Sara arrived at HQ and headed for the break room. As she rounded the last corner she took a deep breath, knowing that Nick would most likely be in there. It's not that she didn't want to see him, she just didn't know what to do, how to react, what to say. She was never good at being the one people could lean on when in trouble.

Slowly she walked in and gave a small smile which neither Nick nor Grissom saw. Nick was still sat on the couch staring at the TV and Grissom was up pouring himself a cup of coffee. The tension in the room was al most unbearable.

"Hey Nicky"

Nick slowly turned his head to see Sara standing in front of him. The corner of his mouth scrunched up and what looked like a half hearted smile appeared on his face. Sara felt as though her legs would give way right there and then. Where was the smile that used to brighten up her day? Or the laugh that was infectious and used to spread through the lab like wildfire? Where was the life that shone so brightly in his eyes? Where was Nick?

Grissom turned away from the counter upon hearing Sara. Their eyes met for a second, both silently conveying there thoughts and fears. Sara closed her eyes and turned away, she knew she couldn't think like that, no-one could they had to be strong, that had to be there for Nick.

Warrick pulled up in the parking lot just as Catherine was getting out of her SUV. She was searching through her bag and was about to head in when she saw the familiar sight of Warrick's truck. She stepped aside and watched as he parked up and got out.

"Hey Catherine" His voice was dull as though speaking was a task, one in which he put no effort into. Catherine walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder as they began walking into the building.

"How you holding up?"

Warrick gave a quick smile to try and convey how he was without words.

"It's Nick we should be worrying about."

Catherine sighed. She knew that Warrick was putting on a brave face, everyone was. They both walked into the lab hoping that the day might be a little better than the day before.

From behind the bushes that surrounded the parking lot the dark figure watched as Warrick and Catherine walked into the building

"You better say goodbye to Mr Stokes…I'll get even…you wait and see."

The sinister figure stayed watching and waiting, waiting for the moment to pounce, the moment that would cause Nick Stokes' world to come crashing down once more.

Hey, I'm real sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up and it's only a short one. I've been a bit busy, I had some exams and some stuff I had to sort out but hopefully thats alldone anddustedso I should be able to update more often.

Well even though it's short I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, as always any reviews are welcomed.

Liz : )