CLOSER THAN EVER [Jack and Janet FF]

[Janet Tripper]

HEY GUYS! JACKANDJANETFOREVER AND I HAVE BEEN WRITTING THIS FF FOR A WHILE NOW AND WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH ALL OF YOU! SO WE HOPE YOU'LL ENJOY IT!

P.S. RATED PG-13!


Chapter 1

Janet took her keys out of her purse and opened the door to Apartment 201. As she walked into the apartment, chills ran down her spine when she noticed how dark it was inside. After she turned on the light, she headed straight to the bathroom to take her make-up off and get ready for bed. She had never been so tired in her life. Since the holidays were just around the corner, the shop had to be open until the wee hours, and with Terri visiting her family back in Massachusetts and Jack working late at his Bistro, Janet was getting used to coming home to an empty and lonely apartment.

“Two more weeks,” she said to herself. “Two more weeks, and then Terri will come back home and Jack won’t have to close so late. Two more weeks, and we can get things back to normal again.”

Just before brushing her teeth, she heard a noise and opened the door to the bathroom with a smile thinking maybe Jack had come home early tonight. She hoped he had. In the couple of days after Terri had left and before the holiday frenzy came about, she and Jack had been spending quiet evenings at home. She had come to love curling up on his lap, watching an old movie or simply talking.

Actually, she had come to love him, period. What?? What?? You love him? No freakin’ way! Janet, you definitely need more sleep, she told herself.

But her smile turned into a worried frown when she realized that there was no one there. She chalked it up to hallucinations resulting from lack of sleep. And brushed her teeth, wanting nothing more now then to slip under the covers of her bed. But before she turned the knob to open the door, she felt a cool breeze and realized the window was open.

“How did this get open? I don’t remember it being open when I got here?” she said to herself as she tried to close the window. After closing it, nothing could stop her from her desire for rest.

She opened the door and turned on the light on.

“AHHHHHHHH!” she screamed when she realized she was not alone. Her eyes opened wide as she saw a short, thin, tanned - skin man about thirty years old in her room. He immediately overpowered her, covering her mouth with his hand.

Meanwhile, outside the apartment building, two cops were running towards the apartment; a tall white male accompanied by a tall woman with grayish blonde hair. They had been chasing David for a while now; he had escaped from jail and a neighbor had reported seeing him around. When they saw a shadow at the window, they thought maybe he had broken in, but after hearing Janet’s terrible scream they knew someone was in trouble. But worry immediately filled the two when the screams sounded like they were coming from a female; David had been put in jail for sexual assault.

“GET THE HELL OFF ME!!” Janet yelled, desperately trying to cry out for help, “Let me go! Please, please! I’ll do anything you want, just let me go!” she repeated to the attacker. Janet managed to get a hold of a vase that was on top of the dresser and tried to hit David on the head, but he stopped her and
snatched the vase from her hand.

At that moment, the cops came into the apartment, thinking at first they had the wrong one because there was no one in the living room, but Janet managed to scream once again and they broke into the bedroom. The short tanned - skin man jumped up and Janet in tears ran as far away from him as humanly possible.

“You are under arrest. Put your hands up and lean against the wall,” the tall woman ordered David. Her partner turned to Janet, and asked her if she was okay.

Janet was so upset and devastated she couldn’t speak. She just looked down at the floor as she continued to cry. The cops took David and Janet out to the living room. Just as Officer Robert James was calling for a police car to take David in and as Officer Mary Smith was asking Janet questions about what had happened earlier, Jack walked into the apartment. His first impression as he saw the door open, and a man handcuffed next to a police officer, was that someone had broken into the apartment to steal something. But when he looked towards the
couch, his stomach dropped to the ground and his heart started to beat at a thousand miles per hour. He had never been more wrong.

“Janet, honey, are you all right?” was the first thing out of his mouth. He quickly ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her. All Janet could do was cry, she felt so dirty. She clung to him tightly, never wanting to let go. Jack rubbed her back in soothing circular motions and softly whispered that everything was going to be okay now.

“Are you her husband?” Officer Smith asked Jack.

“Her husband, no no officer. I’m Jack Tripper…her best friend,” Jack answered, not really thinking, still holding Janet and doing all he could to keep her calm.

“Well we need to ask you some information about Ms. Wood.”

“What happened? Who is this man and why is he in our living room?” Jack asked, still remotely confused.

“Well, it seems like this man broke in through that window and hid in Ms. Wood’s room and waited to take advantage of her,” the officer said as she looked at Janet and then at Jack.

Jack immediately let go of Janet and headed towards David, but Janet pulled him back and was finally able to speak. “ Jack, please don’t, he isn’t worth it.”

