Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to CSI or it's affiliates. I am merely a fan whose would like to take already established characters into a story of my own rendering.
Heed
Chapter 2 Heed the Need
Hours went by in an almost eerie silence as the crime team processed the evidence, no one coming up with anything significant The only main conclusion that was drawn was that these people were are young adults, probably in their twenties. The CSIs gathered in a small circle around their vehicles to compare evidence.
"I'm thinking the victims who were bound were obviously murdered first." Catherine spoke up first to start the conversation.
"Yeah, and then it appears they either ate part of the damaged flesh or drank some of the blood." Nick added. "I found a few drops of blood on three of my victims mouths and what appears to be knife marks near the area where the bullet penetrated the skin. David said we'll know more after the autopsies of course but my first guess is that second murders weren't supposed to happen."
"We're not in the business of guessing Nicky." Grissom responded. But his hardened expression softened a little, "But it is definitively a theory worth working provided we get more evidence."
"I think I might have some." Sara chimed in. Nick let out a small sigh. He hated being called out in front of the whole team like that. "I found what appears to be defensive wounds on one of my victims in the second circle. There are also traces of GSR on her foot and I found a bullet hole with a 9mm expire round in it near her. She also has blood under her nails and they've been broken to the quick. If the others died willing, she either changed her mind or was the only one to have fought back."
"We'll see what more Doc Robbins and his team find. Anyone else?" Grissom said, his eyes intense on Sara's she looked away towards Nick who, directly across from her in the small circle of people, gave her a quick wink and looked towards Warrick who spoke next.
"I also found two bullet wounds on one of my vics. All were shot in the head from the back at close range. But one of my vics had a small would on the top of his left shoulder which indicates that either the gun went off prematurely, the gunman was a bad shot, or the victim fought back."
"Or he sneezed the first time." Greg said with a smile. When no one responded or smiled back, Greg cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, Sophia and I found several 9mm casings all along the parameter. We obviously won't be able to tell if it was more than one weapon until Bobby has a look."
"OK, if that's all we have, then get back to the lab, log your evidence, and get some sleep. Be back by five pm for a meeting. Make sure you have your test results before the meeting. Be careful."
With the meeting ended, Grissom went to Brass and a group of investigators to give their preliminary findings while the others piled into their SUVs to leave the cool desert morning. Sara strode over to the back of Nick's Denali to secure her evidence in the installed lockers. Nick slipped up behind her with his evidence in tow. "Want to get some breakfast?" He said, not looking at her as he secured his own evidence in a locker.
The two worked to store their kits without looking at each other. Then Sara looked up with a tired smile. Nick looked up too and smiled brightly. "Waffles and syrup?"
"You paying?" Sara said coyly.
"Only if you agree to talk to me some more."
Sara's flirtatious smile faded. "Why?" She said as she moved to the passenger side and opened the door to get in. Nick followed suite and got in on the driver's side. When both were buckled in, Nick started the engine and let it warm up for a second.
"Because I drove you here." He said as he put the SUV into gear and drove away from the crime scene. He smiled over at her.
Sara, wanting to just sleep, refused to meet the Texan's stare "That's a bad excuse."
"Because I'm cute." Nick replied as he looked back towards the road.
Sara couldn't hold back a smile anymore. "Now you're just pestering me."
"So are we on for breakfast?"
"Only if you let me sleep."
"What? And me fall asleep at the wheel? I don't think so darlin'. Besides, I thought we were going to talk some more."
Sara's smile faded. She'd hope Nick would forget about their earlier conversation and leave her alone. This obviously wasn't the case and Sara knew it'd be a long drive if they fought. But that didn't mean she was going to give in so easily. "You know, I'm sober now and I don't usually drink when I off. At least not that much. I don't. I just had a bad night."
"Grissom doesn't deserve you. You're too smart and too lively and too beautiful for him." Nick stopped. He'd said too much. He didn't care who she dated. Did he?
"Who are you to tell who? I haven't seen you with anyone of substance lately. You just seem to have become so happy go lucky. All you do is spend time fixing others now like it's become your purpose in life. Didn't being buried alive do anything for you?" Sara stopped. It was her turn to go too far and not only that, she'd gone over the edge.
Without a word, Nick slammed on the breaks and jumped out of the SUV. He walked in front of the headlights with his hands rubbing his face. Sara quickly followed him. She tried to touch his shoulder but he spun around and grabbed her wrist. A small gasp came from her as he moved closer to her body.
"What the hell do you think you know about me, Sara Sidle? What the fuck gives you the right to think you know me and what that hell of a time did to me. You want to know what I thought about down there? Do you?" Nick was livid. He held her wrist tight and stared her down.
