So this is a kind of companion piece to my other fic, Caroline and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. For those who haven't read that one, this can definitely stand alone, but there is a little piece half way through that would make a little more sense after reading that one.

This is slightly AU - Nick and Jess did not break up in S3 and are still together in what would be S4 (meaning to Kai or Ryan).

Thank you so much for all the lovely support and kind messages you all have left in the reviews of my other stories! I love reading through those. Each one makes my day so much better! They're like little rays of sunshine :)

Beginnings

January 15, 2015

For the life of him, Schmidt could not understand why Nick insisted on gathering everyone in the loft on Valentine's Day night. True, the year before, Schmidt had been fairly determined to go without hooking up on Valentine's Day – it really isn't fair to the other men, he reasoned then – but that was before the disaster that was his relationships with Cece and Elizabeth. Truthfully, it had been so long since he'd felt any kind of connection with a woman that he was (God forbid) a little desperate. Like, hanging out at a bar on Valentine's Day night desperate. God. He'd never forgive himself for this one.

But for some stupid unknowable reason, Miller had insisted that everyone be home by nine. Schmidt began pacing at 8:30. Cece, in all of her Indian glory, was there by 8:45. She seemed just as confused as he was by Nick's utterly ambiguous urging to be there as well. Winston came trotting through the front door at 9:02, completely ignoring Schmidt's outrage in favor of making himself a turkey sandwich in the kitchen.

"I should text Jess. Maybe she knows what's going on." Cece muttered, digging her phone out of her purse.

Winston shouted, or at least tried to shout, through a mouthful of bread and turkey. "Phnmum!" He screeched, dropping his sandwich on the counter (which sent crumbs everywhere, that animal) and vaulting over the back of the couch to slap Cece's phone out of her hand.

"Uh," she bent and fished her phone out from beneath the couch, raising her eyebrows dangerously at Winston. "What's your deal?"

Winston chewed furiously, eyes wide set and hands held up to stop Cece from texting. "Don't," he finally gasped. "Don't text Jess yet,"

"Why? Wait, do you know what's going on? Winston, so help me, God, tell me what's going on."

"They'll be here any minute, just wait until they get here!" He insisted. Schmidt sidled up behind him, hands on his hips, and tapped his foot.

"Winston Bishop, you know why Nick is keeping me from enjoying a magical night of emotional connections and forging romantic bonds with Los Angeles' finest?" Winston turned slowly, his facial expression a familiar mixture of bewilderment and disgust. "What is it? Why are we here?"

"Does it have something to do with Jess?" Cece asked.

"Oh my God, is Nick…is Nick…dying?"

"What? No -"

"Did he break up with Jess?"

"He didn't -"

"Oh my God, not again, the first time was so hard -"

"Is he cheating on her? I swear to God, I'll burn all those hobo flannels -"

"Guys -"

"- I went through the five stages of grief the first time -"

"- kind of monster cheats on his girlfriend and then dumps her for the other woman on Valentine's Day?"

"Guys -"

"- new suit for the funeral, and I'll have to speak in front of his whole family -"

"- straight up murder him -"

"Guys!"

Cece and Schmidt fell silent, both breathing heavily. Winston was half standing, holding a hand out in front of each of them. "Relax. Nick's not dying, he's not cheating on Jess, and he's definitely not dumping her on Valentine's Day!"

"What?" Nick's voice suddenly rang across the apartment. The trio turned immediately to find Nick and Jess framed in the open doorway. Nick's arm was slung tightly around Jess' shoulders, as hers was around his waist. They were both smiling and windswept. Jess' face was flushed and a little blotchy – if she would just borrow some of Schmidt's moisturizer, it wouldn't even be a problem, but she insisted she had her own (yeah, right) – the way it always was when she was pumped up about something. Her eyes were wide, wider than usual, and they glistened with some kind of manic excitement he'd only ever seen twice before. Once was when she discovered the red velvet cake flavor from Pillsbury, and the second was when she came up with her bike-o-rama fundraiser idea for her school. Truly terrifying memories. "What are you guys talking about?" Nick asked, snapping Schmidt out of his thoughts.

"These two idiots thought you were cheating on Jess," Winston muttered, gesturing to Cece and Schmidt. Nick furrowed his brow and frowned, and Schmidt noticed Nick's grip around Jess tightened slightly.

"Why would you think that?" Nick demanded.

"Well…uh…Cece?" Schmidt stepped to the side so that Nick and Jess could both see Cece, whose face was beet red with embarrassment.

"We were…we were just playing," she said, waving her hand playfully. Schmidt nodded quickly. "Just messing around, you know! The way we always do. Typical loft jokes," she tried to laugh, but her nerves made it sound something like a cow giving birth. Schmidt grimaced and avoided Nick's gaze.

"O…kay," Nick shook his head and glanced down at Jess, who was beaming at him, apparently not bothered by the exchange. His grin returned in full-force when he looked back up. "I asked you guys to meet us here before you all go out for the night because we wanted to tell you guys something."

