I wasn't going to post this so soon but I got too excited. Thank you for all the reviews you left on my last chapter, it really means so much to see that you're all loving it as much as I am,,,,enjoy :)
Her eyes shot open as her alarm sounded off next to her. She sighed, the minute she had finally managed to drop off, was the time she had to wake up and get ready for work. She pushed herself up from the bed, her now protruding stomach making everything that little bit more difficult. Although she knew she wasn't as big as she should've been and people were really going to start asking questions once she reached the nine month and she still had another month to go. The next two months were going to be long.
Thomas had insisted on her taking an early maternity, something about not wanting to let the stress of work get to her in the later stages. But she had told him that she was better off at work, finding the place much more peaceful than at home.
Standing up she felt all the blood rush to her head and her eyes blurred causing her to sit back down on the bed to take a moment to gather herself. The pain in her side that had been there all night getting stronger. She had tried her best to ignore it and not think about it but now she was awake she was fully aware of it. She took a deep breathe in through her nose and out of her mouth, trying her hardest to calm herself.
She knew that she probably shouldn't go to work and she should probably get herself to hospital but she really couldn't bear that thought right now. She didn't want to stay at home, especially since Matt would insist on staying with her and she'd only get annoyed at him for fussing over her all the time. He had been like a different person for the past couple of months, more reminiscent of the person she had fallen for in the first place. But that other side of him still lurked around, behind his eyes. She could see it when she looked at him sometimes, when she hadn't realised that she had mentioned Jack in conversation one too many times.
This whole situation was stressing her out enough as it was, she didn't need Matt making things ten times worse. So, she picked her clothes out from her wardrobe and got herself ready for work despite the incessant stabbing in her side. She'd settled on a loose flowing dress, she wasn't in the mood for squeezing herself into something, that and she knew it would probably only make the pain worse.
She carefully walked down the stairs, her hand gripping onto the banister so she didn't fall down. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she could see that Matt was in the kitchen making her breakfast. If it had been anyone else, she would've been over the moon and smiled at the thoughtful gesture. But she couldn't bring that smile to her face. She watched as he rushed over to her, his hands cupping her face.
"Nikki, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice laced with worry. "You don't look right."
She pushed his hands away from her, the shiver running down her spine at his touch, "Nothing, I'm fine," she managed to get out, her throat feeling dry. "Just got a bit of a headache that's all."
"Well, you're not going in," Matt dropped his hands to his side, balling them into fists before turning back towards what he was making. "I'll phone Thomas and let him know."
"No, Matt I'm going in. It's nothing really," she shook her head. "Besides, the case we're working on at the minute, they need me to be there."
Matt rolled his eyes at her, "I'm sure the three of them can cope without you. They're going to have to learn once you're off for the next couple of months," he made a point of gesturing to her stomach. Almost feeling self-conscious at this, Nikki placed her hand on the top, smoothing over the bump.
"I'm still going in," she persisted, grabbing her bag from the table. She looked at him serving her up a plate but the thought of having food right now made her feel even worse. She made to pick up the car keys but Matt had got there first, taking hold of them.
"Not so fast," he said abruptly. "If you are going to demand to go into work, then I'm still going to drive you there. I'm not letting you get behind the wheel in your state. We know what happened the last time you drove."
Nikki bit back the retort, she wanted to argue with him. She wanted to get it all off her chest, but the longer she stayed here, the worse the pain was getting and she really didn't want to be around him for longer than was necessary. She took a deep breath and led the way out of the front door and into the car.
She remained silent for the drive, her hand trying to soothe the pain that had travelled from her side and had now spread across her stomach. She'd had these twinges all night and it had kept her awake, which didn't help her at all. She needed her sleep more than ever right now because god knows how many hours she was going to get a night once the baby arrived.
They eventually pulled up outside the entrance of the Lyell but as she went to unbuckle her seatbelt, Matt's hand had gripped onto her arm. That all too familiar feeling surging up her arm as she winced. She tried to get out of his grasp but he only held on tighter, she looked down to see the bruises already colouring. She had not seen them for months.
