The penultimate chapter! Can't believe that we have got to this point, I can't believe it...just wanted to address something before I get started.
J, if this is real and you are seeing this I just wanted to say thank you; for taking the time to read this and to share with me your thoughts. To hear what you had to say was just insane and rendered me speechless. To know that you have liked it, I have no words... (and even the fact you think it may be worthy of being on screen? What do I say?) Thank you once again, you have given me food for thought and I am truly taken what you have said on board.
Someone from Jack's past suddenly reappears in his life, how will this affect his and Nikki's burgeoning relationship? Or will there be something else that pushes them apart?
She could feel the heat spreading across her face as she frantically dug through piles of paperwork, she knew she had seen it somewhere. The wave of nausea was washing over her again and she had to hold on the side to steady herself whilst she took deep breaths. She didn't know what was wrong with her, well, she had an idea. But she needed to find her diary to confirm her thoughts. Or she could just take a test, that would give her an answer almost straight away. But there could've been a number of reasons as to why this was all happening now, she wasn't exactly getting any younger.
Nikki managed to settle her stomach as she continued to breath in through her nose and out of her mouth, calming herself down. But she jumped out of her skin as she felt an arm snaking around her waist. The smile still spread across her face however as his head tucked into her neck, pressing his lips to her flesh. She tilted her head, allowing him more access. She gasped as he nipped her and she was quick to turn around in his grasp, their lips now inches apart. She was the one to close the gap between them, capturing his mouth with hers, a groan escaping from the back of her throat.
Her mind completely forgetting about what she had been looking for in the first place, more occupied with the feeling of Jack's hand brushing over every curve of her body, making her skin tingle with excitement. Her fingers combing through his short brown hair, pulling him closer to her as the kiss deepened. She would never get used to that feeling, or at least she hoped she wouldn't. But as his lips left hers and travelled down her jawline she could feel the sickness approaching again and she was quick to stop him.
"What's wrong?" He lifted his head, his eyes full of concern as they searched hers. He furrowed his brow further as all the colour drained from her face and he could see that she was struggling to breathe. He placed the back of his hand against her forehead, she felt hot yet clammy. "Are you going to be sick?"
Nikki just shrugged her shoulders, closing her eyes and trying to swallow it down as best she could. She squeezed Jack's arm in her hands, trying to steady herself as the nausea passed.
Jack stayed watching her, trying to get an idea of what just happened, "How about you take the day off?" Nikki snapped her head to look at him, perturbed by his suggestion. He held his hands up in defence. "Look you deserve to have some time off and there's no way Sam will let you in like this. I'm just saving you the bother of going in only to be sent home again."
Nikki shook her head, "No, I'll be fine," she brushed him off, making her way to the kettle to switch it on. Jack was quick to join her, picking the kettle up and taking it over to the sink.
"You have to actually put water in it first," he quipped, raising an eyebrow at her and smirking. "Go back to bed, okay? Sam will understand-" Nikki opened her mouth to speak but Jack was cutting her off, placing his hands on her shoulders after putting the kettle back on it's stand. "I'm not taking no for an answer Nikki Alexander, do you understand? You can't possibly be expected to perform a post mortem when you can't even remember to put the water in the kettle."
Nikki sighed, admitting defeat; he had a point, she wouldn't be of much use to anyone whilst her mind was busy with other thoughts. But she still needed to find her diary and she was sure that she had brought it home with her. She was distracted once again by Jack's palms cupping her cheeks and his lips pressing into her forehead. She leaned into it, welcoming the comfort.
She had grown so used to having him around, almost too quickly she thought sometimes. He had all but officially moved in; most of his stuff was here but they were yet to have that conversation. He did make a concerted effort to go back to his apartment on the odd day but it was never for very long.
He had been doing better though, she could see the improvement already. He'd only attended two sessions but there was a lightness to him, he wasn't completely there yet; he still had a long way to go. But he was on a positive path and he was getting better. And he hadn't so much as stepped foot in that area of the gym for the last month so that was something at the very least.
Her face mirrored his as he grinned at her before he was wrapping his arm around her shoulder and guiding her towards the stairs, "Now go on, go back to bed. I'll ring you in a couple of hours to see how you are."
She rolled her eyes at him but for once, she did as she was told. She'd forgotten what time she had actually got up but she knew that it had been a few hours ago and the sleep was creeping up on her again and she knew that the moment her head hit the pillow she would be fast asleep.
As she reached the bed she pulled the covers back, tucking herself under and closing her eyes. The last thing she heard was a faint goodbye from Jack and a slam of the front door.
Jack swiped his card in the door, balancing three coffees and a few pastries in his free hand as he pushed his back into the glass; allowing him to enter the building.
"Evan," he called out, rounding the corner to find the young boy sat at his desk. He had furrowed his eyebrows together, quick to notice that Jack was missing his shadow. "Before you ask, she's not feeling great so I told her to stay in bed."
Evan nodded slowly, the smirk spreading across his face, "So when are we going to place bets on how long it's going to take her to come back in?"
Jack chuckled at the boy's wit, "How do you know I haven't already started?" He winked, pulling one of the cups out of the holder to pass to him, along with a small brown bag. "It's your last week with us isn't it?"
"Unfortunately so," Sam answered for him as she walked into the room, accepting the coffee Jack was now holding out to her. Her eyes glanced around the room, wondering where the blonde haired woman was. It wasn't like Nikki to be late, even more strange that Jack would be here without her these days. "No Nikki?"
Jack shook his head, "No, I told her to stay in bed for a few more hours," he explained, moving to sit down in his chair and take his coat off. "I don't know what she was doing but she was up at stupid o'clock and when I came down she looked as though she was going to empty her stomach in front of me so I told her to stay at home."
Sam pondered, that really was unlike Nikki. In the whole year that she had been here now, not once had Nikki phoned in sick or had been too ill to not come into work. She made a mental note to message her later before she was turning her attention back to Evan, "Yes, it's going to be a shame for us to let you go," she smiled at the young boy. She had grown quite fond of him over the past few months. And despite having his own fair share of difficulties he's managed to pull through them and look back on his experience at the Lyell in a positive way. "I was wondering actually," she started, edging into the room.
Jack's ears pricked up at Sam's tone, wondering where she was going to lead with this.
"When you pass your exams, if you're looking for a job, there'll always be a place for you here," she looked at Jack now. "Isn't that right Jack?"
He nodded, "Absolutely," he beamed. "We'd be fools to let your brains go."
