Epilogue

Several weeks later…

Jason sits and stares at the big envelope in his hand. He's afraid to open it.

"Well?" Tim asks impatiently from across the round table in what Jason's starting to think of as their corner of the coffee shop. "It's not going to bite you."

"You don't know that."

"Come on, Jason. Just open it already." Babs says and leans forward to rest her elbows on the table and rest her chin on top of her steepled hands.

"You've probably known for weeks what's in here," Jason accuses her.

The redhead grins, but doesn't say a word.

"Will you stop being such a damn drama queen already? I've got enough of those at school to deal with, I don't need it here too." Francesca pokes Jason hard in the side. "I wasn't anywhere near this bad when I got my SATs back."

"Says the girl who stole my phone because I have a data plan to check her test results," Jason retorts. She had too. Rather than waiting until lunchtime on the day her SAT scores would be posted online, Francesca had stolen Jason's phone the night before and used it to login in during her second period class to check them. According to her story, when she squealed loud enough to break through the monotonous drone of the teacher, she'd almost had it confiscated until she showed her teacher what she was looking at.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat, guapo. Don't think I won't."

"There's a word for you…pushy." But Jason takes a deep breath and opens the envelope before his nerves fail him and he shoves it at Tim. "You do it," he orders.

"Fine," Tim huffs dramatically as Jason crosses his arms on the table and hunches over to hide his face as Tim reads what he's convinced is bad news. He'd come out of that test feeling pretty good, but as the weeks passed, self-doubt crept in and took a firm root.

"Drama queen," Francesca repeats and he hears Barbara laugh.

"Always has been, even when he wore little green pixie boots."

"I still can't believe that outfit was real."

"If you ask nicely, Tim may share some pictures."

"I hate you both," Jason mumbles and both women laugh.

Tim finally decides to chime in. "Well, Jason, I guess what you've been saying is true." He pauses and Jason dares to peek up over his arms to glare balefully at the young man. Tim just grins like the devil he is before he continues. "You really are smarter than we give you credit for. You passed. Flying colors, with honors, the whole nine-yards." He tosses the papers at Jason who raises his head and scrambles for them.

"You're shitting me."

"Proof is right there."

It is. Jason reads over the letter and flips to the test scores. "Holy shit," he breathes.

"I hope you're going to splurge and get an actual certificate or two," Barbara comments. "It would be nice to give one to Alfred and let him frame it for his wall."

The wall where all the family's academic achievements hang in Alfred's personal study at the Manor. Jason remembers the first time he'd brought home an award for reading from his school. It had been carefully framed and hung with care under a picture of him, grinning cheekily at the camera. There hadn't been too many additions to the wall (he got too many detentions to be considered an honor student, despite his good grades), but each one was treated with just as much ceremony as the first.

I bet he never took them down. Not before, and not after.

"Yeah," Jason replies thickly, still somewhat lost in the memory. "I will."

"Good." Barbara nods firmly. "Now let's go." She unlocks her wheelchair and starts pushing herself away from the table.

Tim grins as he gets up and gestures for Francesca to do the same. "Want to come with?" he asks her.

Her eyes widen as she stands. "Sure. Where're we going?"

"We'll figure that out on the way. C'mon, Jason. Time to celebrate." He follows after Barbara.

Jason stares for a moment longer at the papers clenched in his hands. He'd done it. A surge of pride rushes through him and he grins up at the young woman he rescued what feels like forever ago now. "I couldn't have done this without you, you know," he says.

"I know," Francesca replies, her own grin wide. She plants a hand on the back of Jason's chair and leans down slowly, giving him plenty of time to pull away if he wants to, and brushes a light kiss over his lips. When he doesn't move, the young woman kisses him again, more firmly this time. Her lips are warm against his, pressing in and teasing until Jason gives in and responds. He'll give her credit; she knows how to kiss.

For a moment, he wishes that he was a normal guy, one that could sweep his favorite girl off her feet and give her everything she deserves. But that's part of what makes Francesca so special. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to work hard for it. She doesn't need a guy in her life to hand it to her.

"There," she says, sounding confident as she steps away, but there's a hint of pink to her caramel skin. "You're worth cheating over just this once."

"Thanks," Jason replies roughly as he stands and pulls her into a hug. It's the first time he's ever let himself get this close to her, ever initiated physical contact. "Just don't let me catch you doin' that again before you accomplish your dream."

Don't give it up. Not for me, not for anyone. Do it for you.

"Of course not," Francesca replies, her saucy grin in place as she grabs his hand to start dragging him towards the door of the coffee shop. "This girl's got a goal. And no one, no matter how hot and smart they are, is going to distract me from it."

"That's my girl."

AN: And that's all she wrote! Thanks for reading! :)