After a few minutes and several jumbled thoughts, Jeff felt ready enough to check his phone. It took him a second to remember he actually turned it off – an action so foreign to him that he naturally wouldn't remember right away.

Nevertheless, when he turned it on, he saw it was completely flooded with voicemails and texts. And without the patience to check them all, he just called Britta straight out.

"About time, Winger! Now that you're you again, do you mind telling us what Annie's doing?" Jeff heard Britta demand.

"Actually, you're gonna tell me what you did first," Jeff said as his mood got darker. "Start with how you made Annie break down at your stupid intervention, and go from there."

"What? Jeff, what did she tell you? How did she tell you? Did she think you were an evil brainwasher?" Britta asked in a bit of panic. But Jeff's emotions were too strong to take that in.

"If she did, it's because you went Dr. Drew on her, isn't it?" Jeff almost growled out. "You had no right to do that! And it made no difference anyway, because –"

"You want to make a difference now? Too late, Jeff!" Britta announced. "You haven't helped us try to help Annie all week! And she's supposed to be your 'bestie,' if nothing else! We've been worried sick about her all this time because we love her, and we finally made her see that. We don't have to prove it to you too, especially since you weren't there for her today."

"And you proved it by making her break down how?" Jeff asked while he could still focus.

"Okay, so maybe she thought we were an evil cult," Britta rushed through. "But she didn't think we were robots like in high school. And she didn't break any glass windows this time. Give us that much!"

"You expect me to…." Jeff couldn't finish, as he took in what Britta said at the end and tried not to take in the other parts too, but that wasn't working so well. When he finally settled his thoughts down, he took them out on Britta.

"You know what? You people have lost your Annie privileges. You don't come over here to see her, you don't call her, and you don't say anything to either of us tomorrow! At least not until after lunch. How's that for proof, doc?" Jeff said childishly before hanging up.

Once Jeff sat back down and thought like an adult, his thoughts turned to Annie. Or rather, his thoughts turned to all the stories he heard about her high school breakdown. A breakdown which apparently happened all over again today, while he was here, unable to do anything about it – and letting people who didn't believe in her care for her.

But at least those people did something to keep her from full blown insanity this time. While he was in here writing. While she was reliving the worst day of her life, and he was doing nothing for her. Nothing real, anyway. Hell, she was fresh off an Adderall breakdown and she probably figured the whole plot out anyway – and what had Jeff done?

He was the only one to believe she wouldn't get hooked on pills again – but he did it in secret. He could have reassured her with words and comfort that someone was in her corner, but he had her spied on instead. He could have paid attention and stopped their misguided friends from making her feel worse, but he didn't, and it almost made her go insane for good.

It didn't, but it could have. Hell, she could easily be in a mental ward right now if anyone else had seen her meltdown. She could have been all alone, scared, betrayed and broken, and he wasn't there to show her that someone still believed in her.

Because he wasn't, she was almost gone forever. He – and everyone else, of course – could have lost her. Could still lose her.

For the briefest of seconds, Jeff didn't think he'd ever felt so much fear.

Jeff tried to settle down; tried to remind himself that she was still here. She was here, she probably figured out what was really happening, and she even had a plan to expose it. Albeit an insane plan where she willingly took Adderall at the end.

But the rest of it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was….kind of air tight. Assuming Jeff could really hide in the kitchen and get a small enough hidden camera. There were some good hiding places, and Abed's friends did have the weirdest cameras.

Plus he told Britta not to talk to him or Annie before lunch tomorrow. Since Jeff was not going to let them in on this plan and mess it up, it fit pretty well. The rest could fit into place too, with a few phone calls.

So Jeff spent the next hour calling his old spies, and asking them if they knew anyone from Abed's film crew. He obviously couldn't ask Abed, and it's not like he knew Abed's crew himself. Despite his unceremonious firing of her earlier that day, Gillian came through for Jeff and got him a number.

