DISCLAIMER: I wrote this fic because I'm sick of the same "couples" plotlines being rehashed over and over, not just with Marvel characters (Jono and Paige, Rogue and Gambit, etc.) but with a majority of fictional characters today. This is just my little way of saying "get some new storylines or I'm getting out my barbed-wire baseball bat!" :) Characters that don't belong to Marvel belong to J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves, David E. Kelley, Saban Entertainment, Joss Whedon and Kevin Williamson. I'm not making any money from this fic and it's pointless to sue me anyway since I'm pretty much an empty pocket. Feedback is appreciated and encouraged, but flames, as always, will be ignored.

Paige and Jono walked through the long hallway, checking the numbers as they walked past each door.

"Ah don't know why Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Frost insisted that we come here," Paige said. "What exactly are we supposed t'do anyway?"

~ I don't know any more than you do, gel, ~ Jono replied. ~ Just that for some reason they want us to meet with this group of people. Maybe they're new students for the school? ~

Paiged sighed. "Ah just hope this doesn't take too long. Ah've got studyin' t'do."

They found the room they were looking for and went inside. "Come in," a very cheerful woman said. "We were just about to start."

~ Start what? ~

"Why, couples therapy, of course. Sean and Emma told me you would be joining our group today."

Jono and Paige looked around the room as eight pairs of eyes turned to look at the newcomers. The woman conducting the session pointed to two empty seats in a circle of folding chairs. "Everyone, this is Jonothon Starsmore and Paige Guthrie. They'll be joining our session today."

~ Like bloody hell we will! ~ Jono said, heading toward the door. Paige followed close behind. They were almost out the door when the woman called out to them.

"Ms. Frost and Mr. Cassidy told me to tell you that you're both grounded for six months if you don't stay through the session," she said. Paige sighed and returned to the circle, sitting in one of the empty seats.

Jono shrugged. Being grounded didn't sound like much of a threat at the moment. Besides, six months was a small price to pay for his escape.

"And Mr. Cassidy told me he intends to play his 'Lord of the Dance' CDs day and night for the first two weeks of your punishment."

Jono quickly retreated and took the remaining seat.

"Now," the woman said with a forced smile, "I think the first thing we should do is get to know each other --"

"Excuse me, ma'am," Paige interrupted, "but why exactly are we here? What's the point?"

A twenty-something man dressed in black spoke up. "The point," he said, obviously frustrated, "is that being an immortal trapped in a relationship that's going nowhere is nothing compared to this torture."

The teen-aged blonde sitting next to him took offense. "We're going nowhere? And whose fault is that, Angel?"

"Buffy, I didn't mean it like that --"

"It's always 'oh, poor me. I'm a vampire. I really love my girlfriend but if I make a move on her the undead repo man's gonna come for my soul --"

"Now, now," the woman said, "we should give our newcomers a chance to speak. Jono, Paige, why don't you tell us about your problem?"

~ My problem is that I'm sitting in a room full of bloody strangers and being forced to spill my guts! ~ Jono said, glaring.

"Seems t'me it's the only way Ah'll ever get you to talk about anything," Paige retorted.

~ What's that supposed to mean? ~

"It means that when Ah went back home to take care of mah sick mother you were gushing about how much you'd miss me, and then when Ah came back to school you acted like Ah had the plague or somethin'!"

The group leader stepped in. "I think we're getting to the root of the problem now," she said. "Jono, how do you feel about what Paige said?"

Jono narrowed his eyes at the woman. ~ How else does she expect me to act? Why would a girl like her want to be with a plonker like me? I'm a bloody monster! ~

"Your biggest problem is that the girl of your dreams *wants* to be with you?" a young man from the opposite side of the circle asked. "oh, yeah, you've got real problems."

"Why don't you share with us, Noel," the woman said.

"OK, yeah, I'll share," Noel replied. "First, Felicity's chasing Ben all over the place. Then she's after me. Then back to Ben. Then back to me. She can't make up her mind and I'm sick of it!"

"I'm just trying to find out who I am, Noel," a curly haired co-ed told him. "This is my first time away from home and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with my life --"

"Just as long as what you want to do doesn't involve stealing my boyfriend," a young brunette woman said, indicating the man sitting next to her.

"Julie, I would *never* try to steal Ben from you. I can't believe you would even think that --"

"Hey, wait a minute," Angel interrupted. "Don't I know you?" he asked Julie.

The brunette shook her head. "no, I don't think so . . ."

"If you ask me, this whole situation is preposterous," said a teen-age girl seated near the door. "The whole purpose of this assembly is to analyze the difficulties we've encountered in our various relationships, and in a matter of minutes we've managed to turn it into a shouting match where all we do is assign blame for our partners' individual shortcomings."

Everyone in the room fell silent for a moment. "Yes, I suppose that's a very good observation, Joey," the groupleader said. "Would anyone else like to comment?"

"Hey, didn't you used to be one of the Power Rangers?" Angel asked Julie.

