Henry takes some time to process Jo's confession and Abe gives him some good advice.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I'm merely borrowing them for my own amusement.

Spoilers: None past the second episode.

Author's Notes: The title of this story was taken from the first line of the song Flares by The Script and was altered from, "Did you lose what won't return?" This story was written when the series was quite new and there was very little information regarding Abigail. With the information now available, it's clear that what happens in this story is impossible due to time line issues, but it's still an interesting concept to think about.

Henry looked up from where he had been resting his head in his arms on his desk when he heard Abe coming down the basement stairs. "Please Abe, I wish to be alone right now."

Abe shook his head. "You've been down here alone for over an hour."

"You really think an hour is sufficient to process what's happened?" said Henry incredulously.

"What happened is a good thing and you're acting like she's died all over again." Abe came up behind Henry and put his hands on his father's shoulders. "You've both been given a second chance. You should be celebrating instead of moping around down here all weekend."

Henry picked up an old photograph of Abigail and gazed at it. "It's not the same. She's not the same person that I knew."

"She's changed yes, but she's still the same person. You can't say that you haven't changed at all in all the years since she died, not counting your appearance of course," Abe pointed out. "You might have to get to know each other again, but I think you'll discover that she's still the same woman that you fell in love with."

"It's not just that Abe. I don't know if I can do this again. It nearly destroyed me when we lost her the first time."

Abe sighed. "Yes she will die again eventually, and it will be painful, but that's no reason not to try to enjoy what time you do have with her."

"What makes it all the worse is that her job is dangerous and she could very well be killed in the line of duty," said Henry. "It was bad enough worrying about her safety when we were just friends and partners, but now that she's essentially my wife that worry will grow exponentially."

"This will be the case whether you resume your relationship with her or not. At least now that she remembers who she is and knows about your condition, she won't question it if you try to take a bullet for her."

Henry nodded. "Yes I suppose that's true."

"I know this isn't easy, but if you take things slow and give yourselves time to adjust, I think you can both be happy again."

Henry stood up and hugged his son tightly. "Thank you Abe. You always seem to know just what I need to hear."

Abe smiled. "Go to her now, she's waiting for you in your bedroom."

Henry's eyebrows shot up. "In my bedroom? Surely she can't be expecting that of me so soon?"

Abe made a face. "No, she just wanted some time alone with her thoughts as well, but she didn't want to go home, so I told her she could sit in your room until you were ready to talk again."

Henry nodded and sighed with relief. "I'd better go up then." He headed up to his bedroom and knocked softly before entering. He saw Jo sitting on his bed with her legs bent and arms wrapped around them. She looked up at him and smiled shyly. He returned her smile and sat next to her on the bed. "Hello Jo... I'm sorry, I'm not sure I'm ready to call you Abigail just yet."

Jo nodded. "It's ok, I'm not really sure I'm comfortable with that either. Maybe it's best not to get into the habit of calling me by that name even in private. It will make it easier not to slip up in public."

"Yes, that's why Abe never really calls me Dad anymore," said Henry sadly. "I do miss it though."

"Yeah, he called me Mom earlier and it felt awkward and made me happy at the same time. I'll have to tell him not to though if he does it again. If he slips up and calls me that in public people will start to think he's got Alzheimer's," Jo replied grimly.

Henry frowned knowing that Alzheimer's was a very real concern for Abe's future and he really hoped that he would never have to watch his son go through that. "No that would not be a good thing."

"So where do we go from here?" she asked. "I mean we can't exactly pick up right where we left off can we?"

Henry shook his head and put his arms around her smiling as she leaned into his touch. "No I don't think so. Abe said we should probably just take things slow and get to know each other again and I think he's right. It is so hard to reconcile in my head the woman who you used to be with who you are now."

Jo nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's been very hard for me too, feeling like two people in one. I need you to help me get through this Henry."

"Of course Jo, you know I'll always stand by you," he said stroking her hair. "I need you to do me a favor though."

"What is it?"

"Please promise me that if it comes to it, you'll let me take a bullet for you without question," said Henry hugging her tightly. "I know you'll leave me again someday, but I couldn't bare it if something happened to you when I could have prevented it."

Jo laughed softly. "No arguments here now that I remember what you are. I might have to put on a show of protesting for the benefit of others, but know that I won't stop you if it comes to that."

Henry smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, that does put my mind at ease somewhat."

"Try not to worry too much about losing me though Henry," said Jo. "You're not the only one that can return from the dead. It might take me a lot longer and I'll have a different body, but if I could come back to you once, there's no reason to think it couldn't happen again. I know you'll miss me terribly, but at least next time you'll be able to hold onto the hope that when it's meant to be, we'll find each other again."

"Hmm I hadn't thought of it quite like that," Henry replied then cupped her face and kissed her softly. "And I've got all the time in the world to wait."

That's all for now. I'm not sure what else to do with this piece so I'm ending it here. If anyone has any ideas for where they'd like to see this story go, I'll certainly consider it.