Disclaimer: I don't own CSI – I'm just writing for all those other CSI fans out there :)

A/N: Ok – erm, again, this involves spoilers up until the end of season 4 – beware if you haven't seen all of season 5 as some things in this are shown in season 5, although are altered as this is set before season 5 (if that makes sense.) This is because of my story continuation, and, because at the time of starting this story I'd only seen three episodes of season 5.

Secondly: I hoped to have this chapter up sooner but my internet connection decided it would play up, so, I'm very sorry.

Thirdly: Thank-you for the reviews. They've been very encouraging. I'm glad that the last few chapters went down well, even though I was mean and made you all hang on to the edge of your seats. So, this chapter is dedicated to all those that have reviewed because I value your thought and opinions very much.


Chapter 18: Contemplation

Gil Grissom sat back on the chair in his office, his head leaning back and eyes closed. He wasn't asleep, merely deep in thought.

'Sleep can wait until I get home,' he thought to himself wearily.

He'd already sent Catherine and Sara home to get some rest, although he doubted that that's where they'd gone first.

'Probably gone to the hospital to see Warrick.'

He'd call into the hospital himself before heading home for the night. Right now though, all he needed to do was think. He'd agreed to meet with Tyrone tomorrow evening, bringing along Marty. However, together with Brass, they needed to formulate some sort of plan.

'O, and there's still the matter of breaking the news to the Sheriff.'

Grissom had hoped that the case wouldn't have gotten this far. That they'd have found Warrick by now, and would have Tyrone and Jason in custody without even having to approach the Sheriff with 'the plan.' Although two of the objectives had been reached, they were still missing one criminal and had now lost another CSI to the same guy.

'And Tyrone is unpredictable,' Grissom said to himself. 'Been playing with us from the start. And he's not going to stop now.'

He massaged the front of his head with his fingers. He had a migraine coming on.

The evidence they'd collected at the house was still being processed. The results would have to wait until he came back into the lab later in the morning. Rubbing his eyes, he got up and picked the case file up off of the desk. He'd already sent the others home for some rest. Left the day shift to process the evidence. As much as he disliked Ecklie, he knew the evidence needed to be processed.

'I'll go over everything at home. Might pick something up.'

Folder tucked under his arm, he closed the door to his office, making his way to the Tahoe. He didn't say anything to anyone he passed. Too deep in thought. Before he headed home he was going to call into the hospital to check on Warrick's condition. His last visit was a brief one, although he'd gotten the evidence and found out the extent of Warrick's injuries. Now, the focus had shifted to finding Nick and capturing Tyrone. He got in his Tahoe, started his engine and began the journey to the hospital.

The drive seemed to take longer then it normally did. Pulling into the parking lot, he pulled his Tahoe to a stop next to an identical vehicle. He took note of this. Making sure he'd locked the vehicle, he made his way inside the hospital, heading back up to the reception area he'd been earlier. The receptionist was different to the one that had been on earlier. He approached the desk.

"Hi. I'm looking for Warrick Brown. He was brought in earlier today."

The receptionist looked up, flashing Grissom a brief smile.

"Down the corridor and to the right. He's in a room down there. Room 546."

Grissom nodded before heading in the direction the receptionist had pointed. Turning right, he headed a little way down the corridor, heading for room 546. Approaching the room, he could see through the window the back of someone's head. Recognising it as Catherine, he tapped lightly on the door, acknowledging his presence.

"Hey Cath," Grissom greeted. "You okay?"

"Hey. Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. Was about to head home. Lindsey's with my mother and I haven't really spent any time with her over the last few days. Sara and Greg left half hour ago."

"How's Warrick?" he asked, taking the seat beside her.

"Well, as good as can be expected. He's stable which is the main thing. Just have to wait until he wakes up now. They don't think that the head injuries are severe enough to cause any long-term damage."

"Any idea when Warrick will wake up?" he asked.

Catherine shook her head.

"No. He's on heavy medication so may be out of it for a while." She paused. "And as harsh as it sounds, hopefully he's out until we get Nicky back." Catherine picked up her bag. "I'll see you back at the lab first thing this evening."


Sara Sidle sat on her sofa, a glass of water in one hand, the other cradling her chin to her chest. Her body was exhausted yet any attempt of sleep she'd had, had ended up with her lying wide awake staring at the dark ceiling. She enjoyed her job: on a normal day.

'Any day but today,' she thought miserably to herself.

This case was different to others. It involved the people she knew, worked close with on a daily basis. It brought things closer to home. Stirred up the memories of the day her mother killed her father. Although the memory sat in her mind, this, coupled with the disappearance of first Warrick and Nick it threatened to overspill and engulf her. No-one knew about this, not even Grissom. She knew it affected her work, especially in cases of domestic abuse, and that one day she'd lose it completely during a case.

