Title: Explanation
Characters: Nick Stokes (age 4), Bill Stokes, Jr (age 19), Jillian Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigations
Series: My Private Nation (time stamp)
Written For: whogeek
Prompt: Nick as a child
Summary: Nick idolizes his older brother and wants to be just like him. Their mother isn’t too sure about letting a little boy tagalong after a teenager.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None really
Warnings: Nick is adorable, Bill attempts to be a good brother, Mama puts her foot down
Disclaimer: No one recognizable belongs to me, Explanation by Train does not belong to me. Still not making any money off this.
Author's Note: So whogeek and I were talking about the things Mama Stokes might say to Greg to embarrass Nick when they get together with his family. And we didn’t really come up with anything (yet), but we did come up with this little bit about Nick as a four year old who wants to be just like his big brother. She even helped with some of the dialogue. Of course now I feel like I need to do a time stamp with Greg as a little rugrat.



“Billy!”

Bill, Junior turned at the yell, stopping in time to prevent his baby brother from barreling into his legs. “Hey, short stuff. How’d you get out of the house?” he asked.

“Where you going?” Nick wanted to know.

“I’m going for a ride. I’ve got to check the fence for Dad,” Bill answered.

“Go with you?”

“No, I don’t think so. Mama will not be happy.” Bill turned him around and gently pushed him back in the direction of the house. “You need to go back to the house.”

“No,” Nick responded stubbornly. “Go with you.”

Bill sighed, swinging Nick up into his arms and balancing him on his hip. “You are a stubborn little shit,” he informed his little brother, tapping him on the nose.

“Little shit,” Nick agreed.

Bill groaned. “Oh, Mama’s gonna love that. That’s a bad word, Nicky. Don’t repeat that.”

“Bad word, Billy,” Nick said seriously.

“Exactly. Bad word, Billy.” Bill shook his head. “What am I gonna do with you?”

“Go with you!” Nick declared.

“All right already. Go with me.” Bill turned, heading for the stables. “Not sure this isn’t going to wind up being more trouble than it’s worth.”

Nick started kicking his feet as soon as they entered the stables, bouncing in Bill’s arms as he called, “Horsie! Horsie!”

“Settle down, Nicky. You’re gonna get them all excited. And you’re too excited.” Bill tightened his hold, afraid he was going to drop the wiggling four year old. “You can still go back to the house.”

His words calmed Nick down somewhat or at least enough that the little boy stopped kicking and wiggling. “Go for ride?” he asked.

“Yeah, Nicky. Just lemme saddle a horse, okay? Here.” Bill looked around and finally decided it was safest to put Nick down on a bale of hay. “I want you to sit here and wait for me, okay? Do now move until I come get you.”

“Okay, Billy,” Nick answered. As soon as he was seated on the hay, he scrambled into a kneeling position, trying to watch what his older brother was doing. “Hurry up!”

“As fast as I can,” Bill answered. “But you stay put. And don’t fall!”

Nick pouted, but sat back down; crossing his arms and legs as he waited impatiently. “Not gonna fall,” he insisted.

“No because you’re going to listen,” Bill replied as he hoisted the saddle pad onto the back of the horse he’d chosen. He settled the saddle on top, turning to check on Nick before he bent to buckle the girth. Straightening back up, he looked over at Nick again. The little boy was kneeling again, but was still now, watching intently as Bill reached for the bridle for the horse. “Almost ready,” Bill told him.

“Going for a ride!” Nick announced, bouncing on the hay bale.

Bill snorted, choking back a laugh at his enthusiasm. “Yeah, short stuff. In a few moments.” He finished what he was doing, leaving the horse tied to the rail as he moved over to Nick. Picking the little boy up, he swung him into the air. “I don’t have to ask you if you’re ready to go. Come on, up you go.”

Striding over to the horse, Bill swung Nick high, and tossed him into the saddle. Nick squealed with glee, clutching at the saddle horn so he didn’t slid off the other side. “Come on, Billy!” he called.

“In a second,” Bill replied. He unwrapped the reins, swinging himself into the saddle behind Nick. “Hang on, Nicky.” He pulled his brother back against him, holding him snugly as he kicked the horse into motion.

Nick was chattering away like a little magpie, trying to convince Bill to go faster, when they heard their mother yell from the porch. “What are you doing?!”

Carefully Bill turned the horse to face the house, making sure to keep a hand on Nick at all times. Before he could say anything, Nick exclaimed, “Going for a ride, Mama!”

“Absolutely not, Nicholas Stokes, you get down from there.” She stalked across the grass to them, holding out her hands to her youngest son. “Right now!”

“No, Mama, no!” Nick shook his head. “Wanna ride with Billy!”

“I don’t think so. Not without supervision,” she responded. “And how did you get him up there anyway?”

“It’s not difficult, Mama. Just a bit of an up and toss. And he’s there,” Bill answered.

“You. Threw. My baby onto the back of a horse,” she said aghast.

“It’s not like he landed on his head or anything, Mama,” Bill protested.

“William Stokes, Junior, if you ever try something like that again, I will bend you over my knee. I don’t care if you’re nine or nineteen; do you hear me, boy? I don’t care if he didn’t land on his head. You don’t ‘toss’ your baby brother!”

“Geeze, Mama, you’d think after six kids, you’d be used to a few bumps and bruises,” Bill replied.

“There’s seven of you! Not six,” she responded.

“That’s my point! He’s number seven! You’d think it would kinda roll off your back by now,” Bill pointed out.

“Give me your baby brother,” she ordered. “You are not taking him anywhere.”

“Mama, not a baby!” Nick protested. “Wanna go wit Billy.”

“Absolutely not. Get down from there. Right now,” Jillian ordered.

“Mama, he’s my only brother. It’s not like I’m going to do permanent damage to him,” Bill protested.

“Not the way to convince me to let you take my baby for a ride on a horse,” she replied. “Hand him down.”

“Not a baby!” Nick complained, even as Bill sighed and carefully handed him over.

Jillian held him to her, making sure they were well away from the horse. “You’ll always be my baby, Nicky.”