Chapter 18
Monday, August 22, 2011
Stokes-Fabrey Residence
9:20 a.m.
It had been almost eight months since Liz had moved into Nick's house and things had worked out even better than Liz had hoped. She had moved in a few weeks after everyone had returned from the cruise and Nick had finally moved back to Vegas and started back at the lab. Nick had stayed true to his word and not put any kind of pressure on Liz for anything more than simple friendship and he helped her turn one of the rooms in his house into a nursery for Nicole, and another into a room for herself, while he kept the master bedroom.
Little Nicole Fabrey-Stokes had been born at the beginning of March, a full two weeks before she was actually due to arrive and only a few days after Liz went on maternity leave, Liz's doctor suspecting it was due in part to the incident on the cruise a few months earlier. Liz's suspicions about the type of father Nick would make for Nicole were amazingly accurate. She could not have asked for a better father for her baby and moving in with Nick had been one of the best decisions of her life.
When Nick got up in the mornings he made sure he got Nicole up and fed her her breakfast while he got himself ready for work, putting her back to sleep in her crib and putting the baby monitor, which spent the nights in his room, on Liz's bedside table so she could hear Nicole if she started crying after he left. This morning was no different, only Nick left more than just the baby monitor on Liz's bedside table.
As Liz was slowly waking, she could sense that there was something different about her surroundings, she just could not put her finger on it and she knew that the only way she would find out what it was would be to open her eyes, so she did just that, only to sit up and gasp in surprise when she saw her room was full with flowers. But not just any flowers, they were roses, dozens of them, how many she could not tell, but they were all different colors. As she looked around her bedroom, taking in the sheer number of roses she noticed an envelope with her name on it on her bedside table leaning up against Nicole's baby monitor. Liz picked up the envelope and carefully removed the pages inside, hoping they would explain why her room was full of so many beautiful roses.
Liz,
I know you're probably sitting there wondering why I've filled your room with so many roses. I wanted a way to express my feelings for you without putting any pressure on you and this seemed like the best way to go about it. Especially since each color rose represents something different.
If you look around you, you will see three vases of pink roses. One for the happiness you bring to my life everyday with your smile; one for the gentleness you show our daughter on a daily basis and one for your innate inner sweetness.
You will find five sets of white roses. These represent the purity of your heart; the innocence of our daughter; the secrecy in which you hold your innermost thoughts; your wonderful southern charm and the reverence I feel for the mother of my child.
There are four sets of pale pink roses. These symbolize my admiration for you; the grace with which you handle whatever life throws your way and the gladness and joy, which you have brought into my life.
The five sets of yellow roses signify the friendship we have managed to rebuild; your caring nature; your loyalty, not only to our daughter but to any and all you consider worthy of it; your hard won freedom from a past that nearly destroyed your beautiful spirit and the trust that you have placed in me over the past eight months.
The vase of hot pink roses is to show you how thankful I am that you have let me back into not only your life but into the life of our daughter.
Each vase of peach roses represents the gratitude, appreciation and admiration I feel for you for bringing our beautiful daughter into the world.
The three vases of orange roses symbolize my complete fascination with you; my enthusiasm for being a father to our wonderful daughter and my unending desire for you.
The vase of burgundy roses are to represent your unconscious beauty.
The two vases of purple roses symbolize my overall enchantment with you that I have felt since the moment I fell in love with you, which when I think about it is the first time I ever laid eyes on you. There was just something about you, which drew me to you.
The vase of yellow and orange roses represent the passionate nature of my thoughts whenever you cross my mind.
The red roses are the most abundant of all the roses. They symbolize my love, the passion I feel for you, the beauty you hold, my respect, your courage to take the chance to open yourself up to me once more and true romantic love I believe we can share.
The last vase of roses, which are the red and white ones hold the most significance for me as I hope they will symbolize the unity I hope we can one day attain.
This last will make more sense when you look over next to Nicole's baby monitor.
Liz did as Nick's letter instructed, wiping away her tears as she did so, only to find a small velvet box sitting on her bedside table. Liz leaned over and picked up the box before returning to her spot and opening the box.
"Oh God," Liz whispered in shock when she got a look at the ring inside. The ring had a circular diamond in the center of the platinum setting with five diamonds in a channel setting down each side, leading out from the center diamond. Wiping away a few more tears, Liz turned her attention back to the letter in front of her.
Yes Liz, it's what you think it is and I am asking what you think I'm asking but I want you to know that there is no pressure for you to say yes, now or anytime in the future. I want you to know Liz that I love you with every fiber of my being and my feelings only get stronger as each day passes. I want to marry you, if you'll let me. Let me reassure you that you are under no pressure to say yes and to show you that I mean what I say, all you have to do simply put the ring on if you accept my proposal. If you don't, simply put the ring back in the box and place it on my bedside table. Feel free to take as much time to think about it as you need. I will get my answer when I either see the ring on your finger or back in my bedroom. If you choose to return the ring, do not worry about feeling uncomfortable around me, as I will never bring this up again unless you ask me to. If your answer is yes, imagine me on my knees in front of you asking you to be my bride and slipping that ring on your finger.
Love always,
Nick.
Liz couldn't stop the tears at this point, just simply wiping them away as best she could as she slipped the ring on her finger. After sitting there in bed for a few more minutes getting her tears under control, Liz climbed out of bed and went to check on Nicole, who was lying in her crib sleeping, before grabbing the baby monitor and heading into the bathroom to get ready for the day. After showering and dressing, Liz got Nicole dressed and into her carrier and hopped into her car after strapping Nicole into the backseat and headed towards the lab.
