Numero Uno- Thank you so so so so much to EVERYONE who reviewed! I'm feeling a lot better about this story now, but it MAY be finishing in about two chapters – I'm thinking of doing year two as a sequel? Anyways let me know what you think.

I tried to make this chapter short and poignant (my word of the week, lol) but I'm not sure if it worked.

Sorry for any mistakes.

Read. Enjoy. Review.

Chapter Forty Eight # My Saviour #

A small tear remained frozen on Catherine's cheek as she slept in Warrick's arm, her head tilted as if she was still staring at the empty space next to the bed where her baby should be lying.

Should be.

Warrick held her silently as she slept, his chin gently resting on her head. Her mom was sitting in the corner, her head in her hands.

Her midwife, Lara walked in and Warrick woke Catherine gently. "Catherine? The doctors were able to revive your baby."

Catherine looked up in shock, wide awake.

She screamed as the most agonising pain yet tore through her body. Her nails dug into Warrick's skin so hard that he bled, but he didn't remove his hand from hers.

"Oh god!"

"That's it, Catherine, just push once more, there we go-"

She gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as she could, panting. A high pitched keening that couldn't quite become a scream escaped her pursed lips.

"It's almost over." Warrick pushed her hair away from her face his voice low and soothing, though he did look a little pale.

"You can do it, Cathy!" her mother encouraged as she held Catherine's other hand, a smile on her face.

With a splutter of screams and sobs, Catherine pushed, and a tiny baby slid out onto the sheets beneath her.

A deathly silence fell over the room.

"Why isn't she crying?" Catherine sobbed. "She should be crying!"

The midwife picked up the child, swiftly clamping and cutting the umbilical cord and lowering her cheek to the baby's face.

"She's not breathing."

"She's… She's breathing?"

"Yes, but she is in an incubator."

"But she's gonna be okay?" Catherine's voice wavered.

"She is." Lara nodded with a smile. "She had a little trouble breathing initially but she'll be okay. She's very healthy and she's now breathing on her own."

"Can I see her?" Catherine sniffed.

The midwife smiled. "Of course."

Catherine mentally sprang out of bed, but her body didn't move. Her mother, who hadn't spoken since the baby had been taken away, helped Warrick ease Catherine up out of bed. The midwife provided a wheelchair for the emotionally exhausted teen and Warrick pushed it as they moved a few rooms down the hospital corridor.

There were three rows of incubators, about three quarters of them had babies in, and most of those babies had visitors.

Catherine was wheeled to the very end.

"This is your baby."

Catherine gasped softly and put her hand on the glass.

The baby was so small, her tiny fists clenched and her eyes closed.

"Can I hold her?" Catherine whispered.

"If you like we can try Kangaroo Care." Lara offered.

"What's that?" Catherine frowned, her eyes still on her baby.

"It's a method of caring for a premature baby where the baby is held against a parent's bare chest for periods of time. Since your baby is breathing on her own it's a possibility."

"I want to try." Catherine said eagerly.

Warrick and Lily couldn't help but smile as Catherine held the baby in her arms. The tiny eyelids fluttered open and stared up at Catherine, who laughed at the wide mouthed expression on her baby's face.

The midwife tucked the hospital gown around the baby so the whole world wasn't staring at Catherine's chest, but both Warrick and Lily were able to see the baby.

"You did good, Cath." Warrick smiled, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"I know right." Catherine murmured, mesmerized by the love she felt for the child.

"What are you going to call her?" Lily asked curiously.

Catherine smiled wanly. "Lindsey."

Her mother's eyes filled with tears and she nodded.

Warrick sensed there was a story behind the name, but he didn't reply. The moment was too private to intrude upon.

"Warrick?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you chose a middle name? Please?"

Warrick looked shocked. "Me?"

Catherine nodded, looking away from her daughter to smile at him.

He smiled and they both looked at the baby. He said the first thing that came into his head. "Belle. It does mean beauty."

"Lindsey Belle Flynn." Lily recited. "It's a lovely name."

Catherine made a little sound of disgust.

"What?"

"It just sucks that her douchebag father gets the cool surname." Catherine pouted.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

Whenever Nick was asked what the hardest part was about his sophomore year at high school, he always answered with the same thing.

Losing his brother.

They went back to Texas for the funeral, held two weeks after the death. This time is wasn't just the Stokes' and Sara returning to Nick's hometown.

