"You won't be lonely without us?" Elsa asked outside of the bar. The group stood beside the taxi. Elsa and Rapunzel were going to head back, leaving Jackson alone.

"Desperately." Jackson smiled. Elsa giggled then looked down at the ground. She didn't want to leave her true love behind, but it was getting late.

"Maybe we don't have to go." She replied, swinging her purse in her hands. Rapunzel opened the cab door, almost pushing Elsa inside. Rapunzel really did want to leave. She had to make a new plan because her last one backfired on her.

"Your grandmother's dinner? As bride-to-be, she's got you on a technicality," Rapunzel smiled, helping Elsa inside. Jackson waved as Elsa slid inside. "I'd babysit you, but my loyalty is to the bride in her time of need." She added, sliding beside Elsa in the cab.

"It's not really a time of need." Elsa softly chuckled. Rapunzel had a way of making things sound harder than they really were.

"Okay, well, if you're sure." Rapunzel quickly responded, getting out of the car. If Elsa didn't want her along, then she would totally spend more time with Jackson. Rapunzel shut the door, showing that she was staying.

"Sure?" Elsa questioned, leaning her head out of the window. What was Rapunzel doing? Why was she leaving her?

"Yeah, I mean, I'll stay with Jackson if you're sure." She answered, standing close to Jackson. Elsa looked between the two of them. She didn't want to come off as rude. Elsa shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay. Um, call me later?" She asked, looking at Jackson. Hopefully, things would be okay between those two. Elsa didn't really like them being alone together. She knew they had a past.

"Of course," Jackson smiled, walking over to the window. They shared a long, slow kiss. God, did these two ever stop making out? It was bad enough that they were getting married, Rapunzel didn't need to watch them make love. "Bye." He waved as the cab drove away from the curb.

"Have fun!" Rapunzel added.

xxx

The train roared above them. They sat on the staircase, both of them eating a sandwich. It was nice to have this time alone with Jackson again. "You were pretty shocked when I told you, huh?" He asked.

"Shocked? No," Rapunzel replied, her mouth full of food. She shook her head, hoping she could lie to him just a little bit. Jackson moved closer to her, letting a person pass by. She swallowed part of her food. "A little." She corrected.

"Okay." Jackson smiled, nodding his head. He knew this would be a huge surprise to her. Both of them never really dated again after they broke up.

"A lot," Rapunzel grinned, this time telling the truth. "I fell off the bed." She giggled, her mouth still having food in it. She didn't really care how she looked in front of Jackson. Jackson turned and looked at her.

"Well, that explains the thump," He replied. She hummed and nodded her head. "You like her, don't you?" He questioned. He wanted to make sure Rapunzel liked her. He loved Elsa and he hoped she would too.

Rapunzel thought about it as she swallowed the rest of her food. "Yeah, I do." She answered, not sounding real enough. It sounded like she was lying.

"That's enthusiastic." Jackson sarcastically replied.

Rapunzel started laughing. Okay, she had to admit. She didn't sound enthusiastic at all. "Well, I mean... No, she's... She's great." She smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. Oh god, please believe her this time.

"'No. She's great.'" He replied, quoting her. God, he just kept showing her how fake she sounded. Rapunzel never talked like that. Rapunzel softly laughed, trying to get off the subject.

"I mean, seriously can't sing a note," She smiled. Jackson shook his head. He knew Elsa was an awful singer, but he loved her willingness to try. He loved how she stepped up to the plate and owned it. "But to make that kind of sacrifice."

"What?" Jackson asked, looking at Rapunzel. He licked the mayo off of his finger, wondering what she would say next. "Leaving school?"

She backed up, surprised that he knew what she was talking about. He really was a mind reader. "All of it," She answered. "Putting her career on hold. All to follow you around in this dumb job where you travel, like, 52 weeks a year to places like College Station, Texas."

"Dumb job?" He repeated. Of course, that was all he got out of the message.

"Well, it's not a grown-up job, Jackson." She replied, looking deep into his bright blue eyes. She knew she struck a chord, but she had to be honest with him. It wasn't very grown-up.

"My job never bothered you before." He fired back, staring into her emerald green eyes. He didn't know what she was getting at. It was like she had changed since the last time he had seen her. Since when did she care about his job?

"It doesn't bother me now," she replied, brushing her blonde hair out of her mouth and behind her ear. "but I'm not Elsie. Her father owns the Sox and cable sports."

"Yeah?" He stated, looking back down at his food. A moment of silence passed between the two of them. He looked back at Rapunzel.

"I'm just surprised it hasn't come up, that's all." She softly smiled, nodding her head. Ding, ding, ding! A plan was ringing in her head!

"What 'it'? What?" He questioned. He wanted to know what she was getting at.

"Corner office with a view. You in a nice blue suit, permanent Chicago address. Somewhat close to Mom and Dad." Rapunzel explained, hoping he was understanding what she getting at.

"No. Never. She would never even think of that." He quickly replied. He knew Elsa. She would never do that to him. She knew he loved his job and she was okay with that.

Rapunzel stared at him, letting a long silence pass between them. "You don't know her." He added. She still stared at him, trying to mess with his mind. Now he wouldn't know what to think. She wasn't going to tell him anything.

xxx

"But Jackson loves his job." Elsa replied, confusion on her face. Rapunzel just told her that Jackson didn't really want his job anyway. Did he really tell her that last night? Did he truly hate it like she says?

"Sure, bad games, bad pay, bad towns, bad flights, bad hotels. Real bad food," Rapunzel explained, walking with Elsa in a clothing department store. "homeless, rootless, lonely. Your copy makes it in maybe one issue out of four. What's not to love? Why would he trade all that for running, say, a piece of the PR at a powerful complex conglomerate like your father's?"

"That's just the sort of thing my father and I discussed." Elsa frowned, confused about how Rapunzel knew all of this stuff. It made total sense. Why would Jackson want to travel around the country to crappy places when he could stay here with her?

"I'm not surprised." Rapunzel replied. She had to play Elsa on to get this to work. If Elsa went along with this plan, everything could fall into place. Everything would be perfect.

"So, do you think he'd really accept?" Elsa asked, following Rapunzel around in the next store. This mall was huge, which meant that they would have lots of time together to discuss everything.

"Jackson? A job like that? By any yardstick that involved sanity, it'd be the greatest thing that ever happened to him. Present company excepted." Rapunzel smiled, leading Elsa on. She had to fall for this plan. She just had to!

They sat down at a dinner table together, ready to discuss their plan. "So this is what we do," Rapunzel started. "We make your dad a co-conspirator. Jackson does a favor for Walter. Walter's reorganizing his public relations and needs a brilliant guy that he's close to that he can completely trust."

Elsa nodded, already liking what Rapunzel was proposing. "Then you beg. 'Jackson, please do this for Daddy. It's only six months. It would mean so much to me.'" Rapunzel added. Elsa sighed, setting down her teacup.

"He'll see right through it." She responded. Jackson was a smart man. He could always tell when something wasn't right. Elsa let out another big sigh. Should she do it?

"Only if he wants to," Rapunzel quickly argued. She had to get Elsa on board with this. Rapunzel looked down at her salad, tossing some lettuce around. "At the end of six months, he will be happy, settled," Rapunzel looked up into Elsa's big blue eyes. "successful."

Elsa smiled, liking the idea. Rapunzel had got her to agree. There was no way this plan would fail this time.

~~~~~~~~~~