Title: Looking for Katie
By: Serenity
Summary: While my aching head has reduced to a dull thudding, I'm going to take the chance and post up chapter one of the fic I've been slowly working on. This casefile came to me in a dream, where I was actually watching this story unfold as an episode. The storyline is as it happened in my dream, just embellished slightly. So blame my subconscious, won't you? Nick and Greg search for a missing girl.
Beta'd as always by the lovely anmani.
Characters: Nick, Greg
Genres: romance, case file
Rating: R
Warnings: none

Nick watched as Greg's nimble fingers bent and folded the piece of white paper, pressing it into crisp folds and sharp angles. With a final dramatic flourish he presented the origami crane to Nick, bowing his head slightly.

Nick took the paper creature and turned it over in his hands. "How did you ever learn to do this, man?"

Greg grinned and brushed some imaginary crumbs from the top of the breakroom table. "Papa Olaf taught me. You'll never be bored if you can do origami."

Nick laughed and set the bird down on the table. "I can think of better things to do with my hands." he joked, and then winced inwardly. Had that sounded like flirting? He hadn't meant it to sound so... suggestive. But Greg hadn't seemed to notice, and was already getting up from his chair to grab another cup of his Blue Hawaiian before anyone else realised he'd brewed a fresh pot.

Nick swirled the remainder of his coffee around the bottom of his mug, watching the dark liquid slosh about.

"Refill?" Greg called over, breaking his thoughts.

"Yeah, thanks G'." Nick nodded, feeling slightly privileged that he was allowed not one but two cups of Greg's precious coffee.

"Now don't go telling everyone I was giving this stuff away, I got a rep to protect you know." Greg winked.

Nick felt the blush creep into his cheeks and covered it by taking a long sip.

"Good?" Greg asked.

"The best."

"Stick with me and you'll always get the best of the best." Greg teased in his best Humphrey Bogart impression, giving Nick's shoulder a quick squeeze. Nick wondered if the other man had any idea of what he was doing. Was he really naive enough not to realise that his words were almost always filled with innuendo? Or did he know exactly what he was doing, and was just getting some warped pleasure from making Nick analyse every single conversation they ever had, trying to work out if the attraction was mutual?

He was saved from thinking about it further by Grissom entering the breakroom, his glasses perched on the end of his nose and an empty cup in his left hand, piece of paper in his right.

"Ah good, you're both here." he nodded, holding out the cup and shaking it in a not-so-subtle way. Greg rolled his eyes and obediently filled it with the last of his coffee. Grissom took an appreciative sniff of it before taking a noisy slurp, while simultaneously handing Nick the piece of paper.

"Missing person." Nick read. "You want us both on this?"

"Yes, and Sofia is already on her way, so....." Grissom indicated to the door with his cup. Taking the hint, Nick got up and quickly drained the last of his beverage, following Greg through the door.

"I'm driving." Greg called back to him.

