XxX

"Oh, Jordan, she's precious!" Lily cooed, handing the sonogram to Bug as she cuddled Madeline close, "What do you think, Mad? You are going to have a new best friend soon!" Madeline yawned as her mother turned to the parents-to-be, "Do you have a nickname picked yet?"

"I'm pretty sure Eilís is short enough to remember." Nigel chuckled as Bug handed the print back to him.

Lily smiled, rocking back and forth, "Oh, they always need a nickname! Besides, you nickname everyone Nigel!"

"I do not!"

Jordan wrinkled her nose, "Lily-Pad for Lilly."

"Dr. M for Macy."

"Morning Glory for Gloria and Emma-Bella for Emmy."

"Sid-Guy for Sidney."

"You call Kate Katey-Kat and me Buggles."

Nigel narrowed his eyes at Bug, he had expected the girls to turn on him but now he felt quite betrayed.

"Jordan is the only one that doesn't have a nickname." Lily added.

"Oi, not true!" Nigel pointed an accusing finger, "I call her Jo."

"That is 1/3 of my name." Jordan scoffed, "Real original."

Before Nigel could muster a defense, Garret appeared and cast a shadow on their light morning. A bomb had gone off on a train, causing countless casualties. One of the groups aboard was an elementary class.

Nigel and Jordan shared a fleeting kiss before the two groups broke off; Nigel's to the subway station and Jordan's to prep incoming.

XxX

"So, is it Dr. Townsend or Mrs. Townsend now? I want to make sure I get it right for my Christmas card."

Jordan rolled her eyes as she accepted the clipboard and headed inside the crypt, not in the mood. She had already processed 15 kids with more incoming and the last thing she needed was to see Woody's latest impression of a clodpole.

The detective had been sulking for weeks now since he found out about their spontaneous nuptials. Though, really, it was on him and his poor observation skills for not figuring it out sooner. The rumor had been flying around for months now, after all, and it wasn't like she hadn't been wearing a ring the past three months. God, Nigel and she lived together and had a kid on the way! Surely, Woody knew he didn't stand a chance even before finding out about their elopement? Though maybe he was salty because he couldn't sneak in now that the ink was dry.

"You really think now is a good time for this?" She was seeing red and was this close to shoving a scalpel up his ass.

Thankfully he was saved by the lift opening and their field team returning. Jordan couldn't help but smile when she caught sight of Nigel. No matter what, whether after a bad day or one of their rare fights, she couldn't help but be happy to see him. He could always make her heart flutter.

Her smile quickly fell when she saw the weariness etching his face, the vestiges of tears he had managed to fight back for now.

She stood, completely lost, "Nige?"

He just stared at her as the rest of them filed out, worn out from the morning. Jordan looked down, wondering what he was so fixed on. She was exhausted, which she was sure showed on her face, and dressed in her usual blue scrubs, which were fitting a bit tighter now that she was six months along, and her mess of curls were fought back into a ponytail. If anything, she looked like a mess. Yet he continued to look at her like she was a most prized treasure to behold.

Garret paused and gently squeezed her shoulder, "The teacher at the Jewish Day school was full term." He nodded to the cart Bug was carefully wheeling in.

Her heart broke and it quickly spread across her face. She held her hand out to Nigel and he was to her in an instant, hugging her tightly. He pulled back after a moment and took her face gently in his hands, checking every part of her over as if she had been the one that had spent the morning in a blown-up subway.

She squeezed his hand, "You alright?"

He pulled her close once more, "I am now."

XxX

"So, whose name are you going to use?" Bug asked, his question sincere, "His or hers?"

The gang had gathered at Max's bar and were enjoying a somber meal. No one had been ready to head home just yet, they all needed to be together a while longer after such a trying day.

Nigel poked at his plate as he looked to Jordan, "I don't have a preference. You?" Jordan shrugged and shook her head.

"Jordan not having an opinion? Never thought I'd see the day." Garret smirked, taking a sip from his glass and pretending it was a cold one instead of water.

"You should go with whoever has the highest degree." Sidney got in.

A chorus of oohs sounded around the table at the jab and Nigel toasted, always a good sport. It had never bothered him that Jordan was lightyears ahead of him in the academic department, if anything he was a bit cocky that someone so smart and so beautiful had picked him.

The group broke into smaller conversations and Nigel threw his arm around Jordan's chair, "How you holding up, Jo?"

She wrinkled her nose, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"So, you really aren't a big fan of the nickname?" Nigel asked, wondering what was eating at her, "I can always swap it for luv or something."

Jordan sighed, futzing with her curls, "It's just…Tyler used to call me that." She finally confessed, "And you, well, you call everyone luv and I just…I sort of just want one of my own." She tried to smile, knowing how silly she was being.

Nigel grinned, "All you had to do was say something."

"I guess I was hoping you'd read my mind." She gave her infamous half-smile, "It counts more when you figure it out on your own."

"Or just leaves you unhappy longer." He replied, sipping his pint.

"Touché." Jordan held up her Coke and they toasted.

XxX

The next day was blessedly quiet and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, that peace was short lived since they were each assigned a time slot to visit with Dr. Stiles that afternoon.

Jordan sat at Nigel's desk, bored out of her mind as she swiveled from side to side. She had her appointment first, probably because she was the one everyone was most concerned about, so now she was waiting on the others to finish their turns.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" She looked up to see a delivery man standing there with a package, "Do you know where I could find one Nigel Townsend?" He read off his clipboard.

"I'm his wife if you need me to sign for something." She sat up but the bump got in the way, and she chuckled. It definitely wasn't as easy as it used to be.

He smiled and pulled out the slip, "Just sign here, Mrs. Townsend."

Jordan grinned, "It's doctor, actually."

"Oh, my apologies, Dr. Townsend."

She signed off the receipt and bid him a good day. Tempting though it was, she set the package on Nigel's desk and took up her post one more. This was Nigel, after all, it was probably something to do with a case, like a book on different tire treads or a gadget of some sort.

Familiar voices floated down from the main hall and Jordan started getting up again.

"It really doesn't bother you?"

"It really doesn't."

"I would be pissed if we didn't use mine!"

"Me too, I'd feel cut down to size for sure."

Jordan wrinkled her nose, wondering what Stiles had weaseled out of Nigel and what the others might have overheard to be ragging on him so hard.

"As long as Eilís is healthy and happy, I couldn't care less what her last name is." Nigel rounded the bend and smiled when Jordan came into view.

"Maybe we should start calling you Mr. Cavanaugh then, eh?" Woody smirked, the only one impressed by his quip.

Nigel shrugged, never one to get too worked up over things, "Fine by me." He turned to Jordan, mirroring her infamous half smile, "What says you, Dr. Townsend?" He asked playfully.

Jordan looped her arm through his, "I like the sound of that." Pondering another thought, she smiled, "Eilís Townsend does have a nice ring to it, though."

Nigel chuckled and kissed the top of her head, "Fine by me, luv."

Jordan chuckled as the group headed out to grab a bite, "That's Dr. Townsend to you."

XxX