Evan's eyes flicked between the two of them, his heart racing now, "Thank you both so much for everything you've done for me for, well, the past year. I'd thank Nikki as well but she's not here," he laughed. "And I hope that if I do pass and when I will eventually want a job, that place will still be available to me." The smile dropped now, "It's just that with everything that has happened with Theo I think I need a break. I'm going to pass my exams for him and then I'm going to live my life for a bit."
"And that's completely understandable," Sam agreed. "Of course, there'll always be a place for you here, even if it's just for a friendly chat. We've grown quite used to having you around the place-" She was cut off by her phone ringing in her office. Excusing herself she made her way back to her office.
"So, what are you going to do with your time off?" Jack asked, curious now.
Evan shrugged, "I don't know. Have to pass my exams first," he sighed, he had been doing everything that he should've been doing. And he knew that he was ahead in his studying but he couldn't help but feel nervous all the same. These were the big ones and after the year he's already had, he really didn't feel like having to resit the year.
"Well you don't have to worry about that," Jack scoffed, a grin on his face. "You'll pass with flying colours. You've given me a run for my money this year, that's for sure."
Evan opened his mouth to shoot something along the lines of 'whatever' back at Jack but Sam was heading back into the room, adjusting her coat with one hand and the other holding onto her silver case, "They've found a body," she chuckled; the words being the catchphrase to her entire life.
Neither hesitated as they got themselves ready, Jack quickly dropping a text to Nikki to let her know where they were. He knew she'd come in at some point, she never could stay away from the place for very long. He had argued over the years that it was him she couldn't bare to part from. She'd always given him one of her death glares but he couldn't help but smile at the fact she wouldn't be able to argue against that so much now.
This romance with Nikki had really been a whirlwind but in truth, he hadn't expected anything less. They had been dancing around each other for so long that it was no surprise the moment they finally admitted how they felt towards each other they'd ended up in a fully fledged relationship by the next day. They still took their time with each other though, Jack knowing that Nikki often had issues when it came to the idea of relationships and he knew how quickly she would run and hide from them. And Nikki had seen first hand of Jack's destructive behaviour.
But they were both sensitive and careful with one another, not expecting too much and taking it all one day at a time; even if they had been living in each other's pockets for a little over a month. They understood each other in ways that surprised them; more often than not understanding each other more than they did themselves. He'd never quite got the concept of having an 'other half'; the idea that two people could be one half of a whole being absurd to him. He had never experienced that in his lifetime, he had never seen it - not even with his own mother and father.
But as he spent more and more time with Nikki the more he realised that she completed the other half of him and it scared him to think of what he would do without her now. She had always been there; the finally piece of the puzzle, waiting to fit into place. He supposed, however, that if everything had slotted into it's place now then that would be it. He wouldn't be without her.
Jack shook his thoughts away as he sat in the passenger seat of the car, he knew he was getting carried away with himself but he had never felt love this strong before. He had thought he'd known that feeling, with Katie. He had fallen head over heels in love with that girl and he had defended her without a second thought. His teenager self had thought that was what love was really about.
It had been Nikki to make him realise that that was just the surface. Love was much more than that. It was the little moments, the way her breath evened out just as she dipped into a deep sleep. It was the way her eyes would light up as she laughed. The way his blood would rush around his body just from the brush of her hand.
It was the way his legs would feel like jelly whenever he was around her. It was the way she'd call him first, no matter the situation; whether she was scared, upset or just needed someone to talk to. It was always him, her first port of call. She made him feel like the most important person on Earth, like he was the only person to exist in her world. That was love.
A love that made you feel lost but not without comfort. They could be in the middle of nowhere yet he would always feel at home with her next to him. She was the other half to his whole, she made him feel complete. She was the something missing he had been searching for his whole life, whether that search was intentional or not. She made him realise that he had something missing in the first place.
He hadn't even realised they'd stopped until Sam was tapping him on the arm, "If you could stop daydreaming about Nikki for just one minute we've got a job to do," Sam quipped, gaining a snort from Evan in the back seat before unbuckling her belt and leaving the car.
Jack could feel his cheeks burning red and Evan was now patting him on the shoulder, "That's a serious case of love my friend," he winked before exiting the car himself. Jack was sat on his own for a few seconds, just shaking his head at himself. The boy had a point, love had completely taken over him and he wouldn't change a thing, not for a second.
He left the car, following behind Sam and Evan as the three of them approached the house; a single line of tape in front of the door. Inside, they were met by a DI Saunders and a DS Freeman both of whom were talking to a man they had guessed to be the woman's son given the distraught look on his face. The DI guided them up the stairs and into the room containing the body of Margaret Peters.
"Her son found her a couple of hours ago," she explained. "Suicide by the looks of it. She had terminal cancer as well," her eyes flicked between the three people. "Only given a few months left to live so you can guess what her mental and physical state was like. I'll leave you to it then."
Evan's eyebrows furrowed as he watched the woman leave, "Odd to have a DI on a suicide," he pointed out.
Jack shrugged his shoulders in response, "Maybe she had friends in high places, or, they've found something that has led them to believe this was anything but a suicide."
"If that was the case she would've said something so I'll go for the former," Evan breathed, turning from Jack to look around the room. Nothing had seemed to be out of place. He had worked on a few suicide cases in the time that he had been there and he was starting to notice certain hallmarks; a few different from the ones he had been taught about. If anything looked too clean and tidy the alarms bells would start but as he surveyed the room, he could see that it was far from tidy but there was a sense of order to the place and nothing seemed to have been moved. Nothing that jumped out to him as of yet.
Sam stepped towards the body that lay in the bed. The woman's eyes open and staring back at her, she was mindful to close them; feeling the shiver running down her spine. There was froth around her mouth and from that alone she deduced that it had been an overdose of some kind, more than likely to be morphine given her current situation. Her eyes narrowed as she looked on the dresser that sat next to the woman's bed, there was something missing.
Her head snapped to face Jack but he was already nodding, he'd noticed it too. Leaving Evan upstairs with Sam, Jack headed downstairs; gaining looks from both detectives but neither questioned him, allowing him to get on with his job. Although he could feel eyes burning into the back of his skull as he made his way to the kitchen. He didn't need to turn to see who it had been, he had already known by what he could see on the counters.
