Summary: Strange events in the form of murder leave nothing, but trouble and confusion. Nick and Warrick are pulled into a world they were not ready for. It threatens not only their lives, but their sanity.

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: First off, I would like to say sorry to everyone I made feel bad about not reviewing. I was having a bad day on Sunday and didn't stop to think how that all sounded to everyone. Sorry to take it out on all of you. Any and all reviews are welcome since they help me judge how this story is being received so I can adjust it as it goes. But if you have no time or want to be lazy about it, then so be it. Don't feel pressured at all. Enough from me, lets get onto the good stuff! Lots of the boys in this one! And oh yeah, a little with the case at the end. Have fun and remember to floss! Bye!

Title: Poisonous Fear

By: duffshel

#6

The room was white. Everything about it screamed sterile and clean. It might have been what the White's kitchen looked like before it went up in flames. Nick started to count the tiles on the ceiling above his head. It was boring in this hospital room.

Warrick was sitting in the hard plastic chair next to the examination bed that the Texan was forced to sit on. The other man's head was tipped down. His breath was deep and quiet. Nick was tempted to harass the other man while he caught a nap, but didn't want to have to see the guilt written all over that face again so soon. He would get enough as it was.

The doctor had gone off to get his x-rays that were taken almost two hours ago. Nick wanted to go home and crash. Their shift was officially over an hour ago and Warrick got a call from Grissom saying they were done until next shift. It sounded like he sent everyone home for some rest. But Nick was stuck starring at tiles on the ceiling.

He counted to three hundred forty nine when the door opened and his doctor slipped into the room. The woman was tiny, no taller than five and a half feet. It wouldn't take much to be able to crush her. But her face showed her strength and her intelligence. Dr. Susan Mercer was not a doctor Nick would ever mess with.

The doctor looked at the other man in the room before she began to speak in soft tones, "Well, Mr. Stokes. You have broken your wrist in two places. We are going to need to set the bones and cast you before you are allowed to leave. And then you are to take some time off of work."

"Sorry, but I won't be able to do that. This is a big case we are working on and everyone will be needed. Just give me some of those awesome pain pills you have and I will be ready to go."

"Sorry Nick, but I am not going to give you those pills just so you can back to work and dig yourself into another hole. I am tired of fixing you up all the time."

"But this is just two little broken bones, no bullet holes, concussions, or strangle marks. Plain and simple. Easy to fix."

Dr. Mercer frowned, "I could wake your friend and have this talk with him."

"No, no," Nick sat up straighter, "I will do as you say. Let's go do this. Maybe we will be back before he even wakes up."

"Fine, I'll have a nurse check on him to make sure he knows what is going on just in case. Now, do you want the green pants or should we go with the tie gown?"

"You just want to see my ass. It'll cost you more than you make. Just give me the damn pants."

Both laughed softly as Dr. Mercer led Nick from the room. He followed slowly as they made their way to another room that Nick had never been in. He really didn't know this hospital all that well, no matter how many trips he had made to it.

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

Greg Sanders stood and starred down at the floor. He was tired and his eyes were beginning to burn from overuse. The tub was in pieces at his feet and he had gone over every inch of it with a fine tooth comb and a tweezers. All the contents he had uncovered were sitting in their individual little baggies on the table to his left. Hair, mud, hair, something black and slimy, and more hair.

The filter system was more impressive then he would have ever thought possible on a mere hot tub. It extended the entire length from each of the filter slots and there were four main filter sponges along the way. The traps were effective and caught many things. Greg only hopped to find something in the less visible to the eye.

He looked down at his watch and saw that his shift had been over an hour and forty minutes ago. After he heard the commotion caused in the hallway from Catherine and Grissom, he hadn't seen anyone. With a deep breath, Greg turned his back on the dismantled tub and left the room. The door to the room closed and sealed. Greg walked swiftly down the hallway to where he had a feeling Grissom would be.

Sure enough, Grissom was sitting behind his desk and looking over some papers. The former lab tech shifted on his feet before he worked up the courage to actually enter the sanctuary. Billy the bass didn't offer a tune for Greg, but Grissom did look up to see who had entered.

"Greg, I thought you left by now? I told everyone to get some sleep."

"Nah, I just finished up with the tub. I went over it and found nothing major. The water from the tub and from the removal of the body washed away any possible prints. I did manage to get some stuff from the filter traps. I was going to go over it."

"Greg, go home. Get some sleep and come back. Fresh start, fresh eyes. I will have the area sealed off for you. Warrick will be able to help you later again as well."

"Nick not coming back?"

"I haven't heard anything from either."

"Where are they?"

"Doc sent them off to Palms. I would assume they are both still there and not at home yet."

Grissom watched as Greg nodded his head slowly. He really didn't need to be a scientist to know the younger man was not going to make a straight trip home. Not hearing from either of his CSI's was a little unnerving for the supervisor since it most likely meant something serious had happened from the horsing around. It was not something they need right now.

