Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI
Intuition
"I am so excited, I can't believe we get to go to Paris again, being married to the new bug man at the lab sure has it's perks." Jackie told Nick as they sat at the airport, waiting to board the plane.
Nick laughed.
"Yes, being married to me definitely has perks, don't ever forget that." Nick told her with a grin.
Jackie chuckled.
The couple was going to Paris so Nick could attend another entomology conference, if he went to the conference he was almost a shoe in for a promotion at the lab.
"I'm going to miss the kids though." Jackie told him.
"Yeah, I will too, but it'll only be for a few days, plus I really don't think they were all that sad to have to stay with your parents, they seemed giddy about it."
"I know, the little stinkers, but I can't really blame them, I always loved it when my parents went out of town and I got to stay with my grandma when I was little." Jackie replied.
Nick laughed.
"Me too." He agreed.
"It's going to be a long day huh?" Jackie told him.
They had to leave Vegas, then catch a connecting flight in New York, then catch another connecting flight in London and then finally Paris.
"Yeah, we'll just have to take naps to make the time go faster." He responded.
He glanced at his watch.
"We still have over an hour till we board, I'm going to get some coffee, you stay here with our bags, do you want a coffee?" He asked.
"Do you even have to ask?" Jackie told him with a laugh.
Nick laughed at her.
"What kind of Frap do you want?" He asked.
"Mocha please."
"Ok, I'll be back in a few minutes." He left and came back about twenty minutes later.
"What took so long, I was beginning to think you got on a different plane." Jackie quipped.
"That would be hilarious, I'd just send you a text See you in a few days hon, I'm off to Hawaii.
Jackie laughed.
"You wouldn't think it's too funny, I have your suitcase if you remember correctly." She said as she nodded at the floor by her feet where Nick's suitcase was sitting.
"I'd just go shopping in Hawaii." He said with a grin.
"Anyway, the coffee shop was way at the other end of the airport, and they were out of mocha, sorry, so I got you a chocolate chai frap instead." He told her.
"That's good, I like that too, thanks." She told him.
They sat in a content silence drinking their coffee.
"Jacks." He said suddenly.
"What?" She said as she looked up at him.
He nodded across the small isle of seats, an adorable baby was waving at her, trying to get her attention.
"Hi." Jackie told the baby with a smile.
The baby grinned at her happily.
"You're such a ham." The baby's mother said with a laugh.
"He's adorable, what's his name?" Jackie asked the mother.
"Sloan." She replied.
"Really? That's my baby boy's name too." Jackie said sounding shocked.
Sloan wasn't a name you heard everyday.
"What a coincidence." The mother replied.
"Yes it is." Jackie agreed.
"We are flying to New York to see my parents and my grandmother, my parents flew down when he was born but my grandmother isn't doing that great and was too ill at the time to make the trip so she hasn't met him yet."
"I'm sorry about your grandmother, but I'm sure she'll absolutely love getting to meet the little one."
"Oh yes, she's extremely excited." She replied.
"Uh-oh, someone has a wet bottom, I better go change him, I wonder where the nearest bathroom is."
"There's one right down the hall to your left, I noticed it when I went to get coffee." Nick told her.
"Thank you." The woman told him with a smile as she picked up her diaper bag. The baby waved frantically at Jackie as they walked away.
"Looks like you made a friend Jacks." Nick told her.
"Yes it does." She responded with a laugh.
Nick checked his watch again.
"Only fifteen minutes till we board." He told her, he couldn't wait to get the show on the road.
A few minutes later Jackie looked at him.
"Nicky, I don't feel very good about this, I don't think we should go." She told him suddenly.
"What do you mean? Are you sick?" He asked her.
"No, I just have this feeling that's telling me we should stay home."
"You're just nervous." He told her with a smile as he grabbed her hand.
Despite the fact that Jackie had flown quite a bit she didn't really like it, she had to admit she did get nervous, especially during the landing part of the flight.
"No, it's more than that, I just don't think we should go."
"Well then, you're just sad you have to leave the kids but they'll be fine, they'll have a ton of fun with your parents, they're in great hands you know that, if I didn't think they were I wouldn't even think about going." He told her again trying to reassure her.
"I know my parents will take great care of them, it's not that either, I can't explain it, I just don't want to go."
Just then an announcement came over the loud speaker, their plane was beginning to board.
