Chapter Three: Achilles Heel

Cautiously stepping over the wet towel, carelessly dropped to the floor, assistant supervisor, Catherine Willows, surveyed the rest of the room with her eyes, looking for a clue that could lead them to the whereabouts of Nick's daughter, Tayla.

"You know, Greg came to me for a lot of advice over the years." Catherine started to gossip with her colleague, taking her mind off the horror of their situation. She looked at the baby blanket left on the bed, before she continued, "When he was still that cute, dorky little lab rat, he once asked me if you would ever consider going out with him, Sara." She pointed out to her co-worker, watching the woman giving her a surprised look from the bathroom door.

"He asked you, if I would ever consider go out with him?" She looked at her surprised, wondering why Greg never said anything to her about it, as he was just like a brother to her.

"Oh relax; I think he's past that phase now." She assured Sara, giving her a small smile. "He also asked me about Mandy, Molly... and that sweet young girl who used to work with Bobby. He never asked me if Nick would ever consider going out with him though. Maybe we're all thinking the wrong thing."

"What do you mean?" Sara asked her, bagging another bloody cotton wool bud, from the bathroom sink.

"Well, everyone at the lab is thinking that Greg was the one who came onto Nicky, because apparently Nick's the straightest guy they've ever known, so he would never do a thing like that and they think that Greg's just the quirky lab rat, who would come onto anyone, because that's just the way he is." Stepping around the bed that smelled like sour baby milk, Catherine whispered, "Nick came over after he and Warrick had that argument, and he told me a few juicy details from his past. Apparently, he's known he's gay since he was eleven. Greg's never mentioned anything about liking the same sex, so maybe Nick was the one to seduce him."

"C'mon Catherine, can you really picture Nick seducing anybody, especially Greg?" Sara rolled her eyes at the statement, covering her mouth with the back of her wrist, as she suddenly felt queasy. She didn't know if it was because of something she ate or from having to bag the blood covered tissues from a child's injuries.

"You okay?"

Sara nodded, "I'm gonna go outside, get some fresh air." She excused herself.

"Okay, don't be too long. I wonna get this wrapped up, so we can get back on the road to look for Tayla." Catherine watched Sara giving her a slight nod, before she stepped outside, leaving her alone in the room.

Outside, the parking lot was full of squad cars. A few people had gathered outside of the bright yellow tape, curious to know what was going on, while the rest of the city were probably watching it on their televisions at home, from the press gathered around Ecklie, trying to give them a statement of what was going on.

Making her way round the side of the motel, out of the view of the press and the curious public, Sara dropped to her knees, purging her feelings of guilt onto the grass. She waited for the feelings to pass, before she leant back on her heels, glancing up as she felt a familiar presence.

"What are you doing here?" Looking at him surprised, she realised that he was here to work the scene, from the kit in his hands, along with the forensics jacket over his shirt. "What about the conference?"

"I'd rather be here. This is where I'm needed." Giving her a helping hand, he gently pulled her to her feet, brushing a stray tendril of her hair back behind her ear. He watched her wiping down the grass from her knees, giving her a curious look. "Are you alright?" He hadn't seen her throw up on a scene for years, so it was more than a little worrying.

"Yeah... I eh... I think it's something I ate." She shrugged it off. "So, you're here to help with the scene? There's not much to do. Warrick's working on the surveillance back at the lab," She pointed out the single security camera in the parking lot. "Catherine and I have got the room they were staying in..."

"How is he?" He asked her, following her towards the motel room door.

She didn't even have to ask who he meant, as it was obvious that he was concerned about Nick, just like everyone else. "He's eh... well, he's been better. I've never seen him like this before, but he's got Greg. I don't know if you heard this or not, but they..."

"I heard." He interrupted her, adjusting the CSI cap on his head. "Nick, he told me, right before I left. How's things been at the lab since?"

"Never the same without you, Gil." She gave him a smile. "But, Nick broke up with Greg, so there was less laughter around the place. There's male tension between Nick and Warrick, while Catherine and Ecklie have been trying to keep the peace, not taking anyone's side. There's all sorts of rumours circulating through the lab now." She sighed, wondering why Nick even told anyone in the first place, as he seemed to be better off in the closet, just like her relationship with Grissom.

"Like what?" He curiously asked her.

"Well, Olivia Stiles, that red head from the records room. She suddenly got this idea into her head that Nick had given her AID's, since they dated about two years ago. We had to get Doc Robbins to calm her down, explaining that he couldn't give it to her if he wasn't HIV positive. A lot of the cops have been giving him crap about it, but Brass seems okay with it, which is odd, since he's usually pretty homophobic."

