Out of the Shadows

Thank you so much for the reviews. This is a small, but growing ship, and I love that there are others around who like it as much as (or more than) I do!

Big thank yous to Mingsmommy and Smacky30 for their incredible beta skills, their encouragement, their advice, and their patience. This never would have happened without them. A second thank you to Smacky30 for the help with the title

CSI is not mine, just borrowing and having lots of fun with it!

Chapter 4

On her way home, Mandy stopped to pick her kids up from preschool. After a rare Happy Meal excursion to McDonalds, they all put on their pajamas and had a movie night on the couch. Lilo and Stitch started as the popcorn was buttered and salted.

Mandy sat on the couch with Alex on one side and Lily on the other. Alex had his blue and purple crocheted blanket he affectionately called Bee covering his lap as his fingers toyed with the edges. Mandy had worked on it tirelessly during her pregnancy. Unfortunately, she had restarted so many times that it wasn't ready for her due date. Lucky for her, Alex was eight days late.

Lily had fallen asleep halfway through the movie. Draped across her legs was her speckled soft pink and mint green crocheted blanket. Taking a cue from her big brother, she appropriately called hers Bia. Lily's Bia was starting to show the passage of time, but was nowhere near as tattered as Bee.

As she stroked the long soft hair of her sleeping daughter, Mandy began to question her choice of movies. She had forgotten that Lilo's parents had died in an accident, but the kids had not seemed phased by it so she let it play out.

It had been awhile since Lilo and Stitch first appeared at the Webster household. The memory felt much fresher than it was; Mandy nearly eight months along with Lily, and two-year-old Alex curled up on the couch between his parents, his fingers threaded through the holes in Bee.

Movie nights had started with Mike, a family movie to start the night, and then after Alex, and eventually Lily, were in bed, a movie for mom and dad. As much as they both adored their children, the time alone snuggled together on the couch watching a great movie or entwined together during a bad movie were some of the best memories she had of her husband.

Mandy missed those nights. Movie nights now were just family movies on her nights off, no one to share anything rated over G with, so she just dropped that part of the tradition. Well, that and the fact that after working the previous night and staying up much of the day so she could sleep at night, she was too tired to make it through a movie of her own. Besides, watching alone just wasn't the same.

Lily stirred a bit on her lap, pulling Mandy's attention back to movie in time to hear Stitch say, "This is my family. I found it, all on my own. Is little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good." It got Mandy thinking, was her family broken? Would Alex and Lily grow up feeling like it was? Some days Mandy felt broken, but lately those days were less and less frequent.

There was a time not that long ago, when Mandy didn't think she'd feel this way again. The memory of Nick's arms around her was still fresh in her mind, and she actually felt a chill now that they weren't there.

She watched as Alex's eyes stayed glued on the television screen. What would the kids think of Nick? They had only ever met him in passing on a few occasions, lab picnics, holiday parties, and things like that. She was sure the kids had no real idea who Nick was. Would they like him? Then, would he like them? She shook the last thought from her mind. Nick Stokes, or the man known as Uncle Nicky by eight kids and counting scattered throughout the Dallas area and beyond, had never met a child he didn't adore.

Twirling her daughter's hair around her index finger, Mandy wondered if he thought about her as much as he occupied her thoughts. Today was big for them; they were no longer going to hide their relationship. In a way, they had made a commitment to each other. This was no longer a casual friendship, but something more. That thought wrapped her in a warmth she hadn't felt in a long time, but it quickly faded when she realized that she wouldn't see him tonight. There'd be no sudden drop-ins to her lab, no well timed coffee breaks, and because tomorrow was Saturday and her kids didn't have school, no after-shift breakfast.

Giggles erupted from her oldest child at some of Stitches antics, and Mandy began to wonder when she should let the kids meet Nick. She worried that she would do it too soon, and then she worried she would wait too long. When is the right time? How will I know?

If her mother had her way, Mandy would not see anyone until the kids were both eighteen. Does it make me selfish to want to be with someone? She knew her mother's intentions were sincere, but wouldn't exposing her kids to a positive role model be better than keeping any father figure away from them? Wait, what if this isn't what Nick wants? What if he has no interest in being a part of Lily and Alex's lives? Is it too soon to be asking these questions?

When the movie ended, Mandy turned off the television. "Alex, bring Bee; it's time to go to bed." She carefully lifted Lily and carried her to her room.

After a restless adjustment, Lily rested her head on her mother's shoulder as the pair ascended the stairs. Mandy laid her little girl on the big girl bed with the purple Dora sheets. Mandy watched for a moment, as Lily rolled onto her side, with her sweet little hands under her head. Pulling the covers over the sleeping child, Mandy placed a kiss on her daughter's cheek, "Goodnight, my love." As she exited, she left the door open a crack, and as she passed by the bathroom across the hall, she flipped the light on so that if the kids woke during the night, they wouldn't start screaming because of the complete darkness.

