Chapter Twenty Four-Need of Freedom, Returned, and a Deadly Present
"GREG! Get your ass back here right now!" Greg groaned, stopped walking, and turned around, shouting back.
"I wanna go home!" Nick stomped over to Greg.
"Yea, with me!"
"Nick, come one, man, I wanna go back to MY home! My own house! Not your house!" Nick sighed.
"I know, I know, but Rick Johnson is still out there! He might go after you when you're home alone! But when you're at my house with me, you're NOT alone, and Rick won't be able to get you without going through me!" Greg sighed.
'That's what I'm afraid of.' Greg thought in his mind.
"Look, Nick, I love you like a bro, but, man, it's been one and a half freakin years! Johnson's long gone by now! If he wanted to kill me, he would've done it already! He's probably given up and left this country! Nick, buddy, I've been living at your house with you ever since I was released from the hospital! And Rick hasn't tried anything with me, he hasn't even shown his face around here so far! Dude, this has got to stop, now! I need my personal space, I need my house back, and I really need my normal life back! It's not that I don't enjoy your company and all, but, Nick, everywhere I go, you, or Warrick, or Grissom, or Catherine, or Sara is with me! I mean, it's REALLY annoying man, what the hell! It's not like you guys are my freakin mom!" Greg yelled angrily. Nick stood there, shocked and speechless at the blow-up. Greg stared regrettably at Nick's hurt expression.
"Greg, we're just trying to protect you-"
"I know, and I'm sorry I said that, but give me at least one day of freedom, alone...please Nick." Greg interrupted. Nick stared at Greg, looked down, and nodded reluctantly. Greg smiled grimly in thanks, and walked out of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Nick sighed and turned around, met by the faces of Warrick and Sara.
"Wow, he has a lot of anger and frustration inside of him..." Sara said, referring to Greg. Nick sighed.
"You heard everything?"
"Yea, we did, around the corner, Greg's right though, I mean, the no personal space parts anyway. We still think that Rick's gonna go after him, but one day won't matter." Warrick said. Sara nodded.
"Yea, just one day...we owe him that much..." Nick nodded, and the three of them turned back to work. But oh, how wrong they were.
~~~In Greg's car~~~
Greg sat in the driver's seat, feeling guilty.
'Man, I really shouldn't have said that, I mean, they were doing that for my own welfare. But they do need to give me some personal space.' Greg sighed.
"I guess I'll just go back to Nick's, and wait for him to come home so I can apologize to him about everything." Greg said to himself, started the car, and drove away back towards Nick's house.
~~~Meanwhile at Nick's House~~~
"Hehe, goodbye, Greggy boy, and goodbye to your other CSI buddy as well." A stranger said while depositing some contents into the water jug.
"Hey, are you done yet?" Another stranger asked.
"Yea, let's go." Then, the two strangers silently exited the door, and locked it again with a stolen spare key. (Obviously, we all know who the two "strangers" are...hehe, I just wanted to sound mysterious, LOL!)
~~~A while later~~~
Greg opened the door and walked into Nick's house, stretching, and dropped the keys onto the counter beside him. Then, Greg walked over to the phone, pressed the 'message' button, proceeded to the water jug, and poured a cup of water.
'Beep' "You have, two messages. First message." 'Beep'
"Hi Mr. Greg and Mr. Nick, I'm Lindsay, mommy's daughter. It's my birthday next, next, next week, can you come to my party? Pretty please! Ask mommy about the other time and stuff. Okay! Bye bye!" Greg smiled to himself as he finished drinking the water, and started to walk to his room.
'Beep' "Next message." 'Beep'
"Hey Greg boy, guess who's back. Me. Did you get my present yet? My...accomplice and I made it ourselves...we invented it. Have fun with it, don't die so fast, I'll see you soon."
'Beep' Greg immediately paled and sharply turned to the phone, he ran over to it, and listened to the message again.
"Oh my God, I wasn't imagining it! It's Rick Johnson's voice! What the hell is the present?" Greg panicked. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his abdomen, then, the pain worsened, and Greg fell down on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, teeth clenched, clutching his stomach painfully, as waves of intense pain passed through his entire body.
"Shit, what the hell is wrong with me?" Then, it dawned on Greg.
