Title: Halfhearted
Pairing: Sara/Nick, Amelia/Speed, Amelia/Grissom
Spoiler: Lost Son, Viva Las Vegas, Pilot, basically all CSI episodes up to season 4/5ish.
Summary: Amelia's out of the hospital and she's back at the Lab. What happens when a hug between Amelia and Grissom incites riot? A case involving the murder of a Politician's wife, another involving a dead husband and a Casino theft wears down the CSIs as unexpected news jumps in their faces.
Disclaimer: I only own what you do not recognize. I.E: Amelia, Evan, and the victims and suspects. CSI Belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and all of those smart people who created these fine CSI series.
My Note: Yet again in my life I find myself writing non-school stuff when I should be working on school stuff. I can't help it if I love to procrastinate. But just think people, you're the ones benefiting! Here I am, being all nice and stuff and updating for you. I realized, while going through and editing my previous chapters, that I have really lengthy chapters. So here I am, attempting to clear up some things with Nick and Warrick and attempting to post a lengthy chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 6- Casino Theft
"All around me I see danger" –Within Temptation "Final Destination"
"Ok, Mel and Catherine, you have a DB at a hotel." Grissom stated as he handed the paper to Amelia, his eyes looking at the next slip of paper. He looked at her as their fingers touched. Amelia quickly pulled away and looked down at the paper. Grissom cleared his throat as the rest of the team gave him and Amelia a questioning look. Nick watched the encounter between his supervisor and his sister. Everyone on grave had figured there was something going on between them, now they were all just waiting for Grissom and Amelia to confirm it. "Uh, Sara you're with me. DB killed in his home." He handed the slip to Sara. "Warrick and Nick, you have a theft at a Casino." He handed the slip of paper to Warrick.
It didn't really bother Nick that Amelia and Grissom had feelings for each other. It had been a little odd seeing them "together" at first, but the more Nick watched them, the more Nick saw how truly perfect they were together. Besides, after everything Amelia had been through, with Evan and Tim, she deserved to be happy. If Grissom made her happy, then who was Nick to tell her to stop?
Warrick, on the other hand, wasn't bothered necessarily, just sad that he had lost yet another opportunity with Amelia. Who knows, maybe they just weren't met to be together.
"Have fun." Grissom said to Warrick as the CSIs left the lounge. Nick smirked.
"Always." Warrick and Nick met in the parking lot a few minutes later, ready to head out in Nick's Tahoe. As Nick and Warrick drove to the scene, Nick decided to ask Warrick's opinion of Grissom and Amelia's relationship.
"So what do you think about Griss and Ames?" Nick asked, looking at Warrick from the corner of his eyes. Warrick visibly tensed, but relaxed after a second. He shrugged. Nick found Warrick's reaction to the question interesting.
"I guess it's odd to two of the team together, but if they're happy and keep it out of the lab, I don't see the problem." Warrick replied, looking out of the window. Nick was now curious due to Warrick's answer. Did Warrick like Amelia? Nick had never noticed anything between them and Warrick had never said anything about her in that way.
"I think they're perfect for each other. Always have been. As long as Grissom keeps her happy and she makes him happy, then I'm nothing but smiles for them. Our parents, on the other hand, will probably have a fit. I mean, Griss is thirteen years older than Ames. He's only like a year older than our oldest sister Cherie, but I figure Mom and Dad will probably still have a fit over the age difference. They want lots of grandchildren, ya know?" Nick joked. Warrick chuckled.
"Ecklie's gonna have a fit when he finds out. Co-workers aren't supposed to date. He's gonna make one of them choose." Warrick remarked. Nick nodded grimly.
"It would suck to lose either of them to another shift. Ames will probably go noble and switch to day or swing. Just as long as neither of them quit." Warrick nodded in agreement.
They arrived at the Casino and headed inside. Det. Ray O'Riley met them inside.
"What do we got Ray?" Warrick asked as they reached the Detective. Ray frowned. The Casino was fairly busy for such a time of night. In Las Vegas, that was no big deal, but on this night, having so many people around would just hinder their investigation. Ray hated big crowds. And that's what they had. On the outside of their crime scene, watching from behind the yellow crime scene tape, a hoard of people craned their necks, trying to see what was going on.
"What's with the tape Ray? Did somebody die? We thought this was a theft." Nick asked, looking around. Ray shook his head.
"Nope, just trying to keep out the people. Don't ask me. I didn't do it." Nick quirked an eyebrow while Warrick rolled his eyes.
"Ok, so what is it?" Nick asked.
