The morning sun was coming through the window when Nicole knocked on Jessi's door, saying, "Jessi it's time to get up. The crew is going to be demanding pancakes." She opened the door and froze when she saw Kyle and Jessi waking up, looking at her in surprise. "Oh, excuse me," she mumbled embarrassedly, and closed the door. She stood there for a moment, took a deep breath, and then said through the door, "I'll be in the kitchen."

She went into the kitchen and picked up her tea, drinking it while she stood looking out the window. She waited.

In a moment, Kyle came into the kitchen, followed by Jessi. Kyle looked apologetic, Jessi determined. Kyle said, "Nicole, I'm sorry …"

Nicole held up her hand to stop him. "Both of you get some juice and sit down first. Then we can talk about this calmly."

Jessi looked like she was about to argue, but got two glasses and set them at the table. Kyle got out the orange juice and filled them. They sat down, Nicole sat across from them. She took a sip from her tea and looked at them.

Kyle said, "Nicole, we didn't … nothing happened."

Nicole nodded, "I know, I could see you were still dressed."

Jessi asked, "Do you think Brian would let me live with him?"

"Do you want to live with Brian?" Nicole asked, surprised.

"No, I like living here. I like making pancakes for the family and going places with Lori and being near Kyle." She continued quietly, "I like knowing you are here for me."

"Then this is your home," Nicole told her. "This is your family, it's where you belong."

Jessi looked at Kyle and said "But you said that …"

Nicole raised her hand. "I said that I thought it was inappropriate for you to pursue a romantic relationship while living together under the same roof." She paused and took a sip of her tea. "That was my reaction when I was surprised by seeing the two of you kissing. We've all had time to talk about this and think about it. I would like to say that I was surprised this morning to see you together, but I wasn't really. Obviously the two of you are struggling with strong and complex feelings for one another. For me to try to deny them would be foolish. Clearly it would be awkward for you to pursue a romantic relationship while living under the same roof, but it's not like we haven't faced awkwardness and confusion before and survived it."

Jessi frowned, "Are you saying that it's all right with you?"

"I'm saying that whatever develops between the two of you is your own business. I can't stop it, I may be doing more damage than good trying," Nicole admitted. "I may not think it's the best idea, but all I can do is give you my advice and help you when you ask – and sometime when you don't. That advice is that if you do pursue this then take it slowly. I would also ask you to be discreet and not make things uncomfortable around the house for Lori and Josh, not to mention Stephen and me."

Kyle looked at Nicole questioningly and she gave him a small nod. He turned to Jessi and said, "Jessi, would you like to go to the dance with me next Friday?"

Jessi's mood brightened, "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Of course," Kyle said. "Do you want to go with me?"

"Yes," Jessi said, her eyes glistening, she leaned forward to kiss him then, catching Nicole's eye converted it to a hug.

They held each other for a moment until Nicole interrupted, "Now, we need to get breakfast started. We have hungry family to feed.