My Way is Clear

by Simply Ginger

Nick meets a paramedic after getting injured at a crime scene. In an AU, this is their story. This is not a slash and all the characters from CSI show up eventually.

3. I Need You Now

A/N: Just to clarify something – it's implied in my story Greg is already a CSI even though on the show, he didn't become a CSI in the show until later on in the seasons. I realized this after I was proofing over my own story before I posted it. That's the glory of fiction. I can do what I want. This problem will come up a few times in upcoming chapters. I've already gotten several of the later chapters of this story typed out, so when those chapters are posted, you'll see some songs mentioned in them that weren't released at the time this story takes place according to the CSI DVD timeline, but relax and go with it. I've got a general idea on where this story is going and I've gotten about four of the later chapters already typed, so now I just need to bridge the gap. As of right now, one of the chapters is twelve pages long.

Chapter 3 – I Need You Now

After getting my meds from the pharmacy, I went home and downed some pain pills with a glass of water and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. I turned the TV on in my room to finish the DVD I started yesterday and went to lie down in my bed and the next thing I knew, sunlight was peering through my windows in my bedroom as I realized I had slept most of the night. I got up and made my way into the kitchen to fix myself some coffee. Still bleary eyed, I mechanically poured the grounds into the machine and added water and got the paper from outside before I fell out on the couch again. My shoulder wasn't as sore as it was last night, but it clearly let me know by the dull, aching throb of pain that I was still injured.

My coffee maker beeped to signal the brew was done. I opened the cupboard to pull out a coffee cup and saw it was empty. Looking behind me, the sink was full of dirty dishes and the few coffee cups I had were right where I left them. Sighing, I didn't want to wash everything and settled on washing a few plates and some spoons before finishing up with the coffee cups, setting all in the dish rack next to the sink. I found a dish towel and dried one of my cups and as I poured my coffee, I finally realized it was nearing close to nine in the morning. Remembering what Anna had said last night about getting off at seven, I found my phone and dialed her number as I sipped on the hot coffee I just poured.

"Morning, Sunshine! How's the arm?"

I smiled, "Hey Anna. I'm doing better. Still hurts, but the pain pill I took last night knocked me unconscious and I'm just now getting up. You off work yet?"

"Nope. Late call. Unfortunately, if a call comes in at one minute til seven, we have to take it and not relief and that's exactly what happened today. We're just leaving Desert Palms now. We should be wrapped up here within half an hour, then I gotta go back to the station and finish up some paperwork, then I'll be done. Give any thought to what's on the agenda today?"

I was glancing over at the paper as she was talking, "Las Vegas has a hockey team, right?"

"Yep. The Las Vegas Wranglers. Their building is over by the station. Thinking on taking me?"

I flipped over to the sports section. "We're in luck. There's a game tonight. They play the Bakersfield Condors tonight. Interested?"

"With you as my date, how could I object? Hey, I work there part time as a medic for the Orleans Arena. I can get the tickets for us so that won't be a problem. We're given ticket allotments for the year based on how many days we work. I know I can get us a couple."

"Sounds great. So what time?" I checked my watch. "It's about 9:30 now. Wanna grab lunch or something before we go?"

"Hold on." I heard Anna put the phone down and tell someone that they were on their way back. "Sorry bout that, radio is yelling at us to hurry up and bring the truck back. Lunch is fine. Want me to come to your house or you come to mine or what? I don't actually live in Las Vegas. I live in Summerlin, but my house is really easy to get to or I can just come to yours." She stopped herself when her partner asked her a question and answered that before turning her attention back to me. "I'll leave that up to you."

I wanted to see where she lived, so I told her I'd pick her up, "Just give me directions to your house and a time to meet you."

"Just make sure you shut the gate tightly. I don't need to go wrestling horses again."

"Horses?"

"Yeah, I have six. I used to race. Do you ride?"

I let Anna tell me a little bit about her horses and I told her about my horse back home at my parents' house. Before I knew it, I heard the sound of a car door opening and closing and an engine starting. "Leaving now?"

"Yes, leaving finally. Paperwork can wait." She gave me her address and directions and said she'd be home in a couple hours and for me to stop by any time after eleven.

