Another week passed by almost instantly and the only conversation I've held with Nick after the diner was meaningless work-related chatter in the DNA lab. Added to the fact that it was insanely cold outside and I had to spend time walking and waiting for the bus almost every night, I felt a cold coming on. I went to Rico's almost everyday, stealthily avoiding the days that the CSI team went however. I had to take these precautions really. I couldn't get involved with a co-worker. It was half the reason I left Chicago in the first place.

I had paged Greg a couple of minutes ago regarding a sticky unknown substance and was awaiting his arrival. I really didn't have anything to do tonight but wait anyway, so I mindlessly drummed my fingers on the counter.

"Miss me?" came Greg's voice as he entered the lab. I smiled and rolled my eyes at him. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

I handed him a piece of paper showing the percentages of chemical substances inside his sample. I turned away from him for a second to grab a jar, then turned back around, only to find his elbows on my counter, his hands cupping his face. He had a sly grin on and I knew he was up to no good.

You don't have to know Greg that long to know when there's something on his mind.

"Mae, Mae, Mae," he drawled and I narrowed my eyes. I put down the jar that I had in my hands and raised my eyebrows in confusion.

He cocked his head to the side as he said, "You're an interesting person, you know that?"

My silence only provoked him to continue.

"Some people think that more than others," he said, standing upright. He seemed accomplished for the time being. "Have a nice night Mae." And with that he left, walking happily down the hallway, leaving me with my mouth open and utterly puzzled.

O-Okay...

I shook my head to try and get myself to focus. No doubt I'd be thinking about what he said later on but for now I had to get my head back into my work.

I grabbed my coat from my locker and headed out of the Crime Lab, feeling extremely exhausted from today's work and desperately wanting some nice rest and relaxation. I put on my coat, slung my bag over my shoulder, and let down my long hair from it's ponytail, feeling a tension headache coming on. I pushed open the glass front doors and immediately smelled rain as I exited.

The sight of the catastrophe that was a thunder storm made me want to hurl the nearest pedestrian into a empty dumpster.

I groaned as I stood outside and put a hand to my cheek as I witnessed the downpour, the extra roof still hanging on the side of the building as my only protection.

I had to take the bus today too. And the bus stop did not have a cover to provide shelter in a situation just like this. It's not like I could just sprint to the bus if I saw it coming from the corner. The nearest bus stop was a mile away. And I'm no runner, mind you. I trip on petals of grass.

I breathed in heavily and tried to remain calm. I can do this. Maybe the bus won't be late and I won't have to wait that long. Hell, maybe it'll even be there right when I sprint to the bus stop!

Yeah. And maybe I'll have a limo pull up, throw down a red carpet, and Johnny Depp can take me to the Oscars.

I clutched my bag and got ready to feel the freezing cold rain. And then I ran. Yes I, Mae Giordano, ran in a thunder storm when it was about 40° outside to my bus stop. How many people would be proud, I don't quite know.

But it couldn't be all rainbows and stars for long. I was probably about halfway there, trying desperately to see through the rain, that I did not see a dip in the sidewalk and went tumbling down. I could have fallen in a puddle, but it wouldn't really matter considering I was already completely soaked from head to toe. However, I did know that I had torn a hole in my jeans at the knee and certain places on my body began to feel hot, most likely because they were bleeding.

I whimpered. What a sight. Mae sitting down on a flooded sidewalk, clutching her bloody knee, as it pours from the sky. I knew I would do something stupid and humiliating, that I couldn't keep my streak clean. I mean, really, why couldn't I just have bought a car and settled for a moderate yet somewhat unattractive apartment? It's not like I spend time in my own apartment anyway. I was angry at myself for what just happened and I just bought these jeans--

"MAE?"

I snapped my mind out of it's self pity and tried to find the voice that had called me. It was so hard to see in all this rain but all I could make out was a giant black object. I squinted but couldn't make out a thing.

And before I knew it, someone was rushing over to me and kneeling before me. I was about to perform a jejetsu move to their chest when I realized it was...Nick.

Oh. My. God.

Strike me down. Strike me down right now and just make me disappear for eternity.

"Mae? Are you okay?" he asked frantically and I can imagine why he would. Here I was, sitting down in the rain, probably covered in blood, mouth hanging open, and speechless. What a sight. I must be the example of perfection right now.

I finally managed to speak. "I-I f-f-fell," I said, stuttering more than I ever did normally. It's like I couldn't feel my lips they were so numb. And my response was just the icing on the enormously large idiotic cake.

He grabbed my forearms and lifted me up quickly. Nick helped me to his car in a such a rapid but gentle manner that I didn't even feel it. But of course, it could be because I didn't feel anything on my body, but still, that's besides the point.

He finally slipped in the driver seat of his car and slammed the car door shut. I didn't realize I had been shaking so hard. He grabbed a blanket that was behind his seat and wrapped it around my cold body. I was so embarrassed. I wanted to hide under a rock. Yet I couldn't control my mouth.

"N-N-Nick, I'm blee...bleeding o-on y-your c-c-carpet."