"He's still Nick." Grissom pointed out to her, finally opening the door to the room.

"Grissom?" Catherine looked up at him surprised, before she started to frown. "Are you here because you don't think that I can handle this on my own?"

"No, I trust you completely." He assured her, not wanting to get into an argument with her again. "I just couldn't stay away. You know I have to help out with this one."

Catherine gave him a nod, before pointing towards the bathroom. "You can start in there. Sara was just bagging the stuff from the trash. The guy at the office said that Bryan asked him for a first aid kit, which we haven't found yet, but some of the bandages and cotton wool buds are in there."

"There was also a dirty diaper." Sara reminded her, as she made a big fuss over picking it up. "The blood is probably from Tayla, she hurt herself on the bathtub back at her house."

"So at least we know he's still got both children." Catherine reported, sweeping back the covers of the bed, so she could go over the sheets with a black light for any blood or semen. "I don't think these sheets are clean. Some of these stains are..."

"Ancient." Sara finished her sentence for her, feeling as though she was going to be sick again, just from the sight of the dried semen all over the bed.

Grissom watched the two of them getting back to work, taking a second look around the scene, to judge it for himself. He felt his blood beginning to boil at the sight of the blood in the bathroom, making him wonder how badly Nick's little girl was hurt. From what he had learnt so far, he could only guess that Bryan wasn't the type to murder an innocent child, but he knew that most kidnappers eventually grew tired of their victims or lost their tempers with them, making him fear the outcome of this case.

"What I wonna know is, why'd he take Tayla in the first place?" Catherine looked around at her colleagues, removing the glasses from her face, once she had finished with the bed. "According to the records with Miranda's attorney, Bryan was only after the baby. He only wanted his own daughter in the custody battle, so why'd he take Tayla with him?"

"Achilles heel." Grissom spoke softly, looking at the numbered markers on the floor, surrounding various bits of dirt or threads. "The man wanted his own daughter, to be a father to her. He wouldn't go to all that trouble just to hurt her, so maybe his weakness is for children. Maybe Tayla getting hurt was an accident. If you went there for your own daughter, would you just leave behind the injured one?"

"You don't even know this guy, and you're defending him." Catherine gave him a curious look. "How would you know that? Maybe he didn't have a choice or he wanted to keep her quiet about the murder of her mother?" She suggested, packing up her kit.

"He cares enough to take her with him and patch her up." Grissom pointed out the evidence to his colleague. "For now, I'm hoping that's the case . . . for Tayla's sake."

Stirring the coffees he had just made, with the phone pressed to his ear, Greg continued to nod, as his mother lectured him about not getting involved with a broken hearted man, who only just broke his heart a couple of weeks ago. "Okay mother, I admit it, I have a weakness for guys with puppy dog eyes. What do you want me to do, kick him out on the street?"

"No, I wasn't even suggesting that, sweetheart. The man's going through hell right now. I know just how he feels, because I've almost lost you twice."

"This is a little different though." Greg pointed out to her. "I'm a grown man, and I was in the hospital each time they called you to tell you what had happened. Nick's little girl is barely seven, and she's out there somewhere with a murderer. He already feels bad enough, since Tayla called him, begging him to come get her. I'm not just gonna turn him away, because he broke my heart a few weeks ago, that's just... cruel."

"And you're not cruel." Jean assured her son, looking at a picture of him on the wall of family photos in front of her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just can't bear to see you hurt again. You were madly in love with the man and he broke your heart, just because his friend didn't approve. I don't want you to go falling in love with him again over this..."

"That's impossible, since I never fell out of love with him." Greg spoke softly, jumping off the counter to grab the milk from his fridge. "And he's not here for that..."

"He's there now?" She almost shrieked. "Gregory, what on earth are you doing? The man's daughter is missing. He's at his most vulnerable point right now, and don't even think for a second that you're not going to give into that vulnerability, because you always do. He's your weakness."

"For your information, I was trying to get him to get some sleep." Greg informed his mother. "He's been up since five pm yesterday, and it's almost one in the morning. That's nearly thirty something hours."

"Thirty three, honey." She chuckled softly, sensing her son was tired too. "Maybe you should be getting some sleep too. NOT in the same bed as him." His mother quickly warned him. "Don't go starting up your relationship again in these circumstances. It won't be good for either of you."

