"So with that in mind….does dinner sound good sometime?"

Jeff hoped the awesome start of his Winger speech to Annie balanced out the weaker ending. Since the point of the speech was to ask her out and finally start some kind of relationship, the actual question should have sounded better. Then again, he didn't want the group to know the date of their first date – at least not while they had a chance to mess it up.

But he did give this speech in front of the group in the study room, so that helped their chances to meddle. Yet Jeff would worry about that later –now the only reaction he cared about was Annie's. And it looked like it could go either way so far.

However, Annie's face soon went from conflicted to certain, as she asked, "Can I pick the restaurant?"

"Oh, what the hell?" Jeff said while trying not to outright cheer. "Follow whatever dream first date binder you've got!"

"Jeff, the last one I made was five years ago, and I forgot to get it from my house. You want to see my mom and steal an old binder I made about Troy, be my guest!" Annie offered.

"Nah, I can wait a few dates for that big step," Jeff kidded, although Annie smiled and made him feel relieved anyway.

"Well, I've gotta give it to you, Jeff. You pulled off quite a win there," Britta complemented, but Jeff still felt annoyed and a bit nervous anyway.

"That was the idea," Jeff answered, hoping that would be enough.

"No, really! You screwed up really bad with her for three years, and you still got her in the end with a Winger speech! Without even mentioning that crap you pulled on her or anything!" Britta recounted. "But I guess he had good Winger apology speeches for that, huh Annie?"

"Ah. So that's how you want to Britta this for me, huh?" Jeff asked with a thin veneer of civility.

"Oh come on, I'm paying you a compliment, geez!" Britta insisted. "You messed up a lot, but you finally apologized for it and made it right! I could be pissed you didn't do it for me, and you know it! But I'm being the bigger woman and giving you credit where credit is due! Right, buddy?"

"Oh come on, I never made Winger speeches for that and you know it, buddy!" Jeff nitpicked.

"That's right, you didn't…." Annie realized, which helped Britta realize her mistake.

"Oh….I thought you already said sorry for those screw-ups. But you….oh," Britta said, shrinking in her seat in case that would cover up her mistake. But Jeff and Annie distracted everyone enough for her.

"You said all that stuff about being a better man for me," Annie reminded Jeff. "But you did skip over all the times you weren't a better man. In fact, you've skipped over it for the last few years. All those things you said and did that hurt me, and we still haven't addressed any of it! No talk, no apology, nothing!"

Jeff felt put on the spot, so he did what he did best, even now – deflect. "Well, I didn't see you bring it up either! And do you want to bring up our issues in front of the whole group? That hasn't worked out before!"

This actually made Annie pause and reflect, realizing, "Yeah, I guess. Those weren't my best moments…" she reflected until she gasped and frowned. "Hey, wait a minute! You spoke about us in front of the group today! So why is it so bad for me to ask about us here?"

"I gave that speech here so you'd know I was serious about us! But this-" Jeff started before getting cut off, somewhat to his relief.

"All right, all right! This is private, and I don't want to embarrass you. I know what that can lead to. Why don't we go somewhere alone to talk it over?" Annie offered, getting up to lead Jeff away. However, he just stayed in his seat. "Jeff? I'm not putting you on the spot with the group, so we can talk about the past now. Right?"

Ideally, it would have taken a second to say yes. But Jeff dragged it out, had no words at all – then he had the wrong ones. "Annie, do we have to? I just proved I want to date you now, so the other stuff doesn't matter anymore. I mean, if I didn't do that stuff and we got together earlier, it would have been a disaster! So technically, I did the right thing with all that, so….you're welcome?"

Annie looked ready to blow a gasket, so everyone braced for the worst – with Pierce and Troy ducking below the study table. However, after a few more seconds, Annie took a few deep breaths and confronted Jeff more calmly.

"Maybe you're right, Jeff. Knowing how we were, we might have been really bad if we got together early. I'll give you that," Annie conceded. "But I learned that after you hurt me, broke my heart and trust, and made me act and feel like a child countless times! I can't thank you for that! And you…."

Even if Jeff had anything to say, he didn't get any room as Annie kept attacking. "You really thought we could get together without talking about it. You really thought you didn't have to apologize, take responsibility, or acknowledge all the pain you caused me….and we'd still be together! And I almost let that happen!"

With that, she zeroed in on Jeff and asked, "Well? Do you want to let that happen, or should we actually talk about it somewhere?"

Jeff merely froze up and hoped to run out the clock – but putting thoughts and feelings off to the side until later never worked with Annie anymore. A lesson he should have learned by now.

Yet he had to learn again when Annie huffed, "You know, I'm glad I remembered this again before we went out! I know I made mistakes too, but I've accepted it, and I'll make sure I'll never do them again! And I'm willing to address all of it in case you still feel insecure! If you can't do that much for me, even now, how can I trust you not to hurt me again? Especially when it'd hurt much more now?"

