Summary: Four months after Nick and Sara found each other, a life-altering, career-changing opportunity presents itself at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Will this chance bring the Graveyard shift closer together, or tear them apart?
Author's Note: Awww I can't wait to see you guys' response to this volume – I hope it's as good as the other one. I think I only got like one or two flames on Volume I. If you guys spot a mistake, lemme know, okay?
Disclaimer: No, I do not own CSI stuff. I do own Anisha, Maile, Dylan, All of Nick's family, Haylie and her family, and all the other characters you don't realize, k?
Rating: PG-13
Request: Read and review!
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Sara walked into her apartment that morning barely able to stand up. She was more exhausted than usual, but wasn't sure why. She took off her jacket and shoes, putting her bag and her keys on the counter as she hit the blue button on her answering machine. She planned on returning calls when she woke up, but she was curious to see who had called.
"You have 3 new messages. *BEEP* "Hey Sara, it's Haylie. I know you're at work, but I wanted to see what you're up to in June – I know you told me you and Nick are going down to Dallas in March for Christine's wedding, but Zach's company has some conferences in Vegas on the weekend of the tenth – are you busy? Gimme a call." *BEEP*
Sara smiled at her sister's voice. Haylie had such a gentle, kind voice that made Sara feel comfortable and safe. Haylie used to sing herself to sleep when they were younger, and Sara always found it comforting.
*BEEP* "Hello, dear! This is Marge Stokes. Nick hasn't called in a while, so we decided to call you, since we know you'd return the call! How are things up there? Christine's wedding is coming along nicely, but we'll need you to send your measurements so we can get the dress all set. I hope you don't mind being a bridesmaid, but Christine insisted! Give us a call back and send Nicky our love!" *
*BEEP*
Sara grinned again as she pulled on her pajamas. Nick's family had been calling her ever since she'd returned to Las Vegas. It wasn't annoying like she thought it would be – it was nice, considering her mother wasn't around and she hadn't heard from her father in twenty or so years.
*BEEP* "Hey Sar, it's Cath. I'm seriously dying of boredom. Don't get me wrong – watching Dylan is the best thing ever, but I'm itching to get back in the lab! What are the cases? Gimme a call – I'll invite you to breakfast!" *BEEP*
Sara laughed as the messages ended and she climbed into bed. The last thing in her mind as she drifted off to sleep was what she was going to get Nick for Valentine's Day.
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"So are things going good with you and Sara?" Warrick asked as he and Nick sat in a booth in Diner 12 and began looking at the menus.
"Yeah," Nick said, "You know, I've never been as confident in a relationship as I am in this one."
"Why is that?" Warrick questioned, extremely interested in what his friend had to say.
Nick placed the menu back on the table and looked at his friend, "Sara trusts me. We talked about everything before we got back from Dallas. She told me what she'd been through, and I told her what I'd been through, and we agreed not to let it get between us. She knows I love her, and I know she loves me."
"Have you guys told each other?" Warrick questioned, looking up from his menu.
Nick hesitated, but quickly recovered, "No."
"How do you know, then?"
Nick shrugged, "I just do."
Warrick seemed wary, but said nothing more on the subject.
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"Catherine?" Gil called as he walked in the hallway of their house that morning. He smiled at the familiar scene of his front hall. A coffee table was to the left. Its surface was polished, a small vase containing two white roses on top of it. A large mirror hung on the wall, and a coat stand stood next to the table. Grissom hung his jacket on the hooks and put his keys in the small drawer of the table.
He walked down the hall into their dining room. He shook his head at the sparkling white tile floors and matching counters, and the vase of more white roses on the surface of their beige colored table. Grissom turned to the left and found his wife sitting in a beige Laz-Y-Boy, Dylan held against her.
"You're up?" Grissom questioned as he glanced at the TV screen where Good Morning America was quietly playing.
Catherine nodded as Grissom bent down and kissed her gently, "This little bundle of joy decided he was hungry."
Grissom gave his wife a smile, "Sounds like he knows what he wants."
"No different than his father."
"Or his mother," Gil replied with a raised eyebrow.
Catherine laughed quietly as she looked up at the Grandmother clock in the corner, next to the entertainment center, "Are you going to bed now?"
Grissom shrugged, "I will when I get tired."
"Well, until then will you go wake Lindsey up? The bus will be here in an hour."
