Don't own CSI. Rated K
Well, when a couple like Nick and Jules get together the stars align.
How can you give up something that was made in Heaven?
Something so cosmically right.
It's something they need to discuss and give serious thought to, don't you think?
Can they get through anything?
Sometimes love is not enough...and sometimes it could be.
You will have to hang on for their journey
Thank you to the lurkers who like my story enough to take a minute to review. It truly touches me and if my reviewers only knew how much it inspires me to write you would pat yourselves on the back and keep on reviewing...you will be rewarded with new chapters as you can see! And they're long ones you lucky dogs ;o)
She argued with herself as she drove quickly down Sunset Strip.
"You are so stupid…You are such a pathetic wimp…Oh God, would you use your brains, Jules?"
The negative chatter flew through her brain at the speed of light.
Jules wanted to drown out the voices that yelled at her to turn around. She turned on the radio just in time to hear the lyrics of the Taylor Swift and John Mayer song.
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life
And I thought hey
You know this could be something
Jules heart dropped so hard she swore it might've just fallen out of her body. She couldn't get her finger to change the channel fast enough. It was too late, she heard the next verse…
'Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing
So maybe it's true, that I can't live without you
Jules felt her throat tighten. She swallowed hard and realized that those words were so true…she absolutely did remember what he wore that fist day she met him.
"How could I forget?" she said to herself and smiled softly thinking about him leaning against the bar ordering drinks for his table and looking so amazingly magnetic; it was that day he instantly stole her heart.
"Oh Cowboy, I did know 'it could be something'…no, actually I knew it would be something," she said aloud as she drove. "And you do 'take my breath away' …you always have."
Jules knew. Those lyrics were undoubtedly true and so she repeated the words in a whisper…"I can't live without you. I just can't, Nicky."
She kept driving and refused to turn around. She did, however, reach over and turn off the radio before hearing one more word of that song. She didn't want to be influenced…she knew she needed to think logically. She thought about her brother and her best friend, and how they would tell her she was crazy and she was an idiot for believing in a song…for believing in Nick.
The negative voices haunted her again.
"You can still turn around…you still have a chance…" she said as she pulled around to the front doors of the Bellagio.
Her hands shook while she took the ticket from the valet, but she still managed to tip him a few dollars before she walked in the door.
Wearing a little red halter dress, she looked stunning even though she didn't have a lot of time to try. She walked straight into the lobby and took a deep breath and contemplated moving forward.
She told herself no, and she decided to turn back, but her feet didn't listen. It was her feet that walked her right into the lobby where she saw a huge, velvet, couch. She sat down, and waited for him. And as she waited she thought about how she got to this point…
"Stokes," Nick's raspy voice answered.
He had been sleeping, she could tell, not only by the tone of his voice, but because he obviously grabbed the phone without looking at the caller ID before answering it or else he wouldn't have answered using only his last name. She had forgotten he worked another double again which meant he would be exhausted. She felt a little bad about waking him but she needed to talk to him.
"Nick…," she said softly in to the phone, "I woke you , didn't I?"
"Jules? No, no, it's okay, Honey. What's the matter?" he said trying to hide his grogginess.
"Oh no, no.. I um, no, nothing is the matter this time… I just.. um," she stuttered profusely. Everything she had practiced she botched immediately.
She became silent.
"Sweetheart, you're scaring me…what is it?" Nick asked again and she could hear him sit up from his sleeping position.
"I just needed to talk to you," she whispered.
"Okaaay?" he sounded nervous.
He was sure she wanted to explain that she changed her mind and they should have never have made love a few nights ago. He knew it was coming.
But Nick was shocked speechless when she didn't say she was sorry at all.
"I missed your voice," she whispered out.
She heard Nick take a deep breath and let it out.
She continued, "I can't stand not hearing it…I miss you…I know I'm not being fair…I know, and it's stupid for me to call, I know that, but… I just couldn't stand it. Maybe…um…." she paused, took a deep breath and told him what was in her heart.
"Nick, can we can meet?" she asked with fear in her voice, unsure if she was doing the right thing. "So we can talk...I mean really talk."
