Replacement Part II

Here's the next part! You guys probably all hate me for being super late with this, but graduation is on the way and it has been hectic. Once I get past that, I'll be able to write full time! I hope people are still reading this! Enjoy :)

"Plea-he-hese! Please stop! Ahhhh!" Greg cried.

"Beg for your life! Beg!" Marcus laughed, ramming a cigar into Greg's bare skin. There were already marks all over his neck, arms and torso. Now Marcus had moved to the kid's chest.

Nick trembled in anger as he forced himself to watch Greg's torture. The rest of the team stood around him, watching as well with tears in their eyes and nausea in their stomachs. Nick had called them in ten minutes ago, unsure that he could see this on his own any longer. It was too much to handle; too much guilt. And the video…the video was an hour long. One hour of torture that his little brother was receiving and it was supposed to be him instead. He should've been the one getting that torment, not Greg.

"Nicky?" Catherine whispered placing a hand on his shoulder. She knew how hard this was for the man and to know that they'd grabbed the wrong person must've made it worse. "Nick, it'll be alright. We're tracking down where this was sent from."

Nick remained silent, unable to take his eyes off the screen no matter how much it killed him. He doubted they'd find the sender, there had been no prints on the envelope and the delivery boy said the envelope just appeared in his bag. However, he did remember placing the bag in the truck- in sight- while he went inside the convenience store. No doubt the kidnapper had placed it in there without being caught by any cameras.

"Do you want to go take a break?" She asked.

"No…God, this is all my fault, Cath."

"Nick-"

"I'm fine," he took a deep breath and put his face in his hands. "Really, I am."

All of a sudden, Greg's screaming turned into gasps for air, causing everyone to look up in fear.

"So that concludes this video, Nicky; are you ready for the live viewing? I thought so. I'll send you a link in a while. So just sit back, relax and be patient." The screen went black and the room was completely silent.

Catherine reached over and ejected the CD. "I'll get this to Hodges for prints and then see if Archie can do anything with it."

Nick clenched his jaw and nodded, trying to keep himself from puking. Drilling holes into teeth, cigarette burns, knife cuts…what else? What else would Greg be subjected to that was actually meant for him instead?

"We're gonna find him right?" He said quietly to Sara who was staring at him sadly.

"There's no doubt in my mind, Nick," she whispered. Question was would they find him alive?

Nick turned to the brunette and smiled grimly before returning his gaze back to the empty screen. When that camera turned on, he would be right there; he would be Greg's first sight, letting him know he'd be there with him until they got him out.

"Are you gonna be alright while I go with Grissom to speak to Ecklie?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. Go ahead." Truthfully, he didn't want to do this alone; but he was supposed to be the strong one on the team so he couldn't act weak. Greg didn't need him to be weak…but maybe the kid was the stronger one. Evidence from over the past week after Warrick had proved that.

"God Greggo, please forgive me for being such a selfish bastard…I'm so sorry."

~+CSI+~

Nick's cheek was propped up on his fist, trying to stop himself from falling asleep. Plagued by nightmares, he'd only gotten at least two or three hours of a shut eye on the break room couch and waiting for an hour wasn't helping his case. All of a sudden, the computer lit up, signifying a new email. His heart fluttering, Nick sat up and moved the mouse over to the link that read 'click me.' He inhaled sharply when his webcam beeped, indicating it was on…and live. And on the screen sat Greg, slumped in a single chair, hands tied behind his back and unmoving.

"G…Greggo, can you hear me man?" He was scared right now; Greg wasn't responding and he couldn't see if the kid was breathing. "Come on, come on. Talk to me buddy."

A small groan finally sounded through the speakers and Greg's head rolled on his shoulder until he was sitting up right.

"That's it bud." But Greg looked like shit. Blood caked the right side of his head, all in his blonde hair and most of his chin. His left eye was swollen shut and bruises were starting to form all over his face. The cigarette burns were starting to look infected and the shallow knife cuts, even though they stopped bleeding, looked really bad. "Oh Greg."

"Nick?" Greg wheezed, yet barely opening his mouth. His jaw was killing him from the drill and he knew some of his teeth were going to be damaged… just hopefully not permanently. "T-That you?"

"Yeah man. You alright?"