"Hey Tommy, have you seen Nick?" Liz asked as she stuck her head into the layout room, Nicole in her arms.
"Hey Liz, hey Nicole," greeted Tommy as he walked over and started tickling Nicole. "How is our favorite future CSI today?"
"She's fine Tommy," laughed Liz. "So any idea on where Nick might be?"
"All I know is he's out on a scene somewhere. He shouldn't be gone too much longer," replied Tommy.
"Thanks. I think I'll wait for him in his office then," commented Liz. "Say bye-bye to Tommy, Nicole," she said waving Nicole's arm.
"Bye-bye Nicole," replied Tommy with a wave before Liz and Nicole made their way back to Nick's office.
Liz had arrived at the lab around ten that morning and it was now nearing eleven and nobody had heard from Nick and she couldn't get him on his cell phone, which was really starting to worry her as Nick was always near his phone. After trying to reach him on his cell once more for about the twentieth time in the last fifteen minutes, Liz started to get a really bad feeling about Nick. Picking Nicole up, Liz quickly made her way around the lab asking everyone from Nick's team and the lab tech's that she could find if any of them had heard from Nick. With each no she received the feeling of dread grew worse.
Monday, August 22, 2011
1516 La Porte Court
Henderson, Nevada
11:15 a.m.
"It's too freakin' early," Sara groaned as ringing echoed in the room, burrowing further under the covers and pushing her head further into Warrick's chest.
"I didn't set the alarm," Warrick chuckled as he raised an arm to reach towards the clock before blinking. "That's not the alarm."
"I'm going to kill Greg if he's calling because he's panicking about wedding plans again," Sara groaned as she rolled over and reached blindly out on her nightstand. Grabbing the incessantly ringing cell phone, "Sidle."
"What?" she asked a few moments later as she sat up straight in the bed. Warrick looked over at her concerned, waiting to see what she said. A few moments later Sara hung up the phone and looked over at him. He didn't like the look in her eyes, not one bit.
Monday August 22nd, 2011
Nick's Office
11:55 a.m.
Liz was sitting on Nick's couch playing with Nicole, who was in her carrier, when Sara stopped in the doorway and looked at them. They looked so happy, peaceful...
"Beth? Honey?" she called softly after a moment.
"Sara?" asked Liz in surprise as she looked up from playing with her daughter. "What are you doing here?"
"Honey, I need to talk to you," Sara explained softly as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "How's my bumble bee?" she asked with a smile as she walked over to join them.
"She's an angel as usual," Liz replied smiling down at Nicole.
"That's good to hear," Sara smiled before looking over at Liz. "Beth, Honey. Nick got called out to a B and E this morning."
"Okay. Well, that explains why he isn't here," shrugged Liz. "But that doesn't explain why you're here, Sara, unless..." Liz trailed off as her feeling of dread suddenly spiked. "Oh God Sara, what is it? What's happened?"
"Okay Beth, Honey, I need you to not panic, okay? For Nicole, you need to stay calm," Sara began as she grasped Liz's hand. "We don't know much, Nick told the officer to go ahead and use the bathroom down at the gas station at the end of the street. When he came back, Nick was gone," she explained softly and quickly.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?" pressed Liz.
"His case was left behind, and there is no sign of him. We think he's been taken," Sara explained calmly.
"Oh God," whispered Liz in dread as she got to her feet and walked over to Nick's desk, leaning her hands on the top, her head dropped down, before turning and sliding down to the floor, her back against the desk and her head in her hands.
Sara glanced at Nicole to make sure she was okay in the carrier before moving over to kneel next to Liz. "I'm here honey, and he's fine. He's going to be fine," she whispered.
"I can't lose him Sara. Not like this...not today of all days. He doesn't know..." Liz trailed off as tears of panic and worry started falling.
"It's going to be okay, Honey," Sara whispered over and over as she pulled the crying woman into her arms.
Monday August 22, 2011
CSI Break Room
2:08 p.m.
"Trace was able to give us possibilities for the vehicle with the dimensions Greg measured at the scene," Warrick explained as Sara set a cup of coffee in front of him before sinking into a chair next to him. "One of the options was a Lincoln Navigator. I caught one through traffic footage, but it went off the grid when it got onto 250 East."
"The piece of fabric Phi found came back, it's ether. Not normally used anymore," Greg pointed out with a sigh.
"Old school, or else the person went with what they have. You can get it on e-bay..." Sara shrugged lightly before sighing.
"Anything on the bag?" Warrick asked looking over at Greg. When he and Sophia had gone out to Nick's B and E, they'd found a sealed bag containing a scarf, but it hadn't looked like Nick's handiwork.
"David's working on it," Greg explained. "Bathroom run I think," he continued as he slumped back in his chair. "We got crap," he announced. "Damn rain washed away everything outside, and there's really no sign of B and E inside the building, nor any sign that Nick even entered the building," he continued before looking up to see the look Sara was shooting him as Warrick stared past him. "What? You're thinking it too, I know you are," he continued before sighing heavily. "Sorry guys, I'm being pessimistic."
"You're stressed, we all are. But we are going to find him," Sara countered with a small smiled. Before anything else could be said, they heard yelling coming from down the hall.
