A/N: Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope this chapter is as well-received as the previous ones! anneruhland, thanks for checking out my story, and I hope you like this chapter! odeepblue, thanks for still reading! The Lovely Desdemona, I did not know that about Latin! Interesting! That must have taken a lot of time to decipher... hmm… too much thinking involved! And thanks for your comment! wraiths-angel, I can't wait for the team-building activity! I think it might involve someone getting stuck in the spider web part of the course. Hehe. And Cherrydrops, I love the Musketeers! Thanks for reading! Oh, and catnip? Keep reading, or I'll keep calling you!
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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS. The first song is "That's What Friends Are For," by Elton John (I think!), and the second song is Carole King's "You've Got a Friend."
Title: Warrick's Story: You've Got a Friend
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Around the Campfire
"So now it's my turn!" Warrick sarcastically enthused. "I can hardly wait to share... really…"
Greg just grinned, raising an eyebrow. "On your mark, get set, go!"
Catherine rolled her eyes at Greg, sighing.
Sara, meanwhile, took a moment to glance over at Grissom, smiling. "It'll be your turn next…" she mouthed to him.
"Fantastic…" he mouthed back, slightly frowning. Because… I really don't want to go, he thought to himself.
"Okay, Rick…" Nick bit his lip. "We're all listening… what's up…? What do you like the most about yourself…?"
"I like my hair…" he grinned. "I definitely, definitely, like my hair!"
"I do, too, actually," Catherine chuckled, raising her gaze to meet his. "But… somehow I highly doubt that Grissom will accept that as an answer…" she added.
"Yeah… I know…" Warrick sighed. Turning to Grissom, he frowned. "Didn't you say that the first question was an easy one…?" he asked.
Grissom shrugged. "Well… it's easier than it could have been…" he told Warrick, raising an eyebrow and flashing him a small smile.
"True…" Warrick mumbled. "Okay… so what do I like the most about myself…really?"
Sara encouragingly nodded at him, as did Catherine. Greg busied himself with staring at the empty fire pit, while Nick glanced through the trees, as if studying… anything other than Warrick. Greg and Nick were paying attention to him, however; they just wanted to give him some personal space in order to collect his thoughts.
"I like my… uh…" Warrick uncomfortably rubbed the back of his neck. "I like… hmm…" he swallowed, fidgeting on his log. "Well… I'd have to say that I like my ability to be there for my friends, I guess… yeah, that's it. My ability to be there for my friends! Done!" he announced to the group. Shit! Maybe that's what you'd LIKE to like the best about yourself, but unfortunately, you make a crummy friend.
"Then… why do you look so anxious, Rick…? That's a great thing to like about yourself…" Nick quietly commented.
"Because I don't like sharing my feelings!" he immediately snapped back.
"Oh…" Nick mumbled, once again staring down at the ground.
"But… isn't being there for your friends a good quality…?" Sara whispered. "I mean… I would think that it is…" she trailed off.
Yeah… when you're actually there for them… Warrick bitterly thought. Because I sure as hell have been a horrible friend for the past six or so years.
"Are you… okay, Warrick…?" Catherine gently probed him.
"Of course! Why do you ask…?" he replied.
"You, uh… look… a little bit unhappy…" she cautiously pointed out.
Warrick sighed. "It's been one year since our last retreat, right…?" he frowned, staring at the empty fire pit.
"One year to the day…" Grissom confirmed, nodding his head.
"Well… all of you have seemed to move on over the past year, and… I'm still fighting the same old demons…"
Greg raised an eyebrow. "You're still thinking about whether or not you're a good man…?" he asked, referring back to last year's conversation.
"Well… not exactly…" he mumbled. "A part of me really believes that I am a good friend, and… I know that I would do anything for one of my friends, but…" he trailed off.
"But…?" Grissom prompted him.
"I still can't get over the fact that I caused Holly's death, and that… I'm the reason that Nick got buried alive."
Nick tightly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Yeah… I really don't want to talk about this right now… he frowned, opening his eyes a moment later, and glancing over at Warrick. "Man… you didn't… you didn't cause me to be buried alive…" he whispered. "It wasn't your fault…I already told you that…"
"It could have happened to any of us, Warrick…" Catherine reminded him. "Nick just happened to be the person to respond to that particular call…"
"I know, but…" he again trailed off.
"No buts about it, Warrick… do you remember what happened after I… came back home…?" Nick swallowed.
"Uh… yeah…" Warrick muttered, glancing at the sticks and rocks around the fire pit. "I took you out to lunch…"
"You did much more than that, man…" Nick sighed. "You talked to me. You helped me cope with what happened. You were there for me…"
"Okay, so I was there for you. Big deal…" Warrick quietly told him. "So how do you explain Holly Gribbs…?"
"Hold on a minute, Warrick…" Sara interrupted him. "'Big deal?' 'Big deal' that you were there for Nick…? It might not have been a big deal for you, but I'm sure as hell positive that it meant a helluva lot to him!" she added, her voice starting to rise in anger. "Because I can tell you that friends can make all of the difference in the world!" she sputtered.
"Sara…" Grissom warned. "Calm down…" he whispered to her.
"No!" Sara replied, feeling her face grow warm with fury. "No, Grissom, because he's a good friend, and he doesn't even see it!" Turning to Warrick, she yelled even louder, "You don't even see it! You're so consumed with Holly Gribbs, that you can't even see that you're still there for the rest of us!"