Jeff again froze up, inexperienced with how to answer such questions. When it became clear he had nothing, Annie sighed and said, "You know what, don't bother. Dinner doesn't sound so good right now. I'll see you on Monday, guys." She said pointedly before gathering her things and leaving as calmly as she could.

Everyone she left behind stayed quiet and stunned, especially Jeff. But naturally, Britta broke the silence by saying, "Well….that was hardly worth remembering, wasn't it?"

"Why do you talk? Why do you talk?!" Jeff snapped.

"Oh, now you're talking too?" Britta answered. "Look, I'm sorry, I really am! I never give you compliments, so I made a rookie mistake, okay? I really thought you apologized for that crap and it was okay to joke about it! I never would have done it if I knew…."

She then lit up and stated, "Wait, if you never apologized or even talked about the crap….I'm not the screw-up here! You didn't deserve my praise after all, so there! Oh wait, it made you look like a jackass, so you did earn it, jackass! Ah, now that plays to my strengths!"

Jeff was speechless again, yet this time it was more out of anger. After letting out a few sputters, he groaned and left himself, heading in the opposite direction of Annie. Once Britta's euphoria from a good Jeff burn wore off – and once the group glared at her – she shrank in her seat again.

However, two members who hadn't spoken found Jeff lying on the longue area couch when classes ended. Jeff then looked up and saw Shirley and Abed standing over him. "So they sent you two, huh? Well, this is a brand new pairing, so points for originality."

"Nice. Technically inaccurate due to our Jesus movie adventure, but nice," Abed praised.

"At least you know how to praise people and not ruin their lives," Jeff snarked as he sat up.

"Jeffrey, Britta really was sorry. She was just trying to say something nice, and show you she wasn't bothered by you and Annie. Of course she didn't know how to do it, but what do you expect?" Shirley explained.

"Because she's Britta?" Jeff filled in.

"Well….yeah, let's go with that. It helps explain the other stuff she's lacking, so what the hell?" Shirley brushed aside.

"Then why did she lack to come here herself? Why are you two here?" Jeff wondered.

"Troy's helping her take her mind off her mistake. I've got time before I end up walking in on them during sex, so here I am," Abed explained.

"Great, she gets sex and look what I have," Jeff groaned, then turned to Shirley. "I guess that reminds you how I'm making God cry by wanting Annie. You didn't remind us during our four-minute relationship, so you might as well do it now."

"Jeffrey, don't think that little of me," Shirley frowned. "I know you a lot better than I did when you first liked her. So I know you're not as rotten for her as you used to be. You make God cry for a bunch of reasons, but actually loving Annie isn't in the top 10 anymore. Top 20, maybe. That's not why I'm disappointed in you right now."

"All right, now we're getting to the good stuff," Jeff pretended to cheer. Yet Shirley gave him her special judgmental frown to keep him quiet and focused.

"I knew this day would come, you know. So I planned ahead to know how to react," Shirley revealed. "Do you know why I wouldn't have approved, besides the obvious? You've broken her heart so much, and as far as I knew, you never even said sorry! That girl had her heart wrecked so much before she got here, and you made it worse – both when you wrecked it and when you didn't even try to make it right! And she wasn't strong enough to deal with it then like she is now!"

"Well, aside from her famous freak outs, she looked fine. She didn't even cry when I told her about relationships in the bathroom!" Jeff remembered. "She just threatened to date future mass murderers!"

"Oh, then I must have imagined hearing her crying in bathrooms that year. Or when I saw her barely able to look at you after that 'Annie of it All' incident. At least until she got mad enough to kill everyone in paintball. But that's good to know," Shirley noted, which made Jeff jump up.

"She did what? Why the hell didn't you say anything?" Jeff attacked.

"You two were creepy and wrong back then, I didn't want to get into that mess! I thought she was freaking out about school for most of those bathroom cries, anyway! And I had other messy things in my stomach to deal with then, thank you!" Shirley reminded. "Besides, she clearly didn't tell you either, because you never would have dealt with it! Like you didn't today!"

Shirley then backed off from scolding mommy mode and took a softer approach. "Jeffrey, you really are a much better man for her now. Granted, the standards are low for something this sinful, but still! And you jumped up so much by just thinking about her crying! You clearly hate it when she's hurt and when you're the one who hurts her. So why can't you say it to her and tell her how sorry you are?"

"I, I…..well, I don't think about that stuff, you know that! Especially when it makes me look rotten and not kick-ass like usual! Thinking about that makes me guilty and sad and makes me hate myself! Isn't it bad enough I deal with that crap in therapy?" Jeff argued.

"If you thought it was that bad, why would you face it in therapy? And why can't you face it with Annie now?" Shirley questioned.

"I don't know how, okay? Relationships, making up for hurting someone I really…..like, all of it! I don't know anything about any of it!" Jeff admitted. "It's like how Britta screwed up complimenting me because she's not good at it! I can't face this stuff with Annie because I don't know how to do that either! I've never had to before….or wanted to."

