Nick opened his eyes. The setting sun came in through his open window, and a cool breeze blew over him. He couldn't help but smile. "It was just a dream..." he said softly. He sighed and ran his hand through his damp hair. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. 7:23. He layed back down and stared up at his ceiling. His head was racing as the haunting memories tried to overtake his mind. They all seemed to flash at once...the babysitter...Kristy dying...the window...Crane...the box. "It's over." He said aloud to himself. "The hardest part is over...I think..."
"Talking to yourself now Nicky?" Nick shot upright at the sudden voice coming from his doorway. He smiled when he saw Warrick leaning against the doorframe.
"Yeah...I guess I am."
Warrick laughed. "Goofball." Nick got up and stretched, allowing a yawn to escape from his lips. "So you're sure you're up to go back to work tonight?"
Nick grinned. "Yepp. If I have to stay here one more night, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna loose it."
"How could you tell?" Warrick teased, and Nick stuck his tongue out at him. "Nice. Acting like a 5 year old...real mature."
"Whatever old man."
Warrick shook his head. "I'm only a year older than you smart ass."
"Still older." Nick said as he walked past Warrick, who playfully pushed him into the wall and walked by him. "Tool." Nick yelled after him before he turned into the bathroom. He jumped in the shower and stood under the hot water, allowing it to fully wake him up.
The door opened and Warrick stuck his head in. "Hey, you want a burger?"
"Yeah, and actually cook it this time. I don't want it to still be mooing at me while I eat it."
Warrick didn't reply to that comment. Instead, he walked over to the sink and turned the hot water on. He silently counted to 10, and laughed when he heard Nick yell.
"Son of a bitch that's cold...real funny Warrick. And that's mature?"
"You know better than to mess with me man." Warrick said as he turned the water off.
"Yeah, but it's still fun."
Warrick smiled and left, going through the kitchen onto the patio. He threw the burgers onto the grill and went back into the kitchen. His cell phone rang, and he clipped it off his belt and laughed when he saw the caller ID.
"Nick owes me another 20 bucks." he said before flipping the phone open. "Hello?"
"Hey Warrick."
"Hey Cath, what's up?"
"Not too much...you guys still coming in tonight?"
"Yeah." Warrick said, noting the worry in Catherine's voice.
"Thought so..." she said, her voice trailing off a little.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing...I'm just worried about Nick. I don't want him to come back too soon, ya know? It's only been a month and a half...I know I'd still be freaking out. I don't want him to get worn down."
"I know." Warrick sighed. "I'm just glad he's coming back at all."
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked.
"Well...damn it..." Warrick was mad at himself for letting it slip. He knew he couldn't slide this past Catherine, but he also trusted her and knew Nick did too. "He was gonna quit...but he changed his mind."
"Thank God...althought I'm not sure I would have blamed him."
"I still would have been pissed."
"That's not fair, Warrick."
"I know...not at him, just in general. He has no idea how much we need him. I couldn't do anything without him."
"He knows that." Catherine paused for a second, then continued. "We need to make sure tonight goes perfectly...well, as perfect as being a CSI can be."
"We can't map it out Cath." Warrick said.
"I know that. I mean, like making sure he's really okay without constantly asking him, and making sure no one's talking about what happened, especially since half of it isn't true."
"Yeah, good point. I swear I'll kill the first person who makes a stupid joke or says something idiotic...like Hodges or something."
Catherine let out a short laugh. "Surpringly, he's been asking how he's been doing and sticking up for him when some tech spreads rumors. Dayshift's the worst though."
Warrick knew he'd regret asking this, but he had to know. "What have they been saying?"
Catherine sighed. "Stupid stuff. They know the beginning, how he was kidnapped at the scene and everything..." the memory of showing up and finding Nick's vest on the ground sent shudders through Catherine's whole body. "But the rest got lost in transit. The team and Ecklie are really the only ones who know the truth...and Archie, Hodges, Doc and David. Dayshift CSIs and techs somehow think that Nick tried to jump out of the box as soon as we opened it so he could blow us all up...that he had the gun pointed at you...and we should have been able to find him sooner and they could have done a better job than we did."
