That was such a sweet chapter. Loved Cassie turing on that show and curling up in that blanket. And wanting to change her last name to Nick's. And his gift to her was sweet.
Of Nightmares and Pinkie-Swears, a CSI: Nick-Centric Fic
- Thread starter Jacqui
- Start date
Jacqui
Police Officer
Good morning! This is the penultimate chapter to my little story. I thank you so very much for your terrific feedback and support, and I hope you enjoy it.
An hour and a half later they pulled into their driveway. Cassie’s hand was tucked tightly in Nick’s and she was smilingly holding the folder that contained the signed adoption papers. With the exception of some grumbling about paperwork that needed to be changed because of Cassie’s name change, the hearing had consisted of precisely what Elizabeth said it would when she talked it over with them that morning, curling Cassie’s hair.
“Judge Parker, in all his judgey-ness, will sit in his seat on the bench and make a very pompous show of establishing what the case is, who is in the room, and who he is. Then he’ll ask where I am, and you’ll say-”
“Where she usually is, your honor. Shoe-shoppin’.”
“No,” Elizabeth had said with an eyebrow raised at Nick, who had been sitting on Cassie’s bed with his tie hanging loosely about his shoulders. “You’ll say I’m prosecuting an important case.” She focused on a curl for a moment, and then said, “And remember not to call him your honor.”
Smiling and winking at Cassie in the mirror, he had replied, “Yes, ma’am,” complacently.
“Then he’ll make another very pompous show of what amounts to going through your paperwork, asking Mrs. Iverson a couple of questions, and then signing one very important piece of paper.”
Nick was remembering this as they walked toward their front door, and was surprised when he heard Elizabeth’s voice as she approached. “Hello!” she called, waving a hand. “Do you two have a minute?”
“Hi, Elizabeth!” said Cassie, jumping down from the step. “We just got home from court!”
“What are you doing home at this hour?” asked Nick, coming up behind Cassie and placing his hand on her shoulder.
“Oh – Ginger was acting a little goofy this morning, so I came home to check on her,” she replied as smoothly as she could. “How did it go with Judge Parker?”
“He was all smiles,” said Nick. “We went over the papers at least three times and he thanked me for my service to our country.”
“Well, that was nice of him,” said Elizabeth with a chuckle. She then turned to Cassie. “So you’re officially my neighbor?”
She smiled. “Yep – we had to get papers signed so I could officially be your neighbor.”
“Well, that’s fantastic! Why don’t you – whoa, hey.” Her eyes had been caught by the glittering gold just below Cassie’s throat. She gingerly lifted the circle and held it on her fingertips. “Holy buckets, Cassie, where’d you get this bling?”
“Nicky gave it to me this morning,” she replied quietly.
Elizabeth eyed Nick. “You sure know how to charm a girl.” He smiled back, knowing he’d get an earful about his “little” gift.
“It’s very special,” said Cassie. “It’s my whole family – Mom, Dad, Jeremy, Nick, and me.”
“Well, it is special, then,” said Elizabeth with a smile, straightening. “So do the two of you have a minute? I have something for you over at my house.”
“What for?”
Elizabeth tilted her head. “To help you celebrate, of course,” she replied. “It’s not every day that wonderful things like this happen. Especially where I work.”
Nick smiled and felt his face flush. “Oh, you shouldn’t have gotten us anything.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing, Nicky. Why don’t you put away your papers and change clothes, and then come on over?”
“Yeah, okay,” he agreed, and they disappeared into the house. Cassie didn’t want to change out of her pretty pink suit just yet, so Nick ran upstairs to remove his tie and jacket and rolled up his sleeves. She ran ahead of him across the lawn and he heard her rapping on Elizabeth’s door.
“Elizabeth asked me to come over,” she was explaining to the woman who had answered their neighbor’s door as Nick approached. Cassie turned to look at him with a smile, and watched his face practically split in two with a smile of his own.
“Audra!”
His favorite sister smiled and looked from Cassie to him. “Hey, Ninny,” she said happily.
Nick followed Cassie inside and was greeted not only by his sister’s shining face, but by a scent he knew well. “It’s so nice to see you!” he exclaimed as he enveloped his sister in a hug. “You’re makin’ me brisket,” he accused with a smile when they parted.
“Yes – your lovely Miss Elizabeth was kind enough to get it started for me, and now it’s in the oven. We thought Cassie should have a traditional Stokes family meal on her first official day as part of the family.” She tapped Cassie playfully on the nose as she said this, smiling affectionately down at the girl.
“We?” questioned Nick. “Who’s we?”
Elizabeth came into the foyer then. “There you are, Nick!” she greeted. “I found these lovely Texans wandering around the airport and thought I’d have a party for them.”
Nick peered down the hallway and into the kitchen, visible from where he was standing. He turned to Audra, even more surprised. “You brought Sam and the kids?” he asked, his eyes lit.
She shook her head. “Sam’s in the kitchen, with Mama and Daddy. The kids are stayin’ with Sam’s sister. Billy’s here,” she whispered. “With the hussy. I don’t think your girlfriend likes either of them.”
Elizabeth put on a plastic smile. “They’re very nice,” she replied. Audra rolled her eyes.
Stunned into silence for a moment at his brother’s presence, Nick turned again to Audra and tried to come up with something to say. Then Bill caught sight of his son, and the next thing Nick knew, Bill had his arms wrapped around Cassie as she giggled, and his mother was hugging him. Cassie clung tightly to his hand, a little nervous of so much attention. Jillian ushered them into the living room, where they would have more space.
Billy was waiting for Nick there. “Hey, Nicky,” he greeted warmly, and Nick smiled at the genuineness of the salutation.
He let go of Cassie’s hand to hug Billy. “I’m glad you’re here,” he told his brother. “It really means a lot.”
When they parted, Billy replied, “Well, you know your mother. She’d ’a strung me up if I didn’t come,” which was probably true but didn’t need to be said. Billy must’ve realized it, because he quickly continued, “I’m glad to be here with you.”
Cassie reclaimed Nick’s hand then, drawing his attention. “Hey – Cassie, this is my big brother Billy,” he said, gesturing with his free hand. “Billy, this is . . .” He looked down at Cassie, and their eyes met. He had wanted to introduce her as his daughter, but didn’t know if she wanted that. “This is Cassie.”
Cassie and Billy shook, Billy insisting that Cassie call him Uncle Billy and Cassie noting the similarities between him and her new Grandpa Cisco. She also saw, although Nick would likely never, the ears the two younger men had in common, and the fact that their big chins matched.
“Welcome to the family, Cassie,” he said, that same warmth in his voice.
“Thanks,” she replied with a smile, starting to relax, when out of nowhere a tall, gangly blonde woman appeared next to Billy, her hair coiffed elaborately around her head.
“Well, you must be Cassie,” she said with a smile that showed two rows of too-perfect teeth.
The little girl’s grip on Nick’s hand tightened, but she nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’m your new Auntie Missy,” said the woman, leaning down slightly and holding out her perfectly manicured hand.
Cassie tried to take her hand, but all Missy would let her touch was her fingers, and they were cold. She shook them anyway, and politely said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Missy squinted a smile at her, her bright white teeth flashing, and then turned her attention to Nick. “Howdy, stranger,” she drawled, squeezing his upper arm, and moved just a little too close to his side.
“Nice to see you again, Missy,” he replied, his tone neutral because it had to be.
Missy linked her arm through his. Cassie noticed and bristled but didn’t know why; across the room, Elizabeth noticed too, but while she was annoyed, she had faith in her man.
“Hey Cassie, why don’t you come with me into the kitchen. I’ll introduce you to your uncle Sammy.” Billy held his hand out. With a smile, Cassie accepted it, and walked into Elizabeth’s kitchen with her new uncle.
Missy turned a bit closer to Nick and smiled her artificially bright smile. “I see you caught yourself a lady, Sir Nicholas. She’s real sweet.”
Doubting this was her real opinion, he returned her smile. “Yeah, Elizabeth’s . . . she’s great.” He turned his head then to try to get a glimpse of her.
She followed his gaze. “Although, you know . . . she does seem a little . . . well, how do I say this . . . rough around the edges? Powerful, smart lady like her . . . I do wonder why she’s available, don’t you?”
“No,” he replied, his dander up. “I surely don’t. Just count myself lucky that she is.”
Missy twittered. “Oh, always a gentleman, aren’t you? But she is a little controlling, don’t you think? I mean, maybe all women are, to a certain extent, but your Miss Elizabeth . . . she lacks the . . . finesse of someone more well-bred.”
