This took a turn not even I was expecting but I hope you enjoy :) Thank you again for your lovely reviews, they really help a lot!
It felt like they had been in work only five minutes before they were packing the stuff away and pulling their coats on to prepare for the outside world. It had been a reasonably quiet day besides from when the family had arrived to talk to Sam. Jack had made himself scarce by buying everyone some lunch. Nikki hung around, should she need to step in at any moment to back up Sam's points. But Sam handled it pretty well and with a lot of care.
Nikki often wondered where this woman had been all her life and how it was just by chance they hadn't met before now. It was like Sam was the mother she never had, in many ways like how Leo was the father she never had. Sam had much of the same ideals and believed in them as passionately as her. The way she used the family's grief to try and explain to them how sometimes, some things don't have a reason. They are just that. It doesn't make things right of course, but it can't be helped. It wasn't too dissimilar from how Nikki would have approached the situation.
She had joined Sam after the family left, walking in with a cup of tea and placing it on her desk.
"Jack shouldn't be too long with the food," Nikki breathed. "How are you feeling?" She asked, watching Sam's face. She was yet to learn how to read it but then she supposed that other people had felt the same about her.
Sam shrugged, "I've been better. I just know how it feels to want an answer so desperately and going to great lengths to get it. Only to be disappointed by the outcome. But I seemed to get through to them, so hopefully they'll let her body rest and they'll find peace."
Nikki smiled fondly, "Well I think you handled them very well from what I could tell and I'm sure they'd have appreciated what you've done for them."
Sam nodded, her face matching Nikki's. They stayed quiet for a moment, neither quite knowing what to say. But it wasn't long before Sam was breaking the silence, "Nikki what I was saying earlier, I hope you don't take it the wrong way. I really am happy for the both of you. But I've come to care for you two and I would hate to see what you have being ruined."
"And I really do appreciate your concern, I mean that," Nikki sighed. "But whatever is going on right now, just feels so right and I've never felt happier."
"You know where I am, if you ever need me though," Sam spoke, taking a sip of her tea.
They were quickly interrupted by Jack coming into the office with a bag full of food. He handed sandwiches out to everyone, along with a few other things. He sat down on the sofa as Nikki remained in the chair opposite Sam as they ate through their lunch in silence. They had then got on with their day, organising paperwork and catching up on any reports.
Nikki and Jack had soon returned back to Jack's apartment to get changed ready to meet up with Conor in a couple of hours. They had still yet to actually start packing up their stuff to move into Nikki's house but with everything that had happened in such a short space of time they hadn't quite managed to figure everything out yet.
Considering they were only going to Jack's dad they decided to not dress up fancy but because there was a sense of occasion, Nikki chose to put on one of her smarter dresses. Although Jack had spent most of the time leading up to when they had to leave trying to persuade her out of it. To which she kept having to tap him on the hand for.
Thankfully she didn't have to put up with his teasing for too long as they had to leave earlier to go to the shops and pick up some food anyway. And before they knew it they were in the elevator ready to see him.
Jack glanced over to Nikki who was exhaling a breath and he could see that she was starting to pick at her fingers. Reaching out, he weaved his fingers through hers, squeezing her hand. His lips twitched as she looked over at him, her hand tightening around his. He placed his free hand on her cheek, turning to face her. Leaning down his lips brushed hers.
"Don't know why you're so worried. He gave me the ring, remember," he whispered softly, his eyes catching hers.
Nikki gripped onto his hand, "I can't help it. I'm scared that he won't like me anymore or that he'll disapprove of us f-"
She was interrupted by Jack's lips on hers once again, but there was more meaning behind this kiss. Jack wasn't always a man of very many words so Nikki was having to map out the reasons behind his actions. Right now, it was a mixture of him trying to distract her so she would shut up and a reminder that she was overthinking things and being daft. She supposed that she didn't mind so much that Jack was using this technique as a way of taking her mind off things. And it did always work.
She grinned as she felt his arm snaking around her waist, just like it always did. Pulling her closer, he dropped her hand only to bring his own up and rest on the back of her head. His tongue ran along her bottom lip as the kiss deepened, completely forgetting where they were, just getting lost in each other's arms. Bringing them back to reality was the ping of the elevator and the doors consequently opening, followed by a cough from someone waiting outside.
Jack had quickly dropped Nikki from his arms, suddenly feeling very hot and he was sure that his face had turned bright red. He nodded to the man before taking Nikki by the hand and guiding her out of the elevator.
