A/N: I must apologize for not thanking my reviewers last chapter. I had a record number of reviews and fanficiton being down got me so down that I forgot to thank you guys. My bad, I admit. Even with my lack of verbal or, written appreciation please know that you have really helped me along.

Okay, here goes...

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"I need access to a computer." Joe stated as the remains of the food were cleared away. "Do any of you have a laptop? Mine is in the shop, or I would have brought mine." He looked around expectantly at the three CSI's. They had the nerve to look embarrassed as they shook their heads to the negative. "No? None of you have a laptop?"

"We have computers at work, so we've never really needed our own personal computer." Greg rationalized, as if that explained it all. "Most of the time, when we are not at work, we're sleeping. No real need for a computer."

"I used to have a computer at home, but I had a bad experience with someone hacking into it…and my life. After that, I got rid of it." Nick admitted. He didn't think he would ever get over the experience of having a stalker. After all that, he learns that not only will he live forever, but will forever have a stalker.

"Where can I get access to a computer?" Joe questioned impatiently.

"Public Library?" Greg offered innocently, happy that he had a suggestion when the others did not.

"No good. You can't access Watcher files from a public computer." Joe frowned at Greg, as if he should know this information. As if he should know better than to suggest something so ridiculous. "Anyone you know have a computer? Someone you trust."

Nick and Greg exchanged looks and shrugged in confusion. Warrick wandered back over to the group, listening to the conversation.

"Geez! What century are you guys in?" Richie chuckled. Greg suddenly had a look of dawning on his face at the young Immortals' words. That was a phrase another had used on him before.

"Archie has one." Greg finally announced albeit reluctantly because of Warrick's newfound irritation with the lab-tech. "He's always talking about all the bytes and gigs it has."

"I am not asking HIM for help!" Warrick thundered. Greg took an involuntary step backwards, blinking wide-eyed. He wasn't sure what to make of this new Warrick. He'd never experienced Warrick so explosive. He didn't want to be the one to learn what would push him over the edge he seemed to be on.

"Warrick." Nick's voice was calm, almost soothing as he spoke to his friend. Nick was always the one able to calm Warrick down, unless he was the one to upset him. When it was Nick that set Warrick off, it fell upon Catherine to smooth things over. "Archie is our friend. No matter what else he may be, he's our friend."

"He's no longer my friend." Warrick looked over at the wounded man. The expression on his face was twisted, showing the conflicting emotions. Greg could see how betrayed Warrick was feeling and felt a twinge of anger at Archie. Warrick didn't trust easily and he had trusted Archie. Warrick didn't make friends easily and he had accepted Archie as a friend. He had let him into his life and into his home. Greg understood how Warrick could feel wronged by Archie. "Obviously, he has never been my friend! We are not asking him for help!"

"I'm sorry? Just when did you become my king and commander?" Nick spat back. Warrick's look darkened to one of pure anger, but he said nothing.

Nick held Warrick's gaze without backing down. Warrick may be a pro at staring someone down, but Nick Stokes was never one to back down from Warrick's anger. Finally, Warrick relented. "I won't ask that man for help!" His back rigid with anger, he stalked back across the room to be by himself.

"Well, he's still my friend!" Nick called after him. He didn't seem to be afraid of causing Warrick to completely lose his cool. It always amazed Greg how these two could constantly be at one another's throat, piss each other off and still remain the best of friends. "I'll ask him for help."

"Nick!" Warrick spun back towards them, fists clenching at his sides. The glare he was aiming at his friend made Greg feel a tremor of fear run through him. He was glad the anger was not aimed towards him.

"Warrick." Nick sighed, his voice returning to calm. "Right now we can't afford to let personal feelings get in the way. This isn't just about you. Greg and I have a say in this too. We'd like to get back to our lives."

"I'm not asking him!" Warrick flared angrily, but by looking at all of his friends' expressions, he saw that he was losing the battle. Finally, he conceded, "He had better stay out of my way!"

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Catherine stalked across the parking lot and into the motel room. It was her one day off and she'd been called in. She was livid. She saw the object of her discontentment as soon as she entered the room. Gil Grissom looked up from the body and rose as she approached.

"I'm sorry Catherine." Was all he said. How dare he apologize! Catherine thought angrily. That was uncalled for! That was playing dirty! She glared at him again.

"It's not fair to apologize to me when I'm all prepared to yell at you." She snapped. Gil blinked in surprise at her tone and it made her feel a little better about not getting to yell at him.

"Sorry?" He questioned, unsure if he would be in trouble for apologizing once again, or if this one was okay. He looked perplexed. The complexities of human emotions seemed to be the bane of his existence. He would never fully understand them, which meant the complexity of a woman's emotions was eons away from his grasp.

"Gil, You'll never get it, so don't try." Catherine sighed in exasperation. "What have we got? What do you want me to do?"