"Good luck with that." Nick grinned, twirling the keys of the Denali around his finger.

~~~

They arrived at the house twenty minutes later, pulling up beside Sofia's vehicle. The detective was standing in the doorway of the modest two-story dwelling, her notebook in hand.

"Hey Sofia." Nick nodded in greeting.

"My two favourite CSIs." Sofia said dryly, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lip.

Greg mirrored Nick's nod and pulled both of their silver field kits out of the trunk, handing one to Nick. "So what have we got?" he asked.

"The house belongs to Mrs Maria Jackson. She lives here with her 16 year old daughter Katie. Mrs Jackson went into Katie's room to check on her at 11pm, but found the room empty. The last time she saw her was approximately 9pm, when she put her to bed."

"Snuck out to see a boyfriend perhaps?" Greg offered.

Sofia shook her head. "Unlikely. Katie has Down's Syndrome. Her mother says she has very few friends, let alone boyfriends. Mrs Jackson seems like the over-protective sort, but I guess that's kind of understandable."

"What about the husband?" Greg wondered.

"Deceased, apparently." Sofia checked her notes to confirm the facts. "Mrs Jackson said he died soon after Katie was born. Heart attack. They moved from Boston to Nevada and into this house not long after."

"I'll check out the bedroom, if you'll do the perimeter." Nick suggested.

Greg nodded his acceptance and opened his field kit, pulling out his digital camera. "I'll meet you inside once I'm done."

Nick made his way inside the house, taking in the cosy but worn furniture, the brightly coloured walls and the child-like paintings that seemed to adorn every available space.

A plump, blonde-haired woman was sitting on the sofa, her face buried in a tissue. A female uniformed officer was knelt beside her, trying to comfort her. Nick could see that her face was red and stained with tear-tracks. He took a deep breath and made his way towards her.

"Excuse me Ma'am." he said softly. "My name is Nick Stokes, I'm with the Crime Lab. If it's possible, I'd like to take a look in Katie's room."

"Why?" Maria Jackson asked, her voice tiny and shaking with emotion.

"We might find something that helps us to work out where Katie is." he explained.

She nodded and pointed to the bedroom across the hall. "It's through that door."

"Katie's room's on the ground floor?" he asked. He knew only too well that crimes of opportunity usually happened in ground floor bedrooms. He felt his heart sink to somewhere in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes, she wanted that one, so I let her have it." she sniffed. "I sleep upstairs."

"Thank you Ma'am." Nick said politely. "I'll try not to disturb anything."

He moved into the room and began taking photographs. Nothing looked disturbed, the bed was neatly made and there was no sign of a struggle. He took his time photographing and marking the room, he didn't want to miss anything that might be probative.

After a while he heard Greg's soft voice coming from the living room, speaking in hushed tones.

Nick pulled out his fingerprinting kit and dusted the windowsill, finding a few smudges and a partial that looked promising. The window slid open easily, and was big enough for someone to climb through. Unless Greg could say otherwise, he figured this as the point of entry.

"Hey, find anything?"

Nick turned to see Greg standing behind him. "Not so far. I've just started though. Do you think she could have climbed out this window? Or been taken through it by someone?"

"Well, there's no sign of forced entry outside, no tyre marks on the road outside either. I've taken some prints, but they're more likely to belong to the inhabitants. I've also bagged Katie's hairbrush and toothbrush for DNA. I've got her prints from some finger-paintings that were hanging in the hallway, and I've taken the mother's prints for comparison."

"Nice work." Nick nodded, impressed. Greg was really excelling as a CSI.

"You want me to ALS the bed?" Greg offered, already opening his kit.

"Sure, thanks." Nick nodded, a little distracted by a photograph of Katie on the nightstand. He photographed it, dusted it for prints and then lifted it to take a closer look. Katie's innocent smile shone out of the picture, her light blonde hair glistening in the sun. She had all the usual physical characteristics of someone with Down's Syndrome, but looked like a very happy young girl, full of love, clutching her battered grey teddy bear to her chest.

He turned to see Greg putting on a pair of orange goggles, then the room filled with the eerie blue light of the ALS.

"Got a fibre here." Greg said quietly, more to himself than to Nick. Nick came over and snapped a few shots with the camera that hung around his neck, before Greg grabbed some tweezers and carefully lifted the strand from the pillow. He sealed it carefully in an evidence bag and quickly labelled it.

Nick turned back to the nightstand and started to look through the drawers, riffling through more drawings and trinkets.

"Nick."

Greg's voice was so grave that it sent a chill down his spine, like ice-water sliding over his skin. He turned slowly and looked at Greg, who was staring at the bed in horror. Nick's gaze followed Greg's to the overturned comforter, and the dark red blood stain on the sheet below.

"Oh God." Nick swallowed hard. "Did you find semen?"

Greg swept the ALS over the sheet a second time. "Negative. I'll take a swab of this blood and make sure it matches our vic. Then I'll...... hang on...."

"What have you got?" Nick asked, coming closer.

"A hair. Complete with skin tag. Both Mom and Katie are blonde, right?"

Nick nodded.

"Well, we got a brown hair here, long. Any family that come visit?"

"Sofia said that Mrs Jackson doesn't have any other family." Nick held out the evidence bags for the hair and the swab, labelling them. Then they bagged the sheet too.

"Do you think she was raped before she was taken?" Greg asked, his voice wavering.

Nick sighed. "It's possible. It's even possible that she was targeted because of her handicap."

"I think they prefer the word disability these days." Sofia stated from the doorway, her arms crossed.

Nick mentally berated himself for using the wrong term. He'd never been very good with political correctness, his straight-talking Texas upbringing sometimes meant that he came off as harsh towards other cultures or people who were different, but it was never intentional.

"They'd have to be pretty twisted to get off on that." he said, hoping the embarrassing moment had passed.

"If there's anything I've learned since becoming a CSI," Greg sighed, "is that Las Vegas is full of sick freaks."

"As is the rest of the world, G'." Nick said sadly, cupping Greg's neck in a sympathetic manner. "It's why we do what we do."

"You ready to talk to Mrs Jackson?" Sofia asked. Nick looked at Greg, who nodded that he would finish up in the bedroom.

Nick made his way back to the living room and took the seat opposite Mrs Jackson. "Do you feel up to answering some more questions?" he asked her gently.

She nodded and pulled a fresh tissue from the box.

"Is there anything missing from her room, any clothes or personal objects? A special toy, or something like that?"

Mrs Jackson's eyes went wide. "Milton." she gasped. "Milton, her teddy bear. It wasn't on her bed. She never goes anywhere without it."

"Thank you Mrs Jackson." Nick nodded, casting his mind back to the photograph beside the bed. "That could be helpful."

"I need to find her." she sobbed. "She has a heart condition, she needs to take medication."

"Can you tell me about that?" Nick probed.

A nod, then a moment's silence as she gathered her thoughts. "Katie was born with a hole in her heart. She had an operation to correct it, but she needs to take beta-blockers to keep her heart rate down. She has to take them every day. If her heart rate raises too much..." she stopped to blow her nose, "she could have a heart attack."

"Is there anything else you can tell us? Have you seen any strange cars around the neighbourhood, anyone acting suspiciously around Katie? Anything you can tell us, Mrs Jackson, even if it doesn't seem that important."

She shook her head. "No, I haven't.... Oh where is she? She needs to be here with me! She has her routines, it's the only thing that keeps her settled. She needs order, she needs her routine! She gets upset if it's disturbed." Her voice was reaching an almost hysterical level.

"I understand." Nick tried to calm her down. "We'll do everything we can to find her and bring her back to you as soon as possible."

"Please...." she cried, before collapsing against the shoulder of the uniformed officer.

Nick put what he hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder before going outside to meet back up with Greg at the Denali.

"Get everything you need?" Greg asked as he loaded their kits back into the trunk.

"Yeah." Nick sighed, scraping a thumbnail across his eyebrow. "Let's get this evidence back to the lab as quickly as possible." But he knew in his heart that it might already be too late to find Katie alive.

~~~

Once Nick had filled Greg in on his talk with Mrs Jackson, the rest of the drive back to the lab was silent. The precious evidence was safely secured in the trunk, and Greg had phoned the lab to let them know they were headed back with a high-priority case.

Nick took his eyes off the road every now and then to cast a quick glance at Greg. The other man was staring out of his window, his pale skin almost glowing in the dim light of the interior of the Denali. He had his lower lip pinched between his thumb and finger, like a pincer, tugging the delicate flesh forwards slightly. Nick knew that he was lost deep in thought.

