Crimson Puddles
Summary: Catherine goes with Sam Braun to make the drop off, but things don't go as planned.
It's over… you did your best to save her. There was nothing else you could do. He tried to convince himself of that, but he was finding it harder and harder to do as he weakly pushed his hands against the Plexiglas. He could feel the blood pooling around him, and he sobbed as he stared at his reflection in the glass.
"What do you mean there's more? I got you your damn money, so give it to the bastard!"
"He wants you to come with me when we make the drop off. And, quite frankly, I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to make sure we get him back in one piece!" Catherine was clearly furious, and this was a side no one else in the room really wanted to go up against, except for the Casino Owner.
"Alright, so he means a lot to you. He doesn't mean a damn thing to me!"
"He saved your granddaughters life, and he mean nothing to you?" Catherine shouted at the top of her lungs, as she tried to get him to comply.
"Please… please go… please help him." Everyone whirled around as they heard Lindsey's voice from the doorway. Her eyes were filled with tears, and Catherine's mother stood just behind her with a look of pain on her face that Catherine had never seen before.
"Please, Sam. Listen to Lindsey, listen to your granddaughter. Show me that you're not the heartless man. Show me that you still care about you daughter, and your grandchild. Heaven knows how messed up your sons got. Don't cut off your daughter. Don't let the man that saved Lindsey's life die now, just because you don't want to face something that you obviously caused. This is your problem, not his. Don't let him die. He means too much to these people here, especially to our daughter. For once… please… just try doing a selfless act."
He slowly looked into her eyes, and then let his gaze fall down to an obviously exhausted and terrified Lindsey. I suppose this is my problem, or they wouldn't have demanded that I come along. His eyes flickered back towards the screen at the young man as he sobbed with his hands still pressed flat against the glass of his coffin. "Okay. I'll do it."
Grissom had watched the events closely, and wasn't sure of how to respond until he looked back at the scared look in Nick's eyes. This isn't right. "Ok, come on, all you guys have scenes to process, so get busy. Go over evidence, whatever. Catherine, why don't you spend some time with Lindsey. I'll be in here if anyone needs me." Without another word he turned back to the screen and listened carefully for any possible background noise.
Warrick stood shakily as he waited for the numerous blood samples to come in. Mia sighed as she handed him the results, and gave him a sorrowful look.
"It's all Nick's blood… I'm sorry, Warrick."
Sara and Greg followed David and Robbins between the three dead bodies. Each had been shot somewhere in the chest area, and all had died at the scene well before they had found their bodies.
"Did you get any ID's?"
"Sorry, Sara. We sent blood samples to CODIS, and we had their prints run through AFIS. No matches and no matches to any relatives. We can't tell you a whole lot about them, but their guns were taken over to be test fired, and they'll be comparing the bullets to those found in Nick's car."
"Ok, thanks anyway, Doc. Call us if you find anything helpful!" She called out shakily as she headed out of the morgue. We've got to find him…
"Alright, Mr. Braun, lets cut to the chase. Who hates you enough that they'd do something this rash to try to take you down?"
"I don't know Detective, for all I know you could hate me enough to do this."
"Hello, Catherine."
"Hello…" She replied cautiously, unsure of who it was speaking on the other end of the line.
"I trust you're ready to meet my demands? After all, Nick must mean more to you than that piece of trash that you call a 'father'. I want you and Mr. Braun in the back of his limousine waiting at Flamingo and Koval in one hour. In ten minutes you'll see a fraction of what we'll do to your friend if you don't meet all our demands he dies, and you'll be able to watch him decompose on tape… Or you can have him back in close to one piece, but alive. Your choice."
Catherine immediately ran back to the A/V Lab, and she opened the doors with an even more worried expression on her face. "How is he Gil?" She didn't bother to keep the exasperation out of her voice as she lifted her fingers to gently stroke the screen where Nick's face was. She shivered as her eyes took in Nick's battered body. His eyes seemed devoid of any hope, of any liveliness she had ever seen in them. Then they saw the hands come into the screen.
Nick nearly shouted with joy as he felt the Plexiglas disappear from over him, but froze when he saw the two figures dressed in black towering over him. He watched in horror as one of the men tore the short sleeve of his black shirt. His left hand desperately tried to keep the knife away from him, and he managed to cry out as the knife quickly cut away the bloodied bandages.
