They drove back home the same way they drove to the prison. Nick stared out the passenger side window, and Warrick kept glancing at him every few minutes. Nick knew Warrick was worried, he just didn't want to open his mouth because he thought he was gonna throw up if he did, so he just sat there and stared out the window. How can Kelly be so mad at me? It's not like I asked her dad to kidnap me, bury me alive, then kill himself. All I was trying to do was help her, and she acts like it's all my fault. Maybe it is...

Warrick had tried to talk Nick out of going to the prison to see Kelly even though he knew his efforts would be useless. Warrick remembered how upset Sara was after her and Brass had questioned Kelly and she said she hoped their friend died. The last thing Nick needed was for Kelly to say something stupid like that to him. But Nick said he needed some kind of closure, and Warrick wasn't gonna fight him on that. He knew there was somethings Nick wanted to know, and others he didn't.

The silence was deafening. Warrick was getting more and more worried about Nick with every second. Nick hadn't said a word since he came out of the prison. He looked so lost and helpless. But when Nick finally spoke, Warrick wasn't sure if the silence was such a bad thing.

"This really is all my fault." Nick whispered.

Warrick could feel his heart drop. "No it's not Nick. There was no excuse for what..."

Nick cut him off. "He did it cuz he loved his daughter so much."

"He shouldn't have had to kidnap and bury you to prove to his daughter he loved her. This is not your fault."

Nick leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. He was clearly exhausted and all he wanted to do was go home and take a hot shower. He didn't open his eyes when he said, "Have you ever wanted to go to sleep and never wake up?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Warrick nodded, but when he realized Nick's eyes are closed, he responded. "Yeah. I have."

"But you never gave up."

"No, I didn't. And neither will you." They fell silent and minutes later, Warrick pulled into Nick's driveway and they went inside. After another completely pointless search of Nick's kitchen for any food, Warrick decided they were gonna end up starving. "I'm gonna go to the store and get some food.

Nick nodded slowly. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Alright, I'll be back soon." Warrick said. He wasn't sure why, but as soon as he pulled out of the driveway he got this feeling in his gut that something was wrong. He felt nervous about leaving Nick alone, but he'd only be gone for no more than a half hour, and they really needed food.

Nick stripped off all his clothes and let them fall to the bathroom floor. He climbed in the shower and let the hot water rush over him. He just stood under the water with his head down, eyes closed, water as hot as he could get it. Suddenly he heard a rumbling that he realized was thunder, then a loud crack. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by darkness from an apparent power outage. He panicked and tried to get out of the shower, but he slipped and fell backward on his back, instantly getting the wind knocked out of him. Hot water stung his eyes, so he closed them tight and desperatly tried to breathe. Droplets of water trickled down his arms and legs and he thought there were ants crawling all over him again. He shook his head and tried to calm down, but then he heard it. He heard Gordon's haunting voice, taunting him.

Nick tried to move his arms and legs, but was restrained from the sides of the tub. No...no...not again...I can't be back down there. I'm safe...I can get up. Just get up! Nick slowly started to sit up, and when he didn't hit his head, he sat completly upright before jumping to his feet and out of the shower. He quickly dried off and fought his way past walls and other objects that got in his way to his bedroom. He somehow found his dresser in the dark, and managed to grab a pair of sweatpants and pull them on. Gordon's voice was getting louder in his head.

"Hi CSI guy."

"No! I'm safe..." Nick choked out, still trying to get his breathing under control.

"You wondering why you're here?"

Nick stumbled to the closet and thankfully didn't need a light to find what he was looking for.

"Because...you followed the evidence. Cuz that's what CSIs do."

He walked backwards until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, and he let himself fall backwards onto his bed.

"So...Breathe quick...Breathe slow."

Nick shook his head and screamed. He could feel the ants, he could hear his sobs echoing against the plexiglass walls. He didn't dare open his eyes.

"Put your gun in your mouth, and pull the trigger.."

He could feel the weight of the gun in his hand. The cold metal of the barrel was somehow comforting. Comforting to know he had a quick and easy way out.

"Anyway you like, you're gonna die here."

Nick was shaking. Stay still. The ants won't bite. As much.

He hadn't heard the front door close, or the bags drop at his bedroom door. He hadn't felt it when Warrick kneeled in front of him and firmly put his hands on his knees. But he could fainlty hear a voice, but it wasn't as loud as Gordon's.

"Nick, you're not in that box! Put the gun down!" Warrick reached over and pulled Nick by the shoulders so he was sitting up.

I'm not in the box? Then why can I hear him? Why do I feel the ants? Why does my back hurt? Why can't I breathe?

"Nicky...open your eyes and look at me bro." Warrick's voice was beginning to get louder. Nick slightly opened his eyes, but shut them again when he saw the bright light. He didn't know the power came back on.

Enough with the damn light! The fan's connected to the light...the fan's connected to the light...

"Come on bro. Put the gun down! You're safe, everything's okay."

No. It's not. I'm sick of being scared. I'm sick of not being able to breathe. I just wanna sleep without any nightmares. I just wanna sleep and never wake up.

"Nick!"

Fuck this.

When Nick's finger moved to the trigger, Warrick lunged. His chest collided with Nick's, pinning him against the bed. He grabbed the gun from Nick's hand and threw it at the far wall. He sat on the bed next to Nick and grabbed his hand. He was still having a panic attack.

Nick's chest was quickly moving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Warrick leaned down so his mouth was right next to Nick's ear.

"You're safe. I promise. You're not where you think you are. You're at your house. Everything's okay."

"I'm not okay." Nick choked out between sobs.

"You will be. Take nice deep breaths. Calm down." Nick shook his head 'No.' Warrick tightened his grip on Nick's hand. "Do you trust me?" Nick's eyes suddenly opened and he focused on Warrick through the tears. "Nicky, do you trust me?"

Nick choked down a sob. "Yes."

"I promise you I'm gonna make everything okay. You're gonna be okay."

"Why are you doing this?"

Warrick didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected Nick to say that. "Doing what?"

"Helping me. Everyone else either left or gave up on me. Every girlfriend...Jayce even did, and he was supposed to be my best friend."

"I'm not your best friend. I'm your brother...hell, even more than that. And I'm never giving up on you. Nothing could ever make me leave you. I need you as much as you need me. I'll do anything for you bro."

"Thanks." Nick said as he sat up and hugged Warrick. "I'm sorry I'm such a pain in the ass. I don't wanna give up so easily...it just hurts so much..."

"I know...it's okay. I swear to you everything's gonna be okay no matter what."

Warrick hugged Nick tighter as his tears soaked his shirt. "I'm slowly falling apart...and it's scaring the hell out of me."

I had a little trouble with the beginning of this chapter, but I think it turned out alright. I know it seems I'm being mean to Nick, but I promise he gets better soon. Anways, hope you enjoyed. Thanks for the reviews.