MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
waaah you better do a sequel missy!!!!
Of Nightmares and Pinkie-Swears, a CSI: Nick-Centric Fic
- Thread starter Jacqui
- Start date
Speedystokesgirl
Judge
Oh, I forgot to bring this to the forefront. Cassie Stokes, has such a nice ring to it.
I wonder if Cassie knows what a hero she is? To survive what she went through and fought to stay alive (just like her 'dad') and bring such happiness to Nick's life, happiness that he really deserved. Yup, that's a hero in my book!
myfuturecsi
Corpse
AMEN Sister!!! I totally agree with you on both points. Nick needs something positive in his life again!
And there is no actor out there who could do the role of Nick Stokes better than George Eads! He took what was supposed to be womanizing criminanlist and gave him a heart and soul!
I liked the airplane sequence. Very cute.
You're a great writer, girl, keep it up because Nick needs more of us out there writing for him since TPTB never satisfy us with their storylines for him.
Awwwww....you don't owe us thanks. We owe YOU thanks!
Jacqui
Police Officer
I figured it would be fun to post this. It's an outtake of an ealier version of the story (they're in Texas for the Stokes' 45th anniversary). Elizabeth was originally written as a judge; I haven't made any edits to correct for that.
Something for you to enjoy, or not
Nick found Cassie watching TV with Maria and Laura. He paused in the doorway to admire the three girls – all laying on their stomachs with painted toes in the air, heads supported by hands supported by elbows. Cassie was sandwiched between the two older girls.
When she noticed him, she looked up and smiled. “We’re watching Gilmore Girls.”
He grinned. “It’s bedtime, princess.”
Cassie knew better than to protest, but it didn’t stop her from whining. “How come they get to stay up late?”
“‘Cuz they’re fifteen, Cassie Jane. Say goodnight, now.”
“All right.” She did as she was told and trudged to Nick’s childhood bedroom where she glared at the Kiss poster and flopped down on the bed.
“Attitude, Miss McBride,” he warned gently with raised eyebrows.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, climbing under the covers.
Nick sat next to her. “You’re a good kid, Cass.” She smiled as he kissed her forehead. “How do you like Dallas?”
“It’s nice,” she said, “and I really like all your family. ‘Specially your mom.”
Nick’s heart thumped with pride. “She really likes you, too.”
“That’s good.” Her eyes closed.
“Hang on a sec – I need to talk to you about something.”
Cassie’s eyes opened. “Is something wrong?”
“Not a bit. We just need to talk . . . it’s about Elizabeth.”
She sat up, curious. “Oh. Is it bad?”
He shook his head. “No. I just want to know . . . how do you feel about her?”
“She’s kind of like a teacher,” was her initial response. She paused to think a little, and then continued. “You know, like the teacher in school that everyone likes . . . the one you always do your homework for, even if you don’t want to, because you don’t want to disappoint her.”
Nick smiled at her analogy. “So you really like her.”
“Yeah,” she smiled. “She’s a good friend. I’m glad she’s there when you can’t be.”
“You know . . . you know she’s my girlfriend, right?” Cassie blushed and smiled, nodding her head. “Well . . . what if she were my wife?”
Cassie gasped and jumped up, a pleased and surprised expression on her face. “Ohmygod Nickyareyougetting married?”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “Shh . . . calm down, CJ! I haven’t asked her yet!”
“But when you do she’s gonna say yes and then I’ll always have her around. And do you think she’s too old to have a baby? Because then maybe I can get a baby sister.”
“Slow down, Cassie Jane,” he replied, laughing. “Let me get married first.”
Cassie’s eyes were bright “She’s going to say yes.”
“I think so, too,” he quietly agreed. “And we’ll talk about little sisters all in good time.”
Impulsively, she threw her arms around him and squeezed. He chuckled as he hugged her back. “I take it you’re okay with this.”
“Yeah,” she whispered in his ear, and squeezed again. When she pulled away, she looked pensive.
He nudged her. “What’s up, Casserole?”
She smiled a little. “Do you think I need a mom?”
Nick creased his brow and shook his head. “What do you mean? You already have a mom.”
“I know,” she replied, “but . . . I mean . . . you’re not gonna ask Lizzy to marry you because you think I need a mom . . . are you?”
“No . . . I’m going to propose to Elizabeth because I love her, and I want her to be my wife.”
“So what would she be to me?” asked the little girl thoughtfully.
“That’s up to you, princess.”
“Well . . . what if she adopted me too? Then she could be my second mom.”
Nick smiled and his chest warmed. “I think she’d like that, but it’s up to her. Although . . . we are kind of a package deal.”
Cassie smiled. “Yeah.”
Nick cleared his throat. “You know . . . you called me Dad today.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “I know. Is it okay if I call you Dad sometimes?”
“It’s more than fine, Cassie. When I talk about you, I call you my daughter.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “I know you already have a dad, and I know you’re his daughter . . . but in my heart, that’s what you are to me.”
She reached up to hug him again. “Thanks for giving me a family.”
