Chapter 3

"Grissom, what's going on?" Nick asked for what seemed like the millionth time, and again, received no answer from the older supervisor, who just kept driving, without even a glance at either him or Catherine. Nick's bad feeling had escalated into full out fear. What if something had happened to Dani? What if she was…dead? No, no, she couldn't be dead…he would've felt something…a severing of the ties that connected them…something…

Catherine was feeling similarly bothered, not because she was afraid personally, but because she was afraid what Nick might do to himself should something have happened to Dani.

"Grissom, tell us what's going on!!" She said, angry at being left in the dark. Grissom peered in the rearview mirror at her, then took a deep breath, obviously deciding that they were going to find out anyway, and it was better to let them know ahead of time, so they'd be able to control themselves.

"Dani's been shot…Warrick and Sara heard shots from where she was working and they found her there…one shot just above the heart, and one in her stomach. She had already slipped into unconsciousness by the time the paramedics arrived…they don't know for sure if she's gonna make it…" Grissom peered in the mirror at Nick, who's face had lost all trace of colour and his mouth was open in shock.

"No…no, she can't…she won't…she'll be fine…" Nick started saying, then put his face in his hands, turning whatever else he'd been saying into muffled words. "She'll be fine…she can't…leave me…" He sat up, staring out the window, feeling as if they were moving at a snail's pace, when Grissom was already pushing the speed limit. Although it seemed like hours, they arrived at the hospital within 10 minutes, and Nick was first out of the car and dashing towards the door. He stopped at the receptionist, leaning forward, quite intimidating.

"Ryan. Danielle Ryan, where is she?" He asked, and the nurse started typing on her computer, seeming to go agonizingly slow, and then looked up at him, looking sympathetic and pitying.

"Miss Ryan is still in surgery, she should be out in about twenty minutes, but we don't know if she'll be up to visitors or not…if you would please wait in the waiting area, and I'll call you when she's ready." The nurse said, to Nick's great frustration. He wanted to see her, to make sure she was still there, that she wasn't…gone…no, she wasn't going anywhere, she was going to stay with him…

After glaring at the nurse for a few seconds, he stormed over to the waiting area, but didn't sit down, just started pacing, glaring at the clock every few seconds. The minutes were passing like days, it seemed. Grissom and Catherine came in and they both sat down, watching Nick pace back and forth, Catherine looking sympathetic, while Grissom seemed stoic, and emotionless.

Finally, after half an hour of agonized waiting, where even Grissom was staring to be annoyed by Nick's constant pacing, the nurse came out and called. "Nick Stokes?" Nick immediately walked over, and waited. "You've been listed as a contact for a Miss Danielle Ryan, and she's now out of surgery, but…she's in a coma…we don't know when…or if she'll come out of it…but if you want to see her…" The nurse said, and Nick's face drained of what little colour had been left, and all he could manage was a nod. He motioned for Grissom and Catherine to follow him, and the nurse led the way down the hall to the ICU.

The nurse paused outside of the door, and turned to the group. "We think it's better if only one person goes in at a time…and also, you can talk to her, but we don't know for sure whether she will hear you or not…" The nurse was trying to be sympathetic and gentle, but Nick didn't even thank her, just pushed through the door into the room, leaving Grissom and Catherine in the hall.

As he entered, he looked at the bed, where Dani was lying, and a lump formed in his throat. She was attached to tons of tubes, IVs, heart monitors, and lots of other machinery that were all there for one sole purpose: to keep her alive. Her skin was deathly pale, and he could see the bandage on her shoulder, which was stained a blood-red colour. He swallowed loudly, then pulled a chair up to the side of the bed, looking down at her. She's so beautiful… He thought, his eyes watering up until he could control it no longer and tears ran down both his cheeks.

"Hi Dani…I…I don't know if you can hear me…the nurse said you might be able to…and…and I'd like to think…that…you…you can…" He was trying to struggle through, even as he knew that, even if she could hear him, she wouldn't be able to show him. "I…I know I've said this to you…but I mean it…every time…I…love you…I love you, Danielle Ryan, and don't you dare leave me alone, do you hear me? Don't you…" He broke down completely then, tears streaming down his cheeks.

