Disclaimer: I don't own Nick or anything pertaining to CSI. I don't own any songs by Sufjan Stevens. I don't own Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I do own Kaitlin and her parents and her brothers and sister. I think that's it.

A/N: Okay, I know that this has taken me awhile to put up, but life has been crazy right now. I had to read the new Harry Potter book, and then my best friend was going through a crisis, and then I had family in town from DC. Plus I have been trying to get all my stuff together so that I can fly down to Texas to stay with my friend for a week. We're trying to find a place to live, and moving in and of itself is hard, but moving to a different state… that's crazy hard. The title of this chapter is after the song To Be Alone With You by Sufjan Stevens.

RyleeS: I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm not quite sure though what you mean by time seems to have skipped because in the end of chapter 7, Nick explains to Kaitlin that her "mom" hired a hit man to kill her father because he was going to tell Kaitlin about the abduction. But I'm glad you enjoy the story and thanks for your review!

As always please review! Enjoy.

Kaitlin was nervous. Today was the day she was going to meet her parents. She didn't know what they were going to think of her. All morning she had been fussing with her hair, fussing with her clothes, changing shoes over and over again, and she had redone her make-up a dozen times.

As Nick lounged in her bed, watching her get ready, he couldn't help but laugh. He had spent the night at her house so that he could give her encouragement this morning. As he let out a laugh, Kaitlin looked over and glared daggers at him.

"This isn't funny, Nick." She scowled.

"Kaitlin, you've changed your outfit five times already and your shoes seven. You look beautiful, darlin'." He complimented.

"What if they take one look at me and decide that maybe 25 years was too long of a time and they really don't want to get to know me after all?" She worried.

"I don't think that's possible." Nick stated simply.

Kaitlin hadn't slept at all last night because she had been up worrying that her parents wouldn't like her. She had had many scenarios play in her head about how this morning would go down. None of them were positive.

"You don't know that, Nick." Kaitlin said. She walked over and sat on the edge of her bed.

Nick sat up and moved behind her. He began to massage her shoulders, trying to get her to loosen up.

"They wouldn't have flown in from Kentucky hadn't they been eager to see you. You're their daughter, Katie. They'll love you no matter what."

Kaitlin rolled her head to the side as Nick worked the knots out of her shoulders. Part of her knew that what Nick was saying was true. She was just having a hard time convincing the other part.

"Remember the other day at the beach?" Nick asked.

Kaitlin turned her head around and smiled at him mischievously. She laughed.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Kate. I was talking about when you went into the water. Remember how scared you were at first? You got over that quickly."

"That's because I had you with me. You're not gonna be there with me today. I don't know how brave I can be without you."

"I know how strong you are. You're gonna do amazing. They'll consider themselves lucky to have a daughter like you. You're an amazing person."

"I don't know how amazing I am." She scoffed.

"Let me tell you about this case I had a few years back." Nick started.

"This doesn't involve decomposing bodies or a person turned into wax again, does it?" She worried. He had told her many stories just to gross her out, and she wasn't sure she was in the mood for that just now.

Nick laughed. "No, this is a case that kinda reminds me of yours in a way."

"Alright, then. Tell away." Kaitlin turned to look at him as he spoke.

"There was this girl named Tammy. We found her fingerprints at the scene of this homicide and when we ran 'em through the database, it turned out they matched a girl who had been kidnapped somewhere in Colorado. When we notified her parents, they were so happy just to have their daughter in their lives again, they didn't think about anything else. It turned out that Tammy was really disturbed. She had found out from her father's friend that they had kidnapped her, and upon hearin' that, she killed her father. When her parents found out, they paid her bail and bought all these bus passes all around the country to throw off our track."

"Wow. They were really stupid." Kaitlin added.

"Yeah, but there was a point to that. They accepted her even though she had killed someone. They did whatever they could for her." Nick explained.

"Yeah, I get it. If they'll help a disturbed murderer, then my parents will help a normal person." Kaitlin said flatly.

Nick laughed. One thing he really admired about her was that she had a very childlike quality to her; it wasn't childish, just childlike.

Kaitlin looked over at the alarm clock beside her bed and jumped up. She needed to be at the coffee shop in ten minutes. She looked in the mirror one last time, kissed Nick good-bye, and ran out to her car.

