Chapter 1: Domestic Transitions

A/N: As promised, here is Chapter 1 of Part 3. Thank you, dear readers, for following along. And a big appreciation to all of you who have provided feedback, ideas, and encouragement along the way.

And if you haven't seen it, the amazing randomramblesff created more fan art for the final chapter of Part Two ("Messiness") - harryspaceshipmchale on tumblr

Chapter Summary: Annie and Jeff move in together

Warning: SO MUCH FLUFF

Disclaimer: Community and its original characters are the creation of Dan Harmon.

xxxxxxx

Annie smiled as Jeff reached over and grabbed her hand.

"You're driving. Don't you need both your hands?"

Jeff nodded as he looked at her intently.

"We're at a red light. I think we'll survive."

She affected a mock pout. "So you're going to let go?"

A grin began to spread over his face. "In a minute. But I promise I'll make it up to you later."

She laughed. "Okay."

He disentangled his hand as the light turned green. Annie sighed and leaned back, pressing the side of her head against the window.

"As much fun as it's been, I miss Sophie. I hope she was okay this morning with me not being there."

Jeff shot a quick glance over to her and then resumed watching the road. "My mom said she was fine, remember."

"But she's my baby." Annie's voice rose slightly at the end of her sentence.

He groaned. "She's fine. And we'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"What if she's upset when she sees us? What if she thinks…"

"Annie."

"Sorry."

Jeff cleared his throat. "Anyway, I thought we had a pretty nice time after the paintball fiasco. And we cleared up some things."

Annie began to let a grin come back to her face. She nodded at the memory. "We did."

Jeff watched her expression out of the corner of his eye. "Soooo?"

She bit her lip and turned her head toward him. "When would work best? Do you want me to wait a few weeks, or …."

He broke in, -"Anytime."

She laughed. "Anytime? Tomorrow?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

"Jeff!"

"We could."

Annie let out a wistful sigh. "I know. But I need to pack and probably get rid of some things. And you and I need to go through stuff to see what we're combining and in general figure out how we're dividing things. I have some dishes I'd like to keep, and you don't seem to have that many plates or glasses. And we haven't even talked about how much the rent is. Or utilities. And…"

He interjected, "You're not paying rent."

She tilted her head so that she could see his face, noting his continual focus on the road along with a stern expression. She gasped, "Of course I'm paying rent! We'll split it fifty-fifty."

"But you don't even know what my rent is."

"What is it?"

"It's more than you pay at Dildopolis."

She nodded to herself. "Well, of course it is. But we'll split it."

"Half of it is more than you pay at Dildopolis."

She paled and placed a hand to her mouth. "Oh!"

"So don't worry about it."

Her eyes widened as she dropped her hand and continued to watch him drive. "I can't just live with you rent free. That's not fair. I'll pay you what I pay at Dildopolis. Would that be okay? I don't have much wiggle room in my budget."

Jeff sighed. "You're not paying rent. I can afford it with my consulting money and savings from when I sold my condo. And I'm paying it anyway. Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not allowing you to do that." She pressed her head against the side window.

"Annie, remember we had that little discussion about your pride this morning? Don't be short-sighted about this. Save your money. I know you work hard. Or even, look, you don't have to work. You could spend all your free time with Sophie or studying or whatever. It'll be less stressful."

Annie turned to stare at him open-mouthed. She gasped again, "Do you know me at all?! Of course I'm going to work! And you don't even have the money to support Sophie and me! And even if you did, there is no way I'd stop working. I can't believe you'd suggest that!"

He winced, "Sorry. That was stupid of me."

She huffed indignantly. "Well."

He shook his head. "But you don't have to pay me rent. Save up some of the money you earn."

Annie nodded slightly. She then clasped her hands together and let out a quick breath. "I can pay for utilities and groceries. Stuff like that?"

"I already pay for those things."

She narrowed her eyes. "So do I. And anyway, you will have more groceries now. And Sophie has lots of expenses. So I'll pay for all her things. We can draw up a budget. We'll make it fair."

Jeff let out a long sigh as he kept his eyes on the road. "Annie, whatever we work out will be fair. But it can't be fifty-fifty. I have expenses you probably don't think of, like my gym membership, cable, my car…"

"I have a car."

"Mine is a Lexus. And I told you a while ago, it's my baby. And I like to take care of her."

