Catalyst
By: Bonnie Lass
Chapter Five: Running interference
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI that belongs to Bruckheimer and CBS. I'm just borrowing the characters. I promise to return them back to the lab in pristine condition. I cannot be held responsible for any damage sustained to Ecklie.
Jessica found herself once again in the middle of the Las Vegas desert. And on Speedle's bike. She lay back against the seat, staring up at the night sky. Dawn was just beginning to encroach upon the stars. Jessica sighed and began chewing on her bottom lip. She was wondering why she was here, why she was even trying. How could two people be so bullheaded when it came to their feelings? Groaning loudly, Jessica sat up, formulating a plan of action. But her mind was a jumble of thoughts. Each thought getting harder and harder to grasp, except one; the feel of Nick Stokes' lips against hers. She blushed at the thought of it, once again. She cursed and attempted to run from her thoughts.
Nick sat alone on his couch, his head held in his hands. How could he? How could he kiss the woman? Well, he knew how he could have. She was exquisite looking, with that off the shoulder top and those pants. God, those pants showed every single curve that she owned. Even Warrick had been at a lost for words. Speaking of Warrick, Nick looked up and met the concerned gaze of his friend.
"You okay, man?" Warrick asked setting a glass of water in front of Nick.
"No, man, I'm not."
"This isn't because you kissed Grissom's niece, is it?" At Nick's negative Warrick continued, "This is because she ran."
"Yea, I'm not that repulsive am I?" Warrick tsked and shook his head.
"Did it ever occur to you that she may be involved with someone?"
"But why run? Why not just tell me? Why did she even return it?" He whispered the last part, looking down at his hands.
"I don't know, Nick. You and Jess are going to have to sort this out," He paused. "Maybe it has to do with Tim?"
"I just don't know."
"Maybe they were more than friends?"
"I don't think so, 'Rick."
"Nick, you're going to have to talk to her. You can't ignore this."
"When did you get so smart?" Nick smirked up at Warrick.
"You see, I've always been this intelligent, Nick. You've just never been aware of it." Warrick dodged the pillow thrown at his head. "Go get some sleep, Nick. You'll think better if you do. Trust me." Nick nodded and followed Warrick to the door.
Grissom awoke from his sleep. The curtains were closed, denying the warm Las Vegas sun entry into his sparsely decorated room. Gil groaned as he got out of his bed. Various joints cracked in complaint as he got out of bed. He made his way to the bathroom and a well-deserved shower. He rubbed his shoulder as he walked; trying to forget the vivid dream Sara had starred in last night. Maybe a cold shower.
Jess found herself sitting on her bike, facing her uncle's house. Indecision warred within her. A little voice in the back of her mind warned her of the impending explosion if she went in there to confront Gil. She groaned and ignored that little voice of reason. When did she ever listen to it in the first place? Certainly not anytime recently that was for certain. She continued to sit on her bike. Too afraid to go in.
Grissom stepped out of his rather chilly shower, grabbing a towel as he went. He quickly donned a pair of sweats and headed to his room. A cold shower and an air-conditioned apartment weren't conducive to one's health. He made it into his bedroom, and his blue eyes landed on a small frame, sitting on a bedside table. He stopped and picked it up. The photograph was of his old grave shift team at one of the annual company baseball games. He grinned at the memory of Ecklie's rage contorted face as they won the game for the seventh year in a row. Everyone on the team had a large smile on their faces, even him. His grin grew into a fond smile at the sight of him and Sara. She had an arm slung over his shoulders, and had on her wide, infamous Sara Sidle smile. There was a gleam in her chocolate eyes that he hadn't seen in awhile. She had looked so radiant. Grissom's smile dropped as he realized that she was slowly but surely burning up again. She was still the consummate professional, always doing her best. But on a personal level, she was a ticking time bomb and it was his entire fault. His entire god damned fault! In a fit of rage Grissom tossed the picture across the room, the sickening crunch of glass doing nothing to ease his anger.
He had pushed her away. He pushed her towards Greg. And it was too late for him now. Yes, he loved her, but there was nothing that could make a relationship between them work. Greg Sanders was the better choice for her; he would be good to her. He was young. They probably had more in common than he and Sara. And he wasn't her supervisor; all major points in Grissom's book. But if Greg was the better match, why did he feel so jealous? It wasn't as if he had made a claim on Sara.
