Third Eye, Sage, and Brotherhood

by duffshel

A trip back to the town of four murders. A discussion with a woman met only once. A bond between brothers. One Shot Completed.

Summary: A trip back to the town of four murders. A discussion with a woman met only once. A bond between brothers.

Disclaimer: This is all written in fun and trial for something new. Everything CSI is not mine and never will be. It belongs to the creative talent of the actors, the writers, the directors, and producers. I am not making any money off of this. Only meant to offer something new on something already so great. No reason to sue.

Author's Note: This is just a one-shot that entered my head after I finally got to watch Gum Drops last night. I needed to get it out of the way so I could get to work on my other story. I promise I am working on it and it will be finished. Sorry again for it taking so long. Hope this is something to hold you all over. Don't know how good it is and it hasn't been proofed so forgive me for any mistakes. Thanks for reading and anything you would like to say about it would be greatly appreciated. Until later guys! Bye!

Title: Third Eye, Sage, and Brotherhood

By: duffshel

The house looked out of place in this rustic town away from the lights and the flare of the grand Vegas. It stood on the end of the beaten street with nothing, but open spaces as far as one could see. The paint was flaking off, leaving brown and white streaks under what once must have been a very vibrant blue. One tree stood tall in the yard, amongst the vanishing grass.

Nicholas Stokes stood at the very entrance of the walkway that leads to the stairs and the front door. He still was unsure as to why he had come back out here. This town was nothing, but a bad memory to him now. The only good he could still find with it was the little girl still lying in her hospital bed, raspy voice sounding like heaven.

Taking a deep breath, the Texan walked forward. His step was a mere shadow of his old saunter. Nick didn't try to notice that fact, but he knew his steps were heavier then ever before. Something has taken a residence on his head and shoulders and pushed him into the ground more than ever before. But this was something he wanted to do. No one knew about it, like before, with Kelly Gordon.

The wood of the front porch creaked and groaned under his weight, but he was determined. Nothing was going to scare him away from this. His fist rapped on the dyed wood of the door. Nick stepped back and looked to the left. As he waited, he took in the quiet air of living away from a big city. He had never done that. Big and nosey was always part of his past, except for a simple day, a few hours in a box.

The door knob rattled and finally turned. Nick turned back to the door, a slight blush rising onto his cheeks. He had no reason to be here. What was he going to say?

"Hello? I never would have expected you to come to my house, Mr. Stokes," the brown haired woman smiled brightly.

Nick tried to give a smile back, but couldn't quiet get to work, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted to come in person to tell you about Nina. I can go if I am interrupting something."

Sage laughed then. She was bright and free in every sense. Nick wished he had the ability to do that again. He missed many things since the ants and light had stolen them from him. They would be found again though. Cassie had been. It wasn't impossible anymore.

"I am glad to see you, but I know all about what happened. I sensed something was wrong and that I would never see my friend alive again. The sheriff came and filled in the details already for me. But…you are not here to simply tell me what happened…are you?"

He sighed again, "Well, not really. I wanted to come and tell you that, but also that Cassie is alright. I don't know if they have someone to look over her yet since Child Services doesn't think it is important for me to know those things."

"She will be taken care of. Nina has family who will take in the girl, no questions asked. You do not have to worry for her. You found her and I know she will forever hold you in her heart. She will heal, as will you."

Nick looked up and could see the power the woman was putting behind the words. He knew nothing about her since he had only met her once, that day back at the McBride house. At first Nick had been unsure on how to deal with her, but he knew that in this world, people were capable of all sorts of different things. A woman being able to see another person's third eye wasn't that odd, really.

"Do you know what happened to me?"

Sage motioned for Nick to come into her home. Walking in, his nose was assaulted with smells of flowers, most likely from all the candles that were lit around the rooms. It was furnished simply, but looked to be rich and comforting. Sage was not a woman to collect knick knacks or useless items that did nothing, but take up space. She only owned what she needed for the house.

