Disclaimer: I own none of the characters (except a mysterious man and a couple of dead bodies). Everything belongs to the wonderful people of CSI and CBS. I just realized I hadn't mentioned that the Title is from the song "One More Day" by Diamond Rio, as are the chapter titles.

Spoilers: Major Spoilers for "Overload" and slightly for "Stalker". Slight reference to "Who Are You?" and "Butterflied" and "Bloodlines" and "Pilot." Anything until Ep. 5.11- "Who Shot Sherlock Holmes?" is fair game. However most of the story was written before "Mea Culpa", so they're still on the same team and Ecklie is still Day Shift supervisor.

Archive: Only here, if you wish to use it somewhere just let me know.

Timeline: I'd say somewhere around mid season 5 (close to Christmas and the New Year).

Feedback: It'd be wonderful

Warnings: Possible Character Death and mentions of past abuse.

Pairings: Alright, I think I finally have at least one pairing (and there might only be one) set.

Previously on One More Day:

Again silence engulfed the group as they awaited news about Nick.

Chapter 5: But Then Again

The clock slowly approached 9:00 am and the nightshift had yet to hear any news about Nick's condition. Dr. Keith had been out once to tell them that Nick would be taken into surgery to repair the internal damage at 7:30 that morning, but since then they had been in the dark. Sara sat in one of the hospital chairs,still reading the Newsweek article, but had not comprehended a single word since knowing Nick was going back into surgery. Grissom and Catherine were working on some paper work that Archie had dropped off when he came to see about Nick.

The waiting room at the hospital had cleared out some since they initially arrived. There were now only two other patients waiting to be treated, neither of whom looked to be in incredibly bad shape. Warrick and Greg were trying to focus their attention on the news report on the small television in the corner, yet they were having a hard time keeping their eyes open. The news was reporting about the current fires that were tearing through California and slowly making their way towards Nevada. That's all we'd need, thought Greg.

He sighed and dropped his head back on his chair. He, along with the rest, was getting tired of sitting and waiting for news. Greg wanted to be out there in the field, finding evidence to help nail the person responsible for the night's events. Hell, he'd even prefer to be back at the DNA lad, working his old job. Anything would be better than this constant waiting. Everyone had long since exhausted any form of conversation, so they were left in silence and there was nothing Greg hated more than waiting and silence. He'd even tried to strike up a conversation with Warrick about college football, a topic he knew little about. However, he could only take 'how 'bout them Trojans' so far.

With a rueful smile, he remembered Nick's love for all college sports. He knew that if Nick had been there, they'd be chatting about some new video game or one of the random conversations they usually had. While he and Nick had only hung out a couple of times outside of work, they'd always had a good time. That was just the type of friendship they had. They could talk about anything and they would always laugh.

Greg ran his hand through his hair, which was admittedly tamer now that he was out in the field. Brass had left earlier that morning, claiming that he was going to find out what the hold up on the information pertaining to the investigation was. They had yet to hear anything from him, and Greg was sure that was not good news. He had anxiously awaited news for a couple of hours, but he had now resigned to just wait for it.

Looking up to the news report on the television, he saw what was once probably a gorgeous forest, alight with flames. "Picture perfect," he mumbled under his breath. Apparently Grissom had heard him speak.

"What did you say, Greg?" Grissom asked.

Gesturing to the television, Greg responded, "Picture perfect."

Grissom nodded but he still had that "Grissom look" on his face. Before anyone could ask what was up he looked directly at Sara. "Sara, didn't you say Nick went in to find his camera?"

Sara looked at him quizzically but answered, "Yeah, he said he had left it near where we found the mother's body. Why?"

"When we were inside the house did either of you see the camera anywhere near him?" Grissom asked, directing the question at Greg and Sara.

Both paused to think about the answer before shaking their heads no. Grissom jumped to his feet, pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed Brass's number. After two rings the veteran detective answered, "Brass."

"Jim, it's Gil. I need to know if anyone working the scene found a standard department issued camera." Grissom forcefully told him.

Sensing the urgency in his voice, Brass immediately responded, "I'll go check." After a few moments of silence Brass was back on the phone, "Nothing like that was found. What's this about Gil?"

"Nick went back into the house to find his camera. Neither Sara, Greg nor I recall seeing it anywhere. You're suspect is likely to have the camera on him. Do you have any names yet?"

"Well in the past two months there have been four complaints filed against the Petersons, so we're checking into those. Other than that we've got nothing, this guy's clean." Jim explained.

Grissom sighed but thanked Jim before hanging up. He walked back over to the group he had drifted from. Seeing their curious faces he told them about his suspicions about the camera. Again looking at Sara he asked, "What was Nick taking pictures of?"

"He covered the inside while I checked the perimeter." Sara responded, knowing instantly what was coming.

"Which means that any evidence Nick photograph can't be used in the investigation." Grissom said, confirming her thoughts.

"Well that is wonderful." Catherine said. "Please tell me the evidence wasn't loaded into his car."

"It was. He had everything from the inside. Which means it was left unattended in his car for at least a half hour, maybe longer. No court is going to let it be used in the trial." Sara responded, her heart sinking with every word she spoke.

"So we have no pictures and no evidence from inside the house?" Warrick asked, hoping this was some kind of sick joke.

Sara looked like she had tears in her eyes when she spoke again, "We have nothing. I found a shoe print outside of the living room window, a cigarette butt in the garden and some hairs that were not consistent with anyone living in the house. Other than that there was nothing. I know Nick had found a DNA sample under the girl's fingernails, maybe it is possible there is still some left. He found some hairs on the mother that weren't consistent with her or the daughter also, but those are ruled out now. We have nothing." She said, defeated.

