Posting two chapters at once, the second of which is the epilogue. That's right, it's over, finally. Greg wakes up, there's reconciliation … well, I won't ruin too much. Few things before we continue, I'm not a Greg/Sara shipper no matter how this chapter may appear at first. Despite their scene together, the apparent shippiness is explained later and there is NO romance. Sorry, I just don't do romance. Consequently, despite how close they have become from this experience, this story is not slash, Greg and Nick are just friends. Their friendship will not develop into something it's not. Nothing against slash, I love it, but it's not here.

Anyway, that's out of the way, so enjoy the last two chapters of …

Painful Journeys

By Goody

Three days passed and though the change was slow, it was there. After a day the infection had become less of a worry, so much so that Nick, Sara and Catherine were allowed in to see Greg again, one at a time. After the first two nights the other CSI's had to go back to work. As much as they wanted to be there full time, life went on, though admittedly most of their hours at work were spent thinking of their injured friends, and their free hours passed at the hospital.

Nick improved slowly. He wasn't sleeping well or eating as much as he should. The doctors had hoped he would heal faster than he was, but there was little they could do; it was stress and concern that was stunting Nick's recovery and though there were pills to prescribe to help with such things, Nick refused them all. He spent as much time as they would let him in Greg's room. He watched the bruises slowly darken, hating their presence, but knowing that it was the first sign that they were starting to heal. He was reassured by watching Greg breathe, knowing he was alive, and most of all by the expression he now wore. Gone were the lines of pain and tension that had once been present, instead he looked restful and sombre, not content, but no longer hurting at least.

Sometimes he would fall asleep in the large chair by Greg's bed, lulled to sleep by the steady beep of the heart monitor and respirator. It was upon waking from one of these naps that Nick felt a horrible fear as he opened his eyes and realized he heard nothing, absolutely nothing. There were no beeps from the heart monitor, no pulses from the oxygen tank, no air rushes from the breathing tube – there was nothing.

It sounded like death.

Pushing himself up quickly, he searched for the nurse's buzzer.

"Greg," he exclaimed in panic, scared beyond reason and hoping it was only a power outage of some sort. But the lights were still on, there had to be power if the lights were on, then where were the machines? The machines that kept Greg alive.

His single fumbling hand finally found the buzzer but before he pressed down he noticed a third presence in the room and paused. Dr. Preston had come around the bed quickly when he saw Nick wake up so disturbed and tried to calm him down.

"Mr. Stokes, it's all right," he said comfortingly.

Nick wouldn't listen, "The machines, they're …"

"It's okay, calm down," Dr. Preston interrupted him. Nick looked at him, worried, but saw he was smiling and felt himself relax. "It's all right, there's no problem with Mr. Sanders, in fact he's doing much better. I turned off the heart monitor while I was taking him off the respirator, he doesn't need it anymore."

Nick's eyes widened, "Really?"

He looked to his left and it was true, Greg was breathing, deeply and easily, and on his own power.

"That's great … that's good to hear," he sat back down with a sigh, and said, more quietly, as he laid his hand on Greg's, "You're doing great Greggo, keep it up."

"He's really a lot stronger than he was, and recovering nicely," Dr. Preston reported, enjoying seeing the smile and loss of tension the news caused in Nick. He knew the other man had not been resting and therefore not getting better and hoped good news would help him recover.

"When do you think he'll wake up?" Nick asked, quickly turning sombre once more as he thought about what that moment would be like.

But Dr. Preston could give him no definite answer, "There's no way to know. The swelling from the head trauma has gone down and he's getting stronger everyday, but it's up to him when he wants to rejoin the living. It could be anytime."

The doctor left shortly after and Nick was left alone with Greg once more and smiled. The removal of the respirator was a big improvement, it meant Greg was fighting and winning, that he wanted to live. Nick squeezed his hand briefly.

"Take your time G, wake up when you're ready, I'll be right here," Nick promised. He leaned back and then sat up straighter as Greg shifted as if trying to get comfortable, which was uncommon; Greg never moved. His head lolled and Nick held his breath, but it was for nothing. Greg did not wake up.

Nick sighed and leaned back again, settling in and repeating softly, "Whenever you're ready."


