Here is some insight to the father-daughter relationship of Gil and Kait, and some more Nick/Kait closeness. NOTE: Meg, thanks for the review. I will pursue the W/S thing just for you ;-)


Daddy Dearest: Part 9
By LissaMarie
August 21, 2002


"Why won't you come to church with me?" Kaitlyn asked her father as they ate breakfast together. She was dressed in her "Sunday Best" consisting of a light pink flowered skirt that went below her knees and a white blouse.

"I told you that I don't believe in religion," Gil replied firmly. He said it like it was something he had said many times--which he had.

"Sorry. I mean, here I am trying to save your eternal soul--"

"Kaite," her father interrupted.

"Yes, daddy?"

"You're going to be late for church," Gil reminded her in an attempt to end the conversation.

"Fine, I'll drop it. You're always welcome to sit with me if you change your mind," Kait told him standing up and grabbing her purse. She brought her plate out to the kitchen and rinsed it off before putting it in the dishwasher.

"You'll be back around 12?" Gil asked following her.

Kait froze for a moment. "No, actually. I have plans. You didn't have anything in mind for today, did you?"

"Nothing concrete. I just thought maybe we could do something. What are your plans?" Gil questioned making a mental note to cancel the lunch reservations he had made. He cursed himself for assuming that Kait would want to spend the day with him.

"I'm just going out with a friend for lunch and maybe something afterwards," Kait shrugged hoping that it wasn't obvious. Thankfully, her father had very little experience with people on a personal level and didn't suspect anything.

"Maybe next weekend, we can do something?" Grissom suggested offhandedly.

"Hopefully before then, dad," Kait smiled and kissed both his cheeks. She backed out of the kitchen still smiling.

Gil watched her knowing something was up, but he knew better than to push it. Who was he to tell someone they should open up more? He thought about the reservations he had made at a nice restaurant in town and changed his mind about canceling them. He picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hi, Catherine. Are you busy today?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Sara woke up in an unfamiliar bed trying to figure out exactly how she had gotten there. She wasn't the type to get drunk and go home with a random stranger, so she can rule that out. She didn't have a headache either, and since she couldn't hold her alcohol all that well, she knew for a fact that she hadn't drank at all the previous night. She recognized the cologne from somewhere...

The everything clicked into place. She and Warrick had stayed at the pool hall for a few hours after Nick and Kait left before getting hungry. He had mentioned trying a vegetarian restaurant that had opened up around his home. They had gone there together and talked the entire time. She was surprised by how much they had in common.

After they ate and got ice cream to eat while they window shopped. Exhaustion had forced them to stop, and he had invited her over to his apartment to watch a movie or two. She had fallen asleep with her head up against his shoulder. She vaguely remembered him carrying her into his bedroom to sleep in his bed.

The thought gave her a warm feeling throughout her body. She sat up and smiled at the sun that was coming through the dark curtains. She got up and walked out into the living room to find Warrick still asleep on the sofa.

He had to be uncomfortable. The couch was at least a foot too short for him, but still he had chosen to give her his bed.

Sara realized that she was getting over Nick Stokes already.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


"Meggie, I'm sure that you would have enjoyed mass a lot more if you had stayed awake the whole time," Kait teased the 6 year old girl that she had sat next to during the service.

"Megan Samuels beamed at the older girl that was actually paying attention to her. "I enjoyed it just fine. I liked the part where the boy sneezed really loud while Father Mackenzie was talking about being nice to your neighbor. Do you really have to be nice to your neighbor? Mine is really mean. She's always calling me a little brat and telling me to get out of her yard."

"You should be nice to everybody," Kait reminded the girl with a patient smile. She turned to the girl's mother. "Mrs. Samuels, thank you for inviting me to sit with you. I couldn't convince my father to join me today, and this is my first week in town."

"No problem, Kait, and I told you, it's Ashleigh. I'll see you next week. Say bye, Megan."

"Bye, Kait! See you next week!" Megan cheered following her mother down the front steps.

"Bye, Megan," Kait whispered as she walked in the opposite direction. She had called Nick on her cell phone before mass to tell him to pick her up at the coffee shop across the street from the church, and she headed in that direction. She noticed Nick standing by the door right away.

"Hi, I wasn't expecting you to be here yet. It's only 11:30," Kait said as she came up to him.

Nick gave her a smile that was softer than the one he used on most of the women he met. "I figured I'd grab a few cups of coffee before you got here, but then I saw people leaving the church. So I figured I'd wait for you."

"How many cups of coffee have you had so far this morning?" Kait asked grinning at him.

"Four," Nick admitted holding the passenger side car door open for her. "I'll bring you back here after we're done to get your car. Do you have any idea where you want to go for lunch?"

"Let's just drive. We're bound to go by some place that looks good," Kait suggested climbing in. She noticed him admiring her outfit and smoother her skirt down. She knew it was probably the sharp contrast the outfit had with her normal attire of dark, starched suits that had gotten his attnetion, but she still felt uncomfortable under his eye. Men generally didn't check her out. She made it a point to make sure they didn't.

Nick mumbled an apology and went to his side of his car. Normally he wouldn't even think of dating a woman with the limitations that Kait had set, but there was something about her. He didn't mind having to wait a few dates before kissing her goodnight, even though he had never wanted anyone the way he wanted her.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I included all the couples that are in this fic in this part. There will be more Greg in this fic. He and Kait are friends. The Broken Boy fic and it's sequels have given me a newfound love for him.