"Well, I'll head out then. See you next shift."

Greg didn't wait for a response as he booked it out of the office. Desert Palms was not far out of the way on his route home. He would be able to swing in and see what was going on. It had to be more serious than Nick played if he was sent to the hospital. No one stopped him on his way to the locker room to get changed and to grab his keys.

He nodded at Hodges as the other man exited the room as he walked in. Greg's locker had been moved since he had become a CSI and it was now located closer to Nick's. It opened with no problems and Greg hastily ripped off the buttoned shirt he wore for the shift. His body praised him for the soft cotton of one of his infamous t-shirts that supposedly had disappeared. Someone would have to pry the worn cotton from his dead, cold hand before they met a trash can.

Making sure he had his wallet, Greg grabbed his keys and slammed the locked shut. The sound echoed around the room, but Greg didn't waste time to see how long it jumped around the room. Nick, Warrick and he had already done that. If there was no one else in the room and everyone stood close together by the bench, four seconds.

His car was waiting and ready when he opened the door and dropped inside. No one was leaving the lab at the moment and there was no hassle with traffic. He reached the visitor parking lot of the hospital in no time. The glass sliding doors were quiet as he stepped into the sterile environment. He paused slightly at the doorway, shadows of the past crept by him. Greg shook it off and set his mind on something else before former boogie men could jump from their closets.

The lady at the front desk was twirling a pencil and snapping her gum when Greg stepped up to her, "Hi, I'm looking for a patient."

"Name," her tone was bored and clipped. She didn't even look up.

"Stokes. Nick Stokes. He just came in about an hour ago I guess it would be."

The woman's fake nails clinked at the keys as she typed in the name and her eyes lazily read the records it gave, "He is still in emergency. Go check there."

Greg didn't say another word as he left the woman to herself. The emergency area was easy to find since all you really had to do was follow the signs that read EMERGENCY and had red arrows pointing down hallways. It was fairly busy.

Seeing another desk with another woman behind it, Greg prepped himself for another rude encounter, "I'm looking for a patient who came in about an hour ago."

The brunette almost seemed to bounce with excitement as she looked up and focused on Greg. Her teeth were shiny and white as she flashed him a large smile. Her dimpled proved it wasn't a fake and just for show. Her entire attitude screamed overdose on coffee. Greg knew it well.

"And what is the name?"

"Nick Stokes."

"Oh, the poor man with the arm thing. Nice guy, nice looking guy," she giggled slightly at that, "He is down that hallway, room seven."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No prob. Don't let him leave until he comes up here first. I want to give him my phone number, just in case you know."

"I'll see what I can do," Greg smiled and walked away.

Only Nick would be able to have girls throwing themselves at him in a hospital. Greg would never be able to say anything like that. It was said and hilarious all at the same time. But the woman was nice, even though Greg never did look to see what her name was. Nick might already know.

A baby was crying off to his left as he watched the room numbers go by with each footstep he took. It wasn't a long walk to find seven and he knocked softly before he let himself in. The bed was empty. Warrick looked like he was about to fall on the floor. Greg felt like he was five again as he stalked over to the other man, a grin on his entire face. He pressed his lips together to hold in the laughs as he gently reached out and brushed his fingertips across Warrick's left cheek.

The other man hit the tile, "What the! What!"

Greg lost his battle with the laughter, "Oh damn, that was funny. I wish there were cameras in this place. I would pay big bucks to get a copy."

"You are a dead man."

"That's illegal."

"Only if you get caught. I think I can make that not an option."

"You wouldn't. Who would make you coffee?"

"Starbucks," the taller CSI deadpanned.

"Cold, just cold, dude. Here I thought I liked you."

"I told you never to think. But what the hell are you doing here?"

Greg hopped onto the currently unused bed, "I wanted to check up on you guys since you both left me alone to take that stupid tub apart. My hands are not used to that kind of work you know."

Warrick rubbed his face with both his hands. His neck hurt and now so did his ass. Finally realizing he was still sitting on the floor like a fool, Warrick pushed himself up and back into his chair. And his eyes took in the sight of the bed that Greg was sitting on.

"Where the hell is Nick?"

"I dunno. Did you lose him already? This is a hospital, geez."

The taller man pulled his body upright and walked to look out into the hallway. There was no one running around that he could see at the moment. Nick must have gotten pulled out by the doctor again. Warrick sighed as he went back into the room and sat back in his ass numbing chair. His body was tired and didn't like all this sudden movement.

"He must be with the doctor again. I don't know what really happened yet. Fell asleep."

"I could see that. But I can wait. I am curious after all."

"Curiosity killed the lab rat. You should just head home and get some sleep Greg. We can fill you in on the entire gory details next shift."

"I don't think Grissom will let Nick back if he hurt himself."

"We'll deal with that when we come to it. Nick won't not go in."