I passed the rest of the morning watching TV before finally getting up to shower and shave as best as I could one handed. I got dressed and put my sling back on and grabbing my keys, wallet and cell phone, headed out the door and got in my truck to go to Anna's.

Her directions were really easy to follow and I found her house in about half an hour after I left my apartment. Living off a dirt road, she lived in a more rural part of Summerlin, almost in the next town. The area she was in was unincorporated but was still considered Summerlin. Anna's house sat on probably forty acres and the front of her property was lined with pine trees and a three rail wooden horse fence. I pulled into her driveway and opened the gate as she instructed me to do and got back in my truck and pulled in the gate and got out once more and shut it, looking out for her horses. The only thing I saw was her house and behind it, a large, red barn with the doors opened. It was warm outside, but not unbearable and if I knew horses, they were all probably in the barn.

I parked behind a black Nissan Xterra with Nevada firefighter plates that was pulled in to the left side of the carport, figuring that was Anna's. I tried to think back to what cars were in the parking lot last night, but I was so nervous that I don't even remember. On the other side of the Xterra was a Chevy Z71 pickup truck, also with firefighter plates but it was parked just out of the carport. I got out of my truck and made my way up to the door and knocked.

The door opened and there was Anna's partner from last night. "Oh, hey again CSI Man." Bryan extended his hand and I shook it. "Aggie's round that way in the back. She told me you were on your way over at eleven." He checked his watch, "And as usual, she's late. That's par for the course with her, but you'll find that out soon enough. She was teaching Cody how to swim earlier after we got off work. I live down that way." He pointed towards the northern part of Anna's property. "Bought the house right after she bought this one." He picked up the little blonde haired kid standing beside him as the child just stared hard at me, trying to figure out who I was. He evidently gave up and laid his head down on his dad's shirt. "Just follow the hall that way." He motioned over his shoulder, "Then make left. Door's there and she's probably still in there swimming laps."

After I told them thank you, Bryan and Cody left me alone standing in the living room of Anna's house. I watched through one of the windows as he strapped the little boy in the car seat of his truck and drove off.

I surveyed the room before I started walking in the direction Bryan pointed. The window I was watching Bryan through looked out to the front yard. Next to that, a stone fireplace was on the next wall with bookshelves on either side. Picture frames of every shape and size were on the shelves with photos of who I guessed to be her family members as well as Bryan and who I assumed to be his wife. What struck me as odd was there wasn't one picture of Anna's parents or her sister that she mentioned. Every picture was either of her or Bryan's family.

I made a mental note to ask Anna about that as I continued my survey. A couch and an older table were against the other wall with two more windows behind it. A red Razorbacks blanket was lying over the arm rest of the couch next to a pillow and a black and orange cat was perched in one of the windows next to the couch, watching birds outside the windows as they flitted about in the huge oak tree outside. Realizing I was in the room, the cat turned to watch me, hissed and ran off.

I left the cat alone as I walked by a kitchen, a small dining area and a half bath before I came to the glass door at the end of the hallway at the very back of the house. I looked out and saw an indoor lap pool enclosed in a glass sunroom that overlooked the back yard. The sunlight was motioning off the waves in the pool creating a light show on the wall beside the door. I turned the handle and let myself in the room and I made my way down the concrete steps as my eyes fixed on a form in the water. Anna was swimming laps in the pool and wasn't aware I was here. She was wearing a purple two piece Speedo and was swimming fairly quickly. When she got to the end of the pool in front of me, in one motion, she flipped over and pushed off the wall with her legs, starting her journey down towards the other end. Once she got down there, again she did a flip turn and gracefully swam back towards me. A large Doberman mixed with who knows what else spotted my presence and started to bark. Rather than flip again, Anna stopped swimming and came up. "Oh, hey."

She pulled herself out of the pool and wrapped a light blue beach towel around her body before putting her flip flops on and making her way to where I was standing. "Draco, shush!" The dog looked at her and after making a circle in its bed, went to lie back down, but kept an eye on me. "Sorry bout that. I meant to be ready by now, but as you can tell, I'm not."

"It's ok. Bryan said you were teaching Cody how to swim? I'm guessing that's Bryan's kid?" I eyed Draco, watching me from his bed. "He bite? I'd rather not be turned into a large human chew toy."

Anna pulled her hair to one side and started twisting it to wring out some of the water. "Draco is a she actually and she won't unless you try to hit me or move too fast."

