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ilariyalavorowrites · 7 months ago

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

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: 3,068 words

Universe: CSI

Reader gender: Female

Part three of ten

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

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Monday, Midnight

Greg and Morgan sat side by side, as Archie worked his magic on the various clips of CCTV. Each of the three larger monitors displayed different parts of a timeline that had been created by the day shift’s visual and audio tech Franklyn. They watched as their friend exited her known and preferred coffee shop with her piping hot beverage alone. This had been the last place that she had seen when Officer Sawyer had taken the barista’s statement.

“This is the only first clip that Dayshift obtained after the warrant for her finances came through” Morgan stated with the matching report in hand. The short clip showed nothing out of the ordinary. There was no one tailing her, no strange car parked with a window partially wound down with the driver trying to look casual as their eyes trailed after her.

“It confirms the Barista’s statement at the very least” Greg replied as his gaze shifted to the second screen. Archie paused the first clip and then slid the cursor to the play the next one.

All of them were teetering on the edge of professionalism. Trying their best to push aside their personal feelings. They needed to try at the very least to view the evidence collected like any other case. It was going to be a long night especially as Greg and Morgan had been the ones assigned to review what was already there for this shift.

The plan was for hands on deck over the next few shifts, to hand over the new details and brief the incoming day shift at the end of their night then repeat the process with a fresh set of eyes the next night.

“This one isn’t the greatest quality, it’s a wall-mounted camera from one of her neighbours that was discovered by the door-to-door interviews” Archie stated as the pixelated footage started. Both Morgan and Greg noted the timestamp, it had been captured at 2:30 in the afternoon.

“This camera will only record when the motion detection is triggered as you both know” Archie reminded them as they all watched as a battered, Silver Chevrolet Cruze drove past. It did not match the make and model of the car that the Detective had, which had yet to be located even with the BOLO that had been put out with all the necessary details. It had vanished into thin air.

Notes from the lead CSI Ava Dane stated that none of the neighbours had recognised the car when they had spoken after reviewing the footage. One neighbour had commented that he noticed the vehicle when he had returned from home at around 3:10 but he had heard tyres screeching loudly about twenty-five minutes later and when he looked at the window, it was gone.

There had been a slight skid mark noted and photographed from outside that particular address which had been run through the system and matched commonly used wheels. It had the first dead end.

“Franklyn managed to recover a partial plate after cleaning up the image, I won’t be able to get much more than that due to video quality” The tech apologised, knowing that this was not what the two of them wanted to hear.

“It’s a start at least” Morgan responded, trying to remain positive as she turned to the next report. Her eyes rapidly moved over the data displayed there. “It looks like the day shift ran that plate, there’s a fair few listed but they eliminated half”

As her eyes drifted down the page, they stopped over one particular name. As memories of the case that she had worked on came flooding back. The Detective had been waiting for her at the scene.

Vaughn Mikhailov was a two-bit drug dealer, he and his older brother Artem had been targeted and shot at in a drive-by gangbangers after they had tried to move in on the turf of another local dealer. The initial warnings had been ignored by the pair, and this had led to the car being targeted. Vaughn had been in the backseat, he had barely been clipped by a single bullet in his left shoulder but Artem hadn’t been as lucky.

He had died at the scene, bleeding out whilst waiting on the paramedics. Vaughn had been cooperative to a point, but eventually, he just screamed at her friend when she had in his eyes failed to get justice for his brother.

It was not always possible to reach a satisfactory end to every case, it had been one of those which slipped through the crack when the leads had all run cold. Morgan remembered that her friend had noted that this had not been her first rodeo with either of the Mikhailov brothers.

“The first time I met them was when I was working the beat, I arrested Artem for soliciting a working girl and Vaughn for dealing. Both of them had rap sheets as long as your arm. It's their mother, I feel for each time one of them ends up in court”

There had been sympathy that lingered as she listened, as it turned out their mother had raised both the boys single-handedly after their father had run off. She had tried her best but they had been drawn into the fast-paced lifestyle of wheeling and dealing. As she watched, the detective informed the woman of her son’s death.

“What is it, Morgan?” Greg asked, noticing that Morgan had not spoken and became transfixed by one of the reports further in. He leaned, to see what she had been reading. It was the list of cars compiled by the plate search.

“Vaughn Mikhailov,” She said looking up to meet his gaze. Greg’s gaze narrowed perplexed as he did not recognize the name. However, before he could reply, Morgan beat him to the punch.

