"Acting On Impulse and Love"- A CSI: LV story (Greg centered)

Title: Acting On Impulse and Love
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Greg/OC (for now, more couples may follow)

Notes: This story takes place after the Season 8 finale. Dawn is an original character. The rest do not belong to me. I'm only using them for entertainment purposes. No profit will be made from this fic.

2nd Note: This idea was born of the fact that Greg never seems to get the girl. I really wanted him to actually get the girl this time because let's face it, he deserves it.

Quick summary: While out of town to meet with publishers, Greg runs into a girl he knew in college with whom he was friends and secretly had a crush on.

Chapter One: Safe In The Arms of Love​

Greg opened his eyes and looked down, seeing the dark blonde hair across his chest. He still couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten lately. The book deal was something that he had wanted for a while. Running into Dawn again was a nice surprise. This time she had been single (back when they were in college she had a boyfriend) and she had actually returned his feelings.

Dawn stirred and whispered his name. She lifted her head. "Greg?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Sanders." He said, smiling as he pulled her in for a kiss.

"Mmm." She murmured. "Morning."

After they ate breakfast, Dawn went to take a shower. Greg thought back to the night before. Their wedding had been a small ceremony. He knew that Dawn (having a big family) would probably like to have a bigger wedding eventually. He had planned to do that for her as well as for his mother. He was after all, his mother's only child.

His cell phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. He grabbed the phone from the nightstand. "Hello?"

"Greg, this is Archie."

"Hey, Archie. What's up?"

"Greg, something bad has happened."

"What is it?"

"It's Warrick."

"What about him?"

"Greg, he's dead."

"He's what?" Greg exclaimed. "What happened?"

"After leaving the diner he went out to his car. Nick was still in the diner at the time. Nick heard gunshots and went outside. He found Warrick in the car. Someone shot Warrick twice. Nick called 911. Warrick died on the way to the hospital."

"Oh My God."

"Everyone is pretty shaken up. First Sara leaving and now this."

"God, I can't believe this is happening."

"I'm sorry, Greg. I just thought you should know."

"Thanks for calling, Archie. I'll be back home soon."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back to work."

"Okay, bye." Greg hung up the phone as Dawn walked out of the bathroom.

Dawn was wearing her bathrobe and was drying her hair with a towel. "Greg?" She ventured, seeing the tears starting to form in his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I just found out that one of my co-workers died."

"Oh, Greg." She said, sitting on the bed beside him. "I'm so sorry." She hugged him.

The lovers had never told each other what they did for a living. It had never come up in conversation, as strange as that was. Dawn's cell phone rang and she answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Dawnie." The familiar male voice said.

"Hey there, big brother!" She sensed something in his voice. "What's wrong?"

"My friend," he started, "my best friend." He stopped mid-sentence as his voice caught in his throat.

"What about him?" Dawn asked.

"He's dead, Dawnie."

"What happened?"

"Someone killed him."

She could tell that her brother needed her. "I'll be leaving soon, okay?"

"You're coming here?"

"Yes, I am. I'll see you when I get there, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too, sis." They both hung up their phones.

Greg looked at his wife. "Dawn, what's going on?" He inquired.

"My brother's best friend was killed."

"So you're going to go be with him for the funeral?"

"He needs me to be there. I just hope that the funeral isn't on the same day as your friend's funeral. I can't be in two places at once and I don't want to have to choose between the two of you."

"Where does your brother live?"

"Vegas."

"Well, that will make it a little easier."

"Yeah, I guess so. I have several brothers as you know, but he's the one who is closest to my age. I was born the day after his seventh birthday."

"Do you think that he'll like me?"

"He's very protective of me." She said. "But yeah, I do think he'll like you. How could anyone not like you?"

"And your parents?"

"Mom is no problem. My Dad is another story. He's a judge."

"Yes, I remember you mentioning that."

"But as long as he knows that you love me..."

"I do, you know."

