Chapter 5:
The next day Nick took the girls to target to get sheets for their beds. He had called Semans and ordered April a small white dresser and a small white sleigh bed. Nick was good at saving money for emergencies and he think this qualified. The next stop that morning was to go to Home Depot and get paint. "So what color do you think you would want?" He asked them as they stood in front of all the paint chips.
"Pink." April said. The pink happened to be on top so he picked her up so she could look more closely.
"Witch pink?" He asked.
"This one." She said picking up a light pink colored card.
"That is the perfect color for your room." He praised her. "And what about you?" He said to Katie.
When they were looking at sheets Katie had picked out white sheets with magenta and blue hibiscus flowers and yellow and orange small flowers. Nick had gotten an idea to paint the walls white and then take one wall and paint a mural on it. She agreed with his idea and began to think what she wanted to put on it. "I think I want to do an island scene. With a big palm tree, the ocean, sand and some clouds?" She asked.
"Ohh, good thinking." He said. "I think we should get the basic colors, and then a big can of black and white so we can lighten and darken them." He said picking the two cards. "What colors?"
"A blue, tan, brown, and green?" She said thinking it over. The wall wasn't that big so she wouldn't need much paint.
"Ok. And then if we need another color we can come back." He took the cards she and April picked out and handed them to the man at the counter so he could mix them. "You can draw it today, plan it out and such. And then we could paint it tomorrow."
"And we could do my room today?" April asked.
"Sure." He said with the intentions of doing it today.
"I'm not a very good painter though?" Katie said.
"I have a friend who knows a little bit about painting, like shading and such. We could ask him to help if you want."
"Ok." Katie said, excited about her new room. The paint was ready and Nick put April down and he and Katie carried the cans to the car.
One month later Katie stood in the kitchen doing the dishes from dinner with Nick. The two girls had grown to know him and even began to call him dad. Nick couldn't get enough of that title, and he stayed true to his word, he treated April as his own. April was sitting at the table coloring when the phone rang. "Hello?" She answered.
"Put Nick on the phone." A male voice spoke out.
April jumped down from her chair and went over to the two. Nick flicked his wet fingers at Katie causing her to laugh and do it back to him. "Daddy." April said tugging at his pants. "Phone." She said holding up the phone, once she got his attention.
"Hello?" He said turning the water off as Katie dried the dishes.
"So you've got my kids calling you daddy?" Todd said sternly.
"I'm the only one qualified to fill that position, so yes." He said walking out of the room. Katie heard what he said but figured it was about work.
"They belong here. They are coming back tomorrow." He ordered.
"Actually they belong here. They aren't things you only keep around when you need them. Their children and they need a family." Nick said.
"They aren't your family."
"They are now. And if you want to fight for it, I would be glad to." He said. He was not going to loose these kids, especially not to people like Stephanie and Todd.
"You don't have a choice." He said. "I will be over to pick them up tomorrow afternoon." He said hanging up.
Nick shut the door to his room and threw a glass from the dresser across the room and watched it shatter into pieces as it connected with the wall. He dialed a number on his phone.
"Hello?" The voice answered.
"Cath, did you ever need a lawyer when you were with Eddy? To get custody of Lindsey?" He asked sitting on the bed.
"What happened?" She asked. By now the lab knew about Nick and the two girls, mostly because he constantly bragged about being a father.
"Todd want's them back." He said simply. There was a knock on his door. "Yeah?"
Katie opened the door slightly. "Dad, you ok?" She asked peeking in.
"I'm fine sweety, I just need a few minutes." He said as she nodded and closed the door. "So did you?"
"No, but I have a friend who is well known. He's one of the best in the country." She said. "Hold on I'll get his number." She came back on the phone. "Here it is, 555-2845." She said. "His name is Jeremy Turner. He's probably still at his office." She said looking at her watch. "Call me if you need anything."
He said goodbye and hung up before dialing Jeremy Turner's number. A young girl picked up. "Turner and Jankovich. How may I help you?"
