A/N: New chapter, woo! Hope you guys enjoy and it doesn't feel too weird reading about Christmas a month after the fact, lol.

ihavedifferentpersonalities, ha, the chapter ends there because I'm a jerk and I don't know how Jack & co put up with me. ForeverACharmedOne, Thank you! I'm looking forward to working a little more with Thalia and Arachne. As far as Mel and Pitch go, haha, I love how terrible they are for each other. But yeah, Pitch, like everyone, tends to get angry with Melpomene over her motives. They're such a mess. And I'm glad you liked Jack and Rowan's conversation. I was like "This is the most awkward thing ever omg" while writing it but I want to at least try to be realistic, so. And yeah, I'm borrowing from my art school AU for the cover story for sure, lol. The amount I want to write that AU but it has no plot at all. Giant sigh. Sky65, Thank you for your review! FantasyInfinity, glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, sometimes Mel is good at prompting sympathy and contempt in readers, I've noticed.

"I know it's like your natural state of being, but don't worry so much. If either of us is going to embarrass the other, it's going to be me embarrassing you."

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve meant several things that year: it meant that the predicted Mayan doomsday had passed and the world was still standing. It meant that everyone had managed another couple of days since the last scene without getting killed. It meant there were no more shopping days until Christmas, so every shopping mall in existence was currently a disaster and thousands of individuals were questioning their decision to work retail.

Arguably most important of all, however, it meant that Clio, Urania, and Bunny should be returning at any moment.

The previous week had passed quickly, as it always seemed to, as far as North was concerned. As much as he was eagerly awaiting the return of his friends, it was still his busiest night of the year, and he would have to be leaving to reach the first handful of countries expecting him soon.

"They did say early Christmas Eve. I suppose if they aren't here soon, I'll just wait here for them while you're gone. I mean, if that's all right," Erato said. She seemed to be visiting with more frequency, though North couldn't say why.

Well, he had an idea, but he shrugged it off as nonsense.

"That would be fine, the yetis can handle it but you can, of course, communicate better. So much has happened since they've been gone," North said, taking a seat in his rolling chair.

"It really has. How do you suppose Bunnymund is going to take the news about Jack and Rowan?" Erato asked.

"Not well," North shook his head. "He told me to tell Jack about Yelena, so that perhaps he would rethink pursuing Rowan. I told him the story but…"

"You couldn't just tell him not to do something that brought you so much joy," Erato said.

"I did not have to strictly encourage either," North said with a smile.

"You big romantic," Erato teased. Before North could respond, however, movement could be heard past the doorway as the Yetis began rushing past frantically. North and Erato each cast each other knowing looks before following them.

Elves ran for cover as Bunny landed, less than gracefully, on the platform near the globe. Clio touched down shortly after he did, gently setting down the large sacks she had in tow before rushing over to help the Pooka back upright.

"You all right, Aster?" she asked.

"I hate flying, I don't want to be airborne for another century," he said, carefully steadying himself before haphazardly pressing the buttons on the wristband that Clio had provided him when they left initially.

"You guys okay?" Urania asked, making what was perhaps the most graceful landing of the three.

"Mostly," Bunny said. Clio rolled her eyes from behind her goggles before flipping the switch she assumed he was looking for. The large wings he wore immediately folded into themselves before tucking themselves neatly away, within the apparatus strapped to his back. He pulled off the goggles that Clio had let him borrow before sliding off the straps and handing Clio the entirety of her invention back to her.

"There you are! How was the trip?" North said, walking to the platform.

"You tell us, think this'll be enough stardust?" Urania said, gesturing to the bags they had each been dragging with them. Urania and Clio had each carried two, and the much larger Bunny had managed four, which hadn't helped his grace when landing whatsoever.

"This is more than I could have hoped for!" North said with a laugh. "It should do quite nicely."

"Urania, Clio!" came Erato's voice as she approached the landing, quickly pulling the other Muses into her arms.

"What are you doing here, Erato?" Clio asked.

"I wanted to be here when you landed, and I was visiting with Nicky before he went on his rounds," Erato replied.

