A/N: This is just some drabble post Grave Danger. Any implied ships were unintentional, but you may interpret how you wish. Kelly's thoughts about what Nick said.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. CSI is not mine.

Don't Take It With You

Five years in prison will do a lot to a girl's brain. Kelly stood on the sidewalk, wishing she knew what to do. So long away from civilization, she wasn't sure of where to go. She had gotten a job, somehow, and an apartment; but she felt so lost. So alone. Like she was the only person left in the entire world.

Five years in prison.

She knew what had kept her sane, but she hated to think about it. That man, the CSI, who her father had tried to kill. To kill because of her. His words had rung in her brain day after day. Kelly remembered the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice. She couldn't even imagine how hard it must have been for him to speak to her.

Five years in prison.

"Don't take it with you"

"Is that it?"

"Yeah. That's it."

Five years in prison.

Kelly wished she knew where to find him. Where to go to say thank you. His words had saved her from insanity. He had been through hell, all because of her being in jail. But he had taken the time to speak to her. And she wanted to find a way to tell him just how much he really had helped her.

But she didn't even know his name.

Five years in prison.

For a crime she didn't commit.

Because of a cup she had dropped.

Because they followed the evidence, and the evidence never lies.

Kelly began to walk down the street, searching for the face that had begun to live in her mind. The face that had given her the strength to keep trying, to remember that there were better days ahead. The face that had given her something to live for.

She saw him, down the road a little ways. Walking towards a car. She raced to reach him, placing a hand on the door when she did. He looked down at her, and she saw recognition cross his eyes, accompanied by a trace of pain.

"Thank you," Kelly said. He looked confused for a moment, then smiled.

"You're welcome," he said. Kelly smiled and continued on her way down the road. She turned and watched as he opened the car door. A gun shot rang out, and he fell. Kelly looked down at her hands, not wanting to see what happened next. Her fingers gripped the trigger of a gun, and she screamed.

ooo

Kelly sat up on her bunk, her breathing heavy. She didn't scream. She had grown hard during her time in jail. The nightmare shouldn't have fazed her, but she could feel the cold sweat trickling down her face.

Kelly pulled her legs up to her chin, trying hard to calm herself down. She hadn't actually listened to him, when he told her not to take it with her. She had pushed away into the far reaches of her mind, hoping that it would never come up again.

Then the nightmares had started. Originally, she had died. Trying to aid her father's lunacy. Then, slowly, he became the victim. Kelly wished she knew what to do, she had only two more years left before her release, and she had no idea what was going to happen before then. Part of her wanted to find him, apologize for her father, the other part just wanted to ignore him.

The latter option hadn't been working so well.

"Don't take it with you."

ooo

"Is that it?"

Nick sat in bed, trying to sleep. He'd been having a little trouble since his ordeal, but usually it wasn't that difficult. He pushed his covers off and walked out of his bedroom. He stepped into the bathroom and tossed some cold water onto his face, trying to calm himself down.

In the back of his mind, her face kept coming back. Kelly Gordon's face kept returning to him, that sad look. He had gone through so much because of her father, but he had taken the time to speak to her. To try to help her, and the pain on her face had almost matched the pain on his. He had pushed through his hatred of her father and gone to speak to her, to keep her from turning into her father.

He hoped that it had worked.

"Yeah, that's it."

ooo

Five years in prison.