A few hours later he had some more company, company which was much more welcome than just the doctors he saw all day. As the end of the night shift rolled by Sara and Warrick entered the room quietly, beating their supervisors who were bogged down with paperwork. They knew Nick would be there but it was not until they were certain he was awake that they made any noise.

"Hey guys," Nick greeted them, standing up for a brief hug from each and actually showing a small semblance of a smile.

"Hey Nick," Sara replied when she pulled away, encouraged by the increased glow in the Texan's skin, "how you feeling?"

"I'm all right, arm still hurts, but check it out," he pointed behind him towards the room's official occupant whom they had all come to see.

"Look at that, respirator's gone. When'd that happen?" Warrick asked, returning Nick's hopeful smile.

"Couple of hours ago, doc says he's getting a lot stronger, could wake up any time," Nick answered.

Sara also smiled and moved closer to the bed, taking up Nick's vacated seat and reaching to hold Greg's hand, "Good work Greg, you hurry up and get better though, I'm getting really sick of this replacement they have in for you. He's not smart enough to run my evidence first, like some people."

Warrick and Nick laughed behind her, something they hadn't done in awhile, then Warrick leaned a tall bag against the wall.

The card on the side read 'Greg' and Nick pointed to it, confused, "What's in that? Doesn't look like flowers."

Warrick smirked, "Nah, that's too traditional for Greg, he'd hate that, us treating him like everyone else. It's a Pink poster, thought I'd put it up on that wall, give him something he likes to look at for when he wakes up, sort of an incentive."

This was followed by another laugh, a second for that night, a new record in recent days.

Nick hit him on the shoulder approvingly, "That's a great idea, he'll love it. I'd help put it up but I'm kind of the one armed bandit at the moment."

"I can handle it. I was gonna get some coffee first though, I'm dying for some caffeine."

"I'll come with you," Nick offered, following Warrick to the door, "I've been sitting for too long, I gotta stretch my legs. Sara, can you stay with him for a minute?"

Sara rolled her eyes and replied sarcastically, "I suppose I can find some way to survive with him alone for a little while, but only because he's unconscious." Nick didn't really laugh and she turned serious as well. "Go, I'm here with him, it'll give us time to catch up."

At this Nick smiled, nodded then left with Warrick to get some coffee a few floors down. His movements were still somewhat stiff, but he had improved in the past few days. His bruises and cuts were healing and his body didn't ache as bad, so walking wasn't as big a chore as it had been. But now with Greg definitely improving Sara thought Nick's mental state would do a one-eighty as well, which seemed to be the case. He was smiling, somewhat relaxed, and had actually just left Greg's room without anyone forcing him to. That was a big step, and she was glad to find out that both her friends seemed to be recovering.

But as she leaned forward to take Greg's hand again, she knew they weren't out of the woods yet, there was still a lot of healing to happen. She was actually glad the guys had left, it gave her a real opportunity to talk to Greg one on one, something she didn't think anyone had gotten to do except Nick. And she had a lot of things she wanted to say to the young man.

"Hey Greg, it's Sara. I hear you're doing better, that's great, must be good to get that tube out of your throat." A pause. "Why don't you wake up now Greg? You know, I understand why you would wanna stay asleep, the world probably seems scary and doesn't make a lot of sense, but you can survive it. Even if you don't feel like you can … you'd be surprised what people can survive. Even people who are close to you. They can survive and put it behind them, and turn out pretty well. Least I hope they can. And I know you will. But it's up to you, just remember, we miss you, and I know you'll be all right. You're stronger than people think and I see that, so don't you forget it."

There was another long pause. She knew it would be a few minutes before Nick and Warrick came back so she pulled the chair a little closer and slowly reached out to touch Greg's hair. She was tentative at first, but smiled as she smoothed back his bangs once or twice, noticing that the hair had grown quite flat without Greg tending to it with his assorted hair products. She'd always noticed how much time Greg spent on his appearance and in a way it had even made her start to think more about her own. The thought brought out of her a new train of thought, which she shared aloud in hopes that Greg heard her.

