Disclaimer: No...I don't own it. Yes..sometimes in the dark corners of my mind I wish I did -.

Hi everyone..this is my first story! You're welcome to read and review how you like, as I'm always looking for new ways to improve! Have fun with this one: My inspiration came from catching Prince on MTV...

Chapter 1- Night Out

There was a full moon in the sky that night. Nick Stokes knew that the full moon always brought out the crazies, yet what he got was so much more than that.

Nick sighed as his work-issued Denali crept along the busy Strip. Normally he'd be taking his time off with a basketball game and a nice burger, but he'd made special plans with a friend from out of town. With two solid weeks of hot cases, Nick wasn't in much of a partying mood. It didn't help that his college buddy, Jay, recommended that Nick should meet him at Rain in the Palms. Not only was it one of the most popular clubs on the Strip, but it was a fairly strong twenty-something hangout and Nick felt a bit out of place.

This is just like Jay, Nick thought, Never passing up an opportunity to score with barely legal girls.

After wandering around for nearly half an hour in a fruitless search, Nick finally parallel parked the Denali in an alleyway and sauntered up to the entrance of the casino. He quickly scanned the room, straightening out his white collared shirt and dark slacks. He spotted Jay hitting on girls who looked no older than 17 and called out his name. Jay's looks screamed former party boy-turned-corporate, and his blonde hair was slicked back like a game show host. Nick couldn't help but laugh as he saw his friend half-gallop, half jog to him with exuberance.

"Nick! My man! It's been a long time!" Jay walked up to Nick and slapped him on his back in the old frat boy style.

"Yes, yes it has." Nick smiled as he remembered the last time he and Jay went out. They were barely 25 and the next morning he found Jay halfway down a hotel laundry chute. Recently, Nick had felt out of the loop on the whole bachelor life, and being with Jay gave him a renewed sense of youth.

"Hey, Nick, buddy, I'm sorry to tell you, but we're going to a night club, not church. If you want to score all the fly honeys, you gotta stop dressing like my grandpa." Jay chuckled.

"Dude, fine, it's your call," Nick ran his hands through his chestnut hair and unbuttoned three buttons on his shirt, "But why Rain? Man, there is no way we can get in here tonight, it's jammed—"

"Bro," Jay interrupted "I've got it in with the manager! We're already on the list! You ready for the night of your life?"

"Let the games begin." Nick said in earnest. The night was young, the moon was high, and Nick Stokes was on the prowl.

CSICSICSICSI

Jay was right, they were on the list. Nick was right, too, as they were both immersed in a sea of coeds. The music was thumping loud, and the throbbing bass of "Tainted Love" could be felt in the background of the rap music spun by the DJ. The men both shuffled their way through the swarming crowd, spying an empty VIP booth in the back amid the blinding lights.

"He said we could take one of these!" Jay yelled

"What?" Nick couldn't hear a damn thing with the music

"The manager! He said we could take a quiet booth!" Jay screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Awesome!" Nick yelled as soon as the music died down. Every single college student within a 10 foot radius glared at him, and he could only shoot a sheepish smile. Nick felt like an elephant at a lion's watering hole. Like a moth in a colony of butterflies. There were a million Discovery Channel analogies about his dire situation running through his mind as he and Jay snuck to the back and ordered beers. Nick buried his head in his hands and breathed through his embarrassment. He was a scientist, not a party boy, and despite a few hardcore college events, the only time he ever club-hopped was with old friends. He felt rusty, and a sudden urge to turn his A-game back on coursed through his body. It felt too long, and time wasn't doing him any favors.

"So, Nicky boy, any fine chicks at the lab you wanna tell me about?" Jay smirked.

"I haven't had time for chicks." Nick lied. He'd been playful with a few girls around the lab, and he was semi-interested in one. But, as far as he knew, she never cared much for him, so he never pressed the issue. Jay sipped his beer and gave him an incredulous look.

"You need a girl in your life my man, someone to hold you down," Jay said.

"Wow…since when did you become the expert on relationships, man? Last time you had a steady girlfriend we were still barely making rent in Texas," Nick joked as he took a swig of beer. Not untrue to form, every time Nick heard from Jay, he had a new girlfriend. And, also not a surprise, she was blonder, skinnier, and tanner than the previous one. He always thought it was hilarious every year at Christmas time when he would get a card from Jay, there'd be another picture of a twenty-something dressed like Santa's little helper. And always, holding Jenny/Candi/Karen/Micki's waist would be Jay, smiling like a cheap bail bondsman. Nick could never get over the fact that though Jay got older, the girls stayed the same.

"Touché my friend, but I'm serious. A little tail in your life won't kill you. I mean, look around!" Jay made a sweeping motion with his hands, and with lighting fast reflexes swiped a few more drinks from the passing waitress. He gulped down half of his beer, scanning his eyes over the crowd of hot, sweaty girls in miniskirts and crop tops. Dancing seductively, it seemed that an entire sorority exploded onto a dance floor looking for Mr. Right (Or Mr. Right-Now, Nick couldn't tell). "There are loads of hot girls waiting to be picked up by a handsome young Texan." Jay stated as he slapped Nick on the shoulder in acknowledgment. Handsome he could go with, but young? Nick suddenly felt like he should be at home, taking his Metamucil in defeat.

"I don't know though, these girls aren't really my style." Truthfully, he wasn't sure if any girl was his style. Since Kristy Hopkins, there didn't seem to be a decent relationship anywhere. And, after the "Grave Incident," as the polite folk call it, Nick didn't know if he had the ability to start that kind of relationship with a new girl. It was impossible, he was impossible, to get through. He needed someone to understand him, not to just hang on his arm and look pretty. This was hopeless. Why would he look for a meaningful relationship among girls who looked like they were auditioning for Girls Gone Wild: LV Co-eds?

Jay let out a long dramatic sigh and threw his hands up in the air for yet another dramatic showing of the environment around their booth.

"Then what is your style? Pick your poison, man, they're all here. You got your blondes, your brunettes, redheads. You got White chicks, Black, Latino, Asian, and incredibly sexy combinations of all of them. There's got to be a girl…."

Jay suddenly stopped his train of thought completely interrupted; his jaw dropped open and his eyes blinked in amazement.

"Dude…Jay, you okay?" Nick asked. Jay snapped out of his stupor and grabbed Nick's shoulders, turning him to face the crowd.

"Nicky boy, I think I just found the future Mrs. Stokes." Jay smiled and pointed a finger out into the crowd.

That's when Nick saw her.

Oooh...I wonder who it could be? Find out next chap!