Nick and Jess is a relationship on the FOX comedy New Girl. They are portrayed by Jake Johnson and Zooey Deschanel.
About[]
Nick and Jess first meet in Pilot and become close friends during season 1. In Fluffer they first admit to having some level of attraction to each other, then in Cooler they share their first kiss followed by another in Quick Hardening Caulk, during which they almost even have sex after openly admitting they truly like each other, thus deciding to explore things romantically between them. Then, in First Date they have their first date and in Virgins they have sex for the first time. In Elaine's Big Day, they finally start a committed relationship. Their first month anniversary is in The Captain. They confirm the boyfriend and girlfriend labels in Coach. They say 'I love you' to each other for the first time in Prince and in Exes Nick admits that he fell in love with Jess the moment she walked through the door of their apartment. Then, Jess moves into Nick's bedroom in Sister III, but they break up despite loving each other very much in Mars Landing after realizing they are not on the same page about their future and not ready to settle down together while they also miss being friends, which somewhat faded away after they got together. However, in Clean Break they both are unable to commit fully to a clean break. Then, Jess realizes she is still in love with Nick in Landing Gear and the same does Nick in Five Stars For Beezus, which prompts them to reunite as they both feel the right time for them has come and they’re finally ready to settle down together. In About Three Years Later, they’ve been together for three years while Nick reveals he is going to propose and does so in Mario: Jess happily accepts and they become engaged. They get married in the next episod, The Curse of the Pirate Bride. In Engram Pattersky they are revealed to have a son together in the future.
Season 1[]
Jess meets Nick whilst interviewing to live in the loft. Both Nick and Jess are recent dumpees, a fact Nick is defensive about. He is hesitant about the idea of Jess moving in. Jess moves in with Nick, Schmidt, and Coach and spends the first week crying, which irritates Nick.
They talk at the bar about getting dumped - Jess tells him that he can't pretend it didn't happen. At the time he is annoyed and makes fun of her for being overly optimistic, but they have a good rapport.
When Jess emerges for her date, Nick looks up at her and smiles, it is implied that he thinks she looks good. He thinks it's nice that she's been texting her date. At the Wild West party, he takes her advice on board and asks Caroline - his ex-girlfriend - why she dumped him. As he is about to have a drink with Caroline he discovers that Jess has been stood up. Instead of having the drink he leaves to go help Jess. He runs into the restaurant and pretends to be one of her boyfriends along with Schmidt and Coach. She gets emotional that they left the party for her and Nick tells her that they 'care about her' and they 'like her'. He sings '(I've Had) The Time of My Life', a song from her favourite film Dirty Dancing, to her to get her to stop crying. He gets Coach and Schmidt to join in, getting them all kicked out of the restaurant and cheering Jess up. They all go home and watch Dirty Dancing together.
Nick and Jess make fun of Schmidt together, standing very close together. Later, they chat as Jess makes breakfast for a newly arrived Winston. After Winston reacts poorly Jess talks to Nick about it as they brush their teeth. After Jess resorts to borrowing clothes from Schmidt, Nick encourages her to go and retrieve her stuff from her ex (Spencer). He becomes more insistent when she breaks the loft TV. When Jess returns visibly upset he asks her if she is alright. Nick tells her that Spencer is her kryptonite and that she needs to stand up and fight him. He says that she's not ready to let Spencer go. When she says she is, he tells her to get mad and punch a cushion pretending that it's Spencer's face.
Jess gets riled up and asks the guys to come with her to retrieve her stuff. Nick tells Jess what to say to Spencer. When Jess is unable to pull in, Nick tells her 'you got this'. When she goes into the house he asks if she'd going to be okay in there. When she tries to pull her shirt off of Spencer Nick pulls her off. He then tells Spencer to give Jess her shirt back and puts on a hat Spencer is trying to keep, threatening him to 'come take it off my head pal, I dare ya'. He tells Spencer that he doesn't like him. Jess tells Spencer that she loves her new loft mates, even though she barely knows them. Nick helps bring Jess' stuff into the car and fist bumps her after she tells Spencer to 'suck it'. At home, Nick repairs Jess' TV and they high five.
Jess is attending a wedding as Nick's fake girlfriend to keep him away from Caroline. She gives him the nicknames 'Nick-Knacks or Mr. Suspenders'. Jess says that she does the chicken dance with a peck. Nick emphatically says that she should not do the chicken dance. When Nick sees Jess in her dress, he says that she looks great. He is then frustrated to see that she is wearing prop teeth.
At the wedding, they walk together with arms linked after Jess goes for the bubbles. She fusses with his tie and he tries to get her to calm down whilst she enjoys pretending he's her boyfriend. She says 'that's what I love about our relationship, you never let me be myself'. Later, Nick leads Jess away from Schmidt and Gretchen by the waist. They sit together at the wedding and Jess prevents Nick from going over to Caroline. She makes Caroline jealous by putting his arm around her and pretending not to know her name. She introduces herself as Nick's girlfriend, says they have a lot of sex and pets Nick's face. He is impressed by Jess' performance, until she puts the prop teeth back in.
At the reception Nick and Jess sit together. Jess stokes Nick's head when she sees Caroline looking over. She tells Caroline she wants to marry Nick, but leaves at his prompting. Nick tells Caroline that Jess is the best and that they're 'pretty serious'. Jess is warned by Schmidt and Winston that Nick should not be talking to Caroline as she will flirt with him as a back-up plan. Jess attempts to extract Nick by getting him to dance with her, calling him 'honey'. Instead, he goes to get a drink with Caroline and thanks Jess for giving him a chance to get back together with her. He leaves and after being caught in a dance battle she loses him.
Nick and Caroline flirt in a photo booth. Jess opens the curtain on them and acts upset. Caroline insists nothing happened and revealed that she has a boyfriend, upsetting Nick. Jess frightens Caroline away by pretending to be pregnant. After being called a 'ruiner' by Schmidt, Jess takes her prop teeth back off of Nick and leaves to go be herself and have fun. Nick has a drunken breakdown and hides out in the photo booth. Winston tells Jess that the guys ae happy that Jess is around, but that they're not going to say it, especially Nick.
Schmidt leads Jess to the booth. Schmidt shows Jess Nick's photo booth pictures, including one of his butt. He says Nick has been calling out for her. Nick apologies for being mean to her. She gets in to the booth. They sit very closely together. Jess says that Nick cannot be Caroline's back up and that he has to let her go. In the meantime, he should leave the booth and have fun. They smile at each other. Nick says goodbye to the booth and leaves, taking her advice and parting with Caroline. He tells Jess to come with him and leads her to the dance floor. He does the chicken dance to 'A Groovy Kind of Love' by Phil Collins. Schmidt and Winston join in, the wedding ending with them all having fun together.
The guys are watching a scary movie. Jess joins in, sitting next to Nick. She talks through the film, causing Nick to leave. Later, Jess comes into the kitchen and hears that Nick has a date with Amanda. She stresses what a big deal this is for him and makes fun of his body. This causes Nick to psych himself up in his room by dancing naked to the song Zungguzungguguzungguzeng by Yellowman. He looks at his penis and says 'it is what it is'. Jess comes into his room to ask him to turn down his music. Seeing him naked, she shriek-laughs and hurries out of the room. Nick later refuses to talk to her about it, leaving the loft angry and embarrassed.
Nick is unable to take his clothes off during his date due to Jess' reaction. He returns to the loft the next day and ignores Jess. She tries to get him to express himself using a feelings stick. He snaps the stick in half. He leaves when she produces a travel size. She follows him into the elevator. He asks her why she laughed. She says his penis is 'beautiful, stately, a real treat'. He tries to escape her, but eventually tells her that she ruined his date. She tells him that maybe it's because he doesn't want to have meaningless sex. Nick says that they cannot have a mature conversation while Jess is unable to say the word 'penis'.
Cece later convinces Jess that to make things even she has to let Nick see her naked. She goes into his room only wearing a towel, unaware that he has brought Amanda over. She attempts to escape unseen, but fails and the towel drops. Nick lectures her for not knocking before she comes into his room. He continues to refuse to use her feelings stick. Later, Jess knocks on Nick' door. She shows him that she can now say the word 'penis'. Nick tells her she was right about him not being ready for meaningless sex. He admits that when she left the room he saw 'everything'.
Jess brings Cece back to the loft to stay while her ex is at her place. Cece tries to get Nick to dance with her and rips his shirt open. At this, Jess becomes upset and goes to bed. Nick does not attempt to flirt with Cece like Schmidt and Winston. The next morning, Nick tells Jess not to take care of him and to stop being so nice. They joke around. When Nick is awkward around Cece in a towel Jess says she is disappointed in him and that she thought he was better than that.
Cece asks Jess if she was upset that she was dancing with Nick and that she thinks he is really into Jess. Jess denies this and says they're just friends. Cece thinks Nick says 'Jess' in a sultry way. When Nick asks if Jess needs anything from the drugstore, Cece makes her go with him. Cece reminds Jess that her perfect man is Walter Matthau in the film 'Grumpy Old Men' and that Nick is a 'total Matthau' and that he gets her. She tells Jess that guys feet point at what they want and that his feet were pointed at her.
At the drugstore Jess freaks out when Nick's feet point at her wherever she goes. Meanwhile, Nick tries to tell her not to take care of everyone. At the end of the conversation he holds her shoulder to get her focus. In the car on the way home Nick buys her roses and she runs away. When Nick returns home he is angry at Jess, saying he was driving around for the last hour looking for her. He says he was 'really worried something had happened to her'. That night they see each other in the bathroom as they are brushing their teeth, Jess apologizes for acting weird, and neither of them notices their feet pointing at each other.
Jess wants to cook a big Thanksgiving dinner, against Nick's wishes. She has invited Paul, a colleague she has a crush on. He watches Jess' cooking shenanigans with amusement. When Paul arrives he comments that 'there's two of them'. Jess yells at Nick for being mean and making a 'turtle face' and asks him to be nice to Paul. Nick agrees to help her. He asks Paul to watch the football game with him and drives him to go get walnuts, but Paul irritates Nick. Outside apartment 4c Jess yells at Nick for being mean to Paul. Nick complains that Paul is boring but says it doesn't matter what he thinks. Jess yells about how much she wants to have sex with Paul and how Nick doesn't get a say in it. He asks why she asked him then. There is an implication that it's because she cares about what he thinks, but she is interrupted before she can answer. Later, Paul asks Jess if anything happened between her and Nick, like if they used to date. She tells him no. In the line at Best Buy Nick asks her if she's going to be mad at him all night. When there is anger at Paul cutting the line, Nick gives up his space for him. Jess then leaves with Paul, leaving Nick shaking his head in reluctant amusement as they frolic off into the night.
