A/N: Still don't own it. tktktk is the High Priestess of All Thing Beta. Go read her stuff! Thanks SO MUCH to those that took the time to let me know what you thought! Enjoy!

Epilogue

The hand Jeff had his head propped up on was starting to fall asleep but he was in no way motivated to move. It wasn't the physical satiation, though it was a factor. It was that he felt so utterly content. He idly played with a lock of Annie's hair as he watched her sleep. In his experience sex fell into one of two categories. Either it was a completely physical hook-up. Quickly finished and quickly forgotten. Or in the case of the few actual relationships he'd had, it was him trying so hard to please the other person and somehow feeling even more hollow than he did after a hook-up. Even with Britta he had never felt like they'd really connected physically. But with Annie it hadn't been either of those.

She had surprised him. He'd been prepared to take things slow. He respected Annie and knew she didn't have much experience. He had held back and she had noticed. "Jeff? Am I doing something wrong?" she'd asked. Eyes wide with concern.

He'd assured her that wasn't the case. Told her he didn't want to push her too far too fast. He was fine with waiting if she wanted. "You're considerate," she'd said gently. "But I've umm, actually thought about this for a long time. And if you're okay with it I don't want to wait anymore. I feel like we've been building to this for years."

Let it never be said that Jeffrey Winger didn't give a woman what she wanted.

He'd expected that even though she'd been very clear that she wanted this, that with her lack of experience he would be in control. Showing her what to do and how. He'd been floored when once they'd finally made their way to the bed she had pushed him onto his back and crawled up his body, telling him in detail all of the things she was going to do to him before putting the words to action. As in every other aspect of her life, Annie had done her research. She knew what she wanted and she wasn't shy about getting it. Really he shouldn't have expected anything less.

Not that there hadn't been mistakes made on both of their parts. But with Annie even these had been different. Rather than eyerolls and sighs of disappointment if she didn't like something he did, she would give him that slow, sexy smile and tell him what to change. Sometimes it was as simple as, "Move your hand a little to your right and oh god yes that's it."

He had taken a page from her book and told her what he liked, too. As ever she was a quick study. Changing the angle of her pelvis just that little bit to make the fit perfect. Running her nails down his chest just the way he liked. Improvising and keeping what worked, discarding what didn't.

And when her inexperience did show itself somehow it wasn't awkward. If something she wanted to try didn't work she would just laugh joyously and say, "Well, that didn't work like I thought it would!" He had never laughed that much with a woman in or out of bed. It was a good thing he trusted her, or he could have taken her laughter the wrong way.

But then again, that was the real differences, wasn't it. They trusted each other completely. Maybe that's what he had been missing with other women all along. He knew her flaws and she knew his and they still wanted to give this thing between them a real try.

She shifted in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. Glancing around the room in confusion as she woke up from her nap. Her long hair was spread out on the pillow and Jeff vowed to replace his utilitarian grey bedding with something that would do the rich chocolate color justice. Blue like those amazing eyes maybe. As soon as she saw him, that slow, sexy smile spread across her face. He already thought of it as 'his' smile. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he said softly.

"Hey yourself," she murmured as she rolled over to face him and mirrored his position. "Does that make you Prince Charming?" Her voice was slightly rough from sleep and use.

"Well if the shoe fits," he joked. Eyes tracing down her pale body as the sheet slid down with her shifting.

"That would make you Cinderella," she informed him with a teasing grin. She ran her nails absently up and down his arm, giving him goosebumps. "You know, I realize that at some point we have to get up. But I don't see how I'm expected to ever move again so I'm pretty sure my inner monologue is a liar."

"Inner monologue? You've lived with Abed too long," he teased, resting a hand on the curve of her waist. Maybe she had lived with Abed too long. Maybe she should wake up right here every morning. No, he mentally chastised himself. You don't have to make up for lost time. Just focus on the present.

Annie pulled the sheet aside and rolled over to get out of bed. His eyes caught on a series of small purple bruises on the ivory skin of her hips. He hissed and reached out to trace them with the fingertips that had caused them to begin with. "I'm so sorry, Annie. I didn't realize…"

"Huh?" she asked. Forehead wrinkling with confusion until she looked down and realized what he was looking at. Her eyes widened as she examined the bruises before chuckling softly. She put a hand under his chin until he met her eyes."I'm not made of glass. I'm not going to break. I promise. Besides," she said with a sultry gaze, "I liked it."