"Okay, I won't." He promised her, pushing the fridge door shut with his foot. "I have to go now. Tell the twins I said hello."

"I will. You know, you should really stop by and see us all soon. You haven't been by in a while."

"I was just there three weeks ago." He reminded her, chuckling softly to himself, as she was so obvious. "You can't seriously be missing me that much already. You've called me every day since, only adding more to my phone bill."

"Oh, I'll pay for the phone bill. You know that I have to know where you are and how you are all the time, because you're my first born."

"Technically, I'm your only child that you gave birth to, so the first born thing doesn't work." He pointed out to her, before reminding her, "I'm gonna be thirty two this year. You've gotta let me go one day. Mother's who cling to their forty year old son's are just weird."

"Oh, thanks a lot, you little cheek." She giggled, looking up as her husband stepped into the room. "Oh, your father's here, honey. I'll tell the twins that you'll call them after school tomorrow. They'll love a call from their favourite and only uncle. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help out, Nicky. I can make flyers, organise search parties..."

"We don't even know where she is yet, but thanks." He smiled into his phone, dropping the spoon he had been using into the sink. "And I'm not gonna start anything with him, so you don't have to worry. I know the timings all off, and even if, he still broke up with me."

"There's a good boy." She chuckled softly. "I love you, bye."

"I love you too, Mom. Bye." Greg waited for his mother to hand the phone to his father, wondering if Nick was actually asleep yet, as he had been very quiet for a while now.

"Hi, Greg, everything alright?" His father greeted him.

"Uh huh, everything's fine, besides the kidnapping, the murder and everything, but I'm okay, I think." He answered, resting against his elbow on the counter. "Tell me truthfully, is Mom still disappointed about this whole thing between me and Nick?"

"Your mother could never be disappointed in you." His father assured him. "She's just worried about you, you can't see straight when there's a guy involved, especially this one. I'm worried too; I don't want you to get hurt. I guess no father wants that for their children, but I worry about it all the time..."

"Because I'm gay?"

"Maybe." His father took a seat on the arm of the sofa, explaining, "If you were with a woman, I wouldn't have to worry about you getting physically hurt, only emotionally, but with a man, you could get physically hurt."

"I can get emotionally hurt with a man too." Greg pointed out to his father, who had been trying to understand him since he came out to him. "I get emotionally attached to the men I'm with, the same as straight men do with the women they're with. And women can physically hurt people too."

"See, you've only doubled my worries now." His father smirked. "You know that I love you, no matter what, right?"

"Yeah, I know that."

"Good. I support you completely, no matter who you date, even this Nick. Your mother's still dragging me to these support groups of gay parents. There's this one father, Zach that I've been talking to more than the others, and his son's boyfriend committed suicide because his parents didn't approve of his boyfriend. I never want you to feel like that."

"I won't." Greg spoke softly to him. "I know that I have your full support. Mom tells me every day, so how could I not know?" He smirked, before taking a sip from his hot coffee.

"Alright, I better let you go. Remember that you can always tell me anything. No matter what it is." He assured his son, not wanting them to have the kind of relationship with his son, that he used to have with his own father.

Daniel's father used to see homosexuality as the opposite of masculinity; weak, abnormal and girly, like most of the female population. If the man were still alive today, he would probably disown both his son and his grandson, just for supporting his son with his lifestyle.

Fortunately, Daniel took after his mother, accepting of everyone and everything around him. "I love you, kiddo. Call me if you need me."

"I will, I love you too." Greg spoke softly, waiting for his father to hang up, before he did the same. He then carried the coffees through to his bedroom, finding Nick curled up in the middle of his bed, right where he had left him. "You're still awake?" He whispered, setting the coffees on the bedside table, before he perched himself on the edge of his bed.

"Can't sleep." Nick replied, rolling over onto his back. "Do you seriously talk to your parents that long, everyday?"

Giggling softly, Greg explained, "Not by choice. My mother practically forces me to call her every day, and somehow, she manages to keep me on the line for more than an hour or so. I was actually pretty lucky that the twins were asleep, or it woulda turned into longer than that."

"The twins?"

"My adopted sister's kids." Greg reminded him, watching Nick nodding, as he remembered Greg showing him the pictures of his niece and nephew.

"My parents' phone calls consist of hello, how are you, take care and goodbye. Or they used to; I highly doubt I'll be receivin' another phone call anytime soon. Any news from the lab?" He changed the subject, resting his hand behind his head.

