"Nicco?" CSI Nicholas Stokes called out as he opened the door to the interview room. "Nicco, is that really you?"

She paused with her back still facing him to force herself to calm down. She knew that there was no way to avoid him now, so she moved her hair to cover her left eye the best that she could. As she moved her hair to cover her face and neck she caught a glimpse of her wrists and instantly wished that she was wearing long sleeves.

Or that I wasn't here at all. She thought to herself before she turned around to timidly reply, "Hey Nicky. Long time no see."

He quickly closed the door behind him and moved towards her asking, "What are you doing here?" He stopped abruptly then gave her a questioning look and added, "And why are you wearing hospital scrubs?"

Nicco moved her hands from behind her back to her ears but froze them mid-air when she remembered why she had moved her hair forward in the first place. She almost instantly regretted that action because now he could see the other bruises she had been trying to keep hidden from him. It didn't take Nick long to notice the injuries on Nicco's wrists and the fact that she was intentionally using her hair to cover up her face.

His right hand snatched up her left arm and he pulled it towards him more roughly than he had meant to as he asked, "Are these bruises? How the hell did you get these?"

"Oh… well…"

"Alright Cole, the Detective is going to be tied up for a little bit longer," Greg's voice came from the door interrupting her feeble attempts to explain her injuries. "Did you…?" He froze when he turned around and didn't hide his surprise when he noticed that she wasn't alone in the room. That surprise quickly turned into an annoyed frown when he realized who it was that was with his interviewee. "Hey Nick…"

Nick didn't move his gaze from the woman, whose arm he was still holding, he interrupted his colleague to say, "Not now Greg. I need a moment alone with her."

Since the older man wasn't looking at him and the woman's eyes seemed to be staring at the ground, Greg rolled his eyes as he replied, "Like I told Catherine, I've got this. I really don't need your help, but thank you anyways."

That comment finally got Nick to take his eye off of Nicco. He then turned his upper body to give Greg a menacing glare. Nicco flinched when she saw Greg jump slightly at the look on the other CSI's face because she could only imagine how angry Nick must have appeared right then. She had been on the receiving side of look more than once from Nick so she could sympathize with how Greg was feeling.

"I said not now Greg," Nick repeated with a lot of heat in his tone. "I need to speak with Nicco alone for a minute before you question her."

Greg threw his hands up in a sign of surrender, but he couldn't help but to ask, "Nicco?"

"Yeah, that's her name… well nickname," Nick snapped back angrily.

During his brief back and forth with his colleague, Nick's grip on Nicco's arm started to tighten. Initially she had just tried to ignore it because she didn't want to draw his attention back to her. His anger was being directed at someone else right now and she was more than fine with that.

But then his grip became so tight that she feared that she would have new bruises blossoming as a result, so she whimpered quietly and then whispered, "Nicky? You're hurting me."

Nick reacted instantly to her strained voice and let go of her arm. At the same time, he turned back to look at her. She tried to give him an encouraging smile because she could tell by the look on his face that he had forgotten that he was holding onto her arm. Not that she would ever think that he would hurt her on purpose.

Before he could try to apologize, she stepped closer to him and said in a slightly humorous tone to try to further ease his mind, "It's okay Nicky. These (she held up her arms to show him her wrists) are kind of like evidence so I just didn't want you to get into trouble for destroying evidence."

Nick's eyes went wide and he closed the distance between them. At first Nicco thought it was because of her badly placed joke, but then she noticed that his eyes weren't looking at her hands. His eyes were flicking between her neck and her face, so she tried to tuck her chin into her chest to hide behind her hair again.

Nick carefully took her chin in his right hand and gently forced her to look up at him. He kept steady eye contact with the woman in front of him while he addressed the man behind him saying, "Greg, as a favor to me, can you give me a minute alone with Nicolette?"

"Y-yeah, sure man. No problem," Greg stammered out as she made his way back out the door. "Oh, but if Detective…"

"I'll deal with them when they get here," Nick interrupted, eyes still totally focused on Nicco's face.

Greg then left without another word. Even though he had wanted to call out another warning to the other CSI he forced himself to walk away and to keep his mouth shut. He was hoping that if he granted Nick this favor without commentary or complaint that he would be able to get the scoop on what was happening between him and his victim that much sooner. Because the interaction between the two of them was making him beyond curious.

