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ilariyalavorowrites · 8 months ago

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Stalking Me, Stalking You (CSI Nick Stokes) Part Five

Imagine: You never saw it coming, you never knew he was there until the moment he struck. For months, this individual had stalking you from the shadows, trying to find a way into your life. Never quite able to but in his mind, time was running out and soon enough you would be completely out of reach. This was the moment to act, to ‘rescue’ you and steal you away.

Warnings: Angst with a happy ending, kidnapping, hurt but eventual comfort. Suffering, lots of suffering, slow-moving plot, stalking, obsessive behaviour.

Pairings: Nick Stokes x Reader and Reader x OC (one-sided)

Word count: 2,528 words

Universe: CSI

Reader gender: Female

Part Five of Ten

Tagged: @just-call-me-the-old-hag @horsedragonllama @space-helen @kneelforloki @flopiboni @maddy-villain @ilkkawhat

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Chapter Five

Countdown: Four Months Remaining

The rattling of keys twisting in the lock was the sound that haunted you throughout this waking nightmare that you could not call living. It alerted you of his imminent presence.

He was allowing you a few precious moments to prepare for what he might have in store for the day. Every day had been different. Your jailer kept you on your toes, showing his prize for all to see. For that was all you would ever be, his pretty little pet tightly tethered, never able to wander far from his side, always within sight. Most would simply see an overzealous spouse, trying his best to keep his pregnant bride out of harm's way.

In light of your present condition, you had been trusted to sleep alone, locked in the master bedroom. A panic button had been recently installed to summon him to your side if such a need arose. Yet as the grains of sand slowly fell into your hourglass, it seemed more likely that you would have to push the damn red button.

He hardly mentioned your ever-growing waistline, only in polite company when it inevitably arose in conversation. He played his part beautifully like a doting father-to-be would. His facade of excitement vanished the second that the front door slammed shut, he could hide his thinly veiled expressions from you. His jealousy shone through, each time his eyes fell on your growing bump housing a life that he hadn’t had a hand in the conception of.

It was similarly a tool to use. You shivered at the thought of what he might do when the time came when your waters broke. The fear had been slowly building with each new day. You still had time. You were comfortably within your second trimester, around the five-month mark. Each new day brought with it surprises and a new round of nightmares as new scenarios played out on your inner silver screen as you slept.

Sleep itself was becoming increasingly more difficult, as your little one liked to rest against your bladder, so more often than not you’d have to get up more than a few times throughout the night. Each new development brought on a new degree of heartache, which reminded you of the fact that Nick should have been here for this. As the flutters and kicks grew stronger, the tears flooded like the bursting banks of a rushing river.

It could be easily explained away, hormones and mood swings of an expectant mother. Nothing out of the ordinary as you forced yourself to smile through the sorrow. The first rays of dawn creeping over the horizon shone through the closed drapes, hiding a large bay window that could not be opened, it had been nailed shut before you had been permitted to sleep within these hallowed walls.

The softness of the bed linen outshone any of the countless sheets and duvet covers that you owned, they were truly in a league of their own. Only matched the most luxurious hotel suites that you had found yourselves walking in, met the sight of the worst that humanity could do to one another. Still, such horror seemed a world away when compared to your imprisonment.

Yet the threat of violence was held by the thinnest of threads. You knew from on-the-job experience that one wrong step was all it took, one misplaced word could turn your world on its head. All of this would always, your continued existence was at his pleasure. You needed to continue to play the dutiful spouse and companion to see another sunrise like this one.

It was such a breathtaking sight to behold, watching as the vivid oranges and yellow dance through your fingers as the morning rays passed through the thin, silky curtains separating you from the outside world. Moments like this made you think of Nick, of gently waking to the sight of him still lost in dreams after a long night’s work. In those moments, he looks younger, the hard lines born from the difficult cases fade away in an instant.

