Vacation Interrupted

Chapter 2

"I thought that house looked very familiar" Lucy said.

Jackie quickly raced into the bedroom and grabbed her cell phone and frantically dialed her husbands' number. "Come on Nicky please pick up" she mumbled, but Nick did not answer.

She ran back and joined her friend in the living room "Lucy, Nick didn't answer, what if he is dead" Jackie said quickly growing hysterical.

"Jacks calm down, look it says that there was no explosion and no injuries were reported." Lucy said putting her arm around her best friend to try to calm her down, but it didn't work.

"Why won't he answer his cell?" Jackie asked, even though she knew her friend wouldn't have the answer.

"I'm sure there's a good reason." Lucy said, but Jackie wasn't buying it.

She dialed another number.

"Who are you calling?" Lucy asked.

"Catherine, Nick's supervisor" Jackie said, but to her dismay, Catherine did not answer her phone either.

"Lucy, call the airport, get me a ticket on the night flight out of here, I am going to go pack my clothes" Jackie said as she quickly went to go pack.

A few minutes later Lucy knocked on the bedroom door.

"Come in" Jackie said, continuing to throw things in her suitcase.

"I booked two tickets on the next flight back to Vegas 3 hours from now." Lucy said.

"Why two tickets?" Jackie asked.

"Because there is no way I am letting you fly by yourself right now, you are hysterical" Lucy said.

"Lucy, thanks so much but I'll be fine, you don't have to come with me." Jackie said.

"Yes I do." Lucy insisted with a smile.

Jackie stopped throwing things in her bag long enough to give her friend a hug "Thank you" she said.

"What are friends for?" Lucy asked.

Jackie gave her friend a smile of gratitude.

"I better go get packed too" Lucy said as she left the room.

In no time the two women were at the airport and through security. Jackie had tried to call Sara Sidle on the way to the airport, but like her colleagues Sara did not answer her phone, which made Jackie even more panicked. Jackie was nearly sprinting towards her terminal, she wanted to be on that plane and back in Vegas, and more than anything she wanted to wrap her arms around her husband. As she was hurrying towards her gate Jackie heard Lucy call her name, but she didn't turn around, she was too focused, too determined

"Jackie" Lucy called again, louder this time, but Jackie still didn't turn around.

Finally Lucy grabbed her arm, "Jackie, our terminal is back the other way, the terminal that you are heading too has a plane going to Hawaii, and if Nicky is in Hawaii, he has got some major explaining to do." Lucy hoped that last remark would make her friend smile, but instead she just said "oh, right, sorry" as she turned around and just as quickly started towards the correct terminal.

Their plane was not ready to board so the women found seats and sat down to wait. While waiting Jackie's cell phone rang. The caller I'D said Sara Sidle.

"It's Sara" Jackie said, feeling a knot form in her stomach. Lucy grabbed Jackie's arm in a comforting manner, just in case Sara had horrible news

"Sara, thank God, listen what is going on, we were watching the news and we saw my house and it said somebody put a grenade in my yard, is Nick alright?" Jackie asked without taking a breath.

"Whoa Jackie calm down, Nick's fine, your house didn't explode, everything is ok." Sara said.

"Thank God, I was so scared, especially because nobody answered their phones."

"No, Nick and everyone else is fine, you can calm down now." Sara said, trying to get her to relax.

"Thank you Sara, did you guys find out who is responsible for the grenade?" Jackie asked.

"No, not yet, but as we speak Nick and Cath are following a lead, if I find out anymore I will call you back." Sara promised.

Just then Lucy whispered in Jackie's ear "Jackie, they are boarding"

"Sara, my plane is starting to board, so I have to go, I will turn my phone back on as soon as I can, if you hear anymore, please call me."

"I will, I promise" Sara said.

"Thank you, and thanks for calling me back, I was completely horrified." Jackie said.

"I can imagine, it's no problem, have a safe flight, and I will see you when you get here." Sara said.

"Thank you" Jackie said one more time before hanging up the phone.

"Alright, now what is happening?" Lucy asked, as soon as her friend had hung up the phone.

"Nick's fine, the house is still standing, and they don't know who is responsible for the grenade yet, but Nick and Catherine are following a lead, Sara is going to call me back if anything else develops" Jackie said.

"So everyone is ok right?" Lucy asked.

"Yes" Jackie answered.

"Thank God" Lucy said, as she gave the ticket to the attendant standing at the front of the terminal.

The two women boarded the plane, put their luggage up in the shelf above their seats and sat down. Before long the plane took off and not long after take off the passengers were aloud to turn their phones back on. A while later Jackie's cell phone rang again, and again it was Sara.

"Hello" Jackie said.

