Quite how they managed it, given how distracted they were with one another, was anyone's guess, but the afternoon was still young by the time Jasmin led Jack out of Ivy Lodge and into the grounds of Maple Grove, following an underused track through the cultivated wilderness toward Willow Manor. Flushed and laughing still at how sweetly playful he had become over the course of their waking hours thus far, her hand was firmly ensconced in his as they circled the manor's own gardens. "You sure you wanna sneak in?" she asked with a grin. "Because if they catch us, we're never going to live it down."

"It was your idea, not mine!" Jack pointed out, knowing they'd never live it down if they were caught, but they were probably going to be teased mercilessly no matter what they did. The temptation to spy on Tommy and Lena was a strong one, but Jack didn't want to have to deal with the payback that would be involved in that.

She giggled again. "Okay, you said you're in Jon's old room, right?" Looking up at the manor, Jaz smirked a little remember a night when she was a teen, before Jon had moved away, when she and a few other cousins had snuck into his bedroom and painted his face bright green while he slept. Lena, they'd been a little kinder to - she'd woken up with flowers painted on her cherubic little face. Jasmin pointed to the trellis against the back wall. "We're gonna climb up that," she told him. "If I can do it, you definitely can."

Thankfully Jon didn't remember that particular event, though Lena did, and it had never been mentioned to him. If it had, he might have planned a little payback of his own, but alas, he knew nothing about it. "Yeah," Jack replied, lifting his gaze to the window at the top of the trellis. "What if the window is locked?" he asked, unable to tell from the ground whether he'd even fit through that window or not.

"Doesn't matter," she winked at him impishly. "The lock doesn't work, and they never changed it. Trust me, I've done this way too many times." She spent a moment scanning the downstairs, looking for any sign of life, and when she was satisfied she wasn't going to be spotted, she broke cover, running to the back wall to clamber up the trellis with little, if any, regard for the view Jack was going to get when he looked up to watch her.

"That's kind of..." He was about to tell her how creepy it was to know she had spied on her cousin or cousins when they weren't aware of it, but before he could finish that thought, she was sprinting away from him to clamber up the trellis, and he had no choice but to either follow or use the front door. He was a little more discreet as he made his way toward the back of the house, peering this way and that to make sure no one was watching, gaping up at the view she made no attempt to hide as she climbed her way up. "Jaz, you're....you're..." He tried to whisper a warning, but there was no one there to see her but him anyway, and he quickly gave up.

She knew full well that he had a perfect view of her underwear as she climbed, not at all embarrassed by the fact that he could see up her dress. After all, he'd seen everything this morning, what was there to be embarrassed about' Reaching the sill, she paused, wriggling her fingertips beneath the loose sash to push it upward before looking down at Jack with a grin. "Get up here," she whispered back impishly, beckoning for him to join her as she heaved herself through the window, legs flailing for a moment before slipping out of sight entirely.

Jack sighed, resigning himself to this little prank, even though he thought it was just a little bit silly. Sometimes silly was good, so long as no one got hurt. He wasn't overly fond of heights himself, but was a little too proud to admit it, and so up he went, hand over foot as he climbed his way up the trellis, like Romeo in his efforts to meet Juliet, or in Jack's case, a little more like Jack climbing the beanstalk. He made the mistake of looking down only once, nearly at the top before coming to a halt, as a wave of vertigo washed over him. It was different when you were riding a wave. It was the water that was the challenge then, more than the height.

Leaning out, Jaz frowned, a little at a loss as to why he'd stopped so close to the top. "Sweetie, what?s up?" she asked, reaching down to touch his shoulder gently. "Are you stuck?"

Before Jack had a chance to reply, the door swung up with a triumphant, "A-ha!" from Tommy who burst into the room loudly enough and suddenly enough to startle Jack the Giant Slayer so much he lost his hold on the trellis and with a startled cry of his own tumbled the ten or twelve feet to the ground, disappearing from view.

Jaz jumped wildly, startled by the loud exclamation as Tommy burst into the room behind her, one hand snapping out to try and grab for Jack as he slipped. "Sh*t! Jack!" Pulling herself back inside, she whacked the back of her head on the sash with a low curse, turning to elbow past Tommy in a hurry to get downstairs.

