Hello

Hello! It's been about two years since I've been on the board. I'm formerly known as CSIFanatic08. I had completed two fanfictions before I quit. But, I'm back and I hope you enjoy my new stuff!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show, just the idea behind it.

His senses were working overtime. All he could see was the street before him as if he was looking through dirty glass. He could smell smoke. Not cigarette smoke. Not the smell of burning wood. It was more of a lead smell, one he had definitely smelt before. He could taste a thick metal taste in his mouth. The taste was as if someone had busted his lip, only now, it was in a greater quantity. The sound reverberated through out his head. Bouncing off his eardrum, making his body shiver. He could feel wetness peaking through his shirt and jacket; a sticky, warm wetness that seemed to be leaking out of nowhere.

And then, the pain hit.

This was no paper cut or stubbed toe. This was the pain of something horrible. The pain of something not right, something inconceivable. Surely this was a dream. He kept telling himself to wake up so that the horrible nightmare could come to a screeching halt.

But to no alas, his vision became more blurry, the smell faded, the taste more metallic, the sound began to disappear, and the pain and wetness he felt, began to overtake his body. He was dying, and he knew it.

He suddenly began to feel his phone vibrate, and the familiar chime played. It continued on for a few seconds, and replayed in a loop. He heard rapid footsteps approaching him. He then heard his name being shouted. It sounded like an earthquake in his ears. But then again, he knew that it was common for one to hallucinate when they've lost large amounts of blood. With no energy to say a word, he quietly and peacefully, dozed off to sleep, never to awake again. The last thing he felt were a pair of hands, firmly grabbing him and pulling him out of the vehicle. With his final breath he attempted to utter the name of the person who put him here. But, it was too late.

"Yeah, I work at the Las Vegas PD," Nick stated with a sense of importance.

"Really?! You have a big, important job there?" said Suzy, the waitress.

"Why yes, yes I do," Nick began to say with cockiness in his voice. "You see I'm the problem solver. I figure out who, what, and when. You follow?"

"That sounds amazing! It's like you're playing the game Clue all day long! I'm super good at that game," she said with a smile on her face.

"Oh you are?" Nick joked, trying hard not to laugh.

She nods her head at a fast pace; the same stupid smile on her face.

"Finding out the who, what, and when are easy!" She semi-shouted.

"You think so?" Nick asked with sarcasm in his voice.

"Well of course!" She stated loudly. "It's the why that's hard. You know? Why do people kill people? Try figuring that out!"

"That's a good point," Nick said with a half smile. "Very good point. I've never thought of that before,"

"See I'm pretty smart when I wants to be," she said while nodding her head.

"Yes," Nick said with a smirk, "I'm sure you are."

They continue their chat while Suzy's manager, Sal, gives her the evil eye and tells her to get back to work.

"Hey when do you get off?" Nick asked after noticing Sal's glance.

"Whenever you do partner!" Suzy said with her country accent.

Nick nearly spits orange juice all over his booth.

"No. No, I meant when do you get off work!" Nick said while wiping up the mess he made.

"Oh," She says while blushing, "In about a half hour."

"Well, I might just have to order something else to eat now won't I?" Nick said wide-eyed and smiling.

"But you've just done finished you food? You're still hungry?" She asks inquisitively.

Nick closes his eyes and opens his mouth to say something when a BANG causes the words to get jumbled in his throat.

The entire diner looks out their windows, attempting to figure out where the noise came from.

"What the hell was that?!" Nick asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, it's probably someone's car backfiring. You're not exactly in the nicest part of Vegas. Cars tend to do that every now and again…"

She continues to ramble, but Nick pays no attention. He knows what a car backfiring sounds like, and this was something louder, something more gut wrenching. He looks around the diner and everyone has continued finishing their meals.

"Yeah," Nick says after exhaling, "You're probably…"

Again, his sentence his cut off by the same loud noise. He looks up at the customers in the diner, and this time, no one pays the noise any attention.

"Okay that's not a car, that's gunfire," Nick says while reaching for his gun.

"Don't you think you're over reacting just a little," Suzy asked with a confused look on her face.

"No," he says forcefully, "I'll be right back."

Nick successfully removes his gun from its holster and puts it in the standard position. He exits the restaurant, gun and flashlight in hand. The alley in which he was standing was not exactly well lit. He looks in one direction and sees the main street that runs parallel to the restaurant. He shines his flashlight around the corner and down the street. Nothing of interest was on either side, except for a car that had just peeled out of the alleyway. Nick began to walk faster as he realized that this car probably had something to do with the random gunfire. He attempts to follow closer behind, but the car and the license plate are out of view.

He takes a deep breath and lowers his gun, while reaching for his phone. He spins on his heel to face the other side of the alleyway when he notices a car in the distance. He finishes dialing the number as he walks closer. The car looked extremely familiar, but from a distance, in a dark alley, he couldn't pick out any distinguishing features, until he looked closer. It looked a lot like Warrick's car. Same make, model, and color.

"But, Warrick headed home," Nick thought to himself. "He left what, five, 10 minutes ago?"

