It was late when they got back; Jack in his Jeep and Nikki in her Audi. Nikki arrived first, but decided it was best to wait for Jack. She didn't dare risk meeting his parent's alone. In all honesty, she was a bit scared -not necessarily of meeting Jack's parents – but of the impression she'd give them. What if, after all of this, they didn't like her? What if they didn't approve? Well that would just make things awkward between her and Jack forever.

They hadn't spoken about their little moment in the locker room. Nikki loved teasing him, but not in front of Thomas and Clarissa – not like that anyway.

He soon arrived and met her outside her front door. He offered her an awkward smile as she fumbled with her keys.

"Too afraid to go in without me huh?" He mocked her. Nikki threw him a quick glare before she mustered the courage to enter.

Aromas of food filled their nostrils. Had his ma been cooking? In Nikki's house…oh when would it end?

It smelt like chicken; roast chicken, and gravy. Yep, there was definitely gravy. Jack's stomach started to rumble. FOOD. Please please please have made enough for them to.

Nikki and Jack couldn't remember the last time they'd had a proper home cooked meal. In fact, Nikki wasn't sure she'd had one since leaving home. She didn't really have the time in her job. Jack on the other hand would often whip himself up a stir-fry or a curry – it was another one of his ways of calming himself after a stressful day at work. Nikki preferred microwave meals – they were less hassle.

"Oh here they are – JEREMY!" His ma called to her husband who had obviously disappeared to the bathroom.

Nikki was slightly thankful that she was meeting one at a time and not both of them together.

"Hello, you must be Kathleen. Nice to finally meet you." Nikki pretended to be 'in the know' about the parent situation and fake mad at Jack for not introducing them sooner. She was met with a hug from Kathleen – a hug.

Jack closed his eyes for a second. Nikki was going to play along to this game but oh was she going to make him pay for it later. He just knew it.

"Oh well look at you, aren't you lovely - not at all what I'd expected for a pathologist."

Great. Thanks ma, Jack thought.

Nikki just smiled at her. She'd remember to tell Jack that it hadn't been the first time someone had said that to her later.

"You've been cooking?" Jack broke the moment, gesturing to the pots and pans on the draining board.

Nikki couldn't help but suddenly wonder where they'd found the food.

"Yes well we noticed that you only had microwave meals – that's very unhealthy you know – so I nipped down to that co-op I spotted on the corner and bought a few bits."

Now Nikki was embarrassed. Jack tried not to laugh at her. What else had they been looking through?

It was then that Jeremy appeared.

"Ah, there she is." His arms reached out and suddenly Nikki was swamped in a bear hug. She found herself thinking it was very similar to the way Jack hugged her. What she couldn't see in this moment though was the look Jeremy was giving his son. He knew. He was wise. But he couldn't work out why.

"Hi nice to meet you." Nikki smiled. She was sooo polite. She was, well, just herself. How could they not love her? She was adorable. She could be the perfect girlfriend for Jack – and she would be. And she would make sure that they loved her.

"Right well you two get yourselves settled and I'll serve us all up some dinner. When was the last time you ate m'dear?" Kathleen turned to Nikki. She was giving her a look and Nikki couldn't really identify what kind of look it was.

"Um…lunchtime?" She replied, although she didn't know why she was questioning herself.

"Hmm. Well I'll give you a few extra potatoes – you look like you need them."

"OK that's enough." Jack grabbed Nikki by the arm. "Nikki, c'mon."

He kept his hand on her arm until they were out of view from the prying eyes of his ma.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered in her ear, dragging her into her bedroom.

"You so owe me for this Jack."

"If it's any consolation I think my dad knows that you're not really my girlfriend."

"What? How?"

Jack shrugged. Perhaps it was the lack of his things at her place.

It was then that he found his gym bag on Nikki's bed. Ah-he'd left it the guestroom. That was how his Dad knew. There was no way Jack would have a gym bag full of his clothes and not any in Nikki's wardrobe if he were actually her boyfriend. His ma probably hadn't seen it. He knew her. The first thing she would have done was make a cup of tea – and then she would have immediately left to buy food when she realised they hadn't got any. Jack theorized that his pa had then done some snooping while she was gone and come across the bag in the other bedroom, and moved it into Nikki's so his wife wouldn't find it. He was a lot like Jack when it came to dealing with Kathleen – he didn't argue with her, and he did everything he possibly could to avoid drama.

It was going to be a long evening. And Jack knew he and Nikki would have to up their 'we're a couple' façade over the next few days if they were going to get through it unscathed.

Nikki mentally slapped herself for not buying a dining table now that she had Jack, and his parents over. They were all sat awkwardly around the breakfast bar. Kathleen had not been pleased. Nikki responded that they'd just moved into this new place together so not everything was ready yet – they would be getting a dining table soon and Jack was working on moving his things in out of storage (a little white lie that Jack had constructed in the bedroom earlier.)

