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: I made sure to find some time to get this chapter up for all of you. Hopefully this one will get you thinking about what is in store for our boys. This will be the last update until Tues. I am having some issues with work right now and will be spending the entire weekend working on getting it fixed. Who would have thought the world of photo finishing would be such a pain! But anyways, enough about me, I just want you all to enjoy. I have this written through chapter 11 so far and I think you will enjoy it all. The reviews are great and keep me wanting to make this the best I can make it. Thanks again to all. I finally figured out how to check on how many people read these stories (I know, I am a dork!) and I was shocked! There are so many! That just is...awesome. I hope to keep you all interested. Let me know how you are feeling with this. I have more to write. I may be able to add something more if it is asked for. Now that I rambled you all to death, read away. Enjoy and sleep well.

Breath for me

Written by: duffshel

#6

The television screen continued to change with a flick of Nick's wrist. He really didn't know what he wanted to watch. It had been a very unproductive shift and Nick was frustrated. They had gotten the faxes in from the other jurisdictions and had a match between all of them. But not a single lab had any sort of match to a real person.

Nick rubbed his forehead as he settled on the Animal Planet. It wasn't a bird show, but he always enjoyed watching the Animal Police in action. Putting bad guys away from a different angle. Not that he would ever tell anyone, especially Warrick, but he would so do something like that if he wasn't a CSI. Currently, the two officers were looking through an elderly woman's home in which she had over thirty felines running wild. It was disgusting.

All Nick really wanted to do was go to sleep, but his mind seemed to have different ideas. It was running a mile a minute without his permission. The two dead girls were all he could think about. He had made his own trip to see Robbins and got a new look at both bodies. It chilled him slightly to think there were people out there capable of doing things like that.

"It is disgusting."

The TV didn't respond. Nick glared at it for a minute. First sign of insanity, staring contests with inanimate objects.

Nick pushed himself off the couch and turned off the TV. He really needed to get some sort of sleep. His new shift was about to start in just over three hours. Grissom was going to kill him if he couldn't stay awake on his feet. The doorway of his bedroom was in his sights. The damn phone started ringing.

"Figures. Can't get a break…Hello?"

It was Grissom, "Nick, we have another victim. He is getting less careful with his drop-offs though. I want you to meet Warrick there and get started. Catherine and I have some things to finish up at the lab. Brass is on the scene."

"Alright, did you call Warrick already?"

"Yes, he is getting ready as we speak. The body is on the corner of Vegas Blvd. and Mesquite Ave. Fill us in as soon as you get anything. I will send Dave in as soon as he is free."

"Okay, talk to ya later."

Nick cast one more longing glance at his room. So much for sleep. Since he was already dressed, Nick simply grabbed his keys and walked to his truck. There were enough supplies left in the back. He wouldn't need to swing by the lab to pick anything up. The truck started smoothly. Maybe this night was following the example.

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

Ken waited impatiently. The girl had been on the damn street corner for almost an hour now. The cops here in Vegas were not that impressive. Standing behind the yellow tape, he could make out the one that had to be in charge. The guy was mean looking, but Ken would never fear him.

He had done this before. In New Mexico, the police were nothing, but incompetent slobs and there had been no worries about them getting anywhere with that girl…whatever her name was again. It was so damn hard to remember each one. Only a special few got a part of Ken's memory.

The news always made Las Vegas sound grand and their CSI lab was considered one of the best in the country. Ken knew very little about the department itself, but had heard it was lead by Gil Grissom. The guy was supposed to be top notch and knew all sorts of crap. Ken was hoping to catch a glimpse of him. If he could get away with murder underneath that man' nose, Ken would be able to die happy.

But so far, only cops. Nothing, but cop cars. A small group of citizens had gathered around him trying to catch a look at the murder. Not that it was anything special. Heidi only had the marks from his belt. There was no blood. Ken didn't like blood. Hard to wash out of his pants.

