I don't own CSI, but Jackson is my original character.

Lil Badger 01, this one's for you! And happy birthday!

I got to wonder about how Nick might remember Jackson's mom, and this is the story I came up with. Please review! Hope you enjoy!

AN: I have no idea what Nick's siblings' names are, so I picked out ones I thought were cool.

Jackson Sanders and Nick Stokes had been good buddies ever since Nick had first met the little boy when he came to live with his father, Greg. Jackson loved being with all of his extended family at the lab, but he and Nick were especially good buds. So, one afternoon, while Jackson's father was in court testifying on a case, Jackson was at Nick's house. The two were having fun with Nick's dog Sam in the backyard on a pretty day.

"All right," Nick said as he prepared to throw the ball for Sam. "You think he's ready, Jackson?"

"Yep!" Jackson said with a laugh.

Nick threw the ball and Sam charged after it. "All right! Good job, Sam!"

"Tres bien!" Jackson said.

Nick looked at the four-year-old with a raised eyebrow. "Since when do you speak French?"

Jackson giggled. "I dunno. I hear you say it."

Nick laughed and shook his head as Sam brought the ball back and sat patiently in front of the two. Taking the ball from the dog's mouth, Nick turned to Jackson. "You want to throw it this time?"

"Yeah!" Jackson said. Nick handed him the ball. "Here, Sam!" Jackson said as he threw the ball. He laughed as the dog ran after the toy and brought it back to him. "Uncle Nicky, he did it!"

"Yeah, he did," Nick said with a soft laugh.

The three of them played for a while longer before heading back into the house. Sam and Jackson walked alongside each other while Nick shut the door. "You want to have some lunch?"

"Okay," Jackson said. He clambered onto Nick's couch. "Uncle Nicky, why don't you like peanut butter?"

"I just never liked it," Nick said as he looked in his refrigerator for lunchmeat. "It's icky to me," he said as he wrinkled his nose.

"But I like it," Jackson said.

"Well, that's good," Nick said as he took out some bread.

"An' Aunt Sara said you never had ants on a log," Jackson said as he watched Nick prepare food.

Nick laughed. "No, I haven't. But it's okay that you like peanut butter."

Nick continued to prepare sandwiches as Jackson looked at some of the pictures on Nick's coffee table. He spotted one with Nick and two other people.

"Uncle Nicky, who dat?" Jackson asked, pointing to the picture.

Nick sat down next to Jackson. "That's my mom and dad."

Jackson studied the picture. "Dat's your mommy an' daddy?"

"Yep," Nick said with a soft laugh. "That's my mom and dad. And that..." Nick pointed to another photograph. "...that's me with my brother and sisters."

Jackson looked at the seven people in the picture. "All dose people are your family?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "That's my brother Johnny, and those are my sisters. That's Melanie, Angela, Dana, Samantha, and Josie. They're all my family."

"Wow," Jackson said softly. "An' dat's your mommy an' daddy!"

Nick laughed softly. "Yeah, they're my mom and dad. They live in Dallas, that's in Texas."

Jackson thought for a moment. "Dey not here?"

"No," Nick said, shaking his head. "They're in Texas. That's where I'm from. You remember me telling you about that when you came over to watch the football game?"

Jackson smiled, then studied Nick. "But if dey not here, who tucks you in bed at night?"

Nick smiled softly at the sweet little boy. "I'm grown up, so I can do it myself."

"But don't you miss dem?"

"Yeah," Nick said with a sigh. "Yeah, I miss them and I think about them a lot." He set the picture frame back down on the table.

Jackson frowned. "But dey come visit you, right?"

Nick knew what Jackson was thinking about. Since his mother had left him with Greg, she'd had little if any contact with Jackson. Pulling Jackson up onto his lap, Nick said, "Yeah, they come visit when they can. And sometimes I go visit them."

Jackson rested his head on Nick's chest. "Uncle Nicky, why doesn't my mommy come visit me?"

Nick hugged Jackson. "I don't know, big guy. Maybe she's very, very busy. Or maybe she doesn't want to hurt you."

Giving his uncle a confused look, Jackson asked, "Not want to hurt me?"

"I think she wishes she could see you, but she knows she can't. So every time she thinks of you she sends you a big smile and hug." Nick smiled sympathetically at the little boy. He couldn't understand why Riley had left without an explanation, let alone not tell Greg about their son. And knowing that she left him with daycare and babysitters and never really bonded with the little boy left Nick determined to make sure Jackson knew that he was important to him and his family.

Jackson thought for a moment. "Does she think about me a lot?"

Nick smiled. "I think she does. So that means you are getting more smiles and hugs than you know what to do with."

Jackson smiled at his Uncle Nick. "I get hugged all da time."

"Yeah?" Nick asked, giving Jackson a hug of his own.

Giggling, Jackson said, "Yeah!" Wrapping his arms around Nick's shoulders, Jackson said, "Dis a hug for you!"

Nick hugged Jackson and smiled. "Thank you. And you know what?"

"What?" Jackson asked when he pulled away.

"Whenever you start feeling sad, I want you to remember that your daddy and Morgan, and Aunt Sara and me and everyone love you very much."

Jackson smiled. "I love you, Uncle Nicky!"

"I love you, too," Nick said.

Nick started to pull away, but Jackson put his arms around Nick's shoulders. "Oh! What's that for?"

Jackson pulled away. "Dat's for your mommy an' daddy, cause dey miss you, too."

Nick smiled warmly at the sweet little boy. "Thank you." Moving Jackson off his lap, Nick asked, "Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah!" Jackson happily agreed.

The End.