A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS EXCEPT FOR THE ONES I MADE UP. EX. MATT THOMPSON AND LINDSAY'S FUTURE CHILDREN. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS OF CSI.

A/N2: Not Beta'd, all errors are of my own fault.

Lindsay Willows looked up as she heard the door creak open.

"Hey Kiddo, how you doing?" asked Nick Stokes.

"I'm doing okay. I can't believe I'm getting married in ten minutes."

Nick looked at the women in front of him. No he couldn't believe it, she would always be his little girl, even if she was getting married today. He may not be her father biologically, or even legally, but he'd been there every step of the way and every major mile stone of her life.

Lindsay noticed Nick staring at her, and knew what he was thinking because at that moment she was thinking it to. He was her dad. He may not of ever legally adopted her after he married her mom (she was eighteen and didn't need to be adopted), but he'd been there since day one. "You okay?" she asked

"Ya," he replied, "I was just thinking about the last 22yrs, and how amazed I am of what a beautiful young woman you've grown into."

They started talking about some of their favorite memories together. The first he mentioned was the day she was born and how he was the first to get to hold her, well after her mom of course.

He'd been working the graveyard shift that night, doing a double since they were shorthanded. Catherine was on maternity leave already, due any day, a baby girl. It was early into the morning and he was just laying his head down on his pillow when his phone rang. "Hello?" he asked. It was Catherine on the other end, telling him she was in labor and to meet her at the hospital. He'd asked where Eddie was, and she said she couldn't reach him that he had gone out with some buddies and was probably passed out somewhere. Dang it he thought, that man is never around when he needs her; I just wish he could get his act together. But now wasn't the time to be focused on Eddie, now was the time to be focused on Catherine and so he was there. He got to NLV Memorial ten minutes after she called him; Lindsay Nicole Willows was born 3 hours later.

She'd (Catherine) been in labor for several hours, she tried getting hold of Eddie but he just didn't show. It wasn't Eddie she wanted anyways, she'd only married him because he'd gotten her pregnant, so when she called Nick she knew he'd be there, that he'd drop everything to not miss this moment. They weren't dating; they were just friends, good friends, and best friends even. Nick showed, just like she knew he would. He held her hands; got her ice chips, told her everything would be okay. When the doctor asked if Nick wanted to cut the cord he didn't even hesitate of course he did. The doctor asked if she wanted to hold the baby so she did, then she asked Nick if he wanted to; of course he did. It was in that moment, watching him hold her, that she knew Nick would always be a part of her life and apart of Lindsay's life too. She'd already picked out Lindsay's first name, having wanted to name her child that since she was a child, but her middle name had been up for debate, Eddie had wanted Elizabeth after his mother, but Catherine had never meet Eddie's mother, and truthfully didn't want Eddie to have any part in naming HER daughter. The moment she saw Nick with Lindsay she knew what her middle name was supposed to be. As Nick held baby Lindsay in his hands, he looked up at Catherine and asked, "Cath, what's her name?" With a smile on her face she said, "Lindsay Nicole Willows; after her godfather." It took everything Nick had not to tear up, he looked down at Lindsay, and said, "I love you kiddo, and I will always be here for you; I promise" and he always had been.

Lindsay looked up at Nick as he was finishing the story of her birth—one she'd heard many times before—and smirked, "you didn't know what you were getting into when you'd promise to be there for me always did you?"

Nick just chuckled, "probably not at the time, but I don't regret a single moment of it."

"Not even when I was four, and you had to rush me to the ER at three in the morning because I had a 104 temp and Mom couldn't find Eddie (she'd long ago quit referring to Eddie as dad, he'd died when she was six—well murdered actually—but she didn't have any real memories of him)?" Asked Lindsay?

"Nope, not even then…although I don't know that I've ever been more scared in my life. When your Mom called me, and I got to the hospital, all I could think of is that I couldn't lose you…you or your Mom, and it terrified me. I mean, your mom and Eddie had been divorced a year at that point, but she wasn't ready to start dating anyone, and truthfully at the time neither was I but I knew enough to know that I didn't want anything to happen to the two most important people in my life, and you ending up in the ER with at temp of 104 just about gave me a heart attack," Nick replied.

Nick continued on to say, I think one of my favorite moments when you were little you were about seven years old, it was shortly after Eddie died, and you were spending the weekends over at my place so your Mom could work and you asked me if I could teach you to ride your bike without training wheels…

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. Nick had Lindsay for the weekend. Ever since Eddie had died six months earlier, he had been helping Catherine out a lot more by taking the weekends off and keeping Lindsay with him, so that way Catherine could work weekends and only two days a week so she'd be around more during the school week for Lindsay. Of course Catherine's mom Rose (A/N. don't actually remember her mom's name) was there to help on the days that Catherine needed it, but Catherine wanted to be as much of a hands on mom as she could be, and so sometimes it meant doing things she didn't like, such as working on weekends so she could make it to things Lindsay's recitals, school plays, parent teacher conferences, doctor appointments, etc….during the school week.