At the mention of her name, Draco got out of her bed, stretched and walked towards me and began to sniff my jeans. I looked up at Anna, "Um…"

"Just stand still and don't move." She finished wringing out her hair as the dog continued to inspect me. Satisfied I meant her or her owner no harm, she trotted off inside after Anna opened the door. "Draco's very protective of me. She does that to everyone who comes over. If she doesn't like you, she'll growl. Considering how she trotted off, you passed her test. She likes you."

I thought about the dog's massive jaws and bone crushing teeth. "Just as long as she doesn't like me as a side item, doused in A1 Sauce. Aren't Dobermans supposed to have pointed ears?"

Anna laughed, "Yeah they are, but only if you get them docked. She's not a full blooded Dobie anyway. She's a Dobie and something else. Pound puppy I got when I moved to Las Vegas but don't worry about her. You're fine. Oh, about Cody. Yes, he's Bryan's son. Cody's four. Bryan and his wife Cathy live about a mile down the road. They're planning on putting in a pool this summer and want to make sure Cody knows how to swim. I see the arm's looking good. Still using the sling as directed I hope?" Anna sat down in one of the lounge chairs at the end of the pool and I followed her. "I just need to drip dry for a minute before I go making my way into the house."

"Yeah, keeping it as still as possible. Still kinda hurts a lot."

She got up a little bit later after she told me more about Bryan and his wife and how Bryan met Cathy. I caught Anna before we walked back inside and kissed her, tasting the pool water on her lips. "Saline?"

"Yeah, I filled it with saline rather than chlorine. Easier to maintain and easier to keep clean." She reached forward, being careful not to get me wet and kissed me before we headed back inside. She tucked the end of the towel in and wore it like a dress, leading me into the den. "I'm gonna go hop in the shower." She tossed me a DirecTV remote after turning the TV on. "Just help yourself. Give me about 30 and I'll be back." She kissed me once more before disappearing into the back part of the house, leaving me alone in the room that I walked through earlier, scaring the cat.

I lost myself in the TV and didn't even notice Anna coming back up front. The faint scent of vanilla filled the air again as she sat down next to me. She had put on a pair of jeans and a green fitted Las Vegas Wranglers t-shirt and grey tennis shoes with black highlights. She had blown dry her hair and let it fall naturally behind her. "So what's on the agenda? Other than hockey of course."

I checked my watch, "Well, the game doesn't start until seven, so lunch of course first. I'm starved. Then after that, I don't know. We'll figure that one out when we get to it." I looked at her green t-shirt. "I don't have anything Wranglers."

Anna smiled and disappeared out of the room and came back, holding a sweatshirt. "There. Now we match. You're a true hockey fan now."

I held it out and it was about four sizes too large for her frame, but I knew it'd fit me. I tucked the shirt over my arm that was resting in the sling and took Anna's hand in my free hand and we went outside.

"This yours?" Anna stopped to look at my black Toyota Tundra parked in her driveway.

"Yep. They frown on us taking our department vehicles out if we're not on a scene or on call. I'm not on call again until Tuesday, so I can drive mine and not have to worry about switching vehicles if I get a page." I hit the button on the remote and the truck unlocked and Anna started to reach for the door handle when I stopped her, "Allow me." I opened the door and she got in, "My mother would never let me hear the end of it if I didn't use my manners." I shut her door and walked to my side of the truck and got in and we took off.

I didn't want to go into Vegas just yet, so Anna suggested a café not too far from her house in Summerlin. "They have the best cheeseburgers here." She shoved the door open and held it so I could come in. We were seated quickly and she ordered a cheeseburger and fries for herself and a strawberry milkshake. I ordered the same, but had a chocolate shake with mine.

We talked as we waited on our food to get here. Anna told me a little about her family back in Arkansas and I told her about mine back in Texas. The more we talked, the more I liked her. She was extremely easy to talk to and fun to be around.

"I do have one question for you though."

The waitress brought our shakes and Anna went to work on hers right away, "Ask away."

I took a drink of mine and stirred the shake with the straw, "I'm not trying to be nosy or anything, but I noticed at your house that you don't have many family pictures of your family. It's all Bryan and work stuff."

