Nick ran his fingers through his wet hair as he let the warm water run down his back. He was all washed and clean and had been for ten minutes but still he stayed under the soothing stream of water hoping the steam would somehow clear his head as it had his sinuses. Abby's words had been rattling round in his head all day, the sound of them getting louder and louder with each minute that went by. He and Jess were stagnant, they were both scared to take a step forward, and Abby had made it all the more clear why, but it was impossible for them to go back. Too much had happened between them to get back the friendship they once had, Nick knew that now. Before they started dating they had the innocence of not knowing what could exist between them, how deep it could go. They could be close and talk how they wanted without question. They didn't have that now, they had fallen in love and it changed everything and they couldn't escape the truth that they had both tried to move on, and they had both failed.

Nick turned the shower handle harshly, shutting off the water abruptly and stepping out to reach for a softer, drier towel than he was used to. But he wasn't so soft and gentle with himself as he rubbed his wet hair roughly until it stood up in angry, fluffy spikes. He could feel the utter frustration pervading his whole body, making his body buzz with a nervous energy. He had been enjoying how much time he and Jess were spending together, he felt like the luckiest man in the world that he still got to be so close to her considering what they had been through. But he was so grateful that he had been wilfully blind to what it meant for them. Under the scrutiny of his eagle-eyed roommates he had always played it down, insisting they were just good friends but Nick knew as well as they did that he and Jess were so much more than that.

Had anything actually changed between them? He wanted to believe that it had, that he was stronger, they were stronger, that the painful lessons they had suffered had actually taught them something. But how could he be certain?

Nick wound a towel around his waist and stuck his head out of the bathroom door to make sure there was nobody in the hallway. When he was certain the coast was clear he made a dash for his room. Standing in front of the mirror he ran a hand over his stubble. In his distraction he had completely forgotten to shave but he decided that given that it was just a rehearsal dinner he could get away with it. His sighed the kind of sigh that made his shoulders rise and fall heavily under the weight of his dilemma. Dropping his towel he pulled on some clean underwear and socks and fixed his hair in the half-assed way that only he knew how. With a couple of sprays of deodorant he turned to eye up the freshly pressed shirt that was hanging on the closet door. He pulled his smart pants and belt out of his bag and threw them on the bed. He stared at them but he made no move to put them on. What were they doing? Was this a date? If this was just friendly support then why didn't she ask Schmidt or Winston, or Cece for that matter. No, he was being stupid, he was overreacting, he was Jess' friend and he would act like it. But before he knew it he was reaching for his jeans, t-shirt and sneakers and making a break for the bedroom door but it opened before he reached it.

Nick's mouth fell open as he looked at her. She had her hair swept to one side with a pale blue dress that brought out her eyes. Her shoulders were exposed and the dim light of the room bounced off her smooth skin. She looked beautiful. It wasn't until he saw confusion cloud her delicate features that he realised he needed to explain himself.

"You're not ready? You're running a little late." She forced out a mild chuckle as she spoke but the disappointment was evident. She knew what was coming.

"Yeah um..." Nick stumbled over his words. "Jess I don't think it's such a good idea that I go." He could feel his insides lurching as he spoke, his organs churning to try and draw the words back down his throat but it was too late.

"Oh." Her face fell and her eyes dropped to the floor.

"I just think...you know...your Dad probably won't want me there. Especially with you...like that."

"Like what exactly?" She was looking at him now and he could help but notice the distinct flicker of pain and confusion in her eyes. Nick immediately wanted to take back what he had said but the words just kept coming, they were beyond his control. He wanted to go with her , her wanted to be there for her but something was stopping him. "I just think we need to be careful we don't do anything stupid Jess."

"Stupid?" She paused as her eyes glistened in the light. "That's what you think this is?" Her voice was quiet and tinged with something that made him lurch toward her but she took a step backwards.

"No Jess that's not what I meant...I just meant..."

