Jen spent the day with Bernice after the revelation that Nick's father had been a fairy. She went back to her ordinary duties, assisting the queen and doing whatever tasks needed doing in the palace for Sir Terry. The both of them were very gentle with her, which ordinarily would have bothered her. She wasn't a fragile person and was displeased to be treated as such. But given the circumstances, she was grateful to be given time to process it all. She slept in the palace that night, near the people who cared about her. She was safe and loved, and that was all she could ask for just then.

But when she woke the next day, Jennifer knew she needed to return to Nick. She needed to tell him what she'd learned. He had a right to know. Him having fairy blood did not mean that he needed to come live in the realm, of course, but it did mean that he could if he wanted to. Jen wanted him to know, just as she'd wanted him to know that she loved him. She hoped it would not pressure him, but it was only fair that he know all the information before making any decisions. Besides, Jen still thought he was acting too hastily in giving up his police career. Whatever he decided, she wanted to be with him to know.

"Jennifer, before you go…" Bernice called as Jen finished her breakfast.

"Yes?" she replied, turning to her queen.

"Are you going to ask Nick to come join us in the realm?"

Jen felt her heart swell at the question. The tone of her voice and the hope in her eyes indicated to Jen that Queen Bernice wanted very much for Jen to ask Nick to join them in the realm. And this was also not the first time that she wondered if the queen could read her thoughts. "I thought I'd tell him he could. I don't want to ask him to."

Bernice frowned. "Why not?"

"It's a lot for him to decide. I want him to do what he wants to do, not just what I ask him to do," Jen replied with a small shrug.

"You think he would? Just because you asked?"

Jen realized she was being quite presumptuous about all of this. Perhaps she was. Perhaps Nick had no interest in Jen beyond a casual romance. All the more reason for her to give him the choice and not make any demands of him. "I don't know," she answered truthfully after her moment of thought.

Bernice eyed her curiously. "If it were the other way around, would you?"

"Would I leave my whole life to be with him if he asked?" Jen asked back. "No."

"You answered that very quickly."

"I know it hasn't been long, ma'am, but I know Nick. And I know he wouldn't ask that of me." Before those words came out of her mouth, Jennifer didn't realize that she in fact did know that about Nick. But it was true. He would not ask her to give up her life for him. And there was the precise reason why Jen would not ask it of him either. "If he doesn't want to come to the realm, we can…we can make do with something else."

Bernice did not seem convinced at that. "Alright," she said simply. "The choice is up to you. To both of you." She crossed over to where Jen was sitting and bent down to give her a small hug and kiss the top of her head. "I just want you to be happy, Jennifer," Bernice added quietly.

Jen could feel the tears prick her eyes so she blinked them back and just smiled. "Thank you, ma'am," she mumbled. And with that, she took another two bites of bread and hurried away from the table. It was time to go see Nick.

As she left the palace, Jerry came flying over beside her. "Take heed," he said.

She faltered at that. He'd never been so obvious before. "Take heed of what?" she asked in response.

"Take heed. Strong and true." And with that, the bird turned and flew up to the trees, leaving Jen on her own.

His words were rather ominous. Jen did not want to be weighed down by them, but she knew better than to dismiss the death watcher.

By the time Jen was able to finish getting her own house in some semblance of order and figuring out some suitable clothes for herself, it was midday. She left the realm through the portal and went invisible as she flew through the woods of the human world.

The air was crisp and clear and lovely. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot. It was a perfectly beautiful day, and Jen was happy to be in it. She let the joy of the weather and her flight distract her from Jerry's words and from her nervousness about talking to Nick. She would be seeing him again soon, and that was something for her to be happy about. Nick made her happy. She wanted to make him happy. Everything else…well, everything else they could take one at a time, surely.

When she arrived at his house, the cars were out front. There were a couple of newspapers sitting on the front step. He'd read one a breakfast one of the days they'd spent together, that's how she knew what it was. But why hadn't he picked them up? That was curious.

Jen checked to be sure no one was looking before she returned to visibility, all except her wings. She rang the bell at the front door, prepared for Nick to greet her. She waited more than a full minute and heard nothing inside, nothing to indicate he was coming to the door. She couldn't hear much of anything, actually.

Perhaps he was out for a run? Though it was a bit late in the day for his usual routine. Though he didn't have a job now, so he might have gone later. Or perhaps he was in the shower and hadn't heard the doorbell.

She tried the bell one more time, and when there was still no sign of it being answered, Jen reached over to the false brick in the wall where Nick hid his front door key for when he went running and didn't want to carry it with him. She could go inside and wait for him there.

The house was still. Almost deathly still. Everything looked exactly as it had when she'd left two days before. All of the files and the board with the pictures and notes about the Tahnee Majors case were just as they'd been when Jen had last seen them. It was as though Nick had just left the room for a minute and would be coming back any second now.

Jen wandered around slowly, almost afraid to disturb the quiet in the house. She searched every room, looked all around the upstairs, in Nick's bedroom—with the bed perfectly made—and the bathroom and his home office and everywhere else. There was no sign of him.

The only thing Jen could think was that he'd gone out somewhere, maybe Duncan had picked him up or something. She was disappointed not to see him as soon as she arrived, but it was only a matter of time before he returned, surely.

And so all that was left for Jen to do was wait. She went in the kitchen and poured herself some water and drank it while standing in the dining room. Nick's beautiful table was humming happily. "Where is he, eh?" she asked quietly.

The table did not respond. The trees sometimes didn't. Usually didn't. But sometimes they'd at least show they were listening. This one, it seemed, had nothing to say right now.

Jen still waited. She paced in circles in the living room, stretching her arms and her wings around her. She was getting bored. And worried.

The sun sank lower and lower in the sky until darkness filled the sky. And still Nick had not returned. The stillness was deafening. Jen tried not to panic, tried not to worry. He'd be back soon. Any minute now.

She sat in the corner of the sofa and pulled her knees up to her chest, curling herself up under a blanket that rested in one of the chairs. Her wings draped around her and enveloped her in her own magic, though it did not comfort her at all right now.

All night she sat there like that, too upset to sleep, too tired and panicked to do anything but just sit there. The sun even began to rise again before Jen knew it. She'd spent all night there, all alone and crushed under the weight of the stillness.