Disclaimer: Only own Nikki and Cali. No one else though. Damn.

A/N: So it’s been a while, I hope everyone is doing well. My first semester is winding down so I guessed I should update some of the stories I left behind for a little while. Not much to say except thanks for the new readers, thanks for the reviews and thanks to those who made this story a favorite or put an alert on it. It’s nice to know people like it. Reviews, please. Feedback would be lovely.

“They’re weird,” Nikki muttered walking out of the living room as she and Jack made their way into the kitchen to find the number for Chinese food. “You guys are fuckin weird,” Nikki said, louder as she plopped down into her seat. Jack sat in front of her and stared. She raised an eyebrow. “What’s your deal?”

“Nah, I just missed you,” Jack said, smirking.

Nikki scrunched her nose. “Gag.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

Nikki flipped through the phone book. “How was the trip back? Everyone okay? Larry still alive?”

Jack gave a slight laugh. “Surprisingly, he is.” He shrugged a little. “You know, it’s the same. Nothing really changed, just the same old thing.”

Nikki glanced up. “So the city was fuckin’ awesome?” Jack nodded.

“How was the job?” Jack asked and Nikki gulped, pausing for a second.

“Uh,” She hesitated. “It sucked.” She looked up. “You know, it’s a job. They all suck. But this one isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”

Jack got up and grabbed the bag of beef jerky, taking one out and throwing it at Nikki, who wasn’t even looking up and got hit in the forehead. Jack laughed and Nikki raised her middle finger at him.

“You didn’t punch any kids in the face?” Jack asked, sitting down.

Nikki picked up the phone and started dialing. “Surprisingly not.”

Jack stared at her and gave her a weird look.

“You’re getting softer,” He said and she glared.

“Shut the fuck up, mother fuck- Oh, hi. I’d like to place an order,” Nikki said getting up and walking past Jack, slapping the back of his head.

Laughing, Jack rubbed the back of his head and stared out the window. His smile faded realizing it wasn’t bricks in front of him. There wasn’t the hustle and bustle of taxi cabs honking. It wasn’t New York City. Clenching his jaw, Jack quietly slammed his fist against the table and got up, taking a forceful bite out of his beef jerky.

- - - - - - - - -

“Fifteen minutes? All right, thanks,” Nikki said as she and the other line hung up. She stepped outside in the frigid air without a sweater yet she couldn’t feel anything. She was numb enough not to get frost bite. Sitting down at the stairs, Nikki stared at the snow in front of her. She closed her eyes and searched. She searched for a memory of her mother, anything. Nikki furrowed her eyebrows and snapped her eyes open finding nothing. Not a damn thing.

“Ey,” Nikki heard Jack and she rolled her eyes.

“Stop following me,” Nikki muttered and turned to face Jack, glaring playfully.

“Aren’t you freezing?” Jack ignored her statement. He took off his jacket and placed it on top of her head.

“I don’t need it,” Nikki said, throwing it back. He sat down beside her.

“You okay?” He asked, knowing that something must have been wrong by the look on her face.

“Nope.” Nikki stood up. “I’m just hungry.”

She walked back inside as Jack sat there, still looking at where he sat as he merely glanced at the door the slammed shut. “Hungry,” He mumbled putting his jacket on and pulling out a cigarette. “Sure.”

- - - - - -

“Where’s Nick?” Bobby asked as he and Cali sat on the couch, closely while looking at Jack.

Jack looked at them, giving them a weird look.

“Fairy,” Bobby said, snapping him out of it.

“Uh, I don’t know, she walked in before I did,” Jack said, walking in front of them to the chair.

Bobby looked upstairs. “What the fuck is wrong with her?” He asked and Jack shrugged.

“I don’t know,” He muttered, slightly angry that Nikki was acting the way she was when he just came back.

“I’m hungry as hell,” Cali stood up. “Do you have anything in there?” She pointed to the kitchen.

“Beef jerky on the table,” Jack said, giving a nod.

“It’ll do,” She said, walking out of the room.

“What’s wrong with you?” Bobby asked, with an attitude.

“Nothing,” Jack said, keeping his eyes on the TV and not on Bobby.

“Did you and Nikki fight?” Bobby continued.

“No,” Jack replied with his one word answers.

“Then what the fuck is wrong with you?” Bobby pressed on.

Jack glared. “I said nothing,” He said and Bobby backed off.

“Okayy, it’s someone’s time of the month,” Bobby rambled quietly, changing the channels as the colors of the TV showed on Jack’s face.

He didn’t know what was wrong. He couldn’t pinpoint it. He couldn’t get why Nikki was hiding something from him. He didn’t understand how things changed so dramatically in a few months. He sunk into the seat and leaned his head back.

He couldn’t remember why he moved back home.