Title: The Battle for Everything
Authoress: invader Nence, formally: Give the World for Mr. Black
Rating: R.
Warning: Slash. Harsh language (at spots). Pain. (Hints at rape.)
Pairings: Nick/Greg, Nick/Gris, and Gris/Greg.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! ::Sob::
Dedication: To Amanda, my dearest fan, who would never abandon me… even for a better fic! Love ya!
A/N: This is plainly a work of my imagination… Some things that were mentioned in the show were brought into this, but most of it is my speculation I have when I watch the show! Thanks. Review for me! Always---Invader Nence.
NEW INFORMATION!!!! REVIEWERS AND READERS!!! ATTENTION!!!
There has been a problem with my program, and I have not been able to save the next few chapters… Please be patient as I deal with the idiotic computer that haunts my life! ::Sweatdrop:: Yes, this will get updated; soon, hopefully! Stick with me, and take notice to any updates I post… they will be authoress-notes in the first chapter, since ff.net is not letting me post separate chapters as A/N's… Thank you for your patience, and wish me luck!!
Always,
-Invader Nence-
Chapter One: The Attack!
"Nick Stokes… I'm with the Crime Lab…" It was how he started all of his introductions nowadays. Work was all he managed to accomplish lately, and it was mostly busy work. In fact, the case he was on was the first major one he'd had in almost two weeks---the rape and murder of a young couple at their beach house.
Now, he was at one of the victims' grandmother's house and the white-haired lady stood warily, eyeing him carefully. "Oh," was all the elderly woman said, before opening her screen door. "Why are you here?"
Nick made his way into the comfortably-furnished house, taking in his surroundings.
"I… I have some news…" He had conveniently left out the word 'bad'.
"Oh."
'It must be her only response,' he thought sadly. "Well," Nick began, pulling the small card out of his bag.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked casually.
"No, thank you, ma'am… I have lots of work to do… Rather, would you mind taking a look at this driver's license and tell me if you recognize the woman in this picture?" He held out the plastic card gingerly, not really wanting the answer he was sure would come.
The lady gasped when she saw the face, "My Charlotte!" He nodded, letting her grasp the card.
"Ma'am," he said gently, "is this Charlotte Mortison?"
"Yes, sir! Where is she? Where have you taken her?! Where's my girl?!"
Nick took a deep breath, "Ma'am… Is she missing?"
"Yes! No one has seen her or heard from her in three days! Where is she?! Have you seen her? Do you know what's happened to my girl?"
"I need to ask you a few questions first, if I may… You might not be in the state of mind to answer them after I tell you where she is," his voice was calm as he took her free hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
"You know where my Char is?" After he nodded, she spoke softly, "If you promise to tell me where she is, I will answer your questions…"
"I promise, ma'am… Now, Charlotte… She had a boyfriend, correct? A… Gregory Pike?"
"Yes… Greggy and she were very serious… dating for over two years now…" Nick gulped at her nickname for the young man. 'Snap out of it, Stokes! Gil told you never to get emotional with a victim!'
"Ma'am… did they ever fight?" The M.E. had found severe bruising that had occurred a few months before the attack.
A smile crossed the aging woman's face and the Texan could see she was relaxing. "Why, heavens no! Never! They were perfect… although, my dear Rose… that would be Char's mother… she thought that Greg had a rough streak… she would always find broken bottles at their apartment… but, Greg… he never drank… Never!" Nick's mind went blank as his post-cognition began…
The couple had been arguing--something they NEVER did around their parents… Greg had broken his bottle over the counter… explaining the marks around the edge… Charlotte had flipped out at him, and he came at her with the bottle… explaining the marks around her wrists and forearms… One thing didn't add up… the lack of shattered glass… if he really did do it, where was the-------
"Mr. Stokes?"
"Yes'm?" He broke out of his thoughts.
"Is there anything else you need?" she asked quietly.
"One more thing… Could I take a look at their apartment?"
"Of course… just please, is my Char alright?"
"Not exactly," he sighed. "She, and Gregory… They… They were murdered…" The white-haired lady's jaw dropped as her gasp echoed. Her hand groped the air as she fought for a deep breath. "Ma'am?"
"My Char… and her Greggy… Murdered? But, why? Who would do this?!"
