"Wait, turn here Jeff. I think Orchard Street is at the end of this one."

Jeff made a quick turn and drove down the street, indeed seeing Orchard Street at the end. He made a right and slowly drove as he looked for address 82. He slowed down to a stop as he pulled up to the address, seeing a large white house with a large oak tree in the front yard.

Jeff got out of his car and waited until Annie was out before locking it. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." She fell into step beside Jeff as they walked up to the Tanner house. "Just remember not to overreact or to assume anything beforehand."

"There son called you a gold digger and me a dirty old man and you're telling me not to overact."

"I know. But it might not have anything to do with them. He may have heard it from somewhere else and they'll be just as shocked as we were."

"You still give people the benefit of the doubt."

As Annie rang the doorbell Jeff ran his hand down her back and backside. "Jeff!" Annie shrieked as she practically jumped back.

"Just living up to my so called reputation." He said with a smirk.

"Well I hope you got it out of your system." She said as she gave her husband a playful smile.

Just then the front door opened, revealing a man and woman about Jeff's age, give or take a couple of years. "Hello, you must be Jeffrey and Anne Winger. I'm Doreen and this is my husband Kenneth."

"Pleasure." Kenneth said as he shook Jeff's hand. He smiled as he looked over at Annie, where Doreen pointedly cleared her throat after a few moments.

"Please come in." Doreen gestured to the living room as she and her husband walked over and sat down on one of the pristine white couches. Jeff and Annie hung their coats on the coat rack before sitting down on the opposite couch.

Annie glanced around the living room, taking in the white painted walls and shelved filled with various crystal ornaments. "You two have a lovely home."

"Thank you. Would you two like anything to drink? Sparkling cider, pomegranate juice?" Doreen asked.

"I could get you a beer Jeff. Or something stronger if you'd like." Kenneth said.

"I'm good. Thanks though." Jeff said.

"Yes Kenneth, I'm sure we'd like to do this without having to get liquored up beforehand." Doreen said with thinly veiled annoyance. "After all, this isn't exactly a social call. This is about an incident involving our children."

"Right. Well, we were wondering if you knew the specifics of the fight between Max and Sam?" Annie asked.

"Samuel."

"Sorry. Samuel."

"Not particularly. Samuel has been pretty mute on the entire incident." Doreen said with a sigh.

"Personally I think he's just embarrassed by the whole thing. Getting into a fight with a first grader. I mean, no offence to your son. But if that had been me at that age I would have been humiliated to have fought someone smaller and younger than me. Because no matter what you come out looking bad. If you lose people think you're a wuss. And if you win you're seen as a monster for beating up a smaller kid. My thought is, if you're going to get in a fight, be a man and do it with someone you can feel proud of winning against." Kenneth said with a smile.

Annie frowned as she took that in. "So you feel the mark of a man is being able to beat someone up?"

"I don't believe you should be a bully or anything like that. But I do think proving yourself in a fight is a tried and true test of manhood."

"You'll have to excuse my husband. He obviously shares a less enlightened view of childrearing then I do." Doreen said with a pointed look at her husband.

"Right, I forgot, my opinion doesn't count here, does it." Kenneth said sarcastically.

As Kenneth glared at his wife Annie and Jeff glanced at each other uncomfortably. After a few tense moments Annie loudly cleared her throat. "How many kids do you have?"

"Two." Doreen said. "There's our daughter Katelyn, who's eleven. And our son Samuel, who just turned nine. How many children do you have?"

"Just Max right now. Though we might have another so he can grow up with a sibling."

Doreen smiled pointedly before slapping her hands against her knees. "So, let's discuss how we should deal with the situation. Personally I think Max should come over here to apologize."

"I agree, I think that's a good idea." Annie said. "Both boys should get together and apologize to each other."

Doreen narrowed her eyes in confusion over Annie's statement. "I'm sorry, I'm a little confused. It seems like you're suggesting that my son should apologize to your son."

"Yes, that's exactly what I was saying."

"I just don't get what Samuel has to apologize for. Your son was the one who hit him."