Nick turned the mean, angry look toward her. “More well-bred?” Missy opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off. “Melissa, my girlfriend is not a horse.”
She smiled sweetly. “Oh, I was just sayin’, Nicky . . . no need to get defensive. In any case, it’s good to actually see you with a woman.” Missy laughed loudly, causing Audra’s eyebrow to raise even if she didn’t look over. “We were all starting to wonder!”
Nick extracted Missy’s arm from his. Clearing his throat with a smile that was as poisonous as hers, he replied, “Yeah, well . . . not everyone can be like Billy and marry the first thing that gives ‘em a blowjob.” Missy bristled and straightened, and Nick knew he’d hear it later on from his brother. “I need to go visit with Sam; excuse me.”
As supper time approached, the Stokeses migrated across the yard to Nick’s house, where the remainder of the meal was prepared. Elizabeth and Cassie set the table while Audra gingerly carried her brisket from Elizabeth’s oven to Nick’s table. Realizing they were both still wearing the clothes they had donned for court that morning, Nick walked with Cassie upstairs before they sat down to eat, in order to change.
Once he had changed into jeans and a more comfortable shirt, he tapped on Cassie’s door.
“Come in,” she called.
He opened the door to find her arranging her suit on a hanger, already changed into a favorite red sundress. “Hey Cass . . . can I talk to you a minute?”
“Yeah,” she replied, moving to hang up the suit. She then stood in front of him, her hands folded. “Do you want me to put the necklace away?”
“No,” he replied, smiling. “You leave it on if you want to – today’s special.”
“Good,” she said with a smile.
He gestured toward her bed, indicating that they should sit down. She sat on the bed, he took her desk chair and sat down. “I was just wonderin’ . . . would it be okay with you if I called you my daughter?” Her smile faded; he was disappointed, but rushed to reassure her. “It’s okay if it’s not, Cassie. I mean, I know you already have a dad, and I know you’re his daughter.”
“It’s not that, Nicky,” she replied. “I think I would like it if you called me your daughter. I mean, you take care of me, and since we met you’ve helped me a lot. It’s just . . . I don’t think I can call you Dad.”
Nick smiled comfortingly down at her. “I don’t expect you to,” he said.
“You don’t?”
“No,” he replied. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t love it if you did, but remember who gave you this.” He tapped the golden circle at her throat. “I won’t ask you to forget about him because you have me.”
This earned him a tight hug, and when she pulled away, it was with an excited expression. “We didn’t tell anybody about my name yet!”
Nick realized with some surprise that she was right. “We didn’t, did we? Oh, your Grandpa Cisco’s gonna love this.” And Billy will hate it, he thought. Bonus. “We’ll make an announcement at supper.”
“Cool!” she said excitedly, and they walked down the stairs hand in hand.
It felt both odd and perfectly right for Nick to sit at the head of the table in the dining room, which overlooked the back yard and the glistening blue pool. Missy rather presumptuously sat at the opposite end, where Elizabeth had intended to sit so that Jillian could sit next to her son. Elizabeth instead gracefully sat next to Bill and across from Billy, with Missy on her right.
By this time it had become clear that Elizabeth would not be shoe-shopping with Missy anytime soon, so it was with amusement that Audra, sitting across from her husband in order to better flirt with him, watched her little brother’s love smile saccharinely at Missy and then calmly sit in the remaining available seat, even if it was in the corner of the table opposite from the one she’d prefer to be on. She even reached for Missy’s hand readily when Jillian insisted that they say Grace before they ate. Audra smiled at Elizabeth and then bowed her head while Bill spoke.
“Dear Lord, we thank you for the meal we are about to receive, and for those who have lovingly prepared it. We thank you for the homes you’ve provided for us, especially this one, Lord, ‘cuz it’s much cheaper than a hotel.” He paused to allow his family to chuckle at his joke, and then continued. “Mostly, Lord, we thank you on this very special day for our newest family member, Miss Cassie, and ask that you bless her and keep watchin’ over her as we bring her into the fold of our beloved Stokes family. And lastly, Lord, on behalf of our Cassie, we ask you to keep in your loving care her mom Nina, dad Jude, and brother Jeremy until she sees them again in your heavenly home. Amen.”
“Amen,” came the chorus of voices around the table. Audra noted some full eyes when heads were raised again. She also noticed, again with pleasure, that her father squeezed Elizabeth’s hand and smiled at her before he let go.
“That was beautiful, your honor,” said Elizabeth.
“Oh, come now,” said Bill as he spread his napkin on his lap. “You call me Bill.”
She blushed a little. “Sorry – force of habit.”
Just then, Nick called for his father’s attention. “Cisco – I have a little announcement to make.”
Bill turned his head and waved his hand. “By all means, Pancho. Speak up.”
Jillian and Audra both eyed Elizabeth, but didn’t catch her eye. She was looking curiously on at Nick, who had turned his attention to Cassie.
“Cassie made a surprising request of me this morning while we were waiting for our hearing. She told me that her new grandma – she never had a grandma before, by the way – told her stories about our family, mostly embarrassing things about me, I’m sure. She said that she was thankful that we met, and grateful that y’all welcome her into our family. And she asked me if she could officially be a Stokes – so y’all are lookin’ at Miss Cassandra Jane McBride-Stokes.”
“Aw, Cassie,” mumbled Elizabeth behind her hand, which she pressed to her mouth the moment Nick mentioned Cassie making a request. She watched as Jillian, ecstatic, rose to hug and kiss the little girl, who blushed and giggled, and accepted hugs from Sam, who was next to her, and clinked tea glasses with Bill, who Elizabeth swore was tearing up. So that’s where he gets the waterworks, she thought. Billy smiled and winked at his brother. After clapping her hands lightly together, Missy examined her fingernails.
“Well, hot damn!” exclaimed Audra. “Another proud Stokes. Well, Nicky . . . you did it ass backwards, but you’re finally settled down. What would Papa Parker say?” she asked cheekily, referring to Jillian’s father.
“He’d say, ‘Pass the brisket, woman,’” replied Nick, amused. As Audra picked up the platter she had carried over from Elizabeth’s oven, they commenced eating dinner. Elizabeth’s end of the table was relatively quiet, with the exception of the comments she was able to exchange with Bill and occasionally Audra, whose attention was arrested mostly by her husband (who, Elizabeth conceded, was very handsome) and also by Cassie, who praised her cooking and said she couldn’t wait to come to Texas to meet all of her new cousins.
Once the meal was over the women gathered in the kitchen to clean up. Missy made a showing, but really did nothing except hand her own plate to Elizabeth and get in the way. This didn’t help Elizabeth’s opinion of Missy.
Once things in the kitchen were under control, Jillian served coffee pecan pie. They all sat around the dining room table again, and Nick noticed that Cassie had become quiet and was staring out of the sliding glass doors at the pool, but he reasoned that she had had a full day and a full belly, so she was probably getting tired. He kept an eye on her as he continued to chat with Sam and Audra.
A few moments later, her pie picked at but largely uneaten, Nick was watching her when a determined look settled over her face, and with pursed lips she slammed her fork down onto the table. She looked up at Nick, whose brow was worried, and then slammed her napkin down, too.
“Cassie, what’s wrong?”
She said nothing but rose from the table. Nick and Elizabeth exchanged concerned looks as she headed outside, and Nick stood to watch her better out the sliding glass doors.
Cassie stood on the edge of the pool on the wide, deep end. Nick moved quickly, wanting to comfort her and know what was going through her mind, but was stopped at the door by Elizabeth’s gentle voice.
“Nicky, wait.”
“Why?”
Watching Cassie intently, she put up her hand. “Just . . . just wait.”
The determined look had not disappeared from Cassie’s face, and she stood stock-still for a moment in front of the pool, her toes curled over the edge, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
Jillian and Audra rose to flank Nick, almost identical worried looks on their faces. As they all watched, Cassie took two deep breaths and let them out slowly. Then she took a third, closed her eyes, and jumped into the pool.
Elizabeth, who was the only one who was not surprised, smiled as her eyes filled. In contrast, Nick hooted loudly and charged outside to see Cassie’s gleaming face as she emerged from the water and hollered, “I did it!” before she jumped in again.
Next to Elizabeth, Missy turned back to her dinner. “She’s such a strange child.”
Jillian and Audra both heard her, but were used to her snide comments, so weren’t surprised. They exchanged annoyed looks and then turned their heads sharply when Elizabeth slammed her fork down onto the table.
