It started out as Friendship
It's been one year already that me and Nick have been married and four months since we discussed having kids, I could tell Nick really wanted one, and honestly so did I, but everytime it was brought up I would change the topic. Then one day I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub and Nick was in the other room getting ready, I was holding in my hands a pregnancy test just staring at it, it was positive. I was brought out of my thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Hey baby you okay in there?" Nick asked me through the door.
"Yeah..I'm fine, I'm just finishing up." I said still looking at the test, "Sweetie how about I just meet you at the scene, it's going to be another couple minutes."
"I dont mind being late, you sure you're okay?" He asked.
"Yeah I'm fine, it's just this hair straightener is not cooperating, Please I dont want to make you late, I'll meet you there." I said, I hated lying to Nick, I never lie to him, but right now I had to get over the shock first.
I finally got myself together and got ready, then headed to the scene and the whole time my mind was on one thing. I arrived at the Cutler residence and walked into the living room, Sara is looking at the blood-spattered wedding photo on the counter.
"Was it the happiest day of your life?" She asked
"Me and Tina? Happened so fast. Time will tell." He said and looked at me
"Me and Nick, yeah, yeah it was." I said and continued looking around the room.
"Why don't you take a look at this phone here and tell me what you think," Warrick says and shows Sara the phone with blood on the #1.
"Blood on the keypad, away from the spatter." She said
"A neighbor called it in. If someone was in the house, they'd have dialed 9-1-1." Warrick told her
"Dispatch never got a call. Maybe the husband started to dial...changed his mind and took off." I said
"Maybe. I just wish it was a print and not a smudge." Warrick told us
"Okay. Bedroom." I said and backed away and heading toward the bedroom
"All right." said and snaps a photo of the phone keypad.
Me and Sara enter the bedroom and look around, she looks at the windows, and I snap photos of the bedsheets and peeled away the covers and snapped more photos. Sara steps into the closet and looks around. She kneels down on the floor and notices the grass clippings on the floor. She picks up the nearest pair of shoes and looks at them. They're both clean and clear of any signs of grass or dirt. I see her reach for something under the bed and Warrick walks in
"Hey. I found these in his jacket." He says and shows us some brochures for THE GIRLS, "Looks like the husband was planning a little vacation. A little recreation on the side."
"I found this under the bed." She said and held up the bagged sock, "And grass-not the kind you smoke-on the floor and in the closet, but all the shoes in the closet were clean."
"So someone was walking around here with grass on their shoes?" He asked and she nodded, "Maybe it was the missing husband, or a desperate gardener."
"Who was mowing more than the lawn?" I asked
We get back to the lab and while Sara is interviewing the gardener me and Warrick are fuming a poster for hookers and Nick walked in.
"So, I hear your marriage is on the rocks, and you're shopping for hookers?" He said standing next to me
Warrick laughs, "No, but I think I found one that Mr. Cutler likes." He points to a girl on there named Sally where there was a thumb print on the front and four fingerprints on the back.
"Sally. Sweet apple pie. Hmm. Do you really think it's a good idea to sleep with a girl who advertises in a flyer?" Nick said
"Well, I don't really think there's any sleeping involved." I said
"Hmm." Nick said smirking at me
"Don't be shy, though. Give her a call." Warrick told Nick and I looked at him.
Nick looks at Warrick, then me, then back at Warrick, "Really?"
Warrick smiles and Nick looked back at me and I just shugged shaking my head and he sighed, "All right, for your enjoyment." Nick picks up the speaker phone and dials the number, A ring or two later, someone answers.
"This is Sally. Who's this?"
"Hi. This is, uh...Dirk...Diggler. I'm looking for a date." Nick said and I held back a laugh looking at Warrick.
"What kind of date?"
"I'm taking a trip around the world. Want to go?" He asked and looked at me with a smile.
"Yeah, I'll come with you. You sure you can afford the airfare, darlin'?"
"Is two g's enough?"
"Where you at?"
"3057 Westfall. It's right off of Charleston." He says and Warrick points indicating to our building and Nick motions him to be quiet, "It's a single level building, all the way in the back."
"What do you look like?"
"Um ... I have a little Tom Cruise thing going." He said and I smirked at him
"All right, half an hour, and I'll be there."
