Chapter 3: The Crime Scene
Nick, Warrick, and Greg headed to the crime scene and got out of the Tahoe. They went under the yellow crime scene tape and into the scene. Nick walked over to the body, and noticed that it looked familiar. As he stepped closer and closer he realized that it was Nigel Crane. He beckoned the others over and they gasped.
"Do you think he is really dead?" Nick whispered to Warrick.
"I hope so. The first responding cops should have made sure, but I want you to stay away from him, just incase it is a trap." Warrick stated just as quietly.
Nick walked away from the body of his stalker and started looking around for evidence. He noticed the same kind of red droplets on the ground and followed them, just as he did the first time he met Nigel Crane. He took out a swab and took a sample of the substance for trace. He stole a glance at the body making sure that he was really dead, but the body was gone. Surprised, Nick stood up and looked around. The M.E wasn't there yet so he was getting kind of nervous that Nigel Crane probably wasn't dead. He slowly walked over to where Warrick and Greg were and told them that Nigel Crane's body was no longer there.
"Oh my god, Nick we have to get you out of here. Grissom would never forgive us if you got more injured. Heck, I would never forgive myself. I'll call Grissom and tell him it was a trap, you go into the Tahoe and stay safe." Warrick ordered.
"No, I'm not leaving you here either we all go to the Tahoe, or I stay out here with you and Greg." Nick countered.
"Fine, get your gun out and let's quietly get back to the car." Warrick stated.
The three of them took their guns out and headed towards the car. Nick felt a bit awkward holding his gun in his left hand, but continued on. They heard footsteps behind them and quickly turning around, coming face to face with the supposed dead Nigel Crane.
"Nicky we meet again. Now you two, Nicky's friends, please leave us alone. Nicky and I have some business to finish." Nigel Crane ordered.
Warrick and Greg slowly backed off. Warrick quickly called Brass and told him they needed back up. Keeping an eye on Nick and Nigel, he waited for the back up to come. He hoped that Nick was going to be fine. Keeping his gun trained on Nigel Crane, he prayed for Nick's safety. The last thing Nick needed was another injury. He watched as Nigel took Nick's gun and trained it on him. Warrick continued to watch while Nigel started to take off Nick's sling, making his injured arm hang loose. He heard Nick gasp in pain and hoped he was ok. Finally after what seemed like hours, Warrick heard sirens in the distance. He saw Brass get out of one of the police cars and head towards them, with his gun out.
"Warrick, Greg you guys ok?" Brass quickly and quietly asked.
"Yea, Nigel pushed us aside. He just wanted Nick. They're over there. Please help Nick. Last thing he needs is to get more injured." Warrick informed. Greg nodded, too shaken up to speak.
Brass quickly but stealthy went over to where Nigel was holding Nick. He hid in the bushes to assess what he should do while watching with fright when he saw Nigel pull Nick's own gun on him. Nick started to shake with fear, and Brass knew he had to intervene now. He motioned to the other cops and started closing in on Nigel and Nick. With his gun drawn, and trained at Nigel, Brass quickly moved over to Nick. He saw the other cops putting a struggling Nigel Crane in handcuffs. Quickly he turned to Nick, whom was still shaking, and told him he was safe now.
"Hey Nicky, it is over. You're safe now. Come on let's go over to the cars. I need to see if you're ok. Here give me your hand." Brass stopped waiting for Nick to grab his hand. "That's it Nicky. Come on; let's get back to the cars."
Brass carefully guided Nick to the cars, while noticing that he no longer had his sling. Hoping Nick didn't get more injured; he continued to walk to the cars. Once at the cars, he left Nick with Warrick and Greg and went to look for Nick's sling.
Warrick and Greg looked at Nick and felt horrible. Why didn't they do anything to intervene before it got so bad? Why did they just look on, letting Nigel control Nick like that? They felt so guilty, certain that Nick would blame them. Quietly they both went over to Nick and started reassuring him that he was safe. When Brass returned, Warrick and Greg were still trying to comfort Nick. Brass quietly handed Warrick the sling, and got in his car to call Grissom. Warrick gave the sling to Nick, who carefully put it back on. They got back into the Tahoe and headed to the lab.
Once they were back at the lab, they saw Grissom waiting for them. He looked worried. Greg got out of the car and went to Grissom, while Warrick stayed in the car comforting Nick.
"Are you guys alright?" Grissom worriedly asked.
"Yea, well except that we are shaken up. He was only interested in Nick so he pushed me and Warrick aside. He took Nick aside and took Nick's gun from him. He pointed the gun at Nick while making him kneel on the ground and took his sling off." Greg informed Grissom.
"Let's go to the break room, that way you guys can rest, and help Nick. Do you think I should call Dr. Carson?" Grissom replied.
