Title: The Moment
Relationships: SoNic
Summery: An explosion at the lab is not what concerns Nick, it's the woman who's been torn apart by it. SoNic
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Not mine... See the great producers, directors, writers that create and the actors that bring to life... or just do the thing and you'll find the owners of the magnificant work that is CSI.

Detective Sofia Curtis sat quietly in the darkened lab. The lights were set on motion detectors, letting her know exactly how much time had passed. Endless streams of people filtered through the hallways that remained, oblivious to what had happened there that day. Unaware of how each of them was affected by the accident.

"Hey, Curtis?"

She turned, setting the light off.

"Hey, Detective Stokes."

Nick laughed. "Hey, it's not all bad."

Well, maybe not everyone was affected by it. "Hey, yes it is."

"No one died, Sofia. We got lucky."

"Fuck that, Nick! Lucky doesn't BEGIN to describe it!" Tears filled her eyes as she angrily wiped them away. "You weren't here."

"Tell me what happened… your story." He dragged a stool over to her and sat, giving her his undivided attention.

She let a few tears fall before wiping her eyes again. "It was pure chaos, as usual. Grissom asked me to fill in while you were out, considering I had CSI experience."

He nodded as he positioned himself behind her, hands on her shoulders.

Slowly she leaned against the counter, her arms beneath her head. "So, we got a case. Greg, Warrick and I were sent to a strip club where we found nothing. So, coming back here, we were stopped by Brass. He said something was wrong, but he couldn't figure what." She buried her face in her arms as she took a deep breath.

Nick pulled the hair tie off and let her long blond hair fall around her shoulders. He played with it a little before gathering it and laying it across one shoulder. He tilted her head to look up at him. "What happened when you left Jim?"

She brushed a stray hair out of her eyes, taking a few more tears with it. "We went inside anyway, everyone else was. However, they were being questioned. Things were missing from the lab. Enough stuff to blow half of Vegas away if combined properly."

"Right." He looked out the door into the partially blackened hallway. "Or half of the Crime Lab."

She nodded as she sat up. "So, while that all was going on, I happened to look up and pointed out a wire uncovered hanging out of a light fixture. Warrick thought it was out of place, so he reached up to tuck it back in… but he nearly lost his hand. It sparked… really bright and next thing I knew Greg and Warrick had me on the ground and there was smoke everywhere. Alarms were going off… people screaming. Water was coming from the sprinkler systems… it was a mess. We didn't know if the building was on fire, if we got the brunt of the explosion or if it had occurred elsewhere. My leg felt like it was on fire and I didn't want to move, but Warrick made me get up as we evacuated. From the outside it looked… well you saw it…?"

"Like hell?" Nick gave her a crooked smile and she nodded again.

"Something, hell-like. Anyway, yeah… so we don't know what happened. Everyone's on the case and it doesn't look like there'll be any solution. That stuff could have been rigged by anyone… internally or otherwise. It just…"

"It was like a wake up call. Live life to the fullest? Live for the moment? Trust me, I know it well."

"Exactly. We could have easily all been dead. But I think I was the worst off, and all I had was a scratch."

Nick pointed out the door. "The way that hallway looks… you could have easily been dead, Sofia."

Sofia shrugged. "It was contained to the vents mostly… When it reached oxygen it burst into flames and damaged the structural integrity of the wall beams, but the flames went out quickly."

"Well, regardless, you look like hell. Wanna grab a bite to eat?" He didn't wait for her to respond. Instead he held his hand out and took hers, gently pulling her off the stool. "C'mon, I'll take care of ya."

They sat quietly oppistie each other next to a large window. The lights of the city gave off an eerie glow through the red tinted window, but Nick wasn't looking at that. He was looking at the way Sofia distractedly twisted strands of golden hair between he thumb and pinkie. She was looking out the window, but Nick was looking at her. He smiled at how he noticed her, how he paid attention to every detail about that woman. And that included the burn marks on her arms.

"Did you get those looked at?" He pointed.

She looked down and paled slightly. "Honest, Nick? I didn't even notice."

"Well, they're pretty bad. Wouldn't hurt you any to get professional creams or something." He cleared both of their barely touched food as he escorted her out the door.

Nick drove them around for a while before heading to the hospital. He was going to make her get looked at. Walking through the double emergency doors he leaned against the reception desk. "LVPD. I got a wounded officer here, and she needs to be looked at right away."

"Sir, we don't have resources at night to-"

"What the fuck?" He pulled his badge out and slammed it on the desk, making both the nurse and Sofia jump.

"To what extent are her injuries?"

"Extensive." He answered in an annoying way. "I can't believe you were going to tell me off… I should speak to your superior's about getting you ass fired."

As he rambled on, the nurse hurried to get Sofia to a doctor. When she had gone, Nick looked at Sofia. "Am I good, or am I good?"

"You're a smartass, that's what you are." Prior to noticing those burns, she had just flat out been in shock. Now they hurt like hell and she was getting nauseas. The scratch on her leg was oozing and looked like it wasn't long before infection would set in. As they sat in the waiting room, Sofia's eyes started shutting, completely and entirely against her will.

If Nick didn't know better, he'd say she was falling asleep, but there was something terribly wrong. "Hey, Sofia? Hun? Damn it!" He picked her up as she completely passed out.

Racing down the hall, he found a doctor and the two placed her lifeless body on a stretcher. No pulse. The doctor immediately began CPR as Nick paced back and forth, watching helplessly.

Hours later, they had finally stabilized her and she was put in the ICU. Nick had called Brass and Grissom and had been interrogating them about her care after the blast.

"It was a mess, Nick. If she didn't see a paramedic, it's her own fault." Jim mumbled.

"How could you say that, Brass? She's your friend!"

He shook his head. "We are co-workers and we're civil. After the incident with Bell, we're nothing but."

Nick sighed. "Well, she was in shock. Maybe she didn't have it all together enough to see an EMT."

Jim shrugged. "She's blond, Stokes, what do you expect?"

Grissom stepped between them, silencing them both. "Have some respect, both of you. We're in a hospital."

As Nick turned from Jim and Grissom, he collided into a warm embrace.

Hey, Nicky." Catharine's soft voice whispered in his ear. "You alright?"

"Yeah, Cath, but, geez she's so scared." Nick's eyes were beginning to tear up.

"I know. That's why I'm glad she has you here with her. You're a good friend to her." She released him from her hug and smiled at him.

"She'll be okay. Probably better than you are. It was smart of you to get her here so quickly."

He sighed as his gaze returned to her door. Holding his breath he walked forward, turning the handle slowly and slipping in, leaving his friends to sit on the other side.

The monitors quietly hummed in the background as he watched her lay in a peaceful soft light. She was beautiful. He moved toward her and took both her hands in his. They were warm… always a good sign. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he decided to simply wait with her. Wait for her to come to… maybe kiss her. Promise to take care of her.