"There's still a lot I have to teach you, you know, about being a CSI, but not much. You learn fast Greg, you're smart, but you're also persistent. I know you've been studying and taking classes, because you know way more than you could have picked up offhand at the lab, but I also know from first hand experience that you're stubborn when you're going after something you want. I think you should know, all those times I turned you down … it's not that I wasn't flattered, and it's not that you weren't sweet or adorable, cause you were, it's just … you have so much fun Greg, you enjoy life and the truth is, I don't. I envy that in you and maybe I'm even jealous and I wasn't about to take that enjoyment away from you by bringing you down with my problems, you deserve better than that. I wasn't going to be that person who causes the first tension lines on your face or keeps you from going out on a Friday night. But I wanted to say yes, because I want what you have, freedom, in body and mind. I just couldn't risk taking it away from you in the process. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that everything I've taught you about being a CSI is nothing compared to what you've shown me about how to live life, and I really should have said this sooner, but I'm saying it now, and I hope you can hear me."

That said she leaned forward, pushed back his hair once more and placed a kiss on his temple. Greg did not move, which she had expected, not wanting to hope for too much, but she did lean back with a contented sigh, feeling better for having said what she had wanted to say for so long. She sat quietly for a minute, enjoying watching Greg breathe so easily, but eventually she started to get bored and wondered how Nick sat here all day; it was for more than just friendship, it probably had a lot to do with guilt. But an experience like Nick and Greg had would bond people together and Nick was probably having trouble letting go.

She shook her head, not liking where her thoughts were going and looked for a distraction until Nick and Warrick got back. Spotting the poster in the corner she got up to look at it. She pulled it out of the bag and unrolled it carefully, not wanting to crease it and cringed; Greg certainly had unique taste. Smiling, she shook her head as she rolled it back up but it was very soon forgotten. A sound to her left made her turn; Greg's head was lolling and he moaned as his eyes fluttered, his first signs of life in days.

"Greg? Greg, oh my god!" Sara hesitated for a moment after dropping the poster and rushing to his side. Unsure whether to touch him, speak to him or leave him to wake on his own, all she was sure to do was hit the nurse's call button. While she waited for a response she couldn't help reaching out to squeeze his hand and try to coax him into waking, "Greg, it's Sara. I'm right here, it's okay, you're doing great."

A nurse walked in, "Is everything all right?"

Sara turned, startled and almost panicked, "I think he's waking up."

"I'll try to find Dr. Preston," the nurse nodded but did not rush to leave. Though Sara was nervous and on edge, this was everyday for the nurse and she did not run down the hall, but strode patiently to locate the doctor.

Sara didn't care at the moment as she turned to see that Greg was not only shifting but his eyes were slowly opening. It was slow and unsure, the light must have been painful, but eventually he was looking at her and she found she could not speak.

Choking a little with emotion at first, she gently touched his less bruised cheek, "Hey Greg, it's Sara, we missed you. You're at the hospital, how you feeling?"

His eyes were barely lucid, there were a lot of pain meds in his system, but he did open his mouth to speak, though nothing came out but hoarseness. Sara was ready immediately; she grabbed the glass of water on the bedside table and brought the straw to his lips.

"Here, drink slowly," she instructed and he did, just taking enough to cool his throat and dropping his head back the inch he had brought it off the pillow to drink.

"Greg, can you talk to me? Are you okay?" Sara asked again when he still did not speak. He slowly looked to his left and then right, barely moving his head, for that was all he could manage.

Finally he looked at Sara and she could barely hear him ask, "Safe?"

She was not prepared for that and just looked at him, confused, "What?"

Deep emotion set into his eyes, he might have been remembering, it might have been the pain, "Before … it wasn't safe."

Tears threatened to come but Sara wouldn't let them. She shook her head and forced herself to smile as she looked Greg in the eye, "You're safe, I promise. Crane's dead, he won't be back to hurt anyone. You're safe Greg, we've all been with you the whole time. Me, Catherine, Warrick and Grissom come and see you as much as we can and Nick's here all the time, he hardly ever leaves."

Greg didn't react to everything she said, just listened. And then she said Nick's name and he flinched and looked away. She leaned over him again, trying to make eye contact.

