A/N: Warrick is still alive, and nobody actually saw the body, or the autopsy. But he really was shot. He fell in a coma and was placed in ICU, then wakes up a few months later - living his life as though he's a dead man, because that's what everyone thinks.

Story Notes: A Warrick Brown / Riley Adams centric one shot.

Partially inspired by the songs 'He's Hurting Me' by Maria Mena and 'Face Down' by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Ever since CSI Charlie Adams had found Warrick, she began to wonder how things would go. To everybody else he was dead. But to her, he was.. a friend. Sometimes they would meet up after Riley's shift and have breakfast together. She'd tell him about all her colleagues and how they're all doing to give him that reassurance. He was glad they were all happy. And hearing it from someone on the inside, somebody he already knew he could trust, made it that little bit more relieving.

This time they met at a bar. Riley was already two drinks in, and in wait of her third. Warrick sat on the stool next to her and lightly tapped her shoulder. "Charles?" The firearms expert was a little startled but turned her head to her friend. "'Rick! What are you doing here?" She asked in a gleeful, slightly drunken tone. "Looking for you." He answered with a chuckle.

"Are you drunk already? It's literally 1:30."

"Sometimes 'Rick, you need that 'lil bit of imagery to keep you sane when reality drives you crazy," Riley said, pouting her lips dramatically.

Warrick remembered the last time he drank himself stupid. He'd divorced Tina after a very toxic, uncoordinated marriage that didn't last too long. She had been having an affair. That hit him in the heart. All he'd ever wanted was to find that one girl. But she wasn't the one, and never could be. Not like that. For someone so tipsy, Riley sure was speaking deeply.

Something was bothering Riley. Which is why she had drank so quickly. But what Warrick didn't know was that it was the same problem. The blonde hoped that the black eye wasn't too obvious. But she knew he would analyze her until he figured out what she wouldn't tell him. "You can stay at my place, I don't want you going home."

"A drink is all it takes to forget.." She finished off the rest of what was in her glass and shrugged, her curls bouncing as she did so.

Riley had new injuries every week. Defensive wounds on her arms. Constantly covering up the injuries on her face with makeup. But she'd forgot to reapply her foundation, so the bruised eye wasn't easy to cover up. Warrick was a trained investigator. He had seen this stuff too many times before in his time.

He carefully brushed aside her fringe, getting a better look at the bruising. It was almost forming a knuckle pattern around her eye. The former CSI had no idea how she managed to come up with a cover story for all her injuries. These weren't self inflicted. And nobody gets a bruise that bad from falling down stairs.

"You're starting to slur, c'mon Charles." He said, getting off the stool before he helped her off hers.

Riley almost stumbled over so she put her arm around Warrick and he held her up. They walked back to his car in the parking lot. It really wasn't easy seeing someone like this. Especially someone he'd recommended himself for the position. The blonde was feeling a whole range of emotions. She was so giddy and excited, while feeling a sense of sadness too.

He got her into the passenger seat of his SUV, making sure not to disturb any of the bruising. "Where.. are we going?" "My place. You're not going home to him." Warrick replied as he began driving. Riley nodded distractedly.

Charles. Haha. He had been the only person Adams allowed to call her by her full first name. He'd somehow adapted it to a cute nickname. Riley didn't mind. His voice was always soothing. And it took her mind off her 'boyfriend'. Talking to Warrick for hours, and purposely staying out as long as possible. She doesn't want to go home but knows she has to eventually. All she needs is a little bit of extra time. To work it out. She was a firearms expert and somehow couldn't deal with it. But she had seen a lot in her time as an investigator with cases that involve domestic violence. She'd just never thought she would be a victim too.

"I feel.. so weak when I can't defend myself.. how can I hold a gun to a suspect but freeze in front of a man that hits me..?"

Although she was still quite tipsy, he heard her word for word. "Because you're afraid."

"Of.. what?"

"People finding out how much he's smacked you around, and what they'll see."

- CSI -

The next day, Warrick dropped by Riley's place. He was going to accompany her. "Are you sure you don't need help?"

"I'm fine. I doubt he's home anyway." Riley insisted, rubbing her (good) eye as she shut the car door and headed towards the front door. The African-American swallowed his fear. He wasn't convinced. Brown watched as Adams unlocked the front door, then entering the house. Even being a feet away worried him. If she got hurt, he would blame himself.