Jess brings her bell troupe back to the loft, which Nick refers to as a 'nightmare'. When the toilet floods Nick fixes it and Jess thanks him. Jess tries to use bell talk to discuss Nick in front of him. Later, Nick tells Jess about Winston's competitive streak. He then begins fighting with Schmidt, which Jess tries to break up with song. At the end of the episode he attends Jess' bell concert with Schmidt.
Nick is asleep on the sofa when Jess enters the loft whilst making out with Paul and stripping. He sighs. The next morning Jess informs the gang that she will be having sex that night. Nick asks her why she is telling them this. Later, Jess asks the guys how to be good at sex. Nick tells her to just take her clothes off. He says that women don't choke him and Schmidt says that Nick is a 'meat and potatoes kind of guy'. Nick defends his sexual skill. He tells Jess not to flick Paul. Jess refuses to say who of the guys she thinks is the best at sex. The next morning he goes with Winston to talk to Jess after she appears in the kitchen visibly upset. He pulls up a chair and tells her to relax and be herself because she's awesome. Jess makes fun of his hair. Later, Nick comes across a post coital Jess in the elevator.
Jess got Nick roller-skates for Christmas, along with the rest of the gang. She tries to take a picture of them and Nick attempts to stop her. At the mall he advises her to pick a gift for Paul by figuring out what she feels about him and getting him a gift that reflects it. When she shows him the gift card for piping hot sex Nick takes it off of her and teases her, saying he's going to cash it in one day with her. On the way home Jess shows the guys Candy Cane Lane. Nick makes fun of her but she says it's better later. Nick says that won't be possible as they will have to go straight to the airport, as he's missed his flight four years in a row and cannot do it again.
At Schmidt's office's Christmas party Nick sees that Jess is upset and asks her what's wrong. Jess tells Nick that Paul told her he loved her and that she was unable to say it back. This confuses her, as she is usually the one who loves more. Nick teases her and then says she needs to tell Paul the truth. She agrees. When Nick later sees Paul he thinks that Jess has told him. Nick tries to reassure him that she might love him one day, accidentally revealing that Jess doesn't love him. Nick tries to backtrack, but fails. He eventually spills everything and tries to comfort Paul. Jess comes across them and Nick reveals that he told Paul. This upsets Jess, who yells at Nick. Nick then realises he is trapped on a balcony with the both of them. Jess makes him sit down and stop trying to escape. Nick's phone interrupts them, he apologises but takes it to talk to his mom. Paul tells Jess he can't take it slow, which annoys Nick. Paul breaks up with Jess, which angers Nick, Jess tells him it's okay. Nick is then able to escape.
On the ride to the airport Nick sees that Jess is upset. He then turns the car around and takes them to Candy Cane Lane as a gift to Jess. However, it is too late and the lights have been turned off. Jess tells Nick she has the worst timing and that they should go. Nick refuses and starts yelling at the street to wake up and turn on the lights for Jess. Everyone joins in with him and the street lights up, cheering Jess up. They hug and wish each other a Merry Christmas. They get back in the car and Nick informs his mother that he will miss his flight.
Nick sits next to Jess as they insist that Schmidt put $50 in the douchebag jar. Three days earlier, Nick tries to discourage Jess from throwing a birthday party for Schmidt because she is not prepared for how awful his friends are. Later, he introduces Jess to Julia, the new girl he is seeing. At Schmidt's birthday he defends the party Jess threw to Benjamin. At the end of the episode it is revealed that the reason Nick and the gang want Schmidt to put $50 in the jar is because he tried to kiss Jess.
Nick's new girlfriend Julia doesn't like Jess, but has agreed to help Jess get out of a parking ticket. Jess questions why Nick isn't labelling Julia as his girlfriend. Julia refers to Jess as having a 'whole thing' because she's so girly, which upsets Jess. Julia asks if Nick is seeing other girls. When Nick arrives back Jess tells him that Julia doesn't like her. The next day she talks to Cece and Sadie about the issue. Nick defends Julia to them. Jess tells Nick that Julia asked her if he was seeing other girls, which throws Nick. Later at the bar, he tells Jess he's freaking out about it, she tells him he has a fear of real relationships. After Julia arrives at the bar Nick tells her that Jess told him what she asked. When she encounters Jess in the bathroom, they get into an argument. Julia says: "I see what you're doing. I know I'm the mean lawyer girl who wears suits and works too much and you're the really fun teacher girl with all the colorful skirts and you bake things. And eventually Nick is gonna come to you and you'll tuck him in under his blankie and--" Jess defends herself and Julia tells Jess she doesn't like her and she doesn't want to be her friend. When Jess leaves to find somewhere to cry she finds Nick crying in the men's bathroom. At the court Jess says she isn't trying to interfere with Julia and Nick. In the end, Julia and Jess make peace.
Nick and Jess open the episode in a car together. They are threatened whilst parking by a man with a gun. Nick puts his hand on Jess' back whilst they duck and tells her to "stay down". Whilst she tries to reason with the man, Nick worries that "he has a gun and you're dressed like a bullseye". This incident starts their argument about whether people are inherently good or bad. They return to the loft, still arguing. When Jess goes to use the sink it break and Nick fixes it by jamming it with a stick. Jess wants to call the landlord to fix it but is discouraged by the rest of the loftmates.
She goes down to the basement and meets the landlord (Remy). She accidentally tells him that four people live in the loft and the rest of the gang throw Schmidt's room away and pretend he doesn't live there. Nick is mad Jess talked to Remy against his advise. Nick gets very protective of Jess when Remy starts fixing things in the apartment, thinking he wanted to sleep with her. He tries to get Jess to see that Remy is showing her how to do things from behind as a method of flirting by demonstrating it on her. They argue some more about whether people are good or bad.
Nick stays for dinner with Remy so as not to leave him and Jess alone together. He tells Jess not to drink the beverage Remy fermented and then threatens to fight him later. Later in the evening Nick says that Remy is buttering him up so that he can move in on Jess. He asks her "how have you lived this long on your own?". He starts to say that he's worried about her when Remy interrupts them by proposing a threesome. They almost take part in it as part of the argument, which involves some dancing and arguing. They both say that they will 'do it!' and Nick says "Jess you can't do this, but I can". Jess caves when Nick leans in to kiss her. Nick is happy to have won the argument. They end the evening drinking with Winston and accepting that Remy will not fix things for them. Jess says she wants to be involved in future shenanigans.
Jess is grossed out to find Nick being romantic with Julia. At the end of the episode Nick finds Jess outside Schmidt's room with a box of condoms. He is shocked and ends up picking her up off the floor and dragging her away.
Jess owes Nick $5 because Schmidt slept with the same girl twice in a row. Later, Jess watches Nick freak out because Julia got him a cactus. That night, Jess tells them about a song she performed to her class. He laughs at the video a girl made making fun of Jess. After Julia breaks up with him he goes to Jess' school's science fair whilst feeling depressed and cries into a globe. At the end of the episode Jess gives Nick a new plant to try to cheer him up. She says: "you're a plant killer and I write songs. We're weirdos. But that's who we are! And that's fine!" She shows him her new song with the rest of the gang.
While playing football, Jess tackles Nick, injuring his back. She apologises and tries to help him. When Nick reveals he doesn't have a doctor she offers to take him to Sadie. Nick tries to leave but crashes his car. She helps him out and supports him physically. Jess brings him to Sadie's OBGYN office and distracts him from his pain with a magazine. At the appointment Sadie gives Nick pain medication and notices a lump on his thyroid. This deeply worries Jess, who insists he get an ultrasound. Afterwards they go for food. Nick makes excuses for why he can't go and says her concern is "really sweet". She says she knows he's scared and does a Daffy Duck impression for him. She comes with him to work, against his wishes.
At the bar, Jess starts crying out of fear Nick might have cancer. He puts his hand on her shoulder and asks if she'd okay. Later, when the bar is empty Jess sits in front of Nick, trying to cheer him up by telling jokes. Nick laughs and tells her that she can't speak at his funeral because of her bad jokes. He gets more serious and tells her she doesn't know how to be real. She says that she does and looks sad. When the others are rapping and singing Jess says, "Nick Miller, Nick Miller, never does anything" and ruins the mood.
She asks Nick if there was anything he's always wanted to do. He says he can't do anything if he doesn't know how it will turn out. If everyone went and jumped in the ocean he would be the guy guarding the wallets. They go the beach and he tries to skinny dip, despite his fears. Once in the water he immediately leaves because it is too cold. Jess asks him if he's okay and he yells at her that he is 'not ok' because he might have cancer. Later on, Jess sits beside Nick on the beach. He tells her that she's right and he has to start doing things. He confesses that he likes her a lot and that he's glad she's around. He also says that he's not going to remember that conversation the next day. She says that they should go home but when morning comes they are stll there. Jess has fallen asleep next to Nick. He wakes her up by rubbing his shoulder and everyone leaves to go to the ultrasound. Nick leanrs that he does not have cancer and Jess is relieved. Her and the rest of the gang have split the cost of the procedure. They all go get in Winston's car, with Nick and Jess sitting next to each other. Nick asks Jess what happened last night and she says "nothing." He smiles at her and they share a moment. They walk off smiling, whilst the lyrics "I'll take care of you" from the song 'Take Care' by Beach House plays.
Jess bursts into the bathroom to a shirtless Nick, who smiles at her. He tells her to let Schmidt run the loft. She looks at the penises drawn on his back. Later, she shows Nick that she helped Schmidt let go. He tells her she has no idea what she's getting herself into. Later she talks with him and Winston about how the loft has descended into chaos. That night she talks to Nick about how she talked to Schmidt and Nick gives her advise. She said she wanted to be apart of their family and Nick says "you want in? You're in". They then stage an intervention with Schmidt whilst sitting next to each other.
Jess accompanies Nick to buy a phone. She gets stressed at how low his credit score is. On the walk home she reassures him that having no phone is mysterious. Later, at the dining table, Jess worries about having to grovel to Russell. Nick tells her that rich people are the problem with society. Jess agrees with him. When she threatens to destroy her phone Nick says that his mom has her number in case of emergencies. On the way to Russell's she practices her speech on the phone to Nick. She asks him to come help push her car when it stalls. He appears annoyed when Russell flirts with her.
Later, Nick accompanies Jess to Russell's house. They make fun of how fancy it is together. Upon seeing Russell's office Nick falls deeply in love with him, confusing Jess. After some shenanigans, Jess makes Nick leave the party. He tells her to be a grown up and that Russell likes her, convincing her to go back. When Jess falls into a pond Nick begins removing his clothes to go after her.
