Valley of the Shadow of Death

Disclaimer: Don't own them!

Please Review! Here is the other part of Nick's near death experience. Please Enjoy, I think you will :)

Ch11: Stuck

"Wake up… Nicky, wake up." Nick hears a man say feeling whoever it was shaking him. Nick lifted his head up feeling his body but unable to open his eyes. He realized he was sitting up as the person who was holding let him go. Nick slummed forward. "Damn it, Nicky, wake up!" the man said dumping a cool liquid on him. Nick's eyes shot up as the cool liquid pulled him from his weak state. Nick saw his longtime friend looking down at him.

"Warrick?" Nick panted confused as he tried to gain control of his breathing but it felt as if someone else was breathing for him.

"Hey Nicky," Warrick said putting his hands on his hands as he looked down at Nick who seemed confused.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Nick asked standing up in a fright, he didn't hurt as much anymore but he was slowly but surely having difficulty breathing. He immediately checked his midsection for the gunshot wound but didn't find one, untucking his shirt but now even finding a scar. "I thought I was shot." Nick said touching his skin.

"You were." Warrick replied simply as he took his watch and rings off. Nick looked up at his friend confused of what he was doing but then the strange reality of what was going on hit Nick like an epiphany.

"Am I dead?!" Nick asked panicked.

"No… you are stuck." Warrick said empting his pockets.

"What do you mean? Rick, please tell me what's going on?" Nick asked touching his friend's shoulder.

"The door behind me will bring you back to your hospital bed, but I will be honest with you Nicky. You aren't doing so well. Or you can stay here… with me?" Warrick said slowly adding the last part.

Nick's face fell he couldn't believe that this was happening he didn't want to have to choose between his dead best friend, or his life. This wasn't his fault or Warrick's fault but yet here they were in a hostile but yet awkward situation.

"I'm sorry, Warrick. I can't stay." Nick said feeling tears rush to his eyes. Nick went to walk past his friend but Warrick pushed Nick back, not hard but enough to stop him and get his attention.

"It's not that easy, Nicky. You want out that door; you have to get passed me?" Warrick said changing his body language completely so that he looked like a bull ready to pummel Nick.

"I don't want to fight you…" Nick said begging his friend, as he shied away putting his hands up ready to defend himself but more as if he surrendered to his friend showing he wasn't a threat.

"I'm sorry, Nicky but this is the way it has to be." His friend said as he pushed Nick down. Nick stumbled on a strangely placed ottoman and fell onto his back looking up at the ceiling.

"Nick, please wake up." Nick heard Mandy whisper. He looked around for her but didn't see her but he could almost feel her there. Nick sighed as he got to his feet he charged Warrick in an effect to take him down. He could hear Mandy as if she was cheering him on, only if she knew the madness that was going on in his head right now.

Mandy squeezes Nick's hand with no response back from him. His hand loosely holding on to her, his hand was cold and a little clammy. Mandy brushed his bangs out of his face careful not to knock or hit his breathing tube. She held his hand with both of hers bringing it to her lips as she kissed it softly before resting it on her cheek. DB placed a hand on her shoulder. Mandy was blessed that DB had stayed around because she felt for sure that she would have gone crazy long ago if he wasn't still here.

Jillian couldn't bring herself inside and see her son like that so she paced around outside as if on guard. It brought her mind at ease just a little but Mandy learned that Nick coped with stress the same way his mom did. They paced aimlessly.

"You know…" Mandy choked out as DB moved to sit in the chair on the other side of Nick's bed. "He's never this still, especially when he sleeps." Mandy said wiping her eyes. She felt as if she was looking at the shell of Nick, as he lay in the hospital bed.

"What do you mean?" DB asked looking at the depressed lab tech, as she looked at the love of her life with sad eyes.

"I remember thinking to myself the first couple times when I slept over how awesome it was that he didn't snore. He mumbles a little but he didn't snore. I can deal with mumbling I told myself. I remember thinking we were a match made in heaven." She chuckled as she held his hand and lightly stroked his inner forearm.

"That's sweet." DB said smiling.