In any case, Jeff dialed the number and spent the next few hours negotiating to get a small hidden camera. After swearing Abed's friend to secrecy – and promising him a shard from Abed's broken Dark Knight DVD – he came over and gave Jeff what he wanted.

It was a pen with a hidden camera inside at the bottom – which was supposed to be for a groundbreaking film from the P.O.V. of a supervillain's pen. It was an immensely confusing little piece of equipment.

By the time he figured some of it out, Annie finally emerged from his bedroom.

Jeff had heard her shivering a few times in between phone calls, yet he resisted the urge to go in and lie beside her. Besides, she was probably detoxing a bit, so he made the excuse that it was best to let it run its course. Even though he'd left her alone already today, and because he did, he almost lost her for—

Jeff somehow shook that off and focused on the Annie that was here now. She still didn't quite look like the Annie he knew, but she looked calmer, rested and more presentable. She even spoke normally when she asked, "Hey. How long was I out?"

Jeff didn't even know that, so he was stunned to see that it was almost 10 p.m. already. Time flew by when you were sleeping off drug freak outs and taking out psycho Annies. When Annie giggled – which almost sounded like her usual, haunting giggles – Jeff realized he spoke that part out loud.

"So, about taking out psycho Annies…." Annie led into as she sat down next to Jeff on the couch. She didn't look as intense as the last time they talked about taking her out, so Jeff was able to calmly explain everything he'd been up to, and Annie listened with rapt attention and wonder.

After playing around with the pen, Annie helped Jeff work out how to use it and put it in his suit pocket just right. Even though she hadn't watched Abed work in two weeks, she remembered his pen movie ideas quite vividly. Once that was fine tuned, Annie looked quite impressed.

"I can't believe you made my ramblings a real plan," Annie praised.

"I can't believe you rambled well enough to give me a real plan. Given the circumstances," Jeff meant to make that look better than it sounded.

"I came up with all that after a mental breakdown. Think what I'd have done if I was clear headed," Annie reflected. "If I was, I would have figured this all out a lot sooner."

"That's why she drugged you, so you wouldn't. We'll take it out on Annie Kim tomorrow, don't worry," Jeff reassured.

"I can't lay this all on her," Annie reasoned. "I should have known what she was doing. Of all people, I should have known."

"How could you have known? How could anyone?" Jeff jabbed back.

"I could have, though. I could have if I wasn't so angry at them," Annie regretted. "All they did was worry about me, but I thought they lost respect for me. After all we've been through, I never should have doubted how much they care about me. But I did, and I ignored all the signs."

"If they had real faith in you, they should have known you'd never do that junk again. They didn't and they made it worse," Jeff was convinced.

"But they were right. I mean, if you're right, they were right. I was on Adderall. But I didn't take it on purpose like they thought, so I was right too," Annie realized. "But then we were both wrong too….God, this is messed up!"

"Well, we'll clean it up tomorrow, and we'll prove them all wrong," Jeff promised again.

"And then what? How do I face them again, Jeff?" Annie questioned. "Let's face it, I'm an addict again. It made me lash out at them, almost strangle Troy and think the worst about everyone! And they still tried to help me…..Hell, even you went above and beyond for me!"

Jeff felt offended that Annie would be shocked at how he'd go above and beyond for her. Then again, his reputation for going above and beyond for people was admittedly weak. Maybe that's what she was poking fun at, but he still felt a tinge of….regret, possibly.

"You guys did so much for me. What have I done to earn that kind of loyalty? Who am I to be that lucky….especially now?" Annie wondered.

There was so much Jeff could say to answer that – but almost all of it was stuff Jeff Winger would never say. Yet the more Annie kept silent, the more that didn't seem to matter.

However, Annie unknowingly let him off the hook by speaking again first. "I have to be worthy enough to have friends like you again. And I can't do that until I face these demons once and for all. Clearly, going through rehab alone didn't do it….so I have to do this."

