A.N.: Yeah, so guess who still isn't doing as much homework as she should be doing... ;)

(spoilers here) I probably should have mentioned earlier that, while I've heard that Greg is now officially a CSI, I haven't seen the last half of Season 4... I left North America around the episode where Grissom recommended Nick for the promotion (great episode!) but they haven't quite caught up yet down here in Australia (but we're getting closer!)... So if there seem to be any inconsistencies anywhere in the story, my apologies. Please blame my ignorance... and my tendency to present the characters the way I like them portrayed... ;)


Nick sat alone in the break room, the weight of everything that had happened in the hours before resting heavily on his mind. For a moment he felt overwhelmed: I saved someone's life tonight.

That alone was sending his mind for a spin. He'd encountered many things on the job before, but this was a big first for him. Like Brass had told Alex earlier, the CSI's didn't see too many live bodies around once they arrived at the crime scene. And to actually save somebody... he gulped at the enormity of it all.

Thank God we made it there on time.

He felt his stomach drop at the thought of the alternative, but tried to shake it off. He'd done his job and Alex was OK.

Now we just have to make sure she stays that way.

Catherine and Greg entered the room talking, and Nick's thoughts broke off momentarily. He nodded at them as they entered. Greg gave him a two finger wave and continued talking.

"Well, all the evidence is crisp and clean... but we have nothing to compare it to." He looked disappointed.

Catherine also looked non-plussed. "Well, we'll have to wait and see what the neighbourhood canvassing turns up. Maybe we'll have a suspect by the time we get back in tonight."

Greg nodded and shrugged. "Well, I guess I'm outta here. See ya tonight." He headed back down the hallway and out of sight.

Catherine headed for the coffee maker.

"Oh, nice. That's just so wrong. When was the last time this pot was cleaned?" She scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Ah, forget it. I'll hit the coffee shop on the way home."

Nick remained silent, and didn't even seem to notice that Catherine was still in the room.

"Nick?"

He slowly looked her way. "Hmmm?"

"Shift's about over... or are you heading over to the Bellagio to check out that parking voucher before you finish?"

"Yeah, I thought I might. We've got some decent evidence, but without a suspect..." He trailed off.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan." She paused.

Catherine looked at him and tried to decide whether or not now was a good time to talk. She decided she might as well get it over with.

"Listen, do you have a minute before you go? I wanted to talk to you about something."

Nick looked at her questioningly. "Shoot."

"Nick, I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you, but..."

He could see where this was headed and grimaced. "Catherine, look..."

"No, Nick, please- just hear me out. I have the utmost respect for you, as a CSI, and well... as a guy in general. You've gotta know that. I would trust you with my life. And because of that, I want to tell you something as a friend... Because I care about you, if for no other reason."

Nick eyed her warily, but waited patiently for her to continue. She took his silence as a cue to continue.

"It hasn't slipped my notice that there seems to be some... chemistry between you and Alex Winters. It's totally understandable, and I can't blame you, in all honesty. She seems nice. And I really want to see you happy, Nick. You deserve it. But all I want to say is, I think it would be for the best if you hold off from... anything more until the case is solved and filed, if only to protect yourself."

He started to look a bit incensed at this, but she kept going.

"I'm not saying you've done anything wrong. You haven't. It's just that, if any funny business comes up in court, and you know that's possible, it looks bad for the department, and could be detrimental to your position here."

Nick nodded and sighed out loud. "Trust me Cath, I know all this. There's no way I'd jeopardize either the case or my own job."

Catherine smiled at him. "I know that. I really do. But that's what friends are for, Nicky... To be there to remind you of the things that you already know." She grabbed his hand and gave it a quick squeeze.

Nick smiled and gave a small laugh. "OK. I'll be cool, don't worry." He squeezed her hand back before releasing it. "And I do appreciate your concern, honestly. Thanks."

She patted his arm and turned to leave.

"Cath?"

She turned back to look at him, her brows raised in question.

"Remind me every once in a while not to take you for granted, OK?"

She smiled at him again. "Every day, darlin'. Every day."

She left the room and made her way down the hallway. Nick smiled to himself.


Officer Mark Barnes finally made his appearance in Brass's office, looking a tad petulant.

Once introduced to his charge however, Barnes seemed to turn that frown upside down, Brass thought to himself. Noting the small transformation, he shook his head. The man looked... what? The word opportunistic came to mind. He wondered what was with the guys around here tonight.

You'd think there were no other pretty girls in Vegas.

