Disclaimer: Don't own them, but I will openly admit to occasionally drooling over Nick… But alas, he belongs to the creators of CSI
A/N: Thanks to:
Sara Sidle Stokes (Thanks! And you're right, Sara is already pretty tough); MissyJane (Thanks a million!); Melanie (I writing as fast as my fingers will let me :o) ); Corporal Cupcake (LOL! I love that expression. Too cute… Holy jumping cow! Awesome reply! Updated as fast as possible, I promise); Ashley (Thank you! I'm very flattered that you think my imagination is amazing. That made me smile. Thanks a lot :o) ); Lisa (Okay, first of all, I looooovvvveee your name… LOL. Had to say it. Second, I'm glad you like my way of writing both sides of Hank. Thanks for replying); Tish (I wish I could tell you exactly what would happen, but then… what would be the point of writing it…??); J gard (I agree, Elvis most certainly has left the building… and if you don't mind, I think I might use that in my fic… I can picture Catherine saying that about Hank…); CSIaddict (BUT! I really am sorry for making you wait!! Honest. Well, let's just say that work will always interfere, but, I'll try to get these chappies out as fast as possible! Promise! :o) ); KellBell (It's all good! I understand the crazy busy lives we lead. Thanks for replying! Very glad you like the suspense in that chapter…)
* Sorry to anyone who didn't make it onto the list above. I posted this chapter pretty soon after I posted the other chapter, and due to the whole delay system FF.net has, well, I may have missed a couple of reviews. If I did, it totally wasn't intentional. I'll be mentioning you in the next chapter.
Chapter 13
The bullet reeled across the room, it's target anyone or anything in the room. It turned slowly, as it spiraled toward its victim. A bullet is not bias, and willingly attacks whatever gets in its way, be it human or object.
She saw the bullet hurtling toward her, at a speed that at first seemed as slow as molasses. She saw it coming toward her, inching forward, the gold casing slowly rotating as it cut through the air. She was rooted to the spot. She couldn't figure out if she should move or if she should hope that it wouldn't make it close enough to her. But she knew the possibility of the last option, and she knew that the bullet would almost surely keep going for quite a distance before it will stop without hitting anything. What generally stops it is an object. Or a person.
She felt the bullet enter her abdomen, her eyes growing round. The air left her lungs in a whoosh, and breathing suddenly became difficult. A blood red stain began spreading across her shirt, and she put her hand over it to cover the wound. She raised her hand and stared at the redness of her hands. Red's my favorite color… Her mind began wandering, wool gathering, as consciousness began to elude her. She looked at her hand strangely, and held it, shaking in front of her.
Her body dropped like a ton of bricks, her legs going out from under her.
She heard someone scream, "no!" But her body just couldn't hold out any longer. It was done. It was tired… She breathed in shallowly, and tried to apply pressure to her open and gaping wound. She felt hands pushing hers out of the way, tending to her. She could see lips moving, but what they were actually saying was eluding her. Everything was getting further and further away.
"Don't you give up on me Catherine. I won't let you die." Nick put his hands over her wound. The blood wouldn't stop flowing. He undid his buttons on his shirt faster than he ever had before and he wrapped the shirt around his hands, as he applied pressure, using the shirt to soak up the blood.
"Sara?"
Nick looked over at Sara who was straddling Hank's chest. "She's fine."
Catherine nodded. "Elvis has left the building." She said, looking over at Hank.
It only took Nick a few moments to realize that Catherine was talking about Hank. "Ya, you could say that again. Elvis has most definitely left the building."
She
was a woman on a mission
Here to drown a man for leavin
So I set her up again to watch him drown
~Sara~
She had just about succeeded
When that low down no goodcheater
Good for nothing came struttin' through the crown
"You slimy, no good son of a bitch! I can't believe you shot her!" Sara said, straddling Hank. They had landed like that after she had tackled him. She held her gun to his head and kept him motionless. "You have no idea what you're problem is, do you?"
"Sara?" Hank asked wearily. He put on his most confused face. "What's going on? Why are you holding a gun to my head?"
"Because you son of a bitch, there is no point in me aiming at your chest because there obviously isn't anything in there for me to aim for." Sara sneered. I'm going to nail you.
"But I love you! I never would have done any of this if I didn't love you." Hank protested. "You're my world, Sara. I wouldn't dream of hurting you in any way."
Oh
he was layin' it on so thick
He never missed a lick
Professing his never ending love
"You hurt my friends and you think that I am just going to forgive you because you did it out of love?" Sara tapped the side of his head lightly with her gun. "Hello? Anybody home? You need a reality check buddy, cause Elvis has left the building."
"But Sara, we were supposed to move in together. You were going to break things off with Nick and then you were going to move back in with me. That's the way everything was supposed to be. You promised."
"I never promised anything."
"But we were supposed to get back together." Hank whined. His eyes were cloudy, and Sara was surprised that he was able to distinguish the fact the she was Sara.
"Did you honestly think that we were just going to kiss and make up?"
Oh but I never will forget, when she
stood up and said
Well I guess you think we're just goinna kiss and makeup don't ya
(That's when she said)
"But…. But…" Hank was stammering as Brass came bursting through the door, Greg on his heels."
"Freeze!" Brass cried, his gun trained on Hank.
Sara waved him on, "don't worry. He's not going anywhere. Help Catherine."
Greg ran over to Catherine, and smoothed her damp hair off her forehead. "Catherine. It' me Greg."
Catherine swallowed hard and nodded slightly.
"I spoke with Grissom. He's going to be fine, only slight bleeding. He's going to make it. He wants you to know that."
Catherine smiled a little and nodded. "Tell him I love him and that I'm sorry."