By the sink, a single glass. He edged further into the room, picking it up and inspecting it. It was difficult but he could just make out some residue sitting at the bottom of the cup. He was about to place the piece of evidence in a bag when he spotted a pestle and mortar on the shelf. It had looked as though it had been recently cleaned but if that had been involved there was still a chance he could pick up something from it.
The next thing that came to his mind; where were the drugs that they may have used? His eyes surveyed the room, in case they too had been left out. But there was nothing jumping out to him. The next thing he tried was the bin, "Bingo," he muttered to himself as the packet sat at the very top, almost staring him in the face.
He set about cataloguing his evidence, his mind buzzing with theories. Although given the circumstances, he knew that he wouldn't have far to look. It wasn't the first time he had worked on something like this and he couldn't say he ever enjoyed it. It was always hard to decide who was in the wrong. If his mother had been in pain and the only way to ease it was to let her go then was it really that bad? Jack shook his head, not wanting to think about it too much otherwise it would give him a headache.
Sam wrapped up on her initial examination, taking necessary pictures of the body. Sam was one hundred percent certain that this had been a drug overdose, the only thing stirring her opinion was the lack of debris around the body. In particular, the fact that there were no signs of the medication she could've used, was enough for her to think twice. She looked over at the door, hearing footsteps coming up the stairs.
Her lips twitched as she spotted Jack carrying three evidence bags, one containing a glass cup, the other what looked to be like a pestle and mortar and the third a blister pack from a box of medication. She nodded slowly, this wasn't going to be a pleasant case. She was sure that everyone could understand her when she said that assisted suicide cases were one of the worst. She had never known which side of the fence she should sit on. She could understand both arguments but that didn't make it any easier.
In the end, she had nearly always found herself siding with the families. She had watched her mother suffer in pain and she could sympathise with people who thought they were doing right by the ones they love; allowing their suffering to come to an end and allowing them to pass in a way that made them feel dignified.
She packed up all her equipment in her case once again before making her goodbyes and heading back to the Lyell.
It hadn't taken her very long at all, she knew it wouldn't. She tried her best to sleep but she only got away with the best part of half an hour before her brain was buzzing again. There was only one other place that her diary could be and she couldn't exactly go there just to pick it up, they'd ask too many questions. So, she got herself dressed and ready for work. Thankfully the nausea had seemed to pass but she took a paracetamol just to take the edge off.
She had known that the three of them had been called out to a crime scene, thanks to a message from Jack, so at least she could somewhat prepare for the argument she was going to get from Jack. She watched as the numbers changed on the lift before eventually reaching the right floor. She waited for the ping as the doors slid open and she stepped out into the foyer, jumping as the woman sat on one of the chairs outside had caught her eye.
Her eyebrows pulled together as she inspected the woman, she had never seen her before but there was something oddly familiar about her; her eyes enticing her from across the room.
"Hello, can I help you?" She spoke, breaking the silence.
The woman stood, walking over to Nikki and holding her hand out to shake it, "My name's Marie, I'm here to see Sam Ryan," the woman answered, the Northern Irish accent think.
Nikki shook her hand, her lips twitching, "Nikki Alexander," she introduced herself. "I think she might be at a crime scene at the moment, do you want me to take a message or anything?"
"Oh," Marie relaxed her shoulders, feeling somewhat deflated. "I'm an old friend, I just wanted to surprise her that's all. I haven't seen her since she came back down here and I wanted to check in and see how she was doing."
Nikki glanced down at her watch, checking the time. It had been a while since she had received that text message from Jack so she couldn't imagine that they would be much longer. Although it did depend on how serious the scene was. She shrugged her shoulders, it couldn't do much harm plus there weren't many things for her to be getting on with so it would be nice to talk to someone new, "Do you want to come in for a coffee or something? They'll probably be back soon anyway," she smiled politely, heading for the door and swiping her card through the small machine.
"If it's not too much bother," Marie beamed back, following behind Nikki.
"Of course not," she made her way to the kitchen area, placing her bag down on the counter and switching the kettle on, making sure to check that there was water in it this time. She couldn't help but chuckle as she heard Jack's sarcastic tone playing in her head. "Sorry, was it a coffee or a tea?"
"Tea please," Marie nodded, making herself comfortable in one of the chairs next to the counter. Her hands resting in her lap as her eyes glanced around the room. It was very posh, all the equipment looking very technical and expensive, not what she was used to back at home. Everything was pretty much makeshift at her lab and they had to do the best with what little money they had.
Her sight soon settled on the blonde woman who had now turned very pale and was holding her hand against her mouth as she stirred the mug of tea. Marie moved quickly, placing her palm against the small of her back, her other hand holding on to her elbow as she guided Nikki to the chair and sitting her down.
Nikki swallowed, taking deep breaths. She didn't know what had come over her. She had thought the sickness had worn off but evidently not. She couldn't help but think it strange that it had been the smell of tea that set her off. She watched as the older woman finished making the drinks before setting Nikki's coffee down in front of her. Although, she didn't trust her stomach enough to drink it just yet.
Marie didn't speak until she returned to her chair, her eyes searching Nikki's, "So, how far along are you?"
Nikki's eyes widened, her hand coming to rest on her stomach subconsciously. She had not been expecting that at all, least from someone she had just met. She couldn't help but feel perturbed by the woman's forwardness.
Marie was quick to notice the shock on Nikki's face and she held her hands up in defence, ready to do some backtracking, "Oh sorry I didn't mean to-" she started despite not really knowing where she was going with it. She took a deep breath, she had always been one to jump to the wrong conclusions and she could slap herself for doing it again. "Sorry. You just reminded me of myself that's all. When I was pregnant with both of my boys, I couldn't stand the smell of tea either. Especially the eldest, all my husband had to do was open the jar and I'd be leaning over the sink," she chuckled, trying to lighten the mood somewhat.
Nikki didn't know what to think, she hadn't been wrong in her assumption - albeit abrupt - but it did make her wonder how it had been so obvious to a stranger yet not to her or even Jack.
"I don't know if I am yet," Nikki said eventually. She didn't know what had come over her, she had only just met the woman yet she felt as though she had known her her whole life. Her expression warm and welcoming, almost motherly. "It's just that, the person I'm with, Jack, he-"
She let out a sigh, she had so many thoughts running around her head. She loved Jack and she knew that he wanted to be a father and he would be a brilliant one at that but, they had only been together for just over a month. It wasn't exactly the right time to be starting a family together, even if they had been in love with each other for quite some time now.