Jess complains to Nick about his guest Dirk. Nick asks about her first date with Russell. She tells him about Russell rejecting her kiss and Nick says he probably just got nervous. Jess later returns from another awkwardly ended date to find Nick throwing a party for college students. He tells her they find him attractive and asks her where Russell is. Jess tells him that he left jokes that she wants to leave and start a new life. She has a drink and crushes it on Nick's forehead, telling him that she's not happy. Russell later drives drunken Nick, Jess, Dirk and some college girls. Nick gets out of the car to vomit. He tells Russell that "this isn't her, you know. She's not like us. She's one of the good ones". Nick ends up having been right about Russell being nervous. Jess says that he can be "really wise sometimes". Nick then immediately starts projectile vomiting.
Jess returns after Cece bailed on a run with her, musing that she might be hiding something. Nick, who has just learnt that Cece and Schmidt are sleeping together, acts nervous and panicky. Jess is able to tell that he has a secret. She turns him around to see his sweaty back, proving he's hiding something. She is able to make him fold. As the gang questions Cece and Schmidt, Nick reminds Jess that he told her seconds after he found out. She says that this is only because he's weak. He agrees. Later, Jess decides the loft-mates will be open and honest, telling the guys her secrets. Winston tells Jess Schmidt thought about her when he was "making love to himself" (once). Schmidt in revenge tells Jess that Nick has done the same "like a bunch of times". Nick embarrassed and tells her that Winston had a sex dream about her. Jess is upset and leaves to scream. She proceeds to wear a ski jacket and balaclava to hide her body. Nick comes in and says "That's actually kind of a fantasy of mine. Could you say the following words out loud: the ice roads are too dangerous you're gonna have to turn back chief". When Jess and Cece take part in a charity run Nick and the gang come to watch. When Jess finishes the race he cheers for her. He then helps lift her up and carries her off.
Upon returning home from a week with Russell Jess says the guys (including Nick) look "so handsome". Nick asks Jess if he can talk to Russell about his ideas. When Russell comes to visit Nick gives him cheese and quotes Aladdin, to Jess' annoyance. She has to tell him to stop staring at Russell and eating his noodles. Nick and Jess then play True American with everyone. After the game they sit next to each other, The next morning Jess witnesses Nick and Schmidt's Real Apps presentation to Russell. She is annoyed when they accidentally stab him.
Jess tells Nick not to swear in front of Sarah and not to bring home any college girls. She asks him to put on pants because it makes everything he says sound creepy. He proves her point by saying "your hair looks nice" to her. Nick says he wants to bring his date Chloe home that night, which Jess disapproves of. When Sarah confesses her crush on Nick, Jess says that he is "dirty and weird". Later, when Sarah asks Jess if she thinks Nick is hot she says "yeah... in a rumpled small town PI kinda way". At dinner Nick and Jess argue about how mature Chloe is. Later, Jess says that Sarah fell in love with Nick for "some unknown reason" and that he makes children cry, She tells him to come help her get Sarah out of her room. They sit on the floor together, leaning against the door. Jess jokingly agrees with Nick that he drags women down. Nick says he hasn't been truly in love in a really long time and that he misses it. They tell Sarah about how embarrassing they are. They both laugh at the idea of a man with tennis balls down his shirt to look like boobs. They both try to de-bra Sarah.
Nick announces to the gang that he's giving up on women and focussing instead on growing tomatoes. Jess encourages everyone to listen to him, already having discussed the topic with Nick. Later, she tells the guys about her weird encounter with Ouli. Nick asks if everything is okay with Russell. He says he's going to hide her tap shoes so she can't tap dance at dinner. Jess ends up breaking up with Russell because their relationship has no passion. She says she wants "passion, even if it's harder and hurts more". She then returns to the loft and finds out that Nick is back with Caroline. Jess and Nick begin fighting as she feels he is going back to a bad relationship to avoid being alone. She wants him to start living up to his potential. At one point they insist the other looks at their ass. The fight is very passionate, which is notable given Jess' earlier talk with Russell.
Nick comes into Jess' room with Caroline to show her a dance they made to cheer her up. Jess immediately leaves. At the bar Jess accuses Nick of backsliding. Nick says that the timing is finally right and that Caroline is hotter than the mean voice in his head. This prompts Jess to backslide to Paul. At the end of the episode she talks to Nick as he comes out of the shower in a towel. She tells him that he's wrong, that "if you really love someone it's simple" and that he deserves love. She says she will be there with him and will tell the mean voice in his head to shut up. Nick tells her he's moving in with Caroline and thanks her for what she said. Jess is left alone.
Jess is angry that Nick is moving in with Caroline, calling it a "huge, life-ruining mistake". She is mad that Schmidt and Winston aren't fighting the decision. As the meeting descends into chaos she says "aren't you going to miss this Nick?". When they interview Neil to take Nick's room Jess tries to put him off. She is overridden and Neil is given the go ahead to move in. When Nick moves out she asks why he's rushing this. He tells her he feels confident and she questions if that's true. Whist driving the moving truck Nick freaks out, drives into the desert and throws his keys away. When Jess and Cece arrive to rescue the guys Nick tells her that he still wants to move in with Caroline. To stop him, Jess throws her keys away too, stranding them there for the night. Jess finds a mixtape Nick made when he was 14 and plays it to tease him. They both dance.
After night falls Nick tells them they can't trick him into not wanting to leave. He goes to try to find his keys. When talking to Schmidt Jess realises that when you care for someone you do what's best for them even if it sucks for you. She goes to find Nick and they encounter a coyote. Nick alerts her to it by covering her mouth with his hand, turning her around and pulling her in to him. They panic, with Nick protectively holding Jess. Jess tries to scare the coyote away by making Road Runner noises. He lifts her up and away from the coyote. After a while, Jess asks him why he kept driving. Nick says he doesn't want to talk about it because he knows what she'll say. Jess says he doesn't and that she wants him to be happy, even if that means him moving in with Caroline. Nick worries that Jess needs him too much. Jess says that she's going to be fine because she met him and that's why she's okay. She then scares the coyote away. Nick lifts her in a hug and they howl together.
The next morning it is revealed that Jess only pretended to throw her keys away. She takes Nick back to Caroline. They say goodbye. Back at the loft, Jess notices how pronounced Nick's couch hole got. That night, Jess sees the moving van from her window. She hears a door shut and Nick's 14 year old voice come from his mixtape which Nick is playing on a boombox in his empty room. She and Nick open their doors to see each other. She welcomes him back and they smile at each other. They both dance in their rooms to 'You Shook Me All Night Long' by AC/DC. Jess does the chicken dance, a call back to the dance they shared in episode 3.
Season 2[]
Jess turns on the tap to brush her teeth while Nick is in the shower, turning it cold. He pokes out and reprimands her. She tells him she's late and apologises. He asks her to leave and then continues singing. After his shower, Nick comes into the main room to see Jess scratching an itch in Schmidt's shower diaper.
Jess returns to the loft from work, having lost her job. Nick is the first to move to comfort her. He says that he and the guys have to do something, otherwise she'll cry. Jess insists that she's fine and that she doesn't want pity. Nick says she's going to get so many jobs. He blinks awkwardly and says that they fired the wrong girl. She asks him to act normal and he says if that's what she wants then that's what she'll get. Later in the week, Nick asks how she's doing and Jess says her boobs are loving not having to go to boob jail. She says he's been waiting all week for her to cry. She points out that he's not being normal and is sitting with his legs crossed. She tells him to stop being nice to her. He tells her to "look sharp you dumbass!" Schmidt comes in and Jess gets herself hired as his shot girl. Nick says she can't be a shot girl because she doesn't have the specific hotness that shames men into buying alcohol. She asks if he's saying that she's not hot, sounding genuinely sad. Nick backtracks, saying "you're hot, you're hot". He says she's the nurse he wants to wake up to after having his stomach pumped, "it's a different kind of hot, still hot".
Jess dresses up for her new job. Nick takes her small glittery hat away from her and looks concerned for her. Jess struggles as a shot girl. Nick finds her picking up broken glass. She insists he doesn't be nice to her so instead he yells at her that it is an easy job. He complains he can't take a body shot off of her because of what she's wearing. He checks in with her that the pep talk is working and then goes too far by saying she has a flat butt. He tries to walk it back by saying that she has a 'great ass'. Jess then goes and excels as a shot girl with the confidence Nick has given her. However, she then becomes upset. Nick sees her leave upset and goes after her. She tells him that she isn't meant to be a shot girl, she's a teacher. Nick follows her to the school and finds her sitting on a car crying. He sits next to her and she tells him she came back to say goodbye, which he figured. She explains that she loves teaching and worries she can't do anything else. Nick says that he can't do anything and he's kind of fine. She says that it sucks. He says that life gets better and it sucks again. 'All Alright' by fun begins playing, giving the scene a hopeful tone. Jess asks Nick to be mean to her one more time. He tells her to 'look sharp' again and that she's a terrible shot girl with the wrong outfit. She laughs and says she got messed up with a cigarette girl. They laugh together and Nick puts his arm around Jess, who puts her head on his shoulder.
In the aftermath of being fired, Jess is acting even more manic than usual. Winston tell Nick he's 'got to do something' but Nick defends Jess' actions as reasonable given her circumstances. Schmidt finds a felt picture Jess has made of the loftmates, including Nick. Winston further prompts Nick to talk to Jess, showing that Nick is considered to be the 'Jess-whisperer' among the men. He tells her to take a break and do whatever she wants. This leads to her going to his bar to get drunk in the day and be 'off the grid'. Jess meets a handsome delivery guy (Andy) and asks Nick to give him her number. Later, an attractive man (Sam) comes up to her and asks if she's Katie. Jess lies, says she is and proceeds to sleep with Sam. Meanwhile, Nick meets what he's told is a future version of himself.
The next day, Jess tells Nick and Schmidt about the sex, which Nick thought was "a couple of bums fighting". Nick goes along with Jess' Katie charade and pretends to be a dancer, including doing silly leaps. He says it's "upsetting" when Jess kisses Sam passionately. When Sam leaves he and Schmidt applaud Jess but Nick tells her that she won't be able to see him again because she lied about who she was. Jess then gets a text from the delivery man she'd seen the day before, which overwhelms her because she's never juggled two men before. Nick and Schmidt advise her on the situation. Nick says he becomes irresistible every time he jet skis, a statement Jess appears to not believe. Nick agrees with Schmidt that Jess cannot juggle men, because she is the kind of girl that wears multiple cardigans at once and can barely hold onto things.
When Jess eventually meets the delivery guy, she realises Nick gave her number to the wrong one. Jess abandons the guy, 'Bearclaw' and goes to the bar to meet Sam. Entering the bar, Nick asks "Jess or Katie?" and she tells him "not now!". Future Nick tells Nick to apologise to her because he did something stupid, but won't say what. Whilst hooking up with Sam in the bathroom, Andy and a heartbroken Bearclaw catch Jess. Nick comes in to find Jess topless surrounded by three men. He fumbles with her various names and everything comes out. Nick comforts Bearclaw and says he's too good for Jess. He also asks Sam if he's an idiot. Andy yells at Jess for what she did and Nick immediately tells him to shut up. Future Nick then comes and says goodbye to Nick. Nick doesn't want Future Nick to leave without telling him what he did wrong to Jess. Future Nick tells him to make her an Old Fashioned.