Just as they pulled into the parking lot of the Criminalistics building, Greg shifted and turned towards Nick.

"I think she's alive." he said softly. "Or at least, she left that house alive. Otherwise the bear would still be in her room."

"I've been thinking about that too, " Nick admitted, "but if she is, then time really is of the essence. We gotta work fast, man."

Nick shut off the engine and they jumped out of the SUV, carefully removing the evidence from the vehicle.

"I'll take the blood and hair to DNA if you want to get the fibres to trace and the prints to Mandy." Greg suggested. Nick nodded his approval and the young CSI disappeared into the labyrinth of corridors.

Nick took the envelope containing the fibre Greg had found on the bed to Hodges' lab, making Hodges promise to run it priority. Mandy had also sworn that his prints would be at the top of her list when he dropped them off with her.

He caught up with Greg again in the breakroom, going over some files.

"What ya got G'?" he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. It was just the generic brand, and it made him grimace slightly as he swallowed it.

"Just the case file and some printouts about Down's Syndrome and the heart medication Katie is on. I thought I'd educate myself while we're waiting for results."

"Down's Syndrome." came Grissom's voice from the doorway. "Named after John Langdon Down, the British doctor who first described it in 1866. Around half of all Down's children have heart defects."

"Yeah, well, our missing girl has it." Nick explained. "And we have absolutely no idea where she is. Her mother is going crazy. This kid is everything to her."

"Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated." Grissom quoted.

"Lamartine." Greg smiled softly, not looking up from his papers.

Grissom shot Greg a look of admiration and continued his journey down the corridor.

Nick reached across the table and lifted the photograph of Katie that Mrs Jackson had given them.

"Must be hard to cope with." he sighed, "You know, trying to raise someone with Down's Syndrome on your own."

"Yeah." Greg agreed. "But they're pretty special kids. When I was young my best friend had a cousin with Down's, we used to play together. He was a pretty cool guy. At the time I never really thought about him being different or anything. He was just my friend's cousin who had a cool bike."

"I had a case a while back where a Down's kid was murdered." Nick shook his head as he remembered. "It was pretty nasty. The guy threw his body in a box and left him to be eaten by ants." He felt his skin twitch at the memory of the fire ants on his own skin, but pushed that thought away. "I just hope this one doesn't turn out that way." He rubbed the back of his hand across his tired eyes.

Greg, as if sensing Nick's discomfort, stood up and walked around the table, coming up behind Nick and placing both hands on his shoulders, squeezing at the tight muscles there. Nick felt himself shiver slightly under the touch.

"We'll find her." Greg promised him. "We'll find her."

Nick yawned and looked at his watch. They'd been on the case for 12 hours and were still no closer to finding their missing girl. No one had seen anything suspicious at the scene, no one remembered spotting any strange vehicles in the area, and they were still waiting on the scant evidence they'd collected to be processed.

Just as that thought passed though his mind, his pager went off. Nick checked the readout. Mandy.

"Prints are up." he called over to Greg, who was scribbling something in a notebook. "Let's go."

They hurried to the print tech's lab, only to be greeted by Mandy's frustrated face.

"I'm really sorry guys. All the prints came back as a match to Mrs Jackson and Katie. It looks likely that the perp wore gloves." She shook her head sympathetically.

"Thanks anyway Mandy." Greg sighed, looking as disappointed as Nick felt. Just as they turned to leave, Nick's pager vibrated again.

"It's Hodges." he said hopefully. "Perhaps he's got some better news for us."

They walked side by side towards the Trace lab, their stride quickening as they approached it.

"What have you got for us Hodges?" Greg asked as they bundled through the door. "We could really do with some good news, man."

Hodges straightened up from his microscope. "Thank you for processing the fibre so quickly Hodges." he said glibly.

"No time for your issues." Nick interjected. "We need answers, ASAP."

"Well, the fibre you brought me was a wool mix, dyed red. Your common everyday blanket, most likely." Hodges sniffed matter-of-factly.

"Great, that really narrows it down." Greg huffed sarcastically.

"Did I say I was finished?" Hodges clipped. "There was another fibre attached to the wool. Trilobal. It's a very unique shade of purple. I'd say you're looking at a piece from the trunk of a Dodge Fighter. I did a little research and as it turns out, it only had this particular shade of purple in it's trunk in the 1996/1997 model."

Hodges' expression could only be described as smug.

"Thanks Hodges." Nick conceded. "Good work."

"Just doing my job." Hodges bowed slightly with fake humility.

"Oh, and Hodges?" Greg called behind him as they left the lab, "It's not very unique. It's just unique. The very is superfluous. Just for future reference."