He made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a growl and reached out for her. Intending to drag her back into the bed with him and possibly never leave. But she laughed and danced away from him before twirling back around and taking his hand, straining comically to pull his tall, heavily muscled frame from the bed. He eventually relented, and laughing at the look on her face, followed her into the chrome and black bathroom.

He looked in the mirror as he always did when he passed one, and leaned over to inspect his neck. "Annie!" he exclaimed. "Did you give me a hickey?!" He touched the mark in disbelief. He glanced at her teasingly, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "You're an actual savage! I can see it now. You seem so poised and proper in those tailored clothes of yours but it's all a lie. You're like some wild animal!"

Annie burst into a fit of laughter as the stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She pressed a gentle kiss to his back. "Jeff I'm so sorry that you literally drove me feral with the powerful force of your lovemaking. I would like to issue a formal apology for any and all wounds you sustained while you were pou-"

"Okay okay!" He laughed at her as he pulled her around, so he could hug her properly, and dropped a kiss on her head. "Apology accepted!" He held her for a moment, savoring the way they fit together. He felt strong and powerful holding her tiny frame. But as much as he didn't want the rest of the world to intrude on them, he knew their friends would eventually start to worry.

With a regretful sigh he stepped back. "We should cleaned up and head back down there anyway. Before they all come up here to make sure we didn't kill each other." He opened the glass door to his standing shower and turned on the hot water, quickly filling the room with steam. He held out a hand for her with a grin and helped her into the glass and tile enclosure. "After you, Milady."

Annie laughed again as she moved to stand behind Jeff so he could rinse his hair. They had both been laughing at the awkward dance of actually showering with another person. "You know, they always make this seem so easy and sexy on tv but really it's just hilarious. You're like a foot taller than I am. You need more shower heads if we're ever going to try this again."

She started to turn around, still laughing, but his hand on her neck stopped her. "Stay right there," he said in her ear before moving her hair to the side and kissing and nibbling his way down the pale column of the throat.

She stopped at his touch, the firm pressure of his hand holding her hostage. As he slid her wet hair over her shoulder she shuddered. Amazed that something she did every day could be so completely erotic when it was him doing it.

"Put your hands on the wall," He told her. His other hand landing on her hip and locking her in place.

She turned her head and looked up to give him a questioning look.

"You called the shots the last two times. My turn," he rumbled, pressing against her.

Her whole body tensed in surprise and excitement. She was intensely curious where this was going but she trusted Jeff completely. Without hesitation she placed her hands on the surprisingly cool tiles in front of her. She could still feel the occasional droplet of hot water hit her even with his large body crowding her in. The two extremes fed her excitement.

"Good. Now no matter what happens, you leave you hands right there and your eyes on that wall. Do you think you can do that?" He asked in that same hypnotically compelling voice as his hands roamed her body, caressing and occasionally squeezing gently.

Wordlessly she nodded her agreement and focused on the black tile directly in front of her. When the soft shower puff touched her skin she gave a nervous laugh. She had been expecting something else but he was washing her back!

"Not a word, either. If you say one word I stop," he warned as he slid the puff over her skin.

She smirked and nodded again. Really did he think she couldn't keep quiet and still for two minutes? Please. Who did he think he was dealing with, here? Her smirk disappeared as his lips followed after the water rinsed the soap off of her skin. Lower he moved and she heard him shifting behind her. He pulled her hips until she took two steps back, bending forward to keep her hands on the wall. Would he really...

She shrieked when he blew a loud raspberry right into her rear. She whirled around and glared and the grinning man kneeling before her. "You tease!" She laughingly chastised him. "That isn't what I thought you were up to!"

He crooked an eyebrow and leered at her. "Oh? And did you think I had something more like this in mind?" He asked as he pressed her back into the shiny black tiles.

At the first languid swipe of his tongue she nearly fell down.

Shirley looked at the time on her phone for what had to be at least the fifteenth time since Annie and Jeff had left to have their discussion more than two hours ago. She thought it was strange that nobody else seemed even remotely concerned about their absence.

Buzz and Craig were floating in the deep end of the pool on two of the orange and blue inflatable rafts, lazily sipping on beers while they talked. She couldn't hear them from where she was but from the laughter that occasionally erupted from the men she could only assume it had nothing to do with work.

