Nick sits on the worn orange couch in front on the tv, staring intently at the screen. He watches the Chicago Bears game with an unblinking gaze, jiggling his left leg absentmindedly.
"Daddy, stop bouncing me!" A voice complains, and reaches up to tug on Nick's hair. Nick scruffs his son Reginald's hair in return and gives him a goofy grin.
"Sorry Reggie, it's an old habit that I got from my dad."
Reginald repositions himself on Nick's lap and turns his attention back to the screen, mirroring his dad's turtle face when the Bears' quarterback overthrows the ball.
When the view of the field changes, Nick says, "Reggie, can you go tell your sister to come in here, I want to show her something." Reginald scoots off his lap and runs into the craft room, where his mom and Frances are making a picture frame out of popsicle sticks.
"Fran, Daddy wants to show you something in the living room."
"But I'm making something with Mommy." She wines, pouting her lip.
"Frances, you can go with your brother, I'll finish this up." Jess assures her, so Frances follows Reginald to where Nick is sitting. Nick beckons Reggie to sit on the couch next to him, and scoops Frances onto his lap.
Nick points at the screen and explains, "Do you guys see that big grey pole there?"
"Ya." Reginald and Frances harmonize.
"If you look the the right do you see those seats in the shade?"
"I think so, but so what?" Reginald responds with sass.
"Well, those first two seats closest to the pole are where me and your mom sat when we saw the Bears win the Superbowl.
"Why did Mommy go? She thinks it's boring just like me," Frances says, and Nick laughs.
"It is true your mom doesn't like sports as much as me, but it was a date... and I might have bribed her with soft pretzels." Nick explains, grinning at the memory.
Just then, Jess walked into the living room and saw Nick with Reggie next to him and Frances on his lap. She quietly stood unnoticed for a little bit, feeling her heart warm at the sight of them. When they first were together, she never could have imagined Nick would be this good with kids, but now, every day he showed her how much he cared. Like when he picked up the kids from school once she went back to work and started teaching again, or when he surprised her with a romantic dinner on the patio. Jess smiles to herself and walks over the couch, sitting on Nick's other side. He turns and smiles at her, his eyes full of love.
"I was just showing Reggie and Frances where we sat when we went to the game." Nick informs Jess.
"Oh, I remember that! Did you tell them about how you took that snack bag from the table and walked away, thinking they were free?" Jess says, laughing.
"In my defense, there was no sign, I thought they were being nice and had free snacks," Nick responds sheepishly.
"Bad Daddy!" Frances exclaims and giggles. Jess high-fives her daughter and grins at Nick. Nick puts an arm around Jess, and lets Reggie snuggle into his side. Mario comes in, sniffs around, and then curls up on the coach next to Jess.
The Miller-Day family sit like this for the rest of the game, at least until Nick and Reginald jump up and cheer when the Bears secure their victory.
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Ness as Parents- New Girl Fanfiction
FanficThis is set a few years after the last episode's flashforward, and includes a few flashbacks or flash forwards. I hope you enjoy!