Fallon hadn't been big on birthdays until she started school, but now they were like mini-holidays to her when she coukd make them work. "I'll keep it low key for the first tine around," she promised. Jesse was in a hospital, after all. She could hardly send him on a scavenger hunt around London right now.

She chuckled softly while making sure the motion didn't jostle him too much. "Maybe the day before, then. Unless you're ready for me to meet your mum." Malou wasn't a concern, not for Fallon anyway.

  

"Oh darling, it's not a matter of if I'm ready, it would be are you ready. She's a lot to handle." With Gabe and Connie already married it was Jesse's turn, unless Victoria managed to find herself a gent before Jess was "ready" to settle down. It was a race neither one of them seemed to want to win at the moment.

He mused over her suggestion however, humming a little as he did so. "It's is entirely up to you, this is your parade as they say, and I am certainly not going anywhere." Not yet anyway. He'd get through his birthday, but then he was going to make a break for it.

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If Fallon knew it wouldn't break the fragile peace they had only just established, she might've questioned the darling. It was a fairly intimate term, and, as far as she knew, they were still only friends. (Friends on the verge of becoming more, but friends nevertheless.) However, Fallon didn't know how he'd react to the question, and the last time she posed a similar question he had left. No, better leave it for now.

"As much as I'd like to meet your mum, I don't think a hospital introduction would be fitting." She said lightly. "You ought to be at your best for that, fancily dressed and all." If her eyes lingered a second longer on his bare arm, well no one had to know.

  

"Please do not take this the wrong way, but hold off as long as you can. She's a lot to handle." It was certainly not a slight against Fallon, but more toward his mother who could be... intense sometimes. "It's nice to know you're open to the idea, however." Jess wasn't quite sure where they sat these days in regards to, well, whatever it was going on between them, but he'd made the mistake of being obtuse before, so he was going to try and be as transparent as he could from here on out.

After all, friends didn't snuggle in hospital beds together like they were currently doing. However the mention of being anything more had caused some tension previously, so he was willing to move at her pace, if at all. As much as he liked her, which he did, quite a bit, they'd been easing back into everything after he'd screwed up royally and he was in no rush to make any more big mistakes.

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She understood his meaning completely, as she ardently hoped any man she met (and, Merlin, was she beginning to hope that man was Jesse) went years before meeting her mother. Erin Abernathy was not a shining example of a woman, and an even less respectable example of Fallon's origins. It was a blessing her father was dead, at least. He couldn't ruin anything for her from the grave.

"I understand," she laughed. "She seems very ... passionate about her children, from what you've told me." Overbearing was another characterization that came to mind, but she didn't wish to offend him by insulting his mother.

The last time they went down this path of conversation it had imploded. However, he wasn't blindsiding her by acknowledging her as his fiance presently, so perhaps it wouldn't implode again. "I am open to it, one day, if you want me to." Really, she just didn't want to have to leave as he'd left.

  

Relieved Fallon hadn't taken the notion personally, Jesse sighed quietly, shifting a little against the pillows. All of this sitting was starting to take a toll on him. He simply wasn't used to it, spent far more time on his feet every day than not. Having Fallon for company and a warm body next to him certainly made it a bit more bearable however.

"That's one way to put it," He chuckled quietly, perfectly content at the moment. He could easily get used to this. "I would like that, one day," He echoed the sentiment. Though they'd only known one another for a few short months, and that was including before they'd actually known who they were corresponding with, Jess could see it happening. Of course that left the question as to whether that was where this was headed or not, but he didn't want to make any assumptions. It lingered in the air between them and he wasn't sure if he was gutsy enough to ask or not.

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One day. The words felt like a promise of things to come, like, perhaps, this was moving in the direction she sometimes thought it was. Malou was confident Jesse cared for her, the frequent mentions of how he'd acted when she was missing stuck like glue in her thoughts. And, if she allowed herself to consider the implications of their fight, Jesse might've been willing to marry her already. After all, he had posed the question, hadn't he? What would he have done if she said yes?

"I'd say I'd like you to meet my mum one day, but she's ... ah ... not my favorite person." Fallon admitted with a hint of a blush. Talking about her mother always embarrassed her somewhat. "One day I'll introduce you to Kieran, though. My older brother." Kieran was often busy lately, not that Fallon begrudged him it.

  

Doubly pleased by the fact that Fallon did not seem adverse to any of these hypotheticals, Jess was content to leave it for the moment. The hospital was clearly not the place for them to have such conversations, so he could wait.

