Nick looked over the crime scene photos. The hotel bed was neatly made and nothing was out of order. All the clothes were neatly put in the drawers and the duffle bags were in the closet next to the door. Everything in the bathroom was in order. It was a little weird that a young family with an 11 year old was so neat. Nick turned to the picutre of Alex laying on his back at the foot of the large bed. The only signs of a struggle were on his arms. His clothes were straight,his body wasn't twisted or in an awkward position. Nick rubbed his eyes. Warrick walked in and joined him at the layout table.

"Hey, Brass is waiting for us, he's got the kid's parents."

Nick looked up. "DNA came back?"

Warrick nodded slowly. "Blood on the carpet was male and had 7 oleils in common with the kid...under the fingernails were female, again 7 oleils in common...and the sock had both Alex's DNA and the same DNA as the blood." he recited it all from memory.

Nick hung his head. "Alright...let's go I guess."

They left CSI and drove to the police station. Nick just stared out at the passing people, cars and lights. His hands were shaking slightly and he was pretty pale. Warrick couldn't believe the case they had pulled Nick's first night back. What are the odds? He glanced over at his best friend a few times before he had to ask and make sure Nick wasn't going to break down.

"Nicky...you sure you can do this?"

Nick didn't look at Warrick. He just closed his eyes and leaned the side of his head against the window. "No...I'm not."

"You don't have to man, I can do it alone."

"But I can't." Nick sighed. "I have to be able to do this...if I can't..."

"Nick, you don't have to do anything. You've done enough already. Making it through everything you have...you're the only person who could handle all of it."

Nick's eyes were still closed and his hands were shaking more violently. He shoved them into the pockets of his faded blue jeans and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, but looked straight ahead. The rest of the ride to the LVPD was silent. They walked in and the cool air felt good on Nick's face. He followed Warrick to the interrogation room Brass was waiting for them in. The Collins' were sitting across from him with their lawyer and had blank expressions on their faces.

"Hey guys." Brass greeted them when they entered.

"Brass." Warrick nodded at him before turning to the Collins'. Nick didn't say anything. He just sat in the chair next to Brass and looked down at the table. Warrick pulled a chair up next to him as he opened the folder to the pictures of the sock, Alex's wrists and the DNA results.

"What's this?" Mr. Stevens, the Collins' lawyer asked.

"This," Warrick said when Nick didn't even seem to notice there was anyone else in the room, "Are the DNA results from the blood on the carpet, the sock that was used to kill Alex, and scrapings from underneath Alex's fingernails. They came back to a male and female with 7 oleils in common with Alex...Mr and Mrs. Collins, care to explain?"

Surprisingly, Sam Collins was the first to speak. "We had to do it." She blurted out.

Nick looked up at her and stared for a second before asking, "Why in the hell did you have to kill your 11 year old son?"

Bryan Collins jumped in. "He was gonna ruin my job...my life."

Brass shook his head. "How could an 11 year old do that?"

"My boss' wife liked to..." Bryan started, but trailed off, unsure of how to go on.

Sam Collins picked up where her husband left off. "She liked little boys more than most women do. She was close with Alex...then she may have taken it a little too far and he was upset and told us and wanted to go to the police, so we took him to the hotel to try and bribe him out of it, but we couldn't."

"She may have taken it a little too far?" Nick's tone was colder than ice. His hands were shaking beyond anyone's control and he had goose bumps all down his arms. "She molested him, didn't she?"

Bryan shook his head. "That term is so...crude."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Nick's voice was shaky, but somehow firm at the same time. "He's your son for Christ's sake! You're supposed to protect him, not kill him when he tries to do the right thing because you might get fired!"

"You don't understand, we-" Sam started, before Nick cut her off.

"Trust me, I understand all too well."

Bryan turned to his lawyer. "What are our options?"

Stevens looked at Bryan, then his wife. "Are you serious?"

Brass took over from there. "You don't have any, but the DA has a lot to choose from. 25 to life, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to child molestation...just to name a few. And I'm sure he's gonna go with all of the above."

"I hope you don't luck out and get the death penalty." Nick said before he got up and left the interrogation room as quickly as he could.


"What's his problem?" Bryan asked.

Warrick was in disbelief. He couldn't believe these things in front of him were actually people. "He doesn't have a problem. You're the one with the problem. If you can't see that, then you need more help than anyone could ever give you." Warrick said before running after Nick.


Nick fell to his knees in the bathroom stall just as he threw up everything in his stomach. After a few painful dry heaves and coughing, he got up and went to the sink. He leaned his head down at sucked up some water, spitting it back out after swishing it around in his mouth. He stood up straight and looked at his blurry reflection in the mirror. His head started spinning and he stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall. He slowly slid down until his knees were tight against his chest. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his knees as his sobs took over. Nick's entire body was shaking and felt numb. His heart was beating a million miles an hour and every breath he took stung. He felt like he was burning up and freezing at the same time. He quickly lifted his head to slam it against the wall behind him, but was stopped and gently pulled to the side to rest on something.
Warrick pulled Nick to him and tried with everything he had to calm him down. He rubbed small circles on his back and held his left hand over Nick's trembling ones. "It's okay Nicky."

"No it's not." Nick choked out in between sobs. He pulled his head off of Warrick's shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. "That kid's dead because he did the right thing. I didn't and kids got hurt because of me, and I'm still here. How is that okay?"

"What happened to you wasn't fair, and it wasn't your fault. You were so young...there was nothing you could have done."

Nick shook his head and looked away. "No, you're wrong." He pulled his hands away from Warrick's. "I should be dead, not that kid."

Warrick grasped both of Nick's hands in his own and squeezed firmly and craned his neck, forcing Nick to look at him. "Don't ever say that...don't say anything remotely close to that ever again. You got justice for that kid, and countless other victims. There's nobody on this Earth who deserves to live more than you do. I swear to God I'd hurt anyone who's ever done anything to you. I don't care what anyone else thinks or what you think. Everyone should be more like you for the good of all people."

Nick's sobbing stopped, but the tears still fell. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before closing his eyes. "I can't do this anymore." He knew Warrick understood what he meant.

Warrick shifted so he was kneeling in front of Nick, his hands still firmly squeezing them. "Nicky, look at me." Nick didn't flinch, just sat there as tears steadily fell down his pale cheeks and neck. "Look at me bro." Nick slowly opened his eyes and choked back a sob. "You've come way too far to give up on me now. You can do this, and you're gonna. You don't have a choice. I can't do this without you man, none of us can." Nick started to shake his head, but stopped at Warrick's firm words. "If you go, I go."

Nick opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again when he realized he didn't know what to say. All he could do was shake his head and stare at Warrick.

"I don't know if you've recently looked up the definition of 'brothers', but it's something along the lines of 2 guys who'd do anything for each other, who always have each others backs, who do everything together and love each other. I would do absolutly anything to erase what's been done to you. I would die so you wouldn't have to feel once ounce of pain. But it doesn't work that way. We're in everything together, no matter what. Sorry, but you're stuck with me man."

Nick smiled and laughed slightly. They were both quiet for several minutes before Nick spoke softly. "This is it. I have officially hit rock bottom."

"Now the only way to go is up."

Nick nodded slowly. He pushed himself up onto his knees and hugged Warrick like his life depended on it. "Thank you." They were both pretty sure their lives did depend on it...on each other at least.

I'm sorry for the fact that this is so highly unlikely it's not funny, but something similar happened to someone close to me, and the main point is Nick and Warrick's friendship, not the case. The last chapter will hopefully be u soon. Thanks for the reviews and suggestions.