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Jenny stretched as she woke up in her own bed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, if it wasn't for the euphoria she still felt, it was almost like a dream. They never untied her, and never said a word. As she stood up, her legs were still a little weak, but after all they did to her, it was expected. She knew the two of them came twice, and someone had cleaned her up after she fell asleep and put her to bed.

Alice and Nodrog were both sitting on the couch and aside from a 'good morning' neither said anything about last night as Jenny made herself breakfast. She sat down next to Alice to eat her standard egg with toast sandwich.

"You two..." Jenny started and paused as they both looked at her.

"Are wonderful?" Alice asked.

"Cheaters?" Nodrog asked.

"Yes. The ribbon bondage was uncalled for." Jenny said.

"Your lips might say that now, but the rest of you seemed to like it last night." Nodrog said with a coy smile.

"If I say I learned my lesson and will behave, will you promise not to do that again?" Jenny asked.

"No." They both answered with a laugh.

"Besides no one said we wanted you to behave." Alice said and put her arms around Jenny.

"So if I misbehave I might get punished again?" Jenny asked.

"Guess that depends on what you do." Nodrog chuckled and reached over to tickle one of her bare feet.

"Plus I still need a double for my prank." Alice said and kissed the back of her neck.

Nodrog reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. The conversation was short, and he thanked the person on the other end and hung up. "That was fast." He put the phone back in his pocket.

"What was fast?" Jenny asked before finishing the last three bites in one big mouthful.

"The alterations to the tux to accommodate my wings." Nodrog said.

"Speaking of formal dress, what are we wearing?" Jenny asked and leaned her head against Alice's shoulder.

"I don't know what you are wearing. I will probably wear the same thing I always wear." Alice muttered. Jenny had twice the number of dresses as she did. Which wasn't hard since she only had three, and only one of them was formal.

"Why didn't you buy something when the two of you were out yesterday?" Nodrog asked.

"Cause I hate dress shopping." Alice said.

"That's cause you never believe me or the other people in the store." Jenny teased.

"Really don't have much need for more than the one anyways." Alice said.

"Yeah, but you will be getting another when we pick a date." Jenny said and put a finger on Alice's nose.

"That's different, of course I will get one of those." Alice said.

"I have never understood the amount of effort put into a single dress for a single occasion." Nodrog laughed as they both kicked his leg.

"Typical boy response." Jenny said in a mocking tone.

"So what do monsters wear for weddings?" Alice asked.

"We do dress in a more formal fashion, but not to the extent of humans. The point is to celebrate two becoming one, not the amount of effort put into the event itself." Nodrog said.

"So how many have you been too?" Jenny asked and tried to keep her bare foot away from him.

"More than a hundred, both human and monster." Nodrog said and half heartedly chased after her bare foot.

"All right then, which one did you like the most?" Alice asked.

"Nightrunner's eldest daughter, Nazrin. While not held on this world, she had her wedding outside in a large grove of cherry blossom trees when they were in full bloom. She wore a very simple blush colored dress, her and the flower girl had cherry blossom wreaths for their crowns." Nodrog said.

"Okay that does sound romantic." Jenny conceded. He did have a valid point, about it being about the couple and not the event itself.

Jenny pondered on that thought the rest of the day. Nodrog and her sat around most of the day playing video games. Alice was working on some suspension settings on her computer for the Viper. The Lotus was set up to help Jenny convince people she was Alice. That was what she went and did while Jenny was, tied up.

Jim was more than happy to help pull off the prank. Alice had came back to the apartment after they had put Jenny to bed and before Sherman left. It didn't take much to convince him to stay for a little more fun. Between the two of them, Alice figured he would be sleeping till noon with very pleasant dreams.

Really the twins and Joe knew her so well the Viper was set up real close to the handling characteristics she preferred. Alice liked a little more over steer dialed in then most, and preferred a little softer spring rate so the car would lean in and bite more. In that aspect the Lotus was easier to tune, the body kit on the Viper had much less room around the wheels compared to the relatively stock Lotus body. Granted it had to because of the much higher speeds it could reach.

The last big track day was a little ways off which gave them a little time to get Jenny more practice in the Lotus along with hammering out the details on how and when to switch places. They had the event tonight to attend and in the middle of the week was Nodrog's first performance with Winston's band. Plus she had to take Nodrog to campus to get him the pass and identification he needed to help her mom with some of her classes.

Actually Jenny or Alice could take him since they both graduated from the university. Alice figured she would be more likely to show him were places where he might need while on campus and not where only the fun stuff was. Just before the mass worldwide suicide, this country adopted a much different education system. In that after junior high, you could take one of three options for your education.