"Mrs. Mortison… this is what I intend to find out…" Tears dripped down her wrinkled cheeks as she tried to soak in all of the information that had been thrown at her. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"A tissue? They're over by the television…" He got up silently and handed her the box, letting her control her emotions. "Sir… can you tell me anything else?"
"Not much… but I can tell you that any information you have may lead us to her killer…" The grandmother nodded.
"Of course… here's the address to their apartment…" She grabbed a piece of paper from her telephone stand and scribbled on it, handing it over the Crime Scene Investigator.
"Thank you, ma'am… as soon as we have any information, you'll be the first to know… I promise…"
"Thank you…"
~~*~~
As soon as he was safely outside, Nick let the tears he had held in flow gently out of his eyes. This poor young man and woman would never go on anymore dates together. They'd never again walk hand-in-hand down a moonlit shoreline. They'd never have another chance at love.
Nick's past relationships had been hindering his future love-life. All of his ex-girlfriends had been close friends first and their dating had lasted for endless months. Then the spark would burn out and all they'd have left were the friendly memories. Nick refused to date anyone from work also, so that narrowed down the field even more, since he spent at least 18 hours everyday at the lab. Sure, he had friends there----Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, and even Sarah had become like a second family to him, since he had left most of his real family in Texas to pursue his career in forensic science. Plus, he always had Greg, his lab-rat, who spent just about the same amount of hours in the lab as he did. In the past months, they'd become close friends, who kept each other from the complete insanity that came from working nonstop.
In fact, they ate an early dinner around four-thirty in the afternoon that Greg brought when he joined Nick, who started at three, in the lab. At ten-thirty, the next morning, when they left work, they'd go down the street to a small diner, Nick's treat.
It had been their routine for the past month, except when Grissom handed out cases last night. Nick had been given a solo on this case and he'd been working since nine PM. He'd even had to bail on his daily breakfast with Greg to head to the beach-house. Grissom had said he wanted everyone back in the lab by six to go over evidence.
Nick checked his watch, using his sleeve to wipe away the stray tears. Five-thirty. On a normal day, Greg would've already brought a bag from the local Burger King with him to the ice-cold lab and they'd be processing their DNA together. Nick licked his lips, thinking about the smell of the Super-Sized Whopper.
"I've still got places to go," the Texan said to no one in particular. Hopping into his SUV, he started the engine and pulled into the street, heading for the apartment in the city, a good twenty minutes away.
~~*~~
Nick was standing at the locked door, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor, and his fist lightly on the door. He was at the end of a long hallway, mad at the idea that his lead might be locked behind this door.
"Good luck getting in there," a wispy voice from behind him said. Nick jumped at the sudden presence of another person. He turned around to see a wiry old lady with thinning grey hair. "No one's been there for two days…"
"Who are you?"
"Me?" she asked. "Me… Well, I'm the Landlady of this complex…"
"Okay," Nick relaxed noticeably. "How do you know no one's been there..?"
"I was curious yesterday afternoon when no one had come to pick up their mail yet… Charlotte, the girl… she always came by at exactly eleven-thirty before she went on her run…"
"Everyday?" Nick questioned, taking mental notes.
"To a tee… I planned my time around that young woman!" the Landlady chuckled. "Around six, I checked again, but the mail was gone… I figure, the man comes home at six, maybe the girl's sick and Greg picked up the mail… I didn't think nothing of it until around ten PM…"
"Why ten?"
"My apartment is right there." The aging woman pointed up at the ceiling. "You can hear them, every night, at nine-thirty… That couple was like clockwork!"
"What do you mean?" Nick furrowed his brow. " 'You can hear them'?"
"Yelling," the woman said calmly. "About everything under the sun…"
"They fought?"
"Now, sir… I don't want to give you the wrong impression of these people… Every morning at nine, the man would leave for work. The girl was a late sleeper… around eleven, she'd wake up, get the mail, and run… She'd be back by one. Sometimes, she'd go to her friend's… Julie something… But, whenever they were together… from six until eleven at night… They'd ague… Oh, no, that dear man would never hit her… he loved her… But, they'd argue over the stupidest things… Television shows, food, chores… They were sweet people, they never complained, they paid the rent… They were the perfect tenants…" As she finished her speech, a faint smile crossed her lips. "They were the other tenants' worst nightmare, though… I never had more complaints about anyone else!"