"Nicky?" Bunny repeated, glancing at North curiously. The man simply turned red, yet again. Clio and Urania couldn't help but giggle, slightly.

"You've missed so much," Erato said.

"Oh? How'd the new moon go?" Urania asked.

"Everyone got out of it just fine, the Mortal Muse was caught out after dark but Jack took care of it," North said.

"Has he been behaving himself?" Bunny asked.

"Oh, let me break it to them, North," Erato said. North sighed and nodded, bringing a grin to Erato's face. Bunny became visibly uneasy at the Muse's glee. "Jack Frost and the Mortal Muse are officially together."

Urania and Clio gasped, though seemed delighted and eager to learn more about this bit of gossip, immediately demanding more details from Erato. "What?" was all Bunny managed to say, staring at the group with mouth agape before taking North by the arm and pulling him aside into semi-privacy.

"You were supposed to tell him about Yelena," Bunny hissed. "You know nothing good can come out of this, the kid is going to get hurt."

"I did," North said. "But I cannot tell him not to be with her when I did the exact same thing, Bunny."

"Yes you can! You know better now," said Bunny.

"No, I can not. You don't understand, I would do it all over again, I would go through the hurt all over again," said North, his voice echoing through the pole. North was never good at speaking softly. The Muses ceased their own gossip in the corner to turn and watch. "I wouldn't change anything. Yes, Jack is going to get hurt, but he knows this and he is going to do it regardless of what we say."

"I don't think he does know this, Mate, I don't think the severity of the situation has made itself clear to him, he hasn't had to deal with losing anyone in three hundred years."

"Sandy died just this year," North reminded Bunny. "Jack mourned just as the rest of us did."

"And he was back in a matter of days! When she dies, she isn't coming back! You spent centuries getting over Yelena! You were broken; you were without hope. We couldn't help you, and you know we tried. We just had to be there and try to support you while you put yourself back together, falling apart again every time one of your children followed her! I don't want to see him go through that!"

The pole was entirely silent, the yetis having stopped their mad dashing to get the last minute preparations together, the elves even ceasing their mischief as all stopped to stare in North and Bunny's general direction. Tension was thick in the air as the pair stared each other down.

"Get back to work!" North shouted, "It is Christmas Eve!"

The yetis and elves immediately did as they were told, the Muses simply exchanged nervous glances. North turned back to Bunny. "I don't want to see him go through that either. But we cannot stop him. This is something he must learn on his own, and in the meantime, let them enjoy what they have."

"This is going to be a disaster," Bunny said.

"Most likely," North agreed. Bunny simply shook his head, clearly unamused.

"In unrelated, much happier news," Erato said, attempting to change the subject. "The New Year's Eve Ball is back this year."

"Really? Oh, we have to go see Arachne!" Clio said, eyes lighting up at the idea.

"She's got both of your designs already started, they look great," Erato said. A trio of elves rushed forward, each waving an envelope in front of the new arrivals. Clio leaned over to pick up the envelope, finding it addressed to Bunny. The one Urania held was addressed to Clio. Bunny approached the Muses yet again and the envelopes passed hands until each had the one actually addressed to them.

"In the middle of everything else, you're throwing a party?" Bunny said, cocking a brow as he tore open his invitation.

"It has been a trying year," North said. "We must remember to still celebrate the good."

Rowan pulled her bedroom window open at the sound of the knock and smiled as Jack entered, gracefully landing as always.

"You're here early today," she said, gesturing to the horizon. The sun had barely begun going down. Jack simply shrugged.

"It's the holidays," he said. "Merry Christmas Eve."

"Merry Christmas Eve to you," Rowan smiled, swiftly kissing him on the lips before walking past him and back to her laptop computer, currently situated at her desk. It seemed she was in the middle of researching various sewing techniques. "I realized something today."

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked, leaning over her to watch as she typed madly into the search engine.

"Well, two things, actually," she elaborated. "About the ball. Everyone's going to be wearing Arachne's designs."