"I know. Me too." She smiled. "My Dad and my brothers just don't like anyone hurting me."

"I would never hurt you." He said softly and with sincerity.

"I know that, Greg."

"You're safe with me."

"I know that too. I feel that."

"You feel what exactly?" He asked. "Safe in the arms of love?"

She giggled at his corny comment. "Yes, exactly." She smiled. "That sums it up perfectly."

Greg kissed her passionately. "We still have a few minutes before we have to leave."

"We do, don't we?" She grinned.

He kissed her again. He didn't want to think about the bad things right then. He needed Dawn. He needed to get lost in her eyes, her smile, her love. It would get him through his friend's death. He leaned her back against the mattress as he continued to kiss her.

(end of chapter)​

Notes: Chapter Two will be titled "Surprises". I can't tell you anything about the chapter yet other than that. Reasons: 1) It's not yet written and 2) It would give away way too much way too soon. Hehe. ​

I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. Yes, I know it seems like Greg and Dawn got married suddenly and everything. That's why the title is "Acting on Impulse and Love". They were both being impulsive and they both realized that love at first sight (or second sight in their case) had happened to them. Plus, it's supposed to also parallel Warrick's sudden marriage to Tina. Only for Greg, things will work out much better than they did for Warrick's marriage.​

 

I'm not exactly sure where the second bullet his Warrick. I know the first was the neck. The second was most likely a head shot, but I'm not positive since they didn't show that one close up. I guess that is open to interpretation.

I've had the idea for this story for a while now (about Greg and Dawn), but I hadn't gotten around to writing it until now. I was having trouble thinking of a way to have Greg and Dawn bump into each other. But, after the finale and him mentioning getting on a plane to meet with publishers, that gave me the opening I needed. However, I still had difficulty with the meeting... which is why I decided to just open it after they had already met up again.

I debated on who I wanted to have call Greg and give him the bad news. I almost did an eenie-meenie-minie-moe type of thing :lol: . However, I decided Archie was the best one because A) He and Greg both worked in the lab and B) Because we don't often see Archie (not as much as I would like).

I'm going to try to write chapter two tonight (most likely after CSI NY is over) and post it tomorrow.

Do you think that Horatio and Calleigh would come to Warrick's funeral since Warrick was one of the LV CSIs to come to Miami on that case a while back? I was thinking of writing that in this fic at some point.

I'd still like to post my first three CSI LV fics, but copying from MS Word to this forum leaves weird coding in the post. I haven't figured out how to get around that yet. The only way I know of would be to retype the fic and that would be a pain LOL.

 

I did and most of the people there also think it was a head shot. So, I guess that's what I will go with. Though I think that most of them hope Warrick's not dead. I think he is because I think that's the point of the second shot. He could have survived the first one, but not likely survived being shot twice at close range like that.

Yeah, that's what I did with this one. I guess I could post the others and I'd just have to edit the post to remove all the coding. I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle that just yet though. :lol: My other fics all go together and center around Nick who meets a girl who turns out to be the daughter Grissom never told anyone he had (except for Catherine). I didn't make it a secret to readers, just to Nick. :lol:

You know what the hardest part of writing fics is for me? Thinking of a darn title. I originally had "A Wedding and a funeral" for the title of this fic. After I decided to start the fic after the wedding had already taken place, I changed the title. The very first one I thought of was "You Take The Good With The Bad", but I thought that was a little too long LOL.