"Well, it's not exactly like your son did nothing to provoke what happened." Jeff said, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"Jeff." Annie said. "What we mean is, Max didn't do what he did for no reason. He told us that Samuel said a few things about us, and that was what led to him hitting Samuel."

"Well, what exactly did my son say?" Doreen asked.

Annie sighed deeply before she continued. "He said that your son insinuated that I was only married to my husband for his money. And that Jeff was only married to me because I'm a little younger than he is."

"That's the polite way of phrasing it." Jeff said under his breath.

Doreen blinked rapidly before she smiled and shook her head. "Well, that doesn't sound like Samuel. You must have misunderstood him Anne."

"I asked Max what happened and that's what he told me."

"Well you know, little boys tend to exaggerate and make things up."

"Are you calling my son a liar?" Jeff said, not even trying to hide his anger over her accusation.

"I'm just pointing out that little boys aren't always truthful over matters. And I find it a bit surprising your reaction to someone bringing up the possibility that your son may not be entirely truthful, considering his father basically defends criminals for a living."

Annie's eyes widened as she looked at Doreen's smug face. "Don't you dare talk about my husband or son like that? Or you will be in a world of trouble." She said in a low dangerous voice.

"Ok, easy there." Kenneth held up his hands as his wife and the Wingers looked ready to tear into each other. "Let's calm down a bit everyone. Things are starting to get a little heated."

Doreen glared at Kenneth before taking a deep breath and putting on a smile. "Fine, yes. We should get back to the reason we're here. And that's to make sure Max apologizes to Samuel for what he did."

"You're right. Max should apologize. But, Samuel, needs to also apologize for what he said." Jeff said pointedly.

"As I said, we don't know if Samuel actually said what you say he said. Though I doubt it, since I can't see him saying anything about your, marriage."

Jeff smiled slightly as he heard the end of her statement, caching the shift in tone in her voice. "Really. So you had no preconceived opinions of us at all before today?"

"None at all." Doreen said stiffly.

"You had no opinion that you might have either told your son, or have said something he overheard."

"Nope."

Jeff chuckled as he looked over at Kenneth. "Is that true Kenneth?"

"I, I um, yes." Kenneth said, stumbling through his statement.

"Really? Because you seem to be faltering with your statement there."

"Don't sit there lawyering my husband. We're not on trial here."

Doreen breathed rapidly as Jeff grinned at her. "I'm not trying to lawyer you or whatever you want to call it. I just feel that based on your reactions there are discrepancies in your feelings about us."

"First of all, don't assume we have nothing better do then just sit around and talk about the Wingers. And second, it's none of your business if we do happen to say something about someone we know in the privacy of our own home. Not that we said anything."

"It is my business when it results in a fight between my son and yours."

"Exactly. That's what this is about. A fight your son started with mine. Not how we might feel about you two and your age dif-."

Doreen's voice caught in her throat as she realized her slip of her tongue. Annie stared at her as Jeff smiled grimly. "I guess that answers that question."

"No! No!" Doreen yelled. "I never said…" She sighed deeply before giving them the look of someone who was finally and reluctantly caught. "Ok, fine. I may have said something about the differences in your ages. But come on, you can't be shocked at that."

"Ok, Doreen." Annie said, letting her anger at the woman come out. "I don't see how it's any business of yours if there is an age difference between my husband or not. What gives you the right to immediately brand us pariahs just because of something we had no control over? And what's worse is you're passing your prejudices over to your children."

"Well you sound all high and mighty, Missy. I doubt I would invite you into my home if I thought you were, what was the word? Oh yes, pariahs. And you honestly can't expect that we're the only ones who have ever wondered about your, marriage. Or any reasons you two would decide to marry each other."

Jeff subtly took hold of Annie's hand, lacing his fingers with hers to keep her from jumping up and throttling the woman. Although he was also mad he knew that one of them had to remain calm. And just by looking at her eyes he knew Annie wasn't going to take Doreen's insults much longer. "And what exactly, may I ask, are the reasons you're insinuating."

"Well, Jeffrey, I can't help noticing that nice car you have out there. What is that, a Lexus? That must have cost a lot. And women love a man who's loaded. So I think you're finances speak for itself. It must be nice to know you're well taken care of Deary."