You could take the more traditional mixed subject education, you could take a more skilled trade education. Jenny and Alice both knew what they wanted for the most part and took the third option which was a college education. It shortened the total amount of time you were in school, but allowed you to focus on things you needed without the need to take courses you did not need. Since Alice liked racing she also took a few of the technical classes, which the hands on courses did help her in some ways while out doing field work.

That was what made her so good at her job, the unconventional problem solving from the tech classes aided a great deal in field work. Because no matter how something should work or be done, does not mean it works in real life. She didn't have to look past the end of her couch to see that. Everything she knows say he shouldn't be alive but he is. Hell anyone that knows a little about flight and aviation know that bumblebees should not be able to fly, but they can.

Alice was still getting ready when Jim and his wife came to the door around five o'clock so they could all catch the limo to the museum. Jenny and Jim both hated these formal events, but many of the people that attended them helped sign their paychecks. So a few hours of suffering was worth it to make sure the private funders, kept funding them.

Nodrog and Sherman had both left a little earlier because Mr. October had asked they arrive with him. Sherman felt very out of place among all of the highly educated and little work crowd. He could tell his friend has been in this situation before as the dragon effortlessly smiled and spoke with people here and there.

"Good evening Mr. Bond." Jenny said with a chuckle as her and Alice walked up to Sherman arm in arm.

"Just missing the Martini and the British accent." Alice said.

"I don't think any of the Bond girls drove a Lotus though." Jim said as he and Carrel followed them over to the wolf.

Sherman had a hard time recognizing Jim without a ball cap on his head. His graying hair was combed and pulled back into a short pony tail. "And Bond only wished he had as cool of gadgets as I have."

Sherman surveyed the crowd as Jenny, Alice and Carrel wondered off. He could tell there were a few more like him and uncomfortable. Jenny and Jim being two of them. Alice seemed to be able to put on a much better rouse. While there were several attractive women here, Alice was in his mind the most attractive here. Sherman thought she had the quintessential little black dress, it fit her figure nicely. It did not show too much skin and was cut just a hair above her knees. With the small amount of silver jewelry, she looked flirty, and natural.

Nodrog would agree with Sherman as the pair came over to talk to him and the small group of people who were interested in his lengthy history. Jenny was wearing a more far east inspired blue silk dress, it went all the way to her ankles. With a slit along one side showing off a great deal of her attractive leg. Alice had on a short pair of heals, making her a little taller than Jenny who was not in heals.

"You clean up pretty good for a mutt." A woman said as she walked up to Sherman.

"Samantha?" Sherman asked as he recognized the voice but not the person. He had never seen the six foot tall brunet in anything but combat fatigues. Her short heels made her as tall as he was. It was also the first time he had seen her long hair in anything but a messy pony tail. So maybe Alice was the second most attractive woman here. After the initial reaction he managed to take a shot back. "I didn't know you owned a dress."

"Touché. I was beginning to think I was the only security officer here." Samantha played with the straw in her drink. "I never got the chance to thank you and the dragon for saving our sorry asses in the bone jungle."

"You would have done the same. You look stunning this evening." Sherman said.

"A complement even, I think I could start forgiving you for standing me up." Samantha said.

Sherman looked down at the mostly empty glass in his hand. "I have stood a lot of friends and family up the last few years. I just hope it's not too late to start making up for it."

"You really have changed since then. What happened?" Samantha asked.

"I don't know if you would believe me if I told you." Sherman said.

"So those rumors are true." Samantha sipped at her drink.

"Depends on which ones you a referring too." Sherman said and managed to keep eye contact and not admire the rest of her.

"The super soldier and Nightmare Calvary." Samantha said.

"Both true. How much do you know about him?" Sherman asked.

"Not much past what I have heard. Are you implying the things about him are true? I have a hard time believing anyone can be that old." Samantha said and laughed.

"All of that is true. You could say that was my wake up call when he took a very large explosion the same day we came to help you and Frank's team." Sherman said and glanced over the crowd. "All of the things I have missed."

"Well, you still owe me dinner. And we both don't want to be here." Samantha smiled.

Sherman smiled. "Are you asking me out?"

"I might be." Samantha said with a flirty smile.

Sherman set the almost empty glass down. "Lets go."

Jenny smiled as the two of them left the party. That was the only reason she had told Sherman he had to come along.

"What are you smiling about?" Alice asked.

