Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Insatiable ❯ Chapter 1

Insatiable

 

Disclaimer: Nick & crew belong to James Parriott and Sony, not me. I'm just borrowing them to give them a happier life than they had on the show. The song “Insatiable” also does not belong to me. Lyrics are by Darren Hayes.

 

Timeline: A couple of years post 3rd season. Ashes to Ashes happened but Vachon and Urs did not die. Nobody died except Divia. Last Knight was someone's nightmare after eating too much garlic before bedtime.

 

Lemons coming later.

 

***************************************************************** *******

 

Chapter 1

 

“Damn it, Knight! You've been on the force for seven years and only once have you attended any kind of social function,” Captain Reese growled. He waved his hand towards the officers and detectives at their desks in the bullpen, leaning on his desk with the other hand. “These people are your friends, Nick. They've put up with a lot of shit from you over the years, but they like you and they respect you. The least you can do is show them that you're not too snobbish to hang out with them for a little while.”

 

Nick grimaced as he scanned the bullpen through the glass windows of Reese's office. It didn't help that he knew the Captain was right. Sighing in resignation, he turned back to Reese, who was watching him with glaring eyes. Yet he couldn't help one last attempt to dig himself out of this. “You know I always volunteer to work the holidays so that someone else with a family can have the time off.”

 

“You just don't get it, do you?” Reese gave a disgusted shake of his head. “That's it. I've had enough. Knight, I am ordering you to take New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off. And if I don't see you at the party, I'm busting you to traffic.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

With a gloomy expression, Nick pushed open the door to Nat's lab and walked in. She was elbow deep in a patient, and it was testimony to his distracted, depressed state of mind that he hadn't noticed the smell of blood before entering.

 

Nat looked up, surprised to see Nick, as he usually avoided the gorier aspects of her job. She knew the smell of blood got to him sometimes, so she couldn't fault him. Smiling, she greeted him cheerfully. “Hey, Nick. What brings you here? I'll be finished with Mr. Godfry here in about ten minutes.”

 

Nick's gaze moved jerkily from the blood that coated the long gloves she was wearing to her face. It took a little more effort to get his mind off of the smell now that it had assaulted him. “Ah, it's not anything important, really. Just thought I'd come visit.”

 

One eyebrow quirked up, but Natalie didn't reply. Silence reigned for the next few minutes as she finished the autopsy and sewed the chest cavity closed. As she pulled off her soiled protective garments and gloves and threw them in the hazardous waste bin, she looked at him critically, noting the way his appearance hadn't changed in the eight plus years she'd known him. The fact hit her like a sledgehammer to the gut, reminding her that their time together was growing short.

 

“What's going on, Nick?” She hadn't been fooled by his answer earlier. Something was bothering him.

 

He looked up from the medical magazine he'd found on her desk. “Nothing.” At her stern look, he smiled sadly. “Well, nothing I want to talk about right now. Maybe later, okay?” It was a talk he wasn't looking forward to.

 

A year. That was all he had left before he'd be forced to move on or risk exposure. How could he tell her goodbye? Leave her behind? How could he face endless nights of darkness without her light?

 

Nat's face reflected her skepticism, but she made no comment. Instead, changing the subject, she asked, “Are you going to the New Year's party? Oh, sorry, I forgot,” she murmured wryly. “You don't go to things like that.”

 

“Actually, I am going,” Nick replied, feeling a grin lift the corners of his mouth as she stared at him in shock.

 

“What?!? I can't believe it! You're actually going to a social function?” Nat exclaimed.

 

“Is there some reason why I shouldn't?” Nick asked innocently. “But that does remind me.” A sudden inspiration had hit him…maybe he could salvage the evening. “Would you be my date?”

 

Nat's mouth fell open. “Let me make sure I understand…you're asking me on a date? A bona fide date?”

 

Nick couldn't stop the grin. “Yeah, I am. So? Will you? Go with me, I mean.”

 

Suddenly her eyes narrowed and a sly smile appeared on her face. “On one condition. There's a dance contest…”

 

**********

 

Tracy looked at the sign-up sheet for the dance contest, reading through the rules and then scanning the list of couples who'd signed up. Reaching the names of the last couple, her eyes widened. Then a wicked gleam appeared.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Listen, Ross, all I'm asking is that you make sure that they get this particular song,” Tracy insisted.

 

“But it's supposed to be a random selection,” the rookie officer replied nervously. “That's the whole gimmick of the contest. The contestants aren't supposed to know what song they'll have to dance to.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Tracy sighed. “I know that. And I promise, they won't know what song they'll get. Only you and I will.”

 

“I don't know…” he hesitated.

 

Well, it wasn't like she hadn't expected resistance. Which is why she'd had Vachon procure a little grease for the palm…pulling two tickets to an upcoming concert from her pocket, she waved them under the officer's nose.

 

“Are you trying to bribe me?” he asked incredulously.

 

“Yep,” Tracy taunted. “So arrest me.” Her grin widened as she watched his reaction to the name on the tickets.

 

Snatching the tickets from her hand, Ross smiled cheerfully. “Now, what song did you say?”