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fandomgirlz01 · 4 months

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This Can’t Be The End Pt. 3

Nick Stokes X Reader

Imagine on my fandom instagram?: No

Prompt?: No

Request?: No

Requested prompt?: No

Edited: Yes

Word count: 6,175

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings here

You can listen to the story be read out loud here.

Post Date: December 30th 2023

Post Time: 12:27 AM

Summary: Based off of S5 Es24 & 25 When Nick gets kidnapped, the reader is forced to fear the worst for her husband as she and the team work the case with hopes of bringing him home safe.

Third Person Pov:

The computer shows Nick and the countdown that is at 00:00:01. It then clicks off the video and 4672 CARNEY LANE — BOULDER HWY are the words that slide across the screen. Then the words BE THERE IN 20 MINUTES slide onto the screen next before OR DON’T BOTHER COMING slide across the screen too.

Grissom finds himself standing in front of a warehouse that doesn’t look like it’s been used for some time with the bag of money in his hand. He looks around for any sight of anything, but finds nothing out of the ordinary so he takes a step toward the building. He walks up to the building keeping an eye out for anything.

He walks up to the door, grabs the handle and slides the door open. It makes a loud clunking sound as he does, but he pays it no mind. Once it’s open he steps in and takes his glasses off as he looks around the inside.

He sees an SUV parked to his right, but nothing else really. He sets the bag down and reaches around himself to pull his flashlight out of his back pocket. He shines the flashlight out and continues to look around the warehouse.

“Las Vegas crime lab!” He calls out into the void in front of him.

“Through the door!” Another man’s voice shouts out and Gil bends down slowly to pick the money bag back up.

He then starts to walk, shining his light in front of him. As he walks he notices a dead dog laying on the floor with flies buzzing around. He sees other things a dog would need, a bed, food and water bowls.

He sees a box of random things and what seems to be a bed in the corner. He keeps walking and soon makes his way to the door the voice had told him to go through. He walks up a few steps before coming face to face with an older looking man who sits behind a computer watching the feed of Nick.

“Pretty quiet outside,” the man comments as Gil comes to a stop in front of him.

“Almost sounds like you came alone,” the guy continues to taunt.

“I’ve got your money,” Gil tells him and the guy stands.

“Put it down,” the guy commands as he leans on his arms against the table.

Grissom slowly lowers the bag and it makes a light thud as it hits the ground. He stands back up to full straight position before the guy comes out from behind the desk and up to the few steps to the podium he’s on.

“Slide it over,” he commands and Grissom uses his foot to kick it over closer to the guy.

It’s only when the bag stops, maybe about fifteen to twenty feet from him that the man walks down the steps and over to the bag. He uses a flashlight to look down on it and he looks back up at Gil.

“You’re telling me there’s a million dollars in here?” The guy asks and Gil gives a very decisive “yes,” to his question.

“Along with some cute little booby traps? Which is it? A tracker, a dye pack? A…” he asks, trying to figure out if they played any tricks on him.

“Normally, you’d be 100% right, but this time you’re 100% wrong. We want Nick back. No tricks,” Grissom promises him and it goes silent for a moment.

The guy takes a moment before bending down to the bag. He moves it so it’s facing him and unzips it. He digs though for a moment before grabbing a wad of the cash and holding it up to his light. He inspects it thoroughly before starting to chuckle.

“This looks real,” he comments as he holds it up.

“It is real,” Gil proclaims before pausing.

“Where is Nick?” He asks and the guy stands back up dropping the money back into the bag as he does.

“You know, I was under the impression that it was against departmental policy to negotiate with terrorists,” the guy comments, using his free hand to try and motion out his meaning.

“Are you a terrorist?” Gil asks him in a calm tone.

“Depends,” the guy replies in a nonchalant tone before shining the light at Grissom’s face.

“Are you terrified?” The guys asks in a playful tone and Grissom takes a deep breath.

“Look, I really don’t want to talk to you. Where is my guy?” Gil asks in a slightly irritated voice.

“Oh, so… he is your guy, huh?” The man asks in a fake astonished tone.

“Yes, he is. Where is he buried?” Gil asks in a demanding tone.

“Are you two close?” The man asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“That’s none of your business,” Gil tells him in a clipped tone.

“What does Nick Stokes mean to you? How do you feel when you see him in that coffin? Does your soul die every time you push that button? How do you feel knowing that there’s nothing you can do to get him out of that hell? Helpless…useless… impotent? How does it feel having to tell his darling of a wife he’s not coming home?” The guy asks again dodging the question with his own million to one questions and Grissom doesn’t respond.

“Good. Welcome to my world,” the man tells him before revealing that he has a bomb strapped to his waist.

“Uh, if I were you, I’d back up a little,” he tells Grissom in a condescending tone, but yet there’s also humor laced in with it.

Grissom takes one, two, no three little steps back and before he has a chance to do anything else the guy presses the button that he’s holding. The whole place gets wrecked with the magnificent boom, windows shatter and wood shards go flying every which way. Once the bomb is done dust over takes the air and starts to rain down along with blood painting the walls.

Grissom wakes and starts to huff for breath as he struggles to sit up. His ears ring and he can feel blood on his face as he looks over the desolate scene in front of him.

Reader’s Pov:

I wake up to someone shaking my shoulder lightly and with a small groan, I open my eyes. The bright light burns my eyes, making me shy away before looking back up to see Warrick standing in front of me. He gives me a small smile as I sit up, the blanket falling from my arm to my lap.

“What’s up, B?” I ask him and he smiles lightly.

“Griss just left to take the ransom money. If we’re lucky, Nicky boy should be home by tonight,” he tells me as his grin slowly grows more and more.

“You mean I’ll get him back?” I inquire softly and Warrick nods.

“Warrick, you better not be playing with me…” I warn him and he shakes his head, holding his hands up in surrender.

“I promise you mamas that I am not messing with you,” he tells me and I take a moment to let the words sink in.

“Oh, B… you were right, he’s coming home,” I whisper out as tears come to my eyes.

“It’s all just a waiting game now, mama. Once Grissom calls in, we can go get our boy,” he informs me and I can’t help but jump forward and hug him.

“Wait…” I pause before pulling back from the hug.

“How did Gil get the ransom money? I thought the department wasn’t going to pay it out. Did Nicky’s parents put it out?” I question and Warrick shakes his head.

“We’re not really supposed to talk about it… because Grissom insists on it staying anonymous, but you have Catherine to thank… she went to her father and asked for the money…” Warrick explains to me and I freeze as gratitude overflows me.

“Where is she?” I ask him after a moment of silence and he shakes his head.

“She’s in her office,” he informs me and I nod as I get up.

I quickly rush out of the break room and down the many halls I know will take me to her office. I slow down once I see the office and lightly knock on the door. She looks up and smiles when she sees it’s me.

