Summary: A serial killer comes to town on the boy's night to work. Things don't go calmly for Nick or Warrick when the killer decided to not play nice.

Disclaimer: This is all written in fun and trial for something new. Everything CSI is not mine and never will be. It belongs to the creative talent of the actors, the writers, the directors, and producers. I am not making any money off of this. Only meant to offer something new on something already so great. No reason to sue.

Author's Note:Well, this is one of the shorter chapters in this tale. Not too much action, but some guy bonding between the two boys. Hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am in writing it. Don't have a whole lot of time today to say too much more. Thanks to all and to all a good day!

Breath for me

Written by: duffshel

#4

Warrick walked slowly down the hallway. His feet were dragging on the tiles. The shift was finally over, but they hadn't gotten any farther than a couple of hours ago. Nick and Gil had made some phone calls to other labs around the country. There would be several faxes waiting for them when they arrived back to work.

Grissom wasn't going to let any of them work overtime. He was worried they were going to be on this case for a couple of days and didn't want to fry anyone out. Everyone was to go home and get to bed. The girls would be back on the next shift and they would be available to work on anything new. Greg and Gil would be on the dead girl's case was well now.

The door into the locker room seemed really heavy. It took more energy than it should have to get open. There was no one else in the room. Nick had not shown up yet.

"Where the hell are you man!"

The walls and lockers didn't respond. It was quiet. Sighing, Warrick walked to his locker and put in his combination. All his lucky numbers on the tables. As his locker swung open, so did the entry door. Nick shuffled in. Warrick was sure he looked just like his partner.

"You are late. We have been off the clock for…two minutes."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't know about you Warrick, but I could use so breakfast. Grease with a side of pancakes is something my stomach is growling for."

Warrick smiled at the Texan. He didn't get it, but people in the south loved to eat all the grease they could in the morning. Nick had told him it was to get everything oiled up for the day. It still made Warrick queasy. Plain pancakes were just fine for him.

"Sure. That sounds good. Then we should probably head home. Knowing Grissom in these moods, he will probably call to tuck us in."

"As long as I get my good-night story, he can call me all he wants."

The two laughing men finally finished changing into normal street clothes and slammed their locker doors at the same time. Keys in hands, they walked out of the building with a brisk speed. Neither were in the mood to talk with anyone tonight about anything. They simply wanted to get some food and hang out for a little bit.

It had been tough for the two to do much together outside of work. Warrick had found a new girl and was spending a lot of time with her. Nick had been going to the gym for about three hours a day to work out his aggression of work. Their new outlooks on things at that time in their lives left little spare time for male bonding. It was going to be nice to do something they used to do all the time in the older days.

"So where do we want to go?"

"I don't care. I picked the last time Nicky. It is your turn."

"Well, since I am in the mood for grease, I want meat. There is a little mom and pop place over by my place that makes one hell of a breakfast for cheap. We could go there."

"That sounds fine. As long as they don't inject grease into their pancakes."

Laughing, Nick walked to his truck, "How do you think they make those damn things taste good! Otherwise it would be nothing but batter."

Before Warrick could respond, Nick was in the truck with the door closed. He did get the glare though as the other man pulled himself into his. Since they were heading towards his neighborhood, he was going to lead their two truck caravan. He pulled out of his spot and waiting until Warrick pulled in behind him. They left the parking lot and headed out.

The streets were busier this morning, but it was also a weekday. People did have to go to work for the day. He was able to keep Warrick in his sights. There was little worry about losing his partner though. Warrick knew how to get to his house and was able to get around the neighborhood if he needed to. After he left the hospital after his stalking incident, Warrick learned where a lot of things were since Nick needed a lot of help getting stuff. Nick was sure Warrick had see this restaurant at one point as well.

It didn't take too long to get there. Since they had arrived after the morning rush, there was plenty of parking. Both men parked and hopped out. The hostess was eager to get them into their booth upon their entrance. It was a cozy little place, not too large. The booth benches were covered in brown vinyl and the table tops were green. It would have been a bad combination in a different atmosphere.

Warrick didn't even bother to pick up his menu. He knew what he wanted, doubled. Nick looked over his with a calculating eye. There were many good things to have, but he really didn't know which he wanted today. The waitress headed over and asked if they wanted anything to drink.