"I think he wants to be a dad, that was the impression I got from a conversation not so long back anyway," she continued, her finger tracing the rim of the mug that still sat in front of her. "We've not been together long though. And I don't want something like this to ruin everything before it's even got the chance to get started."
Marie reached over the counter, taking hold of Nikki's hand, "Talk to him you might be surprised. I think I nearly gave my husband a heart attack when I told him I was pregnant with our eldest but he doted on him so much. He had him wrapped around his little finger," she grinned, the memories flashing across her mind. "It won't matter how long the two of you have been together, it's clearly meant to be if this little surprise has come along so soon."
Nikki opened her mouth to reply but she was interrupted by Sam walking into the room, "Marie Kelvin," she exclaimed, the joy spreading across her face as she opened her arms wide, pulling the other woman into a hug; squeezing her tightly. "What on Earth are you doing here?"
"I wanted to surprise my friend," Marie answered back, holding onto Sam with even more force before pulling away so she could look at her friend properly. "Plus I wanted to see how the other half live and I have to say, well done Sammy. This place is just…wow. Well done."
Being caught up in the moment Sam hadn't taken the time to notice that Nikki had been sat there until she spoke, "Sorry did you say Kelvin?" Nikki's eyebrows furrowed together.
She had only heard that name once in the past couple of years and that had been Jack's brother Ryan. She couldn't help but wonder, with everything the woman had revealed in such a short space of time. She was from Northern Ireland, she had two sons and it couldn't be just a coincidence that she had the same pregnancy symptoms when she was pregnant with her 'two boys' as Nikki had been having as of late. Then there was the dark hair and the bright green eyes.
Nikki's lips parted, that was why she had looked so familiar. But then Jack had never really mentioned his mother before, she had always assumed that she was dead. But if her suspicions were correct - and they usually were - then she had just inadvertently told Jack's mother that she might be pregnant with her grandchild.
"Yes, why?" Marie replied, an incredulous look on her face.
Nikki didn't know what to say or what she could say so she just shrugged her shoulders, "No reason," she brushed off. She did know that was going to have to speak to Jack though and urgently. She looked over her shoulder, he wasn't anywhere to be seen and, truthfully, if he was, there would be world war three happening before her very eyes. She turned to Sam now, "Where's Jack?"
"Oh he's still sorting a few things out at the crime scene," Sam explained before crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at Nikki now. "And when he gets back he's going to march you back home you do realise that? You shouldn't be here if you're ill Nikki, you know that."
Nikki rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, honestly. It was just Jack overreacting, you know what he's like," she avoided Marie's eye, even more so now that she had an inkling as to who this woman may be.
There was an awkward silence settling between the three women now. But Sam was quick to push the conversation on, guiding Marie and herself into her office, leaving Nikki behind with her own thoughts. She let out a breath, picking herself up onto her feet and making her way to her desk. The diary that she had been searching for all morning sitting in plain view. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. At this point she didn't need to check her diary, she already had her answer. She just needed a test to confirm it but there was no way she was going to do a test without Jack's knowledge of the situation.
This involved him as much as it did her and she could distinctly remember the conversation they had back in Brighton a few years ago; the last time she had suspected that she had been pregnant. She recalled him talking about a previous girlfriend of his possibly being pregnant with his child, had told him over the phone. Nikki knew that Jack deserved more than that. It may not be the ideal situation but they were in this together now.
She couldn't get what Marie had said out of her head though, if this has come about so soon then surely it's a sign that they were meant to be. She shook her head at herself again, feeling idiotic for allowing her mind to think so whimsically.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard his voice, relaying something off to Evan as they both walked into the room. Jack's eyes widening as he spotted Nikki sitting in her chair.
There was a warning look in his face, "What are you doing here? I told you to stay at home."
She had expected it but as she stared back at him it was the least of her concerns right now, she stood, taking hold of his hand, "Jack we need to talk," she raised an eyebrow at him, trying her best to convey that this was something serious and something that needed to be discussed urgently.
But Jack seemed to have missed on that hint as he was raising his hand to press against her forehead, he sighed; she was still too warm for his liking, "Yes, talk about you going home," he persisted, moving to pick her coat up from the back of her chair.
Nikki followed after him, taking her coat from his grasp and throwing it down on to her desk, "I've told you I'm fine," a sternness to her tone. She was momentarily distracted by a chuckle coming from the direction of Sam's office, then it dawned on her that there were possibly two matters they needed to discuss but that boiled down to Nikki's suspicions being correct.
Nikki's gaze had caught Jack's attention and he too was curious, especially given the now panicked look on her face. He squinted his eyes at the woman who sat in Sam's office, he could only see the back of her head and he had made to return his stare to Nikki but the woman had turned; looking briefly in his direction.
He felt his heart drop to the floor and it had felt as though someone had winded him. His throat bone dry as he stood there, glaring at the woman. It couldn't possibly be. He hadn't seen that face since he was twenty-one, merely an adult in his last few months of university. She had left, without a single word; no explanation. And now all of a sudden, after all these years, she was sat in the office of the place he worked.
A hand on his arm pulled him back down to Earth as he snapped to Nikki, "Who is that sat in Sam's office?" He had to know, he could've gotten it wrong. He had met so many people over the years that had looked like his mother but there was something about this one that for once he felt as though he may be right.
Nikki gulped, knowing she hadn't been wrong in her thoughts, "Marie Kelvin," slipped from her mouth and Jack left her side in an instant. Evan's head flicked up, wondering why Nikki was suddenly running after Jack and why Jack had looked so angry.
Jack flung the door open, "Jack," Sam spat, standing up. She didn't like the look on his face one bit and her eyebrows screwed together as she glared at him. "I'm in the middle of a conversation-"
But she was cut off by her friend, who hadn't moved at the intrusion. Marie had seen him, she had caught his eye and she had known instantly who he was. It may have been too long since she had last seen her eldest son but she could still spot him in the crowd, he was the spitting image of his father after all. She turned her head slowly, scared to see the rage in his face, scared of his reaction. But the tears slipped down her cheeks as their eyes connected.
"Jack?" She breathed, doing her best to swallow the lump in her throat. "My son? Is that you?"
"Mum," Jack let out, all the air escaping his lungs as he took her in. She hadn't changed all that much except for the fact that she was just older. She had more wrinkles and her hair was greyer but she still had those bright green eyes and that infectious smile.