She takes her glasses off and gives a small nod, mouthing a small ‘come in,’ before I push the glass door open. I walk in, closing the door behind me and Catherine smiles softly at me as I take a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. Her walkie-talkie chats quietly from beside her with a sound of static every time someone isn’t talking.

“What do you need, y/n?” she asks me as she folds her hands on her desk.

“Rick… he, uhh… told me what you did. I… I don’t know how to thank you,” I answer her in a choked tone and she smiles softly at me again.

“No need to thank me, y/n. Both you and Nicky are family. I hated seeing you and him in pain,” she explains softly before reaching her hand out to me.

“No. You deserve a thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t be getting my husband back. I… I wouldn’t have made it if—” I start but she squeezes my hand as she cuts me off.

“Don’t even start to wonder. That road can be a dangerous one, y/n. Just think of what you’ll do with all your time off,” she tells me and I give her a confused look.

“Time off?” I ask in confusion and she nods as she pulls her hand back.

“Nick gets time off for mental evaluation after all of this. I assume Griss will make you do the same thing,” she informs and I purse my lips as I nod.

“Honestly, we need the time off anyway. We were hoping to put in for some after these cases finished up,” I tell her and she grins, making me smile too.

“And you guys deserve it. You’ve done a lot of work with no breaks lately,” she muses and it goes quiet with the radio static being the only noise.

“Would you like to—” Catherine starts, but gets cut off with a voice coming over the radio.

“Dispatch, this is Gill Grissom of the crime scene lab. I request assistance at 4672 Carney Lane - - Boulder HWY. There’s been an explosion that needs analysis as soon as possible,” comes Grissom’s voice over the radio and I quickly suck in a breath as Catherine picks it up.

“Copy that, we’re sending units to your location right now,” Dispatch replies and Catherine looks up at me.

“You stay here. Someone will update you if we find anything at all, I promise,” she tells me as she stands up and I nod quickly.

After Catherine and the others leave, I’m left alone so I decide to take a shower and change my clothes. I walk to the locker room and open my locker.

Immediately I regret it when I see a picture of me and Nick on the inside of the door:

I smile softly at the old picture as I look at Nick and me from back when we were still in our second year of being CSI’s. With a soft smile, I find myself mentally thanking Nick’s sister Janet for taking the picture. I reach up and touch the picture as I sniffle.

I sigh and grab my change of clothes and a small toiletries bag before closing the locker. I go over to the shower and grab a towel from the cabinet before setting all my stuff on the counter. I then get into the shower and monotonously go about it.

I stay in the shower until the water runs cold and sigh as I reluctantly turn it off. I make work of getting out and quickly drying off before getting dressed. After I’m dressed, I drop my towel in the hamper and walk back to my locker.

I open it and set my toiletries bag in first before folding my clothes up. I put my clothes into the locker and catch sight of another one of the pictures I have hanging up:

I smile as the memory from college plays in my head and all I can hear is Nick’s laugh. That day was just one of our many lazy days that turned into him forgetting that he had a project to finish for his class. He ended up working on it while I sat reading my book, until I got bored and reached over for my camera that was on his bedside table.

~Flash back~

“Hey, Nicky,” I sing-song to him.

“Hmm?” he hums out, not even looking at me and I roll my eyes.

“Look over here, babe,” I tell him and he takes a moment to lean back in his chair, looking over one last detail before looking at me.

He smiles when he sees me and I grin as I take the picture. He laughs while shaking his head, making me grin even more.

“You and taking pictures of me. Did it at least turn out good?” he asks through his own grin and I pull the camera back to look at the screen.

“Hmm. Yes, it did. That one’s being printed,” I comment, only to giggle when he shakes his head before going back to his work.

~End of Flashback~

“Come home to me, Nicky,” I whisper, wiping at the tear that falls as another picture makes me giggle softly:

I remember that day so well. Nick was working on a separate case alongside Greg and I just so happened to walk by and see them both in really deep thought. Me being me, I decided to take a picture of them and send it to Nick with the text “someone looks a little grumpy :(”. He had immediately looked up to see me after reading the text and smiled at me, making me smile back softly before continuing on my way.

I sigh as I look over all the many pictures I have of us from over the years. Some Janet had taken, some taken by Nick’s brother Shane, as well as his brother Mason, sister Piper, and brother Braxton, all of whom saw me as a sibling the moment me and Nick started hanging around each other. There’s some we took together and some of us just being goofy together:

I let all the memories slowly play out in my head before shaking myself out of my thoughts.

“He’s coming home. He’ll be ok…” I keep repeating to myself in my head. I bite my lip and look over all the pictures one last time before closing my locker.

I wipe away tears that I didn’t even notice had fallen and start to walk to the break room. Once in the break room, I decide I should try to eat something, so I start looking for something that seems appetizing. I find a bowl of leftover spaghetti in the fridge with the name ‘Stokes’ on it in big bold letters. I shake my head at the note I find under it:

Sweets, I know you’ll find this. You better eat it, I know you haven’t had anything at all today. Remember I love you and EAT the damn food please.

~Nicky ^>^

“Even when he’s not here, he’s still taking care of me,” I comment out loud to myself, shaking my head as I give a soft chortle.

I take the foil off the top of the glass bowl and open the microwave. I then set the bowl in carefully and close it before setting it to three minutes.

As it warms it up, I walk back over to the fridge to get my soda from earlier this morning out before walking back over. I then grab a plastic fork from a container on the counter just as the microwave comes to a stop and beeps. I take the food out and walk over to the round table in the center of the room.

I sit down and start to stab at my food, but all of a sudden it doesn’t seem appetizing anymore. I twirl some on the fork and take one bite in hopes it’ll at least taste appetizing, but it doesn’t. I sit there trying to work up to wanting it, but it just keeps looking gross.

I sigh and push the bowl away from me before putting my hands over my eyes. I sit there for a few minutes with my hands over my eyes when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up and see Warrick standing there with a solemn look on his face.

“What happened?” I ask him and he sighs, moving to sit down next to me.

“The bastard blew himself up. Talk about cowardice to end it all,” he chortles in disbelief, shaking his head.

“Griss was lucky and didn’t get hit by the blast. He has minor hearing loss, but unfortunately no Nick,” he continues to explain and I suck in a breath.

“You process the scene yet?” I inquire and he pursues his lips.

“Yeah. Me and Greg worked on the car. GPS wasn’t a lot of help at all. All we got was general information of around where he was,” he informs me and I bite my lip in hopes of holding my emotions back.

“What— what about a body? Did the guy have anything on him?” I question and he pauses a moment as if debating whether to tell me.

“There wasn’t much of a body. He was literally in pieces… and no, we didn’t find anything on him,” he answers me and my face changes to one of anger.

“Did you guys find anything useful at all?! Or did you just quit?!” I angrily seethe out, my hormones completely out of whack and Warrick looks shocked for a moment.

