Nina laughed as she and Tanya walked home. They had managed to fix the schedules and prepare the work for Tanya's english classes the next day, but it had taken them almost two hours because of all the laughter and fun they had been having.

"Thanks for staying with me," said Nina.

"No problem. It was really fun," Tanya replied.

"We should get together on the weekend and do something."

"Definitely. Here." She pulled out her phone and gave it to Nina. "Put your number in so we can make plans."

They exchanged numbers and then Nina said goodbye, heading up Ramsay Street to her house.

Nina pulled out her keys and unlocked the front door, her exhaustion taking over as she walked inside and dropped her bag on the couch. She failed to notice what was there as she walked into the kitchen to order some dinner, but decided to wait until she had showered. A few minutes later, she headed to the bathroom for her shower. After her shower, Nina came into her living room to watch TV, but stopped the minute she saw a jacket on the arm of the couch. She retreated to the kitchen to grab the phone, ready to call the police since she hadn't heard anyone come in. But her footsteps faltered when a person came in from the kitchen, phone in hand as he read a text message. Nina couldn't help the smile that lit up her face when the man looked up, and she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly and kissing him. She refused to let go, so he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the couch.

"I missed you," he said to her when she finally let go.

"I missed you too Jack!" Nina wrapped her arms around him again and leaned into him, afraid if she let go, he would disappear. "I thought you weren't coming until next week?"

"Surprise!"

"Are you staying?"

"I am. I didn't mean to scare you by the way. I called Lou and he let me in."

"I am so glad you're here. I really missed you."

Jack kissed her, and she again leaned on him, feeling a million times better than she had when she had gotten home.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked.

"Yes. I was going to order pizza. Do you want anything?"

"I have something ready. I just have to heat it up."

"Sounds yummy." She smiled.

Jack stood and headed to the kitchen, Nina right behind him. She didn't want him out of his sight. She sat at the table while he busied himself in the kitchen, then tried to peek when he shifted the tray to the oven.

"No peeking. It's a surprise. You're going to love it," he promised.

"How do you know?"

"Because we've had it before."

"When?"

"When you surprised me in America, when you pretended you were a maid in my hotel room."

Nina couldn't remember what that had been, but if she had liked it then, she most likely would still like it. So she sat back for another ten minutes, while Jack continued cooking and brought the food over. He had covered it so she couldn't see it yet. But the smells took her back to that first shared meal in the US, just hours after Jack had arrived. She suddenly remembered how excited she had been to see him, after almost five months apart. She had wanted to surprise him, and she had succeeded. He certainly hadn't expected her to be there yet, not when she had managed to keep him thinking she was on set for a movie. That was the last time she had been with him though, because they had broken up again. It had taken them nearly a year to get back together, and that had been hard since they were in different countries and weren't likely to see each other for a while. Then they had broken up, gotten together again and broken up again. That was when she had come home and told Lou, who had told Susan and Karl, and they had worked together to get her to sing a song she had written about her and Jack so she'd feel better. Then she had gone to Florence, met up with Jack and they had finally taken a ride down the Arno River together. That had strengthened their relationship and they had been unbreakable since.

"Earth to Nina," called Jack. "You listening?"

"Huh, oh, sorry, no, I was reliving some lovely memories," she said with a smile. "What were you saying?"

"Ready to eat?"

"Definitely. Can I see what you made now?"

"Sure." He lifted the cover off the plate.

Nina gasped. Of what she could see, she knew he had gone to a lot of trouble. Everything was clearly American. There was flounder and dungeness crabs. She could see cornmeal bread on the side, and salad underneath. There was lamb pieces surrounding the seafood, and it looked delicious. There was a bottle of wine out too, and Nina couldn't have been happier.

"Jack," she started, but couldn't finish because he kissed her.

After a second kiss, they ate, both quiet, but neither taking their eyes off each other. They stayed like that for the whole meal before Nina finally had to look away to drink her wine and clean up the dishes. Once the dishes were done, Nina let Jack lead her back to the couch so they could watch a movie together. Ten minutes in, Nina was asleep, using Jack as a pillow. He reached up and pulled a blanket down to cover her as she snuggled in closer to him. He placed a soft kiss on her head and cuddled her to him until the movie was over. Then he gently carried her to her bed, making sure she was snug under the covers.