Hi guys.. This story came to me when I was watching the episode Sex, Lies and Larvae.. When Ecklie was talking to Grissom about Warrick he said 'I figure if he brings anybody down with him it should be from your shift. Don't you think?' and it got me thinking..

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.. And this is my first multi-chapter story so reviews are welcomed.. I'd love to know how you guys think I'm doing.. :)

Oh and once again, I don't own CSI or anything.. Damn :P

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'NICK' He turned as he heard Grissom yell his name and saw him storm in through the door

with a look that caused Nick's happy face to drop. He barely uttered a reply before Grissom walked right up to him, grabbed the drink he was holding and threw it in the nearby trash can. Nick was surprised at the uncharacteristic hostility Grissom was showing him.

They had been celebrating a closed case. Pizza boxes and coca cola cans littered the table in the break-room. Greg had started playing the new NFL game on the XBox Nick had bought a few months ago. It filled the gaps between cases and they were killing time before Grissom handed them new assignments. After pulling a double shift Alex Dempsey was on his way to serving a life sentence for the brutal killing of his family.

'Grissom, what are..' The look on Grissom's face caused him to shut up and as he looked over at his friends he noticed they looked confused too. He turned back to Grissom and attempted again to ask him what was going on but Grissom must have decided it was a one-sided conversation.

'Do you have any idea what you've caused, any at all?' He saw Greg flinch at the tone Grissom was using. Nick just looked at his boss with a confused expression as he couldn't think of what would have caused Grissom to act this way with him. The fact that Grissom hadn't attempted to ask any of the others to leave was an indication as to how angry he was.

'Griss, I don't know what you talking about.' Grissom seemed to get even more angry with him if that was possible

'I'm talking about your constant ambition to be pushing shopping carts for a living.' This caused Nick to become defensive, he didn't like it when Grissom made him feel inadequate. The others were all staring now, they had felt the increase in tension He looked Grissom straight in the eyes but he noticed how cold they were towards him.

'Look Grissom, I'd appreciate if you told me what the hell was going on before you rip my head off.' Nick stood at his tallest, it was an instinctive thing to do when he felt threatened and needed to defend himself.

'You don't know, then let me refresh your memory. Does the name Alex Dempsey sound familiar?' Grissom was being sarcastic with him which only served to annoy Nick more. 'The man that murdered his entire family but only after years of abuse and neglect.'

'Of course I remember Grissom, you don't have to treat me like an idiot.' Nick had become equally angry at Grissom because of his attitude towards him. He always felt like he couldn't measure up to Grissom's expectations but the way he was treating him now was just the icing on the cake.

'Well, I'm sorry if I've mistaken you for an idiot but you can understand my confusion when I get a phone call from Brass telling me that the case we so diligently worked on could be thrown out and Dempsey will most likely be a free man.' This got the attention of everyone in the room. Dempsey was an arrogant and vicious man that they were all suspicious of the moment they met him playing the distraught widow card.

'That scumbag is going to get away, how?' Sara had worked hard with them to put the guy behind bars, everyone knew how personal she took cases regarding domestic abuse. She looked like she could match Grissom's anger regarding Nick, if that was possible.

'Gil, we did everything by the book. They couldn't have found a fault in the evidence.' Catherine looked at Grissom questioningly. She didn't understand why all of his anger towards Dempsey was directed at Nick.

Greg looked like he was thinking the same as Catherine but didn't want to confront Grissom. He had been looking from Grissom to Nick during the conversation. If anyone looked into the break room from outside they probably would have thought Greg was watching a tennis match taking place, his head had moved from side to side so much.

Warrick stayed quiet. His hands were clasped together and he never took his eyes off them.

'Maybe Nick could explain to everyone what happened.' Grissom had made Nick feel like the naughty student made to stand at the top of the classroom for everyone to see while his teacher gave out to him.

'Grissom, for the last time I don't what you're talking about.' Nick was growing tired of this conversation.

'Brass got a visit from Detective Vega. He said he heard from another Police Officer that one of my guys was at The Venetian casino.' Catherine stood up at the mention of this new information. 'He said it was the same guy who brought the fingerprints we found in the house the day after the murders to the lab.' As it dawned on Nick what had happened he looked at Warrick. Warrick was still staring at his hands. He looked up and met Nick's eyes, Nick was giving him a look that could have turned anybody to stone.

'And who arrived here at the lab with those fingerprints?' Grissom was staring at Nick, he knew the answer but he wanted Nick to say it out loud.

'Me.' Nick said while staring at Warrick. Warrick never made a move to speak.

'Nicky..' Catherine looked at him with disappointment in her eyes.

'Look Grissom I know I was the one to bring the fingerprints here but..' Nick felt torn between telling his boss the truth and his loyalty to Warrick.

'Save it Stokes. We have a Police Officer who can confirm you were there.' Ecklie was standing by the door now. He had a smirk on his face that Nick would have loved to punch if it wouldn't get him fired.

'Nick, what were you thinking?' Catherine had joined the conversation now and Nick felt like they were ganging up on him.

'What the hell where you doing there Nick? A woman caught your eye and you thought you would go get her phone number. Or maybe you fancied a drink. Thought you could catch a beer during lunch and nobody would know. What was it?' Nick felt like he was being attacked with no-one on his team to help.

'Grissom I would never do that during work hours, you know that.' Nick felt his heart sink at the look on Grissom's face. Grissom didn't believe him. He was looking at him the same way he looked at a suspect when he was interrogating them.

'My office now.' Nick could have sworn Grissom gave him whiplash with how fast his emotions changed. He went from so angry he could have killed Nick to utterly disappointed in a matter of seconds. Grissom walked out the door and Nick didn't have to look at his friends to know they were staring at him.

Nick walked out and Ecklie followed behind him. He saw the rest of the lab watching him they must have heard all the shouting Nick thought. As he left the break-room he looked back at his friends. They looked disappointed in him and that hurt more than Grissom's accusations. The fact that they seemed to believe he could risk a case by going to a casino hurt him. Catherine had her hands on her hips and watched him leave while Sara looked away from him as if she was disgusted. Greg looked uncomfortable and Warrick... he looked Nick dead in the eye. Nick could see the guilt in his green eyes.

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Thanks for reading, the next chapter shouldn't be too far away and will reveal a lot more about what's going on.. :)