Author's note: this chapter is a bit longer and it really starts things off. Hope you enjoy. Still no coupling as of yet.
Spoilers: I will generally tell what spoilers the chapters contain. In this Chapter: season 6, slight 'Fight Night' spoilers
Summary: When Ecklie chooses Grissom's team to head to a conference in London, the Las Vegas CSI nightshift couldn't be more excited. Then their plane crashes in the sea. Now Grissom, Catherine, Nick, Warrick, Sara, and Greg are stranded on a deserted island and their only way home is to survive.
Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. Also in this chapter there is mention of a book called 'what to do in the worst case senario' it is an actaul book and i dont own it either.
Surviving the Storm
Chapter Two: The Worst Case Senario
"Nick, what on earth are you reading?" Sara asked the man next to her. Nick looked up at her with a confused look on his face. He then showed her the cover.
"What to do in the worst case scenario?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's actually really interesting. It tells you what to do in emergencies. Like this one," he explained, leaning over to show her the page he was on, "It tells you how to deliver a baby in a taxi. And this one," he flipped the page, "tells you what to do if you're abducted by aliens." Sara snorted.
"If I ever have to deliver an alien child in a taxi, I'll read it," she said sarcastically.
"Yeah, well, when you're getting probed, I'll be on earth with my feet on solid ground," Nick retorted, turning back to his book. The Texan smile on his face gave him away, however. Sara turned back to her own book; a mystery.
"Who's getting probed?" Warrick asked, an eyebrow rose.
"Nobody," Sara answered.
"Sara," Nick also answered. Warrick shook his head and turned back to the in-flight movie.
"Were they just talking about getting probed?" Catherine asked without looking up from her book.
"I stopped following that conversation a while ago," Grissom replied, filling in a blank in his crossword puzzle.
"Smart idea," she said, taking a sip from her Diet Coke, "Why is Greg so quiet?"
"Mp3 player," Grissom answered. Sure enough their spiky-haired colleague's head was bobbing up and down. Just then the pilot's voice sounded over the communication system.
"Folks we are about to experience some turbulence, but there is nothing to worry about. The seatbelt sign has been turned on, so I ask that everybody return to their seats and buckle up their seatbelts. Thank you."
"Greg…Greg!" Catherine hissed, before tapping his shoulder.
"What?" he asked, removing his headphones.
"Seatbelt," she said, pointing up at the little light. He nodded and put the belt on. It was a good thing he did, for at that moment, the plane bucked, hitting the first bout of turbulence. Then it hit another, bucking more violently. Grissom went rigid.
"Cold!" he said though clenched teeth. Catherine's drink had spilt on him.
"Sorry, Gil," she apologized, trying to hide the laughter in her voice. He mock-glared at her. The plane bucked more violently still.
"This is the most violent turbulence I've ever experienced," Sara complained through gritted teeth. The plane bucked again.
"Folks, we're just going through a slight tropical storm. Things should clear up within the hour. There is nothing to worry about," the pilot announced.
"Slight? This is slight?" Warrick asked, bracing himself as the plane rocked again.
"Are you okay, Nick? You look a little green," Sara asked. Nick was sitting beside her, gripping the seat, eyes closed.
"Sure," Nick answered in a small voice. The plane bucked more violently still.
"This sucks!" Greg exclaimed.
"Thanks for that one, Greggo," Warrick responded, just as the plane bucked its worst yet.
Meanwhile in the cockpit…
"This storm isn't letting up!" the co-pilot shouted to his partner.
"It will!" the pilot responded as the plane was hit again. Rain pounded on the windows and neither pilot nor co-pilot knew how this storm was affecting their flight.
"Arrghh!" Grissom groaned as the plane was hit harder still.
"This has to let up soon!" Catherine exclaimed, gripping the seat hard.
"Since when are you an optimist?" Warrick called over.
"Since I'm 6000 feet in the air!" she replied. The plane bucked again.
"Captain, we're losing altitude!" the co-pilot shouted over the din of the storm.
"That can't be!" the pilot cried, looking over the instruments. He saw it was true.
"This is flight 412 to control! Mayday! Mayday! Control, do you copy?" the co-pilot shouted into the radio. All he received was static.
"I'm gonna be sick!" Nick cried, grabbing a bag and retching into it.
"Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse!" Sara shouted, grabbing her own bag.
