Hello, I really have to apologise for not updating, life, being life, is chaotic at the moment, and to tell the truth, this chapter gave me a lot of troubles. I re wrote it a couple times actually. I'm still not totally happy with it, however, I have the one after it almost finished and it should be up by Monday (fingers crossed there). Also this isn't going to be compatible with the new book, however awesome the new book is. So again, sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! New chapter soon.

Chapter 7:

The rain continued pouring down as I started the fire. I pulled out the cardboard panel we'd been using to block the flume from the weather (and pixies) releasing the dust that had collected into the air. I placed the wood carefully, just like I remembered from camping, and crumpled this weeks' news paper into the fireplace.

I lit the paper and the dry old wood caught immediately as it spread from the paper, and I lowered my lucky lighter. I used the poker to get more oxygen to the flames and they flared even higher. Satisfied with my handiwork I got up, and glanced around my familiar living room, now bathed in the golden light.

I frowned, wondering why we'd never used the fireplace before. It was kind of cosy. Thunder crashed outside and I glanced towards the door, wondering what was taking Jenks so long. I lit a few more candles and then turned back to stoke the fire again.

"Tinks panties, that's gotta be one of the sexiest things I've ever seen." Jenks joked walking into the room. I turned around and cocked an eyebrow at him, cocking my hip too for good measure. His curls dripped with rain and he used his shirt to wipe the water off his face. He grinned at me goofily and headed straight for the fire.

"It's not the breaker. Power's out everywhere," He stated glancing at me. "as far as I know. Getting the box open at 4 inches was quite the feat, I've only been in one of those once or twice." He admitted shrugging.

I nodded, and he motioned towards the fire. "Impressive." He stated. I rolled my eyes.

"Impressive yes, sexy? Probably not. You didn't think I could build a fire?" I asked frowning.

"I hadn't really thought about it to be honest Rache." He decided, glancing at the couch before deciding to sit on the floor in front of the fire. We made eye contact and I couldn't seem to break it. He looked beautiful sitting in the gold light, his green eyes shining and his hair still wet.

I bit my lip, and tore my eyes from his. "The spaghetti never finished cooking, so we're out for dinner." I went for the cupboard and glanced around before smirking and grabbing some spoons.

I tossed him the pudding cup and he caught it without even glancing at it. He looked down and then a grin started to spread on his face. "Butterscotch." He stated grinning.

"That's the only flavour we have, Ivy's been buying it since Mackinaw. " Jenks laughed and I grinned before walking over to hand him a spoon.

"Think she's trying to prove a point?" He asked wiggling his eyebrows as I settled myself beside him.

"Oh I'm sure of it." I agreed. He grinned at me. Lightning flashed through the window and both of us turned just in time to watch the fork disappear. The rain doubled and it tapped against the roof and the window harder then I'd heard it for a long time. The thunder went off next, rolling across the sky like an angry giant, deafeningly loud. I couldn't help but grin out the window. I love this kind of weather; when the earth makes it known that it can still kick all of our butts. It reminds me that no one can control everything, and as stupid as that sounds, it's a comforting thought, especially for someone like me.

I glanced at Jenks and he just shrugged, and settled further so that he was lying on his stomach. Rex padded back into the room and b-lined to Jenks. He reached up and absentmindedly ran his long fingers through her fur. I glared at the spoiled cat.

"She's not that bad Rache." Jenks said without even looking up. I shook my head.

"You'd think that after this long she'd realize I'm not going to go back all furry." I stated indignantly. The cat plopped herself onto the floor in an attempt to regain Jenks' attention, only to be rewarded with a scratch under her chin. Her purring echoed off the quiet walls along with the sound of rain, and the occasional snap of the fire.

Jenks continued the scratch as he looked up at me. "You never know Rache, I'm back like this again." He motioned toward himself with his free hand.

I frowned, "Regretting it now?" I asked quietly. He frowned, the cat rolled over and he started on the other side of her face.

"Oh crap no." He swore, then shook his head and shrugged, glancing at me sideways from over the cat. "Maybe a little." He admitted. My heart skipped a beat and he must have seen my expression because, he ran a hand through his damp curls and grinned ruefully up at me. "Damn it Rache." He cursed quietly, "I didn't really expect to… recover?" he shrugged.

