A/N: Ok, this is short and probably not very exciting, but I wanted to play with the relationship between Jack and Rita's mom, see how that feels. I love your feedback! And, btw, next chapter will be a bit, um, sexy...hee-hee.

Love you guys, thank you so much for reading and reviewing, you make my day!

Seds

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Rita came tearing into her apartment moments after Gail arrived home from work.

"Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM! I need to talk to you about something!" Rita gushed breathlessly as she flung her school bag onto the couch. She was fairly hopping in excitement.

Gail regarded her normally low-key daughter as though she had been replaced by an alien cheerleader from another, more enthusiastic, galaxy.

"Well, sure, honey, what in the world is it?" Gail asked, bewildered, as she pulled off her work shoes and slipped out of her sweater.

"Ok, so you know how you've been trying to save up to buy me a car? And every time you do, something happens and then you have to start all over? But you've still got a couple of hundred bucks stashed away? Well, I found a car I think we could afford!!"

"Oh, really? How much? Where'd you find out about it, and what kind of condition is it in?" asked Mrs. Ryan skeptically.

"It's Mr. J's! I was talking to him downstairs and he says he's thinking about trading it in, but that he'd rather sell it if he could find a buyer pretty quickly--what do you think??"

Gail frowned at her daughter.

"Oh, for heaven's sake. That old beater? Looks like he inherited it from his grandfather, must have a million miles on it. And how much does he want for it?"

"I don't know, but it's in really good shape, Mom. He said he'd be glad to talk about it with you, if you were interested."

"Well, I'm not interested. I can't afford a car for you now, anyway, now that I'm staying off of the night shifts."

"Aw, come on, Mom!! Just talk to him about it, I don't think he wants that much money for it, what could it hurt to talk?"

"Rita, for heaven's sake...."

Just then, there came a firm rapping on the door jamb. Both women turned to look, surprised that neither of them had remembered to close and lock the door. Standing in the entrance with one hand raised as though ready to knock again was Jack, eyebrows raised quizzically, a tentative smile on his scarred face.

"Excuse me, ladies, may I have a moment of your time?" he asked respectfully.

"Mr., uh, Jack, hello. My daughter was just telling me about this plan you two have been cooking up."

"Uh...she has?" he asked, stifling an amused snicker. He doubted very seriously that Rita had revealed the entire plan to her mother.

"Yes, you want to sell your car and apparently you think I'm made of money, but I regret to inform you that I am not. There's simply no way I can afford a decent vehicle for Rita at this time, and I just wish you wouldn't go around getting her hopes up."

"Oh...Mrs. Ryan...that wasn't my intention at all!" Jack entered the living room with seeming hesitation, shaking his head worriedly. "I completely understand how tight money can be for a working mom." Jack regarded Gail with a wounded, but stalwart expression of utter concern and sympathy.

"Gosh, my own mom, God rest her soul, had to work all kinds of crazy hours when I was a kid, just to make ends meet! That's why, when I saw Rita walking home, it occurred to me that she might be interested in my car. I really just want to get a few hundred bucks more for it than what they'd offer me in trade at the dealer's. I certainly didn't mean to cause you any trouble, ma'am, I'm sure sorry if I did. I'll just get out of your hair now..." Jack cast his eyes downward apologetically and, shoulders slumped, turned to leave.

"Wait a minute," said Gail, quickly. "Rita says your car's in good shape, how do I know she's right about that?"

Jack grinned to himself before turning back with an earnest expression.

"Oh, well, I've always done most of the work on it myself, kind of a hobby of mine, but if you wanted to take it to a shop and have 'em look it over, that'd be fine with me. She runs like a top, though, I can tell you that."

"Come on, Mom, why don't we take a drive in it? Ok, Mr. J?"

"Sure. What do you think, Mrs. Ryan?" Jack cast his sincere dark eyes and a tentative grin at the older woman, and she was irritated to find herself blushing. The man was as slick as a greased pig, but there was something about him...dammit, he was the kind of man who could make a woman forget her better judgment.

"Well...I suppose a test drive couldn't hurt anything," she agreed. Jack held the keys out in a tantalizing gesture, pretending to lure her out the door with them, and she jerked them out of his hand on the way, giving him a "no nonsense" look, but she couldn't help smiling to herself as the three of them headed for Jack's car.

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Jack cheerfully took the back seat, while Gail climbed into the driver's side and Rita the passenger side. Gail switched on the ignition and listened critically to the engine. Rita glanced behind her to find that Jack had laid down flat on the rear bench seat and was already preparing to go into nap mode.

"Does it always make that whining noise when it starts up?" Gail asked suspiciously.

"Sure, that's a sign of a high performance vehicle. She'll quiet down as she warms up. Perfectly normal," Jack answered from behind, waving his hand dismissively. Rita turned around and grinned at him; he was peering at her with one open eye and he grinned back.

Gail rolled her eyes, obviously not buying it.

She backed out of the parking lot and they drove around the neighborhood for a little while, then she took them out on the highway.

