Fic: Life Changes 13/29

[jayceepat.livejournal.com]

TITLE: LIFE CHANGES
RATING: PG-13 for this chapter
PAIRINGS: Nick/OMC, Nick/canon female, Nick/canon male
WARNINGS: Slight sexual content (very small)
SUMMARY: A casual remark can change a life
SPOILERS: None
BANNER: Created by Bflyw
DISCLAIMER: If you don’t recognize it, it’s mine. Otherwise, everything belongs to Bruckheimer, CBS and Zuicker.


***********H E R E 'S G R E G

Previous chapters can be found here



“The more things change, the more they are the same.” That’s a quote from a guy named Alphonse Karr. He was a French writer and critic in the 19th century. He could have been writing about the Las Vegas Crime Lab.

It was almost nine months since Nick had left for his one month vacation and everything was still the same. Nick had been and still was the chief topic of conversation or gossip depending on how you looked at it.

While he was gone, most of the discussion was of the ‘Is He Coming Back’ variety. It had gone as far as a betting pool with entries such as: 1) Won’t Come Back at All - will tell them to clean out his locker and send to him. 2) Will Come Back and give 2 week notice 3) Will Call in Resignation and give them notice…well, you get the idea.

When Warrick Brown heard about the betting pool, he lost it big time. The normally unflappable Mr. Cool exploded in a rage that was forever after known as “Brown’s Big Blow-up”. It was so bad that Grissom and Brass had to interfere and literally pull Warrick and one of the detectives apart after the detective had laughed in Warrick’s face when he told him to shut his mouth about Nick. After that the betting pool went underground and quietly went away when Nick came back to work.
*********************************************************************************
After Nick came back, the gossip mill went into overdrive. He came back a changed man. It wasn’t just the looks (which were hot...hot... hot); it was the attitude. Nick had always been a friendly person but when you tried to get past that Texas charm and the dimples, he was really very aloof. No one got that close to him. He always had a friendly smile, a slap on the back, a word of encouragement but it was delivered at arms length.

Now, Nick was………accessible.
*********************************************************************************
Nick got back in town early Sunday morning and called Greg and Warrick. Greg answered his cell phone with an excited, “YOU'RE BACK!”

Nick laughed at him and asked him what made him think he was home; he could be somewhere in the middle of the Sahara desert and just decided to give him a ring. He could tell from the tone of Greg’s voice that he was doing his little ‘bounce of excitement’. Greg was always in motion but when he was excited, especially when he was talking and excited, he sort of bounced in place. Not like a Tigger doll but just a little rock as though his nerves just wouldn’t let him be still.

“You are NOT in a desert somewhere unless you’re outside of town and calling me. You are back!”

“Yeah I’m back and I wondered if you felt like having breakfast with me before you crash for the night.”

“Where do you want to meet?”

“Come to my place. I’ll fix bacon, eggs and toast AND…I’ve got a present for you.”

Greg was very excited now. He loved presents and food and being waited on. What a great end to a shitty shift. “I’ll be there and if I get strawberry jam with my toast, I will bring the coffee.”

Nick asked him seriously, “Now when have I ever not had strawberry jam for you AND are you bringing the good stuff?”

Greg’s shudder was almost audible over the phone. “Good God, Nick, as if I’d ever bring anything else to a friend’s home. I’ll see you in about 45 minutes”
*********************************************************************************
Greg was so happy to see Nick he threw his arms around him before he remembered that Nick really didn’t like to be touched. Every since his ordeal with Walter Gordon, he had not been the touchy-feely guy that Greg had first met seven long years ago. Greg almost fell over when not only did Nick NOT pull away from him but he put his arms around Greg and hugged back. He thought for one brief second he had felt a brush of lips against his temple but then realized that he was fantasizing again. He had to stop that immediately, so he pulled away from Nick and got his first good look at him.

“Oh My God” was his spontaneous remark. The Nick who left was a great looking guy, but he’d begun to look his 40 years. He’d had crow’s feet and lines from his nose to his lip. THIS Nick however, looked fantastic; the lines were still there but they were so faint you had to look to find them. His skin glowed, his hair was even thicker and softer than Greg remembered and believe me, Greg had dreamed about every single centimeter of Nick for many years now. “You’ve sold your soul to the Devil for eternal youth!”

“G, I swear you get crazier as you get older. I just had 30 solid days away from here. No blood, no dismembered bodies, no raped, murdered kids AND solid uninterrupted sleep in a comfortable bed every night. I’ve been to movies, parties, plays, played tourist, ate great food, danced in hot clubs; Greg, I’ve had a vacation.”

