This is easily my favorite chapter. I was so excited to post it because of all your reviews. I hope you guys like it as much as I do. It will answer all your questions. Thank you for sticking to the end, as hard as it may have gotten. Enjoy :)
Jeff sits alone in his living room, thinking about the past week and a half. The morning of that fieldtrip was hectic in and of itself, and the entire day went downhill from there.
He woke up to a text from Britta informing him that she was pregnant. He did not care at all, of course. He knew it was her problem, hers and Troy's. He got up to shower and when he got out he had three missed calls from Britta. He sighed and called her back, knowing that this was probably a big deal to her.
"Thank God I finally got a hold of you," she sighed into the phone.
"What do you want, Britta?" he inquired tonelessly as he began to work on his hair. It had to be perfectly screwed up, just like every other day.
"This is going to sound crazy," she began nervously. Jeff could hear noises coming from the other side of the phone. It sounded to him like she was getting breakfast somewhere.
"Doesn't it always?" he scoffed, still working on his hair. He impressed himself because he could do it flawlessly with only one hand.
"So, I might be pregnant…" she said, her tone lowering at the last word. He rolled his eyes.
"So I've heard," he answered dryly.
"And I want to tell everyone it's yours," she finished.
"You say that as if it's painstakingly obvious. It's just absolutely crazy," he remarked. "First off, you're with Troy. That would crush him. Secondly, we haven't even slept together in at least a year, so that wouldn't even be a believable lie. And finally, I would rather die than let that happen."
"I hate it when people shoot me down or judge me before I'm even finished. As if they know," she sneered.
"Then finish," he moaned, making himself coffee.
"No one knows that it's been over a year since we slept together," she reminded him.
"You think they'd believe that we have?" he countered.
"I figured that if they asked, I could tell them we were drunk and it was right before Troy and I officially got together," she answered. Thankfully, no one ever thought to ask. Maybe it would have been better if they had. Since they never did, it was left up to their own imaginations. Who knows what they came up with?
"You've got this all figured out, huh?" he chuckled without humor, pouring the coffee into his only mug and sitting at his dining room table to drink it.
"Yes, I do," she said proudly.
"Could you at least tell me why?" Jeff prompted.
"It'd be easier this way," she attempted to lie.
"Easier?" he echoed skeptically.
"Yeah, I mean, Troy's so young. And sweet. He'd want to be a part of the baby's life; he'd want to help take care of it. It'd ruin his life. He's got his whole life ahead of him. I don't want him to be tied down to me and a baby," Britta explained. That much was true, but it was not the whole truth. Jeff picked up on that very quickly.
"And what else?" he provoked.
"I'm in love with him," she admitted quietly. "And I hate myself for it. I can't be. It's been barely two months. He's just so sweet and kind and caring and perfect… but he's conservative! I know he doesn't feel the same way. If he knew, he'd get scared off. I'm too old for him anyway. It's all moving so fast. I need to end it, but I don't want to hurt him. I figure this way, sure he'll be hurt, but he'll dump me, he won't be tied down to me against his will, and he'll still live a long happy life. As long as he's happy, I'm happy."
"Britta, don't be ridiculous. Just because he doesn't feel the same way yet doesn't mean he never will. You aren't too old for him. Since when do you care about differences? But if this is what you really want, I guess I could go along with it," he decided.
"Thanks, Jeff. I owe you one," she sighed.
"Don't mention it," Jeff grunted. Why was he agreeing to this? It was what she wanted. It was the perfect solution. A way out without really hurting anyone. Except for Annie. Britta had forgotten about Annie.
"What about Annie?" she asked frantically. How could she have forgotten about her best friend?
"What about her?" Jeff replied, sipping his coffee leisurely, already having thought of her. Not a minute goes by without thinking of her.
"Don't you two have a thing?" she clarified.
"Yeah, but it's kind of at a standstill. This might stir things up a little bit. I don't know. I'll figure something out," he assured her. As much as he cared about Annie, things were moving pretty slow. She had changed something in him, aroused his compassionate side. The bottom line was that Jeff saw a friend in need, and he wanted to help. That was thanks to Annie. Before, he would have just blown off Britta's problems. Now, he genuinely wanted to help, no catch.
Britta had that whole day planned out. She was on edge, though. She really did not want to get caught in this lie because she really did not want to explain the truth behind it. Her improvisation impressed Jeff. Everyone bought it, but not everyone liked it. They quickly realized how hurt everyone was, so Britta needed another way to get them out of it. Technically, she never once lied. Annie really did assume that the baby was Jeff's, and Jeff went along with it. Annie assumed this because Britta heavily implied it, of course, but Britta never said so outright.
The phone call at the clinic was premeditated as well. Annie was with Jeff when he made the call, but she was supposedly in the bathroom. Jeff timed it just right and called Britta when he knew Annie would be able to hear. He had the phone on speaker and was making lunch for himself and Annie while she eavesdropped on their conversation in the doorway. She left early under the false pretense that she was not feeling well, which he kind of saw coming. What he did not see coming, though, was that Britta would be sterile. He felt her pain. Stupid compassion.
Then next day when Annie and Britta were both out of the study room, it became an extremely boring place. Jeff stared at the screen of his cell phone, texting no one. Abed and Troy talked about television while Shirley and Pierce sat in utter silence.
"Should someone go check on them?" Shirley lilted. Her exaggerated concern for others always got on Jeff's nerves. She clearly exhibited said concern as false through lilted syllables. No one looked up when she asked. That was because they had literally just left. Not even a minute had passed before she said that. Jeff was bored, though, and he wanted to know what was going on.
"I will," he offered. Annie made him care about others. He was beginning to actually kind of like himself.