Nick felt the grin on his face melt away a small amount of the tension that had turned his neck muscles to marble. He was glad that Greg was working this case with him. It made the long hours seem just that little bit easier to bear.

~~~

"Any luck with the car?" Greg called into the A/V room, where Nick was tapping away on the computer.

"Zip." Nick sighed, pushing away from the desk and scrubbing a hand over his tired eyes. "There's over a thousand Dodge Fighters in the Nevada area. The 96/97 model narrows it down to 473. I'm scanning through the list of registered owners but....." He shrugged to show that he'd drawn a blank.

"Here. I'm guessing you haven't eaten in a while."

Nick smelled the aroma of fast food under his nose as Greg set the white paper bag and soda on the desk beside the keyboard and pulled out two burgers, handing one to Nick.

"We're not supposed to eat in here." Nick warned, but the rumbling in his stomach made a pretty good opposing argument.

"So don't tell." Greg shrugged, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips as he took the seat beside Nick and unwrapped his own burger, sinking his teeth hungrily into it.

"So, what have we got so far?" he asked, the words muffled from the mouthful of food he was chewing.

"Well, I'm thinking that the perp came in through the window, assaulted Katie, then wrapped her in a blanket that he'd had in his trunk and went back out through the window again." Nick suggested, taking a bite of his own food. "Taking her with him."

Greg looked thoughtful as he chewed. "So why the blanket?"

"Help restrain her, maybe? Or stifle her cries?"

"Mmmm." Greg replied non-committedly. "Oh, dude, you got ketchup all over you."

Nick flushed and rubbed wildly at the side of his mouth. "Got it?"

Greg grinned and leaned forward with a napkin. "Nowhere near." he chuckled, carefully wiping across Nick's cheek. Nick felt his heart stop, and then beat in double-quick time. Greg looked at him, deep into his eyes, their faces just a few inches away from each other. He seemed to linger there for what seemed like an age, before jumping back and tossing the dirty napkin into the empty bag.

"Meet me in DNA when you're done." he mumbled, slipping out of the chair, taking the rest of his burger with him.

Nick let out a long, slow breath. Greg Sanders was going to be the death of him.

~~~

Nick made his way down to the DNA lab a few minutes later, where Greg was deep in conversation with Wendy. Nick felt the hot sting of jealousy surge through him as Wendy giggled over something Greg had said to her. He pushed that thought from his mind; he didn't have the right to get mad over something that had nothing to do with him. Still, he could feel his lips tighten into a grimace.

He cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Oh hey Nick." Wendy smiled in a friendly way, with no idea of Nick's thoughts. "I've just got done with your samples. The blood on the sheet was a match to your vic, as were all the epithelials I found. However, the sample contained endometrial lining. It's menstrual blood. Katie had her period. There was no semen in the sample."

Greg took the printout from Wendy's outstretched hand and read it. "So she wasn't sexually assaulted?"

Nick licked his lips, as he often did when he was thinking. "Doesn't rule it out, but it's less likely. So why was she taken?"

"I think I might have an answer." Wendy offered, printing out another DNA profile. "The hair you found on the bed had seven alleles in common with Katie."

"But her Mom was blonde......" Greg mused, comparing the two printouts. "Wait.... The DNA from the sample is male."

"Yeah." Wendy confirmed. "Looks like you're looking for Daddy."

~~~

"How can this be, her Dad is supposed to be dead." Greg was hurtling down the hallway towards the A/V lab, Nick had to jog to keep up with his long legs. They were going back to check the Boston death register and the DMV records that Nick had printed out.

Greg made it to the room before Nick and tapped the details into the computer.

"Did you find a death certificate?" Nick puffed, coming up behind him. Only then did he realise how unfit he'd gotten in the past few months. He'd really have to get back to working out.

"Nothing on file." Greg shook his head. "But why would Maria Jackson lie about her husband being dead?"

"I think we're going to have to ask her." Nick pulled out his cell phone and dialled Sofia's number while Greg searched through Nick's list of Dodge Fighter owners.

"Look." he sighed, jabbing a finger into the middle of the last page. "Ronald Jackson."

"Shit, why didn't I make the connection?" Nick clicked his tongue against his teeth.

"We'd ruled him out as a suspect." Greg soothed. "Plus, it's a damn long list that you didn't have the time to cross-reference fully before I dragged you down to DNA."

"Still, I should have found it. Yeah, hi Sofia." he spoke into the phone. "We're going to need to bring in Maria Jackson. Now."

"I'll get PD to check out this address." Greg called out, disappearing through the door.

~~~

Maria Jackson sat nervously in the interrogation room, her thick fingers tearing at a used Kleenex. Sofia was standing in the corner of the room beside the two-way mirror, arms folded across her chest. Nick took the seat opposite Mrs Jackson at the table.

"Mrs Jackson," he began, clearing his throat. "why did you lie about your husband being deceased?"

Mrs Jackson's eyes grew wide. "I don't know what you mean." she gasped. "Ronnie had a heart attack 15 years ago, he died."

"So why did we find his hair in Katie's bedroom?" he asked, pushing the DNA report into the middle of the table.

Mrs Jackson's lower lip began to quiver, her eyes filling with fresh tears. "Oh my God." she whimpered. "He found us."

"Don't you think that your husband being alive was something you should have told us?" Sofia stated impatiently. "If we'd known, we could have treated him as a suspect immediately. We've wasted hours."

Mrs Jackson broke down in hysterical tears. "Oh God, what have I done, what have I done?" she moaned over and over again. "I couldn't risk telling you that he was alive, because I knew that you would try to track him down to interview him and he would know that we were in Vegas, he'd know where we were and come after us."

"He already knew where you were." Nick said in a tight voice, trying to keep his frustration under control.

"Have you found him?" she sobbed.

"My colleague is trying to track down a valid address, the address the vehicle was registered to was out of date." Nick replied. "Can you tell me why you were hiding from him? Was he abusive? Violent?"

She nodded and searched in her handbag for a fresh tissue. "He was always such a charming man. I felt so lucky when we first got married. But after a while, things changed. It started off with him never wanting me to see my friends, then I wasn't allowed to wear certain clothes. He'd call me names. After a while, he started to beat me. It got worse when I gave birth to Katie. He treated me like it was my fault she had Down's Syndrome, like I'd failed him somehow. He'd always dreamed of the perfect little boy to carry on the family name."

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "He would talk about how easy it would be to give her up for adoption, then it became how we could leave her abandoned somewhere, like a hospital. But I didn't want to do that, she was my baby! I loved her."

"So you left him?" Sofia probed.

She shook her head. "I was too scared to. But then one night I walked past her nursery to see him standing by her crib, in the dark, with a pillow in his hands. I screamed. He claimed he was just tidying up, but I knew. I knew he was about to suffocate her. I realised then that I had no choice."

