DISCLAIMER:Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it.

RATING: T – Teen (language and adult issues)

PAIRINGS: GSR & Yo!Bling pre-established in previous fics of this timeline.

SPOILERS: Sequel to "Displacement" and "Transitions"

SUMMARY: Everything is changing around Nick Stokes. Can he deal with it, and how it will affect him in the end?

A/N: Well, I survived, so the fic will continue ;) And I have created another Original Character, but this is the one that everyone will love to hate. :D

REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not, I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks for taking the time to read.

Chapter 4

11:00 – 2006.12.04

UNLV Earth Sciences Building: Laboratories

Nick stormed through the corridors of the UNLV Earth Sciences Building like a man on a mission. He had a cellphone up to his ear as he walked and proceeded to carry on an exceptionally animated conversation with the person on the other end of the line.

"Look I don't give a crap about university politics, the color of the sun or how much quartz surrounds the average gold mine, and at this point I don't care if I ever find this gnarled up old professor, but if one more person sends me on a wild goose chase today, I'm gonna lose it, Sara!" He threw his arm in the air as he spoke, even though Sara would not be able to see the gesture. "No, I understand that we can't get anywhere on this case without this clown, but I am past the point of carin'… I'm tired, I'm frustrated and dangit I just want a straight answer outta someone 'round here!"

He stopped in his tracks and hung his head as he waited for his partner to finish talking. "Yeah, I know, and I should have let you come over here, but I figured it wouldn't take me but a few minutes… Okay, but you don't gotta gloat… You're already home, aren't you?" Nick shook his head and swore silently in the empty hallway. "Awright, I'll try one more time to find this guy and then I'm calling it a day… Yeah, best smile and all… Thanks… Did you have any luck with that stuff?... Great!... Looks like we're battin' a thousand on this POS case… Yeah, will do… See ya tonight."

Closing up his phone, Nick looked up to the ceiling with his eyes closed, took in a deep breath of air and let it out slowly as he tried to calm himself before going to the tenth place he had been sent that morning. However, despite his efforts, he was still frustrated from his experience on the college campus. Some of that frustration was showing in his body language as he pushed through the doors to the lab he had been directed to by the last person he found.

He looked around the room, hoping to catch sight of someone who could point him in the right direction for the professor in charge of the research site. But, the only person he found was a young woman in the back corner of the room. As he rounded a series of counters, he could see her more clearly, and that was when he noticed she was sitting on one of those electric scooters for the handicapped. Clearing his throat as he approached the woman, he continued to walk towards her and when she looked up from her work he spoke. "Hey… I'm Nick Stokes-…"

"I'm right in the middle of something…" She interrupted him and then returned her attention to the laptop at her side. "All the classes are full for next semester, and we don't have a 'rocks for jocks' class in the curriculum. Try the Life Sciences Building."

Nick could not help but feel like he was being dismissed without a second glance. And he was also a little ticked that she had pegged him as a jock. "I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm with the-…"

"Not really interested… I've got things to do, so if you don't min-…"

"I do mind… Quite a bit, actually. So, if you can spare me about thirty seconds of your supposedly precious time, I need to find the head of the geology department and someone downstairs said I could find him up here." Nick had finally reached his breaking point and decided to unleash his ire on this incredibly rude woman.

She looked up from her work once more, took her glasses off and let them hang from the beaded cord draped around her neck. She fixed him with an icy gaze and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"A Dr. R.J.," Nick gave a pained and stilted pronunciation of the last name in his notes, "Dis-my-sox?"

The woman shook her head in disgust and Nick thought he saw a white line that trailed along her jaw, but her loosely hung, raven hair obscured most of his view. "How many times have you said that name like that?"

Her question shook him out of his anger for a moment, and he wondered why she would have chosen that as the question to ask him. "I don't know… Feels like I've been shuffled around by about fifty differnt people this mornin' tryin' to find this guy."

"Next time, try learning how to say someone's name before you go about butchering the shit out of it." Her candor had him reeling a little. Even after working with Catherine for years, he was still thrown whenever he heard a woman use obscenities. When she put her glasses back on and began to type something into the laptop, he thought for sure he heard her mumble, "What a jackass."

"Look, however you say the name, I need to talk to this guy, even if I have to get a subpoena to make the guy come out from whatever rock he's crawled under." When she looked back at him from over the top of her glasses, he actually felt a little chill running down his spine. Her glare was practically spitting nails at him, but he was not about to back down. "I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and I have official business to conduct with the professor."

"Day-may-zo."

He had no idea what she was saying, so he had to ask, "What?"

"You're supposed to pronounce it 'Day-may-zo.'" She sat back in her seat and crossed her left arm over her middle to catch the right one, which was lying on her lap. "What did you need?"

