It was to no surprise that Jean got along well with Jack quickly. When he thought about it, Atticus realized that the two of them were kindred spirits. The first stop Jack made in Maycomb was to Maudie's house, where he jokingly professed his love for her as he did every time he returned home. Jean was the first to go onto the porch, her arms crossed as she told Jack he sounded like a damned fool. In the short time that the pair were together when Jack first arrived in Maycomb they exchanged sarcastic remarks, told their share of raunchy jokes, and quickly agreed that at eight o'clock that evening they would go to the dance hall in Abbottsville.

"I hope you don't mind if I use your car," Jack said as they departed Maudie's house, he was nearly grinning. "That girl is somethin', no wonder Zandra downright hates her."

"That's fine," Atticus said, though he couldn't help but to be nervous that something may happen that would cause Josiah to get angry with him. "Just be careful, I have a responsibility to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

Jack laughed as they entered the threshold of his home. "Trouble?" He asked, feigning shock. "With me? Atticus, you know I'm a livin' angel."

Atticus chuckled, though his nerves did not subside. He knew that this outing was going to be the subject of more gossip, and he hoped it did not find his way to Josiah. Despite the fact that Josiah called less now, each time they spoke on the phone, Josiah rattled off a list of rumors he heard about Jean. For the life of him, Atticus was not sure how these rumors found their way to Montgomery.

Despite his trepidation, Atticus thought that this would be good for Jean. While she did on occasion go to teas and other social gatherings around town, she wasn't truly friends with any of the women who were there. The only person who Jean seemed to truly open up to was Maudie. Jean talked to him, of course, but he couldn't help but to wonder if their friendship (if you could call it that) was formed merely because of his promise to her father to look after her. However, he couldn't help but to look forward to the evenings when they happened to leave at the same time after working late.

When Jack left at eight to get Jean, she was already waiting at the door. Atticus got a quick glimpse as he went to go to his office and was nearly shocked. She was wearing a dress – one that she must have borrowed from Maudie as she had only ever worn trousers since coming to Maycomb – and had curled her hair. It was not something that he would have expected her to do.

-o-o-o-

Jack did not return home until three in the morning. Atticus had planned on staying up until they got back, expecting to only be waiting until midnight or so, and found himself growing more and more nervous as the hours ticked on.

At one, he went to Maudie's. He knocked, and after a few moments passed with no answer, he assumed that he was overreacting and should go home. As he turned to leave, Maudie opened the door. When he got a look at her, her eyes were still glazed over with sleep and she was pulling a dressing gown around her. "What on earth is the matter?" She asked groggily.

"Did Jean come back yet?" He asked.

He could have sworn Maudie rolled her eyes. "Honey, I know you told her daddy that you'd watch after her, but she's a twenty-year old girl," she said. "She's been stuck in this hell hole where everyone's talkin' about her and starin' at her like she's some part of a freak show and she's workin' nonstop tryin' to teach Maycomb's wild youth, she should be allowed to have fun for once in her life."

"It's late." Was all he could think.

Maudie's head tilted back as she laughed. "Oh dear," she said, smiling at him. "If you think this is late, you would be appalled at the time William and I would get home when I was her age."

He smiled weakly at her. "You're not even thirty yet and you talk like you're an old maid," he teased.

"Well I feel like one," she retorted, the smile still on her face. He had known Maudie her entire life – she was the same age as Jack, and since her family's land neighbored Finch's Landing, the two spent their entire childhood together. Maudie had married her husband young, and he died nearly a year ago after a prolonged illness. Since then, she had taken in a number of temporary renters – Atticus assumed that this was to make the house feel less empty.

"I suppose I'm overreacting," he said. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

She patted his arm. "It's nothin'," she said as she retreated into the doorway. "Though I do find it funny that you're worried about Jean and not your brother."

"Jack may have to face the wrath of Alexandra, but he can handle that himself. I don't want an angry call from Josiah Graham in a few days' time." He responded.

Maudie shook her head. "What gems," she sighed. "You better get some sleep – give yourself some energy for the wedding festivities this weekend."

"I might actually start drinking coffee," he chuckled before leaving.

After getting back home, he got himself ready for bed and tried to force himself to sleep. However, he found himself wide awake, waiting to hear the car rolling into the carpark. He laid there for two hours, trying every trick in the book to get himself to fall asleep. Even when he finally heard the car approaching and Jack and Jean whispering their goodbyes to one another, Atticus could not feel himself grow tired. Even when he knew that Jack was back in the guestroom and Jean was presumably back at Maudie's, his mind was still racing, preventing him from sleep.

-o-o-o-

The weekend on Caroline's wedding, for lack of better words, was fine. Alexandra, of course, had planned activities for both the day before and the day of the wedding. On Saturday, members of the Finch family were to arrive at the Landing for an early dinner, which meant that Atticus, Jack, and Caroline spent the entire morning preparing the Landing for the event while Alexandra cooked. And of course, Sunday was the actual wedding, and Alexandra ensured that it would be an all-day affair.

Needless to say, Alexandra was not so happy with Jack the moment he and Atticus arrived at the Landing (nearly an hour later than they had promised, since they both overslept after having such a late night). "John Hale Finch," she said, her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. "I received a call from Stephanie Crawford just twenty minutes ago—"

"Lord Almighty," Jack said, rubbing his head. "Can you just lower your voice a bit?"