Annie suppressed a smile. "Okay, you take care of your baby and I'll take care of mine. Deal?"

Jeff tensed. "You're not paying for everything of Sophie's either. Aren't we doing this as a team? We can't approach this as if she's only your responsibility. If we do that, this won't work."

Annie bit her lip and looked over to him. "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess it's going to take me some time to get used to the idea that we're doing this now, and not just me. I'm used to just making decisions on my own."

Jeff rolled the car to a stop at the next red light. He grabbed her hand again and turned to give her a small smile. "That's okay. I've never lived with anyone either, so this is strange for me too. But I was raised by a single mom, you know. It was really rough. There's no way you're being a single mom when we live together."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mama!" Sophie squealed as she ran awkwardly toward Annie while Jeff was closing the front door behind them.

Annie knelt down and hugged her. "Mommy missed you so much!"

"Mama missed."

Hank had trailed behind Sophie and was pushing his head into Jeff's knee. Jeff bent down slightly and patted him on the head.

Annie grinned and scooped up Sophie. She stood and turned to Jeff. "Daddy missed you too, didn't you Daddy?"

Jeff leaned over and gave Sophie a kiss on her cheek. "I missed you, baby hobbit. Hope you left grandma intact."

Sophie giggled. "Dee Dee."

Jeff led the way as they went to the living room. Dorie stood there smiling and folding her hands together.

"She was delightful. I hope you two had fun with your friends."

Jeff walked over and gave his mom a hug. "While things did not go as expected, yes, I'd say we had a good time."

He exchanged a knowing smile with Annie.

Dorie then hugged Annie as she continued to hold Sophie.

"Thanks for taking such good care of her, Dorie. She wasn't any trouble?"

Dorie brushed Sophie's cheek with the back of her hand. She eyed her warmly as she spoke. "Of course not. We had a great time. She played with the fur creatures for a little bit, we had dinner, and we read some stories. Oh, and she showed me some very interesting games with her toys. She's very observant."

Annie smiled. "Hm?"

Dorie stepped back and regarded both Annie and Jeff for a moment before she continued, "She makes her kangaroo and bear kiss. And sometimes one of them kisses her baby doll. And they seem to take on different names. For instance, sometimes the kangaroo is mama and sometimes it's dee dee. Consistency doesn't seem to be the most important thing."

Annie blushed with a small smile as she looked over toward Jeff.

"Mom! Jeff crossed his arms over his chest.

Dorie turned to him. "What, dear? I thought it was adorable. I'm glad you're being affectionate in front of her."

He stared at the ceiling, a pinkness forming over his face.

Annie sat down on the couch and cuddled Sophie on her lap. She looked over at him with an annoyed expression and said, "Jeff, let it go. I think it's cute too."

"Sorry."

She added matter-of -factly, "And maybe now's a good time for us to tell your mom our news."

Jeff looked over at her and gulped. "Oh, right. Yeah."

Dorie eyed them both curiously as she sat down in a chair. "News?"

Jeff nodded as he plopped down in the matching chair. Hank ambled over and, as usual, sat on his foot.

Annie looked at Jeff expectedly. "Or do you want me to…"

He looked at her with slightly widened eyes and broke in, "No! Um…" He trailed off and merely sat there.

Dorie frowned and surreptitiously glanced at Annie's left hand. She let out a breath of relief when she saw it was bare.

She tapped her finger on the chair arm. "Well don't keep me in suspense. What's the news?"

She watched as Jeff clasped his hands together.

Was he sweating?

Her eyes widened as he looked toward Annie, who was fiddling with her skirt while smiling sweetly and encouragingly at Jeff.

Well no, that would be crazy. They wouldn't let that happen, right?

She smiled tightly as she turned back to her son.

Jeff cleared his throat before he said, "Annie and I decided we're going to move in together."

Dorie placed one hand on her chest and exclaimed softly, "Oh."

"Mom?"

He watched as her face relaxed.

Annie leaned forward slightly and looked over at her with concern. "Dorie?"

Dorie let out a breath. "Heavens, that's wonderful!"

Jeff eyed his mom suspiciously. "You seem relieved."

She laughed giddily. "Relieved? Nonsense, dear. I'm very happy for you two."

He stared at her as he continued, "I could have sworn you were going to say we were doing this too soon."

