CSI 1. Prologue

It's all in the past Prologue  
  
  
  
The members of the CSI nightshift, save Brass and Doc Robbins, were bored. It was one of the slowest nights of the year. Even Greg was caught up on all the samples the dayshift had left. So the six of them had watched a movie. The movie had delved into the characters pasts and, for the first time, the nightshift realized how little they knew about each other. Sure they talked at work and occasionally hung out outside work, but they didn't really know each other's pasts. Their fears, their worse moments, their best moments, were unknown and that was beginning to bother them. They figured it might be better to share their worse times, that way if they reacted to a case at least the others would understand why. 


	2. I do cherish you

It's all in the past Chapter 1: I do (cherish you)  
  
A/N: I really don't know what each character's worst moment would be so I'm basically making up the ones I don't know. This in no way reflects what really happened in their pasts, as I don't know them(.  
  
  
  
"I was eighteen when I proposed to my wife," Grissom smiled at a memory the others couldn't see. It had been decided they would share the worst time in their life, as they were family, and Grissom volunteered to go first. He figured it be best that everyone got their secrets off of their chests. "We'd dated all though high school and I guess it just felt right for us to get married as soon as she turned eighteen.  
  
"She went to work as a waitress while I took classes at university. I worked as a salesclerk at a grocery store during the weekends to pay off loans. It was a horrible way to live but we were together so we loved it.  
  
"I worked so hard and eventually got my degree. You all know how fascinated I am with bugs so it was only natural for me to get my degree in entomology.  
  
"My wife, her name was Rayleigh Denae Grissom, supported me the entire way. She was beautiful. She had long blonde hair, the colour of the sun, which ran down her back in twisted curls. Her ocean blue eyes sparkled with a love for life that made me feel so alive every time I looked into them. She was so loving and caring too. She always bought some food for the strays around our apartment building, even though it usually meant we'd have no breakfast food for the week. She'd rather miss a meal than allow those animals to starve all week, and I loved her for it."  
  
He was gone, left this world and was swimming in the world of memories. They could hear the softness in his voice and could see the sparkle in his eye when he spoke of her. They knew he really loved her. They waited patiently for him to come back to the real world and continue on with his memory.  
  
"When she told me she was pregnant, that was the happiest day of my life. I was only twenty-three and she was only twenty-two but we were ready to be parents. We'd been saving some money from each pay and, since I now had one degree, I was able to quit my salesclerk job and get a better job as a workclerk at a hospital. We were slowly on our way up and out of the slum we were living in. We didn't want our baby to see what our lives were like before she came into them.  
  
Yes, it was a girl. Rayleigh always knew the baby would be a girl. We even had a name picked out for her. Tiana Hope Grissom.  
  
"I'm getting ahead of myself now. We ended up saving enough to put a down payment on a small two-bedroom house. It was perfect for a small family. It had a larger bedroom for Rayleigh and I and a smaller one for Tiana. There was a bathroom, kitchen, living room, and a small dining room. Everything we would need. We managed to buy the basic necessities, like a bed, crib, and a couch. Luckily the bathroom and kitchen came fully furnished. The owners before us wanted completely new furniture and didn't want the hassle of trying to find someone to sell them to. It was our Heaven.  
  
"I was still going to school on top of this. I had to get my entomology degree. Rayleigh refused to let me stay home and take care of her; no matter how hard it was for her to move around. She stopped working when she was eight months along and by that time it was summer so I could stay with her during the day. I still worked nights. We needed the money, especially when Rayleigh got one of her cravings.  
  
"She always wanted the strangest things. She'd be waiting for me when I got home from work, sometimes she'd even call me at work, and tell me to bring her ice cream and pickles. Then she'd dip the pickle in the ice cream and eat it. I never could watch her eat that. I could stand to watch her eat chocolate covered ants or macaroni, cheese and molasses, but never ice cream and pickles. What I wouldn't give to be able to watch her eat ice cream and pickles now.  
  
