Chapter 1: Cases and Nausea
Nikki sat alone at the coffee table, eating a box of saltine crackers. They were about the only thing she could keep down right now. The house was quiet, as it usually was on an early morning. For the past couple of months since she moved, she'd had these bouts of sickness. At first, she thought it was the flu. She didn't know what it was now.
She had gotten used to the peace and quiet of Aaron Hotchner's house. He was almost never around, it was like owning her own house. The suburb was nice, quiet. It had a peaceful nature about it. Hotch did happen to get a few days off without any cases a couple of weeks ago. That didn't last long, though.
He was a great friend, who had actually helped to find her. He didn't even tell Mac that he knew her. Why, she couldn't quite say. She knew he was upset about Haley leaving. He never stayed in the house long. He longed to see Jack, and Haley was allowing him to come and see him. Nikki knew why Haley had left, and she couldn't quite blame her, but she sympathized for Hotch as well.
She finally felt her stomach settling down a little while later. For that, she was grateful. She hoped that whatever it was would go away soon. She hated nausea, never mind the vomiting part. The vomiting was somewhat of a relief. At least the threatening of vomiting was gone, for a while.
Mac looked at the case file, or rather case files. Since Nikki left, he had been understaffed because Lindsay had decided to just stay home and take care of Rose. So, he only had Stella, Danny, Hawkes, and himself. The four of them were working fine, but then the cases started piling up. Stella had four other cases lined up, Danny had two others, Hawkes had two others, and he had three other cases.
Stella walked into his office then, and Mac looked up. " Hey, Mac", Stella greeted him.
" Hey, Stell", Mac replied, putting down his file.
" Oh, are those new cases? We really can't keep doing this, you know", Stella said.
" I know. I should add onto the team. I just can't find the time to do it. I apologize for making everyone work double shifts. It's just that, with every new case that comes in, we have to work longer to figure out the others first", Mac answered.
" Well, I have some good news. Danny is still writing his report, but as of now, there are two cases that are now solved", Stella smiled.
" Oh, really? And the suspects?", Mac asked.
" There were none. What we thought were suspected murders turned out to be just some allergic reaction and a heart attack. We looked over everything, four times. It was a natural death, for both the victims", Stella answered.
" Well, that's two cases gone, but that still leaves more on both your plates. More calls keep coming in", Mac stated.
" Well, that says a lot, what are we gonna do?", Stella asked.
" I'm gonna find a few more CSI's, that's what", Mac answered. Stella took that as a dismissal and left without a backward glance.
Flack knew something was wrong, it wasn't that hard to define, yet it was. Something was missing, he just couldn't quite pinpoint what the heck it was. If life was that hard to define, he'd never know what the hell to do. The uneasiness had surrounded him for the past couple of months.
If this was the definition of a horrible life, then he had it. Nikki had either done a very good job at avoiding him, or she had completely vanished into thin air. It was impossible, but the first option was what he was leaning toward.
Even Danny didn't know what had happened to her. Apparently, everything she had brought was gone, so he didn't know what had happened. Mac had been even more quiet these past few months, why, he wasn't sure. Mac had always been a man of few words, but this time just seemed too little of words.
Lindsay had finally decided to put the past in the past, although she couldn't exactly apologize to a woman who wasn't there. Flack knew this, and he knew that she felt awful. Her and Danny were better, although, Danny wished Nikki could see her niece. Lindsay had taken a year off to raise little Rose. She was a beautiful baby. It made Flack want to settle down.
Flack was glad to see Danny wearing a smile again. But, the one smile, the two eyes, that had haunted him for months weren't there. He had been working late to keep his mind off of Nikki, but her eyes haunted him everywhere he went. He remembered the night he made love to her. She was so very beautiful. She was willing, and she made him feel things he felt with no other woman.
Nikki could indeed melt his heart, and when she was around, which at the moment, she wasn't, she made him want to protect her with his life. And he would too. He just needed to prove it to her. If he could ever find her.
" Why the long face, Don?", Danny asked, making Flack look up at him.
" It's nothing", Flack reassured him, when Danny didn't look like he believed him, Flack continued, " I'm fine, Danny. Really, I am. It's just work."
" Really?", Danny said, " Because, I'm pretty sure work isn't that sad. You look like you were reminiscing on something. What was it?" Danny took a seat.
" It was nothing", Don frowned.
" Ok, I know there's something wrong. Or there's something you aren't telling me. Which is it?", Danny asked.
" It felt so right, holding her in my arms. It felt like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together. And, she let me", Don almost whispered. He was almost in a trance, and he looked dazed.
" Who?", Danny asked, curiously.
" Nikki", was all that Don said.
" Oh. Ok", Danny replied, carefully.
" She's so beautiful. She has eyes that can penetrate the soul. Feeling my lips on hers, felt right. It felt like we belonged there. I didn't want to let her go, not even after the song ended. My heart was pounding so heavily, and my blood was racing through my veins. She kept moving closer to me, and I could feel myself tremble. I trembled, just holding her while we danced. I don't know what love is, but she made me feel something I will never feel with anyone else", Don continued, still in a daze.
" Wow, Flack. I think you need to tell her this", Danny mumbled.
" How? She's not exactly around to tell anything to", Flack grumbled, upset, " I don't know where she is, but I miss her."
" You're getting soft, Flack", Danny joked.
" You think?", Don asked.
" Yeah. I do. But, I like the softer side", Danny continued, " It brings a new side into this crazy world we live in."
" So, my softer side is a good thing?", Don asked, skeptically.
Danny chuckled, " As long as you don't start going soft on the bad guys, I think it's perfectly healthy."
" Oh, trust me, Danny. I have no intention of going soft on them", Flack reassured him.
" That's good", Danny chuckled, " I'll let you get back to what you were doing, since you seemed to enjoy it." With that, Danny got up and left.
A frown replaced the smile that Flack had on his face. It did feel right. He knew that, so what the hell did Nikki feel about all this. He knew his feelings for her, but how did she feel for him? All he knew, was what she felt that night, and that was all he had to go on, for now.
Nikki walked back and forth on the floor. Her nausea had come back and it wasn't even in the morning, when it usually was. Not that it worried her too much. She had phoned her parents awhile ago. They had of course, asked if she was ok, and she told them she was fine. Which she was. She didn't mention the nausea because knowing her mom, she would find out where Nikki was, and make her eat soup.
She couldn't keep down soup. She could keep down crackers, saltines, but little else. She kept drinking water, and some juice, little coffee, to keep herself hydrated. The only thing she might die from is a given out heart.
Life just had to throw curveballs her way. It kept shoving them down her throat. Nikki was sick and tired of all of the nausea. As if life didn't suck enough already, they had to make her nauseas and tired. She was achy and all sorts of other things. Deep down, all she wanted was Don Flack. Those bright blue eyes, that sexy grin. Her heart pounded and did little flip-flops, but so did her stomach. And she ran to the bathroom.