As soon as the door closed behind the younger CSI's retreat, Nicco's bottom lip started to quiver uncontrollably. She gently extracted her chin from Nick's grasp and then stepped around him so that she could once again try to get her emotions in check. Her hands immediately raised themselves to her ears to tuck her hair behind them as she walked away from him. She almost untucked it after she remembered what it was hiding, but she didn't bother hiding behind it anymore. Nick had already seen all of her bruises, so there was no way that he was going to let her leave this room until she told him about how she had acquired the new coloring on her skin.

But how? How do I tell him about what happened to me? She thought to herself as she ran her fingers through her hair and retucked it behind her ears numerous times. I mean, how does a person tell their…

"Nicco, please? Please will you tell me how you got your bruises?" Nick asked with none of the heat in his tone that had been there previously.

She turned around to face him and nearly let a sob sneak out at the look on his face. He started to move towards her when he saw her face start to crumble, but she quickly waved him off. He retreated back a couple of steps with a questioning look, so she quickly said, "If you try to hug me now, I'll breakdown. You know as well as I do that if I start to cry then I won't be able to answer anyone's questions."

"Okay, Nicco. Okay," he replied with an encouraging smile. "I'll just sit over here and you take your time, okay Baby Girl?"

She smiled and nodded while she watched him pick up the chair she had been using and turned it so that he would be facing her once he was seated. The room wasn't all that big, but she appreciated that he was willing to give her some space right now. She also took not that he hadn't sat on the other side of the table where the other CSI and the Detective had been posted during their interrogation. She wasn't sure if it was a conscious decision or not, but she was grateful that he had made that choice because it definitely helped to make this situation feel more like a conversation instead of another interrogation.

Nicco immediately started pacing again while she tried to think of the easiest way to put the truth into words. She knew that Nick was a seasoned CSI so she didn't have to sugar coat the events that led up to her being in this interview room, but their relationship made her want to soften the blow for him. Even if it was only a minute amount.

Seeing Nicco start pacing was such a normal, familiar sight that Nick couldn't help but to smile softly. When he first saw her talking with Constable Black he hadn't given her a second thought, but the more glimpses he caught of her, the more he thought he knew her. It hadn't been all that long, well maybe three years of not seeing someone in person was kind of long, but she looked a lot older to him and more mature. Her hair was the same artificial, golden blonde he knew she loved, but her face looked so different. And it wasn't the growing shiner that cause him to think that, although it didn't help. He couldn't quite put his finger on it until she stopped and turned to look at him full on once again. For the first time in all of the years he had known her, Nicco wasn't wearing any makeup. Not that she normally layered it on thickly or anything. She usually had at least a light coverage that almost looked natural but was a little too perfect to fully pull the au naturel look off.

"So," Nicco started quietly. "You guys usually talk to each other about the jobs you are working, right? Like you share theories with each other so that you can make sure you don't miss any important evidence?"

Nick couldn't help but to frown at her seemingly odd question because he knew that they had talked about that very topic more than over the phone during the last few years. But he also knew Nicco well enough that he knew she wouldn't have asked that question if it wasn't important or didn't have something to do with what she was trying to tell him.

"Yeah Nicco, you know that we all do that from time to time."

She nodded and then started picking at the hem of her shirt as she asked, "Do you know what case CSI Sanders and CSI Willows are working on?"

"Yeah, Greg is looking into a 419 in a suite at Caesar's Palace and Catherine stumbled upon a 426 at that crime scene. Why?"

Nicco shrugged and refused to look at him when she answered, "Well… at least I'm not dead."

"What…?" He then stared at her in a stunned silence. He looked again at her wrists, neck, and face (that was once again obscured by her hair) with a filter of this new information. They definitely were injuries that would be consistent with that kind of assault. On that same train of thought her clothing choice made more sense to him because nurses seemed to always have a pair of extra scrubs on hand to lend his victims after he had had to take their clothes to lodge as evidence.

"Oh Nicco, when…? Where…? Who…?" He stood up and pushed the chair back as he did, but he didn't try to approach her just yet.

