Chapter three

Nikki threw her head back and laughed right from the bottom of her belly. Jack grinned, still in slight disbelief that Nikki Alexander was in his living room, dancing with him, on Christmas Day. He still had to pinch himself every morning that they woke up together, making sure it wasn't just a dream.

Gripping her waist tightly, he pulled her upright until their noses were just millimetres away. Her whole face lit up with a loving smile and he brushed his lips to hers, unable to resist her.

'Oh, get a room!' Connor groaned, but when Nikki glanced behind her, she caught him smiling to himself. He was lost in memories from long ago, when it was him dancing with his wife.

'Nikki'll dance with you too, Da, if you want?' Jack suggested.

Connor tutted. 'What I want is to watch the Queen's speech and then fall asleep with a whisky.'

'That can be arranged,' Jack grinned, releasing Nikki. Standing in the middle of the room, she slipped her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.

'How about we open some presents?' She suggested, her stomach doing a little flip as she thought about what was inside the immaculately wrapped silver present she'd placed under the tree that morning.

'There's an idea.' Jack filled Connor's glass with whisky and was about to fill his and Nikki's glasses with wine, when he noticed that she'd not even touched hers. He didn't even have time to ask her about it because she was already on her knees by the tree, sifting through the presents. Taking a seat on the sofa, he caught a big floppy parcel which she threw at him, almost catching him off guard.

'Alright, easy!' He gripped the present tightly, reading the label. It was for Connor. 'Someone's keen to open their presents.'

'Let's hope you got her a decent one then,' Connor took a sip of his whisky before taking the package from Jack.

Jack smiled nervously. He'd been so excited to give his gift to Nikki for weeks, ever since he'd bought it. But now the day was here and she was just inches away from it, his stomach felt all scrambled.

'One for you,' Nikki grinned, passing him another equally floppy parcel. 'Think you better open them at the same time. They might be the same.'

She watched in amusement as Jack and Connor opened matching woolly jumpers, complete with reindeer patterns.

'Oh, Cara knows you two too well!' She chuckled, pulling more presents from under the tree.

'Hey, how come you get to be Santa?!' Jack protested.

'You take too long, Hodgson.'

She checked the labels and passed another couple of presents to Jack, one of which was for Connor.

'You should open one of yours. Don't let us have all the fun,' Connor protested.

'Yeah!' Jack nodded in agreement with his dad. 'You have to open one too, it's the rules.'

'There are no rules at Christmas, Jack,' Nikki smiled, but she found a present under the tree with her name on it all the same.

Within fifteen minutes they'd opened almost everything under the tree. All that was left was Nikki and Jack's gifts to each other. Nikki had spotted Jack's gift to her quickly but had deliberately left it until last; she could tell from the shift in his behaviour that he was nervous to give it to her, and that made her excited. His eyes kept travelling back to the parcel at every opportunity. By now, Connor had lost interest and his eyelids were starting to droop.

'Another drink, Da?' Jack asked, his throat feeling dry. He had no idea what Nikki had bought him yet, but he hoped he hadn't gone too over the top. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off, but even though they'd only officially got together eight weeks ago, it felt like their relationship had been much longer. They'd slipped into being a couple so easily after she turned up at his house and fell asleep on his sofa. In fact, they'd barely spent a night apart since.

Connor quietly shook his head, his head bobbing forwards as he gave into his nap.

'Looks like we're boring him,' Jack announced, before getting down on his knees next to Nikki. 'Hello, you.'

'Hello, yourself,' Nikki replied, her fingertips brushing his jeans as he moved his body close to her.

'I've been looking forward to giving you this,' he reached for the present and placed it in her hands, his face suddenly sincere and serious.

Nikki placed her gift in his hands. 'Me too.'

Their eyes connected and Nikki felt herself being drawn into him, past his hard interior and deep inside the real Jack, someone barely anyone got to see. His eyes softened and a small, nervous smile played on his lips.

'Go on,' he broke the moment.

Nikki started to rip the paper off her gift. There was barely any sellotape so it didn't take long; clearly Jack didn't enjoy wrapping as much as she did. Jack was still trying to remove the tight ribbon around his present by the time she'd completely unwrapped hers. Inside was a neat navy box which didn't give anything away. Pressing her lips together in anticipation she lifted the lid, feeling Jack's eyes on her. His eyes searched her face, anxiously waiting for signs that she liked it.

Sparkling in the early afternoon light, a beautiful necklace reflected the light back at her. Nikki let out a gasp.

'Oh, Jack! It's beautiful!'

Just like he did, the necklace took her breath away. She ran her thumb gently over it's pretty detailing, taking it in. It must have cost him a small fortune.

'You like it?'

'I love it! Thank you so much.'

Jack let out the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. 'Phew! Thank God for that. You wouldn't believe how long I spent deliberating over that necklace.'

Nikki removed it carefully from the box and held it up to her chest. 'I love it, it's perfect. Would you put it on me, please?'

'Sure,' he took the necklace from her.

