Note: I've updated this chapter! After a comment I got, and some thinking and reconsideration...I thougth my characterization of Nick was a little off and made an adjustment or two to the end of the first part of this chapter. Hopefully it captures Nicka little more true to character. Thanks for the suggestions!

Friday 9:00 p.m.
It had taken nearly three hours to process the crime scene, not to mention the hour and a half it took for, Dave Phillips, the coroner to arrive on the scene. It had been a busy night. Though forced to keep his hands to himself, Nick hung around the market watching Grissom and Catharine work. He wasn't ready to go home, despite his desperate need for sleep. He couldn't seem to get the voice of the robber out of his head. The damn thing sounded so familiar.

Now Grissom and Catharine were packing up their gear. They had gotten all the evidence they needed, and the bodies had already been transferred to the morgue.

"Nick, go home," Grissom said walking up to the younger CSI. "Get some sleep," he said with a nod. "Come in tomorrow night."

Catharine followed the two men to the parking lot. The store would remain closed for the next several days, allowing the CSIs to return to the scene if need be.

"You going to be okay?" Catharine asked putting her arm around Nick's waist.

"Yeah, mom, I'll be fine," he said with a good natured smile draping his arm around her shoulders. He almost resembled the boy who came into the lab as a rookie from Texas.

"See you tomorrow night. Get some rest." She gave him a sideways hug and watched him climb into his truck as she and Grissom headed to their Denali.

Nick watched them pull away before he started the ignition. It was dark in the parking lot; the lights had never come on. He watched Catharine turn the SUV into traffic and head back toward the lab. Making his mind up to go home, he shifted his truck into gear. Remembering he didn't have any food in his house, he decided to try his luck at another market. About two blocks down the road, he pulled into a parking spot. He was back in the Vegas traffic within a half hour with a sack full of food. It was too late to cook, so he'd pull into a drive-thru closer to home.

Nick threw his keys on the table as he walked in the door. Throwing the grocery sack on the kitchen counter he made his way into his den. The food could wait to be put away. Hell, it'd be easier to access if it stayed on the counter anyway. He'd really become a sloppy housekeeper. His phone rang as he flipped over to the current game on ESPN. College basketball.

"Hello."

"Hey man, what's going on?" It was Warrick.

"Hey," he said falling onto his couch. His recently purchased Chinese food was getting cold in its bag on his coffee table. "Not much; just got home."

"Yeah, I just talked with Cath. You okay?"

"I'm fine," he said, and he meant it really. "Tired, I guess," he yawned. "I hadn't exactly planned on getting stuck in the middle of a grocery store robbery."

"Do you need anything?" his friend asked.

"Nah, I'm good. I made a stop at another store and got some stuff. Thanks, though."

"Anytime, bro. Look, I've got to go. Grissom's breathing down my neck to get some stuff done. I'll catch ya later."

"Later, man," Nick said flipping his phone closed. His stomach was starting to remind him of how hungry he was. It had been nearly seven hours since he'd last had anything to eat so; he grabbed his Kung Pao Chicken and entertained his stomach. A full stomach definitely made it easier to sleep. After putting away his groceries and double checking every lock in his house, a newly acquired obsession, he took a sleeping pill and headed to his bedroom. He had, not too long ago, weaned himself off the need for the sleep aid. His sleep had slowly become more natural. In fact he hadn't slept any better than he had in the past couple of weeks. But, the face of the terrified cashier still clouded his mind. The cries of the mother and child haunted him. Falling into bed, he fell into a fitful sleep.

Saturday 7:00 a.m.

His alarm was going off. Had he set it? He couldn't remember. Slowly becoming more coherent, Nick rolled over and hit the snooze button on his bedside alarm clock. He needed another hour, maybe two. The Packers' game could wait, he thought rolling over in an attempt to fall back asleep.

His plans were thwarted by the quiet, yet distinct, buzzing of his cell phone. Coming to terms with the fact that his sleep was had, he rolled back over and grabbed his phone.

"Yeah," he said his voice very much thick with sleep.

"Did I wake you?" It was Catharine.

"Kinda," he said yawning. He kept his eyes closed, hoping it'd let him hold onto the sweetness of a drug-induced sleep a little longer.

"Sorry," she sounded sincere. "Look, Grissom needs us all in by four tonight."

"Got it."

"He wanted me to let you know."

"It'll be like old times," he said referring to their stint on swing shift. "See you then," he hung up. He was almost ready to get out of bed.

He spent his morning watching the movie he'd rented the night before and surfing the internet. After calling Warrick they had made plans to catch the game around noon. By eleven, he had grown restless. He had already e-mailed all of his family members wishing them a happy Thanksgiving, telling them of yet another holiday they would have to celebrate without him. He even took the time to tell them a little about work, and how he'd been passing his time. After surfing the internet for nearly an hour he grew bored. He never kept much in his house for entertainment. His house existed mainly as a place for the man to sleep between shifts. Sure he had a decent entertainment system, but it could only provide so much…entertainment. His real home seemed to be the lab these days.

By eleven thirty he'd grown so antsy he decided to go to Warrick's early. Maybe traffic would be heavy enough to give credence to the early departure. He got lucky.

"Hey man," Warrick nodded as Nick walked into his apartment. The man looked like he'd just rolled out of bed.

"Hey, got the game on?" he asked joining the man in the living room.

"Just now," he nodded taking a seat on the sofa. He threw Nick a soda from the coffee table.

They watched the game in silence, sans the occasional comment on the game itself. By three thirty the game was ending and the men were heading to the lab. Greg had never made it. He'd had a rough shift the night before, Warrick told Nick as they headed out of the apartment. He, Greg, and Sara had been given a double homicide with virtually no leads. It was a nightmare of a case for each of them, though slowly the case almost solved itself.

Nick could only imagine what case he would pick up coming in today. He'd hoped he'd be put on the robbery case with Grissom and Catharine. Chances were slim. Still, a man could hope.

He pulled into the crime lab parking lot and into a spot next to Warrick. The two walked in together making an initial stop at their lockers before heading to the break room. Grissom wanted a team meeting. It usually meant one thing: something was up. The two CSIs grabbed a cup of coffee and waited.