Not that he didn't like Alex; she seemed to be a nice woman. She wasn't what he'd call stunning by any means, but there was something about her. He chalked it up to her easy-going attitude, which just kind of showed in her face, and her eyes. She exuded friendliness.

He sighed again.

Whatever. There must be a full moon tonight, or the tides were high or something.

Brass figured that maybe he was just too old to moon over women anymore. His ship had sailed years ago.


Later, as Alex stood in the shower hoping that the tension would ease out of her body like the water down the drain, she considered the last half hour with chagrin. The trip to the safe house with Officer Barnes had been, well... interesting.

A few times when she'd glanced over at him, she'd caught him grinning at her, which she was certain was meant to appear as friendliness. Instead of feeling comforted, she'd felt like the prey before the predator.

Barnes was very good looking. Tall and fit, with sandy blonde hair and sea-blue eyes that she'd had to admit she'd found entirely mesmerizing, she could imagine him as Mr. June or Mr. July on the annual policeman's calendar. Unfortunately in this case, she got the impression that he might be one of those guys who knew that he was hot. He seemed so unlike Nick.

She shook her head slightly as the comparison crossed her mind.

Ah, who am I kidding? I barely even know Nick. He could be a total narcissistic womanizer for all I know.

She found that she really couldn't bring herself to believe that though. Nick had seemed so nice... and genuine.

Barnes on the other hand, while friendly enough, just seemed to be a little bit too much. He seemed fairly intelligent- he was well spoken, and clearly he was well-educated, but...? His air of confidence went a bit beyond what she normally found attractive. And he seemed to think he knew... everything.

The drive had begun normally enough.

She thought it was nice how he took the time to explain the history of the LVPD safe houses, which apparently had been around since the days when the mafia had been still very active in Las Vegas. There'd been a lot of people placed in protective custody back then to prevent mob retaliation on individuals who'd provided condemning testimonials against them. Now, there were only 2 of the original 5 places left and they'd been used less and less in the intervening years, but the LVPD kept them active and in good shape for visiting associates or VIP's attending conferences. And occasionally they were used for their original purpose as well, like now.

That information had been at least mildly interesting to Alex, but it had all gone down hill from there.

Somehow they'd gotten onto the subject of sports, (Alex was sure she didn't initiate it, but she was so tired by this point she wasn't sure of anything anymore) and Barnes had run through a list of his many achievements in the realm of athletic prowess.

Alex normally enjoyed sports, and played a little 'fun-league' baseball and volleyball herself, but after hearing him blame a constant knee injury for losing this or that game for the second or third time, she tried to change the subject.

"So, are you from Las Vegas originally, Officer Barnes?"

He took the bait. "Nope. I'm from North Dakota. Close to the Canadian border... up where you're from."

Alex had asked him how he'd known that, and then she'd realized that he'd probably been shown her file; her name, address, occupation, etc., were all at his fingertips.

He'd given her a knowing look though, and said "I'm a cop. We know things."

She had waited for him to laugh at the joke, but it hadn't come. Realizing he was serious, she had stared out the window at the passing scenery, and tried not to laugh in his face.

Alex found it hard to relate to people with no sense of humour, and she had slowly come to the conclusion that Barnes was definitely lacking in the comedy department. But she'd figured it probably wasn't a good idea to alienate the people that were trying to protect you, and so she stuck to hmmm-ing and ahhhhh-ing at what she'd hoped were the appropriate places during his diatribe.

Mostly not hearing what he was actually saying, she'd stared out the windshield trying to figure out where they were, and hoping that they'd get there soon.


Stepping out of the shower, Alex wiped the mist from the mirror and contemplated her freshly scrubbed face. Trying to ignore the bandage on her forehead, she decided that she looked decidedly better than before, if a little tired and red-rimmed around the eyes.

When she'd first seen her reflection after arriving at the safe house, she'd felt a little embarrassed to realize she'd spent the whole evening walking around with dirty smudge marks all over her face. She wished she'd known earlier and had made an effort to clean herself up a bit... say, sometime shortly after Nick had saved her life...

Oh well. Such is life.

She touched the bandage on her arm, as if to remind herself of what had happened last night. She had far bigger concerns to worry about right now.

She threw a towel over her pillow to soak up some of the dampness from her wet hair, which she was too tired to bother drying. She climbed under the covers and closed her eyes.

After about a minute, she felt an overwhelming rush of vulnerability invade her mind. Feeling too exposed with just her bare skin and nothing else between her and the sheets, she got back up and pulled a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of her suitcase. Pulling them on, she climbed back under the sheets and pulled the covers up to her neck.