When Nicco saw him stand up, she instinctively took a step back, but she immediately hit the wall behind her. Since he didn't try to approach her, she relaxed slightly in her place. She once again avoided eye contact with him while she tried her best to answer his understandably disjointed questions.

"Some time in the wee hours of this morning… I think. I… I can't really remember what time we left the club. I-it happened in our room at Caesar's and uhh… I don't really know who the guy was but… umm… he's CSI Sanders' 419."

"Nicco," he stated to himself forlornly as he crossed the room in two long strides. Despite her earlier protests, Nicco let Nick wrap her in his arms without complaint. She easily tucked herself into his chest with her head under his chin. He kissed he side of her head then quietly said, "From what you're wearing I can tell that you've been to the hospital, but you know I have to ask…"

Nicco carefully pushed out of his embrace, but kept her left arm around his waist as she replied, "Everything that you see looks worse than it is, I swear. The doctor took X-Rays and I had a CT scan because I blacked out for a bit, but they all came back clear. She gave me a… y'know because he didn't wear a… err… a… y'know and then she gave me these." She pulled out her prescriptions once again to show him as she explained, "Painkillers and antibiotics because some of… it's apparently kind of bad… uhh… my injuries that… uhh…"

Nick pulled her back again his chest and shushed her into silence. "I get it Nicco, you really don't have to go into details about that."

They both then fell silent and seemed content for him just to hold her right now. There were a lot of other topics that they both wanted to cover, but they knew their time alone in the station would be limited. In the back of both of their minds they were simultaneously surprised and relieved that the Detective hadn't returned yet. Nick knew that Greg would try to give them as much time alone as he could, but that didn't mean that he could stall the investigation indefinitely.

With that last thought in mind, he was going to release her from his embrace, but then Nicco gripped the back of his shirt tightly and pressed her face into his chest. Before he could double check that she was still remaining stoic and holding it together the best that she could, he heard her let out a loud, gut-wrenching sob. She kept her face against his chest as her tears hit her fast and hard. Nick just held her and mumbled some words of comfort into her hair. He knew that once she started to cry that there was very little he could do to calm her until she had gotten the worst of it out.

After a few minutes Nick tried to move them towards one of the chairs, but Nicco remained rooted in her spot, so he abandoned that course of action. He knew that was her way of telling him that she was comfortable where she was, so he honored her silent request.

Just as she was starting to calm down, the door to the interview room opened. Detective Cavaliere stepped in saying, "Alright Miss… What the…?" He stared at her empty seat angrily until he heard a soft sniffle to his right. After he turned his head to see his suspect wrapped in what looked like a fairly intimate embrace with another CSI, he snidely commented, "Stokes, what is it with you and hookers? Can't you find a girl who will spend time with you that you don't have to pay?"

Nicco heard Nick's quiet growl by her ear, so he tightened her hold around his waist and quietly said, "Don't Nicky. He isn't worth it. Please? Just let it go for now, please? For me?"

He let out a heavy sigh and let all of the tension seep out of his muscles. He knew she was right, but she still wanted to open up a Texas-sized can of whoop ass on Cavaliere for speaking about her in such a derogatory way.

"Okay Nicco, I'll try to let it go… for you."

She gave him a grateful squeeze and then pulled out of their embrace. She then took Nick by the hand and crossed the room to the chair that lay vacant. Greg got up from his seat and moved the extra chair on their side of the table towards Nick and Nicco. They released their grasp on each other's hands so that Nick could retrieve it and then they found their places looking across the table at CSI Sanders and Detective Cavaliere.

The detective watched the three of them settle into their seats with a bemused smirk. He remained standing with his arms crossed over his chest saying "Uhh… he isn't staying." He motioned towards CSI Stokes with his chin during his snide remark.

"Yes, he is," Nicco replied in a very firm tone.

Cavaliere uncrossed his arms and attempted to look even taller in his place. Nicco had grown up with more than one older brother, so his peacocking didn't faze her at all. In fact, she had to fight hard not to start to laugh. Nick saw that Nicco's strong exterior was starting to crack at the seams, so he reached over and grabbed her right hand. She startled minutely before she turned her eyes to look at him. He squeezed her hand and very subtly shook his head. She instantly understood what he was cautioning her not to do. She didn't want the detective to be alerted to their non-verbal conversation, so she just squeezed his hand in return to let him know she was going to behave, sort of.