Greg shook his head slowly and said, “There has to be more to it than that. You left here tired and confused and now you’re different. Yeah the rest may have taken care of the tired part, but you, you’re different somehow. I’m going to find out you know. I am a great investigator. After all, you taught me.”

Nick said, “Yeah, me and Grissom and Catherine and Warrick and Sara. Greg, everyone one of us had a hand in your training but we couldn’t do anything if we didn’t have some good material to begin with. Now, stop with the questions and come eat this great breakfast I’ve fixed for you and open your present.”

Greg followed Nick into the kitchen still shaking his head. Even Nick’s ass looked tighter and firmer and of all the ‘Nick’ part’s Greg had dreamed about, that ass was top of the list; followed closely by the smile, lips, dimples and hair. He looked at the table Nick had set for them and again was surprised. Usually, when he and Nick had a bite together, it was paper plates if they were formal and paper towels if they were going casual. This table had dishes, silverware and ‘Good Grief’ flowers. As nice as the table looked, the hot food Nick was dishing up for him looked and smelled even better. They sat down together and gave the great breakfast the attention it deserved. Finally, after Greg had eaten everything in sight and was working on his fourth piece of toast with strawberry jam, Nick left the table and returned with a beautifully wrapped package. He sat it down next to Greg and told him to finish his toast and then open his gift.

Greg swallowed his toast in two bites and grabbed the package. He tore the beautiful paper off, pieces going everywhere. Nick laughed at him and said, “Well, so much for presentation. I should have just handed you a grocery bag.”

Greg too excited to answer, just kept ripping. The t-shirt fell out first and he held it up and looked at the screen print and got a look on his face like a lotto winner being handed the big check.

“Oh…’ Lordi’, how, what” he couldn’t even get a complete sentence out. Then the CD fell onto the table and Greg could see all the signatures on the cover. “My God, they’re all here…Lordi, Amen, Ox, Kita, Awa…Nick how in the world, how did you know, I didn’t even know you could say Lordi let alone know….” Greg fell silent; he was so surprised he was at a loss for words.

Nick smiled, happy at Greg’s reaction. “I take it you like it?” Greg still wasn’t talking, just reading the cover and looking at the t-shirt.” Nick said, “I have a follow up; the guy I got these from is looking for their second CD, The Monsterican Dream. He’s going to send it to me as soon as he gets his hands on a copy.”

Greg finally managed to pull his attention away from his gift and look at Nick. He could not imagine that Nick; straight-laced, Travis Tritt, Garth Brooks loving Nick had not only spent his money on something like this but had taken the time during his vacation to find it for him, something so uniquely Greg specific. “Nick I could kiss you right now.”

Nick flashed his dimples and said, “I don’t know, Greggo. As vulnerable as you are right now, it might not end with a kiss.”

Greg had been speechless before but that little remark almost sent him to his knees. He was considering the possibility that Nick had been replaced by a pod Nick and was trying to figure out if he should really care as long as this Nick kept on making remarks like that. Fate stepped in right then in the guise of Nick’s cell phone. Warrick was finally through with his scene and was returning Nick’s call. They talked for a few minutes and then Greg heard him telling Warrick that Greg was there and had already opened his gift but Warrick was welcome to come over. Nick could fix another breakfast and they could catch up; just the 3 of them.

Greg swallowed the urge to yell at Warrick to stay away from his man and leave them alone and smiled and said sure, he would love to get together the way they used to. He wondered if he would ever get a chance like that again.
*********************************************************************************
Hours later, Greg and ‘Rick got ready to head for home and some well deserved sleep time. Warrick had been as knocked out by his gift as Greg was. They had taken turns playing tunes from their respective CD’s and Greg had told them all about Lordi and how they had taken first place in the Eurovision Song Contest, the first time in 45 years that Finland had won and how they were going to be making the first feature length Finnish horror movie called ‘Dark Floors’.

Warrick had talked about some of the great jazz musicians on his CD. Names like Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton that both Nick and Greg recognized but also less famous names like Kippie Moeketsi, Jonas Gwangwa and Masekela. They had made the first South African recording by black musicians. The three of them were so different; Greg with his love of heavy metal and euro-music, Nick growing up on Ernest Tubbs and Roy Clark and Warrick with his heavy blues/jazz background. Yet it was obvious, with no words needed, that these three would go to the wall for each other and that the feelings between them were love in its purest form.
*********************************************************************************
Monday morning, Nick had arranged to go over to Catherine's to give her and Lindsey their gifts. He was due in that night and he would take the rest of the gifts in with him. He had so many, he had to ask Greg and Warrick to meet him a few minutes early to help him get them all out of the car and into the building but Catherine, Greg and Warrick were special. He had wanted their gifts to be a private matter.