Seeking to nip any argument between the two women in the bud, Bill turned to her. “Miss Elizabeth-”
But anything the judge might have said was cut short by Elizabeth slamming her napkin down, just as Cassie had – albeit a little harder, as Elizabeth was more powerful than the slight Cassie and arguably twice as annoyed. Nick’s family then watched in utter astonishment as the distinguished district attorney marched out to the pool, removed her shoes, and jumped in next to Cassie.
_________________________
(c) 2008 J. H. Thompson
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
An hour and a half later they pulled into their driveway. Cassie’s hand was tucked tightly in Nick’s and she was smilingly holding the folder that contained the signed adoption papers. With the exception of some grumbling about paperwork that needed to be changed because of Cassie’s name change, the hearing had consisted of precisely what Elizabeth said it would when she talked it over with them that morning, curling Cassie’s hair.
“Judge Parker, in all his judgey-ness, will sit in his seat on the bench and make a very pompous show of establishing what the case is, who is in the room, and who he is. Then he’ll ask where I am, and you’ll say-”
“Where she usually is, your honor. Shoe-shoppin’.”
“No,” Elizabeth had said with an eyebrow raised at Nick, who had been sitting on Cassie’s bed with his tie hanging loosely about his shoulders. “You’ll say I’m prosecuting an important case.” She focused on a curl for a moment, and then said, “And remember not to call him your honor.”
Smiling and winking at Cassie in the mirror, he had replied, “Yes, ma’am,” complacently.
“Then he’ll make another very pompous show of what amounts to going through your paperwork, asking Mrs. Iverson a couple of questions, and then signing one very important piece of paper.”
Nick was remembering this as they walked toward their front door, and was surprised when he heard Elizabeth’s voice as she approached. “Hello!” she called, waving a hand. “Do you two have a minute?”
“Hi, Elizabeth!” said Cassie, jumping down from the step. “We just got home from court!”
“What are you doing home at this hour?” asked Nick, coming up behind Cassie and placing his hand on her shoulder.
“Oh – Ginger was acting a little goofy this morning, so I came home to check on her,” she replied as smoothly as she could. “How did it go with Judge Parker?”
“He was all smiles,” said Nick. “We went over the papers at least three times and he thanked me for my service to our country.”
“Well, that was nice of him,” said Elizabeth with a chuckle. She then turned to Cassie. “So you’re officially my neighbor?”
She smiled. “Yep – we had to get papers signed so I could officially be your neighbor.”
“Well, that’s fantastic! Why don’t you – whoa, hey.” Her eyes had been caught by the glittering gold just below Cassie’s throat. She gingerly lifted the circle and held it on her fingertips. “Holy buckets, Cassie, where’d you get this bling?”
“Nicky gave it to me this morning,” she replied quietly.
Elizabeth eyed Nick. “You sure know how to charm a girl.” He smiled back, knowing he’d get an earful about his “little” gift.
“It’s very special,” said Cassie. “It’s my whole family – Mom, Dad, Jeremy, Nick, and me.”
“Well, it is special, then,” said Elizabeth with a smile, straightening. “So do the two of you have a minute? I have something for you over at my house.”
“What for?”
Elizabeth tilted her head. “To help you celebrate, of course,” she replied. “It’s not every day that wonderful things like this happen. Especially where I work.”
Nick smiled and felt his face flush. “Oh, you shouldn’t have gotten us anything.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing, Nicky. Why don’t you put away your papers and change clothes, and then come on over?”
“Yeah, okay,” he agreed, and they disappeared into the house. Cassie didn’t want to change out of her pretty pink suit just yet, so Nick ran upstairs to remove his tie and jacket and rolled up his sleeves. She ran ahead of him across the lawn and he heard her rapping on Elizabeth’s door.
“Elizabeth asked me to come over,” she was explaining to the woman who had answered their neighbor’s door as Nick approached. Cassie turned to look at him with a smile, and watched his face practically split in two with a smile of his own.
“Audra!”
His favorite sister smiled and looked from Cassie to him. “Hey, Ninny,” she said happily.
Nick followed Cassie inside and was greeted not only by his sister’s shining face, but by a scent he knew well. “It’s so nice to see you!” he exclaimed as he enveloped his sister in a hug. “You’re makin’ me brisket,” he accused with a smile when they parted.
“Yes – your lovely Miss Elizabeth was kind enough to get it started for me, and now it’s in the oven. We thought Cassie should have a traditional Stokes family meal on her first official day as part of the family.” She tapped Cassie playfully on the nose as she said this, smiling affectionately down at the girl.
“We?” questioned Nick. “Who’s we?”
Elizabeth came into the foyer then. “There you are, Nick!” she greeted. “I found these lovely Texans wandering around the airport and thought I’d have a party for them.”
Nick peered down the hallway and into the kitchen, visible from where he was standing. He turned to Audra, even more surprised. “You brought Sam and the kids?” he asked, his eyes lit.
She shook her head. “Sam’s in the kitchen, with Mama and Daddy. The kids are stayin’ with Sam’s sister. Billy’s here,” she whispered. “With the hussy. I don’t think your girlfriend likes either of them.”
Elizabeth put on a plastic smile. “They’re very nice,” she replied. Audra rolled her eyes.
Stunned into silence for a moment at his brother’s presence, Nick turned again to Audra and tried to come up with something to say. Then Bill caught sight of his son, and the next thing Nick knew, Bill had his arms wrapped around Cassie as she giggled, and his mother was hugging him. Cassie clung tightly to his hand, a little nervous of so much attention. Jillian ushered them into the living room, where they would have more space.
Billy was waiting for Nick there. “Hey, Nicky,” he greeted warmly, and Nick smiled at the genuineness of the salutation.
He let go of Cassie’s hand to hug Billy. “I’m glad you’re here,” he told his brother. “It really means a lot.”
When they parted, Billy replied, “Well, you know your mother. She’d ’a strung me up if I didn’t come,” which was probably true but didn’t need to be said. Billy must’ve realized it, because he quickly continued, “I’m glad to be here with you.”
Cassie reclaimed Nick’s hand then, drawing his attention. “Hey – Cassie, this is my big brother Billy,” he said, gesturing with his free hand. “Billy, this is . . .” He looked down at Cassie, and their eyes met. He had wanted to introduce her as his daughter, but didn’t know if she wanted that. “This is Cassie.”
Cassie and Billy shook, Billy insisting that Cassie call him Uncle Billy and Cassie noting the similarities between him and her new Grandpa Cisco. She also saw, although Nick would likely never, the ears the two younger men had in common, and the fact that their big chins matched.
“Welcome to the family, Cassie,” he said, that same warmth in his voice.
“Thanks,” she replied with a smile, starting to relax, when out of nowhere a tall, gangly blonde woman appeared next to Billy, her hair coiffed elaborately around her head.
“Well, you must be Cassie,” she said with a smile that showed two rows of too-perfect teeth.
The little girl’s grip on Nick’s hand tightened, but she nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’m your new Auntie Missy,” said the woman, leaning down slightly and holding out her perfectly manicured hand.
Cassie tried to take her hand, but all Missy would let her touch was her fingers, and they were cold. She shook them anyway, and politely said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Missy squinted a smile at her, her bright white teeth flashing, and then turned her attention to Nick. “Howdy, stranger,” she drawled, squeezing his upper arm, and moved just a little too close to his side.
“Nice to see you again, Missy,” he replied, his tone neutral because it had to be.
Missy linked her arm through his. Cassie noticed and bristled but didn’t know why; across the room, Elizabeth noticed too, but while she was annoyed, she had faith in her man.
“Hey Cassie, why don’t you come with me into the kitchen. I’ll introduce you to your uncle Sammy.” Billy held his hand out. With a smile, Cassie accepted it, and walked into Elizabeth’s kitchen with her new uncle.
Missy turned a bit closer to Nick and smiled her artificially bright smile. “I see you caught yourself a lady, Sir Nicholas. She’s real sweet.”
Doubting this was her real opinion, he returned her smile. “Yeah, Elizabeth’s . . . she’s great.” He turned his head then to try to get a glimpse of her.
She followed his gaze. “Although, you know . . . she does seem a little . . . well, how do I say this . . . rough around the edges? Powerful, smart lady like her . . . I do wonder why she’s available, don’t you?”
“No,” he replied, his dander up. “I surely don’t. Just count myself lucky that she is.”
