He's driving me home."

"Oh," Sabrina nodded, walking towards the door. "Okie-dokes, seeya around then. I'll call you tomorrow, probably."

"Bye." Shorty followed her out the door, climbing inside the car. It was unbearably warm inside, the sweltering spring's sunlight had been beating down on it all day, after all. The teen watched his friend walk towards her house, staring at the sidewalk long after she'd disappeared.

"From what Birch's told me, you're more worried then you let on." Indy kept his eyes on the road, driving as carefully as possible. He'd pulled some pretty crazy stunts while inside a moving vehicle, but he still tried to avoid such maneuvers with a young adult in the back seat. No sense endangering lives that weren't willing to be endangered.

Shorty mumbled something that Indy couldn't quite understand and then added in a more clear tone, "What'd he tell you?"

"Not much, just gave some 'friendly' advice, that I personally think wasn't really his place to give."

Shorty raised an eyebrow, trying not to grin. Adam seemed to be very good at doing things it wasn't his place to do. "What'd he say?" He asked again.

"Just that I should 'consider my options before I buy the ring.'" Indy allowed one corner of his mouth to twitch, almost turning into a smile. Almost.

His son uttered a sound that could have been an 'oh.' Then there was silence, interrupted only by the sound of the car's engine.

"Shorty, I've got something to tell you." Indy didn't often offer 'confessions' to his son, but he was feeling guilty about leaving Shorty ignorant on the matter.

"Go on?" Shorty said, smiling inwardly at his use of Adam's phrase.

"Things.. just got a little more complicated last night."

"Yeah, you never did tell me where you'd been!" Shorty sat up a little straighter in his seat, his brown eyes glaring accusingly at Indy's reflection in the car's front mirror.

"I went to meet Marion."

At that moment, Indy was very glad that he was the one driving. Because Shorty seemed to be in such a state of shock that he probably would've driven them both straight into a ditch.

"Listen, she called me, ok? I didn't even know she was in the States." Indy was finding it increasingly harder to concentrate on his driving. "But I didn't want you to know I was talking to her on the phone, I was afraid you'd hear me. So I told her to wait where she was, and I'd come and talk to her there."

"What'd she want?" Shorty demanded, finding his voice at last.

"I don't know."

"You were gone too long to not even know what she was doing here."

"I asked her, but she didn't have time to tell me." Indy paused, wishing now that he hadn't told Shorty anything at all about the incident. "We were interrupted by Willie."

Shorty dropped his head into his hands, allowing his black bangs to fall over his fingers in a messy tangle. How could things possibly be this bad?

"You explained the situation to her, I assume?" The teen's question seemed more like a pleading request then a confirmation.

"I tried to, I don't think she bought it." Indy shrugged. "Sometimes I wonder if we're meant to be together or not, the way she carries on about me seeing other women. There's nothing wrong with being aquatinted with a few, after all."

"Maybe that's what Mr. Birch meant, when he told you to 'consider'?"

Indy steered the car into their drive and opened his door. "Maybe."