An: Hello readers. I know you're all mad at me for not updating, but for sake of argument let's just say I fell off the face of the earth, and the boy came with me. Anyway i've posted a new chapter and I have a decision to make, but since I'm not good at making decisions I'm going to let you make them. I could end the story here and now and be done with it or i could continue, but the other chapters I have are strictly Nick beinga parent and what he goes through with a teenager. There's no abuse or kiddnapping or anyother such stuff. So if you wante me to leave it here write a review and tell me to leave it here if you want me to continue with Nicky's parenting (and there's some good stuff) then write a review and tell me to keep going. It's all in your hands. With that said, enjoy...

Chapter 9:

Nick went back to Jeremy and told him that she agreed to let him adopt the girls. Jeremy drew up the necessary papers and told Nick that they had to arrange a meeting with Stephanie and her lawyer in order to sign the papers and make it official. Nick slept easy that night thinking that soon he would have the girls back and he would give them the best life they could ever have.

His sleep was short lived as his cell phone began to ring. "Stokes." He answered groggily.

"DADDY!" April cried into the phone.

"April?" Nick shot straight up in bed. "Are you ok? What's going on?" He panicked.

"Katie's not moving."

Nicks heart stopped in his chest. "What happened to her?"

"Todd started yelling and Katie told me to go to my room. Then I heard the car leave and I went downstairs and saw Katie in the kitchen not moving. And I can't find Mommy." She cried out.

"Is he there now?" He asked throwing on his pants, shirt, and shoes.

"No." April said. "I'm scared daddy."

"It's ok I'm here. I'm coming right over ok." He said not wanting her to be scared but he couldn't mask the fear in his voice. He climbed into his Tahoe and peeled out doing at least ninety to get there on time. Two minutes later he pulled into her driveway. "I need you to come open the door for me sweetie." He said in a calm voice.

April ran to the door and let Nick in leading him to the kitchen. His heart refused to beat when he saw Katie lying in a big puddle of blood. Without having to think he scooped her up and ran to the car making sure April was there too. "April go in the front and buckle up." He said laying Katie in the back. She did as she was told and Nick sped off to Desert Palms.

He called Warrick when Katie went into surgery asking if he could come down. He was so beyond pissed that his thoughts were clouded and he was in no state of mind to look after April.

Twenty minutes later Nick continued to ring his hands on the towel he was offered. He used it to wipe the blood from his hands but as he tightened his grasp around the terrycloth he wished his hands were wrapped around Todd's neck. Warrick had shown up a few minutes after Nick called and he was talking to April, trying to keep her mind off of her sister in the operating room. Nick glared at the floor as his breath continued to come out in short angry spurts. He was her father, he was suppose to protect her. A nurse ran out of the room and ran back in with another doctor. Nick stood up and had it not been for the wall behind him his chair would have been knocked to the ground. He paced back and forth until he couldn't take it anymore. Her drew back his fist and smashed it into the painted brick wall. He drew back again only to continue his abuse on the innocent wall. Warrick ran over and held his arm back "Stop." He said firmly.

"Let go." Nick said in an eerily quiet tone.

"Look at her." Warrick said.

Nick turned to April and saw her cowering with her legs to her chest holding them tightly and crying into her knees. He realized that he had to put his anger aside for now and be there for her. He took a few steps toward her and watched as she let out a soft cry and hid. It was then that his eyes grew soft. He looked back at the small amount of blood on the wall, then down to his fist. She was frightened of him. She saw her sister get beat up everyday and now she saw him taking abuse on a wall. True it was an inanimate object but she had never seen him this angry before. "I'm sorry baby." He pleaded squatting down in front of her. "I just got a little upset that's all." She took a small peak over her knee. "It's ok, I won't do it anymore. I promise. I'm sorry I scared you." He said holding out his arms.

"You promise." April whispered.

"I promise." He reassured. She opened her arms and allowed him to pick her up. Her arms went around his neck and her legs around his waist. He held her tight and listened as she cried, beginning to cry himself.

"Is Katie going to be ok?" She asked in her small tone.

Nick couldn't lie to her. "I don't know sweetie. We have to wait for someone to talk to us." He said honestly. He sat down with April in his lap and held onto her as he rocked back and forth. "Was mommy home when this happened?" He asked.

"Todd was yelling at her when I went upstairs and I heard mommy yelling at him." She said in between sucks on her thumb.

Nick nodded and continued to sooth April. She was fast asleep on his shoulder when the doctor came out. "Mr. Stokes?" He addressed.