Lena lurched backward out of the way as her cousin sped past, turning slightly confused eyes onto Tommy. "What did I miss?"

Tommy looked equally confused and had a slightly guilty look on his face sort of like Bart Simpson when he's been caught doing something naughty - though Tommy had no idea who Bart Simpson was. He winced when Jasmin smacked her head, hearing an all too familiar voice coming from outside the window and then a dull thud. Tommy rushed over to the window to peer down at Jack, who was lying on the ground on his back, looking more than a little bit stunned. "Jack! Are you all right?" he called.

Listening to the thud and thump of her cousin running down the stairs and what sounded like demolishing the coffee table in her rush to get outside, Lena moved to join Tommy at the window, looking down at Jack with bemused concern. "What the hell happened?"

Moments later, Jaz came back into sight, dropping down onto her knees with painful enthusiasm to gently stroke her fingers through Jack's hair. "Baby, are you okay' Where does it hurt?"

Jack looked a shade too pale, and he had yet to take a deep breath, but he was thankfully alive and well and all in one piece, the breath knocked out of him and more than a little startled. This was going to do nothing for his fear of heights. "Can we just use the front door now?" he managed to gasp, one painful word at a time. Oh, and he was going to kill Tommy.

"I don't have a..." Jack broke off as Lena rescued him from Tommy's overzealous mothering.

"He's Dumber," Tommy broke in, jerking a thumb at Jack. "I'm just..." And then it hit him and he scowled at his girlfriend. "Wait a minute..." Neither had seen the movie yet, but could understand the implication of Lena's remark.

It was Jack's turn to chuckle this time as Lena got the best of his friend. Maybe Jasmin was right. Despite her love for Tommy, maybe Lena really did have Jack's back. "Well, we were gonna raid Jon's closet until I fell on my *ss," Jack said with a painful shift in the chair, but no groan this time.

Tommy frowned a little before snapping his fingers, the light-bulb going off in his head. His hair was still damp and curling into a tangle about his shoulders, but he had yet to cut it and shave, like his friend had. "I'll be right back!" And off he went in search of something, leaving Jack in the care and company of the women.

"I'll kiss it better for you later," Jasmin promised Jack, drawing her fingers fondly through his hair as she leaned down to kiss his forehead with a smile.

Abandoned by Tommy, Lena rolled her eyes as she laughed, moving to sit herself on the coffee table in front of Jack. "So I take it you two hit it off last night, then?" she asked, curious without being teasing this time.

Jack watched as Tommy abandoned him, guessing where he might be going, but not entirely sure. He blushed a little as Jasmin drew her fingers through his hair, remembering her earlier promise to bite his *ss, rather than kiss it, the memory of which elicited a response for a particular part of his anatomy which he didn't really want Lena to notice. He shifted a little in the chair again, glad his t-shirt was pulled over his jeans. He looked from Lena to Jasmin, as if wondering what her response to that question might be before replying himself. The quiet shyness in him had apparently returned as the two women fussed over him.

Jaz smiled, seeing Jack's shyness returning as things calmed down in the wake of Tommy's departure. Her cousin's question was, perhaps, a little personal, but it was motivated by genuine concern and hope, softening what could have caused offense. "Yeah, I think we did," she nodded, lowering her hand to Jack's shoulder as he shifted in the chair.

Lena's smile was like the sun coming up, relief and happiness for them combining in her expression. If they hadn't already confirmed it, she would have assumed they hadn't done more than talk, but even she could tell that even with that distraction, something else was going on there. "That's wonderful," she beamed happily, turning her eyes to Jack. "Did she show you her collection' Isn't it amazing?"

"She showed me a little," Jack replied, starting to relax a little, the pain from the fall slowly easing off to a dull ache. He turned his gaze back to Jasmin, unable to hide the growing affection for her from the warm expression on his face. "She's amazing," he confirmed, though Lena had actually been asking about Jasmin's music collection. He reached for her hand, twining his fingers with hers.

"Wow," was Lena's quiet comment, wishing Tommy was here to see the obvious blossoming of affection between the pair sitting in front of her as their hands tangled together. "Maybe you should pack a bag instead of just changing your clothes."

Jasmin chuckled quietly, hugging her arm about Jack's shoulder fondly as she looked over at Lena. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of taking these two shopping sometime," she suggested with a flicker of a grin. "What do you say?"

