Crisis Mode

Spoilers: Living Doll with hints of Cool Change, Nesting Dolls, Grave Danger and Gum Drops

Natalie runs into Nick and Warrick in a crowd after attempting to evade arrest.

A/N: I am in no way a GSR shipper, but a proud Snickers (or NSR) shipper. This will start off as GSR, but it will most likely end up as a Snickers story. By the way, this was a challenge that was too sweet to pass up.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of CSI, but I would love to own Warrick and Nick. If I did own them, Nick and Sara would be hooked, hitched and already have at least two kids. I only own my original characters.

The Runaround and Apprehension

"I want to find Sara now," Nick protested while sprinting with Warrick.

"We need to find this Natalie bitch so she could tell us where Sara is," Warrick tried to calm his friend.

"Let's just split up and look for her," Nick insisted. "When either of us finds her, we'll take her into custody."

"Nick, when we take her down," Warrick said. "Let Grissom or Brass deal with her. It doesn't pay when you go nuts and confront a suspect."

"Hey, after I was rescued from my abduction and burial," Nick mentioned. "I was in the hospital for some time. When Sara paid me a visit, she told me that she was the one that found where I was buried. I owe her my life, Warrick. I am obligated to return the favor."

"That is if Natalie could tell us where to find Sara in time," Warrick tried to reason with his friend.

"If anything happens to Sara," Nick hissed in anger. "Not only will Natalie have to answer to both Grissom and Brass, but also to me!"

"Nicky, don't be like that," Warrick calmed his friend.

Meanwhile, Natalie was in a crowd full of revelers after she escaped from her building when the police were so close in trying to apprehend her. She was frantic and frightened as she looked around. She ran trying to find a way out of this crowd. Little did she know, Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes were looking for her.

Nick and Warrick looked around and moved through the crowd after they split up. They both saw the woman of interest at the same time. The two criminalists swarmed in for the 'kill' and each grabbed Natalie by an arm.

"Let me go, you assholes!" Natalie shrieked. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, that's not what your latest work of art tells us," Warrick said as he gave Nick a glare to remind him to mind his tone.

"Natalie, you kidnapped a very good friend of mine," Nick told her calmly. "Her name is Sara Sidle."

"She probably dead now," Natalie protested with pride at her remark.

"I want to know where she is," Nick hissed.

"I've got a pain in my sawdust," she sang softly. "That is what's wrong with me."

The three were met by Brass and some officers. Natalie was handcuffed and placed in the backseat of a patrol car. As the car drove off, Brass, Nick and Warrick stood still and looked at each other.

"Nicky and Rick, I hope you didn't coerce her into telling you where Sara is," Brass raised an eyebrow at the two young criminalists.

"Brass, we swear we didn't use any coercive tactics on Natalie," Warrick said.

"I calmly told her that Sara was a good friend," Nick insisted.

"I just don't want anyone to get headaches from Internal Affairs," Brass sighed. "Ecklie called the California Department of Corrections."

"What does that have to do with Sara's abduction?" Warrick was baffled.

"Ecklie needed to find which prison Laura Sidle is incarcerated in," Brass replied.

"Who is Laura Sidle?" Warrick asked. "How is she related to Sara?"

"Laura is Sara's mother," Nick answered. "She is spending a life sentence for stabbing her husband, Sara's father, to death back in 1983 or 1984. Sara and her brother were separated and sent to various foster homes."

"So, that's why she went ballistic on Catherine and Ecklie when we were working on that mail order bride case two years ago," Warrick nearly cursed himself. "How come we didn't see warning signs?"

"Warrick, I think the warning signs were there," Nick commented. "However, we didn't pay much attention to them."

"Guys, do you want to find out what's going in Natalie's mind," Brass interrupted. "Or are you going talk about Sara while time is running out on her?"

"What about Ecklie?" Nick asked.

"He's going to catch the first available flight to San Francisco," Brass responded. "I'll meet you at the station."

Brass went one way while Nick and Warrick went another way. The two men went to Warrick's Denali. Nick was grateful that Warrick chose to drive or there would have been two more CSIs in trouble. Once they were inside the Denali and buckled in, they were on their way to meet with Brass, some officers and one of their colleagues.

"Nicky, I am pretty sure Brass will pull an answer out of her," Warrick said in a vain attempt to reassure his friend.

"It appears Natalie was still adamant about not telling us where Sara is," Nick shook his head in frustration. "She told us that Sara is dead."

"You can't believe anything she told us," Warrick responded. "Sara Sidle is a fighter for Pete's sake! She will dig and crawl her way out of that trap. She might be hurt physically and emotionally. We will help her get through this! Nick, I forbid you to talk like that until we find her dead or alive!"

"I hope you are right, bro," Nick grimaced.

The rest of the ride to the station was in silence. Warrick drove and checked once in a while on the sulking young man next to him. After Warrick parked the Denali and he and Nick got out of the car, they entered the building in silence.

Somewhere 30,000 feet in the air between Vegas and San Francisco

Conrad Ecklie was sitting in a business class seat in the San Francisco bound 737. He was grateful that he was able to get a seat in business at the last minute. He would still have taken this flight even if a coach seat was the only one available. The worst part was going through security, but he expected that, law enforcement officer or not. For about an hour, he could try to relax a little and look at the 'miniature' cities and towns.

"Sir, can I get you something to drink?" a flight attended asked as she gave him a small bag of mixed nuts.

"I'd like some coffee with sugar and cream, please," Ecklie replied with a smile.

"I shall bring that to you right away," she smiled back.

"Thank you," he said.

Ecklie thought about what he would tell Laura Sidle. He knew he had to notify her of her daughter's disappearance and ask her plenty of questions. However, he wasn't prepared for any reaction to his news. From looking at Sara's history while she was suspended, he learned that mother and daughter haven't seen each other in more than twenty years. He also learned what made Sara tick and gained an understanding about her. As he drank his coffee, he mentally rehearsed all possible scenarios of his interaction with Mrs. Sidle.

TBC