Having writer's block is horrid, and I apologize for my brain's lack of cooperation. Especially after I provided it with all of that inspiration with several Nick and Sara videos!

This chapter is for sarasidle3 and Tina-NSfan =)

I still own nothing. Although I do own the epic fail of a dream I had last night. All I'm going to say is, " People do crazy things…when they're in love". =D

As the paramedic wheeled the teenager away, the eyes of Catherine, Nick, and Sara began to survey the damage that had befallen the alleyway. Blood was strewn along one of the walls, bloody handprints dotting several of the bricks. Nick paused the paramedic for a moment to get a better look at their victim.

"A few cuts and lacerations. The boy should be fine," one of the paramedics provided.

"Mind if I catch a ride with you guys to the hospital?" Nick questioned. "The evidence on his body is time sensitive. The quicker we get it, the better chance we have of catching whoever did this to him."

The paramedic nodded before continuing to wheel the boy towards the open doors of the ambulance. Nick then turned to face his female co-workers.

"I'll catch up with you ladies in an hour or so."

Sara and Catherine gave Nick a nod before turning back to the scene in front of them.

"I'll start documenting," Catherine stated before nodding her head in the direction of Jim Brass who was currently interviewing a rather scantily clad woman. "Why don't you get Brass to catch us up on our victim?"

Sara immediately picked up her kit and headed towards the homicide captain as Catherine pulled out her camera to begin the overall shots of the scene. Sara came to a halt next to Brass and listened as the woman claimed to have lost a cat in the alleyway.

"Oh?" Brass began, " And what is your cat's name?"

"Pussy cat."

Sara couldn't help but let out a small snort, which caused Brass to produce a small smile in response.

"You know, the truth tends to work a whole lot better in cases like these, " Sara commented causing the woman to roll her eyes.

"I was out here with my boyfriend, alright?"

Sara peered at Brass who was surveying the scene around him.

" And where did this boyfriend of yours go?" Brass inquired.

"He ran off," the woman concluded. "The big chicken."

Brass reviewed his note for a few moments before the woman cleared her throat.

"Can I go now?"

Sara nodded and watched as the woman left the scene in a huff.

"She seemed pleasant," Sara declared eliciting a chuckle from Brass. " What have you got for us?"

Brass handed his notes over to the younger woman who quickly scanned them.

"Victim's name is Tommy Baker. Clearly assaulted, but by who is the current mystery."

Sara handed the notes back to Brass before offering her own thoughts.

"Not much to go on. It's a good thing that the scene is practically overflowing with details. By the looks of things, I'd say Tommy is lucky to be alive, " Sara uttered as she turned her attention back to the bloody alleyway.

"Just remember Sidle," Brass began, "this is Vegas. This alley is known for being a prostitute's alleyway. Make sure you are able to determine what is actually relevant to this case, and what is simply cluttering the scene."

Sara raised an eyebrow at Brass.

"Don't I always?"

Brass laid a hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"A little reminder now and then never hurt anyone," Brass said before giving Sara's shoulder a pat and wandering off. Sara watched him leave before shrugging her shoulders and heading back over to Catherine.

"Brass wasn't able to give us much other than our victim's name. Tommy Baker," Sara exclaimed as she opened her own field kit and began to swab a puddle of blood that Catherine had already marked and photographed.

"Did Brass have any idea what happened to him?" Catherine asked as she began to place markers on the wall.

"Assaulted," Sara recounted. "Brass's lady friend was no help either. She was the one who placed the phone call."

"Figures as much," Catherine muttered.

Sara moved back to her field kit to grab another swab, when she noticed something shiny glint in the little bit of light that illuminated the alleyway.

"You finished your overall shots, right?" Sara questioned as she moved closer to the object.

"Of course I did. Why?"

Sara picked the small object up and displayed it to Catherine.

"St. Christopher medal," Sara provided.

