They all sat and talked until late into the night. Tarzan and Jane thought it was about time to turn in, and Jonathan had a similar idea. The only two who disagreed were Kala and Henry. Jane noticed her daughter's interest in the young man and let them be. The next morning, Jonathan found the pair curled up together on the couch, fast asleep. "Well, they don't call that a 'loveseat' for nothin'," Jonathan commented. After a while, Jonathan went out to the back yard and found a stick. He then came back inside and proceeded to poke Kala with it. "Wake up," he said in a drawn out whisper. "Wake up. I would hate for Mom and Dad to find you and Romeo, there." The statement gave Jonathan a rather juicy thought as he gained a devious smirk. He went back out to the backyard, and climbed to his parents' bedroom window. After peaking in, Jonathan gently slid the window open and made the most authentic leopard youl he could muster. Hearing his parents react, Jonathan ducked back under the window sill, and quickly climbed back down to see the show awaiting in the living room.

Jane had shot straight up screaming, in reaction. Tarzan jumped out of bed, ready for anything. Both had been well experienced in the ways of the jungle and what the sounds of the jungle meant, whether it be a sound of joy or, as this, one of terror. Tarzan climbed back into bed to comfort his wife. "Jane, it's alright, we're still in England. Nothing to worry about, no leopard." One would think Tarzan would be the one more greatly affected by the leopard noise, but it was most certainly Jane, still haunted by a distant memory and the scars to go with it.

*Flashback*

Kala and Jonathan were still infants and Jane had taken them with her to the river to do some laundry. The children were playing over by the tree line, while Jane was engrossed in getting a stain out. Jane heard Kala calling for her attention, "Mama! Mama!"

"What is it, dear?" she asked turning her attention from the stained clothing. What she saw gave her nothing but the feeling of pure terror.

"Mama, big kitty! Big kitty!" Kala called as she ran towards a fully grown leopard.

"Oh my God," was all Jane could get out, for she was frozen in fear. At first the leopard seemed to be focused on Kala, allowing her to pet its face and neck. This provided Jane the opportunity to slowly and carefully creep towards her children. As soon as Jane was close enough to grab Kala, the leopard shifted its attention to her. It snarled at Jane as if she were taking its favorite toy. "Kala, dear, would you go get your brother for me, and start heading home?"

"Yes, Mama." The toddler replied so innocently before finding her little brother and beginning their walk home, leaving Jane and the leopard.

"Just you and me now."

The leopard pounced forward, hitting Jane in the chest, and taking her down easily. As the pair went down, Jane got her foot up between them and pushed the big cat on over top of her. This allowed her a little time to get up and run. The children hadn't gotten much of a head start on her, so she easily caught up to them. Jane picked them both up in one swoop.

"Mama, why we running?"

"Sweetheart, just keep your head down, and no matter what happens keep running until you get home," she replied sending her children on their way. Jane turned back behind her and saw the leopard jumping out of the brush. She charged at the cat, praying that she could buy her children enough time to reach safety. The leopard stood up to leap as Jane made contact, and rapped its front paws around her back, digging its claws into her, and letting out a painful youl. Jane kept charging until they met a tree. The leopard let go on impact, allowing Jane to temporarily retreat. She found a thick stick in the brush, just before the leopard would pounce again. This time, Jane barely got the stick in its mouth so that it couldn't bite her. Now it was battle of strength. Jane pushed the leopard back far enough for its front paws to come off the ground, instead clawing Jane's arms, searching for traction that wasn't there. Jane managed to push the leopard onto its back once again. Several claw marks later, she had beaten the leopard into submission.

The claw marks cut deep into the woman's flesh, leaving her bleeding profusely. Not wanting her children to see her in her current condition, Jane began her stumbling towards her father's camp. During her journey, Jane met terk and Tantor. "Mrs. Tarzan, what happened?"

"Leopard. Please help me. Tantor, get me to my father's camp. Terk, get the children and let Tarzan know what's happened." Jane scrunched up in pain as Tantor lifted her up onto his back, the cuts making it difficult to find comfort for the journey. She seemed to feel every little bump along the way, each making its impression and barely fading before the next came. The ride seemed to go on forever until Jane finally found the relief of her father's voice asking what had happened. By the time her father had begun medical treatment, Jane had passed out from the great blood loss. When she awoke, she was wrapped in bandages upon bandages, and surrounded by awaiting family.

To this day, Jane still has the scars from that day, physical and mental.

*End Flashback*

"Let's go down stairs and get some food," Tarzan suggested.

"Yes, that sounds phenomenal, right about now."

