An Unfair Act of Vengeance
Notes: I got really far on my story, over my break, so updates should be pretty quick again. Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you keep them coming! Oh, and there will be some more action in the upcoming chapters…
Summary: Warrick, Sara, and Greg process the mine, while Grissom and Catherine listen to Dr. Alberts. Nick is finding it practically impossible to cope with his situation, but he is helped when a stranger accidentally comes into his room. Dr. Gibbons meets with Grissom and Catherine to try to come up with a plan.
Greg carefully swabbed the dried vomit inside the trunk of the car. He carefully photographed every angle he could of the trunk, and he finished by bagging the bloodied handcuffs, and taking at least two dozen swabs of blood. He pulled out a large bottle, and began to spray the inside of the trunk. It didn't really surprise him to see nearly the whole trunk fluoresce from the liquid. A whole lot of other people were in this trunk...
Warrick and Sara worked quickly and silently as they bagged every single object in the room. Warrick carefully slid the larger items into several special bags he had brought. He carefully handled the sledgehammer that had smashed his friend's leg. The next object he came to were the shears that bored the Texan's dried blood. This shouldn't have happened... No one deserved this, especially Nick...
"You ok Warrick? You've been staring at those shears for several minutes now..."
"I'll be fine Sara. Just keep bagging stuff, we'll have day shift process it back at the lab."
"Ok, I'll start bagging the surgical instruments over here, why don't you collect those ropes?"
"Yeah, sure thing." He walked numbly over to the noose that hung loosely from the rafters above. There was no mistaking the dried blood from Nick's hands that had soaked the thick threads of the rope. Without another word he began to pull it down, and bagged it along with everything else.
"This'll take a few hours to just get it into the SUV..."
"Good, because everything here points straight back to that bastard..."
"Yeah, I guess it does Warrick..."
She had finished bagging the tools, and had turned her attention to the large table Nick had been bound to. She snapped a few pictures before she picked up what remained of Nick's shirt.
"It's soaked with blood..."
"Look, Warrick, your guilt isn't going to help Nick alright? We're doing everything we can right now so that we can just bury this guy in evidence. We're here to find enough evidence so Nick doesn't have to testify, and so that he can get some closure from all this..."
"God, Sara... you don't get it. You don't have a clue what I'm feeling right now, and you shouldn't try."
"Then why don't you explain it to me?"
"Ok, you want to know? You didn't see his eyes Sara. I hit him. My best friend, and not only that..."
"I know all this Warrick, but it isn't making a whole lot of sense. Nick's alive; he'll be alright. We just need to make sure that this is done effectively so that he can find some sort of peace with the whole situation..."
It was becoming more difficult to fight back the tears. No matter how hard he tried he never seemed to get things right... He couldn't even answer stupid riddles... not to mention his track record for getting 'in the way'. He was still ashamed of how he had broken up in front of Amy Hendler; in front of Grissom's judging eyes... then Nigel Crane... he definitely hadn't handled that situation as well as he should have. And, last year... him... he still couldn't bring himself to say, or even think, the name. There was no way he would ever forget that coffin... the ants...
He placed his trembling, heavily bandaged hands on the windowsill, as he tried to find some sort of comfort in the birds that still fluttered around the trees. He had consistently let them all down... everyone single one of them. When is it just going to end?
He flinched as he heard the door slide open. He didn't want anyone around, let alone a nurse or that doctor...
"Uh, excuse me... I'm Emily Peterson... I was just looking for Doctor..."
Her sentence went unfinished as she finally began to take in the man sitting away from her. He was trembling, and she could see a dark mass of bruises through the narrow gap of his hospital gown... Her eyes then traveled towards his arms and leg, all of which were also set wih casts and numerous bandages.
Nick cringed... he wanted whoever this woman was to just go away. The last thing he needed now was to see someone go into shock from seeing him...
"You seem like a tough guy... what'd you do lose a bar fight?" It wasn't really a question.
"If you don't mind..." Nick slowly pushed against the wall to turn himself around. He bit his lip in surprise at the tall, slender woman standing in the doorway. She was wearing a long blue evening gown, and her flowing brunette hair seemed to cascade down her shoulders. She looked practically flawless... Ok, I guess I may as well just get this over with; it had to happen eventually...
