Chapter 7

Nick was here…

Grissom gawked at Catherine and Warrick, his eyes wide and mouth hanging low.

"Uhh…Gil?" Catherine said, her eyebrows pointed in a confused expression.

"Nick was here? Only an hour ago? Wh-Where did he go? Is he alright?"

Catherine still looked puzzled.

"Gil, Nick is fine. He kept humming to himself whenever things got quiet, but he looks fine. He left because we told him about the missing eaglet. He said he was going to go find it."

"Which way did he go?" Grissom asked earnestly.

Catherine's eyebrows remained raised when she pointed behind her at a stone path leading up the mountain side.

"Thanks Cath. You've been a big help. Come on gang…" Grissom said, standing, clumsily shaking Catherine's hand, stepping over the edge of the nest and then practically running up the path.

"Hey, we're coming with!" Catherine said suddenly, standing up just as Mindy was about to clamber over the edge after Grissom. Catherine turned to Gil with her hands on her hips, the two eaglets bouncing around her feet like fuzzy super-balls.

"Excuse me," Mindy said firmly, placing her thick arms on her hips like Catherine. "But you're in my way. I'm on a mission. I have to go find Nicky."

Catherine turned around to face Mindy.

"I'm busy trying to talk sense into Gil thank you very much."

"Are you the reason that Liz and Grissom broke up? Because I can see why. You're a real b—"

"Mindy!" Liz screeched, tripping over herself as she ran forward and clapped a hand over Mindy's mouth, which the woman mumbled heatedly through. "First off," Liz grunted as Mindy attempted to pry her fingers off, "Grissom is not my ex. We were never together and never will be. I thought we went through this already?"

"Buv ee taught dat u'd vee barrst—" Mindy threw her eyes up in a look of annoyance and the next second Liz had pulled her hand from Mindy's mouth as if she'd been suddenly burned.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Eeeeeww! She licked me!" She wiped her hand on the back of Mindy's shirt.

"It was the only way to get your hand off my mouth. Now what I was trying to say was that I thought you'd been embarrassed to admit that Grissom was your ex because he probably looks very different than when you were dating him and caught him with somebody else." Mindy did a couple of fake coughs which sounded similar to 'This female dog right here…'

"Mindy, I'm serious when I say that Grissom and I were not together."

Mindy eyed her then turned out of the nest, brushing past Catherine roughly, and following Grissom up the path. Warrick stood and patted Catherine on the back to comfort her hurt ego. Molly stalked past after Mindy and Liz helped hoist Sara to her feet, and up and over the edge of the nest.

Catherine and Warrick came last, each holding onto one of the fuzzy eaglet balls of fluff which rasped and screeched as they were carried away.

The pathway the group was following wound its way higher up the mountain than even the eagle nest resided. The temperature slowly decreased and the air became thinner as they pressed on up its rocky steps. Sara lagged behind, Liz trying to help her keep her from collapsing. Mindy stalked after Grissom and Molly lumbered up slowly, her face emotionless as always. Catherine and Warrick were second in line.

"So enlighten us about this missing eaglet." Grissom wheezed, clambering over a few rocks that had at one point fallen into the path.

"Well, Cath and I were brought up here by…well…an unlikely source." Warrick mumbled uneasily as he helped Catherine over the rocks as well as Liz and Sara.

"Who?"

"More like what." Catherine said firmly. "The eagle clan, which Sara destroyed half of, flew to the lab during swing shift, before you guys got in, and since Warrick is fluent in eagle, we were able to communicate. Turns out one of these guys," She hoisted the baby eagle in her arms. "went missing and Warrick and I flew back here on Papa Eagle. Nick stayed behind, said he wanted to make sure that the shift was covered."

"Well," Grissom grunted with exertion as a crack in the path formed a giant step that he climbed over. "There's Papa Eagle, where's Mama Eagle?"

"Dead." Catherine said abruptly.

"I bet Sara killed her." Warrick said, chuckling, following right after Grissom and reaching over for Catherine's hand. He pulled her up and she followed Grissom while Warrick hung back. Molly pulled herself over the edge and continued, though Mindy stood firmly at the bottom of the step, staring determinedly at Warrick who had stood up, waiting for Liz and Sara.

"I'll help you ma'am," he said, taking Liz's hand in his and helping her up the step, "Sara," he said politely, nodding at the uncomfortable woman and giving her an extra tug to make sure she didn't collapse and fall off the step halfway up. Her face was still scrunched and her right hand still clutched tightly to her abdomen.

Warrick turned after Sara and began following the group.

