Friday Night Lights
Disclaimer: Don't Own CSI.
Please Review! Sorry about the wait, but I've been very busy. I know that the information regarding Nick's family maybe a little iffy but in the show they've never really gone in depth with his family or his past. But anyway just hang with me.


Liability


"Griffin, go get Stokes!" The coach said pushing the substitute it. "Stokes! Get your ass over here!" he yelled throwing his play papers. Nick ran off the field hanging his head, ashamed that he was playing so terrible. "What has gotten into you kid? I know you can play better, I know your head isn't in the game." The coach said grabbing Nick's shoulders forcing Nick to let at him.

"I don't know…" Nick said looking down, still ashamed.

"Well, you let me know when you are ready to play football?" the coach said angry and disappointed, as he motioned for Nick to leave his sight.

Nick shook his head disappointed. His mind was racing and his hands just shook with rage. He looked over and saw Carrie in a similar state as she faked a smile cheering for Nick's lackadaisical effort on the football field. Nick scanned the crowd as he fixed himself a cup of cold water after giving the waterboy a look that could kill. He saw his parents in the stands just as disappointed as his coach.

Great, he thought, the five minutes that he would be spending with his parents they would be mad at him for not being the picture perfect all star football player that they had dreamed for him to be. Nick sighed as he crinkled his cup before even getting a sip. The pressure of trying to be this wannabe perfect family had him at his breaking point. He wanted to help Carrie but not at the cost of having them any more of an outcast in their own home.

"Stokes! What the hell, man?! I have colleges looking at me man, don't blow this for me." Carrie's boyfriend, Jimmy, said as he walked up to Nick pissed. Nick crushed his cup throwing it off to the side and pushed Jimmy back.

"You got nerve coming over here talking to me like." Nick said getting right back in Jimmy's face. The men stared at each other with anger in their eyes. Nick had his jaw clinched and waiting for Jimmy to do something. The other teammates started to look over curious. Jimmy knew what had happened between him and Carrie. Jimmy smirked at Nick and he snapped.

Nick swung his fist as hard as he could, connecting to the side of Jimmy's arrogant head. Nick reached out and grabbed Jimmy and the pair wrestled as the team came rushing over to break them up. Nick's anger gave him the upper half in the fight as Nick shoved Jimmy's hands off of him and grabbed his legs and drove him thru the table adjacent to the water cooler. Just as Nick raised his fist to hammer away on Jimmy, their assistant coach came and grabbed Nick off of him.

The fight ended in a similar manner of that of Nick's football legacy at his alma mater, abruptly and too soon for Nick. All the good things Nick had done while being a mustang would be forgotten and all he would be known for is costing his team the state championship losing to some scrub team in the first game, who cares that he led his team to two state championships the years prior. All was forgotten.

The following days were just as depressing, Nick was suspended from schools and the athletic director placed Nick on an athletic suspension. Nick would be unable to play in the upcoming basketball season, which wasn't as depressing. Nick would be put on probation for the upcoming baseball season but he was terrible baseball player. As for the college offers, all of them walked away from Nick once word about the fight got out. No one wanted that kind of liability on their team.

Nick was stir crazy because he couldn't leave the house and his parents acted like he had killed that scumbag Jimmy kid. Nick was almost hoping he had so at least it was worth it. Nick laid in his bed tossing the football up and down to himself.

"Nicky?" Carrie asked knocking lightly on his door that was already opened.

"Yeah…" Nick said sitting up on his bed tossing his football aside.

"I broke up with Jimmy." She said and Nick just nodded. Nick did not want to argue with his sister to but he was just feeling aggravated about everything. "I'm sorry, Nick."

"This wasn't your fault, Care," Nick says with a small smile. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"But what about football? The scholarships?"

"What about them? My job as your older brother is to make sure no one messes with you and I didn't do that. I don't regret it; maybe something better is supposed to happen?" Nick said shrugging his shoulders.

"Thanks for not telling mom and the judge." Carrie said smiling.

"No problem just promise, never date a guy like that again or get me when you're in trouble like that." Nick said smiling, she nodded and they hugged.