Archie, Ryan, Morgan, Greg, Tony and Warrick all came too and sat at the back of the church, joined by Catherine and Lindsey. The baby was still tiny, but after ten days in the hospital she was miraculously able to leave, so Catherine had insisted on joining the others in Texas, though it took her a little longer to get there.

Tali sat next to Nick at the front with Sara on her other side.

The coffin was plain, wooden, with a golden plate on the top, with his name inscribed on it.

Robert William Stokes.

The crime scene investigator took a closer look at the single male DB in the driver's seat. He looked about twenty five.

Snapping on a pair of gloves, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out an ID.

"Vic's name is Robert Stokes." He told his companions. "Texas address. Wonder what he's doin' in Vegas…"

Something in foot space of the passenger seat caught his eye and he moved around to retrieve it.

A small scrap of paper with an address on it. Desert Palm Hospital.

"Aw man…" the crime scene investigator sighed. That's why he was in Vegas. He was Judge William Stokes' eldest son.

The man had had one son stolen and buried by a maniacal gang who blamed him for their leaders' death in jail. One son had been shot by the same gang, and was fighting for his life in ICU.

And now the only remaining son had been stolen but a teenage drunk driver who fancied a joyride.

Ethan had wheeled himself up to the lectern to speak at the funeral.

"My brother shouldn't be gone." Was the first thing that he had said. "In these past few weeks, we've had too much stolen from us. Nicky, my legs, and Robbie. We got Nicky back. Who knows, someday we might get my legs back. But we're never going to get Robbie back. He shouldn't be gone and it's not fair. But he always used to remind us that. And I'm not here to talk about the…douchebag…that took him away. I'm here to talk about Robbie. My brother."

By the time he had finished, barely anyone was left without tears in their eyes.

A couple of days after they returned to Texas, Nick walked in on Sara packing a bag.

"Where're you going?" he asked quietly.

Sara sat down on the bed with a soft sigh. "I uh…Nick, I don't want…you're parents, your family…you have too much to deal with without a foster child."

"Don't." Nick shook his head, his eyes widening. "Don't, Sara."

She sighed. "Nick-"

"Don't." A new voice said. Ethan's. "Don't leave, Sara. Trust me, it's not what we need right now. Just…stay, okay?"

Sara nodded, a little surprised.

She stayed.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"Hello Lindsey!" Morgan cooed happily as Catherine passed her the tiny two month old baby. "I'm here to take you off mommy's hands while she studies for the end of year exams so that she doesn't get kicked out of school!"

"Thanks for coming." Catherine smiled at Morgan and MJ.

"No problemo." Morgan grinned, rocking the gurgling baby gently.

MJ tickled the baby's stomach. "Can we take her downstairs?"

"Please do." Catherine said wryly. "I haven't even started to study for biology, and she always wakes up as soon as I start anything."

MJ and Morgan headed downstairs and Catherine stared at her work. She started to make notes about meiosis and mitosis.

Only five minutes in however, her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Uh…hi Catherine…it's Eddie."

"I'm busy."

"Look, wait! Please don't hang up, Catherine. I…I want to see Lindsey. Please, Cath, please. I just want to hold my daughter."

"Maybe."

"CAth-"

"I didn't say no. I said maybe."

Great. Another thing to think about.

CSIVCSIVCSIV

"Hey, Nicky." Tali knocked on the door of Nick's bedroom, lingering by the door.

He jumped and looked up at her. "Hi."

"Can I come in?"

"You don't need to ask." Nick frowned, standing up. It was the first time that he'd been home alone since the…incident. MJ was at Catherine's and his parents had taken Ethan to physiotherapy. The doctors said that there was a ten per cent chance of him walking again, due to the bullet that fractured his spine.

Tali meandered over to him and sat down on the bed, staring at her hands.

Nick sat back down. "What's wrong?"

Tali didn't move.

"Tali, what's wrong?"

"Nick, I can't keep doing this." She whispered.

"Doing…what?" Nick started to panic.

"I can't…I can't get through to you Nick. I…"

"Tali…I love you."

She nodded tearfully. "I know. And I love you too. But you've been hurt Nick, and I don't know how to help you. But I want to."

She kissed him.

He kissed her back.

A fierce need came over the both of them as their kisses intensified, and they began to clutch at each other as if they were the only people in the whole universe.

And, for the first time, they made love.

Any good?

Too cliché, maybe?

For anyone wondering where this chapter name came from, it's from a Dead By April song (What a surprise) called My Saviour which is kinda a bit relevant

Please review :-)