He saw Catherine’s SUV in the driveway when he pulled up so he knew his timing was good. She met him at the door with a big smile and a hug that almost took his breath away. She was fresh from a shower and had on casual clothes and her hair was still damp and curling around her face. She looked more like 28 than 48. She was thrilled to see Nick and like Greg, asked him if he’d sold his soul to the devil. Nick accused her of plotting with Greg.

He was still holding Catherine in a close embrace when a gorgeous, 16 year old whirlwind blew down the stairs and launched itself at Nick. He managed to let go of Catherine in time to catch a very excited, happy Lindsay Willows in his arms. He whirled her around in a circle the way he had ever since she was a baby and finished with a big kiss on the forehead and a tight hug.

“I don’t have to ask how my favorite girl is doing. You’re every bit as beautiful as your mother. Looks like you’re going to carry on the family tradition of breaking hearts every where you go.” Nick wasn’t kidding. Lindsay had been a darling baby, a lovely toddler but now, as she looked back at him with sparkling eyes so much like her mother’s, Nick realized that his favorite ‘godchild’ was well on her way to being a breath-taking young woman. “I’m going to have to stop doing that ‘whirl-around' with you; you’re getting so grown up.”

Lindsay smiled affectionately back at the man who had been a part of her life as long as she could remember. She knew her dad had loved her but Nick, Warrick, Grissom, Jim Brass and Greg were the men who had always been in her life. The ones she could always depend on to be there for her school functions and the holidays when a little girl really need a real or substitute ‘daddy’ to rely on. “Well, I realize that as you get older, you'll be too feeble to really twirl me around but I will always still need hugs and kisses.”

Nick groaned and looked over at Catherine and said, “Oh God, she really is like you. No one but a ‘Willow’ woman could come up with a reverse compliment like that. I’ll have you know Missy, it’s going to be a long time down the road before I get too weak and feeble to handle you.”

Lindsay gave him a final hug and kiss before pulling out of his arms and asking him what he was doing there; she thought he was on vacation. He told her he was but vacation was over, he was back in the lab that night and he wanted to bring her and her mother something he had gotten for them on his vacation.

They went into the kitchen where the coffee pot was steaming away. Catherine had him sit down while she poured coffee for all three of them and served the pastries she had picked up from their favorite down-town bakery. Nick was thrilled, especially when he saw the bear claws and cream cheese rolls with apricot topping. He helped himself to one of each and took a bite of the warm bear claw. He was moaning with pleasure when he looked up and saw the two almost identical faces looking at him with affectionate smiles.

“Uh..sorry, I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”

“Nick, you do that every time I go to that bakery. It doesn’t matter if you just finished a Big Mac Breakfast Burrito, you still stuff the first one in so fast you almost choke.” Catherine was laughing at her friend even while she was handing him a napkin to catch the frosting crumbs spilling down the front of his dark blue t-shirt. So for the second day in a row, Nick had breakfast to the sound of laughter and excited conversation.
*********************************************************************************
Lindsay was gone. She had reluctantly left to ride in with her friends after trying every trick she could think of to make her mother let her ditch first period so she could stay home with Nick. The personalized perfume had been a smashing success. Lindsay couldn’t figure out what she liked more, the delicate glass flagon with a carved butterfly stopper or the unique scent that was hers alone; made just for her based on Nick’s feelings and descriptions. The perfume was not meant for a little girl. It lingered on her skin and in the memory of anyone around her but it wasn’t heavy and cloying the way so many so called ‘sensual’ scents were. Even Catherine gave it her sniff of approval. They finally convinced Lindsay to take her crystal bottle upstairs and head out to school. She was still so excited it never occurred to her that she had not seen Nick’s gift to her mother.

When they heard the car drive off, Nick turned to Catherine and asked her if she was ready for her present. Catherine gave Nick that smile he loved so; the one where she closed her eyes and then looked up at him through her long eyelashes. She said, “Nick, I’m a female. Three guesses and the first 2 don’t count.”

Nick laughed, fished in his jacket pocket and brought out the beautifully wrapped package and put it in her hand. Catherine hefted the package a couple of times as though trying to guess its weight or contents just from the feel. “Hummm. They say good things come in small packages don’t they.”