Missy twittered. “Oh, always a gentleman, aren’t you? But she is a little controlling, don’t you think? I mean, maybe all women are, to a certain extent, but your Miss Elizabeth . . . she lacks the . . . finesse of someone more well-bred.”
Nick turned the mean, angry look toward her. “More well-bred?” Missy opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off. “Melissa, my girlfriend is not a horse.”
She smiled sweetly. “Oh, I was just sayin’, Nicky . . . no need to get defensive. In any case, it’s good to actually see you with a woman.” Missy laughed loudly, causing Audra’s eyebrow to raise even if she didn’t look over. “We were all starting to wonder!”
Nick extracted Missy’s arm from his. Clearing his throat with a smile that was as poisonous as hers, he replied, “Yeah, well . . . not everyone can be like Billy and marry the first thing that gives ‘em a blowjob.” Missy bristled and straightened, and Nick knew he’d hear it later on from his brother. “I need to go visit with Sam; excuse me.”
As supper time approached, the Stokeses migrated across the yard to Nick’s house, where the remainder of the meal was prepared. Elizabeth and Cassie set the table while Audra gingerly carried her brisket from Elizabeth’s oven to Nick’s table. Realizing they were both still wearing the clothes they had donned for court that morning, Nick walked with Cassie upstairs before they sat down to eat, in order to change.
Once he had changed into jeans and a more comfortable shirt, he tapped on Cassie’s door.
“Come in,” she called.
He opened the door to find her arranging her suit on a hanger, already changed into a favorite red sundress. “Hey Cass . . . can I talk to you a minute?”
“Yeah,” she replied, moving to hang up the suit. She then stood in front of him, her hands folded. “Do you want me to put the necklace away?”
“No,” he replied, smiling. “You leave it on if you want to – today’s special.”
“Good,” she said with a smile.
He gestured toward her bed, indicating that they should sit down. She sat on the bed, he took her desk chair and sat down. “I was just wonderin’ . . . would it be okay with you if I called you my daughter?” Her smile faded; he was disappointed, but rushed to reassure her. “It’s okay if it’s not, Cassie. I mean, I know you already have a dad, and I know you’re his daughter.”
“It’s not that, Nicky,” she replied. “I think I would like it if you called me your daughter. I mean, you take care of me, and since we met you’ve helped me a lot. It’s just . . . I don’t think I can call you Dad.”
Nick smiled comfortingly down at her. “I don’t expect you to,” he said.
“You don’t?”
“No,” he replied. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t love it if you did, but remember who gave you this.” He tapped the golden circle at her throat. “I won’t ask you to forget about him because you have me.”
This earned him a tight hug, and when she pulled away, it was with an excited expression. “We didn’t tell anybody about my name yet!”
Nick realized with some surprise that she was right. “We didn’t, did we? Oh, your Grandpa Cisco’s gonna love this.” And Billy will hate it, he thought. Bonus. “We’ll make an announcement at supper.”
“Cool!” she said excitedly, and they walked down the stairs hand in hand.
It felt both odd and perfectly right for Nick to sit at the head of the table in the dining room, which overlooked the back yard and the glistening blue pool. Missy rather presumptuously sat at the opposite end, where Elizabeth had intended to sit so that Jillian could sit next to her son. Elizabeth instead gracefully sat next to Bill and across from Billy, with Missy on her right.
By this time it had become clear that Elizabeth would not be shoe-shopping with Missy anytime soon, so it was with amusement that Audra, sitting across from her husband in order to better flirt with him, watched her little brother’s love smile saccharinely at Missy and then calmly sit in the remaining available seat, even if it was in the corner of the table opposite from the one she’d prefer to be on. She even reached for Missy’s hand readily when Jillian insisted that they say Grace before they ate. Audra smiled at Elizabeth and then bowed her head while Bill spoke.
“Dear Lord, we thank you for the meal we are about to receive, and for those who have lovingly prepared it. We thank you for the homes you’ve provided for us, especially this one, Lord, ‘cuz it’s much cheaper than a hotel.” He paused to allow his family to chuckle at his joke, and then continued. “Mostly, Lord, we thank you on this very special day for our newest family member, Miss Cassie, and ask that you bless her and keep watchin’ over her as we bring her into the fold of our beloved Stokes family. And lastly, Lord, on behalf of our Cassie, we ask you to keep in your loving care her mom Nina, dad Jude, and brother Jeremy until she sees them again in your heavenly home. Amen.”
“Amen,” came the chorus of voices around the table. Audra noted some full eyes when heads were raised again. She also noticed, again with pleasure, that her father squeezed Elizabeth’s hand and smiled at her before he let go.
“That was beautiful, your honor,” said Elizabeth.
“Oh, come now,” said Bill as he spread his napkin on his lap. “You call me Bill.”
She blushed a little. “Sorry – force of habit.”
Just then, Nick called for his father’s attention. “Cisco – I have a little announcement to make.”
Bill turned his head and waved his hand. “By all means, Pancho. Speak up.”
Jillian and Audra both eyed Elizabeth, but didn’t catch her eye. She was looking curiously on at Nick, who had turned his attention to Cassie.
“Cassie made a surprising request of me this morning while we were waiting for our hearing. She told me that her new grandma – she never had a grandma before, by the way – told her stories about our family, mostly embarrassing things about me, I’m sure. She said that she was thankful that we met, and grateful that y’all welcome her into our family. And she asked me if she could officially be a Stokes – so y’all are lookin’ at Miss Cassandra Jane McBride-Stokes.”
“Aw, Cassie,” mumbled Elizabeth behind her hand, which she pressed to her mouth the moment Nick mentioned Cassie making a request. She watched as Jillian, ecstatic, rose to hug and kiss the little girl, who blushed and giggled, and accepted hugs from Sam, who was next to her, and clinked tea glasses with Bill, who Elizabeth swore was tearing up. So that’s where he gets the waterworks, she thought. Billy smiled and winked at his brother. After clapping her hands lightly together, Missy examined her fingernails.
“Well, hot damn!” exclaimed Audra. “Another proud Stokes. Well, Nicky . . . you did it ass backwards, but you’re finally settled down. What would Papa Parker say?” she asked cheekily, referring to Jillian’s father.
“He’d say, ‘Pass the brisket, woman,’” replied Nick, amused. As Audra picked up the platter she had carried over from Elizabeth’s oven, they commenced eating dinner. Elizabeth’s end of the table was relatively quiet, with the exception of the comments she was able to exchange with Bill and occasionally Audra, whose attention was arrested mostly by her husband (who, Elizabeth conceded, was very handsome) and also by Cassie, who praised her cooking and said she couldn’t wait to come to Texas to meet all of her new cousins.
Once the meal was over the women gathered in the kitchen to clean up. Missy made a showing, but really did nothing except hand her own plate to Elizabeth and get in the way. This didn’t help Elizabeth’s opinion of Missy.
Once things in the kitchen were under control, Jillian served coffee pecan pie. They all sat around the dining room table again, and Nick noticed that Cassie had become quiet and was staring out of the sliding glass doors at the pool, but he reasoned that she had had a full day and a full belly, so she was probably getting tired. He kept an eye on her as he continued to chat with Sam and Audra.
A few moments later, her pie picked at but largely uneaten, Nick was watching her when a determined look settled over her face, and with pursed lips she slammed her fork down onto the table. She looked up at Nick, whose brow was worried, and then slammed her napkin down, too.
“Cassie, what’s wrong?”
She said nothing but rose from the table. Nick and Elizabeth exchanged concerned looks as she headed outside, and Nick stood to watch her better out the sliding glass doors.
Cassie stood on the edge of the pool on the wide, deep end. Nick moved quickly, wanting to comfort her and know what was going through her mind, but was stopped at the door by Elizabeth’s gentle voice.
“Nicky, wait.”
“Why?”
Watching Cassie intently, she put up her hand. “Just . . . just wait.”
The determined look had not disappeared from Cassie’s face, and she stood stock-still for a moment in front of the pool, her toes curled over the edge, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
Jillian and Audra rose to flank Nick, almost identical worried looks on their faces. As they all watched, Cassie took two deep breaths and let them out slowly. Then she took a third, closed her eyes, and jumped into the pool.
Elizabeth, who was the only one who was not surprised, smiled as her eyes filled. In contrast, Nick hooted loudly and charged outside to see Cassie’s gleaming face as she emerged from the water and hollered, “I did it!” before she jumped in again.
Next to Elizabeth, Missy turned back to her dinner. “She’s such a strange child.”
