A/N: Sorry for late update, once again. What can I say, RL and one hell of a writer's block halted my progress on the story, but I will really try and finish the story this year, lol. Anyways, thanks to the few who reviewed and also to TangledPencils who as always betaed this little chapter.

Fire and Water

by Nicol Leoraine

Chapter 18

Nick looked at the clock on the wall and noted that the minute hand hadbarely moved since his last check. With a disgruntled groan his eyes slid to the IV that was attached to his hand, the red liquid slowly but surely dripping into his veins. Frankly, he hadn't been against the idea of visiting the hospital when he was lying on the road with Catherine hovering over him. He was just glad that the EMT's took good care of Travis. But he'd really believed that once at Desert Palms, he would be allowedto go home, take a shower and get some much needed sleep. Instead, he was stuck here until the blood transfusion was over. Obviously, all his pulling on the rope hadn'thelped, and he'd lostquite a bit of blood, but that was being replaced and Nick finally saw the last of the red life dripping down the IV tube. His hand automatically reached for the nurse's call button.

Even though the doctor told him he should stay through the night, it was really just a recommendation, one Nick didn't take too well, so the doctor just shrugged and told the nurse that once the transfusion was finished, he could be released. Now Nick waited for the night nurse to appear, nervously tapping his fingers against the stark, white sheet. Finally, an older woman in uniform came and disconnected the drip, putting a band aid over the needle site. She made a last check of his vitals, scribbled them onto the chart, then turned to him with a bored look on her face and told him that the doctor had already signed his discharge papers and that she would bring his clothes.

Nick thanked her and waited another five minutes, grumpily thinking about the impossibility of taking a shower. Even if the bullet hadn't really entered his body, it still left a rather deep graze on his side, one that required several stitches. Now his side was taped and bandaged and he was warned about keeping it all dry and clean and to check for any oozing or infection. So a shower was not an option.

The nurse returned with his clothes and Nick was surprised to see it was a clean shirt and pair of jeans, no sign of any blood.

"One of your friends stopped by and brought these. He had to take away the old clothes as evidence."

Of course, Nick should've realized they'd need the clothes. He shook his head, knowing that he really needed some rest. His thinking was way too slow. But who had come for the clothes? He asked the nurse and she gave him a rather good description of Warrick Brown. Nick frowned, wondering why Warrick hadn't stopped by to at least say hello. Was he that pissed at him? He must've said something or at least looked pretty puzzled, because the nurse smiled and shook her head.

"Oh, no, the young man wanted to know which room you're in, but you were just getting stitched up so I told him to wait. Then his pager beeped and he was called away."

Well, that made sense. Nick thanked the nurse and waited until she left, before starting to dress.

It was already past four in the morning and Nick wondered how he would get home. Sure, he could've called someone from the lab, after all, the night shift was supposedly still on and he was sure one of his colleagues would gladly provide a lift home. However, he really wasn't prepared to face any of them, knowing they'd either fuss over him or scold him for rushing into the situation without any backup. Not that he was alone, Nick thought grimly. This time he'd managed to bring his boss with him too. Well, calling a cab looked like the best option, really. He would be much better prepared to 'face the music' after a few hours of sleep. Nick was happy to find that Warrick had thoughtfully put his badge and wallet into the clean clothes, providing him with some money, though his cell phone was nowhere to be found.

With a pained grunt, Nick left the room and headed toward the closest pay phone. He kept one arm wrapped around his injured side, grimacing as each step pulled at the stitches. The painkillers the doc gave him had obviously stopped working. That reminded him of the prescription he needed to pick up at the pharmacy and this time he didn't even try to hide the grimace. He ordered the cab to pick him up in twenty minutes, hoping that at this time of the night there wouldn't be a long wait at the pharmacy. He was waiting for the elevator, when his eyes paused on a door with a familiar number. Casting a quick look around and seeing the corridor was mostly empty, the night nurses quietly chatting at the other end, not looking, Nick changed his plans.

As inconspicuously as a man can be in the early morning hours inan empty corridor, Nick made his way to the door and slowly slid inside, taking a second to adjust to the dim lights. Once he could see he noticed that all three beds in the room were occupied. But only one person perked his interest.

"Travis?" Nick whispered, not really wanting to wake his friend if he was truly asleep. But the man's eyes popped open and he grimaced.

"Hey. What's the time?"

"Almost five a.m. Did I wake you up?"

"Nah, the nurse did a few minutes ago," Travis said and squirmed in the bed, trying to find a comfortable position. After a minute he gave up and looked at Nick through slightly dazed eyes.

"So, whatcha doing here, Nicky? Don't tell me you're going for the great escape," he said with a grin and Nick returned it.

"Nah, I'm going home. Just thought I'd stop by and see how you're doing."

"Well, the doc was truly surprised I was even alive, after I told him how I crashed the car. So he told me I can consider myself lucky," Travis uttered with dark sarcasm that caught Nick in surprise. "I lose my wife to the hands of some whacko, then I drive the car off the road and then when I finally have the chance to track down that bastard, I'm stopped by your great boss Grissom. Yeah, I really consider myself lucky," Travis snorted and Nick shook his head at the bitterness he heard in his voice.

"You know there was no chance we could track him down. Not in the dark, not when we had trouble even walking. Grissom was right. And whatever you think about the man, he's your best chance of getting those responsible for Jamie's death. Trust me on this, Travis."

