XxX

With a sigh, Nigel turned over, retreating from the bright sun. His bleary eyes stirred as he began to snuggle back into bed.

That was, until he caught sight of the blinking clock.

"Oh, bleeding hell! Jordan, wake up!"

His companion grumbled in response and tried shushing him with her hand, "Five more minutes."

"We are way past five more minutes, luv, it's almost half past nine!" He was already out of bed, scouring the floor for clean clothes, "The storm must have knocked the power out last night, it reset our clock!"

She sat up in a daze, her curls a mess, "What?" Her brain was panicked but her body hadn't caught up yet.

He tossed her a shirt and pair of pants as he continued his search, "Clothes. On. We're late!"

"Not that one, you wore it yesterday!" Jordan fell out of bed in her hurry. She snatched another up, sniffed it, and tossed it to him, "Traffic is going to be insane!"

He pulled the shirt over his head, "We'll take the bike, get there faster." He grabbed his keys and helmet as they stumbled towards the door. Jordan grabbed hers and quickly followed after him.

Nigel broke quite a few laws both for the State of Massachusetts and common sense, but they made it to the morgue in less than fifteen minutes.

Jordan tapped him on the shoulder and directed him down the alley, "Take my spot, nothing else is going to be open." They were a blur as they grabbed their things and shot off towards the main doors. Jordan scurried to put on deodorant and quickly ran a bit of toothpaste over her teeth as the elevator headed up, Nigel did his best to straighten himself out in the rough reflection of the mental doors. They were somewhat composed by the time the doors opened and they did their best to look innocent as they ventured inside.

"Morning!" Emmy bid as she grabbed their messages, "Late start?"

"Traffic was a nightmare." Nigel grinned, flipping carelessly through his slips.

The morning frenzy was already starting to catch up to Jordan and her spinning head reminded her she hadn't had her morning dose of caffeine yet. She simply mumbled and headed in, turning straight for the breakroom.

The elevators dinged and Lily appeared in all her bright colors, her arms stacked with coffee trays, "Oh, Nigel!" She smiled, offering him a cup, "Black like the night, three sugars."

"You are an angel, luv." He kissed her cheek and accepted the cup, "Is there a holiday I don't know about?"

"Just felt like doing something nice for everyone." She shrugged as she handed Emmy hers, "Oh, did you know you parked in Jordan's spot?" She grimaced, knowing what had happened to previous offenders.

Nigel chuckled, trying not to give his nerves away as they headed down the hall, "Yeah."

"Wow, and you're still walking?" Lily chuckled.

"She needed a ride." It wasn't a complete lie, but he was hoping Lily wouldn't notice that he couldn't meet her eye and was desperately searching for an escape from this conversation.

Thankfully, Lily was too caught up in her Snow-White routine and soon scurried off to spread her cheer, none the wiser.

Nigel breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to enjoy a sip of coffee when Macy snuck up behind him.

"You're late. I need you to help Bug in Autopsy One." His boss raised his brow, noting how high Nigel had jumped and the coffee now staining the front of his shirt, "Might want to clean up first."

"Thanks boss." He toasted, trying to compose himself and ignore Garret's probing gaze, "I'll get right on that." And he hurried out.

XxX

Nigel was typing away at his computer, completely absorbed in looking for a particular type of fungus. The snap of latex startled him, and he almost fell out of his chair.

"Wow, bit jumpy today?" Jordan smirked, throwing her gloves in the trash as she headed over, "Maybe you're worried I'm plotting my revenge over my stolen parking spot?"

"Ha-ha, very funny." He sighed, ruffling his hair as he turned back to his work.

She leaned over, resting her chin on his shoulder, "Whatcha working on?"

"Oh, Bug found some interesting samples on our Jane Doe, and we are trying to recreate her last 24 hours." He continued to type away, trying to keep his focus as she leaned her head against his.

"So, I was thinking…"

The doors swung in, and they quickly separated. Jordan stood with her hands behind her back, having perfected that innocent-but-not schoolgirl routine of hers, while Nigel just swallowed hard and stammered on about what he'd found so far on their Jane Doe.

Macy looked between the two of them but decided it wasn't worth his time, "Woody just called. Another body washed up from last night's storm. Jordan, I need you to head out for examination and pick up."

"On it!" She gave a playful salute.

Nigel just grinned, he wasn't sure how she did it. Nothing ever seemed to phase Jordan, she could roll with any punch thrown her way.

Garret stepped forward, giving her a quick once over, and smirked. He pattered her on the shoulder as he passed, "Nice shirt."

Jordan's brow knit as she looked down. She turned to Nigel with a wryly smile, pulling on her top and letting it fall back down, "This one's on you."

He followed her line of sight and actually winced. The shirt Jordan happened to have on was a quite comfortable black Paradise Lost shirt. The reason Nigel knew it was so comfortable was because it was one of his favorites, which he had worn countless times to the morgue and nights out.

"Busted." Garret called over his shoulder, popping the doors open and taking his leave.

Jordan shrugged and reached for her M.E. bag, "We are picking up a battery alarm clock tonight." Chastely she kissed him on the head and headed for the door.

Nigel dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his face, but her smile was infectious, and he found himself grinning, "On it, luv."

XxX