Warrick's jaw dropped. "That's so fucking stupid. Why would Nick do that?"
"I don't know. They've been whispering about it for the past month, they just won't shut up."
"Stupid lab gossip...if it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to control themselves like Nick had before we figured out how to get him outta there. Why doesn't Grissom say something to them?"
"He told Ecklie, who supposedly 'took care of it.' But who knows, people just don't listen."
Warrick shook his head. "Is everyone else working tonight?"
"Yeah."
"Good. I gotta go finish cooking the burgers, I'll see ya tonight."
"Alright. See you guys soon. Bye."
"Bye Cath." Warrick closed his phone and clipped it back onto his belt. He went back outside and flipped the burgers. He stared blankly at the grill. The stupid rumors really made him mad. Why would they make stuff like that up? Anyone who knows Nick even a little bit knows nothing could be farther from the truth. They weren't even there...they have no right. Warrick took a deep breath and cleared his head. Forget about what they said and make sure you're there for Nick, make sure nothing bad happens tonight. Don't let him down again. By now the burgers were sizzling and a crispy dark brown. As if on cue, Nick came outside with a cherry coke and a beer. He handed the beer to Warrick, who frowned.
Nick smiled slightly. "Just cuz I can't drink doesn't mean you can't."
"Yes it does." Warrick walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He replaced the beer with a cherry coke, and returned to the patio, sitting across from Nick. "We're in this together buddy."
Nick's smile grew and he leaned back against his chair and took a sip of his coke. Warrick got up and took the burgers off the grill, putting them on buns and plates. He sat back down and handed one to Nick, who nodded his thanks. They ate silently for a few minutes. Warrick could tell Nick was starting to get nervous, he could see it in his eyes.
"You okay man?" Warrick asked.
Nick looked up and nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I'm okay."
"Which means...you're not okay."
Nick smiled nervously. "I'm fine."
"You know what fine stands for. Freaked out, insecure, neurotic, and emotional."
Nick laughed slightly. "Yeah, I know. I saw the Italian Job."
Warrick put down his burger and sighed. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone Nicky."
"I know that..." Warrick knew he was definitly lying. "I'm just a little nervous." Another lie.
"Everything's gonna be fine. You've done this a million times. After an hour or 2, it'll be just like any other night at work." Nick nodded, but didn't seem to believe it. "I'll be there the whole time bro." This made them both feel better.
Nick sighed. "Yeah. You're right. What can go wrong?"
An hour later, they walked into CSI and headed for the break room. A few people glanced up at Nick, and some even whispered, but luckily Nick didn't seem to notice. They walked in and saw Greg fighting with the coffee maker, and losing. Nick clapped him on the shoulder as he walked up behind him.
"Greggo...you gotta plug it in man."
Greg looked at the cord dangling off the edge of the counter. He took a deep breath and hugged Nick. "Thank God you guys are back."
Nick and Warrick both laughed and sat at the table with Greg. Catherine came in and greeted them with a wide smile. "Hey guys." She looked over at the counter and frowned. "Greg, the coffee isn't done yet?"
Greg glared at her and Nick chuckled. "He had a little trouble turning it on..."
"Cuz it wasn't plugged in." Warrick finished with a laugh. Greg rolled his eyes, but smiled. Sara came in looking pretty frusterated, but brightened up when she saw Nick and Warrick sitting at the table with Greg and Catherine.
"Welcome back guys." She said warmly. "Greg...when's the coffee-"
"Shut up about the stupid coffee!" Greg said loudly, and Catherine, Nick and Warrick smirked.
"You forgot to plug it in again, didn't you?" Sara said.
Greg hung his head and nodded. Grissom walked in with the assignement slips. "Saved by Grissom." Greg said a little too happily.