She slowly took it all in. There was no mistaking the dark bruise on his face had come from someone's shoe, as she could see the treads where the bruising wasn't as severe... Her eyes then focused on his neck where she could clearly see the indentations left from some thick rope. Her eyes then wandered down his arms where she could see numerous darkened areas beneath the thick bandages. The cast that secured his wrist mostly covered his one palm, but she could clearly see a deep X shape cut had been stitched shut on his other hand... She refrained from shaking her head, and stopped looking over his injuries. Instead she looked into his dark brown eyes.
She was different somehow. The way she reacted towards his appearance made him feel comforted, and it seemed to take away some of the shame he felt...
"It isn't over Gil. Your precious 'Crime Stopper' isn't going to make it. He'll never recover; I've made sure of that. They won't lock me up forever you know. When I plea insanity they'll merely send me to a luxurious institution, and within a few years I'll be out. You'll never see it coming Gil. Someday, maybe during your shift, maybe when he is home all alone in this cold, dark world; it'll happen. He'll be taken away; somewhere far away. And you'll never hear of him again. I just want both of you to know, that when that day comes, he'll suffer even more, and over the years of searching for him you'll know he's dead. You'll know that his body will be underground somewhere in a small Plexiglas coffin..."
This time he didn't hold back. His fist swung right into the man's jaw, and he immediately stood up.
"We've got enough evidence to put you on death row, and trust me, you'll never get the chance to hurt Nick again."
Catherine stood as well. Her supervisor's tone had been cold and she could feel the rage of fury he was holding back. We never should've come in here. Just keep control...
A few moments later they were out in the hall, and Catherine could easily tell that her friend was beginning to lose what little control he still had...
"Ok, Gil, we need to talk..."
"Catherine, we've got too much to do..."
"No. No excuses; we're going to my office now."
She could easily see the pain in his eyes, but she could also see guilt and shame in his eyes.
"I-I'd rather be alone..."
"Is that you or the guilt talking?" she replied firmly.
"Excuse me?" Nick didn't like the way this conversation was beginning, and he subconsciously began a vain attempt to cover the dark bruises around his neck...
"I thought so. Look, I don't know you, and I don't know what you went through. What I do know is that it wasn't good. I also know that you're letting whoever did this win. Trust me, I know, I've played the victim role before... I had to cope with the shame I felt, but it sure didn't happen without help..."
"Yeah, you're right about one thing. You don't know me; you don't know what happened to me. Hell, if you did know you wouldn't even be able to look at me!"
"It's great that you're still defiant, but you may want to focus that on someone else."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's really easy for you to say. Now, please... j-just leave..."
"I suppose you're right... I... it's hard for me. To see other people in pain. I was there once; some creep really hurt me last year... I won't go into specifics, but I moved here to get away from it all. I left everything behind, and I didn't care about the people, the friends, who I left behind as well. You look like a strong guy; just don't let whoever did this to you win. Get better; don't shut everyone out. I know it's tempting, but if you really want life to get better you'll have to face the world sooner or later..."
"I-I'm sorry..."
His eyes looked back up to see the woman already gently closing the door behind her. He let out a loud sigh, and painfully pushed himself back towards the window in a futile attempt to distract him from his current position...
Warrick wasn't entirely sure why he was there in the white hallway. His best friend was suffering in the very next room, and there was absolutely nothing he could do. Why? What the hell does he think he can do by not letting anyone see him?
His thoughts were interrupted as he stared in shock at the woman who was quietly slipping out of his buddy's room.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Oh, uh... I'm Emily Peterson... I went in there by mistake, and I started talking to some guy..."
"He talked to you?" Warrick questioned slowly... Why will that asshole talk to some stranger and not even let his friends and family in to see him?
"Not really, but he does have a lot of inner strength... just don't give him any reasons to feel ashamed."
The last words hit him hard as the woman began to walk away. Why would Nick be ashamed? He didn't do anything wrong...
