Greg hadn't noticed the passage of time; he'd been glued to the television screen playing Rugby. He never knew that a sport could be so additive, and had made it all the way to the playoffs. The squeaking of the bedroom door alerted him to the fact that Nick was awake again.
The tech hit the pause button and set the controller down as Nick shuffled his way back to the dining room table. Greg got up and wandered over. He stifled a frown; Nick looked even more exhausted after supposedly getting more sleep. The younger man looked at the clock and noticed that four hours had elapsed. Nick's shoulders were slumped forward, and the rest of his appearance was haggard.
"Rest well?" Greg asked, knowing the answer.
Nick grumbled under his breath. He had lapsed into some weird realm between sleep and a host of nightmares that he couldn't recall. He was tense and overly anxious. The only thing that could distract him from the anxiety of drifting off to sleep and reliving the attack over and over again was to go back and work on the case.
He began sifting through more files, since he wasn't really in the mood to have a conversation with anyone at the moment. In fact, he just wanted to be alone, despite all the best intentions of his house guest.
Greg was attempting to find a topic of conversation when his cell phone beeped. He pulled it out and walked into the living area to answer it. After a few moments he found himself standing next to the other criminalist.
"I've been summoned back to the lab. I've got to rerun some tests for the Sheriff."
Nick tapped his finger on the table. "Go on, Greg. You don't need to baby-sit me anymore." The cranky CSI looked up and saw the worry evident in his friend's demeanor. Not really feeling like an object of scrutiny, Nick tried a different tactic. "Thanks for staying the night, man... it was nice of ya."
Nick watched as the younger man's mood seemed to brighten at the compliment.
"Well, ok. If you need anything, you know you can call me any time." Greg walked awkwardly away and opened the door. "Take care of yourself, dude. People don't get over concussions and stuff as quickly as you see on TV. I'll drop by tomorrow."
Nick waved him off. "Sure thing, man. Thanks."
The CSI waited till the door closed and thanked the heavens he could work alone in peace. He really liked Greg. They hung out sometimes after work, but right now, he couldn't afford the distraction. He went back to studying his notes. Finding where he left off, he continued to pore over dozens of more files and paper work. He cruised on for another couple of hours, when his body reminded him why he wasn't supposed to be doing anything more strenuous then sleep.
His headache came back in full migraine force, causing him to throw down his pen in frustration. He couldn't seem to remember the information from one paragraph to the next. His couldn't decipher his own handwriting, and the pain in his side had become more pronounced and sharp.
Deciding he needed a break, Nick headed over to his bathroom to take a shower. It seemed like a better alternative than taking any of the meds that would cloud his ability to analyze anything. However, he had to endure another tortuous ritual of relieving himself, with the pain in the middle of his back reminding him of his angry kidneys. With that ordeal complete, he turned on his shower. Nick gingerly stood under the water, holding onto the railing so he wouldn't fall if he got lightheaded.
He remained under the spray for a while, trying to ease some of the soreness he was experiencing. Once he'd decided he was finished, he stepped out of the shower, holding onto the towel bar for support. Careful not to fall, he slipped on his sweatpants. He stared at his discarded shirt, decided it was too much effort to put it back on, and wandered back to his living room.
The CSI continued to wrack his brain over the yearbook when he heard a knock at his door. Nick sighed; he'd wondered how long it would be before someone "else" came by to check on him. He stared at his guest for several moments after opening the door, seemingly lost in the fog of pain from not taking his meds.
"You going to let me in?" Catherine asked after waiting patiently for the invite.
"Huh? Oh yeah." Nick stood aside while the other criminalist walked in.
"Haven't been to your new place since we helped you move," she looked around. "You got some new furniture... nice."
Nick cleared his throat. "Ah... Thanks." He raised an eyebrow at his friend's amused expression. "What's so funny?"
Catherine gave her coworker an appraising look. Nick was shirtless and apparently still slightly wet from a shower. "Just checkin ya out. Very nice," she commented with a nod at his chiseled abs and chest.
The Texan smiled. "Sexual harassment in my own home." He slowly shook his head.
Catherine laughed. "I'm trained to be observant. You've put on some more muscle Nicky," she teased.
Now his cheeks began to blush slightly. "Lemme go find a shirt."
