Chapter 4

((Hello everyone, I finally am updating this story. Anyway, any paragraphs in Italics are flashbacks, while everything else is just normal. Anyway, on with the chapter.))

Nick waited impatiently, and luckily enough his co-workers seemed to sense that he didn't want to talk about it, and kept quiet. As soon as Catherine came out, he stood up and walked over to her, stopping her on her way to the benches.

"Can I ask you a favour?" He asked hoarsely, and when she nodded, he described what he wanted, and she nodded, smiling sympathetically, and took the keys from Nick. "Thanks, Cath, just bring it in the room when you get back…" Then, as soon as she'd disappeared, he pushed back through the doors into the room, the ever-familiar lump growing again in his throat as he saw her again.

He took a seat next to the bed and took her hand in his again, just sitting and staring, not speaking until the door opened about twenty minutes later, revealing Catherine carrying a cardboard box.

"Nick?" He looked up, cheeks streaked with tears he didn't even realize he was shedding. "Uh, here ya go…it was right where you told me…" She held out the box, which he took, letting go of Dani's hand. He placed it gently on his lap, as if it held something incredibly fragile and valuable.

"Thank you…" He said hoarsely, and she nodded and left, even though she was extremely curious as to what was in the box. She knew, however, how hard this was for Nick, and figured he'd have told her if he'd wanted her to know.

Nick stood up, picking up the small table and carrying it over to his chair, then placed the box on top of it, opening it carefully, revealing that the inside flap of the box had a label on it. Valuable Sentimental Items. He gave a small smile at the logical, practical label. Definitely Dani.

He started to shift through the box, pulling out the first thing that came to hand, and a small smile graced his lips as he looked at the picture. It was of him and Dani, in a soft kiss under the mistletoe. He was wearing a goofy Santa hat, and she had her arms around his neck. That had been the Christmas he'd taken Dani with him down to Dallas to meet his parents. Apparently his mom had been hanging around with her camera when they'd ended up under the mistletoe. He remembered when he'd decided to ask her to join him down in Dallas…

It was the beginning of December, and everyone was excited about getting away from the lab. Nick was the only one who wouldn't be on call for the holidays, because he was planning on going down to Dallas to visit his folks, which he was majorly excited about. Dani, also, was planning to not be on call, as she was planning to go back to Toronto for Christmas. Or at least, that's what she'd been telling Nick and everyone else.

Nick, who had been working long into the morning, came up to Dani's door, planning on surprising her. Thinking that she might be asleep, he pulled the spare key out of his pocket, which she had given him not that long ago. It was a privilege he relished. Opening the door quietly, he shut it behind him, and listened, realizing that he could hear Dani's voice from the kitchen, as well as the radio playing Christmas songs. He moved closer, for some reason keeping quiet.

"Ya, hi, I'm just calling to see if there have been any cancellations in cheap plane tickets to Toronto? No? Are you sure there aren't any that have more reasonable prices? Oh…oh…ok, thank you…no, I really can't afford first class…Thank you…goodbye…" This was followed by the sound of the phone clicking down, and a disheartened sigh. As if punctuating what had just happened, the last line of the song from the radio filled the silence.

'I'll be home for Christmas…
If only in my dreams…'

With another sigh, there was the sound of the phone being picked up and a number being dialed in. A few seconds of silence, then her voice filled the room again.

"Hey mom…ya, I'm fine…well, mom, that's what I was calling about…I don't think I'll be able to come home for Christmas this year. Ya, I know you were looking forward to it, mom, I was looking forward to it too…but all the cheap seats are already taken, and the first class are too expensive. It's Christmas, Mom, all the prices go up…ya…I'm really sorry, Mom…I wanted to come home for Christmas too, but I'm gonna try and save up for next year…I promise. Ok…I gotta go mom, I got something on the stove…I love you too…I'm really sorry…bye…" With that, another click, then the sound of a chair shoving back, and another sigh.

"Next year…I'll go next year…" He heard her say to herself, then a sigh. After a moment, he backtracked to the door, opened it and closed it again, provoking a call from the kitchen. "Is that you, Nick?"

"Ya, ya it's me, how are you, hun?" He asked, walking into the kitchen and giving her a quick kiss, and although she smiled, he could see the sadness hidden in the background.

"I'm fine. You must be exhausted, want to crash here tonight?" She said, not a mention of her problems, or the fact that she probably would be telling Grissom tomorrow that she wouldn't need the two weeks off after all.

"Ya, that's a good idea…" He said absently, watching her walk around the kitchen, making some pasta. "Hey, Dani, are you still going up to Toronto for the holidays?" He asked casually, and she stiffened slightly before answering.

"I don't know…I'm not sure, why?" She glanced at him quickly, then back at the stove absently.

"Oh, I was just thinking…"He trailed off, thinking about it, then made up his mind. "If you maybe wanted to come to Texas with me…and meet my folks…" He held his breath, sure she was going to say no.

She looked at him for a moment, then smiled widely. A large genuine smile, with no hidden sadness behind it. "I'd love to…but are you sure they won't mind?" Even he could hear the hopefulness behind her voice, and he suddenly realized he'd been thinking about this for longer than just the last few minutes. Maybe it's just that he couldn't bear to be away from her for two weeks.

"I'm sure, after all, they've heard all about you, they probably want to meet you." He smiled, then moved in for another kiss, which she gladly returned, before remembering the spaghetti on the stove and quickly turned before it burned.

He smiled as he remembered everything. He'd exchanged presents with everyone, including Dani, and, to his surprise, she had gotten his family a present, as well as him. He couldn't even remember specifically what the present she'd gotten them was, just the act that she'd taken the trouble to do it had made him love her, if possible, more. He sniffled, one lone tear dripping down onto the photo, which he quickly wiped off. He carefully placed it down, before continuing to rummage through the box of memories, as he liked to call it, a few cold tears running down his cheeks. Would there be no more additions to the box?

((Fini…I got this idea when I was at school today and I needed to write it down before I forgot, so it might seem a bit rushed…hope you guys like it!!))