Set right at the end of 24x02, enjoy :)

She asked him to drive her there, he wasn't sure why but he couldn't help the flutter in his stomach when she stood next to his desk, her brown eyes staring down at him as she uttered the words "Can you take me to my lecture this afternoon, I want you to be there." Jack jumped at the chance, she certainly didn't need to ask twice.

I want you to be there, he couldn't get it off his mind for the entire drive. This wasn't a case of her car breaking down last minute and she needed a lift. She actually wanted him there, supporting her.

Nikki was just staring out of the window, thinking. Thinking about the case they had just solved, thinking about Scott Weston. Thinking about everything. She wanted Jack to be there today, to watch her in action. He had been so supportive of her over the past few months, always being a shoulder to cry on. Always someone she could talk to. It had been hard without Thomas and Clarissa. But she always had Jack and that was something. She knew she could always rely on him.

She couldn't stop thinking about what he said on that bench, I'll always be grateful that you did. She knew what he was trying to say without having to say it but it scared her. Scared her because their feelings for one another were increasingly becoming more and more real. This wasn't just a case of them flirting and dancing around each other like she had for so many years with Harry. This was her and Jack falling in love with each other, real and fast.

They had never spoken about what he had said in the hospital all those months ago however. Perhaps he had forgotten; he was on the brink of death after all. Or perhaps he was waiting for the right moment to bring it up. Nikki couldn't be sure, but one thing she did know, the feeling brewing in the pit of her stomach meant something, perhaps it wasn't Jack that needed to bring that up, maybe it was her.

She didn't have time to think about it further as Jack pulled up outside the university. She could feel the nerves bubbling up inside her, she may have done this once but it was still nerve-wracking but one glance at Jack had settled her. His hand had reached over the threshold, squeezing her arm gently just like he had on that bench. He was all she needed.

Jack stood at the top of the lecture hall watching her as she guided the minds of the students below them. They were all enraptured by her, from what he could see anyway. They were all concentrated on her, hanging on to her every word. He couldn't blame them, he was in a similar position himself.

Then she directly mentioned a student, his eyes dipped for a brief second to follow her line of sight before they were quickly finding her again.

"… and I answered that a good pathologist shouldn't be effected by death, and I've thought about that a lot because, it's not actually true. It is hard sometimes when you see as much horror as we do, and sometimes we need help to process the things we see," she was looking directly at him now and the flutter had returned to his stomach. "And that's okay. So I'm sorry, I made a mistake. But to err, is human-"

"- to forgive, divine," he couldn't help but finish it. Those few seconds where they held each other's eye seemed to last an eternity. Jack would stay there for the rest of his life if he could, just looking at her as if she was his entire world. She was his entire world. Just as he had told her a couple of days ago, he couldn't imagine his life where she wasn't in it. She had saved him in so many ways and he would be forever grateful that he could know her and fall in love with her.

He watched her as she packed all her stuff away and waited for all the students to filter out of the hall. One boy had made his way towards her, Jack was sure that he was the one Nikki had spoken directly to. He couldn't make out what was being said as he made his way down the steps, something about it being a great lecture, Jack couldn't be sure. By the time he had made the bottom step the student had looked in his direction and quickly realised it was his time to leave.

Jack waited for a moment, a smile quickly spreading across his face as his eyes connected with Nikki's, her face now mirroring his. "You were brilliant." His smile only widened as he noticed the blush creeping up her neck as she grew flustered, her hands shaking as she tried to shove pieces of paper back into her bag.

"It could've gone better," she eventually spoke.

"How do you mean?"

She looked up at him once again, her lips twitching, "I kept getting distracted."

Jack scoffed, "Well you wanted me there."

"I didn't expect you to go finishing my sentences."

He was chuckling now as he edged towards her, "It's a force of habit, I couldn't help it. You shouldn't be so predictable."

"I am not predictable," she rolled her eyes at him as she continued to place everything into her bag.

"Yeah and you're not stubborn either," he said under his breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Jack feigned innocence as he turned in the direction of the exit, taking the lead as Nikki followed swiftly behind him. "I'm starving, do you fancy getting a bite to eat?"

"Sure, what are you thinking?" Nikki pulled her phone from her bag, quickly checking the time. She was surprised to find a notification pop up, a notification from a number she hadn't heard from in months. She swiped across, deleting the notification, it was probably nothing. He had probably had one too many and was trying his luck again, no doubt he had an apology the size of an essay.