Running to the lobby, the three found Hodges struggling with a messenger bearing a padded envelope. "Hey! What's going on?" Sara demanded as they skidded to a halt.
"He's messing with trace!" Hodges told her, clearly frustrated.
"What?" Warrick asked confused.
"The envelope, he's getting his trace on it," Hodges countered as he tried to get it from the other man.
"David, what's going on?" Sara asked as she stepped closer, ignoring the messenger who was yelling.
"It's about Nick," he answered. She blinked at him once before turning and grabbing it out of the messenger's hands while his attention was focused on Hodges.
"Hey! You have to sign for that!" the man yelled.
"Greg," Sara spoke before turning and walking away, carefully holding the envelope to avoid adding to the trace evidence. Behind her Hodges gave the messenger a look of scorn before turning to follow as Greg signed for the package before asking security to watch him until O'Riley arrived. Which shut the man up.
As Sara approached a lab, Warrick appeared by her side. He stopped her from going into the room by holding out a hand. Glancing at him she shrugged before giving him the envelope, unsure where he got the gloves from, but so be it.
Leaving her outside with the others, Warrick slipped into the lab and began processing the envelope and removing its contents, a cassette tape and a USB flash drive, as they watched through the glass.
"Sara?" called Liz quietly as she walked up and joined the others, Nicole in her arms. "What was all that racket going on just now?"
Sara glanced over at her before sighing. "David just decided to have a wrestling match with a courier in the lobby," she explained softly before looking back to Warrick as he checked everything out for fingerprints.
"In the end, Sara won," Greg added with a slight smile as Mia, Archie, and Jacqui joined them. He wasn't sure how word had spread, but seemed it had.
"It's about Nick, isn't it?" asked Liz quietly.
"Yeah. Package to us, only thing it said was 'Regarding Stokes'," Hodges answered softly.
"It's going to be okay, Honey," Sara whispered as she slipped her hand into one of Liz's that was holding Nicole.
"I pray to God that you're right, Sara," sighed Liz sadly.
/-/Me too./-/ Sara mentally sighed before Warrick looked up and shook his head slightly. Gathering the tape and USB, he came out to join them.
"Need your lab Arch," he explained before the group turned and made their way down to A/V. Once there, Warrick slipped the cassette into a player. After a few seconds, they heard the music of "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA.
"The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice,
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear.
"The winner takes it all,
The loser has to fall,
It's simple and it's plain,
Why should I complain."
"The judges will decide,
The likes of me abide,
Spectators of the show,
Always staying low."
"The game is on again,
A lover or a friend,
A big thing or a small,
The winner takes it all."
"The winner takes it all,
The loser standing small,
Beside the victory,
That's her destiny."
"He's playing with us," Greg growled as Sara shook her head.
"They lyrics aren't right. The orders all wrong," she frowned as Hodges stopped the player.
Warrick nodded before holding up the USB. Turning he plugged it into the computer. Seconds later a web page popped up with a numeric IP address. Across the screen came: "One million dollars in 12 hours or the CSI dies," then a button that said 'Watch' appeared.
Warrick clicked on the button, before a video player opened. Scant moments later the video started and they could see Nick's face illuminated by a bright light as he looked around wildly, before banging on the walls around him.
"Oh God," cried Liz as she started backing away from the table. "Oh God, no."
"Ah hell," Greg whispered as Jacqui turned to take Nicole from Liz, just in case she might lose her hold on her daughter. Not that they thought she would, but just in case...Sara glanced at the others before turning to follow Liz as she backed away.
"Come on Honey, let's go get some coffee and put Nicole down for a nap," she began softly.
Liz barely even heard what Sara said, her mind and body having gone completely numb when she saw Nick on the screen.
The two women quickly led Liz out of the room and back to Nick's office, where Jacqui ran to get some coffee for her and Liz as Sara took Nicole. Laying Nicole in her carrier with a stuffed Eeyore, Sara made sure she was okay before turning her attention to Liz. "Honey?" she asked softly, not sure if she was even expecting a response.
"Why?" asked Liz, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "Why Nick?"
"I don't know, Sweetie," Sara whispered back before slipping her arms around her best friend. "I don't know, but I'm going to do everything I can to get him out of there okay? For you and Nicole."
"I can't lose him Sara. Not now. I haven't told him yet. I can't lose him before I tell him," cried Liz as she leant into Sara's embrace
"Shh, you'll get to tell him," Sara whispered. /-/Tell Him? Dear God, I hope she's not pregnant again.../-/ Shaking away any thoughts about what it might be, Sara just focused on the woman in her arms.
Five minutes later Sara had left Liz under Jacqui's watch and returned to A/V. She wasn't sure if she should be thankful for the news that awaited her or not. They'd figured that based on the dimensions of the box they could guess, Nick only had about seventy-five minutes of air, which meant there must have been a fan in the box to provide air for the twelve hours. On top of that, they'd figured out that it was indeed a live feed, one that only lasted two minutes before returning to the screen that had the 'watch' button.
"We need to keep Liz out of here," Warrick began as he glanced over at her and the others as Archie set to work trying to track down from where it was being broadcast.
"We need to contact his parents," Sara countered softly.
"I'll go fill Tony and Phi in on what we got," Greg piped up quickly before disappearing from the room. Hodges quickly left as well to see how things were going in Trace.
"I'll call the Stokes," Sara offered before turning to head to her office.
Monday August 22nd, 2011
CSI A/V Lab
5:30 p.m.