"B-Been better."

"Don't worry, we're gonna find you…do you have any idea where you are?"

Greg glanced around. "J-Just a warehouse."

"And there are hundreds of warehouses in Nevada…dammit."

"N-Nick? Nick, in case I don't…in case I don't get out of here-"

"Greg, stop."

"I want you to know I'm sorry for sn-snapping at you earlier."

"You had a reason to; I shouldn't have been comparing you to Warrick."

"B-But you were right…n-not good enough…not a g-good CSI."

"Greg that's not-"

"Aw, well isn't this nice." A voice said. The man came into view and Nick growled.

"So I hoped you liked my little video; I know Greggo had fun." The kidnapper placed a hand on Greg's shoulder, causing him to flinch.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Ooh, you can't tell? Let me fill you in, Nicky. You, uh, shot my friend- my brother- and now he's in jail. We were a team and he was my family; so now since you took my brother away, I'm returning the favor."

Nick frowned before a light bulb went off in his head. "Marcus Davis?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" He pulled off the mask with a grin. "You are correct. Now I'll make a deal; you get my brother released from jail and bring him to me or…your friend will get tortured to death."

Nick breathed heavily, clenching his teeth together. "You're bluffing. The moment we bring your brother, you'll kill him anyways."

Marcus smirked as he went over to Greg. Without warning, he whipped out a screwdriver, smacked a hand over Greg's mouth and stabbed the tool into the man's leg. The young CSI let out a muffled scream, thrashing in the chair.

"No!" He saw tears dripping down Greg's face and his chest heaving. Maybe Marcus really wasn't bluffing. "Okay, okay, I get it!"

"You have five hours."

And with that, the camera turned off, leaving Nick lost for words. Because they were so screwed…Marcus' brother died in prison two years ago.

~+CSI+~

Nick paced the computer room, wishing the camera would turn back on; he needed to talk to Greg. He needed to apologize. He hadn't been such a great friend- or brother- at all. Greg was only trying to cheer him up since Warrick had died. But he had just blown him off because he'd been too fucking selfish and self-absorbed with his own problems. He knew Greg had been mourning; Hodges even told him about Greg crying when he was talking to the shrink…but he had done nothing about it. Nick swallowed and wiped his mouth; he was some brother. Greg had to pull through this; he just had to.

Sighing in sheer frustration, Nick reluctantly left the room and headed down the hall. He needed a coffee…he needed his little brother back. As he made his way towards the break room, he passed the lockers and it made him stop. Nick slowly walked inside and went to his locker; upon opening it, he grinned weakly. The first thing that greeted him was the small picture he taped up to the door of him, Warrick and Greg. It had been Greg's birthday and they had taken him out for a drink…and it was fun messing with a drunken Greg. It almost got to the point where they were kicked out of the bar, but luckily they left. The next morning found them all passed out at Nick's, but Greg the only one with the severe hangover. Grissom wasn't amused. Good times.

Nick put the photo back inside and rubbed the back of his neck. Good times that had changed drastically. That photo had been before Greg became a CSI; before he wasn't exposed to the horrors of this gruesome job. When he was crazy and listened to loud music and wore weird shirts. But that was all in the past; Greg was different now and Nick didn't particularly like it. Sure, it was good that the man was serious, but it was just bizarre to see a huge change in the man who he thought would never grow up.

"Nick." A voice broke him out of his thoughts. It was Sara. He looked up and he saw panic in her dark eyes.

"What? What is it?"

"It's Greg; the camera turned back on."

When they reached the computer, Nick let out a little sigh of relief. Greg looked exactly the same way he had before…maybe a little bit green around the gills and on the verge of passing out, but Nick saw no new injuries.

"There you are Nick; I was beginning to think you'd left this little beauty all by himself with me." Marcus stroked Greg's cheek, causing the kid to whimper and shy away weakly. He trailed his finger down Greg's side and towards his belt and Greg shivered in disgust…this couldn't be happening, he couldn't be doing what he thought he was gonna do.

"Get your fucking hands off of him!" the Texan growled protectively. He just wanted to reach inside the computer and strangle the bastard right then and there. "I swear to god!"

