Something Missing

Author: Lolly4Holly

Rated: (T but M later on) NC-17

Pairings: Nick/Greg pre-slash. Other minor pairings include GSR and Cath/Warrick. Not major characters in the story, but they are mentioned here and there.

Summary: After Nick gets out of the grave (Grave Danger from season 5) that was almost his death, he feels like there's something missing in his life, and he thinks that Greg is the answer to his problems.

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of its characters/episodes/quotes. I'm merely borrowing them :D

Warnings: Adult content, M/M slash relationship. Based around the end of season 5, onto season 6. No character deaths. Lot's of emotions!

Author Note: I wrote this a while ago, but it was only three chapters long when I left it. I decided to come back to it and finish it off. I'm not sure how long it will turn out to be, at the moment it's around 50,000 words, but I haven't finished writing yet. This should keep you entertained while I think up new chapters for my other stories, and most of its already written so it should be uploaded one chapter a day, after I beta'd it for myself of course.

The chapters will be around 4,000 words each so I can get them to you quicker.

The characters will be a little out of character from the show as I don't think they showed enough genuine human emotion, but I'll try and keep them true to the show so it's more real. The rating for now will be 'T' since it involves minor slash relationship, but will later change to 'M' :D As always I would really appreciate your reviews.

Big warning, it opens on torture. I do not enjoy torturing Nick, trust me :D

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this story.

Prologue:

Snapping his eyes open, Nick let out an exhausted gasp of air as the greenish coloured glow sticks continued to illuminate his face, making his headache two hundred times worse than it already was. He tried to lie as still as he could, as the little deathly ants scurried across his body, biting every inch of vulnerable flesh they could find. He flinched every time. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't relax. He couldn't move. But he could feel every inch of his body throbbing with pain. He couldn't last for much longer.

All he wanted to do was die.

Before, the thought of death would have terrified him, but right now he was completely open to it, and fast.

Nick snapped his eyes open again as he shook himself awake. He wanted to stay awake in case anyone would find him, so he could call out to them, even though the odds of that seemed pretty slim right now, he couldn't give up hope. He knew his friends wouldn't give up on finding him, so he wouldn't either.

Suddenly, the fan stopped whirring around.

Nick heard the dying fan, weakly turning his head to face it, just as another ant bit him on the back of the neck, followed by his thigh then in the arm and stomach simultaneously, making the pain even more unbearable.

Nick gasped his last few breaths of air, reaching for the gun at his side. He ran his swollen fingertips across the rough grip handle of the gun, considering the thought of taking the easy way out. He was going to run out of air soon anyway. The bug bites were now covering his whole body. There wasn't a single inch of him that wasn't throbbing with the burning white hot pain, and he felt as though he was about to go insane after trying to keep it together for so long.

"Arrrhhh!" He let out a painful scream, trying to stay as still as possible again, so they wouldn't bite him as much, but with his entire body trembling with pain, it was an impossible move to even attempt.

Reaching for the gun with a firmer grip, Nick let out another weak scream, as he struggled to raise the deathly cold object towards him. He couldn't believe he was getting ready to finally end his existence, but right now, it seemed like the easiest option out of this torture chamber. And after all, his friends wouldn't have wanted him to suffer, so it wasn't completely selfish.

Or so he tried to assure himself.

It wasn't like he had much of a life to go back to anyway. His family were all out in Texas with husbands, wives, kids and whole existences that didn't involve him, except the occasional birthday party, Christmas celebration or thanksgiving dinner they invited him to, but those were few and far between now.

But then there were his friends. Sure he had friends, but they were all at work. Sara was like another sister, but they weren't that close, as she only let people in to a certain point, guarding herself from any real closeness or intimacy with the people around her. Catherine, the graveyard shifts assistant supervisor was nice enough. She did know a few of his hidden secrets that he had let her know about, but she had a life of her own that didn't involve him either. It's not like his sudden death would affect either of the women at the lab, not in a life threatening way anyway.

Then there was Grissom, the labs graveyard shift supervisor, who was like a substitute father to Nick. He seemed to pick them up wherever he moved to. But Grissom didn't see him that way, so that was out. Warrick was a good enough friend; he might miss him for a while . . . and Greg.

He knew he would miss him or he hoped he would.

Greg was the best friend he had ever had, in his whole life. The loveable ex-lab tech seemed to take more notice of him than anyone else in the whole lab, even the world. Sometimes he even thought that their relationship could grow into something... more. But Nick was too afraid to express his true feelings for him, just in case the younger man didn't feel the same, and the news of Nick's feelings might freak him out.