“It was a drive-by shooting case, I worked a few weeks back and she was the lead detective assigned work to the case alongside me” She started, knowing that she would need to give him more than that if they were going to start to seriously look at him as a potential suspect.

“He and his older brother were targeted after trying to move into another dealer’s turf. His brother died at the scene. He was far from happy with how things went but he had a chip on his shoulder as she had arrested him more than a few times in the past” Once she had finished speaking, Morgan waited for Greg to process the information that had been dumped upon him.

“So he held her responsible for not finding his brother’s killer then. Greg asked, Morgan nodded before one last comment. “He had an axe to grind”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday, 4 am

With one hand poised, Nick firmly knocked upon Russell’s closed office door. In a roundabout way, he had expected the text summoning him to the supervisor’s office but not this soon. He had hoped that he would be one way approaching Russell but then again, at least this way soon enough everything would be out in the open.

This was not the way that he had hoped that this conversation would be initiated. He knew that she had already started telling her partner and fellow officers about her boyfriend whenever she had a spare few minutes. She had also scheduled a meeting with HR on the day that she was meant to be returning to work. Nick then would approach Russell around the same time as she would have been seated down with HR. Effectively killing two birds with one stone

This had always been their plan when things became more serious between the two of them. Multiple discussions had arisen, on when, where and how they approach their collective jobs regarding their romantic relationship and the potential impact on both of their jobs that would need to be addressed and solutions put into place.

She had planned to offer to be moved from Graveyard to Swing or Day if no other compromise could be reached. Where it would be possible for both of them both work the same shift pattern without any issues. Departmental policy had previously torn Sara from the team when her relationship with Grissom came to light, they had wondered how it would have played out for them.

Yes, they were still colleagues working alongside another one, but not under the same direct supervisor. They crossed over for Homicide and Forensic evidence collection and investigation came hand in hand. Without one, you couldn’t have the other.

“Come in” Russell’s voice called from behind the door, bringing Nick back of his thoughts as he pushed the handle and then the door inwardly. “Hey Russell…” He greeted the man sitting behind the desk but what he hadn’t expected was Catherine being in the room, standing off to one side behind Russell.

“Shut the door Nick” Russell continued as he went through the motions of crossing the threshold and closing the door behind him and moved further into the office to stand before the pair staring straight at him.

“I know this is about Detective..” Her name rolled off his tongue, one that had fallen on his lips many times before. “Look, I know that I should have told you..” Nick started to try and explain the position that he had found himself in.

“Nick, I need to know that you’ll be able to recuse yourself if you cross that emotional line where you start to lead your heart, not your head. For as long as you can remain objective then you still work on the case but the moment, that you step over that line. I will remove you and you’ll be treated just like every other significant other or next kin on every other case that had past through this department” Russell spoke with a conviction that could not be ignored or overturned. This was a promise that he would not go back on.

Nick quickly nodded, happily agreeing with his supervisor’s conclusion. “This will have to be logged with HR and I’ll arrange the meeting shortly” Russell said before turning to Catherine. “Anything you want to add?” He said, pulling her into the dialogue. Catherine had been quietly observing the short back and forth between the pair.

“Nicky, from here on out, we’ll be watching closer. Please understand, that we want to bring her home as much as you do. Still, we have to follow the rules and ensure there nothing can be challenged further down the line” Her words held a warmth that Nick had felt before, the familial love that had developed and grown over the many years that they had worked together. Once again, Catherine was looking after him, all whilst balancing the integrity of the crime lab and their necessary work on top of that. It was a well-practice balancing act that she had perfected over the last decade.

All it took would be one step in the wrong direction and it would come tumbling back down. That could not happen, no it would not help.

------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday 2 am

As the night rolled by, evidence was processed, reviewed and reported, with the new findings and avenues to venture down next added to the ever-growing list.

The one initially weak lead that had cropped up early in the shift strengthened as prints from the scene which had been set running whilst the sun was still up bore fruit. Morgan’s theory now seemed more plausible as the same name popped up once more, this could not just be a coincidence in the name of bad blood.

Morgan turned to Greg, still trying to wrap her head around this as there were still too many variables that did not make a lick of sense. She could understand the steps taken to enact some twisted form of payback by breaking into the detective’s home and destroying everything that she might hold dear. There were no signs of a struggle, no blood splatter or trail to imply that they had been lying in wait for her to return.