He poked the cat in the stomach and she shot to her feet. "I thought for sure I'd just be around for a while, to help out and that'd be it." He decided shrugging. "I never thought I'd be able to move on?" He tried.

When I frowned at him he shook his head. "I miss her, hell Rachel; don't get me wrong, I'd give everything to get her back. The truth is most pixies don't live long after their mate dies, and I thought I'd be…"

"You thought you'd be gone by now." I finished for him, my heart breaking.

He nodded slowly, his eyes sad. "I didn't count on feeling this way." He shrugged. "Fairy farts Rache, this might have been a mistake, Mattie's been dead only a few months and already I'm thinking about the next time I'm going to do something stupid." He stated.

I propped myself up in the floor with my elbow. "What do you mean something stupid?" I asked.

The wind whipped at the church and Jenks leaned forward. "Something like this." He whispered, scaring me when he wrapped his arms around my still wet body and touched his soft lips gently to my own. I almost melted into the heat radiating off of his body, when I realized what was happening again. When he felt me stiffen he pulled away, his eyes searching mine.

"This is so wrong. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't have even brought it up. I love my wife. I-" he looked down for a moment, looking torn, his hands slid back down to the hardwood underneath us.

"You're my best friend Rache, you and Ivy, and I'm going to mess it up because I can't damn well keep it in my pants. What kind of mate am I?" He looked defeated as he pulled himself up to a sitting position, his elbows propped up on his knees as his gold hair fell to cover his face.

I didn't answer, the wind taking it up another notch in strength, the fire flickered, reflecting gold on his tanned skin. Outside the sky flashed for the umpteenth time and I shook my head slowly before reaching out and grabbing his shoulder.

"Hey." I said quietly. "Don't freaking say that." He looked up at me, his bright green orbs full of remorse as searched my own eyes.

"Jenks you're the most loyal person I know." I stated, at a loss as to what else I should say. Even as I sat there my eyes wandered to his abs and then up to his eyes. "You went to freaking the Ever-After just to make sure I'd be ok. Hell Jenks, you've saved my ass more times then I can count, big or small and that's just me." I stated.

"Your kids are amazing, Ivy laughs when you're around, and Matalina wouldn't have lived as long without you. No one could replace you Jenks. You're too many things to too many people. Even if you think you're just a pixy. Don't think people will forget it."

I sat up to face him. "I don't know what I'd do without you, and selfish or not, I'm glad you're still here. I would just enjoy the time I had." I said quietly. He cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy and I smiled, I couldn't help but wrap my hands around him and press my lips to his again. Nerve endings on fire as I comprehended how close we could be now that he was big. A small smile pulled on my lips.

This time the kiss lasted longer and he pulled me into him. Leaving my thoughts behind, I focused on the task at hand. He tasted like honeydew and his warmth blanketed me more then the heat from the fire. When I finally pulled away he looked stunned and I smiled a bit "If it's any consolation, I couldn't wait for you to do something stupid either."

He chuckled, the sound coming from deep in his throat. "Fairy turds Rache, you could have let me know a little sooner." He stated, running a light finger down my jaw line, a small smile graced his lips, "Ivy's really going to kick our asses now." He stated matter-of-factly.

I let a soft sigh escape my chest and he grinned at me this time, "Is that guilt I smell?" He asked. I smacked his arm.

"Shut up Jenks." I stated crossing my arms, he grinned at me goofily, and I got up to find the battery powered radio in my bedroom, turning it on as I entered the living room again.

Reggae blared out of the tiny speakers and I smiled. 'Is this Love?' by Bob Marley always seemed to have that effect on me. I glanced up at Jenks to see if he wanted me to keep it tuned to that station but he had gone pale. Then a giant grin spread across his face.

"Holy crap." He stated seriously, as he pulled himself up to sit cross legged on the soft wood floors. "That's gotta be a good sign." He stated more to himself then me apparently, because he ran a hand through his thick curls.

"This was the song that we- Mattie and I…" He grinned at me and I nodded.

"I get the picture." I stated smiling at him. He sent me a cheeky smile before standing up.

"That was a long time ago Rache." He stated walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist. I sighed, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"This is so weird." I couldn't help but mumble. I felt him grin just as the sound of pixy wings echoed against the honey coloured walls.