Dorie shook her head. "Not at all! Not that it's any of my business anyway…

Jeff snorted.

Annie shot him a glare.

-"but I think you two have been sensible with this whole thing. And really, living together will be nice. I'm sure it'll be a lot easier for Sophie."

Annie nodded and kissed Sophie's head. "We'll move into Jeff's place, and then she'll keep the study as her room. And I think it will be better for her to sleep in the same place every night."

Sophie sucked her thumb and then burrowed her face into Annie's chest.

"Mama."

Annie continued to pet her head. "We were just talking about her room right before we pulled in the driveway. Jeff thinks we should paint it a nicer color. So we'll do that first before we move in."

Jeff leaned back in his chair, relaxing slightly. "Not that I care, but you'd probably like it to be pink or something."

Annie smiled with a blush. "I was thinking a light purple."

Jeff exaggerated a sigh as he suppressed a smile. "That's fine."

Dorie smirked as she looked over at her son. "My my, this is happening under a lot of duress, I see."

Jeff made eye contact with her. He stated quickly, "Oh, um, no. I want Sophie to feel comfortable in her room."

"I know. I was just teasing."

He frowned. "Oh."

Dorie shook her head. She then turned her attentions to Annie. "Well isn't this nice. I take it you're doing this soon then?"

Annie nodded. "My lease is up at the end of June. So sometime in the next month."

Jeff mumbled as he scratched Hank's ears, "Or whenever."

Annie smiled softly at him and then turned back to Dorie. "We need to work out the logistics, of course. We just decided on it this morning. You're the first person we're telling."

Dorie raised one eyebrow. "Oh, well then I'm honored. I suppose you two do have a lot to work out."

Sophie squeezed Annie and then turned outward and began to squirm. Annie placed her in a standing position on the floor.

"There you go, sweetie."

Sophie leaned forward to kiss Annie's knee.

Annie laughed softly and said, "I love you too, baby."

"Too bee bee."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I didn't think we'd spend our first anniversary like this."

"Jeff, we're almost done, and then we'll go to dinner like we planned."

Jeff bent down and gave her a soft kiss. He mumbled against her lips, "It's fine. And hey, it's not looking too bad."

Annie beamed up at him. "Sophie's going to love it."

Jeff scanned the room as he continued to hold his paint roller. "I never thought I'd paint my study purple."

"It's not your study anymore."

"True." He turned and dipped the roller in more paint. "I think when we finish this coat, we're all set."

"We should let it air out for a few days before we let her sleep in here."

Jeff sighed as he moved the roller over the paint tray. "Right. Ugh."

"I don't want her breathing in paint fumes. We can either stay at my place or we can have her sleep in your room in the meantime."

"Our room."

She nodded. "Right. Our room. Which do you think?"

"Our room."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff walked up to Annie and gave her a kiss as she entered the apartment.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Hi."

Annie placed Sophie down on the floor and watched her toddle off toward the living room.

Jeff put his hands around Annie's waist and pulled her in close. He placed a kiss under her ear and then said in a low voice, "I have something I want to show you."

Annie giggled as a shiver ran down her spine. "Now? Let's wait until Sophie's asleep."

He snorted. "That's not what I was talking about. But now that you mention it, I can't wait until the baby hobbit sleeps in her own room. This temporary situation is cramping my style."

Annie patted him lightly on his chest and rolled her eyes. She then pushed away from him and made her way to the living room. She found Sophie busying herself by tossing items out of her toy bin.

Jeff followed and then stood next to Annie. They watched as Sophie continued to pick up various stuffed animals and throw them to the side.

"I wonder what she's looking for."

Annie shrugged. "I'm sorry she's making a mess."

Jeff motioned for her to follow him as he whispered, "Let me quickly show you something before she notices we're gone."

Annie nodded and followed him to Sophie's room. He opened the door.

A grin spread over Annie's face as she noted the burst of light purple color and white trim. Her eyes then swept to two items in the mostly empty room. There was a toddler-sized pink fabric-covered easy chair and a small white bookshelf in the corner.

Jeff carefully watched her expression as he asked, "I know we're not having her stay in here until tomorrow night, but what do you think?"

Annie clasped her hands together and gave a little bounce. "Awwww! I love it!"

He shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets. "Good. She needs some place to put her books. And read or whatever it is you tell me she's doing although you and I both know she can't read."