He tried to hide his chuckle as her face was still full of shock and just like his, was a completely different colour to what it usually was. She brought her hand up to her mouth, her eyes still wide as she looked up at Jack.
"That's never happened to me before," she grinned.
Jack rolled his eyes in response, "Now I refuse to believe that Dr Alexander. From what I've experienced so far, you don't shy away from public displays of affection," he winked, moving to rest his hands on her waist once again. He captured her lips in his, smiling as she placed her hand on his arm.
But she was pushing him away again, "I thought we were meant to be going to see your dad. We are late enough as it is. He's probably wondering where his food has gone."
Jack plucked the bag from her hand, "You were the one having a freak out, I thought you needed some calming down."
"Calming down Jack, not trying to convince me to go home," Nikki scoffed, gently tapping him on the arm, a smile dancing on her lips. "Now come on." She had laced her hand in his hand as they made their way towards the door leading to Conor's flat.
He knocked loudly on the door before gazing over to Nikki who was letting out a breath again, the nerves she had let go of earlier quickly making a comeback. He felt as her hand tightened when his father opened the door.
"Da," Jack beamed.
Conor's eyes flicked between the pair now stood in front of him, his attention being grabbed instantly by the glint of a ring on Nikki's finger. A ring that he recognised straight away. His heart dropped as he came to the realisation of why these two were currently on his doorstep and had arranged to meet him. The smile erupted on his face and he could feel the tears forming in his eyes.
"Congratulations," was all he let out as he pulled Jack into a hug first. Resting his hand on his cheek. "My son," and then he was engulfing Nikki, holding on to her as the tears fell. He backed away from the pair, "Come on in," he beckoned them in with his hand, leading the way into the flat.
Jack was the first to follow, with Nikki a beat behind, wiping at her own cheeks. Jack placed the bag of shopping down on the counter as he watched his dad walk around the kitchen, a bottle that looked like whisky in one hand and expertly held three small glasses in the other. He was quick to pour them and passed them out before they clinked the glasses.
"To you two," he chimed as they all took a sip of their drinks. He swallowed the liquid before continuing, "So, how did my lump of son ask you?"
Nikki chuckled, glancing up to Jack who just sighed before looking back at Conor, "Well he didn't really," she paused, gauging a reaction from the older man. "I sort of found the ring first. No, Jack dropped it when he left the car and I seen it on the seat and well-"
"It just happened," Jack finished for her. "She had said yes before I'd even had the chance to ask her."
Conor shook his head, his lips twitching, "You can't do one thing, can you son?" He joked as Jack raised his eyebrows at him. "Right, what have you brought for food then I'm starving."
They all teamed up together as they whipped themselves up a light dinner that didn't take too long. And they tucked into it quietly as they all sat around the small table, which wasn't particularly ideal for the three of them, but it was in a flat made to only fit one person.
Nikki's eyes flitted over to Jack before back to Conor as it sunk in just how real everything going on was and how she couldn't be any happier, "I've been meaning to ask something actually," she spoke breaking the silence and causing Jack to snap his head up to look at her, his face full of confusion. Whatever she was about to say, she hadn't previously discussed it with him before. "I haven't mentioned this to Jack yet but I was hoping that with my actual father not being with me anymore. And Leo no longer being with us," she stopped feeling the tears blurring her sight as Jack placed a gentle hand on her thigh, circling his thumb over her skin.
"I wanted to know, if you wouldn't mind," she continued. "Walking me down the aisle, whenever it is we decide to do it."
Conor reached out, holding Nikki's hand in his, a fond smile on his face, "I'd love to," he breathed, the tears falling down his cheek, his accent thick. "It would be an honour."
"I think that calls for another drink," Nikki grinned as she gathered up the plates and headed towards the kitchen.
Jack looked over to his dad as he watched the smile drop, there was a sense of worry in his face and he knew instantly that there was something his dad wasn't telling him, "What's wrong da?"
Conor shook his head, "I don't want to ruin your night."
"It can't be that bad," Jack scoffed. "Come on, what's happened?"
"I went to the hospital the other week," he started. Jack felt his heart drop, he didn't like the sound of where this was going. "I found a lump. So I went to get it checked out. They got the results and it's cancer. And it's not great, they want to try and start me with chemo but they don't know how effective it will be. It might just buy me more time but apart from that I don't know how much longer I've got left."
