They first met on Pilot, then they first kiss on Cooler and after that they start to feel something for each other. In Elaine's Big Day start a relationship.
Season 1
Pilot
In the first episode, 'Pilot ', Jess moves in with Nick, Schmidt and Coach . 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 singing, however at a party he takes her advice on board and asks Caroline - Nick's ex-girlfriend - why she dumped him. He later rushes to a restaurant where Jess is getting stood up and pretends to be one of her boyfriends along with Schmidt and Coach. He sings 'Time of My Life' to her.
Wedding
Jess fake kisses Nick
Jess pretends to be Nick's girlfriend in 'Wedding '. They make Caroline jealous, and she later flirts with Nick. Nick is upset when he finds out Caroline has a boyfriend, and hides out in a photobooth until Jess convinces him to leave. Jess and Nick then do the chicken dance to 'A Groovy Kind of Love.'
Naked
Jess see Nick naked
In the episode nude
Jess accidentally walked in on Nick when he was naked and dancing to Jamaican music - she saw his penis, laughed and hurried out of the room. She is convinced that to make things even she has to let Nick see her naked, and so goes into his room only wearing a towel, unaware that he has brought a girl over. Later, he admits that he saw 'everything'.
Cece Crashes
Ness washing teeth
In 'Cece Crashes ', Cece tells Jess that she thinks Nick is really into her and that he gets her. Jess freaks out when Nick's feet point at her as Cece told her a guy's feet point at what they want. He later buys her a rose and she runs away. That night they see each other in the bathroom as they are brushing their teeth, Jess apologises about acting weird, and neither of them notice that their feet were pointing at each other.
Thanksgiving
Nick doesn't get on with Paul , the guy Jess is trying to impress in 'Thanksgiving ', and this prompts him to wonder if something was going on between Jess and Nick. In 'The Landlord' Nick got very protective of Jess when the landlord came over to fix things in the apartment, thinking he wanted to sleep with her. They almost took part in a threesome with the landlord.
Injured
Jess falls on Nick
Nick discovers he may have cancer in 'Injured '. Jess is very upset however tries to make him feel better by taking him to the beach where he tries to skinny dip. He then reveals that he is 'not ok' about finding out if he has cancer tomorrow.
Ness at the Doctor
Jess talks to him and he tells her that he likes her a lot and is glad she's around. The group spend the night on the beach, and take Nick to his test. After it's revealed he does not have cancer, Nick and Jess smile at each other in the car.
Tomatoes
In 'Tomatoes ' Jess breaks up with her boyfriend, Russell , claiming that she wants passion (which they don't have) - 'even if it's harder and hurts more.' She comes home to see that Caroline is there, and she and Nick have a fight, and at one point Jess appears to sense some sort of 'passion'.
See Ya
Ness in See Ya
Nick plans to move out of the loft in 'See Ya ', and Jess is the most upset by this. Later in the desert after Nick freaks out, Jess tells him she wants him to be happy, even if that means him moving in with Caroline, and that she'll be fine because she met him. Nick then goes home to Caroline the next day, however that night, Jess sees the moving van from her window, open's her door and sees Nick standing in the loft. They smile at each other and Jess is glad he didn't move out.
Season 2
Re-Launch
In 'Re-Launch ' Jess loses her job. When Nick finds out he is the first to move to comfort her. She gets a one-time job as a shot-girl at Schmidt's re-launch party, and tells Nick to stop feeling sorry for her and to be mean to her. Nick helps her find the confidence to be a shot-girl, however Jess is upset about the fact that she is now just a shot-girl, claiming she's a teacher. Nick finds her sitting on a car at the school and comforts her, putting his arm around her and making her laugh.
Katie
In 'Katie ' Jess goes 'off the grid'. She hangs out at Nick's bar and is interested in one of the delivery men she meets. She asks Nick to give him her number. Later, an attractive man comes up to her and asks if she's Katie. Jess lies and says she is. She later sleeps with the man. Meanwhile, Nick meets what he's told is a future version of himself. The next day, Nick goes along with Jess' Katie charade and pretends to be a dancer.