Their conversation was interrupted by voices coming down the hallway. The laughter was easy for both men to recognize. Nick's laugh had its own category. The Texan was smiling when he walked back into the room, the small doctor right behind him.

"Well lookie here, you're finally awake and another guest. I must be the man of the hour."

Nick's face dropped when he saw neither man was looking up, but down. Both men had their eyes directed to the sling around his shoulder, holding his arm immobile. The chunk of white plaster gave away the cast immediately. Warrick looked a little pale.

"Shit Nick, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to do that!"

"Warrick, shut up. This isn't your fault. It was an accident and it will be fine. Just two broken bones. A few weeks and this thing will be off and I will be kicking you ass at basketball once again."

Dr. Mercer stepped forward, "One of you needs to drive him home. I have started his pain meds and he shouldn't be driving with them. I called in the prescription so it should be ready for pick-up. Don't let him do anything stupid and make sure he gets plenty of rest. You should be out of work for at least a week Nick."

"Sure," Nick didn't meet the doctor's eyes.

"I'll make sure he gets his stuff and gets his rest. You're under my care now bro."

"Great. You'll see me within a few hours dead and a look of fear on my face. Momma Warrick leaves a lot to the imagination."

The doctor laughed and turned around, "Just don't kill each other boys. Go home and get some sleep, all of you. Each one of you looks ready to drop."

None of the men had a chance to answer. Greg stood and walked over to Nick. He smiled at the other man and studied the brown eyes. Nick was on something, strong. His eyes were relaxed and slightly glossy.

"Seeing the fact they didn't amputate, I am going to take my leave. See you guys later. Night!"

"See ya Greggo. Thanks for visiting."

Warrick pushed himself up again, his body protesting again. He grabbed his keys from the table he had set them on and wheeled Nick from the room. The Texan didn't say a word as he walked towards the exit doors to the emergency area. The perky woman behind the desk sat up straighter as they approached. Nick didn't have a chance to stop. Warrick shoved him hard in the lower back to keep moving.

A glare was turned to Warrick as he stepped up to the counter, "I need to know where his meds are at and is there something for at home care to grab?"

"Yeah, yeah. Here are some sheets on keeping the cast clean and dry…and his scripts were sent to the Walgreens. Should be ready. Said no wait," it was all mumbled.

Warrick grabbed the sheets she thrust at him and walked out the doors to meet up with Nick. The other man was standing at the curb, his eyes closed. Warrick was slow with his actions as he placed a hand on Nick's shoulder to get him moving again. They walked in silence to the truck.

Nick starred out the window the entire ride to the Walgreens and didn't try to change the radio station like normal. It was odd, but nothing that made Warrick worry. He was too busy dealing with his own emotions at all of this anyways. There were no other cars in the pharmacy drive-thru when he pulled up. The clerks were efficient and kind. There were no problems and the pharmacist was clear on the medication instructions. Warrick answered for Nick on all the questions.

The drive to Nick's townhouse was quick and Warrick hopped out of the car when it stopped in the drive way. Nick as slower to move out of the car. The adrenaline of the night was gone and now there was only pain and exhaustion. He handed over his keys to his friend and waited to be let in. The house was warm and only served to make him even more tired as he walked through his living room.

"I'll set your keys and pills on the counter man. Do you need another one now?"

"No, I got enough of a jump start from the doc," it was garbled to Warrick as the other man continued to walk away towards the bedroom.

Warrick got things settled on the counter and went after the other man. He snorted in laughter when he saw Nick already passed out of the bed, legs hanging over the side. It took a little work, but he managed to get Nick onto the bed fully. He positioned a couple of the extra pillows around his upper body to keep him from rolling on the injured limb. There was going to be no way he was going to get the sling off, but he settled for the shoes.

Once Nick was covered with a blanket, Warrick walked out into the living room and dropped onto the couch. It was comfortable and Warrick really didn't feel like driving anymore. And besides, Nick might need his help sometime in the day time. Getting used to an arm cast could always be a pain. And from the look he had gotten of it, his fingers and thumb here not as free to use anymore.

Warrick kicked off his shoes and grabbed one of the throw blankets to throw over himself. It was warm and he knew he wouldn't need more than that. His eyes were shut almost right away after he dropped his head onto the Texas A&M pillow. His phone going off and ringing didn't even cause him to stir.

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

Catherine hung her phone up harshly. She turned to Gil who was watching her every move, "No answer. I can't get a hold of any of them. Not even Greg."

"Well, they were all pretty tired when they left. And Nicky might be on some pain medication right now as well. We will have to wait."

"But this isn't something that can just wait Gil."

"We can handle it. And, we don't even know if it is part of our case yet."

Catherine shook her head in frustration, "No, but another dead body. Weird cause? It is too suspicious to be anything else."

Grissom didn't say a word and they both left the break room together. Brass just had called in with a new body. The detective didn't sound happy. They were all going into serious overtime. But how often did you get a body covered in yellow paint found in a parked car? Both CSI's walked out, dragging a little.

TBC…