The small bell hanging loosely from the diner door gave a chime as I entered Rico's. I had gone here so many times that the waitresses and waiters didn't even bother to look as I lifted the hatch that allowed me to walk behind the counter. I nodded a hello the cook before going deeper into the diner and into Rico's small office in the back. His door was slightly ajar and he was seated as his desk, the eyes behind his silver-framed reading glasses reading over checks and bills.

"Hey Rico," I said, coming inside fully and happy to see him.

His head snapped up and he smiled brightly at my appearance. "Ciao Bella," he said and motioned for me to take a seat in one of the brown leather chairs opposite of his desk.

But I raised my hand up to show that I couldn't.

"Can't today Rico," I said and he looked slightly confused. "I came by to bring you something." I opened my bag that was so familiarly slung around my shoulders and pulled out a picture that I had found last night as I unpacked a box at my apartment.

I slid it closer to him on his desk and he picked up as it was fragile and old. His eyes grazed down at the picture of him, my parents, my nonna, and me, as a restless five year old, in front of my old house in Italy from long ago. He looked at it for minutes and had yet to say anything, just bearing a smile that comes on when thinking of old memories.

"I thought since that, you know, have a lot of Italian pictures in here, we could add that one," I said, feeling a tight tug at my heart that I always felt whenever I found old photographs.

Rico placed his reading glasses on his desk and looked up with me with such compassion. "Bella, I'm not going to place it in my restaurant," he said softly. "I'm keeping it in my office." I saw the corner of his eyes were blurry and wet as he clutched the picture like it was a treasure.

"Okay," I said, smiling and we both watched each other, almost as if taking a moment of silence.

But then I realized I had somewhere important to be in a hour. "Anyway, I have to go Rico, sorry I can't stay longer," I said, closing my bag and making my way for the door.

"Where do you have to go?" he asked out of curiosity, as I usually stayed with him for hours after my shift at the Crime Lab.

My hand lay on the door knob to his office and my back was to him. I felt the blush that was on my face run down to my neck. I turned my head and looked at him as I said, "I have a date."

I tugged at my shirt nervously and, for the umpteenth time, told myself that I had nothing to worry about. It wasn't like I've never gone out with Nick before; I did it yesterday for god's sake. But that was just a surprise outing after work, not a date. This was, in fact, a date.

I didn't know why I was so worried. I had gone out with attractive people before and I've never felt such nervousness as I did now. I was always confident and, hey, if things didn't work out and you didn't like my personality, my mentality was that it was your lose. I even dated a co-worker at my last job. Even though I admit that that ended on a bad note, it was nothing I couldn't handle. Then why was I freaking out like this?

I spent thirty minutes deciding what to wear, and trust me, that is not how I usually act. My motto is, if it's clean, then I'll wear it. I really didn't bother about what other people thought I should look like. I was one of those people that carelessly reached into their closet and blindly pulled out a shirt and called that my outfit for the day.

I was examining myself in the mirror when there was a knock on my front door. I smiled wearily at my reflection, grabbed my sidekick that was my bag, and then made my way to answer the door.

I looked through the peep hole quickly, just to make sure, and when I saw Nick standing there, I immediately opened the door. I almost fainted at that exact moment, as I saw him, smiling at me, in front of my apartment, with a single rose in his hand. He was wearing a black collared, long sleeved shirt, jeans, and there was a faint smell of cologne that wafted off of him.

"Hey there," he said, grinning at me. He motioned to the rose in his hand. "Not cheesy I hope?"

I took it from him and laughed. "You're lucky that I like cheesy," I said. I locked my apartment door behind me and together we walked outside and into his car.

Once we had settled in and were on the move, I decided to fill the silence. "So where are you taking me?" I asked. He was driving into the heart of Las Vegas, as down the highway, I could see the fluorescent, neon lights and could almost feel the energy that flowed from the city.

"You'll see," he said mischievously, as he made his way onto an exit.

"You know, I almost knew you would say that."

Nick had taken me to a quaint Italian restaurant that overlooked the strip of Las Vegas. He even managed to get us a seat by the window so that we could watch the people below and everything that they did. When we had just walked in, the smell of fresh pasta, herbs, and Italian spices that I had known to love, made me want to eat everything on the menu. Nick defiantly had a knack for finding restaurants with amazing food.

I had overlooked the menu about five times, completely lost on what to decide on to eat as everything seemed simply delicious. Nick had ordered us a bottle of white wine and I was debating on what would taste good with that wine, or if I wanted to get something I've never had to spice things up a bit. Oh god, but what if I didn't like it? That couldn't really be a possibility considering the scraps on the floor would probably be gourmet--

A chuckle from Nick across the table caused me to stop debating with myself and look up at him. "What?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing together in a confused like manner.

