Title: Little Miracles
Author: Chella Belle
Rating: PG-13 to R for language mentions of rapes, violence, intense cases, and disturbing situations.
Show: CSI: Las Vegas
Relationships: Mainly NOFC but some of it is GS and hints of CW
Summary: An ordinary day, and ordinary case, an extraordinary child, and the miracle of an extraordinary family. Nick Stokes' week wasn't going so well. A pressuring mother, boss, and bunch of friends. But a chance case leads Nick into a devastated world worse than his own. Innocence, betrayal, fears…the combination leads Nick into a life he could have only hoped for. Could this be a new start to the beloved Texan of CSI?
Disclaimer: Nope…don't own the characters except for Regan, Anna, and anyone else who isn't in the show. But oh if I did…dreamy sigh Huh? Oh! Sorry about that.
Author's Notes: I know some of ya'll have already read the first two chapters, but, if you're a nut about little details, then you should probably re-read them. When I went to post a new chapter, I was on the phone with my friend and wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, so I deleted the ENTIRE STORY.
Shortly there after, my internet crashed and I couldn't re-post the chapters. So I was completely bored to tears and decided to revise, re-read, and re-edit the chapters.
Okay, I'm a die-hard Nick Stokes/George Eads fan. I've tried to write mainly GS books but the NOFC parts seem to flow easier. So…I decided to break away and make a Tricky Nicky book. Don't despair my Geeklove babies, there is some, emphasis on 'some', GSR in here. And, don't worry Yo-blinger's I got ya back, with some CW. Also, my CSI lingo isn't always great. I'm sorry if I throw ya'll off.
As for the shippers…it's mostly Nick and another character. But, there are small hints of Grissom and Sara and the occasional Catherine and Warrick. Now…very rarely will ya'll hear from any other CSI characters besides Nick. I'll have Catherine or Brass or Sara come in every now and then. Eventually they'll all be together again chorus of singing angels but until then ya'll have to live with just Nick. Oh well……
As we know, Nick doesn't have a Daddy or Mommy or family in Vegas so…I've taken the CSI characters and created a psuedo family for him. (Is that how you spell psuedo? Hm…now that's a thinker.) Anyways, Brass is the Daddy (I know, I know, normally Grissom is….but like I said, I'm breaking away) Catherine is the mommy, and Sara is Nick's OFC's confidant. She really helps her with her relationship with Nick.
And as for the netiquette, stressed words are italicized, emphasized words are in bold, thoughts are displayed as such /-/ blah blah blah /-/ and please please PLEASE pay attention to the dates because I will skip like, 3 or 4 days in between.
So…now ya'll know all the angles…let's get it on!
Chapter 1:
"It's gonna be a long night."
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Chapter 1
CSI Crime Lab
Conference Room
Tuesday May 3, 2004
10:04 a.m.
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Tap, tap, tap, tap. Roll. Tap, tap, tap, tap. Roll. Tap, tap, tap-
Catherine Willows reached over and snatched the ball point pen from Nick Stokes' hands. "Tap it again, I dare you." She warned. Nick frowned and leaned back in his chair folding his arms across his chest in confrontation. The rest of the inhabitants looked at each other wondering who would explode first, the fiery blonde, Catherine Willows, or the recently discourteous, Nick Stokes.
Sara Sidle gave up and sighed. Nick glared at her as though she had said something wrong. She coiled back from the stare and looked away. Warrick shook his head and gave an exasperated sigh. Nick snapped his head towards his direction. "You got somethin to say!" Nick barked sharply.
"Yeah, why are you being so hostile lately? For the past few weeks you've been rude, snappy and irascible. What's your deal?"
Nick stood up quickly shoving his chair back and knocking it over in the process. "I don't need to take this!" Nick stated and bumped into Grissom on his way out the door.
"Nick," Grissom wheezed. Nick's face remained in its original frown, "where are you going? I've got your assignments. You're taking Greg into the field for trainee time."
Knowing that in the field Greg's ignorance could be quiet stressful, the entire room rushed to stop this.
"I don't think that's a good idea!"
"I'll take him!"
"He can help me!"
They all shouted at once. Grissom looked at them flabbergasted; wondering why they were all so eager to take Greg with them.