"Tiffany Close, a teller here, claims a man came up to the window, pointed a gun at her and demanded all the money in her draw. She gave it to him, he put in a bag and ran off." Ray explained. He pointed to his left. A blonde girl dressed in the teller uniform was sitting at a table, talking with a cop. "Officer Wydell is getting her description of the guy as we speak." Nick and Warrick exchanged a look.
"I'll see if we can get any prints from the teller window. You check with the girl?" Warrick said. Nick nodded his agreement and walked over to the teller while Warrick and Ray headed to the teller's window. "This it?" Warrick asked. Ray nodded.
"This is the scene of the crime. She said he made off with about 2 G's. Mostly big bills, like $20s." Ray told Warrick. Warrick smirked.
"The bills should be able to be traced back to the casino. Once he starts spending, we should be able to catch him." Warrick explained as he began to dust for prints. Ray nodded.
"Hopefully soon."
"Dude, Warrick, we've got a problem." Nick said after about twenty minutes. He rushed up to Warrick's side. Warrick was just about done getting prints. He looked up at Nick, curious,
"What is it?" Warrick asked, concern hitting him like a brick once he saw the look on Nick's face.
"The teller gave the cops your description." Nick said quickly.
Warrick stared at Nick, confused. "What did you just say?" He asked.
"The teller gave the cops your description. She said you were the one who stole the money Rick." Nick repeated. Warrick groaned and grabbed his head. What was going on? This could not be happening.
"I swear Nicky, it wasn't me! Why would I do that? Especially when I know I would get recognized. Seriously Nicky! Come on man!" Warrick pleaded his case. Nick nodded and shrugged. He knew Warrick was innocent. Nick held up his hands to stop Warrick from talking.
"Hey man, look. If you say it wasn't you, then I believe you. But it doesn't change the fact that someone is accusing you of robbery. You'll have to sit this one out." Warrick groaned angrily, interrupting Nick. Nick gave him a stern look. "Go home, get some rest and get your alibi. I'll finish up here and I'll work the case. I'll clear you, man, you know that! The evidence will prove it wasn't you."
Warrick could not believe this. He was being accused of robbery! Warrick gave Nick one last look before he began to pack up his kit. Nick was right, the evidence would prove it wasn't him. As much as Warrick hated it, he would have to walk away and let Nick handle it.
He just hoped he wasn't being framed. And if he was, who was it and why would they frame him? It had been years since Warrick had been caught up in gambling. Warrick's future now lay in Nick's hand and Warrick knew Nick wouldn't let him down. The evidence would exonerate him.
Hours later, Nick poured over the photos in the layout room. He was still waiting on the security tape and he was waiting on the results of the prints found at the scene. The photos didn't tell much, but for now, all Nick could do was wait.
Soon Amelia walked into the layout room and found Nick in there, working on one side of the table. Amelia smiled at him as she set her pictures on the other side. He smiled back at her. She could tell it was a pained smile, but she had no idea about Warrick.
"How's it going?" He asked, motioning to the pictures. Amelia sighed and spread the pictures of the wall out.
"Bad. Politician's wife." Amelia said as she set out the pictures of Rene Edwards. Nick cringed. A dead politician or a dead politician's family member was never a good thing. That would mean it would be high profile and most likely messy.
"Who?" He asked as he stretched. The hour spent bent over photos had not been kind to his back.
"Rene Edwards." She told him. Nick shook his head as he went back to his work.
"That cannot be good at all. Jack Edwards...who would want to kill him or anybody in his family? He's a nice guy." Nick said.
"As far as we can tell, the bullets were supposed to kill his kids." Nick's head shot up in surprise and anger. "The bullets were shot into the kid's room. The wife was in there putting her kids to bed. They all ran for the next room, but...well, she didn't make it." She told him. Nick sighed and looked back at his pictures.
"That's gotta suck. I've seen her in the paper. She's always doing something for charity and kids. She seemed like a great person." Nick said sadly. Amelia nodded.
"Yeah." Was all she said. Amelia stared at the pictures, trying to piece everything together. The evidence seemed to match up with the witnesses statements. All she had to do was find out who would do this. Nick was right, the Edwards' were a nice family and everybody loved them. It was rare that anybody spoke out badly about them. Everybody seemed to love them.
Nick watched the scene of Amelia and Grissom with interest as he stood in the lounge. What in the world was going on with Amelia? As Amelia walked off to the locker room and Grissom followed Sara back into the layout room, Nick watched the lab techs start gossiping about the obvious inter-office relationship between Amelia and Grissom. Nick cringed inwardly as he thought about the conversation between Ecklie and Amelia that was sure to come. Ecklie would not be happy to hear about two CSIs on the same shift dating.