"You know what? I got it Nick. Just forget I asked ok. I have Abby so don't worry about it." Her words were light but the voice that uttered them was shaken and unsure. She avoided his gaze and started to turn away from him to leave the room. Lunging forward he grabbed her arm gently to stop her. He willed himself to take the words back and change his mind but he froze.

"Jess wait. Please...look that came out wrong, that's not what I meant to say to you."

"Look Nick I get it, let's just drop it ok." She pulled her arm away from his, softly enough to avoid taking the argument any further but aggressively enough to leave him in no doubt that she was upset.

"Jess" He appealed to her but it was too late.

She tucked her hair behind her ear nervously and tried to force a lame, weak smile. "I'll see ya." She disappeared out of the room closing the door on him and leaving him standing alone wondering what the hell he had just done.

Jess gazed out of the window of the cab, grateful that Abby was engrossed in a conversation with their cousin on her phone, she wasn't in the mood to talk just yet. She could feel stinging behind her eyes and a heavy feeling in her stomach but she swallowed repeatedly to keep herself from crying. She felt so foolish, like she had completely imagined something between them that wasn't really there. He had given her strength and support the night before and she hadn't realised how much she had needed it until it was right there in front of her. But he had let her down. She wasn't used to Nick letting her down, not like that. He had always been there when she needed him, even after their breakup when their relationship was at its lowest. Something had changed in the last 12 hours she had seen it in his eyes.

Jess wasn't being blasé about the fact that they had woken up together that morning, she knew it was a big deal. The truth was she had liked it, more than liked it. She had felt safe and peaceful and there had been a thrill to it she hadn't felt in a very long time. But apparently Nick didn't feel the same way, or if he did he was running scared which unsurprisingly felt just as bad to Jess. She found herself flipping through the events of the night before like a notebook in her mind, trying to decipher things she could have misunderstood or taken the wrong way but she couldn't find anything. The sorrow in her stomach was quickly burning into a simmering anger. He had been so sweet the night before, he had said all the right words and offered his help and then he bailed at the last minute. It was so unlike him.

Nick would grumble and complain if he didn't want to do something, but if it was for one of his friends he would always do it eventually, he would always come round in the end without fail. Always. This wasn't about Bob, Jess knew that, it was about her. Them. She knew just as well as Nick how confusing things could get between them, she had never underestimated that and had always made allowances for it, as Nick had for her. But she was having a hard time excusing him this time, she was too hurt. She was hurt that he had lied, that he had bailed, that he was running away but more than than anything she was simply disappointed that she didn't have his company because it spite of everything she still wanted him there.

She blinked as the street lights started to sting her eyes and turned her head into the car to find Abby looking at her having ended her phonecall some time ago.

"What?" Jess enquired with a confused look on her face.

"I've been talking to you for the last two minutes, did you hear a word I said?"

"Sorry I was just...daydreaming I guess." Jess responded, mildly petulantly,

Abby felt a pang of guilt as she saw the look on Jess' face, she couldn't help but feel responsible for Nick's absence. Jess hadn't said anything but she didn't have to, Abby knew Nick was supposed to be there and she couldn't shake the feeling that their exchange that morning was the reason he wasn't in the cab with them. She had never intended to drive Nick away, she was just looking out for her little sister. Abby liked Nick, she had liked him from the first moment she met him but Jess came first, she was family. Jess liked to consider herself the mature, responsible one, and in a lot of respects she was but Abby had her ways of looking out for Jess without her little sister knowing and getting unduly mad. She had done it since they were kids, it was her job as the big sister. But it wasn't just that. Her and Jess were as different as sisters could be. Abby had always been like her Dad which meant expressing her feelings wasn't her strong point, she had a tough exterior so they never had to be. But Jess wasn't like that, she wore her heart on her sleeve with everyone she met. It meant everyone could see her heart and how good it was but it also left it open to be bruised. Abby could deal with it, she could take as much as the world could throw at her but she didn't want Jess to have to, after all these years Jess deserved a break.

Abby had never doubted how much Nick loved Jess, she could only dream of finding that one day but she had seen fear in Nick's eyes and where there was fear there was hesitancy and she needed Nick to be certain. She needed them both to be certain.