Sara was frightened as she struggled to free herself. She looked around to see if any of her coworkers were near to calm him down. The must have left before we did. I didn't notice. Sara thought as she scrambled her thought to think of what to say to calm Nick down. "Nick please. You're hurting me."
Nick looked at her with cold eyes. "So? You hurt me! That bastard hurt me. The babysitter hurt me. My stalker hurt me. Everyone hurts me. But I still want to help people! I want to make them feel good because I can't. That's what I thought of while I was down in the dirt. I had to at least help someone cause I sure as hell couldn't help myself. Oh and there is a hell. I've seen it. It lives down the barrel of a gun."
Then they both stopped moving. They only stood there staring at each other in disbelief. Nick let go of Sara, who stepped back several feet, never taking her eyes off of him. He stood erect with his head facing upwards towards the fading stars. "I've seen hell in my life. Things have happened to me that would be the subject of some people's nightmares. I thought at first they were going to consume me, but I couldn't let that happen. When I was buried down there all I wanted was to get out so I could make things right. I thought maybe then I could have some redemption.
"Nick, no one would think any less of you if you had a bad day and let it show." Sara walked a few paces towards her friend, still keeping up her guard.
"Sara, why do you let your demons make you so miserable? If you just let go, you wouldn't have to find comfort in the bottom of a bottle." Still looking at the sky, Sara moved next to him and looked up too.
"I'm not as strong as you, Nick. I would have shot myself that night."
"That's why I went. Because I was strong enough. I had to be strong. I learned from my pain and it made me strong. What has your pain taught you?" Nick was now looking at her. He felt a little self-righteous, but he knew he had a point to make. It was time he let down his last defense.
Sara looked at Nick and for a moment her eyes glazed with a gleam of lust. She wanted to kiss his hard and passionately and forget her problems. But Nick had a point. It would only make her weak. The lust left and so did her stare. "I just hide and hope it won't happen again. That's why I let Grissom go."
"But you replaced him with Tequila. It doesn't work like that. You just let go. Period. Look, I have bad days too, but I just have to relax. I call my family. I go out with my friends. I find my release."
"I run away and drink." Sara whispered to no one in particular.
"Why don't you sleep the rest of the way back. We'll talk over breakfast." Nick's voice had softened and he stood behind her. Sara could feel his breath on her neck. It was warm and soothing. She allowed herself to take it in and smile. Nick noticed the smile and grinned himself. "What?"
"Who said I ever agreed to breakfast?" Sara said smiling and looking east towards the sunrise.
The rest of the drive back to the lab was quite. But the silence wasn't uncomfortable, rather it was comforting. Sara used the time to sleep and dream of her life. Nick used the time to think of Sara and how calm she looked when she slept. It wasn't often he'd seen her look peaceful, but sleep did it for her. He wondered if she was dreaming and what she was dreaming of. He even allowed himself to let his deepest held back thoughts surface for a little while and begin to think if she was dreaming of him.
He watched the sun rise in the rear-view mirror as he made his was into the city limits of Las Vegas. What if they could get past their working relationship? They both had problems. His mom told him on several occasions, especially when he would go home to visit without a girlfriend that it was always easier to be happy when you had someone to share it with.
I said no relationships with coworkers. Nick chastised himself. What if you broke up? What if you got jealous? Especially of Grissom. What if you got rejected? No, we're just friends. I just want to help her. And gaze at her without it being obvious. Besides, she a loaded gun. She goes off at every little thing. We would fight all the time.
Nick steered the Denali into the crime lab parking lot and turned off the engine. He turned to wake her and smiled. She just needs someone to talk to. I can't deny her my friendship. He reached over to move a few strands of hair from her face and tucked them loosely behind her ear. She stirred and opened her eyes as she touched his hand. Instead of pulling back, Nick just smiled, "Morning." He whispered. "Ready to log our evidence so we can eat?"
Sara, realizing she was holding Nick hand against her face, straightened herself in her seat and let go of her grasp. Nick slowly brought his hand back to his side of the seat and she smiled quickly, uncomfortably. Catching herself, she opened the door.
It only took about twenty minutes to log their evidence, change into different clothes and meet back at Nick's SUV. "So where are we going, cowboy?"
"Cowboy? I protest. I don't even have my hat on." Nick said in mocked defense. Sara giggled. "So we're going, miss surfer-girl, to this hole in the wall near my place I go sometimes on my way home. They serve a mean waffle."
"Are you going to eat meat?" Sara said with a squeamish look on her face.
Nick laughed out loud. "You're serious?"
Sara didn't have to reply for Nick to know his answer. He ushered her into the SUV and he followed suite. "OK, waffles and biscuits it is!"