Jakki One Shots

Finally

It had been a long, long day. 5 post mortems and a dozen crying family members was enough for Nikki. For the first time in a while, she decided she needed a wind down, in other words a very large glass of wine in the local pub. And she was in the mood for a bit of company. So when she was packing up her bag ready to go, she looked over her computer at Jack, who was staring at his own monitor, obviously bored out of his mind. He could definitely do with a drink.

"Pub?" she asked, making Jack's head shoot up.

Jack stood instantly. 

"Anything to get out of here," was his reply, grabbing his jacket from the chair he'd previously been sitting on. "I'm buying though."

Nikki rolled her eyes with a smile, but accepted his offer. She wasn't going to say no to free alcohol.

***

The pub was pretty busy when they walked inside, however Nikki managed to spot a table in the corner of the room, under the telly and in front of a big window. Jack ventured to the bar whole Nikki went and sat down. She watched Jack talking to the barman and smiled. It had been strange without Thomas and Clarissa working beside them for the past few months. They'd always been a foursome, solving cases together. Now it was just her and Jack and Nikki had actually gotten used to it with the two of them. She didn't want anyone else to join them, or replace Thomas and Clarissa.

Jack came over to Nikki, a pint of Guinness in one hand and an inviting glass of red in the other. She took the wine gratefully and took a large swig, Jack telling her to budge up so he could sit on the bench beside her.

"Clarissa called earlier. Checking to see how we were doing."

"And what did you tell her?"

"I said we're fine, and coping much better without her."

Nikki gasped, laughing.

"You didn't!"

Jack grinned cheekily.

"It's fine, she knew it was a joke."

"Good," Nikki said smiling.

***

Nikki wasn't completely drunk when she walked through her front door, the stairs only looking slightly daunting. She was in the floaty stage, where she could still walk in a straight line, but was starting to wobble a bit. Jack followed closely behind her. He'd only had one drink so he could be the designated driver, and drop Nikki at home safely. She was extremely grateful for him, always wanting to make sure she was alright and happy.

"Why don't you stay for a bit longer?" she asked. "I've got more drink in the fridge."

Jack hesitated, clearly wanting to.

"I've got to drive home."

"Get a cab and I'll drive it to work tomorrow morning. Or just sleep on the sofa, I don't mind."

"Yeah, I'll stay a little bit then."

"Ok."

Nikki smiled. On this particular night, he looked rather good, in a blue plaid shirt and black jacket. The colours he was wearing matched her outfit too, her dress the same colour as his shirt. If she was being honest with herself, she'd always been attracted to him, even when she was seeing other men. But something about him now made him more appealing. Maybe it was just the fact that she'd had a bit to drink, or maybe she'd finally seen him as something more than a friend.

She edged closer to Jack, not even thinking about what she was doing. Jack clocked her straight away, but made no attempt to stop her. In fact, he moved towards her too, until they were centimetres away from each other. Nikki thought about the last time they were both in the same position, both staring at one another, close to tears. She didn't like thinking about when they'd fallen out, Nikki trying to get him to talk but Jack refusing to look her in the eye. Now was different. He was looking right at her now, firstly making eye contact with her, then down at her lips. Nikki knew she was about to find out what it was like to kiss the man. She'd thought about it before, that same time when they they'd argued. The tension had gotten so bad, the atmosphere had almost become intimate. But that was the past, and Nikki was in the present when Jack finally kissed her.

He was gentle at first, his lips soft. When they broke apart, Jack grinned. Nikki didn't think she'd ever seen him so happy.

"I've wanted to do that for so long." he said, stroking her cheek.

"How long?" Nikki whispered.

"Since the day we met."

He leaned in to kiss her again, this one longer, more intimate. Nikki had to stand on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck, even in her heeled boots. Jack's hands started on her back, but then moved down to her waist. His tall frame was bent over at first, but when he finally stood up straight, he took Nikki with him.

Because she was at least a foot smaller than him, he picked her up easily. Nikki's legs folded around Jack's stomach, and for once she was the same height as him. Nothing had ever felt so perfect.