Title: And the Thunder Rolls

By: duffshel

Author's Note: Long time no see, eh! Really wanted to have this up some time yesterday, but I dunno, didn't like this at all. Agonized over it for a few more hours. Figured it was the best I could get so I gave up. Now, here it is! So yeah, here it is. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter even though I know it wasn't the most exciting. Hope this one makes up for that a little. And we learn a bit on why the two guys are fighting! Never done a flashback before, so, here it goes! Alright, I'm done. Hope you all enjoy and let me know. I have no idea how much longer this will be, but I expect things to start moving…downhill from here. Bye!

#10: And he knows that she knows…

Nick walked to his fridge and pulled open the door. The blast of cold air was enough for his arm flesh to goose bump even against the air conditioning already running. He had never kept it that cold in his house no matter what the temperature outside was. Growing up in Texas had thinned his blood too much and he couldn't take a lot of cold air rushing around him.

The neck of the beer bottle felt good against the roughness his hands. His last case had been a hard one, beat up bad on his hands. Nick never liked have to work to the point where his hands hurt like hell when he got home. It wasn't like he was a mechanic or something. CSI work wasn't supposed to be this hard on the hands, only the brain.

He threw his head back, opening up his throat to the rush of dark beer. Sure, it was early morning and most people wouldn't dream of taking a beer out like this, but Nick needed something to help calm his nerves a little. Not that he was going to have more than one. Getting drunk was never his prerogative. The last time had proved to be bad enough for him. Warrick had to come to his house and baby-sit him then. Never again. Not like that.

After finishing his extremely large swallow, Nick wiped the back of his left hand across his mouth and set the beer down on the counter. His townhouse looked dirty as he swept his eyes around. He had the next shift off. It would be the perfect time to catch up on some simple chores.

Rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, Nick walked out of the kitchen and headed down his hallway to his bedroom. He had dressed comfortably for work, but all he wanted to do right then was get out of those clothes and into his down clothes. They were laying out on the bed waiting for him. It was something he had gotten into the habit with. Never wanted to hunt down clothes once he got home.

Nick peeled the shirt from his body, sticking in some places from old sweat. The jeans rolled off, left on the floor in a pile. Looking down at his torso, Nick grimaced. He needed to take a quick shower. Maybe then he would feel more human. Scratching at his bare stomach, Nick walked out of the bedroom and crossed the hall to his bathroom.

His blue towel hung on the rail waiting for him. Pulling off the last item of clothing he had left, Nick jumped under the warm spray of water. Not wasting much time, Nick did the essentials then jumped back out. Toweling dry, he did feel a little more relaxed. Now, maybe he could watch that new Discovery Channel DVD, eat some breakfast, and get some sleep.

Hanging the towel back up, Nick walked back into his bedroom to pull on the new clothes waiting for him. They felt crisp and clean against his skin. Now he felt more like himself. It made him smile. Nothing big, but it was a smile.

Nick left his dirty clothes where he left them. Since he would be cleaning up the place later, he could handle that then. Besides, his stomach was beginning to rumble. All he had during that last shift was an apple and a protein shake. Seems that sustenance was now completely used and gone.

Reopening his fridge after another swallow of beer, Nick found a white Styrofoam container holding his leftovers from two nights ago. Opening the package, the Mexican food filled his senses. Even cold and slightly old, it seemed good. He pulled the burritos out and placed them on a plate. It fit in the microwave with ease. Now all he had to do was wait.

He grabbed his beer and pulled out some more of the liquid. Thinking to himself, he suddenly remembered he still had some of his mother's salsa left. He quickly pulled the jar out along with a package of shredded cheese. This was going to be a leftover meal for a king. Nick couldn't help, but to feel a little excited.

Once his food was ready, Nick carried the plate on a pot holder out to his living room, beer in the other hand. He placed them both on his living room table before straightening up and heading over to his entertainment system. The DVD was on top of the player. It was one he had been waiting to see since he had seen a preview commercial for it. It was a regional informational video on Nevada bird species.

