I'mma go cry in a corner. It's the last chapter! WAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I own nothing. Enjoy! *cries in a corner*

WARNING! This will SUCK! WAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Nick woke up wishing it was any day but today. It was the end of August. Immediately, he knew what it meant.

It's Kady's first day of school.

He had a hard time getting her to go to bed last night because she was so excited. She had heard from Lindsey how exciting her first day was and how it would be amazing for her. Since they were going to the same school, Lindsey immediately promised to look out for her, saying that if anyone gave her a hard time over anything – like being the daughter of a single father, for instance – that they would have to answer to her and her friends who absolutely adore the four-year-old.

Groaning, he decided to get up and get ready for one of the hardest days of his life. He grabbed the clothes he had laid out the night before and had a morning shower to wake himself up. Once he was dressed, he decided he needed to get his precious butterfly ready for the big day. On the way, he saw a photo of him and his wife, who would never see their baby's first day of school.

"Hey, butterfly," Nick whispered as he gently shook her awake, "You have to wake up now."

Kady moaned and scrunched her face when the sunlight hit her face from her partially-opened curtains. Nick found the sight adorable and made him love his daughter even more, if that was possible. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes as Nick scooped her in his arms.

"Come on," he grunted playfully as he walked towards the bathroom where a warm bath was waiting for her, "You have to get ready for your first day of school."

"School!" Kady squealed excitedly, now fully awake.

Nick chuckled at his daughter's excitement. He couldn't help it. It was adorable. She inherited that from her mother as well as her looks and intelligence. She was ready for her first day of school. But Nick felt as if he wasn't ready to let her go just yet. He wanted to keep her in the house forever. Maybe even home-school her himself. But he knew she wanted to experience the wonders of the world. See the world through her very own eyes. And who was he to keep that from her?

After spending some time splashing around and washing, Nick dried her off and dressed her. They then began to have their healthy breakfast when they heard a knock on the door. Wondering who it could be, Nick walked towards the door and opened it wide…to be greeted by Grissom, Greg, Catherine, Sara, Warrick and Brass with huge smiles on their faces.

"What are you guys doing here?" Nick asked with a smile of his own as he hugged them all and gave the girls a kiss on the cheek each.

"Hey. First day of school doesn't happen every day," Catherine remarked, "Take it from me."

"Hi, Uncle Nick!" Lindsey squealed as she hugged him.

"Hey, Lindsey," Nick greeted happily as he hugged her back.

"Where's Kady?" Lindsey asked.

"In the dining room," Nick answered as Lindsey ran inside excitedly.

"Probably should've called first. But we wanted to surprise you. Lindsey was talking about how she wanted to go to school with Kady since they're going to the same elementary school. It's all she could talk about yesterday. So…I thought we could carpool," Catherine explained.

"Yeah. That's no problem. We can even carpool into work together," Nick suggested.

"And I'll put you and Catherine together because Catherine has experienced this before. She can teach you a thing or two about handling your daughter's first day of school," Grissom said.

"I think I can handle it," Nick promised…although he was lying.

"Sure you can," Greg rolled his eyes as he walked in with everyone else following him, "And seriously. You only get to live through your very first day of elementary school once. You couldn't make pancakes?"

"I didn't want any," Kady defended.

"My sweet little Kadelin, I have so much to teach you," Greg sighed dramatically as he let her feed him some oatmeal, "Although, I've gotta give your daddy credit. He makes good oatmeal."

"Got that right," Warrick agreed as he helped himself to some leftover oatmeal in the pot.

"Help yourselves, why don't ya?" Nick suggested sarcastically before smiling at the sight of Lindsey, Kady and Greg sharing and noticing the time, "Alright, girls. We have to go soon. So why don't you finish getting ready?"

Kady and Lindsey nodded and ran towards the bathroom so they could brush their teeth. Nick sighed and sat in his chair at the dining table. Everyone else sat around him.

"You OK, man?" Warrick asked.

"Yeah. It's just that she's…," Nick trailed off.

"Growing up so fast?" Catherine offered as she took a sip of the coffee Nick had given her, "Nick, she's four years old. She's still going to come home to you at the end of the day. Kadelin's still got a while to go before she finds a guy, gets married and gives you a reason to be called Grandpa."

"Don't even go there," Nick pleaded.

"My point is…it's going to take more than growing up to separate the both of you. You two are inseparable. You are the closest father/daughter duo I have ever met," Catherine pointed out, "Remember when she was two years old and you went on your first stakeout in a long while? You asked me to babysit her. You kept on texting and calling to see if she was alright and so you could talk to her. Then the guys you were staking out caught onto you and held her hostage."

"I still have nightmares about it," Nick admitted.