Catherine turned to look at the small silver medal that was splattered with blood.

"Patron saint of travel," Catherine clarified before taking the small medal from Sara's outstretched hand. "Eddie used to have one of these things in his car."

Catherine then handed the medal back to Sara, who proceeded to place it in a bag and label it. As Catherine looked up, she spotted the unmistakable outline of Nick Stokes approaching them.

"That was fast," Catherine exclaimed which caused Nick to scoff.

"He flipped out when I got in the room. Broke the camera."

Sara finished her label before looking up at Nick.

"Poor kid is probably traumatized. I'm sure the last thing he wants to deal with is someone poking and prodding his body for evidence," Sara explained.

"Whether he wants us to or not, we need the evidence," Catherine stated as she stood up and began to swab a bloody handprint on the wall. " The more we have, the easier this case will be for all of us, including Tommy."

Sara moved to another puddle on the ground and took another swab.

"Looks like semen," Sara interpreted before capping it.

"Could be Tommy's, or another visitor to the alleyway," Nick concluded, as he joined the two female CSIs in their evidence collection.

" Do you want to call it Sara?" Catherine asked.

Sara put the swab with the rest of the evidence, before considering everything in front of her.

" Tommy's looking for a little fun and decides a trip to a prostitute alleyway is just what the doctor ordered. He finishes the deed with our prostitute friend, but what he doesn't know is her boyfriend witnessed the event. Boyfriend gets mad and proceeds to kick the crap out of our victim. He then takes off, leaving his girlfriend to call it in," Sara proposed before looking at Nick.

"Definitely possible, "Nick adds to which Catherine nods.

"We won't know anything until we get back to the lab," Catherine concluded, before finishing her swabs from the wall. She then turned her attention to her co-workers. Nick was the first to stand up before offering a hand to Sara and helping her up.

"No time to waste," Catherine stated as she closed up her field kit. " Let's get this evidence to Hodges and Wendy."

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

After dropping Sara off at the lab, Nick and Catherine headed over to the hospital, only to be told that Tommy had checked himself out, against doctor's orders. Placing a swift call to Brass, they immediately headed over to the address that was registered to Tommy Baker. Catherine knocked sharply three times on the small door before turning to Nick.

"How are things going with Sara?" Catherine inquired as they waited for the door to be opened.

"Really well," Nick stated, turning his body so he could get a better look at Catherine. "We were friends before, and we're friends now with the addition of a few more benefits."

"Care to elaborate?" Catherine asked hopefully causing Nick to chuckle.

"Not really."

Catherine folded her arms over her chest before muttering, " So much for living vicariously through you and Sara."

The door swung open to reveal an older woman wearing a tank top that was two sizes too small and a skirt that could have passed for underwear.

"Well hello there handsome," the woman said, stumbling a bit against the doorframe as her eyes focused on Nick. Catherine let out a small smirk.

"Mrs. Baker? We're from the LVPD. We've come here to pick up a few things of Tommy's," Catherine stated as the woman blinked several times at the pair before a goofy smile spread across her face.

" Police? Oh how nice! Would you two nice officers like a drink?"

The woman then waddled her way back into the house as Nick and Catherine gave each other a confused look before both turned their attention to their watches.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking, Mrs. Baker?" Nick asked as he and Catherine slowly walked into the cramped house. The heard a grunt from Mrs. Baker before she made her way back to the CSIs holding a large bottle of liquor.

"S'never too early to drink."

She then placed the bottle to her lips and took a large swig. She then presented the bottle to Nick.

"Want any?"

Nick shook his head vigorously.

"Mrs. Baker," Catherine intercepted, " if you don't mind, your son was assaulted last night. We would like to see his clothes."

The mother looked at Nick thoughtfully.

"Did he kick some ass?"

Catherine shook her head before looking down the hallway.

"Is Tommy's room down here?" she questioned to which Mrs. Baker nodded.

"First door on the right."

