It had been 2 weeks since Nick had been rescued, and he was eager to get back to work.

"Take it easy bro. You don't wanna rush it. Grissom will kill you if he thinks you came back a day too soon."

Nick sighed. "I know. I just wanna get back to work."

"Relax. No one expects you to comeback until you're positive you're ready, except Greg, and he just wants someone to keep him sane."

Nick laughed. "Yeah. Poor guy. An overtired Sara and cocky Hodges is never a good mix, especially for Greggo."

"I'm sure Grissom's helping." Warrick laughed at the thought of Greg standing in the middle of all 3 of them talking at once. His heart went out to him. Warrick's mind was taken away from the thought of Greg suffering by Nick's cell phone ringing on the end table. Nick reached for it and checked the caller ID.

"It's Catherine...hello? Hey...what's wrong? You sound upset..." Warrick nervously looked at Nick, who shrugged. "Oh...you did? Well, isn't it evidence? I don't wanna mess with it...is he sure? Okay...I want you guys to hear it...yeah, I'm sure...okay, come over whenever, we'll be here...bye." Nick hung up and sat down on the couch. Warrick sat next to him and tried his best to keep his voice level.

"What's going on?"

Nick took a deep breath and looked at Warrick. "Someone found the tape that was with me in the..." his voice trailed off and Warrick gently squeezed his shoulder. "They turned it in to Grissom at the lab, and he wanted to know what I wanted to do with it. One side is Gordon...and the other side is me." Warrick remembered Sara saying something about Nick recording a message, but he hadn't thought about it since. "I want you guys to hear it, so everyone's coming over in a little while after shift."

Warrick nodded. "You sure you want us to hear it?"

Nick looked deep into Warrick's eyes and Warrick could see how serious he was. "Definitly."

"Okay. That's fine with me." Warrick looked at the clock hanging on a wall in Nick's living room. "Well, their shift is almost over, and I'm sure they're gonna get over here as soon as they can, so why don't we make some breakfast for everyone?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. We need food though...I think we finished it all off last night."

"Yeah, good call." They went to the store and got eggs, bacon, bread, milk, and orange juice. They started cooking as soon as they got home, and were just about done when they heard a knock on the door. "We are so good." Warrick said.

Nick smiled and went to the door. "I'm shocked you'd expect anything less." He opened the door and let the team in. They all looked nervous, but eased up when they saw a big breakfast waiting for them.

"So you can cook?" Catherine said, following Nick into the kitchen.

"Well, I wouldn't call what Nick did 'cooking.' It was more like...don't burn the toast and turn the coffee on." Warrick said.

"That's cuz you're psycho and if I tried to touch anything I'd probably loose a finger."

"That sounds like Warrick to me." Grissom added, glad there wasn't an awkward silence, yet. They all sat down at Nick's table. Greg helped Nick and Warrick bring the food over, and they all started eating.

Greg took a sip of coffee and looked straight at Nick, who smirked. "Coffee stealer." He said, trying his best to sound mad, but the smile gave him away.

"Learn to hide it better." Nick replied.

"I shouldn't have to hide it. You should respect me and my stuff enough to stay away."

"Greggo, I respect you so much, I'm gonna keep stealing it, so you get better at hiding it." Everyone broke out in laughter.

"See Greg, he's being nice." Sara said.

"Do you really pay 40 dollars a pound for this stuff?" Grissom asked.

"Yes, I do. Are you trying to tell me you wouldn't pay 40 dollars a pound for this amazing coffee?" Greg shot back.

"I don't have to. I can just come to Nick's." More laughter followed that comment.

"You should have been a comedian Gris." Greg said, shaking his head.

"This coffee does go perfect with this food, good job Warrick."

Nick dropped his fork and stared at Catherine, looking unconvincingly mad. "Oh, so it's like that?"

"And you did a good job on the toast and coffee Nick." Catherine chuckled.

"Damn straight. This meal would be nothing without the toast and coffee." They carried on with the rest of their meal that way, playfully making jokes and talking about anything other than the tape recorder in Grissom's pocket. After they were done eating, they had more coffee and talked for a little while longer until they couldn't delay any longer. They looked nervously at each other, avoiding Nick's eyes. He sighed and stood up. "It's okay guys. Let's go into the living room." Sara and Catherine made the guys let them clean up before following them into Nick's living room. Nick sat on the couch with Catherine on his left and Warrick to his right. Grissom and Sara took the love seat again, and Greg sat on the chair. Grissom looked at Nick, who nodded. Grissom slowly took the battered tape recorder from his pocket and placed in on the coffee table in the middle of them. He silently pushed play and leaned back against the couch. They only heard the plexiglass cracking from Nick shooting out the light for a few seconds, then Nick's shaky voice filled the room.