"Oh?" Marcus stopped at Greg's belt buckle. "Fine, I have something better planned anyways." Marcus waved to someone off screen and Nick's eyes flicked to the corner, waiting for whatever was coming. Another damn thing that Greg was gonna have to fight through.

Marcus' henchmen dragged a large tub into view…a tub filled with water. Nick gripped the table, knowing exactly what was gonna happen.

"Stop! Please, don't do this!"

"But me and Greggo are gonna have so much fun."

Nick and Sara watched helplessly as Greg was dragged over to the tub and dumped into the murky water. Marcus grabbed the young CSI by the collar and pushed him under. Nick could see Greg's limbs failing, water splashing everywhere…fighting for his life. It seemed like forever, but Greg was finally brought to the surface and he was desperately trying to take in oxygen, clawing at the sides of the tub.

"Stop! Please, stop hurting him!"

"Ni-" Greg began. But before he could get out another word, he was pushed back under. This went on for fifteen minutes and Nick could see Greg was starting to give up. The thrashing was weaker and every time Greg was brought up to get a couple seconds of air, he would barely take in any.

"Stop! Please, I beg you." Nick tried to hold in the tears, but it was difficult to see his little brother so close to death.

"Alright, alright; I was getting bored anyways. Tie him back up…actually, I have a better idea. Dump him on the floor and come with me."

The henchman tied Greg's wrists back up and then pulled him out of the tub, throwing him to the ground. Greg coughed harshly, weakly pushing himself to his knees, his body trembling intensely.

"Greg…Greg, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Greg choked out. "Yeah I'm good."

"Good…just hang in there. We're gonna find-"

"What are you doing?"

Nick frowned. "What do you mean?"

"No…what are you doing with that?"

And then Nick realized that Marcus had come back. All of a sudden, Marcus' evil smile popped up in front of the camera before it shut off once again.

"Son of a bitch!" He slammed his fist on the table, startling Sara, before running his fingers through his hair. No telling what Marcus had in store for the kid. Grumbling in frustration, he went to go search for Archie, hoping he tracked the IP address down.

"Please tell me you know where he is," he breathed, hovering over the tech.

"I almost do…just give me another ten minutes."

Nick inwardly groaned. "Hurry; he turned the camera off again."

Archie nodded nervously, typing faster than he had ever done before.

"Let me know when you get it." Nick ran back to the computer room, praying that the camera had turned back on…and it had. What he saw made his legs go weak. Greg was now hanging from his wrists by a moldy rope and Marcus was circling around him with a large knife in his hands.

"Now don't move a muscle, Greg, you wouldn't want me to accidently hit something vital, would you?"

And without warning, Marcus pushed the knife into Greg's side slowly. The young CSI gasped in surprise and a look of pain flashed across his sweat covered face. Nick shouted in anger in hopes that Marcus would stop, but the man just ignored him. In five minutes, there were ten knife wounds with blood trickling down Greg's body and his pants. Nick was trembling, so close to breaking down.

"Please stop," he bowed his head and whispered, hearing Greg's labored breathing.

"But we're not finished yet." And he wasn't. Instead of stabbing Greg's slowly, he propelled it into his little brother's body. Again and again and again. Soon enough, Greg was unable to make a sound and blood caked his pant legs.

"So Nicky, we are close to concluding our show; your five hours are almost up and so is Greg's life. I hope you have my brother or I'll be slitting your brother's throat. See you soon."

And as soon as the screen went black for, what seemed like, the hundredth time, Archie appeared in the doorway, nearly out of breath. "I found him."

~+CSI+~

As soon as the cars screeched at the warehouse, gunshots emitted from inside. They all ducked behind the doors, returning fire, hoping they could hit whoever was shooting at them…whoever was keeping them from Greg. Nick's heart was racing as he aimed into the open space; determined to kill.

"Gaah!" A man fell out, clutching his side, blood spilling onto the dirt. Another thirty seconds and another man fell out, but dead. Without warning, the guy they all recognized as Marcus bolted out, heading for the next nearest warehouse. While a few officers went over to the injured henchman, everyone else started to follow Marcus. But Nick was torn between where he should go; beat the shit out of the guy who hurt his little brother or go find the kid.

"Go Nick!" Catherine shouted. "You go get Greg, we'll go after Marcus.