"Greg, what's wrong? The doctor will be here in a second, okay, and Warrick and Nick are coming back. Just stay awake for me, come on," she said, trying to sound cheerful for his sake, though his reaction was worrying her.

He shook his head, not comforted by her words and turned even more.

"Not safe then," he whispered and his words were so painful she nearly cried. She stood in shock for a moment and was about to speak when a hand on her shoulder made her turn – it was Dr. Preston. He gently moved her to the side and took her place closer to Greg's head.

"Excuse me," he said absently as he took out a penlight and shone it in Greg's eyes, "Mr. Sanders, I'm Dr. Preston, I've been treating you. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Greg closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling sardonically, "You don't want to know."

Dr. Preston stood up straight at the response and was silent for a moment then seemed to remember Sara, who was watching over his shoulder.

"Can you wait in the hall for a moment, Miss? I have to do a few exams now that he's awake."

Sara was obviously reluctant but then nodded, "Yeah, sure. Greg, I'll be right outside, okay."

He did not reply or even acknowledge as she left the room; he simply stared at the wall and did not turn.

Once she was in the hallway, Sara sat down in the nearest chair, suddenly exhausted. She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself, all the while trying to get the image of Greg's haunted eyes and frightened words out of her mind. What he had been through was traumatic enough, but she suddenly had a feeling that while he slept he had found little peace of mind. His words confused her and she played them over in her head. Then suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts when she heard her name being shouted down the hall.

"Sara!" Nick repeated as he and Warrick drew closer, finally getting her attention. "Why aren't you with Greg? What's going on?"

Both men clearly feared the worst due to Sara's grim expression, but she quickly plastered a fake smile on as she stood up, "The doctor made me leave. Greg woke up, he's examining him."

"Greg's … awake? That's great. I gotta see him," Nick said immediately pushing for the door. Warrick's hand stopped him.

"Easy there Nicky, if Sara got kicked out what makes you think you're allowed in there?"

Nick clearly hadn't really considered it and nodded in agreement, then silently cursed that Greg had been put in a non-windowed room; he had no way of seeing how his friend was doing.

The three could not relax in the seats in the hallway, but instead stood tensely, waiting impatiently. Nick and Warrick sipped their somewhat forgotten coffee and Sara listened as Nick rambled in disbelief.

"He's been doing really well, but I can't believe it, two days I've been sitting in there and he wakes up the second I leave the room. Go figure," he mulled.

"Maybe it's because you left the room," Sara commented softly, immediately regretting it when she saw Nick had heard her and the reaction it caused in him.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," she backtracked quickly, forcing another smile.

"Sara, tell me," Nick requested, not mad but desperately curious.

"Really, it was nothing," she defended.

Then there was a long hesitation on Sara's part until Nick came up beside her and looked her in the eyes, "Please."

She shook her head, hating what she was about to say, "Look, I'm probably looking too much into this … I just … what Greg said when he woke up … I don't think he feels safe around you."

It hurt Nick to hear this, it was written on his face, but it was not a complete surprise either. He laughed sadly and sat down in a hall chair, "He doesn't trust me. That's why he wouldn't wake up when I was there, he's afraid of me."

"Nick …" Warrick began but was interrupted by the doctor's return.

"Doc, how's he doing?" Nick asked immediately.

"I'm sure you're aware he woke up briefly, unfortunately he's already fallen back to sleep, but from what I saw his reactions were good. Pupil dilation, speech, memory and movement were all just fine, I can't foresee any problems in his recovery at this point," Dr. Preston reported happily, but was surprised by the sad look in the eyes of the three, though he did not comment.

"Can we go in with him?" Warrick asked when Nick seemed unwilling to speak anymore.

"Sure, and if he wakes up again there's no need to call a nurse unless he's uncomfortable or needs anything," he instructed and then was gone.

"Thank you," Sara called out to him, but then turned to Nick who made no move to enter Greg's room. "Aren't you going in?"

Nick shook his head, "He doesn't want me in there."

"Nick, you have to explain to him what happened, it's the only way you're going to get over this and the only way he'll understand. And he will understand and forgive you, but you have to be in there to do it," Warrick advised, not pushing but laying out Nick's options for him.