Jillian and Audra both heard her, but were used to her snide comments, so weren’t surprised. They exchanged annoyed looks and then turned their heads sharply when Elizabeth slammed her fork down onto the table.
Seeking to nip any argument between the two women in the bud, Bill turned to her. “Miss Elizabeth-”
But anything the judge might have said was cut short by Elizabeth slamming her napkin down, just as Cassie had – albeit a little harder, as Elizabeth was more powerful than the slight Cassie and arguably twice as annoyed. Nick’s family then watched in utter astonishment as the distinguished district attorney marched out to the pool, removed her shoes, and jumped in next to Cassie.
_________________________
(c) 2008 J. H. Thompson
Speedystokesgirl
Judge
Only one more chapter to go? 
Ok, are you getting tired of me saying this was another great chapter?
I am so happy that Cassie is now Nick's daughter. I liked how he asked Cassie if it was ok, that he called her daughter. I think one day, Cassie will surprise them both and call Nick dad.
I wasn't expecting all those Stokes' to be there. I think that was great. Especially cause Audra was there and his brother. However, I might have to smack that Missy.
I am so proud of Cassie for jumping into the pool. Again, I want to smack Missy. I was really hoping that Elizabeth was going to smack her one, but I loved how she just jumped in the pool with Cassie.
Yup, she's a keeper!
I am really sad this story is coming to an end, but I guess all great stories do.
You have really done such a great job with this story.
Ok, are you getting tired of me saying this was another great chapter?
I am so happy that Cassie is now Nick's daughter. I liked how he asked Cassie if it was ok, that he called her daughter. I think one day, Cassie will surprise them both and call Nick dad.
I wasn't expecting all those Stokes' to be there. I think that was great. Especially cause Audra was there and his brother. However, I might have to smack that Missy.
I am so proud of Cassie for jumping into the pool. Again, I want to smack Missy. I was really hoping that Elizabeth was going to smack her one, but I loved how she just jumped in the pool with Cassie.
Yup, she's a keeper!
I am really sad this story is coming to an end, but I guess all great stories do.
You have really done such a great job with this story.
Haha, I so thought Elizabeth was gonna sock Missy. :lol:
Why doesn't Billy see how rude she is?
Yay for Cassie jumping in the pool. Loved Elizabeth jumping in with her. :lol:
Loved Nick thinking that telling that Cassie had her named changed would bug Billy and that that was a bonus. :lol:
I was worried about Ginger, but then I realized that was just Elizabeth's cover for the surprise. :lol: Ginger would probably dislike Missy too. hehe. Dogs are pretty smart. Lucky for Missy that Cath and Sara weren't there... or Lindsey. :lol:
Why doesn't Billy see how rude she is?
Yay for Cassie jumping in the pool. Loved Elizabeth jumping in with her. :lol:
Loved Nick thinking that telling that Cassie had her named changed would bug Billy and that that was a bonus. :lol:
I was worried about Ginger, but then I realized that was just Elizabeth's cover for the surprise. :lol: Ginger would probably dislike Missy too. hehe. Dogs are pretty smart. Lucky for Missy that Cath and Sara weren't there... or Lindsey. :lol:
I'm sad to see that there is only one chapter left in this loverly story. I do hope that that chapter will be filled with some wonderful news
Oh I was so expecting to see a cat fight between Lizzy and Missy. There is no way Elizabeth will let Missy call her by her Nickname With the exception of Missy I was glad to see a good chunk of Nick's family there for the special occasion
Loved the ending of this chapter with Cassie jumping in the pool followed by Lizzy. Wonderful way for Cassie to come full circle.
Leaves out Nick shaped cookies for you
Oh I was so expecting to see a cat fight between Lizzy and Missy. There is no way Elizabeth will let Missy call her by her Nickname
With the exception of Missy I was glad to see a good chunk of Nick's family there for the special occasion Loved the ending of this chapter with Cassie jumping in the pool followed by Lizzy. Wonderful way for Cassie to come full circle.
Leaves out Nick shaped cookies for you
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
aww I hope you do a sequel
I think she should call him dad
I think she should call him dad
bookgirl20
CSI Level Two
I saw the new chapter was posted this morning soon as I got to work, but couldn't read it till much later. Torture!!
So sweet! I really thought Elizabeth was going to slap Missy, or empty her tea on her head. But Lizzy's way too classy for that
So sweet! I really thought Elizabeth was going to slap Missy, or empty her tea on her head. But Lizzy's way too classy for that
myfuturecsi
Corpse
"My girlfriend is not a horse." :guffaw:
Very sweet chapter.
I still really, really want to be a part of this family!
Excellent chapter..
Jacqui
Police Officer
Well, here it is, ladies and (presumably, somewhere) gentlemen - the last chapter. I know I've said this before, but I really do thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for your feedback. This has been an utter joy to write, knowing that you're entertained by it. Hopefully, this last chapter doesn't leave anything wanting. Enjoy!
A gentle rain scattered the parched Nevada desert on a quiet Saturday afternoon in October. The weather was unexpected and caught most of the inhabitants of Walnut Street off guard. Cassie had wanted to play catch with Nick and had sulked a while at the window before Elizabeth came over. They made Jillian’s brownies and a giant mess in Nick’s kitchen while he went stubbornly for a run in the rain.
When he returned they were just finishing their dishes, working companionably together. Dripping wet, he watched them with a smile on his face, knowing that he was a damn lucky man, feeling joy bubble in his heart.
Then Cassie turned around and fixed him with a stern look. “You’re getting water all over the floor!”
“Sorry, princess,” he replied, moving to leave the kitchen and head upstairs.
“It’s your mess!” she hollered after him, an echo of what he commonly told her.
“I’ll clean it!” he replied, chuckling.
Once he was in dry clothes he made his way back downstairs again, drying the spot on the floor where he’d dripped, and then made his way through the kitchen, grabbing a brownie as he went. Elizabeth and Cassie were in the living room, the older love of his life reading her novel on the window seat while the younger one sat on the floor, colored pencils, colored paper, and an instruction book surrounding her, making origami birds and flowers.
He sat on the couch, taking a piece of white paper from her stack. He made a paper airplane with it and flew it at Elizabeth’s head.
It landed on her book. She was taken aback for a second, and then picked up the plane, rolling her eyes at him. She put down her book and hopped off the window seat for a moment to take one of Cassie’s colored pencils. When she reclaimed her seat, she unfolded the plane, wrote something on it, and then threw it back.
He was focused on an origami flower when it hit him directly on the nose. He flared his nostrils in mock indignation before unfolding it to read her note.
Seriously, Nicholas.
He bugged Cassie for a blue pencil.
You love me, he wrote, and threw the plane back.
She smiled when she read it, and wrote her reply with a quirked eyebrow.
So what if I do?
He wrote his reply with Cassie looking on curiously. He exchanged a smirk with her as he tossed the plane back to Elizabeth.
So admit it.
Feigning boredom, he sighed when he had her reply. Fine, Elizabeth had written. I do.
The origami flower was finished when the note flew back to his lap. When he saw the last two words she had written, he smiled.
What are the chances you’d like to repeat that in front of a room full of Texans?
To his dismay, she scowled when she received it, and sent her note back with a furrowed brow.
Your family knows I love you, Nick.
He rolled his eyes when he read this and wrote Seriously, Elizabeth! on what was left of the paper before balling it up and throwing it at her head.
“What?” she giggled as she read the note.
He leveled a wry look at her. “Did you bake your brains out, woman?” he asked. He reached into his pocket and extracted something, which he placed amongst the origami flower petals. Rising from the couch, he winked at Cassie and motioned for her to come closer.
Nick knelt in front of her with one knee up and offered her the paper flower. She smiled and took the flower with her thumb and index finger, and was about to put it to her nose to sniff dramatically when she noticed the diamond glinting from between the petals.
Struck dumb for a moment, she realized the meaning of Nick’s question. She put her book down and swung her legs off of the window seat to face him. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as she handed the flower back to him. “You want me to say ‘I do’ in front of a room full of Texans.”
He nodded soberly. “Yes.”
“You have to ask her the real question, Nicky,” said Cassie in a stage whisper. Elizabeth chuckled at her and looked expectantly back at Nick, who tenderly wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
Looking into the green eyes he loved with every bit of his soul, he followed his daughter's instruction. “Will you marry me, Lizzy?”
“Yes!” she replied, without hesitation.