"You're pregnant!" Cece shouted, pointing at Jess.

Jess' smile faltered. "What? No. What?" She looked back up at Nick, who shrugged. "I'm not pregnant," Jess shook her head firmly.

"Then what?"

Nick and Jess looked at each other, each smiling and giggling breathlessly. "You tell them," Jess said, nudging his side with her elbow.

"No, you," he insisted.

"Would one of you just tell us?" Schmidt demanded shrilly. Nick and Jess both jumped, the smiles wiped right off their faces, but Schmidt did not back down. If anything, he bristled. Honestly, the indecency of it all…

"Alright, fine. Jeez, take it easy, buddy," Nick muttered. With one last look at Jess, Nick took a deep breath and said, "We're engaged."

Schmidt and Cece immediately launched themselves at Nick and Jess. Schmidt reached them first, practically ripping Nick away from Jess to plant a kiss directly on Nick's mouth. He hardly felt the slap Nick landed on the side of his face or heard Nick's infuriated "Jar!" over his own heart soaring in his ears. He held his hands up, waited until Nick relaxed slightly, and pulled him into a huge hug. It only took five seconds of uncomfortable twitching before Nick returned the hug.

When Schmidt pulled away, Cece was examining Jess' ring through the tears in her eyes. Jess was crying, too, though it was muffled into Winston's shoulder. "Oh my God, oh my God, Nick!" Cece squealed. "This is gorgeous!"

Nick shoved both hands in his pockets and shrugged sheepishly. "It's been in my family for years," he muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from Jess' tear-stained face as she emerged from the crook of Winston's neck. "My aunt sent it to me the week after my pop's funeral."

Jess whirled around awkwardly (her hand was still in Cece's). "You've had this for over a year?" She whispered.

Nick smiled and nodded. "Been waiting for a while to show it to ya," he said gruffly.

Jess pulled her hand from Cece's, looped her arms around Nick's neck, and kissed him hard. He steadied her with his hands on her hips; Schmidt could see his thumbs running over her hipbones rhythmically. Schmidt swallowed hard and resisted the urge to glance back at Cece.

"Okay, alright, tell us the story!" Cece said when they did not immediately come up for air. Jess pulled away slightly, her forehead still resting against Nick's, and pressed one last chaste kiss on his lips before pulling away altogether.

"Well, I had a little help from Winston," Nick admitted.

"What?" Schmidt shouted, unable to hide his rage. "You asked Winston? Nick, I'm your best friend -"

"- and Winston's my oldest friend," Nick interrupted. They all gravitated toward the couch, Nick's hands on Jess' shoulders. When they sat, she was practically in his lap. They seemed utterly incapable of keeping their hands off each other, but for once, no one seemed to mind the way Nick's hand wandered across Jess' stomach or Jess' fingers disappeared in Nick's hair. "Plus, he…saw me open the letter from my aunt."

"Wouldn't let it go until he said I could help," Winston said smugly. Schmidt rolled his eyes.

"Okay, alright, tell us the story," Cece said.

"Well, uh…"

"Caroline was there," Jess said. Her voice was dazed, like she was drunk with happiness.

"What?" Cece, Schmidt, and Winston said in unison.

"Yeah, that's a long story -"

"We shared a cab to the restaurant," Jess said, tilting her head up so that she could make eye-contact with Nick.

"Wait, you did?" Nick asked incredulously. Jess nodded dreamily. "So you knew she was in the restaurant the whole time?" Jess nodded again. "And you didn't think to say anything?"

"She told me not to."

"Jess-!"

"Story!" Cece interrupted.

Nick glanced up from Jess, looking torn, before sighing and shaking his head. "Well, I guess Jess has a slightly different version, but, uh…okay, here's what happened."

Schmidt couldn't help but notice the fact that Cece was continuously glancing at him while Nick spoke. She smiled hesitantly when Schmidt held her gaze; something inside his chest seemed to lurch to life when he smiled back.

"…and I guess Caroline was actually there the entire time, but I didn't see her until…well…"

"He was already on one knee in the middle of his speech when she walked out with her boyfriend," Jess interrupted, unable to stop herself from laughing. Nick snorted and buried his face in her hair. "She practically ran him over."

They all laughed appreciatively. "One of the more significantly awkward moments of my life," Nick muttered when he finally emerged from Jess' curls. "But then she left and Jess said yes and we ran back here to tell you guys."

"Adorable," Cece declared, smiling warmly at the couple. "Jess, I'm so happy for you. Nick," Nick straightened and pulled Jess a little closer, as if she could shield him from whatever potentially negative thing Cece was about to say. "Nice job, considering you didn't even ask for my help."

Nick turtle-faced and nodded slowly. "That part went much better than I thought," he muttered to himself.

"Alright, everyone out," Jess commanded. No one moved. "I'm serious, get out. We just got engaged and you can bet everything in your bank accounts that we're gonna be having hot, nasty, we-just-got-engaged sex all over the loft in about ten minutes, so unless you wanna witness it, get out!"

