Friday Night

Natalie sat down on the end of the bed, twisting her legs underneath her and smoothing the skirt of her dark purple dress. "So Schmidt entrusted you with the ring, huh?"

Winston, who had been laying on the bed beside her, reached over to open the nightstand drawer. "Yeah, wanna see it?"

"Shouldn't you been keeping that in the safe?" She slid her way up the bed toward the pillows next to him and frowned.

Winston handed her the box. "Damn, that was really stupid." He leaned over to kiss her cheek. "What would I do without you here?"

She smiled sweetly and opened the box. Her jaw dropped and she raised her eyebrows. "Wow that's..."

"One huge ass diamond."

"Well...yeah." She tilted the box several time to admire it, before handing it back to Winston. "I'm impressed, it seems like he's a guy that would bring along a guard with it or something."

"The idiot probably tried too." He laughed loudly. "Since it was down to me and Nick though, he didn't really have any other options."

"Well, what about Jess..."

Winston shook his head, closing the box and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Yeah, but she's Cece's best friend. No way she'd keep her mouth shut and Nick can't keep a secret from Jess to save his life." He walked to the closet and placed the ring in the safe. He opened and closed the door a couple of times before giving it a quick punch and muttering. "How do you work this dang thing..."

Natalie smiled and rolled her eyes as she hopped off the bed. She walked to the closet and placed a hand on Winston's shoulder, gliding past him as she silently set the code before it beeped to lock. Winston just stared at her the entire time and pursed his lips.

He took both her hands in his to spin her around and gave them a squeeze. She shook her head and laughed. "You know, I'm really getting a sense of who all these friends of yours are."

He pulled her hands to his chest, stepping close to her. "And?"

She gave him a devious grin. "Well, not as great as you."

He nodded and moved his head closer to hers. "Aww...yeah, I see what you're doin'." She raised up on her toes and gave him a kiss. "Mmmhmmm, yeah..."

Jess watched Nick carefully in the mirror as she pulled the top of her hair back in a clip and fixed her makeup. Nick had been acting strange all afternoon, and she wished she knew why. She watched him button his tan and brown flannel shirt, tucking it into his khakis. Zipping up her make-up bag, she turned toward him and leaned her hip against the marble counter.

"Nick?"

He gave a delayed response of "Hmmm?" as he glanced at her.

Stepping forward, she swept her fingers through his hair, fixing a piece that was out of place. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat and shook his head, reaching out to run his hands up and down her arms. "I'm good. You?"

Her hands settled on his chest, eyes narrowing. "What's going on, Nick?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean. The phone call this morning, being so quiet, avoiding talking to me..."

"What?"

She took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly with her eyes closed, trying to stave off a fight. Opening her eyes, she tried one more time. "Something is up and I want to know what it is."

"I...well, I ...Okay. Here's the thing." He looked at her cautiously and took a deep breath. "What if I told you I'm thinking about making a big purchase?"

Her eyes darted from side to side as she processed the information. "A big purchase...okay..." Standing up straighter, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Wait, are you finally looking for a new car?"

He pause for a moment, thinking. "Well, I do actually need a better car, but..."

She sighed in relief and turned back toward the mirror. "Is that why you've been acting weird? You could have just told me you know." She smiled at him in the mirror.

He shrugged casually. "It's just something I've been thinking about lately."

"Well at least I know why you've been acting all funny." She pushed her makeup bag and hairbrush to the back of the counter and shrugged her shoulders. "Why would you try to keep something like that a secret? Might be fun to take a look with you."

He turned slightly and leaned his hands back on the counter. "I don't have the best history with large purchases. I couldn't even get a phone a couple years ago."

She stepped in front of him and smoothed the front of his shirt. "If you want me to help you, I can. I know you have your whole bill situation pretty much under control now, especially after becoming manager. Maybe I could help."

He shook his head. "I would never ask you to do that..."

She gave him a quick kiss. "But you know I would."

Nick just mumbled, watching her carefully. "MmmHmmm."

She slapped his chest playfully. "Nick, don't be ridiculous. I trust you. And it's a used car, not like a huge house or something." She let out a laugh. "Besides, I know you'd never buy something you couldn't afford after your whole box incident, right?" She raised her eyebrows and he nodded mechanically. "And, I do know where you live."

"Right. Yeah, definitely learned my lesson..." He gave a quick, nervous grin. Right, not anything like a house. Just an entire business that could fail...

She kissed his cheek and rubbed his arms, smiling up at him. "Then why are you so worried about it?" Jess narrowed her eyes, taking a moment to stare into his eyes.

"I don't know, I just..." He swallowed hard. "I've just been thinking about a lot of things lately, that's all."

She sighed. "It's strange what weddings do to your mind, right?"

"Yeah, maybe that's it."

"It's like suddenly everyone starts asking you about what you want, like you're supposed to magically just KNOW." Jess grabbed a towel and started to frantically wipe the counter. He watched as her motions seemed to get more aggressive and raised his eyebrows. After a few moments Nick reached out to gently lay his hand on hers.

"Jess, what's wrong?"