All the gentle ribbing aside, Catherine eyed her friend critically. He stood slightly hunched over and treaded very carefully around. The stitches and bruising on his forehead were in stark contrast to his pale skin. It looked like he wasn't taking the time to rest properly, and she idly debated about talking to him about the real reason why she had stopped by.
Nick returned, after changing into a dark green button up shirt. It was a lot easier to change into, then to battle with his normal T-shirts with his injuired shoulder. Catherine had one of those looks in her eyes. It was a bit early to be visiting him, so his mood quickly shifted towards more of a guarded one. He wandered over to his sofa and sat down, looking at her expectantly.
"You got some news?"
Catherine smiled; she could never put one past Nick. "I got a call from Grissom. Your clothes were checked out by Trace earlier, but he had them go over them more closely with a fine tooth comb."
Nick sat forward. "They find something?"
"Hodges found the slightest trace of an unidentified substance on the back of your shirt. He went over it, and discovered that it was some anti-inflammatory cream." Catherine tilted her head, "Does that... bring up any memories? Or... mean anything to you?"
Nick scrunched his face. "The suspect got it on the back of my shirt?"
"Yeah," Catherine nodded.
Thinking in a methodical way, the CSI postulated, "He could've had it in his hands when he grabbed my shoulders or anytime during the scuffle." Nick tried to concentrate, but all he had were fuzzy recollections.
Catherine shook her head. "The cream was not found on the top of your shirt." She paused thinking..."I'd say from what Gil told me, that it was right around where that nasty bruise is on your back."
Nick subconsciously stretched, the muscles there had ached non-stop since he got home. "The bruise suggests that the perp held me over the whirlpool with his... knee."
Nick sat forward, something in the back of his mind was nagging him. When an idea finally struck, he got up carefully and walked over to his dining room table. He scooped up the yearbook and flipped over the pages, his eyes searching for a specific paragraph.
Catherine followed him over, curious about his reactions. She saw him thumb through a book, completely ignoring her while deep in concentration. "Want to clue me in on something?"
Nick didn't reply at first, too absorbed in his own actions. He turned the book towards his partner. "Bob Futon's entire high school career is listed in the back. If you look, there's nothing exciting or spectacular. He was in the quizbowl for two years and was a math tutor. Other than that... nada."
"Bob Fulton wasn't a great achiever. What's the point?" Catherine looked at the CSI expectantly.
Nick had that expression that was usually reserved when he found that elusive clue that usually got a suspect put behind bars. His face was serious, his eyes a bit darker than normal. His voice always got lower, his twang heavier when he spoke. "Fulton has bad knees. He had a hard time sitting down a few nights ago when we interviewed him."
"Yeah, I remember that."
Nick nodded. "He told us that he blew out his knees playing too many sports in high school." Nick pointed to the bio. "This guy was a nerd; he wasn't an athlete of any sort."
"He lied to us about throwing the pigskin around... that doesn't mean he's our guy." Catherine didn't sound like she believed her own argument, but the lead CSI didn't want to jump to conclusions again. She waited... hoped that Nick had something more to add.
Sensing her doubt, Nick flipped through a few more pages, stopping again on a specific one. "This is what Roger Sikes and Blair Olsen looked like in High School."
Catherine studied a picture of the two teenagers posing in a typical macho way, arms pumped and grinning ear to ear. Both guys, even at a young age, looked brawny. Each one was sporting nice muscular arms and legs. They looked like typical boys who had hit a growth streak. You could picture them back in high school, and transpose several years of maturity and regular work out programs to produce the larger sized men now.
Catherine raised an eyebrow and shot Nick a look, asking if there was a point. Nick answered her silently by searching for yet another entry. He turned the yearbook back towards her, his finger resting on a picture on Bob Fulton. The physical therapist was a very scrawny, geeky-looking man with a bowl haircut. Catherine gazed at Nick, his eyes reflected back at her, bright with certainty.
"It takes a lot of dedication to put on about sixty, or seventy pounds of mass and muscles. Of course it helps if your work out program includes performance enhancing steroids. You see, besides bulking up, and increased strength, abuse of heavy dosages of steroids over a long period of time can lead to increased acts of aggression, hair loss, and... severe joint pain," Nick explained.
"Bad knees, " Catherine stated, looking a little more convinced. The lead criminalist also recalled Fulton's little outburst when Nick snapped at him during the interview. "He might also have a key to the back door."