"Yes." He said as Warrick took April and Nick went to speak with the doctor. "How is she? Will she be alright?"

"She'll be fine." Dr. Hook smiled. "She has two broken ribs, a broken arm, a sprained ankle, and she had some internal bleeding. But the good news is that you brought her in here soon enough and we were able to stop it. You can see her if you like but she's still under the anesthesia. She should be awake by tomorrow though." He said.

"Thank you so much." Nick said to him. He walked back over to Warrick. "She's going to be ok." Warrick let out a sigh that he had been holding since he received the phone call. "She's banged up a bit, but nothing to serious." He said his emotions being somewhere between crying and laughing. "Can you stay with her for a few more minutes?" He said brushing April's bangs lightly.

"You don't even have to ask." He said shooing him off.

Nick smiled a thank you and walked the short distance to Katie's room. He opened the door and saw Katie lying with the sheet around her waist. Her right arm was in a cast, laying at her side, and he could see bruises and cuts on her arms and face. A tear slipped from his eye as he brought a gentle hand to her face and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "I swear to God on my soul Katie. I will never let him touch you again. If I have to lock you in your room for the rest of your life, he will never get to you." He said sealing his promise with a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back in the morning ok?" He said not really expecting an answer. He gave her another kiss on her head and walked out of the room. He picked April up into his arms and left the hospital for his house.

He balanced April with one hand as he opened the door and walked back to April's room. He lay her on the bed and removed her shoes before placing her under the covers. He kissed the top of her head and turned her night light on. He walked to the door and closed it half way, glancing at her sleeping figure before turning away. He stripped his bloody shirt off and threw it in the bathroom garbage before turning on the shower water. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and stepped into the shower. He let the water cascade down his chest and then lowered his face to the warm water, running a hand over his face trying to wash away all the memories of tonight. He turned around and let the water run down his back. He knew he was to tired to think but he couldn't help it. "She's safe there Stokes." He told himself. "She's going to be fine." He picked up the bar of soap and began to scrub away at his skin. When he was finished he wrapped a towel around his waist and wiped away at the mirror. He looked at his reflection and sighed. He decided to make an effort at sleep and padded his way to his bedroom. He changed into pajama bottoms and slipped under the covers.

He felt something in his gut and he didn't like it so he picked up his phone. "Griss, it's Nick. Something happened at Katie's house- She'll be fine, listen I think someone should go over there and check it out. The blood in the kitchen is Katie's but I think we might have a missing person too. Her name is Stephanie Coby. Yeah her mom. Thanks, let me know what happens and I'll bring April by in the morning. She's the one that found her. I know. Ok, thanks again." He finished and hung up. He rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes trying to get some sleep.

He had been asleep for a few hours until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked over to the side of the bed and saw April standing there, crying. "I had a bad dream." She said sniffling.

"Oh, come here baby." He said lifting the covers and moving over. She slid in next to him and cuddled into his chest as he put his protective arms around her. "You wanna tell me what it was about?" He asked rubbing her back.

"Todd came back and he pulled me away from you. And I tried to scream but nothing was coming out. And you kept running but I was going further away." She said starting to cry again.

"Shh, it's ok darlin'. I'm not going to let him get you, ok? I give you my word." He said to her, which seemed to make her calm down a bit.

"Daddy?" She asked in a whisper.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Is Katie going to be ok?" She asked for the second time that night, hoping that she would get a different answer then before.

"She's going to be fine." He said giving her a kiss on top of her head. "I thought maybe tomorrow morning you could make her a picture and we could bring it to her." He suggested.

"I think she would like that." She said half asleep. Nick smiled as he rubbed her back until they both fell asleep.

The next morning Nick and April woke up early. He helped her get dressed and then made breakfast as April colored a get well card. When they were finished Nick drove to the police station before the hospital. "Tell him what you told me." Nick said holding April in his lap as they sat in Brass's office.

"Todd came home and started yelling at Katie. She told me to go to my room and when I got to the top of the stairs mommy came home. Then she started to yell at Todd." April said sadly.

"Do you remember what happened after that?" Brass asked.

She looked up at Nick before continuing. "I heard the door open and close so I went downstairs and I found Katie. She wasn't moving so I called daddy." She said then put her thumb back in her mouth. They still had no word on Stephanie and since April couldn't do anymore they left to go visit Katie.

He stopped at the small store across the street and picked up a bouquet of flowers and two balloons. When they walked into the room they saw a whole lot of flowers and balloons. "Who brought all these?" April asked.