Feeling a little better, she considered her situation. As unappealing as she found Officer Barnes, she was glad to know that he was sitting outside the place right now in his unmarked car. Nick was right: she would be safe here.

As she lay there worrying that she'd never be able to sleep, an image of Nick's face floated across her mind, and she was unconsciously smiling as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


Jerking awake, Alex sat up in bed and looked around the room in panic. Where the hell...?

It took her a few more seconds to remember where she was. She felt immobilzed for a moment as it all came flooding back to her. The room was dark, with only a small row of windows with dark blinds running just below the ceiling, along the entire length of the room.

She hadn't plugged in the alarm clock before she went to sleep, and she had no idea of the time. She clenched her hands to her eyes and tried to fight back a sudden unexpected swell of emotion, and the tears that were threatening to come with it. She couldn't stop seem to herself though, and she started to sob out loud.

Feeling like she was 5 years old again, she simply gave up trying to hold back the tears and let them flow. She turned her face into her pillow and bawled.

A little while later, as the tears finally began to wane, she began to feel a new emotion take hold: anger. Still sniffling, she climbed out of bed and reached for some tissues off the dresser. She looked at her swollen, puffy eyes in the dresser mirror and grimaced.

Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck.

She blew her nose loudly.

Fuck! This is all just so fucking unfair.

Why was this happening to her? Why?

A sudden rapping at the front door caught her attention and she tried to pull herself together.

Fuck.

She went to the bathroom and splashed some cool water into her sore eyes. She moved towards the door, and the knocking started again. She heard Barnes calling out, his voice muffled through the door.

"Miss Winters? Hello?"

She felt a stubborn streak for an instant, and felt like ignoring him. She realized that she was just being childish, and answered through the door. "Yes?"

"Sorry if I woke you, miss. It's Officer Barnes. I need to introduce you to my shift replacement."

Already? What the hell time is it?

She unlocked the door and opened it to see Barnes and a younger looking man with a pleasant face. She held the door open for them and they entered. She didn't know what to say, so she nodded. "Hi."

The younger officer smiled.

"Hi. James Shelley. Nice to meet you... Are you OK?" He asked, looking at her red eyes.

"Um yeah. I just woke up, and... I think my allergies must be kicking in."

Barnes nodded and seemed to buy it, but Officer Shelley didn't look convinced. He gave her a rueful smile and she was relieved when she realized he wasn't going to make an issue of it.

"Officer Shelley will be here until next shift starts at 11pm."

Alex still felt a bit confused. "Sorry, what time is it?"

"3:25 pm. I hope you had a good sleep." Barnes looked at her, putting on his charming smile. "Well, I have to go, but I'll be seeing you in a few shifts." More smiling.

Alex tried to smile back. "Thanks Officer Barnes. I appreciate your time."

"Just doing my job. See ya later."

He turned, walked outside and headed for his car. Alex was surprised to find she was almost sorry to see him go, but she knew she'd get over it.

Officer Shelley looked at her expectantly. "I brought these... you must be starving by now." He held up a handful of take-out menus.

She stared at them for a second, trying to process what she was seeing... Am I hungry?

As if on cue, her stomach growled and Officer Shelley laughed. She felt a moment of embarrassment, but felt it pass at an amused but kind look and a comment from him.

"The stomach has spoken."

She laughed and felt a bit of relief that her new 'bodyguard' seemed a little more her style. He smiled at her and waved the menus at her again.

"What'll it be?"


Archie sat in front of the video monitor and pressed play on the parking garage tape. Nick and Brass stood watching the footage from behind him. Archie grinned.

"I'm always amused when I'm told to spot the black luxury car. There are hardly any of those in Vegas."

Brass smiled and agreed. "Hey man, it's all we've got. Just humour us."

Nick watched the screen intently, looking for the right type of car. "You sure the guy knew what he saw?"

"He's a mechanic at a high-end car rental place, so I'm confident he knows his stuff. Plus, I doubt you'd see too many Jaguars in that neighbourhhod. Especially more than once, as this guy mentioned. More like Toyotas and Audis... mini-vans and station wagons. The place is 'soccer-mom' central."

Nick laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I'd think an XKR would probably stand out then."

It wasn't much, but it was something. He'd get Greg to do a check on local Jags and see what surfaced. Now all they had to do was to try and track one down in the parking lot of the Bellagio. The parking ticket had been date specific at least, so that narrowed down their tape viewing somewhat.