Nick tilted his head, "Or access to a copy of one."
Not wanting to get ahead of herself again, Catherine continued to put more pieces together. "It would explain his prints on the locker that you found the now missing bag of pills."
"Yeah." Nick's thoughts strayed a bit. "What would make Bob Fulton want to kill his coworkers and ex-classmates, though?"
Catherine glanced at her watch. "I might just ask him that, when Brass and I go over to his house."
Nick's face clouded over, looking more downcast than ever. He looked back at Catherine, his mouth a thin line of discontent. Catherine picked up on the sudden coldness in the townhouse, the anger radiating from the man next to her.
"I know you hate not being involved, but there are good reasons for that." Catherine explained, her voice softer.
Nick looked annoyed at that tone she was using. "Ya know...you came over her to check up on me and see," Nick opened his arms wide, "And I'm not falling apart."
"Nick..."
"No. I bet you thought you were going to mother me or something, and guess what? I'm just fine and making progress on the case." Nick took the yearbook and violently slammed it on the table. He stalked past a shocked Catherine, his back turned, his left arm hugging his right.
Catherine didn't expect such an outburst, but she wasn't about to bear the brunt of his anger. "Nick, you're off the case and you're just going to have to deal with it." She closed the distance between them and stood in front of him. "I didn't come here to baby you. I was here to check on a friend and if that hurts your male pride, well then I'm sorry."
Catherine watched as the criminalist turned away from her in embarrassment. She continued, her tone not as sharp. "I know this sucks and... it's not fair... but Nicky, let the rest of us handle this. " She lightly touched his shoulder, "You trust us, don't you?"
Nick looked at the ceiling, then turned his head to face the senior CSI. "I do... and I know."
Catherine rubbed his back. "Nick, you tend to hold things inside. If you don't talk to people, or let us be there for you, then all that bottled up emotion is just going to eat you up alive."
Nick sighed. He didn't discuss his problems, they were his to deal with in his own way. It wasn't pride It wasn't shame. It was just his own coping mechanism. "Just call me when you know more, okay? I'll sack out on the couch or something."
Catherine didn't expect that he'd just open up about his fears, but she hoped he would remain somewhat calm during the rest of this case. "Good. Now go back to bed and get some sleep. Take care of yourself now, so you can be back at work at a hundred percent."
Nick tried hard not too looked too chagrined. "Okay."
Catherine gave the younger man a quick hug, careful not to squeeze too tight. Then she left the criminalist alone to ponder things while the rest of the team scrambled to follow the small lead they'd uncovered tonight.
TBC...
Author's notes: The plot thickens. Enjoy the last non tense chapter while you can. We begin one last trip on that bumpy roller coaster of tension in the upcoming new segements. Again fun chaper for me to write, anyone guess what my personal favorite part was:-)
Charmboy and Lil! Thanks for the feedback, hope this update was soon enough.
Designation:
You don't have to worry, Nick will always be a central theme in my work! Thanks to being so faithful to the story, I'm glad the characters hit home, makes me smile.
mudhousejunkie:
You shall see more action soon, still had to give Nick a little more of a break. Thanks again. Gave you some more clues on the suspect, should nto be long now. :-)
staresp4cat:
I wish I could take him home too. :-) Thanks again, you're such a longtime supporter!
csifan:
Do you have esp or something? We think very alike! Since you've guessed or hinted to wanting to see something happen, and its in my next chapter! If you do have esp, then you might sense that our favorite CSI might just get into a little trouble soon, but I won't say how. However it does have something major to do with that stubborn streak of his.
Loozy:
Nice to see a another new face. I thought the story needed a little release, I love writing Greg and Nick! Hoped this helped out with all the angst, since it usualy means something is around the bend.
Shacky:
You are such a pal, Im glad we started e-mailing each other from csifiles! You rock, thanks for all your lovely comments. You're reviews can never be too long! I love some of those line as well! I'm kind of partial to Nick's MD comments and Nick's rebuff to that.
A.Remains:
Breath girl, its all right for now. :-P Gave you another light chapter with some casefile thrown in :-)
Groban:
Like I mentioned I had a blast writing the last chapter. Nick and Greg come so natural, made me start thinking of a plot for those two in the future. Tried to pace this chapter out as well. Thanks again.
