Thank you for my three reviews, you guys (AA, MARYMEL AND WARRICKLOVESSARA22) are the bestest peeps ever! But sadly it was only three out of 105 visitors. Thats not very many. Therefore I guess that it wasn't a very good chapter. I'm very sorry, and I hope that this one's better :-(

It's a little short, but hopefully it's not too bad.

Sorry for any mistakes.

Read. Enjoy. REVIEW!

Chapter Fifteen # Hide and Seek #

"And you're sure you're all okay?"

"Yeah..." Greg sighed.

"Thank god. I would come right in but Kristy's still ill and I don't wanna pass anything onto Lola or Reubs, especially in a hospital."

"That's okay," Greg said. "I'll tell them."

"Tell them I'm glad they're okay." Nick said, before finishing up with Greg, all the while pulling his windows shut and locking them, before dead bolting the door.

"Daddy, wha's da matter?" Kristy asked with her thumb in her mouth and her blanket or 'blankie' that she'd got from Greg when she was a baby. She was still firmly attached to it.

"Oh, baby girl!" he sighed, swinging her through the air onto his hip. "Reuben's got an owie."

"Oh...why?"

Nick sighed. He didn't want to tell her what happened but Kristy was very close with the twins and no doubt they would tell Kristy exactly what happened. "A bad man used a gun."

"A bang-bang?" she cried. "Daddy I no like bang-bangs!"

"I know, and that's a good thing, Kristy. You promise me that you don't ever play with guns, Kristina."

"I pomise daddy!" Kristy chimed. "You don' need to wowy 'cause I don' like bang-bangs."

"Good..." Nick grinned, opening the drawer which contained his gun. His face fell. "Kristy?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Where's my gun?"

"I don' know daddy." Kristy widened her eyes as far as she could.

Nick strode right over to her and grabbed her shoulders gently but firmly. "Kristina McBride Stokes. You do not touch my gun for any reason! When and where did you take it?"

Kristy avoided her dad's eyes with a quivering lip. "I didn't." She whimpered quietly.

"Kristina!" he yelled, shaking her shoulders, though not hard enough to hurt her. "Where. Is. My. Gun?"

"Daddy dop!" she cried tearfully.

"Where is it Kristina? You know that you don't touch my gun!"

"I didn' wan' you to get hurt! Uncie Greg said dat people wib guns hurt demselbes as much as dey hurt ober people!" She wailed.

"Kristy, where is it?"

"In da bin in da gawage." She whispered.

"Damn it!" Nick cried, racing into the garage. When did he last take out the trash? He looked into the bin and to his relief it was on top, covered by a small napkin. He shook his head and walked back into the room. Kristy was hiding behind the couch, crying quietly. Nick sighed, putting the phone back into the drawer.

He walked over to the couch. "Kristy?"

"I sowy, daddy!" she sniffed tearfully. "I didn' wan' you to get huwt, daddy, because I love you."

Nick sighed. "I know, Kristy, but you must never, ever, ever touch my gun. Ever! It's dangerous, Kristy, it could hurt you."

"But-"

"I know how to handle it so that it doesn't hurt me. Promise me, Kristy. Promise me to never, ever touch it. Please?" Nick begged.

"Otay daddy. I pomise." She nodded, before pausing. "Daddy? Do you still love me?"

"Kristina!" Nick frowned. "Of course I do. C'mon here."

Kristy instantly bundled into his open arms, nestling into his neck and shoulder.

"There we go. I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too." Kristy sighed. "I vewy sowy, daddy."

"It's okay. As long as you never do it again."

"I won'."

"Good girl. That's my good girl." Nick smiled, rubbing Kristy's back gently. It didn't matter to him that by blood she wasn't his. That didn't matter one bit. It didn't make a difference at all. She was his daughter, to love and to look after. To protect.

Even if it meant scaring her away from his gun, however much it hurt him to scare her at all.

"Kristy?"

"Yeah Daddy?"

"You know that I love you."

"Uh huh Daddy. But I love you more."

Nick laughed. "Oh no you don't."

"Oh yeah I do!"

"Oh no you don't!"

