Forgot to do it last time, so I just gotta just thank everyone again for the follows, favorites, and especially the comments. Some really, really kind feedback there. Truly appreciated. And 'poor, dumb babies'? To steal from my late grandmother, that just 'tickled' me. So accurate, too. Anyway, this one went a little longer than the rest, but there didn't seem to be a good place in the middle to break it into two. I hope you guys who take the time to read it enjoy. Thank you so much, as always.

Schmidt and Winston looked at each other, confused.

"What are you talking about Jess? What would make you…" Winston started.

"I overheard him on the phone," Jess said. She sighed deeply and put her glasses back on. "He was leaving to go to his doctor's appointment or whatever, but surprise, surprise, he forgot his wallet. I went to give it to him, and I heard him on the phone."

"What did he say?" Schmidt asked.

"He didn't see me. He just… got on the elevator and left."

"What did you hear, then?" Winston asked.

"He was talking to somebody about some apartment. He said he didn't want it to be too far from where he works. He said he'd have to find another place or something."

Schmidt and Winston again looked at each other, confusion still on their faces.

"I just don't get it, you guys," Jess said, her voice breaking slightly. "Things were going so, so great. Then some guy kisses me, and now it's all… this?"

"Come on, Jess," Winston said, holding out his hands. "Let's get you some tea."

Jess hesitated a moment before frowning and taking Winston's hands. He helped her up as Schmidt got to his feet beside them. Winston slowly walked Jess to the couch as Schmidt ducked into the kitchen and got some water going for the tea. Jess sat down on the couch as Winston cleared a few glasses off the coffee table and went to take them to the sink.

"Hey Jess, what kind of tea do you want?" Schmidt called from the kitchen as Winston approached him.

"I don't know. Whatever's easiest.

"Well, I don't anticipate any of them posing much of a challenge," Schmidt said, shaking his head. He looked in the cupboard at Jess' tea selection. "What do you think, Winston? She's got, like, 14 different kinds of teas in here."

"Ooh, how about some Herbal Peach Bellini Blush," Winston said, excitedly.

"Sounds just delightful," Schmidt said, plucking a box from the cupboard. He set the box on the island and grabbed three mugs from the shelf.

"Hey, what do you make of this?" Schmidt asked, leaning in.

"I don't know, man. It doesn't make a ton of sense."

"I know, right?"

"Nick is crazy about her. I mean, I've never seen him like this."

"Well, maybe you just said it. Nick is crazy. Maybe that guy, that kiss… really messed him up."

"I dunno. That kind of makes some sad sense. But still. He was an idiot about Caroline, but this… this has been different."

"I know what you mean. Something's not adding up here."

"Alright, you get the tea all set. I'm gonna go...," Winston gestured towards Jess. He turned at started toward the couch. "Hey, Jess. Just gonna be…"

"Bring cookies," Jess called from the living room.

Winston took a quick look around, not seeing any cookies. He looked at Schmidt, who just shrugged. Finally, Winston spotted a box of Fig Newtons on top of the fridge. He pointed them out to Schmidt, who grabbed them and tossed them to Winston. He caught the box, and made his way over to where Jess was sitting, legs crossed and slouching back, her narrow frame nearly disappearing into the couch.

"Hey Jess," he said, as he took a seat next to her. "Schmidt and I were just talking, and there is just something here that doesn't make sense."

"None of this makes sense, Winston. I talked to him last night, and he didn't say anything. And when I saw him today, things just seemed… I dunno… better. Like things were going to be okay."

"And what did he say?"

"He didn't say anything about… anything really. He said he was looking forward to talking later, and then he ran off to his doctor's appointment. If there even is a doctor's appointment."

"I guess it isn't really like Nick to take care of himself like that. He broke his finger once in college, and he never even got it looked at. He just wanted to wait until it, and I'll use his exact words, 'went away'. But, you know. People can change, right?"

"I know people can change," Jess said, rubbing her head.

"Right," Winston said. He opened the box of Fig Newtons, pulled out a sleeve, and handed them to Jess, who took she sleeve and frowned.

"What is wrong with you, Winston?"

"Huh?"

