Song in this one is "Savin Me" by Nickelback. Sorry it's so much shorter than the last few have been.


"Gil, did you get those papers done yet?" Ecklie asked in his usual pissed off tone.

Grissom gritted his teeth to keep from getting too worked up. "No, Conrad, I didn't. Nick's conditon has been going up and down these last few days, so my mind's been elsewhere. I'll have them done soon."

"About Nick...I've been meaning to talk to you about him." Ecklie entered Grissom's office and took a seat.

Grissom leaned back against his chair and took his glasses off so he could rub his tired eyes. "What about Nick?" He said, looking back up at Ecklie.

"I think we should think about getting a replacement for him soon." Ecklie was right to the point, no fluff needed.

"You mean for until he comes back of course." Grissom said, tilting his head a little.

Ecklie sighed. "No, I mean replacement, as in permanent. I've gotten my own reports from the hospital, he's not doing so well. We need to have someone for when-" Grissom's head snapped up and he glared at Ecklie, causing him to reiterate. "If...he doesn't make it. And even if he does, he may not be able to return to work soon or at all."

There were several things Grissom wanted to say, but all of them would result in him losing his job, so he nodded slowly as he collected his thoughts. "Okay...I guess I can see where your head is in this...but once again, no heart...I'm sorry to tell you this Conrad, but Nick Stokes cannot be replaced."

Ecklie rubbed his chin for a second, staring thoughtfully at the floor before looking back up at Grissom. "I was thinkning more of...letting him go..."

Grissom laughed. "Are you kidding me? He's the one of the best criminalists we have!"

Ecklie nodded slightly, but didn't seem to agree. "He's decent...but with everything that's happened, keeping him around would only-"

"Finish that sentence, I dare you." Grissom looked past Ecklie, who had turned to see who had interrupted their private conversation. Greg stood in the doorway, his jaw set and arms crossed across his chest.

"Excuse me, Sanders, but this is no place for-"

Greg cut the older man off again. "Nick goes, I go."

Grissom's mouth hung open in shock, then turned into a smile. Sara appeared behind Greg, as well as Archie and Hodges. "What's going on?" Archie said as they all took the liberty of letting themselves into Grissom's office, joining in on the little pow-wow.

"Ecklie wants to fire Nick." Greg said, glaring at Ecklie.

"What? Why?" Came Catheirne's voice from behind Hodges, but she made her way to the front and stood next to Greg.

"Excuse me, but this is a private conversation."

Grissom shrugged. "Anything you have to say about Nick, you can say to his team."

Ecklie sighed. "I just think it would be best if we let him go..."

Everyone shook their heads. "I'm not saying me and Stokes are best friends...but that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard." Hodges said with a laugh.

"Like I said, he goes, I go." Greg said defiantly.

"Me too." Catherine added, nodding.

"Me too." Sara said, moving to stand next to Catherine.

"Aye Aye Captain." Archie said from the back, raising his hand so his presence could be noted.

"Ditto." Hodges added, shoving his hands into his pockets and smiling.

"We don't even have to call Warrick...that's just a given." Greg said, smiling cockily at Ecklie.

Ecklie's jaw hung open and his brow was furrowed into a deep frown. He shook his head as he turned to the supervisor of the nightshift. "Grissom, are you just gonna sit there?"

Grissom sighed and shook his head. He got up and stood in front of his team and techs, facing them as he said, "No..." He then turned to Ecklie. "I'm with them." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and smiled that Grissom smile. He turned on his heel and walked out of his own office for affect, followed by everyone else, leaving Ecklie sitting in shock.

Prison gates won't open up for me

On these hands and knees I'm crawling

Oh I reach for you

Warrick nearly jumped out of his seat when Dr. Ralik walked in. He smiled apologetically as he walked over and stood next to Warrick, who remained seated and holding Nick's hand. He looked up at the doctor, waiting for him to speak.

"All of the test results on Nick came back better than expected. His blood pressure and heart rate decreased, greatly reducing the threat of another heart attack. He's breathing on his own now, and there's not a lot of strain on his lungs even though his windpipe has decreased to less than half it's normal size. As for his muscle weakness, all this sleep he's getting should help, and I'll be able to tell you for sure when he wake up and see how he's feeling when he can go home."

Warrick's tired eyes were now wide open, and he could hear his heart beating in his ears. Did he just say...go home? "Wait...what?" He asked, wanting to be sure of what he thought he heard.

Ralik smiled widely. "Nick's gonna be okay. It's gonna take some time, but he's gonna make it."

Warrick momentarily released his grip on Nick's hand and stood, shaking Ralik's hand vigorously. "Thank you so much...for everything...Kahys too...I can't thank you enough for what you've done for him."

"My pleasure." Ralik said. "Just let me or Dr. Kahys know when he wakes up, alright?"

"Will do." Warrick said, sitting back down as Ralik left quietly. A wide smile was across his face as he took Nick's hand back into his, squeezing gently. "Hear that man? You're gonna be okay." Tears were falling from his eyes again, but he didn't care. They were tears of joy. Nick's gonna be okay. "I knew you could do this Nicky...I'm sorry you had to...but everything's gonna be okay, I promise." Warrick fell silent as he sat next to his brother, anxiously waiting for him to wake up.