Sara sighed when she entered the A/V Lab again just over three hours after she'd left it. Warrick was still sitting watching the feed from the video. In the three hours, O'Riley had interviewed their messenger, they'd gone to the location he'd got the package from, the man had gotten a call that led him to a residence, but no one was there when he arrived, just the package and the money. So he'd taken the package to them. When O'Riley and other officers arrived at the location, they'd learned it was a bust, probably a set-up to lead them down the wrong path.
Liz was still in Nick's office, now with Sophia for company while Tony was in discussions with the Under-Sheriff as Pete was in meetings. Greg and David were God only knew where in the building, probably working themselves to death like everyone else in the place. And the Stokes had just arrived...
"Warrick?" she began, returning to her reason for entering the lab once more. He looked up at her questioningly. "Judge and Mrs. Stokes just arrived," she answered softly and he nodded before rising. Archie glanced at them before going back to his work. "Anything?" she asked as they walked down the hallway.
"Not yet, they're rerouting all over town," he answered with a sigh as they walked towards her office.
Tony arrived back at the lab shortly before the Stokes arrived and Phi went to speak with him about his meeting with the Sheriff, leaving Liz and Nicole alone, giving Liz the opportunity to make her way with Nicole back into the A/V lab unnoticed once Warrick and Sara had left, taking up a spot at the back of the room, hidden in the shadows as she watched Archie work on trying to find a way to trace the link to where Nick was being held, her heart breaking every time she caught sight of Nick on the screen.
After meeting with the Stokes, and offering their condolences, as well as discussing the ransom...which the Stokes didn't have yet, but were determined to get, they just needed more time...Sara and Warrick led them back to the A/V lab to show them the video. Judge Roger Stokes had asked what proof they had that their son was still alive...
After only a few moments of watching the footage, Jillian Stokes couldn't continue and disappeared out into the hallway as she cried. Roger lasted a few minutes longer, leaving after whispering to Nick 'Oh Kemosabe, what have you gotten yourself into...'. Joining his wife outside, he held her as she cried. Sara had turned to look at them when she noticed Liz in the corner. Before she could say anything, Liz was hurrying out of the room, past the Stokes and disappearing down the hall.
A short while later found Liz picking Nicole up out of her car seat and making her way into the Tangiers hotel and casino. The girl at the desk was a little hesitant to let Liz in to see her boss but after calling back to see if he was willing to see her, the girl escorted Liz back to Sam's office.
"It's okay, Baby, you're granddaddy going's to help us get your daddy back," Liz told Nicole as she stroked her hair before knocking on the door.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" Sam asked as he opened the door with a smile before it faltered when he caught sight of her. "Are you okay?" he asked concerned.
Liz shook her head before answering. "I need your help, Sam."
"Come, sit down," he continued immediately, leading her into the room and to a chair. "Do you want a glass of water or something?"
"Some water would be fine," replied Liz as she sat down, settling Nicole on her lap in front of her
Sam poured the glass of water before giving it to her and sitting in the chair next to her. "What's going on Liz?"
"I need a million dollars Sam," Liz said, figuring she might as well just get to the point. Nick's life was on the line and she didn't want to lose him because she spent too much time beating around the bush.
Sam blinked at her once, then twice. "Can I ask what for? That's a lot of money Liz..." he trailed off still surprised by her request.
"I know it is Sam, but I also know that it wouldn't be too difficult for you to get it quickly and I wouldn't be asking Sam but...but I don't have any other choice. The Sheriff refuses to pay. He says they don't negotiate with terrorists and I can't lose him, Sam. Nicole can't lose him," Liz said.
"The missing CSI, it's Nick?" Sam asked softly, for clarification of what she just said.
"Yes," replied Liz quietly.
Sam nodded once as he sat back and thought. They both knew that Lindsey and Sara would be there before Liz if they were a) in Vegas or b) able to... And Nick's disappearance didn't just affect Liz, who he considered a daughter because of her relationship to his granddaughter. It affected his granddaughter and Sara as well, Sara who was even more of a surrogate daughter to him than Liz. And then there was Nicole who Liz always said he was her other grandfather. "Alright, give me ten minutes to get it together," he nodded once more as he looked up at her.
"Thank you Sam."
"You're welcome, Liz," he answered before rising and going outside to make the required calls.
"Liz is back," Sara began nearly an hour after Liz had left the building, as she walked into Warrick's office.
"She is?" he asked looking up at her, before looking at the brown bag she sat on his desk. "What's this?"
"She beat me to Sam," Sara answered as she sunk into the chair across from him.
"Sar..." he began glancing at her.
"I know, I know," she countered quickly. "It's an anonymous donation. I called Sam on my way here after I saw Liz. She's back in Nick's office with a promise that she's going to rest. But it's what they want, the least we can do is get Nick since the city won't pay."
Warrick nodded slowly before glancing back at the bag. "Looks like we got a few hours to wait for the drop point then."
"I know. I'm going to e-mail Catherine and Grissom to update them on the situation. Then see if I can get something to eat for everyone, Liz especially," Sara sighed as she rose.
"You gonna eat too?" he asked stopping her and she glanced back at him.
"Of course," she smiled before leaving his office and him to his thoughts.
Tuesday August 23rd, 2011
CSI
1:30 a.m.
"You can wait in here," Sophia told the Stokes as she opened the door to Nick's office while Warrick was leaving to go to the drop point with the money.
