Caught in the Undertow

Submerged

Later that day Jack and Nikki have arrived back at her house and Jack is currently in the kitchen making Nikki some lunch for her, he walks into the kitchen with a sandwich and a packet of crisps for Nikki to see her standing looking at the mantelpiece. 
Jack smiles placing her lunch down on the coffee table and walking over to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, "That's a funny looking mirror" Nikki speaks as she looks at an empty picture frame. 

Jack smirks and chuckles to himself, in fact, that picture frame was empty for a reason. The frame used to contain a photo of Nikki and Matt when they were together, but before Nikki came home Jack had removed anything that would remind her of Matt and bring back potentially distressing memories too soon. "That's a picture frame Nik," Jack mutters as he kisses her head. 
"Why is it empty?" She asks. 
"I'm not sure," He sighs and squeezes her shoulder as she stands watching the picture frame as if she was waiting for it to do something, "Come on Nikki, sit down and have your lunch."

Nikki turns away from the mantelpiece and sits down on the sofa and picks up her plate at the same time. Jack smiles noticing how much coordination she had picked up compared to when she first came round from her medically induced coma.  
She begins to eat her lunch and notices Jack watching her, "Why are you looking at me like that?" She asks.
"Like what?" Jack chuckles. 

She shrugs her shoulders and continues to eat the sandwich slowly before placing it down and looking at Jack, "Why are you here?" She asks. 
"Because I have to look after you remember?" Jack smiles sipping the cup of coffee he has just made for himself. 
"Oh of course," Nikki responds beginning to pick at her nails again, a terrible habit she had seemed to remember bringing music to Jack's ears, It may take some time but the old Nikki only seemed around the corner. 

"Do you want me to run you a bath? get a bit more comfortable and rid of that hospital smell," Jack suggests placing his coffee down on the table. 
"I don't smell," Nikki responds taking Jack's comment completely in the wrong direction. 

Jack realizes she hadn't understood correctly what he had said, "No what I mean... is you could relax in the bath for a while," He smiles happily. 
"I don't know," Nikki says still picking at her nails which is starting to irritate Jack so much he reaches over to Nikki and grabs her hand. 

Nikki snaps her head up to look at him, snatches her hands away from him. Jack watches her as their eyes meet once again he definitely saw something in her eyes he loves her but Nikki wasn't even sure if Nikki felt the same way anymore. 

Snapping his eyes away from her, he stands up and grabs Nikki's plate taking them back into the kitchen before heading upstairs and running her a bath adding Nikki's favourite bubble bath in, and making sure it is the perfect temperature. He calls Nikki upstairs and watches her come up the stairs slowly but steady enough that she wouldn't lose her balance. "Towel on the side, I'll wait outside... Don't lock the door okay," Jack smiles and she nods before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door. 

Jack slips down the wall and sits outside the bathroom as directed by the nurses at the hospital and listens to make sure she is okay. "Jack?" A voice comes from behind the door. 
Jack snaps his head up and listens for a moment before hearing a whimper, "Nikki? Are you alright?" He speaks clambering to his feet. 

Knocking the door he gets no response for he opens the door to see Nikki looking in the mirror tears streaming down her face, raising an eyebrow ignoring the fact Nikki is stood in her underwear and her underwear only he makes his way over to Nikki. Placing his hand on her shoulder he notices the used pregnancy test that he was meant to dispose of, dropping his head he sighs heavily unsure of how to speak. 
"I was pregnant... I-I-I can't believe I forgot," She cries looking down at the old positive tests. 
"I'm sorry Nik," He speaks placing his hand on her waist without thinking and stroking it. 

She looks down at his hand on her waist and stares for a while, why was he touching her like that, why did he seem as sad as her to the news that she was pregnant and she knew for a fact she had miscarried due to mother nature hitting her only a week ago. She looks up in the mirror maybe a little too quickly as she feels the dizziness hit her like a brick. She couldn't understand why Jack was holding her like this and then looking at them in the mirror she suddenly remembers Jack stood with her like this in the mirror before but he had been kissing her neck giggling away to her telling her how much he loves her. 

Turning to face him Jack keeps his hand on her waist, "You loved me..." She asks searching his eyes for answers. "The baby, I'm sorry I should of..." She adds but forgets the word she needed to tell Jack. 
"It's okay, doesn't matter now," Jack smiles cheerfully picking up the pregnancy test and putting it in the bathroom bin. 

Nikki watches his actions she couldn't understand why he loved her and she wished she could remember everything. She turns away from him and unclips her bra placing it on the closed toilet lid and stepping out of her underwear and places them on the toilet lid too before climbing into the bath and sitting down slowly. 

Jack swallows hard at her confidence in front of him, maybe her head injury had made her forget about privacy in the bathroom but he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe he was stuck to the spot. "Will you help me wash my hair... please. My shoulder..." Nikki smiles happily as her petite body submerges under the bubbles. All Jack can do is nod and pray for his body to actually move before Nikki notices.