Nick set the gifts down and looked at the cards. He smiled as he read the card from everyone from work. "They're from the guys at the lab." He said to her. "They must have stopped by after work." He said to himself.

"Is she up yet?" April asked, scared to let go of his hand.

"Not yet." He said looking over at Katie. He sat down in the chair and pulled April onto his lap.

She pulled a pair of socks out of her overalls pocket. "She likes to were these when she gets sick." She said referring to the thick socks.

Nick smiled at her. "That was good thinking."

"I know." She said with a sigh. Nick shook his head with a smile and pulled a magazine from the table next to her bed.

After a few minutes April sat on the floor and began to color in her book. Nick leaned over and took Katie's hand in his. He looked down at her hand and let his mind wander with thoughts.

Katie's mind flooded with memories of the fight. She opened her eyes and drew in a sharp breath, but as soon as she did a sharp pain grew in her chest and she attempted to curl in the fetal position. "Katie?" Nick sat up worried. "What's wrong?" He panicked. She couldn't breath and she was in tremendous pain. Nick ran to the door and ran to the first nurse he saw. "Get Doctor Hook, there's something wrong with my daughter." He told her before she ran down the hall from where she came. Nick ran back to Katie's side.

"Daddy, what's wrong with her?" April asked scared.

"It's ok sweetie. I got the doctor." He said more to Katie then April.

April moved aside as the doctor came in. "What happened?" He asked running to her side.

"I don't know she woke up and then it was like she couldn't breathe." Nick explained.

Dr. Hook took a needle from the nurse and put it in her arm. Katie immediately calmed down and lay still. After he checked her over, Dr. Hook pulled Nick aside. "She's fine now. She was having chest pains. Because of her broken ribs if she takes in sharp breaths, or gets over excited it cause her lungs to expand to rapidly and push against her ribs. I gave her a mild relaxer, but she'll be fine." He said walking out.

Nick let out a breath relieved to know she was alright. He looked over to her bed and saw that April had pushed the chair over and was now kneeling on it.

"You ok, Katie?" She asked leaning on the bed.

Katie took a few breaths to calm down and then looked over at her sister. She smiled at her and lifted the sheets. "Come here." She whispered.

April smiled and climbed in next to her big sister. "You scared us." She said.

"Us?" Katie asked, not seeing Nick in the room.

"I called daddy when Todd left. I didn't know what to do." She said sadly.

"You did the right thing kid." She said kissing her on the head.

"Hey kiddo." Nick said kissing Katie's head before sitting in the empty chair.

"Hey." She said softly to him. It was then that she realized April was the one that found her and Nick was the one that brought her here. She began to tear up out of embarrassment.

"Don't cry, you're alright now." He said petting her hair down.

"For now." She said. "I don't want to go back."

"You don't have to." Nick said.

"But April-"

"Your mom gave me permission to adopt both of you." He smiled.

That was possibly the best news Katie had ever gotten in her entire life. "She did?" She asked almost not believing it.

"She did."

"What's adopt?" April asked.

"Well darlin', that means that you get to come live with me at our house and there's nothing anyone can do about it." He smiled.

"Yeah!" April yelled out.

Katie smiled and looked around the room. "Who are all these from?" She asked about the flowers.

"Your friends from the lab." Nick answered.

"And we got you these." April said pointing to the flowers and balloons on the table near her bed. Nick passed her the card. "And I made this for you." She said proudly.

Katie smiled as she read the get well card. The front of the card had three people, who she guessed to be Nick, April, and herself, and they were all holding hands with a sun and house in the back ground. Katie opened the card and inside it said, 'To Katie get well. Love April.' "Thank you sweetie." She said as she gave her sister a kiss.

Nick and April stayed for a couple hours but Katie and Nick knew that April couldn't spend all day in the hospital. So late that afternoon they left so Katie could get some rest. Katie smiled as they left the room and then drifted off to sleep.

She must have been sleeping for a few hours but there were voices that were slowly breaking through. They seemed all to be whispering. "Don't wake her up." One scolded

"Why not?" The next one said.

"Because she needs to sleep." The third spoke.

"She slept all day." The second said. Katie slowly opened her eyes to see Greg get whacked upside the head.

"Hey." She said rubbing her eyes. Once she was awake she looked to see that her visitors were none other than Greg, Warrick, and Grissom.

"Hey girl." Warrick said petting her head.

"How are you feeling?" Grissom asked.

"I'm doing better." She smiled.

"How long you in here for?" Greg asked.

"A couple days." She sighed.

"You should rest. We just wanted to come by and see how you were." Grissom said.

"Thanks." She said to them.