"I'll tell you later." Jenny's smile and tail made it clear she was quite amused by something.

Alice just shrugged, it was pointless to try and get anything out of her in this kind of mood. Alice didn't mind these events, it was an excuse to dress up and she knew enough people at them she could always find someone to talk too. Finding a nearly two thousand year old living dragon and wining a rather prestigious race put her in more spot light then she cared for. Since they had made a formal engagement announcement the two of them could be a little closer at these events.

Alice felt Jenny suddenly tense up and a quick glace she found the reason why. Her parents were in attendance. It was stupid to ask why they were here, and the two of them should have expected it. She had hoped they could keep enough distance they wouldn't have to interact with them.

Alice steered them away from Jenny's parents and the pair made their way back to the safety of the iron dragon and some rather influential investors. Unfortunately they did end up being face to face with them. Alice and Jenny were holding hands and she gave a little squeeze to reassure Jenny.

'Any place but here, you better not say anything here' Jenny thought as the group her and Alice were in mixed with the group her father and mother were in. She could see he was both upset about their engagement and outright display of affection in this setting. However it was not the two of them that put her father in a tough spot but Jade.

"The two of you must be so proud of your daughter's engagement." Jade said and put a hand on Jenny's mother's shoulder.

Nodrog knew Jenny was in a jam because Alice had called out to him mentally. He could almost feel the resentment coming from her father. So he joined Jade in lavishing the girls with praise. As the conversation turned more and more that direction, more and more people expressed how happy they were about the girls finally tying the knot.

Alice's parents were also present, seeing as Lucy was one of the museum's board of trusties. Lucy knew how much Jenny's parents disliked the girl's relationship and made extra sure to put the girl's parents on the spot about it. She was not one to normally do such a thing, but in this case, she would make an exception and grind the dagger even deeper.

Jenny actually relaxed and took a little evil pleasure in her parents discomfort. Serves them right, and if they said anything ill about it, it would make them look bad. And Jenny knew how much it pained her father to say he was happy about something to save face. Her parents quickly moved along to speak with other people.

"What an ass." Lucy said after they were out of hearing range. Alice and Jenny giggled at her mother's no nonsense comment.

"He is going to be furious when he leaves..." Jenny's tail hung limp, a reaction to a fear she would likely never get over.

"Screw him if he cannot be happy for you." Jade said. Lucy and her tapped their wine glasses together.

"Amen to that." Lucy said.

"He may finally understand more people support you then he seemed to think." Nodrog said.

"It really means a lot to me, to have so much support." Jenny said with a smile.

"We will always be here for you." Ron said.

The rest of the evening was enjoyable, and Jenny probably ate too much shrimp cocktail. They both kept their drinking to a minimum. Nodrog was not too bothered by all the questions people asked, he had been through it before at events such as these. Still he, Jim and Jenny were happy to call it an evening.

"Where did Sherman go?" Jim asked as they got into the limo for the ride back.

"On a date with Samantha." Jenny's usual good cheer having returned.

"That's what you were all happy about earlier." Alice said and yawned.

"Yup, it's the reason I told him he had to come along." Jenny said.

"Why does that name sound familiar?" Jim asked and scratch his chin.

"She is the real tall brunet bombshell, that is part of Frank's security team." Jenny said.

"The one in the red dress, I saw him talking too. I didn't know she could be girly." Jim said and chuckled.

"How did you know she was interested?" Carrel asked.

"I talked to her quite a bit when we went back to the castle the second time. They were good friends before he went into the super soldier program." Jenny said.

"Playing little Miss match maker?" Carrel asked.

"Trying too. Hey Nodrog, could you carry Alice up to our place by yourself?" Jenny asked as the limo pulled to a stop at the building they all called home.

"Of course, but what are you going to do?" Nodrog asked, he hadn't even noticed Alice was out cold.

"I want to ask Jim and Carrel something." Jenny said with a smile.

"Okay." Nodrog said and carefully picked Alice up. They all entered the building and rode up in the same elevator but Jenny followed Jim and Carrel to their apartment.

"Let me get out of this monkey suit and take my pills." Jim muttered as he headed to the bedroom and Jenny plopped down rather un-lady like into a large chair.

"Do you want something to drink?" Carrel asked as she poured herself a large glass of water.

"No thanks. I am so glad we left when we did." Jenny said and pulled off her shoes.

"We could tell things were a little tense with your folks around." Carrel said as she sat down. Also taking off her shoes.

"Did you see the look on his face when Jade told him how happy she was for us, and Lucy even threw more of a fit about how excited she was." Jenny said.