Nodding, they went their separate ways. Nick burst into the musty room, knowing that the rest of the team had Marcus. Frantically, he scanned the room for Greg…but it was empty. What the hell did he do with the kid?

"Dammit! Greg! Greg buddy can you hear me?" Nick ran around searching for his best friend. There wasn't a lot of time left; Greg was bleeding out and who knows what internal injuries the kid had. "Gre-" He suddenly noticed a thin hallway leading down to another part of the warehouse.

"Greg! I'm coming man, just hold on." And when he finally reached the other side, he felt like he was gonna be sick. Greg was hanging from his wrists, feet barely touching the floor and his head down.

"No…" Nick bolted over and cupped Greg's grime covered face and lifted it up. His face was a mess…it looked a lot worse up close. His clothes were soaked to the bone and his skin was pale underneath all the injuries and blood…so much blood. Stroking the man's cheek with his thumb, he desperately tried to wake the unconscious man up. "G, wake up. Greg! God." Just as he took his knife and got ready to cut the ropes, Greg flinched out of nowhere and moaned hoarsely.

"Greg?"

"P-Please…no more," he whimpered, head rolling away from Nick and forehead creasing in fear. "D-Don't hurt m-me any…anymore."

"Hey, hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. It's Nick; we found you, you're gonna be okay now."

"N-Nick?" Greg's uninjured eye finally slipped open. "Y-You came?"

"Course I came, man."

"Th-Thought you didn't c-care 'bout me." Greg closed his eyes, the blood loss making him sleepy.

Nick frowned, guilt washing over him. "Well, you thought wrong, buddy." The Texan reached up and carefully began cutting the ropes, his arm gently wrapped around the kid's skinny waist. "I would never leave you hanging…no pun intended."

Greg let out a throaty laugh but groaned when the ropes started to give away and release some of the tension in his arms.

"Sorry."

"S'okay."

It remained silent for a moment as Nick worked continuously to break the bonds. "Almost there, kiddo." And after a few more seconds, the rope was cut and Greg fell into Nick's arms with a gasp.

"It h-hurts Nick."

"It'll be okay, you're safe. Now let's get you the hell out of here." Careful of his little brother's injuries, Nick picked Greg up bridal style and went back the way he came. He hugged the kid to his chest when he felt tears wet his shirt. "You're safe now; I'm never letting you go." He gave a quick brotherly kiss to the top of the man's head before finally exiting the warehouse and into the arms of paramedics.

"Nick!" Greg cried when he was ripped away the protective hold. "Wh-where-"

"I'm right here, man," the Texan said, popping his head over the many EMTs that were getting his friend ready for transport. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving you."

Greg coughed violently, unable to take in a breath and Nick knew it was the result of nearly being drowned. He couldn't wait to get Marcus in custody; that way he could rip the guy to pieces. When the coughing didn't stop, he started to get a little worried.

"Greg? G, take it easy."

And then the worst of his fears; everything went silent. Greg was no longer coughing…or breathing.

"No."

"Inject him with adrenaline; we need to get him to the hospital now or we'll never get him back. Start compressions in the bus." Greg was lifted onto the stretcher and loaded into the ambulance. Nick started to get on, but was pushed back.

"I'm sorry, but there isn't enough room."

"But-"

"We're bringing him to Spring Valley; you can meet us there." With that, the doors slammed in his face and the vehicle sped away without hesitation. Nick was now alone with his fear that this could've been the last time he saw Greg alive…and he never even said how sorry he was…he never got the chance to tell his little brother how much he really meant to him.

"Greg…don't leave me."

~+CSI+~

Nick paced the waiting room nervously, biting his lip and only thinking about his little brother. Countless times, Catherine tried to persuade him to sit down or go eat something, but he refused. He wasn't leaving, sleeping, eating or relaxing until he knew Greg was okay.

"Nicky please…just sit down." He was a bit shaken after chasing and killing Marcus. She knew the Texan wanted to do some damage, but so did she; no one hurt her family.

"I'm not sitting, Catherine! Not until I know he's alive and okay."

The blonde sighed sadly, shaking her head and glancing at Grissom. They waited for another three hours before someone finally emerged from the double doors.

"Family of Greg Sanders?"