Grissom gave Greg one of his questioning looks, then shook his head. "Hello everyone. We have a fairly busy night. Greg, you and Sara have a B&E over at the Tangiers, Vega's waiting for you."
Greg looked pleading at Nick and Warrick, who waved and said in unison, "Have fun Greggo." Greg glared at them and followed Sara out of the break room.
"Catherine, you and I have a double homicide in Henderson."
Catherine nodded. "I'll drive." She said as she took the slip from Grissom.
"And you two," he said, looking at Nick and Warrick, "have a 419 at the Bellagio." He handed the slip to Warrick, and they all jumped when they heard Ecklie's voice.
"Stokes, can I see you for a minute?"
Nick held back the sigh and nodded. "Sure." He followed Ecklie down the hall into his office.
Grissom turned back to Warrick. "Keep an eye on him tonight for me, okay?"
"Sure thing."
"If he looks out of it or anything..."
Warrick shook his head in understanding. "I know."
"Okay...I wanna talk to him after Ecklie. Who knows what he's gonna say to him."
"Have a seat, Nick." Nick sat down in front of Ecklie's desk as he walked around and sat in his oversized leather chair. "How have you been doing?"
Nick shrugged. "Good."
"Good. You're sure you're ready to come back? I can't have half a CSI out there."
"I'm fi- I'm okay."
"Alright. Just let me know if you need anymore time off, okay?"
Nick was a little shocked. Does Ecklie have a heart? "Uhhh...thanks, will do." He got up and left. He hadn't taken 3 steps before Grissom was calling him into his office. "I feel like a kid being sent to the principal's office." He said with a smile as he sat down, this time in front of Grissom.
"I'm sure you were always at the principal's." Grissom said jokingly. Nick was a lot more comfortable with Grissom than Ecklie...Grissom had never suspected him of murder. "It's good to have you back Nicky."
"Thanks, it's good to be back."
Grissom nodded before continuing. "You have to promise me that you'll let me or Warrick know if this is too much, okay?"
"I promise. I think I'm gonna be okay though. I'm not nervous anymore."
"That's good. Just take it easy, don't push it. I know it's been over a month, but that's not the longest period of time though it seems it."
"I know."
"Alright. Let me know if you need anything. Warrick's waiting for you in the car."
"Thanks Griss." Nick said before getting up and heading out into the parking lot. He waved to Archie before exiting into the cool Vegas night. He hopped into the passneger side of Warrick's Denali and took a deep breath.
"You ready?"
"Yepp. Let's go." Warrick started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Warrick asked, "What did Ecklie have to say?"
Nick smiled, and that surprised Warrick. "He wanted to make sure I was okay cuz he didn't want to have only half a CSI...then he said if I needed anymore time off to just ask."
Warrick's jaw slightly dropped. "Wow. Ya know, he was really helpful when you were kidnapped. He was pissed when the city wouldn't fund the ransom."
"Dracula has a heart." Warrick laughed and reached for the stereo and turned it on. His heart skipped several beats as the lyrics flooded from the speakers.
"You can try to please me, but it won't be easy. Stone walls surround me, I'm surprised that you even found me..."
Warrick looked over at Nick, who was looking out the windsheild. Does he not hear this? Why is he not...he doesn't know...he wasn't there...
"And you don't stand an outside chance, you don't stand an outside chance, but you can try..."
Warrick's hand shot forward and practically punched the power button on the radio. Nick flinched and stared wide eyed at his best friend.
"Not a Turtles fan?" he asked cautiously.
Warrick barely heard him. The same line kept repeating over and over in his head.
"You don't stand an outside chance..."
He remebered Grissom clicking the 'Watch' button, and the image of Nick underground filled the screen. He'll never forget the feeling when the realization of what was happening to his brother set it. He seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.
