AN: takes place after season 2; episode 9 "And Then There Were None."
Nick sat on the couch in his house drinking a beer. He wished he could have been home for Thanksgiving right about now, but the case he had been working on hadn't allowed it this year. Nick called his family back home in Texas. He had talked to his parents, sisters and brother, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, and, lastly, Emma Grace; all individually. Everyone said they were sad that he couldn't be home for Thanksgiving this year, but they understood; Emma Grace reminded him that he was just continuing to save the world, and she was proud of him.
Normally when he got home from work, he would go straight to bed or watch some TV. Tonight was different. He was remembering the past. Seeing the dirtbike tracks while investigating the case of the men dressed as women who robbed a casino had brought back a memory Nick was pretty fond of.
May of 1996 found twenty-four-year-old Nick Stokes driving a dirtbike along a backcountry road in Texas that was dirt. Twenty-two-year-old Emma Grace was behind Nick on her own dirtbike. Nick and Emma Grace rode in silence, with nothing but the sound of the dirtbikes, for about twenty minutes.
Nick brought the dirtbike to the stop and looked behind him as Emma Grace brought her dirtbike beside his and stopped it. Nick smiled as Emma Grace closed her eyes and let out a content breathe.
"I love it here." Emma Grace was smiling as she looked over at Nick.
"I know. Ever since we found this place when we were riding a few years ago, I always come up here when I need to think," Nick told Emma Grace.
"What do you need to think about today?" Emma Grace asked as she gave Nick her full attention.
"I need to think about my job." Nick had decided that he wanted Emma Grace to know about his decision before anyone else did. Even though the two of them had not put a label on this thing that had started between them during Christmas, they were still best friends. Emma Grace knew Nick better than anyone else did.
"What's going on? You love working at the police office."
"Gracie, you know that thing with Jackson really scared me."
"Yeah. It scared me too, but that's not a reason to give up your job."
Nick raised his eyebrows at her with a smirk on his face.
"Don't get me wrong. The idea of you not constantly being put in danger makes me really happy. But I want you to be able to do something you're passionate about, Nicky." Emma Grace explained smiling back at him.
"What am I passionate about, Gracie?" Nick had a feeling he knew the answer, but he wanted to see what she would say.
"You're passionate about saving the world and trying to give people a second chance. It's one of your characteristics that I-um-I admire most." Emma Grace knew the ending was a little lame, but she had to recover quickly when she almost told Nick that she loved that about him. They use to tell each other they loved things and qualities about the other all the time. But, after that kiss they shared around Christmas time; and the passionate make-out session that happened at her apartment after Jackson had pulled a gun on them three weeks ago, the two of them had stopped using the "L" word altogether when it came to describing anything about the other person.
"Well, I may be passionate about saving the world, but you know I really enjoy science," Nick said bringing Emma Grace out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, but don't you use science when you're working most cases now?"
"I do, but not the way I would like to," Nick explained.
"Where else could you work that you'd enjoy and get to use science more?"
"There's an opening at the crime lab here," Nick said as he smiled.
"Really?" Emma Grace couldn't help but smile, she knew Nick could enjoy the job in the crime lab more, and he may end up being safe each day he went to work.
"I had my interview the other day, and today I got the call that I was in. They're just waiting on my decision."
"Nicky! That's great! Now, what's holding you back?"
"What if I don't have what it takes?"
"Nicky, you've always wanted to work in the crime lab. You've spent years studying and preparing for this moment. You can do this."
"Thanks, Gracie, I needed that." Nick had tears in his eyes from the compliment that Emma Grace had given him.
Emma Grace put the kickstand down to balance her dirtbike. She got off the bike and walked over to Nick. She put her hands on both sides of his face and looked him in the eyes. "I'm so proud of you," she said. Then she gave him a searing kiss.
Nick felt more confident about his decision to leave the police force and join the team at the crime lab. The couple rode their dirtbikes for another hour and a half, taking frequent stops to talk and kiss. After their ride, they headed back to the Stokes house.
As the present replaced the past, Nick got up from the couch and went to his bedroom. He opened his closet and began to dig through the top shelf of his closet. It took Nick about ten minutes before he felt the familiar binding of the book he was looking for. Nick pulled down the photo album Emma Grace had given him for Christmas in 1996. He flipped to the inside of the back cover first; the words were still there and could be clearly read: Always, Emma Grace. Christmas 1996. Nick couldn't help but run his hand over the page as a smile made its way to his face.
Before Nick went and met the team to eat a late Thanksgiving meal with the team at the diner they frequented often, he wanted to travel down memory lane. Nick carried the photo album to the living room and sat back down on the couch. The first picture was of Emma Grace and Nick when they were about nine and eleven. It was during summertime, and someone, one of Nick's parents most likely, had taken a picture of the two playing tag in the Stokes' yard.
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"I'm thankful for my daughter, and this team." Catherine started off saying what she was thankful for as the team sat around a table in the diner enjoying a homemade Thanksgiving dinner.
"I'm thankful for all that science teaches us, and that science is the one thing that brought us all together." No one was surprised that Grissom would find a way to slip a key topic of work into the conversation.
"I'm thankful for competent police officers that we work with daily." Sara and Catherine had filled the rest of the team in on their part of the investigation the team had just closed. They had shared how the cop had contaminated evidence, and the case that got away, Tammie Felton, had finally been put to rest.
When it was Jim Brass' turn, he simply said, "I'm thankful that all of you have my back, and that I have the best Crime Investigators are in Las Vegas to solve my murder." Saying that he would want the team to investigate if he were ever murdered was a common statement from Brass.
"I'm thankful for my wife, children, and the friendships sitting at this table," the coroner, Al Robbinson, known as Doc to all of them, said as he lifted his mug of coffee in the air in a toasting gesture.
Greg's statement was surprisingly short, "I'm thankful to be working in the Las Vegas crime lab." He took a sip of his coffee as the team waited for Warrick and Nick to share what they were thankful for this year.
"I'm thankful that after all the years of not having a family to spend holidays with I have this work family who's never given up on me, even when I've screwed up." Everyone knew that Warrick was talking about the times his gambling problem had affected the team, but it was true, none of them had walked away from him during those times.
"I'm thankful for my family in Texas, and for my family here. I'm also thankful for second chances." The last part of Nick's statement caught most of the team's attention.
"Who did you hurt? who's giving you a second chance?" Sara asked.
"There's this girl back home in Texas," was all Nick provided.
"She's the one who got away," Catherine stated with an intrigued look on her face.
"Yeah, I guess she is," Nick admitted.
"Well, tell us about this mystery woman who may be the answer to getting Nick Stokes to settle down." Warrick wanted to know about this girl from Nick's past that was still in Texas.
Nick obliged his teammates and told them about growing up with Emma Grace and that the two had only recently started communicating again. Nick never meant to leave the information of Emma Grace's name out of the conversation, he mostly called her Gracie when he talked about her. Needless to say, most everyone was shocked to learn that there was a girl in Dallas, Texas who could quite possibly make Nick Stokes settle down, even all these years later.