"And that's when you left?" Nick asked.

She took a shaky breath. "I waited until he went to work the next day, and then I packed a few things and took the train from Boston to Chicago. Then I moved to Vegas a few months later. I never thought he'd find us here."

"Looks like you were wrong." Sofia stated brusquely.

"I'm sorry." she sniffed. "I didn't think. I just want my baby back."

Nick felt sorry for the broken woman sitting opposite him. Her attempts to keep her abusive husband away from her daughter may have been misguided, but she'd only kept quiet about it out of love for Katie, wanting to keep her safe. Unfortunately it had backfired in the worst way. Katie had been missing for 20 hours. And now they had to face the fact that Ronald Jackson may have tried to kill Katie before. What was to stop him trying again?

~~~

Nick made his way back to the lab, where Greg was still working on trying to track down Ronald Jackson. He walked though the door of the computer room, his nose buried in the case file. "Hey Greg, have you found anything?"

Silence made him look up from the file to see Greg sitting slumped over the desk, one arm curled beneath his head, the other sprawled straight out. He was breathing softly, his eyes closed in sleep.

Nick hunkered down so that he was at the same level as Greg. A soft dark blond curl had fallen forward into the middle of Greg's forehead and Nick had to fight the urge to brush it away. His friend looked so peaceful that he wished he could just let him sleep, but they just didn't have the time for that.

"Greggo. Hey Greggo." he whispered, gently shaking Greg's arm. Greg stirred and let out a small moan. One eye opened a crack and moved slowly to focus on Nick. Then Greg obviously realised where he was and sat bolt upright, wiping his hand across his mouth in case he'd drooled.

"Jeez, sorry." he said, his voice thick.

"It's OK Greg. We're all exhausted. Did you get anything on Ronald Jackson?" Nick asked.

Greg rubbed his eyes and cleared his throat. "Well, he bought the Dodge Fighter second-hand for cash four months ago and registered it to this address in Boulder City." He pointed to the address on file. "He was renting a room there. But after he moved out it's like he fell off the face of the earth, man. According to PD, the woman he was renting his room from......" he stopped to confirm her name from his notes, "Mrs Richards, said he left no forwarding address, and I can't find him living anywhere else. His credit cards haven't been touched in the last month, no cash withdrawals from his bank account..... nothing."

"So it looks like we've hit another brick wall." Nick could feel the anger and frustration bubble in his blood.

"I was thinking maybe we should have a chat with Mrs Richards, see if we can jog her memory about her old tenant." Greg suggested. "It's got to be worth a try. Maybe take a look in his old room."

"Yeah." Nick nodded, hope growing in his heart again. "Good idea, man. I'll call Sofia and we'll head over there."

"Cool." Greg grinned.

~~~

Thunder rumbled in the darkening sky as Sofia, Nick and Greg made their way to Boulder City. A few fat raindrops splashed onto the windshield of the Denali, and Nick switched the wipers on, their swish-swish filling the thoughtful silence inside the car.

They pulled into Greendale Estates, where Mrs Richard's had her home. Greg jumped out of the passenger seat and held the back door open for Sofia to climb out. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him and accepted the act of chivalry without a word of protest.

They walked up to the front door and rang the buzzer, the three of them trying to shelter from the rain under the small porch. After a few minutes the door opened, and a grey-haired woman of around 60 stood smiling at them.

"Mrs Richards?" Sofia asked. After a confirming nod, she continued. "I'm Detective Sofia Curtis, and this is Nick Stokes and Greg Sanders from the Crime Lab, may we come in?"

"Is this about Ronnie?" Mrs Richards asked, stepping back to allow the group into the warm, dry hallway. "I've already told the police everything I know."

"We know, "Nick assured, taking in his surroundings. "We were just wondering if we could take a look around his old room, if that's possible?"

"You won't find anything." she said rather huffily. "The police already looked. I keep a clean house, I'll have you know."

"I can see that Ma'am. You have a lovely home. But it would really help us to look." Nick tuned on the old Texas charm, and Mrs Richards nodded. It never failed.

"Fine. But don't make a mess. It's upstairs, third room on the right."

Sofia nodded to them to go on up, she would stay downstairs with Mrs Richards. Nick let Greg go first, and then followed him up the stairs.

As they passed the first door, Nick felt what could only be described as a prickle on his neck. He shook the feeling off and followed Greg into Ronald Jackson's old room. It was clean and bare, a neatly-made bed stood in the corner, and the wardrobes sat empty, their doors open for airing. It was obvious that no one had stayed in this room for a while. They looked through drawers and in every nook and cranny, trying to find something to give them a clue as to where their suspect could have gone. They came up empty-handed. ALS showed nothing either.

Disappointed, they began a slow walk back down the landing to the stairway. Once again as they passed the first door by the stairs, Nick felt an odd shiver going through him, like something wasn't quite right. Slowly, he pulled his gun from the holster and quietly opened the door to the room. Holding his gun in a ready-to-fire position, he spun into the room.

It was only the bathroom.

Sighing, Nick put the gun safely back in the holster again and stepped back out onto the landing.

"You OK?" Greg asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just......" he broke off, not wanting to tell Greg that he'd stormed an empty bathroom because of a feeling. "Let's go."

Just as they were walking down the stairs again, Nick happened to glance up and noticed the attic door was open a crack. He felt an icy chill run down his spine as thoughts of Nigel Crane filled his mind. He shook his head to push them away again.

"Hey Greg....." he whispered. "I dunno, but I get the feeling I wanna check out this attic. You got your flashlight?"

