A/N Thanks to meteorstorm for the beta help!

Colin Bridgerton was an interesting man. Penelope had spent the last month with him. No wish just yet. He sure was taking his time. The average time it took to burn through all three was typically a week. There were, however, some odd cases at either end of the spectrum.

One child spent all her wishes in a ten-minute time frame. [Penelope should check out how Elizabeth Jane Cochran turned out.] Then there was the man who took two years to use the last wish. His life turned out fine. Probably.

Back to Colin, Penelope had easily folded into his life. The personal assistant was a tried and true method that always worked like a charm (much better than a maid!). Thankfully, Colin was quite organized and didn't really need a personal assistant. That suited Penelope just fine; she didn't actually want to do the job. It only made for a convenient excuse to be around him all the time in case he needed or wanted to use his wish.

Colin hadn't lied at the start. He was semi-famous. As a travel blogger, he had millions of followers, but he was more well-known for the fact that his family was technically titled gentry.

"That's more of Anthony's domain. I don't bother with it," he had said.

Penelope could relate. "Yeah, before I was a genie, I was a Featherington. We were part of the gentry in Mayfair." Oh no. She should not have said that.

"Really? That must have been so fascinating. But also a nightmare back then. The world still has room for improvement, but we've come pretty far, right?"

"Um, sure."

With how things had been going, Penelope expected Colin to take at least three months to figure out his first wish.

That's part of the reason she was shocked by his first wish. The other part of her was shocked by how ridiculous his use of the wish was.

They had just left the pub after spending the night with Colin's siblings - Penelope loved Eloise.

Colin recommended cutting through an alleyway to get back sooner. Penelope shrugged. It didn't matter much to her.

About halfway through the alleyway, Penelope was slammed into from behind. She went down. Hard.

"What are you doing?" Colin's voice was furious. She'd not heard him be angry in the entire month she'd known him. He was turned toward the man who shoved Penelope.

"Wait - I know you!" A deep voice said.

Colin had held out a hand for her to take to get back up. "Just leave us alone."

Penelope took Colin's hand and let him pull her back to standing. She rubbed her head.

"You're a Bridgerton, aren't you? You probably have some deep pockets. I'd quite like some of that for myself," The alleyman said.

"Not a chance," Colin scoffed.

"Perhaps this will be more persuasive." The man pulled out two knives and stepped threateningly to them.

Colin immediately stepped between the man and Penelope.

"Colin," Penelope said warningly. When he glanced back at her, she motioned her hands in a circle. She hoped he caught on that he should make a wish.

By the slight widening of his eyes, before he faced forward again, Colin got the picture. Good now he would wish and get himself away from the threat …

"Penelope, I wish you were back in my flat, safe, and sound," Colin said forcefully.

Before she could curse, yell at him, or try to take him with her, her hands and the curse of being a genie forced her to begin the process. She spun her hands and granted his wish.

Suddenly, she was in Colin's flat. That insufferable man! He had untapped and near limitless power at his disposal with the wishes. But he chose to save her…why?

She was an immortal genie. She could take care of herself.

Pacing around, Penelope realized that she couldn't leave until Colin returned. He was so ridiculous. Oh goodness, what if he was hurt? What if he didn't survive? Penelope always tried not to get too attached to the wishers. But Colin was different.

She had even debated putting a minor protection over him. Genies had the option to bestow their wishers with light protection - providing a light amount of luck in avoiding risk. It wasn't common among genies - most disliked their wishers. [Side effects include increased confidence and sociability.]

It took an hour for Colin to return. When he did, Penelope burst up from her seat on the sofa and stalked toward him angrily. Her eyes scanned his body for any injuries and came up empty, thankfully.

"What was that?" She demanded, her pointer finger poking his chest with each word.

"My first wish?" He said, hesitantly.

"No, Colin. You can't just do that. I am immortal. There is no need to save me. There is only a need to save yourself. I can't die. Any pain I feel would be temporary, especially when compared with your mortality."

"Pen … he shoved you to the ground and pulled two knives." Colin ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I couldn't think with you in danger like that. I couldn't breathe. I had to know you were safe. Of course, I used my wish on you. I will never be able to abandon you in that scenario."

"Colin …" Penelope's anger deflated. She couldn't be mad at him. No man had ever sought to protect her; no man had ever tried to do so.

"I refuse to apologize for my actions." He had a determined glint in his eye.

"I won't ask you to," Penelope said in a quiet voice. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Colin froze. They hadn't really touched much in the last month. Penelope thought he might be uncomfortable and started to pull away. Colin immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Penelope spoke into his chest. "Please promise me you'll do everything you can to keep yourself safe too."

"I will," Colin said into her hair. With their height difference, his cheek rested on her head.

Another wall around Penelope's heart crumbled down to join the other. Two walls remain.