"I feel sad that you and them do not have a better relationship." Carrel said.

"I never could understand people like your father." Jim said as he came out in a t- shirt and sweat pants. "I would have loved for our daughter to have gotten married."

"I know I would give anything for her to still be with us." Carrel said. Their only child did not even make it to her fifth birthday because of illness.

"You both know as much as most of my friends I hate my family." Jenny said and tried to gather her thoughts. "And I have thought of you both as more than just close friends..."

Jim and Carrel were a little confused as to the direction this was heading. Jenny got up and knelt in front of Jim and looked him straight in the eyes.

"I want you to walk me down the aisle in place of my real father. I want someone who is happy for me to give me away at our wedding." Jenny said and put both of her hands on his. "So would you be my honorary dad?"

Jim was speechless as a few tears ran down his wrinkled face. "I would be honored to walk you down the aisle at your wedding."

Chapter

Jenny gave him a hug and said thanks before she got up and walked bare foot to her apartment. She felt light as air having finally asked Jim that question. Jenny was not going to let others drag her down any more. Only on the up and up from here on.

"I laid her down on your bed. I only got some of her jewelry and her shoes off." Nodrog said as he came out of his room from changing.

"Thanks, I will go in and finish getting her undressed." Jenny said as she took off her earrings.

"I am guessing from your smile Jim agreed to whatever you asked him." Nodrog said.

"He did. Help me with my zipper please." Jenny said and pulled her hair to the side.

Nodrog kissed the back of her neck as he did as she had asked. "You both looked lovely this evening."

"You look good in a tux, and can handle stuffy rich people better than I can." Jenny said and pulled what she called decorative chop sticks out of her hair. "Thanks for protecting me from my father too." Jenny stood up on her tip toes to give him a quick kiss before heading into her bedroom to get herself and Alice ready for bed.

Jenny smiled as she closed the door and let her dress fall to the floor. Alice was sleeping soundly and looked so cute laying on their bed. Jenny hung her dress up and washed off the little bit of makeup off she was wearing. Aside from the dress the only other garment she had been wearing were a pair of panties.

This was not the first time she had to undress Alice after a late night party where they had done some drinking. Fruity drinks like margaritas made Alice silly and horny, wine knocked her out cold, both outcomes were cute. Jenny removed Alice's earrings carefully and set them on her dresser next to the necklace. And she resisted the urge to tease Alice as she pulled off her pantyhose.

After Jenny had removed all of her clothes and neatly hung Alice's dress up, she managed with a little struggle to get Alice under the covers before she got under them as well. She gave Alice a soft kiss on her lips before she herself drifted off to sleep.

Sunday the pair spent out in the Lotus with Jenny behind the wheel. Practice was the only way she was going to get better. The rouse itself did not have to be for very long, really just long enough for Alice to get to the Viper. They had all ready proved they could fool people outside of the car.

Jim was going to be floating on cloud nine for the next few days. It was almost the only thing he could talk about. "So how did your date go?" Jim asked as Kenny took Nodrog out in the shop truck again for another round of practice himself.

"How did you know about it?" Sherman asked as they stood around in the shop.

"Jenny told us on the ride home from the gala." Jim said.

"That sneaky little cat. I thought it a little odd the two of us were the only security people there." Sherman said.

"She can be rather persuasive at times." Jim said.

"That she can be." Sherman said.

"I heard your mom is coming to town. Probably a nice break from all of us crazy folk." Jim said.

"I think you crazy people are what is keeping me sane. Still, it will be nice to see her again." Sherman said. They were not doing anything down here, just kind of hanging out. Hell they had beer in their 'weekend only' refrigerator. Part of the reason he was down in the shop was just to get out of his apartment. After the transfer to Mr. October's left hand, things had been a little slow. It was taking some getting used to, compared to the constant drills and tests he went through at the base under the general.

"At least you have figured out some things before it is too late. When you get my age you start looking back on the missed opportunities. Even Jenny's dad will come to see that at some point." Jim said.

"So they are not going to even send them an invitation?" Sherman asked.

"Not a one. On the one hand I am positively thrilled she asked me to be a part of their wedding. But I feel pity for the man whose place I am taking. I know it is a waste of time thinking about it, but I cannot understand how he cannot be happy for his own child." Jim said and they watched the little red car tear around. "Even your old man, it just doesn't make sense to me."

"That's because you are a better person then they are. When I was little, I really would have liked a dad like you or Ron. Someone I could look up to and want to be like." Sherman said.