"No…" Catherine could feel the words echo through her mind as she tensed up. They could easily see the bullet wound in their friend's arm as he cried out in fear. Her eyes never left the screen as she watched the man in black slowly drag the knife in small circles around the still bleeding wound.
Catherine jumped out of her seat in surprise when the knife was suddenly thrust into Nick's arm. She heard Archie quickly run out of the room, and distantly heard someone throwing up. Her breathing had become quick and shallow as she watched the man rotate the knife in Nick's arm.
Grissom's jaw dropped in shock as he took in Nick's high-pitched screams and the increased flow of blood from his arm. God… no… no… please… please let this be a dream… Tears ran down his face, as they watched in horror as the knife was slowly removed, and even more blood spewed from his arm.
Nick screamed. All he could see was a blinding white light. He waited desperately for his body to lose consciousness, but it wouldn't come, as the pain in his arm became even more excruciating. His throat was dry, and his screams caused him even more pain as he tried to get more air and his chest moved more rapidly with his increased breathing. His voice slowly gave way as his screams dissolved into weeping sobs of torment. He could hardly think as he watched the top of his coffin once more lifted into place. His blood was literally everywhere around him as it bled freely. He slowly managed to rip a small bit of his shirt free and wrapped it around his hand before pressing it tightly against the warm rush of blood. It's over… I'm going to die…
Catherine sat nervously in the back of the limousine with a man she felt she truly hated. If he hadn't pissed the wrong person off Nick wouldn't be moments away from dying. And, there he is, sitting like nothing in the world matters but himself…
"We're here." Sam announced quietly, and Catherine looked around the empty area where Nick had been kidnapped only several months ago. She watched as the driver quickly got out, and left the area in the only car that had followed them there. She glanced at her watch and counted the final seconds when suddenly they heard someone climb in the front seat before both of the back doors flung open.
She watched as three men climbed in, and her eyes looked over to her father when they realized none of them were wearing masks.
"Why hello, Sam."
"Should I know you?"
"My… my… my… you don't remember the people you cheat do you? You stole ten million dollars from me, hell, you ruined my entire life."
"What's your point?"
"My point is, is that if your daughter ever wants to see Nick Stokes alive ever again then you'd better start doing a little bit better with the questions."
"Look, please… I don't give a damn about anyone else in this limo. I just want my friend back." Catherine started as her eyes glared intently at the man sitting across from them.
"Ok, Miss Willows. Your concern about your friend is well noted, and since time is of the essence for him I suppose I can get the ball rolling. My name, Mr. Braun, is Edward Donovan. Ring any bells?"
"Actually, now that you mention it the name does. That was years ago, and you were the one who betrayed me! I merely…"
"You merely what? What you did was ruin me! You ran off with my money, and I had done nothing to you!"
"That's it, just shut up!" Catherine yelled, unable to control her anger anymore. "Like I said before, I don't give a damn about your problem, why in the hell can't you just give me Nick, and you can settle this while I get him to a hospital! There is a life at stake here, and you two are bickering over something that happened years ago! So here… here's your God damn money, now where is Nick?"
"Catherine… you just don't understand how this is going to go down…"
"On the contrary, I know exactly how this is going to go down, and I want my friend back. He's all that really matters right now. He's a human being for God's sake! He doesn't deserve to be treated like some damn object!" She shot back quickly, relying on her attitude to pull her through this with Nick still alive. God Nick… just hold on…
"I'm… sorry…" Grissom's head snapped back up to the screen when he heard the words. Nick hadn't actually spoken except for when he had cried out 'No' before the knife had been thrust into his arm. His eyes watched as he noticed the Texan was looking directly at the camera lens.
"I tried my best to save her… T-they told me y-you guys were watching… I-I'm so sorry Grissom… I'm sorry… I… let you down… disa-disappointed you… I'm so sorry…" His words broke down into sobs, as the pain seemed to overcome him once more. Grissom felt his own hands touch the screen, and he felt a shiver run through him when he only felt the cold, hard screen. He's dying. He's dying right in front of me, and I can't do anything for him.