"Sorry. But Nick is with Greg on this. 406, B&E, at the Belagio. Cat and Sara have a 419 in Henderson and Rick…you have a 430, animal bite, in the glorious hills of Trailer de Trash." Grissom smiled at his joke and dismissed himself. The rest of the group looked at each other wondering what insanity would befall them.
Nick stomped out of the room without a word. They watched him go and sighed. "'For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.' Ralph Waldo Emerson." Sara quoted. She stood and walked out of the room.
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Belagio Hotel
1:20 p.m.
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Nick and Greg arrived at the scene in silence. Nick was pissed and tense, and Greg was cautious. Vartann met the two as they arrived. He sensed the immediate tension and got right to the point. "Two armed men came in through the front, shot a couple of rounds, injured three, and killed one security guard." He turned to point at a little girl. "Took a swing at the kid. She isn't talkin."
Nick didn't say a word, leaving Greg confused. He had only been in the field a few times and never lasted very long. Nick began to process without giving Greg any instruction. He stood there useless hoping Vartann would point him in the right direction. Nick stood up straight and turned to Greg.
"Start processing. You take the inside perimeter, I've got photographs. I follow, you take lead." he picked his camera from around his neck and ushered for Greg to go in front of him. Greg tentatively walked in front of him and slid on his gloves. He looked back at Nick to see if he was doing it right. Nick wasn't paying him any attention. He was looking around.
"It's gonna be a long night." Greg mumbled to himself.
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Belagio Hotel
2:24 p.m.
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A short while later, the duo was just finishing their hour and a half of processing…in silence. It had been tense, edgy, and unpleasant. All Greg wanted to do know was get back to the lab and process the evidence. Greg turned around to face Nick but he only stared at his feet. Nick looked at the man and remorse engulfed him. Nick sighed, "Look Greggo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk and vague to you. Being in the field is an important experience for you and I shouldn't have been arrogant. Let's finish up here."
Greg smiled and nodded. "You wanna talk about it?"
"No. Not really." Nick shook his head and looked behind him at Vartann approaching.
"Hey, no one saw much of anything. I didn't get a chance to talk to the girl. She has forensic evidence on her." Vartann explained and Nick nodded.
"We're coming" Nick replied. The three of them walked towards the little girl sitting on the bench. Her brown spiral curls toppled over her shoulders and caramel highlights stood out with the light. You could see her big blue eyes from a mile away and her pale skin reminded him of Sara. The girl's knees were scrapped with scabs and scars. She was assuming the prisoner of war position and staring straight ahead. She didn't acknowledge anyone's arrival. Her eyes were empty and dark. Nick recognized the look immediately. He'd seen it before on many children's faces when they'd witnessed something they shouldn't have. An emotion and feeling beyond their years consumed them, no doubt imprinted on their minds and was bound to haunt them. He'd seen the look several times. On faces that he shouldn't have. It was the look of emotional and physical fear.
He walked towards her as Vartann started talking. "Hi. My name is Detective Vartann. What's your name?"
She didn't answer or move. It was almost as if she wasn't real.
"Is your Mommy or Daddy here?"
She still didn't answer. Vartann sighed frustrated. He threw his hands in the air and walked away. Greg looked at Nick wondering what to do. Nick cautiously stepped forward but made no move to touch her. He crouched down so that he was at her eye level. He gave a sympathetic smile and spoke softly. "Hey, I'm Nick Stokes. And this guy with the crazy hair is Greg Sanders. I know you probably don't wanna talk…" He paused a moment to open his kit. "And that's okay. But there is evidence on you. It can talk for you."
She looked up to him.
Nick stood up and turned around to pluck one of Greg's hairs. "Ow!"
Nick faced crouched to face the little girl again. "See this little white spot on the end of Greg's hair?"
She nodded.
"Well, that's called a-"
"A skin tag. I know. It contains DNA, chromosomes, basically your entire genetic make-up. DNA tells a lot about someone. It defines eye color, hair color, skin color, and who you're related to." She showed her finger to Nick. "And I know that next you're going to get my finger prints to eliminate them from, no doubt, the hundreds you've already collected. Then, you'll have to look for the trace gunshot residue. To see if I was anywhere near the guns." She spoke confidently but not smugly and kept a straight face, her eyes never left Nick's.
Nick looked at her amazed. "How old are you?"
"I just turned seven last month." She informed him and Nick stared for a moment. "I know who did it."
Nick looked down at her. "You know who hit you?"
She nodded.