"When she began getting labor contractions I panicked. I could barely drive straight. I'm still surprised that we didn't get pulled over by the police. But I got her there. A nurse took her to an exam room and I was forced to wait outside while the doctor went in to see how far along she was. I was allowed in once the doctor came out. He said it shouldn't be too long before I became a father.  
  
"I was holding her hand as a really bad contraction came. The only problem was that this time the pain wasn't going away. I press the call nurse button and was ushered out of the room while the nurse and doctor attended to my wife. They were in there for a while. I was pacing up and down the hallway, waiting for them to let me back in. Her parents and mine were on their way but it would be another hour before any of them could be there.  
  
"It seemed like forever but was really only about a half-hour before the doctor came out, covered in blood. I knew. I felt my life drain out of me as he came up to me and gave me the worst news of my life. The strain of the pregnancy was too much for Rayleigh and it killed both her and Tiana. I felt that it was my fault. I got her pregnant after all. I wanted to go back to out house and burn every memory of her out of my mind because I felt like I let her down and I didn't deserve to have to joy of remembering her. I also thought of ending my pain, killing myself, but that wasn't an option. She had made me promise plenty of times that if anything happened to her that I would continue with my education and get my degree. It was like she knew that something was going to take her away from me before we could share a lifetime together.  
  
"The double funeral for her and my daughter was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Not only was I saying goodbye to the love of my life and the offspring of our love but also I was saying goodbye to my life. I think that's why I became a CSI. I want to give families closure on the death of their wives, husbands, children and parents. Work became my life. It filled the empty void Rayleigh had left."  
  
Sara had placed her hand over his somewhere during his story. He didn't remember feeling her squeezing his hand but she was. She also had tears in her eyes as hers met her boss's. He felt better now that his team knew of his wife. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he felt like he was breathing freely for the first time since her death. 


	3. I'll stand by you

It's all in the past Chapter 2: I'll stand by you  
  
A/N: Sara's another character where I don't know what her worst moment would be, so again I'm making it up. Someone asked for the Sara chapter next so here it is. There's no particular order that I'm posting the chapters in. Basically I post whoever who guys want next.  
  
  
  
Sara took a deep breath to calm herself down. She wondered why she volunteered to go second, directly after her boss. Her worst moment seemed so tame compared to his and she didn't feel that she had the right to wallow in self-pity when he clearly wasn't. The only reason she continued was that she had given her friends her word that she would share her worst moment.  
  
"When I was thirteen I was just beginning middle school. I had had the same best friend since I was six and first began school. Her name was Abalyn Chase. My mom called us the Siamese twins since when one of us was sick the other would convince herself that she was sick too. We were inseparable.  
  
  
  
"We met the first day of grade one. The teacher paired us together and it was an instant friendship. Being so young probably helped since no one was concerned with the fashions, dieting, and dating. It was easier to make friends when I was that young. It got harder as I got older. I spent a lot of time reading and studying so most of my friends stopped calling me. Abalyn never did though. She called every day and made sure that I got out of the house. She refused to let me stay cooped up all day.  
  
"My parents and hers worked for the same law firm and were always working on some potential client or trial. I guess that's another reason we were so close. Our home lives were almost exactly the same.  
  
"We had sleepovers every weekend. She'd spend Friday night at my house and I'd spend Saturday night at her place. We'd done it ever since we both turned ten and our parents trusted us home alone with only the maid to look out for us. It was always the highlight of our week to spend the entire weekend with each other.  
  
"One weekend, right after I'd turned thirteen, we snuck out of her house to meet some people at a local teen hang out. There was some kind of event or something going on and Abalyn was so curious that we had to check it out. Of course it turned out to be only some teenage guys having a soda chugging contest and we both thought it was too gross to watch so we left. The people we were supposed to meet never showed up. I really wish they had.  
  
"We went down the road to see what movies were playing at the theatre. There was some comedy movie playing that we both wanted to see, I can't remember the name of it now, but I remember it could have been a lot funnier. But since we were watching it together, we made the funniest thing that we ever saw.  
  
"After the movie we still weren't ready to go home so we walked over to the park. It was only down the street from Abalyn's house so we felt perfectly safe. That was probably the second biggest mistake we made that night. The first mistake was sneaking out in the first place.  
  
