DOUBLE DECOY
Chapter 3: Saving Sara
-------------------"Culpepper, it's too quiet in there, it's WAY too quiet," Nick muttered... his rambling tone catching everyone's attention.
Culpepper shook his head, "Stokes, may I suggest that the next time you go on a stakeout, you take a dose of Valium?"
"I'm serious. I haven't heard one sound from Sara's place in the past ten minutes... and just... something doesn't feel right." He absent-mindedly grasped the shirt material over his stomach... his insides still twisting in knots. He shook his head and moved toward the back doors. "I gotta go in there."
"No!" Culpepper grabbed the back of his shirt as he threw the doors open. "You are to stay put! You're not going to compromise this mission, Stokes!"
But it was too late. Nick had ducked out of his grasp and was already jogging inside, his concern for Sara first and foremost on his mind.
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Sara writhed under the figure that had her pinned to the bed, gasping and choking for air as the white cord of her curling iron was tightened around her throat. She thrashed her legs beneath him, attempting to throw him off of her, but he held strong. She opened her mouth wide to scream and gasped as she felt something being shoved into her mouth... some sort of towel. She screamed against it nonetheless, knowing that even the slightest sound of distress would alert Nick and Culpepper, and they'd be at her side to help her.
Although... a nagging voice in her head told her... wouldn't they have already heard the struggle? Her mind suddenly became consumed with where they could possibly be, and why nobody was rushing to save her. Her eyes widened as a glass was placed in her line of vision, and she knew what was coming next. The sodium amytal. As he removed the towel and forced her to down the awful-tasting liquid, her thoughts went to Nick.
She would never know. She would never know if he felt something for her beyond friendship... if their moment in the van had meant anything to him. She'd never know what they could've had... if they could've sustained a meaningful, serious relationship. He would never know, either. And as her eyes rolled back in her head, the last of the liquid sliding down her throat... her last thought was how he would never know that she loved him.
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Nick slipped in through the back, wanting to curse aloud at the sight of the open window... but knowing he needed to get to Sara first. He could worry about tearing into Culpepper later. He fought desperately not to stumble... and upon glancing around at the pitch-black that surrounded him, he realized... someone had tripped the circuit. That son of a bitch had seen them bug the house, and he tripped the circuit.
His anger now escalated to its highest point, and Nick headed for the bedroom, cocking his gun as quietly as he could. When he stepped up to the open bedroom door, he froze... the sight in front of him leaving him momentarily stunned.
Sara was lying on her back in bed, unconscious, while a figure in dark clothing straddled her waist, pulling a cord tighter around her neck. This was what finally brought Nick back to reality, and he extended his gun, shooting the assailant not once, but five times, in the back... the angle and momentum of the shots sending the figure flying off the bed and onto the floor.
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"Shit," Culpepper muttered upon hearing the gunshots. He gestured to a nearby radio, snapping at one of his men, "Call for backup!" before grabbing his gun and heading inside, several other agents falling in line behind him, their guns poised at the ready.
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"Sara!" Nick leaped onto the bed, hurriedly pulling the cord away from her and tossing the curling iron aside. Upon catching sight of the purple bruises around her neck, his emotions took hold of him, and his eyes filled with tears. "Oh shit, Sara..." He reached for her, pulling her up, checking for signs of life. When she began choking up the sodium amytal all over his shirt, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God..."
He then helped her bend over, rubbing her back as she regurgitated the rest of the concoction. When she'd finished, he pulled her back and laid her against the bed, his stomach twisting in knots once more when he saw her eyes roll back in her head. As she battled with consciousness, her hand blindly shot out from her side. "Nick...?"
Though she wasn't completely aware of her surroundings, or what was going on, she sensed he was there. He exhaled in a mixture of a breath of relief and a nervous chuckle, reaching out to pull her into his embrace... holding her. "I'm right here, Peanut," he assured her, smoothing back her hair as his tears began to fall. "I'm right here."
His head snapped up as Culpepper and the rest of the Feds burst through the door, their guns extended and ready to shoot anything in their way. "Stokes!" he called. "We heard shots."
"Yeah... no thanks to your damn 'bugs'," he muttered. "The son of a bitch tripped the circuit and came in through an open window." He nodded toward the side of the bed near the window. "He's over there."