"Oh, God, I'm gonna die!" Greg cried as the plane hit more turbulence.
"No you're not. It's just a storm!" Grissom shouted as numerous other passengers screamed.
"We're going down!" the co-pilot cried out. The captain got on the communication system.
"Folks, I'm afraid we are losing altitude. If you will just remain calm and stay in your seats, we should be able to find a place to land."
Catherine's eyes widened.
"Losing Altitude! Oh, God, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" she exclaimed, shutting her eyes and repeating this mantra.
"Cath?" Gil called over to her.
"Yes?"
"Shut up!" More turbulence hit, and Grissom could definitely feel they were falling at an angle.
"There's no place to land, Captain! We're over the Atlantic!" the co-pilot shouted.
"Well, we can't go nose-first into the water!" the pilot responded, enabling the landing gear.
They hit the water. For a moment it felt like they were on solid ground, then the waves started.
"Oh, my god, I think we hit something!" Sara exclaimed.
"Is every one okay?" Warrick asked, turning to look at his shaken colleagues.
"What's happening?" Greg shouted, frantically looking out the window.
"I don't know!" Grissom called. That's what scared the CSIs the most. They had always felt their supervisor knew everything, now he was just as clueless as the rest of them.
"Everyone remain calm!" The pilot was now amongst the passengers, joined by the co-pilot and stewardesses, "We have been forced to land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, however, we have enough life rafts for everyone on board. If we stay on the plane, we will sink to the bottom of the ocean. Six people to a raft please. Again, don't panic. We have enough rafts."
"We're in the middle of the ocean," Catherine breathed, paling.
"It's going to be okay, Cath. Its ok," Grissom said, gently rubbing her shoulder.
"We are going to die," Sara whispered, tears streaming down her face.
"No we aren't. We'll be fine," Grissom said firmly. He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to focus on getting the job done and getting out of there.
"What he said," Warrick nodded in agreement. The pilot made his way over to them.
"The six of you?" he asked. Grissom stood up.
"Yes. I'll take it," he answered, taking the inflatable yellow life raft.
"Take it to the doors. You will be shown what to do," the pilot explained.
"Thank you," Grissom said, nodding curtly, "Come on, guys. Hurry up." He watched as his team dragged themselves to their feet. Greg silently got to his feet, but Grissom noticed he was shaking. Warrick waited as Nick and Sara got up and passed him, Sara, crying and clutching Nick's arm. Grissom himself helped Catherine to her feet. She was scared beyond tears. Her hand shook in his as he led them to the door.
The co-pilot opened it. It seemed almost surreal.
The sea was churning and the sky was a deep purple. Yellow boats bobbed up and down, their occupants clutching each other, realizing the end was near. Grissom swallowed hard.
"Life Jackets," the co-pilot said, sounding as if he was trying not to cry. He trusts yellow jackets to each of them before inflating their raft.
"Thank you," Grissom got out. He realized his own legs were shaking. He put the boat in the water and held it steady as Nick, Warrick, Greg, and he got in. It took them a moment to regain their balance, but when they did, they helped Sara and Catherine in as well. How they did it, they will never know, but soon, they were paddling against the ocean, away from the plane.
"Everyone doing okay?" Nick asked, looking from face to face.
"As well as can be expected, Nick," Grissom answered, worry etched on his face. Nobody liked their position, but in a few moments time, they realized they were some of the lucky ones. The ones that escaped the plane.
They watched in horror as a huge wave hit the plane, flipping it over. Sara and Catherine screamed, while the awful visions of what could have been, played in each man's head.
"Oh my God," Greg said softly, realizing that there were still people on board. Now they were lost at sea. He slumped back, his back hitting the side of the boat.
"The waves are getting rougher. If they could flip that plane…" Warrick trailed off. They were doomed. He would never see his wife again. Never hold her; never tell her that he loved her. He wasn't the only one thinking about family. For the next few hours, as the waves rocked them, they thought of home. Nobody spoke a word.
It happened in an instant. One second they were fine, but the next, they were all in the air, falling into the churning waters of the ocean. It did not take long for the CSIs' heads to break the water.
"Is everyone ok? Nick? Warrick? Sara? Catherine? Greg?" Gil spluttered. He could not see them. He panicked, "CATH! WARRICK! NICK! SARA! GREG!" he heard coughing.
