Daynna - lol, I wasn't sure about the letters, but they kept me entertained when writing them, so I kept them in on the off chance that it would entertain someone else!

Cassandra - No, she knew Horatio would know. C'mon, it's H - you'd just know he'd know. And I thought you'd like the Nick bit!

Wraiths-angel - thanks for readig and reviewing, and here's the next chapter for you!

littlemissprincess - I'm happy you've been reading/enjoying the series. Things will get resolved, but I'm leaving that until the next chapter.And I'm sorry, but it's not a puppy!

Cheryl bit her lip and picked Eddie up, before leaning across and handing him to Greg. She turned her attention to the box, which Nick gently laid in her lap. Slowly, she pulled of the outer wrapping to discover a box which had small holes in the top of it. 'What on earth have you got me this time, Eric,' she muttered, as she pulled the lid off. The box contained two things – something alive, grey, and furry, which was curled up in the corner, and another box. She leant in and picked the ball of fur up. 'You got me a ferret!' She exclaimed.

She put the ferret down on her lap, and watched as it ran around in circles, creating a nest in the sheets, before settling down in ball. Shaking her head in disbelief, Cheryl reached back into the box and pulled out the other one. Inside this box, there were two pot bowls, a bright red harness, and a lead, along with a small, golden envelope. She opened that and from it pulled a small card from it.

'Hello. My name is Seth. I am a present that has been bought for you by Miami Cri- (the blank wasn't big enough for the details to be fit in). I am only six months old, but I have been especially trained, just for you. I am like a puppy. I am housebroken, and will respond to the following commands: Sit, stay, heel. Please give me a good home, and I will be a faithful companion. Should you require any assistance, please contact…'

'He got me a ferret.' Cheryl muttered in disbelief.

'You could probably return him,' suggested Greg.

Cheryl looked over at him and broke out into a huge grin. 'Are you kidding? I love him!'

'Cheryl,' said Nick.

'Yeah?'

'You're friends, back in Miami.'

'Yeah?'

'They all wrote something about you getting shot.'

Cheryl nodded, 'they all know me too well.'

'Since when did the hospital turn into a zoo?'

Cheryl turned around and found Catherine in the doorway, Warrick just behind her. 'This is Seth. My friends back at Miami got him for me.'

'Isn't a zoo a little extreme?' Greg asked Catherine as she sat down.

'Are you kidding, two kids petting two animals? If that's not a petting zoo, it's pretty damn close,' said Warrick.

'You took the words out of my mouth.' Catherine said, laughing at the expressions on Greg and Cheryl's faces.

'Hey, I'm not a kid!' Objected Greg.

'I'm twenty three… no twenty four! I have an excuse. Greg, on the other hand…' said Cheryl, now joining in on the laughter.

Greg pouted at her, 'I can't wait until you get your loyalty back. I need an ally against these guys.'

'So, I spoke to your doctor, Cheryl, who obviously doesn't know about the animals in here,' said Catherine, 'he says that you'll be able to go home by the end of the week, on the condition you pretty much stay in bed for the following week, and don't return to work for a few weeks after that.'

Cheryl rubbed the back of her neck, 'ah, pants. I was hoping to have at least two weeks in here before I had to start thinking about that.'

'Do you need some help with your house?' Catherine asked.

'No, that's sorted. Horatio called me, after Sofia called him when she was trying to track down the owner. He said that he had contacted his realtor, who had put him through to someone here. Anyway, he managed to get out of the last contract for me, and even found me another house, complete with pond for Eddie. The only catch is that the house is needing some work. So I'm going to have to check into a hotel for a few weeks until it's finished.' She frowned, 'so, you guys have been living here a while – which hotels allow pets?'

Catherine shook her head, 'not going to happen. Besides, I'm sure one of us could put you up for a while. I can't. My mother is in town, and I know Warrick has just gotten married,' she told her; ignoring the funny look Warrick was giving her.

'I have room,' chimed Greg.

'You have a spare room, don't you, Nick?'

'I have a spare room,' repeated Greg.

Catherine glanced over at him, 'Greg, you would keep her from sleeping so she could play video games with you all night. And if you weren't doing that, you would be trying to force feed her coffee.'

Greg flapped his mouth open and shut at her, at a loss for words.

'You know him too well,' laughed Cheryl.

'Mmmm,' agreed Catherine, 'except somehow, I don't think you'd put up much of a resistance. So, Nick - your spare room available?'

'Sure. If you want it?'

'Thank you, guys, but I'm quite happy checking into a hotel.'

'Nonsense,' Catherine told her, 'you wont find a hotel, and besides, the doctor said that there should be someone around to check on you. I'd ask Grissom, but I think the last thing to see his spare room had at least six legs.'

'Look, it's no trouble,' said Nick.

'You don't mind about these two?' She asked him, indicating to the two animals.

'I'm more worried about you stealing the covers.'

'Oh, aye!' Cheryl exclaimed, 'and where exactly to you expect me to be sleeping?'

Warrick looked at Nick and Cheryl, then down at Catherine. 'Well guys, I know it's been brief, but me and Cath should be going.'

'We should?'

'Yeah,' he told her, tugging at her arm, 'like now.'

Catherine shrugged, 'um, I'll call in later, Cheryl. Is there anything you need?' As Cheryl shook her head, Catherine allowed Warrick to tug her out of the room.

'What are you doing, Cath,' he asked as the door had barely swung shut behind them.

'Nothing. Why?'

'Nothing?'

'She needed somewhere to stay.'

'And it didn't occur to you to ask your father if he had a room in one of his hotels?'

Catherine shrugged, 'you heard the doctor, she needs someone to keep an eye on her.'

'Hotels have maids and room service.'

'It's not the same, Warrick. You wouldn't like to be shipped into a hotel, when you've just gotten out of hospital. She needs a home.'

'Well what was wrong with Greg's?'

'It has Greg in it,' she told him, as if he'd asked a stupid question. 'Are you telling me, you don't think for one second that those two wouldn't end up playing computer games until the early hours of the morning? Or even worse, until the late hours of the afternoon?'

'Not for one second. But maybe that's what she needs. She pretty much admitted last night that she never had a childhood.'

'Last time I checked, Nick had a powerstation too. Him and Greg were swapping a game which sounded something like Angels May Cry.'

Warrick chuckled, 'it's a Playstation and I think the game you were referring to was called Devil May Cry.'

Catherine wafted her hands at him, 'Lindsay is more interested in boys, make-up and piercings, than computer games. Thought frankly, I'm not sure which is worse.'

'Well, so long as you're not trying to play cupid.'

'Me?' She asked him, innocently.

Warrick looked at her, 'yes you.'

'Warrick, my dear, I wouldn't dream of it, even though the doctor mentioned he had stayed the night, and even though there is some serious flirting happening between them.'

'I don't think she's over that guy in Miami, yet, you know.'

'And who better to help her over him than our very own Nick? And when was the last time Nick went out on a date?'

'Catherine,' said Warrick in a warning tone.

'Relax, Warrick. I'm not going to do anything. They're living together now, if it's going to happen, it will happen.'

'And if it doesn't, you're not going to push it?'

Catherine smiled at him, 'I wouldn't dream of it.'

'I'm sure you wouldn't.' He muttered.

------------------------------

Nick and Greg were sat on either side of Cheryl's bed, cards in hand, busily engrossed in a game of poker, which Cheryl was sure they were allowing her to win – she was up fifty dollars, and a Hot Water Music CD (courtesy of Greg).

She was just about to add the next card to the flop, when her phone rang. 'Are you allowed that in here?' Greg asked her, as she reached over and flicked it open.

She frowned at him, 'Carter.'

'Cheryl Lesley Carter!' It was bellowed so loudly down the phone, that even Nick and Greg heard it clearly.

'Hi, Horatio,' she winced.

'You got shot! Again!'

'I didn't jump in front of the gun, this time.' She mumbled down the phone.

'Between you and Speedle, I am going to be sent to an early grave.' Cheryl winced, 'now, do I have to be concerned that every time I get a call with a Vegas area code, it's some detective, or supervisor calling to tell me you're in trouble?'

Cheryl winced. 'To be fair, Horatio, why else would someone from Vegas, whose number you don't recognise, be calling you?'

'Cheryl, that is not the response I wanted to hear.'

Cheryl was at a loss for words. She thrust the phone over to Nick, 'say something to him, before he flies out here,' she hissed at him.