"Sir, you can pull off here, and let Miss Willows out, I think she'll appreciate our generosity." He smiled as the limo pulled to a stop, and the driver got out and opened the door. She could see they were stopped at a large warehouse, and she looked around cautiously. "I'd suggest you move, Catherine, your friend is in there dying."
She took a deep breath and quickly scrambled out of the limousine as fast as she could. Her eyes never looked back at her father as she raced towards the nearest entrance. From behind her she could hear the limo pull away, and with a quick glance back she realized she was alone. I'm sorry, Sam, but I have to find him… Her eyes searched frantically around for any sort of sign of where she was, and she finally saw a sign that read "Property of Edward Donovan" her eyes quickly moved on to the door as she twisted the handle.
Grissom doubted he had ever felt so scared in all his life as Nick began to talk again, "I-I… need… to say goodbye… to everyone… Mom… Cisco… my brother… sisters… You guys at the l-lab…" His voice went silent for a moment as he gasped for more air, "Warrick… my b-b-best friend… Sara… Greg… I wanted to say… sorry… Grissom… and Cath… I-I hope you know… I tried my b-b-best to save her… I hope… she… made it…" Finally his head fell back, and his eyes slowly began to close. No Nick… no! You can make it… she's coming for you right now… please… hold on… He had become so wrapped up that he hadn't noticed the three remaining members of the team standing silently behind them.
Catherine didn't bother looking for any of Donovan's possible henchmen. Her eyes searched only for Nick as she hurried down a hallway, checking every door. Then she heard him. She could hear someone's voice coming weakly from the room at the end of the hall.
"Nick!" She didn't care if anyone heard her. All she could think of was getting to Nick's side, and helping him. I'm coming Nick!
Grissom suddenly grabbed the arm rests of his chair when he could have sworn he had heard Catherine yell 'Nick!'. Maybe she's already there… hold on Nick… He felt tears streaming down his face when he saw that Nick had finally stopped moving, and his hand was no longer held up against the Plexiglas lid. Instead it was lying immobile over his dirt-covered shirt.
"Nicky! Hold on, I'm coming for you!" she tried the final door only to find it locked. Like hell some damn door is going to stop me now! She flung herself into the door as hard as she could, and gritted her teeth as she felt her arm twinge with pain. She leapt into it again, and she would've smiled if she hadn't seen Nick's unmoving form lying in his coffin across the room.
Grissom had never felt so relieved when he saw Catherine's hands come into the screen as they tried to pry the lid open. Move faster Catherine! Come on… tell us where you are!
Her first focus was on Nick, and she gritted her teeth as she forced the surprisingly heavy lid off and she heard it crack when it hit the ground. She had seen that he had stopped breathing and she instantly moved to check his pulse. His heart is still beating… without hesitating she began to breath at the proper intervals into Nick's mouth. She looked up quickly and noticed the camera, and immediately realized that she should have told them where they were already.
"Grissom! He's in a warehouse owned by an Edward Donovan! I don't know where it is exactly, but that's where we are! We're going to need an ambulance!"
"You heard her!" Grissom yelled, he was suddenly back in motion as he reached for the nearest computer and ran the search. "They're here!" He yelled loudly as the search provided the address on the screen.
Catherine checked Nick's pulse once more, and froze. Come on Nicky… hold on… This time she started CPR, and after so many compressions she once more closed her mouth around Nick's and sent another steady breath of air into him. Please Nick… You can make it… please… She barely heard the sirens as she continued trying to desperately make her friend breathe.
Suddenly yelling paramedics surrounded them, and she felt herself being pulled away from Nick as they carefully lifted his still bleeding body was set gently onto a gurney. She quickly followed as they led him to an ambulance, and Warrick and Sara greeted her at the entrance to the warehouse.
"How is he?" Warrick yelled after her as she hurriedly climbed into the ambulance after the paramedics and Nick had settled in and were already back to giving him CPR while another paramedic hurriedly tried to stop him from losing even more blood.
"I honestly don't know…" she managed to choke out as she climbed in. "You guys need to start processing; they dropped me off and took off with Sam Braun… I didn't give a damn before, because of Nick, but please… find him…"
"We will, Catherine… take good care of him!"
