I really hope that you guys enjoy these stories! This is my first story and so far I'm loving fan fiction! Anyways, if anyone sees something wrong with the story, please send me a message. I appreciate all of the positive( and negative) feedback that I receive! Thanks guys!

-CSIFanatic08

P.S. Read and review please!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Nick awoke, he found 6 chairs filled with bodies sleeping with blankets, pillows, and paper coffee cups either in hand or on the ground. He had an itch on his face and to his surprise, was able to scratch it. He was no longer restrained. He studied himself for a while looking at the IV in his hand and the blood on his knuckle from where he hit the nurse in the face. He picked at the red, fleshy skin around the IV when a sharp pain was felt through out his arm. He pulled away and went back to looking at the people in the chairs.

In the chair to his left was Warrick who was buried to his neck in the blanket. He looked like crap. His injured hand was above the blanket. "What happened to him?" Nick thought to himself.

Next to him was Catherine who had the blanket on her legs but not her arms. He could tell she had fidgeted with the loose ends at the blanket because string wrapped her finger, and bits of fabric were left on the floor.

Sara sat next to Catherine with her legs held under her chin and her arms wrapped around them, keeping her warm. Greg sat next to Sara.

Greg was surprisingly close to Sara. Nick laughed as he remembered all the old times when Greg chased after Sara and every time, she turned him down flat. The blanket was half on, half off of Greg whose legs were surprisingly sprawled out over Sara who was to the left and Brass who was to the right of Greg.

Brass sat there with his hand in his lap and his head in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. Brass' neck was hanging off of the chair and his Adam's apple stuck straight out of his neck.

Grissom caught Nick's eye. Grissom was sleeping but his head was straight ahead. As if he fell asleep watching Nick the whole entire time.

One of them was snoring he just wasn't sure which one. This brought a smile to his face.

Nick sat there patiently as thoughts ran through his head. "How long have I been here? How did they find me?"

Nick had the urge to itch his neck. He continued scratching as he thought about how they found him.

"Las Vegas is filled with millions of square feet of desert. How did they find me?"

Nick then realized that he had been itching for a while. He took his fingers from his neck and something caught his attention. Nick looked at his fingers and he realized that he was bleeding. It placed his hand to his neck and found a small amount of blood leaking from his neck. He suddenly had a need to itch all over his body. He looked at his arms and they were covered with blotchy, itchy, red bumps. Nick looked at his body and realized they were everywhere.

Ants.

Nick suddenly had a flashback to when he was in the coffin swatting at ants that covered his body. Short muffled screams escaped his mouth and he began to fidget trying to escape from them. His flashback ended as another began. He was in the ambulance with Warrick and Catherine when his throat suddenly closed up. His hands started scratching at his throat as he tried to claw a hole for air. The EMT tried to hold him down but instead received a punch in the face for his trouble. Nick was dying right in front of Warrick and Catherine's eyes.

He came back from the flashback, feeling his throat. Stitches were there followed by numerous red scratches and bumps. He looked at his hand and saw his bloody knuckles. He tightened his fist around the sheets.

"What was that?" Nick thought to himself, as a red speck ran across the sheet. Nick's breathing turned into rapid fits. And his chest was heaving up and down as he tried to get air into his burning lungs.

By know the entire team was awake trying to calm Nick down. Nick suddenly began kicking and scratching at Warrick and Brass who were trying to keep him calm. Brass received a scratch across the face and Sara received a kick in the face which almost sent her flying across the room unconscious.

Doctor Roberts came into the room with 3 men in all white. 2 men grabbed Nick's feet and the other grabbed Nick's left hand and injected him with the serum. Hoping it would calm him down. Sara and Brass were escorted out of the room by a nurse. The rest of the team was ushered out of the room by Doctor Sparrow.

They all stood at the door as Nick was sedated and put back into restraints.

"The Ants!" Nick said as he tried to brush them off of his body. "Get them off of me!" Nick screamed as the 'ants' bit and ate Nick alive. The men made one last check on the restraints, making sure they would hold. As they walked out of the room, Nick was pulling with all his strength trying to pull the restraints off of the bed. The blanket went flying off of the bed as the ants bit him.

Nick was finally starting to calm down as the medicine kicked in. Mr. and Mrs. Stokes found their way through the crowd of CSI's at their son's door. The door closed behind them and Mrs. Stokes began to stroke Nick's hair and Mr. Stokes sat there holding onto Nick's hand.

The team stood there in shock as they realized the event that just occurred. Grissom walked away from the group with a certain drudge in his step. He pressed his fingers to his eyes as he tried to regain focus.

They all walked back into the waiting room with Grissom a few feet ahead. Grissom wiped the tear from his eye and took the seat farthest away from the others.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warrick sat there in shock as the pictures of Nick kicking and screaming on the bed, went through his head. Catherine sat next to Warrick with her head in her hands, gasping for air. Greg also sat relatively close to Warrick. Greg didn't cry. He just sat there staring at the little blue speck on the wall from across the room.