Jack dropped his head, clasping his hands together as he rested his elbows on the table. He couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, it didn't feel real. He'd never been all that close to his dad until recently, with everything that had happened. And now he had actually built up some sort of relationship with him, he could be ripped away from him in a matter of months.
"It's why I gave you the ring son," Conor exhaled, stopping as he heard Nikki making her way back to them. "Don't tell her tonight, don't want to burst that bubble."
Jack had spent the remainder of the night trying to swallow the lump in his throat that just wasn't disappearing. He had watched as his father and Nikki interracted, as though they had known each other their whole lives. He could see now why his father had encouraged him to propose to her, she was perfect and his dad probably wanted to see his son settle down and start his own family just as he was losing his. He was going to have to have that conversation with Nikki tonight whether he liked it or not, she had said that she didn't want to get married for another couple of years yet. But with the revelation tonight those couple of years would have to turn into a couple of months. Especially if Nikki wanted his dad to walk her down the aisle.
It wasn't long before they were in the car on the way back to Jack's apartment. Nikki had picked up on his change of behaviour pretty quickly and had asked him if everything was okay but he had simply brushed it off, saying that he was just tired and there was nothing to worry about. When they got home, Jack had jumped into the shower straight away and went to bed as soon as he got out. Nikki had pondered about in the kitchen, wondering what the hell had gotten into him from the time they got to his fathers to the time they had left.
A slither of doubt flashed across her mind that maybe he was having second thoughts about it all and announcing it to his dad was what made him realise that. But then if Jack had any problems then surely he would talk to her about it, they talked about everything with each other after all. She walked towards the bedroom, hoping that he was awake so they could talk about it but he was fast asleep. Feeling a wave of exhaustion washing over she got changed and joined him under the covers.
The next time she woke up must've been three in the morning, she hadn't bothered to check the time. She had sat up instantly when she'd seen that Jack was no longer in the bed next to her. Pulling the blankets from her over her, she lifted her body from the bed. Her bare feet connected with the cold wood of the floor. She could see the small light coming from under the door. Walking towards it, she opened it only to reveal Jack sat on the sofa, his cheeks damp from tears.
Her heart sunk as she took in his silhouetted figure, "Jack," she let out softly. He jumped, glancing up to her. She made her way over to him as quickly as her legs would let her. She sat on the sofa with him, pulling his body against hers, clutching at him tightly as the sobs wracked his body. She subconsciously rocked him gently as she ran her hand up and down his bare skin. "What's happened?" She asked, hearing the cries subsiding.
"It's my da," Jack spoke, his voice unsteady. "He's dying Niks."
Nikki pulled away from him, her hands coming to land on either side of his face, "What? How? When?" All the thoughts racing through her head.
"Cancer," he sighed. "He told me earlier when you went into the kitchen. He's known for weeks, it's why he gave me the ring. Probably wanted me to live my life to the fullest, or settle down whilst he was still around to watch."
"Oh Jack," Nikki breathed, wrapping her arms around him once again as the tears started falling. "What treatments are they giving him?"
"They said they wanted to start him on chemo but they're not sure how effective it's going to be yet," Jack answered, gripping onto Nikki as hard as he could, as if she was going to disappear if he let her go.
"But that's a start," she carried on, trying desperately to not to say the wrong thing. "Did he say when his first treatment was going to be?" Jack just shook his head. "Well why don't you find out tomorrow and you can go with him to his appointment. I think he'd like that and you'd get to spend more time with him."
"I'm not sure I'd cope seeing him lying there with all the tubes," his voice was hoarse now and he could feel his throat growing sore.
"Well there's not much you can do about it right now," she said, matter of factly. Hoping that she wasn't coming across as blunt but she knew she was going to have to be the level headed one at the moment. "Let's go to bed and we can talk about this properly in the morning. You might not think you'll be able to manage seeing him like that but if you don't spend this time with him while you can, trust me, you'll regret it. Get some sleep and you'll have a clearer head in the morning."
Jack reluctantly nodded, he knew that she was right. She had snaked her hand through his, leading him towards the bedroom. She got in first, him shortly after. But this time, Nikki pulled Jack to rest his head on her chest as she wrapped her arm around him.
"You don't have to deal with this on your own," she whispered. "I'm going to be here with you the whole time, I'm not going anywhere." She planted a kiss on the top of his head as the arm that was lying across her waist tightened in appreciation.
