A/N: Many thanks for your comments and reviews as always. Some mixed thoughts on last week's chapter, and maybe for the first time, just a little bit of sympathy for Jake. As always an awesome beta by JellybeanChiChi.

Chapter 9

Nick paused for a few seconds as he took in the scene in front him. He viewed the hive of activity near a small copse of trees that indicated his crime scene. Two patrol cars were parked at an angle, helping to illuminate the scene. Dave Philips was already there.

Taking a deep breath, Nick grabbed his kit and headed across the grass of Desert Breeze Park towards the group of police officers hovering near the body.

As he he drew nearer Brass came down to meet him, and quickly filled him in on the details.

"Anonymous tip off. Said he'd heard two men in a heated argument before it came to blows. He waited until the dust settled before continuing on his way home. And that's when he discovered the body."

Nick drew closer to the body sprawled across the pavement. Walkways branched off towards the soccer and baseball fields off to his left and to the Skate Park to his right. Dave Phillips looked up as Nick approached, snapping on a pair of latex gloves.

"There's no ID. I'd say he's been dead no more than two hours at most. Rigor's just starting to present."

Nick stopped dead in his tracks, his face turning white.

"I recognize this guy," he stated, his voice betraying his shock at the discovery. "Jake, a visiting CSI, from Seattle. He was working a case with Sara."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Nick suddenly wished he didn't snag that apple from the break room on his way out to the scene. His stomach turned sour as he replayed in his mind the image of Grissom raising his fist in readiness to strike Jake. He'd witnessed more than one instance of Jake pushing Grissom and Sara's buttons over the last week and half. The final straw for Grissom had been when Jake had frightened Daniel and then been derogatory about Sara.

The Grissom Nick knew 10 years ago had changed to the Grissom today. Nick could never forget a memory from a year ago when Grissom invited the team to his and Sara's home for a barbecue. While Grissom grilled, a very pregnant Sara came to her husband's side. Without thinking, Grissom smiled, placed his hand on Sara's bump and then leaned forward to kiss her.

No way the Grissom of 10 years ago would have done any of that in front of the team. Nick knew the biggest priority in Grissom's life were Sara and their son. And that cemented realization caused some very disturbing scenarios to tumble through Nick's mind as he saw Jake's dead, murdered body.

There was just no way that Grissom could somehow be involved in this, Nick thought. Hoped.

He glanced over Jake's body, taking note of the cuts and bruises on Jake's face, the bloody mess of his throat, and the swollen and bruised right hand. Whatever had happened here, had been vicious and brutal.

With professional focus, Nick gathered evidence and photographed the body. Once he was done, and the body had been removed, he made a detailed search of the surrounding area, before returning to the lab.

That feeling of dread was now a leaden weight in his stomach.

Once Nick returned to the lab, he headed straight to autopsy.

"What can you tell me, Doc?" Nick asked he as approached the coroner.

"David said this is a visiting CSI?" Doc Robbins asked, as he gestured towards the body, glancing at Nick, who confirmed the question. "Well, that'll will make ID'ing him easier, since he's prints will already be in the system. Time of death is between midnight and 1 a.m. The small bones of his right hand were crushed, there is extensive bruising to his face, and torso, suggesting that he may have been in fight shortly before he died.

"There's signs of cyanosis across the skin, and petechiae in the eyes. Cause of death is asphyxiation caused by a crushed larynx. I found odd shaped bruising around the area. I found a similar pattern of post-mortem bruising on his hand and torso," Robbins explained, indicating the right hand, and then lifting the sheet slightly, to show Nick the bruising on Jake's ribs and chest.

"You think he was stomped on?" Nick asked, wanting to make certain that he was following the older man. The sick feeling in his stomach increased.

Robbins nodded. "This was a savage and brutal attack. A rage killing. I swabbed the throat and sent it off to DNA, and I also took photos of the bruising." Robbins added as he offered Nick an envelope.

"Thanks Doc," said, Nick quietly, taking the photos and gathering up Jake's bagged clothes as he left autopsy, not liking the direction the evidence seemed to be leading him in. He hoped – prayed – that he was wrong.

Once in the layout room, Nick began processing Jake's clothes, quickly finding traces of blood on his sweater, jacket and jeans. It was while he was studying the photos of the bruising on Jake's hand, that his pager beeped with a message from Wendy.

"You've got results already?" he asked Wendy with some surprise, when he reached DNA. The expression on her face unreadable.

"The swab that Doc Robbins took, showed canine DNA in the sample. Normally when a dog is impounded during a criminal case they're put into a database. When I checked canine codis, there were no matches."

Nick shook his head, feeling a strange mix of confusion and relief.

"There were no bite marks on the vic – so how did canine DNA get there?"

Wendy shrugged, "I don't know, but it could be explained by this," she said, as she handed him the printout.

Nick's mouth dropped open, alarm flashing across his face as he looked back at Wendy.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?!"

"I ran the test three times, before I paged you."

Still in denial, Nick shook his head again, as he flipped open his phone. He took his eyes off the printout, only long enough to hit speed dial. The call was answered after two rings.

"Catherine can you meet me in DNA? We have a problem. A big problem."

Within five minutes Catherine had been updated on the developments of Nick's case.

Her mouth dropped open, unable to hide her surprise at what she was seeing.

"There's no mistake about this?" Catherine asked for the third time, wanting to make certain.

Again Wendy shook her head. "I immediately ran the test again three more times to be sure, before I paged Nick. There's no mistake."

Catherine glanced at the results once more, hoping that by some miracle, they'd change. They hadn't.

"I know I don't need to say this..." Catherine began, but Wendy cut her off.

