Chapter One
The first chapter is up right away. Unfortunately, most is just to set the scene and be a little filler, but it will get back to angst soon. Please review if you read this as I'm not sure whether or not to continue as writing takes a lot of time and I have a load of exams...
Either way, enjoy, read and review!
One week earlier.
Nick Stokes sat on the edge of his seat in the break room, his fingers flying over the controls of Day shifts new Nintendo Wii.
To his right, Greg Sanders was muttering, "c'mon, c'mon..."
To his left, Warrick Brown was swearing. "YES!" Greg screamed as his car crossed the finish line first. "Oh yeah!"
Warrick scowled at him, only half serious. "You cheated, you little punk! Nick, I'll hold him down, you find the coffee!"
"No!" Greg cried as Warrick pounced on him, grabbing him in a headlock. Nick began tearing through every cupboard, before looking at the newest CSIs smug face. He looked up, and sure enough, part of the tiled ceiling was slightly opened.
"Aha!" Nick cried in triumph as he stood on the table and began to grope around in the ceiling.
"Damn!" Greg moaned, still trying to pry Warrick's hands away from his head.
"What are you guys doing?" Sara Sidle asked in confusion as she hesitantly walked into the break room.
"Stealing Greg's Hawaiian Blue coffee." Warrick explained. "He cheated on Mario Kart."
Sara rolled her eyes.
"Yow!" Nick winced. "Damn it, my hand's stuck! I think it's- ow- caught between two pipes!"
"Ha! Justice!" Greg yelled, until Warrick began rubbing his hair, "No, man, not my hair!"
Sara sighed dramatically and climbed onto the table.
"Hey, Sar, sorry but you're never gonna reach Nick's hand at that height."
Sara stuck her tongue out at Warrick and placed her hands on Nick's shoulders. She suddenly jumped onto Nick's back, piggy back style and raised her hand into the ceiling, following his arm. "Yeah. That's stuck alright. On second thoughts, I got the coffee." She passed it down to Nick's free hand.
Greg looked horror-struck. "You're supposed to be on my side Sara! What are you doing?"
"Precisely what I want to know Greg," an irritated looking Grissom walked in, Catherine behind him looking baffled as she took in Greg in Warrick's headlock, Sara on Nick's back, standing on the table with both her hands and tugging on something where Nick's hand looked to be in the ceiling, and Nick's free hand protectively cradling Greg's coffee.
Everyone, froze, all looking horrified. Catherine couldn't help but giggle at them-they looked like children with their hands stuck in the cookie jar. Grissom stared at her for a moment, then his mouth began to twitch up at the corners. Everyone stared at him incredulously as he tried not to smile.
"Okay, children, playtime is over."
Warrick instantly released Greg, and he began to run to grab his coffee. Sara gave one more tug on Nick's hand and it came unstuck, the momentum of the action sending them both stumbling backwards off the table and onto an unfortunate Greg, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Warrick, Catherine and Grissom roared with laughter that was quickly muted when Ecklie stormed into the room.
"Gil! I just saw everything! What in hells name is your team doing?"
Everyone froze again, but Grissom calmly said. "They were doing some team-building exercises."
Ecklie rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. I want there to be consequences for that sort of ridiculous behaviour. What if someone was visiting the lab? Just get those juvenile delinquents out of here and make sure they've reformed by the time they get to the crime scene."
Nick could feel Sara's anger radiating off her below him, but they both knew how lucky they were that Grissom was in a good mood, and no one wanted to thank him by pissing off Ecklie.
"Thanks, boss." Warrick breathed as Ecklie left.
Three distinctive groans sounded from the other side of the room as Nick rolled off Sara and Greg.
"Aw, that's gonna bruise." Greg and Sara moaned at the same time.
"Serves you right," Grissom said matter of factly, extracting the coffee from Nick's hand. "As a punishment, no Blue Hawaiian for anyone for a week."
"A week!" Greg squeaked. "I'm a victim."
"Who hid their coffee in my ceiling. Right, we have to get going, there's been an all hands on deck call- someone shot up a twenty four hour childcare for working parents. There are fourteen dead amongst those, four children. However, the place is massive, and according to witness reports, two gunman went to almost every room."
Everyone sobered up, prepping themselves for the undoubtedly tough case they were about to get into.
"When we get there, I want absolute maturity. The press is already smothering this one. I don't want any screw ups."
Everyone nodded.
Catherine paused, then she spoke. "Griss? Which...which school is it?"
"It's called 'Noche y Dia', the founder is Spanish."
"Oh, my, god!" Catherine breathed, fear flooding her eyes. "That's where I send Lindsey when my mom is out of town! My mom's in Barbados!"
Warrick summed up everyone's thoughts. "Shit!"
Catherine flipped open her phone just as it began to ring. "Lindsey?"
The room held its breath.
"Oh, thank god! Are you okay, sweetie? I know, I know. Baby, I'm on my way...yeah, sweetie I have to work the case... No, you don't have to stay... I'll bring you to the lab, okay?" Catherine looked at Grissom, who nodded. "I'll be there soon. Hold on, baby girl, I love you."
She hung up.
"Linds' okay?" Warrick asked, concern flooding his face.
"She's a bit shaken up. Doesn't want to stay there."
"Catherine, how about Greg takes Lindsey straight back to the lab, I think Wendy could use your help getting to know the DNA lab, and you can still work the case, we'll catch you up later Greg?"
"Sure," Greg nodded. "I'd be happy to."