Lena's grin brightened her face once again. "You read my mind," she nodded cheerfully. "Although, you know, no getting in the changing rooms with them. You're handsy, and so is Tommy."

"Are you two planning on giving Tommy a makeover?" Jack broke in, an amused smirk curling his mouth. "Because that's something I gotta see." He'd already had his makeover, thanks to Lena, at least, for now. He'd chopped his hair, trimmed his beard, and lost the sunglasses. All he really needed now was some decent clothes to wear and he just might fit in.

Tommy chose that moment to reappear, carrying two bottles of beer in each one, one for each of them. He handed one first to Lena, followed by the other two. "Who's getting a makeover?" he asked, catching only the last part of the conversation.

"You," Jaz replied before Lena could open her mouth, taking the bottle from Tommy with a grin. "I'm gonna hold you down, and she's gonna shave that bum fluff off your face. And don't think you can overpower me - I bite." As Lena snickered into her own beer, rolling her eyes at the threat, Jaz winked at Tommy, flashing her own grin down to Jack conspiratorially.

"Bum fluff?" Tommy echoed, looking a little insulted. "I'll have you know it took me five years to get this bum fluff the way I want it, and I'm not starting over!" he said, somewhat indignantly, wondering which side Jack was on. And speaking of Jack...."Besides, Jack still has a beard. Why don't you give him a makeover?" he pointed out, hoping to turn the attention away from himself as he flopped down in a chair and took a swig of his Silvermark, or whatever brand it was that Lena kept stocked in the fridge.

"We're not talking about a beard, we're talking about bum fluff," Jaz grinned cheerfully, finding it ridiculously easy to tease Tommy in this manner. "Besides, this beard ..." Her fingers stroked Jack's jaw for a moment. "....is facial decoration. That beard, for want of a better word, is just laziness. And I'll bet it gives chin pie in all the wrong places."

"Tommy?" Lena's voice was soft as she approached him, stooping to sit down beside him by the pool. Her arm draped over his shoulders as she leaned into him, touching a kiss to his hair. "I didn't mean to pressure you, I'm sorry."

He wasn't surprised to find that Lena had followed him, probably worried about him or worried that she'd angered or offended him somehow, but the problem wasn't Lena or Jasmin or Jack - it was him. "It's okay. You didn't do anything. I just keep forgetting it's not 1975 anymore. I suppose I should try to fit in better, huh?" he asked, smiling faintly as he turned to face her, letting her see the uncertainty in him that he rarely let anyone see.

"Oh, sweetheart, this isn't about fitting in," she told him, her heart aching for the uncertainty she'd unwittingly instilled in him. "I asked because you are an incredibly handsome man, and I'd like to see your face sometime. But I won't push it. It's your face and your choice. I'm sorry if I made you feel as though you're not fitting in, because even walking naked through the streets as you are, you'd fit into Rhy'Din."

That made him laugh a little, lightening the mood. "I'm pretty sure someone would notice if I walked around naked, Midge," he remarked, though he got her point. It was only hair, after all, but it had become such a part of him these last few years, he wasn't sure he could imagine himself without it. Still, if Jack had done it, so could he, if for no other reason than that Lena asked it of him. He had grown his hair long for a reason, but that reason was part of the past. He'd come here to start over; maybe cutting his hair was the first step in doing just that.

She smiled gently, drawing her fingers through the issue of contention. "I won't cut it short," she promised him fondly. "Just, you know, so I can see your eyes without putting your hair in a braid first." She leaned in close, pressing her lips to his in a slow, fond kiss. "Besides ....now you agreed, Jack has to stand up and let Jaz trim his hair properly," she added with a rather wicked snicker. "Won't that be fun?"

That made Tommy laugh even more. "Do you really think Jack is gonna let her cut it again?" he asked, as he kicked his feet back and forth in the water. He wasn't one to brood very long. Life was too short for that. Jack was right - the war was over. It was time to move on. That's what he'd come here for, after all.

Her brow rose as she grinned impishly. "Oh, trust me," she assured him, giggling cheerfully. "Give it another couple of hours, and he'll roll over and play dead if she so much as hints she wants him to. And, you know, she'll strip if he looks at her in the right way." She settled beside him, rolling her own jeans up to dunk her feet into the water beside his. "They seem to be getting along."