“Mamas, I know you're angry. You have every right to be, but you gotta stay calm or I’m taking you home,” he informs me and I nod as my anger washes away.

“You're right. I’m sorry. I don’t know what just came over me,” I apologize as I put my head in my hands again and sniffle.

“It’s okay, mamas. You're entering the anger stage and not to mention you're probably hungry. I get it. It’s hard when all you want is him here with you,” he sympathizes with me as he pulls my chair to his and hugs me.

“Did you get anything at all, though?” I ask him and he nods.

“Yeah. Sara got a thumb, so we got a thumb print. She just went to run the print to see what we get,” he explains to me and I sigh.

“I just want him home, Rick,” I tell him and he pulls away from our hug to look me in the eyes.

“And he will be, mama. He will be, but for now you gotta take care of yourself, you hear me? He wouldn’t like knowing that you didn’t,” he says and I sigh, shaking my head.

“I hear you. I do, I just…” I trail off and he nods.

“I get it mama, I do. Have you eaten?” he questions and I motion to the bowl in front of us.

“I tried, took one bite and just wanted to throw up. So, no, I haven’t eaten,” I answer and he sighs.

“Ok. Here’s what we’re going to do. Grab the bowl and come with me,” he commands and I give him a shocked look, knowing what he’s doing.

“But B, there’s no food in the lab,” I reiterate the rules of the lab and he shrugs.

“Will you eat if you can see he’s doing ok?” he questions and I take a moment to think about it.

“I mean, maybe…” I tell him and he nods again as he gets up.

“I’m sure Griss would allow it this one time,” he explains as he pushes his chair in and I smile softly at him.

“Ok. Then let’s go,” I agree as I get up and grab the bowl.

“That’a girl. Let me just get myself a coffee, then we can go,” he tells me and I nod as he walks over and grabs himself a cup.

He quickly pours the coffee and adds a little bit of sugar before turning back to me. “Let’s go,” he says as he walks over to me and I nod.

Together we walk through the hallways and some of the labs before coming up to Archie’s computer lab. We see him sitting at the computer, just watching the feed as we walk up next to him.

“How’s he doing?” Warrick asks as he walks up to the chair next to Archie, who looks over at him.

“Hard to say… about the same, I guess,” he replies to Warrick before looking at me.

“Hi, y/n,” Archie greets me with a small sympathetic smile and I give a small one back.

“Hi, Arch. Is it ok if I eat my food in here? I just needed to see him,” I question him and he nods.

“Definitely. Just don’t make it a habit,” he jokes and I smile at him again.

“I promise I won’t,” I playfully joke back and he nods.

“Here. You can have my chair. I’m gonna go get some coffee,” he informs us as he gets up and I send him a thankful smile.

“Yeah,” Warrick agrees as he sets his coffee down on the table as I sit down next to him and Archie leaves.

Once Archie is gone, I finally turn to the monitor and sigh when I see Nick. He just lays there so still, but I can tell he’s still breathing as his chest rises and falls. Warrick reaches up and rubs at his tired eye before holding his balled up fist next to his mouth and looking over at me.

“Eat,” he tells me as he taps my leg under the bench, effortlessly pulling me out of my fixed stare on Nick.

I nod and lift the bowl up before taking a bite. I chew slowly and the food doesn’t taste as bad as before, but it’s still hard to get myself to eat. Nick then turns to the air vent that’s to his left and breathes before the video slowly closes out.

The ‘YOU CAN ONLY WATCH’ pops up again and Warrick quickly moves to click the link again. The video comes back on and Nick mouths something, but it’s hard to make out. I continue to take many slow bites of the food and soon it’s gone.

I set the bowl on the table and Warrick looks over at me, then the bowl. “Good job, mamas,” he praises me and I nod my thanks. He pulls me over and wraps an arm around my shoulder and I lean into it as we continue to just watch Nick in silence.

Again all too soon, though, the video goes off again and Warrick moves to click the link again. Nick mouths more words that are hard to make out and my eyes start to well up a bit. We continue to watch and it’s only a little later that we watch him take out some gum from his pocket. Warrick and I look at each other, intrigued before looking back at Nick as he chews the gum.

He then takes the gun out of his mouth and shoves it in his ears. Warrick and I both sit up a little as we watch in wonder of what he’s doing.

“What are you doing, Nicky?” Warrick voices the question we’re both thinking as Nick lays his head back for a moment.

He reaches down to his side and I let out a gasp as his service weapon pops up. He holds onto the barrel for a moment and then takes it off.

“What are you doing, Nicky?” Warrick voices again as we both fully get out of our chairs.

He turns the barrel to his chin like he’s going to shoot himself and all the air leaves my chest as I quickly turn around. I regret turning around that fast as everything spins and the sick feeling from earlier returns. I close my eyes as I try to regain my equilibrium while I wait for Warrick to react in any way.

“Don’t do it, Nicky!” Warrick exclaims as he continues to watch when I can’t.

“Ahhh!” Warrick shouts and I jump, a sob escaping my mouth.

“You son of a bitch!” Warrick screams out and another sob leaves my throat as I bring my hand up to cover my mouth.

The shock takes over and I slowly start to sink to the ground as all sounds become muffled. It’s only a second after my knees hit the ground that I hear Warrick again.

“Shit. Y/n. He’s ok. Look, mama. Look. He just shot the light,” Warrick informs me as he comes over to me and lifts me up so I’m standing.

“Look at the monitor, mama. Look,” he prompts me and I shake my head.

“Come on. Look. He’s still alive…” he tells me and finally I listen.

I look at the screen to see my husband still breathing and alive, just now he has a glow stick as his light. I let out another sob and turn to Warrick, throwing myself into his arms. He sighs and wraps his arms around me, rubbing my back as I continue to cry.

“I’m so sorry you had to see that. I wasn’t expecting it and I should have. I am so, so sorry mamas,” he apologizes as he leaves a kiss on the side of my forehead.

“I…it’s ok, B. You… you couldn’t have known,” I tell him though my hiccups as he holds my head to his shoulder and sighs.

Warrick’s Pov:

After Nick shot out the light, I held a sobbing y/n in my arms for a few minutes. She cried until she made herself tired and fell asleep on my arm. I carefully carried her back to the break room and set her on the couch.

I make sure her head is on the pillow and then cover her with the blanket she’s been using. She lets out a puff of air and I smile sadly at the girl who’s like my baby sister. I make sure she stays asleep and I’m glad when she does, knowing she desperately needs it.

I sigh as I run my hands over my face. I decide to leave, knowing if she wakes and needs me she’ll come find me. I walk to the locker room and open my locker, but stop before I get anything out of it.

I rub my forehead as my emotions start to hit. It’s then that I remember that only just this morning I had been laughing and talking with Nick in this very spot. I slam my locker closed and sit back on the bench he’d sat on before taking a deep breath.