Nick perked up and quickly walked over to the man. "Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Nick." Grissom pulled him back gently. "Take it easy."

The doctor smiled in sympathy and took a deep breath.

"Please….please tell me if he's…he's not…" Nick began.

"He's alive."

Everyone let out a relieved sigh. Greg was alive…but was he okay?

"My name is Dr. Carl Matthews and I tended to Greg's injuries and I must say he's very lucky to be alive. You guys have a fighter."

Nick smiled weakly before he focused his attention to the details. "What I saw was horrific and he'll have a long way to recovery."

"Physically and mentally, doctor," Nick thought.

"All the cigarette burns and shallow knife cuts have become infected and caused him to get a 105° degree fever. The deeper wounds he obtained weren't as bad, seeing as they didn't nick anything too vital. His spleen was hit, but it was repaired immediately and there was no need for removal. It's said here that Mr. Sanders was nearly drowned and so we had to drain his lungs of the fluid. Now he has pneumonia and will have a pretty nasty cough for a while, but he should be fine. Other than the concussion, the two most dangerous injuries are the drilled teeth and the stab wound in his leg. I've scheduled an appointment for dental reconstruction, but the drill went extremely close to his nerves so there is a possibility he'll have problems with his jaw. The stab wound is also infected and hit the femoral artery; he lost a lot of blood, but we are transfusing him some as we speak. All in all, it will be rough, but I'm sure with the support from you all, he'll be able to get through this."

Nick wanted to punch something; throw-up and then punch something. Greg was in terrible condition and it was all because of him. Those injuries, those surgeries, they were all meant for him, but he got Greg mad and now he had faced dire consequences.

"Is he…awake?" Sara whispered. "Can we see him?"

"He's not awake, however, I will let one of you sit with him until we bring him to the dental reconstruction surgery."

Everyone looked at Nick. "You go Nicky," Catherine smiled. "We can wait."

The Texan forced a smile and nodded before following Dr. Matthews down the hall. He was honest to god terrified at what he'd see. What he had learned about Greg's injuries made it sound like it was really, really bad. Like close to death bad.

"Here we are," the doctor said, standing in front of the large ICU room. "And don't worry; it sounds worse than it actually is."

"Thanks," he mumbled before heading inside the dark room. And what he saw made his heart stop. Greg looked horrible. He was so small and fragile looking; his face was a mess of bruises and cuts. A nasal cannula ran underneath his nose, giving him oxygen he lost while being drowned. Moving down, a large bandage was placed on the neck burns, and some were wrapped around his arms as well. From under his armpits and down to his waist was an even bigger bandage wrapped around his body, covering the knife wounds that had been so bad. Same thing with the stab wound in his leg. His face was covered in a thick layer of sweat and he could basically felt the heat emanating off his body.

"Oh god, G. I'm so sorry." He carefully walked over to the unconscious man and gently placed his hand on Greg's cold one. He winced as the scratchy breathing hitched, which caused him to almost pull away, fearful that he might've woken him up. Tears dripped down his cheek and he sniffed.

"Please forgive me, Greg and please, please don't leave me. I've been such a bad brother to you lately and I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to talk to me again. I just need to know that you're okay. Greggo…please; I love you man."

All of a sudden, the kid's fingers twitched underneath his palm. "Greg?"

Greg's hand curled and he moaned weakly, head rolling on the pillow towards Nick's voice.

"N-Ngh."

"Yeah buddy, it's me. You're safe now, I've got you."

"Not your f-fault…mine…weak."

"That's not true, Greg."

"S'true…weak…not like Warrick."

"You don't need to be like Warrick. You need to be like Greg Sanders; the crazy, energetic little brother that I love."

"B-Brother?"

"Yeah man, you're my little brother and I've been too caught up in myself to see that. That you're still here and that you also need someone to lean on. Warrick wasn't just my brother, he was both of ours."

A tear slipped out of Greg's closed eyes and Nick squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"N-Never blamed y-you…but f-forgive you."

Nick smiled. "Thanks man…now get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"'Kay…Nick?"

"Yeah man?"

"L-Love you, too."

Nick was surprised; he didn't think Greg had heard him. But that was good. Greg was his little brother and he'd never forget that ever again.

Fin!

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