"My name is Nick Stokes. If anyone finds this tape, please turn it in to the Las Vegas Crime Lab. There should be a reward." Tears filled Catherine and Sara's eyes as they listened to Nick say goodby to his family. "As for the rest of you guys..." Everyone tensed at these words. Warrick put his arm around Nick's shoulders and Catherine grabbed Nick's hand. Nick closed his eyes and took a deep breath before openening them again. "I know you did the best you could to find me. You didn't let me down." There was a pause as Nick struggled to keep his voice from breaking.

"Grissom, I never meant to dissapoint you. You taught me a lot...I'm sorry I let you down." Grissom stared blankly at the tape as Sara gently took his hand.

"Sara, I know we didn't always get along, but you're a really good friend and an awesome CSI." Sara wiped the tears from her eyes and Grissom have her a tissue.

"Greg, you're gonna be one hell of a CSI. Don't listen to anyone who thinks any differently. Just don't change, keep being Greggo." Greg looked up and smiled at Nick, who smiled back.

"Catherine, I know I was a pain sometimes, but you're a really great boss." Catherine squeezed Nick's hand as tears fell steadily from her eyes down her cheeks.. "You're the strongest woman I've ever met...give Lindsey a hug for me." Nick squeezed Catherine's hand as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"Warrick...you're like a brother to me man. I know you well enough to know that you're thinking this is your fault, but it's not. Don't listen to what anyone else says, this is not your fault bro. I wouldn't have had it any other way. You're the best friend I've ever had...I wish I could repay you for everything you've done for me." Warrick tightened his grip on Nick's shoulders and clenched his jaw. He didn't bother wiping away the tears that were slowly falling down his cheeks.

Nick took a deep breath and said what he thought was his final goodbye. "I love you all...I'm really gonna miss you guys."

There was a click, signaling the end of the tape. Grissom leaned forward, turned off the tape recorder and put it back in his pocket. Nobody knew what to say, so they just sat there, staring at the coffee table. Catherine was still crying on Nick's shoulder as he rubbed the side of her hand with his thumb and gently kissed the top of her head. Warrick smiled reassuringly at Greg, who was trying to control the shaking of his hands. Sara and Grissom seemed to be in a trance, their faces blank. Nick looked nervously around the room, unsure of what to do next. He opened his mouth to say something, but Grissom cut him off before he could get a word out.

"I think you've done enough talking tonight Nick. I think it's our turn now." The rest of the team slowly nodded as Grissom continued. "I'm sorry you think you dissapointed me or let me down at any point in time. You never have Nick. I should have told you more often how proud I am of you."

Sara followed Grissom's cue. "I know I'm not an easy person to get along with, but you always made an extra effort to, and I'm so glad I have you as a friend."

Gregs hands stopped shaking as he looked up at Nick. "I'm sorry all the times I've given you a hard time. I've learned a lot from you. I wouldn't have had the courage to become a CSI if you hadn't helped me get out of the lab. I can't tell you how much your friendship means to me."

Nick smiled at Greg and turned as Catherine lifted her head and spoke, tears still falling. "You're the greatest guy I've ever met. You've helped more than you could ever know. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me." She kissed his cheek and he smiled warmly at her.

Warrick squeezed Nick's shoulder and he turned to face his best friend. "You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for bro. I don't know what I'd do without you. I've never met anyone like you before. I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have you by my side."

Nick smiled and looked around at his team - his second family. They all quickly glanced at each other before saying all together "We love you too Nicky."

Nick's smile grew as he stood with everyone else for a group hug.

"Anyone want anymore of Greg's coffee?" Warrick offered, breaking the building tension.

"Of course they do. Who can resist expensive coffee from Hawaii?" Greg said, glaring at Nick jokingly.

"No one, that's why I stole it genius." Nick followed Warrick into the kitchen to help with the coffee. His hands were slightly shaking as he opened the cabinet and grabbed the stolen coffee.

"You alright buddy?" Warrick asked, looking at Nick's hands.

"Yeah...I'm fine. I just remembered how scared I was that that was gonna be the last time I got to say goodbye..."

Warrick once again put his arm around Nick's shoulders, pulling him to him and kissed the side of his forehead. A few years ago, he never would have even thought about doing that, and he wouldn't do it to anyone but Nick. He didn't even think about it, it was just a reaction. "You don't have to worry about that for a long time Nicky."

I know this contradicts Bodies in Motion, but I really wanted to know what Nick recorded on the other side of the tape, and when they didn't play it on the show, I took the liberty of filling in the blanks. Hope you enjoyed.