hey! sorry this took so long; with the renewal (and waiting for it) this has been a crazy couple weeks in the new girl fandom :) also i'm not sure why, but this chapter was weird for me to write. I figured out the dialogue pretty fast, but the filler in between took a while. hopefully it all flows well. as always, thanks for reading and reviewing :):):)

SEASON 4: Thanksgiving IV

Jess walked through the door, the cool air hitting her face as she stepped out onto the roof of the loft. Her eyes immediately found Nick, sitting alone on a bench and looking down at the ground, seemingly deep in thought. She wanted to go talk to him about what was on his mind, but decided against it and noticed Schmidt leaning against the ledge, looking out over the city beneath them.

"Hey there, Schmidty," she sighed, falling against the wall beside him.

He turned his head to glare at her. "Oh no, only Nick can call me that. We," he said, gesturing between her body and his, "are not that close."

"What? We're close! I've known you for four years now, don't I get the same benefits as Nick?"

"In your dreams, Jessica Day. What are you doing up here, anyway?"

"Eh, I came up to find Coach. I want to to yell at him some more about bringing Ryan here and wrecking everything."

"Well don't let me stop you, he's right over there."

"I can't, look" she gestured toward their roommate standing a few feet away. "He's talking to Pepper."

"So?"

"So," she sighed, and he turned to face her. "Just because I'm pissed at him doesn't mean I have to ruin her night too!"

"You're too kind."

"Well, what are you doing up here Schmidt? This is your day! Bangsgiving! It's like the Schmidt holiday party to end all holiday parties. You should be riding the high, why are you hiding up here talking to me?"

"I don't think it's happening between Lucy and I."

"Oh, no?"

"Nah," he sighed and lowered his gaze to the street below. "Sometimes that's how it goes, you know?"

"Hm," she replied, chewing her lip. "So you no longer have a date tonight." A gleam of something he pretended not to see flashed through her eyes, and he hoped she wouldn't go where he thought she was going. "I noticed that Cece doesn't have a date either." She went there. "Now, who was supposed to bring her a guy? Wasn't me. I know it wasn't Coach. Was it…?" She was being painfully obvious, pretending to scratch her head and looking toward the sky. He rolled his eyes before interrupting her, putting an end to this ridiculous charade.

"I did call a guy for her. I did!" She narrowed her eyes at him, and he relented. "I may have told him that dinner doesn't start for another hour in the hopes that he'll show up so late that she'll reject him… but I did call." She giggled, and he tried to ignore it before sighing into laughter beside her. He relaxed for what seemed like the first time that night, leaning into her side and resting his elbows on the ledge behind them.

"So, did you and Ryan hook up back there or what?"

"No." He raised his eyebrows and gestured for her to go on. She bit her lip and looked at the ground before taking a deep breath and continued. "I don't know, I tried to do the whole 'bang one out of my system' thing like you wanted, but he just… Left. As you all saw. Not one of my greatest moments."

"Yeah, what happened there?"

"Ughhh," she whined, burying her head in her hands. "He likes me! That stupid boy... freakin' likes me. He said he wants an actual relationship, not just a one-night thing."

"Isn't that a good thing? That's who you are Jess, you're a relationship girl."

"Yeah but," she scrunched her face together and shyly looked up at him. "I don't think I'm ready for that. Plus it's, you know, it's against the rules-"

"Enough with the 'rules', Jess, no one is buying that."

"I know."

"Are you even buying it?"

She paused, breathing in slowly and exhaling, the few wisps of hair on her face dancing away as she did. "No, I don't know. But I will keep using it as my excuse. Look, you don't have to tell me, Schmidt. We don't have to have a huge conversation about it. I know I'm really just afraid of getting hurt again, that's all it is. I just need to get over it." Her voice quieted while she spoke, and Schmidt watched as she played with her hands and did everything to avoid looking at their roommate (her ex) sitting on the other side of the roof.

"Jess, are you afraid of falling in love and getting hurt? Or just falling in love again at all?" She looked up at him, and he was met with the familiar sight of tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "If you fall in love again, you finally have to get over Nick. You have to be okay with letting go of him and moving on. And I think that is what's really holding you back from Ryan."

Brushing the tears from her cheeks quickly, she looked away from him and forced out a weak laugh. "Dang it Schmidt, how are you so often the bane of my existence and yet, somehow, able to read me better than almost anyone else?"

"It's a gift. Schmidt knows what all the ladies want."

She shoved him playfully and, linking her arm with his, rested her head on his shoulder. "I like Ryan. I do, and I want to want to be with him. It's just so…" she trailed off, sniffling and letting the soft noise of the cars below envelop them both. After a moment, she raised her head and wiped her eyes, looking into his. "How did you get over Cece?"

