"This village is sweet," Regina commented as they made their way down the main road. Rosy's diner was on the outskirts of town, high up on the hill just before the forest got dark. You could see the bay from there, but the roads were steep down towards the water where the fishing boats lined the over-crowded marina. Jack smiled broadly at the compliment, rather proud of his home and glad that she liked it - even though he'd spent less and less time immersed in it as the year had rolled on. He'd always thought it was sweet, in a quiet, slow kind of way. Nothing there moved too quickly, except when there was a call for a sweet spot, in which case all the men of the town – and a small handful of the women – made a mad-dash for the boats.

"Probably not quite the speed you're used to."

"I wouldn't know," She sighed and Jack wanted to kick himself. Five minutes into the drive from Rosy's and he'd forgotten the whole reason why she was with him in the first place.

"Sorry. I didn't-" She shook her head, waving her hand with a smile.

"It's alright, I promise."

"Right."

Jack managed to find something for Regina to wear – a pair of old sweatpants that he'd barely ever worn and a slightly loved University of New England hoodie that draped over her hands because the sleeves were far too long.

"You studied at this school?" She questioned gesturing to the emblem on the hoodie as she pulled her sock-clad feet up onto the sofa and wrapped her arms around her knees. She tugged the sleeves of the hoodie over her hands, locking them tightly within the fabric to keep warm and he smirked at the image. She looked so much smaller than when he'd met her; tucked up in a ball on the sofa wearing his baggy clothes, her face cleaned of the make-up that had been starting to run. She looked fresh, less frightened and he could see by the color of her cheeks that she was no longer frozen to the bone.

"Yeah," He answered. "-for about a semester but then discovered study wasn't really for me."

"So what do you do instead?" She smiled her thanks as he handed her a cup of tea and he smiled at the way she made sure to grip the mug through the sleeves of the hoodie, using the fabric as a buffer for the heat.

"Swordfish." He answered as he dropped into the sofa beside her.

"Swordfish?" She raised her eyebrows as she blew steam from her tea. Jack tried not to look at her lips but he found himself licking his own at the sight, his mouth going just the slightest bit dry.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, it's great. I spend a few weeks at sea, it's grueling but then we come home and I get a few weeks off. And it's fantastic because we keep our own hours and we're like a family, you know?"

Regina just sighed as she took a sip of her tea.

"I'll show you the boat sometime, if you like."

"Yeah," She smiled, snuggling further down into the cushions with a contented expression. "That'd be lovely."

They sat in silence for a while; the fire crackled before them and Jack spent the time just watching her. Regina seemed to be fascinated with everything around her and he supposed, when you had no memories to hide in, everything around you became more interesting. She was like a small child trying to orient themselves with the world. She had no idea where she was, probably didn't know how certain things worked, wasn't sure where she'd come from; but she wanted to understand everything around her.

His home wasn't anything special. Dark-wood paneling with mainly recycled furniture; none of his chairs matched and any artwork that hung on the walls was some majestic crayon creation his nieces had insisted he frame. He had a stack of shelves behind the sofa that housed a broad array of blown-glass sculptures and he could see that they'd caught Regina's eye.

"These are beautiful," She reached over the back of the sofa, touching a blown-glass dolphin with her fingertips. It was in that moment Jack noticed the delicate emerald ring on her finger, twisted toward the palm of her hand as though she'd completely forgotten it was there. It made him wonder if she had someone waiting for her, back wherever she'd come from.

"I made them."

Regina turned to him suddenly, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open just slightly. "You made these?"

He nodded.

Regina turned back to the sculptures, studying them even closer. She set her tea on the small table beside them and sat up straighter, reaching up to a higher shelf where there was a small blown-glass apple. She turned to him, as if asking permission to pick it up. He just smiled and nodded his head, gesturing for her to take it. The apple was a deep red; he'd put great effort into creating a gentle swirl with the red and the clear glass, giving the apple depth and texture before adding the very fine green leaf to the top of it. It was about half the size of a regular apple and fit perfectly in the palms of her hands a she held it in her lap just staring at it.

"I think this is my favorite," She looked up at him through her lashes and he was suddenly struck by how lovely she was. He'd seen it all afternoon, but sitting with her, just talking to her quietly like this – with the light from the fire dancing across her face - starting to hope that the ring on her finger was just that – and that there was no other man attached to it. He started to fear that he'd fallen for her already, when neither of them knew who might be out there looking for her.

"You can keep it, if you like."

"Oh, no, I couldn't."

"I insist."

She smiled up at him, pressing the apple to her chest with the most earnest smile. "Thank you. It's so beautiful." He watched her trace her thumb over the glass, holding the small object in the palm of her hand, marveling at it.

Rather suddenly he had the overwhelming feeling that he wanted to kiss her, so instead, cleared his throat and clambered from the sofa. Regina blinked, watching him move as he crossed the room, running his fingers through his short, dark hair.

"Are you alright?"

Her gentle voice turned him back around and he forced a smile, so suddenly uncomfortable in his own home. "Yeah, fine, just tired; I'm sure you must be too." Regina punctuated his statement with a perfectly timed yawn, which caused him to laugh gently. "I suppose that answers that."

"Yeah." She agreed.

"Okay, well when I said I had a spare room, I really meant I have a sofa. But you can have my bed and I'll sleep out here."

"Oh, no." Regina set the glass apple beside her tea cup and stood up. "I couldn't take your bed, please, I've imposed enough."

"No no," He raised his hands. "I insist. You've been through a lot and the bed's a lot more comfy."

"But I'm smaller, I won't be as cramped as you will out here."

"Regina," He lowered his voice, ensuring it sounded soft and reassuring. "Please, take it. The sheets are clean; I promise there's no dirty laundry lying about."

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes wide and pleading before she finally relented with a small smile and a reluctant nod of the head. "Alright."

To Be Continued.