"You're upset about Nick aren't you?" Abby asked with trepidation.

"What? No." Jess objected incredulously.

"Come on Jess you told me he was coming tonight and he's not here. Why not?"

Jess shrugged and turned her head back to the window but Abby wasn't about to let it drop. "Jess?"

"He just wasn't in the mood for it, he made plans with the guys. It's fine, I don't care, he doesn't owe me anything. I probably shouldn't have asked him anyway, I just made things weird."

"He should have come Jess, it's not your fault."

"Isn't it?"

There was a long pause as Abby braced herself. "No...it's mine."

"What do you mean? Did you say something to him?"

"Well...sorta." Jess shifted in her seat so she was facing Abby a little more and leaned in to listen intently. "It was nothing bad Jess, it was just..."

"What?"

"It was just some advice...about you guys."

"Oh Abby." Jess whined and rolled her eyes.

Abby raised her voice a little to talk over the loud groan escaping Jess' mouth. "Look I just told him to be careful, to make sure he was certain before you guys started anything again."

"Who said we were staring anything?"

"Oh come on Jess, this is me you're talking to. I know you. Not to mention the fact that I have eyes and I can see what's going on in front of me. Look I'm not saying it's a bad thing Jess I'm just saying be sure it's want you both want. I don't want to see you get hurt and if you lose Nick it will hurt you more than anything else I could imagine."

Jess softened her voice and her face and turned back to Abby earnestly. "Well...what did he say?" Jess looked almost embarrassed to ask the question.

"He didn't really saying anything."

Jess nodded and smiled weakly "I guess he doesn't have to say anything now does he? He's made himself clear."

"Thanks Mrs Day, that dinner was amazing." As the others scuttled upstairs to freshen up for their night out, Nick showed his gratitude to Joan as he placed his dish in the sink and rolled his sleeves up to begin washing up before she shooed him away and took over.

"Oh please Nick call me Joan, Mrs. Day makes me feel old."

"Sorry...Joan."

"That's better."

"Why don't you let me do that, you've been in the kitchen all evening. I feel like we're taking advantage or something."

"Don't be silly Nick you're a guest, plus I enjoy it. I like having people round here to look after."

He smiled fondly. "I guess that's where Jess gets in from huh." His heart sank as he mentioned her name but he tried not to show it to her mother - but Joan was no fool. She continued to wash up taking the occasional glance at Nick as he stood quietly a few feet away from her. She could tell by the way he was loitering that he wanted to talk about something. From what she could see in front of her and from the numerous conversations she'd had with Jess, she had come to know a little something about Nick. She knew that articulating how he felt was something he struggled with. Jess was keen to point out to Joan that he had opened up a lot when they were dating but it was clear to see that the events of the past year had closed him off again. She had promised Jess she wouldn't pry but she figured she could help Nick out, it didn't look he was going anywhere until she did, so she eased into it.

"You don't want to get ready for your big night out too?" Joan smiled.

Nick frowned and looked down at his attire before furrowing his brow at Joan. "I am ready."

"Oh...you look handsome." Joan offered unnecessarily through an overly wide grin. A few more moments past and still Nick leaned with his butt against the kitchen cabinet, folding his arms uncomfortably. "So how come you're here anyway Nick, Jess told me you were going with her tonight?" Once again she turned her attention away from the dirty dishes and directly to him, seeing his face collapse just a little at her words.

"Uh...yeah I was going to but..."

"But what?" Joan enquired, trying to sound casual when really she was dying to know what was going on between the two of them.

Nick racked his brain for a reason that would sound good, believable, acceptable, one that wouldn't make him sound like a complete asshole, but he had nothing. Coupled with the fact he couldn't bring himself to lie to Joan he decided to plump for honesty but maybe he would dilute it just a little bit. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes briefly. "But... I was an idiot, that's what."

"Oh?" Joan peeled off her marigolds and turned to Nick pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose exactly the way Jess did when she was being serious.

