FF_992224_ 11/10/2009

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.

Rating may increase in future chapters.

A/N: To know what happened prior to this, you really need to read my story "Remember My Name". This is the sequel.


Nick Stokes, ex-LVPD CSI grasped his cane tightly and used it to unfold himself from the car. He was really glad they'd decided to do this away from the lab. It's not that he didn't want to go back to the LVPD Crime Lab, but doing his Goodbye Party there would bring too many emotions too close to the surface.

"Nick?" a soft voice interrupted his introspection.

Nick looked at Maria Santiago as she came around the car. They'd been dating for over a year now and Nick didn't know what he'd do without her. These past seven months had torn his life apart, but Maria had been right there next to him: a rock for him to lean on, or a shelter from the storms.

He smiled at her. "I'm ok," he assured the black-haired, violet-eyed beauty. "Just glad they picked a restaurant instead of…" he let his voice trail off.

Maria just nodded. They both waited for the uniformed LVPD officer to join them. Nick knew that eventually his protection would end, but he kept any objections to himself after a conversation with Officer Frank "Mitch" Mitchell.

"Mitch, y'all aren't gonna be able to do this forever," he'd said.

"Let us judge what we can handle," Mitch had replied.

"Mitch…" he'd begun.

"Nick, do you want to know why I do this?" Mitch'd interrupted.

He'd nodded silently.

"There're two reasons." Mitch held his gaze. "The first is I figure I owe it to Tuck."

Mitch'd watched as his eyes closed in pain. Behind his closed eyelids he'd seen again the defeat on Tuck's face as they forced him to his knees. He'd heard again Tuck's soft, "Sorry, Nick." His body had jerked as he'd heard that final gunshot in his memories. His eyes had been wet with tears when he opened them and met Mitch's gaze.

"You know the only thing he'd ask from us is to protect you," Mitch's voice had been husky with emotion.

He'd nodded mutely. They'd both been silent for a moment. "And the second?" he'd finally asked huskily.

"Would you wanna be one of us trying to explain to Captain Brass how we let his only son get killed?" Mitch'd given him a wry grin. He'd returned it. They'd both been on the wrong side of Brass's temper when the captain had felt they'd done something stupid.

"So I guess everyone knows," he'd said, ducking his head.

"Pretty much," Mitch had grinned. "If you were staying…" he'd let his voice trail off.

"Nick?" Maria's soft voice once again interrupted his thoughts.

"Just remembering," Nick replied. His slight smile reassured her that it wasn't a bad memory – at least not completely.

Nick, Maria and Officer Brian Kent made their way to the restaurant. Before Nick could get the door for Maria, Officer Kent moved forward and held it for them both. Nick shot him a look as he gestured them through with a flourish. This wasn't part of their usual routine.

Kent grinned, "Just giving the man of the hour his due," he said.

Nick shook his head and grinned back. "Clown," he said with good-humor in his voice.

"Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Maria muttered under her breath. Both men's eyes met and they grinned again.

As they reached the hostess stand, Nick looked around the restaurant, wondering where the party was being held. The restaurant they were in, The Rodeo Steakhouse, was new. It had only been open for a few months, but Nick had heard good things about it. Nick's interest in the restaurant's Western décor was distracted by the large banner at the back of the dining room that read "Congratulations Nick!"

He frowned in puzzlement even as Catherine, Greg and Ecklie approached. Catherine smiled at his frown, noticing the direction of his gaze. "We decided we weren't going to give you a Goodbye Party, Nicky," she hugged him tightly.

"Yeah, 'cause we're not gonna say goodbye," Greg chimed in. He took Nick's hand for a shake then pulled him into a one-armed hug.

"We'll still be around, we just have to, uh share you with a lot more people," Catherine added, hugging Maria as well.

"So we decided on a 'Congratulations on Your New Job Party'," Ecklie finished. He shook Nick's hand after Greg released him.

The smile on Nick's face widened into a traditional Nick Stokes grin as he realized what his friends were saying. They weren't willing to let him leave their lives. "Thanks, guys," he said quietly. He met each of their eyes and silently expressed the depth of his gratitude.

"Go mingle," Catherine ordered with a smile. Seeing the expression on Nick's face made all their hard work worth it.

Nick moved into the room, looking forward to visiting with each and everyone there. The four in the doorway watched him go with indulgent smiles.

Catherine looked at Maria, her smile dimming a little. "So how's he really doing?" she asked with concern.

"He is doing pretty good," Maria replied, reassuringly. "Really," she insisted, when the others looked at her for confirmation. "I am not saying he's a beam of sunshine every day, but he is positive more often than he is negative. He is dealing with all the changes."

"Even the cane?" Greg asked. It hurt to see his once-athletic friend forced to use a cane to get around.

"That is one of the more difficult changes," Maria admitted. "He has not fully dealt with it, but he is working on it."

Nick was gradually working his way around the room. He'd already spoken to Mandy and Wendy. They'd ganged up on him and made him promise he and Maria would set up a rotating monthly get-together with the others from the lab. Archie had invited him to a guy's night playing video games. Henry invited him and Maria to dinner with he and his brother.

It was while he was talking with Henry, that Hodges approached. "Well, I for one, won't miss Nick."

Nick grinned and exchanged glances with Henry. "So why'd y'all come, Hodges?"

"Free food," Hodges replied with a smirk.

"I'm sure it has nothing to do with Wendy being here, either," Henry smirked.

Hodges glared.

Nick laughed and moved on to Al Robbins and Dave Phillips. "Super Dave, Al," he greeted.

"Now I'm gonna miss that," Dave said mournfully.

"Miss what?" Al asked.

"The 'Super Dave's," Dave said with a shy grin.