"Well. Probably not everyone…" Bunny hardly wore anything, Sandy's clothes were made of sand…

"She's been doing this for centuries, I've seen Erato's outfit and Urania and Calliope's. They're so detailed and well-designed. And those aren't even their formal attire! Everyone's going to be there in these fantastic hand-made fashions and I'm… I'm going to be wearing a craft project. Why didn't I realize this earlier?" Rowan said, groaning slightly at the thought, eyes still fixed on the screen. Jack reached forward and closed the computer gently.

"Does this mean you changed your mind about redoing your dress?"

"No, no, I've already come this far, I have to see it through. I'm just- I don't want to, I don't know, embarrass you. Or me," she sighed, turning in the chair to face him properly. "Like, 'oh, look at that mortal Jack Frost is with, bet she made that dress herself.'"

"I know it's like your natural state of being, but don't worry so much. If either of us is going to embarrass the other, it's going to be me embarrassing you," Jack assured her. "Because if you don't think I'm going to be out of place wearing a goddamn suit, then…"

"I don't think there's a man in existence that looks bad in a suit, Jack, I'm pretty sure it's scientifically impossible," Rowan said, seeming at least slightly at ease at his comments.

"Yeah but my whole 'existence' is conditional, so," Jack shrugged. "It's going to be fine, they're going to have a lot more to focus on than your dress, I'm sure."

"True, it's going to be a whole room full of legends and myths and gods and- I wonder if Apollo's going," Rowan said. The man in question was in charge of her fate; the idea must be incredibly terrifying. Jack suddenly found himself wondering if Manny were going to be there.

"Is that the second thing you realized about the ball?" Jack asked. "The possibility of Apollo going?"

"Well, no. There's probably gonna be, you know, dancing," Rowan said, combing her fingers through her hair nervously.

"Probably wouldn't be much of a ball without dancing," Jack shrugged.

"The last time I tried slow dancing was for a father-daughter dance ages ago," Rowan said. "And it didn't end well. You've seen my dad, he falls over if he doesn't pay enough attention when he's walking. I'm not much better, honestly."

"Dancing's not hard, come on," Jack said, gesturing for her to stand up after propping his staff against her desk. She eyed him in confusion before slowly doing so, as though cautious.

"You know how to dance?"

"More or less, it's been a couple centuries, but I mean, you put your hand here," he said, taking one of her hands in his and setting it on his shoulder. He rested his hand on her waist. "And the other hand well, here," he continued, taking her free hand in his and simply holding it to the side.

"Okay, but now we're just standing here," Rowan said.

"Really? I had no idea," Jack said sarcastically. "Just, step with me okay? We're going in a square." He took a step to the side and she did the same. He stepped forward and she stepped back. To the other side. Back.

"See, not hard," he said as he led her around the room clumsily, her eyes fixed on their feet as they went.

"We're a mess, what are you even talking about?" Rowan said, stumbling slightly. He pulled her closer in an attempt to steady her.

Also, just for the sake of pulling her closer.

"We're passable," he said, "Worst comes to worst we can do the ridiculous high school 'not really dancing' dancing."

"Um, what do you mean by that? Because every time I went to homecoming everyone was basically having sex on the dance floor," Rowan said, eying Jack nervously.

"No, no, not that, like when they try to slow dance," Jack said, sliding both arms around her waist. "Now your arms around my neck," he said. She complied. "And now we just kind of sway a little and hope the chaperone doesn't notice how close we are," he said, resting his forehead against hers as they did just that. She laughed slightly.

"Who would the chaperone be in our case?" she asked.

"Bunny, probably," Jack sighed, remembering that the Pooka was coming back that day and he'd be seeing him tomorrow. He hoped the holiday would postpone any lecturing, at least for a while.

"This is definitely easier," Rowan said as they continued to sway about her room.

"See, we can handle a ball. Besides, if things get too bad, there should be liquor, so," Jack shrugged.

"Hm, will Santa put me on the naughty list if I take any? I don't imagine the North Pole has a legal drinking age," Rowan said.

"Honestly, if you haven't already switched lists just by dating me, I'd be surprised," Jack laughed. "If he says anything just point out you're old enough to drink in Russia, that should persuade him."