"Ma'am… Thank you for all your information… Then, there is no way to get into their apartment?" The white-haired lady shrugged.
"There's another key," a low, harsh voice rasped from down the hallway. Nick's jumpy demeanor returned when he saw the dark grey eyes that belonged to the burly man walking casually closer.
"Sir? Who are you?" Nick asked, trying to shake the twitchy feeling he got looking into the cold eyes.
"I'm one of the complainers," he said simply.
"Oh, stop it, Jimmy!" the lady scolded playfully, a genuine smile plastered on her face. "This is my great-nephew, Jimmy Keller!"
"Nick Stokes," the Texan greeted plainly.
Jimmy grunted a response, "It's great to meet you, Mr. Stakes, and by that I mean, good luck finding Charlotte and Greg…" The side of his mouth twitched. "I've got to be going…" With one last nod to his great-aunt, the surly man left.
"Sorry about him, Mr. Stokes… He was just laid off the police-force last week… He hasn't been in good company since…"
"It's fine, ma'am… but, he mentioned another key?"
"Now that you say something, I believe Greg always kept a key at their beach-house… They might even be there, even though they only spent a weekend or two there!" She was all-smiles.
"Maybe… Thank you, again, Ms…?"
"Pike… Jenna Pike…"
"Ms. Pike… thank you…"
"You're welcome, young man… Good luck!"
~~*~~
The late January air was very brisk as Nick started his SUV. He felt something wiggle in his pocket and pulled out his vibrating phone, flipping it open, "Nick Stokes."
"Get to the lab… It's already six-fifteen! Greg has some important evidence for you!" Grissom sounded aggravated and Nick knew better than to push him over the edge, even though he had a good two hours he could spend, completing the processing of his Crime Scene.
"I'll be there in five," he promised, closing his phone and pulling onto the main street. A maroon van pulled out of the apartment complex parking lot and drove slowly behind him. Nick paid no attention as the headlights followed him all the way to the parking lot at the lab.
~~*~~
"He's too close to figuring this out!" the driver of the van fumed. "I can't afford to get caught!" The van swerved behind the quickly moving SUV. Grabbing the ski-mask next to them, the figure pulled it over its face, parking the car two rows over from Nick's.
~~*~~
Nick sat in his car a moment, contemplating how to go about finding the key. Looking at the bright green digital clock, he noticed it was now six-thirty-seven and the sky was pitch black. The only light he had was the lonely street lamp that stood out in the center of the parking lot. Remembering his boss' angry tone, he turned off the engine and got out of the car, deliberately leaving his coat. After all, he might need an excuse to escape Gil's lengthy lectures.
Making his way through the rows of parked cars, Nick saw a shadowed figure heading the same direction as he was. Thinking it was just another lab tech late for a meeting, he smiled and walked a bit faster for the doors. Noticing a darker spot in the lot, he moved to the right, hoping to avoid it.
He never heard the footsteps come up behind him.
~~*~~
"I've got you now, Mr. Stokes…" Hurrying up behind the young CSI, he thrust his hands out, pushing on Nick's back, shoving him to the damp ground.
~~*~~
Nick did, however, feel the hands push violently on his back. And he felt the hard ground as his face fell roughly against the cold wetness of it. He whimpered, blood dripping from his cheek.
"Shut up," his attacker grunted. A hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him up fiercely. "You're never going to figure this out… Not after I'm through with you…"
Nick bit his bottom lip to keep from calling out, fearing more hurt. The pain that was already rushing though his head was enough. He felt rough skin near his waist, and before he knew it, the dark figure in behind him was unfastening his belt. Nick twitched, utterly afraid to move or make a sound. His attacker had his belt off already and was quick with the zipper on his pants.
"No," Nick muttered, closing his eyes. "Please, no…" He squirmed, feeling his pants drop to the wet ground.
"It's best if you don't move… It'll hurt less…" the deep voice warned.
"Joe… no… please…!" Nick whined, eyes opening and glazing over. His reflexes took over as the past took over him.
"Joe..? Is that your boyfriend?" the hoarse voice laughed at the vicious joke, pressing himself up against Nick. In the back of the Texan's mind, he registered his attacker as a man.
"No… I… this is wrong…" Nick was shaking now, fingers scraping the ground.