"All right." Nick hangs up and Warrick groans.
"Yeah, right." Warrick said
"You trying to mess up my marriage now?" Nick asked him and Warrick smiled.
"Ah dont worry about, I think Warrick is the one that wants some sweet apple pie but was to nervous to get it himself." I said smiling at Warrick who looked at me offended and Nick laughs and leaves the lab.
After Nick got done interviewing Sally he found me in the locker room, I was getting ready to go to the hospital to collect evidence from Willie Cutler.
"Hey how did it go with the hooker? Was she worth the two g's?" I asked him and I saw him smirk and he walked over to me and pulled me to him.
"Not as amazing as the sexy girl I have right here." He said and kissed me and I melted right into him and would have staye like that if I hadnt remembered I needed to leave.
"You are very distracting do you know that?" I asked him
"I do"
"Listen I..um have something I need to talk to you about but it'll have to wait until later" I said an he looked at me confused.
"Am I in trouble?" He asked and I gave him one more kiss.
"No, no you're not." I said and walked away.
The nurse helps Willie remove his shirt and he groans, I wait on the side with a baggie with Vartann. The nurse removes his shirt.
"Thanks. I'll take that. I said and put the shirt in the bag when Dr. Franks enters the room.
"All right, bullet wound. Let's see what the paramedics left me." He said and rips the gauze bandage off the wound, Willie groans, Dr. Franks looks at the wound, "Irregular laceration, subcutaneous tissue only. A few millimeters deeper, it would have nicked the intercostal artery."
"That sounds bad." Willie says
"Yeah. Would've been a real mess. You're a lucky man. Flush out the wound, dress it wit gauze, start an IV, hang cefazolin and get some blood work done. Oh, and get him a tetanus shot." The doctor tells him and leaves the room, I step forward with the camera.
"Ah, the warm fuzzy feeling of modern medicine." I told him
"Can I get something to wear?" He asked me
"Uh, yes, in a few minutes. I need to document your wound. Do you think you could lift your arms for me like this?" I asked him and he lifts his arms, "Thank you. That's perfect." I tell him and snapped a photo of the wound.
"Why don't you tell us what happened." Vartann told him
"Um. Not much to tell, really. Uh...Cowboy Dan had the office working round the clock for the last week. We were putting together a campaign for a new tour. I just got back from breakfast." He told us, "I heard a shot, shouting, I guess the guy didn't even know I was there. I was so scared, I couldn't move. So I just played dead." He says and I hand him a blanket and he covers himself, "Ow. I don't even know how long I was there. And then you guys came in and found me." He said
"Do you think that you could indicate on this diagram where you were standing when you were shot?" I asked showing him an office layout, he points to the office area between the desk and the door.
"Um...I guess I was standing somewhere around here." He said and I mark it with an 'X', "Thank you."
"Look, I need to call my wife. I should have been home by now, and she's probably worried." He said and I looked at Vartann.
"Um...Mr. Cutler, when was the last time you were home?" He asked Willie
"Um...I guess it was, uh...probably yesterday morning. Why?" Willie asked
"Mr. Cutler. I am very sorry, but...your wife is dead. She was found shot last night in your home." I tell him and he starts to cry.
"Wh...?" He started to ask but continued crying.
Later I'm working on the various photos spread out on the table in front of me and Robbins walks in.
"Hey, Sara, you're working the office shooting, right?" He asked
"Yeah, and the dead wife." I tell him and he brings the file folder to me.
"Autopsy reports on the two DB's. Grissom wanted them ASAP, and I was in the neighborhood." He says and drops the file folder on the table.
"Thanks. I'll pass them along." I said and picked up the file folder and looked through it as Robbins takes a moment to look at the photos on the table.
"Somebody at the office get knifed?" He asked me
"No."
"Kind of looks like a knife wound." He said
"Victim survived the shooting. He said he was grazed by a stray bullet." I told him
"Really?" He asked and puts his glasses on, "This is an irregular laceration with no defining features. A grazing GSW is usually accompanied by some marginal abrasion. There's none here."
"Any idea what might have caused a wound like this?" I asked
"Yeah, lots of things. Something sharp." He looks at the photos closely, "Hmm. What's this blue discoloration?"