Greg nodded and pulled a small Maglite from his belt. Nick grabbed the toggle and eased the door down slowly, letting the small ladder unfurl. He pulled his gun for the second time in as many minutes, and began to climb up the steps, Greg following closely behind.

The attic was small, dark, dusty and full of boxes. A mattress lay in the corner, beside a few scattered newspapers. An old chamber-pot was stashed in the opposite corner.

Greg roamed the flashlight around the room, settling finally on the mattress. In the middle of the stained bedding lay a red blanket and a battered grey teddy bear.

Nick flew down the stairs with Greg on his heels. They burst into the living room, where Sofia was sipping tea.

"Where are they?" Nick demanded, unable to keep the anger and sheer exasperation out of his voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mrs Richards said calmly, taking a sip of her own tea.

"What's going on Nick?" Sofia asked, quickly putting her cup down and standing, turning from friendly, talkative policewoman into tough, no shit Detective in a matter of seconds.

"We found Katie's teddy bear upstairs." Greg informed her. "They've been here."

"Jackson's been living in the attic all this time." Nick fumed. "And I'm guessing that Mrs Richards here has been hiding him. He didn't move out, did he? That was just to throw us off the trail. Where is he? Where's Katie?"

Just then, they heard a piercing scream from the back of the house. All heads turned towards the kitchen, then Nick, Greg and Sofia all made a run for the back door and out into the rainy night.

Parked at the back of the house, a Dodge Fighter had its engine running and the passenger door open. A long-haired man was carrying a young blonde girl back to it, from where she'd obviously tried to make an escape.

"FREEZE! LVPD!" Sofia shouted, pulling her gun.

The man tossed the screaming child into the passenger seat and disappeared behind the car. Nick took that moment to pull his own gun and looked across at Greg, who carried no weapon, only his Maglite. He knew how Greg felt about carrying guns, but wished at that moment that his friend was armed.

"Mr Jackson!" Sofia shouted over the battering rain. "LVPD. Come out with your hands up!" She used her free hand to unhook her radio, and called for backup.

Nick watched as time seemed to slow down. Ronald Jackson appeared above the roof of the Dodge, a revolver clasped in both hands. Katie, inside the car, was directly in Nick's line of fire. There was no way he could risk taking a shot.

"Stay away!" Ronald yelled.

"Mr Jackson, please." Nick called over. "Just let Katie go. This can be over right now and we can all go inside and get this sorted out."

Katie was screaming and crying inside the vehicle, and Nick felt his legs go weak.

"My wife needs to know what it feels like to have her world pulled out from under her, like she did to me." Ronald sobbed, his hands shaking. "She cared more about it than me. It ruined my life. That little monster!"

Nick figured that it was a reference to Katie as a baby.

"Look Sir, I'm sure you don't want to hurt Katie....." Nick continued. "So why don't you just let her get out of the car, and let her come over here to us. Then we can talk."

"She needs to learn." he shook his head. "That bitch needs to learn what it feels like. She can't have her back. She can't! I'm taking her! She'll learn."

Sofia was inching forward, the rain soaking her thin blue shirt until it was sticking to her like a second skin.

"Mr Jackson, this is your last warning." she said forcefully. "Drop the gun, and come out with your hands up!"

Nick felt the crack of the shot reverberating through his body before he actually heard it, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Sofia fall. Once again time slowed down and he could see Ronald turn towards Greg to fire a second shot.

With split-second timing Nick launched himself on top of Greg, knocking them both into the soft wet mud. He heard the gunshot whiz past his ear. Greg cried out in shock at being knocked to the ground, his eyes widening when he realised what had just happened.

Nick pushed himself off of Greg's prone body and turned in time to see Jackson jumping into the car and speeding off, the spinning wheels sending a shower of soaked earth over them all. He ran to where Sofia was lying clutching her arm, her face twisted in pain.

"He just winged me, it's just a flesh wound." she grimaced, dark red blood spilling from between her fingers and running, diluted by the rain, down her arm. "Get after that bastard now. I'll be fine."

With a nod Nick ran around the side of the house to the Denali parked out front. Greg wasn't far behind. They heard Sofia radio for an ambulance, officer down as they slammed the doors shut. Nick floored it, the tyres burning black marks into the wet asphalt.

~~~

They caught up with the black Dodge fighter a mile away from the house. Nick got as close to it as he could, listening as Greg kept up a running commentary of their position with the PD, using his cell-phone. Suddenly he went quiet.

"What's wrong?" Nick cried out, trying desperately to concentrate on matching the Dodge's every twist and turn. "Greg?"

"They're heading for the lake." Greg gulped, his eyes wide and inky black.

Nick's own eyes flew to the next road-sign they passed. Lake Mead 2 miles it proclaimed.

"Fuck!" he screamed, hitting both palms off the steering wheel.

~~~

As they sped along the dark road, Nick pleaded under his breath for everything to calm down, for Ronald Jackson to realise what he was doing and pull over, for Katie to be OK, and for everyone to get out of this alive. There was a good chance that Jackson still had four bullets left in his gun. That was enough to take them all out.

Greg was still keeping PD informed of their location in a calm voice, but his knuckles were white where he was gripping the cell-phone tightly. The enormity of the situation was obviously getting to him.

"You OK?" Nick whispered across without taking his eyes off the vehicle in front. Greg quickly moved the phone to his right hand and used his left hand to give Nick's knee a reassuring squeeze.

"The lake's coming up." Greg spoke into the phone, but Nick knew that it was as much a warning for him.

Suddenly the rear lights of the Dodge disappeared as the car careened down the bank of the lake. Nick hit the brakes hard, and turned the steering wheel. He managed to spin the car around so that it stayed at the top of the bank, the tyres sending mud flying into the air.

