Over the next week Jack and Nikki, and in part Conor, got used to co-existing in the same living space. It had been weird the first few days, coming downstairs in the morning to Jack making three mugs of coffee, standing in the kitchen in some lounge pants that he slept in and a t-shirt that she vaguely wondered if he slept in or if he had just put on to be appropriate in her kitchen. There was a part of her brain that she really wanted to silence that wanted him to forget where he was and just forgo the t-shirt one morning. She felt her cheeks heat at the thought, and she made sure to make her presence known as she entered the living room come kitchen, smiling at Jack as he turned his head to look at her.

"Morning"

"Morning" Nikki smiled at him, happily accepting the coffee that he handed her and cradling it in her hands. It was a mild March, the mornings were still chilly, and she liked to go for a run if she was on a later shift, that morning however she just wanted to stay at home.

"Are you working today?"

"No" she shook her head, moving to sit down at the kitchen counter facing Jack, stirring her coffee absentmindedly and glancing at the tv on the other side of the room that he had on, the news on there talking about the rising cases in the country and the rising deaths. Nikki sighed, looking back at Jack and shaking her head "This isn't going away soon"

"If people follow the rules it will"

"Come on Jack" she scoffed, sipping the still scalding coffee and licking her lips "You know as well as I do what people are like, this will still be going on next year. Not including the rest of the world's reaction to it"

"I suppose so" Jack sighed, part of him wanted to believe that people would do the right thing for themselves and for everyone else, but the cynical part of him knew what people were like. "I just worry about da"

"And I worry about you and your dad"

"I'll be fine"

She rolled her eyes at him, there was no use arguing with Jack over his health, she knew that well enough by now, he just changed the subject or ignored it completely. Nikki gave him a small smile when he walked over to the counter, sitting opposite her and cradling his mug in his hands.

"You still haven't told me how much rent you want"

"Jack.."

"And if you say that you are housing us out of the goodness of your heart, yes I know, but goodness doesn't pay rent"

"I'll pay you to go shopping"

"Absolutely not" Jack responded before she had even finished speaking, smirking when Nikki giggled and reached over to the remote to change the tv channel to something else, finding a music station and leaving that on instead "Enough doom and gloom"

"I have enough doom and gloom at work" Nikki shrugged, looking at the doorway when she heard movement and smiled when Conor stepped in "Morning"

"Morning lass"

"Made you a coffee, da" Jack nodded to the mug that was sitting still steaming on the side "I can make some breakfast if you like, I got some bacon when I went shopping last time, I can cook some egg"

"I've seen your eggs when you cook them"

"Hey!"

Nikki smiled into her coffee as she watched them both interact with each other. It was so nice to have someone in her apartment with her, she never realised how lonely she got sometimes until she was home on a day off or before or after work and the place was completely quiet. She'd thought about getting an animal, a cat maybe, but knew she'd have to find one that was extremely independent and didn't mind being left alone most of the day, it would be cruel otherwise. She tuned back in when she heard her name, looking to Jack when he reached over to tap her hand.

"Where were you just then?" he teased her with one of his cheeky smiles and Nikki felt her heart speed up at the look. She ignored her reaction though, as she had for a while now. No sense in making things awkward.

"Somewhere nice" Nikki laughed, standing up from the stool she was on and picking up her coffee mug "I'm going for a shower"

Jack nodded, following her with his eyes as she walked from the room, doing a double take when he saw his dad staring at him with a knowing look on his face. He sighed and stood up, eager to get something for breakfast at least when his stomach grumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing"

Jack glared at the back of his dad's head as Conor turned and walked over to sit down on the couch on the other side of the room instead.

"I refuse to play this damn game with you again"

Nikki laughed loudly as Jack threw the question card on the used pile, adding another piece of pie to her piece of the Trivial Pursuit board in the middle of the table between them, one piece away from completing the pie and winning.

"You're a sore loser, Jack"

"I am not"

"Are" Nikki laughed, kicking him under the table and pushing the dice over for him to roll, hearing him grumble something under his breath.

