A/N: Wow! This is a record amount of posts for me! Three! Thanks so much! Good guesses on who the Watcher is. Of course, I'm not telling ya if yer right or wrong. Notgiving it away for a few more chapters. There are a couple of clues here and there. Keep those thinking caps on!

(A bit of violence in this installment and some potty-mouths. lol()

Disclaimer: Still don't own the CSI's or Duncan. I do own the bad guy...but he's starting to look a lot like an actor I know... Oh well, on with the show!

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"So, is this why you've been so protective of us?" Greg questioned as the three men entered the locker room.

"I don't want any of my friends to get hurt. I treat you no different than I treat any of the others." Warrick's tone was quiet and reserved. "Let's save this conversation for later, huh Greg?" He looked meaningfully at the other occupants of the room. As if knowing they were the topic of someone's attention, Archie and Hodges looked up.

Archie gave a small wave of greeting. Hodge's natural scowl turned up into a snarl. "Only Hodges could make a snarl seem like a friendly greeting." Warrick thought to himself. With a snort, he turned his attention to his locker contents. He really wasn't in the mood to harass Hodges as he normally would have.

Warrick was jittery and he didn't like the feeling. He had nearly growled at Gil when the man handed out assignments. For some reason, he didn't want Nick nor Greg out of his sight. He got his wish with Greg, Grissom had assigned them to the same 419, but Nick had been given his own 419 with Catherine across town. Warrick didn't like that. He didn't have any way to explain himself without seeming completely off his rocker to everyone involved.

Unable to explain the irrational fear to himself, much less to Gil, he'd had to hold himself in check. He'd muttered to Nick to watch himself, but there was nothing else he could do. Nick had given him an easy-going grin and brushed his worries off. Nick was tired of being spooked by the shadows. He wasn't going to do it anymore. He wasn't going to let his best friends reservations affect the way he lived his life.

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Warrick was acting strange. The watcher thought, watching the man in question bustle Greg out of the lab. Warrick was being surly and irritable, which, for the most part, was unlike Warrick. The only time he was like that was when he was being pressured, like a tough case. The watcher hadn't heard of anyone having a tough case, so he didn't think that was the problem.

He'd gotten an email from Joe Dawson, who had promised to get back to him as soon as possible. Dawson had assured him, that as far as he knew, Warrick was not in any danger from MacLeod. The watcher thought that was a weird comment from a fellow watcher, although it did relieve him somewhat. A watcher wasn't supposed to care whether his Immortal lived or died. They were supposed to be impartial, only there to document.

He had heard about Dawson. Dawson was a rule breaker. Not only had he become friends with MacLeod, but MacLeod knew who he was. He knew what he was. They had even worked together on some problem Immortals. Because of these actions, Dawson was not very popular in the Watcher ranks.

The Watcher understood Dawson's reasoning's. He knew Warrick was a good man, mortal or immortal. He respected him as a man, as a CSI and as an Immortal. If push came to shove, he knew he would help Warrick out, even if it meant disgracing himself as a Watcher. If he had to chose between his career as a Watcher and his friend's life, he would chose Warrick. There was no doubt in his mind about that.

He suddenly was eager to talk to Dawson. Perhaps he could get some pointers on how to help Warrick out, should the need arise.

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A sly smile spread across his face as he watched Warrick and the kid climb into the Denali. Who his victim would be was now clear. He let them drive off without another thought. His thoughts were focused on the third one and what he would do to him. Should he make it quick or play with him a little while? Stab him? Shoot him? Slice and dice? No matter what, there would be a lot of blood.

He watched the man come out of the building with the sexy redhead. He liked her. He had seen her with Warrick. Warrick liked her. He would have to use her. He would hurt her and perhaps leave her to tell Warrick about it. That would be fun. He hadn't toyed with any of his victims in centuries. Yeah, this was going to be fun. He started his truck to follow the smiling pair. Soon, he would be the only one smiling. He could taste their fear. His mouth watered for the taste of their blood.

This was going to be fun!

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Nick climbed out of the Denali at the crime scene. Catherine gave him a quizzical look as they dug their cases out of the back. She'd been giving him those looks since they had gotten their assignment. It was growing old and he was getting tired of it. "What is it Cath?"

