Chapter 3 – Cracking the Case
Before Kate knew it, her first three weeks at CSI had gone by. She had helped solve six cases, and she was getting accustomed to working the night shift. She was getting to know her co-workers better and loved working with all of them. She especially liked working with Nick; he was always extra nice to her and always eager to help Kate learn the ins and outs of being a CSI. Kate still wasn't sure about his relationship with Sara though; for the most part they acted like regular co-workers around each other but at times it seemed like they were dating, the way they sometimes connected with each other while they were working a case together.
Kate had to remind herself not to let her personal feelings get in the way of her job. She didn't even know why she cared so much if Nick and Sara were dating or not. It wasn't like their relationship would have any impact on her life. It wasn't any of her business; she was there to learn about criminalistics.
Still, she found it a little difficult to work that night. It was the first time she was working a case with just Nick and Sara, and she hoped she would be able to concentrate on piecing together evidence from the case rather than evidence of whether or not Nick and Sara were an item.
The three were in the layout room sifting through lab results, photos, and all of the evidence they had collected several hours earlier at their crime scene. They all knew they were close to solving the case; they just needed to find that one piece of evidence that would seal the deal.
"This blood workup doesn't seem right," Kate said.
"Tox screen came back negative for any foreign substances," Sara replied.
"I know, but these hormone levels are way off. Combined with this high blood glucose, I think it might be some kind of disease or genetic disorder."
"Diabetes?" Nick suggested.
"Possibly, but I don't think so." Kate flipped through some more pages. "Wait. hCG?"
"What's that?" Nick asked.
"Human chorionic gonadotropin. It means she was pregnant," Kate replied.
"Doc Robbins didn't say anything about a baby," Sara said.
"Well the body starts producing hCG once the egg is fertilized. Which means maybe she was only a few days along? Or…" Kate was thinking out loud. She turned to the two CSI's to see what they thought they should do.
"You found it, you run with it," Nick said.
"Okay, "Kate said uneasily. "Um, I guess I'll start by talking to Dr. Robbins."
"Go for it," Nick assured her with a smile.
"Okay," Kate said as she left, still a little unsure of what she was supposed to be looking for.
"Do you think one of us should've gone with her?" Sara asked Nick once Kate was gone.
"She's a smart girl, she'll be fine."
"Are you sure? She's been here, what three weeks? She still asks questions every five minutes like she needs permission to cross the street," Sara quipped.
"What?"
"Oh, c'mon. 'Nick, does this look right? Nick, can you help me with the ALS? Hey Nick, how do I fume this plastic bag? Nick, which powder do I use?'" Sara mocked Kate.
Nick smiled, trying not to look embarrassed. "She's trying to learn."
"I'm a CSI too. I'm just as capable as you are at answering questions."
"Well maybe she feels intimidated by you," Nick offered.
"Why?"
"Well, you're a strong, intelligent woman . . ." Nick started to say.
"Nice try," Sara smiled. "And don't try to change the subject."
"What subject?"
"How long has it been since you've had a date anyway?" Sara asked.
"Excuse me?" Nick looked up from the photos he was studying.
"Why don't you just ask her out already and get it over with?"
"Look, I know you're only telling me this out of jealousy," Nick said straight-faced, "but I don't think it would be smart to date a co-worker. Especially one who's Catherine's niece. Besides, she's barely out of college."
"Whatever," Sara sighed, flipping through some files. "I was just being observant."
"Right," Nick smiled.
Sara went silently back to work, while Nick pretended to work. Sara's comments stirred up all the mixed emotions he was feeling about Kate. He knew that something was going on between him and Kate, he just didn't know what it was. He definitely knew that Kate liked to flirt with him. But he still couldn't tell whether or not it was intentional or if it was just her personality. He had only known her for a few weeks and couldn't read her very well yet. Still, he hadn't really noticed Kate flirting with any of the other guys around the lab.
Regardless, he wasn't even sure how he felt about her flirting. Most of the time he played along and flirted back, but he didn't really know why. Maybe he thought they were just kidding around. Maybe it was a reflexive "guy" thing that just sort of happens whenever a cute girl flirts with you. Maybe it was a defense mechanism because he knew words were harmless and they prevented anything more serious from happening. Or maybe he flirted back simply because he was beginning to like her in more than a co-worker kind of way.
The shrill chirping of Nick's cell phone interrupted his thinking. "Stokes," he answered. He listened for a few seconds. "Excellent. Follow up on that and call us when you find out. We'll head back to the scene. Yeah. Okay. Nice job, Kate." He flipped the phone closed and got up.
"What's going on?" Sara asked, a little annoyed that Kate called Nick instead of coming back to tell them both.
"We gotta head back to the scene," Nick said as he was walking out the door.
"Why?" Sara asked, still in her seat. Nick was already halfway down the hall and didn't hear her. Sara let out an exasperated sigh as she hurried to catch up with him.
As Kate grabbed her things from her locker and got ready to head home, she couldn't wipe the huge smile from her face. She was ecstatic. Her astute observation of the lab results had given them that one piece of evidence that helped them solve the case. It was the first time she had done something that really mattered. She felt so important. She was so happy that she didn't even feel tired, despite the fact that she had just pulled her first double.
"Hey, kiddo, I heard about your case. Nice job," Catherine congratulated her niece as she entered the locker room.
"Thanks," Kate said.
"Don't you just feel great?"
"Yeah. Now I know why you love your job so much." She still couldn't stop from smiling.
"And you just started your internship. Imagine how many more times you'll get this feeling."
"I can't wait!"
