(A/N): Annabel asked for the first aid scene to be rewritten, so here we go. The ending is not fluffy, but there is a lot more Jakki content in here than we saw tonight in that scene. So here it is, the rewritten first aid scene from 24x07, so please be aware of spoilers for that episode. I own nothing.

First Aid

"Jack! Stop it, stop it!" Nikki yelled over the bannister, praying she was loud enough to be heard over the fight. She knew better than to get in the middle of it herself, not after Jack's guilt the last time she'd tried. To her surprise, Jack's fist stopped mid-air with her shout, his whole posture stiff as though she'd frozen him. She hurried down the stairs as all the men ran off, saying something about sore losers before Jack could detain them. Rounding the foot of the stairs, she all but ran to Jack, turning him gently by the shoulder so she could see the damage to his face. "Let me see," she murmured softly, placing a gentle hand on his neck and jaw. Nikki winced at the sight of his bloody cheek. That was definitely going to bruise by morning, but it didn't look like anything was broken, except the skin. Jack relaxed under her touch, her soft fingers probing at his damaged cheek for any other injury she couldn't immediately see.

"I'm alright, Nikki." His voice was low, rumbly as he leant a little further into her palm.

"I'll be the judge of that." Her smile took any sting from her words. "Right, let's get back to the Lyell."

"The Lyell?"

"Yes. Unless sometime during the boxing match you decided you'd rather go back home?" Nikki eyed him knowingly. She knew she'd accidentally woken him up with the folder earlier, something that wouldn't have happened if he'd been home like he'd said he would be.

Jack shook his head instantly, recalling exactly what it was that had caused him to nap in his chair at work in the first place. No, he wouldn't be going home that night if he could help it. "Work it is then."

…

"I don't know what you were thinking, wading into a fight like that." Nikki admonished lightly as she set up the first aid kit on Jack's side of the desk and perched herself beside it, Jack sat in his desk chair patiently. They'd been in this potion too many times, she lamented silently as she prepped a cloth with antiseptic to hold to his face. It had become almost rote over the years that Jack would appear to her, beaten and bruised after a fight, and she would sigh and get the first aid box, the big one Leo had made her order after his first look at Jack's bruised face.

"If someone punches me, I have a tendency to punch them back." Jack retorted as she set the bottle down. He knew he'd waded in there without really thinking, but he also knew he'd go back and do it all over again. He'd given up the cage fighting a couple of years earlier, knowing how worried it made Nikki every time he showed up bruised and bleeding, though he still trained at the gym. That feeling of release though, he'd missed it. The added stress of his brother hadn't helped with the mix of emotions swirling in his head at the moment. He wouldn't go back to cage fighting, for Nikki's sake, but a tiny part of him could admit he'd known it would descend into a fight and he hadn't even considered shrinking back.

"Punch back? You looked like you were auditioning for Rocky." Nikki shook her head, delicately dabbing at his injured cheek with the damp cloth, cleaning up the worst of it. "What's going on with you?" She asked quietly, knowing that there was something more going on. He'd been acting odd ever since Cara had shown up, and initially she'd thought he was just thrown to have a niece. But the weeks went on and Jack's odd behaviour remained, despite it being blatantly obvious to anyone just how much he loved Cara already. She had her suspicions, particularly with his reactions whenever anyone would mention anything to do with fatherhood, but that was all they were, suspicions. And she didn't want to say anything and get it completely wrong.

"Ryan. He brought a gun into the house." Jack confessed after a long silence, looking up at her as she cleaned his cut face. He was keeping so many secrets from so many people, and he just didn't think he could hold them in any longer, the consequences be damned. Nikki paused in cleaning up his face, watching him solemnly.

"Did you inform his probation officer?" She sighed at Jack's minute head shake indicating he hadn't. Not to mention his very telling silence. How much more was Ryan going to screw him over? She was half-tempted to find Ryan herself just to yell at him for all he'd put his brother through. And yet Jack still felt guilty over Ryan's choices. "Look, I know you feel indebted to Ryan for what he did for you years ago, but at some point, that debt is paid." She tried to put it into words as she cleaned his face again, fearing she hadn't been quite clear enough when Jack's eyes flashed almost dangerously at her. Almost, because she knew he'd never hurt her. Never. It just wasn't in Jack to hurt her, in any way.

