Robin woke from his bed of blankets on the parlor floor to the crackling of the parlor's fireplace. Robin wearily blinked at the soft flames, still exhausted from the day before, his thoughts wondering how it stayed alight after he had fallen asleep. He rubbed his eyes, disoriented, as he rolled onto his side. Only for him to sit up abruptly in surprise—Holly was gone. He was alone in the stack of pillows and blankets they had used to camp in front of the fire.

Something else felt wrong, too.

He patted his chest instinctively, panic flaring when he didn't feel the familiar weight of his necklace.

But then he remembered—Holly had taken it the night before. He let out a breath, tension easing as the memory settled. Still, her absence gnawed at him.

"Holly?" he called, stepping into the kitchen. No answer. Assuming she must have ditched sleeping on the floor for her bed, Robin put the kettle back on the stove to make breakfast. Subconsciously reaching to fiddle with the missing chain around his neck. The absence of the necklace felt like a missing piece of him, and he sighed, wondering when it had become such a comfort.

As he walked over to the pear cabinet near the hearth, he noticed some movement, a splash of color against the frost, standing near the pond. Robin moved closer to the window, squinting through the frosted pains to see what was happening.

Holly stood at the pond's edge, Cookie at her feet. She held a rock in one hand and his necklace in the other. Her breath hung in the cold air, billowing like soft clouds as she stared into the distance. Robin looked out at the pond to see what she was staring at, making out a couple rocks scattered across the ice. Holly raised her arm, rock poised to throw, but she paused, uncertainty flickering across her face before tossing it lightly, as if skipping a rock. The rock, in turn, bounced across the thickened ice. Landing not far from the others.

Holly then hesitantly made her way down to the edge of the pond. Carefully stepping on the ice before her, testing if it will break. Robin reached for the door, anxious about her falling in. But as he began to turn the knob, he decided she could handle herself—she had his necklace, after all.

He watched as she slid before getting her footing under her, slowly making her way to the middle of the pond and towards the rocks that lay on the ice. Robin could even hear laughter as she fumbled around, collecting the stones and throwing them back on shore. Cookie chased after the rocks she threw onto the shore before trying to get out on the ice to join her. Holly laughed and slid over to Cookie, holding her in her arms as she returned to the shore. With Cookie still in her arms, she started collecting the stones from the shore and putting them in a basket hidden behind a tree.

As she returned to the house, Robin returned to the stove to finish and continue with the oats he made for breakfast.

The kitchen door opened, and Holly came through, shaking off the lingering snow from her coat.

"Robin!" She said, seeming surprised he was awake. "How are you- um... feeling?"

"Great," Robin said with a smile, "And you?"

"Better than ever." She said with an awkward laugh. "I'll be in my office. I'll be down in a few."

"Okay, breakfast should be done shortly."

She gave an awkward nod and made her way to the stairs.

Robin let out a long breath. He wasn't sure how to avoid awkwardness. Last night, it was confirmed that they both felt more for each other than the friendship between a host and hostess. Yet, nothing had been said about how that might change life at Sunshine Acres.

"I... think you should stay somewhere else for a while," Holly said, pausing at the door to the stairway.

The words landed like a physical blow. Robin bent over the stove as he tried to understand how to respond, fear radiating from the impact of Holly's statement.

"I-" Robin turned back to his stove, struggling to keep his voice steady. "If that is what you want."

Silence stretched between them, thick with both of their unspoken fears.

"Is that what you want, Holly?"

Robin turned to see her watching him, tears welling in her eyes.

"I just-" Holly started, letting in a sudden breath. "You are always stuck with me here at Sunshine Acres, and that's the only reason you kissed me last night. Your feelings are only because you have been stuck here with me and haven't really been around other women... and you... you wouldn't have if-.

"Holly, I don't think that's true," Robin said, taken aback and interrupting her explanation.

"But after your brother shows up, you will leave and return to London. And even if you decide you want to spend longer here with me, you would still have to go back, and then maybe you would realize that this is just a phase, that you only like me because I was here, and so were you."

Robin studied her, each word a fresh cut. "Holly, that's not how I feel." He paused, searching for the right words. "I can see where you're coming from, but- I mean, is that how you feel? You only wanted to kiss me last night because I am staying with you?"

Holly's eyes widened at having the situation thrown back at her, "No! Not at all! I just... I like you, Robin. A lot. In a way so different and comforting, and wonderful... and new. I've never felt the way I have about you towards anyone else. Every day I spend with you feels like a day I don't deserve... and I'm just so scared that one day you might realize that I don't deserve it either."

There was a moment of silence as her confession settled around them. Holly's fears were slightly comforting against his own.

"I can leave once the snow clears if that will help ease your worries. I could stay in town until my brother comes. If I keep working with Doctor Don, I should be able to afford it." Robin offered, breaking the quiet.

Holly looked up at him with a stiff nod and a relieved smile, but her eyes held a hidden sadness.

"But, Holly," Robin said, approaching her at the doorway. "If I still feel like I do at the end of my brother's time here, I would love to have you come to London with me. Would you be open to that?"

Holly's breath hitched, and a shocked expression streaked across her face.

"I don't think it's just a phase, and I only feel this way because you are the only woman around. In fact, I wish you were the only woman wherever I was. The pear tarts, the nights reading in the study, listening to you hum as you work, the mornings of dancing to music, and laughing together at dances...Those are the things I have fallen in love with here, and you are at the heart of all these things."

Holly stared at him, her expression softening, new tears brimming in her eyes but not yet falling.

"I think wherever I go," Robin continued, "I could fall in love with the life I am living as long as you are beside me."

Holly let out a small laugh as he lifted her hand to his face, delicately running a finger across his cheek as she looked into his eyes.

"Robin..." she said, letting out a hitched breath. "I feel as if I were ever parted with you, it would destroy me. I need to work up my tolerance."

Robin let out a light laugh. Kissing the hand, she held to his face.

"Regardless, I won't let you get too far from me."

Holly looked down into her basket, pulling out a long dark chain from amongst the rocks; though similar, as the light bounced off the metal, Robin noticed it wasn't the same necklace she had taken from him.

This necklace is more intricate and a good deal larger. It has a more prominent green stone in the middle and intricate bird designs emerging from the metal, their talons nestled in the green stones of the ivy. The birds' chests are made of an orange-red diamond. Next to the recorder was a small metal tag that Read "Robin" in curly letters.

Robin took the necklace, feeling its weight—heavier than before but not as heavy as he had expected based on the design.

"Are the birds, Robins?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Some of them are Crows, actually. Red Crows." She said, with a shy yet cheeky grin on her face.

"Ah, I see." Robin mused as he carefully draped the longer chain around his neck. Admiring the new gift, he felt his resolve solidify.

He brought the pendant to his lips and kissed it, giving her a small wink as he did so.

Holly let out a small chuckle and rand her hand along his face one last time, a slight blush rising to her cheeks before turning and heading up the stairs.

"Take good care of it. Though, you will find it a bit stronger than it was before."