"We played hide and seek. It wasn't as much fun with only two people but we made it work. We could make even the most boring game fun when we were playing it together. It was just the way we were.  
  
"I was it. I looked everywhere for her but I couldn't find her. I yelled that I gave up, that she had won, but she didn't come out of her hiding place. I didn't know what to do. It was dark and I was alone and scared. I ran back to her house and pounded on the door until the maid answered. I was crying and screaming that Abalyn was missing and she just stood there, gaping at me."  
  
Sara was almost hysterical at this point. She was crying and shaking badly. She looked up as a glass of water was held up to her lips and found herself swimming in Nick's worried eyes. She sipped the water and smiled at him gratefully. He sat down next to her and took her hands in his to reassure her that he was there. Sara took a deep breath and continued.  
  
"Luckily her parents had just gotten home and were able to calm me down. I told them what had happened and they called my parents. I thought I was in trouble for sneaking out with Abalyn. Pretty soon the entire neighborhood had formed a search party and were looking for Abalyn.  
  
"My mother and Mrs. Chase stayed at the Chase house with me. Mrs. Chase and I were in no condition to join the search party and my mom stayed to help the maid care for us. One person couldn't calm us both at the same time and we refused to calm down by ourselves.  
  
"I can't remember who found her. My dad and Mr. Chase had come back and I was sent upstairs when my mom saw Mr. Chase's red, puffy eyes. I didn't go all the way upstairs though, and no one came to make sure that I had. I heard my dad say that Abalyn's body had been found. She was found in an alley near the park and the person who found her suspected that she'd been raped.  
  
For weeks I had myself convinced that they guy that attacked and raped me too. My parents took me to so many psychiatrists but no one seemed to help. Once I decided that I wanted to investigate crimes and bring the criminals to justice, I guess that's when I was able to realize that the guy never attacked me. I think that's also when I was able to accept Abalyn's death."  
  
Sara looked up to meet the gazes of her co-workers. She expected either looks of pity or looks of surprise but got only looks of understanding and friendship. She was relieved that they didn't pity her. She couldn't handle it if they did. 


	4. Angel

It's all in the past Chapter 3: Angel  
  
A/N: This is Nick's chapter. It was pretty easy to figure out what his worst moment would be and since everyone's expecting it, I have to put a twist on it. Otherwise it's no fun. It may be confusing as it will be a memory within a memory.  
  
"I guess I'll go next," Nick looked around the room and met Greg's gaze. He was the only one who even had the slightest idea of what his worst time had been. Some people thought they knew, but they never heard the entire story. Nick hadn't even told Greg the whole story but that would change in a matter of minutes.  
  
"It happened when I was a member of the Dallas police force. It was only my second year and I was still the newest guy on the force so I was still considered a rookie. My partner and I got a called to a domestic disturbance scene. The neighbors heard a kid crying and someone, an adult they thought, was screaming and cussing. It was the kind of call everyone dreaded the most, right after a child's death and rape.  
  
"When we got there the screaming had stopped. A lady in her late thirties opened the door and we could see an ugly black bruise on her cheek that was already beginning to swell. She was hysterical, to the point where I thought we would have to call an ambulance, but my partner got her to calm down a little. She was crying so hard we could barely make out what she was saying but managed to figure out that her babysitter had raped and then kidnapped her nine-year-old son.  
  
"We took down her statement but there wasn't much else we could do until the detectives got there. Once they did they sent my partner and I home. We had been off for ten minutes and the captain hated paying overtime. I went home but I couldn't sleep. The case had brought up so many old memories that I thought I finally forgot. No, forgot's a bad word. It was more like I had come to terms with what had happened, accepted it even. Then we got that case.  
  
"You see, when I was nine my parents were in the middle of their social party phase. One night my regular babysitter came down with the flu so she asked my mom if the girl who lived in the apartment across from her could watch me. The girl was willing, as she didn't make any plans for the evening, and my parents were desperate. They had to attend this function because it was for a charity that they donated to, or something like that.  
  