They both jumped out of the Denali and ran down the slippery bank, their shoes sinking into the thick mud. The Dodge was tyre-deep in the water and sinking further.

Without a second thought Nick ran into the lake, wading out to where the car was now submerged to the windows. He heard splashing behind him as Greg followed him into the freezing cold lake.

"Nick!" Greg cried out over the roar of the heavy rain hitting the water. "Can you see her? Can you get her out?"

Nick tried to pull the handle of the door open, but it was stuck fast, locked from the inside. He could see Katie huddled in the passenger seat, crying into her clenched fists. Ronald Jackson was slumped over the steering wheel, blood trickling from his right ear. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and had obviously hit his head hard as they'd landed in the water.

"Katie, can you open the door?" Nick shouted, thumping on the window with the palm of his hand. Greg came up beside him and started tugging desperately at the handle. Katie took her hands away from her face and looked at them, fear sparkling in her blue eyes.

The car was still sinking, and Nick watched impotently as the windows disappeared under the inky water.

Suddenly he heard a muffled thud, and turned to see Greg frantically hitting the windshield with the base of his flashlight. The pressure of the water impeded the blow, but after several attempts the glass caved in and washed away. Icy water rushed into the cab of the vehicle, the force of it knocking Greg off balance, sweeping him under the water.

As the car sank faster, Nick took a deep breath and dove under the water. Feeling his way along the broken windshield, he managed to get a hand to Katie's shoulder. He pulled at her, trying to get her through the gap, but she was trapped in the seat.

Nick's lungs began to burn with lack of oxygen. He tugged harder at the front of Katie's night-shirt, his hand grasping at the seatbelt that she still wore.

Need to breathe. he thought desperately, his body automatically trying to kick for the surface. But Katie's hand was clasped around his wrist, effectively trapping him in the car with her. Fear had made her strong.

Something swished past him in the darkness, and something in his gut told him it was Greg. All of a sudden he felt his nose being pinched and his mouth being covered by Greg's mouth. Precious oxygen was being breathed into his lungs. Then there was a rush of water as Greg kicked for the surface again. Nick pulled Katie's night-shirt again, and this time she came away. Greg had succeeded in undoing the seatbelt as he'd been breathing air into Katie's lungs.

With the renewed strength and adrenaline coursing through his veins, Nick began his own ascent to the surface, holding Katie safely around her waist. Greg appeared beside him as he hit the surface and took a deep breath.

"You OK?" he panted.

Nick coughed a couple of times and croaked a yeah, his throat raw and burning. Katie was coughing and gasping for breath.

"Can you take Katie?" Nick asked. "I need to go back for Ronald Jackson."

Greg grabbed Nick by the arm, shaking his head. "It's too late Nick." he gasped, trying to tread water. "He's already dead."

Nick nodded, and began to swim to the shore, one arm cradling Katie.

They both helped to push Katie onto the bank and clambered onto it themselves, panting for much-needed breath.

They lay there just looking at each other, their eyes stinging with rain. Nick couldn't help reaching out to touch Greg, making sure they were both there, both real, both safe. Greg had saved his life down there. No words could ever be enough to express his thanks. He ran his fingertips over Greg's muddy face, tracing wet lines through the dirt. It was then that he realised that Greg was bleeding slightly from a head wound, but it didn't look too serious. He moved his hand further around and cupped the back of Greg's head, scrunching his fingers through the damp hair.

Greg watched him, his soulful brown eyes full of emotion. Without speaking, he leaned forwards and pressed his lips to Nick's one more time, but this time the reason was completely different. The lips were warm against him, although they were both trembling from the cold. Nick opened his mouth slightly and turned his head into the kiss, losing himself in the feeling.

Greg pulled away first and leaned his forehead against Nick's, both of them breathing heavily.

The dark sky became stained with the red and blue of the approaching ambulances and patrol cars, their sirens wailing. Katie was lying between them shivering, but the fear in her eyes had been replaced with thankfulness and wonder at what she'd just witnessed between her two rescuers.

"You're OK now Katie." Greg soothed. "We've got you."

"You know my name?" Katie asked. "How do you know my name?"

"We know all about you." Nick smiled, before coughing again. When he'd finished, he introduced them. "Milton, your bear, told us about you. I'm Nick Stokes, and this is Greg Sanders. We're kind of like policemen."

"Milton? Where's Milton?" Katie cried out, getting distressed again.

"It's OK, Milton is waiting for you." Greg promised, which seemed to settle her down again. Nick went to reach for Greg's hand to squeeze it, but the world erupted into chaos as Paramedics and unformed officers scrambled down the bank towards them, radios crackling and instructions being shouted over the sound of the rain.

Katie was wrapped in a blanket and taken to the first ambulance by the Paramedics. A policeman helped Greg off the muddy ground and to another ambulance. Nick watched as Greg turned his head to look at him as he was pushed into the back of the vehicle. There was a look in his eyes that Nick couldn't decipher. The doors were closed behind him, and he was gone.