"Oh my... gh," Nick groaned as the ants gnawed at his skin, sending his muscles into spasm. "Gr-Greg." He croaked, panting heavily at the thought of never seeing him again, as his gun holding hand started shaking against him.

Pulling it closer to his chin, his screams became even weaker and more desperate. He struggled against the ants, fighting for oxygen in the torture chamber, as he pressed the cold muzzle of the gun right to his chin, waiting for that final burst of courage that would allow him to pull the trigger and end his existence, and the pain coursing through his body.

Quickly dropping the shovel he was using to dig his friend out to his side, Warrick dropped to his knees, brushing the dirt away from the edges of the Plexiglas coffin that Nick was trapped in. He quickly cleared the cover as he saw a body in there, praying that his best friend was still alive, and that he could save him, after all, it was his fault that he was in there instead of him.

"Hey!" Warrick shouted as Nick's face was suddenly lit up by the green glow sticks, revealing the gun pressed to Nick's chin. "No, Nick! Hey, we got you man! Hey, Nicky!" He shouted, desperate for Nick to hear him, as he had his eyes tightly squeezed together, while his trigger finger was slowly manoeuvring into position to pull it and end his life. "No, Nicky!" He shouted in desperation.

Clearing off more of the dirt with his palms, Warrick banged his fist against the Plexiglas cover to get his attention. Nick wiped his palm across the frosted lid, removing the condensation as he heard a noise. He tried to widen his eyes to see who it was, but his eyes were too blurry. But there was definitely someone there; he could see hands that weren't his own.

"Hey, hold on there, Nicky! Put that down!" He shouted, watching the gun in Nick's hand still quivering against his jaw.

"Greg, get the fire extinguisher!" Grissom suddenly shouted.

At first Greg was too frozen to move, but he suddenly took off running back towards the Denali's that they arrived in, powered by his adrenaline to save his friend's life. Reaching the back of one of the Denali's, Greg quickly unhooked the fire extinguisher then ran back towards them, struggling to hold it together as he could hear Nick's screams echoing from inside the coffin.

"Short bursts, Greg. Don't suffocate him!" His supervisor instructed, stepping aside as Warrick wedged his shovel under the coffin cover to pry it open. Greg dropped to his knees beside the coffin, taking a moment to look at Nick shaking, screaming and beginning to lose it inside the coffin. He knew other people were probably thinking, 'I'm so glad that's not me.' But Greg was thinking something more along the lines of, 'Why couldn't it have been me, instead of him?'

Greg shot out a couple of short bursts from the fire extinguisher, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he heard Nick's agonizing screams erupting from the box. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't hurting him, but he couldn't bear to look at him like that again. The images from the webcam were still etched into his mind, but this was so much worse.

"Hang on, Buddy!" Warrick tried to calm Nick, giving Greg another nod as he pried open the bottom end of the coffin to kill the ants on his legs. "Hang on, Nicky!" Warrick quickly motioned for the others to help clear off more of the coffin cover, so he could open it and get Nick out.

Sara took the fire extinguisher from Greg's hands as he seemed to be frozen to the spot, then quickly made her way round to the other side, shouting, "Get the Paramedics!" after she finally saw the condition Nick was in.

"Hang on, Nick!" Warrick shouted again, just as Catherine's cell phone started to ring.

"Willows." Taking a few steps away from the commotion, Catherine covered her hand over her other ear, as she held the phone closer, trying to hear what they were saying. "Hodges...? No, no... we've found him. We're getting him out now." Taking another step back, Catherine held the phone closer as Hodges suddenly protested, insisting she listen to him. "What, what is it?" Catherine furrowed her brows together as she listened to his voice. "What? You've gotta be kidding me!" She groaned.

Clearing off the coffin once they dug it out more, Warrick took point on one end, nodding round to the others as they each gripped a corner, ready to tug it open.

"One . . . Two . . . Three . . ."

"Everyone out of the hole!" Catherine suddenly shouted, rushing over to them. "That box is ready to explode!"

Captain Jim Brass, from the police force looked round at her wide eyed, as he straightened up. "You're kidding?"

"Get out of there now! There's charges under the box!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, in case anyone misheard her that time.

Everyone but Warrick backed up. Greg was reluctant to move, but Brass grabbed his forearm, pulling him away, as he directed the other officers away from the danger site.

