Author: Nicksfriend

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

I guess I'll be taking the old laptop with me...the feedback was great and I really want to thank each of you for the reviews, you are really paying attention...that is a good thing!Thank each and every one of you who have reviewed so far...I aim to please.

Wendy's House

Wendy and Hodges assisted Nick out of the van,he moved really slow across the driveway and Hodges actually had to hold on to him as he climbed the few stairs into the garage entrance.

Nick was amazed, the house had a country flavor,something that his mother would love back in Texas. It was an older house that sat out away from the city,but it was beautifully decorated in southern charm, he never thought Wendy as a country girl.

"Hey, I bet you're tired." Wendy directed the men into the spare downstairs bedroom, she had fixed it up the night before when she 'd come up with her plan to spring Nick from the hospital, knowing that she would have to get him back after the funeral, a task she did not look forward too.

"Yeah, I'm good. Actually I'm better than I've been in a few days." His words were like a confession in a way, how close he had been to the edge, he had been in a very dark place.

Wendy glanced at her watch, it was time for her and Hodges to get back to work if they were to going to the funeral home for the second wake in two days. This wake was for Warrick's fellow officers to be able to pay tribute to their friend, his funeral would be an officer's funeral, a hero's funeral.

Hodges walked to the bathroom to wash his hands, he was a little germaphobic,he was also a little concerned with Nick's wound and the drainage, he would have to remind Wendy to get some more gauze bandages on her way home.

"You ready to go?" Hodges asked as hel finished drying his hands.

"Just a minute,"She wanted to make sure Nick was comfortable, placing a fresh bottle of cold water at the bedside and the tylenol and Motrin bottles with the lids off for his convenience.

"Thanks for helping me Wendy." His voice low and tired, the rescue had taken a lot out of him, he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Your welcome Nick Stokes, very welcome." she reached down and brushed away his sweaty hair from his face,hating to have to leave him to go back to work.

She walked back into the hallway to find Hodges waiting for her to return."Listen, tell Henry I won't be back, I'm going to stay here with Nick, I 'm afraid to leave him alone, he's too sick."

Hodges nodded but gave her a look, a I think you like Nick Stokes look,"I will cover for you."

She smiled and nodded, knowing that Hodges was back to his idiotic self,"Listen, I need you to come by before we go to the funeral home tonight and bring some bandages and a drainage cylinder." She instructed an irritating Hodges.

He couldn't help but to feel a twinge of jealousy, he had always had a thing for the brunette, she was the opposite of him, out-going , funny,smart and beautiful. "Sure." He started towards the garage door when he turned around suddenly, "Can I ride to the funeral home with you and Nick?"

She gave him a sweet smile,"Absolutely."

Hodges almost skipped out of the house and into his car, she hadn't seen him that excited since Grissom told him what a good job he had done on the miniature killer case. She closed the garage door and walked back into the bedroom to check on Nick.

Nick's House

Brass stood outside Nick's house waiting for the doctor to arrive,Nick's car had been brought back to the house by one of his fellow officers. He looked at the dark house and knew that Nick Stokes wasn't at home.

Doctor Karen Roberts drove up in her silver BMW, her brakes squealing to a sudden stop on the drive in front of Nick's house, slammed the driver's door as she exited the car,"Where the hell is he?" she asked worried and angry at her stubborn patient.

"Good question,but I can see why he's running." Brass had already come to the conclusion that the overbearing woman could make anybody want to run.

The older woman looked at Brass with a venomous stare."Nick Stokes has to be the most stubborn man I've ever met in all my years of being a doctor, Why don't you enlighten me as to why he feels he needs to jeopardize his life to go to a funeral."

"That might take a while. Do you have time?" Brass asked as he leaned against his car.

"Not a lot, but I will give you what I can." She motioned for him to follow her to her car,"Get in I know where we can have a quiet talk."

Brass reluctantly got into the speed demon's car,hoping that he wouldn't regret his decision,"Let's go."

She gave a quick look in the side mirror and took off, Brass's body pushed by the force of her quick and rapid start against the seat,"Start talking, I want to know more about Nick Stokes."