"Thank you, Ms Curtis," replied Roger Stokes as he let his wife enter the room ahead of him.
"Hello," Jillian began surprised when she saw the woman lying on the couch. Then her gaze noticed the baby sound asleep in the carrier next to her.
"Oh Lord," Sophia groaned as Liz sat up. "I'm so sorry, Liz," she continued softly before glancing at the couple. "Um, have you guys met?" she asked glancing between them and Liz.
"It's okay Phi," Liz said as she stood up. "And no we haven't. You must be Nick's parents. I'm Elizabeth Fabrey, one of Nick's colleagues," Liz said introducing herself as she held out her hand towards Jillian.
"You're the one, aren't you?" asked Jillian as she shook Liz's hand.
"Excuse me?" asked Liz in confusion.
"The one that our son couldn't stop thinking and talking about after he brought our Carrie home." offered Jillian.
"Oh..." trailed off Liz, not quite sure how to respond to that.
"Umm, I'm going to be going now," Sophia said quickly before exiting the room.
"Who's this little one?" Roger asked with a smile as he knelt down to look at Nicole. "She's beautiful, you must be very proud," he continued as he looked up at her, hoping to give the other woman a break from the conversation his wife has started.
Liz turned her gaze from Jillian and over to where Roger had knelt down next to the baby carrier. "Her name's Nicole."
"It's a beautiful name," commented Jillian as she joined her husband near the baby. "What made you choose it?"
"I named her after her father," replied Liz quietly.
It took Roger all of two seconds to put it together. By then his wife had figured it out as well and he could tell she was debating between throwing her arms around this woman, and slumping into a chair in shock. "Not to pry, but does he know? I'm only asking because he hadn't mentioned anything," he asked softly, quickly clarifying his question as well.
"He knows," admitted Liz.
He nodded with a smile before Jillian launched herself at Liz and wrapped her arms around the other woman, and then promptly burst into tears.
"Uhm...Mrs. Stokes...can't breathe..." Liz said as she tried to pry the other woman off her.
"Jillian, Honey, you need to let the poor girl go," he smiled as he helped Liz free of his wife. "Why don't you sit down," he continued as he led her to the couch.
"I'm sorry..." Jillian began with a sniffle. "It's just..." she continued before giving up and crying.
"She's a wee bit emotional about babies," he explained with a smile as he looked at Liz. "How are you doing?" he continued.
"About as well as can be expected, I guess," admitted Liz as all three of them sat down on the couch. "I just want Nick back here with me as soon as possible."
"We understand completely." Roger sighed softly. "So how did you and Nick meet?" he asked hoping for a happier tale, having an idea it related to his daughter's death, but any happy thoughts about their relationship would be good now.
"Nick and two other former Vegas CSIs were called in to help with a serial killer, I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about," commented Liz. "Nick was taking it pretty hard that we weren't finding any evidence to catch the guy and I called him on it. That's when I learned that one of the victims was his sister. I'm terribly sorry for your loss and I'm sure the prospect of losing your son as well must be killing you," commented Liz quietly.
"Thank you, truth is we are pretty much a wreck. But we're going to be optimistic in this. God, didn't take our daughter to take our son this soon," Jillian smiled. "Nick told us some about the events that happened here in Vegas at the time he was here, about your friend Sara who we met earlier. I'm guessing the two of you found each other during all of that..." she trailed off to let Liz tell her own story.
"Some of the events during that time hit me pretty hard and Nick helped me through it," admitted Liz. "It nearly killed me when I found out he already had someone in his life. I didn't know what to do, so I pushed him away. Almost four and a half months later I found out I was carrying his child."
"You poor thing," Jillian sighed. "When I see Nick, I'm going to give him a good talk about his actions then," she continued with a determined nod.
"So, how did the two of you work things out?" Roger asked with a smile.
"It was on the cruise we all took for Sara and Warrick's wedding. I was terrified of telling Nick. He had a life that didn't include me and the last thing I wanted for my daughter was to be thought of as a burden. I know what that feels like and I couldn't do that to my child so I avoided Nick as much as I could. I spent the better part of the first half of the cruise hiding out in my stateroom. Unfortunately, we have a very nosy friend who managed to figure out that I was pregnant even though only those of us from Vegas knew the truth. She told Nick at the reception that she suspected my baby was his. I agreed rather reluctantly to talk to him and tried denying the fact that my child was his. He refused to believe me. I finally admitted to him that I was carrying his child and why I never told him. He told me he could never hate our child or me. I asked him to stay with me while I got some rest. I'd had a near miss a few days earlier due to a panic attack and didn't like to be alone when I was sleeping. Nick agreed to stay with me and then we spent the rest of the evening talking. We slowly worked on rebuilding our friendship over the remainder of the cruise. Nick had asked me to move into his house with him when he moved back to Vegas and I agreed. We each have our own rooms and Nicole has her own nursery. It's actually worked out amazingly well. Nick gets Nicole up with him in the mornings and takes care of her before he leaves for work, then I look after her until I have to head into work, dropping her off at her godmother's house where Nick picks her up a few hours later."
"Sounds like things have worked out rather well," Jillian smiled as she watched the woman who had claimed her son's heart. She hadn't missed the ring on the other woman's hand while she rambled on, but felt it was probably best to let Liz tell them in her own time if it meant what she assumed it did.
Before Liz had a chance to respond, she saw Sara go running down the hall as if the devil himself were after her. Seconds later Greg and Hodges were chasing after her.
