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"Nikki, you're going to have to go home at some point," Jack spoke as he handed her a coffee. "Even if it's just to get a change of clothes."
"I know," Nikki looked over at him, the bags under her eyes hauntingly obvious. "I just don't want to leave her."
Jack hung his head, knowing that she was going to say that. It had been a long couple of days and Nikki hadn't left her side. Jack had been back and forth to work, helping out with some things here and there until Thomas could find someone to cover him for the next few weeks. But Nikki had stayed put, her eyes never leaving their daughter. They hadn't even decided on a name yet, Nikki admitting to him that she hadn't been thinking of any. Matt had been the one suggesting names but she had been against them all, Matt being the one to name her child not sitting right with her.
Jack didn't even know where to start, unlike Nikki he had only had a couple of days to mill over the thoughts. Nothing quite springing to mind just yet. Although they were going to have to decide on something pretty soon. He couldn't keep calling her daughter all the time, she needed a name.
"How about I go pick some stuff up for you, if you're insisting on staying here," Jack suggested.
Nikki thought over it for a moment, she did need to freshen up but there was no way she was going to let her little one out of her sight. Especially not when she still had Matt's image playing on her mind all the time. It was bad enough she felt vulnerable when Jack wasn't around but the thought of leaving her daughter all alone, giving anyone the opportunity to come in and take her, she couldn't bear it. She knew she was just being paranoid but she wouldn't put it past Matt to pull a stunt like that, just so he could get back at her.
She took a sip of coffee, her lips twitching. Jack had gone to the effort of finding her some proper coffee and not just the one from the machine that she had been complaining about. She could feel the familiar flutter in her stomach, he had been so good for the past couple of days. Doing everything he could for her and now he was offering to go pick up clothes for her. She really didn't deserve him, not after the way she had treated him over the last few months. And especially after lying to him about carrying his child. But she supposed that he could see that that wasn't her fault.
Reaching over she picked up her bag and pulled out her house keys, along with her purse. She pulled out a few notes, handing them over to him, "I know this is a big ask but could you get the locks changed please. Matt's sill got his key so," she started. "I'm not sure how much it will be but I think that's enough. I don't have a number but…"
"Nikki," Jack interrupted, taking the key from her hand but leaving the money. "Don't worry about it, I'll sort it all out. It would be my pleasure."
"Thank you," she replied, tears welling in her eyes. "For everything. Being here, after everything I've put you through. I'm sorry."
"You've got to stop saying sorry," Jack smiled softly. "I just wish you would've told me about Matt sooner, I could've done something. But all that matters now is that our daughter is here, she's the most important thing," he leaned down, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be back soon."
Nikki wiped at her eyes as she watched him disappear behind the door. She stood up, taking a deep breath as she walked over to the incubator. Her tiny daughter lying in the middle, the tubes and wires still surrounding her. Jack had managed to find a hat small enough to fit her head, but even then it was still slightly too big. Placing her hand through the hole, the back of her finger running along her soft cheek. Nikki felt her move underneath her and her eyes slowly opened.
"Hello, little one," she whispered. She felt her heart flutter as the baby moved to try and reach out to Nikki. "You're going to need a name soon, eh? I wonder if daddy will be able to think of anything."
She jumped as she heard a doctor coming in behind her to check over her vitals, "She's so sweet," the doctor spoke. "She seems to be doing really well and she's putting on weight. How do you feel about taking her out and holding her?"
"Really?" Nikki's eyes lit up. But then her mind shot back to Jack. "Can we wait a couple of hours though, I'd want Jack to be there."
"Of course," the doctor nodded as she took down a couple of notes. "Still no name?"
"Not yet," Nikki smiled, looking over at her daughter again.
It wasn't long after Jack arrived at her house that he heard a knock on the door, the guy had arrived to change the locks. He opened up the door and moving so he could get on with what he needed to do whilst Jack continued packing up some essentials for Nikki. He walked around her room, he'd never been in here before. He almost chuckled, they had been sleeping together yet he'd never set foot in her bedroom.
As he opened the drawer, he could see that Matt was yet to collect his stuff. He knew that he was just putting it off until Nikki would come home so he could swoop in and manipulate her. But Jack had made a promise that he wouldn't let that happen again so he began pulling all the various items of clothing out of the drawers.
He reached what look like Nikki's and started neatly placing them in a bag he had found under the bed. He wasn't really sure of what he had to bring but he just picked the things that it seemed she would need the most. He left Matt's pile of clothes and a few other things he had assumed was his while he went downstairs in search of some black bags.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could see that the man was finishing up. It was a good job he wasn't getting paid by the hour otherwise he wouldn't have any money.
"Alright mate," the man spoke. "That'll be forty quid."
Jack was quick to dig into his pocket and handed the man the money.
"That's the main key," the man placed one key in Jack's hand. "And that's the spare. If you need anything else, you've got my number."
Jack nodded, letting the man out, "Thank you."