The tears started to flow and I let them for a while, just taking time for myself. After a few minutes, Catherine walks in and looks at me.

“Griss wants you, me, and Greg back at the scene. He wants us to look for anything else we can find,” she informs me and I rub my face.

“Ok. Let me just get my gear and jumpsuit. I’ll meet you guys there?” I ask and she nods before turning around and leaving.

I take a moment of silence just to try to process everything before sighing and pushing myself up off the bench. I quickly grab all my gear and head out to my car to drive back to the scene.

When I arrive, Catherine walks over to my car and I turn it off before getting out. I walk to the back to get my kit out and she walks with me.

“Greg and I decided that we should split up. Divide and conquer,” she explains and I nod as I pull my kit out and close the trunk.

“Ok. Who’s doing what?” I ask her and she points at Greg as we walk in.

“Greg’s on sifting, I’m taking the car, so that leaves you with mapping,” she answers me and I nod as I set my kit down.

“Well, let’s get to it, then,” I comment and she nods before going over to the car.

I pull out my clipboard and start to map the place as Catherine takes photographs of the car. Greg sifts through all the stuff that we put into the sifting bucket and we all quietly work on our individual projects for a bit.

After a little while of mapping, it seems hopeless and I roll my eyes as I rip the pieces of paper off of my pad. I throw it down to the floor and try to start over.

“Hey. I found a trigger wire,” Greg announces as he holds it up.

“Maybe once we reassemble all the components, we’ll be able to tell where the bomb came from. Maybe…” Greg starts to explain in hope, but I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe if we count up all the damn ‘maybes’, maybe Nick will be alive!” I cut him off, shouting in anger as I kick a container in front of my foot.

“You know what I’m saying?!” I shout as the container lands next to Greg, spilling onto the ground.

“Was that necessary?!” Greg shouts back as he stands up.

“Never mind my clothes. Look at the evidence!” Greg shouts as he motions to his clothes before throwing his clipboard aside as he looks over the evidence.

“Damn it!” I shout as I throw my clipboard down and turn away from him.

I walk off to the side, my anger seething as I try to push it down. I stop just in front of the door as Catherine calls out to me.

“Hey. Warrick. Hey,” she says, walking up to me as I turn around to look at her.

“Hey. How you holding up?” she asks as she rubs my arm ever so slightly.

“I’m not,” I tell her as I take my glove off and cross my arms, only to uncross them.

“I know,” she comments as she reaches up and moves her mask a bit.

“I just can’t help but think that could have been me in that box. You know?” I voice my thoughts to her and suck in a breath of air.

“We flipped a coin for that trash run,” I add on and tears brim my eyes.

“Hey. Nick is not inside a box because of the flip of a coin,” Catherine cuts in before I can continue.

“If that was me, I would’ve… mmm…” I cut her off, my voice rising as I point to my head like I'd shoot myself before rubbing my finger at my forehead.

“Hey. You know what? I know you. I don’t believe that,” she says with her voice rising as she points at my chest and I back away a bit.

“Okay?!” she asks and I look at the ground.

“No. You’re wrong. I wouldn’t have lasted this far,” I tell her and she shakes her head, scoffing lightly in disbelief.

“You’ve taken care of y/n better than anyone else. I DON’T believe that,” she reiterates herself and I shake my head.

“I had to hold y/n as she cried herself to sleep today. That’s something I never wanted to ever have to do…” I tell her and she sighs as I pause for a moment.

“Catherine, if something happens to Nick… If we don’t bring him back in one piece… she’ll be done for. I don’t think y/n can handle it. I promised her I’d get him home,” I inform her and her eyes widen.

“You prom-” she starts, but stops when Greg calls out for us.

“Hey, guys, come here,” Greg shouts and Catherine turns around.

“I found something,” he adds on as we both start walking over to him.

“Look at this,” he tells us once we’re next to him.

He lifts a bottle of liquid and pours it on the dirt. He pours it in a line with it turning the sand a little darker and sets the bottle back down to the side.

“There’s something underneath there,” he comments as he looks up at us.

Catherine is the first to bend down and help him. They start pushing the sand away with their hands and I use my foot. Once we see something else poke through, I bend down with them and together we all use our hands to push the dirt away.

“Oh, it’s got an edge. Right here,” I tell them as I reach for it.

“All right,” I say as we each move around, still moving sand.

“Another one over here,” Greg calls out as we continue to all feel around in the sand.

“Greg, get some crowbars,” Catherine shouts out and Greg immediately jumps up.

He runs off only to come back a few seconds later. He tosses me a crowbar and hands one to Catherine.

“You think Nick could be under here?” Greg questions as we each grab onto our crowbars and start trying to pry it open.

“I don’t know, man. It would have to be at least six feet long,” I answer him as we continue to pry at it.

Finally it starts to open and together we all push the board away to find more dirt. I sink my crowbar into the dirt and start to dig out as much dirt as I can.

“Yeah, but if he buried him lengthwise— and who’s to say he didn’t— he could be,” Catherine explains the way that she thinks he could possibly be below us.

She puts her mask back on before she and Greg help me dig. I quickly race over and grab our shovels. I hand them both one and together we all dig with the shovels as fast as we can.

About halfway through, Catherine and Greg take a break as others come in to take over for them. I keep going in hopes of finding him so I can get him home to his wife. We all keep digging and digging until finally I hit something.

“I hit something,” I announce as I hit it a couple more times with the shovel to make sure.

I throw my shovel to the side and bend down to it. I quickly make work of moving the last little bit of sand aside. I finally get down to it and we can see what’s underneath it all now.

“It’s plexiglass,” Catherine observes as I keep moving sand away.

“Nick!” I yell out in hopes of getting a response.

“Nick?” Catherine yells out after me as we keep going with our hands.

“Nick, hold on there, buddy!” I shout as I keep going.

“Nick?!” Catherine shouts as we finally can see into the box. Only instead of finding Nick, we find a Dalmatian inside the box.

“What?” Catherine says in confusion as we look down at it.

“It’s a dog,” she shouts out and sighs as she starts to rub her forehead. “It’s a dog,” she reiterates herself as she starts to cry.

I huff in anger as I shake my head before standing up and walking off. I shout out as I kick another container in frustration.

“Who’s gonna tell y/n?” Greg asks and I sigh, letting my head hang.

“I will,” I say and Catherine shakes her head.

“No. I’ll tell Griss and he’ll tell her. I still need you to look over this once we get it out of the ground,” Catherine explains and I sigh, looking at her.

“But it’s not out of the ground yet. Please let me go tell her. She’ll need me. I’ll look it over when you guys get it to the lab, but I’m the only one keeping her going. This will deviate her, I need to be there,” I beg Catherine, who sighs before nodding in agreement.

“Yeah. Ok. Go. I’ll let you know when it’s at the lab,” she agrees and I nod, jumping up and getting my stuff.