"Wait here," Liz said getting to her feet and making her way to the door, throwing it open. "Mia! Mia what's happened?"
Mia stopped as she was going down the hall, and turned back to Liz, her face ashen. "There's been an explosion," she whispered. "The building Warrick was in..." she trailed off still in shock.
"Oh God," commented Liz, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, shaking her head in disbelief as she stumbled back into Nick's office.
"Liz? What's happened?" Jillian asked concerned as Mia followed Liz into the room.
"Warrick went to make the drop as planned. We just received word, there's been an explosion at the drop point," Mia explained softly as she helped Liz sit before sinking into a chair of her own.
"Not Rick too,." commented Liz quietly to herself.
"Dear God," Jillian whispered as Roger wrapped his arms around her.
Everyone sat in shock for a few minutes before Jacqui came running down the hall and into the room. "He's okay," she announced with a grin. "O'Riley just called, Warrick's alive."
"And Nick? What about Nick? Did they find him?" demanded Liz.
"They didn't find him. I don't think he was there..." Jacqui whispered.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," commented Liz quietly as she rose from her spot and made her way over to the window, unconsciously playing with her engagement ring
Jillian was the first to rise and walk over to where Liz was standing. "I know in my heart that everything is going to be alright," she whispered as she gently rubbed the younger woman's back.
Tuesday August 23rd, 2011
Las Vegas, Nevada
2:05 a.m.
"We need to get in there and get started with everything," Warrick began as he looked at the building.
"No, you're going back to the lab," Sara argued as the EMTs checked him out. Except for cuts and a few gashes on his face, he looked fine for the most part, at least physically.
"Sara..." he began looking up at her.
"No," she snapped lightly before reaching out to take his hand. "Please, for me. Just go back to the lab, at least long enough to get cleaned up," she continued softly, wincing with him when the EMT applied antiseptic to the cut over his left eye.
"Alright." he agreed finally and she smiled tightly. She could still remember hearing over the radio she kept in her office the code for the explosion, and the numbing fear she'd felt when she heard those words. How she even got here was beyond her, but he was alive. As far as Warrick knew, Nick hadn't been in the building, and whoever the man was that had brought them there was now dead. Things just went from bad to worse, but could have been so very worse...
"Alright Mr. Brown, we've done all we can. You may still want to go see your doctor though," the EMT announced a few minutes later
"Thank you," Warrick nodded.
"Come on, Jim is here, he'll give you a ride back," Sara began as he rose, shaking her head when he started to argue. "Please," She added tenderly and he nodded in agreement. "I'll see you in a little while okay? Besides I'm sure Liz is going to want to see you," she added as incentive. After seeing him into Jim's car and both of them leaving the scene, she sighed before heading inside.
Inside, Greg and David were going over the Lincoln Navigator they'd found, walking up to them they quickly let her know they'd figured out a radius for the search. Nodding she smiled and told them 'good job' before heading back to the other room. Passing one of the CSIs chasing money she paused to remind them to get every bill, and then continued on her way. Sighing she glanced at David before she started on collecting any pieces of the man who had been there to meet Warrick.
"Jackpot," She grinned a bit later when she found a thumb.
"Jackpot," David agreed with a smile. "I'll steal one of the others for help in here, go have fun running that."
"Thanks. Call me," she smiled as she paused to squeeze his shoulder before heading out with their first real thing in a while.
"Hey man, how's he doing?" Warrick asked as he entered the A/V lab some time after he'd arrived.
"So-so." Archie answered softly. "Still don't have a point yet," he added, frustration in his voice.
"Go get some coffee, I'll watch for a few minutes," Warrick answered as he sunk into a chair in front of the monitors. Archie nodded before disappearing from the room.
"No fingerprint match?" Mia asked as Sara dropped off the DNA she'd recovered from the thumb.
"None," Sara sighed and Mia nodded.
"Give me ten."
Hitting watch once more, Warrick sighed as he watched Nick. /-/Bubblicious,/-/ he smiled when he saw Nick pull the familiar package of gum out before frowning as he watched Nick first chew the gum a few times, then take it out of his mouth.
"What the hell?" he asked as Nick broke it in two before putting it in his ears. Then he saw the gun... "Don't do it, Nicky. Don't do it!" he yelled as Nick brought the gun to his face, before everything suddenly went dark.
Jumping back ten feet, Warrick yelled. "You son of a Bitch!" Oh God how was he going to tell the others, how was he going to tell Liz and Sara...? Then everything lit up on the screen with a greenish glow and he saw Nick, alive and well.
"Oh, thank God," he sighed before laughing.
"Thanks Mia," Sara smiled after hanging up with O'Riley. They'd had a CODIS hit so to speak on the DNA from the thumb. They had found the guy's father, worked for the state in Texas. She didn't like the idea that this guy worked in Texas, but it was a start...it could also mean that whoever it was that set up the scene and took Nick, had been after Nick all along...
Heading to A/V, she met up with Archie and heard about what happened after asking about the light. Thinking quickly they both came to the same conclusion, that the fan and light were probably connected. Leaving Archie to his work she went after Warrick, not surprised to find him in the locker room, staring at his locker without even seeing it.
"Warrick? Honey?" she began before he turned to look at her. "Want to come back and help at the scene?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, yeah," he agreed as he rose. "Did you hear?"