Grissom gave his wife one more grin before going up the stairs and to the right. He entered the pink and white room of ten-year-old Lindsey Marie Willows. When Catherine and he had first been married, he'd been a little self-conscious about being in the young girl's room. The innocence of the roseate and alabaster room almost seemed defiled by his presence. His dark clothes and serious way of life seemed to soil it. After a while, he'd gotten over it and realized his sheepish feelings were doing no good.
So it was now he could enter his stepdaughter's room without the same pang of self-consciousness. He moved to the small twin bed, seeing only little bits of blonde hair poking out from under the pink and white daisy comforter.
He touched her shoulder gently, "Lindsey. Lindsey, wake up."
The blue eyes of the little girl fluttered open, and a smile formed on her lips.
"Good morning, Uncle Grissom," she said, grinning at the man she adored.
Grissom smiled, "Morning, Linds. It's time to get ready for school."
Lindsey nodded, and grabbed Grissom's sleeve before he could leave, "Uncle Grissom," she said, looking up at him from her bed, "This weekend, will you teach me how to hold Dylan?"
Grissom looked at her questioningly. Lindsey rolled her blue eyes and smiled at him.
"Mommy said I could hold Dylan sometime as long as you or her were there. Will you help me?"
Grissom's face relaxed, and he smiled, "Of course."
Lindsey gave her stepfather a large smile as he left the room and she went about deciding what to wear to school that Friday morning.
Grissom re-entered the living room and found the TV off and Dylan in his crib. Grissom walked to the kitchen, finding his wife beating pancake batter and bustling about to prepare breakfast for her family.
"You know what Lindsey just asked me?"
"What's that?" Catherine asked as she poured the pancakes and sprinkled chocolate chips in them.
Grissom sat down at the little island in their kitchen and clasped his hands, "She asked me to teach her how to hold a newborn."
Catherine laughed quietly, "Like you would know."
Grissom smiled, "Exactly."
"Well, I'm guessing she's just taking every advantage to
spend time with you. It makes sense, considering how long you work. By the way,
how is it going?"
"Remarkably enough, most of the
cases are occurring during Ecklie's shift."
Catherine grinned, "No kidding. Talk about a three-sixty."
Grissom nodded, "It's good though, considering you're not there."
"Hey Mommy!" Lindsey called as she bounded down the stairs in blue jeans, a pink belt, and a white shirt with pink stripes on it and a white collar.
"Morning, sweetie," Catherine said as she turned away from the griddle and wrapped Lindsey up in a bear hug, "Did you sleep well?"
Lindsey nodded as she ran off to the bathroom to brush her hair, wash her face, and brush her teeth.
Grissom grinned as Lindsey disappeared from view, "I swear, she gets more and more like you every day."
Catherine laughed, "Well, don't be passing off the blame too quickly – she's acting more like you as well."
"How is that? My genes weren't passed down to her. Unless of course it's because she spends so much time around me-"
"Gil, I wanted to talk to you about something," Catherine began, but was cut off as Lindsey re-entered the room and breakfast began.
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"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Grissom asked after Lindsey had hugged them both and ran down the driveway to the bus stop.
Catherine sipped her coffee and let out a deep breath, "I want you to adopt Lindsey."
There was a silence that seemed to pervade the entire house. Grissom's mind seemed to stop as he tried as hard as possible to comprehend what had just been said.
"You want me to adopt Lindsey?" Grissom asked, trying to confirm what he'd heard.
Catherine nodded.
Grissom took a breath, "Why?"
Catherine took his hands in hers and said, "I know Lindsey had a father, and Eddie was great with her," Catherine paused and took a breath, "But now that he's gone, I want to make sure that if anything ever happens to me, Lindsey stays with you."
"I see," Grissom said, looking at his wife.
"I also want her to have your last name. I know we have Dylan now, and he'll have your name, but I want Lindsey to as well."
Grissom took a deep
breath, "But she is yours and Eddie's daughter. Not mine."
"You're the biggest
father-figure she's had her whole life," Catherine objected, "Half of the time,
Eddie never even showed up to see her."
Grissom sighed. This was going to take a lot of thinking. There were so many angles to think about, and what about the repercussions that could result from this? It was almost too much to think about at one time.
"Well," Grissom said after many moments of silence, "I think before we decide anything, we discuss this with Lindsey."
Catherine nodded, "I
agree. I can take care of that tonight. Gil, please don't feel like I'm
pressuring you into this."
Grissom shook his head, "You can't pressure me into much," he replied, a small
smile coming to his face.