"Daddy stop!" she giggled, pressing her face into his. He smiled at her, resting his forehead on hers.

"Okay." He smiled.

"Daddy, can we play a game?"

"What do you want to play?"

"Hide and seek!" she chimed instantly.

"Okay then."

"I hide, you seek!" Kristy ordered. "Please?"

"Okay." Nick lowered Kristy to the floor and closed his eyes. "One...two...three...four..."

By the time he reached twenty the giggles had died down. He stared around the house and exhaled softly.

He searched the usual places first – the closet, the laundry basket, the toybox... all tiny places that Nick would have hated.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are." Nick called with a grin, throwing clothes into the laundry basket. A soft breeze hit his back and he froze, turning towards her bedroom. "Kristy?"

The curtains swayed tauntingly in the breeze next to the wide open window.

Nick started to jog into the room. "Kristy?"

He leaned out of the window and to his relief saw no sign of his daughter. He started to pull the window closed.

"Daddy!" a small voice cried with fear.

"Kristy?" he frowned.

"Daddy, I scawed!"

"Kris, where are you?"

"Hewe!" Kristy cried from on top of the closet.

Nick sighed in relief. "I thought you were outside. How'd you get up there?"

"I climbeded up on the bedside table!" she cried. "Daddy, I wanna get down now!"

"Okay, baby girl!" Nick held up his arms. Suddenly the cupboard burst open and Nick cried out as a brute force shoved him backwards. Kristy screamed loudly on top of the cupboard as a large masked man smashed his fist into her father's face.

"DADDY!"

Nick clambered up and launched himself at the man turning towards the closet. He wrenched him away from Kristy and threw him to the floor. Before he could react he was staring at a .38.

Nick froze. If he kicked the gun out of the man's hand the bullet would fly towards Kristy.

The man pulled the trigger five times and leapt out of the window.

"Kristy!" Nick cried.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" she sobbed repeatedly.

"Kristy, did he hit you?" Nick cried in desperation.

"No Daddy. Daddy, you bleeding!" she wailed.

Nick touched his nose. "I'm okay, it's just a nosebleed. Just a nosebleed. Stay here, Kristy, do not move! If anyone comes in, scream, okay?"

"Otay Daddy, peese be quick!"

"I will, baby girl, I will!"

Nick raced down to the hall and snatched his gun and cell phone out of the door, before running back upstairs. He cleared the bedroom and the rest of upstairs before sliding his gun into his belt and holding up his arms. "Come down, Kristy."

"Can't daddy, can't!" she cried. "Daddy, I scawed!"

"I know, just slide to the edge...keep sliding, keep sliding!"

Kristy screamed loudly as she fell off of the closet. Nick caught her instantly. "I got you sweetie, I got you."

She wrapped her arms and legs around his body and sobbed.

"Control, control, this is Charlie Oh-Five Stokes, a man just broke into my house..." he quickly explained the situation.

"Why was he here Daddy? Why?" Kristy sobbed, cringing into her dad's shoulder. "Is he coming back?"

"I don't know baby, he I don't know." Nick murmured, one hand wrapped around his gun, the other softly stroking her hair. "I'll keep you safe, baby girl, I'll keep you safe!"

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"What have you got for us?" Catherine asked the FBI's AV tech Connie Fields. She wasn't Archie, but she was very, very, good.

"Well... All of the prisoners were specialist operatives in various fields, and they all have families apart from Mark Sanderson." Alyssa read aloud from the case file.

"This video got sent anonymously to us." Kevin Butler, their boss, sighed, leading them over to a computer. "We think that someone involved is getting cold feet."

Connie shook her head. "It's not pretty."

The screen lit up, revealing a man tied to a chair. His hazel green eyes revealed nothing but exhaustion, and they were half covered by a mop of filthy hair that looked as if any other time it would be blonde or light brown maybe.

His body was covered in bruises, burns and cuts, though he wasn't as skinny as Catherine thought he could be. He was half naked; an old pair of khakis covered his lower half but he was wearing nothing else.

"Say hello Mark!" A masked man sang.

The man in the chair, Mark, stared blankly ahead. The masked man sighed and smashed a fist into the man's jaw.

