DISCLAIMER: Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!
RATING: M - Mature (language, sexual situations, adult subject matter)
PAIRINGS: GSR & Yo!Bling pre-established in previous fics of this timeline.
SPOILERS: Sequel to "Displacement", "Transitions" and "Vicissitudes" - Number 5 in the Discovery Series
SUMMARY: Sometimes, the best way the deal with the changes all around you is to stop fighting and evolve in response to them. GSR/Yo!Bling/Nick-OC

A/N: Well, it didn't take quite as long to get this chapter up. And with any luck I'll have another one this weekend.

REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

Chapter 37
06:45 – 2007.02.02
CSI Lab

Nick Stokes spent two and half straight days working the country club case, with barely a break here and there for a nap, but it was all worth it; the case was closed and the guilty parties were in custody. There would be no acquittals for that case, not with the work he and Mel put into it. The case was solid, the evidence irrefutable, and Nick was about to head out, not to return to the lab, or even answer his phone, until Sunday night. He was going to really enjoy this weekend.

As he pulled his backpack and jacket out of the locker, he had half of a grin playing at the corner of his mouth. He had plans for the weekend, and he fully intended to enjoy every single moment of it. He just needed to stop by the ballistics lab to grab something from Bobby Dawson and he would be on his way. He slammed the locker door to find a smirking Sara Sidle waiting for him to notice her.

"Hey, stranger."

Nick smiled and shied away from her amused expression, hoping to deflect too many questions. "Hey, Sara… How come you're in so early?"

"Catherine called and wanted Day Shift to come in early and relieve a few weary Graves people." Sara opened her own locker and deposited her jacket. "Actually… Her exact words were, 'Go in there and force 'em out by gunpoint if you have to.'"

Nick chuckled at the way Sara's hand instantly went to her hip as she spoke the words of their director. "Yeah, that sounds about right. But no worries… Mel's puttin' the last of the evidence in the vault, and I am on my way out the door, not to be heard or seen again until Sunday."

As Nick was about to pass his friend he noticed a large metal case on the bench behind her. She remembered the item at approximately the same time and turned to say, "Oh! That's for you… Bobby said he was running late, so he asked me to deliver this for him, and to give you this message." She reached into her hip pocket and retrieve a scrap of paper before she said, "He actually made me write it down." She shook her head and smirked at the notion. "'Do Not Lose ANYTHING in that case under penalty of death, and he's gonna tell your momma.'" Nick busted out laughing as Sara inflected her humorous version of a southern accent into the reading of the note.

"Aw man… Now that was good." He chuckled a bit more and then threw his backpack over his shoulder before he leaned down to pick up the case. "Thanks, Sara… And I'll keep that note in mind."

Sara waited until he was at the door before she called over her shoulder, "Have fun on your weekend."

He tossed a quick word of gratitude back at her, and hoped she had not noticed the way his spine stiffened at the mention of his plans. He had been very careful not to reveal his plans to anyone, except for the help he needed from Bobby. But even Bobby was not privy to the whole story, so he thought he was in the clear. From the tone in Sara's voice, he was quickly beginning to doubt that fact.

CSI GSR CSI GSR CSI GSR CSI GSR CSI GSR CSI GSR CSI GSR CSI GSR

Mel had been sealing up the boxes to log them into the evidence vault when Greg Sanders came into the tiny room. He was incredibly adamant that he would finish the chore and that she should go home. She knew it was only her stubborn streak that fought him on it, but when all was said and done, she was in the locker room getting ready to head home for the first time in two and half days.

Mel was really looking forward to getting reacquainted with her bed. That couch in the break room was not entirely uncomfortable, but it paled in comparison to the brand new pillow top mattress she splurged on when she got to Vegas. She began working non-stop upon her arrival and had not even unpacked the few things she brought with her, but that bed and the linens she bought to go with it were the center of her universe. Her apartment was less than desirable, but going home to that bed made it all fade away. The only thing keeping her bed from being absolutely perfect was the fact that it was empty when she went home every day.

She closed her locker and started to make her way through the lab. As much as she loved her work, it was going to be a great couple of days away from those glass walls. She could watch the Sonics' games she had Tivo'd, catch up on her mail, finally return her mother's fifteen calls that week, and maybe make a little headway on that empty bed problem (the unpacking could wait a little longer if that could be accomplished).

As she walked past the AV Lab, Archie called out over the head of the woman he had been talking to in order to tell her, "Hey Mel! Gimme a call when you watch the Bulls game tonight… We still need to settle up from that Mav's game."

Mel shook her head and said, "Yeah, yeah… Rub it in, why don't you?" She waved him off and then shot back at his guest. "See you Sunday night, Judy." The small woman's always cheery voice repeated the farewell as she continued to walk out of the lab.

As she stepped out into the brisk air of the Nevada pre-dawn hour, Mel pulled on her jacket and took a deep breath. She needed to wake herself up a little before heading out on her ridiculous drive home. She rolled her head to the back and then to the side to stretch her neck and caught a quick glimpse of someone at the other end of the visitor's parking lot.

She turned her gaze to determine the identity of the man she saw there when a blue truck pulled up in front of him. As the man climbed into the truck, Mel tilted her head to the side and shrugged. "At least somebody's getting lucky this weekend."