Harry Shaw watched as Nick Stokes walked out of the bar. He was laughing as he staggered out with his wife, Detective Paige Muir, and colleague CSI Sara Sidle. All three of them were clearly drunk, Stokes the worst. Shaw glanced over at the passenger seat, distracted by the vibrating of his phone, he picked up his glock and the picture of Stokes double checking he had the right person. Not that he needed too. He knew exactly who his target was. Knew exactly who he was there to kill. Shaw answered his phone.

"What is it, bud?"

"Is it done yet?"

"Almost, I have eyes on him now if you'd get off the phone I could do it now."

"Do it."

"There is no way you are driving." Paige argued as she struggled to keep Nick upright.

"I'm'nt that drunk." Nick protested, failing to not act drunk. Paige looked at him and grabbed the keys from his grasp.

"I hate it when you do that." Nick complained. "You had more than I did."

"Oh damn, I've left my purse in the bar, I'll be two sec's" Sara interrupted their bickering running off back to the bar.

"See! Least I remembered my purse." Nick argued.

Paige could hear Sara laughing at Nick's comment. "No I didn't have more, you just can't handle your drink."

'Now' thought Shaw as he watched the CSI run back off into the bar, out of their line of sight. He got out of his car, his glock tightly gripped in his hand. He walked up to his target.

"I'll think you'll find I can." Nick protested.

Paige scoffed. "Then stand on your own."

"I only had 3 beers." Nick declared holding his arms out to prove to his wife he could still stand up right.

"Yeah 3 plus 7, Nicky." Nick stumbled into her, pinning Paige up against the car, he smiled as he pressed his lips against hers kissing her passionately.

"Fancy a quickie?" Nick asked, grinning. Paige punched him in the shoulder, laughing at Nick as she pushed him off her.

"Maybe when we're home." She winked, as she opened the car door, looking out for Sara coming back.

"Stokes." Nick turned around. The giddy mood the beers had put him in vanished instantly as he spun around and saw the gun pointing at him. He sobered up in record time. He looked at the gunman, then at Paige. Nick didn't recognise him, and by the look on his wife's face, neither did she.

"Alright, let's just be cool." Nick said, as he raised his hands slightly. Wishing Paige had been standing behind him. Neither of them had their weapons on them. Alcohol and guns were never a good mix. Until they were needed. "Look, if you want the car you can have it." Nick said, praying this was what this was about. The gunman looked angrier at Nick's words and fired twice into his chest. The sheer force of the bullets took Nick by surprise as he fell back into the car, and stumbled to the ground. The pain wasn't immediately evident and he struggled to comprehend what had happened.

Paige's eyes widened in shock as she ran towards where her husband had fallen, grabbing a jumper from the car seat and throwing it on his wounds. Paige looked up, expecting the gunman to still be standing there, holding the gun to her, but he wasn't. He'd ran back to his car, driving off, allowing Paige to read a partial plate. Swallowing down the lump in her throat, she put pressure on Nick's wounds. This can't be happening. "Nicky, it's gonna be okay, c'mon." He grabbed her arm.

Sara came back out of the bar, she couldn't see either of her colleagues. The open passenger side door struck her as strange, as she got closer she could see Nick's legs on the ground. He's not that drunk. She felt in her stomach that something was wrong. Far wrong.

Nick was struggling to breathe blood, and was pouring out his wounds faster than Paige could stop it. He was coughing up blood as the pain was beginning to rip through his chest. As was the panic. He could see the fear in Paige's eyes. This can't be good.

"Oh god Nicky, okay, try to stay awake." His grip on her arm was loosening. Paige noticed Sara crouched down beside her and Nick, she looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"What happened? How many times had he been shot?" She asked with a phone to her ear.

"Tw…twice." She choked seeing the colour draining from her husband's face. Sara pressed down on his wound trying her best to prevent any further blood loss.

"Do you know him? Nicky don't do this to me, c'mon say awake." She pleaded, as sirens became heard in the distance. His head was spinning. Sara and Paige were beginning to become the same person, his eyes were rolling about in his head, his breathing becoming laboured. He couldn't focus for the pain searing through his chest, his chest struggling to rise each time it fell.

"Pa...Paige." She nodded willing him to go on "I…love." His eyes were closing. Nick's head dropped to the ground. His eyes began to roll around in his head. Cool sweat leaking from his forehead.

