Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of its' characters. It's just fun to make then do things.

Chapter 1

David Hodges was driving home from an extra long shift. So long, in fact, he couldn't remember exactly how many hours he had been at work. It had been sometime in the afternoon when the call had awaken him. And now, it was sometime in the wee hours of the morning and he was finally on his way home.

Hodges took his eyes of the road for a moment to surf for a new radio station—one that would keep him awake. He looked up when he heard a bunch of cars honking. He saw cars moving to the side of the road as they drove and so he did likewise. He figured something had fallen in to the road, but then he saw what was really going on.

A small, blue car was going the wrong way down the highway, driving head on in to traffic. Right as he spotted the car it smashed in to the passenger side of a Jeep that couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The driver of the Jeep ended up over correcting and the vehicle ended up on its side, skidding across the highway. The driver of the blue car rolled several times landing smashed on its roof.

Hodges had his phone out and dialed before the Jeep stopped moving. He relayed all the pertinent information and then got out of his car. He made sure to grab his camera on the way out to take pictures before rescue efforts altered the scene.

Before he could get one step away from his car, he heard the cries for help coming from the Jeep. Hodges quickly threw the camera back in to his car and ran for the Jeep. Had his brain not been running on adrenaline, he probably would have over thought the situation and not gone to help. As it was, his only thought was to make sure everyone was safe.

The Jeep was in flames by the time Hodges got there. He ran around the front of the vehicle trying to see in from the windshield. He could see the driver, struggling to free herself from the seat belt, but with one shoulder shredded from the slide, she wasn't having much luck.

Hodges knew he could climb up the jeep to get in the passenger side door. He noticed the windshield had started peel from the frame from the impact. Hodges grabbed the exposed edge, and, saying a quick prayer of thanks for safety glass, he pulled the windshield back.

The woman looked up from her seat belt release and saw Hodges coming to her rescue.

"Please get me out!" she cried.

Hodges looked at the woman, catching a glimpse of her ice blue eyes, with blood running down the left side of her face. "I will. I'll get you out," he told her, not sure he wasn't trying to convince himself as well.

"My seat belt," she whimpered. "I can't get it unbuckled." Her fingers pried at the buckle trying to undo it.

Hodges reached in, trying to help her undo it. Her hands were in the way and they wouldn't cede the position to his. Hodges realized that she was probably going in to shock and wasn't thinking clearly.

"I'm David," he said, trying to calm her. "What's your name?"

She paused in her frantic plight and looked directly at him. The normal question in such a dire situation brought some sense back to her. "Ellen," she replied.

"Can I try the buckle, Ellen?" Hodges spoke quickly, realizing he might not have much time.

She nodded as she removed her hands. "I think it's bent."

After struggling for a few moments, Hodges muttered under his breath, "It sure is something." Then he pulled out his multitool. "I'm going to cut through the lap belt, Ellen. Is that ok?"

She looked down at the belt that was low across her hips and nodded. She was thankful for his politeness. It allowed her to keep her emotions in check while he worked to free her.

When Hodges had finished cutting the belt, Ellen pulled at the strap across her chest until she could easily slide under it. She tried to push herself out with her legs, but the pain was too much.

"My leg…I can't get out," she told him.

Hodges bent down to reach in. He was hesitant at first about where to grab her because he didn't want to cause her any more pain. He finally settled on grabbing her under her arms and pulling her out.

When she was free of the vehicle, Ellen found she could put weight on one leg, but the other was completely unable to handle any weight. Unable to tell how much time they had until the fire spread to the gas tank, Hodges scooped up Ellen, and carried her to safety.

It seemed to him as soon as he set her down by the edge of the road, the Jeep exploded. Then the EMTs arrived. They quickly had Ellen on a stretcher and were tending to her. They gave Hodges a good looking over as well due to the amount of blood on his clothes. However, the blood didn't belong to him, it came from Ellen. He did end up needing some oxygen for smoke inhalation, but other than that, he appeared fine.

Ellen was taken to the hospital, while Hodges stayed at the scene to give his statement. Greg showed up the scene to collect evidence because a body was found in the trunk of the blue car. Wendy had pulled field rotation for her shift and had come with Greg. She was looking forward to it because with Sarah gone, there was an open CSI spot and Wendy was hoping she could fill it. Any field experience was good experience.

The pair was getting a run down of what had happened by an officer on the scene, when the officer got to the part about Hodges pulling the woman to safety.

"Wait," Wendy interrupted the officer. "So you're telling me that David Hodges, from the crime lab, ran to a burning car and saved a woman?"

The officer pointed to Hodges standing by a police cruiser. "If that's David Hodges from the crime lab, then yes, that is what I'm telling you."

"That is not the Hodges I know," Greg responded.

"Me either," Wendy agreed, with a little wonder in her voice.

"We've got to get to work," Greg told Wendy, motioning towards the demolished blue car. "They need to clear the highway as soon as possible."

"Let's go," she replied, following his lead. She did take one look back at Hodges, still not quite believing that he would run in to burning car to save a stranger. Maybe she hadn't given him enough credit in the past. If he was capable of something like this, what else could he do?