“Thanks, Catherine!” I yell out to her and she nods, waving me off.

I quickly head to my car and put my kit in before getting in myself. I sit back in my seat with a sigh as I mentally prepare to go tell y/n. With one last deep breath, I start my car up and head back to the lab.

To Be Continued…

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fandomgirlz01 · 9 months

Text

This Can’t Be The End Pt. 2

Nick Stokes X Reader

Imagine on my fandom instagram?: No

Prompt?: No

Request?: No

Requested prompt?: No

Edited: Yes

Word count: 5,890

Ko-fi

Masterlist

Warnings here

You can listen to the story be read out loud here. {Coming Soon}

Post Date: July 23rd 2023

Post Time: 12:31 AM

Summary: When Nick gets kidnapped, the reader is forced to fear the worst for her husband as she and the team work the case with hopes of bringing him home safe.

Based off of: Season 5 episodes 24 and 25

Reader’s Pov:

When I finally decide to get up from the couch, I wrap the blanket around my shoulders before walking out of the break room. I walk down a few halls in search of someone I can talk to and I soon find Warrick talking with Hodges.

I walk up behind him with my blanket still wrapped around me and Warrick looks down before putting an arm around me. I lean into him and Hodges smiles at me softly before continuing to talk to Warrick.

“I’m using your track and wheelbase measurements, plus or minus five percent to account for rain-shadowing and/or drying effects,” Hodges explains as the program does its work.

“All right, print it out,” Warrick tells him and he nods before typing on the computer.

“Hey. How are you doin’?” Warrick asks me and I shrug.

“I mean, I slept. It was only half an hour, but I slept. I just want Nicky back…” I tell him with a frown and he nods in understanding.

“I know, mamas, I know. We’ll get him back. I promise you that,” Warrick tells me as he rubs my shoulder.

“Here’s the list,” Hodges speaks up as he holds it up and Warrick takes one arm off of me to reach for it.

“Thanks, man,” Warrick replies as he takes the stack of the printed list.

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever will help find Nick. What’s your next step from here?” Hodges asks as he crosses his arms.

“Imma head over and see Rachel. She said she’d show me the traffic cameras in the area,” Warrick tells him and he nods.

“Well, good luck. Don’t worry, y/n, we’ll bring Nick home to you,” Hodges promises me and I smile weakly at him.

“You comin’ with me?” Warrick asks as he pulls back to look at me.

“Yeah. I suppose so,” I agree with him and he nods.

“Alright, then. Let’s go. Bye, man,” Warrick replies as he stands up and Hodges gives him a nod before going back to his work.

He turns me around and together we start walking towards Rachel’s office. Soon we walk in to see Rachel typing something up on her computer. She turns when she sees movement and gives us a small smile.

“Hi, guys. I have the footage loading up right now,” she tells us as she stands and rolls another chair over.

“Here you are, y/n,” she says as she points down to the chair.

“Warrick, you can take that chair over there,” she tells him as she points to one at another desk and sits back in her seat.

“Thanks,” he says sarcastically before walking over to grab the chair.

He walks back over, pulling it along with him before settling down to my left. He starts to look at her screens and analyze them as it seems the program is up.

“I need you to bring up the traffic cameras in a three block radius between Flamingo and Koval in the last 24 hours,” he explains to Rachel as he stands up and leans over the table.

“We only buffer the video for the past few hours,” she quickly informs and he looks at her.

“I can take you back as far as 10:37pm,” she continues and he rocks back before taking his seat again bringing his hand up to his chin.

“That’s good enough. Our guy was taken around 11:00,” he tells her as all the cameras pop up simultaneously.

Together we all look for a few minutes and nothing really seems to jump out at us. My leg starts to bounce as I start to feel more anxious and Warrick gently puts his arm around me. Rachel then pulls up two specific cameras and we watch them.

“Scan forward. We’re looking for a big truck,” he tells Rachel as he lets go of me to point at the screen. She types something on her keyboard, doing just as he says.

“How about that one? Looks like a Suburban.” She brings the video on the left to a pause.

Warrick takes a moment to look at what she points out before looking down at his list that Hodges had given to him. He flips through the pages for a few minutes before looking back up at the screen.

“It’s on the list,” he confirms as she pushes play again.

“Whoa, he’s really movin’,” he comments as we continue to watch.

“Wait a moment… that one, the big Ford,” his voice escalates just a tad, making me jump lightly, but hope flows through me.

“Follow it,” he decides and Rachel nods.

“The expedition truck left the area around 11:15,” Warrick starts to explain as he looks over his paperwork.

I look up around the table of people who have become my family. Sara takes a drink of her coffee and I resist the urge to cry when I think about how Nick would lean over to me to make some sarcastic comment about what she was drinking.

“Definitely in a hurry. Took a right off Koval onto Tropicana, crossed Las Vegas boulevard onto the 15 south and then it drove off the grid,” Warrick continues to explain as I snap out of my thoughts.

He puts his paper down and leans back before scooping my hand into his and giving it a squeeze. If Nick wasn’t the best at knowing my emotions, I’d say Warrick is a good close second. Both can almost always sense when I’m upset and need a good cuddle.

“At least we have a general direction,” Grissom comments from where he sits.

“Great, so Nick could be anywhere from Green Valley to Seven Hills to Arizona,” Sara comments in a very sarcastic, dead-end tone and I let out a small puff of air.

“Sara, not really the time for sarcasm, yeah?” Catherine lightly scolds her as Warrick gives my hand another squeeze.

“No. It’s ok. She’s right. He could be literally anywhere at this point…” I speak up and everyone nods along understandingly.

“That is assuming he was even in that truck,” Greg adds on as he leans back in his chair.

“Well, according to Hodges, the white fibers on Nick’s vest were cotton with traces of ether…” Catherine explains after taking in a breath.

When she says that, I instantly close my eyes and images of Nick putting up a fight with the person plays though my mind. I feel another squeeze to my hand and it pulls me back to the real world as I open my eyes.

I look at Warrick and he gives me a tight smile, silently clearly asking me if I’m ok. I hesitate but nod, telling him I’m fine and he turns back to the table.

“Ether? That’s old school…” Sara comments after a moment of silence.

“Yeah, stuff is volatile. Flammable. Outside of meth cooks, no one uses it anymore,” Warrick adds on his two scents and the room slowly gets warmer.

“People use what they know,” Grissom adds as he starts to fidget a bit in his chair.

“All right, so, where are we on possible suspects?” Catherine asks as she takes her glasses off and looks at Greg.

“So far, none of Nick’s active or recent cases stand out. And his old stalker’s still behind bars,” Greg explains his findings and I start to shake my leg.

“Are you 100% sure Nigel is still behind bars, Greg?” I ask, sitting up as I slowly seem to grow more agitated.

“100%, y/n, I saw him on live video footage myself,” Greg replies and I sigh as I slump back into my chair.