"Kind of looks like ink. Doesn't it?"
"Mm-hmm." He says and I picked up a bagged pen.
"Catherine found this under Willie Cutler's desk. Thought the blood was incidental. I swabbed the edge of Willie Cutler's bloodied shirt, "Sodium rhodizonate is negative. No lead in the tear. No bullet." I said
"So, Willie tried to make it look like he was shot." I hear Grissom say he looks down and notices the blood on the shirt sleeve.
"Did I miss something?" I asked
"Don't know. We'll find out." He says
Later on that day we get word that Brass was shot by Willie Cutler and was on his way to the ER, Grissom went there shortly after, Brass gave him power of attorney. I went home after work and Nick was there already, he was coming out of the bedroom.
"Hey any word on Brass?" He asked me and I shook my head.
"All I know is he's in surgery, Grissom's over there now." I said and sat down on the couch.
Nick came over to me and sat down on the coffee table in front of me and grabbed my hands, "Hey, he's going to be okay."
"I know." I said and smiled at him.
I saw him reach behind him and pull something out and bring it forward, I saw what he was holding and looked at him.
"Is this what I think it is?" He asked me
"I told you there was something I needed to talk to you about." I said and he put down the pregnancy test and knelt in front of me.
"Are you?"
"Well the two pink lines doesnt mean negative." I said and he put his hands on my face.
"Are you happy about it?"
"I am, really, I'm sorry it's hard being happy about this with whats happening with Brass. I am happy though, we're gonna have a baby." I said and he pulled me into a kiss then got up and sat next to me and we leaned back snuggling, Nick put his hand on my stomach.
"A baby...wow." He said and I looked at him.
"Are you happy about it?" I asked mocking what he asked earlier.
"Hell yeah I am, we're gonna have a little you running around."
"Nah I think it'll be more like you, the Stokes gene is strong, I mean look at you and your dad." I said and he grinned.
"Yeah thats true, but I hope its a little girl, because she's going to be just as beautiful as her mom, which means she's either going to break a lot of hearts or I'm going to have to keep locks on her door." He said and I laughed.
"Well if its a boy then I'm going to have to do the same thing, because if he gets your grin then the lady's are going to be in serious trouble." I said.
"Personally as long as it's healthy thats all that matters to me." He said and I kissed him, he was right, we just need a happy, healthy baby. As we sat both our phones rang, me and Nick get called into a case, he was reluctant on letting me go with but I told him it was fine and we headed over there. Once we got to the train tracks we saw David squatting next to a body.
"The last train passed through here an hour ago. The engineer thought he saw a body on the track, but couldn't stop on time. He radioed dispatcher, who called 911." Sofia told me, Nick, and Grissom.
"No ID. Probably decapitated by the train." Nick said
"Well, if scavengers nicked his clothes, they left a nice pair of riding boots." Grissom said squatting next to the body
"They probably didn't have time to finish the job before other trains roared through here." I said
"Well, the engineer isn't saying anything else until his union rep gets here, which ... could be a while. I'll let you know." Sofia told us
"Great." Grissom said and Sofia walked away while Grissom puts his kit down.
"You know, there's not a lot of blood on the ground for a decapitation like this." Nick said and I started to feel sick.
"Well, we don't know how far he was dragged. Where's the head?" Grissom asked
"I'll find it." Nick says and looks at me, he saw the look on my face but I nodded my head at him telling hi I was okay and he turns and walks along the tracks.
"Hey, Nick?" Grissom said
"Yeah?"
"I think I found a toupee. Our vic may be bald." Grissom said holding it up looking at it
"Thanks, that will help me distinguish it from the other severed heads I find out here." Nick said and I smiled, Grissom nods and heads back to look at the body. David is just unbuttoning the man's undershirt and opens it to reveal an hour-glass figure.
"Whoa."
Grissom shines his light on the victim's body, "What a waist."
David inserts a thermometer in the victim's torso. He pulls the thermometer out and marks the torso.
"David, are you getting the liver temp or performing acupuncture?" Grissom asked and Sara arrives at the scene and puts her kit down.