"I'm getting off topic here. The girl came and, after telling her everything she needed to know, my parents left. We had a great time, at first. She let me eat ice cream, watch a PG-13 movie, and stay up an hour past my bedtime. Back then it was a big deal, especially for a nine-year- old. I couldn't wait for school on Monday so I could brag to all my friends. What happened next is something I would never brag about. I tried to forget it ever happened but I found out that's impossible.  
  
"When I finally went to bed, at like eleven o'clock, I was exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes opened and I was so tired I couldn't walk straight. I almost ran into my door but my babysitter opened it before I could. She followed me into my room and helped me get undressed. I never even thought to tell her to leave; I guess I was too tired to think about it. I just got under my covers and closed my eyes. The next thing I know the covers are on the ground and she's on top of me."  
  
Nick looked up at the collective gasp. Three of his five teammates were wearing shocked looks while the other two had encouraging looks, telling him that he was doing fine. Greg, since he knew the most out of the five, caught his gaze and Nick saw the understanding in his eyes. Nick took that understanding and used it to draw the strength to continue.  
  
"She raped me. I'm not going to go into details, not only to spare you but also to spare me. It's too, well you know. I was never so happy to see my parents walk into the room as she was raping me a second time. At first I thought they were mad at me for letting her do this to me. I've never seen my father get angry so fast. He lifted her off of me and got her out of the room. I never saw her again. She went to prison for rape and assault.  
  
"This memory kept floating through my mind every time I thought about the poor kid. I could only pray that we would find the boy before it was too late. Then again maybe it would have been better for him to be dead. Then he wouldn't have to live with the memories of being raped by someone that he trusted.  
  
"No! I don't mean that. We were doing everything we could to find that boy and find his kidnapper. We tracked down an address of one of her previous boyfriends, whom she was still friendly with, and he gave her up. Told us she was hiding in an abandoned bungalow on the outskirts of the district and he brought her food everyday, so she didn't have to be seen. We had an APB out on her and the boy.  
  
"We wasted no time in getting to the bungalow. My partner went around back and another cop and I were going to go in the front. Turns out all the planning wasn't needed. The girl had shot herself on the back porch with a letter that said she was sorry. She called it temporary insanity. We found the boy inside, tied to the only piece of furniture in the whole house, a bed.  
  
"He would have to go to extensive therapy and he would probably never get over it, I mean I never did, but he was going to be all right, physically. I switched over to crime scene as soon as I could. I don't really know why. I guess I figured that I'd be better at solving crimes. Maybe I wanted to find all the rapists I could and put them behind bars. I really don't know. But years, later here I am."  
  
The looks on his co-workers faces were shocked and some had a hint of being disgusted but Nick knew it was at his babysitter and not at him. He saw Greg flash him a proud grin. He knew how hard it was for Nick to recount that particular moment. Nick still had nightmares about it, but since he started at CSI: Neveda, they came less frequently. 


	5. Last resort

It's all in the past Chapter 4: Last resort  
  
A/N: Here I am, making up yet another character's past. This time it's Greg. Two more chapters to go after this one, unless you guys want the pasts of Brass, the Daves, and other people.  
  
  
  
Greg sighed. It was his turn but he wasn't sure how to begin. His eyes sought of those of his best friend, asking for assurance, for the strength to begin. He touched the scar on his wrist, which was a cruel reminder of those few weeks so long ago. He took a deep breath. He was ready.  
  
"When I was five I entered the foster care system. My dad had gotten drunk one night and killed my mom, then he killed himself. The cops wasted no time getting me into the system but they didn't really care how I was doing as long as I was out of their way.  
  
"I don't remember much before I was seven. It's probably for the best really. At seven-years-old I was in my third foster home. I actually liked the Bertier family at first. Mr. and Mrs. Bertier fussed over 'the poor fragile boy' as she called me, and their son, a fifteen-year- old named Bryan, treated me like an instant younger brother. He was a science geek and always brought me into his room so I could watch his experiments. He's the guy who got me into science and analyzing data.  
  
"I was there a little over a year when Bryan started acting strangely. He was out really late, always in his room when he was home, and stopped doing experiments altogether. None of us expected to come home from the science fair and find him dead on the couch. He'd OD'd on heroine.  
  
