Ness as Parents- New Girl Fanfiction

Throwing Rocks

"Nick, come on! It's going to be dark by the time we make it there! And we only have a few days left of our Oregon trip. I haven't been back to Portland in so long, I wanna try to do as much a possible," Jess drags Nick by the arm, urging him to speed it up.
   "Noooo slow down!! I'm going to crash face first into a tree," Nick wines in terror, hanging tightly onto Jess.
   "I won't let you run into anything, you big baby," Jess rolls her eyes and continues pulling him.
   "Can I at least take off this blindfold? It's really scary," Nick pleads.
   "You have to keep it on for the surprise!" Jess states excitedly, and brushes away a lock of her hair with the hand not currently intertwined with Nick's.
   Suddenly, Nick trips over a gnarly root and stumbles into Jess, who squeaks in surprise, but then grabs on to him.
   "See, this is dangerous!" Nick exclaims, and stands still, stubbornly refusing to follow Jess.
   "Ok, bye Nick! See you in a few days," Jess walks loudly away, but then quietly hides behind a nearby tree.
   "Jess? Where are you? I didn't mean it, don't leave me here alone!" Nick's voice gets progressively shriller, and he anxiously spins around in a circle.
   He's about to rip off his blindfold when Jess sneaks up behind him, and gently taps his shoulder. "Hello."
   "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Nick screams and tries to karate chop where Jess is standing.
   She jumps back, and quickly announces herself. "It's me, Jess!"
   "Thank god it's you! My heart is beating so fast right now, I thought I was going to die, again," Nick sighs in relief, and grabs back onto Jess.
   "You know I was standing like five feet away the whole time, right?" Jess smirks, and starts to lead him again.
   After about ten more minutes, they clear the trees, and Jess comes to an abrupt stop.
   "Oof!" Nick crashes into her, stumbling but then catching his balance.
   "We're heeeeere," Jess sings, and flourishes her arms.
   "Can I take off the blindfold now??" Nick asks with desperation.
   "Almost, but first you have to guess where we are!" Jess grins, and Nick groans.
   "Ugh, fine, but can you tell me after three guesses? You know I'm terrible at guessing," Nick begs.
   "How did you think we were in Chicago that one time?! The drive was only an hour!" Jess exclaims.
   "I don't know! I thought I recognized the streets," Nick shrugs sheepishly. 
   "Guess!" Jess encourages, impatient.
   "Ok, we're in the forest, so... that cute bench we found next to that maple tree?" Nick ponders.
   "That's actually not a bad guess, I forgot about that bench! But nope, guess again," Jess smiles eagerly.
   "Ummmm, the Shakespeare Gardens? I know you love going there and pretending we're Romeo and Juliet," Nick asks with a grin.
   "But without the tragic ending of course!" Jess responds hurriedly.
   "So did I get it right?" Nick turns to Jess excitedly.
   "No, another good try though!"
   Nick scrunches his face in confusion. "This is hard... is it that playground we brought the kids to last time we came here to visit your mom?"
   "Why would I take you to a playground if we don't have the kids with us?" Jess raises an eyebrow.
   "I dunno, that tire swing was pretty fun," Nick shrugs.
   "Okay, are you ready?" Jess says excitedly.
   "I've been ready for the past 5 minutes," Nick laughs, and Jess reaches for his blindfold.
   "Tada!" She pulls it off and steps back.
   Nick takes in the tranquil water, and the reflection of the trees rippling slightly when the breeze caresses the lake.
   "Oh my God, Crush Pond?!" Nick turns to Jess, his mouth hanging open.
   "Yep! I'm glad you didn't forget, isn't it amazing how it still looks the same after all these years?"
   "You should know by now that even though I forgot what day of the week it is, I never forget things like these," Nick chuckles, and squeezes Jess's hand.
   "Come on, let's go!" Jess drags him forward once again.
   "Wait, what are we doing? Do you have a plan- wait no I take that back, of course you do." Nick laughs while chasing after her.
   Jess stops once they reach the edge of the water, and grins. "Grab a rock!" She says excitedly, and Nick bends down to look for one.
   "I couldn't find the perfect rock, but this one's cool," he shows Jess a medium-sized rock that's smooth on one half and a rough on the other.
   "That one is perfect!" Jess exclaims, and reaches into the pocket of her sunny yellow dress. She pulls out a swiss army knife, and Nick raises an eyebrow.
   "You know how to use that without cutting your thumb off?" He asks her apprehensively.
   "It's not that different from crafting, and besides, I learned how to whittle and carve during that summer you were in New Orleans," Jess reaches her hand out for the rock. She pulls out the chisel part of the swiss army knife, and starts to chip away at it. Nick tries to watch over her shoulder, but he can't make out what she's carving.
   After a few minutes, Jess lets out a triumphant noise, and shows the rock to Nick. He looks at it, then beams at Jess. She hands the rock and chisel to Nick, he starts to get to work. Jess smiles at the way he's hunched over, concentrating intently. His eyebrows are scrunched together, and his tongue is sticking out slightly.
   When Nick finishes, he shows it to Jess, and she grins. "J.D. + N.M," She reads out loud, and Nick gazes at her.
   "What should we do with it?" Nick asks, taking Jess' hand.
   "Well, this is Crush Pond. So, say a name in your head, throw the rock in the pond, and they'll love you forever." Jess smiles nostalgically, squeezing Nick's hand as she says it.
   "I wonder who I should think about," Nick chuckles softly and squeezes Jess's hand back. He opens their intertwined palms slightly, and places the rock in their grasps.
   "You ready?" Nick asks, and Jess nods. They're silent for a beat, and then throw the rock in together, smiling when it splashes in.
   They watch it sink into the water, and then Jess turns to Nick. "Hey Nick, you know how last time we came, it was after my dad's wedding and I broke up with Ryan?" She asks hesitantly.
   "Yeah, it seems so long ago," he remembers.
   "Who- who was your rock for?" She looks down at her hands, fidgeting with her thumbs. Nick stares at her, surprised.
   He hesitates, and when Jess sees, she quickly buts in, "Actually, it really doesn't matter. I mean, we've been married for seven years, and I don't even care who you you said, plus Crush Pond never works anyway–"
   "Jess," Nick says, cutting off her rambling. She takes a deep breath, and brings her head up to look at Nick. He smiles, and turns to walk away, but then stops. "Wait, who was your rock for?" He asks.
   "Hey, I asked you first!" Jess exclaims.
   "I already answered! I thought 'Jess' and threw the rock in," Nick explains like it was obvious.
   "Oh," Jess says simply, smiling up at him. "So, all that time-"
   "Yep," Nick cuts her off once more, grinning. "Now you have to tell me who yours was for."