Unfortunately, Jeff had an idea of what 'this' really was. "You don't have to drink that coffee tomorrow. The rest of the plan is solid. All we need to show the cops is the video, the cup of tainted coffee, and a few of my ex-lawyer tricks. We can nail her without you getting high again," Jeff stated.

"You don't know Annie Kim, Jeff. If we leave her even one window of opportunity, she'll take it and get off scot free. I know she'll find it if I don't drink it on camera, and we don't catch her letting it happen," Annie declared.

"We don't even know if she'll be watching! She's not that much of a cartoon super villain yet!" Jeff announced. "What if you drink it and she's not there? Then what's the point of doing this?"

Before Jeff knew it, his emotions got away from him and he asked, "What if she stays clear because she put enough in there to kill you this time?!"

He barely hid the grimace on his face after he realized what he said, and Annie probably saw it anyway. For whatever reason, she began to look fearful, which might have been a good sign for Jeff's argument.

"She isn't merciful enough to kill me, Jeff," Annie finally excused, deflating Jeff instantly. But she went on undeterred.

"Anyway, it won't change anything. If I don't take it, I'll start going through withdrawal symptoms, and I'll have to go to the hospital. If I do, I'll go nuts and have to go to the hospital. Either way, you'll take me to the hospital before it gets too bad, and I'll get better. That's not so terrible, right?" Annie proposed.

There were a hundred ways it could go bad. Yet some of what Annie said sounded logical on paper. If Jeff pointed out the illogical stuff, it could start an argument – and then who knows how things would turn out? If any of this was going to work, they needed to be on solid ground together. And Jeff couldn't leave her on her own again, for any reason.

Yet he also couldn't let her think for a second that he approved of this. So he said, "Withdrawal sounds a hell of a lot better than a bad trip," in a slightly dark tone.

Annie sighed deeply, and Jeff could see the wheels turning in her head as she searched for a way out of this conversation.

"Maybe..." Annie commented, then checked her watch. "Jeff? Could we watch some TV now?" she questioned abruptly. "I just….I'm clearly not going home tonight, and I haven't watched TV with anyone in days, so…."

The one time Jeff wanted to talk about something serious, Annie changes the subject. But there was clearly no changing her mind, and if the worst was still to come, they should have a little quiet time first. To that end, Jeff started flipping through channels – before Annie took the remote and stayed on channels for longer than two seconds.

After they settled on something, Annie sat next to Jeff in silence. He looked at her from the corner of his eye every so often, which he was especially good at now. She seemed to inch closer over time, but she didn't seem set on full on cuddling. Yet before Jeff could stop himself – or even think to try – he put his arm around her to bring her close.

Normally, Jeff did this move to start setting things up for sex. But there was nothing sexual about this. That was startling, since he always figured he'd be a bundle of nerves if this ever happened with Annie – for a number of reasons. However, he knew this wasn't the time or place for those kind of thoughts – and he actually wasn't having them.

He just brought Annie close to him for the….sake of her being closer to him. Because he knew she needed human contact, and he wanted to give it to her.

Annie was the kind of person who needed to share her life with others. She needed companionship and comfort, and to know she wouldn't be alone in her times of need. Jeff never needed that or wanted it for….most of his life.

But going without all that for the first 16 years of her life made Annie turn to pills the first time. And her fear of others losing respect for her helped make things worse this time. Now for the first time in weeks, she was with someone she knew respected the hell out of her, even at her worst – or at least Jeff hoped she knew that.

In that case, if snuggling would help her see that, especially now, it was a price Jeff was willing to pay. And as he felt Annie warm up and calm down, it began to feel like a really good bargain. Even with sex off the table, it was just nice to have her here. To have her close and to share in the company of the real, normal Annie Edison again.

Especially if it might never happen again after tomorrow.

For the second time, the thought of Annie going permanently nuts struck Jeff with terror. It took a little longer to realize he was being ridiculous this time. Besides, everything was planned out perfectly, except for the end. Then again, when did anything Jeff wanted ever go right?

