Boiling Point 3

 

AN: I’ve never text messaged in my life!  This is all guess work!   I've had finals and Christmas is coming along with three birthdays, I'll post when I can!

 

It had been two days since Gil’s plane had landed.  He hadn’t slept in three, 5 hours ago he had lost all sense of time zones and given up on figuring out if Nick would be asleep or not.

 

‘hi nick’

 

‘hey gil’

‘how is your mom’

 

‘better’

‘sent an e-mail with details’

‘just wanted to talk’

‘i miss you’

 

Gil could almost see the sappy grin tugging on Nick’s mouth, especially when Nick’s message came up, ‘i miss you too’

 

‘lab’

 

‘fine’

‘caths doing a great job’

‘dont worry’

 

Gil heard the doctor entering the room and knew he had to go.

 

‘i have to go’

‘i love you’

Nick smiled in his head again.

 

‘i love you too’

‘get some sleep’

‘even your typing sounds tired’  And it was almost as if Nick was chuckling in his ear when he turned off the phone.

 

“So Dr. Treds what were the results of the tests?”

 

“It’s looking good Mr. Grissom.  Not all the tests were conclusive but it looks like your mother will make a full recovery.”

 

Gil felt like a 2 ton weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.  “Thank you doctor.”  Gil rubbed his head tiredly.  “Could you page me at this number when she wakes up?”

 

Gil then left to check into a hotel room and follow his lover’s orders and get some much needed sleep.

 

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Nick stared at the phone dejected.  God, there was still and hour to go on shift and he felt like crap.  Truthfully he had been feeling like crap for at least a week.  He figured that he was coming down with the flu.  Since Gil had been gone he had been feeling even more ill.  Not really sleeping at night hadn’t been helping.  Sara’s renewed snippiness toward him tended to compound his headache and Grissom’s being gone meant a whole lot of work for everyone.  He felt like he was coughing up a lung when Catherine came in looking like hell herself.  “God, Nick you look awful.”

 

“You aren’t looking too hot yourself.”

 

“Yeah what a pair we are.  But seriously Nick you look like you’re about to keel over.”

 

Nick felt like it too. “Truth is I’d already be on my way home but I want to finish this tonight, that way tomorrow, my day off, I don’t have to worry about this sitting here unprocessed.  I swear I gonna go home and just sleep until my next shift, as soon as this is …..finished.”  Nick felt a smile stretch across his face and felt about as good as when Gil called.  “That’s it for me, I’m home to sleep, drink some juice, sleep, eat a few crackers, sleep, and oh did I mention sleep?” 

 

Catherine shooed him out the door, “get out of here ya rascal.”

 

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Catherine called Sara an hour before shift started.  First at her home and then when there was no answer at the office.  “Sidle.”

 

“Sara, *cough* it’s me Catherine.  *Cough* What ever I had yesterday is ten times worse today.  I’m going to stay home and pray that nothing big comes in.  I’m leaving you in charge.  If something does come in call me in okay?”

 

“Sure, Catherine, you just get better, but why don’t I just call Nick in instead?”

 

“*Cough* No, call me.  Thanks for your help Sara.”

 

“No prob-“ the dial tone was ringing in her ear.  It wasn’t like Catherine to do something like that, she must be pretty sick.  Warrick walked into the office an hour later.  Sara looked up from her paperwork.  “Looks like it’s just you and me tonight.  And first up on the docket is a  407-B&E.”

 

“Where’s Catherine?”

 

“Sick.”

 

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Sara and Warrick had quickly wrapped up the B&E it having been an attempt at an insurance scam, and not very professional either.  They were now standing outside of a double homicide.  And looking at the grounds Warrick was the first to admit that they needed help.  Sara wasted no time in dialing Nick’s number.  It rang five times before he sleepily asked, “Gil?”

 

“No it’s Sara.”  The fact that Grissom was apparently calling Nick at home didn’t sit well with her.  He had sent an e-mail to everyone in the lab to update them on his mother’s health.  “We need you to come in.”

 

“Sara I really needed this day off.  Isn’t there another way?  I just don’t feel up to processing a crime scene.”

 

“We all have days where we don’t want to do the job, but you get your butt down here and do it!”  Sara felt better and worse for losing her temper with Nick.  Better because of all the stress of keeping her feelings in and worse for yelling at Nick.

 

“Okay what’s the address.”

 

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Sara was impatiently tapping her foot waiting for Nick to show up.  It had been a whole hour and he wasn’t here yet.  Her guilt for yelling at him had long since evaporated.  Warrick came up behind her, “He still not here yet?”

 

“Yeah he isn’t and I am so writing him up for this.  Grissom isn’t here to cover this up.”

 

Warrick eyed her, “He might have a goo-“

 

Sara interrupted, “why don’t we find out?  Here his is.”  And there in fact Nick was, or at least his car.  He came down the road slowly and parked at a snails pace next to the curb.  For Sara everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.  She marched straight up to a Nick that was slowly fumbling with his keys.

 

“Nick where the hell have you been?”

 

Nick blinked glassy-eyed at the two, “Sorry I drove slow.  I had to pull over a few times too.”

 

“When you’re paged to come to a crime scene it does not mean ‘stop and run errands along the way’ or ‘take your time and slowly saunter’ here it means get your ass here AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.  Capesh?”

 

Nick blinked slowly, not seeming to care that Sara was mad, which just enraged her further, “I-“ Nick broke off as his eyes rolled up into his head and his knees buckled.  He faintly heard Sara’s angry yelling turn to worried until there was nothing but darkness and quiet.