"You heard the lady!" Nick called, unable to wipe the impish grin off his face. With a minimal amount of grumbling, Winston, Cece, and Schmidt pulled themselves off the couch and slouched through the front door. Apparently Nick followed them, for the moment Schmidt crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut and locked behind him.

"Wait, I forgot my keys!" Schmidt screamed, banging on the door.

"Too bad!" Jess' voice was muffled, but clearly gloating on the other side of the door. Schmidt deflated in defeat. "Happy Valentine's, Schmidt!"

"Hey," Cece was suddenly right next to him. She nudged him with her elbow and gestured toward the elevator, where Winston had just disappeared. "Wanna come hang out at my place? We can just watch movies or whatever. No pressure."

Schmidt smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, uh, movies. That sounds…that sounds great."

They walked slowly toward the elevator, Schmidt's hands firmly and respectfully buried in his pockets. "You sure you'll be okay without Los Angeles' finest?" She teased, though Schmidt definitely knew her well enough to know there was a genuine question behind her joking tone.

"Well, actually…" he gazed at her, really took her in, all of her caramel skin and full, luscious lips. He could remember so clearly what those lips felt like against his skin, and it took a considerable amount of will power to not full-out shiver at the memory. "I think I'll be with the finest Los Angeles has to offer tonight."

A lovely faint pink glow blossomed across Cece's face just as the elevator doors slid open. They didn't speak again for quite some time, but for the first time in his life, Schmidt was quite comfortable with the silence. Even seeing Nick's bare back pressed against the windows in the living room from down on the street wasn't enough to shake the peaceful good mood Cece offered him.

"I really am happy for them," Cece said when they were in her car. Schmidt hummed and nodded, head resting against the cool window. "But, at the same time…" he glanced over to see her nibbling on her bottom lip. "I'm a little jealous," she admitted, her voice suddenly a whisper.

"Why?"

"They're so happy together, and perfect for each other…what if I don't ever find someone like that? What if I never find my Nick?"

"First of all, you deserve much better than Nick. And, frankly, so does Jess, but that's a whole other conversation I'm not ready to have right now. Do you even know what it's like to walk past a pile of his laundry and have it growl at you?" Schmidt shook his head.

"You know what I mean," she said, though she was smiling at his joke. "What if I never find my soul mate?"

"Cece…" Schmidt trailed. Cece swallowed. "Look. You're gorgeous, and intelligent, and funny…not to mention breathtakingly beautiful," she laughed. "You're gonna have guys falling all over themselves for a chance to be with you. God knows I did for…well, for forever." The car rolled to a stop at a red light, allowing Cece to gaze at him across the console. "And I screwed up, and I regret it every single day. But you're gonna find a guy who loves you just as much as I do, who won't be a complete jackass about it, and you'll be happy. I promise."

"You always did know how to charm me," she murmured as the light turned green. She eased forward, eyes drifting back to the road.

"I hope one day you can forgive me," Schmidt said seriously. Her grip around the steering wheel tightened slightly, but otherwise she did not react. "I'll work every day for the rest of my life if that's what it takes to earn your forgiveness."

"Let's start small. Baby steps." She said after a few moments of silence. "We can start tonight."

"Yes. Yes, I'd…I'd love that," he said seriously, sitting on his hands to resist the urge to reach out and touch her smooth skin.

"Lots of beginnings happening tonight," Cece murmured to herself.

"I am happy for them, really," Schmidt said slowly. "But…I can't believe Nick is engaged before I am."

Cece laughed appreciatively. "I feel the same way about Jess. I mean, God love her, she's my best friend, but…I dunno, I always thought I'd be the first one to get married."

"Still. We'll probably be best man and maid of honor at the wedding."

"Yeah…you're right. I've never been maid of honor. And Jess totally deserves this. Nick makes her so happy,"

"And, to be fair, you technically did have a wedding before Jess, you just didn't get married at that wedding."

"That's true. I actually saw Shivrang on Facebook the other day. He seems really happy with Elaine."

"You're still friends with Shivrang?"

"Of course! It was a mutual thing!"

"Still! I dunno, it seems weird to be friends with your ex-fiancé!"

She shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I'm still friends with you, though, so who are we to say what's weird and what's not weird?"

"True."

Their light, joking banter continued for most of the night. Although it was not lost on Schmidt the way his heart skipped a beat or two when Cece fell asleep against him in the middle of their third movie. With as little movement as possible, he pulled the blanket folded over the back of her couch up and draped it over her body, freezing in place when she began to move. But she only snuggled closer to him, her hand drifting up over his chest to tangle in his undershirt, and Schmidt couldn't have wiped the grin from his face even if he wanted to.

"Goodnight Cece," he whispered. He pressed a kiss against the crown of her head, lingering long enough to breathe in the smell of her perfume. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"'Night, Schmidt," she whispered back, and his heart flew higher than it had in over a year.

Thanks so much for reading!

- Maddy