Catherine closed her locker. "Well you better go home and try to get some sleep. So you can be refreshed and ready to kick some more butt tomorrow!"
"Yeah," Kate smiled.
"I'll see you later," Catherine said as she walked out.
"Have a good night," Kate said.
"Hey Nick, nice job on your case," Kate heard her aunt say out in the hall.
"Thanks," Nick called out to her as he entered the locker room. "But I think you deserve most of the credit," he said to Kate when he saw her standing at her locker.
"Thanks," Kate smiled.
"I think this calls for a celebration. What do you say? Dinner? My treat," Nick offered.
Kate smiled back, a little unsure if she should accept.
"C'mon," Nick coaxed. "You cracked your first case. We can't let this opportunity go to waste."
Kate gave in. "Okay," she smiled. "Sure."
Kate was relieved that the restaurant Nick chose was a bar and grill restaurant, noisy and brightly lit. She would have felt a little uncomfortable eating dinner alone with him at a quieter, fancier place.
"You like ribs? They have the best barbeque sauce here. Super tangy. Almost as good as my dad makes back home," Nick said enthusiastically as he perused the menu.
"Actually, I'm a vegetarian," Kate smiled politely.
"You too?" Nick said.
"Too?" Kate asked, confused.
"Yeah. Sara. Ever since that pig in a blanket ordeal with Grissom."
"Appetizers?" Kate asked, even more confused.
"Huh? No, pig in a blanket. Long story," Nick said, waving his hand to shrug it off. "Well I think they have pasta dishes and stuff here too. Sorry, I didn't know about the vegetarian thing," he apologized.
"No problem," Kate said. "I'm sure I'll find something."
The waiter came to take their order. Kate settled on some pasta and Nick ordered his favorite barbeque ribs.
"So how'd you know about that human chorio whatever from those lab results?" Nick asked after the waiter left.
"Human chorionic gonadotropin? I majored in physiology."
"I thought your degree was in criminal justice," Nick said, a little puzzled.
"It is. Well one of them is. I double majored. Criminal justice and physiology."
"Damn," Nick responded, impressed.
Kate smiled. "I couldn't make up my mind on which part of criminalistics I wanted to go into, field work or lab work, so I ended up majoring in both."
"Well it looks like you picked the right one. You're a natural," Nick smiled.
"I must get it from my aunt."
A few seconds of awkward silence passed.
"So you said you were from New York?" Nick finally spoke.
"Yep," Kate answered. "Born and raised. I never really left until I went to school in Boston. And even then, it wasn't that far from home. Not compared to Vegas."
"It must have been hard to leave everyone behind," Nick said. "Your family, friends, boyfriend." Nick subtly added in the boyfriend line, he wasn't exactly sure why. It was like it accidentally slipped out. He hoped Kate would just brush it off. He didn't want to give her the impression that he cared whether or not she had a boyfriend. Although he wasn't even sure if he actually did care if she had one or not.
Kate tried to suppress the big grin she felt coming. Boyfriend? She hadn't anticipated any boyfriend questions, especially not from Nick. She wasn't sure if the inquiry was merely part of his attempt to make polite small talk, or if he intentionally added it in, so she didn't know whether or not to just brush it off. The fact that she didn't have a boyfriend made things a little complicated. Did she want him to think she was a loser who couldn't get a date? Although that wouldn't have been exactly accurate, since she had just broken up with her boyfriend who she had been with for four years. Did she want him to know that she was available? Or did she not want him to know anything? She took a few sips of her water to buy her some time to think things through. She then realized that she was reading way too much into the whole thing, and decided to just brush it off.
"Yeah," she replied vaguely, as she took another sip of her water.
Nick immediately wondered whether or not Kate just brushed off the boyfriend issue or if she meant it was hard to leave her boyfriend. Again, he was having trouble reading her. He didn't know what to say next so the two sat in silence for a minute.
When Nick didn't say anything, Kate began to think that maybe Nick was actually trying to find out if she had a boyfriend. Which she thought was kind of cute. She was about to elaborate on her answer to his question when the waiter arrived with their food.
"Here are your ribs," the waiter said to Nick as he placed the platter on the table, "and your pasta," he said to Kate.
"Wow, that was fast," Nick said.
"We aim to please," the waiter smiled goofily. "Enjoy your meal," he said as he left.
They both hungrily dug in and ate in silence for a few minutes.
"It actually was pretty hard leaving home. A lot harder than I'd planned," Kate finally spoke.
"Huh?" Nick said, not realizing Kate was picking up the conversation they started before their food came.
"When I told my boyfriend that I wanted to come here and work with my aunt, he didn't want me to go," Kate started her explanation.
Nick found himself a little disappointed that Kate had just said 'my boyfriend,' and not 'my ex-boyfriend.' He hoped the story would get better. "Why not?" he asked, trying not to seem too eager.
Kate took a deep breath. "We met in school. My freshman year, his junior. When he graduated, he applied to law school, and even though I told him he didn't have to stay in Boston for me, he did. So two years later, when it's my turn to graduate, I decide I want to leave and he gets pissed."
"Ouch," Nick said.
"Yeah. So long story short, he made me choose, him or Vegas. And you can see which one I chose."
"Was it the right choice?"
"I guess. I mean it's pretty hard to just leave someone you've been with for four years. But he was busy with law school so the last year or so was a little shaky anyway. So yeah, it was the right choice. I'm totally over it. I've moved on," Kate said confidently.
"New city, new start," Nick commented.
"Exactly," Kate replied. "So, as you now know, I am completely available," Kate teased.
Nick smiled. He realized he was actually happy to hear that.