Nick turned as Catherine and Warrick walked past him. He watched them as they headed towards the locker room. I think I'll follow them, Nick thought. He hurried to catch up with them. The trio entered the locker room and found Amelia sitting silently in front of her locker.
"Mel?" Catherine said, jarring Amelia from her thoughts. Nick and Warrick watched as Amelia stared at her locker.
"Yes, Grissom and I have been dating. Sort of. We've gone on three dates." Amelia answered the un-asked question. Amelia's phone beeped, interrupting what was going to be Catherine's response. The trio waited as Jim communicated with Amelia about a suspect in their case. After Amelia hung up, she continued to stare at her locker, not saying a word. Finally she spoke, albeit quietly, "I'm four months pregnant." Nick's eyes went wide in surprise. He was not expecting that. Beside him, Warrick had the same reaction.
"Oh Ames...is it...Tim's?" Catherine asked softly. Amelia nodded and licked her lips.
"Yeah. Uh, I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner. I just-I didn't know how." She chuckled nervously.
"It's ok Ames. Come on. We've got somebody to question." Catherine said, rubbing Amelia's back.
"Yeah, let's go."
Through all of this, Nick was surprisingly quiet. He was quietly watching his older sister, watching her as she gave them two pieces of surprising news. He could believe that she and Grissom were dating, but he couldn't believe that she was pregnant. Poor Mel, Nick thought, she just can't catch a break.
Nick and Warrick moved out of the way as Catherine and Amelia left the locker room. As his sister passed by him, their eyes met and he gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. He would be by her side no matter what. They were family. Amelia smiled back in response. A small weight lifted off her shoulders, knowing her brother was by her side.
Warrick and Nick stood in silence before Warrick finally spoke. "How's the case?" He asked quietly. Nick cleared his throat and looked at his best friend, pain on his face.
"I can't talk about it, you know that. Go home, man. You gave Riley your statement?" He asked. Warrick nodded.
"Yeah man, I did. I just can't sit still. I need to do something." Warrick exclaimed, pacing around the locker room. Nick shook his head.
"Go home, I mean it. Don't mess up the case Rick." Nick warned. Warrick stopped his pacing and stared at his best friend. Slowly, he nodded and walked past Nick to leave the locker room. But he wasn't going home.
Warrick drove around town for a while, thinking. After about thirty minutes of driving around, he heard over the radio that Jim had been shot. Warrick shook his head angrily. What the hell was going on in Las Vegas today? He thought. First, he was being framed for a theft, then Jim gets shot, Amelia and Grissom are embroiled in an office affair. The shit had hit the fan.
Warrick finally ended up in the bar of the casino. It was across the room from where the robbery took place. He sat at a table in the corner, water in front of him. He couldn't afford to drink, in case the case took a turn for the worse. After sitting for a while, he watched Amelia walk into the bar and sit down at the bar and order a drink.
Warrick stood up from his table and walked over to her, sitting in the seat next to her.
"Wanna tell me why you're in a casino bar?" He asked. Amelia sighed and opened her eyes, chuckling.
"Seems familiar, huh?" She asked.
"I'm surprised you remember that." Warrick said, smiling. Amelia looked at him and chuckled, nodding. It was a long time ago, Warrick remembered. Late 1999 or early 2000, if he remembered right.
"I remember a lot of things. What are you doing here?" Amelia asked. Warrick pointed across the room to the casino. An officer was standing in front of the yellow tape to cover a section of the casino.
"Working on a case." Warrick told her. He didn't want to tell her the truth. He wanted to keep it as quiet as possible, that way there would be as little repercussions as possible.
"Oh." The two laughed and Amelia turned back to her drink.
"What are you doing here?" Warrick asked. Amelia shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "Shouldn't you be working?"
"Don't start Rick. Something just came up and I needed a few minutes to collect myself before going back to the lab." Amelia told him. Warrick nodded. He knew when to not push her.
"Right. So how's Jim?" He asked.
"Jim's good. He's sleeping. I'm sure he'll be fine." Amelia told him. Warrick nodded and looked away. Amelia glanced at her watch and sighed. "I better get back. Catherine and I have run into a stop on our case."
"Right. Stay sane." Warrick told her as Amelia walked away. Amelia chuckled and headed towards the front door. Warrick watched her walk away. He remained seated at the bar. He prayed to God that Nick could find the evidence to exonerate him.