A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I don't own Chad Kroeger and Santana's "Into the Night". Enjoy. I worked hard on this chap, ya know!!!!
Cassandra yelped when Catherine practically shoved her into the 4x4 waiting for her. "What the Hell, Cath?!" she demanded after Catherine had reached over and buckled her seatbelt.
Catherine ignored her and looked at Nick. "Do I need to shove you in there, too?" she asked.
Nick put his hands up quickly and got in the 4X4, climbing over Cassandra to get in the back.
It was now that Cassandra finally noticed that Gil was in the middle seat, and Sara was in the front co-passenger seat. "Gil?! Greg?! Sara?!"
Gil lifted his arms, showing that they were bound together by bungee chord, and the same went for his ankles. "Does it look like I had a choice? We put on quite a show for my neighbors,"
Cassandra blinked, then looked over at Greg. "What's your story?"
"If it helps, I have no clue where we're headed to, I was just bored," Greg admitted, then grinned. "And who wouldn't wanna spend the day with his favorite CSI team, huh?" he reached over Gil and poked Cassandra's cheek. "Huh, huh?" he pulled back and stuck his tongue out at her when she attempted to bite him. She sighed when Catherine climbed into the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway, starting on their way to wherever they were going. "This is a Jake thing to do, not a Catherine thing to do,"
"Well, I did come up with it, but she helped,"
Cassandra turned her head, not expecting to see Jake's face about an inch from hers when she was done turning. "JESUS!" she jumped. Jake was in the middle back seat, Ronnie was in the left, and Nick was on the right. "… Hodges isn't strapped to the roof, is he?"
"No," everyone chimed, then paused and grinned wickedly, imagining the under-appreciated man in the said predicament.
Cassandra sighed. "You guys are sick, you know that?"
"But you love us anyway," Jake replied, pinching her cheek, using the same deep exaggerated voice as Greg had when he talked about being with his favorite CSI team.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. "I knew you two would hit it off. Knew it!" she turned on Nick. "And you, don't you even talk to me! You knew about this, didn't you?!"
Nick laughed. "I swear to God, no!"
"Then why were you so willing to do this?!"
"To help you like I said I would last night-" he glared at Jake and Greg when the two men went 'Oooooooooh'. "-And it's Catherine, and she may be armed. Do you REALLY wanna mess with her if she's armed?"
Cassandra paused. "Good point,"
Nick smirked. "Thank you,"
Jake elbowed his way forward so he was between them. "So… what exactly did you two do last night?"
Cassandra narrowed her eyes. "He dragged me back to his place and we had hot, long, comfort sex, Jake. That's why I didn't return your call,"
"Really?!" Jake seemed to perk up, then laughed when Cassandra shoved him backwards into the back of his seat, then Nick smacked his arm.
"Catfight!" Greg called.
The other women in the car laughed.
After the whacks stopped coming, Jake put his hands up. "Okay, Uncle, Uncle!"
Cassandra took one final jab at his knee, then gave up. "You better give up. Now… what the Hell are you doing here, anyway? Weren't you on duty today?"
"Ya know, Brass can be nice one in a blue moon. He gave me the day off to help these guys," he motioned at everyone in the car but Cassandra and Nick. "He knew we're close, and figured you needed me. Face it, you do. You'd be lost without me,"
"Keep telling yourself that," Cassandra smirked, then looked at Gil, then motioned at the bungee cords. "You want help with those now that you're where they want you to be?"
"Please," Gil nodded.
"One condition," Cassandra pointed at him.
"Why didn't I see this coming?" Gil asked, more to himself than anyone.
"You tell me where we're going," Cassandra replied.
"Deal!" Gil nodded, then held up his hands again for her.
"NO! GRISSOM!" Catherine objected. "Come on!"
Gil just smirked at her when Cassandra undid the bungee cords holding his wrists together. He thanked her when she got the chords on his ankles off. "As promised, Sunset Mall,"
"A mall…" Cassandra blinked at him, then looked right, towards Catherine and Sara. "A mall? You kidnapped me… to take me to a damned mall?"