For a moment, tears welled in Nick’s eyes as he squeezed her. “It’s you who gave me a family, Cassandra Jane.” He rubbed the back of her blonde head a little, and then pulled away. Smiling proudly at her, he said, “We have a big day tomorrow – the party, plus we get to propose to Elizabeth.”
“Together? You’d let me be there?”
He nodded. “Unless you’d rather not be.”
“I want to be!” she exclaimed. “When is she getting here?”
“She’ll be here just before lunch. But right now, you need to get some sleep.”
“Okay,” she replied, and crawled under the covers. Nick rose to kiss her forehead. “Good night, Nicky.”
“G’night, princess,” he smilingly replied.
He didn’t have to wake her the following morning; she was up before the sun and had gone downstairs to help Jillian with breakfast before he’d even opened his eyes.
She was munching toast and sipping orange juice when he joined her. His sisters were sitting around the kitchen table chatting as their husbands and children roamed in and out; Cassie observed the activity happily from Jillian’s lap.
He took a piece of toast teasingly from Audra’s plate and an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. Kissing Cassie’s cheek, and then his mother’s, he issued a good morning to the room and moved to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“We were just talking about you, Baby Nicky,” chirped Lauren. “Your lovely daughter was just telling us about your girlfriend.”
Nick and Cassie exchanged proud and happy smiles. “Tellin’ secrets, Cass?”
“No,” she giggled. “All I said was that she wouldn’t have any trouble remembering all of their names, like I do.”
“I don’t know for sure,” he said, sipping coffee and pondering the question. “If you wrote them all down, maybe . . . I guess we’ll see this afternoon.”
“We plan to test her, you know.”
“You be nice, Miss Audra,” he warned his eldest sister, who had a tendency to tease.
“Oh, settle down, Baby Ninny,” she replied dismissively. “Any woman worth keeping can take whatever I’ll dish out.”
“Be nice, Miss Audra,” he repeated. “She’s worth keeping.”
“Is she smart, Cassie?” asked Kathleen, the teacher.
“Is she a science geek, like Ninny?” asked Becky, who owned a restaurant with her husband Mark.
“She’s a judge,” reported Cassie proudly.
Nick’s sisters all looked at him simultaneously, a little astonished. Silence fell over the table.
“She’s a what?” Helen, normally the quiet one, raised an eyebrow at her brother.
“A judge,” he replied firmly. “Eighth district court, Department Four, Clark County, Nevada.”
They were quiet a moment longer, which confused Cassie, until Audra couldn’t hold back any longer, and laughed.
Becky started giggling, too. “Are you kiddin’ around?”
“No,” he replied. “Now quit laughing at me; you’re upsetting my lovely daughter.” He winked at Cassie and sipped his coffee again, but knew he’d have to explain his sisters’ mirth when they all started laughing.
“Stop making fun of your brother,” warned Jillian as she patted Cassie’s hand.
“Like that’s ever stopped us!” exclaimed Lauren, and they all laughed some more.
Cassie turned a still-confused face to Jillian. “What’s so funny?”
“I tried to get Billy and each one of these naughty little girls to marry a lawyer. None of them listened to me, so by the time Nicky graduated from college, I had given up.”
“Oh . . .” she smiled, but didn’t see what was so funny about it and figured it was one of those things that only adults thought were funny. “But he’s going to marry a lawyer anyway.”
She said it quietly but realized she’d let a secret out the moment the last syllable left her lips. Jillian had turned to Kathleen, at her left, to instruct her to take her elbows off the table at that moment, and thankfully didn’t hear. Nick assured Cassie that he wasn’t upset with a gentle look, and then glanced around the table to see if any of his sisters had heard. Only Audra – sharp, sassy Audra, CPA and CFO of a multi-million dollar company, Audra who had given birth to triplets without so much as a moan of displeasure, Audra who could judge character so well that she’d known Missy Williams was trouble from the moment she laid eyes on her deceptively sweet face – Audra heard.
She rose to stand next to Nick, pouring herself more coffee. “How true is that?”
He sipped. “I haven’t asked her yet.”
“When are you going to?”
“When she gets here.”
She nodded. “Because she’s worth keeping.”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t disappoint me, Ninny.” They smiled at each other, and Audra resumed her place at the table.
Sam entered the room then, the husband and artist and stay-at-home dad she adored, and he distracted her. Nick observed the activity in the kitchen and thought over the conversation he’d had the previous evening with Cassie, and smiled.
His daughter . . . his lovely daughter. She had never been referred to as that so willingly as when his mother and sisters said it. She had taken to them, and they to her, as though she had always been in their lives. It made his chest warm to think of, and contentedly he sighed and sipped his coffee as he watched her play with Jillian’s wedding ring.
Wedding ring . . . no sooner had the word hit his brain than his heart hit his stomach. He didn’t have a ring for Elizabeth. Cursing himself – how could he have forgotten about that? – he cleared his throat nonchalantly. “What time is it?”
Becky looked at her watch. “A little after eight. Why?”
“I need to run an errand,” he replied. “Cassie, you wanna come along?”