"Just curious about what's going on with Warrick. He sort of lost it earlier. I've never seen him…..so pissed at Gil." Catherine hedged, hoping that Nick would explain it to her.

"He's just….." Nick shrugged, trying to figure out a good way to explain it. "He's being excessively protective lately. He thinks he needs to baby-sit me." Nick felt a little embarrassed and mentally vowed to get even with the man for causing such an uproar.

"Yeah but why? I mean, I expected it last year, but he had abandoned the Superman act. Today…..was beyond that. You and he… You're not…… You know…."Catherine seemed to blush, which was not something Catherine Willows often did. "You're not doing the Brokeback Mountain…..thing? Are you?"

"Oh God!" Nick nearly tripped and dropped his case. "Shit! Cath!….. Oh, God! No!"

"Good." Catherine grinned and Nick saw that she had only been trying to get a reaction out of him. He had been gullible enough to let her ruffle his feathers.

"You're heartless." He hissed before turning to where the officer was waiting for them. Catherine's soft laughter followed him. With everything that he had learned and experienced the past 24 hours, he wasn't in the mood to be heckled.

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"Don't you think you overreacted just a little bit?" Greg probed as he and Warrick made their way to their own D.B. Warrick didn't answer with words. His glare was enough to get Greg to lay off. Greg pouted slightly, he hated being in trouble. No matter who it was, they always seemed to get irritated with his non-stop questions. Everyone, except Nick, Nick didn't get irritated with him. He would just give him a grin, answer the question and wait for the next one. But that was just Nick.

This was Warrick, who had patiently taught him how to be a good CSI and had now vowed to teach him to be a good Immortal. Upon waking this morning, he had been full of new questions about immortality. Warrick had given him one of his cool Warrick Brown looks and told him that after work they would begin the training.

This whole thing intrigued him. To think that he wouldn't die and he would spend the rest of eternity battling others for the right to control the world. It was like some science fiction show on television. Something Archie would watch. It was cool and it was scary at the same time. As he thought about it, he realized that this explained a lot about the way Warrick Brown was. The way Warrick never seemed to be surprised at what life dealt them. The way he seemed so intense and laid-back at the same time.

"Start working the scene." Warrick barked quietly. "I gotta make a phone call and then I'll join ya."

Without waiting for an answer, Warrick wandered away, his cell phone to his ear. Greg guessed he was calling Nick, which would only make Nick irritated. Nick did not like to be babied and felt that he did not need to be protected. Greg watched as Warrick spoke into the phone. Nick, or whoever was on the phone, wasn't giving him the answers he wanted. Greg decided to get to work, so Warrick would have no reason to take out his displeasure on him.

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This was perfect. His prey was in plain sight. The woman had disappeared into the house with the friggin' cop, leaving his prey alone. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Slipping closer, he slid between the cars of the cop and the investigators. The man had his back to him. This was almost too easy.

Pouncing forward, he had his knife to the man's throat before the man knew what had hit him. With a swift, practiced move, he threw the man to the ground. His breath flew out of him at the impact with a sharp grunt. His quarry flopped around, as if trying to find purchase, but he was too quick for him. He had the knife to his throat and a knee to his chest, holding him down.

"Wha?" The victim grunted. "What do you want with me?"

"To kill you, of course." He boasted, he felt a tremor of fear in the man below him and enjoyed it. "I want to make you hurt. Make you bleed. I want to bleed until it sucks every ounce of life out of you. I want to see you die. I want to taste your blood!" He could smell the fear emitting from his victim. This was a good feeling, causing such fear in someone else. He slid the knife across the man's jaw. Crimson blood beckoned to him and he leaned down to lick it up with his tongue.

"You sick fuck." His victim grunted in disgust.

"Nicky!" The woman screamed from behind him. In his excitement of grabbing the man, he had forgotten about the woman, and now she had alerted the cop. He would have to deal with them before he could play with his victim.

"Damn woman!" He growled, jumping to his feet. He had to deal with the others before he continue. He slamming the knife into the man in order to hold him still. It was just enough to keep 'Nicky' occupied while he dealt with the screeching woman. He spun to face the charging woman as he sensed another approaching. This was not how he planned it!

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Don'tcha hate cliffhangers? TBC...