He followed her into what appeared to be a living room, but he couldn't be sure. From being raised in the large state of Texas, he learned a living room usually consisted of a couch, several chairs, and a large television set. None of that stuff was in this room. Nothing, but a large round table, an oriental rug, and several bookcases.

"Would you care to sit?"

Nick got very confused, "Um, where?"

Sage laughed again. Nick found that it was a pleasant sound. It was soothing and rich. Kind of reminded him of his mother. "There is plenty of floor to go around, Mr. Stokes."

"You can call me Nick."

"Alright Nick, you wanted to know if I knew what happened to you," she smiled again once they were seated on the colorful rug, "I am not a seer in that sense. I do not see into the past for exact events, more like, see in emotions and effects. From meeting you that day, I sensed a great care for people and a wave of emotions. You have had many tragic happenings in your life, one very recent, very difficult."

Nick couldn't help the small shudder that ran through his body at the words, "Yeah, a few months ago."

"You said to me that you don't believe in past lives because you are trying to make it through this one. I will say again that you are doing well, but there is always room for improvement. Your friends can help you. You just need to open up to them and let them in."

She stopped and studied Nick's face. He didn't try to answer or make any noise. Nick wanted to know what she was going to say. For some reason that he didn't know, this was important. Important enough to allow him to move on, once again.

"When I look at you Nick, I see dark places within the wall of light that is your soul. You have many people behind you. They can close off the black. Now that the feminine force of Cassie has released you, I can see forces of five other strong people. One stands out with guilt and protectiveness. You know who he is. He needs you to talk to him."

"Yeah, but he has a new wife and things going on in his life. I don't want to bog him down with this. It is too much to do to a person."

Sage reached out and rested her hand on his cheek, "What are friends for if not to take burdens and help sort them out. He has helped you before…with a great fall. Same feeling ran through his being before, but they are stronger now."

"Great. Here I have been trying to keep it together and not worry them. All I have been doing is making them walk around me like nothing happened. Do you know they never mention that day or ask me how I am doing? I thought that would be what I wanted, but now…I feel like I am pushing them away."

A tear leaked from his eye without permission. It came to rest upon the pale flesh of Sage's hand. Her smile turned slightly sad at the sight of it. Nick turned his head away from her. He didn't want to cry and burden this woman who he had only talked with twice. Another hand touched his other cheek and he was forced to look straight.

"There is nothing wrong with weakness. One has to know fear and pain to know what is truly good and true in life. Nick, you do nothing wrong with tears and cries. You only do wrong when you block out those who care, who want to take you further into their hearts."

His chest shuddered with his breath, "I don't know how to make this all go away."

"It will. Time heals all Nick. It will forever be a part of you, but it will not destroy you. You are a caring person. You saved Cassie even though she was thought dead. She needed to be found. You found her! You are still the same person you always have been. You just need to slow down and see it."

"You know, I feel pretty weird having this talk with you. I don't know anything about you, yet you are telling me these things."

"I am sorry if they are making you uncomfortable, but I want you to know what I see in you. Would you like to stay for something to eat?"

"No, thanks, but no. I need to get back. It is a pretty long drive and no one knows I even left Vegas this morning. I don't want to cause a panic," Nick grinned slightly.

Sage stood and offered the man her hand. Nick took it and allowed her to help him up. They walked to the door in silence and he stepped back out onto the porch. The sun was brighter somehow then before. He reached for the glasses hanging from the neck of his t-shirt.

"Sage, thanks again. I didn't mean to come and bother you with this, I just needed to know."

"It is understandable. But I repeat, you are doing well. Just keep going, don't take it with you."

Nick stopped and starred at those words. They were once his. He always thought of Kelly Gordon now, since he went to see her. Some times it was in concern, others in fear. She was unknown to him other than through her father. He went to help her, but had nothing on the help Sage could offer.

"I am sorry for the loss of your friend Sage. I will let Cassie know how you are when I see her on the way out of town."

"Thank you Nick for finding her. Keep her and yourself safe."