 

Well, I got more written and decided to go ahead and post it. So, here it is:

Chapter Two: Surprises​

Greg and Dawn left the airport by taxi. They went back to Greg's house. "This is your place?" Dawn asked as they walked inside.​

"No, it's our place." Greg told her. "I know it's not much. It lacks a woman's touch." He said as Dawn giggled. "But, you'll change that." He looked at her. "What's so funny?"​

"First of all, you made a rhyme, Dr. Seuss." She laughed. "Secondly, isn't that a line from Leprechaun 2?"​

"Wow, I never thought you'd be a fan of cheesy horror movies."​

"Truthfully, that movie as cheesy as it was, it was a lot better than most of the horror movies made in the last five years."​

"Well, that's true." He said as the house phone rang. "Hello?" He answered. "Yeah, I just got in. Okay, I'll see you there." He hung up the phone just as Dawn's cell phone rang.​

"Hello?" She answered. "Hey. Yeah, okay. Hang on a sec." She motioned to Greg to give her a piece of paper and a pen and he obliged. She wrote something down. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up the phone.​

"Was that your brother?"​

"Yeah. He gave me the address of the place he wants me to meet him at. Do you know where this is?" She handed him the piece of paper that she'd written the address on.​

He looked at it. "This is weird."​

"What is?"​

"This is the exact same place that I'm supposed to meet my co-workers at."​

"Oh," she said thoughtfully, "that is weird."​

"So, you ready to go?"​

"Not just yet. There's something I need to tell you first."​

"What's that?"​

"You don't have to be afraid or ashamed to be emotional in front of me. It's not going to change what I feel for you. So, you don't have to hold it inside. If you need to cry, go ahead. I'm here for you, always."​

"I know that."​

"Just please don't shut me out."​

"I would never shut you out, Dawn." He pulled her into his arms. "I love you."​

"I love you too."​

"I know." He kissed her. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here with me. You are the only thing that is getting me through this." He leaned his forehead against hers. He sighed heavily.​

"What is it, honey?" She asked just above a whisper.​

"The timing of this is just..." He sighed again. "I'm not blaming him or anything. It's just that I..."​

"What, Greg?"​

"We just got married. This is supposed to be a happy time and then this happens."​

"I know, Greg. I guess its just conformation that the balance has to be maintained even though one side of it sucks."​

"What balance?"​

"The balance between good (our marriage) and bad (someone killing your friend and my brother's best friend)."​

"I guess so."​

"You don't have to feel guilty for being happy, Greg. I'm sure your friend wouldn't want that."​

"You're right." He smiled. "Thank you." He kissed her.​

~ ~ ~ ​

They arrived at the rest stop, which Greg thought was an odd place for his team to meet. However, he knew that there had been a mole in the department and they couldn't be certain that there wasn't still one there. If Warrick's death had anything to do with Gedda, they just couldn't take the chance at being overheard discussing it.​

"Greg?"​

"Yeah?"​

"I'll be right back. I need to go to the ladies room."​

"Okay. What about your brother?"​

"He said he'd call me."​

"Oh, okay." He said. She kissed his cheek before walking toward the ladies room.​

Grissom and Catherine walked toward Greg. Nick and Brass were right behind them. ​

"Hey, Greg." Brass said.​

"Hey." He sighed heavily, running his left hand through his hair. "I still can't believe this is happening."​

Catherine saw the gold band on Greg's finger and grabbed his hand. She felt a bit of de ja vu. "Greg, you got married?"​

"Yeah. I ran into a girl I knew in college."​

Grissom noticed the odd look on Catherine's face. "What is it, Catherine?"​

"Nothing. I just found out about Warrick's marriage to Tina the same way."​

"Tina!" Nick exclaimed. "Did anyone tell her?"​

"Sofia went over to her house to let her know." Brass told him.​

"No one suspects that Tina had anything to do with Warrick's death, do they?" Greg inquired.​

"No, not that I know of." Brass answered. "It's most likely connected to Gedda."​

"Why do you say that?" Greg inquired.​

"Because the gun was left at the scene. It was in the seat next to Warrick." Brass said.​

"Warrick worked a case a while back where the gun was left near the victim. He mentioned that it was a mob signature." Catherine explained further.​

Nick was having a tough time not breaking down, so he decided to change the subject. "So, Greg... tell us about your wife."​