The pair walked downstairs and saw Kala and Henry. Tarzan was mildly offended by the way Henry was cuddling his little girl. Before he could do anything though, Jane caught his shoulder, gaining his attention. She shot him a look saying to just leave them be. Jane waved for him to follow her to the kitchen. "Tarzan, I understand that you're not particularly happy, but you must understand that your little girl is growing up." Jonathan ducked behind the counter before his parents could see him. "How did you think my father felt when he saw that we were falling in love?"

"Yes, but you were a grown woman, she's-"

"She's not that much younger than I was if you'd remember. Trust me. I will talk to her after Henry leaves." Jane went around the counter to sit on a stool and found Jonathan. "What are you doing?"

"Failing at eavesdropping."

"Why?"

"I wanted to see goody-two-shoes get in trouble."

"Number 1, why would you want her to get into trouble? Number 2, why would she get into trouble?"

"She always gets her way. She is always the perfect angel, and then there's me. Oh, Kala aced her Algebra. Kala aced her chemistry. What about me? Kala's your little princess, and I'm never even mentioned. She can be cuddled up with a man on the couch all night, no one says a word. I was just a little late getting home and everyone's up in arms. We travel all the way to England for her, what about what I want?"

"Then, what do you want?"

"I want to go home. I want to be trained and ready for when I take Father's place. Kala can have her high society and such. I want to be Lord of the Jungle."

"And you will be, in time. Kala's time was now. She wanted to take the more societal route. She's 18 and for her route she is ready. You want the jungle route. You are 16 and still have learning to do. Your father didn't become a leader until he was in his 20's. Maybe if you gave London a chance, you might see something that you hadn't before. Look at Kala, she's found a young man. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but there's no way that she would have met him if we hadn't of come. Jonathan, if you would give London a chance, maybe you could find a nice girl."

"So, I'm sure I can find someone back home."

"How often do you see girls at the trading post?"

"Not often. But you and Father-"

"Your father and I found each other by happenstance. I had no clue he would be there. You can't just wait around for the perfect girl to just happen to come to Africa. It's not like one will just see your picture and travel all the way to Africa just to meet you."

"What if I don't care? What if I'm happy alone in the jungle?"

"I had similar thoughts until I met your father. I'm happy. I don't need a man. Then I found someone I loved and trusted. Just give it a chance."

"Fine."

Jane was still sitting in the kitchen while Kala and Henry said their final goodbyes. Kala came into the kitchen with a small smile. "You've spent quite a bit of time here, what do you think of England by now?"

"It's certainly different from home."

"Yeah, do you have any favorite parts, things you hate?"

"I like but don't like all the people. I never knew there were so many people in the world, but after a while all the people get out right annoying."

"I certainly know how you feel. Speaking of people, Henry is an interesting young man, isn't he?"

"Well yes, I suppose so."

"How late did you two stay up last night?"

"I really don't recall. I know we just sat and talked until we sorta fell asleep."

"Oh so was that why you two looked so at home with each other on the couch?"

"Mother, I swear we didn't do anything."

"And I most certainly believe you, otherwise I'm sure there would've been a few less clothes this morning."

"Mother!"

"But your poor father was rather distraught when he saw you with him. I want what is best for you." Jane took a rather tension filled pause. "Do you like this boy?"

Kala was reluctant to answer the question. She would be lying if she said no. She felt that nothing good would come from saying yes. Kala knew that long distance relationships seldom worked out and she wouldn't want to drag poor Henry to the jungle just for him to change his mind or vice versa. Finally, she came up with what she would tell her mother. "I would be lying if I said no. But I don't want to drag him to the jungle just so that he can change his mind or vice versa. I'm not sure what to do."

"Kala, do you recall the story of when I decided to stay with your father?" Kala nodded her head. "I had many of the same concerns. At the same time, I had spent so much time teaching and learning with him, that when the time came, I stayed. If you want to spend more time with him and see where it goes before making a major decision, we can make that happen. Who knows, you may find something about him that you absolutely hate." Kala giggled. "You think it's funny, it was stupid little things that kept you from being born in England. There was one suiter, I had moved in with him, his snoring drove me absolutely bonkers. It was a month of no sleep before I finally said anything. Then we fought about it until the day that I moved out. There was one who was a marvelous man, until we got serious."

"What happened?"

Jane gave it a moment of thought before hesitantly continuing. "H-he wanted things that I wasn't ready to give him quite yet. I moved out and never looked back. After that I came to Africa with your grandfather and met your father. We see how well that has gone."

"I would like to see Henry again. I do think I like your idea of getting to know him better before making a major decision."

"Then why not invite him over for dinner one night, and we can see how we feel after that. Sound good?"

"Sounds absolutely swell."