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: For those that have mentioned something about my tormenting poor Nick... You do remember I said this was an Angst Monsterfic, right? And if you're reading this one, you've likely read my others and should be aware that Chapter 13 is only the beginning. :D Enjoy!

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 14

23:55 – 2006.12.07

CSI Lab: A/V Lab

"Aaaaaarrrgggghhh!"

Nick entered the A/V Lab with a sideways grin at hearing Sara's verbalized frustration. "That bad?"

She turned quickly and fixed him with a steely glare. "Hey, don't shoot the delivery boy." Nick handed her a cup of coffee as he took the seat beside her.

Sara sniffed over the top of the cup and made a disgusted face. "Eww… No coffee for me."

He reared back in amusement over her response and asked, "Since when?"

She shook her head and took a swig from her water bottle before answering. "Trying to cut down on the caffeine." There was the faint trace of a smirk playing on her face as she answered him, but Nick decided he had enough on his plate to worry about without whatever it was she had going on.

"Whatever… It's your funeral." He pulled up to the terminal and leaned in close. "So, have we gotten anywhere?"

"We have been scanning video all night, while you have been shooting the breeze with Steph." Her pursed smile let him know she was only kidding. "So, did she have anything new for us?"

"Just the final autopsy report." He handed her the copy he had been given and watched as she started leafing through it. "She did determine that the exposure noted on the body couldn't have been caused by the nights out in the desert. Her theory's that the level of exposure is consistent with the high altitude exposure found with rogue skydivers from time to time."

"Skydivers? Well, that would explain the material we found on the ridge." Nick gave her a questioning glare and she explained, "Hodges was just in here… That material is most commonly used in drop suits." She got a devilish look on her face, and then added, "And Hodges is allergic to strawberries, so you lost the pool."

"Damn! I was countin' on that one, too." Nick shook his head in disgust, but he quickly moved back into the case. "So, I guess we have PD track down leads at some area Skydiving schools?"

Sara shrugged and turned back to her video, "I've already got Vega calling around in the morning."

Nick was frustrated at his lack of participation in the case and had to ask, "Is there anything I can do here, besides piss people off?"

She cast a sideways look at him and smiled when she replied, "Well, you're not bad to look at."

"Thanks, Sara… That's a real big help." He slumped back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest in resignation.

"Okay…" Sara pushed back from the console and regarded him with an angry expression. "What the hell happened in the morgue to have you looking so morose now?"

"Nuthin… Not really."

"Right."

He shook his head and said, "It's nothing really… Just that Steph said some things I wasn't real happy about, but I can't really say she was wrong either." He looked up into her eyes and realized he was not getting out of there without spilling his guts. "She just seems to agree with the rest of the world that I'm a jackass."

"'Cause you're just such an unlikeable guy." She made a noise that signaled her sarcasm and then added, "Please, Nick… No one has ever thought you were a jackass."

"The professor?"

"Yeah, well, she doesn't count… She has her own issues, and she strikes me as one of those people that never takes the time to look past her first impressions anyway. You either meet her on her ground right out of the gate, or she doesn't waste the time." Nick looked at Sara in complete shock and she noticed his expression. "What?"

Shaking his head to clear the fog, he answered, "I just thought you liked her."

"I didn't say I didn't… I happen to think she's one of the smartest people I've ever met, but that doesn't mean she's perfect by any stretch." Sara shrugged off his disbelief as though it was nothing.

"So, what I did out there, you don't have a problem with it?"

"Are you kidding? The Neanderthal approach is never my first choice." He looked a little defeated at her response and she continued, "I know why you did it, but that doesn't mean I agree with it, especially since we have to work with her. You've put us all in a bind, because you decided she threatened your manhood."

"Wait a minute… I did not think she was threatenin' anything, except her own safety."

"And you were qualified to make that decision, how? By virtue of your gender?"

"Ouch…" Nick tried to take the slam in stride, but it cut him deep. "Does everyone around here think I'm a sexist?"

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" Sara was trying to figure out where he was going with the conversation and that was when it dawned on her. "Stephanie called you on it, too… Didn't she?"

"Yeah… And somethin' else about my dating preferences." His shoulders were drooping down with his mood.

"You mean your Barbie Doll fetish?"

His eyes shot up and he jumped to his feat with his anger. "What? Are you two runnin' some kind of tag team on me? What is this, slam Nick week?"

"Whoa… Where the hell did that come from?" Sara was surprised at his display of anger.

He slammed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, trying to get a grip on his anger before he spoke again. "Sorry… It's just… She used the exact same term when we were talkin'."

"I wouldn't be surprised… I bet we took the same gender studies classes with Dr. Hainline at Berkeley." Nick's embarrassment flooded his face as she explained the commonality between the two women.

"Man… I never even thought about that. I'm sorry, Sara."

"Don't sweat it… I think everyone forgets that I had a life before CSI." She chuckled at the notion, and Nick tried to join her, but he was still reeling from the fact that his friends saw these things in him.

"Look, no one thinks you're a bad guy, Nick. I think most people just chalk it up as a cultural thing, and in some ways it is, I guess." She laid a hand over his shoulder and tried to offer him some comfort. "But in the end, you don't think any less of me just because I'm a woman. I just sometimes think you have three classifications for women: the ones you date, the ones you admire and the ones you pity."

"Wow… That makes me sound like such a…"

"Guy?" Sara cast a sideways grin at him and he had to chuckle at her analysis. The laughter kept him from letting it sink in too deeply. There would be time for that later.

"Now, help me chart the progress and document the times so we can try to narrow the timeline down a little more. Archie's already cut together a single video showing the body itself." She nudged him a little with her shoulder and he smiled cautiously before nodding his head.