a/n: This is based on the season 1 ep, "Who Are You?". You'll quickly see this is an alternate version of events. Enjoy!

A Good Listener

Nick snapped on one latex glove as he studied the photos in front of him. The Helners home was nice, and the framed photos in front of him blended in nicely.

One photo in particular caught his attention. Two people stood on a rocky surface, but what grabbed Nick was what they each held.

Curved, serrated edge . . . like crocodile teeth. Nick's heart beat faster as he realized this could very well be the type of instrument used to murder the victim, Faye Green. His eyes stayed glued to the photo as he raised his voice to ask a question.

"Mrs. Henler, do you and your husband do any rock-climbing?" he asked. In response, he heard the distinct click of a gun.

He froze and slowly turned to look.

"Yes," Mrs. Henler said, holding a gun at his face. "It's what I used to kill her."

Grissom couldn't help but feel satisfied. Maybe he felt a bit smug too. He hated it when criminals tried to deny what he already knew to be true. Then again, Gil got a thrill from proving they were lying.

He turned his car, following the police car that held Mr. Henler. Gil grabbed his cell phone and dialed Brass.

He wanted to give the detective a heads-up on Henler and what the CSIs found. A very faint grin showed on Gil's face as he thought about the other evidence Nick was collecting.

Amy Henler cried, but the gun didn't shake in her hands. That was Nick's first clue that though she was obviously disturbed, she was in enough control to really pull the trigger.

Nick didn't know if it'd even be better if she wasn't in control. He gulped as he kept his hands up in the air.

"There was so much blood!" Mrs. Henler said. "No one else could see it, but I could."

"Mrs. Henler, I'm a good listener," Nick said over the lump in his throat. "You've got to give me the gun." She jerked away, as if he had lunged for it rather than negotiate.

"You arrested my husband," she shouted at him between tears. She raised the gun at him, closer to his head. "I'm sorry!"

Nick's pulse sky-rocketed. "No, wait!"

"I'm sorry!" she said again.

"Please! They'll know!" It was a desperate attempt, but it worked. Amy Henler froze.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Nick swallowed.

"The police. They'll know--you don't want to shoot a cop, crime scene investigator or otherwise," Nick reasoned. "You should just try to get away."

Amy seemed to think about this, her eyes looking off as she envisioned the scenario.

"You'll tell them," she said. Nick shook his head eagerly.

"No. You could . . ." He tried to think of something, quickly, any alternative to being killed. "Lock me in a room. Take my cell phone. They won't know until they come looking for me."

She looked like she was considering it. But her eyes were still so distraught, tears running down them in a new torrent as she studied him. Slowly, she shook her head, and Nick felt that he'd lost. Tears of his own prickled at his eyes.

"No. You're coming with me."

"Look, I've told you already," Jason Henler tried again. "I was in Reno when Faye disappeared. Check with the company!"

Brass raised a hand before the suspect got out of hand. "Oh trust me. We have someone checking it out."

Gil suppressed a smile. Sara was checking it all out right now. Catherine was on her way to help Nicky collect evidence.

"Do you want to explain the blood on the floor?" Brass asked.

Henler looked surprise. "What blood?! The floor is lacquered. Amy repaints every spring. So what?"

Suddenly the hairs on the back of Gil's neck stood on end. He felt a shudder go through his body.

"Amy repaints the floors?" he asked, interrupting the conversation for the first time.

Jason nodded, oblivious to the implications.

Gil looked to Brass, and saw the same realization in his eyes. We could have the wrong person.

Suddenly Grissom's phone rang. He quickly answered it.

"Grissom."

Gil answered the phone, and Catherine tucked a strand of her hair away as she started speaking.

"Uh, where's Nick?" She swept her eyes over the living room.

"He's not there?" Grissom asked.

"His car is, but he isn't," Catherine answered. She knelt down and picked up a shattered cell phone with a gloved hand. "His kit is here. I found his cell phone, which looks like someone slammed into the floor." Her eyes flickered to another part of what she feared was going to be evidence. "His gun is here too."

"What about Mrs. Henler?" Gil asked next. Catherine noted that rare but rising tone of panic in his voice.

"Gone," Catherine said. "No car in the garage and the master bedroom looks tossed." It could have meant a million things, but none of them were good, especially with Nick AWOL.

"I'm with Brass," Grissom said. "I'll have an APB put out on her car. Let me know what else you find."

Catherine hung up. She surveyed the room again, this time with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She could tell Grissom knew something more, but for now, she just had to find what she could to help the case.

"Nick's missing too," Gil said in a low tone so only Brass could hear.

"Do you think . . ."

Gil shook his head. "I hope not." Amy Henler had killed and buried a body before. Grissom hoped history didn't repeat itself.

Brass cleared his throat, and maybe their worst fears from his mind.

"Kidnapping?"

Gil just raised an eyebrow. He honestly didn't know. They could only hope for the best.

The best, however, tended to be in relative terms.