"Jackie, it's Sara, listen, I have some bad news, the lead that Nick and Catherine were following was apparently a good one, but the building they were in was wired with a bomb, they had a member of the bomb squad with them, and he tried to disable the bomb but there was more than one trip wire, and the bomb went off, Nick and Catherine, are at the hospital, there injuries are minor thank god, but Lou Vartann was with them as well in addition to being in the explosion he was also shot, his injuries are more serious, they don't know if he'll make it yet, and the bomb squad member was killed in the explosion."

Jackie was stunned, she immediately begin to cry.

"Jackie what is it, what is going on?" Lucy asked, seeing her friend fall apart right before her eyes.

"Sara are you sure Nick and Catherine are going to be alright, please don't sugar coat this." Jackie said.

"Nick and Cath will be fine, I wouldn't sugar coat something like that, I promise." Sara said, trying to ease her friends' mind.

"Thank god, and I hope Vartann is going to be alright, poor Catherine has lost enough people she cares about, she shouldn't have to lose Lou too." Jackie said.

"I know, I thought the same thing." Sara said.

Once again the announcement was made to turn off all cell phones and electronics, this time however, because they were about to land.

"Sara I gotta go, we are landing in Vegas, we are going to head straight over to Desert Palm, thank you so much again for keeping me informed."

"Of course, I am sure I will see you later at the hospital, and remember, Nick and Catherine are fine, so try not to worry." Sara said.

"Thank you Sara." Jackie said before hanging up the phone.

"What's going on?" Lucy frantically asked again once her friend was off the phone.

"Nick, Catherine, a detective, and a bomb squad member were in a building that exploded." Jackie said.

Lucy gasped and immediately grabbed her best friend's hand.

"No, no, Nick and Catherine are going to be fine."

"Thank god" Lucy said.

"But they don't know if the detective will survive, and the bomb squad member didn't make it." Jackie stated

"Oh that's too bad" Lucy said sadly.

The plane came to a bumpy landing and as soon as they were able, both women hustled off the plane, they found a taxi and ordered the driver to go to the hospital.

Once at the hospital they went to the information desk.

"Can I help you?" a friendly looking woman at the desk said.

"Yes, could you please tell me what room Nick Stokes is in?" Jackie asked.

"Ok, one moment." The lady said, she typed on her computer

"Mr. Stokes has already been released." The woman said with a smile. Jackie immediately gave a huge sigh of relief, and glanced over at Lucy who was beaming.

"What room is Catherine Willows in then?" Jackie asked the lady.

Again she typed on her computer "Ms. Willows has also been released." She said after a few seconds.

"That's wonderful" Jackie said, and then she asked the woman "Ok what about Lou Vartann?"

The woman glanced at her computer "He is in room 592" She said.

"Thank you for your help" Jackie said.

"No problem" the woman said.

Jackie and Lucy quickly headed for the elevator. When they got off on the fifth floor they rounded a corner and saw a figure standing against the wall. Jackie recognized the person immediately, she dropped her suitcase in the middle of the hallway and went running towards the person

"Nicky" She yelled, Nick turned around and was shocked to see his wife running at him. She wrapped him in a tight embrace.

"Honey what are you doing here?" He asked her, hugging her tightly back.

"Lucy and I were watching the news and we saw our house, and it said someone put a grenade in our yard, and I thought you blew up, and then Sara called and said you were fine, but then she called me back saying that you, Cath, Vartann, and a bomb squad member were in a building that exploded…" She stopped as tears started to stream down her face. She placed her head on his shoulder and let her tears fall on his black shirt.

"Shhhh it's alright, I'm fine, don't cry." He said as he took and wiped away her tears with his finger.

She looked at him and noticed two 2 large gashes on his cheek and one on his forehead, she gently traced the edge of his wounds with her finger "Are you sure you are alright?" She asked, not at all convinced.

He grabbed her hand, "I'm fine, I promise" he said quietly.

"I love you so much" She whispered.

"I love you too" he said, taking her in his arms.

The couple stayed like that for a couple minutes, without saying a word to one another, then Jackie did something that even shocked herself. She took her hand and smacked Nick on the back of the head.

"What was that for?" Nick asked in complete disbelief.

"Someone leaves a grenade on our lawn and you don't even bother to call me, do you have any idea how scared I was?" She demanded.

"Easy Jackie, you thought you lost Nick forever, you got him back, don't kill him now." Lucy said stepping in.

Jackie took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Nick, I shouldn't have done that." She said.

Nick grinned at her "That's one of the things I love most about you, you're fiery." He then gave her a smirk and added "and at times a little crazy."

"Oh hush" Jackie said, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

Nick turned his attention to Lucy, "Lucy it's nice to see you again. What made you decide to fly back with Jackie?" He asked.

"You're wife really loves you, you know? When she thought you died, she became hysterical, I didn't want her to be alone, and it's a good thing I came with her, or she would have flown to Hawaii."