"Is Jeremy Turner in please?" He asked.
"One moment please." There was some elevator music playing and then a man came on the phone.
"This is Jeremy Turner." He greeted.
"Hi, my name is Nick Stokes, I'm a friend of Catherine Willows."
"Hi how are you?" He said, his voice softening when he heard Catherine's name.
"I'm fine. I was wondering if I could make an appointment to meet you." He said.
"I'm pretty booked this week. Let's see if I can squeeze you in though, since you are a friend of Catherine's." He could hear Jeremy typing away. "Ok, I can come in early and meet you at nine thirty?" He said more than asked.
"That would be great. Thank you so much."
"No problem. Nick Stokes correct?"
"Right."
"Ok I will see you tomorrow morning then."
They said goodbye and Nick hung up. He took a few breaths to calm down and walked out to see the two girls coloring. He took an empty seat across from Katie, next to April. "You ok?" Katie asked again.
"Here daddy." April said passing him a Sponge Bob page to color.
He picked up a crayon, looked at Katie and smiled. "I'm fine he said." As he colored he wondered if Todd would try to take them. "How would you two like to come to work with me tonight?" He said.
"Yeah!" April yelled. She liked going to the lab when Greg was there because he would let her help him, although nothing that had to do with a case.
Katie had a confused look on her face. She made a mental note to ask him later. "Sure." She shrugged returning to her coloring.
"We can help Greggo, Katie." April said excitedly.
"April, honey. Why don't you go but your coloring books and crayons in a backpack. Ok?" Nick said, wanting to talk to Katie.
Once April left Katie looked at her father. "What's up?"
"I think you should know what's going on." Nick thought about how to tell her. "Todd has decided to take you back." Katie's eyes looked disappointed. "But he's not getting you. I've made an appointment tomorrow morning to speak with a lawyer. I will fight to keep you." He said placing his hand over his." Katie took a deep breath knowing that he was a man of his word, and he would do anything he could to keep them. She nodded her head telling him she understood, but at the same time she didn't get her hopes up. "I don't want you to, but if it comes down to it, you might have to testify." He said. "We have to prove that he's not a good parent for you two, and that I can be better than him." He said.
"I know. If it means staying with you I'll testify." She said with a small smile. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
They arrived at the lab and Nick put them in the break room while he went to Grissom's office to get his assignment. It was a slow night and they didn't have any assignments for the time being. He walked back to the break room followed by Catherine, Warrick, and Sara and found Katie watching the news, and April coloring nicely at the table. They walked in and sure enough Greg was there coloring with her. "I see you got suckered into the princess book." Nick chuckled as he saw Greg using the pink crayon to color in one of the princesses dress.
"Yeah but I'm doing good, right April?" He said.
She looked at his picture for a minute. "Yeah." She said before going to her own page.
Warrick sat down on the other side of April. "Can I get down on this."
She thought for a minute. "Fo sho." She tried to say what Warrick taught her. She handed him the Sponge Bob book.
"Why do you get Sponge Bob and I get princess." Greg wined.
"Because I'm cool." He said. "Right?" He said holding out his fist to her.
"Yeah." She said giving him a little pound, another thing he taught her. He laughed as he began to color his page.
Half an hour later Grissom got assignments and walked to the break room to find the others. He walked in and saw everyone except Katie sitting around the table coloring. He looked over at Katie who had changed the channel to Discovery. "It looks like you're the only adult here. You want a job." She laughed at his joke as the others put their crayons down. He handed out the assignments and Greg was still coloring.
"When we get back you better be in that lab of yours." Grissom sighed.
"As soon as I finish Snow White." He joked.
Nick came back to the break room after a long shift to find April asleep on the couch and Katie cleaning up. "Hey." He whispered.
"Hey." She said back placing the last of April's crayons back in her bag.
"You ready to go?" He asked.
"Yup." He picked April up and the two walked out of the building and to the car.