“Sure,” she replied, hopping off of Jillian’s lap. Hand in hand they walked calmly from the kitchen, issuing casual adieus over their shoulders.
With one hand wrapped around Cassie’s and the other around Elizabeth’s, Nick strolled through his parents’ lawn toward the late autumn garden. All that was left in the little picket fence-enclosed space were some drying peppers and a couple of pumpkins.
“This must’ve been a wonderful place to grow up,” remarked Elizabeth.
He stopped by the fence. “I have a lot of very fond memories,” he replied, smiling. Deciding that right there, right then was as good a time as any to make another one, he settled his backside against the fence and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “So . . . Cassie and I were talking last night.”
“About what?” asked Elizabeth, tucking her hands in her pockets, too.
He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. “We have a proposition for you.”
She smiled and looked at Cassie, who was squirming. “Really? Let me hear it.”
Nick exchanged a smile with his daughter. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.
Elizabeth giggled. “Once in a lifetime, huh? Whaddaya got for me, Stokes? A real estate scam? Gambling tricks of the trade?”
“Oh, no . . . this is serious, now,” he replied, but his eyes glimmered with mirth and his voice was playful. “This is a one-shot deal. Are you ready to hear it?”
“Sure.”
“All right.” He approached then, Cassie at his side, and took her hand in his. “We would like to offer you, Lizzy Jo Halles, this one chance – one only, now – to join the Nickelbee Stokes and Casserole McBride-Stokes family.”
Her expression moved from a content smile to a curious tick of her brow and then settled on surprise. She looked to Cassie, who was smilingly standing next to Nick, and was glad she was there. “Nick . . .”
“More traditionally put, LJ,” he continued seriously, sinking to one knee in front of her, “will you marry me?”
Joyful tears welled in her eyes and she took a deep breath to reply, but was stopped when Cassie sat on Nick’s knee.
“Before you answer, there’s something you should know,” she said sagely. “Nick and me are a package deal. So, if you marry him, you get me too. So . . . I was kind of hoping that maybe you would adopt me, too . . . you know, for real.”
Her tears rolled down her cheeks. “You want me to adopt you?”
Shyly, Cassie nodded. Then she reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and extracted the red leather jeweler’s box concealed there, handing it to Elizabeth. “This is for you.”
Wonderingly she took the box from Cassie’s hand. When she opened it, her tears were refreshed.
“So what do you think?” she asked innocently, a little nervous.
“I wouldn’t take him without you,” Elizabeth replied. She handed the box back to Cassie. “Will you put it on me?”
Cassie took the box from her hand. With slightly clumsy fingers, she fastened the chain bearing the mother and child pendant that she had chosen that morning with Nick. It began in yellow gold on the left side, fading into bright white gold gradually as the design transitioned from the mother to the child.
“It’s beautiful, Cassie,” she said soberly, kissing her cheek. “Thank you.”
“You can answer Nicky now,” she said happily, and bounced out of the way.
Nick smiled, a little wobbly from kneeling on one knee, and held out his hand. Elizabeth took it, helping him up. She embraced him as soon as he was steady on his feet, and kissed him far more chastely than she would’ve liked. “Yes,” she whispered, and then kissed him repeatedly. “I would be honored to be your wife.”
He picked her up and spun her around as she giggled and Cassie ran in a circle around them. When he put her down, he reached into his pocket and extracted the engagement ring Cassie helped him choose, and settled it on the appropriate finger.
She smiled at it. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes still teary. “I love rubies.”
“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.”
Nick felt as though his chest would burst as he held Elizabeth close and watched her run her fingers through Cassie’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.
As he stood on the balcony looking out over the ranch, Nick felt a strong hand curl over the top of his right shoulder and squeeze. He smiled as his father stepped next to him.
“Who’d you bring me, Poncho?”
“The sweetest kid you ever met . . . with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a crooked smile. She likes Nancy Drew books and bubble gum and she plays the clarinet.”
“That’s a lot different than what you used to say.”
Nick’s smile deepened. “Yeah . . . it is.”
“Who else did you bring me?”
The younger man was a quiet for a moment before he replied. “A raven-haired Athena,” he answered, his voice low and full, “with skin like milk and eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets.”
“Is she special to you?”
“I’m in love with her, Cisco.”
This caught the older man off guard, and he made his son look at him. “By God, Poncho . . .” he mumbled when he saw the utterly serious expression on Nick’s face. “Now that’s a look I’ve never seen.”
Nick smiled a little. “I’ve never felt like this.” He looked back out over the ranch. “I help put child molesters and murderers and rapists behind bars almost every day . . . but I never felt so much like Superman as I did this morning.”
Bill leaned over the railing. “I think I know the answer to this question . . . but what happened this morning?”
“I asked her to marry me.”
Bill cleared his throat. “She’s not a priss like your brother’s wife, is she?”
Nick outright laughed at this. “No, sir,” he replied, and finally looked at his father. “She’s a judge.”
He straightened and looked interested. “Conservative or liberal?”
“Somewhere in the middle. She’s fond of creative sentencing.”
“All right . . . what else?”