Nick thought about it for a long moment, unsure what was the right thing to do for Greg. Clearly Greg didn't want him in there, but the sooner he could explain what happened, the sooner he and Greg could have some peace of mind.

After considering everything, he decided and opened the door. Sara and Warrick followed closely behind and though there was silence, there was also unspoken support.


More hours passed. Warrick and Sara had to return home eventually but were replaced by Catherine and Grissom, who both stayed for a few hours before visiting hours ended, promising to return. Greg did not stir and Nick did not speak, now worried about letting Greg know he was there.

Time passed slowly as Nick waited, no longer worried that Greg would survive, he was in the clear according to the doctors, but hoping that Greg would somehow believe him and forgive him for what he had been forced to do in an attempt to save his life.

Nick's eyes threatened to close in sleep several times, but he always fought it, determined to be there, alert, when Greg woke up. And that was precisely what happened.

Just as Nick was about to ask a nurse for another cup of coffee, he noticed Greg start to shift again. Before Nick could stand Greg's eyes opened, quicker than before, and his more lucid gaze swept the room. Nick held his breath as this happened, scared of startling him and deciding to give him a chance to wake up on his own. Greg did look around, just curiously at first, as Nick made no noise, but when he laid eyes on the other man he immediately tensed. His gaze went no further after that, it stayed on Nick and fear began to build in Greg's eyes, as if he was scared to look and scared to look away.

Nick racked his brain for something to say and after a long moment of silence could only come up with, "Hey Greggo, it's just me, take it easy. How you feeling?"

Greg swallowed and did not reply, only pushed himself up as straight as he could manage in his condition.

Looking at the floor and then around the room, becoming more nervous, Nick tried to think of something else to say, "Hey, Warrick got you a poster, what do you think?" He asked, pointing to the wall behind him.

Greg did not look, his gaze stayed fixed on Nick, studying him, taking in everything - remembering.

"Come on man, say something. Are you okay? Are you mad? Are you confused? Are you hungry … what? What's going on in your head Greg? Let me know," Nick requested, his voice sincere and honestly curious.

At this Greg finally turned away. He focussed on the floor in the other direction and closed his eyes. He appeared deep in thought, cringing and sometimes flinching as he sat silently, then finally he turned back to Nick, his eyes were still wide but now … uncertain.

Nick waited with baited breath and then finally, Greg spoke.

"Just … tell me one thing, Nick."

His voice was hoarse from lack of use and the breathing tube, but it was loud enough that Nick nearly jumped out of his chair to please his request, "Anything, whatever you want."

Greg nodded and blinked back tears as his thoughts kept running, "What was real?"

Nick couldn't say he didn't understand the question, and instead asked, "What do you remember?"

Greg laughed slightly, "That's just the problem … I don't know. In my head I see all these things that happened, but it's not clear, they change in my mind. And some of them can't be real and some of them have to be … but I don't want them to be. I know that Crane was the one who … did this, but something in my head keeps telling me … keeps telling me it was you and I don't want to believe that, but it won't go away. So just, tell me - what was real?"

Nick took a deep breath and couldn't look at Greg as he tried to think of an answer. Finally he pulled his chair closer, only slightly as he noticed Greg flinch, and explained.

"This is what's real," he began, aware he had Greg's full attention. "Nigel Crane kidnapped us and wanted to hurt you to get to me, but by the end he wanted to hurt me too. After everything else, we were both tied up and he was hurting you some more … cutting you … and I couldn't stop him. I … I couldn't do anything, I couldn't move, but I wanted to. I wanted to so bad, Greg. So I did the only thing I could think of. I made Crane believe I was his friend, to get him to stop hurting you. I said some horrible things to you Greg …"

Greg cringed and pulled back suddenly, as if this memory hurt more than that of Crane's knife. He had remembered Nick's words, they floated through his head over and over, but he had hoped somehow it wasn't real, that it hadn't happened because that betrayal hurt so much more than his physical injuries.

"Those things you said … were real?" Greg asked with utter sadness and disbelief.