"... I won't say a word." Wendy finished for her, with a nod of reassurance.

Catherine nodded firmly, knowing that she could count on Wendy.

"So what do we do now?" Nick wanted to know.

"We treat this case like any other, Nick," Catherine stated with authority. "We have no choice," she added as he was about to protest. "I don't like this any more than you do. I need to know that you're going to be okay working this, Nicky. I can assign..."

"No," Nick shook his head vehemently. "I want to see this case through, Catherine."

Catherine nodded briskly, with a slight upturn of her mouth, expecting nothing less.

"I want you to call Brass, then Warrick and Tristan. I want all hands on deck, on this one. I'll inform Conrad."

Catherine quickly hurried from the DNA lab, as she promptly rang the Sheriff.

"Morning, beautiful," Grissom gave his customary greeting to his wife, as he embraced her from behind, and kissed her neck, the next morning.

Sara paused in her breakfast preparations, as she leaned back against his chest, a smile edging her mouth as she tilted her head to one side, as Grissom nuzzled her neck.

She turned around in his arms to face him, frowning slightly as she quickly took in the bruising that was starting to appear, from his fight with Jake the previous night.

Seeing her concern, he gently tightened his hold around her, reassuringly.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "Probably looks worse than it is."

Sara still looked doubtful, hating to see him hurt or in pain.

"Honey, I'm fine," he said a little more firmly, kissing her thoroughly to prove his point, and sweeten the moment further. "We've got plans today, that don't include Jake Sullivan. He's probably back in Seattle by now, and out of our lives for good."

Daniel, disliking being ignored, banged nosily on the tray of his high chair, before pushing back against the backrest, his small body rising against the restraints that held him in place. He gave a frustrated cry, kicking his small legs angrily.

"Someone is in a grumpy mood," Grissom commented, releasing his hold on his wife and turning his attention towards their son. Daniel's bottom lip pouted out, tears pooling in his brown eyes. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, with the back of his fingers, turning away from his father, as he approached.

Remembering the reason for Daniel's foul mood, Sara turned her attention back to the waffles she was making.

"It took awhile for him to settle after you took Hank for a walk last night," Sara explained, as she plated up the waffles for her and Grissom, before cutting up some for Daniel. "He was still restless even after you got back, and Hank's pacing didn't help."

"I'm sorry, Honey," said Grissom, in a regretful tone, as they settled down to breakfast together. "Taking Hank out seemed the best thing to do at the time. I don' t know what's gotten into him lately."

Once breakfast was over, they cleaned up the breakfast dishes, with the synchronisation they'd once worked crime scenes together. Paying Daniel attention and chatting about their plans for the upcoming barbecue early that evening.

Shortly after 9 am, Sara was just putting the finishing touches to the shopping list, and Grissom had just finished washing and changing Daniel ready for their shopping trip, when the knock came.

Grissom answered the door carrying Daniel, as Hank danced around his feet, tail wagging furiously as he greeted, a solemn looking Jim Brass, and a nervous looking Nick Stokes and two uniformed police officers.

Grissom glanced at Jim and Nick, as he shifted Daniel more securely in his arms, as he wriggled fussily in his father's arms, sucking his pacifier busily.

"You're quite a bit early for the barbecue, Jim," Grissom tried to dispel the air of tension that surrounded the group.

"What can I say – it's a fault," stated Jim stoically. "Can we talk inside?"

Grissom's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's this about, Jim?"

Jim immediately noticed the grazed knuckled of his right hand, and Grissom felt a pang of unease.

"It' ll be better inside, Gil. Shall we?" was Brass' only comment.

Pulling the door back further, Grissom stepped back allowing them entrance, before closing the door, and heading towards the kitchen.

"So, are you going to tell us what this is about?" Grissom asked as Sara took Daniel from him. Daniel immediately reached out for his father again. Once back in his father's arms, Daniel settled his head on Grissom's shoulder, his eyes heavy with sleep. Sara gave him his ant, his small fingers worrying one of the legs as Grissom rocked him absently.

Jim indicated Grissom's grazed knuckles and bruised face.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you got into a beef with someone."

Grissom's expression changed from one of wary curiosity to carefully controlled anger, in the blink of an eye.

"So that's what this is about," he stated, in a biting tone. "Jake comes off worse and so he's pressing charges? He'd have been better off tucking his tail between his legs and getting on a plane back to Seattle, than wasting your time."

"I cant believe his pressing charges," Sara joined in, shaking her head at Jake's nerve, as she stood closer to Grissom by the counter.

"I'm afraid it's a lot more serious, than a case of pressing charges, Gil," stated Jim, his demeanour growing more serious. "Jake Sullivan is dead."

"What!" Grissom and Sara both gasped.

"You don't really think that Gil has something to do with this, Jim?" Sara asked stunned.

Brass' tone when he spoke was filled with the hope that Grissom could explain himself. "Sullivan was found dead in Desert Breeze Park. I need to know your whereabouts between midnight and 1 a.m. this morning, Gil."

Grissom and Sara glanced at one another, their faces pale and shocked.

Grissom swallowed nervously as he glanced back a Jim and Nick. "Hank was unsettled, and woke the whole house up," Grissom slowly explained. "So I took him for a walk around midnight. Got back after 1 a.m."

Jim's shoulders sagged as if under a great weight. He turned his head slightly towards Nick, wishing that this had turned out differently. Nick licked his dry lips nervously, as he stepped forward with a piece of paper, that shook noticeably as he handed it to Grissom.

In an apologetic tone of voice, Nick said, "I've a warrant to search for further evidence, and I need the clothes you were wearing last night."