David sticks the thermometer in again, "Well, his liver's not where it's supposed to be." He pulls the thermometer out, "Do you think this is some kind of birth defect?" He asked and I turned around looking away trying not to throw up.
"What do you think?" I heard Grissom ask Sara
"I think I feel fat." She says and I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder, I turn and see Grissom standing there.
"Are you okay?" He asked but before I could answer I saw David insert the thermometer in the torso, "Yes. Got the liver." I turned around again and ran over to Nick's SUV and threw up. After a few moments I leaned against the the vehicle and I saw Grissom walk over.
"Hey, what's going on? Dead bodies never bothered you before." He said and I looked at him.
"I'm pregnant."
He looked at me, "How?"
"I really dont feel comfortable giving you details on that." I said
"What are you doing here then?" He asked.
"I thought I woul be okay, but after seeing David trying to.." I stopped because I started getting nauseous again.
"Okay, why dont you head to the hospital and check on Brass." He told me.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, can't have you here if you're going to throw up every 5 minutes." He said and I nodded.
"I rode in with Nick though."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, "Here, I'll let Nick know and ride back with him." He said and I grabbed his keys and headed to his vehicle.
"Katie." I stopped and turned to look at Grissom.
"Congratulations." He said and I smiled at him then left.
Later on he met me at the hospital and was talking to the surgeon.
"We managed to stop the bleeding, but his condition is critical."
"What are the options?" Grissom asked
"We could try to remove the bullet." The surgeon answered
"What are the risks?"
"If we go in, the vertebral artery could be impacted. He could bleed out or stroke out. Permanent incapacitation." He said
"And without surgery?" Grissom asked him, I could tell he was unsure about what to do.
"The bullet could migrate into the artery and, again, cause a stroke or kill him. Or it could stay there for years and do nothing. He might never wake up."
"What are the odds?"
"Mr. Grissom, this isn't a casino. I don't give odds. It's your call." the surgeon tol him and Grissom looked at me then back at him
"Do it."
Grissom is standing outside Brass's room holding a yellow piece of paper and is on the phone contacting Ellie, Jim's daughter, I see him hang up the phone and he walked over to me sitting down in the seat next to mine.
"No answer?" I asked and he shook his head.
"No." He said and turned to look at me, "Are you doing better now?"
"Yeah, I'm okay, now that I'm not staring at a dead body I think I'll be able to keep the bag of chips I ate down." I said with a smile and he grabbed my hand.
"I'm happy for you Katie, you and Nick both." He said and I placed my other hand on his.
"Thank you, I just feel useless, I threw up at a crime scene, I could barely eat my chips just a little bit ago, and I barely kept my eyes open while sitting here." I said
"Pregnancies often come with nausea, fatigue and an unpredictable appatite." he said and I looked at him, "Sorry, you're not useless, if you want we can just keep you in the lab helping out."
"God that does make me pathetic." I said and he laughed.
"It'll be okay" He said and I leaned my head on his shoulder.
"Nick got worried when I told him you left, he almost came here but I had him go back to the lab and said I'd come check on you." He told me and I laughed.
"Sounds like Nick." I said.
Later that day Grissom left and I stayed at the hospital, Nick called me after to make sure I was doing okay and after telling him over an over that I was he had to let me go and get back to work.
Greg came by later on to visit both me and Brass, we sat there talking and I was telling him how bored I was getting sitting here by myself, other then Mckeen who basically just stood there keeping an eye on Jim too. Just then I see Grissom come around the corner
"Where's McKeen?" He asked Greg
"I sent him home." Greg said jokingly, "Just kidding. He, uh, went to get something to eat. Brass just went into surgery." he said and looked at the two other officers in the hallway, "You two have known each other for a long time."
"We've worked together ever since he came from New Jersey." Grissom told him
"Just between you and me, does he always wear a suit? Like when you guys go to dinner, the movies or whatever it is you do when you hang out. 'Cause I got to tell you, thought of him in a sweater kind of freaks me out." Greg said and I nudged him
"We don't "hang out," Greg." Grissom said and I fought back a smile
"No kidding." He said and shrugs. "I just assumed..." He started to say but we heard arguing down the hall that interupted us.
