A/N: Wow, I'm incredibly sorry for not updating in so long. It's been like... what... 6 months maybe? I'm insanely sorry, but I just wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this fic, and I felt that if I were to post a chapter, that it wouldn't be my best work so I decided against it until I really knew what I wanted to do. So, I've decided that this is how it's going to end, and here is the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed this, and again, I'm very sorry for the long time it took for me to update.

Love you guys! Here it is.

Chapter 21 - Tell Me That It's Over

Greg had always pictured the day that he would be allowed to return home to be bright, and sunny. He envisioned a clear blue sky and not a cloud for as far as the eye could see. However, that wasn't the case as he stood in front of the institution with his bags as the overcast sky loomed above him. But it didn't matter, to him, the day couldn't have been more beautiful.

A few weeks before, Mr. Shultz had decided that as long as Greg proved to no longer be a threat to anyone else, or himself, that he was free to return home. He was making an immense amount of progress, and he didn't need frequent session anymore, but rather, just the occasional one to help tie up any loose ends and prevent a relapse.

"It's great to see you're finally going home," Nick stated as he helped load Greg's things into his truck. He'd offered to give his friend a drive back to his place, and help him settle back in. He couldn't have been more glad when Greg had called to ask, and he was really feeling like the tension and fear between them had finally subsided. Greg really had made a lot of progress. He'd finally come to the realization that Nick wasn't going to hurt him.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to be back to eating TV dinners and take out pizza again," Greg smiled as the two friends climbed into Nick's truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

There was still a feeling of awkwardness on the drive to Greg's, and neither of them said much until Greg finally decided that it was time to break the silence.

"I'm really sorry for everything. I'm sorry for freaking out... I'm sorry for what I did... I'm just really sorry," Greg spoke in a soft, yet sincere voice as he turned to look at Nick.

For a moment, Nick didn't speak. It was almost as if he was really at a loss for words. He smiled.

"Don't worry about it, buddy. I'm just glad this is finally over, I'm glad you're okay. We've all been worried about you, you know? Ever since that day when you went missing at the crime scene... things just haven't been the same since you've been gone. I'm sure we'll all be glad when you come back."

Nick stopped. Greg was coming back... wasn't he? He was almost afraid to ask. After what had happened to him, he had debated on whether or not he was going to return to work. With a job like they had, there was always the risk that something could possibly happen that would cost them their life. They'd been the lucky ones, they both made it through, they both survived and made it through, even if it had been a long battle in Greg's case.

Other's hadn't been so lucky. Some don't come out alive from the things that happen on the job.

It was things like this that made a person wonder why they were even doing a job such as this, and after experiencing what both Nick and Greg had, it made a person wonder if maybe they just weren't willing to take the risk.

"You are coming back right?" Nick finally brought himself to ask.

Greg thought for a moment. He really hadn't considered the fact that he was going to have to decide if he wanted to return to working as a CSI or if he wanted to do something that didn't come with such risks. But in the end... it all came down to loving what you do, and that was worth any risk that they were faced with.

"I love what we do, of course I'm coming back," he smiled.

It was truly a warm moment, until the moment was shattered by the sound of screeching brakes. Right in front of Nick's truck was a young girl who'd just run out into the street. If Nick hadn't looked up ahead when he did, he might not have hit the brakes fast enough.

Nick pulled the truck over and they both got out to see if the girl was all right. The second that Greg set his eyes on her, he recognized her immediately – it was Sally.

"Sally, what are you doing out here? Why did you run out into the road, you could have been killed," Greg stated, pulling her aside and off of the road.

"I have to get away from the evil man," she spoke in a voice filled with fear. Greg could see that she was shaking... something had to have happened, but how did she get out of the institution, and run this far?

Before Greg could question on who the "Evil man" was, he saw the figure of a man running away not too far from where they were standing. The man turned, and Greg got a good look at his face. He almost froze in his tracked... he knew who it was.