"Damn, it's the present...shit, it was the water!" Greg screamed in pain.
"Damn!" Greg yelled again. Then, he slowly and painfully got up, staggered to the water jug, poured a bit of water into the cup with trembling hands, and then poured the rest down the drain. Suddenly, Greg dropped the jug, and fell back onto the ground, tears falling from his eyes, sweat dripping down his face, and he screamed in pain again.
"Damn this! It F***ING hurts!" Greg crunched into a ball, as waves of what felt like fire burned inside of him, not just in the stomach anymore, but practically everywhere.
~~~15 minutes later~~~
Nick parked his Tahoe in the driveway, seeing Greg's car, he was relieved, thinking that Greg changed his mind about the whole 'wanna be alone' thing. Nick closed his car, and walked excitedly towards the house, but about a meter away, Nick could hear crying and pleas of help. Nick paled, and immediately unlocked his door, opened it, and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight presented before him. But then, years of experience told him that this wasn't the time to stop, so Nick ran to the phone, dialed 911, then ran to Greg's side.
"Greg! What happened?" Greg stopped crying and turned to Nick sharply, his eyes large and full of pain, on the verge of unconsciousness.
"Nick! Phone messages...poison...water...I...I poured a...a sample in...in a cup...hurts...fire...pain everywhere...damn it Nick, it freakin hurts like hell!" Greg partly yelled and whimpered. Nick nodded and tears formed in his eyes at Greg's current suffering. Then, finally, Greg's strength ran out, and he passed out into blissful darkness.
"Greg! God!" Nick panicked, checked Greg's pulse, and sighed in relief as there was still a pulse, weak, but it was there. A moment later, Nick could hear the ambulance sirens from a distance, he ran to the phone, pressed the 'message' button, quickly grabbed the cup filled with the poisonous water, and returned to Greg's side. As Nick listened to the second message, his eyes flared up with anger, and he swore, wishing Rick dead. A while later, the paramedics rushed through the door, put Greg on the gurney, and wheeled him out, followed by Nick.
~~~In the hospital~~~
Nick sat on one of the chairs beside the ER, cup still in hand. Then, the rest of the CSIs arrived and rushed to Nick.
"Hey! Nick! What happened?" Sara asked, eyes wide with fear.
"Well, I just went home, and I saw Greg on the ground, in pain and asking for help. I called the ambulance, then I went to check on Greg, and he said multiple words. I pieced them together, and he told me first to listen to the phone message, then he said that the water was poisoned, and he poured some in a cup, this cup." Nick held up the cup.
"Then, he told me that he was in pain, that he felt like fire was burning him everywhere, and that..." Nick breathed deeply as tears once again formed in his eyes.
"And that he hurt everywhere really badly! I listened to the phone messages, the first was from Cath's kid, Lindsay, asking if Greg and I would like to go to her birthday party three weeks later. But...the second message was from...Rick Johnson...he's back, and he's the one who poisoned the water. Rick said that him and his accomplice invented the poison."
"Damn." Warrick swore. Grissom sighed, Catherine sighed disappointedly, and Sara crunched her fist.
"So, I called you guys down here, hoping that at least one of you would help get this back to the lab and find out what's in here." Nick explained, referring to the cup.
"I'll go." Warrick volunteered.
"So will I." Catherine said. Nick nodded, handed Catherine the cup, and she and Warrick rushed back to the lab. Grissom, Sara, and Nick turned to sit down on the chairs, and waited for Greg's news like they did one and a half years ago.
~~~Elsewhere~~~
Nikki and Rick laughed evilly.
"Phase one..." Nikki said.
"Complete." Rick finished.
"All thanks to you." Nikki whispered into Rick's ear. Rick grinned and wrapped his arms around Nikki's waist, and pulled her close to him.
"No, all thanks to the both of us." Nikki grinned widely.
"I love you, my husband."
"I love you too, my wife." Rick grinned back, and they kissed. (Yes, people, I know it might be random, but Rick and Nikki are in love, really, and they got married during the one year and a half. They fell in love cause they both wanted to hurt Greg. "sniff sniff" poor poor Greg)
A/N: Plz review more!!!!! And thanx for telling me about Sanderslover! =D
"GREG! Get your ass back here right now!" Greg groaned, stopped walking, and turned around, shouting back.