"OK guys," Schmidt said, placing a tray with three mugs of tea down on the coffee table. "Now, I've done a lot of research on this, and I've read that optimum steeping time is approximately seven minutes. So. You can thank me later."

Jess just slowly blinked as Winston shook his head.

"Has Nick… said anything to you guys?" Jess said. "You know, about… us?"

"No, nothing."

"Not a thing."

"No, I guess he wouldn't have," Jess said, placing the Fig Newtons on the table and picking up a mug. "This whole thing just happened."

"Here's what I don't get," Schmidt started. "How is he going to afford to live on his own? I mean, even an efficiency in L.A. has got to be too rich for Nick's near gypsy blood."

"Right," Winston agreed. "And it's not like he's exactly in any shape to set out on his own. I mean, most of his stuff is our stuff. And, we've all seen his room."

"I usually try to avert my eyes," Jess said. "Just, you know… make a lot of eye contact."

"See," Schmidt said, lightly slapping Winston's chest. "You must've misheard him. It's not really feasible that our Nick can be moving out on his own."

Jess let a small smile pass her face. It only lasted a moment before she straightened up and breathed in deeply.

"But… what if he's not going to be on his own," she said. "He could live with other roommates. Look at me, I found you guys on Craigslist. I found you guys on Craigslist after… after Spencer cheated on me."

The words sat in the room for a moment as Jess hung her head. Schmidt and Winston gave each other an uncertain look.

"Jess," Schmidt said. "This is clearly not the same thing. You know it, and you know Nick knows it, too."

"Apples and oranges, Jess," Winston chimed in. "Not even the same ballpark."

"Geez, pick an idiom and stick with it, Winston," Schmidt said.

"Hey man, I'm just trying to help. Jess knows what I'm getting at."

"I'm sure she does. I'm just saying there was probably a more artistic and evocative way of putting it."

"Evocative?"

"Yeah, Evocative. It means…"

"I know what it means, Schmidt. What evocative idiom should I have used instead? The grass is always greener?"

"Winston, that's not even close. That's a whole different thing. To use your own trite phrase, it's not even the same ballpark."

"For the love…" Winston started. He looked over at Jess who was just staring into space. "Important thing is, Jess got what I was saying. Right Jess? What do you think?"

Jess pressed her lips together and nodded her head. She put her mug back down on the table, and slowly s stood up.

"I think I need to call Cece," she said. "Thanks, guys. But… I just… kind of need to talk to Cece right now."

Jess walked to her room, leaving Schmidt and Winston on the couch.

"So, what do you think? Life without Nick Miller?" Winston asked, grabbing his mug from the coffee table.

"I don't know. I can't believe he'd leave like this. Not without a conversation. He'd never do that to me."

"Or Jess?"

"Right. He'd never do that to Jess."

Nick sat in the waiting room, thumbing through an old issue of Highlights magazine. Every minute or so, he'd look up at the clock. He'd been waiting for over an hour, and he'd started to get antsy.

"Dammit, Goofus. Get it together," he muttered as he dropped the magazine on the empty chair beside him. Just then, the door opened and middle aged woman with blond hair and beige scrubs stepped out.

"Nick Miller?" she called, looking around the room.

"Right here," Nick said, standing up.

"This is a little irregular," she said. "But I've found an opening, so come right this way. Dr. Sweeney will be just a moment."

She ushered Nick through a narrow hallway and into a small room marked 'Exam Room 3'. Nick took a seat on the exam table, and took in his surroundings. One entire wall was a large mural of a bunch of cartoon children running happily from an old timey school house, just as class let out. On the wall opposite, there was another mural of a bunch of happily dopey farm animals. Nick keyed in on what appeared to be a girl bunny and a boy bunny, frolicking through a field. He tilted his head, looking closely at the scene, just as the door swung open.

"Nick Miller?" came the voice from outside the door. "What seems to be…"

The doctor walked in, wearing a long white lab coat and staring at the clipboard he held. He took two steps in and stopped in his tracks.

"Aw, crap. I knew this was going to happen."

"Dr. Sam," Nick said, awkwardly. "You're looking well. Tall as ever, I see."