"Whatever. Look Nick, I am a bit tired there and would like to catch some shut eye before that nurse comes back and wakes me up again just to see if my brain isn't scrambled. And I bet you wanna catch some Z's yourself."

Seeing that he was being dismissed, Nick let out a sigh and nodded. Maybe later it would be a better time to try and convince Travis that there was still some chance to catch the killer. That he shouldn't lose trust in Nick and the people around him. Somehow, it was really important to Nick to not fail on this case.

"Yeah, sure, you're right man. We both need some beauty sleep. I'll see you later then."

The only reply he got was a soft snore and Nick wasn't sure if it was played or real. It didn't matter anyway. He left the room and headed for the elevator, hoping that the driver of the cab would wait few more minutes.

-xXxXx-

It was several hours later that he was woken up by the ringing of his phone. Blearily reaching for the thing, Nick yelped out in pain when the movement pulled on the stitches in his side.

"Shit!" he cursed, teeth clenched. The sleepy feeling was instantly gone, the pain as efficient as an alarm clock. By the time Nick finally managed to get out of the bed and reach the phone, it had stopped ringing. Frowning at the machine, he thought about going back to bed but he realized that it would probably start ringing again before he could put his head back on the pillow. He'd counted to twelve when the ringing started again and he picked up, leaning against the wall, one hand rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked and wasn't at all surprised when he heard Jim Brass on the other end.

"Sorry if I woke you up, just wanted to ask when you'll stop by. We need your statement about what happened yesterday."

"Uhm, what's the time?"

"Something after four."

"Afternoon?" Nick was surprised to realise he'd slept so long and still felt like he could sleep ten more hours.

"Yeah," the detective said and Nick heard the barely suppressed yawn in the otherman's voice. He would bet that Jim Brass hadn't slept at all and had spent most of the day with the search party looking for the 'Master'.

"Did you find him?"

"No, though we found a few things that might help. We also know the name of the second victim and I'm heading over to Desert Palms to ask your friend Travisabout it. Maybe there was some connection between those victims after all."

"Can you stop here and pick me up, Jim? I'd like to go with you and talk to Travis myself, but my car is... where it is anyway?"

"In your garages, I think someone from the day shift is already going over it, checking for evidence," Brass said and Nick had to cringe at the thought of what state he would find his car in. "Okay Nick, get ready, I'll pick you up in ten."

"Thanks Jim," Nick said ending the call. He stood there for a moment, debating whether to take a shower or not, then deciding that he'd settle for splashing some water on himself and cleaning his teeth before Brass appeared. 'And maybe take another of those pain pills,' he thought when his side protested the simplest movement.

-xXxXx-

He was sitting in the car and listening to Jim Brass speaking about what they'd found, while intensely watching the life behind the windshield, contemplating the facts.

"So the dogs found nothing?" he asked fighting off a yawn. He really shouldn't have taken the pills on an empty stomach.

"They found a small cabin or a hut, whatever they call it, about two miles from the place you were shot at. And they found some tire tracks. Warrick thinks it was a motorbike. He took some casts, maybe we'll be able to find what kind of a bike they belong to. Also some sets of prints on the lock and doors. Sara says they're the same as from the gun the sniper left on the scene, but there was no match in AFIS."

"What about the army? If he had some training they should have him in their database."

"Yeah, well, I think Grissom is working on that but it could take some time. Here we are," Brass said as he pulled the car into the parking lot. With some reluctance, Nick get out of the car and followed Jim through the hospital corridors, finally arriving at the same door he walked out of earlier that day. He just hoped that Travis' attitude was better after a few hours of sleep and that he would be able to help. They really needed a breakthrough.

This time there was only two occupied beds, and the other patient was talking quietly with his family behind the half pulled curtain. Travis was staring ahead, watching afootball game on TV. He looked up when he heard their foot steps, and Nick cringed at the grimace that appeared on Travis' face. He obviously wasn't happy to see them, but Brass either didn't notice it or he didn't care.

Nick watched in calm detachment as the detective took his friends statement about last night and wondered how Travis could look so 'unaffected' for the lack of a better word, by the events. Maybe it just hadn'thit him, how easily he could've been killed. Or he didn't mind...

Nick was brought out of his thoughts when Brass finally mentioned the name of the second victim.

"Does the name Howard Jerry ring any bells? His wife just returned from a visit to her family this morning and found the house empty. She called his work but they hadn't seen him for almost two days, so she called the police."

Nick watched as Travis' face scrunched up in a thoughtful frown and something in the pit of his stomach flickered. He could almost hear the gears turning in Travis' head as he shook it once, slowly.

"I don't..." Travis bit into his lower lip and looked up at Brass, his eyes suddenly going wide.

"Did he work as a business man? In a company that was selling computer technology?"

Both Brass and Nick perked up, looking at each other with that glint in their eyes.

"How did you know that?" the criminalist asked, trying to sound calm, even though he felt anything but that.

"About a year ago, Jamie was called up for jury service. Howard Jerry was also there. I...I remember it because just a few weeks ago Jamie mentioned meeting him at work. She was really excited about it, but she wouldn't tell me why. I totally forgot about it," Travis said, his voice crestfallen as he realised that there was more to Jamie's murder than he'd thought. If he had've been a little more insistent on knowing what she was doing, maybe his wife could've been still alive.

TBC

A/N: Just wanted to wish all of you Merry Christmas and happy holidays. If you wanna give me a present, just send a review, lol.