Later at the loft, Jess tells Nick that when she was younger she wanted to be Jenny McCarthy from MTV but that she accepts that she won't be. Nick says he always wanted to be Kurt Loder, which confused Jess. Jess asks why Nick is making her a drink because he never takes work home. He tells her that in the future he might do something terrible to her and that he hopes she'll forgive him. He asks if she likes Old Fashioneds and she says she's always wanted to try one. She asks what he'll do to her and he fears he might "pee on her pretty dresses". She says she'll forgive him, sincerely despite the silly premise. Nick makes a sarcastic joke when Jess agrees to have casual sex with Sam.
Jess knocks on Nick's door at night and he tells her that she can watch the Walking Dead alone. She explains that Sam booty called her, which Nick protests that he doesn't care about. She stops him from leaving and asks how to conduct casual sex, but they are interrupted by Sam. The next morning Jess complains about her failure. Schmidt offers to take Jess out on a group date with the guys to help her. Nick immediately refuses and tells her to date a guy properly if that's what she needs. Schmidt insists that Nick go, which he agrees to. However, Winston and Schmidt end up bailing and Nick and Jess end up on a one-on-one date. When Nick sees Jess dressed up he is shocked and says he forgot what she looks like when not dressed as the loft troll. When Jess reacts poorly, Nick says that she looks "va-va-va-va-vooms!" He says that they could go back but Jess wants to go through with the date. Nick pulls out the chair for Jess and they joke. They complain about how expensive the restaurant is and Jess reveals her thermos of white wine that she snuck in. They get drunk and the waitress chastises them for the thermos. They both say the date is fun, but Sam booty calls Jess. She says that the date helped prepare her for meaningless sex and she leaves to go meet Sam.
The next morning, Jess is excited about her wonderful sex-filled night, which she says she wouldn't have been able to achieve without Nick. She asks him to go to IKEA with her to get a new dresser and Nick agrees. Once she leaves Winston, who has been observing the entire conversation, tells Nick that he is Jess' emotional fluffer. He tells him to set boundaries and to stop being her boyfriend without the rewards. Nick protests that he is simply Jess' friend. Jess comes back and says that their trip is an hour and a half each way, proving Winston's point that Nick is putting a lot of emotional work into Jess. When they get back from IKEA Jess asks Nick to help her put the dresser together. Nick refuses and says that he doesn't want to be her fluffer. He gives examples of things he does for Jess like making her tea and calling her phone when she loses it. He repeats Winston's point that he is her boyfriend without the rewards, Jess asks if he wants the rewards. Nick insists that he doesn't and makes a 'bleugh' sound at the idea. Jess is annoyed by his disgust and says that she's not disgusting. She insists that Nick must have thought about her sexually at least once, at least when she is doing deep lunges. He denies it, other then when he is sleeping. She admits that she has thought about him sexually, which surprises Nick, though she insists it was only once. She then realised it would never work between them and Nick agrees. She begins yelling that he would drive her nuts with his sighing, and they begin arguing about how Nick is cheap. He reminds her that she needs him to have sex. She says that this is not the case and that she's going to go on a date with a Sam. She then loses her phone, Nick says he won't call it for her and then does it anyway, which he insists was a pocket dial.
Later, Nick tells Winston that the conversation with Jess made him feel terrible. Winston insists on strict boundaries, which Nick protests against. Winston tells him that if he builds her the dresser, it implies they will one day share it. When Jess gets back from her date Nick is building her dresser. She insists that she can't let him fluff her and that she didn't know what she was doing to him. She's always had friends and boyfriends in separate boxes, but now things have become messy. She doesn't want to screw up their relationship because of how important he is to her. Nick says that they are two people who want to be friends but are sometimes attracted to each other. His admission that he is attracted to Jess excites her. He says that he doesn't want other people telling them what they can and can't do together. If he wants to build her a dresser he will, but that she should date the people she wants to have sex with. He then gives her the original fluffer, 'Nick's sexy mix', which she then uses to have sex with Sam while Nick moonwalks outside.
Nick is distressed to find that in her depressed state Jess has been working on an Urkel impression, something he never did even in his darkest moments. The next day, he excitedly tells Jess about his pranks. The day after that, Nick chastises Jess for getting in late but gives her a high-five. Nick then explains another prank to Jess by leaning closely over her as she lies on the couch, At the end of the episode they sit next to each other and talk about how they spent the past few days unproductively. Jess is distressed to hear how much Nick spent on his pranks. She insists that he never prank her, which he is unable to commit to,
Nick tells Schmidt that he wants to get a turtle and call it Jess, but that he picked out the name before he met her. Jess comes out dressed up for clubbing with Cece and asks the guys what they think, to which Nick says "whoa!" appreciatively. He asks if she put shoe polish on her eyes and is confused to hear that it is make up. She tells the guys that she isn't wearing underwear, which Nick says makes two of them. The next day Jess discusses with Nick his friendship issues with Schmidt and hers with Cece, helping each other with their problems. She tells him about their 'boob-fight', which he says he finds arousing. At the end of the episode the whole gang eat cake together.
Jess is working at a haunted house and can get the gang free tickets, but Nick refuses because he is clearly scared. He helps make fun of Jess' costume, which he says 'kind of works for him' sexually as she looks like a "sexy driver's ed teacher". Later, Nick and Jess meet in the hall after she's had sex with Sam and he's had sex with his old college crush Amelia. They 'high-five for sluts'. She tells him that she now likes Sam and wants more than just sex from him. Amelia emerges from Nick's room and they passionately makeout, which Jess finds awkward. Later, Sam says goodbye to Jess which Nick says he wishes he hadn't seen. Jess retorts that she wishes she hadn't seen him kiss Amelia.
At the haunted house event Jess tells Nick that she's going to confess her feelings to Sam. Nick complains to Jess that Amelia is moving too fast and that being with her isn't what she thought. Nick later finds out that Sam is seeing other girls and that he doesn't want a relationship with her. Knowing Jess would be upset by this, he goes into the haunted house where she's working - which he is terrified of - to warn her. Scared when he sees her in her costume, he punches her in the face. Sam tells Jess he doesn't want a conventional relationship with her and dumps her. She is comforted by Nick, who puts his arm around her shoulders back at the loft to hold frozen peas to her face. He tells her that she deserves to be with a guy who's crazy about her. Jess then punches him in the face to even things out.
Nick calls Jess a ninny for not pursuing new jobs, which she reacts poorly to because she is PMSing. Nick says he doesn't think that it's fair that Jess can be irrationally angry because of her period, she reminds him that he is always irrationally angry. Later, Nick comes back more relaxed after meeting Tran (a quiet old man) at the park. He greets Jess by touching her waist, which she reacts poorly to as she has sensitive skin. Jess is furious that Nick is suddenly calm while she is angry, which sets him off into anger again. After another outing with Tran, Nick returns to find a post job interview Jess lying on the couch in her PJs. He tells her that he is no longer angry. He asks her what's wrong with her and if he can get her anything. He asks to hear about her day and she tells him that her period ruined her interviews. He takes her to give her a water massage, the thing that helped him earlier in the day. This involves them both being in a pool together in their bathing suits with Nick manhandling Jess. It goes awkwardly, with Nick accidentally touching her boobs and almost drowning her. He says that she's been doubting herself for months and that he believes in her, pep talking her into acing her interview. Schmidt and Nick celebrate Jess' reemployment with her, all dancing around to 'Jump Around'. When Winston cries over his break up Nick and Jess try to water massage him together.
Jess tells Nick that he's going to love her dad because he's so unhappy, but Nick says that he doesn't like dads. Jess ropes Nick into her plan to parent trap her parents together. Nick says that this isn't a parent trap, it's a makeover. Jess asks why he has to ruin everything and Nick says that he has something bad inside of him and agrees to help with the parent trap. He helps distract Jess' dad Bob and they get on well. Jess then gets Nick to hit on her mom Joan. Nick initially disagrees but then gets into it. Jess tries to stop him when her dad discovers the parent trap but by this point Nick is into Joan and Jess tries to fight him. Nick says he regrets it but would probably do it again. At dinner Nick and Jess act awkwardly around Bob and Joan (who have just had hooked up), both saying the same things in unison. After Jess' toast they both tell Bob and Joan that they saw them. When Jess leaves the dinner upset, Nick looks sad.
Nick joins Jess for a meal with Cece, Sadie and Sadie's wife Melissa. Nick says that 20 minutes of foreplay is too much, concerning the women. He has to leave when they talk too much about vaginas. The next day, Jess frets about her fertility. She gets rid of Nick's ketchup collection and the microwave, causing them to argue. He tells her not to be scared because she'll meet someone, fall in love and have babies. He says that he wouldn't give her his sperm, not that she asked. He says he would love their baby with all his heart, but he'd be a bad father. Jess makes fun of Nick for comparing himself to Hemmingway. Later, Jess finds Nick drunk at the zoo and says he'd lose in a competition with a gorilla. The next day, Jess comes into Nick's room and sits next to him on his bed. He says he knew she'd pick him to impregnate her. She says "yep, let's go" and leans in for a kiss as a joke. Nick backs away in shock and they laugh. Schmidt joins them and then Winston comes in and reads 'Z is for Zombie' to them while Jess puts her head on Nick's shoulder.
Jess asks the guys to get a bathtub, with a picture she's made of all of them in a bath together. Nick votes against it, as it would be a watse of money. At the bar Jess encouraged Nick to pursue a girl he's interested in, which he eventually does.
The group makes decorations together and discusses Santa, eventually all pelting Winston with cranberries. Jess wants them all to go to Christmas parties together, which Nick agrees to when she agrees to be the designated driver. At one of the parties Jess witnesses Nick and his girlfriend Angie fall out of a sleigh whilst trying to have sex. At Winston's office party Nick joins Jess in the radio booth. Seeing that she is upset, he tries to cheer her up by joking around. Jess asks if she should believe that Sam wants her back. Nick says that she is the kind of girl a guy would come back for. He tells her about how he blew things with Angie. Jess tells him that there's nothing wrong with a fearless girl, and that Angie could be good for Nick, who is a chicken. This pep talk prompts them both to re-enter their respective relationships.
Jess tries to persuade Nick to bring Angie on a romantic cabin weekend with her and Sam. Nick refuses and Jess confesses to being nervous about spending the weekend with Sam. Nick agrees to come when she says that it's free.
