Disclaimer: Alright, I think everyone is pretty much secure in the fact that I do NOT own the CSI characters...if you haven't realized that fact yet...maybe you should take a minute to let that valuable piece of information sink in...(thinks about the request) and my Mama says I'm a cynical person... (scoffs and rolls eyes while laughing). I also don't own the song in here...Puddle of Mudd does.

Rating: I'm also certain that y'all get the hint that just about every chapter will be 'M'...cause, everyone say it in unison, 'I have a potty mouth and the undying taste for sexual tension/release of the perpetual puppets in my story.' (jumps up) Oh now! Stand back! I've got a thesaurus...and I'm not afraid to use it...

A/N: Well, let's just say that the temporary lull between my chapters made me yearn for some good ole' cannon character angst! (does happy dance). No matter how fluffy some chapters may be I'll always be an angst-er at heart. Well...there isn't much more to say...alright, so I feel it's important to know a little bit about the author...so, fun fact about me, when I was about three months, my Mam-mawl (aka my grandma) dropped me down the stairs...then when I was four months, she did it again... (nods) explains A LOT doesn't it...

Chapter 11: "Fighting is essentially a masculine idea; a woman's weapon is her tongue."

-Hermione Gingold

Sunday December 18, 2004

Willows Residence

2:13 p.m.

Catherine sighed and threw back her glass of Bourbon, making a face at the bitter burn of the liquid as it sloshed down her throat. She slammed the glass down on the table hard enough to make the other object on the wooden coffee table bounce, but without enough force to break the resistant glass. Candidly, Catherine wanted the glass to break. If it did, she could have no more Bourbon, therefore she would be less drunk when her visitor arrived.

As if on mental cue, the doorbell rang and Catherine quickly stood to answer it. She flung open the white wooden door to reveal a concerned and confused Kristina Anderson, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over here head tighter. "Cath, what's up? You sounded bad on the phone," Kris informed her and Catherine rolled her eyes and pulled the younger woman into the house.

"I fucked up, big time Kris."

"Given," Kris replied, figuring that much had happened from the yelling between Catherine and Warrick in the background of the phone call. An uninvited odor assaulted her nostrils and she sniffed the air despite her feelings on the smell. She crinkled her nose and eyed Catherine. "Have you been drinking Bourbon?" She asked, then looked on the coffee table and received her answer. "Where's Linds?"

"Asleep," Catherine answered shortly.

"You sure?"

"Yes. Why?" Catherine huffed, becoming exasperated with Kris' current 'Grissom-like' nature of 'comforting' her feelings.

"Because the yelling I got on the other end of the phone was loud enough to wake up Stokes in the next room..."

Catherine winced. "Shit. I'm sorry..." Catherine shook her head. "I shouldn't have called, you need your sleep."

Kris shook her head and chuckled in protest. "Cath, I'm 24. All I need is a hit of Greg's Blue Hawaiian and I don't have to sleep for the next three days."

Catherine looked at her oddly. "You're only 24?"

Kris nodded. "Yeah, I appear older 'cause of my 'mature' nature..." She replied sarcastically, bunny quoting the 'mature' part.

"You actually are pretty mature...that and your impressive rack makes you look more mature..." Then Catherine waved her hand back and forth. "But the fact that they're still pointing in the right direction should've tipped me off..."

"Thank you ladies," Kris said patting her nearly D-cups lightly, making Catherine chuckle for the first time in hours. "But, I take it you didn't call me over here in the rain just to talk about my mental maturity and breasts...what happened?" She asked, sobering up.

Catherine sighed and went over to sit on the couch. Kris took this as a cue to sit down in the recliner diagonally across from the seat Catherine had taken. Catherine held her head in her hands, the balls of her hands pressing into her bloodshot eyes. "God Kris...I messed up so bad..."

"Cath, tell me what happened."

Catherine sighed and picked her head up. "Well...God, it all started over the stupidest thing...it's the same thing we've been arguing over for days now..."

/-/ Flashback /-/

"Cath, I'm tellin' you, you've gotta quit pushin' this therapy thing on Lindsey," Warrick urged and Catherine huffed.

