Jasmine was back at Oxford, curled up in the common room bundled in sweatpants and her warmest sweater as she listened to her sister chatter on about her day.

"I totally went to the gym this morning and then blew all my hard work by going to get nachos for lunch with Jack."

"It happens." Jasmine yawned. She took a tentative sip of coffee before holding the warm cup more securely in her frozen hands.

"And I should not have eaten that extra slice of pie last night." Her sister moaned.

"Pie?"

"We had like half a pumpkin pie in the freezer from Christmas and I forgot about it until mom bought whipped cream. She brought it out after dinner last night."

"Oh yeah, how'd it go? Jack feeling more comfortable with mom now?"

"He seems fine, but he heaved a huge sigh of relief when we left. I think he's low-key scared she'll kill him if he even looks at me weird."

"Well, not that I blame him. Mom's scary."

"Yeah, I- HEY BUDDY, WHAT THE HECK THAT'S NOT EVEN LEGAL!"

Jasmine smothered a grin as she heard car horns honking angrily in the background.

"Sorry, this idiot thought the rules of the road don't apply to him."

"It's fine."

"Hey you sound tired. What time is it over there anyway?"

"Five thirty."

"PM?"

"AM."

"WHAT? Get out of here, that's crazy! You should go back to bed I can totally call you another time..."

"No, it's fine! I wanted to talk, remember?"

Her phone buzzed, and she pulled back to see a text message from Hayes: "Already getting lazy Brookhurst?"

Jasmine shook her head as she shot back an explanatory text. "Talking to my sis today. I'll be back to kicking your butt at kickboxing tomorrow."

She'd set up this call only a few days after landing in England, feeling homesick almost as soon as she'd stepped off the plane. It was only a week into her second term, yet the only time Jasmine could fit in the call was during her usual workout session. Apparently she'd forgotten to fill Hayes in on this little detail.

"Alright, so when are you going to tell me more about you and Malcolm? Have you seen him yet? Has he finally asked you out and declared his undying love for you?"

A pang of disappointment burned in Jasmine's chest. "I haven't been able to talk to him."

"What? Why? I thought you were like, in love with this guy."

"I'm not in love with him." Jasmine balked, even though she could feel a blush rising to her cheeks. "I don't have him for any more classes so I'm not sure when I'm going to see him again."

"Don't students and professors eat in the great hall? Like Harry Potter?"

"Not really."

"Oh."

Jasmine felt as disappointed as her sister sounded, because the fact of the matter was, she'd looked at the term schedule and hadn't seen his name on any of the class rosters. A short conversation with Doctor Phlox had confirmed that he was no longer working at Oxford, apparently going on to do greater things, although what that was he didn't say. In a way she was almost glad. She wasn't so sure she wanted to know what Malcolm was going to say before he was interrupted.

Although she wasn't about to tell her sister any of that. Especially the last part. She didn't need any more lectures on her love-life, or lack thereof.

"Well you could casually go knock on his door during his office hours."

"Look, I'm not taking any of his classes so that would look weird. Besides, that could cost him his job."

"Jasmine, do you like the guy or don't you?"

"Of course I do, it's just-"

"Just nothing! You can't sit around and let this opportunity slip by. You guys go to the same coffee shops, don't you? Can't you talk to him then?"

"I mean, yeah..."

"Well then make it happen! If I don't get a call from you about it this week, then I'm going to bug you about every day until you do."

"No! Please don't do that. This term is already lining up to be stressful enough. I promise I'll let you know the minute I see him."

Her sister huffed. "Alright, fine. Let's talk back-up plans then."

Jasmine groaned.

"What about Hayes? You said you guys were hanging out a lot after classes. You're still taking classes with him, right? And doing one-on-one session times with him at the gym?"

"Yeah, but it's not like that. He's not really my type anyway, and I'm starting to think he's gay."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Her sister sighed. "Why are the cute ones always taken or gay?"

"Aren't you supposed to making me feel less depressed about this?"

"Sorry."

Her phone buzzed again: "I can accept that excuse. Enjoy talking to your sister. Stop by when you're done, I've got a spare pair of wraps for you. I'll leave them in your locker."

She liked the text before settling back a little further into her cushioned seat.

"It's strange he didn't answer you though." Lauren said, breaking the silence. "From what you've told me, it seems like he liked you too."

Jasmine held back a resigned sigh. "Maybe I was reading him wrong. He's not exactly the most forthright guy in the world. He seems to keep things pretty close to the vest. I might have thought I saw something that wasn't really there."

"Maybe." Her sister sounded doubtful.

"I know you're just trying to help, but can we drop the subject for now? Please?"

"Alright, alright fine."

Their conversation thankfully turned to lighter things, and they chatted back and forth for another twenty minutes before Jasmine looked at her watch and stood. "It's about time for me to say good-bye. I have to get ready for my first class."

"Alright." A heavy sigh. "I wish you weren't so far away. I mean, I'm glad you're travelling and stuff, but I wish I could at least be there with you..."

Jasmine pulled on her gloves and headed towards the gym. "We'll have to plan to go on a trip when I get back. Get in one last sister adventure before you become Mrs. Jack Whittaker."

"We don't have to stop doing sister things once we're married!" Lauren balked. "We'll just have to plan the time to do it."

"You're right."

Neither seemed ready to say good-bye, and she was almost at the gymnasium doors when her sister sighed again.

"Well, I should probably let you go for real. Message me whenever you need to talk okay?"

"Alright. It probably won't be for another-"

Jasmine stepped through the door and stared at the scene before her in confusion.

"Jasmine? What's wrong?"

She couldn't tell what was happening at first, but then it all became shockingly clear. The intimidating Jeremiah Hayes was lying face down in the middle of the floor, one arm pinned roughly behind his head by none other than Malcolm Reed. They were both breathing hard, bruises dotting their cheeks.

Malcolm bent down to hiss in Hayes' ear. "See, you were looking at my hands when you should have been looking at my eyes."

Just like that Hayes had gained his feet.

"Okay, lieutenant."

"Major."

Jasmine stumbled back as fists began to fly.

And here we are, the chapter that I was putting off because I had no clear idea of how I wanted it to go, then managed to finish in a few hours because I realized that I had to write in order to figure out a clear direction. Who knew! Haha. Anyway, thank you all for waiting so patiently for my chapters to be written, and I apologize for the long wait. My sister recently started putting on Enterprise episodes, and I forgot how much I truly love our lovely Malcolm Reed, even with all his awkwardness and pride. I can't wait to finally pull this story all together!

I also recently re-read my story and realized there were quite a few plot holes, so beware! When I finally finish the story, I plan on going back through and do some editing to make it a little more polished and coherent. Thank you all for your continued support and reviews! I appreciate ya'll :)