So originally this was supposed to be a collection of 52 drabbles, but, in case you didn't know this by now, I suck at short. I do. I can't write a drabble to save my life, so I'm setting a more realistic goal: nothing over 2,000 words – not including A/Ns.

Anyway, this was sparked by a post I saw over on tumblr: it was just a picture of a deck of cards with the words "52 Reasons Why I Love You" written on the front one, and, of course, I had New Girl on my mind at the time, so this little beauty came into the world as the title of this popped into my head

So, this is going to be 52 chapters long, and each of the chapters are going to focus on one reason why Nick loves Jess.

Bam

That's all there is to it.

There's going to be as much fluff in this collection as I can manage and I promise there will be no heartbreaking here. This is a safe place, guys, so you can let your guard down here. I promise not to break your heart or kill your soul. This collection is sacred; as long as you're here, I can promise you the following: I will not kill off Nick, I will not kill off Jess, I will not make you cry... Well, okay, I won't try to make you cry, but if you cry out of happiness or whatever, well, that's a different matter altogether... So, that is my promise to you: No character death. No character death in this collection.

Doesn't that make you happy?

I did make a list, BTDub. I saved a file on my computer called "52 Reasons" and I think you know what I'm talking about. I haven't finished the list yet – I'm up to 30 so far – so if you have any you'd like to suggest, review or PM me, or get in touch with me over at tumblr – there's a link on my profile.

I'm not gonna do the chapters in the order they're in on my list, but I'm gonna get the whole list done eventually and would actually like to see how much of it I can get done this summer...

Anyway, here's the first chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own New Girl, guys. If I did, I'd be getting paid to write fanfiction and since I am obviously still poor, that's clearly not my reality.

Chapter One:
List Item Number Five:
She's Good With Babies.

Fic:

Sadie needed a break.

Melissa needed a break.

Just one afternoon without their little bundle of… joy. Because as much as they loved their daughter, if they didn't get one afternoon of uninterrupted Sadie and Melissa time, at least one of them was going to seriously consider chucking their baby out the freaking window.

So... it would probably be for the best if they could get someone to watch the baby for a few hours while they took some time to themselves.

And, of course, when Jess heard that Sadie was looking for someone to watch the baby, she had jumped at the chance, popping by Sadie and Melissa's apartment to pick the baby and all her supplies for the day up before Sadie could get another word in edge wise on the matter.

They thanked her profusely as Sadie handed the squirming baby over to her with her diaper bag full of things for the day and a car seat to safely transport the bundle of joy and told Jess she would stop by the loft to pick her up around eight or so. Jess told her to take her time; she had no problem looking after the baby for the afternoon. It wasn't like she had anywhere to be; Nick was picking up an afternoon shift at the bar, Winston was already at work, Schmidt was out with Elizabeth, and Cece was out of town for some modeling gig. It was just her until Nick came home that night, so she didn't mind the company at all. Even if it was the company of someone who couldn't hold an intelligent conversation.

Once Jess got the baby back to the loft in one piece, she set about making the place as baby friendly as possible. She spilt the contents of the diaper bag on the table and made her way through the rest of the afternoon with the numerous toys and books and, of course, diapers and bottles before finally setting her back down in her car seat to finish the nap she had started in Jess' arms.

She quietly worked her way around the table to the kitchen to get a drink from the fridge. Geez, she hadn't known how exhausting babies could be! She made a mental note to offer to take care of the baby for Sadie and Melissa more often; they deserved a break from it all every now and then…

Just as she screwed the top off her water bottle and reveled in the quiet and peace that fell over the loft, the front door clicked open and slammed shut before she could warn whomever it was to keep quiet. On cue, the baby started bawling in that way that babies had after being abruptly woken up and Jess scurried over to her, knocking her water all over the counter.

"Shit…" she mumbled under her breath as she picked the baby up, holding her against her shoulder as she rocked back and forth in place, shushing her and whispering soothing words to try to make up for her dirty word. With her back to the door, she prepared a glare for whoever had had the nerve to slam the door like that! She spun around on her heel, face hardened as she tried still to get her to hush up.