When they got to the large building, Nick's heartstrings tugged painfully at the sight of a couple of hundred terrified children huddled outside in their pyjamas. Some clutched teddy-bears like lifelines, others were older and desperately texting or calling on mobiles. They were one by one being interviewed by the police, the ones who had stood on the right of the building and were allowed to leave when their parents arrived.
"Mommy!"
Catherine turned to see a tearful thirteen year old Lindsey hurtle towards her.
"It's okay, sweetie. It's okay."
"Mom, they shot...they shot people right in front of me..." Lindsey squeaked, and Catherine looked her up and down.
"Are you hurt?" Lindsey shook her head. "Okay, Greg's gonna take you back to the lab, okay? I'll see you in a little bit."
Lindsey smiled slightly at Greg then bit her lip. Catherine sighed. "What d'you want?" she asked, not unkindly.
"Um, mom, Jenny's done too, but her mom can't pick her up..." Lindsey turned to look at Greg with big, green, pleading eyes, and pointed to a little lost looking child. "That's my friend, Jennifer Harley, and, she's here for a six day stay, because her Dad's on business in Hawaii and her mom was in a car crash and now she can't drive and Jenny's only six and no one has time to look after her and she's scared and she lives on the to the lab-"
"You want me to drive her home?" Greg predicted. Lindsey smiled, and Catherine rolled her eyes. Lindsey put her hand on Greg's arm.
"Please?"
Greg looked at Grissom, unsure of what to do. "Am I allowed?"
Grissom sighed.
"Please, Grissom!" Lindsey whispered and he shook his head.
"I must be going soft." He muttered. "Sure, Greg. Make sure she gets to the door, you speak to her mother...cover your back, and look after the little girl."
"Of course," Greg walked over to where the little girl was standing. He introduced himself to the teacher and told her the girl was going home with them. Then he crouched down. "Hey, sweetie. My name's Greg. Are you Jennifer?"
"Jenny."
"Okay, Jenny. How would you like to ride home with me and Lindsey over there?" Greg raised his eyebrows
Jenny considered for a moment. "You're a stranger..."
Greg laughed. "Good girl. But it's okay, see- I'm a CSI, like a police man. See, this badge? This tells you I'm with the police. I won't hurt you, your safe with me, I promise. Besides, you know Lindsey?"
Nodding, Jenny smiled and took Greg's hand. He thanked the teacher and took her and Lindsey into the car. The drive did not take long, and both girls were silent until Greg reached Jenny's house.
"Okay, Jenny, let's go. Lindsey, please wait in the car, and don't go anywhere!"
Lindsey rolled her eyes as Greg collected Jenny from the car and walked her up to her front door. Her mother opened the door after a few minutes, in a wheelchair. Her legs were skinnier than Jenifer's, and her appealing face was pale and tired.
"Oh, Jenny, thank god!" She gasped as the little girl flung into her lap. "Are you..."
"Oh, I'm Greg Sanders, from the crime lab." Greg straightened
"Where Catherine Willows works?"
"Um, yes. I'm just taking her daughter back to the lab for the evening, and so I was passing by. Jenny is a lovely girl. Ms. Harley, I know that Jenny was at Noche y Dia because your husband's out of town. Do you need help with anything?"
The kind faced lady laughed. "No, thank you Mr. Sanders. It's only because Jenny goes to school at Noche y Dia, and I cannot get her there. Thank you so much for bringing Jenny home. I wanted to drive but..."
Greg smiled and nodded, passing her his number. "I understand. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."
Greg clambered back into the car, rubbing his chest absentmindedly.
Catherine stared in dismay at the body of the seven year old Spanish boy, Diego Gomez. Four bullet holes were ripped in his chest, and his eyes were still open.
"Dear God, what is the world coming to?" She murmured.
"I'm not sure that even God knows the answer to that anymore."
Catherine looked up at Warrick's voice. "It's...just...the girl in that room. She's...god, Rick! Lindsey was here! Someone shot at my daughter!" Catherine's voice caught, but she didn't cry. Her strong exterior remained so, but inside she was a mess. It could've been Lindsey on the floor, covered in blood. Catherine couldn't get the horrific image out of her head.
Warrick put a hand on her shoulder. "But it's not, Cath. It's still a terrible thing- a young girl is dead, but Cath, it's not Linds. And if you show how emotionally involved you are, Grissom will have no choice but to take you off the case. You're pushing it as it is."
"I know. I'm sorry, Warrick."
"Nah, don't be. It's only natural, Catherine, don't worry. Just, keep that guard up, okay?"
Catherine nodded and returned to her photos.
Nick snapped yet another picture of a bullet hole in the wall. To his right, Sara was trying to extract the bullet from the last one.
"I hate these cases. There's never a good reason. Did you hear Marisol Gomez when they told her that her son was dead?" Sara asked softly, and Nick winced. The devastated mother's screams shook them all up.
"I feel horrible, but part of me can't help but be relieved that it wasn't Lindsey. That Catherine wasn't the one screaming for her baby. There're still dead kids in the building, but I can only think of..." Nick shook his head.
Sara nodded. "I know what you mean."
Nick looked at her. "Sara? D'you think Cath will manage the case?"
Frowning, Sara replied. "I hope so. But, it seems unlikely. I think to an extent, we're all gonna get attached. Probably more involved than usual as well."
The man watching the CSIs grinned widely. "More involved than usual"
The Sidle girl had no idea how right she was, the man thought, whilst polishing his brand new gun.
Review? Please?