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Nigel propped himself up against the wall as the lift went up, his arm wrapped loosely around his throbbing torso. A bitter copper taste poisoned his mouth as he escorted the body of Vilson Ahmeti to the Crypt.

The hatch opened and the blinding light nearly knocked him off his feet. He stumbled back, catching himself on the rail.

"Hey, Nige, you alright?"

Blinking a few times, Jordan finally came into view. Her brow was anxious, her dark eyes worried.

"Yeah, yeah," Nigel shrugged it off, brushing back his hair, "I'm fine."

Jordan lingered, unconvinced, "You sure? I heard you took a couple for the team tonight." She gave him a quick once over, "I really think you should get checked out."

"No, I'm—" Nigel flinched; a sharp pain pierced his side. No doubt he had Ahmeti's kick to thank for that.

Jordan caught Nigel before he could crumple over and helped him over to Emmy's chair, "And you're bleeding." She rushed to grab the first aid kit.

Nigel felt his mouth, knowing he shouldn't have been surprised to see blood staining his fingers, "His ring must have nicked me." He chuckled, trying to find the silver lining, "At least I landed a few blows back." Jordan rolled her eyes but couldn't help her small grin.

"Yeah, hey, hello, I was the one that the psycho drug up to the roof to make a spectacle of." Woody butted in with a sarcastic wave, "I hate heights."

Nigel leaned back and closed his eyes, too tired to deal with Woody's moaning. He'd been assigned to most of the detective's cases over the past month and was getting tired of his peacocking.

"It's not like Cirque Du Freak here had to do a foot chase across the roof then have the suspect hurl himself off the building and—"

"Alright, Superstar, maybe you can make yourself useful and grab Emmy so she can start in-take for Ahmeti?"

Mumbling, Woody kicked open the doors and trudged out, making sure everyone knew he was pouting.

Jordan didn't even try to hide her disgust, "I can't believe he didn't take you to the hospital first."

"Because I'm fine." Nigel's wince gave him away.

She gently held his face still as she examined the nick, "Clearly." She scoffed.

"Jordan, I'm—"

"Nigel, can you just…" Jordan huffed, brushing back her escaped curls. Her eyes softened when they met his, "You are always taking care of everyone around here, going above and beyond, especially me, and I just—can you…can you just let me help?"

He was too taken aback for words and could only nod.

"Thank you." Jordan finished clearing out the cut before applying the antibiotic cream. Without asking, she took off his jacket and pulled up his shirt to examine his ribs, "Might be a bit of bruising but I don't think anything's broken. It'll be tender for a while though."

Nigel tried to cover up his flush with a smile as he tugged down his shirt. He knew he wasn't much to look at and being so on display made him nervous. He cleared his throat, his eyes wandering towards the main doors, "You might want to go check on Woodrow, he seemed a bit upset."

"Well, he needs to learn he doesn't always come first." Jordan smirked, cleaning up the mess she had made.

Nigel watched her for a while before he worked up his courage, "Jordan?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks." His smile was shy, boyish even. His eyes said what his words couldn't.

"Any time, Nige." Jordan surprised him with a kiss to the forehead, "Hey, do you want some coffee or maybe a nip of Garret's Scotch to keep ya going? I know Bug is waiting to hear all about your little adventure." She leaned her head against the doorframe, grinning. Jordan knew Nigel better than anyone and knew it would be no use suggesting he head home and rest up.

Nigel just laughed, "Thanks, but I'm good."

"Call me when you get to the hospital, let me know how he's doing?"

"Sure thing, luv." Nigel carefully pulled his jacket back on, "Keep me posted on how things are here?"

"You'll be the first to know, luv." Jordan gave a playful wink.

Until this week, neither one of them had realized what they had going at the morgue or how much they all meant to each other.

And, from now on, they both knew that their little misfit family would always come first.

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