8

Jaiden felt woozy as she returned to her bed after using the bathroom. She was grateful to relieve the pressure that was building in her bladder. Her neck was aching and throbbing from sleeping in an upright position. She had glimpsed her face in a mirror in the bathroom and noticed that there was a decent amount of swelling in her right cheek. She had a few small cuts here and there, but nothing as serious as Riley had.

Jaiden glanced in the direction of her friend, who remained under the covers. From the way the cloth moved, Jaiden guessed that she was still crying, even though Greg had left the room. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she could pound Greg into the ground right then. She called for a nurse.

"I want to go and talk to that man, right there," she said flatly. The nurse blinked at her.

"You're not to leave bed unless it's to the bathroom," the nurse replied firmly. Jaiden scowled and started to get out of the bed on her own. It was a tricky matter; she was fairly drugged up, her steps were uncertain and wobbly. The nurse sighed in defeat, knowing that Jaiden wasn't going to stop unless she did what she wanted.

The nurse held her up by the elbow and led her and her IV out to the hall, where Greg was sitting, with his head in his hands. Jaiden removed herself from the nurse's grasp and stood over him. She was frowning, her eyes glittering with anger.

"You're disgusting," she hissed. Greg looked up at her, tears still streaming from his eyes. Jaiden didn't soften.

"There you are, feeling sorry for yourself while Riley is in there living in hell," she continued, her anger barely showing through her sedated state. "She was raped, she was beaten, and she was scared. You know what she kept telling herself while she waited to be taken into his room? Your name, you disgusting jerk. She wanted to be with you so badly and when she gets the chance to see you, you run away like a baby. She needs you more than ever and here you are crying over how horrible she looks!" Jaiden leaned dangerously to the left, but straightened herself.

"I want you to get you sorry ass in there and stay there with her. You are going to apologize for being selfish and you are going to stay there until she gets sick of seeing your sorry face!" Jaiden ordered firmly and fiercely. When he didn't move, Jaiden took the clipboard that a nearby nurse was holding and smacked him hard on the head to prove she was serious.

"Jeez, Jaiden, they've drugged you with coke or something," he mumbled as she marched him back into the room. Riley had begun to resurface when he re-entered the room and looked at Jaiden. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She couldn't help but smile when Jaiden mouthed, "That felt good."

When Warrick returned from the bathroom, he was surprised to see that Greg wasn't in the hall weeping, as he had been earlier. He looked into the room across the hall where the girls were. Greg was there, talking to Riley, who was smiling a little.

His gaze wandered over to Jaiden's bed and was curious when he saw that her curtain had been drawn. When he saw that her silhouette was joined by a nurse's silhouette he assumed that she was bathing as much as she could. When the curtains were pulled back, Jaiden's hair was damp and she had begun to slide back onto the bed after bickering with the nurse about it.

Warrick couldn't help but smile. That was just like Jaiden. She couldn't sit still for more than five minutes without complaining about something. Jaiden looked at Warrick and said something to the nurse.

"Mr. Brown, Ms. Mooreland would like to see you now," the nurse said calmly. Warrick nodded and followed her into the room.

"Hey, there," he murmured, standing over her. He put his hand on her forehead and smoothed some of her hair back. Jaiden looked up at him and gave a meek smile. He stared into her eyes and realized that, for the most part, they were blank.

"Hi," she murmured back. She had started to get lost in his eyes when she felt her heart begin to race; it wasn't from being with Warrick. No, it was because she couldn't remember what she wanted to tell him. And then, she remembered parts, but not the whole thing. A bed, two men, one true and the other black and hard, ecstasy induced by lust, gray eyes fading into Warrick's green hazel ones.

Jaiden's breath came and went in panicked gasps. She couldn't remember, she couldn't understand why she couldn't think straight anymore. She felt like she was slipping under a thick blanket of ice and no one could hear her scream for help. She couldn't do anything anymore; she couldn't work, couldn't love, or even think. She wasn't going to make it out alive. Oh, God, why is this happening? she thought.

Warrick snapped to attention the minute he heard her breath pick up speed. He dashed to the hallway and shouted for a nurse. Two nurses, one a man and the other a woman ran into the room and tried to calm her down. Jaiden had begun to inch her way up the bed, as if trying to escape something. The woman ran to the door and yelled for someone to call Dr. Harnet.

The blonde woman hurried into the room after being paged and ordered Greg and Warrick out of the room. "I need you to leave now!" she said sharply as she checked Jaiden's pulse, which was picking up speed. "I want some sedatives pronto!" she shouted to a nurse that was ushering the men out of the room. Riley craned her neck to see what was going on with Jaiden, but was disappointed when her curtains were drawn to prevent her looking.

