Say Hello to the Past (CSI fanfiction)

After Grave Danger- part 2

Emma Grace woke up to the smell of coffee. When she looked up, she saw Catherine standing beside her. Catherine had a cup of coffee in one hand and a to-go bag from a bakery in the other.

"Thought you could use some pretty strong coffee this morning. I also remembered that you like breakfast bagels." Catherine gave Emma Grace a smile as she handed over the items in her hands.

Emma Grace checked on Nick; he was still sleeping peacefully. Emma Grace stood and hugged Catherine.

"How are you holding up?" Catherine asked her.

"How are you?" Emma Grace asked holding Catherine at arm's length and studying the older woman. 

"I feel like this is my fault," Catherine started as she sat down in a chair beside Emma Grace. "If I hadn't given out the assignments Nick wouldn't have gone out there." Catherine looked over at Nick and let out a sigh.

"Arriving at the scene and finding his work vest," Catherine cleared her throat before she continued. "Made my heart sink. Seeing him from that video brought helplessness." Catherine had a few tears fall down her face. 

"Where did the money come from? Grissom said it was your story to tell." Emma Grace squizzed Catherine's hand with reassurance as she spoke.

"I went to my father, Sam Braun. He gave the money to me, and I convinced Grissom to use it. We decided to say the money was donated anonomusly if anyone asked."

"Got it." Emma Grace gave a small smile. The first smile on her face since she received news of what had happened to Nick.

"We were all there and on edge when processing the explosion. Greg found a spot where Nick could have been buried. I think all of our hearts broke when we found out it was a dog that Walter Gordon had experimented on." Catherine was letting the tears fall from her face at this point.

"Thank God you did find Nick though," was all Emma Grace could manage to whisper.

Catherine let out a small chuckle as the tears continued to fall. "I couldn't have been happier when the detector picked up on the webcam signal. We had finally got Nicky. Then Hodges calls me to tell me there were explosions under Nick. I felt hopeless. I didn't know what we were going to do. Thank God Grissom kept his head though!" 

There was a knock on the door followed by Greg walking in. Emma Grace stood up from her seat to meet Greg halfway and hugged him. 

"How is he doing?" Greg asked as he and Emma Grace made their way back to Catherine at Nick's bedside.

"He's doing okay. He's sleeping a lot, but that's what he needs right now," Emma Grace said as she brushed her fingers through Nick's hair.

"Can you believe I was playing a stupid board game with Hodges when Nick left for that crime scene. I didn't know anything had happened until Sara came back to the lab with the evidence." Even though Greg was talking to Emma Grace and Catherine, he didn't take his eyes off of Nick. It still seemed unreal that all of this had happened and that Nick had survived it all.

Emma Grace and Catherine sat quietly, letting the younger CSI get everything off of his chest. "I almost wish it had been Nick's stalker from three years ago. I hate that this was random and Nick had to be the one who suffered," Greg continued. 

Emma spoke in a low voice, "what did you find out about Kelly Gordon?" She knew that the woman hadn't had anything to do with Nick being kidnaped, but she hadn't helped them either, and Emma couldn't help but hate her.

Greg looked at Emma Grace as he told her what she wanted to know. "She was on year three of a five-year sentence for accessory to murder. Apparently, her boyfriend killed someone. Kelly wasn't any help in answering why her dad did this." Emma could hear the anger in Greg's voice as he pointed at Nick laying in the hospital bed.