Nick worriedly looked at Warrick. "Warrick..." When he didn't respond, he reached over and touched his shoulder, but instantly retracted his hand when Warrick flinched away. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Warrick heard Nick, but couldn't form any words. He couldn't shake the memory of seeing Nick like that. Being alive, but looking so...dead.
"Warrick! Talk to me man! You're scaring me bro."
Warrick finally remembered how to speak. He turned and looked at Nick. "S-sorry Nick..."
That wasn't too reassuring. "Feel like sharing why you tried to beat up the radio then spaced out?"
Warrick took a deep breath and looked back at the road. "That was...Gordon sent..."
Out of the corner of his eye, Warrick saw Nick noticably tense at the mention of Gordon's name, but his voice was surpringly steady. "What? What did he send?"
"He sent the zip drive that was linked to the camera above you...and a tape..." He didn't have to finish, Nick instantly understood, but Warrick continued. "The tape had that song on it... he was screwing with us...like it was funny...it was still playing when we first saw you...there..." his voice trailed off and he fell silent.
Now Nick felt like punching the radio. Damn Turtles... He hung his head. "It's amazing how little things like that can do the most damage." he said quietly.
Warrick glanced at Nick, then back at the road, even though the traffic was pretty heavy. "What happened...that wasn't a little thing Nick."
"I know...I mean...little things make you think about horrible bigger things..." Nick shook his head. "I don't know. I just wish it would all go away."
"Me too buddy."
Nick sighed. "But everything's gonna be okay." he said with a smile.
" 'Atta boy Nicky." Warrick said as they pulled into the Bellaggio parking lot. They headed up to the 5th floor where their dead body was. Warrick was surprised at how well Nick handled the elevator ride. He hadn't even realized it could be a problem until too late, but Nick seemed okay. They got off and took a right, turning the corner. They saw a few cops and people in hotel rooms sticking their head out of their doors trying to see what was going on. They walked up to the police officers standing outside the door, and a few of them gave Nick a dirty look. Officer Michaels had gotten into a lot of trouble for what had happened to Nick, and apparently they thought it was Nick's fault. One of them opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by a firm voice from behind Nick and Warrick.
"You don't have anything to say to him, so I highly suggest you shut your mouth and go get the surveillance tapes before we have an accident." The 2 CSIs turned to see Brass, a stern expression on his face. The officer gave Nick another look, then left. Nick watched him leave before turning to Brass. A smile had appeared, and he clapped Nick on the shoulder. "Nice to see ya kid."
Nick returned the smile. "Yeah, same here."
Brass sighed. "Sorry about that...he's friends with Michaels."
"Don't worry about it, it's not a big d-"
"No, it is. He has no right to say anything along the lines of what I'd bet my badge he was gonna say." Nick nodded, and Brass' tone lightened a little. "So how are you doing Nicky?"
"Better." He said simply.
"Good." Brass answered. "I still think about it everyday...seems so unreal. One of the worst days of my life..." Brass bit the side of his lip, then switched into Captain Brass-working-a-case-mode. "Alright...DB's an 11 year old boy, found by the room service guy."
Nick and Warrick smiled at Brass' behavoir. He could swtich gears quicker than anyone they knew. "Wait..." Warrick looked a little confused.
"What was an 11 year old kid doing alone in a Bellagio hotel room?" Nick asked before Warrick could get it out.
"That," Brass said, "is an excellent question. Shall we go find out?" he said, motioning to a guy younger than both CSIs and a women who couldn't have been over 26. The kid's parents. Nick thought solemnly. Better get this over with...
He started walking over towards the parents, but Warrick grabbed his arm. "You sure you can handle this?"
Nick would have been pissed if anyone else had asked him, but he was glad Warrick did. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Done it a million times."
"Yeah, and it's either ended with you beating up a door or holding a 17 year old up against a wall by the throat." Warrick said matter of factly.
Nick sighed. "Yeah...I know. I'll be good, I promise."
"Alright, if you say so, I believe you." Warrick glanced over at the kid's parents, then back at Nick. "You want them or the kid?"