"Was it the man with the gun?"
"One of them."
"One of them?"
She nodded once more. "Yes. There were three. They all had guns. One of them went to the counter," She pointed at the front lobby desk. "The other one made people move back and the third one hit me with his gun. He grabbed my arm and yanked me. Explains the bruising you were looking at before." She explained and Greg looked at Nick shocked. "They were all men, taller than you; they spoke English…other than that I can't tell you more about them."
Nick gaped at her. "Um…thank you…why didn't you tell that to the man over there?" He gestured to Vartann. The girl looked around Nick at Vartann. She looked back at Nick.
"He was rude."
Nick looked over at Greg who was writing everything down. "Write that down." Nick whispered and Greg nodded.
"You have weird hair." The child said.
"Thank you." Greg smiled and nodded his head. She smirked and looked at Nick.
"My name is Regan. Regan Delmarco."
"Well Regan, since you know so much about Forensics, you know that it would really help if I collected the evidence off you." She nodded.
"Go ahead."
Nick nodded and motioned for Greg to begin to process her. "Did you know any of the men?" Nick questioned and she looked up at him for a moment, then to the crowd behind him. Her eyes focused on someone behind him. Nick followed her gaze to see who she was looking at. He looked back at her and she seemed distant and scared.
She shook her head 'no' as Nick nodded knowing someone had scared her enough for her to lie. Nick was about to ask a question until Greg stood up.
"All done." Greg announced and began to pack up his supplies.
Nick sighed and nodded, "Thanks Greggo." Nick looked back at Regan and saw that she was watching Greg put the evidence away in baggies. Nick watched Greg make a few mistakes, and looked back at Regan to see her narrow her eyes. He smiled, realizing she was about to call Greg on it.
"Greg, aren't you supposed to put your gloves in a bag, label your evidence, and sign your name?" Regan asked and Greg raised an eyebrow at her. He looked at his evidence and realized she was right. Greg blushed. "You're a trainee aren't you?" She asked and Greg blushed further. "Hey, it's alright. Part of being a great detective is knowing to admit when you're wrong and correct it as quickly as possible. Otherwise…you can mess up, not only you're career and the case you're investigating, but the victim's families who need the closure."
Greg looked from Regan, to nick in shock. Nick pursed his lips to keep from laughing. Greg began to correct his mistakes and brought the evidence to Nick. "I'm sorry Nick…are you gonna lecture me?"
Nick chuckled, "No. I think Regan, a seven year old, did that enough for ya." Nick joked and Greg hung his head. Nick laughed and looked at Regan.
The little girl smiled back at him letting her teeth show. Nick chuckled and began to pack up his kit as well. "Well, Regan, are your mommy and daddy here?" She looked at her hands folded in her lap and shook her head. She began to pick at the tiny hole in her shorts. "Where are they?"
"They're...not here." She said softly. Nick looked up at Greg in sorrow. Greg mouthed the word, 'orphan', to Nick, who only shrugged. He kneeled down to become eye level with the little girl.
"Who is taking care of you?"
"Anna."
"Anna?"
As Nick asked the question a fuss by the door drew their attention. A police officer was trying to restrain a young woman. Nick stood up and walked towards them. The woman was shouting. "Let me go!" She demanded. Her voice was angry, and had a slight accent. The officer was arguing that she had to stay behind the yellow line. "Let me go now! That's my sister in there!"
Regan looked up. "Anna!" She yelled. Anna looked over at her and raced from the guard's grip. She crossed the line and ran as fast as lightning towards Regan.
"Regan!" She yelled.
"Anna!"
Anna picked up Regan and held her close. "Honey, oh honey. I'm so sorry. Are you okay? Are you hurt? Honey, I'm so sorry."
"I'm okay Anna. They took care of me." Regan pointed towards Nick and Greg. Anna surveyed them carefully, her Green Amazon eyes scanned them both lingering on Nick. She frowned and raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at Greg's hair.
Nick surveyed her also. Her skin was a slightly paler than Regan's. They had the same nose and full red lips. Anna's hair was dark brown with a lighter brown shine in it and was clipped back. Her body was well sculpted, and her long legs were covered by a pair of sand blasted blue jeans. She wore a turquoise and gold tank top and pendent necklace to match her top.
Nick stepped forward, "Hi. I'm Nick Stokes."
