Note: Happy New Year everyone! Here's the next chapter...feels good to write again...it's been a few days, but feels like forever! Hope everyone had a great holiday! As always...thanks for the reviews...hope this chapter will hold you over...hopefully i can get the next one up in the next couple of days! And as usual...reviews are much appreciated! Gracias!

"The neighbors called it in," Brass said as he met the three CSIs. They had returned to the neighborhood from the previous night, only this time they were in an alley behind the Tedesco residence. "They were taking their garbage out. Found their dog sniffing around the pile over there," Brass pointed as he led the men down the narrow concrete path. "Let me warn you, it sure ain't pretty."

The sun had set completely now. There was only sparse lighting from the houses along the alley. Each CSI pulled out a flashlight and illuminated the suspect pile of trash. The smell alone was enough for Nick's defenses to rise. He only hoped he wouldn't react as he had the night before. He really wasn't up to defending himself to his boss. He willed his stomach to calm down as he approached the garbage pile, each step becoming more difficult the closer he got. They were directly behind the Tedesco house.

Last night they were working a missing person's case. Assumptions were made, conclusions drawn from the evidence. Tonight that case took a dramatic turn as Nick's eyes fell on the little girl.

Susan Tedesco lie face up inside a garbage bag, her eyes slightly opened. Nick felt the bile rising as he pulled out his camera and started snapping photos. The feelings from the night before were returning ten-fold.

"Bless her heart," he shook his head.

"When is garbage pickup?" Grissom asked glancing over at Nick. Brass stood off to the side.

"Tomorrow morning. Guess he was hoping she'd be taken to the dump," the detective shrugged.

"Out of sight, out of mind," Warrick nodded with a smirk of disgust.

Nick crouched beside the garbage pile placing his camera on the ground not once taking his eyes off the little girl. There was fear in her eyes as they stared blankly back at him. Her hair was matted around her pale face.

Who did this to you?

"Sorry I'm late, guys," David Phillips, the assistant coroner, said shuffling over to the scene.

Nick stood allowing the coroner room to do his job. He made his way down the alley, looking for what, he wasn't sure. Dave was starting his preliminary report as he took in his surroundings. He wasn't sure he had the stomach to hear what Dave had to say, but he stayed close, just within earshot.

"What do you think?" Warrick asked standing beside the coroner.

"At first glance? Asphyxiation. She has petechial hemorrhaging in both eyes," he said lifting the girl's eyelids to a more open position. Her bright blue eyes once vibrant were now vacant.

"I don't see any ligature marks around her neck," Warrick said crouching next to the victim. "Hang on…" he trailed off pulling out a pair of tweezers from his vest pocket. "I've got some fibers here," he said carefully pulling the miniscule fibers from the corner of the girl's mouth. "Hey Griss, what color was the pillow case on her bed?"

"Purple and pink, why?" the supervisor asked joining them.

"I found some fibers," he said holding the tweezers in the beam of his Maglite.

"You thinking she was smothered?" Grissom asked taking note of Nick's location just down the alley.

"Could be," Warrick nodded.

"Hey guys," Dave said as he picked up the girl and placed her on the waiting gurney. "She's not wearing any underwear."

"Damn," Warrick sighed turning his own glance toward Nick who was now joining them.

"I'll do a SART kit," Dave said starting to wheel the girl away.

"Hey, I found some sheets balled up and thrown away over there," Nick motioned showing the bagged evidence in his hand. "Could be from the girl's room," he said as Warrick and Grissom exchanged looks.

"Nick, ride back with the body," Grissom said with a nod. "Get those sheets to trace, we need a comparison for these fibers," he said handing him the bindle with the fibers Warrick had collected. "We're almost done here."

"Sure," he nodded collecting his kit and following the coroner to the vehicle.

"Hey Nicky," Warrick called jogging to catch up to his partner.

"Rick, if you're gonna second guess me on something, don't," he stopped his friend short; there was fire in his eyes.

"For starters, you can knock the attitude," Warrick said. "Second, I wasn't second guessing a damn thing about you. I was just gonna give you this," he said handing over another plastic evidence bag. Inside was a pair of pajama bottoms. They were pink with purple elephants in tutus.

"I'll get them to trace," Nick said.

"No, DNA," Warrick said walking back to join Grissom.

"You think she was raped?" Nick asked taking a second look at the evidence in his hand.

"Who knows," Warrick sighed turning back to face his friend.

Nick turned to catch back up with Dave. He was never more relieved to leave a crime scene.

"Hey Doc," Nick asked melancholy strolling into the morgue. Susan Tedesco was laying on the metal table in the center of the room, a white sheet covering most of her body. It felt unusually cold to the CSI.

"I just finished posting her," Dr. Robbins said looking up to meet Nick's eyes. His eyes were sad as they fell upon the little girl on the table.

"COD?" Nick asked keeping his eyes on the girl's face.

"Asphyxiation. I'd say she was smothered," he said. "I found some fibers in her throat," he handed over an envelope. Nick stuck it in the pocket of his lab coat.

"What's with the blue coloring around her face?" Nick asked.

