Chapter 4

Nick woke late in the day, so late, that it was just a few short hours until he had to go back to work. It was still raining outside, but it had turned into a gentle patter on the window. He slowly started to remember why he had slept so late and looked over in his bed to see Lily, fast asleep facing away from him. Her beautiful wavy hair cascaded down her back. God, she's so beautiful. Nick thought. He knew there was no going back. He loved her. He just needed to know if she felt the same. A few minutes later, he was roused from his thoughts as she began to move, rolling over to her other side, rolling right into the crook of his arm.

"'Lo, there." Nick smiled, his accent prominent, as it always was when he first woke up. She smiled.

"Hi." She rested her head on his chest and he kissed the top of her head.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, running his hand through her hair. She nodded.

"Did you?" She asked, turning her head to look at him.

"Slept better than I have in years." He admitted. Lily smiled and rested her head back on his chest. They didn't talk for awhile, but it felt comfortable instead of awkward.

"So, remember when I said I couldn't let anything get in the way of my job?" She asked. Nick felt his insides drop a little. He croaked out an affirmative. "Well, I clearly didn't listen to myself." She turned her head back to face him and smiled. "I'm glad I didn't." She kissed him. Nick let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you didn't listen too." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm glad I didn't listen to myself either. I didn't want to be involved with anyone, but I couldn't stay away from you." Lily noticed a note of concern cross his face.

"Why is that? I mean why didn't you want to get involved? I know what you told me, but I don't think it was everything." She traced circles on his arm. Nick hesitated.

"It's complicated." He didn't want to ruin the afternoon they had together. Her answer surprised him.

"If you don't want to tell me right now, that's okay. You will eventually. Just promise me one thing." She looked up at him.

"What's that?" He asked, staring into her turquoise blue eyes.

"Promise me you aren't married or in a relationship. I will not be the other woman." She looked him straight in the eye. The look of surprise on his face said it all.

"No, no it's just you. Only you." He kissed her again. "Thank you for not making me tell you why." He hugged her.

"Correction: you don't have to tell me right now. You will eventually."

"That works for me." He smiled. "In the meantime I think we still have some catching up to do before I have to go to work." He grinned and ran his warm hands over her back.

"Oh you think so, hey? Hey!" He threw the sheets over her her and rolled her over. She laughed.

Nick stood at the door, kissing Lily. She pulled away and pushed gently on his chest.

"You have to go to work." She smiled.

"Do I have to?" He asked, trying to pull her closer. She stepped further into his house.

"Yes, you have to." She laughed. "Go on now. Don't make me sic Sam on you." Sam lifted his head from his spot by the tv.

"Okay. Okay." He sighed. "You have my spare key right? He asked. She nodded. "Okay. I'm going now. One last kiss." She rolled her eyes and stepped forward to kiss him. Regretfully, he broke apart and squeezed her hand.

"See you later." He called, heading for his car. She waved and said goodbye. Nick watched her in his rear view mirror as he drove away. He grinned. I could get used to this. He thought.

Nick was grinning ear to ear by the time he walked into work.

"Hey, Greggo!" Nick high-fived Greg on his way down the hallway to the locker room. He didn't see the look Greg have him. Shortly after that, he was in the meeting room, getting his assignments for the night. He knew he had to push Lily to the back of his mind. He had to concentrate.

Lily threw Sam a treat before scratching between his ears.

"Bon soir, mom petit chout." She headed out the front door, locked it, and made her way home to get some work done. Although Nick made frequent interruptions into her thoughts.

Nick walked passed DB in the hallway, talking to the chief of police. He caught a bit of their conversation.

"The room should be done in the next few weeks. We can then start setting everything up. You should have it up and running in a month." The police chief was saying.

"Good. I think this will be a good thing. No one else has anything like this. If it works, it will be huge." DB replied.

"But can anyone else find what we found?" The chief asked. DB laughed in agreement. "One of a kind." Nick lost the rest of the conversation as he moved into the lab. Whatever this room was about, he had mixed feelings regarding it.