He stopped laughing to answer me. "I hate to say it Mae, but you look like you're making the toughest decision of your life right now."

I let out a small giggle as I realized I probably did look ridiculous. "Sorrryyyy, everything here just looks so amazing. I honestly can't decide," I said, sighing and placing the menu down.

He smirked and shook his head. "You Italians and your foods," he said.

"Hey!" I said, mock defensively and grinning. "This fascinating restaurant wouldn't be here if it wasn't for us Italians."

He retained his smirk, paused, and cocked his head to the side. "I suppose you win this one, Miss Giordano."

I placed my hand on my heart and said, "You have no idea how much satisfaction that gives me."

Dinner with Nick went, and I say this marvelously, extraordinary. We had such a good time, once again talking about random things and I felt like our personalities just fit together so perfectly like puzzle pieces. I was myself around him and he the same, something that is, honestly, hard to find. People like that sometimes only remain friends but it was obvious all throughout dinner tonight that being friends wasn't all we wanted.

Nick opened the front door of the restaurant open for me as we walked out and onto the streets of Las Vegas. I waited for him to join me and we both stood there for a second, as if trying to think of something else to occupy our time together.

"Want to walk down the strip?" he asked, motioning his head towards the street in front of us that was filled with bright lights, but the crowds didn't seem too cluttered. And I had wanted to visit this part of Las Vegas for awhile.

"Oh yeah," I said and we walked side by side down the street.

"A little eager are we?" he asked.

"Well I've never seen it down here," I told him. "And I've always wanted to."

We walked a little further, but it didn't take us long to soon be walking along the casinos and extravagant restaurants that were all lined up next to each other. I was in such awe at the remarkable monuments and environment. People were dressed up in outrageous costumes, some begging for money, and others dressed in tourist clothes, taking a snap shot of almost everything.

More and more people filled the streets and it was soon getting a little more crowded then I had expected it would get. But when I felt Nick's hand ease into mine, I felt an immediate sense of security around me.

We walked around for about an hour, he point out different places he had been and more importantly, the places to avoid. We talked less than we did at the restaurant due to the loud sounds of the crowds and distracting environment, but it was still beautiful, even perfect.

We made our way back to his car and my feet felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to them, despite the excitement I felt while we were on the strip. I stretched out in his car and was amazed at myself for not being tired around this time, wondering how I could have managed working all day and walking around Las Vegas in one day.

He pulled up to my apartment complex, and once again, set the car into park. I don't think my feet could take anymore beating but I didn't want the date to end. I was having such a great time that it was almost too good to be true. So instead of leaving him in his car like I was used to, I decided to do something different.

"Hey Nick, do you want to come in?" I asked, hoping that he would accept my invitation.

"Sure," he said, smiling and turning off the ignition. I hopped out of the car and gave a big smile that he couldn't see, and then wiped it off before he could manage to see it. He took my hand again as we walked up the stairs to the second floor and to my apartment. I opened the front door and we both squeezed inside.

He eyed the inside of my home and I just watched him as he looked at my living room, which I might add was unpacked, if you ignore the two boxes that were hidden in the corner.

"You want some coffee?" I asked, as I leaned on the wall, arms crossed, and a grin on my face.

"Yeah--," he started but was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. I raised an eyebrow as he sighed, reading the caller ID.

"Hey Griss," he said. He gave a few, yeah's and okay's, and his face dropped. He sighed, mumbled something at the end, and then hung up his phone. He put his phone in his pocket then looked up at me with saddened eyes. "I don't think I'll be able to stay for coffee Mae. I've got to work a double tonight apparently."

I smiled and actually didn't mind all that much, I could use a bath and some relaxation after today. Not that I didn't enjoy Nick's company, I just need to rest.

"It's no problem Nick," I said, but he still didn't seem happy with that answer. "I know how chaotic your job can be, really, it's no problem."

I unlocked my front door and he walked over, but didn't walk out, instead he stood in front of me.

"Thanks for tonight Nick," I said, grin spread across my face. "It was really amazing."

"So we should do it again sometime," he said, placing two hands on my elbows. "Maybe without Grissom calling me at the end though."

"Of course," I said and somehow the gap between us had managed to get smaller. The same sensation that I felt in the car that one time our faces got too close ran through my body again. I almost couldn't react when I saw him slowly getting nearer, I almost felt pumped with adrenaline. A foot. 6 inches. His face was an inch away from mine and wanted for me to move.

And it was like that for a second. Until I kicked up my heels and our lips connected.