A world full of killing

And blood spilling

That world never came

Nick slowly began to regain consciousness. The pain in his wrist was ten times worse than before, and he could feel a warm trickle of blood running down the left side of his face from his eyebrow where the gun had hit him. He also felt a warm stream running down his forearms. He opened his eyes and waited for his vision to clear. He became instantly confused when he was at eye level with the window. He looked to his left and saw Catherine and Warrick where they had been before, looking up at him silently. He looked down at the floor to see that his feet where a foot above the ground. He looked up at the ceiling, and finally understood. A set of handcuffs were around the thin wooden beam about an inch underneath the panel of lights. He was dangling by his wrists, which were cut and bleeding from the metal clasped tightly against his skin. His left wrist was swollen and a mix of deep blacks and blues and was throbbing painfully. He was now fully awake and aware of the situation. The dark blue t-shirt he had been wearing before was now gone. His jeans were hanging low on his hips, just below the waistbad of his boxers. The faint scars from the fire and wood from Warrick's house were now visible on his back and shoulders and made Warrick's stomach churn just thinking about it. The weight Nick had lost between being buried alive and the fire made all his jeans a little loose, not that he was fat before. The six pack he had before was now less obvious, and his shoulders weren't as broad. Nick closed his eyes and let his chin rest against his chest.

"Nicky...you okay man?" Warrick asked, not trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Yeah." Nick choked out, his throat still sore. "How are you guys holding up?"

Catherine sighed. Nick never thought about himself more than he absolutly had to. "We're fine."

Nick opened his eyes and turned his head so he was looking at his friends. "How long was I out for?"

Warrick shook his head. "Hard to tell...a few hours."

Nick nodded. "Have they contacted anyone or anything?"

Catherine shook her head slowly. "No...they haven't been in here since they put you up there...how's your wrist?"

Nick looked up and his mangled wrist. "Hurts like a bitch." He sighed. "What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know buddy." Warrick said softly. They fell silent and stayed that way for several long moments. Then the door opened and Ray walked in, a horrible smile acorss his face. Nick looked over his shoulder and watched as the large man walked around him so he was standing in front of him, Nick's chest at Ray's eye level.

"Glad to see you're awake, I'd hate for you to miss this." He said as he walked over to Catherine and grabbed her by the hair and raised his hand.

"Wait!" Nick yelled, stopping Ray in mid swing.

Ray turned back to Nick. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Leave her alone. Leave both of them alone." Nick said, causing Ray to smile.

He walked back over to Nick to where he had stood before. "Would you rather me beat the shit out of you instead?"

"I'd actually rather you let us go.." Ray punched Nick in the ribs, knocking the wind from Nick's lungs.

"Try again." He said.

Nick took a second to catch his breath before responding. "Yeah...fine...do whatever you want to me...just leave them alone..."

Ray reached up and jerked Nick's head down by his hair. "I'm gonna wreck you up."

"What does that even mean?" Nick asked.

Ray punched him in the face, and Nick noticed a scrap of his former t-shirt was tied around his hand where Nick had bitten him. "It means whatever I want it to mean."

"Did you go to college?" Nick asked mokingly. Warrick swore to himself as Ray punch Nick in the mouth. "Guess not..."

"Anything else you'd like to say to me?" Nick shook his head before spitting blood in Ray's face. "That's it...you're fucking dead."

Jake walked into the room and stood behind Nick, holding his legs. Ray repeatedly punched Nick in the ribs, the sickening cracks that followed caused tears to fall from Catherine's eyes as she watched Nick's beating continue. Jake picked up a peace of the broken chair and handed it to Ray, who used it to break a few more of Nick's ribs and smacked him in the face with it a couple times. The broken wood left splinters in Nick's chest and the side of his face. His ribs were deeply bruised and bleeding. He had a black eye and cuts all over his face and chest. He struggled to catch his breath while Ray pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a few drags of it before pressing it just above Nick's naval and twisting it until it went out. Nick yelled out in pain. He jerked his knee up and into Ray's stomach, causing him to double over. He then grabbed the former leg of the chair and staggered behind Nick, breaking it over his back with a loud crack.

"Don't fuck with me." He said, throwing the broken leg onto the ground before he and Jake left the room, closing and locking the door behind them.

Nick gasped for breath and fought as hard as he could not to pass out. The pain in his wrist didn't seem as bad now that the rest of his body was battered as well. He grimaced in pain with each breath he took. His entire body was shaking from the cold and the pain. He fought off the urge to let his eyes close and focused all his attention on the seemingly distant voice calling his name.

"Nicky...talk to me man. Nick!" Warrick struggled against the ropes, even though he knew it was useless. He wanted nothing more than to run to his brother's side and make everything okay. He couldn't just sit there and watch.

Nick winced as he turned his head to face Catherine and Warrick. His vision was cloudy and blurred by the blood and sweat running down his face, but he need something to focus on so he wouldn't black out.

Catherine tried to hold back the tears. "Nicky...please say something." She begged.

"I...I'm okay." Nick choked out, his voice weak and laced with pain.

"What the hell were you egging the guy on for?" Warrick demanded.

"It takes a lot out of you...beating someone up..." It was taking far too much energy for Nick to continue talking.

"And how much did that just take out of you?"

Nick took a deep, painful breath. "He's gonna get tired..."

"It's not gonna matter how tired he is if you're dead!"

"Stop fighting." Catherine said, choking back a sob.

"We're not fighting." Both men said at the same time.

