Just a short little update for you! I know my last chapter made it seem like the end but I've still got a few more chapters that I think I can squeeze out of this. I'm not sure when I'll be updating this next because I want to concentrate on my other story that I will hopefully have mostly written for January! But I hope you enjoy this :)
It had been a few weeks since Jack and Nikki had welcomed a new baby into their life and she had been growing everyday and getting even stronger. So much so that the doctors had decided to discharge her early, there being no need for her to stay in any longer. Although Nikki had been advised that if there were any problems then all she had to was bring her in.
Nikki had been in the middle of packing everything up when Jack finally arrived, the small car seat in his hand. She sighed as she looked up and caught his eye, "Where have you been?" She asked.
"Sorry I was adding some finishing touches," he replied, setting the car seat down on the floor and making his way over to his daughter. Despite how much she had grown in the past couple of weeks she still looked tiny in Jack's arms.
Nikki felt the stress leave her body as she glanced up at him, the cheesy grin spread across his face. Her lips twitched fondly as she watched the pair of them, Jack gently rocking her. She bit down on her lip to stop herself from beaming so much as she closed the bag. And just like that they were officially packed up and ready to go back home. She hadn't been home since that day but she knew Jack had been back and forth from there picking stuff up for her and she had a feeling that he had been up to something in the meantime.
Thomas had eventually found someone to cover for them which meant Jack realistically could've spent most of his time at the hospital with her, which in fairness he had been. But he would disappear for hours, Nikki had often worried that maybe this wasn't what he wanted. That he felt as though he had to be there. But then he would come back with a smile on his face and when she had spotted the flecks of paint in his hair she then realised where he had been. She didn't say anything though, didn't want to ruin it for him.
She felt the familiar flutter in her stomach as she watched Jack bending down to the car seat and tucking their daughter in, cooing over her in the process. She had never seen Jack like this, it was like he was a completely different person. Over the years she had known him to be hot-headed and abrasive but to see him being so careful and so gentle, it was melting her heart. But she supposed, he had always been like that with her. Always so overly caring and wanting to do everything for her.
Her heart dropped as she thought over all those moments that she had taken him for granted, pushed him to the side and never gave him a second thought. If she had just been honest with her feelings all those years ago, if she had just told him then maybe things would be different now. She would never have met Matt for one. She cursed herself for thinking of him. She tried not to but he always had a way of worming himself into her brain.
Pulling her from her thoughts was Jack's hand on her arm, "You ready?" He spoke softly.
Nikki nodded her head as she looked around the room one last time. The doctor had already officially discharged them as they had waited for Jack so they were free to go. She walked beside Jack as he held the car seat in between them.
Buckling themselves into the car, they set off in the direction of Nikki's house. Nikki could feel herself drifting off, her forehead leaning on the window. She hadn't quite realised how tired she was and how much she longed to be in her own bed. She had debated going home in the few weeks but she couldn't bring herself to leave her daughter behind on her own. It was strange, she had been so fiercely independent her whole life but now this small human being had appeared in her life she hated the mere thought of being on her own. She hadn't quite anticipated how strong that maternal instinct was going to be but she supposed she should've known, it had always been there.
With so much spare time to waste in the hospital her mind had run over all the cases she had ever worked on, all the children she had helped. All the children who had lost parents just like she had. She didn't know why she had been so scared to have a child of her own when her whole life she had done nothing but save children from despair and provide them with some sort of hope in their lives. The hope that she never got with her own mother dying and her father abandoning her at every given opportunity.
Her body must've sensed that she wasn't far away from home as her eyes opened. She recognised the houses as they drove past and she could feel her heart beginning to race, everything starting to really feel real now. Her head turned to Jack who seemed to be in a world of his own.
"Jack," she breathed, grabbing his attention. His eyes snapped in her direction, almost a sense of nervousness about him. "I've been thinking."
"That's never a good sign," he joked, lightening the mood.
"Why don't you move in?" She said quickly. She had been thinking about asking him for a while now, they weren't together but she couldn't fathom the thought of him having to ask to come see his own child. She just wanted him to have the freedom to come and go as he pleased, didn't want him to feel like a guest. Besides, it would be much easier to have someone else around the house, especially if Matt decided he wanted to come around to see her.