"No. No," Nick said firmly, leaning even closer to make his point, "I said them, but they weren't real. I didn't mean any of it Greg, but I needed to fool Crane, and I had to make it believable enough that it would fool you too or Crane would never have believed me. Ah Greg, the things I said were horrible, but none of it was true, none of it, I don't believe a word of what I said to you. You're a great friend, you're an amazing person, and you've never been a screw up, or a wannabe or an outcast – you're just a guy who works hard and likes to be unique, which I respect. And I'm proud to be your friend … to have been your friend at least. But most of all, I would never hurt you like that. I swear, I was trying to protect you, as twisted as that sounds."

Nick waited for Greg's reaction. The younger man was sitting up even straighter, listening to every word, but was also deep in thought. He looked at Nick, undecided and overwhelmed.

"What happened next?" he asked in a whisper, still unclear in his head about what followed.

Nick shook his head just thinking of the ironic events that happened afterwards, "Well, it worked, Crane believed me. He left you alone and believed that I would be his friend."

Nick paused to compose himself as the visions of death came back to him; a death he had caused.

Greg thought the silence meant he was finished and asked, "Then why did he …"

"I killed him," Nick said abruptly, cutting Greg off. Greg's eyes widened in shock at the news and the despair in Nick's eyes. "I knew he wasn't going to stop, he couldn't be reasoned with, so I killed him. I … I waited until he came close enough and I c … I cut his throat, with a shard from the mirror." He paused to breathe and watch Greg's reaction, but the labrat was just listening in shock and did not move to speak. Nick continued, first rubbing a hand over his face to destroy the evidence of tears, "After I uh, I stabbed him, I don't know, he must have wanted revenge or to get the last blow in or something … who knows how that screwed up mind of his worked? Uh, anyway … um … he stumbled away, after I stabbed him, but he didn't come after me, he stabbed you instead, because of me. I … I couldn't do anything, I just …watched. Then he stumbled across the room and … and he died … he died because I killed him. I killed him … he's dead … God, I killed a man."

The stress of the last few days really hit Nick then and the guilt he had been harbouring overpowered him. He had been tormented with the thought that Greg would not survive, and if he did, not forgive him, but even worse than that was the incredible remorse he felt for what he had been forced to do. He had taken a life and felt it in his soul. Self defence or not, no matter what the circumstances, he had killed someone, permanently. Nigel Crane's blood would forever be on his hands and he was only now beginning to realize it.

The tears flowed with the realization and Nick bowed his head as he repeated again in disbelief, "I killed a man, I killed him."

"For me."

Greg's voice was unexpected and Nick's head shot up to meet his gaze, which no longer showed any kind of fear. Instead he looked sympathetic, less tense and had shifted his position to sit closer to Nick.

"You killed him for me," Greg said again, partly to have Nick confirm it, and partly to make himself believe it, for it was unbelievable.

Nick brushed away the wetness from his face and nodded, unable to speak any more except for a weak, "Yeah."

Greg took another long moment to try and put the whole situation in perspective, to make it right in his mind. When he felt he understood what had happened, what was real, he leaned towards Nick and placed his good hand on Nick's shoulder to force him to make eye contact. Nick did. He was surprised but looked him right in the eye, waiting.

"Thank you Nick," Greg whispered, so sincere it threatened to crack Nick's heart with joy. Nick choked back another sob as he shook his head in disbelief.

"No Greg, thank you, thank you for fighting back. I'm so sorry this happened Greg, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry …." By now Nick had collapsed in on himself, head bowed down, forehead resting against the edge of the bed as he released everything he had been keeping pent up the past few days; the guilt, the regret, the pain, he let it all go.

Greg held back his own tears, he was exhausted himself and in pain but felt he had to be there to help Nick in his hour of need, as he had tried to help him. He put his good arm on Nick's shoulders, supportive and hopefully comforting and just stayed there as Nick let it all go.

"It's okay Nick, it'll be all right. We'll both be all right, you'll see."

Time passed and eventually both men fell asleep from physical and emotional exhaustion. They instinctively knew that even though their bodies were still scarred from their experience, their minds had begun to heal.