It was the man who had helped kidnap him – it was the man who'd come to take away the body of Ray Danniels. Greg wasn't sure what this man had to do with Sally, but he knew he had to do something.

"Nick, take Sally back. She's from the institution where I was," Greg ordered.

Nick looked at him in complete confusion, but Greg didn't have time to explain as he took off after the man who was continuing to run away.

"Greg! Where are you going? What the hell is going on here?" Nick called out after his friend, but there was no use. He had to get the little girl back to where she belonged. There was probably people looking for her. He would return to find where Greg was going as soon as he brought back the girl. He had thought about taking her with him to follow Greg, but he didn't want to put the child in any danger.

Reluctantly, he assured Sally that everything was okay, and that he was going to take her back.

"Thank goodness you've found her Mr. Stokes," a woman back at the institution stated, "We've been looking all over for her."

"It's not a problem... but, what exactly is going on? How did she get so far away?" Nick questioned.

The woman sighed, and told Sally to go into the recreation room to watch some TV or play with the toys before she proceeded to explain what was going on.

"A man came in here today... I guess he was a relative of one of the other patients. Sally saw him and started to freak out – calling him an 'evil man', and saying she needed to get away from him. He took one look at her and she lost it and bolted out. We're not even sure who he was, or why she was so scared of him, but as soon as she left, he looked panicked and ran out as well," the woman explained, "I think he might have been involved in what happened to her..."

Nick looked even more confused. He had no idea what was going on, but apparently there was a lot that Greg would have to explain.

"She was almost kidnaped, but someone came by and the kidnappers ran off... he must have been one of the people trying to take her away. That has to be it, I don't know why else she would have been so frightened."

Everything finally clicked inside of Nick's head. Sally must have almost been one of Ray Danniels' victims, she must have been one that got away. This 'evil man' must have been involved with it... and Greg must have recognized him... that's why he went after him...

Without another word he ran out and climbed back into his truck and drove in the direction of where Greg had run after the man. He didn't know if this man was armed or dangerous, so he called Brass and Sophia and filled them in on what was going on, and that they had a possible accomplice of Ray Danniels.

As Nick drove, his eyes scanned the side of the road, looking for any sign of Greg, until finally he spotted him up ahead. The man was curled up on the ground and Greg was standing above him, with his hang clenched in a fist.

"Greg, don't do it! Just walk away," Nick called out as he parked the truck and got out.

"Why not? He deserves it! He helped that creep that took me! He obviously did something to that little girl too! I think he's got this coming!" Greg exclaimed, preparing to give the man on the ground a good smack.

"Greg, just don't. Brass and Sophia are on their way, they'll handle this," Nick tried to explain and calm down his friend... even though deep down inside he wished that he could walk over and beat the tar out of the man that had helped kidnap his friend.

Greg didn't move from the spot where he stood and kept his hand in a clenched fist until the sound of the squad car could be heard approaching.

"You're going to get what you deserve, you bastard," Greg scowled as he proceeded to explain that this was the man who had helped kidnap him.

"What were you saying about this all being over?" Greg asked, half sarcastically.

The man that Greg had gone after had confessed to being an accomplice of Ray Danniels, and from what they'd heard, he was planning to plead guilty to the charges.

"It really is over... now," Nick replied, only half believing himself. Deep down he knew that he still held on to pieces of what happened to him, and that perhaps he never would be fully over it. Perhaps it was just one of those things you never fully get over.

"I guess so," Greg replied as he walked into his house, "I'll talk to you later."

With that, he closed the door behind him, took off his shoes and walked into his kitchen to pull a beer out of the fridge. He poured it into a large glass, brought it into his living room and switched on the television.

Maybe this was over, or maybe this was just one of those things that stays with you forever...

He took a long sip of his beer and allowed himself to cry.

A/N: And that's all she wrote! I hoped you enjoyed coming along for the ride with this, it's probably been over a year that it's taken to write this, I'm not entirely sure, but it's finally over. If I find time... maybe someday in the future I might write a sequel, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. I guess time will tell. Anyways, thanks for being such awesome readers!