"Kieran you say? I think I went to school with him, if his last name is the same as yours." Different years if Jess remembered right, his late birthday putting him a year behind, but if he remembered right, the guy had been a Hufflepuff and had a diminutive, volatile little female friend he was joined at the hip with. "Not the same year, but we shared a couple classes, he left after fifth year, right?" What a small world.

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Despite knowing she shouldn't be surprised that he knew Kieran, she was. Sometimes, it felt as though everything that happened in school happened in another universe. Releasing an amused breath, Fallon nodded gently. "That's the one."

Him leaving school after fifth year never sat well with Fallon. She knew it was a pragmatic decision, one that greatly benefitted her life. However, such knowledge didn't prevent the guilt from rushing in. Kieran was intelligent enough to continue on. He could've sat for his NEWTs and obtained a better job than a newspaper reporter.

Pushing past the sudden swell of guilt, Fallon continued to manage her soft smile. "That introduction was as classmates, though. This would be as ... " As what? Her beau? Fiance? Husband? Fallon blushed deeply and looked from his face towards her hands. Merlin, she just threw it out there, didn't she? Too flustered to continue her sentence, Fallon left it hanging between them awkwardly.

  

Oh, so they were going to go there now. Huh. He noticed the blush and how after looked away from him. Jess mused it over for just a brief moment. He didn't want to take too long and make her think he didn't have an answer. Realistically it was up to her.

"How would you like to do it?" He couldn't see her expression at the moment and couldn't move to do so, so he awkwardly, given their position, tried to use his good hand to tilt her chin up towards him. "I'm not making the same mistake twice, this moves at your pace."

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Her blush only deepened as he tilted her chin up towards him. This wasn't how or when she anticipated having this conversation. Over a drink, maybe. After he made her dinner, certainly. Him severely injured in a hospital bed had never come to mind. Although, she supposed the timing fit them well. When did anything go according to plan with them?

"As someone important to me," she managed in response. He hadn't asked her to court, so she wasn't about to presume that was what he was looking for here. Continuing on, Fallon reached up and stroked his cheek softly. "I like you, JP. We can talk about the pace once you're out of here."

  

Ah well, good to know he hadn't scared her off altogether. He smiled softly, "I can do that." She made the rules here after all.

"And the feeling is mutual." He slid his fingers across her cheek to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He was thankful she seemed at ease with wherever they currently sat, so he wasn't about to rush anything until they had a chance to really talk about it.

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Well, damn.

Fallon didn't try to suppress the grin that threatened to split her face. The feeling was mutual. She knew that, of course, but to hear it after their last fight made her irrationally happy. Shifting slightly, Fallon moved to close the distance between them and kiss him softly.

  

His smile mirrored her own, turning slightly triumphant as she leaned in to close the gap between them. Curse his injuries at the moment; even a soft kiss sent him into a dizzy spiral of pain, between his collarbone and his cheek but he very stubbornly pushed through it for a moment.

He tightened his fingers in her hair gently, increasing the pressure and changing the tone ever so slightly. Just a momentary loss of control to show her what she did to him before he couldn't stand the pain anymore.

He pulled back only a little, releasing his grip but let his hand linger for just a moment to brush his thumb across her cheek. The following wince was inevitable, unavoidable as he inhaled slowly to breathe through the last of the sharp pain. He had to move back, leaning gratefully against the pillows with a dopey sort of smile on his face. "I need to get out of here." He chuckled.

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Fallon wasn't often rendered speechless by the actions of another. Whether it was her temper exploding or the logical reasoning of a trained auror, she always had a response, a quip, a something. As soon as his grip tightened in her hair, though, she was a swooning mess of herself. Merlin. Where had he learned that?!

It ended too soon, her eyes opened too slow. Time moved at a snail's pace as her brain struggled to catch up to reality. They had kissed! (And it was a good kiss, too!)

However, the dazed and happy expression quickly shifted into one of alarm at his wince. Fuck, she'd hurt him. His statement barely registered as Fallon extracted herself as gently as she could from his side. She stood awkwardly next to the side of the bed, her embarrassment and fear growing by the second. Did he need a healer?

"Are you alright?" She eventually asked as she anxiously retucked the stray strand of hair he had only a minute or two ago. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have sat there like that...Merlin, why didn't you say anything?"

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   Jesse Hatchitt

"Overreaction, sit down." He watched her, amused by the look on her face. Her concern was quite endearing, but misplaced.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I got carried away. Glutton for punishment over here." He held out his good hand toward her and waved her back to her spot. He'd rather be mildly uncomfortable and have her snuggled in than sitting there all by himself.

He cast her another look, eyebrows raised expectantly. "I promise I'm fine. Just twisted the wrong way a little too far. I'm fine. Perfectly relaxed."

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