Catherine laughed, "I love you," she told him as she moved close to kiss him.
"I love you too."
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Warrick and Nick were walking down the sidewalk in Dellvista Heights, going to the closest neighbors to see if their security cameras had caught anything suspicious the night of the Fuller robbery.
"This house would probably have the best shots of the Fuller's house," Nick commented as they walked up to the gate of the Jonathon Alberts' estate and requested entrance.
Warrick nodded as they walked up the front steps and rang the front door bell. They could hear the shuffling of feet behind the door as a maid answered the door.
"Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes, we're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. May we please speak to the homeowner?"
The maid allowed them into the front hall as they showed their Ids.
"Wait one moment," the maid said as she left the room in search of her boss.
Nick and Warrick took in their surroundings as a tall, slim woman walked into the hall. She was about five foot seven, with pale skin and blonde hair. Her blue eyes pierced through everything they looked at. She was wearing a gray, A-line skirt with a white, frilly top and a gray clip in her hair.
"May I help you, gentlemen?"
Warrick stepped forward, showing her his badge, "Warrick Brown, Nick Stokes. We're from the crime lab. You're Mrs. Alberts, I presume?"
"Yes," the woman replied crisply, "How may I help you, Mr. Brown?"
"Your neighbors, Mr. And Mrs. Joseph Fuller, were robbed last night."
Not one ounce of emotion flashed across the woman's cool face, "How dreadful. But what has that got to do with me?"
"We were hoping we could get a copy of your security tapes from that night. Your house cameras would have the best shots out of the entire neighborhood because you are caddy-corner to where the Fuller's front gate is located."
"Of course. I'll send Inga to get the tapes. Excuse me."
The woman left the hall, off in search of the Swedish maid.
"Friendly people in this neighborhood," Nick commented as they waited for the woman to return.
Warrick rolled his eyes, "No kidding."
At that moment the quiet was interrupted by Nick's cell phone.
"Stokes," he said, "Yeah. Okay. No, we're getting tapes from neighbors. Yeah. Of course we have a warrant. All right, we'll get back as soon as we can."
Nick hung up the phone and turned to Warrick, "Brass got the homeowner and his wife waiting in the office. We gotta get back to question them."
Warrick nodded, "After this, we'll have enough to get started."
Their conversation ended as Mrs. Alberts returned, four black VHS tapes in her hands, "I had Inga bring the tapes from that whole day and the morning after. I hope they will help."
"Thank you, Mrs. Alberts. We'll return these as soon as we can."
"There's no rush."
Nick and Warrick left the house with the tapes in hand not long after. Warrick climbed into the driver's seat of the Tahoe and backed out of the driveway.
"How about a little sustenance before we get back to the lab?" Warrick asked, considering it was five-thirty in the evening and they'd come in an hour earlier.
"Why not?" Nick asked as they drove to Diner 12.
When they arrived, Warrick jumped out and went inside to grab their food. He ordered, noticing that the waitress that kept walking by was throwing glances at him. He looked at her nametag as he paid for his food and left.
Anisha, he thought as he climbed back into the Tahoe, I'll have to remember that.
The two CSIs left the diner ready to speak to the homeowners.
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Grissom rubbed his temples. There was the letter. Laying right there on his desk. He didn't want to read it. It was every good supervisor's worst nightmare. He could barely look at the heading without his anger level rising considerably.
Mr. Grissom,
The opportunity for a promotion at the Las Vegas Crime Lab has recently presented itself. We are requesting a member of your team for the position. We have decided that out of the dayshift team headed by Conrad Ecklie, and the graveyard shift, headed by yourself, we would rather someone from your team get this position.
We have also taken into consideration the imploration made by Conrad Ecklie in which he states he, "cannot spare the members of his team due to the undeniable fact that the graveyard shift has solved far more cases."
We are expecting the evaluations and tests you are to administer to be received by February 25. We'll need a final name by February 28 at seven a.m.
Thank you for your time,
The Las Vegas Crime Lab Promotion Committee
There was one thing for sure: someone from the Las Vegas Crime Lab Graveyard Shift was leaving the team.
For good.
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A/N: What a good chapter, hey? LOL I'm working as hard as I can to get this story to you guys, BUT I want to take this kind of slow so it doesn't end too quickly!
Next Chapter: Some Nick/Sara time (yay), Catherine talks to Lindsey, Case stuff, AND Brass finds out about the promotion. READ AND REVIEW, I love you ALL SOOOO MUCH!! J