“And how are we supposed to do that, exactly? Shane's all grrr now.”

“Cliare: "You know what? I need you right now."Shane:"Now?"Claire: "Right now."Shane: "Oh, that's so exactly what I was going to say." *dropping C. to the bed.*Claire: "Jinxies”

“I knew we’d wear them down,' Eve said. 'After all, we really are amazingly cool.' And now it was Eve’s turn for the high five with Shane. 'For a bunch of misfit geeks, slackers, and losers.''Which one are you?' Shane asked. She flipped him off. 'Oh, right. Loser. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Marriage is a big word for all guys,” Shane said. “You know that. It’s kind of an allergy. We get itchy and sweaty just trying to spell it, much less do it.”

“Shane looked…pale. Pale and shaken and—how predictable was this?—pissed.”

“Keys," she repeated, and slowly stepped back. "What do you mean, keys?""Car keys. As in, give them up. Now." Shane had that look -- hard, and no bullshit. "We don't have time for your drama, Monica. Nobody does.”

“How is he?""Who?""Your father."Of all the things Claire had expected, that wasn't it, and it took her a minute of honest puzzlement to try to work out why someone like Frank Collins would even care. She finally said,"He's doing okay. I talked to my mom yesterday; the doctors think they can fix his heart problem. He's feeling a lot better."Frank nodded. "Good. Family's important," he said. "Maybe too important, sometimes. Iknow how much I screwed it up with Shane. Can't blame the kid for hating me now." It was almost a . . . question? And if it was a question, what could Claire say?Yeah, he hates your guts. That probably wasn't what Frank was hoping to hear."Just take care of him," she said. "That's what you're supposed to do. Stop using him, and start protecting him. I know he thinks he doesn't need it, but sometimes he does. Sometimes we all do."Now Frank did look up, and Claire felt a blush building in her face as he stared at her like he was actually seeing her for a change. "He did okay," Shane's dad finally said. "Picking you.”