Sage nodded her head once to him and then retreated into her home. With a glance out into the open land beyond the house, Nick walked down the steps onto the walkway. This time, the walk was easier. His head held itself up higher. The smile was small, but true.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

Nick walked into the front doors of the lab. He rubbed at his neck, impatiently. The drive was long and his body was letting him know it. It was quiet at least in the lab and no one was running at him yet. Maybe he would get away with running away for a few hours. Well, more than a few, but that was not the point.

He headed straight for the locker room. The shift wasn't to start for another two hours, but he wanted to change out of his clothes anyways. His locker opened with no problems and he reached in for the black shirt he knew would be hanging there. Nick ripped off the t-shirt he had on and pulled the button down shirt over his shoulders. He was busy in his task. He didn't hear the new arrival.

"Where did you go today?"

Nick turned towards the soft question. Warrick was leaning with his shoulder resting on the lockers next to him. His eyes involuntary racked Nick's chest that was exposed between the cloth of the shirt. He could still see the scars and marks from the ants. Nick must have sensed it because he closed up the shirt quickly.

"I had an errand to run."

"You didn't go see Gordon again, did you?"

"No, not there."

Warrick pushed away from the lockers and sat on the bench next to where Nick was standing. There was a distance between him and his best friend that he didn't know how to close anymore. This was not a situation he had ever thought he would be in with the Texan. Nick had always been there for him in the past, but he was letting the other man down now in his time of need. He never thought to blame Nick for not opening up to him.

"I talked to Brass. He said he called you this morning and you told him you were leaving town for a few hours. You didn't tell him where you were going, but only that you couldn't help him."

"Yeah, he wanted me to help him assemble this gym thing he got for his house. I told him I would do it tomorrow. This was something I needed to do."

"Can't you talk to me anymore, bro? I don't know what to do with you anymore."

Nick closed his eyes and leaned his head forward. A pain erupted in his stomach and he clutched at it with one hand. His knees got shaky and he literally fell backwards onto the bench. Nick could hear Warrick gasp in surprise and concern at the actions.

"Nick! Are you okay? Hey! Talk to me man!"

"I'm fine. Just give me a minute."

Warrick watched in panic as Nick's face scrunched up in pain. He wrung his hands together in order to keep them to himself though all he wanted to do was grab his friend and hug him. Nick was pushing him away again. Sara had told him about their conversation at the picnic table once he had left, but Nick had pushed her away as well. He wasn't talking to anyone.

"I'm sorry, 'Rick. I don't know what is wrong with me," Nick couldn't keep the sobs from escaping with these words.

It was all it took for Warrick. He grabbed the smaller man and wrapped a tight arm around his shoulders. Nick turned his head into his shoulder and grabbed a fistful of Warrick's shirt in the hand not clutching his stomach. The sobs were not loud, but each on ripped into the taller man. This was something that should have happened earlier. He should not have let Nick walk around with all this bottled up inside.

"It's okay Nicky. Nothing is wrong with you. Bad shit has just happened to you. It is okay to be confused. I should be the one apologizing. I am the one who has been ignoring you."

"No…I pushed you…all away…my fault," he got out between gasps of air.

Neither tried to talk anymore. Warrick simply held on and waited. He wasn't going to go anywhere now. This needed to be fixed. Nick needed his help. Nothing would stop him from helping his brother in his time of need, not this time.

Nick finally managed to pull himself together and pushed away from Warrick, but not enough to break the other man's hold on him. He wiped at his face and was surprised to find few tears. It had felt like a damn had broken. He took a few deep breaths and prepared himself.

"I went back to Pioche."

"You went to see Cassie? She is going to be fine man, you did right by her."

"I know. I did see her, but that was not the main reason I went there. When I was at the house going over some stuff, a friend of Nina's stopped over and asked about her. We talked and she told me a few things. I went back to see her."

Warrick would be lying if he said that didn't shock him, "What kind of things did she say?"

