Disclaimer. I still don't own anything. You'd think after 24 chapters, I'd be allowed to bid. Oh well, at least they let us use the characters, I think, or this story would be boring.

:}

A whole week without Lenard, and what a week it has been. Jade was busy with her classes, Tori, her research, Sheldon, and whatever other chiz was coming up during that week so she felt she had to keep her own drama under control. Of course, she didn't see how much of what she was dealing with was part of her drama. The day Lenard flew out, Raj discovered he could talk to women, or at least the ones he knew well. Jade had mixed feelings about it. She liked feeling special, being like family to the astrophysicist, but he just never stopped talking. Now Penny and the girls were the victims of his no-stop pseudo-introspection as he tried to work out that Lucy was gone. Jade was no longer the victim of the half hour phone calls where he explained his current thoughts on whether Lucy would be back, or at least not as often. She did have some advice for him however; Aim higher. Jade felt that he set himself up for failure by looking for a girl as screwed up as he was. She thought that maybe he needed someone functional who, as the song went, had baggage that went with his. Jade didn't know who, but she was certain she could find a Northridge girl who could act as a starter girlfriend until he was ready for one capable of holding a conversation. She would ask if any of the girls hitting on Beck had an equally slutty older sister, maybe one looking for a brown baby daddy.

On Sunday, Jade was happy to hear that Tori had found out what her mother did for a living. Apparently Holly Vega worked as a personal shopper/concierge for a large LA law firm. While she had great hours, she always seemed to be on call. She could take care of her family, get in some quality time with her husband, and maybe something on the side with Gary, and still do her job, as long as she was available when a client needed her. Moreover, it seemed Holly had connections with all the major hotels in the LA area, and could find just about anything someone might need. Since the law firm was far more than just litigation and trials, they often needed to woo a client or help one of their 'Wales' who needed something somewhere. She even knew who would give an alibi, as long as it wasn't being used to break the law. She just helped clients cheat on their spouses, avoid events they really didn't want to go to, or save them from getting in trouble with their bosses for skipping a meeting. Holly could find someone to help her supply anything legal, and thanked the starts no one ever asked a law firm to find prostitutes. Still, Holly made good money for her time and was considered one of the best. Jade stored that information away for possible future use.

Monday was it's usual clusterjank of commitments and obligations. Jade's class was still keeping up, and she had another quiz planned for Friday. 'Happy birthday, I got me a wazzed off TA who's gonna be spending his weekend grading another quiz.' Jade was working them hard, but hoped they would remember enough. She also smirked when she realized they would be far enough ahead to spend nearly the entire final week, save for the last day, to review. The last day was of course the final. Jade had high hopes that one or more of her students would rise above the rest and achieve the level of semi-intelligent Labradoodle. 'Okay, none of this batch is going to be like Lenard, Sheldon, Barry and me.'

Tuesday came, and after her therapy and office hours she accompanied Sheldon and Raj to the Cheesecake Factory. Jade could not get out of this one duty, and with Howard married, he wasn't eating with them so Stuart was already filling in one place. Worse, Jade would have to wait to spend time with Tori until Wednesday because Sheldon wanted a nice foursome, claiming it was more symmetrical. Between Penny's skills as a waitress and Raj's need to talk, Jade felt that she was living in hell. 'Or Pasadena, which is obviously a suburb of hell.' Jade could not wait to be back in Hollywood and in the arms of her girlfriend. That night as Sheldon's roommate, Jade began to grow accustom to his quirky personality and his need for someone to marvel at his brilliance. Living with Sheldon was going to take some adjustments.

Comparatively, Wednesday was like heaven. Jade was gone as soon as her class ended. She managed to beat her students out the door, racing to Tori's house for a crappy home made lunch and some quality time with her hot Latina girlfriend. 'Neither Tori nor Trina can cook. Genetics? Maybe. Her mother seems to be okay, so I'm guessing it's from her fathers side. Or maybe it's the mixed genes. The cooking skills got lost in favor of hot bodies. Yea, Trina too.' Jade had to admit Trina was above average looking, and now that she was less annoying would have her choice of boyfriends. 'She's gonna pick Beck, and they will have cute but annoying babies.' Jade was smiling by the time she reached the Vega home.

Jade was particularly happy to be Sheldon free this night. With Stuart (of all people) driving Sheldon home, new comics night was handled. Stuart was able to help because Sheldon had convinced Wil Wheaton to cover the store for a few hours and have a Star Trek themed event. Jade had convinced Sheldon that anything he could think of to help the comic store would keep him from having to find a different store once Stuart went bankrupt or insane, or both, so he had jumped at the chance to save himself some trouble.