“Of course he is not, that is why I am going to kill him,” Jack replied furiously. Janet was surprised at his expression; she had never seen Jack so angry in all the time they had been living together.

“Jack, please!” Jack looked down at Janet’s angel-like face, and couldn’t help but take her in his arms again.

[fabernash]

please continue

[Janet Tripper]

Originally posted by fabernash
please continue

Thx!~ We are glad you enjoyed it I will post chapter 2 later on this week!

Thx again!

[grade4]

Love it!

[Janet Tripper]

Originally posted by grade4
Love it!

THX!:d

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

That was awesome

[Janet Tripper]

Originally posted by *A TV People*
That was awesome

THX WE WILL UPDATE TOMORROW!

[Janet Tripper]

After the police had left with David, there was a long and uncomfortable moment
of silence in the apartment. Janet had not said another word since they left and
neither had Jack.

“Did…did he hurt you?” he finally asked, unsure if that was the right thing to say.

Janet just shook her head and tears began to fall again.

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. I’m right here, baby. Right here. And I won’t let anything else happen to you. I promise. Everything’ll be fine.”

Janet immediately pulled away. “God, Jack!! How much of an idiot can you be??!!
That is by far the stupidest thing you’ve ever asked me, do you know that? Of course he hurt me! And everything’s NOT fine!”

“I’m sorry,” Jack answered softly.

Janet! Come on, girl! Chill! It was just a question! He didn’t mean anything by it. She closed her eyes, silently cursing the man who had just made her yell at the guy who meant everything to her. “Oh…Jack. I…I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. So sorry. Yes, he hurt me…but not in the way I know you’re thinking about.” She yawned.

“You tired?”

She nodded. “I’m exhausted, but I sure as hell can’t sleep anytime soon. I…I just can’t go in that room. I can’t.”

“How about you sleep in my room? I’ll take the couch.”

Janet smiled at that, realizing just how much she would do for her and how she took him for granted sometimes. “O – okay, but…but Jack? Will you just…stay with me tonight? Stay and hold me?” Janet asked, suddenly shy.

“Of course” Jack replied, caressing her cheek. His first instinct was to make a suggestive and somewhat lewd comment about the sleeping arrangements, but knew that it was the last thing she needed right now.

Without another word, Janet went into his room, crawled into his bed and curled
up into the fetal position, her legs hugging her chest, the blanket securely around her. Jack sighed, got into the bed, and wrapped his arms around her. As expected, her body immediately tensed at his touch, but then relaxed. He smiled, softly stroking her hair. “I love you, you know that? I love you. And I’m right here. You’ll be just fine. I promise you that. It’s okay.” How could this have happened to her?!? His best friend. She had never done anything to hurt anyone, he thought sadly as he watched her fall into a restless sleep.

“Good night Janet” Jack whispered. “Sweet dreams.”

The next morning, Janet woke up and realized that Jack’s arm was still protectively around her waist. He hadn’t let go of her the entire night. She smiled at him, for some reason not wanting to leave the security of his embrace. After brushing her teeth, Janet went into the kitchen, and decided she would cook him breakfast. After all, Jack had stayed with her the entire time, holding her, and simply getting her through the night. She wanted to return the favor, even though the only somewhat edible things she could make were cereal, orange juice, and toast.

Just as she was pouring the orange juice into the cups, Jack walked into the kitchen. He stood at the doorway and smiled as he watched her pour the orange juice and then looked at the table.

Jack smiled as Janet turned around. “What do you think,” she asked him
hopefully.

“What are you doing?” he asked softly.

“Jack...in all honesty, the only reason I got through last night was because of you. You made it possible. And I don’t know what I would have done without you yesterday. Yesterday made me realize that I need you in my life.”

“And I need you in mine.” He suspiciously checked over the cereal and held up a
half burned piece of toast. “Well, it’s not that bad,” he commented.

She laughed. “Gee, thanks Jack. I know it’s an awful breakfast, but I just wanted to do something special to thank you for being such a wonderful friend.”

Jack smiled at her and kissed her check. “You’re welcome.” She handed him his
cup of orange juice and they ate their breakfast.

“Thank you Janet” he said as he sat down across from her at the table.

“No problem, Jack. Really…thank you for everything. You really are the best friend anyone could ever ask for.” Suddenly, she stood. “Now, I would love to stay here with you, but I’m going to be late.”

“You’re actually going to work.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Janet…yesterday –”

“Yesterday was awful. But it was yesterday. The guy’s in jail, and he won’t bother me anymore. I’m fine, he didn’t hurt me…not really. Please Jack, it’s over, it’s history, and I really don’t want to talk about it. I’ve decided to put that out of my mind. That’s the only way I can survive, to let yesterday be history.”