"Nothing yet, Sara said she'd call as soon as she got in." He assured him, before climbing over him, onto the empty space of the bed beside him. "My Mom offered to help out, if you needed any help. She even offered to fully stock your fridge with frozen meals." He smirked, resting on his elbow beside Nick's head. "Samantha called your cell again, don't you wonna talk to her? I thought you guys were on good terms."

"We are." Nick nodded to him, looking up into Greg's eyes. "Not as good as you and me, but there's no bad feelin's between us. I told you the story before, didn't I?" Greg shook his head, wanting to hear it. "Samantha and I were in college together. She came to one of the frat parties I was at. I wasn't really into girls, only guys, so I didn't really have anybody to talk to. I was sittin' alone, and she came over to introduce herself to me. We started having some drinks, talkin' and we really hit it off. She was one of those girls that you could really talk to, about anythin'."

"How old were you?" Greg curiously asked him.

"About... twenty one. We went out for about a week, before we slept together. We continued datin' for a while, then she told me she was pregnant and she wanted to get rid of it. Her parents were really traditional, kinda like mine, only her father was a little more on the abusive side. She wanted to stay in college, and she said that a baby really didn't fit in her schedule."

"What did you tell her?"

"I begged her not to get rid of it. I told her that I could help her, support her and everythin'. It took her until the first scan to decide, she couldn't get rid of him after seein' him movin' on the monitor, so she decided to keep him. I got an apartment not too far from the college for us to move into. We were plannin' on raisin' the baby together, gettin' married and livin' that so called happy ever after thing that people are always talkin' about."

"What happened next?" Greg asked, leaning over him to grab his coffee, eager to hear more.

"Somehow, she had figured out I was gay, without me tellin' her, so she refused to wear a ring or agree to marry me. Then a month before she was due, she told me she was movin' back to live with her parents. Her father was still really mad at her, but her mother wanted her grandchild close to home. Samantha always told me that I could see the baby whenever I wanted, and she wanted him to know that I was his real father, but she didn't want to trap me."

"How'd she turn out like that, if her parents were really strict?"

"Her sister, Adele, she was a lesbian. She told me that after she had figured me out. Her sister told her when they were still teenagers. There was a year between them, and they were like best friends. When Adele was twenty, her father found out that she was gay. He kicked her out of the house, cut her off from everythin'. They didn't hear from her for about eight months, before a cop showed up at their door, askin' them to come downtown to identify her body." He explained, turning his head to look at Greg again. "After hearin' that, I was even more nervous to tell my own parents. I guess that's kinda the reason why I took so long to tell them."

Greg gave him a nod in understanding, dropping his head to the pillow beside Nick. "Did you tell Bradley?"

"I don't know how." Nick shrugged, turning onto his side to face Greg. "Tellin' my father was hard enough, I never even imagined how hard it would be to tell my son. We've always been kinda close over the years, not as close as you and your father, but we've been closer than I was with my father. Samantha lets me see him whenever I like or when he wants to see me. We just kinda told him that it never worked out between us, that we weren't meant to be a couple."

"He's a thirteen year old boy, I'm sure he'll understand. You don't wonna leave it too late. He's starting puberty himself, it'll be harder to understand why his father likes men, when all his friends are dating girls." Greg pointed out to him, setting his coffee down behind him. "Maybe once this is all over, you can sit down and talk to him."

"When it's all over? You mean when I have Tayla back or after the funeral?"

Greg just answered with a shrug, not wanting to get into another argument with him. "Did you get in contact with Miranda's sister, Angela?"

"Yeah, she's gonna do all the funeral plannin'. Apparently, her lawyer has a will to read. She made one after her mother died four months ago. At least we were still on good terms then, so I might be entitled to visitation, if Angela lets me." Nick's lower lip started to quiver, as he thought of the possibility of never seeing his daughter again.

"You should get some sleep." Greg spoke softly, brushing away Nick's tears with his thumb. "You're exhausted. I'll wake you up if Sara calls."

"I can't sleep right now." Nick shook his head, sniffling back his tears. "Tayla might find a way to call me again. She might need my help."

"I'll watch your phone. You can't help her if you're tired." The younger man tried to convince him. "C'mon Nick, you're gonna kill yourself. You need your sleep. We're doing everything we can to find Tayla at the moment, and we will find her, you know we will."

Slowly reaching his hand out for Greg's, Nick weaved their fingers together, gripping the younger man's hand tightly in his own. "Thanks, Greg. Not for just lettin' me stay here after what I did to you . . . but for bein' here for me."