So he got out of the car and leaned against it as he waited for her.

Man did he worry about the woman. She put on a brave face, even when she was far from okay. He could see her place the suitcase on the table and begin packing it. There didn't appear to be anyone there.. but he couldn't be too sure.

Riley zipped up her suitcases once she'd packed everything and stacked them up by the door. The blonde waved to her friend from the doorway, and he waved back. She turned around to grab her coat but she was suddenly met with a pistol in her face. He had been waiting to prey on her, as if she were just a sheep and he were the predator.

Warrick immediately called 911, before he ran over to the house. He saw the man begin beating her. Riley winced as he hastily kicked her. "YOU BELONG TO ME! YOU UNDERSTAND?!" He screamed. "I'M NOT YOUR PROPERTY!" She shouted, tears streaming down her pale face. The former CSI pushed the guy back as he stood infront of the CSI.

"You are going to listen to me," He said, putting his phone on the counter. The call was on and the line was recording everything that had been said. "..you are going stop what you're doing and you are going to put the gun down."

"As if I'm going to listen to you! She deserves it!"

He could hear the sound of sirens getting nearer and nearer. Patrol were almost there. "Is this what gets you off? Hurting women for the sake of it? Does that make you feel good?" The man cocked an eyebrow. "I don't do it because I enjoy it. She needs to get the message."

"Do you feel like a man now?"

"I-"

Before he could answer, the patrol officers were already arriving on scene. The man fired a shot that was meant for Warrick however it ricocheted and hit Riley in the thigh. All the arriving officers saw it. They instantly went after the man and detained him, and it took more than three officers.

Warrick tended to his friend. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her leg. "SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!" The former CSI lifted up the CSI, carrying her out of the house and outside where there was actually space to breathe. Officers radioed in to give updates on the situation and Warrick awaited the ambulance. Adams had a through and through gunshot wound that would kill her if she lost too much blood.

"You're gonna be okay, Ri. You hear me?"

Riley merely nodded. "..Thank..you..'Rick.."

"Breathe in, breathe out.. you'll be okay. I know you will."

A few minutes later, the ambulance pulled up and Warrick had to let the EMTs take her to the hospital. He couldn't go because he had to give Brass his statement. This wasn't going to he easy.. explaining that he wasn't dead, and how he ended up at Riley's place getting involved in a domestic situation.

Brown watched as the ambulance drove away, being escorted by police cars. He folded his arms and sighed. Seeing that happen broke his heart. This is what she went through every day before he saw it. It really was that bad.

Since he met her - he'd realized that in place was a great CSI. Somebody who knew where the line was, but wasn't afraid to make a statement. She was the lab's gun girl. Full of mysteries. A case to crack. Getting to know her had been just as he thought. Riley was oddly similar to himself. It was probably why they got along so well, and what made it easier to interact with her.

Captain Brass slowly approached the man he knew as CSI Warrick Brown. Alive. "What were you doing here?" He asked the former CSI.

"I was taking her to my place, and then to a women's shelter. She needs help, Jim."

"And what does that mean, Warrick?"

"..She's been getting abused. For months. I met her yesterday and she had a black eye. He punched her!"

Jim nodded. He made notes, catching the details as he ran over the story starting from the bar scene up until that very moment. "It was on call. The guy shot her."

"Ok.. You better know what you're doing." Brass said, walking away from him to talk to the people on the street.

He was sure he did the right thing. He'd called it in first, assessed the situation and intervened when necessary. What Warrick did, he did because he couldn't let her suffer. Not because he was a cop. She was being abused. He couldn't turn a blind eye to it. Not when it was so blatantly obvious.

It wasn't long before CSI came onto the scene. They were to examine the scene and determine what happened based on the evidence. Catherine and Greg had gotten the callout as Nick had one elsewhere and.. well, Riley was in hospital as far as they were aware.

Both CSIs were shocked to see Warrick. It felt to both as them as though they were imagining it. But they weren't. He walked up to them, alive as ever.

Greg didn't know how he hadn't seen it before. That Riley wasn't herself. She was.. quieter. Stopped with her usual wry remarks that made him laugh. It was as if the life had been drained out of her. And the firearms expert left last night's shift straight after she'd finished her case report and spoken to the other team.

"..How did you know?" He questioned the older man.

"Know what?"

"Riley's situation.." Catherine answered before Sanders could say anything.