Nick set things up with all the remotes he needed and got the movie going. The back of the case said it was two hours long. Should be enough time to relax and prepare for bed. It was perfect. He headed back to his couch, grabbing his fork, ready to eat. The doorbell interrupted him.

Sighing and throwing down the fork, Nick put his hands on his knees and got off the couch. He walked slowly towards his door, wondering who the hell would be there at this time in the day. No one had said anything at the lab. But he stopped thinking as he opened the door.

"Hey man. Didn't interrupt ya did I?" Warrick asked, his hands in his pockets.

"Nah, just sat down for some breakfast. Not going to bed quite yet. Come on in."

Nick moved to the side of the door to allow his friend to walk into the room. He closed the door and walked back over to his couch. Warrick sat himself down in one of the two chairs Nick had in his living room.

"Breakfast?" Warrick raised his eyebrows at the red and yellow concoction he could see on the blue plate. He never understood how the man could eat that stuff and still be able to move.

"Still good. And the salsa is perfect. Should try some."

"No thanks. I want Tina to kiss me when I get home. Not run the other way."

Nick laughed and reached for his fork again, "Well, I'm gonna eat it. And you need to tell me what you're doing here."

Reaching for the beer on the table, Warrick sat back in the chair and worked on finishing Nick's beverage. He had been debating the entire way over here if he really should even bring this up with his fellow CSI. Warrick knew how touchy Nick could be about his personal life. This might be territory even a best friend wasn't supposed to touch.

"Well, I know you have the next shift off. So do Tina and me. So…well, she has a friend who just moved to the area. And I was wondering if…you wanted to meet up with us and hang out."

Nick stopped in mid-chew. This was not something he had been expecting. Sure, Warrick had always given his shit about his relationships with women, but never before tried to set him up. Of course, he was never married before either.

"Hang out?"

"Yeah. Tina told her about you and she was interested in meeting you. Her name's Anna. Seems nice. So Tina wants to introduce the two of you to each other. I thought it'd be safest to do it through a double date."

"A double date?"

The taller CSI shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah. Might be fun."

"Why?"

He had really been expected a "where" instead. Warrick finally looked Nick in the eye and didn't like the emotions he found there. His friend was always honest with eyes whether he wanted to be or not. Now, it was clear Nick was confused, sad, and angry about this suggestion.

"Just wanna help you out, man. Might be good for you to get out once a'while."

Nick's face hardened, "You think? What if I don't agree with you?"

"Oh come on. Like it's healthy for you to sit at home alone all the damn time. Won't hurt you to get out there and meet knew people. Not all strangers are bad people."

"Sure, sure. No, of course not," Nick's voice drifted off at the end, eyes lost a little.

"Nick, you need to get out. Not like you'll be alone with her. I'll be there with Tina. Just dinner and maybe we can walk around. Nothing big."

"No."

Warrick really should have known this wasn't going to be easy. He had been hoping Nick would understand this was to help him, not hurt him. His best friend had developed some stranger issues and had trouble meeting new people. Nick's love life was suffering from that. Warrick just wanted to help.

"Why not? Would be good for ya."

"No," he repeated himself as he looked down at his cooling food. This was not helping him at all. Warrick wanted him to go out with a person he had never met before. No one understood why this bothered him so much. Yeah, he never really told them, but he didn't think he had to. Anyone could be a person that would shove a gun in your face, stalk you, or shove you in a glass coffin. Nick wasn't willing to go searching for it when that stuff found him so well on its own.

"I just don't want to, man. Just leave it alone."

Warrick was beginning to get angry, "Why? You just want to sulk around here all the time. You never go out with any of us anymore, man."

"Not difficult when no one has time to 'hang' out with me, Warrick."

It was true. With everyone moving quickly to get away from the trauma they all had suffered at the hands of that mad man, Nick had been left in the dust. Warrick couldn't say he still hung out with his best friend as much as he did before he was married. And none of the others from the lab went out of their way to have group breakfasts or lunches anymore. Now they only seemed to see each other when that time was involved with work.