Catherine nodded and began to head down the hall, Nick close on her heels, when Mrs. Baker's high-pitched voice interrupted them.

"Can he stay with me?" she asked, gesturing with her empty hand towards Nick.

Catherine looked from the drunken Mrs. Baker to the terrified-looking Nick Stokes.

"Nick would love to keep you company," she declared cheerfully before retreating down the hallway. Nick turned to look at Mrs. Baker and almost jumped a foot in the air when he realized the woman was now standing inches away from him.

"Now we can have some fun, at least now that the stuffy blonde is gone."

She moved her shaking hands towards Nick's face, only to be disappointed when Nick took his own hands and brought hers back to her sides.

"Something tells me my girlfriend wouldn't like that."

Mrs. Baker pouted.

"It's because she wears shorter clothes than me, isn't it?"

Nick shook his head.

"No, I'm quite sure you win that category."

Mrs. Baker now looked like she was about to start bawling.

"Well then what the hell is wrong with me?"

Nick sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with you Mrs. Baker. Any man would be lucky to have you."

Mrs. Baker then poked an accusing finger into Nick's chest."

"Any man, but you!"

She then collapsed against Nick's chest, sobbing uncontrollably, her drunken state finally catching up with her fully. Nick awkwardly patted the woman's back. It was at this moment that Catherine emerged from the back room holding a paper bag.

"Found Tommy's bloody clothes from last ni…"

Catherine stopped mid-sentence and looked at Nick, a teasing expression dancing across her face, topped off by a raise of the eyebrow and a smirk.

"If only Sara could see you now."

Nick rolled his eyes just as the front door opened, causing both Catherine and Nick to look at the tall man who walked through the door, spitting image of Tommy.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry!" the man sputtered before running and pulling his mother away from Nick and slowly guiding the disoriented woman outside, who was uttering curse words the entire way out. Nick grimaced before turning to look at his supervisor.

"There's no way you're not going to tell Sara about this, is there?"

"Not a chance in hell, Stokes," Catherine said, the smirk still in plain view. Nick shook his head.

"Didn't think so."

The man then re-entered the house.

"I'm sorry about that. She's not even supposed to be here."

Nick then raised a hand towards the man.

"Nick Stokes, LVPD. This is my partner, Catherine Willows."

The man quickly rubbed his hands on his pants before shaking Nick's hand followed by Catherine's.

"Mark. Mark Baker. I'm Tommy's older brother."

After giving him a firm shake, Nick withdrew his hand as Mark crossed his arms over his chest.

"How's the investigation coming?"

Catherine displayed the paper bag to Mark.

"Once we analyze the trace on your brother's clothes, we'll be several steps closer to whoever did this to him."

Mark nodded his head, seemingly comforted by Catherine's words.

"I hope so."

Nick then took the silence that followed as their cue to leave.

"I promise you Mr. Baker. We'll do everything in our power to get whoever did this to your brother," Nick stated as an afterthought, knowing words would never make up for what the family was experiencing.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

"Wendy, are you sure?" Sara asked the young lab tech, who simply nodded her head.

"All of the blood at the scene was a match to the same source, which I'm assuming is your victim," Wendy repeated, while Sara's eyes continued to scan the report in front of her.

"I'd say that is a pretty good assumption considering how beat up the victim was," Sara added.

"The semen sample you took from the scene was a combination of blood and semen," Wendy continued.

Sara looked up at Wendy skeptical.

"It could have been from an entirely different incident."

Wendy then shook her head, causing Sara to lean back in her chair.

"The blood was a match to the rest of the blood at the scene, but the semen was not. Had to have come from an unknown male source."

Sara stared at the paper in front of her.

" He was raped. That son of a bitch raped him."

Sara stood from her chair and headed towards the door, only to be stopped by a flustered Wendy.

"There's more," Wendy said, allowing Sara time to bring her racing heart under control.

