A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. They really do make me happy.
Sara stepped into the morgue, the door swinging closed behind her. Doc Robbin's stood near the newest body of "The Babysitter", 7 year old Casey Tripping. The morgue was cold, and Sara shivered.
Doc Robbin's gestured to the body as Sara approached.
"Look's exactly like my daughter when she was this age," he said softly. Sara sent him a understanding look.
She hated comparing the victims to Emily.
But it was impossible not too.
"Come on, Doc," Sara said desperately. "This is the 5th victim… please tell me you have something!"
Just then the door of the morgue swung open, and Nick came in, throwing a lab coat on as he walked in.
"What are you doing here?" Sara asked, confused. Nick stood besides her, gently squeezing her shoulders before nodding at Doc Robbins.
"I can't sleep," he admitted. "Not when we have a fresh one…"
Sara understood, and turned back to Doc Robbins.
"It's just like the other victims, " he confirmed to them. He gestured to the little girl's body. "Beaten, starved…"
"Raped?" Sara asked hoarsely. Doc Robbin's nodded.
"Repeatedly."
Nick hung his head, squeezing his eye's shut painfully. He took a deep breath, and resumed looking at the body.
"It's okay," he told Doc Robbin's and Sara, who were both looking at him in concern. "It's just hard to look at her and not think about…"
The doctor nodded his understanding, and Sara squeezed his elbow in comfort. She would have loved to hug him, to reassure him. But they needed to keep professional.
"Any semen? Fibers? Hairs?" Nick asked. Doc Robbin's shook his head.
"It's exactly like the other victims," he said again. "Nothing."
"How can that be!" Sara asked, her voice rising in frustration. "He keeps them for 2 days! He rapes them, beats them!" Why isn't there any evidence!"
"I'm sorry, Sara," Doc Robbin's said softly. She let out a sigh.
"Cause of death?"
"Suffocation."
Nick nodded.
Just like the other victims.
Why weren't they any closer to getting the killer?
"You might find something on the clothes," Doc Robbins said, and Nick nodded. This crime scene had been the messiest. Just because they hadn't found any evidence on the body, didn't mean they wouldn't find any on all the other things they collected.
"Hopefully next time he'll leave us something," he added. Nick shook his head.
"There's not going to be a next time," he said, and Sara nodded, turning walking out of the morgue.
"I won't be coming in here again to deal with another body of this killer," she said softly. "I'm going to solve this before another little girl gets hurt."
Nick followed her out, leaving Doc Robbins alone. As he placed the body back into the freezer, he spoke out to the empty room.
"I hope you're right."
And he closed the door, hopefully on the last little girl that would be hurt by this monster.
"Are you sure you want to do this," Doc Robbin's asked once again. Nick nodded, his hands gently stroking Sara's shoulders. She was shaking, but she too nodded.
Doc Robbin's pulled the sheet back.
Emily Stokes looked back at them.
Sara let out a long breath, before turning around and burying her face into Nick's chest. He kept her close, stroking her back.
"What happened," Nick wanted to know. Doc Robbin's gave him a clear look.
"Are you one hundred percent sure you want to know?"
Nick hesitated for a second, and then nodded his head.
"Died from suffocation," he told them. Emily's beautiful face didn't show even the slightest hint that she was dead. Her skin was pale, and that was the only indication that something was wrong.
She had been blessed with Nick's skin.
Sara turned in Nick's arms, reaching out for her daughter. She ran her fingers across Emily's cheeks, and let out a small sob.
"She was raped, wasn't she?"
Doc Robbins nodded. Taking another deep breath, Sara bent down, brushing her lips across Emily's cold forehead.
Then she left.
It felt like Nick's entire core had been ripped out as he starred at his daughter's body.
"Could, I, uh, have a moment," Nick asked hoarsely. The doctor looked like he was going to refuse, but thought better of it. He moved out of the room, hobbling away, closing the door behind him.
Nick's gaze returned to his daughter's body. He moved his finger's to her face, gently stroking the skin there.
She was so cold.
"I'm so sorry, princess," Nick said, feeling his voice choke up. "I failed you."
He half expected that she would stand up, and give him a hug, and tell him that she loved him. But she didn't. Just lay there in the cold morgue.
"You were one of the best things that happened to me," Nick told her. "You are your Mom. I don't know what I would have done without you two. You were my world."
A few tears fell from his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away.
Even now, he hated to show weakness in front of her.
She'd always seen him as a hero.
A bright-eyed Emily starred up at him. "You help people, don't you Daddy?"
"You betcha, kiddo."
She reached up for him. "You're my hero, Daddy. I want to help people too!"
"I love you so much," he whispered. "So much. I don't think I can even describe how much I love you."
He stroked her curls, running his fingers through the soft strands.
"Your Mom loved you too." He added. "You were her whole world. Even I took second place next to you. She loved you so much. You were such a good kid."
Without even realizing it, he reached down and pulled Emily's lifeless body up to him, cradling her head against his chest. He knew he shouldn't have. He knew it was against protocol.
But he needed to hold his little girl…
Just one more time
Her chest was littered with bruises, ones he hadn't seen when the white sheet had been up.
What had the bastard done to his daughter?
He pressed his lips to her hair, letting his tears fall into her hair.
"I'm so sorry," he breathed out. "If I had worked harder, I could have caught him before he hurt you. I'll never forgive myself for what happened."
"Nick!"
Grissom's voice sounded behind him and Nick immediately lowered Emily back, placing her back down onto the table, and covering her chest up again.
"What are you doing here Nick?"
He ignored his question, and quickly turned away from his daughter. Walking up to Grissom, he spoke again.
"You better catch this guy, Grissom" Nick said sadly. With a glance back towards Emily, he walked out of the morgue.
"Make him pay for what he did to my little princess."
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