Kathleen seemed to believe it – Jeremy on the other hand wasn't so sure.

"So Nikki," Jeremy began as he put his glass of wine down. "Tell us about pathology. Why did you choose that career path?"

"Oh Jeremy, not when we're eating dinner." Kathleen commented.

Nikki tried her best to ignore her, but answer Jeremy's question without being too crude.

"Well it's the caring for the dead. Some of the people that we deal with die in terrible circumstances, and I want to find the evidence that will give them justice in death."

Jack smiled softly at her. This was one of the things he loved about Nikki: she cared just as much for the dead as she did the living. She was a tiny little superhero dressed in scrubs in his eyes. He wondered if she thought the same of him. Probably not. If anyone at The Lyell Centre was a real-life superhero that would obviously be Clarissa – although he'd never tell her that in a million years

"I see." Jeremy responded. He noticed some similarities between Nikki and Jack. They both cared about the world and the people in it. They both cared probably a little too much and they both would argue that you could never care too much. They'd go out of their way to make sure they did the right thing. Jack did have his moments though. Especially when it came down to Ryan – his half brother.

Ryan was out of prison now, but Jack hadn't seen him since the trial. Things were too far-gone between them now. His ma had been angry that Jack could betray his brother like that, but in the end, she'd realised the truths of the situation and come round. Ryan had done wrong, he'd done his time for it, and now he was fine. Jack had almost been beaten to death because of him – and they were even now.

They finished their food – Nikki had really enjoyed it very much and she made sure to tell Kathleen that.

It wasn't long before Nikki had excused herself to go in search of her bedroom. She needed a moment – just to herself, to gather her thoughts and emotions. She was grateful that they hadn't got a particularly bad case at the moment – they hadn't seen a fresh body through the Lyell for at least 3 days. She just hoped she and Jack could get through this time with his parents without a nasty case interrupting it and distracting them. She wondered if the distraction might not be the worst thing in the world, even if it brought death and grief with it.

Jack was soon checking on her. Was she ok? He hoped this wasn't getting too much for her to deal with.

"Nikki." He knocked on the door and hesitated before opening it. "You alright?"

He peered into the room to find her sat on the end of her bed.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

Jack was concerned now. Had he pushed too far?

"You sure?" He pried as he sat down on the bed next to her. "I can tell them the truth and get them to leave if it's too much for you…"

"No Jack I'm fine." She nudged his arm. "Really."

He smiled.

"I know my ma's a handful."

"She's more than a handful Jack, try a whole bucket full."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Can't deny that."

He was suddenly overwhelmingly tired and he could see it on Nikki's face that she was too.

"Shall I go and tell them it's bed time for us then? It is almost midnight – and I know you're an early riser."

Nikki rolled her eyes.

He was shouting down the corridor to his parents in seconds. "MA, PA. WE'RE HITTING THE SACK – SEE YA IN THE MORNING."

He shut the door after hearing his ma call "Alright love, don't let those bugs bite," back at him. That was about as much as a goodnight you'd get in the Hodgson family. No hugs. No kisses. No sweet dreams. Just I'M GOING TO BED screamed down the corridor. Nikki wondered if that's what he'd been like growing up. She liked the idea. It sounded better than going to bed in a dorm full of other teenage girls, with no one to say goodnight to.

"Are you always like this with your parents?" She asked him.

"Trust me Nikki, there is no other way to be with my parents." He deadpanned. "Are you really going to make me sleep on the floor?"

"Yes." She said without hesitation. "Don't you for one second think that you can invite your parents to stay with me, tell them I'm your girlfriend, just to coerce me into bed with you Jack."

He nodded. Fair enough.

He reached down to the hem of his shirt and whipped it over his head smoothly. Nikki found herself staring gormlessly at his chest…and those abs.

"Like what you see?" He winked at her before making himself a makeshift bed on the floor next to her bed. He stole a pillow from her bed and the blanket that lay over the chair in the corner of her room. Soon he was stood before her in nothing but his boxers.

Nikki snapped herself out of her trance. She could feel him watching her, daring her to make the next move. But he didn't encourage her.

Worn out, Jack collapsed to the floor. It wasn't actually that uncomfortable, he told himself. If he believed that, he could get through the night sleeping on the floor of Nikki's bedroom. As soon as he admitted it was uncomfortable as hell he'd never make it until morning without waking his parents up in the middle of the night and begging them to go to a hotel so he could sleep in the bed that had been his last night. Could he be that cruel to his parents? Probably. He was Jack after all.

"If you get cold in the night, you know where to find me." He couldn't resist it. The temptation was too strong. She'd really got him in the locker room earlier that day and he wasn't going to let her torture him without some form of pay back.

Two could play at her little game – and Jack was definitely willing to play.