Title: One Eye Open

Spoiler: CSI up to season 3

Summary: It's been a year since Nick had a stalker. Nick's scary brush with death comes back in a terrifying manner when he finds out that his stalker has kidnapped his sister. Nick and the Las Vegas Crime Lab race against the clock to find Nick's sister before it's too late.

Disclaimer: I only own what you do not recognize. CSI Belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and all of those smart people who created these fine CSI series.

My Note: It's here! Sorry this took so long, but I've already started chapter 4, so it hopefully will only be maybe a week before I get that updated. Enjoy! And as always, if you enjoy Vampire/Werewolf novels, check out my novel Farther Side of Away. You can find info on where to find it on my profile. Thank you!

Chapter 3: Awake

When Donna woke up, she was in Dallas, Texas. She was standing in the park where she and Nick used to go to as kids. Donna loved swinging on the swing set. She and Nick would swing as high as they could and then jump off to see who would go the farthest. Often times, it ended with them getting scratches or bruises.

Donna was standing in the middle of the park, watching a 10-year-old Nick and a 9-year-old Donna swinging on the old swing set. As a kid, Nick had an awkward looking bowl cut. Donna, likewise, had a short haircut. She had poufy brown hair that didn't really work well at chin length, as she had it. But she hadn't cared at that point.

The older Donna watched her younger self swing with Nick. They were building height. When they had gotten as high as they could, Nick said what he always said, "be brave, Donna!"

Older Donna mouthed along with her younger self her reply, "I'm always brave!" The younger Donna turned to her older self and smiled. "You have to be brave, Donna."

Cold water washed over Donna's face, jarring her from her dream. She gasped as she woke up, her eyes attempting to adjust to the dark. She couldn't see more than few feet in front of her.

As she woke up, the pain in her head intensified. She groaned and tried to move her hand up to rub her head, but found her hands were bound behind her back. Donna struggled against the tape on her wrists, but all she succeeded in doing was rubbing her wrists.

Now her head and her wrists hurt.

Donna sighed and dropped her head. How did this happen? Was this the same person who was bothering her in Texas? Why her?

Tears stung her eyes as she realized just how terrible the situation was. Nick was at work and wouldn't be home for hours. Donna knew enough to know that when a person went missing, the first 24 hours were extremely important. Nick needed to find out as soon as possible that Donna was missing.

Donna had no doubt that if there was any evidence, Nick and the Las Vegas Crime Lab would find her. She knew they were good at their job. They just needed to find out she was gone first.

Nobody knows I'm gone, Donna thought as the fear coursed through her veins. No one is even looking for me!

She sobbed into her chest, the sound bouncing around the dark room.

Get a hold of yourself! She yelled at herself. You've got to keep it together if you're going to stand a chance of getting out of here. You have to last long enough for Nick to find you and he will find you!

Donna took a few deep breaths, trying to steady herself. Still, she couldn't shake the fear.

The silence around her was deafening and terrifying. She had no idea where this person was or who it was. She had no idea what he was planning.

Donna kept taking deep breaths in an attempt to steady her nerves and to keep her from crying more. She needed to think straight.

As she sat still, she felt a burning pain in her fingernails. It was odd. She couldn't remember grabbing anything with her fingers. She hoped her kidnapper hadn't taken her fingernails off, but she figured that would hurt more if he had. She needed to see to figure out her next move.

She had to be brave. Nick would save her.

He had to.

Nick wouldn't be kept in the lab. The Hulk couldn't keep him there. So Grissom gave in and drove with Nick to Nick's apartment. Nick was a ball of nerves. His feet were moving and his fingers were tapping. He talked a mile a minute.

Grissom remained mostly quiet. He knew there was very little that he could say that would assuage Nick's fears. Donna was missing and there was no telling who had her or what they were doing to her.

"If this is because of me, Gris," Nick choked out. "If someone took her because of something I've done, I'll never forgive myself."

"Nicky, you can't blame yourself. Especially when we don't know the situation. If we're going to find Donna, we all have to be calm and clearheaded."

Grissom saw Nick nod out of the corner of his eyes.

Finally, they arrived at Nick's apartment complex. Grissom had barely parked the car before Nick had thrown open the door and headed towards the building.

Grissom sighed, parked the car and got out. He knew Nick wouldn't listen very well and although he couldn't blame him, Grissom knew he needed to get Nick to understand that he had to calm down.

Grissom grabbed his kit and headed towards the building. Nick's new apartment, the one he moved into after Nigel Crane stalked him, was on the third floor. It was a much better apartment complex, with plenty of gates and codes to get in. Grissom imagined that Nick was probably feeling much safer.

Until now.

When Grissom reached the third floor, he found Nick sitting on the floor opposite the door to his apartment, his back against the wall with his head in his hands. Warrick was standing to his left, a hand gripping Nick's shoulder.

Grissom nodded at Warrick as he passed and entered Nick's apartment. The door had not been forced open from the outside, Grissom noticed. So how did they get in? Did Donna let the kidnapper in, thinking it was a friend? Did they have a key?

In the living room, Catherine was searching for evidence. She looked up when Grissom entered the room.

"There doesn't seem to have been a struggle," she commented.

Grissom said nothing as he put his case down. He combed over the room with his eyes, looking for any sign of disturbance. He saw nothing.

"Let's see if there's a chance of getting shoeprints from the carpet," he said, looking down at his feet.

"It's a long shot, but it's worth a try."

Grissom moved down the hallway to the bedroom. Standing in the doorway, he could see where Donna had fought back. His eyes ran up and down the doorframe. Her fingers seemed to have grabbed at the doorframe, leaving blood and deep scratches behind. Grissom looked into the bedroom where Sara was photographing evidence.

She was standing in front of the open window.