The Star Trek themed event was also to introduce the sundry items for sale at the shop, as well as other, often signed merchandise that Wil's friends could be persuaded to provide. Wil's celebrity had never brought this kind of attention before, but that was because Wil had never offered a look at his own collection. Not physically, but a complete list of everything geeky he owned with pictures for people to look at. Add in a little help from Jade in the form of Dale Squires, and people were buying stuff just to be there. Dale was there because Jade had told him Wil might be up for a part in a new SciFi TV Epic like Babylon 5, and he wanted to get in and direct several episodes. Dale, like everyone, was looking for the next boost in his career.

All of this was great for Jade, because she desperately needed some Tori time. She also planned on spending the night with her family, mostly her brother. Specificity her fathers son, who she hardly ever saw. Jade was feeling paranoid, everything was going right, and that didn't happen for her.

Thursday happened, and that's all she knew. It was busy, but such a non-event that she just logged it away and prepared for Friday. She knew she did stuff, teaching and reserch and maybe a few well placed death threats, but nothing stood out so the day was felt almost like background noise. The feeling you have when you drive home, and somehow cannot remember the whole drive. Jade could blame some of it on Friday. She'd been both living for and dreading Friday. Her parents would meet Tori's, and she would have her party with her friends and family. Friday would be perfect. It had to be.

Friday started with the quiz. From there, she lectured while Kevin graded what he could. Jade had thrown her TA a bone by making the quiz simple and easy. He just had to glance over the Four questions and make sure they used the right formulas, that they did the math right, and that they didn't make any assumptions they could not back up. It was only an hour long quiz, and maybe a page per question of calculations and explanations. 'He'll have it done by five.' Jade thought. After all, she didn't want to have to spend her weekend grading if Kevin got sick, and she could have finished the grading in an hour or two. She didn't notice him cursing her under his breath as he looked at her key, where she had doodled out the formulas and the correct answers (with alternatives), realizing he was going to be checking everyones math. Jade tended to forget how slow most people were with equations.

After the class, she leisurely walked to her car, stopping at the coffee kiosk to get her usual. There was more of a line then she was used to, since she normally got lunch first, but today she wanted to have lunch with her brothers. Dave let her cut because it was her birthday, and students let her out of a mix of fear and awe. Jade's reputation was better than most. Her classes were well received, her research was progressing at a good rate, and half her department used her services to run simulations. Jade was a rising star at Caltech.

The drive home was the usual mess, but Jade knew how to avoid some of the trouble spots and made it home just in time to take her brothers out to lunch. Jason, her father son, was the perfect child in his eyes. At six years old he was starting to form his identity as a rising athlete in first grade. Her mother's son was William, but of course everyone called him Billy. Also six, he was a burgeoning artist, in love with his paints. They went to the same school, and were even in the same grade. They had only a few things in common. They were Jade siblings, and so she was required by law to love them. They were both too young to stay out late except if someone was watching them, and just beginning to become aware of the kind of trouble they could get into if they wanted. Somehow they had found each other at school, and despite their differences and the problems their parents had with each other, they quickly became best friends. Jade loved them both. She wished she had her own place so that she could spend a weekend or two with the little monsters. Jade was good with kids that age.

Lunch wasn't fancy, just a quick trip to Inside-out Burger where they got two kids meals with Peppy Colas, and she got the Chicken Salad with the Oriental sesame seed dressing. She had a good time laughing at their antics as they talked about her birthday and what she wanted to happen. In the end, they needed to get back to her mothers for a party that was not children. 'Teens don't like Kids seeing them acting like kids'. Jade drove them to her mothers house where her friends were gathering.

The plan was for Tori and the Hollywood Arts gang to meet her at one thirty for a pool party. They would hang out until about six, when it would morph into a barbeque and her adult friends and family would show up. Her brothers would be there, but an indoor place had been set up for them to play when their parents couldn't watch them swim since they wouldn't understand a lot of what the older kids called fun, even the clean stuff. It was a plan that gave Jade time to prepare for the meeting of the parents. And like all plans, it didn't survive first contact with the enemy.

Tori's parents took the afternoon off. Trina had been invited, and they thought it would be a nice family thing to do going to a pool party, especially one full of responsible young people who were also their daughters friends. So the whole Vega family showed up to help set up at just after one. Jade didn't have to worry about entertaining them, however, since her own parents, along with their current spouse or boyfriend, had shown up. Jades mother lived there with Rick, her current boyfriend. Rick wasn't Billy's father, but the small time actor who had charmed her mother into a relationship certainly acted like he was.

