AN: okay since there is confusion when it comes to the whole Kathryn/Catherine thing. I am going to try and write it with a "C" from now on. I might forget in later chapters… I'll try not to. So I am going to try and change it back so there isn't so much confusion. Sorry… Now I could probably update this one a lot faster if I cut some of the chapters shorter rather than keeping them as long as I have them, your decision.

Chapter 17

After quite a few hours where the bomb squad scanned the car and finally found the device Krisalyn and Nick were finally allowed to leave the car. Sighing with intense pleasure at not having to sit there Krisalyn and Nick walked over to Catherine and Warrick who were leaning against their own car.

"Well I guess we should all be happy that the moron was stupid enough to hang around and that Warrick was able to sneak up on him. Any tips before interrogation?"

"I busted him over on the east coast. He is probably mad because I cost him his wife and kids. You can push his buttons easily and get him to talk by telling him about being worthless or something like that. Belittle him enough and he will start talking." Krisalyn said softly.

Nick and Krisalyn watched Warrick enter the station and then turned back to Catherine who was smiling at the two of them.

"I'll give you a ride home. You're just gonna take Krisalyn's car tomorrow right?" She asked as she nodded towards her car behind them.

"Yeah, better than spending unnecessary money on a rental until my car is cleared." Nick nodded as he piled into the backseat with Krisalyn in the front next to Catherine.

"So have you guys figured out what that new message meant?" Catherine asked softly.

"Not a clue." Krisalyn said shaking her head. "You wanna take a look at it and give us your thoughts?"

"Well I honestly can't think all that straight right now. How about we look at it when we have all had some rest and gotten some of the feelings from this incident out of our heads?" Catherine suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Works for me." Nick said from the backseat.

"So anyway Nick you wanna tell me what's on the menu for the wedding?" Catherine asked with a wink at Krisalyn.

"Haha that's not my department." Nick said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Wanna think again?" Krisalyn asked turning around in her seat. "You are going to be helping with the planning or else we aren't getting married."

"Since when did you want me around for the planning process?" Nick asked arching his eyebrows.

"I have always wanted you around and now I suggest that you start getting involved, unless you want me to tell JJ you are completely available." Krisalyn said with a grin.

Nick glanced into her blue eyes and could tell that she was completely serious about what she was saying. Sighing he nodded his head slowly and slumped back into his seat knowing full well that she wasn't just joking around she fully intended to tell JJ that he was available if he screwed up. He would just have to wait until they were married before he got even with her by simply not doing things and then the only way to get rid of him would be through a courtroom and she wouldn't want to do it that way. He grinned inside his head, being careful not to show it on his face, just wait until she figured out what he was thinking, then he was really going to be in for it.

The little girl hunched into the corner, scared and confused. She wanted out of this place but knew that this mean monster wasn't going to let her escape. She wanted her mommy and her daddy. She hugged the ragged teddy bear to her chest and thought about her favorite stuffed dog her mama had given her for her birthday. It was the cutest little dog that looked like a cocker spaniel. Mama said it reminded her of the dog she had when she was a little girl and so she had named the stuffed one "Romona" after mama's dog. She felt the tears streak down her face as she pictured her mom's face and her mom's hair. She reached up and felt her own greasy, stringy hair and missed the way it was when it was French-braided.

"I miss my mama." She whispered to the bear but like always her imagination still couldn't will the bear to answer. She desperately wanted someone to talk to, someone who understood her and would make her feel better but even now it wasn't mean to be. She was cold and she shivered as she realized that the heat was no longer on. That meant he wasn't home to enjoy it so she had to freeze. She sneezed again and sighed, even though she was little she knew she was in trouble.

Krisalyn was tossing and turning in bed, her dreams once again haunted by horrifying images that she couldn't seem to get away from. She could see herself running away from a person but she couldn't see that person's face. She sighed in her sleep and heard herself screaming someone's name but she couldn't make it out. Then Nick appeared and he was pointing a gun at someone. Krisalyn frowned as she tried to make out what was happening but her mind refused to cooperate. Instead she watched as he pulled the trigger and a person fell to the ground.

Krisalyn sat straight up in bed and looked around the room in shock. She wasn't sure what she had just seen but she was pretty sure that it wasn't anything good. Groaning she leaned against the headboard and tried to rest her tired eyes, knowing she wouldn't be falling back to sleep anytime soon. She heard someone walking around outside in the hall and decided that Nick must be just as restless as her. She climbed out of bed slowly and threw on a robe. As she opened the bedroom door she saw a figure dressed in black creeping down the hallway. She could already tell by it's form that it wasn't Nick Stokes.

