Blue Fire

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Ch4: FAQ

Nick walks into IAB late. He plans on blaming it on the fact that his alarm clock was gone but in all truth he slept at Catherine's with a working alarm clock, a warm bed, and no danger. He should have been here on time he woke up early enough but instead of getting ready he watched Catherine sleep, she had this hold on him. One that he's never experienced before, she has his heart and he will let her do anything to it that she pleases. He reminisces about his and Catherine's conversation this morning as he tells the IAB secretary that he is here, she directs him to wait until they call him.

"Nicky, what are you still doing here? You are going to be late," Catherine says rolling over to face him. He smiles at her.

"I know… when you have to go in?" he says sitting up and then moving swiftly over her.

"Later around two," she says cupping his face.

"I'm not going to tell then…"

"Nicky… please don't fight them on this,"

"I have to Catherine. Someone sets my house on fire and now our personal business gets broadcasted… No I'm not telling them anything,"

"Nick you can't hold out forever,"

"It won't be forever but it sure as hell won't be anytime soon," Nick says getting out of bed.

"Mr. Stokes they are ready for you now." The secretary says Nick feels nervous as he enters a room with two IAB agents, his rep, and Ecklie are already there waiting for him. Nick doesn't say anything as he sits across the men next to his rep.

"You ready?" his union rep says into his ear.

"I'm only going to answer questions about the fire, nothing else."

"What about miss willows?"

"Especially her." He whispers back in his union rep's ear maybe a little louder then he should have.

"Alright you ready for this is, Stokes." The agent said turning the recording device.

"I'm as ready as I will ever be," he said leaning forward nervous.

"Can you describe your relationship with Catherine Willows?" Ecklie said fuming with frustration. Nick looked at his union rep for a minute giving him a halfhearted nervous chuckle.

"No,"

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean I am only going to answer questions about the fire,"

"Describe your relationship with Willows!" Ecklie says getting angrier, Nick doesn't answer. The hole he has put himself in he can feel it getting deeper and deeper. Nick fights his own growing anger and does not answer the question. "Stokes!"

"I'm not answering that…" Nick said leaning back in the chair putting his injured hand behind his hand.

"What? You realize that I am your boss!"

"Yes but someone sets my house on fire and my life gets taken apart and examined with a microscope. This is ridiculous, I'm done… I'm evoking," Nick said standing going to the door he heard Ecklie stand from behind Nick knew full well that if he followed through and left that he would probably be suspended or even fired so he did hesitate.

"Stokes you are suspended for two weeks and if I don't have a statement by you in this time you will be fired! Am I understood?" Ecklie said as Nick turned to face him swallowing his pride but choking.

"Yes, loud and clear."

"Are you going to take a seat?"

"Nope…" Nick said leaving. He leaves to his car thinking over the last 24 hours he doesn't regret any of it the only thing he does regret is that they went to his house and not hers but the more he thinks about the more he doesn't care. Their relationship was bound to come out eventually he just didn't expect it to be now and be so exposed as it was. Everyone knew about from uniform officer, lab rats, and the team, even though nothing was officially documented it was pretty self explanatory. He did not know who to talk to about what he was going through without putting them between a hard and a rock place in regards to if they were confronted to by IAB. He couldn't talk to Catherine about no way could he talk to her about it he didn't want to seem like a wuss which confused him because he had confided in her before but this was different it was about them he couldn't talk to her about it now it was weird he thought to himself

He drives to a friend's, not a new friend but not an old one, he drives to their new place of employment. It wasn't a likely friend and only Catherine knew that they were friends for that matter. In the short period that Nick has known this man they have already grown a strong relationship maybe it was because Nick saw his as a father figure or maybe it was because Nick felt guilty for taking his son's life. Giovanni "Papa" DiMassa and Nick had gotten to know each other after the shooting and Nick was nervous but felt he had to talk to him he was afraid the old man would hate him for killing his son but Dimassa had felt none of that he felt a great amount sorrow for Nick and Officer Clark who didn't make it, he felt guilty as well for doing wrong by his son wondering how Charlie turned out the way he was. Nick stood in the entrance his tie long gone and his appearance a lot more relaxed then early. (That's another story currently in the works)

"Nicky!" Papa Dimassa said in his same greeting manner as that fateful night and as any other time Nick had seen.