The nurse who was sent to get the sedatives returned with a tray and handed the doctor the sedative. Dr. Harnet injected the clear liquid into Jaiden's IV and watched as her body slowly stopped moving as sleep overtook it.

The curtain was pulled back, and Riley saw Jaiden sleeping soundly again.

"Riley, can you remember anything distinctive?" Grissom asked Riley in the interrogation room. Riley sat there, knowing fully that the entire CSI team through the one-way glass panel on the opposite wall was watching her. She closed her eyes in thought.

She remembered being on the patio and drinking some champagne. Then she remembered falling to the ground with Jaiden. After that, everything came in the smallest of pieces; she remembered broken glass and a closed door. She recalled hitting someone and waking up with a light shining in her face for a moment. Then she recollected a lake. But she had already told Grissom this and he wanted more. She couldn't give him any more. Damn ketamine, she thought bitterly as she opened her eyes and shook her head sorrowfully.

Grissom sighed and thanked her for trying. Riley stood up and left the room, passing Jaiden on the way out. Jaiden was seated near the door, her head resting against the wall behind her.

"He's waiting for you, Jaiden," Riley murmured as she passed. Jaiden inclined her head and entered the room Grissom sat in. Jaiden shuddered as she closed the door behind her. The room was small and uninviting.

"Good afternoon, Jaiden. Please, sit down." Grissom saw her small shiver and told himself to take it easy with the questions. She didn't need to suffer another attack of any kind. Jaiden complied and sat down across from him.

"Jaiden, I'd like for you to tell me everything that you remember about last Monday night," Grissom said gently. Jaiden snapped to attention at the sound of his voice and blinked.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" she asked innocently. She didn't recognize his face or his voice and was actually quite curious as to how he knew her name.

Everyone who was watching her from behind the glass stiffened immediately and a few people gasped. How could she forget Grissom? Jaiden seemed to have blanked instantaneously.

"I'm Gil Grissom, Jaiden," Grissom told her slowly. His brows were furrowed deeply; this development scared him. Jaiden was known to remember everything. She suddenly blinked and shook her head quickly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Grissom. I remember now," she muttered. "It's those stupid medications; they've got me on Prozac and some sleeping pills. This is why I hate doctors." Jaiden looked at him, her eyes full of recognition now.

"I see," he said slowly, as though he didn't believe her. Jaiden sighed and looked at the glass pane.

"You wanted me to tell you what I remember," she said, prompting herself. She continued to stare at the glass, as if she were looking for faces. She was really looking beyond the glass, as though she were using it as a reference point.

"I… I remember drinking. I didn't finish all of it. Then… then I remember something about red. And Brad Pitt, I remember Brad Pitt… I think. I don't know why, but I remember… it's strange really, but I remember a photograph. I think it was of a body of water… that's all I remember," she murmured. Her eyes were clouded over with thought and concentration.

Grissom took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. This was getting them nowhere. He let Jaiden go and was surprised when she paused at the door. She was looking at him, her eyes wide as she realized something.

"Gas cans." That was all she said right then. She leaned against the doorpost for support.

"Excuse me?" he prompted. Jaiden closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"The red, it was the gas cans that were red. There were four of them. I remember staring at them when Riley was gone." She looked at him, a small, triumphant smile on her face. Grissom smiled gratefully. Maybe now they'd get somewhere.

Riley and Jaiden had insisted profusely until Warrick and Greg consented just to get them to quiet down. Catherine had suggested returning to where the girls were found to see if they found anything that might lead them to the actual crime scene. She had gotten the coordinates from the helicopter pilot's log and showed them on a map where they had been found.

On the map, it was a blank space surrounded by a road and desert. This discovery only roused mounting frustration within the team. In hopes of calming nerves, Riley and Jaiden told them that if they saw where it happened, they might remember more about what happened.

They sat in the car quietly, knowing that if they said a word it would be possible for them to be thrown from the moving car. Jaiden stared out the window, hoping that something there would jog her memory. When they passed the Eagle Valley Reservoir, she screamed for the car to stop. Warrick slammed on the brakes, mainly because she had screamed in his ear and startled him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked as he glared at her. Jaiden leapt from the car and jogged past the thin spread of trees to the reservoir.

Everyone followed her; curious as to why she was so determined to get to the body of water that lay amidst the trees. Jaiden stood at the edge of the reservoir, a photograph in her hand. She was looking from the picture to the lake.

"This is what I remembered; the Eagle Valley Reservoir. This is what I remember seeing before I passed out," she explained to the confused CSIs. Catherine looked at the fair end of the clearing and saw matted grass in a circle.