"You're telling Thomas that you are going to take up his offer for early maternity, today," he twisted his hand around her wrist, pulling at her skin and turning it red. Nikki bit down on her lip hard, the pain getting too much to bear. "Do you understand me? I want to look after you Nikki but I can't do that when you insist on being at work all the time. With him."
The tears rolled down her cheeks, how was this looking after her? This was just making everything worse. She let go of the breath that she was holding in as he finally dropped her arm. She gave him a small nod before leaving the car as quickly as possible, ignoring the fact that her vision blurred as she made her way through the entrance. The buzzing in her head eventually stopped as she was behind the safety of what she considered home. Where no one could hurt her.
Walking over to the elevator, she clicked the button and waited for the lift to arrive. She tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes and hoped that not too much of her makeup had run off. She was looking pale enough as it is she didn't need to make it anymore obvious. The lift pinged and the doors slowly opened. She stepped inside and pressed the third floor, her hands latching onto the railing and holding on tightly as she felt the lift shudder.
Her heart was racing, this was the last thing she needed today. But thankfully, the doors were opening once again and she was on the right floor. She dug through her bag and pulled out her identity card as she made her way towards the glass doors. She swiped her card through and the door clicked open. She smiled to herself, the place was silent. The only sound was her shoes tapping across the floor.
She knew Jack was here, she had seen his car outside and his jacket was hanging on the back of his chair. There were no signs of anyone else though. She flopped down on her chair, feeling her body relax as she flung her head back. She had been so stressed about Matt in the past couple of minutes she had completely forgotten about the pain in her stomach but that was quickly returning as she lunged herself forward, almost doubling over. Her hand held onto the table as her other hand caressed her stomach. She had heard about Braxton Hicks but she was sure that they shouldn't have been this strong.
The panic was starting to set in now and the tears were welling up again. She took another deep breath trying to ease the twinges and it soon mellowed. Her hand continued to massage her stomach and she was soon relaxing again. She knew this wasn't something she should ignore but she was distracted by Jack walking into the room and settling down at his desk opposite her.
"Morning," he spoke, his mind focused on his computer but as he looked up and seen her, his heart dropped. She was as white as a ghost and he could seen the pain in her eyes. "Nikki, you look terrible are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Nikki shook him off, logging on to her computer. But she could feel it creeping up on her again. She closed her eyes, doing her best just to breathe through it.
"I don't think you should be here," Jack slowly stood up from his chair, watching her carefully. Her hands were white from where she was gripping on the desk so hard and as he heard her call out he was by her side instantly. She was holding on to her stomach and the tears were falling down her cheeks. "Right, I'm taking you to the hospital," Jack checked his pocket for his car keys before he was looping his arm underneath hers and guided her back towards the lift.
Nikki was holding on to the railing, the pain not easing this time. Jack kept pushing the ground floor button in the hopes that the lift doors would close sooner but as the doors closed and they started moving, the lights suddenly switched off. They were no longer moving.
"Shit," Jack spoke under his breath. His hands running through his hair, what on earth was he going to do now? His mind was racing but he was quickly distracted by Nikki groaning again.
"Jack, what's," she started in between breaths. She was hunched over as she felt another contraction. Because she was sure that she was going into labour now and the panic was rising up her throat. It was too soon for all of this to be happening and now there was a chance she was stuck in the lift, making everything ten times worse. "What's going on?"
"Right Nikki don't worry," Jack walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders. Nikki looked up at him, his eyes calm whilst hers were frenzied, too much going on, all at once. "I'm going to phone someone, keep breathing. I'm going to get us out of here."
Jack dug into his back pocket, pulling out of his phone and looking for Thomas in his contacts. Finally finding the man, he clicked on his name, letting the dial tone ring. He thanked the lord that he was able to get service but his heart sank as he reached Thomas' voicemail, he must've been driving. He didn't have much time to think of what to do next as Nikki called his name, her voice full of panic.
