Thank you EVEYRONE who responded to the last 2 chapters. Here's another.

It's longer. Enjoy )

Chapter 28-Silent Peace Offerings

His phone burst out in full song causing his headache to split, and him to nearly hit his head on his bed side table. Nick swore as be opened his phone, "Yea?" He asked groggily "What? What time is it- Seven, sure yea I'll come in, be there soon." Nick rolled over and tossed his phone on his pillow, pulling the scrambled sheets from his body.

After downing a mug of coffee, Nick found him self in the break room of the LVPD crime lab and fighting off a killer headache.

"Hmmm, hangovers suck like a bitch." He looked up and caught the site of a thin blonde, Catherine.

He nodded and grunted in agreement, "I'll definitely think twice next time." It had been a long time since he had gotten him self this drunk, about 10 years and figured it would be about another 10 before he'd do it again, IF I do it again.

Catherine laughed and stood in the door way, "Well I'm out for the day. Why are you here now?"

"Grissom called me in, said something about needing me." Nick said standing.

"Oh yea, he's in his office. See ya," And with that Catherine left for home.

Nick followed the blonde's path out the door and turned towards the direction of his bosses' office, but stopped short of it because he heard a familiar voice. He didn't catch any words but the tone, serious. Watching, he saw Alyssa come into view as she parted from Sara and walked into the DNA lab standing across from the new lab tech, Wendy, Greg trotting in shortly after her.

"What have you got?" He heard her ask, taking a few steps forward to hear the conversation. He watched as she pulled a loose piece of hair away from her face and throw it back over the messy make-shift bun, that was held together by nothing but a mere faulty pen. He always wondered how she made it stay up, it always appeared as if it would fall at any given moment, always looked so fragile that one single movement would cause it to break apart into a million tiny brown strands, but it never did, ever, always held secure and strong, jus like its owner.

"Two male donors,"

"On a male? Is that possible?" He watched as her face contorted in confusion, his focus was on the brunette, for he didn't even notice Sara at his side. Watching as the focused women reached for the paper, slipping it from Wendy's hands, and read it over confirming what the tech had already informed her. He kept his eyes on her when she straightened her back and tugged on her soft pink blouse that was tucked into the long black dress pants that hung from her thin waist. She always made sure she looked good and appropriate for work. He remembered arguing with her over the washing machine, he wanted to wash his good luck jersey and she wanted to was her pants for work,

"Why don't we wash them together"? He had asked her

"Because colours and darks can't be washed together, besides, work trumps TV"

"Why can't you wear a pair of your jeans?"

"Because it's WORK Nick not school, you can get away with jeans, but I can't."

They ended up having sex in the laundry room various times after she had stuck her pants in the washing machine.

She had won.

Wendy nodded, speaking in a hushed tone. It must have been funny, he decided, because it caused Alyssa to roll her head back in laughter. He envied how she could just throw away all emotion and act as if nothing has happened, he couldn't do it, ever. He watched as Greg laughed along side her and probably threw in another line causing her to laugh harder and smile, that same smile she previously gave him a few nights back when he kissed her sensitive, no, ticklish spot on her hip.

He jumped when he felt Sara's hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I don't know what happened, and I won't pretend to, but whatever it was, you should talk to her about it."

Nick looked at his friend, Sara, who was glowing today. He had to remember to ask her way later.

"Why? She's happy," He pointed absently towards the lab.

"Yea right, she's been too focused today." Sara sighed and turned to leave Nick to look back towards the DNA and caught Alyssa's eye.

She heard him.

Stepping forward he watched was Alyssa spoke quickly to Greg and Wendy and walked out of the lab, the opposite direction from where Nick was standing. He watched as Greg absent mindedly went after her stopping her just short of the lab doors. Watching as Alyssa fumbled for an answer to her leaving so abruptly, she stuttered, and gently pushed Greg outstretched hand away and apologizing. He kept his eye on her as she turned and stalked off quickly before any more questions were asked, as his friend stuffed his hands in his pocket in defeat and looked in his direction.

He knows.

If he didn't before, he does now, or has and idea.

Nick sighed as Greg turned towards Alyssa's direction and called out her name jogging after her. Nick, in turn, turned to Grissom's office knocking lightly for his boss' attention.

"Nick, thank you for coming in, how are you feeling?" Grissom asked concerned.