"He would wait until I fell asleep and then he would move and sleep on the floor or move to the couch. First, he told me he was a bed hog… but he's not." Mandy smiled still never taking her eyes off Nick.

"Then what was it?" DB asked intrigued by her story.

Mandy wakes up as Nick rolls over for what felt like the hundredth time, all while he was in the deepest sleep. Mandy couldn't believe how much he moved asleep, instead of restless legs syndrome his whole body was restless. He tossed and turned, jolted up, jumped, and shook a little. He would push pillows away and kick the covers away all while being sound asleep.

Nick jolts up starling Mandy knocking his pillow off the bed, rolling over just to use his arm as a pillow instead of the abused pillow. Mandy sat up and looked down as him. Mandy wondered if Nick ever woke up with muscle fatigue because of how much he had moved. Once he was still, Mandy laid back down hoping to catch some more sleep before her shift. However once she got comfortable Nick rolled over again, putting one hand behind his head and putting the other under shirt on his stomach. Mandy's eyes shot open and she moved and straddled Nick putting her hands on his shoulders down as if holding him still. Nick stirred a little before opening his eyes but wore a sleepy expression on his face. Nick lifted his head and looked around and then looked up at Mandy.

"What's going on, babe?" Nick asked putting his hands on her hips as he yawned. It was evident that Nick's brain was still asleep, he wore it on his face as he looked at Mandy's with droopy bleary eyes.

"Why can't you relax?" Mandy asked and Nick looked up at her confused.

"What? You are on top of me… I'm confused?" Nick said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, as he finally woke up. "Did I wake you up?" Nick asked, Mandy nodded.

"Yes." Mandy said.

"Sorry." Nick said in that sultry drawl. He pulled her close and she snuggled in using his chest on a pillow. She could hear his heart beating as if it was a drum calming her into sleep but just before she fell asleep he jolted… again, it wasn't a regular jolt either. Mandy lifted her head looking at him. His eyes were closed but she could see him fighting a smile. He opened his one eye to see her, and broke out in laughter. As displease as Mandy was she couldn't help but laugh too. She rolled away only to be pulled back by Nick.

"You are so funny." Mandy teased. Nick smiled as he wrapped his arms around her pulling her close.

"I love you." Nick said kissing her cheek.

"I love you, too, but we only have an hour left of sleep before we have to get ready to go back to work." Mandy said welcoming his embrace.

"You are right, but I know something else we can before we have to get ready." Nick said kissing her bare shoulder. Mandy was wearing one of his shirts and they were always too big.

"You are so romantic…" Mandy said moving her neck to give him a better point of access. Nick smiled as he kissed her neck again.

"You know I try." Nick purred against her skin.

"After a while I kind of just got use to the way he sleeps. We tried everything to see if it would help, but nothing does." Mandy said brushing Nick's bangs again because they had fallen.

"Maybe its stressed?" DB asked adjusting in his seat.

"When he's stressed he doesn't sleep… at all. He cleans a lot but he will walk aimlessly around the house at all hours of the day when we should be asleep… that's why when he flew off the handle…" Mandy said pausing just feeling more and more terrible. She sighed and fought through her sadness. "I thought… I thought he would come to me. So we could talk, so I could help him. DB, I would have supported Nick's choice either way, if he even let me in to understand it. I love him with everything."

"He's stubborn just like his father." Jillian said wiping her eyes looking at her son as he lay in the bed as the machine breathed for him. This was like scary déjà vu from a year prior. "Roger, would tell me that it was nothing he couldn't handle. I remember telling him that normal people sleep at 3 am, until Nick started working grave." Jillian chuckled a little before wiping her eyes. "But, he has always slept like that. His brother, Matthew, use to hate sharing a room with him so I would find either one of them on the couch but then Roger gave up his study so they could have their own rooms." By her words you could feel the love she had for her late husband and the worry and heartache she had in her voice as she reminisced the fond memory of her late husband.

I hope you enjoyed this and there will be one more part of his near death experince. I threw in another flashback as well what did you think? What did you think? Please Enjoy!