Nick gets worried when he thinks one of Jess' students wants to kill her. He pretends to be Julius Peperwood and enters her class. He sits next to Edgar (the psycho student) and sees a drawing of a dead deer. When class is over he takes his notebook and when Jess tries to retrieve it before Edgar leaves she and Nick have a sort of dance/hug that looks very sexual and he leaves with the notebook. They go together to the student's house. They are accomplices and later he keeps finding excuses to touch her and get close to her.
The guys try to pick up girls, and because Jess is Nick's 'Cooler', she stays at home. After a boring couple of hours, she hears creepy sounds. So, she texts Cece, who's on a date with a guy who actually DOES wanna have kids, Sam, her hot boyfriend, and Nick. Nick ignores it at first because there's a girl who turned on by his misery, but when Jess tells him she needs him, he comes immediately.Arriving home, it seems to be nothing and Nick actually smiles when he sees that Jess missed him and made a Nick-doll with a melon-face. While playing True American, Jess and Nick accidentally get locked up and will only be released when they kiss.
Sam, Cece, and her date arrive, and they cheer them on. Nick doesn't seem to have the nerves to kiss her, and Jess just wants to get it over with. Eventually, Nick refuses to kiss her, saying 'not like this'. After failing to explain what he meant, he climbs out of the window and almost falls. Back in the living room, Sam thinks that Nick would rather jump out of a window than kiss Jess. Nick says he's an idiot, and Sam says he's missing out.
Later that night, Jess hears the noise again and calls Nick out of bed. Nick is wearing a trench coat and they find a dog; the owner sees her coat and leaves angry. When Jess goes back to her room, Nick suddenly grabs Jess' arm and kisses her; Jess kisses him back. After they break apart, Nick says, 'I meant something like that,' and goes back to his room while Jess stands in shock.
Nick and Jess are reeling from their kiss. Nick says 'argh, you kissed her! You kissed her, you idiot!' then punches the wall in frustration. Jess opens her bedroom door and Nick is standing there - he then 'panic moonwalks' away from her. Jess turns up at Cece's apartment, says 'Nick kissed me,' and CeCe is shocked. CeCe asks how he kissed her, and Jess says 'he just grabbed me, it was firm but tender, and he was a man and I was a woman...I saw through space and time for a minute but that's not the point.' The group later go to an Indian Marriage Convention, where Jess and Nick talk about the kiss - Nick claiming it didn't mean anything, Jess claiming it did. Nick then teases her saying it 'meant something to [her]'. In a table building competition, they angrily talk about the kiss, where Nick says that 'it was like a damn fairy tale that kiss!'
They are the first pair to build a table strong enough to hold a phone book...then Nick...then two men jumping on it, as Nick is trying to prove it's not a strong table. The woman in charge of the event then says if the table is strong, the couple is strong. When Jess' boyfriend finds out about the kiss he is upset and breaks up with her, after punching Nick. Nick admits that the kiss meant nothing to Jess and later comforts her about her breakup - after mentioning that he loved that Sam had been threatened by him and that he had enjoyed being a homewrecker. Parking Spot
Things are still awkward in 'Parking Spot' between the two - Jess dresses seductively to make Nick give her the parking spot for the apartment, which he does, however later changes his mind saying that she was 'using the kiss'. He then says that he regrets the kiss and Jess runs off. He finds her in the apartment and tells her he doesn't actually regret the kiss, only what happened after it. Jess brings up the 'no-nail oath' that all of the male roommates signed. She is annoyed that they thought she'd sleep with one of them like she just couldn't help it. Nick tells her that it was him, that he couldn't help it. Jess drops what she was holding in shock, and when Nick points this out she tells him to shut up. They have a 'moment' then someone walks through the door. TinFinity
Jess is clearly feeling strange about Nick and admits to CeCe that she can't stop thinking about the kiss and acts flustered around him. He asks if he had cupcake frosting on his lip, and Jess feels nervous and yells at him. When she is interested romantically with a very emotional man, Nick jokingly asks if she really wants a man who tells her about his feelings - then asks again seriously if it is, looking nervous. She then agrees to 'advertise' his disgusting porta potty. When Nick offers her a drink from his bottle of liquor, saying "it's just my mouth!" she awkwardly says she doesn't want to think about his mouth, and jumps out of a - stationary - hot air balloon. Quick Hardening Caulk
Nick tries to be good at his job in 'Quick Hardening Caulk ', which Jess finds attractive, telling CeCe that she wants him - '[she] wants him bad'. Nick reveals he's been sleeping with his new boss. Jess feels awkward around Nick, even more so when he shows her his newly blue underwear because he did laundry. They go to a hardware store where Jess stares lustfully at Nick yanking a chain. She then reads his shopping list which all have names that sound slightly sexual, turning her on even more. She then gets hit in the jaw by a plank and is knocked out.
That night Nick brings her hot soup while Jess is on pills for the pain. She is very drugged up. Suddenly, she throws her sheets off her and yells that she wants to have sex with Nick. Nick asks if she knows what she's saying, seeming interested. Jess then exhibits obvious signs of being completely under the influence of the pills, however, pulls Nick down to her and try to sleep with him, saying 'this little piggy went to market'. Jess then bashes him in the face and Nick burns his hand in her soup.
The next day Nick talks to Schmidt and Winston about the incident, saying 'you thought the door was closed. You thought the door was so closed that you went out and found another door. But had I known that the first door was open? That's the door I wanted to walk through!" and seems very interested in Jess, stating that he wants to end it with his boss before Jess finds out. He then tries to stop her coming to the bar for 'Guys' Night', however, she comes anyway as she didn't remember their conversation due to pills - she had also forgotten the fact that she tried to sleep with him. Jess goes to the bar and sees Nick's boss slapping his buttocks, and asks if they're sleeping together, which his boss confirms. Nicks tells her he's sorry, but Jess says he's just 'getting some skank on it,' which obviously his boss takes offense to. She asks Nick who Jess is, and Jess says, 'yeah, Nick, who am I?' to which Nick replies that they are 'room-friends'. Jess storms off and Nick follows her.
In the loft, Nick sees Jess and says that he's got some explaining to do. When she tries to walk off Nick tells her what had happened the previous night, when she'd said that she wanted him. Nick tells her it's ok if that was something she was just saying, 'but it is something I've thought a lot about.' He then asks if Jess wants to have sex with him, yes or no, and Jess cries yes. Nick looks amazed, but then Jess says that she thought it was attractive that he was trying at something, and he accuses her of being a gold digger. She tells him 'if I were a gold digger, do you really think I'd be interested in you? I'd be the worst gold digger in the world!' They have a brief friendly sort of argument about it, gradually getting closer to each other. Jess denies the fact that she may be a gold digger. Nick says, 'then prove it.' They look at each other, and Jess, knowing what he meant, tentatively kisses him. After a moment the pair begins to kiss passionately.
They interrupt the kiss multiple times to yell at each other, until Nick yells, 'shut up! Shut up and take your clothes off, and I mean it, take off your clothes'. He then clears the table, picking up a hammer in the process, and whilst yelling at an undressing Jess and accidentally smashes an aquarium with the hammer, thus killing the mood. They storm off and go into their rooms, lock the doors, unlock the door, storm outside and kiss passionately for a few more moments before storming off back into their rooms. Chicago
Nick gets a call, and a few moments later tells the loft mates that his dad died. They all go to Chicago to attend the funeral. Nick is apparently the man of the house in his family, and is told he needs to plan an 'Elvis-themed funeral'. Nick's mother takes an instant dislike to Jess, and Nick's brother Jamie asks if they're doing it, to which Nick replies 'I'm begging you to shut up' - Jamie later asks Jess the same thing, and she avoids giving a response. Nick asks Jess if she'll write his dad's eulogy for him, and after a failed attempt she tells him she can't. He angrily leaves. Nick later turns up at the funeral drunk, and Jess takes him away to sober him up. She tells him that she's here for him. She sees that the man Nick hired to be an Elvis impersonator is in a bad way. She then walks into the funeral in the Elvis costume and sings 'In The Ghetto'.
Nick appears in the doorway and stares at her, smiling. He then goes to the front and performs the eulogy, however, gets very emotional. Jess stands beside him and holds his hand. When they are about to return home, Nick's mother takes Jess aside and gives her a snack for the trip, and hugs her. Nick then talks to his mother, who says she is glad he has someone who takes care of him. Both turn to look at Jess and Nick smiles. First Date
When they are by themselves in 'First Date ', Nick is unable to stop himself from touching Jess' boobs. They make awkward conversation about this. Nick decides to ask Jess out on a date after talking to his magical silent best friend Tran. He originally plans to say something along the lines of 'Jessica, you are a beautiful woman. My life has not been the same since I met you and it would mean the world to me if you would go on a date with me.' Instead, flustered when the time comes, he rambles 'Jess. I-ca. Dirty-J, Dr. Day, my toilet sister. If so, food.' Jess, who is only wearing a towel, though confused agrees to get food with him later.
Nick asks Schmidt for clothes advice, and so Schmidt puts him in a suit and Winston shaves his face. After saying that he is meeting a girl called Yolanda Winston, Schmidt and Winston work out he is meeting Jess. Nick makes a reservation at a fancy restaurant and meets Jess there, who asks him if this was a date. He is nervous and laughs, lying and telling her it isn't. The meal is made more awkward when Russell - the only man Nick and Jess both loved - walks in. Jess and Nick decide to just get a drink as friends.
Whilst getting a drink as friends, they end up talking about what turns them on about the other - Nick finds it ridiculously hot when Jess can't open jars, saying it's hard for him to deal with. Jess responds by saying she likes it when he gargles his beer. Jess then suggests they get dinner. Nick asks if she means a date. Jess nods, and Nick agrees eagerly. They go back to their table and enjoy a few moments of successful date, however when Russell leaves he mentions that the two of them are 'really something'. The two are confused by this statement and follow him out of the restaurant.
When the pair asked him what he meant, Russell eventually answers them by saying he doesn't think they really know what they are to each other. The disagree with this, so Russell challenges them to write down what they think they are to each other on a piece of card. They find it hard to do so, but eventually both write down an answer. Russell looks at the cards, then awkwardly mutters that it wasn't such a good idea. They ask each other what they wrote on their cards, but neither of them is brave enough to answer.
