A/N:
Hi guys! I'm baaaack!
First: Thank you for all the wonderful comments I got for "Cece's Wedding." I had another one pop up today that literally made me "awe" out loud in the middle of the mall. Thank you thank you thank you!
Ok, so I was working on another one-shot for the finale but I then I saw the little bts video for "Winston's Birthday" and came up with this little ditty. I hope you like it! There are probably a few mistakes and spelling errors but, meh, oh well!
SPOILERS for "Winston's Birthday!"
I do not own New Girl or the characters. I wouldn't mind owning Nick Miller but alas...
"There is nothing wrong with Nick! You don't even know him!" Jess looked at her father pleadingly.
"Oh, I know him." Bob Day swiveled his attention towards Nick, staring him down. "You're me. And I'm not good enough for my little girl."
Nick's arms were crossed and he was shifting from foot to foot. His face was set, eyes brooding and his jaw hard. He gave two almost imperceptible nods before turning on his heel and walked towards the door.
Jess stared openmouthed between her father and Nick before reaching out and attempting to touch Nick's shoulder. "Nick…" she whispered, her voice wavering slightly, but it was no use. Nick opened the door walked out of the loft and slammed it behind him.
Jess stared at the door for a second before turning on her father. Her face was flushed and she was angry. More angry than she had ever been in her entire life.
"What did you just do?!" She practically screamed at him, she felt tears prick her eyes but she forced them back.
"Jess…" Bob started but Jess stopped him.
"No, you listen to me now!" Jess glared at her father. "You think you know Nick? You've spent what? Maybe a day and a half with him? I've spent TWO YEARS with him! He's… smart, and funny and kind and he is ALWAYS there when I need him. Always. When I lost my job, he was there. When I started doubting myself, thinking that I wasn't good enough, that I wasn't going to make it, he was there. He's the best guy that I know, and if he isn't good enough… Well then I don't know what is!"
Jess was breathing heavily, her chest puffing up and down. Her father just stared at her.
"Dad, I am thirty years old! You no longer get to make my decisions for me! I get to decide what is and isn't good enough. I do. I'm not your little girl anymore and you have to trust me to make my own choices. If Nick and I are going to be together or whatever, then you're just going to have to deal with it! I DECIDE!"
Jess turned her back on her father, went to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her, leaving a baffled Bob Day standing in the middle of the living room.
Nick sat at the counter of his bar and took another sip of his beer. He set the bottle back down on the counter and rubbed his eyes thinking back to the scene at the loft.
Bob was right, he thought. He wasn't good enough for Jess. He was a thirty year old broke bartender with no money, barely any ambition and an alcohol problem. What could he possible give her. He wasn't a provider, hell he couldn't even take care of himself. Jess was special. She deserved flowers and romance. She deserved someone that could take care of her. Treat her the way she should be treated. The way that she deserved to be treated. Someone like Dr. Sam or Russell. They both had stable jobs, a career. They were the men that deserved a girl like Jess. Not him.
He sighed to himself and took another swig. He planned on getting piss drunk. Trying to drown himself from thinking about Jess, and her big eyes and soft skin. About the way she had said his name looked up at him when they had… nope, stop it Nick, he told himself. This was not helping.
Nick saw someone slide onto the bar stool next to him and looked up almost jumping out of his chair when he noticed it was none other than Bob Day. His eyes widened in panic.
"Calm down, son. I'm not here to kill you." Bob signaled the bartender who quickly took his order. "You and I need to talk."
Nick's eyes were bugging out of his head. What could Bob say to him that he hadn't already said at the loft? He made his feelings pretty clear. Nick wasn't good enough for his daughter. End of story.
"So…" Bob started. "You and my daughter…"
"Look, sir." Nick interrupted. "You made your feelings very clear. And you're right, I'm not good enough for her. Look at me." He waved his hand at himself before sighing.
"You're right." Bob started. "You're not. But Jess… she really likes you. She practically bit my head off after you left." The bartender placed a glass of scotch in front of Bob and he took a sip. "Ahh, that's good scotch."
Nick stared at Jess's father. Jess yelled at him? On his behalf. He let a small smile spread over his lips.