He grabbed her arm to stop her from going any further, and both of them were surprised at the evident and undeniable attraction and electricity. “Honey, I love you…but you don’t always have to be so strong.” he told her softly.

“Jack, stop! Just drop it! Please! I’m okay. I need to get on with my life. I’m completely over what happened…and actually, yes I do.” Without another word, she slammed the door to Apartment 201.

[fabernash]

it's sooo good! please continue soon!

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

Originally posted by *A TV People*
That was awesome

Same again

[Janet Tripper]

Originally posted by fabernash
it's sooo good! please continue soon!

Thx! We will post the next chapter later on this week Thx for reading!

[Janet Tripper]

Originally posted by *A TV People*
Same again

THX! again We are glad u'll are likeing the story! We know its not base on an episode or anything but its Jack and Janet!

[Janet Tripper]

Chapter 3

All throughout the day, Janet couldn’t concentrate. She couldn’t keep her mind on anything but Jack. She was kind of surprised that he didn’t make a smart remark when she asked him to sleep in the bedroom with her. But the thing she was most scared of is the intensity of the way she felt when she had woken up that morning, only to discover Jack’s arm still around her. With Terri being away for the holidays, she had been feeling something towards Jack that she couldn’t really describe. Some sort of closeness. They hadn’t ever been really alone since the few months after Chrissy and before Cindy, and she suddenly realized that she missed that, missed being with him like that. They had shared many a quiet night together, and it had given them an opportunity to talk,
really talk. And, now, it was happening again, and even though she knew the reason why, she couldn’t be happier. Janet thought she knew Jack better than anyone, but there were still so many things she didn’t know. And then, of course, there was yesterday night and his comment this morning, which scared her the most of all, because she did.

Janet smiled as she looked at the clock; it was almost time for her lunch break. Thank God! For the life of her, she couldn’t concentrate on work. She was forever checking over her shoulder, making sure no one was there, and she had a sinking feeling that she’d be doing that for a long time. Sighing, Janet fixed some more flower arrangements and straightened up a little before she left to go to lunch. There was only one place that she wanted to be right now, only one person she wanted to see. There was only Jack.

*~*

While Jack was in the kitchen preparing a salad for that night’s special dinner,
he heard a knock at the door. “We’re closed. I wonder who could that be,” he
mused.

“Do you want me to answer that, Jefe?” Felipe asked.

“No, no it’s okay. I’ll go see who that is,” he said, as he washed his hands.
“You keep making the salad.”

When Jack unlocked and opened the door to the bistro, he was a tiny bit
surprised, but not at all shocked to see Janet there. She looked at him, her
eyes shining and wet with unshed tears. She bit her lip, stared at the floor,
and then back at him.

“Hi,” was all she could say. She was not about to cry in front of him again. The
way he was looking at her, however, made her want to pour out everything. “I…I
can’t do this, Jack. I can’t. All I can do is think about him. I always think he’s going to show up again, and I hate living like that. I don’t want to live scared, Jack, but…but I am. I’m scared. So scared!” With that, she couldn’t help the tears from falling any longer. “You were right.”

Jack didn’t say a word, simply held out his arms as she ran to him, burying her
face in his shoulder. “This isn’t about being right. I wish I wasn’t.” He didn’t
say anything else, just held her as she cried, stroking her hair.

“Jefe! I finished…making the salad,” Felipe finished softly as he saw them.
“Janet! How…how are you?”

“Hi Felipe,” Janet whispered, her eyes red and blotchy from crying. “I’m…I’m
okay.” she replied, even though it was obvious she wasn’t. At that moment, she
realized that Jack could have told him. “Felipe, um…exactly…how much do you
know?”

“Nothing! I don’t know anything!” he exclaimed, and then paused. “Wait, that
came out wrong. Let me rephrase that.”

“Okay…thanks. It’s okay. Just…never mind.”

“Hey, Janet, why don’t you stay for lunch?” Felipe asked.

“Okay,” she agreed readily, which surprised Jack. “I’m supposed to be at work,
but I don’t think I’m going back there for a while.”

Felipe opened his mouth, wanting to ask a question, but then looked at Jack, who
was shaking his head no. “Jefe, do you want me to cook lunch for you and your
señorita?” Felipe asked instead.

“No that’s okay, Felipe. I want to cook for my girl.”

At those seven words, Janet froze. His girl, she thought. The butterflies were
in her stomach again, but this time, she didn’t quite mind. She liked it, being
called his girl. She snuck a glance at him, and smiled.