She looked up at him, already defeated and breathless, "My waters have broken," she let out. Jack eyes looked down at the floor and sure enough, they were stuck in a lift and Nikki had gone into labour. But she was shaking her head, reaching out to hold onto him as the pain seared through her body. "It's too soon, it's too soon."
"No Nikki, it's fine, you're fine. You're just panicking because we're stuck but it's okay, I'm going to get some help," Jack helped to lower her down on to the floor, thinking that that was probably the best thing for her right now. He was reaching for his phone again, his fingers quickly dialling 999. He was put through to the ambulance and gave them all his details and his current situation. The woman on the other end of the phone was doing her best to calm him and said that she was going to guide him through everything should something happen before the paramedics arrive.
"How many weeks is she?" The dispatcher asked.
Jack looked over at Nikki, placing the call on loud speaker so Nikki would be able to know what was going on as well, "How many weeks are you Nikki?" He asked softly, trying to keep a cool head because someone needed to.
She shook her head, "It's too soon," she cried.
"How many weeks are you darling, we really need to know," the woman questioned.
Nikki's breathing was getting more and more rapid and she didn't know what she was panicking more about, being stuck in a lift, going into labour or having to finally tell Jack that she was carrying his baby. Her eyes connected with his as the tears slipped down her face, "I'm so sorry Jack," she watched as Jack's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I'm thirty weeks," she finally got out.
Jack's face dropped as he did the maths. It was his. This whole time. A range of emotions raced through him, he was angry, upset but he was about to be a father. Unknowingly, this news had been thrown upon and he wasn't going to have any time to get used to the idea. He was going to be a father in a matter of hours.
He didn't even take in what the woman was saying on the other end as he stared at Nikki, why had she lied to him? He had asked her and she had said no. To his face. She had been so adamant about it as well. He wanted to run, to punch something, anything to let his anger out. But his heart broke as he looked at the damaged woman in front of him, what he felt right now didn't matter. There was a baby on it's way. His baby. What he was feeling had to wait until later.
He watched as Nikki struggled to take her coat off and he just shook his thoughts away. Moving he helped to peel it from her arms and that's when his eyes settled on the fresh coin bruises that had settled on her forearm. He felt his heart shatter, that was why she had been lying to him. The tears welled up in his eyes, he was going to kill him. He knew something was wrong, he knew he was hurting her but he didn't push it enough. She had insisted nothing was going on but he should've known Nikki would hide something like this.
"Oh Nikki," he sighed as he looked over at her, helpless and broken. He closed his eyes as her hand cupped his cheek.
"I'm so sorry Jack," she started but was soon distracted by another contraction. They were getting stronger and Jack knew that they were getting closer. This baby wasn't going to wait very long. She continued as it eased. "I wanted to tell you. I really did but Matt, he…"
"Nikki, don't worry about all of that right now," Jack interrupted, his hand resting at the back of her head. "I understand why you didn't tell me and I am not going to punish you for that, alright? What matters right now, is that this little one comes into the world as safely as possible. And I need you to concentrate on that. I am going to be here the whole time and I can't exactly go anywhere can I?" He chuckled, giving her a wink as he spotted her lips twitching into the smallest of smiles.
Although her face screwed up and her hand reached for his as another contraction washed over her. He picked up his phone that he had left on the floor next to him, he held it closer to him so he could talk to the dispatcher.
"They're getting closer," he spoke.
"Right, Jack I'm going to have to ask you to see how dilated she is," she started. Jack nodded, this was the last thing he expected he was going to have to do when he came to work today but he did what he had to do.
"She's 10 centimetres," he knew what that meant before he even had to tell the woman.
"Okay, Nikki. The next time you feel a contraction, if you feel you need to push, then push," the woman explained. "And keep breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Jack you're going to need to hold her hand and you need to be ready to guide the baby out."
"Already doing that," he laughed and Nikki still managed to roll her eyes despite the sweat that was now trickling down her forehead. Jack looked down at his phone hearing the ringing, it was Thomas, he quickly put the dispatcher on hold whilst he spoke to his boss. "Thomas, Nikki and I are stuck in the lift and she's gone into labour. The ambulance has been phoned, they should be here any minute. I need you to get hold of the operator or something because we need these doors open."
