This Chapter is longer, and I'm kind of proud of it . . . so yeah

Enjoy . . .

Tenzin Gyatson once said, "Do not confuse peace of mind with spaced outinsensitivity. A truly peacful mind is very sensitive, and aware. Nick felt at peace, and that scared him.

He thought that he would be feeling an amount of pain un-comprehendible by human force. Yet he felt at peace, and it was strange to think that he might be dead.

Was this hell? Or was it something he had created in the midst of his imagination?

He watched as images from his life floated in front of him. His family, his whole family- it included his parents his siblings, his grandparents, cousins, nieces, nephews, and . . . his team.

Grissom smiled brightly at him, it made him feel warm. Grissom was always a father to him, and on more than one occasion he knew that Grissom would love to have grounded him.

Then there was Warrick, one of his best friends and his surrogate brother. He held a bad ass look of content on his face that Nick had tried to match up to in the past but failed miserably at.

Catherine stood beside Warrick; her beautiful curls shook with her swaying hips. Her toothy smile was absolutely breathtaking, he remembered what it was like to walk into the lounge and she'd be sitting there all flustered, but when she looked up at him a real smile would replace the worry and doubt. It almost made him laugh.

Sarah shone brightly next to Catherine. A sweet full-lip smile covered her face, she seemed . . . happy. She was always fun to work with, she'd try her ideas and act as if she were the queen of England . . . famous in a glory all her own.

On the other side of Grissom, the spiky haired lab tech stood proudly beside his team. Nick had to smile brightly at that. Greg had always wanted to be out in the field, but his innocence overrode his intellect. Greg hated to admit it, but Nick had always known that Greg was afraid of these people that had been savagely attacked and murdered. These people had family's that were expecting them to come home, and they would never be able to do so.

That's what initially drove Nick to be a CSI. These people had met an untimely death, and it was up to them to see that justice was served.

And finally his attention turned to Brass. That man was positively infuriating sometimes, although the man had good intentions. It struck Nick as odd that Brass continued to give him crap over every little mistake, maybe the old goon was actually trying to look out for him.

Nick watched as memories flew by, some where not so pleasant but the ones that were, were well worth the wait.

Suddenly Nick was catapulted and engulfed into some kind of vision.

He watched as His older brother, Grissom, Warrick, Brass, and Greg carried a coffin across a green-grass filled cemetery. He recognized people sitting on chairs behind a gaping whole in the ground; everyone was dressed in black. The women wore veils over they're eyes and each one held a tissue.

Catherine and Sarah occupied seats next to his mother and father. Four seats remained empty beside the girls, for the men carrying the coffin no doubt.

His mind screamed out at him, and he watched on in horror as the coffin was placed in front of his loved ones. It was him inside obviously, it was a great relief though. At least he knew that his team was safe, and not lying there next to him.

It had begun to rain, even in this realm Nick had gotten drenched. And he watched on, with great wonderment.

Was this really the end; was this happening, had he lost the battle for is life?

The feeling of someone watching him overwhelmed his senses. He turned quickly, and 100 feet away stood Nigel Crane.

The man wore a dark green poncho; the hood was pulled over his head. But still Nick could see the man clearly, as though he was standing next to him and not gazing at him through the rain.

Nigel looked troubled, almost guilty. As if someone had shot his dog or maybe his best friend. Nick shivered at that thought, Nigel was the one who had put him in this position in the first place.

Who knew, maybe Nigel was just really lonely, even to the point of picking some random and stalking them.

Nick was so frustrated at the fact that Nigel Crane really did still scare him.

And even now, it wasn't a great comfort to know that his team would do anything to avenge his murder.

Nick didn't even get to tell Grissom that it was Nigel who did it. He clenched his eyes shut, as memories of his attack receded in his mind, the pain, and the fear.

Images disappeared and reappeared for longer than Nick had ever remembered them being.

Oh well, if he this was all he had to endure for the rest of time, than if wouldn't be so bad. Boring yeah, but not bad.

"Nick!" a voice called from behind him.

He spun around quickly, his eyes opening wide at who it was.

"Grandma?" he asked in disbelief.

She smiled proudly at him and replied, "Hello hun." Her thick Texan accent made his smile grow. When she reached him, she grabbed both sides of his face and planted a loud smacking kiss on his forehead.

Nick rolled is eyes at that, she only greeted him like that. Even though he had matured, he still thought it was embarrassing when she did it. He had missed her dearly when she had passed away two years ago.

"I've missed you so much Nicky!" She spoke sincerely to her youngest grandchild.

Nick smiled, and fought not to boast his chest out proudly.

"I've missed you to nana!"

"What have you been up to, you look so grown up," Nana always had a way of letting all her questions spill out like he spicy Texas chili.

"I'm still a CSI, but I'm not married nor do I have a girlfriend." Nick watched as both his grandmothers' eyebrows went up in surprise.

"I knew I should have forced you to date Gweneths' granddaughter, she really is a sweet girl, I think that you'd like her." She stopped when she noticed Nick's annoyed look.

"What? Your mother wants to marry you off as much as I do!" She defended herself.

"But Nana, isn't kind of hard to do when we're . . . dead?" Nick asked.

A smile encompassed his Nana's face as she replied her questioning grandson. "Nicky, your not dead, your in limbo!"

Nick looked at her questioningly, waiting for an answer.

"This is the place between the spirit world, and the mortal world. You're here to decide if you want to go back, and I'm here for moral support." Her eyes reflected her logic.

"So I get to choose if I want to go back?" Nick asked, not willing to believe it was so easy.

"Of course child, but you do need to show me what's worth living for, and I suggest we get started before we run out of time!"

His Nana grabbed his arm and led him back. Back to his earliest memories.

"This is where is begins Nicky!"

TBC