Privacy by SLynn
Disclaimer: It's all mine, because yeah, this is what I'd do with my free time if I actually owned these characters.
Chapter 4: Second Best
They'd left the lab that next morning having gotten very little accomplished. Greg and Nick had pulled some prints off of most everything, but with ten people confirmed in the house, it was going to take a while to match them up and exclude the obvious.
Nick, Amy, Greg and Sara all decided to have breakfast together before heading home that day.
"Hey," Greg said as the food arrived, "do you two want to come over on Saturday for dinner? You can meet our neighbors."
Sara laughed so hard she spit her coffee out of her mouth. Nick and Amy laughed on reflex; it wasn't something Sara did routinely.
"Bad?" Nick asked, still chuckling as Amy helped Sara wipe up the mess.
"So bad," Greg answered, still smiling. "She just talked non-stop."
"I wonder what that's like," Nick interjected sarcastically.
"Not the point," Greg continued, "I'm not even that bad. She was just assuming a bunch of things and in our business and we didn't even know her at all."
"That's what real neighbors are like," Nick countered.
"You don't get it."
"What then?" Nick asked.
"Well, she just thought we were married for one. Didn't ask, just said it."
Whatever reaction he'd expected from either Nick or Amy, he hadn't gotten.
"And?" Nick asked.
"And what?" Sara asked back, "it's kind of a big assumption to make don't you think."
"Well, you did buy a house together. That's kind of…." Amy just let it trail off. The looks they'd been giving Nick were now focused on her. "Okay, never mind."
"We can't Saturday anyway," Nick put it, trying to shift the focus. "Amy's parents are in town then."
It worked.
"Wow. For how long?" Greg asked, not nearly as tense sounding as he had moments before.
"A week. My older sister Jennifer too."
"Meeting the parents huh?" Sara asked to Nick.
Nick said nothing but smiled; he remained so quiet on the subject that Sara and Greg both guessed that this might have been causing whatever fight they'd had yesterday.
"You bringing them around the lab?" Greg asked Amy now.
"Maybe," was all she would say.
The rest of meal passed quickly enough. They'd talked well past the end of the meal and only after several obvious hints from the waitress did they decided it was time to leave. Nick and Amy hung out in the parking lot talking as they watched Sara and Greg drive off together.
"What are you doing today?" he asked, leaning against his jeep.
"Sleeping," she answered, "I'll probably go back in early tonight. Try to find the mystery poison. Earn some brownie points from the boss."
Nick laughed.
Despite having spent over a solid week together, hardly out of each others site early on in their relationship, at times it was still uneasy. It was still new to them both and because of that they didn't always know how to act. They both wanted to spend time together, but working nights wasn't exactly helping to do it. Usually they spent one or two days together each week, sleeping at one another's place, but it was still kind of early for anything more then that. Despite it, both now had enough clothes and toiletries stashed at each others homes to not be completely inconvenienced if either did stay over.
"You're going to need those brownie points the way you keep endearing yourself to your co-workers."
"You goofed just as badly as me," she argued. "Good thing we didn't tell them about the pool huh? I've got three months until they're engaged, what about you?"
"Fools bet," he smiled at her, "they've probably already eloped."
"I'd wondered who put that down," Amy said with a laugh.
They weren't being serious, but it was the current hot topic of discussion among all the shifts.
"How about dinner tonight?" Nick asked.
"You can think about food after all that grease?" she returned, indicating the diner over her shoulder.
"No, I'm actually thinking about you. I want to see you."
"Well," Amy said blushing as she did so, "why don't you just come over now?"
"Because you're sleeping."
"I can sleep later."
Ten minutes later they were kissing in the elevator on the way up to her condo. Five minutes after that they were inside her door, pulling clothes off one another as they made their way to her back bedroom.
"Uh hem," was heard from the living room freezing them in their tracks.
Amy knew that voice. Clutching her shirt together with one hand as she frantically smoothed down her hair with the other. Quick as she could she turned towards it.
"Jennifer, hi. What are you doing here?"
"I came up early. Mom gave me the key. I thought you got off of work at eight?"
"I do," Amy said her face beet red, "I had breakfast with friends."
Jennifer's look said it all. She shifted her gaze from Amy to Nick.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?"