Nick nodded, "Better after rest."

Grissom nodded, "Good you're starting fresh, Alyssa's a little worn out, and I don't want her taking on too much." He sighed. "Find her, tell her I say take it easy and ask her for the 411."

Nick nodded slowly. "Who else is on the case?"

"As of now it's Alyssa's, I have a lot of paper works but I'm keeping my hand dipped in it, Sara and Greg's case seem to possibly be connected with ours but we're running it as two separate ones, until we identify both killers then we'll see." Grissom explained his eyes never leaving the paper in front of his.

"Alright, Thanks boss." Nick said turning to leave.

"Oh Nick, make sure she's ok?" Grissom said and went back to his file.

Nick sighed and went looking for a particular brunette, on that was NOT named Sara Sidle.

Alyssa stood in the Ballistics lab, ready to fire her test shot. She had already run a few tests concerning the gun found at her crime scene, and Bobby had to use the washroom so she offered to run the tests her self. Sighing she picked up the gun to fire the last test shot, "FIRE IN THE HOOOLE!" The shot punctured the metal. Pulling off her goggles and ear protectors, Alyssa walked over to where the bullet cut into. "Same green particles…" She whispered and slipped the .38 bullet into the little envelope, swabbed the green on the metal and walked over to the microscope. Something shuffled by the door, she turned her face and caught a sight of Nick's face.

She didn't speak, just went back to her bullet fragment.

"Uhh.. Grissom…"

"…needs me to update you, great, go to meeting room 2 and I'll be there in three." She said writing a note to bobby.

Nick stood his ground. "I was hoping we could talk on the way, Look I'm-"

"Not a chance." She said looking up at him, "Not here… anyway."

Alyssa saw the glimmer of hope in Nick's eye. "Go. I'll be there." She said firmly and went back to her paper.

Nick gave a firm nodded and trotted off to the meeting room rubbing his approaching headache, leaving Alyssa nursing one of her own.

Alyssa quietly and slowly approached the meeting room, holding a bottle of water in one hand and Advil in the other. She stopped in the doorway and watched as Nick stared down at the layout table, rubbing his forehead. She contemplated turning around about 5 times and heading home. She wouldn't, couldn't, don't want to.

She stepped forward, making little noise and held the water, two Advil tablets out to him and cleared her throat.

Nick looked up and caught sight of the peace offering in her hands and trailed his sight upwards, to her adorned face. Slowly he stretched his hand out and pulled the two tablets from the palm of her hand and popped them in his mouth, washing them down with the water. "Thanks."

Alyssa shrugged and opened the folder on the desk.

"Lys, can we-"

"Here's the bullet, male DB, still a John Doe, approx early 40's, found this morning... yesterday morning..? Originally a Days case but they were swamped so Grissom and I got it. Found in Henderson, violated, stabbed multiple times and strangled, COD, strangulation." She said cutting Nick off and passing him the photos. "Sara and Greg's Case," She continued, "DB, Mike Zarneth, 43, found this evening at approx 10:34pm by neighbor in his apartment. Said she heard a noise, went to check it out and found the victim. Same COD, strangulation, he too was violated, stabbed multiple times and strangled."

Nick sighed, "Violated?"

"Uh yea…well, he was raped, by another man. Wendy ran the anal swabs, Doc. Roberts took and they are both male."

"Both?"

"Yes." Alyssa nodded slowly.

"As in, this poor guy was…. By two men?"

"Uh yea… two, do you have any questions?" She said shoving everything back into the two folders.

"DNA found in the other case?"

"Wendy's running it now, so that would be confirmation that the two are linked."

"Or not,"

"Yes, or not," Alyssa yawned, "Excuse me, sorry."

"Oh yea, Grissom wants you to take it easy."

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, I don't know…. Excuse me…. What he's worried about." She yawned again.

Nick eyed her, "What do we do now?"

"You, can sift through evidence, me… well… I wanted to see if Doc. Robbins got anything more from the autopsy. I was there during the prelim only, Days were back up so he got to the body at the beginning of the shift." She said turning to the door, but stopped and faced Nick, just as he opened his mouth to speak.

"And we'll talk later, much later." He yawned again and left to the morgue.

Nick nodded in thanks and collapsed his head onto his hands on the table, At least she's talking to me, I wouldn't talk to me.

TBC…