   "To whoever you are, can't wait to meet you, and I hope you live close by," Jess says, rotating the smooth rock in her palm.
   While the others are still thinking, she lets her mind wander. Did she make the right decision with Ryan? He seemed so perfect, like all her dreams had come true, but then... Jess couldn't describe it, but something just felt off whenever they were together. And then he moved to England, and stopped answering her calls, and soon enough she hadn't talked to him in a month. She had been denying the inevitable, but as usual, Nick helped her figure it out. He was right, she needed a guy who showed up. 'Like Nick!' A small voice in the back of her mind whispers, and she freezes. True, Nick was always there for her, through the good, and the bad too. But it was in a friend way, right? Nick-
   "SPLASH!" The sound of Schmidt throwing his ginormous rock into the water snaps her back into reality. Jess hurriedly tosses her rock into the water too, and smiles with the slightest bit of sadness at her friends all gathered together.

   "Holy smokes! It does work!" Jess exclaims, stunned.
   "Huh?" Nick stares at her curiously.
   "I said, 'To whoever you are, can't wait to meet you, and I hope you live close by,' but right before I threw my rock in, I was thinking about the whole Ryan thing, and about how you were right that I needed someone who shows up. And then my mind wandered to you, and then Schmidt threw his rock in and startled me so I threw mine in too!" Jess' voice gets higher with excitement, but Nick still looks slightly confused.
   "I didn't mean to, but I thought of you right before I threw the rock in! Crush Pond does work!" Jess clarifies.
   Nick grins at her excitement. "Well it worked for me too then! I was too scared to tell you how I felt. I thought I blew my only chance with you, and I didn't want to also loose you as a friend. But I still said your name, because a tiny part of me hoped you still loved me too." Nick eyes glisten with tears even after all these years, but they aren't from sadness anymore. He leans to kiss Jess, and she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer.
   "What I said is pretty ironic now though, I obviously already knew you, and living across the hall is about as close as you can get." Jess notes when they break the kiss.
   "That's true, we were always just a door away," Nick smiles.
   "We should bring Cece and Schmidt here next time we come! I know their rocks were for each other too," Jess says with a chuckle, and Nick agrees. They sit down on a bench near the pond, their hair twisting in the wind as they gaze at the sparkling water.