"You're welcome." He whispered, removing his hand from Nick's grip, before he had the sudden urge to kiss him. "Now go to sleep, before I'm forced to drug you." He playfully warned him.

"You wouldn't drug me. You love me too much." Nick smiled at him, relieved that Greg didn't deny it. "I don't think I can sleep anyway. I keep picturing her trapped somewhere, like I was. I feel so helpless not bein' able to do anythin' for her."

"You will, when you can. Don't give your hopes up Nicky; it's not your style."

Making her way back down the stairs, Mrs West wiped her hands on her apron, stepping back into the kitchen, where her son was sat with the baby on his lap. "Well, I don't think it's broken." She reported, taking a seat opposite her son. "Where's their mother, Bryan?" She asked him, lighting up a cigarette in her hands. "She should know that you had a car accident. She'll be worried about her babies."

"She's... out of town." Bryan lied to his mother, adjusting Willa against his chest, noticing a cut on the little girl's forehead from the accident. "I'll call her as soon as her flight lands. Tayla's okay though, right?"

"Nothing appears to be broken, but I'm no doctor." Climbing to her feet, Mrs West reached for her phone book, searching for her doctor's number. "I wonder if he's still at the office."

"Mama, she doesn't need a doctor." He insisted, handing the baby over to her, so her hands were occupied, stopping her from calling anyone.

"I can't believe their mother would just hand her babies over to you, with no food and clothes." Mrs West rolled her eyes, rocking her grandchild against her, while she ashed her cigarette into her ashtray on the table. "Bryan, you don't even have diapers or bottles for this baby. You should have asked her for those things. I certainly don't have them, and I don't have the money to buy them either."

"Mama, would you just shut up." He snapped at her, climbing to his feet to lean against the counter across the room. "It's not my fault, she just... she didn't give me any warning."

"You don't even have a place to stay, and you're not staying here, I've got plans."

"Like what?"

"If you must know, Roger's coming over this weekend. He's been out of town for a while..."

"You're still dating that shit head?" Bryan interrupted her, slamming his fist against the counter, startling the baby. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time? He's no good. He hits you, just like Dad."

"He has a stressful job. He lost his temper with me once, that's not like your father." Handing the screaming baby back to her son, she warned him, "One night, then I want you out. I don't have the energy to look after two children or the money. You've eaten my supply of food already. That was supposed to last me for the rest of the week."

"And you think I do? Tayla isn't even mine." He pointed out to her.

"Well, cut her loose. There must be some other family member who can look after her or both of them, at least until their mother gets back." Mrs West grabbed for her kettle, filling it with water from the tap. "You're not fit to look after a child, Bryan, especially two littlens. Why'd you even agree to look after them in the first place? You don't even have any experience with kids."

"Oh c'mon, Mama, it doesn't take much. I'd damn well do a better job than you, that's for sure." Storming out of the kitchen, Bryan hurried up the stairs to the guest bedroom, setting Willa down on the dresser, so he could wake Tayla. "C'mon, get dressed. We're leaving."

His mother set the coffee pot she had made on the side, before hurrying up the stairs after her son, stopping him from forcing the little girl to get dressed. "Bryan, don't be stupid. It's almost two in the morning. These children need their sleep."

"Back off." He gave his mother a forceful shove away from him, before he dragged Tayla out of the bed by her arm. "I can take care of them myself. I don't need you."

"Bryan, you're hurting her. Be careful." She followed her son back down the stairs, watching in horror as he manhandled the two little girls. It reminded her of her husband doing the same thing to her son, all those years ago, but she was powerless to stop him. She had always feared how it would affect her son, now she was finding out first hand. "Bryan! Don't be ridiculous. You can stay here for the night. Bryan, don't hurt her." Mrs West pushed her son away from Tayla, being more gentle with the child to help her with her jacket. "Where's her shoes?"

"She didn't bring any." Bryan grabbed for Tayla's hand, pulling her outside, towards his wrecked car sat in the driveway.

Mrs West gave her son a curious look, wondering why any woman in the world would leave her two children with him, without any diapers, bottles, clothes or even any shoes. She watched his car disappearing down the drive, then turned back for her kitchen, grabbing the phone from the wall. She was hesitant to speak at first, fearing her son's fate if she put the authorities on his trail, but she was worried about the two little girls.

Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she cleared her throat, before answering, "Yes, I'd like to report a kidnapping."

Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Please let me know what you thought of this next chapter.

Have a great weekend!

~ Holly