“She’s a master gardener . . . gets along famously with Mom already . . . hates Missy . . . loves Cassie . . . what else do I need?”
Bill grinned and shook his head. “I sure don’t know, Poncho . . . but I’d like to meet Athena, if you don’t mind.”
Nick nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
When he returned, Elizabeth was with him. Bill took in the sight of his youngest son holding the hand of the woman he loved with equal amounts of joy and pain. At that moment, he knew that Nick wouldn’t be returning home to Dallas to raise Cassie, but he also knew he didn’t have a lot of time left with his children, and if he died knowing at least that Nick was settled with a family and loved, he could die a happy man.
His expression once again quite serious, Nick approached his father and cleared his throat as Bill and Elizabeth summed each other up with a look. “Your honor,” he began formally, “I’d like to introduce the Honorable Elizabeth Jo Halles to your acquaintance. Judge Halles, this is the Honorable William Garrett Stokes the third . . . my father.”
Their hands met, shaking firmly. Elizabeth smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your honor.”
“Texas bluebonnets, indeed,” he replied, causing Elizabeth to look quizzically at Nick. “He said your eyes were the color of bluebonnets,” said Bill, who hadn’t let go of her hand. “I was agreeing.”
“I see,” said Elizabeth, turning back to Bill. “Am I to assume that Nicholas gets his talent for flattery from you?”
He patted her hand with a smirk that looked distinctly like one of Nick’s. “That’s a good assumption, darlin’.” He then tucked her arm into his and turned to Nick. “If you’ll excuse us, Poncho.”
Nick nodded with a smile. “Don’t keep her away from me for too long.” He walked away in search of Cassie.
Bill and Elizabeth turned to each other. Elizabeth raised a brow. “Your son speaks very highly of you.”
He looked over Elizabeth, smiling. “You will see in time . . . I speak very highly of my son. I wonder if I’ll speak the same of you.”
“I hope so, sir,” she replied.
“I’m not fond of bull, Elizabeth . . . and I’m running out of time – I’m supposed to be with my wife right now – and I’m also runnin’ out of years in my life . . . so I’m going to get right to the point.
“Think of me what you will, but Poncho . . . my Nicky . . . he’s special. I know a parent isn’t supposed to favor any one child over the other, but I do favor my youngest. And I know my girls have given me fourteen beautiful grandchildren . . . and that Cassie, she’s got me wrapped around her little finger . . . but Billy and Nicky are my boys, and they have no boys of their own. Shoot, even if Billy did have a boy I’d always question whether he was really a Stokes.”
As he looked out at the ranch, Elizabeth removed her arm from his and stepped in front of him. She looked gently into his eyes as she spoke. “I think I understand what you’re asking,” she began softly. “You want your name to go on . . . I think Nick does, too. But . . . let me get right to the point. I am not a young woman any more, and Nick and I have not talked about this, and we haven’t asked Cassie how she feels, but I will tell you this: I will do everything in my power to make it happen if it’s what my family wants. But not for you . . . as much as I respect you, your honor – Nick is a good man – anything I do will be done for him.”
The light breeze tossed Bill’s thinning hair as he looked over Elizabeth. “You do love that boy, Miss Elizabeth?” His dark eyes crinkled slightly at the corners; she sensed he was satisfied.
“I love that man,” she corrected, smiling slightly herself, “with all my heart. And, in case this is truly a formal affair and titles are to be used, Judge Halles works just fine.”
“I like you,” he said, a full smile on his wrinkled face. “Your honor.”
She nodded. “Likewise. Now . . . let me get you to your wife.”
Bill held out his arm; she took it, and he led her away.
Something for you to enjoy, or not
*~~*
Nick found Cassie watching TV with Maria and Laura. He paused in the doorway to admire the three girls – all laying on their stomachs with painted toes in the air, heads supported by hands supported by elbows. Cassie was sandwiched between the two older girls.
When she noticed him, she looked up and smiled. “We’re watching Gilmore Girls.”
He grinned. “It’s bedtime, princess.”
Cassie knew better than to protest, but it didn’t stop her from whining. “How come they get to stay up late?”
“‘Cuz they’re fifteen, Cassie Jane. Say goodnight, now.”
“All right.” She did as she was told and trudged to Nick’s childhood bedroom where she glared at the Kiss poster and flopped down on the bed.
“Attitude, Miss McBride,” he warned gently with raised eyebrows.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, climbing under the covers.
Nick sat next to her. “You’re a good kid, Cass.” She smiled as he kissed her forehead. “How do you like Dallas?”
“It’s nice,” she said, “and I really like all your family. ‘Specially your mom.”
Nick’s heart thumped with pride. “She really likes you, too.”
“That’s good.” Her eyes closed.
“Hang on a sec – I need to talk to you about something.”
Cassie’s eyes opened. “Is something wrong?”
“Not a bit. We just need to talk . . . it’s about Elizabeth.”
She sat up, curious. “Oh. Is it bad?”
He shook his head. “No. I just want to know . . . how do you feel about her?”
