Back on the Job

Chapter 1

Welcome back everyone! Sorry for the delay, but here is the third story for you all. I have every chapter typed out. I just have to go back and look over them all. The disclaimer that I have to do: I do not own CSI. I do not make any money from it, and if I did own it, Nick would have his own family by now. There, glad to get that out of the way. There are some scenes from season nine, Grave Shift in here, so if you haven't seen it, you've been warned. As a side not, I just read that Paul isn't coming back for the 15th season. I'm crying. He was such a great actor in the show. He will be missed. Anyway, on with this story's little side note here, I was going to change this to M later, but I read on the guidelines that I could get into trouble if I have sex and horrible things in here. I don't think many people have gotten the memo. I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy Fatality!

Nick absolutely loved this. Sure, he missed work, solving cases with his friends, but for now, Nick was just happy being home with his wife and five-week-old daughter. Yes, she was five-weeks-old already. How was that even possible? Catherine really wasn't kidding when she told him that time would fly. Granted, five weeks wasn't that much of a big deal, but it wouldn't be long until she was running around the house, talking up a storm, going to school, meeting boy- no! That wasn't going to happen for a very, very, very long time.

When he and Danika got to take Cassie home a few days after she was born, both of their parents stayed around for a little while just to make sure that everything was under control and running smoothly. Nothing was at first. Cassie would cry nonstop when she was awake for the first two weeks. It was the longest two weeks of their lives. Nick and Danika had no idea what to do, but after a little while they managed to push through. Yes, she still cried, but it wasn't as ridiculous as before. Now, Cassie was almost all smiles. One of Nick's favorite things to do was lie down on the floor with her as she tried to wrap her little mind around what was going on around her. Maddie would join him most of the time and watch her too. The dog, when no one was watching, snuck in a few licks now and again. She was never caught, and luckily for her, Cassie never cried.

Danika was also enjoying the time off. She never had much time to spend with her husband. Now she had plenty of time to spend it with him and their daughter. Daughter, she still couldn't wrap her head around that yet. She and Nick had a daughter now.

At the beginning, it was a long, first two weeks, but when there was a routine started; it was smooth sailing for all three of them. Well, as smooth as it could be at least. Danika was so thankful that their parents stuck around for a little while; just until she and Nick knew what they needed to do. It was a good thing that they were quick learners. Olivia and Jillian had a lot of knowledge to share, knowledge that was very helpful and useful to them both.

She was busy in the kitchen making dinner when from the corner of her eye she watched as Nick carried Cassie into the room with Maddie close to his heels. She giggled at that. Maddie was just so entertained with the baby it was hilarious.

"Something smells good in here," Nick announced, glancing over his wife's shoulder, kissing her temple. "You need to do something about this dog. She won't leave us alone."

"She just loves you and Cassie so much, Tex," she laughed. "The spaghetti is ready. You might want to put her down for now. She could be out for an hour or two."

Nodding in agreement, Nick took Cassie upstairs into her crib. Double-checking to make sure the monitor was on; he joined his wife back in the kitchen for a late lunch.

"Don't you just love how much she sleeps now? It's so nice to be able to hear ourselves think," Danika said. "It's such an improvement from before."

Nick agreed, and it would hopefully would only get easier from there. If only Cassie would sleep like she was right now at night. Unfortunately for them, that wouldn't happen for a while yet.

"I do, but I'll love it more when she sleeps longer than an hour at a time," they both turned their heads when the phone rang. "I wonder who that could be."

"Only one way to find out," Danika answered. "Hello?"

"Danni, how are you doing?" she smiled, hearing Catherine's voice. "Nick wouldn't happen to be around would he? I need to ask him something."

"I guess I could get him for you," she said, handing the phone to Nick. "It's for you. Catherine needs to ask you something."

"This better be important, Cath," Nick answered as Danika cleaned up. "I mean, I guess I could. I don't think she'll mind. Yeah, you're welcome. Bye."