"No more wrong than murder, right?" Nick's boxers were slid down his slender legs as his bottom half was completely exposed. "You might want to kneel, Mr. Stokes…" Nick didn't move, only continued convulsing, memories overcoming him.
"No, Joe… no… This is bad… NO!" His scream echoed.
"Shut the fuck up, Nick! I have a gun and I am not afraid to use it on a fag like you!" He shoved Nick hard in the back, forcing him to lay flat on the pavement.
"Oohhhh… please, no… You said it wouldn't hurt!" Nick was reaching hysteria, and fast.
"I never said it wouldn't hurt… I might be a killer, but I'm not a liar," he taunted, positioning himself over Nick, straddling him. He grabbed the tight fabric of Nick's shirt and pulled him into a kneeling position. "Get ready for the most intense feeling in your life…"
"No," Nick groaned. The memories were fading and reality was hitting him head-on. "Please… don't… I won't…"
"Too late… You got yourself involved with the wrong case…" The man leaned closer to Nick, breathing heavily in his ear.
"Please… stop…"
"No way…" He ran his hand along the small of Nick's back, making him twitch. Sliding his fingers lower, he stretched the taut skin on Nick's back end. Nick whimpered, remembering every moment in his past. "Enjoy yourself, Mr. Stokes…" He added another finger, causing the CSI to scream out in pain.
"Stop!"
"I said… SHUT UP!" This was the attacker's first mistake. He took no notice to the front door of the lab opening and Sarah walking casually out of building. She turned her head quickly, not seeing the two, but hearing Nick's voice loud and clear.
"Nick? Nick?! Are you there?!" Sarah's voice was like an angel to Nick's pain.
"Sarah," he choked out almost silently as his attacker added another finger.
"If you don't stop talking, I'm just gonna go ahead with it," he hissed, careful to keep his voice down now. "Relax!"
Nick howled in pain, as another finger was added to the mix.
"Nick!" Sarah ran over, looking around intently. "Nick!!"
"If that girl comes over here," he warned. But Sarah was out of their view. Nick could hear her voice softly in the distance, but all he could feel was the pain searing through every inch of his existence. The pain that had overcome everything else in the moment, and was taking over his mind.
Quiet sirens echoed from down the road, startling Nick's attacker enough for him to move his hands. The agony had returned as his antagonist twisted his hands away from Nick. "That bitch! She called the fuckin' cops!" Nick could feel the blood dripping down the back of his legs, as the man stood and pushed Nick back into the wet pavement. "This is not the last you've seen of me," he promised, running for his car.
Nick reached up and groped the air, voice raspy, "Sarah!"
"Nick? That you?" she called, following his voice.
Nick tried to hide himself as she came into view, but only managed to find some ripped cloth from his boxers. "Sarah," he called out weakly.
"I'm coming… keep talking," she ordered gently.
"I'm right here… you're getting close… walk to you left…" Her eyes widened as she spotted him.
"Nick? That you?" She knelt beside him. "God, you look horrible!" She reached out to touch his hair, but he cringed and looked away, hurt.
"Thanks," he murmured.
"I called the cops… and an ambulance should be here soon…"
"Gris is mad at me, isn't he?"
"It doesn't matter now…" Just then, a paramedic with a flashlight came up right behind Sarah and shined the bright beam at Nick's bloody figure.
"Sir? Ma'am?" he said, taking in the situation. "Sir? Do you need medical attention?"
Nick nodded, "Yes…"
"Alright… ma'am? Help me get him on a stretcher?" As they managed to let Nick lean on them as a stretcher was wheeled over, the door to the lab building slammed open, Greg emerging with a worried look on his face.
Glancing at Nick's bloody, mangled body, his jaw dropped and he began walking toward him, as they strapped him tightly to the stretcher. "Nick?" he mouthed, picking up his pace to a sprint as they began taking him to the ambulance. "NICK!" he screamed.
"Greggy," Nick's voice was soft, but the lab tech still felt it. The look on his face was pure horror as the pain of the situation took him over the edge and unconsciousness took over.
~~*~~
TBC…
A/N: The ending is Amanda's fault… lol. Love ya, hun! Review… ^_^ This is gonna be long and angsty… I have the first 40 chapters planned out, and I plan on working on this. ^_^ If you review, I'll love you forever! ^_^ LOL! =D ~*Invader Nence*~