She folded her arms and sulked. "Oh, shut up."

"Don't tell my boyfriend to shut up, you floozy!" Buffy yelled.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Julie taunted. Buffy pulled a wooden stake from inside her jacket and Angel wrestled it away from her.

"You know," the blond boy near the door said, "I think Joey had a valid point about blaming the wrong people. I'd like her to explain why she's angry at me."

"Because, Dawson, I just got my father back and you broke up my family again," Joey answered.

"And you're blaming me for that?" Dawson asked her. "Your father was using your family's restaurant as an elaborate front for a drug trafficking scheme, all the while pretending to be the model father for you and Bessie when in reality he was conducting the same activities that landed him in prison the first time."

"Well if you would come out of your little Steven Spielberg fantasy world for just a few minutes you would have seen that I was ecstatic to have my father back in my life, and that by convincing him to turn himself into the police you destroyed any opportunity for happiness I may have possessed, even if it *was* only fleeting."

Jono and Paige glanced at each other. ~ By any chance, are either of you related to a furry blue geneticist? ~ Jono asked.

Dawson and Joey looked at Jono, confused. Buffy took the opportunity to speak.

"Well, at least if you change *your* mind, your boyfriend's right across the creek," she said. I only have about two months before Angel leaves for his own series."

Angel turned to look at her. "Buffy, just because I got my own show doesn't mean we won't see each other any more," he said.

"Why don't you try telling that to Gambit and Rogue," she sulked. "They don't spend any time together now that he got his own book."

"You don't think the fact that she abandoned him in Antarctica had anything to do with that?" Angel asked her.

"Buffy, Angel, you know the rules," the group leader warned. "No talking about other group members when they're not here." Buffy and Angel quieted down and sat back in their chairs.

"So what's the deal with you two, anyway?" Ben asked Jono. "How come you got this great girl hanging over you and you keep pushing her away?"

Jono stood up. ~ You want to know why? ~ He unwrapped his bandages to reveal a core of psionic energy extending from his nose to his torso. ~ This is why. ~

No one seemed the least bit shocked at the massive energy field emanating from Jono's chest cavity.

Angel laughed. "That's all you've got? I can beat that anyday." The upper half of his face contorted as he assumed his demon form. "I've killed hundreds of people over the last two centuries, I've literally been to hell and back *and* I drink blood on a regular basis," he said with a smirk.

Buffy tugged at his arm. "Umm, honey, you're not supposed to be proud of that, remember?"

"Oh ... right." Angel returned to his original form as Jono rewrapped bandages around his lower face and chest.

"Wait a minute," Dawson said. "You feel like a monster because of your appearance, and because of this physical manifestation you isolate yourself from the world and the girl you love because you believe you're unworthy of her affection?" Dawson took out a pen and paper and started scribbling notes. "This would make such a great movie."

Paige looked at Joey. "Do you guys always psychoanalyze people like this?"

"Small town. Not much else to do." Paige nodded in agreement.

"But I still don't get it," Ben said. "You like her, she likes you -- what's the problem?"

"Maybe you should ask Felicity," Noel said bitterly.

"Hey, I don't care what happens between you and Felicity," Ben said defensively. "There's nothing going on between us 'cause I'm with Kimberly now ..."

"WHAT?!"

"Julie! I meant Julie!"

"I knew it." Angel sat back and grinned.

"You can't even remember her name?" Joey asked Ben.

"Hey, who are you to criticize me?" Ben yelled back.

Dawson butted in. "Joey didn't do anything! You're the one who's confusing his girlfriend with a cheap superhero rip-off."

"Excuse me?!" Buffy and Julie both screamed at Dawson.

The group members began shouting at each other all at once until the room had erupted into a total screaming match. Jono turned to Paige in the midst of the confusion.

~ I was thinkin', Sunshine, ~ Jono said, ~ we really don't have it too bad. We're definitely not as screwed up as the rest of the people here. ~

"Ah thought the same thing," Paige answered.

~ So do you think maybe we can work things out? ~

Paige smiled slightly. "Ah think we can give it another try."

The leader blew a whistle to silence the rest of the group.

"OK, people," she said, holding her head with a slight groan. "Our time's just about up for today. Paige, Jono, can we expect to see you two again next week?"

"Umm, actually, ma'am," Paige answered, "we've been talking and we think we'll be able to work things out just fine on our own."

"Wonderful!" the woman said, obviously pleased with their progress. "And in just one session, too! Of course, you two are welcome to come back any time ..."

Jono and Paige glanced at the sulking figures around the room.

~ Thanks, but I think we'll be just fine on our own, ~ Jono supplied quickly.

"Very well," the woman said. "As for the rest of you, we'll meet back here at the same time next week, and we'll have two new group members. They're attorneys with the law firm of Cage and Fish in Boston. I believe their names are Ally and Billy ..."

Paige and Jono didn't pay any attention to the rest of what the woman was saying. They just looked at each other and walked out of the room, hand-in-hand.