"I wanna go home!" Nick stomped over to Greg.
"Yea, with me!"
"Nick, come one, man, I wanna go back to MY home! My own house! Not your house!" Nick sighed.
"I know, I know, but Rick Johnson is still out there! He might go after you when you're home alone! But when you're at my house with me, you're NOT alone, and Rick won't be able to get you without going through me!" Greg sighed.
'That's what I'm afraid of.' Greg thought in his mind.
"Look, Nick, I love you like a bro, but, man, it's been one and a half freakin years! Johnson's long gone by now! If he wanted to kill me, he would've done it already! He's probably given up and left this country! Nick, buddy, I've been living at your house with you ever since I was released from the hospital! And Rick hasn't tried anything with me, he hasn't even shown his face around here so far! Dude, this has got to stop, now! I need my personal space, I need my house back, and I really need my normal life back! It's not that I don't enjoy your company and all, but, Nick, everywhere I go, you, or Warrick, or Grissom, or Catherine, or Sara is with me! I mean, it's REALLY annoying man, what the hell! It's not like you guys are my freakin mom!" Greg yelled angrily. Nick stood there, shocked and speechless at the blow-up. Greg stared regrettably at Nick's hurt expression.
"Greg, we're just trying to protect you-"
"I know, and I'm sorry I said that, but give me at least one day of freedom, alone...please Nick." Greg interrupted. Nick stared at Greg, looked down, and nodded reluctantly. Greg smiled grimly in thanks, and walked out of the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Nick sighed and turned around, met by the faces of Warrick and Sara.
"Wow, he has a lot of anger and frustration inside of him..." Sara said, referring to Greg. Nick sighed.
"You heard everything?"
"Yea, we did, around the corner, Greg's right though, I mean, the no personal space parts anyway. We still think that Rick's gonna go after him, but one day won't matter." Warrick said. Sara nodded.
"Yea, just one day...we owe him that much..." Nick nodded, and the three of them turned back to work. But oh, how wrong they were.
~~~In Greg's car~~~
Greg sat in the driver's seat, feeling guilty.
'Man, I really shouldn't have said that, I mean, they were doing that for my own welfare. But they do need to give me some personal space.' Greg sighed.
"I guess I'll just go back to Nick's, and wait for him to come home so I can apologize to him about everything." Greg said to himself, started the car, and drove away back towards Nick's house.
~~~Meanwhile at Nick's House~~~
"Hehe, goodbye, Greggy boy, and goodbye to your other CSI buddy as well." A stranger said while depositing some contents into the water jug.
"Hey, are you done yet?" Another stranger asked.
"Yea, let's go." Then, the two strangers silently exited the door, and locked it again with a stolen spare key. (Obviously, we all know who the two "strangers" are...hehe, I just wanted to sound mysterious, LOL!)
~~~A while later~~~
Greg opened the door and walked into Nick's house, stretching, and dropped the keys onto the counter beside him. Then, Greg walked over to the phone, pressed the 'message' button, proceeded to the water jug, and poured a cup of water.
'Beep' "You have, two messages. First message." 'Beep'
"Hi Mr. Greg and Mr. Nick, I'm Lindsay, mommy's daughter. It's my birthday next, next, next week, can you come to my party? Pretty please! Ask mommy about the other time and stuff. Okay! Bye bye!" Greg smiled to himself as he finished drinking the water, and started to walk to his room.
'Beep' "Next message." 'Beep'
"Hey Greg boy, guess who's back. Me. Did you get my present yet? My...accomplice and I made it ourselves...we invented it. Have fun with it, don't die so fast, I'll see you soon."
'Beep' Greg immediately paled and sharply turned to the phone, he ran over to it, and listened to the message again.
"Oh my God, I wasn't imagining it! It's Rick Johnson's voice! What the hell is the present?" Greg panicked. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in his abdomen, then, the pain worsened, and Greg fell down on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, teeth clenched, clutching his stomach painfully, as waves of intense pain passed through his entire body.
"Shit, what the hell is wrong with me?" Then, it dawned on Greg.