"I heard, but he's fine. And we even got a bit of a lead," She smiled faintly as they left the room.
"Oh?" he asked hopefully and she explained what happened as they drove.
Once back at the warehouse, Greg was going through a bucket of stuff while Hodges was still going over the car. Sara joined him as Warrick moved over to work with documenting. After a few minutes of silence, Greg popped up with the trigger from the bomb. And that was the breaking point for Warrick who kicked the nearest container; an oil can, before stalking away.
"Warrick, chill man," Greg began before shaking his head.
"I got him." Sara answered softly before trailing after him. "Babe?" she asked softly as she stopped next to him near the entrance to the building.
"It should have been me," he whispered after a few moments. "I was suppose to cover for him today, but he let me out of it. He was suppose to be home today, with Liz and Nicole, not in that box..."
"Oh honey, this isn't your fault," she began before he shook his head.
"When I saw him...I thought..." he trailed off shaking his head again. "I wouldn't have made it this far. I'd have taken the out."
"No," she began forcefully. "You wouldn't have."
"Yeah, I would have," he answered looking off towards the horizon.
Moving around him she reached up to make him look at her. "Listen to me. You wouldn't have. If you were in there, you'd make it because you're stronger than that. You're the strongest man I know, Warrick Brown. You wouldn't take the out."
"I don't know Sar, I just don't know," he countered quietly. "If he doesn't make it baby..."
"No!" Sara snapped lightly. "He's going to make it. And you're going to be fine. Do you hear me? You're going to be fine!" she reinforced before reaching up to cup his cheek gently. He looked at her, about to say something before Greg yelled to get their attention. Turning they saw him standing staring at the ground near his feet.
"You guys got to see this," he called and they quickly made their way over, shocked when they saw what he and Hodges had seen.
"Shovels," Warrick began before disappearing to grab some as Sara and the two remaining men set to brushing away the dirt, only to find a six-foot slab. When Warrick came back, they all had the same thought. Six feet was the right length for Nick's 'coffin'. Together they moved it out of the way before the three men started digging with a vengeance; Warrick was the first to hit something...
"It's Plexiglas." Hodges began as they brushed away at the dirt, when they saw the dog inside; they all just about collapsed in stunned shock. It wasn't Nick...
Wednesday August 24th, 2011
CSI A/V Lab
4:18 a.m.
Sara sighed softly as she watched Nick on a smaller computer screen in the lab. Hodges was going over every inch of the box they'd found, and Warrick was sitting with Archie, watching Nick on the bigger screen. Greg was going over everything in Trace that they'd found at the scene, and Liz was out cold, thanks to a mild sedative. The Stokes were with her in Nick's office, watching over Nicole while everyone ran around praying for something.
Frowning slightly when she saw Nick pick up the cassette player, she realized he was making a tape. /-/Don't you give up, Nick Stokes. Don't you dare give up!/-/ she mentally ordered him. She tried to decipher it, catching a word here and there, but knew it was pointless and set to work making a copy to e-mail to Grissom, who she had on instant messenger on the computer in a smaller window. He was waiting for it...
Suddenly Nick started...convulsing... "He's loosing it!" she cried glancing over at the others. "God no," Warrick whispered as she turned her attention back to the computer.
/-/Something's moving.../-/ Zooming in she nearly jumped back in surprise when she realized what was going on. "Ants... he's being eaten alive..."
"That's it Nick, stay still," Sara whispered after they watched Nick put some tissue in his nose. "They won't bite... as much..." she continued with a sigh as she glanced up at Warrick.
"Thank God you paid attention to Grissom all those times," he smiled faintly as he squeezed her shoulder before turning his attention back to the screen. "Looks like one's getting close," he added softly and she nodded, returning her attention to the hope of catching one of the ants on camera to send to Grissom who was waiting to identify the species.
"Gotcha!" she smiled triumphantly before sending the picture to Grissom. All they had to do now was wait.
"Guys!" Hodges spoke gathering their attention as he burst into the room. "I completed testing, my calculations...he's only got an hour and a half of air left."
"Damn it," Warrick cried before turning and pacing across the room.
"Was there anything else?" Sara asked softly as Hodges sunk into a chair.
"There were five dimples on the bottom of it; Trace is running now to see if we have any idea what they were," he explained softly before the computer beeped and Sara looked back to the computer.
"Fire ants. They're only in Nevada at nurseries," Sara looked over at Warrick with a smile. They had something.
"I'll get everyone," he answered before leaving the room and Sara told Grissom thanks before leaving Archie to work.
Wednesday August 24th, 2011
Local Nursery
5:00 a.m.
"I found it! I found the cell phone!" Greg's yell gathered everyone's attention and they ran towards him. Since finding out about the ants, they'd quickly met up and figured it had to be one nursery in town. Heading there with practically every member of the lab, they'd split up to search the area for any disturbed dirt...
Warrick and Greg both grabbed shovels and started to dig along with other members of the police gathered there as Sara and Hodges stepped back, praying. Suddenly the beeping of Warrick's watch echoed and everyone stopped. Nick's air just ran out...
Shaking his head Warrick started digging once more, only to hit something. Throwing away the shovel he dropped down and began to brush away the dirt frantically, uncovering the Plexiglas box and Nick's head just as he placed the gun to his jugular. "Put the gun down!" Warrick ordered as he smacked the glass. Nick looked up at him in relief and let it go as Warrick smiled at him before moving out of the way as Hodges grabbed a fire extinguisher. They carefully lifted one edge of the lid and David sent short bursts into the box to kill the ants, everyone watching Nick anxiously before Greg's phone rang and he stepped away.