Brass gave a slight chuckle, Nick had always been a person that surprised him, his ability to bounce back so many times and do an excellent job of it had always surprised him,"Let's see, where do I start?"

Gregg's Apartment

Gregg was getting ready for the second wake in two days, the funeral would be at noon the next,he was feeling emotionally drained already,it was so hard to see Warrick's grandmother grieving for her pride and joy, his friend.

He wanted to leave early to that he could see Nick on the way, no way that he was getting out of the hospital for Warrick's wake or funeral with the infection he had developed in his wound and the constant eyeful watch from his sitters from Hell.

Gregg was about to grab his keys when his phone rang, he knew he was already running late but he grabbed the phone and held it to his ear,"Hello, Gregg."

"Your friend in in trouble, you need to go to him." The voice instructed, he's with Wendy." then the call went dead.

Gregg looked at the caller ID, 'anonymous' was on the screen,"Dammit! Nick's at the hospital, isn't he?" He asked himself oitloud as he quickly dialed the hospital number that was still on his scroll down on his cell phone.

"Desert Palm, may I help you?" the operator's voice answered.

"I need Nick Stokes room please." Gregg was nervous, the killer had been caught hadn't he?

"I'm sorry that patient is no longer here, may I help you with anything else?" she asked.

"What do you mean he's not there? He was a patient this morning and I know for a fact that he wasn't going anywhere fast." Gregg's voiced was raised at the frustration of knowing that Nick wasn't where he was suppose to be and that he could be in big trouble.

"I'm sorry but he's no longer a patient here at Desert Palm. Have a good evening." ,the call was ended by the upset operator.

Gregg thought about what he would do next, he opened his door and proceeded to his garage; he needed to find Wendy. He knew that Grissom and Catherine were probably on their way to the funeral home, as was Brass, but he needed to talk to someone about the whereabouts of his friend.

He got into his car and started the engine, opting to call Brass, he would probably know more than anybody else,everybody else was too busy with their grieving process to be able to take care of anybody but themselves right now.

Gregg dialed the number and waited for an answer.

Freddie's Deli

Brass sit across from Dr Karen Roberts who now had a dumbfounded look on her face, unable to believe all that her patient had endured over the years when Brass's cell phone ringing broke her from her thoughts.

"Brass." He answered, listening to the caller on the other end with intense concentration.

Dr Roberts knew that police work was never done, it was very much like her job, constant.

Brass quickly hung up his phone, "I need to use your car, I think we have a problem with Nick."

He dialed another number as they walked to her car,"This is Brass I need the address for Wendy Simms, she is a lab tech for the crime lab."

"His condition?" Dr Roberts asked thinking that Nick might have gotten worse.

"I don't know but from what I can discern his life might be in danger and it has nothing to do with his wound." They both ran and got into the car, awaiting the operator to give them the address, Brass taking out a piece of paper and jotting down the information. "Thanks.", ending the call."We need to go to 1127 Landry Drive."

"I know that location, I use to live a few miles down the road." she pulled out quickly, cutting off another car.

"Remind me later to write you a ticket for that move." Brass's dry humor evident, he gave her a look of just get us there in one piece then focused his attention on getting police back up to Wendy's house.

She glanced over and just gave him a smile, she was impressed for his concern for his officer and her patient.

Wendy's House

Wendy knew she had to be getting ready for the second wake and get Nick ready too, she decided to check on his bandage before she took a shower. She quietly walked into the room and looked down at her sleeping friend, as much as she didn't want to wake him she knew that she had to empty the drain and redress the wound, it would take some time. She reached down and felt his sweaty brow, he had broken his fever with the Tylenol but she knew it was probably just temporary.

She pulled back, deciding to allow him to sleep a little bit longer,he needed all the strength he could muster for the evening, it would be an emotional night.

Wendy walked into her room and turned on the shower and shut her door, she was unable to hear her phone ring outside in the living room.

The unlocked garage door opened, the two men walked inside, this would be easier than they thought.

You know how I am...