Going in to check on Alex, she realized her oldest was missing in action. A minute later she found him on the couch, curled up and sleeping with a big grin on his face. Mandy nearly lost it when the snoring began. "Oh, no," she played along, "Alex is sleeping." She crept closer, "I guess I'll have to carry him upstairs, too." She had to bite back a laugh when another giggle escaped his lips.

She scooped him up in her arms, and he cuddled closer. When they reached Alex's room, she gently set him on his Spider Man sheets. She pulled the cover up and over him. He smiled as she leaned over and kissed him and whispered, "I love you, little man." Just then his eyes popped open. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She pretended to pout.

"Mommy, I have to tell you something." His voice held traces of regret.

"What, baby?" She stroked his forehead, his blonde hair gently flowing back and forth.

"Mommy, I wasn't really sleeping…I was just pretending." His blue eyes grew wide.

"You were!" She played along.

He nodded and then yawned.

She smiled, "Well, now that you're up here, you can go to sleep."

Another yawn escaped, "Okay, Mommy."

She left the door open a crack so the bathroom light would shine in his room as well.

Walking downstairs, she began to clear the mess left in the living room when she heard her cell phone chime, indicating a text message. Seeing it was from Nick she eagerly opened the phone. How's the night off?

Hitting the reply button, she quickly texted, Great, going to bed soon.

By the time the dishes were rinsed, the reply came, Sleep tight, Darling. On its own it was nothing spectacular, but when she thought about the same words coming from his lips, with his slow Texas drawl, it melted her heart.

***

Nick had just hit the send button, when Greg walked through the break room door. "Nick." He glanced over as he poured a cup of coffee.

"How's it going, Greggo?" Flipping his phone closed, Nick slid it back onto the belt clip.

"Good," Greg took a seat on the couch, "How about with you?"

Nick shrugged, "Good."

"I'll bet," chuckling a little, he continued, "Catherine said you had a hot date after shift last night." Greg prodded as he sipped his coffee.

"What?" Nick's eyebrows shot up and he tried to look confused.

"Yeah, she said you were looking good and heading out to meet some chick."

Nick knew the younger man was fishing for information. And he wasn't thrilled to be reduced to office gossip. "Well, Catherine needs to mind her own business."

Greg shrugged, "So, what did you do this morning?"

Nick took a breath, and a chance. "This morning, I made dinner at my place for," his words were intentionally slow, and his voice went down when he reached the next part, "Mandy."

"Print tech Mandy?" Nick nodded, but Greg seemed confused. "Mandy with two kids?" Again, Nick just nodded. "The Widow Webster?"

"All right, Greg." His words were crisp, and his tone was intended to say much more to the lab tech.

Greg dialed it back a notch, "Mandy." This time his tone was more relaxed, more positive.

Nick softened in response. "Yes, Mandy." Nick turned the cup under his fingers, remembering how right it had felt holding Mandy in his arms. He could almost smell the vanilla in her hair.

"Be good to her, man. She deserves it." Greg swallowed his last few drops of coffee, stood, and patted Nick on the shoulder before walking out the door.

"Yes, she does." He spoke so only he could hear. The hum of business as usual filled the halls just outside the door behind him, but his mind was focused on a woman who was probably sleeping right now, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed with her. There was a slight pain at the thought that this wouldn't be an option for them. He knew she wasn't ready for him to be a part of her kids' lives, and even if they got to the point where she did want him to be, just knowing her, she probably wouldn't allow him to spend the night when the kids were around.

The strange thing was this wasn't a deal breaker for him. Quite the opposite in fact. Part of what attracted him to her was what a great mother she was.

Vibrations from his belt brought him out of his thoughts. Flipping open his phone and realizing his print results were ready, he cleared away his cup and exited the break room. Oddly, tonight he wasn't as excited to collect his evidence from the print lab as he usually was.

***

Just a few hours later, Mandy lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. It was always hard to sleep on her nights off, but by sleeping at night, she was able to be awake when her kids were awake. She rolled her head to the side and looked at the clock, eleven thirty.

Her mind began to wander. She made a mental to do list for the following day. She thought about the stack of prints that would no doubt be waiting for her. After throwing a fit about being asked to move to swing, she knew that Miranda had begged Jacqui to switch with her for the week, and would not think twice about leaving everything that required actual work for Mandy. She thought about buying a new camera, and about what she needed to get from the store after she dropped Lily and Alex off at school the next morning.

Then her mind went further away; her thoughts of work turned to thoughts about the people she worked with. Those led to thoughts of Nick. He had said he was going out with friends to cover for her. No doubt questions were being asked. She knew they had decided to stop hiding, but she wasn't completely sure what would be said.

When she realized what she was doing she shook her head before rolling over and closing her eyes, willing herself to sleep.

***

To be continued…