"Jennifer, this is Nick. Nick, my older sister Jennifer."
Amy, always surprised at how Nick managed to pull himself together even in the most awkward of circumstances, was nearly floored. Not only had he managed to not look the complete mess she did, but he had enough wits about him to even manage to say something nice and seem glad to meet her.
Nick got a good look at her. She and Amy looked a lot a like, but Jennifer was taller. She was definitely pretty, with shorter hair done immaculately into a flip with highlights. Everything Amy had told him about her seemed present. Jennifer was homecoming queen, head cheerleader and valedictorian all in one.
"I'm guessing you're the boyfriend," she said coolly before heading off into the kitchen.
Amy followed her, buttoning her shirt as she went. Nick was right behind her; put a hand on her back gently for support.
"I wasn't expecting you till Saturday? Are mom and dad here too?"
"No," Jennifer responded, sitting at the dining room table. "I took a few extra days off; mom said you sounded different on the phone. Thought you might be getting homesick for family."
Amy smiled and said nothing, just busied herself by starting some coffee. Nick, familiar with everything, helped where he could.
"So Nick," Jennifer said turning to him, "what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a crime scene investigator," he said finally taking a seat.
"Like a cop?" she asked.
There was something about the way she did it that took him back. Amy had never been overly flattering about Jennifer, but hadn't expected this. He'd expected to see some of Amy in all of her family, the way he saw pieces of himself in his. If he didn't know better, he'd of thought they were strangers.
"Sort of," he answered with as much ease as he had, "we don't make arrests though, just collect the evidence. Put it all together."
Jennifer nodded. She was clearly not happy with him there, but he thought Amy would be equally unhappy if he left. So he stayed.
"How's Mark?" Amy tried, setting down a cup of coffee for her sister.
Before Amy could, Nick got up and made his own.
"He's great," Jennifer answered, smiling now. "He couldn't come you know. He's getting ready for a big trial. Dad says he'll probably make junior partner in another two or three years."
Amy smiled and nodded happy for her sister. She and Mark had dated since college. They were engaged now and like all of Jennifer's boyfriends before him, he was perfect in her parents' eyes.
The small talk, although more amiable then it began, continued for another hour. Nick hated to do it, but had no choice. He was starting to fall asleep at the table listening to the two of them, mostly Jennifer, go on. As politely as he could he said goodbye to Jennifer. Her initial indifference had only grown slightly less since their first meeting, but she was cordial. Amy walked him with him to the elevator.
"I am so sorry," Amy said, wrapping her arms around his neck as they waited for the elevator.
"For what?" he asked seriously.
"For that. For her. I know she's awful, she can be awful, but she just doesn't know you."
"I can't say I blame her for being a bit distant," Nick conceded, "given how we met."
"Don't remind me," Amy said burying her head into his chest.
"It's not that bad," Nick laughed.
"Yeah, well, it could have been my whole family."
"See," he said before kissing her, "there's a bright side."
Amy leaned up and kissed him again. Nick pulled her closer; deepen the kiss just before the elevator rang.
"I'll see you tonight," he said stepping back from her.
"Yeah," Amy sighed, "tonight."
Nick smiled at her as he got inside and pressed the button for the lobby. Amy smiled back, sorry he was going, and waited to go until the doors had shut.
When she got back Jennifer was unpacking a few things in the spare room.
"So where are mom and dad staying?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.
She should be sleeping, but Amy thought it might be too rude to just pass out all day on Jennifer's first time in town.
"The Bellagio."
Amy just nodded. Preparing herself for what was next.
"You two meet at work?" Jennifer asked, sitting down on the bed.
'Here it comes,' Amy thought.
"Yeah, we work the same shift."
"I guess you don't get out much working nights."
Amy didn't respond, just shrugged. It was easier not to rise to the bait.
"How much older is he then you?"
"Does it matter? Dad and mom are eleven years apart."
Jennifer didn't respond immediately.
"Still Amy, he is just a cop. You can do better."
Amy turned her head away slightly. Embarrassed of her sister's attitude despite being the only one present to witness it. She made no answer. Jennifer, her mother, to some extent her father had managed to talk her out of one too many relationships in the past. Amy wasn't going to let that happen this time.