"Going back to work tonight?" Danika asked him.

"If that's all right," he said. "It's Ray's first official day and Catherine wants me to show him the ropes."

"That should be fun for him. Don't go too hard on him now; Tex. Ray's nowhere near your level."

"I'll do my best," Nick answered, rising to his feet, heading upstairs to get ready for work. Something that he hadn't needed to do for a while now. "No promises though."

"Get dressed," Danika pushed him towards the stairs. "You've missed it haven't you?"

"Little bit, but I can't deny it, being home was wonderful," he exclaimed from the bedroom, pulling his shirt over his head.

"It better have been," Danika laughed, turning on the television. "There better be something good on tonight."

"Talking to yourself already?" she jumped around. "I haven't even left yet."

"That was really fast, Nick," Danika gasped, holding her hand over her chest. "I don't even change that fast," It had been a long time since she had seen him in uniform. Granted, he didn't have his vest on which in all honesty was one of the things that made her crazy, but damn, her husband was one handsome guy.

"You checkin' me out?" he asked grinning widely.

"Where's your vest?" she asked, biting her bottom lip. There was something about that gun too. "Not feeling it tonight? What's that look for? Nick?"

"What look? I don't know what you're talkin' about," he answered. "I hope I can still remember how to get to work. It's been so long. I don't think I have been away from the lab this long before."

"You could get there with your eyes closed, Nick. Come on now," she said. "Tell everyone I say hi."

"Will do," he sighed, cupping her face with his hands. "You know, this is going to be the first time I won't be sleeping next to you. I don't know how I feel about that. I was really enjoying that part of staying home."

"It was bound to happen eventually, Nick," she answered. "Have fun, but not too much fun."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. Catherine wouldn't stick me with anything crazy today," he kissed his wife tenderly. "I love you."

"I love you too," she answered, leaning against his chest. "You should get going. You don't want to be late on your first day back."

"I think Catherine will understand," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Has it been long enough yet? This wait is killing me."

"One more week," Danika replied. "Almost there, Tex. You can make it."

"Will you make it worth my while?"

"I'll see what I can do," she smiled, stepping away from him. "Go, we'll be fine."

"If you insist," he kissed her once more before leaving the house. "I'll see you in the morning."

"You got it," Danika said, heading upstairs for herself.

Nick pulled his truck into the parking lot and entered the lab. It really had been a long time. Five weeks was a long time no matter what anyone said.

"There he is," Greg shouted not one minute after he entered the locker room. "There's Daddy Stokes. We missed you!"

"Are you all right, Greg?" Nick asked him.

"Are you kidding? I am perfect thank you very much."

"Right, where's Catherine?"

"Last I saw she was in her office," Greg answered. "I'll see you later."

"Uh huh," Nick shook his head, making his way to Catherine's office to only find it empty.

"There he is," he spun around at the sound of Catherine's voice. "Thank you for coming in on short notice. How's baby duty? I heard you and Danni were having a lot of fun at the beginning there for a while."

"I wouldn't have used those words exactly," Nick leaned against the doorframe. "But it's going well now. Thanks for asking."

"I thought so," she said. "Danika is doing well?"

"Yeah, she's doing really well."

"Good, are you ready to roll?"

"Oh yeah," Nick grinned. "I've been dying to get back here. Dr. Langston, welcome aboard. Officially that is."

"Thank you."

"406 on East Side, Ray's coming with ya," Catherine said.

"Okay."

"Enjoy," Catherine smiled at them both before heading into Wendy's lab.

"406, burglary," Ray said.

"Yeah, a little bread and butter crime'll be the perfect thing to get your feet wet," Nick told him. "Come on."

Why she even bothered falling asleep was beyond her. The moment Danika closed her eyes; Cassie woke her right back up. It was worth a shot. At least she was asleep for three hours instead of one. That was progress. Three hours was better than one even if it didn't feel like much of a difference. Nick was going to be all over that when she told him.