"So, when I make the effort and reach out, you push me away. Nice, bro."

"Oh, don't bro me," Nick had to stand up as his anger rose, "I simply said I don't want to go on a double date with this girl. Not that big of a deal. I don't need you to set me up. Just let me be."

He stomped out of the room into the kitchen. Now he was going to have to have a second beer. But the fridge door was being held closed by Warrick's hand. Nick glared at the appendage before raising his eyes to meet his so-called friend's.

"What?"

"You're not going to drink this one away. Just admit you need to get out of here. I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not."

"Don't need you help. Didn't ask for your help. You can just leave if you're going to keep it up."

"Fine. I won't help you again. Just sit here and wallow in your stupidity. Die alone if you want."

Warrick threw up his hands and turned away from Nick. He walked with long steps to the front door. As he opened it, he looked back. Nick hadn't moved from the spot he had left. The Texan's eyes were on the floor. Warrick knew he should say something, but couldn't bring himself to think of something right then. His irrational anger had taken control. He would only make it worst. So he let himself out of the townhouse.

The door shut hard. Nick looked up and groaned. This really wasn't something he had wanted to deal with. But he knew it was stupid and there was no reason for them to fight over it. Now it was too late to take anything back. They both said dumb things and pissed each other off.

He looked over at the meal he had been excited about. Now all it did was turn his stomach. Nick shook his head and walked over to the television. Once everything was turned off, he turned around and left things as they were. Now all he wanted to do was sleep and forget this had ever happened.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

That had happened a week ago, but Nick couldn't stop the memories from filtering into his dreams. He had thought long and hard about that night, but couldn't come up with a decent way to fix things. He and Warrick had gone on like it never happened. But now everyone could see the tension that that night had created. Nick's face frowned in his sleep.

There was something warm and heavy resting up against him. Or, he was leaning against something warm and heavy. Nick was still too asleep to think much about it. He let the thoughts die into blackness. His body hurt too much to dwell on it anymore. Rest was what he needed now.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

Andrew whistled as he took in the mess that the band room was. This was destruction at its finest. He hadn't seen the room since before the tornadoes had hit. Now that he had, he was really glad that he had been babysitting the kids when it all went down.

Greg shook his head, one hand rising to rest against the back of it, "Where is he?"

"No clue. Not too many places to hide in here," Andrew walked a little further into the room. His head moved from side to side looking for any movement. That kid wasn't in here either. But it didn't make any sense. This was the one place with a way out. Why not here?"

"Well, shit. Now what do we do?"

"Hope Brass doesn't kill us," Greg tried to sound humorous, but it sounded fake to him. He was sure that Andrew heard right through it.

He didn't want to go back to tell the detective they hadn't found the kid. That was not something that would be good for his health. And Greg wanted to know where that little brat had run off to anyways. This was not somewhere to run around in alone. Unless there was something that one needed to do alone.

"He will. Even if we find the kid, he'll lecture us into next year."

"Thanks, Andy. Made me feel so much better. Don't take it up as a job."

"Shut up, man," Andrew groaned and turned around to face Greg again, "Where the hell is he?"

The cop threw his arms out from his body and looked around. He was losing his control on the situation. Andrew never hated anything besides not knowing what was happening. Now, Sam was still missing and Brass was pissed off.

"Think we could weasel our way out that hole?" Andrew tossed his head to the side.

Greg grinned, "Really don't want to deal with Brass, huh?"

"What'd you think?"

Both men grinned and looked around them a little more. They both knew they had to move on, but were afraid to leave the room. Once they left, they would have to go back into that other room. Where Brass was waiting. And they didn't have anything good to report.

"Alright. Enough bullshitting around. Let's go."

Andrew walked past the CSI, shoulders brushing slightly. It was enough to get Greg to turn and follow. His mind was running rapid with ideas on what Sam could be off doing. Greg was coming up sadly short. There wasn't anything left that a teenage boy could possible want.