"You're serious?" He retorted, not quite believing what he was hearing. He had tried to keep his eyes focused on the road but the words that were coming out of her mouth were doing a very good job of distracting him.
"Only if you want to of course," her eyebrows furrowed, she wasn't sure of his reaction and now she was thinking that she had overstepped the mark and pushed that boundary. She continued in the hopes of explaining her question further. "I just think it might be a good idea given the circumstances and I would've thought that you wouldn't want to be away from her."
"Nikki I'd love to, I was going to ask anyway," he chuckled as he thought back to the time when he'd pestered Clarissa for advice on how to approach that situation. She had just told him to stop messing around and tell Nikki what he really wants. He hadn't quite built up the courage to get to that bit yet.
"Good," Nikki grinned. "I'll set up the spare room once we get settled in."
"Oh you won't have to worry about that," Jack quickly interrupted her, her mouth dropping as she looked over at him and he instantly realised what it had sounded like. "No, no, I don't mean like that. It's just that, I may have already done that. I can explain."
"Jack it's fine," she reached out, touching his arm briefly before retracting her hand. "I think I know what you're going to say anyway so let's just keep it a surprise."
Jack had opened his mouth to speak but he closed it as he rounded the corner into her street. He knew that she would've realised sooner or later, she was a forensic pathologist after all and she never missed a trick. They parked up on her drive before the two of them were looking into the back of the car, checking that Dotty was okay. Satisfied, they both left the car. Nikki walked round to the back to open the door and retrieve her daughter from the seat.
"Hello little one," she whispered as she unclipped the buckles. The smile spread across her face as she stayed sleeping, oblivious to everything going on around her. Nikki could hear Jack talking as he closed the boot and she knew straight away that her neighbours had come out to greet them. Carefully picking her up, Nikki held her in her arms as she shut the door and made her way over to her older neighbours.
"Oh look at her," Elaine breathed as she ran her finger down Dotty's soft cheek as the baby slowly opened her eyes, the dark green colour becoming much more obvious in the sunlight. "Well she's got her father's eyes hasn't she?" She glanced up at Jack whose eyebrows had screwed together, he hadn't told her anything.
"How did you…" he started but the older man who had come out behind her had beaten him to it.
"It doesn't take a genius to work out does it?" He laughed, his eyes darting between Jack and Nikki. "You've been back and forth for the past couple of weeks so we knew there was a reason. Besides, I know what an excited father looks like, I've had the same look on my face three times."
Nikki grinned as she gazed over at Jack, his head dropping as the blush creeped up his neck.
"Lets have a look at her then," Bill stepped closer to the wall as he watched the small baby in Nikki's arms. "There's nothing quite like a new born baby is there? I'm very happy for the both of you and you know where we are if you need anything. Anything," he emphasised. His hands resting on his wife's shoulders. "We'll let you get on though, bet you've been dying to get back here and get her settled in."
"You could say that," Nikki spoke, adjusting her arms as Dotty had started moving. "You'll have to come round for a coffee or something soon though, we can have a catch up then."
The two older people nodded before they said their goodbyes and disappeared into their own houses. Jack brushed past Nikki, using his key to open the door allowing the pair to walk in.
"Now," he began as the door clicked behind them. "I might've gone overboard a little bit but you don't have to worry about getting anything because everything is sorted. But the first thing I want to show you is upstairs."
Jack guided the way, his feet knowing the layout of the house a lot better than the first time he had come here. He reached the door and let Nikki go first, his heart pounding out of his chest. As Nikki walked into the room she felt her stomach drop and her hand had come to her mouth as she gasped.
"Oh Jack," she let out as she made her way further into the room and took everything in. He had gone to so much effort and it was so much better than she had originally planned. "It's perfect," her eyes welling up. She moved so that she could place Dotty down into the cot before pulling Jack into a hug and holding onto him tightly. "Thank you," she breathed.
Nikki shot up, her heart racing. She pulled the blankets off her bed and headed out of the room. The panic only got worse as she noticed that the door leading to Dotty's room was wide open. Crossing the landing she walked in, only to find that there was no baby. She gripped onto the handle for some kind of support before she was racing into the spare room.