"You're going to be able to tell him that you love him yourself. I won't let you die without giving Gris the message in person." Greg said determinedly.
"Greg?"
"Break the news to Lindsay gently, okay?"
"Yeah, sure whatever Catherine. But I really don't think…"
"Thanks." Catherine's breath hitched.
Paramedics rushed in moments later, running past their former colleague over to Catherine.
Sara continued to straddle Hank until Brass tugged on her elbow, helping her up. "We have everything under control here, Sara."
A couple boys in blue came running in, and clamped handcuffs over Hank's wrists.
"I love you Sara!" Hank shouted.
Sara turned to him, tears brimming in her eyes. Her tough exterior was beginning to crumble. She coldly stared at him through her tears. "Kiss this." She said, turning around.
Why
don't you kiss...kiss this
And I don't mean on my rosy red lips
Me and You, oh we are through
And there's only one thing left for you to do
You just come on over here one last time
Pucker up and close your eyes, and kiss this...good bye
Catherine was loaded up on a stretcher. Nick walked beside her, until he reached Sara. Catherine nodded and gave his hand a squeeze. "Greg, go with her." Nick commanded.
Greg nodded, emotion filling his features.
Nick stopped next to Sara. He reached for her hand, and noticed she was still holding her gun. "Sara, he's in custody, you can let go of your gun."
Sara nodded, and dropped her weapon. She turned away from Nick. "I wanted to kill him Nick. I wanted him to pay for what he did."
"I know Sara. But he will pay for it, the proper way." Nick wrapped his arms around her from behind. "You had him pinned before he could do anything Sara. Where did you learn to do that?"
"A girl living on her own in San Francisco and Las Vegas needs to have some sort of protection."
Well the next thing I recall
She had him back against the wall
Chewing him like a bulldog on a bone
She was putting him in his place
And I mean right up in his face
Draggin' him down a list of done me wrongs
Nick laughed and then held her closer. "Do you want to go to the hospital?"
Sara shook her head. "There is someone I have to talk to."
~~ Interrogation Room: CSI ~~
It
was just about now that the crowd gathered round
They came to watch him pay for his every sin
She called him everything under the sun
And when we thought that she was done
She ran back and she let him have it again
Sara stood in the same room as Hank again, her weapon still at the crime scene. He was sitting in the chair and she stared at him just as coldly as she had before. "Do you understand why you are here, Hank?"
"Care to explain it to me?" Hank sneered.
"Let me see… First you started out by hitting and abusing me. Oh, that's right, and you have even taken swings at Nick. When you still couldn't get me back, you started causing problems. You kidnapped most of my friends, and shot two of them." She put her hands down on the table and leaned in closer to him. "How am I doing so far?"
"It was your fault that I shot her." Hank said.
"Her name is Catherine. Are you that sick that you can't even say her name? She is not Sara, she's Catherine."
"It is your fault that she got shot. If you hadn't tackled me."
"I did my job. I took you out. You shot her, and we're going to prove it if we have to." Sara turned away from him and stalked out of the room.
She said...she said
Why don't you kiss...kiss this
And I don't mean on my rosy red lips
Me and You, oh we are through
And there's only one thing left for you to do
You just come on over here one last time
Pucker up and close your eyes, and kiss this...good bye
~Nick~
He stared at her through the double-sided glass. She's got guts. She actually confronted the bastard. I can't believe it. Nick smiled to himself. That's my woman.
~Ambulance~
Greg sat beside Catherine, gripping her hand inside his own. "Hey Catherine, do
you remember that case, where you were investigating an ex-vegas showgirl's
disappearance? And then you caught me dancing with the evidence on my head?"
Catherine started to laugh and then she groaned.
Greg laughed nervously. "Okay. No laughing. Laughter is bad." He searched his memory back for something to talk to Catherine about. And then it dawned on him. Lindsay. "You know, I remember the first time I saw Linds, about three years ago. She was this cute little blonde kid, with pig tails and missing teeth." Greg laughed at the memory. "You two were walking down the hallway, hand in hand. She had been dropped off at CSI for you by your sister. She kept me company in the lab while you were out on a case."
Catherine smiled underneath the oxygen mask. "Tell her I love her. Tell my baby I love her."
Greg smiled. "I will." Tears glistened in Greg Sanders' eyes. "But you're going to tell her as soon as the doctors stitch you up."
~Sara~
She walked down the hallways of CSI, headed toward the locker room. Nick was finishing up with Hank and Sara was going to wait for him in the locker room. Sara opened her locker, for what seemed like the first time ever. A roll of pictures sat on her shelf, untouched from a month ago. She had left them in here, unopened, mostly because the roll contained pictures of Hank. She opened the envelope with shaky hands. She pulled out the first picture, and it was of her and Hank. "Kiss this, Hank. You can officially kiss my ass." She tore the picture in two, and then proceeded to rip up the rest of the pictures that he was in.
Kiss this
And I don't mean on my rosy red lips
Me and You, oh we are through
And there's only one thing left for you to do
You just come on over here one last time
Pucker up and close your eyes, and kiss this...good bye
Kiss this
She pulled out the last picture in the bundle. It was a picture taken of Grissom, Lindsay and Catherine, at a BBQ a couple of months back. She smiled, and then tears sprung to her eyes. Tossing the remnants of Hank's pictures in the trash, she grabbed her coat. It was time for her to get to the hospital. She had to get there to wait for news on her dearest friends.
A/N: Song: Kiss This By: Aaron Tippin. Album: People Like Us
A/N: See! This one didn't take long for me to write. Hope you like it.
Like it? Don't? Either way, I want to know! Please R&R~
~Lisa
