Precious Things by SLynn
Spoilers: Up to 'Nesting Dolls'
Rating: R for violence and disturbing content.
Disclaimer: Not mine – well, some are mine, just not the ones you recognize.
Notes: Slight revision - thanks tripp3235!
Chapter 12: Scenes
The Southern Highlands development wasn't that far out of town. It just skirted the mountains and was still fairly new. Large parts of it were still surrounded by nothing making it the ideal spot to leave a body.
To save resources they'd ridden out in one SUV. Grissom drove and Hodges rode shot gun leaving Nick and Greg to the back seat. Neither of them complained. Nick actually hoped to get a quick nap in on the way however seeing as Hodges talked to the boss non-stop the entire drive, that didn't happen.
Brass and another man they didn't recognize were waiting for them when they pulled up. He quickly introduced the new detective, Charlie Sullivan. It didn't need to be said that he was Diane Ortega's replacement. Sullivan also didn't need to be told that two of the men before him were the reason she needed replacing. That news was all over the station house.
He said a quick hello and shook their hands but looked nervous and young. Greg knew it was wrong to think it, but thank goodness he wasn't the greenhorn anymore.
Brass walked them over to where the body was. It was strikingly similar to the other two cases. A girl, this one looked a little older but she was still in her teens, laid out in the dirt. She was blond too, just like the others, and even from a distance the marks on her neck were visible.
While Grissom instructed Hodges on exactly what he wanted him to do Greg and Nick began looking around the scene. Brass, not nearly as instructional as Grissom, merely told Sullivan to follow them.
"So," he said to them somewhat awkwardly, "what are you looking for?"
"Anything," Nick said vaguely.
He wasn't trying to be rude it was just that Nick really didn't know what they were looking for yet and he was dead tired.
"Tire tracks, footprints," Greg went on to explain, "signs of life. Anything."
Detective Sullivan nodded and actually wrote it down making Greg want to chuckle. Sleep depravation might have made Nick cranky but it was having the opposite effect on Greg. Everything suddenly seemed a lot funnier for some reason and he knew he was going to have a hard time keeping it in check.
"I think I got something," Nick said now having wandered off just out of sight.
Greg and the detective made their way over carefully as Nick began to snap pictures.
"We'll need to make an impression, but it looks like we have two sets of footprints. Boots probably."
Greg nodded and Sullivan took notes.
"Looks like our guy has help," Nick said really just talking to himself.
Nick hated to admit it but he was still not use to the hours. Two months off is a long time and it had been a long time since he'd gone this long without sleep.
"Well," Greg said looking around, "they didn't carry the body in from town. There's got to be car tracks or something."
Marking the prints as they went they followed them up over an embankment to a paved access road. Sure enough, tire tracks.
Taking additional pictures from various angles it looked like the vehicle had pulled up, stopped and sped out as it flipped back around coming from and going to the city.
Sullivan's radio crackled to life.
"Where are you?" Brass' voice could be heard asking.
"Over the embankment sir," Sullivan returned momentarily stepping away from the two CSI's, "Stokes and Sanders found footprints and tire tracks."
"Good," was the reply, "stay with them. And stop calling me sir."
Sullivan turned back to them and even in the dark they could tell he was blushing. Nick turned away, grumpiness forgotten as he tried not to laugh. He didn't want to embarrass the man further. Only Greg met his eye, grinning even.
"He must like you," Greg offered, "he's still demanding I call him sir and I've known him now for close to eight years."
Sullivan smiled back at him, albeit a bit uneasily. He didn't know what to think of Greg or Nick for that matter. He'd heard a lot of things having come up from patrol about all the CSI's but made it a habit not to judge people on other's words.
"Hey Greg," Nick called already back to work, "What do you think this is?"
Near the tire tracks were some large broken shards of green glass and a cigarette butt. Greg snapped off a few more photos before bagging and tagging the evidence.
"Um, Stokes," Sullivan was calling out from a few feet away near the side of the road. "Could that have come from this?"
Nick joined him leaving Greg to finish collecting.
Sure enough, the rest of the bottle was there. A wine bottle. Looks like maybe the end was broken off near the vehicle and the rest discarded here.
"Good call. Thanks man," Nick said as he took his own photos.
When they'd finished, they walked back up to rejoin the others only to find they were no longer alone. The press had made it and various reporters were doing live feeds complete with dramatic introductions.
Greg just sighed and turned away, ready to get a closer look at their victim.
They were back to the lab late. Catherine and company had come back almost a full hour before them, but then again their scene hadn't been overrun with cameramen.
If Greg and Nick had been dragging before it was nothing compared to now.
Deciding that everyone needed a break and a chance to discuss the latest developments, Grissom asked them all to the conference room for coffee and donuts. It was nearly four and it was the best he could do by way of breakfast for his team. Again he asked Amy and Hodges to join them.
"So?" he asked Catherine wasting no time as they had all just sat down.
"Well," she began putting down her pastry, "it's hard to say if it's our guy or not. Victim was female, young. Wisdom teeth hadn't erupted yet. She was strangled but buried. Wrapped even. We don't know how long she'd been in the ground, but it's been at least three to four months."
"Amy and I collected you some bugs to help with the timeline," Warrick said with a smile in her direction. She'd done well out there, hadn't gotten sick but for the first few minutes no one had been certain.
"Excellent," Grissom responded, his eyes lighting up briefly.
"What about you guys?" Catherine asked now, "Same guy?"
"Or guys," Nick answered, "Got multiple footprints going to and from the scene along with tire tracks. Found a broken bottle that we think might explain the lack of semen in the bodies."
"Foreign object?" Sara asked looking slightly disgusted.
"Looks like it," Nick answered, "Doc found evidence of trauma and a piece of glass that looks similar to what we found inside our vic. It'll need to be tested before we know for certain."
