Disclaimer: I don't own anything except an old pair of doggy slippers that my real dogs chewed up. Everything in here is someone else's except Ronnie, Maddie, Indigo, Scott, Mark, Aiden, Ellen, Chris, Eliza, Bartholomew and Kayla. And that's it…I think
Hero
Chapter 2
Nick and Ronnie continued to see each other almost daily for the next week after that-and they unashamedly admitted that they were falling hard. For the moment, however, they were delighting in having each other to themselves.
It was the same day as their one-week anniversary when Ronnie showed up unexpectedly about 3 hours into his shift. She waited in the lobby for Nick to come and greeted him with a bright smile and a kiss when he arrived.
"Not that I don't want to see you or anything, baby, but what are you doing here?" Nick questioned after a second, more-thorough kiss.
"You forgot this," she answered with a grin, holding up his cell phone and wiggling it in his face, "I'm afraid I answered it when your dad called…Pancho."
Nick's eyes widened and he moaned, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes and he begged, "Please tell me your joking!"
"No can do, Cowboy," she giggled, delighting in his horrified expression for a few moments before laughingly assuring him, "Don't worry, Pancho, he doesn't know we're sleeping together. I told him I was waitress and you'd left it on the table and I'd picked it up to return it to you."
"You are amazing, Hellcat," Nick murmured appreciatively, his hands dropping to her hips to pull her closer.
"Oh yeah?" Ronnie murmured seductively, trailing her hands tantalizingly across his very sculpted chest.
"Oh yeah," Nick moaned in confirmation, dropping his head to trail kisses along her jaw line.
Ronnie giggled, running her hands up and around his neck to bury his fingers into his dark hair. Nick moaned again at the feel of her nails scraping his bare skin, dropping his head lower to nibble at her earlobe and making Ronnie gasp his name into his ear.
"Ahem," coughed an amused voice behind them, causing them both to start and pull apart, turning to face Warrick Brown-who's green eyes were twinkling widely with unconcealed mirth.
Nick blushed red, but, boldly, Ronnie stepped forward, offering a slim hand as she greeted unabashedly, "Hello. I'm Ronnie Cooper."
Warrick grinned, lightly clasping her hand as he replied, "Warrick Brown, I work with Nicky. And, I'm warning you two now, to be careful where you do that, since it might not be me who catches you next time."
Nick's blush deepened, and he coughed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, but, impishly, Ronnie turned to Nick, wiggling her eyebrows as she said, "Well, Cowboy, I think I saw a utility closet on my way in."
Nick groaned at the mental image that brought up, throwing her a mock-dirty look as he said, "Hellcat."
"You know it," Ronnie grinned back, a sudden 'beep' from her watch causing her to look down in surprise, "Oh! I better get going, I can't be late-"
"Maddie's coming today," Nick grinned, finishing for her, "I know babe. She's all you've been able to talk about since you booked the flight."
"Sorry," Ronnie shrugged un-apologetically, "You're meeting us for dinner after shift tonight, right?"
"Sure thing, Hellcat," Nick grinned, "I can't wait to meet her."
Ronnie smiled, giving him a quick kiss, Warrick a wave, and then she was gone from the building, hopping into her silver pick-up. Nick watched her go with a large, goofy grin on his face before turning back to Warrick.
"Man," Warrick said appreciatively, "She's a keeper Nicky."
Nick grinned, nodding in agreement, "Damn straight she is."
"One question-Who's 'Maddie?" Warrick asked curiously as the pair began their walk back to the lab.
"Her daughter." Nick answered, watching for Warrick's reaction from the corner of his eye.
"Daughter?" Warrick's eyebrows shot up, "As in this woman has a child?"
"Yes, Warrick, a child." Nick answered with a grin, shaking his head at his friend, "But she's worth it."
"Okay." He paused, "So when were you going to introduce all of us to her-them?"
"Dunno," Nick paused thoughtfully, "Hey, why don't you guys all come to dinner with us tonight? We'll get the whole gang together."
Warrick grinned, eyes lighting up, "Damn, this is gonna be fun."
XoXoXoXoXo
That night after shift-and before night shift (A/N I dunno if this would actually work-probably not-but just work with me people)- all the old CSI gang was gathered in the small, relaxed diner. They'd had to pull two tables together, but that was okay-they were just happy to be together again. Catherine was teasing Grissom about his obsession with bugs-again-, Warrick was snorting with laughter at on of Greg's jokes-who was throwing adoring glances at Sara, who was the only one who didn't notice-while Sara and Nick were arguing good-naturedly.
When Ronnie still hadn't shown up 10 minutes after the appointed time, Nick called her, a worried frown marring his brow.
"Hello?" Ronnie answered, sounding slightly breathless, an arguing toddler's voice sounding loudly in the background.
"Hey Hellcat, where are you?" Nick asked, a grin replacing the frown as he realized he was being paranoid.
"I'm sorry!" Ronnie exclaimed apologetically, "I totally forgot how long it takes to get a toddler ready to go anywhere0 let alone my daughter! We're only just leaving the house now."
Nick laughed slightly, asking teasingly, "Is little Maddie as hellish as her mother?"
"Just as-Hey! What the hell are you doing?" the sound of the phone hitting the pavement sounded through the phone, and then Ronnie started yelling, "Get away from me!"
"Ronnie? Ronnie! What the hell's going on?" Nick yelled anxiously into the phone, not caring that the rest of the diner's and his co-workers were now looking at him.
Distantly, he could hear Ronnie yelling, "Run, Maddie! RUN!" and then an ominous thud. Suddenly, a child's scream sounded before being abruptly silenced.
Nick had leapt to his feet, the chair skittering behind him, when a cold, spine-tingling voice, said, "I'm afraid your 'Hellcat' is no longer available, Mr. Stokes."
Nick's eyes widened as he heard the 'click' as the cell phone was turned off. When the dial tone sounded, he was snapped back to reality and, without any explanations to the watching crew, he sprinted from the diner, jamming his key into the lock.
"Oh, god, please don't let me be too late," Nick he begged speeding swiftly through the streets and screeching to a halt outside Ronnie's duplex.
But, even as he leapt from the car, Nick knew he was too late. The front, driver's side door of Ronnie's pick-up was opened, her purse spilled out across the front seat. Laying, dropped accidentally, by the truck, was a small dolly that, Nick knew, was Madigan's most treasured toy.
But, something else had been the cause of his eyes growing and his face paling, of his knees no longer having the strength to support him any longer and causing him to stumble back against his Denali and to slide down the side to the pavement. It was the reason he stared blankly at his worried friend's who had followed him to Ronnie's and the police who were now taping off the area with the yellow crime scene tape.
It was a large pool of blood.
XoXoXoXoXo
An hour later, Nick was sitting in the CSI break room with Grissom and Brass. The two had finally gotten him away from the scene-Grissom driving the Denali while Nick sat blankly in the passenger seat. They'd led him into the break room and given him a cup of coffee that sat untouched on the table in front of him.
"Nicky," Brass said softly, "You've got to talk to me. Who is she, what does she do, her enemies-you know what I need."
Nick nodded, running a hand roughly through his hair as he began, "Her name's Verona Cooper but she goes by Ronnie. Her four-year-old-Madigan Cooper-Mathews- was with her. I could hear her."
"Hear her?" Brass interrupted with a puzzled frown.
"Y-Yea," Nick choked out, trying to suppress his tears, "Sh-She was supposed to bring Maddie to the diner so that I could introduce them to everyone at once. Sh-She was late, so I called her. I h-heard Maddie talking in the background. We'd only been talking for about a minute when she dropped the phone. I-I c-could hear her-st-struggling, telling M-Maddie to run, b-before he-he knocked h-her out. M-Maddie started screaming b-but he shut her up too."
"And that's when you pealed out of the diner."
"No. He c-cam on the phone," Nick shuddered violently at the memory, saying softly, "He said, 'I'm afraid your 'Hellcat' is no longer available Mr. Stokes.'"
"Hellcat?"
"I-It's what I call her," the tears slipped unchecked down his face as he choked out, "She always calls me Cowboy."
Nick's head dropped into his hands, his entire body wracked with loud, angry sobs. Grissom seemed lost, but Brass was at the younger man's side instantly, enveloping him tightly in strong arms.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Judy said softly, tapping at the glass door, "But an urgent package just arrived for you, Mr. Stokes."
She gently placed the package on the table in front of Nick before quickly exiting the room. Nick pulled himself from Brass' arms- being sure to give the man a sad but thankful smile- before carefully examining the package.
It was a large, cream-coloured manila envelope with a slight bulge in the center. In big, block letter across the front, it read simply;
"Mr. Nicholas Stokes,
CSI Crime Lab
Las Vegas."
The return address was blank.
XoXoXoXoXo
A/N- okay, I got no reviews, but this story has been put on THREE-count 'em THREE- hit list things! COME ONE PEOPLE! Even if it's just one review, I'll be happy! All I'm asking for is one! PLEASE!
So, go on-go click the little purple button and write me a message-even if your opinion is that this story sucks and I should stick to making fries and roast beef sandwiches for the rest of my life-although, even if that is your opinion, I WILL NOT stick with the roast beef…it SMELLS!
Anyway, got to jet, but SERIOUSLY drop me something huh? I'll try and update sometime next week if I can, but only if I get at least one review 'kay?
'My love,
Red