Nick thought for a second, then answered. "I'll talk to the parents, then help you with the scene."
"Sounds good." Warrick squeezed Nick's arm before going into the hotel room, and Nick headed over to the parents with Brass.
"Hi, I'm Nick Stokes from the crime lab, and this is Detective Brass." Nick said, extending his hand to the father, then mother, who shook it weakly.
"We're Alex's parents." The boy's father said.
"I'm gonna have to ask you a few questions...I know this isn't the best time, but we need to know what you know." They just nodded slowly. "Mr..."
"Collins, you can call me Bryan."
"Okay, Bryan...what was Alex doing alone?"
Bryan Collins took a deep breath. "We went down to the casino after bringing Alex back up after dinner. He wasn't feeling good and wanted to go to sleep, and we lost track of time...we always left him home alone, he was very responsible for his age..."
Nick nodded. "Did you see anyone at dinner that looked suspicious or anything?"
Mrs. Collins shook her head. "No...we have no idea who would do this to Alex...he was such a good boy..." Bryan wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders as she cried against his chest.
"It's okay Sam, they're gonna find out who did this..."
Brass jumped into the conversation. "Did Alex order room service?"
Bryan shrugged. "I don't know, he could have. He didn't eat much at dinner, said he had a headache, maybe he got hungry..."
Sam shook her head firmly. "No, he would never do that. He knew not to trust strangers, and wouldn't have opened the door anyone."
Nick looked at Brass, then back at the Collins'. "Okay, that's all for now. Thank you for your help, and I'm very sorry for your loss."
They just nodded and Nick and Brass walked away. "So what do you think?" Brass asked.
"I don't know...not much to go on. The kid could have ordered room service...and the killer could have knocked on the door, and thinking it was the food the kid could have opened the door and been jumped. Kids aren't predictable like their parents think they are."
"Everyone has the best kid in the world." Brass said sadly. "I'll get the phone records from the front desk." He turned and walked in the opposite direction as Nick headed into the hotel room. Alex was laying on his back on the floor at the foot of the bed. There was deep bruising around his neck and wrists. Dave was taking his liver temp and looked up when he heard Nick walk up next to him.
"Hey Nick..." he said nervously, and Nick gave him a curious look.
"Hey Super Dave...something wrong?"
Dave looked away quickly, then back at Nick. "I'm sorry...if I had gotten to the crime scene faster you wouldn't have been alone...I'm really s-
Nick shook his head and smiled. "Woah woah woah...man, that was so not your fault. I can't believe you even think that. It's okay, there was nothing you could do."
"But if I-"
"It's okay man, trust me." Nick said, laughing a little.
David sighed with relief. "I just...welcome back Nick."
Nick laughed again. "Thanks Super Dave. So what's the TOD?"
"About 3 hours ago...around 9 o'clock."
Nick frowned. "But the kid's parents said they brought him back up here after dinner and he wasn't feeling good...so he called for room service right after?"
Warrick appeared from the bathroom and jumped into the conversation. "Maybe he just wanted to get away from his parents, kids can be sneaky."
Nick nodded, accepting the theory. "Yeah...that's true. Looks like he was strangled." he said, noticing the deep bruise around Alex's neck.
"I'd say so." David agreed. "There are some scratches on his neck and what look like defensive wounds on his wrists."
"Yeah, and I got some dark blue fibers that were on his shirt...and a little under 200 fingerprints."
Nick sighed. "Awesome." he said sarcastically.
They processed the scene for another 2 hours, and didn't find much more other than a sock behind the tv and some blood on the rug near Alex's body. "Let's get all this stuff back to the lab." Warrick said, and Nick followed him back down to the car. They rode back to the lab in a comfortable silence, and slowly made their way from the parking lot into the lab. "You bring this to trace, and I'll go to DNA?"
"Sounds good." Nick said, taking the samples from Warrick and heading off towards the trace lab. He walked through the doors and laughed as he saw Hodges struggling with a jar. Hodges looked up at Nick.