“Maybe it’s a random act,” Sara comments and I immediately sit back up.

“Well, that’s possible because whoever staged the crime scene couldn’t have known that Nick was going to respond,” Catherine agrees and I shake my head in disbelief, even though I know what they’re saying is perfectly logical.

“Yeah, it’s just bad luck he did,” Warrick agrees from next to me, making my leg bounce more.

“Sara, what about the coffee cup?” Grissom asks as he sets his paperwork back on the table.

“No DNA or prints on the cup or in the bag,” Sara replies in a matter-of-fact tone. Just then, we hear some sort of commotion going on out in the lobby.

“Don’t touch the edge of it!!” We all hear Hodges scream.

“You got to sign…” another unknown voice yells out.

“Security! Security!” Hodges yells out again and Grissom’s the first to get up to his feet.

We all quickly follow behind him and he runs out to the lobby. Once in the lobby, we can see Hodges and a security guard fighting an individual who holds a package of some sort.

“Get your freakin’ hands off me, man!” The individual yells out as he fights the security guard.

Hodges clearly gets a hold of the package and moves over to the desk to inspect it. Grissom stops in the doorway, watching in confusion.

“Hey! I told you, you gotta sign for that!” The guy that’s still fighting security yells out.

“What are you doing, Hodges?” Grissom expertly asks what we’re all wondering as we watch from behind him.

“Guy comes in here with a package with no return address,” Hodges tries to explain as he tries to catch his breath.

“You’re violating my rights! I want a lawyer!” The delivery guy yells out as he continues to fight with security.

“Shut up!” Catherine admonishes him as she points at him and he does just that, looking shocked.

“Way the guy was pawing that envelope, I figured I better get it away from him before he wipes off all of the trace,” Hodges starts to explain himself again and Grissom looks at him, confused.

“What trace?” Grissom asks, confusion clear in his tone.

“Oh! It’s about Nick…” Hodges calms down right away as he breaks the news.

We all step forward when Grissom does only to see what it says on the envelope;

Crime lab

3057 Westfall AVE.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

RE: STOKES

Silence falls as I let out a small gasp when I see my own last name on the envelope. Warrick grabs me and pulls me into his side as Grissom puts gloves on. He then picks the package up very carefully and takes a second to look over the details before turning to Catherine. She opens her mouth like she wants to say something, but nothing comes out and she shakes her head.

“Let me do this,” Grissom says before pushing past us and walking off.

Nick’s Pov:

When I come to, I try to sit up but only end up hitting my head against a hard surface. I groan as I lift my hand to my head and it takes me a moment to realize where I am. When I do, I quickly jump and there’s a thud as my hand hits the top.

I look around me, trying to figure out what’s going on and find a glow stick. I grab it so I can get a better look around and soon start to breathe heavily before I feel around me some more, only to find my service weapon.

I grab it and bring it up to where I can see it. I pull the clip out and see it’s still full, making me sigh. I put the clip back in and cock the gun before setting it back down. I then pick the glow stick back up and look around some more before knocking at the glass.

I reach down to my side again and feel something else. Once again I pull it up so I can see what it is and it’s a tape recorder. I click the play button and at first it’s just static, but soon a voice is leaving me a message.

“Hi, CSI guy. You wondering why you’re here? Because you followed the evidence. Because that’s what CSIs do. So breathe quick, breathe slow, put your gun in your mouth and pull the trigger. Any way you like, you’re going to die here. Okay,” the voice explains and then the tape shuts off. I slowly start to try and break my way out, but when I can’t I scream only to start sobbing.

Y/n’s Pov:

We all watch through the window to the lab as he walks in and starts to feel around it. When he’s sure it’s not dangerous, he fully sets it down and grabs an x-acto knife. He carefully slices into the top before putting the knife down and picking up a flashlight.

He turns the flashlight on before holding the package open from the sides and peering into it. Confusion crosses his face before he empties the package onto the table and something falls out from it. We then watch as he looks for any sign of prints with the blue light.

Soon he’s waving us all in, but I freeze, not knowing if I want to go or not. Catherine stops when she realizes I’ve frozen before looking at me.

“You ok, y/n/n?” Catherine asks me, but I only shake my head.

“I don’t know…” I tell her as I stay frozen.

“Hey. Go ahead. I’ll get her to come, just… uhh, give us a sec,” Warrick tells Catherine and from the corner of my eye, I can see her nod before she walks off.

“Hey. I’m sure he’s fine. I promise you he’ll come home,” he tells me as he stands in front of me and holds both my shoulders.

“You can’t make a promise like that, Rick. You don’t know what’ll happen,” I argue back and he sighs before pulling me into another hug.

“I know I can’t. I’m sorry, but I will promise to do everything in my power to bring him home to you,” he informs me and I sigh before nodding against him.

“Come on. Let’s go get our boy back,” he says as he pulls back from the hug before pulling me along with him into the room where everyone stands.

They all watch as I walk in and I give a small smile to them before they all circle around me. Grissom holds up the tape he pulled out earlier and slides it carefully into a tape player. He presses play and we all listen to a few minutes of white noise before 60’s rock music starts to play.

♪ You can try to please me

But it won’t be easy

Stone walls surround me

I’m surprised that you even found me

And you don’t stand an outside chance

Don’t stand an outside chance

You don’t stand an outside chance

But you can try ♪

Outside chance by The Turtles is the song that plays and we all just listen for a good few minutes. We all intently wait for anything else that could help us find my husband, but the song continues to play on. I sigh in anger and Warrick puts his hand down to rub my back soothingly.

“Son of a bitch… he’s screwing with us,” Catherine curses out loud in anger, shaking her head.

♪ Whatever you do girl

You know you can’t get through girl

Can’t bring me down ♪

The music continues to play and I can’t help, but feel like it’s mainly me the song is taunting. I let out a sigh and Warrick again rubs my lower back to try and comfort me. Grissom then picks up the flash drive that was with the tape and turns to walk over to the desk behind him.

We all walk over with him and we watch him plug it in as the music continues to play in the background. After he plugs it into the computer, he opens the drive and words start to slide in from the left.

‘ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN 12 HOURS,’ is the first line, making me gasp quietly and again Warrick quickly pulls me into him, but I turn my head to watch the rest of the lines slide by.

‘OR THE CSI DIES.’ I gasp again and tears start to fill my eyes as it continues on.

‘DROP-OFF INSTRUCTIONS TO FOLLOW.’ It continues to have words in all caps slide across the screen.

‘AND NOW FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE…’ it reads and Warrick tries to get me to turn my head away, but I can’t bring myself to.

“YOU CAN ONLY WATCH,” it ends off with the watch seemingly looking like a link.