"Oh Cassie, what are we going to do with you?" Danika asked, lifting the baby out of its crib. "It's okay baby, it's okay. You're hungry aren't you?"

The man's long, greasy hair didn't get in his way as he watched the woman feed her child. He smiled, showing off his yellowed teeth, not moving his eyes away from the scene before him for one moment. The child was beautiful. There was no denying that fact. It made him so angry inside, but he wouldn't do anything now. He would just watch. Watch and wait. After all, the more he watched, the more he would learn.

"I'm telling ya, every time I turn around, one of those uni's is giving us the stink eye," Greg said as the group took their breakfast break before they started their double. "Is anyone else uncomfortable?"

"Come on now, you're imagining that," Nick told him.

"No, I'm not."

"That's what happens when you make a lab geek undersheriff," Riley added.

"Oh, that job is punishment enough. I actually feel sorry for Ecklie," Catherine laughed at the newest CSI. "You like burnt toast, Ray?"

"Occasionally, but uh I've seen enough charcoal for one day," he answered.

"Oh man," Nick said, looking at the fly twitching in his food.

"What?" Catherine asked.

"Look at that," he showed her the insect lying on his fork. "You see that?"

"Yeah," Catherine looked like she was about to heave. "Yeah, I do."

"Do you guys see this? He then turned to Riley and Greg.

"No wonder why Grissom loved this place so much," Greg joked.

Shrugging his shoulders, Nick brought the spoon to his mouth and ate it. Not bad.

"You didn't just do that, did you?" Riley asked, disgusted. "Ew!"

"What?"

"Check please!" Greg announced. "That was disgusting. I'm going to tell Lovebug! She's never going to kiss you again."

"That's what you think," Nick said.

"It's on me, Greg," Ray pulled out his wallet. "The new guy pays right?"

"Only if he's smart," Greg said. "You tell her you're working a double?"

"Yeah I did," Nick answered. "Thank you, Ray."

"Thank you," the others chimed in.

"It's my shift on the Palento stakeout. You coming?" Riley asked Ray.

"Yes."

"Oh, hey, Ray, I'll uh, give you a lift," Catherine offered.

"Okay, thanks."

"So, Nicky, Mr. Eater-of-Flies, I want you to have Grissom's office," Catherine finished off her drink.

"I thought you were gonna use it."

"I hate moving."

"I don't know about that. Doesn't really feel right," Nick said.

"Well, it may not for a while, but make it your own," Catherine said, leaving him the last one in the restaurant.

Was Catherine serious? Wanting him to take Grissom's office? Was that even allowed? That room could almost be considered sacred, or something. How could he take it and call it his own?

"How's everything going over there?" Nick asked, calling Danika when everyone else left back to the lab.

"Everything is going well over on our end, thanks for asking," she answered. "Cassie slept for three hours. Talk about exciting."

"Three hours?" Nick asked. "I like the sound of that."

"I thought you might," she laughed.

"What's the little pipsqueak doing? She sleeping now?" Nick asked.

"No, she just woke up actually," she told him. "We're on the floor and she's swinging her arms all around with an adorable smile on her face. She misses you."

"I miss her too," he grinned. "I miss you too, don't think I don't. I'm sorry that I have to work a double."

"It's not that big of a deal, Tex. You can't control that sort of thing," Danika said. "I miss you too, but you know what I really missed."

"What's that?" Nick asked intrigued.

"You're arms holding me close to you while I slept last night," Nick heard her let out a loud sigh. "I have to go, Nick. I'll see you when you get home."

"I love you, baby," he said. "And if Greg calls and tells you anything, don't believe him."

"Okay," she said cautiously. "I love you too."

Danika hung up the phone with another sigh. She didn't want to admit it aloud, but she actually was a little upset that he had to stay for a double on his first day back, but he really couldn't control that now could he? Cassie's eyes darted back and forth like usual as she sat beside her on the floor. Maddie, not to her surprise, was on her right side. Cassie missed Nick too, not that she really knew that yet, but Danika had a feeling that she knew he was missing.

