"Nicky?" Greg said softly, penetrating the silence before it had had a chance to become recognized as one.
"Yeah?" Nick answered just as softly as he too was feeling fatigue start to take over his body.
"If you want to," Greg said, "you can kill yourself. You can end it, I understand. This is the worst possible thing for you and you shouldn't have to go through it again. Not for me."
Nick shook his head slowly. "I'm not giving up Greg," he said firmly yet gently. "We can do this. It's not gonna be much longer."
"How can you tell?" Greg asked, his voice showing his desperation and pain.
"Because you're delirious," Nick answered. "You're going into shock, I can tell by your voice."
"That's not a good thing idiot," Greg said. He didn't mean to sound hostile, but he couldn't help it.
"Yes it is," Nick replied. "It means you've been awake and not feeling well for a long time, longer than you should normally. It means your body's reacting to the drugs and you're going to get sick soon. You're tired and restless, but you're starting to go into shock and getting irritable."
"Easier said than done," Greg said, wincing for the umpteenth time from his stomach pains. "Can't I just make myself throw up?"
"You will soon enough Greggo," Nick said calmly. "Just relax and stay awake, okay? It's almost over."
Greg shook his head almost frantically. "How can you be so cool right now? You're not in any pain or anything, but you're scared out of your mind. Nightmares of this scare the hell out of you, never mind doing the real thing again. Why am I starting to freak out?"
"You have a stomach full of pills," Nick said. "You're sick and not feeling well. But it's going to be okay. You're going to throw up and feel much better, and I'm gonna get out of this damn box and be with you. Then soon enough, this whole thing will be over and we'll be home and we can sleep, okay?"
Tears were now falling from Greg's eyes once again. "Okay," he said as he nodded weakly.
Greg's skin was so pale it was almost transparent, save for the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. His hair was damp and matted against his head, but he couldn't care less about any of that. All he wanted was Nick out of that box and next to him as soon as possible. He was freezing and wanted nothing more than to curl up in Nick's arms and sleep for weeks. Greg knew that being next to Nick always made him feel better, but Nick wasn't next to him. He was in a box, under the ground, trying to keep him alive, and all Greg could do was yell at him and borderline have a mental breakdown.
"I'm sorry," Greg said suddenly.
"For what?" Nick asked.
"Calling you and idiot and freaking out when you're keeping me alive," Greg answered. "I'm just really tired and in a lot of pain and scared."
"It's okay to be scared," Nick said. "I'm scared too. But we're both going to be okay as long as you hang on. Just a little bit longer. You've done so well and come this far, dont' give up now sweetie."
"I won't," Greg said, "because I want to see you. I need to make sure you keep your promise to go home with me so we can sleep for a very long time."
Nick smiled. "I would never break a promise to you G."
"I know," Greg said, ignoring the tears falling from his eyes. "It's just really hard to think straight right now, it hurts so much."
Nick closed his eyes. He wished he knew how much time was left, but truth be told, he had no idea. He knew it had been a long time, but twenty-six hours was an extremely long time and the hours began to drag on slower and slower. Greg did seem to be going into shock, but there was no way to be certain if that was from the pills or fear itself. He knew Greg was in a lot of pain and scared, and he was really scared too. His heart was racing as he tried to supress the memories and nightmares associated with is current situation. But those things were hard not to think about.
"Did you think I was going to give up the first time I was buried alive?" Nick asked.
The question surprised Greg. He didn't answer right away because he didn't have the answer right away. He paused, then said, "I wouldn't have blamed you."
"That doesn't answer my question," Nick said. "Did you think I was going to kill myself?"
"Why didn't you ever ask me this before?" Greg asked, countering Nick's question with another question.
"I never wanted to know the answer," Nick replied. "I was never sure if I would have gone through with it myself. Five more seconds and I might have, there's no way to be sure. I was sure as hell planning on it." Nick fell silent for a moment. "Answer my question Greg," he said softly.
Greg sighed heavily. "I don't know what I was thinking. I was so scared and I knew you were too and I could see you down there without any other choice. I didn't want you to die at all, but I would have rathered you die on your own terms quickly than suffocate and suffer through that. I didn't think you were going to give up so much as...save yourself."
"I might have a lot sooner if it hadn't been for you," Nick said.
Greg frowned slightly. "I didn't even get to talk to you until you were at the hospital."
Nick kept his eyes closed, but smiled slightly. "That doesn't matter. You're all I could think about the whole time I was down there. Right before Warrick pushed away all the dirt when you guys found me, I'll admit, I wanted to end it. But I knew that there was a slight chance that I would get to see you again. That's what kept me going. That's why I'm alive right now."
"What's keeping you alive right now?" Greg asked, not aware he had been speaking out loud until he had finished the question.
"You," Nick answered simply. "If all I have to do is stay calm and keep you awake...if that's all I have to do to get to see you again, I'm gonna do it. I don't give up on much, and I'm definitely not going to give up on you."
Greg closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again and looking at Nick on the screen. Nick had opened his eyes as well, and Greg could see the green reflection of the glow sticks in Nick's dark brown eyes.
"I never told you this," Greg began, getting Nick's attention immediatly, "but when I first told Sara about us, she was mad. Not jealous mad, mad might not even be the right word, but she wasn't happy like I thought she would be. She always thought I was wasting my time with you and that you weren't who I thought you were."
"I don't understand," Nick said, and Greg knew he hadn't gone a good job of explaining.
"She didn't think you would ever like me back, let alone love me back. When I told her you did, she didn't buy it. She thought you were lying and were just using me for sex. She thought you were just like every other guy that lies and stuff. She said that you'd be long gone within a year."
