Chapter 6:
Hailey woke up and looked over at her clock, she guessed she had been asleep for over four hours. She heard a noise come from the kitchen and grabbed the spare gun from her night stand. She held it out at arms length as she slid down the hallway with her back against the wall. She got to the edge of the wall and spun around aiming at the intruder over the island. "Don't move." She said to the person with their back to them.
Nick turned around from the fridge and saw her gun out. "Whoa." He said putting his arms up. "Just me." He said smiling.
She put the safety back on and set the gun on the counter. She then remembered that Grissom had asked Nick to keep an eye on her. "Sorry," She said sitting on the bar stool. "I forgot you were here." She said as she rubbed her head. 'Why was he doing this, I can't live life jumping at every sound I hear.' She thought. She took a few deep breaths in order to prevent the tears, that she hated, to come out.
Nick walked over to her with the open soda and sat next to her. He put a hand on her back and rubbed it gently. She looked up at him and he offered her the soda. "I don't drink soda." She said. Nick looked confusingly at her, wondering why she had soda in there if she didn't drink it. "Greg keeps it in there."
"I think I owe you a meal." He said remembering that she hadn't eaten a good meal in a while.
She smiled as he pulled her too him. She hadn't eaten anything in a while and she could use some fresh air. She nodded her head, "just give me a few minutes to shower and change."
"Take you time." He said drinking the soda.
A few minutes later Hailey came out dressed in jeans and a tank top, with a light zip up sweater. He took her hand and they went down to his car, and to a burger joint to get some lunch.
They returned to Hailey's apartment, both of them now full. The phone started to ring, so Hailey picked it up. "Yeah?"
"Hey babes." Greg said. "Matt called me a few minutes ago, says DJ Spin is playing a rave tonight, you up for it?"
Hailey thought for a minute. She definitely needed to get her mind off of Jacob. "Yeah, pick me up at eleven thirty." And they hung up.
"Who was that?" Nick asked.
"Greg." She said moving to her bedroom to pick out something to wear. She pulled out low-rise black leather pants and a black leather, short, halter top.
Nick looked at the clothes on the bed. "Are you playing dominatrix tonight?" He joked.
"There's a party tonight." She said going over to the dresser looking through her jewelry.
"Wait, Gil told me to watch you tonight." He said sitting on the bed.
"Look, it's really sweet of you, but this is something I need to do. If you want you can come along, if you don't then there's no need to babysit me." She said. She laid a black choker on top of the shirt with a black hair band that had a black flower on it. She picked up a bag of neon colored beads, from the closet, and took the elastic string that was sitting on top of the bag, and moved back out to the living room. She crossed her legs under her as she sat on the couch. Nick sat down next to her and looked over as she started to bead the string.
"What's that for?"
"They are bracelets that you swap with people at the rave." She said tying the ends off and slipping it on her wrist, letting it fall down some. "Wanna do some? If you're coming you should probably have some." She said as he moved closer. She was sitting Indian style and had the zip lock bag of beads in her lap. She cut him a thick piece of elastic and tied the end for him. "Here. It's not that hard, just pick beads out and thread them through." She picked up the remote and hit play, as the stereo spilled out the sounds of Journey, beginning with Separate ways.
Nick finished off the last bead and tied the ends together. He then slid that one on his wrist and began another.
That night, after the rave, Nick drove Hailey home. It was three o'clock in the morning and Hailey fell asleep in his car. He kept glancing at her cuddled up in his jacket. Nick didn't know how he was able to control himself. She was dressed in all that leather, that was hugging all the right places. He focused back on the road hoping to clear his mind.
He pulled up to Hailey's apartment and carried her up. He managed to get her into bed without waking her up. 'She can't be comfortable in this.' He thought about her outfit. He could change her or he could save him and her the embarrassment and just let her sleep. He looked down at her, 'she seems fine with it.' He pulled her boots off and tucked the sheets around her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. She stirred slightly and opened her eyes. "Didn't mean to wake you." He whispered.
"It's ok." She whispered back. She looked down and saw that she was still in her clothes. "Can you hand me that shirt." He handed her the shirt from the dresser and she slid it over her head and then untied and removed the leather top. She slid the pants off and since the t shirt was down to her thy's she was still covered. She slid bowers on and got back under the covers. "This may sound weird but, would you mind staying the night?" she asked, uncomfortable about being left alone at the moment.
"Sure, I'll go sleep on the couch."
"You don't need to do that. The bed is big enough for three people." She said pulling back the covers.
It wasn't the room that Nick was worried about, it was the question if he could control himself. "Ok." He slipped off his jacket, shoes, belt, and removed his keys and wallet. He slid under the covers and Hailey moved close to him.
"You don't mind do you?" She asked about her closeness.
"Nope." He said. But in all honesty having her there felt good to him, but the fact that she probably didn't take it in the same way frustrated him.
Hailey had gotten the night off from Grissom, but Nick didn't. He slept through most of the morning but when he finally woke up she was still asleep. He quietly gathered his belongings and crept to the kitchen. He scribbled down a note and left her apartment, locking the door and sliding the key under the door.
Hailey woke up a few hours later and stretched out. She didn't see Nick next to her so she got out of bed and walked to the kitchen. She picked up the note and smiled.
Hailey,
I didn't want to wake you but I had to be at work tonight. Griss gave you the night off, so if I see or hear that you were in the lab I will personally lock you in your own apartment. Get some rest and eat something good. ps- I locked the door behind me and I slid your key under your door. Put it back on your key chain now so you don't get locked out. See you tomorrow.
Nicky.
Hailey laughed and went over to get her key. She put it back onto her key ring and fixed herself breakfast.