Grissom moves the mouse and clicks on the link, making us all watch with bated breath as it brings up the video. I let out a gasp when we see Nick pop up on the screen, he’s buried in a clear coffin box and clearly freaking out. The timer at the bottom of the screen clearly counts down, making me have to force myself to try and swallow, but the lump that seems to grow bigger and bigger stops me:

I push Warrick off me lightly and walk right up next to Grissom. I touch the computer screen with my thumb as tears make their way down my face. I feel Warrick put a hand on my shoulder and I close my eyes, not wanting to see his face contorting in fear any longer. I just stand there with my eyes closed for a moment as everyone else watches on in sadness. I take a deep breath hoping it’ll ground me, but it doesn’t work.

“Warrick, get her out of here. She doesn’t need to see anymore right now,” Catherine’s voice speaks up and I feel Warrick grab me lightly by the arm.

He drags me out into the hall and steadily holds me by the shoulders. He says something, but I don’t catch it in my panic mode and he gives me a small shake to break me out of it.

“Why don’t you go back to the break room. I’ll come check on you in a bit,” he tells me and I shake my head as I immediately sober up.

“No. I’ll be fine. Let me back in there,” I demand as I cross my arms across my chest.

“Sweets, are you-” he starts as he stands big and tall in my way, but I stop him as I hold up a hand, shaking my head.

“Let me back in there, Warrick… now…” I tell him as I cross my arms and put a scowl on my face.

“I don’t think-” Warrick starts, but I cut him off.

“Ok. So I had a moment of weakness, Rick. So what, that’s my husband on that live feed. It may be the last time I can fully see him. Please… I’m good now, I swear. If I get overwhelmed again, I promise I’ll go shower or something. Just… let me go back,” I beg him before casting my eyes down to the floor as they start to fill with tears again, but I will them away.

“Please… B…” I whisper out, still refusing to look up at him and he sighs, making me look up at him.

“Ok, but if it gets the slightest bit bad, you’re out of the room, got it?” he asks me and I nod with a small smile.

“Thank you, B…” I tell him as I walk over to him and reach up to give his cheek a kiss.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I know Nick would literally be sitting over there day or night if roles were reversed. Just don’t make me regret it,” he lightly jokes as he steps to the side to let me though and I shake my head.

“Wouldn’t think of it. Nick would have my butt for making you regret it anyway, ” I tell him as I pat his chest as I pass him and he chuckles lightly.

I walk back into the room just as they click on the watch link again and my smile instantly falls. I walk over next to Catherine and Warrick stops behind me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. Grissom now sits at a desk behind us all, writing something down.

“I don’t think he knows we can see him,” Catherine comments as we all continue to watch.

“How can we be sure it’s a live feed?” Sara asks as we all don’t take our eyes off the computer.

“We’ve got to assume that it is,” Warrick replies grimly and I feel him rub my shoulder ever so slightly.

“The space in that box looks like two by two by six, which would be 24 cubic feet. That would hold approximately 600 liters of air,” Grissom speaks up, getting all of our attention and making us turn to him to see him doing the math.

“If you figure half a liter per breath… slow breathing…” Grissom continues, but pauses to look at his watch.

“Maybe twelve breaths per minute. Panic breathing would be, what, twice that much,” Grissom analyzes more as he looks up at us, then back down to his paper.

“Well, if the math is right, he’s got about an hour and 15 minutes of air left in that box,” Grissom finishes off and we all turn back to the screen.

“But if they’re going to keep him alive for twelve hours, it must mean that he’s got an additional air supply,” Catherine adds on and we watch for a few more minutes until the video clicks back to the beginning page.

“We lost the feed,” Johnson, our tech guy who stands next to Sara, tells us and we all look confused for a moment.

Warrick pushes me slightly out of the way and grabs onto the mouse. He uses it to click on the WATCH again and the video pops up.

“Looks like a live feed to me,” Warrick comments. “I say we keep the light on,” he continues as we all watch on.

One by one, the others leave to try and learn more. Now it’s just me and Warrick sitting here, constantly clicking the link to watch it. Every once in a while, I find myself playing with my ring as well as the necklace that sits on my neck:

I switch off playing with my ring, spinning it around my finger over and over before letting it sit idle for a few minutes. Then I play with my necklace, moving it back and forth on my neck. I sigh and look down at my ring and I feel a hand land on my hand.

“Stop that. I know you’re worried, that’s what you do when stressed, worried or trying to hide something. Seeing as the situation is a little difficult, I’d say it’s definitely the first two, but the more you do it, the more you freak out,” Warrick tells me and I shake my head, letting a puff of air out.

“You’re right, I need to calm down…”I agree wearily and he nods.

“There ya go. He’ll be home and cuddled up in your bed with you before you know it,” Warrick practically wills it in his tone and I sigh.

“Maybe I should go-” I start, but pause when my phone goes off.

I pull it out of my pocket and the face lights up, showing me there’s a text. Opening it, I find a text from Catherine: His parents are here. Still wanna come in with me and Griss?

I frown lightly, but text back: Yeah, it’ll be helpful for his mom if I’m there. Which room are we doing it in? I’ll be there in a minute.

It’s only a minute later when she replies: We will be in the smaller meeting room.

When done reading the last text over, I let out a sigh and look at Warrick. He raises an eyebrow at me and I shake my head.

“It’s Catherine. She’s informing me that his mom and dad are here,” I explained and he nods before rubbing at his cheek.

“Go. Come find me if you need me after, ok? I’ll drop everything if you need me too,” he promises and I give him a small, sad smile. He gets up as I do and pulls me into a hug. I sigh and sink into his warmth for a moment before pulling away.

“Here I go. I’ll possibly see you after,” I tell him and he gives me a thumbs up.

“You got this, sunshine,” he encourages me and I give him a half smile as well as a small nod.

He turns back to the screen and I catch him grimacing before I turn around. I take one last sigh before starting to walk towards the small meeting room. When I get there, I can see Catherine and his parents just sitting down.

“Y/n. Hi, dear. How are you doing? You don’t look well,” his mother comments in a concerned tone as she gets up from her seat and comes over to hug me.

“Umm, honestly Jillian, I’m far from feeling fine. But maybe you should sit back down before me and Catherine tell you what’s happened,” I tell her as she pulls back from the hug and frowns at me.

“Of course, dear. If you think that’s best,” she agrees with me and together we walk over to the table.

She walks around and sits next to her husband and I sit across from her. I look at his dad and give him a soft smile.

“Y/n,” he greets with a firm head nod.

“Judge,” I greet back the same way.

“Where’s Griss?” I ask Catherine as I look around, not finding him.

“He had something to look into. He’ll be here in a few minutes,” Catherine explains and I nod, taking a gulp.

“Do you wanna break it to them or me?” she asks me and I nod.

“I guess I can,” I sigh before turning to look at his mom and dad.

“Mom…” I prompt as I pull my hand out and shakily hold it out to her.

“Judge,” I prompt after she grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze while I look at her husband, who nods firmly to me again.

