Nick's Love-Life Crisis
Nick sat at home, surfing through channels on his television. He sighed and leaned backwards into his feathery sofa, remote in hand. First was a rerun of basketball, and then a rerun of Forensic Files, and then…what else? More reruns. There were always reruns on later at night.
"Seen it…Seen it…Seen it…" he mumbled as he flicked through more channels. Suddenly, the remote landed on the soap opera channel. Nick hovered there for a minute, gazing only half-heartedly at the couple on the television screen, who were crying, then shouting, then crying some more, and finally kissing.
Instantly Nick changed the channel again to the sports channel showing last years wrestling tournament. He sighed again. Curse love…It brought nothing but loneliness.
Where was Warrick at times like these? Times where Nick had nothing to do but watch reruns on the sports channel and stupid soap operas? With Catherine, that's where. Well he wasn't mad at him for finding a temporary soul mate. Not even the fact that it was Catherine spurred much emotion in him.
Well he could always call Greg, right? Wrong. Ever since Greg and Sara's little "shower fling" They've been going out on double dates—with Warrick and Catherine, of course. That only made it two times worse.
Therefore, after discovering that Greg too had deserted him for a woman...in fact another co-worker, Nick turned to somebody he may be able to talk to, Grissom. However, when he got to the bug man's office, it was quite empty.
Nothing but a note stating that Grissom had gone 'Out to Dinner', remained. That was all hunky-dory until later Nick and his colleagues discovered he was out to dinner with somebody. That somebody being Sofia Curtis. It turned out it had been that way for longer than even Sara and Greg had existed as a couple.
Nick turned the television off with a beep, another forlorn sigh escaping his mouth. Maybe he should just call his mother, long distance, but who really cared? He was all alone, with no date, unlike everybody else seemed to be. Except for Hodges, but nobody cared about Hodges.
He picked up his phone from the end table and dialed the long-distance number over to Texas.
"Hello?" came the soft, comforting, southern drawlof an old woman.
"Hey Momma." Nick mumbled.
"What's wrong baby? Work got you down? Now, I've gone and told you before. You don't need to go and worry about your career. That…Eckels was it?"
"Ecklie Momma, but—"
"Right, you don't need to go and get yourself all worked up about all you're friends splitting up. It just ain't worth it."
"Momma—"
"Now go make yourself a nice cup of tea. Sit down in front of the—"
"Momma!" Nick cried into the telephone.
"Nicholas Matthew Stokes, don't you ever raise your voice to me again, you hear? Or I just may have to stomp on up to Nevada myself to give you a stern talking to!"
"Sorry Momma but…but…"
"What is it sugar-lumpkin?"
"I'm alone Momma!"
There was silence on the other end.
"Warrick and Greg all have dates…with my colleagues…and—"
"I knew it had something to do with that Warwick."
"Warrick, Momma—"
"Whatever. I knew it had something to do with him. I knew he was nothing but trouble when you told me he liked to gamble. What'd he do, meet her in a casino?"
"Momma…"
"And then he's wooing her in with all the money he's making off the casinos and—"
"Momma, really, it has nothing to do with Warrick."
More silence followed.
"Well what about that George? You said he was a newbie. I bet he thinks he's invincible now that he's gotten into the field!"
"Momma, it's Greg, and he hasn't done anything."
"Well what are their new companions' names?"
"Sara and Catherine."
"Who has who?"
"Greg and Sara are an item and that leaves Warrick and Cat."
"Did you just call her Cat?"
"Yeah…So?"
"Do you like that woman dear? Because if you do I understand fully! I had this humongous crush on a boy back in my day, but he was already in love with some other woman. Is it the same way with you and Caroline pumpkin? Is that it?"
"No, Momma. It's not anything to do with who I like. It's the fact that I don't like."
"Oh."
"Right."
"So this is all a matter of you don't like anybody?"
"Exactly."
"So you're upset that your friends are dating your rivals? Because that happened to me once."
"Ri—No! No Momma! Sara and Cat are great friends it's just…I'm lonely…"
More silence.
"Momma?"
Still no sound.
"Momma? Hello?"
"You called her Cat again."
"No, Momma! It's just a nickname!"
"Of course it is apple-pie, of course it is."
"I just…I want to have a love life."
"Talk to Gerard."
"Who?"
"You know, you're boss!"
"Momma, it's Grissom, and he's not my boss anymore! Cat…therine is."
"I don't care about his name! Talk to him! You said he had no life, right?"
"That's the thing, Momma, I tried. But there's a problem."
"What is it dear?"
"He's kind of…not single anymore."
"Oh…"
Again, there was no sound on either end of the line.
"With who?"