"I'm not leaving without, Nick!" Warrick protested, remaining beside the coffin that still housed his trapped best friend. "There's no way I'm leaving without him!" He stubbornly shouted, wondering why the others were even considering doing the same.

Grissom immediately turned his head to the side, trying to think up a plan. He looked towards the digger out to the side, thinking up a solution, while Catherine and Warrick continued to have it out with one another.

"Warrick!" Grissom shouted in his direction, as the distraught friend tried to lift the lid of the coffin all by himself. "Warrick, Catherine's right. Get out of the hole, now." He firmly ordered. "I know what we're gonna do, Warrick." He spoke in a softer tone. "We're not leaving him. Trust me."

Warrick looked up into Grissom's trusting eyes that had protected them all over the years from any kind of danger, then slowly released his hold on the lid of the coffin, reluctantly taking a step back.

"Nooo! Help me! Heeelllp!" Nick's painful screams erupted from the coffin, as he saw everyone moving away. "Heeelllp!" He screamed, all alone again. "Nooo!" He began to thump weakly on the surface above him, sobbing furiously as everyone left his line of sight, leaving him completely alone once again.

"We need two hundred pounds of dirt over here, right now!" Grissom barked an order at everyone. "We're gonna use that truck to get it." He pointed over to it.

The officers around them quickly rushed off towards it, getting it ready, while Grissom carried out the rest of his plan.

"Nicky!" Jumping down into the hole, Grissom brushed away the dirt covering the glass so Nick could see him clearly. "Nicky, can you hear me?" He shouted to him, watching as Nick quivered, cried and shook with terror. "Nicky, listen to me!" He tried to get his attention. "It's gonna take us a minute to get you out of there, okay? Nick!" He shouted again, as Nick continued to weakly hit the cover with his hands, not listening to him, as he was too panicked.

Grissom looked around at the team stood back from the hole as they were instructed, then remembered something Nick's father had said, back at the lab.

"Pancho!" Hearing the familiar name, Nick stopped struggling and really started to listen to his supervisor. "Pancho, listen to me!" Laying his hand flat against the surface of the Plexiglas cover, Grissom looked down into Nick's tearful eyes, instructing, "Pancho, put your hand on my hand!"

Concentrating on Grissom's words, Nick slowly raised his trembling hand, placing it flat on the lid above him, directly beneath Grissom's hand.

"Good." Grissom praised him, letting out a sigh of relief. "Now listen to me, Pancho. There may be explosives under the box. They're probably set on pressure switches." He surmised. "You need to equalize your body weight, before we can pull you out, okay?" Nick panted heavily in the box, struggling to breathe as he listened to Grissom's instructions. "Pancho! Nod your head if you understand me."

After a brief moment, Nick slowly nodded his head, gulping down the large lump of bile, slowly rising in his throat.

Temporarily removing his hand from the lid, Grissom leant up on his knees to look around at the rest of the team, giving out some more orders, "Okay, we're gonna use the dirt from the truck to equalize his body weight." He pointed to it then turned towards Sara. "Sara, I need rope and a carabiner from the back of my car."

Sara immediately took off running to get what he needed.

Kneeling back down on the lid of the coffin, Grissom looked back down at Nick, placing his hand on top of his own over the Plexiglas cover. "Alright Pancho, we're gonna open the lid and get you out, but I need you to stay lying down! Okay? Or else you'll blow us all up." He tried to explain to him, even though he looked on the verge of losing it. "Pancho, do you understand me?"

Nick weakly nodded his head, clenching his teeth into his lower lip to keep himself from screaming again.

"Nicky, do you promise?" Nick nodded again as the engines of the truck got louder as it approached. "Pancho, say 'I Promise!" Grissom shouted to him.

Sobbing back his tears, Nick nodded his head again. "I pr-omise. I promise." He assured him, desperate to get out.

"Bring it over this way!" Catherine directed the officers in the truck, while Warrick jumped into the hole with Grissom, helping him with the lid of the coffin.

"Nick, don't move!" Grissom warned him, as the lid finally pried open.

Nick blindly reached his hands out towards Grissom through his loud sobs, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible. Grissom reached his arm into the box, placing his hand on Nick's chest to keep him lying down, as he wasn't exactly thinking clearly right now and he didn't want him to kill everyone here because of it.

"I got you. I got you." Warrick soothingly spoke, as he held Nick's other arm to help Grissom keep him lying down, while Sara made her way back over to Grissom with the items he had requested in her hands. Grissom clipped the rope onto Nick's belt, making sure it was secure then looked towards the truck, making sure it was getting ready into position.