Dr. Gibbons didn't even see the waiting CSI as he hurried into Nick's room. He let the door swing wide and Warrick caught a brief glimpse of Nick sitting near the window, unable to stop his arms and legs from shaking. Then the door was once more closed. A mere piece of metal stood between him and his best friend...
"Ah, Nick, it's time for you to take your meds..."
"Huh? Oh... uh... sure..." He tried to keep his voice steady, but it was constantly becoming harder and harder to do so... It was becoming harder to fight off the pain... harder to fight the nightmares... harder to do anything to make his team forgive him...
Dr. Gibbons carefully lifted the man back onto the bed, and promptly reattached his IV and made sure everything was in place. From there he injected the medications into the injured man's system.
"You're going to fall asleep for a while now, ok Nick?"
He was too scared to reply. The sharp jab in his arm only served to remind him of Alberts injecting him with some strange poison... Slowly the room began to fade to black to the wooden rafters where he could see a long thick rope coming down and wrapping firmly around his neck...
Dr. Gibbons slowly walked from the room. He would never forget the look on that man's face as he was forced to have his medications injected into him right where he had previously been poisoned... He wondered if his patient would ever truly sleep again, or if every time he closed his eyes he'd find himself in whatever situation that had gotten him here...
"How is he?"
Gibbons hadn't even prepared for any further questions about his patient; he had essentially been avoiding thinking of what everything together could mean...
"Look, Mr. Brown, I can't legally tell you anything regarding your friend's condition, other than the fact that he should return to his former physical self in a few weeks..."
"Ok, what about nonphysically? How is he holding up?"
"Look, you're obviously very close to Mr. Stokes, so I'll make a slight exception here, but you didn't hear this from me."
"Yeah... ok, whatever."
"Ok, honestly, your friend is barely hanging on. I'm not an expert, but he is barely holding on to whatever sanity he may still have... I don't like saying it, but he could very well be spending the rest of his life in a hospital or an institution..."
Sara and Greg carefully carried their large boxes into the lab, followed closely by several officers who were also carrying large boxes... Boxes that contained all the evidence they needed to put Dr. Alberts away once and for all...
"Ok, Greg, Warrick ought to be back any time now, so why don't we start checking everything for blood or any other trace. I'll go over everything the day shift CSI that... uh... found on Nick after we found him..."
"Ok..." the words came out flat, and lacked his usual flair... there was no way he, or anyone else on the team would ever be normal again. He closed his eyes, and began to scan over the rather sadistic looking tools in his search for more evidence.
"Ah, Gil, I thought I'd find you here..."
The supevisor looked up from his desk surprised. Catherine immediately stood up as they watched the doctor come in.
"Mark, w-what are you doing here?"
"Well, we can't exactly postpone this anymore. I have the distinct feeling that your friend is barely holding on to whatever stability he may still have. I really have no doubts that he needs to start meeting with a psychiatrist, but there is our first, and possibly biggest problem..."
"Because he was abducted by a psychiatrist." Catherine sighed; this was definitely not going to be easy...
"I believe that will be a problem indeed, Ms. Willows, so I think we need to find someone he is comfortable with to sit in with him, as well as a psychiatrist that he feels can be trusted. My first instinct was to call a good friend of mine, but I think my sister, who is quite an accomplished psychiatrist would be better..."
"I'm not so sure. No offense, Mark, but you're in control of his physical wellbeing already. What's he going to think if you put someone you trust beyond a doubt in to be his shrink?"
"I guess you're right, Gil... I'm starting to fear that we're running out of options, and I highly doubt that he has much time."
"How can you help someone who is too scared to get help?" It was a rhetorical question, but she felt it needed to be said. A quick look at the two other men standing there in Grissom's office showed her that they had no ideas whatsoever...
"I may just have an idea..." Catherine's eyes immediately met Grissom's as he began to explain his suggestion.
To Be Continued...
Next Chapter: Nick has his first evaluation with a psychiatrist who is an old friend of Grissom's. Afterwards, he asks to see Grissom, but the meeting isn't what the supervisor expects. Meanwhile the team continues to search through various amounts of evidence.