DISCLAIMER:Don't own it... No money made... Just for fun and enjoyment.
SUMMARY: Sequel to Displacement. The CSI team and their recently hired coroner Stephanie are back to work solving cases, sharing companionship and generally making their way through the dire world of criminal investigation with humor and friendship... This one will show the development of the relationship between Grissom and Sara and there should be some other surprises down the road as well. Romance/Drama/Angst/Mature Situations
RATING: M for Mature - I'm starting this one out at "M", since we won't be waiting quite so long for the smut this time out ;) Also, there is a sprinkling of language throughout the story.
A/N: I just couldn't resist a hungover buddy chapter. :)
REVIEWS: I am always looking for ways to improve my writing, and your reviews let me know if I am hitting my mark. Thank you in advance for the time you take to review this story.
Chapter 25
Daylight was already waning once again by the time anyone stirred in the home of Nick Stokes. The volume of alcohol consumed by those three men should have been illegal, and punishable by imprisonment. However, the only punishment Warrick received was the throbbing pain in his head, and the unquenchable cotton mouth that he was suffering through, as he winced with the sound of each drop of water through the coffee maker. He had been woken up by the sounds of heavy footfalls rushing past his head, and the unmistakable treat of hearing another person hurling their stomach contents into a porcelain fixture.
He had not been sure if it was Nick or Greg who had run past him, as he hung off the edge of the couch, but the groans which followed the reversed gears in the bathroom let him know that it had been Greg. And with great reluctance, he had lifted his head from the couch with one eye open, only to find Nick sprawled from arm to arm in his giant overstuffed chair. Warrick knew no one was going to recover without coffee, so he made it his mission to start the lifeblood flowing on that day.
When the smell started to drift away from the coffee maker and out into the living room, Nick had finally stirred from his awkward sleeping position and stumbled to his feet. He yawned widely and then grabbed his head to shunt away the pain that followed his yawn. "Damn! That hurts."
"I feel ya, brother." Warrick looked up to find Nick trudging into the kitchen, and then he took the seat opposite him at the breakfast bar. He pushed the bottle of Tylenol across the counter towards Nick, "Coffee'll be ready soon, but that'll get you started, man."
Nick looked at him through seriously squinted eyes and fumbled for the bottle of pain reliever. Once he had it in his hands, the sounds of Greg's digestive pyrotechnics caught his immediate attention, "Aww, man… Little buddy's got it bad, huh?"
Warrick nodded slightly, "Yeah, been at it about an hour."
Nick slugged back two of the Tylenol dry and said, "Note to self: Never let Greggo party with biker chicks."
The two men were chuckling when they heard a faint voice coming from the bathroom, "That's not funny." There was a pause, but then they heard the voice say, "And you could have told me they were lesbian biker chicks, ya know."
Both men were laughing that time, but Nick turned and called out, "Bro, don't make me laugh so hard when I'm hungover, man." When he returned his gaze to the counter, he found Warrick pouring two cups of coffee and it gave him cause to smile. "Aww, man… That's gonna taste so good."
"Tell me about it." They were both taking their first sips when a blaring noise shook them to their cores. When Warrick looked down, he reluctantly realized that it was his pager going off. "Fuck!"
"You gotta be kiddin' me? No way they're callin' you in already!"
Warrick clumsily took the pager off of his belt and brought it up to his eyes, squinting through the alcohol fog over his brain and said, "Nah… Just Steph." He dropped the pager onto the counter top, "Looks like she got stuck in the lab today… She needs me to pick up some stuff for her before I go in tonight."
Nick nodded as he took another drink of his coffee, but it was quickly followed by a puzzled expression, "How come she didn't just call you, bro?"
Warrick shrugged off his concern. "One of those things is her phone charger."
Nick demurred to his answer. "So, how's it workin' out? Ya know, you being over there, and all…"
Warrick's expression showed his acceptance. "Oddly enough… It's been great. Playin' a bunch of pickup games with Thomas at two in the morning. Steph's got this way in the kitchen, man… I'm tellin' ya, I've already put on weight just being there a couple weeks. And honestly, I haven't felt that welcome someplace in quite a while. Plus, Stephanie has been a huge help with the divorce stuff."
Nick's expression had turned pensive. "So, you're really goin' through with it?"
"Are you kidding me? The bitch has been cheatin' on me, runnin' up bills and then tried to walk away with my damn savings? You better believe I'm goin' through with it!" Warrick's anger appeared to have been a good cure for a hangover, because after his outburst, his headache seemed to have vanished.
"Damn, bro… I had no idea it was that bad." Nick shook his head with disbelief at the depths his friend's marriage had fallen apart in a couple of weeks. "Well, you know I got your back if you need anything, man."
"Thanks, man… My lawyer's pretty sure it won't ever see the inside of a court. He's got so much dirt on that bitch, you could plant her." Warrick had been holding much of that anger in check until Nick had brought it up. He had already felt like a burden on Thomas and Stephanie, so he did not want to show too much of his anger. But there, with Nick, he felt safe expressing his hatred for the woman that had robbed him of more than a year of his life. "I just can't believe I screwed up that bad, Nick."
"Don't sweat it, bro… Love makes us all do some pretty stupid stuff now and then."
Warrick looked up at Nick spoke with his eyes slightly squinted, "Like fallin' for hookers?"
Nick laughed and then agreed, "Yeah, like fallin' for hookers… Or makin' puppy dog eyes at someone who's in love with somebody else for years." Nick said that last part loud enough to insure that Greg had heard him.
"That's not funny, either… You guys could have told me that, too." Greg's voice sounded less muffled, so they assumed he had opened the bathroom door.
"Dude! Everyone told you not to waste your time… Even Cath told you to back down, man." Nick hollered back to the bathroom.
It was silent for a minute and then they heard Greg say, "Oh yeah… Nick's right, Warrick. Love turns you into an idiot." The two men in the kitchen laughed at the younger man's response.
Warrick drained the last of the coffee from his cup and looked down at his watch, "Well, as much as I would love to watch football and hang out with you two hooligans… I gotta get cleaned up, grab that stuff for Steph and grab some dinner for both of us before gettin' to work tonight." He pointed at Nick and asked, "Rain check on the football for next weekend?"
Nick smiled and said, "You got it, bro. Take care now."
Warrick answered him as he was walking out the door, "Always do, my brother… I always do."
