'All hope in the return'

What will happen when some of their own are snatched from them?

Spoilers – anything up to and including season 4 Pairings – G/C, N/S Rating – PG13 for now, may change to R later on

Disclaimer – anything you recognise, I don't own

Chapter one – (Incidents)

Catherine Willows sighed and rubbed her eyes as she shut the door of her locker.

'You ok Cath?' asked Nick Stokes, pulling on his jacket and grabbing his bag.

'Yeah thanks, just tired' said Catherine, 'these triple shifts kill!' Nick laughed,

'Yeah, they kill alright! See ya tomorrow – or tonight I guess'

'See you.' Catherine picked up her bag and keys and headed towards Grissom's office.

'Here's that file you wanted' Catherine told Grissom, putting the file on his desk. 'Goodnight Gil'

'Nite Cath' he replied. He watched her leave his office and head off down the hall. Did she have any idea what he felt for her? Was there any chance she felt the same? No. He would be stupid to think that, to get his hopes up. He would go on as usual, hiding his feelings for her...

Catherine finally reached her home after fighting through the usual Vegas traffic. She entered her home, dumped her bag on a chair and headed for the kitchen. Deciding that she was too tired to be hungry, Catherine poured herself a glass of juice and decided to go to bed. For once she was glad her sister had offered to take Lindsey for the night, that meant Cath could get some rest. Yawning, she pushed open the door to her bedroom but was knocked off balance by a man, waiting for her behind the door. The glass of juice she was carrying fell out of her hands and smashed on the floor.

'Scream and you're dead' growled the man. Catherine kicked him and scratched his arm in an attempt to get free.

'You little...' The man slapped her and pushed her onto the bed. He produced a cloth from his pocket and pressed it over her nose and mouth. Catherine stopped struggling as she inhaled the chloroform. The last thing she saw before drifting into unconsciousness was the cold blue eyes of her assailant.

TBC...