Nick inhaled deep breaths of the fresh air around him, clutching onto Grissom's and Warrick's arms, as if they were his life lines. Feeling his friend desperately clinging to him with fear, Warrick tried to sooth him to keep him calm, "Just stay still, Nicky. Lay still. It's okay. It's okay, Nicky, we got you."

"Okay, okay." He spoke softly as the initial wave of panic started to subside. He watched as Grissom shouted something over his shoulder to the guys in the truck, but his ears were still blocked with the Bubblicious bubble gum, making it difficult to hear him.

"Pancho!" He shouted as he turned to face Nick. "We're gonna get you out of here, real soon. I want you to close your eyes and hold your breath."

Nick looked up at him wide eyed a moment then realised what he had planned. He didn't know if he could hold his breath after being deprived of oxygen for so long, but he nodded his head regardless, desperately wanting to be anywhere but here.

"Now!" Grissom suddenly shouted, once Nick had done as instructed.

The dirt from the truck dropped into the hole, completely filling it and covering Nick's body. Grissom and Warrick quickly joined the others on the rope, getting a firm grip so they could pull Nick up and out of the hole and away from the explosion.

"Ready? Go!" Grissom shouted.

Everyone quickly tugged the rope together, watching Nick being hauled from the loose dirt of the coffin, literally flying through the air towards the hard dirt just a few feet away. As soon as he hit the ground the coffin itself exploded, sending a cloud of dirt up and out.

Greg and Warrick were the first to scramble to their feet, rushing towards Nick on the ground. His eyes were clamped tightly shut, but his body was still twitching from the pain he was in, indicating that he was alive.

"Get the... Pa-ramedics!" Greg shouted, his voice breaking as he couldn't bear to see his best friend like this for much longer.

The paramedics quickly rushed towards them, gently turning Nick over onto his back so they could get to work. "C'mon, man," Warrick lifted Greg by his arms, gently tugging him back from Nick, so that they could get a gurney into place and take Nick off to the hospital.

Through the slits in his eyes, Nick could just about make out the moon and the stars up in the sky above him. He noticed Grissom, Sara, Warrick and Greg, all walking along side him as he was wheeled off towards some bright flickering lights that he presumed was as ambulance, wondering if he had really just killed himself back there and this was all a dream of what he really wanted to see.

The paramedics carefully loaded Nick into the back of the ambulance, securing the gurney in place then climbed inside. Warrick and Catherine were next to follow, taking a seat on the padded chairs against the ambulance wall. Nick reached out for Warrick's hand as his life line again, clenching it tightly in his own. He closed his eyes as he no longer felt alone or in danger, but he knew the pain was far from over.

One of the paramedics set him up with an IV drip, replacing the fluids lost to his body, while the other hurried round to the front of the ambulance, ready to drive Nick back into the city towards the nearest hospital.

Sara and Greg stepped up beside each other, watching as the ambulance began to pull away from them, both desperately hoping that Nick was going to be alright. Grissom gave out a heavy sigh as he stepped up beside the rest of his team, watching the ambulance disappearing off into the distance.

Conrad Ecklie, the day shift supervisor was next to follow, giving the night shift supervisor a curious look, as he didn't know what to say to him. "I want my guys back." Grissom spoke softly, just audible enough for Ecklie to hear him.

Hours later at the hospital, Greg sat with his head in his hands in the visitor's waiting room, anxiously bouncing his knee up and down from his nerves. Grissom and Sara were sat on the other side of the room opposite him, constantly staring up at the clock above Greg's head, making him more than a little paranoid, as he was directly in their line of sight.

Warrick was leant against the wall by the door with his arms folded across his chest and the sweat was still pouring off his head. Catherine had since gone home to send Lindsey off to school, promising she'd be back once she was dropped off, as she wanted to be there to support Nick, like the rest of them were.

Greg glanced up through his long lashes that were weighing heavy across his tired eyes as Nick's parents, Judge Bill Stokes and Jillian Stokes, finally came out of the room, clutching one another tightly as they sobbed into one another's arms for the pain their youngest son was in.

Greg noticed that Judge Stokes seemed to be holding stronger than his wife though. Greg hadn't seen a single look of emotion cross the man's features, from the second he stepped into the lab and heard about his son's kidnapping. He thought he almost saw a look of worry when Grissom showed Jillian and Bill that their son was alive by showing them the live video feed of their son trapped in a coffin, but he was clearly mistaken, as he came up with a line like, 'What the hell have you gotten yourself into?' making Greg more than a little furious, as it wasn't Nick's fault at all.