He wished to be a little boy again, to run into her arms and hold her tightly as if nothing ever happened. He wished to have the innocence of not truly understanding the world around him. But he had known far too much, he had lived with far too much. He had remembered the nights his father would sit up and cry the night away as he tried his best to support his two sons. Those last few months of University had been hell and he was surprised that he had even made his way through them. He had been back and forth from London and Belfast, trying to be there for his dad as much as he could be.
All whilst his mother was out there living her life without a care in the world. Jack had rushed himself into getting a job, the best job he could get with his degree. He had moved himself, dad and brother down to Yorkshire so he could provide for them, give them a home and a chance. He couldn't help the anger that surged through his veins now. He had done everything he could for his family and now she turns up out of the blue as though nothing had ever happened, and how did she even know that he was working here?
"What are you doing here?" He asked through gritted teeth. He felt Nikki's presence by his side, a warm hand on his back providing a small sense of comfort. A gesture that surprisingly calmed him.
"I came here to see Sam," she spoke honestly. She wasn't going to lie and pretend that she had come all this way to see him. As far as she was aware, he was still in Yorkshire. "Son I didn't know that you were here, I mean that. If I did I-"
"You what?" He scoffed, raising an eyebrow, not liking where this was seemingly going. "You'd not come here?"
"No Jack that's not-" She paused, knowing that she was just going to dig herself a bigger hole if she continued. There was no right way of explaining herself and if he had turned out to be anything like his dad then there would be no getting through to him, especially when he was like this. "Sam's an old friend, I came to see her. If had known that you were here as well, I would've been sure to give the heads up."
"And that would make it easier?" He closed his eyes, no longer wanting to look at her. "I can't do this," he turned, wanting to get out of the room and get some fresh air or something, anything that would get him away from her.
Nikki took one more look at Jack's mother before she was calling after him. The last thing he needed right now was to be alone so she followed him, down the hall. She had known where he was heading but to her surprise he stopped in his tracks. The tears falling as he turned to face her. She didn't hesitate to close the gap and wrap her arms around him; holding him as tightly as he was holding her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into his ear.
Jack pulled back, his eyebrows furrowing, "What have you got to be sorry about?" He pondered.
Nikki shrugged her shoulders, her hand running up and down his arm, "I just know how that feels. My dad had a terrible habit of popping up at the most inconvenient times," she let out a sigh. "He left us as well. A few months before my mother died, left us with nothing. I was so angry with him for so long but it got better."
Her eyes searched his, hoping that he was listening to her and getting her point, "What I'm trying to say is. Be angry, be upset, let it all out. But speak to her Jack, give her the chance to explain herself, you might understand more now," she continued, her palm cupping his cheek. "I never forgave my father, not properly anyway. And that's still something I regret. I hated him, I wished that he had been someone else's father. He abused my mother and he used me. But in the end, he was still my father and deep down I suppose I did love him. But he never knew that, he died never knowing that I forgave him. Don't do that to her. Give her a chance."
Jack captured Nikki's lips with his own, he had nothing else to add. Nothing else needed to be said. He had known that she was right and she had a terrible annoyance of always rationalising everything. He couldn't argue against her and she hadn't exactly given him much of a chance.
His lips left hers, but his forehead remained pressed against hers. It had only been a little over a month but he was still pinching himself as he wondered what he had done to get so lucky and have such a wonderful woman in his life.
"Talk to her," she spoke softly. Jack nodded in response, pulling her into a hug once again.
Both were taken by surprise by someone clearing their throat at the bottom of the hallway. Jack opened his eyes to see his mother standing there, watching the pair of them. He loosened his grip on Nikki, allowing her to leave. He had wanted her to stay, he needed her to calm him. But he also knew that this was something he needed to deal with on his own and Nikki knew that he needed the space to do that.
She squeezed his hand once more before making her way back inside and joining Evan and Sam.
"She seems nice," his mother spoke, slowly edging closer to him. "Is she a forensic scientist as well?"
Jack shook his head, "Pathologist."
"Oh," Marie nodded. "I don't even know where to start."
Jack bit down on his lip, "There's plenty of places where you can start. Not sure I want to hear them though," he said. "I suppose why is the most important one. Why did you leave?"
"I'm not sure that this is the right place for this conversation," she replied, now an arms reach from her son. "There's so much to be said, so much that you need to hear. But I want to explain myself properly and I want to give you the chance to understand."
"I can ask Sam for a few hours this afternoon," Jack answered.
"Okay," she agreed. She didn't want to push it, she didn't want to scare him away. Everything had to be on his terms so if he was allowing her a few hours then that was what she was going to take. She wanted to reach out, she wanted to touch him, to hold her son. But she didn't want to cross that boundary so she turned and headed for the exit.
"Mum, wait," Jack called out, rushing over to her. His heart racing as he wrapped his arms around her. The tears flowing freely once again as he felt his mother sobbing into him. She was much shorter than him, he would go as far to say that she was shorter than Nikki. But he held her tightly, momentarily forgetting about all the heartache she had caused him over the past twenty years.
Marie held onto her son for as long as she could manage. All the regret seeping out of her, seeing him now bringing back all the mistakes and memories. She wished she could go back and shake her younger self for walking out on them. She had missed out on so much. And now there was a chance that her son was starting a family of his own and if she hadn't made the decision to find Sam, she may have never known about that.
She had never been one to believe in destiny or fate but perhaps just this once, she could allow herself to believe in such a thing.
The morning had passed by quite quickly, Jack had been quiet for most of it, just keeping himself to himself which had irritated Nikki to no end but she could understand why. She had been trying to catch him on his own, to talk to him about the fact that they could potentially be parents. But she couldn't seem to find the right opportunity and supposed that right in this present moment, with everything going on, he probably wouldn't even register what she was telling him. And the last thing she wanted to do was drop another bombshell on top of it. So she decided to leave it, at least until after he had cleared the air with his mother.
When they were at home there would be no chance of her not saying anything, and she had planned to sneak off at some point so she could buy a test. She needed to put her mind at rest regardless of what was going on around them.
Since she had been feeling better, she decided to join Sam for the post mortem. The older woman had filled her in on the details and of her suspicions. Possible assisted suicide cases were never easy. But thankfully she was only helping out and not having to get directly involved.
She followed behind Sam, there was a conversation that needed to be had between the two women, both could sense that. But both were wondering if now was really the right time to be doing it. Nikki glanced into the observation room, it was empty. She couldn't say that she was surprised, the detectives probably thought that this would be an open and shut case but from what she had gathered from Sam already, that may be the complete opposite.