"Okay." Greg said. "She's got dark blonde hair and hazel eyes. She's-"​

Nick's phone rang. "Excuse me a minute. It's my Mom." He walked a few feet away to answer the call.​

"Picture." Catherine said.​

"What?" Greg asked.​

"Do you have a picture of your wife?"​

"Oh, yeah." He pulled out his wallet and opened it to his wedding photo. He handed it to Catherine.​

"She's pretty." Catherine said, handing the wallet to Grissom.​

"She's very pretty." Grissom said.​

Brass looked at the photo over Gil's shoulder. "Yeah, she is pretty, Greg."​

"Would you like to meet her?" Greg inquired. "She's here, but she's in the ladies room."​

"Sure." Grissom said.​

"Okay, just give me a second." He pulled out his phone to call his wife.​

A minute later, Dawn walked toward Greg, Grissom, Catherine and Brass.​

"Everyone, this is Dawn. Dawn, this is Catherine, Grissom and Brass."​

"Nice to meet you all. I'm sorry about your friend. My brother's best friend was killed too. I'm supposed to meet him here."​

Nick walked toward the group. "Nick, this is-" Greg started before Nick interrupted him.​

"Dawnie?" Nick said.​

"Nicky!" She exclaimed, hugging him.​

The others stared in shock. "This is your brother?" Greg asked his wife.​

"Yes." She answered.​

"Wait a second." Catherine said. "You married Nick's sister?" Catherine started to laugh. "How did you two not know?" She asked the couple.​

"We didn't discuss our jobs." Dawn said.​

"Huh?" Greg said, confused by Dawn's statement. He didn't know what their jobs had to do with her being Nick's sister.​

"Greg," Nick started, "Dawn is our new CSI. She transferred here from Albany."​

"I moved to Albany after college." She told Greg.​

"She's Sara's replacement." Greg nodded, understanding.​

"No, actually, she's replacing Sara's replacement." Catherine corrected. "Bryce something was her name, I think. She was going to take the job, but then her mother got really ill, so she had to go back home to take care of her."​

"Oh." Greg looked at his wife. "You didn't tell me you were a CSI."​

"You didn't tell me you were one either." She countered playfully.​

"Did you know that Bryce's replacement was Nick's sister?" Greg asked the group.​

"Well, I knew." Grissom said. "And of course Nicky knew."​

"But we didn't." Catherine said. "She had a different last name at the time."​

"Warner." Dawn said. "My first husband. I got married when I was eighteen."​

"What happened to him?"​

"We were best friends in school. I was dating someone else. The guy I was dating raped me. I got pregnant. Tyler offered to marry me and say the baby was his because I didn't want my family to know what happened. Nick found out that I was planning a wedding and followed me. Tyler and I explained everything to him and he promised to keep it quiet. He stayed for our wedding. Tyler and I had always had stronger feelings for each other. After we were married, those feelings came to the surface."​

"What happened to the baby?" Catherine asked.​

"When I was seven months pregnant, the car that Tyler and I were in was hit by a drunk driver. The baby didn't survive. It was a boy and we had planned to name him Dylan. Tyler was killed a year later in a fire where he worked. He worked at a chemical factory." ​

"Was your rapist ever caught?" Catherine inquired.​

"Yes, but when he got out on bail, he killed himself. He knew he was facing a lot of time because I wasn't the only one he had raped."​

"Oh."​

"So, now that you know all about me..."​

"We can't work this case, Dawn." Catherine said.​

"And if the mob is involved, I don't want you working it either." Nick told his little sister.​

(end of chapter)​

Chapter Three will be titled: A Brother's Plea.​

Edited to say: I have written Chapter Three, but do not have time to post it right now. I'm about to leave to go see the new Indiana Jones movie. I'll try to post the chapter when I get home. Chapter Four will be called "Hard To Say Goodbye" and it'll be Warrick's funeral.​

 

