Disclaimer: Moochie and Prairie do not own CSI, although we wish we had dibs on Grissom.

Maria. I Just Met A Girl Named Maria.

Looking down into Catherine's sea-blue eyes, Nick swallows hard and says, quietly, intensely, "What about not going home this time, Cat? I'm asking you to stay…"

Chapter 10

Catherine froze in Nick's dark-eyed gaze, his question reverberating around her brain. She didn't really have to think about her decision. Moistening her lips, she wound her arms slowly around his neck and stood on tiptoe to capture his mouth with hers. The kiss was tender, yet full of emotion. She pulled back just enough to whisper, "I think that can be arranged."

"You're sure?" Nick asked, tracing her swollen lips with his thumb.

"That's enough talking, Nicky," she reprimanded, her mouth effectively silencing him.

Nick's arms slid around her waist and traveled up the back of her shirt, causing her to shiver. He chuckled against her mouth as he began to lead her down the hall toward his bedroom. They slipped into the semi-darkness and closed the door behind them.

Maria awakened them in around four in the morning. Nick nuzzled the back of Catherine's neck as she lay spooned naked against him. "I'll be back," he whispered. She only grunted in response.

Nick slipped on his boxers and padded barefoot into his daughter's bedroom. The little girl lay on her back squalling madly and waving her arms and legs in the air. The new father winced as he realized Maria's diaper had leaked. He divested her of the soggy clothes and diaper before wiping her off and redressing her in a fresh diaper and clean pajamas. Then he changed the sheets on the crib and fixed the whimpering baby a bottle.

Settling into the rocking chair in the corner, Nick popped the nipple between Maria's rosebud lips and chuckled as the baby began to suck eagerly. "Hungry girl," he murmured as Maria's eyes studied his face while she satisfied her little tummy.

Nick traced a finger over the soft skin of her arm and hand, his heart thudding against his ribs when the tiny hand closed around one of his fingers. This little girl was amazing. She deserved to have a mommy and a daddy. "What do you think, Maria?" he asked. "Should we ask Catherine to move in with us and join our family?"

The baby's only response was a loud burp. She finished her bottle, falling asleep as soon as she swallowed the last few drops. Nick tucked Maria back into her crib and yawned as he returned to bed.

As he crawled between the sheets, Catherine turned over to face him. Nick pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. "She was wet and hungry, but now she's out like a light."

"I know," Catherine murmured. "I could hear everything through the baby monitor."

Nick sucked in a breath so quickly he nearly hiccupped. "The baby monitor," he repeated.

"Mm-hm," Catherine replied, reaching out to trace the planes of his face with her fingertips.

"You heard everything," he stated nervously, deciding that since she was pressing herself against him she wasn't upset.

Catherine molded her body against Nick's, luxuriating in the warmth of his skin against hers. "Nicky, I would be honored to become part of your family."

"You'll move in with us?" he asked, his fingers tracing patterns over the silky skin of her sides.

"Yes," she answered breathily, her lips hovering over his.

"I love you, Catherine Willows," Nick declared before claiming her mouth in a passionate kiss that ended with him shedding his boxers for the second time that night.

The baby woke them again just after six, her wail echoing throughout the dim bedroom. Nick placed kisses along Catherine's jaw line. "I think she wants her mom," he told her.

Tears filled the CSI's blue eyes. "I've loved her like she was mine since the first time I saw you holding her," she told Nick.

He smiled, the laugh lines on his face creasing with happiness. "Go get our daughter, Catherine. I think she'd like to come snuggle with her parents."

Catherine found her underwear on the floor under the bed where Nick had tossed them the night before. She slipped into his soft gray t-shirt and hurried to the nursery to get the baby. She changed Maria's diaper and then made her way back to Nick's bedroom where she climbed into bed and snuggled the baby between them.

She watched as Nick propped himself up on one elbow and began tickling Maria's tummy. The little girl chortled and gave him a gummy grin. Catherine had to swallow hard around the sudden lump in her throat. "I love you, Nick," she blurted, reaching out to stroke a hand through his dark hair.

His chocolate eyes snapped up to hers and he pulled her in for a kiss. The baby let out a squawk between them and they separated, laughing. "Maria, my girl," Nick told his daughter, "you are one lucky little baby to have a mom like Catherine."

Catherine gazed at her family and a smile hooked the corners of her mouth. "I happen to think she has a pretty incredible father."

Amazed at the precious gift God had given him in his girls, Nick leaned over to seal their love with a kiss.

The End

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