"You are asking for it!" Annie yelled. "Our financial situation is absolutely none of your business. And for the record, we BOTH make a good living at our careers."

"So you try to say it's none of our business, but can't help pointing out how much you make!"

"Ok, Doreen. I think we should all take a moment and try and calm down." Kenneth said.

"They were the ones who started this! I'm just calling them out on it!" Doreen yelled.

"That's real mature." Jeff said.

"You're one to talk about maturity. You're practically old enough to be that girl's teenaged father. But I guess for a man like you it's all about looks over substance."

"OH THAT IS-." Annie yelled as she started to stand up. Keeping his hand on hers Jeff pulled her back down to the couch as he looked into Doreen's eyes. While he was furious with the woman, he managed to let the rage into his voice without actually raising it. "If there was any truth to your assessment of us I would still be having meaningless one night stands with random bar babes. But instead I happened to meet the greatest woman anyone could ever hope to find. Yes, it goes without saying that she is incredibly gorgeous. But what made me fall in love with her was her intelligence, her compassion, and her strength. This is a woman who overcame more adversity before she was twenty then many people do in their entire life. And through it all she retained a strength of character and optimism that enables her to see the best in people and make them a better person. She is my equal and many times my superior, making me want to be better simply because she sees the best in me. I doubt, no, I KNOW I could never find a more worthy opponent and partner if I tried."

Annie couldn't help smiling, both at what Jeff had said and at the stunned looks on the Tanner's faces. She was snapped out of it when Jeff quickly stood up, almost jerking her up before she let go of his hand. "I think we're been in your presence enough for one lifetime. I just hope you're never arrested and have to go to court. Because if so I will personally make sure I'm prosecuting your case. And trust me when I say you DON'T want that." Without another word Jeff marched across the room and stormed out the door. Annie quickly grabbed their coats and ran after him.

"Jeff!"

As Jeff unlocked his car he threw his keys to Annie as he got into the passenger seat. Annie was a little surprised, but opened the driver's side door and got in. She didn't say a word as she started the car and drove off.

She looked at Jeff as she drove down the suburban streets. His jaw was clenched and he was gripping the dash board tightly. "I'm surprised I didn't hit her."

"I'm surprised you didn't yell. I almost tore into her."

"If I started yelling I wouldn't have stopped." He breathed deeply as he tried to calm down. "Where the hell does she get the right to say that stuff about you! About our son!"

"I know. She was terrible. I wanted to strangle her. Thinking Max is entirely to blame while her son is completely blameless." Annie groaned loudly, gripping the steering wheel as she fidgeted in her seat. "I feel bad for their kid."

"After all that you're worried about the boy who insulted us and got our son suspended."

"It's just, because of his parent's opinions he becoming a taunting bully. It's not fair that in the long run he'll have to pay because of that."

"He might not. I mean, we're both proof that you can overcome how you're parents are."

"Maybe." She smiled a little as she looked over at Jeff. "Thank you, for saying all that stuff about me. I just wish I had had time to tell them all the great stuff about you."

"And what exactly would you have said about me?" Jeff said with a smile.

Annie thought about it for a moment before she smiled back. "I would have told them that you're also intelligent and compassionate. That you're a fighter who's risen up from a less then desirable past."

"Are you just copying me because you can't think of something?"

"Shut up." She said with a laugh. "That in spite of being a smart ass you make me laugh and smile. And I'm continually amazed at how good of a father, and a husband, and a person you are. And how lucky I am to have ended up with such a man." She rolled her eyes as he raised his eyebrows while looking at her. "Ok, fine. And that you're exceedingly hansom. Happy?"

"Very."

"You know, I was hoping your vanity would have dialed down by the time you were in your 40's."

"Hey, it's not that bad. Remember the time Max threw up all over my best suit and I only cared that he was sick. I'm just saying, I complemented your appearance. I would hope you'd do the same for me."

"You are such a narcissus sometimes." She smiled at Jeff, feeling better then she had since they had pulled up to the Tanner house. She continued driving them home, hoping Max was still up so she could read him a story.