A/N: Thanks again for reading! Let me know what you think!
Nick returned home after what turned out to be a long and stressful shift Saturday morning. In between investigating a triple homicide and dealing with Mally's fiasco, he was spent for the night. He quietly walked up the stairs, unbuttoning his workshirt as he went. The morning light was beginning to pour through the windows. Nick gently opened the door to his daughter's room and his eyes fell upon her sleeping form. The CSI had always had a thing for watching her sleep. He checked on her each morning when he came home. Mally always looked peaceful, but this morning he could tell she'd had a rough night. Sprawled out on her back with the covers kicked off, her arm sat protectively across her stomach. Nick sighed to himself, deciding to give her a couple more hours of rest. He needed it too, he decided.
Closing the door, he headed for the master bedroom, where he found his Sara sleeping peacefully. He could tell she was exhausted from both her trip and having to help him with Mally. Nick quickly finished stripping off his shirt and jeans and crawled into bed, trying not to wake Sara. As he settled in, however, her eyes fluttered open.
"Hey." She whispered.
"Hey." He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand and then gently kissed her on the lips. "Go back to sleep."
"Is Mally alright?"
Nick inhaled sharply. "She's sleeping for now. I'll give her a couple more hours."
Sara paused before she continued, not knowing how hands-on she should be with this issue. "Nick, I know you're angry, but…"
"Sara, let's not get into it right now. She knows how I feel about parties like that and she snuck out. She knows there will be consequences."
"She was really upset when you walked out."
Nick rubbed his face as he laid on his back. "She was trying to make excuses and I didn't want to snap at her."
"Yeah, but she thinks you hate her."
"Sara, she can't expect me not to be angry with her about this. I mean, I've known her a lot longer than you and I don't even know why the hell she pulled something like this. It's not like her. She's always been an angel."
Sara had been living with the family of two for about six months now and Mally had only gotten in trouble one other time for moaning and avoiding her chores one day. All Nick had to do was give her a death glare and tell her she wouldn't be going anywhere until they were done.
"Jordan Matthews." Sara said simply. From what she'd gotten from Mally last night, he'd ditched her at the party after they made out.
"Huh?" He looked at her.
"She did it for a boy, Nick, and she got her heart broken. Just keep that in mind."
Nick sighed. "Thanks. She's still grounded."
"I know." She snuggled back into his arms and he kissed her head. They managed to catch a couple hours of sleep before they needed to get up and face the day.
At about nine a.m., a newly showered Nick Stokes opened his daughter's door once again. Thankfully, he had this Saturday off so he could deal with the situation properly, and he was dressed comfortably in black and white Adidas pants and a black t-shirt. Mally was still sleeping and he knew she'd sleep until noon if she could, but he wasn't about to give her that luxury. He strode over to her window and opened the blinds, letting the sun pour in. Mally immediately shielded her eyes and moaned the way only a tired teen girl can.
"Daaad!" She complained groggily when she saw him standing over her bed, hands in pockets.
"Time to get up, Mal." He told her. He went to her bureau drawers and fished her out some comfortable clothes consisting of the black yoga pants she loved to wear on the weekends and a gray girlie-style muscle tee before depositing them at the foot of her bed. "You need to hit the shower and get dressed. Then we've got a lot of talking to do." He reminded her, putting his hands on his hips.
Mally groaned again at the reminder and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. Nick was still angry with her, but his fatherly instincts took over. He sat on the edge of her bed and gently felt her forehead with his warm hand.
"How you feeling?" She felt a little warm to him.
"I didn't think you cared." She said, suddenly finding her chewed-on nails fascinating. Nick gave her a look.
"Of course I care. I was pretty angry last night, Mally. Can you blame me?"
He dropped his hands to her chin, tilting it to the side when he spotted a dark mark on her neck.
"Is that what I think it is, Mally?" His eyebrows raised. She didn't answer, so he decided to drop it not wanting to embarrass her anymore. His thoughts returned to what Sara had said about a broken heart.
"You okay? You didn't get hurt last night, did you?"
"I'm fine." She answered shortly, not making eye contact.
"Alright. I'll see you downstairs in half an hour." He kissed her forehead and proceeded out of her bedroom so she could get ready.
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
"Okay, Natalie. Let's start from the beginning." Catherine started. She and Natalie were both sitting on her bed while Gil stood before them, pacing a bit with his arms crossed.
When she didn't answer, Catherine prompted her a little more.
"Whose bright idea was it?"
"Mine." Anger tinted her voice.
"Nat, you better start talking." Gil finally said, annoyed at her short answers and attitude. "We'd appreciate it if you started being honest with us."
"I bet you would."
"Let's lose the attitude."
Natalie sighed, knowing stalling wasn't going to get her anywhere. Her parents investigated for a living so they were going to find out one way or another.
"Both Mally and I have been trying to see more of a couple of guys."
"Which guys?" Catherine asked.
"Ryan Jennings and Jordan Matthews."
"And how old are these boys?"
"They're both juniors." She swallowed. She heard both parents sigh in disappointment. "Okay, before you start about their ages, you have never met them, so you don't know anything about their character."
"I know they ditched the two of you when the cops came." Catherine told her. "I think that says something."
"Natalie, you know the rules about hanging out with boys. We have to meet them first before you go anywhere with them." Gil continued.
