XxX

"You—you signed us up for what?" Her voice was incredulous. She began to mutter, not sure what to make of what she had just been told as she took up pacing.

"The small coffee shop on the corner is having a talent show night and I signed us up." Nigel repeated, his eyes as bright as a puppy's.

"Only one problem, Nige: we don't have any shared talent!" She gestured frantically, ready to wake up from this nightmare already.

He swayed his chair back and forth, amused by her outburst, "Well, you've been saying we should do more things that I like to do, especially after that last case where you drug me through the swamp in search of the murder weapon and the one before that were we tracked the husband, who happened to have nothing to do with his wife's death by the way, for three days." He grinned as regret replaced Jordan's horrified eyes, "I figured we could do a magic act; I will be the brilliant magician and you can be the lovely assistant who fawns over me."

She made some more incoherent noises and motioned towards strangling him before she huffed and stormed off to Autopsy Two.

Bug dropped a stack of folders on Nigel's desk before moving to his own, "How'd she take it?"

Nigel chuckled as a resounding clang sounded from Autopsy Two and a few interns scurried out, "I think she took it quite well."

XxX

Jordan sighed, nursing the whiskey she had nicked from Nigel's stash. He was finishing up a drop off with Garret and she was waiting up for him to talk about his latest decision.

Her eyes wandered around the small apartment, smiling when she saw the pile of clothes on his side of the bed.

Though it was only her name on the lease, he had slowly begun to leave his small mark throughout. From the red toothbrush beside hers, to the mugs hidden away on the top shelf, to the shoes – and his easily outnumbered hers three to one – stacked in the basket.

He basically lived here – it was even somewhat official since she had finally gotten around to making him his own key, though when she had asked when his lease was up, he had been somewhat evasive – but he hadn't made it his own yet. It was like he was tiptoeing around, scared of calling too much attention to himself.

It was still just her artwork on the walls, her old bedspread which she'd picked out ages ago on their bed, and her clothes in the closet. It was her home.

Guilt taunted her, and she began to clean, needing something to do.

They stayed at her apartment. They went to her dad's bar. They ate at her favorite restaurants and ordered her favorite take outs. They followed her hunches on crazy adventures all over Boston. Everything they did really seem to center upon her and what she wanted to do.

That is why Jordan had said they needed to start doing things he enjoyed too. Nigel Townsend certainly was happy to go with the flow, but he was a little weirdo at heart who needed to express himself too.

Maybe this magic act is his way of hinting at his unmet needs? Jordan considered as she straightened their room. She chuckled to herself, realizing how much Lily had rubbed off on her.

Her brow furrowed when she discovered a notebook sticking out from under the bed. Kneeling down, she pulled the sketchbook out and flipped through it.

Jordan smiled, "His designs." She'd forgotten about his stint as a photographer a couple years back and how he had made the outfits for his models. She found the latest sketch and sat back, admiring his work.

A shapely form was drafted and dressed in his latest creation. She wore a pair of black high waisted brief shorts, a staple of every magician's assistant, which was topped with a fitted burgundy corset embroidered with silver thread.

An idea came to her, she snapped the book closed and got to work.

XxX

Nigel played with his keys, stalling. He knew she would still be up, and he knew she wasn't too happy about his talent show idea.

"C'mon mate, grow a pair. It's not like she's waiting on the other side with a butcher's knife." He had started to laugh and froze, realizing this was Jordan, his Jordan, he was talking about. Plucking up the courage, he unlocked the door before he could think better of it and headed in.

The first thing that caught his eye were the streaky computer prints tacked up around the living room of his favorite John William Waterhouse paintings. Nigel's eyes lingered on Waterhouse's 1894's Ophelia which hung beside his Hylas and the Nymphs and a few other beloved pieces. He also noticed the CDs he kept stacked under the bed were now organized beside Jordan's collection and the few books he had brought over were now on her shelf. His clothes weren't piled in the corner any longer either. He peeked at the closet to find his things washed and hanging beside hers, she'd even cleared out a drawer for him to use.

His eyes finally came to rest on his sketchpad, which lay carefully on the bedside table with a new set of pencils beside it. Nigel smiled, lovingly running his hand over her gift as he heard the front door open.