Okay, I'm back. Indy was pretty good... better than I expected and the only gross things in it were bugs (scorpions and bullet ants - I don't think even Grissom would like the latter :lol: ). Anyway, here's Chapter 3. Get ready for some sibling arguments. :lol:

Chapter Three: A Brother's Plea​

Dawn looked at her brother. "Nick!" She exclaimed.​

"Forget it, Dawn! You're not taking this case!"​

"You are NOT my boss, Nicholas! You can't tell me what I can and can't do!"​

"Fine, I'll call Dad and see what HE has to say about this!"​

"I am a grown woman, Nick!"​

"That may be, but-"​

"Then stop treating me like a child!"​

"I'm not. I just don't think its safe for you to be on this case."​

"It's not safe for anyone to try to take down the mob, Nick! Duh!"​

"I won't let you take this case!"​

"You won't let me? How are you planning on stopping me, Nicholas?"​

"I'll tie you to a bed or lock you in a room if I have to!"​

"Oh, I'd so like to see you try!" She countered.​

Greg and Catherine were slightly amused by the exchange between the siblings, but Grissom and Brass had heard all they wanted to hear. "ENOUGH!" They both said in unison.​

"If you two are going to act like this every time there's a new case, I'm going to have to separate you." Grissom said.​

"Dawn, I don't mean to be bossy. You're my baby sister. I just want to protect you. Just because you're married doesn't mean my job as your big brother is done. I still want to protect you, no matter what. This is just too dangerous." He looked at Greg. "Greg, help me out here, man."​

"Oh, no." Greg said. "You're not getting her mad at me too. I'm staying out of it."​

"Greg, do you love my sister?"​

"Yes, I do." Greg answered. "Very much."​

"And you don't want anything bad to happen to her, right?"​

"Of course I don't. What kind of question is that?"​

"Then tell her that this is too dangerous."​

"He doesn't have to, Nick. I know that it is dangerous."​

"Then why do you want to do it?"​

"Did anyone hear me say I wanted this case?" She asked and everyone shook their heads. "See?"​

"So, do you?"​

"Nick, you basically handled this the wrong way." Cath said.​

"What?"​

"You just told her she couldn't do it instead of telling her that you don't want her to do it."​

"Greg, what do you think?" Dawn asked. "I won't get mad, I promise. Just tell me what you think on this subject."​

"Honestly, babe," Greg started, "I would feel better if you didn't take the case." He said, taking her hands in his. "But, if you really feel that this is something that you need to do, I'll be as supportive as I can be."​

"And that is how you handle a situation like this." Catherine told Nick as they watched Dawn and Greg embrace. "Reverse psychology." Cath whispered to Nick.​

"Dawnie, please don't take the case. I've already lost my best friend. I can't lose my sister too." Nick pleaded.​

Dawn looked at Nick and back at Greg. Grissom shook his head. "She's not being assigned to this case. Day shift is taking the case." Grissom informed them.​

"Then why are we all meeting here in secret like this?" Nick inquired.​

"I just thought that we should all get together and talk about what we're feeling." Catherine said. "We all lost a great friend and colleague here."​

"When is the funeral?" Dawn asked.​

"Saturday."​

"Dawnie, I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to." Nick said.​

"I know, Nicky." She kissed his cheek.​

(end of chapter)​

Sorry that it was such a short chapter. I was writing it at like three this morning and I got sleepy and had to go to bed. :lol:

BTW, in the next chapter, I'm thinking about writing Warrick's death scene. Remember he died on the way to the hospital. Well, Nicky was with him in the ambulence. I'm thinking of having Nicky remember that before Warrick's funeral. That is, if I don't forget to add it. I'm thinking about having Sara appear at the funeral (but not let Grissom see her). Since I'm not a Griss/Sara shipper, I don't want to write any romantic stuff between them. :lol: ​

 

Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up tomorrow (well, technically today since it's 1:41 am :lol: ).