Nicco then turned her eyes back towards Detective Cavaliere to once again state as firmly as she could, "He stays."

"No, he goes. He isn't a CSI on this case, so he doesn't have to be here," Detective Cavaliere countered. "More than that, I don't want him in here while I interrogate you."

Nick made the most minute movement to stand up, so Nicco tugged on his hand to keep him in his place as she looked Cavaliere in the eye to reply, "First, this is an interview, not an interrogation. I have neither been arrested, nor charged with anything in connection to the murder that took place. We both know that I'm here of my own accord and I can leave just as easily."

Greg bit his lip to keep from laughing because watching Nicco put Cavaliere in his place was more than entertaining. Nick tried his best not to look as surprised as he had felt. He knew that Nicco had been to college and excelled at her studies, but to hear her speak like… that. Well, he couldn't wait to have another minute alone with her to let her know how proud he was of her.

Detective Cavaliere bristled in his place and then replied in a snide tone that bordered on being unprofessional, "Even if that's true, I don't want him here so he goes."

"Because it's true, I say again, if he goes, I leave too," Nicco countered in a tone that her bloodshot, puffy eyes wanted to betray. "I haven't requested legal counsel, I have allowed you to search everywhere you please with my permission and signed endorsement. I have been give you a lot of concessions and all that I ask is to have an ally in the room with me while we have a conversation. After all of my give, I don't think it's too much to ask you to take a seat and continue with your questions and not let Nicky here ruffle your feathers."

"He doesn't ruffle my anything," Detective Cavaliere retorted snidely, but he did take a seat so Nicco claimed that as a victory. He threw down another file folder then said, "Alright Miss Radisson, I think we should start…"

"Wait!" Nicco cried out as she dropped Nick's hand. "Wait… please! Before we continue can I please have another minute alone with CSI Stokes? Please? Just a minute."

"Three pleases in one plea," he replied sounding pensive. "No, sorry you two have had enough time to play kissy face in here."

Nicco's cheeks turned a truly embarrassed shade of red while Nick just saw red. He stood up violently from his chair, knocking it over, as he shouted, "How dare you say that to her! Especially after what she's been through today! You're out of line Cavaliere and I'm going to see to it that Nicco puts in a complaint so that they take away your badge."

"Oh really now?!" Cavaliere challenged as he too stood up. "And what about you Stokes? What do you think Ecklie will do to a CSI who makes a move on a rape victim in an interview room!?"

"What? You are just…"

"ENOUGH!" Nicco interrupted as she too stood up so that she could push Nick back towards his seat. "Nick! Sit!" She barely cast a glance over her shoulder to say, "You… well do whatever the fuck you want, which I'm sure you're used to doing anyway. And you…" She paused to pass a glance at Greg to say, "Well you just keep being the most mature one in the room."

She knew that would get a reaction from Nick, so she wasn't surprised when she heard him snort in a laugh as he picked up his chair. She didn't want to be looking at Cavaliere during this part of the conversation, so she sat down on the table so that the only face she could see was Nick's. He finally sat down because he wanted to know where all of this was leading and Nicco looked like she was ready to tell him exactly that.

"I know you heard him. My name now is 'Nicolette Radisson'. While I've been working on my graduate studies I've been going by the nickname 'Cole'." She paused as Nick rolled his eyes like she knew that he would because he had always disliked that nickname for her. She gave him a soft smile and then turned her eyes as if she was going to look at the detective as she continued, "I'm sure you wanted to start with the fact that 'Nicolette Radisson' didn't exist, technically or on paper, four years ago. You think that has something to do with why you found a pimp dead in a hotel room where I was staying, but I assure you Detective Cavaliere that it has absolutely nothing to do with that at all."

"Fine," Cavaliere replied as he sat down. He stared at the back of her head and tried to sound as condescending as possible when he said, "Miss Radisson, why don't you enlighten us as to why you changed your name on everything from your Government issued ID to your college transcripts so abruptly that one would be lead to believe that you were trying to hide something."

"Or got married," Greg added, speaking for the first time since he re-entered the room.