"Sofia."
"Who?" she questioned incredulously.
"Sofia, the new girl on the night shift."
"Oh…"
"So I was kind of hoping you could help."
"Alright…Now what I want you to do is to scroll through all your channels on the television."
"Momma."
"What is it sugar?"
"I did that already."
"Oh…Well, grab a thick slab of dark chocolate, a fluffy blanket, and watch soap operas until you fall asleep. That should make you feel better."
"Momma, I think I'd better talk to Dad."
"Oh, but pumpkin, it always worked for me!"
"I'm not a woman Momma."
"Oh, yeah, that's right, isn't it? Well, I suppose I'll give the phone over to your father then."
"Thanks Momma."
Some rustlings on the other end of the line signaled that the phone was being passed.
"Howdy son!"
"Hey Dad."
"I hear from your Momma you're having woman problems."
"Yeah."
"And you need help from dear old dad?"
"Yeah."
"What'dya need?"
"I'm just…lonely Dad. I need you to help. What'd you do when you were upset involving women?"
"Well…normally…I'd hit something. Normally a tree, or a fence, or something that would really hurt after I punched it."
"I can't really go outside now Dad, it's dark and hurting myself by punching something probably wouldn't help."
"You ain't a real man until you do something stupid like that."
"I went parasailing, if that counts."
"Did you get hurt doin' it?"
"No."
"Then it don't count."
"Oh…"
"Buck up there Nicholas! It's just a girl. Who do you have your heart set on? Who's making you so sick?"
"Nobody, that's the problem,"
"Well, what I always did was run through my options first."
"Your options?"
"Yeah, pick out a few women on the street, evaluate them, and then pick your best bet!"
"Dad…I don't think women at the lab want me checking them out."
"Narrow down your options then. Take it down to three or four."
"I've already got three…"
"Well then get a gettin'! Go evaluate!"
"Wait, uh, Dad, before you hang up, what did you do after slicing up your fists on fences and trees?"
"Huh? Oh, I always took some painkillers. That always made me happy. Try those while you evaluate, I'm sure they'll help."
"Uhh…I'll pass, thanks Dad."
"No problem son. Glad you feel you can still talk to me about this stuff."
"See ya,"
"See ya,"
They both hung up abruptly. Nick set the phone back on its stand and sighed. That hadn't been very helpful. He hadn't really expected it to be, but still. He stared ahead at the blank television screen. Run through his options…The only three options he could think of were Sara, Catherine, and Sofia. How hard would it be to convince any of them that he was better than what they already had?
He gazed down at his bulging, muscular arm, and instantly a memory took him. The memory of Catherine adoring it and insisting he flex it. Maybe she was his best bet. Sure, Warrick would get very angry, but it was worth it.
He picked up the phone again and dialed her home number.
It rang once…
Should he say something about her eyes?
Twice…
What about her hair? Or that the suit she wore to work on Monday had been especially flattering?
Three times before—
"Hello? Willows."
"Hey there Catherine!" Nick exclaimed in a falsely bright voice, clearing his throat shortly afterward.
"Hey…Nicky? What are you calling for?"
Her voice was music to his ears, so melodic, so beautiful.
"You sound nice. I mean—well—I mean…Hi."
"Hi…" Her voice took on an extremely confused tone.
"You looked nice at work today. I mean, you look nice everyday…but…I like your hair."
"Nicky…What's going on? Are you feeling all right? Do I need to come up there to check on you?"
"No, no I'm fine I just…What do you see in Warrick?"
The other end was silent before Catherine spoke.
"Everything."
Nick jutted his jaw, then responded quietly.
"What don't you see in me?"
"Nicky…I see everything in you too, just, not that sort of everything. You're a best friend to me. Nothing more. I just couldn't imagine being…with you…that way, especially since right now I'm giddy over somebody completely not you. It's hard to juggle everything right now, all right? Lindsey, social life, work, and if you like me now, well…That'll only make things worse. We're close friends Nicky. Nothing more."
Nick sighed again and slouched where he sat.
"I'm sorry Nicky."
"No problems. I'll see you Monday."
"Yep…"
They hung up, Nick tossing the phone aside onto the couch.
"Well that was a bust," he muttered to himself.
'Run through your options. Pick your best bet.'
That's it. All Nick needed to do was go with his next best bet. Sofia? He barely even knew Sofia so she was out of the question for now unless he was desperate.
He leaned over and picked his phone up, dialing quickly a memorized string of numbers. Sara would be perfect, after all, when she first arrived at the lab she did flirt with him all the time. Plus it was Greg they were talking about here. What could she possibly see in Greg that Nick didn't have, have more of even?