"Well he did gasp in pain a few times, but I don't know if he got more injured or not. It's your choice. What do you think he needs the most?" Greg suggested.
"I'll call the Dr. Meet me in the break room and try to get Nick to relax." Grissom informed.
Greg went back to the car and helped Warrick guide Nick inside. Once inside they headed to the break room and laid Nick down on the couch. Greg realized that the only person able to calm Nick down is Sara, so he quietly left the room to go and find her. Once he found her he told her what happened.
"Hey Sara, you need to come to the break room."
"What's up?" Sara asked.
"It's Nick, he is shaken up because Nigel tried to control him again. You are the only person he gets calm with. Please help him." Greg informed.
Sara quickly left and went to the break room. She walked in and noticed Nick on the couch. He was shaking like a leaf and as pale as a sheet. She quickly went over to him and started to rub his head, running her fingers through his hair. At first he flinched and tensed at the touch, but when he recognized it he sighed in contentment. She continued doing it until she heard the door open and saw Grissom with Dr. Carson. She got up and let Dr. Carson examine Nick. Dr. Carson looked at Nick and started to examine him. He carefully took the sling off, and looked at the shoulder. The cut had opened up a tiny bit again, but he wouldn't need the bandage still, other than that he couldn't see anything wrong. He lightly touched Nick's shoulder, only to have Nick moan in pain. He lightly tapped Nick's arm and waited for him to wake up.
"Hi Nick I was wondering if you could tell me when it hurts ok." Dr. Carson stated. Nick nodded. "In order for me to get a good examination of your shoulder you have to be totally relaxed. Can you do that for me?" Once again Nick nodded and started to relax.
Dr. Carson started the examination when he was sure that Nick was completely relaxed. He slowly moved Nick's arm, in every direction, stopping as soon as he saw Nick wince, even the tiniest bit. Then he lightly touched parts of Nick's shoulder to see if touch would bother him. As soon as Nick felt the hand on his shoulder, he winced from the pain it caused. By the end of Dr. Carson's examination, Nick passed out because of the pain. Dr. Carson sighed but turned to the others to tell them what he thought.
"Nick's shoulder is about how it was when I saw him for his appointment today, the only thing that caused him more pain now than it did before, was the touching of the wound. So his shoulder is going to be sore and very tender for the next few days. Let him rest, but still let him work because it shouldn't hinder him too much. If he starts to feel pain, tell him to take a break. He can do the crime scenes as long as they have already been cleared and secured. Make sure he is never alone even at home because you don't know when the pain spells will hit him, but when they do, it will be almost unbearable pain. So please look out for him and make sure that even when he is in pain, that he never touches his shoulder, it would just cause him more pain. Let him wake up on his own right now, he needs his rest." With that said, Dr. Carson left.
Sara, Warrick, Grissom, and Greg all looked at Nick with pity. They couldn't believe what had happened to him and knew it wasn't over yet, even if they assured him it was. It was a slow night at the lab so they all sat in the break room and waited for Nick to wake up. Knowing that Nick would be in pain when he wakes up, Sara got up and filled a glass of water for him so he could shallow his pills. A few hours later, Nick finally woke up. Sara handed him the pills and water and he gratefully took them. He looked around and noticed that most of the team was in the break room with him. He could feel his face burning up and knew that he was turning bright red. He put his head down in shame.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault." Nick mumbled, looking down not daring to meet anyone's eyes. He was afraid that they would blame him for what has happened today.
"Nick, look at me." Grissom started, waiting for Nick to look up. "I don't want to hear you say that ever again. You are in no way responsible for what went on today. IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT! Now please Nick, believe what I just said because all I want…all we want…is for you to get better and back to your normal self. You have nothing to be sorry for, if any one should be sorry, it's us because we are sorry that this has happened to you. You don't deserve to have such terrible things happening to you."
"But…" Nick started.
"No buts Nick. Listen to Grissom he is telling the honest to god truth. If I EVER hear you say sorry for something that WASN'T YOUR FAULT I would be angry at you. Please Nick, believe us." Sara interrupted.
"If I didn't go to the crime scene, Warrick and Greg wouldn't have had to listen and see what Nigel was capable of. Nigel would have left and they wouldn't be so shaken up. I'm sorry you guys had to see that. I wish that you…" Nick tried to explain his reasoning but was interrupted.
"Nick stop right there! Please Nick, listen to me. I DO NOT BLAME YOU! If you weren't there Nigel would have chosen one of us" Greg started pointing to him and Warrick, "and we would be in your position. If you went alone Nigel would have hurt you a lot worse, and we would have no idea. Nick, Nigel could have killed you. He had your own gun pointed at your head! If Warrick didn't call Brass, Nigel could have shot you before we would have been able to tackle him. Once again, I DO NOT BLAME YOU! IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!" Greg honestly stated.