"At what point Nikki?" He grabbed her wrist and moved it down from his face. He didn't deserve her tenderness, her care. Not with all he'd done, all he'd kept from her. She was the one person, the one constant in his life he didn't have to pretend around. And how did he repay that? By lying to her and keeping secrets from her. "At what point? You don't know what I've done." He admitted darkly, letting go of her wrist. To his surprise, she didn't move away from him or even flinch at the knowledge he'd been hiding things from her. Instead, she leant forward slightly, barely a few inches between them.

"Jack, if this is about the fight that sent Ryan down the first time…" She was surprised when he cut her off, his hand taking her own gloved one with the cloth squished between them.

"It's not." Jack shook his head, ignoring the smarting of his left cheek. It was nothing compared to the weight of his emotions anyway. "Not that he doesn't enjoy reminding me of that every waking moment. No…" He took a deep breath, mentally steeling himself for her running away as far as she could. And he wouldn't blame her. "This is about Ryan. And Cara. See… there's a chance… that Ryan might not be her dad." He hung his head, barely managing to give his next words enough volume to be heard. "It might be me."

"Oh Jack." Nikki smiled softly at him as his head shot up in shock. Clearly, he'd been expecting some kind of reaction from her, some yelling or possibly even her walking out on him. Well, that wasn't going to happen. Even if she hadn't had her suspicions, why would it bother her? Jack would make a great father. "Does Cara know?"

Jack shook his head again miserably. "No, I've not been able to bring myself to tell anyone. Da knows, but apparently that's because he knew before, when it was happening. Nikki, don't you get it? I slept with Aoife."

"I figured. It is how babies are made, Jack." She returned dryly, squeezing his fingers gently. "Whatever happens Jack, you'll be a great dad, I know it. Whatever happened with Aoife, it doesn't matter. What matters is Cara and what's best for her. And if it's a competition between you and Ryan then you win hands down every time."

"Nikki…" He trailed off, the guilt easing up a little at not only getting it off his chest to one of the people he was hiding it from, but also Nikki's calm acceptance of it. "I don't have the results yet, but I got a sample of Ryan's DNA as well, just in case."

"Send it off tomorrow, as soon as possible. You'll know soon enough, but even so, I think Cara is very lucky to have you, Jack." Her whole face softened even further as she leant in, barely a whisper from him. "I'm lucky to have you, Jack."

"Pretty sure I'm the lucky one here." Jack just managed to return before closing the distance between them, his free hand moving to rest gently in the curls at the back of her head whilst her fingers twisted in the front of his shirt. He tugged gently on the hand still holding Nikki's, disrupting her from her perch just enough to fall onto his lap, never once breaking the kiss. His hand slipped from hers to her waist as he deepened the kiss, both lost in a sea of emotions that threatened to overwhelm them. Nikki let out a quiet moan as Jack's hand tightened in her hair, her free hand travelling up Jack's arm and shoulder to play with the hair on the back of his neck.

Both Nikki and Jack groaned when the buzzing of an incoming call interrupted them, forcing their lips apart. They stared at each other for a moment, panting and breathless, before Jack realised it was his phone ringing.

He released his hold on Nikki's hair to answer it, bringing it up to his ear and trying not to focus on Nikki's kiss swollen lips only a few inches from his own. "Dad? Sorry, I meant to tell you I was going to be late." His eyes widened at the sob of his name on the other end of the line. "Da, what's wrong? Dad!" He stared down at the phone as the line went dead, dread sending an icy chill down his spine. His hand tightened on Nikki's waist unconsciously.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Nikki asked in concern, all thought of their previous activities gone the moment she saw his face. Whatever it was, she'd be right there by his side.

"I need to get home, it's my da." Jack lifted her gently to her feet before clambering shakily to his own, scrabbling around on the desk for his car keys and house keys. Nikki reached over, snagging the car keys before he could reach them and nodding softly at him when he directed wide, scared eyes to her.

"I'll drive."