Nick and Greg were now laughing hysterically, both at her reaction, the way she said it as if they were taking her to Hell, and all the trouble that they went through was just for a mall. "Aw, come on, Cass! They're tryin' to get your mind off the shit goin' on. What's so wrong about a mall anyway?" Nick asked.
Cassandra shook her head. "Ha! Sure, to you, 'mall' means Game Stop, Electronics Boutique, FYE, whatever floats your boat. To my sister, I have no doubt Ronnie, and probably to Catherine, 'mall' means…"
---
"…Clothes shopping," Cassandra repeated her answer from the fan as the team made their way into a clothing store after they reached the mall. She looked around cautiously, then glared at Sara and Ronnie when she noticed they were looking from a number of outfits, then looked at her and started talking quietly together. That was never good in her mind.
"Aww, I'm sure you love it deep down," Catherine laughed.
"Oh, right. Love it, yeah. I DREAD DOING THIS!" Cassandra pointed out.
"Oh, she loves it," Jake said, leaning towards Catherine.
Nick chuckled. "Yeah, Cass. It's called being a girl. You should try it sometime!"
Cassandra smirked. " It's called 'my foot's gonna be up your ass if you have another comment like that'!"
"Ooh, burned!" Greg laughed.
"Shut up, Greg," Nick growled.
"Aww, Nicky doesn't like getting picked on," Cassandra laughed.
Catherine also laughed, then looked over an outfit on one of the racks. She looked at the piles of clothes that Sara and Ronnie had, then nodded, satisfied. "That'll do it for now. Fitting room time. Hey boys, would you mind holding-"
And every man who had been with the women was now gone without a trace.
Catherine blinked. "…And I wasn't even going to say purse," she could've sworn she saw Greg's head peak out from behind a display a few feet away, but a moment later it was gone. She turned back to her friends. "Well, either way, let's get this 'torture' started,"
--
"Come on, Cass! Come out, let us see it!" Sara called for the third time in the fitting room. They had literally shoved Cassandra into one of the fitting rooms with an outfit, then took the clothes that she was wearing when she had gotten out of them to change half-heartedly into the new outfit. Of course, it wasn't very nice of them to take her clothes, but it was probably going to end up worth it.
"Hell no! Gimme your shirt and my jeans back!"
"Cass, come on," Sara pressed.
"It can't be that bad," Gil added. He was the first of the men to return. Jake, Greg, and Nick still hadn't.
"It's low cut, it's floral, and it's short, as is the skirt. I don't wear floral and I don't wear skirts. Ronnie, write this down!"
"Please, Cass?" Ronnie rocked back and forth from heel to toe.
"Will you give me my clothes back?" Cassandra asked.
"Sure," Catherine sighed.
"Fine,"
The curtain was tugged to the side and Cassandra stepped out in the said floral halter and short black skirt. If looks could kill, each woman she looked at would've been dead on the spot.
"It looks good, Cassie!" Sara reassured her.
"Yeah!" Ronnie agreed.
"No doubt about it," Catherine agreed.
"Yeah, whatever. Clothes, please,"
Catherine handed her the blue top and jeans, then Sara held out a red shirt for her.
"No," Cassandra said bluntly, looking at the new shirt presented. "Just no,"
"What's wrong now?" Sara groaned.
"It's red. I don't do red, either," Cassandra replied.
Sara opened her mouth, but Catherine put her hand on her shoulder to silence her. She smirked. "I got this one, Sara. Trust me," she smiled at Cassandra. "Really? Don't do red? You didn't seem to mind the other day when Nick lent you his red Texas T-Shirt. So it's red, but you don't mind if it's Nick's? Aw, that's really cute! Jake was right about one thing, you do-" she held in a laugh when Cassandra grabbed the shirt out of Sara's hands.
"I was being polite," Cassandra muttered before going back into the booth.
"Oh, she SO digs him,"
Catherine laughed, already recognizing the voice of newly-returned Jake, who was leaning towards her yet again. "You think?"
"I can hear you!" Cassandra called from inside.
Catherine and Jake were silent for a matter of seconds before Jake continued. "Hell yeah. Even I wouldn't have come up with that one. Nice!" Jake slapped five with her.