He turned back and walked up the hallway and into the kitchen, "Aha," he exclaimed as he found a set of bin liners in the cupboard under the sink. And with that he was back upstairs, squishing all of Matt's stuff into the bin bags. As he was carrying the bin bags out of the room, he noticed a door ajar in the hallway. The curiosity in Jack sparked as he placed the bags back down on the floor and made his way over to the room.
He pushed the door open, revealing a fairly bare room besides from a cot and some drawers. Sheets had been placed over them and he could see the cans of paint sitting in the middle of the room. He sighed. She hadn't even got round to finishing the nursery yet and this baby could be home in a matter of weeks.
Jack thought to himself as he walked further into the room. He did have a key to Nikki's house now so there was nothing stopping him from coming in when he had the time to do the room up himself and it would be a nice surprise for her when she came home. He smiled to himself as he spotted a cream rabbit in the cot, picking it up he held it in his hands. He had something just like this when he was a child. He could remember dragging it around with him everywhere and his mother yelling at him, telling him that he needed to give it to her so she could actually wash the thing. His brows furrowed as he wondered where that teddy had ended up, and when exactly he had decided to part with it.
That was the second time his mother had popped into his head recently, becoming a dad reminding him of his own family situation. He probably should message her to let her know what was going on, she had a right to know after all. But he wasn't sure if he was prepared to go into all those details with her right now.
He jumped as he heard a banging on the door. Quickly wiping the back of his hand across his face, Jack made his way down the stairs, picking up the bags along the way as he had a feeling he knew who was going to be on the other side of the door.
As he opened the door, he smirked, chucking the bags onto the doorstep.
"You've got to be kidding me," Matt scoffed. "It didn't take her long did it?"
"What do you want Matt?" Jack folded his arms.
"I came to see Nikki," Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Well she's not here," he replied. "And don't even bother going to the hospital because I'm about to go there myself."
Matt shook his head, letting out a breath. There was still a smug smile on his face but Jack could see the bruises he had left behind after that punch a couple of days ago, "It won't work you know," Matt started. "You and her, I mean. Nikki's not one for commitment, but you know that as much as I do. You're no different Jack. You'll get pushed to the side like the rest of us. So why don't we make this easy, let me see her. Give me the chance to remind her of what she's going to miss out on by letting me go."
Jack laughed, "You've got to be joking, right? The only thing Nikki's going to be missing out on, is the fear of getting her head bashed into the wall because you've had a bad day," he took a step forward. "There is no way I'm letting you within five miles of her, do you understand me? You stay away."
"I don't know what lies she has been telling you Jack but I have never laid a finger on her," Matt brushed off, his expression calm, as if he really believed in what he was saying.
"No," Jack shook his head. "I've known Nikki a lot longer than you pal, and I know that she never lies. Because a lie could cost her her job. So grab your stuff and go, I don't want to see you anywhere near here ever again. Have you got that?"
Matt's lips twitched, "Not going to hit me again Jack?" He taunted.
Jack took a step back, "Wouldn't want to give you the satisfaction," and then he shut the door. He waited for a few moments, just to be sure that Matt had actually left. He quickly glanced out of the window and once he was certain that Matt had gone, he grabbed the bag with Nikki's clothes and the rabbit toy and headed out of the house.
As he was locking the door behind him, he heard a female voice talking to him. Looking over his shoulder he could see that she was a fairly old woman and he assumed that she was Nikki's neighbour, given that she was standing on the other side of the wall.
"How's Nikki? I haven't seen her for a couple of days," she spoke. "Is the baby okay?"
"Uh," Jack stuttered not quite sure of what to say. "She's had the baby, they're keeping her in for a few weeks. I'm sorry, we've not met, you are?"
"Oh sorry," the old woman smiled, holding her hand out and shaking Jack's hand. "I'm Elaine. I live next door with my husband Bill. We've been quite worried about Nikki lately, she's been very quiet. She's normally very chatty with us but she's seemed to have had her mind somewhere else. We thought it might be something to do with that Matt. Never really been a fan of him. There's something about him. And you are?"
"Jack," his face mirroring hers. "I work with Nikki. You couldn't do me a huge favour, could you?" Jack reached into his pocket, pulling out a card with his number on and passing it over to the woman. "That's my number, if you see Matt hanging around could you let me know? It's a bit of a complicated situation but I'll let Nikki explain that to you. But I'd be very grateful if you could just keep an eye out."
"Oh," Elaine spoke, slightly shocked but still took the card off the Irishman. "Of course, as long as Nikki's okay. Send my love to the both of them, will you?"
Jack grinned, "Thank you."
Soon Jack was arriving back at the hospital and after what felt like a fairly busy couple of hours, it was nice to be able to get back to seeing his daughter and Nikki. A sense of calm washing over him. Nothing had been said about their current relationship and Jack didn't really want to push anything with everything going on. He wanted to give Nikki some space in that respect and after Matt, he knew that it was going to be hard for her to trust someone again. Even if that someone was him.