Jade's reflected on her step-parents. Her fathers wife, Fiona, was so different from the men her mother dated. She never liked Jade. No Fiona wasn't cruel, capricious, or even vindictive. She also didn't bother trying to get to know Jade in any way beyond family get togethers. Fiona wasn't Jade mother, and felt no need to acknowledge the goth in any way beyond what Jades father demanded. While Jason loved his sister, Fiona tolerated her existence. Jade never lived with her father because when he was out, she was a non-entity. Better to be a stage mothers disappointment then constantly forgotten. Even today, Fiona was there but treating it like an obligation. In many ways, she treated her marriage like it was an arrangement. A decent life, and a child, in return for companionship.

Jades parents were all here, along with Tori's, and to Jade that spelled disaster. No prep time, no way to figure out how she was going to moderate these intense people, just straight into the fire.

The disaster wasn't complete yet, however. Howard, Sheldon and Raj all took off work early to play in a pool. Penny had found someone to cover her shift, and both Amy and Bernadette could take the time off. They had brought their own refreshments, mostly because the girls would never survive a party without the booze. All of them arriving by one thirty, just before the Hollywood Arts gang, who understood that arriving early to a party was rude, showed up. In Sheldon's defense, however, he was dragged by his ride.

It was about this time, after the fake niceties had been exchanged and as Jade was watching her world spin out of any semblance of control, her parents took the opportunity to sit down with Tori's parents. Just before they started really talking, Tori dragged Jade aside to figure out who was who.

"Who's who over there.?" Tori asked.

"You know my Dad. With him is his new wife, Fiona. She likes to pretend I don't exist. We get along, but only because I want to be in my fathers life. No one ignores me." Jade growled, then returned her voice to normal. "She's like a hired wife. She does her part, and expects him to do his. I'm not sure if they love each other, but she's good for his image." Jade explained as she pointed to her stepmother. Then the pointed to the other pair. "That's my mom. You'll get to know her as the day goes on, and beside her is Rick, her current boyfriend and kept man. She gives him a place, and he acts like the boyfriend. He's an actor, but not a great one. I think he's done some commercials and local theater. For a leach on society, he's actually pretty cool. He treats Billy like a son, and doesn't try anything on me. I think he'd like it to be more than it is, but she wont let it. It's sad that Mom won't take this to the next level. She sometimes avoids commitment."

"Okay, you've got to explain that." Tori said, looking deep into Jades eyes..

"Rick's her fourth boyfriend. Before that were two others just like him, bot of whom were pretty good to me and Billy, and neither lasted more than two years. She's pretty good at finding decent men among the acting losers. Rick seems to like the arrangement, but I think she needs to stop treating him like a fling. It's getting harder to find decent guys as she gets older, especially with two kids, and she keeps letting them go." Jade sounded sad.

"What about the one before them? You said she had four boyfriends." Tori pried.

"Darren. He's an actor and part time professional wrestler slash bodybuilder who she seemed serious about, until she found out he was in it for the baby his career, and nothing else. He's gay, and I think he thought she knew she was his beard, and understood his desire to be a father didn't include being her husband. Shows how much they really understood each other. Anyway, we still see him. He's determined to be in Billy's life, and he even likes to spend time with me. I clung to him after the incident, just feeling safe knowing he wasn't interested in me. He's six foot four and two hundred and forty pounds. That's a lot of safety. He doesn't know, but I think he suspects. Mom barely admits he exists today, and I guess she was burned once too often. She only dates actors now." Jade stopped talking to look at her beautiful girlfriend. "Thanks for being so cool with this parental trap."

"Just avoiding your fathers inevitable questioning." Tori said, smiling.

The parental meeting soon included Tori and Jade. Jade took a brief break around Two to talk to Beck.

"Yo, Beck, I was wondering..." Jade started.

"Yo? Okay, who is it. When is she getting here." Beck said smiling. "C'mon, you never say YO. Just tell me, okay."

"Trina." She said. "Before you freak, I've been vetting her and found a wonderful girl under the attitude and sense of entitlement. You could, and have, done worse. She's just what you need. I've started the molding, you and her finish. I bet you'll have beautiful yet annoying children and a nice happy home."

"Really?" Beck stammered. "I mean, really?"

"Just give her a chance. Spend some time with her while I'm dealing with the parents. If you don't see what I see, then obviously your blind, but I won't push it. Okay? Just trust me to know what you need, like I trusted you." Jade smiled, and Beck relented.