Grissom squashed that Neandertalistic idea rather harshly. Sara was out of his league and she was better for it. She deserved much better than the anti-social bugman. How could she have fallen for him? He was a workaholic and an emotional cripple. The incessant ringing of his doorbell interrupted his self-pity party for one. "What do you want, Jessica?" Grissom asked in a rather clipped tone as he opened the door.
"I was informed that you had the night off and you promised me dinner."
"I can't tonight, Jessica."
"Oh, I know. A little birdie informed me that you had a date tonight." She answered flippantly as she scooted past her glowering uncle.
"Stop interfering."
"I'm not interfering, I'm helping." She grinned and sat down on his couch, eying the spider's cage that rested on the coffee table. Grissom closed the door, nearly slamming it.
"Remember what you did last time you attempted to help me?" He crossed his arms across his chest, staring down his niece. She merely stared back, stretching out her legs.
"I quite distinctly remember it. I told Teri to stay away from you. It wasn't worth either of your time."
"Wasn't that up to us to decide?"
"Well, she was already deciding it. I just helped her along is all." Jess shrugged, turning back to the tarantula.
"Why do you feel the need to meddle in my life? Don't you have enough problems in your own love life?"
"Uncle Gil, you're the only family I have left. I just want to see you happy."
"Then stay out of it, Jess."
"Nope, I'd rather not. I don't trust you enough not to mess it up. Look what you're doing now, going out with Sophia."
"And you're sure that Sara will fill the void in my life?" Grissom questioned. He was definitely beginning to see red. How dare she think she had a right to meddle!
"Uncle Gil, you saved me once and now it's my turn to save you." She took a deep breath. "You love each other."
"It won't work and you know it."
"No, obviously I don't, so please expound.
"She's got Greg; he'll take care of her."
"Greg? As in your old DNA tech, now you're newest CSI?" When Grissom nodded, she rolled her eyes. "Are you that fucking blind, Uncle Gil? She only has eyes for you."
"I'm her supervisor, it's just a crush."
"A crush that's lasted longer than all of my serious relationships put together?" She blinked uncomprehendingly. "Okay, maybe you aren't blind, just idiotic."
"Are you finished, Dr. McAlester?" Grissom all but growled. He had one nerve left and she was dancing the flamingo on it.
"No, Gil Grissom, I'm warning you." She stood and stalked over to him. She poked her finger into his chest at every word. "You are going to end up like Daddy, if you keep this up." Jess glared at him, refusing to be ignored. Grissom was shocked. When had this quiet, reserved, bookworm niece of his turn into this passionate woman? "Something will set you off, possibly Sara transferring and giving up on you. Then you'll proceed to lock yourself in your house; ignoring anyone that was close to you at some point in time. And you'll be alone with your bugs and your pride. Then someday even those will be gone and you'll find yourself alone. Finally you'll get tired of it all and kill yourself, leaving anyone that ever loved you heartbroken."
"Are you finished?" He asked, coldly. "I'm not your father and I will never be." He glared at her.
"I certainly hope not. So you'd better extract that lump you call a head, out of your ass and admit your feelings for her."
"I do not love her." He enunciated every word, letting the lie sink into her thick skull.
"Does that help you sleep at night? Being so heartless?" His eyes narrowed into slits. "You're not only hurting yourself, you're hurting the only person that loves you unconditionally."
"Get out of my house, Dr. McAlester."
"No."
"This is my life, and I'll be the one making the decisions regarding it."
"Dr. Grissom, you're making a mistake."
"It's my own to make, then." He held open the door. He noticed she was biting her lip again, a nervous habit left over from her childhood. "This isn't one of your fairy tales."
"I stopped believing in those when I was 7, Grissom." She sniffed, fighting back tears. But she straightened her shoulders and breezed past him into the Nevada afternoon. Several minutes later he heard her bike pull out of the parking lot. He shut the door, leaning his forehead against the door. He let out a harsh sigh and moved back to his bedroom. He did his best to ignore Jess' words as they bounced around his head. Two hours later found him calling Sophia and canceling their dinner.