"At first, I thought I might have cross-contaminated yours and Greg's evidence. I even triple-checked my work."

Wendy stopped for a moment to make sure Sara hadn't gotten more frustrated. She appeared to be listening intently, which encouraged Wendy to continue.

"You know how I work. I'm always very careful, one case open at a time. If my calculations are correct, I know who raped Tommy Baker."

Wendy handed Sara another piece of paper, which Sara practically snatched from Wendy's hand.

"Wayne Smith. Greg's DB?" Sara asked only to receive confirmation with a nod of Wendy's head. Sara took a deep breath before handing the paper back to Wendy.

"Show this to Greg. I'm going to the hospital. I'm sure they did blood work on Tommy when he came in. It will get you a comparison for the blood at the scene."

Wendy gave a mini salute before heading out the door. As soon as Wendy had exited, Nick and Catherine entered the room.

"Where are we at?" Catherine questioned.

"Wendy ran the blood from the scene, all a match to one source."

"Tommy Baker," Nick finished, but Sara held out a hand.

"I'm heading to the hospital now to get a sample of Tommy's blood for Wendy to compare it against," Sara stated as she headed towards the lobby, followed shortly after by Nick and Catherine.

"I'll come with you," Nick volunteered.

"Anything else?" Catherine pressed.

"Wendy was able to relate our case to Greg and Ray's. Apparently the semen I took from the crime scene was a mixture of blood and semen. The blood was a match to the rest of the blood found at the scene. The semen, however, was a match to Wayne Smith, Greg and Ray's DB. Apparently, Smith not only assaulted our victim, but also raped him."

Nick and Catherine stopped in their tracks.

"Tommy was raped?" Catherine inquired.

"If Wendy's calculations are correct, than yes."

Catherine turned to look at Nick.

"We can put you on old cases if you'd like. You don't have to stay with this investigation," Catherine whispered.

Nick turned to look at Catherine.

"I want to do this Catherine."

Nick's comment caused Sara to stop and look at Nick and Catherine. She watched Catherine give a small nod to Nick before looking at Sara.

"Let Nick go get the blood for Wendy. You and I need to go get caught up with Ray and Greg on their case."

Sara gave a confused look to Nick as he walked past her to the parking lot. Sara headed back toward Catherine, curious about the recent exchange between her boyfriend and friend.

"What was that about?" Sara questioned as she and Catherine began to look for the other two members of graveyard shift.

"I'm sorry Sara, but I'm not at liberty to say. If you want to know, you'll have to ask Nick."

Sara watched as Catherine entered the processing room where Greg and Ray were mulling over their own evidence. She didn't know what Nick was hiding, but she had enough sense to know whatever it was, it had affected Nick a great deal.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Greg and Ray stood on one side of the large table while Catherine and Sara stood on the other.

"So, if Wayne assaulted Tommy before he was killed, it's possible that Tommy, or someone close to Tommy could have killed him, like his brother," Catherine observed as she looked at the various pieces of evidence that were organized on the table.

"His girlfriend actually," Ray said as he slid a written confession paper towards Catherine.

"You solved the case already?" Sara asked before Catherine handed the paper over to her.

"We found her fingerprints by a window in the back, which we believe to be the point of entry," Greg concluded as he looked at the two women across from him.

"Claims she killed him because he had too many rules and would often hit her when he was angry," Sara read off the page before handing the paper back to Greg.

"It's a good enough reason as any," Catherine responded to which Sara simply nodded. "Good work guys."

Just as the group of four was about to leave the room, Brass came in grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Great news guys, we brought Tommy in and he confessed to killing Wayne Smith."

Four pairs of eyes grew wide.

"He confessed?" Greg repeated, still not believing it even after the words came out of his mouth. Brass gave a concerned look at Greg.

"Don't look so shocked Sanders. We like when the bad guys cooperate."

The four CSIs now turned their attention on each other, confusing Brass even more.