"I'll take a coffee, black," Warrick offered with a smile.

Nick glanced quick at the beverage selection, "I'll take a large orange juice and a small whole milk."

The young woman wrote her notes and walked away. Warrick turned his attention back to Nick. The man had really odd meal tastes. He could almost see the wheels turning while calculating the fat content of everything. It made sense that the Texan had to work out as much as he did if he ate like this all the time.

"Have a selection there yet, man? I think everything you are looking at will clog something up."

"Nah, just need to oil up the old system so I am ready to pound it out later."

Same response to the same question. It was like an act from a play. One Warrick was willing to play out over and over again for as long as possible. It was comfortable being here in this diner with his best friend. The two had been there for each other and done a lot for the other a lot over the years. The taller CSI considered the other his "adopted" brother. He didn't know what he would do if something happened to Nicky.

The waitress came back in time with their drinks. They ordered right away so they would get their hunger filled sooner. Warrick went all boring and got his double stack of pancakes. Nick went all out with three eggs scrambles, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and a plate of bacon.

"If you had to go swimming after this man, you would sink to the bottom of the pool with all that in your system."

"You know 'Rick, you are awfully concerned with my eating habits. May I inquire as to why that would be?"

Warrick looked up sharply towards the other man. It was then he saw the fight to hold in the laughter. "Whatever, man. Eat yourself into a coma for all I care."

Nick couldn't help himself. He had to laugh or he was afraid he might break something. Warrick didn't take too long in joining in. They were simply having fun, even at the other's expense. It was a good day to be alive.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

It was mid-afternoon when Nick rolled himself out of bed. He couldn't stifle the yawn that threatened to open his face wide open. The gym had been busy and forced him to be there longer than he wanted to. But he got in his workout. It was always hell to get out of bed. Not a favorite activity of the Texan.

Nick looked around him room for something to wear. He hadn't had time to do any laundry so there was nothing, but the dirty clothes lying around his room. After Crane, Nick had cut back the amount of clothes he owned and nothing he had needed to go to a dry cleaner anymore. Hell, he even bought a washer and dryer. He was getting domestic.

His shower was hot and it steamed up the bathroom to sauna temperatures. It felt good on his tired muscles. He was just drying off when he heard his phone start to ring. Wrapping the towel around his still dripping body, he headed into his bedroom again. His phone was on the night stand. The ID announced that it was Grissom calling. Nick flipped the phone open.

"Hey boss."

"Nick, there is another body found. Another young girl with same marks around the neck as our other one. Brass called me about two hours ago and I have been at the scene since. Get to the lab as soon as you can. We have some work to do. If this is the same guy, we have no time to lose before he moves onto his next victim."

The words poured into Nick's brain, but it really wasn't computing. It was too much at once, especially when Grissom talked a mile a minute. The man needed to learn the art of slow speaking for those who were momentarily dumbed by their alarm clocks.

"Alright. I just got out of the shower so give me about twenty minutes to get there."

"Sounds good. I already called Warrick and he is on his way as we speak. See you soon. Bye."

Nick didn't even have a chance to say bye. Gil had already hung up. Throwing the phone onto the bed, he walked back into the bathroom to continue getting ready. He needed to brush his teeth. Something was seriously growing on them at the moment and Nick didn't have the money to support a colony.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

It had been a long day. Becca had fought until her last breath and of course couldn't put her body into a decent position for fitting into his trunk. Ken was thinking next time he should try out a minivan to see if that would help any. But that was not something he was too worried about right now. He didn't have another girl in mind yet anyways. Never before had he taken any time to have fun on his sprees, so he was determined this time to have some fun. He was in Las Vegas after all.

Ken used the rest of Becca's money to get a room in a really nice hotel on the Strip. He had never been here before and was eager to see what the fuss was all about. There was plenty of his own money to use to gamble with. It should be a lot of fun.

It was getting late when he finally decided to leave his room. There would be more people and maybe another free chance at another girl. He wouldn't complain if some little hussy walked right into his arms the way his Heather had.

He carefully hid everything that would look bad for the housemaid to find in case they came by. Ken really didn't know how these fancier hotels worked with their room service and wasn't about to take any chances. Glancing once more in the mirror, Ken walked out of his room with a grin.

TBC….Drink anyone?