Nick went back over to the chair he had been sitting in and tried to pick it up, but it was bolted to the ground. He pulled on it as hard as he could, but it didn't budge at all. After he gave up on that, he went back over to the tank and yanked on the hose leading into the glass wall. He could see out of the corner of his eye that the water was already rising just below Sam's knees. He had to force himself to keep from doing the math on how much time he had left. He wouldn't be able to think clearly if he didn't concentrate everything he had on just getting her out.
The hose wasn't moving at all from the hole it was welded into, make Nick's efforts worthless. He tried to bend the actual hose itself to cut off the water supply and buy himself more time, but that didn't work either. The hose lead up into the ceiling, where it disappeared. He pulled on it, using all his weight on his end, but that didn't do anything either. The hose wouldn't come out of either end and there was nothing around to break the glass with. So Nick went back over and stood in front of Sam. She was starting to freak out, and he couldn't blame her there. The only thing he could think to do was what Grissom had done to him when he had been buried alive. Knowing it had worked for him made him try it for Sam.
"Sam," Nick said loud enough for her to hear him from the other side of the glass. "Put your hands on mine," he instructed as he held his hands against the cold glass. Sam did as he said, pressing her shaking hands on the other side of his. "Don't look down at the water. Close your eyes and relax. I'm gonna get you out, okay? Move as far back as you can, turn around and cover your head. Don't open your eyes or turn around no matter what, okay?"
Sam nodded weakly. Nick pulled his hands off the glass and she turned around, leaning against the back wall with her back facing Nick. He tried once to tip the tank or make it sway even just a little, but he couldn't. So he did the only thing that was left for him to do. He took a deep breath and stepped back slightly before using his right hand to punch the glass as hard as he could, putting all the weight he could behind it. His fist collided with the glass and only cracked it slightly. Pain shot up from his hand all the way through his arm, but he ignored it. He hit the glass in the same spot again and again, paying no mind to the glass sticking into his knuckles and fingers.
The water was starting to get up around Sam's shoulders, and Nick couldn't form a fist with his hand anymore. The pain was making it hard for him so see and think straight, but he knew what to do next. He used his shoulder and elbow to bang against the already broken glass more. He felt water hit his skin in short spurts, which eventually became heavier flows that soaked his skin and clothes. The strength it took to break the thick glass was draining out of Nick, but luckily it only took a few more thrusts before the glass cracked all the way up and finally shattered against the Texan, sending water washing over him as it spilled from the tank.
The sudden rush of the water added to Nick's sudden exhaustion caused him to fall to his left, continually until he landed on the concrete floor below him. He was bleeding heavily from his right hand, elbow and shoulder. Shards of glass had lodged themselves in his neck and face with thin lines of blood trickling down from them. Searing pain coursed throughout the entire right side of his body and his vision was starting to get a little shaky.
Sam turned around as soon as she felt the water moving away from her after when she heard the glass break. He saw Nick lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of light red water mixing with his blood. His eyes were closed and his hand was shaking violently, but at least he was breathing. She slipped past the broken glass on the outskirts of the tank wall and kneeled down next to Nick, ignorant of the blood staining her already wet clothes.
"Nick," she said softly as she covered his injured hand with both of hers. "Wake up. Come on, open your eyes. Please wake up."
Nick clenched his jaw against the pain and slowly sat up, but didn't open his eyes. Not yet. He waited until the pain in his hand and arm became a dull throb. Only then did he slowly open his eyes and stare down at his mangled hand, but he quickly forgot about that and turned his attention towards Sam.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. You're the one who broke through a glass wall with your bare hands. Why did you do that?"
Nick shrugged. "I didn't have any other choice. I had to do something," he said as he was still struggling to catch his breath. He didn't wait until he did before he continued. "We have to find a way to get outta here before Marshall comes in or something."
"I've been here the entire time," Marshall's voice said from in the darkness off to the right. He appeared in the light within seconds. "That was impressive, I didn't think you'd be able to do that. I guess you really do love her."
Nick fought back the urge to yell at Marshall. "Do you not understand that we had nothing to do with each other before you? She doesn't even know me."
"But I know you," Marshall said as he stepped closer to where Nick and Sam were on the floor. "You're a nice guy and everything, but you wouldn't have done everything you have if you didn't feel something for her. Come on Nick, I'm smarter than that. But go ahead. If you can honestly tell me that you don't, then go ahead and say it."
Nick's eyes flickered from Marshall's to Sam's for an instant, then went down to the floor where the pool of water mixed with his own blood was surrounding him. The pain from the glass wasn't even affecting him. He was much more worried about Marshall using what he knew against him, which was exactly Marshall's plan.
"Will you just leave him alone?" Sam pleaded as she looked down at the still bleading Nick.
"Ahh, and you do feel something for him as well. And not just because he's saved your life a couple times. I understand. He's a great guy. But don't you worry, I'll be even better in every way. I can even prove it to you."
Sam shook her head slowly. "What are you talking about? You're crazy."
"Am I?" Marshall asked. With every word, he was sounding more and more like Nick. "I look like him, act like him, and sound like him. Who's to say I can't do everything like him? Especially with those pills I got..."
Nick visibly flinched at that thought. He felt sick to his stomach and wanted nothing more than to beat the hell out of Marshall. The only problem with that was that his hand was definitely broken and he was exhausted and in pain. As he thought about that, Nick realized that that was exactly what Marshall had been counting on. He knew Nick would do whatever it took to save Sam, which ended up giving Marshall a huge advantage over the Texan.
"So what's your choice Nick?" Marshall asked.
Nick sighed in annoyance. "What're my options?"
