Chapter 29: A new and exciting chapter

"You still haven't given me an answer yet". It was the middle of the night. Nick and Jen lay in their bed which had become all too familiar to them during this latest stint undercover. Side by side, their shoulders and arms touching, hands entwined tightly where they rested under the covers. Both detectives had too much on their minds to get even a wink of sleep. It had been a long day.

Ben and Morgan hadn't protested in the slightest when it had been lights out a few hours earlier. Both had trudged to their rooms without a single complaint, sleep too obviously enveloping their beings for them to even try and hide it, so they didn't. Their time spent with Simon Joyner had proven exhausting as much as it had been plenty of fun for the siblings. And Nick was glad. Now that the children were in their rooms and fast asleep he and Jen finally had a chance to talk – in private. They now knew that SIS's surveillance had failed them. It wasn't even there to begin with. So much for 'monitoring our safety' thought Nick. They hadn't so much as monitored the weather forecast.

But fortunately, Nick and Jen decided they could beat SIS at their own game. They too had a plan to formulate but, conveniently, unlike their SIS counterparts, their plan wasn't faulty and, if all went smoothly, it was going to shorten their time undercover, not extend it. And the sooner this plan of theirs was in motion, the sooner the other chapters of his and Jen's lives could unfold. He was looking for an answer, just one answer in particular. And Nick Buchanan was hoping with all he had that it would be the answer he had been waiting a long time, indeed, to hear.

"I know". Jen knew she'd kept Nick waiting. And she really did feel bad about not being able to provide him with that all important answer when he'd first proposed to her. She'd known immediately what her answer would be, too. There was only one thing that had been holding her back from saying it to him right then and there. But it didn't matter because she was going to say it now. She couldn't keep it down for much longer – it needed to be said just as much as he had needed to hear it.

"Yes". As that one word had left her lips, Jen's face lit up. She couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled so widely. Not even at Nick, a person she found herself smiling at more often than not. But as wide as her grin had been, it was nothing compared to the one which had splattered all over the face of the man who had just been lying beside her, no longer holding just one hand but clasping two. Nick Buchanan had been so eagerly awaiting an answer, any answer at all and when he heard that particular reply, spoken in that voice he adored so much, he'd jumped up from where he lay on the bed and onto his knees. He'd taken both Jen's hands in his as she too had got on her knees, and they looked one another in the eyes. His - full of happiness, full of excitement and content. Hers had looked straight back - the smile, which had somehow spread even wider than ever, lighting up her eyes to display every ounce of joy overflowing inside her. Their noses now touching, the two detectives, struggling to contain their excitement, sealed the moment with a kiss – one they wouldn't forget even in a bed that wasn't really theirs.

Nick and Jen had started another chapter of their life together. But there were still many a journey they were yet to travel. So many chapters that were just blank pages, waiting to be written.