Bob noticed the smile. "Hey, don't get all cocky." The smile disappeared from Nick's face. "You obviously care about Jess a lot, and after her tirade at me earlier, she cares about you." Bob took another sip of his scotch, and then pointed his finger at Nick. "I'm going to be blunt. You hurt my daughter, in anyway, I will kill you. And they will never find your body. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
Nick blinked several times in rapid succession. "Uh…. yes."
"Good." Bob clapped him once on the shoulder. "Because the only thing that will find you are at the crows who will be devouring your mangled corpse."
Nick choked on his beer and started coughing while Bob stared at him intensely. He then burst out laughing while Nick stared at him in horror.
"Calm down, son. I'm not going to kill you. Just… treat her right, ok?" He grimaced at Nick. "Spencer did a real number on her and now she doesn't trust as easily as she used to, but she trusts you. Don't do anything to break that because if you do, you're never going to get that trust back. Ever."
Nick nodded. "I understand."
"Well then, let's go back to the loft. You two probably need to talk." Bob got up from his barstool tossing some cash on the bar, and the two headed out.
Jess was sitting on the couch nervously tapping her foot on the coffee table. It was almost ten. Nick had been gone for almost five hours and she was starting to get worried. He was probably off somewhere, drunk and disoriented.
How had this come crashing down so fast. This morning they had been lying in his bed, basking in the afterglow and laughing like two idiots. Then her father showed up and everything had just fallen apart. Fast. She should've known better than to leave Nick with her father anyway. This was the who couldn't tell a lie without turning into a human water fountain.
Jess heard the key enter the lock and she jumped up off of the couch as the door opened. Nick entered, his hair slightly mussed.
"Nick…" Jess started but stopped when she noticed that Nick was followed by…
"Dad?" What had those two been doing together? Oh god, what had her dad said to Nick now.
Bob walked over to Jess and placed a kiss on the side of her head. "It's late, I'm tired. Night kiddo." He turned towards Nick. "You remember what I said?"
Nick nodded once and Bob turned from the both of them making his way towards Jess's room where he would be sleeping. He turned to face the two of them. "Goodnight" he said before closing the door behind him.
Jess turned towards Nick, her eyes wide, eyebrows raised. She shook her head.
"Nick, look about what my dad said…" She looked at him pleadingly "He doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't know you like I do. You're good enough. In fact, you're better than good enough. It's just…"
Jess sighed. "He still sees me as his little girl and to him, nobody is good enough and nobody is ever going to be good enough. He just…" Jess waved her hand around in a panic.
"Jess," Nick shook his head as he walked forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's fine. I get it."
"No you don't!" Jess knocked his hand off and began pacing. "He's done this with every guy in my life. He comes in, scares the crap out of them, and then they never speak to me again and I cant… " She looked up at Nick. "I can't lose you."
"Jess, I'm not going anywhere."
"But… wait, you're not scared of him?" She drew her eyebrows together and gave him a skeptical look.
"Oh, no, I'm terrified but.." Nick smiled. "We need to figure out what this" he waved his hand between the two of them "is. And your dad isn't going to make this decision for us. But not tonight." Nick grabbed her hand. "Come on."
Jess was confused but let him lead her to his room. Her eyes widened. "Nick, we can't have sex with my father here!"
Nick chuckled as he opened the door. "We're not. We're definitely not. But we didn't get much sleep last night and I'm not going to force you to sleep on the couch so, come here."
Nick closed the door and tossed a shirt at her. "Change." he said as he unbuttoned his jeans and took them off. Jess took off her dress and tossed it to the side, throwing Nick's red and white flannel shirt on over her. Nick, now in a white undershirt and boxers, folded down the covers and climbed in, patting the spot next to him. Jess gave the tiniest of smiles before crawling in bed with him and tossing the covers over herself.
Jess lay on her back and stared up at Nick. It was a mirror image to how she had woken up that morning. Back before the drama with her father. Before things had gotten complicated and messy. When they were both satisfied and giggly. Nick gently brushed the hair out of her eyes and leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips. She sighed into it. It was gentle and sweet.
Nick broke the kiss and smiled down at her. "Turn." he said and Jess tilted her head to the side but obeyed, laying on her side. Nick scooted up behind her, pressing his body into hers and wrapping his arm around her waist, kissing the back of her head. Jess snuggled into the embrace and smiled happily.
Tomorrow they would deal with the complications. Tomorrow. But tonight, they would have this. And that was good enough.
-The End