Culpepper bent over the lifeless body of their as-of-yet-unknown assailant, checking for a pulse before looking up at Nick. He gestured to the body. "Did you do this, Stokes?"
"Yeah," he glared, "And your incompetency did THIS." He nodded at Sara's limp form.
It was at that moment that they were joined by the rest of the CSI team, Brass and Warrick bursting in first with their guns extended... Catherine following close behind. "Nick..." she called, "You alright?"
"I'm not the one to be concerned about right now," he replied, and nodded toward Sara, who he was still holding in his arms.
"Oh God..." She rushed to his side, peering over his shoulder at Sara, moving a few errant chocolate strands out of the younger CSI's face. "Is she..."
"She's still alive," he assured her, "But we're gonna need an ambulance."
"Gotcha." She immediately pulled out her cell phone and called for paramedic assistance, before turning her attention back to Nick and Sara. "God, look at those bruises on her neck..." Her eyes went to the curling iron in the corner. "He must've pulled that thing pretty tight."
"Yeah... it's a miracle she's still alive." Nick took a deep breath, attempting to keep his emotions steady in the presence of his fellow team members. He glanced up, searching for the one team member he most looked up to, before turning his eyes up to Catherine.
"Grissom was suspended from the case," Catherine replied in answer to the unasked question in his eyes. "But I called him, he's on his way." Her voice softer, she asked, "Nicky, what happened?"
Their attention diverted as Sara stirred in his arms, again reaching out blindly. "Nick?"
He held her tighter, grabbing the hand she extended. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles... missing Catherine's incredulous stare as he whispered to her, "I'm here."
"Don't leave me," she begged groggily.
He shook his head, though he knew she was unaware he was doing it. "Never."
Catherine just watched this interaction with raised eyebrows, and laid a supportive hand on Nick's shoulder while keeping an eye on Sara. The rest of the team and the Feds began gathering evidence... everyone waiting with bated breath to hear those familiar sirens break the silence of the night.
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The entire team stood as a doctor emerged from Sara's trauma room, Nick being the first to leap to his feet. "So?" he asked anxiously.
"She sustained a lot of bruising around her neck, and we had to pump her stomach to get rid of the sodium amytal she'd ingested, but other than that, she's fine."
"Did you find any signs of sexual assault?" Grissom asked.
The doctor shook her head, which incited a collective sigh of relief from the CSIs. "No evidence of rape or sexual assault, no. Aside from the bruises around her neck, she's just fine."
"Thank you, doctor," Catherine murmured, reaching out to squeeze Nick's shoulder supportively.
She nodded once in response, "You're welcome. She's awake right now, if you'd like to see her." She glanced at each of the guys. "She was asking for a Nick."
A half-smile twitched at the corners of the Texan's lips. "That's me," he replied, and cast a glance at the rest of the team.
When they nodded their understanding, he nodded back, and smiled a thank-you at the doctor before heading into Sara's room. As he stepped inside, he knocked lightly on the door. "Knock, knock..."
She smiled groggily from her bed, weakly lifting up a hand to wave at him... her eyes heavy-lidded. "Hey..."
He smiled and slowly made his way to her bed, drinking in her image... an image he didn't think he'd be able to see again. He fought back the urge to just drop to her bed and cry, and instead reached a hand out and touched her foot through the thermal blanket draped over her legs. "How are you feeling?" he asked, moving to sit in the chair at her bedside.
She smiled, and patted the space on the bed beside her, motioning for him to sit with her. "I'm a little tired," she murmured, her eyes following him as he gingerly sat at the edge of her bed. She reached up to her throat, patting it gently. "And my neck hurts."
He nodded slowly, his eyes wandering to her bruises. With a feather-light touch, he ran his fingertip across it. "Yeah..." he whispered. After a long moment of silence, he met her eyes... sensing her eyes on him. His sable eyes searched hers. When he saw her lips spread into a smile, he chuckled. "What?"
"You saved me," she whispered, "Didn't you?"
Another chuckle escaped his lips as her hand reached up to cup his face... and he covered it with his own, caressing her long, slim fingers. "I guess I did, yeah." He rolled his eyes. "Against Culpepper's wishes."
"Oh, really?"
He nodded. "If it had been up to him..." His voice broke with all his pent-up emotion... emotion from their encounter in the van... from almost losing her... and he tore his eyes from hers as they filled with tears, finishing his sentence in a defeated whisper. "You could've wound up dead."