"She's right. This is where we found them Wednesday. There's where the chopper landed," Catherine supported, pointing towards the grass impression. Jaiden's eyes met Riley's.

Riley shook her head. "Ketamine is a nasty thing for the memory," she said sorrowfully. Jaiden's gaze drifted towards her injured foot. Her mind clicked.

"All we have to do is follow my blood," she murmured. Warrick looked at her. She met his eyes and smiled a little. "I cut my foot before we were rescued. I was leaning on Riley for support." Nick grabbed his UV light and tried looking for blood, but got nothing.

"It's too bright, the UV light is useless now," he complained. He looked to the girls for help. Riley and Jaiden looked around.

"I didn't recognize the reservoir from this angle. If the chopper was there and I don't recognize the lake from this point, then that means we came from that way," Riley said, pointing towards a hill. She looked to Jaiden, hoping for encouragement. Jaiden looked at the hill and smiled.

"That's right. I remember looking down," she said, reassuring her friend. The group hiked up the small path that led up the side of the hill.

Jaiden stopped at the base of the hill. Warrick stood beside her, curiosity in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. He put his hand on her shoulder and pushed away some of her hair. She looked at him and smiled shamefacedly.

"I'm feeling a little dizzy," she confessed. "And my foot is disagreeing with my shoe choice." Warrick chuckled and stepped in front of her.

"C'mon, get on my back." Jaiden laughed as she allowed him to carry her up the slope on his back. Catherine had returned to see what was taking so long and smiled at the sight of Warrick giving Jaiden a piggyback ride. "You've lost some weight," Warrick pointed out as he continued to carry her after they had tackled the hill. The rest of the faction had stopped in front of a cabin-like building that was also a little elevated.

"Was I overweight before?" Jaiden asked, her tone chilling. Warrick laughed.

"No," he replied, avoiding the silent topic of her nonexistent obesity.

"Smart answer, bud," she said with a sniff. Warrick gave a small thrust with his legs, forcing Jaiden back up his back. She laughed again, with a little more embarrassment when they rejoined the group.

Jaiden slid off Warrick's back as they reached the door to the cabin. Riley and Jaiden went first, hoping that the sight of the door would strike their memories. The door was slightly ajar, a little more than halfway. A burgundy truck was parked at least 100 yards from the cabin.

Nick and Sara were still in the back, processing the broken glass they had found beneath a window. Catherine took Warrick over to the truck and started working on it. Grissom told Greg to call for some officers to secure the scene while he stood with the girls.

They were silent while the police officers cleared the building and the surrounding area. Grissom clutched his kit and opened the door further, allowing the girls to enter before him. "Please don't touch anything," he told them as they went through the door. Jaiden reached for Riley's hand when they had cleared the entryway.

The interior was dim and seemed to have been abandoned. The only source of light in the main room was through the windows, which were all along one wall opposite the door. One of the windows was broken and two pieces of black cloth lay beneath that particular row of windows. To Grissom's right was another door, which, he assumed, led to the bedroom.

Riley took a shuddering breath and stepped towards the windows. "This is it," she whispered. Jaiden nodded shakily and moved towards the bedroom door. She didn't touch it; she knew better than that. It was part of the crime scene.

Grissom merely watched and opened the door with a gloved hand. Inside the room, there was a small cot. Next to the cot was a large, gray duffle bag, which lay beneath a nightstand. A wheeled cooler sat in the far corner ominously. Jaiden stood behind him and noticed each object as he saw them.

"Jaiden, how many cans did you say you saw?" Riley's voice asked her from behind. Jaiden looked at her over her shoulder.

"Four, why?" she replied. Riley tilted her head in the direction of the door they had entered through. To the left of the door sat two red gas cans, where there should have been four. Grissom looked at the cans with a puzzled expression.

"Are you sure?" he asked Jaiden. Jaiden stared at him.

"Of course, I'm sure. That's the clearest thing I remember about this entire damn situation. He must have taken two of them or someone broke in! There were four!" she said sharply before walking out of the cabin. Grissom and Riley stood inside, looking at each other.

Riley jogged out the door but was stopped by Warrick, who grabbed her arm. "Let her go; she needs to cool off a bit, I think," he said softly. Riley gazed at him and sighed as she started to walk in the opposite direction. Warrick followed behind, giving her some distance.

"She's completely different," was all Riley said. Warrick furrowed his brow; Riley was right, Jaiden had changed a lot after the unpleasant incident last week. She was short-tempered, forgetful to a fault, and refused to talk to anyone about it except when she had to. Even then, it was hard to get details. She had a lot more ketamine than Riley did.