Warrick's heart sunk as Nick went into a violent coughing fit, coughing up blood onto his bare chest. It took several minutes for Nick's breathing to get somewhere close to normal, the pain in his ribs intensified after coughing so much. The sight was heart wrenching. Nick's pale skin was covered in brusies and cuts in one big mess. His dark hair was matted to his head, and he was shivering despite the fact that he was sweating. His breathing was rigid and strained, and there was no doubt in any of their minds there was more serious internal injuries they couldn't see. Nick's eyes slowly began to close against his will, and he could feel the pain throughout his body beginning to numb. This must be what it's like to die... He thought so himself.

"Nicky...wake up! Don't give in Nick...you have to stay awake man!" Warrick's pleading made Nick open his eyes. A wave of pain coursed through his body and he clenched his jaw tightly. Nick tried to swallow the pain that was threatening to take over. He couldn't decide which was worse; the state of pain he was currently in, or hearing Catherine's queit sobs to his left.

"I'm okay Catherine...please stop crying..." He said softly, turning his head to look at Catherine.

She shook her bangs away from her eyes. "No, you're not. You did that for me...for us...it's not fair." She said, the tears falling steadily down her cheeks.

Nick somehow managed a smile through the pain and horror of their current situation. "It's gonna be okay, I promise." He said, his voice more reassuring than his words. He was completely and utterly exhausted, but couldn't let himself give up. He knew he was their only hope, and he somehow had to get them out of this.

Reading his mind, Warrick shook Nick from his thoughts. "Don't even think of doing anything stupid Nicky."

"You won't think it's stupid if it works."

"That's a big if."

"Sometimes you gotta take a chance." Nick said, echoing his words from before. Just a few hours ago, the two friends had been sitting in the break room. What a turn of events.

"What are you thinking of doing?" Warrick asked the question he knew he'd regret.

Nick shook his head. "I'm not telling you."

"Then you probably shouldn't do it. What's the chance of your plan saving us?"

Nick turned his head away so he was looking at the dusty window. "There's no 'us' in this, bro." He said so queitly Warrick and Catherine could barely hear him.

Warrick and Catherine exchanged confused glances. "What do you mean?" Warrick asked anxiously.

Nick closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm probably not gonna make it out of this alive."

Warrick and Catherine sat there for a few seconds, letting Nick's words sink in. Neither were sure of what to say. Catherine was the first to speak. "Then you're not doing it."

"Why not?" Nick asked, still staring at the window, avoiding Catherine and Warrick's eyes. "You guys have so much more to live for than I do. It doesn't matter what happens to me as long as you guys are safe...that's all that matters. I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you two...you gotta trust me."

Warrick wished he hadn't heard what Nick had just said. "That's the problem. I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone before. Please don't do anything stupid Nick...please..."

Nick turned back to Warrick and Catherine, tears building up in his eyes. "Can you move at all?" Warrick stared blankly at his best friend. "No, you can't. I can, and if I can save at least you two, I'm gonna. There's nothing you can say that's gonna stop me."

Warrick opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out. His heart felt like it had turned to stone. Sometimes he hated Nick's do-whatever-it-takes attitude, especially when it put his brother in danger. Unshed tears stung his eyes and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Catherine took a few deep breaths to try and calm down. All she wanted to do was crawl into her nice big, warm bed with Warrick and sleep for weeks. She didn't want to see Nick suffer anymore. She wanted to hug her daughter as tightly as she could. She wanted everything to be okay.

Warrick swore under his breath when the door opened, but was a little relieved when Sam walked in and not Ray. He stood in between where Nick hung from the ceiling and Warrick and Catherine sat in their chair against the wall.

"Hello, how is everyone doing?"

"Marvelous." Nick said sarcastically, and Sam turned so he was facing Nick and looked up him.

"You sure have a quick tongue for such a young guy."

"Thanks, I try."

Sam smiled. "Be careful, it may get you in trouble."

"Looking forward to it."

Sam turned to walk away, but stopped short and swung his fist around until it collided with Nick's already broken ribs. Nick grunted in pain and squeezed his eyes shut. He coughed up some more blood before opening his eyes and looking down at Sam.

"We've called your friends...captain Brass and Gil Grissom is it? They should be here shortly. But I wouldn't get too excited, they're only coming for the show." He reached up and tapped Nick on the cheek twice before slapping him hard and leaving.

Nick hung his head and tried to catch his breath. He no longer tried to control the shaking of his body or the pain overwhelming him. "Get ready...I'm gonna get you guys out of here soon." He said softly.

They say that a hero can save us

I'm not gonna stand here and wait

Brass no longer cared about the pounding of his head or the fact that he was dizzy. All he cared about was getting to where some guy had said he was holding three CSIs hostages. The same CSIs he had left because he hadn't felt good. The guy had warned him about bringing any backup, and Brass wasn't about to jeopardize the CSIs life, but he also wasn't stupid. He had a specially trained team waiting nearby.

Grissom had forgotten about his abandonned crossword puzzle. His attention was focused on the situation at hand. His three most experienced CSIs were being held hostage at a crime scene, his worst nightmare coming true. He felt it in his gut that they were okay, but he didn't know how long that feeling would be there. He sat silently in the passenger seat of the police car, watching the trees fly past as Brass raced to the warehouse Nick, Warrick and Catherine were in. It was unconviently located on a dirt road in the woods, and the ride seemed to be taking forever. The siren was on as the man on the phone had instructed. Not that it mattered, they were in the middle of nowhere.

I'll hold on to the wings of the angels

And watch as we all fly away