You can easily lose yourself in daydreams of him for hours on end, remembering both the good times and the bad.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------You checked the time on your dashboard, as you turned into the hospital’s main car park. 5:45 pm was displayed on the tiny screen, your shift had been over for the last fifteen minutes. You still had plenty of time to spare since you hadn’t made any concrete plans for the night ahead outside of this stop. You could always call up Lexie, one of the few friends that you had made since starting your new job as you knew, she loved to party and dance away.

She was like you, a single woman living alone in the heart of Sin City. Where you differed was that she would easily go a little too wild and over the edge, as she got lost in the music and whoever she happened to be dancing with. She was a wild card but sometimes you needed to cut loose too. To forget the horrors of the day, the varying degrees of twisted minds that used the Vegas strip as their hunting ground.

As you manoeuvred your patrol car into the tiny space far from the entrance your thoughts quickly turned to the handsome CSI who you’d been crushing hard on for some time now easily making you smile. Nick Stokes was way out of your league, of that you were certain.

However, such thoughts would have to wait. You needed to check in with Lydia. You had promised her that you would come back to visit as she needed to stay in the hospital for at least one more night. You could still vividly picture the awful state that she was found in when you rolled up to answer the call.

She had been the lucky one, Lydia had survived by the skin of her teeth but the ones that came before hadn’t. She had been the last victim in the chain going back a fair few months, the one that refused to die. She had been the first case in which you were taking point, this was your case.

It had been a few weeks since your promotion to Detective. You had been riding that high through the cases that landed on your desk but they were not your priority like Lydia’s had been. It had been difficult to stop yourself from stepping over the line and remain strictly professional.

As you stepped out of your unmarked vehicle, before swiftly locking it behind you then crossing the parking lot and heading into the hospital and up towards the ward. The trip through the familiar white, sterile corridors was uneventful and barely took no more than ten minutes. You traversed the same path on each visit. You could get to the ward with your eyes closed if you wished to but you didn’t. As you’d likely bump into many people on your travels that way.

Soon you found yourself choosing to wait for the lift over taking the stairs and climbing up three flights to reach your destination. Your legs ached, from having chased a suspect as they fled from the scene of crime earlier on in the day. There was no way that you were going to take the more physically taxing option. As you watched the floor numbers slowly creep down from 6, a small crowd formed around you. All awaiting going your way, up. You didn’t glance around, knowing that it was likely a mix of visitors and staff.

It was getting closer by the second, you dared to hope that Lydia had taken the advice of the medical staff to see the onsite psychologist. She had only just started to come out of her shell, more so with each visit. You were seeing a ghost of a smile creep in now and then, in those brief moments of peace. It was understandable that she would never go back to the person that she used to but you wanted to help her find a new balance, a new sense of normal as she came to terms with the trauma that she had gone through.

The pain would fade, the cuts and broken bones would mend but the mental anguish would linger on. Lydia had been beaten within an inch of her life, her face heavily bruised and almost recognisable. The ding announcing that the lift’s arrival dragged you out of your thoughts of then.

You stepped in, ready to press 3 on the panel but before you could a voice spoke “Which floor?” You turned your head, politely smiling in their direction before answering. “Three please”

Your focus quickly turned away from the kind stranger, you’d give them a second thought as the doors slid shut and the lift began to ascend.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- “As of this moment, this case is now part of an ongoing Federal Investigation”

Agent Aveline Montgomery confidently spoke to the CSIs standing across from her. She watched as her men rounded up the last of the evidence boxes. This latest victim had surprisingly outlasted all of the prior ones. The pattern had been fixed, as usually by the time the second set of photographs arrived, the women would have already been discarded. According to the profile, he treated them like broken toys who failed to live up to the seemingly unreachable heights of his deluded fantasy.

This individual had eluded the long of justice for the last eight years, having crossed multiple state lines to abduct his chosen few but the bodies of the murdered women that come before had never been found. He had held onto those failures, as tightly as he had done when they had been alive. The detective had been different, she had played along and survived. She had been his ideal, fitting the mould that all those others had failed to fit into.