Duncan and Britta were handily beating Abed and Rachel in that game where the girls sat on the boys shoulders and tried to topple the other couple. Chicken pox? No that wasn't it, chicken fights? No, that didn't sound right either. Whatever it was called the shrieks of laughter indicated they were all having a great time.

As the reigning champion of Marco Polo, Shirley had opted to take a small break to call her boys and check up on them and was now enjoying just sitting beneath the bright blue sky and idly looking for shapes in the occasional small white clouds the passed overhead. She turned her head and smiled when a small red and green hummingbird hovered near one of the pots overflowing with pink and red flowers. Surrounded by the vivid colors of late spring she started thinking about a summer menu for Shirley's Sandwiches. Maybe key lime cupcakes?

She checked the time on her phone again and it had been officially over two and a half hours now since Annie and Jeff had left. "Guys?" she called out sweetly, but it didn't seem that they would hear her. She stood up and walked to the pool's edge. "Guys!" she bellowed in the deep Mom voice she'd perfected over the years, quickly getting everyone's attention.

Once all eyes were on her she gestured vaguely towards Jeff's condo and said, "It's been over two hours since they left. I'm going to go up and check on them."

She physically stumbled back a step as the six people in the pool all yelled, "NO!" in unison.

"Well excuse me for being concerned," she said. Irritated that they were all just ignoring that two of their friends could be up there doing irreparable damage to their friendship.

Abed and Craig shared a look across the pool and with a nod, Craig started to maneuver his raft towards the ladder. At the same time, Britta looked down and shared a look with Duncan. She hopped off of his shoulders and waded towards the edge of the pool.

Somehow Hickey got there first and gently but firmly took Shirley's arm, leading her to the table and leaning in to have a quiet conversation with her.

Everyone else climbed out of the pool and convened at the edge of the deep-end for a pow-wow.

"Wait," Britta said to the group. "Hickey knows?"

"Knows what?" Craig asked as he paddled over and climbed out to stand next to the other four.

"Umm that Jeff and Annie are probably up there boinking like bunnies since by now they've figured out they're in love?" She asked sarcastically. "Duh-doy! Try to keep up, guys!"

She and Duncan shared a high-five and Ian turned to the other three, pompously saying "May I remind you that Britta and I are trained or at least partially trained in the psychological arts. Very little can get past our keen observational skills and we are able to apply our knowledge of the human mind towards our observations."

Abed shared a look with Rachel as their British friend droned on. "Hijink number 24?" she proposed.

"Precisely," he replied. And together the partners promptly pushed the pompous professor back into the pool.

Duncan came back up to the surface sputtering but couldn't be heard over the laughter of the group.

Rachel ran to their bag and pulled out a laminated piece of paper and a wax pencil that so that she could mark this one off the list. The list was printed in small font and covered both the back and the front of the paper. She ran her finger down both sides of the paper, looking for the next likely item. She tapped one and smiled. Looking up at Abed she called out, "Next up is curiously complicated construction!"

Jeff stepped into his closet and shrugged on a white polo shirt to cover the mark on his neck. They weren't normally his style but he was glad he had at least a couple in his closet to wear until the bruising went away. He smiled to himself and absently touched the spot on his shoulder that Annie had marked. He'd always hated hickies. Hated that they took days to go away and that they basically screamed exactly what he'd been up to for anyone who saw them. And he would deny it if asked, but he liked that his girl had marked him as hers. It was different with Annie. Everything was.

They had put back on their bathing suits and were just about ready to head back down to join the group. Fortunately, Annie's retro styled bikini covered the bruises on her hips. However they hadn't been able to find the hair combs Jeff had thrown across the room earlier so her still wet hair was bound in a long braid pulled over her shoulder and held in place with a plain rubber band. She had put back on the shirt he had given her earlier as a temporary cover-up and her sandals. Other than wide smiles on kiss swollen lips and a satisfied, loose limbed walk, there was no physical evidence of what the two had been up to for the past few hours.

"Are you ready to do this?" She asked nervously. She was a little worried about what everyone was going to say. Those people were their family after all. "I'm nervous. Is it weird that I'm nervous? They're going to know. I mean sure they'll know but I mean, they'll KNOW."

Jeff put his hands on her shoulders and stopped her neurotic tirade with a deep kiss. After they broke apart, both a little short of breath, he assured her, "Everything's going to be fine. And if it isn't then, we'll deal with it. Let me ask you something. If they don't approve, does it change anything?"