In a way, Sara felt guilty. She'd never really had any disagreements with Nick, and she enjoyed winding the Texan up. However, she hadn't always been friendly with Warrick.

'Ok, I had my reasons. Holly Gribbs.'

Holly Gribbs was shot after a suspect returned to the scene. A scene where Warrick should have been, shadowing her, and had instead left her alone to place a bet. Sara was sent to Las Vegas to deal with the internal investigation and had decided to stay there. And within months, she got a tape of Warrick at The Monaco after he passed off a court case. She'd been off with him, until it turned out he'd only been there to collect a debt owed to him to bail out Jason. She took a gulp of water from the glass.

'Come on Sara,' she told herself forcibly. 'Can't let this affect me. It'll cloud my judgement.'

She got up off of the sofa, placing the glass down on the table.

'It'll just have to stay there until the morning,' she told herself, stretching.

She headed to the sanctuary of her bedroom. Climbing into her bed, she let the covers drape over her body, eyes fixed straight ahead on the ceiling.

'It's going to be one long night.'


Greg Sanders had some serious contemplation to do. He didn't want to be stuck in the DNA lab for the rest of his working career, and was hoping to be able to branch out, become a CSI and work in the field. Each time he matched that essential piece of DNA that would help nail a case, the feeling of excitation he felt originally had dimmed. But this wasn't the only reason. He'd had his own brush with death, and in all the places, it was in the lab. His body gave an involuntary shudder at the memory of being thrown through the glass.

'And now this goes and happens. What's to say that something like this wouldn't happen to me?'

He pushed his floppy hair out of his eyes, the hair having lost any style it had been in. The normally outrageous lab rat who had calmed down over time, was even more mellow than normal. The case had effected everyone around the lab, even those that weren't particularly close to those on the night shift. He ran his fingers through his hair.

He'd been at the hospital, saw Warrick attached to the various drips and lines.

'If that's anything to go by, I wonder what Nick's like?'

He knew that Nick was a much more emotional person than Warrick.

'Either that or Warrick hides it very well,' he told himself.

He knew Nick had been held at gunpoint on two particular occasions. That Nigel Crane had been the one to get under his skin more.

'He'd been stalking him. Wearing his clothes. Creepy."

But he wasn't sure how well he'd handle it this time, or what kind of state he'd be in.


Catherine Willows pulled the keys out of the ignition of her Tahoe, the engine cutting out. She picked up her bag off of the front seat, before hurrying inside her house. She closed the door quietly. Her mother was sat on the sofa with Lindsey's head on her lap.

"Hey," Catherine said quietly to her mum.

"Hey Catherine," the woman replied, smiling at her daughter. "You okay?"

'Okay?' she thought miserably to herself. 'How can I be okay? I'm at work more then I am at home, hardly spend any time with my daughter, and to top it all, Nick's still being held by a maniac and Warrick's in hospital.'

"I'm fine mom. How's Lindsey?"

"She's fine. Waiting for you to come home."

Catherine smiled. Things hadn't been plain sailing for either her or her daughter the last few years. She risked losing her daughter after her ex-husband Eddie had filed a complaint to Child Services accusing her of child neglect. Admittedly, she had lost track of time during the case which led to her forgetting to pick up Lindsey, but filing a complaint? Honestly.

That however didn't matter now. Although that hurt, what hurt more was that Eddie was dead and her little girl now had no father in her life, even if he did let her down on occasion. And some part of Catherine missed him. Perhaps even still loved him. And now, she was being affected by the disappearance of the people around her: those close to her. She sat down on the sofa, the movement stirring Lindsey. She opened her eyes sleepily, looking at Catherine.

"Mom?" she asked sleepily.

"Hey Linds," she replied.

This was her time with her daughter. Something that had been lacking for a while now, more so since the death of Eddie.

You never know what you've got until it's too late.'


Jim Brass closed the door to the Sheriff's office, leaving him seething behind the desk, cursing just about everything and everyone. He shook his head as he wandered down the corridor.

'That went as well as could be expected.'

He'd just spent the last hour with the Sheriff talking to him about the 'release' of Marty Silver in order to secure Nick's release. This hadn't gone down too well with the Sheriff. At first, he refused point blank, but after some talking too, Brass had managed to get him to change his mind.

'Well, sort of,' he murmured.

It wasn't until Brass had pointed out that it would perhaps help improve his reputation that he began to listen. That in actual fact it was just a ploy to capture a dangerous criminal, to protect the public as well as rescue the CSI's.

'By protecting the people who work for you, it shows the public that you're protecting them. Funny that the possibility of improving your reputation can make you change your mind,' mused Brass.