He only hoped that the parking stub and the car were actually linked. He crossed his fingers that the intruder had actually been the one to drop it in Alex's condo.

Archie started scanning. "It's nice of them to have a camera pointed directly on the valet. That should make things move a little quicker. We can see all the cars that go through close up. This is surprisingly bad quality for such a high-end hotel, though. I think these guys must be reusing tapes over and over again."

They watched the somewhat fuzzy, sped-up footage for about 15 minutes before Nick caught a glimpse of a car that seemed to fit the description. "Whoh. Go back there a bit, Arch."

He watched as the fast rewind blurred the screen in front of them, and then the screen stopped on the black Jaguar. Archie pressed play and they watched the scene expectantly.

The car stopped in front of the valet booth, and a tall brunette woman got out of the car, barely glancing at the valet as she handed him the keys and accepted her parking stub.

Archie whistled appreciatively. "Those are some nice legs."

Brass asked him to rewind it again, and smirked down at Archie. "And not just so we can see her legs again."

Archie chuckled and rewound the scene. They watched it once more and then Nick commented.

"We can't see the license plate number at this angle." He looked over at the table where several other videos lay. "Maybe we can see where it was parked and find the plate number on one of the other surveillance camera tapes. They cover the whole garage from different angles."

He had another thought. "They're probably not that common, but maybe you should run through the rest of this tape and see if there are any other Jags entering the lot that night."

Archie nodded. "I'll get on it. I'll page you when I've got something."

Nick left the video lab feeling a lot more hopeful than he had that morning. He hoped this panned out and wasn't just a coincidence.

Brass caught up to him. "What's the plan, Stan?"

"Well, I was thinking I'd take a last look through Alex's place and see if there's anything at all that we missed. Just in case."

Brass nodded. "Nothing wrong with being thorough. I'll tag along, watch your back."

"Cool. Meet you there. I'm just going to check in with Catherine and Sara before I head out."

He walked towards the other labs, catching Catherine as she exited from Trace.

"Hey there. Any luck with the tapes? Did you find the Jag?"

"Maybe, just maybe we might have something. Archie's checking it out right now. Have you seen Greg?"

"Yep. He's running the DNA from the semen sample through CODIS again. He believes in being thorough."

"Or he has nothing else to do right now. I need him to start checking out Jaguar registrations."

"I'm sure he'll be keen for something to do."

"Yeah, probably. So, how about you? Come up with anything?"

"Irish Setter." She calmly stated.

Nick raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Irish Setter? You mean the hairs you found?"

She nodded. "Not exactly the most common dog in Vegas. Not totally out of the ordinary either, but still..."

"This is looking better all the time. So we may be looking for a guy with a Jaguar and an Irish Setter. Can't be too many guys like that around, you think?"

"Can't say I've noticed any in my social circles."

Nick laughed and then looked over her shoulder and nodded at Sara Sidle, who approached from behind Catherine. "Sidle.'

She continued with the mock formality. "Stokes. Willows. What's the story?"

They discussed what they had so far. Sara had just spoken to Greg who'd checked all the fingerprints and found they all matched Alex. So the perp had been wearing gloves.

No surprise there, thought Nick. Good work anyway, Greg. He was taking his work seriously, and Nick felt a bit proud of him.

Catherine made like she was ready to go. "I'm going to go hit the local dog registries and see what I can find. I'll get Greg on those car records. Archie has the details?"

"Yep. Thanks Catherine" He suddenly realized he should go talk to Alex about the couple of clues they'd linked up. Maybe she knew someone who fit the picture. He looked at Sara.

"Sara, are you working on anything at the moment?"

"Nope. Whatcha need?"

"Well, I was going to meet Brass at Alex's condo for another run-through, but I think I need to go ask her about what we've found. See if she knows anyone who might match up. Brass will meet you there- he's on his way to her place right now."

He waited for her to make a teasing comment, but it didn't happen.

"No problem. I'll let you know if anything else turns up."

He smiled at her. "Thanks Sar."

She patted his shoulder as she walked past him towards the parking lot.

Nick called Brass and let him know the change of plan. Brass gave him the address of the safe house and promised to call ahead and warn the Officer on duty that he'd be coming.

He felt a strange fluttering in his stomach as he climbed behind the wheel of his Denali and started up the engine. He looked in the rearview mirror to the seat where Alex had been asleep last night and smiled.