"I feel kind of weird talking to you about this." Nick spoke softly and honestly.

"You don't need to be worried Nick. What happens between you and Jess is your business, but if I can help then I'd like to. Jess cares about you so much, which means I care about you. If something is bothering you, you can tell me."

Nick swallowed a surprising swell of emotion in his throat, he had never expected Joan to think about him that way. He was always worried she would blame him for ruining things with Jess. "I don't know... it's just Jess and I have always had this connection. Even after everything that happened it didn't break. But lately we've been closer, like a lot closer and it has sort of started to feel like things might be happening again...maybe"

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No!" Nick objected as Joan barely got the words out. "It's just we haven't talked about it, any of it and I don't know how she feels. I can't do it again if there is a risk it won't work. I just can't do it again." Nick tried to smooth the worry lines from his forehead with his fingertips.

"Nick honey, there is always a risk. Life has no guarantees, certainly not when it come to relationships. Trust me, I know a thing or two about that."

Nick lowered his head in embarrassment. He had made the conversation all about him without considering what Joan could be going through at a time like this. He made up his mind to change the subject but Joan didn't give him the chance as she continued. "You're a grown man Nick and you know as well as I do that sometimes risks don't pay off and that's hard but sometimes that do and they can be the most amazing thing that'll ever happened to you. You've just got to decide one thing."

"What?"

"Is Jess worth the risk?"

As Jess checked her coat she instantly spotted her father through the glass doors wearing the biggest smile she had seen him wear in years. She felt a small grin creep across her face at the sight of him and it felt good. Maybe Nick had been right, maybe their happiness was all it would take to make her feel content and stop the longing for a fairytale ending that was never going to happen. Her chest tightened a little at the thought of him but she pushed it away. This was her father's evening and she wasn't going to ruin it with her melancholy. As Bob spotted her and Abby walking down the hallway, he bounded toward them as fast as his stocky frame would allow. His glee was infectious, making Jess and Abby exchange a quick giggle before he reached them, gathering them up in a double hug.

"There are my girls." He bellowed in their ears making them both screw up their faces and squint at the volume.

"Hey Dad." They spoke in unison.

As they pulled back Jess quickly surveyed the room and spotted Ashley smiling and showing off her ring, looking genuinely happy. She wished they had spent more time to get to know each other prior to the wedding but everything seemed to happen so fast, there wasn't nearly enough time. She had no reason to doubt Ashley though, not any more. Yeah she had a somewhat colourful past but she was just a young woman looking marry the man she had fallen in love with. Jess figured maybe her and Ashley had more in common than they first thought and anyone who made her Dad smile the way he did earned her respect and affection.

As the evening rolled on Jess made nice with all of Ashley's family and worked excruciatingly hard to avoid the unwanted attention of Ashley's over-amorous brother who seemed to be rather pleased with how she had developed since highschool. But, over zealous flirtations aside, the anticipation of the evening had been much, much worse than the actual event. In her head she had imagined the family from hell who would spend the whole evening secretly congratulating Ashley in a darkened corner for fooling her father and making him fall for some grand plan. Now that Jess realised how overactive and irrational her imagination had been she felt ridiculous.

After a while Jess decided to take a breather from the polite conversation and sat down to enjoy a glass of champagne where Bob found her after hours of mingling with familiar and unfamiliar faces. As he sat, Jess reached for her Dad's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Sooo how are you feeling? Are you excited? Nervous?" Jess spoke with muted glee.

"I feel great. Tomorrow can't come fast enough.

"I'm pleased Dad."

"You are honey?" Bob asked sincerely and hopefully.

"Of course. I'm glad you have someone again, I hate to think of you on your own and you look really happy. That makes me happy. Look Dad I'm sorry I wasn't so accepting of all this in the beginning."

"Jess we've talked about this honey, it's ok."

"No it's not. I need you to know that your happiness is all the matters to me, I see that now and I should have known it all along but I was selfish. It wasn't part of whatever crazy plan I had in mind and so I acted badly. I didn't give Ashley a fair shot and I should have. She's great Dad."