"And I'm Greg!" Greg jumped in front of Nick and shook her hand ferociously. Nick nudged him in the back and gave him a stern look.
"Anna Delmarco." She shook Greg's hand, then Nick's.
"Anna, they were nice. They processed me for evidence, it was okay. I'm okay." The little girl re-assured the frantic young woman.
Anna looked over at the CSI's confused. "What exactly happened?" her accent was ambiguous and Nick tried to figure out what country it came from. It sounded slightly Spanish, a tad Greek, yet faintly Italian. /-/ Quite a mix. /-/ Nick thought.
"Regan witnessed a robbery. She was near the commotion so we had to gather trace GSR and recover her fingerprints and DNA."
Anna nodded slowly. "Can I take her home?"
Nick paused before answering, "No. We need to get her statement. But we need to do it at the station."
Anna paused also, and looked back and forth between the two men. She sighed. "Can I ride with her?"
"You can drive her if you'd like."
"I don't have a car." Anna admitted.
"Okay, you can ride with us." Nick gestured for her to follow.
The four made their way out of the hotel, and into the parking lot.
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CSI Crime Lab
Captain Jim Brass' Office
3:46 p.m.
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"Okay Ms. Delmarco, this shouldn't take long. I just need to get Regan's account of what happened." Brass explained. Anna nodded and rested her chin on Regan's head. Nick shifted his weight to his other foot.
Anna gently pulled Regan's hair to one side and stroked it affectionately. Regan was looking through the pages of one of Brass' law studies books from his late college years. She seemed to understand it well. Nick had explained to Brass how intelligent Regan was. At first Brass thought Nick was exaggerating…until her met her. He had tried to baby her at first and she called him n it and elucidated that she might have only been seven, but actually had the intelligence of someone twice her age. She continued to read the book and Brass smiled at her, and glanced down at his list of questions. "Regan, who took you to the hotel?"
"Josh." Anna answered.
"Ms. Delmarco, Regan needs to answer these please." Brass said. Anna frowned but Regan grabbed her hand.
"I can do it Anna."
"Who's Josh?" He asked Regan.
"Anna's boyfriend…I don't like him…" She let her thoughts trail off. Brass raised an eyebrow.
"Mean? How?" Brass inquired.
"He…hits me and kicks me." Regan answered softly and looked back at the book. Anna turned to the little girl in shock.
"He did what?" She jumped out of the seat and sat Regan down. She turned to kneel in front of her.
"Hits and kicks me."
"When!" Anna was distraught and frantic. Her accent seemed more evident now that she was upset.
"Miss Delmarco, we need you to remain calm."
"Remain calm!" She was full fledged panicking now. "How long! What else did he do?" She was pacing back and forth but stopped to look at Regan.
Brass motioned for Nick to take Anna out of the room. Nick nodded and stood up. He walked towards Anna and took her by the shoulders and gently led her out of the room.
He let her fume in the hallway. She was pacing like a caged lion and mumbling to herself. "I'm gonna kill him! How could he do this! The bastard!" She kicked the wall and was yelling. Nick took her by the shoulders again and led her down the hall. All of the conference rooms were filled, no offices were empty, and the labs were occupied. Nick led her into the break room and shut the door. "I can't believe him!" She punched the door and threw herself on the couch. She buried her head in her hands.
Nick watched her from a distance. He looked out the door and slowly walked towards Anna. He paused a few feet away from her. She lifted her head out of her hands and stared at the wall in front of her. Tears were on her cheeks.
/-/ I don't get it. I'm usually so good at comforting people…especially women. Why can't I comfort her/-/ Nick asked himself. He wanted to offer her words of condolence…but he was stumped.
"Anna…" Nick attempted to console her. She looked up at him slowly. He looked at her. Her features were hard and angered. The tears were beginning to dry to her cheeks and her green eyes were dark with pain. The flush in her cheeks was incredibly evident and her lips seemed to pout. Nick sighed and looked to his feet. "Anna this isn't your fault." He drawled softly.
"Yes it is." She grumbled miserably and dropped her head to her hands. She massaged her temples and sighed.
"Anna I saw her, there wasn't a mark on her. How could you have known?"