She glanced up at the photographs pinned to the layout board. Each had been taken in a similar vein, softly lighting her oddly intimately. It was as if he had been covertly caressing her form, showing his deeply twisted desires in a few frames. However, they lacked any signs of escalating violence, no fear in the subject’s eyes as her last moments were captured. The final image had always been the same, that of the woman’s broken, dead body. His rage displayed front and centre as his hatred for failure bled through.

Aveline could only imagine the delight that this sick prick must have felt the moment that his chosen victim did not break the immersion. She had theorised that the killer was trying to right a perceived wrong that had been committed. Trying to rewrite a part of their personal history. The others had made him truly face the fractured reality, to face what had gone wrong the first go-round leading them to their deaths.

Aveline had been doing this job for the best part of twenty years but this one could be the cornerstone of her career. She refused to let this one slip any further through her fingers.

“This will be a Joint Taskforce as this perpetrator has knowingly crossed state lines to abduct then murder his victims when they fail to play the role that he has assigned.” She briefly explained, turning her focus back to the silent few, taking their varying facial expressions from left to right. Each told a story, some more openly than others.

One stood out from the crowd, the victim’s partner Nicolas Stokes, she would have to keep an eye on him. Hoping that he won’t become a problem but then again, she could handle such delicate situations if she needed to. Aveline just dared to think that it wouldn’t come to that. Emotions are already running high, this was a case that hit home for many an officer. It would be akin to walking on eggshells, knowing that the next step could crack a few.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------Another round of bad news, that was all Nick needed right now, further souring his already rotten mood. These days, it was hard for the Texan to be anything other than sullen. What did he have to smile about when his partner had not been found?

Progress had been slow, as if they were being drip-fed. Tips had been few and far between, and lately, they had all been dead ends until the second set of photographs had arrived only a few days prior. He had been wrapped up in chasing down each lead, hopefully at the possibility that this informant would be the one to lead him straight to you. However, each time the disappointment would quickly set in as reality came down hard, like a ton of bricks when they reached the inevitable unsatisfactory conclusion. She was not home.

Seeing his name scrawled across another manila envelope was the wake-up call he needed, kicking him into high gear. This time, it had been different. This one had been posted directly to his home address. A fresh lead with the very real chance of a paper trail, it had to lead somewhere. It had been the last chase that he had observed before the Feds had turned up.

Nick stood off to one side as he watched Greg enter the information pulled from the latest envelope into various databases. Mandy had not been able to find any useable fingerprints, only smudges but they still had been logged as a longshot. Hodges’s chemical analysis had been nearly identical to the one for the first envelope.

Each avenue ventured had drawn a blank, Nick couldn’t even bring himself to take a proper look at the photographs. It had just been too difficult, Catherine had swiftly taken charge taking them from him. He had only seen the first image but that had been enough, if he had been anyone else, he might have seen it as a loving candid shot, taken to show off the woman that the photographer adored but that’s not what it revealed.

It was a wild expression of obsession, a gross exaggeration of prideful glee at gazing longingly at his prize from a safe distance. She never knew that he was there, photographing her when she was vulnerable. It was impossible to forget the sorrowful expression on her face as she sat wistfully staring out of a window with a book perched upon her lap, forgotten in the moment.

It burnt him, something wicked that son of a bitch truly had been tracking her every step of the way for god knows how long. A silent observer with a persistent and unhealthy preoccupation fixated upon his partner. Nick had never seen this coming, his imagination could never dream up such an outcome. Yet here he was.

He had been suppressing his steadily growing rage and frustration for the last few weeks as the investigation began to grind to a complete standstill. Now, this latest development would be the final push to trip him over the edge.

“This isn’t right”

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ilariyalavorowrites · 10 months ago

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Stalking Me, Stalking You (CSI Nick Stokes) Part Four

Warnings: Angst with a happy ending, kidnapping, hurt but eventual comfort. Suffering, lots of suffering, slow-moving plot, stalking, obsessive behaviour.