“Nick’s been… kidnapped. They want one million dollars in twelve hours…” I explain and his mom immediately gets tears in her eyes.

“Ok. We can make that money. We have starter money right here,” his dad informs us as he holds up a yellow envelope.

“Do we at least know he’s safe? Y/n. Is my baby ok?” she asks me as she again squeezes on my hand.

“From what we’ve seen. I think he’ll be ok. If we can get to him,” I tell her and the room goes quiet for a moment.

“Bill…” his mom whispers as she lets go of my hand to hold onto his arm.

It stays quiet for a moment more before we see Grissom walking up to the door. He seems to just get off his phone before coming in as Catherine clears her throat.

“Judge Stokes, Mrs. Stokes. Gill Grissom,” Catherine introduces them as she motions to Nick’s mom and dad, then to Gill.

“Your honor. Mrs. Stokes. I’m… uh… sorry that we’re meeting under these circumstances,” Gill gives his condolences and I pull in a rough patch of air.

“Y/n. Honey. Come here,” his mother tells me as she holds her arms open.

I move my chair over to her and she pulls me into her arms. I hold back my sobs as much as I possibly can as she strokes my hair.

“Have you been able to make contact with the animals who took my son?” his dad asks Gill in a very straightforward tone.

“No, we haven’t yet, but… they should be contacting us in roughly four hours,” Catherine explains as Gill takes a seat next to her now.

“We were able to rustle up $20,000 cash. Our bank's prepared to wire another $100,000. Now we can sell the cars. We can hock the ranch... We can make the number, but it’s gonna take at least another day. We’ll do whatever we can to bring our boy home to his wife,” his dad explains his plan in a very detailed manner as a judge would.

“Judge Stokes-” Gill starts to try explaining.

“Can we give them the money we have now, try to buy more time?” His mom asks as she pushes the envelope towards Gill.

“Mom. Please listen to what Gill has to say,” I beg her and she nods as she stops pushing the money towards him.

“I don’t think that will help,” Gill tells her honestly and she sits back in her seat.

I take her hand that’s still around my shoulder and pull it to my front so I can hold it. She looks at me, confused for a moment, but I bite my lip as I nod my head back at Gill.

“There’s got to be something we can do,” his dad replies in disbelief that there’s nothing that he can do to help. He’s always been the one to rush in and save Nick from anything, whether it be his own mistake or not, making me roll my eyes.

“You’ve already done it by coming here, by showing your support for both Nick and y/n…” Catherine tries to explain and his mom squeezes my hand.

“We’re not here to show support. We’re here to get Nick home to us and his wife. Where he belongs,” his mom cuts in with an angry tone and I squeeze her hand softly as her voice falters at the end.

“We’re not sure who has your son… or why…” Griss tells them and his dad gives him a confused look.

“Well… what the hell do you know?” Judge asks in a borderline angry tone and I close my eyes for a moment.

“Judge, please…” I almost whimper out and he sighs before looking at Grissom.

“Very little…” Grissom answers his question and his mom squeezes my hand again.

“Let’s just cut to the gist. What proof do you have that my boy’s still alive?” he asks and I let out a sharp gasp along with his mom.

Catherine and Gill give each other serious looks as Nick's mom still holds onto me. I shake my head when I look at Gill, but it’s almost like he ignores it.

“Gill, don’t. They can’t see it. Jillian, tell them no. You don’t wanna see it,” I burst out, shaking my head as I frantically get up out of my seat.

“Y/n. You're ok. Calm down, it’s going to be ok,” Jillian is quick to stand up, coming over to me and pulling me into a hug.

“Y/n, honey, I think even if we don’t want to see it, we have to,” she tells me as she strokes my hair and I sniffle.

“Ok… I’m sorry. It’s just very hard to see…” I reply to her and she hums, nodding.

“No. Don’t be sorry, dear. You’re just trying to keep us from hurting more. We understand, but we have to see it,” she tells me and I sigh before pulling away from the hug.

“Ok. Griss, let’s show them,” I whisper out with a reserved nod. Grissom nods softly before standing along with Catherine as I walk back over.

“Judge. Mrs. Stokes, if you’ll follow me,” Grissom says as he looks at his dad and the Judge nods as I wrap my arms around myself.

We all walk back to the room that Warrick and I had sat in earlier. Grissom leads us over to the computer and he looks at Catherine for a moment.

“This might be a little hard to watch, like y/n said before, but it’s the only proof of life we have for you,” he explains to them and Jillian nods as she gets a little closer to her husband.

“We’re ready…” Bill tells him and Grissom nods solemnly before pressing the watch button. It goes completely quiet in the room.

Nick's face pops up on the screen again and I let out a shuddering breath. We watch for a few minutes as Nick keeps his arm over his eyes and away from the bright light. The countdown that beeps at the bottom of the screen stares at me, taunting me and it takes everything I have not to break down right away.

His mom freezes for a moment, tears filling her eyes before letting out a devastating grunt. She walks off just outside of the lab, but I can’t tear my eyes away quite yet. His dad watches on with me for a moment more.

“Oh, Pancho… what the hell you got yourself into?” Judge asks and that’s when I break.

I walk over with him to Jillian and he pulls her off the wall she’s leaning on and hugs her from behind. I stand there and can’t help, but wish Nick was here to do the same thing with me. She turns and looks at me for a moment before holding her arms open for me.

My lip wobbles slightly before I rush into the hug and she just holds me as her husband holds her. We stay that way for a while before I pull back and wipe at my cheeks.

“I’ll, ahh… see you guys later. I’ve gotta go find Warrick. You guys go home and we’ll update you as soon as we can,” I tell them and Jillian reaches back out for me.

“We’re not going home. Bill has a hotel for us to stay in. Y/n, you should come back with us,” she tells me and I shake my head.

“No. I’m ok. Really. I’ll text you when there’s something that comes up. Please just go try and sleep,” I tell her and she sighs.

“Ok, but please promise you’ll take care of yourself, dear,” she tells me and I nod as I purse my lips.

“I’ll do my best. I’ll text you, ok?” I promise one last time and when she nods in confirmation, I start to walk away.

I walk down a few halls and stop to lean against a wall when I feel like I’m going to puke. Once the feeling passes, I stand back up and continue on to find Warrick in the break room. I sigh and quickly rush over to him.

When he hears me enter, he puts his chips down and looks up at me before getting up to come over to me, pulling me into a much needed hug.

“Rick… he’s just so terrified… I’m terrified I won’t see him again…” I whimper out and he sighs.

“You’ll see him again, mamas. You will. Just gotta have hope. I don’t want you watching that video again unless I’m there, ok?” he asks and I sleepily nod against him.

He leads me over to the break room couch and together we sit down. He pulls me into a hug and just holds me as my whole resolve breaks. The last thing I remember before falling asleep from exhaustion and crying was him laying me down with a blanket over me.

To Be Continued…

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