"Huh?" Nick asked, not understanding.

Lucy smiled, "it's a long story, I'll tell you later."

Nick turned to Jackie but she just smiled.

"How's Lou?" Jackie asked her husband.

"He's going to be alright." Nick answered.

"That's wonderful" Jackie said, then she asked "where's Catherine?"

"In Lou's room" Nick said.

"I'm going to go tell them I am glad they are ok, I will be right back." Jackie said.

With that she left her husband and best friend in the hallway and headed for Lou's room. When she got there Lou was asleep and Catherine was sitting by his bed.

"Catherine" Jackie whispered. Catherine turned around, and she looked surprised to see her.

"Jackie, I thought you were on vacation this whole week." She said.

"I was, but I saw what happened on the news and I rushed home." Jackie said.

She went over to Catherine and gave her a hug, that is when Jackie noticed Catherine's wrapped hand "You ok?" she asked.

Catherine noticed Jackie looking at her hand "Yeah, this is nothing." She said holding up her hand.

Jackie smiled.

"How's he doing?" Jackie asked nodding her head towards Lou.

"He's going to be just fine." Catherine said with a smile.

"I am so happy you guys are all right." Jackie said.

"Yeah except for poor Kip" Catherine said.

"Who's Kip?" Jackie asked.

"The member of the bomb squad that was killed in the explosion." Catherine said.

"Oh yeah that is horrible." Jackie said.

"Yes especially because he saved our lives, and then he didn't make it, it makes me sick." Catherine said.

Catherine's eyes started to well with tears.

"I'm sorry" Jackie stated as she gave her another hug.

"Me too" Catherine said.

Catherine composed herself again, so Jackie said "I am going to go back out in the hall with Nick and Lucy, but if you need anything, you let me know." Jackie said.

"Thank you, I will" Catherine replied.

Jackie went to rejoin her husband and friend.

"How's Lou?" Nick asked when Jackie got back out into the hallway.

"He's sleeping right now" She answered.

"That's good" Nick replied.

Nobody said anything for a minute and then Nick said "well ladies, I'm hungry, what do you say we drop your suitcases at home and go out to eat?"

"Is it even safe to go home?" Jackie asked.

"Yep, the bomb squad cleared it; actually they cleared it twice, just to be on the safe side." Nick said.

"Alright then, that plan sounds good to me." Jackie said.

"Lucy, what about you?" Nick asked.

"Works for me, I'm hungry too, Jackie and I haven't eaten anything all day." Lucy said.

"Alright then, let's go." Nick said, grabbing both of the women's suitcases that were still in the hallway.

"Wait just a second Nicky, let me go ask Catherine if she wants to come with us." Jackie said.

She hurried back into Lou's room. Lou was still asleep, so Jackie went and tapped Catherine on the shoulder.

"We are going to eat, care to join us?" She whispered.

"No thank you, I want to be here when he wakes up." Catherine said nodding towards Lou.

"Do you want us to bring you something back then, a burger, anything?" Jackie asked.

"No thanks" Catherine said.

"You sure?" Jackie asked.

"I'm sure, thanks though" Catherine answered.

"Alright, see you later then, if you need anything or if you change your mind and want dinner, call one of us." Jackie said.

Catherine smiled "I will thanks Jackie."

Jackie returned the smile and then left the room.

Nick, Jackie, and Lucy, had a great time at dinner, laughing and joking, just like old times. Lucy had been Jackie's best friend for the entire time Nick had known his wife, and he could easily tell why, the two were a lot alike, both were fun and bubbly, and slightly goofy, but they were both extremely nice women. Nick liked nearly all of Jackie's friends but he had to admit that Lucy was his favorite.

"So Lucy, earlier, you said that had you not been there Jackie would have flown to Hawaii, what was that all about?" He asked.

Jackie covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.

Nick saw this and asked "What did you do dear?"

"Nothing" Jackie mumbled.

Realizing that Jackie wasn't going to say anything else he turned to Lucy "What she'd do Lucy?" He asked her.

"Don't say anything Lucy" Jackie said.

Nick and Lucy laughed.

"Sorry Jackie, but I have too" Lucy said with a grin.

Jackie groaned.

"Alright Nick, here is the story, Jackie was so hell bent to get to the terminal to board, she was practically running through the airport, the only problem was that she was going the wrong way, the terminal she was running towards had a plane going to Hawaii, not Vegas."

Nick chuckled. "Lucy are you sure the plane was going to Hawaii and not Tucson, if the plane was going to Tucson, you should have let her go because that is where she belongs."

"Oh shut up Nicholas" Jackie said with her face turning crimson.

Nick burst out laughing.