 

Chapter Four: Hard To Say Goodbye​

Dawn could tell that her brother didn't need to be alone. Greg looked over at Dawn and knew what she was thinking.​

"Nick, why don't you come stay with us tonight? I have a guest room."​

"I couldn't do that, Greg. You two are still supposed to be on your honeymoon."​

"It's okay. We don't mind."​

"Greg's right, Nicky. You don't need to be alone right now." Dawn said.​

"He died right in front of me." Nick said suddenly as tears filled his eyes.​

"What?"​

"He was still alive when I found him. I went with him in the ambulance. He couldn't talk, but his eyes were opened. I held his hand and told him he'd be okay. He wanted a piece of paper and a pen to write with. I held the pad for him. This is what he wrote." Nick handed the paper to Grissom. "I don't know what he was trying to tell me, Griss." More tears fell from his eyes. "After he wrote this, he looked at me and then shut his eyes. He flat-lined and they couldn't bring him back." Nick broke down and Catherine quickly pulled him into a hug.​

Dawn looked at Greg and noticed that Nick's rendition of what happened with Warrick had made his eyes start to tear up. Dawn leaned her head against Greg's chest and wrapped her arms around him. He in turn, wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. He was so grateful that he had her to help him get through this.​

"I don't know what this means, Nicky." Grissom said.​

"May I see it?" Dawn asked.​

"Sure." Grissom handed it to her.​

Before looking at it, she said, "It's possible that he may have been trying to tell you who shot him. You should get a copy of this to the dayshift since it's there case." She looked at the paper. "I'm sorry, I can't make any sense of this." She handed it back to Grissom. "It looks like it might be some kind of code or something."​

"Maybe. I'll have to look at it more closely later on."​

"So, Nick, are you coming with us?" Greg asked.​

"I can't. Thanks, but I don't want to intrude on your honeymoon time."​

"Nick-" Dawn started.​

"I'll be okay, Dawnie."​

"I don't think you should be alone."​

"You know what?" Catherine said. "Nick, why don't you come stay with me and Linds?"​

He sighed heavily, knowing that they were not going to drop the subject. "Okay, fine."​

~ ~ ~ ​

Later that night, Nick was having a nightmare about Warrick's death. He was in the ambulance beside Warrick, holding his hand. "Warrick, hold on, buddy. We're almost there. Please hold on." ​

Warrick flat-lined and the EMT's made Nick move back. After several tries to revive him were unsuccessful, they stopped.​

"Call it." One EMT said.​

"Time of death, eleven-fifteen." Another said.​

Nick woke up, sweating. He got up and went into the livingroom. Catherine was sitting on the couch watching television. "Hey, Nicky. Couldn't sleep?"​

"No."​

"Me either. Come on, sit down and watch this movie with me." She said. He sat down and she handed him a soda.​

"Thanks."​

"Sure. Popcorn?" She asked, offering him the bowl.​

"Yeah, thanks." He took a handful of the popcorn.​

~ ~ ~ ​

Dawn walked into the bathroom where Greg was taking a shower. She took off the robe and put it on the hook on the back of the door. She opened the shower door and stepped inside. She put her hands on Greg's shoulders. "Hey, sexy." She said. "Want some company?"​

He turned and looked at her, stunned and hypnotized by her beauty. After a few minutes, he finally spoke. "Absolutely." He pulled her body against his own and kissed her passionately. "You are so incredibly beautiful." He told her.​

"And I'm all yours." She replied with the smile he loved so much. He lifted her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He leaned her against the shower wall and resumed kissing her.​

After their extra-steamy shower, they quickly dried off. They left the towels on the bathroom floor. Greg picked his wife up, carrying her through the threshold of the bathroom as well as the threshold of their bedroom. With her in his arms, he walked toward the bed and gently laid her against the mattress.​

"I love you, baby." He said before covering her body with his own.​

"I love you too, Greg." She whispered into his mouth as they kissed.​

~ ~ ~ ​

The alarm clock screamed out a rock song, waking him. He reached over and shut it off before getting out of the bed. He decided to let his wife sleep a little longer. Being careful not to wake her, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He pulled on a pair of sweats and a tee before going into the kitchen to make breakfast.​