As Cassie squealed and clapped her hands, Elizabeth took Nick’s face between her palms and kissed him, and Nick wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Nicky,” she breathed as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“I love you, too,” he said, kissing up her neck until he reached her lips, which he showered with pecks. When he broke the kiss, Elizabeth reached out blindly for Cassie, and scooped her up into their group hug.
Joyful tears still rolling down her cheeks, Elizabeth asked Cassie if she had known that Nick was going to propose.
“Yep!” she admitted openly. “I helped Nicky pick out the ring.”
Nick extracted the ring from the origami flower then, and took Elizabeth’s left hand in his. Reverently he slid the ring on her finger and smiled up at her.
She smiled at it, and then at him. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes still teary.
“See – I knew she’d like it!” exclaimed Cassie, taking Elizabeth’s hand and inspecting the ring once more. “All the other ones looked the same.” The ring was made of a thin band of yellow gold flanked by two bands of white gold, which held the sparkling diamond in between.
Nick felt as though his chest would burst as Elizabeth held Cassie close and ran her fingers through the little girl’s dark blonde hair affectionately. Even though he had never done so in front of Cassie, when Elizabeth turned her beautiful face up to his again, he kissed her passionately and thoroughly on the lips.
“Oh, gross, you two!” she complained.
Elizabeth pulled away from Nick to laugh at her, and then she pulled her in close. “I love you, Cassie,” she said, tearing up again. “I’ll be so proud to be part of your family.”
Cassie hugged her tight. “I love you, too, Elizabeth,” she replied.
“You should call me Lizzy,” said Elizabeth, her hand on Cassie’s cheek.
She acquiesced readily and they hugged again. Nick kissed both of their cheeks when they parted. “Y’know what I think? This calls for a celebratory brownie, and then we got some phone calls to make.”
Elizabeth and Cassie agreed with him, and they spent the remainder of the afternoon, as dreary as it was outside, making cheerful phone calls, sipping milk, and munching brownies.
Two Years Later
On a hot morning in early September, once she had sent her seven foster children off to school, Emily Patterson looked out of her living room window to see a familiar black Denali roll up into her driveway. A tall, sunglasses-clad man wearing a black vest stepped out, carrying with him a piece of paper. Her heart caught in her throat, just like it always did when she saw him.
She went to the door when he knocked, and answered as though he were one of the ordinary salespeople who she turned away quite frequently. “Hello, Nick.”
“Hey, Emily. Can I come in?”
After hesitating a moment, she nodded. Silently he followed her into the kitchen, and they sat at the table.
“I hear your wife’s expecting,” she said.
Nick nodded, still amazed with such a blessing. “Yeah . . . twins. That was kind of a surprise.” Actually, the whole pregnancy had been a surprise for Nick, since for a long time she was dead-set against trying. “Due in March.”
“Congratulations,” she offered quietly. “So . . . what can I do for you?”
“I brought you something,” he said, looking down at the paper in his hand. “In school, Cassie’s learning about 9/11. They’re talking about how everyday people saved lives that day. Her English teacher gave an assignment to write an essay during class about an everyday hero that the students know.” He looked down at the paper again, and then held it out for Emily to take. “Most of the kids wrote about their moms and dads, a few about police officers and firefighters. She didn’t let Cassie read her essay to the class, for obvious reasons, but I thought you should.”
Curiously, Emily took the paper, and began to read.
When I was ten years old, my mom, dad, and brother were murdered. The people who hurt my family tried to hurt me, too. They cut my throat and threw me in a lake and hoped I’d drown. But I swam to shore and I was rescued. When I got to the hospital, everyone wondered where I could go to live, because I didn’t have any other family. We lived in a small town and we knew the sheriff. His name was Dennis Brackett. He was a nice man and he said that I could come live with him and his wife.
It was really hard for me after my family died. I had a lot of nightmares and couldn’t sleep. I had a hard time at school, too, because I was always sad and tired. Nobody understood why I was upset because nobody knew how I felt, so my friends stopped talking to me, and that made me even sadder. Then Sheriff Brackett’s wife got cancer and he couldn’t take care of me anymore. That was when I met Emily Patterson.
Emily Patterson, or Miss Emily, is a foster mother. That means that she takes care of kids who don’t have moms or dads. Sometimes she takes care of kids whose parents are in jail or recovering from a drug addiction, so they only stay with her a little while. For me, though, it was a permanent arrangement.
I didn’t like her very much at first. She seemed very crabby all the time and she had a lot of rules. I found out really quickly that if you broke one of them it turned Miss Emily even crabbier. For example, we went to the grocery store once. We were in the aisle where all the coffee is. My mom owned the coffee shop in Pioche, and when I saw all the coffee I couldn’t help smelling all of it. I went to each one of the dispensers and put a few beans in my hand, then put them up to my nose. I looked and looked at all the coffee, the coffee grinder, and the filters. Everything in that aisle reminded me of my mom and I wanted to stay there. I didn’t realize how long I had spent there. When Miss Emily realized I was missing, she made the store manager lock up the store and called the police because she couldn’t find me right away. When we got home she yelled at me about not staying with the group and I felt so bad that I just went up to my room and cried.
There were five other kids who lived with us full-time. One of them was named Susan, and she was just like Miss Emily. She was my roommate. I never had to share my room before so it was a big adjustment for me. She was always making fun of me. One time when we fought Miss Emily separated us. I thought she was taking Susan’s side because she let Susan stay in our room, but she made me go sit at the kitchen table. When she came downstairs to talk to me I thought she was going to yell. Instead, she asked me to help her make dinner. While I was doing it I thought I was being punished. I realized later that Miss Emily asked me to help because she knew that my dad and I made dinner a lot and she wanted to help me feel a little better. It worked.
From that day I started noticing the things that Miss Emily did to help us. She stayed crabby and she stayed really strict. But when she did little things, like when she made Susan her favorite dinner on the days she went to her therapist, I knew that it was Miss Emily’s way of showing us how much she cared about us. It was different from the way my mom and dad did it. They could just say that they loved us. I think Miss Emily loves her foster kids, and she shows it through her actions rather than her words. I think the day Miss Emily yelled at me for not staying with the group at the grocery store, she was just scared when she couldn’t find me.
I don’t live with Miss Emily anymore because I was adopted by the man who rescued me. A lot of people say he is a hero, and I think he is, too. But Emily Patterson an every-day hero because nobody ever tells her that she’s a hero but she keeps going. She takes care of kids who don’t have anywhere else to go, no matter what. A lot of those kids, like Susan, don’t treat Miss Emily very well but she still does the special things for them to help them know that someone cares about them.
Most people don’t even notice the good things that she does, but I love Miss Emily, and she is my every-day hero.
Emily was crying openly when she finished. She laid the paper down on the table and refused to meet Nick’s eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand and sniffled.
“I don’t know what your story is, Emily. I have a pretty good idea, but it’s just a guess. What I do know is that whatever the reason you chose this line of work, you’re amazing at it. I know a lot of the kids you help don’t know they’re being helped. I know that more often than not the good you do gets un-done when kids go back to dysfunctional homes. But with everything that Cassie was going through when she was put into foster care, if she hadn’t been sent to you, she’d be a different kid. She’ll always be grateful for you – and so will I.”
Emily rose from the table and walked to the sink. Nick followed, a few steps behind.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Emily.”
She turned to look at him, and for the first time he could see unmasked emotion in her features – the surprise of his arrival, the incredible gift of joy Cassie’s paper had given her, and gratitude for his own remarks, mixed up together with the adoration she rather confusedly felt for him. Then, he saw courage, and the next thing he knew, Emily’s head was on his shoulder, her arms around his waist, squeezing tight.
A little stunned, Nick responded in kind, holding Emily close for as long as she’d let him.
She pulled back almost as suddenly as she had approached, and seemed a little embarrassed. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Emily,” he replied with a smile. He excused himself to leave then, saying he had to get to one of Elizabeth's doctor's appointments. She smiled openly at him and said good-bye. It wouldn’t be the last time they saw each other – Cassie and Susan became good friends – but the conversation did close a chapter in the interwoven stories of their lives. The nightmares of the separate tragedies that had led Nick to Cassie faded into forgotten shadow, and the pinkie-swears, fragile wisps of promise to some, bound them together like no vow either would ever make, save one.
Three months later, Emily took in an infant boy abandoned in the emergency room at Desert Palms. He was pallid but dark-eyed and dark-haired, and under five pounds. Although plagued by the drug addiction he had been born with, with Emily’s care he became a happy little boy who snuggled her, smiled at her, and made her feel warm inside. She adopted him as her own, and she named him Nicholas, and he grew to be the only man she ever really trusted.