He'd picked up Lindsay from school on Friday afternoon just like he always did on his weekends (and on the weekends he didn't have her, he often spent over at Catherine's just so he could spend time with both of them…he hated the feeling of being alone, and he was alone without both of them). They'd gone to the park, ate pizza for dinner (just like every Friday night), watched a movie and went to bed around nine. Lindsay in her room, the one that he had set aside for her when she was just an infant, one that she had personally decorated and changed over the years, and would continue to do so as she grew older. She had as much stuff at Nick's as she did at home, in truth she considered Nick's as much home as she ever did Eddies, more so because Nick made sure it was kid friendly, and that she felt like she belonged. Saturday morning, much like every Saturday Nick let Lindsay sleep in until ten, and then he started a late breakfast of omelets, bacon and hash-browns, her favorite.

That afternoon, around three or so, Nick asked if Lindsay wanted to do something fun. She said. "yes, but that she wanted to do a surprise for her mom." He looked at her and said, "Okay, what kind of surprise." She told him that she wanted to learn to ride her bike without her training wheels, she wanted to be a big kid, so that way she, and mommy, and Nick could go on bike rides together, and not just be limited to around the block. He said okay, and off they went on the adventure of a lifetime. They went down to the park, the one they always went to just down the street from his house. He taught her to ride, just as his dad had taught him. He placed one hand on the back of the seat, and she got on, and he told her….I'm gonna hold on, and count to ten and at ten I'm gonna let go and she said okay. So he did.

The first time, she road for about five seconds after he let go. He was impressed, told her he thought she was doing great. The next time she stayed on a little longer, then a little longer. Each time he let go his heart screamed just a little to make sure she was safe; to make sure she knew he was still here and always would be. By the end of the day she was riding the bike like a pro, as he was sitting there on the bench watching her go round and round in circles on the bike, a woman sat down next to him.

"Is that little one yours?" Asked Jane (the women next to him). Not thinking twice he replied, "Yep, she is. Do you have a little one here?" Jane looked over at him and said, "My ex-husband will be here with him in a little bit, meeting for our weekly drop-off." This back and forth continued on for a few more minutes until he ended up with Jane's number (he'd end up dating her for about two years) before Lindsay walked up to him and asked if they could go home, and that she couldn't wait to show mommy her new skills the next day when Catherine would come pick her up.

Nick laughed as he finished the flashback and story, I loved being able to teach you something the way my father had. Dating Jane on the other hand, may not have been my smoothest move. Lindsay nodded in agreement. She looked at him with sorrow in her eyes and said, "Those two years that you were with Jane sucked. It wasn't that we didn't like her, she just took all your time and I didn't get to see you as often as I had before, or since." It was true Nick realized, during those two years with Jane, had been tough on his relationship with both Catherine and Lindsay. Lindsay had been young and didn't understand why he couldn't just be with her mommy, and Catherine, well she didn't realize it until later, but she was just jealous that he had someone who needed him, and that it wasn't her. The final stray in his relationship with Jane was when she told him that she wanted him to have no contact with either Catherine or Lindsay, and that he was not willing to do.

Lindsay and Nick continued to talk back in forth about memories. Lindsay remembering when Nick taught her to drive, Nick remembering threating to shoot her first boyfriend Brad when Lindsay was fourteen and he broke up with her via text.

Lindsay went on to tell him, my favorite memory was when I was eighteen and you came to ask me permission to marry Mom.

It was their Friday night date night; Lindsay's and Nick's that was. Friday night had been their night, for the past eighteen years or so. When she was younger after Eddie died she spent every weekend over there for six months or so until he started dating Jane, and then things went down where she only ever saw him on Fridays. After Jane and Nick broke up, their weekend sleepovers began again. Then when she was thirteen her Mom took another job in another state, and moved them, leaving Nick behind. The next year was miserable for all three of them. Nick realized he loved Catherine, and Catherine realized she loved Nick, but neither would fess up to it. So instead of being able to spend ever weekend with Nick, she flew out once a month (Nick paid, wanting to make sure he got to spend time with his little girl, Catherine was fine with it, knowing how much the two meant to each other), and on the weekends she wasn't in Las Vegas with Nick, they skyped every Friday. It was their way to stay connected. After a year Catherine realized that home was in Vegas with Nick. Though they wouldn't start dating for another few years (okay truthfully they never really did date), they both knew that they needed to be in the same town, and that for Lindsay's sake they needed to be one. They were their own family, and they functioned better together then apart, even if living in two households, only a few miles apart. So once back in Vegas, family dinners started up again, Lindsay's weekends with Nick back again…as she got older, her weekends went back to Friday night date nights. It wasn't that she didn't want to stay with Nick, she was just older, had more of a social life, and it was just complicated….she wanted to be with him, but she wanted to be with her mom to….truthfully she just wanted to be one family, she'd been dreaming of it since she was little.

