An Unwanted Surprise
"Hello" Jackie said as she answered her cell phone.
"Hi Jackie its Sara" Sara Sidle said.
"Oh hi Sara." Jackie said cheerfully.
"Can I ask you for a favor?" Sara asked.
"Sure" Jackie said.
"Thanks. I'm going to go visit Grissom for New Year's, I wanted to go for Christmas but it just didn't work out. Anyway I was wondering if you would watch my house while I'm gone. All you'd need to do is water my plants and get my mail. I'll only be gone a few days." She said.
"Sure I'd be happy to do it." Jackie said.
"Thanks so much. Do you guys still have a key to my house?"
"Yes we do" Jackie said.
"Ok good, thanks again Jackie."
"No problem, enjoy your vacation and tell Grissom hi from all of us."
"Thanks, I will." She said.
A few nights later it was New Years Eve and Nick and Jackie were headed to a party at one of Jackie's friend's houses. Jackie's parents had been nice enough to babysit Jasmine and Houston for the evening.
"Honey before we go to the party we should stop at Sara's so I can get her mail and water her plants." Jackie said as her and Nick drove to the party.
"Ok sounds good." Nick said.
Minutes later Nick was pulling his truck into Sara's driveway. Nick and Jackie got out of the truck and started up Sara's sidewalk.
"Oh crap, hon, I forgot my purse, will you grab it for me?" Jackie asked.
"Ok." Nick said as he turned around and headed back to the truck.
Jackie continued walking to the front door. She opened the door and walked inside. Nick had just opened the truck door and was about to grab her purse when he heard his wife's blood curdling scream. He immediately forgot about the purse and went sprinting up the sidewalk to Sara's front door. He was familiar with going into dangerous situations because of his job but usually he had a gun for protection, and more importantly at his job his wife isn't in danger.
"Maybe she just saw a spider, you know how she is with bugs." Nick thought to himself, trying to calm himself down.
When he burst in the door he saw his wife bent over in the corner of living room breathing heavily desperately trying to catch her breath.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he immediately went to her side and put his arm around her.
She was too out of breath to speak so she just nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen. Nick looked over to where she was nodding. Standing there was a person, a person both Nick and Jackie knew well.
"Archie, what the hell are you doing here?" Nick asked.
"Sara asked me to watch her house while she's gone. What are you guys doing here?"
"She asked us to watch it as well."
"Then she's either losing her mind or she really wanted those plants watered." Archie quipped.
It was only then that Nick noticed Archie was holding his eye.
"What's wrong with you?" Nick asked.
"Ask Mrs. Deadeye." He said with a smirk as he nodded at Jackie.
Nick looked at her with a grin "What'd you do?"
"Archie I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you, I thought it was a burglar or a killer or something." Jackie said.
She then turned to Nick, nodded to the floor, and said "I threw Sara's high heeled shoe at him."
Nick grinned and looked at the floor, Sara had a pair of slippers and a pair of tennis shoes neatly arranged on a rug by the door. By Jackie's foot he noticed a high heeled shoe tipped over onto its side.
"Yikes, these things look deadly." Nick said as he picked up the shoe and noticed the long heel on them.
"They almost were deadly, and she had the other one in her hand ready to chuck at me too, luckily for me she realized who I was before she threw it. I'm sure glad Sara doesn't keep a stack of dishes, or worse a gun by her door, if that was the case you might be processing a DB right about now."
"I'm sorry Archie, I feel terrible, but I thought you were going to kill me, I have two children that need their mother, so I wasn't going to let you kill me without putting up a good fight." Jackie said as she walked over to Archie and looked at the damage she'd done.
There was a good size knot forming right above Archie's eye where the heel of the shoe had hit him.
"Archie why don't you have a seat, I'll get you an icepack."
Archie took a seat and Jackie fished out an icepack out of the freezer. She handed him the icepack and he put it on his eye.
"You two look nice by the way, where are you going tonight?" Archie asked.
"We're going to a New Year's Eve party at one of her friend's houses. What are you going to do for New Years Eve?" Nick asked.
"I have to work tonight, that is if I don't have a concussion." He added with a grin as he glanced at Jackie.
"Sorry Arch" she mumbled, clearly embarrassed.
Archie laughed "I'm just kidding Jackie, I'm fine." He assured her.
Jackie smiled.
"Listen, it would make more sense if I watch Sara's house since I live closer, no sense you guys making a longer drive to do it." Archie said.
"Are you sure?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, it's not a problem." He insisted.
"Alright thanks Arch." Nick said.
Archie nodded.
Nick looked at his watch
"We better get going Jackie." He said.
"Alright, are you sure you are alright Archie?" Jackie asked.
"Yep, just fine." He said.
"Good" She said with a smile.
"See ya later Arch." Nick said as he grabbed Jackie's hand.
"See you guys, have fun at your party."
"Thanks we will. Have a good night at the lab." Nick said before he and Jackie left Sara's house.
Archie stayed and held the ice on his eye for a few minutes and then he finished watering the plants. After he was done he went home and got ready for work. Before he walked out his front door he glanced in the mirror, the ice had done wonders the knot that was on his eye before was almost completely gone.