He paced outside the bedroom door waiting for her to emerge. It had been an hour already and they had reservations downtown to get to.
"Babe," he said gently tapping on the door "are you ready?"
The bedroom door opened and she peered out from behind it with a sad look.
"I've changed my mind," she announced "I'm not going."
"What?" he asked stunned "why?"
"Because," she began unsure of a reason why "I've decided not to go, you should go instead, it'll be more fun without me."
And now he knew she was feeling insecure about the guests who would be in attendance at dinner.
"Oh come on," he said leaning on the wall while still talking to her through the door "it won't be fun without you."
"You're just saying that," she challenged him.
"No I mean it I swear," He promised "please talk to me, what's really bothering you?"
She hesitated, and then opened the door to let him in. She was dressed up nice in her favorite black dress and high heels but wore an expression of nervousness.
"What if-" she began, twisting her hands together nervously "what if they don't like me?"
He sat down beside her, took her hands in his and said firmly "They will love you, I know it."
He made sure to emphasize love so she would understand. She pierced him with a worried stare but felt slightly reassured that tonight would run smoothly and without incident.
They made it to the restaurant on time and were hovering outside of it in the lobby area waiting for the rest of their party. Nick spotted someone first and pointed at them. She felt her heart plummet into her stomach in fear but settled when she saw it was Morgan and Greg.
"Hey guys," Greg said tipping his hat towards them"looking good Finn."
"Thanks," she said giving him a meek smile.
"What's wrong?" Morgan asked sensing her friend's nervousness.
"Nothing," Julie tried to hide her fear, avoiding Morgan's gaze and twisting her hands together again.
"She's a little nervous about meeting everyone tonight," Nick explained quietly, keeping his arm around her.
"Don't worry," Morgan said waving her hand, her bracelets clanging noisily together "I was nervous too, it's not so bad, they are really nice and they'll love you."
Again, despite her friends and Nick's reassurance, Julie still felt that tug of uneasiness in her stomach. She kept scanning the crowd of patrons for any signs of the rest of their group. When she spotted Sara at last, then Russell and former LVPD Detective Lou Vartann, her heart started to race again.
"There they are," Greg said pointing and the four of them started walking to meet up with the remainder of their party.
Hugs were exchanged immediately. Loud cries of "Hi" echoed around her and "how are you's?" and "long time no see." All Julie could do was hover close by but felt slightly out of place amongst this reunion. She knew by the smile on Sara's face that the man standing beside her had to be Grissom. And the woman Morgan had hugged was Catherine, escorted by Detective Vartann whom Julie knew and worked with before but had left LVPD to be with Catherine near Quantico less than a year after she left Vegas. She had heard so much about both former lab supervisors over the years, about their work, their style, their dedication. She knew how important Grissom was to Nick but she never imagined meeting him and Catherine so soon.
Lost in thoughts, she didn't feel Nick reach for her hand and gently guide her forward to be in the circle with them.
"Sara, Morgan, Greg, Russell and Lou already know," Nick said "but Cath, Griss, this is Julie Finlay, my girlfriend and the worlds best blood spatter expert."
Julie waved but her delayed "Hi" came out sounding higher pitched than she intended it to be.
"It's so nice to finally meet you both," she quickly recovered, reaching out to shake hands with Catherine who beamed when she said "Nicky's been talking about you for a while."
"The chainsaw girl," Grissom called her when they shook hands "I remember Sara telling me that story."
Julie felt slightly embarrassed by the story but happy that Sara had found it entertaining enough to tell Grissom all those years ago.
"Yep that's me," Julie said grinning and feeling less awkward now.
"Shall we?" Russell said motioning to the door of the restaurant where their table and food was waiting.
Once seated, the conversation barely stopped. Morgan, Sara, Julie and Catherine chatted about their outfits. Nick, Greg, Russell, Grissom and Lou talked about sports, politics and Greg's latest book about old Vegas. When the topic turned to old cases, Julie was the center of attention.
"Tell Jules about the Jackpot case Gil" Sara insisted
"No first tell her about the guy in the raccoon suit," Catherine interjected.
"Hey what about that Sherlock Holmes guy?" Greg added.
She was bombarded with stories of old cases, crazy evidence, suspects stuck in cement, clowns killing each other, the guy with the green blood. The cases and evidence didn't surprise her, it was the tone in which everyone boasted about their work, the things they had seen, the people they had helped. Every single person at this table was proud of what they did and it showed in their joyful expressions.
"Tell them about that case we had," Nick asked Julie now "the great dumpster dive, 2012."
Julie smiled as she launched into the explanation of the case and how she first started to fall for Nick while they worked that case. Catherine, Sara and Morgan gushed over the story and Julie smiled more.
After their meal, they moved to the dance floor to let loose and have fun. While Julie danced with Greg and Morgan and Sara in a big circle, Catherine caught up with Nick while swaying to a slower song.
"So, you and Jules," Catherine said grinning smugly.
"She's something else," Nick said proudly "she's been through a lot but still manages to smile everyday and just live her life to the fullest you know?"
"Russell was pretty upset when she got hurt," Catherine said "he was the first to call me after you did, he didn't know what he was going to do if she didn't make it."
"Yeah she fought hard," Nick praised Julie "but that's just how she is."
They both stopped to watch Julie spin around the dance floor, her hair bouncing as she moved, her laughter echoing over the music.
"I love her Cath," Nick finally concluded.
"That's wonderful Nicky," Catherine said happily "she's perfect for you; I knew from the minute you told me about her."
Dancing, one of the only times Julie truly felt like herself. After a few songs, she went back to the table to get something to drink and Grissom was still there watching Sara dance with Morgan and Greg.
"Looks like fun," he said to her.
"It is," Julie said "you should join us."
"I wish I could," Grissom said "but my knees just don't move they way they used to."
"I'm sorry," Julie said forgetting about the age difference between him and Sara.
"So you like Vegas?" he asked her now.
"I love it," Julie insisted proudly "I love this team so much, they are the only family I've had in years, and Nicky, he's so sweet, he's so good to me, ever since my coma-
But she realized she had been talking too fast and for too long so she fell silent.
"Sara told me about that," Grissom said "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."
Julie shrugged and said "It happened, it's over."
"Not many people could survive something like that and be so, happy." Grissom praised her "You've done well, that's something to celebrate."
"Yeah," Julie said never really thinking about her survival that way "yeah it is."
She smiled as Grissom offered to toast with her, their glasses clinking together, her heart rejoicing as she finally felt like part of the gang.