She sat up straight and shook her head. "No. No." She stood up and walked to the window and looked out at the city. "I had to have known. That's my job. I have to know these things so I can keep her safe." She turned back around to face Nick but didn't look at him. Instead, she stared into space. "I promised I wouldn't let that happen to her. I promised I wouldn't let what happened to…" She let her thought trail off as she wrapped her arms around her mid section protectively. Nick watched her with curiosity; wondering what the end of her statement was. She clutched her top tighter and became quiet.
"Happened to who?" Nick asked moving forward. He stood next to her and tried to read her expression. It was stressed, hurt, and sad. Lucky for Anna; the door to the break room opened before she had to answer. Anna's eyes never left the view and Nick's eyes never left her.
Sara had walked in and took the moment to survey the two occupants. A mystery girl was standing t the window in a protective position and Nick was watching her intently. Since Nick had made no signs of knowledge that she was even in there, Sara spoke up. "Hey Nick."
She finally earned his glance as he looked over. He blinked once then replied. "Hi."
Sara frowned and looked over at the woman, then back to Nick. "Who is she?" Sara asked curiously. Nick looked over at Sara once again.
Anna's form blew past Sara and down the hallway. Sara was startled to say the least. She looked back at Nick. "Who was that?"
Nick didn't answer. He stared at her then moved past her to follow Anna's path. Sara threw her hands in the air and shook her head.
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CSI Crime Lab
Hallway
Tuesday May 3, 2004
4:07 p.m.
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Nick walked the halls of the lab trying to locate Anna. He couldn't find her anywhere. He brushed into Brass' office without knocking. "Where's Anna?" Nick demanded.
Brass looked up at him slowly and raised an eyebrow at his informal manner. "Well hello to you too Nick."
"Hi where's Anna?" Nick leaned forward and rested his knuckles on Brass' desk. His gaze didn't falter from Brass'.
"Who?" Brass sighed exasperated.
"Ms. Delmarco and Regan. Where are they?"
Brass sighed and shuffled the papers on his desk. He was quiet for a while; he signed his signature on several papers, and then folded his hands on his desk and drew his gaze to Nick. "They…went home." Brass finally stated. "Why?"
"I just…we were talking and she-I…" He let his sentence trail off.
Nick sighed and pulled away from the desk. He ran his hands down his tired face. Brass took the time to actually look at Nick. He looked like he hadn't slept in weeks and was just thriving on Sanders' coffee. Nick seemed to have gained a face full of wrinkles from the last few weeks and added years onto his young face. He looked almost twice as old as normal. He needed to shave and eat. He looked parched and he could barely hold his broad shoulders up. Brass threw down his pen. "Be careful Nick."
Nick sighed and sat back. "What do you mean?"
"Nick." Brass warned, "You know better than to get involved in a case. Emotionally and physically."
Nick glared, "What exactly are you insinuating?"
"Come on Nick, I mean, you've been known to get 'involved' with your cases. You remember that hooker. She-"
"Hey hey hey!" Nick pointed his finger at Brass as he glared. He stood up and hunched over his desk. "'That hooker' had a name alright. Kristy. Her name was Kristy. And she wasn't just some girl I was bangin. I cared about her. It was just shit luck what happened. And that was once. Okay, once."
"Once is all it takes."
Nick glared further. "If my memory is correct you were involved with Lady Heather. There's your physical, a freakin dominatrix." Nick mumbled. "And Ellie. Yeah I know she's your daughter but you went off the deep end. So don't come lecturing to me when I want to make sure someone whose had a rough day is alright. God Brass it's called empathy. Alright, empathy. Sara's got it all the time, yet no one says a thing! I can relate to Ms. Delmarco and you're pissed about it. I wanted to make sure she's okay! We both haven't been having to good of weeks! Alright? You don't know me. You don't live my life. So don't judge me when it comes to me making a decision on how to live my life and help others!" Nick yelled and stormed out. Brass sat there stunned as Nick disappeared down the hall.
Catherine walked in with her mouth hanging open. "What was all that about?"
Brass shrugged, still in shock. "I don't know. I know he's been edgy lately but I had no idea…"
"He blew up at Warrick in the break room this morning. It was bad."
"What's his deal lately? He's been like this for weeks."
Catherine shrugged and sighed. She flipped her hair off her shoulder and shook her head smiling sadly. "I don't know." She looked out Brass' window at the parking lot where Nick stormed into his Tahoe and peeled out. "I just don't know."
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Stokes Residence
9:23 p.m.