"I just told you guys that our killer confessed. Why do you all look like I punched you in the stomach rather than handed you a present?"

Before anyone could say anything, Nick came into the room.

"Brass," he began, "Tommy's brother Mark just confessed to killing Wayne Smith."

Brass now looked at Nick with the same look that had remained plastered on Ray, Sara, Greg, and Catherine's faces.

"He confessed too?" Greg asked, causing Nick's face to become one of puzzlement.

"What do you mean "too"? You've had more than one confession?" Nick inquired to which Brass nodded.

"Try three," Sara replied causing both Nick and Brass to turn their attention to her.

"Wayne's sister, Jess Smith, who was also Tommy's girlfriend, confessed a few hours ago," Greg stated causing more than one person to let out a sigh. Catherine was the first one to speak.

"Greg, why don't you go talk to Jess again. See if there's anything she's not telling us. Ray, check into Mark's story. It's possible that he, like Jess, may just be trying to protect the one he loves. Nick, Tommy is all yours. Let him know it's okay to talk about this. The more he gets out, the better he'll feel."

The men of graveyard shift left the room and Catherine turned to Sara.

"Find out where Wendy, Hodges, and Archie are with the rest of the evidence. Have them run everything twice if you to until we can weed out those who are lying to us."

Sara gave a swift nod and exited, leaving Catherine to look at Brass. Catherine opened her mouth, but Brass beat her to the punch.

"I'll dig deeper and see if there is anything we may have overlooked."

Catherine gave him a small smile, before walking out of the room to her office. She nearly collided with Nick on her way out.

"Nicky, I thought you were interrogating Tommy."

Nick pointed towards the reception area.

"I apparently have a visitor."

Catherine let out an "Oh", before continuing towards her office, allowing Nick to continue towards the reception area. He frowned when he saw who was waiting for him.

"Ms. Martin, I wasn't expecting you here."

The Victim Service worker turned around at his voice.

"You did give Tommy my card. It's not against the law for him to call me."

Nick frowned at April Martin.

"He confessed to the murder of his attacker."

"That's why I'm here," April began. "In all of my years working in Victim Services I have learned that the likelihood of a rape victim confronting his attacker is slim to none."

Nick crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's wonderful and all, but my job is to follow the evidence," Nick proclaimed.

Sara emerged from Hodges lab and noticed Nick out of the corner of her eye talking to a petite woman in the reception area. She stopped for a moment to regard the situation. She watched Nick make a comment before slowly backing away, the woman smirking at his retreating form. Recognizing that Nick was about to turn around, Sara quickly moved down the hall in search of Greg or Ray. Before she could make it very far, Nick called out to her causing Sara to turn around.

"New evidence?" Nick questioned before approaching his girlfriend. She nodded her head before handing the envelope over to Nick.

"Archie pulled a video of Tommy in Wayne's store, seemingly robbing it. The video was minutes before Tommy was assaulted. Not only did Archie find something, but Wendy did as well. She was able to pull DNA off a matchbook from the store. She was able to match the DNA to Mark Baker."

Nick considered the envelope thoughtfully.

"So far, none of this is discounting any of our confessions," Nick concluded before handing the envelope back to Sara. "Anything else?"

Sara considered Nick's face for a moment. He looked tired, but also extremely determined. It wasn't hard for her to see that he was emotionally connected with the case, but she wasn't sure where the connection came into play.

"Hodges analyzed something Greg found in the cash register. Apparently it's part of an acrylic fingernail. I was just on my way to bring it to Greg. See if it meant anything to him," Sara exclaimed.

Nick nodded his head and Sara placed a comforting hand on his arm.

"Is everything alright?" she asked softly.

Nick placed a warm hand over hers.

"I'll be fine once this case is over."