Later that night they run into each other in the kitchen. Jess struggles to open a jar while Nick looks on. He stands in front of her and opens the jar for her. Nick then gargles his beer. Looking into his eyes, Jess mutters that she's going to bed, and Nick says he'll walk with her. They walk towards their rooms slowly, tension in the air. At their doors, Jess whispers, 'G'night Miller.' Nick whispers 'G'night Day,' and they both walk into their rooms, close the doors and then lean against the doors. Bachelorette Party
In 'Bachelorette Party ' Jess asks Nick to take care of CeCe's fiance for a while, and later she also asks him to get a picture of Shivrang's penis and send it to her. When the girls at the bachelorette see the picture they are impressed, and when Nick and Shivrang arrive at the loft Jess compliments the penis they saw, calling it a 'prize hog.' Nick grins and tells them it was actually his. Virgins
The guy who took Jess' 'flower', Teddy, wants to meet up with her in 'Virgins ', and Nick is visibly unhappy about this. They gang share their stories of how they lost their virginity - during Jess' recount Nick comments uncomfortably a few times. In a flashback on Nick's, his dad tells him 'I just wanna make sure you don’t miss out on the things in life that happen when you’re not thinking… because believe you me, those are the best things in life.' When Jess is about to leave the loft, Nick calls her back and asks if Teddy was the kind of fireman who hung back and then rescued the dog, but apparently he 'straight up fought fires.' Jess asks Nick how he lost his virginity, to which he says, 'Alison Daniels. On a towel in the woods. I cried. She kept her bra on. It was nice.' Jess then gets a text from Teddy, which prompts her to leave. She asks Nick what he thinks, and he just looks at her, not saying anything. Jess looks back, then leaves the loft. She is in the elevator, about to go and meet Teddy when a hand stops the doors from closing. Nick is standing there. He walks into the elevator and picks Jess up bridal style. She asks what he's doing, and he tells her not to think about it. He carries her into his bedroom, and the two finally have sex. Winston's Birthday
The morning after, Nick and Jess wake up in bed together. Nick asks her to wait for a second, and then he goes into the kitchen to bring her breakfast - he experiments with a flower in the beer bottle and behind his ear. As he's going back to his room with the breakfast, he runs into Jess' father, who has arrived for Cece's wedding. As Jess is offered the chance to teach kids again, Nick spends the day hanging out with her dad. At one point they talk about girls, and after initially protesting Nick admits there is a girl - called Yolanda Winston. And of course, 'she's not quirky. She's got no bangs. Tall, fat. Really ugly eyes, small, tiny little beady eyes.' When it appears that Bob Day and Nick are getting along well, Nick admits that the girl he likes is Jess. There's a moment of silence, then Bob yells that he's going to kill Nick and Nick runs away. Jess walks in just a Nick is surrendering all the 'weapons' he'd brought to protect himself against Bob just in case. Jess admits that they don't know what they are, and tells her dad not to judge Nick as he doesn't know him. Bob says that he does know Nick, saying 'You're me. And I'm not good enough for my little girl.'
Nick then leaves the room, visibly upset and Jess has to go back to the school she's subbing at. When all the children in her class won't be quiet she stands on the desk and yells, 'I've had a bad day! Sit down! All of you! What is with everyone today? It started so good. Boy...my roommate. It was good, I'm not gonna lie, it was very good, but I can't date my dad. Life's messy. It...kicks you in the ass. Yeah, I said ass. But it does, it kicks you in the ass. And messy parts are the best parts.' She later returns home to find her dad blowing up an air mattress so that he can sleep between her room and Nick's room. That night, she gets a text from Nick that just says 'Roof.' She goes up to find that he had remade the breakfast he was going to give her that morning. She says that she hopes her dad didn't get in his head, and he denies this, however, they are then interrupted by Schmidt, Elizabeth and later Winston, who believes that the food is for him and the telescope Schmidt's holding is too, for his surprise party. Jess and Nick look at each other before joining the party, and Nick appears to be thinking hard about what Jess' dad said. Elaine's Big Day
The roommates are about to have a group photo taken of them by Jess' dad. Jess and Nick are very close together, so Bob tells Nick to keep on taking steps away from her until he's in the hallway. The two arrive at the wedding together and agree being together - in any sense of the word - is nice. Schmidt later says he wants to ruin the wedding, and Jess tells him if he does then she will bust him hard, and then mutters to Nick, 'and later I'm gonna bust you hard.' Nick refuses to join in on the prank as Cece's wedding means too much to Jess, and Nick asks what happened to him. 'Either Jess wants the real you, or she don't.'
After 'Cotton-Eyed Joe' plays as Cece walks down the aisle, Jess finds Nick standing by the music controls, believing that he played it. She tells angrily that it's exactly something he would do, 'a stupid, childish prank.' Nick is upset and leaves, and after agreeing to join in with ruining the wedding ends up in an air duct with a badger. When Jess finds out she wrongly accused him of sabotaging the wedding, she joins him in the air duct, and they talk about their relationship. She admits there is a small part of her that's worried it is a mistake. They then fall through the air duct into the wedding ceremony.
After the wedding is called off, Jess and Nick also unhappily decide to 'call it'. Nick goes to the bar to drink 'because that's [his] move.' Winston then tells him it was also his dad's move. 'But you know there are other moves?' This encourages Nick to run after Jess in the parking lot. Crying, she asks if they can 'un-call' it. Grinning, Nick walks up to her and kisses her. They get in the car and happily drive away - together
Season 3[]
Jess and Nick get back to the apartment where Schmidt becomes crazy when he finds out that they're dating, and needs advice from Nick, but then Nick and Jess run away from the loft to the car.
Jess and Nick begin driving and end up in Mexico. They try to relax on the beach but decide to go into the private hotel area instead. They don't have the bracelets showing they have paid to be there, so Nick steals one from a child to give to Jess, but doesn't have one himself so is arrested and put in 'hotel prison'. Jess panics, thinking he has been taken to an actual Mexican prison, so calls Schmidt and Winston to get them to come and help her get Nick out of jail. Nerd
Jess wants to fit in with her co-workers; the popular teachers. Nick offers Jess to help her be popular after he realizes that in her school, it's just like high school and she is the nerd, and Nick is cool. So Nick helps Jess be popular and makes her get drunk so she can be cool. After that, Nick realizes that was a mistake after Jess tries to do something really stupid (break in the principal's house and go in the Jacuzzi) and he tries to make her realize that. Jess ignores Nick's advice, and she goes with her new friends; the popular teachers and breaks into the principal's house.
Nick breaks in with her and tells her that if she is going to do something stupid they're gonna do it together because they're a couple, and he is her old man. They end up together being discovered by the principal at his Jacuzzi and invite them to get in. At the end of the episode, the popular teachers invite Jess to hang out but she refuses saying that she has to go with her old man, referring to Nick, who is outside in the school parking lot waiting for Jess. Double Date
Cece and Jess set up a double date; Nick with Jess and Schmidt with Cece, but he has plans with Elizabeth that night, Schmidt tells Nick that he's cheating on Cece with Elizabeth. Jess finds out that Schmidt is cheating on Cece and Elizabeth. Schmidt then convinces Cece that Nick is actually cheating on Jess. After Cece punches Nick in the groin, (twice) Schmidt tells her the truth and leaves her heart-broken.
Nick tells Jess that he's there for her for whatever she needs and that he wants to be with her. Jess puts her hands on his neck and they kiss. After everything, Schmidt blames Nick and Jess for the heartbreak and vows to break them up. Nick and Jess freak out. They decide to begin telling each other stuff Schmidt could use to hurt them and make them break up.
Schmidt tries to sabotage Jess and Nicks relationship.
Nick has a box full of his debt envelopes. Jess secretly goes behind his back and pays the fees. Once Nick figures out she paid the fees they have a fight, and Nick throws Jess's purse out the window. Nick then realizes he would do anything for Jess, and he gets a bank account. Schmidt tries to do great things to prove he is a good person. Schmidt saves a guy's life (he was choking on food) and notices that bad things happen to good people.
Nick wants to go to a strip club just to please Coach since it was what they used to do all the time with the guys. Jess asks if she could talk to Nick in private in her room, and Nick mistakenly thinks that she wants to have sex. Jess says that she's uncomfortable with him going to a strip club. Coach asks Nick if they're going and Nick says that he and Jess haven't had the boyfriend/girlfriend conversation. Jess is upset that he doesn't think that he's her boyfriend. Nick says that they haven't had the seeing other people conversation. Jess asks if he's seeing other people and he says no, and Nick asks if she's seeing other people and she says no. Nick says that they just haven't used the boyfriend/girlfriend terminology. Jess tells him to "knock yourself out."
Jess tells Cece that when Nick didn't think of him as her boyfriend, it hurt, so she wants to hurt him back by making him jealous. Jess calls Nick and says that she's drunk with a guy at the bar. At the strip club, Nick says that he's going to leave because Jess is "sexy and sweet" so he's going to go see her.
Nick arrives at the loft and enters Jess' room and sees the guy naked on her bed. Jess asks Nick to believe that "nothing happened and nothing was ever going to happen." Nick says that he believes her. She asks if he has any questions. He doesn't and asks if she wants to have questions. Nick proceeds to crack his knuckles and tells the guy to "get out of my girlfriend's bed." Jess is happy when Nick calls her his girlfriend.
Nick makes the 'girly' e-card with Jess and they invite the others to spend their Thanksgiving camping. To please Nick, Jess eats the disgusting fish that he caught in the lake and swallows it.
Delirious, Jess falls into the trap Nick set up for a bear. Nick jumps in to save her. In the hospital, Nick caresses Jess' face. She says thanks for saving me mountain man, then she tells him that he's the man she wants.
Jess wants to be friends with Coach and pretends to like the Pistons basketball team which makes Nick mad because he's a Bulls fan and tells Jess that his sex tap is off. This leads to Nick and Jess having a sexy standoff to see who would come running back to one another.
Jess wears the Bulls jersey just to please Nick already but when she sees him, he's wearing the Pistons jersey just to please her. They kiss and do it while wearing the jerseys. Birthday
Nick has a surprise birthday party planned for Jess. She wakes up early on her birthday. They make breakfast in five minutes because Jess helped him. Nick suggests that they slow things down. They do it in the bedroom but it's the fastest it's ever taken and Nick says that it's because she just looked so pretty.
Nick suggests that they go take a nap but Jess says that it's a beautiful day out so they go to the park. Jess thinks that he didn't plan anything and sees a birthday party set up in the park and mistakenly thinks that it's for her.
Jess tells Nick that it's "great for you" that he had a day planned full of eggs, sex, and a long walk in the park because he's not the kind of guy who plans things. Nick says "maybe I am." Jess runs home and tells him not to follow her.
Jess goes to the movies and Nick says that his plan might actually work. When Jess is in the cinema, the screen plays a video of Nick, he sits next to her, and in the video, he tells her to look under her chair. After reading the note, the others are in the cinema and they surprise her. In the birthday video, Nick shows the coin that he had in his pocket the first night they kissed and says that he always has it.
They're about to make Jess blow the cake but she is gone, and Nick goes outside the theater to apologize because it was cheesy and embarrassing, but Jess kisses him and says "that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me."