Catherine shook her head and smiled. "I may like you yet, Jake,"
Jake smiled back. "Excellent,"
Catherine looked behind them. "Where are the other two?"
"Getting food. Anything to avoid holding your purse, "
"Have any of you even heard 'I'm Still a Guy'?" Catherine asked.
"I'm sure Nick has, and yes, I have. That's the reason I'm back before them,"
Catherine raised an eyebrow.
Jake shrugged, then lifted one arm. "Woo, Brad Paisley!" he cheered dully.
Catherine laughed again. A couple of minutes later, Nick and Greg came back, a drink in Greg's hand, and a burger in one of Nick's hands and a bag in his other.
Catherine raised an eyebrow. "None for us?"
Nick held out the bag for her, then sat down in the leather chair. Gil followed suit. "So, what's she trying now?"
Ronnie fished through one of the racks, then showed Nick the shirt.
Nick nodded and made a sound of approval that came from the back of his throat.
Cassandra came out in the shirt, and it came out form-fitting. She looked totally mortified. She failed to notice Nick cough a bit. However, Jake and Catherine didn't.
Jake leaned towards Catherine yet again. "Sha la la la la my oh my," he sung in a whisper while leaning back so neither Nick nor Cassandra could hear him.
Cassandra looked at them. "What're you going on about? What is this today, 'The Jake and Catherine Show'?"
Jake paused, then nodded. "Hey, that has a nice ring to it, doesn't it Catherine?"
"Why yes it does, Jake," Catherine agreed. A moment later, both of them were laughing hysterically again.
Cassandra frowned. "I hate to say this, but it's funny that a bad occurrence brings out a totally new side to both of you. Catherine, your humorous side is just scary,"
"Hey, Cass, we need it. Now shut up and get a new shirt," Jake pointed at Ronnie and Sara who were now going through the shirts.
"Love you too," Cassandra rolled her eyes.
"I know you do, C.J," Jake winked.
Cassandra sighed, then took a shirt from her sister. It was a blue halter that wasn't low cut. "Ah, finally something I could live with,"
Jake pointed at the top. "Hey Nick, if that's 'something she could live with', wouldn't that make you that top in a different color or somethin'?"
Nick and Cassandra both looked at him. "Are you drunk?" they asked simultaneously.
Jake shrugged. "I hope not. Am I? That would be bad, wouldn't it?"
"Yeah, he's smashed," Cassandra nodded.
"Uh huh," Everyone else agreed.
A few hours passed. The girls were happy to have succeeded in making Cassandra buy a couple of pairs of jeans and tops, then the rest of the afternoon they went to other shops, like the ones Cassandra had mentioned before and a few more clothing stores, but those times, Cassandra downright refused to go in so she stayed with the men outside when the other women went in to shop for themselves. Before anyone knew it, the evening had come and they all went to a club for a bite to eat and maybe a dance or two before they called it a night. Gil had refused to go, so they all gave in and dropped him home before they went.
Jake had barely walked two steps in before the longhaired brunette bartender got their attention by waving his arms.
"Just so you people know, he's cut off already!" the bartender called.
Jake looked at him, then grinned. "Oh, hey, Coleman!" he waved.
Coleman just looked at him and grunted a bit before going to help another patron.
Cassandra looked at Jake. "…What do you do that Lynn and I aren't aware of?"
Jake chuckled. "Ah, but the question is what do you do that Lynn and I aren't aware of?"
Cassandra blinked, then grabbed his arm. "Come on, genius," she dragged him over to the booth Catherine and Sara had just sat down at.
Jake raised one pointer finger. "One goal of the night, people. Get Cassie here smashed, then get her a new boyfriend, or better yet, laid,"
Cassandra turned red and turned towards Nick since he was on her right. "Kill me now, please,"
"What fun would that be?" Nick asked.
Cassandra lifted her head when a familiar song she liked started playing. "As fun as enjoying this song," she replied.
Nick noticed her smile, so he knew it was a positive song, then grinned when he recognized it. "Ah. Into the Night. You like them, then you gotta dance. Catherine should know. I made her dance at the club we saw John Mayer at. Order later, dance now, c'mon!" he offered his hand.