"Good to know," she smiled, finally releasing her grip on him and taking a step back. "Thank you for the dance, sir."

"My pleasure, Miss," Jack said, bowing to her dramatically. She laughed, offering him a curtsey in return.

"Anyway, so it's Christmas Eve," Rowan said. "And, well, since you're here now and you're probably going to leave right away in the morning to see the Guardians..."

She trailed off, opening the nearby drawer of her desk and pulling out a rectangular package, wrapped in holiday-themed paper and adorned with a red bow. "I guess I'll give this to you tonight," she said.

"You got me a gift?" Jack said, taken aback. It was Christmas, gifts were usually part of the deal when it came to the occasion, but strange as it was, he hadn't really considered the notion of anyone getting something for him. He'd spent a great part of the past week attempting to figure out what to give his new-found family for the holiday and hadn't even entertained the idea of the gift exchanges going the other way. It seemed silly now that he considered it.

But then again, he hadn't properly celebrated Christmas in centuries.

"Well, yeah," she said with a smile, holding it out to him. "I mean, it's nothing too flashy or anything but I hope you like it."

He gently took the thin package from her hands, for a moment simply examining the wrapping and the black ink, which read, "Merry Christmas, Jack. From Rowan."

"I have something for you, too," he said, looking up at her at last, sliding his hand into his front pocket and pulling out a small, wrapped box. Rowan smiled at the sight, taking it in her hands.

"Open yours first," she said, taking a seat on her bed. He followed suit, turning the gift about in his hands for a moment before tearing at the paper, revealing a black picture frame. The frame held a colored pencil drawing, a portrait of him. His eyes were the obvious focal point, with the most attention to detail being paid there, several different shades of blue coming together.

"This is great," Jack said with a smile. He had enjoyed the character sheet she'd created for the exhibition, but there was something that made him prefer this portrait. Perhaps it was the fact that she had more time to work on it or even that this one was specifically created for him. "Your 'secret' project?"

Rowan nodded. "It's for the collection you've got started in your cabin, there was a significant lack of my work," she grinned. "Plus I still haven't shown you a lot of my sketches, I thought I'd finish something and give it to you, at least."

"Don't tell the kids, but this one's my favorite," he said, thinking back to the drawings he'd collected over the past few months. He'd put this one on the shelf, he decided. With the mementos he'd received from the other Guardians.

"Secret's safe with me," Rowan said.

"Thank you," Jack said, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers but briefly.

"You're welcome, Merry Christmas," she said. "Glad you like it."

"I love it," he said, setting it atop her bedside table, covered in books, for safe-keeping. "Now, open yours."

Rowan was gentle when tearing away the wrapping paper, as though unwilling to do much harm to it. Jack had to admit, the paper that North had lent him was far too nice for wrapping paper. Her careful unwrapping made him nervous, however.

What if she didn't like it?

When she finally set the paper aside, she was left holding a small, black, velvet box.

"You're not proposing, are you?" she asked, eying him suspiciously.

"Definitely not," Jack said with a slight smirk.

"Good," she said, sighing in relief. He laughed slightly, pleased they were on the same page when it came to that. She opened the box and her eyes lit up in surprise.

"This is so pretty, Jack, how did you manage to get it?" she said, pulling the pendant from the box, fiddling with it for a moment to release the chain it was attached to from inside the box as well. The pendant was silver and shaped like a snowflake. The center featured a hexagonal cut blue topaz, while a few smaller versions of the stone, as well as some diamonds, served to accent other areas of the design.

"North and the Yetis helped me make it," Jack said.

"You made this? It looks professionally done! Here I thought you robbed a jeweler somewhere," she said, running her fingers along the stones. It was a logical conclusion, he supposed. It wasn't as though he had any money. He was relieved, however, to find that her reaction was largely positive.

"I was lucky with the resources I had," he smiled. "Thankfully North let me use his materials and hell if I know where he got those gems from, I guess they're left over from his days as a bandit."

