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 were looking for the Doc... She's back. :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 24

08:00 – 2006.12.11

Lost Gringo Mtn. State Rec. Area: Cormier Trail Parking Lot

Nick stopped at the ranger station to make sure he knew which trailhead he was looking for, and he found them to be very helpful. After hearing glowing reports about the Doc from the rangers there, he was starting to think there was just something about him that she found repulsive, because it seemed like everyone else loved the crotchety geologist.

He finally made his way to the Cormier Trail parking lot and immediately started looking around for the rest of her crew. The only thing he found in the lot was that tricked out, dark blue pickup with a flatbed trailer hooked up to the back by the trailhead, and a couple of compacts with bike racks on the other side of the lot. He parked his truck over by the flatbed trailer and got out to look around for the driver.

He figured that the Doc had probably passed off the chore of showing him the area she speculated on to someone else in her team, so he figured he might as well do his best to get along with them. Walking up to the trailer he got a closer look at the odd looking golf cart that was strapped to it. It almost looked like it was a cross between an ATV and a golf cart. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a logo on the side of it, marking it as the property of the U.S. Geological Survey.

As he moved closer to the truck itself, he tried to figure out what modifications had been made to the slick looking vehicle. It had a very pricey looking topper on the back, but he was unable to place the maker. Being a truck man, he thought he knew all of the good topper makers, but in the end he figured it must have been a custom fiberglass job, which meant it was also very costly.

Just when he was moving to get a closer look at the truck, he nearly came out of his skin when the voice behind him said, "I see you found the place, eventually."

"Do you enjoy sneakin' up on people?" Nick was clutching at his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Dr. Desmaiseaux regarded him with a sideways smirk and said, "Sorry about that… I always figure I make enough noise when I walk to alert anyone."

Nick had to chuckle at her candor and tried to bring the conversation back to the task at hand. "Yeah, well I guess I'm just not that observant… So, I got your message this morning."

Her face took on a pensive expression as she continued towards the flatbed again, "This morning? You didn't get it Friday night?"

Nick was confused, but he decided it was worth pursuing. "Well, I don't work Friday night, unless there's a big rollout and they call me in. I just got a message this morning that I was supposed to be meeting you here at eight."

"Huh…" She limped up to the tailgate of the flatbed and leaned against it a moment. "Well, I left a message Friday night before I left for the cabin letting you know I had a pretty good idea of where your primary was, but that I'd have someone leave you a message Sunday night as to where and when to meet up for a look."

Nick looked down at his feet and shook his head as he fought back his own embarrassment at having jumped to the wrong conclusion, again.

"And I had to run into town for gas early this morning, and there was a message on my cell telling me they must've written the number down wrong, so I called you myself while I had signal… I take it you didn't get the other message, then?"

Nick sucked the air through his teeth and smirked, "No, I didn't get that one, just the one at five this mornin' tellin' me to meet you here at eight."

"Wow… So, you figured the bitch was at it again?" Nick almost choked on the air with her question. "Right, well, we better get moving if we want to get there and back before you pass out from exhaustion." She pushed back off from the tailgate and started moving to the front of the flatbed. "You better hit the john before we leave… It's a protected wildlife area and…" She looked over at Nick's truck before continuing, "since I was planning on three people, I left the pack-out unit off the cart."

"Just me… Sara's on another case now."

Nick took her advice and hit the port-a-john real quick so he could get back out there and help the Doc get that cart off the flatbed. He seemed to have caught her on a good day and he planned to try and make up for any perceived transgressions he may have made toward her.

When he got out he saw that the truck topper was open, but unlike most toppers, it had flipped open from the driver's side of the truck. As he got closer, he caught a glimpse of the Doc's scooter in the back, hooked up to what looked like a crane. As she moved away from the truck he watched as the topper slowly lowered back into place, and that was when he realized it must have been set up using a remote controlled hydraulics system. He assumed the crane looking thing ran in much the same manner. Nick understood, once again, how important being independent must be to the woman, for her to go so far to enable her even a modicum of physical freedom.

As he reached his own truck he opened up the passenger door to retrieve his equipment and then walked up to the flatbed, setting his kit down on the ground beside it. He reached for the tailgate release and slowly dropped it to the ground, gaining the attention of the Doc. As he tugged on the straps holding it down, he asked, "So, will it roll off, or do I need to drive it down?"

She gave him a confused expression and asked, "What are you doing?"

He paid no attention to her tone and continued removing the straps when he responded, "Trying to get this monstrosity down from the trailer… Just what is-"

"I can handle it just fine by myself, thank you." That time her tone was unmistakable.

Nick cringed, hoping to hold back the slight anger that had risen in him. "Right, but since I'm here, why would you have to?"

"Because I don't need you to do anything for me?"

"And again, I'm just trying to help out, since I'm here…"

She gave him a concentrated glare when she asked, "And if I was an able bodied male, would you be doing the same thing?"

Nick drew his chin down with lips still pressed together and shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much. It's just in my nature to lend a hand. I'm sure not gonna stand back and let somebody else do all the work when I can help out."

He watched as she seemed to relax at his simple explanation. "Okay… Extend the ramps and you can drive it down… Keys're in it." Nick smiled to himself at the quick change in her demeanor. He guessed that Sara must have had a point all along; sometimes it was just easier to be honest about that stuff, instead of relying on his dependence to some obscure sense of tradition.

Once the cart was on the ground, he and the Doc loaded the rest of their equipment onto the bed and proceeded to strap it down to keep it from bouncing out of the thing. It was an odd looking beast, with the two seats up front and the flat truck-like bed in the back, it looked like something that belonged in the circus. However, it had knobby tires and was obviously a four-wheel-drive vehicle that resembled a scaled down, almost childlike version of the off-road vehicles Nick was familiar with from his youth in Texas.

Tightening down the final strap, Nick glimpsed the USGS logo again and felt compelled to ask her about it. "So, how'd you get a hold of a USGS cart?"

She held a mysterious half smile when she answered wistfully, "They ah, owe me a few favors… So, they ah, loan me equipment when I need it."

Nick decided to let the mystery drop and then watched as she climbed into the driver's seat and stuck her crutch behind the seat before firing up the cart. He gave the area one quick look to make sure they had not forgotten anything, and then he clicked the button on his key ring to lock his truck up.

As he climbed into the cart, the Doc started reaching into her left pants pocket and said, "Thanks for the reminder." She pointed her own keyless device at her truck and the lights flashed to show it had locked. "That would have sucked."

Nick chuckled at her candor as she cranked the cart up and started down the trail. It was a narrow trail and he was fairly certain the cart was the largest thing to be able to get through there. That was when she started her next bit of tour rhetoric. "Government vehicles are the only motorized transport allowed in this area. It's reserved primarily for hikers and extreme mountain bikers. The bike trails run alongside the walking trails and only occasionally intersect."

"I bet this is a tough course on a bike, judging by the steep sides."

"Oh yeah… I'm told it's the best training course in the country, because of its diverse terrain and sharp grades." Nick sensed a bit of sadness in her voice as she described the trail.

"So, I was going through the video, your reports and did a quick study of the weather data from that time frame and I think I've got a pretty good idea of where your body got started, but I wanted to try tracking the path I think it traveled to be sure." She was paying close attention to the road and Nick listened intently as she continued to explain her analysis of the data. He was amazed at the way she had come up with her conclusions, and he had to admit, he was a little surprised to find that she spent that much time working on it. He had been convinced she was blowing him off completely, but he guessed there were a lot of other factors coloring his opinion of the woman.