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Nick opened his door and threw his coat down. He had been driving around for hours. He wasn't going anywhere in particular. In fact, if it hadn't been for his GPS in the Tahoe, he wouldn't have made it home.
He sighed again and slumped down in his chair. He had been out looking for Anna.
/-/ How stupid are you Nick? What were you thinking? Blowing up at your best friend, at Brass, Greg. All for some girl you don't even know. What were you thinking? You were driving around for four hours looking for someone you don't know. You don't know where they live. They obviously didn't want to talk to you…what were you thinking?
But…she did seem like she needed to talk. But she wouldn't…like she needed a little push. And that jerk boyfriend who hit that little girl. Anna seemed surprised so he probably put a face on in front of her. No doubt she's going to confront him about it. Who wouldn't? What is something happens to her or Regan/-/
"Ugh!" He moaned and threw the pillow over his face. "I need to sleep." He walked through his hall and into his bedroom.
He stared around the large and empty room. Until now, he hadn't realized hoe empty and homely it was. He sighed and kicked off his shoes and tore off his shirt. He fell down onto his bed wearing nothing but jeans and socks.
His mind raced with thoughts of Anna and Regan. Slowly, sleep consumed him.
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Stokes Residence
Thursday May 5, 2004
8:21 a.m.
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Almost two days later, Nick stirred awake. The ever vigorous city of Las Vegas was aglow outside, lighting the world around him. The people walked and talked. The cars sped by and lights dazzled. Nick sighed and reluctantly opened his eyes. He looked out his blinds covering his window. The slits let green, blue, and red lights into the room. Nick sighed.
He stood up and looked over at his window. He walked over to it and pulled two of the blinds apart to look out. He sighed as he watched the people walk around. He envied them. Not a care in the world. He sighed and walked into his bathroom. He peeled off his clothes and started the shower. He stared at his aged face in the mirror while the water warmed.
The annoying ringing of nick's phone drowned out the sound of the shower. His head hurt too much to bother with it, so he let it ring.
"Hey you've reached Nick Stokes. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to ya'll as soon as I can."
He sighed as the beep sounded and a woman's voice picked up. "Nicholas Ryan Stokes, I haven't heard from you in forever. Would it kill you to say hello to your mother once in a while? For all I know your dead."
"Just about." Nick mumbled sarcastically.
"You've been acting so strange lately. And when are you going to bring a woman back to us."
"When I have time to find her…" Nick replied to his mother even though she couldn't hear him.
"Heck, when are you going to see come us just to say hello?" She sighed. "I know some nice girls who have heard all about you. They'd be glad to have a date with you."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He splashed water on his face to try to waken himself up.
"You need to settle down already and start a family. You're going on 34 in…"
"Three months, thirteen days, and twelve hours." Nick and Jillian Stokes recited at the same time. Nick rolled his eyes in mockery and sighed.
"Well give Samantha Richards a call. She wants to hear from you, like we all do. Well, I need to go. And so help my God Nicholas if you don't call me soon…" She warned, "Well we won't go there." She sighed. "Call me soon Nicholas. Love you."
The beep sounded signaling that her message was done. Nick threw his hands in the air in praise. "Thank you!" His accent sang as he shook his head.
He pulled back the curtain to the shower and jumped in. The hot water pelts hit his skin and he breathed in the steam hoping it would clear his head.
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Delmarco Residence
8:24 a.m.
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An annoying tugging of the sheets disturbed Anna from her sleep. She moaned and rolled over pulling the sheets back over her head to block the light from her view. What was that annoying tugging?
"Anna?" A tiny voice whispered. In an instant Anna rolled over to see Regan's little face. A few tears stained her cheeks.
Anna sat up and moved the bed sheets. "Crawl in Raggs. Honey what is it?"
"Your eye, what happened…where is Josh?" Regan asked although she already knew the answers.
Anna sighed and began to wipe the tears from her eyes. "He's gone. He isn't coming back. I kicked him out."
"Did he hit you?" Regan asked softly.
Anna sighed, "No. I fell." Her accent was almost completely gone because of her calm state.