"These are real, then?" Rowan said. Jack nodded. "Wow. I can't believe you did this, this is even my birth stone. I just... I can't believe someone made me something this nice."

She unhooked the chain and slid her hands behind her neck, attempting to clasp it on her own. Jack stood and walked behind her, taking a seat again as he took the clasps from her struggling fingertips.

"It's also made with stardust," he said, hooking the chain together and gently pulling away her hair that was caught beneath it. She turned to face him properly, adjusting the pendant as she went.

"I thought there wasn't any left, aren't they due back today with more?" she asked.

"North had a little left and I asked him if I could use it for this," he said. "It's not going to do you any good as a weapon, and it's not really much of a shield, either. But maybe if something happens with the Shadow People again, and I'll be doing everything possible to make sure nothing does, it can buy you some time."

She glanced down, lightly touching the jewelry, which rested just about in front of her heart. "So, it's pretty and it's functional?"

"Basically," Jack smiled. "In theory, I mean, it hasn't been tested."

Rowan threw her arms around his neck, smile fixed on her face as she embraced him. "This is great, Jack, really, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," he laughed, sliding his arms around her in return. "Merry Christmas, Rowan."

"Merry Christmas, Jack," she said, pulling back enough to kiss him. His first attempt at Christmas seemed to be going all right, all things considered. He slid his tongue past her lips, pulling her closer if at all possible.

The kisses were slow; they were gentle and sweet. She pulled away slightly, her breath coming in fog.

"My parents are going to be wondering why I'm hiding in my room during Christmas Eve, soon," she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke.

"Just give me five more minutes," he smiled.

However, as though on cue, Dot's voice could be heard from down the hall. "Rowan?" she called.

Did Dorothy Sawyer have a special sense that told her to interrupt every time Jack wanted to make out with her daughter? It was the only logical explanation.

The couple heard footsteps and Rowan hastily tucked her necklace inside her shirt while Jack stood from the spot and grabbed the paper that had wrapped his drawing, stuffing it in his pocket. He'd barely removed it from sight and snatched up his staff again before the bedroom door opened.

"Yeah?" Rowan asked as Dot entered the room. The woman was wearing a terrible sweater adorned with a family of snowmen, each wearing their own terrible sweater. She sat beside her daughter, tucking away some of her bangs that had fallen into her face.

"We're going to decorate cookies soon, and then your father insists on putting off those illegal fireworks despite my legal advice not to, so come downstairs soon," Dot said.

"He really shouldn't set off those fireworks tonight," Rowan said, shaking her head.

"He says it's so Santa will be able to find us," Dot sighed, rolling her eyes.

"But he might hit Santa, that's the problem," Rowan said. Jack somehow doubted a firework could defeat North. Dot shook her head at her daughter's comment before stopping short and reaching forward.

Before Rowan could properly react, Dot was pulling at the visible part of the chain to her necklace, revealing the snowflake pendant.

"Now that's pretty, where did you get it?" Dot asked.

"Uh..." Rowan started, casting a nervous glance toward Jack.

"If you say Pilates, I swear," Jack said, shaking his head. He honestly had no idea what she could tell her mother at this point that would actually make things better.

"Ah-ha!" Dot said, leaning over and snatching something from the floor. Rowan and Jack each winced as they realized that it was the wrapping paper that had been encasing her gift. He hadn't noticed it on the floor when he'd hidden his.

"To: Rowan, From: Jack," Dot said, reading the tag, still attached and intact. Jack wasn't sure what he expected, but Dot's eyes lighting up and eying her daughter in what seemed to be complete glee and curiosity was not one of them. "And who is Jack?"

"Jack Overland, you met me in Burgess," Jack said immediately. It had worked with Shirley, at least.

"Jack Overland," Rowan said, biting her lip nervously. "I, uh, I met him when I was visiting Aunt Lorelei for Thanksgiving. He happened to be hanging around where the kids were all sledding."

"Why haven't you mentioned anything about him before?" Dot asked.

"I don't know, you and Dad would make a big fuss and I didn't think it was that big a deal," Rowan said, shrugging slightly.