"Hello? This is Sara."
"Hey Sara. It's Nick!"
"Oh, hey Nick. What'dya need?"
"Where are you?"
"At a café with Greg."
"Oh." Nick's heart sunk. It was going to be especially difficult to talk to her if Greg was right there with her, even more so on a date. "Hey, uh, is Greg there right now?"
"No, I'm in the women's bathroom."
"You're not using it, are you?"
"No!" she exclaimed, laughter in her voice.
"Hey…uh…Sara,"
"Yeah?"
"Are you busy later?"
"Nick…Greg and I are eating dinner. We're going straight to work after this."
"Oh…Sorry, forgot we work at different times. Uhh…when are you not busy?"
"Why?" she questioned slyly.
"Well I-I-I…uh…"
"Nicky…" she muttered sternly. " Are you asking what I think you're asking?"
"Well…"
"You know what my answer is, don't you?"
Nick heaved a heavy sigh.
"I guess it was kind of hopeless. But what is it about Greg anyway?"
There was a pause on the opposite end of line.
"Well at the moment…he's kind and witty…very witty…and we both need somebody right now. I'm not feeling to well…emotionally…and neither is he. We're using each other for support. This whole 'out in the field thing' is really getting to him."
"So you have to date him? I mean…come on!"
"Nick, even if I was single, I still wouldn't get serious with you. You're a brother to me Nick. Not a possible boyfriend. Yeah, sure in the beginning I liked you, mostly 'cause you are good-looking, but after a while I just…a different bond developed. I'm sorry."
Nick was quiet.
"Nick?"
"Yeah?"
"Just wanted to make sure you hadn't killed yourself or something."
"It's all right. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Later."
Again, Nick hung up and tossed the phone aside. There was only one option left… He again took the phone from the sofa and dialed one final, faulty number.
"Hello,"
Nick breathed an anxious sigh,
"You've reached Sofia Curtis. I'm sorry, but I can't come to the phone right now. Leave your name and a message and I'll try and get back to you as soon as I can."
Nick hung up, breathing almost what was a sigh of relief that Sofia hadn't answered. So they were all uninterested. Great. Disheartened, Nick set the phone on its stand and walked off to the bathroom. He changed quickly into a white, cotton, t-shirt and boxers, brushed his teeth, wiped down his face, and combed through his hair. Right before he exited the room, he noticed a small bottle of painkillers in his medicine cabinet. He picked it up, his father's words streaming back to him as he looked at the label. With a shrug, he took two pills, later walked into his bedroom and flopped onto the bed.
He snuggled under the thick down covers and closed his eyes. But images of all three woman's faces sprung into his mind. First Catherine, "You're a best friend," then Sara "You're a brother to me," and finally Sofia. "Hello, I'm busy at the moment," He rolled onto his side, eyes still closed tightly. After hours of no peace, Nick finally drifted off.
3 Hours Later
"Mia!" Nick shouted, sitting upright in bed. Why hadn't he thought of it before? She was single, she was attractive, and he had met her before! Why hadn't he thought of her? How could he be so stupid to go after the dating ones when there was one perfectly available right there?
He stumbled out of bed, reaching around blindly for the light switch.
"Ow!" he exclaimed as his head made forceful contact with the end table by his bedside. Thankfully, he managed his way to the lamp switch. He squinted against he sudden bright light, stood up, and walked over towards his closet door where his tan leather jacket was hanging.
He reached inside one of the pockets and pulled out his cell-phone, dialing Mia's cell quickly. She'd be working right now hopefully. He laughed slightly as the ringing stopped after only two rings.
"Hello?" came Mia's slightly confused voice.
"Mia!" Nick cried.
"Nick?"
"Mia!" Nick repeated.
"What?"
"I love you!"
A stunned silence followed.
"Mia…?" Nick questioned uneasily.
"You called me at 3:00 in the morning to tell me that? When you're supposed to be sleeping?"
"Yeah!"
Mia was quiet again, then mumbled, "Why?"
"Because I do!" Nick replied.
"Okay…"
"So uh…when are you available?" Nick questioned eagerly.
"I'm not."
"Oh come on, I'll stay up for 24 hours if I have to!"
"No, I'm not available."
"Wh-What? Of course you are! How could you not be?" Nick furrowed his brow in concentration. How could she not be available? He'd make time for her.
"Nick…"
"What?"
"I'm already…with somebody."
"Who?" Nick demanded. How could she be with somebody?
"Hodges..." she mumbled quietly. Then the tone signaled the end of the call.
Nick stared at the phone he held limply in his right hand, then cried a long, dramatic, heartbroken "Nooooooooooooooooo!"
THE END