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: FLUFF ALERT! Here is the first installment of fluff for your reading pleasure. There will be more to follow. :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 18

16:00 – 2006.12.08

Willows/Brown Home

Catherine walked in through the garage door and was instantly knocked over with the aromas of a home cooked meal being prepared in her kitchen. She smiled when she remembered this was just one of the benefits of her new life. Before her mind could drift to those other benefits, she called out to alert the house's other inhabitants of her return.

"I'm Home!" She dropped her purse and the DVD's onto the counter as she yelled.

"You don't have to yell." Lindsey was suddenly standing right beside her and moving toward the stove.

Catherine was clutching her heart with her fright, "Jesus, Lindsey… Don't sneak up on me like that."

The teenager laughed at her mother's reaction and then turned to pick up a spoon and stir the concoction on the stove. "Sorry, Mom… But it was kinda funny."

"Yeah, a real laugh riot… You only took two years off my life." Catherine swatted at her daughter, who seemed to be in a rare good mood. She was going to have to investigate that one further, but first… "Where's Warrick?"

Lindsey gestured over her shoulder with her chin towards the bedroom. "He wanted to jump in the shower before dinner." She glanced down at her watch and then said, "Probably done by now… Mr. 'It doesn't take more than twenty minutes to take a shower, ever.'"

Catherine chuckled at her daughter's jibe as she walked down the hall toward their bedroom. She was eternally grateful that her daughter had been so accepting and accommodating of Warrick's addition to their little family. The only one who balked at the relationship had been her father, but she understood that he would always be uncertain of her choices in men, given her track record. However, once he saw how happy she was, and how Warrick looked after "his girls" Sam finally came around.

When she entered the bedroom, he was standing in the doorway to their bathroom toweling off his head. Bare feet and wearing only a pair of workout pants, she stopped for a moment to admire the view as she leaned against the wall next to the door. For many years, that was the only view of paradise she had the privilege of seeing, and seeing it now reminded her of all that wasted time. As she studied the well sculpted lines of the muscles across his back, she involuntarily sighed at the vision, causing him to turn and notice her welcome presence.

"Hey, that was fast." He smiled at her and the warmth of that small gesture touched her all the way to her core. Tossing the towel into the hamper he walked to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her, before kissing her sweetly on the cheek. "No traffic?"

She returned the embrace, pulling him even closer so that she could feel the heat of his bare skin as it pressed into her. "Nah… I just used the lights and sirens." He looked down at her with a disbelieving glare and she cracked a smile. "No… There wasn't any traffic, but I took the side streets, too."

He smiled at her admission and said, "Three times the mileage, half the time to get there. Ain't that a shame?" He was shaking his head as he finished, then he turned her away from the closet, kissed her again (that time on the lips), winked and reached into the closet for a shirt.

She could have watched him dress, but decided the bed needed to be straightened up instead. As she was pulling the comforter back up to the head of the bed, she wondered how they had so quickly moved into such a comfortable and domestic relationship. She was leaning over into the middle of the king size bed, struggling to put the pillows into the right position, when she felt his hands close around her hips.

"Need a little help?"

When she turned around to see his expression, she had to laugh. "You keep that up, and it'll ruin all this work I just did." She stood back up and turned in his grasp so that she was facing him.

Before they could get any farther, there was someone else standing in the doorway, "Hey guys… Oh god… Can't you at least wait until I leave?"

The looked at each other a moment longer and both of them mouthed, Teenagers.

"What did you need, Linds?" Catherine was the first to turn away and glare at her daughter.

"Just wanted to let you know Tiffany and her Mom are on their way, so I'm gonna bail on dinner, if that's okay with you guys." Catherine could see that Lindsey already had her backpack thrown over her shoulder.

She immediately turned to Warrick to find out what had changed about their quiet night. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender and said, "Sorry, I forgot… When they dropped her off this afternoon Tiff's mom asked if Linds could spend the weekend with them out at the lake."

"And I did my homework, except for some reading, but I'm taking that with me. Besides, Tiff and I are in the same English class and we were gonna go through it together, because we have a test on Monday." Lindsey was practically begging by that point. "Plus, Warrick already told me that I can't get into trouble, no boys without Mrs. Taylor around, and he has a friend with the park rangers, so he'll check in on me if he even THINKS I'm doing something wrong. Mom… He even called the guy this afternoon to tell him to watch out for me… Can you believe that?" Lindsey was talking with the speed of light and Catherine was struggling to keep up, when they all heard the honking of a car horn.

Warrick used her confusion to leave her side and walk over to Lindsey as he grabbed his wallet off the nightstand. When he reached in to grab a couple of bills, Lindsey immediately tried to snag them from him, but he held it up and out of her reach. "Remember, this is just a loan against your allowance… So, don't go gettin' any bright ideas, Missy."

He started to bring his hand down, but when she reached for it he quickly raised it again, eliciting a standard teenage eye-roll for his efforts. "Okay, okay… Slave labor for a week, I get it." She grabbed for the cash as soon as he brought it down within her reach and then she lurched at her mother to plant a quick kiss on her mother's cheek. "Thanks Mom! Thanks 'Rick!" She was halfway to the front door when she hollered back, "See ya Sunday night!"

Catherine was still in a state of shock at the scene she had just witnessed, as Warrick leaned over to get an eye to eye look at her face. "Hey… You okay with this?"

Her mouth was hanging slightly agape when she finally came back to her senses. Shaking her head to clear away the last of the fog, she huffed and said, "I have no idea what just happened." She looked up and saw apprehension on Warrick's face and she had to admit that it only endeared him to her even more. "Did you just do what I think you did?"

"I went too far, huh?" He ran his hand over the side of his head and groaned. "I'm sorry, Cath, but the woman was there and I guess she thought I coul-"

Catherine reached up and put a finger over his lips to stop him from continuing. "Shhh…" She pressed her palms into his stomach and looked up into his eyes saying, "You did fine… Really." Leaning her forehead into his chest she sighed and then said, "I'm just not used to having this, I guess."

Warrick wrapped his heavy arms around her shoulders, pulling her in tightly and kissed the top of her head. "Having what?"

She smiled, turned her head to rest her cheek against his chest and sighed, "A partner?" They both chuckled at the statement within a question. "I've been doing this by myself for so long, Warrick… Even when Eddie and I were still together it was just me. So this…" She moved her hands over his chest, down his sides and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him to her, "is all new to me."

Slowly bringing his right hand across her back to her shoulder and then sliding it up her neck to her chin he pulled her gaze up to his. "Well, then I guess we both better get used to it, because I'm not goin' anywhere."

They would have stayed locked in the kiss that followed for some time, had the phone not started ringing. Catherine wound her arms up around his neck and said, "Let the machine get it." And he smiled at her insinuation until they both heard Lindsey's voice calling out from the answering machine.

"DON'T FORGET THE STOVE, YOU SEX MANIACS!"

Warrick squinted his eyes shut and grimaced as he turned away and went for the kitchen muttering, "Definitely your daughter." Catherine was too busy falling back onto the bed in a fit of laughter as he trudged into the kitchen to say anything.