DISCLAIMER:Don't own anything associated with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time. Dance Monkeys! Dance!
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: This may seem weird... Loading a bunch of chapters at once... But I have a fantastic weekend ahead of me, and I just wanted to get this out there before I left. So, when I come up for air some time on Monday, I'll be happy to see your responses to the ending of this story. Thanks for the patience and support as I wrote this little monster.
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 47
15:00 – 2006.12.30
On the Rocks Boutique
Nick was beginning to think that all of his luck had turned to garbage lately. He overslept, and only woke up because the tuxedo place called to find out when he was coming to pick up his suit for the wedding. He had no idea what they did to get Sara and Grissom to agree to a formal wedding, but he was fairly certain it must have involved threats to life and limb. After confirming that the shop would be open until after six, and because it was his on the way there, Nick decided that he still had time to stop by the store Dr. Desmaiseaux recommended.
As he pulled into the tiny parking area, Nick was instantly worried about the place. It looked more like a warehouse than a store, and it was obvious that the place was probably huge inside. There was no way he was going to have the time he needed to sort through the place to find the right gift. The thought of a gift certificate was looking more and more like a reality. However, Nick decided he should at least check the place out since the Doc seemed fairly convinced he could find something appropriate.
He was still trying to work out how she knew about Grissom and Sara, but he figured it probably had something to do with Grissom. After all, geology and entomology had a little crossover in their fields, so she probably knew Grissom professionally. Of course, that meant the thing between him and Sara was not only famous in the Las Vegas law enforcement community, but the academic one as well. He could only imagine how much that would bother the insanely private couple, and it made him smirk a little at the thought.
The smirk was short lived, however, as Nick stepped into the building. There was a tiny reception area, ornately decorated with antiques and artifact cases. In the center of it all was a standard reception counter with a computer monitor on top and what appeared to be an antique receptionist. She looked up at him over the tops of her half glasses and smiled. "You looked lost, honey… Can help you get going in the right direction?"
It took Nick a moment to gather the capacity of speech. "Ah, oh… No, I was actually told this was a bouti-"
The elderly woman jumped down from her stool and came around to the front of counter with a big smile on her weathered face "You must be that young man Roxanne told me about!" She took off her glasses and gave him the full once over. "And I'll have to give her the what for… She didn't say what a looker you were!"
Nick immediately looked at his feet, hoping the blush in his cheeks faded quickly. "I, ah, um I was-"
"Oh, don't worry about me, sweetie. I scare everybody." Nick was struggling to get a hold of himself as the woman took his hand. "Now, you just come back here with me and we'll see if this won't work for your wedding couple."
As they walked through the door beside her desk, Nick was shocked to find an expansive warehouse stocked to the rafters with items that he would probably never recognize. All the while the little old lady kept rambling on, so he politely listened, even if he had no idea what she was talking about. "Poor Nathan, he was always trying to keep up with that one, but wouldn't you know it she was still at least five steps ahead of him. Good thing Susan was such an easy going spirit otherwise those two would have talked themselves to death! Of course, Andy was such dear heart, god rest his soul, but I always thought he might end up getting lost around her. I mean, it's not like she couldn't run a Timex into the ground on her worst day, but the way he just traipsed around with her whenever she'd get a bee in her bonnet about this or that, I thought the poor boy was gonna wear himself out. What with him growing up with such a laid back family and all, but that's just how those bayou people are, I guess. Of course, you'd never know her parents were a bunch of tree huggers talking to that one!"
The woman spoke with breakneck speed and Nick's head was spinning as he tried to understand even half of what she was saying, so he just nodded his head and hoped she knew what she was doing. They passed by a bunch of racks bearing large items, and Nick could swear most of them were just boulders and huge rocks. But still the woman kept talking.