Amy nodded at this, knowing that was going to be her job initially.
"Any idea who she is?" Warrick asked. It was going to be easier to ID that victim verses theirs.
"None," Grissom spoke up, "Brass is looking into missing persons again. She hasn't been out there more then a day."
Their latest victim had also been found with the new pair of underwear in her mouth and her own missing. That much didn't need to be gone over again.
Without much more to go over and a pile of new evidence to comb through, the meeting broke up quickly.
"Nick, Greg," Grissom said halting their progress out of the room. "A moment please."
Nick sat back down, too tired to stand. Greg chose to lean against the counter as he had throughout the meeting. He was afraid if he did sit he'd fall asleep.
"I want you both to go home and I don't want you back here for at least twelve hours."
They both stared at him like he'd lost his mind. They were swamped with new evidence. There was no way they could leave now.
"Griss," Nick started to object.
"No buts," he said cutting him off, "I know you both were out most of today at the high school and then here all night. That's too long. Go home, get some rest and come back in tonight."
Dejected but not going to fight, they both stood to do just that.
"And get a ride from someone," Grissom continued before they could get out the door, "Neither of you are in a state to drive."
Adjourning to the break room, they both sat down on the couch.
"Who are we supposed to ask to drive us home?" Greg asked, his eyes closed and head tilted back.
It wasn't that he disagreed with Grissom. Driving like this was not an option. Actually, work wasn't either. But it's not like anyone could be spared at the moment.
"No idea," Nick said. His own head resting in his hand which was in turn propped up against the arm rest.
"So I hear I'm driving you two home. Grissom's orders."
Both men turned at the sound of Warrick's voice coming from behind him. Neither of them spoke just stood up in silence.
Warrick laughed.
"What," he asked with a grin, "is insomnia contagious?"
"Something like that," Nick returned, just barely managing a smile in return.
"Well, let's get moving then," Warrick said ushering them out the door and towards the garage.
They headed to Nick's house first since he lived closest.
"So what's this I hear about a girl's night out?" Warrick asked trying to keep them both awake. He was tired too, not tired like they were, but two sleeping passengers was something he wanted to avoid.
"Oh yeah," Nick said, "Amy's sister."
Warrick laughed at his tone. It was pretty obvious what Nick thought of Amy's sister Jennifer.
"Hey love her, love her family."
"Did you meet Jennifer?" Nick asked, completely serious.
"Yeah she was cute."
Greg laughed from the back seat, eyes still closed. He didn't need them to be open to picture Nick's face.
"Wait," Greg said after a minute of silence, if all finally sinking in, "what girl's night out?"
"Next Saturday," Warrick supplied. "I guess it's for Jennifer's bachelorette party. Amy invited Catherine on the ride out. Sara I guess already knew. I think Jacqui's going as well."
"How come I didn't know?" Greg asked out loud to no one in particular.
"You missed breakfast," Nick answered.
"Wait," Greg said sitting up now, "isn't that Amy's birthday?"
"It is?" Warrick asked turning to Nick.
"Yes," Nick said as evenly as he could manage, "it is."
"What are you getting her?" Greg asked.
"Why?" Nick asked back, casting a look over his shoulder.
"Because I don't want mine to be better then yours. Duh."
Warrick laughed.
"Well what are you getting her?" Nick asked again.
"The fourth edition of Lehninger's Principles of Biochemistry."
For a moment there was absolute silence.
"It's a book," Greg offered sounding a bit offended.
"I think I'll be okay," Nick replied causing Warrick to laugh again.
"Okay," Greg said sounding like he didn't believe it, "but she is a science geek."
"I'm aware," Nick said laughing now a bit himself.
"Just checking," Greg said through a yawn. "Actually, it'll probably be from me and Sara. I know she didn't remember."
Nick laughed as they pulled up to his drive.
"I'm hoping she forgets mine too," Greg said getting out with Nick so that he could sit in front.
"Why's that?" Nick asked.
"I hate birthdays. Waste of time."
"And this has nothing to do with turning thirty?" Warrick asked him with a grin.
Greg shrugged as he sat down. It was as much of an answer as any.
"See you man," Warrick called to Nick as he walked away.
He gave them both a wave before heading inside, relieved to be home.
Warrick and Greg continued on to his house in silence for another few minutes.
"So do you really hate birthdays?" Warrick asked, just having to know.
"Yeah well, not other people's, just my own."
"Why?"
"Probably because they've all sucked. I've probably spent half of them in or at the hospital. I'm just at the point of thinking why bother?"
"Seriously?"
"Yeah," Greg said so seriously it was hard not to notice the change in his voice, "every year something bad happens around my birthday. It's like a curse."
"You don't believe that," Warrick said trying to sound unconvinced.
"Okay, I don't think I'm cursed but I haven't had anything good happen on my birthday. Ever. I've never even had a birthday party. And now I'm turning thirty and I feel old."
"Thirty isn't old."
"It feels old."
"It's not."
Greg nodded silently in the car.
"I guess I just feel like I'm running out of time to do something with my life."
"Greg," Warrick said disbelievingly, "You've already done something with your life. Besides, it's not what you do but how you do it. It's about who you are."
Greg looked at him for a moment, completely serious before cracking a smile.
"Wow now I know I've been up too long because that made sense."
"Shut up," Warrick said laughing.
"No," Greg said unable to stop laughing now himself, "that was deep."
"Fine, fine. Whatever."
"No, I hear you," Greg said after he stopped laughing, "I do. Seriously."
"Good," Warrick returned as they pulled up to Greg's house.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
"Not too early," Warrick called out.
Greg nodded and waved as he too made his way to the door. Also relieved to be there.