"Oh, well… I…" he tried to sound confident, but he couldn't help the way his shoulders slumped. "I don't know that I'll ever really get over her." The words came like a whisper, the first time he's ever said them out loud like that.

"But you've dated since her, how do you do that?"

"Honestly? I don't know, Jess. The hard things will get easier and eventually you'll start to think about them less and less. You just have to decide if it's worth it or not. Do you want to let go of Nick? Is Ryan worth it?"

A shy smile danced across her lips and she looked down, twisting her fingers together nervously. "I think he could be." Schmidt felt his heart break one final time for his best friend, but he wants to be supportive of Jess. She deserves something good.

"You know who I think you should talk to?"

"I know, I know, I should go talk to Ry-"

"Nick."

Jess's features softened as she took a few minutes to absorb what Schmidt had said. Her mouth tightened into a thin line and she nodded, finally letting her eyes drift toward Nick. He was in the same position as he was when she came up the stairs, sitting on the bench with his eyes downcast. She smoothed out her dress and apprehensively played with that loose thread on the hem. Why was she nervous?

She knows why; she's not ready to give away her relationship with Nick. But they both need to move on. Telling herself this did nothing to stop the butterflies swirling in her stomach, however. This could possibly be the first real conversation she's had with him since the break up, and she doesn't know how to feel about it. Jess turned back to Schmidt and kissed his cheek quickly, her cheeks tinged with a pink of embarrassment when she pulled away. "Thanks, Schmidty," she said and this time, he didn't correct her. She could call him "Schmidty" if she wants. He watched her slowly walk over and sit by Nick, watched as his friend raised his eyes to look at her nervous grin, and watched as they both immediately relaxed into each others' gaze. Schmidt decided to give the two a moment of privacy and gestured to Coach to follow him before he turned toward the stairs.

…

"Is that from Ferris Bueller?"

"Yes it is. It's a terrific movie, and I delivered it perfectly."

"It was pretty good," she chuckled beside him, their arms tentatively brushing against each other's. Jess smiled to herself as a calm silence settled between them. Schmidt was right, she needed this.

"So when did you and Schmidt start talking to each other?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you guys having a pretty intense conversation over there. You put your head on his shoulder and everything. I just didn't know you guys were 'close.'"

"Schmidt and I are close!" she shrieked, unable to stop her eyes growing wide. "We've been friends for four years, why does no one get that?" Nick raised his eyebrows and snickered, and she bit back a giggle in return. He hasn't laughed with her like this in a long time, so free of tension and unease. "Sorry. I don't know, I just kinda needed… a friend. After the, you know."

She winced as she felt the mood change, turning more serious than she wanted. He nodded somberly, looking down at his hands. "You didn't go to Cece?"

"Of course Cece helped, she was amazing. I guess I got used to having a best friend in the loft." She gave him a tight smile and brushed past the pain in his eyes. "It's just, different now. I think Schmidt can be a good friend for both of us."

"Yeah."

It grew quiet between them again, and Jess was desperate to talk about anything else. "Wait, when did you see me talking to him? You looked pretty lost in your own thoughts, I didn't think you noticed me come up here."

"I always notice ya, Jess."

She felt her heart melt a little like it always did when he looked at her like that, and she wanted to cry over the fact that he still has this hold on her. She broke his gaze and straightened up, and almost thought she heard him sigh but pushed it out of her mind. "Thanks for talking with me, Nick. You always know what to say."

"Yeah right, since when?" he laughed anxiously, looking away from her.

Why does he do this? Doesn't he know what he has to offer? Even though she doesn't love him anymore (or at least, that's what she tells herself), it's still hard for her to hear him talking down about himself. "Well," she placed her hand on his, squeezing his fingers for comfort. "You always know what to say to me." He looked from their hands to her eyes, and she saw a hint of sadness in his smile. Letting her fingers entwine with his for a moment too long, she pulled away and shifted her gaze from him. "I should go. I should talk to Ryan."

"Time to move on, right?"

She gave Nick a soft smile in return, patting his knee and then stood to leave. "Yeah. It's time." It took everything in her power not to look back at him, but she didn't, and opened the door to head down the stairs. She needed to see Ryan. She wanted to.

Jess ran into Schmidt when she entered the loft to grab her phone, and he handed her a ceramic dish containing her homemade pumpkin pie. "I know you Jess, you may feel good now but as soon as you get out that door you'll start overthinking. Eat this on the way over, it'll distract you."

She laughed, taking the dish from his outstretched hands. "Thanks. I think I'll save it though, maybe give it to Ryan as a show of goodwill. Or a bribe, whatever."

"Sure, Jess, whatever you say. But we both know you're gonna dig into that thing in the back of the cab." She childishly stuck her tongue out at him and turned for the door. Placing her hand on the knob, she heard him shout "good luck!" behind her and, with resolution, turned the handle and stepped out toward the elevator.

It's time to move on.