Nick's parents slowly exited the waiting room, taking their time to talk to a few doctors on their way out. Greg noticed that Nick's father was asking all the questions, while his mother, Jillian was drying her eyes with a crumpled tissue in her hands, soaked with her tears of worry, before she stuffed it back down the sleeve of her long sleeved blouse, reminding Greg of his own mother that he realised he owed a phone call to.

Everyone looked round at the sound of a sudden clanging sound coming from Warrick's direction.

Warrick gave them all an apologetic look as he slowly knelt down to pick up the penny he had dropped. The ridges of the edges felt harsh and cold across his fingertips. He gripped it in his palm as he climbed to his feet, imprinting the callous edges of the bad luck into his torn skin from desperately digging up his screaming best friend in two separate locations, and the rope burns there from trying to pull his friend to safety.

Greg didn't know what the deal was with that penny, but ever since Nick had been abducted, Warrick had been constantly threading it through his fingers, while his mind was riddled with guilt over what happened to Nick. He knew from past crime scenes that Nick and Warrick were always coin tossing over the gruesome things no one wanted to do, so he figured that maybe that had something to do with it.

"Greg." Sara gently shook him as she knelt down in front of him to look up into his eyes. "I'm gonna go get a coffee, you want anything?" She spoke softly, giving her pseudo baby brother a look of worry, as he had barely spoken.

Greg looked into her warm eyes then slowly shook his head side to side, thinking he wouldn't be able to stomach anything right now. His stomach still hadn't settled since the first time he walked into the AV lab, spotting Nick on the monitor in that small space, trapped.

"Mr Grissom," A young nurse cleared her throat, as she made her way over to him. Grissom glanced up through his equally tired eyes, giving her a curious look. "You can see him now. Short visits, he needs his rest." She cautioned him, before she headed back to her station, just down the hall.

Grissom looked around at his team then slowly climbed to his feet, heading over to where Warrick was standing. Greg was glad he hadn't picked him first to go and see Nick. He wouldn't know what to say, he just wanted to hold his hand or look into eyes to know that he was alive. He couldn't think of any words of comfort to help him. He just didn't know what to say that could possibly make anything better.

Warrick pocketed the unlucky penny then brushed a hand through his dusty, dishevelled hair as he headed off down the hall towards Nick's room. Greg watched him slowly disappearing into the room then turned his gaze back down to the tiled floor beneath him, to focus his mind on something other than his friend's pain, as he really didn't want to cry again. He had cried in the drive over, but luckily Sara was there to calm him down, assuring him everything was going to be alright.

But how could it be? It's not every day your best friend is buried alive and eaten by ants. Greg thought to himself, digging his dirty nails into his scalp, as he tried to settle his nerves.

In the room, Nick seemed much calmer and safer, but Warrick was still worried about him. He let the door slowly creak closed behind him then took a hesitant few steps around the side of Nick's bed towards his left side.

At first glance he looked very weak and still, but as Nick's eyes fluttered open, and he reached out his hand to his friend, giving him a soft smile as he returned the handshake. "Damn Nicky, you really scared me."

Nick's smile slightly increased as he bent his arm towards his chest, holding Warrick's hand securely against him. "H-hey, thanks for the save, man." He spoke in a scratchy tone, choking on the dusty air that still filled his lungs.

"Anytime, bro." Warrick returned the smile, unable to stop his eyes from grazing across the oozing sores covering Nick's body. "Hey eh... how you feeling, buddy?" He knew it was a dumb question, but he just had to know.

"Like I got hit by a truck," Nick smirked, readjusting his head back against the pillow behind him. "Is everyone else out there?"

"Yeah, they're waiting to see you, Nicky." Warrick watched his buddy giving out a soft sigh, gripping his hand tighter against his chest. "You want me to send them away? I could tell them you're not up for visitors today." He thoughtfully suggested.

"N-No," Shaking his head, Nick's voice croaked slightly. "I'll be fine." He assured him. "Hey, is Greg here?"

Warrick gave him a nod, "Yeah, he's out there. You wonna see him first?" Nick quickly shook his head again, stretching his other arm out that had the itchy IV in it. "Are you in pain?"

"Nah." He shrugged it off.