"I knew that name was familiar," Sam said, closing the door behind him. "Okay, let's have it. You're officially pressing charges, right?"

"Charges?"

"Well, yeah. I assume you're going to be gunning for assault? Although, I gotta say man, I barely touched you. I'm not sure why you crumpled so quickly."

"I don't really remember it exactly as such. Besides, you've got like a foot on me, and I didn't know you were…." Nick felt himself getting worked up so he stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not here to press charges. I'm here to apologize. So, Dr. Sam, I'm sorry."

"Could you maybe not call me that? It's kind of weird coming from a grown man."

"I could see that."

Sam flipped through a few pages on his clipboard before moving past Nick and sitting on a stool to the right of the exam table.

"So," Sam started. "You're here to apologize. For what? Busting up me and Jess?"

"Yeah, well. I guess if you want to look at in those terms."

"You kissed her, we broke up. I'd say those terms are applicable."

"Hey, I was there, man. You broke up with her. She was pretty upset about it."

"Was she? That's not really how I remember it," Sam said, writing something on his clipboard.

"Really? Okay, how do you remember it, Dr. Sam?"

"Seriously, dude. Can we stop with that?"

"I'm trying, it just… kind of has a ring."

"Look, Nick. That whole day at the Indian Marriage… whatever. All Jess did was talk about you. Complain about you. Didn't even feel like I was there. And when she finally did come clean? She seemed… I dunno. She seemed sorry, but she also didn't seem sorry."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Shocking," Sam said, standing up. "I asked her… when you kissed her… if she kissed back. I needed to know if it was just some guy getting a little forward with his roommate, or something else."

"What did she say?"

"Nothing. She didn't say anything. Not one thing. Which was basically all I needed to hear. Or... not hear, as it were. Again, I could tell she was sorry, but… she wasn't all the way sorry."

"Well, Dr.," Nick started. "Sorry. Sam… just Sam. I am all the way sorry. I wasn't really thinking about anything at the time, and I definitely wasn't thinking about you. And, for that, I am all the way sorry."

Sam looked and Nick and gave him a nod. He then furrowed his brow, and looked at him confused.

"Why now, Nick? Why come out here and apologize to me now?"

Nick put his hands in his pockets and hunched forward a bit, looking to the ground.

"Well, you might not believe this, but Jess and I... we're kind of together now."

"Of course you are. I assumed as much."

"Huh?" Nick said, as he looked up, surprised. "Why did you assume that?"

"Nick. I'm 6'4". I get paid six figures. I save lives for a living. Children's lives. I'm kind of a catch."

"I'd say that's accurate."

"I haven't heard a word from Jess since that day. Not one word, one call, one text, one email. Zero. I kind of thought… I dunno… she'd try to work things out. But she didn't. Quite the opposite, actually. So that's why I'm not surprised you guys are together. She felt bad about hurting me. She felt bad about how things went down. But… I'm not sure she was really actually 'sorry' that it happened."

Nick let Sam's words sink in as he sat on the exam room table. He'd never really asked himself why Jess never made an attempt to salvage her relationship with Sam. He started to wonder what else he hadn't taken into account.

"So, again, I ask you," Sam continued. "Why now? Why are you here now?"

"I… I sorta… saw her kissing another guy."

Sam raised his eyebrows and couldn't hide the smile that spread over his face.

"Well, now. Isn't that interesting," he said. "Can't say you don't deserve it."

"That's fair," Nick said, rubbing the back of his neck. "And now I know how it feels, and that's why I'm here apologizing."

Sam folded his arms and nodded, considering Nick's apology. After a moment, his posture relaxed as he looked at his watch.

"Well, thanks, I guess," he said, starting for the door. "You didn't' have to do that, so… thanks."

Sam walked to the door, opened it, and started to leave. He stopped just on the other side of the doorway, and turned back towards Nick.

"So what did she say?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

"When you asked her about the kiss, what did she say?"

"Oh. Uh, she said it just happened. She said the guy just kissed her, it took her by surprise, and that she never wanted it to happen," Nick replied, standing up.

"Hmm. She said all that, huh?" Sam said, turning away from Nick to head down the hallway. "That's a lot more than I got. A lot more."