"He got you jewelry. He must think it's a big deal," Dot said, lightly taking the pendant in her hand and examining it. "How old is he, what's he like, what does he do?"

"I'm eighteen, I'm charming as all hell, tell her what we came up with before," Jack said, taking a seat at Rowan's side not currently occupied by her mother.

"He's eighteen," Rowan said.

"Hm. You usually go for older boys," Dot pointed out. Jack tried to hold back a laugh.

"Funny thing about that..." he said.

"Yeah, well," Rowan shrugged, clearly struggling to keep a straight face with Jack's comments.

"What's he like, what does he do?" Dot asked again.

"He's… well, he's a lot of fun. He's really sarcastic, he's kind of arrogant but laughs along when I make fun of him for it. You wouldn't know it at first but he's really smart, and determined, and caring and-" Rowan said.

"Handsome, you're leaving out handsome," Jack smiled. It would be a lie to say that he didn't enjoy hearing Rowan describe him in such a way.

"Is he cute?" Dot asked.

"Very cute, he's tall and he's got messy hair and pretty eyes and this stupid smirk," Rowan said, rolling her eyes slightly at the thought.

"Show me a picture, pull up his Facebook or something, I want to see," Dot said, smiling.

Rowan groaned, Jack winced. "I mean, that's another reason I didn't tell you and Dad, I knew you'd want to creep on him and he doesn't really do the social networking thing, so I don't really have any pictures."

"Can't he send you one?" Dot asked.

"His phone's busted so he's using an old brick of a phone now, no camera," Rowan said.

"I think you're getting better at lying," Jack observed. Everything seemed at least somewhat plausible.

"What does he do to be able to afford to give you something like this?" Dot asked, gesturing to the necklace. "But not replace his phone?"

Shit, that was a bit of a plot hole, wasn't it? Why did Rowan's mother have to be a lawyer?

"He's, um, he's taking a year between high school and college. You know, to save up. He sculpts, though, mostly ice sculptures, but he made me the necklace," Rowan said.

"If he started selling these he could make enough money for school and a new phone in no time," Dot said.

"Well, he doesn't usually have this kind of material," Rowan said.

"My grandfather gave me the material," Jack said immediately.

"His grandfather does some sculpting, too, he lent Jack the material to make the necklace for me. Otherwise he's, well, not really that well off, money-wise," Rowan said.

"Has he applied for any scholarships?"

"A few, it's a whole thing, you know. That's sort of why I gave him my number, actually, he saw my lanyard and started asking about my school, he's thinking of going there and wanted to ask me a few questions," Rowan said.

"That's good," Jack said. "Makes me seem all responsible."

"Is this why you've been acting so off lately? Because you've been hiding a boy from us?" Dot asked, cocking a brow.

"YES," Jack said immediately. It had absolutely nothing to do with Shadow People trying to consume her soul or the fact that if she died in the right way she could become immortal. It was all to do with a secret boy (which was not actually a complete lie). "Go with that!"

"Well, yeah, sort of," Rowan said, deciding that staring at her knees was a better option than staring her mother in the face right now. "I mean, I didn't know where it was going and I didn't want to tell you so that you and Shirley could constantly ask me, 'So have you talked to Jack today?' 'How are things with you and Jack?' 'Are you two dating yet?' Like I just wanted to see how things would go. And besides, can you really blame me for not telling you about a boy?"

"You can tell me anything, Roo," Dot said with a frown. "You usually do."

"Yeah, okay, that's why you were so supportive when I was dating Luke," Rowan sighed.

"You saw how that ended," Dot said simply. Rowan winced.

"That doesn't matter, you and Dad were constantly being jerks about it and couldn't stand to let me make my own mistakes. And then with Danny, I mean, you were so condescending and Dad made fun of him at every given opportunity," said Rowan.

"I was not condescending," Dot said immediately.

"You were too!" Rowan said, finally looking her mother in the eye again. Jack shifted uncomfortably. This conversation had taken a turn from "making up an elaborate cover story on the spot," to a potential mother-daughter argument rather quickly.