Knowing that they were not having to play to the gallery, Nikki felt a bit more comfortable bringing up the more pressing topic, "How do you know Jack's mother?" She asked bluntly.
Sam looked up at her, "I didn't know she was Jack's mother if that's what you're implying," she warned.
Nikki shook her head, "No of course not, I didn't mean it like that. I just can't believe the coincidence of it all," she started, watching as Sam made some notes down on the piece of paper. "One of your closest friends happens to be the mother of one of your colleagues yet neither of you have any clue. Did she not ever talk about Jack or Ryan? Or show you a picture even?"
Sam shrugged, "She talked about them a lot. Always said how she regretted walking out on them and would do anything to see them again," she explained. "But she also thought that it would be too late to track them down, she thought they wouldn't want to see her or have anything to do with her. I've tried many times over the years to convince her but she thought it would be best to keep her distance."
She paused, concentrating as she made her first incision.
"As for pictures," she carried on. "She may have shown me one a few years ago but I never joined the dots until today. You have to believe her though Nikki, she didn't know that Jack was working here. If I had made that connection sooner I would've said something."
Nikki listened intently. She had believed the woman to an extent. But she was struggling to comprehend how someone could just walk out on their own child without so much as an explanation. Even worse that she made no effort to find either son and just continued with her life as if nothing happened.
"How could she do that though?" She wondered. It wasn't much of question, she wasn't expecting an answer. She didn't suppose that there was much of one to give. "They're your children, you can't just walk out on them. But then, that's what my father had done to me I suppose."
Sam stopped in her tracks, being reminded of her own situation with her son. She had walked out on him, given him up. Too ashamed to raise him as she should've. But she never spoke about him, pretended as if he never existed. It was easier that way, for her at least.
"There's no knowing what lengths some people will go to, to hide away from their demons," sighing, she turned her concentration back to the body lying in front of her.
"I could never do that to my child," said Nikki, her hand coming to rest on her lower stomach without thinking, for the second time that day.
Sam had glanced up slightly, quick to notice the gesture. She didn't pay too much attention to it however, preferring to give Nikki the opportunity to say something if she wanted to. They stayed silent for the rest of the PM, neither having much more to say on the topic and rather wanting to concentrate on the task at hand.
Jack's leg was shaking as he sat at the table in the cafe. His mother had been at the counter, buying the two of them drinks. The afternoon had approached too quickly for his liking and he wasn't sure of how he was going to be able to get through the next couple of hours. He had so much to learn from his mother and he couldn't be sure that he actually wanted to hear any of it.
He hadn't gotten round to telling his dad about the situation yet, one issue at a time he had thought to himself. He knew that his father would be angry the moment Jack told him that his mother had turned up out of the blue. But he knew that he would have to tell him eventually, he had a right to know after all. However, he was going to wait until after this conversation with his mother. He wanted to give her the chance to open up and be honest about everything first.
He took a deep breath as she wandered over to him, two drinks in her hand. She stayed silent as she set them down on the table and made herself comfortable in her chair. She was staring at Jack, couldn't bear to tear her eyes away from her son.
"You've changed so much," she eventually spoke. "I can't believe I've missed out on so much. I have never regretted anything more in my life than leaving you and Ryan. You're a man now, you have a job, an apartment. A partner. I've missed out on all of that."
"You have no one to blame but yourself," Jack scoffed. He was determined to not lose his temper, he hadn't come here to do that. He wanted to clear the air, to understand why she did what she did. But he couldn't help it, it had built up over the years. More so in the moments where he wanted to have his mother around to guide him in the right direction, to hold him in that way mothers do.
"I know and I do every day," she bowed her head, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. "There are no words and I'm not saying sorry because no matter how many times I say it, it won't change what's happened. I just hope that one day you can forgive me and you may even understand it."
"So why?" Jack let out, no longer wanting to dance around the point. Just wanting to hear what she had to say for herself. "Why did you walk out on us? With no explanation, nothing. You just left."
"I've been asking myself the same question for twenty years son. And to this day I still don't fully know. But I suppose I can try," she started, taking a sip of her drink to lather her throat, knowing that this was going to be a long couple of hours. "Your dad was never the same after your Aunt Rosie. I knew they were close and I knew that it had completely destroyed him. I let him grieve, I let him do what he had to do because I knew that he needed to deal with it in his own way."
She ran her hands through her hair, all the emotions she had felt over twenty years ago resurfacing, "I thought it would get better over time. I thought he would learn to live with it. I didn't expect him to forget and move on but at the very least, I expected him to deal with it. But he never did," she continued. "In the first couple of years I understood it more but as time passed I couldn't cope with it Jack. He'd snap at me over the littlest of things. He never laid a hand on me, I would've never have stood for it and he knew that. But there was always a look in his eye, much like the look in your eye now and I knew that there was nothing I could do to fix what had happened."
"You know your dad Jack. You know what he's like, too laidback for his own good. After what happened he got worse, I couldn't get him to do anything," she was picking at the skin around her fingernails now. "Everything was left down to me, I had two boys to raise, a job to hold down and all this shit. I couldn't take it anymore. And one day, I met someone. Someone who made me forget about all that. Made me feel young again. Showed me what I deserved. He provided an escape for a while."
Jack could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as she spoke. He didn't know what to say, what he could say without losing his temper. He understood it to an extent, his father had never been much of an open book; always one to bottle everything up. And he had noticed that after his Aunt Rosie as well.
When he thought about it, he supposed, that he had actually picked up on that tension as a child but he had chosen to ignore it. More concerned when his next football practice was going to be. He could've kicked himself for not taking the time to help his mother back then, maybe if he had she never would've left them.
"It started off as a friendship. Someone I could talk to and get things off my chest," she sighed, her eyes searching her sons, hoping that he was listening to her and trying to understand her reasonings. He seemed to be doing that so she carried on. "But as the years passed, we got closer and closer and eventually it turned into a relationship. I fell in love and I wanted to be with him. But I had to come clean to your da'. So I did. I sat down one night and I told him everything. And as I had expected, he told me to make a decision. I either be with James or I stay with him."
Jack's eyes widened at the revelation, "So you chose this man over your own children?" He spat, feeling his heart racing now.
