Dinner was a fun family affair, though neither Jenna nor Hudayfah said much, both trying not to look at the other. Afterwards they all gathered in the living room to play a game of charades at the insistence of Emma and Ali, before they played some board games. Soon the men gathered in the living room for the reshowing of the basketball game, apparently their favorite Muslim player had proposed in the middle of the half time show, and since Rami and Hudayfah had missed it, they wanted to see it for themselves. The girls gathered in the family room to talk and laugh, but soon Jenna excused herself, not in the mood for gossip and conversation.

As she had to pass through the living room to get to the stairs, she could feel Hudayfah's eyes on her, yet when she turned around to look at him, he had already turned back towards the television. As she climbed the stairs, she walked down the hallway to where Muhsin's room was, and as her brother answered her knock, she opened the door.

"Hey Muhsin." She said quietly, and he looked up from the book he was reading.

"Hey little sis. What's wrong?" he asked, closing his book at the look on her face, and to his astonishment she burst into tears, and for the first time in years, Muhsin hugged his little sister.

"Oh Muhsin." She sobbed, and he patted her back.

"What is it Jen?" he asked worriedly, and she shook her head.

"Hudayfah and I are fighting and I don't know what to do."

"Oh," he said a bit uncomfortably, "what are you fighting about?"

"I confronted him about Marwa."

Muhsin winced.

"I'm sorry I told you that. I wasn't trying to cause a problem between you guys, I was just surprised he didn't tell you something so important."

She nodded.

"No you're right, he should have told me." She sighed, and took the tissue from the box her brother extended towards her. "I just don't like fighting with him."

"It's going to be okay Jen." He said, putting an arm around her, and she leaned into his shoulder, dabbing at her eyes.

"Thank you Muhsin." She blew her nose. "What are you reading?" she asked, and he flushed slightly.

"Um, I'm studying."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Studying what?"

He shifted a bit uncomfortably.

"For the bar."

Her eyes lit up.

"Muhsin! You're going to take the bar again!?"

He nodded.

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his hair. "I guess this has been a wakeup call for me to turn my life around. I mean look at me. I have to be locked up in a room in my little sister's husband's house because I have thugs coming after me." He shook his head. "I don't know what happened to my life. It's like it got away from me. Anyways, I took the test too long ago for me to do anything now, so I plan to take it again in July InShaAllah."

She smiled, and gave him another hug.

"I'm proud of you big bro."

He grinned.

"Thank you."

"How's Omar doing?"

"He's good. We just had a Super Mario Bros marathon."

She laughed.

"Well I better go get ready for bed."

"It will be okay Jenna. You know how I know?"

"How?"

"Because I have never seen such love like the way he looks at you. And I'm so glad that Allah swt gave you such a good thing because you deserve nothing but the best. Nothing but a man that adores and loves you, and he does. He really does."

*** She sat up as he came into the room, watching him closely as he closed the door behind him. He avoided her gaze, pulling off his clothes and slipping into his pajamas. He still avoided her as he went into the closet to hang up his suit, to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Eventually he came to bed, and as he climbed in next to her, she continued watching him until he sighed.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, and she scooted closer.

"Are you talking to me now?" she asked hopefully, and he turned to look at her before sighing.

"Yes."

"Oh Hudayfah." She exclaimed before throwing her arms around him, and he caught her, holding her tightly to his chest. She clung to him, tears pouring down her face as she buried her face into his neck, before she pulled back, and grabbed his hands in hers. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have gone through your office, it was just Muhsin had me freaked out and I just..." he put a finger to her lips cutting her off.

"I've done a lot of thinking, and while I was really upset by what you did, I realized that I must shoulder some of the responsibility for not telling you everything from the start. For keeping so many things a secret." He stroked his hand down her back. "So I'm going to tell you."

She looked at him waiting, blinking slightly and clinging to his hands tightly as if she was scared he would run away from her. He let out a breath, a faraway look in his eyes.

"I met Jamaal our sophomore year in high school."

Her eyes widened.

"Jamaal?! The Jamaal that is causing all of this chaos in our lives?! That Jamaal?!" she exclaimed, and he nodded.

"Yes, that Jamaal."

"What does he have to do with this?"

"Just listen darling." He said softly before pressing his lips to her forehead, and she grabbed onto his arms.

"I missed you. I know it's silly since it's been like only half a day. But I really did." She whispered, and he laughed quietly.

"I did too darling."

She pulled back from him.

"So what about Jamaal?"

"We were partnered together in biology class, and as we were the only two Muslims in the school, we quickly became friends. We started to do everything with each other, and the first time I went to his house, I met his sister, Marwa. She was a year younger than us, a freshman at Kennedy Academy, a prestigious high school that was for geniuses. The first time I laid my eyes on her, it was love at first sight. She was beautiful, intelligent, charming, kind. She consumed my every thought."

"We don't need all the details." Jenna said huffily, and he shook his head in amusement, pulling her onto his lap.

"It's just part of the story darling." He said, and she nodded.

"Okay."

He put a hand in her hair, and took a breath.