Well I'm terrified of these four walls

These iron bars can't hold my soul in

All I need is you

"Still no news on that CSI, Jimmy."

Jimmy put his glass of Scotch down and looked at Dan, standing on the other side of the large oak desk from him. "Alright. Means he ain't dead yet. Have our guy find out if and when he goes home. Sam couldn't get it done, so I will."

Dan nodded. "Our uh...guy...he found out that the cops didn't kill Ray."

Jimmy nodded slowly, thinking over what Dan had just told him before asking the question he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to. "Who did?"

Dan was swaying on his feet, he hated to the bearer of bad news. "That CSI guy...Nick Stokes."

Jimmy nodded once. "And what about the other two? Wasn't there three hostages?"

"Yeah." Dan said. "They got out though, didn't go to the hospital. Case is closed though cuz all of the suspects are dead."

"Alright, that's good. They think it's over, we now have the element of surprise. Make sure Frankie's ready for whenever we need him. We're gonna have to do what Sam couldn't."

Come please I'm calling

And oh I scream for you

Hurry I'm falling

All Warrick could do was smile wider when Nick slowly opened his eyes. He yawned and reached a shaky hand up and ran it through is hair. He looked to his left and jumped slightly when he saw Warrick. He frowned in confusion as he looked around, taking a few minutes to process where he was and why. He took the deepest breath he had in over a week before looking back at Warrick and smiling slightly.

"So it wasn't a dream..." He said quietly.

Warrick shook his head. "No...I wish..." He was relieved that Nick knew who he was and was aware of what had happened. "How are you feeling?"

Nick thought for a second before answering. "Good, I guess. It still hurts...but not as bad. I can move, so that's a plus."

Warrick laughed slightly. "Yeah, that's good." He looked down at the floor, trying to avoid Nick's eyes. He still felt sick to his stomach when he thought about how Nick looked when he said he didn't remember him. He tried to clear it from his head, but couldn't. He forced himself to think about what was happening now. Nick's alive and is going to stay that way for a while.

Nick was starting to become more attuned to his senses. His chest and back ahced more than before, and he looked down at his exposed chest, bearing two equal sized red marks. "What the..." Then he understood what they were from. "Oh..." He looked up at Warrick. "I died again, didn't I?"

Warrick nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

Nick smiled, but it was obviously fake, it quickly faded and was replaced by a frown. "You weren't there...were you?"

"Yeah, I was." Warrick said.

Nick closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I just want it to stop."

Warrick bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood to keep himself from crying. "I know Nicky...don't be sorry, it's not your fault."

Nick laughed sarcastically. "You never let anything be my fault."

Warrick smiled softly. "Because nothing is, genius."

Nick smiled a true Nick Stokes' smile. "You're such a tool." He teased playfully.

"What can I say...you rub off on me man."

Nick didn't have time for a comeback, which he was thankfull for because he didn't have one. Dr. Kahys walked in, followed by Dr. Ralik, both men smiling. Dr. Kahys walked up to the left side of Nick's bed and gently shook his hand. "Good to see you're awake again, Nick. How are you feeling?" Nick just smiled and nodded slightly. "I'm pleased to tell you that your condition has greatly improved in the last 36 hours. However, I think it's time we talked about the long-term affects of this ordeal."

Nick sighed. "Yeah, I was expecting that."

Dr. Ralik picked up where Kahys left off. "The extent of your injuries is something I have personally never seen before. Your broken ribs and crushed windpipe is going to make breathing difficult, but you'll get used to it after a while. Due to the fact that you...uhhh...died...a number of times, you're going to be very weak for the next couple of weeks, but will slowly regain strength."

Nick smiled. "Well that sounds good."

Ralik nodded. "You'll be able to go home in a few days, but only if you promise to rest. And by rest, I mean on the couch watching tv or sleeping. That's it. You need to completely regain your strength before you can start getting your mucsles to work properly again. I'm afraid physical therapy won't do much more for you than walking around the block when you're able to. No physical acitivty whatsoever, anything that ups your heart and breathing rate isn't a good idea at all." He turned to Warrick. "There's still a chance of slight brain damage as well as lung and heart complications...he can't, under any circumstances, be left alone at all."

Warrick nodded. "Sure thing Doc."

"Okay. Nick, rest up, and we'll see if we can't get you out of here by the end of the week."

Nick smiled and weakly shook both doctors hands, followed by Warrick doing the same. "Thank you very much for everything." Nick said before both doctors left. He sighed contently and let himself sink back against his pillows, turning his head slightly so he could look at Warrick. "Thanks for not giving up on me." He said with a small smile.

Warrick shrugged and returned the smile. "Don't worry about it. I think it's in my job description somewhere anway."

Show me what it's like

To be the last one standing

And teach me wrong from right

And I'll show you what I can be

Say it for me, say it to me

And I'll leave this life behind me

Say it if it's worth saving me


Sorry the last few chapters have been pretty much the same with Nick being in the hospital. I promise the action's going to pick up again. Reviews are always appreciated, as well as any ideas you guys might have on anything.