AN: I don't own any of the CSI:NY Characters or any of the show's storylines that I may refer to from time to time, but the rest of the plot is mine.
6. Melting the Ice
After a few minutes of silence as they stared at their drinks, he looked at her and asked if she could take some time off for Halloween and bring Amy, he could take them to the parade and they could go in costume he thought Amy would like it. "I don't know, I doubt I'll get time off and I'm not sure I'm ready to bring Amy here". She answered. He knew she was stalling, he thought he would try a different approach. "You still got that red devil costume?" he prodded. Nikki saw the mischievous look in his eyes, suddenly she found it infectious, "Donny! That was strictly High School!" She wailed. "I don't know how you ever talked me into that! Don't tell me you still have the Mummy outfit!"
"Might have, you want me to find it?" He teased her. "Somehow I don't think it would be decent any more, you've grown since senior year!" she gasped. "Besides it would scare Amy, she freaked out last Halloween, wouldn't leave the house." "Yeah but she's older now and I'm sure some of the costumes would intrigue her." He told her. "Besides sis you know I'll look after her and you".
Nikki took a sip of her drink before she responded, "as I recall that's part of what messed us up so much before. Don you have to let go, you can't always be there to protect me." She paused. "I loved the pretence we had in School and when I was in College. Even when you took me to the Academy party where I met Jason. You almost scared him to death when he realised I was the guest of the great Don Flack jnr. He almost never asked me out you know. He was so relieved when I told him we weren't really related. Of course then he thought he had competition from you, he never knew which was worse." She looked down at her ring and twisted it on her finger. Don took her hand "was kinda cool watching him decide what to do about dating my best friend". Nikki looked up at him "Don Flack you're very mean sometimes!" He grinned at her and his eyes sparkled, "you know you enjoyed taunting him as much as I did" he prodded. Nikki couldn't resist and she giggled, "it was fun, he was so gullible". The team from the lab arrived at that moment.
"Looks like you two are chilled out" greeted Danny.
They greeted Nikki and she informed Mac that their case of the Taiwanese Immigrant had been resolved in San Francisco and that the culprit could be extradited if the DA wanted the case heard in New York.
"You've been back to Frisco?" asked Stella. Nikki told her that Jason's parents had insisted she spend some time with her family before the funeral. They asked her about her family, but she was non committal, talking about her Mum mainly.
A few minutes later the subject changed and Nikki was relieved to be able to finish her drink in relative quiet, no longer the centre of attention. It gave her the opportunity to observe her temporary colleagues. She was able to watch Don too, he showed moments of the old Don she knew years ago, at ease with the group, mercilessly teasing Danny about something or other. She could see they were good friends. She was a little envious of the banter they had going and wished they could be like that again. She ran her hands over her face, a move not unnoticed by Don.
He had joined the discussions going on, acutely aware of her sat opposite. When he looked at her she was watching the others, but in between he knew she was watching him. He didn't really want to be there, not tonight, not with everyone. He wanted to be alone somewhere with her, anywhere, somewhere they could talk. He was also acutely aware that in a couple of weeks she would be going back to San Francisco with no guarantee that she would return or if he would see her again. They had known each other for a long time, the last five years hadn't been easy, and their last meeting 2 years before had resulted in a major row and they had barely spoken since. He knew she had stayed in touch with his family, that his sister in law, Cassie had kept her up to date on his condition after the bombing, what hurt most was that she hadn't come home. Cassie said she couldn't get time off, he thought she didn't want to come. He wanted to ask her about it. He thought the seriousness of his injury and the fact that they had been so close she would have wanted to be there. He was now angry at himself for not taking the opportunity during his recovery to go to her, to try and mend the damage he'd caused 2 years ago. But he was still mad at her for not coming to him.
He saw her rub her hands over her face. He could tell she had had enough. She looked up at him, her blue eyes spoke volumes between them. She announced that she was going home. He watched her stand up he did too and helped her on with her jacket, pulling her hair free as she did the buttons. She took his hand briefly then looked into his eyes. "I know what I said earlier, but I'd like my big brother to walk me home" He nodded. They said goodnight to the others and left the bar.
"What's the deal with them?" asked Danny getting the distinct impression that something was going on and he was out of the loop. Mac smiled, "they knew each other in high school, they drifted apart after Nikki moved to California". Mac was not known to gossip, but what he'd said was true, Nikki had told him her first day. Mac was pleased that she had someone in the city to help her deal with what had happened.
As they walked through the streets of New York, Don and Nikki were silent. Both tired from the events of the previous few weeks, as well as the turmoil surrounding their last meeting and interim lack of contact. As they reached her residence they stopped on the pavement. Don reached for her hand as she was about to go up the steps and stopped her. She turned to him.
"Tomorrow 8 o'clock, Amalfi's, don't keep me waiting" she breathed. He raised his eyes at her. "How did you know that was my question?" he asked.
"It's what we used to do before I met Jason" She answered simply before going up the stairs and letting herself in.