“So…what do you want to eat?” he asked her as he sat down on the chair across
from her.

“Anything sounds good. I really don’t care. I just want to be here…with you.”

Jack smiled, squeezed her hand, and then went off into the kitchen and started
to prepare a Cesar Salad, Chateau-brion medium rare, and rice pelof. He was happy that Janet had come over to the bistro for lunch. True, the reason wasn’t very good, but he loved seeing her nonetheless. He had always hated seeing her cry and in pain, and he loved that he could take that away from her, if only for a few minutes. The fact that she was here gave him time to talk to her about an idea he had gotten early this morning after she had left for work.

“Jefe…” Felipe asked. “Is Janet your girlfriend?” he asked, since Jack had
never really explained his living arrangements in great detail to him before.

“NO!” he said, and then paused a moment to think. “No. Janet and I are just
roommates. We have been living together for 7 years and we’re just best friends.
That’s all. Why do you ask, Felipe?”

“Well… you called her ‘your girl’, so naturally I thought that you two…you
know…” he said, smiling.

“Well, we’re not! Not yet…anyway. But listen to me Felipe, and I am completely
and utterly serious! Don’t you dare ask her about yesterday, okay? That’s her
private stuff, and she probably doesn’t want it getting around! I am doing
everything I can to protect her, and it’d be a lot easier if people didn’t know,
okay??”




MERRY X-MAS! THX FOR READING OUR STORY!

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

That was really cute

[Janet Tripper]

Chapter 4

Later that night, Jack’s Bistro was jam – packed. Jack was so happy that
business was going great, but his heart sank when he thought that when Janet
arrived she’d have to be alone. Maybe he was being overly protective, but she
was his best friend. He didn’t really like leaving her, but at least she would
be in the same building, so he could keep an eye on her.

At about 9:25 Janet arrived. She was still a little on guard, afraid to enter
through the back door, so she went ahead and enter the restaurant from the front
– and very public - door. “Hi Janet” Jack greeted her with a smile. “Business is
going great; look at all these people!” he exclaimed, grinning.

“I’m so happy for you, Jack. Is there anything I can do to help you out?” She
asked, kind of hoping he would say yes. She wanted to return the favor for
letting her come to the bistro to hang out, but in actuality, she just felt an
overwhelming desire to be with him, and be near him.

“No, that okay, babe. We want to KEEP our customers, remember?” he teased. She
stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s up to you, okay? You can stay here…or you can
go upstairs and do whatever. I asked Felipe to clean up the room and to buy some
new sheets for the bed in case you feel like taking a nap.” he said, looking
into her eyes.

“Jack?” she asked softly. “Thanks.”

“No problem, hon. I think we’ll be done by ten, OK? If you need anything feel,
free to come downstairs and ask for it, okay?” Jack leaned over to give her a
quick kiss before she left.

Janet smiled, left the restaurant and went upstairs. As she opened the door, the
sweet smell of apple-cinnamon filed the air. She walked into the room, and to
her right there was a desk with books that she recognized as the books Jack used
to keep control of the sales and profits of the bistro. Next to it was a small
table with a 13 inch black television. She also noticed the new white and blue
curtains Felipe had put up. The king size bed looked so cozy. The white sheets
made the room look bigger then she remember it being, and next to the bed there
was a small table with the Apple Jack candle lightened and just a foot and a
half away there was a tall mirror. To her left, there was a bigger black chair.
Janet made her way towards the mirror as she critically glanced at her
reflection. There were no obvious scars from last night. Well, none that I can
see, she sighed. He had definitely left his mark on her. But someone else had
left his mark on her, she realized, licking her lips. Jack. She shivered involuntarily, remembering the wonderful feeling of his mouth on hers. He had left his mark on her heart.

Janet had been trying not to admit it, but she couldn’t betray her feelings. Janet knew that this had nothing to do with the way he’d been acting because of what happened last night. Lately, after Terri had left and even before that, Janet found herself thinking of Jack more and more. But she always kept pushing those forbidden feelings away, hidden somewhere deep inside of her. Ever since the first day that Mr. and Mrs. Roper found Jack in the apartment, the relationship between them was deemed as strictly platonic. What frightened her now was not that they were still friends even after the Ropers were gone, but that they could be more. And she wanted them to be more. “No,” she whispered to
herself. “ No, no, no. You need to stop this. Jack is just your friend…nothing more, and that’s what you want, ”she reminded herself. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she’d start to believe it.

