Disclaimer: see first chapter
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone that has reviewed so far! This fic is definitely much different than what I usually write, and since there is more focus on the legal/forensic stuff than is custom in my stories (I'm all about character interaction :) ), I'm trying my best to be accurate, but if something is glaringly wrong, let me know and I'll try to fix it.
Nick sat not so patiently in the waiting room, waiting for the nurse to return from performing the SART exam. He hadn't wanted to leave Sara alone in the exam room, but he knew that it would have been worse for her with him there.
She hadn't said much of anything in the car, and Nick didn't want to press her for anything that she wasn't ready for. He had been able to operate on autopilot, driving back to Vegas and checking her into the Emergency Department at Desert Palm, but now that he was left with his own thoughts, Nick could feel his anger returning. The idea that someone had hurt Sara left him seething. He had no idea what had happened in that house, but he knew that Catherine had been right; this situation had the potential to get very ugly very fast. The investigation into Kristy Hopkins's murder had taught him that. And he wasn't sure what kind of shape she was going to be in emotionally once she left the hospital.
Nick made a vow then and there that he was going to get her through this, no matter what. There was no doubt in his mind, that whatever had happened had been provoked, and had been accidental. Sara would never willingly take a life.
"Mr. Stokes?" Nick heard his name being called, and he turned his attention to the nurse in front of him. "You can go back in now." He jumped from his seat and quickly followed the nurse to the exam room in the back of the Emergency Department.
Sara was sitting up in the bed, covered by a hospital gown and a thin blanket. Her head was down, staring at the hands lying limply in her lap. Nick knocked softly on the door, only entering when Sara's eyes darted up.
He eased himself into the chair next to her bed, waiting a moment before reaching out and gently grasping one of her hands in his. She looked frightened for a moment, but quickly relaxed. Nick rubbed gentle circles across her knuckles, watching her fidget with the edge of the blanket.
"Sara…I'm so sorry," he whispered. She nodded, her glassy eyes leaking a few tears down her cheeks as she returned her gaze to her lap, concentrating on Nick's hand entwined with hers. "Detective Reynolds should be here soon, and then I can take you home."
Nick squeezed her hand gently, continuing to rub circles over her knuckles. He took the opportunity to study her, as her attention was directed towards her lap. She definitely had the makings of a black eye, and some more bruising around her cheek. The cut on her forehead had been cleaned out and covered, but Nick could assume by the size of the bandage that it was pretty big. He couldn't help but feel sickened as he noticed the bruises forming distinctly on her neck.
What worried him the most, however, was the blank stare. Nick had known Sara for several years; he thought he had gotten to know her fairly well. One thing that could always be said about Sara was that she was passionate. She was incapable of hiding the emotion in her eyes, but for the first time, Nick could see nothing but numbness. Fear, or even anger, Nick would have been able to work with; but the blank look in her eyes gave him nothing.
A quiet knock on the door brought Nick from his thoughts and directed his attention to the doorway. Detective Reynolds was standing there with a somber expression on his face as he regarded the scene in front of him.
"Sar, I'm just gonna go talk to Detective Reynolds for a second…is that okay?" When he didn't get a response the first time, he repeated his question again softly, squeezing her hand again. This time she nodded, but Nick noted with a tug at his heart, that she wouldn't quite let go of his hand when he gently tried to untangle them. "I'll be right back, I promise."
Nick closed the door behind him, finding Reynolds leaning against the wall across the hallway.
"I'm sorry…I didn't know that she was one of you guys…"
Nick leaned up against the wall next to Reynolds, rubbing his hand over his head. "It's okay, I'm sure Catherine took control pretty quick."
"Yeah, that should have told me something was up…she was there thirty seconds before she hauled every male officer out of there. I don't think any of the other guys even got a good look at who it was."
"That's probably a good thing…the fewer people that are involved in this, the better." Nick sighed before his next question. "Where're we at?"
"Well…looks like it was self defense, but without results from the SART exam…the sheriff is going to scrutinize this case, every single detail. All I could get was that he's lived at that residence about ten months, the neighbors didn't hear a thing, and that it seems that Mr. Trelling was quite popular with the ladies…seemed he had a different girlfriend every couple weeks."
Nick prayed that Dr. Robbins and Catherine would find out more than that. "The kit should be ready to be picked up, I should call Catherine."