"I love you too Nick, Nicky stay awake." She could hear the sirens in the distance getting closer. She shook him gently, he didn't re-open his eyes.

"Nicky!"

Paige was standing in the waiting room, blood soaked her clothes. A nurse had given her a few wipes to get the blood off her hands but they hadn't done much. Her phone was ringing, but she was too lost in her thoughts to hear it. The ambulance ride to the hospital was the scariest ten minutes of her life. She'd held Nick's hand, feeling useless. Watching the paramedic fight to save Nick's life. Up until that moment, the scariest day of her life was the day Nick was kidnapped. Watching him panicking and fighting to breathe had been agonising, but as he'd slipped into cardiac arrest in the ambulance, no level of fear could ever compare. Nor the pit in her stomach as she waited for his heart to start again. By a miracle it had, they'd made it to the hospital, doctors had rushed him into an exam room where she had been shoved into the corridor, waiting to hear anything on his condition.

She looked up to see Russell standing over her, with a paper bag and spare clothes. "I brought what was in your locker." She took them out of his hands, thanking him.

"How are you, how are you doing?" he asked. She was struggling to fight back the tears now. She took in a breath and nodded.

"I haven't heard anything." She said, verbally ignoring his question.

"Do you have someone to look after the kids?" Paige didn't respond, her mind had trailed off trying to bring up the face of Nick's shooter. She was wondering why that son of a bitch had shot Nick, the whole situation felt...off. She didn't recognise the shooter, not that that ever mattered.

"He was driving a silver Volvo, I think, I only got a partial plate. Sierra Kilo 45. He was waiting for us. The car was sitting outside the bar when we went in."

"That's good. Maybe we can get the rest of the plate from CCTV outside the bar." Russell responded, writing down what Paige was telling him.

"He was a pro, he was dressed all in black, in and out without saying anything, but it felt personal too, I could see it in his eyes." She paused, picturing the shooter staring at Nick. "He wanted to kill Nick." She added her voice just above a whisper. "He didn't bother about me being a witness, just left."

"That's really good, Brass is interviewing bar staff right now, Morgan and Catherine are heading to the scene, I'll get Morgan to look over Nick's past cases."

"Shit, I need to call Brass to get someone on the kids." She pulled out her phone noticing the missed calls from Nick's sister and Sara. Paige glanced at the time, her and Nick were meant to pick up the kids twenty minutes ago.

"Barbra can take them if you need someone." Paige shook her head trying to get her shaky hands to find Kate Stokes' number. It made sense to move them to Russells' but she barely knew Barbra. Russell could see her debating it in her head."They'll be fine." He shouldn't really be asking her this. He knew how particular she and Nick were about who they left their children with. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, but she barely knew her. Their lives were possibly about to be ripped apart, the least she could do was make them feel safe now. Nick would kill her if he knew she'd left them with someone they barely knew. He was more particular than her, and for good reason.

"I'll call Nick's sister." She decided. With a few cops they should be perfectly safe, there was no evidence as of yet that Nick's family was in danger. "I'm gonna get changed." Paige said, taking the clothes from him bracing herself to inform Nick's sister of the shooting. Russell nodded

"I'll wait here."

Shaw walked into his boss's office. He'd shot Stokes, but his stupid wife had been there. There was no way he could have watched him die; he'd have to have shot her too. He didn't have the heart to kill her. Idiot of a mate had shown him their kids, cutest things he'd seen. He was a real sucker for kids. He'd taken their father, leaving their mother out of it. He'd done his job anyway – sort of.

"Hey Karl." He said, trying to lighten his mood.

"You do it?" He grumbled back.

"Twice in the chest doubt he'll survive."

"What do you mean 'doubt'?"

"His wife was there, I couldn't stick around to watch him die, but mate, I put two 9 mils in his chest, relax."

Karl looked at his friend as if he'd lost his mind "His wife if a freaking god damned cop. Did she see your face?" The anger rising in his chest

"No, of course she didn't." He lied

"I just hope for your sake she didn't." Karl warned

"Now what?"

"Part two."

I wrote this story ages ago, and re-read it after I published Memories and I decided it was terrible. So with some new ideas, and hopefully better grammar, here it is. I hope you like it.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Unfortunately I don't own CSI, but Paige Muir is my own character.