Chapter 7

Nick glanced over at the bed when he heard a sound coming from it. He smiled as he saw her tossing and turning and then frowned when he realized she was having a nightmare. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Fight it Krisalyn, you're safe now. Remember happy memories only." Nick said softly as he leaned back into the chair. He smiled as he remembered when he and Krisalyn had first met.

Flashback

Nick and Warrick arrived in the new city with a roll of their eyes. One of their cases from Las Vegas had been connected to a case out in Maine and so they were forced to go and assist the CSI's there. Groaning they saw a female standing there with a scowel on her face and an ID tag that marked her as a CSI.

"Look's like it's our lucky day." Warrick whispered sarcastically. "Seems like she don't want us here."

"You wouldn't want her in Vegas either so let's just call it a drawl." Nick whispered his eyes fixated on the blonde standing there.

"You digging her?" Warrick asked arching a brow as they made their way towards her.

"No." Nick said a little to quickly.

"Well you two sure take your time. I am Krisalyn and I'll be your date for the duration of this case." The blonde said rolling her eyes.

It was then that Nick realized there was something about her that was special. They had started seeing each other a couple of days after they arrived there in Maine and it became serious. It ended badly when the case was solved and Nick refused to even think about transferring to Maine.

End Flashback

Nick shook his head at the memories that had assaulted his mind and then looked down at the sleeping woman who had a peaceful look on her face at that point. He smiled as he closed his eyes, already deciding he couldn't leave her alone no matter what happened.

The officer's face was contorted with fear as she realized who he was and what her fate was about to become. He shook his head with an evil grin on his face as he made his decision that she was going to suffer severely and she was going to wish that she never wore that badge on her chest. He could already tell that she was trying to formulate a plan in that stupid little head of hers. He laughed loudly as he smacked her hard across the face to make her realize that nothing she could think of would help her out now, it was time for her to die and she would die slower than the others. He would make sure this one begged for her life and he would make sure that she felt the pain as she lost every ounce of blood in her body. He made sure the straps were tight as he got to work on his best work yet.

Nick woke up when he felt someone watching him and noticed that Krisalyn was awake and staring at him from the bed. He moved and winced when he felt a sharp pain shooting through his neck. She saw her wince to as if she felt guilty that he had slept there for her and woken up with a sore neck.

"Hey no wincing." He teased as he leaned forward to place his elbows on the side of the bed. "That's my job and my job only."

"What happened?" Krisalyn asked with a frown.

"You tell me. We found you lying unconscious next to a victim. Luckily no one else was hurt considering there was a bomb in the building, all the evidence was destroyed." Nick told her shrugging his shoulders.

"The last thing I remember is blood and pictures of Ella. Someone had her crime scene photos and all I could see was her dead body everywhere. I panicked and I remember freaking out and crying and screaming and then there was pain and that's it." Krisalyn said knowing there was something else she had seen that she couldn't quit remembers at that moment. There was something else locked in her brain but that was all that was coming out at the moment.

Nick looked at the pain crossing all her features and he saw the panic welling up in her eyes as if she were back in that warehouse staring at those nasty photos of their daughter. He felt the anger rise in him again at what she had to have gone through again. He swallowed several times before he trusted his voice enough to speak and he smiled at her before he opened his mouth.

"Listen there are no more pictures okay? You are safe here and after wards you're coming home with me." Nick informed her quickly.

Krisalyn heard what he said but it took a moment for the last part to register within her brain. Her eyes widened and she turned towards him shaking her head no.

"I don't think so." She said quickly.

"I think so. Doctor say's you can't be alone for a while and Grissom said he was going to give us both some time off, you because medical problems and me because I am the one who will be taking care of you." Nick said shrugging his shoulders.

"I have been taking care of myself for a long time; I don't need anyone to take care of me." Krisalyn said stubbornly.

"I beg to differ. What were you thinking going out there solo and not even filling out a location sheet?" Nick asked finally voicing what everyone had been thinking and not saying.

"I thought that Grissom had paged me since the code was the same as he uses, and I thought you were going to be meeting me there." Krisalyn said and then winced when she realized that still didn't explain the mistake of the sheet.

"The location sheet?" Nick asked picking up on it.