Now, some stuff I want to say, whether anyone's reading it or not.
A big thank you goes to LostLadyKnight, who initially beta-read for me.
Special thanks go to Speedy and Smokey, who were fabulous impromptu betas.
And maybe this is a bit odd, but to George Eads, who is the heart and soul of Nick Stokes: Thank you for bringing Nick to life every week for us to enjoy. I write because I want to, but I've always considered this story as more or less a gift to the inspiring character that you portray. In case you haven't noticed, a bunch of us think you're fabulous!
And lastly, a note to TPTB - first, please don't sue me. I'm not getting anything out of this except warm fuzzies. Second, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job or nothin', but please. Please. For the love of Pete. Give Nick a reason not to slit his wrists. BRING CASSIE BACK!!!!
_______________________
(c) 2008 J. H. Thompson
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
A gentle rain scattered the parched Nevada desert on a quiet Saturday afternoon in October. The weather was unexpected and caught most of the inhabitants of Walnut Street off guard. Cassie had wanted to play catch with Nick and had sulked a while at the window before Elizabeth came over. They made Jillian’s brownies and a giant mess in Nick’s kitchen while he went stubbornly for a run in the rain.
When he returned they were just finishing their dishes, working companionably together. Dripping wet, he watched them with a smile on his face, knowing that he was a damn lucky man, feeling joy bubble in his heart.
Then Cassie turned around and fixed him with a stern look. “You’re getting water all over the floor!”
“Sorry, princess,” he replied, moving to leave the kitchen and head upstairs.
“It’s your mess!” she hollered after him, an echo of what he commonly told her.
“I’ll clean it!” he replied, chuckling.
Once he was in dry clothes he made his way back downstairs again, drying the spot on the floor where he’d dripped, and then made his way through the kitchen, grabbing a brownie as he went. Elizabeth and Cassie were in the living room, the older love of his life reading her novel on the window seat while the younger one sat on the floor, colored pencils, colored paper, and an instruction book surrounding her, making origami birds and flowers.
He sat on the couch, taking a piece of white paper from her stack. He made a paper airplane with it and flew it at Elizabeth’s head.
It landed on her book. She was taken aback for a second, and then picked up the plane, rolling her eyes at him. She put down her book and hopped off the window seat for a moment to take one of Cassie’s colored pencils. When she reclaimed her seat, she unfolded the plane, wrote something on it, and then threw it back.
He was focused on an origami flower when it hit him directly on the nose. He flared his nostrils in mock indignation before unfolding it to read her note.
Seriously, Nicholas.
He bugged Cassie for a blue pencil.
You love me, he wrote, and threw the plane back.
She smiled when she read it, and wrote her reply with a quirked eyebrow.
So what if I do?
He wrote his reply with Cassie looking on curiously. He exchanged a smirk with her as he tossed the plane back to Elizabeth.
So admit it.
Feigning boredom, he sighed when he had her reply. Fine, Elizabeth had written. I do.
The origami flower was finished when the note flew back to his lap. When he saw the last two words she had written, he smiled.
What are the chances you’d like to repeat that in front of a room full of Texans?
To his dismay, she scowled when she received it, and sent her note back with a furrowed brow.
Your family knows I love you, Nick.
He rolled his eyes when he read this and wrote Seriously, Elizabeth! on what was left of the paper before balling it up and throwing it at her head.
“What?” she giggled as she read the note.
He leveled a wry look at her. “Did you bake your brains out, woman?” he asked. He reached into his pocket and extracted something, which he placed amongst the origami flower petals. Rising from the couch, he winked at Cassie and motioned for her to come closer.
Nick knelt in front of her with one knee up and offered her the paper flower. She smiled and took the flower with her thumb and index finger, and was about to put it to her nose to sniff dramatically when she noticed the diamond glinting from between the petals.
Struck dumb for a moment, she realized the meaning of Nick’s question. She put her book down and swung her legs off of the window seat to face him. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as she handed the flower back to him. “You want me to say ‘I do’ in front of a room full of Texans.”
He nodded soberly. “Yes.”
“You have to ask her the real question, Nicky,” said Cassie in a stage whisper. Elizabeth chuckled at her and looked expectantly back at Nick, who tenderly wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
Looking into the green eyes he loved with every bit of his soul, he followed his daughter's instruction. “Will you marry me, Lizzy?”
“Yes!” she replied, without hesitation.
As Cassie squealed and clapped her hands, Elizabeth took Nick’s face between her palms and kissed him, and Nick wrapped his arms around her. “I love you, Nicky,” she breathed as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“I love you, too,” he said, kissing up her neck until he reached her lips, which he showered with pecks. When he broke the kiss, Elizabeth reached out blindly for Cassie, and scooped her up into their group hug.
Joyful tears still rolling down her cheeks, Elizabeth asked Cassie if she had known that Nick was going to propose.
“Yep!” she admitted openly. “I helped Nicky pick out the ring.”
Nick extracted the ring from the origami flower then, and took Elizabeth’s left hand in his. Reverently he slid the ring on her finger and smiled up at her.
She smiled at it, and then at him. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes still teary.
“See – I knew she’d like it!” exclaimed Cassie, taking Elizabeth’s hand and inspecting the ring once more. “All the other ones looked the same.” The ring was made of a thin band of yellow gold flanked by two bands of white gold, which held the sparkling diamond in between.
Nick felt as though his chest would burst as Elizabeth held Cassie close and ran her fingers through the little girl’s dark blonde hair affectionately. Even though he had never done so in front of Cassie, when Elizabeth turned her beautiful face up to his again, he kissed her passionately and thoroughly on the lips.
“Oh, gross, you two!” she complained.
Elizabeth pulled away from Nick to laugh at her, and then she pulled her in close. “I love you, Cassie,” she said, tearing up again. “I’ll be so proud to be part of your family.”
Cassie hugged her tight. “I love you, too, Elizabeth,” she replied.
“You should call me Lizzy,” said Elizabeth, her hand on Cassie’s cheek.
She acquiesced readily and they hugged again. Nick kissed both of their cheeks when they parted. “Y’know what I think? This calls for a celebratory brownie, and then we got some phone calls to make.”
Elizabeth and Cassie agreed with him, and they spent the remainder of the afternoon, as dreary as it was outside, making cheerful phone calls, sipping milk, and munching brownies.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Two Years Later
On a hot morning in early September, once she had sent her seven foster children off to school, Emily Patterson looked out of her living room window to see a familiar black Denali roll up into her driveway. A tall, sunglasses-clad man wearing a black vest stepped out, carrying with him a piece of paper. Her heart caught in her throat, just like it always did when she saw him.
She went to the door when he knocked, and answered as though he were one of the ordinary salespeople who she turned away quite frequently. “Hello, Nick.”
“Hey, Emily. Can I come in?”
After hesitating a moment, she nodded. Silently he followed her into the kitchen, and they sat at the table.
“I hear your wife’s expecting,” she said.
Nick nodded, still amazed with such a blessing. “Yeah . . . twins. That was kind of a surprise.” Actually, the whole pregnancy had been a surprise for Nick, since for a long time she was dead-set against trying. “Due in March.”
“Congratulations,” she offered quietly. “So . . . what can I do for you?”
“I brought you something,” he said, looking down at the paper in his hand. “In school, Cassie’s learning about 9/11. They’re talking about how everyday people saved lives that day. Her English teacher gave an assignment to write an essay during class about an everyday hero that the students know.” He looked down at the paper again, and then held it out for Emily to take. “Most of the kids wrote about their moms and dads, a few about police officers and firefighters. She didn’t let Cassie read her essay to the class, for obvious reasons, but I thought you should.”
Curiously, Emily took the paper, and began to read.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
An Every-Day Hero
By Cassie Stokes
By Cassie Stokes
When I was ten years old, my mom, dad, and brother were murdered. The people who hurt my family tried to hurt me, too. They cut my throat and threw me in a lake and hoped I’d drown. But I swam to shore and I was rescued. When I got to the hospital, everyone wondered where I could go to live, because I didn’t have any other family. We lived in a small town and we knew the sheriff. His name was Dennis Brackett. He was a nice man and he said that I could come live with him and his wife.
It was really hard for me after my family died. I had a lot of nightmares and couldn’t sleep. I had a hard time at school, too, because I was always sad and tired. Nobody understood why I was upset because nobody knew how I felt, so my friends stopped talking to me, and that made me even sadder. Then Sheriff Brackett’s wife got cancer and he couldn’t take care of me anymore. That was when I met Emily Patterson.