"I'll call ya up once a month and lay one on ya, Super Dave," Nick interjected with a grin.

They all laughed. Al asked Nick how preparing for the next school year was going. Nick groaned dramatically and said that if they thought they had paperwork, they should come visit and see the piles on his desk.

"I'd really like that, Nick," Al said, studying Nick's reaction.

Nick's face lit up. "Sure, Doc. Give me a call on Monday and we'll set it up."

Al patted Nick's shoulder. "Great, Nick. I'll do that."

Nick clapped him on the back and moved toward Jim Brass. Brass was standing toward the back of the room near a table. He smiled at Nick as he moved to stand next to him. If Maria had been one bright spot in Nick's life these past seven months, Brass was another. They'd spent quite a bit of time together: fishing on Lake Meade, watching games together, and playing pool and cards. Their already close friendship was deepening into something more. It wasn't quite a father-son relationship, but Nick didn't think either one of them was ready for that. He wasn't sure they ever would be.

"Jim," Nick said quietly.

"Nick," Jim smiled. His hand went to the back of Nick's neck and he squeezed gently. "What do you think?" He gestured at the table he'd been standing near.

Nick hadn't noticed until Jim pointed it out, but the table was full of brochures and envelopes. A sign announced the 'Michael Tucker Memorial Scholarship' to UNLV. Nick turned his shocked gaze back to Brass.

"What? ... How? ..." he stammered.

"We wanted to get you a gift, but we didn't know what to get you. I mean we have no clue what you're gonna need in your new job. Someone suggested that bringing money in is always appreciated by universities. But we didn't want to just let UNLV decide what to do with our money. It was Wendy who suggested funding a scholarship and Mitch who suggested the name. I contacted Dr. Cummings, the UNLV President and he okayed the idea."

Nick listened silently, still in shock. Finally he asked, "Where did all the money come from?" gesturing toward a chart showing collections of over $15,000 already received.

"We put collection boxes at the front desks, both in the lab and PD. Ecklie and I convinced the brass to match any contributions up to $5,000. When we went through the collections yesterday morning, we had a little over $5,000 in cash, plus an anonymous money order for $5,000. Everyone was shocked! We have no idea who left it. No one saw anyone put it in the box at the lab."

"Wow," Nick murmured. "What's your goal?"

"Well, after talking to Dr. Cummings, we decided $25,000 would cover a one-year scholarship. That's our goal for this year. So we need $10,000 more. We're gonna charge admission for the Annual CSI/PD Softball tournament and all proceeds will go towards the Fund." He looked carefully at Nick.

"I'd like to talk to ya about that, Nicky," Brass slung his arm around Nick's shoulders as Nick looked uncomfortable and started to move back from his friend.

"Jim…" Nick began.

"Nick, we want you to manage the Graveyard Team," Brass interrupted. He felt Nick flinch.

After a slight hesitation, Nick twisted out from under Jim's arm and stared at him in shock. "I don't… I can't…" he closed his eyes and turned his head away for a moment. When he turned back, his expression was closed, his features tense. "I can't deal with this right now, Jim." He turned to move away. "I need some air."

"Nicky, please just think about it," Brass said softly.

Nick inclined his head in acknowledgement and moved as swiftly as he could to the door. Brian Kent followed unobtrusively.

Brass sighed heavily and joined the group containing Catherine, Maria, Greg, Archie and Wendy. Mitch followed him over.

"Well?" Greg asked.

"He was excited and thrilled by the Fund," Jim said quietly.

"But…" Archie prompted.

"But he was seriously upset at the thought of coaching the softball team," Jim sighed.

Maria stared at the door Nick had rushed out of with concern.

"Maria?" Catherine asked. "Should you …?" she let her voice trail off when Maria shook her head decisively.

"No," Maria reiterated softly but firmly. "No, Nick has to figure this one out himself. I will listen and support him whatever he decides – but it will be his decision."

The others contemplated her words and nodded in acceptance. The conversation then moved on to more general topics.

Nick swore softly and paced on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. He paused for a moment, startled, when he saw Brian Kent after turning to head back the way he came. Then he shrugged and continued his pacing.

Brian stood next to a bench and silently watched Nick pace back and forth. He caught snatches of what Nick was muttering as he went by.

"How can they expect…?" "I can't even swing…" "It's not the same…" "God, I miss…" "They don't understand…" "It hurts…"

Finally Nick slumped into the bench next to Brian and slid his face into his hands. He didn't move for several moments. He finally lifted his head and stared at his cane. Then he looked up at Brian. "How can I possibly coach any team, much less the CSI/PD softball team? I played on that team for over ten years. And now I don't think I'm physically capable of even coaching it."

"Nick," Brian said gently, "they don't expect miracles. They just want you to be a part of it."

"I don't know if I can stand just bein' a figurehead," Nick replied, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"That's not what I meant," Brian insisted, his voice still gentle. "You don't have to swing the bat or throw the ball to manage the team." He put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "You can give pointers and tell them what they're doing wrong without actually physically participating."

Nick nodded, but didn't look at Brian. His voice was very soft when he said, "I don't know if I can do it. I just don't know…" his voice faded and he continued to stare at his cane.

"No one thinks any less of you because you got injured, Nick," Brian continued to try to raise Nick's spirits. "If anything, we admire your persistence and sheer stubbornness." He grinned at Nick's choked chuckle. "Yeah, well all know where you get that from now."

Nick raised his head and met Brian's amused look at that comment. His mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Do y'all give Jim as much shit as you give me?"

"No," Brian said carelessly, "you're nowhere near as scary as Captain Brass."

Nick laughed and pushed himself up from the bench. "Let's go back to the party. I've got time to think about this later."


A/N: A nice, long chapter to get us going. What do you think?