Disclaimer: Don't own them, merely use them like puppets… Of course, if Nick were to some day pop up at my front door, I wouldn't say no…
A/N: You guys are awesome with replies!!! Thanks a Million! I am just really happy that people are still reading and enjoying the story. Hoppy Easter! * grin*
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Miles from Nowhere Chapter 12
A MONTH LATER
~~ A Quickly Rebuilt CSI ~~
Nick sat at his desk, once again using a wire hanger to try and scratch his leg that was itchier than normal today. The cast was coming off in a couple of days and he couldn't wait. Sara walked in, and laughed at the look on his face. Her cast had come off a week before, and her bruises were healing nicely.
"It's not funny, Sar. I can't get it to stop itching." Nick said, as a pained look crossed his face.
Sara laughed uncontrollably for a few moments before responding. "I find it really funny, actually. It'll be coming off in a few days."
Nick pouted from his place in the chair. "I wish I wasn't stuck in here doing desk duty… I hate filling in all the paper work."
Sara walked over to him and sat on his lap. "Would it make it more interesting for you if we did desk duty together?" She kissed his cheek, and then trailed hot kissed down his neck.
Nick sighed and groaned at the same time. He knew that they shouldn't be doing this, but he didn't want to stop.
"Brass is headed down the hall, I suggest you uh… break it up." Greg said awkwardly from the doorway.
Sara jumped of Nick's lap and sat in the chair next to his.
Brass poked his head in the doorway, and pretended not to see the flushed look on Nick's face or the way that Sara couldn't meet his eyes. "We've got a floater. Swimming pool at Caesar's Palace. Sara, you and Warrick head over to the scene, I'll be there soon."
Sara nodded and kissed Nick's cheek. "I'll be back soon."
"Bye."
~~The Tahoe En Route to Caesar's Palace~~
Sara walked into the hotel carrying her kit. Warrick was walking beside her and they went to work processing the scene. Sara stood above the pool and sighed. She hated floaters. There was very little evidence preserved on the body.
"So are you going in or am I?" Warrick asked.
Sara sighed, she knew that when he asked that, it was her. "I guess I'll go." She shrugged and turned back around toward the Tahoe to get her gear. It's going to be a long night with Nick here. I wish that danged cast would just come off already.
~~Catherine's~~
Gil sat on the sofa with Catherine, watching a movie. "Are you enjoying the movie Cath?"
Catherine looked up at Grissom and smiled. "It's more your style, my dear, but I'm rather enjoying spending the time with you."
Grissom smiled and allowed Catherine to snuggle closer. "I'll be going back to work soon, no need to worry too much."
Catherine laughed. "I'm sure that the boredom is killing you, slowly but surely."
"You got that right." Grissom said laughing with her.
The ringing on Catherine's cell phone interrupted them. "Willows."
"So you think you're safe? I know where you live and I know what you're doing right now…"
"Who is this?" Catherine asked, her voice shaking.
"I think you know who this is…" The voice floated over the airwaves.
"Ecklie, you son-of-a bitch, I hope you burn in hell!" Catherine hung up the phone, her nerves shot. She sat there, with Grissom's arm around her, shaking. "How did he get my new cell phone number? Only a few people have that number."
The phone rang again, and Grissom had to nudge her to answer it. "Willows." She said cautiously.
"It's not very nice to hang up on people, Catherine dear. Don't you know how angry that makes me? All I wanted to do was talk to you and you shut me out." Ecklie did his best to sound upset.
"I don't want to talk to you and I don't want you to have any contact with me."
"Don't worry, my dear, don't you know that I have helpers and everything?"
"Hel… helpers?" Catherine said, stumbling over her words. "What do you mean?"
"People on the inside looking out for me."
"I always knew that you weren't smart enough to figure everything out by yourself, Ecklie."
"That was very rude Catherine, very rude."
"I don't give a damn! Leave me alone!" Catherine shouted into the phone and hung up. She hit the power button and it shut off, cutting off the possibility of phone calls from Ecklie.
Grissom held her tightly against him, and he could feel her trembling. "I won't let him hurt you again, Catherine. I promise."
Catherine nodded. "I know, Gil. But if he has someone on the inside, then that means that Nick, Sara, Warrick and Greg are in trouble."
"Do you think Ecklie would do something tonight?"
Catherine nodded. She was happy that her daughter was nowhere around here. She had sent her away to a safe place. "We should get to headquarters now…"
~~ Caesar's Palace~~
Sara sighed as she walked through the hotel wearing her wetsuit. She didn't mind going after floaters, but she didn't like it when she didn't have any information to go on.
Warrick could tell that she was bothered by something. "What's up?"
Sara shrugged. "Don't know, just have a bad feeling about all of this."
Warrick laughed. "Just because it's a floater."
"Maybe… You know it wasn't funny the last time… He wasn't dead!! It scared the crap outta me when I turned him over and he started coughing and then I found out he wasn't dead."
Warrick laughed. "That one was funny."