Ken was about to go get something to eat when a new vehicle pulled up to the scene. It was a large, black SUV. The driver's door swung open and out stepped a tall, black man. He didn't wear a uniform. He was dressed like he was going out to have drinks, not look at a dead girl. The cops let him through with his black bag after a flash of a badge. This wasn't Grissom, but it was a CSI.

Warrick walked under the yellow tape completely unaware of dangerous eyes watching him from the crowd. He had eyes only for the young girl laying face down in the curb of the street. With a quick glance around the area, he didn't spot Nick.

"Hey Brass, is Nicky here yet?"

"Nah. I am sure he is on his way though. Give the kid a break."

"I'll give him a break, a break of my fist."

Brass smiled and nodded, "Sure, sure. Just leave enough of him to help you out on this case."

Warrick followed the older man into the crime scene and got a look at the body. Unlike Heather, this one was completely face down on the cement. With a sigh, he put his equipment down and pulled on his latex gloves. He was adjusting his camera when Brass spoke softly, as if to he.

"Speak of our late devil."

Spinning in his crouched position, Warrick could see Nick pull up in his SUV, "Not late, just with style."

Ken also turned to look at the new arrival, Nicky if he was correct from the other two's conversation. This one looked a little more interesting than the taller man. There was a sense of vulnerability and innocence to this shorter man. Some day Ken was certain something would happen to this man that would come close to breaking his spirit. Just a small guessing gift that Ken possessed. It was kind of fun to use of people.

"So, what did I miss?"

Warrick walked up to Nick and smiled at him, "Not a thing. Just got here myself, bro. You seriously need to work on your timing skills though."

"You need to tell Grissom he needs to call me first then. I might actually get here on time with you for once then."

"Sure, sure. Blame it on the big guy."

Nick smirked, "I will. Let's get this done and over with. Dave should be hot on my tail."

The two CSI's walked casually around the body scanning the street's surface. Nick pulled on his latex gloves with apparent ease. Ken was enjoying their little show. These two men were fascinating to him in a way he had never known before. The women he killed did nothing, but excite him for a few hours. None of them caught his interest like this before. It was odd, but thrilling.

Nick bent down on one knee to try to get a better look at the girl's face. The flash from Warrick's camera did nothing to distract him. After snapping a few pictures of his own of her upper body and back of her head, Nick brushed her hair away from her face, just like with Heather. A small chill ran up the man's spine. This girl had the marks around her neck. Nick tried to control the shaking of his hands as he took a few new photos of the new angle.

Warrick watched Nick closely. He could see the slight shake the other man was trying to fight. Nick always had a hard time with cases like these. Warrick understood it, but was glad he really didn't feel the same. Things were hard enough. He didn't need to emotionally connect as deeply as his best friend did.

"I think we have a serious problem. This guy is not stopping."

"Nope. There has to be something here. The dude cannot be perfect. He has to make a mistake sometime."

Warrick nodded his agreement. Somehow there had to be a break in the case. There was no way he had gotten that unlucky. Nick was the one with problems in the luck department, not the expert gambler. As he walked over to his friend's side, he looked over the crowd that was gathering. A lot of people had gathered. He was about to comment about it, but Dave run up out of breath.

"Sorry guys, the traffic was terrible. Do you two need to do anything more?"

"Nah, Nicky and I are done with our photos. We will wait until you are done, then we will process the scene."

David nodded and began his work. He got out his tools to do his infamous liver temperature test. Nick and Warrick both stood together off to the side, facing the crowd. Ken could see them both clearly and couldn't take his eyes off of them. These two knew what they were doing. These two were going to be trouble. The killer was going to wait this one out and determine from there what to do. He couldn't be caught now.

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

Gil looked over the papers on his desk with little interest. He wanted nothing more than to get back to this serial case, but this paperwork from the previous case him and Greg worked on came back to haunt him. The trial was coming up sooner than he had expected and he needed to have his reports together. With a sigh, he wiped his forehead off with his left hand and closed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming on.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Grissom simply shook his head. He knew Catherine was going to come by sooner or later. Still didn't mean he wanted to talk about anything.

