I'm not sure about this chapter...I don't know, let me know what you think! And once again, thank you so much for your lovely reviews.
It was nearly eight o'clock when Jack pulled up into the car park of the Lyell Centre. He looked over to Nikki who hadn't taken her eyes off him for the whole journey. He'd told her multiple times to stop staring because it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable to which she had simply told him that she was just excited and overwhelmed with everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours.
He unclipped his seatbelt giving himself some freedom. He leaned over the threshold, capturing her lips with his. He smiled into the kiss as he felt Nikki's palm coming to rest on his cheek. He pulled away from her, his eyes searching hers. Wrapping his fingers around her wrist he ran his thumb along the back of her hand. He tilted his head further into her palm, just enjoying the feeling of her skin against his, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"We best get in there before I change my mind and drive us back home so we can spend the rest of the day together. Just us two," Jack joked, winking at her.
Nikki's lips twitched fondly. "Don't tempt me," was her reply before she dropped her hand and pushed the car door open. She waited for Jack to join her as she stood at the front of the car. He was quickly next to her, threading his fingers through hers, wanting to be close to her again. They both made their way into the lab. As they got into the offices they reluctantly let their fingers loosen and that contact between the two of them was lost again.
Jack settled down in his chair and turned his computer on, Nikki's movements in sync with his as she sat opposite him. They were both already pulling out the paperwork that they were going to have to deal with today, every now and then stealing glances from each other. Every time Nikki caught Jack's eye, she could feel her heart swell and her stomach flutter in ways she couldn't describe.
She did briefly wonder if that feeling would fade out eventually, that she would just get used to it in the end. But as that thought flashed across her mind, Jack's eyes had connected with hers and she quickly realised that she would never get used to that feeling. And if she really dug deep into her thoughts, she supposed that he had been making her feel this way for seven years already and she doubted that it would stop now. If anything, those feelings would just grow even more.
It wasn't long before Sam was rushing through the entrance, three coffees sitting on a small tray.
"Sorry I'm late," she exhaled. Placing the tray down on Nikki's desk. "Got stuck in traffic. This one is for you Nik-" She stopped as she pulled one of the cups out, spotting the ring that was sat on Nikki's finger, the light of the room bouncing off it.
Nikki looked up at Sam, then following her gaze. A beam spreading across her face.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow as she flicked her head between Jack and Nikki.
"Well it didn't go how I was expecting it to go," Jack started. "It just sort of happened."
"Jack needs to find better places to hide things," Nikki interrupted, casting a wink in Jack's direction.
Sam smiles as she watches the interaction between the pair, "Congratulations. I'm really happy for the both of you. You deserve it."
"You're for the first person we've told actually," Nikki pointed out, taking her cup of coffee and sipping it.
"Oh well now I do feel honoured," Sam laughed as she laid her hand across her chest. She reached down and handed Jack his coffee now, he accepted it from her appreciatively. Sam turned to Nikki once again. "Nikki, I was wondering if you wanted to join me in a minute. We've been asked to do a second post mortem and it would be great if I could get some second opinions. I think it'll help, especially if our findings match that of the first PM."
"Of course."
"Great, ten minutes?"
Nikki nodded, watching as Sam left, heading towards her office. Nikki lifted herself from her chair, bringing her to her feet. She walked around the desks coming to stand behind Jack. She rested her hands on top of his shoulders, gently massaging them. She grinned as Jack relaxed under her touch and leaned his head back so he could look up at her.
Jack soon reached up, taking hold of one of her hands so he could spin around in his chair. He was now facing her. His eyes travelled up and down her body, reminding himself of just how honoured he was to be able to call this woman in front of him his fiance. The smile spread across her face as he noticed the blush creeping up her neck under his gaze. He loved that he could make her feel like just by looking at her.
"I love you," fell from his mouth.
The grin hadn't left her face as she cupped his face in her hands. She leaned down to him, her lips brushing his. Jack's hands came to grip at her waist before moving down to rest on the back of her thighs as she pulled away from him.
"I love you too," she reached out, running her thumb across his lips as she realised that she had left a slight lipstick mark behind.
And with that she was gone, making her way towards the changing room. She was going to have to start biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling so much. She felt as though she was on some sort of drug, whatever drug that may be. She was happy. She was elated. She felt like she was truly on top of the world. Turning the key to the door of her locker she pulled her scrubs out and changed out of her clothes. As she put her clothes back into the hold, she took her earrings out. Gazing down at her finger next and as much she didn't want to take it off she knew she had to. She twisted it off her finger and gently placed it on top of her neatly folded clothes.
She jumped as she heard Sam's voice, pulling her from her thoughts. She closed her locker door before turning around to face Sam who had already got changed and was raring to go.
"How come we're doing a second post mortem then?" Nikki questioned, curious. It wasn't uncommon for them to be asked to do another PM but Nikki always liked to know what she was getting herself into, even if it was in just an observational capacity.
Sam sighed as she washed her hands in the sink, "Family think it's suspicious. That she may not have died of natural causes like the first PM would suggest." She was now drying her hands before pulling the gloves over her hands.
"Well if she didn't die of natural causes then how do they think she died?"
"She'd been in hospital for quite a while, from what I can gather from her notes. The family seems to think that the hospital is to blame for her death," she paused. "Want to sue them for neglect."
Nikki nodded slowly, "Ah." In a way she was glad now that she wasn't involving herself directly. There was nothing worse than having to deal with an emotional family who wants to find an explanation as to why they have lost their loved one unexpectedly.