"That means a lot to me. Lord knows I am not perfect." Jim said.

"But you try." Sherman said with a smile.

"That I do." Jim said.

"Would you have really shot me?" Sherman asked.

"Lets just say you are lucky I am old and slow, because I wasn't trying to miss." Jim said flatly.

"Oh." Sherman said and looked him over.

"To be fair, from my side of things you looked hell bent on tearing her apart. Those two girls mean a lot to me..." Jim said.

"I am sure I would have done the same in your position. If you don't mind me asking, why don't you and Carrel have kids?" Sherman asked.

"It was not from a lack of trying. Carrel had a miscarriage the first time. Sara, was our second and she was born a little premature. Poor girl only lived to be a little over four years old. We tried once more and I almost lost Carrel during birth of a little boy who died during birth..." Jim said and Sherman could see how hard the man still took the loss.

"I told Carrel I couldn't stand the thought of trying again. So we agreed that we were not going to try any more. We sort of became an extra aunt and uncle to our friend's children." Jim said and as the Lotus went screaming by he got a little laugh. "I'll tell you a little secret, when Alice was still in diapers, that girl could fumigate this shop."

"I could have done without knowing that... I didn't know you knew them that long." Sherman said.

"Been friends with Ron and Lucy before they had kids. First time I met Jenny, she was six. Her old man worked in this building back then and was the same ass he is today." Jim said and smiled as he told Sherman about the day so long ago.

Twenty one years ago.

"Can I help you?" Jim asked as he scrubbed his hands under the sink.

"I'm Robert Becket, this is my daughter Jenny..." Robert said and the little girl interrupted him. The agitation pretty clear on his brow.

"Are you the fix it man?" Jenny asked with all the excitement of a little girl.

"I am the fix it man." Jim said cheerfully.

"Jenny over heard some of the field agents say you could fix anything and everything. She insisted we come find you right away." Robert said.

Jim could see the man didn't want to be here at all, how could he be annoyed with his own daughter?

"My bear Stanly, his eye came off. Can you fix him?" Jenny pleaded and held out the teddy bear and the button eye.

"I hope we haven't interrupted anything?" Robert asked politely.

"I don't have anything more important I need to do. Step into my office and we will see about fixing Stanly up." Jim said and held the door to the little office open. He sat down at his desk and rummaged through over filled draws until he found the little sewing kit he kept around to mend shirt buttons.

"I knew it was in here someplace. Put Stanly on my desk and I will get my needle threaded." Jim said and pulled out one of the needles and a length of black thread. He licked the end of the thread and got it in the needle the first try.

Jenny sat quietly on the only other chair in the cramped little office and watched as Jim stitched the button eye carefully back onto Stanly. It didn't take more than a minute for Jim to stitch the button back in place. He tied a knot in the thread and cut off the extra before handing it back.

Jenny look up at him wide eyed. "You really can fix anything."

"Of course, I'm the fix it man." Jim said and walked with them to the shop door.

"I really do appreciate you taking the time to do this." Robert said and did not even bother to shake Jim's hand.

"Nonsense, it is the most important thing I have done all day." Jim said with a smile.

"Thank you very much fix it man." Jenny said.

"Any time young lady, don't be afraid to come down anytime you need something fixed." Jim said and smiled down at the little cat girl.

As the years went by, Jenny did come down to the shop. Jim had to have Carrel get him more thread three times. Jenny never brought the same stuffed animal down. He knew something was wrong, but could never get her to tell him. He thought she might have been breaking toys just to have a reason to come down to the shop until they moved away...

"That must have been hard." Sherman said after Jim finished telling him the story. They turned as Jenny blew her nose on a paper rag. The four of them were back from driving around.

"All this time, you still remember Stanly?" Jenny asked teary eyed.

"I remember them all... B. Bear lost a leg. Rocko lost both arms and an eye, which was your brother's fault." Jim said.

"No, Jeffery was the one that was missing his arms and an eye. You had to fix Rocko's tail." Carrel said as she came into the shop.

"Okay, I remember most of them, but Stanly was the bear she brought down the first time." Jim said.

"Yes he was, because you couldn't wait to tell me and called me on the damn phone. Just to tell me you sewed a button eye on a bear." Carrel said.

"You can remember all of those stupid toys names... I can't even remember their names... and he can't even remember my birthday." Jenny sobbed.

"Come here, it's all right." Carrel said and motioned for Jenny to come to her with open arms. Almost if she was seven again Jenny ran teary eyed into Carrel's arms.