So it was their Friday night date. Just like every other Friday night, Nick drove to Catherine's house and picked Lindsay up at 6:30sharp. Tonight she'd be spending the night. She didn't know why, but Nick had asked if she could, said it was for a special reason, that they hadn't had a sleepover in weeks and he just wanted to spend time with her. So she'd said yes. She came down the stairs in a skirt and tank top. It was mid-July; she'd be leaving for college in the fall. (She'd been accepted to Brown on a full ride for English. He was so proud, as was Catherine; their little girl was growing up). She'd just assumed that he wanted to celebrate her getting in….again, it's not like the night they got the acceptance letter that they didn't go all out on dinner, inviting everyone from the crime lab and all her friends. But nope, tonight was going to be just them, only he knew what it was all about. Tonight he was going to ask her permission to marry her mom.

Lindsay came down the stairs, and looked at Nick and said, "I'm ready to go." He looked up at her and said, "You look beautiful, just like your Mother." She just smiled, so did Catherine. He opened the truck door for her, and they went to their favorite restaurant, a local Italian joint. They joked and talked the night away, he asked about her week, about John the guy she was dating, making sure he was treating her alright. Asked about if she was excited to be leaving for Brown in a few weeks, fears, hopes, dreams. It was just like every other Friday night.

They went home (to Nick's home), and both went to their rooms and changed, him from his suit to sweats and a t-shirt, her from her skirt and top to flannel pj's and a t-shirt. They came to the living room, he pulled out some photo albums and they went down memory lane, talked about her first steps (he'd been there when she'd taken them), her first car, her first words (Mamma, then icky-she called him icky for probably the first two years of her life). They talked about past lovers, both his, hers, and her moms, they talked for hours on end. Then around eleven that night he looked at her and said Lindsay I have something important I need to ask you. She looked at him, not sure what to say but said…um sure…

So Nick went on, "Lindz, you know how much I love you and your mom. You two are the two most important people in my life, and as I look back on the last eighteen years of my life I couldn't imagine it without either of you. As I look into the future, you both are in it. I know your mom and I have talked to you before about us, and have always said that we would never be a couple, that we couldn't ruin what we have, but I don't think that's the case anymore. We're older, we're wiser, and truthfully, I believe we're in love with each other. If it's okay with you, I'd like to ask her to marry me. But only if it's okay with you Lindz, because if it's not that's okay, and we can just stay friends, but I'd like for us to be one family. I'd like to officially be your dad, and a husband to your mom."

Lindsay looked at him with tears in her eyes, "It's about time," she said, "and for the record you've always been my dad."

The next day Lindsay and Nick took Catherine out to the lake—a place where they'd spent many summer days as a family in years before-and Nick got down one knee and asked Catherine to be his wife. Saying that even though they'd never officially dated, that they'd been a family forever, and he just wanted to make it official, and finally be the husband to her she deserved and a father to Lindsay. Of course she said yes. All Lindsay could do was look at them and say it's about damn time.

As Lindsay was finishing she was in tears, and she said, "Daddy, thank you for always being there for me, thank you for choosing to be my dad, and for loving mom. Thank you for all the ups and downs. I know it hasn't always been easy. We've had some rough patches, like the "Jane Years" or the year mom and I moved to Colorado. We may not of always gotten along, like when you didn't like Brad, or John, or David, or any of the guys I liked until I met him, the one I'm about to marry. But thank you. Thank you for being there with mom to teach me right from wrong, to ground me when I got caught sneaking in past curfew, for putting up with my teen attitude, and for the times I tried telling you off and telling you to leave me alone because you weren't my father. You've always been there, you kept your promise on the day I was born, and I know you'll always be there for me. I love you daddy."

Nick looked at her with tears coming down his face, "Jeez, Lindz, I promised myself I wouldn't cry. That one of us had to be the strong one, well guess it's gonna have to be your mom." He smirked as he said this. Just then there was a knock on the door and Catherine poked her head in and said, "Nick, Lindsay it's time to go, Matt's waiting."

"Okay, Mom/Catherine" both replied as they started to laugh.

As they stepped up to the doors of the Sanctuary, as Greg and Brass opened them, Nick saw Matt Thompson, the man who was going to be marrying his little girl, his daughter, he looked at her one last time and said, "Lindsay Nicole Willows, just remember no matter what I love you and I will always be here for you. I promise."

Epilogue:

Eleven Months later Nick was standing in NLV Memorial in the exact same room that he had stood just 25 years before when Lindsay had been born, looking down at a beautiful baby boy. "Lindsay, what's his name," he asked. She looked at him and smiled and said, "Nicholas Samuel Thompson, after his grandfather and great-grandfather (Sam-Catherine's dad).

Two years later, Cathy Michelle Thompson would join the family, and one year after that Lindsay and Matt would be completing their family with twins Willow Rose Thompson and Gregory Stokes Thompson. Friday night's dates between Lindsay and Nick would continue on until the day he died when he was 92 years old. Having been around to watch not only his little girl grow up, get married and have a family, but to watch his grand children have children as well.