"If I don't push it then she won't even consider it."

"Yeah, but you've gotta quit being the nagging voice that's constantly in her mind."

"I can't stop; she doesn't have a conscience of her own! How else is she gonna learn?"

"Certainly not with you breathing down her neck 24/7..." Warrick replied while following the mother into her room as she began removing her jewelry. She shot him a dirty glare through the mirror, but Warrick continued, unfazed. He was used to those looks. "Give her some credit Catherine, she's not stupid. She does have a conscience..."

"If she did then she wouldn't make so many damn mistakes!" Catherine shouted, knowing she was being unreasonable.

Warrick scoffed and looked at her like she was insane. "That's more twisted than a crazy straw."

/-/ Present /-/

"'More twisted than a crazy straw'...? He actually said that?" Kris asked disbelievingly.

"Focus Kris..."

/-/ Flashback /-/

"She's not gonna forget about therapy Catherine...she's lying in a bed all day...what else is she gonna think about?" Warrick questioned. It was Catherine's turn to scoff and shake her head.

"I'm not saying she's stupid. I'm just saying she acts before she thinks. It's genetic."

"Which means she'll be fine."

"Not without going through Hell first."

"Catherine..." He sighed and sat down on the bed. "Let this whole 'therapy' thing simmer down...she's getting too over heated, she's gonna burn out," Warrick professed.

"No, she's not! She's just going to end up making the same stupid mistakes over and over again."

"Catherine-"

"Stop telling me how to raise my daughter Warrick! You don't know what its like to have someone depend on you like that! You don't know what it takes to be a parent, someone's lifeline! You wouldn't be able to handle that! You don't have what it takes!"

Warrick gritted his jaw and looked away. She threw that in his face a lot. The fact that he was alone. That he didn't have anyone like she did. No matter how many men she went through she would always have Lindsey there. Lindsey would always love her...no matter what she said. Lindsey and Catherine were one in the same.

When she continuously threw that in his face, he wondered exactly what her intentions were with him...was it foreshadowing that she wasn't planning on sticking around forever? Was it the fact that, if she did leave him, he'd be broken, lost, and alone...and she knew it?

"You're right...I don't...but I do love Lindsey, and I know how to help her, maybe not as well as you think, but I do know."

Catherine scoffed at him and laughed as if he was amusing. "Yeah, that's reliable. Helping her isn't doing much good otherwise she wouldn't have gone off and tried to commit suicide!"

Warrick glared, not liking the 'new' side of Catherine. It was down right sickening. "You know what, this whole 'righteous Catherine' act is getting pretty old...you say you want to save her...but you can't even save yourself!" Warrick yelled vehemently, his remark hitting its desired nerve.

She gaped at him and narrowed her gaze as she spun to face him...but he wasn't done.

"You're in denial of your own problems, so you're pushing Lindsey's on her, and using that as a front for everything! You think that by doing that no one can see the real you! But you're wrong! I can see you clearly! Hell, I fuckin' see right through you! And I'm not likin' it! Quit using your daughter as an escape! You say I don't have what it takes-" He pointed behind her to the mirror. "Take a long, hard look, Cath! You may not like what you see, but at least you'll be up to speed with everyone on the 'angle-that-is-Catherine' charade!"

Catherine dropped her jaw and recoiled in hurt.

"Get the fuck outta my house!" She demanded and threw his jacket at him. "Go stay with a friend, 'cause of right now, that's all you've got!!"

...Looks like his forethought was right...

He glared and shook his head. "Yeah, push me away. Good. That can be your newest front." He shrugged and laughed bitterly. "Hey, at least then you can get the Hell off your daughter's back," he snapped.

Catherine threw the first thing she could at him and he ducked to miss it. He quickly turned and stormed out of the room. Catherine chased after him and snatched up his cell phone. "Here, don't forget your cell phone!" She screamed and chucked it at the wall in front of him that he was headed for. He spun around and gaped at her.

"Oh yeah, real mature, Catherine! What a good mother you make!"