"Maybe so, but we shouldn't give up on her; we shouldn't blame her. She's always had trouble dealing with traumatic events," he replied. Riley snorted.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the way she deals with things, Warrick. I think she's become selfish. Sometimes I wonder if she would be happier if she were the only victim so she wouldn't have to share the sympathy being given out.

"Any other time, she would have shot all the reports and photographers who've come up to us for pictures and statements. Now, she doesn't tell them to leave and makes the rest of us deal with them when she doesn't feel like getting out of the house. Honestly, Warrick, she's starting to get on my nerves!" Riley retorted angrily. Warrick listened to her patiently, although her angry words about Jaiden stung him a little. He knew, however, that she was right. Jaiden, although she would never admit to it, liked being in the limelight occasionally. He approached Riley slowly.

"Even so, she needs us. She needs you, Riley. You know better than anyone does that if she had been the only victim, she'd be in the morgue as we speak. You, Riley, you saved her and yourself when you could have left her behind. You dragged her down that hill to the reservoir when she was more than willing to collapse. You deserve the light and recognition.

"Jaiden hates being seen as weak or unable to help herself, which is why you rarely see her asking anyone for help when she's in trouble or why she cuts people off so they don't see how troubled she really is. She's human; we all do it sometimes. Don't give up on her, Riles, or else we may never get the real Jaiden back again," he told her comfortingly. Riley pushed some of her hair back and sighed harshly. He was right about Jaiden. Riley was willing to admit that much, she just wished Jaiden would get over herself and let her friends help her.

Riley embraced Warrick quickly, thankful that he was willing and patient enough to hear her out. Her mind raced back to the missing gas cans and she got an idea. "You know, there were only two gas cans inside when we went in a few minutes ago."

"Really?" Warrick asked, surprised. He had released her and was standing a friendly distance away again. He looked at her with interest. "I thought Jaiden said there were four."

"I think there were. But, remember when I said I remembered seeing a bright light before escaping? I think that might have been our guy leaving to fill up the cans. You said that you found a gas trail leading to the patio; maybe he knew he was leaking, so he went to go and fill up the gas tank before leaving again," she explained hurriedly before she lost the thought. Warrick thought a moment then smiled.

"I think you may have something there. Excuse me," he said as he rushed off to where Grissom was. Riley sat down in the grass patch she had claimed and relaxed. She had finally done what she had wanted to do all week; she helped someone with something.

Greg had found Jaiden's blood trail easily enough; he started where the broken glass lay scattered and moved in the direction of the reservoir. He occasionally swerved, as their movements swerved. He had photographed over fifty blood drops when he saw Jaiden sitting on the hill, her knees to her chest.

He looked back behind him, checking to see if anyone was following her. When he saw no one, he decided that now was as good a time as any to apologize for his blowing up at her last Sunday morning. He took his camera with him and approached her slowly, calling her name so that she knew he was there.

"Jaiden," he called, "you mind if I sit down here?" Jaiden looked at him briefly from over her shoulder and shrugged. Greg set himself down next to her, putting his camera and the yellow, photographic scales down next to him. He lay back in the grass, putting his hands behind his head.

"The sky is beautiful," he breathed. Jaiden didn't reply instantly.

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" she murmured absently. Greg looked at her curiously. She was unusually quiet.

"What's up?" he prodded. Jaiden didn't look at him and hesitated when answering. She had been thinking about how she reacted when Riley and Grissom questioned her about the gas cans that were missing. She blew up at them for no reason; that was not at all like her. She could probably blame the medications, but she knew that she couldn't hide in their shadows for long. Jaiden scolded herself silently, telling herself to apologize later.

"It's nothing really. I just behaved a little more like a child than an adult a few minutes ago," she replied in a sigh. Greg could tell she didn't want to talk about it anymore by the way she shifted her gaze from the sky to the lake.

"Listen, I've been meaning to do this for a while, but you've been otherwise engaged," Greg said, changing the subject upon her subtle command. He, however, wasn't too eager to get the apology out in the open. Jaiden glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she prompted quietly. Greg took a deep breath.

"Well, I've had time to assess what a jerk I was at Ihop last Sunday when you and Riley were… you know—"

"Raped." Jaiden's voice remained calm, but he saw the bitterness in her eyes.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry, Jaidey," he said quickly. He had used her childhood nickname without realizing that he had. Everything about that moment was reminiscent of their childhood. She was sitting and staring at nothing after being wrongly accused of doing something Greg didn't like. He was there, lying next to her, unsure of how to apologize properly and ended up spitting it out so quickly she might not have understood.

