Day and Night (4)
Title: Day & Night (4)
Rating: R
Pairings: Ryan/Natalia, Nick/Sara, Warrick/Catherine, Eric/Calleigh
Summary: Another clue leads them to another CSI...
A/N: Once again, thanks to
tidbit2008for the wonderful beta and for catching all of my stupid little typos. Also, sorry it took so long to get this out. I got very distracted by other ships sailing in other fandoms...
Nick sat heavily on the tailgate of the SUV as Sara filled him in. She told him that Eric and Natalia were missing as well, and that the kidnapper was leaving them taunting riddles with clues to their locations. His shoulders slumped as she went on, the weight in his heart growing. If his experience had been any indication, the other two were being slowly tortured with their greatest fear; and if they didn't find them soon, they would die a horribly slow and agonizing death.
"Nick?"
Shaking himself, Nick realized that he had zoned out on her. "Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Looking around, he saw the others huddled over the riddle they had found in the box. "We should go over and help them."
Sara frowned. "You need to go to the hospital."
"I'm fine."
"You need to get checked out," she insisted. "And then you need to go home."
"No!" Seeing her startled expression, he tried to gentle his tone. "I can't go back there Sara. Not now…maybe not ever."
She reached out and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. "I'm so sorry, Nick."
Looking up, he saw tears in her eyes. He pulled her closer, reaching out one hand to wipe them from her cheeks.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the ground. "C'mon, Sar," he coaxed. "Talk to me."
"I almost lost you," she whispered, still refusing to meet his eyes. "Again."
Hearing the pain in her voice, Nick pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. She clung to him, her fingers tangling in his shirt as she tried to reassure herself that he really was there, that he really was alright. They stood like that for what felt like forever, before pulling back, the weight of the situation bearing down on them, reminding them that other lives were at stake.
"You really should rest," Sara said quietly.
"I can't, Sar…I can't just sit around while that psycho has Natalia and Eric. I want to help. I need to help."
She gave him a sad smile. "There's no way I can talk you out of this, is there?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
Sara pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "Alright, on one condition."
Nick couldn't help but smile a little. "And that is?"
"That when this is over you come stay with me. That you let me help you."
Staring at her, touched by her care and generosity, Nick reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Deal," he whispered.
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"What have we got?" Nick asked as he and Sara joined the others.
Grissom looked up, narrowing his eyes at Nick. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Well, I guess I could go home and have a mental breakdown. But this seems much more productive."
Gil watched him for a moment longer, seemingly sizing him up. Finally, he nodded, and he pointed down at the paper they had been staring at, flashlights making the words visible in the darkness.
Her greatest fear slowly consumes her as she joins the dead. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
"So what's Natalia's greatest fear?" Catherine asked.
They all stood in silence for a few minutes, mulling the question over. The Vegas team didn't even know where to begin - none of them had known Natalia enough to get a handle on her fears. But they searched their memories anyway, looking for the smallest hint that could point them in the right direction.
"She was pretty scared of her ex-husband," Calleigh finally said quietly. "But he's dead."
Ryan shook his head. "Fire." Everyone looked at him sharply. "Fire," he repeated. "That's the thing she's most afraid of."
"How do you know?" Warrick asked.
"When she was five…her mom had to go to work, but she didn't have anyone to watch Natalia. So she left her at her aunt's house. But her aunt was drunk, and she left one of her cigarettes burning. When the flame reached her liquor cabinet, the whole house went up."
"Oh my God," Calleigh murmured. "What happened?"
Ryan shrugged, looking down at the ground. "She tried to wake her aunt, but she was passed out from all the vodka. So Natalia ran. She got out of the house, ran to a neighbor's and called 911. But it was too late. Her aunt was dead."
"Fire consumes," Nick said quietly.
Horatio nodded. "Alright, so fire it is. Where does that bring us?"
"Fire could be anything," Catherine pointed out. "Or anywhere, for that matter."