"Freeze LVPD don't move." Krisalyn said pretending she had her gun but yelling it loud enough to warn Nick as well. "If you don't want to get shot you won't move a muscle."

"You wouldn't shoot me lady, you don't have the guts." The figure spoke.

"She won't have to 'cause I will." Nick said stepping out into the hall with his gun trained on the figure.

"Aw man they said no one was gonna be home." The figure said with a growl.

"Who said we wouldn't be home?" Krisalyn questioned from her position.

"I ain't talking man. I just came to do a job that I was paid to do." The figure moaned just as a loud crash could be heard from the living room.

"You stay with him and I'll take the living room." Krisalyn said as she dashed back into her room and grabbed her weapon. She made a mad dash for the living room, feeling all her injuries scream in protest, just in time to see a figure walk towards the office. Krisalyn shook her head and followed with her weapon at the ready.

Catherine and Warrick were going over the evidence that was from the bomb that was planted in Nick's vehicle. The were both trying to figure out how someone could get so close to killing to cops in a police parking lot without anyone knowing.

"This guy could have taken anyone out and no one would have been paying any attention." Catherine muttered as she gripped a piece of evidence in her hand.

"Catherine, careful with that." Warrick warned pointing to her hand.

"Oh yeah sorry." Catherine said with a sigh. "I just can't believe that someone could be so careless and cruel. What if Krisalyn hadn't recognized something wrong?"

"Then we would be working a homicide." Warrick said softly. "I know I am thinking the same thing you are Catherine."

"So then we have to figure something out." She said as she looked at the evidence. "Maybe this is a wake-up call and people will start paying attention to the police parking lot or at least add more security to it."

"Yeah right and admit we have a problem with our police security?" Warrick said jokingly. "It's never going to happen. You and I both know the Sheriff will never admit when he needs help or when he's in the wrong."

"I know but it's ridiculous." Catherine said with a sigh.

"I think we all will agree with you there." Grissom said from the doorway. "We just got a call of an officer needs assistance."

"So?" Catherine asked confused.

"At Nick's house." Sara interjected.

"Great so now we have to worry about them getting attacked at home." Warrick muttered as they all filed out to back up their friends.

Nick hung up his cell phone and kept his gaze trained on the guy in front of him. He hadn't heard a peep from Krisalyn since she had headed into the living room and he was starting to get a little bit worried. He cocked his weapon and gave the person in front of him a look that said that he was not the person to be messed with right now.

Krisalyn watched from her vantage point as the person in front of her tore apart Nick's desk looking for something. She noticed the picture Nick had stuck on the wall of Ella and smiled. She quickly shook herself out of her daze and kept her gaze trained on the person. She noticed the look in the eyes of the perp as their gaze landed on the photograph Krisalyn had been admiring and saw the shocked look on their face.

"I don't believe it." The person muttered.

"Freeze LVPD." Krisalyn said as she entered the room with her gun trained.

"No way." The perp said swearing under his breath as he raised his hands high and stared at Krisalyn. "No one was supposed to be here."

"So we've been told." Krisalyn said dryly as she heard sirens in the distance and figured Nick must have called it in. "You people just can't leave us alone."

Grissom and Warrick entered the house after the two perps were handcuffed and saw their friends sitting on the couch with bored looks on their faces. Sitting next to them were Catherine and Sara who were trying to figure out what was going on just like Brass.

"Okay so you're saying they were paid and ordered to break in?" Brass asked with a confused look. "By who?"

"We don't know that's just what we were told. They were also told that no one was going to be home tonight and that they wouldn't have any problems." Krisalyn answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "The one that was in front of me was going through Nick's things in his home office." She said indicating the room at the other end of the house.

"All right." Brass said nodding still looking confused. "Did they find what they were looking for?"

"Don't think so. I gave them a few minutes, I wanted to know what they were looking for as well but the person got distracted by a picture of Ella so I figured they were going to stop looking." Krisalyn said shrugging again.

"What do you mean they got distracted by a picture of Ella?" Brass asked interested.

"Probably because no one knows Nick had a daughter and there wasn't supposed to be a kid involved. My best guess would be they were worried that there might be a problem with a child involved and that we would be searching for them even more for endangering our daughter." Krisalyn said shrugging a third time. "I think it's safe to say that whoever did this doesn't know that Ella isn't alive or that she even existed. Those guys don't know she's dead so when they get word to their boss about a kid being in the picture someone's going to get nervous."

"You think so?" Nick asked glancing at her.

"Yeah." She nodded.

He was getting anxious more and more lately. Something big had to happen soon or else they would think he moved on and he couldn't have that now could he. He knew just what to do to get their attention again.