"Dad Ceri's on her way over." The sound of wings evened out as the child hovered. Jenks glanced up and I turned around, Jack was a little wet and he winked at me before moving towards the fire.

"Nice fire Miss Morgan." He stated crossing his arms and smiling at me. I snorted, and glanced at Jenks.

"Are all male pixies this impressed with a female lunker building a fire, or just me?" I asked raising both eyebrows and adopting Jenks' term.

Both pixies glanced at each other and laughed, I crossed my arms and mock-glared, "mature guys," I stated.

The knock on the door distracted me from what else I was going to say, and probably at the right time, I mused as I jogged to the front door and swung it open. The very pregnant elf on the other side sent me a weak smile as I hurried her inside.

"Hey Ceri, c'mon in, I'll grab you a towel." I stated relenting to her brief hug before fetching her a towel and beckoning her further into the house, and towards the fire. Her light features suited the light of the glowing fire and I pulled a kitchen chair over so she could sit comfortably with her bump.

"You didn't have to come down so fast." I commented, "I would have understood if you had waited for the rain to stop." I stated.

The small woman shook her head, dripping hair splaying the ground with drops of rain water. "It was my pleasure Rachel," she stated seriously. "I'd been meaning to come over anyways, Master Pixy left in such a hurry I forgot to give him some information." She stated, glancing pointedly at Jenks.

Jenks had migrated to the fireplace to put some more fire wood on my fire. The dry wood crackled as it hit the heat, and it made me feel cozy. Jenks turned around and crossed his ankles, while leaning on the hearth. A yellow eyebrow was lost under his thick curls. Thunder clapped again and Jack touched down on my shoulder, trailing a light trail of dark green dust. His wings fanned my face and I enjoyed the breeze for a moment.

"What do you mean Ceri?" Jenks asked finally. I shifted from foot to foot, and before the woman could answer I butted in.

"Do you want some tea Ceri, we don't have power obviously, but I could magic some water for you." She spared a bare smile and glance at me before nodding and turning back to Jenks. I made my way out of the room.

Jack stayed on my shoulder as I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a mug, and the tea Ceri had brought over specifically for her visits. Neither Ivy or I touched the stuff, that vaguely resembled and tasted like hot grass water.

"So Jack." I started, commentary making me feel less uncomfortable as I lit a couple candles. "How's everyone getting along?" I asked cautiously. He lifted gently off my shoulder, making me feel nostalgic as he lit in the air in front of me, his light green gardening clothing glowing gold for a second like a floating candle.

"What do you mean?" he asked finally. I sent him a small smile and motioned toward the living room.

"Without your dad." I elaborated. His shoulder rose and fell, and I felt a small smile tug onto my lips.

"Seasons change Miss Morgan." He stated cryptically, then he snorted, "I sound like Mom," he stated laughing, gold dust fell from him and I concentrated on making the water boil. A nifty new skill if I ever knew one. "We're doing just fine Miss Morgan, most of us thought it was a great idea for dad to go big, if that's what you mean," he continued as he frowned at the water I was trying to boil.

"It was Jih's idea actually." He stated after a moment. He landed on the counter just as the bowl mug started to steam and walked over to canister of sugar, to sit on and looked thoughtful.

"Jih's?" I asked, relaxing as bubbles formed and relenting on the magic. He nodded, his wings twitching.

"Yeah. He wasn't going to last much longer with us," he decided, when I frowned he elaborated, "she didn't want him to feel alone. We're all old enough to find mates and gardens of our own. Without us AND mom here there wasn't much here for him to protect," he explained, his wings turning a calm blue.

He raised a shoulder at me before flying up to hand me the tea strainer thingy. "He can protect you and Miss Tamwood now, we all owe you for giving us a home. We don't live very long without something to protect Miss Morgan," he warned me, waving a finger.

Uncomfortable with the subject, I took a deep breath and smiled at Jack. The rain was still pouring down, as I smoothed my frizz with a light hand. Hefting the tea, I was just about to head back into the living room when I heard Jenks give an uncharacteristic cry of surprise and the sound of ripping fabric echoed off the quiet walls. Worried I jogged into the living room, ignoring the sloshing tea.

I had to do a double take when I saw what was in front of me. Jenks was peeling his ripped shirt off of his giant people sized wings… Wait, what?