They fell silent again, desperately searching their minds for the answer. But Catherine was right - fire was vague, and it gave them no real clues by itself. As the others struggled to put the pieces together, Nick's thoughts flashed back to the box he had just been rescued from. The death that had been planned for him was slow and tortuous, using his fears against him to extract the most pain possible - both physical and mental. As he saw himself screaming in the box as it sank lower, his mind replaced the box with fire, and suddenly it came to him.
"A crematory," he said aloud. All eyes swiveled to him, everyone frowning in confusion. "They burn bodies. They put them on these metal slabs that roll slowly into the fire. I don't know about you, but I'd be hard pressed to think of a more agonizing death than that."
"And she'd be surrounded by dead bodies," Ryan said, finishing Nick's thought. "She'd be completely consumed. Ashes to ashes."
Grissom thought for a moment. "There are four crematories in Las Vegas."
"We'll have to split up," Horatio said. "That way we can cover all of them."
Gil nodded. "Nick, you and Sara go to Neptune. Warrick, Catherine, head over to the Las Vegas Funeral Home. Horatio, Calleigh and Ryan can check out Bunkers Mortuary, and Greg and I will take Morton's. Okay?"
They all nodded and broke apart without another word. Climbing into their SUV's, they drove out into the night, praying that they would be saving another friend, and not collecting a body.
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Calleigh looked over at Ryan as Horatio sped through the streets of Las Vegas, heading for the Boulevard. Seeing the worry and pain in his eyes, she reached out and squeezed his hand, giving him a small smile.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
"We have to find her, Calleigh."
"We will."
"What if we don't? What if I got it wrong? What if something else is her greatest fear?"
"Ryan, look at me." She waited until his eyes met hers. "You know Natalia better than any of us. And I know what she means to you. We will find her. And when we do, you're going to tell her how you feel."
He gave her a sad smile. "And are you going to tell Eric how you feel when we find him? Or are you going to let your fears get the better of you yet again?"
She tensed. "That's a low blow, Ryan."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Calleigh. I didn't mean to…"
"Forget it," she said quietly. "You're right. I have been scared. I don't want to lose him."
"You can't keep running, Calleigh. Sooner or later…well…it'll be too late."
"What if it already is?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He squeezed her hand. "It's not, remember? We're going to find them. And then we're going to stop being idiots."
She smiled, a lone tear making it's way down her face. "Is this the part where you tell me everything's going to be okay?"
Ryan gave her an amused look. "Hey, I thought you were comforting me."
"Oh right, I forgot."
They were interrupted by the car suddenly stopping. Looking up, they saw Horatio turning to face them.
"We're here."
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Sara sighed in frustration as she and Nick cleared the last room at Neptune. The only bodies there were already dead, and, thankfully, none of them were Natalia. Kicking the wall, she pulled out her phone.
"Gil, it's Sara."
"Did you find anything?"
"No, there's nothing here." She frowned and pulled her ear away from the phone as she heard a crash from another room. "Nick?" she called. "Are you okay?"
He strode into the room, a piece of paper in his hand. Without a word, he shoved it at her.
"Sara? Sara, are you there?"
She brought the phone back to her ear. "Yeah, I'm here Gil."
"Greg just found a note left by our kidnapper. It says Burn baby, burn. We're on the right track."
"Nick just found a note, too."
"What does yours say?"
"Ashes, ashes. We all fall down."
8888888888888888
It took every ounce of self-restraint Ryan had to keep him from running through Bunkers Mortuary. Something inside him told him that if they didn't find Natalia here, they wouldn't find her in time. But he forced himself to move slowly, to make sure that he didn't miss anything as they swept through the mortuary.
They heard the cries as soon as they reached the top of the stairs that led down to the crematory. Unable to control himself any longer, Ryan rushed down the stairs, his mind focused only on getting to Natalia before it was too late.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled at the sight before him. The fires of the crematory were roaring, the heat engulfing him, threatening to choke the life out of him. His entire body froze as his eyes fell on the conveyor belt, slowly moving toward the flames. Natalia was lying on the unforgiving metal, her wrists, torso and ankles bound to it by leather straps. She was fighting against them - fighting with all the strength she could find and screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to help her. But the belt continued moving forward, her feet inching toward the flames.