"Who's gonna go check on Sara and Brass?" Warrick quietly asked. As he waited for a response from his team members, he grew angry as silence filled the air.

"Fine. I'll go," Warrick said while standing up and walking down the hall to room 6.

As Warrick walked in, he saw a doctor describing to Sara what was going on with her jaw. Nick almost kicked it out of place. She didn't cry though. She just sat there and tried to focus on what he was telling her. She looked at the doorway and caught Warrick listening. She motioned for him to come in and sit. He hesitated but slowly made his way into the room.

Brass was about 10 feet away. A nurse was treating him for the scratch wounds on his face. Brass gripped the sheets as she gave him the shot to numb the pain as she gave him his stitches.

"You OK?" Warrick asked as he sat in the chair between Sara and Brass.

"Oh yeah. I'm fine. I'm just gonna look like Scarface!" Brass laughed as he tried to lighten up the mood. Warrick chuckled at the joke but Sara was looking into space. She was thinking about Nick and how scared he was in that bed. Sara was so tuned out, that she missed the doctor come in and update them on Nick's situation.

"Nick is going through a very tough time," Warrick rolled his eyes at such an obvious statement.

"Our shrink, Dr. Roberts, thinks that Nick is still psychologically in the box." The statement lingered through the air as they thought about it. "Dr. Roberts thinks that Nick has a glass wall between you guys. In his mind, he's still underground fighting for air. You guys are above, digging him out. That could possibly explain why when Mr. Grissom was in the room with him, he gripped his hand. Exactly how he gripped his hand when you finally found him. Does Nick know that you guys were watching him on the Web cam?" Dr. Roberts asked.

"Ummm, No. No he doesn't." Warrick stated as he look at Sara and Brass for confirmation that no one brought up that little tidbit of information.

"Well, Mr. Brown, you are stated as Nick's 1st on the contact information sheet which places you at the top of the list for visitation. Now if I were you, I would tell Nick as soon as possible. The sooner he finds out, the easier it will be on everyone involved." Warrick looked at the checkered tile and nodded his head. The Dr left as quietly as he entered.

Warrick looked up at Sara and Brass. They both had somber looks on their faces. They stared at him. Waiting for him to make his move, and take the long walk to Nick's room. Warrick felt the gazes that they were giving him and he lifted his body from the chair.

Warrick felt his stomach churning and his feet felt heavier then before. He rubbed his temples and tried to focus on the issue at hand. He walked to the room and looked in the window. Mr. and Mrs. Stokes were holding each other as Mrs. Stokes ran her fingers through his hair and Mr. Stokes held on to his hand, cradling it in his lap. Nick was sedated and even if Warrick told him about the Web Cam, he wouldn't have remembered.

"Now is not the time," Warrick said to himself as he walked away from the door. He felt a bit of relaxation go through his body as he found his way back into Sara and Brass' room.

"Now is not the time," Warrick said as he entered the room. Brass was about to protest when Warrick interrupted him and repeated what he said, "Now is not the time," He narrowed his gaze to Brass who gave up on the argument and paid more attention to the nurse who was snipping the thread as she finished his stitches. Sara was looking at the x-rays in her hand. She held them up to the light and could see for herself that a major swell was growing on her cheek. She put her hand to her face and felt a sharp pain wince through her body.

Sara had agreed with Warrick when he said that "now was not the time". And anyways, she wouldn't want to be the one that has to tell Nick that they watched his every move underground. That the saw ever tear that was shed and every breakdown that he had. He barely had any privacy as it was. Nick had complained at work that his parents were smothering him and that he needed some air. But now, the entire lab had seen his worst moment on every computer monitor in the A/V Lab. She sat there picking at the loose strings of her shirt as the doctor injected an anti-inflammatory drug into her cheek. It would stop the swelling but not the pain.

Brass and Sara were handed their prescriptions for the pain medication they would have to take for their injuries. He looked it over then stuffed it in his pocket. Sara studied hers while the doctors told Sara and Brass their final requests and recommendations on how to make the healing process move along faster.

Warrick, Sara, and Brass walked into the waiting room where Catherine, Greg, and Grissom were sipping coffee and mainly keeping to themselves.

Brass self consciously put a hand over his cut, and said his good-byes as he headed back to the station to file some last minute paper work for the case.

Sara's face was swelling at an incredible rate. She told them she'd be back later after a shower, a meal, and after the prescription kicked in and killed the pain.

Catherine explained how she couldn't keep Lindsay with her mother all day, so she said good-bye and headed to the car, before anyone could see her cry.

Everyone knew that Greg hadn't eaten in a couple days, so Warrick told him to go home, get some sleep, and eat something. Warrick told him that he'd call him if anything new happened with Nick. Greg was too tired to argue and stood up, straightened himself out, and walked over to Warrick and gave him a hug. At first Warrick was confused, but then felt the wetness seep through his shirt as tears silently fell form Greg's eyes. Warrick hugged him back and told him that everything would be fine.