"You can just give up now. You're already slowly bleeding to death, you're smart enough to know that those cuts are pretty serious. You won't even be able to put up a fight. So just give in. Or, if you want to be stubborn, you can put up a fight, make this more complicated than it has to be, and waste everyone's time," Marshall said.
Nick pretended to be thinking about it for a second before he responded. "I think I'll go with my second choice. I'm not really the kind of person who would just give in to a person like you. I'd rather be a pain in the ass."
Before Marshall could say anything, Sam spoke. "I thought you were gonna prove something to me," she said quickly. "Isn't that what you said? Something about you being better than Nick in every way, which I highly doubt."
Marshall smiled slightly. "Okay. Stand up Nick."
Nick scoffed. "Fuck you."
Marshall pulled a gun out of the back of his jeans and pointed it at Nick. "Stand up," he said again.
"Fuck you," Nick repeated. But when Marshall pointed the gun at Sam, Nick moved to stand up immediatly. "Okay, okay," he said as he slowly stood, clearly in pain. He was shaking slightly from all the blood he lost already.
"Kiss him," Marshall said, looking at Sam, still holding the gun on her.
"What?" she asked in surprise.
Marshall rolled his eyes dramatically. "Kiss him. I'm going to prove to you that I am better than him in every way. Come on, it's not like you don't want to. Are you afraid I'm right?"
Nick's vision wasn't exactly in focus and his head was spinning pretty fast, but he heard and understood everything Marshall had said. He felt like he was going to pass out, but tried his best to ignore it.
"Why do you have to be better than me in that way? Why do you care so damn much? Leave her out of this," he said, his voice steadier than it should have been.
Marshall quickly strode over to Nick and hit him on the back of his neck with the butt end of the gun. Nick faltered a little bit, but didn't fall over or lose his balance. Marshall hit him again, and there was nothing Nick could do to fight back. He had no eneergy in him whatsoever and all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep for a very long time, but he knew that wasn't about to happy any time in the near future.
"Will you just shut up for five minutes? Please. You're so damn annoying Nick." Marshall turned to Sam. "See? You don't want to be with him. He's a jackass and doesn't care about you at all. All he wants from you is sex. It's so obvious."
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Were you thrown down a mountain as a child or something? You're so dilliusional it's not even funny, it's sad. Why don't you just give up, because there's no way in hell I'm letting a psychopath like you take over my life."
Without a word, Marshall pressed the gun against the side of Nick's head forcefully. That pain was nothing compared to the pain the rest of his body was in. Nick wouldn't have felt it if it weren't for the cold metal of the barrel against his hot skin. It actually felt good and made Nick wish someone would pour a bunch of ice water over him so that maybe his heart would stop racing in his chest and made his headache go away.
"Humor me," Marshall said, ignoring Nick's previous statement. "Prove me wrong. Or try to. What's the harm in it? There's more harm in not doing it. I'll kill him, I swear."
Nick looked at Sam and saw silent tears streaming down her pale face. He shook his head slowly, but he ignored him. She quickly brushed the tears away, not wanting him to see her crying. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly in an effort to calm herself down. She blamed herself for everything that had happened to Nick and didn't want anything else to happen to him. But she couldn't move from where her feet seemed to be cemented to the floor. She couldn't move, no matter how much she wanted to.
Nick saw the look in her eyes and knew what she was thinking. He knew that this had nothing to do with her and was out of both of their control. It was right now, at least. But maybe he could change that. He remembered what Grissom had said about Marshall not being able to think like him. Nick wasn't sure what he was going to do in the long run, but for right now, he would just improvise and see where he got from there. He didn't really have too many other options.
Sam's eyes were still locked with his when he stepped forward suddenly, the gun sliding away from his head. Marshall was too surprised at the sudden movement to react, but he didn't need to. In one swift motion, Nick stepped away from Marshall and over to Sam, who didn't move at all. She stood still as Nick pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softly. Her eyes fluttered closed and tears continued down her cheeks, but she didn't care. Nick's entire body had started to shake slightly, but he didn't care.
But Marshall did care because he could see that there was more to it than a kiss at gun point. He felt rage boiling up as he watched Nick, who he wanted to be, kissing Sam, who he wanted to be with. Out of pure anger, he lashed out with the gun as hard as he could until it connected with the back of Nick's head. It made a cracking sound and successfully broke up the kiss, but didn't make Nick move away. Marshall punched him in the back and his right side, where the glass and cuts were the worst. The pain made Nick yell out and his knees buckle, resulting in him falling to the floor on his knees.
Marshall kicked Nick as he walked up to Sam, sending the Texan falling over onto his left side in pain. Marshall forcefully grabbed Sam and brought her lips crashing to his, but she pulled away almost instantly. He tried again, but didn't get too far before Nick was back on his feet and punched Marshall in the face. The punch took all of Nick's remaining energy. Marshall stumbled backwards and Sam had to grab Nick to keep him from falling over again. She held on to his left arm, for herself and for him.
Marshall regained his composure and started walking towards Sam, but Nick pulled her behind him and pushed her backwards. They walked backwards, Sam behind Nick, until Sam's back hit the concrete wall and there was nowhere left for them to go. Sam gripped Nick's hand as hard as she could, peering at the advancing Marshall over Nick's shoulder.
"Get out of the way," Marshall said to Nick, holding his gun up and trying to point it at Sam.
"No," Nick said defiantly.
Marshall was clearly trying not to flip out. "I'm going to hurt you in the worst way possible. I'm gonna hurt something you love. Get out of the way."
Nick laughed slightly. "You're gonna have to do more than that to convince me. I'm not giving up, and you're not gonna win. It's that simple."
I apologize for the long time it took to get this up. My computer wasn't working well, and I've been busy with school and basketball.
More angst is to come in the next chapters. Thanks for the reviews.