Nick hears a slow paced beeping and assumes it's the EKG. Beeping is good, he thought as he struggled to open his eyes. His entire body felt heavy especially his eye lids. He hears people talking in the background but their voices were too warped to make any sense of what they were saying. Nick opened his eyes only for them to shut immediately.

"I think he's waking up." He heard a female voice say. Nick opened his eyes and saw Carrie at his bedside.

"Carrie…" Nick said excitedly but it was in a tired whisper, his voice was raspy from the tube.

"Hey Nicky..." she said but he soon panicked as confusion and tiredness hit him like a sucker punch.

"Where am I?! What happened?!" Nick asked grabbing the rails of his bed but he was too weak to pull himself up. Carrie sprang up and held his hands fearing that he'd pull out one of the many wires or tubes out.

"You were shot. You are at desert palms hospital." Carrie said calming her brother's antsy nerves. It took a minute to register in Nick's head before he looked around and recognized the hospital. A nurse walking by came in to help.

"Okay…" Nick said still little panicking, but just as Carrie felt that they were alright she saw Nick's face fall as he turned to look at his legs. "Carrie, why can't I feel my legs?!" Nick panicked as he started to hyperventilate.

"Nick… Nick, you need to calm down." Carrie cried trying to remain calm as she tried to calm Nick down but he was in a full panic.

"My legs?!" Nick said pushing away his food tray, he was able to get an arm free and grabbed his nurse as she was giving him to help him calm down. Luckily the nurse was able to break free from Nick's grip and give him the medicine. Nick immediately loosened his grip on Carrie and the bed and relaxed against the bed.

"Nick, you were shot. The bullet ricocheted off your sternum and broke apart. The larger fragment landed by your spine causing significant swelling that's why you can't feel your legs." Carrie explained as the medicine helped the now exhausted Nick relax. Nick had used all his energy panicking and felt beyond exhausted.

"Am I paralyzed?" Nick asked sleepy.

"Your doctor doesn't think you will be, but we have to wait for the swelling to go down to be sure." Carrie said holding Nick's hand.

"Okay, how long have I been sleeping?" Nick said as he scratched his beard.

"Three days. Your team is outside waiting for you, do you want them to come in?" Carrie asked and Nick nodded. Carrie waved them in. DB, Sara, and Mandy came in.

"How are Kendra and Sophie?" Nick said finally putting the dots together in his head.

"They're safe. They're with Brass now. Gary Stevens is also in custody." DB said and Nick tiredly nodded.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sara asked and Nick smiled at Mandy.

"Trying to get Mandy to come home with me… and then I remember the doctor telling me to relax." Nick said getting slightly overwhelmed. "When did he get me?"

"When we were leaving the bar. When I got to my car I heard the shot, Finn said that he walked up and shot you." Mandy said holding his other hand.

"Ain't that something?" Nick nervously chuckled as his eyes grew heavy.


Brass smiled as he walked into the holding cells. As he turned the corner he saw Stevens and his dumb lawyer talking with each other probably coming up with a master plan to try to get off. The lawyer picked his head up as he saw Brass walking towards them.

"Keep harassing my client and you will make my job easy." The lawyer said confidently.

"I thought I'd just let you know that CSI Stokes made a statement as well as Kendra Stevens. You are going to be going away for a long time." Brass said quite confidently.

"That's what you may think, but your beloved CSI isn't the innocent guy you think he is. He acted way out of his scope of practice. It sure smells like Vegas has another dirty cop?" the lawyer said standing up to meet Brass' harsh gaze. Brass bit his lip as he left not giving in to temptation, only to find Ecklie pacing around waiting for Brass with the DA.

"We have a problem." Ecklie said walking up to Brass.

"Nick isn't a dirty cop." Brass argued. "You do not believe the crap that his lawyer is saying."

"Stevens says that Nick sent a car to stop him so that Nick could help Kendra take Sophie. IAB is going to have a field day with this and so is the press…" Ecklie said but Brass interrupted him.

"But Stevens shot him. It wasn't in self defense. He could've kill Nick." Brass argued.

"But this dirties up the waters."

"This whole case has been clear as mud." Ecklie said scratching his head.


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