As always, disclaimers are on the first chapter!

I was asked if the character of Nyx was based on myself. This being a self-insert, Nyx is me. One of the things that I attempted to do while writing this was to not idealize myself. In coming chapters, that got to be harder because I really didn't know how I would have acted in those situations. So, I went with my best guesses.

Thanksgiving

Even though I expected it, I couldn't help but still feel disappointed when Jeremy advised strongly against my joining Nick and Antonio on their trip back home. Well, okay, "advised strongly" is a weird combination of an understatement and an overstatement. He outright forbid it in that strange way of his that sounded like a firm request. One day I will figure that little trick out and use it to my advantage.

Nick and I kept in constant contact over the weeks that he was gone from Stonehaven. He had the IT department set me up with my own email account, so he could send me the new images. I would use Elena's computer to check the account and the websites he designed, throwing critiques and comments about them where I saw fit. We stuck mainly to emails and telephone calls when he couldn't quite phrase his question in writing.

While teaching him Photoshop was a pain in the ass with half a state separating us, Nick caught on surprisingly fast. His emails would come with fewer and fewer questions about the program and more about me. The temptation to just tell him everything was tough to resist, but I kept my answers in check. My roommates always said I had a bit of faerie in me, with my inability to outright lie.

The days turned to weeks, the weeks to months, and before I knew it Thanksgiving weekend was upon us. The morning of Thanksgiving, I was woken up by a familiar scent that I had been fading around Stonehaven and I was excited to have again. The Sorrentinos were back!

I threw the blankets off my bed and, for the first time since late October, didn't notice the cold air that filled my room. Pausing only to pull on my warm pants, an over-sized shirt, and socks, I then launched myself from my bedroom and down the stairs. My nose lead me, not surprisingly, straight to the sunroom and breakfast, where the Danvers and the Sorrentinos were sitting around the table. I was running too fast, though, and I ended up sliding right past the door and crashing into the wall.

"Ow..."

As I lay crumpled on the floor, leaning back against the wall, I heard a whoop of laughter from Antonio as he stood over me. Strong arms lifted me to my feet and softer hands made a show of dusting me off. I blinked and shook my head to clear my vision. Nick was standing in front of me, being the one who was dusting me off.

"NICK!" I launched myself at him and hugged him tightly, a little too glad to see him after all this time.

He made an "umph" sound and staggered back a step or two as I felt his arms wrap around me in a hug.

"Nick's the only one you missed?"

I lifted my head from Nick's shoulder and grinned at Antonio. "No, just missed more." I wriggled free of Nick's hug and went to Antonio to get him a much calmer greeting than I did his son.

It wasn't an hour after the initial greets that I actually found Clay in the kitchen, prepping a couple 25-pound turkeys for supper that night. Everyone else had piled into Jeremy's SUV and left to go pick up lunch.

"Going for a traditional dinner for tonight?" I grinned as I stepped all the way into the kitchen.

Clay grunted as he plunged a fist-full of stuffing into the first bird and reached for more in the bowl next to him. He raised his eyebrow at me as I reached for the second turkey and started filling it with stuffing as well.

"What?"

"Y'never cooked before."

"So?" I smirked at him. "I planned to today."

When his eyes met mine, I already knew the question he was going to ask. Instead of answering, I cleaned my hands of stuffing and turkey guts before tying the legs and tucking them in as I had seen my mom do for years. I had talked Clay into giving turkey bags a try this year, and I slipped the bird I was working on in one of them before placing it in one of the two identical baking pans. A moment later he was beside me with the other bagged turkey and putting it in the other pan.

"I know how to make a few things." I smiled up at him. "Not all of them appropriate for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but at least one of them is... Maybe two."

"And which one is that?" I saw a hint of a smirk on his lips.

I laughed, "You'll find out when we sit down to eat tonight, won't you?"

My corn chowder and cornbread was a hit. They usually were, but it always made me feel all giddy when I made something well enough that there was nothing left for the next day. After supper, the Pack—myself included—retired to the study. Clay and Elena were snuggled up on the couch, Jeremy and Antonio were relaxed in armchairs with their fingers wrapped around identical glasses of brandy, meanwhile I was laying on the floor in front of the fire with Nick, trying to stave off a combination warm fire and triptophan coma while he chattered endlessly about how well the web design was coming.

I was so tired from the day of cooking and night of eating that it took me a moment to realize when Nick had stopped talking and started using my back for a pillow. I blinked, still trying to fight off actual sleep, when I herd Jeremy and Antonio talking to each other from the chairs.

"If she's really from the city, I'm surprised that she hasn't gone a little stir crazy up here in the middle of nowhere."

Antonio's comment was answered by a soft "hmm" from Jeremy, which I imagined was accompanied by a slight nod as well.

"Jer, why don't you let her take the trip to New York City with Nicky? He's already been putting her name on the sites as well, and clients are starting to wonder who this mystery web designer is."

I lay very still in my spot, suddenly wide awake. Was Nick really putting my name to his site designs? I had stopped paying attention when our emails became more casual and conversational. I figured he was just getting crits and suggestions from me and only using what he liked. That was when I noticed even Nick was a little too still against my back.

Jeremy and Antonio were both silent for a while. I was about to try to shift so I could get a better look at them when I heard the clink of ice moving in glass and Jeremy's deep, quiet voice. "If anything goes wrong, Tonio, it's yours and Nick's responsibility to take care if it."

Nick let out a breath that I didn't realize he was holding. He shifted against me and seemed to settle down. When I moved to look at Nick over my shoulder, his eyes were closed as if he had been peacefully dozing the entire time.

I heard the smile in Antonio's voice before he actually said anything. "C'mon, Jer. What could possibly go wrong?"