diff --git a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
index 95a4000..891cf31 100644
--- a/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
+++ b/delphi-backend/UMainForm.pas
@@ -921,8 +921,13 @@ begin
   end
 
   // cancel: JS found no match or user dismissed the picker — nothing to type.
+  // Hand the foreground back to the window the hotkey came from (Esc in the
+  // quick-search means "never mind, return me to where I was"). We're the
+  // foreground process at that moment, so plain SetForegroundWindow works.
   else if ACmd = 'autofill/cancel' then
   begin
+    if FAutofillTargetHWND <> 0 then
+      SetForegroundWindow(FAutofillTargetHWND);
     FAutofillTargetHWND := 0;
     LogLine('Autofill cancelled (no match or dismissed)');
   end
diff --git a/js/app.js b/js/app.js
index 93fac4c..42b3f84 100644
--- a/js/app.js
+++ b/js/app.js
@@ -7964,6 +7964,10 @@ async function init() {
             const rows = document.querySelectorAll('#quickSearchResults .quick-search-row');
             if (e.key === 'Escape') {
                 e.preventDefault();
+                // Kill the keystroke: without this the SAME Esc reaches the
+                // document-level handlers, which now see "no modal open"
+                // (we just closed it) and also close the dirty slideover.
+                e.stopPropagation();
                 closeQuickSearchModal();
             } else if (e.key === 'ArrowDown') {
                 e.preventDefault();