Bob smiled and glanced over at his finance before turning back to Jess after a few moments had passed. "Well Jess...maybe I could say the same thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Look Jess, on paper Abby is exactly like me and you are exactly like your mother, but you and I have a little more in common than you think. We're both passionate when it comes to the people in our lives and if things don't go perfectly or how we expect them to we dig our heels in and we don't always say the right things." Bob looked off into the distance like he was done talking but he wasn't, his face was pensive, a little sorrowful even. "It was exactly what I did with your friend Nick."

Jess' head snapped up at the sound of Nick's name and her eyes fixed to her father's. Bob had been stubborn about Nick and for the longest time he hadn't taken back what he said, in spite of how much Jess fell more and more in love with him. Jess had just about started to accept that her Dad would never approve of Nick when it seemed like she was suddenly on the verge of an apology.

"Jess, I knew you were going to react strongly to Ashley, but I guess it still hurt when you reacted as strongly as you did. Then I realised that I did it to you... with Nick. You were happy and I...well I spoiled things. You were right, I didn't know him and I'm sorry. You should have got this apology a long time ago Jess but you know me, I'm an old man and I'm stubborn." He nudged her playfully and smiled mischievously. "You get that from me too kid."

Jess laughed and rested her head on her Dad's shoulder. "Thanks Dad."

Nick was more than familiar with the sounds of a busy bar but tonight it was getting to him, the din was grinding harshly against his ears making him irritable. He took a hefty sip of his beer to numb himself a little to his surroundings but it didn't really work. Every now and again he would filter out the voice of one of his friends and contribute just enough words to the conversation to make it seem like he was paying attention. He wasn't in the mood, he wasn't sure why he had let his friends talk him into it. He should have been with Jess, failing that Joan's wise words back at the house were comforting him but a busy, noisy bar wasn't what he needed. The other guys weren't being particularly mindful that they had a wedding to go to the following day as he watched them throw back yet another tequila. The pile of lemon slices on the table was stacking up quite nicely. Nick had been sneaking his to the table of grateful college students behind him, so far he hadn't been caught.

He found himself wondering what Jess was doing and he checked his phone incessantly. Why, he wasn't sure, after all he should have been the one calling her to apologise and make things right. He didn't think it was in his nature to let Jess down, he had always done whatever it was she needed to make sure she was ok. But now she wasn't ok and it was his fault. How could he do that to her? How could he embarrass her like that and make her feel like she was a mistake. Jess was a lot of things but she would never ever be a mistake to him. He didn't regret waking up with her or almost kissing her, he didn't regret any of it, he was just scared. She probably was too and he had left her to deal with it all on her own. Nick closed his eyes in revulsion at his own behaviour. He could feel panic start to rise up from his toes giving him restless legs and causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat. He slammed his bottle down on the table finally drawing the attention of the other guys.

"Nicholas would you lighten up, you've been sitting there like a sour puss all night." Schmidt ordered with a mild slur to his voice.

"Yeah man you ok?" Winston asked with a little more concern and affection for his obviously troubled friend.

Nick didn't answer, instead stood up swiftly like he was ready to take flight any second. "Schmidt give me your jacket."

Schmidt squinted his eyes and reared his head back a little. "I most certainly will not. This is a $400 jacket Nick and there is no way to be certain whether or not you're wearing deodorant tonight."

"Schmidt!" Nick barked sternly but immediately softened when he saw the slight look of shock on his friend's face. "Look I'm sorry, can I please borrow your jacket, it's important."

Groaning, Schmidt stood and began to wriggle out of his jacket, handing it to Nick with confusion etched all over his face. Nick threw the jacket around his shoulders and straightened out his collar to smarten himself up. Tucking in his shirt he started to edge away from the table and turned to leave.

"Wait where are you going?" Cece called after him.

"I have somewhere I need to be."

Cece watched the back of his head disappear out the door and smiled.