She blew her bangs out of her face and shook her head, speaking abruptly. "Nothing."

Nick took her gently by the shoulders, turning her towards him. She avoided eye contact, while his thumbs made gentle circles on the exposed skin of her shoulders. "What happened at lunch."

"I don't want to talk about it, I..."

He pulled her in for a hug, and even though she resisted at first, he felt her finally relax into his arms. Within a few moments, she had her arms wrapped tightly around his back. "Still not sure about this, are you?"

"I'm really trying." She turned her head, laying a cheek against the soft flannel of his shirt. "She won't even talk about it anymore. She hasn't even..." She stopped short, then proceeded cautiously, closing her eyes and letting his musky scent calm her. "She won't even talk about kids with him. After that stupid test and everything that's happened, she's not even making sure..." Nick ran his hand up and down her back once more before she pulled back and looked up at him. "Don't you think that's a bad idea?"

Nick studied her intently, watching her eyes stare into his. He took a deep breath, running his thumb across her cheek and smiled. "Do you want to talk about kids, Jess?"

She breathed in sharply as her body stiffened. "Don't be ridiculous. I...we don't..."

"Jess?"

She finally took a deep breath, speaking softly. "Can you just...just tell me yes or no...I don't need to know anything else, but..."

"Yes." He smiled as he saw her sigh in relief. "Yes, I want to have kids." His smiled slowly faded as he scrunched his face, shaking his head. "You know that, Jess. Why are doing this to yourself?"

She collapsed against his chest and took a deep breath. "God, I don't even know. I just...I panic when I hear how LITTLE they've talked about ANY of these things and..."

"I know this is hard for you, but we have to just be there for them. You have to stop..." He took a deep breath. "You have to stop worrying. Weren't you the one trying to convince ME to back off just a few days ago?"

"A month, Nick. A MONTH. And Schmidt has hurt her so badly. TWICE."

"They want to get married, Jess. It's happening...tomorrow." He pulled back, looking down at her. "You just have to trust her, that's all we can do. They haven't been back together long, but it's not like she doesn't know what she's getting into with him."

"True."

He rubbed her cheek and gave a little laugh, speaking gently. "You have to let her go, Jess."

Jess smiled up and him, poking his sides gently. "When did you become so wise?"

He grabbed her hands, holding tightly. "Become?! Please."

"So," She snaked her arms around his neck as he pulled her close. She whispered softly, her lips almost touching his. "What time did you say dinner was?"

Nick grinned, turning his head toward the wall clock just outside the bathroom. He leaned in to kiss her. "About 20 minutes."

Jess dropped her arms and yanked his shirt out of his pants, a devious grin on her face. "Wanna bet we can still be down there in ten?"

Seven minutes later they were standing in their same spots at the bathroom counter, grinning at each other in the mirror with flushed faces. Jess tugged her hair out of her clip and brushed it back into place as Nick buttoned his shirt.

"I have to say Jess, I think we're even more impressive on a strict deadline." He wiggled his eyebrows at her across the mirror.

Jess let out a loud laugh, reapplying a coat of lip gloss before screwing the lid back on. She winked back. "I have excellent time management skills."

Nick reached out and grabbed her waist, the lip gloss container making a gentle clink on the counter as it fell from her fingers. She threw her arms around his neck and smiled.

His smile dropped into a more serious expression. "What would I do without you?"

Jess tilted her head and ran a hand through his hair, staring at him for a few moments. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He swallowed hard. "Of course." He pressed a cheek to her forehead and glanced at her in the mirror. "Just enjoying this time alone with you, that's all."

"Okay." She pulled back. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure." He managed a weak smile before leaning down to kiss her. His devious look returned as his hand slid down her back to swat her ass. "Let's go, before Schmidt decides to order for us or something."

Nick followed Jess out of the bathroom, placing his hand on the small of her back as she bent down to pick her black clutch off the bed.

"Let me just make sure we're still meeting them at 8." She pulled out her phone and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and pressed the voicemail button. "I don't know, I don't recognize the number" She listened for a second, Nick gently rubbing her back. She turned around and glanced up at him. "It's Chaz, from next door." She squinted her eyes confused, until she gasped and her hand went to her mouth.

Nick's eyes went wide. "Jess, what is it?" He watched her as she finished listening to the message and tucked the phone in her purse. She looked up at him with a stunned look on her face.

"It's Remy. He..." She swallowed hard, her eyes suddenly glassy. "He died this morning."

Nick sat down on the bed, pulling Jess into a hug as she stood between his legs. "What? What happened?!"

She choked on her words. "He seemed fine a few days ago. God, we just talked to him before we left."

Nick pulled her closer, feeling a knot in his throat. "He seemed fine when I was helping him. What did Chaz say?"

Jess shook her head, her words muffled in his shoulder. "They don't know." She pulled back slowly and Nick ran his hand across her cheek. "They think he had a heart attack...Poor Remy." The stared at each other in silence for a minute, until Jess' eyes suddenly widened. She whispered, fear evident in her voice. "Nick, what do you think will happen with the loft?"

Nick shook his head slowly, panic starting to set in. "I don't know Jess."