"I have to talk to the doctor about something that happened out on his research site recently." When the woman began to give him another look of disgust and shook her head, he fought to understand what he was saying she seemed to find so offensive.

Before Nick could challenge her physical response to his question, there was a voice calling out from behind him. "Hey, Doc!"

Nick did a double take between the young man speaking behind him and the woman seated before him. "I got the rest of that footage from the canyon cam downloaded to disk for that detective guy. I also got a hold of the ranger station, and Byron said he'd be sure to do a daily quick check of the cabin until we can go back out there."

Horrifying realization spread over Nick's panicked face, as he finally understood why the woman was being so hostile towards him; she was the doctor.

"Oh yeah! Before I forget, Sandi FINALLY got that bastard at NOAA to give up those satellite images of the Mohave. She said she'd have 'em for you when she gets done with your one o'clock lecture period." The young man nearly walked right into Nick and then looked up to find him standing there. "Dude! Sorry, I didn't see you there, man."

Nick just nodded and the man walked around him to hand the professor a disk case and some folders before moving through the other doors and into another room.

Nick slammed his eyes shut and tried to push out the anger, as his embarrassment welled up to the surface. He struggled to come up with something clever to say, but it just was not there, so he went with a little old fashioned groveling. "Look, I am really sorry… It's late and I've been shuffled all over the place for the last hou-…"

"I'm not interested in your excuses, Mr. Stokes." She once again returned her attention to the computer screen. "I have work to do, so if you don't mind?"

Nick's embarrassment was quickly replaced with anger at the woman's dismissal of him and his questions. "Look, Miss… I'm investigating a homicide here, and I think that you can spare a few minutes over a man's life." She looked up from her computer again, but Nick did not give her the chance to rebuke him once more. "I have some soil samples from the victim that need to be identified and I was told you and your people are the only ones who can do that… I also have some problems with the time of death and was informed your research might help us get that information as well. So, if I can get you to take a look at these, the people of Las Vegas would appreciate your time."

"I'm curious…" He watched as she set her jaw and he could once again make out that faint line over her face. "You come in here, butcher the shit out of my name, assume that because I run the project I must be a man, rudely interrupt a delicate experiment, and then take up my valuable time, with which I am trying to save millions of lives, and then you have the fucking nerve to be indignant with ME? You son of a bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are?"

The young man who had exited the room suddenly poked his head back in and asked, "Ah, is everything okay in here?"

Nick instantly felt like an amazing ass, but before he could do anything the doctor threw the disk case across the table with her left hand and spoke again. "No, it's not… Would you like to escort this asshole out of my lab? NOW!"

The man quickly moved to show Nick out the door and looked a little bit like a scared rabbit for a second.

Once they were out in the corridor and out of the line of sight for the doctor he spoke, "Hey, dude… Don't sweat it. You just caught her on a bad day, man." He handed Nick the disk case he had grabbed off the table top and then explained, "Here's the video your detectives asked for, and if you need us to look over anything, just leave it with me, Dude."

The man seemed to be genuinely concerned with what had happened in there and Nick felt comfortable asking him what he did not understand. "So, is that typical behavior, or do I just bring it out in her?"

The younger man laughed out loud with his question and then answered, "Nah, dude… There's a reason Doc works with rocks… It's 'cause they don't care how much she yells and cusses at 'em. And the rest of us are just used to it." He gestured at the folder Nick had tucked under his arm. "Wha'cha got there, man?"

"Oh!" he pulled the folder out and said, "We found a bunch of soil samples on the victim and we were hopin' you guys could help us out on identifying 'em."

He took the folder and then held out his hand to shake Nick's, "I'm Boone, by the way. I run the field unit for the Doc and I'm the resident climatologist for the team."

"Nick Stokes, Crime Lab." Nick returned the gesture and they shook hands. "Hey, we're havin' trouble determining the time of death and our coroner thinks you guys can help out with that, too."

The man screwed up his mouth to one side and said, "Well, that would be Doc's area, since I don't even think Sandi could pull that one off. But let me see what I can do." He flipped through the pages as though he was searching for something. "You got a card in here so we can reach you after she cools down?"

Nick started patting himself down to look for one of his cards when he finally remembered that he had a few in his wallet. He pulled out the wallet and thanked the young man, "Hey, thanks, man… I appreciate it, really."

From the lab they could hear the woman hollering about something and Nick shook the guy's hand once more. "Good luck with that… And sorry for kickin' up the tempest for ya."

Boone only shook his head and turned back to the lab saying, "If it wasn't you, it would've been somebody else… At least this was a new variable."