He himself was no stranger to 'reputation.' He was, as he liked to put it, 'once boss of CSI,' but after a grave error was moved back into the Police Department as Captain. He'd also had a large disagreement with Warrick at this time and his decision to get him to shadow Holly Gribbs had led to the tragic events leading after it. Even after that he'd had his disagreements with him, but, over time, had learnt to respect him. He was good at his job. As was Nick.

He needed to call Grissom and let him know how the conversation with the Sheriff had gone. Grissom hadn't been too hopeful, which is one reason he'd hadn't gone to the Sheriff himself. That, and the fact he didn't really have a grasp on the politics side of things preferring to be on the sidelines, often landing him in hot water.

'Which is why Gil Grissom doesn't get involved in politics,' Brass said, heading to make that call.


Gil Grissom had been seated by Warrick's bedside for a while. Various things floated through his mind as the rhythmical beeping of the machinery filled the room, along with the steady breathing of the man in the bed. A few days ago, even hours, he wouldn't have anticipated this scene. He knew that the first few hours in any sort of kidnapping case were crucial if they were to find the victim alive. And even though time had gotten away, they'd found Warrick alive.

'Just. Now we just need to find Nicky.'

He didn't know what Tyrone had in store for Nicky. For the team. He wasn't sure what to expect from tomorrow's meeting. He glanced at the clock on the wall.

'Time to go,' he told himself, although regrettably.

He knew he'd be back soon enough.

'And next time, hopefully Nick will be with us.'


The pipe above his head was still dripping, although the flow had seemed to lessen slightly. The bleeding from his torso had stopped, leaving ugly red gashes where the knife had been. For the moment, he knew that he was going to be kept alive.

'I just don't know until when.'

The situation frustrated him. He felt as though he'd let everyone down, ending up here. Not that he could see it coming. What he didn't like, and what had been playing on his mind since Tyrone had left, was what he'd meant by having one last surprise for his friends.

'Does he mean to hurt me? Or them?'

The thought of it being his friends hurt more then the thought if it being himself. Especially as it was still unclear whether Warrick was dead or alive. Tyrone hadn't mentioned it fully, instead mocking him, making snide comments.

'In fact, I haven't seen Tyrone since he came back,' he thought to himself.

Although the building was crumbling, there was still enough architecture remaining for Tyrone to seal himself away privately. At times, Nick could hear banging, manic laughter and other things, but still had no clear picture about what he was doing.

'Hopefully building his coffin,' he said to himself, pulling at the cuffs in the hope that he could get free.


Images floated inside Warrick's mind. He was dreaming. Or so it seemed. The only difference was that these dreams seemed to be very much real. The fog caused by the medication wasn't helping much either, making things more confusing. It was as though he was watching a re-run on the television. He saw himself, Nick and the others around the lab before it shifted to him and Nick in the bar. He saw himself getting out of the cab, then in a darkroom. The darkroom was illusive; noises coming out from the darkness. It seemed to be shifting, changing shape.

'Nick.'

His own voice screamed around his head as the memories merged in his mind. He tried to open his eyes, except they wouldn't open. They felt heavy as he fought the medication in attempt to open his eyes. It took him a while but, finally, what seemed like an eternity, tired green eyes partially opened, looking at the dull white ceiling.

'White ceiling: that's new.'

The beeping of the equipment caught his attention now. confusion etched in his face. He didn't remember getting here. Or anything leading up to 'here.' He tried to move, but his body didn't want too. He blinked once or twice, listening to the slow beeps. His eyes fluttered a few more times, before the medication fought back. He couldn't fight it no-more, letting his eyes shut and drifting once off once more.


Opening his door, Grissom turned on a light. He grabbed a bottle of water before making himself comfortable on the sofa. Closing his eyes, he let everything drain from him. Time seemed to pass, a shrill ring sounding in the distance.

'Ring, ring.'

Grissom stirred.

'That's my phone.'

Getting up, he went over to the worksurface where he'd left his phone. He looked at the called ID.

'Brass.'

"Grissom," he said.

"Hey Gil. It's Brass. I've spoken to the Sheriff."

Grissom's heart dropped.

"Let me guess, he said no."

"Well, actually, he said yes. It took some persuasion but he eventually agreed. Well, when I mentioned the fact that it may increase his reputation."

Grissom left out a sigh. "That's typical of our Sheriff."

"Yep. Tell me about it. Anyway Gil, we need to arrange the plan. I'm going home to get a few hours sleep but meet you at the lab say in five hours?2

"That's fine Brass. I'll see you then." He hung up the phone.

'Now the hard work is about to begin.'


So, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter up before I go home for the weekend :)