Jess asks Nick which shoe she should wear. He says that she looks great in everything. She later comes out in a black dress and he says that she looks great. Nick tells Jess that he loves her for the first time. Jess panics and points finger guns at him. Nick says that it just slipped out because she looked so pretty.
Nick tries to get into Prince's party take it back and say that he didn't mean it when he did. Nick gets into the party and Jess says that she's so happy to see him. She's about to tell him she loves him but she gets a panic attack and faints.
When Jess regains consciousness Nick takes it back. Later in the night, Nick says that he's not sorry he said it and Jess put her finger on his lips and whispers in his ear that she loves him. Nick says that he couldn't hear her because it's very loud. Jess shouts "I love you! I love you, Nick Miller!" Nick smiles and they kiss twice.
Nick and Jess link arms while walking and they kiss. Nick didn't tell Caroline that they were together. Nick says that Jess is leading Berkley on.
Jess tries to make Berkley leave but Nick tells him to stay. She doesn't want Nick to go to Caroline and leave her alone with Berkley. Nick says "Oh my God, I was right. He wants to bone you." Jess says, "Oh come on, Nick." Nick lets Berkley continue talking to Jess just to mouth "I was right" to Jess. Nick tells Berkley that they're not trying to hook up Nick with his ex Caroline.
Caroline tells Jess to shut up and Nick tells her not to take it out on Jess. Caroline tells Jess that one day she'll be the ex. Jess says that she's going to go sit in the shower and go over the greatest hits in her mind. Nick goes to the shower that is off to check up on Jess and asks if she's okay. Crying, Jess says "no" and that it's the worst thing that's ever happened to her. She tells Nick that he was right about everything, but he says that he's not and that she should also hear about why he left Caroline.
Jess tells Nick that he doesn't have to do it but Nick says that he does. He tells Caroline that he might as well have cheated on her because he fell in love with Jess the moment she walked through the door. Jess looks at Nick with wide eyes and says, "the moment I walked through the door" and Nick nods. Caroline says that she always thought that it was Jess.
Jess says, "the moment I walked through that door, huh." Nick tells her to just be cool about it. Jess says that for her, it was "way later." Nick says that he knows and they kiss.
Jess gets a call from her mother that her sister Abby has been arrested and Jess needs to pick her up and get her on a plane back to Portland. During the call, Nick pays very close attention, ignoring Schmidt, because he hasn't met Abby and really wants to. He asks if he can meet her, and Jess agrees. She tells him that she'll call him, and they can all meet for dinner. She later has a conversation with Cece in which she admits that she doesn't want Abby and Nick to meet. Nick goes to a party to help Schmidt pick up a girl, but says that he has to leave as soon as Jess calls. Jess goes to pick up her sister.
At the party, Nick is very clearly distracted waiting for the call from Jess. When she finally calls, it's to say that Abby won't have time to meet him. He assumes that this is a lie (which it is), and assumes that she doesn't want the pair to meet because Jess is ashamed of him.
Nick goes home at the end of the night and confronts Jess about being ashamed of him. She begins to protest, but before she can, Schmidt comes in and backs him up, saying how amazing he is. She is finally able to break in and say that she is not embarrassed of Nick and that she doesn't know why he would think that. Abby walks in and says that Jess is embarrassed of her, not of Nick. After she leaves, Jess admits that she lied about her sister, and Nick comforts her by talking about his crazy family. Jess asks if Abby can stay, and Nick says yes. Jess tells him she loves him.
Abby says that she wants to live in the loft with the gang, but Jess doesn't want her to. She admits this to Nick and gets him to distract her while she finds another place for Abby to live. While babysitting her, Nick lets it slip that Jess doesn't want her to move in. He also loses her. Eventually, he finds her in Schmidt's loft, and it is obvious that Abby and Schmidt slept together. Nick tries to hide both of these things from Jess, but during dinner that night, all of this comes out, and Jess gets mad. Abby declares that she will be moving in with Schmidt. Later, Jess thanks Nick for "messing everything up and being such a terrible liar" because it allowed her to be honest with her sister. She apologizes for her crazy family and Nick responds by telling her crazy things about his family.
During brunch one morning, Abby and Schmidt are all over each other, making Jess insecure about her own relationship. She wants her and Nick to move into the same room together as a next step. Nick and Jess talk about it, and despite Nick's reluctance, they decide to do it. Nick talks to Schmidt about the fact that he has never changed in front of a woman, and living in the same room would require that. Schmidt inspires him to give it a try, and so he does. That night, they try to sleep in the same room and drive each other crazy. Jess tries to go back to her room, but can't because Winston has turned it into a workout space. The next morning, Abby tells Jess that she and Schmidt got a hotel room, but weren't going to use it, so Jess and Nick could. Jess takes the room for herself so that she can be alone and tells Nick that she is leading a field trip. Both of them are glad to be alone.
Winston catches Jess at the hotel and tells Nick that she lied about the field trip. Nick confronts her about it and tells her that he knows she didn't like living together and Winston shouts that Nick didn't like it either. They have an honest conversation about why Jess wanted to move in and how it's not working very well. Later, Nick is moving his stuff out of the room. Jess comes in and they talk. They decide that one day they'll make it work, but not right now. Schmidt walks in just as they start to kiss. He tells them that Abby is gone, and because of his financial situation, he needs to move back into the loft. He says that he will take Jess' old room because she and Nick are together in Nick's room. He doesn't let them protest. Jess and Nick try to be excited about the prospect of moving back in together, but they are both clearly worried.
Nick and Jess realize that they’re not in the same page about their future together and definitely not ready to settle down despite loving each other very mach and they also admit that they miss being friends, so they break up. Nick walks Jess back to her room and as he's leaving she grabs his arm and pulls him into a long hug. Then they realize that Schmidt is living in Jess' room so they have to remain living together despite the fact that they are broken up.
Nick wakes up in his bed and reads his writing on his hand that says that he and Jess broke up. He finds Jess changing in the closet because they aren't allowed to see each other naked anymore. He closes his eyes while trying to get his clothes but then he accidentally touches her. They both tell each other that they're handling the breakup well. They pretend to be a couple for the day and continue to pretend that they're okay. Nick attends to each and every one of Winston's wants in order to busy himself from thinking about the breakup.
Jess goes to Cece to tell her about the breakup and Cece tells her to ask Nick how he really feels. Meanwhile, Nick confesses to Coach that he and Jess broke up and that he's not okay, so Coach tells him to take Schmidt's anxiety pills. On the day of the Honey roast, Jess asks her "boyfriend" if she can talk to him and asks him how he's really feeling. Nick says that he is "amazing."
Jess gets fed up and turns the Honey roast into an actual roast and says that "the worst thing about Nick is that he's okay." and that she isn't. Nick tells her that he isn't and that he's on Schmidt's anxiety pills and Jess laughs. They tell the others that they obviously already knew about the breakup. Jess lies on the couch watching Dirty Dancing with tissues strewn all over the table and Nick calls her while drinking in his room. She runs out of tissues and Nick throws her a new box. Over the phone, he says "Goodnight honey."
Nick and Jess invite their friends to join them on a cruise. When purchasing the cruise, they were drunk on wine and Jess was on Nick's lap and they kiss. On the cruise ship, the female captain welcomes them all on the ship, Nick salutes to her, and Jess laughs and says that the captain was flirting with her when she wasn't as if bothered by it.
After the first day of doing the "grand romance package", they drink wine together. Nick makes Jess a rosette. They look at each other and he puts his hand on her shoulder. He leans in to kiss her, but she says no, licking her ear instead, making the situation awkward. He says it was a "mistake", done "not on purpose." They say that it's because of the special romance package, so they decide to spend time on two completely different parts of the ship and avoid each other.
Schmidt, Coach, Cece, and Winston tell the captain to make an announcement to get Nick and Jess together. They get locked in the room together. Jess says that when Nick brings a "hoe bag" home, she's "gonna beat her ass." They make sexual metaphors that confuse the others if they want to get back together or not and look at each other and smile. They share the same awkward hug they did in 'Mars Landing'.
Season 4[]
The gang go to a wedding, and they make a pact that none of them will come home alone. Jess tries to hit on the best man, Ted, but ultimately fails and embarrasses herself. While she's sitting alone in the men's bathroom stall, Nick accidentally catches her. They sit in there while Jess confesses to Nick that she thinks she's a "toilet person", and that it's too hard to put herself back out there again. Nick tells her to just be herself, and "if he's not into Jessica Day, there's something wrong with him."
Nick says Jess' breasts are perfect.
Schmidt drags the gang to the roof to harangue them for not taking Bangs giving seriously. Cece suggests that Jess sleep with Ryan and "bang one out of her system." Everyone else votes in favor except Nick whose hands are crossed across his chest. When Jess tries to go after Ryan wearing only an apron and oven mitts into the hallway, Nick's voice can be heard in the cheering in the background.
Jess makes Nick and Schmidt treat each other like the boss. They find out and Nick yells nice things at her, saying that it was really sweet of her.
At the bar, Jess picks a song on the jukebox and dances in front of Nick. He tells her that his girlfriend broke up with him for being too ambitious. She says that she's sorry.
Nick says that since Ryan barely calls and calls in the middle of the night, Jess has been doing Nick hours (?)
At the winery, Jess keeps checking her bag to see if Ryan called, even when the phone isn't ringing, and Nick appears to feel bad for her and tells her to just take her phone out.
Jess says that Ryan isn't coming, and Nick is the first to hang is head down and sigh, probably because he cares about her. She tells him to just say that Ryan isn't coming because he's a "blank" and a "blank", but instead he lies and says that they were all excited to go on Jess' tour of Oregon, just to cheer her up.
Nick tells the others that "I'm not happy with what Ryan's doing, it's not cool." He tells Jess to give him her purse and says, "no more checking in with Ryan. Tour starts now." She manages a small smile.
Jess sits beside Cece on the mobile tricycle while Nick jogs beside Jess listening to her give them a tour.
When they resume the tour, Jess asks Nick if she can have her phone back and she immediately, casually, but sincerely says, "you know what, I don't care."
When Jess cries goes to her bedroom and puts on music, Nick goes to her to give her her phone and her purse and tells her to "text Ryan as much as you want, it's none of my business." She tells him about her fake dream guys and he exasperatedly says that "the only thing that matters, is if the guy is there for you when you need him. Otherwise, you're dating a wall." Jess gets upset and leaves and Nick says, "I was coming here as a friend, Jess--"
Nick and Coach ride a bicycle to go get the rings in Jess' purse. Jess tells Nick that "you were right. He should've been here. I need a guy who shows up."
Jess tells Nick about "crush pond" and how throwing a rock into it and saying the name of your crush makes them love you forever. Coach tries to guess Nick's crush and Nick says to say the name of someone Coach knows. The crush Nick is thinking about is most likely Jess. Jess says, "To whomever you are, I really hope to meet you. And I hope you live close by." This most likely pertains to Nick.