"Yeah, of course! When? Now? I can be at the house in fifteen minutes," he told her anxiously.
"No, um, uh, how about we not stay in the house…I'll leave Emma with a babysitter…so we can talk with no interruptions," she asked knowing what happened the last time he came over.
"Okay, okay," he said in the southern accent she loved so much, "…you want to go to Del Monaco's? The bar on Westwood? Just tell me where, Babe, and I will be there,"
"No, not those places," she was not about to possibly get caught out with Nick by any of her friends and especially not Warrick or Trista.
Her stomach dropped at the thought of them finding out she was weakening.
"How about at the Bellagio…can you meet me at The Fontana Bar?" she asked.
"The Bellagio's Fontana Bar? Now?" he said shocked. "Right now? Reaalllly…wow, of course. Who is staying with Em?
"Lindsay," she said and waited for his response.
"Lindsay Willows? You said she was too young…not that I'm complaining," he said half smiling on the other side of the phone.
"She's just about seventeen now, and I figured it was time for me to relax and stop being so paranoid. And besides, like you said, I can't always rely on Trista, Nat, Warrick oreven Brett."
"Sooo basically you're afraid they'll find out, is what your realllly saying," he laughed a little.
"Yeah, pretty much," she smirked. "I can have her here at 8:00...is that good?"
Nick looked at his watch, it gave him a almost an hour.
"Definitely, I will be there at 8:00. I'll meet you in the lobby…and Babe, I'm so glad you called me."
"Yeah, well, I am so not sure this was a good idea but I can't help it, Nick…I just need to…I need to see you," she said quietly. "We need to really sit down and talk. We haven't done that…a real talk, I mean."
"No, you're right," he nodded.
Jules came out of her thoughts to see him walking toward her. She felt her heart leap in her chest. He was so handsome. She found him to be the most gorgeous man in the world. She loved everything about him from head to toe. She watched him look around the lobby. She would have called to him but she couldn't speak; he took her breath away. She was staring at him like a star struck fan. She felt her knees shake like a school girl's.
Nick was wearing black dress pants and a polo shirt. He looked clean and fresh and simply a perfect. Jules couldn't look away.
As Nick looked around anxiously to find his wife, he thought about their conversation earlier…
When the phone rang next to Nick's head he thought he was dreaming. It took a few rings to realize that it was really his phone and he fumbled for it on the table. He had been asleep on Greg Sanders' couch and, since he had the day off, he wasn't expecting any calls.
When he heard her voice he worried. First he worried about his daughter and then, when he heard Emma was fine, he was worried that it was about Jules moving forward with a lawyer and willing to walk away. He certainly did not expect her to say she needed to see him.
Nick nearly tripped over himself to get into the shower. He had limited amount of clothing to work with but he remembered he could use his suit pants from the suit he wore to court the day before, and a polo shirt that he knew she loved. The Fontana Bar at the Bellagio was not a place to wear jeans to, so he made sure he was neat and clean. Nick knew she chose that place because none of her friends would be there; he understood that.
Nick tore out of the Sanders' complex like a bat out of Hell. As he drove he worried he was dreaming again. He turned on the radio to drown out his fears. Colbie Caillat sang out as he drove…
I miss those blue eyes
How you kiss me at night
I miss the way we sleep
Like there's no sunrise
Like the taste of your smile
I miss the way we breathe
"Oh my God, man, are you trying to make yourself heartsick before you even see her?" he said to himself as he felt his throat tighten from the truth of the singer's words.
He reached over and turned off the radio for fear he would have too heavy a heart before he even walked onto the place.
He knew one thing for sure…he wasn't dreaming.
When he saw her his heart melted. He loved that dress on her. She was so beautiful. He smiled wide and sucked in a huge breath of air. He never took his eyes off of her as he walked toward her.
"Hi, Honey," he smiled as she stood up. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, Cowboy," she accidentally called him the nickname she gave him so many years ago.
Nick felt his heart melt from hearing her call him that once again.
