Nick opened his eyes slowly the next morning, smiling as their first vision was of Faith lying beside him.
"Morning," Nick murmured happily as he leaned down and kissed her gently once her eyes opened.
"Morning to you too," Faith grinned at him, snuggling back up against him. "Mmm, what time is it?"
He looked over her shoulder at the clock on the bedside table, "10:00."
"Do you have anywhere to be?" she asked, kissing his chest gently. "'Cause, y'know, we could stay here for a bit longer."
"Sadly, I do," Nick sighed and kissed her again, his lips lingering slightly longer this time. "I better get back to my house to get ready; have a meeting. Meet you at the station around 3?"
Faith looked up at him and nodded, clearly happy, "See you there..."
As Nick got up and got dressed, getting ready to leave, it was almost as though they had a silent understanding. While at work they were nothing more than they were before; in the privacy of their own homes they were more. It was a relief for Faith to have somebody to hold her again. She knew that Nick was much younger than her and that their budding relationship could be a potential threat when it came to her career, and possibly his, but she also knew they could make it work as long as they continued to keep their work lives and their personal lives separate. Nick, on the other hand, knew that Faith had certain demons that had been haunting her since the death of her family ... he had the same ones. It was a relief to him that he'd found someone who had gone through his same ordeal, if not greater, and now they could work together, physically and emotionally, to find the man that put them through that, as well as healing emotional scars at the same time.
Nick kissed her one last time before leaving and as Faith got ready for the day she wore a smile that had left when her family had. She hadn't felt so alive in a long time.
~ * ~
"So ... what's with you lately?"
"Nothing, Kevin," Nick sighed and stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. They'd just finished laying down a track that would be on their next CD, which would hopefully be released in another six months or so.
Kevin grinned, "Have a long night?"
"What, are we playing twenty questions and I wasn't informed?"
"No," Kevin laughed and scratched his head in thought, "it's just that ... well the guys and I have noticed that when you're not with us you're ... well ... nowhere to be found. You never answer your phone, even your cell, anymore."
"I'm not allowed to have a life?" Nick asked lightly, hoping Kevin would just drop the subject, though it didn't seem likely. He still hadn't brought himself to tell the guys what was going on and what he had gotten himself involved with when he had called Faith that one night after watching America's Most Wanted a few days before. He knew that they would discourage him from getting entangled with a murder case, not to mention his newly formed relationship with Faith, though nobody was to know about that. For once he knew that what he was doing was right and he wasn't about to back out now, no matter who told him he should.
"No, no, you are ... We just thought maybe we could meet her."
Nick laughed, "Who says I've even met a girl?"
"Well, gosh, I hope it isn't a man."
"Kevin," Nick rolled his eyes, "don't even."
"All right, all right," Kevin laughed. "I'll drop it for now. But we will get this out of you."
"Whatever," Nick sighed before leaving the studio to refill his water bottle. With a glance at his watch he smiled. An hour and a half and they'd be done, and he'd be able to go down to the station and see Faith. The thought made him almost giddy.
~ * ~
"I'm gonna run out to Subway ... you want anything?" Faith asked Rob at 2:30, a gentle smile on her face.
Rob laughed, "Is that a smile that you're wearing, Miss Faith?"
She laughed, "Maybe ... so, want something?"
"Yeah ... whatever you're having. Oh and by the way ... whatever made you smile like this -- keep it."
Faith looked at him for a moment, a completely serious expression on her face. Just as Rob was beginning to think he'd upset her in some way, a grin broke out across her face. "I plan to!" she chirped, before leaving the station to get them some lunch.