"Hey Nick." he said awkwardly.
"Hey Hodges...need some help?"
"No." Hodges said, but handed the empty evidence jar to Nick anyway.
Nick easily opened it, and handed it back to him. "I loosened it..." Hodges said quietly.
"Your welcome."
"Anytime...what else can I do for you?"
Nick handed Hodges the evidence bag with the blue fibers and the sock. "Do what you do best man."
Hodges accepted the bags and smiled. "I do do it the best..."
Nick smiled and turned to leave. He was halfway out the door before Hodges stopped him. "Hey...uh, Nick?"
Nick turned and re-entered the trace lab. "Yeah?"
Hodges shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the counter in front of him. "I'm sorry about what happened and wanted to apologize for being a jerk to you all those times...I really did hate it when you were kidnapped...I know we're not friends or anything but I still care." he said in that Hodges tone he has whenever he says something people won't tend to believe.
Nick smiled. "Thanks Hodges...and I'm sorry I never made it easy to get along with me."
Hodges shook his head. "You get along with everyone, it's my fault."
"Whatever," Nick said, turning, but before he left, he turned back. "We're still friends." he said with a shrug and a smirk. Hodges started analyzing Nick's samples as soon as he left.
Brass quickened his pace when he saw Nick start heading the other way, and quickly caught up to him. "Hey Nicky." he said.
"Hey Brass, what's up?"
"I got the surveillance tapes, Archie's waiting for you in the AV lab. And I gave Warrick the phone records."
"Alright, thanks man." Nick took a quick right and walked into the AV lab. Archie was watching the elevator tape as a young couple made use of the long ride. "I knew you took this boring job for a reason Arch." Nick said as he pulled up a chair next to Archie.
Archie nodded. "It definitly has its perks."
Nick laughed. "So anything interesting on these tapes...other than this?"
"The parents brought the kid back up to the room at 7:52 pm...then went back down at 8:47 pm."
"Okay...what time did the room service guy go up?"
Archie frowned. "10:32..."
Nick shook his head. "The TOD was around 9 o'clock...how can a dead kid call for room service?"
"He obviously can't." Nick and Archie turned to see Warrick walk in. He handed a folder to Nick, who opened it to see the phone records. "The call was palced at 10:06 from the phone in the pool area."
"The killer." Nick said, scanning the phone records.
Archie had turned his attention back to the surveillance tapes. "Guys...no one was in the elevator or hallway in between the time the parents left and the room service guy went upstairs..."
Nick looked up at Warrick, who sighed. "Well...now we have some suspects." his beeper went off, and he motioned for Nick to follow him. "Doc's ready with the kid in autopsy, keep looking will ya Archie?"
"Sure thing guys." Nick waved his thanks as they left for the morgue. Archie took a deep breath and tried to relax. Nick's fine...you don't have to see him suffer on every available computer monitor anymore. He knew it was gonna be awhile before those haunting minutes of not knowing wether Nick made it out alive or not when the camera lost the feed would leave his mind. He never thought he'd be so glad to see Hodges sprint into his lab as he yelled, "They got him! He's okay!" Archie remebered the wave of relief that had washed over him. He cringed when he thought about how he had to document the whole time Nick was in there. He had filed it under 'N' in his computer. Not for 'N. Stokes'...for 'Never ever want to see ever again.'
Nick and Warrick walked up to the side of the examination table across from Doc Robbins, who was examining the boy's left wrist. He looked up when he heard the CSIs.
"Good evening gentlemen." he greeted, smiling at the younger guys.
"Hey Doc." Nick responded, smiling as well.
Robbins fought back the image of Nick laying on his autospy table, an image that had plagued his mind since Nick had been taken. "Good to see you Nick, how are you?"
"Great, thanks Doc."
"I'm fine too, thanks for asking." Warrick said jokingly.