"I'm sure you've spent time looking through these questions and memorising them" Jack grumbled as he rolled the dice and then moved his piece the five spaces needed "Going to bed and reading them"

"Yes that is exactly what I did, in preparation for living with my best friend during a pandemic so I can beat him at a knowledge game" Nikki giggled, picking up her wine glass and taking a sip before picking up a question card with her other hand and glancing to see what question she needed to ask Jack. This was their second game, she had flatly refused to play Monopoly with him when he had been digging around and found the pile of games that she had stashed away in the cupboard on the upstairs landing, games that her, Harry, and Leo used to get together and play sometimes. Games that hadn't seen the light of day in such a long time. Opening her mouth to answer the question, she was interrupting by her Alexa making a noise to show that she was getting a call on the screen sitting on the table across on the kitchen counter. She hesitated when she saw Matt's name on the screen, taking another sip of her wine and refusing to look at Jack, knowing he would have seen her hesitation. She did glance at him though, seeing that he was pointedly not looking at her, fiddling with the three plastic pieces that he had yet to put in his playing piece. The guilt set in when she realised that she hadn't called Matt in a few days, just messaged him to tell him that she was okay still and things were going well at work.

"You should get that"

Nikki nodded, putting her wine glass down and picking up her phone instead, not wanting to video call Matt on the screen for Jack to see. Or for him to see Jack. She hadn't mentioned yet that Jack was staying with her.

"I'll try not to be too long, no looking at the cards and cheating" she told Jack with a small smile, getting one in return as she pressed the answer call button on her phone instead "Matt, hi"

Walking from the room, she made her way to the bedroom, wondering why she didn't feel the same amount of elation that she had once when Matt called her to speak.

"Nikki, hi. How are you?"

"I'm fine, everything is fine here"

"And work?"

"Oh you know, working pathology during an unprecedented pandemic is busy" she tried to make light of it as she shut her bedroom door and rested her head against it, closing her eyes for a few seconds and feeling her stomach churn when she heard Matt laugh.

"I'm sure it is. You know, I've heard that they're going to close airports between the UK and here"

There was a small sense of relief there and Nikki hated it.

"Oh?"

"Yes, I heard from someone high up at work. You should get on a flight and come here, stay with me until this is all over"

Nikki wasn't prepared for the amount of anger that that sentence made her feel, her eyes opening and shaking her head even though Matt couldn't see it.

"You do remember that the Lyell has no official head now, right? I can't just up and leave, we're a senior pathologist down as it is, and I've been given two replacements who are good but they're so...new" she sighed, running her hand over her forehead and resisting the urge to tell Matt where to go "I have a job, Matt"

"I know, but it could be a while until we see each other"

"That's not unusual though is it?" she didn't mean to sound bitter, but that's how she did sound so she let it stay "Look, Matt..."

"I'm sure any place here would jump at the chance to get a pathologist with your skills, especially now more than ever. You'd get a job so easily"

"I'd get a job easily there because people are dying, Matt" Nikki told him, her mind automatically going to Jack and Conor, swallowing the lump in her throat at the thought of them "People are dying, vulnerable people, healthy people. They're dying by the thousands and you think that is a good work opportunity for me?"

"I didn't mean it like that Nikki"

"No, you did" she whispered, knowing he was probably pacing around whatever room he was in at that moment, running his hand through his hair. Nikki wondered how long this frustration at him had been growing, because she realised with a start that this feeling she was having while on the phone to him wasn't a new one, it had been there a while. "I lost someone..very dear to me a few months ago, and now two other people who are dear to me are on the vulnerable list"

"You mean Jack"

"I mean Jack and his dad, yes" Nikki put emphasis on 'his dad', squaring her jaw in annoyance at the way Matt mentioned Jack's name, as though it was some sort of given that the Irish man would be involved. How Matt knew that Jack was involved she didn't know. "And I am trying to run a busy pathology and science lab in the middle of a pandemic, while keeping my colleagues and their families safe. Do you have any idea..." she trailed off, putting her hand on the wall and resting her head on it, closing her eyes and sighing "Do you have any idea what that feels like Matt?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and she wondered if he had hung up on her.

"You put too much on yourself Nikki. This might be a break that you need..."

Nikki moved the phone away from her ear and hung up. Throwing it on her bed and opening her bedroom door, slamming it shut and taking a deep breath, running her hands over her face. She wouldn't cry, in fact the tears that burned her eyes were ones of frustration and anger, not grief that she may have just made a mistake with her partner.

"Nikki? Are you okay lass?"

She moved her hands away from her face when she heard Conor's voice, seeing him coming out of the room that was his now until he and Jack moved out, a concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine, Conor" Nikki smiled at him, sniffing and wiping her eyes "Don't mention this to Jack, please"

"Mention what?"

Nikki wanted to hug him so tightly and never let go.