But she didn't care, the relationship had run its course, she hadn't thought about him in months and she had no intentions of thinking about him again. Not when she had Jack, who had been there for her, through thick and thin, every step of the way. He was here now, supporting her through the lecture. She couldn't think of anyone better to have distracted her.

"There's that Italian we always go to?" He glanced down at her, quick to notice the hint of distress on her face but he filed that question away for later, he doubted that he would get an answer from her now.

"Of course," Nikki's lips twitched.

They had settled down at their table and ordered themselves a drink. Jack watched her as she scanned the menu, he wasn't sure why, she always had the same thing whenever they came here. He couldn't help but chuckle at her which of course caused her to look up at him.

"What?" She gave him a puzzled look.

He shook his head, "Nothing," the smile spread across his face as his eyes stayed connected with hers, he could get used to this. As much as he missed having Thomas annoying him and Clarissa winding him up he quite liked it being just the two of them. He opened his mouth to say something else but he was interrupted by the buzzing coming from Nikki's phone on the table.

Nikki sighed as she reached to pick it up, she knew who it would be and she was dreading turning it over. She did it eventually because Jack was looking at her expectantly. His name was in big white letters across her screen.

"Matt?" Nikki nodded. "I thought things were over between you months ago?" He hated that his voice was laced with disappointment. He had been struggling to hide his feelings for years but it had gotten worse since she had broken up with Matt, it was as though this was his final chance to tell her how he really felt. He just hadn't quite gotten round to that bit yet, but he was dropping enough hints.

"They are," Nikki clicked the lock button silencing the call. "He just does this every now and again." Jack reached over the table and picked the phone up, swiping across to answer it. "Jack what are you doing?"

"Hi, Nikki's phone," he grinned as Nikki glared at him. He listened to the mumbles on the other side of the call, he couldn't make much of it out but he could tell that Matt was drunk.

"Who's this?"

"It's Jack, Nikki's a bit busy at the moment," there was something else unintelligible. "I mean I could but I don't think she'd want me interrupting her shower and she's had a tough day, we'll just want to get an early night."

Nikki's mouth hung open at that.

Jack pulled the phone from his ear, "He just hung on me."

Nikki plucked the phone back from him, "Well can you blame him? Why did you say that Jack?" She just wish he knew the implications of him winding Matt about her and him, he was half the reason Matt had ended things with her. Said he couldn't continue trying to make a relationship work when one of them was in love with someone else.

"Look he might just stop phoning you now that he thinks you're with someone else," he leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table.

"But you're not just someone else Jack. You're Jack," she dug around her bag, pulling out some money and placing it down on the table. "I don't think this was a good idea, I'll see you tomorrow."

And she was doing it again, running away. It was the only thing she knew how to do. They needed to have that conversation, she needed to tell him how she felt. She was ready to tell him, she was more than ready but she couldn't push the anxiety down. She couldn't stop the fear that they might ruin what they have, their friendship, if she took it a step further. She was absolutely in love with Jack but she couldn't lose him, it would hurt too much.

"Nikki wait," Jack called after her. He eventually caught up with her after she made it halfway down the street. He reached out for her arm, spinning her towards him. His chest rising and falling. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that back there," his brows furrowed as he spotted the tear falling down her cheek. "Hey, what's up?" His hand cupped her cheek, bringing her even closer to him, his thumb swiping away the silver line.

"You don't get it do you?" She let out a deep breath. "You're the reason…"

She paused. Jack searched her eyes for an answer.

"The reason for what?" He pushed.

"He knew, I think he knew the whole time we were together," she closed her eyes. "I only went after him because I needed something different, someone different," she was looking up at him again. "Someone that wasn't you."

"What are you saying?" His eyes darkened. His heart pounded out of his chest.

"I'm saying, you were the reason Matt and I broke up. He knew I wasn't in love with him, he knew that I…" the lump formed in her throat and she desperately tried to get the words out of her mouth. But her chest was tightening and she felt as though she couldn't breathe. "This would be a really good time for you to finish my sentence," she smiled as a laugh escaped Jack's mouth.

"I can think of something better," he didn't give Nikki a chance to debate it as he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. His hand moved to back of her head, his fingers threading through her blonde hair as the kiss deepened.

She was curled into his side, her head resting on his chest as his fingers ran up and down her bare arm.

"You never finished what you were saying earlier," he spoke, his voice rumbling against her ear.

She lifted her head, "Does it need saying?"

"If you say it I will."

"I love you," she grinned.

Jack's hand cupped her cheek again as he stole another kiss, "I love you too."