Say Hello to the Past (CSI fanfiction)

The phone call

February 2001 (during S1;E13 "Boom")
Bill Stokes was devastated that his son Nick was a suspect in a murder. He knew that his son didn't kill the woman he had been with, but it did look bad that he was the last one to see the woman alive. Nick had called to talk about the whole thing, but Bill knew that just talking to him wouldn't ease his mind. So, Bill made the one phone call he knew he shouldn't really make.

On the second ring, the person answered the phone. "Hey, is this a good time to talk? It's about Nick," Bill said.

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Nick Stokes was laying on his couch thinking about everything that was happening right now. He couldn't believe he was a suspect in a murder, but worse he was upset that Kristy Hopkins was dead. He kept thinking that if he had stayed at her house longer than maybe she wouldn't be dead now.

Nick was brought out of his thoughts when his phone began to ring. "Hello," Nick said when he answered the ringing phone.

"Nicky, how do you go from becoming a CSI Level 3 four months ago, getting held at gunpoint two months ago, and now you're a suspect in a murder investigation of an old girlfriend? What's going on with you?" The person on the other end of the phone asked.

"I told Dad not to call you," was all that Nick said as he sat back down on the couch and put his hands over his eyes.

"I'm glad he did call me. Nicky, you know you can talk to me about these things. We've always been able to talk before," the person said.

"I know Emma Grace, and it's great to hear from you again, but I wish it were under different circumstances," Nick said smiling despite himself because he had missed his childhood friend.

"Okay, if you know you can talk to me, start talking," Emma Grace said not bothering with small talk. Nick looked out the window and began to tell Emma Grace everything, just like he used to.

"Kristy wasn't an old girlfriend. She was one of the women behind the trick roll I solved to become a CSI Level 3 back in October. In January she got into an altercation with a security guard at a store when the security guard spit on her. Kristy had asked for me by name and said she was a friend of mine.

"I wasn't happy when I saw that it was her. But, I investigated the case because I had- I don't know, I wanted to say it was because she was hot; that's the excuse I gave Greg, but-" Nick didn't know how to finish his statement as he tried to explain his emotions to Emma Grace. Nick usually had no problems sharing his feelings, but he knew there were unresolved issues between him and Emma Grace. He really wanted to talk about those issues instead of this murder investigation; he missed her.

"You wanted to rescue her, Nicky. You've always wanted to rescue everyone. Kristy was in trouble when you first met her; she was unintentionally causing harm to herself. When you learned what her 'job' was it was another chance for you to try and rescue her because you know how horrible prostitution is in Las Vegas from living and working there for three, almost four years. You were raised a gentleman, and when someone spit on her, you wanted to rescue her again because she probably didn't have anyone to look out for her; and, even though this wasn't the entire reason for helping her, there was an attraction there, an attraction that happened from the moment you met her; wasn't there?" Emma Grace explained to Nick. She still knew this man better than he knew himself after all these years.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Emma Grace waited with patience as Nick processed everything she told him. "Yeah, there was an attraction. But, I never intended to act upon that attraction," Nick confessed with a tone of his voice that Emma Grace could not identify.