"Please hurry, Jeffrey. I'm so worried," she informed him, lilting her syllables again. Jeff discreetly rolled his eyes, rounding the corner out of the study room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard Britta's voice.
"I'm sterile." Jeff could not bring himself to move. Obviously, Britta did not want anyone knowing about this. Jeff conveniently showing up at that moment would probably hurt her, so he waited and listened for the right moment. Over the next couple minutes Britta poured out her internal musings about having children. Jeff could tell Annie listened carefully. It was hard not to listen; Britta brought up some interesting points. Some of them killed Jeff, though. Britta was like a sister to him, a sister he never had. Or wanted, but that is beside the point. Hearing her put herself down like that hurt him. He had to do something.
"I don't know why he wanted me in the first place." Jeff heard the tears in Britta's voice.
"Because you're you," Annie chuckled sadly. She was an amazing woman. She knew exactly what to say. "Everything about you is amazing," she insisted.
"Easy for you to say," she scoffed.
"It is easy for me to say, because I know you," Annie assured her. Jeff could tell it was just not getting to Britta. He needed to help. Jeff came from around the bookshelf he was hiding behind then.
"Britta," he caught her attention. She looked up at him warily.
"How much did you hear?" she asked, her voice revealing the fear and vulnerability she tried so hard to conceal.
"Only the tail end of it," he lied. "Look, not that I care," he lied again, "but you do know that you are better than you think you are, right? You're just designed not to believe it when you hear it from yourself," he reminded her truthfully. She smiled a little, thank God.
"Thanks, Jeff," she responded quietly, tears streaming down her face. Annie had tears standing in her eyes as well, but she refused to let them fall. The sadness on their faces tugged at Jeff's heart. He could not stand around and see them this way any longer, or he would cry, too. He did not even want to listen anymore. If he stuck around, he might hear that what he said did not help. By leaving, he could force himself to believe that it did.
"Whatever," he grumbled, walking back into the study room.
"Are they okay?" Shirley inquired as soon as he returned. He had been gone for a while. He nodded.
"Yeah, they're fine. Britta's having some girl troubles. It's nothing important," he lied, turning his attention back to his phone, again texting no one.
Now Jeff sits alone in his living room, thinking about the past week and a half. Things with Annie had come to a standstill, and he needed to stir things up. Not negatively, though. He, Jeff Winger, was going to make a completely uncharacteristic romantic gesture.
"Hello?" Annie chirps into the phone.
"Hey, Annie," Jeff responds. "Will you come outside for a minute?"
Annie walks out of her apartment and down the stairs, an extra skip in her step. Of course, she has no idea what he could possibly want, but she gets to see him, doesn't she? She checks her reflection in a mirror in the lobby, primping her hair one last time.
"How do I look?" she asks the doorman. He nods silently. "Breath?" he nods again. "Pits?" another nod. "Nose?" he gives her one last nod. She smiles, reassured. He opens the door for her and she steps out, looking around innocently for Jeff.
Jeff clears his throat nervously, finally catching her attention. She rests her gaze on him, her jaw dropping as she examines him. Jeff stands there in a black suit and tie, holding a half a dozen roses.
"Annie…" he begins nervously. What if she says no? He will have made a complete fool of himself.
"Yeah, Jeff?" she responds eagerly, stepping closer to him. His heart starts pounding. The air escapes from him. He can't breathe. She is so beautiful; she literally took his breath away.
"Will you go on a date with me?" he finally manages to say. She giggles.
"Of course, Jeff," she beams.
"Oh thank God," he murmurs, handing her the bouquet. He grasps her other hand and leads her to a limo parked behind him.
"What, now?" she laughs.
"Yeah, now," he tells her, opening the door to the car. "Don't worry, you look gorgeous," he assures her. She smiles shyly.
"And you look very handsome in your suit," she returns the compliment, gingerly sitting down. She smoothes out her floral skirt and tugs on the matching blue cardigan. Jeff slides into the seat beside her and smoothly pours her a glass of champagne.
Abed and Troy watch as the limousine pulls away.
"Well, that was slightly out of character," Troy comments.
"You think so?" Abed asks him. Troy nods, still shocked by what happened. "Agree to disagree," Abed shrugs.
"Yeah, sure Abed," Troy is still not processing what just went down.
Later that evening, Annie comes home in a daze. It is clear to Abed that she just got her first kiss from Jeff, possibly her first kiss ever. Abed decides to take a walk as Troy has already gone to bed. He heads toward his favorite street in town, buying a bagel from his favorite bagel shop. This street is his favorite because it reminds him of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Yes, of course Abed saw that movie. Although it is not his favorite movie, it is fairly thought-provoking, iconic, and Audrey Hepburn's cover of Moon River was perfect. Abed passes by the specific jewelry store that reminds him of the movie and pauses, gazing up at it. He wonders why someone would want to have breakfast at a jewelry store while eating his bagel. A tree is conveniently behind him, so he decides to lean against it, unwittingly confining himself in the shadows.
Jeff steps out of the jewelry store and tucks the engagement ring in his pocket, humming to himself as he walks up the street back to his house. Jeff knows that asking Annie to marry him now or anytime soon would be crazy. It would probably scare her off. So yeah, he understood where Britta was coming from with the whole 'pretend to be my baby daddy' thing. All Jeff knows is that someday he will propose to Annie, and it will be great.
So, Jeff did learn something from Britta. As much as it shocks him, he has to admit that Britta taught him something. She taught him not to fear commitment. She taught him that things can move too fast without being terrifying. She taught him that honesty is the best policy. Jeff learned a lot from Britta's mistake.
Abed smirks, knowing that the camera is now panning back to his face for his reaction.
"Cool," Abed remarks, heading in the opposite direction of Jeff, back toward his apartment. Rain starts to fall from the sky, a light, cleansing drizzle. "Cool cool cool."