Back with another update! Just a bit of a filler chapter for now but I hope you like it :)
It had been a good few weeks since Nikki and Jack had been for their first scan and had broken the news to Conor, who had been over the moon about it all. Nikki had the smallest of bumps now and you wouldn't be able to notice it unless you knew. Jack had found himself being unable to tear his hands away from it, just wanting to be as close to his baby as he possibly could. Especially after the letter he received from his mother, he was going to cherish every little moment.
They had been making their way back to the Lyell after the twelve weeks scan, both feeling as though a weight had been lifted off their chest now that they were able to spread the news properly. Jack had been on the phone to Clarissa almost straight away, he was ecstatic to finally tell her the good news. She had been just as excited as him, exclaiming how she couldn't wait to be an aunty and that she was immensely proud of himself and Nikki.
Nikki had debated on telling Harry since they had been keeping in contact the last time he had visited but there had been something stopping her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Despite him coming back into her life, she felt as though everything had still moved on. That they were living different lives now. She'd tell him one day.
Nikki and Jack were making their way into the entrance of the Lyell, their hands joined as they walked through the hallway.
"Have you been thinking of any names?" Nikki pondered as she tapped the code in to let them in.
Jack shrugged as they rounded the corner to their desks. He swiftly dropped his hand, missing the contact already as he sat down on his chair, "I'd want it to be something meaningful, something special to us."
"What was your mums name again?" She asked, her eyes connecting with his.
"Grace," Jack breathed. "But what about your mother?" He threw back, getting an idea of what she was hinting at.
"Carol," she pointed out. "If it's a girl she could have both names."
"And what if it's a boy?" Jack leaned forward on his elbows.
He could almost see the cogs turning in Nikki's head as she thought over the possibilities, she could think of a few, ones that would mean something to her, "How about Leo or Thomas? After Leo died, I'd always thought if I had a child then I would name it after Leo in some way. Push his legacy on, I think he would've liked that. Thomas deserves the same."
"How about we see at the time?" Jack smiled fondly, leaning back on his chair. "Have you thought more about what you want to do with the nursery?"
"I've got a few ideas in mind but you're going to have to wait Mr Hodgson," she teased before standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to."
Jack just chuckled at her as he watched her leave, heading in the direction of the bathroom. That's all she had been doing recently and no doubt it would only get worse throughout the next couple of months. He didn't mind though, all of it would be worth it in the end.
He turned his attention to his computer as he prepared himself to get on with some work he had started yesterday. He was just starting to relax when he heard a knocking on the glass. His eyebrows furrowed together as he wondered who it could be, they hadn't been expecting anyone after all. Nikki had just come back into the room as she heard the knocking as well. She told Jack to stay in his seat as she would go answer it.
Walking around the corner she was shocked to see the figure standing there, staring at her. She had felt her heart drop, that was the last person she was expecting to see. She took a deep breath, he was obviously here for a reason so it would be rude of her to send him away. Closing the small distance between herself and the door, Nikki clicked the button at the side and the door buzzed open.
"Matt?" She exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
The mention of Matt had caught Jack's attention and he too stood up and made his way around the corner to see it actually was him. He couldn't quite believe what, or rather who, he was seeing.
"Nikki, hi," Matt spoke, realising that he was yet to say something. His eyes flicked up to see Jack standing there as well, "Jack."
Jack just nodded in his direction, not finding the words. He didn't move though, he stayed standing there, watching as his wife spoke to her ex and wondering why he had come back all of a sudden.
"Well I was in the area," Matt continued. "And I thought I would pop in and see how you were. I was hoping that I would be able to take you out for lunch. Have a catch up, if you're not busy that is."
Nikki looked back at Jack, hinting to him that it was okay, he didn't have to watch over her. Jack seemed to understand what she was trying to convey as he left the two of them to it and sat back down at his desk.
"I'll have to double check with Sam but I don't see why not," Nikki's lips twitched, she wouldn't say that she was over the moon to see Matt but she wasn't not happy about it. It had been such a long time since she had seen him and they were together for quite a while after all. She turned on her heel and made her way into Sam's office to clear it with her first.
Matt stayed where he was, just standing awkwardly. He was tempted to go in to talk to Jack but it was Nikki he wanted to see and he wasn't particularly in the mood to talk to anyone else. But for the sake of being polite and to pass the time, he stood in the hallway, leaning on the door frame as he looked over at Jack.
"How is everything?" He called out, grabbing Jack's attention.
"Oh you know, same old shit," Jack grinned. The temptation to rub Matt's nose into the fact that him and Nikki were now married and had a baby on the way was too much but he knew it wasn't his place. That was up to Nikki to tell him. He swiftly made sure to hide his left hand so he wouldn't spot the ring. Although he doubted Matt would take that much notice of him anyway. "And what about you? I thought you'd gone back to America?"
"Yeah, I just had a few things I need to sort out here first," Matt explained. "But I thought I'd come in and see Nikki before I go back, see how she's doing."
Jack nodded, eyeing Matt. He tried not to chuckle at the fact that Matt was squirming, moving from one foot to the other as he waited for Nikki to come back. Unfortunately for Jack his entertainment was short lived as Nikki emerged from Sam's office and was making her way over to her desk to retrieve her bag and her coat.
"Now I'm sure you can survive without me for an hour Jack," she winked at him. "I won't be long, if you need me just call me."
"See you later," Jack teased, watching Nikki and Matt make their way out of the Lyell. He knew he could trust Nikki, he had no doubt about that. It was Matt he couldn't trust, there had always been something about him he didn't like. He was smarmy, smug. It had never sat well with him. He had to be back here for a reason, there was no chance he was just here on a whim.