Annie continued to smile giddily as she walked over and touched the bookshelf. "You could have put your bookshelves back in here."

Jeff groaned and moved his eyes to the ceiling. "I think those grown up lawyer shelves don't really fit the décor. I found them a new home."

"Really?"

He shrugged as he moved his eyes back to look at her. "Yeah. Troy said he needed more furniture. I have no idea why."

"You didn't ask?"

"Nah. I have a lot to get done here, Annie. I don't need to get sucked into whatever he and Abed are up to since school got out. All I know is those two weirdos came by to pick up the shelves. They had some truck from Abed's dad's business."

Annie walked back over to his side and stared at him in wonder. "You told them we're moving in?"

"Nope. They didn't seem to wonder why I was getting rid of the shelves. Again, we have a nice thing going now. Neither side is asking questions."

She squinted at him. "Um hm."

At that moment, Sophie came up behind them. "Dee Dee. Mama. Oooooohh… pink!" She quickly moved past them and made her way to the chair, tossing her bear on the floor. She then climbed into it and sat with a look of satisfaction on her face.

"Fee cha."

Jeff nodded approvingly. "That's right. Your egocentrism continues to be founded. That's your chair, munchkin."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Not wanting to involve the study group yet in the Annie-and-Jeff-living-together issue that would likely incite a bit of gossip not to mention severe judgments from Shirley, they decided to handle the move mostly on their own. They made the decision to have the study group over for a movie night in the near future and break the news to them all at once.

Nancy, who turned out to be especially supportive and encouraging of their new living situation, was able to watch Sophie. Jeff was grateful Thanos and Ryan were willing to assist him in moving Annie's large items out of her apartment.

Annie gave her bed and dresser to another woman in the building, which left mostly the couch, some tables, a chair, and some lamps. Jeff discovered Annie had originally picked up most of the furniture second-hand. She was able to sell back some of it to a resale shop and then gave Nancy and Ryan the crib (just in case they should need it) as well as the couch for their screened in porch.

Jeff took Annie aside as they lingered on the porch. He whispered, "I'm glad the confessional couch found a new home."

She smiled coyly at him. "It definitely had its uses."

"Just don't tell Nancy and Ryan what else we used it for."

Annie began to turn red as she swatted at him. "Jeff!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie was finally able to say goodbye to Dildopolis. She described the feeling as bittersweet, being as it was the first place she really had to call her own.

She remarked wistfully, "I brought Sophie here when she was six weeks old. This was our place. It was so hard, but we did it."

Jeff nodded as he wrapped his arm around her. They continued to stare into the empty apartment.

"You'll miss it?"

She sighed. "Kind of. I know it's a dump, but it was my dump, you know?"

"Yeah."

"But I'm really looking forward to us."

"Me too."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thanos patted Annie's back as he lingered into their hug. He said, perhaps with a tear, "You won't be a stranger? Dino will miss Sophie."

Annie moved out of the hug and her lip began to tremble. "Awwww… of course. I'll bring her over to play."

"We'll miss you, Annie. But good for you. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thank you."

Jeff watched the exchange and felt an increasingly familiar warmth in his chest.

Thanos turned to him. "As much as it pains me she's leaving, you're a good dude. See you? I'll teach you how to do more dad things."

"Definitely."

Jeff no longer resisted when Thanos grabbed him into one of his bear hugs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie sighed to herself as she carefully picked up the floral box. She looked around the bedroom, her eyes falling to the floor near the bed.

"You might not want to put that under there. The hobmonster has been on the loose recently, remember?"

Annie looked up to see Jeff leaning in the doorway, his arms crossed across his chest.

She squinted at him and stuck out her tongue. "She's not a monster. She's just active."

He remarked dryly, "I meant it with all affection."

"I know, dummy."

"I can help you find a place for that on one of the closet shelves."

Annie frowned as she placed the box on the bed. She continued to look at it thoughtfully. "I might need to access it soon."

He walked over and stood beside her. "What's in it?"

She leaned forward and lifted the lid, placing it to the side.

Jeff spied a bunch of tiny baby clothes in various pinks, purples, yellows, and light green.

His eyebrows rose. "Wow. I haven't seen those in a long time."

Annie nodded somberly. "These are her most adorable baby clothes. I didn't have the heart to get rid of them."

"They are very cute."