"What do you mean consent was given? Nobody has asked my consent to do anything, and I'm his daughter." I hear someone say and Grissom and I made our way towards the noise
"I understand you're upset, miss, but there's no need to take that tone." I hear the nurse say and we turn the corner and see Ellie Brass at the nurse's station. Grissom walks up to her and I stayed back a little bit
"Look, I'm just here to see my father, okay? He's a cop." Ellie said
"He's in surgery. The only thing you can do right now is take a seat and wait until he gets out." The nurse said to her
"Excuse me, Ellie?" Grissom asked
"What?"
"I'm Gil Grissom. Thanks for coming." He said
"So I guess you're the one who's in charge. How long is his surgery going to take?" She asked
"Probably a few hours." He told her
"Look, I just got off a bus, I would really like to take a shower and change and maybe get a little rest. Do you have the keys to his house?" She asked and I just looked at her.
"No."
"Well, you're a cop, right? How 'bout you just let me in?" She asked, I honestly couldnt believe what I was hearing
"You know, there's a motel just down the street. I'll get you a room." Grissom told her
"Do you want to check my arms?" She says and pulls up her sleeves, "Go ahead. All right? It looks like Daddy already told you all about me. I don't even know why I bothered to come." She said and grabs her bag off the counter, turns and storms away. Grissom left and so did Greg, but Warrick showed up later with a bag, Nick had sent some stuff with him, I took the bag from Warrick and headed to the bathroom down the hall so I could change. I opened it up and saw he had packed an outfit, the book I had been reading, my crossword book, a few of my magazines, a small pillow and my laptop, I also saw another small little bag and opened it up, I saw a bag of my favorite sour candy, a couple waters, some protein bars and jerky, there was also a note inside and I opened it up
Hey beautiful,
I figured you would need these so I packed everything you like to snack on.
I'm sorry I didnt bring them myself, I'm really busy with this case, our vic wears a corset, can you believe that?
Anyways I love you, and I love the little Stokes inside you, if you need anything else let me know.
Love, your husband and very happy daddy
I smiled and put my hand on my stomach, I put the note back in and got changed then heaed back to the waiting room and saw Warrick hang up his phone.
"Brass is out of surgery, they got the bullet out, now we just need to wait for him to wake up." He told me and I looked in Brass's room and saw him laying there, Warrick came up and wrapped and arm around my shoulder, I always loved my friendship with Warrick, he was like the big brother I never had, "Nice to know my boy is taking care of you." He said and I looked at him.
"He is." I said
"Good, because if he wasnt I'd have to kick his ass." he said and I laughed.
"I'm sure you would." I said and looked back into the room.
I told Warrick I needed some fresh air and headed outside, when I got out there I saw Ellie outside smoking, I sighed and walked over to her.
"Ellie?" I asked and she turns around and sees me, "Hey. You know your father's out of surgery."
"Yeah. How's he doing?" She asked me
"It's a little too early to tell, but I know when he wakes up, he'll be happy to see you." I told her
"You think so?"
"I know so." I said, "You look good." I said to her trying to be nice
"Yeah, you mean I don't look like a crack whore anymore?"
"That's not what I meant, but no." I said
"Does he ever talk about me?" She asked and I remained silent, "That's a no."
"Look, what do you want me to say, hmm? It's not really about you right now, okay? But the fact that you're here is saying a lot." I told her and she finishes up her cigarette, tosses it on the ground and smashes it out.
"Yeah, well, thanks for clearing that up for me." She says and walks away.
Later on I sat myself in a long chair and ended up falling asleep, suddenly I felt someone lightly shake rub my shoulder and I opened my eyes and saw Nick standing there.
"Hey." I said sitting up and took my coat off that was covering me, Nick leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead.
"Hey beautiful." He sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulder, "You really should go home." he said
"I cant, I want to make sure there is someone here in case anything happens." I told him.
"That's one of the many reasons I love you, you have such big heart, but baby you've been here for 3 hours, you need to go home, eat sleep, take a shower." He said and I glared at him.
"You trying to tell me I smell?" I said with a half smile.
"No but it might do you some good." He said and I started to say something but Nick's phone rang. He stood up and answered it and when he did I got up and walked over and stood next to Ellie who was looking at Brass through the window, and Nick was standing behind us.