Emily Patterson, or Miss Emily, is a foster mother. That means that she takes care of kids who don’t have moms or dads. Sometimes she takes care of kids whose parents are in jail or recovering from a drug addiction, so they only stay with her a little while. For me, though, it was a permanent arrangement.
I didn’t like her very much at first. She seemed very crabby all the time and she had a lot of rules. I found out really quickly that if you broke one of them it turned Miss Emily even crabbier. For example, we went to the grocery store once. We were in the aisle where all the coffee is. My mom owned the coffee shop in Pioche, and when I saw all the coffee I couldn’t help smelling all of it. I went to each one of the dispensers and put a few beans in my hand, then put them up to my nose. I looked and looked at all the coffee, the coffee grinder, and the filters. Everything in that aisle reminded me of my mom and I wanted to stay there. I didn’t realize how long I had spent there. When Miss Emily realized I was missing, she made the store manager lock up the store and called the police because she couldn’t find me right away. When we got home she yelled at me about not staying with the group and I felt so bad that I just went up to my room and cried.
There were five other kids who lived with us full-time. One of them was named Susan, and she was just like Miss Emily. She was my roommate. I never had to share my room before so it was a big adjustment for me. She was always making fun of me. One time when we fought Miss Emily separated us. I thought she was taking Susan’s side because she let Susan stay in our room, but she made me go sit at the kitchen table. When she came downstairs to talk to me I thought she was going to yell. Instead, she asked me to help her make dinner. While I was doing it I thought I was being punished. I realized later that Miss Emily asked me to help because she knew that my dad and I made dinner a lot and she wanted to help me feel a little better. It worked.
From that day I started noticing the things that Miss Emily did to help us. She stayed crabby and she stayed really strict. But when she did little things, like when she made Susan her favorite dinner on the days she went to her therapist, I knew that it was Miss Emily’s way of showing us how much she cared about us. It was different from the way my mom and dad did it. They could just say that they loved us. I think Miss Emily loves her foster kids, and she shows it through her actions rather than her words. I think the day Miss Emily yelled at me for not staying with the group at the grocery store, she was just scared when she couldn’t find me.
I don’t live with Miss Emily anymore because I was adopted by the man who rescued me. A lot of people say he is a hero, and I think he is, too. But Emily Patterson an every-day hero because nobody ever tells her that she’s a hero but she keeps going. She takes care of kids who don’t have anywhere else to go, no matter what. A lot of those kids, like Susan, don’t treat Miss Emily very well but she still does the special things for them to help them know that someone cares about them.
Most people don’t even notice the good things that she does, but I love Miss Emily, and she is my every-day hero.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Emily was crying openly when she finished. She laid the paper down on the table and refused to meet Nick’s eyes. She covered her mouth with her hand and sniffled.
“I don’t know what your story is, Emily. I have a pretty good idea, but it’s just a guess. What I do know is that whatever the reason you chose this line of work, you’re amazing at it. I know a lot of the kids you help don’t know they’re being helped. I know that more often than not the good you do gets un-done when kids go back to dysfunctional homes. But with everything that Cassie was going through when she was put into foster care, if she hadn’t been sent to you, she’d be a different kid. She’ll always be grateful for you – and so will I.”
Emily rose from the table and walked to the sink. Nick followed, a few steps behind.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Emily.”
She turned to look at him, and for the first time he could see unmasked emotion in her features – the surprise of his arrival, the incredible gift of joy Cassie’s paper had given her, and gratitude for his own remarks, mixed up together with the adoration she rather confusedly felt for him. Then, he saw courage, and the next thing he knew, Emily’s head was on his shoulder, her arms around his waist, squeezing tight.
A little stunned, Nick responded in kind, holding Emily close for as long as she’d let him.
She pulled back almost as suddenly as she had approached, and seemed a little embarrassed. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Emily,” he replied with a smile. He excused himself to leave then, saying he had to get to one of Elizabeth's doctor's appointments. She smiled openly at him and said good-bye. It wouldn’t be the last time they saw each other – Cassie and Susan became good friends – but the conversation did close a chapter in the interwoven stories of their lives. The nightmares of the separate tragedies that had led Nick to Cassie faded into forgotten shadow, and the pinkie-swears, fragile wisps of promise to some, bound them together like no vow either would ever make, save one.
Three months later, Emily took in an infant boy abandoned in the emergency room at Desert Palms. He was pallid but dark-eyed and dark-haired, and under five pounds. Although plagued by the drug addiction he had been born with, with Emily’s care he became a happy little boy who snuggled her, smiled at her, and made her feel warm inside. She adopted him as her own, and she named him Nicholas, and he grew to be the only man she ever really trusted.
The End
Now, some stuff I want to say, whether anyone's reading it or not.
A big thank you goes to LostLadyKnight, who initially beta-read for me.
Special thanks go to Speedy and Smokey, who were fabulous impromptu betas.
And maybe this is a bit odd, but to George Eads, who is the heart and soul of Nick Stokes: Thank you for bringing Nick to life every week for us to enjoy. I write because I want to, but I've always considered this story as more or less a gift to the inspiring character that you portray. In case you haven't noticed, a bunch of us think you're fabulous!
And lastly, a note to TPTB - first, please don't sue me. I'm not getting anything out of this except warm fuzzies. Second, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job or nothin', but please. Please. For the love of Pete. Give Nick a reason not to slit his wrists. BRING CASSIE BACK!!!!
_______________________
(c) 2008 J. H. Thompson
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Speedystokesgirl
Judge
Aw shucks Jacqui, you are very welcome!
I loved the essay. You would think she would've wrote about Nick, but she's right Miss Emily is a true hero.
Of course, I'm happy that Nick and Elizabeth got married and they're expecting. Cassie will make a great big sister.
Oh and the paper plane going back and forth, omg, that was great! So romantic and the way he proposed, I could just die.
"Oh, gross, you two" :guffaw:
I'm really sad this story is over, as I really, really enjoyed it.
I hope you write another story.
One more thing, I'm in total agreement, bring Cassie back. Nick really needs to see her. And George Eads, you really do a great job with Nick.
Is sad to see this story end but is happy that it ended on such a positive note.
Ah Nick and Lizzy having paper airplane wars
Cute way for Nick to ask Lizzy to marry him. I loved how Nick included Cassie in this. Not every parent would do something that like.Jacqui this was a great story and thanks for sharing it with us
Now when are you going to write the sequel about Nick, Lizzy, Cassie and twins Audrey2419
Pathologist
I love this story. I have been following it on ff.net, but I was so happy to see it here this morning. Great job. Keep up the good work and please update soon!
(This was written before I realized that the final chapter was posted just below where I was reading. Oh well, there is no such thing as too much praise for good writing)
GREAT JOB!!!
(This was written before I realized that the final chapter was posted just below where I was reading. Oh well, there is no such thing as too much praise for good writing)GREAT JOB!!!
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The beginning with Cassie telling Nicky he was getting water on the floor and that it's his mess just cracked me up. :lol:
Loved the paper airplane notes hehe. Very cute.
OMG, Lizzy's having twins!
Cassie's essay about Miss Emily and Miss Emily's reaction put tears in my eyes. So sweet. And I'm glad she got a son and naming him Nick... awww.
This was a great story. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I agree that it would be nice if Nicky adopted Cassie on the show. I mean why must Cath be the only one with a kid? Well, I mean Warrick has one, but... And Brass and Robbins' kids are grown, so...
And one more thing: George rocks!
Loved the paper airplane notes hehe. Very cute.
OMG, Lizzy's having twins!
Cassie's essay about Miss Emily and Miss Emily's reaction put tears in my eyes. So sweet. And I'm glad she got a son and naming him Nick... awww.
This was a great story. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I agree that it would be nice if Nicky adopted Cassie on the show. I mean why must Cath be the only one with a kid? Well, I mean Warrick has one, but... And Brass and Robbins' kids are grown, so...
And one more thing: George rocks!
Audrey2419
Pathologist
You made me cry (at work, no less) this was so good. I was reading when I should have been working. :shifty:
Thanks for writing this wonderful story. It was amazing, and I enjoyed every single chapter.
You are so right about George Eads. He is an amazing actor who brings Nick to life and makes him a truly wonderful soul. I wish that TPTB would have given us some closure between Nick and Cassie. I wish that she could come back and see Nick again. It would be a great story arch for him, and George Eads could play the hell out of it!
I'll be looking for more stories from you.:hugegrin: