1A/N: I know this isn't the kind of story that most ppl like since it's going to end up being a Nick/Catherine, but don't diss it till you read it please! I would really appreciate some reviews if you do read it, and a big thank you to those who have reviewed!
Chapter Three
Around 4 AM Nick awoke to what he thought was a scream. He automatically assumed it was Catherine so he jumped off the couch and went towards the bedroom. He very quietly opened the bedroom door and peeked inside. Catherine looked like she was sleeping soundly. Nick let out a sigh of relief and thought maybe he had had a dream about someone screaming, well that or he was hearing things. He went back to the couch but couldn't go back to sleep because he kept getting this strange feeling about the scream that he could of sworn he heard. So he decided to just watch some TV in case he heard anything else.
Around 6:30 AM he decided to start making some breakfast because he figured Catherine would be up soon anyways. He knew her favorite breakfast was a good omelet, so he decided to surprise her because he knew she could use it.
Just as he was finishing up he heard a noise behind him. He turned around to find Catherine standing with her arms crossed across her chest.
"I didn't know you could cook Nicky"
"C'mon Catherine, a single guy my age has to be able to fend for himself" he said turning back to the stove.
"Oh really"
"Yep, and lucky for you I make a killer omelet"
"You made omelets" Catherine's face lit up at the thought of her favorite breakfast food.
"Of course. I recall you mentioning at work that it was your favorite breakfast"
"You remembered that?"
"Of course"
"It smells really good"
"Well have a seat because they are now ready" he said, flipping each omelet onto a plate and setting it down in front of her.
"Coffee?"
"Please"
As Nick sat down with the coffees Catherine had just taken her first bite of the omelet.
"Mmm. Oh my God. Mmm, Nicky this is great" Catherine complimented, causing Nick to smile and blush at the same time because of the tone of her voice when she had said that.
"Thanks" was all he was able to squeak out after her comment.
"You might have to cook for me more often" she told him with a wink
Nick just grinned his million dollar smile at that remark.
When they finished breakfast Catherine went to take a shower and when she got out she realized she didn't have any clean clothes to wear, so she borrowed another pair of Nick's sweat pants and one of his sweatshirts.
She came out of his bedroom to find him finishing up cleaning the kitchen. He turned around to fine her dressed in his sweat pants and oversized sweatshirt and couldn't help but smile.
"What?" she asked with a grin on her face
"That's a good look for you Cath, are you gonna wear that to work?" he asked still smiling
"Shut up. I figured you could drop me at my place so I could change and get my car" she told him
"Okay just let me take a quick shower"
"Kay"
After Nick had gotten ready they headed to her house. Once they got there they called some people to fix the window, door, and her phone line. While they were waiting for all of those people to arrive Nick helped Catherine clean up the mess in Lindsey's room. While they were cleaning up Nick decided to approach the question he had been wanting to ask her all morning.
"Catherine did you sleep okay last night?" he asked softly
"Yeah I slept fine. Why?" she questioned
"Just making sure. I thought I heard someone scream early this morning"
"Well it wasn't me. I slept fine" she answered without looking at him, "Could we not talk about this, please"
Nick didn't respond, but instead started talking about something else.
"Do you think we should call the police department and see if they need us to come in and make a better ID?"
"I don't know. I guess we should call and check" she answered turning to look at him, "I just want this to be over with ASAP. So whatever it takes I'll do"
Just as Nick was about to respond the doorbell rang. Catherine got up to get it, but Nick grabbed her arm.
"I'll go first to see who it is"
"Nick, it's broad daylight. I don't think they are that stupid" she replied
But Nick didn't abck down.
"Catherine I'm serious, just wait here until I give the okay"
"Nick"
"Not another word"
"Fine. Geeze, who knew you could be so bossy" she replied very pissed off
Nick went to answer the door only to find the phone repairman saying he had already fixed the phone line. Then as Nick was shutting the door the window repair men drove up.
After everything had been replaced everybody had left, Nick approached Catherine and asked her if she wanted to get some lunch.
"Nick I can take care of myself. Why don't you just go back home and I'll see you at work tomorrow" she told him harshly
"Catherine I'm not leaving you alone. There are two men out to get you for no apparent reason"
"Nick I'm sure they are long gone by now"
"You and I both know that's not true Cath. And I think you're forgetting that I heard what they said to you over the phone. Stop trying to everything by yourself, I'm here for you"
"Nick I'm fine. Just leave me the hell alone. Please" she screamed at him while walking to her bedroom and slamming the door shut.
Nick just stared after her. He knew this was hard for her. But he wasn't leaving. He went and made sure all of the doors and windows were locked in the rest of the house and then he sat down on the sofa to watch some TV.
After about an hour he decided to order some Chinese food since she wasn't coming out of her room, and they obviously weren't going anywhere.
Right after the food was delivered and he was about to eat, he heard a scream from Catherine's hallway. The same scream he had heard last night. He ran to her bedroom and opened her door to find her sitting up on her bed.
"Catherine you okay?" he asked worriedly
"Yeah I'm fine" she answered trying to seem calm
"Catherine you can't lie to me. I heard you scream just now and it was you who screamed last night also"
"I thought I told you to leave"
"Yeah and I told you I wasn't going anywhere" he snapped back
"Nick-"
"Damn it Catherine. Why can't you just let me in. All I want to do is help you. Why can't you just open up to me. You don't have to be the tough one here"
"Yes I do Nick. Because if I let anyone in, then people won't look at me the same. I want to be some woman that men look at and say, she can't do anything, she's too emotional. She shouldn't be doing this job"
"Catherine you are strong and you do your job better than most people I know. But you have to trust me, please. I promise I won't tell anyone you let your guard down" he told her sympathetically.
She was about to respond when her phone rang. When she got through talking she looked at Nick and said,
"That was the police department. They need us to come in. They think they ID'd the two men"
"Let's go"
Nick and Catherine arrived at the station around 3:00. It took them thirty minutes before anyone came to get them. Finally one of the officer came and took them into an office.
"We think the men you described are Gabriel Cruz and Thomas Kincaid" the officer told them, "Do these look like the men?"
He then pulled two pictures of the two men who had assaulted Catherine.
"Yeah that's them" replied Catherine, while Nick nodded
"What did they do?" asked Nick
"Well Cruz is known for assaulting women, about three years ago he was arrested for raping and killing two women. As for Kincaid, he's been arrested twice for armed robbery, but the last time he was arrested was for killing a woman with Cruz, I believe over money"
"Then why aren't they in jail?" Nick asked
"There wasn't enough physical evidence to prove that they did it"
"You've got to be kidding me" replied Nick
"I wish. We have an APB out on both of them and if you want us to post an officer outside your house until we find them-"
"No I'll be fine thanks" stated Catherine
"Cath I think-" Nick began
"Nick I will be fine. I can take care of myself" she said sternly as she thanked the officer and turned to walk out, leaving Nick standing there.
The officer just raised his eyebrows and was about to say something but was cut off by Nick.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her" he said and then he turned and walked out.
Nick had to run to catch up to Catherine. They walked out to their cars in silence and when Catherine got to her car, she turned to Nic and said,
"I'll see you at work tomorrow"
"Cath-" Nick began but was interrupted by her phone going off. Once she got off the phone she told him they had a crime scene to go to because they needed extra help.
"Okay I'll follow you there" he told her
"Nick I'm fine don't you think that us driving up at the same time might look suspicious" she asked him
Nick just looked at her and responded, "Catherine I know you don't want my help, but I'm not letting you out of my sight for whenever possible"
"Nick-"
"And as for people talking about us driving up together. I'm pretty sure everyone still think you and Warrick have a thing for each other, so they won't suspect anything about us" he stated
"Excuse me. What the hell are you talking about?" she asked slightly flustered
"C'mon Catherine don't act so surprised. Everyone can tell you two have a thing for each other"
"Nicholas Daniel Stokes I can't believe you listen to what other people say or think. How do you know I don't have a thing for Grissom, or for you" she said angrily as she got into her tahoe to leave. Nick quickly ran to his Tahoe and jumped in to follow her, even though she was pissed to no end at him.
'Stupid Nick. Why did you say that to her' he yelled at himself.
They were only about five minutes from the crime scene when a car whizzed by Nick but then slowed down and stayed even with Catherine. That's when Catherine looked over and saw a black excursion next to her. The same black excursion that tried to run her off of the road the other day. She was reaching for her phone when the excursion turned into her Tahoe knocking her head into the drier window. Nick saw everything happen and sped up and bumped the excursion from behind. That's when the excursion sped up and clipped the front of Catherine's Tahoe causing her to lose control and start spinning and flipped onto the sidewalk. Nick saw the whole thing happen and stopped his car, jumped out, and ran towards Catherine's tahoe.
When he got to the Tahoe he could see that the driver's side window was broken and he bent down to look inside. Catherine was still buckled in and she was bleeding from the side of her head.
"Catherine"
She shook a little and turned to look at him.
"Cath are you okay?" he asked
"I think so. Just get me out of here" she told him.
So Nick reached across her waist to unbuckle her seatbelt and helped her slide down and then helped her climb out of the Tahoe.
Nick grabbed her hands to help her stand up and then moved his hands to her face to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere else. Catherine pulled away from him and turned around with her back to him.
"I'm fine Nicky" she said trying to convince not only him, but also herself
Nick turned her back around to face him and lifted her chin so that she would look him in the eyes. And that's when he saw it. Tears. Her eyes were red and she was trying so hard not to cry. So he wrapped his arms around her in a tight, protective embrace. And this time she hugged him back.
After the cops were through interviewing them about the scene. Nick and Catherine headed into the lab because they both thought that would be the safest place for her. They had called Ecklie and told him there had been an accident involving Catherine, but that she was okay and that they would just meet the team at the lab. Catherine still didn't want anyone to know what was going on, so Nick, in an act of him trying to get her to trust him, promised that he wouldn't say anything.
A/N: Please, please, please let me know what ya'll think. Please review!