"Soon it was apparent that Marwa liked me as well, but we were still in high school. We couldn't get married yet! I wasn't exactly that religious back then, but I knew enough not to date. But oh how I loved her! Jamaal knew, and he teased me endlessly, but he seemed to like the idea that we would be brothers one day, so he set up so many opportunities for us to be around each other. He always invited me over, he would trick me into thinking we were going out to do something, and we would pick her up from school instead. The three of us went out to dinner a lot and went bowling and to the movies. I was totally lost in her. Eventually Jamaal and I graduated high school, and Marwa and I talked to our parents, and her parents agreed that if I got a job and could save enough money for the wedding, they would buy us an apartment as soon as she graduated." He paused to push back her hair from her face. "They were very rich. So I agreed, and I got a job, and I worked so hard. However I wanted to give her the wedding of her dreams, I didn't want to just give her a small ceremony in the Masjid, so it took longer than we thought."

"But I saw a marriage license." She said softly, and he nodded, giving a soft laugh.

"She was too excited. She got the marriage license from the city so the second I had made enough for the wedding we could get married without waiting."

She put her fingers at the base of his neck, playing with the curls that were there.

"So what happened?"

He sighed, his face drawn.

"Eventually I figured that in a month I would have enough money, and we set the date. What I hadn't told her was it had taken so long to get more money because I had gotten her her dream engagement ring. I was twenty years old, she was nineteen, and I couldn't wait to give it to her. I told Jamaal, and he set up a dinner for the three of us where I would give it to her. I got to the restaurant early, giving it to the waiter to put into her favorite cake. Soon Jamaal joined me, and we waited. And waited. After an hour, when she didn't show up we started to get anxious, and soon his phone rang, and the second he answered it, I knew something had happened." He paused, letting his head drop, and she took his hands in hers.

"What?" she asked softly, and he continued to keep his head down.

"She was hit by a drunk driver. Died on the spot." He whispered.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry!" Jenna gasped, before wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt his arms come around her back, and after a few moments she pulled back, and he gave her a smile.

"Thank you darling."

"What happened after that?"

He sighed.

"Both of us were devastated understandably. But we went totally different ways in our grief. I turned to Allah swt for strength, increasing my Iman, becoming a better person and a better Muslim, focusing on my schoolwork and my invention. And Jamaal," he sighed again, "he turned to drinking and gambling and getting in with the wrong crowds. I tried as long as I could to stay around to help him, but soon I realized I had to let him go. At first I felt guilty, thinking that if I left him, I would be betraying Marwa." He shrugged. "But I had to do what was best for me. And he has just been getting worse ever since."

"How long has it been since she," she paused for a moment, "since the incident?" she asked quietly.

"Six years."

"Why did Muhsin think six months then?"

Hudayfah chuckled and gave a shrug.

"Who knows? I never really told him the whole story, he just knew I had a fiancée. Maybe he just heard the word six and mixed up months with years."

She was quiet for a few moments.

"Why did you still keep the things? Her letter? The license? The ring? It even looked like there was divorce papers."

He looked at her confused for a second before realization dawned in his eyes.

"No, I kept a copy of the police report." He shook his head. "I don't know why but for a while I needed proof she was gone. My heart wouldn't accept it."

It was silent before she looked at him, tears in her eyes.

"Are you not over her?"

He pulled her face into his hands, peering intently into her face.

"It was all I had left of her. Remember we weren't even planning to stay in New York, it's not like I carried the things around with me. But you have to understand she was ripped away from me. When all you have left of someone you love is a letter written in their hand, you guard it with your life." He shook his head. "But you are my life now. You are everything to me. You are my heart, my soul, my future. Before you came along, I never had a reason to let go of her. But now I do."

"Why?"

He gave a small laugh.

"Because I love you." He whispered, and a small silence fell over them before she put her hands on his face, the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You love me?" she asked quietly, and he nodded.

"More than anything." He whispered, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

She stared into his face, moving a hand to push back the hair from his forehead, and before he could comprehend what was happening, she leaned forward, and kissed him.

*** Hudayfah froze as Jenna pressed her lips to his, wondering if he was dreaming. As she made contact it was like a bolt of electricity shooting through his body, and after a few moments, he wrapped his arms around her waist, and lightly kissed her back, not wanting to scare her off. Never had he dreamed that not only would they kiss, but that she would be the one to initiate it. Her lips were softer than he had imagined, and when she eventually pulled back from him, he was left breathless, clinging to her because he wasn't sure he would be able to stay upright if he didn't.

"Jenna." He whispered, placing his forehead against hers, and she laced her fingers in his hair, smiling as he kissed her nose.

"Hudayfah." She whispered back, and he laughed, pulling her into a tight embrace, not wanting to ever let her go.

"Thank you." He said, and she blushed slightly.

"You don't have to thank me."

"You've made me the happiest man in the world right now. I think thanks are in order." He said with a gentle laugh, before he put his hands on her face, exploring it with his fingers. He traced her nose, her cheekbones, her forehead, her eyelids, eventually making his way to her lips. He touched them gently before he drew his face closer to her, stopping an inch away.

"May I?" he whispered, and at her nod, he closed the gap between them.

His kiss was rougher, more urgent than hers had been, and it was as if he was trying to convey every single moment he had had to restrain himself in the past. Every moment he had wished he could hold her, he wished that she would love him, was in that kiss, and the emotional intensity of it was too much for them both, so after a few seconds he broke it off, holding her tightly as they drifted off to sleep, his arms never leaving her for the rest of the night.

And they didn't need to, for the first time in forever, she didn't have a nightmare.