Thanks for the reviews! I'm trying to wrap this fic up in the next couple of parts. I won't get too deep into any of the relationships, but I am thinking of doing another fic with these characters and situations to further develop them and have another case. What do you think? This part will get into Nick's background (Which I, of course, made up because I have no idea of what it was like according to the show) and also Kait's. Their relationship (at least what will be in this fic) should be wrapped up by the end.


Daddy Dearest: Part 10
By LissaMarie
August 21-22, 2002


"Tell me more about your past and your family," Kait said while eating her Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad.

Nick looked up from his sandwich and thought for a second. "I have 3 older sisters--Macy, Frankie, and Veronica--and an older brother--Michael. There's a 8 year gap between me an my closest sibling, Frankie. I was the late-in-life surprise, I guess. Frankie and I are probably the closest of all my family. She got married when I was 12, and I felt like I had lost my best friend. She comes up to visit with her kids whenever her husband goes out of town on business because she can't stand being in her house without him. My dad died when I was 16, so it was just my mom and me for a couple of years. Then I went to college. I felt guilty about leaving my mom alone, but my sisters are still in the same town. They take care of her. I got into a frat at college which my mother was strongly against, but she agreed not to argue with me about. I graduated with a degree in forensic science and moved to Vegas. What about you?"

"Me? Well, I was born in California. My mother was a professor at my father's university. A lot older than him of course, but my mother didn't really care. She preferred it, I think. She wanted a baby and an older man might have challenged her with his rights more than my father had. She got a job offer in DC when I was 3. I'm not sure whether it was a better job or if she just wanted to put space between my father and I since he had began to visit me more often. Anyway, we moved there. I spent most of my time at school or with tutors until I was about 10 and started going to church on my own. It started out with me just spending my entire Sunday there, but the nuns took me under their wings and would offer me chances to come down during the week. Sometimes to make rosaries with them or visit the sick in the hospital with the priest. For a few years I wanted to be just like them--Give up the material things that my mother thought made up for her not being there for me and devote my life to God--but seeing the people in the hospital made me change my mind. I didn't want to just help them pray...I wanted to help them live. I went to med school and almost had a breakdown during my internship when one of the patients I was with died, so I looked into other specialties. Forensics seemed perfect. I would never have to worry about losing a patient because the only people that would see me are those that were already dead. I would still be able to help people live, just not my patients...I'd give the families closure to move on.

"My dad gave me the idea for my undergrad major. He suggested that I look into a science field besides pre-med because it would give me more depth. I went with Molecular Biology because I was impressed by a professor at Harvard. My dad always told me stories about the cases he was working on, so I was into Criminology. I did a dual major with both. I had promised my dad that after I got out of college, I'd come to where ever it was that he lived. I did my residency in Boston and here I am now," Kait told him not looking up from her plate. She was obviously uncomfortable.

"You always talk about your mother in the past tense," Nick pointed out.

"She and I don't have a relationship anymore. I moved out when I was 16 to go to Harvard--full scholarship. I was a waitress for extra money until I was 18, and I started bartending--better money. I did that all through school. She didn't call me, and I didn't call her. I doubt she even knows where I am now." Kait looked up and met his eyes. "You can get up and leave now if I'm not what you thought I was. I wouldn't hold it against you."

"Now, why exactly would I want to do something like that?" Nick questioned confused.

"Well, you're so close to your family, and I won't even speak to my own mother. We have some seriously conflicting values--"

"And you're a Catholic and my great-grandfather was a Protestant, so it could never work between us," Nick interrupted in a mock-serious tone of voice.

Kait looked at him for a moment before speaking. "Are you making fun of me?"

Nick tried to keep a straight face, but he started to chuckle anyway.

"Hey!" Kait exclaimed hitting his arm before joining in, in his laughter.

Finally able to stop laughing, Nick changed the subject. "Okay, so I still want to know more about you. What is your favorite color?"

"Red."

"Green is so much better," he joked. "Favorite animal?"

"Any kind of dog."

"We agree. Food?"

"Anything that is edible."

"See--We have a lot in common."

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


"I guess you never came out here to visit your dad?" Nick deduced. He was watching Kait look around at all there was to see in Las Vegas with the eyes of a tourist.

"You guess right. My mother would never allow me to travel across the country without her, and while I was at Harvard and during my residency, I was almost too busy to eat, which says a lot coming from me," Kait told him looking up at one of the grand hotels.

"That must have been tough."

"He came to visit me though. He told me all about Vegas, but it's a lot different seeing it for myself," Kait explained as the walked along next to one another. She was surprised to feel Nick's hand grip hers, and even more surprised to find herself maneuvering her hand to lace her fingers with his.

"So, how do you like Las Vegas so far?" Nick questioned.

"It seems to have a lot to offer," Kait replied nervously. They stopped at a street corner, and she turned to Nick noticing he was watching her intently. "Are you going to kiss me because to tell you the truth, I'm getting pretty tired of won--"

Nick's lips coming down on hers efficiently shut her up.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Okay for the next part, I'm thinking that I will zoom in on both Warrick/Sara and Grissom/Catherine. Since I established them later, I won't get into them too much. The last part will be another night at the lab just because I want to include Greg again. Does that work for all of you?