“She’s kind of like a teacher,” was her initial response. She paused to think a little, and then continued. “You know, like the teacher in school that everyone likes . . . the one you always do your homework for, even if you don’t want to, because you don’t want to disappoint her.”
Nick smiled at her analogy. “So you really like her.”
“Yeah,” she smiled. “She’s a good friend. I’m glad she’s there when you can’t be.”
“You know . . . you know she’s my girlfriend, right?” Cassie blushed and smiled, nodding her head. “Well . . . what if she were my wife?”
Cassie gasped and jumped up, a pleased and surprised expression on her face. “Ohmygod Nickyareyougetting married?”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “Shh . . . calm down, CJ! I haven’t asked her yet!”
“But when you do she’s gonna say yes and then I’ll always have her around. And do you think she’s too old to have a baby? Because then maybe I can get a baby sister.”
“Slow down, Cassie Jane,” he replied, laughing. “Let me get married first.”
Cassie’s eyes were bright “She’s going to say yes.”
“I think so, too,” he quietly agreed. “And we’ll talk about little sisters all in good time.”
Impulsively, she threw her arms around him and squeezed. He chuckled as he hugged her back. “I take it you’re okay with this.”
“Yeah,” she whispered in his ear, and squeezed again. When she pulled away, she looked pensive.
He nudged her. “What’s up, Casserole?”
She smiled a little. “Do you think I need a mom?”
Nick creased his brow and shook his head. “What do you mean? You already have a mom.”
“I know,” she replied, “but . . . I mean . . . you’re not gonna ask Lizzy to marry you because you think I need a mom . . . are you?”
“No . . . I’m going to propose to Elizabeth because I love her, and I want her to be my wife.”
“So what would she be to me?” asked the little girl thoughtfully.
“That’s up to you, princess.”
“Well . . . what if she adopted me too? Then she could be my second mom.”
Nick smiled and his chest warmed. “I think she’d like that, but it’s up to her. Although . . . we are kind of a package deal.”
Cassie smiled. “Yeah.”
Nick cleared his throat. “You know . . . you called me Dad today.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “I know. Is it okay if I call you Dad sometimes?”
“It’s more than fine, Cassie. When I talk about you, I call you my daughter.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “I know you already have a dad, and I know you’re his daughter . . . but in my heart, that’s what you are to me.”
She reached up to hug him again. “Thanks for giving me a family.”
For a moment, tears welled in Nick’s eyes as he squeezed her. “It’s you who gave me a family, Cassandra Jane.” He rubbed the back of her blonde head a little, and then pulled away. Smiling proudly at her, he said, “We have a big day tomorrow – the party, plus we get to propose to Elizabeth.”
“Together? You’d let me be there?”
He nodded. “Unless you’d rather not be.”
“I want to be!” she exclaimed. “When is she getting here?”
“She’ll be here just before lunch. But right now, you need to get some sleep.”
“Okay,” she replied, and crawled under the covers. Nick rose to kiss her forehead. “Good night, Nicky.”
“G’night, princess,” he smilingly replied.
*~~*
He didn’t have to wake her the following morning; she was up before the sun and had gone downstairs to help Jillian with breakfast before he’d even opened his eyes.
She was munching toast and sipping orange juice when he joined her. His sisters were sitting around the kitchen table chatting as their husbands and children roamed in and out; Cassie observed the activity happily from Jillian’s lap.
He took a piece of toast teasingly from Audra’s plate and an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. Kissing Cassie’s cheek, and then his mother’s, he issued a good morning to the room and moved to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“We were just talking about you, Baby Nicky,” chirped Lauren. “Your lovely daughter was just telling us about your girlfriend.”
Nick and Cassie exchanged proud and happy smiles. “Tellin’ secrets, Cass?”
“No,” she giggled. “All I said was that she wouldn’t have any trouble remembering all of their names, like I do.”
“I don’t know for sure,” he said, sipping coffee and pondering the question. “If you wrote them all down, maybe . . . I guess we’ll see this afternoon.”
“We plan to test her, you know.”
“You be nice, Miss Audra,” he warned his eldest sister, who had a tendency to tease.
“Oh, settle down, Baby Ninny,” she replied dismissively. “Any woman worth keeping can take whatever I’ll dish out.”
“Be nice, Miss Audra,” he repeated. “She’s worth keeping.”
“Is she smart, Cassie?” asked Kathleen, the teacher.
“Is she a science geek, like Ninny?” asked Becky, who owned a restaurant with her husband Mark.
“She’s a judge,” reported Cassie proudly.
Nick’s sisters all looked at him simultaneously, a little astonished. Silence fell over the table.
“She’s a what?” Helen, normally the quiet one, raised an eyebrow at her brother.
“A judge,” he replied firmly. “Eighth district court, Department Four, Clark County, Nevada.”
They were quiet a moment longer, which confused Cassie, until Audra couldn’t hold back any longer, and laughed.
Becky started giggling, too. “Are you kiddin’ around?”
“No,” he replied. “Now quit laughing at me; you’re upsetting my lovely daughter.” He winked at Cassie and sipped his coffee again, but knew he’d have to explain his sisters’ mirth when they all started laughing.