Kaitlin was sitting in her car, staring at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in front of her. She was scared. Inside were her real parents. The ones that had created her. The ones that looked like her and had her birth certificate. She sighed as she turned off the ignition. She was never the girl who just jumped into the pool; she was always the girl who tested the water first, metaphorically speaking. Kaitlin sighed again, opened her door, and jumped in.

She ordered her iced tea and went to sit outside. Her parents hadn't been there yet, and deep down she had started to wonder if they would show up at all. Suddenly a rental car pulled up to the small coffee shop. Kaitlin instantly knew who it was, and she wasn't afraid.

Kaitlin's mom opened the car door and ran over to Kaitlin. She pulled Kaitlin into a hug and began to sob. So many years of lost hope and now she was standing in her arms again.

"Meine liebe. Meine kind. Meine tochter. Ich liebe sie." Her mother said slowly as she cradled Kaitlin in her arms.

Kaitlin knew immediately what her mother was saying to her. It felt so good to hear her mother say those things. When her mother pulled away, Kaitlin finally got to look at her. She had shoulder length blonde hair, just like Kaitlin's. She had gray eyes that weren't cold, but instead welcoming. She had the same full lips Kaitlin had, and she even had the same nose. It was the typical German prototype nose. Kaitlin laughed and wiped at her eyes as tears began to fall. She looked over at her father. He was a tall blonde man with Kaitlin's eyes. Those big, blue eyes that she had always had. She immediately knew how a new mother could love her baby so much after just meeting them for the first time.

Kaitlin gestured toward the table she had been sitting at. Her father went inside to order him and his wife their drinks, while Kaitlin and her mother sat outside with each other. They didn't even need to say a word; instead they sat next to each other while Kaitlin's mom held her hand softly. This was a part of herself Kaitlin had been missing her whole life. Maria, Kaitlin's mom, reached forward with her free hand, and wiped a tear away from Kaitlin's cheek. Kaitlin couldn't help but think how beautiful her mother was. When Lukas, Kaitlin's dad, came back out with two coffees, they all settled into a discussion about themselves. Kaitlin had been eager to learn about her family.

"Well, you have two brothers and sister." Maria told her daughter.

"Yes, Frederich is your older brother, he is 40. He is a pediatrician out in California." Lukas continued for his wife.

"Is he married? Does he have any children?" Kaitlin inquired. She was so anxious to learn about her family.

"Yes, he is married to a beautiful woman he met in college. Her name is Brigitte. She is of German heritage too. They have five wonderful children. There's Johanna who's 14, Ursula who's 10, Phillip who's 7, Tobias who's 4, and our families newest addition, Simone. She's 13 months I believe." Maria concluded.

Kaitlin was happy to hear her mother say that Simone was the newest addition. That meant that she included Kaitlin as part of the family even when she was missing.

"Your sister Lena is 33. She lives in New York City and works as an interior decorator. She's married to another German man named Maximillion. We call him Max, though. They have three children. There's Markus who's 9, then Julia who's 6, and finally, Claudia who's 3."

"What about Michael?" Kaitlin wondered.

"He's in college back in Kentucky. He does well and is working toward a degree in law." Maria informed Kaitlin.

"What about you guys? What do you do?" Kaitlin couldn't get enough information about her family.

"Well, I inherited a large amount of money from your grandfather in my early twenties. I owned a business back in Cologne. We sold it and decided to gain citizenship to America to be closer to you. It was a long process, but eventually people took pity upon us, and gave in." Lukas answered.

"Enough about us, what about you? I want to know all about you." Maria interrupted.

Kaitlin swallowed hard. This had been the part she had been dreading.

"Well, I have always lived out here. I went to high school out here, and I went to UNR. That's the University of Nevada, Reno. It's in the Northern half of Nevada. I majored in elementary education. My best friend Brandi and I stayed in a dorm together our first year, and we pledged to a sorority up there. After graduating, we both moved back here and Brandi's dad bought her this amazing house. We used to have another roommate, our friend Shannon, but she got engaged and moved out. The house is truly amazing. It has five bedrooms, two of which are masters, and it has the nicest backyard I have ever seen. It has this giant pool and built in fire pit. It's really nice." Kaitlin stopped as she saw her mom chuckle at the mention of the word pool.

"Sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but I just had this memory of you when you were little. There was this abandoned house a ways down from where we lived and it had an empty pool. After it would rain, you, Lena, and Frederich would walk down there to go swim in it. When Frederich was 13 he learned of acid rain and told Lena about it. Lena used to scare you, so one day you took one of my pots with you as protection. You wore it as your helmet. I still have pictures from that day." Her mother said the last sentence sadly.

"I hope those pictures stay private." Kaitlin laughed. Inside she really wanted to see those pictures, however.

"So you are a teacher?" Her father asked.

Kaitlin hesitated before answering. "Well, I was. I used to teach third grade, but recently I quit to pursue a different career. I actually work at the Playboy Club at the Palms casino. I'm a Bunny." Kaitlin finished. She waited for the looks of disdain, but none came. Instead her mother looked at her and smiled. Her father laughed.

"Those are very beautiful women. That's wonderful that you are doing something you love." Her father congratulated her.

"Well, the hours are okay, the money's good, but the shoes kill." She laughed. She was glad her parents hadn't judged her like so many other people had.

"So you say your friend Shannon is engaged?" Her mother asked.

"Yes. She's been engaged for about a year now. His name is Tim. She's very happy. He asked her in the corniest way, though." Kaitlin started.

"How did he ask?" Her mother wondered. Deep down, Maria was a romantic; she lived for stories like this.

"He took her out to dinner at this really nice steak place called Fleming's. It's really expensive, but really romantic. Anyways, toward the end of dinner, Tim slides Shannon a Taco Bell sauce packet across the table. She had no idea what it was about, so she picked it up and read it. The packet said, 'Will you marry me?' on it. She thought it was a joke, but he told her he was serious." Kaitlin ended.

"What is so bad about that?" Her mother asked.

"There's just something about Fleming's and Taco Bell that doesn't mix." She laughed. Her mother also laughed.

"So what about you? Is there anyone special in your life?" Her mother asked.

Kaitlin thought for a moment. She had been about to tell them about Nick, but stopped herself. It wasn't that they were hiding it anymore; she just wasn't sure what he was to her. They defiantly were more than friends, but she wasn't sure if she should call him her boyfriend. Then her thoughts turned to Matt.

"Well, I was in a relationship about three years ago with this guy Matt. He proposed, but I didn't accept. I wasn't ready." Kaitlin ended. She hoped her parents wouldn't ask her about her current situation.

"That's too bad. What about these days? Any new guy?" Her mother asked.

Kaitlin knew that her mother had sensed something. Kaitlin smiled as she realized that her mother, having been separated from her daughter for 25 years, could still tell what she was thinking. Amy could never read Kaitlin.

"Well, I recently started seeing this guy. It's still fairly new, but he's a good guy."

"What's his name?" Her father asked.

"His name's Nick." Kaitlin said. She was feeling nervous about talking about how she had met him.

"What does Nick do for a living?" Her mother inquired.

"He's a crime scene investigator." Kaitlin answered hesitantly.

"That's different." Her mother laughed.

"Yeah." Kaitlin agreed, taking another sip of her iced tea.

"Where is he from?" Her father asked.

"He's from Texas." Kaitlin answered.

Lukas laughed. "I half expected him to be from Germany, what with your brother and sister marrying Germans." He finished.

Kaitlin laughed. Nick defiantly was not German, at least to her knowledge.

Kaitlin had been entertaining the thought of Nick as a blonde, much to her amusement, when her mother asked the question she had feared.

"So, how did you meet?"

Kaitlin knew she had to tell the truth. She had been trying to avoid the topic of the kidnapping as much as possible, but it seemed the cloud that was sitting over their table had finally started to pour rain.

"He was investigating my kidnapping case." Kaitlin said quietly.

Everyone around the table sat in silence. Kaitlin watched as a bead of water rolled down the side of her plastic cup. She felt her hair move slightly in the desert breeze. She didn't know whether she should speak or stay quiet.

"We never gave up hope." Her father stated. Kaitlin looked up, tears in her eyes.

"When we lost you that day by the pool, we prayed everyday that the Lord would return you to us. We had every officer search for you, but they came up empty handed. Since they never found a body, we always knew you were alive. We were told that we should go on with our lives back in Germany. They said that the chances of finding you were very small. It took your mother and me ten years to finally have another child." Lukas stated sadly.

"Every Christmas, I would buy you a present. I would sit it under the tree and I knew that one day, you would be here to receive those gifts." Maria stated.

Kaitlin smiled sadly. They loved her. She knew they did. They had never lost hope. They even prayed for her return every night.

