Disclaimers: Not mine

Spoilers: Nope

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SACRIFICES

(Chapter 3 - A Careless Sacrifice)

"Shouldn't we wait for Catherine?" Nick asked hopefully, though he already knew what Grissom's answer would be.

"No, she's not part of night shift anymore." Grissom said with an indifferent tone before handing the younger CSI a slip of paper, "419 in the parking lot of the Venetian. You're working solo tonight."

"No can do, boss."

"Excuse me?" Grissom looked up with a surprised look, "I thought you'd be ecstatic about the chance to work alone."

"Not if it means losing Catherine."

"Catherine's promotion has nothing to do with you, Nick."

"How can you say that, Grissom? Her leaving has everything to do with every single one of us!" Nick gestured angrily at Warrick and Sara, who stood behind him in silence, before pointing at Grissom. "Especially you!"

Glancing at the other two, Grissom retaliated calmly, "Nick, this is an opportunity of a lifetime for Catherine. She's wanted to be a supervisor for a very long time now. If you truly care about her, then you should be happy for her. I, for one, am very happy for her."

"Aren't you the least bit upset that she's gone?"

"She's not gone. She's merely part of a different shift. We still work for the same lab, the same citizens of Las Vegas."

"Guys, help me out here." Nick turned to each side to look at Warrick and Sara for their help. When they didn't respond, he shook his head, "You guys know as well as I do that this team will never be the same again with Catherine gone! And if I'm the only person here who cares about her and our team enough to speak up, then maybe I should leave too!" He ripped his badge off his shirt and threw it on the table.

"Nick man, don't say anything you're going to regret." Warrick finally spoke up behind him.

"Warrick's right, Nick. Don't do this. Don't make a careless sacrifice. Catherine wouldn't want you to." Sara glanced at Grissom when she said Catherine's name.

"Warrick, Sara, you're with me. We've got a double homicide in Summerlin." Grissom handed them the case file before turning back to Nick, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that. You've got a crime scene to process. So take your badge back and get to work."

Knowing he was fighting a losing battle, Nick grabbed his badge and stormed out of the room.

"Anyone else have bones to pick with me?" Grissom asked with an authoritative tone. When Warrick and Sara answered in the negative with their silence, Grissom nodded, "Good. You two go on ahead, I'll meet you at the crime scene. I have to tie up some loose ends on my last case."

"Nick should've known better." Sara shook her head, speaking only when she was sure they were out of Grissom's hearing range.

"He was right though. Just chose a bad way to show how he felt." Warrick sighed.

"We should've said something."

"And what? Get Grissom pissed at us too? I don't think I can stand his moodiness for an entire night. Can you?"

"No. I just wish we could do something."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But provoking Grissom isn't the way to get things done. We just have to let him and this situation cool off for a bit before we try anything."

"I'm not sure anything will help."

"What do you mean?"

"I talked to Catherine. She's pretty determined to stick this one out."

Warrick chuckled dryly, "They're both so damn stubborn. The only two people who can change their minds are each other."

"It's gonna be a long summer."

*To be continued*