After his shift had ended that morning, he'd tried to keep busy so that he wouldn't think about her, but he'd mostly failed miserably. As he'd been buying groceries, he'd found himself wondering if she had food at the safe house. Then, as he'd squinted in the sunshine as he'd walked towards his front door, he'd hoped there were curtains in her bedroom so she'd be able to sleep more easily.

Even when he finally laid down to sleep, he couldn't get her off his mind. He'd finally fallen asleep, but he'd had a lot of strange dreams, none of which he could remember now.

As he prepared to pull out of the lot, he checked his watch. Just after midnight. Damn.

He hoped he wasn't waking her up.


Alex sat on the sofa in the living room, watching Letterman.

Her new guardian was a female officer by the name of Officer Collins. Sitting outside in her car, she was nice but very quiet and business-like. It seemed every new officer was going to be a new personality type. Maybe she could make a guessing game out of it...

Shelley had been her favourite so far though, eating Chinese food with her and laughing while he kept his gaze peeled out the front for any unusal activity. He'd looked about 16 years old, with freckles on his nose and a bit of a goofy grin.

She'd found it amusing when he'd tried to assume a professional air as he'd explained that since the back of the house was about half a foot away from an apartment building behind it, they didn't have to worry about it, so one officer on duty would suffice. The sides of the house were similarly located close to the homes on either side, and they were confident no one could slip through the spaces between the buildings without first removing his spine.

As secure as she'd been feeling since she'd gotten over her meltdown earlier that day, Alex had felt safer still after she'd learned this.

She yawned, but didn't feel like going to bed yet. Letterman's guests were decidedly 'B' list tonight, so she flicked through the channels, hoping for something more stimulating. She stopped on the Discovery Channel and smiled.

I wonder what Nick's up to right now...?

Well, he was probably working, she thought. She still wondered what he was concentrating on at the moment.

She thought back to his quick smile and leaned back into the sofa. She wished she could see him again. She wondered if they'd come up with anything yet.

Alex tried to oncentrate on the Discovery program on right now. "Iceman: Hunt For A Killer".

Hmmm. Could be interesting.

She snuggled into the cushions and put her feet up on the coffee table. She hadn't watched more than 10 minutes before a knock at the door startled her.

"Miss Winters? There's a CSI here to see you."

Alex's heart began to race.

Nick?

She moved to the door and looked through the peep hole. Sure enough, the good looking Texan stood outside the door. She tried to relax as she felt her face heat up.

"Uh, just a minute." She called through the door.

She tried to fan her face, hoping she didn't look too flushed.

Jeeze, what is wrong with me?

Then she giggled nervously to herself.

Must be the hot guy outside my door...

She tried to assume a relaxed pose and worked to keep her smile easy and natural. Feeling that she was as close as she was going to get to calm, she unlocked the door and opened it.

Nick looked at her and smiled, and she felt her composure deserting her again. She fumbled to gain her self-control and smiled back shyly.

"Hi. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon."

"Yeah... I'm glad I didn't wake you." He gestured at the TV.

"I'm a bit of a night owl. And I slept until about 3 today, so I think my sleeping schedule is a little out of kilter."

She moved toward the living room and offered him a seat. He sat down in a chair facing her.

"How are you holding up? Did you sleep OK?"

Man, the way he looked at her... those concerned brown eyes... It was almost all she could do to focus on his words.

"Oh. Yeah- I slept like the dead."

She winced at the poorly chosen expression, and he grinned sympathetically at her but said nothing. "Um, I mean... I pretty much fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I don't think I even dreamed."

"That's good. You needed it." He looked at her intently again. "How are you doing?"

She smiled and tried to forget her mini-breakdown when she'd woken up that day. "I'm good. Really, Nick. I'll be alright."

He watched her closely, as if searching for signs that she wasn't telling him the truth. She tried once more to convince him that she was.

"I do feel safe here, Nick. You were right. I'm glad you convinced me to come here."

She smiled genuinely at him and he gave in, believing her. His heart had started to speed up at her smile.

She has no idea what she's doing to me. Man oh man. Focus... Focus...

"I'm glad. You are safe here."

"How long do you think it'll be until I can go back to my place?"

"Well, Sara's giving it another sweep right now, but barring something major, we should be finished in there by, say the day after tomorrow I'm guessing."

"Hmmm. I guess that's not so bad. And it's not like this place is so terrible. I guess I just feel a bit..."

"Isolated?" He asked, and she nodded.

He smiled. "I think that's probably the point, actually."

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, no doubt. Anyway, it's no big deal. I can hack it out for a few more days."