"Hey!" Mindy shouted. "Hey, what about me?"

Warrick swiveled his head back around, "What?"

"I'm a helpless damsel! Help me up! Hold me hand and sweep me almost off my feet!"

Warrick raised an eyebrow, "Well, I thought you looked like someone who didn't take any help from anybody." It was more like he didn't feel like helping lift what looked like far more than 150 pounds worth of woman over a small overhang.

Mindy folded her arms and pouted exaggeratedly.

"Just leave her," Liz called to Warrick, who seemed to be having a severe mental debate. "She'll follow eventually."

With a final backward glance, Warrick jogged past Liz, Sara, and Molly, and back to Catherine's side. Mindy said nothing for about thirty seconds after that, before she cried, "I'm not moving! A certain hunky male figure is going to have to come back and get me before I go anywhere! And don't think you can send Grissom! He's way too old!"

They kept walking, but then suddenly Sara stumbled and fell, groaning loudly.

"Oh my God…oh my God…" she panted, doubled over, bending forward and placing her head on the stone, and then leaning back, breathing deeply.

The others pondered her for a moment before Catherine spoke, "Looks like me when I first went into labor with Lindsey. Are you sure Sara isn't seeing anybody? I think Greg still has the hots for her…are we sure he hasn't gotten her pregnant?"

"She's been eating broccoli for about two days straight." Grissom informed her.

"Ooh…"

"Oh my God…" Sara stuffed the back of her hand into her mouth and the next second, an enormous popping/squealing noise sounded, followed by an absolutely nauseating stench.

"Oh God!" the group around her gasped, slapping their hands to their mouths and noses.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT IS THAT SMELL?" Mindy's voice screeched loudly. The next second she had run past Sara, hands over her mouth, gagging.

"I suppose it's worse if you're downwind." Liz said quietly as Mindy ran past the rest of the group, turning a corner and disappearing out of sight.

"Worse?" Catherine managed through a cough. Her mouth and nose were covered with her left hand, the eaglet pressed between her elbow and side, her right hand waving furiously.

Sara sat gasping for breath on the ground, beads of sweat on her forehead, her shoulders trembling.

"Are you all right Sara?" Warrick asked, bending down to her level, one hand over his mouth, the eaglet safe in his arm like Catherine's. She nodded weakly.

"I-I-I need s-some…help…s-standing," She raised her hand to Warrick's shoulder and was helped into a standing position.

"Hey, where'd Grissom go?" Liz suddenly said, looking from Sara's sweaty face to the surrounding mountain cliffs.

"I…I don't know." Catherine said through her hand. "Do you think he followed Mindy? He always gets ticked with me when I call him old."

"Come on." Liz said, taking the lead. The group followed her around the corner Mindy had dashed around, Sara staggering, the stench growing faint, though it still lingered.

"I've never had gas this bad in my life." Sara moaned to Warrick, "I've never eaten so much broccoli in my life either."

"I don't think anyone has had that much broccoli before."

"This hurts worse than the worst period cramps!"

"Oh jeez. Too much info."

"Well it does."

"Grissom?" Catherine called, pulling the tan jacket she was wearing closer around her and tucking the little ball of fuzz she carried with her into its folds. Liz was in a sweater so she felt fine, and Molly was in all black and had enough blubber to give a whale a job as a supermodel. Warrick seemed unfazed by the growing cold despite his thin long-sleeved blouse, and it would be impossible to tell if Sara was shivering from cold or from just passing enough gas to last a drunk a lifetime or from the simple fact that her body was detoxing.

Grissom didn't respond and neither he nor Mindy were in sight.

"Gilbert Whatever-the-hell-your-middle-name-is Grissom! Get out here!" Catherine yelled, startling the bird she held.

A very faint, "I'm over here," made itself heard and then, "Hey! Look! The hottie has been here!"

Liz and Catherine jogged ahead. Molly walked after them stoically still, and Warrick helped Sara after them. They stopped at the entrance to a cave, Grissom and Mindy standing inside of it, looking at the wall in the very back.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked, stepping forward on Gil's left, between him and Mindy. Mindy gave her a look of pure venom and took an embellished side-step.

The wall bore a very large message, written in what looked like white spray-paint.

—NICK WAS HERE—

P.S. TEXAS AND CHITTY-CHITTY-BANG-BANG ROCK!

"I think Nick was here…" Grissom said quietly. He stepped forward to the message and placed his finger on the "T" in Texas. It was still wet. "It's fresh. He's nearby."

"No duh, Sherlock." Sara managed.