"Oh! Talk about hypocrisy! This coming from a man who didn't even have a mother! What kinda two-faced judge do you make!?"

"You wanna talk about two-facedness?! May I direct you to the mirror!?" He spun her around to show her the mirror in the hallway. She shook herself free of his grasp and glared.

"You son of a bitch! Oh wait, no, you have to have a mother to be a son!"

Warrick belled his fists and took every fiber of his being, and put it into holding his arms to his side...never, in his entire life, had he wanted to hit a woman so much. "Yeah, isn't that sad, I didn't even have a mother and I know you're a shitty one!" Warrick screamed.

Catherine felt the devil rise within her and she wheeled off and slapped him as hard as he could. Warrick's head snapped to the side and he slowly brought it back to face her. She reached out to slap him again but he caught her hand roughly. For that moment she shrank back in fear, realizing he could do real damage if he wanted to. He looked at her with such disdain and roughly threw her hand out of his grasp and held up his hands, signaling he was done.

"You know what...you're not even worth this..." Warrick replied and Catherine laughed dryly and turned around to watch him walk to the door.

"Guess you learned your 'walking-out-on-someone' skills from your father huh?" She snapped and Warrick stopped, looked up at the ceiling, but didn't face her.

"No...I've just been watching you walk out on your daughter for the last fourteen years," he replied, and closed the door soundly behind him, swearing to himself he would never re-enter the world that endlessly tore him apart, day-by-day killing him more and more.

/-/ Present /-/

"...Holy fuck," Kris swore softly and ran a hand through her hair. "...That was the most avoidable, totally blown out of proportion fight I've ever heard," Kris professed and Catherine laughed bitterly and wiped her nose with her sleeve in a un-lady like manner. What the Hell did it matter right now? It wasn't like she had anything to loose. Her daughter, her boyfriend...or ex-boyfriend rather...her job...her life...everyone hated her.

"I know, right?" Catherine laughed between sobs. Kris furred her brows and reached out to take the older woman's hand and hold it comfortingly as she cried. "Oh God Kris...what'd I do...? What'd I do?"

Stokes/Anderson Residence

2:43 p.m.

"Man, what'd I do Nick...? What'd I do...? How could I have done that? How could I have said that?!" Warrick yelled in anger and threw his head into his hands as he sat on his best friend's couch, drinking his Southern Whiskey and wallowing in his own self pity.

Nick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know man..." was all Nick could say.

"I mean, it's like...it wasn't me sayin' it...its like...I was out of my body, watching it all go down, but I wasn't controlling it..."

"Well, when you go apologize, I suggest you lead with that," Nick joked, not really knowing what else to do.

Warrick ignored him and continued on. "I threw every petty sin in her face...things that I was supposed to help her with. Things I wasn't supposed to bring up...I just...I hit below the belt."

"Yeah, well, it didn't seem like she was exactly playin fair either," Nick pointed out.

"That doesn't matter...I shouldn't have lost it with her...we've been through this before. I should have just taken it in stride and waited for her to calm down, then make my point, then she'd apologize."

"That's not healthy."

"That's Catherine."

Nick sighed and sat next to his friend. "Maybe you just had too much. Got fed up with it. Lord only knows how you made it this far with putting up with that every night."

Warrick shrugged. "It didn't really bother me...her outbursts made up for my lack thereof...it was like she was yelling for both of us," Warrick said sadly and growled as he slammed his fist on the table. "God, what did I do?!"

Sidle Residence

3:24 p.m.

"What're you doing?" A soft, sleepy feminine voice came from the doorway of the kitchen. Grissom turned around and frowned sadly.

"You're up."

Sara looked at him offended. "Burn. Nice to see you too."

Grissom smiled and shook his head as he gestured to the frying pan. "I was going to make you breakfast in bed." He furrowed his brows. "Or lunch rather...maybe dinner," he replied, confused as to what meal time this would be for normal people.

Sara gave a gapped tooth grin and walked over to the stove to look at what he was making. She smiled. "Eggs..."

"And pancakes," Grissom replied and she smiled wider.

"I'll go crawl into bed if you want..." She said, backing away with a grin on her face.

