"Thirty five years in the auto motor industry and now I have to spend my retirement playing watchman."

The security guard grumbled as he made his rounds. Normally the job wasn't that bad. He just hated when he had to work overnight. He walked down the hallway when he noticed a light was on in one of the art rooms. He walked into the room, stopping abruptly when he was what was inside; which was a very naked man and woman asleep in each other's arms. They were both covered in charcoal smudges and had yellow paint handprints all over their bodies.

"Oh for god sakes! Damn artists!"

He went over to them and started poking Jeff with his nightstick. "Wake Up!" As Jeff stirred the security guard jabbed at Annie. "WAKE UP!"

Jeff finally opened his eyes, groaning as the security guard looked down at him. "Shit!" As he grabbed his robe Annie woke up, squealing in shock at the sight of the security guard.

"You and your girlfriend have three minutes to get dressed and get out of here, or else I'm calling this in and you'll have to deal with the actual police," he sternly told them before walking out of the room and standing in the hallway.

"That's the second time I've been yelled at tonight. Third if I count you."

"Jeff, shut up! We've got to get out of here!" Annie franticly yelled as she searched for her duffle bag. She finally found it and franticly started getting dressed as Jeff got his own clothes back on. Once they were both dressed they turned off the lights and walked out of the room, with Annie going up to the security guard. "Please, please don't say anything about this," she begged him imploringly. "If this gets out this could-."

"Did you steal or break anything in there?" he sternly asked.

"Um…no."

"Then just get out of here. If I report you it'll just be a mountain of useless paperwork for me to fill out. Leave right now and I didn't see anything."

"Thank you so-."

"Why aren't you leaving?"

"Yea, that's our cue," Jeff said. He grabbed Annie's hand as they quickly walked down the hallway. They didn't stop until they were out of the building and in the parking lot. "Well that was one to remember." He pulled his shirt to the side as he inspected his shoulder. "I might have to pick up a special body wash to get this paint off."

He looked over in bewilderment as he saw Annie doubled over, laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?"

"Just…everything." She took a few deep breathes as she straightened up and regained her composure. "You, me, us. This, that. Everything." She let out another chuckle, which seemed sadder then her previous laughter. "It just seems like whenever I have it all figured out you come along and throw everything through a loop."

"Hey, you think you don't do the same to me? Before you my life was easy. I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted out of others. Then you came along and suddenly I'm insanely jealous and am not above doing stupid stunts to prove affection. So you're not the only one whose world has been turned upside down."

Annie took a deep breath as she picked up her bag. "Well, anyway, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Jeff."

She barely took two steps before Jeff grabbed her hand and puller her towards him. "No. Don't think for a second we can just leave this thing unresolved like that."

"Jeff, I'm not a kid anymore. I know that having…sex, doesn't automatically lead to a relationship. So don't worry about it, you're off the hook. Let's just have it where this was a very satisfying one time encounter and leave it at that."

She started walking away, only to find that Jeff still had a firm grip on her hand. "Jeff-."

"What if I don't want this to be a onetime encounter?"

"Jeff, after last year's fiasco with you and Britta I don't think we should be running around having sex in secret."

"That's not; I don't…I don't want you to be like m…I don't want you to be like this. Where you screw and run. That's not who you are. You're Annie."

She pulled her hand out of his as she felt herself becoming angry. "I'm not the same woman I was when we first met Jeff! I'm-."

"I know you're not the same. And I like that." He continued as she abruptly stopped talking. "I like who you are right now. You're more confident, you're assertive. You stand up for yourself without freaking out with childish outbursts. At least when an evil Asian doppelganger isn't involved." He chuckled as he attempt to joke before continuing. "I don't want you to go back to who you once were. But I also don't want you to stray too far away from yourself either. I like that you expect more out of people, and that you don't believe in settling. I like when you're bubbly and get excited over silly things, and that you actually want a relationship rather than just a one night stand or a fuck buddy. What I'm saying, is I want you to be both versions of you. I want you to be strong and confident, but also warm and bubbly instead of jaded and cynical. And that I want to be with both versions of you."

She rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Sure, you want to be with me now. But then in a week or so you'll get bored and-."

"Annie. Do you honestly think I would have acted even half this crazy over someone if I thought I'd get bored in a week? Or if I wanted to be with them just for great sex? I want to be in an actual relationship with you. I want to tell the group, deal with that huge fallout, and then see where it goes. Hopefully in a direction the me before Greendale would have scoffed at.

She looked up at him, a hint of suspicion still present in her eyes. "You really want to do this?"

"Annie, we both know it would be easier if we either left it alone, or at least attempted the 'Britta Jeff just sex route'. But with you, I don't want that. I want something more. I doubt I would have gone to all this trouble if I didn't want more from you. I can't promise that I won't mess up at times, or that I'll always know what do to. This is kind of new territory for me. But I want to try and see where this goes."

Annie smiled as she pulled him down and kissed him. But after a moment she gently pushed him back as a realization came to her. "Jeff, wait. Before we do anything there's one more thing we have to discuss. I'm not going to stop modeling."

He smiled easily, preparing a winning 'Winger' speech to change her mind. "Annie-."

"No!" she yelled at him. Jeff's smile disappeared as he realized she wasn't speaking with girlish defiance, but with true passion and conviction. "I know you're jealous of others seeing me naked. But I don't care. I like doing this. At first it was just about making some extra money. But it's become so much more than that. It's helped me gain confidence and helped me not be ashamed of myself. All those new things you just said that you like about me; most of it has come directly from posing naked. And I'm not going to stop just because you have a problem with it or can think of reasons I'll regret it. Because pretty much the only regret I have is the fact that I don't get to keep any of the artwork I'm in. So I'm asking you, right now, if you can deal with it. Because if you can't then this isn't going to work."

