FF_2/27/2009

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.

A/N: A little bit of lovin' before we get back to the case!

Remember My Name

Nick slept peacefully through the night except for a few restless dreams. He woke once to eat – broth and jello, but he went right back to sleep.

When he woke in the morning, he felt much better. He was still tired, but the rest had really helped. Nick relished his time alone. He knew it wouldn't last. It's not that he didn't appreciate his family and friends' support. But a lot had happened and he needed some time to assimilate it.

Nick thought about his biological mother. He wondered if she'd wanted him. He wondered if she'd survived, whether she would have tried to contact him when he was older. Slowly Nick pushed those thoughts away. He knew they weren't going to help. There were no answers out there. But he also knew the questions wouldn't go away easily.

A smile appeared on his face as he thought of Brass. At least he knew quite a lot about his biological father. He continued to smile as he remembered how many times Jim had been there for him through the years.

After a few minutes of reminiscing, Nick's thoughts turned to his current situation. He couldn't get the impostor out of his mind. He knew he should know who that was. I mean, he'd just gotten his memories back. Surely in all that mess was the identity of the impostor.

Nick's thoughts were interrupted when his door opened and Maria walked in. She smiled at Nick and moved next to his bed. She reached out and slipped her fingers through his. "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he smiled back.

Maria's free hand gently caressed his cheek and then slid up into his hair. She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. Nick lifted his hand to her cheek and returned her kiss. It wasn't long before Maria pulled away gently. She gently caressed his cheek again and slipped onto the edge of Nick's bed.

"I love you," she breathed before giving him another quick kiss.

"I love you too, darlin'," Nick stole another quick kiss. Maria put her fingers over his lips before he could steal another.

"Slow down, Cowboy," Maria smiled. "You've got a date with the surgeon in a few hours. And you need to do a lot more healing before you're up to too much." She smoothed her hand down his cheek again.

"You up to a visit from the team on your case?" Maria didn't miss the flinch when she mentioned the case.

"Yeah," Nick sighed, his smile folding into a frown. "I hate bein' a victim," he muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," Maria scolded. "You're not a victim, you're a survivor."

Nick twisted his lips into a brief smile. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But sometimes… sometimes I just wanna be normal."

Maria did her best to sooth his pain away, though she knew it wasn't that easy. As she gently smoothed the unshed tears from his eyes, she whispered, "You could never be normal, my love. You're so far above normal; you could never sink that low. Spectacular is as low as you can go."

Nick laughed softly, just like she intended. He rested his head on her shoulder and basked in the feeling of her love surrounding him. "I don't deserve you, but there's no way I can ever let you go. I need you so much." He met Maria's eyes and let her see everything he felt in his eyes: the love, the gratitude, the faith in their relationship. After a few moments, he looked down again. "You said somethin' about a visit from the team?"

"Yes," Maria caressed his cheek one more time, before getting up and opening the door.

Brass led the parade into Nick's room. He was followed by Ecklie, Grissom, Catherine, Greg, Vartann, Vega, Lt. Casey, Calleigh, and Billy.

"Calleigh?" Nick asked, startled that his cousin was included with the investigating team.

"Well, I am a CSI," Calleigh said quickly. "And y'all know I'd go stir crazy without somethin' to do."

Nick acknowledged Calleigh's words as Brass moved to his bedside. The two men shared a glance and the unanimous desire to keep their new relationship low-key, especially with Ecklie around. So Brass just said, "Hey, Nick," and gently patted Nick's hand.

Nick just replied, "Mornin' Jim."

The others were arranging themselves in the various chairs around the room when Pat Tucker knocked on the door and then slipped inside.

"Hey, Nick," he said.

"Hey, Pat," Nick replied. It was obvious that Nick knew Mike Tucker's brother pretty well.

"Do you know a…" Pat looked at the business card in his hand, "…an A. J. Dennison, Nick?"

"Denny? Denny's here?" Nick looked confused.

"Yeah, do you want to see him?" Pat asked.

"Yeah, I can't imagine…" Nick let his voice trail off as Pat went back outside to get Nick's visitor. Nick ignored the others' questions while he watched the door and waited to see his old friend again.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the little interlude with Maria. Things will get heavy again when we find out why an old friend is visiting! :)