She almost felt relieved as she spotted that Jack wasn't there either which meant that he was probably somewhere else and their daughter was with him. Letting out a breath as she felt her body calming down, she headed downstairs. Noticing that the lamp in the living room was on she popped her head through the doorway and the smile spread across her face as she witnessed the scene in front of her.
Jack had fallen asleep on the sofa, his hands holding their daughter as she too was fast asleep on his chest. She bit her lip as she slowly sneaked into the room. She perched herself on the edge of the sofa as she took hold of Dotty and held her against her chest, her hand supporting her head. Her free hand gently shook Jack awake, the smirk growing as he stirred.
Jack looked up at her in confusion, "What's going on?" His voice rough.
"You fell asleep," she whispered before standing up and walking over to the other side of the room so she could place Dotty in the Moses basket. "I thought something had happened so I came downstairs and found the two of you sleeping on the sofa."
Jack ran his hands over his face before he pushed himself up on his hands and bringing his legs around so his feet were now on the floor.
"What time is it?" He looked out the window, it was still dark outside so it must've been early.
Nikki shrugged her shoulders, "About six o'clock," she breathed. "Do you want a cup of tea?"
Jack nodded before standing up and following Nikki into the kitchen, "How come you were awake? Please don't tell me you've set an alarm," he rolled his eyes as he leaned his body against the counter next to where Nikki had started making their drinks.
"No I just woke up," she answered. "I must've had a bad dream." She picked the kettle up as she heard it click and poured the boiling water into the mugs.
Jack stayed silent, the thoughts running through his head. He could sense the elephant in the room, it had been there since the day Dotty had been born but being in the hospital they didn't have the chance to bring up that conversation. But now they were here, stood in Nikki's kitchen and with all their worries gone there was only one question that remained. What happens now? Things had been said, from both of them, but nothing had happened.
"Nikki," Jack sighed, grabbing her attention as she handed him a mug. "Are we ever going to talk about it?"
Nikki took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she had been expecting that for weeks and it was bound to come sooner or later. She knew what she wanted deep down, she had told him she loved him. And she did love him. But she was scared.
"I don't know," she let out eventually. She held the mug tightly in her hands as she glanced up, her eyes connecting with his. "These past few weeks have been so hectic I haven't had much time to think of anything else," she placed a mug down on the counter before taking a step closer to him. "But I don't need to think about it, do I?"
"Nikki," fell from his lips. The goosebumps erupting over his skin as he felt her hand coming to rest on his arm, her fingers brushing across his skin. He put his mug down next to hers before bringing his hands up to cup her face. Nikki's hands resting at his sides. "I want to be with you. But I'm not sure that you're ready yet."
"Jack I'm scared," she barely got out for the lump in her throat.
"I know," his hands dropped from her cheeks to wrap around her body, engulfing her as her face burrowed into his chest, breathing in the scent that was just him. She felt safe in his arms, she always did. Jack's lips pressed into the top of her head as he held on to her tighter.
Nikki pulled back from him slightly after a moment, so she could look up at him, "I love you Jack," she spoke, the tears slipping down her face.
His hand moved to the back of her head, his fingers knotting in her hair, "I love you too," he smiled. His eyes flicking between her eyes and her mouth, he knew he shouldn't. They should be taking things one step at a time, they can't rush it after everything that's happened. But it felt as though another force pushed him forward. Their noses brushed and their lips inches away from each other.
Nikki could feel his breath running along her top lip, her skin tingling with anticipation. She made to close that gap between them, their lips connecting for a moment before she stopped, hearing a cry coming from the living room. Nikki sighed, moving away from him as she rested her head on his chest briefly before leaving the room.
Jack watched her go as he puffed his cheeks out, his heart racing. The moment quickly disappearing, he downed the rest of his tea before he made his way upstairs wanting nothing more than a shower in the hopes of clearing his head.
Nikki heard him walking up the stairs as she cradled the crying baby. She shook her head at herself as she held Dotty close to her, the tears now flowing freely.
"What am I going to do?" She cried as she held the baby against her chest.