Sara shot him a smirk. "You would think so." She lowered her goggles and got into the pool. At least it's heated. Swimming over to the body, she looked around for any possible clues. The first thing that caught her mind was the hospital bracelet on his wrist. Some people never learn. The go straight from the hospital to the gambling table. She swam around the body and flipped them over in the water. Gasping, she nearly jumped back a few feet when the person's eyes moved. The floater's hands were faster than hers and he grabbed her. She knew instantly who it was. "Ecklie you slimy son of a bitch, what the hell is going on?"
"Well, you see, I figured that if Grissom was at home with Catherine, which he is, then you and Warrick would be coming out here to get the "floater"."
Sara scoffed. "Well, your master plan is about to unravel."
Ecklie grinned. "It's about to get better." He could see Warrick making his way back to the pool area. He ducked down beneath the overhang of the patio, out of sight from Warrick. Pulling Sara in next to him, he pushed her head below water.
"Sara?? What the hell? Where did you go?"
Sara wasn't about to let Ecklie get the best of her. She began swinging her arms, slicing through the water, hoping to make enough noise to get someone' s attention. Her air supply was running out and she knew that she needed to get some oxygen before the world became a fuzzy place.
Some movement caught Warrick's eye. He saw a flash of black wet suit moving through the water and he knew something was wrong. He dived into the pool and surfaced quickly. Turning around, he saw Ecklie holding Sara's head under the water.
He was the first to reach for his gun. "So, who was the floater really?"
"Someone who was helping me out." Ecklie shouted across the pool. He brought Sara above water and drew a gun against her temple. "You know, I thought you night shift people were supposed to be smarter than us dayshift people."
"We are. You're absolutely on of the dumbest people I have ever met."
"What makes you say that?" Ecklie sneered as he pressed the gun even further into Sara's temple.
Sara grit her teeth against the feel of cold steel against her face. "Because Brass is on his way and then he's finally going to throw your ass in jail!" Sara stated firmly. She nearly growled at him. "So, who was the floater, really?"
"Hank." Ecklie let the name slip easily. It's about time that they knew anyways. There is no way that I am going down for this alone.
"That's right I was." Hank said, staring down above them, his gun drawn. "Let Sara go, Ecklie."
My plan is working according to plan! Ecklie smiled to himself. "Fine, just don't shoot me." He let Hank pull Sara up from the pool.
Hank turned to Sara. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thanks. But don't think that this act is going to fool me."
"What do you mean, Sara?"
"Ecklie told us that you were the floater. Doesn't that mean that you guys have been working together?"
Hank glared at her. "I was hoping you wouldn't be able to figure that out."
"I'm an investigator, stupid. Don't think I wouldn't figure it out."
Hank grabbed her arm and pulled her against him, his arm across her throat, leaving her gasping for air. "You are just a little too smart for your own good, you know that Sara?"
Sara struggled against his arm, but she couldn't loosen his grip.
Meanwhile Warrick and Ecklie were fighting in the pool, trying to get possession of the gun. Hank pointed his gun up in the air and fired.
Sara shrieked and Warrick and Ecklie stopped fighting to see Hank's gun pointed at them. "Hank, what are you doing?" Ecklie asked.
"I've had it with you, you know that? You have been hampering my plan to get Catherine."
Sara seemed a little surprised. Her ex-boyfriend having a thing for her best friend? "So, since when did you have this little fetish thing for Catherine?" Sara wondered aloud before she could stop herself.
Hank pulled her closer to him and whispered in her ear, "while we were still together."
Sara shivered and tried to push away, but he continued. "When we were in bed together, I always imagined that I was with Catherine, not you. You weren't a bad lay, but I needed someone who was woman enough for me."
Sara's face was a cloud of fury. She lifted her leg and brought her heel up to his groin. Hank immediately let her go and she took off running as fast as she could.
"Get back here, bitch!" Hank looked from Sara to Ecklie and then back to Sara. He swung the gun back toward Ecklie. "See you in hell." He fired one shot and hit Ecklie between the eyes, killing him instantly. He took off running after Sara. He saw her running through the gardens. Reaching for the switch, he shut the lights off, and the area was covered in darkness. "Sara…" He called menacingly. "Sara…"
Sara could feel her chest heaving. She moved quietly and slowly toward where she figured the door would be. Her foot connected with a clay pot and it fell over, shattering. The noise gave away her location and she began running blindly, in search of an exit.
"You can't run far Sara. I'll find you."
Sara let out a sob as she continued running. I can't let him get me… I have to be one step ahead… one step ahead.
But Hank was faster and stronger than she was, and she felt herself falling before she had even realized that he had tackled her.
"Get off me!" Sara screamed.
~~The Pool~~
Warrick had been out of the pool in a flash, but was slowed down by his shoes, that were so waterlogged that he didn't think he would be able to run. Some how he managed to start running. His head snapped up when he heard Sara scream. Nick is not going to forgive you if you don't help her. He ran forward and surged toward the gardens. He could hear Brass in the distance and hoped that he would follow him. He didn't want to waste time to try and signal him. He knew that he needed to find Sara.
~~ The Gardens~~
"Hank please!" Sara cried as she felt him undoing the zipper to her wet suit.