A few minutes later Brass appeared on the bank beside Nick. He helped him to a waiting police car that quickly took him to the hospital to get checked out.

~~~

At the hospital, Nick was finally warm and dry and dressed in dark blue doctors scrubs, his clothes having been soaked through and covered in mud. Grissom was outside talking to the Doctor who was treating the three drowned rats, and Nick strained to try and hear their conversation, but the closed door hindered him.

After a few minutes the door opened and Grissom strode into the room.

"How's Katie and Greg?" Nick asked, worried. No one had told him anything since he'd been brought in.

"They're both fine." Grissom reassured him. "Katie is going to be kept in to make sure there're no lasting effects from the cold water or from missing her medication, but it looks like she's had a lucky escape. She's been reunited with her Mother. And Milton of course." he smiled. "She's asking to see you and Greg."

"What about Greg?" Nick pressed, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice.

"Greg's fine." Grissom nodded. "He's in the next room. He has a small cut to the forehead but apart from that he's OK."

Nick sighed with relief. "And Sofia?"

"Sofia was brought to Desert Palms with a gunshot wound, but it was superficial. She's already been treated and is complaining about wanting to discharge herself." Grissom explained.

"So why where they hiding in that woman's attic?" Nick wondered.

"It turns out that Ronald Jackson had seduced his Landlady, that's why she no longer charged him rent. He'd concocted a story about his ex-wife trying to keep his daughter away from him, and asked her to lie about his whereabouts should the police ask. Mrs Richards was a lady of a certain age, widowed.... It's understandable. She was covering for the man she loved."

"Well, Mrs Jackson did say that he was a very charming man." Nick shrugged. "But perhaps it wasn't love that he had over her. Perhaps it was fear."

"Perhaps." Grissom mused, then turned and left the room without saying goodbye, in the way that he often did when a thought struck him. Nick got off the bed carefully and made his way to Greg's room. He rapped the door gently with his knuckles before entering.

Greg was sitting on his bed, dressed in scrubs identical to Nick's. He had a few white steri-strips holding the cut on his head together, but other than that he looked in pretty good shape. "Hey." he said softly as Nick came in, his voice wavering with nerves and emotion.

"Hey." Nick echoed. Suddenly he wasn't sure what to do with his hands, so he put his arms across his chest awkwardly. "Katie wants to see us."

"Yeah. Grissom was just in here with me." Greg nodded. "Shall we go in together, or would you rather..."

"Let's go together." Nick grinned, trying not to think of how cute Greg looked in scrubs.

~~~

The Doctor was in Katie's room checking his notes, so they waited outside the door until he had finished.

"Hey Doctor." Nick stopped him as he walked by. "Is she OK?"

"She's in excellent health considering what she's been through." the doctor admitted. "She's such a lovely little girl. It just wasn't her time."

Nick nodded, feeling a lump in his throat as he swallowed. Not her time.

Katie lay back on the starched white sheets, her soft blonde hair washed and brushed and fanned out behind her on the pillow like a halo. Milton was clutched safely under one arm.

Her face lit up as Nick and Greg entered the room, and she held both hands out in front of her and beckoned them towards the bed.

Greg moved to the right of the bed and took Katie's right hand in his, Nick went to the left and clasped her left hand, squeezing it tightly.

"You're safe now." Greg said with a soft smile. "Your Mom is just downstairs getting something to eat, she'll be back soon."

"The Doctors say you've been a perfect patient." Nick nodded, his eyes moist and shining.

"Thank you for saving me." Katie's eyes moved from one man to the other. "You are my heroes and I love you." She pulled her hands close to her chest, until Nick's knuckles were touching Greg's. Suddenly Katie pushed their hands together and moved her own hands away, leaving Greg and Nick leaning across her body, their fingers intertwined.

Nick felt Greg's grip tighten slightly and looked up to meet his eyes. They smiled shyly at each other before letting their hands drop to their sides. Greg took a quick step backwards, his cheeks flushing slightly.

Nick cleared his throat. "Well Katie, we'll let you get some sleep before your Mom gets back, OK?"

Katie nodded, pulling the bedcovers higher. "You come visit me again?"

"Sure we will." Greg reassured her. "We'll see you tomorrow, for sure."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Nick confirmed. "Now get some sleep. You must be exhausted."

"OK Nick and Greg. See you tomorrow." With that her ocean-blue eyes fluttered shut and her mouth dropped open slightly. They watched as her breathing became slow and regular, indicating that she was finally asleep.

Greg reached out and gently smoothed a stray hair away from her forehead, his own eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

They moved silently from the room and closed the door softly behind them with an almost inaudible click. They stood quietly for a few moments, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Brave kid." Nick said finally.

"Yeah, totally." Greg nodded, not looking up to meet his eyes, instead seemingly fascinated by the tiled floor. He nudged the tile with the toe of his sneaker which, like his own boots, were still slightly damp and coated in a thin layer of mud.

"Listen, do you want to go and get a cup of coffee or something?" Nick asked hesitantly. "I mean, if you're not busy or anything."

Greg kept his head low, but raised his eyes, watching Nick steadily from beneath his thick lashes. He breathed out slowly, trying to control his nerves. "Yeah." he nodded after a moment. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Although we probably should head home first and get changed." Nick sighed, looking down at his scrubs and wet footwear.

Greg's face dropped in visible disappointment. "Oh. OK. Listen, it doesn't matter, we can take a rain check." He obviously thought that Nick was only being polite, didn't really want to talk to him.

"No way." Nick soothed, pulling Greg into the nearest empty room and closing the door behind them. "I just thought.... But hey, what the hell, let's pretend to be Doctors." he grinned.

"Hey Nick, about before...." Greg began nervously. "When I..... when I kissed you. I'm really sorry, I don't know what came over me. I hope that we can still be friends, that you won't hold it against me. I guess it was just the emotions of the moment or something. You know, you're alive, I'm alive, it's all good. That's all it was, so no worries, yeah?"

"Didn't you notice anything?" Nick smiled as he moved closer to Greg. He'd always found Greg's babbling endearing, but today he had other uses for that mouth.

Greg shook his head, sparks of nervous excitement firing in those deep brown eyes. "What?"

"I kissed you back." He cupped the back of Greg's head with his hand and pulled the other man closer, bringing their lips to within an inch of touching. "Just like this."

Finally he closed the small space between them, sinking into a soft, sweet kiss. He could feel Greg smile against his open mouth. Finally he'd got the one thing he wanted. While looking for Katie, they had found each other.