She waited as he took a moment to truly think it over. "Well, I did say I liked you being more assertive. I guess I have to accept that it means I can't always charm my way around you."

"So, what's your answer?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie and say it doesn't make me jealous."

"I guess there's your answer," she said bitterly.

"But I meant what I said before. I like all the new aspects to your personality that you've gained. And if this is what it takes for you to keep growing, then I want you to keep doing it."

She looked at him as her lips seemed to settle somewhere between a smile and a frown. "You're not just saying that? You really mean it?"

"Yes, I mean it."

"And you're not to go crazy anymore either? Like stealing art work and pulling stunts like you did tonight?

"I don't think crazy Jeff will be reappearing."

She grinned before pulling his face to her and nibbled on his bottom lip. "Just out of curiosity, was this the last time naked Jeff will be making a appearance in the art world?"

"Hate to break it to you babe, but that was just a two time thing," he managed to say as he pulled his lip away. "For now on there's just one nude model in this relationship." He brushed her hair off her shoulder as his fingers grazed a spot that was coated in paint. "You know, my shower had a very powerful spray. And we can probably get all this stuff off us better if we had some help with washing."

"Is that so," she said with a grin. "And I'm sure the longer we're covered in it the harder it will be to get off. We should get in that shower right away."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

One week later

Abed heard the familiar three tap knocking from outside and got up to answer the door. "Hey Jeff. Annie's still getting ready." He nodded his head towards the large rectangular sheet covered object in Jeff's hands. "Is that a gift for Annie?"

"Yup." He came into the apartment and carefully set it down.

"Aw, Jeffrey!" Jeff turned around as Troy came over to him. "I understand you're taking young Annie out tonight. May I ask what you're intentions with her are?"

"Ok, can you knock off the concerned father routine already. It was funny for half a second the first time. But now it's just unnerving. It's bad enough that I have to deal with the concerned father act from Pierce. Also, I'm older then you, so it kind of doesn't work."

Troy laughed heartedly as he clapped Jeff on the shoulder. "Chop busted fellow adult, chop busted. Seriously though, I expect you to treat our Annie with respect. She's a lady, remember that."

Before Jeff could respond Annie's bedroom door opened, followed by her stepping out into the living room. "Hey Jeff. Troy, you're not giving him a hard time, are you?"

"Just making sure he treats you right."

Jeff walked over and kissed her before taking in her outfit. "You look great."

"Thanks. So do you. So, shall we?"

"In a minute. First I want to give you something." He glanced at Troy and Abed (who were giving him the 'parental concerned look') before taking her hand. "Alone." He picked up the rectangular object before he took both it and Annie into her bedroom.

"Ok, first off," Jeff said as he closed her door. "You've really got to get them to stop this whole Father's Knows Best routine they've got going. It was barely amusing during our first date. Now it's just maddening."

"They're just looking out for me. And having a bit of fun," she said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes as Jeff looked at her pleadingly. "Fine, I'll talk to them."

"Thank you."

She bounced on her toes as she pointed towards the mysterious object. "What have you got there?"

"A surprise. Close your eyes."

Annie placed her hands over her eyes, excitedly waiting as she heard the rustling of a sheet. "Ok, you can open them now." Annie pulled her hands away, gasping in surprise at what she saw.

It was a nude drawing of her. Specifically, the really good one that was currently being displayed on the wall of the second floor of the Sylvain adult learning center. It had been put in a large black frame with white matting around it.

"Oh my god, Jeff. This is amazing. Thank-." She suddenly stopped smiling as she looked at it. "Wait. I thought you said you returned all the drawings you took."

"I did, scouts honor." Jeff took out his phone and showed her a picture, which was himself handing money to the drawing's artist Michael Collins. "I bought it legit from the artist. I couldn't exactly get a receipt so I figured this would prove I'm being truthful. And for the record, taking it in the first place still ended up screwing me over even after I returned it. Michael was going to charge me $200 for it, but after he thought about the fact that someone tried to steal it he realized its value and upped the price to $400."

"Lucky for you he didn't realize you were the one who took it. He might have charged you even more." She held up the framed drawing and stared at it intently, before gently placing it on her bed. "Why did you get me this? Not that I don't love it. But we've only been dating for a week. And I'd like to think we're not quite shmoopy enough to celebrate that milestone."

"I got it for you for two reasons. And neither are to be overly cutsy. First, I got it for you because you said you regretted that there were all these art works featuring you and you didn't have any of them. So I decided I could at least make sure you had one work of art that features the most beautiful woman I know."

"Aw! Jeff. Thank you. I really do appreciate it. Wait, you said there were two reasons."

"The second reason, is that this is my way of formally apologizing for how I acted. Even though things have obviously worked out between us, I never actually said I'm sorry for everything I did. For stealing your drawings, for being jealous and treating you badly, for being a jerk to you and everyone for two weeks, and for the whole nude modeling stunt and jeopardizing your career by having sex with you in that art room. So, I'm sorry."

Annie slowly smiled as she walked over to Jeff. "Well to be fair, I also had a hand in the art room sex, so you're not entirely to blame for that one." She put her arms around him and hugged him. "Thank you. For the drawing, but mostly for apologizing for everything. It means a lot."

"Well, you're not the only one who can change things about themselves." He kissed her one more time before taking her hand. "Come on. We don't want to miss our reservations for dinner."

As they walked out of her room Annie glanced over her shoulder, taking one more look at her drawing. She smiled as she realized how many good things come out of deciding to pose a year ago. She had gained confidence, inner strength and self assurance. She had learned to love herself and to stand up for herself like a grown up. In short, it had helped transform her into a woman.

Funny what can happen when you peel back your layers and let yourself see who you really are.