"You threw away your only chance to get a conviction on the biggest drug dealers from the east coast just so you could rescue your daughter and bring her home. When you got reprimanded by the Sheriff and the DA for what you did, you told them to get stuffed because nothing was going to separate you from your baby girl," Catherine recalled with a smile, "You still got them. And Kady wasn't harmed. A little traumatised. But she was fine."

At that moment, Lindsey and Kady walked out excitedly hand-in-hand with their backpacks ready.

"You ready to go?" Nick guessed, earning eager nods from Kady and Lindsey, "Well…come on! Here we go!"

Nick let out a playful grunt as he picked Kady up and settled her into his hip, smiling as she wrapped her small arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Everyone walked to their respective Tahoes and got ready to head to school. Kady and Lindsey sat together in the back while Nick and Catherine sat at the front. It was a silent drive for everyone…minus the occasional 'Are we there yet?' from Kady and Lindsey.

When they pulled out in front of the school, everyone got ready to say their goodbyes as the bell rings in five minutes.

"I'm gonna miss having you in the lab with me everyday," Greg remarked.

"I'll still come and visit, Uncle Greggy," Kady swore.

"That's my girl," Greg smiled as he hugged her, "Have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And PLEASE don't blow anything up. Remember. I taught you nothing."

"Something you two wanna tell me?" Nick asked.

"Nope," Greg and Kady responded as they broke their hug and Kady sprinted to Sara.

"Don't worry about a thing, KT. You're going to do just fine here. You have Lindsey and all the friends you're going to make here," Sara reassured her, "There's nothing to be nervous about."

"I love you, SJ," Kady whispered as they hugged before she went to Warrick.

"The Cookie Monster's gonna miss his Elmo," Warrick pouted.

"I'll bring you cookies," Kady promised.

"That's my girl," Warrick smirked as they hugged.

"Hey! She's my girl!" Greg protested.

"She's my girl!" Nick corrected, causing both boys to go quiet. Nick was Kadelin's father. Technically, she's his girl.

"You will do well here, Kady. You are a smart little girl. But you have to remember this. We learn not in the school, but in life," Grissom recited.

"Seneca?" Kady guessed.

"Yes," Grissom nodded as they hugged, "Love you, alligator."

"Love you too, tadpole," Kady smiled as she ran into Catherine's arms.

"You are gonna do just fine, sunshine. You have Lindsey here all day looking out for you," Catherine promised.

"Anyone who messes with my sister's gonna get it," Lindsey decreed.

"You have nothing to be scared of. You don't have to worry about being ready to face the world. You were born ready. You should worry about the world being ready for you," Catherine smirked, "Now go say goodbye to your daddy. He's been anxious all day."

"Have not," Nick rolled his eyes as he knelt before her, "Butterfly, when you were born, I knew that this day was going to come. Every father knows this. I just wish that it didn't come so soon. But I also know that you're ready for this. You've always been ready for this."

"I'm nervous," Kady whispered.

"There's nothing to be nervous about. School is going to be one of the best times of your life. So much will happen. It's going to be a rollercoaster ride," Nick laughed as he held her close.

"Hide me!" someone squealed.

A young girl around Kady's age with black hair and green eyes hid behind Greg's leg, causing him to laugh.

"What are you hiding from?" Kady asked.

"Mummy's driving me mad," she whimpered, "My name's Emily."

"Kady," Kady introduced herself as they hugged.

"Wanna be best friends forever?" Emily asked.

"Duh!" Kady nodded eagerly as they hugged whilst giggling.

"She beat my record," Lindsey pouted, causing everyone to laugh.

"I'm Caitlin!" a girl with blonde hair and green eyes introduced herself.

"I'm Gizem!" a girl with dark brown hair and brown eyes piped in as the two girls ran up.

"Hiding from your parents too?" Greg guessed.

"Yes," both girls muttered before turning to Kady and Emily, "Wanna be best friends forever?"

"Duh!" Kady and Emily nodded together as the bell rang.

"Well, you four ladies better get to class," Nick remarked, "Don't wanna be late on your first day."

The four girls nodded and ran towards the preschool teacher that was waiting for them. Nick's heart felt heavy. School would be the longest time he would be apart from Kady. And this would happen five days a week…depending on public holidays, teachers strikes and if she gets sick. Suddenly, something happened. Kady told her three new friends to wait for her as she ran back. Knowing what she wanted, he smiled a watery smile and knelt down as Kady practically crashed into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck as he wrapped his own around her. The children surrounding them awed at the sight, teachers smiled and parents watched with envy, wishing they had the same relationship with their children Nick and Kady share.

"Love you, daddy," Kady whispered.

"Love you too, butterfly," Nick murmured as he kissed her temple and gave her butterfly and Eskimo kisses.

When Kady ran back towards her classmates, Nick's heart was still heavy and a little lighter. He just had to remember…

At the end of the day, they'll be together again.