"We just want what's best for you, so I don't appreciate you keeping some boy a secret from us, we're your parents." Dot was clearly becoming more irritated as the conversation progressed. Rowan responded by becoming more defensive. Jack simply became more and more uncomfortable.

"Yeah and you've made every dating experience I've had so much more difficult. I love you guys, okay, but I didn't want to deal with all your criticism and your attempts to dictate my dating life-"

"We do not try to dictate your dating life, we never once told you that you could not date Luke or Danny."

"You just heavily implied that I shouldn't."

"And didn't we turn out to be right?"

"That is not the point."

"So what is it about this boy that had you so scared to let us know about him? Does he have a record or something?"

"Yes, mother, yes, I am now dating a criminal," Rowan said sarcastically. Jack winced slightly, remembering that, technically, they had first met when he committed the crime of breaking and entering. He'd also taken her to another country illegally. And prompted her to break several traffic laws while escaping Shadow People. See also: Naughty List Record Holder. "You're not listening at all. I didn't want to tell you about him because regardless of what they're like, you and Dad end up being jerks about who I'm dating anyway."

"You've dated two boys, how can you possibly come to that conclusion?"

"Because they were completely different and you guys still didn't like either of them."

"I liked Danny, I just didn't think he was very smart," Dot said. Rowan sighed.

"Look, mom, I like Jack a lot and I don't want to hear about how he doesn't have a future or how he's not a good match for me or any of that, okay? I'm sorry I kept this from you but I didn't want to start all that again when I wasn't even sure if our relationship was going anywhere," she said. Dot's expression softened, if slightly.

"So you are dating him now, though?"

"Yes. But I mean, it's a long distance thing, obviously, he's back in Burgess and I've been too busy to go see him again and he can't afford to come see me."

Dot watched her daughter critically for a moment, Rowan shifting nervously under her mother's gaze.

"Is he nice to you, Rowan?"

"We argue sometimes but yeah, he's been good to me," she said. "He really likes my stories, I based a character off him…"

"He's committed to going to school and getting a degree?"

"Yes," she lied. Jack supposed if he was three hundred years younger and had the opportunity he might go to school. Maybe. Art school seemed like it might be more fun at least.

But school was still full of hard work and deadlines.

"And you're happy?"

"Very happy," Rowan said, offering her mother a sincere smile. "I'm sorry I can't show you what he looks like and that I didn't mention anything earlier…"

"Well, he's got to know someone with a camera, tell him to try to email you something, I'm curious now," Dot said.

"Please don't do a background check or something," Rowan winced.

"Jack Overland has to be a fairly common name, I doubt I'd be able to narrow it down," Dot smiled. "But get a picture, he's not getting off the hook that easily, and your father and I will be wanting to meet the boy next time we're in Burgess."

"Right, I'll, uh, let him know," said Rowan.

"Your father isn't going to be happy you were hiding this from us," said Dot.

"You say that as though you're okay with it," Rowan said.

"I'm not, but it's all in open now and it's Christmas so let's not be angry at each other, okay?"

"Okay… are we telling Dad tonight then, or?"

Dot paused, considering this for a moment. "Day after tomorrow, we'll tell him. Hide the necklace until then."

"Deal," Rowan sighed.

"All right, come downstairs in a minute," Dot said, pulling her daughter into a brief hug before pulling herself to her feet. She left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

"Well that was probably the most elaborate lie I've ever told in my life," Rowan sighed, leaning against Jack, seeming exhausted.

"It was more of a half-truth," Jack said, sliding his arm around her shoulders. "Hopefully she'll be less suspicious of you, now, though."

"There's just going to be more questions, unfortunately."

"Well, you can always tell her I broke up with you if it gets to be too much," he suggested.

"Why do you get to fake break up with me?"

He laughed. "I'm clearly the more assertive of the two of us."

"I tased you."

"And then failed to make me leave your apartment for another two hours."

"Which clearly just says I have commitment issues, so."

"Fine, fine, you can fake break up with me. Shit, you're ridiculous."

"You are much more ridiculous."