Nick didn’t fall and just told her she would have to open the package to find out. She did and all the joking stopped when she picked the beautiful turquoise nugget out of the box and held it up to the light. The silver chain sparkled like diamonds, as did the silver wires wrapped around the pendent to keep it secure and safe. Catherine let out the breath she had been holding and finally said, “Oh Nicky, this is just too much. It’s breathtaking. This must have cost you a fortune. I can’t take this from you.”

Nick put his hand over Catherine’s hand still lying on the table. “Catherine, the minute I saw this, I knew it was yours. What you and I have, what we’ve built together over the last 8 years can’t be defined by dollars and cents. I want you to wear this and remember me every time you do.”

Cath looked up at Nicky, tears making her blue eyes sparkle like the beautiful pendent she held in her hand. “Would you put it on for me?”

Nick smiled and took the silver chain from her. He walked around behind her and gently laid the jewel so it fell just about the start of her cleavage. He fastened the clasp as he said, “I’d be honored.” He bent down and kissed the top of her head and felt the silky hair tickle his nose. Catherine stood up, turned around and put her arms around Nick. She held him close and whispered in his ear, “Welcome home Nicky. I’ve missed you so much.”
*********************************************************************************
That night, the new Nick came back to work at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. This Nick Stokes was just like the old Nick Stokes; handsome, confident and on the surface, the epitome of the good-ole-boy. But there were subtle differences. This Nick made a point of touching a shoulder or putting a hand on an arm as he gave out his gifts. He laughed and said he knew now why Santa Claus kept doing this every year. It was just so much fun to give people things. He teased both Mandy and Wendy and refused to give them their gifts until he got a hug from each. He told Judy that since he had spent not only his hard-earned money but also his vacation time, he thought he at least deserved a kiss on the cheek. Judy turned a shade of red that no one could put a name to but she eagerly kissed Nick for her present and then kissed him again after she opened the package and found the lovely silver frame Nick had gotten her for her desk.

All of the lab tech’s, even Hodges, were amazed at the quality of their gifts. They were used to getting t-shirts or coffee mugs but these gifts reflected not so much money as thought and care that had gone into each of them. Even those who got the same items noticed the differences. Mandy had a sweet tooth and Nick had gotten her an assortment of pricy Belgian chocolates in a carved wooden box. Hodges also had a sweet tooth so he got candy also but his was an assortment of sinfully delicious fudge. Bobby was so thrilled with his book about dueling pistol’s, Grissom had to threaten to take it away from him until after work to make him put it down. Among the lab personnel, Archie took the prize. He was so excited about his ‘starship’ he literally jumped out of his chair, threw his arms around Nick and hugged him so hard Nick was turning red.

That’s when everyone got the first clue that things had changed. They weren’t sure of the reason at the time but later, most of them identified this moment as the beginning of ‘Pod Person Nick’. Instead of firmly pushing Archie away from him, Nick had put his arms around his excited friend and hugged him back. He had even ruffled Archie’s hair when he finally let him go and said, “Does this mean you don’t want to return it?”

“Return it” Archie asked. “I will do bodily harm to anyone who dares to lay a finger on this.”

By the end of the shift after Archie had set the clock to go off every single hour and the whole lab had listened to the William Shatner voice double invite Archie out on a date, to a Star Trek convention and to the bathroom to get ready for work over and over, they were all ready to kill. They just weren’t sure whether it should be him or Nick. When Grissom left, he stuck his head in the A/V lab and told Archie very sternly to leave his toy at home when he reported to work that night.

But the highlight of the night was after everyone else had opened their gifts when they all assembled in the break room. The crowd was spilling out the door into the hall but everyone had been told there was going to be a presentation and to be there if they could.

Nick, Warrick and Greg solemnly brought a large box into the room and put it on the table in front of Grissom. No one knew what was in the box. Nick had resisted all attempts to pry the secret from him. He told Grissom the box was his gift and to open it up. Grissom looked at the assembled crowd and asked seriously if anyone was working that night. Nick told him the longer he took to open his gift the longer everyone would be away from their stations. Grissom carefully unwrapped the gift, opened the box and looked up at Nick in puzzlement. “How do I get it out” he asked?

Nick and Warrick picked the box up and carefully turned it over until the contents began to slide out onto the table where Greg grabbed the packing and pulled it the rest of the way out. Then they all stepped back so Grissom could unwrap the rest. When the gleaming, silver, mini-fridge was finally exposed there was a sigh in the room followed by a round of applause that got louder as it went on. People started laughing out loud and a chorus of “Grissom’s got a fridge” started up. When there was a moment of relative quiet, Nick said to Grissom, “Now get your damned stale, rancid, blood experiments out of our break room fridge and into your own.” There was another round of applause and this time the chorus was “Nick’s the Man!”