Anna sighed, "We're not close. They don't believe I made a good choice moving to San Francisco all those years ago and hold it against me." She stopped herself, "No." Sighing, she copied my movement and began to stir her own milkshake, "Actually, we've never been close. Bryan's family is my family for the most part. They're really the only ones to care."

I tried to be supportive as I listened to Anna describe her rocky childhood with her absentee parents but warmed up to the idea of Bryan being in her life when she told me some of the things that both he and his parents did for her as a child. Apparently, he and his parents showed Anna what a real family was about. I just wished I could delve deeper into why Anna's family was as broken up as they were, but that was best saved for another conversation. Steering the conversation towards a more happy ground, I started telling the story of the time my sister and I decided to run away from home after we were forced to muck stalls after bad grades at school, "So there we were. Jillian and I were in the barn together, saddling up horses. Mom came outside with two backpacks and handed me one and handed my sister the other. When Jill asked what they were for, my mother smiled and said she didn't want us to be so far away from home and not have food. My mother had packed a bunch of sandwiches with some Kool-Aid pouches to make sure we didn't starve." I smiled as I remembered the day, "Anyway, I was still mad at mom and dad and got on my horse and bolted out of the barn with my sister right behind me."

Anna started to smile, "And you were back before sunset?"

I let out something akin to a snort, "Yeah. I think Jillian and I made it a few houses down before we admitted we missed our home. She turned around and left first. I stayed out a few more hours but realized how stupid I was being so I went on home."

The waitress brought our food out. As I was about to take a bite, I happened to look up at the door. "Oh, God no." I put my burger down. "How in the hell did they find me?" I shook my head and looked in the direction again at the impending doom walking towards me. "What's next? Locusts? Meteor shower?"

Anna put hers down, "Nick, what?" She twisted around in her seat to see what was upsetting me.

"You know how the other night you had to apologize for Bryan?"

"Yeah, I usually do that to people who don't know him. Who are you seeing?"

I watched as Greg and Warrick made their way to our booth. "Well you're about to find out. Now it's my turn to apologize. I promise you, I'm the normal one." I put my hand across my forehead as I waited my impending doom.

"Well, well. How goes it Miss Lady Medic and Nick?" Warrick sat down on the other side of Anna while Greg took the empty chair next to me. "Warrick Brown." He held out his hand as Anna shook it. "You must be the infamous Anna that's got Nick all tangled up. Pleasure to meet you."

Anna looked surprised, "Infamous? Wow. That's a first."

Greg extended his hand, "Greg Sanders. Nice to finally meet you."

I knew this was going to end badly if I didn't get a handle on the situation. "What'd y'all do? Get all dressed up to crash my date?" Warrick and Greg were both dressed in black dress pants and pressed, button down shirts.

"Naw, Rick and I had court out in Summerlin for that B&E that was tied to that string in Vegas. Headed back from Vegas and saw your truck out there Nicky my boy and thought we'd take a gamble and see if Anna was with you and if she was, we'd say hi and see her for ourselves."

"Alright, fine. You've seen her. You've met her and said hi. Now go, please." I was desperate to get the two of them out of the restaurant before any permanent damage could be done. "Say goodbye. Both of you. Now."

"Greg, I think we're being dissed. It's like he doesn't want us here."

"I don't."

The waitress came over, "Will the two of you be staying?"

"No, they won't." I nudged Greg, trying to get him up, but he didn't move.

"Yes we will." Warrick looked at my uneaten meal, "Looks good. Bring me one of those with a Coke. Greg?"

"Same, only I want a chocolate shake, too."

The waitress scribbled the order on a ticket and headed off to the kitchen and leaving me alone with Anna and my two co-workers. I knew that after the damage they caused was done and the dust settled, they would leave me watching as Anna took off into the desert sun, screaming and running away from us all.

The waitress appeared a moment later and brought out the drinks for Warrick and Greg and told us their food would be up shortly. She left to go back to the kitchen and I stood up. "Switch seats. Now." I picked up my plate with my free hand and looked at Warrick. "You sit by Greg. I'll sit by Anna." Warrick got up and he and I played musical chairs until I was safely next to Anna and Warrick was across the table with Greg.

Anna smiled as I started to eat again, "Win the case?"