Pairings: Nick Stokes x Reader and Reader x OC (one-sided)

Word count: 4,535 words

Universe: CSI

Reader gender: Female

Part Four of ten

Tagged: @just-call-me-the-old-hag @horsedragonllama @space-helen @kneelforloki @flopiboni @maddy-villain @ilkkawhat

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As you stood at the bar, sighing after having lost sight of your friend for the third time. At least one of you was having a good time as you continued to nurse your first drink of the evening. With the thin red straw between your lips as your eyes flitted over the crowded dance floor, watching them dance to the beat of an unfamiliar song. However, your gaze was drawn like a moth to a flame to the sight of a familiar face as he made his way off the floor and over to the bar. You leaned back against the cold, hard surface of the marble bar top before placing your glass down upon the surface.

You could not help it as a smile graced your lips when his eyes found yours. It felt much like the start of a cheesy romance novel. “Hey you, fancy bumping into you here tonight” Nick said loudly, trying his best to overcome the thumping of the drum and bass. “I need to lose myself after that last shift. Dance the night away, looks like you've got a head start on me” You playfully teased, as he moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you. This was one of the few times he had seen you out of your regular tailored suit and trousers. However, Nick hadn't expected to see you in a form-fitted short dress that seemed to kiss your knees each time it lightly brushed past.

It was a welcome sight indeed. A coy smile played on his lips as he leaned on the bar, his eyes leaving yours but a moment as he ordered his drink. Your gaze raked over his form, as you briefly let yourself get lost in your foolish crush as you relished in the proximity of his body to your own. Nick edged himself closer, with a hand raised to catch the attention of the bartender. His tight form-fitting t-shirt paired with black skinny jeans fitted the particular club scene to a tee as he relayed his order to the man behind the bar. All while a playful grin lingered upon his lips, as his gaze returned to meet yours.

As you stared into the mirror on the dresser, you could not help but notice him standing in the doorway. The reflection of your abductor. The man who claimed to be your salvation, to have rescued you from hell on earth, only to deliver you straight into the heart of the inferno.

“Darling, dinner is nearly ready and Mrs Branson has dished up all your favourites” His voice was calm but his words felt heavily practised as if he had spoken directly from a script. One that he held with a cast iron grip, one that changed at his beck and call.

“Oh, that’s oh so kind of her” You replied, knowing that the housekeeper doubling as a chef knew only what he had fed her. Tales of false lives lived, of a loving husband and his distant wife who had been away for many months at a time to care for her ailing mother. One that had peacefully passed on which summoned him to bring his beloved home. A passionate marriage built solely on falsehoods and outright lies.

With one hand cradling the ever-growing bump hidden beneath the flowing fabric, you pushed yourself to your feet before waddling over to him, taking the crook of his arm. Memories of Nick were still fresh and at the forefront of your mind as you fiddled with the ring upon your left hand.

One that did not belong to you, one that felt more like a ball and chain keeping you prisoner. A constant reminder that your freedom was not your own. The white gold band felt more like a lead weight than a wedding ring. This make-believe was all just an act, a live-action roleplay where you were cast as in the role of a lifetime, one that you were dying to play. A fact that he had harped on about for the last few nights, as you lay in bed inches away from him.

He would not dare touch you, not in your condition. A stray roaming hand caressing up your thighs was more than enough for now. To keep him content as he played the role of a lifetime that he longed for—the doting husband who worshipped at the feet of the pedestal where he placed his wife.

As you swayed and danced to the beat of an unfamiliar song, you were quickly drawn back into the moment Nick’s hand pulled you further into his welcoming embrace as you smoothly moved around the floor. There was nothing but the two of you in this moment as your head laid down upon his chest and you lost yourself to the rhythm.

Enjoying the closeness of how it felt to be pressed up against him. His hands rubbed up and down your back, it was pure ecstasy as you leaned into it, and your lips found his. Shock overtook your senses but you did not pull away, neither did he. The seconds ticked by, as your lips flowed effortlessly over his as the kiss heated up.

