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: T – Teen (language and adult issues)
PAIRINGS: GSR & Yo!Bling pre-established in previous fics of this timeline.
SPOILERS: Sequel to "Displacement" and "Transitions"
SUMMARY: Everything is changing around Nick Stokes. Can he deal with it, and how it will affect him in the end?

A/N: I bet you were starting to wonder what was going to happen with all this... Here comes the answers.

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 45
17:00 – 2006.12.29
Desert Springs Mall: East Entrance

Pulling his black truck into the first parking spot he found after driving around for nearly twenty minutes, Nick was reminded once again how much he really hated shopping. "If it wasn't for you guys… There's no way I'd go to this much trouble."

He shook his head and dropped the emergency break with his foot. He had already been to another mall since he woke up that afternoon, and still came up empty. The salesclerk at the last shop told him about a couple of shops at the Desert Springs Mall, so he decided to give it a try.

As he crossed the parking lot toward the East Entrance Nick looked around at all the cars crowded over the asphalt and became just a little disgusted at the display. "Commercialism is alive and well in Las Vegas." He knew it was not a phenomenon exclusive to Vegas, but for some reason it always seemed worse around that town.

When he stepped up onto the sidewalk near the entrance, Nick was bombarded by the appearance of a gaggle of unruly teenagers. Being a solid guy, Nick was unmoved by the collision, but he held up the kid who crashed into him and warned, "Hey now… Watch where you're goin' there little man."

The boy was unphased by Nick's warning and rudely replied, "Fuck you, old man." The kid wrenched his way out of Nick's grasp and rejoined his friends as they bounded away. "And the horse you rode in on, asshole!"

Nick knew that the kids' behavior was nothing new, but it still bothered him that anyone could have that little respect for another human being. Let 'em call me old-fashioned, but that's just bad parents.

Still irritated by the exchange, Nick turned back toward the entrance and continued on his quest for the perfect wedding gift. When Nick looked at the doors, he noticed something was wrong with them. As he walked closer he realized there was some kind of chain wrapped through one set of the doors. When he finally reached the entrance, Nick was shocked and enraged to find a woman lying on the floor in the breezeway between the doors.

He closed the remaining distance in a flash and worked feverishly to remove the chain from the handles. Once it was free, he threw open the door and immediately went to aid the woman on the floor, making sure she was unharmed. "Miss, are you okay?"

As her face turned to meet his voice, he was shocked into total silence. However, the woman in his arms did not have the same problem. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Her words shook him out of his stupor. He gave her a sideways grin as he carefully helped to lift her from the floor. "Well, it's nice to see you too, Dr. Desmaiseaux."

Once on her feet again, she let loose a chuckle and said, "Sorry, it's just been one of those days, and the LAST thing I expected was to end up on the receiving end of an eagle scout's good deed."

Nick made sure to support most of the Doc's weight with her left arm, while holding on to her right side. He was unsure of the status of her right arm, but after seeing that sling a couple weeks ago, he was not about to take any chances. Being as gentle as possible, he guided her to the bench over by the payphone so that she could sit down and get her bearings. "Well, then you're in luck… I was never an eagle scout, it interfered with football practice."

Once she was firmly seated on the bench she looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow and asked, "It wouldn't have had anything to do with those things being like chick kryptonite, would it?"

Nick blushed for a quick second and said, "Yeah, well, that might've been a factor." Nick looked around for the Doc's scooter, and not seeing it, he finally spotted her crutch stuck in the inner doors' handles. "You gonna be okay for just a sec?"

She nodded her head and then leaned back against the wall as she drew in a deep breath. Nick walked through the outer doors and made his way inside the mall entrance through the other breezeway. Once inside, he moved to the jammed doors and worked the crutch out of the handles to free the doors.

At first, the crutch simply would not budge, but Nick noticed that it came apart in the middle of the shaft to adjust for size, so he unscrewed the tap and pulled the handle end away from the base, enabling him to get it free of the door handles. When he looked up he saw that the Doc was following his progress with some amusement. As he came through the door, he put the crutch back together and sheepishly said, "Helps to be smarter than the crutch."

She worked to suppress the laugh that was evident in her eyes. "Just remember… You said it, not me."