Rating: R
Pairings: Ryan/Natalia, Nick/Sara, Warrick/Catherine, Eric/Calleigh
Summary: Another clue leads them to another CSI...
A/N: Once again, thanks to
tidbit2008for the wonderful beta and for catching all of my stupid little typos. Also, sorry it took so long to get this out. I got very distracted by other ships sailing in other fandoms...
Nick sat heavily on the tailgate of the SUV as Sara filled him in. She told him that Eric and Natalia were missing as well, and that the kidnapper was leaving them taunting riddles with clues to their locations. His shoulders slumped as she went on, the weight in his heart growing. If his experience had been any indication, the other two were being slowly tortured with their greatest fear; and if they didn't find them soon, they would die a horribly slow and agonizing death.
"Nick?"
Shaking himself, Nick realized that he had zoned out on her. "Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Looking around, he saw the others huddled over the riddle they had found in the box. "We should go over and help them."
Sara frowned. "You need to go to the hospital."
"I'm fine."
"You need to get checked out," she insisted. "And then you need to go home."
"No!" Seeing her startled expression, he tried to gentle his tone. "I can't go back there Sara. Not now…maybe not ever."
She reached out and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. "I'm so sorry, Nick."
Looking up, he saw tears in her eyes. He pulled her closer, reaching out one hand to wipe them from her cheeks.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the ground. "C'mon, Sar," he coaxed. "Talk to me."
"I almost lost you," she whispered, still refusing to meet his eyes. "Again."
Hearing the pain in her voice, Nick pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. She clung to him, her fingers tangling in his shirt as she tried to reassure herself that he really was there, that he really was alright. They stood like that for what felt like forever, before pulling back, the weight of the situation bearing down on them, reminding them that other lives were at stake.
"You really should rest," Sara said quietly.
"I can't, Sar…I can't just sit around while that psycho has Natalia and Eric. I want to help. I need to help."
She gave him a sad smile. "There's no way I can talk you out of this, is there?"
He shook his head. "Nope."
Sara pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "Alright, on one condition."
Nick couldn't help but smile a little. "And that is?"
"That when this is over you come stay with me. That you let me help you."
Staring at her, touched by her care and generosity, Nick reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Deal," he whispered.
88888888888888888888
"What have we got?" Nick asked as he and Sara joined the others.
Grissom looked up, narrowing his eyes at Nick. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Well, I guess I could go home and have a mental breakdown. But this seems much more productive."
Gil watched him for a moment longer, seemingly sizing him up. Finally, he nodded, and he pointed down at the paper they had been staring at, flashlights making the words visible in the darkness.
Her greatest fear slowly consumes her as she joins the dead. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
"So what's Natalia's greatest fear?" Catherine asked.
They all stood in silence for a few minutes, mulling the question over. The Vegas team didn't even know where to begin - none of them had known Natalia enough to get a handle on her fears. But they searched their memories anyway, looking for the smallest hint that could point them in the right direction.
"She was pretty scared of her ex-husband," Calleigh finally said quietly. "But he's dead."
Ryan shook his head. "Fire." Everyone looked at him sharply. "Fire," he repeated. "That's the thing she's most afraid of."
"How do you know?" Warrick asked.
"When she was five…her mom had to go to work, but she didn't have anyone to watch Natalia. So she left her at her aunt's house. But her aunt was drunk, and she left one of her cigarettes burning. When the flame reached her liquor cabinet, the whole house went up."
"Oh my God," Calleigh murmured. "What happened?"
Ryan shrugged, looking down at the ground. "She tried to wake her aunt, but she was passed out from all the vodka. So Natalia ran. She got out of the house, ran to a neighbor's and called 911. But it was too late. Her aunt was dead."
"Fire consumes," Nick said quietly.
Horatio nodded. "Alright, so fire it is. Where does that bring us?"
"Fire could be anything," Catherine pointed out. "Or anywhere, for that matter."