"When I left, she was packing up…I think she was heading here after she dropped the evidence back at the lab." Reynolds paused before his next question, the look on his face not quite readable to Nick. "Was she sexually assaulted?"
Nick sighed. "She hasn't told me, and honestly, I haven't been able to ask her yet…but I think so. Something happened."
Detective Reynolds shoved one hand into his pocket, looking up at Nick briefly. "What makes you say that?"
"I know her…it's like something inside broke, she's just shut off, and that's not her." Nick didn't expect Reynolds to understand his reasoning, Sara was a complex person on her best days; he had seen her act out, go off on suspects, even her friends, but he had never seen her just shut down.
"What do you say we get this over with?" Reynolds asked nervously. Nick could sense that this was a situation that the detective would rather not be in; Nick could relate.
Nick rapped lightly on the door before opening. He heard Sara call softly, "Come in," before he and Detective Reynolds crossed the threshold.
"Sara, this is Detective Reynolds, he just needs to ask you a few questions about…what happened."
"We met earlier," Sara reminded him softly, toying with the edge of her blanket again. "Nick…could you, I mean…would you wait outside?"
Nick was nearly certain he had been able to keep the hurt expression off of his face long enough to nod and exit the room. Not that Sara would have seen it, with the way that she refused to meet his eyes. Nick made his way back to the waiting room, where Catherine found him sitting fifteen minutes later.
"How's she doing?" Catherine asked, placing a hand on Nick's shoulder and bringing him out of the race of thoughts that were running through his mind.
"I think she's okay, physically at least. I haven't spent much time with her since they took her back." Nick gestured half heartedly towards her room.
"They finish the kit yet?"
"Yeah, Reynolds is in with her now. She, uh, she didn't want me in there."
Catherine settled in next to Nick, rubbing his arm. "Nicky, don't take it personally." Her next question stunned him. "You ever thought about sleeping with her?"
Nick's jaw dropped. "Catherine, I hardly think that's an appropriate question right now…"
"Nicky, answer the question."
He sighed. "The thought has crossed my mind once or twice," he admitted in frustration.
Catherine's voice was gentle as she continued. "That's why you can't be in there right now…you have to realize what an awkward situation this is for her, to have all of her coworkers getting this personal information about her, especially male coworkers. Even ones she's close to. You, Grissom, Greg, Warrick…all of you are close to her, but there's just some stuff she's not going to be able to talk about. We need to let her have some control for now…when she's ready, she knows that you'll be there to listen."
Nick nodded, hoping that Catherine was right; he didn't want to make Sara uncomfortable, but he hoped that she knew that he would be there for her, no matter what.
"So, uh, what did you find at the house?" Nick asked, trying to change the subject.
"Nick, I can't…" Catherine started, but she relented when she saw the look on Nick's face. "Fine," she sighed, "I found some blood and epithelials, probably scalp skin, on the edge of the nightstand, which supports what Sara told me. I noted some fresh abrasions on his knuckles before the coroner took the body, probably from him hitting her. And some scratches on his face." Nick's jaw clenched as Catherine continued. "There was a condom wrapper on the nightstand, and I didn't find one in the trash, so unless he flushed it, it's still on him."
"If he flushed it," Nick answered wearily, "then she would have had the chance to get away."
"Which is why I think it's still on him. I'm hoping that means that he didn't finish whatever he intended…"
"She was still assaulted…doesn't quite matter if he didn't getthe chance to finish," Nick told her quietly, fighting with every word to keep his emotions under control.
Catherine's eyes widened, and she paused for a moment, as if she was deciding whether or not she should share the next piece of information. "I…I found her underwear on the floor, the other side of the bed." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nick wished he had never heard them.
Nick dropped his head to his lap, cradling his forehead in both hands. It was just too much to hear at once. Catherine rubbed his back comfortingly.
"Nicky, are you okay to do this?" she asked quietly. "At the scene, I couldn't ask Grissom…they have too much history, and she needed someone she trusts, someone capable of taking care of her…but if you're not up to this…"
"I'm not leaving her," Nick responded, perhaps a little more forcefully than he intended.
"Okay." Catherine accepted his answer. "I grabbed a change of clothes from her locker, I'm going to go find the nurse and get the kit. Call when you get her settled at home? Or if you need us for anything?"
Nick nodded as he felt Catherine stand up beside him. He lifted his head to watch her walk away, hoping that he would be able to take her home sooner, rather than later.
