Author's Note: After watching episode 5.04: "If Looks Could Kill," there was no way I couldn't write a fic! I hope you all like it!

Thankful
Chapter One

It was nearing seven o'clock in the evening and the hot Miami sun was finally beginning to set, signaling the end of the workday for the Miami-Dade CSIs. After this particular day's events—two models dead, one killed over the job and the other greed, both owners of the modeling agency killing each other, a GSW to one and the other poisoned, as a helpless Eric and Calleigh had to watch die--they all seemed eager to get home for the night… all but one, who wasn't sure what she wanted to do, or what she should do, next.

Natalia Boa Vista sat alone in the locker room on the bench running vertical along the middle of the aisle, her face buried in her hands. Unlike the other CSIs, today's case wasn't what had Natalia so stressed. In fact, compared to her own personal problems that had emerged today, the case was relaxing. Anything was relaxing, compared to Nick being back in her life.

Nick. Natalia's hands fell away from her face and she straightened up, taking in a big breath of air. She did her best to let it out slowly, but she was so tense and anxious after everything that had happened today that it came out in quick, choppy bursts. She then slouched back over, resting her forearms on her thighs, as her deep brown eyes became fixated on a piece of fuzz resting on the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw three of her coworkers—Calleigh, Eric, and Ryan—enter the room, laughing about something. This didn't last long, though; their laughter died quickly when they caught sight of Natalia. The three split, Ryan and Eric going down a separate aisle quietly, as Calleigh made her way to Natalia.

"Hey," she said, smiling down at her friend, who looked like she could use a smile, if not a hug. She abandoned her locker for a minute or two to sit down on the bench, keeping her eyes on the troubled woman.

Even if she tried, Natalia couldn't muster a smile. She couldn't even find the strength to look at Calleigh. "Hey," she responded, her eyes still fixed on the fuzz.

There was moment of silence between the two women as Calleigh wondered what she could possibly say to Natalia. She didn't want to just collect her things and leave… It was obvious that Natalia needed someone right about now. She knew that Eric had been pretty supportive of her for most of the day, but she also wanted Natalia to know that she was here for her, too.

"How ya feelin'?" Calleigh finally settled on.

Natalia shook her head. "No better than before. Probably worse," she admitted. Now that she'd have to see Nick every time he was on cleanup duty for a crime scene she worked, how could she not feel worse? "He landed a job with Crime Scene Cleanup."

Calleigh frowned when Natalia shared this news with her. It wasn't new to her, though; Horatio had mentioned this to all the CSIs, wanting to give them a heads up so they could lookout for not only Natalia, but for themselves as well. They didn't know much about Nick, but Natalia said that he's capable of anything… and who knows what she had to endure before finally finding the courage to get away from him.

This time, Calleigh was at a loss for words. She had never dealt with anything like this before, so she had no idea how to handle it. Luckily, Natalia continued, giving Calleigh a reprieve for the moment.

"I don't know if I can continue, Calleigh…" Natalia finally lifted her head and turned to Calleigh, her brown eyes filled with fear. "Maybe I should just stick with staying in the lab… Going back to DNA…"

Calleigh didn't like this idea. Just because Nick was back in her life didn't mean that Natalia should have to run from him. "No way," she said, shaking her head. "You worked way too hard to become a CSI to give it up now, Natalia."

Natalia opened her mouth to say more, but Ryan Wolfe beat her to it. "Good night, Calleigh," he called. Both women looked down the aisle to see him standing at the door.

"Good night, Ryan."

"Good night, Natalia."

…What? Ryan Wolfe, actually being civil to her? "Good night, Ryan," she responded, her voice soft, yet loud enough for him to hear. She watched as he exited the locker room, then turned back to Calleigh. There was only one logical explanation for him to not be ignoring her or shooting her a dirty look. "He knows, too?"

Calleigh confirmed this with a nod of her head. "We all do," she admitted.

"Great," Natalia said, defeated. The last thing she wanted to happen was for her colleagues to get pulled into this. They already knew about it, and she supposed it was only a matter of time now before Nick started harassing them, too. He had already started on Eric.

Speaking of Eric… He wasn't too far behind Ryan. Instead of simply wishing them a good night and leaving though, he headed down the aisle towards the two women. "Hey," he said to both of them.

Natalia and Calleigh both greeted him, the latter a bit more cheerful than the other. Calleigh and Eric exchanged worried glances for a moment as Natalia's head lowered again and she searched the floor for the fuzz, which had mysteriously disappeared.

"So what are you going to do?" Eric asked, pulling Natalia's attention away from trying to find that damned fuzz.

Looking back up at Eric, she shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I don't know…" Her voice trailed off for a moment as she thought about telling her friends how she truly felt. She sighed, and then continued. "I'm afraid to go home. He knows where I work; what if he knows where I live?" This was killing her… she hated letting others know she was weak, but she felt that she needed to tell the truth. If there was just one time in her life where she needed to let others in, it was now. "I'm afraid to even leave this room," she admitted, letting out a small, yet nervous laugh.

Calleigh frowned. "I'd invite you to spend the night at my home, but I'm renovating it. Everything's torn up, and I'm lucky if I could successfully make my way through it."

Even though she probably would have declined the offer, Natalia was about to thank her anyway, but Eric quickly piped up. "How about you spend the night at my house?" he suggested.

Natalia looked up at Eric, her eyes connecting with his, and she knew he was serious, that he wanted her to stay overnight. His eyes were filled with concern for her, but as much as she appreciated this, she couldn't. "Eric…" she started, then shook her head. "I couldn't… What if he's still following me? I can't risk—" Eric cut her off.

"—I'm already involved, Natalia, and I'm not going anywhere." He never broke eye contact with her.

Calleigh watched this exchange, and then brought her hand up to rub Natalia's back lightly, letting her friend know that she wasn't giving up, either.

A silence fell over the three of them as Natalia considered Eric's proposition. After a minute or two, Natalia nodded her head. "Okay," she agreed, which brought relieved smiles to both Calleigh and Eric's faces.

"Great," Eric said happily. Then he paused for a brief moment, as if thinking about something. "Err… I may need some time to do a little cleaning, though." He was a single guy living alone, after all.

Calleigh smiled at Eric. "That's fine," she said. "Natalia and I can swing by her house to get some things. Maybe a change of clothes?" Her eyes darted from Eric's face, which held much approval, to Natalia's.

Natalia was unsure about this. She really didn't want to pull Calleigh into this, but her friend gave her the impression that she didn't care if she'd get caught up in Natalia's personal problems. It was at this that Natalia couldn't help but smile. From the beginning, Natalia couldn't help but admire Calleigh. The southern beauty was one hell of a strong woman; she was very inspirational to Natalia, something she didn't know.

"Alright," Natalia agreed again, nodding her head, and got the same reaction from her two friends again, the relieved smiles.

"Good," Eric said, then nodded towards the door. "I'm gonna get going… I'll see you two in an hour?"

Calleigh looked up at him and nodded. "Sounds good."

Eric smiled. "Okay… be careful, you two."

"Don't worry, we will." Calleigh responded to his smile with one of her own.

The two women watched Eric leave the locker room, turning to look back once more before he was out of sight. Calleigh then shifted her attention back to Natalia and offered her a kind smile. "How about we finish up in here so we can get going? Maybe we can take a detour and stop to splurge on something fat, fried, and greasy?" Then she got up and started on the combination to her locker.

As disgusting as that sounded, Natalia knew her beloved cheese fries fell into that category. And she'd never give up her cheese fries. "Sounds like a plan," she smiled as she stood up to gather a few things from her locker before leaving for the night.