As Andrew reached the door of the room, he took one step out into the hallway. Greg was right behind him, he could hear the other man's breathing. He looked down the hallway, forehead crinkled in a frown. The lights slammed off. He heard Greg gasp. His own blood went cold.

!#$&()!#$&()!#$&()+

Brass stood to the side in the room, taking in everything around him. For some reason, he had to know what everything was in this place. The kids, the CSI's, the tables. It was all categorized in his mind. This helped him from getting any amount of panic in his blood. Brass was not going to look a fool in front of anyone.

He looked over at Nick and Warrick. They were both asleep, deeply at that. He couldn't help, but to smile at the sight. Both were injured and needed to take a break. Maybe once they were awake, they would be useful again. The frown that had taken place on Nick's face worried him a little. At one point, it looked as if the Texan would wake up, but never did.

The teenagers were all in different stages of boredom. A card game had started again between Derek and Kevin. Brass couldn't tell what game it was. It was quick and they were silent about it. Only sharp glances and hand gestures went between the two boys. They seemed to know each other. But Brass was sure these kids weren't friends. Just band members. Maybe he was wrong.

Kyle was sitting on the floor now, back resting against the wall. It appeared he was taking the hint from the two CSI's and was trying to get some sleep. His head was leaning forward, bangs resting over his eyes so Brass couldn't see much of his face. But since the kid was asleep, he wasn't too worried about him at the moment.

As for the girl, Natalie was squirming around in her chair. She would find one position for a few minutes then shift into a different one. Her legs contorted under her body, between flesh and plastic. Females could move and bend in ways that just shocked Brass' mind. There was no way he would ever be able to sit like that, even on a couch.

Her eyes kept darting over to look at him as if she were debating whether she could come over and ask a question. It was in big, bright lights over her head. Natalie had something she needed to ask, but couldn't work up the courage to approach the scary looking cop. It looked to Brass that she finally won that courage as she got up from the chair and shuffled over to him.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" he kept his voice low and soft. Now that she was standing in front of him, he wasn't going to do anything to scare her off.

"Um…would it possible…"

She was shy. Her question ended before the older man could even think of what she wanted. Brass kept his eyes wide in question as he looked down at her. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Could I…use…the restroom?"

It was quiet and she leaned forward with every word she spoke. His face broke into a small grin at the unease the girl had with asking him that. But then he remembered what happened the last time when one of these kids asked that question. There was no way she was going to go alone.

"Alright, but not alone," Brass stood completely upright and looked over at the boys, "Kevin, get over here."

The boys stopped their game and both lifted their heads. Both wore looks of confusion, but seeing the look Brass was giving them, Kevin jumped out of his chair. The boy walked quickly over and stood looking at the ground.

"You're going to go with her."

"To where?" Kevin hadn't heard anything Natalie had said since she moved over to ask Brass her question.

"She needs to use the restroom. You're going with."

Both faces turned crimson at the thought, "Not together. Stand outside the door while the other is in there. We'll send everyone, but in shifts and groups of two."

Brass wiped at his forehead as the kids still kept the blushes on their cheeks. He had to keep reminding himself that kids today thought of things differently than he had when he was young. Too much television and music videos. He shook his head.

"You two think you can handle that?"

Natalie nodded, "Yes. I need to go now."

"Alright. Five minutes and I want you two back here. I'm going to stay in the doorway. You two go anywhere else, I'll know."

They nodded and moved to leave. Brass was right on their heels. He watched them walk down the hallway towards the single bathroom. Natalie opened the door and shut it quickly in Kevin's face. The boy stuck his tongue out at the wooden barrier and leaned against the wall next to it.

Brass leaned back into the room and look at everyone else. Derek was watching him with calm eyes. Everyone else was still sleeping. Nick and Warrick never even flinched when the power to the room shut off, bathing them all in black darkness. Brass cursed and felt for his light. He didn't have it. It was lost in the dark. Along with the other people in the room.

TBC…