"Shit," was all Thomas had said. He had just walked into the building and tried the lift himself only to find that it had stopped working. He had used the stairs but once he got in and found Jack and Nikki's stuff everywhere but neither of them were anywhere to be seen, he had started to panic. He'd seen that Jack had tried to call him but he wasn't expecting the two of them to be locked in the lift together and with a baby on it's way. "I'm outside the lift now," he stopped as he heard the sirens. "The ambulance is here Jack."
"Okay, I'm going to have to go, I'm still on the phone to them," Jack hung up on Thomas and was now speaking to the woman again. "Sorry that was the boss, he's getting hold of someone to open the doors." He placed the phone back down on the floor again, his focus turning to Nikki once again as she shifted.
"Jack," she reached out for him, feeling another contraction coming and the need to push growing. "I should've told you. I'm sorry. If you don't want to ever talk to me again, I'll understand," she cried, the tears blurring her vision so much she could barely see a thing. "Jack I love you. It's always been you. I should've done something about Matt sooner. I'm scared."
"Nikki I love you too, you know that. But you have got to listen to me," he began as he felt her hand gripping onto him harder and he was sure he could feel her fingernails digging into him. But with all the adrenaline that was pumping around his body he really couldn't care less right now. "You are the strongest woman I know, you can do this. Don't worry about Matt, don't worry about me. Just worry about this little one, okay? We can deal with Matt later. And I'm not leaving. Do you understand? Even if you tried, you couldn't get rid of me. Besides, I think you'd miss me too much," he smiled briefly but then he felt her tense again and it was time. "Ready?"
Nikki nodded as she held on to Jack's hand as tight as she possibly could, her mind tuning in to one thing as she pushed with all her might. Jack's free hand had moved to help guide the head out, the oxygen escaping his lungs as he held the head. Nikki relaxed for a moment, catching her breath, "Nikki you've got this, you're nearly there. Keep going."
She waited for the next contraction which came along quite quickly and she was pushing again, her whole body tensed. She was surprised she hadn't broken any of Jack's fingers but she doubted he would even notice at this point. Jack dropped his hand from hers as he guided the baby out. She was tiny in his hands, his heart stopped for a moment as she remained silent. But then there was the smallest of cries and he relaxed, the tears falling from his eyes. She was beautiful.
He looked over at Nikki who just looked completely exhausted, he quickly wrapped his baby in the flannel shirt he had been wearing. He jumped as the lights of the lift flickered on again and they were moving down. He carefully passed the baby over to Nikki as he sat down next to her, not wanting to take his eyes off what was now his child. Nikki leaned into him, her body feeling weak. He pressed his lips into the side of her head as she held the baby close to her chest.
"She's perfect Jack," she breathed, the sweat mixing with tears on her face. The peace was quickly broken as the doors opened and the paramedics rushed in. There was still so much Nikki needed to do and with the baby being so early they needed to get them into the hospital as quickly as possible. Jack stood up, wanting to get out their way but he could see the distraught look on Nikki's face as they took the baby away to examine her and he was at her side once again, trying to calm her. Although she didn't have that much fight left in her.
Thomas had rounded the corner, seeing the scene unfolding in front of him. His eyes caught with Jack's as he helped lift her on to the trolley, the paramedics wrapping her up. He gestured for him to quickly fill him in on everything before they were whisked off to the hospital.
"She's amazing Thomas," Jack exclaimed, tears rolling down his face as he hugged the fellow man. "I mean she's probably going to be in hospital for a few weeks because she's so early but the paramedics think she has a good chance. She's a little fighter that's for sure."
"Well with the two of you as parents it's no surprise," Thomas smiled softly, quickly realising what was going on. "Congratulations. I'll meet you up there, yeah?"
Jack nodded before he was joining Nikki and the baby in the ambulance.
It wasn't long until they had arrived at the hospital and were settling in at the maternity ward, Nikki was being checked over whilst other paediatricians were running various tests on the baby. Jack was torn over who to be with but Nikki had insisted that he stay with the baby, incase something happened. He had made the doctors promise to bring her up as soon as she was ready.