"It's going to be a tough one," Sam continued. "You know that as much as I do. But we can only find what we can find. And lucky for you, it'll be me having to deal with the family afterwards."
"Well the sooner we get on with it the sooner it will be over," Nikki smiled softly as she followed behind Sam into the morgue. They had their little routine, Nikki would walk around to the right side of the body whilst Sam remained on the left. Sam started reeling off the information and anything that stood out to her as Nikki wrote down the details in the notes.
After an external examination, Sam began the internal examination. The jars containing all that was necessary to investigate were already laid out in front of her. She started off by inspecting the heart. Weighing it first before dissecting further into it.
"So, this thing between you and Jack seems to be going well," Sam spoke, breaking the silence.
Nikki's lips twitched, "Yeah. Almost too well I think sometimes."
"Things seem to be moving very quickly," Sam remarked as she opened up the heart. She looked over in Nikki's direction which caused her to walk around to the same side as Sam. "I would most definitely say that the cause of death was heart attack wouldn't you?"
"Definitely," Nikki agreed before returning to what Sam had said in regards to her relationship with Jack. Which, coming from Sam, seemed odd. From what Nikki could gather, Sam was the one who encouraged it so it was weird that she, all of a sudden, didn't approve of it. "Me and Jack have known each other for such a long time now. Almost feels like a lifetime. This thing between us, it makes sense that it's moving so fast. We've waited long enough for it."
"Oh no I'm not disapproving at all. I am really happy for the both of you," Sam defended herself as she moved on to inspect the lungs to further back up her initial theory. "I just want to make sure that you know that you're making the right decision. I know what it feels like to be caught up in a whirlwind romance and sometimes you can be blind to things. You may think that it is the best thing you can do but often, it's the worst. I think what I'm saying is take your time and don't rush."
Nikki took everything in. She had come to greatly respect Sam's opinion, even if at times she didn't agree with it. Sometimes Nikki needed to be reminded that she had to take a step back and think things through, she often lost her head in these things. Especially when she thought back on her past encounters, it really didn't take her long to fall in love and she so wanted Jack to be different. And maybe he was but maybe she was rushing into things.
She shrugged, "Maybe you're right. But I really do love him Sam and what we have is so different from what I've had with anyone else. And that terrifies me but I wouldn't change it for the world."
"You seem very sure of yourself so chances are you know what you're doing," Sam smiled. "We'll have to celebrate at some point though."
Nikki's face mirrored Sam's. They finished up their post mortem without saying anything more on the topic of Nikki and Jack. They investigated everything in as much detail as they possibly could. And from their findings they were able to come to the same conclusion of that of the first PM. And now Nikki was even more thankful that she didn't have to deal with the family.
Sam and Nikki were soon walking back into the changing rooms together. Just as Nikki was putting her earrings back into her ear and placing the ring back onto her finger, Sam had come out from getting changed also.
"Wonder how they're going to take it," Nikki breathed, already knowing the answer but just wanted to make conversation.
Sam just pulled a face, not ready for the backlash that she was going to receive from the family for this, "Wish me luck." Then Sam was gone, leaving Nikki alone for a moment. She played with the ring on her finger, revelling in the feeling of how it sat there. Sam had made a point earlier, not one Nikki could totally disagree with but there was one thing that Nikki did know. She loved Jack with every fibre of her being and what was going on right now was just them making up for lost time. They had waited too long and they deserved to be happy and excited.
Letting out a sigh, she made her way back to the offices. Back to Jack once again. He had barely moved from when she left him not that long ago and he seemed to still have his head stuck in some boring paperwork. She chuckled at him, she knew how much he hated this side of things. It didn't suit Jack at all, he liked getting his teeth stuck into something. Something he could really focus on, something that really got his blood pumping.
Nikki didn't mind the paperwork so much, it allowed her to have a break from all the tough cases they worked on. She used it as something to take her mind off everything. But there were times she absolutely hated it and would much rather have something that exercised her mind thoroughly.
She was soon sitting down at her desk, opposite Jack. He flicked her eyes up to her as she settled down in her chair, making herself comfortable once again.
"How'd it go?" Jack asked, dropping his pen, giving Nikki his full attention.
Nikki leaned back on her chair, "I'm just grateful that it's Sam having to deal with the family and not me."
"That bad?"
Nikki exhaled a breath, "Let's just say that what we found matched that of the first PM and that's not the outcome they were expecting or hoping for."
"You can only find what you can find, don't beat yourself up," Jack reassured her. Nikki's eyes snapped up to him as she realised what he had said. Jack's eyebrows knitted together, confused as to why she had that expression on her face. "What?"
Nikki shook her head, "Sam said the same thing."
"Well you know what they say, great minds think alike," Jack beamed.
"You wish," Nikki scoffed as she signed into her computer and made a start on the paperwork she was going to work on before Sam had called her to do the post mortem.
Jack feigned shock, leaning forward on his desk. He gazed over at her, he couldn't stop the smirk spreading across his face. She really was something else and he really was the luckiest man on the planet.
"I rang my dad earlier," he started. "He's expecting us around eight. I said I'd bring food and drinks so we'll have to go to the shop on the way there."
"Have you told him why we're coming?" Nikki questioned.
"No of course not, couldn't tell him the good news without his future daughter in law being there now could I?" he winked watching the blush appear on Nikki's cheeks for the second time that morning.
I've also posted another story 'Mr and Mrs Gardner' if you haven't seen it already. I'll try my best to keep both updated!