"But I heard you. He yelled and called you names and you told him to get out and he hit you and threw you down. And he-"
"Okay, okay. It doesn't matter now. Its okay honey." She sighed and looked over at her night stand. "Oh shit! Damn you have to be in school in six minuets! Quick go get dressed. Thank God I picked out your clothes last night." Anna remarked and threw open her drawers. She pulled out a low cut, white, button up, dress shirt, with the sleeves ending just above her elbows. She peeled off her T-shirt and contemplated putting on a bra. The shirt was low cut and the bra might show if she did. She looked down at her bitty B's and shrugged. "Who cares?" She replied and put on her bra. She buttoned up her shirt just enough so that the bra wouldn't show, and nothing else would, but low enough that it looked sexy.
She grabbed her sand blast jeans and threw them on. Slowly, Anna turned around in her mirror to examine her butt or what Regan called, her 'White girl J-Lo bubble'. The jeans seemed to enhance her best feature and she shook her head. Anna picked up her beaded Boho necklaces and put them on. She slid into her flip flops and applied mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow, and blush. She put an extra amount of concealer over her black eye, along with press powder, and hid it masterfully. She didn't have enough time to do anything with her hair so she left it with natural thick and wavy curls. Her hair was long and straight, but gradually began to form into thick curls about mid-way down her back. "Crap. My hair sucks."
"Anna!" Regan hollered from the door. "We have to go!"
"Chill pills babe. You're gonna be late anyway. You still need to eat."
"We don't have any food in the house, remember?"
"Shit."
"You're swearin a lot today."
"Sorry." She apologized. "Let's go." Anna grabbed her purse and keys and they hustled out the door. "Do you have your homework?" Anna asked as she slipped her sunglasses on.
"Yep."
"Did you do it?"
"No."
"Regan…" Anna warned wearily. They began to walk down the street to the public bus stop.
"We were busy all night. Besides, God knows I know it already. Ninth grade is too easy." Regan defended.
Anna sighed. "Do it during one of your other classes."
"It's my first class of the day."
"Fine Little-Miss-Smarty-Pants I'll write you a note."
"Thank you." Regan sighed and sat on the bench, but stood up immediately because the bus had arrived.
"You're welcome." They made their way towards the back of the bus and sat down. "I'm going car shopping today."
"With what? Good looks and charm?" Regan teased. Anna rolled her eyes and smirked.
"No. I got paid yesterday."
"How can you go car shopping on your waitress/maid money?"
"Hey, it's hotel help, not maid. And, uh easy." Anna replied matter-of-factly. "Remember Bill and Arlene Stafler?"
"Mark's parents?"
"Yep. Turns out, when I helped them fix up their new house, they didn't pay me enough at the time. They really underpaid me. So…they paid me back plus a bonus."
"Oooooh! How much?"
"Enough to where we can get a decent car, go grocery shopping, pay this month's and next month's bills, and probably have a 'chick's night'."
"Whoa."
"Yeah."
"Why don't you call it a 'girl's night'? You call it a 'chick's night' instead of 'girl's night'. Why?"
"'Girl's nights' involve drinking and gossip and stuff you ain't gonna do till you're older and 'chick's nights' involve little people stuff. But they're still fun. Don't worry about it."
"But technically, I have the intelligence and maturity of a person more than twice my age. So, if you think about it, I'm old enough to have a 'girl's night'."
Anna shook her head, "Re-do your math sweetie, more than twice your age is about sixteen or seventeen, still not old enough to drink may I remind you. Plus, even if you are mature enough to handle a 'girl's night' physically you can't. Your body and mind are maturing at different rates." Anna smiled and looked out the windows at their surroundings. She pulled the cord on the bus, signaling that they need to stop. The bus stopped and they stood up and walked out the doors. "Okay. Mcky D's or BK?"
"Um…BK."
"Okay." They walked down the street and into the cool building. Anna pushed her sunglasses up and viewed the menu. "What do you want?"
"Number two with yogurt and milk."
The cashier behind the counter looked up. "Hello. Welcome to Burger King. Can I take your order?"
"Yes. I need a number two with a yogurt and milk, and a strawberry parfait with a coffee and muffin."
"$5.86."
Anna handed her the money, grabbed their food, and picked a booth. "Do I have to go to school?"
"Yes." Anna answered.
"Why? You didn't."
"Yes I did. I just couldn't go to college. I wish I could have. That way I could have a decent job. You need to get smart so you can get a good job and make money and have a good life. And look at the bright side, with your intelligence you're probably going to be going to college in a year or so. And then you'll have like, one year because you're so freakin smart."