"Whoever smothered her did it with an incredible amount of force," the coroner said holding up some X-rays. "They held something so hard over her face, it broke several bones. Check out the maxilla," he said pointing his gloved finger to the areas just around her nasal cavity.

"You telling me her face was crushed?" Nick asked disgust thick in his voice.

"At her age, the bones in the face are extremely fragile, especially around the sinus cavity and upper jaw. But, to cause this much damage…"

"Someone man-handled this little girl," Nick nodded. "What else?" he asked.

"I did a rape exam," the doctor said returning to the autopsy table. "There's evidence of prolonged sexual abuse. I'd venture to say even as recent asthe past 24 hours. I already sent samples over to DNA for analysis."

"TOD?"

"She's been dead about 24 hours. There was extensive bruising all over her body. Check this out," he said gently rolling the girl onto her side. "What would make a pattern like that?" the coroner asked noting the bruising patterns on the girl's back.

"I don't know," Nick shook his head grabbing the camera and snapping some photos before he turned to leave the morgue.

"Hey Nick, this girl went through hell, catch the guy that did this," Doc Robbins said stopping the CSI at the door.

Nick nodded to the doctor. "Thanks, Doc," he said exiting the cold room.

Nick's mind was racing as he stood just outside the autopsy room the post-autopsy report in his hand. She was nine years old. Who in their right mind would subject a young child to something like that? He'd only been at work a few hours, but the ibuprofen was wearing off. His headache was sounding off warning sirens behind his eyes.

He wasn't sure how long he'd stood there, against the wall with his eyes shut, but the sound of Warrick's voice was enough to jolt him back to reality.

"Hey man," he said walking down the hall toward his partner. "I've been lookin' everywhere for you."

"I just got done with Doc Robbins," he shrugged returning to a full-standing position and walking back toward the lab. He didn't meet Warrick's gaze, was afraid he'd break if he did. That was happening more and more recently. He simply handed him the report.

Warrick read over the findings as he and Nick weaved through the corridors leading back to the lab. Nick had been quiet all night. He knew the case was weighing heavily on the man; it was on all of them really.

"Oh, hey," Warrick said as handing the report back to his partner as they started going their separate ways, Nick to DNA, Warrick to trace. "Griss wants to see you," he said. That look was back in his eyes.

Nick's shoulders slumped as he prepared to face the inevitable. He really hated being the cause for concern. He hated even more that his boss felt like he needed to worry about him, like he was more fragile than the rest of the team. He handed off the enveloped fibers to Warrick as he turned toward the man's office.

Grissom was sitting at his desk as Nick approached the half open door. The office made his skin crawl, another recent develop within the past several months. It wasn't usually the source of intimidation for the CSI, but things had changed.

"You wanted to see me?" he knocked lightly on the door letting himself into the room and taking a seat in front of the man's desk.

"What'd you get from autopsy?" the supervisor asked leaning back in his chair.

Nick handed over the file folder in his hand.

"Doc found fibers in the victim's throat, I sent them to trace."

"She died of asphyxiation," Grissom noted in the report.

"Yeah, someone really manhandled her," Nick sighed. "Doc found several facial fractures and bruises."

"He do a rape exam?"

"Yeah, came back positive," Nick said heavily. "He sent samples to DNA. I was about to follow up on them."

"How are you holding up?" Grissom asked laying the folder on his desk.

"I'm fine."

Grissom cringed at the two words. He knew his CSI better than that.

"Look Grissom, I'm…"

"Fine, you already told me," Grissom nodded. "But, Nick, it's my job to make sure you're really fine."

"Let me guess, Warrick spilled his guts about me spilling mine at the crime scene last night."

"No…he didn't," Grissom said his brow puckered.

"We found blood all over the interior of the oven," Nick started explaining.

"I saw the photos," the supervisor nodded.

"I guess my imagination started coming to conclusions," he shrugged. He was starting to feel like an idiot. He was a better CSI than that.

"Nicky…"

"Look, I know what you're going to say," he shook his head as he leaned forward, his forearms rested on his thighs. "The second I let my emotions take over is the second I lose the case. I know…"

"Actually, I wasn't," Grissom said, a slight smile tickling the corner of his mouth. "Sometimes emotions are the only things to keep us lucid during a case. They can be a real driving force, but the second we let them cloud our judgment is the second we lose the case. This case is a hard one, but we can't lose focus. We can't jump to conclusions before the evidence speaks to us."

"Look, Griss, I'm not some rookie. I know how it works."

"I know that, and that's why I trust you to know how deep you can go before you're in too deep. Don't make me have to be the one to pull you out."

"I need to check on DNA," the CSI nodded as he stood to leave the man's office.

Nick was already in over his head, Grissom knew this. He knew it the second he'd assigned Nick to the case. He just hoped he wasn't too deep to be pulled back. He'd had to rescue him before; he wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Nick walked through the lab in a daze. Things seemed to be going in slow motion as he made his way through the aquarium like hallways. He was in deep, but there was no turning back. He needed closure, he needed answers and there was nothing, and nobody, who could stop him from getting them.