Jack shook his head, if he thought about it too much then it would just make things worse. He didn't think Matt would, but if he ever dreamed of hurting Nikki then Jack would do everything in his power to make sure he wouldn't see daylight again.
Matt had found a nice spot for the two of them to have coffee. It was private, a place where the two of them could talk privately. That did worry Nikki slightly and she was beginning to wonder if Matt had an ulterior motive to all of this. But she had to trust that he was being genuine, it had been so long since they were together after all. And she hoped that the two of them had moved on.
"What do you want?" Matt wondered as he sat down opposite from the blonde woman.
"Just a sandwich," Nikki replied, she wasn't all that hungry since she'd eaten with Jack not that long ago. "So, tell me, what are you doing back?"
"I had a few loose ends that I needed to tie up over here before I head back to the States," Matt answered. "I wanted to see how you were though, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"
"I'm okay," she smiled. She wasn't sure of when it would be a good time to bring up the fact that her Jack were not only in a relationship now but had since got married and that she was pregnant with his child. She supposed that it wasn't really any of Matt's business but at the time he had a right to know. However, she decided she wanted to know the real reason he was here before she started giving him every little detail of her life since he had left it. "Work's still tough, you know how it is. And what about you?"
"I got a promotion," Matt beamed.
"Congratulations," Nikki spoke up, genuinely happy for the man in front of her. But she pulled her eyebrows together as his smile dropped. "Matt why are you really here?" She didn't want to waste anymore time knowing that he wanted to talk to her about something else, that much was obvious.
"You see, with this promotion it means I'm going to stay out there permanently. They don't need me over here anymore," Matt started. He reached out to take hold of Nikki's right hand. Nikki was quite shocked, finding herself unable to move her hand away from his. "I just wanted to make sure that it was over between us. I have missed you so much these past couple of months Nikki. I can't stop thinking about you, I have been such an idiot in letting you go."
Nikki's eyes darted around the room as she digested what exactly it was he was telling her. She couldn't believe what he was saying and he was saying it all now. Nikki's thumb twisted the gold band that rested on her finger.
"Matt…I," she started, not even knowing where to begin.
"Look we don't have to get together straight away but we can build us back up again and when we're back to where we were, we could," he paused for a moment. "We could find a way to make it work. I still love you Nikki."
Nikki pulled her hand from under his, coming to rest on her lower stomach as she dipped her head.
Matt watched her movements carefully, quickly realising what was going on, "You're pregnant."
"And married," she lifted her left hand up to show him. There was no point trying to hide it now.
"Let me guess, Jack?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
Nikki nodded her head slowly. She could've lied, told him it was someone else but he deserved better than that.
"It was always him, wasn't it?" Matt sighed.
"What do you mean?" Nikki was starting to feel defensive.
"I knew it," Matt leaned back in his chair. "From the moment we got together I knew you loved him, I supposed you had tried to tell yourself you didn't but I seen all the looks you gave him. And the way you spoke about him. I'm surprised it took you so long. How many weeks are you?"
"Twelve," she stated, matter of factly.
"So it didn't take you long to get over me then?" He scoffed, he wasn't trying to have a dig at her but he couldn't help but come across in a sharp tone.
"Matt," she warned. He was starting to push her buttons and she wasn't in the mood for an argument. "It just happened. It was all so quick. We only got married so soon for the sake of Jack's father, he's dying and he wanted to be there. And then I found out I was pregnant."
"You've got everything you wanted then, haven't you?" He was upset and hurt. He had come here in the hopes of patching things up and getting back together but now that had been completely thrown out of the window. "Well I hope you're both happy, I mean it."
Matt stood up, no longer in the mood for lunch. He walked over to Nikki and placed a hand on her cheek. He leaned down and his lips came into contact with her other cheek briefly before he pulled away, "Congratulations." And with that he walked away, leaving Nikki alone.
Nikki let out the breath that she had been holding back. She couldn't help but think about how that was probably the most bizarre half an hour she had experienced. Now she was going to have to find a way back to the Lyell as Matt had driven them both here. Fishing for her phone in her bag she pulled it out, clicking Jack's name and letting the dial tone ring.
About ten minutes later she was back in Jack's car and they were heading to the Lyell once again. She didn't say much during the drive, trying to make sense of it all in her head before she even thought about how to explain it to Jack.
Jack pulled up in the car park, looking over at Nikki. He was worried that she had been so silent and he was starting to wonder just what had happened at this lunch. Perhaps his suspicions had been right.
"What did he really want?" He asked, not wanting to wait any longer.
Nikki sighed, glancing over at him, "If you must know, he wanted us to get back together. He said that he had been an idiot for letting me get away and he wanted to make another go of things."
"And what did you say to that?" Jack dared to push.
Nikki just rolled her eyes, "What do you think?"
Jack just chuckled at her.
Nikki reached over the threshold, her palm coming to rest on his cheek. Her lips connected with his briefly. That's all she had wanted to do the moment the conversation had changed with Matt, she had just wanted Jack. That was proof enough to her that Jack was the only person she wanted in her life.
"Jack you have got nothing to worry about, okay?" She grinned. "You are my husband, the father of our child and I love you so much. Nothing will make me look the other way or even think about someone else. And you best believe that I'm not letting you go anywhere either."
"I was only winding you up," Jack kissed her back again. "But it's good to know since I love you too."
I'm also making good progress with that other story I'm working on but as it's going to be set out like a series, I was thinking that since we won't be getting an actual series this January, I might post them then? I should hopefully have it all written by that point so it'll be ready for regular updates, let me know what you think :)