"Now, when you say something like that, Sara, I think you mean yes even though you say no."
"I mean NO!" She cried. Hank was sitting on her legs, leaving her virtually powerless. "Get away from me, please Hank, just leave!!" She tried pushing him away from her, but he was stronger than she was.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Warrick turning the corner into the Gardens. "Hank NO!" She screamed, and began twisting and moving her torso so he couldn't get a hand on her. The technique didn't work.
"I hope you know that I enjoy feeling you writhe beneath me again."
Sara looked back at the short relationship she had had with Hank. How many times she had said no, but had had sex with him anyways, because he made her.
"No! I won't let you rape me again!" She cried.
~~Warrick~~
Again? What does she mean by again?? Hank raped Sara? When was this?? Warrick ran his hand along the wall and reached the light switch. The light that flooded the once dark area was almost blinding. He could see them struggling, and he ran full speed toward them, and he could hear Brass and reinforcements behind him.
He reached Hank and tapped him on the shoulder. "I think the lady said no."
Hank turned around to face Warrick. "Well if isn't the knight in shining armor."
"Get off Sara. You're going down." Warrick swung his fist and hit Hank square on in the face, sending him reeling away from Sara.
He grabbed him up off the floor and slapped cuffs around his wrists. Brass stepped in behind him and took over, reading Hank the rights that he had heard read to others so many times before.
Warrick kneeled down beside Sara, who was lying on the ground, her hands covering her face. "It's over Sara. We got him."
She had already managed to zip up the wetsuit, and she nodded.
"Is Ecklie…."
"It's over Sara. Ecklie's dead and Hank is in custody."
She nearly felt like crying with relief. "Let's go." She picked herself up off the ground and began walking back to the Tahoe. None of the police officers asked her any questions. They knew that Brass would question her soon enough.
~~Headquarters~~
Catherine and Grissom raced through the hallways at CSI, and found Greg and Nick in the break room, chatting. The stopped talking when they saw their faces. "What happened?"
"Ecklie got out." Catherine said, he lips forming a straight line.
"He called Catherine, twice tonight. We think the others are in danger." Grissom stated.
Nick stared at him. "Sara?"
"Hopefully everything is fine… Where are Warrick and Sara?"
"Floater at Caesar's Palace." Greg answered.
Nick was about to ask one of them to drive him over there, but he saw Warrick in the hallway. Sara was limping toward the locker room, her face tear-stained. Catherine immediately walked away from Grissom to follow her. "Sara? What happened?"
"I just need to show Catherine… But um… can I uh… talk to you for a moment?"
Catherine nodded. "Of course!"
The two girls disappeared into the locker room. Nick stared after Sara and then turned back toward Warrick. "What the hell happened?"
"Long story man… Ecklie's dead. Shot right between the eyes."
"Who…?"
"Hank."
"I'm sorry, I'm a little confused. Why did Hank shoot Ecklie?" Grissom asked.
"They were both in on it the whole time. Partners in crime." Warrick answered.
"What happened to Sara?" Nick questioned again.
"Hank and Sara have a history Nick…You can imagine what happened." Warrick knew that it wasn't his place to say anything to Nick about what happened or anything that Sara had said.
~~The Locker Room~~
Catherine waited on the bench for Sara to finish her shower. Sara finally walked out, dressed in sweatpants and an old university tee. Catherine watched her sit down and sigh. "What happened, Sara?"
"It was horrible Cath. I couldn't get him off me… Hank and I have a history… There were times that Hank wanted to have sex and I said no… but he thought I meant yes and he…"
"Raped you? Sara, why didn't you press charges?"
"Because who was going to believe me? How often does a woman press charges against a boyfriend who forces his girlfriend to have sex??" Sara put her head in her hands. "He was going to do it again tonight…. I shouldn't still be thinking about him now… But he said something that hit below the belt…He said all I was was a good lay but that the whole time he was sleeping with me, he had been thinking about you."
Catherine nodded as she listened. "Sara, I think you should share this with Nick."
Nick had been standing in the doorway. "She already did."
Sara whirled around. Her eyes met Nick's and she stood up. Walking gingerly across the room she threw herself into his arms and cried. His arms wrapped around her and held her while she cried. "Shh… Sara honey, its okay… it's over now."
Sara nodded. "Can we go home?" She asked softly. "I need to go home."
"Sure." Nick said softly, and they both hobbled out of the room after Sara had slipped into a pair of flip-flops. He whispered a thanks to Catherine and they headed out.
~~ Break Room~~
Catherine walked in and sat next to Grissom. "Gil, I'm worried about Sara."
"She'll bounce back." Grissom said, wrapping an arm around Catherine' s shoulders. "It's over Catherine. Ecklie's dead, and Hank is in jail."
Catherine
couldn't help but smile. "Maybe things will get back to normal now…"
Grissom held her tightly against him and didn't want to let her go. "Let's go
home."
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter… still a couple more left to come… Replies are welcome : ) Good or bad…. Constructive Criticism is always a good thing too.
And Jax, where have you been?? Haven't heard from ya lately…. I looked forward to your replies and then they… disappeared….
