Nick came rushing through the front door of the loft, headed towards Jess' room. "Jess, I've missed this flight 5 years in a row, my mother will kill me if I miss it again for a wedding". He stopped at her door as he saw her nervously stuffing one last present in her suitcase and zipping it up.
He gave a quick laugh,"what are you doing?"
She looked a little flustered as she pulled the suitcase off the bed onto the floor. "I just. I don't want to forget anything."
Nick walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, giving them a little rub. "Jess, you've already met my family. Why are you so nervous?"
She looked up into his eyes, wondering how he could know her so well. "I don't know Nick, this time it's just different". He smiled and gave her a quick kiss.
"Just be yourself, it's going to be FINE. They ARE Millers". They laughed as Nick took her hand and grabbed her suitcase in the other. As they were walking out of the apartment, Jess started to laugh.
"Who plans their wedding for Christmas Eve, anyway?"
Nick pulled the door shut behind them and they headed for the elevator. "You really think my brother could remember his anniversary on anything other than a major holiday?"
They rode the elevator to the ground floor and walked quickly to Schmidt's car. Schmidt was standing on the sidewalk next to the open trunk, tapping his foot. "It's about time. Does no one around here understand how crowded an airport is two days before your celebration of men wandering toward a screaming newborn?"
Nick rolled his eyes as he threw Jess' suitcase in the back and closed the hatch. Schmidt ran to the driver's side as Jess cllmbed into the backseat, Nick following behind her.
Winston yelled from the front seat. "Give it a rest Schmidt. If you didn't need to check your damn luggage full of full size hair supplies, we wouldn't have to rush."
Schmidt climbed in and turned the key in the ignition. "Right, I'll just risk my hair follicles on the off chance that the place where you two," he motioned between Winston and the backseat "come from know ANYTHING about my hair care needs". Schmidt rolled his eyes and pulled out into traffic and muttered, "idiots" under his breath.
Jess laughed and flicked the top of Schmidt's hair from the seat behind him. "I'm sure one of the bridesmaids would let you borrow something"
Schmidt wasn't amused as his car erupted into laughter. Nick looked over at Jess and gave her one of his smiles that he saved just for her. She smiled back weakly and he raised his eyebrows. She shrugged her shoulders and he reached out to give her hand a squeeze. Schmidt glared at them in the rear view mirror.
"Hey, none of that eye sex back there you two. The only one allowed to get any pleasure in that seat is ME."
Jess screeched "Ew, SCHMIDT!"
In unison, Jess, Winston, and Nick all screamed. "JAR!"
When they arrived at the airport, they waited for Schmidt to check his luggage. Winston wandered off to answer a call from Daisy, leaving Nick and Jess by the security gates. They were both leaning with their backs against the wall in silence, when Nick pushed off and gently grabbed Jess by the shoulders turning her towards him.
"Hey, what's up?"
Jess gave a small smile, but avoided eye contact. She felt him shake her gently and looked into his eyes.
"Jessica, are you ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."
He wasn't convinced and gently put his hand under her chin, tilting it towards him. "Jess..."
She sighed sadly, put her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head, waiting for her to speak. "I'm sorry Nick. I'm just really nervous to see your mom again, and I miss my family a little bit. That's all."
Nick gently rubbed her back. "I'm sorry for making you come out here with me at Christmas."
She jerked back suddenly, almost bumping his chin with her head. "NO, no, that's not what I meant." She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss. "I LOVE going home with you, and spending time with your family." She smiled and he winked at her. "The holidays are just always hard. I always felt torn between my mom and dad, and well, it's usually such a hard time. And..." She paused. "I just really want your mom to like me. Especially now."
Nick gave a little laugh. "Trust me, Jess, she DOES. You saved the day by being Elvis at my dad's funeral, you're officially a Miller for LIFE." His face froze the second it came out of his mouth. He probably worded that entirely wrong. Did he just blow it, making the rest of the trip inevitably awkward?
Her eyes sparkled and her fingers began gently scratching the back of his neck. She whispered, "I like the sound of that."
Before Nick could respond, Winston tapped him on the shoulder and motioned toward the security counter. "Schmidt's frantically sending out hand signals over there, we better go before they think he's plotting something evil."
Nick and Jess broke apart and grabbed their luggage, following Winston to the security where Schmidt was waiting.