Nicco actually turned her head so that she could see the younger CSI out of the corner of her eye. "Actually Mister Sanders, that was what I was hoping everyone would assume, but feel too uncomfortable to ask about. But you're right…" She held up her left hand to show it to the room. "No ring and no tan line. I didn't get married. If you asked my friends and family, they would say that I spend way too much time with my nose stuck in a book to be able to ever notice that a suitable match was even in the same room."

That comment earned her a half smile from Nick, but that action flashed one of his dimples so she felt content. She leaned forward and lifted Nick's left arm to look at his watch before saying, "Look, my painkillers are wearing off. I'm starting to feel exhausted from this day's toll and y mini-breakdown in here." She then stood up and moved so that she could look at all three men to ask, "So before my body decides to shut down completely and just give into my injuries and cease to let my adrenaline to keep me going, can you let me tell my brother why I abandoned the family name without any interruptions? I promise that I'll stay here and after I've gotten some sleep and food, I'll answer any other questions you have for me Detective."

Cavaliere shrugged and then motioned for her to continue. She gave him a soft smile because she knew that wasn't actually an agreement to her terms. But she did sputter out a laugh when she saw that CSI Sanders had put up his hand as if he had a question while he was in class.

Nicco shook her head and chuckled so he took it as a go ahead to ask his question. "But I thought that Nick…"

"She's adopted Greg. When I went away to college my mom felt the empty nest syndrome, so…"

"When she heard about my story, she and Dad rescued me." Nicco caught the look on her brother's face so she added, "You know it's true. I never had to go from foster home to foster home like most kids and it was thanks to Mom and Dad. And… and that actually helps me to explain the name change. Nicky, you know how I told you that I wasn't welcome home for the Fourth of July party because Mom and I had a huge fight?"

"No… Nicco…" He sighed out.

"Yeah, this is why. Okay, the long and short is that when I was working on one of my last papers to finish off my Criminology Degree, I had been using a case about a woman that had been murdered by her husband as my starting point. He had actually taken the time to trash their small two-bedroom house to make it look like she had interrupted a BNE in progress. What he hadn't planned on wat that Forensic Science would prove there were no unexplainable fingerprints, fibers or well anything else that could point to a suspect other than the husband. My… our parents were really happy about my enthusiasm at first, but then after I was done my finals, Mom read the story. She immediately recognized the names and then told me my paper had been turned in so I should stop obsessing about it. I tried for moths to get her to tell me why she had reacted that way. She…"

"She even got me to call you to tell you that the killer was found and died in a shootout with police, so you should drop it," Nick cut in with an apologetic tone.

Nicco gave him a sad smile then said, "And don't think she I didn't have a huge screaming match about that either. But in the end it was helpful because I finally wore her down and she told me the truth. The article was about my parents… well my biological parents. That fall I spent a semester abroad while I was supposed to decide what I wanted to do for my graduate studies. But… Mom and Dad didn't know that I had already decided on Forensic Sciences… While I was out of country it hit me what I could do to make the puzzle complete."

She and Nick made very direct eye contact as he said, "But their last name was…"

Nicco once again sat on the table in front of Nick and picked up one of his hands as she cut-in, "It's my mom's… uhh… my biological mother's maiden name. It just felt like a proper way to honor her memory since she was the inspiration for me figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life. Mom still thinks I chose Forensics to spite her so that I can emulate my… emulate you since we had been the closest out of all of her kids while I was growing up." He gave her a disapproving look so she added, "It's true. She… she was convinced that I was going to become a high powered lawyer just like… like…"

Suddenly every word she tried to utter was cut off by a series of coughs. That had been the longest that she had spoken during the day and she was quickly feeling the results of it and her exhaustion. Nick reached up to take her hand, but he didn't look like he knew how to help her. Greg on the other hand remembered what Catherine had told him, so he got up and quickly left the room again.

Nick tired his best to help Nicco to calm her breathing but soon her every breath came out in painful gasps. When she moved her hands up to her throat and legitimately looked like she was having troubles getting oxygen into her lungs, Cavaliere actually jumped into action. He was fine with badgering a suspect with harsh questions until they broke, but he wasn't looking to get an in custody injury or death any time soon. Not that he had arrested Nicolette. He cracked a smile at how she had reminded him that she hadn't been arrested as he opened a bottle of cold water.