"I think of you as a brother man," Greg said as the words finally escaped his throat. "You and Nick have always been there for me. I just wanted to thank you. Thanks for being there." As Greg finished with Warrick he walked over to Grissom and said in a quite voice, "You too," he wrapped his arms around Grissom. He suddenly bolted for the door with a shameful look on his face as if he had just showed his weakest side to Warrick and Grissom, the two guys that he always tried to impress.

But what Greg didn't know, was that he left Warrick and Grissom teary eyed in the waiting room. Warrick and Grissom had a new found respect for Greg. He showed how he felt and didn't care what they thought about it. Greg got into his car and backed out of the parking lot.

Warrick finally sat down and looked at the wall. The wall that he punched a hole through. Suddenly a burst of pain shot through his arm as he realized that it had been 10 hours since he took his pain medication. Warrick had been popping the pills like candy. Not enough to OD but enough to take the edge off the situation at hand.

"I'll be right back," Warrick stated, wiping the tears from his eyes as he held up the prescription bottle. Grissom sat in his chair and stared as Warrick walked away.

Warrick walked to the cafeteria and bought a soda. He found a chair and table and lowered himself down to it. He popped the top and dumped 3 pills on to the table. He snapped the top back on and gathered the pills off of the table. He was about to through them to the back of his throat when a rigid command stopped him on his tracks.

"Put those pills back in that bottle," Mr. Stokes demanded as he stood behind Warrick. Warrick was stunned to see Mr. Stokes behind him. He figured that Mr. Stokes would be back in the room with Nick, not wondering the cafeteria, looking for people to order around.

"With all do respect your honor; it's none of your business. I'm not you son," Warrick said as he began to throw the pills to the back of his throat. Mr. Stokes walked up to Warrick and slapped the pills out of his hand. Warrick was shocked that Judge Stokes would do that in such a public place. People started staring at the couples quarrel. Warrick soon realized that Mr. Stokes didn't care that they were in public.

"You think that this is gonna take away your pain?" Mr. Stokes asked a shocked Warrick

"Ummm, yes, I do. That's why they call them "Pain Killers" your honor," Warrick said in a mocking tone

"Not the pain in your hand, the pain in your heart,"

Warrick looked up at Mr. Stokes with a confused look on his face. What did he mean in his heart?

"You think that this is gonna make you feel better about what happened?" Mr. Stokes said with wide hand gestures.

Warrick thought about it and decided that the man did not deserve such disrespect from him because of his bad mood.

"Do you think Nick would want you doing this?

"No. I don't. But what you don't understand Sir, is that Nick and I are more alike then you will ever know," Warrick said as Judge Stokes sat down in the chair. "We like staying up late but getting up early. We both like raisins but not grapes. We each know, by heart, the stats of the Rangers Team," Warrick continued as he wiped the tears from his eyes, "We both like the colors navy blue and crimson red but not together. We can almost finish each others sentences for God's sake!"

Judge Stokes was shocked by how much Warrick knew about Nick.

Warrick took a brake to breathe and to buy some coffee for him and Judge Stokes. Judge Stokes took it with a thankful nod of the head.

"It seems you and Nick know a lot about each other," Judge Stokes stated as he mixed his coffee.

Warrick drank his coffee black as he continued, "Nick, is like my brother. I don't know if he can say the same thing, but Nick has been there for me more times then I can count. When my grandma was in this place because of her stroke, we sat in this very spot drinking coffee. He didn't say a word. What he doesn't know is that him not saying anything said more then he will ever know. He didn't plaster a fake smile on his face and tell me everything was gonna be OK. He told me that he would be there for me whenever I needed him," Warrick said in between breaths.

Mr. Stokes sat there quietly looking at Warrick breakdown. It was then that Mr. Stokes realized that he and his wife were not the only ones going through a tough time. His team was too.

Warrick wiped his eyes with his sleeve and continued by saying, "You've raised such an amazing man Mr. Stokes. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him, and I'm sure of that. The way he cares for people is not limited to only the physical but the mental as well. That's why I look up to Nick everyday. I'm almost jealous when I see him talking to siblings or Mrs. Stokes, or you. He has family that I wished I had. But every time I turn green with envy, I think about Nick, and how him, and Sara, Catherine, and Grissom and Greg….they are all the family I need," Warrick began shaking uncontrollably as he continued crying.

Judge Stoke put his hand on Warrick's shoulder and looked into his eyes sympathetically. Mr. Stokes looked into Warrick's watery eyes and said, "If he was here right now, I'm sure he'd say the same about you."

"Would you like to speak with him Warrick?" Mr. Stokes asked as he looked at Warrick with softness in his eyes, that he had never seen before.

"You wouldn't mind?" Warrick asked with sincerity in his voice.

"Not at all. After all, you are his family aren't you?"

Warrick stood as Mr. Stokes led the way to Nick's room, with two coffees in hand. The walk was silent but left Warrick with a new found respect for not only the man in front of him, but the man that was in room 14.

Author's Note: Should I continue? Do you guys think I went in the right direction by having Nick wake up? Read and Review with you personal thoughts on the story! Thanks guys for the support guys!

- CSIFanatic08