After he had controlled himself enough to speak again, he reached over and gently took her hand, which lay on the blanket. It was so cold…like…death…no, he couldn't think like that. "I'm going to find out who did this…I'll find out, Dani, and he won't go unpunished…" He grasped her hand, without squeezing too hard, and for a moment the only sound in the room was the constant beeping of the heart monitor and his quiet sobs.

After about 20 minutes, in which he continued to talk brokenly about how much he loved her, and how, if she left him, he'd die too. The door opened, almost silently, revealing the figure of Warrick, who looked like he'd been upset. In all truth, he felt guilty. He should have been there, he should have known the killer would come back to make sure the scene was clear of evidence. Even as a little voice in his head was telling him that there was no way he could have known that the killer would return, he refused to listen to it.

"Hey, man…I just came to see how Dani was doing…" Warrick said quietly, looking at Nick's tear-stained face, knowing how hard it was for him. "She's a fighter…she'll get through this…" He looked down at Dani's pale form, seemingly tiny surrounded by all the equipment.

"Ya…I guess I should have let you guys come in… I'm sorry…I'll go get the others…" Nick said, standing up reluctantly. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Dani's forehead, wishing that she'd open her eyes and smile at him, like he'd seen her do so many mornings at his house…a small kiss on the forehead and she'd wake up, ready to greet the new day.

As he left, he sat on the chairs outside, and rested his head in his hands, memories flooding through him. He could still remember when he'd finally gotten the nerve to ask her out… ((Flashback))

There she was…getting her stuff out of her locker, on her way to go home for the night. Her hair was wet, she must have just had a shower, probably to try and get rid of the smell of death. She hadn't even noticed him yet, just flipped her hair out of her way and started to close her locker. She turned to leave, and noticed him standing there for the first time, and she smiled widely, apparently startled.

"What are you still doing here? I thought everyone had already left…after all, dayshift is starting to get here." She glanced at her watch for confirmation, as if the sunlight that was starting to stream through one window wasn't enough proof. She looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, I had to finish writing up some reports…" He lied, to cover the fact that he'd been waiting for her to finish. "So I guess you've got tomorrow off too, huh?" He knew she would have, because they'd both been working at least triple shifts, maybe more, and the county had some weird rules about overtime…they now had the next night off, whether or not they wanted it.

"Ya, Grissom told me I don't have a choice…not that I have much reason to come…after all, the case is solved…" She trailed off, as they walked towards the parking lot and she stopped, fishing through her purse for her keys. It's now or never… He thought to himself, and took a deep breath.

"You want to come to dinner with me tomorrow night?" He asked, provoking a surprised look from her, as she paused in the middle of extracting her keys. He held his breath, waiting, praying…

Then she smiled widely and nodded. "I'd love to. Pick me up at 5?" She suggested, leaning against her car, lit up by the sun which was just rising over the horizon behind her. She was so beautiful with the sun behind her…

"Ya…ya, five sounds great…" He said, hardly able to believe that this was really happening, that he was going on a date with Danielle Ryan. "Here, let me give you my number, in case you have a change in plans…" He said, fishing through his pocket until he came up with a piece of paper and a pen, and he scribbled his phone number down, handing it to her. She wrote down her own number and handed it over, smiling softly.

"See you at 5 then…" She said, then climbed into her car and rode off, leaving him in shock, happiness, and major exhilaration.

((End of Flashback))

That dinner had been the best date he'd ever had…there had been no awkward pauses in the conversation, the food had been good, and it seemed that they really hit it off. After that, they'd gone for a walk in the park, and he, being Mr. Romantic…ok, he'd gotten the idea from Warrick, but that's not the point…he'd picked some flowers for her, much to her apparent delight. He learned later that she'd kept the flowers sitting in her bedroom window, so that she'd wake up to them every day.

This provoked a new wave of tears as he remembered all the sweet little things she'd done for him…working for ages making him the perfect cake for his birthday…waking him with a kiss every day…the list went on and on, and all he could do was cry and think…After everything…she could be taken away forever by some psycho with a gun…

((And…FINISHED FOR NOW!! Yes, I hope this chapter hasn't gone too angsty or dramatic or…whatever…Please Read and Review and I'll be eternally grateful!! Thanks to the suggestion from CSIFan4Life, as you can see, I used it!! XD Another chapter will be up soon…I hope…))