Grissom chuckled and nodded. "Pretend you never saw this..."

"Never saw what?" She called over her shoulder as she scurried back to bed.

Grissom chuckled and continued making breakfast as he heard the house return to silence, and sighed, realizing he actually wanted her to be awake and with him.

He quickly finished breakfast and set it on the tray he had set up and carefully carried it into the bedroom, where she lay, twiddling her fingers in a bored notion. Grissom smiled and set the tray across her lap as she smiled and sat up. "Why Gil...what a surprise..."

Stokes/Anderson Residence

7:16 p.m.

"Oh, surprised to see you here," Kris mumbled sarcastically as she walked through the door and hung her sweatshirt on the rack by the door to dry.

"Hey Kris," Warrick greeted miserably.

"Hey fuck face." She replied nonchalantly.

"Which of us are you talkin' to?" Nick asked and Kris gave him a mock-pleasant smile as she headed to the kitchen for a beer. She pulled one out and cracked the top of it off and took a long swig. Warrick sighed.

"How is she?"

"Why do you care? She's not even worth it, remember?" Kris snapped and Nick shook his head.

"Back off Anderson. Catherine threw some pretty dirty punches too."

"Excuse me, was I talking to you?" Kris snapped and Nick rolled his eyes.

"Quit it, both of you! There's been enough fighting tonight," Warrick professed and put his head back in his hands. Kris scoffed and rolled her eyes as she took off to her room. Warrick sighed again. "Does everyone hate me now?"

"I don't hate you."

"Catherine does. And so does Kris."

"Anderson hates everybody...she knows nothing else. And Catherine..." Nick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You need to talk to her."

"Why is talking the solution to everything?" Warrick asked and nick shook his head and sat down next to him.

"Its women man...they think that by putting our feelings out there everything is alright, and when everyone knows everything, it's easier to deal with."

"I resent that. I for one think talking can be highly over-rated," Kris replied as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed her pre-made sandwich she had put in there before she went to Catherine's out of the fridge.

"Excuse me, was I talking to you?" Nick snapped in mockery to Kris' earlier statement and Kris shot him a look.

"Nice," she scoffed.

"Nice," Nick mocked in a high pitch, very un-Kris-like voice as he scoffed. He rolled his eyes and resumed the conversation. "I'm tellin' you man, women were put on this Earth to condemn, aggravate, and belittle us. Then they make us feel like asses, and force us to talk about our feelings."

Warrick raised a brow at him. "Since when did you become so cynical?"

Nick shook his head. "It's the truth man..."

"Well...I know Catherine hates me...and I don't feel any better."

"Catherine doesn't hate you," Nick protested. It was just then that the beginning chords to She Hates Me by Puddle of Mudd began to blast from Kris' room, and Nick winced. He looked over at Warrick, who frowned, recognizing the song instantly.

Met a girl, thought she was grand.

Fell in love, found out first hand.

Went well for a week or two.

Then it all came unglued.

In a trapped trip I can't grip.

Never thought I'd be the one who'd slip.

Then I started to realize.

I was living one big lie.

She fuckin' hates me.

Trust.

She fuckin' hates me.

La la la love.

I tried too hard and she tore all my feelings like I had none.

And ripped them away.

She was Queen for about an hour.

After that shit got sour.

She took all I ever had.

No sign of guilt, no feeling of bad.

In a trapped trip I can't grip.

Never thought I'd be the one who'd slip.

Then I started to realize.

I was living one big lie.

She fuckin' hates me.

Trust.

She fuckin' hates me.

La la la love.

I tried too hard and she tore all my feelings like I had none.

And ripped them away.

That's my story as you see.

Learned my lesson and so did she.

Now it's over and I'm glad.

Cause I'm a fool for all that I've said.

She fuckin' hates me.

Trust.

She fuckin' hates me.

La la la love.

I tried too hard and she tore all my feelings like I had none.

And ripped them away.

Nick stormed into Kris' room and slammed his fist onto the CD player, making Warrick wince and wait for the yells. "Fuck face," Kris replied and Nick rolled his eyes.

