A/N – Hey, everyone! Thanks to everyone who read the last chapter, and special thanks to those who reviewed! You guys are the best!

Enjoy this one, and feedback is loved!

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Chapter 5 – Dead on Arrival

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Nick tensed up, his eyes skimming over the hood's bloody message again. "Nick," Grissom started. "You know I've never judged you or your lifestyle...but this isn't a joke. I don't want to impose on you or your privacy, but... we can't just pretend this didn't happen."

"I know," Nick choked out, his eyes fixed on the killer's jagged, red warning. "Whatever you guys need to know..."

Greg rested his head on Nick's shoulder, stroking his lower back tenderly. Normally, Nick wouldn't want such a public display of affection, especially in front of their coworkers, but at this point Greg didn't care. All he cared about was being there for his boyfriend and doing everything in his power to protect and comfort him.

Nick's phone vibrated in his pocket, but he made no move to get it. Greg sighed and reached into the other man's back pocket, holding it out in front of his boyfriend. Taking it from Greg, Nick flipped it open. "Stokes."

"Well, well, well... Mr. Stokes..." A deep, unfamiliar voice rumbled through the phone. "I see you got my message..." Nick froze, a throaty laughter echoing in his ear.

"Nicky, what's wrong?" Greg asked, the worry evident in his voice.

Nick's lips moved in a silent plea. 'It's the killer...' Greg's eyes widened, as his body went into panic mode.

The killer's deep voice returned to Nick's ear, "I'm coming for you... That blonde bitch got in my way..." Nick fumbled for the speakerphone button, shaky fingers pressing it. The killer's final words echoed into the air, "But no one can stop me now."

Before anyone could move or do a thing, the line went dead. Nick's hand went limp and the phone crashed to the ground, the sound fading into the darkness. Nick's vision blurred and his body collapsed to the blacktop, his world going black.

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"Nicky?"

"Nick!"

"Baby..."

"Wake up, Nicky..."

Nick groaned, his eyes starting to focus on reality. Warrick, Sara, Greg, and Catherine were standing in a circle around him, all four pairs of eyes watching him intently.

"You okay, man?" Warrick asked, offering his hand to help him sit up.

Nick nodded slowly, resting his throbbing head in his hand. "What happened?" he grumbled.

Grissom walked over, a stern look on his face. "The killer called you, and then you passed out," he said, matter-of-factly.

"What did he say?" Nick asked, the conversation fuzzy in his mind.

Sara shrugged. "You're the only one who heard anything..."

"Well actually," Catherine said, holding up a hand. "We did hear one thing..."

"He said, 'No one can stop me now'..." Greg knelt down next to his boyfriend, holding Nick's free hand in his own, a concerned look on his face. "You don't remember anything, Nicky?"

Nick groaned, massaging his temple. "He... he said... something about a blonde?" He looked up at Greg, matching his gaze. The younger man's eyes drifted past his boyfriend's to the bloody patch of blacktop where the blonde victim was lying.

Greg's eyes widened and he stood, dropping Nick's hand and moving toward the body. Grissom held out an arm, stopping him from going any farther. "You don't have any gloves on. Stop."

Greg's mouth fell open and he blinked back tears, his sight fixed on the dead woman sprawled out on the ground. "Becka," he breathed, pushing past his boss carelessly. He stopped before he reached the blood pool, staring at her still body.

Her pale white skin contrasted the bloodstained blacktop she was lying on. Her normally bright green eyes were frozen open and glazed over. Her blonde hair was splayed out, sticky and a deep red from the blood around her. Her small mouth hung open loosely, a silent cry for help.

"Greg," Grissom's voice was drowned out by the silence in his head. "Greg?"

"This is my fault," he choked out, sinking to the ground. He covered his face with his hands, trying to block the image of his bloody, mutilated lover from his mind. "This is all my fault..."

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Update sometime later this week. Feedback is loved.