Warrick sighed. "I.. met Riley at the bar. We met up there weekly, only this time.. she was already tipsy when i got there. She wasn't wearing any makeup.. so I saw the bruising.. she'd been punched in the face, right next to her eye. And she said these very abstract, drunken things.." He recalled everything. Once a CSI, always a CSI.

The supervisory CSI felt guilty. As supervisor, she was responsible for her team. She was meant to know them. Understand enough to tell when something was going on from when they were just lacking sleep. "She said 'a drink is all it takes to forget' which.. to me.. suggested that there was something going on. So, I drove her to mine and she stayed the night. Nothing happened. I just didn't want her going back to someone like that." He indicted to the man being hauled away by a group of patrol officers. The man glared at all three of them.

"He's the guy?"

"Yep. Shot Ri when patrol arrived."

Catherine exhaled. "Thanks.. for checking up on Riley." Warrick gave a small smile. The supervisor felt so many things seeing her friend alive. While part of her wanted to hug him tightly, the other part was hesitant as she was still finding it hard to accept the fact he was alive. But Greg was happy. Warrick had been like a brother to him and getting over the loss of him had not been easy for anyone.

The whole department had been in shambles over his 'death' and he was sure that his return would spark a whole lot of controversy. That's why Warrick didn't return to CSI when he was finally out of hospital. Because he'd already been announced dead and he couldn't just rock up like nothing had happened at all.

.. and Nick.

CSI Nick Stokes was his best friend. His case partner. His right-hand man. The death had hit him the hardest. As if being buried alive hadn't been the worst thing. It would completely shatter the guy into confusion if he returned. Which is why he asked Riley for updates. To make sure he was okay. Adams informed him when things happened. Gave him brief descriptions of cases they worked. As though he could imagine it for himself. Nick had been the one person Warrick knew would never forgive anyone for the faking of his death. And CSI Brown had 0% say in it. He'd been in a coma while those decisions had been made.

He knew for a fact Nick would've at least queried Riley about her black eye. And she'd lie about the chain of events, in fear of what he would do to her if she told the truth.

Riley had allowed Warrick to discover the truth the way he had is because he would understand why she lied. They become quite close for two people who met a few months ago. Riley was his successor, and he was the predecessor. The person she was following in the footsteps of. And she'd heard that he had been her reference. They'd met in Philadelphia at a forensics conference a few years back. But Adams didn't realize he'd paid attention to her the way he had.

And as she lay there, her leg now bandaged up and being treated for her pre-existing injuries, the blonde contemplated a lot of things. She thought about CSI. The team. Her job. Her relationships. Warrick. Things back in St. Louis. Her family life. Being shot. Test firing some of the most dangerous power tools ever.

Would things have been different if she had taken the route of psychiatry, as her parents had wanted?

If she'd never agreed to the date with her current ex-boyfriend/abuser?

Never moved to Las Vegas?

The same reasons she drank so much last night. To drown the memory for a moment. Find a point of peace somewhere, even if it was only temporary.

If Warrick hadn't brought her to his place that night.. would she have ended up dead?

Adams didn't know the answer.

But what Riley was sure of, was that Warrick had only tried to help her. They were supposed to be visiting a women's shelter for survivors of domestic violence. She'd not been the most comprehensive, nonetheless, she trusted his judgement. That's why she agreed. Because she knew she didn't want to live like that. It had been a matter of when.

Keeping the former CSI's secret wasn't a task for her. Not in the way it seemed. There were days where she was tempted to tell her colleagues, but had refrained every time. It wasn't her place. And it was something she had sworn not to say anything about until it was agreed that Warrick was revealing himself to be alive.

"Miss Adams, you're lucky to have a friend like him.. otherwise it's likely you could've bled out to death." The doctor told her.

That caused her lips to curve into the slightest form of a smile. Maybe the doctor was right about her luck with meeting the former CSI.

'Face down in the dirt

She said "This doesn't hurt!"

She said "I finally had enough!"..'

So she writes a letter to him the same night: 'Thank you for helping me to move on. It'd been the last straw, when he punched me. I heard Peter is going to jail, and you're willing to testify on my behalf. It means a lot. I'm going to go to start seeing this new therapist.. talk out my feelings.. and hopefully move on. Her name is Heather and she's very fair in her advice. Hope you come around soon. I finally feel like I can breathe again. Once again, many thanks. - Charlie'