After Jeff's self-loathing filled up, he got back to being defiant and deflective. "Besides, I was right! The way we were back then, it never would have worked between us! In the big picture, I was right to keep her away until now! You know that!"

"Of course I do, I have eyes and a brain! But you didn't have to pile the heartbreak on like you did!" Shirley suggested. "You didn't have to ignore her for a whole summer, turn her back into a whiny little schoolgirl, defile God by sleeping with Britta behind her back, or lead her on with those googly eyes! You could have let her down and still showed her she meant something to you, but you didn't. You made it look like you didn't care about her at all!"

"She….she knows I can't not care about her," Jeff weakly defended.

"Not after you did all that and just left it hanging like it was nothing – and she was nothing! If you never even tried to show her you were sorry, assuming you are….then why should she know?" Shirley drove home.

"To be fair, it's not in his archetype to be that remorseful," Abed interjected.

"Ah, I was due to remind you again that we're not a TV show," Jeff quipped, despite being secretly thankful for the interruption.

"And I was due to remind you I know that, so kudos for reviving our running gag," Abed thanked. "Actually, this is one of those rare times I'm disappointed our lives are like TV. I thought you and Annie would be more than the usual sitcom couple."

"Abed, if the words Sam and Diane leave your lips…." Shirley threatened.

"Ah, good callback, Shirley," Abed answered instead. "Anyway, the usual sitcom couple has a thoughtless, usually overweight man demean his impossibly hot, forgiving wife until the very end of the third act. And no matter how much he learns, he forgets it and angers her anew in the next episode. After several seasons it defies all logic, even sitcom logic, why the woman is still with such a boorish, oblivious spouse who takes her for granted every week. I had thought you and Annie would break that formula, but I suppose our show isn't that daring after all."

"Hey, I….am not usually overweight!" was all Jeff had to defend himself.

"I will admit, Annie's broken clear of her cliché lately. That's why I kept my hopes up," Abed admitted. "But while she's grown and changed out of her stereotype, you still cling to the traditions of sitcom leading men before you. It probably would have overwhelmed her originality before long. If you would have forgotten life lessons every week, got back to taking her for granted in the next episode, and never truly learned from the past due to sitcom rules, perhaps it's better the ship dies with dignity now."

"No! I am way above those sitcom fatties!" Jeff argued.

"Ah, setting up a profound moment of realization, only to brag about yourself. Classic sitcom fatty move," Abed noted.

Jeff was out of arguments for that, so he slumped back on the couch and conceded, "Damn it, you two are a deadly pairing. Imagine if you did stuff other than Jesus movies."

"We probably will late in the final season, once we use more obscure callbacks," Abed predicted. But Shirley then took over again.

"Seasons aside, Jeffrey, are you really sorry you hurt Annie all those times?" Shirley asked.

After a shorter pause than he thought he needed, Jeff admitted, "Of course I am. But just saying it isn't enough. She deserves so much more than what I'm capable of saying. Or addressing. I just don't know how to go deeper and be deeper than that! And I know I have to be perfect to make up for it. But I'm not."

"Well, there you go, you admitted you're not perfect! That's a big step for you!" Shirley praised. "But you did it because you want to be with her! If you make her see how sorry you are, you will be! I mean, thinking you could hook up without doing that was stupid. But you're not that stupid now, and I'm sure Annie will see it too!"

Jeff took that under advisement, looked at Shirley and Abed, then brought himself to take a first big step.

"Will you help me?" he requested. "I'm no good at doing that stuff alone, clearly. And other than Annie….I kind of trust you two more than anyone I know. I guess it's by one of Abed's dumb sitcom coincidences that you're both here now."

"It's not as bad as the one with catchphrase spewing neighbors. But it's better than the one with catchphrase spewing kids, so we're good by comparison," Abed listed.

"Yes, we are," Shirley admitted. "Well, as sinful as you and Annie still are….I guess if I can help you be less sinful, God might send you to Hell's nicer districts. It's the least I can do for friends!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself. But thanks anyway," Jeff responded.

Shirley nodded her thanks, then got down to business. "Okay, listen up! It's Friday, so we got the whole weekend to get you ready! First, you and me will go over all your big mistakes with Annie. Then I'll help you see how you should have let her down easier and talked to her, instead of ignoring her and calling her a child. Then Abed can use his movie voodoo to write real apologies for you. You'll make things right like a sitcom fattie by Monday morning! Only this time it'll stick for more than a week!"

"And?" Jeff inquired.

"And if Britta has to play a role, no Jeff compliments. Non damaging Jeff insult jokes only," Abed reassured.

"No wonder why I trust you two the most," Jeff complimented.

But once they forced him to really deal with how he hurt Annie, and how he had to actually make it right before they could be together, he'd probably have fewer compliments for them. At least until Monday afternoon – depending on how this little production of theirs ended.