"She touched my forehead and told me my third eye was open. She knew I had something bad happen to me because she told me I am living well in this life. And she told me I had a strong feminine presence surrounding me at the time. It was Cassie."

"So why did you go back today?"

"I just wanted to talk to her and see if she knew what was wrong with me I guess. She didn't have any direct answers, but she did tell me some things."

"Is she a physic?"

Nick shook his head, "I don't think so. She didn't have any thing solid with images. And she talked about you guys, but didn't know any names. All she really had was there was one friend of mine that stood out with guilt and protectiveness. Somehow I can't see that being Greg."

Warrick shifted slightly. He had felt nothing, but guilt the entire time Nick had been in that box. Even know there were moments when it threatened to choke him. And the feeling of having to protect Nick was stronger than ever. His friend was unlucky with trouble and Warrick was determined to be there always.

"Look Nick. I know it has seemed like we hadn't cared about what happened. I just haven't known what to do. You never talk about it and you always appear to be fine. I should have looked closer. I let you down."

"Nah, it's my fault as much as yours. I didn't want to be babied by any of you, but I never meant to push you all away. Especially you. I just didn't want to bother you with my troubles with you marriage being so new and you moving on in life."

Warrick laughed suddenly and grabbed Nick tighter so that he could pull the other man forward. Doing something he hadn't done since he was a kid, Warrick rubbed his other fist over the top of Nick's head. It got the Texan to start to laugh.

"You idiot! I don't care if I just got married. You are my brother and that gives you the right to interrupt anything in my life with anything you need. I will always be there for you man. I have your back. And for some reason that I haven't yet figured out, I trust you with mine."

Nick pulled away and held out his hands in a gesture of mock fear. His eyes had teared up again, but this time from laugher. The pain in his stomach was no longer unknown. He couldn't stop laughing at what had just happened.

"I cannot believe you just did that!"

"Yeah well, sometimes it takes something drastic to get through your thick skull. I just hoped I wouldn't have to plow my fist in there to wake you up," Warrick smirked.

Nick finally managed to get the laughing under control and looked up at his friend, "Thanks man, for everything. And I'm sorry for not letting you help me. I promise I will come to you when I need it next time. Just leave a sock on the door so I know when to wait."

"Only you man, only you."

Both men started to laugh again. Gil Grissom walked into the locker room and raised his eyebrows at the two of them. If he didn't know better, he would have said they looked like they were fifteen. But he had to admit, it was nice to hear them laughing like old times. Gil had missed the banter from the two men.

"You two are here early."

The sudden noise caused both men to jump up and crash into each other. Grissom smiled as he watched to two of them try to compose themselves as they faced their boss. He decided to go easy on the two of them.

"I heard the case was interesting. Catherine filled me in. You two did well. That girl is alive because of your work."

Warrick coughed and shook his head, "No, it is because of Nick that she is alive. He led well. He saved her."

Nick could feel his cheeks getting warm when Grissom turned to look at him. Whatever he must have saw must have been a good thing since Grissom's smile grew a little. Their boss looked at both of them.

"It's good to see things beginning to get back to normal. Now, since you are both here, we can get to work. If you two would follow me."

Grissom turned and left the locker room. Nick looked over at the back of Warrick's head and grinned suddenly. Moving quickly, Nick reached up and wrapped a strong arm around Warrick's neck and pulled the other man down lower. Warrick tried to fight, but his balance was thrown off by Nick's added weight to his frame. He groaned when he felt two hands ruffle through his hair.

"Damnit man!"

Nick pushed away laughing, "That's what you deserved! Take it like a man."

Warrick growled and lunged at the Texan. Grissom sighed when they both plowed out of the locker room and took off running down the hall. Nick was laughing at the death threats Warrick was yelling at him. He was nothing, but an overpaid babysitter. The crash he heard next couldn't be a good thing. Rubbing a hand across his face, Grissom began a slower pace after the other two. It was going to be an interesting night. But at least it was something that resembled the two men he had known for years.

THE END