TBC

No, that's not the end, but the final chapter is all done, I pretty much wrote both chapters in one sitting and then decided it was too long for just one chap so split it up. Hope you guys don't mind since I posted it all at once, but I will take this time to thank my lovely reviewers.

Halina Renata – Well, I am glad you found this fic as well. I must admit, I find the Appreciation Society kind of difficult to use to find good Greg fics, they usually just have everything that even mentions Greg and I'm more about him having the starring role, but I'm thankful for them in this case. Thank you so much for your kind words, I like to try new things to keep the fic interesting and I'm glad it's working. Hope you like the ending, thanks for the review.

Whiterose01 – I think Nick did the right thing too, it just kind of backfired on him. I was also excited about the shower scene, it was short, but there are still screencaps. What I did not approve of was the lack of scars on Greg's back. What the hell happened to that little thing called a lab explosion? Someone really has to talk to those CSI people about continuity.

Kenzimone – lol, yes, dead Greg is only good for angst for so long, but getting him to death is sometimes fun, as I clearly like to play with the idea. But there is life, I couldn't kill him, I love him too much. Hope it's not 3am when you're reading this one, but if it is, go to bed, geez, it's late!

Higherbeingfriendsfan – Always love your reviews, thank you for being consistent. Hopefully my Nick/Warrick interactions lived up to what they have been, I liked them myself, though Nick felt a little wrong in places and I couldn't quite place why, but I posted anyway, I had to get this fic done. Hope you enjoyed it and like the ending.

Stormchilde – well, I woke him, but he didn't really hear Nick in that he can remember hearing him, it was kind of a subconscious thing. Did you get to see 4x4? The shower scene was way too short, but it was there, nonetheless.

Mellaithwen – You only reviewed once this time, guess you weren't as tired. Lol. You don't have to justify not liking a character to me, you can't help it, I just found it odd that you don't like Nick but you're still enjoying the story. Personally I don't like Hodges, he's mean to Greg, so we all have someone. I'll be sure to pass along the hugs to Greg, thanks for all the reviews. Oh, and conscious Greg is a lot more fun in the next chapter, he's more of his mischievous self than in this chapter. Enjoy.

Sloane Miette – I could like feel your energy in that review, it was great. Sorry there was no actual group hug, but the whole team is together in the next chapter and I rather like the scene, so it might suffice to keep you hyped up.

Loozy – Okay, first, the crying thing is the ultimate compliment, thank you so much. Second, love that you spelled naked like that, it makes me smile. And third, I thought I was the only one who really enjoyed the thumb dwiddling. Lol, hope you like the chapter, thanks for the review.

Matteic – Thank you for reviewing …. Uh, who's we? The other reviewers? Do you speak for everyone?

LostAngel2 – You uh, kinda scared me so I decided I better wake up Greg because I don't have a pony on hand. Hope that's okay. But just so you know, I killed Crane nice and goodly, he's not coming back to life, unless I do a crossover with Buffy, and I'm not! But you still get awake, great Greg.

LXG-Gurl121 – I don't get much reading time because I don't have internet right now, I go to the library to post chapters, but I really will do my best to read your fic and try to review as soon as I get these chapters posted, but I can't make any promises, sorry.

Emmithar – lol, I felt so bad for you when the chapter wouldn't come up, you sounded so panicked. Hope I emailed it not too long after your review, it's weird that it would do that, I've never heard of chapters not uploading before.

Shacky20 – I did get both your emails, sorry I haven't responded yet. To be honest, I really thought I had written as soon as I got the first one, but then you resent it and I guess I never did, sorry about that. Hope you like Greg awake and thank you soo sooo much for the kind words about my writing, it's very inspirational. And I really appreciate that you don't mind the wait between updates, but even that kind of makes me want to write a little bit faster, so you're really just all around a great reviewer. Hope you like the end of the story.

And many thanks to Kayma, Gator-girl, scifigirl, lins, sillie, Slynn, xombe, and FrodoLijactress for your reviews as well, they're greatly appreciated.

Well, this is it, I'm bowing out. Hope you all enjoy the next chapter, the epilogue, it's a little light and a little dark, and hopefully I brought enough closure for everyone without dragging it out. Enjoy, it's been a pleasure writing this fic. Goody.