"Damn, it's the present...shit, it was the water!" Greg screamed in pain.
"Damn!" Greg yelled again. Then, he slowly and painfully got up, staggered to the water jug, poured a bit of water into the cup with trembling hands, and then poured the rest down the drain. Suddenly, Greg dropped the jug, and fell back onto the ground, tears falling from his eyes, sweat dripping down his face, and he screamed in pain again.
"Damn this! It F***ING hurts!" Greg crunched into a ball, as waves of what felt like fire burned inside of him, not just in the stomach anymore, but practically everywhere.
~~~15 minutes later~~~
Nick parked his Tahoe in the driveway, seeing Greg's car, he was relieved, thinking that Greg changed his mind about the whole 'wanna be alone' thing. Nick closed his car, and walked excitedly towards the house, but about a meter away, Nick could hear crying and pleas of help. Nick paled, and immediately unlocked his door, opened it, and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight presented before him. But then, years of experience told him that this wasn't the time to stop, so Nick ran to the phone, dialed 911, then ran to Greg's side.
"Greg! What happened?" Greg stopped crying and turned to Nick sharply, his eyes large and full of pain, on the verge of unconsciousness.
"Nick! Phone messages...poison...water...I...I poured a...a sample in...in a cup...hurts...fire...pain everywhere...damn it Nick, it freakin hurts like hell!" Greg partly yelled and whimpered. Nick nodded and tears formed in his eyes at Greg's current suffering. Then, finally, Greg's strength ran out, and he passed out into blissful darkness.
"Greg! God!" Nick panicked, checked Greg's pulse, and sighed in relief as there was still a pulse, weak, but it was there. A moment later, Nick could hear the ambulance sirens from a distance, he ran to the phone, pressed the 'message' button, quickly grabbed the cup filled with the poisonous water, and returned to Greg's side. As Nick listened to the second message, his eyes flared up with anger, and he swore, wishing Rick dead. A while later, the paramedics rushed through the door, put Greg on the gurney, and wheeled him out, followed by Nick.
~~~In the hospital~~~
Nick sat on one of the chairs beside the ER, cup still in hand. Then, the rest of the CSIs arrived and rushed to Nick.
"Hey! Nick! What happened?" Sara asked, eyes wide with fear.
"Well, I just went home, and I saw Greg on the ground, in pain and asking for help. I called the ambulance, then I went to check on Greg, and he said multiple words. I pieced them together, and he told me first to listen to the phone message, then he said that the water was poisoned, and he poured some in a cup, this cup." Nick held up the cup.
"Then, he told me that he was in pain, that he felt like fire was burning him everywhere, and that..." Nick breathed deeply as tears once again formed in his eyes.
"And that he hurt everywhere really badly! I listened to the phone messages, the first was from Cath's kid, Lindsay, asking if Greg and I would like to go to her birthday party three weeks later. But...the second message was from...Rick Johnson...he's back, and he's the one who poisoned the water. Rick said that him and his accomplice invented the poison."
"Damn." Warrick swore. Grissom sighed, Catherine sighed disappointedly, and Sara crunched her fist.
"So, I called you guys down here, hoping that at least one of you would help get this back to the lab and find out what's in here." Nick explained, referring to the cup.
"I'll go." Warrick volunteered.
"So will I." Catherine said. Nick nodded, handed Catherine the cup, and she and Warrick rushed back to the lab. Grissom, Sara, and Nick turned to sit down on the chairs, and waited for Greg's news like they did one and a half years ago.
~~~Elsewhere~~~
Nikki and Rick laughed evilly.
"Phase one..." Nikki said.
"Complete." Rick finished.
"All thanks to you." Nikki whispered into Rick's ear. Rick grinned and wrapped his arms around Nikki's waist, and pulled her close to him.
"No, all thanks to the both of us." Nikki grinned widely.
"I love you, my husband."
"I love you too, my wife." Rick grinned back, and they kissed. (Yes, people, I know it might be random, but Rick and Nikki are in love, really, and they got married during the one year and a half. They fell in love cause they both wanted to hurt Greg. "sniff sniff" poor poor Greg)
A/N: Plz review more!!!!! And thanx for telling me about Sanderslover! =D