"They blamed me. I can still see Mrs. Bertier's cold, accusing eyes boaring into mine in my nightmares. She just looked at me and told me that this was all my fault. Bryan was a good boy until I came into their lives. It was all my fault that he was dead. He loved me like a younger brother and what did I do? I get him so addicted to drugs that he overdoses to his death.  
  
"Mr. Bertier wasn't as bad at first. I actually thought that maybe he didn't blame me but soon realized that he was just as bad as his wife, maybe worse. At least she didn't lock me in the basement cellar for the night while he called the ambulance and went to the hospital with is son and wife.  
  
"When he finally let me out I was starving and dehydrated. He let me have a small glass of water and a slice of butter bread but that was it. He told me now that his son was dead, and since it was my fault, that I would have to start earning my keep around the house. If I couldn't do that then I'd be put back into the cellar. So I tried my hardest to obey them and do the chores they wanted me to, I honestly did, but I was only eight. There was only so much work I could handle doing before I absolutely couldn't do anymore. I ended up in the cellar most nights, more often than not without supper. It was cold and damp down there. It was dark too, pitch black. I caught an awful cold but even that didn't make them lessen my workload. They were careful about how much work they gave me as I still had to attend school so no one would be suspicious. They gave me just enough so I was too exhausted to run away but not enough so that I would fall asleep during school. I wouldn't have even if they gave me more work. I fell asleep once, at the beginning of their torture, and Mr. Bertier whipped me until I couldn't walk. It took all weekend for me to regain enough strength to walk again.  
  
"I had had enough. I was tired of waiting for someone to come rescue me or for someone at school to notice my exhaustion or weight-loss because no one ever did. Mrs. Bertier to ordered me slice some vegetables for her stir-fry that she was cooking and that's when the idea came to me. She never even noticed that I didn't return her kitchen knife when I set the sliced vegetables on the counter. I brought it up to my room with me and, after I washed it, I held it up to my wrist. I was shaking so badly I wasn't sure if I could do it or not but I forced myself to calm down. I couldn't undergo the torment anymore. I needed a way out and this was the only was I could think of. The only way I knew how to slit my wrists was that Bryan had let me watch a movie where a character slit her wrists.  
  
"I did it," Greg rolled up one sleeve so his friends could see the scar that ran down his wrist. He fixed his gaze on the floor, not wanting to see the disapproval in their eyes. He couldn't handle seeing their disappointment. A hand covered his and he looked up to meet Catherine's motherly look of concern. He smiled sadly at her, relieved that she wasn't disappointed in him and continued. "I'm not sure what made me want to live. All of a sudden I realized that killing myself was not the answer. The Bertier's hadn't touched Bryan's room so his phone was still there. If I could make it to his room I could call an ambulance.  
  
"Once in Bryan's room I did call 911. I was crying and I guess with all the blood loss I didn't realize that I was telling the operator everything. I was getting scared. The room was spinning and things were getting darker until I blacked out.  
  
"I woke up in the hospital. A social worker, the same one who'd placed me with the Bertier's, was asleep in the chair next to my bed. I guess she felt guilty over the whole thing even though she couldn't have known the Bertier's would snap like they had. I eventually got placed with another family, a nice one this time, and the social worker made regular visits to see me to make sure I was okay. I had to visit a psychiatrist for the first few months after I was released but he declared that I was sane.  
  
"I stayed with that family until I turned eighteen and went to university. I made sure to get a single room every year so my nightmares wouldn't disturb a sleeping roommate. After a while the nightmares lessened. They're still there but not as often as before. I also get jumpy if someone else turns off the lights without warning me. It brings back the memories of Mr. Beriter closing the cellar doors and shutting me in the dark."  
  
The faces of his co-workers were shocked. They couldn't believe someone would be that cruel that an innocent child, though they all knew better. Greg looked over to his best friend, who smiled supportively at him then looked over at Catherine, his adopted mother. He had grown to think of her as a motherly figure after about a year of working with her. Her eyes told him that she wanted to kill the Bertiers for hurting him. Greg knew she was also thinking of her daughter. Yes, Catherine was definitely the motherly figure in his life. 