"Are you sure?" Warrick found that hard to believe, as the bites covering his body looked really itchy and sore. Nick just responded with a nod, slowly relinquishing his grip on his buddy's hand so he could leave. "Okay, I'll go grab Sara or Cath, so we can get this over with and you can get some sleep."

Nick nodded gratefully to him, watching his friend slowly making his way out of the room. He headed back towards the waiting room, spotting Sara coming back into the room with some coffees in her hands. He looked towards the chair where Greg was once sat; noticing it was now vacant and no one else in the room had even noticed he was gone.

"Hey, you can go see him now." Warrick told Sara then ambled off towards one of the swinging doors, looking around at the busy halls of doctors, nurses and patients, searching for Greg. He spotted a door to the men's bathroom just down the hall, deciding to check there first. The sinks were vacant and all the stalls were open though, indicating that he was not there.

Warrick ran a hand through his hair then hurried back out, frantically searching the crowd to look for him. "Greg! Hey, Greg!" He called out to him, as he spotted the younger man pushing his way out of the double doors to get some fresh air outside.

Warrick apologised to a nurse for bumping into her then grabbed Greg's wrist as he stepped out the door to get his attention. Greg immediately turned to face him; being pulled into the older man's arms as he saw the slight tear streaks running down his face, just as he had done earlier today when Greg first saw Nick on the monitors.

"Hey Greggo, shh," He tried to sooth him, feeling his body shaking against him. Seeing him in pain was like watching his little brother in pain. Warrick didn't have much in the way of family, but to him, the people at the lab that he worked with were his family and he would do anything to protect them.

"Hey, he's okay, man. What's wrong?" Greg closed his eyes against the older man's shoulder, feeling his breath stuttering from his throat. "I know you're keen on Nick, bud. But he's gonna be okay." Greg looked up at Warrick surprised. He had always looked up to Warrick as he was always there for him, but he never would have thought that Warrick knew his biggest secret. "C'mon, why doncha go and see for yourself? He's the same ole Nicky. You'll see."

"B-but... what am I s-supposed to say?" He stammered, wiping the tears from his face. "I'm not strong like you, I can't keep it together."

Warrick looked at the younger man surprised. He had never seen him so scared or nervous before. It was completely out of Greg's usual hyper character, and it was scaring him.

"Why doncha just go and sit with him?" He suggested, slowly pulling back from his arms. "Just hold his hand and be there for him. I'm sure after constantly being asked questions by everyone if he's okay, he'll like the quiet."

"Okay." Wiping his eyes on the sleeves of his sweatshirt, Greg sniffled softly, inhaling slow deep breaths to calm his breathing down. He gave Warrick a soft smile to thank him then slowly turned, making his way back through to the hospital, towards Nick's room, noticing Sara and Grissom just coming out.

As soon as Sara spotted the tear streaks and the shakiness in her pseudo baby brother, she pulled Greg into a gentle sisterly hug, noting the jealous look on her secret boyfriends face as she hugged the younger man in her affectionate embrace. She gently smoothed her hand down his back, trying her best to comfort him. Once his breathing had calmed down, Sara stepped aside to let him through, giving him a reassuring smile as he moseyed off towards Nick's door, feeling his heart steadily increasing.

Greg shakily reached one hand out to the cold door handle of Nick's room, inhaling a deep breath of courage, before he pushed it open, greeted with the warm gaze of Nick Stokes. He loved those eyes. Those eyes reflected the older man's soul for all to see. There were no hidden agenda's in them, just the look of a pure hearted man that he adored.

Greg managed to return the slight smile to the older man, shutting the door behind him, before he took a few steps closer towards him, feeling even more nervous now that he was actually in the room with him.

"Hey Nicky, I'm really..."

"You don't have to say anythin'." Nick cut him off, reaching one of his hands out to him. Greg carefully took a seat on the edge of Nick's bed, sliding his hand into Nick's swollen one. The exhausted man gave Greg a grateful smile then closed his eyes, giving into his much needed sleep now that he was safe. Greg was equally tired, but he decided he was going to stay awake to watch over him, clutching his hand tightly in his own the whole time so that Nick knew he was there.

He was relieved that he was safe, but he knew that Nick's mind was going to need a lot more time to heal then the injuries caused to body. But as always, Greg would be there to help him through it. Because that was what good friends were for.

That's the prologue, very much based around the end of 'Grave Danger' (in case you didn't notice) and I know some things are different, because That's the way I wanted it :D

Please Review if you liked it!

~ Holly