She gave him a warm smile. "No," she said confidently. "Maybe if this had happened a few years ago it would have but, I know who I am and what I want. One of those things is you. The only people who get a vote in this are me and you."

"Did I ever tell you how hot you are when you don't take any shit?" He asked as he leaned down for another toe-curling kiss. "You know," he murmured in her ear, "we don't have to do down there. We can go right back to bed for another few months. It'll be like hibernating but with less sleep."

Annie laughed and stepped back from him as she slapped his chest in mock-outrage. "Jeff! Don't be gross!" The familiar words were accompanied by a new sparkle in her eyes.

He rolled his eyes even as he grinned. He didn't think he had ever smiled as much as he had in the past few hours. His face was actually sore from laughing and smiling so much. Together they walked into the living room. He gave her a half-bow and gestured to the front door. "Milady."

She playfully pulled the hem of the shirt she was wearing out like a skirt and curtseyed back at him, "Milord."

A few minutes later Jeff and Annie walked down the courtyard stairs and around the corner hand in hand. She gripped his hand tightly when Britta noticed them but he squeezed back encouragingly.

"Hey guys," Britta said breezily as she bent to rifle through the cooler. "There are still some hamburgers if you're hungry but Craig ate all of the hotdogs."

Craig shrugged and winked comically. "What can I say?"

Britta pulled out two beers and set them down at the edge of the pool before climbing down the ladder and swimming over next to Duncan. They floated there at the edge, with their chins resting on crossed arms.

Annie and Jeff looked at each other in confusion. This was weird. When had Britta ever passed over an opportunity to comment on either of their dating choices?

Rachel and Abed had constructed what looked to be an elaborate raft out of foam pool noodles and maneuvered it next to Britta and Duncan. "Hey guys!" Rachel said. "Listen, this thing isn't structurally sound, strictly speaking. Can one of you please grab us a couple of pops from the cooler?"

"It falls apart if we aren't both on it," Abed added. "We could have drawn up plans before we came to make sure we had enough raw materials, but that would have defeated the purpose."

Annie nodded and laughed. Confused but charmed. She grabbed a couple of sparkling lemonades from the cooler and reached out from the edge of the pool to hand them to her roommate and his girlfriend.

She returned to Jeff's side and threw him an inquisitive glance. He shrugged at her unasked question. He had no idea what to say. He had honestly expected to be mobbed the second they had returned and this uncharacteristic nonchalance was throwing him.

"Well I guess I'll grab us some food...then?" He asked. Not certain what to do now.

"Yeah...sounds good?" She said, obviously as weirded out as he was. She rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. "Let's just go with it?"

Jeff nodded in agreement and walked over to the grill to uncover the remaining hamburgers. There was a cooler with carb-filled horrors that he wouldn't ever touch, but also raw veggies and a fruit salad. He made plates for both Annie and himself and took them over to the table where Shirley, Hickey, and Craig were sitting in the shade. "Hey," he said to both Hickey and Craig. When the two men looked at him he sincerely told them, "Thank you both. I mean it."

They nodded at him as Annie got to the table with sodas for both of them and sat next to him. "Oh this looks so good," she said reverently as she picked up the hamburger. "I'm starving!"

Jeff smothered a chuckle but was more than a little proud of himself for being responsible for her working up such an appetite.

Craig noticed his smirk and gave him an admonishing look. Jeff pulled an exaggerated innocent face in return and laughed when Craig rolled his eyes.

Annie looked up from devouring her food as she realized she missed something. Both Craig and Jeff gave her blank faces so she shrugged a shoulder and went back to eating.

Shirley had been caught up by the group after she had talked to Hickey. And she had agreed not to make a big deal out of it when they came back down...but she couldn't help herself. She reached out and gently put her hand on Annie's wrist. When the younger woman looked up from her plate with an inquisitive look she asked, "So...you and Jeff then?"

Annie looked over at Jeff and the two shared an intimate smile. She looked back at Shirley and confidently said, "Yeah. Me and Jeff." Earning her a happy smile from the other woman.

The rest of their friends got out of the pool and pulled up chairs until they were all sitting together. Jeff moved to sit closer to Annie while they made room for everyone. Duncan held out Britta's chair for her gallantly and Annie and Shirley both said, "Aww!" in unison.

Jeff slung an arm over Annie's shoulder tugged her in to kiss her cheek as Abed raised his drink to propose a toast, "Here's to the successful resolution of plots and their well earned happy endings."