"So when did he change?" Nodrog asked.

Jim and Carrel looked at each other. "That's just it, he was always like that. We couldn't have a family, and his was something he was stuck with. And I couldn't do anything... Forty years and the only thing I could not fix was a little girl's heart." Jim said and he looked a little older and tired.

"You did do something... you were always here, every time I came down. You and cranky old Bob, would drop everything for me... Every. Single. Time." Jenny said, tears running down her reddened cheeks. "You even had cookies down here on my birthday when they forgot all about me."

"That was Bob's idea. I didn't want to believe you would have a reason to come down on your birthday to see us." Jim said.

"Your seventh birthday is the only time I had ever seen Jim so furious. Even old Bob was about ready to start swinging." Carrel said and looked down at Jenny.

"I told you, you are a better man, then Jenny's or my own father will ever be." Sherman said.

"I don't know why, but it took me two days to get up the courage to see if you were still here. I guess I was afraid you would be gone or have forgotten me, but... Eighteen years later and you were still here, same greasy ball cap and messy hair still the fix it man... Even after I was dragged away without getting to say good bye... You were still here... Almost like you were waiting for me." Jenny said as the tears wouldn't stop.

"I think I might have been... I thought loosing Sara was the most painful thing in the world until you came into the shop, another toy needing fixed on your seventh birthday. How many hundred people in this building? And only a cranky old man and a grease monkey remembered a little girl's birthday. God that hurt." Jim said as his eyes watered up.

"Out of all of those people, the cranky old man and the grease monkey were the only family I had. Always happy to see me, even though the reasons for me coming down were never happy. You and Bob sang happy birthday to me twice in the three years we lived here." Jenny wiped her eyes and walked over to Jim and hugged him.

"And those two birthdays with you down here in this shop... are two of the best I have ever had." Jenny said.

"I am kind of surprised it wasn't all three." Jim said he returned her hug.

"That is because her grandparents were here for it. I remember your grandma yelling at your dad because he was mad at how loud all of us girls were." Alice said.

"Those were the only other times I had a party, was when grandma and grandpa were around for it, until college and my Alice tried to throw a party every year." Jenny said.

"Tried being the key word, a couple of them it was just us and a cake." Alice said.

"And that is when I fell for you. Our little kitchen a disaster from your first attempt at baking a cake on a birthday only you and my grandparents remembered." Jenny said with a smile.

"You fell in love over a ruined cake? Now that is cute, and explains a lot." Nodrog said.

"Part of it was edible." Alice said.

"A very small part, but it wasn't the cake. It was because she remembered and went out of her way to make a cake she doesn't even like for me." Jenny said.

"At least I tried." Alice said and blew a raspberry at them.

"That is the important part Alice, you and Jim tried when others didn't." Carrel said and gave Alice a hug.

"It is the thought that counts, I know mom wishes she could have done more. But I think she did just fine." Sherman said.

"Well since Jim is Jenny's honorary dad, he could be yours too." Nodrog said.

"You know a son would be handy..." Carrel said with a tease.

"Works for me, we even get the bonus of skipping the diaper stage and the birds and the bees talk." Jim said with a laugh.

They all turned and looked at Alice as her stomach rumbled loud enough for them to hear. "Um, maybe we could continue this someplace with food."

"Were the hell did the afternoon go?" Jim asked as he looked at his watch.

"I didn't think we were out that long." Kenny said and looked over to Nodrog. "I better be going, Sunday is family game night."

They headed up to the lounge to avoid the more crowded cafeteria after the boys locked up the shop.

"I remember you being taller, did you shrink?" Jenny teased as they sat down.

"No you just went and grew up. I'm still the same height, I ain't that old yet." Jim said with a smile.

"He did get a little bigger around the middle." Carrel patted his belly and they all laughed.

"I can't tell you how much fun this is." Jim said as they sat at the table. Jenny and Alice were still working on their shared piece of pie.

"We should do something as a group more often. Maybe Sherman will introduce us to his new girl." Nodrog said.

"You can meet her Wednesday at the club, since you are playing that night." Sherman said.

"We should go too, I can't remember the last band we saw play live was." Jim said.

"Had to have been more than thirty years because we went with Ron and Lucy before Matt was born." Carrel said.

"You should come, it will be fun." Jenny said.

"Did you ever get something more appropriate to wear?" Alice asked.

"Yes I did, same day we got fitted for the tux. Just some navy blue slacks, with a gray shirt and brown coat. The guy actually knows Freddy, so it was an easy thing to get taken care of." Nodrog said.