"Ooh, butter that toast Anna." Regan joked and Anna chuckled. "Besides, I thought people say money doesn't make a life."
"Well that's crap. It might not make a life but it sure does make life easier." Anna reasoned and Regan shook her head. She looked up from her food and smiled.
"Anna look!" She said happily and pointed to the front counter.
"What?" She turned around. "What are you pointing at?"
"Look who's at the counter." She said smiling. Nick Stokes was standing at the counter ordering food, oblivious to the people behind him.
Anna surveyed the counter not seeing anyone in particular. "Who?"
"The cop that was at the hotel yesterday. The one that was nice to me. His name was Nick Stokes." Regan silently prayed that he would look back and see them.
"Honey there was a hundred cops we saw yesterday." Anna shook her head and ate her parfait. Regan looked back to the counter just to see him leave.
"Awww, he left. You should have said hi."
"Raggs he was probably working a case or something. The last thing he needs is to be bothered."
"It wouldn't be bothering him. How much you wanna bet no one ever says hi to him. I think he's lonely."
Anna went back to her food and Regan sighed. She pushed her food around on her plate, not wanting to eat it anymore. Anna looked at her and sighed. "Alright, if I ever see him again I'll say hi."
"You shouldn't wait. You should go down to the police station and say hi."
"Now that would be bothering him."
"I think you like him."
"No."
"Well you think he's cute."
Anna sighed, "Alright, I'll admit he's mildly attractive but that doesn't mean I like him."
"Okay." Regan said sarcastically and began eating again. Anna sighed and ate her food.
"I don't like him." She told herself silently and Regan giggled.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
CSI Crime Lab
Conference Room B
9:30 a.m.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Nick walked into the conference room in a hurry. He threw down his stuff and sighed. "Sorry I'm late." He mumbled. "I over slept." Everyone looked at him shocked.
"I'll say." Warrick commented.
"Huh?" Nick asked looking around confused.
"Um…why are you here?" Grissom asked.
"I work here." Nick replied sarcastically.
"Don't you check your answering machine messages? Come on Nick, we left you one yesterday and one today."
"Yesterday?"
"Yeah. You missed work yesterday and we voted that you're not workin today. You need rest. You slept almost two days straight and you're still wiped." Catherine replied flipping her blonde hair off her shoulder. Nick looked around the table like a lost puppy. "It's the best thing for you Nicky."
"Guys?"
They all shrugged, "You need the time off Nick. You're stressed. You're under slept. And you really need to take a vacation." Sara explained softly.
"Why don't you go home for a while and rest. Hell, go back to Texas and see your folks. I know your mom is dyin to see ya." Warrick replied. Nick looked at him with a questioning glance. "She called." He explained. Nick rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Fine." He pushed his chair back and stood up. "Fine. How long do I take off?"
"A week."
"A week?" Nick gasped shocked.
"At the least." Grissom nodded and Nick sighed in frustration.
"Fine." He repeated once more. He grabbed his stuff and walked out of the room. He strode down the halls and out the building doors until the bright sun hit his eyes. He brought his sunglasses to his face and walked to his Tahoe. He threw in his bag and started the car.
Nick sighed in defeat and rested his head against the head rest. He sat with his eyes closed for a few moments, then sat up, and drove out.
The drive to his new apartment seemed longer than usual. Probably because the last time he drove home from time off was after Nigel. After the stalk had happened Nick quickly moved closer into Vegas, finding a nice apartment right off the strip. It wouldn't be any sane person's first choice, but lately, Nick didn't feel so rational.
He chose the first single apartment he could find and bought it immediately. He had moved in within a week, changed his address for work, and slept the entire week. He figured moving into a new apartment would give him a fresh start. He would have quit his job, but he loved it too much.
Nick walked threw his front door and threw down his keys, coat, and files and slumped onto the sofa. After sitting for only three seconds, he stood back up and walked into his kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door to see nothing but a six pack. Now he remembered when he went out for breakfast. He sighed and grabbed a beer.
Nick cracked it open and drank it down letting the cool liquid slide down his throat. He lay back on the couch and closed his eyes for two minuets. And within those two minuets, sleep washed over Nick like a heavy blanket.
A/N: So how was the first chapter? I always have trouble getting the book off and running even if I do already have it planned and outlined (I know, I know, I'm too organized). Well R&R and I'll try to post up the next chapter as soon as I can.
Chella