Nick tells Jess that she's the least qualified person to be a 'love doctor' because she dated him. When Coach and May reunite, Nick and Jess hug in the recording studio. While hugging Jess, Nick rubs her back. He tells her that she was the reason they reunited. Jess asks Nick if he thinks about who he sees himself next to in 40-50 years and says, "Who do you see yourself next to," in a nonchalantly interested voice. He says "Winston." and Jess says, "Me too."
Nick and Jess tell the others about their "sex mug" and they explain that when they were dating, they set the "ass" part on it out to let the other know that they're "aroused without arousing suspicion." Nick says that when the "ass" part is out, it was time to "bone" but at the same time, Jess says, "make love." Jess has a confused face then Nick agrees and says, "make love."
Schmidt says that they can throw it away already since they're not using it anymore, but Winston says that he saw the mug out last night. Nick says that he was the one who put it out, but when he walks away, he looks at Jess with a puzzled look. Jess goes to Nick's room and thanks him for covering for her. He asks her why she put the mug out and she says that it was because of the time when he was working out. She asks him if there was ever anything she did that made him want to put the mug out, and he says that there wasn't.
Nick let it slip that when she is in her little towel after taking a shower, he thinks about it. They agree that "it's time" to throw the mug away. While everyone is 'asleep', Nick goes to the trash can to possibly retrieve the mug but is surprised to find that it's gone. Later, Jess checks the trash can too but the mug isn't there. Winston uses the "perfectly good mug" for his cat.
Season 5[]
When Jess enters her room, she finds Nick on her bed. He says, "I missed you, kid," and she says, "I missed you too"
When Jess is doing a trial run for a new job at a progressive elementary school, she learns that the boyfriend of her future boss is her ex, Sam. She goes to Sam's house in an attempt to get him to put in a good word for her, only for him to reply that he needs Nick to apologize for kissing Jess and breaking them up. When Jess, Sam, and Genevieve arrive at the loft, Nick and Sam confront each other and Nick blows off apologizing to Sam. The two then get in a fight where Sam once again punches Nick. The fight ends when Jess pulls out a chair, saying that they're going to the "feelings farm" When talking to "honesty" Nick admits that he doesn't regret kissing Jess and that it was fun and she wanted to kiss him too. He goes on to say that they were crazy in love for a long time and brings up a memory of when the two of them broke into the Teen Choice Awards. Sam says that after him and Jess split his life fell apart.
Jess is laying in her room while Sam, her once again boyfriend, looks around at the items scattered around the bedroom. He picks up a Chicago Bears football helmet and tells Jess that he didn't know she was a fan of the team. She admits to him that it was a present that Nick gave her that she kept and now keeps change in. Sam then invites her to meet his parents, which she accepts.
Jess then wakes up abruptly from her sleep, going to wake Cece because she just had a sex dream about Nick and the helmet.
She begins to throw away all of the things Nick ever gave her, including the helmet and a Rubik cube that was one step away from being finished.
Nick then sees the neighborhood bun with the helmet and takes it back, storming to Jess' room, questioning why she threw it away, causing Cece to accidentally tell him about the dream. He becomes concerned that Sam isn't pleasing Jess, to which she denies. He refuses to leave till she tells him what the dream involved.
They argue about the gifts sentiment, as it seemed like a last minute Christmas presents with no thought of Jess. The fight leads her to put the helmet on which becomes stuck.
Jess tries to break the helmet off, telling Nick she'll just buy him a new one. He tells her that she can't because it was a gift from his father to him as a child. She feels guilty for not appreciating the gift.
Nick and Jess continue to try to get the helmet off, filling the room with sexual noises and words as Sam walks in. He believes Jess when she tells him nothing was going on. Jess refuses to let him destroy the helmet though, knowing the meaning it has to Nick. Sam leaves upset to meet his parents alone.
Nick later comes into the living room, telling Jess that they can break the helmet off because he knows how much she likes Sam and admits he's a good guy. Jess meets Sam's dads and later gives Nick a piece of the shattered helmet to hang in the bar.
Season 6[]
Five Stars for Beezus Jess begins by telling Cece her plan on confessing her feelings for Nick, by waiting until he is finished his book reading and telling him when he will be in a good mood. Cece expresses concern about the timing after Nick's most recent break-up with Reagan. Jess shares the same concern, and reassures herself that she had written down her confession on flash cards.
While at Nick's book reading, Jess sits in the crowd, unnoticed. After reading a passage from his book that involves the character Jessica Knight, a fan asks when Pepperwood and Jessica will get together.
Nick responds by saying that Pepperwood and Jessica Knight will never get together, and that the characters are based off of real people and that "real people are just fundamentaly different," and that "they don't work together." Upset by this, Jessica runs out of the crowd and Nick notices her leaving. Nick continues saying that Pepperwood blew his chances with Jessica Knight, and that sometimes you don't "get another chance."
After the book reading, Nick calls Jess and asks if she was just at his reading and if she's in L.A. Jess denies this while standing outside of the bookstore. Nick then announces that he and Reagan broke up, to which Jess creates a lie to hang up the phone.
Jess goes to Cece and Schmidt's home to avoid Nick. Schmidt reassures Jess that Nick was only discussing the fictional characters in his book, to which Jess dismisses and reaffirms that he was talking about their relationship, and that he doesn't feel the same as she does. Nick knocks on Schmidt's door unexpectedly, causing Jess to hide in the kitchen.
Nick begins talking about his book being published, saying that he had tried to talk to Jess, but she had hung up the phone earlier and wasn't answering any of his calls.
Jess tells Schmidt that he needs to go with Nick to his publisher while she packs her stuff. Both Schmidt and Cece express shock at this, to which Jess continues by saying that she can't continue living with him considering she had just army crawled around their house to avoid him and she needs some space.
At Nick's publishing meeting the next morning, Schmidt asks why Nick thinks he is fine with his recent break-up with Reagan. Nick brushes off the question, and expresses concern about why Jess had not called him back. Schmidt asks Nick why he hadn't wanted Jess to move into the loft originally. Nick responds that he was simply freaked out by sanitary napkins, while Schmidt repeats the question. Nick stutters at this, claiming that he was afraid. Schmidt then tells Nick that Nick has been in love with Jess from the first moment he had opened the door and laid eyes on her. He continues, saying that he had never seen Nick look at anyone else the way he had looked at Jess in his life, except for him on a few occasions. Nick responds that he has never looked at Schmidt the same way he has looked at Jess.
He tells Schmidt that he was wrong, and explains that the first time he had seen Jess was looking down at her entering the building from the window, where he gushes about how she had no glasses on and was bumping into stuff. Schmidt responds by telling Nick to listen to himself, and that Jess is currently in L.A. and packing her stuff to move out of the loft. Nick appears distraught at the thought of her moving out, to which Schmidt tells Nick to not be scared for once in his life.
During his meeting with a publisher, the publisher suggests killing off Jessica Knight and understands that Nick is "afraid to make changes." Nick says he won't be making those changes, passionately saying that Jessica Knight is the reason Pepperwood gets out of bed in the morning. Nick rushes out to tell Schmidt that he was right about him being in love with Jess, only for Schmidt not to be there.
Jess finishes packing her things to leave and is about to give Winston her keys back, to which he asks if she's really not going to confess her feelings to him. Jess replies that she knows she's being a coward by not confessing, and claims that this is how she has to move on and how she has to leave. Winston tells her to be brave, but Jess responds saying that she can't.
Jess is in the moving truck that begins driving away as soon as Nick rushes to enter the apartment building. Jess hears the song "Time of My Life," from her favourite break-up film, Dirty Dancing. This causes her to have an epiphany, saying that Winston was right and that she has to confess to Nick.
Nick enters Jess' room, realizing that she had moved out and gives a sigh of despair. Jess yells from outside, asking if anyone could help her in the building because she had given away her key. Nick looks down and calls out to her and says he's coming down. Jess makes her way in the building and rushes upstairs to meet Nick. Both push the elevator button from seperate floors, to which Nick makes his way in while Jess gives up and takes the stairs, tripping and dropping her note cards. She rushingly picks up her cards and runs into the apartment, looking for Nick. Nick calls from outside, asking where Jess had gone. Jess looks out the window, asking him why he was outside now, and the two tell each other to stay where they were.
Both rush to the elevator, about to give up and take the stairs, the elevator dings. Nick begins stepping on the elevator, telling a delivery man to hurry up, and that he had to "tell his best friend that (he was) in love with her." The delivery man moves out of the way, revealing a smiling Jess. She greets him saying "Hey Miller," as he steps on and the two smile at each other as the door closes.The elevator door opens on another floor, revealing the two in a passionate embrace as they kiss.
Season 7[]
Nick tries to propose to Jess, after waiting sixth months to do so.
Jess throws a memorial in honor of Ferguson, who had died the year before. Nick and Coach had been arguing, and Jess finds out that it was because Nick made an investment in a restaurant Coach was opening, and Coach owed him $71,000. Nick says he didn't tell her because he knew that one of the reasons they broke up before was because Nick was bad at managing his money, and that he didn't want to scare her off. Jess says that "they're in this together."
Nick starts admitting all of his secrets to Jess, feeling bad because he thought Jess had no secrets from him. Jess admits that she was the one who killed Ferguson a year before. Even though it turned out Ferguson actually died from a heart attack, Nick tells Jess that if she had killed him, he'd "help her bury the body."
Nick and Jess get a dog called Mario and finally get engaged.
Nick and Jess get married, in a hospital while Aly gave birth.
Trivia[]
- They’re classified as a supercouple along with Schmidt and Cece.[1]
- Zooey and Jake (Jess and Nick) have talked about their character's relationship and have boiled it down to this: Jess and Nick are two adults in a TV show about falling apart and building yourself back up. According to them, this relationship, complicated as it was, made them look too perfect. But, they also have made it clear that as funny as this may be, fans will always want any and all of their characters from every show to ultimately achieve happiness.
- At the PaleyFest 2013, the producers mentioned how they initially fought against the on-screen chemistry between Zooey and Jake by telling them not to make eye contact or physical contact during scenes in seasons 1 and 2.
- The kiss in Cooler was not originally in the script. At PaleyFest 2013, Zooey said that the scene was pitched after the table read. Elizabeth Meriwether stated that the kiss needed to happen in that episode or else it would seem like a relationship would never happen for Nick and Jess.
- Nick was acting like Jess's boyfriend without actually dating her in Fluffer, and Jess acted like his girlfriend without actually dating him in Socalyalcon VI.
- Jess walks down the aisle at their wedding to 'A Groovy Kind of Love' by Phil Collins, which plays at the end of Wedding (1x3).