"O-over here, Grissom!" Nick shouted, willing his arms and legs to swim towards his boss. The water was so cold!
"Are you alright?" Grissom asked, grabbing hold of Nick's life-jacket.
"Y-yeah. Where are the others?" Nick chattered.
"Grissom! Nick!" Sara called, dog paddling over to them.
"Sara! A-are you alright?" Grissom chattered. They couldn't stay in this water much longer. They would die of hypothermia. She nodded.
"GUYS! NICK? SARA? GRISSOM?" they heard Warrick's voice echo.
"Over here!" Nick called. To everyone's immense relief, a few moments later, they saw three figures kicking towards them.
"Are you g-guys okay?" Sara called as they reached each other.
"It's c-cold!" Catherine replied, grabbing onto Sara's life-jacket. Greg chattered beside her while Warrick grabbed onto Nick's jacket.
"We can't stay in here much longer. D-did you guys see the r-raft?" Grissom asked.
"It's over that w-way! It's floating u-upside down!" Greg said. Grissom nodded.
"Let's get t-to it!" he ordered. The six of them splashed towards the capsized raft.
"We need to flip it over!" he called. It seemed that they all knew what they needed to do. All six of them climbed onto the bottom, applying weight to one side, so the raft flipped over.
"How're we g-gonna get up there?" Warrick asked. From the water, the feat seemed almost impossible.
"Warrick, you and Nick swim to that other side and h-hold it steady. Greg, hold this s-side with me!" he called. They did as they were told.
"Hold it really steady, g-guys!" he shouted over.
"We g-got it!" Nick called back.
"Okay! Sara, Catherine, you two climb up. We've got it!" Grissom ordered. Catherine and Sara latched onto the side, struggling to pull themselves up. After what seemed like an eternity, they fell into the inside of the boat, exhausted.
"Good job, ladies. Now pull Nick and Warrick up there!" Grissom shouted.
"If w-we get outta this a-alive, I'll kill him," Catherine whispered, dangerously.
"I'll help hide the b-body," Sara agreed. They crawled over to Nick and Warrick's side. They each grabbed one of Nick's arms and heaved him up into the boat. Then they got Nick's help to get Warrick up.
"Cath, Sara, you guys stay on that side while we pull them up," Nick said. He and Warrick pulled Greg up first, then Grissom.
"Great job, guys," Grissom panted.
"Yeah, you might wanna c-cut back on the doughnuts," Warrick deadpanned. That got a little smile out of everyone. They huddled together for warmth, though they all still shivered like crazy. The waves were finally calming and there was even a part in the clouds.
"The boats," Sara murmered softly.
"What?" Greg asked, turning to stare at her.
"The boats. They're gone," she said. Everyone looked and saw she was right. There were no more little yellow boats. No more people huddled in small groups. They couldn't even see the plane anymore. All they could see for miles was more ocean. For what felt like hours, they floated, all of them huddled together.
"I spy with my little eye something that is green," Greg said, finally breaking the silence.
"Nick's face?" Sara asked. Greg shook his head.
"The water?" Warrick asked.
"Nope," Greg answered, happy he had something else to think about.
"That piece of seaweed floating on top of the water?" Grissom asked. Everyone stared at him. None of them were even sure he knew how to play 'I Spy'.
"Yeah. Your turn, Gris," Greg responded.
"I spy with my little eye something that is white."
"The strap on the side of the boat?" Sara asked. He shook his head.
"Greg's shoelaces?" Warrick guessed.
"No. Try again," Grissom replied.
"That seagull?" Nick asked, receiving a negative answer.
"Catherine's shirt?" Greg asked. This put him on the receiving end of Grissom's and Catherine's glares.
"The clouds?" Catherine guessed.
"Yeah, you got it," he said, pointing towards the sky. Seagulls flew across his view. Nick started.
"Seagulls live near land! They don't go out to sea!" he shouted, turning to look around. And then he saw it. A sandy beach, huge rocks gouging out of the water, and what looked like a tropical forest not too far from the beach. Warrick laughed in relief.
"Yeah! Thank you, Discovery Channel!" he exclaimed, a huge smile on his face. Nick rolled his eyes.
"Let's go!" Grissom said, a smile evident on his face. He put his hand in the water and started paddling towards land.
"Aye Aye, Captain!" the rest of them exclaimed triumphantly, joining him.
TBC