"Hell no! I don't dance!" Cassandra shook her head.
"Is 'Hell no' your phrase of the day or something? Come on, dance!"
"I don't dance," Cassandra repeated.
Nick grinned. "I know you can!"
Cassandra caught on. "Not a chance, no," she smirked when he looked surprised. "Jake's neice loves the song," she explained.
"And you obviously love this one, so let's go!" Nick stood up and took her hand.
Before Cassandra could decline again, he had already yanked her off of the seat and had started weaving his way towards the dance floor as the vocals of the song finally began.
Like a gift from the heavens
It was easy to tell
It was love from above that could save me from Hell
She had fire in her soul
It was easy to see
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me
Back at the table, when Jake spotted Nick and Cassandra on the dance floor and saw Nick had finally succeeded in getting her to dance since her arms were around his neck and his hands were on her waist, he couldn't take it anymore. "FINALLY!"
Catherine slowly smiled. "You're not drunk at all, are you?"
Jake shook his head. "No ma'am. Haven't had a drink for some time now. Coleman's an old pal. I called him when the boys and I ran away earlier. Told him to say I was cut off,"
Catherine couldn't help but laugh. "You really want those two together, don't you?"
"Is it that obvious? I just want her away from Josh, and Nick's freakin' awesome!" Jake called over the music.
Keeping time with their hands
And we sing
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
And the voices ring like the angels sing
Singin'
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
And danced on into the night
Nick laughed. "I thought you said you couldn't dance!" he commented since they seemed to be doing fine.
"That's just because you're looking at my face and not my legs. Totally uncoordinated!"
Nick laughed. "Well, either way, you can't tell. You're still good,"
"Fine. Thank you. Are you happy, now?" Cassandra asked.
Nick nodded. "You bet!"
Like a peice to the puzzle
It falls into place
You could tell how we felt
From the look on our faces
Spinning in circles
With the moon in our eyes
No room left to move
In between you and I
We forgot where we were
And we lost track of time
And we sang to the wind
And we danced through the night
Greg slowly grinned.
Jake noticed. "Uh oh, what's Max-in-Training have up his sleeve?"
Greg pointed at him. "You can be drunk, and so can I!"
"…What?" Jake asked.
"Watch and learn!" Greg replied, then got up and hurried over to the small stage in the corner where there was a microphone.
"Oh God," Catherine laughed, already having an idea of what he had up his sleeve.
"Should I be scared?" Jake asked.
"Very,"
Danced all into the night
A-O-A-O
Danced all into the night
A-O-A-O
"Uh uh, what's Greggo up to?" Cassandra asked, able to lower her voice slightly since the guitar solo was going on.
Nick looked up, then saw Greg heading for the stage at the front of the room. "… I have no idea. You think it's possible for him to get drunk so quickly?"
Cassandra shrugged. "Maybe he's sugar high or something's in the air,"
Nick laughed. "Could be,"
Like a gift from the heavens
It was easy to tell
It was love from above that could save me from hell
She had fire in her soul
It was easy to see
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me
Nick and Cassandra started laughing, seeing Greg was now on the stage singing along with the song.
"Should we get him down from there?" Cassandra called over Greg's voice mixed with the music.
Nick shook his head. "Nah, let's have the idiot who left the mic up there regret it, then save his ass after he finishes so we can mock him later,"
"Works for me,"
And we sing
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
And the voices ring like the angels sing
Singin'
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
And danced on into the night
A-O-A-O-A-O-A
And the voices ring like the angels sing
Danced all into the night
Singin'
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
And danced on into the night
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
Singin'
A-o-a-o-a-o-a
And danced on into the night
"Okay, now we save him," Nick told her.
"Yeah," Cassandra agreed. They made their way over to the stage and went to help Greg down.
Greg pointed upwards, making a 'one second' motion. He picked up the mic again. "Las Vegas, my name is Greg Sanders, and I wanna be a rockstar!"
There were a few cheers for him.