Her parents changed the subject, all eager to move on from such a sad topic. They told Kaitlin about how when she was a baby she used to throw up a lot.

"Have you seen that movie Exorcist?" Her mother asked.

Kaitlin nodded and got the picture of Linda Blair throwing up across the room. She couldn't help but laugh. Her father told her about how they used to have potato pancake Wednesdays because Kaitlin had loved them so much.

They had been talking for three hours, when they finally realized how long they had been. For all of them, it seemed that they could sit there all day. It was just nice to be in each other's presence.

"We are having a family reunion of sorts in Louisville next year. I want you to come." Her mother stated. It wasn't a request and that thought filled Kaitlin with happiness.

"I would love to go." Kaitlin simply stated.

They exchanged numbers and addresses and then left with a hug and a kiss. Kaitlin felt her heart ache slightly as she saw the people she had grown to love so much over the past few hours drive away.

On her way home, Kaitlin was silently crying. She turned the CD she was listening to up.

I'd swim across Lake Michigan

I'd sell my shoes

I'd give my body to be back again

In the rest of the room

To be alone

With you

To be alone

With you

To be alone with you

To be alone with you

You gave your body to the lonely

They took your clothes

You gave up a wife and a family

You gave your ghosts

To be alone

With me

To be alone

With me

To be alone with me, you went upon a tree

To be alone with me you went upon a tree

I've never known a man who loved me…

As the song ended, Kaitlin felt slightly better. She finally had a real family.

Kaitlin pulled up Nick's driveway. She knew that he would've headed home after she left, and now she was eager to tell him about her morning. She walked up and knocked on the door.

Nick had been drifting in and out of sleep when he heard the door. He knew instantly who it was. He smiled. Getting out of his bed, he walked to the front door.

Kaitlin jumped up and hugged him so tightly he thought she was trying to suffocate him. She was crying slightly, but he had a feeling that they were happy tears.

"So how did it go?" Nick asked after she had released him.

"It went so well, Nick. I look so much like my mom, but I have my dad's eyes. I have two brothers and a sister and lots of nieces and nephews ranging in age from 14 to 13 months. They don't hate what I do, and they are having a family reunion next year and they want me to go!" Kaitlin said in practically one breath. Nick laughed.

"That's great. I told you they would love you." Nick closed the front door, which had remained open in Kaitlin's excitement.

Nick walked into his kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He grabbed one for Kaitlin and walked her over to the couch. Sitting down, he handed her the water and drank heavily from his.

Kaitlin was suddenly nervous. She remembered telling her parents about Nick, and suddenly she wasn't so sure if she should have done that. Telling her parents about Nick implied that they were heading for a relationship and she wasn't so sure that was what Nick wanted. Nick picked up on the mood change.

"Hey, what's wrong? A second ago you were practically bouncing around the room and now you look down." Nick looked into her eyes hoping to get her to tell him what was troubling her.

"Nick, what are we?" Kaitlin blurted out. It wasn't how she had been hoping to ask him, but it worked.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked. He wasn't sure if she was asking what he thought she was asking him.

"I told my parents about you today. The only problem was I didn't know what to tell them. I'm not sure what this is. Are we in a relationship or are we just people who have sex? A lot. And then I didn't know whether I should tell them about you at all." Kaitlin finished hoping that Nick would take the lead and fill in her unanswered questions.

Nick thought for a second. "You told your parents about me?" He smiled.

Kaitlin looked up from her knees and noticed the smile he had stretched across his face. Her heart skipped a beat.

Damn that smile, she thought.

Nick continued. "Kaitlin, I really like you. I don't think I've felt this way about a girl in a long time." Since Kristy, Nick thought. He pushed that thought out of his mind.

"I want you to be around for a while longer. Would it be okay if I called you my girlfriend?" Nick asked. He felt that by asking her in that way, he had taken control of the situation.

"Of course you can. So, does this mean I can call you my boyfriend?" She teased.

Nick laughed and then threw a pillow from the couch at her.

Kaitlin laughed and threw it back at him. Without warning Nick picked her up off the couch and threw her over his shoulder. Kaitlin began to protest and then she noticed that he was taking her to his bedroom and instead she went quietly.

Thanks for reading, and I should probably tell you that the German words her mother spoke to her meant: My love, my child, my daughter, I love you.