"I don't get it," she said as she took a picture of the corner of the window. "They're on the third floor. There's no tree near the window. How did he get in?"

"A ladder, maybe," Grissom said from behind her.

Sara turned around. "If he used one, he took it with him or moved it. I'm not seeing any evidence of someone climbing through the window."

Grissom's eyebrows rose up. "A distraction then. He wanted her to think he came through the window, but really, he got in somewhere else."

Sara lowered her camera and frowned. "First Nick gets stalked, now this? It can't be a coincidence, Grissom. It's been a year, almost to the day."

Grissom sighed. "I know. Nick finally stopped looking over his shoulder and now this."

"He'll never forgive himself if she dies."

"Neither will I."

Donna had dozed off again. When she woke up, the pain returned to her head, wrists, and fingers. She was also hungry. She could feel the tiny pang growing in her stomach, alerting her that it had been many hours since she last ate.

It was still very dark, wherever she was. She didn't hear much but the sound of her own breathing. Her heart thudded in her chest and her panic rose as the darkness caved in around her.

She had never liked the dark.

Her fear hit a new high when she heard footsteps. She wondered who her kidnapper was, but she was also terrified of who it might be.

What if it was someone she knew?

Donna's mouth went dry.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until the stopped. She listened as what sounded like a doorknob turned and a door opened, the hinges creaking loudly.

Bright light stunned Donna's eyes. She slammed them shut.

"Oh good, you're finally awake," a male voice spoke. It didn't sound familiar to her. It wasn't deep, but it wasn't too high. His voice was almost creepy sounding, but Donna didn't know if that was just how his voice was or if it was because he had kidnapped her.

Donna slowly opened her eyes, blinking the pain away. As her eyes adjusted, the man came into focus.

He was standing at full height, maybe 5'9 or 5'10, with scraggy brown hair that hung limply in an awkward attempt at a bowl cut. He wore some sort of blue worker's jumpsuit, like he worked for some kind of company or something. His face was heavy and when he smiled, as he was doing so, his cheeks puffed up.

Donna didn't recognize him at all.

Donna swallowed, trying to wet her mouth. "Who are you?" she croaked.

The man frowned. "You don't know me?" he asked.

Donna shook her head. He took an angry step towards her and Donna pushed back against the pole at her back.

"How could he not have told you about me? That's so rude!" he yelled.

Donna was confused. Who was he talking about?

The man turned his back to her, ranting and raving. He growled in frustration. Twirling, he turned back to Donna, his face contorted into an angry grimace.

"I can't believe Nick wouldn't tell his own sister about his best friend!" he screamed.

"Nick? You know my brother?" Donna looked at the ground, her eyes wide with fear. How could a friend of Nick's do this to her? To him?

"Yes, Nick and I are very close. I'm Nigel. Didn't he tell you about me?" the man asked as he moved closer to Donna.

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. She searched her brain but she couldn't remember Nick ever mentioning a man named Nigel. "I don't," Donna began to sob. "I don't know."

"Shh, don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you, Donna!"

Donna cocked her head. "You're not?"

He laughed. "Of course not! You're Nick's sister. I would never hurt Nick's sister. That practically makes you family!"

Donna almost laughed. "What am I doing here, then?" she asked.

Nigel kneeled in front of her. "Nick just needs to be reminded of who his real friends are. When he sees the truth, then you can go home. Go back to Killeen or whatever you want to do. Just do what I tell you and it'll all be ok."

Donna nodded. "If you let me talk to Nick, I bet I can help him," she almost begged. "Just let me talk to Nick and we can finish this now. Please, Nigel."

Nigel shook his head and stood up. "No. Thank you, but Nicky needs to see the truth from me. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come to his senses soon." He turned away and began walking towards the door.

"Wait, Nigel!" Donna called out. Tears began to drip from her eyes and the panic welled up in her chest again. "Please, I'm hungry."

Nigel paused at the door and turned back to her. "You like your eggs sunny side up with white toast, right?" he asked.

Donna's jaw dropped. It had been him all along. She took a deep breath and nodded, forcing a small smile. "Right."

Nigel smiled a cruel smile, shut off the light and left the room, locking her in darkness once again with only the sound of her sobbing.

After spending much of the night combing Nick's apartment for evidence, Grissom brought Nick back to the lab. He marched him straight into the conference room and told him the rest of the lab was off limits unless Grissom or Catherine was with Nick.

Nick obeyed Grissom because as much as he wanted to help, he knew evidence found by Nick wouldn't be admissible in court. Nick had to stay away, even though he felt helpless. He wanted to do something, but there was nothing he could do. As Grissom told him, "if you want to help Donna, you've got to let us do our jobs."

So Nick took to pacing the conference room, walking back and forth and thinking about the past few days. Maybe there was something he missed that might help Griss and the team find Donna.

But he couldn't think of anything. All he knew was that Donna had been on edge lately. She flew instead of driving, which told Nick she might have been having a problem with a stalker or something.

Nick thought back to Nigel and how helpless he felt then. What was Donna feeling right now? Was she comfortable or was she bound and gagged?

Eventually, Nick fell into an uncomfortable sleep on the couch. He woke up at the sound of someone at the coffee machine.

Nick sat up quickly and looked over the back of the couch. Sara was pouring herself a cup of coffee, her face tired and worn.

"Any news?" Nick asked.

Sara looked over at him, her face grim. "We managed to get a couple of shoe prints off the carpet. There are a lot of fingerprints, probably all yours and Donnas, but we might get lucky. Some blood droplets, but it's probably Donnas. We won't know until later. It's not much, Nick," she told him sadly.

Nick frowned and nodded. "I know you guys are doing the best you can."

"We'll find her Nick, I promise."

Nick looked away from Sara and laid back down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "I just hope we find her in time."