With that, Sam disappeared down the hall. Leaving Nick in the exam room where he found himself staring, again, at the bunnies in the mural.

Jess and Cece sat on the floor of Jess' room, their backs leaned against the foot of her bed. Jess had still yet to change out of her pajamas from two nights before, and Cece was uncharacteristically sporting a pair of black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. Between them lay a half-eaten box of chocolate chip cookies that Cece had picked up on the way over.

"So, I don't understand," Cece said. "He's got a doctor's appointment? On a Sunday?"

"That's what he said," Jess replied before wiping some crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "But who knows, really? Could just be a cover to go check out his new digs."

"I'm having a hard time believing Nick is looking to move out. So quickly? It's just awful ambitious of him. I mean, this is Nick we're talking about."

"He can be strangely motivated at times. Maybe he just can't wait to get away from me."

"Jess."

"I don't know, Cece. Maybe he just can't get past this. Maybe he'll always just be this way. Maybe he'll never trust me."

"I don't know, Jess. Look at it from where he's coming from. He's been burned before, and you can identify with that, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know what it's like to feel the need to protect yourself, right?"

"I guess."

"So, maybe he just needs a little more time to clear his head. You know how slow he can be sometimes."

"This is different, Cece. I just… expected more. I need more right now," Jess said nervously dragging her fingers over her knees. "We said we were 'all in'. That we were going to give this a serious shot. And here he is, giving up already?"

"You don't know that, Jess."

"Well it sure seems like it, doesn't it?" Jess said, her voice breaking with frustration.

"I don't know what it seems like. But I know you. Better than you know."

"What… what does that mean?"

"It means…" Cece stopped, a thought crossing her mind. "It means nothing, I guess. You know you and Nick better than I do."

"Thank you."

"So, what are you gonna say to him. You know, when he tells you he's leaving."

Jess' eyes got wide with surprise and she reflexively straightened up.

"I… I dunno, I guess."

"Well, are you going to try to talk him out of it? Probably not, right? I mean, if he's not 'all in' now, it seems unlikely that's going to change."

"Yeah."

"In the end, it might be better if he leaves. How uncomfortable would it be, right? Having your ex living four feet away from you?"

"Yeah, that would…"

"It won't be that bad, either. I'm sure the first few weeks will be rough. He might stop in every now and then to see Schmidt and Winston. And you guys will probably try to stay friends for a little while, but after a few months, that'll die off. Before you know it, you won't be seeing each other at all. And by then, this whole thing will be a distant memory."

"I know what you're doing Cece," Jess said, getting to her feet. "And I see where you're going."

"Well, I want you to think about this, Jess," Cece said, standing up herself. "I want you to realize where this ends if you guys don't figure this out. And Jess, I know you. And I know how… passive you can get about these things."

"Passive?"

"Yes, passive. Jess, do you want this thing with Nick to end?"

"No," Jess said, nervously playing with a stray strand of hair.

"Do you want him to move out?"

"No."

"Do you want to wake up one day, and just… not know him?"

"Of course not."

"Well, that's where this might be headed, Jess. How do you feel about that?

"OK, Cece, you've made your point."

"Have I, Jess? Because, it kinda sounds like you're just going to let another relationship end at the first sign of trouble."

"I don't…"

"You and Paul? Not on the same page? Done. One day you wake up and realize Russell isn't as passionate as you want him to be? Done. Sam doesn't fancy you kissing your roommate? Well, I can actually kind of see where he's coming from, but that's not…. The point is, once again, done without a fight. Are you just going to let that happen again?"

"No, I…"

"Yeah, you say that Jess, but I'm not sure."

"Come on, Cece."

"I mean, why change now? What's so special about this relationship? After all, it's only been, what, two months?"

"You know what's different. You know I…" Jess said, catching herself.

Cece folded her arms and waited for Jess to catch up with her own words. Jess took a deep breath and looked at Cece. After a moment, she tilted her head and squinted her eyes as it sunk in.

"You don't have to tell me, Jess," Cece said, smiling.

Jess bit her lip and shut her eyes hard before finally breaking the silence.

"Dammit."