"Hey," Nick said welcoming the man's hug.

"Jesus Christ you look terrible. You look like you were rode hard and put away wet. Jimmy get me a bottle of burgundy and two glasses. C'mere Nicky," Papa Dimassa said as him Nick sat at a table. "What's going on?"

"Someone set my house on fire,"

"Oh jeez, I'm so sorry. Is that how you got this?" he said pointing to the bandage Nick's hand, Nick nods. "Is your house gone?"

"No but my living room is gone."

"At least you are alright. But what else is it? You've got this look on your face… c'mon I know there is more,"

"My bosses don't agree with my relationship."

"With who? The cute Blondie?" papa Dimassa said touching his chest with admiration.

"Yes, Catherine. The lab has a strict policy against relationships with coworkers,"

"How much trouble are you in?"

"I'm not sure that's why I'm nervous. And the fact that I left during my interview doesn't help either," Nick says chuckling and Papa Dimassa laughs.

"Nicky, if your love for each other is trouble is true and strong then a little work trouble isn't going to do anything but add a little healthy stress,"

"That's not what I said,"

"Isn't it?" Papa said calling Nick out, making him second guess himself.

DB looks at a stain that the fire left in the accelerant pour that was left relatively untouched by the fire and the firefighters. Sara was going over the perimeter there was nothing to explain this fire. They knew it wasn't electrical and they knew it was no accident but they couldn't prove that anyone else was involved except for this damn stain. It looked like a smudge or a swipe, it had been left after the accelerant was poured and before the fire it seemed to have been preserved by the fire. Greg stands next to DB watching him examine the mark with a magnifying glass.

"What are you looking for?" Greg asks confused.

"Get me a tape lift, please." Greg hands him one and DB lifts a print. "Now does this sort of thing happen a lot?"

"What?"

"People trying to kill you guys? Does that sort of thing happen a lot?"

"This is Vegas… we don't get an average collection of perps…"

"I'll take that as a yes…"

"It's not too bad," Greg said second guessing himself.

"What's happened to you?" DB says pointing at Greg, Greg smiles nervously and then looks down.

"I was jumped once… and held at gunpoint, but I'm lucky."

"How so?"

"I've never been blown up or shot, or buried alive… I'm lucky."

"Who's been blown up?"

"Last year Nick was blown up twice and Catherine and another detective were blown up and Nick was buried alive a while back… he's been through a lot of stuff,"

"That explains why he was so distant."

"What?"

"Distant… he watched his house go up in flames but wasn't upset. He got upset when I tried to photograph him like I was making I'm face what happened to him."

"He doesn't like that. He was shot and back to work just the next day and he was virtually fine…"

"He's bottling it up that's not healthy," DB said Greg started shaking his head his boss was wrong.

"You don't know Nick," Greg said, walking away from him. Sara tapped on the window.

"Hey guys I got foot prints and I get directly into Nick's room from here. And it seems like someone has been watching him for a while… again."

"Nicky…" Catherine laughs as Nick pulls her on top of him kissing her. He touches her sides loving how soft her skin.

"What?" he laughs kissing her shoulders smelling her perfume. "We were interrupted last time…"

"We made up for it a couple times,"

"What's one more?" Nick said raising his eyebrows. She reaches and holds his hands interlocking their fingers together. "What time is Lindsay suppose to come home?"

"Soon I think… I gotta talk to you,"

"About what?"

"Lindsay,"

"I saw her before she left she seemed alright… What's going on?"

"She started to ask questions,"

"She already knows about us…" Nick says confuses Catherine smiles at his caveman mind set he has always had.

"Nicky…" Catherine says but the door swings out.

"Hey mom…" Lindsay says but once she sees Catherine and Nick naked in bed her cheeks get red. She turns away embarrassed Catherine falls off the bed pulling the sheet with her Nick rolls off the bed trying to cover himself. "Oh my god, mom!"

"Lindsay!" Catherine yells as Nick almost hides under the bed trying to hide his naked body from her.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me I don't want to know… oh my god!" Lindsay says running off. Catherine put on a sweater and sweats and chased after her. Nick takes the sheet getting back on the bed, stuck in deep thought. He feels a new found nervousness.

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