"Nick..." she whispered, and stroked his face tenderly, attempting to gain his attention once more.
When he met her eyes again, a single tear fell from each eye... thus causing Sara's eyes to water. She choked back a sob, and reached her other arm out to him, squeezing his arm in a gesture for him to come closer. The hand still resting on his face wiped at his tears. "Nick..."
"Huh?"
She smiled tearfully at him. "Thank you."
He chuckled, and shook his head lightly as he blinked rapidly several times, trying to blink away his vulnerability. "You don't have to thank me, Sara, I'm just glad you're okay." He reached for her, gathering her into his arms, and held her tightly against his body, smiling when he felt her arms go tight around him in return.
She ran her hands through the short hair at the nape of his neck, her other hand rubbing his back. Her eyes slipped shut at the feel of him against her body. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Nick."
He smiled, and rubbed her back in return. "I was just lookin' out for ya, Sair. Anybody else woulda done the same."
"I don't just mean in that way," she murmured, pulling away, her hands finding his shoulders.
He searched her eyes. "In what way, then?"
She stared into his eyes for a long moment, searching them as he searched hers, before finally whispering, "In every way." She shook her head adamantly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Sara..." he whispered, brushing a few errant strands of hair out of her face.
"I mean it, Nick. This whole thing has really made me think. Nobody's ever cared for me the way you have. I think I--" She paused mid-sentence, mid-shrug... her mouth still open as she contemplated whether or not to finish.
"What?" he asked, brow furrowing.
She shook her head. "Nevermind." She moved away from him and scooted back, propping her pillows up behind her.
Nick watched as she fidgeted nervously with her hands, his forehead still wrinkled in utter confusion. "What? Sara, you can tell me."
She chuckled. "No, no I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because, it's..." She shrugged. "It's too abrupt. You and I haven't known each other all that long, and it would just be too... uhh... abrupt."
He chuckled. "Well abrupt or not, Sara, you know you can tell me anything." He shrugged. "I mean, I know we haven't known each other all that long, but I think... in the time we HAVE known each other, we've gotten pretty close." He smirked, his thoughts flitting to their moment in the van earlier that day. "Really close."
She grinned, reading what was on his mind, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
He scooted closer to her, his hand cupping her cheek as he leaned in close, staring her straight in the eye. "Tell me, Sara," he whispered.
Her pulse quickened without her conscious consent, as she felt his breath hitting her lips. She exhaled shakily, fighting to hold onto her self-restraint. "I think I..."
He leaned a little closer, his eyes still boring into hers, sparkling with something new she couldn't quite put her finger on. "You what?" he whispered.
Her gaze focused on his lips as he drifted closer, and she nearly gasped at how quickly her heart jumped into her throat. "I..."
Before she could finish, his lips had closed over hers. He sucked her bottom lip between his, and this is what caused her to gasp.... her hands flying off the mattress and reaching up to hang onto his wrists while his hands enclosed her face. Their lips closed over the other's in an endless cycle... Sara's need for grasping Nick's bottom lip between her own battling with Nick's need to grasp Sara's bottom lip. They chuckled against each other's lips... both simultaneously realizing that their kisses were almost a reflection of their day-to-day relationship... sparring back and forth. Although, this was far better than trading flirts or insults.
When their need for oxygen finally became too great, they broke apart, their foreheads keeping the connection. Sara's eyes slipped shut, and she stroked Nick's arms as she breathlessly divulged her secret. "I think I might love you..."
"Good," he chuckled breathlessly, leaning up to kiss her forehead while his fingers tangled in her hair. He then pressed his forehead to hers once more and stared into her soft, sable eyes, his own sparkling mischievously as he smirked. "Then I just might love you back."
She giggled, tears filling her eyes once more, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hold him tight. She squinted her eyes shut as she tightened her arms around him, and a few tears slipped past her lids. She sniffled, her voice coming out in a shaky whimper. "Don't ever leave me, okay?"
This was what caused Nick to break, and he practically crushed her lithe form to his body, his tears finally spilling forth... a few drops staining her hospital gown. "Never, Peanut, never..." he assured her tearfully, rocking her back and forth. He kissed her hair, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I promise..."
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TO BE CONTINUED