*~*

Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, Jack was having trouble concentrating. He was trying to explain to himself what exactly he meant when he called Janet his girl. He had a strange, indescribable feeling that was overtaking him. He had a sneaking suspicion what it was, but he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone, least of all himself. Saying it aloud would make it real, and he just could not deal with that. He’d always loved all of his roommates. Most of the time, anyway. Chrissy was fun to joke around with because she was so funny, but he never saw her as anything more then a friend. Cindy was and still is like a
younger sister to him, even if his life was in grave danger every time she came near him. Terri is a great girl; he was really relieved she had stayed and given him another chance. But Janet…Janet didn’t fit into any of those categories. She was something entirely more special to him…not just a sister, not just a friend. He couldn’t imagine living without her for more then a day.

“Jefe, are the plates ready?” Felipe asked, interrupting his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“What’s the matter tonight? You seem to be in another world. Are you feeling
okay?” he asked.

“Me? Oh…yeah. Sure. Just wondering how Janet’s doing.”

Felipe smiled to himself. He knew it. He’d always known it. That boy had it bad.
“If you want, Jefe, since we close in 15 minutes anyway, why don’t you let me
finish up here? I’ll take care of everything. You can go be with your girl.”

Jack washed his hands and thanked Felipe before he headed upstairs to the
bedroom. When he opened the door, he found Janet lying down on the bed watching
television. She was so into it she didn’t even notice Jack had walked in the
room and crept up beside her.

“Hey, beautiful.” Jack said with a smile. “Am I interrupting anything?”

Janet jumped almost instantly, then smiled and shook her head. “No, not really
I’m just watching I Love Lucy. Want to join me? It’s about to be over.” she
said, hoping he would say yes.

“Of course I would, but the Lakers are on tonight.”

“But its about to be over!” she whined, rolling over when he reached for the
remote. “I got here first!”

“Please??”

“NO!” she laughed as he reached out for her. She jumped off the bed.

“Please????!!!!”

“Honestly, Jack. Don’t be such a baby. It’s almost over.”

“So? You can watch this again some other time.”

“You can read about the game in the paper!” she retorted as he started to chase
her around the room.

Giggling, she ran into the bathroom and locked the door. “Janet!” he whined,
pounding on the door. “Open up!”

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. As Jack stood chatting with Felipe for
a few moments, Janet was able to seize the moment and ran out of the bathroom,
grabbing the control from his hand. “Thank you!” Jack said a quick goodbye to
Felipe, and then turned to Janet, mock sternness in his voice. “You’re dead,
woman!” She giggled again as he tackled her on the bed. “Give it up.”

“No way!” she cried breathlessly, struggling to get away. It was in vain,
however, because he had a firm grip on both her wrists. She hated that. It made
her feel helpless, and he knew it. Her mouth opened slightly when she noticed
that Jack was on top of her and his face was inches from hers. Not a sound was
made as their lips grew closer, and closer…

Jack stopped himself just in time and kissed her on the forehead. “Come on,” he
said softly, his gaze still locked with hers. “Let’s go home.” He grabbed Janet’s hand, pulling her from the bed.

She dutifully followed him, but stopped just short of the door, turning to face him, worry mixed with love in her eyes. “Jack...? What happened back there….with us??"

It was a long time before he looked at her. He avoided her eyes as he started to speak. "God...Janet...you really don't get it, do you?" He was now staring straight at her, and his gaze was penetrating her soul. "I mean...ever since that night...I can't concentrate...I can't do anything. I don’t know what it is. I can't stop thinking about you."

Her heart soared, but then sank again, as quickly as it had risen. Ever since that night. That night had ruined everything for her. It had only been a matter of five minutes, but already the incident was taking over her life in every conceivable fashion. "Jack...don't think that you have to baby-sit me. I know you’re a nice guy, but I'm a big girl. I don’t need you to protect me."

"No…no…" He took her hands in his. "It has nothing to do with anything like that. Yes, now the main reason I have you over here is because I want to protect you, but…I want to be with you too. I want to be with you all the time. Last night just reinforced it. I've been feeling this way for a long time now. Janet...”

Janet didn’t want – couldn’t take hearing any more of how Jack felt sorry for her. It hurt too much. “I’m sorry…I can’t take this.” Tears blurring her vision, she ran out the door.

“Janet, wait!” It only took about a couple of seconds before Jack was able to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn and look at him. “Sweetheart, I…I think that I’m….”

“I know.” Her voice was soft and light, and full of emotion. “I feel it, too.”

The kiss between them was soft and filled with passion. Janet could feel her whole body seem to melt as his lips touched hers. She knew that this wasn’t the right thing to do, but she didn’t care anymore. Gradually, however, the familiar fears took over her mind and her subconscious brought her back. “No.” Without another word, she ran back into the restaurant, leaving a dumbfounded Jack behind her.