With the crime scene photos laid out on the table between them, this felt much like the pieces of a puzzle waiting to be put together to reveal the image displayed upon the box when a handful of key tiles were missing, creating holes in the image. “This isn’t the primary scene, there is no indication that she ever came back. Two separate indications with one connecting factor, her” Morgan said, churning over the thoughts in her head out loud as she tried to make any sense of it all.

“What do we know about Vaughn Mikhailov, beyond his last arrest report?” Greg started before listing off what had been discovered thus far “His prints are all over this crime scene, his car matches the mark and model spotted on the neighbour's CCTV but why would a dealer break into a cop’s home in broad daylight?” He posed the question to Morgan, the blonde’s face twisted in confusion as she tried to gather together a logical answer but found none.

“How did he find her address? That’s what bugs me unless he tailed her previously but according to the neighbour’s statement” Morgan replied, fishing out the relevant document from the box on her side of the table and turning to the right page. “That car had never been caught on camera before that day and those cameras had been up for more than six months”

“The only way that we’ll get satisfactory answers is that Vaughn Mikhailov needs to be found and brought in for questioning” Morgan nodded her head in agreement, the two-bit criminal had a lot to answer for.

“Brass put has BOLO out on Mikailov’s car”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday, 4:30 am

The blinding flash of blue lights and screeching sirens were not out of place as the convoy of vehicles pulled up in front of the homestead. Its chain link fence had seen better days, half still attached to the poles that marked the edge of the property and the rest lost within the depths of the tall grass that desperately needed cutting.

The property itself was registered to one Nikolai Mikhailov, the cousin of their prime suspect. It was not out of the ordinary for Vaughn to crash on his cousin’s sofa when his mother threw him out for the third time that week. Officers had called the property in the past, more often than not on matters of public nuisance or disturbance. Nikolai loved to party well into the small hours and was not shy about using violence to silence any complaining neighbours if they dared to call the cops on him.

Detective Captain Jim Brass surveyed the scene from behind the cruiser’s side door and soon found what he was looking for. With the garage door half enough, it was plain to see the car parked within, its license plate matching the suspect’s known vehicle of choice. No lights could be seen from the street as Officers tentatively approached the front door, ready to burst through the door and apprehend whoever was on the other side.

With the fury of valkyries leading the charge, the officers breached through the threshold as calls of LVPD came and went as Jim watched them disappear inside. This had to be it, this had to be the end of the road.

He was not the only one listening in, as the Officers inside cleared the scene. The investigated interest ran through from the bottom straight up to the top. She was one of them

‘419’ The code of a dead body came crackling over the airwaves, a dead body had been discovered. A chill rushed through him as he envisioned the very sight of her lying there, with empty, glazed-over eyes staring up at him as he wondered why.

’It’s not her’ The voice of Officer Mitchell soon followed as Jim released the breath that he hadn’t known he was holding back, then again he wasn’t the only one. Nick stood silently by, with bated breath as Morgan and Greg left with kits in hand. This was their scene now as they had been the ones to discover the connections that led to this.

Hodges stood in the doorway, reading the scene before him. The air was still tense as they all waited for the relief to set in but yet that felt too premature. The lab tech cleared his throat to try and catch Nick’s attention. He watched for a moment then tried a different approach.

“Nick, this was left at Reception for you” Hodges called into the room, as he held out the unstamped manila envelope for the other man to take. Nick Stokes was scrawled across the front in a large and unfamiliar hand.

Nick frowned, he was not awaiting any post as he took it. “Thanks, man,” He said as he turned it over, inspecting it from every angle. There was nothing about the envelope that stood out, it was a standard A3 office stationery that was stocked by countless suppliers but the question arose of who had sent it.

As he carefully opened the sealed flap and reached inside, Nick quickly found the content. A series of photographs which he slid out. Hodges slid up beside him as he turned over the first which revealed little other than what he already knew to be true.

“Is that…” David questioned at the sight of his friends and colleagues locked in a rather passionate embrace. “Yes,” Nick curtly replied, annoyed at the very prospect that they had been followed and their privacy had been invaded like this as he turned over the next one.

It was the last one that drew a shocked gasp from Hodges, as he shook with a rage that he hadn’t felt for some time. The sight of her bound and unconscious in the boot of an unidentifiable vehicle with the words I WIN STOKES, SHE IS MINE written in bold, block capitals across the top of the image.

Each had focused upon her, she was the object of this maddening desire. A tail had been placed as her routine was documented. He held pride of place in a number of the images, whether he liked it or not.

He was taunting him, this was just his opening move.

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ilariyalavorowrites · 4 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

Previous / Next

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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