"Yeah, she's here. Been drinking a ton of coffee and going outside for smokes; on her cell. Not real sociable, you know? You want me to keep an eye on her?" I heard Nick say, "Nah. I'm off the clock. I'll stick around for a while, let you know if there's any change. No she's still here too, I'm trying to get her to go home." I turned my head and looked at him and he looked back at me and grinned so I stuck my tongue out at him, "Okay I'll try. Bye." He hung up the phone and walked over and stood next to me.
"You think you're funny dont you?" I asked him and he pulled me to his side.
"I do, but I also care about you and the baby." He said and I noticed Ellie walked away, probably having another smoke.
"Come with me." I said and grabbed his hand leading him to a broom closet, after he got in after me and shut the door he turned to face me but I quickly kissed him before he could say anything, I wrapped my arms around his neck and I felt him put his hands on my hips.
Finally he broke away and looked at me, "Not that I'm complaining but what are you doing?" He asked.
I moved my hands into his hair and moved my lips to his ear, I bit the bottom of it lightly then whispered in it, "I want you, right now." I said and he tightened his grip on my hips and spung me around pressing me against the door.
"Well I think this is'nt the right place for it." He said but moved his hans from my hips to my butt and grabbed both cheeks.
"Fine then, I guess we can just leave then." I said rubbing up against his lower half and he gripped my butt harder then lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"You are playing dirty Mrs. Stokes" He said and moved his lips to my neck lightly kissing and biting.
"Probably because I've never wanted you this much." I said and heard him growl against my neck, I had my fingers in his hair and he move one hand from my butt up my side and placed it on my breast giving it a little squeeze. Before I could let out a moan though Nick put his lips on mine then opened my mouth and pushed his tongue in. I moved my hands from around his neck down to the top of his pants and started working on the button and zipper and he did the same with mine then set me down on the ground for a moment so I could move my one foot out of the leg hole and he could move his pants down a bit. He lifted me back up and I once again wrapped my legs aroud his waist and he pushed himself inside me and I bit my lip trying not to moan as went back out and pushed into me again then started to pick up the pace and I gripped his shoulders as he started kissing my neck again. I couldnt fight it back I ended up letting out a quiet moan as he moved into me faster and harder while gripping my thigh with one hand and tangled his other hand into my hair. After an amaing few minutes I was getting close to my peak and pulled Nick's head away from my neck and looked at him before kissing him hard and his hand that was in my hair moved to my butt cheek and he squeezed it releasing a moan from my mouth and then suddenly we both hit our peak. We stared at each other for a few minutes then he put me down and we got ourselves together and Nick opened the door and peaked out making sure no one was around then we left and headed back to the lounge.
Cathrine arrived shortly after and Nick finally convinced me to go home and rest, so we left the hospital and Nick drove us. While we were on our way Nick hand his hand on my leg and my hand was on his hand, he looked over and smiled at me.
"What?" I asked him
"My girl was kind of wild today." He said and I looked away
"Stop it I was not." I said
"Oh yes you were, it was kind of hot." He said and I smirked at him then turned in my seat and face him.
"Well I cant help it, my hormones are all weird, but right now I cant help but think I want you to pull over and take me to the back seat." I said and leaned over to him and placed my hand on his leg and moved my lips to his neck.
"Woman you are going to be the death of me, your either going to make crash this car or I'm going to get so worn out I cant move."
"Well I dont want either of those to happen so I guess i'll just move back over here." I said and leaned back over to my seat and went to move my hand off his leg but he grabbed it and put it back on his leg, I looked at him and he just stared out the window smirking so I played his game and moved my hand upward towards the middle of his pants and kept my hand there.
Finally we got home and Nick got out, opened my door and dragged me inside the house, we didnt even make it to the bedroom before our clothes were off and we were going at it again.
Later on I get a call from Grissom saying that Brass was awake and so me and Nick got dressed and met up with everyone at the hospital, we were all standing outside the room and Grissom was standing next to Brass's bed. Grissom moves to the side and Brass looks at us and smiles. Catherine hugs Dr. Robbins, Sara is hugging Warrick, who has a hand on Nick's shoulder, I'm hugging Nick from his side and Greg turns around and hugs Catherine.