It had begun as a surprisingly soft kiss. Nick had been caught off guard from the moment that her lips had brushed his softly, delicate like the petals of a rose would kiss, would brush past barely there. To give him a taste of what could be, if he dared to take the plunge.

Oh, how he dared, dangling over the edge ready to drive in head first. Nick had never considered the possibility of a moment like this to occur. His lips were tentative at first but once the shock had passed then all bets were firmly off. There must have been signs but all of them had gone over his head as he pulled her closer, deeper into his embrace as they continued to sway around the floor.

Nick could not help but reflect upon that night, the first of many. As he stared down at the image displayed on the board opposite him. Each one of them had been burnt into memory but the last deeply disturbed him. It had been the one he saw into the worst of his nightmares of late. His failure to save her from this surmounting terror. An unknown adversity had chosen her for this most wicked of games but seemed to be unwinnable.

The memory of their first kiss had been in the heat of the moment but she had been the one to initiate it. To take that leap of faith and cross the line hovering between them. He had hesitated, contemplating the countless pointless reasons to stay in his lane. Do not try and see if he had been interpreting the signs incorrectly. Thankfully that hadn’t been the case.

The weight of her body against his was electric, as his lips slid effortlessly over hers. Nick’s mind was racing as it fogged up with images of what could come next. Racy, raunchy and most definitely delicious possibilities flooded through his mind but not tonight. He would have to push down those thoughts for now at least. Nick Stokes, categorically was a gentleman first and a player second. As he slowly pulled back, his breath quickened and his heart thumped harder than before. He found himself admiring her, whether it be reddening cheeks or the well-loved lips that he could not help but intensely stare at, wanting nothing more than another taste. A goofy smile played on his lips as the seconds ticked by. “Never thought you’d be interested in me that way Darlin’” He breathlessly spoke, each word drawn out as if it was drowning in smooth honey.

“Let me show again, I’ve wanted to do that for ages Nick. I like you more than I think I should” She called back, the words mixing in with the beat of the next song as she once again claimed his lips and kissed him deeply in the middle of the dance floor. Her lips eagerly mapped out the slopes and valley of his back. This heated exchange had been the first of many that night, they had never crossed that invisible line lingering firmly between them. Only kissing as if they were love-struck teens in between brief moments of conversations. It had been breathtaking to see this passionate side of her. At the end of the night, he had eagerly walked her back to her car. Smiling from ear to ear with his hand firmly entwined with hers. “Hey, I like to take you out to dinner or breakfast. Whatever comes first” He had rambled out as he stood there, still holding her hand.

“Like a date?” She had called back, there had been a hopeful glint in her eyes that he could hardly tear himself away from. “Yeah, a date if you want to of course” It had been a painful few minutes before she had answered but he hadn’t needed to hear those words as the huge megawatt smile upon lips gave away the answer.

Nick remembered the first few seconds after they had parted, as he made his way over his own car. Still smiling as he began to think over the next step. This had not been how he had envisioned the night to go but here he was, with a date to plan for. With his colleague and friend, one who he had never thought saw him in any other light. He had seen past the service weapon and badge to see the strong-willed woman underneath.

Greg had been the one to crush hard, first with Sara then with her and any other woman who might give him the time of day. Nick had always been the player, the one to catch the girl's eye and take them out of the town before moving on. He had never found the right one. She was most definitely different.

He stood there, waiting for answers as a single thumbprint had been recovered from the photographic paper. Mandy had put a rush on it, it was a priority and needed to be compared to ones already in CODIS. He dared to hope for a match as it had been blow after blow. For now, it looked like they were making progress, they would wander haplessly in another dead end. The Texan needed a catch-a-break, to crack this case wide out.

