A/N

Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to get out. I had some school issues and then I started binge watching "The Office," getting caught up in the whole Jim/Pam relationship (which is a feelings nightmare.)

Anyway, here is chapter 4. It's not very long. I was going to add another part but it takes place a week later and kind of deserves it's own chapter. This chapter is the last of the "day after" chapters. The pace will start to pick up after this.

Enjoy, review!

Chapter 4:

Jess arrived home a little after 7p.m, exhausted and disheveled. She closed the loft door behind her and leaned her back up against it closing her eyes and tilting her head back. Jess let out a soft sigh. It was nice and cool in the loft. It was also quiet, eerily quiet. Jess opened her eyes and squinted at her surroundings. The lights were off except for a small lamp by the dinning room table and the place was tidy.

"Nick?" Jess called out. No response. "Winston? Schmidt?"

Nobody was home, or at least, nobody was awake. Jess walked into the kitchen and spotted a note pinned onto the refrigerator with a magnet. She immediately recognized Nick's sloppy handwriting and smiled.

Jess,

Hey, I got called into work. Big Bob had some sort of family emergency and they needed me to cover so I won't be home until late. Winston is asleep in his room. DON'T wake him up, whatever you do. He's on some pretty heavy medication for the badger bite and you don't want to deal with that giggling idiot. Cece called so Schmidt took off. The loft is pretty much yours. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which isn't much, but still.

-Nick

P.S. I brought home pizza earlier. Got your favorite. It's in the fridge.

Jess grinned at the last line and immediately opened the door to the fridge. Inside she found a box from her favorite pizza place. She opened the lid and inhaled. There was nothing better than cold pizza, especially cold vegetable pizza with with extra olives.

Jess quickly grabbed a slice and took a bite, moaning in appreciation. God bless Nick and his pizza, she thought. The crab puffs that she had earlier had not been enough food for one day. Jess polished off two slices of pizza in a matter of minutes and headed towards her room, taking off her shoes along the way. She was exhausted. After the events of the morning, helping Cece with the gifts and dealing with the people at the post office, Jess wanted nothing more than to relax in a tub with a glass of pink wine. Damn Schmidt and his stupid "no tub" rules. A long hot shower was just going to have to do it.

By the time Jess stepped out of the shower and got dressed in her favorite pajama set (dark blue with little white stars) it was 8:30. Jess thought about heading to the living room and watching some tv, however a giant yawn wracked her and she decided against it, slipping under the bedcovers. An early evening it was.

The problem was, as exhausted as she was, Jess couldn't fall asleep. She tossed and turned for about an hour before sighing and tossing the blankets off of her. Jess swiveled into a seated position, planting her feet on the floor and placed her head in her hands. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the door, grimacing. Just do it, she thought. Jess squared her shoulders and marched toward the door.

Once out of her room, Jess quickly walked across the hall and silently opened Nick's door. It was dark in his room, the only light coming from the moon streaming through his windows. Nick's bed was way more comfortable then Jess's was and dammit, she needed a good night sleep. Jess saw a pile of Nick's flannel shirts sitting on his desk and smiled. Nick hardly ever put his clean clothes away, instead kept them on his desk. "I know where they are then!" Nick had once told her when she asked about it.

Jess bit her lip and shook her head. Screw it, she thought. Jess snagged one of Nick's clean flannels and quickly changed into it before climbing into his bed. She smiled once she threw the covers over herself. The bed smelled faintly of old spice and something else. Something distinctly Nick. Jess burrowed deeper into Nick's green plaid comforter and was fast asleep minutes later.


Nick stumbled into the loft at half past 3am, rubbing his eyes. He didn't think he could possibly be anymore tired than he was when he went to work, but now he could hardly keep his eyes open. Nick threw his red hoodie onto the couch and walked to his room, opening the door when he got there and flipping on the light. The sight before him made him smile wide.

Jess. Asleep. In his bed. Her hair was a mass of curls on his pillow, mouth slightly open and every now and then a little snore would escape. She had one hand tucked under her chin with the other dangling off the side of the bed. She was still the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. Nick leaned against the doorway for a second just admiring her. She was wearing one of this flannels and, although he would probably never admit it to her, he loved when she wore his clothes. When she had appeared from his room after that first night in his red and blue shirt, he had to stop himself from pushing Bob out of the way and throwing her over his shoulder cave man style back through the door.

Nick maneuvered away from his door and closed it silently, trying his best not to wake Jess up. She looked exhausted, small bags had appeared below her eyes and Nick had the urge to try and rub them out.

Nick quickly changed into a white undershirt and boxers, turning out the light as he walked to the opposite side of the bed. Nick climbed in and cuddled up behind Jess. He didn't want to wake her, but he still wanted to be as close as he could get to her. Nick felt Jess shift in her slip and she pressed her back into his chest. Nick instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist and linked his fingers with her. He heard Jess breathe a little sigh and he pressed a kiss into her hair.

Nick closed his eyes, his brain quickly shutting down into sleep mode when he swore he heard Jess whisper "Welcome home."

A/N

Ok, so it was kind of a filler chapter and I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I wanted to have something for you guys because I won't be able to update again until later next week. There may be a rewrite of this chapter, so be on the lookout for that.