Cassandra took the mic out of his hands. "Okay, Greggo. Now I get why you love Nickelback. They made your theme song. Now let's go before you get hurt or get us hurt," she put his left arm over her shoulders and Nick did the same with his right and they took him off the stage and started to go back to the table, failing to see the thumbs up Greg sent in their table's direction over Cassandra's shoulder.
When they reached the table, Jake applauded as he laughed. "Bravo to all of you, really!"
The three took their respective seats and grinned at him.
Jake nodded and lifted the water bottle that Coleman had thrown at his head to cover him after he spotted the three of them coming back. "Well, here's to the friendships we've made in the past day,"
"You're not drunk, you freakin' liar! If you were, you'd be toasting beer right now!" Cassandra laughed.
Jake snapped his fingers while swinging one arm in front of him in mock defeat. "Damn it, you caught me. Fine, I'm not. I just felt like embarrassing myself. Sara, beer. NOW!"
Sara laughed and slid the can over to him.
Jake took it and put the contents into an empty glass on the table. "In all seriousness, then… To Max and Warrick, two of the best damn friends anybody can ask for,"
Everyone murmured in agreement and clinked their glasses together.
After a while, they got their orders, ate, finished up, then were talking for a while.
Cassandra sighed. "Guys, I gotta admit it. I had fun. This really did help,"
"Toldja it would!" Jake smirked.
"You did not!" Cassandra laughed.
"Well, I was gonna," Jake replied.
"You're an ass, you know that?" Cassandra asked.
Jake smirked. "Sure, I'm an ass, but I'm the left ass cheek. You're the right ass cheek on the same butt,"
There was a brief moment of silence before the entire group burst out laughing, including Jake. "Don't ask me where I got that one," he said, putting his hands up. "Even I dunno,"
Cassandra shook her head. "Hey Cath, a perfect example for Lindsey:" she pointed at Jake. "Her mind on drugs,"
"Woooooooooooo," Jake moved his upper body in a circle to emphasize her point, then paused as he realized he had lost his balance on his seat. "Oh shit!" he grabbed for Ronnie and Sara to get balance, but failed and ended up falling over.
The group laughed again, but then made sure he was alright as he got back up.
Jake shrugged. "Maybe I am drunk, who knows anymore… blame Coleman!" he called over his shoulder.
"Hey, I just tossed the thing to you!" Coleman replied.
"I know, it's just fun to blame you," Jake yelled.
Coleman rolled his eyes and went back to work.
Cassandra sighed. "Okay, I think it's time for you to go home. Nick, wanna help me?"
"Yeah," Nick managed to say through another fit of laughter because now it looked like Jake was bouncing up and down. "He's having enough fun for all of us. You guys enjoy. We'll see you tomorrow,"
"Sure," Catherine nodded. "Bye,"
"Bye!" Nick and Cassandra waved before grabbing Jake and leaving.
A few minutes passed and the remaining four people also headed for the van since Nick, Cassandra and Jake had taken a taxi home. Sara jumped slightly when she felt a vibration at her side. "Sorry, phone," she reported when Catherine, Greg and Ronnie looked at her. She looked at the screen, then started laughing, showing what she was laughing at to the other two.
Text Message received at 10:07 P.M
From: Jake
The award for best drunk act goes to Jake Thompson of Las Vegas, Nevada. Jake has also won the Quietest Texting Award earlier tonight.
IF ANY OF U FELL 4 THAT, U HAVE NOW BEEN PWNED! LEARN FROM MASTER YODA. CYA LATER.
----
'Hows the night darkest b4 the dawn when the sun has already started lighting the sky rite b4 dawn?' 'Because that light counts as dawn, idiot'
"That's an impossibly long signature," Ronnie commented.
Sara chuckled. "That was what he and Cassie had to say about "The Dark Knight" after they saw it…leave it to Jake to be like that… at least he liked the movie,"
Catherine sighed, then shrugged. "Hey, it helped Cassie with Max and all of us with Warrick, so thank God for people like him, huh?"
"Yeah," the other three nodded.
Greg grinned. "Well, that was a good day, and fun as Hell. Now let's just try to survive tomorrow,"
"You got that right,"