He set the crutch down next to her and then crouched down to be at eye level with the disheveled and battered professor. "Are you okay? You want me to call an ambulan-…"

"No, really, I'm fine." She pulled at the tie holding her hair back and set it in her lap as she ran the fingers of her left hand through her hair to straighten it. "More pissed than anything."

"Yeah, well, I'm not on duty, but I can call in a favor and get some guys down here… I'm pretty sure it was the same punk ki-…"

She shook her head slightly and held up a hand. "If I filed charges every time something like this happened, I'd never get out of the courthouse… Really, I'm fine."

Before Nick could make any more objections, a mall security guard came in through the outer doors. "Is everything all right in here?" The overweight man was obviously out of breath and Nick had to fight the urge to laugh when he looked up into the man's gut, which was hanging way over his pants.

"Ah, yeah, we're doin' alright." When Nick turned to face the Doc, he found her struggling to hold back the same laughter.

"We got the whole thing on camera, but we couldn't see their faces. Did either of you get a good look at 'em?" The man was still huffing and puffing a little and Nick had to keep his face toward the Doc, because he just knew if he had to look at the man's red face, he was going to lose it right there.

"Ah, no, not really… How 'bout you?" Nick found he actually enjoyed the annoyed look the Doc shot him at his question.

"No… I was a little busy focusing on the floor as I fell to it." She grabbed the crutch with her left hand and worked to stand up. Nick immediately jumped up from his crouched position and moved to her right side, holding out his arm, in the event she needed a little help getting steady on her feet. "Now, if you'll excuse us…" Dr. Desmaiseaux bobbled slightly to the right, and Nick moved in to stand beside her, with his arm around her back.

The two walked slowly out of the breezeway, leaving the security guard behind. Once they reached the end of the sidewalk, Nick looked in the handicapped parking area for her truck, but failed to find it. She must have sensed his confusion and said, "That's why I'm winging it on the metal leg… The other spots were full, so I couldn't get my scooter out."

Nick shook his head and added, "Yeah, took me twenty minutes to find a space." They stood there a moment before he broke the silence again. "So, I never pictured you for a mall rat."

She laughed at the joke and said, "Not hardly!" She gathered her composure again and continued, "No, I had to return a gift, and I wanted to make sure I hit the thirty day mark, since I'll be in D.C. next week."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be out here either, but I procrastinated too long gettin' a wedding present, so I'm startin' to get kinda desperate." As he spoke the words, Nick realized just how little time he had left.

"When's this wedding?"

Nick cringed when he said, "Two days…"

She shook her head and looked down. "Oh yeah, you're in trouble."

"Yeah, well, I already figured that one out. Worse comes to worst, I gotta chicken out and get a gift certificate somewhere I know they'll go." She nodded her understanding and Nick decided he was never going to have a better opportunity to set things right than what he was being offered by fate. "I know it isn't exactly the best circumstances, but I'm actually kinda glad I ran into you."

She laughed at his statement. "Yeah, right… As welcome as going to the dentist for a root canal."

Nick turned to face her and said plainly, "No, I'm serious… Look, I realize you and me didn't really get off to a great start, and I know I have to shoulder a lot of that blame. I wanted to apologize for anything I might've done to offend you. I've come to a recent understanding that I'm not exactly as good at dealing with things the way I thought, and unfortunately, you got caught up in the middle of a lot of that, and I really am sorry for it."

He stood there, looking down at the ground, waiting for the professor to respond to his admission. When the silence became too much for him, he finally looked up to find the Doc staring at him with her mouth gaping open. "Wow." It was the only thing she said, but for some reason, Nick took comfort in it.

He watched as she suddenly seemed to break through the shock. "Um… Okay, that was ah…" She shook her head and finally had an idea of what to do about the situation. "Okay, look… I ah, need a little time to digest that and…" She looked at her watch and continued, "And I haven't had anything to eat since sunup, so would you like to join me for dinner so I can figure out what the hell is going on here?"

It was Nick's turn to be shocked at that point, but for some reason his body answered the question for him when he found himself nodding his head in agreement. In order to keep from looking like an idiot, his voice finally caught up with him. "Sounds great… You pick the place, and I'll drive."