On Monday, Skyla couldn't stop smiling. Really, she couldn't. It was part of her job to greet customers with a smile on her face. It was tiring and if she was being honest then smiling was not something she felt like doing. She had no idea why, but every night she'd startled in a cold sweat at least twice. She tried not to worry Jack but unless she consciously made herself sleep on the opposite side of the bed, he would notice right away. He was on the verge of becoming all over-protective again, and Sky did not want that at all. Whatever it was; she could handle it. And if she let him know how often it actually happened, and how little sleep she was getting, then he wouldn't want to leave her at all. He'd already made a plan to go tour the world at the end of the week, and she didn't want to be responsible for ruining that.

So she smiled, pretended to be asleep, and just kept her emotions to herself. It worked, for the most part. When he would notice her in the middle of the night, erratic breathing and racing heartbeat, he wouldn't let her alone until after she'd looked him in the eyes and promised she was alright. Other than getting in the way of his job, she didn't know why she was keeping it from him. She wanted to figure it out first, and she wanted to deal with it on her own.

Her guess was that she was having nightmares. She couldn't remember them though and hoped that wasn't the case. If it was, then not telling Jack was the worst thing she could do. That would mean Pitch Black had somehow gotten a hold of her. If the Boogeyman was suddenly after her, it could mean several different terrible things that would inevitably end in any of several different ways. Jack, she knew, would be pissed. Not just at Pitch, but at her for keeping it from him. That part made her seriously consider telling him.

The clothing store was locally owned, and not many customers visited. All the better for Sky; there was less smiling. She remembered how the Nephilim always had someone for her to wait on, and knew she couldn't compare a cafe to a clothing store. Still, she tried. Her first job to her second. Where there had been Daniel, she now had Lindsay. Where there had been a Jen, there was the much more agreeable Keila. Those were the two she'd met, and likely -unless she was given different shifts- the only two she would meet. Lindsay told her that there were two other employees as well, including her brother, and that was the main staff.

A classic, lightly colored shop front, and a back room for storage and the bathroom. Breaks weren't taken inside, and Skyla had noticed when she first visited that it was right near the coffee shop Marie, the Brandon look-alike, worked. She hadn't seen the she-Demon since their first meeting, but Gavin had mentioned that he updated her. Since Skyla was settled, she decided to one day go to the coffee shop with Jack. Even though Marie couldn't see him, Sky knew the spirit was still curious about her.

After learning how to properly fold certain items, and when to hang others, Skyla easily got the hang of how things worked. The store, called Stargazing Orchid, was an easy place to get comfortable in. She relaxed, aside from the forced smile, and knew she would have fun working there. Eventually. And she could work there for a long time though, if things went her way, not as long as she'd worked at the Nephilim.

Making a mental note to e-mail Daniel, she heard Lindsay calling her to the front counter and quickly finished hanging a light-green, long-sleeved dress on one of the mannequins. When she reached the counter, she relaxed her smile a bit, "Yes?"

"You've had a long first day, Skyla. Thank you for your help. You can have the rest of the day off."

"Oh." she thought for a moment, "Umm, about that thing I told you? I really can handle as many hours as you need me to take. I know it's difficult, what with being a private owner, but I am a great worker and I'm used to long hours so-"

Lindsay held up her hand, "I will talk to the other employees. I know your story, and I really do love your drive, but it's up to them. If they want to share shifts with you or just give them to you completely. I would also like you to get used to things around here before you take on too much at once. Just, be patient. Alright?" Though Lindsay was only about 10 years older, she really intimidated Skyla. She was smart, beautiful, and knew how to handle people. Sky was definitely feeling a bit jealous, but mostly admiration took over.

"Alright." She agreed. "Thank you for thinking about it." Lindsay handed over Skyla's purse from behind the counter and shooed her away with a smile.

It was only mid afternoon and she knew exactly where Jack would be. She wanted to go straight home and get some rest without worrying about waking to a concerned boyfriend, but knew that same boyfriend would be upset that she didn't go to find him immediately after being freed from work. So she turned left and walked away from the store. Crossing a couple of streets, she soon found herself on the same bench she'd been on a few days ago and watching Jack playing again. She was glad he had so much energy and patience to have fun with them. If he lacked either, he wouldn't be himself. He wouldn't be so much fun.

For several minutes he didn't notice her. She considered taking out her mp3 but decided against it, opting for just enjoying the sounds of local life. It was her new home; she had to get used to the sounds of it. She missed the city she had lived in. She missed that park she used to run off to whenever she could. Hell, she even missed the Kitchersons, her old, up-tight, neighbors. She would never admit it to anyone though. Those two had been awful. Though, she suspected, they also thought the same of her and Lauren.

"Sky!" Jack called out and she instinctively put up an arm to shield her face. When nothing hit her, she put her arm down and smiled and the grinning figure in front of her. "You got off work early?"

"Yeah. Something about not wanting to over-work me"

Jack laughed for a full minute, holding his mid and collapsing on the bench beside her, "Like that's even possible! You'll probably go home and clean something now! You never quit, Sky. They'll learn that soon enough!"

"I'm sure they will" she laughed along with him, but a lot quieter. "And I'm not planning on cleaning anything today. Actually, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, go ahead" he calmed down a bit, putting an arm around her.

"What have you been talking to Lauren about?"

His smile didn't falter, "Nothing, really. Just keeping up with each other. And, before you ask, I've been talking to Brandon about you. He doesn't reply often, so we haven't gotten past the sort-of-strangers part yet. I'm serious, Sky. He doesn't like me. He tolerates me because of you, and that's all. He won't even tell me much about you, saying that it's things I have to ask you directly. But it's been a great help, anyway. Just knowing that someone has gone through the same pains I've had to-" she elbowed him and he laughed, "Take a joke, Sky!"