Marie was quick to reach out and take hold of her son's hand, "No. I couldn't. I stayed for as long as I could. You were in university and Ryan was still in school and I agreed that I would stay until Ryan was eighteen. I put an end to the affair because you two were more important to me," she closed her eyes, trying to gather herself; the tears slipping down her cheeks. "But after a few months I caved. I loved James, I still do. We're still together. Your dad found out that I was still seeing him and that time he didn't give me a choice. He told me to leave and never look back. Told me that if I stayed then he would turn the two of you against me, and I would rather have you think I didn't exist than have you hate me. But I suppose, either way, it didn't make a difference. Because you still would've hated me and I don't blame you."
Jack squeezed his mother's hand back, "I don't hate you," his voice croaked, the lump forming in his throat. "You could've just spoken to me. I would've been angry, of course I would've. But I wasn't a boy ma', I was twenty-one I would've understood."
"I think that's what scared me more," her lips twitched as she swiped the back of her hand across her face to remove the tears. "You were old before your time, you always were. And in a way I didn't want you to understand. Because I think it would've made it harder to leave and I had to respect your dads wishes, I'd broken his heart enough."
"Why did you never tried to find me, or Ryan? You never sent a card, nothing," he had so many questions he had wanted to ask her.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I thought it was for the best. I thought that if I kept my distance you'd forget about me quicker."
"Well I didn't," Jack admitted, his own tears wetting his cheeks now. "There's been so many times where I've just wanted my ma'. When I graduated, I wanted you there. I nearly lost my life last year and all I could think about was you. That I could die and you would have no idea. And I would never have got a chance to see you again, to say goodbye."
Marie couldn't believe what she was hearing, she couldn't stop herself from cupping her son's cheek as he sobbed. Jack leaned into her touch, he had longed for nothing more over the years.
"Oh son," she wept, sort of half hugging him from across the table. The pair of them cried together for a little while longer. Jack asked more questions and Marie provided more answers. The time had seemed to fly past and Jack had quickly forgotten that he was meant to be back in work an hour ago. He supposed that, under the circumstances, Sam wouldn't have minded; she probably hadn't even noticed.
He couldn't help his mind wander to Nikki however and as if she knew he had been thinking about her, her name popped up on his phone. He swiped across, answering it and placing the phone next to his ear, "Yes everything is fine," he replied. "I won't be long, I love you." He hung up, wanting to keep the conversation short, he knew she'd understand.
"Nikki?" Marie spoke to which Jack simply nodded. "She's very pretty and very lovely. You've done well there son."
Jack had smiled to himself as he caught sight of the photo of the two of them on his lock screen, "Yeah, I suppose I have," he agreed. "I think the two of you will get along just fine actually, she's not that different from you."
"How long have the two of you been together?" She queried, remembering the conversation she had shared with the woman earlier. She had gathered that Jack didn't know anything about the situation just yet so she wasn't going to stick her foot in it but that didn't mean she couldn't do some digging. She remembered Nikki mentioning that they hadn't been together long so Marie was curious as to what she had meant by that.
"A little over a month now I think," Jack couldn't help but chuckle at the look on his mother's face. "But it's been a long time coming. I've known her for nearly nine years, I've been in love with her for nine years. We've been through so much together and we've lost a lot but we've always been together in the end and it just sort of happened."
"Do you love her?"
He nodded, "With every bit of me."
Her hand was on top of Jack's again, "Then that's all that matters." She was quite taken back upon learning how little time they had actually been together and how now there was possibly going to be a baby mixed up in the middle of it all. But hearing how his son gushed about the woman she had no reason to worry.
She did think it worth getting his opinion on having children, however. Just to put her mind at rest a little bit, "Have you got any children?"
Jack shook his head, "No."
"Do you want children?" She pushed.
He shrugged his shoulders, "I suppose. Nikki and I haven't really spoken about it, it's only been a month, we're not exactly going to have that conversation just yet," his lips twitched fondly. "I think she wants kids eventually though."
"Well, I think you'll make a wonderful father one day," she beamed. But her mind had now turned to other son, Jack hadn't quite provided an explanation as to his whereabouts yet. And she was sure that Jack would've let his own brother know of her being here. "Speaking of which, where is that daft brother of yours?"
Jack's heart sank, he had been expecting that question. And he was sort of hoping that she wouldn't bring it up because, well, how was he going to explain that her other son had spent the past couple of years sitting in a prison cell? "Uh," he stuttered as he took a sip of his drink, trying to prepare himself. "Ryan's in prison ma'." He spat out as quickly as possible, wanting to get it over and done with.
Marie's mouth hung open, completely taken back, "What?" Fell from her mouth; Ryan hadn't been the easiest of kids and she was forever being marched into the headmasters office when he was younger - that's not to say Jack was a saint but compared to his brother, he was an angel. "Why? How?"
"It's a bit complicated so please don't over-react," Jack began, holding his hands up in the air. "It was a case a few years ago. It wasn't that serious, he just made a few stupid decisions and landed himself in hot water. But there was nothing I could do to protect him. I tried but I couldn't. He's only got a couple months left on his sentence now though so he should be out by the end of the year."
Marie scoffed, not believing what she was hearing, "Well, at least one of my sons followed in my footsteps and decided to work with the law rather than against it."
Sam, Nikki and Evan were all sat in the observation room, waiting for the detectives to eventually join them. Nikki had just got off the phone from Jack. She couldn't help but feel anxious, she had known what he was like and there were so many ways that conversation could go with his mother. And the last thing she wanted was for him to end up in one of those cages getting the life beaten out of him whilst she was sat there possibly carrying his child. He seemed fine on the phone though so that provided a sense of relief.
She jumped as heard the click of heels against the floor and the detectives were joining them in the room, both looking as though they'd rather be elsewhere. Nikki raised an eyebrow as her eyes caught with Evans, the pair thinking the same thing.
"Shall we just get this over with?" DI Saunders sighed, folding her arms and looking in Sam's general direction.
"Of course," Sam nodded, pulling up her notes and the file she had compiled of the woman. "I can confirm that she had terminal cancer, she would've been in a lot of pain and from hospital records we can gather that she was prescribed with morphine. Tests have since proved that she did die of a morphine overdose. Traces of which were found in her stomach contents so it is likely that she ingested it. Jack also found a blister packet at the scene, from which we can see definitely contained morphine."
"We spoke with her GP, she was offered end of life care," DI Saunders spoke. "The family along with Margaret herself, however, decided against it. Rather wanting her to live what little life she had left surrounded by her family."
"You think that was a decision they made so she could take her own life?" Evan asked.