"Yea Nick, if you don't listen to the others, at least listen to me. I was there, and I DO NOT BLAME YOU! I wish that I was the one whom Nigel was after, not you. I would do anything to make sure that you get better. I am the guilty one here because I just stood there in horror letting Nigel command you like that and hurt you. I could have intervened and I didn't. I regret not intervening and letting you get so hurt. Can't you see that it is my fault?" Warrick stated hoping Nick would rebut him and fall into the trap of saying the truth.
"I don't blame you in the slightest Warrick. If you tried to intervene, he would have hurt you too. It wasn't your fault that Nigel likes to be so controlling." Nick rebutted not knowing that he said exactly what they were trying to get across to him.
"Oh is that so Nick. I just have one question for you. If you don't blame me for not intervening, why should I blame you for just being there?" Warrick slyly stated, a tiny smile forming on his face. He saw Nick get the point and start to blush.
"Nick I want you to take as much of a break as you need and then you can come go with Greg and Warrick and work on any evidence that you might have. Sara, I want you to make sure he listens to what we tell him. Nick, if you need anything, and I mean anything, just come and find me, no matter what you need, even if you just want to talk or be with some one I will always listen. I'm sure that goes for everyone in this room." Grissom stated, and everyone else besides Nick vigorously nodded their heads in agreement. "I know you are probably sick of hearing this, but please believe when we say that IT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT!" With that said; Grissom patted Nick on the back and left the break room.
Nick looked at himself for the first time since the incident earlier. He realized that his shoulder had a tiny bit of blood on it and was thankful that he didn't need the bandage any more. He tried to get up from the couch in order to get a rag to clean his shoulder, but Sara stopped him by putting a hand on his uninjured shoulder and gently pushing him back down. He relented and watched Warrick get him a rag and some water for his shoulder. He gratefully reached out for it but Warrick passed it to Sara instead. Nick looked at Warrick thinking 'am I really that weak that I can't even clean my own shoulder. What do they think I am, a baby?' Sara saw Nick's expression and knew what he was thinking. She sighed and put the water and rags down, and knelt in front of him, holding his hand.
"Nick look at me. We just want you to be able to rest right now. It's about time you've had someone to take care of you. Please don't push us away. We are only trying to help you." Sara stated. She heard Nick sigh and close his eyes. Seeing that as agreement, she got the rag and water again.
Once she put the rag in the water and wrung it out, she started to clean his shoulder. Remembering what the doctor said, she did it as carefully and gently as she could. The second she started to clean his shoulder, Nick bit his lip to suppress the scream of pain that was about to come out. He didn't want the others to know how much pain he was in. He tightly shut his eyes and dug his fingers into the fabric of the couch. Sara looked at Nick and started to feel really bad for him. She was trying not to hurt him, but it looked like he was in agony. She couldn't understand why he didn't want the others to know how much he was actually hurt. She started to cry when she heard Nick scream in pain. When she finished, she put the rag and water back, and went over to Nick. She rubbed his head, until he calmed down.
"Nick I am so sorry for doing that to you. I tried to be as careful as possible but your shoulder is really tender right now and will be for a few days. Please forgive me." Sara pleaded.
"Sara…I never…could…blame you…just give me…a sec…and I'll…be fine." Nick weakly replied. He reached over to the brown bag that had his medicine, and took 2 painkillers.
After several minutes, the pain faded until it was just a dull ache. Nick slowly sat up and took a deep breath. 'Well that was a painful experience. I never want to go through that again.' He stood up and walked towards the door. Warrick, Greg, and Sara all looked at each other and followed him out. Warrick and Greg waited until they were alone and looked at each other. They both knew that Sara felt terrible for how much pain she just caused Nick, and they didn't know how to reassure her that there was nothing that she could have done to prevent it. They left the break room and went to find where Nick went. They found him in the trace lab looking in a Microscope.
"Hey Nick, what are you looking at?" Greg asked. Since he started his career as a lab rat, he knew he could help Nick out."
"I found this red substance at the crime scene and took a swab of it right before I noticed that Nigel wasn't dead. I am trying to see if there is anything special about this substance. I am pretty sure that it is the hair dye that we found the first time we met Nigel." Nick informed.
A few hours later, the shift was finally over, and everyone headed home. Nick and Sara headed towards Nick's home. When they got there, Nick had another pain attack. He grimaced and tried to find his medicine but, he left it at the lab. The pain was getting unbearable and he moaned in agony. Sara looked at him and sighed. She noticed that he left the bag in the break room and picked it up for him. Getting it out of her purse, Sara handed Nick his painkillers. Once he was not in as much pain, they said good night to each other, and went to bed.