There was a knock on the door. He went to the door and pulled it open surprised to see Sara on the other side. "Sara!"​

"Hi." She smiled faintly. She immediately noticed the wedding band on his finger. "Is that what I think it is?"​

"Yeah."​

"You're married?"​

"Yeah. I went out of town to meet with publishers for my book."​

"Oh. How did that go?" She asked as she walked inside.​

He shut the door. "It went great. While I was there, I ran into Dawn. We knew each other in college, but she had a boyfriend then. We just sort of knew the moment we saw each other again that we belong together. We decided to get married, so we did." He explained.​

"So where is your wife now?"​

"Still asleep."​

"When did this happen?"​

"A few days ago."​

"Well, congratulations, Greg."​

"Thanks. So, how have you been?"​

"Okay, I guess."​

"So, I guess you heard about Warrick."​

"Yes, that's why I'm here... for the funeral." She told him.​

"I figured as much."​

"I don't want Gil to know that I'm here."​

"Why did you come to my house? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I'm just curious."​

"I went to Nick's first, but he wasn't home."​

"He stayed at Catherine's."​

She raised an eyebrow. "What is that about?"​

"It's not THAT!" He said. "He's the one who found Warrick. He saw him die. It hit him hard. He didn't need to be alone, but he refused to stay here. Dawn is his sister. She wanted him to stay, but he said he didn't want to intrude on our honeymoon time. So, Catherine offered to let him stay with her and Lindsey."​

"Did you just say that your wife is Nick's sister?"​

"Yeah. We didn't talk about our jobs. We had no idea what each other did for a living. She had no idea Nick and I worked together or that she'd be working with me."​

"She's a CSI?"​

"Yeah. The girl that was supposed to take your place, Bryce Adams, I think her name was... she had a family emergency and had to go back home. Dawn is her replacement."​

"How did Nick take the fact that you married his sister?"​

"He was fine with it. Would you like to stay for breakfast? I've got veggie bacon and veggie sausage. Dawn's a vegetarian too, except she eats fish, just not for breakfast." He laughed.​

"I don't want to intrude."​

"You won't be. Dawn won't mind. Don't you want to meet her?"​

"Okay, I'll stay." She smiled.​

Dawn walked into the livingroom wearing a pair of grey yoga pants and a white tee.​

"Morning, honey." Greg greeted his wife with a kiss. "Dawn, this is Sara Sidle. Sara, this is my wife, Dawn."​

"Hi!" Dawn said cheerfully. "It's so nice to meet you." She held out her hand.​

"It's nice to meet you too." Sara said, shaking Dawn's outstretched hand. She stared at Dawn thoughtfully.​

"What is it?"​

"I can kind of see the resemblance between you and Nick."​

"Oh. Yeah, we're pretty close. I was so mad at my parents for not telling me when Nicky was kidnapped by that psycho. Nick called me afterward to let me know he was okay. My parents claimed they didn't want to worry me. Plus, they knew I'd probably hunt the guy down and that wouldn't be good. I was born a day after Nick's seventh birthday. He's told me more than once that I was the best birthday gift he ever got."​

"Aw!" Sara cooed. "That's sweet."​

"My parents let him pick my middle name. He'd just seen Star Wars a few days earlier."​

"So your middle name is Leia?"​

"Yep!" She smiled. "So, are you staying for breakfast?"​

"Sure." Sara said and the three of them sat down at the table to eat.​

~ ~ ~ ​

Catherine heard the knock on her door and went to answer it. Opening the door, she saw three familiar faces. "Horatio." She said, surprised to see him and the other two CSIs.​

