"Nikki – red or white?" Simone called through from Jack's kitchen.
"Nikki will have red – and so will I" Jack responded before she could answer.
"Aw you know me so well! Nikki mused.
"I'll have red too – and Max likes white" Clarissa shouted.
"Ok" the voice came back
Presently Simone appeared with a tray of glasses of wine – and a cup of tea for Connor. She proceeded to hand them out – going to the far side of the room first. Both Jack and Clarissa looked thoroughly disgusted as she by passed them on the way to her Grandma, while Nikki found the situation funny and giggled at their annoyed faces.
She gave Jack a kiss. "Cheer up – you'll get it in a minute!"
"It would have made much more sense to give us ours first then you wouldn't have to walk across the room with them all" Clarissa pointed out, irritated at seeing her wine being whisked past her.
"Yeah" Simone agreed "But Gran is more important than everyone else. Sorry but she is!"
"You want to be careful miss" Connor chuckled as she brought his cup of tea over. "Jack will kick you out in a minute"
"What? We have to get it ourselves now?" The aforementioned house owner protested loudly, as Simone placed the tray with the remaining drinks on the coffee table.
She sighed "No Jack. I'm just putting the tray down. I'll give you them in a minute – quit complaining you two!" She eyed the grumblers with exasperation.
"Ok" Max announced when they drinks were allocated to the right people "Karaoke time! Nikki you're up – what have you got for us this week?"
Nikki stood up. "It's about Mexico cos I'm over that now. I need to get it out of my system."
She fiddled with the machine until she found the right track and took a deep breath as the music started to play.
"No one warned me about Mexico
How it was all a lie" she began
"That the coffin was empty
And Louisa never died "
Nikki paused as the chorus started
"From there it escalated
Should've got the plane, it wasn't fair" she trilled tunefully
"I went a little crazy - I opened the coffin
She wasn't there"
"Wow!" Max grinned.
Jack glared at him for his interruption.
"Let me tell you – I got buried in the earth" Nikki continued
"It was dark and cold, I was going spare.
All this because
When I opened the coffin
She wasn't there"
She shuffled a bit nervously "No one warned me about Eva
The deal she made for her son
That'd she'd trap me underground
How she'd make Jack run"
"I like this song!" Clarissa exclaimed in amusement.
"Shush!" Jack retorted crossly
"From there it escalated" Nikki sang.
"Come everyone" Clarissa grinned, ignoring the forensic scientist. "Join in!"
"Should've got the plane, it wasn't fair
I went a little crazy I opened the coffin
She wasn't there" They all chorused bar - the annoyed Irish man who was far too busy watching his girlfriend.
"One bottle of water and a scorpion
Running out of air, I was scared a lot
All this because-"
"When I-"Clarissa started, but was soon drowned out by Nikki's sweet tones.
"Couldn't put back the lid
On Pandora's box"
"She changed the words!" The older woman lamented indignantly to her husband.
Jack couldn't help a smirk escaping.
"From there it escalated" Nikki waved her hand to indicate that they could join in.
"Should've got the plane, it wasn't fair
I went a little crazy I opened the coffin
She wasn't there" They all sang
"Let me talk of brighter things
A voice full of comfort and care" Nikki crooned, slightly distracted by her boyfriend gazing at her in awe.
"Jack broke the dark, soothed my fear
After I opened the coffin
And she wasn't there." She finished to a round of applause.
"Way to go Nikki!" Simone beamed.
"Yes that was fantastic" Connor told her "Well done Nikki"
"So good" Jack murmured softly as she sat down and snuggled up to him.