"Woman in her mid-thirties found mutilated. Room is registered to a Cyndi Lamarax. Haven't found any I.D, but even if we had it there's no way to know for sure until Al has her in his lab. There's nothing even remotely human-like left on the body." Grissom gave her the rundown, lifting the sheet to let her have a look at the gruesome remains.

Catherine frowned across the room at what looked like to be another body under a white sheet. "If this is the woman…..who is that?"

"Child. Male, approximately eight years old. Ms. Lamarax checked in with two children." Gil replied stiffly. Catherine's frown increased as she walked across the small room and squatted next to the sheet covered body. Slapping on a pair of latex gloves, she took a deep breath and peeled back the sheet. A dead child was what all CSI's dreaded the most, and Catherine was no exception.

The child didn't look mutilated like the other body. The boy looked like he was sleeping; his eyes had even been closed. "Did someone close his eyes?"

"Responding officer claims to have just checked for vitals and that was it." Grissom was suddenly looking over her shoulder.

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Archie Johnson turned and glared at his phone as it rang. He was tired and he was cranky. He still couldn't find Warrick and was beginning to get frantic about it. If you lost your Immortal, you weren't that good of a Watcher. Joe Dawson hadn't contacted him as he had said he would, so he was out of luck finding out if Warrick was with the other Immortal. He really didn't want to have to report to the Watchers that he had lost his subject. They didn't take kindly to mistakes such as that.

The phone rang again and he reached for it. The number on the LCD screen was not one that he recognized. Perhaps it would be Dawson. "Johnson."

"Hey, Arch." A familiar Texan twanged in his ear.

"Ni-"

"Unless you're alone, don't announce that it's me." Nick cut him off with the warning. "Are you alone?"

"No." Archie looked across the break room where Hodges was eating his lunch. The other labrat didn't act as if he was paying any attention to him, but Archie knew that Hodges was a brown-noser, he was liable to be eavesdropping just to see if there was something he could go running to Grissom about. He cleared his throat, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. It seemed like he'd just stepped into a B-movie. "Something I can do for you, Babe?"

"Yep." A short chuckle accompanied the reply. Nick's Texas accent seemed to be turned up on high as he spoke to Archie. "My friends and I are in some deep shit. We need you to supply the shovels to dig ourselves out with...Darling."

"What do you need?" Archie got up and headed out of the room, hoping to look casual about it. He wondered where to go to be in private. Suspicions would rise if he went into a closet for a phone call. His lab was full as the dayshift was working on video surveillance of a drugstore robbery. Finally, he strolled down the hall and into the bathroom. He checked the stalls to make sure he was alone before locking the main door. Just to be on the safe side, he leaned against the door.

"For starters, I have a friend in need of a computer. Any chance we can get a hold of your laptop? Away from work and away from your home?"

"Yeah, I've got my laptop with me. Just tell me when and where." Archie agreed eagerly. He was eager to get back on Warrick's trail, but equally as important, he wanted to make sure his three missing friends were all okay. "And who….I guess."

"Well, before we get into that…..I think I should warn you. Your secret is out." Nick informed him bluntly.

"My secret?" Archie frowned in confusion, wondering what Nick could be talking about. He couldn't think of any secret he had that Nick would know about.

"Yes, your secret. You've kept a secret from us. Warrick's kept a secret from us that you knew about…….Now I know both of your secrets and I have one of my own." Nick chortled, trying to sound sinister, but his Texas drawl only made him sound playful instead.

"M-m-my secret?" Archie stuttered, there was only one secret of Warrick's that he knew about. That meant that something had happened to cause Warrick to reveal what he really was. Had Dawson lied about MacLeod being a friend of Warrick's? Had the big brute attacked Warrick in front of Nick? Questions swirled in the technicians head. Warrick must be safe by the sound of Nick. If something had happened to the CSI, Nick would have fallen apart.

"Yes. You have the clue to your secret written in blue. You wear that answer under your watchband." Nick taunted.

Archie felt his heart rate drop as his gaze dropped down to his wrist. His Watcher tattoo glared back at him. The answer was, indeed, written in blue. "Oh! Oh, geez. Does HE know?"

"Yeah." Nick's voice was soft, as if he were suddenly feeling sympathy for him.

"Is he mad?" Archie asked, feeling stupid as soon as the words left his mouth. Of course Warrick Brown was mad! Warrick would be beyond mad. He would…..be out for blood, Archie Johnson's blood!

"Well, you don't need a flack jacket yet……but a restraining order might come in handy." Nick sounded compassionate, which Archie took as a good sign. If Nick wasn't mad, then perhaps he might keep Warrick from tearing him limb from limb.

"I never meant any harm." The Asian began to explain. The more he could convince Nick to be on his side, the better. "He's really a good guy. I would never use any of this against him-"

"Look, save it for when he confronts you. I know you well enough to know you're not trying to hurt him. Heck, Warrick knows it too. He's just angry and a little hurt right now. He'll come around. He just needs a little time to cool off, don't worry. He's a little overly stressed right now. He feels like you've betrayed him. Perhaps, if you can help us out of our jam, he'll be able to see what's what."

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tbc...