"We did. Greg-o here got the fingerprints to the burglar off of a piece of broken glass at the house in Summerlin and that sealed the deal. He's going away for a while." Warrick took a drink of his Coke. "So tell me about yourself. Where are you from? Got any sisters?"

"Yeah, single sisters?"

I kicked Greg under the table for his remark. "Greg! Really?"

"Damn man, just askin'." He reached under the table to rub his shin, "No need to get violent."

Anna laughed. "I'm from Arkansas and I do have a sister, but she's married so out of luck on that one. I do have a single cousin though." Greg perked up as Anna continued. "But he's gay."

Greg's face fell as she revealed that her single cousin was gay. Now it was my turn to laugh. "You got your hopes up didn't you?"

"A little."

The waitress brought out Greg and Warrick's food and they momentarily lost interest in Anna as they started to eat.

We ate in silence for a bit until Greg's phone rang. He reached in his pocket and pulled it out, "Sanders." He was quiet for a moment as the caller spoke. "Yeah, we just got done in court and it was a slam dunk case. Rick and I started back towards Vegas when we stopped at this little restaurant in Summerlin when we saw Nick's Tundra outside." Greg was quiet again. "Yeah, she's here with him now."

I dropped my fork on my plate, "Now who is interested in Anna?"

"Hold on." Greg handed the phone to Anna. "For you."

Anna looked confused, but took Greg's phone from him. "Hello?" She was quiet while the caller spoke and as they did, a smile broke out across her face, "Oh hey, Catherine. I'm not at all unwell. How are you?"

I just stared at Anna as another one of my co-workers grilled her and I hadn't even actually finished one real date yet. "Yeah, we stopped to get lunch. We're eventually gonna make it to a Wranglers game after while, but so far, so good." She turned to face me as she fell quiet while Catherine apparently talked. "I will." She started to hand the phone back to Greg, but stopped, "Oh Catherine." She got quiet again, "Thank you." She smiled and handed Greg back his phone and started to finish up her meal.

Greg spoke to Catherine a bit before putting his phone back in his pocket. When they were done, I was annoyed, "So who doesn't know about me and Anna yet? Apparently the whole lab does."

Greg looked at Warrick, "Um? Bobby Dawson? No, wait. I'm sure Mandy told him by now. Let me think." His brow furrowed as he turned his thoughts to the people at work, trying to find out someone who wasn't aware of Anna yet. "Oh wait, isn't Henry on vacation?" Warrick nodded and Greg continued. "See, Nick. Henry doesn't know yet." He looked satisfied at his answer as Anna looked at him, puzzled. "Lab techs. We call them lab rats."

"Ah." She finished off her milkshake and set the glass down. "So Nick having a date is breaking news interrupt the Super Bowl in double overtime, game tied on the three yard line fourth and goal type news stories, huh?"

Warrick choked on his Coke.

Now it was my turn to laugh with her, "Serves you right, crashing my date like that." Greg hit Warrick on the back a few times until he quit coughing. "They just worry about me, that's all." I threw a French fry at Greg. "Like you've got any room to talk. Your only girlfriend is that PlayStation controller you named Shannon."

Greg launched the fry back at me and I caught it, "Her name is Stephanie, not Shannon."

"I could see it now on the 11 o'clock news." Warrick held up his fork like a microphone and Greg got the desert menu and rolled it into a tube and held it up like a camera. "Warrick Brown, reporting live with breaking news out of Las Vegas with photojournalist Greg Sanders. Las Vegas Criminalist Nicholas Stokes finally gets a date with LVFD paramedic Anna…" He put the fork down, "What's your last name again?"

"Gigandet."

Warrick looked at her blankly, "It's what?"

She laughed and repeated her name once more for him. Warrick picked up the fork again and held his left hand to his ear like a reporter would do to listen in to feeds from the station. "Back to our breaking news story. Las Vegas Criminalist Nick Stokes gets a date with paramedic Anna…" Warrick paused, trying not to butcher Anna's last name. "Gigandet." He looked at her and she gave him the thumbs up to let him know he pronounced it right. "Right. Gigandet. More to follow after the Super Bowl."