“Stop making fun of your brother,” warned Jillian as she patted Cassie’s hand.
“Like that’s ever stopped us!” exclaimed Lauren, and they all laughed some more.
Cassie turned a still-confused face to Jillian. “What’s so funny?”
“I tried to get Billy and each one of these naughty little girls to marry a lawyer. None of them listened to me, so by the time Nicky graduated from college, I had given up.”
“Oh . . .” she smiled, but didn’t see what was so funny about it and figured it was one of those things that only adults thought were funny. “But he’s going to marry a lawyer anyway.”
She said it quietly but realized she’d let a secret out the moment the last syllable left her lips. Jillian had turned to Kathleen, at her left, to instruct her to take her elbows off the table at that moment, and thankfully didn’t hear. Nick assured Cassie that he wasn’t upset with a gentle look, and then glanced around the table to see if any of his sisters had heard. Only Audra – sharp, sassy Audra, CPA and CFO of a multi-million dollar company, Audra who had given birth to triplets without so much as a moan of displeasure, Audra who could judge character so well that she’d known Missy Williams was trouble from the moment she laid eyes on her deceptively sweet face – Audra heard.
She rose to stand next to Nick, pouring herself more coffee. “How true is that?”
He sipped. “I haven’t asked her yet.”
“When are you going to?”
“When she gets here.”
She nodded. “Because she’s worth keeping.”
“That’s right.”
“Don’t disappoint me, Ninny.” They smiled at each other, and Audra resumed her place at the table.
Sam entered the room then, the husband and artist and stay-at-home dad she adored, and he distracted her. Nick observed the activity in the kitchen and thought over the conversation he’d had the previous evening with Cassie, and smiled.
His daughter . . . his lovely daughter. She had never been referred to as that so willingly as when his mother and sisters said it. She had taken to them, and they to her, as though she had always been in their lives. It made his chest warm to think of, and contentedly he sighed and sipped his coffee as he watched her play with Jillian’s wedding ring.
Wedding ring . . . no sooner had the word hit his brain than his heart hit his stomach. He didn’t have a ring for Elizabeth. Cursing himself – how could he have forgotten about that? – he cleared his throat nonchalantly. “What time is it?”
Becky looked at her watch. “A little after eight. Why?”
“I need to run an errand,” he replied. “Cassie, you wanna come along?”
“Sure,” she replied, hopping off of Jillian’s lap. Hand in hand they walked calmly from the kitchen, issuing casual adieus over their shoulders.
*~~*
With one hand wrapped around Cassie’s and the other around Elizabeth’s, Nick strolled through his parents’ lawn toward the late autumn garden. All that was left in the little picket fence-enclosed space were some drying peppers and a couple of pumpkins.
“This must’ve been a wonderful place to grow up,” remarked Elizabeth.
He stopped by the fence. “I have a lot of very fond memories,” he replied, smiling. Deciding that right there, right then was as good a time as any to make another one, he settled his backside against the fence and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “So . . . Cassie and I were talking last night.”
“About what?” asked Elizabeth, tucking her hands in her pockets, too.
He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. “We have a proposition for you.”
She smiled and looked at Cassie, who was squirming. “Really? Let me hear it.”
Nick exchanged a smile with his daughter. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.
Elizabeth giggled. “Once in a lifetime, huh? Whaddaya got for me, Stokes? A real estate scam? Gambling tricks of the trade?”
“Oh, no . . . this is serious, now,” he replied, but his eyes glimmered with mirth and his voice was playful. “This is a one-shot deal. Are you ready to hear it?”
“Sure.”
“All right.” He approached then, Cassie at his side, and took her hand in his. “We would like to offer you, Lizzy Jo Halles, this one chance – one only, now – to join the Nickelbee Stokes and Casserole McBride-Stokes family.”
Her expression moved from a content smile to a curious tick of her brow and then settled on surprise. She looked to Cassie, who was smilingly standing next to Nick, and was glad she was there. “Nick . . .”
“More traditionally put, LJ,” he continued seriously, sinking to one knee in front of her, “will you marry me?”
Joyful tears welled in her eyes and she took a deep breath to reply, but was stopped when Cassie sat on Nick’s knee.
“Before you answer, there’s something you should know,” she said sagely. “Nick and me are a package deal. So, if you marry him, you get me too. So . . . I was kind of hoping that maybe you would adopt me, too . . . you know, for real.”
Her tears rolled down her cheeks. “You want me to adopt you?”
Shyly, Cassie nodded. Then she reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and extracted the red leather jeweler’s box concealed there, handing it to Elizabeth. “This is for you.”
Wonderingly she took the box from Cassie’s hand. When she opened it, her tears were refreshed.
“So what do you think?” she asked innocently, a little nervous.
“I wouldn’t take him without you,” Elizabeth replied. She handed the box back to Cassie. “Will you put it on me?”