“Nick” The sound of his name being called was enough to bring him back down to reality and out of his daydreaming. He lifted his gaze to find the familiar sight of Mandy standing there in the doorway, with the report in hand but something was off. Whether that be in the way that she held herself, almost halfway out of the room. Her bespectacled gaze barely met his own. This was not the type of news that he was hoping for.

“Not in the system then” Nick spoke, sighing jumping the gun before the lab tech could get a word out.

“Actually it is but it’s linked to an Active Federal Investigation” Mandy interjected, knowing this was going to be the start of a world of frustration. Agents would soon be knocking at their door, wanting access to all the evidence that the Lab had collectively gathered. Descending upon them like a plague as they overtook the case and ripped it right out of their hands.

Nick was not going to let that happen. “Thanks, Mandy,” He said as he took a look over the information for him. The thumbprint seemed to taunt him from the print, as he stared down at the word UNKNOWN MATCH almost daring it to burn. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------You sat stiffly to the right of him, playing the role perfectly. You were meant to be his ideal little housewife. Keep busy during the daylight behind these four walls and only take out of your self-contained box at his beck and call. His ironclad tightening hold upon your hand was unwelcomed and all you wanted to do was pull away.

You couldn’t, that would create a scene and unwelcome attention that he would quickly write off with a litany of excuses. You would pay for it though when he and you were finally alone. This was just another dinner party to get through by the skin of your teeth as you acted your heart out to play the doting wife.

You would envision Nick in his stead, standing there proudly staring down at your swollen stomach housing his unborn child safely within. Yet, this was not the case as you carefully watched those envious daggered stares aimed at what was not the product of his loving touch. This was all the more reason to pander to his slimy desires, to his wants and needs even if it felt oh so wrong to do so. You needed to bide your time, wait out the clock and not upset your captor too much.

He would slip up eventually then you’d make your daring escape. As you raised the glass that you held in your hand in toast. The fruit juice sloshed from side to side. “Here’s to all who could join us on this most wonderful of evenings” You started, selecting your next words ever so carefully.

“To my husband and your host, cheers” You plastered a false smile upon your lips as you turned to take in the look on his face. Grateful to discover a pleasant smile beaming back in your direction. Gone was that look of jealousy that sent shivers down your spine. For now, you’d get through the night and see the rising sun of morning then it would all begin again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Five years ago

You stood there in the locker room taking it all in, with your service weapon holstered on your left hip. The light brown uniform top paired with the standard issue trousers fit like a glove but the smile upon your lips just won’t disappear. The golden shield pinned to your top for all those who glanced your way to see. It sat just below your radio with its long trailing wire connected to the battery pack hidden in one of the pockets on the thick black standard-issue belt that your service weapon was holstered into.

This was the day that you had been eagerly waiting for. Although your parents were far from keen on the idea of you uprooting yourself across state lines. They would have rather you joined one of the local law enforcement departments but Vegas had come calling. It was dang near impossible to resist.

This was your first job, fresh out of the academy and you were as green as they came but it was a rush to find yourself assigned to Sin City. You were expecting to be thrown into the deep end, a graveyard shift straight from the get-go but the sun still shone high in the sky. Maybe, they were planning to treat you with kid gloves. You didn’t know what felt worse.

“Officer, you’re riding with me” The voice of your new partner echoed through the room catching your attention, snapping you out of your daydream. This was the person charged with training you. The one that you’d spend countlessly riding up and down the Strip with as you grabbled with radio codes and all the various crimes committed at the drop of a hat for reasons both simple and complex.

Learning on the job was part of the experience, one that you were ready and willing to jump into as you turned to face Officer Ashby. For Andrew Ashby, this was not his first rodeo or his first rookie. You were the latest in a string of many that had come before, sometimes he felt much like a revolving door.

One came, only to be replaced by another after they passed through the final exam and were sent out onto the streets. In his eyes, you were just the next in a long line of Green Officers who were too naive and not street-wise to be aware of what it was truly like out on the beat. To work the streets, alongside the scum of the earth, the users and the worst of humanity.