"Do you know when the last time we did laundry was?" Jordan asked, lugging the basket in and kicking the door closed, "Because, I don't, and I think those clothes were taking on a life of their own."

She dumped the load on the couch and sat on the coffee table to fold them, "So, when's the talent show?"

"Erm, the 12th, I think." Nigel rubbed his neck, curious what she was up to.

She counted off the days in her head, "So we have a couple weeks to figure out our act then?"

"Look, Jordan—"

"Will that be enough time for you to get our costumes done?" She looked at him, ignoring his protest.

He grinned, "Yeah."

"Might want to get on it then." She matched the socks in her hand and tossed them at him.

He caught them with ease and chuckled, "Alright, luv."

XxX

"I don't think I can do this." It was Nigel's turn to pace back and forth, his nerves getting the best of him.

"Well, it's a little late now." Jordan chuckled, peeking out through the curtain. She smiled when she found Bug, Garret, and Lily sitting front and center, their little family of sorts.

Applause erupted as the previous act finished and the emcee took the stage, "Weren't they fantastic?" The cheering grew louder, "Well, I am sure this next act will astound you! I got to see them practicing the other night and wowzer!"

Nigel's eyes were wide, and she was sure he was about to hyperventilate, "I can't do this."

"Nigel, hey-hey-hey!" She gently took hold of his face, fixing his hair, "We have been practicing for weeks and you love magic, you love performing." She fixed his collar and straightened his tie, "We got this."

"Please welcome to the stage, the Great Nigel Townsend!"

"Go get 'em!" Jordan pushed him towards his mark. Nigel lingered a moment longer before he nodded and made his entrance.

"Welcome, ladies and gents, I…I seem to have lost my hat, and what is a magician without his hat?"

Jordan took her place behind the folded curtain, crowning herself with his top hat as he did his bit looking around for it. She waited for her cue and made the perfect entrance a second after Nigel had set off the smoke poppers.

"Please give a warm welcome to my lovely assistant, Jordan!" Nigel introduced over the crowd's applause. Small kids looked up with wonder filled eyes.

Dramatically, Jordan tipped her hat to the audience and winked before donning Nigel with it. She grew flirtatious as a few whistles sounded from the crowd and threw them a kiss, playing her part to a T.

With each trick, the audience seemed to fall more in love with the pair. The crowd roared when Nigel pulled the stuffed rabbit out of his hat which Jordan made sure to cuddle before carelessly tossing behind the curtain, they loved their handkerchief routine (aweing when Nigel got "tangled up" and Jordan simply pecked his cheek before pulling on one end and spinning him out of it) and his sleights-of-hand were a smash hit. Jordan thoroughly enjoyed herself more than she ever thought she would; but what made her happiest was seeing how happy Nigel was.

Finally, their act drew to a close, and Nigel reached for her hand, ushering her forward, "Please, one more round of applause for my beautiful assistant!" Jordan was bashful but accepted his praise.

"Good night, everyone!" Nigel pulled out the few remaining smoke pellets and they made their spectacular exit.

It was dark and the backstage was practically a closet, but Nigel found her quickly, "Oh my gosh, you were brilliant!" He took her face and kissed her all over, enjoying her titters, "Jordan, that was—we were—I can't believe—"

She laughed, capturing his face in turn, "You were great! You have first place in the bag!"

"We were great." He corrected, pulling her into his arms, "Thank you."

She snuggled close, "Any time."

Her praise didn't turn out to be empty either; they took home first prize which consisted of a dinky 8" ribbon and a $50 gift card to the coffee shop.

Their friends were the first to greet them after the show, though there were plenty of other admirers who stopped to pass along a congratulations as well. Lily cooed over Jordan's outfit and had endless praise for Nigel's eye for detail. Bug was smiling and even Garret patted Nigel on the shoulder and told him it was fun, suggesting they might have to have a talent show at the morgue.

"Should we head out for some dinner? I'm starving!" Jordan shushed her stomach as it growled, and the group laughed.

"Here, luv, don't want you catching cold." Nigel pulled off his cape and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Not to mention we don't need any johns pulling over." Jordan winked as they headed out.

Nigel held the door open, "Well, good thing I can make them disappear then." He did a flourish with his hands and got the laughter he sought, realizing this would go down as one of his favorite nights of all time.

XxX