"It sticks when you go from first to second gear," Gail yelled to the back seat passenger.

"I know! That's why I just go from first to third! Try it, works like a charm!" he yelled back.

Gail shook her head, amused; the guy was a con artist if she ever met one, but he had balls, she had to give him that.

When they returned home, Rita was fully prepared to plunge herself into a state of deep, bitter, and long-term despair, assuming her mother would refuse to even consider buying the car for her daughter, but to her amazement, when they got out, Gail took a critical eye to the exterior of the car and began walking around it, crouching down as she inspected it.

"When's the last time you had the tires rotated?"

"Uh...a few months ago, I think." Rotated? he thought. He usually just drove 'em until they wore out, then stole a nice new set.

"What's this?" Gail demanded.

"What's...what?" asked Jack, bewildered, not seeing what Mrs. Ryan was pointing an accusing finger at.

"This! Looks like a pretty sad little repair job on a bent fender."

"Oh, yeah, uh...I think I backed into a dumpster or something." Sheesh. The woman had an eagle eye....

"Hmf. And this?"

"What?"

"This!...this deep gouge over here on the side. Looks like someone tried to open it up with a can opener."

"What, that teeny scratch? It's purely cosmetic, a little touch-up paint'll take care of it just fine!" Jack was beginning to wonder if regular access to teen-age pussy was worth all this trouble.

"All right, what do you want for it?" Gail asked, resignedly.

"Seven hundred," he answered firmly.

"Are you crazy?" Gail exclaimed. "Three hundred would be outrageous!"

Jack almost started laughing; Rita's mom was a damn little firecracker, maybe he was going after the wrong Ryan girl.

"Well, ok, let's say six hundred," he responded fluidly.

"Uh-uh. Four hundred, and that's taking food out of my child's mouth, I want you to know."

"Sorry, it's five hundred or I take it to the dealer. I'm losing money on the deal at that." Jack honestly didn't care about the money, he'd already stolen the new car and had it in the shop getting a paint job and the VIN scraped off the dash, but by now it was the principle of the thing.

"Five hundred dollars! For this pathetic bucket of bolts! I'm sorry, Mr. J, I mean, Jack, that's out of my price range. I'll just be saying good day to you now. Come on, Rita, let's go on upstairs." Rita's eyes were huge and her mouth twisted into pre-break down mode.

Jack shrugged, waved regretfully, and took the lead in heading up to his apartment. The ladies stayed at the foot of the stairs. Jack was tempted to stick around for a few more minutes to watch the fireworks, but he wisely absented himself to allow the wonders of teenage tears to do their work. However, he took his time finding his house key and found he could easily follow the wafting voices raised in argument as the exchange rapidly swung into full flower.

"But, MOM! That's a great deal, it's a really good car, and where else am I going to find one at that price!"

"Rita, I just can't afford it right now, I'd have to go back to nights for a month...."

"Ok, so would that be so bad?"

"After what happened? I can't believe you want to risk staying by yourself all night like this!"

"I'll be fine, Mom! How dangerous is it for me to have to walk home from school every day in this neighborhood?"

Etc., etc., etc.

Jack paused, enjoying the escalation into the loud "you don't love me! You've never loved me!" phase of the argument, and, suppressing a full-blown bout of laughter, he leaned against the wall, savoring the plunge into the pianissimo "please, Mommy? I'll get a job, I swear!" range that signaled the final act. At that point, he cheerfully began humming to himself, and unlocked the door to his apartment. He clicked on the TV and was just settling down with a sandwich when a knock came on the door.

He set the sandwich down, shook himself all over to dispel any last lingering bit of amusement that might play over his face, and opened the door.

"Oh, uh, hi," he stammered, greeting Gail Ryan with an expression of perfectly-played surprise.

"All right, Jack. She wore me down. I can give you a check for a hundred dollars now and a hundred a week for the next four weeks, if that will be acceptable." Gail stood tall with dignity as she made her offer.

"Well, yes, ma'am, sure! That's fine. Hey, I'm glad we were able to do business! I think you'll like the car, it's...got a lot of character," he said with an slight grin.

"I just hope to heaven it's got five hundred dollars worth of miles in it, yet. Ok, well, I appreciate it." Gail broke into a sincere smile as she handed him the check. In exchange, Jack pulled the car keys off of his chain and handed them to her. Gail accepted them, then gave Jack a questioning look.

"You know, I'll be having to go back to working the late shift for a while--can I count on you to be available if Rita runs into any more trouble, like she did on that terrible night?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'll be right here...all she has to do is give me a call," he assured the worried mother.

"Well, that's a comfort. You can't imagine how hard it is, raising a girl all on your own in this day and age, and in this awful town! I really appreciate having a good neighbor like you around," Gail said earnestly.

"Glad to help," Jack said with a respectful nod. They smiled at each other and said their goodbyes, and Jack, shaking his head in something like amazement, sat down to eat his sandwich and wonder when, exactly, Gail would make her schedule change.

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