"That was a mistake." Krisalyn admitted softly.

"A mistake that could have cost you your life." Nick pointed out with a scowl on his face. "Look no one wants to pick on you but you have to take responsibility for everything you do. You have to remember the rules and regulations and procedures. They are there to save your life."

"Since when do you care about stuff like that?" Krisalyn asked confused.

"Since I nearly lost my life after being kidnapped from a crime scene." Nick whispered as he fought with his mind. He didn't want to go back to that memory; he didn't want to be back in that horrible box, waiting to be found or waiting for the right moment to take his own life. He didn't want to remember anything about that time.

"What do you mean?" Krisalyn asked confused.

"Nothing, let's just drop it okay." Nick said not wanting to get into detail about anything.

"Nick, you can talk to me." Krisalyn whispered.

"Maybe I just don't want to talk." Nick said getting to his feet. "Look it was a bad time for me and I don't want to think about it."

"All right." Krisalyn nodded slowly.

"Look, I am gonna have Sara stop by your place and pack some of your stuff so that you have things to wear and then I'll have her drop them off here. I think the doctor will release you in a few days and when he does my place will be ready." Nick said wanting to leave the room as fast as possible.

He laughed as he saw her pale face as she felt her life's blood slowly drain out of her. He needed the blood for another phase in his plan and he was going to need plenty of it. He smirked as he saw the look of total surrender on her face as she realized there was no use fighting against it, he had made sure that she was going to die, the only thing she could do was wait until she took her last breath.

Her mind was spinning as she stared into the face of a monster. How could this be happening to her? She was supposed to be getting married in a few days and now here she was dying. She closed her eyes against the feelings welling up inside her and prayed for a miracle to happen. There had to be someone out there who could find here. Someone had to have seen this man grab her and someone must have gotten the license plate. She willed her mind to say it was just a dream but found that it wasn't when she opened her eyes again and saw the disgusting place she was in. She felt the tears fall down her cheeks and knew that she was well on her way to losing her life.

Krisalyn woke up with a sharp pain shooting through her heart. She felt the pain of someone else, she felt like someone needed her more than anything at that moment. She frowned as she sat up in the hospital bed and winced in pain. Something was deadly wrong and Krisalyn had the feeling that it was something she was going to have to deal with. She glanced around the dark room, grateful to see that Nick hadn't returned to sit with her tonight. She bit her bottom lip gently as she looked towards the window in her room and saw the moon shining brightly, the full moon that was. She closed her eyes and tried to think of what it was she had been dreaming, what had frightened her so badly, and why did she feel like she was needed elsewhere?

Nick stared out the window of his apartment and dialed the cordless phone he held in his hand. He had decided to ask Grissom to let him work while Krisalyn was in the hospital rather then giving him the whole time off. He frowned when he reached a machine and just hung up the phone. He kept his attention at the darkened sky of Las Vegas and tried to imagine Ella, the daughter he never met, and what she would be like. He felt the pain of not knowing and the anger of never being able to know feel him and he tried hard to tamp them down. Now was not the time to feel these feelings, he knew that.

"I don't know why you decided I wasn't ready to be a dad or why you decided Ella needed to be taken away so young, but I want to understand. I need to know why I wasn't given the chance I deserved with her?" Nick whispered into the night. His mind slowly drifted to the worse time in his life and he shivered as he thought about what Ella may have gone through. She had been kidnapped as well, but a child isn't as strong as an adult because they don't understand. He could only imagine what had gone through her head and he could only pray that it wasn't to bad. He closed his eyes and pictured the photograph that he had seen from the fax copy and smiled a small smile, he would at least know what she looked like if nothing else.

The pictures littered the room where all the toys were waiting. The paintings on the walls showed that a young child had once lived here, had once played in this very room. The paintings on the far wall, close to the window, were torn down and ripped apart as if someone had decided they didn't want them there anymore. It was a scene of desperation and despair, almost like a child lost and a family grieving. But to him it was all part of his plan, a plan that would make everything known. He placed the photo of the room back in it's place and turned his attention towards his victim who was now gasping for air. It wouldn't be long now before he got what he needed to start his official torture of CSI Stokes.