He was now stood outside the small window, watching as they fussed over their baby, applying various tubes as she lay in the incubator. His heart broke, she had seemed fine by at the Lyell but between the journey from there to here she was starting to struggle. Luckily, they had gone against putting her on a ventilator as she seemed to be breathing just fine on her own.
The paediatrician came out to talk to Jack, "She is going to have to stay in for a couple of weeks, for her safety. Her immune system is very vulnerable right now so we need as little risks as possible. But I think she'll be fine. She's breathing on her own which is the biggest thing," he smiled, patting him on the arm. "Of course, we'll be keeping a close eye on her but you can go in and see her. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Jack smiled back, nodding as he digested the information. She certainly was a fighter. And with that he made his way into the small room. Her tiny body lying in what could only be described as a glass spaceship. He placed his hand through one of the little holes so he could touch her hand, balled into small fists. But they opened slightly as he brushed his finger past. She had taken hold of his finger.
"Hey little one," he breathed. The tears filling his eyes. "It's your dad. I can't believe it, who let me become a father, eh? I don't even know where to begin. It doesn't feel real. But you are perfect and nobody is going to take you away from me, do you understand? I've let a certain person stand in my way too long but now that you're here, there's no chance of that happening." He gulped, turning to see Nikki stood in the doorway, he rushed over to her. "Nikki, you shouldn't be walking."
She brushed him off, "I'm fine, how is she?" She slowly edged her way closer to the incubator in the middle of the room, ignoring the fact that her legs felt as though they were going to give way any minute. The tears slipped as she took in the sight of her baby for the first time since they were in the lift. Her heart broke at all the tubes and wires that were surrounding her but she still placed her hand through the hole, her finger stroking against her daughters soft cheek.
She couldn't believe it. In the space of a couple of hours she had actually given birth and now her daughter was lying there in front of her. And the one person she had wanted to be by her side throughout this whole thing, finally knew. She had finally told him the truth. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about what Matt would be saying about it all. But now, seeing her child before her very eyes, she felt invincible. Nothing was going to stand in her way, certainly not Matt. The maternal instinct she had been trying to bottle up for months just spilling all around her now. The only thing she cared about was her daughter.
She did wonder what her mother would be thinking of her right now. What she would be saying. She would be proud of her, she knew that for sure. And she would've told her that she did the right thing in the end, telling Jack. Nikki just hoped that Jack would forgive her for lying to him for months, but given that he was here with her right now, she supposed she didn't have to worry about that.
Jack was stood next to her now, "The doctors think she'll be fine. They're going to keep her in for a few weeks just to make sure she doesn't catch anything but she's a fighter Nikki. Just like her mother."
"And her father," she chimed in, looking up at him and catching his eye.
The realisation was starting to hit him all of a sudden, "What happens now?"
Nikki shrugged her shoulders, her focus turning back to the baby laying in front of her, "I don't know. I don't care," she paused, gathering herself. "The most important thing to me right now is her and I don't want Matt anywhere near her."
Jack's eyes dropped, "How long has it been going on?"
She shook her head, "Since he found out about us," the lump forming in her throat. It was strange, she had been wanting to tell him all of this for months but now she finally had the opportunity to tell him everything, she couldn't find the words. "I asked him. If he had been deleting my messages. That was the first time. I didn't think anything of it, I just thought I pushed him too much."
She bit her lip trying to control the sobs. She felt Jack stepping towards her and placing his arm around her, his hand smoothing up and down her back as she continued, "Then I found out I was pregnant a couple of weeks later. And he asked if it was yours. I couldn't lie to him and it sounded as if he already knew so I told him it was and he forced me to announce in front of everyone, so that I couldn't go back on my word. Couldn't humiliate him. I wanted to tell you Jack, I really did," she let the cries out now, the tears falling freely as she gripped on to his t-shirt. "When you came to me that night and asked me, I forced myself to say it. To tell you. But I could hear Matt in my head and I thought that if I told you then he was going to hurt you or the baby and I couldn't bear the thought of that."