She sighed. "Yeah. If Shirley had a girl, I was going to give them to her. And now, well, I was talking to Holly, and she doesn't know if she's having a boy or girl. She has a bunch of stuff from Sam, but if she has a girl…" Annie shrugged as she continued, "maybe she'd like some more girly things? I have tons of baby bows in here too."

Jeff nodded. "I am sure Holly would love them."

Annie turned to look up at him. "Her baby's due next month."

Jeff frowned. "Oh that's right." He added, "You still talk to her, huh?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yes, Jeff. I talk to your cousin. I hope that's okay."

"Um, yeah, I guess." He shrugged.

She shook her head. "And you say I have issues with my pride."

"Annie, you talking to members of my family has nothing to do with my pride."

She puffed out her chest and looked at him intently. "Pride in your former bachelorhood."

He raised his arms up in the air in a mock defensive gesture. "Ha ha."

Annie smirked and turned her attentions back to the box. She held up a white outfit along with a tiny white knitted cap. "These were the first things she wore coming home from the hospital."

"Jesus, she was small." He reached over and took the cap from her. He held it up to the light with a squint.

"I know."

Jeff continued to regard the tiny cap in his hands with wonder. He then carefully placed it on top of the other ridiculously sized clothes. He stared at the clothing and felt a strange warmth pop up in his throat.

Keeping his eyes on the clothes, mumbled, "What if Holly has another boy?"

"Hm?" Annie had knelt next to the bed and was inspecting underneath it.

"What will you do with this stuff if you can't give it to Holly?"

Her head obscured, Annie remarked, "I told you Nancy and Ryan might have a baby in the near future. If they have one and it's a girl, that would be a nice home for them. At any rate, I can at least give them the non-girly stuff if they have a baby."

Jeff crossed his arms over his chest and nodded as he continued to stare at the open box. He began to internally panic at his sappy reaction to the contents.

What the hell is wrong with me? That's the last thing Annie wants or needs.

He knew better by now than to voice any of the unfamiliar and alarming thoughts entering his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie put her hands on her hips and looked around the living room with pride.

Jeff came up behind her, Sophie hoisted in his arms. He scanned the living room with a slight smile. "You're pleased with the way things are turning out?"

Annie nodded. "I am. What do you think?"

He stared off at the far wall with a look of almost surprise. "Well I guess the teal accent wall is working."

"Thanks for letting me do that. I figured as long as we were doing some painting, why not?"

"Yeah. I guess I never think of stuff like that. And it's your place too now. You don't need to thank me."

Annie grinned and then gestured over to another wall. "And the pictures? They look okay over there?"

Jeff let his eyes fall to where they had hung Sophie's newborn and first birthday pictures. Next to the last picture were two more, one of Jeff and Annie together at Jeff's mom's house and one of the entire study group taken after their exams and before Pierce left the group.

Jeff nodded. "Yeah. I never think of that kind of stuff either."

She turned back to him and regarded him with bemusement. "I did notice awhile ago you don't have any pictures up. Not even of your mom."

Jeff shrugged one shoulder while continuing to balance Sophie. She was playing with his collar button.

"I told you it just never occurred to me."

"I think pictures are important. They make a place feel like a home."

Jeff's eyes suddenly caught another picture on a far wall. He squinted. "Is that one of you and your brother?"

Annie suddenly smiled brightly. "Yes, that's me and Anthony. He's probably changed a lot by now, but that's how I remember him."

Jeff placed his free hand on her shoulder. "Annie, I'm sorry. Look, have you talked to him at all? Maybe we could, I don't know, invite him over? He could meet the munchkin."

Annie turned to him, her smile fading. "Don't be silly. I can't put him in that position. Even if he wanted to talk to me, which I don't really have any evidence that he does since we didn't part on very good terms, I can't just tell him about Sophie and expect him to keep that a secret. And I really don't want my mom around her even if for some strange reason she wanted to meet her."

"Annie, since you don't know…"

She cut him off with a vigorous shake of her head, "Not now. I have a lot of thinking to do about that whole situation. But I don't want to pretend my brother doesn't exist. And I hope one day he can meet Sophie, but only when I don't think I'll upset him too much."

Jeff gulped. "I understand."

Annie changed the subject and remarked breezily, "We should put one up of your mom. What do you think?"