"Hi, Catherine. You remember Calleigh and Eric?"​

"Yes, I do. Come on in." She let them inside.​

Nick walked into the room. "This is Nick Stokes, one of my colleagues." Catherine said. "Nick, this is Horatio Caine, Calleigh Duquesne and Eric Delko. They're from Miami. Warrick and I helped them out on a case a while back."​

"Hi, it's nice to meet you all." Nick shook hands with all three of them.​

"We were sorry to hear of Warrick's passing." Calleigh said.​

"He was my best friend." Nick told them.​

"I'm sorry for your loss." Calleigh said.​

"I know how you feel." Eric added. "I've been through it. A few years ago, my best friend and colleague Tim Speedle was killed in the line of duty. If you ever need to talk to someone who knows what you're going through, don't hesistate to give me a call."​

"Thank you."​

~ ~ ~​

At the funeral, Greg spoke about how Warrick had given him tips to help him out when he first started in the field. Everyone else had their own experiences to share on how Warrick touched their lives. Nick spoke about how good a friend Warrick was.​

Sara watched from afar. She couldn't let Grissom see her. At one point, Grissome thought he saw her out of the corner of his eye. However, when he turned to get a better look, he didn't see anyone there. He brushed it off, figuring he had imagined it.​

After the funeral was over, Grissom walked to his car. Underneath the wiper was a sealed envelope with his name on it. He immediately recognized Sara's handwriting and tore open the envelope. In the note, she explained why she couldn't let him see her. She told him that her feelings for him had not changed, but she still needed to find herself. She told him that she didn't expect him to wait for her.​

The rest of the group walked toward Gil as he read the second page of Sara's letter.​

Gil,​

I saw the note that Warrick left Nick before he died. I figured out what Warrick was trying to say. I know that you'll be able to translate my code.​

He studied the rest of the note and a scowl formed on his face.​

"Gil, what is it?" Catherine asked.​

"Dawn, you were right." Gil said.​

"About what?"​

"Warrick was trying to tell us who shot him." Grissom said quietly, knowing that Warrick's killer was nearby. "Sara figured out his code and put it in her own code for me."​

"Who was it?" Nick asked.​

"It's going to be tough to prove his involvement."​

"Who does it say did it, Gil?" Eckley asked.​

"We will stay and help you all we can." Horatio told Gil.​

"Thank you."​

"He's here isn't he?" Horatio inquired.​

"Yes."​

Just then, Gil saw McKeane walking toward the group. Gil quickly put Sara's letter in his inside jacket pocket.​

"Gil, I just wanted to give you my condolences. Warrick was a good CSI."​

"Yes, he was." Gil agreed, shaking McKeane's hand so he wouldn't make him suspicious.​

"Well, I need to go. I'll see you all later." With that, McKeane walked toward his car.​

"Was that him?" Horatio asked.​

"Yes, it was." Gil answered.​

"McKeane?" Nick said, shocked.​

"The undersheriff killed Warrick?" Catherine said.​

"Warrick did say that there had to be someone higher up... that the dirty cop wasn't working alone." Gil said.​

"Yeah, but McKeane?" Greg said.​

"I knew there was something about that guy that I didn't like!" Brass said.​

"How are we going to prove that he did this?" Nick asked.​

There was an explosion and all the CSIs turned to look behind them. They saw that a vehicle had exploded.​

"Was that McKeane's car?" Cath asked.​

"I think so." Gil replied.​

"I'm calling in a team to process." Eckley told them. "I want to be absolutely certain that the S.O.B. is dead." Eckley was really surprising them all.​

Cath, Nick, Gil, Greg and Brass all looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing: "Well, what do you know? Conrad Eckley has a heart after all!"​

(end of chapter)​

Coming up in Chapter Five (which isn't yet titled): Is McKeane really dead? If so, who could have killed him? Someone who wanted revenge for Warrick's death? Or is there something else going on?​

 

I'm going to try to write the next one tonight, but I don't know if I'll get to post it tonight. It's about to storm and I'll have to shut the computer down if it starts lightning.