Cassie took the box from her hand. With slightly clumsy fingers, she fastened the chain bearing the mother and child pendant that she had chosen that morning with Nick. It began in yellow gold on the left side, fading into bright white gold gradually as the design transitioned from the mother to the child.
“It’s beautiful, Cassie,” she said soberly, kissing her cheek. “Thank you.”
“You can answer Nicky now,” she said happily, and bounced out of the way.
Nick smiled, a little wobbly from kneeling on one knee, and held out his hand. Elizabeth took it, helping him up. She embraced him as soon as he was steady on his feet, and kissed him far more chastely than she would’ve liked. “Yes,” she whispered, and then kissed him repeatedly. “I would be honored to be your wife.”
He picked her up and spun her around as she giggled and Cassie ran in a circle around them. When he put her down, he reached into his pocket and extracted the engagement ring Cassie helped him choose, and settled it on the appropriate finger.
She smiled at it. “It’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes still teary. “I love rubies.”
“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.”
Nick felt as though his chest would burst as he held Elizabeth close and watched her run her fingers through Cassie’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.
*~~*
As he stood on the balcony looking out over the ranch, Nick felt a strong hand curl over the top of his right shoulder and squeeze. He smiled as his father stepped next to him.
“Who’d you bring me, Poncho?”
“The sweetest kid you ever met . . . with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a crooked smile. She likes Nancy Drew books and bubble gum and she plays the clarinet.”
“That’s a lot different than what you used to say.”
Nick’s smile deepened. “Yeah . . . it is.”
“Who else did you bring me?”
The younger man was a quiet for a moment before he replied. “A raven-haired Athena,” he answered, his voice low and full, “with skin like milk and eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets.”
“Is she special to you?”
“I’m in love with her, Cisco.”
This caught the older man off guard, and he made his son look at him. “By God, Poncho . . .” he mumbled when he saw the utterly serious expression on Nick’s face. “Now that’s a look I’ve never seen.”
Nick smiled a little. “I’ve never felt like this.” He looked back out over the ranch. “I help put child molesters and murderers and rapists behind bars almost every day . . . but I never felt so much like Superman as I did this morning.”
Bill leaned over the railing. “I think I know the answer to this question . . . but what happened this morning?”
“I asked her to marry me.”
Bill cleared his throat. “She’s not a priss like your brother’s wife, is she?”
Nick outright laughed at this. “No, sir,” he replied, and finally looked at his father. “She’s a judge.”
He straightened and looked interested. “Conservative or liberal?”
“Somewhere in the middle. She’s fond of creative sentencing.”
“All right . . . what else?”
“She’s a master gardener . . . gets along famously with Mom already . . . hates Missy . . . loves Cassie . . . what else do I need?”
Bill grinned and shook his head. “I sure don’t know, Poncho . . . but I’d like to meet Athena, if you don’t mind.”
Nick nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
When he returned, Elizabeth was with him. Bill took in the sight of his youngest son holding the hand of the woman he loved with equal amounts of joy and pain. At that moment, he knew that Nick wouldn’t be returning home to Dallas to raise Cassie, but he also knew he didn’t have a lot of time left with his children, and if he died knowing at least that Nick was settled with a family and loved, he could die a happy man.
His expression once again quite serious, Nick approached his father and cleared his throat as Bill and Elizabeth summed each other up with a look. “Your honor,” he began formally, “I’d like to introduce the Honorable Elizabeth Jo Halles to your acquaintance. Judge Halles, this is the Honorable William Garrett Stokes the third . . . my father.”
Their hands met, shaking firmly. Elizabeth smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, your honor.”
“Texas bluebonnets, indeed,” he replied, causing Elizabeth to look quizzically at Nick. “He said your eyes were the color of bluebonnets,” said Bill, who hadn’t let go of her hand. “I was agreeing.”
“I see,” said Elizabeth, turning back to Bill. “Am I to assume that Nicholas gets his talent for flattery from you?”
He patted her hand with a smirk that looked distinctly like one of Nick’s. “That’s a good assumption, darlin’.” He then tucked her arm into his and turned to Nick. “If you’ll excuse us, Poncho.”
Nick nodded with a smile. “Don’t keep her away from me for too long.” He walked away in search of Cassie.
Bill and Elizabeth turned to each other. Elizabeth raised a brow. “Your son speaks very highly of you.”
He looked over Elizabeth, smiling. “You will see in time . . . I speak very highly of my son. I wonder if I’ll speak the same of you.”
“I hope so, sir,” she replied.
“I’m not fond of bull, Elizabeth . . . and I’m running out of time – I’m supposed to be with my wife right now – and I’m also runnin’ out of years in my life . . . so I’m going to get right to the point.
“Think of me what you will, but Poncho . . . my Nicky . . . he’s special. I know a parent isn’t supposed to favor any one child over the other, but I do favor my youngest. And I know my girls have given me fourteen beautiful grandchildren . . . and that Cassie, she’s got me wrapped around her little finger . . . but Billy and Nicky are my boys, and they have no boys of their own. Shoot, even if Billy did have a boy I’d always question whether he was really a Stokes.”