At about the same time Jess pulled into another parking lot. She had spent the last few hours simply driving around Las Vegas, with Sara's words of encouragement reverberating from her memory. The harsh words she and Uncle Gil had spoken were still fresh in her mind. They had had fights before, but they had never gone that far before. Tears she had been holding back trickled down her cheeks. She had done a lot of crying these past few days. Jess looked up and realized where she was. Damn her subconscious! It had led her to one of the larger problems she had been dealing with; one Nick Stokes. She wiped away her tears and wrapped her arms around herself. What was she to do? "Why not just fall, Jess? Nick is a wonderful guy and you two deserve a little happiness. Besides, falling in love can be the most rewarding thing a person can do."
Sara's words spoke to her. What could be worse? 'It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.' Jess groaned at her conscious and got off her bike.
"Well, here we go."
He couldn't think. He couldn't help but remember how Jessie felt against him on the dance floor. Couldn't forget how she melted into his arms. Nick groaned and covered his head with a pillow. By God, this woman was addicting. All he could sense was her, her touch, her smell, her voice, her taste. Groaning again, he flung the throw pillow away from him and sat up. He sat on the edge of the couch, holding his head in his hands. He rubbed his forehead. The phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.
"Stokes," he growled out.
"Nick, can I come in?" Jess asked, her voice shaking.
"Have you been knocking?" Nick stood and began walking to the door.
"No," she admitted.
"Are you okay, Jessie?"
"Am I ever?" she whispered on the other end.
"Grissom does seem to worry about you." He attempted to lighten her mood, but apparently failed. He heard her sniffle on the other side of the door and on the line. "Jessie?"
"Please, let me in, Nick?" She pleaded, just as he opened the door. They both flipped their phones closed and simply stared at each other.
"What's wrong, Jessie?" She didn't answer but launched herself at him. Nick wrapped his arms around her and took her inside the house. He rubbed her back and made her sit on the couch. "Jess, you have to tell me what's wrong in order for me to help." He pulled her away and tilted her chin up. She was refusing to make eye contact. Her green eyes were shiny with tears. Nick discovered his thumb had been stroking her cheek.
"Uncle Gil kicked me out of his house." She sniffed; a few tears ran down her cheeks.
"Why?"
"I was interfering in matters I didn't understand."
"Him and Sara?" She nodded. He rubbed her back. "It's going to be okay, Jessie. I promise." He whispered into her hair. Soon Jess' sobs began to quiet and she fell asleep against him. Nick waited a few minutes before picking the emotionally exhausted woman up. He made his way to his bedroom, Jess holding onto his neck and nuzzling he face into the crook of his neck.He laid her on the bed and couldn'thelp but remember the outfit she wore to the club.Looking at her,he was assaulted by a vision of sliding off her clothes and worshipping the exposed skin. Nick swallowed loudly and looked back at her, meeting Jess' green gaze. She was worrying at her bottom lip again. Her gaze settled on his bare chest, and something flickered in her eyes. She furrowed her brow, a blush staining her cheeks.
"Nick, please, don't leave me. Nick smiled reassuringly and climbed into his bed and lay next to her. She immediately cuddled against his side, seemingly enjoying the feel of his arms around her. Their eyes met again and they both moved towards each other. Their lips met each other softly and soon the kiss escalated.
I am so mean :grins: Okay, I'm trying to keep it in the PG-13 scale for the moment…
To my readers: Review, please, I'm begging you! I get in such a good mood when I get them. And that means I'll actually update this on a fairly regular basis.
To my reviewers: I love you people. If I could give gifts over the internet I would.
CarlyBabes1234 – Is this up to your expectations? I might write an extra chap and put it up on my homepage that's a bit more descriptive.
Sunset – I hope you like where I'm taking this. Miami is one of my favorite shows after the original CSI, so I couldn't help it. Thank you for your kind words!
Lin – I promise the GSR is coming in the next couple of chapters. 2 at the most, I promise. Personally I can't wait to get to it either!
Niebezpiczny Ksieyc – Thank you for liking the plot. I was wondering for a moment if it had a giant hole in it… Is this quick enough for you? 2 updates in one week. A new record!
Brokentoy19 – Don't we all, but look she figured it out, sort of. What's more shocking than Mr. I-keep-my-private-life-private having a niece show up and work a case at the lab? Especially when she's so demonstrative. Glad you liked the chappie.
Jenna – I hope this assuages your curiosity! I know, wasn't it gross. At least I didn't think of cockroaches. Hope you liked chapters 4 and 5!
TrishG – thank you for the well rounded review. It took a lot of school to fix my grammar. Plus a very strict writing coach drumming, show don't tell into my head for a couple of years.