Standing at the other end of the table with a coy smile on his face, Nick held his keys and a white bag in his hands, the bag frozen in the air as though he'd gone to set it down on the table but had been distracted from simple body movements before it could quite make it.

"Nick! Why they hell did you do that?" Jess whispered harshly, rubbing the baby's back as she started calming down, her loud, ear-shattering tears now gurgling sobs.

"I didn't know you had company." He told her apologetically, his arm resuming the action of setting the bag down on the table. He glanced around the loft and noticed the baby bottles sitting on the tables and counter, the pile of clean diapers sitting on the counter, the rattles and toys and pacifiers and books and other miscellaneous baby stuff thrown about haphazardly as though the baby itself had become a whirlwind of excitement and toys during playtime…

Why was Jess holding a baby again?

"Something I should know?" he asked, eyebrows quirked as he let his keys fall to the table in a jumble, the sound they made as they hit the table making the baby stir slightly. Jess shot Nick another warning look and he held his hands up in surrender. He had forgotten; so sue him.

"She's not mine, Nick," Jess rolled her eyes at his implications, still bouncing around as the baby's head drooped on her shoulder, her drool pooling on Jess' shoulder as her eyes drooped shut once again. "Don't you think you would have noticed if I was pregnant?" she asked, noticing his eyes resting on her curiously as she slowed her rocking ever so slightly, still moving around just enough to make sure the baby was sleeping before she leaned down carefully and placed the baby back into her carrier. She watched her carefully as she stirred for a moment before settling back down, blue eyes firmly closed, chubby cheeks tugging into a small smile. With a sigh of relief, Jess turned back to Nick, his eyes darting between Jess and the baby.

Without warning, he quietly approached her and took her in his arms, hands gently cupping her waist and face, pulling her close as he kissed her like there wasn't a baby in the room. Jess smiled against him, his warmth and cologne reminding her that there were adults in this world who enjoyed the comfort of her touch as well. Dealing with a baby all afternoon had made her forget that fact for a little bit.

"What was that for?" she asked when they popped apart, the smaller kisses melting out before he let her go completely.

Nick reached a hand out and brushed some of her now wild hair back behind her ear – the baby had a habit of hair pulling, so it seemed, and it more than irritated Jess at moments – and smiled at her, his eyes half-lidded as he kissed her again.

"You're so good with babies," he murmured against her skin, not minding that it smelled mildly like baby powder and formula.

Jess smiled as Nick walked around the table to look down at the sleeping baby, curious and wondering, a smile plaguing his face as he took in her still face. He scrunched his eyebrows together for a moment and then shook it off, a shadow of doubt and uncertainty quickly replaced by one of phantom happiness. What was going on in his mind, Jess could only guess…

"What's her name?" he asked quietly as Jess came up behind him and admired the sleeping beauty over his shoulder. She was dressed in a tiny pink dress and some white socks, her diaper bulging ever so slightly, ever the princess that all little girls were at that age.

"Sophie," she mumbled in his ear. "She's Sadie and Melissa's baby. They needed an afternoon off so I volunteered to watch her for them." she explained. Nick nodded silently and turned around.

"Sophie's a pretty name,"

"It's very pretty," Jess agreed, her eyes on the unreadable glint in Nick's. He shook his head with a smile and walked back to the bag he had brought in with him. Silently, he emptied its contents onto the table. Some DVDs, candy, a 2 liter of pop, and a pint of ice cream. He had been planning for a night in, but then again, that was before he had known about their little visitor.

"I really wish you would've called me to tell me you were baby-sitting." He told her, gesturing to the layout on the table. "I thought we could watch some movies, eat some ice cream, and then have some adult fun," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively in that way of his that she hated so much! She slapped his arm playfully and giggled as quietly as she could before he continued. "But I don't think that'd be such a great idea while there's a baby in the loft. And anyway, seeing one of those might scare me off sex for a while," he teased, gesturing towards Sophie's sleeping form.