As he looked out at the ranch, Elizabeth removed her arm from his and stepped in front of him. She looked gently into his eyes as she spoke. “I think I understand what you’re asking,” she began softly. “You want your name to go on . . . I think Nick does, too. But . . . let me get right to the point. I am not a young woman any more, and Nick and I have not talked about this, and we haven’t asked Cassie how she feels, but I will tell you this: I will do everything in my power to make it happen if it’s what my family wants. But not for you . . . as much as I respect you, your honor – Nick is a good man – anything I do will be done for him.”
The light breeze tossed Bill’s thinning hair as he looked over Elizabeth. “You do love that boy, Miss Elizabeth?” His dark eyes crinkled slightly at the corners; she sensed he was satisfied.
“I love that man,” she corrected, smiling slightly herself, “with all my heart. And, in case this is truly a formal affair and titles are to be used, Judge Halles works just fine.”
“I like you,” he said, a full smile on his wrinkled face. “Your honor.”
She nodded. “Likewise. Now . . . let me get you to your wife.”
Bill held out his arm; she took it, and he led her away.
bookgirl20
CSI Level Two
Its like deleted scenes from fanfic! I love!
Giddy to see that there are crumbs of this fanfic you keep throwing our way Jacqui! If we beg and plead could there be more?
Giddy to see that there are crumbs of this fanfic you keep throwing our way Jacqui! If we beg and plead could there be more?
Speedystokesgirl
Judge
I just love it. Ok, I'm done, I guess you can propose to her now. :lol: I just love this girl.
That was a great outtake. A different proposal and just as sweet. And Cassie called Nick 'dad'. Even if we didn't get to read it. :shifty:
And Lizzy telling the Judge to call her Judge Halles. Yup, I think Lizzy will be able to hold her own.
The necklace Cassie gave Lizzy was just so sweet and I love the 'package deals'.
Oh, Nick is such a romantic.
MacsGirlMel
Mac's Personal Assistant
nice How come you changed Elizabeth? Just wondering.
How come you changed Elizabeth? Just wondering.
Loved it!
Jacqui
Police Officer
Thanks peeps You're all always so sweet.
As to why I changed Elizabeth: Judges must be impartial. This makes a personal relationship between a CSI (who's on one side) and a judge (who is not allowed to have a side) not impossible, but not likely either. It would've been incredibly complicated. Also, as a judge, Elizabeth could not have represented Nick in his case with DFS. Judges are not allowed to practice law. As to whether a DA could represent a private client, I am less certain, but that storyline has more plausibility if Elizabeth is the DA. Also, I didn't know if she'd be believeable as a 42 year old judge.
The story also began as Elizabeth adopting Cassie, not the other way around; Nick was going to get shot at a crime scene; Bill was going to utterly hate Elizabeth; it did contain some elements of GSR which were cut b/c they were utterly irrelevant; Elizabeth's life was in danger at some point. Also, I toyed with the idea of making Emily the love interest rather than Elizabeth, though I never wrote anything on that. :lol:
You're all always so sweet.As to why I changed Elizabeth: Judges must be impartial. This makes a personal relationship between a CSI (who's on one side) and a judge (who is not allowed to have a side) not impossible, but not likely either. It would've been incredibly complicated. Also, as a judge, Elizabeth could not have represented Nick in his case with DFS. Judges are not allowed to practice law. As to whether a DA could represent a private client, I am less certain, but that storyline has more plausibility if Elizabeth is the DA. Also, I didn't know if she'd be believeable as a 42 year old judge.
The story also began as Elizabeth adopting Cassie, not the other way around; Nick was going to get shot at a crime scene; Bill was going to utterly hate Elizabeth; it did contain some elements of GSR which were cut b/c they were utterly irrelevant; Elizabeth's life was in danger at some point. Also, I toyed with the idea of making Emily the love interest rather than Elizabeth, though I never wrote anything on that. :lol:
myfuturecsi
Corpse
Thanks peeps
As to why I changed Elizabeth: Judges must be impartial. This makes a personal relationship between a CSI (who's on one side) and a judge (who is not allowed to have a side) not impossible, but not likely either. It would've been incredibly complicated. Also, as a judge, Elizabeth could not have represented Nick in his case with DFS. Judges are not allowed to practice law. As to whether a DA could represent a private client, I am less certain, but that storyline has more plausibility if Elizabeth is the DA. Also, I didn't know if she'd be believeable as a 42 year old judge.
The story also began as Elizabeth adopting Cassie, not the other way around; Nick was going to get shot at a crime scene; Bill was going to utterly hate Elizabeth; it did contain some elements of GSR which were cut b/c they were utterly irrelevant; Elizabeth's life was in danger at some point. Also, I toyed with the idea of making Emily the love interest rather than Elizabeth, though I never wrote anything on that. :lol:
I don't think it's that unbelievable for a judge to be 42.
It's interesting what happens when you have an idea in mind and then when you write it, it doesn't feel right.
When I wrote Irreversible, I toyed with the idea of Sofia being the love interest but after I wrote Nick and Mandy going on a date it felt so much more natural for me and I went with it.