Together they walked into the Fontana Bar. They looked around and saw it was packed and she was a little disappointed because she was hoping it wouldn't be crowed. She didn't want anyone they knew to see them together and she was worried they wouldn't be able to talk with all the noise.
Nick looked at her and had a feeling he knew what was going through her mind. He figured she was shocked that it was so crowded. She was worrying they'd be seen together and she would look like such a fool to her friends for meeting up with the cheating husband that was fucking around with his college girlfriend. He remembered how those pictures were splashed all over her FaceBook wall for all her friends to see. He blew out a large breath of air thinking about those pictures being revealed to everyone like that. He couldn't blame her. If it was him that it happened to…he would feel the same way.
"Babe?" he said as he touched her waist.
She looked at him and once again he was struck by her beauty.
She didn't say anything she just waited for him to speak.
"Did you want to get a table or sit at the bar?" he asked.
"What?" she asked back.
He repeated himself louder.
She shook her head unsure if she heard him correctly.
They both stared at each other knowing it was too loud for what the needed.
They needed time to talk. Time to be completely alone. Time to really think about whether this was the end of the line for them. This was not a joke…this could not be taken lightly. They both knew it. It was an opportunity for them to decide if this "affair" he supposedly had would be what broke their fairytale. This was not a conversation to be had at the louder than usual Fontana Bar.
Jules yelled, "Wait here!" and held her finger up to him to let him know she wanted him to wait and that she would be right back. He wasn't sure why but he wasn't going to argue with her. He was just happy she was willing to see him.
Jules turned and walked out of the bar and back into the Bellagio lobby. Nick watched her go and wondered where she could possibly be going, but he stayed where he was like she asked.
"Hello! Welcome to the Bellagio, how may I help you today?" the small framed man behind the counter asked with a professional smile.
"I'd like a room," she smiled back at him.
"And how many nights will you be staying with us?" he asked politely.
"Just one, I think," she nodded.
As the young man typed in the information he offered Jules a lovely room with a view.
"That sounds fine," she said as her hands began to shake and she removed her credit card from her wallet.
"And would you like a King or two Queens?" he asked politely.
Jules stared at him. She wasn't sure how to answer that. She just needed the room to have a place to talk with Nick alone.
"Would you like a King bed or two Queen beds?" he repeated himself.
"A King is fine," she stammered, figuring Nick could just stay there tonight instead of sleeping at Greg's anyway.
In fact, he should probably stay there until they decide what to do; he can't stay on Sanders' couch forever, she rationalized.
As she waited for the bill to sign, she swallowed hard and wondered if perhaps she just made a huge mistake. She knew better. She knew that the two of them left alone together in a room was a recipe for disaster. She bit her bottom lip, signed her name, and handed the man back his pen and his copy of the slip.
"Thank you for staying with us at the Bellagio, Mrs. Stokes, we are sure you will enjoy your stay," he said as he handed her the key card.
Jules said thank you, threw her receipt in her purse, and walked back to The Fontana Bar to find Nick.
Her heart pounded as she spotted him. He smiled a Stokes' smile and nodded upward when he saw her come back. He had been afraid for a minute that she changed her mind and left him there. She waved her hand beckoning him toward her. He squinted his eyes and tilted his head. He walked out to the lobby to meet her.
"What's up, Honey? Where'd you go?" he asked confused.
Jules just handed him the key card.
"You don't have to sleep on Sanders' couch tonight," she smiled softly.
He looked at the key and back up at Jules.
"You got us a room?" he tilted his head and squinted his eyes.
"No, not exactly, I got you a room. I just think you and I could use it for a little while to talk in it in private. Then you can just stay behind and get a good night's rest. You have off tonight anyway," she explained.
Nick nodded. He felt good knowing she didn't hate him. She still cared about him getting a good night's sleep on a real bed instead of Sanders' couch. He felt very good about that.
Nick smiled at her, "You afraid someone will see ya, huh?"
"Maybe…but we really do need a quiet place to talk and it just works out all the way around…you want the room or not?" she asked raising her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly.
Nick smiled as he nodded and took the key from her… together they headed to the elevator.