"I brought you something." Greg said. "Just in case you had to be stuck here." He winked.

She smiled at him and turned to Grissom. "I need to talk to you." She said with a serious expression. Warrick and Greg said goodbye and waited outside for Grissom.

"What's up?" He asked sitting in the chair.

She played with her hands before looking up at him. "He killed her." She said returning to her hands.

"Who killed who?" He asked curiously.

She sighed. "Todd killed mom." She said. "It was the first time she stood up for herself. She was trying to protect me."

"Shh." He coaxed. "Just go slow." He said placing a hand on hers.

"He came home angry as usual and I told April to leave the room. He started to take it out on me and mom came home. Normally she wouldn't do anything because he just switches to her but he kept on me and she ran over and fought him off. He pushed her away and that's when his last blow knocked me to the floor. He kicked me twice and," new tears were coming, "the last thing I saw was he grabbed her by the back of the head and knocked her against the fridge." She ended covering her face with her hand.

"I'm going to find him, both of them." He promised her.

"I just want it to end." Katie said.

"It's over. Nick and the rest of us aren't going to let anything happen to you or April. You have my word." Katie nodded and Grissom gave her a hug before walking out.

After calming down a little, Katie opened the backpack and saw Greg's game boy with a bunch of games, and a load of cd's and batteries to go with his cd player. She gave a small laugh before putting the bag in the chair and giving into sleep.

Two days later Katie was given the ok to go home and Nick, April, and Greg went to pick her up. They walked into her room and saw the nurse making the bed. "Excuse me, I'm looking for Katie Austin?" He half asked, wondering where she was.

"She just left about an hour ago." The nurse smiled. "Her dad came to pick her up."

"But, you're her daddy." April said to Nick.

Nick ran to the desk. "Who authorized my daughters release?" He demanded.

"Who's your daught-." The nurse asked, most likely new.

"Katie Austin."

"I released her this morning." She said. "Her father came to pick her up."

"I'm her father." He yelled. Greg picked April up into his arms sensing she was getting nervous at the yelling.

"Cindy, go give these to Dr. Curtis." Another nurse came up. Once the girl left she turned to Nick. "May I help you sir?" She said in a calm voice.

"Yes, I'd like to know how my daughter was released into the custody of a stranger." He demanded.

"Sir, we go on what the patient requests unless we are given other instructions." She said.

"She's seventeen, she's a minor-" He paused, took a breath, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I want to know who took my daughter." He said in a calm as possible voice.

"That's against doctor patient privilege." She said. Nick looked at her with pleading eyes. She sighed and since she was the head nurse, and the only one at the desk, she gave in. "Mr. Todd Colby."

Nick bit his lip to the point where it almost bled, trying to hold it in for April's sake. "Get a cab and take her home." He said to Greg as he ran out of the hospital, ignoring April's questions.

Nick sped down the street to Todd's house calling Brass for backup. He pulled up to the house in record time and drew his gun walking up to the door. He knocked as hard as he could and a few minutes later Todd answered the door. "Where is she?" He said his gun raised.

"I don't got shit." He said.

"Dad?" Katie cried from the house.

Nick busted through the door and saw Katie on the floor in the living room, unable to get herself up. "It's ok, I'm here." He said putting a hand on her face.

Katie nodded and looked past him. "Look out." She yelled.

Nick turned and Todd fired a shot at him. The bullet pierced his skin and embedded itself in his shoulder. Todd took aim again except this time at Katie. It seemed to go in slow motion as her arm went up to try and block herself and Nick raised his gun. Shots were fired and Katie was afraid to look until it stopped.

There was dead silence in the room and she didn't want to look for fear of the worst, but she knew she had to. She lowered her arm and couldn't feel any new pain so she assumed she wasn't hit. She looked over to Nick who was sitting on the floor gun raised pointed at Todd. She looked over to Todd who stared at her and then fell to the ground, his shirt turning the crimson color of blood. She looked back over to Nick as his gun dropped and he leaned over sweeping her up into his arms. She could see his lips moving but the sound was still gone. His movements were going slower than molasses in January and Katie didn't know up from down. She closed her eyes and stayed in Nicks embrace as the volume of the room slowly rose. She could hear more voices coming in but all she was concerned with right now was Nick.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He asked. She was still shaken up from the events but she was able to produce a nod. "It's over." He said pulling him to her once again.

Brass entered the room and saw the bullet hole and blood in Nick's shoulder and saw the dead body of Todd Coby and knew that it had all happened in self defense. After all they were trained to empty their magazine when put in that situation.

An: So what's the final word?