"That's not funny, Jack." she smiled. "I'm not that great of a pain, am I?"

"No, no. You're not. I just like bothering you sometimes. You know that. Love you?"

"Love you." They leaned in and kissed each other before a chorus of embarrassed children chimed in. "Oops" Skyla blushed.

Jack grabbed a newspaper from under the bench and held it up in front of them, blocking the kids' view as he pressed his lips to hers again for a few moments. "Don't worry, I don't think you've scarred them for life. They'll get over it." He put the newspaper down. "I should go entertain them though. Are you sticking around?"

"No, I think I'm going to head home. What about you? Staying late tonight?"

"No way. It's a school night." He grinned. "I'll see you after dinner. I'm walking little Emily home today."

"Right." she looked over at the brunette and smiled. "Take care of her. I'll see you later."

With only a couple of hours before Jack would get home, she decided to make the best of it and have a quick nap. Even with nearly full nights of sleep, she was exhausted. Waking up in a panic seemed to drain what energy she had gotten back during the night. She made sure the patio door was unlocked and fell onto the mattress. With a groan, she reached over and turned on the room heater she'd bought. She couldn't use it often, because it made Jack uncomfortable, but it was better to have and not need than need and not have. She didn't want to get under the covers so, yes, at the time it was a need she was glad to have. She turned over a few times until finally drifting off into a light sleep.

Skyla woke to a bright room and Jack shaking her lightly, "Hey, I didn't think you'd fall asleep on me! It's not that late."

"Mm. No, it's not that. I just thought I'd have a quick nap. What time is it?" she slowly sat up. Turning her head, she noticed JAck had already shut off the heater.

"Almost eight."

"Oh." She'd slept a lot longer than she meant to. "I guess I should have a late dinner then?"

"You haven't eaten?" his brows knit together, "What happened, Sky? You just came home and fell asleep?"

"Basically, yeah."

His lips turned to a thin line as he thought for several moments. Finally, with a tone she knew meant he wasn't happy, he asked, "Is something going on with you? You haven't been sleeping well lately, right? How can I help?"

"You can't. It's not you it's-" that forced smile of hers came back and she lied, "I'm just getting used to the idea of living here. You know, forever. Burgess is completely new to me and- and it's taking me some time to get used to it. I'll be fine soon, and really, it's not that bad."

"You promise?" he asked suspiciously.

She hated to lie to him, "I promise."

He seemed to accept it and helped her stand up. "Let's get you something to eat. Then we're going for a walk. After a nap like that, you need to-"

"Yeah. Right. excercise. Woohoo." She walked out of the room slowly, Jack following right behind her. "Sorry for worrying you."

"It's fine, Sky. We're always worrying about each other, right? It would be too good to be true if everything was fine. But it will be." He stepped back as she opened the fridge in front of him. With no room to get by, he just looked over the door. "Just don't do this stuff while I'm away, alright? Take care of yourself. There's no me, or Lauren, or Brandon, or-"

"Remind me to get pancake mix. I have a craving right now."

Jack stared at her blankly for a moment. Shaking himself out of it, he followed as she shut the fridge and started making a sandwich. "Is that all you're having?"

"I'm not that hungry. Jack, really. I'm not going to starve myself or anything. I know how to, you know, not die. I'm fine on my own." she added sadly. Then she shrugged her shoulders, smiled at the spirit, and continued making her sandwich. "I'm going to miss you"

"I know. I'll miss you, too." he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rested his forehead against her, "I love you"

"Love you."

After she ate, with Jack hanging onto her the entire time, and after they went on a long walk that was mostly silent, Skyla got ready for bed. She was slow about it, not wanting to have to sleep. Her shower took longer than usual, she spent ten minutes deciding on a pair of pajamas, and she told Jack she really just needed to check her e-mails. There was nothing, surprisingly. She'd expected at least something from Brandon. She sent an unnecessarily long message to Daniel then left the laptop open on the dresser, per Jack's request. Slowly, she crawled under the covers on the mattress. Turning her head to her left, she watched as Jack sat beside her.

Sitting up she asked, "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. I think I'll stay like this tonight. Watch over you from above type of thing." It sounded like it was supposed to be a joke but he held no humor in his voice. "Since you're no longer an angel..."

"I'm Brandon's Angel. And if I ever become a Guardian that'll be what you have to call me. Angel of the Skies. Kind of works, right?" she laughed softly, touching his arm. After a few moments she asked again, "Jack, what's wrong?"

"I'm worried about you. That's all." he looked away from her and at the covered window. "Just get some sleep, Sky."

"Not until you smile." She leaned forward to see if he would, but he was stubbornly frowning. Her hand went to the back of his neck and made him turn to her. Her lips barely grazing his she told him, "I'm serious. Smile." she poked his cheek with her other hand and saw his mouth quirk up a little.

"I'm not smiling, Sky. I have to stay vigilant so I can protect you and-" Sky's lips pressed over his to shut him up and though she knew it wasn't a way to make him smile, it was better than having another argument. When he pulled her down against the bed, she let out a small gasp. Though she'd wanted a reaction from him, she wasn't expecting him to change his mind so suddenly about the whole watchman thing.

He pulled away slightly and Skyla made a noise of annoyance, "What is it now?"

"I just- I, umm..." his forehead rested against hers as his blue eyes stared into her greys, "I want to... You know. But we shouldn't, right? It might not work and-"

"Jack..." she tilted her head so his lips fell on hers again. After an uncertain moment she answered, "Of course I want to. To try, anyway. We both need to be sure we're ready and-"

"Are you?"

She nodded once, slowly, and Jack smiled.


NOTES:
I feel like I should say something about this
But what