He sounded sincere, aiding Sara in the fact that there was in fact something that he was not telling her. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips over her cheek before heading back towards his interrogation room. Sara watched him leave, the wheels in her mind spinning rapidly. A thought occurred to her, causing Sara Sidle to place a hand over her mouth as she watched the retreating form of her boyfriend.

SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS*SNICKERS

Moments after Sara had presented the fingernail to Greg, he had taken off, saying he knew who had done it. He returned an hour later, a triumphant grin accenting his boyish features and a cuffed woman behind him.

"I found this in Angela's purse," Greg exclaimed as he held up a crisp twenty-dollar bill for the rest of the team. "Serial number on the bill matches the serial number written on the bottom of the cash register at Smith's store."

The team was quick to offer their congratulations to Greg before the tired team members took to the locker room to grab their things and head home. Nick had exited quickly, saying he wanted to talk to Tommy before he left. Sara was the next to exit, walking past Jess Smith sitting on the chairs towards the exit.

Footsteps were heard behind her, so she stopped her advance and turned to discover that Nick and Tommy Baker had entered the hallway. Nick gave Tommy a small pat on the back before giving a small nod towards Jess. The teenage girl looked up from the floor, a smile lighting up her face when she took in Tommy's presence in front of her.

Sara watched as Jess ran to Tommy, her arms immediately thrown around his neck. She watched as Tommy slowly removed Jess's arms before retreating slowly back down the hallway, in Sara's direction, despite Jess's tearful cries for him to come back.

As soon as Tommy had passed her, Sara looked up and met Nick's eyes from across the hall. Nick's expression said it all, and as Sara held out her hand, Nick quickly crossed the hall and engulfed her smaller hand with his own larger one. The two walked in silence for a moment before Sara decided to speak.

"When did it happen?"

If Nick was surprised by Sara's question, he certainly didn't show it.

"I was nine and she was a last minute babysitter."

Sara felt her breath catch in her throat and had to remind herself to breathe. She gave Nick's hand a squeeze to let him know that she was still listening.

"All I remember was sitting in my room in the dark afterwards, waiting for my mom to come home," Nick finished as the two stopped in front of Nick's car.

" Nick, I…"

"You don't have to say anything Sar. It's in the past. I'm fine."

The two gazed at each other, neither having to say anything, yet saying everything at the same time.

" Do you want to go for a walk?" Sara asked suddenly.

Nick considered the woman in front of him, a confused expression painted on his face.

"It's nearly one in the morning, Sunshine. It's primetime for the crazies to be running around."

Sara shrugged her shoulders.

"Whenever I need to clear my head or have had a rough case, I find that taking a walk helps me to organize my thoughts."

She then peered back over at Nick, the confused expression still firmly in place.

"Forget I asked, I'm sure you just want to get home."

Sara gave Nick's hand an extra squeeze before turning towards her own car. She was about to reach for the handle when Nick's voice was heard behind her, allowing a small smile to grace her lips.

"Maybe a walk wouldn't be such a bad idea," Nick suggested causing Sara to turn around.

"You sure?"

Nick allowed himself a small smile before taking a few steps closer to his girlfriend.

"No," he admitted, causing Sara to look down at her shoes. She felt a hand under her chin, as it slowly directed it upwards until her eyes were looking into Nick's.

"But darlin', the company is simply too good to pass up."

Sara closed her eyes and Nick's lips met hers in a slow, sensual kiss. They stayed like that for a few moments, simply trading slow kisses in the lab's parking lot before Sara pulled away first.

"You ready?" she questioned as Nick smiled, their hand finding each other's and immediately linking themselves together.

"Ready when you are," Nick declared causing his companion to smile.

The two then strolled out of the parking lot; hands locked together, feeling as if something in the last few moments had allowed them to take a very large step in their relationship.

Thus brings us to the end of Chapter 6. Hope you all enjoyed! I probably won't be able to really work on Chapter 7 until this weekend, but we'll see how things progress.

Reviews make me smile. =)

Xoxo

Cait the Great