Everyone at the table started laughing at the joke, including me, even though two of my best friends were poking fun at me. Anna seemed to take it all in stride, bantering back and forth with both Greg and Warrick while we ate. We sat and talked for the next couple hours, finishing our meal and just having a good time. Warrick and Greg got up to leave and Anna and I followed. She was standing fairly close to me as we were getting ready to leave. I put my right hand on the small of her back and we walked out to the parking lot. Greg had parked his Tahoe right next to my truck and if I had to guess, he did it on purpose just so I wouldn't have an escape route.

"Well, it was nice meeting both of you." Anna stared at both of them, "Strange, but nice." She took my hand in hers and turned to face them both again, "And remember, if this CSI gig doesn't work out, you've got a career in broadcast journalism."

"Permission to hug the medic, ma'am?" Greg saluted Anna before he turned to me, still saluting.

She laughed again. "Permission granted."

"Smart ass." I had to add in a rider. "Just keep the hands in the northern hemisphere. No groping."

Greg hugged her, followed by Warrick. I was keeping an eye on both of them to make sure they didn't try to cop a feel. They got in Warrick's Tahoe and turned on the highway towards Vegas. "Ready? Or are you still speaking to me?"

Anna just laughed, "Of course I am." She put her hand around my neck and brought me down to her level so she could kiss me, "Why wouldn't I be?" I helped her into my truck and got in on my side. "Now where to?"

I leaned over to kiss her as I started the truck, "I have an idea."

Anna asked me where we were going but I wouldn't tell her. I just told her it'd be a surprise.

"Ooh, I love that song!" She reached over and turned up the volume just a bit so she could hear it. "I don't normally like his music, but this Michael Buble song is one of the best he has."

I listened to the words of the song, "Life can show no mercy. It can tear your soul apart. It can make you feel like you've gone crazy, but you're not. Things have seem to changed. There's one thing that's still the same. In my heart you have remained, and we can fly, fly, fly away for a minute."

I listened to the rest of the song as it finished up on the radio. "I don't think I know it."

"It's one of his new ones. The song is called 'Lost' I think. I don't remember if that's the whole song title, but it's one of my favorite songs."

We headed back towards Vegas as the sounds of the song Anna liked so much joined us for the ride. I finally pulled up in front of the Las Vegas Zoo and Aquarium. "Ever been?"

Anna shook her head, "Not once."

Anna and I walked hand in hand to the entrance of the zoo as I bought our tickets. For a late winter's day, it wasn't that bad outside. We walked around the zoo talking and watching the animals in their enclosures. Anna got her iPhone out and started taking pictures of the animals in their enclosures. We made our way back towards one end of the zoo, just taking our time walking slowly and watching the animals play. She stopped next to a waterfall by the sea lion exhibit and turned to face me. I got my phone out of my pocket and snapped a picture of her. An older man was standing beside us watching the sea lions with his grandchildren and when I asked if he'd take a picture of the two of us, he said he'd be glad to. I handed him my phone and Anna's as he took pictures of the two of us next to the waterfall. We said thank you and he handed our phones back to us.

Anna pushed a few buttons on her phone and then showed it to me. The picture the man just took was the new background on it. Seeing what she did, I switched mine too.

We passed a sign right outside the sea lion exhibit announcing a polar bear show at four in the outdoor enclosure. "Wanna go?"

Anna read the sign, "Sounds like fun." She took my hand in hers and we started back towards the exhibit. We managed to make it in time and found two empty seats in the auditorium for the polar bear show. We were sitting on the lower level of the outdoor arena. Anna sat down next to me, looping her arm through mine, being careful to avoid the sling. As we watched, the handlers fed the polar bears and they dove and flipped in the water for treats. The show lasted for about half an hour. As the crowd applauded, two of the three polar bears stood up on the rocks in the enclosure and bowed for the crowd.

We walked around a little bit longer before I realized the sun was starting to set. We made our way back to the front of the zoo and out to my truck. I helped her in once more and as I shut the door, I heard her sigh softly and sink back into the seat.

Not even sure if Las Vegas has a zoo or an aquarium, but they do now! I love fiction for that reason alone.

Thanks for all the reviews and the alerts about my story being added to your favorites and to your story alerts. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story so far. I (hint) love (hint) getting (hint) the (hint) reviews (hint) from (hint) everyone (hint) as (hint) well (hint) and (hint) remember - if you give me review, I'll send you a paragraph from an upcoming chapter in my story.