"Come on, it's going to be so much fun, remember how much fun we had the last time in Paris?" He told her with a smile as he handed her his coffee so he could grab both their suitcases.
"I don't think we should go." She insisted.
"But Jacks, what about my conference? If I don't go I can kiss that promotion goodbye, and that promotion would mean I'd make over 5 grand more a year."
"I know, I'm sorry Nicky but I truly don't think we should go." She told him.
Nick thought she was just scared, he turned around and noticed the line of people waiting to board the plane was shrinking.
He grabbed her hand and gently pulled on it, hoping she'd cave and get on the plane but she didn't move.
"Ok, how about I just go? You can stay home with the kiddos and that way you won't have to fly, it's only a few days, if you need something I'm sure Greg or someone from the lab would be happy to help you, or obviously your parents would help too." He told her as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, trying to be supportive but still trying to talk her into letting him go to the conference.
Before Jackie had a chance to answer a woman came up next to them.
"Ma'am, sir, I'm sorry to interrupt but this is the last call to board, are you coming?"
Nick looked again at Jackie.
"Please don't go Nicky." Jackie told him quietly, he was shocked to notice tears were in her eyes.
At first he thought she was just freaking out about flying but although she'd been nervous flying before she had never done this, and he knew she wasn't scared to stay home alone without him, she did that all the time since he worked nights. She was literally crying, how could he possibly go?
"Alright, I won't go." He told her quietly as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"Thank you." She told him, relief evident in her voice.
He then turned his attention to the woman. "I'm sorry, we're not going." He told her.
"Alright, have a nice day." She responded with a smile before she walked away.
They left the airport and started driving to her parent's house.
"I'm sorry Nick." Jackie told him during the drive, she was beginning to feel stupid about not letting him go, maybe she was just scared to fly.
"It's ok." He assured her.
He was a little disappointed about missing his conference and about losing his shot at the promotion but he wasn't angry or upset with Jackie, although he didn't quite know what to make of her behavior at the airport.
He pulled into his in-laws driveway and the couple walked up the walkway to the front door.
Jackie rang the doorbell.
"Who is it?" Her mom called back.
"It's Nick and Jackie."
Her mother opened the door.
"What are you two doing here?" She asked.
"We missed our plane." Nick told her.
Jackie looked at him surprised but he just smiled at her.
"How'd that happen, I thought you guys left in plenty of time?" Her mother asked.
"We didn't get there early enough I guess." He told her.
"So are you going to catch a different plane tomorrow?"
"No, there's no way I can make the conference in time now."
"Oh, I'm sorry Nick." Her mother said.
"That's alright." He said with a shrug.
"We'll take the kiddos." Jackie told her mom with a smile.
"Hi mama." Houston said as he came over to Nick and Jackie.
"Hi buddy." Jackie told him as she tousled his hair.
"Come on kids, let's go home." Jackie told them.
"No stay." Jasmine said.
"You want to stay with grandma and grandpa?" Jackie asked.
"Yeah." The little girl responded. Jackie's mom laughed "I promised them we'd take them for pizza and ice cream tonight after your dad gets off work."
"Oh I see." Jackie said with a laugh.
"Is it ok if they spend the night?" Jackie's mom asked. Jackie looked at Nick.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Nick told her.
"Alright good." Jackie's mom said.
"But we'll take the little guy so it won't be quite so much." Nick told her as he took Sloan from her arms.
"Ok, hey why don't you come to pizza and ice cream with us?" Jackie's mom suggested.
"Alright, we'll go home and unpack and then we'll meet up with you guys a little later." Jackie told her mother.
After that Nick, Jackie, and Sloan went home.
"It's ok sweetheart." Jackie told the baby who was getting fussy right after they got home.
He was hungry and when he was hungry he became very impatient.
"Hon, I'm going to feed him and then I'll unpack." Jackie told Nick.
"Ok." Nick responded as he headed upstairs with both his and Jackie's suitcases so he could unpack his stuff.
Jackie quickly made the baby's bottle and then carried the infant and the bottle into the living room and sat down on the couch so she could feed him.
The second the bottle was in his mouth Sloan was once again his happy little self.
"Is that better sweetie pie?" She asked as she looked down at the now happy baby.
Jackie then turned on the TV.
Nick was upstairs absentmindedly unpacking when the sound of Jackie's blood curdling scream made him jump.
TBC….