Jeff shrugged again. "I guess. The next time she comes over here if she sees all this and there's not one of her she might be a tad ticked off."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jeff, that's why we'll do it. To not tick her off."

He chuckled.

She squinted at him. "I want Sophie to grow up in a warm household. And to me that means having reminders of the people she loves and who love her."

Jeff leaned over and placed a squirming Sophie on the floor, allowing her to roam free. He wrapped his arms around Annie and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Sounds good to me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Annie emerged from the bedroom, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"How did it go?" Jeff asked from the couch. He had glanced up briefly and then returned to his task of moving Ruthie around on the coffee table.

Sophie was standing and pushing her baby doll toward the kangaroo.

Annie shook her head. "Sometimes he's so frustrating."

"Sometimes?"

She sighed. "I know how you feel about it, Jeff."

He remarked sheepishly, "Sorry. Are you saying he has a problem with you guys moving in with me?"

Annie grimaced and sat down in the living room chair. "Oh he had some things to say." Her eyes lingered on Sophie. She smiled at her with a nod. As Sophie's attentions went back to her doll, Annie caught Jeff's eye.

She whispered, "He wants to see where we're living. I hope you don't mind, but I told him he could come over next Saturday."

Jeff said in a low voice, "Why does he care?"

"I don't know. I suppose it's not an unreasonable request. We usually have visits at my place anyway, so we'll have to develop a new routine." She paused as she looked down at her lap. "He probably should come over. But don't worry, you don't have to be here."

"Did you want me to be here? I can."

She shook her head. "It might be easier if you leave for a little bit. Go to the gym. Then he can see everything's okay. He's already met you anyway."

Jeff stared at her with concern. "But that was pretty brief. And not the most pleasant."

She grimaced again and looked back up at him. "I don't think it'll be pleasant now, do you?"

He sighed and rubbed his free hand over his scruff. "Probably not. But look, as much as I would happily go the rest of my days without seeing the guy again, now that we're living together it probably makes sense for us to meet again. The lawyer in me thinks we'd head off a lot of problems if he and I just talked more directly about things."

Annie appeared puzzled. "What things?"

He looked at her incredulously. "About Sophie. And my role and his role."

"Fee."

Jeff startled and then lowered his voice more, "We should talk about this later."

Annie frowned. "Good idea."

"Bee bee cying."

"What is it, munchkin?"

Sophie pointed to her baby doll. "Bee bee wan mama."

Jeff watched her with fascination. He then asked in an uncharacteristically lilting voice, "Who's her mommy?"

Sophie smiled proudly, grabbed her baby doll, and toddled over to Annie. She threw the doll on her lap and then proceeded to crawl up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jeff sauntered back into the bedroom holding a tray with a mug of coffee, a cup of tea, and a bowl of cheese crackers. He glanced down for a moment and smiled at the sight of the sippy cup perched to the right of the crackers.

"Ta da. We have breakfast."

Annie narrowed her eyes at him with a growing smile. "That's not breakfast."

Jeff placed the tray on the bed and shrugged. "It's a special occasion. Our first morning living together."

Sophie, who was sitting next to Annie in the bed, chuckled heartily as she spied the crackers. She lunged forward and grabbed a handful.

Jeff plopped down on the bed and reached out to stop her, carefully taking the crackers from her tight spitty grasp.

He may have encountered some verbal resistance.

"Jesus, hobmonster. I'll give you two. But you can't stuff your face full of them all at once."

Annie laughed as she watched Jeff attempt to reason with her. She grabbed he remote, turned on the television, and then flipped to a cartoon channel.

Sophie's protests suddenly stopped as her eyes glued themselves to the screen.

Jeff groaned and leaned back in the bed. "What is that?"

Annie shrugged. "Something I've seen her watch at Shirley's. If it's good enough for Shirley's kids, it's probably pretty harmless."

"And likely pious. I'm surprised you let her watch TV."

Annie smiled as she watched Sophie become transfixed, absentmindedly pushing a cracker into her mouth.

"I don't usually. But like you said, it's a special occasion. And if you're willing to get crumbs in our bed, then I'm willing to let her zone out for a few minutes."

Jeff reached behind Sophie to pull Annie in closer to him.

Annie mumbled, "This is nice."

"It is."

xxxx

A/N: Next chapter: Annie and Jeff invite the study group over for movie night