Doc Robbins laughed, then turned back to the body. "COD is asphyxiation due to strangulation. He has some fresh defensive wounds on his wrists and arms, and some faint scars on his hips and shoulders. They look like scratches from a house pet or fingernails maybe, a few days old at least."
Nick looked down at the light scars on the boy's hips and froze at how familiar they looked. At first he thought about the ones on his wrist...but that wasn't it...
"Other than that..." Nick snapped out of his strayed thoughts. "He was in perfect health. I got some scrapings from under his fingernails and sent them over to DNA, and white fibers under his neck and sent those to trace."
"Alright, thanks Doc." Warrick said, and Nick followed him out of the morgue. When they got back to the lab, Warrick noticed Nick was very quiet and seemed upset about something. "You alright man?" he asked as they walked into the breakroom for some coffee.
"Yeah..." Nick said as he sank into a chair. Warrick walked over to the counter and gave Nick a 'I don't believe you for a second' look. Nick sighed. "No."
"Didn't think so." Warrick said, filling 2 cups and bringing them over to the table and taking a seat next to Nick. "What's up bro?"
"It's nothing." Another 'I don't believe you' look. "It's just that the scars on the kid looked familiar and I don't know why it's bugging me..." Then it dawned on Nick where he had seen those scars before. Not on his wrist but...
Warrick noticed the sudden change in Nick demenor. "Where did you see them before?"
Nick shook his head. No, that can't be it. "I...I'm just over reacting..."
"Nicky, you don't over react."
Nick took a deep breath. "I had marks just like those after the...babysitter." he said quietly, looking down into his steaming coffee.
Warrick's heart sunk. "Are you...sure?"
Nick looked up and nodded. "Yeah. Well, I mean there could be a million reasons why he has those...maybe he had a cat or something...but they look just like..." Nick's voice broke and he looked back down at his coffee cup.
Warrick put his hand firmly on Nick's shoulders. "It's okay buddy. We're gonna find out what happened to this kid, I promise." Nick just nodded slightly. "Are you sure you wanna do this? You could switch with Greg or-"
"No. I want this case." Nick said softly, but with enough confidence to convince Warrick.
"Alright." Warrick said, tightening his grip on Nick's shoulder.
His beeper went off, and Nick unclipped it from his belt. He looked down and laughed. " 'The Master' has the results for us."
Warrick thought for a second before realizing who Nick meant. "Hodges." he said with a laugh. They walked to the trace lab, and smiled at the tech as they walked in and up to the counter next to Hodges.
"What do you have for us, 'Master?' " Nick said sarcastically.
Hodges rubbed his hands together. "The blue fibers are...50 percent cotton and 50 percent polyester, possibly from any dark blue shirt or other apparel item."
"Well, the father was wearing a dark blue cotton shirt." Nick said, thinking out loud more than anything.
"The fibers Robbins collected were white cotton, my guess is they're from the sock you gave me, which I got epithelials from that are in DNA."
"Good job Hodges." Warrick said, taking the report from the tech.
Hodges bowed slightly. "I do what I can."
The CSIs left the trace lab and went back to Archie. "Hey guys." he said solemnly. "I didn't find anything or anyone else on those tapes."
Nick and Warrick nodded. "Not your fault man." Warrick said.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Have Brass keep an eye on the parents and wait until DNA comes back?" he said, looking at Warrick, who nodded.
"Yeah." he looked at his watch. "Shift's over in 10 minutes. What do you say we get some rest?"
Nick nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me."
Both guys collapsed onto the couch as soon as they got back to Nick's. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Warrick spoke. "How ya holding up Nicky?"
Nick was silent for a second and shook his head before he answered. "Pretty good...I just hope to God that kid had a cat."
Sorry it was a ridiulously long chapter, but I'm not sure of the next time I'll be able to update. I know the case-file's pretty lame and the time-line of everything may seem a little off, but I wanted to do something other than Nick and Warrick at Nick's house the whole time. I'm hoping to finish this story up in a couple more chapters.
