One Hundred Percent

A prose story by Kemical Reaxion. This story takes place shortly after the infamous "kiss" and Jane and Tom's ensuing break-up, from the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling."

Summary
After the events of "Dye! Dye! My Darling!" Jane finds a friend in the most unlikely of people -- Monique. But after confiding in her, Jane realizes Monique has a few secrets of her own.

Jane finds herself in a difficult situation and doesn't know who to turn to. She certainly can't talk to Daria, since she's still angry at her for kissing Tom, and her problem is not something she feels comfortable discussing with Trent. She feels very alone. When Trent drags her to a gig, Jane runs into Monique. Jane is distant and cold with her but is desperate for someone to talk to. After Monique shows genuine concern for her, Jane decides to confide in her. The two leave the bar and go to Monique's apartment to talk.

At first, Jane tells Monique about Tom and how their relationship ended after Daria kissed him. Jane is still bitter about the whole situation. Then Jane starts to get nervous as the conversation takes a different turn. She confides that she and Tom had "fooled around" while they were together and that while they tried to be careful, they may not have been 100% careful. Monique senses where she's going with this revelation, but Jane can't quite bring herself to say it. So, to ease the tension, Monique tells Jane a little story from her own past.

Monique admits that when she was in high school, she had a huge crush on the football star, Tommy. She was a nerdy kid at the time, and she knew that he was out of her league, but when he asked her out, she said yes. Things were great for awhile, or so she thought, until she found out that Tommy had just used her to win a bet with his friends. After they slept together and he had won the bet, he dumped her. After he broke up with her, she found out she was pregnant, and she decided to have an abortion. Jane is shocked by this revelation, and Monique admits that she had never told anyone about it before. Monique says that it was difficult to deal with because of the emotional scars it left on her afterwards. She was depressed. She started dressing and acting differently.

That's when she met Trent. They became friends and started a band together. They weren't dating yet, but he was there to support her when she needed it most. She was still acting kind of wild, though, so her parents decided they could no longer deal with her. They sent her away to live with her ex-marine uncle. This only made the problem worse. She started dating a guy named Brian, and she wound up pregnant again. This time, though, she decided she wanted to keep the baby. Brian was less than thrilled, and after Monique refused to terminate the pregnancy, he left her. Even though it ended up causing their break-up, she was happy with her decision to keep the baby and proud of herself for working up the courage to tell him about it.

When Monique's parents found out that she was pregnant, they forced her to stay out of Lawndale during the pregnancy, then after the baby was born she returned home and they raised the baby. They told everyone that the little girl was a foster child. Once Monique moved out of the house, she tried to get her daughter back, but her parents refused, and since Monique didn't have any money to fight it, she felt she had no recourse. She was still allowed to see her daughter regularly, as long as she pretended the little girl wasn't hers while they were in public.

Monique expresses to Jane how badly she wants to try and get her daughter back. She's been working two jobs, trying to earn enough money to try and win her back and also create a home that could support a child. Jane is absolutely appalled by the situation Monique is in. She also feels like the story Monique has shared with her has helped clear things up in her own mind. Monique has managed to put things in perspective for her, and Jane knows what she needs to do.

Jane leaves Monique's apartment. Later that evening, Monique receives a call from Helen Morgendorffer. Helen tells her that Jane told her all about her custody problems and, she being a lawyer, has decided to help her. Monique doesn't have the money to pay, but Helen assures her that they can work out some sort of agreement. Monique is ecstatic and agrees to meet with Helen the following day.

Meanwhile, Jane musters up the courage to tell Tom about the problem that has been plaguing her. Jane finally admits to Tom that she thinks she may be pregnant. Jane expresses that she doesn't want to have an abortion, and she is pleasantly surprised by how supportive Tom is of her decision.

Fast forward nine months into the future...

Trent is on the phone with Daria, telling her what a cute little girl she is. They also talk about Jane, who is just home from the hospital. Daria comes over to visit Jane, and finds her with a cast on her leg. Turns out, she was not pregnant after all; it was just a false alarm. She was in the hospital because she fell off a ladder trying to paint a ceiling mural. The "little girl" Trent mentioned earlier is, in fact, Monique's daughter Erica. After many sleepless nights, Helen managed to get her daughter returned to her where she belongs. Monique is thrilled, and she and Trent are closer than ever.