Then Nick noticed something that made his heart stop. There was glass on the ground outside of the car. Nick put the phone to his ear, and waited for the other line to pick up. He listened to the annoying sound on the other end as the phone call was being connected. Then, he heard a noise that sent a chill down his side. Warrick's ring tone began to play in the distance. He could see light from Warrick's phone illuminate the car. The phone cast a light upon Warrick's slumped over body.

Nick's heart dropped. His breathing became rapid. His pulse began to race and limbs went numb. He began a slow walk and then his feet began to move faster and faster. His arms pumped until they were flying through the air. He stopped two feet short of the hood. All of his worst fears came to light. His stomach began to sway and his head became cloudy. He forced himself to walk closer. He had to be sure that what he was seeing was real.

The investigator part of Nick's brain was temporarily shut off. This wasn't any old crime scene where he'd worry about evidence being tampered and the scene being compromised. All he saw was his best friend and brother, lying with his head against the steering wheel, bleeding, and limp.

"Warrick!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The human part of Nick's brain was taking over. He grabbed the car door by the handle with one hand and the broken window by the other. He instantly felt a pain in his hand but his adrenaline was pumping too fast to care. He grabbed Warrick by the shoulder and torso and pulled him over the gearshift and passenger seat. Carrying Warrick with no help caused Nick to fall backwards onto his butt, while still holding onto Warrick.

With the fall, Nick's phone slid across the asphalt, just out of reach.

"Warrick?!" Nick shouted. "Come on man, talk to me,"

"No, no, no," Nick kept rambling, "Don't do this now. Come on!"

Nick reaches in his pocket for his phone until he sees it seven feet away. He stretches out his arm and tries to reach it. He could reach it but with Warrick's dead weight, it makes it almost impossible to touch. He continues to try to reach the phone, when Suzy walks out of the diner. She looks down the alley by the main street and then back towards Nick's end.

"Help!" Nick yelled after seeing her step out.

"Oh, there you are! I thought you up and left without saying goodbye!" She said with cheerfulness in her voice.

"Suzy! Listen! I need you to grab my phone right there and dial 911," Nick said while pointing her in the direction of his phone.

Suzy had not yet realized what was going on. She was dense as it was, and the darkness of the alley hid everything.

"Well, okay but what for…" She asked before screaming, "Oh my god! Where did all that blood come from!?"

"Damnit Suzy Listen!" He shouted at her, not caring about his tone. "Pick up the Goddamn phone and dial 911!"

She bends down at her knees and picks up the phone. She dials the three digits and presses 'send'.

"911 Dispatch what is your emergency?"

Suzy not dealing well under pressure gives Nick the phone, which he snatches out of her hands.

"Yes my name is Nick Stokes, I'm at the cross streets of Flamingo and 92nd Street. We have an officer down! Two gunshot wounds, one to the torso, one to the neck. We're in the South East alleyway behind Sal's Restaurant. Please, hurry. Come on Warrick, wake up for me."

"Sir," The dispatch states.

Nick doesn't answer.

"Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the victim breathing?"

Nick places two fingers to Warrick's throat. He feels nothing. He tries again. Nothing. He grabs Warrick's wrist and feels a faint thump.

"Yes, he is!"

Suzy looks at Nick with worrisome eyes. She can clearly see that Warrick is not breathing.

"Is the victim conscious?"

"No, he's not. His eyes are half open though."

"Okay what I need you to do is grab anything your can and put added pressure on the wounds. Do you have any towels, napkins, anything to help put pressure on the wound?"

"Suzy, go grab some towels from the restaurant. Anything that can be used."

Suzy complies and runs inside.

"Sir, we have an ambulance on the way. I need you to stay on the phone with me, okay?"

Nick looked at his right hand and arm. It is soaked in blood. He holds his hand in front of his face, shaking uncontrollably.

"Sir?"

He has cut his hand on the window. The cut was deep and about 9 inches long, from palm to mid wrist.

He looks at the phone and sees the red, sticky blood dripping from it. Suzy returns with towels for Warrick.

"Sir are you still there?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm here. I have the towels," Nick said.

"Okay, what I need you to do is grab one or two towels and place them on the wound,"

Nick realized that he couldn't place pressure on both wounds and hold the phone.

"Suzy I need your help. Put pressure on his neck," Nick said forcefully.

Suzy stood there trembling and non-responsive.

"Suzy!" Nick yelled. "I need your help!"

Suzy made eye contact with Nick and slowly began to back up.

"Suzy, no! Don't!" Nick yelled again.

"I can't!" Suzy screamed before running back inside.

"Damnit!" Nick screamed as he hung up the phone and applied pressure to Warrick's neck.

"Come on Warrick, don't do this," Nick pleaded. "Don't please."

Nick threw his head back in exhaustion. His wound began to itch and become painful. His adrenaline had worn off and he was now feeling the effects of the cut. The three short minutes that this had been unfolding felt as if it was a lifetime. Nick fought himself. He wouldn't let his pain keep him from what he needed to do for Warrick.

Just as Nick brought his head back around, red, white, and blue lights began to illuminate the dark alleyway. Hope was here.

"They're finally here Warrick," Nick whispered. "Everything's going to be fine."