"But Sara--" Warrick tried to say.
"Don't you 'but Sara' me!" Sara vehemently told him. "Because yes, you made a mistake with Holly, Warrick. A big mistake! A mistake that you will have to live with for the rest of your life! But…" she suddenly dropped her voice down to a mere whisper. "But… that doesn't mean that you haven't been there for the rest of us…" she frowned.
Grissom shot Sara a look, finally silencing her.
"Sorry…" she mumbled.
Even Greg, normally full of words, stared at Sara in disbelief. I've never seen you get quite this angry before… he mused to himself. But you're right, of course… "She's a smart woman, Warrick…" he simply told him. "She speaks the truth…"
Nick stared at the ground below his feet, not entirely sure what he was feeling right now. He was worried about Warrick, that much was for sure, but… after Sara's outburst, he didn't exactly know how to respond. Although her tone of voice was almost… intimidating, her words rang true. And Warrick had to know that. Clearing his voice, he sighed. "Yeah, man… she's right…"
Catherine, shocked at the venom in Sara's voice, bit her lip. "Uh…" she spoke up, raising an eyebrow. "I'd have to… agree with them, Warrick," she cautiously told him. "Survivor's guilt is… painful, to say the very least…"
Warrick looked up at her, the sadness very evident in his eyes. "It… is…?" he hesitantly asked.
"It is…" she confirmed. "After… Eddie died, I just… felt very responsible for everything bad that had happened to him. I went through the 'what-ifs:' 'What if I had been a better wife?' Or, 'what if I hadn't kicked him out?' Or, 'what if I had found a way to help him get over his drug addiction?' I felt like I had caused his death… and that feeling stinks, Warrick…"
"Yeah… it's a bitch…" he mumbled. "And… I just can't get past my feelings… I mean… I know that I'm there for all of you... or at the very least, I try to be. I wasn't joking when I said that that is what I like the most about myself, but…"
"But…?" Greg prodded him.
Warrick sighed. "But… I was still responsible for someone's death, and… no matter how hard I try, I just can't get over that particular fact."
Grissom raised an eyebrow, before clearing his throat. "I wouldn't normally ask this question in front of other people, but…"
"It's okay, go ahead…" Warrick mumbled. "At this point, it really doesn't matter anymore…"
"Have you ever… thought about counseling…?" Grissom cautiously asked him.
"Isn't that… what this is supposed to be…?" Warrick smiled, trying to laugh in order to lighten the mood.
"No, Warrick, I'm serious. Perhaps… you should look into some. I can give you the names of a couple of great people…"
"I don't know, Grissom… Counseling really isn't my cup of tea," he immediately replied. "The whole… laying down on the couch thing, and talking, and just… sharing… I don't like it..."
"I don't, either…" Sara trailed off. "But… I see someone, and… she's really good…" she added. "I could… give you her name, if you'd like. And… I can… go with you for the first time, if that would make you feel more comfortable…"
"Seriously…?" Warrick asked, glancing over at Sara.
"Seriously. Because… you're my friend, and… you've been there for me in the past… and because friends are important to me…"
"I would… appreciate that…" Warrick quietly whispered, staring down at the ground in embarrassment. "A lot, actually. Maybe I'll give this person a call, as soon as we get home…?" he added, raising his eyes to look across the fire pit at her.
Sara just nodded, smiling.
"But again, Warrick…" Nick spoke up. "I want you to remember that you are there for your friends, regardless of what happened with Holly…"
Catherine agreed. "You've definitely always been there for me…"
"And me…" Sara added.
"And me…" Greg confirmed.
"And me, too…" Grissom flashed him a small smile. Well… whenever I let anyone other than Sara be there for me, that is… he frowned.
"Thank you, everyone. I mean it… I really… appreciate your friendship…"
"So keep smiling, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me, for sure…" Greg grinned, starting to sing. "For good times, and bad times, I'll be on your side forever more, that's what friends are for…" he sang.
Warrick started to chuckle at Greg. "Elton John? Isn't that a… love song…?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ehn!" Greg grinned. "Would you prefer Carole King's 'You've Got a Friend…?'" he asked.
"I would, actually," Catherine teased him.
"You got it! Where are my other divas…?" Greg then asked. "Because, didn't this song appear on that vh1 Diva show awhile back…?"
Sara just raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even going to ask you how you know that…" she grinned. "And I'm not singing along with you!" she added.
"Suit yourself!" Greg shrugged, standing up, and clearing his voice. "When you're down, and troubled, and you need some loving care. And nothing, nothing is going right…"
Nick started chuckling, as he listened to Greg.
"HEY! I'M WORKING HERE!" Greg jokingly yelled. "As I was saying, 'and nothing, nothing is going right… close your eyes and think of me, and soon I will be there! To brighten up, even your darkest night…"
"I'm getting that Kumbaya feeling again…" Catherine mumbled, as she resisted the urge to sing along with Greg.
"Must… Not… Sing…" Sara laughed, although she was relieved that the tension was quickly ebbing away from the campsite, thanks, yet again, to Greg's humor.
"'You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I'll come running, to see you again. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall. All you have to do is call. And I'll be there, yes I will, 'cause you've got a friend…'" Greg concluded.
"Uh… thanks… I think…" Warrick grinned, running a hand through his hair.
Without anyone noticing, Grissom unobtrusively sighed. Great… I'm next… he frowned.
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TO BE CONTINUED
