A/N: Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! I watched CSI the other night and I only saw four short scenes with Nick in them. (Well, I didn't see the whole thing, so there could've been more, but that's not the point.) I thought up this story because of my madness.

Disclaimers: I don't own CSI or any of its characters.

Summary: Nick isn't anywhere to be found. What happened to him?

Sara sighed she was getting nowhere with this case. All the leads were dead ends, the witnesses weren't talking, there weren't any prints, and there was barely any evidence. Even if they found the murderer it would be hard to hold them in court.

This was the third double she had pulled this week. She was tired and her temper was short. It had been extra busy the past two weeks because the lab was shorthanded. There was a bug going around. Warrick had caught it two days before and was still puking in his toilet. Catherine was coughing a lot today, but she insisted it was nothing. Still she wasn't allowed out in the field. Nick looked really queasy after the interview with the victim's brother earlier that day, but he said it was nothing and went back to work. Greg was on vacation, so he probably hadn't been affected by the bug. Grissom seemed to be the only one who didn't look or feel sick. Even Sara had been feeling sick earlier, but it passed quickly.

Sara sighed again. She couldn't keep her mind on the work at hand. She got up and headed for the Break Room. I NEED coffee, she thought. She walked over to the counter and found a fresh pot of coffee.

That's funny, I thought Greg was on vacation, she thought as she took a whiff of the coffee, definitely Blue Hawaiian. Someone must have found his stash.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. She took a long sip and set the cup down. Ahhh, I needed that, she thought.

She was about to pour herself another cup when Catherine stumbled in. She looks like she needs this much more than me, Sara thought upon sight of her co-worker. She poured the coffee into the cup and headed over to Catherine who was slouched on the couch. Catherine had been too tired to even noticed Sara when she had entered the Break Room. She was so tired she wouldn't have made it to her goal, the coffee machine, if it hadn't been for Sara.

Sara tapped Catherine on the shoulder startling her.

"Hey Cath, you look like shit," Sara greeted.

"Thanks," was all Catherine murmured in response.

"Anytime," Sara replied, "You look like you could use some coffee," she said holding out the cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Catherine mumbled for the second time, accepting the cup gratefully.

Catherine took a sip of the warm coffee, smiling appreciatively.

Sara walked back to the coffee machine and poured herself another cup. She walked back over to the couch and sat down next to Catherine.

They finished their coffee in silence and then Catherine followed Sara back to her office to see what she had found, which wasn't much. They passed the locker room on the way to Sara's office. From just outside the door they could hear muffled sounds. Catherine opened the door slightly and peered inside. She couldn't see anything, but she identified the sounds they heard as someone puking the contents of their lunch into a toilet.

Catherine opened the door wider and stepped inside, closely followed by Sara. They walked past the bay of lockers slowly and peeked around the corner to where the bathroom stalls were. Inside the second closest stall they could see Nick almost doubled over, and puking into the toilet. Sara guessed he hadn't had enough time to lock the door in his rush to get to the restroom.

Catherine and Sara waited for Nick to emerge from the stall before making their presence known.

When he finally did come out he was holding his stomach as if he was afraid that if he let go it would escape.

"Hey, Nicky, you don't look so good," Catherine said making him jump.

Well, of course he looks bad, he just regurgitated his whole lunch into the toilet, Catherine scolded herself.

"I'm fine," Nick said in a scratchy voice. This set him off in a coughing fit.

Sara and Catherine both rushed to his side. Catherine started rubbing his back while Sara just tried to keep him from tumbling over.

Once Nick's coughing subsided they walked over to the benches between the lockers.

"Why don't you head home, you're not going to be able to do much work if you're constantly throwing-up," Catherine suggested. Sara nodded her agreement.

"But," Nick started but was interrupted by Sara.

"No buts, we'll let Grissom know," Sara said sternly.

"Yeah, go home and get some rest," Catherine ordered.

Nick knew better than to argue, so he just nodded and smiled. He got up and walked to his locker. He took out his jacket and said a quick good-bye before leaving the locker room.

A/N: I was thinking about making this chapter longer, but it's 10:00 and I'm done thinking for the day, sorry I can't post it today, though. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please review.