Disclaimer: CSI not mine. Aww, me sad.

A/N: Hello everyone, welcome to another CSI fanfic by me, ICRep. I can't write fluff.

Nerwen: Yes, you can. You just have to try.

ICRep: No, I can't. I have to mangle someone, on the page or in real life. People have to DIE!

Tinuviel: No, they don't. You can write fluff! I know you can!

ICRep: This conversation will continue AFTER everyone has a chance to read the story. OK?

Nerwen and Tinuviel: Okay.

(End Authour's note… for now)

The lights were down low, and a few candles flickered on the table. A pair of figures moved together in a passionate kiss on the television, the music swelling to a crescendo, the sun setting in the background. There was a bottle of wine on the table, half-empty, two empty wine glasses, a steaming mug resting on a coaster, and a plate with crackers and dip.

Valerie picked up her mug and sipped at it gingerly. The green tea was still warm. She put the mug back down, leant back and sighed happily. "Well, I've had a lovely evening."

"Well, it's not over yet." Nick said, gingerly putting an arm around her shoulder. When Val didn't flinch or pull away, Nick pulled her a little closer.

"A regular Romeo, aren't you, Stokes?" Valerie teased.

Nick grinned. "Well, all the trouble you put me through to get your number, I figured I'd have to pull out all the stops to get you to come over."

Valerie laughed. "Oh yes, 'dinner and a movie at my place'." She poked Nick in the ribs. "Little did I know that the movie would be on HBO, and dinner would be wine and crackers, followed by pizza which is…" She checked her watch, "About half-an-hour late? Oh, how romantic. The night of my dreams."

They both laughed as the credits began to roll.

"But," Valerie giggled, "I'm not complaining." She smiled up at Nick, "Nope. Not one bit."

Their eyes locked. The movie seemed to fade into the background, and nothing else in Nick's apartment seemed to matter. The candles flickered, and one of them died. The entire room grew dimmer.

The doorbell rang.

DAMN! Nick pulled back. Val put her fingers on the side of his face.

"And you were so close too." She smiled coyly. "I'm guessing this is the only time you haven't wanted the pizza man to come."

Nick shrugged, and said wryly, "Took the words right out of my mouth."

Valerie slowly pulled herself out from under Nick's arm. "Well, I'm starving, so how about I get the pizza?"

"The pizza guy knows I live alone, Val."

Valerie smirked over her shoulder. "Then how 'bout I give him the shock of his life?"

Nick laughed, but rose to his feet. "Let me just get the cash."

Valerie smiled, and unlocked the door. "Think you should tip him extra tonight?"

Nick had his back to Valerie, picking the money up off the table. But he stopped when he heard the door open. Valerie hadn't said a word. There was no cheery greeting, no teasing remark, not even a giggle. Valerie had frozen.

Nick turned, too slowly. The gun went off, too loud, too sudden. Val always seemed like an angel, but now she was flying. A 9mm slug at close range sent her backwards, propelling her through the air. She fell in slow-motion… but the man in the doorway was already running. While Val was falling, the shooter was getting away.

"VAL!"

Her wide green eyes stared up at nothing, and a blood-red eye stared from the centre of her forehead. She was dead. A single shot had killed her instantly.

Nick sat up, fighting a scream. He was covered in cold sweat, and his ears still rang with the shot that had been fired. No, it hadn't been fired. It was just a dream. A nightmare. And his ears weren't ringing. It was his phone. He fumbled for it in the dark.

"Hello?"

Grissom's voice was crisp and perfunctory as usual. "Nick, sorry to wake you." He didn't sound sorry at all. "But there's a 418 we need you to investigate."

"Yeah," Nick said, forcing himself to breathe normally. "Yeah, I'm on my way."

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"Hey, Nick, are you alright?" Sara's voice was tinged with genuine concern. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Nick managed a weak smile. "Bad dream." He was gripping the handle of his kit so hard his knuckles were turning white.

"Alright," Grissom came over, unruffled by the crowd of people gathering outside the building, kept at bay by the police, "The Sheriff called us on this one." Grissom looked anything but pleased about this, and even less pleased when he added, "We have a deadline before the Feds come in and take over."

"Fibbies." Sara commented. "Yay."

"So what happened?" Nick asked.

Grissom all but grit his teeth. "A fashion show was going to be held here," He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. Caesar's Palace. "And one of the supermodels has gone missing."

Nick and Sara raised synchronised eyebrows.

"I know." Grissom sighed, "She could just have walked away. But, thanks to our Sheriff's orders, we treat this like a kidnapping. A high-profile kidnapping." He looked at both Sara and Nick. "Work hard, look busy, ignore the press."

"Sound advice," Sara smiled. "Though, not your usual."

Grissom shrugged. "Tonight's not the night for the usual."

Resume A/N:

ICRep: You're probably wondering how this happened. Well, we (Nerwen, Tinuviel and I) were having a CSI marathon. After declaring repetitively that I can't write fluff, the girls made me sit down and write something. So I did. Here's how it happened…

-late at night, illuminated by the flickering TV screen-

-Nerwen looks over ICRep's shoulder and sees the word 'Romeo'- Hey! You can SO write fluff!

ICRep: I'm not done yet. -keeps typing-

-Tinuviel also joins in- I knew you could write fluff!

ICRep: I'm NOT DONE yet :)…

-ten minutes later-

Nerwen and Tinuviel: YOU KILLED OFF VAL?!?!?

ICRep: I told you: I can't write fluff without killing someone :)

-Nerwen and Tinuviel whack ICRep upside the head with pillows and DVD cases-

And that's how it really happened. TBC… the story, not the Author's note.