	6. Love is Blind

It's all in the past Chapter 5: Love is blind  
  
A/N: I figured Catherine's worst moment would have something to do with Eddie so here it is. I'm also working on a new CSI goes bad kind of story. It'll be posted soon.  
  
  
  
Catherine knew it was her turn but she was still in shock. She couldn't believe what the lab tech had gone through at only eight years old. Her story was similar to his only she was an adult when it happened; an adult with a child. She looked around and her eyes landed on Warrick, who smiled at her. She smiled back and began.  
  
"It all started about six months after Lindsey was born. Eddie was getting tired of missing sleep because she was colicky and would cry a lot. He started hanging out all night at the bars and coming home drunk and angry. It's never a good combination, especially for him.  
  
"The first time he hit me I didn't think much of it. I know I should have. I've seen what the abuse can amount to by working here but I honestly thought he wouldn't do it again. He apologized immediately and made sure I was all right. He gave me an Advil for the pain and promised to take care of Lindsey, should she wake that night. He was more like the man I fell in love with then than he ever was when he was sober. I guess that's another reason I put up with it for so long.  
  
"The second time was a few weeks later. He came home drunk and mad, since he lost some money on a bet. He ordered me to make him supper, even though he'd already had it, and I refused. I told him that he knew where the kitchen was and that he knew how to cook. He could make his own supper. He didn't like my response so he grabbed my wrists and hauled m e to my feet. He literally dragged me into the kitchen and threw me into the counter. He demanded that I make him something to eat as I was 'his woman' and I was supposed to 'obey him'.  
  
"I didn't know what to do so I gave in. Lindsey was asleep upstairs and I refused to leave her in the house with him alone so I couldn't run for help. Plus, I knew as soon as he ate he'd turn into the man I loved again. I looked forward to those rare moments. I could put up with a little pain if it meant he'd be the man I fell in love with more often. I guess I liked him fussing over me after he'd hurt me. He always seemed so sincere and apologetic when he attended to whatever wounds he inflicted.  
  
"I had put up with the abuse for about a month when it happened. He came home even drunker than usual and started hitting me right away. I knew I was going to have a black eyes and a bruise on my cheek in the morning. That's when it happened. Eddie heard Lindsey start to cry and ran upstairs. I knew what he was going to do and grabbed a vase that was sitting on the counter. I wasn't going to let him hurt my baby like he was hurting me.  
  
"When I got into the room he was getting ready to suffocate her with a pillow. I hit him with the vase and he went down. I guess he was about ready to pass out because of all the alcohol he'd drunk. I know I didn't hit him hard enough to knock him unconscious but I didn't care. I grabbed my baby and ran to the neighbor's house. I called the cops from there and they came and arrested Eddie.  
  
"He spent a week in jail before he was released. We came to the agreement that I would drop the charges if he attended AA meetings once a week and he couldn't come near us without an officer present. It took a while but finally he overcame the need to drink. He found a good job that he was able to keep for more than a month and he never lifted a hand toward Lindsey or me when he came to visit. He even began to cook us dinner when he came over to visit. The only problem was I wasn't in love with him anymore. I hated to do it after all the trouble he went through to prove he cared about us, but I filed for a divorce. I allowed him every other weekend visitation rights as long as he kept going to his AA meetings and there had to be an officer present for the next while. He understood and took it well. He told me he was actually expecting it."  
  
Catherine looked around the room. No one looked overly shocked, as they all knew about Eddie and her divorce. They hadn't known the extent of what had happened but a few suspected, she knew. She also knew it was tamer than some of the others' pasts but to her it was frightening. She still had the occasional nightmare when Lindsey was spending the night at his house. She was a mother and she would do anything to protect her child. 


	7. Just got paid

It's all in the past Chapter 6: Just got paid  
  
  
  
A/N: Sorry for taking so long. I figured Warrick's past would have to do with his gambling addiction. I'm not sure how he got addicted to gambling so I'm making it up. Sorry if it doesn't make much sense. I have a migraine and a roommate who doesn't understand what a migraine is because she refuses to turn down her LOUD music! Sorry for the rant.  
  