"Of course, she's been such a pill since the accident, but I think she's actually gotten worse in the last couple years. Poor child being all alone now. So sad, watching her at the memorial for her mother last Spring. Almost like she'd lost her light or something. That's why I was so happy to see her this morning. I mean really, she looked almost like her old self again. Well, at least like she did before Nathan left us, god rest his soul. Ya know what I think, I think it's those so and so's out in Washington beating her down. Always calling her away from her research to testify at this and that, like she's at their beckon call or something. Bunch of money grubbing imbeciles if you ask me, but that's not why you're here, is it. OH! Roxanne was very specific about this piece, she thought it would be just the thing. Of course, she is so particular about everything really. She even had some special clay brought in from Peru one time just to truck it down to her mother herself, so Susan could make this traditional something or other for a friend of hers. So picky, that one. Oh! Here we are."
It took Nick a moment to realize the woman had stopped talking and that they had stopped moving. "I'm sorry, I was looking around. You certainly have a lot of stuff in here." Nick took the time to glance all around, and suddenly realized that the racks had become shelves and the enormous rocks were gone, but there were several carefully wrapped items across the shelves.
"No problem, honey…" She took out an inventory manifest and then started looking through items on a specific shelf. "Now, I know it was one of these, but she was very specific about the inclusions, so I'm just trying to find the exact one she picked out, and… A-HA!"
Nick was a little surprised by her outburst, but he quickly recovered enough to see the woman reaching for something over her head and he moved to assist her. "Here, let me give you a hand… Which one?"
She pointed to the top shelf and said, "Slot eleven thirty-eight." Nick checked the tag and reached for the bubble-wrapped item.
Once he had it in his hand he realized just how heavy it was. After she was sure he had it safely in his grasp, she pointed to a table a few feet away. Nick carefully moved toward it and then gingerly placed the item on the table. "Go ahead and take a look, sweetie."
He started to unwrap the item. The first thing he found was what appeared to be an acrylic stand of some kind, so he placed it on the side and kept unwrapping. When his hand first made contact with the item he found that it was smooth and cool, and felt like a hunk of glass. He looked up at the woman for some kind of clue, so she started to read from the manifest and Nick took the last of the wrap off of the item.
At first glance, he thought it was some kind of dirty, yellow glass, but her words told him what he had failed to notice. "Insects in Fossil Amber: Insecta; Hymenoptra, Diptera. Arachnida; Araneae, Salticidae. Age: Pliocene to Pleistocene. Size: Amber seventy-seven millimeters long , fourty-three millimeters across, fourteen point six grams. Location: Andean Uplift Region, Andes Mountains, Colombia…" She paused in her description and Nick was captivated by the ancient amber he held in his hands.
He looked at the piece intently, studying the two perfectly preserved spiders. He could have sworn that the two were actually reaching out for one another as they struggled in the ancient tree sap that captured them for all time. There were also a couple of other insects trapped in the hefty piece, but his limited knowledge would not have identified them.
As he held up the piece into the light, his chatty guide continued her schpeel. "Oh, I do love working with this group! They even give us a little description of the thing…" She started to read from the page again, "This plaque displays a fine pair of Jumping Spiders, five millimeters and three millimeters in length. They are members of the Family Salticidae, a name derived from saltere (to jump). They sneak up on their prey, then pounce, earning them the name Jumping Spiders. They are accompanied by a tiny wasp and a dark-winged fungus gnat. Spiders are always highly prized by collectors, and a fine pair such as these would make a great addition to any amber collection." She looked over at Nick and removed her glasses again when she said, "And judging from the look on your face, I'm gonna say this is exactly what you're looking for, huh?"
Nick chuckled at the woman's conclusion, and answered with, "The only way this could be any better… Is if you had one with spiders AND butterflies!"
However, he was shocked when she shot back with, "Honey, you put in the order, and the first one those boys down in Columbia turn up is yours!"
Nick blushed at her enthusiasm, but then he shrugged and said, "Might as well start that resolution on my procrastinatin' now… Besides, they'll have a lot of anniversaries to buy for."