Lucy had no idea what Nick was talking about, and figured it was a private joke between the couple but the look on Jackie's face made her laugh hysterically anyway.

After Nick and Lucy quit laughing and Jackie's face no longer showed embarrassment, Lucy had some bad news for her friend. "Jacks since everything is alright here, I am afraid I have to leave tomorrow, my neighbor that is watching my dog is going out of town tomorrow evening and so I would have to find someone else to watch him, I was prepared to make other arrangements so I could stay if (she looked at Nick) well you know, but now that I know everything is ok, I should probably head home, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I totally understand, besides, you should not be sorry about anything, you have went above and beyond the call of duty as far as a friend is concerned, I don't know what I would have done without you." Jackie said.

Lucy smiled and said "like I said before, what are friends for?"

Jackie returned the smile gratefully.

Nick then said "Don't feel bad Lucy, especially because Jackie is going to fly back with you."

"What?" Jackie asked, not knowing what her husband was talking about.

"Sure, why not, after all you still have almost the entire week of your vacation left."

"I don't know Nick, after everything that's happened, I'm not sure I should go."

"Everyone is fine, and everything is back to normal, I'm going back to work tomorrow." Nick insisted.

"Tomorrow, Nicky, I think you should take some time off, a couple of days at least." Jackie said.

"Why, I'm fine." Nick said adamantly.

Jackie was still uncertain "When is Catherine going back to work?" Jackie asked.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think she will be gone long, if at all." Nick said. Then Nick added "Really Jackie, there is nothing keeping you here, go and have fun."

Jackie looked at her husband, then at her friend, Lucy was sitting there smiling waiting for an answer.

"Alright, I'll go." She said.

"Yayyyy" Lucy said excitedly.

"Good" Nick said with a smile. His smile turned into a smirk as he said "Now who is going to pay for dinner?"

"You are, it was your idea to go to dinner after all." Jackie said with a smirk of her own.

"I second that" Lucy said immediately.

"Women" Nick said rolling his eyes, but he had a smile on his face.

Nick stood up to go pay the bill, he looked around for the pay counter but couldn't find it. "Where do you pay the bill at?" He asked Jackie.

"In Tucson" Jackie said with a smirk.

"I have had just about enough of you." Nick said, pointing a playful finger at his wife.

"Hey you started it." Jackie reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah" Nick said as he began to walk away from the table, he had spotted the pay counter, and was off to pay the bill, but he only got a few steps before he turned back around and gave his wife a smile, which Jackie returned.

While Nick was at the counter, Lucy turned to Jackie and said "You two have such a fun, playful, and loving relationship."

"You know actually we don't, most of the time he is a big pain in the ass." Jackie said but she was grinning from ear to ear.

Lucy laughed "Yeah right Jackie, Nicky would give you the world if he could and you know it."

Jackie smiled at her friend "you're right, Nicky and I are soul mates in every sense of the word, I am extremely lucky."

Just then Nick got back to the table "ready to go?" He asked the two women.

"Yep" both answered in unison.

When they got back to the house Jackie asked Lucy "What do you want to do for your one night you are in town, want to walk the strip?"

Lucy grinned at her and said "I have a better idea, what do you say we do our usual?"

Jackie returned the grin "coffee shop down the street?" She asked knowing exactly what her friend meant.

"You got it" Lucy said.

So that is where they went.

When they got their coffee Lucy tasted hers "Oh my god this is like heaven in a straw, I'm telling you Jackie, there is no place in my new town that has coffee that tastes this good."

Jackie smiled "I would believe that" she said.

The girls sat and talked for over three hours in the coffee shop, just like the old days.

Finally Jackie said "it's getting late and our flight leaves early tomorrow, we should probably go."

The two women left, went home, and went to bed.

They got up early the next morning, and Nick drove them to the airport. Before going through security, they said their goodbyes to Nick.

"Lucy, it was good to see you again, come back and visit soon." He said giving her a hug.

"I will" She promised.

He also gave his wife a hug and said "Have fun, stay safe." He then smirked and said "and make sure you get on the correct plane."

"You are sooo funny." Jackie said sarcastically, but all three of them laughed.

Then Jackie said "Lucy, if I never come back to visit you again it is because I will be in prison guilty of murder because I have strangled my husband."

Lucy laughed and Nick said "I'm not scared."

"You should be" Jackie warned with a smile on her face.

Nick chuckled and then looked at his watch, "you guys better head to security." He said.

Jackie gave Nick one last kiss before her and Lucy headed for the security line. The two women made it through security, got on their plane and before long they landed. They went to Lucy's house and got settled in, and then they went shopping.

The next day the two friends went to the beach, and they had a blast.

The rest of Jackie's visit was fun as well, and the word grenade did not cross her mind the entire time she was there.

The End! Thanks for reading, reviews very much appreciated!