Natalie had enough and stood up.
"Why do you have to make up all these stupid rules before of what Lindsey did?" Her voice was raised. "Just because she acted like a slut and threw herself at guys doesn't mean I will!"
"Natalie, do not speak about your sister that way!" Gil reprimanded. He rarely raised his voices, but did not tolerate this type of talk from either girls.
"It's true!" She went on, but lowered her voice. "You wouldn't even think twice about letting me go if Lindsey hadn't screwed up so much."
"We are not talking about Lindsey right now, we're talking about you." Catherine jumped in. "And at no time would I ever allow you to hang out with guys two years older than you at a party with alcohol. You shouldn't have even been there."
"Whatever." She said in a typically teen attitude. In her mind, Lindsey had really screwed her life over. Because of all the mistakes her older sister made, she wasn't allowed to do anything. Her parents had no trust in her for no reason at all.
"Natalie, what you seem to be forgetting is that you made the decision to sneak out and go to an unchaperoned party with alcohol. No matter what Lindsey did, you'd still be in big trouble." Gil reminded his daughter.
"We're not trying to ruin your fun. We want you to be safe, Natalie."
Natalie was still really angry, but she bit her tongue, staring at the floor to avoid getting into any more trouble.
"Your mom and I are going to go discuss your punishment. We'll be back in a while."
Catherine got up and followed her husband out the door, leaving a still furious Natalie on her bed. When the door was closed, she threw a shoe at the door and let out a loud, annoyed groan.
CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI
"Does she have to be here?" Mally asked, glaring at Sara. She was currently sitting at the kitchen table, waiting to get the inevitable lecture from what she thought would just be her father. She didn't see why Sara was here too.
"If by 'she', you're referring to Sara, then yes." Nick answered from the other side of the table where he stood next to Sara. "She is a part of this family now too." He looked over at Sara, who didn't seem too affected by the comment. She had dealt with murderers and child abusers before, and Mally didn't seem to faze her. Sara had been uneasy about talking to Mally with Nick, but he'd insisted on showing they were now a united front. Mally needed to learn to respect and listen to Sara now too. Nick was very careful about the women he allowed into Mally's life and wouldn't be including Sara if he didn't feel she was the one.
Mally rolled her eyes and rested her head in her right hand lazily.
"Sit back up." Nick told her. Mally did so noisily and glared back at him.
"How long had you been planning to go to this party?" He started, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Just a couple of days."
"And why did you feel you needed to sneak out to go to it?" He started walking around the table. He tried not to bring the interrogation-style way he dealt with suspects home, but he found it hard in this situation.
"Because I knew you'd say no."
"Why do you think that is, Mally?" Sara asked.
Mally looked up at Sara and didn't answer immediately like she had been when Nick asked her questions. Finally, she shrugged.
"I think you do know, Mally." She continued. "He's looking out for your safety."
"Just because you investigate crime scenes for a living doesn't mean every teen party turns out in murder or a drug overdose."
Nick leaned one hand on the table and stooped his head down to get closer. "Do I need to remind you what they found at the party, Mally? A date rape drug. I haven't been lying to you about the dangers of these types of parties, young lady. It's real."
Mally continued to stare at the table.
"Mally, we want to be able to trust you. How do you think this makes us feel?" Sara questioned her.
The girl slapped a hand on the table in annoyance. "Would you stop talking to me like I'm your daughter? I don't care what you think! I wish you would just leave!" Her tone was angry and defiant.
"Mally Elyse Stokes, you apologize this instant!" Nick ordered, one hand on his hip and the other pointing towards Sara.
"Like hell I will!"
"Go to your room!" He pointed. Mally didn't argue and angrily pushed her chair out, storming upstairs to her room. "You can come out when you can talk to Sara with respect."
Nick was shocked at Mally's disrespect of Sara. If there was one thing he didn't tolerate from his daughter, it was disrespect towards him and any other adult. He'd raised her the old-fashioned Texas way, to always respect her elders, especially her parents. Or, in her case – parent, up until now. It had taken her only one sore bottom as a young child to learn not to play that card with him. He was shocked that now at the age of fourteen she thought she could try it with Sara.
Nick shook his hand angrily and kicked one of the chairs at the table. "Unbelievable." He started pacing.
"Nick, it's okay. I know she's upset." Sara tried to dismiss it. She had a few angry words for Mally but could also understand where the girl was coming from. All of a sudden, Sara was in her life without any real choice.
"No, it's not okay. She knows better."
"Nick, I think I need to stay out of the discipline until she's more comfortable with me. I don't blame her for being angry."
Nick walked over to his girlfriend and placed his hands lovingly on her hips. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it was too soon."
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He ran his hands up and down her arms.
"It's okay. I was just trying to supportive."
"Thank you." Nick gave her a soft kissed and then pulled back to look at her. She was trying so hard to bond and get along with Mally, and it made him fall even more in love with her. He leaned back in for another kiss, this time taking his time. Working his lips sensually with hers, he tried to let her know how much she was appreciated and how beautiful she was. After a few moments, he pulled back again and kissed her forehead lovingly.
"I'll be back. I'm going to go deal with the ray of sunshine."
"Good luck." She told him. Nick turned around and gave her a wink as he headed up the stairs.
TBC