"Oh Nikki," he sighed, hugging her properly now, her whole body shaking. "He's not going to get away with this. And if he thinks that he's going to get anywhere near my two girls he can think again. I'm not going anywhere." She pulled back from him, Jack's hands cupping her face as his thumb swiped the tears away. His eyes flickered between her lips and her own eyes and he was about to lean down to close the gap between them but they were interrupted by a dark figure in the doorway.
Nikki was quick to step away from Jack but he stood in front of her, holding his arm out so she would be protected by his body.
"Well isn't this," Matt's eyes danced between the pair. "Cosy."
"I think me and you need to have a chat outside, don't you?" Jack stalked over to him, raising his eyebrow. He led the way out of the room as Matt huffed but followed behind him. He walked down various hallways and each time he opened the door the anger built up inside him. Then the outside air suddenly hit them and Jack had grabbed Matt by the scruff of his shirt and was now pinning him up against the wall.
Matt struggled against him, trying to prise his hands from his shirt but it only made Jack grip on tighter.
"Do you want to explain me why Nikki has got bruises all over her arms?" Jack growled, his accent strong. "Why that wee one in there nearly didn't know who it's father was? Do you get a kick out of intimidating her, huh? Satisfying is it?"
"Coming from the cage fighter? That's a bit hypocritical Jack," Matt spat back.
"Well you want to know the difference between me and you Matt? I know how to control my anger," he said through gritted teeth. This probably wasn't a good time to say that but Jack didn't care all that much under the circumstances. "And I certainly wouldn't take it out anyone who didn't deserve it. And I really wouldn't take it out someone who was carrying a new life inside of her. That bruise on her arm, it's still red, that was made today. What did she do Matt? Did she push one too many buttons? Or did you get bored?"
"So go on then, hit me," Matt grinned, knowing that he was winding Jack up. Jack dropped his hands, letting the man go, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of getting what he wants. Even if he did deserve it.
"Just go home Matt," he sighed, backing away from him and heading back towards the entrance but he stopped as he heard Matt speaking again.
"What now? You and Nikki are going to live happily ever after?" He taunted him. "Good luck with that one. I gave her everything she could've ever wanted but she still turned the other way. She did it to me and she'll do it to you. That baby will have a long list of men to call a dad."
Jack closed his eyes, counting to ten, his hands balling into a fist.
"She doesn't love you Jack, why would she choose me if she did?"
That was enough, Jack turned around, his fist connecting with the side of Matt's head. The satisfying crack echoing as the mans body hit the floor. He felt a palm coming up to his chest pushing him away.
"Come on Jack, that's enough," it was Thomas, doing his best to stand in between Matt and Jack. Although it was clear who had won this fight.
"If you lay a hand on her again, I will kill you," Jack pointed down at Matt, his voice full of fury.
Matt held his hand to his jaw, the blood dripping from his nose and his lip. But there was still a grin on his face as he looked up at Jack. And then he was lying back on the concrete, laughing to himself.
Thomas was quick to push Jack away again as he made to go back to Matt, "Go be with Nikki and your baby Jack. I can sort this out."
Jack shook his head, the things he would do to Matt was unspeakable. That man deserved to rot in hell for the things he had done to her. He tried to think of Nikki who was still waiting for him and this tiny baby who had no idea of what was going on. He flexed his hand as he stood in the doorway, it had only been one punch but the power behind it was undeniable, given the blood on his knuckles. That had been stored up for a good while now.
Nikki turned to face him, her face full of confusion. But as he stepped closer to her, she could see his hand and her heart dropped. She rushed over to him, taking his hand in her own, her thumb swiping over the red liquid.
"Jack, you didn't," she sighed.
"I'm sorry," his hand was on the back of her neck and he was pulling her into his chest. His lips pressing into the top of her head. "But he's not going to hurt either of you again, I'm going to make sure of that."
Okay I'm not an expert so sorry if there was anything incorrect! Let me know what you think...I had so much fun writing this but trust me, this isn't the end...I still have a few twists up my sleeve ;)