"What about you? Would you strip for me?" he asked, with that mischievous look on his face, just a hint of dimples peeking out from beneath that "bum fluff". He threw an arm her shoulders and drew her close, dropping an affectionate kiss against her temple. "Yeah, they are. You're a genius. Maybe you should get into the match-making business." He took a swig of his beer, relaxing again, the same old Tommy she knew and loved.

"What, you wanna know if I'd strip for you if Jack looks at me in the right way?" Lena teased him affectionately, happy to be gathered in against his side as she let her head fall to rest against his shoulder. "Because - correct me if I'm wrong - that could muddy the waters a little when it comes to getting him and Jaz connected at the genitals."

Tommy laughed again, even louder this time. A few days ago, he might have been surprised to hear that come out of Lena's mouth, but no more. Now, it only amused him. "I'm pretty sure they've already been connected at least once. Did you see the way they were ogling each other?" Tommy tried to mimic the look, but it came out completely wrong.

"Oh, we wanna put a knot in it so they can't get unconnected," she clarified, another soft giggle lighting her face as she raised her head to kiss him again. Her hand rose, curling her palm to his cheek as she nuzzled close. "I love you," she reminded him gently, fingertips teasingly tugging at his beard. "Bum fluff and all."

He smiled as she touched his cheek and touched her lips to his. Those three words were getting a little easier for him to say every day, and he didn't think he'd ever get tired of hearing them from her. "I love you, too," he replied, reaching over to tweak her nose with the beer bottle held between his fingers. "Think we should go back inside or leave them alone for a while?"

Lena's smile matched his at his echo of their shared feeling, feeling her heart skip happily at the knowledge that he did love her. "I guess that all depends on whether or not you wanna give Jack two heart attacks in one day," she chuckled. "I figure he's gotta change and pack a bag, so he might be down to his jockey shorts by now, and gods alone know what Jaz is doing while he's vulnerable." She winked playfully.

Tommy smiled at that. It was tempting, but he thought Jack had already had his fair share of frights for one day. "You think he's moving out on us" Dru's gonna miss him," he remarked, before taking another sip of his beer. It was unexpected, but he found he had mixed feelings about it. He and Jack had been together a long time. "I think I'm gonna miss him," Tommy admitted with a small frown.

"I don't think he's gonna move out straight away," she assured him. "But if things work out with Jaz, then ....yeah, I think he'll move about two hundred yards in that direction." Her arm waved vaguely in the direction of Ivy Lodge. "He won't go far. And knowing you guys? I think you'll be in and out of each other's new homes all the time."

He looked in the direction she was waving at a quaint, smaller house that stood not far from Willow Manor that he knew belonged to Jasmin. "Yeah, but..." He frowned a little again, wondering if he had misunderstood her. He thought they were going to be building a house on the beach, but maybe it would only be seasonal. She might have even had a chance to clear that little misunderstanding up if it wasn't for the fact that they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a dog barking and bounding over to meet the new arrivals - or at least, one of them.

Lena's smile softened, deeply grateful not only for the invitation extended to Tommy, but for the fact that Jon had opened up that invitation to Jack and Jasmin as well, proud of him for doing it without even having to consider it for a moment. "Thanks, we might," she agreed. "I'll text you later and let you know, okay?"

Tommy smiled back, equally pleased with Jon's invitation, glad the other man didn't seem to hold it against him that he was dating his sister.

Jon seemed to sense that he had interrupted something and should be on his way. Besides, he'd found out what he'd wanted to know, and he was genuinely glad to see his sister looking so happy for a change. "Well, I'd better get going before Vicki sends a search party. It was a pleasure to meet you, Tommy. Come by the house anytime."

"See you later, dork," Lena waved her brother off, stooping to pick up an old tennis ball that had captured Cosmo's attention. And yes, she was definitely Jon's little sister. Making sure her brother had a firm hold on the leash, she waved the ball in front of the collie's nose, and then threw it as hard as she could. "Fetch!"

Jon lurched as Cosmo yanked on the leash, 36 pounds of border collie taking off after that ball. "Cosmooooo!" Jon shouted, his voice fading as he got tugged after the dog.