Greg's stomach churned in despair. Not only did they not have the photographs, they were now seriously lacking in evidence. This whole situation was making his head hurt terribly. As he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, he realized that he had not eaten since four o'clock the previous evening. Looking at his downtrodden co-workers, he decided to go get them all something to tide them over. Knowing that he'd rather go hungry than eat hospital food, it was decided that he would go to the diner that was less than a mile from the hospital.

Standing up and grabbing the coat from the back of his chair, Greg told the others he would be back soon with something real for everyone to eat. Once Greg had left the waiting room the others resumed their previous activities, hoping that the next news they got wouldn't be quite as terrible as their last. Warrick broke the silence, "I can't believe this is happening. Nick's in there fighting for his life, there is no evidence regarding the case he was working, and to top it off, Ecklie's working this one. I wouldn't trust him with a goldfish, let alone my best friend's life."

"I agree Warrick, but there is nothing we can do. We just have to sit her patiently until it's time to go back into work. Then we can hassle the dayshift until they at least tell us what the hell is going on." Grissom said, aggravated. He turned back to his paperwork, hoping he could at least get some of it done before he had to return to work at six that night.

Warrick heard the words his boss was saying, but what having a difficult time accepting them. It was times like these when Warrick craved his old gambling habit. If he could be sitting in a casino right now, counting cards and throwing back something strong, he was sure he'd be able to put everything off his mind. But he was stuck in this hospital, with no news on his friend's condition, or on the case. Warrick once again pushed all of these thoughts out of his head and concentrated on the sports cast from the television.

Sara was gazing off into space, unbelieving to what had just occurred. She and Nick had been certain that with the fibers, hair, and DNA he had recovered there would at least be enough to come up with a suspect. Suddenly a though struck her, "Nick also found blood on the stairwell, which would not have corresponded to where the mother and daughter were found. We figured he suffered some kind of small cut while escaping. Unfortunately that does not matter anymore." Sara sighed, still having a hard time not breaking down.

Grissom nodded, his face even more serious than usual. "We've worked with less before Sara. And, even more importantly, when Nick wakes up we will have an eye witness. I some how doubt that his shooting was random. I think it's safe to say the two are connected."

Catherine agreed, backing Gil up, "I remember this one case I was working on a few years back. The only evidence we had was a head band that had a single strand of hair on it. Back then we did not have the technology to compare hair DNA with that of a suspect. But as soon as we showed the girl we had her head band, she cracked and told us everything. Let's just hope we're dealing with someone so cooperative this time."

"I think it's safe to say, that whoever did this won't be very cooperative. We've just got to do the best we can with what we have." Grissom said.

Sara did not respond she just went back to scanning the magazine. Minutes passed without anyone making so much as a peep. Finally Greg came through the door with two large bags in one hand and a carton full of drinks in the other. Sitting it down on the table in front of the group he told everyone what he had gotten, "There is bacon, sausage, and ham in one container. This one has pancakes and waffles, eggs and grits in this one, some biscuits with jam and butter in this last one. I got orange and apple juice and some water. I figured the coffee here wasn't too undrinkable."

The others regarded him gratefully, quickly digging into the food before them. They ate in silence, no one having much to say to each other besides 'pass the butter.' Once everyone was finished with their meals, Catherine took it upon herself to clean up the mess they had made and throw it away. The others thanked her, falling back into their silences.

As eleven o'clock rolled around they were finally given some news on Nick's condition. Dr. Keith came through the double doors, looking much calmer than he had the last time. "I've got good news," he told the others as they neared, "Nick has made it through his second surgery with minor complications. The internal bleeding has subsided and we were able to repair most of his lung. As of now he is still on a respirator so it is unlikely that we will do anymore surgeries until he is able to breathe well on his own.

"One of his left ribs was beyond repair so we were forced to remove it. He is back in the ICU and if his blood pressure and heart beat stay regular he will be allowed visitors within an hour or two. He probably won't wake up until sometime tomorrow afternoon, if then, so you will not have a chance to talk to him. We have however, bagged his clothes and personal items, and they are ready to be picked up. We had one of the dayshift CSI's come in and collect the evidence off him before he was prepped for his first surgery. Mr. Stokes should be fine." The doctor told them, looking very pleased with the outcome of the surgery.

Grissom and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. They thanked the doctor and returned to their seats. Just as they were able to let themselves relax, they heard sirens blaring, coming closer to the hospital. Ambulances pulled in front of the building, with the EMT's climbing out and unloading the patients. Seven people were rushed through the waiting room and through the doors marked Emergency Room. As the last patient went through the double doors, Jim Brass and several other police officers stepped into the lobby.

Catherine jumped from her seat and walked to meet Brass. "I've got great news," she told him as she approached, "Nick made it through his second surgery."

"That's good," Jim said, "But I've got some bad news. Those people you just saw brought in were relatives to the Petersons."

"You mean to the mother and daughter case Nick and Sara had been working on?" Catherine asked, shocked.

"Yeah," Jim answered, "Apparently this weekend was a family reunion. They were staying in a hotel a couple of miles from Marsha, the mother, Peterson's house. Four were declared dead at the scene and the rest were rushed here. I'd say this guy's really trying to cover his tracks, wouldn't you?"

Author's Note:

Hey guys, again I'm very sorry with the late update, but school's started back up again and things have gotten crazy. I promise I'll try and get the next chapter up within the next two weeks. The case has started to develop, so the romance will likely take a back seat for the next couple of chapters. However it will be an N/S story before it's over. I'm expecting there to be about 4 or 5 more chapters, but it's very possible it'll be longer than that. I hope to have the story completed by summer, but y'all all know that school and such gets in the way.

A big thank-you to everyone who reviewed! I'll try to get individual responses up next chapter! Thanks again y'all!

Until next time!
-Amy