Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or any of its characters. I just like to write about them.

Author's note: This is the sequel to "Death and New Life." It starts after the episode "Daddy's Little Girl." None of the rest of the season happens…at least not yet

Chapter 1

A loud noise jolted him back to consciousness. His head rolled back, revealing the tightness of his neck muscles. He wondered how long his head had hung against his chest. He went to rub his neck, only to find his arms restrained to the chair he was in.

He opened his eyes to survey his surroundings. At first, he thought the dots of light amongst the darkness were tricks of his eyes. Then he realized it was caused from a fractured glass ball hanging from the ceiling casting its reflections around the room.

He let his eyes adjust to the swirling lights and then looked around. At first, he thought there were other people in the room, but after a few moments he realized the figures weren't moving; they were mannequins. They were set up in the middle of the room, dressed in party clothes, positioned as if dancing. How strange, he thought.

Along the far wall he noticed a table set up. It appeared to have food and punch set out on it. It was in that moment that he heard some music in the background. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the song, but couldn't quite make out what it was.

When he reopened his eyes, he thought they were again playing a trick on him. There appeared to be movement amongst the mannequins. He closed and then reopened his eyes, only to find that there really was movement. There was someone amongst the frozen partygoers.

As the figure grew closer, he could tell it was a woman. And she looked very familiar. His eyes grew wide as she came within a few feet of him.

"Crazy how much I look like her, huh?" the woman asked.

"Crazy is an adequate description," he replied, not really talking about the similarity in looks she was referring to.

She laughed. "Think of me what you will, Mr. Grissom," she told him. "But this…this is my party…" she put her hands on his knees and leaned over so that her lips were right next to his ear. "And you'll die if I want you to," she whispered with an evil delight.

Three weeks earlier…

Nick Stokes sat on his couch, turning over the small box in his hands. In his mind, all he could turn over were thoughts of the look in Kelly Gordon's eyes as the life left her body, a look he'd seen before. He just kept repeating to himself, It's over, it's over.

He stopped turning over the box and opened it. He knew what he was going to find; he'd looked in the box almost every day since its contents were returned. Still, he hoped, maybe all the previous times had been a dream and this time, it would be empty. But, it was not. Inside the box sat the engagement ring he'd given Alex Hart. Their engagement was also over.

Nick kicked himself mentally for being so stubborn. If only he hadn't been so set on going to Texas for Christmas. He shut his eyes as he remembered their argument.

"Look, I've already told you, I'm going to LA with Gil for Christmas," Alex angrily said.

"But Alex, you're my fiancé. My parents are dying to meet you," Nick responded.

"And they can meet me at New Years. What's the big deal? It's only a week."

"It's Christmas! It's time to spend with family, that's the big deal," Nick tried to explain.

"Yes, and I want to spend it with my family," she spit back.

"My family is your family."

"Not yet. We're not married." She let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, Nick. You know this is my first Christmas with my dad. Can't you please just understand?"

It wasn't that he didn't understand. It was just that he was so excited to introduce her to his family. Why couldn't she understand that? "Alex, I do understand, but you need to understand how important my family is to me. And you are part of my family!"

She couldn't believe her ears. She got so mad she took off her ring and put it in his hand. "Not anymore. It is over." And then she stormed out.

Nick snapped the box shut, echoing the sound of the slamming door in his mind. His heart had been crushed in the door that day. He had to hide his love for her for so long, and then, when they finally get together, he screws it up. This along with the day's events was just too much. A tear slid down his cheek.

It fell onto her empty hand, the tear that had escaped her eye as Alex sat in her apartment staring at her bare finger. She hadn't worn the ring in almost a month, but she could still feel it. She knew she'd been too harsh on Nick. She knew how important his family was to him. But couldn't he understand how important her family was to her?

Still, she knew she had been wrong in some of her actions. That's why she called him half an hour after she stormed out.

The phone rang, but it was his machine that picked up, not him. "You've reached Nick. Leave me a message."

Alex sighed. "Nick, I know you're there. Please pick up." She paused for a brief moment, and then continued when she knew he wasn't going to. "I'm sorry for storming out. When I said it's over I meant the engagement, not our relationship. I love you, Nick. But maybe we just need to take things slower. Please call me. I don't…can't lose you."

Nick had wanted to pick up the phone, but his pride had stopped him. She was the one who'd given the ring back. He needed to decide if he ever wanted her to have it back. Ultimately, he knew he would never forgive himself if he let this be the end, so he called her back after he had regained his composure. But, they'd only seen each other a handful of times since then. If she wanted to take things slow, he would take things slow.

He looked at his watch. "Shit!" he swore aloud. He was going to be late for a date with Alex, not that he really felt like going out now. Seeing Kelly die brought back memories of the day he had found Alex after she had swallowed a bottle of pills. He didn't know if he could even face Alex tonight. He picked up his cell phone.

"Hey, baby," Alex answered her phone after checking the caller ID and seeing that it was Nick.

"Hey," he sighed as he responded. "About tonight…"

She could hear the sadness in his voice and wondered what had happened at work. She knew he'd been working on a case that involved the daughter of the man who'd kidnapped him. "You're not up to going out?" she finished his thought.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm sorry, it's just…"

"Rough day at work," she again finished his sentence. "Want me to pick up some take-out?"

He was silent for a moment and then answered, "I think I'd rather just be alone tonight."

"Oh," she responded disappointedly. "Well, I'll be home if you decide you want some company."

"Ok," he replied. "I'll talk to you soon."

Alex was saddened that Nick didn't want to go out. She really looked forward to each one of their dates because she missed the time that they used to spend together. She was also very worried. She knew if Nick wanted to spend the evening alone, he must really be hurting. She made a mental note to call Gil and ask him. It was one of the benefits of her father working with her boyfriend.

Nick shut the phone and then placed it on the coffee table in front of him. He did want to see her, to hold her, to find comfort in just being there with her, but he wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to let her back in. He picked up his phone and the small box on the coffee table. He got up, stopping in the kitchen to grab the bottle of whiskey on the counter, and then continued on to his room. He figured he could stop the pain, at least for one night. Things would look better in the morning, he convinced himself.