"I will, Warrick. I promise…" She called out, and she caught a final glimpse of the scared look on Warrick's face as he saw how pale Nick was. Now that she really could see him she really noticed how pale he was. The only people she had seen so pale had always been dead. Come on Nick… you can make it… But as she looked at his dirt and blood covered body she found herself wondering if it was true.
"Grissom."
"Hey, Griss. We're down here at that warehouse, thought you might want to join us. Seeing that Sam Braun is still missing."
"Well, I've got to go have a little fight with Ecklie, and then I'm heading over to the hospital to check on Nick and Catherine. After that I'll be there. Ok?"
"Sure thing man… and…"
"What is it Warrick?"
"I'm so scared Griss… promise me you'll call whenever you hear something on Nick's condition… promise me…"
"I promise you'll be the first person I call Warrick. I swear…"
"Ok… thanks…"
"I better get going, or Ecklie is going to be even harder to deal with…" He finished as he quickly hung up, and headed for Ecklie's office. I hope he doesn't do anything rash…
Catherine sat in silence as her eyes watched through the glass window. There had to be at least a dozen tubes sticking into Nick. He had a large pipe in his throat that was letting him breathe, while his IV provided him with the nutrients he needed. Another pipe was sending antibiotics into his system to fight off the infections around his arm and ankle. She sighed as she eyed the bloodied bag of ice that was being used to try to slow the swelling so they could better repair the damage to his leg just above his ankle where he had been shot. She felt like she was back to watching him on the computer monitor, but this time she knew he wasn't alone.
The doctor had noticed how long the stunningly attractive redhead had been staring through the window. He motioned for one of the nurses to come over and take over his current task, and he slowly headed for the door.
"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?"
"I… I'm Catherine Willows… I work with him…"
"Ah, so you're the one who gave the paramedics his brief medical history on the way over."
"Yeah… how… how is he? Please say that he's going to be ok…" She felt her voice wavering, but she needed to know.
"I believe he should be fine. He put a tremendous amount of strain on his left foot, but it should heal over time. And his arm will take longer to heal, but he'll regain full movement of it faster. He's undergoing numerous blood transfusions, and we're trying to get more blood into him, which is proving difficult, due to the swelling in his left ankle it's disrupting our abilities to fully stop the flow of blood from his gunshot wound. I hate to say it, but if he makes it… he may never walk again."
"Oh God…" Catherine leant forward and rested her forehead against the glass windows as she started to cry once more. "He ran… he ran for eight miles on that leg… just to save my daughter… and now he… he might never walk again…"
He was stunned by the news, and judging by the look on her face he knew better than to question her honesty. I suppose that explains the extra strain on his leg… God… eight miles? I guess people will never cease to amaze me…
He carefully gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before he went back into the room, and placed a clean icepack on his patient's ankle. He quickly moved over to check the man's vitals and gave a slight smile when he saw they were slowly becoming more stable. He looked at the man's still pale face and sighed. Without saying a word he took a small washcloth from a drawer, and rinsed it with water. He slowly began to wash away the dirt on the man's forehead, and he looked up in surprise as he saw Catherine had come in, and had also grabbed a cloth to wipe away the patches of dirt and blood. You're a lucky man, Mr. Stokes… you certainly have friends who care about you more than they care about life itself…
Catherine looked sorrowfully at her friend. There was no denying that her trust and respect for him was deeper than she had ever thought possible. Of course I would never expect someone to do so much for Lindsey… and for me. I can't thank you enough Nick… and if you get better I'll owe you even more… Thank you so much… you saved my daughter from who knows what. You subjected yourself to this, for me… I love you for that… I'll never be able to pay you back for this… never… and if you get better, well… I promise I'll make it up to you… somehow…
To Be Continued…
Notes: Whew! I almost didn't finish, but thanks to your great reviews I kept going on it! I should have another update by Tuesday, or if you're lucky maybe even tomorrow, except I'm planning on spending tomorrow writing my next chapter for An Unfair Act Of Vengeance. Hope you're enjoying this story, and I hope you decide to read my other two. As always I look forward to reading your reviews!
Next Chapter: Catherine waits with Nick at the hospital while the team searches for Sam Braun.