"Ice Bitch," Nick shot and Warrick could see him standing in the door way, rolling his eyes at her. "Oh that's mature," he accused to whatever notion she had given him, more than likely she had flipped him the bird. A pillow was tossed at his head, but Nick ducked and snatched it up. "I'm keepin' this," Nick sneered and closed the door, a smug look on his face. He tossed the pillow in the closet and went to sit back on the couch.

Warrick shook his head. "What do I do?"

"Talk to her..."

"She won't talk to me."

"Give her time to simmer down...let her cool off."

"Work's gonna be a bitch. Having to work with someone who hates you..."

Nick shrugged and sat back. "Eh, it ain't so bad. As long as you never cross paths and stay absorbed in the case when you do, you never really have to acknowledge their presence."

"Yeah...but I live with her..."

Nick laughed. "Welcome to my world, Man." Warrick laughed despite himself and took another shot of whiskey. "You need a place to sleep?" Nick asked. "The couch is free. Or we could always lock Anderson out of the house," Nick offered, but Warrick shook his head.

"Nah...I have a feeling I'm not gonna be getting much sleep tonight."

Monday December 19, 2004

Kris' Room

7:02 a.m.

Kris bolted upright in bed, covered in sweat, her body shaking with chills. Her hands were stretched out in front of her, fending off whatever had been haunting her in her dream that she couldn't remember. She tried to steady her breathing as she slowly lowered her arms and sighed. She dragged a tired hand across her forehead, sighing at the sweat she found. She reached for a pony tail holder (who came up with that name...it's so weird) on her nightstand and pulled her hair back. She sighed as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and took a moment to regain her composure.

She stood and felt something soft and fuzzy brush against her pale blue and mint green stripped pajama bottoms. She looked down to see D.D. sitting at her feet, looking at the closed door anxious to go out and greet the house. Kris smirked and opened the door to let the puppy scamper out and sit at the closed door of Nick's room. D.D. whimpered at the rejection and pawed the door lightly.

Kris shook her head and started out towards the kitchen to make some coffee. She was whistling some random tune that was stuck in her head as she did so. She pulled a mug out of the cupboard and began walking towards the counter when she saw a mysterious figure walking down the hall. It wasn't Nick's build, so she instinctively reached for the gun they kept in one of the drawers of the kitchen and aimed it at the intruder.

"Don't move!" Kris ordered, and the figure let out a loud screamed. "Who are you?!" Kris demanded and the figure jumped from the shadows just as Nick came running from his room.

"What's going on?!" Nick demanded and Kris squinted, realizing who the buxom blonde was.

"Ms. Blake..." Kris said slowly and agitatedly as she lowered the gun and put it back in the drawer. She shook her head and placed one hand on the counter while supporting her weight on that. Jessica Blake turned around to see Nick and she bit her lip.

"I needed some water..." She said with her hands still in the air.

Nick sighed and looked at Kris. "So you pulled a gun on her?"

"I didn't recognize her." Kris replied and looked over to the girl before quickly glancing away. "Uh...can you put your arms down please? Your 'C-U-Next-Tuesday' is showing..."

Nick and Jessica furred their brows. "What?" She asked and Kris placed a hand in the way of the girl's form in her line of vision.

"Your uh..." She began writing the first letters of each word in the air. "C-U-Next-Tuesday."

Suddenly it dawned on Jessica that Nick's shirt wasn't as long as she thought it would be, and she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Jessica squealed and ran back into Nick's room, leaving Nick and Kris in the kitchen. Kris looked at him in disapproval as she shook her head. "What?" Nick asked innocently and Kris looked at him like he was insane.

"The girl from the case, Stokes, are you out of your mind? You're jeopardizing the case!" She whispered harshly and Nick rolled his eyes.

"Listen, she came onto me. She gave me her number-"

Kris held up her hands. "Eew, I don't need details." She shook her head and looked away. "You do realize you're in deep shit when Grissom finds out."

"What do you mean, Griss doesn't have to find out if you keep your big mouth shut," Nick replied and Kris rolled her eyes.