"Well, you can sit there with your eyes closed while I talk then. I just got off the phone with Warrick and he said Dave is on his way with the new body. From how it sounds, our guy is moving fast. This new one has only been dead for a little over four hours. I have a feeling we will be seeing more from him within the next twenty four."

"I hate to agree with you, but I have to. Something is not right about this. He never killed so many girls in one place before. There is something he is trying to do. I don't know what."

"Well Gil, you aren't super-CSI-man. If you understood anything at this point, I would probably have to shoot you for leaving me in the dust."

Gil laughed under his breath, "Well, I suppose we should go meet with Robbins to get this new body figured out. The evidence is all we have at this point."

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

Nick couldn't leave the street for some reason. There was something that would not let him leave. Warrick was shifting from foot to foot next to him. The taller CSI was not going to leave until Nick himself did. He was not going to leave his partner, his brother to broad over this alone.

"There is no reason to stay here man. We should head out and get something to eat. I don't know about you, but I didn't have time to grab anything before I left my place."

Nick didn't respond. He didn't move. Even his eyes stayed focus on the pavement in front of him.

"Come on Nicky. I don't know what is wrong with you all of a sudden, but you have to snap out of it. You are acting like a child."

"What would you know about it? You don't feel anything towards these people, towards the victims. You are turning into Grissom."

It was whispered, but Warrick heard it as if it were a shout. The air gushed out of his lungs at the comment. Nick had said some things during the years that were cold and harsh; this was defiantly one of those. It hurt even though he knew it was true to a certain level.

"Just because I don't get all mushy over things like you does not mean I don't get how people work and think."

Nick snorted to himself, "Whatever man. I am not going there with you right here right now. If you want to continue this, we can go grab something to eat."

Warrick studied Nick a little closer. The man was exhausted, but seemed to be alert. Well, at least his eyes were. He knew Nick was upset that there was nothing at the scene again to give them anything on the killer. Warrick wanted to guy caught, but no where near as much as Nick. Nick got personal with everything. He knew it had to deal with the man's past, but there were certain things even he didn't know about his brother.

"Food sounds good. But you are not off the hook for that damn comment. We will get to it soon, mark my words."

"Fine, let's get out of here. I think it is going to rain."

Ken watched the two men. There was so much emotion between the two of them. They just seemed like they were going to start punching each other at one moment, and now they were walking closely together. If you took out one, the other would fall. Ken couldn't stop his feet from following them. Their getting into the SUV's did nothing to stop him. He would follow, he would learn.

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

Nick looked over the menu in his hands. There really wasn't anything that was catching his eyes. His mind really wasn't in the restaurant and food. He could feel Warrick's eyes on him. Deep down he regretted everything he had said, today and before, but knew he meant it to a certain point.

"See anything with enough grease in it?"

"I guess."

"Come on man. What is up with you all of a sudden?"

Nick rubbed his eyes with his fingers, "I don't know. It just sort of happened after I took in the girl's face. All of them, so young. There is nothing that makes this seem possible for any of them. I just want to get the asshole. I don't know how to deal with this."

It suddenly struck Warrick, "This is your first serial isn't it!"

"Yeah. I mean, I have been around for when the rest of you guys have working on serials, but never gotten so involved. I am going soft."

"Nah, bro. You simply are human. I understand where you are coming from. My first repeating killer was tough. We will get him. We will stop him. You and me."

Nick nodded. Warrick was always there to pick him up when he needed it. He could count on the taller man. "I hope you are right man."

"Of course I am right. I am always right."

The waitress walked up. She looked upset about something, but neither man felt it their place to ask. Warrick caught Nick's eyes. They would leave a nice tip. She took their order without any idle chit-chat.

Ken watched with interest. The waitress was nice, but he was on a time budget. The boys would be enough to handle without her as well.

TBC…pancakes sound kinda good right now…