Tommy laughed as he watched the two of them go bounding off. "I think the dog is taking him for a walk," he observed out loud.

Cackling at the retreating figure of her brother being pulled along by his dog, she leaned into Tommy, hugging him about the waist lovingly. "Yeah, Jon really doesn't wear the trousers in his house," she grinned, lifting her head to smile up at Tommy. "So, you wanna go over tonight, or another night?"

Tommy shrugged as he turned his attention back to Lena, draping his arms loosely around her shoulders, beer bottle still in hand. "I'm not going anywhere. Whatever you want to do is fine with me, but I can't answer for those two," he added with a nod toward the house.

She seemed to consider this for a moment, a sweet smirk touching her lips, and she patted his stomach. "Okay, I have a plan," she told him, bouncing on her toes. "Find your shoes, I'll be right back." Ducking out from under his arm, she accelerated into the house, running up the stairs to burst in through the door of Jon's old room. "Hey, we're going shopping - whoa, oops!" One hand crashed over her eyes as a burst of laughter echoed through the house.

Tommy looked a little perplexed, but before he could ask any questions, Lena was sprinting back into the house to give Jack his second heart attack of the day.

Inside the room, Jaz burst out laughing herself at her cousin's reaction to what she'd rushed in on. Alright, so they'd gotten a little distracted while Jack was changing, but everyone was decent! At least, they were now she was pushing her skirt back down again. She grinned at Jack. "And you said there was privacy here," she teased him fondly, kissing his jaw.

"Don't you two know how to knock"!" Jack exclaimed as he tugged his pants up a little too late for Lena not to notice what they'd been doing before she burst through the door unannounced. "I gotta get a lock on that door," he muttered, though it would probably be a whole lot easier for everyone if he just moved in with Jasmin.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" To her credit, Lena did look mortified as she peeked through her fingers to make sure everything was out of sight before lowering her hand. "I swear, we'll get a lock when we're out today," she promised Jack, blushing at the thought of what she'd very nearly interrupted while it was in progress. "Anyway, we're, um, we're going shopping, and I was wondering if you two wanted to come with us. You know, clothes, clippers, that sort of thing. Oh, and maybe dinner at the big house tonight, but you don't have to come. Wanna make a day of it?"

"Clippers?" Jack echoed as he zipped his jeans closed, glancing up with a surprised expression on his face. "Tommy's getting a hair cut?" he asked, putting two and two together, unsuspecting they might be expecting him to get a bit more trimmed off, as well. "How'd you talk him into that?" he asked as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, hands folded in his lap. He was still feeling a little like he'd collided with a semi, but he'd live.

As Jaz turned back to the closet to pick out a shirt and jacket for Jack to wear, Lena edged further into the room now it was safe to approach. "I was my usual charming self, of course," she chuckled, but there was a gentleness about her expression that Jack knew well enough not to press for too many details. Tommy had made the decision himself, but she didn't want anyone pushing him to know exactly why. "You know ....flashed my boobs and threatened never to let him see them again unless I get to see his face sometime."

Jack smiled, feeling that strange connection and camaraderie for Lena that he had nearly from the first time they'd met. Even after only a few days, he knew her well enough to know she'd done nothing of the sort. He wasn't quite sure why Tommy had conceded, but he knew it more than likely was a decision Tommy had made on his own. "Right," Jack replied, chuckling doubtfully. "What's at the big house?" he asked curiously, glancing over to see which of Jon's cast offs Jasmin was picking out for him.

"Well, there's Jon, my brother, and his wife and their daughter," Lena explained, "and, uh ....well, mostly it's the Old Man." She shrugged, a faint smile on her face in fondness for the grumpy pensioner who ruled the Grangers from his family seat at the big house. She met Jasmin's glance innocently as her cousin set shirt and jacket on the bed beside Jack. "Oh, and we'll bring Dru along, too," Lena added quickly. "Safety in numbers, and all that. So ....are you two coming shopping with us?"

"Old Man?" Jack echoed, looking over at Jasmin. Jack had already met Dru, and he wasn't too worried about meeting her brother or his wife, but the Old Man' He already knew Jasmin's father was deceased, so who was the Old Man' Uncle" Grandfather" He looked more than a little befuddled, but in the end, it was Jasmin's decision, not his.