After Sam leaves, Jess gets a text from the delivery man she'd seen the day before. She 'sexts' him for a long time, and he comes over to make dinner for her. However, it isn't the guy she thought it was. It then turns out Nick gave Jess' number to the wrong. Nick abandons the guy, 'Bearclaw' and goes to the bar to meet Sam. On her way Nick calls out 'Jess or Katie?' and Jess yells 'Not now.' Future Nick seriously tells him to apologise to her, and to make her an Old Fashion. Nick is confused. Later at the loft he makes her an Old Fashion, and when she asks why he tells her that in the future he might do something terrible to her and he hopes that she'll forgive him. She tells him that she will.
Fluffer
Jess begins a casual relationship with a guy named Sam , however finds it hard to separate her feelings from casual sex. Nick takes her on a 'date' in 'Fluffer ' to make her feel as if she's having a date before sleeping with a guy. He is wowed by her attire. She then begins to rely on him for all her boyfriend-type needs, and Winston tells Nick that he's her 'emotional fluffer'.
Nick and Jess fight, and when he says he's her 'boyfriend without the rewards', Jess asks if he wants the 'rewards', and admits that she's thought about having 'the rewards' with him. Winston then tells him that if he builds her a dresser as she wants him to, it implies that he will eventually share it with her. Nick later builds the dresser anyway. Jess apologises for making him do all that, and Nick then admits that he thought about 'the rewards' too, and that he feels they are two people who try to be friends but are sometimes attracted to each other.
Models
Jess and Cece have a 'boob-fight' in 'Models ', and when she relates the story to Nick he tells her that he finds that arousing.
Halloween
In 'Halloween ' Nick finds out that Jess wants to be in a relationship with Sam, but later discovers that Sam is seeing others girls. 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 tells her that she deserves to be with a guy who's crazy about her. Jess then punches him in the face to get her revenge.
Menzies
Jess and Nick bond over water aerobics in 'Menzies ', and he is the one who gives her the push she needs to get a job.
Santa
In 'Santa ' Jess sees Sam again, who tells her that he wants her back. She's unwilling to believe that he means it, however when she talks to Nick about the situation he tells he that he thinks she's the kind of girl a guy would come back for.
Cooler
In the episode 'Cooler ', 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.
Ness First 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 trenchcoat 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.
Table 34
'Table 34 ' begins with Nick and Jess 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 fairytale 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', however then someone walks through the door.
TinFinity
In '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 in 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 trys 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 'roomfriends'. 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 golddigger. She tells him 'if I were a golddigger, do you really think I'd be interested in you? I'd be the worst golddigger 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 golddigger. Nick says, 'then prove it.' They look at each other, and Jess, knowing what he meant, tentatively kisses him. After a moment the pair begin 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 clear the table, picking up a hammer in the process, and whilst yelling at an undressing Jess accidently smashes an aqaurium 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
In 'Chicago ' Nick gets a call, and a few moments later tells the loftmates 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. The 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 his 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 like 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 ask 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 are 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 bacherlorette 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 visibily 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 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, in 'Winston's Birthday ', 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 into 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 initiallly 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
In '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 to 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.
Nick and Jess drive away
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
All In
Nick and Jess in Mexico
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 driving away
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 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 break in the principal 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 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.
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.
The Captain
The Box
Keaton
Coach
Thanksgiving III
Basketsball
Birthday
Prince
Exes
Sister
Sister II
Sister III
Mars Landing
NIck and Jess realise that the only thing they have in common is love, and they admit to each other that they miss being friends, so they break up.
Big News
Cruise
Nick and Jess go on a cruise with their friends on a special romance package. Nick attempts to kiss Jess, but she says no, making the situation awkward. They decide that they won't spend any more time on the cruise together. Schmidt, Coach, Cece and Winston pretend to make an announcement over the boat as the captain to get Nick and Jess together. They talk it out, and get locked in a room together for three days with all their friends. They remain friends and broken up.