Those thoughts stayed close in Jeff's mind as he and Annie watched TV in silence. After about an hour, Annie realized she had to go back to sleep, and helped Jeff get blankets and pillows for himself on the couch.

But Jeff was largely back on autopilot, deep in his weird, unnatural thoughts – and by the time Annie was ready to say good night and leave him, he voiced one of those errant thoughts. Because he thought he might never get another chance to say it to her.

"Annie. You know how much I care about you, right?"

To his surprise, Annie followed up with, "Jeff, I've had a mostly terrible day. Tomorrow could be even worse. I think we might be so afraid about it….we might say things we don't really mean before then. Things we wouldn't say if we didn't think tomorrow might be….the end of something. If that's the reason, then it doesn't really count. And if it does…."

Annie lost her nerve for a bit, but recovered to finish, "It's not a good time for it to count. So….I know how ironic this is, coming from me. But is this something we could...put aside right now?"

Jeff knew it made sense. If he was thinking these things just because Annie might disappear tomorrow, they shouldn't count. It didn't mean anything in the long term, and he would never think these things under normal circumstances. He shouldn't think them, anyway.

But if he had thought that way about Annie before all this started, what then?

And just like that, Jeff's already crumbling wall of denial was shattered.

Now that he'd admitted to himself that he had thought those things before, even he couldn't brush it aside. And all of a sudden, it all flooded his brain in a long overdue tidal wave.

How Annie was the strongest, bravest woman he'd ever known – especially after today. How he knew Annie wouldn't have let herself take pills because she was so strong and powerful – because Jeff knew her well enough to know how strong and powerful she was. Because he knew this woman better than anyone else he'd ever met – and that's why it was so impossible to shake her influence away.

And then it really flooded him how close he came to losing her. How close he still was. How she might lose herself before she knew just how valuable she really was to him. How losing her like that would crush him.

How losing her for any reason – no matter whose fault it was, how long it took to happen, or how much happiness they had beforehand – would all but destroy him.

After all, Jeff was almost destroyed when he lost a dad and his law career. What would it do to him if he lost something that was actually worth having?

At that wild thought, Jeff knew he was going way too far. Once he snapped out of it, he realized he'd thought all this in just a few seconds of real time – and Annie was still looking for an answer.

"Sure, of course," Jeff said out loud before his inner voice could object. He sat back down as he began to put his broken walls of denial together again. If Annie could see inside that construction, she didn't comment. In fact, she seemed set to go to bed then and there.

But the walls weren't up yet. Which meant Jeff could tell her something.

"Annie, hold on," Jeff asked. When she did, he said the first thing he thought of, without any thought behind it at all. "It's gonna be okay. I would rather get cuts on my abs, or gain 15 pounds, than let Annie Kim or anyone else hurt you tomorrow. Or ever. I promise."

Before Jeff could start to over think what he said, or take some of it back, Annie disarmed him with that sweet, small smile he missed so much. Yet before he got totally lost in it, she said, "So…..you've been a fanatic about your weight for years, but you're gonna gain 15 pounds in one day?"

So she was going the teasing route. Part of Jeff felt a little disappointed, but the rest was still in control. "What can I say? When I do something, I do it better than anyone, you know that," he bragged.

"You do. You really do," Annie conceded. "I'm really lucky to know that."

Jeff usually smirked his typical cocky smile when someone praised him. But having his ego boosted like that by Annie made him feel….warmer. It made his smile feel warmer as well.

Yet that was nothing compared to how he felt when Annie opened his bedroom door, smiled, and said, "Goodnight, Jeff."

She made it sound like something out of some buried, deep in subconscious dream sequence. Or part of a fantasy from an….ideal future.

After Annie shut the door, it took a few minutes for Jeff to snap out of it. It was just because he might not see her healthy again after tomorrow. That was all it was. That's why it didn't count for real.

Yet the lumpy couch wasn't the only reason he could barely sleep, for once in his life.