This would be a crash course that would open your eyes for better or for worse. This was only the beginning, he doubted you’d last the week, let alone the shift before deciding to get on out of dodge.

“Come on Rookie” He called before exiting the locker room. You did your best to match his pace as you wandered through the Precinct. Your gaze danced from left to right taking in each little detail as you followed Ashby out past the front desk. He did not speak to anyone as he went, his eyes firmly fixed upon the path ahead.

The desk sergeant nodded your way, you raised a hand to wave back. First impressions were important, especially if you intended to stay, which you did.

“Rookie, this way. You can social butterfly later” He grunted at you, without ever turning his head back to look at you. You picked up the pace, trying to push down the embarrassment as it arose and your face turned a deeper shade of red.

The police cruiser stood silent, awaiting its driver for the night. Officer Ashby swiftly unlocked the door before sliding behind the wheel. You exited the building, taking the sight of the black and white vehicle, number painted upon the roof with the light housed front and centre. Without a second thought, you rounded the car before opening the passenger side door and taking the seat beside Ashby. As you pulled the door closed, the engine roared to life.

“Let’s not waste time, mine or yours. Prove to me that you are serious about being here” His words hit hard, you knew that this was what you wanted to do. You had fought hard to get through the trials and tribulations that the Academy flung your way. You felt small like a child being scolded for daring to stand on two feet.

“I have no intention of wasting anyone’s time. Let’s get rolling sir” You shot back, trying to nip this in the bud this early in the night. Silence fell as the radio crackled in life. You watched as he answered reeling off radio codes rapidly, showing his years of practice when engaging and coordinating with the dispatchers. You recognised a few but one stood out. 419 was the code for a dead body. What a way to start your very first shift.

The relentless heat of the afternoon sun hanging high in the sky, baked the bare skin of your neck as you stood at the side of the road. This lonely stretch of desert highway was not where you’d thought to end up for the first call out. A jeep had careened, crashing straight through the barrier before colliding hard with the tree below.

The paramedics had been and gone, the driver was already dead. Ashby had been the one to radio in for a coroner and forensics. All you could do now was wait, all the necessary protocols had been carried out and at least he had let you take notes as you followed his lead.

As you awaited the arrival of the Crime Scene Investigators assigned to work this case. You couldn’t help but wonder. They were the scientific side of the coin, working in tandem with the police department to unravel the questions of who, how and on occasion the why. You had tried probing Andrew but he said very little.

“They gather the evidence, what else do you need to know” His tone was curt, refusing to elaborate any further than that. You could not help but notice the painfully obvious chip on his shoulder as the sound of an approaching vehicle rumbling from behind you caught your attention.

With your gaze fixated upon the horizon, you watched as the car came into sight. As the lone black four-door SUV pulled up and parked, you caught the tail-ended of Officer Ashby’s mutterings. “Took them long enough” This was the first of many cues that you could not miss, your training officer was already in a sour mood. You didn’t want to make it any worse, as you closed the gap to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, beside your fellow officer.

You watched as the two criminalists exited their vehicle carrying their kits, the tools of their trade. Each of them could easily be described as handsome, but your gaze settled on the shorter of the two men. Your already flustered cheeks could explained away by the heat of the afternoon, masking the first flutters of butterflies.

Whenever Nick was asked about their initial encounter, he would also hark back to the fact that they had met through work, stringing the few split-second moments together. Each had started the same way. He remembered that those early days before their friendship had truly taken over, had been whilst he and Warrick had been assigned to work the swing shift with Catherine as their supervisor.

He recalled that their introductory had been awkward and plagued by the chill of her training officer. Officer Andrew Ashby was a decent, hardworking member of the police department but it was hard to shake off that bitter glare that he shot his way, whenever they happened to cross paths at a crime scene. He was a stick in the mud who believed that boots on the ground, good old-fashioned police work trumped whatever they did in that musky lab.