  
  
Warrick could feel his friends' gazes on him but he refused to look at them while he told his story. After hearing his friends' stories he never felt more proud of them, especially now that he knew what they'd gone through. He closed his eyes for a moment before he decided where to begin his story.  
  
"When I was nineteen I got into the wrong crowd. My older brother was apart of it so naturally I had always wanted to be a part of it too, follow in his footsteps kind of thing I guess. I can still remember the pride in his eyes when I passed all their initiation tests and became an official member of the gang. It was one of the few times I would see such pride for me in his eyes.  
  
"I really shouldn't call it a gang because we didn't do gang- like things. We just hung out, drank alcohol, and did some illegal gambling. Some of the guys were more into it than others. My brother was one of the worst of everyone in the group so I kept getting in deeper to try to please him.  
  
"I also got involved with one of the new girl members of the group. My brother and her sister were dating and decided that we'd hit it off. We did get along pretty good but it was more of a brother/sister relationship than anything else. But we didn't have enough courage to tell our siblings so we pretended that we had fallen completely in love. I guess I did love her but it was in the same way that I love you guys. As a part of my family.  
  
"Once, when Autumn and I were pretending to be on a date, our headquarters, for lack of a better word, was raided. Most of our members were caught and put in jail for a few days to 'smarten them up', as my brother put it. My mom had to come and bail him out, as did all the others' parents. Nobody was too pleased but that didn't stop us. The moment everyone was out of jail we were back in business.  
  
"It was not even a month later when my brother, Baeley, and Autumn's sister, Alia, announced that they were engaged to be married. They had set a date for a few months from then. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, too fast. The world seemed to be spinning two times faster than the speed I was moving but there was nothing I could do.  
  
"I found out months later that the only reason they decided to get married was that Alia was pregnant and Baeley was the father. They wanted to get married before they revealed that they'd had sex outside marriage, as that was still heavily frowned upon by our neighborhood back then.  
  
"But that's a totally different story for another time. It really all started when Baeley found the perfect ring that he knew Alia would love. The only problem was it was way out of his price range, as in a thousand dollars over his price range. But he was determined to get her that ring. He made it his goal in life.  
  
"He started hanging around casinos and race tracks so he could gamble. He was good at it, I'll admit that. I always got dragged into going with him, probably more since I was dating her little sister than since I was his little brother but I didn't care. I helped him slowly earn money and slowly we became addicts. We usually ended up losing more money than we made but we kept at it relentlessly.  
  
"The wedding day was getting closer and closer but out minds were only on one thing: money. I know Baeley snuck out of the house one night, I assumed it was to go to some late night casino. The next thing I know the doorbell's ringing and the police are at our front door. They said Baeley was caught breaking into the jewelry store and they had found several items in his pockets, including the ring he wanted for Alia.  
  
"That was a huge wake up call for everybody. Alia went to go see him at the jail only to find out that he'd hung himself. My brother, the one person who I wanted to be exactly like, was dead. I shut myself down and got myself heavily into debt. I felt the only way to keep Baeley's memory alive was to do the one thing I knew he loved, gambling. I spent my entire day and night at casinos, from the moment I woke up to the moment where I was on the verge of sleep. I was spinning out of control.  
  
"Autumn and Alia found me one night and talked me into leaving before I wanted to. They took me to a small café and refused to let me go back to the casino. They asked me to look at what I was doing to myself and told me I was making my parents worry. They both said a lot of things that made a lot of sense. After I talked to them I went home and talked to my parents. I vowed to give up gambling for good and only remember the good times with Baeley, not the gang times or the bad times."  
  
Warrick finally looked up to see the reactions on his friends' faces. He knew he shouldn't be as worried as he was; no one had made anyone else feel like their past made them less of a person but there was still that fear. He grinned slightly, mostly out of relief, when all of his friends' looks were supportive and not looks of horror and disappointment. They were a family.  
  
  
  
A/N: Do you guys want their best times now or should I just end it here? 


End file.
