Jim yawned, resting his cheek on the top of her head as she snuggled closer to him. The couch was the softest thing he could imagine after all the years he had gone to sleep armoured. He wanted to hear everything Claire was saying but at this rate he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open.

"Do you wanna sleep with me..?"

He nearly choked on his own tongue, his sleep-fogged brain struggling to process. Had Claire just asked him to-

"I can barely keep my eyes open is all so it makes more sense than staying awake but… I'm not ready to let go of you yet."

He relaxed, tightening his hold on her instinctively.

He searched her eyes, vulnerability creeping into his voice, "I'm not ready to let you go... ever again. You won't… You'll still be here when I wake up right?"

She nodded, pressing a half-awake kiss to his shoulder.

He nodded back, shifting a little to get comfortable before closing his eyes and letting himself drift off.

When Barbara came down in the morning, still rubbing sleep from her eyes, she wasn't at all surprised to see Jim and Claire asleep on the couch. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding; tension leaking from her shoulders. This was right. This was how home should feel.

Sunbeams crept in through the curtains, casting them in a golden glow. The way they fit together with such peaceful expressions looked like something out of a storybook. She half expected she would wake up. Her life had always been such a mess.

How could something this perfect come from it?

Her heart ached and she glanced at the family photos on the wall beside her. It had been just her and Jim for so long… After James left she had tried her best to juggle being a mom and being a dad but each day only has so many hours. Her head filled with poisonous thoughts she had spent so long fighting off.

Would he have been happier if he had gone with James? Was she really enough of a family for him? If only she had been a better wife then maybe-

Taking a deep breath she shook off her thoughts, slipping out the door to head to work. She was halfway into her car when she caught Toby's reflection in the rear view mirror.

He doesn't know about Jim yet.

A smile tugged at her lips. She could picture his reaction now. She got back out and waved across the street.

"Toby! Could you do me a favour?"

She felt a dull ache when he smiled and jogged over, his thinner appearance giving away how his eating habits had changed after his nana had passed away. The poor boy needed some good news in his life.

"What's up Doctor Lake?"

"Could you go inside and check that Jim didn't leave the coffee maker on last night?"

He froze and his eyes widened as he processed.

"He… Jimbo's back?!"

She burst into laughter and nodded, "I've got to head to work. Him and Claire are still asleep on the couch so you're welcome to come back late-"

She blinked in shock, the front door of her house already slamming shut behind him, his excited voice loud enough for her to hear outside. Smiling, she shook her head a little, got into her car and pulled out of the driveway, humming softly. The three of them had a lot of catching up to do.

Toby knocked a lamp over in his hurry, the sound of metal rod coming in contact with human head far from satisfying when it was accidental. He saw his life flash before his eyes as he took in the scene, a very angry, very groggy grown up Jim holding the lamp that had unfortunately just landed on his face. It seemed that wasn't the good morning kiss he was hoping for.

"Toby?! What the fu-"

Toby cut him off, his best efforts to conceal the panic in his tone failing miserably, "Jim! You're awake! What's that? How about I go put on coffee? Yeah great idea! You just take your time waking up!"

Jim stood, making sure not to disturb Claire. He carefully tucked her in with a blanket, spending a few seconds to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear and kiss her forehead before turning to face Toby.

"Toby… It's been six years since we last saw each other. As much as I want to beat the living daylights out of you for trying to break the lamp rod over my head, I'm happy to see you." He looked him over, noticing how different he looked now, "Your diet worked out huh?"

Toby seemed much less afraid for his life, looking minorly annoyed instead as he answered, "Actually I lost the weight after you left and I dropped my diet. Are you sure you weren't trying to keep my fat on purpose dude? I know I'm a threat to you when it comes to women but not cool, seriously."

Jim burst into laughter, the sound startling him a little, so vastly different from how it had sounded as a troll. Toby paled, putting a finger to his lips and gesturing towards Claire.

"Darcy told me she sleeps like the dead but just in case, maybe we should go talk outside? I'd hate to be on the receiving end of Claire's wrath." A shudder ran through him; he had seen someone in that unfortunate situation before Jim assumed, "And besides, you can feel the sunlight again now dude! You're whiter than death! Come get your tan back!"

Jim rolled his eyes but nodded, following him outside and shutting the door softly. Toby wasn't wrong. He had missed this feeling. He jogged a few steps into the yard and flopped down on his back, grinning at the sky.

"Tobes you have no idea how good this feels. Six years is way too long to be kept in the dark." He glanced at his friend and frowned, "What?"

Toby looked uneasy, "Speaking of being in the dark… You seem way too happy to have heard."

He sat up, his voice holding an edge of caution, "To have heard what…"

Toby backed away a little, seeming to weigh the best way to break the news to him. He unclipped his warhammer from his belt —another of Claire's finer ideas for being more efficient— and expanded it to full size, not sure how Jim would react.

"So…" he started, getting into a fighting stance, "Stricklander got turned human?"

Jim frowned, "Okay… that makes sense I guess… I mean I did the same thing as soon as I could figure out how."

Toby nodded, bending his knees a bit for a stronger stance, "And he's dating your mom? Like actually dating—"

He yelped, his hammer knocked out of his hands and across the yard where it lay against the fence. Jim's expression was unreadable, seeming highly conflicted.

"He's… Strickler and mom… give me a minute."

Toby nodded, wondering if perhaps the man in question wasn't wrong to grade his essays so low back in school. Words weren't exactly his specialty.

There was the sound of a car door at the front of the house and a chirp as it locked. Jim's scowl deepened.

Speak of the devil.