Nick couldn’t help but notice her, a new and unfamiliar face. Never knowing that this was the very start of a journey that they could embark on together.

With the crime scene and jeep fully photographed, Nick climbed back up the embankment, needing to head back to the lab to get the evidence to the various lab techs for processing. He glanced from left to right to make sure that he had not missed evidence of the vehicle's descent as every the smallest detail could be vital to getting the answers to what had happened to their victim Cory DeMayo.

Nick had his theories as to what might caused the crash but without the evidence, they were just that, theories. He had noted that Officer Ashby had been one of the first responders on the scene after the Neveah Power company had called in the crashed jeep. When he and Warrick had pulled up, he had seen Detective Chris Cavaliere receiving the rundown from Ashby but it was who was standing off to one side that caught Nick’s attention.

He had never seen her before, she must have been Ashby’s latest assigned rookie. A new fresh face to work alongside. Warrick had called him out, as they carefully clambered down to where the runaway jeep had come to rest.

“Good luck with getting past Lukewarm Ashby Nick, he’ll never let you say more than a few words to her” It was a fair assessment of the other man’s character, he rarely went beyond cordial to anyone other than Catherine or Grissom but that was more down to their job title than their personalities. He respected them only as far as their seniority and authority went.

When he was finally back up on the highway, Nick found himself unconsciously searching her out and when his gaze found hers, it was only polite to go over and introduce himself. With a warm smile spread from ear to ear and his hand out for her to take, Nick made the first move.

“Hey, I’m Nick Stokes, CSI. Nice to meet you” He said with a smile, as he noticed that she seemed to be caught off guard for a split second. Maybe, she hadn’t thought that he could speak to her, that must be Ashby’s doing. She quickly took his hand, accepting the olive branch and introduced herself but before she could say anymore, Ashby cut in.

“Rookie, we’re heading out. Stokes don’t you have anything better to do than trying to flirt with my trainee” Ashby swiftly commanded her with an iron glad authoritative tone matching any seasoned general when addressing the soldiers servicing under them.

“Goodbye, it was nice to meet you too” She had quickly replied, her words warm and friendly as she turned to leave. Nick stood there for a moment longer, watching the two of them leave. He could not quite make out what was being said, Ashby was doing most of the talking, likely reprimanding her for the perceived slight that she had made in that brief few seconds.

Warrick had been right but still, Nick couldn’t help but smile as he climbed into the SUV and drove off back to the lab.

Their next few chance encounters had played out the same, as if they were reading from a script penned by Officer Ashby. Short and sweet but never going beyond, colleagues being cordial to one another before he stepped in to whisk her away. He always seemed to be waiting in the wings, never more than a few feet away. Warrick thought it was incredibly comical but Nick never gave much weight to the other’s man actions. He just laughed it off and went about with his day. You wandered through the halls, your latest shift had come to an end. Andrew dismissed you but not before giving one last order. To file the last of the paperwork before heading off home. A simple administrative task that would take no more than a few minutes, he had slowly started to allow you to step up and have a more active role, instead of just passively watching and taking notes.

You had made your first arrest earlier in the day and for the first time, you truly felt like a police officer. The sound of your name being called stopped you in your tracks. You turned to find yourself face-to-face with the brunette Texan who never missed the chance to stop and say hello.

“Good evening CSI Stokes” You amiably greeted him, knowing this was the first chance that you had gotten to speak more than a few simple words to him.

“You can call me Nick” His words were playful, teasing you for your formality. You couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright Nick, I just need to file this as I made my first arrest today then I’m done for the week” You continued, finding it incredibly easy to eager in small talk with him.

“You’ve probably heard it all before, sorry” You couldn't help but apologise for your excited ramblings. “No, I get it as I was the same when I closed my first case. Warrick and I are going to get something to eat if you want to join us then you can tell us about your arrest”

“I’d like that, if I’m not imposing” You answered, happy at the very notion of getting to know both of them. “No imposition at all, I’ll wait for you in Reception”

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