She turned away from him and he lifted the necklace to her chest, his fingers brushing her delicate skin as he went. Nikki felt the hairs on her neck stand on end as his breath tickled her skin. Carefully, he fastened the clasp behind her neck and then replaced her hair gently, planting a gentle kiss on her shoulder.

'Let me see.'

She turned back to him, her eyes full of love.

'Beautiful,' he kissed her gently, then pulled her in for a hug.

'Thank you,' she sighed contentedly, relaxing in his arms. But only for a moment, as it was his turn to open his present.

'Go on,' she urged him, wriggling from his grip. 'I'm not sure your gift is in the same league, but I hope you like it.'

'I'm sure I will,' he replied, finally slipping the ribbon off one edge of the parcel, then off the rest of the present. 'When I can finally get into this thing.'

'I like my presents to look nice,' Nikki rolled her eyes, not taking her eyes off his face as he began to slip the paper off too. She wanted to see his expression at the exact moment he saw it.

The paper fell to the floor and Jack's eyes scanned over the rectangular box inside. He didn't know what to make of it at first; he just sat there staring at it for a few seconds, his palms clamming up around the box. Nikki sat in silence, waiting for him to say something. But he could barely find the words.

'It's...'

She pressed her lips together nervously. 'It's the one with stars. I did like it, Jack. I loved it, actually.'

His thumbs skimmed over the picture of the mobile on the box, a chubby faced baby reaching up to grab the stars. 'Nikki...'

Her lips curved into a cautious smile. Clearly, he'd not been the only one nervous about exchanging gifts.

'Are you trying to say...'

She nodded, subconsciously moving her hand gently to her stomach. 'Yes. I am.'

For a horrible moment Jack said nothing, and she thought he might leap up in shock and walk out. But then he dropped the box to the floor and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms, gripping her tightly as though he'd never let her go. Nikki closed her eyes, her hands finding a comfortable spot on his back.

'Oh, Nikki,' he mumbled into her neck, choked up. 'I can't believe this.'

'I know. Neither can I. It was a bit of a shock at first.'

'When did you find out?' He asked eventually, releasing her so she could breathe.

'A few days ago. I wanted to tell you straight away, but then this idea popped into my head and I couldn't stop thinking about it.'

Suddenly, Jack turned to his dad. 'Da? Wake up. Da!'

He leapt up off the floor, pulling Nikki up with him and shook his dad's shoulder gently. 'Da?'

'What the...' Connor grumbled as he roused from sleep. 'What is it?'

'Nikki's pregnant,' Jack rushed the words out in excitement. 'I'm going to be a dad. You're going to be a grandad again.'

'Huh?' Connor was confused at first but when his sight cleared and he saw his son holding his girlfriend protectively, his hand on her stomach, he realised exactly what Jack had said.

'Well, congratulations,' his frown faded into a smile. 'Eight years of messing around and now it's been eight weeks and you're having a baby, what's next, a wedding at Easter?!'

Ignoring his dad, Jack planted a kiss on Nikki's forehead, his eyes still on her stomach. 'Well, it's nice to know that I'd have good plan B if ever I get chucked out of the Lyle. Adam was wrong...' he grinned.

Nikki laughed. 'Is that all you can think about?!'

'No,' he moved his hand to her belly and stroked it affectionately. 'I was also thinking, how'd I get so lucky - having a baby with you, my best friend and the woman I love more than anything.'

'Jack,' Nikki's voice crackled; she wasn't used to such words from him. She knew that Jack loved her with all his heart, he'd go to the ends of the earth for her - but talking about it wasn't normally his style, he showed her with his actions instead.

They settled on the sofa, Jack sitting up with Nikki lying across the cushions, her head and shoulders resting against his body. Jack looked down at her flat stomach and wondered what it would be like once their baby grew, and made itself known to the world. The thought of a little baby, half him and half her, growing furiously inside her at that very moment blew his mind.

'No wonder you wanted a nap earlier,' he said eventually, running his fingertips up and down her arm. 'Have you been feeling sick?'

'Not really,' Nikki turned so she was facing him. 'It's still early days though. I expect in a couple of weeks that might begin.'

Jack sighed. 'I'm not going to be able to let you out of my sight now.'

Nikki rolled her eyes. 'You never do anyway!'

'True...'

Nikki sat up. 'I'm going to get a cup of tea. Would you like one?'

'Oh, no you don't,' Jack pulled her back down to the sofa. 'I'll get you a cup of tea. You just lay there and put your feet up.'

'Jack!' Nikki rolled her eyes again. 'I'm pregnant, not incapacitated.'

'I don't think I'm going to get used to hearing you say that...' he grinned, threading his fingers through hers and squeezing. 'And I know that. But I want to do the whole cave man thing, look after you a bit. Can you let me, please? Just for today?'

Nikki thought about it, then decided that it might not be such a bad thing to have Jack waiting on her hand and foot, especially if just for a day. She knew that it was his way of showing her that he loved her, and while she found it difficult not being independent, she supposed that she was going to have to get used to it now that they were having a baby together. No doubt the coming months would be a challenge, and she'd need his help.

'Alright,' she agreed, getting comfortable on the sofa. 'Just for today.'