"You haven't called me that in a long time," was all he heard from her. Greg blinked; it was then that he realized he called her Jaidey. He was the one who had come up with it after he made the startling discovery that it rhymed with Spidey, who, at the time, was Greg's idol. He laughed sheepishly.

"You're right," he said, propping himself up with his elbows. Jaiden looked at him and gave a small smile.

"Who will not mercie unto others show, how can he mercy ever hope to have?" she asked. Greg looked at her blankly.

"What?" Jaiden giggled quietly.

"Edmund Spenser said that concerning mercy. I forgive you," she explained. Greg grinned.

"You think I can call you Jaidey from now on?" he asked her. Jaiden shot him a sharp look.

"Not if you expect to live to testify in trial; and I could care less if you have amazing evidence that may sway the jury's decision. You can shove that excuse up your—" Greg, taking advantage of their renewed friendship, pushed her hard enough to unseat her. When she was glaring at him from her position on the ground, he stood up and laughed.

His laughter, though joyful, came to an abrupt halt when her tennis shoe came in direct contact with his face.

"That's not fair!" he scowled. Jaiden gave him a smug look.

"Fair is foul and foul is fair!" Greg, caught up in the moment, was not hesitating to retort.

"I hope you mean your face!" Jaiden, furious, threw her other shoe at him, aiming for his face again and hitting him in the shoulder. Picking up both her shoes, he ran to the reservoir and threw both objects into the deep portion of the body. Jaiden shrieked as she watched her shoes struggle to remain above the water and eventually sink.

Greg, looking and feeling triumphant, collected his things and continued working. He didn't think about consequences until he saw the mass of officers and CSIs running towards her. I'm screwed, he thought desperately as he saw Grissom's face change from worry to frustration with a hint of disgust. So screwed, Greg thought.

"What happened? Jaiden, are you alright?" Grissom asked sternly. Jaiden, pushing herself up with a little difficulty, looked at Grissom sheepishly.

"So sorry, I slid on the grass and was startled, that's all," she said, a blush forming on her cheeks. Greg stared at her. She was covering for him and had no trouble at all convincing the others. She didn't look at him at all, as she lied flawlessly.

"Jaiden, where are your shoes?" Warrick asked, noticing for the first time that she was in only her socks. Jaiden looked him in the eye and lied to his face innocently.

"They're in the grass, just over there," she replied, pointing to a patch of tall grass. Greg saw something in Warrick's face twitch as he accepted the story. Greg felt his stomach drop: only Warrick knew how to tell if Jaiden was lying.

"Be careful, Jaiden. All right, everyone, let's get back to work," Grissom said loudly, his eyes fixed on Jaiden's calm face. "Greg, how's that trail coming?" he asked Greg suddenly. Greg's heart leapt with surprise at being addressed. He collected himself instantly and answered, "I'm almost to the end, I think. Just a few more minutes."

Grissom inclined his head and turned to usher the rest of the team from the area. Warrick lingered and looked at Jaiden pointedly. Jaiden sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Greg pushed me. I threw my shoes at him. He threw my shoes in the reservoir. That's all," she snapped. Warrick rounded on Greg the minute he heard of his "friendly" shove. Greg stared at the ground.

"We were just having a little fun and I got carried away." Oh, yeah, Greg, you idiot. He's definitely going to believe that one, he thought cynically. Jaiden rolled her eyes and sat back down in the grass.

"Can't you two be left alone for five minutes without killing each other?" Warrick asked with exasperation. Jaiden snorted and Greg dug his toe into the dirt.

"You sound like my mother," Jaiden said muttered. Warrick stared at her.

"How do you plan on getting around? I'm certainly not going to be carrying you around," he said to her. Jaiden tossed her hair.

"Where am I going? I'm not a CSI; I'm a civilian who happened to talk her way into getting here. I have no other purpose other than to offer my memories, which are as good as shot, need I remind you." Her tone was icy. She hated being the only one of the group who had nothing to do with solving crimes. It made her feel like an outsider. Warrick sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. Jaiden, you stay put until I can get away to take you home. Greg, I'll kill you after work; Grissom wants that blood trail. The two of you, stop fighting!" Warrick ordered. Jaiden didn't say a word, only looked at the ripples in the water. Greg, who bravely looked up from his shoes, nodded meekly. Warrick sighed and walked back to the truck where Catherine was waiting.

Jaiden lay back in the grass and closed her eyes. She was tired from arguing with Greg. She was aware that he was watching her as she slipped into sleep, but she didn't say a thing. Warrick was more than willing to murder Greg and, frankly, she didn't mind. He had just thrown $80 worth of shoes into the Eagle Valley Reservoir. That was a crime in itself.