His wide eyes flashed from his wings to my face and I took a step back. "Holy crap," I muttered. I glanced at Ceri who looked darn proud of herself, standing just to the side of the fire with her arms crossed across her chest, then back to Jenks "Holy crap," I reiterated. She smirked and walked over to take her tea from my hand, hell, I was too distracted to even offer her honey.

My eyes went up to his wings, they were gorgeous. They looked like dragon fly wings but the ends were pointed. They had multi faceted chambers that were separated by small veins that changed the tint of his wings according to his heart beat. The wings themselves looked like hardened sugar and twitched every so often, from what I assumed to be Jenks' surprise.

"This is really great Ceri!" He exclaimed running a smooth hand over one wing with a look that suggested he missed them more then he let on. His even, white smile flashed with what I could only translate as pride as he flicked them.

"How did you do this?" I asked turning towards Ceri, and finding I couldn't look at her for too long, shock bringing my eyes back to Jenks.

"It's an easy spell, basically his wings now have a permanent locker in the Everafter." Ceri stated shrugging, she was sitting, and I didn't blame her, her bump was getting quite large.

"I put the spell in a simple wooden ring so that he can keep it close, and remove his wings when necessary." She continued.

Jenks held up his thumb and a simple wooden ring surrounded it. I smiled a bit, "Like the ring my dad gave me to hide my freckles." I put together. Ceri frowned, probably at the vast amount of skill needed to get rid of freckles compared to growing and making pixy wings easily accessible, but eventually nodded.

"Err that's the idea Rachel," she agreed, by the look on her face I could tell she wasn't happy about the comparison though. Jenks sent me a smirk that told me he'd picked up on that too, I frowned at him and he raised a shoulder and let it drop before opening his big mouth.

"So Rache, what do you think?" He asked turning around.

"I think Ceri is a mind reader." I stated crossing my arms. Ceri just nodded and Jenks gave me a questioning glance that I waved off. A small grin crossed his face and I pulled a hand through my frizz and forced myself to look away.

Ceri sipped her tea and looked thoughtful, "there's, something else." She stated finally, her expression shifting from amused to thoughtful. "I never did tell you how long you were going to live," she continued.

Jenks frowned deeply, I watched him take a deep breath before turning toward Ceri for his sentence. My heart decided now was the time to pound so hard that I could barely hear anything but the quick steady pace of my heartbeat.

"How long do I have Ceri?" He asked finally, his voice was barely above a whisper, and it complimented the sound of the pouring rain, had I not been trying to listen carefully I probably wouldn't have even caught the difference. His deep soulful green eyes, glimmered with hesitation and maybe even a little bit of worry.

Ceri shook her head and pulled a light blonde curl from her eyes, tucking the hair neatly behind her ear before answering, her pale cheeks reddening just a shade.

"Well," she looked down, before forcing herself to look up again, shifting her weight "the changes we had to make to support your body for an extended period of time, and to protect you from the various diseases pixies are susceptible to brought up your life expectancy pretty substantially."

I watched Jenk's sharp jaw work and his wings twitch. "You should have around the same life expectancy of an average witch or elf, if you like. Around 150 years."

Jenks choked, then blanched, "One-one hundred and fifty years…" He stuttered, he ran both hands through his thick curls, "H-holy crap." He paced the living room, bathed in the golden light of the fire. His wings reflected a multitude of colours that danced through the various shadows in the room.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment as the information settled in my brain. He was going to live as long as I was. I would never have to worry about what would happen if I lost him. Relief flowed through me like liquid. He was going to be ok.

I glanced up at him, he'd stopped moving, the rain pelted down on the roof, and thunder sounded even closer overhead. "Oh Mattie, what have I done? Tinks contractual hell, what did I do?" the whites of his eyes shone in the fire's glow, he glanced out the window and then back to us.

"I-I have to go, I'm gonna go," he opened the large window and flew out into the storm. Shocked my hand went up to my mouth, and I waited for Ceri to move before doing anything.

Ceri took a step backwards, "Is he going to be alright?" she asked quietly.

I shrugged, "I honestly don't know Ceri." I almost whispered.

I have the next chapter just about finished, I'll post it in a couple of days. Reviews would be excellent :D