"I will not!" She exclaimed. "Stephanie told me that you took that Graham girl only God knows where last night and she didn't hear the car get back until three in the morning!" Alexandra's voice was shrill and cheeks flushed. "You know how important this weekend is and you dared to tarnish it!"

"I don't know," Caroline said, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you remember when he and that Benning girl went skinny dipping when they were sixteen?"

"Do any of you take anything seriously?" Alexandra exclaimed. "I don't want to hear another word about late night rendezvous' or skinny dipping again!"

The only time Atticus saw a semblance of a smile on Alexandra's face was when she was interacting with family or guests. When she was not surrounded by others, she could be seen giving her siblings – especially Jack – a menacing glare. The other three Finch siblings were unphased, however, because this behavior was typical of Alexandra. Even when there was no reason for it, Alexandra would get into moods where the mere presence of her siblings would set her on edge – it was as if she just could not handle the fact that they would never be able to live up to her outlandish expectations.

Despite the number of fits Alexandra had throughout the weekend, Caroline was happy. Honestly, Atticus was deeply relieved by this. Caroline was three years younger than Alexandra, and spent most of her life coming in second place to her older sister. Their father was an old-fashioned man who took pride in the Finch name, much like his oldest daughter, and it was no secret that Alexandra was his favorite child. All it would take was a look from Alexandra to set Caroline into a fit. However, on this weekend, no dirty look or snide remark from Alexandra could remove the smile from Caroline's face.

All in all, Caroline's wedding was fine. To another person, it was probably beautiful, but Atticus was never phased by weddings. As he had lived in Maycomb his entire life, he had been to the fair share of weddings of people in town. Even if he did not know them too well, Alexandra would remind him that it was his duty as a member of the Finch family to attend. Perhaps he wasn't too fond of weddings because usually he was stuck with Alexandra and her husband James. Now, Atticus didn't consider himself the most exciting person, but James was a stick in the mud. He hardly spoke and even when he was awake, he looked like he was asleep. Atticus knew Alexandra married him as a mere formality – they married as soon as she turned eighteen and produced a son Henry shortly after– and was not for love.

As he observed Caroline happily taking her vows, Atticus couldn't help but to wonder if Alexandra had ever been happy.

-o-o-o-

After Caroline and her husband left following the dinner Alexandra hosted at the Landing for the guests of the ceremony, signifying the end of the wedding festivities, Jack and Atticus were left standing in the kitchen. Alexandra was hunched over the sink, scrubbing at a pot. Jack and Atticus had collected all of the dishes from the dining room and were waiting for their next instruction.

"Maybe you should soak that thing," Jack said. What seemed to be a harmless suggestion to Atticus was the exact opposite to Alexandra. She slammed the sponge down into the sink and gave her younger brother a withering glare.

"You are lucky," she said slowly. "That you did not ruin this weekend."

Jack placed the dishes he was holding next to the sink. "You're overreactin', Zandra. This weekend was great, Caroline is happy, all is fine."

Alexandra's cheeks were bright red. "Yes, but you know how people talk," she said, before turning her gaze to Atticus. "You should have never let him go out with that girl."

Before Atticus could answer, Jack retorted: "I'm twenty-five years old, Zandra – Atticus isn't responsible for me."

"Yes, but he's supposedly responsible for that girl," Alexandra said, shaking her head. "So much good that is doin'. Not only is she feedin' children and buyin' them supplies, but I heard she was walking around the bad side of town, teachin' adults how to read!"

"She's not that girl," Atticus said calmly. "Her name is Jean. Zandra, I can't help but to notice that I'm hearin' most of these rumors for the first time from you."

Alexandra looked taken aback, as if her brother had slapped her in the face. Atticus could tell she was gritting her teeth. "I'm sick of my own brothers," she said, her voice shaking with anger. "Defending some stranger instead of their own sister."

"Zandra," Jack started. While Jack was quick to antagonize Alexandra, he was also the first to feel guilty when she confronted her siblings. "It's not like that, you just get so uptight—"

Jack stopped himself in his tracks as Alexandra's eyes grew wider. Atticus knew that his brother was truly trying to be helpful, but was not the best with words. To Alexandra, however, this was just another sarcastic remark. She took the pile of dishes that Atticus was still carrying. "You two can leave," she said sharply. "You haven't been much of a help this weekend, anyway."

Jacks face flushed. Roughly, he kissed his sister on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get back to Nashville." Atticus gave her a stiff hug, which she did not return.

-o-o-o-

"I'm sorry," Jack said a couple of minutes after they were on the road back to town. "I got her in this big fit, I didn't even think about it."

"To be honest," Atticus responded. "She's been like this for quite some time."

"Since that girl moved here?" Jacked asked, rolling his eyes.

"I suppose you could say that."

Jack checked his watch. "I'm gonna call for her when we get back." He said. "That girl is somethin'."

"I assume you had a good time with her?"

"That girl can dance," Jack laughed. "Never would'va thought of it. But she shut that dance hall down."

"That's good." Atticus said, unsure of what exactly to say.

"It seems like the only people in town she likes are you and Maudie." Jack said. "Actually, it doesn't seem that – she flat out told me the only people she likes in Maycomb are you and Maudie. Besides the children, she's fond of those children she teaches."

"The rest of Maycomb hasn't been to kind to her." Atticus responded.

Jack chuckled to himself. "She told me to tell her your deepest secret," he said. "I told her you had a double life out west somewhere – a wife, a coupla kids and a whole different career and you actually went to see them when you said you were in Montgomery – she laughed in my face and told me you already told her about your three secret sons up North."