Just as Warrick went to lift the lid, Greg yelled. A single word that had all of them stopping dead in their tracks...Semtex. "Everyone out!" Sara ordered.
"I'm not leaving him." Warrick countered and she shook her head. "Warrick we move him, it goes up," she argued.
"No Sar," he continued looking up at her desperately. Looking away from him she looked around the area before spotting the backhoe.
"Someone get that over here now, we need two hundred pounds of dirt," she ordered before looking back at Warrick. "Babe, trust me. We're going to get him out of here," she promised.
Warrick glanced at her before looking down at Nick, then at the backhoe. Nodding he sunk down to get Nick's attention. "Nicky, can you hear me?" he asked as Nick just sort of freaked out in the box, not understanding why they were leaving him in there. "Nicky, I need you to nod if you can hear me!" he continued before Nick nodded. "Okay, we're going to get you out of here okay? The box is wired, when we lift the lid you need to lie still alright?" he asked.
"We're not getting through to him." Sara whispered as Nick started freaking out once more.
"Kemosabe!" Warrick yelled and Nick finally stopped and really looked at him. "Trust me, we're going to get you out. But you need to stay come, for Liz and Nicole. Think about them and trust us," Nick nodded once, then twice and Warrick smiled. "Okay, let's get this lid off," He continued before stepping off it to stand next to Sara before the lid was removed and they both dropped down to keep him from moving.
"When we tell you, take a deep breath," Sara told him as Greg ran over with a winch and rope that she attached to his belt and he nodded. Standing she pulled Warrick with her and they quickly made their way over to join the others around the rope. "Deep breath Nick!" she yelled and seconds later the dirt was being dumped into the box on top of him as everyone reached down and grabbed the rope. "Three!" she continued before they all pulled for all they were worth.
They heard the explosion first, and for a split second no one knew if it had worked, until they saw Nick on the ground and everyone remembered how to breathe once more.
The next few minutes flew by, as Nick was taken by EMTs into an ambulance and Warrick climbed in after him with Jim. Sara and the others watched the ambulance leave for a moment before Sara grinned and ran towards her car. She had to tell Liz.
"Go get her, we'll take care of things here!" Greg yelled after her.
Wednesday August 24th, 2011
CSI Lab
5:05 a.m.
While the others were out searching for Nick, Liz had woken and feeling restless, did what she always did when she felt this way...she went for a walk, leaving Nicole in the care of her grandparents. For fear of missing word, good or bad, in regards to Nick, Liz didn't wander from the lab, taking to wandering through the halls, avoiding the A/V lab as much as possible due to the fact that she just couldn't handle watching what was happening to Nick. She was having a hard enough time dealing with everything that was happening as it was; she couldn't deal with watching it as well.
As she was making her way through the lab, Liz soon found herself standing in the layout room, where all the evidence in regards to Nick's disappearance was spread out. Reluctantly she pressed the play button on the tape recorder, playing the tape that had been delivered shortly after Nick disappeared. "Why change the lyrics?" wondered Liz as she looked through the rest of the evidence. "I wonder what they mean by 'That's her destiny'?" she mused as she picked up the evidence bag that was found at the scene and had been identified as not being Nick's handiwork. "I know this from somewhere," Liz said as she took a closer look at the fabric in the evidence bag as the song played over again. "Oh God..." Liz trailed off as she dropped the evidence bag on the table and ran from the room.
"Elizabeth, what is it?" asked Roger standing up as Liz came racing into Nick's office.
"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?" Liz repeated to herself as she dug through her purse, finally giving up and in her frustration dumped the contents of her purse onto Nick's desk.
"Elizabeth Honey, what's wrong?" pressed Roger as he stepped up beside Liz, who was now frantically searching through the stuff on the desk.
"Got it," cried Liz as she found what she was looking for before once more racing out of the room, Roger hot on her heels as she made her way back to the lay out room.
"Oh God, Nick, why? Why would she do this?" cried Liz quietly as she collapsed forward onto the table.
"Elizabeth?" asked Roger as he slowly approached Liz and started rubbing her back gently.
"I know who it is," Liz replied, as she slowly stood upright, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Pardon?"
"I know who did this. I know who took Nick," repeated Liz.
"Liz?" Sara called before appearing in the doorway. "Mr. Stokes," she greeted when she saw him.
"Sara. I know who it is. I know who took Nick..."
"What?" Sara asked with a frown before shaking her head. "Not now, he's on his way to the hospital," she continued quickly. "He's okay," she smiled.
"What?" asked Liz, not quite sure she'd heard right.
"He's okay. He was taken to Desert Palms," Sara repeated with a smile. "He's okay, Honey."
"Oh God," whispered Liz as she quickly leant back on the table as her legs seemed to give out a bit.
"Stay with me, Girl," Sara ordered lightly as she reached out to help Liz. "We need to get you to the hospital, not have you be in the bed next to him."
Liz nodded as Roger also helped her to her feet before handing her over to Sara. Liz stopped suddenly in the doorway as they were leaving the layout room. "Oh God...Nicole..."
"Don't you worry Elizabeth, Jillian and I will look after Nicole. You just go and see Nick, we'll be by later," reassured Roger.
"Thank you," replied Liz before turning back to Sara and letting her lead her from the room.