"We live in a grapevine, he's going to hear about it whether I say something or not. Nick, you slept with a suspect on our case!" She replied and Nick motioned frantically for her to keep her voice down.

"I thought we established she's not a suspect," Nick pointed out and she shook her head in condemnation and sighed.

"You fucked up big time..."

"It's not as bad as you're making it out to be."

She scoffed at him in disgust and shook her head again as she turned around to continue making the coffee. "God, you are so sick. So tell me, how much was the bet to get into her pants for? Or, have you upgraded to a new level of scum bag and moved onto being the go-to-guy for sympathy sex?"

Nick glared. "It wasn't like that."

Kris scoffed in disbelief. "Sure it wasn't...that's a good story, I'd stick with that as your defense when Grissom tears you a new one."

Just then Jessica reappeared from the hallway, fully clothed. Nick turned around briefly before looking back at Kris, then to Jessica again. She mouthed 'I'm sorry' to him and he shook his head.

"No, it's fine," he said softly and she shook her head.

"I should go," she said and Nick grabbed her arm to stop her.

"It's alright Jess. You don't have to go," Nick insisted and she shook her head.

"I don't think your roommate thinks too highly of me," Jessica whispered and Nick shrugged.

"No she's just grumpy in the mornings," Nick replied. It wasn't a lie, Kris was horrible in the mornings, to everybody...but she wasn't too fond of either occupants of the house that particular morning.

Nick brought Jessica back into the kitchen and motioned for her to sit down at the bar counter while he made her breakfast. Luckily, just enough coffee for Kris to fill her cup with had been brewed, so she quickly poured it into her cup and left the room, disgusted at the two. Nick set a cup of coffee in front of Jessica and she smiled widely. "Thanks Nicky."

A gagging sound could be heard down the hall before Kris' door was shut, causing Nick to shot daggers at the hallway. Kris sat down on her bed and shook her head at her puppy that had scurried into the room after her. She sat down on the bed and stroked her puppy affectionately. "Men are scumbags and pigs that'll swoop in at the first opportunity for a good bang no matter how vulnerable and depressed you are," Kris informed her tiny puppy and picked her up to stare her in the eyes. "And you are going to stay a virgin till your last days if I have anything to say about it," Kris vowed, to which the puppy yipped and licked her nose.

She smiled and shook her head at the adorable silky terrier. D.D. jumped from her arms and scurried to the door and yelped, signaling that she had to go out. Kris sighed and slid into her slippers and threw on a sweatshirt as she reached for her puppy and supply of cigarettes and lighter. She stuffed the into her pocket and put the puppy under her arm as she exited her room and went down the hall and out the back door.

The sun was more of a white shining light than a yellow color, and the air was crisp. The trees and other shrubbery sat bare on the lawn while puffs of cold air formed in front of Kris' mouth. The chilly morning air stung Kris' nose and throat and she coughed to clear away the pesky feeling.

She pulled up one of the white lawn chairs on the tiny back porch and set D.D. down to go chase the early morning birds in the yard, most of which were twice her size. Kris chuckled and opened her cigarettes and quickly popped one in her mouth to light it. She inhaled deeply and let the smoke sit for a second before releasing the toxins from her body in a drawn out exhale.

She sat and watched the puppy for nearly twenty minutes, pacing herself on her cigarettes so that she was only up to three in counting. The back door opened and Kris turned to see Nick come out the back door. He took a seat next to her and sat silently for a moment. "I didn't know you smoked."

"Picture that," she replied and took another drag of her third cigarette.

"D.D.'s really energetic in the mornings," Nick observed and Kris shrugged.

"I guess."

"...Then again she's always hyper."

"What do you want Stokes? This 'small talk' shit is annoying us both so just cut to the chase."

"Look," Nick said while turning to face her and rest his elbows on his knees and gesture with his hands as he sat hunched over. "I need to know that you aren't gonna say anything about Jessica and me at work tonight."

Kris chuckled and flicked the ash off of her cigarette. "Bet ya the temporary feelin' of pleasure wasn't worth all the worryin' you're gonna be goin' through for a while," Kris pointed out and Nick sighed.