"Okay, as long as she tones it down." He said.

"Okay. Oh, and Beck, Robbie, Sinjin and Burf now get the Northridge girls who like to come sniffing around." Jade was smiling.

"You think those three have a chance?" Beck asked.

"Yep. Kinda like your entourage. Also, if they don't get girlfriends, they'll at least keep the sluts away from you. It's a win-win." Jade with a smile. Then her brief break came to an end and she returned to the family meeting family meeting. 'This needs abetter name. I could use an acronym. FMFM? No vowels. Fam fam? Now I'm just escaping.' Jade thought. A brief image of a tunnel formed in her mind, but actually digging it would be far too much work.

By three, they had worked things out. Jade's father approved of Tori, her family, and everything else. Her mother also approved, and Rick wanted the guys to go bowling. Fiona didn't really care until she heard David was a cop, and then she just wanted to know if he could help her with a speeding ticket. Jades brothers were having a good time, and the Caltech bunch had managed to have fun despite being the odd people out at this pool party turned barbeque. Rex, as predicted, had texted and so half their class had appeared, along with a few people from Northridge. More would have come, but Jade would have killed the puppet, and even Rex knew to be afraid of wazzing her off that much. So despite everything, it was an enjoyable torture that she endured almost out of curiosity, waiting for things to explode. They almost did when, at five, Doctor Barry Kripke arrived. He and Sheldon got into a viscous water fight, then Beck put them on a time out. It was funny to see the handsome and more intimidating young man put these two in their place. Barry protests plus his speech impediment made several people laugh, so they also got a time out. Beck was good like that. Later Barry did proposition a couple of the older girls, including Trina, and once again found himself on time out. Trina just showed him what she could do to a board, now functioning as kindling.

The party slowly bled into the night, with food and, for the adults, drinking. While it was originally supposed to break up by eight, they didn't get the guests to leave until after eleven, and only with the help of David and his badge. Finale Jade, who's presents were unopened and would remain that way until Sunday, took her overnight bag and went to drive Sheldon home. Tori quickly jumped into Jade's car carrying her own bag. Sheldon just wanted to go home, and didn't argue.

Once Sheldon had retreated to bed, Jade found herself sitting on the couch with Tori. Jade made a point of sitting in Sheldon's spot just to spite him. The conversation quickly faded as the two nervous girls sat next to each other, not sure what to do.

"So, here we are." Tori opened.

"Yep." Jade could not believe how nervous she'd become. She suspected Tori might try this, but now, in the moment, all her fears came screaming to the surfaces. What if it was all infatuation? What if they're just good friends. Neither wanted to ruin what they had, but both knew sooner or later they would come to this point. Jade and Tori were trapped by their own expectations and experiences.

"How about a kiss?" Tori asked. Jade responded immediately, leaning over and they met, feeling the desire in each others lips. Tori deepened the kiss, drawing Jade out of herself. Risking the touch, Jade's arms encircled her girlfriend, pulling Tori closer while one hand tangled into the Latina's hair. Tori took the opportunity to slide a hand up the nervous goths front, ending in a lingering grope. The other was around Jades waist, slowly slipping under her shirt. Tori moved with a surprising certainty, sliding her hand up Jades back to her bra, and quietly undoing it. Jade let out a gasp as the tension across her bust released.

"Wait." Jade managed to force out. Tori looked concerned, but stopped her advances. "I'm not, I mean, not here." Jade blushed as she spoke. Her mind reeled as she tried to figure out just what she wanted.

"Maybe we could go to the bedroom?" Tori asked. Jade froze. She no longer had any doubts what would happen if they moved to the bedroom. "We wont do anything you're not ready for. Maybe we just cuddle, maybe more. Okay?" Tori said as she started towards Lenard's room. Lust and fear dueled in Jades mind and heart as she followed her girlfriend into the other room. Once the door was closed, Jade just allowed herself to be overwhelmed by kisses and touches until her body screamed for more, and the singer complied. No words were spoken, but some were moaned. Tori took her time, gauging every step, never going farther than jade was ready for. There were probably questions and answers, but Jade was only marginally aware of anything more than the desire for Tori's touch.

One hour later, As she lay naked in Tori's arms, Jade could not, for the life of her, remember what happened to her underwear.

:}

I'm not sure about how Jade and Tori got together. Still, it's movement, and Jade needs a healthy relationship. Wanna bet things go sideways at least once before the summer ends?

Reviews are like candy. I have a swet tooth.