"Hello." The word escaped his lips with a defiant scowl.

"Why do you still misbehave?"

Mark was silent.

"What is the capital of Texas?" the masked man growled.

Mark's lips remained closed, his head dipping down. Catherine could tell that he was exhausted beyond belief.

The masked man through a vial of liquid towards him. Mark screamed as the acid burnt into his face.

"Austin!" he screamed.

"What is the capital of England?"

"London." Mark responded wearily, receiving a slap anyway.

The FBI agents watched as the man asked Mark ten more questions, punishing him when he did answer and punishing him worse when he didn't.

"What is the name of your son?"

"Mark didn't have a son..." Alyssa frowned.

"I don't have a son." Mark whispered.

"Oh, you just disown him, just like that?"

Mark's jaw twitched.

"Well, you know what? I know the name of your son. It doesn't matter now, Mark, however much you disown him, or try to protect him. You've shielded him for eight long years but I've finally tracked down your son. Happy?"

For the first time a flash of fear spread across Mark's face.

"You changed your name outside of the army, probably to stop this from happening. But I found him. Greg, right? Gregory Hojem Sanders?"

Catherine froze, and Alyssa turned to her.

"No!" Mark whispered in a broken voice on screen. "Leave...him...be..."

"Would you like him to come visit you? I can arrange that."

"Don't!" Mark croaked quickly. "Don't, please!"

The man laughed. "I'll just pay him a visit then."

Mark mustered every ounce of energy he had left and yelled. "No-"

The screen went black.

Butler folded his arms. "We should find the son; it may take a while to track him dow-"

"No need." Catherine whispered. "I'll call him."

She immediately flipped up her phone and pressed seven on her speed dial.

"He's one of her CSIs in Vegas." Alyssa explained to their boss as her partner bit her lip. Catherine waited impatiently as the phone rang. Finally a voice picked up.

"Aundie Cafwin?"

"Hey, Reuben." She couldn't help but smile. "Is your daddy there?"

"Uh, he's asweep. We're in hopital!"

"Why are you in hospital?" Catherine's heart started pounding.

"Bad man shot Weben wiv a bang-bang." Loeila piped up.

"Oh my god-"

"Is otay Aundie Cafwin, is otay, I'm awight! Just a big scwatch!" Reuben soothed. "Daddy's asweep next to da bed. I wake him up now."

There was a yelp down the end of the line, followed by a short scuffle.

"Hello?" Greg's groggy voice picked up.

"Why didn't you call me?" Catherine cried.

"Wha- Cath? Oh! I'm sorry I just sorta... Forgot. Did Nick tell you?"

"No, Reuben did." Catherine sighed. "Greg, I have to tell you something."

"Shoot. Though I could really use some good news right now, if you have any."

Catherine sighed again. "Greg, is your father in the army?"

"My father?" Greg sounded shocked. "Yeah...but he didn't use the name Sanders, he used-"

"Sanderson?"

"Yeah... Cath, what are you getting at? My dad's presumed dead."

Catherine steadied herself. "Greg, I don't think your dad is dead."

There was a long pause.

"What?" Greg sounded almost childlike.

"I'm working this case..." She described to him the basics of the case and the video that they'd seen.

"He's alive?" Catherine knew Greg so well that she could detect the small yearning to hope in his voice.

"We think so, but we're not sure. The man said he might pay you a visit, those words exactly. I'm sorry, Greg, I really..."

Greg's voice went quite. "So I'm in even more trouble? There's some other psycho who could be coming after my kids and me?"

"Possibly Greg, I don't know..." She bit he lip. "You know, whatever happens, we're gonna make sure no one hurts you or the twins."

"Aka you'll try your hardest." Greg sighed.

"Catherine?" Butler called quietly. He held up a whiteboard with a few words scrawled on them.

Catherine nodded and Alyssa's heart fell through her stomach.

"Greg? You still there?"

"No, I'm waiting in Hawaii for you to tell me whether or not I'm gonna die."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "Greg. We're coming to Vegas!"

I HAVE LIKE NO SPARE TIME AND WRITING TAKES UP MUCHO OF IT SO PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAA AAAAAAAASE REVIEW!

Please?