"What, are you gonna blackmail me with this?" he asked and Kris shook her head.

"Nah, I've got more creative ways to torture you with than blackmail on who you sleep with...besides, blackmail is so fifth grade."

Nick scoffed and rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to the puppy that had stolen his heart scamper around the yard and annoy the birds. The birds eventually got fed up with the bothersome banter and charged after the puppy, causing her to run away in fear.

"But I still think you should talk to Grissom."

"Grissom doesn't need to know the play-by-play of who I sleep with."

"True...that'd be too long a list," Kris shot and Nick sent a glare her way. "But..." She flicked the cigarette again and took the final drag. "He needs to know when it involves someone from a case, suspect or not."

"I didn't do anything to jeopardize the case."

She looked at him in utter shock. "Yes you did!" She replied exasperatedly.

"There is no more sexual tension now then there would've been if Jessica and I hadn't slept together."

"You established a physical relationship with a prime sus-...whatever in our case," Kris informed him, poking the arm of the chair with her index finger as if that would get her point across. "What if our reservations turn out to be wrong and she is a valid suspect in the investigation? What then? You do realize she could throw a law suit in your face, right?"

Nick gave her a look. "She wouldn't..."

"Yeah. Because you know her so well..." Kris shot.

"Like you know all the personal history of everyone you've slept with..." Nick said disbelievingly, earning himself a sharp glare from Kris.

"You're right...I don't..." She turned to face him seriously. "But I have never compromised a case because of it...ever. No once has any part of my social life put any kind of detriment to my professional life."

"You don't have a social life to be a detriment of!" Nick replied and Kris shut her mouth and sat back in the chair, realizing he was right. She reached for another cigarette and lit it up before taking a long drag. Nick sighed and turned back around to face the yard the terrier was playing in, and leaned back in his chair and sighed. "...Are you gonna say anything?"

"No, Stokes...we established that...I'm not going to say anything to Grissom. But you should."

Nick sighed tiredly and stood up and walked back into the house. Kris sat on the porch and watched D.D.'s ears perk up at the sound of the door opening and closing, making her scurry to the door and sit at it expectantly. She wagged her tail and looked at Kris, as if notifying her that she was ready to go back inside. Kris leaned over and opened the door for the puppy to allow her to scamper inside; afterwards, Kris closed the door to finish her cigarette in peace.

A/N: Raise your hands if this Jessica girl bugs you and makes you suspicious... (raises hand). Well cool, it's unanimously agreed that we all hate her...let's give her a funny name like we did Judy she's-not-important-enough-to-have-a-last-name and Sofia what's-her-face... (that means review and let me know what ideas you have for her funny name...)

Geeklove: Yeah, not a lot in this chapter...just some fluff. I was surprised by how many people that didn't like GSR were reading this book...I guess they all tuned in for the YOBLING and unusual-Nick-hates-somebody-character...

YOBLING: Ahh!! I know, I know! I'm a horrible angst-y person and I'm going to Hell in a hand basket...but I just love putting my little puppets in tough predicaments that takes a while for them to get themselves out of...or not at all? So, the question on everyone's mind, will they make it through? Hmm, I don't know...they said some pretty mean stuff...can they recover from that? Could you? Review and share your thoughts.

Kegger: Hah! Gocha! There was none in this chappy...! Tee hee, apparently no one likes them anyway... (huffs and looks around) Am I alone in the Kegger love-ness!!??

Kris/Nick: Well...Nick made a uh-oh...a BIG one. Will he tell Grissom? Will Kris tell Grissom? Or, in a zippy and unexpected twist, will Jessica rear her bimbo head and tell Grissom?! THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!!!! But not really, cause I know what's gonna happen. (grins) ha ha. So yeah, I know, Nick's kinda an ass in this book...but, I'm trying a new angle...I kinda like the angst-y, easily pissed off, EMO Nick...he fits nicely in my warped world.

Alright, so I'd appreciate a couple reviews cause I've missed y'all!!!! XD REVIEW PLEASE!

-Futuremisscsi60