Shaking his thoughts away, he made his way onto the ward and into the room. Nikki was still sat in the same spot she was when he had left her. But she did seem somewhat perkier.
"All sorted," he announced as he walked in and dropped the bag in the corner of the room. He bent down to pull the rabbit out and handed it over to Nikki. "I found this, thought it would be nice to bring it in."
Nikki took it from him, her lips twitching and her eyes welling up, "I had one just like it when I was younger," she started as she smoothed the fur down. "When I seen it in the shop I couldn't resist. Matt didn't like it but I got it anyway. Thank you."
"No problem," Jack breathed as he shrugged his jacket off and hung it on the back of the chair. He was going to have to tell her about Matt. As much as he didn't want to, she had a right to know. "Matt turned up," Nikki's head snapped in his direction, panic all over her face. "Don't worry I sent him away but I've asked, Elaine is it? To keep an eye out, see if he's hanging around. She sends her love by the way."
Nikki ran her hand through her hair, sighing, "What am I going to do Jack? He's never going to leave me alone."
Jack moved so that he was now crouched in front of her, he took hold of her hands in his and squeezed them gently, "Listen to me, you don't have to do anything. I'm here now and like I keep telling you, I'm not going to let him anywhere near you two. Not over my dead body."
Nikki smiled, bring her hand up to cup his cheek, "Thanks Jack, I don't deserve you."
He let out a breath, he could feel the lump in his throat forming as he stared back at her. He had never seen her so tired and helpless before. She needed a good nights sleep but he knew it was pointless trying to coax her to leave the hospital so he was just going to have to make sure that he did all the running around so the only thing she had to focus on was the baby.
He could feel the air growing thick around them as his eyes connected with hers but they were quickly interrupted by the nurse walking into the room.
"Sorry," she spoke, turning to leave again.
"It's alright," Jack replied, standing up and moving away from Nikki.
"I just wanted to know if you were ready?" She asked, her eyes flicking between the pair.
Jack glanced down to Nikki, his face full of confusion. Even more so when Nikki's entire face had lit up and she was now standing beside him with the biggest smile he hadn't seen on her face in a long time, "They're going to let us hold her," she beamed. "I wanted to wait until you came back."
Jack's heart dropped at that and he couldn't help the blurring in his eyes, he hadn't held his daughter properly since the day she was born. It almost felt surreal that they had to have permission to hold their own child.
He hadn't even noticed that the nurse had disappeared until she was returning with the doctor hot on her tail, "Shall we?" She asked as the nurse prepared to open up the incubator.
Neither Jack nor Nikki could breathe, the anticipation of finally being able to hold their daughter overwhelming them. Jack took a step back, knowing that it should be Nikki to hold her first. But he felt Nikki gripping onto his jumper pulling him towards her again and he couldn't help the grin that was spreading across his face. She really did want him to be here, every step of the way.
They watched as the doctor carefully manoeuvred all the tubes and wires, allowing Nikki to take that step forward and pick her up. She had never felt so nervous in her whole life, her heart beating out of her chest, she was worried that she was going to drop her she was shaking that much. But she felt Jack's hand touching the small of her back and she calmed instantly.
She was tiny and it felt as though she was made of air she was that light but she was perfect. Nikki held her against her chest and she felt her body relax, the tears slipping down her face. Jack bent down, placing a kiss on the baby's forehead.
Nikki watched as Jack ran his finger down her face, his own tears falling from his eyes, "She's beautiful Nikki. I can't believe it. She's ours."
"Do you want to hold her?" Nikki looked up at him, biting down on her lip to try and calm the smile that was filling her face.
"Are you sure?" Jack spoke. "I don't want to hurt her."
Nikki chuckled, shaking her head, "You're not going to hurt her Jack. Come here," Jack bent his knees so Nikki could pass her over into his arms. She looked small when Nikki was holding her but with Jack, she wasn't all that much bigger than his forearm. It was almost comical to see him holding something so delicate.
Nikki could feel her heart swelling at the sight and she thought she was going to burst. All thoughts of Matt washing away and being quickly forgotten about as she stared at her tiny baby and Jack. She could kick herself for letting things get the way they did but she wouldn't change it for the world. Not when she knew that this was going to be the rest of her life. She couldn't be happier.
"Have you thought about any names?" She asked, her hand reaching out to grab her daughters.
Jack sort of nodded, "I hadn't really thought of anything but holding her, I think I would quite like to call her Dorothy, after my gran."
"Dorothy" Nikki thought over it for a moment, letting the name form in her mind. "I like it. It suits her. Dotty for short. Dotty Hodgson. How does that sound, eh? I think daddy's picked a good name there," she let Dotty wrap her hand around her finger.
"Hodgson?" Jack was taken back, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Yeah," Nikki affirmed, allowing that smile to take over her. It almost felt as though her body was fizzing as Jack wrapped an arm around her and tucked her into his side, his lips dropping a kiss on the top of her head whilst his other arm held their daughter. Their own little family.