'What do you want me to say?' he hissed back.

'I don't care. Just don't let him get on a plane. Because he will. And I have his sunglasses, so I'm going to see his disapproving glare. And it's not what I want to be on the receiving end of.'

Nick shrugged and lifted the phone to his ear.

'Cheryl? Are you there?'

'Lieutenant Caine? Um, this is Nick Stokes. I'm a colleague of Cheryl's.'

'Good afternoon, Mr Stokes. What happened to my niece?'

'Um, the nurse came to, um, check on her bloodpressure.'

'You wouldn't be lying to me, would you, Mr Stokes?'

'Look, Lieutenant Caine, Cheryl said to let you know that she would be fine, and there is no reason for you to fly out here.'

'And who is going to look after her?'

'Oh, that would be me, sir. She's going to stay at mine until her house is ready, or until she's well, if that takes longer.'

'I mean, who's going to make sure she doesn't get shot again?'

'Don't worry, sir,' Nick glared at Cheryl, 'in future, I will make sure that whenever she goes out to a scene, she wears a vest. Regardless, of whether or not she likes it.'

There was a pause from Horatio, 'I appreciate that, Mr Stokes, but I do have to ask.' There was another pause, 'I do have to ask, what are your intentions with my niece?'

Nick's eyes almost exploded out of his head, 'oh, uh, the nurse is back,' he blurted out, 'I have to go now – she's not liking the phone. I'll get Cheryl to talk to you later.' He hung up and flung the phone at Greg, who was laughing insanely. 'If you're uncle is that intimidating down the phone, I can see why you don't want him coming here.'

'Yeah? You should really try being on the other end of his disapproving stare, when he doesn't have his shades on.'

'And you should try not doing anything that warrants me having to fly out here.'

Cheryl froze. She glanced up over her hand of cards and stared at Nick and Greg. Nick had gone white, and Greg was looking from Cheryl to the doorway behind her. Cheryl slowly turned around and found herself staring at her uncle, who was stood staring at her with his hands on his hips.

'Busted.' Laughed Greg. He was rewarded for that statement by glares from both Caines. 'Whoa, you two have the same glare!'

'Greg, I think it was time we left,' said Nick, dropping his cards on the bed, and removing Seth, who was curled up in his lap, and putting him next to Eddie, who was curled up in Cheryl's lap.

The two of them said their goodbyes and left the room so quickly, Cheryl was sure that they could have set a new world record. She sighed, and looked sheepishly at her uncle. 'Chocolate?' She asked him, offering him a box.

He took one, then headed to the trash can to throw out the wrapped. As he dropped it in, he stopped and noticed the screwed up bits of paper that Catherine had thrown in the day before. He bent down and pulled some out. 'Cheryl, what are these?'

Cheryl sighed, 'paper clippings from the Miami Prophet. Now everyone here knows what I was hoping they wouldn't.'

'Cheryl,' started Horatio, as he began leafing through the papers, 'Cheryl, these papers were faxed.'

'And? How else would Sara get the information?'

'They have the fax number of the Miami Crime Lab.'

'Is that a problem?' She asked him.

'Nothing you should worry about. I'm already looking into it.' He came and sat down next to her. 'Who is this Sara?'

'Someone I work with.'

'And what, pray tell, did you do to upset her?'

'I honestly don't know. Worked with her?'

Horatio frowned. 'It seems I will have to have a word with her.'

'Thank you, Horatio, but I think that is something I should do. Although it's going to happen when I'm better.' She looked down at the animals curled up in her lap.'I'm sorry I let you down again.' She muttered.

'You haven't let me down. But you scared me.' He sat back, 'however, I would like my sunglasses back.

So... that's the end of part 6 (crikey - have i written six parts already!) Thanks for all y'all for reading, and cookies to all those who leave reviews (hint, hint! lol)

Part 7 will be up soon. I'm busy working away on it. Lets see... spoilers? Well, Cheryl and Sara are going to have a much needed talk. There will be a Christmas party. Some kissing under the mistletoe. Um, cars - street racing - Cheryl needs some fun! lol What else can I tell you. Hmmm, a previous, minor, character will pop up - I will not only give cookies, but I will supply the milk as well if anyone guess who it is! (:p) Keep an eye out - it'll probably be around the end of next week.