Nicco took the bottle gratefully, but her hand was shaking so had that she couldn't pour any of the liquid into her mouth. Nick quickly noticed the troubles she was having, so he claimed the bottle from her. He managed to get some water into her mouth, but when she tried to swallow it, it didn't want to go down. Much like when she had fist woken up, the cold water had the complete opposite effect to soothing her damaged throat.

Once she got that liquid doe, Nick tried to help her again, but Nicco swatted at his hands to knock the bottle away with a barely audible, "No… no more… please, no…"

Nick took a hold of her arm and was prepared to pull her down onto his lap to force more liquids into her as he said, "Nicco, you really need…"

"Something warm to drink to calm down your throat," Greg finished for his colleague. "Here you go Nicco. It's just warm water since your stomach hasn't been doing so well. Remember, cold on the outside, warm on the inside to help your throat heal."

Nick stared at his little sister then asked, "You've been having stomach issues since getting out of hospital?"

"Nicky," she rasped out as she sipped at the cup Greg had given her. "I've thrown up a grand total of once since… since I found out what happened."

"Okay tough guy, you're right… that isn't that bad," Nick teased with a laugh. "But I think you were right; you've probably reached your limit for today." He then turned to the Detective then nearly pleaded, "Look, Greg's here form Days, I'm here for Nights… that's a long day for anyone, but… well look at Nicco. It's been extra-long for her. From what I've heard she has been more than cooperative with minimal complaints. If I promise to bring her back here tomorrow, can we call it a night so that we can fill her prescriptions, get some food into her and let her get some rest?"

For a second Cavaliere looked like he was going to disagree, likely out of spite, but then he saw something interesting out in the hallway. There he saw a uniformed officer walking with a fairly large box in his hands. He recognized him as the man that he had handed over the consent form that Nicco had signed, so he instead answered, "Sure, why not? Whenever she's awake and ready to answer some more questions for me, give me a call."

Nicco continued to sip at her cup while glaring at the Detective for talking about her like she wasn't even there as he left the room. She hated when people did that to her. Admittedly it hadn't really happened any tie other than the parties she attended with her parents whenever one of their colleagues had started to brag about their children's accomplishments. Since she was ten years younger than their youngest biological child, Nick, she usually ended up being their poster child for their good parenting. They would go on and on about how she was heading to Texas A&M like her siblings and she was headed there on a full academic scholarship. They would then drone on about her dedication to academics while she stood by trying not to laugh at them because she knew they didn't truly believe that. They thought she was a party girl who had somehow gotten lucky when it came to getting into college. She knew this because they had shipped her off for more than one Spring Break to her cop brother to straighten her out after they had caught her coming home from a party smelling like marijuana and beer. Of course Nick, the brother tasked with putting her back on the straight and narrow, knew that she had never ingested more than a couple of beers at the parties and never touched drugs. But that was only because he had actually taken the time to ask her about it instead of making assumptions like their parents always did.

Greg caught the look on her face then thrust his right hand forward saying, "Nicco, it was nice to meet you… uhh… even though the circumstances suck. Nick's told us about his plethora of siblings, but you're the first one I've actually met."

"Alright Greggo…" Nick tried to interrupt.

"No, I swear I'll be quick," Greg protested. "I just want to say, now I get why Nick thinks he's so cool. Nicco, you have been a rock star today. I'll try to make sure that Cavaliere doesn't get his stink all over your stuff that was brought in from our dorm room."

Nicco smiled and tried to thank Greg, but Nick inadvertently cut her off by asking, "The officer with the box that Cavaliere followed…"

"Like a puppy?" Greg supplied with a cheeky grin. "Yeah, he was one of the ones who was tasked with searching Nicco's room."

Nick placed a hand on her cheek then said with a tone of concern, "Wait for me here, okay Baby Girl? I'll be right back."

She had barely gotten out her 'okay' before she was watching Nick disappear out the door. She then turned her eyes towards Greg and realized that she hadn't been able to reply to his last comment.

"Thanks, Mister Sanders," she said with a slightly less raspy voice.

"Hey, I've been able to switch over to your real nickname," he teased with a smile. "Please feel free to call me Greg."