Greg fell silent, but Nick didn't. "I never knew that," he said. "I never would have guessed. Sara did a good job hiding it. But I know why she said all that."
"Why?" Greg asked.
"She always had a hard time trusting guys, what with Grissom and that Hank guy. Besides, she's your best friend. She was just looking out for you, that's all."
Greg was a little surprised. "You're not mad?"
Nick shook his head. "No, I understand why she did it. I was like that with all of my sisters' boyfriends and all of my brother's girlfriends. It's hard to trust people with the ones you love. Plus, thanks to Warrick and Archie, Sara thought I was a two-timing womanizer."
Greg smiled slightly. "Which couldn't be further from the truth."
"Yeah, but Warrick and Archie can be pretty convincing sometimes."
Greg's smile faded suddenly. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, pushing against the knew onslaught of pain. It was worse, and was only getting worse by the second. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, hoping that it would make it go away, but it kept intensifying.
"Nick," Greg choked through clenched teeth.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked, immediatly recognizing the pain in Greg's voice.
"It hurts really bad," Greg said. "It feels like my stomach's ripping. I think I'm dying."
"No you're not," Nick said calmly. "Your systems rejecting the pills."
"This soon?" Greg asked. "There's no way it's been twenty-six hours yet."
"You're a lot skinnier and don't have any food in your stomach to absorb the pills," Nick explained. "So you're getting sick sooner. Don't worry, after you throw up, you're going to feel much better. I promise. Just take deep breaths and don't panic."
"It really hurt Nicky," Greg said as tears slipped through his closed eyes. "Make it stop."
Nick choked back his own tears. "I can't sweetie, but it's going to be over soon. You're going to be okay. I know it hurts, but it's almost over." Nick could hear Greg groaning in pain, so he decided to try and distract him from it. "Greg, listen to me. If I gave you one penny one day, then the next day two pennies, and ket doubling it like that everyday for one month, how much money would you have at the end of the month?"
Greg shook his head slightly in disbelief. "What?"
"How much money would you have?" Nick asked again.
"I don't know," Greg said. "Ten bucks," he guessed.
"No, much more than that," Nick replied. "Come on, you can figure it out. Just think about it."
Greg figured out what Nick was trying to do, and played along with it in hopes that it would work. "Ummm...one hundred dollars."
Nick shook his head, but didn't know if Greg was looking at him. "Much more than that."
Greg was thinking hard, and not focusing on the pain as much. "One thousand dollars," he said.
"Stop guessing and think," Nick said softly. "You can do it, just relax and think."
Greg took a deep breath, and upon doing so, doubled over at the sudden wave of pain. He fell forward off the chair and onto his knees. He hit the concrete hard, but didn't care about the slight throbbing of his knees. He kept his eyes shut as tight as he could and clutched his stomach. He was breathing fast and ragged, so he took another deep breath and was about to let it out slowly when he felt a slight burning in the bottom of his throat.
Nick had always hated in when Greg was sick. Not because he had to take care of him or because Greg was lazy, but because he hated seeing the one he loved in such a miserable state. Nick hated it when Greg was in pain, and especially when Greg threw up because the younger man hated it. But after hearing it now and knowing it had happened, Nick couldn't help but smile. He also couldn't help his hands from shooting up and pressing against the glass above him, trying to push the top off of him.
Nick pushed hard, but to no avail. He gave up and tried to wait patiently, but couldn't. He heard the door open and his heart rate immediatly increased. But after that, there was only silence. There was a soft pop when the microphone was unplugged, disconnecting Nick from the world above him.
That was when Nick began to panic. Lanser had gone back on his word before, who's to say he wouldn't again? What if he killed Greg and was leaving Nick down there to die? He hated to lose, and this could just send him over the edge.
Just as Nick was about to yell out in frustration, the dirt above him was brushed away and the cover was flung open. Cold, crisp air rushed towards him. Nick inhaled deeply, savoring the feeling in his burning lungs after having breathed the same air over and over again. Before his eyes had adjusted to the light, he was being yanked up by his left arm out of the hole and onto the solid ground that was now beneath his feet.
Nick's eyes adjusted to the dim light as he looked frantically around him. "Where's Greg?" he asked, his voice almost squeeking.
"In your room, asleep," Lanser answered bitterly. "He's fine. You can go see him now."
Nick wanted to run out of the room but couldn't just yet. "You just hate that you can't make us give up, don't you?"
Lanser glared at him. "It's not over yet."
"Keep telling yourself that," Nick said as he left the room, going as fast as his legs would carry him to where Greg was.
Nick entered their "bedroom" quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping man. Greg was laying on his stomach with his head turned to the right. His back was move up and down slowly as he breathed deeply. Nick silently walked over and carefully laid down next to him on Greg's left. Nick reached out and gently ran his hand through Greg's soft hair, causing the other man to stir slightly.
Greg inched closer to Nick until he felt the warmth of his body. He picked his head up, eyes still closed, and rested it on Nick's chest. He draped his left arm across Nick's waist and sighed deeply. Nick wrapped his arms around Greg and buried his face in Greg's sweet smelling hair, inhaling his scent. Nick closed his eyes, holding Greg tightly, just like he promised he would.
"I would have over ten million dollars," Greg mumbled suddenly.
Nick smiled, but kept his eyes closed. He kissed the top of Greg's head before saying, "I knew you'd get it."
Greg snuggled closer to Nick. "Thank you for staying up with me."
"You're welcome," Nick replied. "But now you can finally sleep, so sleep sweetie. Everything's gonna be okay."
Greg nodded slightly. "I know."