They fell silent again, desperately searching their minds for the answer. But Catherine was right - fire was vague, and it gave them no real clues by itself. As the others struggled to put the pieces together, Nick's thoughts flashed back to the box he had just been rescued from. The death that had been planned for him was slow and tortuous, using his fears against him to extract the most pain possible - both physical and mental. As he saw himself screaming in the box as it sank lower, his mind replaced the box with fire, and suddenly it came to him.
"A crematory," he said aloud. All eyes swiveled to him, everyone frowning in confusion. "They burn bodies. They put them on these metal slabs that roll slowly into the fire. I don't know about you, but I'd be hard pressed to think of a more agonizing death than that."
"And she'd be surrounded by dead bodies," Ryan said, finishing Nick's thought. "She'd be completely consumed. Ashes to ashes."
Grissom thought for a moment. "There are four crematories in Las Vegas."
"We'll have to split up," Horatio said. "That way we can cover all of them."
Gil nodded. "Nick, you and Sara go to Neptune. Warrick, Catherine, head over to the Las Vegas Funeral Home. Horatio, Calleigh and Ryan can check out Bunkers Mortuary, and Greg and I will take Morton's. Okay?"
They all nodded and broke apart without another word. Climbing into their SUV's, they drove out into the night, praying that they would be saving another friend, and not collecting a body.
8888888888888
Calleigh looked over at Ryan as Horatio sped through the streets of Las Vegas, heading for the Boulevard. Seeing the worry and pain in his eyes, she reached out and squeezed his hand, giving him a small smile.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
"We have to find her, Calleigh."
"We will."
"What if we don't? What if I got it wrong? What if something else is her greatest fear?"
"Ryan, look at me." She waited until his eyes met hers. "You know Natalia better than any of us. And I know what she means to you. We will find her. And when we do, you're going to tell her how you feel."
He gave her a sad smile. "And are you going to tell Eric how you feel when we find him? Or are you going to let your fears get the better of you yet again?"
She tensed. "That's a low blow, Ryan."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Calleigh. I didn't mean to…"
"Forget it," she said quietly. "You're right. I have been scared. I don't want to lose him."
"You can't keep running, Calleigh. Sooner or later…well…it'll be too late."
"What if it already is?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
He squeezed her hand. "It's not, remember? We're going to find them. And then we're going to stop being idiots."
She smiled, a lone tear making it's way down her face. "Is this the part where you tell me everything's going to be okay?"
Ryan gave her an amused look. "Hey, I thought you were comforting me."
"Oh right, I forgot."
They were interrupted by the car suddenly stopping. Looking up, they saw Horatio turning to face them.
"We're here."
8888888888888888888
Sara sighed in frustration as she and Nick cleared the last room at Neptune. The only bodies there were already dead, and, thankfully, none of them were Natalia. Kicking the wall, she pulled out her phone.
"Gil, it's Sara."
"Did you find anything?"
"No, there's nothing here." She frowned and pulled her ear away from the phone as she heard a crash from another room. "Nick?" she called. "Are you okay?"
He strode into the room, a piece of paper in his hand. Without a word, he shoved it at her.
"Sara? Sara, are you there?"
She brought the phone back to her ear. "Yeah, I'm here Gil."
"Greg just found a note left by our kidnapper. It says Burn baby, burn. We're on the right track."
"Nick just found a note, too."
"What does yours say?"
"Ashes, ashes. We all fall down."
8888888888888888
It took every ounce of self-restraint Ryan had to keep him from running through Bunkers Mortuary. Something inside him told him that if they didn't find Natalia here, they wouldn't find her in time. But he forced himself to move slowly, to make sure that he didn't miss anything as they swept through the mortuary.
They heard the cries as soon as they reached the top of the stairs that led down to the crematory. Unable to control himself any longer, Ryan rushed down the stairs, his mind focused only on getting to Natalia before it was too late.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled at the sight before him. The fires of the crematory were roaring, the heat engulfing him, threatening to choke the life out of him. His entire body froze as his eyes fell on the conveyor belt, slowly moving toward the flames. Natalia was lying on the unforgiving metal, her wrists, torso and ankles bound to it by leather straps. She was fighting against them - fighting with all the strength she could find and screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to help her. But the belt continued moving forward, her feet inching toward the flames.