DI Saunders nodded, "It seems to be that way," her eyes flicked between Sam and Evan as the two people shared a look. "When we spoke to the son, Andrew, he was very agitated but he didn't seem all that surprised by the whole ordeal."
"There was something at the scene that raised a question," Sam stood up and made her way to the board pulling up photos she had taken at the scene. "I quickly noticed that despite having taken her life, there were no means as to how she had done that. Jack found a glass next to the sink downstairs. Now it's possible she consumed the drink before making her way upstairs but, as you say, she was in an incredible amount of pain so it seems unlikely she would go to that effort. Let alone making it back upstairs in time before the morphine would've kicked in."
Her fingers clicked on one of the pictures, tapping to zoom in, "As you can see in this photo there's evidence that a glass had been sitting on her bedside cabinet, so who moved it?"
"The son," DS Freeman nodded slowly.
"Now we should be getting the test results back on that cup but it wouldn't surprise me if we did find traces of morphine inside it," Sam joined them at the table once again. "Jack also found a pestle and mortar, he seemed to believe that the morphine may have been crushed into a powder form before being placed in the drink. Which would also explain the blister packet."
"When we spoke to the son, he said that he had been at a meeting out of town," DI Saunders relayed. "It had been important and he couldn't get out of it so he didn't visit his mother that night, instead choosing to check in on her in the morning," she flicked through the notes she had recorded. "He said that the meeting had taken place at six in the evening, we confirmed that with his place of work."
Sam's eyebrows furrowed, "I was able to place her death as being between six and nine in the evening. How far away was this meeting?"
"Half an hour," DI Saunders shrugged.
"So would there be enough time to help his mother die and get back in time for a meeting?" Sam questioned further.
They had ended up getting the CCTV footage from around the area hoping it may have provided an answer as to Andrew's whereabouts that evening and they had spotted his car headed in the direction of his mothers house at 5:26pm. So there was a chance that he could've visited her that evening and he may have been instrumental in her death. They were also mindful to check with the hotel in which the meeting had taken place, further finding out that he had actually been fifteen minutes late to the meeting.
The detectives returned back to the Lyell to relay this information to Sam, Nikki and Evan - Jack was still yet to come back. After they had informed them of this new development, Evan was getting an email through on his phone; the results of the tests had come back.
"There were definitely traces of morphine in the glass and also in the pestle and mortar," he began. "They also found DNA on the cup that is a close relation to Margaret Peters. I think we would be right in assuming that that DNA belongs to Andrew Peters."
"We need to take DNA from him to confirm that," DI Saunders nodded, standing up. "Do you want to come with us to do that please?" The question was directed at Evan, although it didn't feel like much of a question, more of a demand.
He looked over at Sam, almost asking her for permission to go. Jack had usually been around to go along with him but he still hadn't returned and he wasn't sure if he would be allowed to attend something like this on his own.
Sam thought over it for a moment, Evan was perfectly capable of going on his own and she had every faith in him that he would be fine. But there was that small part of her telling her that somebody should be with him, even if it was just for the reassurance.
But for once she ignored that voice in her head, it was his last week with them and this responsibility might just be the boost he needed to prove to himself that he was more than capable of doing this job, "Go on then," she spoke. Her face mirroring his as the grin spread and his eyes lit up. He had all but rushed to grab his case and followed after the detectives.
It wasn't long before they had arrived at Andrew's house and Evan couldn't help but notice the nervous look on his face. He was much more than agitated.
"Mr Peters, we're going to need to take a DNA sample from you. Just a process of elimination," DI Saunders said calmly, giving away no hints that she was now suspecting him.
He just nodded slowly before stepping back to let them in. Evan could feel himself growing quite anxious now, he knew that there wasn't much he had to do; just take a swab of his mouth and that was it. But he usually had someone watching him and making sure that he was doing the correct thing. It was just the detectives now and he supposed that that was worse. He now had to make it look as though he knew exactly what he was doing - and he did, but he still felt scared.
He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and set about taking a DNA sample from the man whilst the detectives asked him further questions.
"Can you just confirm to us again, where were you between the hours of half five and nine o'clock last night?" DS Freeman asked, placing his hands in his pocket.
"I had been at a works meeting at six which lasted until eight, I came home straight away," he explained. "It had been a long day and I just wanted to get some sleep so I went to bed early. I didn't wake up until the next morning and that's when I visited my mother and found her."
"How long did it take you to get to your meeting?" DI Saunders pushed.
Andrew shrugged his shoulders, "About half an hour."
"So you left at what time?"
"I wanted to be there early so must've been around twenty past five," he answered. Evan could see that he was trying his best to remain calm and give nothing away but he wasn't doing the best job of it - even more obvious when they all knew that he was lying; given what they had just found out.
DI Saunders wrote down everything Andrew had told her before looking at Evan who gave her a small nod to signify that he had gathered everything he needed, "That will be all, thank you. We might be in touch again." She stood, leading the way as all three left the house.
It was dark outside now, "I'll start processing the DNA tomorrow and we should get a match by the afternoon," Evan spoke with confidence now, feeling a bit more of a spring in his step.
Back at the Lyell, Nikki was still waiting around for Jack. She hadn't so much as spoken to him since she had last called him and now she was starting to get worried. She checked the time on her watch again and decided to call it a day. He had a key to her house so he could already be there. She was in the middle of packing her stuff away when she heard the door buzzing open, she moved quickly, breathing a sigh of relief as she watched him walk down the hallway.
She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly, "Where have you been?" Her voice barely a whisper.
"We've just been talking, catching up with each other," he replied. "Look, I'll talk to you about it another time. I just want to be on my own tonight I think."
She pulled back from him, surprise written all over her face, "Are you sure?" That was the last thing she had wanted to hear. She was going to tell him tonight, she had planned to take a test and she had wanted him to be there with her, next to her. She wanted them to do it together.
Jack nodded his head, "Yeah," he breathed. "I just need to get my head around it all."
Nikki cupped his cheek, she understood. And the test could wait until another day, at least until this whole thing with his mother had calmed down, "Okay," she spoke softly. "Promise me one thing though, don't go there."
She didn't need to clarify where there had meant, he already knew what she was talking about, "Nikki I promised you a month ago that I wouldn't go again and I'm going to keep my promise this time," he answered. "I'm not angry, I'm not upset. It's just all so baffling and I need some to think it all through."
She stayed quiet. Not having anything else to add she just captured his lips with hers.
Next time: Things seemed to have settled with his mother but how will Jack react when he finds out he could be a father?