Pain and New Hope

Pairing: It's mostly about Nick, but it will be a Snickers (S/N) story towards the end.

Spoiler: Stalker

This is Nick's POV after he was pushed out of a second story window by Nigel Crane.

A/N: I originally wanted to write this as a lengthy one chapter deal. Instead, I broke up what I had written into a few chapters, but I will write more beyond what I started.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CSI characters or extras.

The Attack and Waking Up

The last thing I remember was looking up from looking at a bottom cabinet and seeing Nigel Crane in front of me. He pushed me through the window. I could hear the glass breaking and I fell backwards landing on my back on top of some bushes that broke my fall. Unconsciousness took me right away.

When I came to, I wasn't sure where I was and how I got there. I tried to sit up, but I was feeling dizzy and both my wrist and chest hurt. I gingerly laid back down and closed my eyes in hopes to sleep a little longer. I couldn't go back to sleep. I looked around and tried to process the surroundings. There are doctors, nurses, wheelchairs, stretchers and gurneys going from one place to another. I must be at a hospital.

"Mr. Stokes, I see that you are awake," a woman said.

"Why am I here?" I asked weakly. "How did I get here? What happened to me?"

"You were shoved out of a second story window," she said. "You have a concussion, two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist and a cut on your forehead that needed five stitches. You were lucky, it could have been a lot worse. Your friend, a Warrick Brown, called the ambulance that brought you here. He is a nervous wreck and blames himself for leaving you alone with your attacker."

I laughed, but the ribs made me grimace in pain. I do recall that Warrick had a phone call to answer and left that apartment to have clearer reception.

"Are you a doctor?" I asked as I tried to sit up and felt woozy and in pain.

"Yes, I treated your injuries," she said and noticed my failed attempts to sit up. "You shouldn't try to sit up now. I will give you something for the pain."

"Am I going to stay here for a few days?" I asked.

"The good news is that you are going home real soon," she said. "You just need to get a lot of rest and no work for at least a week. There are two people out in the hallway wanting to see you."

I wonder which two people. Grissom and Catherine? Warrick and Sara? Greg and anyone else?

"Can they come in?" the doctor asked me.

I gently nodded my head. The doctor showed Warrick and Sara into the room. Sara had a look of concern, but happy that I wasn't that badly injured. Warrick was another story altogether. He had that look of sad guilt. If my wrist wasn't wrapped in a brace, I would have slapped the guilty look off his face. He had to take a phone call and went outside in hopes to hear it more clearly.

"Nick, how are you feeling?" Sara gently asked.

"Like I have been thrown through a second story window," I mumbled.

"Nick, I am sorry about this," Warrick said with a great deal of remorse. "I should not have left you alone like I did Holly Gribbs."

"Don't even think of comparing this to Holly!" I said sharply. "She's dead. I suffered two cracked ribs, a sprained wrist, a concussion and a gash that needed five stitches. I was quite lucky considering it was a two story fall and the bushes saved me from further injury."

"If I was there, you wouldn't be here," Warrick said. "I should have had that bastard arrested before he laid a hand on you!"

"Warrick, you had no way of knowing what happened," Sara finally spoke. "It could have been you lying in a hospital bed or even worse."

Warrick and I just looked at her in silence. We knew that she was giving us a worse case scenario. It was quite scary though!

"I am glad you called the ambulance," I said breaking the silence. "The doctor told me about it when I woke up."

TBC