He smiled at her again. The lighting in here was dimmed, but he could have sworn she was blushing. He was sure it was just his imagination. He decided to get on with his reason for being here.

"Alex, we've come up with a few things, and I wanted to run some stuff by you."

She nodded and looked at him questioningly.

"Do you know anyone who drives a black Jaguar, or who owns an Irish Setter?"

She looked surprised at the question. "A black Jaguar and an Irish Setter? No, I can't say that I do." She continued to look at him quizzically. "Can I ask where you came up with that?"

"We found a parking stub in your living room, and some red hairs that turned out to be from an Irish Setter. And one of your neighbours reported seeing a black Jag driving slowly down your street a few times over the last week or so. Have you noticed it at all?"

She shook her head no. She hadn't seen anything like that, but then again, she rarely paid attention to her surroundings when she was walking home. She usually had her walkman on, and was in another world.

"Hmmm. Well anyway, we're following it up and hopefully we'll come up with something solid." The big easy smile again. "Keep your fingers crossed."

Crossing her fingers was suddenly the last thing on her mind as she found herself caught up in his brilliant smile yet again. Biting her tongue, she asked, "Um, anything else? What else can I do?"

"You can finish watching your program and then get some sleep."

She laughed. "OK. Thanks Dad."

He laughed with her, and then he stood to go. She felt a little depressed at the thought that he was leaving again, but hid it behind her smile. "Well, it was great to see you again. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

He shrugged lightly. "Don't worry about it. It was a bit of a long shot anyway. I was hoping it would trigger a memory or something just based on the weirdness of the combination, but whatever. Anyway..."

He didn't really want to go yet, but couldn't think of anything else to say.

She stared back at him awkwardly, trying to freeze his legs in place by sheer willpower. He turned towards the door and her heart sank some more.

Oh Nick, I really wish you'd stay...

He turned back around to look at her and she felt her blood freeze in her veins.

Oh my God... Did I just say that out loud?!!!

But Nick only pointed in the direction of the kitchen and asked, "Is there anything I can pick up for you? I could easily bring it by after my shift ends in the morning. Maybe some coffee or something...?" He rushed on to prevent it from sounding like a breakfast date. "I mean, do you have any food here?"

Feeling a sense of relief at not being caught out, Alex shrugged. "I had take-out for supper, and I still have some left over..."

"Hmmm. Not what I'd call a nutritional breakfast. How about I bring you some bread and butter and... um, supplies in the morning?"

She smiled her appreciation. "That'd be great. Thanks so much."

"Not a problem. Do you need anything else?"

She racked her brain, but couldn't think of anything. Then she felt another slow blush creep across her face and she laughed nervously.

He looked back at her smiling. "What?"

"Well... I could use some underwear, but I don't think you can help me there...?" She grinned sheepishly again and he laughed.

"Well, I could, but I'm not sure you'd like my selections..."

Visions of slinky white lacey things suddenly ran through his mind and he thought he might be blushing himself. He decided to get out of here before he made a complete fool of himself.

"Um, I guess I'd better get going. Uh, if nothing gets in the way work-wise, expect me around 8:30 or 9 am... Is that too early?"

I'd stay up all night if it meant seeing you, Nick...

"No, that's perfect. I'll see you then. If nothing comes up."

"Here's hoping." He flashed the bright smile and she fought back a sigh. She was beginning to feel positively Victorian. Next thing she knew, she'd be swooning and getting the 'vapors' whenever he smiled at her.

She watched him walk to the door and caught herself checking out his backside and looked away quickly.

Man, do that again and you may be swooning for real, Alex, she thought to herself as she tried to remove the image of his very appealing contours from her mind. Keep it together!

He opened the door and looked back at her. "See you tomorrow."

She nodded back at him, not feeling too confident in her capacity for speech at the moment.

He started to head out the door and then turned back around to face her again. "Oh, and it was good to see you again, too. Really good." He flashed her another big smile and then disappeared out the door.

Alex stood where she was for what seemed like forever, trying to convince herself that that hadn't been flirting.

Was he just... flirting with me?

She tried to shake it off.

No. No way. Get your head on straight, Winters. He was just being polite... a good Texan.

She swallowed hard and made her way back to the sofa.

So how am I supposed to get to sleep now?


A.N.(Again!): Whew! Another long one. Sorry about that. Seriously guys, let me know if I'm getting carried away with the detail here. I'm enjoying the writing, but so do all authors, I'm sure. Let me know if I'm enjoying the look of my own writing too much! I don't want to bore you all with self- indulgence after such nice compliments!