Jess laughed and shook her head. "We use protection." She reminded him, picking up the DVDs to look over what he had picked out.

"That's not one hundred-percent effective, though. Didn't you take ninth grade health class?"

"Stop being such a baby, Nick," she rolled her eyes, abruptly ending that back-and-forth as she picked up a box of candy and Nick walked the ice cream over to the freezer, then picked up some glasses and filled them with ice. As he walked everything over to the couch, Jess grabbed Sophie in her carrier and carefully moved her from the table to in front of the couch where they could keep an eye on her while they watched their movie.

They popped in a DVD, sat down with the boxes of candy and soda, and got about halfway through their movie – some action flick they had both wanted to see – before baby Sophie decided she'd had enough sleep and interrupted their movie time with a sharp cry that made Nick flinch. He paused the movie and looked at Jess wide eyed, not knowing what to do about it.

Jess rolled her eyes and gestured for Nick to hand the baby to her. He gladly obeyed and watched as Jess went through to determine what was wrong with Sophie.

She needed a diaper change.

And then she was hungry.

And then… then she just wanted some attention. So Jess had Nick bring some toys over to the couch and play with the baby with her. Though Nick did more watching than actual playing, Jess didn't seem to notice, much too wrapped up in making Sophie giggle and grip at the toys and books. She didn't even mind – or rather, she didn't let it show – when the baby grabbed a fist-full of her hair or ripped the book out of her hands or even threw up on her favorite blouse.

How the hell did she stay so calm? Nick wondered as he watched the spectacle, shaking his head in wonder.

Before they knew it, it was eight-fifteen and Sadie and Melissa were at the front door, looking well rested and much more… sane and stable than they had seemed when Jess had first picked up Sophie from them. Jess handed the drowsy baby over to Sadie with a smile as Nick handed Melissa her repacked diaper bag and the car seat/carrying device thingy, whatever the hell it was called; he wasn't a baby expert.

"Thank you again for doing this, Jess!" Sadie whispered gratefully for the hundredth time.

Jess brushed her off with a smile, she was glad to help. She was beyond tired, but the bags under her eyes said that so her mouth didn't need to. She was tired, sure, but she didn't mind. Taking care of baby Sophie had been fun, and she was so good at it, Nick thought to himself, snaking an arm around Jess' shoulders to pull her close, letting her rest her head on his shoulder for a minute as he kissed the top of her head.

"How did she do, Nick?" Sadie asked him to make conversation, already knowing the answer.

"She was wonderful. She's really great with babies," he mused, his eyes glancing down at her lovingly. A look passed between Sadie and Melissa before they said their goodbyes and walked off, promising to take Jess up on her offer of watching Sophie again the next time they needed a break.

"Come on, Jess," Nick tugged Jess away from the door as he locked it and then led her into her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes and made herself comfortable, passing out before Nick could say another word. With a content sigh, he tucked her under the blankets and walked from the room, leaving her sleeping like the baby she had taken such good care of that afternoon.

Fin.

You know, I really hate babies. I'm not a terrible person, I just really sort of hate babies. They cry a lot and they can't tell you what they want and you're genuinely responsible for keeping another human being alive. Like, that scares the shit out of, guys. Also, babies are kinda creepy. Sorry, but if my parents want grandchildren some day, they're gonna be looking at my brothers, not at me. Like, I can barely take care of myself most days – I'm not the kind of person you'd want responsible for how another being turns out. And sometimes I forget to feed my dogs – thankfully, I still live at home so someone does it when I forget – and if you do that with babies bad things happen. I'm just sayin'.

Anyway, I've wanted to do something with Ness and Sadie's baby for a while now, and while this still isn't quite what I wanted, it'll do for now. It was a good way to get this list item done, so I can live with it for now.

Also, I named the baby after an awesome roomfriend of mine from tumblr. Just so you know.

Remember, if you have any suggestions for the 52 Reasons list, I'm all ears.

Always,
Hisa-Ai.