"Alright… Greg… Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Sure," he answered sounding confused as he passes a pend and small notepad towards her.

Nicco slid both of them closer to her and quickly wrote something down. After she was done, she placed the pen on top of the notepad and pushed it back across the table towards him. Greg thought maybe she had written down her digits or something equally salacious, so he frowned when he saw what she had actually scrolled on the paper.

She saw his reaction and managed to cough out a laugh. Nicco turned the notepad around so he could more easily read: 007!-rOd02.

Greg still looked confused, so Nicco explained, "It's my password for my computer and a couple of protected documents. I would rather you go through my files than Detective Douche."

"Oh! Yeah, I can do that." He looked down at what she had written again and quietly read the digits of the password aloud. It still didn't make sense to him so he looked up at her to ask, "Okay, double oh seven is James Bond, but…"

Nicco snorting in a laugh that caused her to cough and him to look at her worriedly. She waved her hand and then said, "I'll tell you if you promise not to say a word to Nick."

"I promise," Greg pledged quickly as he saw Nick making his way back to the interview room.

"I've had a crush on Ivan Rodriguez since I as in high school," Nicco explained between sips of her warm water. "His jersey number was seven when he was with the Texas Rangers, his position is catcher, number two, and his nickname is 'I-Rod'. I know it sounds weird. Trust me I hate that nickname for him as much as Nick hates that I love baseball more than football."

Greg let out a laugh then replied, "Okay, I totally get that. I promise your secret is safe with me."

"What secret?" Nick asked as he walked through the door.

Nicco almost looked panicked so Greg replied, "Oh it's nothing. We just learned that Nicco is definitely the smarter sibling. Sorry."

For a brief second Nicco was worried that Nick might be angry, but he laughed and then said, "Well I guess that I'll just have to be content with being the pretty one."

Nicco stood up and half-heartedly punched at Nick's bicep saying, "If that's what helps you sleep at night."

He just stroked his hand from the top of her head down to her arm with a far off look as he replied, "Only if it means you'll do the same later today."

Suddenly her throat felt tight, but it had nothing to do with her injuries. She tried to whisper out his name, but she couldn't force it out of her damaged throat. Greg understood what was happening so he made his way towards the door saying, "I'll call you tomorrow Nick if I have any other questions. Sorry Nicco, but I know your phone is still in a box of evidence from the hotel room, so the easiest way to reach you is through Nick."

Nicco smiled at his thoughtfulness to explain his rationale as she replied, "Thanks Greg. I'll see you tomorrow… maybe." After Greg left the room, Nicco caught the look on Nick's face. She shrugged then said, "What? He said that I could call him that."

"I'm sure he did. Anyway, here," Nick replied as he passed her a plastic bag that looked like it was slightly over stuffed. "I thought you would be more comfortable wearing that."

Nicco took the bag and placed it on the table. After she pulled the first item out, she dropped it back onto the table top and turned to look at Nick. He couldn't help but to smile because it wasn't often that he was able to surprise her.

"The officer saw them at the foot of your bed," he explained as he repacked the bag. "He thought you'd like to have some of your own clothes. I also talked to Catherine and your luggage from the hotel room are no longer considered evidence, so it's going to be released to you when you leave."

He started to lead her out of the room and Nicco sounded somewhat dazed when she replied, "Really? Are you for real?"

"As real as the fact that you totally stole my sweatshirt the last time you stay at my place in Dallas," he teased.

Nicco stopped and gave him wide eyes, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders saying, "I'm not mad at you, Baby Girl. I saw it in your room when I visited for your high school graduation. You're still so tiny that you must be swimming in it."

"That's why it's so comfortable when I'm studying," she explained as she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. "Thank you for getting them for me."

"You're welcome Nicco. Now why don't you go change and then wait for me by the restrooms?"

"Okay, but where are you going?"

"I need to go and quickly talk to Gris to see if I can take my break now along with some banked time so that I can get you to a pharmacy and get some food into you."

"Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Nicco, of course I would… am. Now go get changed and I'll be over there in a couple of minutes."

"Okay."

Nicco started to walk away, but she stopped abruptly to run back and wrap him in a strong hug.

"Thanks again Nicky," she said into his chest. "I love you."

He leaned down and kissed her head then said against her hair, "I love you too."