Maddie barked at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Who could that be? Danika picked up Cassie, holding her to her chest and headed to the front door.

"Laura, what a surprise," Danika gave a sigh of relief seeing that it was the sixteen-year-old from right down the street. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Mrs. Stokes," Laura smiled brightly at her, handing her an envelope. "I just wanted to give this to you. It was taped to your mailbox. I didn't want it to blow away or anything. I didn't really know if it was important or anything so-" she trailed off.

"Thank you," Danika shifted Cassie to her left side, taking the letter from Laura's hands. "You didn't see who put it there did you?"

"No, ma'am," Laura shook her head. "It was just there flapping around. Cassie is getting big."

"You have no idea," Danika laughed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Laura waved. "Bye, Mrs. Stokes. Say hello to Mr. Stokes for me."

"Will do," Danika said, shutting the door behind her. "Now what do we have here?"

She put Cassie into her baby swing and tore open the letter. There was no return address, so there was no way she could tell who it was from.

"Your daughter is beautiful," she read confused. Maybe it was a late congratulation from a neighbor or something. A little bit of an odd way to say congratulations, but it was the thought that counts. Not thinking anything of it, Danika tossed the paper into the trashcan and continued on with her day.

"You sure you're okay with this? You can still change your mind," Greg asked as he, Riley, and Nick moved their belongings into Grissom's old office.

"No, you can't," Riley said. "I said I'd kill for an office, and I meant it. Even a shared one."

"This is a very classy move, Nick," Greg told him. "Very classy."

"Seriously." Riley added.

"Ah, you're welcome. There's go energy in here. It'll be nice to share it," Nick said, making sure to put everything into a proper place.

"This belongs here," Hodges marched into the office that now belonged to the three of them. Then left without another word.

"Um, am I missing something?" Riley asked.

"Don't worry about it," Nick said, placing a picture frame on his desk. "It's just Hodges."

"Say no more."

"That's an adorable picture, Nicky. When did you get that taken?" Catherine asked.

"Last week," he smiled. "Thanks, it was my favorite one. Don't tell though, Danni hates that one."

"Why?"

"Don't ask me," he said. "It must be a woman thing."

"Yeah, blame us," Riley stated.

"It's looking good in here, you guys. I'll see you all tomorrow," Catherine left with a wave.

"See ya, Cath," Nick sat down in the swiveled chair. "What a day, huh?"

"Fun one to come back to right, Daddy Stokes?" Greg asked.

"Are you going to call me that all the time now?" he asked. "Because it's going to get annoying really fast. In fact, I already find it annoying."

"I'm just playing with you, Nick, where's your sense of humor?" Greg asked, taking the photo into his hands. "Aw, I think I might cry from overload of cuteness. Riley, did you look at this?"

"Yeah I did," she said. "And normally I'm not a fan of little ones, but since she's yours, Nick. I think I can make an acceptation. I'm going to head out of here. I'll see you all later."

"Bye, Riley," Greg and Nick chorused.

"So when does Uncle Greg get to spoil the little princess rotten?" Greg asked.

"Not for a while yet, Greg. Give it a little time."

"But how am I going to be her favorite if I never see her?" Greg asked. "You have to see my point here, Nick."

"Why do you think you'll be the favorite?" Nick asked.

"Why wouldn't I be the favorite? I'm a fun guy," Greg answered. "Besides, if I'm walking around with her, it'll bring in the chicks."

"So that's what this is all about," Nick leaned back into the chair. "Getting the ladies. Well in that case, you're never going to see her and spend time with her."

"What?"

"Have you seen the people in Vegas, Greg? I'm not going to let you take her anywhere," Nick grabbed his jacket. "Rethink about what you want and I'll let you know. See ya tomorrow."